Photoshop Fix (May 2005)

20 Pages·2005·1.327 MB·English

$10 US | $13.75 CDN MAY 2005
F E A T U R E D A R T I S T
CREATE MODERN DESIGNS WITH VINTAGE APPEAL
Adam Larson (Chelsea, Mass.) was commissioned to interpret the word “public” for a magazine cover.
Using the smudge tool, blending modes, and Levels, he combined innocence with peril using scanned
vintage elements and digitally created bombs.
(cid:1) Larson opened a scanned antique with Levels (Command/Ctrl-L) by pull- the Black percentage. To add depth to
postcard and double-clicked the Back- ing in the Input Levels sliders. To create the flat color of the scanned frame, he
ground layer to convert it to a new layer. a reflection of the girl on a bomb, he chose the Reds and increased the Yellow
He selected the girl’s head with the pen duplicated the girl layer and positioned it slider. “Selective Color targets colors very
tool (set to Paths in the Options bar) above a bomb layer. Larson desaturated specifically, so it only affects what you
and accessed the Paths palette to click the duplicate (Shift-Command/Ctrl-U), actually want it to instead of the entire
the Load path as a selection icon at the then used the move tool to position her image, layer, or area you had selected to
bottom. He then selected the girl layer over the bomb. With the girl layer still alter,” he says.
in the Layers palette and clicked the Add selected, Larson Command/Ctrl-clicked
a mask icon at the bottom of the palette the bomb layer thumbnail to create a (cid:6) Larson opened a vintage botanical
to isolate the head. To remove the dot selection of the bomb and added a mask drawing he had scanned at a very high
pattern produced from scanning the to hide the area of the girl outside the resolution, converted the image Mode
four-color postcard, he selected the girl bomb’s edge. He Command/Ctrl-clicked to Grayscale, and used Levels to pull the
layer’s thumbnail, and used the smudge the bomb layer again to select it, clicked Input Levels sliders to the middle for a
tool (R) to smear the dots for a painterly the girl layer’s thumbnail (not the mask strictly black-and-white drawing. He
appearance. In facial details like the eyes, thumbnail), and chose Filter > Distort > chose Select > Color Range, set Fuzzi-
he used a small Brush size set to a low Spherize, which centered the filter’s ef- ness to 200, clicked on a black area of
Strength (in the Options bar) to prevent fect in the bomb. He adjusted the filter’s the drawing, then clicked OK. He copied
oversmearing the pixels. To avoid a Amount until the girl fit the form of the the resulting selection, created a new
muddy look from mixing dark and light sphere, and clicked OK. He then set the layer above the background in the main
pixels together, Larson started with the layer’s blending mode to Screen. image, and pasted the selection. The
S. tool in between light and dark areas. “If areas of the drawing that had not been
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P you start with the tool in a dark area, for (cid:4) “I’m drawn to the authenticity of selected allowed the main image to
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S example, you’ll force tones too harshly found objects and I like to reinvent them show through.
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OT into a light area and won’t get a clean through a digital medium,” says Larson.
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P transition of color,” he explains. He scanned an aged paper frame into the To create striking highlights or to
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OW (cid:2) To add dimension to the girl’s face, ground for the image. To focus attention access Selective Color, choose Whites
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S Larson duplicated the girl layer and set on the girl, he duplicated the layer and from the Colors pull-down menu, and
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GE the blending mode to Multiply. He used set the blending mode to Multiply at move all the sliders to the left.
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M the eraser tool to blot out the Multiply 50% Opacity. Then he selected the el-
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S hair, chin, sides, and neck molded around pixels in the Options bar, and made an el-
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C tools to restore definition. Larson linked of the selection with black, then chose
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E the girl layers, and chose Merge Linked Filter > Blur > Radial Blur so the selection
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L from the Layers palette menu. would fade to the corners of the image.
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P 6 (cid:3) To add bombs to the image, Larson (cid:5) To match the background color with
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H created spheres with the gradient mesh the image’s elements, Larson chose
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T tool in Illustrator. After bringing the Image > Adjustments > Selective Color.
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H bombs into layers above the merged He selected Yellows from the Colors Adam Larson
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R shadows and highlights of bomb layers and Yellow percentages, and decreased www.shrine-design.com
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PHOTOSHOP FIX 2
3 MAY 2005
F E A T U R E D A R T I S T
TAKE IT UP AN OCTAVE
Nathan Segal (Victoria, British Columbia) decided his violinist image wasn’t emitting the right musical
energy, so he turned up the volume by layering filter effects with blending modes.
