Just Photoshopping

Love is Here

2010-09-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to view full size. I used stock photo's for little parts of the meteor, the nebula and the clouds.

Photoshop Tutorial - Gradient Maps

2010-07-01T01:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a tutorial that has been posted by Jeremiah Mark Treibel, Original post HERE, and I thought that maybe you guys could learn something of it.

A Gradient Map (Pronounced Grade-e-int Map) is created when Photoshop analyzes your image and finds the high points and the low point. It then maps colors determined by you to those specific high points and low points. It is a fairly basic adjustment layer in Photoshop that can yield amazing results when used correctly. The untrained usage of a gradient map will usually make your image look worse. Today I am going to show you how to sharpen your skills and add another tool to your belt, the Gradient Map.

1.

Begin by opening your image in photoshop. Have you seen this image before?

2.

Select the “Create new Fill or Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map” option on your layers palette.

3.

Once the gradient map tool pops up, click on the big gradient and Photoshop will open up a larger more advanced tool for making your Gradient Map.

4.

As you can see(assuming you are using the default colors) the left side change the dark parts of the image to the colors you choose, and the right side changes the light parts of the image to the colors you choose. To see the basics of editing a gradient map check out this tutorial. (you only need to look at steps 2 and 3)

5.

Now lets apply this knowledge to our Gradient Map. Click the black slider and drag it to the right a little. This will increase the overall contrast of the image. You need to change the color of the black slider to some other color, I have used a navy blue.(#084669) Now you need to find the point in between the blue slider and the white slider and click to make a third slider. Select this slider and make it a pale yellow.(#fffbc1) Once your done Click “Ok”

6.

Now that you have created a gradient map, you need to learn how to apply it to your image in a way that makes it look better. I suggest playing with your blending modes. Every blending mode will have a different effect on your image. The more you play with these options the more you will become familiar with their functions. Once you find a blending modes that creates the effect you desire, play with the opacity of your blending mode to make the stylization more subtle. On my image I have used the blending mode “Soft Light ” at an opacity of “75%.”

7.

You have done it. You have made your first Gradient Map. Now, go back and change something. Find out more about blending modes. Find out what happens when you use two different blending modes. Explore. Make something unique, something different.

Prisoner of my own

2010-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi there! While I was browsing DA I found this rather interesting piece of art made by shimoda7.

Description by artist:

Yes, this is the drawing that Shia LaBeouf has tattooed on his ribcage.

This drawing is about being a prisoner of your own actions and choices. It shows how I felt when I was going through a tough period in my life.

- graphite on Lana drawing paper
- photo reference (my own hand)
- about 12 hours
- 12" x 9"

Hope you like it.

Of course we want your opinion about this piece of art. Don't be afraid and comment.

Typography Guide - RenzGFX

2010-06-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

This tutorial was fully made by RenzGFX, all the credits go to him, do not show this guide on a different site. (Click for full size because I'm having some trouble with Blogger) Here is more of this great artist: http://renzgfx.deviantart.com

xxxxhhhhhh

Work Beats Talent

2010-06-12T02:51:00.001-07:00

See the little signature in the corner? (Click on it for full size if you can't.) It will be placed under every post starting today.

5 Tips for Photographers!

2010-06-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the tips.

TIP 1: GO OVER THERE
Go closer to the subject(s) to gain a realistic view. This could be lowering yourself to your dog's height, or moving closer to the car you want to capture.

On this photograph you can see that the photo camera was moved to the height of the pigeon, and that it was also zoomed (or brought closer) to gain a great closeup. The great photo named 'Curious' was made by Theshinyrock on Deviantart.

TIP 2: BE FAST

Just be fast in some cases! Your subject may stop smiling, move, bolt, fly away, or whatsoever. Don't wait until you know 100% that all the buttons' settings are correct, edit the photo later if you really want to.

If this photo was taken a second or two later it could have been too late. This photo was taken by Georgitanev on Deviantart.

TIP 3: BE SMART, BE SIMPLE
Don't use all the functions your camera has. Just keep it clean and simple. But don't rely on a fully automatic setting. Go change some things, but be smart, be simple.

SETTINGS, by Hampalampa on Deviantart.

TIP 4: FOCUS
If you think about it, everything in life can be made as an interesting photo. Some thing that may seem boring at first, can be changed to a great photo with interesting insides.
It's really easy to just photograph anything. The hard part is to make it interesting. Select only what you want in your photo. There can be side things, but do put the focus on your main object.

FOCUS, by Shimp.

TIP 5: DONT FEAR
Don't allow yourself to be paralyzed by fears of using the wrong settings and such. If you are afraid of upsetting someone by taking their picture, just go up and ask if it's okay. Nine of the ten times they say ok. But don't go secretly snapping photo's of people when you didn't ask him/her yet.

