Advanced Photoshop - Issue No. 116.Bak

8/13/2019 Advanced Photoshop - Issue No. 116.Bak

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PHOTOSHOP REVIEW

ELEMENTS 12We find out if this version of Photoshophas anything to offer our professionals

EXPERT TUTORIAL

PRO COMPOSITINGExpert advice on blendingphotomanipulation, textures and stock

CREATHIS

COVE

MASTELAYE

MASKWork with liand layers to

a vibrant

ndustryleadersgivetheirtop

tipsonhowtocreateyourbest-everima

BLEND 3D& PHOTOS

ow to create a-fi themedanipulation

ISSUE 11

The magazine for AdobePhotoshopprofessionals

Tutorial files available blog.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/tutorial-

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thefoundry.co.uk/mari

3Ddigital paintingNow available on Mac

Justin HolImaginedby

Createdwith


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WELCOME

ISSUE 116

Welcome to the latestissue of AdvancedPhotoshop. This issue wedelve into the world ofexpert tools and techniquesand find out which areessential to a creative

professionals workflow

IN THIS ISSUE:

GRAPHICSDIGITAL PAINTING

PHOTOMANIPULATIONPHOTO EDITING

ANNALISA SAYWELLEditor

Industry leaders have given us their insight into

the most valuable tools and techniques that they

use on a daily basis when creating their work. This

includes 15 top tips in our main cover feature, a look

into layer masks in our surreal landscape tutorial,

and how to use Photoshop as a post-production tool

to blend 3D elements.

Also inside, learn how to combine multiple

assets to build a shatter-effect portrait in our pro

compositing tutorial, or if digital painting is more

your forte, set yourself a time limit and create a

cityscape speed painting from scratch.

Finally, turn to our Reviews section to discover

what our thoughts are on Photoshop Elements 12and whether it has anything to offer the expert

community, and dont forget about the free disc

packed with pro resources and an exclusive video

tutorial. See you next month!

@advancedpshop /AdvancedPhotoshop

.co.uk

00

ISSUE 116 CONTENTS

COVER IMAGE

Yvan Feusi is a 24-year-oldprofessional graphic

designer and illustratorfrom Geneva. We chose

this as our cover becausewe believe his work with

3D and Photoshop issecond to none

YVAN FEUSIhttp://aiven.net

TYPOGRAPHYNEW MEDIA

RESOURCES PROJECT:

WOODBLOCK PRINTING88Discover how to create your own woodblocksand convert prints into digital resources

48 EXPERT TUTORIAL:

PRO COMPOSITINGLearn to build a complex photomanipulation usingmultiple assets in Photoshop


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EYE ON DESIGNWhats hot, whos in and thelatest art & design happenings

THIS ISSUES PRO PANELOur contributors share Photoshop secrets06PORTFOLIO INTERVIEWTurning fantasy into reality08

14 PROJECT FOCUSStronger sports advertising

CONTENTSISSUE 116

14 SPORTS ADVERTISING

58 CITYSCAPE SPEED PAINTING

78 PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 12

FOR BACK ISSUES, BOOKSAND MERCHANDISE VISIT:


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TECHNIQUESProfessional artists reveal their high-end Photoshop skills inour easy-to-follow workshops

Photoshop and the 3D pipeline18INDUSTRY FEATURE

REVIEWSWe put the latest creative kit,books and apps to the test

78 FEATURE:Photoshop Elements 1282 REVIEW:Pentax Q7

Free withissue 116

ofAdvanced Photoshop

PREMIUM RESOURCES

PLUS:

TAILORMADECREATIVE CONTENT how to re-create a shatter effect

94 ON YOUR DISC

Aviator46 HOW I MADEBlend 3D and photos40 WORKSHOP

Hello54 HOW I MADE

The ultimate guide to tools & techniques30 INDUSTRY FEATURE

Pro compositing48 WORKSHOP

SEE PAGE 16, 45 OR 72FOR THE LATEST OFFERSSUBSCRIBE TODAY!

58 Cityscape speed paintingWORKSHOP

Hide and seek74HOW I MADE

66 Master layer masksWORKSHOP64 NuntiusHOW I MADE

08 TURNING FANTASYINTO REALITY

Re-imagining Wonderland84 READER INTERVIEW

46 HOW I MADE

ISSUE 116 CONTENTS

Woodblock printing88 RESOURCE PROJECT

83 REVIEW:Extensis Suitcase Fusion 5


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EYE ON DESIGN PRO PANEL

PRO PANELMEET THIS ISSUES CONTRIBUTORS AND FOLLOW THEIR EXPERT ADVICE TO

CREATE EVEN BETTER PHOTOSHOP ARTWORK

EYE ON DESIGN

FLORIAN DEGESINCOURTwww.degesart.com

Using photo stock to build a

concept is an easy way to

quickly render textures and shapes. Import your

photo and set the blending mode to Lighten or Soft

Light, adjust the Levels to fit with your painting and

erase any parts you dont want. However, its still

important for you to know how to paint, otherwise

you wont be able to control the photo.

Turn to p58 to discover more digital paintingtips from De Gesincourt

YVAN FEUSIwww.aiven.net

Creating a highly detailed and high-resolution story-telling image can be complex, and your workflow may become a key factor. Using the right

tools and shortcuts is essential. By doing this you will learn how to work dynamically to avoid any pixel destruction, using layer masks, clipping

masks, dynamic objects, adjustments layers and more.

See how Feusi combined 3D assets and photography to create a sci-fi scene over on p40

aiven.net

Bram Vanhaeren

degesart.com


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Imagine Publishing Ltd 2013ISSN 1748-7277z

Magazine teamEditor Anna-lisa Saywell

[email protected]

01202 586243

Editor in ChiefDan Hutchinson

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Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure allinformation is correct at time of print, prices and availabilitymay change. This magazine is fully independent and notaffiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademarkof Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries and is used with express permission.All $ prices are US Dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The magazine for AdobePhotoshopprofessionals

VALP MACIEJHAJNRICHwww.valpnow.com

With every single project I work on,

either personal or commercial, Ialways want to learn something new. If there is

anything Ive done before, be it the concept or the

colours, I always try to avoid that direction and create

something fresh. This often leads me to an

experimental vortex, which is time consuming, but

being proud of the final artwork makes it worth it.

Follow Valps tutorial on pro compositing on p48

JON0 HISLOP AKA KIVEXwww.somethingfresh.co.nz

I like to be as organic as possible the less computerised the better, for me personally.

Throw together natural elements and cut up bits of photos from the least expected places.

Use animals and plants that few people can visually identify. In the piece above, Ive used a

sunflower for the eyes, the fins of tropical fish for the headdress and algae for the morphing texture.

Master layer masks to re-create Hislops surreal landscape on p66

Using the right tools andshortcuts is essential. You will

learn how to work dynamically to

avoid any pixel destructionYVAN FEUSI /WWW.AIVEN.NET Valp Maciej Hajnrich

Jono Hislop


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EYE ON DESIGN PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW

WE TALK TO THE EVERIMAGINATIVE ERIK JOHANSSON ABOUT HIS

UNIQUE AND SURREAL APPROACH TO THE WORLD OF RETOUCHING

PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW

TURNING FANTASYINTO REALITY

erikjohanssonphoto.com

@tackochgodnatt

The work of Swedish photographer and

retouch artist Erik Johansson is a sight to

behold. Not only does his work display a

tremendous amount of technical ability

the seams with which he stitches together his

assorted photography all but invisible but creatively

its the work of an artist with great imagination. From

roads that peel upwards and outwards like the zip ona jacket to rowboats that tear through pastoral,

sun-kissed fields, Johanssons work is like pulling

back the curtain on a dream, revealing worlds that

twenty years ago could only have existed within the

minds eye.

Ive always liked photography, but somehow I

wanted to do something different with it. I wanted to

capture the ideas I had in my mind, just like I did

when I did drawings, says Johansson of his first

steps into the world of retouching. In the past I

would come up with an idea and use a pencil to

create it, and somehow the process was the same

when I discovered Photoshop. I could realise ideas

and places that didnt actually exist, creating them

using my photography. I wanted my images to look

like they had truly been captured in real life, despite

their surrealist quality.What started out as a hobby for Johansson

placing family members in strange situations and

taking hundreds of photographs, and then shifting

and changing these images in Photoshop soon

became something much more. I simply wanted to

do something more with the pictures. I wanted it to

be a process just like drawing. I started working on

more complex images like the ones I do today, and

thats how it all got started.

