Table of contents for No. 150 in Photoshop Creative

Welcome to our special 150th issue! To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a jam-packed feature that’s bursting with 150 Photoshop tips and tricks. Covering all its essential tools and the most popular digital-art styles, there’s something for everyone, and you’re bound to discover incredible new ways of working in your favourite piece of creative software. Turn to p18 and get stuck in! This issue is also full of step-by-step tutorials on compositing surreal artwork, illustrating with the Pen tool, retouching portraits and much more. We also feature a guide on how to get your artwork noticed and even make money from it. Turn to p68 for professional advice and suggestions on how to get started. There are interviews, projects and galleries for you to take inspiration from, as well…

Emanuele La Grotteria www.photoshopcreative. co.uk/user/LeLe%20 photography Image of the issue In this image I used four pictures: the model, the mountains, the texture and sky. I selected the model and created a layer mask. I opened the mountains in a new document and used the Distortion filter to create the round effect and place it behind the model. Alexandre Bocquier www.photoshopcreative. co.uk/user/okissop First, I started making origami with special paper. Then I photographed and integrated them in Photoshop CS6 on a neutral paper texture. I cut the animals, and placed and painted some other elements. Finally I worked on the colours and light, mainly with adjustment layers. Mehdi Mostefai www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/mmmprod This was a really simple design; the whole work was focused on painting colours and lights. First I found a…

Coffee first 9:30 The day starts and the coffee is on. This is essential, as nothing can even be contemplated until that coffee is in your hand. Alongside this I have usually an hour of replying to emails. Monday morning 10:30 The Monday morning catch-up is generally a project review. We also talk about any new and upcoming jobs, and use those few more minutes to get into work mode. Get to work 11:00 I work on a variety of projects. I can be pencilling storyboards, idea generation, site plans, app design, illustration and animations. On a good day I get out the brushes and inks. Lunch break 14:00 I always head out for lunch with sketchbook in hand, for green tea and drawing of various personal projects and collaborations…

Essentials Works with What you’ll learn Use masks, blend modes and adjustment layers for a surreal scene Time taken 5 hours Expert Rodrigo Marinelli “The surreal style is one of my favourites because it lets you create anything you want without losing realism. Every time I start to create a scene using this art style, I know it is an opportunity to make something absolutely new. “I’m an art director and have 12 years of experience in advertising agencies. I learned and am still learning to use Photoshop through following tutorials.” One of the most important skills to learn is how to create a scene that causes a big impact on those looking at your work. To achieve this, begin by having an original idea, choose an art style to…

Master the hashtag Most social-media networks use hashtags. These are metadata tags that enable people looking for something they are interested in to search content. Use hashtags for your work to appear in relevant searches. Be consistent Make sure that all your profiles and portfolios use the same name to link them together, whether this is simply your full name or a design alter ego. A consistent online presence will help to build a name for yourself. Link everything together All your profiles and networks should link. Your main website portfolio needs to have an easy way to get to your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Behance and so on, so that visitors can choose their preferred option. Start a conversation The best way of getting your own work noticed is simply…

Mike Kus is a designer, illustrator and photographer who knows how to draw an online crowd Mike Kus (mikekus.com) has a huge online following. His Instagram profile (https://www.instagram.com/mikekus/), which he uses to showcase his photography, has a whopping 842,000 followers. “The key to building up a solid Instagram following is to post good shots, regularly. If you can keep this up, your following will grow. You’ll also build relationships with your followers via the platform. With the addition of Instagram stories, you can now share your process and daily working life, which is another great way to engage with your followers.” For Mike’s design work he primarily uses Dribbble.com, perfect for engaging with other designers: “Dribbble has a great community. There’s a lot of engagement and it’s a great place…

Stock images Check out the 10 national flag images worth $50 Textures Use these Glow Color Overlay textures in your projects Tutorial files The assets and start photos you need to follow our tutorials On the FileSilo this issue… • 10 national flag images by Craftsmanship worth $50 • A pack of Ladies Crew Neck Sweatshirt mockups by Go Media worth $37 • 83 textures by Go Media and Slogan Wanted worth $25 • 57 actions by ArtPlanet and SparkleStock worth $25 • 2 fonts by Masha Chuprova and SparkleStock worth $8 • Plus all the files to follow the tutorials! Log in to www.filesilo.co.uk/photoshopcreative Register to get instant access to this pack of must-have creative resources, how-to videos and tutorial assets FileSilo The home of great downloads – exclusive…

