issue 05/2010
content
cover artist – interview Olly Howe
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Olly Howe is an illustrator form the UK. His client list spans the globe and his work can frequently be found in magazines such as Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts. He agreed to tell us about what is important in the profession of a digital artist.
Editor’s Choice
photomanipulation The Journey Holly Pacheco
The Paradise Sophie Van Dycke
Underwater Roberto Gamito
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Odessa Ombregriffe
Ylenia Peronti
Dearest Readers! 22 28
workshop Create Stunning Backgrounds for your Fantasy Art Tigz Rice
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Timur E. Kiryashov
I have a great pleasure to introduce myself to you as the new Editor in Chief of our .psd Photoshop magazine. I’m very excited to continue the great work and I count on your help. Please wish me good luck! In this issue, apart from the interesting tutorials on photomanipulation, photo retouch and digital painting by Ylenia Peronti, Holly Pacheco and Timur E. Kiryashov, you will find the interview with our cover artist, Olly Howe and with a freelance illustrator Justin Maller. They have told us a bit about their profession and shared some of the great works they created. All this (and much more!) you will find in the June issue of .psd Photoshop. Enjoy!
digital painting Keeper of the Universe
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interview Interview with Justin Maller
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beauty retouch
12 Beauty is Photoshop
creative class Above the clouds
Gallery of Robb Castaneda
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Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org Editor in Chief
interview
Interview with
Olly Howe Olly Howe is an Illustrator from the UK. His client list spans the globe and his work can frequently be found in magazines such as Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts. Olly sells limited edition prints and pillows through www.clickforart.com. For more of Ollys work checkout his website: www.4playgraphix.com.
Tell us your story. How did you become a designer and illustrator? I didn’t really choose to become a digital artist as such, I just kind of fell into it. I started a course at University which I hated and so quit, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I enrolled on a Graphic
Design course at the local art college. I had no idea what Graphic Design was but it sounded interesting. The rest, as they say, is history. I didn’t really learn that much about contemporary illustration at college as every project was geared towards cooperate branding but the good thing that I did learn was how to use Pho-
.psd Photoshop
interview with olly howe toshop. Ever since my introduction to the program, I knew that it is what I wanted to do, I just loved the freedom of it and the fact that you could create one image from multiple photos. At the time I didn’t even know that this was called illustration. I studied in a town called Plymouth and I had a lot of friends that were DJ’s or that put on club nights, this gave me an easy route into the world of club flyer design. Designing flyers was great as it meant I could get my work all over the place without having to do a lot. After 4 years in Plymouth and building my portfolio, I decided to move to London. This was really the only option for me if I was to make it as an illustrator. However, it did not happen over night. For 5 years in London I worked a 9 - 5 cooperate design job and then did my own freelance work in the evenings until about midnight everyday. This was a very hard period but it was the only way I could live and do the work I wanted to do, I just wasn’t
earning enough money from the freelance work. After 5 years though I had built up enough clients to take the step to fully freelance and have now been working on my own from home for just over a year.
What do you like about your profession? Tell us about its advantages and disadvantages. There are clear advantages and disadvantages of being freelance. One big disadvantage is that sometimes you may have a month where you don’t do as much work as you normally would and so financially you have to be prepared for this. However, not just being paid at the end of the month like in a salary job is a big advantage as it helps to maintain a constant cash flow. I remember when I had a salary job, the last week of the month I would always be penniless. Another disadvantage is that you have to keep all your own accounts although this is fairly straight forward as long as you keep everything up to date regularly.
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interview
The main advantage of working from home is that there’s nothing better than sitting down in your home studio with a cup of tea, turning up the music and getting down to some work, without the worry of anyone else interrupting you at any time. It
also means that you don’t have to have fixed hours, I have just had a baby son and being at home all day means that I can help mum out if she needs it without the worry that someone’s going to dock my pay.
.psd Photoshop
interview with olly howe Could you advice anything to those who would like to make their first steps in your profession? I always get asked this question and always answer it exactly the same way: in your early years, during or after college, just concentrate on getting your portfolio together Do some research and work out the kind of clients you would ideally like to end up working for and try and produce personal projects that are tailored to these clients. I've always thought it’s a good idea to give yourself made up briefs as if they came from big ad agencies, these companies want to see work that is relevant to them and that they can see working well with their brands so try and mould your portfolio to suit. Also, be original, the successful illustrators are the ones who’s work stands out from the crowd. There are a lot of people trying to do the same thing as you so make sure that its your portfolio that makes people go "Wow!". Other than that and a bit of luck along the way you just have to keep at it and plugging yourself wherever you can. There are a lot of creative networking sites that are a good start for designers and illustrators to get their portfolios out there, like: www.behance.net, www.talentarena.com
Where would you advice to look for commissions? If you don’t have an agent that looks for the jobs for you then you are going to at some stage have to get looking for work yourself. Again, do some research here and make lists of all the companies you would ideally like to work for, email these people links to your website or online portfolio. Agencies are always looking for fresh talent to use so if you catch someone's eye, it could lead to that dream commission.