HOW DID YOU START OUT IN THE WORLD

OF RETOUCHING?

I learned mostly by simply experimenting. I actually

started in computer engineering, which I did for five

years. I was doing photography and retouching as a

hobby, but I never thought I could make a living from

it. However, I found myself taking more and more

pictures, so I decided to go into freelance full-time.Although I dont really have any use of my

computer engineering studies, the problem solving

part has certainly been helpful for me. I always break

my pictures down into their smaller parts and try and

figure out how to use the different parts to create

something much larger. Any time I dont know

something, I just look in magazines or at tutorials

online to see how to achieve certain techniques.

Learning is always a natural process.

01

01Fishy Island:Whether his work is subtleand understated or outright bizarre,Johanssons retouching work is neveranything less than visually arresting

02Deep Cuts:Johanssons ideas tend tooriginate from something small andsimple. He then allows the idea t odevelop and grow organically as heworks on it

03Go Your Own Road: Blending two imagestogether in Photoshop can be difficult,but Johanssons output proves thatcomplete integration between two verydifferent images is certainly possible


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02

ages Erik Johansson


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LAST YEAR YOU GAVE A TALK AT THE TED

CONFERENCE. WHAT CONCEPTS DID YOU

DISCUSS THERE?

The conferences all have a specific theme, and when

I did my talk the theme was Travels Through Space,Time and Imagination. They wanted a retoucher who

could discuss creating a space that isnt really there.

They found me, asked if I wanted to contribute, and

discuss how imagination plays a part in creating

something. I thought it was a great opportunity. I had

six minutes to talk, so I discussed my work and the

processes I use to create images, and how the only

limitation is your imagination.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT CREATING ONE OF

YOUR IMAGES? WHERE DOES THE

INSPIRATION COME FROM?

Its difficult to define. It always starts with something

really simple; something I see, like an object or

something in a magazine. Ill then start to think abouthow I can make it different. I might try and combine

two objects or two places somehow. So it always

starts small and simple and then I just let the idea

slowly grow and evolve.

I usually try to work with several different ideas in

parallel. I always have different ideas and Im always

looking for inspiration. It mostly boils down to

looking at the world through different eyes and

coming up with something new and fresh.

DOES THE FINAL PRODUCT USUALLY MATCH

UP TO THE IDEA THAT YOU HAD INITIALLY

ENVISIONED OR DOES IT DIVERGE?

It changes. The idea is still there but the look will be

different from the initial sketch. The sketch is usually

just a simple way to capture the idea. Its when I take

the first pictures that I know what the work is going

to look like and how I want to define it. However, its

tricky because you dont alwaysknow what it will

end up looking like. Although that said, the base idea

tends to remain the same throughout.

YOUVE EMBARKED ON STREET ILLUSIONS

AND PRANKS USING PHOTOSHOP. WHAT

EXCITES YOU ABOUT THESE PROJECTS?

Most of the time I just sit in front of my computer, so

I always try to find ways to get away from the desk

and use the technology that I know for something

else. I want to try and make something different with

it. Ive been doing perspective street illusions,

because I wanted to see if I could create something

in a real environment, and try and trick reality. I

wanted to see if I could create something that felt

truly real, despite its strange appearance. There are a

lot of artists doing perspective paintings on the

streets and things like that, but I wanted to see if I

could do it with Photoshop, to make the illusion

appear even more realistic.

The other thing was the bus stop Photoshop

prank (tinyurl.com/APStreetRetouch) . I was

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05

06

06Arms Break, Vases Dont:Johanssonsgoal is to make surreal imagery thatlooks as if it could exist in real life. Evenhis most bizarre images have a photorealelement to them

05End Of Line:Johansson tends to findthat the more personal work he creates,the more he can enjoy his professionalwork, as clients will tend to ask for moreof the same

07Expecting Winter:Johansson remains aphotographer at heart, using his camerato capture real-world images and thenstitching the images together in analmost literal sense in Photoshop

04Cut & Fold:For Johansson, Photoshop isalmost as much of a toy as it is a seriouswork tool. Just check out his streetpranks for evidence of that: tinyurl.com/APStreetRetouch


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actually approached by an advertising agency in

Stockholm that wanted to do something for an

Adobe Creative Day, using Photoshop in a public

space. We talked about how we could do it and we

decided on live retouching. It was really fun to be a

part of and it worked really well. It was really intense

because I had to cut out people in just a couple of

minutes before the next bus arrived!

DO YOU BELIEVE SOME IDEAS OR CONCEPTS

ARE UNATTAINABLE, OR IS ANYTHING

POSSIBLE USING PHOTOSHOP?

If you can imagine something, you can probably

realise it in a piece of art, although there are some

limitations. For instance, I have never learned how to

use 3D software, so I have to shoot every element

that I want to incorporate in my work. I cant create

something on the computer, so thats one limitation

in a way. That said, I think the more pictures you take

and the more you create, the more you will start to

think in a way that you know will work and you know

will be possible to create.

HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR PERSONAL WORK?

Personal work has always been what I love to do; its

my creative outlet. I just have so many ideas I want

to bring to life! Thats what I started doing in the

beginning and thats how I started to get my

commissioned work, because people saw my

personal work and asked if I could do something for

them. Its still that way, really, because if I do

personal work then people will tend to ask for more

like it, so I get commissioned work that I also like. Its

a creative investment, in a way.

If I could choose I would only do personal work,

because it can be a challenge attempting to realise

someone elses idea. However, the commissioned

work is necessary to make a living out of this.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS LINED UP?

Its hard to say. I would like to do a book at some

point and I would like to do more behind the scenes

stuff to showcase my process. Id also like to do

more big perspective illusions and installations.

Other than that Im just trying to work as hard as I

can on my personal work. I still have a lot of ideas

that I want to realise.

LEARN BY TRYING

This might sound like a simple tip but I think its the best wayto learn how the various tools work. Tutorials are great, butthe only way to truly understand what a tool does to apicture is to try it out, a lot.

FIRST QUANTITY, THEN QUALITY

In most cases, you will hear that quality is more importantthan quantity. However, I believe that you need quantity toachieve quality, otherwise there is a risk that you will just sitaround waiting for the perfect idea. You should always try torealise as many ideas as possible. You will keep improvingwith every picture.

GET FEEDBACK

Feedback is a great way of improving. When you work onsomething for a long time it can be really hard to de cidewhat works and what doesnt. Try to get feedback on onlineforums and communities, or ask friends. An honest opinioncan be very hard to find.

PORTFOLIO TIPSFOR JOHANSSON ITS ALL ABOUT EXPERIMENTING,WORKING HARD AND ACCEPTING CRITICISM

Drifting Away:Its odd to hear an artist emphasisequantity over quality, but for Johansson, producinglarge amounts of work gives you the scope toexperiment and improve

012


I want my all images tolook like they have truly

been captured in real life, despite

their surrealist quality


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EYE ON DESIGN STRONGER SPORTS ADVERTISING

WE SPEAK TO NIKOLAY KVARTNIKOV FROM FIERO ANIMALS ABOUT HOW HE

CRAFTED THIS HIGHPOWERED, STRIKING SPORTSWEAR CAMPAIGN FOR ADIDAS

PROJECT FOCUS

STRONGER SPORTSADVERTISING

Nike, Adidas, Puma, Rebok, Umbro these

are all massive brands in a highly-saturated

market, trying to compete with each other

for prominence. Their ad campaigns play a

big part in what makes them stand out from the

crowd, so the importance of originality while

maintaining brand values within them is paramountto their success. In the saturated sportswear sector,

then, coming up with a creative and original idea for

a massive client like Adidas is no mean feat, but its

one that Nikolay Kvartnikov and his team managed

to pull off with aplomb.

