Advanced Photoshop 110 2013

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ISSUE 110 CONTENTS

ISSUE 110

WELCOME

Welcome to the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop. I couldn’t start without discussing the ground-breaking news from Adobe on the end of the CS boxset and the launch of Photoshop CC

ANNALISA SAYWELL Editor IN THIS ISSUE: PHOTOMANIPULATION PHOTO EDITING GRAPHICS DIGITAL PAINTING TYPOGRAPHY NEW MEDIA

COVER ARTIST PETE HARRISON

http://peteharrison.com

Pete Harrison wields light and colour in many of his digital images, and as lighting is so important when producing paint effects - who better than him to produce our cover tutorial this issue.

The recent announcement at the Adobe Max conference in L.A. has sent our office into overdrive. We’ve learned that significant changes are being made to both the Adobe product line and the means of paying for it all, and the important questions – how, what, why and when? – have been on everyone’s minds since the discovery. So taking that into account, we discuss what exactly all the fuss is about and bring you an update on what you can expect from the new tools as well as looking into which features to get excited about when Photoshop CC is finally released on 17 June. Elsewhere in the issue, we bring you 15 great illustration tips and tricks, show you how to create character concepts in CS6 and discover creative photomanipulation all using Photoshop’s top tools. Our free disc is not to be missed either, with over 1,270 premium resources to choose from and an exclusive video tutorial, it really is a bumper issue!

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PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW:

THE PURSUIT OF LIGHT AND COLOUR

Marta Nael reveals her secrets on how to create a colourful portfolio but still preserve realism

FIND US ONLINE: @advancedpshop

/AdvancedPhotoshop

.co.uk

44 ABSTRACT GRAPHICS DIGITAL COVER ART:

Learn the skills required to replicate a photographic collage with multiple layers

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CONTENTS ISSUE 110

ISSUE 110

CONTENTS EYE ON DESIGN

What’s hot, who’s in and the latest art & design happenings

06 08 12 18

PRO PANEL: Our contributors share Photoshop secrets INDUSTRY FEATURE Adobe reveals Photoshop CC PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW: The pursuit of light and colour: Marta Nael

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PROJECT FOCUS: Stunning mosiacs in CS6

ILLUSTRATION TIPS FOR BACK ISSUES, BOOKS AND MERCHANDISE VISIT:

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CHARACTER CONCEPTS

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36

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DIGITAL ALBUM ARTWORK

ACTIONPACKED COMPOSITES

TECHNIQUES

Professional artists reveal their high-end skills in our easy-tofollow workshops

20 28 36 44 50 56

STUDIO INTERVIEW

DKNG Studios

INDUSTRY FEATURE

15 Illustration tips & tricks INDUSTRY FEATURE

Digital album artwork INDUSTRY WORKSHOP

Abstract graphics WORKSHOP

Liquid paint effects WORKSHOP

Character concepts

62 68 72 76 88 92

WORKSHOP

Atmospheric landscapes WORKSHOP

Create stylish vintage type

REVIEWS

We put the latest creative kit, books and apps to the test

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FEATURE: Head to head - Raw war REVIEW: Wacom Cintiq 13HD

HOW I MADE

Shine by Kris Shields WORKSHOP

Action-packed composites READER INTERVIEW

Engaging photo illustration RESOURCE PROJECT

Produce paint splash stock

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! SEE PAGE 22 FOR THE LATEST OFFER

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ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPES

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ON YOUR DISC

Free with issue 110 of Advanced Photoshop

TAILORMADE CREATIVE CONTENT

Master paint splash effects for yourself using Photoshop CS6

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SHINE

88

ENGAGING PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

RESOURCE COLLECTION

Featuring 1,050 Photoshop brushes, 200 premium textures and 20 high-res images

PLUS:

• Tutorial project files • Exclusive wallpapers for mobile and desktop • Fonts worth $30

EYE ON DESIGN PRO PANEL

EYE ON DESIGN

PRO PANEL

OUR CONTRIBUTORS SHARE THEIR CREATIVE SECRETS, EXPLAINING HOW THEY CREATED THESE STUNNING EFFECTS USING PHOTOSHOP’S POWERFUL TOOLS DAN KUHLKEN www.dkngstudios.com

Running a small firm gives DKNG the opportunity to complete tasks more efficiently. Two heads are better than one, but 10 heads can be a circus. As a result, we’re limited in how many projects we can take on, but this enables us to fully focus on the ones that we do choose. Our primary goal is to create great work – generating profit comes second. A larger team would increase our bandwidth and that would decrease the quality of our work. ■ See more from Dan in this issue’s Studio Interview on page 20

GREG DAVIES

www.gregdavies.co.za Nothing imbues crispness in an image quite like a High Pass-Overlay layer. Its effect can be applied to any image, and we can all achieve this look by first duplicating our image and then selecting Filter>Other>High Pass. Once complete, set the new layer’s blend mode to Overlay, adjust the Opacity to taste and then the image will look much sharper. ■ Greg shows how to create photo-based album artwork in our main feature on page 36

© Greg Davies

MARTA NAEL

http://martanael.daportfolio.com

There are many ways to create focus in an image, yet we can achieve more dynamic results by rotating the horizon line. Placing the centre of interest a bit to the right or the left, rather than the centre, is really useful for creating a diverse composition. The arrangement of light helps create mystery and can also be used to guide our eyes across a picture. Use this effect to make certain elements stand out from the background. ■ Check out more of Marta’s work in her interview on page 12

© Dan Kuhlken

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© Marta Nael

The magazine for Adobe® Photoshop® professionals

PETE HARRISON www.peteharrison.com

It’s important to keep gradients looking smooth, especially in high-resolution images. Banding can easily occur if you don’t keep on top of your work. The best way to ensure the right look is to select Edit> Color Settings and then set your piece to Adobe RBG (1998). I use this setting for all of my work and I make sure that I keep the Dot and spot gain set at 20%. ■ Find Pete’s create-the-cover tutorial on page 50

It’s important to keep gradients looking smooth… The best way to ensure the right look is to select Edit>Color Settings and set Adobe RGB (1998)

© Pete Harrison

PETE HARRISON / WWW.PETEHARRISON.COM

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Magazine team

Editor Anna-lisa Saywell

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Editor in Chief Dan Hutchinson Features Editor Adam Smith Designer Steve Mumby Photographer James Sheppard Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook Head of Publishing Aaron Asadi Head of Design Ross Andrews Contributors

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LUKE CHOICE

www.velvetspectrum.com My work was based heavily in Photoshop before I learned to use C4D. Once I was able to blend the two programs together, I realised how important it was to pay attention to the direction of light and shadow in when creating artwork. To amplify the contrast of certain areas in this image I used the Dodge and Burn tools, creating a greater range of depth. ■ More of Luke’s work can be seen in our album artwork feature on page 36

The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/ or other countries and is used with express permission. All $ prices are US Dollars unless otherwise stated. If you submit material to Imagine Publishing via post, email, social network or any other means, you automatically grant Imagine Publishing an irrevocable, perpetual, royaltyfree license to use the images across its entire portfolio, in print, online and digital, and to deliver the images to existing and future clients, including but not limited to international licensees for reproduction in international, licensed editions of Imagine products. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Imagine Publishing nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for the loss or damage. © Imagine Publishing Ltd 2013 ISSN 1748-7277

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ADOBE REVEALS PHOTOSHOP CC

WE EXPLORE WHAT THE LATEST VERSION HAS TO OFFER AND GAUGE THE REACTIONS FROM A COMMUNITY OF PHOTOSHOP USERS

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t this years annual MAX Conference, held in Los Angeles, Adobe announced its most ground-breaking update since the release of Photoshop CS6; the all-new Photoshop CC. This version will be made available in June and provides Creative Cloud subscribers with a host of brand new tools, as well as reinvented ones. Photoshop CC is geared towards photo editing like we’ve never seen, pushing the boundaries of what’s

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achievable in image editing even further. Moreover, its speedy operation means photographers and designers can create with even more freedom. This is all thanks to Adobe, who continues to perfect and provide superior image editing algorithms. New tools are supplied by the dozen and include the most advanced sharpening tool available, live syncing with Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) and all-new shape tool functionality. ACR itself has now been

updated to version 8 and includes its own set of upgrades to complement a Photoshop workflow. In this feature we go into greater detail about what’s in store for us, presenting the most exciting of the new Photoshop CC tools and options. We also share some of the Photoshop communities thoughts and opinions on this latest update, in addition to exploring the new innovative options added to other software in the Creative Cloud.

PHOTOSHOP CC TECHNIQUES

THE FUTURE OF PHOTOSHOP Adobe has announced that, moving forward, the company will now focus on creative software developments for Creative Cloud. Photoshop CC will now be a subscriptionbased software. This is a bold step, seeing the company breaking away from its own tradition. This means that the boxed version of Photoshop has been shelved. Subscribers can now get their hands on Photoshop CC by paying a month-to-month fee, or by instead signing up for 12 months at a cheaper cost. Adobe’s Photoshop CC buying guide offers evidence that indicates a single Photoshop CC app subscription may be available in the near future. Presently, however pricing information is absent. Head over to the next page to learn people’s reactions to this revelation.

NEW SHAKE REDUCTION FILTER Camera shake can plague professional and enthusiast photographers alike, caused by our own movement when the camera is focused. A slow shutter speed and long focal length is also culpable. Affected shots would normally be thrown in the Trash folder, but not any more with this new addition to Photoshop CC. The Shake Reduction filter, found in the Sharpen menu, will de-blur any image affected by camera shake. Photoshop CC does

a great job of fixing any image automatically, but it also caters for users who like to make manual adjustments. The Shake Reduction tool allows us to select the region of an image that’s most affected, with Photoshop CC algorithms laying the foundation of our edits. Users can then perfect looks using intuitive sliders that improve detail, sharpness and noise left in an image. It’s an incredibly intuitive and easy to use tool.

NEW SMART SHARPEN FILTER When we say ‘new Smart Sharpen filter’, what we really mean is revamped to the hilt. Adobe has thought long and hard about supplying intelligent resizing and sharpening functionality in Photoshop CC. This latest revision shows a great deal of diligence. The Smart Sharpen dialog is now resizable, so we can better scrutinize our working area. This is something that we Photoshop users have been persistently calling for, across all filters. This version still operates through a set of sliders, which makes the improved outcomes that are applied even more outstanding. There are only three in total (with Basic options), including the regular Amount and Radius types. However, Adobe has also added a Reduce Noise slider in reaction to the haloing that occurred in the results of previous versions. This may seem such a small addition, but it shows how Adobe is paying attention to even the most specific usability issues we encounter.

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Techniques PhotoshoP cc

aCr file haNDliNg Photoshop CC lets users transfer from 32-bit to 8-bit by using ACR8 controls. To do so, simply activate Preferences>File Handling>Use Adobe Camera Raw to Convert Documents from 32 bit to 16/8bit. Now just select either 16 or 8 bits from the Image>Mode options.

other ChaNges

we presenT a few addiTional feaTures ThaT have been added to the creative cloud line-up

• Photoshop CC Blur Gallery and Liquify filter can be applied non-destructively, now using Smart Object functionality

• Bring settings to multiple computers with cloud-enabled Sync Settings

• CSS Designer in Dreamweaver CC provides the most up-to-date CSS and properties available via an intuitive visual editing tool

• Editing Finesse in Premiere Pro CC focuses on sleek design and customisation capabilities, combined with new editing features and keyboard-driven editing

• Photoshop CC now generates CSS code for specific design elements, which can then be copied and pasted into a web editor in order to get exact results

• Live 3D Pipeline with Cinema4D in After Effects CC lets us add 3D objects to scenes, eliminating any intermediate rendering between applications

• Parallax Scrolling in Muse CC allows us to create stunning effects with just a few mouse clicks – images and elements now move in different directions at different speeds when scrolling

• Motion Paths in Edge Animate allow us to animate elements along totally customisable paths

• A completely modernised architecture in InDesign and Flash Pro has been rebuilt from the ground up to be faster and more reliable, with a streamlined UI

• InDesign has a great new QR code creator • Flash Pro now includes real-time drawing and live preview functionality

• Creative Cloud members can now upload images to a Behance Pro site for free, using File>Share on Behance

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New Preserve Details oPtioN Photoshop has always relied on its interpolation technology to resize images. Yet due to its reliance on pixels, radical resizing wasn’t a viable option. Well it is now with Photoshop CC’s new Preserve Details option, found inside the Image>Image Size dialog. The dialog itself has had a complete redesign, now including a large image preview. Users must activate Resample to access the dropdown menu that houses all bicubic interpolation options, as well as the new Preserve Details option. This is ideal for upsampling. Bicubic interpolations are still ideal for minor adjustments, but for more

radical enlarging then Preserve Details is a must. The main difference is sharper edges when blowing up images; doubling in size doesn’t seem to be a major issue. This option also includes a Reduce Noise slider, like the other latest filters inside Photoshop CC. This helps smooth any noticeable surfaces that are afflicted with tricky artifacts.

The main difference is sharper edges when blowing up images

aDobe Camera raw filter Adobe Camera Raw 8 (ACR8) can now be applied to any layer or file inside Photoshop by using the Camera Raw filter, but there’s much more to this than previous versions. ACR8 has been treated with new technologies to complement the Photoshop users workflow. The enhanced Spot Removal tool is just one of the latest features in ACR8 and this looks to improve photo retouching inside the app. This tool now functions much like the Spot Healing brush inside the standard Photoshop version. Retouchers can use this tool to paint to non-circular areas of an image. ACR8 will automatically remove artefacts for us. Press V to see the green marker, which highlights the replacement area that ACR8 amended from. Simple drag-and-drop this point to tell ACR8 to sample from a new area, which we may feel achieves better results.

New shaPe ProPerties PaNel Photoshop CS6 took the Shape tool to a whole new level with an new set of dialog options and vector technology. These made designs more customisable than ever. Photoshop CC continues to champion flexible shape creation with its own new options. These can be found in the Properties Panel and allow Photoshop CC users to edit shapes after they’ve been applied to a design. Now we can adjust individual corners or all of them at once, affecting shape radius and size in real-time. We can also select multiple shapes and control these at the same time, conforming each one to specific settings.

New UpRight optioNs

Photoshop CS6 made massive strides in lens correction with its Adaptive Wide Angle filter. However, this seemed to work best with fisheye distortion. ACR8 with Photoshop CC has improved results through its own advanced correction tools, found under Lens Correction>Manual. The new Upright options in here tackle all types of distortion. There are five Upright options in total to choose from. These provide one-click results, with ACR8

determining the best effects mechanically and to an accurate degree – especially the Auto option. Horizontal will apply one level correction that matches the best-case horizon in an image. Vertical works to a similar effect. If we want to go the whole hog we can apply the Full option, which will correct level, horizontal and vertical perspectives. Users can manually edit effects further by using slider options,

matching to Grid guides (enable Show Grid first).

At first I wasn’t thrilled about this. But there are a lot of pro’s. I am always upgrading to the latest versions anyway. [Photoshop CC] will just spread the cost. You get a lot for $600 a year have yoUR say

See what our Facebook community thinkS oF the lateSt creative cloud announcement FRédéRiC gombeRt iNFotogRaphe “That would mean the end of my collaboration with Adobe, if they don’t change their mind. I won’t pay such a high price to rent software. Creative Cloud is fine as an option, but not if its forced to be the only available solution “ ChRis maCdoNald “I agree with Fred. This is also the end of my collaboration with Adobe. They are forcing us into a cloud corner and I won’t be. I don’t need every single new upgrade and I refuse to pay for something I’m not going to use. I know a lot of other colleagues that will also stop using Adobe products because of the Creative Cloud subscription. Now would be a good time for some other company to come in and give Adobe some competition.”

New Radial FilteR tool Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) has always been revered for its ability to stylise photos and this reputation doesn’t look like it will be waning any time soon. Not with the inclusion of the new Radial Filter tool in ACR8, that is. This tool lets users target a specific area of an image using a circular selection. The dimensions of this can be controlled and edited live by using control points. Applying the Radial Filter tool opens its own extensive set of options, which allow us to affect existing light, colour temperature and sharpness within our targeted area. Other cool functions of the Radial Filter tool include the ability to create a new selection, which will duplicate the settings applied previously. We can also move our selection on-screen, with ACR8 affecting the original image beneath in real-time. This is a great way of instantly seeing how effects look in other areas of an image.

New toNe iN aCR optioN Photoshop has always recognised the impact of HDR photography, with its Merge to HDR Pro and HDR Toning options both implemented and updated in Photoshop versions CS5 and CS6. Now users of Photoshop CC can load Merge to HDR Pro images straight into ACR8 and edit them. All we need to do is set Mode to 32 Bit and select the Tone in ACR option, which appears at the foot of the dialog. All ACR controls are applicable to our images. This means we can add all of the new ACR8 tools to retouch and perfect looks.

steve mCaleNey “I have to agree that I will never rent software. Adobe are making a big mistake as most people will look elsewhere for their photo editing needs – jolly bad show.” bRad stRiCkmaN “Love it. The subscription option seemed like a great idea to bring in more customers who would normally just pirate it. If you want to always keep up with the latest updates then it’s cheaper in the long run. I don’t understand the hate.” RobeRta kelley “Haven’t decided yet.” Jay leviNe “At first I wasn’t thrilled about this, but there are a lot of pros. I am always upgrading to the latest versions anyway. [Photoshop CC] will just spread the cost. You get a lot for $600 a year”

FoR moRe iNFoRmatioN oN CReative CloUd aNd photoshop CC bUy issUe 111 oN sale 11 JUly

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eye on design portfolio interview

portfolio interview

martanael.deviantart.com @Martanael

The pursuiT of lighT and colour Marta Nael reveals her secrets oN how to create a colourful portfolio but still preserve realisM

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astering a realistic paint style is never easy, which makes digital artist Marta Nael’s portfolio all the more amazing. This issue we discuss with her how she has nurtured her amazing mixed-media method and how she continues to improve it. We also explore how Nael has successfully promoted art sales and translated her already impressive brush skills into entirely different themes – from expressive portraits to skilled matte paintings. How Have you continued to iMprove on your portfolio? I paint on a daily basis, never give up and am never satisfied with what I do. This is what pushes me to improve my work. Creating a good portfolio is a challenge, especially when trying to master ways to

paint light and colour effects. I only published my first images online around three years ago. My portfolio is something that has helped me to improve, by comparing older works with more recent ones and then only showing the images I’m most proud of. How does your fine art work fuel your digital art? If you can’t paint in a traditional way then you won’t be able to paint digitally. This is something that every working artist should bear in mind. In my case, the traditional training I received when studying Fine Arts became really useful. It helped me start a method based in brush strokes, instead of line art. I found myself always shading the entire canvas with a neutral colour first, and then defining surfaces by adding to or erasing from this base. I then tried to

apply this same process in my digital workflow, to maintain the same feeling. wHy do you focus on Mixed-Media? I believe my mixed-media style is one not used by many artists, and maybe this makes it popular. I create a look that’s normally achieved using acrylics, oil paints or watercolours. I think that when people see my images they don’t recognise the artificial look or airbrushed feel that some works have. How Has pHotosHop specifically Helped you to replicate tHis look? The use of several textured brushes is essential. Throughout the years, I’ve downloaded tons of styles that replicate the look of splashes and strokes. I’ve even created some from scratch. I don’t use layers a

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Boat in a storm: This artwork could be seen as a play of colours, where i intend to move away from reality and simply enjoy painting. despite choosing an insignificant subject, i tried to highlight the use of light and colour © ediciones Babylon

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Ari: one of the images i’m most proud of. i created this image as a concept art for a video game, which never came out, sadly © ediciones Babylon

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eye on design portfolio interview

lot as I like using the History Brush instead, in order to bring back certain parts and add texture with transparency. This process also works perfectly when you need to retouch a photo that’s to be integrated into a matte painting.

