Tutorial files available at: blog.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/tutorial-files
The magazine for Adobe® Photoshop® professionals
104
CREAT THIS E IMA IMAGGE THISE CREA TE
INDUSTRY INSPIRATION
PRO MATTE PAINTING Industry experts reveal their top tips on creating landscapes
PHOTO EDITING
COMMERCIAL LIGHTING EFFECTS Relight a dynamic scene using channels & colour adjustments
CINEMATIC CINEMA AT A T I C TECHNIQUES TECHNIQU IQ ES IQU KILLER TIPS AND RESOURCE PACK
Composite multiple assets to achieve shattering results ISSUE 104
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NEW MEDIA
BUILD WEB ELEMENTS Create an authentic stitch effect for your website directly in Photoshop
ALSO INSIDE:
• 20 photomanipulation secrets • Make the most of Content-Aware • Enhance your digital portraits
EXPERT BRUSH EFFECTS Learn to paint powerful characters by mastering Photoshop’s custom brushes
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ISSUE 104 CONTENTS
ISSUE 104
WELCOME
Welcome to the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop. This month we’ve been blown away by the awe-inspiring effects artists are able to achieve, from epic digital paintings to thrilling manipulations.
ANNA LISA SAYWELL Deputy Editor IN THIS ISSUE: PHOTOMANIPULATION PHOTO EDITING GRAPHICS NEW MEDIA DIGITAL PAINTING
COVER ARTIST JOSH ROSSI
www.joshrossi.com Josh is a commercial photographer who’s obsessed with spy and action movies. So who better to bring you this issue’s Cinematic Techniques tutorial? Turn to page 46 to follow along
So, if that whets your creative appetite, turn to page 28 for our Pro Matte Painting feature, where industry artists reveal the vital Photoshop techniques used by some of the biggest studios around on blockbusters including Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. In addition to this we take an in-depth look at how you can replicate commercial lighting effects in Photoshop, show you how to apply authentic stitch effects to web elements and teach you to paint powerful characters by mastering Photoshop’s custom brushes. Elsewhere we talk to Romeo and Julieta Estudio on colour, light, composition and how all these essential elements are at the heart of their design. Finally, on a personal note, we’re very sad to see our Editor in Chief Jo Cole go this month, but wish her all the best for the future. See you next month!
20 20 PHOTOMANIPULATION FEATURE:
SECRETS
We ask top designers which tools and techniques they use to get seamless results
94 READERS’ GALLERY EYE ON DESIGN:
Digital artist José Paulo talks to us about his work on the Advanced Photoshop blog
FIND US ONLINE: @advancedpshop
/AdvancedPhotoshop
.co.uk 003
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CONTENTS ISSUE 104
ISSUE 104
CONTENTS EYE ON DESIGN
What’s hot, who’s in and the latest art & design happenings
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GALLERY: Great images from the online community ING COMPETITION: Results from the Advanced Photoshop blog PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW: Romeo and Julieta Estudio PROJECT FOCUS: Design an appealing menu with Steve Simpson
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INTERVIEW
WORKSHOP
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WORKSHOP WORKSHOP
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ISSUE 104 CONTENTS
TECHNIQUES
Professional artists reveal their high-end skills in our easy-tofollow workshops
20 28 36 44 46 52 54
FEATURE
20 photomanipulation secrets FEATURE
Pro matte painting WORKSHOP
Create a fantasy matte painting WHAT’S ON THE DISC
Free resources for your projects WORKSHOP
Cinematic techniques HOW I MADE
The Throne
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WORKSHOP
Commercial lighting effects WORKSHOP
Enhance digital portraits
REVIEWS
We put the latest creative kit, books and apps to the test
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FEATURE: Dell Precision M6700 APP & BOOK REVIEWS: Epson projector, Drawing Pad
TOOL FOCUS
Content-Aware tools WORKSHOP
Build web elements QUICK TRICK
Code stitch effect WORKSHOP
Textured character illustration
WORKSHOP
Expert brush effects
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! SEE PAGE 58 FOR THE LATEST OFFER
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WORKSHOP
64
WORKSHOP
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ON YOUR DISC
Free with issue 104 of Advanced Photoshop
TWO CREATIVE VIDEO TUTORIALS
Create a logo animation in Photoshop and follow our matte-painting tutorial with two screen captures
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FEATURE SPECIAL RESOURCE PACK
101 web banners and ribbons, 20 high-res images and ten feather brushes
PLUS:
• Tutorial project files • Exclusive wallpapers for mobile and desktop • Six free wood textures
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eye on design gallery
showcase
readers’ gallery every month We showcase the very best of your photoshop artwork
how to submit upload your images to our website or social networks
01 Create a gallery
Visit www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk and click on the Create Account option to follow the simple registration process.
02 Upload your artwork Upload your favourite images to the gallery for others to view and comment on. We’ll select the best each month to appear on these pages.
/AdvancedPhotoshop @advancedpshop
For this illustration, I made a basic sketch and using Photoshop I then created everything using the Path tool to form the shapes and selective Brush tools to make the shadows and lights Marcelo Schultz, Volkswagen Bubble
about the artist Marcelo schultz
www.marceloschultz.com
I’m a 31-year-old graphic designer and illustrator based in Curitiba, Brazil. I work as an art director at ddq design (www.ddq. com.br) and build all my work from scratch.
Search for schultzdzn on
.co.uk
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gallery eye on design
about the artist hugo jose ceneviva cantelli
www.behance.net/hugoceneviva I’m a Brazilian art director and image-retouching professional who has been working for the last six years in advertising agencies, creating concepts, campaigns and retouching images.
Search for hugo_ceneviva on
.co.uk
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EYE ON DESIGN GALLERY
Search for batkya on
.co.uk
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GALLERY EYE ON DESIGN
This work was made for the competition Apocalypse at www. CreativeStation.ru where I won First Place. I didn’t really use any special techniques other than standard Photoshop tools such as inserting images, using layer masks and the Color Correction tool… Sergey Likhachev, Tornado Apocolypse
ABOUT THE ARTIST SERGEY LIKHACHEV
www.youtube.com/batkya http:// batkya.deviantart.com I am 42 and originally from Russia. Photoshop is my hobby and I like to make collages of different landscapes, images of nature and fantasy images.
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EYE ON DESIGN ING COMPETITION RESULTS
EYE ON DESIGN
ING COMPETITION RESULTS
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WE REVEAL THE TALENTED WINNERS AND THEIR INCREDIBLE CREATIONS
ING’S THOUGHTS...
dvanced Photoshop and Ingimage (www.ingimage.com) recently joined forces to offer you a great chance to use your creativity and Photoshop skills to win one of three subscriptions to the Ingimage stock library, with a total prize fund of over £1,000. All that was required was to sign up for a free trial and create a Photoshop masterpiece using any images from the Ingimage website that fit the competition theme: colour explosion. The lucky winners have been chosen below and thanks to everyone who participated.
We were very impressed with the quality of entries and delighted to see submissions from so many different countries. Jose’s winning image was the most arresting and shows off some impressive brush work. Our Content department has made a determined effort to get on board with the industry’s leading fashion and beauty photographers, so we were thrilled to see that these images were so popular with contestants. Unlike our competitors, we still hand-pick each of our images for their quality and hope that this comes across when searching our website.
SECOND PLACE - 6-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO INGIMAGE Davide Brusa (www.dawlaz.com), known as Dawlaz, is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Turin, Italy. He is passionate about illustration, digital art and photography
FIRST PLACE - 1-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO INGIMAGE José Paulo (www.zepaulocreation.blogspot.com) is a digital artist with seven years of experience. He’s passionate about fashion photography, creativity, advertising, photomanipulation and digital art. Currently José is working as a digital artist in LaLaLand Studios (fashion photography) with one of the best fashion photographers in Portugal, Frederico Martins
THIRD PLACE - 3-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO INGIMAGE Anmol Pinto (www.anmolpinto.com) is a 27-year-old graphic designer based in Dubai. He dabbles in music production and looks to get into motion graphics, 3D and web design soon
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eye on design portfolio Interview
portfolio interview
www.romeuejulieta.net @romeu_e_julieta
ROMEU AND JULIETA ESTúDIO
Founder Jean Campos tell us how colour, light and experiments are at the heart of this creative studio
How has Romeu & Julieta Estúdio built such a successful portfolio? I’m extremely proud that Romeu & Julieta Estúdio has operated in the creative market for the past five years. This has offered us the opportunity to work with professionals of the highest calibre. Each experience has been unique and has enabled us to develop our work process, sometimes through the occasional surprise. The entire creative evolution of our portfolio is based on these experiences. At what point did your portfolio work become commercially viable? DId you have a particular plan? My wife Patricia and I had a dream to create a business model that was different from conventional Brazilian companies. I think that was imprinted from
the very start, even in the illustrations we did for smaller companies. In the first month of operation we had already closed our first major campaign for famous Brazilian Coca-Cola brand Kuat. We’ve continued to combine our own creative tastes with those of the agencies we work with. This relationship has defined our style, which is a mixture of ideas, concepts and inspirations. Some people may categorise your work as photo illustration. Would you agree with this? We don’t conform to a distinct style. Our work shows aesthetic similarities as we have many artists working on various projects. Also, we’ve loved experimenting with techniques and styles applied to our work from the very beginning, testing the
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Brazil: a large park of machines: “This project assembled a great scene from scratch, full of machinery, workers, environments, buildings and landmarks. Everything was made to look realistic, using photographs and lots of 3D compositing,” Campos explains © Agency: Domínio Público. Client: Case CE. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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Brahma | Imagina a festa | Imagine Party: Romeu & Julieta Estúdio created this image in partnership with the agency África. The team illustrated this campaign image for beer brand Brahma, which inspires Brazilians to believe that the World Cup 2014 in Brazil will be the biggest party ever © Agency: África. Client: Brahma. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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Bakery Pão&Companhia: The team created this image with the very best in breads, pastries and a lot of CG, for L’équipe culinaire R&J. This was part of a wider campaign for affiliate bakery Pão & Companhia in Brazil © Client: Bakery Pão & Companhia. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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Rede Globo: This illustration was produced for Rede Globo, a major Brazilian media company. The team’s objective was to communicate that people could build their own brands using the services offered by this company. The studio included several workers to assemble the image © Agency: W/McCann. Client: Rede Globo. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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portfolio interview eye on design
capabilities of photography, traditional illustration, stop-motion, sculpture and painting. We are very versatile because of this and don’t like to repeat anything. I’ve always believed in trying different ways to create similar outcomes. For example, we have a folder full of CG images that are made to look photorealistic, but we weren’t too worried about the process applied to achieve [the effect]. What matters most is that the final composition is pleasing to the eye. It’s apparent you combine photo, retouch and CG elements in your work. Which is most important? What we can do with any one or all of these in a short time is most important. Often the solutions we use are not always the ones we would like to, due to time constraints. However, this again demonstrates that there are many different ways to create very similar outcomes. For example, we would [previously] apply vegetation through painting and compositing techniques. Now we resort to applying CG elements,
as it became more time-consuming to fix photos than do everything in 3D, which ultimately offers a balanced and clean look. In other creative scenarios we will resort to using photography. We have a core collective of photographers and our own small studio where we produce all our own references, textures and images to support our projects. We also produce our stop-motion productions in this space. Would you agree that the applied lighting and colour in your work makes it more appealing? We are Brazilians, so colours are everywhere in our day-to-day life. From fauna to flora, we are exposed to more colour combinations than you could ever imagine. I try to pass on these influences in every finished image, adding more life and making the viewer much happier… Another thing that I have learnt more and more with every job is how light behaves with different materials. Our understanding is now at a fantastic level. One example is the Pão & Companhia image
romeu & julieta’s key online resources adbuzeedo www.abduzeedo.com We have a very strong affinity with Abduzeedo. Most of our artists refer to the site to infuse and inspire their new work. behance www.behance.net Arguably the best community of artists and art lovers, this is largely responsible for the dissemination of our work and expansion of our global network of partners. ibelieveinadv www.ibelieveinadv.com One of the most comprehensive sites for ad publication, this also serves as a source of inspiration and reference. We are always on top of everything released in the market. colour and light by james gurney www.jamesgurney.com This is a great reference for any artist thinking about creating realistic works. It’s a true guide to light and colour for designers, painters or CG artists. The stunning work of James Gurney illustrates just the tip of the creative process throughout this book. ars thanea www.arsthanea.com This studio is a great reference for impressive jobs and has even influenced our own work. For example, our Dores project was inspired by its design of the Disney Cruise Line project, which was simply fantastic.
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Mini Mundo | IGUATEMI: An illustration made to celebrate Children’s Day. So as not to miss this special date, the client Shopping Iguatemi asked the team to create its very own mini world © Agency: DM9Sul. Client: IGUATEMI Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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Dores Beach Park: The team illustrated an aquatic theme park that was being built in Santa Maria. Here you can see the result of hard work from the studio staff and the agency team © Agency: JAdams. Client: Dores Praia Park. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
006 007 005 then and now Looking at the Case CE project below you can see how Romeu and Julieta previously tried to make everything from scratch, mixing paintbrushes and photographs. Although there was an interaction between these, creating a nice result, effects can still look overly illustrated. One of the studio’s latest works for Dores Beach Club now shows how it processes parts using 3D simulation. The team still used Photoshop to brighten transparency as well as comp in photos of foam and waterfalls to simulate movement. The end result shows a significant shift in the process. then
Case CE © Agency: Domínio Público. Client: Case CE. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta now
Dores Beach Club © Agency: JAdams. Client: Dores Beach Park. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
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New Holland: This illustrates how the studio is able to work for different types of clients. This was another challenge to overcome, but yet another beautiful outcome was achieved in the end © Agency: Domínio Público. Client: New Holland. Illustration: Romeu & Julieta
where you can see the daylight coming up and over mountains made of bread, creating shapes and curves that I had never experienced. This balance between light and dark really fills me with emotion.
pass a fine toothcomb through every pixel of an image. Sometimes eight hours turns into eight days, as was the case with our Dores project (006), where the final image had a resolution of 18,000 pixels.
Your portfolio seems to appeal to a lot of advertising clients. Why is this? We have a very healthy entertainment industry in Brazil, so illustrators like ourselves have always been linked with this type of advertising. The industry is a fertile ground for experimentation and creative challenges. A great example in our portfolio is the Iguatemi-MiniMundo project (005). The challenge was to create a look worthy of Disney and DreamWorks in only five days. It was a nice job but we had to sacrifice a few nights’ sleep sculpting the elements and simulating the character’s hair. But we don’t run away from a challenge. In the end the client was very happy and so were we.
What has been the greatest learning curve when producing your commercial portfolio? The experience of co-existing with creative people – be that as part of a production team or with creative agency staff – offers a window of opportunity to expand your imagination. This has helped expand the capabilities of our own creativity and it seems that with every project our invention can go further.
How has Photoshop helped enhance your portfolio work? Photoshop has always been a primary tool in my pipeline work for 3D, animation, drawing, painting and post-production. This latter stage can take up to eight hours to complete. There are certain elements of light and colour that are only possible when you
What advice would you give other artists looking to build a successful portfolio? Putting a face to your name in the market can only help you grow, if you want to that is. I see many people aspiring to do things, but just sitting in their offices with a real lack of urgency to turn the world upside down. There is no formula for success, we must make a living by learning. That’s how you evolve. Don’t just settle with what you are currently doing and always look to expand your work, especially by trying new things.
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TECHNIQUES designing an appealing menu
project FOCUS
designing an appealing menu
Steve Simpson discusses the Photoshop challenges that he faced when Creating a busy and attractive restaurant menu
C ©Eoin Holland
About the studio steve simpson
www.stevesimpson.com
Based in Ireland, Steve Simpson is a freelance illustrator/designer working in the areas of packaging design, illustration and art for children’s books. Simpson has regularly had work exhibited in London, LA and New York. He was also a main-stage speaker at the 2012 OFFSET creative conference in the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin. Simpson has won numerous international awards for both his packaging design and illustration including gold and silver at the AOI’s Images, Best of British Illustration awards.
name of project menu cover – fade street social @stevesimpson
reating art for a restaurant menu may seem like a straightforward task, but there are a variety of factors that must be taken into consideration before you take on such
a project. First, this will be a piece of art seen by many people from all walks of life, who will likely spend an hour or more observing your designs over several courses. This means the visuals have to be interesting, appealing and most importantly convey the character of the restaurant. Second, you need to make sure you’ve created an image that won’t spoil the appetite – the last thing restaurant owners want is their clientele being turned off before they’ve even glanced at the starters. Here we discover how Irish designer Steve Simpson has gracefully sidestepped such issues with an appetising image that tantalises the senses as much as it does whet the palate. Scattering animals within a kitchen and surrounding them with an eye-catching collection of fonts makes this one menu that’s as much of a talking point as it is a welcome introduction to your meal. Less digestible than the image, however, was the file size that resulted from working with so many layers. Read on to find out how Simpson overcame this and more. Can you tell us about the brief you were given? What visual cues did you need to achieve? At the end of June I was contacted by the design company Neworld and asked to quote on illustrating the menu cover for Dylan McGrath’s new Fade Street Social restaurant in Dublin city centre. Dylan wanted a busy kitchen scene and I suggested using animals rather than people to populate the kitchen. There was also talk of framing the menu for the wall. Were there any inspirations that informed the work? I’m a huge fan of the limited palette, so I always bring that into my work. I also like incorporating hand-drawn type. I take a lot of inspiration from Fifties or Sixties advertising and book illustrations of the period, especially the use of texture and colour.
Can you discuss the process you went through to make the image? I’ve been using Photoshop since about 1992, back when it came on floppy disks. With the exception of the very occasional AOI job, all my work is created or more accurately finished in Photoshop. I start every project with a series of very basic sketches, that I resolve and refine with each rough. Sometimes I’ll scan the rough, manipulate it slightly in Photoshop to fit the format and print out a larger version to work over using a light box. When I’m happy with the direction, I’ll email a JPEG to the client for feedback. The next step is to make the artwork file. In this case I needed to make it big enough so it could be hung on the wall. The working file was 100cm across at 300dpi – I tend to work in RGB instead of CMYK to keep the file size down a little. I paste the final sketch into the file and size it to fit. This is kept as a guide on the top layer and multiplied, with Opacity reduced to about 30%, then locked off. Which Photoshop tools were particularly useful for the creation of this project? With this illustration I had sketched my own wonky versions of The Gastro Bar and Fade Street Social logos, so I started with them. I created a new folder (sometimes I even remember to label the folders) to isolate and keep track of the main elements. I’ve attempted many times [over] the years to get a grip of the tablet, but in the end I find the mouse much easier to work with. I use vector paths to create layers of the various shapes. I colour these – usually with any tone that’s handy – by filling the path. When I have all the shapes of a particular element on different layers, I lock the transparency… and start playing around with the colours. My colour palettes are an integral part of my style, so I usually know which ones work together and which don’t. I’m not keen on solid black or pure white, so the rest of my colours have to reflect that spectrum. I’ll fill the shapes with a tone that I feel is close to what I want, then I use Hue/Saturation to adjust it until I’m happy
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designing an appealing menu TECHNIQUES
Simpson has used a collection of fantastic fonts that work
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ranging from descriptions of the food offered to exclamations of its quality. The resulting feel of the image is busy but attractive, rather than distracting.
