t n e t n o c 0 1 0 2 / 8 0 e u s s i
cover artist – interview
Randy Monteith
Randy Monteith is a self-taught artist. All his ideas come from an overactive imagination, that is only put in check when he finishes a piece of artwork and then the process begins again.
interview
creative class Distractions José-Paulo Reis
photomanipulation
interview Interview with Natalia Voloshyn
Interview with April Elisabeth
Making the Mood Naomi Bensen
digital painting Forest Fairy Alena Lazareva
workshop How to paint a realistic eye George Patsouras
How to paint a realistic lips George Patsouras
interview Interview with Armand Johnson
photo retouch Glamour Retouch Armand Johnson
How to change eye color Ylenia Peronti
Dearest Readers! Let’s face it: the Summer is about to end. Most of you are probably coming back from holidays and I guess you don’t feel like getting back to work, is that right? The sunny days will soon be over, but it doesn’t mean that the holiday fun has to stop! Try to change all the good energy you have into art. Be creative and let us inspire you with our September tutorials: In this issue, Alena Lazareva will show you how to make a beautiful digital painting of a Forest Fairy and José-Paulo Reis – how to prepare an intriguing vector image. You can also improve your photo retouch skills with Ylenia Peronti and Armand Johnson or become a master of a realistic digital painting, in which George Patsouras will help you. You can also enjoy the works of Randy Monteith, our cover artist, and read the interview with Natalia Voloshyn, April Elisabeth and Armand Johnson. I hope that each one of you will find something useful and interesting for himself. Have a good lecture! Magdalena Mojska
[email protected] Editor in Chief
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interview
Interview with
Randy Monteith I am self-taught as an artist. So any mistakes I have made are intentional. All my ideas come from an overactive imagination, that is only put in check when I finish a piece of artwork and then the process begins again. I have been working with Photoshop for almost 7 years now. I am lucky enough to have two images chosen for two of RedBubble’s books GAIA and Compassion, Courage and Friendship. I have been interviewed in Photoshop Creative Magazine #14 and have images printed in Advanced Photoshop as well. Recently in Issue #60 of Photoshop Creative Magazine the editors chose my portfolio on their webpage as one of the Top 5 rated portfolios. I am not one to think outside the box, but blow it to bits, so stand back and watch me now!
Please tell our readers something about yourself. I am 49 years old , I have a great wife who is my inspiration in so many ways. My son Rory is seven years old and my daughter Chel-
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sea (who is my biggest fan) is 17. I work for Bombardier of Thunder Bay, Canada, where I do the electrical electronics testing on the railcars we manufacture for the world.
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interview with randy monteith Why did you choose to become a digital artist? Someone sent me an email with a picture that someone did of an animal that was made up of three other animals and I said to myself: Great Idea! but I thought I could do so much better. I had no clue what software was out there until some friends told me about Photoshop. I am self taught as an artist and have taught myself Photoshop all on my own. Creating Digital Art is a great outlet , I get to see all these crazy ideas I have in my head come to fruition.
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interview
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interview with randy monteith
What are you currently working on? No real projects , just some experiments that sometimes turn into pieces of artwork. I love coming up with new techniques, take an old techinque and stretch it a little further then others have. Any advices to those who would like to become digital artists as well? Don’t think outside the box! Blow it to bits! A program like Photoshop can be very scary to learn there are so many tools and things you have to know how to use. Just take your time and learn a small part at a time. Then you will learn how to slowly start using different parts of the program together enabling you to understand it better and create some amazing art!
Where do you look for the inspiration to create? My ideas come from all over, I have a very overactive imagination that works non-stop. Could you tell us a bit about the advantages and difficulties of your profession? What do you find the most satisfying about it and what can be discouraging? In my case, because I have a regular job as a electronics tech, I am lucky I don’t have to rely upon my income from my artwork. But this also gives me the freedom to work on what I want to work on and not what the boss tells me to do. I mainly create art for myself. If others like it then that’s a bonus. Are there any works you are particularly proud of? Yes there are quite a few actually. Broken from Within was featured in an ad for Photoshop Creative magazine. Wither won a first place prize in a international art contest sponsored by Corel. Earth Bound was featured in a limited edition book by Redbubble.
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Distractions
In this tutorial I will show you how to acheive an interesting effect using vectors.
medium
| 45 min.
adobe adob e photo photoshop shop CS5 CS5 | adobe illustrator
distractions 01
Step 1 To begin, create a new document as shown below.
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Step 2 Fill the background layer with black color: [ Alt] + [Backspace]. Next select the picture for this tutorial. Any picture will do, but the photo of a face or a portrait will be the most suitable here. Now you need to cut the face out of the picture. In this scenario we used Pen Tool since it provided the best result. In Paths panel click left mouse button on the thumbnail you created. Next press [ Ctrl] +[ C] to copy and [ Ctrl]+[V ] to paste it.
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Step 3 Now we will adjust contrast of the cut out image. Go to Layer>New Adjustments Layer>Selective color and set the values as you see in the picture below. .psd Photoshop
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creative class
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Step 4 Duplicate the model's layer and desaturate it using [ Shift]+[Ctrl]+[U]. In the Layers panel select desaturated copy of the model and go to Filter>Blur>Lens Filter>Blur>L ens Blur and use the settings below
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Step 5 Now we need to save the document as PSD file (File>Save as).
