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8/7/2019 Selling_photos_to_photo_stocks_10_2010

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Dearest Readers!

2 .psd 10/2010 | www.psdmag.org/en

You are probably all in Halloween mood, preparing your party outts right now. Hoping thatyou will nd some time to create the new inspiring works, here we are with the November

issue of our magazine!This time we present you an interesting Zainab Razaqs photomanipulation that will help

you to achieve a re/ice effect using some simple techniques, Benjamin Delacour will teachyou how to make your own Photoshop origami and Tyler Bramer how to prepare a rocktexture in a few short steps.

However, we did not forget about the Halloween ambience, which Mair Perkins and StephenPetrany helped us to create. Just check their tutorials: comic style Zombie and X-Ray effect!

This time we have something special for those of you interested in selling photos to photostocks: Erlon Silva is sharing with you his experience in this area. As always, you also have achance to read some interesting interviews and see beautiful works of our artists.

Hoping this issue will be an inspiration, I wish you a good lecture!

Magdalena MojskaEditor in Chief

[email protected]


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Cover artist 4Pedro Ferreira

Fire vs. Ice 10Zainab Razaq

Paper Girl 18Benjamin Delacour

Selling photos to photo stocks 26Erlon Silva

X-Ray Effect 28Tyler Bramer

Rock text effect 34Stephen Petrany

Comic style Zombie tutorial 38Mair Perkins

Interview 46Benoit Ladouceur



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Pedro FerrieraPedro Ferreira was born in Porto, Portugal in 1974. In 1999 he graduated in Graphic Design,ESAD - College of Arts and Design and began working as a graphic designer in a Design Studio.In 2000 he entered the design department of Cial company, and since then he worked as adesigner, illustrator and more recently as a digital artist. Some of his work has won internationalawards and was printed in magazines of Photoshop, photo manipulation and digital art. Im a bigfan of digital art and like to create strong compositions, full of color, symbolism and emotions!You can see more of his work at http://peter-design.blogspot.com/



Pedro, could you introduce yourself to our readers?Hello everyone, my name is Pedro Ferreira, Im a graphic designerand digital artist from Porto, Portugal, graduated in Graphic Design inESAD (School of Arts and Design Matosinhos). Since 2000 I workas a graphic designer, illustrator and more recently as a digital artist.My works are very strong visually and rich chromatically, always witha message or a story to tell! They are all made in Photoshop, in manycases using vector elements, designed in Illustrator.

Why did you choose this profession?I think it all came together in a natural way in my life! Since my ado -lescence I liked to draw and paint, and made multiple exhibitions. Iwas also teaching painting and drawing for some time, always havinga love for images and color. At one point I dropped the brushes andswapped them for the computer keyboard and never quit! Creatingmy own pictures makes me more alive and allows me to expresswhat I feel and think in a very personal way, using my imagination,without limits!

What do you especially like about it and what do you nd themost challenging?

Above all, what I like to do is for example picking some images thatI nd interesting and transforming them, merging, giving them a newidentity and a new sense! And always with a personal brand, with alanguage that is easily recognized and appreciated by others. I havealso always paid close attention to detail. All details are important toget a good picture, to have a convincing result in the end! The big -gest challenge is to evolve and always exceed the expectations anddifculties. It is very important to learn and see new things and aboveall never give up!

What do you currently work on?Currently I work as a graphic designer in the design studio of a largecompany. As a freelancer my greatest passion is digital art, of whichI am a big fan and a careful follower of emerging trends. I am alwaysready to accept new challenges and new opportunities to show what

I really like to do! I appreciate the opportunity given to me to show mywork and talk a little about me!

Do you have a precised future plan?Im not sure how tomorrow is going to be, but I sincerely hope to con -tinue doing what I like and have many opportunities to show it to theothers! I know I still have much to learn and grow as a digital artist,but I want to leave my mark, my pictures! I want others to look andsay these are Pedros works!

What could you advice to those who would l ike to follow yoursteps?Please never give up on your dreams and ambitions! Believe youcan, because believing is achieving! It is also important to learn fromthe experience and knowledge of others, propose ourselves to get goso far as they were to eat a slice of the delicious cake of success!

Regards,Pedro Ferreira | Designer/Digital [email protected]://peter-design.blogspot.com/


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The all-in-one Xpoze package is very interesting for both amateur and professional photographers, as it is an easy to usemedia solution for publishing and selling images online. It includes advanced features and all functionalities needed tosafely and effectively publish and sell digital images on the web. The images can be your own, or you can set up Xpozeas a platform enabling memberships for photographers, so they can sell their images through your website with a pay-out percentage on sales you can congure yourself. The best part of Xpoze is it can be run by everyone with basicknowledge of the internet; with Xpoze you do not have to be an online-expert to run your own media-store online.

your own branding and design has never been easier. The layoutand design include dynamical blocks which make your website looklively and updated. Text and images can be rotated and publishedad random.

iPoze moduleXpoze comes with a great extra. There is an advanced uploading anddownloading system included with Xpoze, named iPoze. It is amongthe fastest uploading system worldwide and includes advanced batchprocessing features, with automatic IPTC data processing, addingkeywords, descriptions and category information to the online pub -lished images automatically. With iPoze you can upload hundreds ofimages in one uploading-session. iPOze also included account man-agement functionalities, so you can monitor your sales and uploadsby running iPoze on your local PC or laptop, without having to use abrowser and log into the website.