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can you tell us the point at which your style became commercial? When I was finishing my degree in Fine Arts I felt like trying out digital art. As soon as I began what I called ‘Digital Impressionism’, I got attention from the public. I thought mixing digital art while preserving a traditional-looking style would be interesting – it seems people agree. I started getting more ‘likes’ on social networks, then people began to buy my prints.

portfolio tips

LeArn nAeL’s inside Tricks To scuLpTing LighT, BALAncing sources And finishing ArTwork ■ over-saturation Paint light as if you were modelling shapes like a sculptor. The contrast generated from painting coloured surfaces and dark values creates outlines. Think of a reality were there is only over-saturation, where no grey, black or white exists. This really helps you to achieve colourful artworks. ■ multiple light sources Using an interesting arrangement of light can help you add mystery, dramatise shapes and intrigue the viewer. Contrasting a main warm light with several secondary cool lights makes the scene more dynamic. ■ adding noise Once I’m done, I flatten all the layers and create a new one on top. I fill this with a neutral grey colour then select Filters>Add Noise>400%. Once I have applied that effect, I blur it a bit then change the layer’s blend mode to Soft light. I also lower Opacity to around 20%. This creates a nice grain effect, barely visible, that will add a film effect.

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Impressions Cover: This was used as the cover of my first artbook: impressions. i wanted to mix realism with a more painterly style in the same image, keeping the face detailed while the rest is applied roughly © ediciones Babylon

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Dinotopia Tribute: A tribute to the well-known series by James gurney. i tried to portray a civilisation – urban Asian, and somehow lost – where humans live together with dinosaurs, and where a new race appears: robots © ediciones Babylon

how did you transfer your paint skills into matte painting? The first paintings I ever attempted were realistic, and I soon realised I wanted to apply the same light and colour to landscapes too. My latest works are even more colourful, though. I’m trying to get an over-saturated result but still follow light logic. Matte painting usually means starting from a photo plate, but I believe working on the whole composition is important when creating an artwork. I begin painting from scratch and, as soon as I have a detailed image, I mix photos and paint to generate realism. how do you apply light and colour to define your style? I’m obsessed with light and colour when painting. I’m not really concerned about meaning; I just feel like relaxing and unwinding from all the pressure, giving way to play, directly pouring out my feelings. I believe that mastering how to paint the effects of light and colour onto objects can turn a regular image into a beautiful work of art. That’s why I always strive for vibrancy in both my painterly and my more realistic styles. I play with complementary contrasts by using warm and cold tones.

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Be my valentine: This image was created for Valentines day. i wanted to portray a couple feeling the passion of love instead of a cheesy romance image © ediciones Babylon

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My biggest learning curve from this experience was use layer blending modes. These let me integrate photos with paintings a lot better Bridges Island: The birds-eye view in this artwork was intended to dramatise the scene. Here, I tried to push my skills in painting light and colour even further © Ediciones Babylon

HOW HAS SELLING YOUR WORK HELPED TO FURTHER YOUR PORTFOLIO? Selling your art as a print or a canvas makes you see whether or not people value your work. It also reveals what subject people enjoy the most in your paintings. Plus, it means expanding more and reaching more people – especially if you get the chance to sign and sell it. HOW DID YOU PROMOTE YOUR PORTFOLIO TO POTENTIAL CLIENTS? To become a professional illustrator you need to be good at actually illustrating, but also able to promote your work everywhere and in any way possible. Whenever I wanted to get some commissions I had to show my work. The Internet is a very useful tool for reaching out to lots of people, especially on social networks. Appearing in magazines and art books is helpful too, as it gets you recognised in a competitive world of artists – I sent my images whenever there was a call for entries. DO YOUR PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL STYLES DIFFER? To be honest, it’s been three years since I did my last complete piece of personal work. But thankfully, I have quite a lot of freedom when painting at my job.

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Deadlines sometimes make me finish sooner than I would do otherwise, however. WHO OR WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCES? I’ve loved fantasy and sci-fi since I was a kid. I spent all my childhood watching films and reading books based on these genres. Their influence appears in my work almost automatically. Traditionally speaking, I’ve always enjoyed the art of Friedrich and Turner, or the Impressionism movement. Sorolla is also one of my favourite artists. As for digital art, I love the works of Maciej Kuciara, Ruan Jia, Danny Luvisi, Jonas de Ro, Dave Rapoza, Andrée Wallin, Marek Okon, Raphael Lacoste and Dylan Cole, to name but a few. WHAT’S THE MOST IMAGINATIVE PIECE OF WORK YOU’VE CREATED? I believe it would be the piece entitled Don’t Be Afraid, Monsters. It’s based on the commonly known ‘Beauty and the Beast’ story, but with a little child being the main character and lots of monsters surrounding her. The idea behind this image is not to judge someone at first sight – even monstrouslooking creatures can be afraid of you and willing to be your friend. I tried to explain the meaning of the

scene by using light in order to guide the viewer’s eye around the image. Less important areas of the scene fall into shadow while the main action is picked out. The central figure and the monster beside her are easily spotted from the rest. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST LEARNING CURVE WHEN PRODUCING YOUR PORTFOLIO? I’ve learned a lot from each painting. The only way to learn is to practice on a daily basis, and putting in lots of hours involves producing commercial work. My biggest learning curve from this experience was the use of layer blend modes. These let me integrate photos with paintings a lot better – especially in matte paintings, where I can apply a Screen blend mode or turn a greyscale sketch into a coloured one with the Color mode. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS LOOKING TO BUILD THEIR OWN PORTFOLIO? Believe in yourself and never give up. Never be satisfied with what you do; no matter what people tell us, we can always improve. Also, don’t upload every single artwork you create to your portfolio – be selective, and only use the ones you think add something new, add value or make you feel that you’ve achieved what you were looking for.

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eye on design stunning mosaics in cs6

project FocUS

stunning mosaics in cs6

We ask artist Charis tsevis about his signature style and hoW he CommuniCates both the part and the Whole

T

about tHe artist Charis Tsevis www.tsevis.com

Tsevis is an award-winning visual designer based in Athens, Greece. He studied in Milan and Athens, but now manages a modest studio serving prestigious clients all over the world, such as Coca-Cola, Nike and Toyota. He’s also worked with agencies like TBWA, Saatchi & Saatchi and BBH, as well as publications such as TIME, Wired and the Wall Street Journal.

name of project values+ @tsevis

he mosaic is one of the earliest known forms of art, with examples of glazed tiles carefully placed to form larger works dating back to 1500 BC. Clearly we haven’t tired of the aesthetic approach even thousands of years later, as renowned Greek artist Charis Tsevis proves. His signature style is that of contemporary digital mosaics and his carefully arranged images burst off the page thanks to the exciting and busy composition of smaller icons. His work recently caught the attention of one of the largest and most respected private art colleges in Greece – AKTO – which wanted a campaign that would feel fresh and human-centric. At the same time, AKTO wanted a treatment that would re-establish the values of the institution in the current economic climate. “Four sets of values were selected to represent the values system of the college – art and science; word and image; tradition and innovation; experience and development,” says Tsevis. “The visual style of the campaign needed to be based on these values but also build around my signature mosaic style. As such, to create the icons I used the tools of art education, knowledge and culture. These represent the necessary skills of craftsmanship and the wider meaning of education.” Read on to discover how Tsevis took these elements and built an eye-catching illustration that explores education as a whole, while also considering its constituent parts.

Alternative collage

How did you go about producing tHe mosaic effect? I was very lucky to be a part of AKTO College and thus able to use all of the creative people that live within it. I also had access to a huge collection of photos taken by Stefanos Samios, a multi-awardwinning photographer. We chose a set of images of students that we wanted to have at the centre of our campaign. I then processed the photos in order to fit the mosaic so that they would reflect the atmosphere that we wanted to get across. In this type of work it’s good to simplify photos as much as possible and correct the parts that are complicated or difficult to understand at a glance.

Next I had to create a colour version of the mosaic that made use of the specific colour palette of AKTO College’s new identity. There are six colours along with the white parts. Everything else had to be coloured with these hues. Obviously, I painted certain parts of the photos in order to keep the warm tones for the skin. I then did the same for the focal point of every illustration and left the cold tones for the rest of the composition. After that I created a series of simple icons in Illustrator that would be the stones of my mosaic. These icons had to be simple and iconic in order to be recognisable when very small. Once I’d prepared my photos I had to create my mosaics. I worked with a series of customdeveloped scripts inside Synthetik Studio Artist for this part of the work. Then I switched back to Photoshop where I proceeded to build up the mosaic in a manual way. Once I had the final mosaics I created the layouts in InDesign and worked on the TV commercial. Exstudents at monologue.gr made the commercial. are tHere any pHotosHop sHortcuts to Help quickly replicate tHis style? Unfortunately, there aren’t. There are many bits of software that can create mosaics but the result that all these programs offer simply isn’t good enough without a lot of manual correction. wHen creating mosaics, How do you ensure tHat tHe final image doesn’t just get lost in a mass of tiny icons? It’s actually very difficult because I’ve seen the original photos and I am always going to recognise each and every part of them. The problem is that the rest of the audience hasn’t seen the source images, so I have to constantly check with others to ensure that what I’m creating remains recognisable. I also need to constantly ensure that what I’m creating imparts a very iconic composition that will send the right message to the viewer. How do you go about selecting tHe rigHt starting image? Mosaics are essentially photos in low resolution; a photo with big pixels. As such the subjects have to be

“The most difficult part was showing the characteristics of the face but at the same time keeping it blurred to create the photographic depth of field.”

“Small details are always difficult to show in a mosaic, such as fingers. Here the strange haircut and foulard was tricky to represent in a mosaic.”

ORIGINAL IMAGE

“What I wanted to show here was the aura of the smiling girl and to express the energy coming out of her right hand as it creates something that makes her so happy.”

SEE THE REALLIFE AD ON THIS ISSUE’S DISC

Converted photo © Charis Tsevis

iconic, simple and legible from the start. Even though this is the starting point, I then work a great deal on my source images to prepare them for a mosaic. There is not one image I have ever used without altering it substantially. HOW MANY LAYERS ARE NECESSARY IN AN IMAGE LIKE THIS? There are usually around ten or more layers. There are different mosaics with various parameters, sizes and corrections.

Rejected mosaic

WHICH NEW PHOTOSHOP TOOLS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE PROJECTS SUCH AS THIS SIMPLER? The ability to have a colour image as a brush is very important. Being able to use many images in a

brushstroke is also important for me. Ideas like Corel Painter’s Image Hose or Studio Artist’s Movie Brush are something that Photoshop is missing. WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU OFFER TO OTHERS LOOKING TO CREATE WORK SUCH AS THIS? Even though I’m a dedicated fan of technology, I would suggest that they first understand how mosaics are formed before and after technology. People tend to believe that there is an easy and automatic way to create a mosaic but this is not true. Mosaics are images where you should simultaneously see the parts and the whole. There is a huge tradition of human creativity in this field. Stone mosaics, typewriter art, ASCII art, pixel art and many other art movements and techniques are very helpful areas for a newbie to explore.

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eye on design studio interview

studio interview

DKNG StuDioS

We intervieW the founder of dKnG to discover hoW this Los AnGeLes-bAsed studio is fusinG the creAtive reALms of iLLustrAtion And desiGn

L

ike many other studio start-up stories, this one begins with two college friends who took very different paths before teaming up to form their own design studio: DKNG. Founder Dan Kuhlken studied graphic design, aware that this would eventually lead to an artistic career. Nathan Goldman, however, focused his energies on both graphic design and art direction before working full-time at DKNG. So the pair collaborated in the field of design while their nine-to-fives kept them apart. This is how they encountered a career-changing opportunity. “We came across the chance to create posters for the Troubadour, a world famous venue in Los Angeles, California,” Kuhlken tells us. “Together we built a large portfolio of posters for them, over the course of a couple years. Eventually, this caught the eye of potential new clients and our career has continued to flourish since then, one project at a time.” DKNG is now known for producing high-quality graphic design and illustration. Its services also include brand and identity development, web design and development, packaging design and apparel design. From this, it becomes apparent that Kuhlken and Goldman have a special interest in operating in the entertainment industry. The studio works with a bespoke philosophy, believing that every client has a unique voice and therefore that every new project requires a distinct perspective. However, due to the fact that the studio’s origins lie with gig posters, it’s noticeable how this experience has inspired a few noticeable factors in DKNG’s design – the application of bold colours and shapes, specifically. “One of the main purposes of a poster is to grab the viewer’s attention as quickly as possible,” explains Kuhlken. “The first thing people see is colour and shape. It’s only when they look closer that they actually notice the variant details.” Setting these elements aside for now, DKNG’s design and illustration styles can change drastically from project to project. Kuhlken believes that a stubborn dedication to a niche style is commercially detrimental. “To us, this is not what a design firm should express when dealing with a wide variety of clients. We want to show we can do it all,” he says. DKNG goes some way towards achieving this principle through the different personalities that the duo bring. “Nathan and I wear many different hats,” admits Kuhlken. “We’re both involved in the creative and business sides of our studio. For instance, I

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About the studio DKNG StuDioS www.dkngstudios.com @dKnGstudios

DKNG is a full-service graphic design and illustration studio. Catering primarily to the entertainment and music industries, the duo behind the studio have worked with some impressive clients.

dan Kuhlken, Creative director

nathan goldman, Creative director

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eye on design studio interview

Photoshop is the electricity we use to awaken Frankenstein’s monster basis. “Our work acts like a constantly refreshing advertisement in that sense,” Kuhlken explains. “We joined the social networks that we believe are the strongest, most useful and relevant to our industry. These have helped grow a consistent following.” DKNG ensures that clients keep coming back for more by making sure it gets projects right the first time. This makes complete sense, because if a client is impressed with what we create then it’s very likely that we’ll work with them again. “Creating something we can be proud of is a big part of what we do,” says Kuhlken. “We’re very selective about who we work for. We want to make sure we do a great job, and in order to do that we must have a strong creative interest in a project.” This isn’t too hard to find, though, when you’re working with clients such as Disney, HBO, MTV and Mondo, like Kuhlken and Goldman are doing. Subsequently, we pose the question: “How does DKNG approach existing IP projects when working with clients such as Mondo?” Kuhlken answers promptly: “We always do our research. We dig deep

top five production tips

When running a creative studio, efficiency, collaboration and methodology are our best friends ■ Work in the cloud Use Dropbox to keep files up to date across all systems, with clear folder structures so everything is ready to access when they’re first opened. ■ use shortcuts Learn Photoshop and Illustrator keyboard shortcuts. These are huge time-savers and become essential when tackling seemingly impossible deadlines that are beginning to loom. ■ talk to colleagues Sharing our progress with each other often sparks a new solution and gets projects moving quickly, so we’re not stuck spinning our wheels on a problem. ■ Warm up the office It’s easier being creative on demand when we’re existing in a space where we feel comfortable and relaxed. Always have some inspiration at hand. ■ take a break If the ideas simply aren’t flowing, find an activity to occupy your mind for a few minutes. When you return, solutions will flow more easily.

© 2013 dKng studios

© 2013 dKng studios

focus on illustration, marketing and customer service. Nathan focuses on graphic design, typography, art direction and client relations. We’ve very different mindsets and our roles reflect this.” Kuhlken admits to being more concerned with creating artwork, while Goldman demonstrates strong skills in running a creative business. “Our backgrounds definitely work well together and are the main reasons for our success as a studio,” Kuhlken adds. As a business, DKNG continues to thrive by allowing its stellar work to speak for itself. The pair successfully build contacts through a strong portfolio and successful marketing. Kuhlken makes sure that the DKNG website and social networks are constantly up to date and active. “We don’t know what lies ahead, but we do know that someone will see what we create and possibly reach out to us with more work because of it,” he tells us. “Most of our work comes to us through email, which stems from our website. Many new clients cite past work that they’ve come across – either from a design blog or an image-sharing site.” DKNG proves it’s a contemporary studio by utilising powerful social media platforms as a highly successful promotion tool. Indeed, the two directors believe that it’s always good to let commercial clients know what they are up to, as creatives, on a regular

022 040

TACO BELL’S FEED THE BEAT PROJECT

DKNG PRESENTS THIS EXCITING POSTER FOR A ROCKUMENTARY ON TWO BANDS: PASSION PIT AND WILDCAT! WILDCAT!

01

3D PLANET

© 2013 Taco Bell Corp. All Rights Reserved

Here you can see how we created a threedimensional planet to use as the centrepiece in this project. We fused together an image of a spherical ball with a textured terrain, which we first created using the 3D modelling tools in Photoshop.

02

IMAGE TEXTURE

Textures were applied to create a vintage look while also achieving an extra dimension. We created this texture by taking a found image then appropriating it with the Stamp tool. The final image was exported as a bitmap TIFF using dithers, so it was easily placed in our master Illustrator file.

03

CREATING SPACE CLOUDS

For the space-themed background, we brought halftone clouds into Photoshop and applied a Gaussian Blur filter to them. The subsequent effect gave us the opportunity to create more ambience in the image without using clouds that appeared too sharp or in-focus.

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Dave Matthews Band: This is a diptych poster series created for dave Matthews Band’s 2012 two-night performance in West Palm Beach, Florida © 2013 dKng studios

Creating something we can be proud of is a big part of what we do While many artists choose to illustrate using a Wacom tablet or similar device, the vast majority of dKng illustrations are created using this Apple trackpad

Eric Clapton’s Old Sock: A promotional poster created for eric Clapton’s latest album old sock. Portraits are always tricky in terms of subject representation and, in this case, dKng went through a few variations © 2013 dKng studios

and become aware of what has already been done, and this is how we can create something even more special. Creating a concept that has never been envisioned is ideal. If that’s not possible then we take a known concept and envision it through our own unique perspective.” Kuhlken and Goldman bring their collective skills together for this, abiding by the motto ‘two heads are better than one.’ “Nathan and I take concept development very seriously and brainstorm for several days, sometimes, before presenting our ideas to a client,” reveals Kuhlken. “We’re hard on each other and hold each other to a very high standard. Once we’re both genuinely excited about a series of ideas, we know it’s okay to move forward.” It’s at this point the duo roll up their sleeves, and begin using Mac computers with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop software. Photoshop comes in especially handy when working with textures, applying these to vector artwork and stepping out of the realms of clip art. “We often use the Stamp tool to create custom textures,” he tells us. “If we like a certain photograph of cement, for example, we clone

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An aerial view of goldman’s desk; since Kuhlken and goldman spend so much time at their respective desks, layout and ergonomics become very important

that area into one large image. This is then used in our design as a textured element, which fills our entire art space.” Colour adjustments, especially Selective Color, are also readily applied to DKNG designs. “It’s not uncommon for our design to change colour, moving away from its original digital format into a screen-printed image,” explains Kuhlken. “We often use this tool to colour-correct photos of our work, so they match seamlessly in our portfolio.” Referring back to print production at DKNG – specifically, screen-printing – Photoshop’s bitmapto-halftones functionality makes all this possible. “In the world of screen-printing, every ink colour (layer) must be reduced down to a purely black and white file,” Kuhlken tells us. “Photoshop techniques allow us to take a highly complex design, utilising a large spectrum of tones, and reduce these down to halftone dots without compromising detail.” In a nutshell, DKNG depend on Photoshop to bring all of their creative projects to life. “Photoshop is the electricity we use to awaken Frankenstein’s monster,” Kuhlken concludes.