We challenged you with these In issue 148, we challenged you to get creative with these four images. You were allowed to use any or all of the pictures, and whatever other resources you chose. Here’s what you created. Challenge entries The best entries and overall challenge winner 1 Mario Unger Lonely Runner About 20 to 30 layers in total were used to create this image, with a lot of masking and cutting out used to blend everything into place. 2 Ilenia Sparacino Video Games Energy This image includes all of the supplied images, and it was created using blending modes, colour manipulation, transform tools and adjustments layers. 3 Marcus Jones Queen Of The Surf All four of the supplied images were used. I cut out all the images and…

1. If you do it often, action it I’ve met a lot of designers who basically ignore the Actions panel in Photoshop, which is a shame as it’s an absolute godsend. Making custom actions for a repeated process speeds up your workflow incredibly. Resizing documents, saving as jpeg, adding noise, High Pass, or texture – action it! 2. Quick Selection tool If you are an older designer, and afraid of change, you are probably still using Channels to cut out complicated things like hair. You’ve possibly seen the Quick Selection tool and thought, ‘what’s that?’ and moved on. My tip would be, if you are old like me, take a moment to acquaint yourself with this and Refine Mask. 3. Paste in Place This is what it says on the…

Essentials Works with What you’ll learn Techniques for creating monochrome images with detail and depth Time taken 30mins Expert John Ross “Using the techniques shared here, you can create monochrome masterpieces with ease. “With 20 years’ experience in the field, I educate photographers and retouchers by expanding their knowledge through my website www.TheArtofRetouching.com. I also carry out comprehensive live classes in New Haven, Connecticut.” Sometimes, no matter how you look at it, colour can get in the way of a photo when you’re trying to create specific impact and drama. This is especially true when there are too many elements in an image – colour just becomes a distraction. Haven’t you always wondered how professional photographers and expert retouchers can stir up intense emotions with images that don’t rely on…

Check out how one artist has used Adobe’s showcase platform to great effect If you have a Creative Cloud subscription, you have Adobe Portfolio (www.myportfolio.com). Digital artist Rodrigo Marinelli has used Adobe Portfolio with great success (https://rodrigo-marinelli.myportfolio.com), using a template that showcases as many images as possible on the homepage. He has also added section headers and has links to his published work and contact details – simple, but effective.…

Writing tutorials is a great way to share your Photoshop knowledge, get your work seen by thousands of people, and also make a little money to boot Throughout this magazine you will find some inspiring tutorials from fellow digital artists. Writing tutorials is a great way to get your work into a magazine, as well as a way to get paid. “Writing tutorials for Photoshop Creative is an honour,” says Rodrigo Marinelli (https://rodrigo-marinelli.myportfolio.com/). “There isn’t a better way to get your work known. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about Photoshop and enhance your portfolio.” If you’re interested in being considered for a tutorial, the best route is to approach the editor. Send an email (photoshopcreative@imagine-publishing.co.uk) offering your services, with details of particular techniques or skills you could share,…

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR TYPOGRAPHIC POSTER ART? Type is something that’s really easy to get wrong. Fonts provoke strong opinions with designers, and getting the spacing and colours correct can be tricky, and that’s before you even begin to consider readability. When creating typographic posters, though, there are a few tricks that you can use to brighten up your work using simple techniques. For example, the ‘T’ of the first ‘The’ and the ‘G’ in the word ‘dog’ in this poster have been embellished by blending other letters into the poster with masks. The dot of the ‘I’ in ‘quick’ has had Motion Blur applied to it (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur) to convey the meaning of the word. A Gradient Fill layer (#ed874f to #f37279) has been clipped to add…

Thiago Garcia was just 14 years old when he was first featured in Photoshop Creative. Fast-forward three years, and he’s now one of Photoshop’s 25 Under 25, as well as developing a book of his artwork. But what advice does Thiago have for other young Photoshop artists wishing to develop like him? We asked him to share his artistic secrets. Can you tell us how you first discovered Photoshop? I always loved art. I tried all sorts of ways to express myself using art, until one day I started to study a bit of design with a focus on photo editing. In 2012, I found Photoshop. First, I learned everything from YouTube, watching several Photoshop tutorials. I started editing photos; in the beginning it was a bit difficult to get…