The Become Stronger series of print adverts was

created by a wider team, with Kvartnikovs

retouching studio, Fiero Animals, in charge of art

direction and the post-production side of things. A

concept intending to show the sheer power proper

sportswear can bring athletes, Become Stronger

consisted of three adverts Dumbbells, Treadmill

and Training Machine with each one connected to

each other by the same minimalist style and look.

We caught up with Kvartnikov to find out more about

how he created this series and what concepts

brought it about.

THE BECOME STRONGER ADIDAS CAMPAIGN

IS A VERY ORIGINAL CONCEPT. CAN YOU TELL

US A BIT ABOUT THE PROJECT?

Adidas released a new sportswear collection and

approached advertising agency TBWA\Moscow to

create an ad campaign for it. They developed the

Become Stronger concept, the

basic idea of which was that

your sports and exercise

equipment will not be able to

sustain your power and force if

you are wearing Adidas

clothing. For the role of the

main character of the

campaign, the agency invited

along the famous Russian

football goalkeeper Igor

Akinfeev. Ball-Park Production

organised the work on TV

commercials and photo

shooting with photographer

Vlad Loktev, and our studio

(Fiero Animals) were invited to do post-production

and art direction for the prints. All the work we did

took about three weeks.

WAS THE MINIMALIST AND STRIKING LOOK OF

THE SHOT SOMETHING THE CLIENT HAD

SPECIFIC IDEAS ABOUT?

The brief provided us with a lot of freedom in our

work, as the agency had just described a basic idea

different sports equipment melts and breaks down

under the pressure of the main character and thats

it, so we had to find the interesting visual style and

the main look by ourselves. We started with very

rough sketches made in 3ds Max, in which we built a

low-poly 3D model to understand the perspective

and angles of the composition before shooting.

At the shooting stage we tried many composition

and light options and various sports equipment like

weights, skipping ropes and an exercise bike. We

tried putting them into two different environments

one with a white background and another with a

black background. We had to figure out how we

could put focus on the athlete, his sportswear and

fitness equipment at the same time. In the end, it

was decided to use a black, minimalist background

with lighting accents on the athlete and equipment.

DID YOU ONLY USE PHOTOSHOP IN THE

POSTPRODUCTION STAGES?

Photoshop is the main tool in our work; almost

everything has been done in it. The prints Dumbbells

and Treadmillwere made entirely in Photoshop. For

Training Machinewe used 3ds Max for modelling

and V-Ray for rendering, as it was clear from the

beginning that this scene would not be easy to

recreate just through photography, so we did all the

objects and effects entirely in post-production. But a

huge part of the work was done in Photoshop. We

did a lot of retouching and colour correction work, as

well as lots of compositing work on the

photographed elements.

WHAT PHOTOSHOP TOOLS AND OPTIONS DID

YOU USE THE MOST WHEN CREATING THIS?

The Clone Stamp was used to retouch and create the

background. It was very useful to remove lighting

equipment and different, unnecessary objects from

Nikolay Kvartnikov startedworking as a freelance illustratorand retoucher in 2006. In 2008 hefounded creative retouching and

CGI studio Fiero Animals,specialising in the production of

commercial CG and photo-basedimagery for the advertising andentertainment industries. Fiero

Animals has built up an impressiveclient list, including well-known

brands like Nissan, Audi, Pepsi,McDonalds and Schwarzkopf.

NIKOLAY KVARTNIKOV

ABOUT THE STUDIO

www.fieroanimals.com@fieroanimals

ADIDAS. BECOME

STRONGER

NAME OF PROJECT

Another image from the series

040014


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015

the frame. We always used the Pen tool for keying

and to create masks for compositing. Curves and

Levels adjustment layers were applied for colour and

atmosphere, and various brushes in blending modes

like Overlay and Soft Light were used to create

reflections, shadows and the overall atmosphere of

the image.

DID YOU FACE ANY CHALLENGES DURING THE

ARTISTIC PROCESS?

Considering the dark atmosphere of the images and

despite our wish to put more accent on the sports

equipment, we had to keep all the shapes and the

details of the Adidas sportswear. Also, we had to

correctly display relief and lights on the athletes body

via retouching and brush painting. Another

requirement was to perform an interesting colour

correction, and we added cold and warm reflections

in order to give more volume to the image.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE

WANTING TO CREATE A PIECE LIKE THIS?

The main idea is to make a plan of every stage of

your work. You should know from the very beginning

which elements of your artwork you can take

photographs of and what elements you have to

create in post-production. Also, its important to

research the theme of the project and spend time

studying different references. In our Adidas project,

even though we knew that the training machine

would be done in 3D, we had a huge amount of

photo reference of it, including its different parts in

different perspectives.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR

WHEN CREATING THIS KIND OF ADVERTISING

CAMPAIGN FOR A MAJOR BRAND?

First of all, its teamwork that is essential to a major

project like this. It consists of so many important

components, beginning with a good idea from the

creative agency, excellent organisation of the photo

shoot by the post-production house, and finally the

work of a photographer and the model. Luckily for

us, we were given great material to work with. And

for us as a post-production studio, it was important

not to overdo the designs with effects and instead

pay more attention to things like composition,

lighting and colour correction.

All images Nikolay Kvartnikov

I really like the created atmosphere andminimalism, Kvartnikov says. We couldhave enhanced all the effects of thedestruction, we could have shown it biggerand more complexly, added sparks, smoke,debris and so on, but I like the balance thathad been achieved here

Along with lighting key areas in thephotography, Kvartnikov used a brush andBrightness/Contrast to set accents in theimage and to bring out the details in theathletes shirt

The heat of the dumbbells was created byusing Photoshop brushes in differentblending modes, as well as extra stockimages of hot metal to help create thedesired texture

Original photography

Original photography


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TECHNIQUES PHOTOSHOP AND THE 3D PIPELINE

PHOTOSHOP

AND THE3D PIPELINE

WE TAKE AN INDEPTH LOOK AT HOW PHOTOSHOP FITS INTO THE

3D WORKFLOW, FROM ITS OWN TOOLS TO THOSE IT ENHANCES

ASH JOSEPHWWW.THEFOUNDRY.CO.UK

Joseph is TheFoundrysin-housedesigner andoversees thecompanystrademarkbranding andvisual design.

BRAD PEEBLERWWW.THEFOUNDRY.CO.UK

Peebler hasworked insoftwareproductmanagementfor 20 years andco-foundedLuxology, partof The Foundry.

COLIE WERTZWWW.COLIEWERTZ.COM

Wertz is aconceptdesigner and 3Dartist. He iscurrentlyworking with3D Systems, a3D printingcompany.

DANIELE ORSETTIWWW.DAYNO.IT

Orsetti startedhis career inItaly. Two yearsago he movedto MPC London,where he is a3D modeller,texture artistand groom TD.

DAVID MUNOZ VELAZQUEZWWW.MUNOZVELAZQUEZ.COM

Velazquezstudied graphicdesign inBarcelona. Heis currentlyworking in thevideogame andanimationindustries.

CONTRIBUTORS

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S

ince its creation, Photoshop has made a

household name for itself as the worlds

premier graphics editing program.

Renowned for its incredible 2D

capabilities, its capable of producing some of the

worlds most impressive design and illustration

projects, and has little in the way of competition.

However, less well known or discussed are

Photoshops 3D asset creation capabilities.

Introduced to Photoshop CS3 in the spring of 2007,

users were initially able to create 3D layers, or

import 3D models and manipulate, light and render

them. CS4 allowed for editing of these materials,

and even some limited 3D painting applications,

begins Kirk Nelson, a graphics artist with over 15

years of experience in the industry. Following that,

CS5 introduced us to Repouss, which was a method

of extruding a 2D layer into 3D space. CS6 revampedthe 3D system with tighter tools and on-screen

editing widgets, and now CC has expanded all the 3D

features to be more robust and reliable.

Richard Curtis is a principal solutions consultant at

Adobe, and has a deep knowledge of Photoshops 3D

tools and capabilities. Currently, Photoshop CC

provides users with the ability to create 3D text and

objects, assemble them together with other 3D

objects imported from external sources (Photoshop

can read OBJ, KMZ, STL COLLADA and 3DS files)

and then change the aesthetic of the assembled

scene using all of the texturing tools within

Photoshop CC, he tells us. The 3D capabilities in

Photoshop CC are most often used to produce 3D

effects that are output in two-dimensional form forprint or online consumption.