-Justphotoshopping Team

Photoshop Tutorial - Soft Blue Effect

2010-06-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we will go from this picture:

To this picture:

Step 1:

Click the little icon in the corner of your layer palette (Shown below) and then click 'Gradient Map'.

Now choose a blue color like I did (Also shown below), and black.

(Click for full size)

Step 2:

Okay, go to Image→Apply Image. Hide the Gradient Map layer by clicking on the little 'Eye' next to the thumbnail of the layer.

After that, go to Filter→Blur→Gaussian Blur. Enter about 8,4 px. Put this layer to Soft Light, and you are done!

-Justphotoshopping Team

Interview with RicardoFX

2010-06-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Why interview only the professionals? This is an interview with RicardoGFX, and he is an great upcoming Photoshopper. I hope you will enjoy reading this interview.

© The artwork presented on this post is used with the permission of its author, RicardoFX. All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner.

Thank you for agreeing with taking this interview, do you have any things to say beforehand?
I would like to thank once again the opportunity to talk a little bit of my work for those peoples who enjoy and always comment job. Thanks :D

Could you introduce yourself please?
My name is RicardoFX, I'm 33 years old and am self-taught in digital art,I'm living in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. Digital art is still just a hobby for me this is not my real professional activity,but I can not imagine my life without digital art.My main software is the Photoshop, I have an original version of Photoshop Cs2, and everything I do use it,and also drawing with pen and paper and scan the images, making the most of my shapes and some brushes. Sometimes I use illustrator too, but I'm still learning this software. Now I'm thinking about buying Photoshop cs5 and a Intuos 4 Tablet to improve the quality of my projects.and always keep searching for inspiration and observing trends and new artists.

Hip-Rapper: This was a very common style of work in digital art. I created some vectors and used smoke effects, of course, all this with an excellent image of stock.

When have you started with Graphic Designs? Can you tell us how you first started Photoshopping? And since when?
I started with Photoshop two years ago. That was when I needed to do a job for the shop where I work and since then I fell in love with Photoshop and Digital Art. Now, with the little time I have try to improve my knowledge.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Music videos clips are my greatest source of inspiration. I love hip hop and I love music. I also really observe the work of the masters of digital art.

Is there something you would like to say to just beginning designers?
What can I say? Never give up to doing what you really like. Never give up your dreams, NEVER...

My World: This work was a mixture of different techniques, such as illustration, vector and mask.that´s all ;D.

What program(s) do you use to create your work?
My main program is a original version of Photoshop cs2. I'm thinking of upgrading to version cs5.sometimes I use another program like Illustrator for example.
My main editing program is Photoshop. I currently did many designs with free hand and turned them into a vector to use in my projects.

Are you working on a project A.T.M.*? Can we see a little fragment of it?
Yes, but unfortunately I cannot show you a preview. A photographic studio based in Switzerland has commissioned some work and I am currently developing the second. Perhaps after the commercial release of work, I can show it in my portfolio. I'm not creating any personal art currently.
*A.T.M. = At The Moment

Have you already seen Photoshop Cs5?
I'm outdated, because my version is still the CS2, but I hope to upgrade my Photoshop to version CS5. I have not seen but have heard good feedback about the new version.

What is your favorite band?

My favorite styles of music are Hip Hop and Gospel. Kayne West, Kid Cudi, T.I king and 50 Cent are my favorites rappers.

Swirls: Here I wanted to make a clean and clear work.I took a pen and paper and drew some elements that wanted to use, so I scanned and placed with the image.all elements of the work was hand drawn and digitized.

Do you have a favorite color?
I do not have just one favorite color. I like the mix of all colors.

What are your hobby’s besides designing?
I love physical exercise, I do daily exercises in a gym, and the best part is being together with my fiancee.

What was your first piece of ‘art’?
I honestly do not remember very well, but it sure was not very nice to see :) hehe.

dance with me: This was another clean job and with a very nice end result.I used in this image water paint,displace effects and a stock of butterflies.
Who is your idol?
This one is easy to answer: JESUS

Thank you for this interview.

© The artwork presented on this post is used with the permission of its author, RicardoFX. All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner.

Photoshop Tutorial(s) - Paint and halftone effects

2010-05-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Paint effect
Welcome to this tutorial where you will learn how to give a a painted look to clothing and such.

Step 1:
Get a picture with a white background background, like this one:

Step 2:
I chose to select every color of the clothing (I'm also going to select head and hair) in separate layers, which makes it easier to edit later and gives a better result. The selection process can easily be done with either the pen tool (see this tutorial) or the polygonal lasso tool (zoom in until you see pixels). Once you've selected everything in seperate layers go to step 3.

