http://download.psdmag.org/en/always_be_one_step_ahead_06_10

issue 06/2010

content

cover artist – interview Vince Fraser

4

Vince Fraser is a freelance digital illustrator based in London who has worked for various clients including British Airways, PC World, BBC and T-mobile. He has ten years experience in the field of digital arts.

photomanipulation In Bloom Natalia Voloshyn

Mystery of Nature Benjamin Delacour

Medieval battlefield Greg Kaperski

8 Autumn Alena Lazareva

40 46

12

interview Inverview with Benjamin Delacour 18

creative class

Dearest Readers!

Enhancing 3D renders in Photoshop CS5 Digital-Tutors® 24

32

Summer is here and it’s hot so we take these high temperatures down with some Ice – this is the title of the cover image prepared by Vince Fraser. See his other works in our magazine and read the interview with him in which he tells us about becoming a digital illustrator.

As you can see, the themes connected with summer dominated most of our tutorials. It had clearly inspired Natalia Voloshyn to prepare her In Bloom tutorial, Benjamin Delacour’s work was influenced by the beauty and mystery on nature and Alena Lazareva decided to take a step ahead and show us the end of this time full of sun and heat.

Enjoy these and the other tutorials and articles. As it’s holiday time, I hope you will have a great pleasure in making your own version of summer!

36

Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org Editor in Chief

Editor’s Choice Gallery of Eric Rosner

30

workshop Antique sign Bert Monroy

digital painting Mother Nature Mair Perkins

E E R F

K C O ST

^

go o d

S O T PHO

It can be hard to get past the “free� part.

Get over it. Our photos are high-res, high quality and licensed for commercial use.

We share ad revenue!

Photographers can participate in our Google-approved AdSense revenue sharing program.

We now offer revenue sharing blogs as well.

Good Photos. Free.

www.freerangestock.com

interview

Always be one step ahead interview with Vince Fraser

Vince Fraser is a freelance digital illustrator based in London who has worked for various clients including British Airways, PC World, BBC and T-mobile. He has ten years experience in the field of digital arts. Having originally come from an interior design background, the progression to digital arts was a natural one. Specializing in digital illustration ranging from 2d vector work, photomontage, image manipulation and 3d modelling, Vince's work has continued to develop and inspire creating vibrant, innovative and evocative artwork. He describes his style as contemporary with various influences from the 70s and urban culture. Vince's highly versatile work can be found anywhere including mobile phones, VIP lounges through to luxury apartments and is starting to get the recognition it highly deserves.

Describe our readers your profession. Tell us what do you like about it and what do you find the most difficult.

I’m a freelance digital illustrator with over 10 years experience in the illustration industry, currently been working on an array of different projects ranging from designing ski boards, I-PAD cases, 3d installations and Interior graphics.

I think the most difficult part is finding a steady amount of work which can be a problem at the beginning. A lot of artists expect to start their freelance careers with a dream list of clients but the reality is far different from this. I remember my first job was an editorial illustration for a finance magazine which was pretty boring to be honest but I did it on a regular basis for a few years which helped me gain experience and move onto bigger and better projects. The fact on the matter is the first 3-6 months freelancing will be very hard because you have to adjust to a completely new way of working and thinking which can be mentally and physically demanding. On the upside to that, if you work hard, your work will eventually get recog-

4

.psd Photoshop

interview with vince fraser

nized and hopefully clients will start coming to you rather than you chasing them.

With the creative market being very saturated at the moment you have to always be one step ahead of everyone else, constantly reinventing yourself.

Also, I think that illustrators don't get the recognition they deserve: we're perceived as people who just draw pretty pictures!

The best part of my job however, is that you don’t have anybody who's kicking you out of bed every morning! Being your own boss

does have its advantages and being able to do something you love is a great feeling too.

Why did you decide to become an illustrator and how did it happen? Tell us your story.

I came across digital illustration purely by accident. I was working as an Interior Designer for an architectural company in London and noticed I enjoyed the graphic part of my job the most which involved rendering elevations, plans and perspectives in Photoshop. At the time

.psd Photoshop

interview

I was still pretty much new to Photoshop and everything I learnt was self taught through experimentation. I decided to pursue a career in this instead. I spent most of my lunch breaks looking at magazines like Computer Arts (which in 1997 was the one of the only digital art mag available) trying to recreate the artwork shown in the magazine with no avail. The thought of working for myself was both daunting and exciting, whilst the freedom to work from home was a big attraction.

What do you think is the most important to become successful on this field?

Be original, stay focused and do what you do best. Try not to follow trends and stick to developing your own style. If you put in the hard work you will eventually get recognised.

.psd Photoshop

interview with vince fraser

Having a good eye for detail, good imagination (which is something you can’t really teach I think) hunger too succeed, professionalism, enthusiasm, motivation, passion, dedication and commitment all rolled into one also helps.

Is there anything you can advice to those who would like to become digital illustrators as well?

The advice I would give to any upcoming artists would be to continuously push the envelope to keep your style fresh and evolving. Try keeping a sketchbook. It's so easy to forget a thought that could have led you onto a great idea, this is why you need to write things down, and sketch out your concepts whenever possible. Keeping a small sketchbook & pen with you at all time is great for gathering inspiration around you. Throwing an idea down, even if something’s rough, it’s so much easier to visualize and explore. Plus you don’t forget it. It is amazing how one original thought can lead to several others, and how from one simple sketch through subsequent changes can become very detailed very quickly.

Try to learn something new everyday and apply those skills with your own ideas to create new artwork in future projects.

Finally The idea is king. Once you have a strong idea, everything else just flows along behind it.

.psd Photoshop

medium | 3 h. adobe photoshop CS4

in bloom

In Bloom As the summer has finally kicked in, I decided to create my own vision of it – an archetypical girl with wild grass hair and a big poppy. Mysterious, adventurous, free. For this piece you will need a portrait photo of a female model, a texture background, a photo of poppy, hair and floral brushes.

01

Model

Start with editing the photo to make it brighter: Image>Adjustments>Curves output 67/input 73. Make the photo slightly warmer (Image>Adjustments>Color balance. Color Levels: +11, +7, -24). To make the eyes and lips stand out more, go over their contours with a Burn Tool set to Shadows range with 15% Exposure.