Oakley’s Viva La Bubba Campaign: This campaign poster took the form of a propaganda-style illustration of Bubba Watson, and it made its debut at the Phoenix open © 2013 oakley, inc. All Rights Reserved

studio interview EyE oN DEsiGN

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DAN KuHLKEN

ExplorE DKNG’s Daily DiGital, priNt aND braiNstormiNG routiNEs

08:05

Begin the day with emails and a status report

10:42

ongoing work in photoshop and illustrator

08:05

My morning usually begins with a quick email check, so I can see which client revisions or fires we’ll need to put out quickly before jumping into other work.

10:42

As a rule, Illustrator and Photoshop are always open on my desktop. We usually tackle three to five projects a day, depending on what we have waiting inside our queue.

As a rule, Illustrator and Photoshop are always open on my desktop

11:15

matching colours with the printing houses

12:50

a walk in the park to stimulate creative thinking

11:15

We work with printing houses all over the country, so Pantone matching is an essential part of getting screen-printing jobs right the first time.

A good excuse to step away from the office is always welcome, especially for a brainstorming session. Getting out into the world always seems to get new ideas flowing.

13:48

transnational client meetings on the go

14:33

gathering research to spark new perspectives

16:42

woodworking in the shop to keep things sharp

18:34

evening tunes to close the day

12:50 13:48

With clients all over the world, I often prefer to have phone meetings rather than email conversations. That way, I get to hear the client describe their vision in their own words.

We are continually expanding our research library of books and magazines, and we’re always seeking out new sources of inspiration.

16:42

14:33 18:34

I find working with my hands is a great way to break up the day. Woodworking provides a great creative outlet away from the realm of electronics.

It’s fun to stay connected to our many music clients, being musicians ourselves. Playing the piano is a great way to wind down at the end of the working day.

025

©V

in c

en t e

G ar c i

a Morillo

TECHNIQUES 15 ILLUSTRATION TIPS & TRICKS

ARTISTS IN THE INDUSTRY SHARE THEIR SECRETS TO USING PHOTOSHOP IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THEIR ILLUSTRATIONS, WHICH RANGE FROM EDITORIAL WORK TO PACKAGING AND HIGH PROFILE ADVERTISING 028

© Vincente Garcia Morillo

www.vicentegarciamorillo.com To promote DJ sessions by electronic music label Black Book Sessions, Vicente Garcia Morillo created the Alive Objects series, which encapsulates the artists and presents them as just one entity: “In this case, I was playing with the combination of elements that represent two of the most popular musicians in Chicago and the L.A. scene, respectively. “The first step is always to conceptualise the piece. I consider this one of the most important phases of the development process as this is the base of the piece. I like to invest all the time that’s necessary to come up with a good idea. Once I have the concept, I start doing sketches of the composition and also the analogue elements, such as drawing and painting, in case I want them later. I create the vector elements in Illustrator then import and edit them in Photoshop, fitting them together like a jigsaw, then apply effects like gradients, layer styles, shadows and noise. I like to experiment, mixing methods and software in my projects, adding elements like pencil drawings to my artworks when I get the opportunity. I usually play with Photoshop to edit the compositional elements and finish my pieces, but I avoid photographic finishes as I like to preserve an illustrated element.”

© Diego L. Rodriguez

1. INVEST IN A CONCEPT VINCENTE GARCIA MORILLO

2. MANAGE SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS DIEGO L. RODRIGUEZ

www.paranoidme.com Diego L. Rodriguez set about creating options for HBO’s How To Make It In America and drew on inspiration from the Big Apple: “Once I presented this idea, the agency loved it and they gave me the green light to create the poster. The brief came with some promotional images for the second season of the show. They were good, but not exactly what I had in mind. However, having the figure of Kid Cudi as a graphic inspired me to gather extra material. I had the structure clear: start with the character’s portrait, then the body had to be connected to the buildings in some way, and New York’s iconic symbols, and finally the slogan below the illustration. For the New York buildings, I had a ton of pictures that I took back in 2009. I use a specific technique to manage shadows and highlights – I began using it years ago for high-end retouching in skin or objects, then applied it to manipulations and illustration work. Create a new layer above your illustration. Go to Edit>Fill>50% Grey and click OK. Put this grey layer in Soft Light mode and reduce the Opacity to 30-50%. Take a soft brush, with Opacity 30-70%, and paint in those zones where you would like to increase the shadows or highlights using only grayscale tones. This technique is similar to Dodge and Burn, but allows more control over certain zones without affecting the main layer.”

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TECHNIQUES 15 ILLUSTRATION TIPS & TRICKS

3. PAINT YOUR ILLUSTRATION ANDREA FEMERSTRAND

www.noukah.blogspot.co.uk Concept artist and illustrator Andrea Femerstrand regularly contributes illustrations to short stories aimed at younger readers. This piece was created for a short story in Swedish kids and teen magazine KP (KamratPosten): “There’s always a section where young readers’ stories are published. Usually, they’re around 10 to 14 years old. I use Photoshop for drawing and painting and do all my work from scratch, the old fashioned way. Layers, custom brushes and adjustment layers make my work much faster and more efficient. I don’t have many secrets; mostly, I just paint.” ■ Line drawing I always start out with a rough sketch or line drawing. After that, I paint a rough colour scheme to decide upon colours and overall lighting. This illustration had to cover a whole spread, with a lot of empty space so that the text could be added on top of it.

© Andrea Femerstrand

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www.markverhaagen.com Tasked with creating 36 robot playing cards for kids magazine Bonbeck, Mark Verhaagen, the brain behind the Zoobles toy line, had to build in originality and then deliver uniformity. “The challenge here,” says Mark, “was to create 36 different robots, each of them looking interesting. I started sketching a lot of robots, focusing on shape and character, bold versus fragile, round versus square shapes, etc. I had to think about how the robots would move and do things, which also helped determine their looks. I tried to keep things simple, as the final illustrations wouldn’t be that big. All the robots and card designs were made in Illustrator using fairly basic shapes and shading.” Mark then turned to Photoshop for the final touches. To save time and to make sure each card looked the same, he recorded Actions to use as part of his workflow. “I primarily used Photoshop for adding texture and a glow effect around the robots,” he explains. “As I was working with 36 different files, I saved a lot of time by using Actions for these things. I also used an automate batch Action to save all the files into formats.” The cards were featured in Bonbek magazine, where kids could cut out the different cards to play with. Later, an actual card game was produced too.”

■ Add form and shading I start fleshing out the painting, working a lot with form and shading. I create a separate layer on top of everything to serve as my ‘light’ in the piece. Separating the regular layers from the light is extremely helpful, since you can work on one thing at a time.

© Mark Verhaagen

■ Block colours When I’m satisfied, I move back to the line drawing, lower the opacity and create new layers underneath it, and then start blocking everything in with clean, solid colours. I lock the transparency for each layer and when I’m done with that, it’s time to paint.

4. MAKE USE OF ACTIONS MARK VERHAAGEN

■ Simple silhouettes I started with a blank canvas in Photoshop and created simple silhouettes for the robots, working with big shapes first and details last. It was important at this stage to work with speed and boldness because of the short time I had to create.

■ Limit the palette With the basic silhouettes in place, I picked a limited colour palette; one colour for shadows, one colour for the highlights. Limiting my colour palette up front helps me focus on stronger designs and compositions.

■ Direct the imagination It’s important for me to add only as much detail as is needed to point the viewer’s imagination in the right direction. Too much detail keeps the viewer’s imagination from engaging with the piece, which is the opposite of my goal.

5. WORK QUICKLY WITH A TABLET BRIAN MILLER

■ Wear and tear Once my silhouettes and colours were established, I moved on to detailing the piece. This was actually a fairly quick process that just involved me placing enough specific details on the robot to suggest overall wear and tear.

■ Keep it simple I use a limited number of brushes in Photoshop to keep my approach as simple as possible. This allows me to focus on the strength of the drawing and design, not the tools.

© Brian Miller

www.orlincultureshop.com Artist, illustrator and owner of The Orlin Culture Shop Brian Miller created Totes Adorbots, a two-hour style exploration in response to a call for ‘cute vintage robots’, for a potential picture book. “I worked from start to finish in Photoshop CS6 using my Wacom Cintiq,” he tells us. “I use the Lasso tool to quickly create sharp edges where I need them. However, it’s the years of study, practice and exploration that are most vital, no matter what tool or medium you’re using.”

■ Mixed-media Though I often sketch with traditional materials, I love the challenge of trying to create pieces in Photoshop that blur the lines between traditional and digital mediums.

031

TECHNIQUES 15 ILLUSTRATION TIPS & TRICKS

6. LOCK TRANSPARENT PIXELS MARK VERHAAGEN

www.markverhaagen.com When faced with a brief to create an image out of a sound, Mark Verhaagen turned the project into a vintage science illustration. Audio designer David Kamp (davidkamp.de) came up with the Sound Creatures project in which he first created imaginary creature sounds. He then sent these audio files to selected illustrators, including Mark, who used them as inspiration to create images of fictional animals. The illustrations and corresponding sounds can be seen on www.sound-creatures.com. “The audio file that I got featured some sort of sad trumpet sound, so a trumpet-like nose was my starting point for the look of the animal”, he says. Once he’d created the main shapes of the animals and plants in Illustrator, Mark exported his various objects to Photoshop. “I added shading using the Airbrush tool and then locked transparent pixels in the Layers palette so I could easily paint within the shape of an object. Drawing the birds’ feathers was a bit more tricky, but as soon as you have one feather in a particular shape, you can re-use it. Use the Free Transform, Skew and Warp tools to make each feather look different to the last, and draw some extra detail here and there to diversify them further. When the illustration was ready I added some textures so it would have a nice, old look.”

© Mark Verhaagen

A trumpet-like nose was my starting point for the animal’s look

www.tomskipolanski.com In order to create eye-catching packaging for a new vegan brand started by a friend of theirs, Ila and Luke of Tomski & Polanski envisioned a vintage feel: “We started with classic floral patterns and then changed the flowers for cupcakes and cocoa, before adding quality typography. We used Photoshop to draw in the details of patterns, to complete the composition and for the final colouring and post-production, and used a lot of custom brushes and a variety of preset Actions and filters. Since we use a lot of textures we often add Smart Object layers, which saves us a lot of work.”

032

© Tomski and Polanski

7. USE SMART OBJECTS TOMSKI AND POLANSKI

8. REFINE YOUR COLOUR PALETTE STEVE SIMPSON

www.stevesimpson.com Steve Simpson was given a brief to create packaging for a frozen yoghurt start-up that required a loud message to kids declaring its contents yummy while also telling parents it was healthy: “To do this, I decided to create kid-friendly, energetic, cartoon-ish characters but make the fruit more realistic. “I was brought into the project by Dublin design agency IDEA,” Steve tells us. “I was trusted to create the look and feel for the project while the agency looked after the client liaison and production. After scanning my pencil sketch and setting up the size, colour mode and resolution of the artwork – usually at least twice the size that’s needed – I copied the sketch to a new layer, reduced the Opacity and Multiply’d the layer. This allowed me to trace the artwork onto multiple layers beneath it. Once I had the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, head, jumper, etc on separate layers I looked at tweaking and balancing the colours.” Steve also has some advice on colour: “Try to pick a limited palette of colours before you start. I put mine in a small swatch somewhere in the image as a reminder while I’m working on it. I then swap the colours around between elements until I’m happy with the balance. Don’t be afraid to experiment – grass isn’t always green and cows can be blue.”

■ Rough sketches All my work starts with pencil sketches – lots and lots of them. Over a couple of days my extremely rough ideas are moulded into something more solid and presentable. Usually, I’ll present my rough sketches, but with this project I wanted to take them a little further.

■ Label Top Each of the Chilly Moo characters was adapted so that it would fit the different areas of the packaging, such as the lid label.

■ Defined colour palette I coloured the sketches to show how the characters could represent different flavours through the use of colour, and how that colour would come together as a palette.

■ Final product The three flavours of Chilly Moo yoghurt – Strawberry, Banana Strawberry and Mixed Berry – are easily identifiable by their completely distinct but also complementary colour palettes.

© Steve Simpson

9. UTILISE COLOR OVERLAY MAX GREGOR

© Max Gregor

10. SKETCH WITH WACOM WANCHANA INTRASOMBAT

www.kun-victorior.com Wanchana Intrasombat, aka Vic, created a series of character designs for a project entitled Life. One is a mischievous boy scout on a trip with his classmates: “My paintings and illustrations are all done with Photoshop and a Wacom Intuos. It’s the main tool I use and I just used the normal Brush here. I also use the standard brush to sketch, and sometimes create my own brushes for projects. For me, the Brush is Photoshop’s most important tool; I use it for all my work as though it was a traditional tool. It’s similar to using real pencils and brushes.”

© Syd Brak

© Wanchana Intrasombat

www.maxgregor.com

Max Gregor’s fashion illustrations are a harmonious mix of traditional sketches and digital finishes: “Here, I started with drawings of the different elements of the model’s outfit: her body drawn in pencil, an ink drawing of her shawl and a few brush patterns drawn in blue gauche. I then scanned all the images and cleaned them with Levels, then used the Eraser to remove messy lines and dust left from the scan. A Color Overlay was key to this image as it allowed me to add a flat graphic feel and still maintain the loose organic detail of the brush stroke.”

11. DELVE INTO FILTERS SYD BRAK

www.sydbrak.co.uk For this delicious array of fruit, Syd Brak reached for the Filter menu: “The idea was to illustrate a product’s ingredients in a clean, healthy and appetising way. I created rough images then enriched the colours to an attractive and appetising level while retaining a believable realism. It was important to ensure the light source was constant on every object, with an enhanced gloss to emphasise the liquidity and create a sunny feel. I rely fairly heavily on the subtleties of the Filter dialog to achieve a realistic but painter-like quality, and avoid a plastic feel.”

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TECHNIQUES 15 ILLUSTRATION TIPS & TRICKS

12. ADD NOISE VINCENTE GARCIA MORILLO

© Vincente Garcia Morillo/Converse

www.vicentegarciamorillo.com Vicente Garcia Morillo worked on Converse’s Pro Leather campaign: “I had to present a graphic interpretation of the Converse logo based on concepts relating to urban street culture. Here, I represented basketball. Once I got the concept, I did sketches of the composition on paper for the client. After the concept was approved I started to develop the digital phase. I created all the vector elements in Adobe Illustrator and then imported these into Photoshop. Here I applied the Noise filter, which helps to provide a uniform aspect and give the artwork some vibration.”

14. ILLUSTRATE IN 3D SASHA VINOGRADOVA

www.behance.net/MelaMel Working to create four characters in a detailed environment under the heading of Mercenaries, Sasha Vinogradova choose a funny and quirky style: “The first step was character design and deciding how they would look. Next I made a rough sketch of compositions, colours and lights and then created my scene and 3D models in 3DS Max and ZBrush. I set up lights and materials in a 3D scene then rendered my image. After that I added details like eyes, grass and hair, and also some postproduction edits like air perspective and colour/contrast correction. I created all the sketches and textures for elements such as the scarf in Photoshop. I also added some details in postproduction. When you create an image, try to keep the final result as clear as you can in your mind and never ignore composition. I love to add details, but if you start adding them too soon without keeping the entire image in mind then you risk losing the integrity of your image. Finding your favourite artists and researching their work is a great way to improve your own.”

■ Work in lead I create the base of my illustrations using 5H to 8B pencils. This achieves a fantastic tonal range, adding the depth and textures that clients request.

■ Clean up For the retouching stage I use tools such as the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush to remove unwanted imperfections caused by the traditional stage.

©M

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■ Pen Pressure I tend to use a hard round brush with Pen Pressure set to Add Details and like to add softened tonal areas, as seen in the waves.

13. PRESERVE YOUR TRADITIONAL FEEL MITCHELL NELSON

© Sasha Vinogradova

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■ Add colour I add base colours using a Selective Color adjustment, altering the White, Neutral and Black channels. I create these colour layers until I achieve the desired look.

www.behance.net/mitchellnelson Mitchell Nelson was asked by California-based publisher Devious Publications to create a quirky and unique logo, which had to tell a story reflecting classical and vintage qualities: “I drew the illustration with pencils and then scanned this into Photoshop for postproduction and retouching. Subtlety is the key; I try to remember why I start with pencil in the first place and enhance its qualities rather than destroy them. However, if you are after a highly digital piece but still mix with traditional media, strong contrasts of the two can give contemporary looks.”

15. COLOUR WITH COLOR OVERLAY YANA BEYLINSON www.liquidpixelstudio.net

Yana Beylinson, principal of Liquid Pixel Studios, took the vision of a family-owned business and turned it into packaging for their range: “Casacao is a family-owned producer of organic cocoa beans, nibs and powder. The farm is located in the Dominican Republic, with its headquarters in New York. The initial brief had multiple references to the organic nature of the business and admiration of the beauty and health benefits of cacao plants. Photoshop was a cornerstone of the process, as it is for all my illustration and pattern work. After the drawing is scanned in, the entire process of rendering, separating the elements and colouring is done in Photoshop. The pattern is also created in Photoshop, with careful attention paid to detail and the placement of elements. Each element, such as the outline or silhouette of a bean, is cleaned and placed in a separate layer. One simple plant illustration can use up to 10 layers. I use the Color Overlay (in the Layer Style menu) technique to colour each layer; it’s the most time-effective and easy-to-change method. For patterns, I duplicate each plant, create a layer group for each, then try different positions. The resulting files are very large so I make flattened TIFFs for production.” ■ Pencil drawing The lovely shapes of cocoa branches and beans was a starting point. It was suggested to create a line drawing that depicts a branch. A series of pencil drafts was created before a perfect depiction was selected and rendered in pen and ink.

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© Yana Beylinson

■ Logo application The next step was the typography and logo design. Several versions were suggested and a seal option was selected. Several variations and colourings were then presented.

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■ Package label An intricate pattern based on the cacao branch illustration was decided upon. Again, several versions and colour options were shown in order to select the strongest version.