Step 3:
Choose the first layer you want to edit, I decided to take the yellow one. Now go to Filter→Blur→Blur more so the effect looks better. After that use Filter→Brush strokes→Crosshatch. I used: Stroke length: 9, Sharpness: 6 and Strength: 1. After you've done that it should look like this:

It doesn't realy show when you do just one layer

Now apply this to every colored layer, but not her head or hair. It should look more like what we want now, this is what it's supposed to look like:

Step 4:
Now there's probably something bothering you, why did we not just apply the same trick to the face? Simply because it doesn't turn out right. When you apply the same filters to the face layer you would get this:

And making this girl the joker is a sin! (I used crosshatch twice to make her scarier.. Why so serious?)
So instead select her face, and apply these filters on her: Filter→Blur→Blur more and Filter→Arstisctic→Dry brush (Brush size: 2, Brush detail: 8 and texture: 1)
Use the eraser to tool to delete her eyes on the layer, and you've got you're done with adding the painted effect (don't forget to show the lowest layer to). Here's my outcome:

Halftone effect
Now I'll show you how to create a halftone effect, I'll use the same picture since it's easier.
I'll simply make a new layer, apply my image and use

Filter→Pixlate→Color halftone.

There are quite some settings you can change, but I'm not really planning to explain them. Since I don't have a very high quality image, I'll set the Max. Radius to 4 and to keep it simple and get a nice effect I'm going to put all the channels to 25. What you've got now is probably not realy looking good.. Here's what happend with me:

Obviously this isn't what I want it to look like, so I deleted all the white parts and the middle of the girl, and now it looks like this:

Hope you enjoyed these tutorials and please comment with your outcomes if you like them!
~The Just photoshopping team.

5 Ways to overcome your Creative/Artistic block!

2010-05-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

An artistic or creative block can be one of the worst things for a designer, painter or any other artistic. But suffering from an artistic/creative block doesn’t mean you’ve lost your artistic ability. Here are 5 golden tips on overcoming your creative/artistic block.

TIP 1: READ AND WATCH
Read books and watch movies. You will be suprised how much inspiration will flow into you. Pause the movie for a while, take a good look and start drawing.
Are you making the tragic love scene, or the fight scene between two heroes?

A piece of art based on the final battle in Harry Potter, created by Nebezial on Deviantart.

TIP 2: TIME
Take your time to think of something you can create. Don't rush into things, if you don't have enough time, don't even start at all.

Just TIME, by Natdatnl on Deviantart.

TIP 3: VARIATION
Don't be afraid to try the weirdest things out! They might end up very beautiful. It will also learn you lots of new things.

Styles can change..

TIP 4: DO SOMETHING ELSE
Go outside, take a walk and just don't think about anything art related.

Walk With Me by Michal Mierzejewski.

TIP 5:
Make work on a more regular basis. Example:"I am going to make 2 pieces in this week."
You will learn to repeat some steps by this technique, because 2 pieces a week is a lot.

I'm Busy...created by Arseni

I hope you enjoyed this post, and now go overcome your block!

-Justphotoshopping Team

Photoshop Tutorial - Adding Rain to any picture

2010-05-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hi there, it seems that a lot of people don't know how to easily add rain to your picture. Well, just follow this tutorial!

Step 1:

Open your document with your desired size. Fill it with black.

Now go to Filter→Noise→Add Noise. Click Monochromatic on. Set your amount to something between 70 - 150 %. The higher your number the more rain.

Step 2:
Now go to Filter→Blur→Motion Blur. Edit your Angle and Distance until you like it.
When you did that, go to Image→Adjustments→Levels. Pull the black arrow more to the right to get better/less rain.

Step 3:

Press Ctrl+A to select everything, and then press Ctrl+C to copy everything. Now past it on your picture, and put it to screen (Other Blending modes like Lighten, Color Dodge and Linear Dodge changed the lighting of the picture or the rain got different colors).

Viola!

Nature Gallery

2010-05-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

All the artwork belongs to their respectful owner. We do not own any of the picture's shown.

We hope that you will be inspired by all the art in this post. Thank you for watching.

-Justphotoshopping Team

Inactivity

2010-05-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

We would like to apologize for our inactivity these days. We are very busy, but that won't keep us from posting anymore. Thank you to all the people that are still watching this blog once a while, it means the world to us.

-JustPhotoshopping Team

Photoshop Tutorial - Stroke Photo

2010-05-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, today we will explain to you how to make this random stroke effect on a photo.
This is the effect I made that we will be recreating.

Lets go!

Step 1:
Open a new file (with the size of your picture). Now go to Filter→Render→Cloud. Then go to Filter→Render→Difference Clouds. Repeat Difference Clouds around 30 times (Ctrl + F is a shortcut for the last used Filter) until you get something like this:

Step 2:
Now go to Filter→Brush Strokes→Angled Strokes. The settings I used:
Direction Balance: 50
Stroke Length: 15
Sharpness: 3

Go crazy with the settings, I got this:

Step 3:
Now paste it on the layer above the picture, change the Blending Mode to what you like, I chose Color Dodge.