For aesthetic reasons I decided to remove model’s piercings. I used Clone stamp tool set to 57% Opacity and Airbrush. NOTE: for further painting/drawing, create separate layer for each element.

02 Hair

Hair painting is quite simple in its essence but it requires some practice. Here are some of useful tips: choose appropriate brushes for hair painting. They will make the whole thing much easier. Don’t be afraid to experiment with brushes. Try them all, then choose the ones that work best for you. Brush settings: Brush tip shape>Spacing 1%; Other dynamics>Fade. For different layers use different figures. Always start with basic colour. Don’t get upset if it doesn’t resemble real hair, you’ll get to it. Remember that hair is always multilayered and consist of different shades. The roots are a bit darker, the ends are more highlighted. Draw the hair starting with darker shades, then move to brighter ones. You can correct your mistakes using Burn/Dodge tool. If the hair looks slightly rough and unnatural in some places, especially around the roots, use Smudge tool. It will make it look sleeker. Paint each layer of hair on a separate layer. This will help you in case you make a mistake and need to erase something. .psd Photoshop

9

photomanipulation

03 Eyes

There is a visible contrast between hair and face as hair is painted and face is photographed. We’ll draw facial features too. For eyeshadows use Color picker to get the same colour of shadows as the model’s. Use default Soft brush set to 20-40% of Opacity and Airbrush. I painted the eyelashes with hairbrushes. Look for the ones that consist of a couple of dots situated almost on the same line.

Use dark colour (dark brown is the best, although it doesn’t always look natural) and high Opacity.

Set the other Brush dynamics to Fade from 20 to 50. Dodging/burning: Exposure ~15%. Burn the shadows and dodge the highlights. It will make the eyes brighter and more expressive.

04

Lips

As model’s lips are quite bright, we’ll only have some minor work to do. Go over the lips with Airbrush set to low Opacity. Make the colour brighter. Burn the contours, it makes the lips seem more full (Burn tool>Shadows, Exposure 15% or more). Draw the highlights on the lower lip. Use Airbrush set to 40% or higher Opacity and white colour. Use Smudge tool to make the painted highlights look natural.

05

Face

To add glow to the face and make it look more doll-like, paint it with nude colour. Use the soft Airbrush, Opacity 40% and more. Choose slightly darker colour using color picker. Paint slight shadows under the eyes, nose and cheeks to add more relief to the face. Set the Opacity of the layer to 68% to make it blend with the original picture nicely.

10

.psd Photoshop

in bloom

06

Flower

Paste the poppy picture as a new layer. Remove the background with the Eraser. Paint a flower over the picture. It’s easy to draw a poppy – darker colour is always in the centre, and it goes lighter to the edges. Draw small dark lines in the centre of the flower. The flower is supposed to cast shadow on the hair. Use Burn tool to achieve the desirable effect. Experiment with floral brushes.

07 Background

Paste a texture background as a new layer. Add more yellow in Color balance to match the background with the picture itself. Image>Adjustments>Color balance. Merge visible. And your picture is ready!

By Natalia Voloshyn Stock credits: Hair brushes http://ario-asten.deviantart.com/ Floral brushes http://summerair.deviantart.com/ Poppy http://godsmonster.deviantart.com/ Model http://tripperhippy.deviantart.com/ Background texture http://darkrose42-stock.deviantart.com/

.psd Photoshop

11

Mystery of the Nature

In this tutorial, I’ll explain you how to create a dark atmosphere with luxurious vegetation surrounding my main character to create a relevant and beautiful contrast/atmosphere. advanced | 45 min. adobe photoshop CS4

mystery of the nature

Basics

Once you’ve chosen your picture, zoom in on the scene to gain more space when adding elements.

02

Trimming

The most important in your work is the quality of trimming, the slightest imperfection makes visible any takedown. Start trimming the character and then the chair. By doing so, you will be able to quickly manipulate all the objects of your scene.

03

Putting it all together

We are now going to focus on the wall behind our model. Select all elements from background wall, then copy-paste the content on a new layer (zoom up to 20 or 30%). Rework the borders to iron out imperfections. .psd Photoshop

13

photomanipulation

04

Drawing new elements

With a broad brush and the Eyedropper Tool you can add some content on a new layer by reusing colors from your illustration. This will give you a basic design to apply on floors and walls.

05

Textures

To restore ground’s appearance, you must use textures (concrete, paint, textiles) and place them over our drawings (i.e. our paintings). This will give a depth effect to the ground. You can also play with Layer modes and Opacity to find the appropriate effect.

06

Wall textures

We’re going to do the same steps as above for the wall textures. Pick one or two textures, and set overlay on existing wall. Then copy the finalized wall on the left panel and use Transform Tool to give a touch of perspective. Finally copy a piece of border and create a frieze by duplicating bottom lines of the walls. Straighten the brightness of the frieze with the Dodge Tool + / -.

14

.psd Photoshop

mystery of the nature

07

Shadows

Now we'll specify the lighting of the room so that it fits with the model. Create a white layer over the stack of layers and adjust the slider Amount to -100, and put the layer in Product Mode. Create another layer with a large brush (20% Density) and make some shadows behind the model.

08

Mirror

Use the basic image and cut-paste the mirror on a new layer over the walls we just made, realize a slight drop shadow, and with a picture of broken glass placed above the mirror in Screen Mode.

09

Vegetation

We now need pictures of ivy and vines that will dress our walls. Trim the pics by selecting and cloning the most contrasted layer. You must reuse this copy, the plant must be painted black and the background removed (white). Instead of using the pen you use for trimming layers (once selection done), grab the selection of the layer ([Ctrl] + click) and copy the trimmed vegetation behind the model. .psd Photoshop

15

photomanipulation

10

Make up

I took time to review the brightness of the character and I made some changes on its body.

To add brightness, you can do so with a white brush (10% Gradient) applied on a new layer.

Duplicate the layer model, apply a slight Gaussian blur and add a layer mask. Invert the layer mask to make the blur disappear and go through with a brush over the skin of the model to blur the desired parts. Last step: change Opacity of adjustment layers.