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Step 6 In this step you need to make sure that you have chosen or made the right vectors to be used in the image you are creating. As soon as you have it done, drag into Photoshop and choose Smart object. To do that, highlight your Vector in Layers panel, right click mouse button and from the drop down menu select Convert to smart object . 10
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distractions 07
Step 7 Now put your vectors in your file. Choose the first one and go to Filter>Distort>Displace . Use the settings shown below. You have to do it for all the vector layers. Choose the file you saved before in PSD format to complete the displace filter. Next, duplicate the face image as many times as the number of vectors you add to your file. We need the original copy of the image you cut on top of any smart object you create. Once you have the images on top of the vector layers you have to create Clipping masks. Right-click on each copy of the image layer in the Layers palette and select Create Clipping Mask .
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Step 8 Once you have done all the clipping masks, you must give some layer properties to the vector layers. Click on fx below the Layers panel, select drop shadow and use the settings below.
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Step 9 You can modify the settings of each smart object layer just the way you want. I hope you enjoy it! by José-Paulo Reis .psd Photoshop
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interview
Interview with
Natalia Voloshyn I’m a 21 years old master student from a beautiful city of Lviv, Ukraine. Though my occupation (I’m a linguist) can hardly be called “arty”, I’ve been madly in love with Photoshop and photography for nearly 3 years. Being an artist ar tist is an amazing feeling. feeling. You can find more of my works at: http://voloschka-photo.deviantart. com/ http://voloschka.deviantart.com/
Tell our readers something about yourself. How did your digital arts adventure started and why did you choose this profession profession? ? I’ve been a digital artist for three years now and my relationship with this form of art started rather traditionally – I was driven by a strong
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urge to create. Also, I was a lot into photography at that time but I didn’t have a camera. After browsing a couple of websites with photomanipulations, I understood that it’s not necessary to have expensive equipment to create – and I decided to give it a try.
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interview with natalia voloshyn
Where do you get the inspiration for your works? Anything can be an inspiration – music, films, books, different kinds of art, even random lines in the conversation. I often build up an image of a future artwork in my imagination, it can be my vision of a certain concept or feeling, or just a fantasy scene. But sometimes I just play around with images, textures and brushes and something interesting comes along the way.
Could you tell us a bit about the advantages and difficulties of your profession? profession? What do you find the most satisfying about it and what can be discouraging? Digital art is very time consuming. It might take up to 5 hours or even more to create a piece. It is also quite tiring as it requires hours of concentration and sitting in front of a computer screen. The most satisfying thing about being a digital artist is that nothing limits you
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interview
– if you want to create a beautiful lady with huge butterfly wings or a dark dungeon with ghosts, it is up to you. Anything is possible. Images, brushes and textures give you an opportunity to experiment as much as you want. However, digital art is technically difficult and requires a lot of practice, which can be discouraging at times.
Are there any works you are particularly proud of? Any personal favourites? That’s a tricky question. I really like my latest pieces ‘Free’, ‘Perfection’ and ‘Carried Away’ but it would be wrong to call them favourite, as all of my works mean a lot to me.
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interview with natalia voloshyn
What are you currently working on? I’m working on a piece portraying an imaginary being, perhaps a girl, lonely, lost and rejected, longing for warm human feelings but not being able to find them. It is going to be a dreamy fantasy piece, quite dark and atmospheric. What are your plans for future? Are there any particular goals you would like to achieve? I consider myself being a perfectionist, so I try to improve my skills with every new piece I create. I would like to move more in the direction of digital painting, learn some new techniques. Any advices to those who would like to become digital artists as well? The first and the most important piece of advice – don’t stop. Don’t give up, even if things go totally wrong or are not as good as you expected. Be patient, try to build up an image in your mind first or draw a sketch, and then recreate it step by step. If you feel that you lack knowledge, browse for some tutorials, they can be very helpful. Improve your skills. And remember - the sky is the limit.
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medium
| 30 min.
adobe adob e photo photoshop shop CS3 CS3 | wacom tablet
forest fairy
Forest Fairy I wanted to draw a beautiful fairy with long hair and bright green eyes, running through the the forest. I decided to paint it in bright colors of yellow and orange. orange. The image needed to be magical.
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Step 1 I made a sketch in Photoshop using Wacom tablet. After I made a rough sketch, I decided to add different decorative details during the process of drawing.
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Step 2 I drew the basis for the face, body and dress on a new layer. More details and highlights would be added later. .psd Photoshop
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Step 3 I started to paint the basis for fairy's hair. I used a wide, round, soft brown brush and drew it on a new layer. Then I began to paint more details of fairy's body and of her dress by adding shadows and highlights.
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Step 4 At this point, I began to refine the face and make up, continuing from step 2, and adding more details. I focused on the looks looks and the eyes because because I think it’s very important. I painted some pinkish shades on the face, added highlights, and textured the lips. After that, I added eyelashes.