The problem with these kind of effects is that it's random. You can't decide where the lighting comes from. Thats also why you should press Difference Clouds until you are happy with it.

Thanks to http://www.images-photography-pictures.net , they have a great amount of pictures, and you can use any of then in exchange for a link.

-Just Photoshopping Team

I Will Dance

2010-05-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I was just messing with Photoshop, and I found this render that I had in my archive. Then I just had to make this. Tell me what you think of it.

Fullsize here: http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5492/danceadanceclas.png

Photoshop tutorial - Abstract Plasma

2010-05-10T01:29:00.000-07:00

Just a random tutorial. Have fun.

Step 1:
Open up your new file, I used 500x500, after that, fill it with black.

Step 2:
Go to Filter→Render→Lens Flare. Click 50-300 zoom. Place it in the corner, repeat the process, but every time in a different corner. Place the last one in the middle.

Step 3:
Go to Filter→Sketch→Chrome , use the default settings.

Step 4:

Duplicate the layer then go to Filter→Distort→Wave and click random a few times (Do this on the duplicated layer) now click 'Ok' and set Layers Blending mode to 'Lighten'

Step 5:

Repeat step 4 a few times, each using duplicated Layers and Lighten all layers, once you are done go to Layer→Merge Visible.

Step 6:

Now go to Image→Adjustments→Hue/Saturation, click Colorize on and then mess with the settings until you get a colour you like.

Well, thats it for now.

-Justphotoshopping team

Updates

2010-05-08T02:44:00.000-07:00

Recently we have added a few updates to this blog:

The Helpdesk Button
A Poll
Search Button
Favicon
Last but not least; Followers

The Helpdesk Button

We have created this new part of the site that you can use when you having problems with Photoshop, if you need some help with creating a effect and for showing your art.

Sometimes we will post some of the questions you asked and make a tutorial about it.

The art part is meant for you showing us your art. We will choose the best art every month and post it, if you have a DeviantArt (Twitter, Facebook,..) and you want us to link to that, it would be our pleasure.

You can find the Help Desk here:

Help Desk: http://justphotoshopping.blogspot.com/p/helpdesk-just-photoshopping.html

The Poll
What is your favorite type of post?

Go and vote! You can find it right under the archive.

Search Button

Just as it sounds: a search button. Type in what you want to find, and he'll start searching.

Favicon

A favicon (short for favorites icon), also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, url icon, or bookmark icon is a 16×16 pixel square icon that is shown when bookmarking a page. In Google chrome it shows in every tab. You can easily make such icons in photoshop or with an internet generator, but don't forget it has to be a .ico file.

If using Google Chrome you can see it here:

Followers
When you follow this blog you will get a message every time we post something new.
You can find the Followers application here:

Well, that' s all the updates for now.

-Just Photoshopping Team

Photoshop Tutorial - Professional Sharpen

2010-05-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

If you are longer into Photoshop, you most likely have encountered this problem before; oversharpened pixels.
This can be really annoying because some places do look good. Today we will explain to you how to make a nice sharpen.

Step 1:
Choose the picture that you want to sharpen. Duplicate the picture, and now go to channels. Choose the channel that has the most contrast, in my case, blue.
If you don't know what channels are go here: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/rgb/ .

Now go to this filter: Filter→Stylize→Find Edges.

NOTE: The images for this tutorial are not correct. You need to get more detail.

Step 2:
This is the completely opposite of what we want, so press Ctrl + I. This will make our picture Inverted.
Now increase the pictures contrast with Levels or Curves.

Step 3:
Blur the image slightly with Gaussian Blur. The higher the image quality , the lower the blur, the lower the image quality , the higher the blur. keep it in between 0.5 and 3. I used 1.3.

Step 6:
Press Ctrl+A and then Ctrl + C. Now you have the picture copied, and since we don't need this layer anymore, you can delete it.

Duplicate the original picture ( the unedited one) and give it a layer mask. Make sure you have the mask selected by Alt + Clicing on it.

Paste your black and white stuff there. Now go to Filter→Sharpen→Sharpen. See what happens.

Before: After:

My image was already good, so I won't have much difference. Try it yourself too!

Interview with Mats Minnhagen

2010-05-01T00:50:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys, today is the day! Today we're posting an interview that we have done with Mats Minnhagen. We truly hope that you enjoy it, there has been put alot of time in it.

© The artwork presented on this post is used with the permission of its author, Mats Minnhagen. All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner.

Thank you for agreeing with taking this interview, do you have any things to say beforehand?

Hi!

For our readers, could you introduce yourself?

My name is Mats Minnhagen, and I'm a freelance illustrator living in Sweden.
I work with book illustration, rpg illustration and concept art for computer games. Among others, I've worked for EA Dice and Wizards of the Coast. Pretty much all of my images are digitally painted.

Since when were you interested in graphic designs? Can you tell us how you got into Photoshop and such? And since when?