11

Ambience

To create a stylish ambience, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Increase saturation without touching the brightness slider. Pitch on adding a set of adjustment layers with some contrast.

12

Foreground foliage

With the Warp Tool, add vines around the legs of the model and with a layer mask delete areas that you don’t want to display. Apply a light drop shadow to highlight the plants from the legs of your model. You can blur and enlarge plants on edges of your image with a strong Gaussian to give a nice depth effect.

16

.psd Photoshop

mystery of the nature

13

Leafs

Select some leafs and do the same manipulation as the foreground foliage previously described by enlarging and playing with the blur effect.

This time you can use Motion blur to give them movement. Vary the sizes and distort them, don’t forget to blur the foreground leaves.

14

Hummingbirds

Find pictures of birds, butterflies and trim them down with layers. This way you can keep the transparency of the wings with embezzling a low opacity brush you'll have a semi-transparent selection.

15

Final step

Leave your work aside and get back to it later.

You’ll have a better overview of changes that need to be done, For example changing colors and brightness if needed.

by Benjamin Delacour .psd Photoshop

17

interview

Interview with Benjamin Delacour Benjamin Delacour is a graphic designer with over ten years of experience. Passionate in graphic design and photo retouch, he works currently as a freelance designer for well-known organisations.

His spare time is devoted to Photoshop - one of his favourite tools!

Why have you decided to become a graphic designer?

I always liked the illustration and the drawing. I’m not a very good draftsman but thanks to Photoshop and Illustrator I have fount tools that give me a possibility to express myself.

How did it happen? What were your beginnings?

I began to work over 10 years ago. At first I realized mainly catalogs, advertisements, and photo retouch. 3 years ago I decided to set up my own business, and I took advantage of it to keep improving my Photoshop knowledge.

Tell our readers what this profession is about, what are the advantages and difficulities.

Today my work is highly varied, I always make some communication

18

.psd Photoshop

interview with benjamin delacour

work but I also offer my services in photomontage and in photo retouch to communication agencies and photographers. The most important advantage of this profession is that you become your own boss and you are able to manage on your own. But you need to prepared to spend sometimes the whole days in front of the computer screen to be able to follow the deadlines imposed by the customers. I also think that the hardest for an artist is the part of the business that is not connected with the creation: accounting, management of the customers and their orders.

What do you think is the most important to become successfull on this field?

Digital Love: Personal work realised using the same technique as Digital pixel image (a tutorial in one of the previous .psd issues).

.psd Photoshop

The most iportant thing to succeed is to keep the spirit up at the begining. It is necessary to have enough money to survive before the commissions are sufficient to be able to take out a salary. It is necessary to take advantage of the slightest spare time after the regular work to realize personal

19

interview

‘Of Ground’ Photography; Chris Knight Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2010

20

.psd Photoshop

interview with benjamin delacour Incandescence: Colaboration realised with help of my friend Thomas Kim: www.adequate1.com and http://www.behance.net/ThomasKim

projects which will fill your portfolio. It will show your clients what you can do basically. It is also necessary to try to find a particular domain that is the most interesting for you and make it your main skill. As a freelance I think that agencies look rather for experts in particular domains.

Is there anything you can advice to those who would like to become digital illustrators as well?

I can only recommend you to be patient and to keep up with everything that concerns your domain. It is also necessary to know how to constantly evolve, as our job which changes and evolves every year. And you should never forget to put your ideas on paper before beginning to work, whether it is for the illustration of the retouch or the creation of a website.

Works Mermaid, Paris and Viennas were made with the Factory 311 agency for Nineteen74.com For each one of these works they provided me with the basic image and I made all the montage, light effects and ambience. In case of the Paris works I had just a basic photo and the photos of the models, the rest was a photomontage. In case of Viennas I got a composition of 50 photos and models photos separately.

Relic: Personal work, photomontage and matte painting

Post production: Delacour Benjamin @ Factory311 Idea/Creative Direction Calling Project / Raoul Keil @ nineteen74.com Creative Direction / Nicholas Hardy @ Factory311 Mermaid Photographer: Felix Dasilva @ felixdasilva.com Paris Photographer: Valentina Frugiuele @ valentinafrugiuele.com Viennas Photographer: J端rgen Knoth @ juergenknoth.com

.psd Photoshop

21

software review

Alpha Plugins’ Engraver 2 This is a review of Engraver 2, a Windows and Mac plug-in filter for Adobe Photoshop and compatibles (including CS3/CS4/CS5 (also 64bit)). This plug-in enables you to create stylized photographs or images transitioned to beautiful vintage engravings allowing effortless creation of fascinating digital art. Engraver 2 cuts through images, thin lines forming geometric patterns. Thickness of lines change depending on the image beneath. Engraver 2 enables display of images as stylized black-and-white or color prints.

E

njoy an adequate selection of geometric patterns and variety of lines for illustrations as well as creating distinctive fringe patterns by overlapping layers. To achieve the right thickness of lines, correct spacing, pattern displacement and degree of relief, adjust the plug-in controls. Adjusting and fine tuning in Engraver 2 is extremely easy, patience and practice creates realistic and convincing effects. http://www.alphaplugins.com/ Creatives who prefer to enhance photos with engraving effects are advised to purchase this effective plug-in.

Installation: Installation is extremely easy. Directions easily understood and easy to follow. If you use the programs this Plug-in is designed for you can readily install and utilize this utile tool. During installation the target folder can be selected. If you wish to use the Engraver 2 plug-in in multiple applications, copy and paste the installed *.8bf file, the preset and help files into the appropriate program plug-in folder. I also successfully tested Engraver 2 in CorelDraw Suite with expected results.

Review: The plug-in user interface is well structured but a bit tedious for testing the available effects. The existing presets are suitable as starting points for attaining the desired result with adjustment of a variety of settings. Where there is light, there are appropriate shadows. Preview boxes cannot be zoomed makes it very difficult to judge the adjusted settings in effects in detail.

Nevertheless this is a great plug-in. Patient effort and practice is required.

Engraver 2 offers two approaches: • You can start with a black layer and a duplicate of the background layer. The engraved result is then stamped out and appears black thanks to the layer underneath.

