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content issue 05/2010

cover artist – interview


Olly Howe 4
Olly Howe is an illustrator form the UK. His client list spans the
globe and his work can frequently be found in magazines such
as Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts. He agreed to tell us
about what is important in the profession of a digital artist.

photomanipulation Editor’s Choice


The Journey Gallery of Robb Castaneda 40
Holly Pacheco 8
The Paradise beauty retouch
Sophie Van Dycke 12 Beauty is Photoshop
Ylenia Peronti 44
Underwater
Roberto Gamito 18

creative class Dearest Readers!


Above the clouds I have a great pleasure to introduce myself to you as the new Editor in Chief of our .psd
Odessa Ombregriffe 22
Photoshop magazine. I’m very excited to continue the great work and I count on your
interview help. Please wish me good luck!
Interview with Justin Maller 28 In this issue, apart from the interesting tutorials on photomanipulation, photo retouch
and digital painting by Ylenia Peronti, Holly Pacheco and Timur E. Kiryashov, you will
workshop find the interview with our cover artist, Olly Howe and with a freelance illustrator Jus-
Create Stunning Backgrounds tin Maller. They have told us a bit about their profession and shared some of the great
for your Fantasy Art works they created.
Tigz Rice 32
All this (and much more!) you will find in the June issue of .psd Photoshop. Enjoy!
digital painting
Keeper of the Universe Magdalena Mojska
Timur E. Kiryashov 36 magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org
Editor in Chief
interview

Interview with
Olly Howe
Olly Howe is an Illustrator from
the UK. His client list spans the
globe and his work can frequently
be found in magazines such
as Advanced Photoshop and
Computer Arts. Olly sells limited
edition prints and pillows through
www.clickforart.com. For more of
Ollys work checkout his website:
www.4playgraphix.com.

Tell us your story. How did you become a designer and Design course at the local art college. I had no idea what Graphic
illustrator? Design was but it sounded interesting. The rest, as they say, is
I didn’t really choose to become a digital artist as such, I just kind history. I didn’t really learn that much about contemporary illus-
of fell into it. I started a course at University which I hated and so tration at college as every project was geared towards cooperate
quit, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I enrolled on a Graphic branding but the good thing that I did learn was how to use Pho-

 .psd Photoshop
interview with olly howe

toshop. Ever since my introduc-


tion to the program, I knew that it
is what I wanted to do, I just loved
the freedom of it and the fact that
you could create one image from
multiple photos. At the time I didn’t
even know that this was called il-
lustration. I studied in a town called
Plymouth and I had a lot of friends
that were DJ’s or that put on club
nights, this gave me an easy route
into the world of club flyer design.
Designing flyers was great as it
meant I could get my work all over
the place without having to do
a lot. After 4 years in Plymouth and
building my portfolio, I decided to
move to London. This was really the
only option for me if I was to make
it as an illustrator. However, it did
not happen over night. For 5 years
in London I worked a 9 - 5 cooper-
ate design job and then did my own
freelance work in the evenings un-
til about midnight everyday. This
was a very hard period but it was
the only way I could live and do the
work I wanted to do, I just wasn’t

earning enough money from the


freelance work. After 5 years though
I had built up enough clients to take
the step to fully freelance and have
now been working on my own from
home for just over a year.

What do you like about your


profession? Tell us about its
advantages and disadvantages.
There are clear advantages and dis-
advantages of being freelance. One
big disadvantage is that sometimes
you may have a month where you
don’t do as much work as you nor-
mally would and so financially you
have to be prepared for this. How-
ever, not just being paid at the end of
the month like in a salary job is a big
advantage as it helps to maintain
a constant cash flow. I remember
when I had a salary job, the last week
of the month I would always be pen-
niless. Another disadvantage is that
you have to keep all your own ac-
counts although this is fairly straight
forward as long as you keep every-
thing up to date regularly.

.psd Photoshop 
interview

The main advantage of working from home is that there’s also means that you don’t have to have fixed hours, I have just
nothing better than sitting down in your home studio with a cup had a baby son and being at home all day means that I can help
of tea, turning up the music and getting down to some work, mum out if she needs it without the worry that someone’s going
without the worry of anyone else interrupting you at any time. It to dock my pay.

 .psd Photoshop
interview with olly howe

Could you advice anything to those who would like to make


their first steps in your profession?
I always get asked this question and always answer it exactly
the same way: in your early years, during or after college, just
concentrate on getting your portfolio together Do some research
and work out the kind of clients you would ideally like to end up
working for and try and produce personal projects that are tai-
lored to these clients. I've always thought it’s a good idea to give
yourself made up briefs as if they came from big ad agencies,
these companies want to see work that is relevant to them and
that they can see working well with their brands so try and mould
your portfolio to suit.
Also, be original, the successful illustrators are the ones
who’s work stands out from the crowd. There are a lot of people
trying to do the same thing as you so make sure that its your
portfolio that makes people go "Wow!".
Other than that and a bit of luck along the way you just have
to keep at it and plugging yourself wherever you can. There are
a lot of creative networking sites that are a good start for design-
ers and illustrators to get their portfolios out there, like: www.be-
hance.net, www.talentarena.com

Where would you advice to look for commissions?