I've been drawing since I was a kid. I guess most children draw, I just didn't quit. Like other kids, I used to create long, epic (and rather poor) comic adventures, and wanted to become a comic book artist. But when I got older, I decided art would have to be a hobby, and went for an academic career instead. I kept drawing occasionally, but it wasn't until several years later, in 2004, that I finally decided to give my artistic ambitions a serious try. At that point I had discovered digital painting, and quickly been hooked by its obvious advantages. Suddenly the prospect of a career in art became a lot more realistic.

Floating Fish: This piece was my entry for CGSociety's "Strange Behaviour" Challenge. The theme of the challenge was to depict any kind of strange behaviour, and my (rather far-fetched) interpretation was that thes egentle floating fish don't normally behave in the havoc-wreaking manner seen here. That's why it's strange. The painting didn't win that particular competition, but it later won both an Exposé Master Award and a Chesley Award, so I can't complain!

Where do you get inspiration from?
In terms of others artists, when I was younger my major source of inspiration were undoubtedly Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee, John Howe and Angus Mcbride. Later on, as my eyes opened to the world of digital art, I discovered Craig Mullins, John Wallin Liberto, Sparth and countless others. But I also draw inspiration from everything around me, from every aspect of life. One of the most inspiring things I can think of is simply taking a walk in nature.

What programs do you use to create your work?
I use Photoshop for painting. It's a very versatile program with a good brush editor. Painter is good too, but I find the way in which it tries to simulate real media a little bit annoying. Digital painting is a medium in its own right, and I think it's better off treated as such. Also, I often use Sketchup for building simple 3D block models of my scenes. I'm not a 3D modeler, and my models are very quick and rough, but even so Sketchup can be useful for trying out different perspectives and compositions.

Abandoned Hut: This was a personal piece that I came up with after spending a day walking on the beach. I like to explore abandoned places, and try to figure out who might have lived there. In this painting I added some enigmatic details such as the wooden statues and the stone construction to get the viewers imagination going.

What would you like to say to beginner designers?
Be patient. There is a lot of focus on speed in the digital art community - speed painting, fancy shortcuts, etc. - but try to ignore that. Illustration is a craft that takes a long time to learn. There may be digital shortcuts for applying texture to your paintings, but not for learning anatomy and composition. Speed will inevitably come later on.

Are you making anything currently? If yes, can we have a preview of it ?
At the moment I'm working on a light-hearted book on physics, which is a lot of fun. But I can't show any of that yet, I'm afraid.

King of Ruins: Another personal piece, an allgory this time. Time crumbles everything, even the mightiest empire...

What are your opinions on Photoshop Cs5?
I haven't tried CS5 yet. I seem to have a problem keeping up with Adobe, since I just got CS4. Actually, everything I need to paint was already present in CS2, so I'm not in a hurry to update. I might be a bit conservative too; once I get used to a program, I'm usually reluctant to changes.

What is your favourite color?
I don't have preferences on individual colours, but rather on colours in relation to other colours. I like the colour scheme of dusk – dominant bluish tones with contrasting touches of orange and red.

What is your favourite band?
Right now that would be Rise Against - even though listening to them always makes me feel that I should quit drawing and do something useful!

What do you do like beside designing?
Work takes up a lot of my time these days, but whenever I get a chance I like to go hiking. It's nice to get away from the computer. And sometimes I outline stories that I would like to write, but probably never will.

Crusaders in Tavastland: An illustration for "Jarlen och Kungariket", a book on Swedish 13th century ruler Birger Jarl (LL-förlaget). In the beginning of his career, Birger led a crusade in Finland

What was your first piece ‘art’?
I'm not sure. If you mean the first drawing I made, that would be way back when I was a little kid, and I don't remember. The oldest I think I've seen is a drawing of a pirate rowing a boat with both oars on the same side in a very odd manner. But I must have started with more basic stuff.

What is your site?
www.minnhagen.com

Once again, thanks for taking this interview with me.
Thank you!

© The artwork presented on this post is used with the permission of its author, Mats Minnhagen. All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner.

Digital paintings on deviantart

2010-04-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

We just found this deviantart account,and we think it's realy great! This is a digital painting she made in photoshop cs4:

http://shilin.deviantart.com/art/Commission-CS4-post-pro-104892262

She also does realy cool mangalike pages like this:

http://shilin.deviantart.com/art/4-8-x11-Test-Pages-shaded-159563899

And her deviantart is filled with these pictures!
We hope you will enjoy it as well, and see you guys tommorow!

Photoshop Tutorial - Text In a Shape

2010-04-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, it's us again for Justphotoshopping, today I will explain to you how to get text in a shape.

Step 1:
Open a new document. The size I used was 500 x 500.

Now type in a sentence, a word, a letter, anything. I chose for a big 'J', from JustPhotoshopping.