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TECHNIQUES DIGITAL COVER ART

© Provider

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DIGITAL COVER ART WE DISCOVER HOW MODES OF DESIGN ARE CHANGING IN REACTION TO THE DIGITAL AGE AND EXPLORE EXACTLY WHICH ASPECTS MAKE THE MOST POPULAR ALBUM COVERS

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lbum artwork has been under the influence of iconic designers for decades, perpetually inspiring generation after generation of artists. Producers use imagery as a means to maximise the appeal of commercial brands, but the work created is more than just a marketing tool. Many people very much revere album artwork as an expression of artistic intent – certainly this is an opinion shared by all the artists in our latest feature. Here we take an in-depth look at the production of artwork for that album cover space, hearing directly from the artists that make it. Let’s start from the very top.

IS THE FORMAT STILL IMPORTANT? CD booklets and covers tend to be around 4.75 x 4.75 inches precisely, having recently moved away from the 12-inch models. Many believe that compact sizes have deterred from more expressive styles, but digital artists are doing things their own way. This creative redux includes expressive CD packaging that extends branding into themed websites. Design has broken from the confines of a rectilinear space. These forages into web have had a distinct effect on presented styles. A specific example is the work produced by graphic designer Jorge El Soto (www.jorgeelsoto.com) for international DJ Jorge Prida (www. jorgeprida.com). “I thought it would be best to have a simple and attractive image, which wouldn’t include any other element than the background and typography. This made it adaptable to different media specs, without losing its visual power.”

However, the print space is not wholly forgotten and lavish styles are still being produced. Panel foldouts are being utilised as a continued canvas space. Here artists produce complementary visuals and material from the album artwork to create a completely new design.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TYPE Typography is another complementary visual that helps to supplement artwork and promote a music brand. In many instances the typeface is influenced by the imagery. This was the case for communication designer Kittaya Treseangrat (http://cargocollective.com/ kittayatreseangrat) and she uses her work for experimental band Black Moth Super Rainbow (http://blackmothsuperrainbow.com) as a prime example. The condition of the typeface was clearly dictated by this project’s album artwork. “The packaging was colourful and loud, so I wanted the type to appear conservative by contrast,” Treseangrat explains. “In order to make it conspicuous, I enclosed the text within an area of negative space, increasing its legibility.” With the increase in digital formats, sharing work on iPods and other portable media players, it’s become extremely important to make sure type is legible at thumbnail sizes. However, some artists believe this isn’t always such a big hang up for print projects. Freelance illustrator Hani Abusamra (www.behance.net/haniabusamra) tells us: “Anything goes, so long as it’s hitting the brief and the client is happy. Album covers are a rare kind of project where the designer gets to truly flex their artistic muscle, without worrying too much about the kinds of

MEET THE EXPERTS

HANI ABUSAMRA WWW.BEHANCE.NET/ HANIABUSAMRA

GREG DAVIES

WWW.GREGDAVIES.CO.ZA

JORGE EL SOTO

WWW.JORGEELSOTO.COM

LUKE CHOICE

WWW.VELVETSPECTRUM.COM

MATEUSZ SYPIEN WWW.BEHANCE.NET/ DIGIMENTAL

KITTAYA TRESEANGRAT

HTTP://CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/ KITTAYATRESEANGRAT

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one label can be a challenge,” explains Choice. “It’s important to make sure that the logo complements the differing directions. The Annual compilation series is typically based around a predominant logo in the centre, with the type treatment integrated in a unique way with each release.”

However, once core design values are relayed, there will be times when artists are allowed to simply operate within the boundaries of their own styles. “Usually the art director or manager will share their initial thoughts and ideas, then stay away,” reveals art director and digital designer Credit: Jonathan Zawada, Mark Weaver, and Cory Sever © Kittaya Treseangrat

restraints you would usually encounter on other briefs, such as legibility and conforming to a brand’s typographic guidelines.“ El Soto feels this could be more a condition of working with indie projects, than commercial work. He explains: “Mainstream projects usually involve more people and it gets complicated at times. There are managers, labels and external image consultants all wanting to give their own view.” He explains. He then refers back to his work for international DJ Jorge Prida. “Being an indie production, there were many creative liberties when producing this design. Maintaining a close relationship with the music artist made it easier to preserve the particular Eighties theme.”

CONFORM TO CORPORATE ID Going commercial certainly means that we not only have to work within the constraints of the art director’s wishes, but are also bound to an existing corporate identity at frequent times. This was certainly the case for graphic artist Luke Choice (www.velvetspectrum.com), with his work for The Ministry of Sound – The Annual 2012 project. As a brand, The Ministry of Sound places a lot of importance on logo integration within its album covers. “Having an eclectic range of genres under

PULLOUT EXAMPLE This psychedelic design by Kittaya Treseangrat is instantly arresting. It lends a perfect visual complement to the exciting musical experience that is the Black Moth Super Rainbow’s kaleidoscopic sound

TRIP WEST, JOURNEY ON Designer Hani Abusamra tried to use a photographic composition to create an illustration, inspired by perplexing scientific diagrams, to communicate the concept of time passing

© Hani Abusamra Design

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PIECING THE IMAGE The Polygonal Lasso tool was used to cut out the images and retain a hand-made feel. Once complete, the composition was pieced together in Illustrator

Build a music Brand

Graphic desiGner JorGe el soto explores how to successfully pitch album artwork Jorge El Soto (www.jorgeelsoto.com) tracked this project down personally. “In the winter of 2012, DJ Jorge Prida released his first EP debut with Planet Acetate and obtained international popularity,” he explains. El Soto liked what he saw and heard, so decided to contact Prida and enquire about working on his visual identity. “I pitched him a series of proposals that I thought matched his style of producing,” El Soto reveals. “At the end he loved the concept and decided to use it.”

adjusting colours The original colour of the background in both booklets was changed with Hue/Saturation layers Build identity Branding this album began by creating a logotype. Its concept was influenced by retro references from the Eighties. El Soto considered the visual imagery being used by Prida’s competitors and decided to create a form that had a futurist style. This fresh approach corresponded with the type of music that Prida produces.

stylise type There was no existing font that matched the design El Soto had produced, so it was decided to create this example exclusively from scratch. This calligraphy was modified inside of Photoshop. It was built in layers, then treated with a metallic effect, which was created by applying gradient styles and manual lighting.

develop the Brand It was decided that a nebula would be incorporated into image, as this complemented the futurist theme. The image was also modified inside Photoshop. In-keeping with the gradient colours in the logo, a cyan-to-magenta Gradient Overlay layer style was applied to the nebula.

alBum cover effects A nebula image was applied to with the same gradient effects and used throughout the work. However, to avoid monotony the Distort>Wave filter was applied. This created movement and combined a contemporary yet psychedelic styling, which conforms well to the music.

drawing shapes The Pen and Polygon tools were used to draw all the basic shape and line adjustments

Mainstream projects usually involve more people … There are managers, labels and external image consultants

Jorge El Soto, www.jorgeelsoto.com

© Jorge prida

extending the Brand weBsite El Soto pulled together many of the elements built for the brand to create the official website. This followed the same style principles, being modest yet vibrant. A portal identity that matches the album is great publicity, as it enables visiting fans to identify instantly with the brand that is Jorge Prida.

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Mateusz Sypien (www.behance.net/digimental). “The reason why we’ve been hired is because we present a unique style that’s in-keeping with what a client wants to achieve.”

STAY IN TUNE In almost all cases, the music itself becomes as essential as any brief or direction, with the music and the art fulfilling one another. Music inspires artists as creators, letting them feel and look for ideas for visual elements that appear in projects. This was certainly the case for graphic designer Greg Davies (www.gregdavies.co.za) when working on the Lacrimosa EP cover artwork for Durban band Provider (www.facebook.com/providermusic). Davies admits to being lucky that the lyrics had such a rich narrative and meaning. “They were written about the vocalist’s grandparents – in particular the period after one of the couple had passed and the loneliness that followed,” he explains. “I wanted the artwork to link directly to the feeling of age and loss, by using an image of a withered apple. This kept nagging at me, so I explored this direction.” But which aspect inspires the album cover the most – the commercial singles or the entire track list? Visually summarising the first seems far easier to accomplish. However, Abusamra deters us from this way of thinking, saying: “If I’ve done my job correctly then the work should be a perfect visual representation of an entire album. I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to focus on certain tracks to interpret visuals. The goal should always be to have a final piece that seems as though it was recorded and designed simultaneously. Each aspect is mutually important, so focusing on one thing more than another is simply a bad idea.” Essentially, a piece of album artwork should at least reflect an artist’s profile, if it doesn’t personify the entire album. That’s why it’s recommended by all our artists to listen to the music and connect with it during the creative process. Only then will you create something inspiring that fulfils the music artist’s and their audience’s requirements.

With so many styles at play, it’s almost hopeless to stick with one when starting out. Some disagree, however, finding experimentation useful to the quality of their portfolio, Luke Choice concurs: “Coming from a commercial graphic design background and then pushing the illustration side of my work enabled me to be more versatile and execute a wider variety of styles – instead of focusing on a unique aesthetic.”

PHOTOSHOP PRODUCTION Photoshop has enabled all our artists to evolve their styles, as it works on so many levels to improve workflow. The program makes the process of

conceptualising easier than traditional media, especially with collage-based design seen in Kittaya Treseangrat’s Black Moth Super Rainbow work. “I was able to manipulate the elements without the worry of glue drying or cutting something out the wrong way,” she reveals. “Layer masks served me better than any pair of scissors.” Manipulating images and creating elaborate special effects also becomes far more advantageous when you’re working inside Photoshop. “You can certainly work with other programs and accomplish similar types of effects, but only through a more elaborate process, without getting as stunning results,” warns El Soto.

PHOTOMANIPULATION COVER STYLES

GREG DAVIES (WWW.GREGDAVIES.CO.ZA) REVEALS HOW HE USES PHOTOSHOP CS6 FILTERS TO CREATE THE MIXED-MEDIA EFFECTS, APPLIED TO THE ‘LACRIMOSA’ ALBUM COVER, FROM DURBAN BAND PROVIDER

QUICK MOCKUP After scouring Shutterstock, searching for photos of old men and withered apples, the Background Eraser tool was quickly applied to test the selected images – seeing if they worked when combined. Once we decided what looked best, images were deep etched and Content-Aware Fill was applied, expanding the image to the size of the cover.

BASIC ADJUSTMENTS It became necessary to match lighting across all the different stock images. This was done using Curves, Hue/Saturation and Shadows/Highlights adjustments. Contrast was boosted by applying Gradient Overlay to all layers. A grunge texture was applied and simple airbrushing accentuated the shadows and contour.

FONT TYPES Multiple iterations of cover type were created. These evolved from large bold font styles over and behind the image, into subtle font styles you see in the final artwork. The script font of the Provider logo was created using handwriting found in a letter, written by the vocalist’s grandfather – who is also the inspiration for the music’s lyrics.

OIL PAINT FILTER Filters don’t usually factor into my work, apart from the occasional bit of Blur or Liquify. However, it was interesting to see how the latest CS6 Oil Paint filter worked, so I applied it to this project. Here smaller brushstrokes and less Stylization settings meant a cleaner image. Image saturation was tweaked to accentuate the oil paint feel.

WAYS TO APPROACH CLIENTS However, trying to quantify what defines an inspiring piece of album art becomes difficult. There are no popular styles per se, as there are so many bands with a litany of music releases throughout all genres. However, when a band has a popular-selling album, you’ll see that a lot of other bands want a design in a similar style. This attitude towards design can mean having to approach bands directly, if the hunt for commissions become futile. “Clients generally contact me from seeing my website or Béhance,” reveals Davies. Participating in art communities that promote music-related design is also a good idea. Here you can apply search tags to designs, so they appear in the correct collection for the right sort of viewer.

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Filters don’t usually factor into my work, apart from the occasional bit of Blur or Liquify. However, it was interesting to see how the latest CS6 Oil Paint filter worked Greg Davies, www.gregdavies.co.za

© Provider

TECHNIQUES DIGITAL COVER ART

Time spent on colour work has also been slashed in half thanks mostly to Photoshop. This is an advantage that Luke Choice is extremely thankful for. Referring to his work on the Ministry of Sound – The Annual 2012 once again, he elaborates: “With this particular album cover, I was able to render off multiple colour variations for the client to choose from without any hassle. Along with the album artwork, there is typically a number of supporting materials – such as tour packages, video releases and adverts – that can easily be reappropriated into visual assets using Photoshop.”

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION The recent digital revolution has been allencompassing, so it’s been proven that album artwork, from a commercial stance, has become much more than a print medium. Web branding is now at the fore, as most sales are now driven online at e-shops such as iTunes and Beatport. This is something that is being wholly embraced by digital designers, and for good reason. Many music artists are now distributing work independently online to save money on production costs. This is achieved by avoiding long and expensive creative

Along with the album artwork, there is typically a number of supporting materials… that can easily be reappropriated into visual assets using Photoshop Luke Choice, www.velvetspectrum.com

processes, replacing them with more immediate digital development. In practical terms, this means there is almost zero disruption to an artist’s digital workflow, enabling greater flexibility. This shows a clear evolution still continues to inspire generation after generation of artists. Coming full circle, it also answers our initial question: is format still important? The answer is a resounding ‘no’. Creativity and inspiration are no less stifled when transferring from compact to digital formats, as was the case in the jump from vinyl LP to compact. Opportunities are still rife within the album art industry, where artwork remains more than just a marketing tool. No, it’s much more. It has become a direct reaction to an ever-changing digital culture and still continues to be an expression of artistic intent that’s inspiring all album cover artists to create stunning design.

FROM 3D TO 2D

TYPOGRAPHER LUKE CHOICE SHOWS HOW HE EDITED 3D ASSETS IN PHOTOSHOP TO PRODUCE ‘THE ANNUAL 2012’ ALBUM ARTWORK, FOR MINISTRY OF SOUND AUSTRALIA PITCHED CONCEPT Erol Salcinovic (www.erolsalcinovic.com) supplied the original vectors in an Illustrator file, which were gradually taken apart and then imported into CINEMA 4D. Objects were manoeuvred into place to reproduce the original composition. Variations of coloured materials, reflections and shadows were then experimented with inside this 3D software, until the client was happy with the final render.

COLOUR EDIT IN PHOTOSHOP To make altering the coloured materials from C4D easier, try rendering them out individually. Applying a Gradient Map to the logotype makes it far simpler to adjust tones and produce multiple colour options. This avoids the distortion of colours that can come from using the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

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KILL THE NOISE “KILL, KILL, KILL”

MATEUSZ SYPIEN, WWW.BEHANCE.NET/DIGIMENTAL

MATCHING THE LIGHTING A variety of blending modes and opacity values were added on all-light layers to set the correct mood

© Digimental Studio/Kill The Noise (OWSLA)

KILL THE NOISE “KILL, KILL, KILL” Try to experiment, develop the unknown and set your own signature style. What drives new clients into your portfolio is nothing else than originality and quality in your work

FINAL LAYOUT Rendering out the background from C4D as a matte makes it easier to target the designated areas for Pantone assignment. Background elements were pieced together in Photoshop to make sure that all colour corrections were consistent. These were then placed into the InDesign file to support the label copy, track listing and album credits.

© Ministry of Sound Australia

RENDER LIGHTING This is the straightforward render in C4D. The brightness of the lighting and materials was pulled back intentionally, so colour corrections were much easier to manipulate once the image was exported to Photoshop. It’s key to make sure the render doesn’t come out looking bleached, as you’ll lose the wider range of depth within the different elements.

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ABSTRACT GRAPHICS TECHNIQUES

DIGITAL COVER ART

ABSTRACT GRAPHICS

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LEARN THE SKILLS TO REPLICATE A PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLAGE WITH MULTIPLE LAYERS AND FILTERS

he purpose of this process is to produce artwork for a vinyl album cover sleeve and then to present the work in a photographic style that can be used for presentation purposes when pitching for this area of work. By using Photoshop for this form of collage work and illustration, it’s all about being in control of your layers, making tiny adjustments to colour and shadow and then using the scaling, perspective and distorting tools for the final presentation image. This work is inspired by the recent vinyl revival that has seen the emergence of campaigns for this

format to be resurrected. This has occurred not only for the sound quality the product was known for but also the plethora of designs, illustrations, collages and graphics that the classic album cover gave us from as far back as the Fifties. In some respects, the main source of inspiration for this tutorial comes from the work of Peter Saville and his album sleeve designs for Factory Records, most notably for Joy Division and New Order. The aim here is to help you create your own album artwork in a style that is a nod to this style, where simple graphic elements are mixed together with photographic collage.

LAYER ON THE FOUNDATIONS

IMPORT THE MAIN BASE IMAGERY FOR YOUR COMPOSITION

OUR EXPERT NEIL STEVENS

www.crayonfire.co.uk Stevens is a one-man studio working from St Albans, UK. With a background in design he made the transition to illustration by creating prints, which he sells online, editorial illustrations and work for the advertising industry.

@Neil_A_Stevens

SOURCE FILES

All the images and brushes used to create this image, including the model, photo stock, textures and rendered images, are supplied. Premade PSD files are also included.

WORK IN PROGRESS

LAYERING THE SLEEVE

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CREATE YOUR FILE TO SPEC

First you want to create a decent-sized Photoshop document that will act as the square format for your album cover. Set up a new file at 270 x 270 mm and then bring in the ‘PATTERN_BG’ file onto a new layer, position it neatly and then name the layer Pattern BG.

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ADJUST COLOURS

Progress 1: Adjust the colours

At the moment, our new pattern layer is rather bright. We want to mute these colours somewhat, so apply a Hue & Saturation adjustment and go through each of the colours within the dialog’s drop-down menu, changing them until they are more muted reds, greys and blues.

USE MORE SHADING

Now the pattern has a colour palette you’re happy with, insert the image file ‘MODEL’ as a new layer above the pattern. Create another new layer below this headshot and then use a brush with a 360-pixel Diameter, an Opacity of 85% and a dark grey tone. Now simply paint behind and around the edge of the head, then set the layer to the Multiply blend mode.

Progress 2: Tones and shading

Progress 3: Add final elements

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Techniques abstract graphics

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Tweak The skin Tone

We now want to add a subtler tone to the skin colour than the existing dark grey. Grab the Eyedropper tool and select one of the colours from the pattern background – a lighter, yellow-tinged grey is good. Add a new layer above the model, naming it Skin Tone, and use the Paint Bucket tool to fill it with the new colour, then apply the Overlay blend mode. You can then adjust the layer’s Opacity to bring out subtle differences.

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ConTour paTTern

Now we’ll bring a contour pattern to the face. Select the Pattern BG layer, copy and paste the whole layer above the face as a new layer and rename this Face Pattern. Increase the Scale by 20%, use the Overlay blend mode again and then decrease the Opacity of the layer to between 20-30%. Now go to Distort>Spherize, making the Amount 100%, and then use a soft Eraser to delete the pattern from areas on either side of the face we don’t want to see.

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inClude subTle deTail

To give the face even more detail we can add the ‘WAVES.ai’ Illustrator file, which will add tiny detailed lines to the skin. Place the file as a new layer above the Face Pattern layer, renaming it Waves. The lines may be too bright and dominant, so to tone them down a little simply decrease the layer Opacity. You could also experiment with other blend modes. Once again, use a large soft Eraser to delete the unwanted waved lines that surround the face.

quick tip When adding a shadow to an object, it’s always good to use a dark colour with your brush. By using the Multiply blend mode it adds a more harmonious feel to your shading. You can always decrease or increase the layer’s opacity for even more subtle changes.