Although 3D can often seem like a difficult and

challenging subject to tackle, the 3D capabilities

within Photoshop CC have been designed to work in

tandem with the rest of the application. Any

reasonably experienced Photoshop users should be

able to quickly learn how to work with and design in

3D using Photoshop CC, says Curtis.

Nevertheless, both Curtis and Nelson assert that

Photoshops 3D tools are supplementary, rather than

intended as any kind of competition to the thriving

CGI market that has existed in some form since the

late Seventies. Photoshop CC is not intended to be a

complete or robust 3D modelling tool, asserts

Curtis. There are plenty of other tools on the market,each with unique capabilities depending on the type

of content that needs to be produced.

THE 3D CAPABILITIES OF PHOTOSHOPA NEW DIMENSION

JAHIRUL AMINWWW.JAHIRULAMIN.COM

Jahirul Amin is ageneralist with aparticularpassion for 3Drigging andanimation. Helectures incomputeranimation.

JESSE SANDIFERWWW.CHICKWALKER.COM

Sandifer is a CGIcharacter artistat Blue Studio.His work hasbeen featured infilms, games,toys, tradeshows, booksand magazines.

KIRK NELSONWWW.THEPIXELPRO.COM

Adobe CertifiedExpert KirkNelson is anaward-winninggraphics artistwith over 15years experience,appearing in 200publications.

MARTIN MAYERWWW.MARTINMAYER.CA

Mayer is a CGIgeneralist. Hisrecent worksinclude severaldocumentariesfor DiscoveryWorld, HistoryUS/Canada andthe BBC.

MAURICIO RUIZWWW.MAURICIORUIZDESIGN.COM

Specialising asa conceptualdesigner in theentertainmentindustry, Ruizhas worked forfilms includingStar Trek andRobocop.

RICHARD CURTIS

A principalsolutionsconsultant atAdobe with afocus on digitalimaging, Curtisis the UKcontact for

Photoshop.

SRGIO MERCESWWW.SERGIOMERECES.COM

Merces hasbeen working inthe 3Dvisualisationbusiness for thepast ten years,working onprojects around

the world.

YASIN HASANIANWWW.SUPERHERO.CGSOCIETY.ORG

Hasanian is afreelance CGIartist with apassion for artand science,and has workedfor many majorclients over the

last five years.

CONTRIBUTORS

019

Sergio Mereces


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Although Photoshop offers many capable 3D tools in

order to quickly and easily create three-dimensional

imagery inside the software itself, its never going to

quite match up to the utterly exhaustive feature sets

offered by the likes of Maya, 3ds Max, CINEMA 4D,

LightWave, ZBrush and the many other modelling

products currently available.

Nevertheless, as mentioned, Adobe doesnt intend

for Photoshop to be positioned as a competitor to

these products. In fact, it sits rather capably

alongside them, Photoshop being an incredibly vital

and complementary part of the 3D artists workflow.

I simply couldnt work without it. The legs on

Photoshop are unreal, begins concept designer and

3D artist Colie Wertz. I had the pleasure of working

with co-creator John Knoll at ILM, and hes nothing

short of a genius. He doesnt add a lot of frivolous

stuff to anything Ive ever seen him do, and that

shows itself in Photoshop.

Wertz uses Photoshop for a number of processes

in his workflow, from touching up his final 3D

renders to compositing various render layers in 2D. I

send out renders, composite them, and Im well on

my way, he tells us. Marrying all the stuff in your

image together so it looks like one image instead of

20 different elements is so rewarding. I also use it for

texture mapping. In my world of hard-surface

modelling, its irreplaceable.

Texturing, and specifically texture mapping, plays

a huge part in the 3D process, with many artists

using Photoshop to create realistic UV textures that

can then be wrapped around a 3D objects X, Y and

Z planes. Once a 3D asset has been created and is

ready to be textured, it will first need to go through a

stage of UV mapping, says Jahirul Amin, computer Colie Wertz

Render passes:In this example I have several passes that Iwish to compose in Photoshop. One has some variety in thetextures, one is the ambient occlusion map to enhance the softshadows, and finally theres a sort of fog map to add depth.

Compose, overpaint and adjust:Here I have startedoverpainting on the image, creating a vignette effect, ad dingdust and fog and painting in areas w here the corners are toosharp or clean. I still need to add details, effects and so on.

Final image:Here is the final image. It is eas y to see whatPhotoshop has brought to this 3D render. The details a dded byoverpainting are quite visible and bring the image together,making it feel more cohesive.

ENHANCING 3D IMAGERY IN PHOTOSHOPDAVID MUNOZ VELAZQUEZ REVEALS THE MAJOR STEPS FOR MIXING 3D RENDER LAYERS USING OVERPAINTING IN PHOTOSHOP

TOP ARTISTS DISCUSS HOW PHOTOSHOPS 2DELEMENTS FIT INTO THEIR 3D WORKFLOW

AIDING 3D CREATION

Colie Wertz

Colie Wertz

All images David Munoz Velazquez


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animation lecturer at Bournemouth University. This

is the process of mapping coordinates for each

vertex and laying them flat onto a 2D plane. If you

imagine taking a cardboard cube and then unfolding

all of the sides and laying it flat, you have a kind ofcross. Thats UV mapping. The resulting UVs would

be exported out as an image into a 2D package, such

as Photoshop.

Photoshops excellent illustrative capabilities

mean that any texture imaginable can be painted

onto the UV of an asset. You can paint the desired

texture onto the UVs using all of the many glorious

tools available, continues Amin. Once you are

happy with the painted textures, you can then apply

the image onto a shader in your 3D package and

apply that shader to the 3D asset.

Another important feature in the 3D creation

process is that of compositing render layers. Instead

of affecting the entire image at once, as a 3D artist

might do when retouching elements of their finalimage, they can work with specific components that

make up the image. For example, an artist may

want to reduce the amount of specularity on an

object, or increase the amount of reflection. Havingthese passes rendered out separately will allow

them to make these changes with ease.

Think of render layers as pieces of a puzzle.

When theyre put together they result in a completed

image, explains freelance 3D artist Yasin Hasanian.

They are components of the render that, when

added together, form the beauty (final) render. The

advantage of them is that if you wanted to increase

or decrease the reflection amount on the materials

or shaders, you wouldnt need to do so in a 3D

program. You can do it directly in Photoshop by

adjusting the levels of opacity.

The most common render passes are Diffuse

and Reflection. To composite them, they are usually

layered over each with different layer blend modes tocombine the passes together.

Some common render passes include Diffuse,

Specular, Reflection, Shadow, Ambient Occlusion and

Z Depth. For instance, you may want to multiply the

Ambient Occlusion pass with the Diffuse pass and

you can screen the Reflection and Specular pass

over the Diffuse, adds Amin. Its worth

experimenting with the blend modes in Photoshop,

as you can get some unexpectedly good results with

trial and error.

021

Mauricio Ruiz

Yasin Hasanian

I use Photoshop for anumber of things in my

work. I finish all of my 2D conceptwork in it, and for compositing in2D it is unparalleledColie Wertz, www.coliewertz.com

AS A 3D ARTIST, HOW DOES PHOTOSHOP USUALLY FIT

INTO YOUR WORKFLOW?

I rely on Photoshop for all of my final 3D composites, includingtexture touch-ups, creating the backgrounds and details likesaliva for creatures.COULD YOU WORK WITHOUT PHOTOSHOP?

Photoshop is the cornerstone of my design process. With over

eighteen years of Photoshop experience, I find it critical intaking my 3D work to a level where its ready for presentation.I recommend exporting out renders from 3D software such asZBrush and creating composites in Photoshop. With only ahandful of layered render passes, a background image inproper perspective and some general atmosphere to unify thecomposition, you can convey a strong 2D-assisted 3D modelwithin the speed of a production environment.WHAT KIND OF TASKS IS PHOTOSHOP BEST SUITED TO

IN 3D WORK?

