Table of contents for No. 169 in Photoshop Creative

Layers are a ubiquitous feature of Photoshop, an inadmissible part of pretty much any project, big or small. However, handling and working with them can easily get tricky and complex, so this issue we’re entirely dedicated to helping you get fully on top of layers, and how to make the most of them to make your artwork the best it can be. Among our variety of expert tutorials this issue are exciting and fun projects such as making your own digital scrapbook, adding fire to a hot racing car picture, creating prehistoric animal hybrids and editing photos into eye-catching infrared pieces of art. Also, we have our usual great collection of product reviews, interviews with artists, and stunning galleries to draw inspiration from. We hope you enjoy the issue! Free…

There’s nothing more inspiring than surfing the internet and seeing what other artists are creating, and we encourage you to do so. Here are some of our favourite pictures that caught our attention recently, courtesy of some of the world’s most exciting artists and designers. FelixHernández www.hernandezdreamphography.com My post-production has become easier. I do the most that I can in-camera but basic Camera Raw adjustments, placing backgrounds, colour matching and color grading are important. Photoshop is my way to go, and I just love and enjoy using it as part of my creative process. Michał Sawtyruk michalsawtyruk.com This was one of my daily exercises. I wanted to make something simple, no more than a few layers, and something with strong light that set the composition. I started with a thumbnail…

Scrapbooking is a method of creatively chronicling your life. It’s akin to collaging. In both, anything goes when deciding what to display and how to display it. One can argue scrapbooking and collage are essentially the same thing, though scrapbooking generally implies you have multiple pages bound and you’re focused on relating your life experiences. Collages and scrapbooks typically exist in the physical realm. Because Photoshop is a layer-based digital imaging application, it’s well suited for assembling layered visuals like a virtual scrapbook page. Sure, the immediacy of physical collaging and the tangibility of the assorted materials handled may be lost when scrapbooking via computer, but you gain many advantages. Layers are flexible. You can move them up, down and all around, hide and fade areas via masks, meld them…

Glow effect Here’s how to simulate the light emission produced by the fire. Start with a new layer and fill with black. Set the foreground colour to #f09804. Grab the Gradient Tool (G). Choose Foreground to Transparent and gradient type: Radial. Draw the gradient, blend mode: Lighten. Press Cmd/Ctrl+T and adjust the size under the car. Create a new layer, blend mode: Vivid Light. Grab a soft brush and paint around the flames to create the effect. Use layer Opacity setting to control intensity.…

Whiter trees 01 Increasing the Lightness slider in the first Hue/Saturation adjustment will turn the trees nearly white for a subtler effect (be sure to hide the top stamped layer first). A natural sky 02 Untick Colorize in the Hue/ Saturation adjustment. Hide the Channel Mixer adjustment underneath, then tweak the Levels adjustment for a more natural sky. Dramatic sky 03 Before adding the final noise reduction layer, add a blank layer above the Levels adjustment and change its blend mode to Soft Light. Press G for the Gradient Tool. Apply gradient 04 Using a black to transparent gradient, drag a gradient over the sky from the corner inwards to create a heavy shadow, making the sky appear more dramatic.…

I crave the open-ended nature of a blank canvas and its unlimited options. However, rules can provide a nice reprieve. Producing templated abstractions is the type of structured creativity that really excites me. Kaleidoscopes from my youth still enchant me with their infinite interpretations of reality. Creating the foundation for this tutorial can be laborious, I admit, but once complete, it’s on! With flexible Smart Objects and Place Linked, you can make an endless parade of intriguing variations. I’m an art director and former college media arts instructor. I’ve been playing with Photoshop since the early-2000s.…

BLENDING LAYERS Adjustment layers and blending modes bring the different textures together and complement the photo. GET DOODLING Scan, edit and paste in your own hand-drawn elements, and combine them with some photos and textures. Creating a mixed-media artwork isn’t as simple as copying and pasting a few times over. Plenty of thought and time should go in to making sure that all the different elements work well together, and create a cohesive overall image. To prevent your art looking like a jumbled pile of stock material, make the different elements ‘interact’; in this image the hummingbird is feeding from the hand-drawn flower. Colour tone is also important here; the paint textures need to look like they are a part of the photo, for example an extension of the bird’s…