If you don’t have an agent that looks for the jobs for you then you
are going to at some stage have to get looking for work yourself.
Again, do some research here and make lists of all the compa-
nies you would ideally like to work for, email these people links to
your website or online portfolio. Agencies are always looking for
fresh talent to use so if you catch someone's eye, it could lead to
that dream commission.

.psd Photoshop 
The
Journey
Digital photomontages are all about discovering hidden beauty and creating harmony from
chaos. There is a great energy that emerges when multiple images coalesce into a single,
ethereal scene, as objects and landscapes are seen with new eyes and dreamlike vistas
come to life. The process can be very exciting (and sometimes frustrating). You never
know which images will work well together or what will happen when you merge one image
with another. But that unknown quality is exactly what makes the outcome so rewarding.
The Journey is a montage I created in Photoshop by merging and transforming several
individual images to create an entirely new scene. I experimented with different landscapes
I’ve photographed, trying out various blending techniques and layer order. The process
described in this article uses the final photos I chose to work with.

medium | 45 min.
adobe photoshop CS3
the journey

01

SETTING THE GROUNDWORK


For each of the photographs, I changed the dimen-
sions, resolution and applied a filter. To make this
process faster, I first opened the base image for
The Journey. Using the Actions palette, I created
a new action named Resize & Filter and started
recording. I chose Image>Image Size, I changed
the physical dimensions to 16” x 12” and the reso-
lution to 300dpi. I then applied a Dry brush filter,
experimenting with different Brush Size, Brush
Detail, and Texture settings until I found a combi-
nation that worked well with the photograph. For
the last part of the action, I made a selection of
the entire image, using Edit>Copy, then pressed
the Stop button on the Actions palette. Each sub-
sequent photo used the Resize & Filter action, and
had various Layer Blending Modes applied.

02

PHOTOS AND BLENDING MODES


At this point I was ready to start building the
photomontage, layer by layer. I created a new
Photoshop file using the same dimensions and
resolution, and pasted the image I had just worked
with onto a new layer called Girl. The second pho-
tograph I used (courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/
STScI) is a beautiful shot of the Orion nebula. I ap-
plied the Resize & Filter action, and pasted it into
the new file on a new layer called Nebula, below
the Girl layer. I then set the Layer Blending Mode
on the Girl layer to overlay. Next, I duplicated the
Nebula layer and set it to overlay as well. Together,
these two layers give the image its striking color.

03

ADDING SOME TEXTURE


I then added in a photograph of a wooden
bridge surrounded by trees, stretching across
a dry creek bed. This image adds some interesting
texture and shapes, as well as further defines the
path that the girl is walking along.

.psd Photoshop 9
photomanipulation

04

MORE COLORS
The next image added is a photograph of a building
set against a blue sky, the layer set to Soft light.
This layer was used simply to enhance the colors,
reducing some of the harsher orange tones and
adding in more purple to the top right. In the final
image, the building itself will not be visible, due to
the blending mode.

05

MORE DEPTH
Next I used a photograph of a sunset, with oak
trees silhouetted along the bottom. This supplied
more red tones, added depth and created the
linear texture in the bottom half of the image.

06
FINISHING TOUCHES
At this point, I noticed that the girl had become
somewhat lost among all the different colors and
shapes. To help her stand out more, I used the Pen
tool to create an outline of her. I then went to the
Path palette and created a new selection from
the outline. I copied this onto a new layer, just
below the original Girl layer, and set it to overlay.
To get rid of the extraneous objects in the back-
ground, I turned off all the other layers, and used
the Patch tool to draw a loose selection. I dragged
this selection to another area (in this case onto
the bushes), which effectively blended away the
unwanted section. For the final touches, I added
in a photograph of the moon (again, courtesy of
NASA/JPL), setting this layer to Color dodge, and
butterfly wings, set to Color burn.

by Holly Pacheco
www.HollyPacheco.com

10 .psd Photoshop
medium | 5 h.
adobe photoshop CS4
The
Paradise

This tutorial is going to show you how to make a simple


photomanipulation with a few images. This mostly takes
time and ideas. There is no special requirement for this
manipulation. It is just to show you that, with some
unrelated images, you can make something interesting.
workshop

01

Step 1
First, open Way_Up_by_Elandria.jpg and extract the
stairs with the Polygonal lasso tool. Rename the
layer stairs. You can also use the Magnetic lasso
tool. The tool used is not important – use the one
you prefer.

02

Step 2
Open clouds.jpg. Convert it into a layer by double
clicking on the layer. Then duplicate Way_Up_by_
Elandria.jpg and place it under the stairs layer.
Enlarge this image to have more clouds and hide
the beach.

03

Step 3
Create a new layer and rename it Clouds_layer. Use
the Brush tool, with a white color. Go to Windows
– Brush menu and display Display it. Click on the
down arrow and choose Load brush. Choose the
Brush cloudsby_thiselectricheart.abr and click OK.
Now you have to paint some clouds on the stairs.
Try to hide some parts of the stairs.

