Advanced Photoshop Issue 038

Project files, desktop designs, stock art…

ISSUE 38

CONCEPT DESIGNS

BLUR TOOL

Seven ways to create a realistic softfocus effect

Turn simple sketches into illustrations with advanced brush techniques

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40

ES PASG& TIPAL O R I OF PSSENT-STEP E P-BY LS A STEUTORI T

PERFECT

BLEND www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

Photomontage using the Blend If command

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HOW TO…

Master a gothic style of art Design an underwater scene Explore advanced Actions Make images out of fire

SHAREYOUR ARTWORK NOW

VISIT OURWEBSITE AT

www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk ISSUE 38 ISSN 1748-7277

£5.99 38

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GET ON OUR COVER

Upload to our website for a chance to see your image here!

771748 727009

SELF-PUBLISH YOUR WORK Get your art seen with an in-depth look at self-promotion techniques

ISS UE 38

Soft-focus effects | Concept designs | Self-publish your work | Make images out of fire | Interview: Scott Robertson

6-PAGE MASTERCLASS

14/11/07 16:10:58

Cover

Cover image Our cover image this issue, entitled Arizona Bay, is courtesy of Stefan Morrell, a digital artist from Christchurch in New Zeland. On his CG Society gallery, Morrell says: “This was a spur-of-the-moment image made while playing around in Vue. The buildings are from an image I did a few months back, landscaped (and rendered) in Vue using ecosystems and tweaked in Photoshop. It was quickly completed in a couple of days, most of which was rendering.” http://stefan-morrell.cgsociety.org/gallery/

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Imageer: STEFAN MORRELL

IT WAS QUICKLY COMPLETED IN A COUPLE OF DAYS

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Keeping an eye on the latest trends in contemporary photography, art and design, Insight sets out to snapshot innovation in the making

Apple Mac OS X Leopard Still in its digital infancy, Mac OS X Leopard is Apple’s newest release in the MAC OS X series, and it’s been given a big thumbs up from Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO: “Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released and everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just £85.” Now that seems an excellent deal, considering what the package provides. Leopard is packed with over 300 new features, as well as a newly designed desktop with Stacks, a function that allows users to easily access and organise files from the Dock with just one click. This system will automatically place web, email and other downloads in a Downloads Stack to maintain a clutter-free desktop, and users can instantly fan the contents of this and other Stacks into an elegant arc right from the Dock. Stacks can be customised, of course, offering quick access to folders, documents or applications. Quick Look is another cool function that allows users to instantly peruse files without opening an application. With Quick Look, users can view full-screen, high-resolution files of virtually anything, even media files, from any view in the Finder. Spaces gives users a powerful new way to organise their work by creating customised desktops, which can contain only those applications or documents needed for each project, with the ability to quickly switch between Spaces with the mouse or keyboard. Then there are functions such as improved Parental Controls, new Photo Booth features, an enhanced Dictionary with Wikipedia built in. For such a comprehensive price, it seems well worth the purchase. For more info visit the website below.

www.apple.com/uk

MAIL ME: Mail has been updated in Leopard and features more than 30 stationery designs and layouts that look great on a Windows PC or Mac, so users can easily send stylish, personalised emails with beautiful graphics and photos

OH SO SEXY: Leopard’s gorgeous new look extends to all apps, with every window on the desktop offering a consistent design theme, and active windows outlined by deeper shadows that make them stand out

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12.07 Over and beyond the rainbow This Christmas, fantasy lovers everywhere are in for a real cinematic treat with the release of the Sci Fi channel’s mini-series Tin Man. This contemporary adaptation, re-imagining L Frank Baum’s classic for the new millennium, presents the world of OZ like you’ve never seen. This OZ (Outer Zone) is a fantastical land rife with wonder but shrouded in oppressive dark magic. It’s sure to be a visual treat. This virtual ‘tourist attraction’ offers art fans everywhere the chance to participate in a fantastical journey, travelling through the many exotic and uncanny realms that populate the Outer Zone. Featuring the artistic visions of nine

VISIONS: Martin Lisec is just one of many great artists who have supplied fantastical compositions to help bring the OZ to life

acclaimed international artists, two of which featured in our own issue 36, Martin Lisec and Philip Straub (cover artist), this ‘zoomable experience’, accompanied by an alluring musical composition, creates an attractive and engaging habitat. This is just a taste of things to come from a much larger ad campaign. So what are you waiting for? Visit the site below and immerse yourself in this totally absorbing experience.