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The
Journey Digital photomontages are all about discovering hidden beauty and creating harmony from chaos. There is a great energy that emerges when multiple images coalesce into a single, ethereal scene, as objects and landscapes are seen with new eyes and dreamlike vistas come to life. The process can be very exciting (and sometimes frustrating). You never know which images will work well together or what will happen when you merge one image with another. But that unknown quality is exactly what makes the outcome so rewarding. The Journey is a montage I created in Photoshop by merging and transforming several individual images to create an entirely new scene. I experimented with different landscapes I’ve photographed, trying out various blending techniques and layer order. The process described in this article uses the final photos I chose to work with.
medium | 45 min. adobe photoshop CS3
the journey
01 SETTING THE GROUNDWORK
For each of the photographs, I changed the dimensions, resolution and applied a filter. To make this process faster, I first opened the base image for The Journey. Using the Actions palette, I created a new action named Resize & Filter and started recording. I chose Image>Image Size, I changed the physical dimensions to 16� x 12� and the resolution to 300dpi. I then applied a Dry brush filter, experimenting with different Brush Size, Brush Detail, and Texture settings until I found a combination that worked well with the photograph. For the last part of the action, I made a selection of the entire image, using Edit>Copy, then pressed the Stop button on the Actions palette. Each subsequent photo used the Resize & Filter action, and had various Layer Blending Modes applied.
02 PHOTOS AND BLENDING MODES
At this point I was ready to start building the photomontage, layer by layer. I created a new Photoshop file using the same dimensions and resolution, and pasted the image I had just worked with onto a new layer called Girl. The second photograph I used (courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/ STScI) is a beautiful shot of the Orion nebula. I applied the Resize & Filter action, and pasted it into the new file on a new layer called Nebula, below the Girl layer. I then set the Layer Blending Mode on the Girl layer to overlay. Next, I duplicated the Nebula layer and set it to overlay as well. Together, these two layers give the image its striking color.
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ADDING SOME TEXTURE
I then added in a photograph of a wooden bridge surrounded by trees, stretching across a dry creek bed. This image adds some interesting texture and shapes, as well as further defines the path that the girl is walking along. .psd Photoshop
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photomanipulation
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MORE COLORS
The next image added is a photograph of a building set against a blue sky, the layer set to Soft light. This layer was used simply to enhance the colors, reducing some of the harsher orange tones and adding in more purple to the top right. In the final image, the building itself will not be visible, due to the blending mode.
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MORE DEPTH
Next I used a photograph of a sunset, with oak trees silhouetted along the bottom. This supplied more red tones, added depth and created the linear texture in the bottom half of the image.
06 FINISHING TOUCHES
At this point, I noticed that the girl had become somewhat lost among all the different colors and shapes. To help her stand out more, I used the Pen tool to create an outline of her. I then went to the Path palette and created a new selection from the outline. I copied this onto a new layer, just below the original Girl layer, and set it to overlay. To get rid of the extraneous objects in the background, I turned off all the other layers, and used the Patch tool to draw a loose selection. I dragged this selection to another area (in this case onto the bushes), which effectively blended away the unwanted section. For the final touches, I added in a photograph of the moon (again, courtesy of NASA/JPL), setting this layer to Color dodge, and butterfly wings, set to Color burn. by Holly Pacheco www.HollyPacheco.com 10
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medium | 5 h. adobe photoshop CS4
The
Paradise
This tutorial is going to show you how to make a simple photomanipulation with a few images. This mostly takes time and ideas. There is no special requirement for this manipulation. It is just to show you that, with some unrelated images, you can make something interesting.
workshop
01
Step 1
First, open Way_Up_by_Elandria.jpg and extract the stairs with the Polygonal lasso tool. Rename the layer stairs. You can also use the Magnetic lasso tool. The tool used is not important – use the one you prefer.
02
Step 2
Open clouds.jpg. Convert it into a layer by double clicking on the layer. Then duplicate Way_Up_by_ Elandria.jpg and place it under the stairs layer. Enlarge this image to have more clouds and hide the beach.