14 .psd 05/2008
the paradise

04

Step 4
Open Creeping_Tears_041_by_Elandria.jpg and ex-
tract the woman (by using the Polygonal lasso
tool or Filter and Extract). Duplicate the layer on
Way_Up_by_Elandria.jpg and rename it Elandria.
This new layer should be above the stairs layer
and under the clouds_layer.

05
Step 5
Create a new layer and rename it Hair1. With the
Eyedropper tool, select the darkest hair color. Use
the Brush, hair by alicefaux.abr (do the same
thing you did with clouds) and paint some ad-
ditional hair around the head (you can create
two layers, one behind and the other above the
Elandria layer. The one behind is to create the ef-
fect of the wind in girl’s hair), use the Pencil tool
(Size 2, Hardness 50%) to create some wicked
hair. Draw them as you feel. To better blend the
added forms, use the Smudge tool on the layer
Elandria (on the hair). Create a new layer and re-
name it makeup. With the Brush tool (Size 9, Hard-
ness 60%, Color #f7dbf5), paint on the eyelid and
then change the blending options to Linear Dodge.
You can choose several colors if you want. You can
also paint under the eyes, on the mouth, etc.

06

Step 6
Open jmjvicente.jpg and extract the arch by using
the Polygonal Lasso tool (or go to the Filter menu
and select Extract if it is easier for you). Duplicate
your arch to Way_Up_by_Elandria and rename it
arch. Then go to Image>Adjustments>Match Color
and set the properties: Luminance 141, Color in-
tensity 1, Melted 100, source Way_Up_by_Elandria.
psd, layer stairs

.psd 05/2008 15
workshop

07

Step 7
Create another layer and name it clouds2. Paint
some clouds under and over the arch (still with
the Brush cloudsby_thiselectricheart.abr, that you
have previously used). You can paint just a little or
hide the whole bottom of the arch if you want.

08

Step 8
Duplicate the layers arch and clouds2 and go to
Edit>Free Transform and make a small arch (you
can Merge Down those two layers if it is easier).
Duplicate your new arch layer (arch2) and make
another arch, smaller than the others. You can
place the two arches wherever you want.

09

Step 9
Create a new layer under the arch layers. With the
Polygonal lasso tool, make a selection to draw
some rays of light in front of each arch and fill it
with white color. Then filter Blur>Motion Blur (An-
gle 63, Distance 83). Than set the Gaussian Blur
to 20 px.

16 .psd 05/2008
the paradise

10

Step 10
Create a new layer under the Ray of light layer
and name it Gate. Make a selection with the rect-
angular Marquee Tool behind the largest arch
and fill it with white (and some other color for
the second one, I choose #d884b6 for example).
Go to Filter>Render>Clouds. (Press [Ctrl]+[F]
two or three times to run the tool again). Then
go to Filter>Sketch>Chrome (Detail 10, Smooth
0). Duplicate twice and place them under the
other arch layer and delete what exceeds (you
should have two new layers renamed gate2
and gate3). Working on each gate layer, go to
Image>Adjustments>Color Balance and have fun.

11

Step 11
Go to the hair1 layer and merge down with the
makeup layer and Elandria layer (you should have
one layer called Elandria). Then go to Image>Adju-
stments>Selective color. (Color Red/Cyan 100%
Magenta 100% Yellow +30% Black +64% Mode
Relative). For this part, you can make others ad-
justments, it depends on what you want or what
kind of color you prefer.

12 Step 12
Now, make the last color adjustments. First, merge
all layer (Layer>Flatten image). But before that,
make sure you finish your work. If you have some
last adjustments to do, do it before this step. I think
this is the best part, because you can make a lot of
different colors by using several layers and blending
mode. Create a new layer and fill it for exampl with
#5e027d – Blending mode Lighten, Opacity 60%.
Create another layer and fill it with #6b441a, Blend-
ing mode Lighten, Opacity 35%.

by Sophie Van Dycke

Stock used:
• Woman and stairs stock from Elandria
(E.Broughton-Sheard)
• Clouds brush from thiselectricheart (Deviant
art)
• Hair brush from ALiceFaux (Deviant art)
• Arch and sky from jmjvicente and mihow
(sxc.hu)

.psd 05/2008 17
Underwater
Photoshop is probably the most powerful tool to work with photos. When you need to adjust
colors, to cut out, to think about compositions alternatives, Photoshop is the right tool. In
this tutorial we will cover the basic on combining few elements, working with few colours
and at the same time to have a pleasant result.

medium | 90 min.
adobe photoshop CS4
underwater

01

Step 1
Prepare an appropriate image for the tutorial.
I used bubbles and fish for this example. You can
find good images at some of the free sites like
photoxpress.com or sxc.hu.

02

Step 2
Create a new layer. Using the Paint bucket tool,
choose the color #ecf6f8 and paint the layer with
this color. Set the Blend mode to Hue. Make sure
this layer is the top layer.

03

Step 3
Apply the bubbles and water to a new layer. Be cre-
ative, use pictures and search the stock images.
Also apply some different levels to the bubbles to
fit better to the initial stock.