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Simpson explains his intentions for the project: “I really wanted to create something that would sit well on the table – a talking point. It’s always nice to have a captive audience. Here I had the opportunity to add to the diners’ experience of the restaurant.”
Simpson’s love of the limited palette – that is, deliberately
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here. Despite how dynamic and elaborate the image is, it nevertheless feels like an ensemble, thanks to his superlative use of colour.
All images © Steve Simpson
with the balance between that and the rest of the colours. For the rest of the illustration this will be the basis of my colour [scheme]. Once I’m happy with the palette, I’ll add light and shade using adapted brushes. I particularly like to use textured brushes to prevent it looking too clean and digital.
lot easier to work with. I flattened as many of the folders as I could then jiggled, resized and extended the characters, props and lettering to work in the new shape format. There were about 20 hours of tweaking needed, but I think the end result was worth all the extra work.
Did this particular project pose any Photoshop-related challenges? The main challenge with this project was the number of layers. I generated well over 1,500 layers, which left me with a working file in excess of 1.5GB. Obviously this was mainly due to having to work larger to accommodate the print for the restaurant wall. The only solution was to flatten characters and save versions as I went along. A second major challenge occurred after the illustration had been signed off. There was a change to the size of the menu, which was considerably thinner. As my machine, a 8GB 27” iMac, had been creaking under the pressure of simply saving or opening the previous working PSD, we decided I should work with the actual menu size for the resizing, leaving the previous version for the framed print. This made the file (a little less than 500MB) a
What advice would you give to artists looking to create a similar image? My best advice on a large project like this would be to be organised, be sure you’re completely happy with the sketches before you even open Photoshop and always double-check the client is happy with the size of the menu before you start!
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© Adam Spizak
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PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS MIX IN DIRT
A layer of dirt was added over the metal plates using a grungy texture set to Overlay mode and applied as a clipping mask.
CREATE YOUR TEXTURE
In this image the brushed metal texture was created from a few different photographs.
BLEND FOR SMOOTHNESS
Screen blending was applied for an even more smooth transition.
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WORK WITH METAL ADAM SPIZAK Adam Spizak (www.spizak.com) shares his tips on creating a cold, metallic texture and blending it into this photomanipulation.
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20 PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS TECHNIQUES
JELLY 04 CREATE OLIVER WETTER
REAL TEXTURES 02 USE OLIVER WETTER Oliver Wetter (www.fantasio.info) recommends giving Photoshop something meaty to work with, to improve the look and feel of your images. Stepping away from the computer and getting stuck into some arts and crafts is a great way to get unique textures. For Law of Nature (below), which was featured as the cover of Corpus Pretero, Wetter used a layer method on top of the background of the manipulation. “I think this image comes to life through the old look and texture,” he says. “The effect is created using cardboard and white paint (Gesso), which is applied on a layer of wheat paste before it’s really dry. After a while the acrylic white dries up with the glue and the colour begins to crack.” The density and quality of texture is a key part of the overall feel of the image. “It’s possible to experiment with looks by heating and using various materials, such as glossy cardboard,” says Wetter. “The same should work with oil colours as a base and acrylic colour on top. You can also try crackle paste, which should be available at every good art-material store.” How you capture a texture is as important a decision as how you use it. “The look can be scanned, but to get more depth… it can be photographed with light coming from one side.”
Creating and handling substances like jelly requires an understanding of how the material will react to advanced lighting techniques, says Oliver Wetter (www.fantasio.info).
© Oliver Wetter
© Oliver Wetter
DEFINE THE SHAPE When adding an element such as a jelly tentacle to an image, work with the main subject set to minimum transparency. Use the Smudge tool and Eraser to begin defining the edges.
Wetter uses an intuitive blend of real-world textures in his work
NO TO BLACK AND WHITE 03 SAY JORGE PEÑA When working with photomanipulations, never use purely black or white tones to add shadows or highlights, Jorge Peña advises. “Instead, always try to grab the darkest or clearest colour near your needs,” he says. “For shadow layers use Multiply and for highlights, use Screen or maybe Overlay to get a more detailed light.” When creating an advert image for Chinese car company Changan under DDB Chile, Peña used HD images on the cube and made detailed selections to separate the elements. “The most important thing is to attach each element to a colour palette where everything meets. This way you don’t have to put too many Filter layers on top of everything, because in the end the art gets a little blurred and fuzzy,” he says. Peña points out that the image doesn’t use any 3D and that the cityscape in the background is just a matte-painting creation. His full portfolio can be seen at www.behance.net/jp1985.
KNOW YOUR SUBSTANCE A realistic feel relies on foreign matter, such as the jelly, behaving in a way that would be true to its form. Since the jelly is translucent, light would bleed through it and colour the skin red too.
LIGHT THE IMAGE Since the lighting is defined in the tentacle, another layer for the rim light was added. It was drawn with a simple scattered brush tip with the layer set to Negative Multiply.
© Agency: DDB Chile. Client: Changan. Head of art: Claudio Campistó
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TECHNIQUES 20 PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS
06 ZONE YOUR
© Oliver Wetter
IMAGE SEBASTIAN ANDAUR
EFFECT 05 PAINTED OLIVER WETTER There’s a ton of software for adding painted looks to photographs, but any expert can spot effects that have been added by a series of algorithms. Even with the best options, the image will never be perfectly realistic. Any time spent creating this effect manually will be worth the final result.
© Sebastian Andaur
Commissioned by Nestlé to visually represent the taste and feel of dark chocolate, freelance artist and designer Sebastian Andaur (http://work.andaurstudios.cl) conjured up The Dark Queen by combining an image with handmade Photoshop elements. His top tip is to layer up different zones of your image to seamlessly blend it with the new aspects you’re introducing. “Even if the environment is completely digital, the best way to blend everything is to use layer masks and several layers of different zones.” This was the technique he applied to the girl that sits in the front and centre of the final image. “All the surrounding elements are made by hand, using Photoshop with several layer masks and soft brushes.”
SUBJECT AND BACKGROUND When adding a painted look, make sure the subject is separated from the background. Whichever area you’re targeting, make a copy of that layer, change the levels and make it around five-per-cent darker before you start.
MASKS ARE YOUR FRIEND 07 GROUP JUSTIN MALLER GET BRUSHED EDGES To add a paint touch to the outer-edge of a subject, apply to the new layer in strokes, dots or crosshatch and erase where needed. With the Eraser set to around 15-20% Visibility you can start to remove parts of the overlying layer.
PAINT OPTIONS The strokes you make will determine the overall effect. Don’t just stick with simple up and down strokes, experiment with various tip sizes for more-detailed areas of the image. Last, draw in more features such as the wings and tattoos.
Freelance illustrator and creative director Justin Maller (www.justinmaller.com) has manipulated images for clients like Dolby and Nike, so he knows his way around layers and masks. To create Jewel (below), an experimental portrait-based illustration, Maller started with an image by photographer Chris Knight. Using group masks is his top tip to create a seamless finish in the final image. “As you can add a layer to as many groups as you desire, it also effectively means that you can add as many masks to that layer as you require,” he says. “This is especially handy if you want to have a gradient on the mask, but also need to have it specifically edited out of other areas. Having multiple masks on the layer enables you to keep fine details constant, but adjust global flows of gradient transitions as required. Used correctly, it effectively enables you to mask as easily and infinitely as you create layers. [This] is vital in a complex composition where the placement of elements may change frequently and necessitate responsive changes in masking as well. Instead of only having one mask to then start over on, you will now have © Justin Maller layers of masks to alter.”
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20 PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS TECHNIQUES
SERIOUS ABOUT SELECTIONS 08 GET SAROLTA BÁN
TO GRIPS WITH GLOW 09 GET ADAM SPIZAK
Spending time perfecting selections is an important part of the process. Here Hungarianborn designer Sarolta Bán (www.saroltaban.com) offers some helpful pointers.
Multidisciplinary illustrator and designer Adam Spizak (www.spizak.com) shows off complex lighting effects in his image The Wicked Queen. Here are his tips for giving your images a glow: “I used the Linear Dodge tool to add highlights both on the crown and the model… [I also used] a soft large brush (30-40px) with low opacity (10/10) set to bright pink to add overall glow to the elements and make the light feel like it’s leaking out of the edges. A Screen layer set on the top of the layer stack was used to add global light and give the main light source balance and direction. The model has a few black-and-white layers set to both Screen and Color Dodge… as these help redirect light onto the model.”
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Even a clean and simple image requires elements to be selected from their environment.
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Use the Magnetic and Regular Lasso tools, as these are the best options to make selections truly accurate.
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Polished images enable the viewer to focus solely on the feel of the piece, rather than get distracted by jarring elements.
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All elements should behave in the same way within the image and blend to form a cohesive new result.
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Try combining some everyday objects creatively, as this lets the image take on a whole new feel and tell its own story.
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Keep the lighting direction the same in the final edit to give a more realistic result.
© Sarolta Bán
© Adam Spizak
CURVES AND MASKS 10 HIGH-END LAURA POTSIC AND TOMMY
NOONAN Art directors Laura Potsic and Tommy Noonan made this image and others for the series of the Ben and Jerry’s ‘It’s What’s Inside That Counts’ campaign. By the time the retouchers got to lay their hands on it, the ideas and characters that make up the series of images had been fully formed by an artist, moulded, baked into clay and carefully photographed to fit perfectly into an ice-cream pint. The idea behind the series was to illustrate the slogan and make all the elements that go into a pint of ice-cream cleverly come right out again. In this big-budget campaign a lot of the work was completed away from the computer. But as soon as the time for digital compositing came, the retouchers reached for two of the simplest tools in the Photoshop kit: curves and masks.
© Agency: Amalgamated NYC. Art director: Laura Potsic, Tommy Noonan. Art Buyer: Merrilee Hesterfer-Diaz. Post-production: Staudinger+Franke
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TECHNIQUES 20 PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS
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THE BRUSH TOOL JONATHAN FOERSTER
© Jonathan Foerster
Use the Brush tool to apply highlights and shadows in different Blend Modes to make objects appear as if they’re in the same space and lighting.
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15 PLUG-INS EUGENE SOLOVIEV Beef up your Photoshop options by adding plug-ins such as Color Efex Pro, which Eugene Soloviev (http:// apachennov.daportfolio.com) uses to create his uniquely surreal images.
MASTER MASKS SEBASTIAN ANDAUR
Manipulations require advanced masking know-how. Try combining refined and transparent tools such as the Pen and Extract.
© Sebastian Andaur
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© Eugene Soloviev
CUSTOM BRUSHES KAROL KOLODZINSKI
Creating a busy image with lots of unique elements requires custom brushes that can be blended seamlessly with the source image.
© Karol Kolodzinski
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SKIN RENDERING KAROL KOLODZINSKI
Use 3D rendering to transform models into unique characters in a fantasy image, such as Duel by Karol Kolodzinski.
© Karol Kolodzinski
© Agency: Ogilvy, Istnabul. Studio: Ars Thanea. Art director: Peter Jaworowski, Karol Kolodzinski, Retouchers: Karol Kolodzinski, Pawel Nolbert. 3D artist: Tomas Muller
© Justin Maller
NEW LIGHT 16 SEE KAROL KOLODZINSKI
KIND TO THE EYES 17 BE JUSTIN MALLER
“The client wanted a strong light behind the huge tree growing in the middle of the street, but at the same time they didn’t want [it] to cast a strong shadow…” says Karol Kolodzinski (www.behance.net/ sugarrhyme) of this image (above). “I painted strong rim lights and highlight the edges, because they accent the strength of the light that’s behind… To make it more believable I blew the background… and added a big glowing light. Finally I made long shadows, so it feels like there is a sun rising.”
“When adding illustrative elements to a photo-based composition, it’s important to always consider your light source,” says Justin Maller (www.justinmaller.com). “So when you’re manipulating photos you should keep that in mind and to try to keep consistency throughout.” He advises using a primary light source. “This is a mistake that a lot of people… are prone to – myself included,” he jokes. “The difference between a piece that adheres to its primary light source and one that doesn’t is massive. The best way to achieve this is to create your illustrative elements with flat lighting, place them around the piece, then burn and dodge edges and surfaces once you’ve finalised their position.”
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20 PHOTOMANIPULATION SECRETS TECHNIQUES
THE SMALL STUFF 18 SWEAT CRISTAL REZA
© Cristal Reza
Creating a realistic image requires attention to detail and that includes adding reflections to the tiniest of windows. Cristal Reza (www.cristalreza.com) explains more.
DRAW IT OUT Use your start image to sketch out your ideas and plan out which elements will fit in the space. Photograph or source the images that you’ll need to create the final piece. Seeing sketches on the image will help you visualise the style of the source images.
SOURCE AND COMPOSITE Make a quick composition, then add the main lights and shadows to see how the image reacts to them. Consider how pieces fit together, such as the window, which shouldn’t be sat on top of the pear, but rather cut into it.
WITH ICE 19 WORK ADAM SPIZAK
20 USE A TEXTURE WITHIN A
Created for Factory311 and the Evolution Exhibition, this image by Adam Spizak features UFC’s Doug Anderson cracking through an icy prison. To create a frozen cave, Spizak recommends you look to the selection tools. “The base was built using simple selections to fake a frozen cavern,” he says. The base textures used were a mixture of stone and concrete. Using an appropriate blending mode helps to add a polished finish to the image. “I’ve set them to Overlay and Hard Light and used a soft rounded brush with low opacity (around 20/20) to add the texture to the blue base,” says Spizak. “To add more depth I’ve used the same textures set as the Screen layer and used a small brush to add highlights to the ice. The ice cracks were added using a small brush and mimic real-life.”
© Adam Spizak
ADD THE DETAIL Add in the small elements that you may think will go unnoticed, such as the railway and clouds reflected in the windows. The image may work without them, but at the same time they give something more to put your eye on.
TEXTURE JONATHAN FOERSTER
Jonathan Foerster (www.atleastwedream.com) is a senior artist in the Depthcore collective and is a sucker for detail. He recommends layering up and building textures to create a unique visual style that suits the subject in the image. “In my work, I layer multiple textures ranging from cracked rock to rusted metal. I used these textures with various layer modes and different opacities to create a whole new texture.” Layering up with textures and elements adds depth to the overall image. Use the Eraser tool to hide unwanted areas and the Sharpening tool to highlight attractive aspects.
© Jonathan Foerster
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PRO MATTE PAINTING We HEAR FROM professional ARTISTS AND STUDIOS ON USING MATTE-PAINTING techniques inside Photoshop
T
he art of matte painting has been radicalised since the introduction of digital software. Now commonly referred to as digital matte painting (DMP), realism and dynamism are more attainable than ever before, as believability has never been so fundamental to a matte painter’s work. Frederic St-Arnaud (http:// starno.net) agrees, saying: “You should focus on two different aspects, the wow factor that relates to the
visual composition of your work and photorealism that makes the viewer truly believe the image they are looking at is real.” It’s this suspension of disbelief that demonstrates the difference between a matte painting and concept art, not to be confused as one and the same thing. Educating yourself as a competent matte painter who can display this distinction is imperative, especially when trying to succeed commercially.
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pro matte painting techniques
© Capcom
painting mist effects
Lead digital artist at Industrial Light & Magic Jaime Jasso explains how he creates atmosphere using Photoshop custom brushes Jaime Jasso (www.jjassodigitalworks.com) first creates a layered 2D plan of his scene, using this to map the depth. “This way I plan how many elements will be present, such as trees, mountains and architecture. Then I can establish perspective, determining how near or far these will be,” he says. Once these elements are fully rendered, Jasso will wield his Photoshop custom brushes, which he creates from cloud photo stock. He explains: “I start painting with sampled colours from the sky and atmosphere in my matte painting.” Jasso integrates effects smoothly by using the same brushes to erase painted fog around solid elements. “The strength of my brushstrokes will depend on the position of my elements in the image’s perspective – denser at the back and lighter at the front.”
DMP has become a very articulated discipline that now blends its boundaries with 3D and compositing. This means that avenues into the industry are extensive, as MPC’s head of environment and DMP Marco Genovesi (www.moving-picture.com) explains: “Any educational path that explores the use of CG and digital-image manipulation can be useful and appropriate to some extent. We shouldn’t forget that artistic talent is still an essential requisite for any
good matte painter, so photography or fine-art courses that explore composition, colours and light are definitely relevant.” Enthusiasts can also rely on the ever-expanding resources on the internet to improve their skills. Professional matte painter Alp Allen Altiner (www. alpaltiner.com), founder of www.vfxworkshops. com that specialises in techniques and production workflow, explains: “Individuals can now participate
and learn from other matte painters who teach these online classes, where a vast amount of important techniques are discussed.” Altiner also believes studying surrounding industries is a great learning curve, especially when contemplating a commercial portfolio. He advises you check out potential client websites and demo reels. “Also study and take notes of your peers’ commercial portfolios. Really pay attention to what
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TECHNIQUES PRO MATTE PAINTING NTING
seems either typical or unique in film and advertising work,” he adds. Once you’ve mastered your design skills, a new challenge lies ahead; promoting your images to potential clients. However, this is easier than you might think, Genovesi advises you to simply follow an online route: “Publishing your work on relevant forums or websites is definitely a good strategy if you want to get noticed by clients. But your portfolio needs to show absolute photorealism and it must be presented with the appropriate breakdowns, which clarify what you have applied to the original plate.” Once you find yourself working with an art director or VFX supervisor, you will begin to understand the work process in greater detail and what is expected of you. Although imagination and invention are key as an artist, as a professional you will be expected to follow a senior’s ideas as much as any other team member. “They are a source of guidance throughout the look, mood and composition of the image you are producing,” reveals commercial matte painter Mat Gilson (www. matgilson.com). “A VFX supervisor will typically be your go-to guy, whereas an art director will normally deal with an image’s final look. Basically you are the ship and they are the captains navigating you…” However, greater commercial experience means your creative input is likely to improve. “Sometimes the VFX supervisor might need to focus on different aspects, so they ask for some creative support. In this case, as a matte painter, you will experience more freedom to explore different routes and solutions,” explains Genovesi. A professional matte painter should trust their art director unequivocally and vice versa. Experienced matte painter at Method Studios (www. methodstudios.com) Paul Chandler agrees: “The art director is usually very adept at channelling the most impacting ideas and aesthetics from concepts through to finished images. The art director’s role at the concept stage is also fundamental as well as occasions when matte paintings are commissioned without the concept phase, where creative solutions are found on the fly.” Of course the inclusion or absence of a concept stage is entirely up to your own process. Ivan Girard, also an experienced matte painter at Method Studios, explains further: “Concept art, as opposed to
You should focus on two different aspects, the wow factor… and photorealism that makes the viewer truly believe the image they are looking at is real Frederic St-Arnaud, www.starno.net
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PRO MATTE PAINTING TECHNIQUES
© 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved
PROMETHEUS MATTE PAINTING
MPC’S HEAD OF ENVIRONMENT AND DMP, MARCO GENOVESI, EXPLAINS HOW PHOTOSHOP WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT THIS IMAGE FOR THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE
© 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation & MPC. All rights reserved
This digital matte painting (DMP) for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was based on a quick sketch made by MPC lead environment and DMP artist Marco Rolandi, who predominantly used Photoshop painting tools. This was then coloured and enhanced by DMP artist Piotr Swigut, who composited several photos to render the main clouds. It was then Genovesi’s turn to add to the piece. “When I jumped in, the direction of the image was clear,” he explains. “All I had to do was make sure the matte painting looked photoreal and pixel-sharp. I used a mixture of techniques to achieve this.” Genovesi sourced several photographs from MPC’s aerial reference library, working from real-world resources. “I blended these together by
carefully painting layer masks with some custom brushes made from smoke and cloud photos,” he continues. “Then I graded the different images using a stack of Curves, Hue/Saturation and Color Balance adjustment layers that were all targeted using clipping masks. Whenever it wasn’t possible to find a photo with the right light, perspective or quality, I painted what I needed.” Layers were organised using group folders, separating different elements according to their depth. “This offered maximum flexibility when editing the parallax and animation between clouds. As a final task I had to generate a few lightning layers that were exported as separate elements then animated in compositing,” he finally adds.