Step 2:
Go write random things, or just repeat one word. Fill the whole canvas. Then go to the layers palette.
Right click the 'J' layer, and click Convert to Shape.

Now just pull that Vector mask to your random text layer, and you will see not precisely what we want.
We now do have the letter filled with words, but the background is black. The solution for this problem is simple; delete the layer were the J was.

Just to give my J a better effect, I added a stroke. You don't have to do that ;)

Thank you for reading this tutorial, and I will see you guys tommorow!

Photoshop Filters Explained - Artistic Filters

2010-04-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

In this post I will explain all the filters that go under 'Artistic'. I will use photo's to show what the filter can do. Most filters wont looks so good, but with the right blending mode, or the right combination of filters could make the most beautiful outcomes.

Lets start off with Colored Pencil.

Before:

Now I used this settings to give it a more artistic look. I don't like it, but as I said before, the right combination or the right blending mode might help.

Pencil Width (This decides how big the strokes are going to be if I'm correct) : 2

Stroke Pressure (This decides how much pressure the strokes will get) : 15

Paper Brightness (This decides the brightness of the picture) : 10

Moving on to the next filter, Cutout. I like the way that this filter works, because it gives a great artistic look :)

Before:

The settings I used:

Number of Levels (This decides how many different colors you will get) : 4

Edge Simplicity (This decides how detailed the edges will get) : 3

Edge Fidelity: 3

Outcome:

I like the outcome of Cutout, its simple, but nice.

Moving on to the next filter, Dry Brush.

Before:

The Settings I used:

Brush Size (How big the brush strokes will be) : 9

Brush Detail (This decides how much detail there will come) : 10

Texture (This decides how much texture there will be in the picture) : 2

I actually don't like it. It might look good with a Smart Blur, but lets keep it like this for now.

Next filter: Film Grain.

Before:

Settings:

Grain (This decides how much 'grain' there will be) : 1

Highlight Area (This slider decides how strong the highlights will be shown) : 7

Intensity (How strong the other two are going to be shown) : 1

I like the Intensity and Highlight sliders, but the Grain ruins it for me. You could put it off, but just to give you guys the right idea, I kept it on.

Next filter we are going to test : Fresco.

Before:

Settings I used:

Brush Size (This decides how big the brush strokes will get) : 3

Brush Detail (How much detail the brush will have) : 10

Texture (How much texture there will be in the outcome) : 1

This filter looks pretty nice to me, but it screws with the head, and other detailed things like that.

Next filter we will be testing: Neon Glow.

I know this filter already because I use it in almost every piece of art I have ever made.

Before:

Glow Size (This decides how much the glow will be spread) (If you go under 0, you will get Inverted outcomes.) : 0

Glow Brightness ( This decides how bright your picture will get) : 17

Glow Color : #ddd73b

Next filter is: Paint Doubs.

Before:

The settings I used:

Brush Size (This decides how big the strokes of the brush will be) : 5

Sharpness (How much your image will get sharpened) : 2

Brush type set to Simple.

This filter could totally ruin a picture, but in the right hands it's a great filter.

Next filter..

Palette Knife

Before:

The settings I used:

Stroke Size (This decides how big the strokes of the brush will be) : 17

Stroke Detail (How much detail the brush will have) : 3

Softness ( How soft the sides will get, but this doesn't work. I just put 5, because it could work at your computer) : 5

I really like this filter, great for artistic meanings.

Next filter: Plastic Wrap :)

This is a great filter for things that you wouldn't think of. But I'm just going to show you how it looks.

Before:

The settings I used:

Highlight Strength (How strong the highlights will be shown) : 4

Detail (How much detail it will get) : 5

Smoothness (How smooth the wrap will get) : 15

This filter doesn't looks so good on its own.

Now the next filter: Poster Edges.

Before:

Settings:
Edge Thickness (How thick the lines will be) : 5
Edge Intensity (How intense the lines will be) : 0
Posterization : 2

This is a great filter, but the only thing missing is Smoothen Edges.

Next: Rough Pastels

Before:

The settings:
Stroke Length (The length of the strokes) : 24
Stroke Detail (The detail of the strokes) : 2
Texture (The texture) : Sandstone
Scaling The Scale XD ) : 145%
Relief (How strong the effect will be shown) : 11
Light (Where the light comes from) : Bottom

Moving on to the next filter, Smudge Stick.

Before:

Settings:

Stroke Length (The length of the strokes) : 4
Highlight Area (This slider decides how strong the highlights will be shown) : 2
Intensity (How strong the two above will be shown) : 2

This one could be great for rain on the background etc.etc.