Round-up

In short, everything you need to run a succesfull online business isincluded in Xpoze. The features are extensive, besides those men -tioned above, there is a rating system included, the option to placecomments, newsletters management and sending, RSS feeds, SEOoptimization, online slideshows and lots more. As mentioned, Xpozecomes with fast and reliable service and support.You do not have tobe a wizzkid at all to run your online media-business. Xpoze can beinstalled for you and set up ready-to-run, so you only have to manageand market the website. You can be running your own online busi -ness within a day!

If you are an amateur or professional photographer, or if you areinterested in running an online media-store it is denitely a goodidea to vist Xpoze website and try the demo. Top-notch technologytogether with highest value-for-money. That is Xpoze.

Pro

easy to use packed with features latest technology low costs professional package

XpozeIn order to run a succesfull media-store online, the ready-to-useXpoze software offers you all the tools you need. Xpoze is a profes -sional all-in-one online media-solution, combining great ease in usewith the newest features in online media management. The Adminis -trator module is comprehensive and easy in use, after setting up andconguring your store the way you like, you can immediately startrunning your business. The settings are extensive and include con -tent management and the ability to add custom pages, run multiplelanguages, use an adult lter, manage and operate model releases,sell vector images, have your own watermark added to the imagesand sell complete collections. Your mediastore can be subscriptionbased or pay-per-image. It is also possible to provide free images tovisitors. The suport team of Xpoze is always available and willing tohelp out while launching and running your website. They respond fastto support requests and get things done.

Build on the latest modern technology and offering exibility andscalability, Xpoze gives your online business a headstart. Your web -

site will be up to the standards of leading websites like iStockphotoand Dreamstime.

You can publish and sell audio, video and images, manage con-tents, market and run your online mediastore at the same time. Xpozeis a powerful tool for all amateur and professional photographers whovalue to publish and/or sell their collections online in a professionalmanner. It is possible to run your own store or have website-mem -bers and grant your members the possibility to upload, manage, pub -lish and sell their own uploaded media.

Xpoze is in fact a ready to use e-commerce platform, as it is possi -ble to set a pay-out percentage on sales, so your members and youyourself can make money online at the same time. When logged in,there is a fast and easy Flash based upload functionality for upload -ing images and collections. A forum is included, as well as a messag-ing system, so your members and users can use the website as acommnunity platform too.

Xpoze includes the major payment gateways like PayPal and Mon -eybookers, and other gateways can be included at request. The intu -itive and comprehensive Xpoze layout and design makes it easy foronline visitors to make use of your website and its media contents.The layout and design can easily be adapted to your needs. Creating

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Photoshop CS5 | beginner | 60 min



1 : PLANNINGStart up Photoshop and bring out the base stock imageyou wish to work upon. Decide upon a stock imagethat features a model in a pose that complements yourconcept. Our concept is re versus ice. What we wantto depict is a sleeping woman who seems as if she iscoming to life. Her dormancy shall be represented byice, while her arousal will be represented by re. Startby planning how you wish to format the ice and rearound her body. Ive used a soft brush of orange andblue to characterize ice and re respectively. Now thatI have a clear idea of my direction, lets get started.

We are going create a design that makes

use of a Fire vs. Ice concept. In this tutorial

you will learn how to tackle such complexed

conceptions to achieve effective results with

quick and easy techniques.

Zainab RazaqMy name is Zainab R. and I am a young but passionatedesigner from Lahore, Pakistan. Ive held a fascinationfor art since my days as a toddler, transitioning fromtraditional art to digital. Though having come so far andachieved so much, I continuously struggle to develop andbroaden my artistic abilities.

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2 : SPLATTER EFFECTSI always enjoy creating extra effects to help my concept grow. We aregoing start off by creating some splatter effects. Create a new layerover your main image. Select your Brush tool and choose a splatterbrush of your choice. Now choose a certain part of your base imageand create one brush stroke over that portion. In this case, I created astroke over the womans denim shorts. Select your base image in theLayers window. Without deselecting the base image, hold your [ Ctrl ]key and click on the layer window of your splatter brush. Your splat -ter brush has been selected in your canvas. Now simply hit [ Ctrl ]+[C ]and then [ Ctrl ]+[V ]. You have now cut out a piece from your baseimage in the shape your splatter brush. Reposition the new shapeto create an effect. It looks as if her shorts are torn or as if they arespilling away, whichever way you may see it. Now using the sametechnique, create some more shapes and position them to createfurther effects.

3 : ICE EFFECT 1Now that were done with our additional effects, lets begin on themain concept. Were going to start off with adding ice to the womansbody. Be sure to remember the direction you had planned for your -self earlier. To achieve an ice effect, we will be making use of variousstock images. Here are the stock images I used to achieve the rstpart of our ice effect. Lets start with the arm. Take the rst stockimage. Notice the shape of the ice works as a perfect t for thewomans elbow. Thats exactly where we are going to place it. Press[Ctrl ]+[T ] so you can size your stock image appropriately. Then placeit over her elbow. Set the Layer to Screen . Take out your Eraser tooland erase the parts that go outside her arm or dont look good. I thentook the third stock image and added it to the upper arm, making useof the very same technique.