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Step 3
Create a new layer and rename it Clouds_layer. Use the Brush tool, with a white color. Go to Windows – Brush menu and display Display it. Click on the down arrow and choose Load brush. Choose the Brush cloudsby_thiselectricheart.abr and click OK. Now you have to paint some clouds on the stairs. Try to hide some parts of the stairs. 14
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the paradise
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Step 4
Open Creeping_Tears_041_by_Elandria.jpg and extract the woman (by using the Polygonal lasso tool or Filter and Extract). Duplicate the layer on Way_Up_by_Elandria.jpg and rename it Elandria. This new layer should be above the stairs layer and under the clouds_layer.
05 Step 5
Create a new layer and rename it Hair1. With the Eyedropper tool, select the darkest hair color. Use the Brush, hair by alicefaux.abr (do the same thing you did with clouds) and paint some additional hair around the head (you can create two layers, one behind and the other above the Elandria layer. The one behind is to create the effect of the wind in girl’s hair), use the Pencil tool (Size 2, Hardness 50%) to create some wicked hair. Draw them as you feel. To better blend the added forms, use the Smudge tool on the layer Elandria (on the hair). Create a new layer and rename it makeup. With the Brush tool (Size 9, Hardness 60%, Color #f7dbf5), paint on the eyelid and then change the blending options to Linear Dodge. You can choose several colors if you want. You can also paint under the eyes, on the mouth, etc.
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Step 6
Open jmjvicente.jpg and extract the arch by using the Polygonal Lasso tool (or go to the Filter menu and select Extract if it is easier for you). Duplicate your arch to Way_Up_by_Elandria and rename it arch. Then go to Image>Adjustments>Match Color and set the properties: Luminance 141, Color intensity 1, Melted 100, source Way_Up_by_Elandria. psd, layer stairs .psd 05/2008
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workshop
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Step 7
Create another layer and name it clouds2. Paint some clouds under and over the arch (still with the Brush cloudsby_thiselectricheart.abr, that you have previously used). You can paint just a little or hide the whole bottom of the arch if you want.
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Step 8
Duplicate the layers arch and clouds2 and go to Edit>Free Transform and make a small arch (you can Merge Down those two layers if it is easier). Duplicate your new arch layer (arch2) and make another arch, smaller than the others. You can place the two arches wherever you want.
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Step 9
Create a new layer under the arch layers. With the Polygonal lasso tool, make a selection to draw some rays of light in front of each arch and fill it with white color. Then filter Blur>Motion Blur (Angle 63, Distance 83). Than set the Gaussian Blur to 20 px. 16
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the paradise
10 Step 10
Create a new layer under the Ray of light layer and name it Gate. Make a selection with the rectangular Marquee Tool behind the largest arch and fill it with white (and some other color for the second one, I choose #d884b6 for example). Go to Filter>Render>Clouds. (Press [Ctrl]+[F] two or three times to run the tool again). Then go to Filter>Sketch>Chrome (Detail 10, Smooth 0). Duplicate twice and place them under the other arch layer and delete what exceeds (you should have two new layers renamed gate2 and gate3). Working on each gate layer, go to Image>Adjustments>Color Balance and have fun.
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Step 11
Go to the hair1 layer and merge down with the makeup layer and Elandria layer (you should have one layer called Elandria). Then go to Image>Adjustments>Selective color. (Color Red/Cyan 100% Magenta 100% Yellow +30% Black +64% Mode Relative). For this part, you can make others adjustments, it depends on what you want or what kind of color you prefer.
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Step 12
Now, make the last color adjustments. First, merge all layer (Layer>Flatten image). But before that, make sure you finish your work. If you have some last adjustments to do, do it before this step. I think this is the best part, because you can make a lot of different colors by using several layers and blending mode. Create a new layer and fill it for exampl with #5e027d – Blending mode Lighten, Opacity 60%. Create another layer and fill it with #6b441a, Blending mode Lighten, Opacity 35%. by Sophie Van Dycke
Stock used: • • • •
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Woman and stairs stock from Elandria (E.Broughton-Sheard) Clouds brush from thiselectricheart (Deviant art) Hair brush from ALiceFaux (Deviant art) Arch and sky from jmjvicente and mihow (sxc.hu) 17
Underwater Photoshop is probably the most powerful tool to work with photos. When you need to adjust colors, to cut out, to think about compositions alternatives, Photoshop is the right tool. In this tutorial we will cover the basic on combining few elements, working with few colours and at the same time to have a pleasant result.
medium | 90 min. adobe photoshop CS4
underwater
01
Step 1
Prepare an appropriate image for the tutorial. I used bubbles and fish for this example. You can find good images at some of the free sites like photoxpress.com or sxc.hu.