• or, filter can be directly applied to the image. The procedure is provided in detail on Alpha Plug-ins website http://www.alphaplugins.com/tutorials.php?tut_id=2

It is well known engraving effects can be represented as lines, points, curves or other line combinations. Engraver 2 offers all imaginable points, lines and curves. At http://www.alphaplugins.com/tutorials.php?tut_id=2 you can find a variety of example images which give a very good overview.

Existing articles onsite offer complex works of commercial usage, in which the model and part of the background were modified using Engraver 2. Various layers, brushes and techniques were used. My artwork illustrate multiple uses for this versatile plug-in. It is very effective in easily effecting photo-real effects. Mark Ruiz and I have utilized the plug-in transforming our photo’s into zombies to illustrate the facile with which this plug-in fit within our workflow with positive results.

My recommendation: Download the demo version. It is worth a test.

by La’Dene Bean Pros:

Cons:

• well structured window, • previews cannot be zoomed • useful presets, • offers many points, lines and curves • easily inserted into workflow

22

.psd Photoshop

Now Available!!

FORwww.SMART PHONES tony deslandes.mobi

Enhancing 3D Renders in Photoshop CS5 When creating and rendering objects from a 3D application, artists tend to focus on making everything look perfect. 3D artists often get frustrated due to the fact that no matter how perfect they make an image look, it can still seem fake. The problem is that sometimes 3D art looks fake because it is actually too perfect! With this tutorial, Digital-Tutors will teach you how Photoshop can be used to incorporate a number “imperfections� typically found in real-world cameras, giving your renders an appearance that is much closer to that of a photograph. medium | 25 min. adobe photoshop CS5

enhancing 3D renders

M

any 3D applications will render out images that are clean, crisp and devoid of any imperfections. However, when trying to render images that are absolutely photorealistic, this can be something of a disadvantage. Take a look at a photograph from any real-world camera – there are lighting artifacts, lens distortions, film noise and other flaws that are almost always present. By using Photoshop to incorporate these real-world imperfections into your 3D renders, the end result will be much more natural and much more realistic.

One of the most impactful ways of adding realism to your 3D renders is to incorporate depth-of-field. Human eyes and real-world cameras have the ability to focus on objects at a certain distance – anything in front of or behind the focal object is blurred and out of focus. Most 3D applications have the ability to simulate depth-of-field by enabling a few simple render options, but there are some major drawbacks to rendering depth-of-field effects. One drawback is the impact on rendering performance – incorporating depth-offield effects can easily double or triple the amount of time required to render a single frame. Another drawback is a lack of control – if you are unhappy with the depth-of-field effect, you will need to make the necessary adjustments and re-render your entire image again to see the new result.

Both of these problems can be alleviated by rendering a sort of depth pass from your 3D application and using the Lens Blur filter in Photoshop to apply highly realistic depth-of-field effects almost instantaneously. A depth pass is typically a simple grayscale image with objects closest to the camera being shaded white, and gradually getting darker as they get further and further from the camera. By utilizing the Lens Blur filter and depth passes, you can create gorgeous depth-of-field effects with a much higher level of control, accuracy and speed than you could ever accomplish within a 3D app. Most 3D packages have the ability to output a depth pass – you can refer to the software documentation for your particular application for more information.

By using the Lens Blur filter in Photoshop, you can control much more than just the focal point of your image. You can also incorporate several realworld camera behaviors including bokeh. When looking at a photograph you may notice that very bright, out-of-focus areas are not simply blurred and

these highlights typically have a more hexagonal shape to them. This bokeh effect is created as a result of lens distortions and the aperture shape of the camera, and is an effect that is frequently missing from 3D renders. You can adjust the Brightness and Threshold sliders in the Lens Blur filter to control which blurred pixels will receive this bokeh effect and how strong the effect will be in those areas. By mimicking the lens and aperture distortions of a real camera, it becomes much easier to “fool” the viewer into believing that your 3D render is actually a real photograph.

Image and film noise is another type of real-world imperfection that you can use to your advantage. Tiny variations in the image sensor of a digital camera or imperfections in the film stock of traditional cameras are unavoidable sources of noise for films and photographs. Photographers put a great deal of effort into minimizing the amount of noise seen in an image, but it is impossible to eliminate it completely. When you render an image from a 3D application, it is completely noise-free, which can give the image an artificial feel. By using Photoshop to introduce subtle amounts of noise into your 3D renders, you can get results that feel more like a real photograph.

Photoshop can allow us to incorporate another flaw of real-world cameras known as chromatic aberration. This effect is caused when the camera lens fails to focus different wavelengths of light to the exact same point resulting in a rainbow-like fringing of colors in certain areas of the image.

Chromatic aberration is usually an undesirable effect in photography, but due to the nature of light and refractive lenses, it is almost impossible to eliminate entirely. By using the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop, you can introduce subtle chromatic aberration effects into your 3D render, adding yet another level of slight imperfection that makes it seem as though this image came from a real camera.

By using Photoshop to easily incorporate many of these very subtle imperfections into your 3D renders, you can give your images the look of an authentic photograph taken with a real camera. Your 3D application may be able to directly incorporate many of the features that you’ve discussed here, but by using Photoshop, you can perform these same functions with a much greater level of speed and flexibility.

01

Render a depth pass from your 3D application

Within your 3D application, you will need to render out a color pass and a depth pass. You may need to refer to the documentation for your 3D software in order to learn how this is done. This depth pass is a critical component to using the Lens Blur filter in Photoshop. .psd Photoshop

25

creative class

02

Ensure passes are 8-bit depth

Some 3D applications have the ability to render images with 8-bit, 16-bit or 32-bit color depth.

Photoshop’s Lens Blur filter will only work with 8-bit images. By rendering your depth pass as something like a .TGA or .BMP image, you can ensure that is in 8-bit color depth.

03

Incorporate the depth pass

Within Photoshop, select your depth pass and press [Ctrl]+[A] to select the entire image, then press [Ctrl]+[C] to copy the image to the clipboard. Now select the color pass image, select the Alpha 1 channel located in the Channels tab and press [Ctrl]+[V] to paste the depth pass information into the Alpha 1 channel. By default, the Lens Blur filter will look at Alpha 1 for the depth information.