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4 : ICE EFFECT - 2Now bring out the stock image of the water splash. Whats greatabout such water splash images is that they can imitate a frozen sortof look. We are going to take this stock image and place it right belowher elbow. Set the layer to screen and make the necessary amend -ments with your Eraser tool. Create a new layer underneath all thestock images and set it to Hue . Select your brush tool and slightlybrush over her arm with a soft brush of a blue color. This is to give herarm a bit more of a f rozen look.

5 : ICE EFFECT - 3Now grab your Pencil tool, set the color to white and create somesmall scribble like lines over her arm to add more strength to the ice.Outline the strands of her hair that fall over the ice as well. You havecreated your rst ice effect. Later on we will be working with an effectto help add further strength to the ice. Now with the same method;using stock images, soft brush coloring and the Pencil tool, add fur-ther ice effects around her body. We have already begun to achievesome great results and simply with the use of stocks and layer set -tings. Once you feel youve got enough ice effects, its time to moveon to the re effects.

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6 : FIRE EFFECT - 1Instead of using actual stock images of re, we are going to do it dif -ferently. To achieve the re effect, I will be making use of nebula stockimages. I believe the nebula stock images instead of actual re stockimages will give the design a more magical touch. I took the rstnebula stock image, positioned it over her chest and arms and set thelayer to Screen . I then took my Eraser and erased out parts I didntlike. Heres what we have so far;

7 : FIRE EFFECT - 2Taking the very same stock image, I position it over another part ofthe woman. The reason why I am using the same stock image, forthe previous one, I erased out a lot of parts, mainly because it had somany details that I could as well use elsewhere around the womansbody. So thats what I am doing now. Continue to add more of thenebula stock images. This step is really all up to the ow of your baseimage and your own imagination.

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8 : BACKGROUNDWhile I like the texture of the background in my base image, I wantedto add something to it. So I found this nice stock image from devian-tart.com. I simply set the layer to Screen and applied it to the bottomof the image. I used the Eraser tool to properly adjust the image intoplace.

9 : COLORING - 1Lets add some more color to this piece. As we are working with a reand ice concept, well be using colors to best match these elements.Create a new layer and set it to Soft Light . Bring out your brush tooland select a color that best matches your re/nebula effect. Brushover any parts you feel could use more depth. In this case, I brushedover the effect on the womans hand.

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1 0 : COLORING - 2Brush where else you feel necessary and switchyour color to blue where needed. If you need toadjust the opacity of some strokes, create a sepa -rate layer for each stroke. Click the Create new ll or Adjustment Layer icon in your Layer window andselect Gradient Map . Choose the Purple to Orange Gradient Map from the default selection of maps. Setthe layers Opacity to about 20%. Click the Create new ll or Adjustment Layer icon again and this timeselect Selective Color . Feel free to play with thesesettings to best suit your design. Here are the valuesI chose: Red : Cyan -23, Magenta +13, Yellow +7,Black -23, Yellow : Cyan -7, Magenta +20, Yellow -17, Black +11, Cyan : Cyan +100, Magenta +36,Yellow +5, Black +20, Blues : Cyan +40, Magenta -3,Yellow -9, Black +27, White : Cyan +9, Magenta -7,

Yellow -36, Black -24, Neutrals : Cyan -6, Magenta -5, Yellow -7, Black 0, Black: Cyan +1, Magenta -1,Yellow +3, Black +2

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1 1 : FINAL EFFECTSWere almost done. For an added effect, I took two oral brushes andadded them over her arm and chest and set the layer to Soft Light .Place this layer underneath all the other layers and above the baseimage so they become blended with all the effects. Now create a newlayer (back to the top) and go to Image>Apply Image . Click [Ok ]. Thego to Filter>Artistic>Cutout . Make use of the default values or adjustthem as to your liking. Click [ Ok ]. Select your Eraser tool and erasethe parts you do not like. Create a new layer and Apply Image again.Go to Filter>Sharpen . You have successfully and easily completedyour design.

BRUSHES USED:Splatterhttp://bombay101.deviantart.com/art/Splatters-15-44975011http://c130.deviantart.com/art/Splatter-brushes-20653473http://screamotizer.deviantart.com/art/Ultimate-splatter-brushes-two-92594813Varioushttp://solenero73.deviantart.com/art/Vector-Pack-Volume3-68505526

STOCK IMAGES USEDWomanhttp://www.shutterstock.com/results.mhtml#photo_id=43631263&src=b6ee91b285294dc3134852e8c2f0e3be-2-16

ICE EFFECThttp://www.sxc.hu/photo/1103489http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1254266http://resurgere.deviantart.com/art/Package-Ice-7-48144161

FIRE EFFECThttp://moonchilde-stock.deviantart.com/art/Basic-Nebula-Stock-I-167344560http://moonchilde-stock.deviantart.com/art/Rupture-Neb-Stock-Plain-167116760http://moonchilde-stock.deviantart.com/art/R-O-F-Nebula-Stock-110477258

BACKGROUNDhttp://moroka.deviantart.com/art/Ruin-Stock-109942311

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Benjamin DelacourIm a graphic designer with over10 years experience. Passionateof graphics design and picturealteration (retouch), I work todayas a freelance designer forwidely renowned organizations.My spare time is devoted toPhotoshop, one of my favoritetools by far!