02
Step 2
Create a new layer. Using the Paint bucket tool, choose the color #ecf6f8 and paint the layer with this color. Set the Blend mode to Hue. Make sure this layer is the top layer.
03
Step 3
Apply the bubbles and water to a new layer. Be creative, use pictures and search the stock images. Also apply some different levels to the bubbles to fit better to the initial stock. .psd Photoshop
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photomanipulation
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Step 4
Add more details to the image. I added the fish. To extract the fish is very simple. Open the stock photo and go to Modify>Color Range. Click White on the actual canvas, confirm and press (Del).
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Step 5
Paint the eyes with the same blue color as the bubbles (or use some other color). With the same blue you can paint other points to give more impact to the image. Then set the Blend mode of the layer to Linear Dodge. With a soft, dark blue, paint some shadows, in the face area.
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Step 6
Apply a final Sharp Filter to the image, and it is ready. by Roberto Gamito 20
.psd Photoshop
contributing writers
Olly Howe
cover artist
Sophie Van Dycke
Olly Howe is an Illustrator form the UK. His client list spans the globe and his work can frequently be found in magazines such as Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts. Olly sells limited edition prints and pillows through www.clickforart.com. For more of Ollys work checkout his website: www.4playgraphix.com.
My name is Sophie Van Dycke, but I prefer Sheley, it’s easier.I’m from Belgium but live in Paris since 3 years. I’m 27 years old. I’m doing a design graphic training as a free student. I love all digital arts (especially manipulations and digital painting).
Roberto Gamito
Holly Pacheco
This passion is quite recent has little more than one year. I am still in the phase of the discovering it. A year ago it was happy in following my Physics studies but this passion caused my doubts I started to ask myself if I have chosen the right path. Maths pr Physics and digital art may seem different but they are centered in the same purpose: to describe the world. In digital art there are no rules or limits.
Holly is a recent graduate of Santa Barbara’s School of Media Arts in California, where she received two 1st place awards in the annual Student Showcase. She creates digital artwork by merging diverse photographs into new, dynamic scenes. Holly enjoys digital photography and experimenting with new Photoshop techniques.To know more, visit: www.HollyPacheco.com
Tigz Rice
Márcia Gaudêncio
Tigz is a burlesque and alternative photographer from London, who also specialises in digital illustration. Graduating from Westminster in 2009, she has self-published three adult picture books - now on display in the Lewis Carroll Archives; exhibited with Van Gogh and designed a range of heavy metal T-shirts for Diabolus Amor. Tigz has photographed an impressive range of clients including boylesque star Joe Black, alternative model Kristina Fenchum and performer Ginger Blush. She also photographed 150 of the world’s biggest burlesque stars at London Burlesque Week 2010.
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.graficicreativi.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/
Special thanks to Odessa Ombregriffe and Timur E. Kiryashov Editor in Chief: Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org Copy Editor: Ed Werzyn, Robert Coppa Art Director: Agnieszka Marchocka DTP: Przemysław Banasiewicz Art Executive Manager: Ireneusz Pwogroszewski Senior Consultant/Publisher/President: Paweł Marciniak Managing Director: Ewa Łozowicka Marketing Director: Marta Kobus marta.kobus@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
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beginer | 60 min. adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom bamboo fun
above the clouds
Above the
Clouds Because I’m a big fan of the fantasy atmosphere, I try to bring this element to most of my works. Above the Clouds is a way to escape from reality and make your dreams become real. This tutorial is here to show you how to do an easy manip with some shots in order to create a fantasy atmosphere using things that appear common. I just used basic tools and settings for it. Sometimes the simplest things are enough to create a dreamy piece of art. This is just the basics, using filters of colors to determine the whole atmosphere, Gaussian Blur and lines to perfect the shadows and light effect and more basics tips for cutting out, selection, and so on. Basics are essential! This is what I’d like to share with you as I present you with the step by step tutorial for my piece Above the Clouds.
01
Comparing the Sizes
First of all, I usually compare the original sizes of the elements I’m using in order to know which ones will have to be resized. Having them in a thumbnail at 12%, 25% or 50% allows you to focus on the dimensions. As long as the manip is fantasy, you don’t have to be really precise, but for something realistic, it’s an important point. As you can see, there are many differences here.