Photoshop is very proficient in its ability to churn out colourvariations and final layouts. All of my 3D concepts requirebackground, colour/texture comprehensives and generaltouch-ups, which under the clock of a film production are bestaddressed in Photoshop.

IN THE 3D PIPELINE3D DESIGNER MAURICIO RUIZ DISCUSSES THE USE OF

PHOTOSHOP IN HIS DAILY WORKFLOW


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022

Jahirul Amin

Jahirul Amin

Adam Kuczek

Although Photoshop continues to play a hugepart in the 3D artists workflow, its not the only

software available to get the job done. Indeed,

there are a number of tools that allow artists to

approach their texturing work without once

needing to open Photoshop.

For instance, theres Pixologics sculpting tool

ZBrush. Approaching 3D modelling as if the artist

were working with digital clay, ZBrush enables

users to push, pull, prod and play with pixels in

order to find the desired look. Furthermore, it

allows artists to paint directly onto the models

surface without first needing to assign a texture

map. Polypainting may not be as precise an

approach as the detail offered via Photoshop and

UV maps, but it does allow for instantaneousfeedback on textures. I mostly use polypainting

for quick stuff, says Jesse Sandifer, character

artist at Blur Studio. Since Im usually in a

production setting where UVs are king, I use

polypainting for blocking and conceptual painting

of my characters, then I commit those strokes,

colours and suggestions to the UV map later on

and start building texture maps from there. The

main benefit of this approach is to paint without

worrying about connecting the seams of your

textures, or getting into tough areas that would

be difficult to line up just using Photoshop, such

as the spaces between a characters fingers.

There are other tools too, such as Autodesks

Mudbox, which supports PSD layers and blend

modes. However, the main player in the digital

painting field is currently MARI, developed by The

Foundry. MARI was originally developed at Weta

Digital in New Zealand during the feature film

production of Avatar, says The Foundrys creative

WE TAKE A LOOK AT TWO ALTERNATIVES TO

PHOTOSHOPS 2D TEXTURING APPROACH

3D DIGITAL PAINTING


ORIGINAL RENDER WORK IN PROGRESS


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Yasin Hasanian

Jahirul Amin

specialist Martin Mayer. The software simplifies

the process of painting textures for digital assets

by allowing artists to paint directly onto their 3D

models. From the artists point of view, texturing

in 3D simply makes more sense, as there is no

visual disconnect between the model and the

texture work. This allows you to develop the

perfect texture much faster, more accurately and

decrease the number of required iterations.

MARI 2.0 was recently released, boasting a

new and much requested layers system. The

functionality should be immediately familiar to

anyone who has used Photoshop, with options to

create masks, adjustment layers and set blending

modes. MARI also integrates with Photoshop

itself. MARI can actually work well with PSD

files, explains Mayer. You can even input your

Photoshop brushes right into MARI. It makes the

production of large resolution image data quite a

pleasant experience, since it is fully GPU

optimised and supports bigger, faster brushes

comparatively to Photoshop.

MPC artist Daniele Orsetti believes that a

workflow that incorporates both MARI and

Photoshop is the best way forward. MARI has

become my main software for texturing props

and characters, particularly when I have to deal

with multiple UV tiles per channel, he begins. It

lets me work directly on the 3D model, and as

such has replaced Photoshop for most of my

everyday texturing tasks. However, Photoshop is

quicker in performing filtering operations such as

Gaussian Blur or High Pass, he continues. MARI

doesnt have a vector path creation tool at the

moment, so I have to use Photoshop every time I

want to use Bezier curves to trace my strokes. As

such, I generally still use Photoshop when I need

to do very detailed artwork in my textures.

MARTIN MAYER SHOWS YOU HOW

TEXTURING IN MARI

Prepare the UV space :For an efficient workflow inside ofMARI, you need to lay out your UVs in a specific way. MARIutilises a UDIM workflow where ea ch UDIM patch can haveindependent texture resolution. In this case its 4k.

Start a MARI project :Once youre in MARI, go to File>New.You will be presented with a New Project window where you canimport your models and create the initial channels you wouldlike to paint. Additional channels can be added later.

Apply base image layers :Open up the colour channel anduse MARIs triplanar texture to quickly cover the model with abase paint texture. Once done, repeat the process and bring in arust tileable texture into another layer inside the colour channel.

Paint the rust in :Now, you can go ahead and ad d a simplemask to your rust la yer. Since the mask contains black colour,the image will disappear. Use the brush tools with a white colourto reveal rusty areas.

Quickly create the bump :Thanks to MARIs layers, you canshare data between multiple channels, layers and stacks. Linkthe colour channels into the bump channel to use all possiblecombinations of layers and stacks and create a unique texture.


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Create the basic shape:For an efficient

workflow inside of MARI, you need to lay out your

UVs in a specific way. MARI utilises a UDIM

workflow where each UDIM patch can have

independent texture resolution. In this case its 4k.

Create layers and groups:You can do this inside

the Rotopaint panel, so if you want to use multiple

paths, you can add as many layers as you like. You

can use blending modes on every path or feather

each path individually, like masks in Photoshop.

Per point feathering:Once you have completed

your path, you can use per point feathering to clean

up the mask, which can be manipulated separately.

The feather path initially follows the same curve as

our bezier. Its a really intuitive way to work.

Its not only in the digital painting domain that

there exist Photoshop alternatives. When itcomes to image composition, both NUKE and

Adobes After Effects offer viable alternatives.

Although more commonly used for the

creation of 2D animation, After Effects can also be

utilised for visual effects compositing, image

adjustment, colour correction and more.

Photoshop represents an important and

indispensable tool in my workflow, and I use it for

60 per cent of my post-production work, says

architectural visualisation artist Srgio Merces.

However, After Effects stands as a nice

complement to Photoshop. Its a powerful

program for post-production for still images. I will

do all initial post-production tasks in Photoshop,

such as texture fixes and adding 2D elements,and then finally I take the image into After Effects

where I do the colour correction, lighting effects

and filters. I tend to use both programs, although

for me After Effects is more powerful when it

comes to colour grading and effects.

Another powerful compositing program and

more or less the industry standard when it comes

to visual effects is NUKE, also maintained and

sold by MARI owners The Foundry. NUKE was

developed by VFX studio Digital Domain in the

Nineties, originally for use on their feature films

A WORLD BEYOND PHOTOSHOPIMAGE COMPOSITING

ROTOPAINT IN NUKEASH JOSEPH REVEALS HOW TO COMPOSITE TWO IMAGES IN NUKE USING THE ROTOPAINT NODE


Srgio Merces 2013


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WHEN IT COMES TO TEXTURING, WHAT TOOLSDOES MODO 701 OFFER ARTISTS?

Being an end-to-end 3D content creation package,

MODO allows an artist to paint directly onto 3D

models. The paint system, like the rest of MODOs

architecture, is extremely flexible. In the example of

painting, MODO allows users to utilise a combination

of tools, brushes and inks to achieve many different

paint effects and styles. Good examples of the paint

tools in MODO are Airbrush, Clone, Smudge and Blur.

These tools are paired with your choice of brush,

such as soft or hard edge, or procedural. You can

also, for example, add an image link where you paint

an existing image onto a 3D model. The results of

painting are also stored in a bitmap, and that map

can be driving anything in MODOs shader tree. Thus,you can paint into a map that is acting as a bump

map and see the bumps in real-time in the viewport.

HOW DOES PHOTOSHOP COMPLEMENT MODO?

Photoshop and MODO work very nicely side by side.

While an artist could choose to make a fully realised

image inside of MODO from start to finish,

Photoshops filters and effects can greatly enhance

the process whether during the production or to

composite and colour correct the final image.

THE FOUNDRYS BRAD PEEBLER DISCUSSES3D SOFTWARE PACKAGE MODO

MODO 701

WHATS MISSINGKIRK NELSON SAYS WHATS LACKING

FROM THE PHOTOSHOP CC 3D TOOLS

The modelling aspect is the most apparent

shortcoming. There are clever tricks you can

perform with the Extrude function, but those only

go so far. The same goes for the simple shapes

how many situations do you really need a soda

can model for? However, to try and build a full

modelling system would really be biting off more

than Photoshop could chew. I think adding

simple Boolean operations to models would be a

great compromise. Being able to carve out

shapes by intersecting simple geometric shapes

would open up huge possibilities for the

modelling generation.