Here is a tutorial made entirely in

Photoshop and Illustrator CS4. I wanted

to try to make something fresh and very

colorful. To do this, I used images of

origami. Some of the material was done in

Illustrator and Photoshop but the majority

comes from iStockphoto.


Photoshop CS4 | Illustrator CS4 | avanced | 60 min



1 : BASEOpen a Photoshop document, 60 cm wide by 40 high and 300dpi.After importing your model (which has to be cleaned and cut out fromits source)t, place it in the center of the image. Cutting out is not avery pleasant job but it is very important. While cutting out the char -acter and combining the different techniques of trimming, use the Pen tool inside a new layer. It is best to avoid using the Lasso or Eraser tools! Using the Pen tool in a new Layer makes it easy to correct yourselection and the result will be much more natural.

2 : BACKGROUNDAdd a layer between the white background and the model layer.Start painting the oor with a large brush with a blur diameter of 1500pixels. I made a rst layer with a translucent green apple and thenwith a darker green to give the idea of depth. Do the same with thesky using very bright blue tones.

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3 : CLOUDSWith the elliptical Marquee tool create a beginning circle by holdingthe [ Shift ] key.Add to the clouds by creating other circles while stillpressing [ Shift ] to link them. Fill your selection with white and start toll up the sky with clouds. With Layer Effects add a gradient and thena very light shade, broad and vague.

4 : FOLDS IN THE CLOUDSWith the Polygonal lasso tool, create selections at the intersectionsof thecloud bubbles. Create a new layer, and using a large brush andblur of gray tinted medium create shadows to give the impression thatthe clouds were three-dimensional.

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5 : ORIGAMINow open in Photoshop the origami you want to use; cut it out andplace it in the main image. Return to the image of origami that you

just copied and invert the selection to create the shadow of origami.Copy the inverted selections and adjust them so to t under the ori -gami previously placed. Now use the Mask tool to clean the invertedshapes and leave only the shadow of origami. Repeat this step for allpieces of origami.

6 : ORIGAMI 2Now you will insert the origami balls, using the same technique as instep ve, but as they areoating in the air we do not need to createtheir shadow. With the Saturation tool ([Ctrl ]+[U ]) change the colors ofthe bubbles until you like them. Blur the elements origami that appearcloser to the viewer and leave them sharp right next to the model.This will give more depth to the image.

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7 : FLOWERSNow we will add origami owers to complete this composition. Youcan change their shape and color of by combining different photo -graphs and changing the color of the petals. I copied some owers atthe bottom of the image to blur and create a background. Take sometime to experiment with differentsizes and positions of the objects youhave just imported. The hardest thing is to create the highest possi -ble image perspective.

8 : PYRAMIDSOpen Illustrator and with the Pen tool create two triangles. By chang -ing their anchor points you can attach them to each other and thenby changing the two anchors down eld you can adjust the perspec -tive and thus achieve more pyramids in different angles. Fill the trian -gles using the Gradient tool, then import them into Photoshop. Givethem color using the Hue/Saturation tool ([Ctrl ]+[U ]) click the box toredene and increase the saturation and choose a color for eachpyramid.

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9 : SMALL HOLESTake the image of the hole in the paper, adjust the curves to havea white baser and torn edges visible. Import it into the main image.Adjust the size of the largest ower and place it at its base. Usingthe masks, delete useless pieces of owers to give the impressionof holes. Gather the owers in a folder and add a mask to it with thebrush clear on the bases that each ower is hidden by the torn edgesof the holes. A quick brush on a layer above the owers in their leswill be used to shade the base. Copy the hole layer, modify it with theTransformation tool ([Ctrl ]+[T ]) and do the same for all the owers.

10 : SHADOWSWith the Polygonal lasso tool, draw a square in perspective on thebases of all the pyramids, still pressing [ Shift ] and then ll them withblack. Move the layer down to give the impression that they oatabove the ground. Then blur the layer and lower its opacity to com -plete the shadows of the pyramids.

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11 : FORESTCreate a new Illustrator document of 20 x 10 cm, 300 dpi, then copy2 or 3 forms of the pyramid we have done previously. Place them sideby side, atten the layers and the bottom d with [ Ctrl ]+[A] and selectany image in the Edit menu. Use the option: Dene Brush Preset .Youve just created a form of brush that will be used to create theforest!. With the brush select the shape just created in the panelsand forms. Set the following options: Dynamic shape change of thesize 15% and click on change in the symmetry X. Enable Broadcast option, and set the Number 1 to 56% and digital change 75%. Selectthe Other Dynamics option by setting both of the parameters at 50%.Now we just need to paint the forest and to color the trees, using theHue/Saturation tool and clicking on Reset .

