Tutorial Combine clipping and layer masks

Start image

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Create a digital photo paintingEmulate traditional painting to convert a photograph into a digital photo painting with Photoshop

On the FileSiloDownload your free resources at www.filesilo.co.uk/photoshopcreative

Duplicate the image

02 To preserve the original, duplicate the image. Click the image layer and drag it to the New Layer icon (second

from the right). This creates a new layer that will be merged with the base layer to create a working reference layer.

Open and convert

01 Portraits work best as vertical images. But sometimes the photo you want to use will be horizontal. This is an easy fix. After opening

the image in Photoshop, use the Crop Tool to make it a vertical image.

EssentialsWorks with

What you’ll learnUse the Mixer Brush

and create a customised digital watercolour brush

Time taken4 hours

CS CCElements

Expert Peter SmolensI’ve been using Photoshop since version 6 and have been creating digital photo paintings for the last decade.

I’m a writer, photographer and digital painter from Manassas, Virginia. I use many of my photographs as reference for my digital paintings. To learn more and see samples of my work, visit www.pbsstudios.com.

Digital photo painting takes the traditional reference photograph that painters have been using for years to the next level.

Utilising a little Photoshop magic and combining a few techniques, we’ll show you how to turn a simple photo into a digital photo painting.

What make this process work are two common Photoshop techniques: layering and the Mixer Brush. Layering enables you to paint on a new layer for each section of the painting.

The Mixer Brush, with the Use All Layers checkbox checked, pulls information from the reference photo, meaning you don’t have to be an advanced artist to create a digital photo painting.

One of the major benefits of using these techniques is that you can easily emulate a number of painting styles. From an oil technique of Impasto to the light and airy look of watercolour, depending on the brushes used, you can produce amazing results. And because you have the Use All Layers option activated, the base photo layer provides all the colour and shading information, so you just have to worry about the brush strokes. However, you can change the colours if you wish.

To help finish the image off – depending on the painting style you have used – Photoshop provides you with different kinds of realistic canvas textures or watercolour paper.

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Your brush angle when using the Fan brush makes all the difference

Create a background layer

09 Create a new layer by clicking Layer>New>Layer or click the second icon from the right in the Layers

palette. This is where we’re going to paint the background. Name the layer Painted Background. The current background colour works well; it’s a nice contrast to the model’s blond hair, so we’re keeping it the same colour.

A little colour

05 Next we add a little colour to the image. Click Image>Adjustments>

Hue/Saturation. Move the Saturation slider to +12. Be careful not to overdo it because the colour will intensify during the digital painting with the Mixer Brush.

Blur to soften features

06 To give the overall image a soft glow, use an old portrait

photographers’ trick. Click Filter>Gaussian Blur. This brings up the Gaussian Blur dialog box. Add a blur with a Radius 5.0px. In the next step we’ll bring back the features we want to keep sharp.

Apply Brightness/Contrast

04 Click Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast to bring up the dialog box. Move the Brightness slider to

18 to brighten up the image. Move the Contrast slide to 36 to add some contrast to her face.

Reveal facial features through the mask

08 To bring back some features through the layer mask, zoom in on the face. Select the Brush Tool. Use a soft round brush at a size of

20px and 50% Opacity. In the Color Picker, make sure your primary colour is black. Brush the eyes, nose and mouth, revealing the layer below.

Use Shadow/Highlights to make corrections

03 Click Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlights. This brings up the dialog box. Move the Shadow slider to 24%. This will darken

the shadows under the hair and help create more separation between the hair and face.

Restore with layer masks

07 To bring back some of the facial features from the layer below, click

on the working image layer to make it active. Click the second icon from the left at the bottom of the Layers palette. A layer mask appears on the layer.

Tutorial Create a digital photo painting

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Set up a watercolour brush

10 Click the Brush Tool and select the PBS Watercolor Brush 001 (available

on the FileSilo). This is this author’s personal variation of a brush downloaded from Photoshop Creative. It has become one of my favourite brushes. I like it because of the softness of its brush stroke.

Paint the background

12 Using the PBS Watercolor Brush

001 Mixer Brush with the Sample All Layers checked, paint over the background. This will remove the details and give a soft glow to the background. Don’t worry about painting into the hair at this stage.

Switch to the Mixer Brush

11 Click the arrow in the bottom right of the Brush Tool to reveal additional

tools. Select the Mixer Brush Tool. In the Options Bar, select Moist and click Sample All Layers. This checkbox enables you to ‘pull’ information from the layers below. Here we’ll do that with the reference photo.

Begin to paint the face

13 After preparing the image, we’re ready to paint! Add a new layer and

name it Face. Select the PBS Soft Round 001 brush, which is a customised version of the standard Soft Mechanical Brush. Start painting in the flesh areas. Vary the brush size. Later we’ll fill in the mouth and eyes on separate layers.

Continue with the skin

14 Click on the Painted Background layer. Add a new layer, located below

the face layer. Name this Skin. Continue using the PBS Soft Round 001 Mixer Brush over the blurred image. This will smooth out the skin and give a nice shine.

Expert edit

Fan brush adds texture

03 Let the Fan Brush or customised hair brushes work their magic.

These brushes will naturally add texture to the hair, while giving it a painterly quality.

Experiment with brushes

02 Many digital artists have special hair brushes; gumroad.com/

robertmarzullo and galaxysdragon.storenvy.com are nice examples of brushes to purchase).

Brush both ways

01 Since the Mixer Brush pulls information from the original

image, brush both ways for a mixture of colours. This will help transition from one shade of colour to another.

Hide the reference photo

04 To make sure you’ve painted all the hair, hide the reference photo

layer by clicking the ‘eye’ to see the areas you may have missed.

Get natural-looking hair

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Your brush angle when using the Fan brush makes all the difference

Frame the painting

21 To feather the painting, click Layer> Flatten Image. Click OK to discard hidden layers. Duplicate the layer and fill the background

layer with white. Make a selection around the image, click Select and Mask on the Options Bar. Adjust the Feather slider. Click OK. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to create a new layer and hide the original layer.

The hair

16 One of the hardest parts of creating a portrait is getting the hair right. For this project we used the PBS Fan

Brush 001. Create a new layer and name it Hair. Switch back to the Mixer Brush with Sample All Layers checked. The Mixer Brush will pull colour information from the original image.

Watercolour paper texture

20 To add some more texture to a digital version, add a pattern. Click on the Painted Background layer, then

click Layer>Fill Layer>Pattern. Select Washed Watercolor Paper and click OK. Lower the Opacity to around 30% to merge the pattern with the painted background.

Paint the shirt red

15 Add a new layer,

name it Red Shirt. Click the arrow and switch to the Brush Tool. Click the Color Picker and use R:233, G:9, B:62. Start with PBS Watercolor Brush 001 to cover the shirt area. Use PBS Fan Brush 001 to add texture and shadows.

Clean up eye detail

19 Check your work by turning off the original photo layers. Uncheck

Sample All Layers on the reference photo layers and use the existing colours to fill in the gaps.

The eyes have it

18 Create a new layer and name it Left Eye. Use the Navigator to zoom in on

the left eye. Start the PBS Soft Round 001 brush to bring back the iris. Change to the PBS Fan Brush 001 to paint the eyelashes.

Bring on the mouth

17 Create a new layer and name it Mouth. Continue with the Mixer Brush and

select the PBS Soft Round 001 brush. Use the Navigator to zoom in on the mouth. Change the brush size to paint in the mouth.

Tutorial Create a digital photo painting

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