Yasin Hasanian

Srgio Merces 2013

Colie Wertz

Kirk Nelson


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Srgio Merces 2013

Colie Wertz Colie Wertz


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EASY 3D TEXT IN PHOTOSHOP CCCREATING AND EDITING TEXT AS ACTUAL 3D LETTER BLOCKS HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER OR FASTER, REVEALS KIRK NELSON

Regular text:Add in

some regular text using

the Type tool. Choose a

font face that is big and

bold. Letters that are too

thin or intricate do not

translate well into 3D

objects. In this example

we used Bauhaus 93.

Instant 3D:Go to 3D>

New 3D Extrusion from

Selected Layer. Photoshop

switches to the 3D

workspace. Change the

appearance of the letters by

selecting a different Shape

Preset. The preset for Bevel

Frame is shown here. Click

on the Current View in the

3D panel and use the Move

tool to adjust the camera

angle and position.

Render it out:The letters can be split into separate 3D objects by

3D>Split Extrusion. Then each letter can be positioned using the 3D

Move tools. The Materials tab lets you assign materials to the letters.

We used Ruby. After positioning the light, you can render the image.

Srgio Merces 2013


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Richard Roberts 2013

RICHARD ROBERTSwww.richardbroberts.com

Richard Roberts built this

piece using brushes ofdiffering hardnesses: The hard brush was used

to add rim lighting to different parts of the

illustration; the soft brush was used to add light

gradients coming from different light sources. A

combination of the soft and hard brush is key to

blending a rim light into the edge of an object.

Using the hard brush on the edge of an object to

add a coloured glow works great, but for the

lighting to be correct, it needs to be softly blended

into the rest of the object.

USE SOFT ANDHARD BRUSHES

Lighting on the chin

I used an 8px hard brush with

Pen Pressure turned on to paint

the rim light on the edge of the

bottom of her chin. I then used a

large soft brush at around 30px

with Pen Pressure activated, and

lightly painted in blue tones

Oil leak

I used a hard brush to paint the

base of the oil dripping down

from the broken pipe. I then

lightly painted in different shades

of black and grey to give the leak

more dimension. Finally, I

brought in a light grey-white and

added in the highlights

Exhaust smoke

This effect can be achieved with

brush. Choose different grey tone

lightly start brushing in a base fo

smoke. Apply a Scatter setting in

Brush Settings and play around u

get an effect that looks like smok

sure to lower the opacity when w

on this, as it can be very delicate

Spark effects

Paint the spark using one shade

of orange, then pick a brighter

colour and paint a smaller

highlight in the middle. You can

set these sparks to Linear

Dodge, Screen or Color Dodge

for extra intensity


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PROFESSIONAL PHOTOSHOP ARTISTS SHARE WITH US THEIR FAVOURITE TOOLS, HOW THEY

USE THEM IN THEIR OWN WORK AND THEIR TOP TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THEM

PHILIP DUNNEwww.lovetherobot.com

BENJAMIN MOUNSEYwww.benjaminmounsey.com

For the past six years, Philip Dunne has

been working on a variety of commercial,

published and personal art projects. He finds the Lasso tool

essential for all his work: It helps to single out sections of an

illustration and to build up depth and detail within a particular

area and on a particular layer. I used the Lasso tool in this piece

to create the background around the robot. I highlighted

sections of the clouds and, by using the Shift key, I then created

multiple areas for which to draw on using the Brush tool. I also

placed scans of acrylic and watercolour paintings and used the

Lasso tool to cut around them. Then I combined each layer to

create the cloud/energy effect.

Mounsey has been working as a freelance illustrator for two years. He is a

fan of using custom brushes to create his designs, thanks to their

versatility and adaptability, and believes that they are critical to creating a

convincing level of detail. He has this advice for other artists: The quickest way to create

custom brushes is to sample a section of a stock texture. Anything like rock or metal with a

really visible texture will work perfectly. Use the Levels menu to ramp up the contrast until its

just a black and white pattern. These brushes are very versatile, and can be tailored to many

different purposes easily with the Brush Presets. In this particular piece, Mounsey used a

variety of brushes to create the different effects, such as the steam, mist and grime on the

surfaces of the structures.

MASTER THE LASSO TOOL

TO BUILD UP DEPTH

GET TO GRIPS WITH CUSTOM BRUSHES

Benjamin Mounsey 2012

Philip Dunne 2013

031

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

TOOLS AND


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ANTHONY GIACOMINOwww.agiaco.net

The Puppet Warp tool was introduced in Photoshop CS5, yet many of us are still unsure of

its uses. One artist who makes the most of the feature is Anthony Giacomino, whoexplains: Puppet Warp allows for versatile manipulation of an image to execute something

in a way many other tools, such as Warp or Liquify, cannot do. He tells us how he created this particular image

with the Puppet Warp: The base was from a stock photo of braided hair, but it was straight and I wanted it to be

curving and appear to be swirling toward the viewer. Once I had extracted the hair from the background, I had a

piece that could be puppet warped. After placing a few to start, I scaled the next one up slightly and played with

rotations and warping to match the part before it. I generally used about five points on the Puppet Warp mesh.

Turn the mesh on and off regularly so you can see what is being warped without the mesh blocking your view.

MASTER PUPPET WARP

This image shows the second piece of the braid

being warped using a number of points. Dont force it

too much or it will generate polygonal edges.

Similar to the previous image, you can see that

the scale of this piece of hair has enlarged and also

taken on a new shape as a result of puppet warping.

This image shows the completed swirling with

additional colours, blending and blurring. This is not

the final piece, but the technique worked out.

This shows the rough plan without any depth of

field blurring or blending between each plait.

TECHNIQUES THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

All images Anthony Giacomino


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033033

Use layer masks

I used this technique combined

with a layer mask to paint on

coloured highlights to the outer

edges of the alien, which help to

balance the image

Neon glow

Coloured radial gradients were

used to create the glows on the

fluorescent light bulbs

Create texture

Several differently warped glow

shapes were used to help give the

blue pyramid a shiny, futuristic look Add depth

This technique was applied onto the arms of the

alien to help give the structure form

DEAN FALSIFY

COOK

behance.net/FalsifyCook explains the

best way to add glows to your art: If

you create your glow shape on a

normal layer, then group that

layer and change its blending

mode to Color Dodge, you will

notice that the glow acts kind

of like a digital torch. I often

start out by drawing a white

alpha radial and use the

Warp/Liquify tool to bend

the radial into the shape I

need. This is usually made

to fit the image and hug the

contours of the elements Iwish to give a little glow to.

MAKE MOREVIBRANT GLOWS

Dea


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FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS WITH BRUSHESVALP MACIEJ HAJNRICHwww.valpnow.com

Here, Valp (Maciej Hajnrich) talks us through his top tips for making

the most of the key brushes used in this artwork.

Standard Brush tool

Change the brush size by holding Cmd/

Ctrl+Opt/Alt, and click and hold the

mouse/pen, sliding it from left to right. The

same shortcut but sliding up and down

changes the hardness of the brush. I use itconstantly when painting roots like this

History Brush tool

I applied the Minimum filter to the mask,

but I wanted to use it on just some parts.

Go to the History panel and click on the

icon to the left of the filter. Then go back

and press Y for the History Brush tool and

paint in areas to bring that filter back

Eraser tool

I use the Eraser in a similar way to the

Brush tool by changing opacity andbrush size with the same shortcuts. It

helped to give the roots more custom

and random shapes. In some cases, its

better to fill a layer with one colour and

paint and erase on the layer mask

Smudge tool

This works great with bristle brushes.

Change the Strength (tap 1-0 keys for quick

access) to make it change your layer more

or less. Its great to mix up the colour

palette or just smudge textures on your

creatures face, for example

Valp Maciej Hajnrich


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035

EMERIC TAKESHITRAHANDwww.stillontherun.com

Takeshi (Emeric Trahand)

designed this cover for Fores

debut album, Going Back Is Not The Same AsStaying. He explains how grids and rulers help out:

When it comes to geometrical work involving a

large amount of elements and a focus on

symmetry, I use rulers and the grid to help align,

size and position the objects precisely. It also keeps

from creating gaps between objects; these small

imperfections very often remain invisible when

working on the file at 25 per cent or less of the

high-resolution size, but get revealed once the work

is flattened for export or print.