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Step 5 In this step I drew the hair. I decided that fairy's hair would be long, with a reddish-yellow hue. First I drew the basis for hair using a dark color. Then I painted waves of the hair lighter. I used several colors to draw the hair (brown, orange, red and various shades of yellow), as it gives the effect of more volume. To draw the hair I use a soft round brush. In the brush settings, I set fine hair and sized it Shape>Dynamics>Fine hair fine to 2 px. 18
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forest fairy 06
Step 6 I decided to make the dress more beautiful. First, I drew bright yellow patches on the dress and the folds. I drew highlights with a soft, round brush setting the Opacity to 40%. I then painted gloss on her dress. For this I used a brush size of 2-5 px. Glitter (point brush). I drew it on multiple layers with varying transparency and used a bright yellow and red brush. The more points you paint, the more the dress will shine! On the brightest parts of the dress I put more points of bright color.
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Step 7 When I finished the details on the girl's body, I drew a flower in her hand. On a new layer with Opacity 50%, I drew a light train. I used a soft, round brush with Opacity set to 30-50%.
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Step 8 I started to paint the background and used a soft, large brush. I made the left upper corner of the background lighter and the bottom of the background - darker. .psd Photoshop
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digital painting
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Step 9 I then painted an abstract leaf in the right side of the background and applied the Gaussian Blur filter (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur ). ). Now, using a soft brush, with light yellow I added rays of the sun. After that I again applied the Gaussian Blur .
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Step 10 In this step I added decorative items and ornaments. I used a brush size of 2 px and yellow and brown colors to paint decorations (to look their best, they need to be drawn very accurately).
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Step 11 I drew the falling leaves on 2 layers: a front and a rear layer. On the foreground, I painted the leaves brighter. To layer the leaves in the background, I applied a Gaussian Blur . by Alena Lazareva 20
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How to Paint a Realistic Eye This tutorial will explain how to paint a realistic eye in Photoshop. Eyes are by far one of the most important aspects of any painting, especially if it’s a portrait. It’s also one of the most fun features to paint, as painting an eye is much easier than one might think.
medium
| 30 min.
adobe adob e photo photoshop shop CS5 CS5
how to paint a realistic eye 01
Sketch Before laying down a single brushstroke, it’s important for me to create a rough sketch. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but we need to get our point across here. This will only make things easier during the painting process. Create a new layer and sketch in an eye.
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Laying down the Base Color This step is simple enough; here we lay down the base color for the skin. Simply use the Gradient tool here and fill the background layer with your color choice. In general try not to go too light or too saturated here.
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Defining Form Using the HSB Slider, ( Windows>Color ), ), pick a darker more saturated color for the darker areas of the skin, and paint it using a simple Hard Edged brush. I also pick a lighter, less saturated tone for the highlights of the skin. I choose a color for the eye, in this case, a bright blue and paint that in as well. .psd Photoshop
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workshop
04
Bringing Life to the Skin The values of the skin need some work here. I choose an even brighter, lighter color to define the form of the skin. I introduce the lighter tones according to the lighting here, which is a standard front light. I add the lighter tones to the tone, the bridge of the nose, near the eyebrow, and around the eyelid to make things appear more realistic.
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Smoothing Out the Skin At this point, all my work was done using a standard Hard Edged brush, which is great for defining form quickly. To blend the skin and give it a more photo realistic look, I now switch to a soft brush ( Hardness at 0%) and Opacity at 50%. I blend all the sharp transitions until things appear much smoother. smoother. Additionally, I paint darker tones tones on the blue iris to give it more depth.
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Bringing More Life At this point I work a bit more on the skin tones, adding some more saturated reddish tones on the area around the eye, as well as the cheek. I also add a more saturated blue to the eye as well. I do this all with a soft airbrush at a fairly low opacity on a new layer, then merge it down when I’m satisfied with how things are looking. I also do some more detail work using a softer Hard Edged brush as well. 24
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how to paint a realistic eye 07
Details I’m satisfied with how things are looking at this stage, so I start working on the details. Using a fairly small brush, I begin to add some ‘bumps’ around the eye to give it a more realistic looks. I also create bumps around the eyebrow using a both a fairly light as well as dark color to help it pop for a realistic look. I also add details in the iris using a lighter bluish color to really bring the image to life. I work in at a very large zoom at this stage as well to make things easier and more accurate.
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Refinement I go over everything with a Soft Edged brush at a low opacity for a more realistic look. Additionally I bring out the details more using fairly small, hard edged brushes. I work on the eyebrow, painting each strand in, as well as the eyelashes.
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Color and Texture Enhancement Things are looking a bit too muddy for my taste, so what I do here is create a new layer set to soft light, and enhance the colors quite a bit. I introduce much warmer tones around the eye to give it more life. Finally, I slightly overlay a leather photo texture to give the skin a slightly more realistic effect. by George Patsouras .psd Photoshop
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How to Paint a Realistic Lips In this tutorial, I will explain how to paint realistic lips with Photoshop. Before attempting attempting to paint lips, it’s essential that you practice drawing lips as well as the head in general to get the best results possible.
medium
| 30 min.
adobe adob e photo photoshop shop CS5 CS5
how to paint a realistic lips 01
Sketch I almost always start off with a sketch for my serious paintings, and this one is no different. I create a new layer, and with a Hard Edged brush, I quickly sketch in the lips. Getting the lips to look right now just makes the painting process that much easier.