Next filter, Under Painting.
Before:

The Settings I used:
Brush Size (How big the brush strokes will be) : 1
Texture Coverage (How much the texture will cover) : 7
Texture (What kind of texture) : Sandstone
Scaling: 55%
Relief: 1
Light: Right

The last filter.. Water Color :)

Before:

The Settings I used:
Brush Detail (The brush detail) : 14
Shadow Intensity (The strength of the shadows) : 1
Texture (How much texture will be added) : 1

Wait.. I've just run out of filters :O

I hope you enjoyed this post, now go do something with it, try your own things!

Photoshop Tutorial - Pen tool

2010-04-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

What is the pen tool?
The pen tool is one of the most useful tools in photoshop, you can easily make custom shapes for selections, stroking, fill paths and more by using the lines and curves that use mathematical statements and points in order to define their shape and other characteristics, wich makes them very scalable so that the quality will not be lost when changing the scale.

The Basic movement
Open a 250x300px file.
Now select the pen tool, you will find it in the tool bar above the text tool (as long as you're using cs5).
You should see something like this in the top(if not change the settings):

Now well be doing everthing in this tutorial with these settings.
Lets start with makin a curve in a line. First make an anchor point by clicking somewhere on your canvas like this:

Make another one and they'll be connected with a line, you have made your first path!

Now we can do a lot of things with this on line, but I'll tell more about it later in this tutorial.

First we are going to add an anchor point in the middle, to do so you have to right click in the middle and select the option 'Add anchor point'. It wil look like this:

You will see three new spots, the middle on is the anchor point itself, you can move it while pressing the Ctrl button. The other two determine the curve in the different parts of the line, so when we move them (while pressing the control button) the line will start to curve the way you want it, like this:

When you want to move just one part of the line, then hold Alt while moving the spot on the side wich you want to curve like this:

When you dont want to see your path anymore just press enter.

What can you do with the Pen tool?
Now that you can freely make any curved line you want in photoshop, it's time to talk about the possible uses of this line. Open another file with the same size as before, and make a nice symbol or something in that area, I'm going to go with a J from JustPhotoshopping:

Now I want that to become an actual line in pixels, so first I'm going to select what kind of stroke I want, I'm going for a nice orange 5px pencil stroke, so I'll change my settings to this:

I'm want the stroke to go exactly over the line I made, so I'm going to go to the pen tool, right click and select the stroke option (and choose the pencil):

Now I'm goin to fill it with a green color. I so I'm going to go to the pen tool, right click and select the fill option:

Make sure you have these settings and then click ok, it'll look like this if you did it right:

Notice that it filled exactly inside of your path, while the stroke option goes around it.
Say you still want to edit the green color (and leave the yellow color the way it is), you could use the make selection option in the Pen tool and it will select the content of your path.
Now I've made my J with the pen tool. Even though this was a very low quality example, but you can make very nice logos or drawings with this tool!
I hope you enjoyed this basic tutorial of the pen tool, and see you tommorow!

The Big Secret on Learning How to Draw

2010-04-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is an inspiring story about learning how to draw. Hakubaikou did a great job on this story, and I want you to read it.

Apples, Dammit...by Hakubaikou on DeviantArt

For the people who don't want to click:

Originally Posted by Hakubaikou on dA

The Big Secret to Learning How to Draw:

In the Beginning... You see an apple, and you draw an apple. You look at your drawing, and it's utter crap. It looks nothing like the real thing, and you wonder why. "Hey, a real apple is red and round. My drawing is red and round. Huh. What's wrong?"

You draw some more apples. Many times.

And finally, one day, you have a Eureka! moment. You realize, *d'oh!* a real apple isn't entirely round! It's wider at the top, narrower underneath. It's got funky little lumps at the bottom. It's got a dip like a crazy deep belly button at the very top. You draw another apple. The result is better, but it's still crap. Much nicer crap than before, but still.... Hmm.

You draw more apples. Repeat.

Another day of drawing, another Eureka! moment. Hello! The red isn't really red. This particular apple is slightly darker than true red. And it's got some tiny tan spots on it. And at the top, the red turns into a pale green color near the stem. You draw an apple once again. And hey, it's getting close, but still not quite there. And you wonder why.

So you keep drawing and drawing, blah blah, repeat.

And one day, after you've been drawing apples to the point where you never want to eat an apple ever again, you realize.... Holy crud! The redness of the apple shifts with lighting! There's a circular white spot for hard light sources. There's a softer, fuzzier light reddish orange spot for softer light sources. Back to the drawing board. The apple drawing is getting pretty good now, but still not quite right. Geez, how long does it take to learn to draw a friggin' apple anyway?

Blah blah, more drawing....