Lundberg breaks down thestages of this self-portrait in his

own style for &Reach, a boutique artist

management and creative services curatorium. He

says: [Here we will be] focusing on the Brush tool,

and how you can use it to paint highlights and

shadows. Lundberg uses a Wacom graphics tablet

with the Brush tool to create these effects.

GRID & RULER 2013 Emeric Trahand

035

NIKLAS LUNDBERGwww.diftype.com

PAINT LIGHT WITH

THE BRUSH TOOL

All works Niklas Lundberg 2006-2013

I start off with putting all the original, unedited 3D

elements and stock images in place. Its now a

matter of making all these elements work together,

both colour and lighting-wise.

Apply different adjustment layers, such as

Brightness/Contrast, Curves and Selective Color. Set

these as clipping masks and play around with the

settings, painting on the masks using the Brush.

I created a backlight using the same techniques as before, and also by painting with a white brush on top

of the most lit areas. I usually go over my pieces multiple times and polish the lighting.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TECHNIQUES


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LIRAN SZEIMANwww.liransz.com

The basic round brush is one of Photoshops staple tools, but that

doesnt mean that its not powerful. Szeiman does almost 95 per centof her work with this essential tool. She walks us through how she

used the brush in this painting: I start by making a sketch in greyscale, then paint the

forms of all elements before starting to add volume to each part. Once it is almost ready, I

start to add colour using layer blending modes and finally I add the detail.

The brushes that I use most are the basic round brush with pressure for detailing, and

without pressure and I use a soft tip for the volume. When it comes to Brush settings, I use

the following: In terms of Brush Tip Shape, you can choose between the brushes you have

loaded and change the size, hardness or spacing. I activate Shape Dynamics and set it to

Pen Pressure with a Minimum Diameter of 0% to activate Wacoms points of pressure. I

also activate Transfer, with Pen Pressure set to Control to manage the flow of paint from

the pen pressure.

Szeiman also has some practical advice on using the brushes alongside a graphics

tablet. She tells us: Use the buttons on the Wacom pen; one of them has a predefined

letter X, in order to switch between the background and front colour; the other acts as a

Ctrl/right-click equivalent, which opens the mini brush control panel to quickly change thesize and hardness. You can also configure the tablet buttons to alter the opacity, among

other parameters.

GET MORE FROM BASIC BRUSHES

Liran Szeiman - OC by Jonathan Forrest

PAWEL NOLBERTwww.nolbert.com

Pawel Nolbert explains how he used the Pen

tool in this self-portrait: I first sketched

everything roughly with a brush (I based the shape of my head on a

photo reference), then used the Pen tool to draw more detailed

shapes of pretty much all the objects within the scene, so every

object has its own Shape layer. After that, I started to apply textures

to the vector elements. I used different types of textures, from a set

of colourful abstract smears that I generated in Photoshop, to stock

textures like leaves and paint textures that imitated tree bark and

ground. Then I added brushing and adjustment layers to every

element to get the right lighting and colours. Layer blending modes

played an important role, too.

I use a huge magnification when working on details, and use the

keyboard arrow keys to nudge the points of the vector shapes. The

amount of nudge is different according to the zoom level you set. If

you zoom to 100%, it will nudge by 1px, then with 200% it will be

0.5px, and so on, so the more zoomed the view, the smaller and

more detailed the nudge is.

CREATE WITH THE

PEN TOOL

Pawel Nolbert 2013

Work to a huge magnification to ensure that the vector shapes are in the ri ght position


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ENHANCEBRUSHWORK WITH

LAYER STYLESMIKE CORRIEROwww.mikecorriero.com

Concept artist and illustrator Mike Corriero uses layer

styles to help enhance his brushwork in digital

paintings. He regularly uses the Outer Glow and

Inner Glow styles, which help when painting floating

embers, stars and other elements or objects that

would give off any form of light or energy. His top tip

for using styles in this way is: If you duplicate the

same layer, lower the opacity and add a Motion Blur

to it, you can give glows a more dynamic and unique

effect. In addition, if you erase any portions or

enlarge any of the areas on that specific layer, it will

help to push the glowing embers, particles or stars

closer or further back in space. Mike Corriero 2013

SUSANNE

RADERMACHERwww.surama.net

Susanne Radermacher, aka

Surama, is a self-taught digital art hobbyist who creates

fantasy wonderlands with her painting skills. Her work

is always rich in colour and detail and very well thought

out. The main character in this image was created in 3D

modelling software Poser, and the rest was painted in

Photoshop using the Brush tool. She explains the key

way in which she uses this basic tool and why: I mostly

use the Brush tool to refine the many layer masks that I

use when I want to merge in stock images. That

happens very often, because there are so many ideas in

my mind. As I change my mind, I need to go back and

change the image to suit, so layer masks being

non-destructive are incredibly helpful with this.

USE BRUSHES TO

EXPERIMENT

Susanne Radermacher

037


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JEFF HUANGwww.thefihorder.net

Jeff Huang is a huge fan of

the different brush tools

within Photoshop, including some of the more

recent additions, such as the Mixer Brush tool.

He combined this tool with the basic brush tool

for this digital painting, but he also uses it for

his photo retouching and illustration projects.

This piece was done strictly with a brush

tool as a digital painting experiment that I

wanted to challenge myself with. I used a small

pencil brush preset to draw the initial line art,

then used a hard round brush to block in the

initial colours. Afterwards, the shading and

painting was done with a combination of

brushes: I used a painterly bristled brush, as

well as the Mixer Brush tool to smooth certain

parts out.

When painting with the default brush tools,

it can be hard sometimes to achieve a smooth,

blended look. Try using the Mixer Brush tool on

Very Wet, Heavy Mix at 50% Load. Those are

the settings that I use with my Mixer Brush tool

when I want to blend certain colours together. It

creates an almost smooth gradient effect when

used, and it will allow you to achieve the evenly

blended look instead of harsh brush strokes.

SMOOTH WITH A

MIXER BRUSHUse the MixerBrush tool on

Very Wet, HeavyMix at 50% Loadto blend colours

JEFF HUANG /

THEFIFTHORDER.NET

Ain Soph 2013

JOSH THOMASwww.ainsoph.net

Josh Thomas is an illustrator,and another of our artists

with a passion for the Brush tool. He uses it to add

extra detail to his work: I like to use a lot of thin

lines in my works to imply speed and motion.

With complete control over line strength and

density, the Brush tool makes creating depth

much more natural. A great way to add extra

detail to a piece is to paint in some subtle dust or

specks. Playing around with Scattering, Opacity

Jitter and Size Jitter, you can control how sparkly

or dusty you want your image to look in the end.

This also adds some sharpness to your final

image when zoomed out. Applying this technique

with a pressure-sensitive tablet will allow for even

more control and accuracy.

ADD PRECISE DETAIL

TO YOUR ARTWORK

Jeff Huang @ The Fifth Order


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ADAM SPIZAKwww.spizak.comThe Oil Paint option provides a great base

for both digital painting and 3D post-

production for unifying colours and textures, says artist Adam

Spizak. He shares this top tip for making the most of it: The Oil

Paint filters use is not just limited to reproducing a paint effect;

on a relatively low setting, the Oil Paint filter can behave as a

Smooth filter and effectively remove noise and imperfections. On

high settings, with Stylization and Cleanliness set to 7 and 7

respectively, the filter works as a Smudge tool, impacting the

contact between the lines.

USE OIL PAINT FOR

DIGITAL PAINTINGS

Adam Spizak

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040

TECHNIQUES BLEND 3D AND PHOTOS

YVAN FEUSIhttp://aiven.net

OUR EXPERT

Yvan Feusi is a 24-year-oldprofessional graphic designer andillustrator from Geneva, Switzerland.After working at an agency for acouple years, he left to work as afreelancer. He is part of the digitalart collective Slashthree.