02 Resizing
My artwork will be a 3000x3000 picture, so I enlarged the mountain, clouds, and sun landscape but reduced the size of the girl, rock, doves, and wings. Most of the time, I searched for the bestlooking harmony by reducing/enlarging with the tool Size of the Picture using 25%, 50%, 75%, 125%, or 150% proportions. Most of the time, this is enough to get a good result. Here, the new sizes are GIRL (864x1152), ROCK (1632x1224), MOUNTAIN (3000x2217), CLOUDS (3000x4000), WINGS (389x436), SUN LANDSCAPE (3000x1086), DOVE WITH BLUE BACKGROUND (158x167) and DOVE WITH DARK BACKGROUND (178x203). .psd Photoshop
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photomanipulation
03
Tips You can just erase the outline, then select the girl with the lasso (in the erased part of the shot). Press [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[I], then click [DEL].
The Rock
For the rock, I rotated it 180° because the perspective is much more interesting this way. Next, I used the Lasso to select the part I was interested in. The Lasso allows you more precision concerning your selection and more freedom. Always try to select the part with an aesthetic outline; it helps people think the composition is real despite the fact that it’s fake. When selecting, also avoid strange shapes unless it’s precisely what you’re looking for.
04
The Dove
For the doves, the Quick Selection Tool set at 50% (plus the Lasso for some details) was enough for me. As you can see, the contrast of colors was enough to determine each element. The Quick Selection Tool is interesting for fast work, but it’s not always precise. Keep in mind that even if the doves will be really small by the final stage, you still have to have an aesthetic selection.
05
The Girl
As you can see, I put the girl on a white layer, which will be useful later when I cut her out. Most of the time, I simply copy/pasted the shot (so I had two duplicate layers), then selected the lower layer with [Ctrl]+[A] and deleted it with [Del]. Not an elegant way to do it, but it was efficient! Next, I cut the girl out with a soft eraser, erasing everything that I didn’t want to keep. 24
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above the clouds
06
The Clouds
Same thing for the clouds: I placed a white layer under the shot then erased (soft eraser again) the part I wasn’t interested in. I tried to keep the best shapes and, more importantly, a semblance of coherence in order to avoid creating strange and weird shapes in the sky. Using the soft eraser will enable you to make some hidden mistakes while not wasting your time during later steps as you blur the outline.
07
Putting it all Together
Next, I opened a new file (3000x3000), put all the cut out elements on it, then selected and arranged them. Remember just one thing: one element = one layer. Of course, for some manips you’ll have a lot of layers, but this isn’t a problem. You just have to name each layer to know which one corresponds to which element, which will be really useful when you want to change, move, or erase a detail later. Note: I always keep a white layer under all the elements layers; sometimes, it’s very useful.
08 Adjusting the Levels
Here I adjusted the levels of each layer (Image> Adjustments>Levels or [Ctrl]+[L]). As I wanted to have brightness and light with strong contrasts, I increased both the clear and dark tones (You can easily see this on the clouds and the girl’s wings). The midtones can either increase or decrease, so do as you wish. This part is pure fun and based on personal taste. You can also notice some changes I made here: I wasn’t satisfied with the position of the girl and rock, so I created a sense of horizontal symmetry with one of the doves and added some more clouds. Once again, this is just a matter of personal taste. .psd Photoshop
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photomanipulation
09
Smoothing the Limits
This is also just a detail, albeit a really important one! As you can see, there is a precise line of demarcation between the Mountain layer and the Sun layer. I used the Smudge Tool to smooth the line. Here are my settings for the tool: On Definition, Definition=38%, Number=8%, Variation=0%. I’m working on the Sun layer; on the right, you can see the difference before and after.
10
Equalizing the Mountain with the Sun Landscape
The most important thing is to have a real harmony between the mountains and the sun landscape, as they will encompass the whole background of the picture. I used the following filter: Image>Adjustments>Filters. The default color (R=236, G=138, B=0) was perfect for this. I chose to set it at 80% opacity, but I think you can choose an intensity between 75% and 83%.
11
Colors and Details
I played with the filter (always using the same color) on all the layers until I found a good harmony. After that, I used the blur tool on a soft setting along the outline of all my elements in order to mix them together and avoid sharp lines. The intensity was set at 100%. You have to be careful when blurring, or things can become awful rather quickly. I also added some hair to the girl with a Soft brush in front of the wing in order to add some realism to the piece. 26
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above the clouds
12 Shadows
I added two new transparent layers ([Ctrl]+[Alt]+[N]) called Shadow and Light atop the former layers (Light must be placed beneath Shadow). Combined, the two add harmony to the whole composition. They bring a soft element of realism to blend everything together. On my Shadow layer, I used a big, Soft brush and colored the corners roughly (using black). Try to color a small part of the corner in order to avoid having all of your composition under a soft black veil later on when blurring it. I used a Gaussian Blur for the shadows, selecting it by going to Filters>Smo othing>Gaussian Blur. I usually choose the maximum setting when working with shadows (250). It smoothes them out, making them become a dark frame contrasting with the colors of your composition, which helps bring focus to the main elements.