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MATTE PAINT WITH PHOTO STOCK AND CG ELEMENTS
Digital matte painter Francesco Corvino explains the use of 3D in his work for Sci-fi short ‘Archetype’, from The Aaron Sims Company
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WORKING WITH CG ELEMENTS
“When I have to produce specific elements that can’t be created with photographic stock, I usually turn to 3D assets. These are produced using 3D software Maya, which I consider to be very reliable when applied in conjunction with the renderer V-Ray. Aim to master these to achieve convincing photoreal results.”
matte painting, is in essence a development stage. If drawing some lines on a piece of paper feels more natural and helps shape your ideas, this is the way to go. In most cases I find it easier and faster to use a simple brush in Photoshop to establish composition. I’ll even put some photographic elements together and apply adjustment layers to get the intended look and feel.” Photoshop is now applicable at every stage of producing a DMP and several tools have become fundamental for producing the all-important realism. Colour adjustment layers and layer mask functionality are the most relevant. “Masks are absolutely necessary to hide pixels or use only portions of an element without permanently erasing,” explains Alp Allen Altiner. Such a non-destructive workflow means increased productivity in an industry where time certainly equals money. Colour adjustments are
used in a similar capacity to this. Particularly Curves that are regularly applied as these are the main tool for colour grading. “This option offers the flexibility I am looking for, when I need to match a plate or blend different images together. Since the Sample tool has been implemented, it’s easier to use Curves than ever before,” explains Marco Genovesi. Photoshop brushes are applicable, only to the extent of your capability. “You can paint certain elements and make them look absolutely real, creating convincing texture, light and shadow information…” explains Altiner. “Vegetation is an obvious example. If you are trying to discern palm trees in the background on an image, you can create bespoke tree brushes to quickly add these. Mechanical element brushes can be added to detail a destroyed building and cloud brushes to bring more detail to an existing skyline.”
You can paint certain elements and make them look absolutely real, creating convincing texture, light and shadow information
Alp Allen Altiner, www.alpaltiner.com
WATER REFLECTION EFFECTS
“When you can’t find a suitable stock image with wonderful water reflection, don’t panic. There are ways to achieve this look manually. Simply duplicate the stock layer, flip it vertically and warp it so that it matches the original. Simulate a ripple effect by applying Photoshop’s Glass filter.”
compositing a snowscape
Francesco Corvino reveals how easy it is to replicate this impressive matte-painting effect using simple Photoshop options Matte painter Francesco Corvino (www. francescocorvino.com) began by selecting mountain stock from his photo libraries. He then placed these roughly inside Photoshop, quickly establishing composition. “I applied Curves to colour correct each one of the stock images, producing unified colour and lighting,” he explains. “I blended photos by painting to layer masks with a low-opacity black brush, erasing from the layers on top. I also created fog elements on the horizon by painting with a low-opacity airbrush on a new layer. This created a nice transition from the foreground to the sky.” Finishing touches included adding a falling snow layer set to Screen blending mode then applying Color Range to select the brightest areas of the image. From this selection Corvino made a duplicate layer and applied Gaussian Blur to create the illusion of glowing snow highlighted by the sun.
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PRO MATTE PAINTING TECHNIQUES
© The Aaron Sims Company
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APPLYING TEXTURES TO 3D RENDERS
“The final 3D renders tend to look too clean and perfect. A way to make these look realistic is to apply textures in Photoshop. Here I blended concrete wall textures by clipping them to 3D elements and applying a Soft Light blending mode. You can edit the strength of your added textures with a low-opacity Eraser tool…”
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COMPING EXTREME DEPTH OF FIELD
“The 3D towers were resized and placed to create the illusion of distance. Changing the contrast and colour of these elements using Curves enhances the effect, enabling me to match the values of the mountains. I then paint a dense fog on top of everything with a large low-opacity airbrush, using cool tones picked from the sky.”
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DETAILING YOUR IMAGE
“Details are very important and these usually define a very professional piece when editing to a high standard. I spend quite a lot of time polishing transitions, edges and erasing artefacts in my photo layers. The authentic detail left enriches a scene’s photorealism and re-creates the natural chaos of the real world.”
© Francesco Corvino
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techniques pro matte painting
© Adam Kuczek
ENHANCE EXPOSURE IN URBAN SETTINGS
David Luong reveals how to achieve light rays and accentuate shadow in your matte paintings David Luong (http://davidluong.net) believes studying how light interacts with its surroundings is essential. “In humid, concrete conditions light rays are often cast into dark places,” he explains. “Light bounces off surfaces and produces glow due to overexposure.” Luong gauges where the sun will be by looking at the shadows in his base plate image. “I then refer to this when painting light shafts, enhancing the contrast in the image’s exposure first.” This effect produces a strong column of light that Luong gradually lessens the intensity of, using a large soft Eraser tool set at a low opacity. “I apply this until I get the results I want and will change the Opacity of the entire light rays layer to between 15-20% , depending on how strong I want the effect to be," he explains.
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aRTIFICIAL LIGHT
Commercial matte painter Adam Kuczek explains how to create light at night Adam Kuczek (www.ak-art.net) warns never to use night photos to create night time matte paintings. “It’s better to work with overcast images,” he reveals. “The more evenly distributed ambient light is, the better. Darkness and light are much easier to control. An easy way to simulate a night scene with artificial lighting is to create a new layer on top of your stack, filled with a dark-blue tone, set to Multiply. Adjust saturation, opacity and add further adjustment layers to create authentic looks.” To create strong artificial lighting emanating from street lamps and windows, paint with Overlay, Soft Light or Color Dodge blending mode brushes. Kuczek explains: “Application usually takes a bit of experimenting to find out the best combinations, as results are always affected by the textures that lie beneath. One other useful tip is to copy a selection of all the windows in your image and duplicate these, setting the duplicate layer’s blending mode to Color Dodge. This highlights glowing windows so they’re easy to identify and work with.”
© David Luong
The cross-platform capabilities of Photoshop have given rise to the application of 3D elements. These are an understandable inclusion in a matte painter’s workflow as they further enhance a DMP’s believability. “When we work with CG we often rebalance all the rendered layers in NUKE first then export the result to Photoshop,” explains Genovesi. “Sometimes we export data such as normals, occlusion, UV, position or light passes that we then apply to adjustment layer masks. It can become a very complex process, but we always end up painting over the renders to add detail and complexity, which makes an image look real.” Admittedly, with the introduction of CG, the DMP workflow has become even more diverse, so commercial matte painters won’t always construct images in Photoshop, as Altiner explains: “Sometimes production is the other way around, where a matte painter creates elements for the 3D team. These elements are applied to a virtual
environment, where the camera travels through a cinematic shot, making each angle and view look authentic.” Altiner continues with this example: “If the scene has slowly drifting clouds, mountains and other elements, you would create these on separate layers using Alpha channels and deliver them back to the 3D team. They use them to create projections that match the camera movement.” The rise of 3D production has finally enabled DMPs to exist in panning, tracking and craning shots, augmenting a realistic perspective. Photoshop is likely to remain a constant production tool in this process, as it continues to produce 16-bit and 32-bit information, as well as channel and mask functionality and the ability to import 3D elements. To be a commercial matte painter you must continue to understand real-world physics in creating believable visuals. Always remember that the ability to create compelling compositions comes from experience and, most importantly, dedicated study.
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TECHNIQUES CREATE A FANTASY MATTE PAINTING
OUR EXPERT EDUARDO LOPEZ MUSTAROS www.edlostudio.net
Ed is a professional matte painter currently working at Epics Fx Studios in Mexico city. He started a couple of years ago in the film industry and now has two EuropeanTurkish movies under his belt plus several TV shows for the History channel and the Sci-fi channel.
@edlo727
SOURCE FILES On the disc you will find the screen-capture videos of the whole process from start to finish, the brushes used and the original PSD file. All stock images used are free to download, please see the disc files for the links to each individual image referenced in the steps.
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create a fantasy matte painting
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Learn how to work with images to achieve a matte painting, using the process of cutting, painting and blending to get a surreal setting
n this tutorial we will embark on a matte-painting adventure to achieve a fantasy image setup in the desert. We’ll start with a basic image, then paint detailed rock structures and use several images to convert a simple background to a fantasy environment, all while maintaining realism. Here we will need to use a pen tablet, since there is quite a bit of brushwork involved. You can try to use a mouse,
but the process will be much more difficult to achieve the results we need. The tutorial is completed with Photoshop CS6, but you can use almost any version from CS2 onwards to achieve the same results. However, bear in mind some items and settings might have different names. As you progress, it’s recommended that you go through the videos to catch the action and details,
as they can provide a better understanding of what is being done and clear up any doubts you might have before tackling the steps. In order to successfully complete this tutorial you’ll need a strong practical knowledge of Photoshop, since basic operations like accessing a menu, utilising the Brush palette or using a layer clipping mask are not explained.
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techniques create a fantasy matte painting
01
balance the colour
The first thing we need to do is open up our base image then clean up some of the parallel lines on the ridges of the sand dunes with the Clone tool. We don’t need to replace everything, just break up those lines that seem too parallel to one another. This base image is a bit too yellow, so after you are finished with the Clone tool, adjust the colour balance a bit by adding some blue and cyan to it.
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replace the foreground
Now we’ll replace the foreground with an image that has enough detail for our needs. Please download image ‘13446759’ from the links on the disc and add it to a new layer. Hide parts of the image that aren’t needed with a mask and place it so it covers the foreground. Now we’ll use three adjustment layers clipped to this sand image to bring the colour and levels to match the rest. Duplicate the layers and use a section of the image that we didn’t include in the previous framing, to add some rough stone texture to the foreground.
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create the abyss
Start planning on what this huge abyss in the middle of the desert will be. Make a new layer and use the Brush tool with a dark colour sampled from the image to start blocking in the space and shape this will have. Use the supplied 23px Chalk brush for this and enable Transfer with Pen Pressure on the Brush palette. Now block in the base shape of the area that this huge hole will have on the desert.
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detail the abyss
Once we have the overall shape set, find the supplied brush 16px Cliffs, which will help us define the placement and depth of the rock walls. Then we will use a medium-grey tone to start enhancing the walls. Work from the sections closer to your viewpoint and progressively all the way back to the horizon. Remember we are still just planning, so don’t waste time on detail right now and just have fun building up the shapes.
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highlight the walls
Now that we have a section shaped, we want to start considering the sun or main light source, so we can start getting the feel for the volume in these rocks and how highlights change depending on the distance, as well as the shadows. Start sampling highlight colours from the plate according to the position on the landscape. Adding simple highlights gives the appearance of volume on the rock walls, with the variations applied according to depth providing a greater sense of distance.
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focus on the details
Once we have a base structure defined and we are happy with the way our walls look in the distance, it’s time to zoom in a bit closer, reduce the brush size and start adding detail in the same way we have been painting. Now that we have the overall light direction and depth dialed in, we can continue sampling and refining what we have done so far, adding one more level of detail. This process has several levels or stages to it, depending on the detail we want. Quick tip Painting, whether digital or not, is a process that takes several stages to get the right effect. Whatever the project, start big by blocking the overall shape. See how that looks, then add detail by increasing the zoom and decreasing the size of the brush.
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influence the atmosphere
Next, once we have the effect we want, we’ll use an adjustment layer so we can add more uniform atmospheric influence to the whole painted layer. However, make sure you can come back and adjust it at any time. Create a new Levels layer and clip it to the painted layer, then adjust the levels so the blacks are lifted a bit and then paint with a big soft brush where you want less haze. Ensure you paint more in the distance and less in the foreground.
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add some buildings
Now it’s time to add some man-made structures to our image. Download and open image ‘Photoxpress_2798513’. Use the Lasso tool to grab the section that contains the buildings, then copy and paste this onto a new layer on top and add a layer mask so we can carefully mask off what we don’t need. Scale it to position and, with a smaller brush, mask off at the base so it sits nicely on the sand.
use blending and shadow
We will now add Color adjustment, Levels and Hue/Saturation layers all clipped to the building layer. What we are looking to do is match the overall shade and colour of the building, so it fits the landscape. Once we have the balance set up, we will add a new layer below the base building. By sampling colour from the plate we can paint in a shadow for this building over the sand.
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lighten the building
For the highlights we need a new clipped layer on top of the building stack, set to Normal or Overlay blending mode. Make the Chalk brush very small, to around 1-2px, and sample highlights from the sky to paint in the shimmers on the walls and roofs of the building. Remember to always keep in mind the light source and apply the highlights just where the sun would hit the structures.
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11
place a foreground tower
Add more buildings to the left and right of the image, using exactly the same technique as before. However, the foreground tower represents a bit of a challenge, since it’s much closer. Open up the link to the tower image ‘667214’ and extract it with a mask. Add a Levels layer to lift the blacks and darken the whole structure, then a Color Balance layer to match. Add the Highlight layer on top, this time in Overlay mode, and start defining the highlights. Make sure you are constantly checking if these changes make sense with the sun’s position, as this will be key to achieving the desired effect.
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apply tower shadow
To get a nice shadow we’ll use the same tower, so duplicate all the tower layers, adjust the levels so it becomes black and then merge all these duplicated layers down. We will position this layer below the main tower layers and use the Distort command to place it over the sand. Always keep in mind that the shadows will project perpendicularly in opposition to the light source. To add some surface distortion we can also use the Warp tool a bit.
Quick tip Adjustment layers make your file size a bit larger, yet they give you the ability to go back in and tweak every part of your image when needed. In a production environment this is needed all the time, as the supervisor or client will always request changes.
bring in shadow blur and highlights
A new feature in Photoshop CS6 is the Field Blur. This is a brilliant tool if you want to control the blur over distance or shape using anchor points. In this project we need less blur close to the tower structure and more further from it. Set the layer mode to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to 75%. For the highlights, mask off the Levels layer with a 1px brush to reveal the original brightness that, in direct combination with the main Highlight layer set to Overlay, will give us a far more dramatic result.
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insert the background mountain
Download and insert the back mountain image from the link on the disc (‘1234175’) and paste it onto a new layer. Now we’ll again use a mask to carefully extract the main mountain, so we just keep what we need. Now, as with the buildings, apply Color Balance, Levels and Hue/Saturation layers to make it match the overall landscape. Start with the levels of the image and finish up with some desaturation to blend nicely.
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extraction and adjustment layers
We will extract the statue with the Magic Wand and refine the selection to create a mask. Follow a process similar to the foreground tower, using the mask to hide the bottom section following the mountain shape so it sits nicely on top of it. Next add Levels and Color Balance layers so it blends with the mountain and landscape at that distance. Add a new layer, also clipped, then set it to Overlay and start painting the highlights.
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highlight detail and dirt
Next insert another Highlight layer, also on Overlay, to paint in more highly defined highlights with a smaller brush. We’ll then follow with another layer, also in Overlay mode, to start adding dirt, wear and cracks onto the sculpture. Use the 2px Chalk 23 rock 1 custom brush included in the brush files, which will help add in random detail in a shorter time. Again be sure to keep in mind the light source position and also where the dirt would accumulate.
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create a fantasy matte painting techniques
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use extra texturing
Use another layer with a layer style texture applied to it, so we can increase the amount of detail this structure has. Add this new layer, also clipped, to the statue and fill it with a medium-grey tone, enable the Pattern Overlay in the Layer Style dialog and load the rock pattern. Reduce the Scale a bit and move the texture so we get it in position. Rasterise the layer, set it to Overlay and reduce the opacity.
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cut the statue
We will now cut some pieces off the statue to add to the ancient look we want, then add a new layer where we can paint in some volume and highlights that correspond to the missing pieces. Continue using the small Chalk brush and just sample colour from the statue itself. Remember how you have painted these volume and highlights so far and always keep the light source in mind.
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enhance the sand
Now we’ll paint in some sand that piles up to the mountain. Find the mountain layer and create a new layer on top. With the Chalk 23 brush, at about 1-2px size, start painting in sand over the lower part of the mountains. Remember, we always do our painting with Transfer enabled, controlled by Pen Pressure. Follow the shapes of the mountains and pile up more sand on the flatter surfaces.
apply some drop shadow to the mountain element
We need to paint in some huge shadow for the mountain all over the left of the landscape. To have complete control over this process we will use a Levels layer. On the mountain stack, create a new Levels layer and start by bringing everything down darker. Fill the layer with black so it’s all gone and paint in with white only where you want the shadow to fall. Again, always keep in mind the position of the light source.
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adjust the shadows
Once we have the shadow where we want it, we will adjust the Levels layer to change the hue and depth so they match the rest of the image. We will accomplish this by adjusting the levels of the colours separately. So, if we go into the Yellow channel we can play with the blue/yellow amount our shadow has and if we go to the Green channel we can adjust the green/magenta influence on the shading.