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Colour-matCh your layers

We now want to give the image a more surreal feel by adding in the glasses. Within Illustrator, select the vector file of the patterned circles and add them to a new layer in your Photoshop document, renaming it Testcard Glasses. Now repeat the process in Step 2 to adjust the colour of the pattern to match that of your background pattern. For the shading below the glasses, repeat the techniques in Step 3.

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ediT The glasses furTher

To make sure that the glasses pattern isn’t too flat, simply use a soft Eraser with an Opacity of between 80-90% to delete the areas above the eyes of the model so they are just visible. Delete the white areas of the pattern, then add glare on a new layer with a soft white brush, set to 360 pixels in Diameter and 60% Opacity. Paint a small dab onto each lens that will add a subtle touch to the whole look of the face.

Add the finAl touches to your cover Artwork

SuBTlE AlTErATIoNS CAN BE MAdE To Your AlBuM CovEr’S lAYErS For A MorE HArMoNIouS ovErAll look

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Final elements oF a cover

In order to finish off the whole look and feel of the cover artwork, you can add the small detailed elements for that final touch. Open the Illustrator file ‘Elements.ai’, add the graphic red line and diagonals to the far left of the cover, the text and logo to the bottom-left, and be sure to place each element onto a separate layer for added flexibility. Once complete, you can now move on to adding the final colour adjustments. 001

001

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Adding noise to your layers is always a subtle way of including texture that isn’t too dominant with regards to the eye. You can always experiment with this filter, but here we have only used a 7-11% Noise for the background pattern. You can apply this to the flattened image at the end or to each layer individually, changing the percentage as you go.

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The edges of objects on a layer may look too sharp, so you can always either delete the edges with a high-opacity Eraser or even add a shadow above them with the Brush tool. For greater accuracy, you can select the negative space of an object with the Marquee tool, add a new layer above, invert the selection and then apply your subtle shading.

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It’s often good to take a step back, look at the whole picture and have a play around with various colour adjustments. Flatten the whole image and make subtle changes to the contrast or brightness. Have a look at tweaking the colour balance and even the exposure and Curves until you are happy with the overall balance of your artwork.

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TECHNIQUES ABSTRACT GRAPHICS

LAYER MANAGEMENT It really is important for you to name your layers when your artwork contains a lot of subtle shading across numerous objects. The more you build up your collage, the more detailed the stack of layers becomes. So if you name as you go with clear and relevant labels, it makes it so much easier in the long run. Alterations are always needed and you want to be able to find those individual layers easily in order to amend them, and more than anything it saves valuable time. You can group and link layers for even more flexibility and can always save the unflattened version before merging them all together.

PLACE ARTWORK IN SITU

NOW IS THE CHANCE TO PRESENT YOUR ARTWORK DIFFERENTLY, AT AN ANGLE AND WITH SUBTLE SHADING TECHNIQUES

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Now you can add your cover artwork to a larger image for presentation purposes, to show the work in situ. Select the whole flattened cover image and paste it into the larger image, named Blank Vinyl. Place this over the album cover, and transform your cover art with the Perspective option first and then the Distort option so that it matches with each corner of the blank cover below.

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ADD A CIRCULAR SELECTION

Go back to an unflattened version of your main cover art and select just the background pattern, then copy and paste this into the presentation image. With the circular selection tool, create a circle of the same diameter as the red centre circle on the record. Now reselect your pattern layer, copy and paste the new selection, delete the rest and you will now have the shape to place over the red centre circle. Place this over the top and delete the unwanted parts.

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BRIGHTEN THINGS UP

The image is almost complete. To add that final touch ready for presentation purposes, you can sharpen up the image a little. Make sure you flatten the image and experiment with the Hue, Saturation, Brightness and Contrast to alter the colour and tone for the final time. Make sure you don’t overdo this final part of the process, as by now it’s usually just a subtle change that can make all the difference.

12

SHADE BETWEEN OBJECTS

More photo-realism can be added by creating a rectangular selection next to the outer-right edge of the front cover and adding a new layer. Now use a soft brush – 360 pixels in Diameter, 80-90% Opacity and dark in colour – to add the shading to the inside of the opened album cover within your selected area. Apply the Multiply blend mode for more subtlety and the record should look nicely tucked within the opening of the album cover.

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LIGHT AND SURFACE SHADING

As we haven’t flattened the image yet, we can add a nice area of light to the front of the cover. Select the negative space around the cover artwork layer and invert the selection. Now add a new layer above this, then select a large soft white brush with an Opacity of 10% and a Diameter of 960. Brush over the front cover in the top-left corner and then play around with different blend modes or opacity values to create the glare you want.

PLAY IT YOUR WAY

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Image by Warner McGee & Tim Cooper

TECHNIQUES LIQUID PAINT EFFECTS

ORIGINAL TUTORIAL FILES USED For those interested in applying the exact stock images Pete has use, make sure you head over to dreamstime.com. Below are the image IDs for you to search for: //27702508 //14257226 //14257319 //15233790 //17285721

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PHOTOMANIPULATION

LIQUID PAINT EFFECTS

P

DISCOVER HOW TO MANIPULATE PAINT STOCK AND CREATE ENERGY USING LAYER MASKS, SELECTION AND TRANSFORMATION TOOLS

aint splash effects can be used in many ways. One that’s very popular is to replace clothing by using photo stock. That’s what we set out to achieve here, showing how we create our own photomanipulation of a model with paint splash fashion. Once finished we’ll have created enough depth and movement that our effects will look realistic. The Pen tool will be essential for selecting and cutting out our model. We’ll reveal how to retouch and mask her out, replacing her dress with paint alone. We also explain how the Transform tools can be used to directly paint layers and fit them in place.

Isolating and changing the colour and appearance of our paint stock layers will be easy when we start using the colour adjustment tools and further masking techniques. We use these so that our layers fit seamlessly together in our composition. We will also tackle different blend modes and show how these react with our image to create specific lighting effects. All in all, this is a fun tutorial that we can get very creative with. It does offer more than just entertainment, though, because we’ll discover core techniques that can then be easily be applied to any future photomanipulation projects.

OUR EXPERT PETE HARRISON

http://peteharrison.com Pete Harrison masterfully wields light and colour in many of his digital images. Here he obtains the same energy, but instead works with paint stock to create believable looks.

@pete_aeiko

PREPARING THE LAYOUT

HERE WE’LL USE SELECTION TECHNIQUES TO LAYER THE IMAGE

01

PREP OUR IMAGE

Open Photoshop and create a new image document, then open our starting stock photograph by dragging it into the new canvas. Transform it (Cmd/Ctrl+T) so that it fits nicely into our new canvas. Before we start adding any effects to the photo, we’ll need to cut the model out. Zoom in and use the Pen tool to do this.

02

WORK IN PROGRESS

FROM CLOTH TO PAINT

ISOLATE THE MODEL

We’ll use the Pen tool to isolate the model from the background. Pick a start point, where her hands meet her dress, and then begin drawing a path around her. The Opt/Alt key will help you to be more accurate with the path, and also when zooming in and out with the mouse.

Progress 1: Isolate the model

Progress 2: Bring in elements

03

CONTINUE TO CUT OUT

Don’t worry too much about the hair for now – just make a rough selection and we can fix this in the next step. We can be rough around the dress area too, as both these will be replaced with paint. Close the path, then Ctrl/right-click and choose the Make Selection option. Duplicate the model layer then activate Quick Mask.

Progress 3: Comp and blend

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TECHNIQUES LIQUID PAINT EFFECTS

04

BACKGROUND WORK

Having masked out the woman we can now work on the background. We’ll want to make this lighter, so create a new layer behind our masked model and fill it with a 50% grey. Apply Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All and apply a soft brush at 11% Flow to paint in some of the original background detail. Press X to switch between black and white brushes and alternate masked areas and effects. We’ll come back to the background a bit later once we’ve worked on the model some more. QUICK TIP When adding the Smudge tool to hair, use a combination of different sized brush strokes with different Flow amounts. Use different colours and parts of the hair for variation. Apply strokes outwards for spiky hair strands, and then curve these to modify the hair and tidy edges.

06

RETOUCH PHASE

Duplicate our masked model layer and hide the original. Create a new layer and merge that with the model layer (Cmd/Ctrl+E). Continue to fix our model’s hair using the Smudge tool and a small flat brush. Apply a Brightness/Contrast adjustment, setting Brightness at 10 and Contrast at 40. Duplicate this layer and hide it, so we have a backup if needed. Also use the Burn tool at 18% Exposure and the Dodge tool at 14% Exposure, both set to Midtones, to increase the contrast in certain areas.

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05

FIX THE MODEL

Click on the model layer and zoom in; we will start fixing up areas of the mask that don’t look right, especially around the hair. Select a black flat brush then start painting around the black areas of the hair and the parts that we want to hide from our model layer. Lower the brush’s Flow to 12%. If you make a mistake, hit X then paint areas back in with a white brush. Also fix areas around the outline that may have been missed during the initial Pen tool selection.

07

CHANGE COLOUR

Make a new black layer beneath our model. Choose Select>Color Range and click on a white part of the dress, setting Fuzziness to 200, then use the plus and minus pickers to select tones in the dress. With our selection active, hold Opt/Alt and use the Lasso to remove areas of the dress. Copy Merged then paste into a new layer. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment, activate Colorize then change Hue to a blue colour and increase Saturation. Rename this layer Dress, duplicate it and delete the black layer.

08

MORE DRESS WORK

With the duplicate active, select Layer> Layer Styles>Color Overlay. Make it blue. Move the original dress layer above this duplicate and set it to Overlay. This brings out the dress highlights. We can change the Color Overlay of the duplicate layer and the Hue/Saturation of the original dress to get the perfect natural look. Bring some of the white and light back in by setting a Reveal All layer mask on our dress copy layer, using a black soft brush set at 20% Flow to mask into areas we want highlighted.

09 APPLY PAINT SPLASHES BUILD EFFECTS USING STOCK AND BASIC ADJUSTMENTS

PASTE IN PAINT LAYERS Copy and paste the paint layer into our main image. Put it into a new folder called Paint, set at the top of our layer stack. Repeat this process with all the stock images, placing each onto the canvas. Solid colour backgrounds can be removed by using the Magic Wand tool to select them and then hitting X to delete.

ISOLATE STOCK IMAGES Open a paint stock image in Photoshop and choose Select> Color Range. Use the dropper tool to select a red colour, set Fuzziness at 200 and use the plus dropper to select a deeper red, so we get all the red tones. Pull Fuzziness back a bit, so the background in the preview is black again rather than grey.

CHANGE EXISTING COLOUR Arrange the layers that we’ve introduced over the top of the model’s dress, and then select one of them. Apply Image> Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. Make the selected paint splash blue to match the woman’s dress. This can just be a rough adjustment before merging the model with both dress layers.

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TECHNIQUES LIQUID PAINT EFFECTS

WORK WITH LIGHT

COMBINE BLEND MODES AND COLOUR ADJUSTMENTS TO CREATE DEPTH

10

ARRANGE LAYERS

Once you’ve brought in and processed all the paint splash layers, you will need to start arranging all of these in a way that makes each one seem to be a part of our model’s dress. For the ones placed higher up, near the torso, use light bluecoloured layers on top and dark blue layers beneath. Use the original model dress layer as a reference. Also erase parts of the dress that get in the way and sit behind our paint splat layers.

11

MORE PLAY WITH PAINT

Feel free to select and cut parts off the paint layers to make them fit. Also cut some off and add them to the top half of the model’s dress. Try and make the dress feel as though it ruffles by using different paint splats and hues. Apply a soft round black brush to attached layer masks and blend areas of the paint more realistically, and use Edit> Transform>Warp to enhance the flow of the dress. It’s all a matter of playing and seeing what we can create. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

12

CREATE DEPTH

Once we have established the final look of our paint layers we can begin to edit the existing lighting. Bring the highlights of the original paint back in and add darker blue tones to certain areas, producing greater contrast. Get one of the top paint layers and duplicate it, then set the copy to Overlay. Continue by adjusting the hue of the original layer to make it a deeper blue. This colouring method is a great way of producing depth. Repeat the process with the other paint layers. USE COLOUR RANGE This option comes in handy when isolating areas of colour. In simple cases we can just use the Magic Wand to select solid colours, but when working with paint images like those in this tutorial, or ones with existing lighting, Color Range becomes a must. Make the most of the black and white preview to see what you’ve selected, and use the plus and minus droppers to specify detailed areas. Once you’ve clicked OK, you can easily remove parts of the selection by holding down Opt/Alt or Shift and then applying the Lasso to add or remove active areas and match selected edges.

13

ALTER BRIGHTNESS

Some of the bottom layers of the dress need to be made darker, as they would naturally fall into shadow. To achieve the look we see here we repeat pretty much the same technique used in the previous step, but lower the brightness of the duplicate layer by decreasing the Lightness value in a Hue/Saturation adjustment. One trick is to duplicate a layer, apply the above settings and then add an inverted layer mask (Opt/Alt-click on ‘New layer mask’). Edit using this mask and a white soft brush to paint in areas of light.

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14

MANUAL EFFECTS

Now add and style paint stock to the floor using the same techniques. Then add more light to areas of paint using a soft white brush, so they blend better. Darken other areas by using the same brush, but with a deep blue colour and set to Overlay. Dodge and Burn to create more depth, and fix the lighting on the right side of the model. Add more paint to the top half of her dress and blend it with the bodice using previous techniques. After that, we’re finished.

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DIGITAL PAINTING

CHARACTER CONCEPTS

T

WORK WITH PERSPECTIVE, LIGHTING AND CONTRAST USING PAINTING TECHNIQUES

he process of creating a digital painting in Photoshop can be very complex, so in this tutorial you will learn how to control your workflow. We’ll guide you from your initial thought process to any techniques you will have to bear in mind before diving deeper into the different aspects of creating a strong, readable digital painting. This includes, perspective, lighting and contrast. The majority of your time here will be spent understanding the different steps, from the initial thumbnails to the final rendered painting. The tutorial is meant to be performed in Photoshop, for the sake of getting an efficient workflow by using some of its essential tools such as adjustments layers, blend modes and masks. The inspiration and idea for this specific painting comes from a long-lasting fascination for dinosaurs, and is a comical new take on the discussed evolution theory about T-rex’s way of hunting!

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TECHNIQUES CHARACTER CONCEPTS

OUR EXPERT TOMMY KINNERUP

www.tommykinnerup.com Tommy Kinnerup is a concept artist working with films, games and illustrations. He is known for his stylised character artwork skills, which have served him well over the past nine years of his career.

@pete_aeiko

WORK IN PROGRESS

FROM SKETCH TO FINISHED ARTWORK

Progress 1: Keep it rough

Progress 2: Make it readable

01

THUMBNAILS

The first step is to do some character exploration sketches, to get a better sense of the style and theme. In this case we want something stylised and cartoon-based with a comedy twist. As you do this, look up some references or write down some keywords to help you explore the direction to take. It is important to keep this step as simple as possible, so do yourself a favour and work at a small scale; create a new document and set the size to A4, then zoom out to 12.5%. Use a hard-edged brush.

03

02

SHAPE LANGUAGE

When we have finished sketching in some interesting thumbnail silhouettes that feel suitable for the style and theme, we can start exploring the shapes a bit further. Make the resolution higher on your chosen thumbnail design by going to Image> Image Size>Resolution and then begin exploring the personality, features and background of your character. Your thought process is the key at this point, so keep it loose and try to go with the flow of your character concepts.

THE GOOD IDEA!

Once you have fully explored the first two steps, you will hopefully find that you have some good ideas for what is to come next. Start by creating a new document and then set it to Width: 5000 pixels, Height: 2800 pixels and Resolution: 300 pixels/ inch. The technical approach from here can vary a lot, but in this tutorial we want to go straight in with colour. Pick a colour palette that you like and start by creating a two-coloured gradient layer reflecting sky and ground.

04 Progress 3: Render it out QUICK TIP To save time when you’re adjusting your steps, use Hue/Saturation or Color Balance for any colour adjustments, and Levels or Curves for the contrast adjustments. Layering with different blend modes can also be useful, and using layer masks for controlling the affected area is handy indeed.

058

SKETCH IT ALL OUT

When you start your painting you once again want to work on a small scale. Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, and make sure that you paint with a large brush in the beginning so that you force yourself to work with the overall shapes first. Set your chosen brush to 100% Opacity and Flow, and colour pick from your palette and your gradient layer until you can see all the elements of importance in your painting. Don’t be afraid of doing this roughly, as long as it follows your idea.

06

SHADOWS AND VOLUME

In order to define the individual shapes, it is crucial to understand the basic functions of light and shadow and the volume within. In this example we use shadows to create an interesting layer effect on the three dinosaurs in the foreground. The main function of this is to help us separate the characters from each other and also to clarify the volumes. 001 SHADOW

05

002 SEPARATION

003 TRANSITION

004 LOCAL COLOUR

005 HIGHLIGHT

LIGHT

An important decision to make that will affect the rest of your painting is the light. In this case we work with three light sources: a direct light coming from the sun located to the right; an indirect light coming from the illuminating blue sky; and finally, the bounce light that is caused by both the direct and indirect light. The choice of light directions will affect your composition and the overall readability of your painting, so try to think about which elements are the most important to highlight.

07

VALUE

Now it’s time to work into the contrast values a bit further. To make the painting more readable, we turn it into black and white only for the sake of checking the values. Open the Adjustments palette. Click the Hue/Saturation icon and, in the dialog that appears, pull the Saturation bar back to -100. Now you can always check your values by switching the adjustment layer on and off. We want to have the highest contrast value in the foreground, and the further we travel into the image then the lower this contrast gets.

Your thought process is the key at this point, so keep it loose and try to go with the flow of your character concepts

08

COLOURS IN LEVELS

To keep this painting colourful and playful, we want to have some more refined local colours. (‘Local colour’ means the colour of an element, such as a green leaf, that is not being affected by colour.) This is also a good way of clarifying the levels in the painting’s foreground, midground and background. A basic rule of thumb when it comes to environmental colours is to have the warmest colours closest and the coldest colours furthest back. So in this painting we want to apply the warmest colours to the characters in the foreground.

09

SHAPES IN SPACE

Making the shapes clearly readable in a detailed painting like this is a challenge in itself. In this case we don’t really have a clear dominant shape – it’s more a matter of achieving a symmetry in the painting that makes the intruder, the T-rex, mix in with the two plant-eating dinosaurs on either side. This means that we end up having a round repetitive shape that creates the line of action that we want. We also want the surrounding space and the environment to support the characters’ shape language in the best way possible.

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TECHNIQUES CHARACTER CONCEPTS

TECHNIQUES FOR CONCEPT ART

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SPEEDING UP THE WORKFLOW IN PHOTOSHOP

10

SHORTCUT FOR ADJUSTING COLOURS

For a more efficient adjustment of your colour work there are some helpful tools you can use in Photoshop to achieve what you are looking for. Head to the Adjustments and select Hue/ Saturation. This will bring up the options to adjust the Hue, Saturation and Lightness. In this case we want to increase the amount of red. Choose the dropdown menu named Master and select your Red channel for adjustment. This is personal preference at this stage so feel free to play until it is right.