13
Light
I selected the Light layer and drew rays of sunlight using the Line Tool, using thicknesses of 10px, 20px, and 50px. You can also do this with a brush depending on what kind of effect you’d like to obtain. The lines create straight rays and the brush can be useful for building perspective. Next, I merged the line layers with the Light layer. This time, I used another Gaussian Blur set at 35% and a filter set at 40% (but without Keep the brightness).
14 Finishing Details
I merged all the layers together and then once again played around with the levels. In Image>Adjustments, I increased the contrast and reduced the light. I adjusted the saturation ([Ctrl]+[U]), reducing it a little. I had some more fun with the filters, saturation levels, etc. in order to determine what I wanted as I added the final touches. Finally, I added some noise to the composition (set at 3%). by Odessa Ombregriffe The original piece of art can be seen at: http:// dameodessa.deviantart.com/art/Above-theclouds-142901119. .psd Photoshop
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interview
Interview with
Justin Maller Justin Maller is a freelance illustrator and art director based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been creating digital art for over eight years, and has produced professionally in both a private and studio based capacity for the last three. He is represented by Jeremy Wortsman of the Jacky Winter Group. Justin has had the pleasure of producing illustrations and concept art for a diverse array of companies and publications worldwide. He enjoys a cordial collaborative relationship with several prestigious international design studios. Work aside, he is an inner core member of the Keystone Design Union, an avid sneaker collector, occassional tweeter, and a mild force of nature on the basketball court. Justin is also the Creative Director of The Depthcore Collective, an international modern art collective established in June 2002. This role sees him direct and interact with many of the worlds most talented and prodigious young artists, musicians and designers as they illustrate and orchestrate the thoughts, hope and dreams of all corners of the globe.
TELL OUR READERS HOW DID YOU BECOME AN ART DIRECTOR AND ILLUSTRATOR. My career evolved quite organically. Creating digital illustrations had been a passion of mine since high school and by the time I finished my degree (Creative Writing and Art History at the University of Melbourne), I was receiving my first commissions. Around six months after completing my Bachelor, I was receiving enough freelance work to be able to quit the job I'd put myself through school with and focus exclusively on illustrating. It happened slowly, of it's own volition, and was the direct result of many years of hard work for no money!
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‘XX’ Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2010
.psd Photoshop
interview with justin maller
‘Eyes Like A Diamond Mine’ Photography; Chris Knight Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2009
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF YOUR PROFESSION? There's many advantages being a freelancer; I set my own hours, I can live anywhere in the world and get to do the thing I love most
in the world as a job. The disadvantages are that it's a hard road to become an established illustrator, the first few years can be pretty lean. It can be quite a solitary lifestyle as well; combined with the discipline required to maintain your own schedule and handle all
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interview
of the day to day of running your own business can make for quite a demanding situation.
WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS TO THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO WORK AS DESIGNERS?
will find success by walking new paths, not by following others. Be motivated by your love for creating things, not for your desire for attention, fame or money.
WHERE WOULD YOU ADVICE TO LOOK FOR COMMISSIONS?
Work really hard. Read less blogs. Find and develop your own style. Let others inspire you but never allow them to affect your work. You
It depends what stage of your career you are at. Getting an agent to professionally represent you is a good way to attract new business
‘Of Ground’ Photography; Chris Knight Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2010
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interview with justin maller
‘We’ll Be Perfect’ Photography; Chris Knight Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2010
‘Webs’ Photography; Chris Knight Illustration: Justin Maller Year: 2009
if you are looking to become a full time professional. If you are just starting out, I recommend putting together a simple, good looking folio filled with your best work and contacting magazines and portals to help spread the word.
DO YOU FIND YOUR PROFESSION SATISFYING FROM THE FINANCIAL POINT OF VIEW? Yes, I do quite well!