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complete the mountain features
Once we have the shadow, we’ll repeat the process on the mountain itself so both the landscape and the rocks have matching shades of shadow. We’ll create another Levels layer for the mountain and repeat the same process of masking and carefully adjusting the levels so that both shadows are the same. We can paint some more sand in the shadow area on a new layer, this time sampling colour from the closer shaded areas.
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Include live elements
To add some new elements to our image we will use another of the image links found on the disc. Download, open up and insert image ‘291347’. The first thing we have to do is extract them the same way as we have done with the rest of the elements, using a mask, applied with a selection or a combination of both. We only need this camel and man for our image, so go ahead and extract them both onto a new layer.
insert detailed shadow
We will go about this the same way as we did the tower, adding shadow using the camel layer itself then duplicating, darkening and distorting it into position. Finalise it with a bit of adjustment from the Warp tool, set its mode to Multiply and reduce the Opacity to about 46%. Finally adjust the colour balance directly so the shadow is a bit colder.
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placement and shading
Once we have the figures properly extracted, go ahead and apply the layer mask. We want them in a separate layer, so cut and paste the figure to his own layer and keep the camel in the original layer. We will then scale them into position and apply to each our technique of adjustment layers to bring the colour on par with the rest of the image. This time a Hue/Saturation layer, plus a Levels layer, will do the trick.
Paint tiny features
To finalise our painted details, make some tracks for the camel, sampling a darker shade from the plate close by and painting in a trail of prints. Then we will go back to the highlights in our tower and add some tiny detail to the features. Mask off on the Levels layer to reveal the bright original as we have done before. This time apply to individual bricks and sections of the tower.
Finish your adjustments
To finalise the look of the image we’ll add three new layers all the way to the top; first a Levels layer, just to darken the whole thing a bit, yet we will mask it off centre with a huge soft brush to create a vignette effect. Also add a Color Fill layer with a dark brown in an Overlay mode and reduced opacity. Finally, add a Color Balance layer to warm everything slightly. We can even go to the mountain and statue layers and increase the warmth on these separately.
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RESOURCES ON THE DISC
ON THE DISC ENJOY TWO CS6 VIDEO GUIDES THIS ISSUE, AS WELL AS ACCESS TO HIGH RES STOCK IMAGERY, RESOURCES AND PROJECT FILES FOR THE MAGAZINE’S TUTORIALS
WELCOME… … to your free cover disc. On this issue’s resource CD you can continue your Photoshop learning with four exclusive videos created especially for Advanced Photoshop magazine. You’ll learn how to animate the logo of your choice to put up online and follow the matte-painting tutorial step by step in another. To help you complete this month’s tutorials we have provided tutorial files (where available) that include original photos, textures, vector shapes and Illustrator files so you can follow along with the pros. We also have a bonus pack of goodies for you to use: over 101 web banners and ribbons from Media Militia, 20 landscape images from Ingimage and various wood textures from FanExtra. Enjoy!
WORKSHOP FILES
FOLLOW ALONG WITH THIS ISSUE’S TUTORIALS In the Techniques section of the disc you will find a selection of project files that you can use to follow our tutorials one step at a time. This issue they include photos, textures, vectors and layered Photoshop files.
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WorldMags.net CS6 VIDEO TUITION
EXCLUSIVE TUTORIALS: USE THE NEW TOOLS IN PHOTOSHOP CS6 Advanced Photoshop regular Steven Lake, has provided an exclusive, professional-standard video tutorial where you will learn how to animate your logo in Photoshop. This is in addition to over two hours of screen capture, so you really can work alongside the professionals one step at a time. Course details In this tutorial we will look at the basic principles of designing an animated logo. You will start off with a flat logo and learn how, by using your Timeline tool as well as other video presets, you can turn a flat image into an animated one. For over 15 minutes you will work with layers to manipulate certain parts of the image in order to produce key frames.
READERS’ GALLERY
THE BEST WORK FROM OUR WEBSITE
We present four of the best artworks from the users of our online gallery website at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk.
Course details Follow the matte-painting tutorial on page 36 with over two hours of screen capture.
RESOURCES PACK
BONUS PACK OF FREEBIES
In this issue you will find a great selection of design resources to use on your personal projects, including 101 web banners and ribbons, 20 free stock images, ten feather brushes and six free textures.
PREMIUM HIGH RES IMAGES
EXCLUSIVE LANDSCAPES FROM INGIMAGE
This issue we have teamed up with Ingimage to supply you with 20 high-resolution landscapes to work with, so if you would like to get to grips with the matte-painting tutorial this issue, then why not start with these images? Based in London’s Soho, the Ingimage library has almost doubled in size over the last year and is fast building a reputation as an affordable, high-quality subscription. You can get a free trial to Ingimage through its website, where you’ll be able to download up to 35 high-resolution and vector images.
WALLPAPERS
THE BEST WORK FROM OUR WEBSITE We present the top-eight images from our previous tutorials that would look great on any desktop. Download your choice now!
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CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP
PHOTOMANIPULATION
CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES
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COMPOSITE YOUR PHOTO STOCK TO CREATE PERSPECTIVE AND EXPLOSIVE EFFECTS IN AN ACTION PACKED IMAGE
he following tutorial is for Photoshop enthusiasts looking to take their compositing skills to the next level. Some of these effects may seem daunting at first, but with a firm grasp of Photoshop and a big dollop of perseverance you’ll be creating cinematic effects in no time. In this tutorial you will learn how to build and layer photo stock before you even start adding any type of effect. The majority of your time will be spent understanding how to create and incorporate shards of glass, producing dramatic perspective in your images. We’ll also show you how to complement this effect further by transforming your background into a window reflection. The biggest issue when compositing an image with a lot of elements is figuring out how to place all the different pieces authentically, so your viewer doesn't lose interest. Relighting these using Photoshop adjustment layers helps with integration and enhances a sense of realism. We’ll also explore how to dodge and burn creatively, match light with colour casts and ultimately create a dynamic atmosphere. By the end of this tutorial you will be placing objects in a scene effectively, to tell your compelling story.
COMBINE ALL THE ELEMENTS
RESIZE AND PLACE IMAGE LAYERS BEFORE ADDING EFFECTS
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PICK A DOCUMENT SIZE
The first step is to open a new portrait document, set at 4,400 x 5,600px. Once this is done, open the supplied ‘Background.jpg’, ‘Girl.psd’ and ‘Heli.psd’ files, then layer these into your workspace as you see fit.
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SCALE THE IMAGES
Place the elements and scale them so they look realistic. You won’t need to scale the background, just align it suitably. Make the helicopter a bit smaller to match the perspective and increase the scale of your model so she seems closer.
OUR EXPERT JOSH ROSSI
www.joshrossi.com Josh Rossi is a commercial photographer who is obsessed with spy and action movies. His dream is to direct a James Bond film.
@JoshRossiPhoto
SOURCE FILES
On the disc you will find a collection of images from the shoot for this project, along with a number of other images so you can experiment and replicate the creative retouching applied in this tutorial.
WORK IN PROGRESS
FROM BLAND TO EXTRAORDINARY
Progress 1: Align the photos
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REPLACE THE SKY
Now replace that boring white sky with a something more interesting. Open the supplied ‘Clouds.psd’, copy and paste this into your document and place it behind your ‘Background.jpg’ layer. Remove the existing sky in this layer by selecting it with the Magic Wand then deleting it. Increase the scale of the ‘Cloud.psd’ layer to fit.
Progress 2: Warp the backdrop
With a firm grasp of Photoshop and a big dollop of perseverance you’ll be creating cinematic effects in no time
Progress 3: Add final detail
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WORKSHOP cinematic techniques
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create glass shards
quick tip Save time when replicating the glass shards by placing similar-shaped pieces close to one another, editing size and direction. This will save you from having to shoot 1,000 unique pieces of glass.
Open the supplied ‘GlassShards.psd’, then copy, paste and resize the shard layers individually. This is the longest process in the entire tutorial as it takes time to create a realistic glass explosion. You will need to vary the sizes and direction of your shard layers. Start comping around the model’s body and try to achieve a look where the model is bursting out of a glass window. Add smaller shards in front of her and larger ones close to her sides.
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add glass shatter marks
Now you need to add more realism to make the window look like it’s shattering. To create this effect all you need is a white brush with a hard edge. Set a small brush size so it feels like you are drawing with pencil on paper. Open the supplied ‘broken_glass.psd’. What you need to do is create a similar design. For the sake of time just create a new layer and trace over this image if you would like to get a feel for the effect.
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place your broken glass
Insert your hand-drawn broken glass layer next to your model. As you duplicate the shatter marks, the layer edges will not match up perfectly. This isn’t a problem, because glass breaks are not always symmetrical. Place these shatter marks so they outline the model’s body. This makes the glass look like it’s shattering outward as the model is bursting through. Use a hard-edged Eraser tool to remove some cracks and give them a sporadic look.
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Spread glass dust
Now we need to create finer pieces of glass spraying everywhere. Do so by opening the supplied ‘GlassDust.psd’, replicate the tiny shards of glass in random order then merge the layers. Descale these pieces then repeat the process until a dust cloud starts to form. Continue to copy and paste this dust cloud layer into your image and place these new layers randomly, intermingling with the glass shards you created previously.
warp the Background
We are warping the background because we need it to look like a window reflection. Most reflections have a slight curvature, so activate the Liquify filter and begin editing the ‘Background.jpg’ layer, keeping in mind how you are affecting direction. The top of the building to the left has been cut off, but you will need to trim a bit more off the top to make it look like there is a roof. Use the Pen Path tool to select the top part of the building precisely then delete what you have selected. Your building should now look normal.
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cinematic techniques WORKSHOP
match up elements
Use Liquify and Color Balance to integrate your image elements realistically
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analyse your work
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Replace the existing sky with a new clouds layer and enlarge this to fit with the various elements in the image background.
You will now have your elements placed where you need them. This process has been wholly deliberate and in the following steps we will start to add all the effects and lighting we need to bring the image together. The hardest part is done, so now we are going to focus on the smaller details.
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Resize and place many glass shard layers to create the effect of glass exploding out.
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Place glass dust all over the top of the image and draw shatter marks around the model.
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Warp the background to make it look like a window reflection that has realistic curvature added.
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liquefy the helicopter
You will need to liquify every image that is shown in the simulated reflection. This includes the ‘Heli.psd’ layer, making it look authentic. Only make subtle edits to your ‘Heli.psd’ layer, otherwise the effect will look exaggerated and fake. You will also need to liquify some of the broken glass layers (not to be confused with your shard layers) so they match. However, here you can be more dramatic when applying the effect. This in fact will add more realism.
The glass needs to be desaturated and have a slightly yellow tint applied due to the effects of sunlight
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darken the background
We’ll now darken the window and create tinting. Insert an empty layer and fill it with black, setting Opacity at 50% and the blending mode to Soft Light. Manually create a vignette so that the model and helicopter layers are highlighted, darkening the edges of your image. Also darken some the clouds and buildings by creating an empty layer, setting the blending mode to Soft Light then painting to these with a soft-edged black brush at 20% Opacity.
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match the colours
Add a Hue/Saturation layer on top of your background layers and set Saturation at -55. Use a Color Balance layer, setting Midtones at +2,0 and -8. Desaturate the model to -51 using Hue/Saturation, then change model tone using a Color Balance layer. Set this layer’s Midtones at +8,0 and -26. Lighten your mode using a Curves layer with Output set at 63 and Input at 142. Only the model is affected by these changes, so clip the layers to the model layer.
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alter the window frame
Inserting the window frame will pull the image together and make our composited glass layers look even more real. Insert the supplied ‘Bar. psd’ and place it in the far-right of your image. To directly affect the bar, hit Cmd/Ctrl+U and set Saturation at -70. Add Curves to make it darker, setting Output at 85 and Input at 127. Now stretch it the length of the image. Next we’ll create a shine on the window frame from the sun.
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WORKSHOP CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES
HIGHLIGHT WITH WARM COLOURS
USE BLENDING MODES TO CREATE DIFFERENT LIGHTING EFFECTS
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ADD SUNLIGHT
Now we need colour influenced by background lighting. Create an empty layer and set the blending mode to Overlay. Pick a light, warm yellow (ffe09e) and paint with a large soft-edged brush set at 30% Opacity. Apply this as if the sun were in the middle of the two buildings to the left of the model. Don’t make this effect too bright, just add some warmth to the image. We can also add some colour to the buildings to the right of the model.
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REPLICATE GUNFIRE EFFECTS
To mimic gunfire we need to create a new Overlay blending mode layer. Choose a soft-edged orange brush at 30% Opacity and paint the first layer. Choose another orange (# ffd67d) and paint next to the helicopter. Pick a slightly lighter orange than before, make the brush diameter smaller and paint again. Do this one more time with a colour close to white and an even smaller brush. Now lower the brush opacity and paint in some light streaks.
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To add more highlights over the entire image, first create a blank layer set to Overlay blending mode. Pick a soft-edged brush at 30% Opacity and paint over the top of the helicopter with the same orange colour as before. Bleed the orange a tiny bit onto the model, then focus the majority of this new colour on the helicopter. Also paint over the window frame. To be more precise, erase colour that bleeds into the dark part of the window frame.
LIGHT THE MODEL
QUICK TIP To create sharp-looking highlights on either a subject or the background, you will need to first make a selection around where you want to apply the highlight and put a Feather of 0 using the Refine Edge tool. Create a new Overlay blending mode layer above the object you are going to affect and paint in your highlight using a soft brush at around 40% Opacity.
Next we’ll apply to the model to show she is being shot at. Create another blank layer set to Overlay above your model, then Cmd/Ctrl-click the ‘Girl.psd’ layer thumbnail, making a selection. Go back to the layer you just created and paint highlights on the model’s left side using the same orange colours as the previous step. This makes it seem as if the gunfire is reflecting on her face, arms and legs. WORK NON DESTRUCTIVELY When an edgy look is being attempted, the image might seem dull after being desaturated. Depending on the look you want, you can manually paint in colours, which will reintroduce vibrancy. Do this by creating a new layer above the object you want to colour and change the blending mode to Overlay. Paint with the colour of your choice using a soft-edged brush at around 30% Opacity. To avoid having a colour stand out too much, reduce the opacity of the layer you are painting on.
APPLY SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS
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SMOOTH THE SKIN
Next we’ll even out the model’s skin and take away some of the grain in her clothing. Duplicate the image of the model then apply Gaussian Blur with a Radius of 2px to the original model underneath. Add a layer mask to the duplicate model above, then paint with a black brush at 70% Opacity over the skin. You don’t want to paint over the eyes or lips because you want those to stay sharp. Only paint over parts where sharpness will not be affected too much. When you are done, merge these two layers together.
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dodge and burn
We can now dodge and burn our model and the background elements. To do so non-destructively we need to create a new layer set to a Soft Light blending mode. Then we paint with a white or black soft brush at 20% Opacity. Zoom in close, light up some of the dark areas and darken some of the aspects that look flat. You can create shine by brushing white down the middle of the nose and brightening up some of the flatter highlighted areas.
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cut out and blend
This is a bit of a tricky technique, but will improve the look of your image. The glass shards need to blend into the image more, so we are going to play around with blending modes. First we need to merge all of our glass shard layers together. Next, duplicate your model layer and place this over the flattened shards layer. With the Magic Wand tool, select the shards and inverse your selection. Select the model layer above and press Delete.
get a realistic reflection
A mirror’s reflection is very sharp as opposed to a window’s, which we are trying to re-create here. A window’s reflection seems almost as if you have double vision. Our minds don’t really pick up on that too often, but replicating this subtle effect enhances the realism of your reflection effects. Copy each image in your background, lower the Opacity to 30% and shift it a tiny bit up and to the right.
quick tip Blending modes can be very useful. If you can’t seem to figure out how to make something look good or blend it into the background, try mixing different layers with various blending modes. Also try inverting the image using a new blending mode to fully explore all the possibilities.
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apply blending modes
Once you have all these pieces of the model aligned with the shards, you will want to apply the appropriate blending mode to unify them all together. You can play around with the range of styles available, but we found it best to copy this model shards layer to provide two options. The top layer’s blending mode is set to Overlay, the bottom to Screen at 60% Opacity. Remember these go over the actual glass shards layer.
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make light tweaks
The background needs to be obscured to create the right look, so we’ll add fog effects. We do this by creating a new layer and, with a black brush at 10% Opacity, paint over the images surrounding the model. Do the same with a white brush, but in front of the helicopter gunfire. The helicopter will start to look more obscure. Also apply a white brush at a low opacity to create some lens flare on the window frame halfway down. Add a couple more highlights around the image where needed.
final colour adjustments
To finish, you will need to add colour back into the model’s face, as well as the background. Create a new layer above the model, with the blending mode set to Overlay. Using a soft brush at 10% Opacity, paint a light red on her lips and a green around her pupils. Add a layer above the background images, fill it with a light blue (#6abbf9) and set this layer’s blending mode to Multiply. Also set this layer’s Opacity at 80% and erase where the colour affects the image too strongly.
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techniques how i made
how I made
the throne
JORDY ROELOFS We reveal how Dodge and Burn tools with colour
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adjustments helped create this image’s bright colour scheme
ordy Roelofs’ (www.sysmatic.net) own imagination inspired this image, as did the styles of Salvador Dali. However, unlike Dali’s dark aesthetics, Roelofs has produced a bright and airy composition. “The patterned flooring and clouds helped create distance in behind the model,” he explains. “Then I populated the image with animals, pyramids and also blurred objects placed in the foreground, all creating a cool depth-of-field effect.” Photoshop adjustment layers were fundamental in editing and controlling colour. Roelofs tells us: “I used four adjustment layers, two were Gradient maps, one a Curves layer and another a Brightness/Contrast layer. These produced pretty much the whole tonal vibe of the image.” Standard brush styles and Dodge and Burn tools were also applied. “I used brushes to apply the main shadows,” Roelofs finally adds. “The Dodge and Burn tools were applied to create gradient lighting on the pyramids.”
DESATURATION To begin, a Hue/Saturation>Saturation layer was applied to every stock photo. I set this between -65 and -100 to make these greyscale. I made the leopard element totally monochrome via Image>Adjustments>Black & White.
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how I made techniques
GRADIENT MAPS
CURVES ADJUSTMENTS
I applied two separate Gradient maps set with purple colour stops #9a47a8, #1c0d20, #e9c1db and #741b55. A darker gradient was set to Soft Light blending mode, editing Fill and Opacity amounts. Another was set to Lighten blending mode.
Playing with the Blue Curves channel helps create a gold-like tonality. I pulled up the lowest point, setting Input at 0 and Output at 150. The middle point sets Input at 104, Output at 87. I also cranked up the Green channel.