04

Apply the Lens Blur filter

Apply the Lens Blur by going to Filter>Blur>Lens Blur. Make sure the Depth Map Source is set to Alpha 1. You can specify the area of the image to be focused by adjusting the Blur Focal Distance slider, or by simply clicking on the area of the image that you want to be brought into focus. By adjusting the Radius slider, you can increase or decrease the overall strength of the blurring effect.

26

.psd Photoshop

enhancing 3D renders

05

Blur the depth pass

You may notice some unusually sharp lines in certain areas of the lens blur effect. This effect can be minimized by slightly blurring the depth pass. Close the Lens Blur window, select the Alpha 1 channel containing the depth pass and go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. You can now set the Gaussian Blur to the desired level. In this example, we use a blur amount of 5 pixels. Now when you re-apply the Lens Blur Filter, the results should look much more natural.

06

Add bokeh highlights

Bokeh highlights can be added to the blurred portions of your image by adjusting the sliders found under the Specular Highlights section of the Lens Blur. Adjusting the Brightness slider will increase or decrease the intensity of the bokeh effect. Increasing the Threshold slider will limit the effect to only the brightest portions of your image. In my image, I have set the Brightness to 50 and the Threshold to 250.

07

Adjust the Lens Blur iris options

This is the area that will allow you to control the shape of the bokeh highlights. In the Shape pulldown menu, you can set the number of sides on your camera iris which will change the number of sides on your bokeh highlights. Increasing the Blade Curvature value will give bokeh highlights a more rounded appearance while the Rotation slider will allow you to change the orientation of the bokeh shape. Once you are satisfied with the blur result, press OK to apply the Lens Blur ďŹ lter to your image. .psd Photoshop

27

creative class

08

Add chromatic aberration

To add realistic lens distortions to your image, go to Filter>Lens Correction. Increase the Red/Cyan Fringe slider to a positive value and set the Blue/ Yellow Fringe to a negative value. The values that you decide to use will depend largely on the artistic look you are trying to achieve. Adding more aberration will give the image a much more grungy appearance. In this case, we set the Red/Cyan Fringe to -100 and set the Blue/Yellow Fringe to +100. To fix the edges of the image, set the Edge pull-down menu to Edge Extension. Press OK to exit the filter.

09

Apply film noise to the image

The Lens Blur filter has the ability to add noise into the blurred portions of your image, but for more realism, you may choose to add some very subtle noise effects to the entire image. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Even a small amount of noise can have a significant effect on the image.

This example only uses a noise amount of 2% for this render.

10 Introduce slight vignetting to the image

Certain cheaper lenses will sometimes allow more light to enter through the center of the lens compared to the outermost areas resulting in slightly darkened corners in the photograph. To add this vignetting effect to your render, go back to the Lens Correction filter, and set the Vignette Amount slider to a negative value in order to darken the edges of the render. Here we use an amount of -22 for the render – just enough to add a very subtle darkening effect in the corners of the render.

by Digital-Tutors Download the Digital-Tutors’ video prepared especially for this tutorial! Visit our website and check it out: http://psdmag.org/magazine 28

.psd Photoshop

contributing writers

Alena Lazareva

Greg Kaperski

My name is Alena. I am 29 years old. I live in Russia. I have been drawing since childhood. I studied at the School of Art. First I drew pictures in oils and watercolor and now I’m more interested in graphic design. My first acquaintance with Photoshop was in 2006. Then I went to the graphic design courses, and began to paint in Photoshop. Now I use it all the time and improve my skills. I like to draw mythical creatures, fairies, elves, mermaids.

In my artworks I use a lot of effects of light, it gives them a sense of magic. I think that the artist should strive to learn new skills, get acquainted with the artwork of other artists. And most importantly, the designer must think creatively!

Visit: www.alenalazareva.com

Greg Kaperski is a conceptual artist, character animator and software developer working out of Chicago, Illinois. For a full gallery and contact information please visit http://www.gkconcepts.com

Digital Tutors Digital-Tutors provides the largest online computer graphics training library for emerging digital artists. The award-winning educational solutions developed by the team of educators and industry professionals at Digital-Tutors are used by students, professionals, universities and production companies from across the globe. Artists from the world’s top studios are utilizing Digital-Tutors’ training solutions and services to assist in the creation of next generation feature films, commercials, video games, visual effects and emerging media. Digital-Tutors maintains strategic relationships and partnerships with Autodesk, Pixologic, Houdini, Luxology, Next Limit, Adobe, Pixar, eyeon, MAXON and Microsoft in the development of the software and education materials. To access more Digital-Tutors training including over 11,000 videos for more than 30 software applications, please visit: www.digitaltutors.com

Benjamin Delacour I’m a graphic designer with over 10 years experience. Passionate of graphics design and picture alteration (retouch), I work today as a freelance designer for widely renowned organizations. My spare time is devoted to Photoshop, one of my favorite tools by far!

Mair Perkins Mair Perkins is 22 years old and currently employed as a graphic designer and digital design study advisor whilst studying a postgraduate degree in Animation. She also does freelance illustration and event caricatures. Her animated work has won awards and been commissioned for TV and film. Mair has been hooked on digital art since getting Photoshop 5.5 and a tablet when she was 14. However her first introduction to digital art was Mario Paint for the SNES. Drawing fantasy, horror and anime pictures has been a lifelong hobby and is a fun alternative to the graphic design and animation work.

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 is an amazing feeling.

You can find more of my work at http://voloschka-photo.deviantart.com/ http://voloschka.deviantart.com/

Special thanks to Bert Monroy, Charlie McDonald and La’Dene Bean.

In the last issue we’ve made a mistake: on page 21, the author is not Marcia Gaudencio but of course Ylenia Peronti. Ylenia, please accept our apologies!

Editor in Chief: Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org 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 magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org Production Director: Andrzej Kuca andrzej.kuca@psdmag.org Postal address: Publisher: Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK 02-682 Warszawa, ul. Bokserska 1 worldwide publishing 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 companies which own them.

Mathematical formulas created by Design Science MathType™.

The editors use automatic DTP system Editorial contributions should be sent to: editors@psdmag.org Customer Service +1 917 338 3631 The Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK works individually from Adobe. The psd Photoshop team reserves the right not to be responsible for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided by contributors.