12 : DRESSING THE MODELUsing forms of origami striped black and white that I cut, I completedthe dress of the model and gave volume to the silhouette. Changetheir shape using [ Ctrl ]+[T ] and deformation by checking the buttonin the bar (toggle modes of free transformation and deformation).Choose an origami model and put it on the models head with a Mask and a selection with a pen you can change it into a hat by remov -ing one part. Add a layer to create the shadow of the hat on the mo-dels face.

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13 : FINAL SETTINGSAdd a white layer above all others, and use the Filter distortion tocreate a lens vignetting. Spread the layer mode to adjust its opac -ity. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to saturate the image alittle more.

Thats it! In the end I just added a layer effect of waves painted blackaround the boat from a selection made using Pen .

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Stock images have been a signicant part of my life.

For more than 10 years I worked as an art Director for

an advertising agency in Brazil, where I often used stock

images to illustrate different ideas to my clients.


Stock images allow me to create unprecedented looking picture.During the process I often use more than one image to create thatextraordinary result. When working with clients with limited budget,royalty free images seem to be the perfect solution for stunningoutcome.

Working with stock images can be a hit and miss. At times I cannd exactly what I need, and there are times when there is absolutelynothing what would satisfy my need.


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It takes years to build a portfolio of stock images. For now I enjoywhat I do, and that little extra money it brings me. I am already think -ing ahead about the Olympics and the soccer World cup coming tomy country. My idea is to produce several images promoting the cul -ture and our investment in sport. My main focus right is now is toovercome any limitations, to put my passion into production, and toincrease my stock image collection and consequently to increasedownloads.

My dear friends, I must depart now, I have few ideas Id like to putin motion.

By Erlon Silvawww.erlon.tvwww.istokphoto.com/erlon

Currently Im a supplier for iStockphoto and now Im on the otherside of the table. iStockphoto is very strict in selecting suppliers, andhas very precise quality guidelines. Each of the images must havewith submission detailed description including technical traits andcopyright information. Most of the image banks today, do not acceptsimple and obvious photos. They dont want more of the same, theymake the selection process more challenging and that stimulatesthe creativity of suppliers. Consequently successful suppliers arecoming up with new ideas and concepts to to produce outstandingimages which have many downloads. But I never know which imagewill become popular.

The image bank can refuse any picture for any reason. It took meone week to prepare the image of a Porsche on the road, and atthe end it was refused. The reason was that design cars have prob -lems with copyright. Oh well, I learnt my lesson. Lets move on to thenext one.

The ultimate goal of each of the supplier is to work full time onstock photos for the image bank. That is what we love to do the most.One of the suppliers I know, had 7000 images in the stock counting1 million of downloads. If every download got paid $ 1 she would bea millionaire. But it is not as simple as that. It took her years of hardwork and creativity to achieve this level. The competition in the stockimage world today is very unyielding. That goes from free images,images for $ 1, images payable in accordance with the utilization andall the way to rights managed photos. Each single one with high valueand outstanding quality.

Another image that I never though would sell, every month someone haspurchased


Here is a picture which I thought would sell very well, but until now, it has not beendownloaded even once.



By Tyler BramerI have been doing graphic design for fun for manyyears and now do it professionally. I am working tobecome an apparel artist and open my own screenprinting business. Remember,It matters not how strait the gate, How charged withpunishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate:I am the captain of my soul.http://iambramer.deviantart.com/ [email protected]

Photoshop CS3 | avanced | 30 min

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1 : BACKGROUNDStart by creating a new document. Mine is 1920x1080pxsince that is my desktop size. Lets setup some guidesso we can nd the exact center of our document. Go toView>New Guide . Then set the position to 50% Hori- zontal . Repeat the process for 50% Vertical . Set yourforeground color to #b0a48c and your backgroundcolor to #806d4d. Grab the Radial Gradient Tool anddrag from the center to the top of the document.

3 : MID GLOWCreate a new layer. Grab a large 500px soft brush andset your foreground color to #f8f2e5. Brush once in themiddle so that a large tan circle appears. Now go toEdit>Free Transform [Ctrl ]+[T ] and widen the circle sothat it ts the ratio of your document size better. Mineneeds to be widened quite a bit since Im using a wide -screen document size. Set the layer to Overlay andlower the Opacity to 50%.

2 : RED GLOWCreate a new layer. Grab a large 500px or 600px softbrush and set your foreground color to #72210b. Thenbrush in an downward arc from the middle left to themiddle right of the document. Now set the layer of thered glow to Vivid Light and lower the Opacity to 40%.

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10 : CURVEADJUSTMENTSGo to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves to create a new Curves layer. Make adjustmentssimilar to mine shown below.

12 : EXTRA EFFORTPlay around with different settings. Maybe add a Color Balance layer? Experimentation leads to all sorts of amazing things!

11 : MORE GLOWCreate a new layer. Go to Image>Apply Image . Thiswill place a copy of your document onto your new layermerged. Desaturate it by pressing [ Ctrl ]+[Shift ]+[U ]. Applya Gaussian Blur of 3 by going to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur . Then set the layer to Overlay . Lower the Opacity until you achieve the effect you like.