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TECHNIQUES EXPERT BRUSH EFFECTS
DIGITAL PAINTING
EXPERT BRUSH EFFECTS
D
PRODUCE A DIGITAL PAINTING USING PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES, BLEND MODES AND MORE
igital painting is one of the most convenient ways of producing art, especially when done using Photoshop. Not only does it offer a wide spectrum of colours, but also layers, adjustments, transform tools, the History window and many more that will really save you the trouble when fixing things up. Of course, exercising your creative judgement and learning the art itself is still the biggest factor in creating a painting, whether traditional or digital. In this tutorial we’ll tackle different ways to make a digital painting. We’ll use a different approach when making the background, which involves working on a black-and-white image and using layer Blend Modes. For the character we will be blocking in colours immediately with the Brush tool. We’ll also cover other tools we can use to create the painting faster without sacrificing quality. This tutorial can actually be completed mainly using Photoshop’s default brushes, with a few tweaks to their properties and modes, but we have supplied you with a set of custom brushes. The use of a tablet and stylus is highly recommended for this tutorial. This can be done with a mouse, but it would take more time.
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GET STARTED
Starting up a painting can be quite intimidating, so after opening your canvas apply a gradation or fill of grey using the Gradient or Paint Bucket tool. Create a new layer (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N) and start slapping down paint using any kind of brush, just to get you started. Ensure you take your time to build the idea and composition by making rough thumbs.
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MAKE AN INITIAL PASS
It’s advisable to work on the background first to establish the light sources for your main subject or character. Use a hard-edged brush with pressure-sensitive opacity. You can also use the Smudge tool with a dotted brush tip to create interesting texture. If you are using a mouse to apply, try to lower the opacity of your brush to provide greater control.
OUR EXPERT MICHAEL ANTHONY GONZALES www.mictones.com
Michael started digitally painting back in 2006 using Photoshop. After years in the games industry he started his own studio called Tropa Entertainment. Here he shares some tricks he has learned.
@TropaENT
SOURCE FILES
We have supplied a selection of brushes used for this tutorial, as well as the settings used throughout.
WORK IN PROGRESS
FROM INITIAL ROUGH TO FINISHED ARTWORK
Progress 1: Lay out the city
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USE PERSPECTIVE LINES
The scene will have a city background to add a solid foundation, so bringing in perspective lines is a must. To create a perspective line, use your Line tool (U) set to Pixels with a weight of 2-5px. Hold Shift, click and drag horizontally, then repeat, duplicate and merge the lines. Use highly saturated colours for readability.
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Progress 2: Make refinements
Progress 3: Create wings
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expert brush effects techniques
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techniques expert brush effects
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build quick shapes
Now we’ll work on the structures of the background. Use the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) or the Pen tool (set to Path) to build shapes of the structures in the background, then fill them with grey. You can bring in more details by using the Line and Brush tools. Remember to hold Shift before clicking, so the outcome will be straight for the Brush tool. At this point it’s not that important for the piece to have much detail, a few sets of different structures and shape variations will suffice.
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lay out the cityscape
Make a copy of your perspective lines and use the transform tools (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to position your lines as a guide for the cityscape. While the Transformation box is active, Ctrl/right-click and the other options of the Transform tool will appear. Use Distort and/or Perspective as you see fit. After setting up your perspective lines, drop that layer’s Opacity to around 30%. Go back to the structures you made on the previous step and use the transformation tools to lay out the cityscape.
add some colour
quick tip Go to Window>Arrange>New Window For, to open up a new window for your file. Keep this new window small and in full view, as it automatically updates while you work on the active window. Look at it from time to time so you can quickly view the readability of your painting.
To start applying colour, make a new layer, set its mode to Color and use the Gradient tool and brushes. Another method is merging all the layers you want to colour, using Hue/Saturation (Cmd/ Ctrl+U) then clicking Colorize, set your preferences then press OK. Pick the Brush tool, change its mode to Color (hold Shift+Ctrl/right-click) and paint directly on the image layer. It’s recommended to use Color blending mode as it doesn’t require that you merge any image layers below it.
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refine the results
To further polish the painting, create a new Normal layer. Since the cityscape is slanted, use the Rotate View tool and position your view to an upright position as it makes painting much easier. Using a hard-edged brush with pressure-sensitive opacity, go to the settings and adjust accordingly. Set the brush tip to look flat in order to make detailing the structures faster. Adjust the spacing to quickly make those windows and bars. You can lower the Hardness of the brush for the atmospheric effects.
08
block in the character
Create a new layer and, using the Paint Bucket tool, fill it with any low-saturated colour, setting its Opacity to 90%. This is enough for you to see the background beneath as a reference when you draw the character. Create another layer and use a hard brush to make an outline drawing. Using the Magic Wand tool, click on the area beyond the outline (make sure your outline has no holes), choose the fill layer and hit Delete. Now return the fill layer’s Opacity back to 100%.
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expert brush effects techniques
unify the image
Polish the piece using blend Modes and adjustment layers
09
paint the character
Set the outline layer to Multiply and use Hue/Saturation’s Colorize option. Adjust it so that the outline will have colour, then click the Lock the Transparent Pixels icon of the fill layer. Block in the colours, preferably using mid-tones, then add in the other colours and values. Once roughly painted, merge the outline with that layer and start blending. 001
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It’s recommended to use neutrals for colour blocking. This helps the colours you apply easily pop out.
10
choose colours carefully
Choosing colours can be really tough. For this tutorial, to keep it simple, just keep a mindset that the lit areas are warm because of the heat from the sun. The planes that directly face this are a lot brighter, so use the Color Dodge brush mode for the effect, though be careful not to overdo it. For the darker parts we can assume that they receive reflected light from the sky on the opposite side of the sun. Use a blue-violet tone as it serves as a good contrast from the warm background.
002
Blend the colours together by overlapping one stroke over another. Hold Opt/ Alt and colour pick adjacent colours as you go.
Change the perspective Flip your image to check the balance of the composition. Paint the scene as a whole, never focus only on a single part and desaturate the image to check your values. The nearer an object is to the viewer, the more detail, intensity and colour it has. With that in mind, add adjustment layers like Curves, Hue/Saturation and Color Balance, then clip mask it to the layer.
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Get colours from the background and overlap them with the character’s existing local colour. This adds far more interest and variety.
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create cyber wings
Use the Pen or Lasso tool to form the shape and the Paint Bucket tool to fill it out with colour. You only need to make half of the image and duplicate the layer (Cmd/Ctrl+J). Transform>Flip Horizontal the duplicate half of the wing to complete it, then merge the two layers (Cmd/Ctrl+E). Make duplicates of the wing layer then Transform>Distort it to properly form it relative to the character. After positioning the wings, merge and set to Multiply.
12
place further details
Pick the Ellipse tool to make the shape of the orbs, then apply a hard brush and use a soft brush to blend, using small brushes to add detail. To create the shiny numbers and text you need to use the Type tool, rasterise the text, Distort or Warp, then set to Color Dodge or Overlay. To add a further glow to it you may consider applying a layer style. Double-click on the layer and the Layer Style window will appear, so choose Outer Glow then press OK.
13
final effects
There are lots of ways to make effects with Blend Modes, such as Screen for the glow. To make the shiny lines and really vivid glows, you can create a new layer, fill it with black and set it to Color Dodge. Make a selection and paint over it with a soft brush using different colours to yield that ray-like effect. Add a Soft Light for subtle atmospheric effects. Feel free to experiment by scrolling down the Blend Modes, as the results can sometimes surprise you.
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BEFORE
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commercial lighting effects techniques
photo editing
commercial lighting effects
T
We show you how to relight, clean and sharpen photography in Photoshop
he editorial industry is littered with stylised portrait photography used mainly as cover images, but also for adverts and feature openers. However, many of the lighting effects you see in these kind of images, created by top professionals such as Jill Greenberg (www.jillgreenberg.com) and Dean Bradshaw (www.deanbradshaw.com.au), are produced inside a photo studio. Photoshop rarely features in the process until the post-production stage. Of course, not all of you will have access to a studio setup and some may not even know how to wield a camera. Luckily, Photoshop can compensate for this, once you know the right techniques. In this tutorial we will show you how to replicate studio lighting in images where it doesn’t already exist. As a photo-editing suite, Photoshop understandably provides a host of tools and options to achieve these lighting effects. However, as you continue through the steps in this tutorial you’ll start to appreciate how light affects colour and vice versa. Once you’re finished you’ll have all the key skills to light your own images.
Our expert adam smith
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk Adam has experience in creative retouching and commercial photo editing. Here he shows you how to achieve professional looks easily, using the power of Photoshop.
Pick the Quick Selection tool at a size no bigger than 20px. The trick is to apply this just inside the edges of the fur Work in Progress
from natural start to studio finish
01
Make a quick selection
We’ll begin by removing our bear from the existing background. This is trickier than it looks, as fur has so many stray ends, making edge selection a real battle. Pick the Quick Selection tool at a size no bigger than 20px. The trick is to apply this just inside the edges of the fur.
@advancedpshop
02
use refine edge
With your selection active, open the Refine Selection options. Toggle between On Black (B) and Black & White (K) view modes to check your results. Set the Edge Detection Radius to 40px, activating Smart Radius. Set Contrast to 2% and activate Decontaminate Colors to combat any edge halos.
Progress 1: Cut out your bear
Progress 2: Adjust the colour
03 Progress 3: Edit the exposure
edit your mask
Apply a pale-blue Solid Color adjustment layer in behind your bear copy. Activate your layer mask and choose the Grass brush style. Only have Shape Dynamics active in your Brush options. Keep editing the Roundness and Angle of your brush, applying it to fake-looking edges and reproducing fur effects previously missing in these areas.
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techniques commercial lighting effects
04
clip your colour
Enhance the fur edges further by applying a small Smudge brush at 100% Strength, as well as a 50% Exposure Burn tool set to Midtones. Apply the latter sparingly to again limit contaminated colours in your edges. Duplicate your Solid Color layer and place this at the top of your stack. Hold Cmd/Ctrl+Shift and click between this and the bear copy layer, clipping the colour. Set the duplicate Solid Color layer’s blending mode to Luminosity, with Opacity at 10%.
05
apply color balance
Add a Color Balance adjustment layer to the top of your stack. Set Cyan/Red at -10, Magenta/ Green at +15 and Yellow/Blue at -5. Drop the Opacity of this layer to 50%, then activate the Elliptical Marquee tool with Feather set at 200px. Hold Opt/Alt and draw a circular selection that will be the basis for a spotlight behind our bear. With this new selection active, create a Levels adjustment layer, place this behind your masked bear layer, set Midtones at 2.49 and Highlights at 205. Adjust the layer Opacity to 90% and set the blending mode to Luminosity.
quick tip Banding frequently occurs with vignette effects. Remedy this by applying Noise set between 3-6% to your adjustment layer’s mask.
06
add a vignette
After examining the applied Levels settings, the Solid Color backdrop looks slightly washed out, so we’ll change this to a dark-navy tone. Create a vignette effect by adding another feathered Elliptical Marquee tool selection, this time closer to the image edges. Next, invert this layer’s mask and set Shadows at 19, Midtones at 1.00 and Highlights at 255. Edit the Levels settings further to perfect your look before proceeding.
07
Even the exposure
Duplicate your masked bear layer. Ctrl-click this new layer’s mask and choose Apply Layer Mask. Select Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlights, then set Shadows Amount at 50%, set Tonal Width at 50% and Radius at 30px. Add a layer mask to this layer, erasing from the right-hand and bottom edges of your bear with a 50% Opacity soft black brush. Also apply this brush to the inside of your bear’s ears before dropping the layer Opacity to 90%.
08
Highlight the edges
Create another feathered Elliptical selection over the bear’s face and add a Vibrancy adjustment layer at the top of the Layer stack. Set Vibrance at +60, activate your bear copy layer and add an Inner Shadow layer style. Set Color to white, Blend Mode to Hard Light and Angle at 107 degrees. Set Distance at 27px, Size at 80px, then add a white Inner Glow, with Blend Mode set to Screen and Opacity at 30%. Set Source to Edge, Size to 100px and Range to 100%.
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commercial lighting effects techniques
Get a hyperreal look
Paint detailed exposure to enhance contour and texture
09
add a soft focus
Here we’ll add a soft focus by hitting Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E and choose Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set Radius at 65px and the layer’s blending mode to Soft Light at 40% Opacity. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+U, then set Saturation at -40 and Lightness at 20. We’re now nearing a perfect base for applying enhanced exposure. 001
Using a vignette effect both simulates a studio environment and draws in the focus of the viewer.
001
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A combination of adjustment layers has effectively relit and recoloured the image, giving it more impact.
002
boost highlights
Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E, set this new layer’s blending mode to Screen, then add a layer mask and invert it. Place marker lines where highlights should be enhanced using a 100% Opacity soft white brush. This may look odd, but activate your layer mask and apply a 15px Radius Gaussian Blur to apply the effect. Hide your highlight and shadow layers, activate your previous Selective Color layer and press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E. Name this layer ‘Dodge & Burn’. Last, reveal your highlight and shadow layers.
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The edge lighting produced by our layer styles is the foundation for yet more advanced effects.
10
work the shadow back in
Add another Selective Color layer on top of your stack, then set Cyan at +15 and Black at -45. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E, press Cmd/Ctrl+U, set Saturation at -100 and apply a Multiply blending mode. Add a layer mask to this and invert it. Apply a 15-25% Opacity soft black brush to build up shadows and work in facial and fur contours. We’ll duplicate our Multiply layer, reapply a new layer mask and layer more shadow to the cheeks and eyes using a 5% Opacity brush.
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dodge and burn
With your new Dodge & Burn layer active, select the Dodge tool with Range set to Midtones. Enhance your highlights further, toggling between 10-30% Opacity to get suitable effects. Activate the Burn tool, set Range to Shadows and again toggle between 10-30% Opacity to get the effects you see in our example. With your Dodge & Burn layer still active, press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E to give the image exposure a dynamic look. You can tweak the opacity of this new layer if you feel the effect looks too harsh.
13
perfect the final tonality
Apply a Color Balance layer, setting Magenta/Green at -10 and Yellow/Blue at -5. Apply a Selective Color layer, then set Cyan at 65%, Magenta at 2%, Yellow at 35% and Black at -8%. Activate your Channels panel and Cmd/Ctrl-click the Blue channel thumbnail to create an active selection. Now add a Black & White adjustment layer back into your Layers palette, setting its blending mode to Soft Light at 15% Opacity. Last, hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/ Alt+E, select Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask, setting Amount at 20% and Radius at 3px.
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techniques ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS
digital painting
ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS
I
Bring vibrant personality to your digital portraits using photoshop painting methods
t’s often said that eyes are the windows to the soul. They can communicate without saying a word, show our doubts, share our fears and reveal our truths. Our eyes are carefree beacons, showing off everything about us and letting our emotions run free. Our eyes are all different. There are so many different shapes, colours and sizes that make us all unique. Ethnicity plays a large role in our bone structure, muscles, fatty deposits and skin that determine the shapes of our eyes. There are many colours of eyes such as blue, green or brown. The colour pigments inside the iris can vary greatly from eye to eye and, just like snowflakes, no two eyes are the same.
Our expressions alone can tell a story and this begins with the eyes. Along with anatomical structure, eyes are one of the important parts of a painting. No matter how realistic your painting may be, if there’s no life in your painting, there’s probably no life in the eyes. The shape and position of the eyes and eyebrows are two very important details. With just a few brushstrokes an eye or eyes can go from delighted to angry. Caution should be used at this point, as one wrong stroke and your painting could go awry. Attention to shape and expression is paramount. When painting the eyes, great care should be taken to ensure the right shape is found for the character, natural colours and authenticity.
www.salizabeth.net Sara is a self-taught digital illustrator and has been freelancing for the past two years. She has always enjoyed art and its creation, and her passion for the craft continues to grow with every stroke of the brush.
Work in Progress
construct the image
A complete walkthrough from sketch to polishing
01
Our expert sara biddle
From sketch to captivating detail
create the canvas
Begin by starting a new document with the dimensions that you wish your final image to have. For maximum detail, try to work on as large a canvas as you can without slowing down the computer. In this case, the canvas is A4, so create a new layer and prepare to sketch out the portrait.
02
start sketching
Using a hard round brush, begin to rough out the basic outline. We’re going for intense eye contact, so make the brows strong and downward, with the eyes less open. The sketch will be the guideline for the painting process, so take some time to perfect the expression and gesture you want.
03
work in greyscale
Now that we have a guideline, begin building up the form of the character in greyscale. Begin by setting the sketch layer’s mode to Multiply, then lock this layer to prevent yourself from unknowingly painting on it. Next, create a new layer underneath the sketch and fill it with a medium grey.
Progress 1: Start sketching
Progress 2: Soften with texture
Progress 3: Detail lashes
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expert guide to painting eyes techniques
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TECHNIQUES ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS
04
BUILD THE FORM
On a new layer below the sketch, apply shadows and highlights according to your the direction of your chosen light source. Using a dark- and a light-grey, loosely block in areas that define the form of the character with a hard round brush.
06
COLOURISE
Make a new layer on top of everything and set the blending mode to Color. After choosing a few basic hues, brush colours over the entire canvas.
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BLEND THE TONES
Before moving on, take some time to blend the tones together. Merge all layers underneath the sketch and select a hard round Smudge brush with Spacing at 165%, with Scattering checked. The Smudge strength is set around 50%. Gently go over rough areas with this brush to smooth things out. Use this blending method throughout the process.
DETAIL FURTHER
Duplicate the sketch layer, move it to the top, turn it off for later use then merge everything else together. Using the round brush and the Smudge, begin further detailing. Pay special attention to concave and convex areas. For example, protruding areas will catch more light and receding areas more shadow.
SHAPE THE LOWER-LID
The eyeball itself is rounded and fits into the bony orbits of the skull, surrounded by muscle, fatty tissue and skin areas. The differences in combinations of these elements give our eyes different shapes. In order to paint the eyeball, we must first have a place for it to go. Start by adding a small bulge, just under the eye.
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eNHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS techniques
09
define the upper-lid
Next, to define the upper-lid, add shadows along the crease and highlights to the brow bone. Because the eyelid protrudes slightly, be sure to add highlights to the area that would capture the most light according to your source.
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uncover the iris
Lower the layer’s Opacity setting to about 50% and uncheck the Lock Transparency setting. Apply the Eraser tool to the iris and pupil, so that they show through. Bring the layer’s Opacity back up to 100% and merge with your character.
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fill the eyeball
Make a new layer and consider your colour choices for the whites of the eyes. Many factors such as age (where there could be more yellow or pink) could apply here. We’ve chosen a lighter, desaturated skin tone and filled the entire eyeball.