02/2008

53

Editor’s Choice Eric Rosner

These are buildings from the famous NoMad area of NYC. In the 1880’s this was the furniture capital of the world. Today, its mostly t-shirt companies and custom jewelry.

.psd Photoshop

These flowers symbolize the coming of Spring.

Eric Rosner is a fresh and exciting artist making his name in the world of art. This New York native has been illustrating for over 20 years. His bold and expansive imagination which he puts forth into each piece is inspired by his profound love for the New York culture and architecture.

He uses an ink marker to create stunning iconic structures from a golden age.

This process is combined with digital enhancements that completes a singular vision to showcase New York City’s most eloquent inhabitants.

In regards to the process, Eric says: I get lost in the moment when a piece comes to life. I find myself thinking of all the people who have graced this grand Metropolis and these buildings have Chef Dog is ready to make mushroom risotto for his customers.

This is an old department store near the famous NYC library on 5th ave. In its heyday it was a famous destination for all things fashion. Today it is a bank.

This is a horse from the future.

housed them all. Whether it was epic business transactions, stunning scientific discoveries or grand entertainment showcasing, the city of New York has a unique tale of histories. With my artwork, I hope you can imagine a stunning time period over a century ago when the imagination ran wild and magnificent structures soared to the sky.

This international artist resides in New York, from where he continues to grow professionally.

Visit his website at: www.erosner.com

This was an old hotel near the original theater district in Herald Square around 1900. Vaudeville acts and unique comedy teams were the headliners for that era. This building was demolished decades ago and a restaurant is.psd Photoshop in its place.

31

Antique Sign

Many different types of textures can easily be created by simply applying a couple of filters.

Rust is no exception. The right color and filter and you have a rusty texture. However, the corrosion along the edges of an object that usually accompanies rust requires an extra step. It is still the application of a filter but it is how and where it is applied that makes the difference. With this tutorial, I want you to get the motivation for going beyond the obvious.

Filters were applied to layer masks as opposed to the layers themselves. Applying effects in different parts of an image can have striking results. Experiment! It is a part of the fun of working with Photoshop.

easy | 30 min. adobe photoshop CS4

antique sign

01

Step 1

The first figure shows the text that will make up the rusty signage. The text was typed in using Times Bold.

02

Step 2

To get the initial rust texture the Texturizer filter (Filter>Texture>Texturizer) was applied. The Scale was set to a low percentage and the Relief was given a high value.

03

Step 3

Layer Styles added the next round of effects needed for the rusty texture giving the sign a three-dimensional appearance. Double-clicking on the layer in the Layers panel brings up the Layer Style dialog box. Drop Shadow was the first style applied. The Opacity was increased to make it darker. The Distance was adjusted to make the drop shadow more prominent. The light source was set to flow from above left. These made the sign appear to be raised over the background. .psd Photoshop

33

workshop

04

Step 4

Bevel and Emboss was next Layer Style applied.

This gave the actual letters a three-dimensional quality. The Technique was set to Chisel Hard. The Depth was pushed up to increase the intensity of the lights and darks. The Highlight color was changed to a warm yellow with its Opacity increased to 100%. The Opacity for the Shadow was also increased a bit. The result was a hardedged chisel cut with yellow highlights.

05

Step 5

To add additional stains and texture to the letters the Satin layer style was applied. The Ring - Double contour was chosen under the Contour box.

The Distance and Size were played with until deep patterns were generated within the letters. The result was the rusty textures The rust looked pretty good at this point. Next we will add the corrosion that will complete the look. To achieve this, we will use a filter in a place most people would not consider.

06

Step 6

The letters were made into a selection by clicking [Ctrl] on the preview icon for the layer in the Layer panel. A Layer Mask was then generated by clicking on the Make Mask icon at the bottom of the Layer’s panel. This made a mask like the one you can see on the image.

34

.psd Photoshop

antique sign

07

Step 7

Making sure the mask was still selected as the target, you can tell the mask is selected when there is a frame around the mask in the panel, the Spatter filter was chosen by clicking Filter>Brush Strokes> Spatter. Take note that you are applying the filter to the mask of the layer rather than the layer itself. Applying the filter to the mask is what makes this technique a bit more unusual. You can experiment on your own and see the difference when you apply the filter to the layer as opposed to the mask for the layer as you are doing here.

08

Step 8

The settings were set to roughen the edges of the letter shapes within the mask. The result looks worn and corroded. Note that the tones of the Bevel and Emboss layer style are following the new contours, as is the drop shadow.

The Final

And now the final touch of attaching our rusty sign onto a wooden back. A rectangular shape was selected that surrounded the letters and, in a layer behind the letters, filled with a warm beige color. The Add Noise filter (Filter>Noise>Add Noise) was applied with an amount of 100. This provided enough texture to simulate a wood grain. To achieve that wood grain the Motion Blur filter was then applied to the shape (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur). A layer style completed the effect of a wooden plaque. Bevel and Emboss was applied to the layer with the motionblurred noise. Chisel Hard was chosen for the Technique to give the edges of the plaque the look usually found in signs.When the Motion Blur filter did its trick it tends to pull in some of the edges outside of the selected area. In this case that edge consisted of transparency so when the Layer Style is applied there appears some spillage along the edges. These unwanted areas were selected and deleted to make the sign completely opaque. The wood of the plaque needed to match the wear and tear of the rusty letters. The layer of the plaque was made into a selection by clicking [Ctrl] on the preview icon for it in the layer’s panel. The Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layer’s panel was clicked on to produce a mask that reflected the shape of the selection. To this layer mask the same treatment with the Spatter filter that was applied to the letters earlier in this tutorial was applied here to create the final image that we see in the final figure.

by Bert Monroy

.psd Photoshop

35

Mother Nature

There are many different ways to colour a sketch in Photoshop. Every artist has his own work process and there is no right or wrong way. After all it’s the resulting image that matters, not the digital techniques that were used. I find this method of colouring very efficient and flexible so I hope it will also be useful to all of you. The textures add a lot of depth and detail to the image quickly, so it doesn’t have to be created manually with shading and painting. medium | 1 h. adobe photoshop CS4

mother nature

01

Step 1

Scan your sketch and clean it using Brightness/Contrast and levels. Crop away any unwanted border. Erase unwanted lines and define others. Duplicate the layer and set the blending mode to Multiply. Erase the background layer. Call this layer line_art and lock it so it can’t be edited.