13

For the same reason as when adjusting the colours, we want to have an easy way of adjusting the values of our painting. Go to the Adjustments window and select Levels. This will bring up the options of adjusting the image’s levels. In this case we want to reduce the amount of whites. Choose the middle icon, then pull the midtones to the right to add more black. Again, wait until the picture is updated before saving and hit Cmd/Ctrl+Z to undo any changes if they do not look right.

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14

LIQUIFY

Sometimes, you just don’t like a specific shape or area, or there’s curvature that feels wrong. A helpful tool to warp these into place is Liquify. Go to Filter>Liquify and select the Forward Warp tool. As for all of the mentioned tools, use them carefully. What you don’t want to end up having is stretched areas in your painting, so at this stage you should keep this to a minimum.

LAYERED MASKS

To control areas of affection for a certain layer, you can use layer masks. In this case we want to work with the previously added Levels layer, in order to decrease the amount of black furthest back in the painting. Select the Levels adjustment layer, then click on the layer’s white icon. Now you can start masking out the blacks by painting with a softedged brush set to black. The advantage of a layered mask is that you can always change where it should affect and how much it should affect by painting in black for hiding and in white for revealing.

15

BLEND MODES

A good way of trying out different colour variations in your painting is to start using the blend modes. Bear in mind that you need to be careful when using blend modes, as the result can become quite random if you don’t know what you are looking for. In this case we want to use the blend mode called Overlay, in order to increase the saturation in different places. Create a new layer in your Layer stack, then click Overlay in the menu at the top. Now you can start colour picking from your painting and paint saturated colours into the different areas.

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SHORTCUT FOR ADJUSTING VALUES

EVALUATION

An important thing to do after you have finished your painting is to thoroughly evaluate what you have created. Give your eyes some rest and go back to your painting with fresh, critical eyes, and try to ask yourself the questions: ‘How does it feel? Does it read as intended? Do the adjustment layers make the painting better?’ and so forth. Making artwork is a matter of trying things out and exploring all the time. There is no recipe to a perfect painting – it’s mostly hard work and a lot of small victories until you eventually master the piece. Good luck!

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TECHNIQUES ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPES

PHOTO EDITING

ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPES

I

CRAFT A DREAMY LANDSCAPE USING A SELECTION OF HIGHRES IMAGES AND CUSTOM BRUSHES

n this tutorial we are going to learn to seamlessly combine night-time photography with day-time photography in order to create a dream-like fantasy photo. We will be using Photoshop’s powerful techniques and tool presets, such as layer masks and styles, custom brushes and adjustments. Using layers and masks will enable us to work in a non-destructive manner, in turn giving us flexibility and more ways to edit the image without losing the original data. We also will create a brush preset from the base image to help match the elements together, and use one of Photoshop CS6’s new adjustment

layers – Color Lookup – to edit the overall contrast, lightness and different colours with a simple step. Finally, we will use the rule of thirds to help us. These are guidelines proposing that an image should be imagined as being divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines – like in noughts and crosses – and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. This technique creates more tension, energy and interest in a composition than simply centring the subject in the image.

CREATE A SIMPLE BACKGROUND

ADD ADJUSTMENT LAYERS TO BEGIN CLEANING THE BACKGROUND IMAGE

OUR EXPERT MIKKO LAGERSTEDT http://mikkolagerstedt.com

Mikko Lagerstedt is a fine art photographer hailing from Finland. He makes it his artistic mission to create atmospheric photography, and he continues to refine his artwork in Photoshop.

@MikkoLagerstedt

SOURCE FILES

If you load up the free CD then you will find all of the images necessary to follow this tutorial as well as some custom brushes created by Mikko Lagerstedt.

WORK IN PROGRESS

BUILDING THE DREAM

01

CLEAN THE BACKGROUND

Open ‘background.jpg’ and duplicate the background. Add a Curves adjustment to darken the image, then add a Hue/Saturation layer and set Saturation to 0. Use the Patch tool on the duplicate to remove grass. Add another layer and use the Clone Stamp, set to Current & Below with 20% Opacity and a big soft brush, to smooth the Patch’s transitions.

03

02

REMOVE THE PIER

Hide the Curves and Hue/Saturation layers. Create a Stamp Visible layer by hitting Cmd/Ctrl+ Opt/Alt+Shift+E. Use Cmd/Ctrl+T to Free Transform the layer and flip it horizontally. Add an inverted mask by Opt/Alt-clicking the ‘Add layer mask’ icon. Brush with soft white to reveal the background until we have a smooth transition and the pier is hidden.

Progress 1: Remove distractions

EXTRACT ELEMENTS

Select the background and then use the Rectangular Marquee to select the person and their reflection. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy that to a new layer and move it into a new group. Now select and cut the reflection, then use Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V to paste as a new layer. Create a path in the Paths menu and, with the Pen tool, draw a path around the person.

Progress 2: Brush clouds

Progress 3: Final adjustments

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TECHNIQUES ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPES

05

NEW DOCUMENT

Put the background layers together into a new group by using the shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+G. Set the group’s name to Background. Now group the person and their reflection together too and name that one Person. Save the file as ‘water.psd’. Create a new document by hitting Cmd/Ctrl+N and name it Dream. Apply Width: 235 mm and Height: 302 mm, with Resolution: 72. Set the Color Profile to Adobe RGB and Background Contents to Transparent, and then click OK to open the new canvas.

04

MASK

Select the path then Ctrl/right-click on it. Choose Make Selection, setting Feather Radius to 0,2 pixels. Add a mask to the person layer and invert it with Cmd/Ctrl+I. Select the reflection layer and add a layer mask to it. Start masking the reflection using a medium-sized standard black brush, with a Hardness of 60%, to hide the reflection. Once it’s completely hidden, hit Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert the mask and your reflection should now be visible. Use Free Transform to straighten the reflection and set the blend mode to Multiply.

06

PLACING THE ELEMENTS

Select the Water file by tabbing with Cmd/ Ctrl+Tab, then Ctrl/right-click on the Background group and select Duplicate Group. Set the Destination to Dream and click OK. Repeat the step with the Person group. We can now finally close the Water file. Now select the Crop tool with View: Rule of Thirds and create guides according to the lines, then press the Escape key. Select both of the groups and reposition them so that the person and the reflection are near the lower third.

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07

IMPORT NIGHT SKY

Open ‘stars.jpg’ and place it into the Background group. Add another group, named Sky. Create a new layer above the Stars layer and add a clipping mask by Opt/Alt-clicking between the layers. Use the Brush tool with Size: 540 px and Hardness: 0%, and sample a colour from the bottom of the Stars image – paint with 10% Opacity until the brightest stars are slightly visible in the bottom half of the Stars layer. Add a Curves layer with Input: 43 and Output: 117, and a clipping mask attached.

QUICK TIP By using one of the provided cloud/fog brush presets, or one of your own, with Opacity: 100% and Flow: 25% you can mask out certain areas to create more variations in the transition layer, and when you’re smoothing the edges use a big soft brush with 10% Opacity and 100% Flow.

08

ADD CLOUDS

Create a new layer. Grab the Brush and select one of the cloud/fog presets, giving it a relatively large size. Start brushing by first sampling the background fog layer with Opt/Alt. Brush with a Flow of 20% and resample the colours to create variation within the layer. Brush until you have covered the point where the Stars layer and the Background image collide. Use a layer mask to mask out if you have gone too far, and also to smooth the transition from the fog into the sky.

TRANSITION EFFECTS

USE LAYER STYLES TO HELP CREATE LIGHT EFFECTS

09

10

CLOUD TRANSITION ADJUSTMENTS

Import the cloud image and place it in the middle of the frame. Add a layer mask to it and start masking out with the cloud/fog brush preset. Use 100% Opacity and 25% Flow to start revealing the background with black, using the X key to switch between black and white to reveal and mask out. 002

001

Double-click on the cloud layer from inside the Layer palette to open up the Layer Style dialog.

11

001

002

Select Inner Glow, then set Opacity to 64%, Color to #ECFCFF, Elements Size to 111 px and Quality Range to 44%.

ADDING THE BOAT

Open the boat picture and import it to a new group. Name the group Boat. Resize the picture, lower the Opacity to 62% and use Free Transform to match its size with the underlying person. Copy the reflection to another layer by selecting it with a Lasso then using Cmd/Ctrl+X and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V. Now select the boat layer – create a new path around it and make a selection with the setting Feather Radius: 0,2 pixels. Add a layer mask to the layer and hit Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert it.

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003

003

Create a duplicate layer with Cmd/Ctrl+J. Disable the Layer Style and smooth the transition with a big soft black brush.

DETAIL ADJUSTMENTS

Select the boat reflection layer and give it a layer mask. Use a 50% Soft small-sized brush and paint in black onto the layer mask where the reflection is. Invert the mask with Cmd/Ctrl+I. Now select the Water brush that we just created. Brush with 40% black around the sides of the reflection layer to hide some of the boat’s reflection with ripples. Double-click the layer to open the Layer Style dialog. Adjust Underlying Layer from white to 204/255 by holding Opt/Alt and sliding the right-hand pointer to the left.

MAKE A CUSTOM BRUSH

On the background layer, select part of the pier’s reflection with the Polygonal Lasso. Copy it to the clipboard and make another document, naming it Water, then paste the reflection into it. Hit Cmd/ Ctrl+L to bring up a Levels adjustment and apply Input Levels: 91, 042 and 177. Duplicate the layer and flip it horizontally, then use a big soft Eraser to remove and smooth the left side of the new layer. Flatten the image and remove the colours with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U. Go to Edit>Define Brush Preset and name it Water.

Add a Color Lookup adjustment layer to balance the lightness of the image

13

BALANCING LIGHT

In the Background group, above the Sky and Water groups, add a Color Lookup adjustment layer to balance the lightness of the image. Select the FoggyNight.3DL preset from the 3DLUT menu and then set Layer Opacity to 64%. Use the Gradient tool on the layer mask with a grey colour to adjust the visibility of the effect. After that, select the person layer in the Person group and add a Curves adjustment to darken it, using a clipping mask to restrict the effect to just that layer. Make the same adjustments to the reflection layer.

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TECHNIQUES ATMOSPHERIC LANDSCAPES

FINAL ADJUSTMENTS

CREATE COLOUR CORRECTIONS WITH CURVES ADJUSTMENT LAYERS

14

COLOUR CORRECTIONS

Create a new group above all the others and name it Reflection & Colour. Add a new Curves adjustment layer and name it Colour. Select the Blue channel from the drop-down menu. Adjust the curve upwards slightly and then move to the Green channel and pull the middle down slightly, then do the same with the Red channel. Go back to RGB mode and pull the midtones down. Now use the Gradient tool with a grey colour on the mask so as to not affect the night sky too much.

15

REFLECTION

Create a Stamp Visible layer with Cmd/ Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to Free Transform. Flip it vertically and move it down so that the edge of the cloud is hitting the bottom of the image. Add an inverted mask by Opt/Alt-clicking on the ‘Add layer’ icon. Set the blend mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 86%. Reveal the mask from the bottom. Double-click the layer and, in the Blend If options, hold down Opt/Alt and drag the Underlying Layers’ black pointer right to 0/85.

FINAL ADJUSTMENTS FOR PHOTOMANIPULATION When you’re using layers and blur effects in manipulations, it’s important to add noise/grain at the final stages of the piece. Adjusting as necessary according to the base images’ grain and detail, create a new layer filled with 50% grey then set it to Overlay and apply the Add Noise filter. Set the amount in a preview mode, so you can see how much is really needed to match all the elements. This helps you to blend the blurred elements together with the base image to make it look much more authentic.

ADD FOG

Create a group called Final Adjustments and then make a new layer. Start by using your cloud/fog brush to select light areas of the clouds and then brush on top of the clouds, birds and person. Set the layer’s Opacity to 30% and bring up the Layer Style dialog. Under Blend If, drag the Underlying Layer’s white pointer to 111/255 using Opt/Alt. Now create a Hue/Saturation layer. Set the Saturation to 15 and then brush with a mask in the cloud part of the image.

ADD BIRDS

Open the birds image and import it to a new group called Birds, setting the blend mode to Multiply. Use Cmd/Ctrl+T to control the angle and size of the flock. Duplicate the layer with Cmd/Ctrl+J and, again, hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to Free Transform. Flip the flock vertically then Ctrl/right-click the transform box and select Warp. Warp the bottom bird up slightly and hit Return. Now add a layer mask and use the Water brush to hide some of the reflected birds, setting the layer’s Opacity to 59%.

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FINAL ADJUSTMENTS

Add a Hue/Saturation layer with Saturation: 12. Hold Opt/Alt and drag the first layer mask onto the second, then invert. Create a Levels adjustment, set to 8,0,97,253. Lighten the image with a Curves layer, pulling the Blue highlights up. Add another Curves layer to lighten the image and invert the mask to reveal dark parts of the clouds. Add a new blank layer by holding Opt/Alt, set it to Overlay at 60% Opacity and check the Fill with Overlay box. Apply Filter>Noise>Add Noise with Amount: 1,8% and set to Gaussian, monochromatic to finish. QUICK TIP When using the Blend adjustments in the Layer Style dialog, you can easily choose to either show or not show whether the underlying layer is darker or lighter. This is a quick and easy way to hide any unnecessary elements, shadows or lights in your image.

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Create stylish vintage type tecHniques

Typography

Create stylish vintage type

T

USING BOTH PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, WE SHOW YOU HOW TO REPLIcATE EffEcTIvE RETRO TYPOGRAPHY

ypography is a fundamental part of day-to-day life. It’s everywhere we look, but so much of today’s typography lacks any creative flair. Typography in the past, particularly in signs, tended to be more visually pleasing. Inspired by hand-painted enamel signs and old typographic posters, here we’ll show you how to replicate classic vintage typography.

A lot of time will be spent creating the type in Illustrator. This is where we’ll add detail to the type using options, such as the Offset Path, blends and the Pen tool. In Photoshop we’ll apply texture using various blending modes and use brush techniques to mimic cracks and creases. We’ll also explore tweaking hue and saturation, as well as Curves layers, to enhance tones. Some textures and details in Photoshop will complete the piece.

Begin applying texture

Build up material eFFects in pHotosHop BeFore addinG teXt

01

PICK A DOCUMENT SIZE

First you will need to decide on the size of your document. Take into account whether the finished image will be printed or solely used on the web. In this case it will be printed, so we’ll open a new 235 x 303mm portrait document in Photoshop, making sure it has a white background.

02

BORDER AND GRADIENT

We want to give this piece a border, so create a new layer, fill it with a solid colour and then drag each edge in by 10mm. Next apply a Gradient Overlay within the Layer Style dialog, selecting the Foreground to Background gradient. Set the Style as Radial, the Angle at 60 degrees and the Scale at 150%, making sure the Reverse box is ticked. Put the Opacity of this layer to 25%.

Our expert LOGS MATThEwS

www.logsmatthews.co.uk Logs Matthews is a 23-year-old, self-taught, freelance graphic designer from the north-west of England. here he shows you how to create stylish vintage typography using both photoshop and Illustrator.

@logsmatthews

WOrk in prOgress

From simple type to dynamic results

Progress 1: apply texture

Progress 2: make the type

03

ADDING TEXTURE

Now apply some texture. Open up a dark grunge texture in Photoshop and invert it by going to Image>Adjustments>Invert. Once this is done, drag the JPEG into your document and set the blending mode to Overlay. To make the grunge texture more intense, go to Image>Adjustments>Levels and increase the black to darken the texture.

Progress 3: add final details

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Techniques Create stylish vintage type

04

INPUT THe TeXT

In Illustrator, open a new 235 x 303mm portrait document and lay out the phrase ‘work hard and be nice to people’. We’re aiming to produce a vintage typography feel by applying a bold Sans Serif font to the words ‘work’ and ‘nice’, as well as a bold Serif font to the words ‘and be’. Now apply a Script font to the words ‘hard’ and ‘to people’, for a softer contrasting effect between the texts. Outline all of the text by going to Type>Create Outlines.

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05

oFFSeT THe SaNS SeRIF TeXT

In preparation for detailing the Sans Serif text, we need to offset it. Begin with the word ‘work’ and go to Object>Path>Offset Path, then set the Offset to 2mm. Once you’ve offset the path, reselect the word and go to Object>Ungroup. While holding the Shift key down, select the inner parts of the word and go to Object>Group. The inner parts of the Sans Serif words will be used as a clipping mask for some of the line details.

cLIPPING THe LINeS

06

DeTaIL THe SaNS SeRIF TeXT

Now grab the Line Segment tool to draw a line above and below the Sans Serif words, giving them a 1pt Stroke. Set these lines to a beige tone (#C2B59B). To multiply the lines, double-click the Blend tool and a Blend Options box will appear. Select Specified Steps from the dropdown menu and type the number of steps you would like. Click the end point of the top line and then the parallel point of the bottom line to multiply the lines evenly.

We’re aiming to produce a vintage typography feel by applying a bold Sans Serif font to the words ‘work’ and ‘nice’

Now send the lines to the back. Copy and paste the inner text, give it a beige Stroke of 1pt and put it to one side. Select the inner text you grouped in Step 5 and go to Object> Compound Path>Make. With the inner text still selected, hold Shift, select the lines, then go to Object> Clipping Mask>Make. Doing this will clip the lines into the inner text. Now drag the beige outlined text that you put aside over the clipped lines, then fill the black letters with a dark-red tone that’s suitable.

quick TiP Try to add layers as you create your type. You can do this by using the Offset Path tool multiple times, giving your type very thin borders. Once you have a few borders, apply gold gradients to some and fill others with white. This will help embellish your type further.

APPLY some more DePTH

GiVe A 3D LOOK TO YOuR TeXT usinG The Pen TOOL

08

INTRoDUce DePTH To SaNS SeRIF TeXT

Copy and paste the word ‘work’ into a new layer and place it underneath your original layer. Position the word down and right to use as a guide. Back with the original layer, use the Pen tool to draw in the 3D shapes. Apply a gold gradient, copy and paste these, fill them red, then send them to the back to add even more depth. Do this once more and fill them with grey to replicate a shadow.

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09

Move back To PHoToSHoP

Now the type is done, copy and paste it into your Photoshop document as a Smart Object. This enables you to make changes to the type if necessary, without opening the original Illustrator file. Just double-click the Smart Object thumbnail on the type layer to open it in Illustrator. When changes have been made, hit Save and it will automatically amend the type in Photoshop.

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GIve THe TYPe TeXTURe

Now we need to copy the grunge layer and place it above the type layer. Set the blending mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 60%. We only want this texture layer to affect the type, so hit Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/ Alt+G to clip the texture into the type layer. By adding a mask to this layer, and using a small soft brush with an Opacity of 60%, you can roughly mask out some of the areas where there is too much texture.

ADD ThE FINAL TOuchES

Use HUe/sATURATION AND CURVes LAYeRs

11

AdjUST yOUr TONeS

To enhance the colours we’ll need to add a new Hue/Saturation layer above the type layer, increasing the Saturation to make the colours more vibrant. If there’s a specific colour that you want to target, you can select it from the Hue/Saturation dropdown. Also, add a new Curves layer above the type layer, setting the Output at 125 and the Input at 137, to make the colours even richer.