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Picking the right base color Pick a mid-tone for the skin, one that’s not too saturated or too light (a common mistake many artists make). To quickly fill in the canvas with a color, I simply use the Gradient tool. After it’s done, I use a hard edged brush to paint in the red lips.
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Defining Form Once I chose my base tone, it’s time to define the form of the skin. The first thing you must think of is where does the light come from? In this case, I decide to go for a fairly simple front light and shade accordingly. Using a Hard Edged brush, I use darker, more saturated tones for the darker parts of the skin, and a lighter, less saturated tone for the highlights of the skin for a realistic effect. Use a darker midtone for the ‘top’ lip, and bring out lighter tones for the bottom one (this works for most lighting situations). .psd Photoshop
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workshop
04
Bringing out the Highlights Things are still looking too flat for me at this stage, so I choose a much brighter midtone to bring out the form of the skin. As always, I simply use a hard edged brush at this step. I bring out lighter tones on the ‘corners’ of the lips, the chin, and on top of the lips.
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Smoothing out the Skin Once I’m happy with my value statement, I decide to soften everything out with a soft edged brush. I choose Hardness 0% under my Brush Settings, and with a 50% Opacity, I smoothen out the rough transitions.
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Details I start bringing texture to the lower lips using a fairly small, Hard Edged brush. I zoom closer here to make things easier, and begin to paint the texture of the lips keeping the form in mind, using a circular stroke. Additionally, I bring out a fairly harsh highlight at the top of the lips (the part that looks like a ‘V’), which gives the image a much more realistic feel. 28
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how to paint a realistic lips 07
Even more details! I bring more contrast to the image, using lighter tones for the highlights and darker ones for shadows. I introduce a fairly dark tone right underneath the lip, above the chin for a realistic effect. I also use a darker tone to separate the ‘bottom’ lip from the top, giving the lips more depth in the process. I also add a mole simply for the fun of it.
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Final Refinement Here I add even more texture to the lips, and use a very light, almost white color on the bottom lips to bring more life and contrast to the image. I clean the image out a bit in general and make sure everything appears as symmetrical as possible, and voila! We’re done! by George Patsouras
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contributing writers
Randy Monteith
cover artist
I am self taught as an artist. So any mistakes I have made are intentional. All my ideas come from an over active imagination, that is only put in check when I finish a piece of artwork and then the process begins again. I have been working with Photoshop for almost 7 years now. I am lucky enough to have two images chosen for two of RedBubble’s books GAIA and Compassion, Courage and Friendship. I have been interviewed in Photoshop Creative Magazine #14 and have images printed in Advanced Photoshop as well. Recently in Issue #60 of Photoshop Creative Magazine the editors chose my portfolio on their webpage as one of the Top 5 rated portfolios. I am not one to think outside the box, but blow it to bits, so stand back and watch me now!
Armand Johnson I’m a professional photographer and graphic designer from
Northern Louisiana, USA. I have had the pleasure of working with celebrities, non-profit organizations, and local talents within the Louisiana region. I’ve also provided public service to the area and worked with the local youth to teach them professionalism, career goals, and creative thinking. I get a lot of my inspiration from what I observe, which is everyday life. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmandjohnson http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmandjohnson http://www.twitter.com/dajizzle http://www.creattica.com/creatives/the-armand-johnson/29390
[email protected]
Jose Paulo Reis Alena Lazareva
My name is Alena, I live in Russia. I`m the digital artist and the illustrator. My interests are art, photography, computer graphics. I have been drawing since childhood. I studied at the School of Art at the artist. There I drew pictures in oils and watercolor, is now engaged in graphic design. During the last three years I have been enjoying working as a computer graphics artist. I love to paint illustrations in the style of Fantasy: mythical creatures , fairies, elves, mermaids and angels and painting children fairytales. I`m currently using Photoshop CS and tablet Wacom for of my artworks. I hope you like my illustrations! Website : www.alenalazareva.com e-mail :
[email protected]
Ylenia Peronti I’m 19 years old italian artist. From 3 years I have a passion for photo retouch and generally for phtoshop so I started to practice retouch first on what I call “extreme makeover”, as described in this tutorial, and then devot himelf to studying professional photo retouching refining technical professional and actually retouch fashion shots. I’m supermoderator in the Forum Graphics www.grafici www.graficicreativi.com creativi.com and I manage especially the section of photoretouch. you can find me at the following links: www.yleniaperonti.wordpress.com http:// yleniuccia.deviantart.com/
I’m a digital artist with 3 years of experience. My passion is fashion photography, creativity, advertising, photomanipulation and digital art. Currently I’m working as a digital artist in Lalaland Studios (fashion photography). I love fashion and beauty photography photography and everything related with digital art. I’m devoted to Photoshop, and everyday I’m trying to improve my skills. Enjoy my works by visiting my blog: www.zepaulocreation. blogspot.com
Naomi Bensen Having been raised in a colorful environment of art, music, and creative learning, it was only natural for me to gravitate towards photography—a medium that can catch a split second and make it last forever. Behind the lens, I have pursued my own unique style of photography that focuses on capturing natural and unstaged moments. For me, photography is more than taking a good picture—it’s about turning a moment into art. Find me at: http:// theimagination.deviantart.com/