02

Step 2

Use the Pen tool to make blocks of colour underneath the line art layer. You’ll see the paths are actually Pen tool vector masks on a layer of colour.

03 Step 3

Once all the layers of colour have been masked out, the vector masks can be rasterized. In the layer’s panel right click each layer’s vector mask thumbnail and select Rasterize vector mask. Make sure you don’t rasterize the left thumbnail layer otherwise you will lose the mask. They are now normal masks and the shape can be easily altered. Painting white onto the mask reveals more colour and painting black hides areas. Touch up any gaps or areas out of the line art using the brush tools on the masks. .psd Photoshop

37

digital painting

04 Step 4

There are many ways to obtain textures to use in your images. Search for free, royalty free Photoshop textures in a search engine or join an online art community. You can also create your own by scanning and photographing whatever takes your fancy. Firstly select a texture. Here a photograph of water is applied to the hair/water. Create a group folder in the layers panel named hair_water. Move the texture and mask layer into it. Now drag the vector mask (the thumbnail on the right) onto the group folder. The texture layer and colour layer are affected by the same mask as they are in the same group folder. New layers can also be created inside this masked group.

05 Step 5

Change the blending mode of the texture layer to overlay, multiply or hard light or any other mode depending on which you prefer. Then play with the levels and opacity of the texture layer until you’re happy with it. On the hair_water layer start painting it blue using a large soft brush.

I find it easier to make the texture layer invisible while doing this but you don’t have to. For more precise shading use the Lasso to select an area then paint inside it. Continue doing this to build up shadows and highlights on the water.

06 Step 6

Another useful way to add colour quickly is with the gradient tool.

Here I used a white to transparent gradient on a layer over the sky texture. Continue the process of making group folders, moving the masks onto them and adding texture and shading layers inside those groups.

For the background, place a texture on a layer above the background layer but underneath all the others. For some parts of the picture (the corn, dragon fly, butterfly etc.)

I want to apply all the same texture to them. Select the layers, duplicate them and move them into a new layers folder called misc.

38

.psd Photoshop

mother nature

07 Step 7

Now merge the originals into one layer. It should now be a normal layer. Use the Magic wand tool to select the transparent area then right click and select Inverse. To turn this selection into a mask, click on the group folder misc and click on the mask icon on the bottom of the layers panel. Now that group folder has been masked the original layers inside it can be rasterized. I’ve selected a leaves texture for these miscellaneous picture elements and dragged it inside the group folder.

08

Step 8

Now textures have been applied to all the grouped and masked image areas, the shadows and highlights can be added. In the branches layer group I have 4 different layers. One for the base colour, one for the texture, one for the soft gradient shading and a top layer to pick out colour and highlights such as the wheat tips and leaves.

Continue colouring and shading all the other groups using the brushes, Gradient tool and Lasso tool. It shouldn’t take long as the masks keep the colours inside a defined area and layers are easily edited.

09

Step 9

Once all the shading is completed, the background can be altered. I decided it was overpowering the foreground image so I applied a mask to the background texture then began masking out the edges using rough textured brushes. This softened the background and gave it a desirable torn paper effect. This could have been done with the eraser brush without using masks. However using a mask allows an erased area to be “un erased” without having to use the history tool or repainting the area. When the image is finished just tweak the levels, Hue/Saturation, Colour balance and Brightness/Contrast until you are completely happy. I find this colouring method very useful when I have a lot of illustrations to colour in a short amount of time. The freedom and flow of digital painting without masking and photographic textures yields amazing results but sometimes a quicker digital colouring technique is needed.

by Mair Perkins www.mairperkins.co.uk www.tifachan.deviantart.com .psd Photoshop

39

Medieval Battlefield

advanced | 45 min. adobe photoshop CS2 | painter 9.5 | wacom tablet

digital painting

01 THE SKETCH (PHOTOSHOP)

I always begin working on a gray (non-white) canvas because it gives a more accurate perception of color once it's time to paint, whereas the brightness of white canvas tricks the eye. The size of the canvas should be at least double the size of your final image, there are two reasons for this. The main is that it's always easier to work on a larger surface, as it allows you to get in closer and be more precise in your detail. The second reason is that once we complete the painting, we will downsize it to it's desired resolution and doing so will create a lot of detail for us automatically. I start my sketch on a new layer, and I'm very rough with it because in the end it will get covered up by the paint anyways. Just make sure you have enough information in your sketch to lead you along the way.

UNDERPAINTING

02

With the sketch in place we are ready to paint.

Create a new layer under your sketch layer and begin to lay down washes of color. Be rough but at the same time make sure not to oversaturate the canvas with too much color at this point. The main goal of underpainting is to enhance your sketch and fuse it with the canvas. You should now have washes of color with your sketch above them. Now create a new layer above the sketch layer, using the Color picker/Eyedropper tool, pick up some of the color off of your canvas and paint over the sketch lines you don't think you'll need.

We use the Color picker because we don't want to incorporate any new color into our painting at this point. As you can see in the image, I painted over the sky sketch lines as well as some of the mountain sketch because I felt that I really didn't need them there anymore. After you are done, flatten your image (Menu>Layer>Flatten). This should leave you with one base layer.

03

42

DARKNESS

In this step we are going to darken up our image and lose a lot of the detail that we've put in place in the prior steps. The reason for this is that it will blend a lot of the colors that we implemented in the underpainting as well as allow us to add a more natural light to the scene. You can darken up your image by dropping the brightness of it (Menu>Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast).

Once you have it looking like a night scene, make a duplicate copy of your layer and choose a large airbrush.

If you are using Photoshop, change the brush mode to Color-Dodge, if you are in Corel Painter take out the Glow brush out of the FX category. Lightly brush the sky area of your canvas which will begin to brighten up.