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make the whites round
Lock the Transparency on this layer, select the colour you chose for the whites of the eyes, then make it lighter and less saturated. Brush the inside area of the eyeball to create a sense of roundness. Gently use the Smudge tool to smooth things out.
blend the whites well
Use the Smudge tool around the iris to blend slightly with the whites of the eye, towards the inner-eye (around the tear duct) and any other parts of the white that appear rough. If left unblended, the eye could appear dry and unrealistic.
add thickness to the lower-lid
Next, choose a light pink that’s similar to the skin tone and brush along the edge of the bottom lid. The thickness of the lid is obvious towards the outer-eye, but disappears as it reaches the innermost edge.
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TECHNIQUES ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS
15
BEGIN DETAILING THE IRIS
Start by picking colour from the pupil, then radiating towards the outer-edge of the iris with small strokes, fading them as they approach the edge. Do the same with the outer-edge of the iris – colour pick and make thin strokes towards the pupil.
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ADD COLOUR VARIATION
Colour pick the iris colour then, using the sliders in the Color menu, generate a slightly different tone than the original. Make radiating strokes just as before. Do this a few more times with various hues.
APPLY MORE BLUR
Use the Smudge tool to blur the inner- and outer-edges of your newly made strokes. Take a look at your own eyes in a mirror, noticing how there are spots of colour, lines and different shapes. Feel free to make squiggles and tiny dots to bring dynamism to the irises.
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CREATE DEPTH
Continue adding more radiating lines, squiggles and dots. It’s important to create a sense of depth, as an underdeveloped iris will tend to look flat and lifeless. Select the iris with the Lasso, use the Unsharp mask, then apply the settings and blur out various areas using the Smudge tool.
SOFTEN AREAS USING TEXTURE EFFECTS
Colour pick the whites of the eyes using the Eyedropper tool. Make the colour slightly lighter and with a different hue, in this case, we used a very light blue. Make a new layer then, using the Airbrush, go over the top-edge of the whites. The eyeball texture looks softer now, almost like a boiled egg.
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ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS TECHNIQUES
20
SMOOTH THE ROUGH EDGE
Use the Eraser tool to remove any excess of the Airbrushed colour that isn’t inside the whites. Afterwards, merge this layer with your character layer. If there are any rough edges left from Erasing, use the Smudge tool to smooth.
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ADD EYE REFLECTION
Using a very pale (almost white) shade of blue, we’ll place a shiny reflection for the eye. This is a distorted reflection of the light source and can be any shape you like. Here we’ve chosen to use a distorted square.
22
CREATE THE TEAR DUCT
The tear duct is the pink tissue in the inner-corner of the eyes, it’s this part that carries tears to the nasal cavity. Carefully paint the tissue using a medium, desaturated pink. Add in some bright highlights to bring moisture to the appearance.
23
INCORPORATE A SKIN TEXTURE
The skin around eyes is textured with small wrinkles and porous skin. Using a dotted, textured brush, go over the skin of the outer-eye to create some texture, colour picking surrounding colours as you go with the Eyedropper tool.
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TECHNIQUES ENHANCE DIGITAL PORTRAITS
24
BRUSH ON THE MAKE-UP
Make-up is a great way to bring extra attention to the eyes. Make a new layer and set its blending mode to Color. Select a tone of your choice, then brush along the upper-lid and the outer-twothirds of the lower-lid.
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MAKE AN EYELASH BRUSH
Before we start on the eyelashes, we must make some minor adjustments to the hard round brush. Tick the hard round brush’s Shape Dynamics on, then set the Minimum Diameter to 0% and a Pen Pressure control.
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PAINT THE TOP LASHES
Working from one edge to the other, begin adding long, thin lashes to the top eyelid. Eyelashes are curved upwards, so make your lines appear curved as well. If your character is wearing eye make-up, lashes could be stuck together in groups.
ADD THE LOWER LASHES
We’ll now begin inserting the bottom lashes. Keep in mind these lashes are normally shorter and much more thinly placed than the top lashes. Working from one edge to the other, begin adding in the bottom lashes along the bottom edge of the thickness of the lower-lid.
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ENHANCE THE LASH VOLUME
Further eyelash volume can be achieved by running the Airbrush tool along the lash line of the upper- and lower-lids. Don’t go overboard and brush just enough to create the thickness of lash you need. Go too far and the individual lashes will be lost.
29
INCREASE LASH TEXTURE
Colour pick from the whites of the eyes using the Eyedropper tool. Using the Eyelash brush from before, make very thin lashes following the curvature established. This creates a sense of overlapping lashes.
30
GIVE THE PIECE ONE LAST LOOK
Finally it’s time to take a step back and examine your portrait with a critical eye. Last-minute adjustments to the shape can easily be made by using the Liquify filter, or by applying Warp under Edit>Free Transform.
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TECHNIQUES content-aware TOOLS
TOOL FOCUS
content-aware TOOLS
F
One of Photoshop’s most impressive features can also be one of the most frustrating
or years we’ve been taught that one of the primary truths of image editing is you can’t just select something in an image and delete it. All that will do is leave a gaping hole in your image, not revealing the background behind it. With the appearance of Content-Aware Fill in CS5, Adobe proved all of that wrong. Content-Aware features perform in such a way that they appear to be magic rather than technology. The main premise is that the rest of the image can be analysed, evaluated and pixels can be extrapolated to replace the deleted ones. It’s an ingenious approach and when it works well it’s glorious. However, when it fails, it fails spectacularly too.
tool was generally Proximity Match, but the implementation of Content-Aware here proves to be even more effective than with the Fill tool. This truly works best as a one-click touchup. Its use for removing lens dust spots and skin blemishes is unparalleled. Unlike the Fill tool, the Spot Healing Brush can sample all layers while using Content-Aware technology.
CS6 additions In Photoshop CS6, Adobe pushed the boundaries of Content-Aware technology even further, with the most useful implementation coming from the Patch tool. Previous incarnations of the Patch tool were mostly an extension of the Clone Stamp. This version still contains that option, but the new Content-Aware option tends to produce better results. Additionally,
before
Content-Aware Fill The first and most celebrated implementation of the Content-Aware technology is tucked away inside the rarely used Fill dialog box (Edit>Fill). Choose ContentAware from the Use dropdown box and hit OK. There are no options to set. At first glance the feature seems to be all or nothing. But there are some troubleshooting steps that can be taken when the results are not exactly as expected. Keep in mind that the technology will only evaluate visible pixels on the current layer. In this way, the tool can be directed as to what pixels should be used for extrapolation. Simply use a layer mask to hide elements that shouldn’t be evaluated when computing the Fill pixels. Another effective technique is to use smaller portions of the area at a time if a large selection gives strange results.
after
The Spot Healing Brush The little brother to the Content-Aware Fill is the Spot Healing Brush tool. Before the best option for this
The technology will only evaluate visible pixels on the current layer. Simply use a layer mask to hide elements that shouldn’t be evaluated when computing the Fill pixels
Content-Aware technology can simplify much of the image-editing process, but there are limitations to even this impressive technology. With a little know-how you can make these tools work for you
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content aware TOOLS TECHNIQUES
Seamless adjustments
Content-aware applications in your workspace
001
Careful selections are the key to success when using Content-Aware tools. A selection that is too tight will leave a ghosted outline.
002
The primary implementation of the Content-Aware feature set. This fills the selected areas with extrapolated pixels from the rest of the image.
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The distant buoys and floats are an ideal job for the Spot Healing Brush tool with the Content-Aware option enabled.
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Content-Aware tools are destructive in that they affect pixels directly. For this reason it’s often wise to work on a copy of the background layer.
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Use a layer mask to hide pixels from being evaluated for the Content-Aware Fill. The tool will only extrapolate from visible pixels.
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as long as the selection is active, the tool is still live, so the Adaptation setting can still be changed and the tool will update the results. The latest appearance of Content-Aware technology is the new Content-Aware Move tool found in CS6. This tool enables a selection within an image to be moved and then uses the ContentAware process to fill in the seams. The Adaptation settings remain live as long as the tool and the selection are both still active. The primary mode for the tool is the Move setting, which enables the
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relocation of a selected element against the background. The alternative option for the mode is Extend. This enables the selection of a portion of an object, such as the top of a building, and grants the ability to extend it. Keep in mind this option works both ways, so the building can be pulled up to be made taller, or the selection can be pulled down and the background extended to make it shorter. While this technology is truly astounding, it does have practical limits. You’ll find the process works best against nondescript backgrounds like sky,
005 water, foliage or crowds. Aligning a background perspective is another challenge for the ContentAware algorithm. A clear future development for this technology would be to pair it with the Vanishing Point filter to produce accurate results that would be far more acceptable. Additionally, any background that contains a geometric pattern or easily discernible lines will see a clearly visible disruption of the pattern. When these examples occur, it’s best to use Content-Aware as a starting point, not for the final touches.
effective content-aware workflow
Leverage the power of Content-Aware technology to speed up your photo retouching
01
Take out the benches
The goal in this project is to clean up the scene by removing the benches from the pier and the boats from the water. Begin by creating a copy of the background layer to work on. Roughly select the pier pavement and add a layer mask, this will ensure that only the pavement pixels are resampled. Create a new selection around one of the benches, being careful to include the shadows and bench edges. Next, go to Edit>Fill and select Content-Aware for the Use. Repeat the process for the other benches.
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apply filters
Delete the layer mask and evaluate the new bench-free pavement. The Content-Aware algorithm struggles to match the perspective pattern of the bricks on the pier. To help things match up, go to Filter>Vanishing Point. Draw out a plane to match up with the pier, then grab the Clone tool within the Vanishing Point window. Hold down Opt/Alt to set a source point and watch the cursor overlay to help align the Clone brush. Use this to clone out the pavement areas that are out of perspective.
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REmove the boats
Zoom in on the background area to get a close look at the boats and buoys. The small buoys are an easy task for the Spot Healing brush when set to Content-Aware. Use a brush radius slightly larger than the dark dots and a single click will remove each of them. The boats can easily be removed using the Patch tool with its Content-Aware option. Select a boat outline and then drag the selection to another area of the horizon to define a sample point. When released, the boat will seamlessly disappear!
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TECHNIQUES BUILD WEB ELEMENTS
WORK IN PROGRESS
FROM INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS TO FINAL PAGE
Progress 1: Use basic stitching techniques
Progress 2: Apply to web elements
Progress 3: Build the page
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TECHNIQUES BUILD WEB ELEMENTS
GRAPHICS
BUILD WEB ELEMENTS
T
CREATE BESPOKE WEB COMPONENTS WITH AUTHENTIC STITCHED LOOKS FOR IMPRESSIVE RESULTS
he internet is a hotbed for budding trends. You can literally sift through thousands of different styles, but each year a few step to the front and are hard to ignore. Web stitch effects are an obvious example. The popularity of these looks is easy to understand. Stitch effects coupled with textured elements take a digital format and give tangibility, breathing life into your 2D designs. In this tutorial we will show you how to simulate a stitched look, inspired by various everyday fabrics, specifically for web. Photoshop has some excellent tools that are perfect for crafting various examples of our intended effect. These include versatile Shape and Path tool functionality, as well as Pattern options and a range of styling methods to give the stitching a realistic and authentic feel. We will be using patterns from the Subtle Patterns website (http://subtlepatterns.com), where you can download the whole pack of patterns as well as a convenient PAT Photoshop file from Github (https://github.com/subtlepatterns/SubtlePatterns). These are free for use even in commercial projects.
OUR EXPERT LIAM MCCABE
www.liampmccabe.co.uk Liam is 21-year-old web fanatic who loves to build useful tools and make them look pretty. He is currently based in Manchester working on a degree in Multimedia Computing.
STITCH TECHNIQUES
@liampmccabe
PREPARE YOUR EFFECTS WITH BASIC SHAPE, COLOUR AND TEXTURE APPLICATION
01
SOURCE FILES
SET UP YOUR DOCUMENT
On the CD you will find examples of stitched elements seen in this tutorial that you can apply to your own web-design projects.
Select File>New and enter the width, height and resolution. Whether you work with 300dpi or 72dpi isn’t hugely important, as we will be using the vector-based Shape tools provided in Photoshop, which are infinitely scalable. However, just keep in mind that your final elements will be scaled to fit a canvas with a minimum width and height of 300px and a resolution of 72. Set up guides by selecting View>New Guide, setting one horizontal and another vertical, both at 50%.
02
PLAN YOUR PROJECT
Designing a stitching effect in Photoshop is very easy once you get the hang of three basic techniques. The first involves using simple shapes, the second takes advantage of Pattern styles and the third uses paths and text in a unique way. These techniques are complemented with the right type of blending and styling. When combined they create an authentic and aesthetically pleasing stitching effect, which is even further enhanced when applied to textured backgrounds.
03
USE A TEXTURED BACKGROUND
Fill the canvas with a clay colour (#924c42). Apply a Pattern layer style by double-clicking the layer and selecting Pattern Overlay. Set a Groovepaper pattern with the Blend Mode set to Linear Burn, then apply a Gradient Overlay from the Layer Style options to create depth. Use the default gradient, reversed, with Opacity set at 65%, an angle of 90 degrees and Blend Mode set to Overlay. Also add an Inner Glow set to black, with Blend Mode set to Overlay, Opacity at 25% and Size at 140.
04
CREATE YOUR RIBBON SHAPE
The first element we will be making is a ribbon, so grab the Rounded Rectangle tool and draw a thin rectangle at 100 x 250px, with a Radius of 4px. The Fill colour needs to be lighter and more saturated than the Background colour, we applied a red (#a80b0b). Position horizontally and in the centre, but up a notch so the top is hidden. Remove the two bottom anchor points and add one in the centre of the bottom path line. Drag it down by 40 pixels and curve off the edges with the Direct Selection tool.
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05
apply texture
Pick a pattern of your choice from the Subtle Patterns pack we’ve been using. Feel free to play around with the opacity and modes to experiment and get a feel for how each texture interacts with your colour. If it’s a light pattern, apply a Linear Burn, if it’s dark then apply Soft Light or Overlay. Add a darker-red Stroke at around 4px and apply depth with a Gradient Overlay. This is much like in Step 3, but with Opacity at 50% and a Soft Light Blend Mode.
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create stitching
Zoom in at 3,200% to one of the edges of your ribbon, then create a small rounded-rectangle shape at around 2 x 8px. Go to Edit>Transform Path> Perspective and drag the bottom of the rectangle left. Grab the Path Selection tool, click on the slanted rectangle, copy, paste, place the duplicate under the original layer then move it so it’s three pixels under the original. Repeat until you fill one side of your ribbon, Cmd/Ctrl-click all your rounded-rectangle layers, duplicate and position on the alternate side.
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styled stitching
For a more authentic look, double-click one of your rounded-rectangle shape layers, activating the Layer Style options. Set Advanced Blending>Fill Opacity at 50%, then add a Bevel & Emboss. Change Style to Pillow Emboss, Technique to Chisel Soft and reduce Size to 1. In the Shading options set Shadow and Highlight mode to Overlay, then set Shadow Mode Opacity at 100%. Add an Inner Shadow with the Blend Mode set to Overlay, Opacity at 100%, Angle at -90 degrees, Distance at 2 and Size at 3.
add more detail
quick tip When dealing with vectors and path-related tools, be sure to have a good grid that clearly defines every pixel (Edit>Preferences>Guides, Grids and Slices). Also make sure that Pixel Snapping is enabled by selecting View>Snap/Snap to.
We now have the basics, but they look a bit flat. Add a shadow by duplicating the ribbon layer, Ctrl/ right-click, clear the effects and move the layer below the original. Change the Fill colour to black, grab the Direct Selection tool and move the bottom anchor point even further down, about 10px. With the layer selected and the path visible, navigate to the Properties panel and set Feather at 4px. Add a few black icons vertically, aligned set at a low opacity, then apply an Inner Shadow layer style. We’ve now made our first element.
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stitch some buttons
The same technique as before can be applied to any number of elements. When applying to a button, add the stitch shapes to all sides. You can also create nice highlights and shadows by applying Drop Shadow with Distance set at 2, Size at 3 and a white Inner Shadow with Distance set at 1, Size at 0 and Blend Mode set to Soft Light. Also apply an Inner Glow and Satin – both at a low opacity to enhance the depth. Add a Pillow-style emboss to the text and create a recessed look.
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techniques BUILD WEB ELEMENTS
advanced shape and path tools When delving into paths and shapes, it can seem a bit daunting at first so here are a few tips. More tools can be listed when clicking and holding on an icon in the left toolbar. When drawing shapes and paths we can add to a shape area by holding Shift, subtract by holding Opt/Alt and intersect by holding Opt/Alt+Shift. When altering anchor points, use the Convert Point tool to adjust individual handles. Use the Direct Selection tool to select multiple anchor points by holding Shift or clicking and dragging.
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design your badge
Create a new canvas and add a textured background like in Steps 1 to 3, alternating colour and pattern, for example a lilac colour (#856299) and fabric_1 pattern. However, set the Gradient Overlay to Radial rather than Linear. Activate the Ellipse tool and draw a circle of 200 x 200px in the centre, holding Shift to maintain ratio. With the circle path still in view, draw another smaller circle on the edge of the larger one while holding Shift. Keep drawing small circles around the edge of the circle until you have a badge shape (see example).
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bring the details
Grab the Ellipse Shape tool and drag from the centre holding Shift+Opt/Alt to draw a circle with a 200px diameter. Hit Opt/Alt and click to draw another circle inside the one you’ve just applied with a diameter of 150px. Reduce the Fill to 20%, adding an Inner Shadow with Distance set at 1 and Size set at 2. Add a white Drop Shadow with Blend Mode set to Soft Light, Opacity at 45%, Distance at 1 and Size at 0. Finally add some text, using Drop Shadow settings to add depth.
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use shadow
Add a 1px Stroke with a darker shade of the badge colour. Add an Inner Glow with the Size set at around 20 and Opacity at 30%. Set the Blend Mode to Soft Light, then add an Inner Shadow and Drop Shadow similar to the button element in Step 9. Create a nice pattern, in this case a large leather emblem, and add the Satin, setting the Blend Mode to Soft Light, Opacity to 35%, Angle to 35 degrees, Distance to 14, Size to 40 and make sure Antialiased and Invert are both activated. Finally we’ll set the Contour option to Cone Inverted.