PHOTOMANIPULATION

BLEND 3D ANDPHOTOSBUILD A COMPLEX SCIFI PHOTOMANIPULATION BY

WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS

Creating a piece of art that is as detailed and

complex as this one may seem like a

mammoth task, but with the right stock

imagery and software, photomanipulation

can be a breeze!

In this tutorial, we show you how to go about

building a futuristic museum scene, starting with 3D

modelling in CINEMA 4D and creating vectors in

Illustrator, which you will then learn to piece together

in Photoshop. Details are important, so have fun

rendering less obvious elements like the floating

holographic displays and dust particles in the space

scene. A big focus has been put on how to handle

large Photoshop files within a dynamic workflow,

so we give you some top tips for dealing even with

hundreds of layers.

If you can, take your own stock photographs in

order to get the most convincing results, but many

of the textures and images for elements like the

holograms can be found through a simple web

search. Not every step is explained in detail here, so

you will have to use your own initiative and

imagination for some aspects of the image. But

remember; the more unique the better!


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04PREPARE YOUR PSDCreate your main Photoshop document inhigh resolution (A3 at 300dpi) and set the

Colorimetric Profile to RGB this helps to make it

universally accessible. Now import your renders into

Photoshop and keep the document clean, create

groups and name layers. When you import external

files into your main PSD, import them in HD and

convert the layer to a Smart Object. This way, you

can always double-click on that layer and change its

content without any loss.

01SEEKING INSPIRATIONUnless your aim is to create something completely random, never start a project like this if you dont know exactlywhat you are looking to achieve. Going out without a plan can often lead to problems later down the line. Set aside some

preparation time to search for creative and technical inspiration, develop an original idea, draw some sketches on paper for

the composition and set yourself a quick task list. Dont block yourself with technical limits during the creative stage. Every

challenge surpassed is knowledge for later.

033D RENDERINGAs you are going to work mainly inPhotoshop, you dont want a flat render of the whole

scene. It is more interesting to render each important

element individually with their alpha masks and

recompose the whole scene in Photoshop. You will

then be able to work on each element in a separate

layer. You can also render in multi-passes if you

want to adjust the lighting, shadows and reflections

later. You can render the scene with various shaders,

and alter their opacity in Photoshop.

023D MODELLINGCINEMA 4D software was used to createthe base of the scene. You only need basic

knowledge of any 3D program to create something

similar. However, you could also work your scene

from a photo of a room, street, landscape or

whatever fits your concept. Use imagery from stock

websites or take your own photos to fit your ideas.

Its just about having a base for the perspective. You

will be able to modify everything during the process

in Photoshop anyway.

COMBINING ASSETS

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1:3D sketch

Progress 2:3D render

Progress 3:Fix in Photoshop

Dont block yourself with technical limits during the creative

stage. Every challenge surpassed is knowledge for later



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QUICK TIP

Learn as many Photoshop shortcuts as possible and later you can create your own by going to

Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts. Using the menus and searching for an option slows down your workflow

massively. You have to become a shortcut pianist to be able to work fast enough and do more. It makes

a lot of difference.

08INTEGRATE THE WINDOW

Once you have finished creating the space scene, Select All (Cmd/Ctrl+A), Copy Merged (Cmd/

Ctrl+Shift+C) and paste it (Cmd/Ctrl+V) into your main PSD file. Convert the layer to a Smart Object before

modification and then adapt the perspective. Add some layers on a clipping mask where you will import the

vector sci-fi textures to bring some more details to the window. Then use layer styles to add an orange Inner

Glow to the window.

09DESIGN AND INTEGRATE THE DOOR

Create a new PSD file again (square size)

and start to design a futuristic-looking door. You can

do this in Illustrator or directly in Photoshop using

vector shapes. Add some volume via Layer

Styles>Bevel & Emboss. You are not looking to add

textures or complexity here, as you can do that in the

main file with clipping masks later. When you are

happy with the design, import it into the main file as

a Smart Object, then adjust the perspective and

finish the integration.

07CREATE A SPACE SCENE

In a separate PSD, import image 9115887

from Dreamstime.com and duplicate it to create a

bigger texture, then rasterise it. Once you have yourtexture on a single layer, make a round selection and

use Filter>Distort>Spherize to create the planets

volume. Then add lighting and shadows using

clipping masks or layer styles. Use the same method

to add more details like lava, clouds and lakes. For

the nebula, you can paint it or use pictures of smoke.

Mix them using layer styles and play with colours.

06TEXTURE THE SCENE

Import your vector patterns into Photoshop

and adjust their perspective to fit on the wall. Apply a

soft Inner and Outer Glow layer style so they look abit like a hologram. You can also apply Filter>

Render>Clouds with black and white on the layer

mask. It will make the texture look less vector-like

but more transparent in some parts. Remember to

work the reflections, lighting and shadows but dont

spend too much time on the colours, as you will

re-work them in the final step.

05

Now using Illustrator, prepare a few sci-fi

themed vector forms that will be incorporated into

the main file later to create holograms or textures.For example, you can use the font Bank Gothic to

make lines of the digits 010101 and some technical

circles and lines. You dont need to worry too much

about texture and colour here, as you can apply

them later in Photoshop. You will also need to

import the vectors as Smart Objects, so you can

modify your forms further down the line if needed.


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12CREATE HOLOGRAMSCreating a hologram in Photoshop is simple. Here is one method you can use if you are starting froma photograph; create an 85% Opacity layer with Inner and Outer Diffuse Glow. Then add your photograph on a

clipping mask and apply Filter>Render>Clouds (grey and white) on a layer mask. Change the layers blending

mode to Linear Dodge (Add). Add a layer of black horizontal lines with an Overlay blending mode at 50%.

10PHOTOGRAPHY AND ISOLATIONYou dont need a professional camera or to work in a studio to take these kind of photos. The goal isjust to have a base. There are various methods that you can use to isolate the models from their

backgrounds; it all depends on the original image you use. Quickly cut out the model using the Polygonal

Lasso tool or the Pen, but not the head. Apply your selection on a layer mask. Then its best to use a tablet to

re-paint the hair of the model, unless with a flat background, when its better to use Select>Color Range.

11INTEGRATE AND ADAPT THE MODELSImport the isolated models into your mainfile as Smart Objects, then resize them and fix their

perspective. Directly add a Dynamic Smart Sharpen

filter with Amount at 100% and Radius at 0.6px.

Superpose adjustment layers on a clipping mask to

fix colours. On a new layer, you can paint the

shadows. On a second layer, paint the lighting. When

you are done with the integration, improve the

models by painting in some more details like floating

holograms as well as reflections and shadows on

the ground.

QUICK TIP

Using Smart Objects, dynamic filters, adjustment

layers, clipping masks and layer masks all help

you to avoid having to directly manipulate the

original layer. In huge photomanipulation projects

with 100+ layers, you can always edit what you

have done even days after without any loss.

14QUICK 3D LOGO

If you want to create a quick logo in 3D, use

Illustrator to make a type logo and vectorise it.

Modify the font to look futuristic and import it into

CINEMA 4D to generate a render with a transparent

and reflective shader. Import the result into

Photoshop with an alpha mask and complete the

integration by changing the layer styles and blending

mode to Screen, for example. Bring in more details

around the logo, like the holograms made in the

previous step.

13MORE HOLOGRAMS

At the centre of the scene, you can see a

storm of floating data. You can use the textures you

made in Step 5, including the series of digits, to

make your own. Flip the texture vertically and

colourise it in yellow/orange. Change the blending

mode to Linear Dodge (Add), set the Opacity to 80%

and add a layer mask, then paint the edge with a

smooth black brush. You can then duplicate the layer

any time you want. Resize it so that its small enough

to not be readable.

15FINAL LIGHTING FIX

When you are done with everything, its time

to fix the global ambiance of the scene with a group

of adjustment layers on the top of your document.

Remember that you can add a layer mask to

adjustment layers, and benefit from more control by

painting directly in black and white on the mask with

a smooth round brush at 50% Opacity. Make sure

that you bring enough contrast into the highlights

this is especially important due to the holograms.

Your scene is now complete!


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TECHNIQUES HOW I MADE

DISCOVER HOW DODGE

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