.psd Photoshop 19
photomanipulation

04

Step 4
Add more details to the image. I added the fish.
To extract the fish is very simple. Open the stock
photo and go to Modify>Color Range. Click White
on the actual canvas, confirm and press (Del).

05

Step 5
Paint the eyes with the same blue color as the
bubbles (or use some other color). With the same
blue you can paint other points to give more im-
pact to the image. Then set the Blend mode of the
layer to Linear Dodge. With a soft, dark blue, paint
some shadows, in the face area.

06

Step 6
Apply a final Sharp Filter to the image, and it is
ready.

by Roberto Gamito

20 .psd Photoshop
contributing writers

Olly Howe cover artist Sophie Van Dycke


Olly Howe is an Illustrator form the UK. His client list spans the My name is Sophie Van Dycke, but I prefer Sheley, it’s easier.I’m
globe and his work can frequently be found in magazines such from Belgium but live in Paris since 3 years.
as Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts. Olly sells limited edi- I’m 27 years old. I’m doing a design graphic training as a free
tion prints and pillows through www.clickforart.com. For more of student. I love all digital arts (especially manipulations and digi-
Ollys work checkout his website: www.4playgraphix.com. tal painting).

Roberto Gamito Holly Pacheco


This passion is quite recent has little more than one year. I am Holly is a recent graduate of Santa Barbara’s School of Media
still in the phase of the discovering it. A year ago it was happy Arts in California, where she received two 1st place awards in
in following my Physics studies but this passion caused my the annual Student Showcase. She creates digital artwork by
doubts I started to ask myself if I have chosen the right path. merging diverse photographs into new, dynamic scenes. Holly
Maths pr Physics and digital art may seem different but they enjoys digital photography and experimenting with new Photo-
are centered in the same purpose: to describe the world. In shop techniques.To know more, visit: www.HollyPacheco.com
digital art there are no rules or limits.

Tigz Rice Márcia Gaudêncio


Tigz is a burlesque and alternative photographer from Lon- From 3 years I have a passion for photo retouch and general-
don, who also specialises in digital illustration. Graduating ly for phtoshop so I started to practice retouch first on what
from Westminster in 2009, she has self-published three adult I call extreme makeover, as described in this tutorial, and
picture books - now on display in the Lewis Carroll Archives; then devot himelf to studying professional photo retouching
exhibited with Van Gogh and designed a range of heavy metal refining technical professional and actually retouch fashion
T-shirts for Diabolus Amor. Tigz has photographed an impres- shots. I’m supermoderator in the Forum Graphics www.gra-
sive range of clients including boylesque star Joe Black, ficicreativi.com and I manage especially the section of pho-
alternative model Kristina Fenchum and performer Ginger toretouch. you can find me at the following links:
Blush. She also photographed 150 of the world’s biggest bur- www.yleniaperonti.wordpress.com
lesque stars at London Burlesque Week 2010. http://yleniuccia.deviantart.com/

Special thanks to Odessa Ombregriffe and Timur E. Kiryashov

Editor in Chief:
Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org
Copy Editor: Ed Werzyn, Robert Coppa
Art Director: Agnieszka Marchocka All trade marks presented in the magazine were used only for informa-
DTP: Przemysław Banasiewicz tive purposes. All rights to trade marks presented in the magazine are
Art Executive Manager: Ireneusz Pwogroszewski reserved by the companies which own them.
Senior Consultant/Publisher/President: Mathematical formulas created by Design Science MathType™.
Paweł Marciniak The editors use automatic DTP system
Managing Director: Ewa Łozowicka Editorial contributions should be sent to:
Marketing Director: editors@psdmag.org
Marta Kobus marta.kobus@psdmag.org Customer Service +1 917 338 3631
Production Director: The Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK works individually from Adobe. The psd
Andrzej Kuca andrzej.kuca@psdmag.org Photoshop team reserves the right not to be responsible for the topical-
Postal address: ity, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided by
Publisher: Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK contributors.
02-682 Warszawa, ul. Bokserska 1
worldwide publishing 02/2008 53
www.psdmag.org/en
beginer | 60 min.
adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom bamboo fun
above the clouds
Above the
Clouds
Because I’m a big fan of the fantasy atmosphere, I try to bring this element to most of my works. Above the
Clouds is a way to escape from reality and make your dreams become real. This tutorial is here to show
you how to do an easy manip with some shots in order to create a fantasy atmosphere using things that
appear common. I just used basic tools and settings for it. Sometimes the simplest things are enough
to create a dreamy piece of art. This is just the basics, using filters of colors to determine the whole
atmosphere, Gaussian Blur and lines to perfect the shadows and light effect and more basics tips for
cutting out, selection, and so on. Basics are essential! This is what I’d like to share with you as I present
you with the step by step tutorial for my piece Above the Clouds.

01

Comparing the Sizes


First of all, I usually compare the original sizes
of the elements I’m using in order to know which
ones will have to be resized. Having them in a
thumbnail at 12%, 25% or 50% allows you to focus
on the dimensions. As long as the manip is fan-
tasy, you don’t have to be really precise, but for
something realistic, it’s an important point. As you
can see, there are many differences here.