SMALL DETAILS Adding small details can take a lot of time, but they really add quality to a piece of work. Starting with the banner, make a thin triangle shape and place it horizontally at one end of the main rectangle. Copy and paste this underneath and use the same blending technique as used in Step 6. The number of steps will vary on the size of your banner. Repeat this on the other side of the rectangle and the inside of the banner. Once positioned, set the blending mode to Multiply and set the Opacity at 25%.

quIck TIp Adding noise is great for making a piece of work look less digitally made. When adding noise to a piece of work, make sure you decide whether the piece warrants it. Sometimes adding noise can make what was a bright glossy image look dull and washed out.

12

MASK edGeS ANd dOdGe/BUrN

To re-create faded edges, start by adding a layer mask to the gradient layer. Using a 400px soft brush with 60% Opacity, begin masking out small areas towards the edges. Now target individual areas of the grunge layer, use the Burn tool with the Range set to Midtones, brush Size set at 300px and the Opacity set at 45%, then begin to darken them. On the other hand, if any areas need lightening, use the Dodge tool with the same brush settings.

13

drAW IN CrACKS

Adding cracks is a great way to age an image. This technique is easier with a graphics tablet and pen but can still be achieved with a mouse. First insert a new layer, select a hard round brush – with the Size set at around 6px and the Opacity at 100% – and start drawing in some cracks. Once you’re happy with the cracks, go to Layer>Smart Object>Create Smart Object. Set the layer’s blending mode to Multiply and set the Opacity to 20%.

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FINISHING TOUCH

Now that the image is complete, we want to add one final effect to bring it all together. Save a copy of your PSD, flatten it, then go to Filter>Noise> Add Noise. Use an Amount of 10% to give your image a subtle grain texture, making your piece look less digital and more vintage.

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TECHNIQUES HOW I MADE

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HOW I MADE TECHNIQUES

HOW I MADE

SHINE

KRIS SHIELDS A.K.A COLOUR DRIP LEARN HOW BLEND MODES AND DODGE AND BURN WERE

S

USED TO CREATE VIBRANT LIGHT EFFECTS

hiny, colourful pieces of art are what artist Kris Shields (www.facebook.com/Colour Drip) aims for. “I’m heavily influenced by anything sci-fi, so I try to create ‘alien’ appearances in my work. These still have a human element so the viewer can relate,” he reveals. He certainly shows how his fondness for lighting helps him create sci-fi looks in this image. The Screen blend mode is his biggest asset, helping

Shields create vibrant effects. However, he does admit that: “The trick is to pick stock images that already have good lighting.” Surprisingly, Shields only decides his image tones at the end of a piece. “I change the hue of my layers beforehand, which lets me get a feel for how the colour should look. Then I add the finishing touches using adjustment layers, editing tones with Color Balance and Levels.”

02

I’m heavily influenced by anything sci-fi, so I try to create ‘alien’ appearances. These still have a human element so the viewer can relate

ADD TEXTURE

Adding texture is my way of turning ordinary images into something special. I found photos of metal and placed them on the shoulders of my model to depict futuristic armour.

03

SPACE STOCK

To make the model more ‘alien’ I highlighted the face using a soft brush, changed the eye colour using Hue/Saturation then added colour to the hair using nebula stock. These layers’ blend modes were all set to Screen.

01

FOCAL POINT

I made the chest area the focal point in this image – first by adding a charcoal texture and setting this layer’s blend mode to Multiply. I also added white marks using a brush at 100% Hardness.

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TECHNIQUES HOW I MADE

04

ADD KEY FEATURES

I enhanced the focal point by adding a holographic globe and more nebula images, all set to Screen to improve my lighting effects. Then I masked around the hands, making them look like a globe was being held.

05

LIGHT AND REFINEMENT

At this point there was no obvious light source coming from the globe, so I implemented one using a Gradient Fill layer. Further detail was added in the form of a lens flare, which I created using a soft brush.

06

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

Elements in the lower areas of the image were coming along nicely at this point. The middle and top sections, however, seemed empty. By adding a nebula around the shoulders I closed the gaps between the elements.

ENHANCE THE POWER OF LIGHTING

USE PHOTOSHOP’S DODGE AND BURN TOOLS TO GIVE EXPOSURE AN EXTRA BOOST The trick to creating good lighting is to focus on what the light is hitting. Be sure to emphasise shadows and highlights, which the Burn and Dodge tools are great at doing. Airbrushing certain parts of an object to smooth out areas also gives lighting a more realistic look.

07

ADD DEPTH

I produced perspective to make the piece stand out. I did this by creating a few circles using the Ellipse tool, then proceeding to erase parts and applying the Gaussian Blur filter.

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08

FINAL TOUCHES

Once I was happy with the overall composition, it was just a case of tweaking colours using Color Balance and Levels adjustment layers. These enhanced the lighting and depth of field.

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TECHNIQUES ACTIONPACKED COMPOSITES

PHOTOMANIPULATION

ACTIONPACKED COMPOSITES

C

DISCOVER THE ART OF PIECING TOGETHER STATIC PHOTOS TO CREATE BELIEVABLE, ACTIONPACKED SCENES

reating believable scenes isn’t easy, especially when you’re working from a body of different stock resources. However, over the following pages we’re going to learn how to correctly place and match a whole bunch of separate images, thus creating the stunning composite that we can see here. We’re going to explore ways to colour correct elements and methods for adding surreal effects, so that an image becomes eye-catching and, more importantly, convincing. We will also learn how to manually create sunlight and highlights, as well as match foreground and background elements.

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Special effects are also addressed in this tutorial, and we will see how water splashes and waves can be created from scratch. This becomes simple when utilising the awesome power of Photoshop’s brushes, along with a few more expert techniques that are applied manually with the same Brush tool. All the techniques covered here are fairly simple, so you will easily be able to apply them to your own work. The inspiration for this tutorial came from a rather interesting action sport involving a unit called ‘The Blob’. It’s a very entertaining and dangerous sport, so we wanted to capture not only how fun it is but also the risk involved.

OUR EXPERT JOSH ROSSI

www.joshrossi.com Rossi is a commercial photographer obsessed with action movies, and dreams of directing the next Bond movie. In his spare time he creates stunning images such as this one using the photos that he takes.

@joshrossiphoto

SOURCE FILES

Inside the resource pack included on your cover disc you will find some original files that will need to be cut out and then placed in order to re-create this composite.

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TECHNIQUES ACTIONPACKED COMPOSITES

01

WORK IN PROGRESS

First, we’ll manually merge the two ‘BGright.psd’ and ‘BGleft.psd’ background files together. Place BGright over the top and to the right of BGleft to create a panorama. Line up the mountains along the back and use the Eraser, at 50% Opacity, to lightly erase the hard edges of BGright. Don’t worry about matching up the waves perfectly as we will be placing a boat over the top to hide the waves later. We will also need to enlarge the background so that it matches with the other elements at a later stage.

FROM EMPTY SPACE TO A SPRAWLING SCENE

Progress 1: Gather elements

02 Progress 2: Add and refine

Progress 3: Boost effects

CREATE THE BACKGROUND

LINE UP ALL ELEMENTS

Open, cut and paste ‘Rock. psd’, ‘Guy_hit.psd’, ‘Boat_small.psd’ and ‘Boat.psd’ into the image. Match them up with the background. Place the Boat layer to the left and Guy_hit in the sky somewhere, for now. Place Boat_small behind the other layers. Make a copy of the Rock layer then place this to the right side of the image. Flip the original and place it on the left side. Make sure that you place each rock a little differently so that it will look more authentic in the finished scene.

Set the Eraser tool to a Grass brush style and erase small parts of the wing. This creates the effect suggesting feathers have fallen off

03

EXCHANGE FACES

Bring in the new face from ‘Boat.psd’ and place it directly over the old face of the cameraman, so they match up well. Add a Curves adjustment to the new face and brighten it, matching it to the rest of the body; adjust only the midtones. Make a precise selection of the cameraman’s hat using the Pen Path tool. Once you have a good selection, go to the new face layer and delete what is inside the selection. This will create a seamless transition between the old head and the new face.

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04

PLACE THE BLOB

To cut out the blob we recommend using the Pen Path tool. As you start selecting the bottom part of ‘TheBlob.psd’, draw around the reflection – you don’t need to be too precise here. Bring the blob into the composite and resize it until it looks right. Use the Eraser to remove the hard line we have created beside the reflection, so it blends with the water. If the blob is too long then it will need to be cut down to size; to do this, simply select a coloured stripe, delete it and then reconnect the blob.

05

CHANGE BLOB COLOUR

Sometimes colours don’t match in an image, and we will need to target these manually. To change the colour of the blob’s stripes we first select the section we want to change with the Pen Path tool, making sure that we have the Blob layer selected for this next step. Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, then change the Hue until we get the colour that we want. The selection we made in conjunction with the applied adjustment layer will add a layer mask automatically.

06

BROKEN BIRD

The free stock images of the birds and feathers that we used can be found by entering the following search codes into www.sxc.hu: 1387379, 551773, 110238 and 625562. Once the birds are all placed, take one of them and then flip it vertically. Now set the Eraser tool to a Grass brush style and erase small parts of the wing. This creates the suggestion that feathers have fallen off. Now cut out the feathers and place them sporadically next to the bird. Add a small amount of Motion Blur to each feather to complete the effect.

07

BOAT REFLECTION

Painting in the boat’s reflection is a fairly simple process. First create a blank layer underneath the boat layer and then set it to the Overlay blend mode. Now pick a red colour to simulate the boat’s colour and, with your brush set to 50% Opacity, lightly paint in some red marks next to the boat to simulate a reflection. If the red colour is a little strong then just add a Hue/Saturation adjustment and set Saturation to -50.

QUICK TIP When cutting out an object, feather the edges once you’ve placed it into a new composition – that way, each image will look natural and won’t have that cut-out look. To do this, simply create your selection and click Refine Edge in the top toolbar. Set Feather between 1 and 3.

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08

COLOUR EACH IMAGE

Now what we need to do is match the colour and brightness of all the images in the composition. The first thing to decide is what mood we want the final image to have. For this image, we want a warm look. Start by adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment and then desaturate the background by setting Saturation to -26. After that, add a Color Balance layer. Work with the Midtones settings, setting the Reds at 14 and Yellows at -11.

BRIGHTEN AND COLOUR MATCH

We have our background colours in place, so now we’ll start working on the other images in the composition. Go to each one and give it similar desaturation and colour adjustments. Use clipping masks so that the colour only affects the layer beneath the adjustment layer; to create one, hold down Opt/Alt and click between the two layers. Now that the colours are similar it’s time to match the brightnesses. Add a Curves adjustment layer above each layer we want to adjust and then brighten or darken as needed.

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TECHNIQUES ACTIONPACKED COMPOSITES

11

PAINT WATER DROPLETS

To re-create the water spray simulating the trajectory of the man, grab this brush: http://www. brusheezy.com/brushes/2039-water-brushes. Make the brush very small and paint in water droplets using a white colour. Now set the Eraser at 50% Opacity and erase areas unsystematically to make the water splashes look random. We enhance this by using another brush: http://all-freedownload.com/photoshop-brushes/water_ splash_brushes_178287.html. Apply it with a white colour at 85% Opacity, dabbing in a few places then erasing where necessary.

10

CREATE BOAT WAVES

Bring ‘Waves.psd’ into the composition and place it underneath the Boat layer. Use the Lasso tool to make a rough cutout of the small waves coming from the boat. Once selected, use the Transform tool to resize and place waves underneath the boat for a realistic look. Erase around the hard edges as needed, blending waves in with the background water. Set the Eraser tool at 100% Opacity with a Spatter style and then remove the bottom edges of the boat, simulating water splashes.

12

ADD HIGHLIGHTS

Each image needs to match up with the lighting and colour cast in the background. To accomplish this we need to manually create highlights on each individual layer. Create a blank layer above an image layer then set this to Overlay. Choose a soft-edged brush to paint on the highlights, with Opacity set at 30%. When choosing our colour it’s important to pick one that closely matches the light source, or perhaps a lighter shade. If we paint with a darker colour the highlights wont look right.

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13

HIGHLIGHTS AND CLIPPING MASKS

One last thing that will make this step a lot easier is to create a clipping mask – this will make painting on the highlights very precise because, as we explained earlier, a clipping mask will only affect the layer below it. Hold down Opt/Alt and then click between the blank layer and the layer beneath it. You are now ready to manually paint in the highlights. Grab your brush and start painting on the edges of your objects, simulating how the orange sunlight would hit each one in real life.

QUICK TIP Remember to use a soft-edged brush when you’re painting on most effects. Painting with a hard brush will create an unrealistic look with harsh edges. This is especially true when you’re dodging and burning, and adding highlights, so it’s good to make a habit of setting a soft edge.

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BLEND IF

The Blend if sliders under the Blending Options are useful when painting highlights. Doubleclick a painted highlight layer and, at the bottom of the pop-up dialog, you’ll see the Blend if options. We’ll be working with Underlying Layer. Hold down Opt/Alt and then drag the left slider. This separates it into two, and we can now adjust either one to create the correct highlights. By bringing the sliders over to the right, the colour we paint is being revealed only on the highlighted areas and not in the shadows.

15

DODGE AND BURN

Dodging and burning is a technique used to lighten or darken certain areas of an image. In this case, we are going to dodge and burn in order to create a surreal effect and make image elements stand out. Create a new layer above the layer we want to affect and then set it to Soft Light. Choose a soft-edged brush and set its Opacity to 20%. We are now ready to create our effect. As we’re doing this we need to be detailed in our application, paying attention to small cracks and crevices.

16

CREATE SHINE

Dodging and burning can create unique looks; one we focus on in this step is creating ‘shine’. Apply a white soft brush over an area by using just one brush stroke. Next, reduce the diameter of the brush just a little and then give the same area another pass. Repeat this maybe once or twice more and we will soon start to see a shine forming. It’s best to apply this technique to areas that are brighter rather than darker. Remember to keep your brush Opacity low, at around 20%.

17

ADD SUNLIGHT

Adding sunlight is a very important step that will make the image look much more vibrant and colourful. Earlier on, we added highlights to each object. In this step we are going to add sunlight to the rest of the background. To add the sunlight, create a blank layer above the background image and set it to the Overlay blend mode. Choose an orange or yellow colour to simulate that of the sunlight and then paint some light into the surrounding areas, including some of the water and clouds.

Dodging and burning is used to lighten or darken certain areas… we are going to create a surreal effect and make image elements stand out

18

MAKE MOOD

We’re now going to add some mood and bring the focus into the centre of the image. To do this, we’ll add a custom vignette around the image. Create a blank layer over all the others and set it to Soft Light. Choose a soft-edged brush with a large diameter and change the Opacity to 30%. Lightly paint around the outer edges of the image to create the vignette. If you’re not satisfied with the result then try duplicating the layer to intensify the effect.

19

MANUALLY ADD IN COLOUR

Sometimes, Color Balance just isn’t enough. Here’s how to manually add colour to each image individually. Create a blank layer above each layer we want affected and set it to Overlay. Pick a soft brush and then a colour similar to the underlying layer. Make sure the colour you pick is more vibrant than the original. Now set a low Opacity, around 30%, and precisely paint colour. We will need to do this with almost every object. Don’t worry about doing this to the models’ skin.

20

CREATING CUSTOM LENS FLARES

To finish things off, we’ll now manually add flares to our image. Create a blank layer above the rest and then set it to Screen. Choose a red colour and, with a soft-edged, large diameter brush at 100% Opacity, start painting in some flares. To create a lens flare effect just dab the brush in a few areas. Applying paint in this manner means we have more control over the colours and the placement of the flares. Once you’re happy with the result, give your finished piece a final check.

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RAW WAR

HERE WE NAIL DOWN TWO LEADING RAW PROCESSORS, PITTING THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER TO SEE WHICH PROVIDES THE MOST CONVINCING EFFECTS

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A

dobe Camera RAW (ACR) software has been seen as the benchmark for converting RAW files for some time now. However, that all could change with the introduction of DxO Labs’ own challenger – Optics Pro 8 Elite. Over the next few pages we pit these premium software head-to-head, as we try to decipher which we should use to edit our photos. The answer to this question hinges on several factors, spanning the range of essential creative and practical edits.

Many of us trust ACR’s lineage. This is understandable when considering how recent versions have extended its already impressive processing engine. Application in ACR couldn’t be simpler either, through easy-to-use sliders. However, DxO also comes out swinging, providing users with an exclusive calibration process for 10,000 combinations of cameras and lenses. ACR is free with Photoshop, which may be a deal-breaker for some, as DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite will set you back an additional £239. This means your

choice to use it may well depend on the depth of your pockets. Although, when you consider just how many of us are willing to spend big bucks on expert lenses to compensate for image quality, DxO’s claim to provide extensive combinations goes some way to halving this cost. So far we’re still tied. So in the following pages we take a more in-depth look at both software, testing all the new functionality on offer and making a definitive decision of which is king: Adobe Camera RAW 7.4 or DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite!

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rEviEws RAW WAR

Editing light in CamEra raw

EffEctivEly transform imagEs using improvEd slidEr controls

01 above: camera raw’s split toning option can be used to great effect to produce a creative tint that complements the source image. Here you can see the simplicity of the interface

taCkling raw ConvErsion

In the comparison stakes, DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite has a very intuitive interface, which presents a coherent order that runs us through the correct stages of creation. Panels are also fully customisable, which means we can base our editing workflow around the most commonly used options, before proceeding to the final stage of processing. Identifying the images we wish to edit in DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite is incredibly simple with the Organize panel. This enables us to root through folders from our hard drive and selected images are viewable from the thumbnails at the bottom of the editing space. Alternatively, we can select Project View to name and categorise our own projects. Once images are selected, DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite automatically recognises the camera’s model, body

DxO Optics Pro 8 Elite recognises the camera model, body and lens from file metadata, matching this with a profile and correcting the file

above: camera raw’s simplified approach to handling files is intuitive. save options are all clearly stated and easily navigated

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and lens from file metadata, matching this with a profile and correcting the file. This mechanical recognition is incredibly useful and takes a lot of the guesswork out of the editing process. We can still go through and adjust each of the settings manually, using the Compare screen to see exactly what we are affecting. Bundled with Photoshop CS6, Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 (ACR) controls standard elements, such as contrast and exposure, as well as the Kelvin scale. This supplies a very concise workflow, but isn’t geared towards individual use and is more generic. The processing options in DxO Optics Pro 8, however, are very specific. Users perhaps inexperienced with file types will be quickly educated, as the software provides detailed JPEG and TIFF option settings. There’s also the option to create DNG files, which is surprising as this software makes little attempt to read them. ACR, on the other hand, has a simplified thumbnail, preview and editing panel, with the processing capacity to create JPEGs, TIFFs, PSDs, DNGs and even open files as Smart Objects. Sadly, with all these bells and whistles there is no browsing option incorporated into the latest version of the software, with Bridge taking care of the cataloguing and workspace layout. This means we can’t just jump into ACR, browse for a file, edit and save it. Instead we have to laboriously move through programs, which when taking workflow into account is incredibly counterproductive. The art of RAW conversion is now laid in the hands of working professionals, with software now capable of providing much more control than the technology inside our cameras. Instead of letting the tech decide, we can now make judgements ourselves, using powerful yet easy-to-use options. How these are presented makes an intuitive workflow all the more productive.

oPen The sTarT image

Once an image has been opened in Camera Raw 7.4, you’ll find the layout is very simple, with a large viewing area and slider-based editing tabs situated on the right of the Preview panel. First we will alter the exposure by setting the associate slider to +1.60.