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add stitching to curved shapes
Duplicate your badge layer, hit Cmd/Ctrl+T then click and hold one of the corners, dragging inwards while holding Shift and Opt/Alt to maintain the shape ratio and central position. Reduce the shape by 30px, then activate your Text tool and select a 13px Helvetica font. Hover your text cursor over the visible path, clicking then typing hyphens until these surround the edge of the path. Increase spacing between hyphens by editing with the Character panel’s Tracking values. Apply a Pillow-style emboss like in Step 7 and reduce Layer Fill Opacity to 30%.
stitch a pattern
The third technique to create stitching uses patterns, particularly striped patterns. Start by creating a new canvas with a width of 20px and a height of 1px. Fill half of the canvas with colour and select Edit>Define Pattern. Create a new canvas, draw a rectangle with the Rectangle tool, set its Fill Opacity to 0 and add the pattern. With the Marquee Rectangle tool, draw a rectangle that covers our previously drawn rectangle but leaves 1-2px at the top and bottom. Next go to Layer>Layer Mask>Hide Selection, simply applying some styling like in Step 7 and we’re done! Unfortunately this method doesn’t use any vector paths or type so is not scalable.
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Unify the design
Using the three techniques we have discussed, you’ll now be able to produce an array of different elements, which you can then combine into a web page or app design. Be sure to experiment with different characters using the Type tool and Path technique. Feel free to add more detail to individual stitches, for example holes on either side of a stitch or a striped pattern to give more of a stringed feel. Try out varying methods to make something truly unique.
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New Media
code stitch effect
T
QUICK TRICK
Discover how to utilise CSS3 properties to create a stitch effect
he stitch effect has long been in Photoshop’s domain and to a certain extent it still is. However, CSS can now re-create a similar effect with simple lines of code. Much like Photoshop, there are varying degrees of detail that can be added to create variations of the effect. For the benefit of any web-design enthusiasts, here we explore the standard option that can be
applied to designs. This involves adding a dashed border on a single-colour background. The CSS approach adds this background colour to an object, for example a web panel or button, then a dashed border to create the stitched look. However, many will then simply add a dashed border to apply stitching around the outside of the object. This method just doesn’t create the effect well enough.
The real magic happens when adding a CSS property called the box-shadow. This creates an even shadow around the object, which then uses a value to make it solid. The shadow adopts the same colour as the background, creating a more authentic yet straightforward stitch effect. You can experiment with colours, border size and border radius to achieve different looks.
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Get the basic effect
Creating a basic stitch effect with CSS is a relatively simple affair. Users simply need to create a class with the appropriate properties and values. The following code will create the desired effect. .stitch { background: #3399CC; border: 2px dashed #fff; box-shadow: 0 0 0 4px #3399CC, 2px 1px 6px 4px rgba(10,10,0,.5);}
add curves
The basic effect has simple straight edges for both the box and the stitch effect. To add some curves to both the border-radius property needs to be added to the class. Apply a border-radius of 5px in order to create the curves. To make even bigger curves simply increase the Radius size to around 10px to create the desired effect.
add text
Insert a set of
tags in the HTML. Place the chosen text inside the tags, then add the following code to position the text, adjusting margins for the perfect fit.
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h3 { font-size: 120px; color: #FFF; margin-top: 25px 0px 0px 10px; font-weight: 200; font-family: “Intro Inline”;}.
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Essential reading for Photoshop professionals ®
Imagine Publishing has a range of magazines, bookazines and DVDs to improve your Photoshop® skills Bookazines
Back issues
Illustrate with Photoshop Genius Guide Vol. 1
Written for pros with the aim of teaching illustrators how to adapt their workflows so they can do almost everything inside this single, great program. £12.99
Advanced Photoshop Premium Collection
Photoshop® 5 Minute Tips & Fixes Vol. 1
Containing over 250 pages of tutorials, in-depth features and interviews with some of the very best digital artists in the world. You will also find a free CD full of tutorials for you to follow. £14.99
Packed with top tips and handy guides that can be completed in just 300 seconds, this is the perfect book for those wishing to improve their photos and learn the basics of Photoshop. £9.99
The Professional PhotoShop Book Vol. 2
Photoshop® Creative Collection 6
Packed with tutorials, take your digital creations to the next level. Including all the new tools in CS6 and step-bystep guides on how to edit and transform your images. £12.99
Learn a wide range of skills from simple photo edits through to more involved photomanipulations. Tutorials and features explain how to tackle vital tasks. £6.49 with code
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TECHNIQUES TEXTURED CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION
GRAPHICS
TEXTURED CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION
I
MAKE A BESPOKE CHARACTER DESIGN FOR A T SHIRT USING VECTORS IN ILLUSTRATOR AND TEXTURES IN PHOTOSHOP
n this tutorial you will learn how to create a textured character illustration with the aim to be able to print onto a T-shirt. Digital T-shirt printing has become more and more advanced and artists now have greater freedom to apply colours, textures and any details they want. The entire process will be explained and you’ll pick up some useful tips and tricks for using both Illustrator and Photoshop. You can apply these techniques to any other illustration you wish to create in a similar style, so don’t feel constrained by our concept. After creating a vector illustration in Illustrator we will move into Photoshop to add textures and finishing details. Photoshop’s blending modes, custom brush settings and layering features make adding textures to artwork easy. Before you begin you will need to think about who will be wearing the T-shirt, who is your target market and what sort of style you would like your artwork or character to portray. Will it be humorous, dark, vintage or cute for kids? The textures we’ll be adding in this tutorial can either be created from scratch using photos, handmade markings, or sourced from stock websites.
OUR EXPERT ANNA JOHNSTONE
www.anna-johnstone.com Anna Johnstone is a freelance illustrator based in Nelson, New Zealand. Working with both traditional and digital-media cartoons, cat memes and monsters inspire her creation of whimsical and upbeat characters.
CONCEPT YOUR CHARACTER
@annajohnstone
INVENT THE RIGHT IMAGE AS THE BASE FOR YOUR COLOUR AND TEXTURE WORK
01
MAKE A SKETCH
First create a rough concept sketch of the character. You can do this either using traditional media or directly in Photoshop – whatever you feel most comfortable with. In this tutorial we are using an original monster character that has been sketched in pencil and scanned into the computer.
02
SOURCE FILES
SET UP THE ILLUSTRATOR DOCUMENT
On the CD we have included the image files used to create the Photoshop texture overlay effects in the tutorial, as well the starter sketch. These assets can be used freely in any commercial and non-commercial project.
We’ll start in Illustrator by creating a new document, placing the sketch on the canvas and selecting File>Place. After placing the image and fitting it to the canvas, we want to set it up for tracing. Bring up the Layer Options, select Template and Dim Images to 30%, then lock the layer.
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SWATCHES AND GLOBAL COVERS
Your new document will have preset swatches, but it’s a good idea to start with a fresh canvas. Create new swatches or pick a set from the Swatch Library. Bring up the Swatch Options and make sure the Global checkbox is activated. Changing the tint of a global colour swatch will change anywhere it is used across the document.
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techniques textured character illustration
04
Establish the base
quick tip When choosing a design idea to turn into a cool T-shirt, it helps to think about whether it would be something you would wear. If you show your design to your friends and colleagues and get good feedback, the chances are you’re onto a good thing.
Begin by creating a new layer and naming it for easy identification later. Use the Pen tool to trace the basic silhouettes of the face, tail, arms and legs. Think of these shapes as the base that we will be building on, adding further detail on top later. Use the Pathfinder>Minus Front option to punch out the face of the character. These shapes are kept together on the same layer because they will have the same colour applied to them later.
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Bring in some detail
Trace around the markings on the fur, trim your markings to the shapes below using the Pathfinder tool, then select an arm and Copy>Edit>Paste in Place. Highlight the top copy of the arm and marking shape then select Pathfinder>Intersect. Now the marking is fitted to the arm shape with any excess trimmed off. Repeat this with the face and any other markings that need to be trimmed to fit your character’s edges.
The tail needs a different option applied in the Pathfinder window. Select the tail marking and Copy>Paste in Place, then grab both the marking and the base of the tail and in the Pathfinder menu apply the Minus Front option. This causes the base of the tail to be cut back to the shape of the marking above. However, now the base of the tail is on the wrong layer, so in the Layers panel we need to drag it back onto the layer below.
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shirts and pants
By now you should be used to using the Pathfinder tool to trim your overlapping shapes. Trace and set up the T-shirt, shorts and horns on their own layers. As they are all unique elements it’s good practise to keep them separate. This makes it quicker to find and edit them later on. Using the Pathfinder tool to punch out and tidy up any overlapping paths can greatly speed up the tracing process and help keep your outlines and fills tidy.
Draw in the tail
Build up the face
To draw up the face of the character, we need to create a new layer and move it below the rest. This will be for the mouth and the main face colour. We need to cut parts out with the Pathfinder again to get the shapes we need. To create the open mouth, first trace around the shape, make a copy and use the Object>Arrange>Send to Back option. Select both the face and mouth and use the Exclude option in the Pathfinder window.
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textured character illustration techniques
Colour the shapes
Create solid layers and add brushes to colour your illustration
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trace the details
Now keep going and trace around the rest of the details such the birds, T-shirt symbol and the lighting in this image. Once again cut each of the inside shapes out with the Pathfinder. To keep things organised, make sure your shapes are on their correct layers, in the right order.
Once you have everything traced and ready to go, select the objects on each layer and fill with one of the preset swatches. Continue until you have all the basic colours filled in and nothing has outlines. The global colours will come in handy. If any of our colours need tweaking it’s very easy to apply the changes across the whole illustration as they are linked to their respective Global Swatch. This is a good time to experiment with different tone combinations and tints.
001 We have cut out and fitted our shapes to the character, using the Pathfinder tool to make sure none of our colours overlap one another. 002 We have created named and organised our layers and traced around the main shapes of our character design.
003 Our new document in Illustrator is all set up, with the colour palette sorted and the rough illustration sketch imported.
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Arrange further details
Now we have all of our flat base colours fixed, we’ll work on the finer details. Drag the Sketch layer to the top of the Layers panel and double-click. Uncheck the Dim Images option and press OK. Highlight the sketch and in the Transparency panel set the blending mode to Multiply with Opacity set at 30%. Now we can see where the details need to go on top of the character. Lock the layer again so that you don’t end up drawing on it.
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Inject a base colour
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Enhance the fur
To create the fur details we are going to use the Paintbrush tool. On the bottom bar of the dropdown Brush menu click the New Brush icon. Set the Diameter to 2pt with a Variation of 2pt and choose the Pressure setting for Roundness. Tablet users have an advantage here as these settings will mean that the stroke we create will vary in thickness depending on how much pressure is applied. Now go ahead and add some fur detail to your character.
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Move to Photoshop
Now that we have finished with creating the vector side of our illustration in Illustrator, we can move over to Photoshop. This is the part where we get to create some awesome textures and add tangibility in our image, as well as some essential finishing touches. Open a new document and set the size to the same dimensions that we used in our Illustrator file back in Step 2. Set the resolution at 300dpi. Color Mode should be set to CMYK.
The global colours will come in handy. If any of our colours need tweaking it’s very easy to apply the changes across the whole illustration as they are linked to their respective Global Swatch 083
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work with textures
quick tip Remember to always take the T-shirt fabric colour into consideration. If you want your design to pop, it pays to choose tones that will complement the illustration. It’s a good idea to test your design by super-imposing it onto a T-shirt in Photoshop before printing.
Apply clipping masks with Smart Objects
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Use texture and levels
Open the supplied ‘texture_1.jpg’ file, copy and paste it into your Photoshop document, then rotate and position it. Desaturate the image by selecting Hue/Saturation and setting the Saturation at 0. Apply a Levels adjustment layer on top of your texture and boost the contrast. Levels brings out the detail of the texture and also gives a more grainy look, which adds a nice aesthetic. Clip this Levels layer to the Texture layer so that you can edit it later, once you have overlaid it on the illustration.
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import into photoshop
Reactivate Illustrator then select and copy your all of your character-related layers except the original Sketch layer. Copy and paste this selection into Photoshop. Make sure you select Smart Object from Photoshop’s Paste options. Smart Objects enable you to make changes to your illustration in Illustrator if needed by double-clicking the illustration icon in the Layers panel. Any changes you make in Illustrator are automatically updated in the Photoshop document after you save in Illustrator.
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adjust the elements
Move your Illustration layer below the Texture layer if it isn’t already. Set the blending mode of your texture to Soft Light and adjust the opacity until you achieve a nice balance between texture and colour. Here we have used a setting of 80% Opacity. You don’t want your texture to look too overpowering, as it can make the illustration less appealing – remember, less is more. This enables details previously added in Illustrator to stand out with the texture laid over the top.
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Keep Placing textures
Add more textures to bring depth and highlights across the illustration. Open the ‘splatters. jpg’ file supplied, which was created with watercolour paint splattered on paper. Use Levels to define the contrast between white and black. Create a new layer below your texture layer and apply a solid white tone. Select the white area around your splatters with the Magic Wand tool and delete. This separates the texture from the background and makes it easy to select these in the next step.
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Achieve highlights and shadows
Use the Lasso tool to select a part of the texture you would like to use. Copy and paste this into your character image in Photoshop. Clip the texture layer to the illustration layer, then set the blending mode to Multiply or Screen depending on whether you would like this particular effect to be a highlight or a shadow. You can adjust the texture’s intensity by tweaking the opacity and reuse the same texture in different places across the illustration, or even repeat this technique with varying selections.
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MAke a bespoke background
Our character is coming together nicely, so let’s add a background to make him pop off the T-shirt a bit more. In this case the backdrop doesn’t need to be complex or highly detailed, we don’t want to detract from the character too much. An easy way to create a background is to use Photoshop’s default textured brushes. Change the Opacity of the Illustration layer to around 20%. Then choose a brush and adjust the Transparency of the brush to around 60%.
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enhance the depth
Hide the visibility of the Illustration layer and shade in the circle that you just drew, making the centre of the circle darker by going over it a few more times. This adds more depth behind the character and helps him stand out more. Make the Illustration layer visible and if needed change the position and scale of the circle, using the Edit>Transform controls, so it sits behind.
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Use a custom dual brush
To draw details we will make a custom brush that combines both the basic round brush and a textured brush, so the brushstrokes match the rest of the illustration. Choose a round brush and open up Window>Brush. Select the Dual Brush option on the left side panel and pick a textured brush option. The blending mode should be set to Linear Burn. Adjust the Spacing slider until the result looks like chalk.
print costs The number of colours and applied style is often dictated by budget and the print process. There are two main printing techniques prevalent in the T-shirt industry. If you’re going to be screenprinting your T-shirt, keep in mind that each colour will require an additional silk screen. This means it can be more expensive the more colours you have in your design. It’s more cost-effective for larger runs, however, and often higher quality.
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finishing touches
Use the brush we just created to paint some sparkles around the character. These will sit over top of the background. Choose a lighter colour for the sparkles to make them stand out from the background. Try to add a variety of sizes as this will help create depth. Adding extra details such as these also enhances the narrative of the image. Little details make the difference between an illustration looking boring or exciting.
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export your image
Now we are ready to pack up and send our character to print. To export your illustration you will need to save it as a high-resolution PDF file, clicking File>Save As>Format>Photoshop PDF. Most printers can handle a wide variety of file types, but PDF is the industry standard and should be easy for the printer to manage. In this case a PDF has the advantage over a flat JPEG or TIFF, as it’s able to preserve the sharp outlines of our vector illustration.
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PRO matte Painting teChniques
© Capcom
painTing misT effecTs
Lead digitaL matte artist at industriaL Light & magiC Jaime Jasso expLains how he Creates atmosphere using photoshop Custom brushes
PRO MATTE PAINTING WE ExplorE profEssionAl profEssionA Al MATTEp pA inTing TEchniqu chniquEs pAinTing TEchniquEs insidE phoToshop oshop And hEAr r fro froM Top ArTisTs And nd s sTudios
T
he art of matte painting has been radicalised since the introduction of digital software. Now commonly referred to as digital matte painting (DMP), realism and dynamism are more attainable than ever before, which is lucky as believability has never been so fundamental to a matte painter’s work. Frederic St-Arnaud (http://starno.net) agrees, saying: “You should focus on two different aspects, the wow
factor that relates to the visual composition of your work and photorealism that makes the viewer truly believe the image they are looking at is real.” It’s this suspension of disbelief that demonstrates the difference between a matte painting and concept art, not to be confused as one and the same thing. Educating yourself as a competent matte painter who can present this distinction is imperative, especially when trying to succeed commercially.
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Jaime Jasso (www.jjassodigitalworks.com) first creates a layered 2D plan of his scene, using this to map the depth. “This way I plan how many elements will be present, such as trees, mountains and architecture. Then I can establish perspective, determining how near or far these will be,” he says. Once these elements are fully rendered, Jasso will wield his Photoshop custom brushes, which he creates from cloud photo stock. He explains: “I start painting with sampled colours from the sky and atmosphere in my matte painting. The strength of my brushstrokes will depend on the position of my elements in the image’s perspective – denser at the back and lighter at the front.” Jasso will integrate effects smoothly by using the same brushes to erase painted fog dispersing around solid elements.
DMP has become a very articulated discipline that now blends its boundaries with 3D and compositing. This means that avenues into the industry are extensive, as MPC’s head of environment and DMP Marco Genovesi (www.moving-picture.com) explains: “Any educational path that explores the use of CG and digital-image manipulation can be useful and appropriate to some extent. We shouldn’t forget that artistic talent is still an essential requisite for any
good matte painter, so photography or fine-art courses that explore composition, colours and light are definitely relevant.” Enthusiasts can also rely on the ever-expanding resources on the internet to improve their skills. Professional matte painter Alp Allen Altiner (www. alpaltiner.com), founder of www.vfxworkshops. com that specialises in techniques and production workflow, explains: “Individuals can now participate
and learn from other matte painters who teach these online classes, where a vast amount of important techniques are discussed.” Altiner also believes studying surrounding industries is a great learning curve, especially when contemplating a commercial portfolio. He advises you check out potential client websites and demo reels. “Also study and take notes of your peers’ commercial portfolios and really pay attention to
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REVIEWS DELL PRECISION M6700
Underneath the sleek exterior lies incredible power, with the very latest Intel Core i7 technology and one of the world’s most powerful yet discrete GPUs
Having been outsold by its mobile sibling in recent years, we’re reaching a juncture where the big-box PC is more likely than ever to fall by the wayside 088
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DELL PRECISION M6700 REVIEWS
DELL PRECISION M6700
WE TEST ARGUABLY THE MOST POWERFUL MOBILE WORKSTATION IN THE WORLD AND QUESTION WHETHER THE DESKTOP COMPUTER IS DOOMED
www.dell.com OPERATING SYSTEM: • Windows 7 Professional DETAILS: • Intel Core i7-3920XM (2.9GHz) • 8GB DDR3 RAM • ATI FirePro M600 Mobility Pro Graphics (2GB GDDR5)
STARTS FROM £1,760/ $2,199 The matte finish on the 1,080p screen minimises glare under harsh office lighting
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The hard-drive caddy is easily accessible, simply pop the battery out and press the release button
t has been two years since Dell unleashed a Precision Mobile Workstation. Released in 2010, the M6500 model was ahead of its time and universally lauded for its specification, build quality and uncompromising approach to the traditionally underpowered mobile computer. Since most modern laptops are designed specifically to be small, lightweight and affordable it is easy to fall into the mindset that mobile hardware is technologically impeded. A surprising number of people think laptops are a generation behind their desktop counterpart, and there was a time when this was pretty much the case. However, the rapid progression of technology now means compromises don’t have to be made. While Dell’s Precision range has always sought to buck the trend, the M6700 proves once and for all that these attitudes towards mobile computing are completely outmoded. Having been outsold by its mobile sibling in recent years, we’re reaching a juncture where the big-box PC is more likely than ever to fall by the wayside. With desk space at a premium, the big stars of the mobile world like the M6700 prove that the PC’s hulking chassis and noisy fan need not offend the eyes and ears of even the most demanding of customers any longer.