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Create Stunning Backgrounds for your
Fantasy Art
With the recent release of Avatar, fantasy art is very much in demand and offers a fantastic opportunity to get more experimental with Photoshop. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create your own fantasy scenes using old holiday photos and some very handy photo-montage techniques. We will be working primarily with layer blending modes and customising brushes, as well as touching on hue, saturation and levels.
medium | 1 h. adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom tablet
create stunning backgrounds for your fantasy art
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Step 1
Open up a new file (File>New). For this tutorial I used 200x200mm at 300dpi, however you can accommodate the size to suit your own artwork. Open the cave image (sourced from stock imagery: http://requiem7892.deviantart.com/art/Spikes-59427493) and with the Move Tool [V] selected, click and drag the layer into our working file. Pressing [Ctrl]+[T] to bring up the Transform tools, resize and position the image to fill the entire document. By pressing [Ctrl]+[J], duplicate the layer and go to Edit>Transform>Rotate 180�.
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Step 2
Now start removing sections of the top layer to blend in with the layer underneath. Selecting the Rectangular Marquee Tool [M], highlight the lower quarter of the top layer and delete, revealing the underneath layer.
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Step 3
Select the Eraser [E] and set up a soft-edged brush using the sub-menu at the top of the screen with an Opacity of 28 and Flow of 30. Use this brush to soften the hard edge of the top layer and blend the rock details into the formations of the underneath layer. Make sure there are no hard edges and that the joins look realistic. You can also use the Eraser tool to highlight sections of the underneath layer you want to peep through. I erased some of the bigger yellow stalactites from the top layer and allowed more of the smaller ones to peep through on the ‘ground’. .psd Photoshop
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Step 4
On a new layer, select the Brush tool [B] and set up a soft-edged black brush with an Opacity of 44 and Flow of 30. Using this brush, work on the upper and lower sections to remove some of the texture allowing focus on the middle section. Subtle blending will help to create depth in the image. Work with the image’s contours to create a realistic effect.
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Step 5
Highlight both layers in the Layers palette and press [Ctrl]+[E] to merge them together. Press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[U] to desaturate the image, and then use the Levels menu (press [Ctrl]+[L] to access) to correct the white balance. I increased the white levels slightly at this point.
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Step 6
Open the water texture file (sourced from stock imagery at http://sirius-sdz.deviantart.com/ art/texture-128-131225166) and drag into the working file as the top layer. Using the Layer Blending Modes dropdown menu in the layers palette on the right of the screen, change the layer mode from Normal to Colour. Your image should now have a green/blue tint. 34
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create stunning backgrounds for your fantasy art
07 Step 7
Press [Ctrl]+[U] to bring up the Hue/Saturation Menu and experiment with different colours to achieve the desired cave-like effect. (I have used Hue +34, Saturation –37 and Lightness 0). Extension: alternatively, if you want to be a little more experimental, you could create a new blank layer set to Colour Mode and use the soft brush to colour in the image. by Tigz Rice File Sources: http://requiem7892.deviantart.com/ art/Spikes-59427493 http://sirius-sdz.deviantart. com/art/texture-128-131225166
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medium | 5-6 h. adobe photoshop CS4
keeper of the universe
Keeper of the Universe 01
Very first step
The very first step is to make a sketch. Sketch is the important part of the future art work. Even concept sketch which contains only 3 lines can be the ideal base for a great image. I prefer to draw sketches on paper, but I do not scan them, I take a photo. It makes sketches look more vivid and more artistic. I love to mix real art with digital.
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Blending
Blending images is one of my favorite ways to make some really distinct view of the image. This time I added layer 2 with photography made from the space, set Opacity to 50% and set mode to Linear Dodge (Add). Effect of this action looks very unusual. .psd Photoshop
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Creating shapes
The next step is creating shapes. I drew lines of the face and mechanical elements in order to see clearly in which direction I should move. After the lines are drawn, add some hard strokes on the shadow parts to mark out the shapes. Then change brush to Soft and highlight shadow details.
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Shadow and Light
Shadow and Light is a very important step. The image looks monocolored but it actually contains many colors. This time I did not use the Eyedropper tool, as I usually do. After finishing the shadows, it’s time to work on the brightest parts. I used my own brushes here, I think it’s the best way to express your own style. In this case I was inspired by Giger’s art, therefore some parts of this image can remind of his art.
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Devil hides in the details.
Spending many hours on the details is a time waisting for me. Therefore, I drew the details of this image according only to the compositional dominants, such as lips and mechanical elements. The grains of the photo also helped me in this and in texturing.To create the effect of the shining metal I made hard reflections of the light on the surface. 38
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keeper of the universe
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Last steps.
Now it’s important to fill the background in order not to make it look unfinished. However, it is important not to exaggerate. We should feel whan it’s time to stop drawing.