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http://www.panthermedia.net/index2.php?page=cms/pages/display2.php&cms_id=593&blanc=on&aff=lp_psdmag



Stephen G. PetranyStephen has been in the graphic design eldsince 2002. For three years, he worked as a3D production artist in the architectural andengineering eld. Throughout his career, he hasworked for several nationally recognized clients.In his spare time, he likes to explore new techniquesin Photoshop as well as write original tutorials.http://stephenpetrany.com

Photoshop CS4 | Medium | 90 min

Text effects have always been popular in Photoshop.

In this tutorial, I will walk you through how to achieve

a rocky-looking text effect. I will explore some creative

techniques to round out and break up almost any font

to create a rocky look.


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3 : EXTRACTSince the image is still attened, we areunable to apply any effects to just the text.To extract the text from the background, goin to the Channels panel and [ Ctrl ]+Click anyof the image thumbnails to make a selection(if you are working in CMYK, then only theblack channel will work). Create a new layerfor the extracted text. Invert [ Ctrl ]+[Shift ]+[I ]the selection and ll with black.

2 : ROUNDED TEXTThe edges are too sharp. To round these out,start by attening the image and applying theFilter>Noise>Median lter. This still needs to berounded more; use the Filter>Blur Gaussian Blur lterto give the text a small amount of blur. Next, adjust theLevels [Ctrl ]+[L] until everything looks smooth.


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1 : BASE TEXT

Start with a blank canvas and use the Text Tool [T ] toadd any text in any font using black (in this case, Imusing Myriad Pro Bold Condensed ).


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4 : BACKGROUNDThe attened image of our text is no longer needed.Replace this layer with a background for our extractedtext.

6 : ROCKSWorking with the second text layer, applyFilter>Texture>Stained Glass (for this lter to workproperly, make sure your Foreground Color is set toWhite ). In the Stained Glass dialogue box, the Cell Size and Border Thickness should be exaggerated asshown. The Light Intensity should be set to 0.

5 : MORTARThe nished rock effect will require two layers, one for

the rocks and one for the mortar. Make a copy of theextracted text which will be used for the rocks. Hidethis layer for now. The other layer, which will be themortar, will require the following Layer Styles to beadded.


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7 : ROCK FORMSApply the Filter>Noise>Median lter to round out the shapes. Next,extract just the black rock forms using the Channels panel. To do this,hide all layers except for the rock layer, then go in to the Channels panel (just like in step 3) and [ Ctrl ]+Click any of the thumbnails. Invert [Ctrl ]+[Shift ]+[I ] the selection and ll with black on a new layer. Theold rock layer can be deleted.

9 : TEXTUREOpen the Layer Styles and add the styles shown in order to achievethe rock effect. Feel free to tweak the settings as you see t.

8 : PAINTUse the Brush Tool to paint in areas of the rocks so that they breakthe texts boundaries. Do this for every letter.

10 : SHADOWSTo nish the image, add some shadows to each letter to make it appear that each letter is standing on a ground plane.

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Photoshop CS4 | medium | 60 min



1 : PREPARE LINE ARTDraw your image out on paper and scan the line art intoPhotoshop (I prefer inking with Pentel manga brushpens as they give lovely smooth ink marks and a vari -ety of line thickness). Adjust the levels and clean upany unwanted smudges. Duplicate the layer and setthe blend mode on the top layer to multiply. Clear thebackground layer. Fill the background with the coloursyou want to use for the image. Using the gradient tooleasily lays down a variety of smoothly blended colours.This helps set the colour theme for the whole image.This can always change as the image progresses.

2 : FLAT COLOURMake a group folder and in it layers of solid colour fordifferent sections the image. Ive made them invisiblefor now so the background can still be seen.

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tutorialMair Perkins

Mair Perkins is 22 years old and currently employed as agraphic designer and digital design study advisor whilststudying a postgraduate degree in Animation. She alsodoes freelance illustration and event caricatures. Heranimated work has won awards and been commissionedfor TV and lm. Mair has been hooked on digital art sincegetting Photoshop 5.5 and a tablet when she was 14.However her rst introduction to digital art was MarioPaint for the SNES. Drawing fantasy, horror and animepictures has been a lifelong hobby and is a fun alternativeto the graphic design and animation work.

zombieComic style


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COMIC STYLEZOMBIE TUTORIAL

3 : ISOLATING THE COLOURUsing the Pen tool outline the gure. The Pen tool allows you to movethe vector points and change the curve of the lines using the pathselection tools Go to the paths tab and turn the work path into a selec-tion by clicking on the dotted circle icon. Now select the group folderin the Layers panel. Before clicking the mask button at the bottom,right click the selection and select Inverse. Now mask the group andmake one of the layers within visible. All the layers within the groupare only lling the zombie. Now using the Pen tool mask out the otherareas of colour to isolate. Here Im selecting the hair area but mostof the work has already been done by the initial group mask. Repeatthis process until all the different colours are masked on separatelayers. Isolating areas of colour can be done by painting directly ontoa transparent area but I like the exibility that masks offer. You caneasily add or subtract masked areas later without affecting the colourand shading work youve already done.