In this long overdue monograph, the author gives detailed analysis of 50 projects from the prestigious Grafton Architects. The collection contains over 350 illustrations, which includes sketches, photos, renderings diagrams etc, of both completed and uncompleted works. Grafton Architects was founded on Dublin’s Grafton Street in 1978 by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Their architectural journey began in their native Ireland, but the pair now have private and public buildings to their credit around the world. Farrell and McNamara are a powerful team. Graduating from the University College Dublin, it wasn’t long before they had their own company and were Fellows of major architectural bodies such as The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). They have taught together for decades…

Clinton Lofthouse Image of the issue This image basically came from a late-night shoot. We decided to try out a female adventurer concept, and used 11 separate images, mostly free stock, to build up the image from there. Deepak Maurya A photographer I know sent me a photo of a model, so I used it for this and added some overlay and background images from Pixabay and Pexels. I referred to tutorials a lot when I made this. Alexander Chalooupka I created this image with the use of five stock photos and Photoshop. I used masks and blend modes, along with colour adjustments to tie it together. I created it to give a message of global warming. Corine Spring My idea in this illustration was to completely change the hairstyle.…

Create document 01 Create a document with white background. So you can gauge font sizing in relation to your composition, use the same dimensions as your main PSD. Add text 02 Create your text with the Horizontal Type Tool using black or a dark colour. Leave adequate breathing room around each line. Experiment with fonts. Here, Courier New is used. Merge and select 03 When you’re done creating the line(s) of text, merge layers (Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt+Shift+E) up top. Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to make a selection. Copy and paste 04 For each selection, copy and paste into your main PSD. Free transform to scale, rotate and position [CC/CS: convert each to Smart Objects first to keep non-destructive].…

Path Blur 01 On steps 24 and 25, after you place the fire over the wheels, apply the Path Blur (Filter> Blur Gallery> Path Blur) to each layer to create the motion effect. Subtle glow effect 02 Create a new layer. Change the blend to Color Dodge. Grab a soft brush, set the foreground colour to a vivid red and paint over the tail lights. Vivid Light mode 03 Increase the lighting under the bumper. Add a new layer and change its blend to Vivid Light. Choose a vibrant yellow colour and use a brush to paint the bumper. Create groups 04 Keep the layers organised. Press and hold the Shift key and select the first and the last related layers, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+G to group the images…

Define the direction 01 Create a new layer (Shift+Cmd/ Ctrl+N). Name it Spotlight and click OK. Grab the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Draw the light beam and fill with white. Blur Gallery 02 Press Cmd/Ctrl+D to deselect. Go to Filter> Blur Gallery> Field Blur. Drag the pin point to the bottom and set Blur: 260px. Add a second pin on top and set Blur: 180. Hue/Saturation 03 Convert the layer into a Smart Object. Open the Hue/Saturation adjustment (Cmd/Ctrl+U). Check: Colorize. Set Hue to 175, Saturation: 60, Lightness: -40 and click OK. Place the light 04 Drag the spotlight to top left, adjust the size and angle, then reduce the Opacity to 50%. Duplicate the layer, create a new colour, and then move it to the top right.…

This type of effect is a great one to learn if you are just starting out with Photoshop. We cover the basics when it comes to layer masking and forming selections, with the biggest part of this image being about creating a balanced composition. Editing selections with the Polygonal Lasso Tool makes light work of selecting the windows, which will reveal the portrait’s figure looking in, and the Quick Selection Tool can glide around the subject to make it easy to add in a new background. With the Refine Edge options, we can blend in our portrait and make this whole image seem connected and realistic. Adding extra elements, such as the background image, is a nice addition, alongside using the Lighting Effects filter, covered at the end of these…

Linked files rock! Anyone who uses InDesign will be comfortable with the concept of linking imported files. By linking instead of embedding assets, you enjoy smaller file sizes. In a team environment, frequently used assets can be made available for various projects. When the original asset is changed, the update will be reflected in the linked instances. If you’re dragging and dropping an asset into a Photoshop document, hold Option/Alt while doing so to make it linked versus embedded.…

This tutorial is inspired by the Hawaiian legend of Madame Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire, who lives at the summit of the Kilauea volcano. She is a well-known and respected deity in the Hawaiian culture. In the following steps, you will create a lava mermaid using some cool features and commands available in Photoshop. We are going to use basic techniques like masks and adjustments as well as more advanced ones like the Calculation command and the Gradient Map adjustment. The Calculation command enables you to combine two different channels to create selections, or a detailed map, based upon the colour values within an image. It is a convenient tool if you are trying to select images with lots of contrast between the foreground and background colours. The…