George Patsouras George Patsouras is a freelance and concept artist residing from Long Island City, NY. NY. His work can be seen in a variety of differdif ferent projects, including video games, comic books, as well as card games. George specializes alizes in depicting realistic fantasy images. For more of his work, be sure to check out his official blog at: http:// cgaddict.blogspot.com
Editor in Chief:
Magdalena Mojska
[email protected] Copy Editor: Ed Werzyn, Robert Coppa Art Director: Agnieszka Marchocka DTP: Przemysław Banasiewicz Senior Consultant/Publisher/President:
Paweł Marciniak Managing Director: Ewa Łozowicka Marketing Director: Magdalena Mojska
[email protected] Production Director: Andrzej Kuca
[email protected] Postal address:
Publisher: Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK 02-682 Warszawa, ul. Bokserska 1 worldwide publishin publishingg www.psdmag.org/en
All trade marks presented in the magazine were used only for informative purposes. All rights to trade marks presented in the magazine are reserved by the compani companies es which own them. Mathematical formulas created by Design Science MathType™. The editors use automatic DTP system Editorial contributions should be sent to:
[email protected]
Customer Ser vice +1 917 338 3631 3631 The Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK works individually from Adobe. The psd Photoshop team reserves the right not to be r esponsible for the topicaltopicality, correctness, correc tness, completeness or quality of the information provided by contributors.
interview
Interview with
Armand Johnson I’m a professional photographer and graphic designer from Northern Louisiana, USA. I have had the pleasure of working with celebrities, non-profit organizations, and local talents within the Louisiana region. I’ve also provided public service to the area and worked with the local youth to teach them professionalism, career goals, and creative thinking. thinki ng. I get a lot of my inspiration i nspiration from what I observe, which is everyday life. See more of my works here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmandjohnson http://www.twitter.com/dajizzle http://www.creattica.com/creatives/the-armand johnson/29390 Contact me:
[email protected]
Please say a few words about yourself. I have a degree in Graphic Design and I really enjoy art, all forms of it. Whether, that is music, acting, dancing, painting, photography, etc. I am intrigued by many different forms of art. I DO like to play video games (when I have time, but who doesn’t) and I DO consider video games as ART, but that’s a different subject. I’m kind of laid back and very business like in my approach to most things. Why did you choose photo retouching and what do you find fascinating about it? When I was in undergrad, I collected plenty of music CD’s and DVD’s. It always intrigued me how flawless and perfect looking the cover art was. I thought to myself, I want to reach that level of perfection in what I do. But graduating with a BFA in Graphic Design kind of steered me away from that in some regards. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago when my Aunt asked me to gather a couple of shots for some of my cousin’s promotional work that I begun to take retouching very seriously. After I took the shots, I thought: These images need to be presentable. So, I started to dabble with perfecting the images which pushed me into retouching. By being a photographer, retouching is essential to my workflow, because I want my images to have that commercial, professional appeal. I want my work to look like it belongs in a magazine, as a poster, or on a billboard, etc. I find retouching fascinating because how one can push and perfect an image to his/her likings and to the client’s likings as well. It’s a great feeling to boost someone’s confidence by showing them the retouched image in comparison to the original. It can help them gain or retain their “swagga”.
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interview with armand johnson
Where do you look for the inspiration to create? There are several photographers and retouchers, well known and not, that inspire me with their work. Joel Grimes and Dave Hill are probably the most prominent amongst the photographers. I admire their approach to their craft and absolutely love their end result. Other notable photographers are Dustin Snipes and Dallas J Logan. As for retouchers, I think Amy Dresser is amongst the best. Her work is incredible. Nick Saglimbeni is also. He’s an awesome photographer and retoucher. But, that is just the list of people. Nature and natural things are very inspiring because of their calming attributes. Also,
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interview
there is a bevy of websites that are exceptionally useful for inspiration. Abduzeedo is my favorite. Being an artist, you can get your inspiration from anything and anywhere. An idea can gravitate towards you at anytime. What are the main advantages of your profession and what can be discouraging about it? An advantage of being a retoucher is the payoff. If you’re great at it, you can eventually open up to a much larger clientele, such as the entertainment (music, movies, etc.) and fashion industries. Once
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interview with armand johnson
you’re attached to some major clients, your rep (credibility) increases for the better. What can be discouraging is the journey to arrive at that stage. There are many individuals proclaiming themselves professionals (whether photographers, retouchers, etc.) that are hurting the industry. They are utterly confusing clients. A random person with a camera is not a photographer and a random person with a copy of Photoshop is not retoucher. A lot of lower level clients tend to desire commercial level work for pennies on the dollar. That’s just not feasible. Retouchers probably spend more time with an image than anyone else involved with the creative process. They deserve to be compensated properly.
Do you have any achievements that you are particularly proud of? Yeah, I just recently got a couple works approved on the major creative website Creattica.com. Also, being featured in this magazine is very rewarding! I look forward to achieving more goals and receiving more accolades. Life’s a marathon, not a sprint.
