288 Part Three: Real World Photoshop 15 39 Duplicate the newly reduced, copied, pair of paths again. Reduce them in size and place them so that they surround the center of the flower in the center of the image. Next, make a couple more reduced copies of the paths and place them on either side of this central pair, creating a nice cluster of circular paths. Press the “ U ” key to access the Ellipse tool . In the Tool Options bar, select the Custom Shape option. And then, in the Custom Shape Preset picker, choose the Flower 5 Shape preset. Hold down the Shift key, then click and drag to create a flower shape within one of the circular paths as shown here. You can use the Path Selection tool to adjust the placement of the new shape. Then, Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-drag the shape to the inside of the opposite circular path to copy it. 40 Target the top smart object in the Layers palette. Choose the Gradient Map option from the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. This will create a new gradient map layer at the top of the layer stack. Your current path will be used to add a vector mask to the layer. In the Adjustments palette, click on the gradient to access the gradient editor. In the gradient editor, click on the stop at the lower left to select it. Click on the Color swatch below to access the picker. When the picker appears, run the mouse over an area of dark gray-blue in the image and click to select that color. Press OK to exit the picker, and then click on the stop at the lower right. When the picker appears, choose a taupe color and click OK. Again, click OK to close the gradient editor. For the gradient map layer to appear as it does here, you must pay careful attention to path area operations. For instance, if you did not set an inner circle path to subtract, you might see a solid circle rather than a hoop. If you did something wrong, don’t worry about it. You can use the Path Selection tool to select any path with an incorrect path area setting and simply reset it in the Tool Options bar as necessary. Do your paths look different? Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 289 Chapter 15: In and Out of Photoshop 15 41 Now select the Stroke option from the Add a Layer Style menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. When the Stroke options appear, click on the Color swatch and then choose a white color from the picker. Set the size at 3 pixels and click OK to add a thin white stroke around the visible areas of your gradient map layer. Duplicate the layer and disable the visibility of the original layer in the Layers palette — this will avoid confusion. Ensure that your duplicate layer is targeted in the Layers palette, not the original. Use the Path Selection tool to select the flowers and all other path components except for those that make up the two central circles. Press the Delete key to remove all selected path components from this layer’s mask. 42 Select all of the remaining path components on the layer’s mask and then click on the Align Vertical Centers and the Align Horizontal Centers buttons in the Tool Options bar. Then drag all of the selected, aligned path components up to the top area of the canvas. Now, drag the current layer beneath all of the skull smart objects in the Layers palette. Enable the visibility of your original gradient map layer once again. Moving things up and down within the Layers palette is essential when it comes to building a composition like this. However, you need to pay attention to everything on the canvas as you do this. Remember, not too long ago, when we duplicated the red trees group and moved it up in the Layers hierarchy, one thing that went unnoticed as a result of this procedure was that it obscured the dark blue grass along the bottom of the canvas . To remedy this, select the dark trees group in the Layers palette and drag it above the red trees group copy. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 290 Part Three: Real World Photoshop 15 43 Use the Eyedropper to click on an area of red within the image, sampling it as the current foreground color. Select the Ellipse tool from the toolbar. In the Tool Options bar, click the button at the left to ensure that you’ll be creating a shape layer with this tool. Target the top layer in the Layers palette to ensure that your new layer appears above it in the hierarchy. Hold down the Shift key, then click and drag to create a circular shape layer. You’ll immediately notice that the stroke effect we used previously is automatically added to the new layer as well. This saves us the trouble of copying the effect to our new layer. Hold down the Alt(PC)/ Option(Mac) and Shift keys while you draw a smaller circle inside the original circle on this layer. Select both shape components with the Path Selection tool and then align the centers vertically in the Tool Options bar. 44 While the two shape components are selected, click on the Combine button in the Tool Options bar to combine them into a single shape. The advantage of this is that we can select the entire shape by clicking on any line segment. We don’t need to click on one component and then Shift-click on the other now that the components are combined. Use the Path Selection tool to click on the shape and then Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-drag it to another region of the canvas to duplicate it within the same shape layer. Repeat this a number of times to scatter red hoops around the top of the canvas. Select individual shape instances and alter the size of them via Free-Transform. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 291 Chapter 15: In and Out of Photoshop 15 45 Select the Ellipse tool and ensure that it is set to create a new shape layer in the Tool Options bar. Create a new shape layer that contains a single circle. Position it within the center of the gradient map hoops at the top of the composition. Use the Eyedropper to sample a dark gray color from the image and then type Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-Delete to fill the shape layer with the new foreground color. 46 Select the Custom Shape tool. Unless you’ve changed something since you used the tool last, the Flower 5 preset will be selected in the Custom Shape picker in the Tool Options bar. Ensure that the tool is set to create a new shape layer. The Chain-Link button will be enabled in the Tool Options bar; click on it to disable it. This ensures that any changes you make will affect your new layer, not the layer currently targeted in the Layers palette. Click on the Color swatch in the Tool Options bar and select a desaturated gray color from the picker. After that, click and drag on the canvas to create a new shape layer with a flower on it. Press the Shift key while you’re dragging to constrain the flower’s aspect ratio. Ensure that you do not press the Shift key before you drag or your flower shape will be added to the previous shape layer. We want this flower to be on a separate shape layer. Use the Move tool to place the flower on top of the circle you created previously. Use Free-Transform to adjust the size of the shape if necessary. In the Layers palette, double-click on the stroke effect attached to this layer. Change the stroke color to the same red you’ve been using in the image all along. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 292 Part Three: Real World Photoshop 15 47 Create a couple of duplicates of your flower shape within the same layer. Place them lower down, and on either side of the central elements of the image. Select the Ellipse tool and create another new shape layer that contains a small circle. Change the color of this layer to the same light yellow color used within the skulls. Create numerous duplicates of this shape within the layer and scatter them around the top half of the canvas and on the background regions on either side of the skulls. Use Free-Transform to adjust the individual shapes as required. 48 Now, depending upon the colors you’ve been using, you may or may not feel that the image needs a bit of tonal enhancement. I thought that my version needed a slight tweak, so I created a new levels adjustment layer and dragged the left and right input levels sliders toward the center of the histogram. This increased the contrast a little overall, giving the image more impact when printed. Take a moment to organize the contents of the Layers palette into logical groups wherever you can. This file is constructed in a way that lends itself to further editing. Feel free to tweak color fills, gradient, or alter smart objects at will. A well-organized Layers palette will make it much easier to perform desired edits at a later date. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 293 Chapter 15: In and Out of Photoshop 15 Other things to consider If drawing isn’t your thing, there is certainly no end to the resources out there that lend themselves to this technique. In this image, I used an existing ancient anatomical drawing instead of creating my own skeleton. As you can see, the overall feel remains quite similar. Also, shape layers can be used to create main visual components. Here, I created some more elaborate shapes via the Pen tool to represent wings. And finally, solid color layers are very useful; however, if you alter the blending mode and then use a real-world material like a watercolor painting in behind, it can give the image a more organic feel. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. This page intentionally left blank Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. PART FOUR Illustrative Photography Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 297 Chapter 16: Creature Architecture 16 Creature Architecture Chapter 16 L ooking at this beautiful creature before you, it is difficult to imagine that it is nothing more than a simple model shot combined with various photographs of stone textures and architectural details. In a composition like this, the images provide the raw materials, but it is the Photoshop process that allows you to dissolv e the boundary between photographic collage an d stunning illustration. Things as basic as blending modes, layer masks, and layer groups are much more powerful than they seem. When features are used together as a means to an end rather than on their own, the resulting imagery is always much more than the sum of its parts. The process of creating an image like this may seem daunting at first, but once you get started, the logic