02

lighTing wiTh sliders

Attack the added noise by knocking the Contrast slider down to -3. Also reduce Clarity by -15 to blur the image enough to soften noise. To bring back more detail, reduce the Highlights slider to -90, increase Shadows to +48, Whites to +21 and also reduce Blacks to -33.

03

Tonal ParameTric curve

Next try using the Parametric Curve for toning, which is preferable to the Point Curve due to ease-of-use. Adjust the Highlights by +28, reduce the Lights by -52, lower the dark tones by -18 and raise the Shadows by +25 to give the image a more neutral light.

editing Light in dxO Optics prO 8

Combine innovative tools to Create stunning looks

01

combat ExposurE

You can make use of the Light and Color panel to remedy an underexposed image. Reduce the Exposure Compensation option by setting this to -1.11 and increase Smart Lighting to 125. The image becomes neutral in tone, enabling Contrast to be raised to 76 and the Microcontrast to 100.

02

imagE rEcovEry

DxO’s Selective Tone options can enhance lost detail even further. Here we’ve reduced Highlights to -62 and Midtones to -16. We’ve also raised Shadows to 26 and lowered Blacks to -7. This adds shade and tone to darkened areas by boosting contrast. It also neutralises previously blown lighting in our sky.

03

Fix nOise & chrOmatic aberratiOn There are two schools of thought concerning photographic noise. One suggests that noise contains an element of detail, the other that detail shouldn’t be allowed to exist. In truth, there’s no escaping it. With the intensity and intelligence that DxO offers, you can just about dodge it instead of escaping it all together. Camera Raw 7.4 and DxO Pro 8 Elite have many similar noise-reduction options, although, DxO does go into greater detail with its Chrominance and Grey Equalizer features, which help smooth out and hide away the noise generated across an image. Camera Raw has a similar set of features in its Detail panel, where we find the Sharpening options and the Noise Reduction panel. These enable us to reduce the noise in colours as well as colour detail. One thing that Camera Raw 7.4 doesn’t have, is a dedicated option for dead pixels. This is where DxO rises above its rival. If we have an old camera, or images that are speckled from broken or dead pixels on our sensor, the Pro 8 Elite Dead Pixel slider will simply eradicate such artefacts instantly. However, DxO Pro 8 Elite’s automated options do such a great job at fixing these, we don’t necessarily have to go back and alter much, if anything at all. Sadly Camera Raw 7.4’s own noise-reduction functionality is found wanting in comparison. We can export to Photoshop and run all sorts of image tweaks, but its aberration tools really are second place to DxO’s. Pro 8 Elite’s database and recognition of lenses and bodies – as well as its automatic image updates dependant on the spec listed and selected – far out-weighs what can be done with Lens Correction options in Adobe’s solutions. Camera Raw 7.4 does have a Lens Profiling option, but this is sadly a little less user-friendly in its

approach. DxO’s Lens Softening tool, on the other hand, is a game-changing image sharpener, which uses image data to set the softness into three key areas – Global, Detail and Bokeh. Images can be restored to a useable standard, as if they were sharp all along. Camera Raw 7.4 competes by coupling several options, including Contrast and Sharpness tools and the Clarity slider, all applied to bring back edge detail efficiently.

above: When using the chromatic adjustments within Dxo, it’s wise to zoom in past 75% to see a true reflection of what is happening

above: make use of Dxo’s dark interface, as it brings out the colours and will help you cast a critical eye over the image

If we have an old camera… the Pro 8 Elite Dead Pixel slider will simply eradicate such artefacts instantly

EdgE dEtail

You can recover edge detail by coupling the Unsharp Mask and DxO Lens Softness options. We’ve tightened the focus in our image by applying the following Lens Softness settings: Global at 0.72, Details at 72 and Bokeh at 29. The difference before and after is striking.

above: Dxo’s Comparison view is incredible at highlighting just how much more information is being retrieved from the raW file. Here the lens softness tool is proving its power

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REVIEWS RAW WAR

COLOURCORRECTION CAPABILITY

Above: Here you can see the detail DxO has been able to retain, while bringing back colour detail in the shadows. This creates greater depth in an image

The colour-correction tools available in both DxO Pro 8 Elite and Camera Raw 7.4 provide cutting-edge functionality. Options are available in both to select profiles already installed and proof immediately imagery, all while completely controlling colour. In Camera Raw 7.4, we’re instantly greeted with the Vibrance and Saturation controls, as well as a Histogram to show us channel information. We also have controls dedicated to White balance, which we can override or create first-time effects using presets. Most importantly, we have individual Hue, Saturation and Luminance controls, which mean that we can alter a selection of tones.

A complement to these controls comes in the form of the Split Toning panel, where we can tone the shadows and highlights, as well as add a more stylised look to our images. This can be enhanced further by the software’s Adjustment brush. This enables us to paint onto an image non-destructively, by using a mask over the selected area and editing with various adjustments. Sadly DxO doesn’t have an Adjustment brush for painting. It does, however, have Global and specific HSL controls, as well as the Tonal Curve option, which adjusts the RGB value of an image. Another DxO function that’s very useful is its Color Rendering option, which enables us to target our colour rendering to a camera body, film style or ICC profile. This helps maintain a solid colour profile.

Above & Left: This close-up image of a tree shows how the image was impeded by noise. However, by using the Sharpen and Noise Reduction controls in the Detail tab, distortion has been removed

VERDICT

DXO OPTICS PRO 8 ELITE

ADOBE CAMERA RAW 7.4

An astonishing program that’s ideal for photographers looking to pull back detail from source imagery to perfect shots. The Lens Softness tool is a real boon and the lens database makes it a worthwhile investment. Add in the Dead Pixel and Smart Lighting features and it’s even more worthy of the extra cost.

An outstanding RAW-processing software, Camera Raw still rides high as an industry-standard photo editor, with tools such as the Adjustment brush and Split Toning options. It also has the ability to read, edit and save DNG files and export images as Smart Objects for creative application inside Photoshop.

4/5

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3/5

For us, DxO Optical Pro 8 Elite is the clear winner, due to its incredible sharpening options, extensive lens database and chromatic aberration tools. Where Camera Raw 7.4 should have won with its Adjustment brush and Split Toning, it pales in comparison when combating noise and pixels and hasn’t advanced enough with its automation. Seeing as DxO is a standalone editor, as well as a processor, it’s a clear Adobe competitor.

As DxO is a standalone editor, as well as a processor, it’s a clear Adobe competitor

Wacom cintiq 13HD reviews

Wacom cintiq 13HD We see if size really does matter With this neW slimline integrated display

www.wacom.com

• £750 / $999 • Windows 8, 7 (32/64 bit), Vista SP1, XP SP3, Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later with an Intel processor

killer features

Discover aDDitional new functions with the cintiq 13hD ■ Colour spaCe The Wacom Cintiq 13HD supports 75% Adobe RGB, which is a lot less than the 24HD models. However, this is an improvement on the (lowest) 72% supplied with the 22HD.

■ expressKeys redesIgn Touch-screen functionality would have undoubtedly enhanced application in the lap, but the programmable ExpressKeys and Rocker Ring are sufficient for swapping between the various Photoshop functions.

■ new pen

■ Improved brIghtness

The new Pro Pen works with all of Wacom’s tablets. It’s now portable with a plush case, including extra nibs, pen colour rings and a nib removal tool for full user customisation.

Screen real estate may be smaller but this doesn’t affect image clarity. This Cintiq is a full-HD device with the highest brightness values of any in the series (250 cd/m2).

C

ompact devices appeal to fashion-minded consumers. They’re sleek. They’re stylish and they’re more portable. But is this what digital artists really want from an integrated display? Wacom seems to think so. Its most recent launch, the Cintiq 13HD, is no bigger but distinctly slimmer than a Wacom Intuos. Its 13.3-inch screen offers nearly the same sized drawing area as a medium-sized Intuos5. But if all we wanted was a lightweight device then we’d opt for a tablet, every time. The Cintiq 13HD, however, is about much more. This device includes notable upgrades, surpassing those available in the discontinued Cintiq 12WX. Through its absence, a smaller-sized Cintiq seems a

necessity. With a larger screen, boosted specs and at half the weight, the device is a solid replacement. The Cintiq 13HD sufficiently supports full HD, with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, and spares no expense when it comes to precision. It includes 2048 levels of pen pressure – an industry standard we’ve come to expect from all Cintiq models. We get the full benefit of a 16.7 million-colour output, ensuring clear images and ExpressKey functionality for an improved software workflow. Larger screens offer a more natural application with a stylus, especially when applying broader and more natural brush strokes to painted images. Yet the Cintiq 13HD seems well in-tune with sketching, linework, inking, colouring and retouching.

We still need a separate computer and AC power, and many might think this would limit portability. Sadly, there’s a chance of this happening, with cables all over the place – even with the 3-in-1 cables. However, this is a situation wholly dependent on our studio layout, and Wacom redeems itself by designing a detachable stand. The Cintiq 13HD can easily be used in the lap, which makes working far more immersive and comfortable.

Verdict: 7/10

The price and amount of programming required may put off enthusiasts, but the Wacom Cintiq 13HD is good for those looking to venture away from the Intuos.

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reader interview Engaging photo illustration

reader interview

Engaging photo illustration

A

Freelance digital artist JeFF Whitlock tells us hoW his traditional background inFluenced his digital art

fascination with visual art started very early on for Jeff Whitlock. Drawing, print-making and illustration were his main focus for years, and it was only when he found himself in a commercial environment that he began working with computers. “For some reason, it was not easy for me to make the transition from traditional to digital art. Metaphorically, it was like learning a new and very difficult language. I struggled –– it just wasn’t intuitive for me.” Amazed by the possibilities available in the digital world, Whitlock never looked back. Given his background in traditional art, we wanted to talk to him about his creative process and find out who influences his work.

wHat is your creative process? My creative process involves first coming up with a quality concept – it’s an important foundation to everything that follows. Next the process involves a combination of taking photographs and/or finding appropriate stock photography to create a compelling composition. Once the photography has been worked out, I normally import the images into Adobe Lightroom to organise and make global adjustments to them.

our reader Jeff Whitlock

www.jeffwhitlockdigitalartist.com www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/ user/Jeffwhitlockdigitalartist

wHicH artists Have influenced your work and wHy? The Great Masters (especially of the Renaissance) have influenced me a great deal. I’m in awe of their use of colour, light, shadow, and the extraordinary

all article images © Jeff whitlock

How would you describe your style? I would describe my personal style as ‘photoillustrative’. Most of the elements in my compositions begin in the form of a photograph.

These photos are combined together and transformed in Photoshop in such a way that the finished piece is greater than the sum of its parts.

eMS Rescue: add elements to your composition that enhance the energy and mood. For this composite, i added lights to the cars, several layers of snow and a dramatic sky to amplify the drama of the scene

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Premonition: Using a very limited color scheme with high contrast can be very effective at creating a sense of mood and mystery in your images

I love the freedom that comes with being a freelance digital artist. Even with cash flow uncertainty and the additional non-creative tasks necessary to run a successful digital art business, I would not trade it for anything Clockwise from top left; Sunset Copter: Composite image created for Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center Life Flight of Toledo, Ohio. Be sure to add your colour adjustments to the top of your Layers stack. These adjustments will help you to unify and harmonise the colours of each of the underlying photographic page elements Eternal love: Composition is the foundation to a successful image. Be sure to arrange elements in a manner that leads the viewer through the image in an effective and pleasing way Baseball: Be sure to add components that complement the main elements of the composition and help further communicate the mood and story

Fire, sparks and smoke were created by layering photographs set to various blend modes (like Screen) and modified using the Warp and Liquify tools

I photographed myself as the main compositional element using a front fill light and two soft boxes, on either side, for edge lighting

Various elements were photographed, outlined and then arranged in the composition to create a sense of depth and to enhance the mood of the image

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ENGAGING PHOTO ILLUSTRATION READER INTERVIEW

compositions of painters like Da Vinci, Raphael and Rembrandt. I admire the conceptual and metaphorical work of Salvador Dali and René Magritte – innovators who stepped beyond the literal realm to capture their unique personal visions. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST WAY TO GET YOUR WORK NOTICED? I think the best way to get your work noticed is to get it in front of as many people as possible, using a variety of avenues. Online, the possibilities are unlimited. There are many sites that encourage artists to upload their digital portfolios for free (like AdvancedPhotoshop.co.uk). Opportunities for artists to share their work via social media are abundant and continue to expand and develop in number and scope. In addition, I believe it pays to contact advertising agencies, publishers and marketing companies directly. Begin with an introductory phone call as well as by mailing printed samples to the appropriate contact. Leveraging every opportunity to make industry connections is critical for success.

THEN AND NOW

SEE THE PROGRESSION OF WHITLOCK’S STYLE FROM HIS FIRST TO HIS MOST RECENT ARTWORK

U2 Cover is one of the first composite images that I created with Adobe Photoshop. At the time, I felt it was a powerful image and was quite pleased with the finished product. Peace is one of my most recent composites. I believe that comparing the two images demonstrates an enormous progression in my work. The U2 piece has a foreground, middle and background, yet seems flat and one-dimensional. Peace, in comparison, has a great deal more depth, dimension and a stronger sense of emotion. It features a powerful triad balance between the enormous rhino, a small child and a delicate bird.

U2 Cover: This piece was a magazine cover assignment and one of my first composite images in Photoshop

Peace: Peace is a self assignment/ promotional work. It has been wisely pointed out “anything that does not add to the composition, subtracts from it”

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT WHEN WORKING ON A PROJECT FOR A CLIENT? In my opinion, the most important aspect of working with a client is communication. It’s basic but crucial. With every project, I make certain that I’m always communicating as clearly and concisely as possible. I communicate with my clients throughout the process, making sure that nothing is assumed or left to chance. I double-check project parameters and provide clients with ongoing evidence that I’m handling their project with integrity, thoughtfulness and professionalism. DO YOU BELIEVE THERE ARE BENEFITS TO WORKING FOR A STUDIO AS OPPOSED TO GOING FREELANCE? I worked in a studio for about 5 years and have since worked as a freelance digital artist. In my estimation, there are two major benefits to working in a studio. First, there are other creative people to collaborate with and bounce ideas off of. Second, there’s the advantage of having steady work and regular pay. However, after working independently I don’t think I could ever go back to being an employee in a studio again. I love the freedom that comes with being a freelance digital artist. Even with cash flow uncertainty and the additional non-creative tasks

Shoot for a new career

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necessary to run a successful digital art business, I would not trade it for anything. DO YOU USE PHOTOSHOP FOR EVERYTHING? I use Photoshop for most, but not all of what I do. In addition I use Adobe Lightroom. Elements for each project are first organised in Lightroom, then initial global adjustments are made prior to taking the images into Photoshop. As well as the creative possibilities it offers, Lightroom has exceptional database features that make it indispensable for project management and archiving strategies.

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WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT? I’m finishing up a large project for the Chrysler Corporation’s Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. It’s a series of 10 montages that depict their six corporate core values. The montages are being output at nearly nine feet high in various lengths up to 18 feet. They will be installed in three hallways that lead from the visitor entrance to the main factory inside the Toledo facility. It’s been a large and complex process, but will be extremely satisfying once all of the graphic panels have been installed.

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ON THE DISC PRODUCE PAINT SPLASH STOCK

RESOURCE PROJECT

PRODUCE PAINT SPLASH STOCK

W

LEARN HOW TO SHOOT PAINT SPLASH PHOTOGRAPHY AND INTEGRATE IT INTO YOUR ARTWORK

orking with paint can be very messy, which is why many of us will invest in existing photo stock, adding this to our paint splat images instead. However, what if we knew how to shoot in a controlled environment to get that perfect snap – would there be any need to spend money on stock?

To help us answer that question, this Resource Project teaches you how to grab that snapshot, avoid blurring and minimise mess. Our end results will be suitable for commercial or personal projects by the time we’re finished. We also discuss ways we can use paint splash stock to create our own abstract looks – adding movement to energise artworks.

THE PERFECT SHOT

MAXIMISE IMAGE QUALITY WITH THE CORRECT SET UP

02

INSTILLATION SET UP

Tape the pipette to a reflector arm overhead and then place either a Perspex or a white laminated, medium-density fibreboard beneath. Paint drops will bounce off this and it’s also easier to wipe clean later. Shoot against a white backdrop, so that removing paint splashes from digital files becomes straightforward.

01

PAINT AND WATER MIX

It’s imperative to create the right consistency from our raw materials. Add too much water and the solution becomes diluted. Add too little and it becomes too thick. Try a 2:1 (water to paint) ratio for the best results, and also use a 60 millilitre pipette for easy extraction.

03

CAMERA SET UP

Shoot at 1/3400 sec to effectively freeze-frame the droplets and splatters ejected from the pipette. Use a flashgun fast enough to sync and achieve the correct lighting. Get correct depth of field by setting the camera to an aperture of F11. A prime macro lens ensures crisp detail and brighter images.

092

TUTORIAL FILES

ON THE DISC

PRODUCE PAINT SPLASH STOCK ON THE DISC

THE SHOOT

THE BEST SETUP FOR CAPTURING PAINT SPLASHES

01

PICK THE BACKDROP

Shoot against a white backdrop to simplify editing in the postproduction phase

02

POSITION THE PIPETTE

Tape the pipette to a reflector arm about two feet overhead for better impact

03

USE A HARD SURFACE

Perspex or laminated medium-density fibreboard (MDF) make a good solid base, which paint will bounce off

04

CAMERA SETTINGS

Shoot at 1/3400 sec and use a flashgun to freeze-frame droplets and splatters

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ON THE DISC PRODUCE PAINT SPLASH STOCK

ADD ACTION TO IMAGES

DIGITAL ARTIST THOMAS EGAN (WWW.THOMASEGAN.COM.AU) EXPLAINS HOW TO CREATE SYNERGY USING MODELS AND PAINT STOCK

■ LIGHT AND COLOUR Apply Hue/Saturation adjustment layers to alter the paint splash colour and improve contrast. To achieve realism, define a light source then relight paint layers, adding duplicate layers set to either the Multiply or Linear Dodge blend mode. Try using stock images where light already matches, as this saves time.

■ SMALLEST DETAIL Add some droplets and finer paint particles breaking away from areas of movement. These are applied to create visual interest, but also more importantly to mimic real-life effects. Develop other smaller elements that complement the flow now existing in the image. Seamlessly merge these elements with the help of layer masks.

094

■ MOVEMENT AND ENERGY Apply paint splash layers to the base model in certain places that accentuate shape and form. You can further enhance a sense of direction and energy by applying the Warp tool or Puppet tool. Use these to manipulate splash layers and create flowing lines, which will complement the movement from the base model.

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