What about your plans for the future? I plan on making my stamp within the industry as have the other successful digital artists. I’ll always be refining and fine-tuning my craft to become more diverse. I won’t go into too much details cause I have a laundry list of things. That could take all day ;) But I will say this, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into the right places and I believe this interview and collaboration with PSD Photoshop magazine is a crucial step in this process. Do you have any advice to those who would like to become digital artists as well? Be artistic and approach things from a creative perspective. I find many individuals wanting to be artists without being artistic or creative. It’s a process, not a fast food restaurant. The creation of masterpieces and wonderful works of art takes careful planning, time and effort. There has to be a love for what you do. Photoshop is only a tool which is used to create art. It is not meant to replace it or the process of creating it.
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advanced
| 45 min.
adobe adob e phot photoshop oshop CS3
glamour retouch
Glamour Retouch In this tutorial I will show you how I performed a Glamour retouch on a photo of my beautiful friend Asia. I photographed her against a black background for a dramatic and edgy effect as well as using various Photoshop tools to achieve that “glamour look” that many many magazines and print work use. I will be using Photoshop CS3 but any higher version should work as well. The tools I will be using are: Adjustment Layers, Filters, and Blending Modes; as well as the Clone Stamp, Brush, and Healing Brush tools.
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Blemish Removal and Skin Smoothing First, open the RAW image and make a duplicate of the background layer by pressing [Ctrl]+[ J J]. Name the bottom layer Retouch an andd the top layer Original. This creates a quick toggle between the Before and After states. This also allows you to monitor your progress and determine if you are making changes that have a negative effect on the results. Turn off the top layer ( Original). Next,create a new layer above the Retouch layer by pressing [ Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N]. Name this layer CleanUp. With the Healing Brush [ J] selected, make sure Sam ple All Layers is selected from the drop down menu and Aligned is checked. Next, use the Healing Brush, as well as the Clone Stamp on thee CleanUp layer to remove all the blemishes and imperfections. The th settings are: 100% Opacity, 100%, with Sample All Layers and Aligned selected. Once the skin is cleaned up, create another layer above it [ Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] and name it Skin. Select the Clone Stamp tool an andd use these settings: 18-25% Opacity, 100% Flow, Sample All Layers an andd Aligned . Use the Clone Stamp tool to even out the Highlight, Shadow, andd Midtone areas, giving the skin a very smooth, flawless appearan ance. Lastly, apply a little noise the layer. Go to Filter >Noise> Add Noise and set the amount to 2.5% - 5.0% and the distribution to Gaussian ia n. After initially cleaning and smoothing the skin, group those layers together by holding down the [ Shift] key and selecting both of them and [Ctrl]+[G] to group them. Rename the group CleanUp.
02 Color Boost Above the CleanUp group, create a Curve Curvess Adju Adjustm stment ent La Layer yer and name it CB - Curves . Use three points along the slope: 255, 255; 0, 0; and 148, 112 within the RGB channel. Then create a Levels Adjustment Layer naming it CB - Levels. Within the RGB channel, using these values: 10, 1.15, 245. Group together these two Adjustment Layers and name the group Overall because it affects the overall image. Then, create a Curves Adjustment Layer above the grouped layers and insert four points along the slope. Keep the two default points 255,255 and 0, 0. Add two more: 35, 43 and 211, 201 (or somewhere within that tonal range) also in the RGB channel. Rename this layer Jewelry . Select the Mask by clicking on it and fill the Mask with Black. Use the Brush tool with the foreground color set to White and paint only over the jewelry. Rename this layer Jewelry. Create a final Curves adjustment layer above the Jewelry layer and name it Hair . Use settings very similar to those on the Jewelry layer within the RGB channel. Select the Mask, fill it with Black, and paint over the hair with a White brush. Group all of these Adjustment Layers together and name the group Color Boost . .psd Photoshop
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photo retouch
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Color Correction Create a new layer and name it Color Correction . Set the Blending Mode to Color . Set the Brush tool to a Soft/Feather setting with the Hardness to 15. Set Black as the foreground color and paint over the lips. Then use Gold as the foreground color and paint over the “Coach” text and the handle of the sunglasses, changing them from Silver to Gold. Select various colors from the skin and paint over the discolorations in the skin. Put the layer in its own group and name that group Color Correction .
04 Highlight and Shadow Create a new layer and name it Face/Body and set the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Set the foreground color to White, select the Brush tool with the settings: Opacity: 100%, Flow: 2% and paint over the naturally highlighted areas, bringing out the highlights. Then set the foreground color to Black using the same settings and paint over the naturally shadowed areas, increasing the contrast in the image. Add a Gaussian Blur , Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to the layer with a radius setting of 15 – 30. Repeat these steps on a new layer named Hair with the Blending Mode set to Overlay. Create another new layer named Jewelry with the Blending Mode set to Overlay as well. Once finished, rearrange the layers so that they are in this order from top to bottom: Hair, Face/ Body, Jewelry . Lastly, group these layers together and name the group HL/SH or Highlight/Shadow .