Don't worry if you go over any of the ground elements, because we do have a copy of the original layer underneath which we will use to re-implement any areas we happened to paint over accidentally. Erasing any area on the top layer will show the bottom layer underneath, it's like an automatic undo. You can see an example of this in the accompanying image, where the sky behind the horsemen is bright , yet he is not effected by it. This is done by simply erasing out the area and letting the original layer shine through. .psd Photoshop

medieval battlefield

04 BACKGROUND

In this step we continue to slowly brighten up the scene and using the newly created colors to add detail and content. Really start using the Color picker/Eyedropper tool here. If you take a closer look at the image , you can see that the clouds that are starting to form are nothing more then dabs of color we picked from the brighter area of the sky. Do as much as you can using the colors already on the canvas because nothing can ruin a painting faster then implementing new color.

Also make sure to be working from a distance at this point. Don't focus on detail and let your mind roam free for a while and see what happens. We've given it enough direction where it will start picking up things subconsciously.

05 CHANGES

This step is pretty much in line with the previous step, but I wanted to show that you are never locked down to administering changes, even if you are mid way through a piece. If you pay close attention to the horseman in the accompanying image, you can see that his silhouette has changed to suit his action better. Never be afraid to make a necessary change if it will improve the painting. In this case I simply selected the area around the horsemen and used Photoshops Warp tool (Menu>Edit>Transform>Warp). I then painted over any edge artifacts that were left over as a result using the local color.

06

TIME OF DAY

We now have a lot of content in our painting , but it feels a little cold. We can quickly change the mood by altering the colors. Make sure your image is flattened and saved. Photoshop has a great tool for this called Curves ([Ctrl]+[M]). You will now have control over 4 curves individually, the first one being RGB which controls all three color ranges. Play around with the curve of each channel and see what possibilities you are able to achieve.

As you can see in the image, I decided to go with a warm, morning type of mood. .psd Photoshop

43

digital painting

07

DETAIL

Now that we have incorporated a new color range into our painting, it's time to hit the detail stage.

Do not incorporate any new color at this point, just use the Color picker/Eyedropper tool , and work with what is on the canvas. Take your time, starting with the background and add details to areas that lack it. Add just enough to where you feel comfortable with it because once we size the entire canvas down, a lot of hidden detail will emerge.

08

MORE DETAIL

In this step , we do exactly the same thing as in the last step, but we concentrate on midground and foreground elements. Adding enough detail to keep the entire composition feeling balanced.

I also introduced a new color to the blade of the horsemen.

09

SECONDARY ACTION

I felt that the battle could definitely be more dramatic as well as help the viewers' eyes flow in the right direction. The answer I came up with was flaming arrows and projectiles. I added the glow of the fire in the same way we brightened up the sky in the beginning (Color-Dodge in Photoshop or Glow brush in Painter). I then color picked in order to grab the right color to paint in the trailing smoke.

44

.psd Photoshop

medieval battlefield

10

FINAL TOUCHES AND COLOR CORRECTION

The final step is the most enjoyable. This is where you prepare your piece for presentation and add in final adjustments. A lot of time is spent on color correction (Menu>Image>Adjustments). I pretty much go through the entire list of tools and see what works and what doesn't. Once you are done with your adjustments, size the image down to it's final size and start thinking of what you will paint next.

by Greg Kaperski

a d

v e r

t i

s e m e n t

Learn photography classes from the comfort of your home no matter where you are in the world.

www.ppsop.com

.psd Photoshop

45

medium | 1 h. adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom tablet

autumn

Autumn I showed an Autumn as a wonderful girl with yellow and red leaves flying around her. An Autumn is smiling and she is so beautiful that the image could have been entitled Summer. But the leaves remind us that the Autumn is about to come...

01

Step 1

For this painting I used a photo of the girl. I removed the background from the photo, then I made a green and brown color fill. I made the fill a shade lighter than the girl's face and added a yellow color, using the tools:Image>Adjustments>Curves and Image>Adjustments>Color Balance.

02

Step 2

Using a tablet, I sketched the contour and hair plume. The girl's hair should grow a little from the wind, Autumn leaves and flowers should also fly around the hair. The basic colors that I used were yellow, orange, red , as well as various shades of these colors - the colors of Autumn. Draw each element of the picture on a new layer, so you can change the colors and transparencies independently. .psd Photoshop

47

digital painting

03

Step 3

I used a soft round brush for the hair. I painted the base of the hair orange and drew bright broad strands. More detail will be added to the hair later.

Next, I drew a white plume on a new layer and lowered the Opacity to 30%

04

Step 4

Next I drew the face and body. First, I paint over the girl’s clothes. Then, using a Soft Round Brush, I drew the girl’s face. I added more details on the face. I focused on the eyes because I considered them to be very important. I painted the eyes green. I then enriched the face with some pinkish shades and highlights. Finally, I textured the lips and added the eyelashes and eyebrows.

05

Step 5

I began to draw the details on the girl's hair using a Soft round brush. I painted curls of hair lighter.

I used several colors to draw hair, it gives the effect of more volume. In the setting of a brush, I picked Shape Dynamics. On a new layer I drew a yellow light plume. This layer I placed under the layer with the plume. I made the layer's Opacity 20%.

48

.psd Photoshop

autumn

06

Step 6

For the background I painted various abstract shapes, in several layers, with an Opacity of around 80%. I used dark green and bright colors for an abstract painting of leaves. You can achieve this look by using a variety of brushes at different sizes and transparencies. I used the following brushes: Oil Medium Wet Flow, Sampled Tip, Chalk, Sampled Tip, Spatter, Scattered Maple Leaves.

07

Step 7

Using the tablet, I drew a rough sketch of leaves and flowers. This is a sample sketch, later I will copy ready to draw flowers and leaves and insert them into the picture. According to my idea of leaves and flowers, there should be plenty of them. They should be bright and in many different colors.

08

Step 8

I made a new layer on which the leaves will be placed. I used three colors for the leaves: yellow, green and orange. Later I'll make this layer slightly transparent. .psd Photoshop

49

digital painting

09

Step 9

Once I had more leaves drawn, I added highlights and made some of them slightly more transparent. Then using my tablet and a thin brush I painted small details on the leaves.

10

Step 10

At the last stage, I painted small blue, pink, and yellow flowers around the figure. Most colors, especially those in the background, I did with an Opacity of 50%. Now the painting is ready!

by Alena Lazareva

50

.psd Photoshop