(cid:1) Segal opened the violinist image and white Input slider to the left to nearly (cid:5) Segal Command/Ctrl-clicked the
selected the background using the magic wash out the image. With the other color violinist layer thumbnail to select
wand and lasso tools. He pressed Shift- duplicate below, he accessed Levels, and the figure’s shape and added a new layer
Command/Ctrl-I to Inverse the selection moved the black and white sliders to- above the background layer. He set the
to the violinist, pressed Command/Ctrl-J ward the middle for more distinct shad- Foreground Color to blue, chose Select >
to jump the selection to a new layer, and ows and highlights. He then flattened Feather, and entered 40 pixels. With the
trashed the Background layer. the layers. To remove any remaining gray new layer selected, he pressed Option-
areas, he chose Image > Adjustments > Delete (Alt-Backspace) to fill the selec-
(cid:2) Segal discovered the gradient tool Posterize and set Levels to 2. He Shift- tion with blue. He repeated the keyboard
produced a unique fractured effect for dragged the file into the main image shortcut several times until he created a
a background. He created a new docu- above the color violinist layer. soft glow behind the violinist.
ment with the same dimensions as the
violinist image, then selected the gradi- (cid:4) To enhance the contrast of the black-
ent tool. He clicked the Linear Gradient and-white layer, he duplicated the color
icon in the Options bar and clicked the violinist layer and positioned it at the
gradient preview swatch to open the top of the stack, then set the blending
Gradient Editor. Segal added Color Stops mode to Darken. He duplicated the color
of various blues to the gradient bar, and violinist again and positioned it above
clicked OK. Using the gradient tool, he the Darken layer. Segal chose Filter >
dragged at an angle on the layer. He Stylize > Glowing Edges, and set a low
duplicated the layer and dragged the Edge Width, a high Edge Brightness, and
gradient tool at a different angle. After a median Smoothness. For this layer, he
creating five layers of the same gradient set the blending mode to Difference.
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P at different angles, he set each layer’s He duplicated the color violinist layer
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S blending mode to Difference. “Differ- once more and positioned it above the
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OT ence has a way of blending some parts Glowing Edges layer. Segal chose Filter >
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P of a gradient, while seeming to exclude Artistic > Neon Glow. He set a low Glow
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O image and used the move tool to Shift- clicked on the color swatch in the dialog
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S drag the file into the main image below box to choose a bright orange-yellow for
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GE the violinist layer. the filter’s effect. He then set the layer’s
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ND I (cid:3) To add contrast to the violinist, Segal a low-Opacity eraser to soften harsh
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S created a temporary version of the file by edges, the burn tool to weaken intense
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A choosing Image > Duplicate and delet- highlights, and the smudge tool to
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C chose Image > Mode > Grayscale, and set worked together. “This took a lot of ex- Nathan Segal
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E the layer’s blending mode to Multiply. perimentation to get the look I wanted,” 250.480.0877
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L He duplicated this layer twice, selected he says. “I was interested in combining [email protected]
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AN the top duplicate, and accessed Levels filter effects with blending modes, and I www.natsegal.com
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P (Command/Ctrl-L). Segal moved the ended up with a nice, unexpected result.” www.photo-shop-tutorials.net
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PHOTOSHOP FIX 4
5 MAY 2005
E S S E N T I A L S
BY GARYYOUNG
GET SMART WITH CS2 INTELLIGENCE
If you scale down a raster image and then scale it back up later, you run the risk of getting a less than
ideal, pixelated image. Photoshop CS2 allows you to create Smart Objects so your image will turn out
crisp and sharp no matter how many times you transform it.
DOWNLOAD “ZEPHYRTUNES.PSD” AND “ZEPHYRTUNES.AI” FROM WWW.PHOTOSHOPFIX.COM, MAY 2005 ISSUE.
When making a composite, anything (cid:3) I pressed Command/Ctrl-T to access (cid:6) For the logo I created in Illustrator,
you can do to edit nondestructively Free Transform and scaled down the ”ZEPHYRTUNES.AI,” I used the Place
keeps you out of trouble when mak- Relaxed guy Smart Object as I would command in Photoshop to put it into
ing changes later. What layer masks any layer. I clicked the Add layer mask the composite, which automatically
do for editing, Smart Objects do for icon at the bottom of the Layers palette, made it a Smart Object. I duplicated the
transformations. In Photoshop CS2, a and painted with a 200-pixel, soft, black layer, moved the duplicate logo to the
Smart Object is essentially an embed- brush to gently blend the edges with sur- bottom, and applied Free Transform
ded image within a file and remembers rounding images. By waiting to blend the to each layer to scale them differently.
an element’s original pixel data even image until after converting it to a Smart Had the logo not been a Smart Object,
if it’s scaled, rotated, or warped. It Object, I was able to apply different layer scaling it would have created pixelation.
looks like a normal layer, but if you masks to the same layer—a hard-edged If I wanted to alter the appearance of the
shrink a Smart Object to a fraction of mask to isolate the figure and a soft- logo, I could access Edit Contents from
its original size, then enlarge it, you edged mask to blend the image. either logo layer and the appearance of
won’t get the typical pixelated result. both Smart Objects would change since
A Smart Object always appears as crisp (cid:4) Although the Smart Object command each layer is linked to the Smart Object.
as possible. has “Group” in its name, it’s best to create
Smart Objects from each layer you want If you’ve created a Smart Object
(cid:1) I created an ad, “ZEPHYRTUNES.PSD.” protected against overzealous transfor- that would be useful in another im-
by placing images on separate layers, mations.I made each of my figure layers age, Ctrl/Right-click the layer, and
then adding layer masks to isolate the a Smart Object, then scaled them and choose Export Contents. Photoshop
images’ figures from their backgrounds. blended them with layer masks, Layer saves the file in Smart Objectformat
In preparation for making Smart Objects, Styles, and blending modes. I changed (PSB). You can open the file directly,
I didn’t blend any of the layers’ elements my mind and scaled the Relaxed guy or use the Place command to add it to
together or reduce them below the larg- Smart Object back up, and didn’t need to other images.
est size I could imagine using them. worry about getting a pixelated result.