05 Sharpen Make a new layer by combining all visible layers, [ Shift]+[ Alt]+[Ctrl]+[E ]. ]. This creates a new layer consisting of all the information from the bottom layers. Make this a smart object by right – clicking on the layer and selecting Convert to Smart Object. This makes the layer a Smart Object allowing the use of Smart Filters. Duplicate this layer and rename the copy HP 6.5 and the original layer Sharpen . Turn off the HP 6.5 layer. With the Sharpen layer selected, go to Filter>Sharpen>UnSharp Mask, using these settings: Amount 60%; Radius 250.0; Threshold 10. With the Blending Mode set to Normal, adjust the Opacity within the 30% - 40% range and the Fill within the 75% - 90% range. Then, turn on the HP 6.5 Layer and select it. Set the Blending Mode to Overlay and go to Filter>Other>High Pass. Set the Radius to 6.5, and the Opacity within the 65% - 75% range and the Fill within the 90% - 95% range. Finally, group these two layers together and name the group Sharpen . 38
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glamour retouch 06
Cool Down Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer , making sure it is set to the Master channel. Set the Saturation to -100. This turns the image black and white. Set the Blending Mode set to Normal, the Opacity within the 40% - 50% range and the Fill within the 70% - 90% range. Select the Mask, set the foreground color to 40% Gray and fill the mask. Paint over only the jewelry and the colored sections of the hair. This brings back some of the original color but not too much of it. Finally, group only this layer and name it Cool Down.
07 Effects Create a new layer and name it Sparkles . With the Pen tool, create a five – point sparkle. Once finished drawing the outline, right – click and select Make Selection , feathering the selection by 1 pixel. Make sure the Anti-aliased box is checked and the New Selection option is selected. Fill the selection with White. Then, make several copies (four should be enough) of this layer and move the various sparkles to certain areas on the jewelry and sunglasses. Resize those sparkles individually using transform [ Ctrl]+[T ]. ]. Once the sparkles are at sizes you are comfortable with, click on the top most layer ( Sparkles Copy 4), hold the shift key, then the original Sparkles layer and merge them by pressing [ Ctrl]+[E ]. ]. Rename this layer Sparkles. Then add a layer style to the layer by double – clicking on it. I selected Outer Glow. In the options for the Outer Glow effect, leave the default setting, only changing the Size to 3 pixels. Lastly, place this layer into its own group and name that group Effects. Switch the Original layer On/Off and enjoy the result. by Armand Johnson
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How to change
eye color
How to change the eye color very quickly but efficiently.
beginer | 10 min. adobe adob e photo photoshop shop CS4 CS4
how to change eye color
Step 1 First open the photos, select the pupil of the eye using the method you prefer ( Polygonal lasso, Magnetic lasso , pen, etc...). I used the Magnetic lasso in this case. Right click the mouse on the Selection and select New Layer via Copy . Rename the layer eyes.
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Step 2 Make sure that in the Layers palette is selected layer eyes and from the menu Image, select Hue>Saturati Hue>Sat uration on adjust adjustment mentss. When the window will be open, move the Hue's cursor until you find the satisfying color. If you want, from the same Hue>Saturation window we can also modify the saturation and brightness to achieve different effects. Here's an example: set the Hue value on 44. You can also customize more the color, using the color balance adjustment selected from the menu Image>Adjustments>Color Balance and reduce the opacity of the layer eyes to adjust the effect.
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Step 3 For a more aesthetic effect, you can use the Dodge tool selected from the Tools palette. Set Light to a 5-10% opacity (or an opacity that allows to achieve the desired effect) and use Dodge tool within the colored part of the eye. Select Burn tool, (also an Opacity of 5%) set to Midtones and Burning to define better the outline of the eye. by Ylenia Peronti .psd Photoshop
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interview
Interview with
April Elizabeth April Elizabeth is an internationally published photographer from Ishpeming, Michigan. Her photos have appeared in magazines, on book covers and websites. Her clients include: Random house, HarperCollins Publishing, and The Portland Beanie Company.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers? My name is April Elizabeth. I am a creative photographer from the small, snowy town of Ishpeming in Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
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Tell us about your first steps in photography. My dad is a really good photographer and he showed me how to use his Nikon film camera when I was young and how to de-
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interr view with april eliza inte elizabeth beth
velop the film. I really enjoyed it, but it was expensive and I was unable to really get into photography until digital cameras came along. I started with a point and shoot camera and went from there.
Why did you choose this profession? I think it sort of chose me. I’ve always liked photography, but I never in my life imagined myself going anywhere with it. That all changed when I bought my first slr and asked a local model to do a photo
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interview
shoot with me. I was nervous because I had never done anything like that before and I wasn’t completely sure how the camera worked, but the pictures turned out great and soon more and more people wanted to work with me.
Where do you get the inspiration for your works? I’ve always been an introverted daydreamer with an
overly active imagination. When other people are living their life I am looking around and thinking of stories. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but photography lets me tell stories with pictures and as long as I can tell a story I am happy.