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5 : SHADINGNow the lighting has been roughly planned, create anew layer above the layer you intend to shade. Using

the rough shadows layer as a guide, I select an areato shade. This can be done with either the Pen tool orSelection tool. Set the shadow layer to linear burn thenright click and create a clipping mask so the mask onthe dark clothes is also applied to the shade layer.This means the shadow only covers the layer belowand will not affect any other layers. I use the Gradient tool to build interesting smooth shading effects. For softshadows use the Radial gradient at a distance from theselected area. For sharper edges keep the Gradient close to the selection edge. For areas of smaller detaila brush with pressure sensitive opacity and shapedynamics, is ideal. Continue using the rough shadowguide but reduce the opacity of the rough shadowlayer as other areas of shadow are rendered. Repeatthe process of creating clipping masks to shade the dif-ferent isolated areas of colours.

4 : LIGHT SOURCEBefore beginning to render shadow and highlights, Ind it handy to scribble light directions on a new layer.The light is falling from the top right, slightly above thecharacter. For the shadows I make a new layer, set itlinear burn and roughly scribble the shadows.



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6 : TEXTUREThe zombie is looking more lively but theres still something missing. Adding tex -tures are a great way to add a lot of depth and detail to an image quickly. You canmake your own textures by photographing or scanning anything you nd gritty andinteresting or nd free ones over the internet. I like using http://amazingtextures.com/textures/ or the ones included with Photoshop magazines. Copy and paste thetexture onto a new layer inside the group folder. Free transform it so it covers all thelayers below. Set the layers blend mode to Overlay and adjust the Opacity . Copy atexture onto a layer above the background but beneath the grouped zombie layers.Set the blend mode to Multiply or Overlay . Here I changed the Hue , Saturation andColour balance of the layer so it made a new, even more foul background colour.

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7 : FINISHING TOUCHESAdd some yellow and dark red gradients behind the zombie so hestands out from the background more. Then create a new layer inthe group and add gore and blood splatters. There are plenty of freeblood splatter brushes for Photoshop all over the internet. I mask thelayer so I can erase and fade some of the blood splatters by paintingblack onto the mask. Paint white on to the mask to reveal areas. Forextra gory detail, I add some white highlights around the wounds andbrain. Again I mask these so I can hide, fade and reveal parts withease. Once nished, atten the image then do some nal tweaks withlevels and colour balance.

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http://www.imageskill.com/backgroundremover/backgroundremover.html



Background Remover is a helpful plugin for

Photoshop and other photo manipulation programs

designed to streamline the process of extracting

images from their original backgrounds.

There are several other tools to rene and smooth the edges suchas Manual Erase/Recover , Mark Defringe Zone , and Rene Mask .Using the left or right mouse button toggles options (such as addingor subtracting to mark areas) for all of these tools.Yielding this result:

Where this permanently deletes thebackground, any renements shouldbe made right after applying theeffect with the History Brush set tothe state right before the extractionto make any other renements to theedges.

Background Remover is usefulfor quickly extracting images, partic -ularly those that are against a highcontrast background. More experi-enced users with the full version ofPhotoshop could often get similarresults using the built in masking andExtraction tools, but for users of Pho-toshop Elements or other programsthis could be very very helpful. Thecost for a full license is $49.00 USD.

Pros : It is quick and easy to install. Is excellent for quickly extract -ing images from their background especially good for fast removalof backgrounds with soft edges like hair or lace-like images (those

with several cutouts).Cons : It is available for PC Only and permanently deletes thebackground.Tech Specs : Background Remover can run with the followinggraphics programs:

Adobe Photoshop 7, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4 Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7, 8, 9 Corel Paint Shop Pro (Photo) X, X1,X2, X2 Ultimate Corel Photo Paint 11,12, X4 Xara Xtreme, Xara Xtreme Pro Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006

Image Skills documentation states it may work with other applica -tions as well. The interface is available in English, German, French,Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Chinese Simplied, andChinese Traditional. More information can be found on www.image -skill.com

It is available as a demo version so you can try the software beforepurchasing. The demo runs like the full version and has a link to pur -chase a license number.

Background Remover installs easily, letting the user choose whatapplication to install it for, in this case Photoshop. When you nextrun Photoshop a dialog will pop up giving you options to enter or pur -chase a registration key.

In order to use Background Remover you need to start with animage that is in RGB colour mode, either 8 or 16 bits per channel, andhave a oating layer (not a at background) selected. If stating withanother type of image or a at le youll receive a warning messageencouraging you to edit the format into one that the plugin can use.

The plugin can be accessed bygoing to the Filter menu underImage Skill > BackgroundRemover . Select it from thereto begin.

Here Im using an image I tookfrom our garden and want toextract just the rose. There area variety of options you canuse, but the most basic is touse the Mark Object (greenline) to draw over the insideof what you want to keepwhen nished. If there is good

contrast you dont need to be especially accurate, just make surethat you do not overlap any part of the background. Next youll usethe Magic Wand tool to similarly draw around the background for

removal. Once youve done that, you will have an image like Figure2. Adjustments can be made to the Strength , Contract , and Feath-ering to make renements to the edge.