02

Resizing
My artwork will be a 3000x3000 picture, so I en-
larged the mountain, clouds, and sun landscape
but reduced the size of the girl, rock, doves, and
wings. Most of the time, I searched for the best-
looking harmony by reducing/enlarging with the
tool Size of the Picture using 25%, 50%, 75%, 125%,
or 150% proportions. Most of the time, this is
enough to get a good result. Here, the new sizes
are GIRL (864x1152), ROCK (1632x1224), MOUN-
TAIN (3000x2217), CLOUDS (3000x4000), WINGS
(389x436), SUN LANDSCAPE (3000x1086), DOVE
WITH BLUE BACKGROUND (158x167) and DOVE
WITH DARK BACKGROUND (178x203).
.psd Photoshop 23
photomanipulation

03 Tips
You can just erase
the outline, then
select the girl with
the lasso (in the
erased part of
the shot). Press
[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[I],
then click [DEL].

The Rock
For the rock, I rotated it 180° because the per-
spective is much more interesting this way. Next,
I used the Lasso to select the part I was interest-
ed in. The Lasso allows you more precision con-
cerning your selection and more freedom. Always
try to select the part with an aesthetic outline; it
helps people think the composition is real despite
the fact that it’s fake. When selecting, also avoid
strange shapes unless it’s precisely what you’re
looking for.

04

The Dove
For the doves, the Quick Selection Tool set at 50%
(plus the Lasso for some details) was enough for
me. As you can see, the contrast of colors was
enough to determine each element. The Quick
Selection Tool is interesting for fast work, but it’s
not always precise. Keep in mind that even if the
doves will be really small by the final stage, you
still have to have an aesthetic selection.

05

The Girl
As you can see, I put the girl on a white layer,
which will be useful later when I cut her out. Most
of the time, I simply copy/pasted the shot (so
I had two duplicate layers), then selected the low-
er layer with [Ctrl]+[A] and deleted it with [Del].
Not an elegant way to do it, but it was efficient!
Next, I cut the girl out with a soft eraser, erasing
everything that I didn’t want to keep.

24 .psd Photoshop
above the clouds

06

The Clouds
Same thing for the clouds: I placed a white layer
under the shot then erased (soft eraser again) the
part I wasn’t interested in. I tried to keep the best
shapes and, more importantly, a semblance of
coherence in order to avoid creating strange and
weird shapes in the sky. Using the soft eraser will
enable you to make some hidden mistakes while
not wasting your time during later steps as you
blur the outline.

07

Putting it all Together


Next, I opened a new file (3000x3000), put all
the cut out elements on it, then selected and
arranged them. Remember just one thing: one
element = one layer. Of course, for some manips
you’ll have a lot of layers, but this isn’t a problem.
You just have to name each layer to know which
one corresponds to which element, which will be
really useful when you want to change, move, or
erase a detail later. Note: I always keep a white
layer under all the elements layers; sometimes,
it’s very useful.

08

Adjusting the Levels


Here I adjusted the levels of each layer (Image>
Adjustments>Levels or [Ctrl]+[L]). As I wanted to
have brightness and light with strong contrasts,
I increased both the clear and dark tones (You can
easily see this on the clouds and the girl’s wings).
The midtones can either increase or decrease, so
do as you wish. This part is pure fun and based on
personal taste. You can also notice some changes
I made here: I wasn’t satisfied with the position of
the girl and rock, so I created a sense of horizontal
symmetry with one of the doves and added some
more clouds. Once again, this is just a matter of
personal taste.
.psd Photoshop 25
photomanipulation

09

Smoothing the Limits


This is also just a detail, albeit a really important
one! As you can see, there is a precise line of de-
marcation between the Mountain layer and the
Sun layer. I used the Smudge Tool to smooth the
line. Here are my settings for the tool: On Defini-
tion, Definition=38%, Number=8%, Variation=0%.
I’m working on the Sun layer; on the right, you can
see the difference before and after.

10

Equalizing the Mountain


with the Sun Landscape
The most important thing is to have a real
harmony between the mountains and the sun
landscape, as they will encompass the whole
background of the picture. I used the following fil-
ter: Image>Adjustments>Filters. The default color
(R=236, G=138, B=0) was perfect for this. I chose
to set it at 80% opacity, but I think you can choose
an intensity between 75% and 83%.

11

Colors and Details


I played with the filter (always using the same
color) on all the layers until I found a good harmo-
ny. After that, I used the blur tool on a soft setting
along the outline of all my elements in order to mix
them together and avoid sharp lines. The intensity
was set at 100%. You have to be careful when blur-
ring, or things can become awful rather quickly. I
also added some hair to the girl with a Soft brush
in front of the wing in order to add some realism
to the piece.
26 .psd Photoshop
above the clouds

12
Shadows
I added two new transparent layers
([Ctrl]+[Alt]+[N]) called Shadow and Light atop
the former layers (Light must be placed beneath
Shadow). Combined, the two add harmony to the
whole composition. They bring a soft element
of realism to blend everything together. On my
Shadow layer, I used a big, Soft brush and col-
ored the corners roughly (using black). Try to
color a small part of the corner in order to avoid ha-
ving all of your composition under a soft black veil
later on when blurring it. I used a Gaussian Blur for
the shadows, selecting it by going to Filters>Smo
othing>Gaussian Blur. I usually choose the maxi-
mum setting when working with shadows (250).
It smoothes them out, making them become
a dark frame contrasting with the colors of your
composition, which helps bring focus to the main
elements.