What do you like the most about being a photographer and what are the main difficulties for you? If I am not creating something I feel frustrated. I like that my job lets me create things while making people feel beautiful and good about themselves. I enjoy taking pictures that have a fantasy quality to them so that people in the photos can be part of something a little magical instead of ordinary, and people who see the photos will feel inspired. One of the main difficulties I have is my location: the middle of nowhere in the Midwest. Winter lasts around 7-8 months and it’s always very harsh and with a lot of snow. I don’t have a studio or anyplace indoors thatI can go to so this means I only have a very short amount of time in the year that I can really do many photo shoots.
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interr view with april eliza inte elizabeth beth
Do you have any personal achievements you are particularly proud of? I’m very proud that my photo Shy, with over 35,550 favs is one of the most popular photos ever to be uploaded to the website deviantart. It’s unreal to me. I’m also proud that two photos of mine have been licensed to be on book covers. Growing up I never thought anything like that could ever happen to me. Being in magazines such as this one is also very nice. All of these things make me feel like I’ve accomplished something in life, and gives me confidence that I can do even more. What are your plans for future? I’d like to get a studio someday. And I’d like to get into stock photography. I’m also working on a gothic romance novel called Whispering Pines and a book of short, scary stories. I guess I plan on just creating more and trying to improve in everything I do. What would you advice to the young photographers? Don’t worry about what kind of camera or equipment you have. Just focus on what you have now and try to create something beautiful with it. It’s the photographer that makes the picture good, not the camera.
My most popular photo Shy and the two photos that were licenses to be on book covers were all taken with a point and shoot camera. Don’t let your age stop you from going forward. There are many successful photographers who are very young. There will always be obstacles, rejection and other bad things and many times you may think about quitting all together,but don’t. If you work hard good things will come.
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Making the Mood A photographer’s main goal is to take a photo that makes the viewer feel a strong emotion towards it, whether it is love, hate, anger or passion. But when a photo is excellently taken, yet the colors, lighting, and texture, don't match up to the photoer's vision, a photo will become uninspiring. This tutorial will teach you how to take your photo to the next level and create an image that matches your vision.
making the mood 01
Step 1 The first step in changing a photo is doing the basics. You have to prepare your photo before you can move to the fun stuff. In this pickture, I got rid of any noticeable blemishes the model had, and g of noticeable hair that were going across her face to give more clear picture of the model. I did this using the Patch and Clone Stamp tool. When editing a model, make sure to always keep texture in the skin, it's more interesting that way as opposed to having a model's face which is completely airbrushed.
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Step 2 The next step I took was darkening the whole photo. I knew that I wanted the photo to be much darker than it currently was. I could have just used the Curves tool or Levels, but I find that when overusing the Curves tool, a photo starts to look overly contrasted which I don't want. So instead I used a light gradient ( Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Gradient Map ) and changed the Blending mode from Normal to Multiply. Doing this gives the photo a lot more depth, but doesn't darken it completely.
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Step 3 As soon as I've got my basic photo ready, I knew that the yellowish tinge was not the effect I was going for, so I used both the Color Balance tool (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance ), and the Selective Color tool (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance ). .psd Photoshop
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photomanipulation
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Step 4 The next thing I noticed was that my model's face was not highlighted enough, it was getting lost in the midst of forest and darkness, so I made two new layers. One layer was for the model's face and I simply used a soft Photoshop brush, with 0% Hardness, and drew over the model's face and the snake's body. I then changed both layers Blending Mode from Normal to Screen , and applied a Box blur (Filter>Blur>Box Blur ) at 543 pixels, to both so they wouldn't be as noticeable. Remember, you just want hints of light, just enough so the model's face and the snake is highlighted.
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Step 5 The fifth step is more or less a repeat of a step number three. I liked the way photo looked, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as it could be. So now I finally decided to use the Curves tool ( Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves) to darken and light certain areas, making sure again not to overdo it but to give it enough contrast to really bring out the picture. Next, I made two new Selective Color layers (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Selective ). One Selective Colors layer changed the Color ). leaves and clothes but not the model's face to a more dark blue tint, while the second Selective Color layer brightened the snake's skin.
06 Step 6 The next thing I did was making another two layers. I still wanted to brighten only the snake's skin so for the first layer, I changed the Blending mode from Normal to Soft Light , and then used a brush with 0% Hardness and carefully painted over the snake. It took a few variations before I found a color I liked. It's helpful to remember to also look at the whole picture. In the next layer I created, I simply wanted to add a little more color to the shrubbery in the background so I made another layer, and again changed the blending mode from Normal to Soft Light. I used a soft brush with 0% Hardness and a maroon, and yellow color just to add a little variation from my usual palette of blue. I then added it all along the bushes and used the Box Blur tool at 483 pixels, also changing the Blending mode from Normal to Screen, to make it less obvious. 48
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making the mood 07
Step 7 The final step I took to finish setting the mood for my photo was adding a texture and changing the Blending Mode from Normal to Soft Light. I found that the texture was to overpowering at 100% Opacity, so I lowered it to 77%. I next added my final layer and created a vignette around my photo by using a brush with a Hardness of 100%, and then brushed it around the outer edges of the photo, particularly around the four corners. I then applied a Box Blur (Filter>Blur>B Filter>Blur>Box ox Blur ) at 693 pixels, to the layer creating a nice dark blurred effect. by Naomi Bensen
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