About the AuthorMichael R. Capell received an M.F.A. in

graphic design from Utah State University in2007. He has art directed animations for the

Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers and HoustonRockets. He is currently freelancing and

has worked as an Instructor at Utah StateUniversity teaching Animation and Design.www.mcapell3d.com www.ionicdesign.com
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http://psdmag.org/en



Benoit Ladouceur(aka. Yellowdog onnumerous online art forums)Benoit Ladouceur is a Canadianartist based in Montreal. Hehas been working in the eld oflm and television as a digital

matte painter, concept artist andillustrator for the last 15 years.He presently works as a seniormatte painter and with MontrealsVision Globale lm studio.

www.bladfx.com


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1. Could you tell us a few words about yourself?I currently work as a matte-painter, illustrator and concept artist forlm, TV and games. Ive worked for many fx and game companies

including Ubisofts Montreal ofce. I started in the industry about 15years ago after following a 3D course at Montreals National Anima -tion and Design center (also known as NAD center). I started as a 3Dgeneralist and later moved on from there to matte painting. I gravitatedtowards matte-painting since it was the only specialty that I found tocover all of my major work interests. I can basically say that I fell inlove with matte painting work because I could convert illustration and2D images into 3D camera movements... It gave me the opportunityto have people literally enter into the images I was making.

2. Why did you choose to become a digital artist?Its been a very interesting journey for me... since I kind of stumbledonto the digital medium almost by accident. I have always been a bitof a jack of all trades... Drawing, sculpting, writing... doing graphicsdesign, photography and so on. I have also always been fascinatedby movies, TV and special effects for as far as I can remember. Myfather used to build and design sets so I practically grew up on moviesets. At rst, I started helping out my father on set construction. LaterI started doing makeup, costumes and practical effects in my parentsgarage and wanted to get into the more traditional fx side of movie

magic. Since there werent that many traditional effects school in oraround Montreal at the time I kind of went the art school way for awhile and learned drawing, sculpting and photography. My rst real

contact with the digital medium was when I received a gift for an intro-duction weekend to Softimage... at the time a new animation soft-ware that had just been making it way in the industry. Being teenagerat the time I was amazed by it (or rather by things like the T-1000 orthe dinosaurs in Jurassic Park made with it). I dropped college andapplied to the NAD center (one of the few schools at the time that wasteaching the software) and got accepted after a hard selection proc-ess. After a few classes I was hooked... the digital medium gave meall the freedom I had wanted. I could now create easily anything thatcrossed my mind without the constraints of real life physics or costsof materials to create physical props. These days , although I still liketo draw and sketch on paper, I like that the digital medium permitsme to blend, within the same image, all my favorite things like draw -ing, 3D, photography and painting. Oh yes... there is also the magicof the undo button...

3. Do you feel that your profession is at the same time yourpassion? If so, what do you nd the most interesting about it?In a way Yes, my job is my passion... I feel very lucky and privileged tobe able to have such a fun and creative job. Having been fascinated



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by movies and games all my life... being able to also have it as acareer is just great! What I nd the most interesting about it is that itconstantly reinvents itself and is always a bit different no matter how

many times or similar the work is. No two shots are ever entirely thesame so the challenges are always there to keep you motivated. Thestyle and demands are also very different between work mediums.Film has a tendency to be very realistic in nish, while illustration andgames can be very stylized and graphic. I love that I get to work in awide range of style and quality with a bunch of very talented people. Itmakes it very easy to get out of bed and go to work in the morning.

4. Is there anything about your profession that can be di fcultor discouraging for the beginners?I think that for beginners the most difcult thing is nding that rst job.Its hard because youre fresh out of school, your demo and portfolioare full of student projects and exercises and your not sure what toshow or how to organize it. On top of that, for matte-painting and con-cept openings, youre also going against seasonned veterans andsenior artists and it can be very intimidating. I always tell studentsthat nding their rst job is the hardest thing theyll have to do in theirentire career... but to keep at it and persevere because once they ndit, those rst professional shots open the doors to one of the mostinteresting and challenging careers around

5. What are your current project and future plans?On a professional level, I now work as a senior matte painter on afeature lm here in Montreal. It should come out sometime next year.

On a more personal level, I try to push my character work furtherthroughout my series of post-apocalyptic pin-up images. As for myfuture plans, Im planning on continuing to try and push myself furtherand to explore outside of my comfort zone. And most of all to try andcontinue to produce interesting images.

6. Could you advice anything to those who want to becomedigital artists as well?I think that building strong basic skills like anatomy and perspective isa must. Also a good understanding of composition, color and light isalso crucial. The digital medium helps speed up our work immensely,but it doesnt make up for all the basic things that make a good image.Seek out feedback from others throughout forums, newsgroups andartists groups... its the best way to quickly nd out what works andwhat doesnt with your work and improve your skills. Forums aregreat since they usually reach a very wide range of artists from thebeginners to the old pros, so there is great feedback for everyone! Itsalso a great way to make contacts! Most artists on forums are morethen happy to give advice and help those starting in the eld.



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