SHAPE TOOL The Shape tool could easily be one of the only tools you use. The path editing options are intuitive with lovely clear node conversion and control. HINTS AND TIPS If you are a beginner or need a refresher, the Hints panel offers tips on how to use the selected tool. There are also links to relevant tutorials. ART BRUSHES These vector brushes are programmed to create some of the most useful effects. They are totally editable using the advanced Shape tool. This latest version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite continues to load up with the best tools for both professional and occasional designers. The suite includes CorelDRAW for vector, bitmap and text design; Corel PHOTO-PAINT for bitmap photo editing; plus Corel Font Manager 2018 and CorelCAPTURE are there on…

“ It is fascinating to read about artworks that have been destroyed by their owners ” It is, perhaps, a little odd to spend time mulling over the artistic masterpieces that have become lost to the world, many of which may never be found. Yet that is exactly what Noah Charney wants us to do, stating that “it is important to study what has been lost and why, to understand how art can best be preserved in the future, to appreciate what has survived, and just how delicate is that miraculous fraction of mankind’s creative history that has endured.” With just 280 pages, Charney certainly makes a compelling case for the importance of lost art, even if he can’t possibly discuss all of the masterpieces that have disappeared or been…

With nearly 2 million views of his work on Behance and clients that include Adidas and Lexus, Patrick Seymour has one of the most recognisable art styles on the internet; he’s even had work featured as the Adobe Illustrator splash screen. But it all began with Photoshop for Patrick; we caught up with him to learn more about that journey. How were you first introduced to Photoshop, Patrick? I remember the first time I heard the word Photoshop. I was at my friend Sébastien’s, his father had a computer in his office and Seb was doing a Call of Duty wallpaper with four images he had found on the internet. With hindsight it was probably atrocious but to see these images colourised in sepia with transparency between them was absolutely…

We challenged you... In issue 167, we challenged you to get creative with the set theme of Darkness. You were allowed to create whatever you wanted, so long as it incorporated the theme somehow. Alexandre Perez Moon Man This is a composition in which lighting and shading play a big part. The cloud and mist were key in creating a creepy atmosphere, and the picture as a whole was given a cohesive tone with unifying adjustments. This issue’s challenge... Think you can do better? Prove it! Next issue, the theme is ANIMALS. We don’t mind how you incorporate it into your image, just be as creative as you possibly can! Head to facebook.com/PhotoshopCreativeand simply hit the Challenge link. Closing date: 26/9/2018. THE PRIZE… PortraitPro software This challenge, one lucky winner…

“Since I got the iPad Pro, I have been sketching and illustrating more than usual,” reveals Mercedes Bazan. “I wanted to create a series of strong women, so I started with this one.” The result of this desire is Mercedes’ excellent Boss Girls project, which was featured by The Student Show online. As the project title suggests, it’s a collection of portraits that Mercedes designed of strong women – all based on people she knew – and a lot of it came straight off the cuff. “I don’t have a proper style developed so I experimented quite a bit with this piece,” she says. “I used the Photoshop app for the iPad Pro, using the default brushes and textures. Then I exported it and added final touch-ups in the desktop…

What the deuce is an infrared effect all about? Photographers use infrared imaging for different reasons; from looking deep into space, to revealing heat signals in objects (commonly known as ‘thermal imaging’). From a photographer’s perspective, it explores a wavelength of light that we just can’t see because it’s outside the visible spectrum. When applied to landscapes, it reveals interesting features and details, and will also change the colour of foliage, to produce something quite spectacular. Bear in mind, though, what we’re doing in Photoshop is simply recreating the look and feel of an infrared image. If we wanted to create true infrared, we would need the right camera setup in addition to all of the correct filters. In these steps, we’ll take you on an infrared journey to creating…

Create merged layer 01 Hide the layers relating to the window, leaving just the portrait and background layers visible. Click the top visible layer and press Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/ Alt+Shift+E to create a stamp visible. Set light source 02 Head to the Filter menu and down to Render> Lighting Effects. Select Spotlight from the options along the top and position the light source just to the right side of the model. Adjust hotspot and tone 03 Set the colour swatch at the top of the adjustments to a light orange, Intensity: 19 and Hotspot: 76. Set the Colorize colour swatch to a darker orange and set Ambience to 3. Apply and adjust 04 Hit OK to return to Photoshop and lower the Opacity of the layer to reduce the effect. As this…