13

Light
I selected the Light layer and drew rays of sun-
light using the Line Tool, using thicknesses of
10px, 20px, and 50px. You can also do this with
a brush depending on what kind of effect you’d
like to obtain. The lines create straight rays and
the brush can be useful for building perspective.
Next, I merged the line layers with the Light layer.
This time, I used another Gaussian Blur set at
35% and a filter set at 40% (but without Keep the
brightness).

14

Finishing Details
I merged all the layers together and then
once again played around with the levels. In
Image>Adjustments, I increased the contrast
and reduced the light. I adjusted the saturation
([Ctrl]+[U]), reducing it a little. I had some more
fun with the filters, saturation levels, etc. in order
to determine what I wanted as I added the final
touches. Finally, I added some noise to the com-
position (set at 3%).

by Odessa Ombregriffe

The original piece of art can be seen at: http://


dameodessa.deviantart.com/art/Above-the-
clouds-142901119.
.psd Photoshop 27
interview

Interview with
Justin Maller
Justin Maller is a freelance illustrator and art director
based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been creating
digital art for over eight years, and has produced
professionally in both a private and studio based
capacity for the last three. He is represented by
Jeremy Wortsman of the Jacky Winter Group. Justin
has had the pleasure of producing illustrations
and concept art for a diverse array of companies
and publications worldwide. He enjoys a cordial
collaborative relationship with several prestigious
international design studios. Work aside, he is an inner
core member of the Keystone Design Union, an avid
sneaker collector, occassional tweeter, and a mild
force of nature on the basketball court. Justin is also
the Creative Director of The Depthcore Collective, an
international modern art collective established in June
2002. This role sees him direct and interact with many
of the worlds most talented and prodigious young
artists, musicians and designers as they illustrate
and orchestrate the thoughts, hope and dreams of all
corners of the globe.

TELL OUR READERS HOW DID YOU


BECOME AN ART DIRECTOR AND
ILLUSTRATOR.
My career evolved quite organically. Cre-
ating digital illustrations had been a pas-
sion of mine since high school and by
the time I finished my degree (Creative
Writing and Art History at the University
of Melbourne), I was receiving my first
commissions. Around six months after
completing my Bachelor, I was receiving
enough freelance work to be able to quit
the job I'd put myself through school with ‘XX’
and focus exclusively on illustrating. It Illustration: Justin Maller
happened slowly, of it's own volition, and Year: 2010
was the direct result of many years of
hard work for no money!

28 .psd Photoshop
interview with justin maller

‘Eyes Like A Diamond Mine’


Photography; Chris Knight
Illustration: Justin Maller
Year: 2009

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND in the world as a job. The disadvantages are that it's a hard road to
DISADVANTAGES OF YOUR PROFESSION? become an established illustrator, the first few years can be pretty
There's many advantages being a freelancer; I set my own hours, lean. It can be quite a solitary lifestyle as well; combined with the
I can live anywhere in the world and get to do the thing I love most discipline required to maintain your own schedule and handle all

.psd Photoshop 29
interview

of the day to day of running your own business can make for quite will find success by walking new paths, not by following others. Be
a demanding situation. motivated by your love for creating things, not for your desire for at-
tention, fame or money.
WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS TO THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO WORK AS
DESIGNERS? WHERE WOULD YOU ADVICE TO LOOK FOR COMMISSIONS?
Work really hard. Read less blogs. Find and develop your own style. It depends what stage of your career you are at. Getting an agent to
Let others inspire you but never allow them to affect your work. You professionally represent you is a good way to attract new business

‘Of Ground’
Photography; Chris Knight
Illustration: Justin Maller
Year: 2010

30 .psd Photoshop
interview with justin maller

‘We’ll Be Perfect’
Photography; Chris Knight
Illustration: Justin Maller ‘Webs’
Year: 2010 Photography; Chris Knight
Illustration: Justin Maller
Year: 2009

if you are looking to become a full time professional. If you are just DO YOU FIND YOUR PROFESSION SATISFYING FROM THE FINANCIAL
starting out, I recommend putting together a simple, good looking POINT OF VIEW?
folio filled with your best work and contacting magazines and por- Yes, I do quite well!
tals to help spread the word.