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reviews dell precision m6700
The M6700 is directly aimed at audio and visual professionals. If you are a prolific Photoshop user, 3D animator or high-end video producer, then you are Dell’s target market. While prices start at just £1,760 / $2,199 US, upgrade options are many and varied. These cover several ladders of Intel’s cutting-edge Core i7 range and several production-grade GPUs, from both AMD and NVIDIA. Additionally, if you want to spend an extra £1,500 to take full advantage of the hottest hardware, it’s easily arranged. The model we are reviewing boasts a thirdgeneration Intel Core i7 3920-XM, capable of running at over 3GHz in turbo mode. With 8GB of RAM, 750GB of storage and AMD’s FirePro M600 Mobility Pro Graphics (with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM), our model sits firmly towards the higher end of the price scale.
With options including NVIDIA’s Quadro K5000M sated with 4GB and an upgrade path to 32GB of RAM, there is still plenty of negotiation on price. Some might say that this kind of specification is a little excessive for Photoshop users. It’s true that entry-level models would suit 2D work just fine, but having this extra headroom ensures a faster and far more productive workflow. If there is one complaint that can still be levelled at mobile computing, it’s the limited upgrade route. Dell has done everything in its power to ensure this isn’t true of the M6700. Unfastening just two screws on the base of the system makes the entire undercarriage become freely available. Gone are the days where a tiny hatch enabled you to swap out little more than a stick or two of RAM.
If there’s one complaint that can still be levelled at mobile computing, it’s the limited upgrade route. Dell has done everything in its power to ensure this isn’t true of the M6700
Connectivity is excellent, with eSATA, 4xUSBs, Firewire, HDMI and DisplayPort being just the tip of the iceberg
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resources
Push the boundaries with customisation Despite offering one of the most comprehensive lists of connectivity we’ve seen on a mobile computer, it’s possible to add even more functionality to the Dell M6700 with the optional E-Port Replicator. On it you’ll find further video output options, including twin DVI, another DisplayPort, more ultra-fast USB 3.0 slots and a further eSATA port, not to mention networking and audio in and out. The dock itself is widely compatible with Dell’s Precision range including the 2010 model and lower-end siblings of the M6700. This effectively turns this mobile workstation into a true desktop contender. You can be assured you’ll never be short for connectivity, with the scope to add more screens and further options.
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DELL PRECISION M6700 REVIEWS
There’s ample space for upgrades on offer. Inside you’ll see a free mSATA hard-drive bay, not to mention an accompanying mini-PCI Express slot. Even without removing the rear cover you can access the main hard-drive bay with ease. Simply pop out the battery to reveal a button that releases its cage, enabling you to swap out your storage in mere seconds. Storage can be a main concern for photo editors and retouchers, with your device housing hundreds of original RAW and editing images. Luckily there are a multitude of options at your disposal. On top of the side-loading drive slot already in place, Dell offers a hard-drive caddy that takes the place of the increasingly antiquated DVD drive. With this available, it’s possible to generate just shy of 3TB of storage and you don’t even need an Engineering degree to do it. Probably one of the most notable features of the M6700 is also one of the most overlooked. All of
Dell’s Precision Workstations, including all variants of the M6700, are ISV-certified for an incredible array of professional software applications. Everyone from Adobe and Autodesk, to Siemens and Schlumberger guarantee total application compatibility and dependability. We’re not talking about an impulse purchase at these prices, so it’s reassuring to see Dell going the extra mile.
VERDICT Features: 10/10 Ease of use: 8/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Quality of results: 9/10
FINAL SCORE:
9/10
CASE STUDY
RIK THWAITES, WORKSTATION PRODUCT TECHNOLOGIST WHICH TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS INCLUDED IN THE M6700 SHOULD DIGITAL ARTISTS GET EXCITED ABOUT? Rik Thwaites: A number of advancements have been made since the last release. We have a wider range of next-generation professional graphics and much faster 1,866 MHz memory. There are also a breadth of expandability and storage options, which can see up to 2.8TB of storage if needed. For those using Adobe Photoshop for 3D-graphic purposes, we are also the first to offer NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro support. WHAT SETS THIS LAPTOP APART FROM ITS DIRECT COMPETITORS? Rik Thwaites: We have designed the Mobile Dell Precision Workstation with the needs of creative professionals in mind, including a vast amount of configuration options to meet diverse requirements. Where colour accuracy is of the utmost importance, creative professionals are benefiting from our IPS RGBLED displays, which provide more than 100 per cent of the Adobe colour gamut. This is something that isn’t achieved on Apple’s Retina display. WHAT DOES YOUR OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT OF DESIGN SOFTWARE MEAN FOR CREATIVE CONSUMERS? Rik Thwaites: It is of the utmost importance that a workstation be certified for the top professional software applications, from industry leaders Adobe and Autodesk. Because of these certifications, someone can buy a Dell Precision workstation safe in the knowledge that it has been tested and is compatible with the software suites they need to get their work done.
Updated HDMI and DisplayPort sockets mean you can power up to five screens via daisy-chaining
The full keyboard layout is more ample than most and the keys offer fantastic travel for a reassuringly sturdy typing experience
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reviews epson eh-tw9000w
epson eh-tw9000w
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Show ofF your work and teach in style with Epson’s Full HD 3D Wi-Fi projector
www.epson.co.uk
• PC, Mac with HDMI, RCA • £2,899 f there is one way to get your work noticed, it’s to go large. Epson’s EH-TW9000W projector, known as the PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 in the US, certainly delivers on the size front, in terms of display and build. This device is almost 47cm at its widest point and reassuringly weighty at around eight kilograms. This huge design and sturdy form thankfully equates to huge performance. While the EH-TW9000W cannot be considered portable, there is no denying that the results are fully worth the work it takes to manoeuvre it into place. We were able to project an image up to 12-feet wide with no issues as far as scaling was concerned. With a few tweaks to the projector’s focus rings the image became perfectly crisp and colours were noticeably vivid, even in less than ideal light settings.
This all translates into a projector that’ll do just as good a job at displaying your work in a darkened gallery, as it would in a light-filled classroom when teaching Photoshop to students. Where a lot of projectors fall down for creative professionals, the EH-TW9000W rises to the challenge. It displays deep blacks perfectly with all other colours remaining vivid and surprisingly true to the source image. Such faithful colour reproduction is ideal for anyone using the device to project work, even techniques and tool sets in the Photoshop interface. Furthermore, if you’re using it in the latter capacity, you’ll be pleased to know that when connected via a HDMI lead the image is wonderfully responsive. The device enables you to apply in Photoshop and see changes reflected instantly with little to no lag.
The EH-TW9000W is a great entertainer too, as it is fully capable of presenting 3D films and imagery, with two pairs of 3D glasses bundled with the package. The projector can also work wirelessly (albeit by a mains-powered transmitter if your computer doesn’t support WiHD) making it a more flexible machine than many of its competitors. The EH-TW9000W might be a little pricey for some, but if you are a working professional looking for uncompromising performance, this is by far one of the best projectors we’ve tested.
Verdict: 8/10
It is big in stature and price, but few projectors have fared better with graphics work than the EH-TW9000W
inside the eh-tw9000w
We show you what makes this amazing 3D Wi-Fi projector tick and how it can work for you
This projector’s large air vents on the front and a high temperature indicator on the top make it ideal for prolonged use, especially when teaching complex techniques or showing off work
A set of dual-focus rings and two lens position controls make setting up and getting a sharp picture simple. You’ll always set your display in the right place, saving more time
A range of different mounting and placement options makes the EH-TW9000W perfect for a variety of presentation applications
The EH-TW9000W uses LCD technology to deliver incredibly bright images of up to 2,400 lumens. This means it will work well in both light and dark settings, producing pictures of unrivalled quality
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APPS REVIEWS
The magazine for Adobe® Photoshop® professionals
DRAWING PAD
CREATE WITH REALISTIC CRAYONS, MARKERS, PAINT BRUSHES, COLOURED PENCILS AND MORE
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www.drawingpadapp.com
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Magazine team
Deputy Editor Anna-lisa Saywell
[email protected] ☎ 01202 586243
Reviews Editor Adam Smith Designer Marcus Faint Sub Editor Tim Williamson Head of Publishing Aaron Asadi Head of Design Ross Andrews Contributors
• £1.49 / $1.99 • iPad, iOS 4.0 or later, Android 2.2 or later
rawing Pad’s accessible design, simple controls and nostalgic toolkit might make it seem like an app designed with children in mind. But this unassuming crossplatform app is a powerful tool for those who profit from old-school illustrative looks. You’ll easily be able to sketch or paint ideas as well as advanced pieces of art. The app’s rendering engine is impressive, especially when using the paint or crayon tools, whose multiple strokes result in different colour
Imagine Publishing Ltd Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ ☎ +44 (0) 1202 586200 Web: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
shades depending on how they are layered. For Photoshop users the app’s controls might seem a little on the simple side and the lack of advanced options may be a little frustrating. However, there’s plenty here to experiment with and any combination of tools can produce stunning results.
VERDICT: 7/10
Drawing Pad’s simplistic and skeuomorphic tools make it a great app for the quick generation of ideas
Angelica Jopson, Ed Mustaros, Sofiane Idrassi, Michael Gonzales, Joshua Rossi, Kirk Nelson, Chris McMahon, Liam McCabe, Steve Jenkins, Anna Johnstone, Russell Barnes, Freddie Harrison and Jo Cole.
Advertising Digital or printed media packs are available on request. Head of Sales Hang Deretz ☎ 01202 586442
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[email protected] ☎ UK: 0844 848 8402 ☎ Overseas: +44 (0) 1795 592 880 13-issue subscription (UK) – £62.30 13-issue subscription (Europe) – £70 13-issue subscription (ROW) – £80
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Printed by: William Gibbons & Sons Ltd, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT Distributed in the UK & Eire by: Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT 0207 429 4000 Distributed in Australia by: Gordon & Gotch, Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 + 61 299 728 800 Distributed to the rest of the world by: Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU 0203 148 8105
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Disclaimer
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.
© Imagine Publishing Ltd 2012/2013 ISSN 1748-7277
Drawing Pad tools are stored in a fun wooden-drawer interface, with photorealistic representations of how these work
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Don’t waste your life: “This portrays the choice we make for a healthier lifestyle or not. It’s visually detailed through the ageing face on the dark side of youth and radiant on the healthy side of the face. I used blending modes, such as Screen, Overlay and Multiply and a lot of masks, to create the image,” says Paulo © José Paulo
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readers’ gallery eye on design
interview
readers’ gallery
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We talk to digital artist José Paulo about his brilliant work on the Advanced Photoshop blog. www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk osé Paulo is a digital artist with over seven years of experience in the industry. As a lover of everything related to digital art, we wanted to know how he creates such vibrant images.
How did you get into digital art? Manipulated images have always fascinated me. When I was young I had a dream that one day I would be able to do what I want with any image I choose and work with full freedom to modify and create truly inspirational [results]. Now I think my work is the mirror of my dream. How would you describe your style? I have very different styles. I explore many different techniques such as photomanipulation, 3D and
digital painting. Although I can’t give a specific name to my style, what I can say is that I like to create a mixture of images related to [as well as inspired by] beauty, creativity and nature. What artists have influenced you? My main source of inspiration is the work of amazing digital artists that I have the pleasure of coming across on the web. MichaelO, Zach Bush, Peter Jaworowski, Jerico Santander, Pete Harrison, Javier Alvarado and Martin Grohs all gave me the guidance I needed to explore my world and create my own images. In terms of websites, I look at SlashTHREE, Desktopography, deviantART, Shadowness, Advanced Photoshop and Advanced Creation on a regular basis.
Our reader JOSé paulo
www.zepaulocreation.blogspot.com
Time for your life: Paulo describes this image: “I tried to give an idea about the society we live in. I used polar co-ordinates to give the impression of a clock. After that I really cut a lot of images to put them in a clock format. I used a lot of colour adjustments and lighting effects” © José Paulo
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eye on design readers’ gallery
How would you describe your own creative process? It’s separated into two parts. When I work for a client, they give me the brief and the elements (sketches) I need to build the image. After that I develop the image with all orientations. When I’m developing a personal work I don’t usually draw, but I will build the image I have in mind. It’s a long process that includes the insertion and removal of many elements to reach the final result. What Photoshop techniques and tools do you use? I explore as many techniques as I can, photomanipulations, illustrations, digital painting and a bit of 3D mixed in usually give the result I need. The approaches I use to improve my skills are hard work and experimentation. I don’t have a single powerful function that I always use in Photoshop, but several, such as the blending modes, selections, filters and colour adjustments.
Girl on fire: “This was one of my first jobs. I tried to explore Pen Pressure, many lighting effects and surround the model with a lot of energy. A lot of Screen blending modes were key to achieving this result,” Paulo reveals © José Paulo
Do you use Photoshop for everything you do? There is no doubt that Photoshop is the main tool and the one I spend hours exploring. I work daily on a Mac in the studio, as it’s very efficient. I also use a tablet, Lightroom, Photoshop and CINEMA 4D. Of course we have a scanner, but I like to develop photographs that have been taken in the studio. I use Illustrator, freehand and a bit of CINEMA 4D if necessary, but Photoshop is the key.
The music story: Paulo explains: “I developed this because I love music, so I put instruments coming out of the girl’s headphones. I replicated the painting style through the Brush and Smudge tools and some light effects with Screen blending model” © José Paulo
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readers’ gallery eye on design
design tips
Paulo provides us with his top creative tips on how to produce great artwork Before any work starts I have a process of creativity and design both on paper and in my mind. This is a method that helps me develop the image with the highest possible quality. I never use the Eraser tool, as layer masks are the most powerful tools we have on Photoshop. When I’m working on a huge file with lots of layers, I try to organise all my layers with different colours and groups. Always give names to your layers in order to save time when you are working with multiple layers. Another fantastic tool for me is the Pen. 90 per cent of my selections are done with the Pen tool, as it enables a much more detailed and perfect selection than any other option. If I can, when I think I’ve finished my work, I try to wait a day to complete the piece or to make the last changes. These hours of waiting are crucial to actually modify or complete the work with much higher quality. The next day you’ll see if the same work is complete, or if you need to make further modifications. It’s often incredible how many changes you’ll spot in this way.
I like to create a mixture of images related to beauty, creativity and nature Liquid motion guy: “This [image] took hundreds of layers and lots of patience,” says Paulo © José Paulo
Dismap: “This image was very simple to develop. The model is very beautiful and I wanted a different face deforming the model, but I didn’t want to lose the beauty. I used a combination of vectors and masks and the Displace filter,” Paulo explains © José Paulo
What projects are you working on at the moment? I work on new projects every day. At the moment we are developing some fashion retouching and advertisement work (an international campaign) but if I have any available time at night I try to explore my imagination for new digital artwork. I never give up trying to explore new techniques to improve my digital skills.
The last world: “This is one of my favourite jobs. First because it gives importance to nature and second because it serves as a warning to the world’s population,” explains Paulo © José Paulo
What are your plans and aspirations for the future? My goal for the future will always be to improve the quality of my work. I currently work in a fantastic photographic studio in Oporto (LaLaLand Studios www.behance.net/lalalandstudios) with one of the most reputable fashion photographers in Portugal, Frederico Martins (www.fredericomartins.net). I also continue to train new students in Photoshop where I tell them that Photoshop is a fantastic program, which enables us to expand all our imaginations into a work of art.
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RESOURCES ON THE DISC
ON THE DISC
LOAD THE DISC TO DISCOVER A WEALTH OF PHOTOSHOP PROJECTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS LOAD CD
RUNNING THE DISCS
These discs have been compiled to run on Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS X.
READERS’ GALLERY
THE BEST WORK FROM OUR WEBSITE
On each issue’s disc we present four of the best artworks from the members of our online gallery website. So, if you want to showcase your work to our readers and online community, head to www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk.
WINDOWS USERS
The CD-ROM should autorun once placed into your disc drive. If not, follow the instructions below. 1. Browse to My Computer. 2. Right-click on your CD drive and select Open from the drop-down list. 3. Read the ‘readme’ file if there’s one present to find out which files you need to launch to run the CD interface.
APPLE MAC USERS
We support OS X 10.3 and higher unless otherwise stated. This CD-ROM interface will NOT autorun when placed into your CD drive. Instead: 1. Double-click the CD icon on your desktop. 2. Read the ‘readme’ file if there’s one present to find out which files you need to launch to run the CD interface.
LICENSING
Some so ware on this disc is shareware, which means that if you continue to use the program, you should register it with the author and, in some cases, pay. Freeware programs can be used free of charge indefinitely. Trial versions are either time-limited (eg they will stop working a er 30 days) or have some features disabled.
NEED HELP WITH THE TUTORIALS?
ANY DISC PROBLEMS
Having trouble with any of the techniques in this issue’s tutorials? Don’t know how to make the best use of your free resources? Want to have your work critiqued by those in the know? Then why not visit the Advanced Photoshop Facebook page for all your questions, concerns and qualms. There is a friendly community of fellow Photoshop users to help you out, as well as regular posts and updates from the magazine team. Like us today and start chatting!
facebook.com/AdvancedPhotoshop
Issue 105 of
If the menu doesn’t run or your disc is faulty then we will replace it free of charge. Just drop an email listing the problem to
[email protected] and it will be sorted out promptly. If you are having trouble getting the best out of individual programs or extras provided, then please contact the relevant software companies.
is on sale 24 January 2013
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iv i t t y a b e r e c c k s o s n e l s d y n ou. u o B
Image by synthymonkey. Miki3 from Content Paradise. Circus props by Sixus 1 and Luke A, TerraDome by Runtime DNA.
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