reveals itself and you will find yourself perfecting this stacking technique until it comes naturally. Here, I’ve decided to make a beautiful stone alien by adding snapshots of architectural details to her f ace. Howe ver, as is evident in the showcase images at the end of this chapter, this illustrative effect can be achieved with anything, it doesn’t have to be stone details, it can be leaves, or whatever you like. With the exception of channel usage, there is a bit of everything in this chapter. In places you’ll be required to create paths. In others you’ll perform a number of layer creation, masking, and grouping tactics. You will duplicate things, fl ip them around, place groups within groups, and so on. No single aspect of this project is extremely complicated; however, it is the abundance of things you must do that may prove taxing to inexperienced users. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]...16 Part Four: Illustrative Photography What you’ll learn in this chapter Creative Techniques and Working Methods Stacking and duplication As is often the case in Photoshop, something vast and complicated in appearance is merely the result of repeating an integral procedure over and over again In this chapter, you’ll learn how to stack up duplicate layers, alter the blending modes of each, and place... flipped and this will allow you to duplicate portions of the image so that you can create both sides of the face with mirror-like precision And although in this chapter I’ll explain in detail, numerous ways to finesse your imagery as well as work with color and texture, layer stacking and duplication is essentially the nuts and bolts of what we’re doing here Visualization and implementation Apart from... First, set the foreground color to white 2 Now, using white, click and drag to unmask areas of the layer, blending them back into visibility The key to successful masking is to add and remove as needed, drawing gradients and switching back and forth between black and white as required 3 Create large and small gradients as required, masking and unmasking, until you’ve removed the hard line dividing the... Part Four: Illustrative Photography PART ONE: Preparing the face 1 The first thing you need to do is open up the face.jpg file This file provides the basic starting point for the photographic illustration In the Layers palette, click on the background layer and drag it onto the Create a New Layer button at the bottom of the palette to duplicate it Target the duplicate layer in the Layers palette and. .. images, and then finally incorporating those components in a natural way into your composition Here, you’ll notice that the piece used over the eyebrow is a shape suited to this area The same principle applies to the cheek detail and even the crown on her head Knowing just what to capture, and where to put it, is a skill that will come effortlessly with experience Photoshop Tools, Features, and Functions... Architecture 23 Open up the detail2.psd file and drag the image into the working file as a new layer Move the layer out of any groups it may have fallen into and drag it to the top of the Layers palette Use Free-Transform to resize and place it just above her eye Duplicate the layer, change the mode to screen, and reduce the opacity to 56% Duplicate this layer and then change the blending mode to soft... Layers palette Change the blending mode to lighten and reduce the opacity to 76% 2 Duplicate the layer and change the blending mode of the duplicate to soft light Add both of these layers to a new group and then add a layer mask to the group Select the Gradient tool and target the group’s mask in the Layers palette 3 Choose the radial gradient method and the Foreground to Transparent preset in the Tool... effect to your duplicate layer Setting and swapping colors When editing the content of a layer mask, you’ll generally want to use either black or white, if your foreground and background colors are showing up as shades of gray you can quickly set them to their default black -and- white state by pressing the “d” key on your keyboard By default, white is the foreground color and black is the background color... the foreground and background colors as often as you like by simply hitting the “x” key 302 5 Add a layer mask to your blurred layer and select the Gradient tool If you haven’t altered any of the tool settings, they will remain the same way you left them With the foreground color set to black, the Gradient preset set to foreground to transparent, and the Radial option enabled, click and drag from the... remains in focus Add gradients to the mask, in black and white as required, masking and unmasking the contents of the layer, until her face is in focus and the surrounding areas are not Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 16 Chapter 16: Creature Architecture 6 When you’re satisfied with the mask, flatten the image and then select the Pen tool In the Tool Options . watermark. 298 Part Four: Illustrative Photography 16 What you’ll learn in this chapter Creative Techniques and Working Methods Stacking and duplication. color and texture, layer stacking and duplication is essentially the nuts and bolts of what we’re doing here. Visualization and implementation Apart from