... Texture! You forgot texture! Little bumps on the surface! It's not perfectly smooth! Aha! But...how to draw those bumps? Hmm.... Oh! Those bumps show up as color shifts! You mix some lighter reds with the subtle, darker red splotches. You break up the highlights a bit so that they're not just round white circles. They're slightly irregular circles, and sometimes they have little satellite circles surrounding the main highlight circle. And while we're at it, those green streaks near the top of the apple sometimes spread out a little in a star-like pattern, although it's really faint, and the color at the tips of the stars look more orange or yellow than green. And hey, since we're looking closely, this apple is so shiny, you don't just see highlight from lights on it. You can actually vaguely see a reflection of the rest of the kitchen on it. The shapes are really vague and they don't affect the color much, but they're there. Just a slight hint of shadow on the apple surface. And oh! The apple is on a white table, and the reflection of the table is visible on the lower half of the apple as a hint of lighter red. And at the edge of the apple, that reflected color is a bit stronger so that it actually causes a near-white outline on the bottom half of the shape of the apple. Woaaah, never noticed all that stuff before! Seriously, there's hardly a single large spot on this apple that is uniform in color! So much to think about in such a simple object! (And at this point, your roommate walks in and wonders why you're staring at this apple, titillated, like you just met the love of your life.)

So now, you can draw an apple wonderfully when you're looking at it. But you go to draw it without a real life model or a photo reference, and it looks like crap again. *headdesk* So what's wrong?

Uh-huh. You don't know the apple as well as you think you do. So you go look at more apples, and you obsessively try to memorize them. You study different kinds and note how they vary in color and shape. You compare to see how different apples are similar to each other, and how they're completely different.

Meanwhile, you keep drawing apples.

And one glorious day, you realize you can draw an apple from memory, and it looks pretty damned good! Yay!

... And then you realize YEARS have gone by. D-:

It didn't happen in a day. It didn't happen in a week. And you are disheartened, thinking that you must be the world's biggest idiot if it takes you YEARS to learn to draw a stoopid apple. (Never mind a more complicated shape like a human! Or a human in a dynamic pose! Or a human in a dynamic pose standing in front of a crazy background with nutty perspective! And multiple light sources! Aaaargh. Time to crawl back into bed and never come out. Ha ha.)

But I digress....

Yeah, why did it take so long to learn? Hmm. Maybe all along, while you were drawing them incorrectly, your brain was slowly learning and assimilating and percolating. And part of the process is to collect bits of data and munch on them for a bit. That mental munching takes time. And without the time, you wouldn't have had those Eureka! moments because your brain wouldn't have been ready to make the leap just yet.

The years you spent, they have nothing to do with how simple the form of an apple is. They have everything to do with developing a different way of seeing the world. Seriously. Congratulate yourself! You didn't spend years learning to draw a piece of fruit! You spent years learning how to see in AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY. And learning a new way to see is quite an accomplishment. Because now, if you want to draw something else, like, say, a banana... You won't have to spend years learning it like you did with the apple. It'll only take a short amount of time to learn because the groundwork has already been done. Your brain knows how to approach the task now.

That new vision is what takes time. And that new vision and understanding is what you can't get just from mindlessly reading a book or doing a tutorial. Those resources can help, but only if you put forth the effort and actually bother to think while you're using them.

And sadly, so many people don't seem to get it. They think there's some Ultra Secret Shortcut to learning how to draw. If a tutorial doesn't help, they think they're simply using the wrong tutorial, and they go off in search of the right one, not knowing that they'll probably never find it, and they'll just be disappointed.

And all along, the answers are in their own head if they'd only put in the effort and the time. But hey, some people can barely wait 5 minutes for a burger at the drive-thru. Asking for years of dedication's just absurd. Especially when you've got Wonderful Things like Photoshop and Magic Tutorials. Right? *..... sigh.*

:-P

Photoshop Tutorial - Reflection

2010-04-25T01:24:00.000-07:00

In this quick and easy tutorial I will teach you how to make a reflection of an object. It could be anything, but I'm going to use text.

Step 1:
Open a new canvas, decide your size, and write your text in it.

Now duplicate the text layer (Ctrl + J) , and press Ctrl + T. Right click and choose: 'Flip Vertical'.
When you have done that, just move your text down so that its under your original text layer.

Now that we have our 'reflection', we are going to gloss it up a little bit.

Step 2:
Add a layer mask to your reflection layer by clicking on this little icon:

Now take out a white to transparant gradient. (If you dont know all these things, go here: http://www.mediacollege.com/adobe/photoshop/transparent/gradient.html )

Just experiment with it a bit, the lowest part of the reflection text should get covered with white.

Optional step 4:
I have lowered the opacity down a bit to get a more realistic view.

Hall of Signatures

2010-04-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

All these signature belong to their respectful owners. I do not own anything.

Avatar ;)

Special thanks to Schultz for helping me with making this list!

Parrot art

2010-04-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I made something new, inspired on this:
http://tiny.cc/sedzp

So here it is:

Anyway, let me know what you think about it.

Changing the Layout

2010-04-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I think you saw that I changed the layout. What do you think of it?

You can contact me here:
Brent_je@live.nl

And I think its great that you people watch my blog :) You can expet some big things soon ^^