.psd Photoshop 31
Create Stunning Backgrounds for your

Fantasy Art

With the recent release of Avatar, fantasy art is very much in demand and offers a fantastic
opportunity to get more experimental with Photoshop. In this tutorial, I will show you
how to create your own fantasy scenes using old holiday photos and some very handy
photo-montage techniques. We will be working primarily with layer blending modes and
customising brushes, as well as touching on hue, saturation and levels.

medium | 1 h.
adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom tablet
create stunning backgrounds for your fantasy art

01

Step 1
Open up a new file (File>New). For this tutorial I used
200x200mm at 300dpi, however you can accommo-
date the size to suit your own artwork. Open the cave
image (sourced from stock imagery: http://requi-
em7892.deviantart.com/art/Spikes-59427493) and
with the Move Tool [V] selected, click and drag the
layer into our working file. Pressing [Ctrl]+[T] to bring
up the Transform tools, resize and position the image
to fill the entire document. By pressing [Ctrl]+[J],
duplicate the layer and go to Edit>Transform>Rotate
180�.

02

Step 2
Now start removing sections of the top layer to
blend in with the layer underneath. Selecting the
Rectangular Marquee Tool [M], highlight the lower
quarter of the top layer and delete, revealing the
underneath layer.

03

Step 3
Select the Eraser [E] and set up a soft-edged
brush using the sub-menu at the top of the screen
with an Opacity of 28 and Flow of 30. Use this
brush to soften the hard edge of the top layer and
blend the rock details into the formations of the
underneath layer. Make sure there are no hard
edges and that the joins look realistic. You can
also use the Eraser tool to highlight sections of
the underneath layer you want to peep through.
I erased some of the bigger yellow stalactites from
the top layer and allowed more of the smaller ones
to peep through on the ‘ground’.

.psd Photoshop 33
workshop

04

Step 4
On a new layer, select the Brush tool [B] and set
up a soft-edged black brush with an Opacity of 44
and Flow of 30. Using this brush, work on the up-
per and lower sections to remove some of the tex-
ture allowing focus on the middle section. Subtle
blending will help to create depth in the image.
Work with the image’s contours to create a realis-
tic effect.

05

Step 5
Highlight both layers in the Layers palette and
press [Ctrl]+[E] to merge them together. Press
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+[U] to desaturate the image, and
then use the Levels menu (press [Ctrl]+[L] to ac-
cess) to correct the white balance. I increased the
white levels slightly at this point.

06

Step 6
Open the water texture file (sourced from stock
imagery at http://sirius-sdz.deviantart.com/
art/texture-128-131225166) and drag into the
working file as the top layer. Using the Layer
Blending Modes dropdown menu in the layers
palette on the right of the screen, change the
layer mode from Normal to Colour. Your image
should now have a green/blue tint.

34 .psd Photoshop
create stunning backgrounds for your fantasy art

07

Step 7
Press [Ctrl]+[U] to bring up the Hue/Saturation
Menu and experiment with different colours to
achieve the desired cave-like effect. (I have used
Hue +34, Saturation –37 and Lightness 0). Exten-
sion: alternatively, if you want to be a little more
experimental, you could create a new blank layer
set to Colour Mode and use the soft brush to co-
lour in the image.

by Tigz Rice

File Sources: http://requiem7892.deviantart.com/


art/Spikes-59427493 http://sirius-sdz.deviantart.
com/art/texture-128-131225166

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

.psd Photoshop 35
medium | 5-6 h.
adobe photoshop CS4
keeper of the universe

Keeper
of the Universe

01

Very first step


The very first step is to make a sketch. Sketch is
the important part of the future art work. Even
concept sketch which contains only 3 lines can
be the ideal base for a great image. I prefer to draw
sketches on paper, but I do not scan them, I take
a photo. It makes sketches look more vivid and
more artistic. I love to mix real art with digital.

02

Blending
Blending images is one of my favorite ways to
make some really distinct view of the image.
This time I added layer 2 with photography made
from the space, set Opacity to 50% and set mode
to Linear Dodge (Add). Effect of this action looks
very unusual.
.psd Photoshop 37
workshop

03

Creating shapes
The next step is creating shapes. I drew lines of
the face and mechanical elements in order to see
clearly in which direction I should move. After
the lines are drawn, add some hard strokes on
the shadow parts to mark out the shapes. Then
change brush to Soft and highlight shadow de-
tails.

04

Shadow and Light


Shadow and Light is a very important step. The
image looks monocolored but it actually contains
many colors. This time I did not use the Eyedrop-
per tool, as I usually do. After finishing the shad-
ows, it’s time to work on the brightest parts. I used
my own brushes here, I think it’s the best way to
express your own style. In this case I was inspired
by Giger’s art, therefore some parts of this image
can remind of his art.

05

Devil hides in the details.


Spending many hours on the details is a time
waisting for me. Therefore, I drew the details of
this image according only to the compositional
dominants, such as lips and mechanical elements.
The grains of the photo also helped me in this and
in texturing.To create the effect of the shining
metal I made hard reflections of the light on the
surface.

38 .psd Photoshop
keeper of the universe

06

Last steps.
Now it’s important to fill the background in order
not to make it look unfinished. However, it is im-
portant not to exaggerate. We should feel whan it’s
time to stop drawing.