Save a copy 01 To create a displacement map, open ‘dinosaur.psd’. Save a copy as ‘map. psd’. Ctrl/right-click on the layer, choose Convert to Smart Object. Desaturate 02 Displacement maps don’t need colour since the Displace filter only looks at lightness and darkness. Press Cmd/Ctrl+U, slide Saturation to the left. Adjust the Levels 03 To help the effect, boost contrast. Press Cmd/Ctrl+L to bring up Levels. Use the sliders to improve. Because this is applied non-destructively, you can edit later if necessary. Click OK. Smooth with blur 04 To help reduce choppiness in the texture, apply a blur. Go to Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur. Set Radius to 1.5px. Click OK and save the PSD.…

File>Save As 01 After filling all the masks in the first circle using Place Linked and a single image, save the PSD. Then go to File> Save As and use a different name. Relink 02 Ctrl/right-click on one of the linked scene layers in the second PSD, choose Relink to File. Locate and select the second scene image, then click Place. Choose and slide 03 Review the scene. Use the Move Tool to slide things around. To select a layer, Ctrl/right-click on-canvas and choose it from the pop-up menu. Transform to vary 04 The images are linked, so you can edit them non-destructively. Use Free Transform (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to scale, rotate, etc. Save PSD when done.…

Prepare the image 01 To create the incandescent effect, first desaturate the image. You can use the Hue/Saturation adjustment and then work the Levels or Curves to balance the shadows and highlights. Add filters 02 Filters such as Oil Paint (Filter> Stylize> Oil Paint) will soften the image, helping to enhance the effect. Tweak the Stylization and Cleanliness settings for better results. Apply the gradient 03 To create the incandescent effect, invert the gradient map. The highlight areas in the image will become darker, while the shadows will be lighter. Enhance the tones 04 Create a Neutral Layer, then use the Dodge/Burn tools to enhance the shadows/highlights. To darken an area use the Dodge Tool, to lighten areas, paint with the Burn Tool.…

Gradient Map 01 The Gradient Map replaces tones in your picture with those of a gradient. This is good for adding measured colour over a picture and by setting the Gradient Map to Soft Light or Overlay, you can blend the tones into your image. Hue/Saturation 02 This one controls hue, saturation and lightness. Use it to correct colour, or isolate certain shades using the drop-down menu. You can increase the blues or reds for example, and even extend the range of a specific colour group. Photo Filter 03 A simple adjustment that adds an overlaying colour to an image. It’s particularly useful for warming or cooling your picture with orange and blue respectively, though you can choose any colour to use as a filter.…

You can use any skyline image to sit in your teacup and any selection tool to cut it out from its background, but there are a few useful tips for this part of the tutorial. Firstly, don’t select the whole skyline in one go. It’s likely that you’ll make errors, so just select the sky around individual buildings and mask out. From there you can go over edges if you need to with a hard brush, or bring buildings back into the image. Remember too that the Magnetic Lasso and the Marquees can also help with selections. Use a range of tools to get the best results.…

Even the best artists need inspiration! Take some time before you sit down to draw, and gather reference material. Try searching online for mindfulness colouring pages, or simply ‘flower doodles’, and compile an inspiration board. Of course, you don’t want to copy any other drawings, but simply get a few ideas to help you create a variety of designs, such as different pattern fill ideas for leaves or petal shapes. And finally; draw more doodles than you think you need; it’s good to have plenty to pick so you don’t have to keep duplicating the same drawing!…

www.jessicadueck.com I am a digital artist, born in Paraguay. My country isn’t typically interested in art in the style I make, so the first time I saw this type of art – photomanipulation and digital paintings – I was 15. I discovered Photoshop after finding an artist in a random gallery online. I got inspired and intrigued by this so I started to research how it was done. MY VOW This is an image where the relationship between the light and dark had to have good balance. The light source in this picture is really strong, and the adjustments were key in harmonising the piece. CURSED BREED This is a piece that relied heavily on blend modes and textures. Screen and Soft Light can really help to make lighter shades…