(cid:2) For the Relaxed guy image, I created (cid:5) I wanted to readjust the color of the
a Color Balance adjustment layer and Relaxed guy, but my adjustment layer
clipped its effect to the layer by pressing wasn’t visible. To edit the source contents
Option-Command-G (Alt-Ctrl-G). To cre- of the Smart Object, I selected the layer
ate a Smart Object from the Relaxed guy and chose Edit Contents from the Layers
2. image and its adjustment layer, I Shift- palette menu (or double-click the layer
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P clicked each layer to select both of them thumbnail). The Smart Object appeared
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T Photoshop CS2.) From the Layers palette adjustment layer intact. I double-clicked
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H menu, I chose Group into New Smart the adjustment layer thumbnail to access
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N I Object, and the two layers appeared as Color Balance, added more yellow, and Gary Young has written Photoshop
W one layer with a small page icon on the clicked OK. To integrate the change into courses taught worldwide in training
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SH layer’s thumbnail to denote that it is a the main image, I saved and closed the centers and online. Contact him at
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PHOTOSHOP FIX 6
7 MAY 2005
T O O L S
BY DAVID NAGEL
BRUSH ASIDE FLAWS WITH SPOT HEALING
When your image has a major flaw that can’t be masked or cropped, the new spot healing
brush tool in Photoshop CS2 will paint away entire foreground elements and replace them
with interpolated background data—all with just a few swipes of the brush.
Picture this … I’m the art director for (cid:2) I started the removal process in the I worked more carefully using short, de-
Rock Heap magazine. It’s not the most area of the image that contained the liberate strokes that followed the contour
widely read magazine in the world, most available background data—the of the pavement line.
but for people who love rock heaps, top of the foreground subject’s head,
it’s indispensable. For the May cover which is surrounded by a good mix of (cid:6) The rest was just a matter of touching
story, the photographer has provided rock texture. Remember Photoshop is up any areas that I thought were flawed.
a rock heap photo so amazing it will sampling surrounding data, so if I started This process is best accomplished by
change the industry forever. But the with the tool in the middle of the subject, applying quick dabs with the tool at a
photo has a problem: There are two I’d end up with unwanted samples from small Brush size to maximize detail, or
distracting people in the foreground. the pants and shirt. On the first stroke, at a large size to maximize smoothness.
How can I eliminate entire humans I painted a small zig-zag from the top It really depends on the background
without it looking obvious?After all, of the subject’s head to the shoulders. texture and requires some trial and error
it’s not a simple task like removing to get it right.
skin blemishes. But with the spotheal- (cid:3) I continued painting down the subject
ing brush tool in Photoshop CS2, it in a horizontal zig-zag, making sure to That’s all there is to it! A few quick
actually is. Using this tool, I can paint completely cover the subject and even swipes and the distracting people
away elements and Photoshop will paint a bit outside the subjects’ edges. have disappeared, leaving a pristine
fill in the gaps with interpolated data I stopped when I reached what appeared rock formation and preserving the
from surrounding areas of the image. to be a drastic change in the background editorial mission of Rock Heapmaga-
texture—a deep shadow in one of the zine. No two interpolated strokes look
(cid:1) I opened the image and selected the neighboring boulders. Otherwise, if I the same, so for your images, try out
spot healing brush tool from the toolbox. continued to make a stroke through the variations of brush sizes and stroke
(Press Shift-J until it appears.) In the Op- shadow, it would have been sampled patterns to see what works best.
tions bar at the top, I set Mode to Normal along with lighter areas and inappropri-
and Type to Proximity Match, which tells ately distributed throughout the region
Photoshop to sample the surrounding I was working on.
pixels and fill the desired region with
them.I clicked the Brush preview in the (cid:4) Since there is some directionality to
Options bar to access the brush settings the choice Photoshop makes in terms of
box and set Diameter to 63 pixels, which what data to sample, I switched to a ver-
is a bit smaller than the size of the adult’s tical zig-zag pattern and made a down
head in the photo. It’s a good idea to stroke. I continued to use this stroke until
2. make the tool’s Diameter fairly small in I was clear of the large boulder’s shadow. David Nagel is the executive editor
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P relation to the size of the subject to be of Creative Mac, an online publica-
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H eliminated. If Size is set to Pen Pressure (cid:5) I now switched back to using the tool tion for professionals increative
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T or Stylus Wheel at the bottom of the with a horizontal zig-zag stroke to finish production, including multimedia
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H Brush preview box, set the option to Off removing those pesky humans. After I authoring, design, animation, and
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N I because it tends to cause problems with had reached any kind ofdefinite pattern video. For more information, visit
W this sort of work. in the image, such as the pavement line, www.creativemac.com.
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PHOTOSHOP FIX 8