07

The Final
The final effect is the most important even if it’s
hard to notice it. I created a few copies of the fi-
nal version and did some variations with different
adjustments and contrast. Then I compared them
and found the one that I liked the most.

By Timur E. Kiryashov

.psd Photoshop 39
Editor’s Choice Robb Castaneda

“D. Girl”- I had the big diamond (actually crystal) picture first and thought to create a fashion picture around it and
.psd Photoshop
have the model made of diamond. The stars in the image are actually crystal candle stick holders.
“Bedlam”- This picture is made of many, many layers. I wanted to create an intense scene with a lot going on in
the image. Though there is also a calm element - the monk sitting on the railing.

“Strolling the Grounds”- For this image I first came up with the background. The lawn and the wooded area are two
different images I blended together. I was trying to create a unique fashion type of image.

.psd Photoshop 41
My name is Robb Castaneda (Neda), I am from the
United States. I am a photographer/digital artist free-
lancer. My passion is everything, from straight pho-
tography, to retouching and photo manipulations.
I am self taught, especially on the digital end, which
encompasses most of my work now.
I have been doing a lot of photo manipulations
lately, using stock and my own photos. I love to cre-
ate scenes that are unique and mysterious. Some of
my pictures take many, many hours to create, com-
bining layers upon layers of images and blending
them to make them look just right. Thare are times
when an image flows out of me pretty quickly but
sometimes creating a picture involves many trials
and errors. I am an artists that tends not to explain to
much about the meaning of each of my works. I think
each person should come to his own conclusions.
I believe the digital age has opened a powerful
new tool for artists like me to express themselves.
I look forward to see what the future holds that will
allow me to express myself even further.
To see more of my works, visit:
www.neda.carbonmade.com
“Mission 1”- In this picture I wanted it to have a futuristic feel to it. I started
with the girl, I liked the color of her hair and was able to match some items in
the image to it.

“ G. Room” - I found this old eerie green house stock, and slowly put this image
together with stock and some of my own pictures. The girl’s face is replaced by
a toy doll’s face and the actual model’s face I placed under the orchid.

42 .psd Photoshop
“There will be no Fawning”- This picture started with the room and grew from there. Even though it is an elegant
room, I decided to give it some dark under tones. The maid is somewhat smaller than she actually is and here eyes
are made black and bigger.

.psd Photoshop 43
medium | 30 min.
adobe photoshop CS4
beauty is photoshop

Beauty
is Photoshop
In this tutorial I will show you how to make a professional photo retouch.

Step 1
First, duplicate background layer and call it Cleanness. Select from the dark circles, select the Clone Stamp tool from the same palette
the Tools panel the Healing brush tool and remove all the imperfec- and set the diameter of the brush around 70px and the Opacity
tions of the skin such as spots, pimples or little wrinkles. To reduce around 35%. Make sure that in the result the skin is uneven.

.psd Photoshop 45
beauty retouch

Step 2
Now we give more intensity to the image: duplicate layer Cleanness Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur with a Radius of 10px and set the blending
and desaturate it from the menu Image>Adjustments>Desaturate mode of layer to Soft Light. Finaly set the layer’s opacity to around
(Shift)+(Ctrl)+(U); apply the filter Gaussian Blur from the menu 35%.

46 .psd Photoshop
beauty is photoshop

Step 3
In order to make the skin smooth, create a new layer set and name
it skins. Duplicate the layer Cleanness two times. Drag the new layer
into the group skins. Rename the top layer High pass and the inferior
Gaussian blur. Select the high pass layer, and apply the High pass fil-
ter from the menu Filter>Other>High pass, setting the Radius to10px
and now change the belnding mode of the layer to soft light. Now
select the Gaussian Blur layer and apply the filter from the menu
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur with a Radius of 40px. With the Gaussian
blur layer selected, go in menu Layer>Layer mask>Hide all; make
sure that the mask is selected, select the brush from the Tools pal-
ette and set the foreground color to white. Now brushed all over the
skin avoiding eyes, hair, mouth, nostrils and eyebrows using a Diam-
eter of around 160px and Opacity to 100%. Once you've covered the
whole skin, lower the layer opacity to 45-50%.

.psd Photoshop 47
beauty retouch

Step 4
Now the finishing touches. Create another group
and call it Adjustments. Let's go to menu Layer>
New Adjustment Layer>Selective Color correction
and set the following values: Red: +32% Cyan, Black
+7%; Blacks: Black +5. Now add a little color on the
lips: create a Hue saturation adjustment layer from
the menu Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue Satu-
ration and set Tones to -15. Fill the layer mask with
black and select the Brush tool; set the foreground
color to white and with the opacity of the Brush
50% brush only the lips.

Step 5
Create another group and call it final_adjustments. Add a new Curves adjustment layer
and set Linear Contrast from the drop-down menu. Add also an Adjustment layer levels by
the menu Layer>New adjustment layer>Levels, and from the drop-down menu choose In-
crease contrast 1. Finally, select the group and lower the opacity to 40%

by Ylenia Peronti

48 .psd Photoshop
WebHostingBuzz - interview

WebHostingBuzz
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.psd Photoshop 49

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