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The Final
The final effect is the most important even if it’s hard to notice it. I created a few copies of the final version and did some variations with different adjustments and contrast. Then I compared them and found the one that I liked the most. By Timur E. Kiryashov
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Editor’s Choice Robb Castaneda
“D. Girl”- I had the big diamond (actually crystal) picture first and thought to create a fashion picture around it and .psd Photoshop have the model made of diamond. The stars in the image are actually crystal candle stick holders.
“Bedlam”- This picture is made of many, many layers. I wanted to create an intense scene with a lot going on in the image. Though there is also a calm element - the monk sitting on the railing.
“Strolling the Grounds”- For this image I first came up with the background. The lawn and the wooded area are two different images I blended together. I was trying to create a unique fashion type of image.
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My name is Robb Castaneda (Neda), I am from the United States. I am a photographer/digital artist freelancer. My passion is everything, from straight photography, to retouching and photo manipulations. I am self taught, especially on the digital end, which encompasses most of my work now. I have been doing a lot of photo manipulations lately, using stock and my own photos. I love to create scenes that are unique and mysterious. Some of my pictures take many, many hours to create, combining layers upon layers of images and blending them to make them look just right. Thare are times when an image flows out of me pretty quickly but sometimes creating a picture involves many trials and errors. I am an artists that tends not to explain to much about the meaning of each of my works. I think each person should come to his own conclusions. I believe the digital age has opened a powerful new tool for artists like me to express themselves. I look forward to see what the future holds that will allow me to express myself even further. To see more of my works, visit: www.neda.carbonmade.com “Mission 1”- In this picture I wanted it to have a futuristic feel to it. I started with the girl, I liked the color of her hair and was able to match some items in the image to it. “ G. Room” - I found this old eerie green house stock, and slowly put this image together with stock and some of my own pictures. The girl’s face is replaced by a toy doll’s face and the actual model’s face I placed under the orchid.
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“There will be no Fawning�- This picture started with the room and grew from there. Even though it is an elegant room, I decided to give it some dark under tones. The maid is somewhat smaller than she actually is and here eyes are made black and bigger.
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medium | 30 min. adobe photoshop CS4
beauty is photoshop
Beauty is Photoshop In this tutorial I will show you how to make a professional photo retouch.
Step 1
First, duplicate background layer and call it Cleanness. Select from the Tools panel the Healing brush tool and remove all the imperfections of the skin such as spots, pimples or little wrinkles. To reduce
the dark circles, select the Clone Stamp tool from the same palette and set the diameter of the brush around 70px and the Opacity around 35%. Make sure that in the result the skin is uneven.
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beauty retouch
Step 2
Now we give more intensity to the image: duplicate layer Cleanness and desaturate it from the menu Image>Adjustments>Desaturate (Shift)+(Ctrl)+(U); apply the filter Gaussian Blur from the menu
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Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur with a Radius of 10px and set the blending mode of layer to Soft Light. Finaly set the layer’s opacity to around 35%.
.psd Photoshop
beauty is photoshop
Step 3
In order to make the skin smooth, create a new layer set and name it skins. Duplicate the layer Cleanness two times. Drag the new layer into the group skins. Rename the top layer High pass and the inferior Gaussian blur. Select the high pass layer, and apply the High pass filter from the menu Filter>Other>High pass, setting the Radius to10px and now change the belnding mode of the layer to soft light. Now select the Gaussian Blur layer and apply the filter from the menu Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur with a Radius of 40px. With the Gaussian blur layer selected, go in menu Layer>Layer mask>Hide all; make sure that the mask is selected, select the brush from the Tools palette and set the foreground color to white. Now brushed all over the skin avoiding eyes, hair, mouth, nostrils and eyebrows using a Diameter of around 160px and Opacity to 100%. Once you've covered the whole skin, lower the layer opacity to 45-50%.
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beauty retouch
Step 4
Now the finishing touches. Create another group and call it Adjustments. Let's go to menu Layer> New Adjustment Layer>Selective Color correction and set the following values: Red: +32% Cyan, Black +7%; Blacks: Black +5. Now add a little color on the lips: create a Hue saturation adjustment layer from the menu Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue Saturation and set Tones to -15. Fill the layer mask with black and select the Brush tool; set the foreground color to white and with the opacity of the Brush 50% brush only the lips.
Step 5
Create another group and call it final_adjustments. Add a new Curves adjustment layer and set Linear Contrast from the drop-down menu. Add also an Adjustment layer levels by the menu Layer>New adjustment layer>Levels, and from the drop-down menu choose Increase contrast 1. Finally, select the group and lower the opacity to 40% by Ylenia Peronti
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WebHostingBuzz - interview
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