Basic compositing I began with a simple picture of space. I added a planet, then found a face from a Greek statue and set the blend mode to Hard Light. Adding the grass I found and warped some grass with the Warp tool, added some contrast and then added a little shine to the planet to place some light in the scene. Brushing the clouds With the Brush tool and a set of cloud brushes, I created a fog-like effect in some areas of the image. I wanted a nice transition from the ground to the sky. Placing the tree The tree was placed as a finishing touch. From then on, there was nothing more than adding and adjusting details, such as colours, contrast and texture.…

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, from some of the world’s most exciting artists and designers. Anton Egorov www.behance.net/egorov This is a classic photomanipulation. Starting with a hand-drawn sketch, I collected about 300 stock photos to have alternatives for each element. Then I gathered them in a rough composition and finally combined the photos using various Photoshop tools. Ashraful Arefin ashrafularefin.com I used various adjustment layers and blend modes. First I did some regular adjustments like cropping, exposure and contrast. Then I enhanced the tones selectively using Selective Color, Curves and Color Balance adjustment layers. Also I created a subtle lighting effect…

ABOUT THE STUDIO CrushCreative www.crushed.co.uk @crushcreative From storytellers and typographers to makers and visualisers, Crush is a truly integrated design agency that provides creative solutions across all print, digital and moving media. Crush believes in a collaborative process and also producing standout creative for clients all over the world. Based in a converted coffin factory in Brighton, UK, Crush is a design studio currently consisting of six creative individuals, with a host of external freelancers at their fingertips. Founded some 17 years ago, setting out with the goal of producing beautiful design work, Crush has a strong background in producing creative work for the music industry. Having worked with big names such as MTV, the company’s studio has grown rapidly over the years to broaden its portfolio with new and…

Essentials Works with What you’ll learn How to create an isometric image using the Pen tool Time taken 15 hours Expert Andy Hau “Isometric is an easy way to create dimensionality, and Photoshop has great tools for emulating this style. “I am a London-based architect and graphic designer, and the owner of A.H.A. Design Ltd, a multidisciplinary design studio. In all my work, from buildings to digital imagery, I believe design should have an element of joy about it – from inception to final product.” Anyone who works in a multidisciplinary environment usually finds it helpful to keep their mind compartmentalised. Like an infinite Rubik’s Cube, an idea is packaged in a figurative cerebral box and once dealt with, it gets pushed to the back and a new box takes…

On the FileSilo Download your free resources at www.filesilo.co.uk/photoshopcreative Essentials Works with What you’ll learn How to merge disparate textures and blend modes Time taken 3hours Expert Mark White “I usually avoid using nebula textures in my work. It’s sometimes far too easy and obvious to insert one and set it to Screen, but if you use a little more imagination and combine nebulae with other textures, you can create something really original. “As senior staff writer on Photoshop Creative, I’ve learned all kinds of quick tips to help with even the most impressive-looking pictures.” When we think of the amazing things that Photoshop can create, it’s often very three-dimensional fantasy scenes that come to mind. Creating much more atmospheric, abstract portraits, though, can be just as creative, mixing textures…

Use courses to better yourself Online courses cover everything you could possibly imagine, and they’re a great way of expanding your skills and knowledge. If you want to improve your Photoshop skills, there are all kinds of courses. The video tutorials offered with this magazine are a great place to start, but for a more in-depth course, take a look at websites like www.lynda.com and www.pluralsight.com. Maybe you are happy with your ability, and just want to improve how your designs are seen. Websites like www.udemy.com have social-media courses that are reasonably priced. In particular, take a look at Social Media Marketing Simplified For Artists/Creatives. If you decide you want to make some money from your art, all three of the websites mentioned here have courses aimed at building your…

When Anders Wik first began using Photoshop, he used it simply “to tweak colours or have fun with images.” However, he goes on to say that “eventually it developed into less of a hobby and more of a passion.” Anders freelances occasionally but still spends hours on Photoshop in his spare time, as he says he finds Photoshop “soothing, like meditating.” We caught up with Anders to share some of his designing tips. What makes a good composition? I always look at the details. If there’s a lot of detail in a piece of art, you can tell that the artist has put a lot of work into it. I like to look at how the images are assembled in a photomanipulation. How do you photomanipulate? Do you sketch ideas…