HOT

JAMUNGO BUDS SERIES 2

Price: Start from £4.95 www.urbanretro.co.uk These new crazy critters are dynamite – a great stocking filler for the limited-edition toy lover.

www.scifi.com/tinman/oz/

Italy’s pioneering spirit

d out in a series of eight CATEGORIES: The project will be carrie 16 videos of international of n ntatio prese the ring featu s event ories: Representation, artists, chosen and exhibited in four categ tion Quota and n ntatio Prese , ation ment Docu

HOT or NOT

Italy, is offering up an The MAMbo Museum in Bologna, for the new year. But innovative exhibition, just in time catch it, as it runs until to time of ty don’t worry, there’s plen Alessandra Pioselli, and i Nald la Fabio by 12 June. Curated exploring one of the Time Code is an exhibition intent on ium of video: med elements most connected to the ected with time or conn g bein of ity ‘temporality’ – the qual seems. it , ition exhib orary emp the world. A cont series of eight events a in out ed carri be will ct proje This as international artists, featuring 16 videos of Italian as well , Sweden, 1970) and borg (Göte inet including Loulou Cher ), exhibited in four 1972 ay, Norw en, (Berg Kjersti Sundland tation, Presentation categories: Representation, Documen lenses of these the gh and Quotation. Interpreted throu the presence or of place take also categories, analysis will graphy and icono , phor meta as such ents absence of elem paraphrase, among others. ination of One feature of interest will be the exam tonal elements and l visua te ipula procedures used to man creative de inclu e Thes e. phas n uctio in the post-prod feedback and of use , disciplines such as sampling, remixing . tition repe looping as forms of disturbing Asdam, Riccardo Other featured artists include Knut Pierre Coulibeuf, inet, Cher ou Loul a, Brail l Benassi, Pave Tellero e Oliver Simonetta Fadda, Shona Illingworth, nella Mocellin e Otto Kalleinen, Almagul Menlibayeva, Philippe. You can see e r Mose éric Nicola Pellegrini and Fréd next year. uary Febr 7 on s serie the in the first show

www.mambo-bologna.org

CONTEMPORARY ART IN CULTURE

Price: $44.07 / £21.59 www.amazon.com This book presents the work of 100 emerging artists and ten influential source artists. Ideal Xmas gift idea.

THREE-SIDED ARCADE

Price: $799 / £391.51 (standard) www.dreamarcades.com Costly for some, a must-have for others. Great for avid retro gamers.

NOT

RED SNAPPER MYPOD CUSTOM PERSONALISED IPOD NANO COVER Price: $30.55 / £15 www.redsnapperphoto.co.uk/ipod_ prod.asp The Mypod cover is nothing more than a stocking filler at best. But your pennies could be better spent.

CEREAL KILLERS

Price: N/A www.idigcerealkillers.blogspot.com More of a stocking chiller than filler, it does have some talented artists, but they could put their skills to better use. Long live snap, crackle and pop!

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insight DIARY DATES RENAISSANCE SIENA: ART FOR A CITY Until 13 Jan 2008

National Gallery, London, England

AN AMERICAN’S PASSION FOR BRITISH ART: PAUL MELLON’S LEGACY Until 27 Jan 2008

London UK, www.londondesignfestival.com

SEDUCED – ART AND SEX FROM ANTIQUITY TO NOW Until 27 Jan 2008

Regents Park, London UK

ICE MAGIC Jan 2008 (annual)

Lake Louise, Canada, [email protected]

THE SOCIÉTÉ ANONYME: MODERNISM FOR AMERICA Until 3 Feb 2008

Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, USA

Cintiq 12WX Every Christmas, most of us will spend hours looking for that perfect gift for our loved ones. Well, if that special person in your life is a creative soul, Wacom has once again come up with a must-have offering – the Cintiq 12WX graphics tablet. This hybrid product is a first for Wacom and will complement any designer’s array of creative tools. The special thing about the Cintiq 12WX is that it combines the advantages of two of Wacom’s most revered products, with the Cintiq’s interactive pen display and the compact size of the Intuos3 pen tablet. A portable power tool if you like. This attractive size, offering a slimline design, 405 x 270 x 17mm, incorporates a 12.1” TFT display with a WXGA resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels with 24-bit colour depth. It allows direct pen-on-screen drawing, painting and sketching – targeting this product at professional digital content creators undertaking tasks such as storyboarding, finishing, retouching and compositing. Weighing in at just 2,000g coupled with its discreet dimensions, the Cintiq 12WX sports itself as an ergonomic product ideal for incorporation into any workspace and mobile use. With an adjustable stand integrated into the Cintiq’s body, convenience is the name of the game. This is optimised for using the display in three orientations: at 25degree angle from horizontal, 65-degree angle for viewing or flat on your desk or lap. If you prefer the latter, you’ll be introduced to one of the Cintiq 12WX’s new features. When placed flat on a desktop, it will rotate on a pivot, enabling you to position your hand ergonomically. Here’s where this Wacom product excels further in its functionality. The Cintiq 12WX is suitable for use in a variety of arrangements, functioning as your primary monitor or perhaps alongside other displays in a multi-functioning working environment. This can be really beneficial when you’re using the Display Toggle function, as it will allow you

to easily switch between screens and maximise your pen control and application across assorted displays. All this provides you with the advantages of an interactive pen display in a classic workplace scenario, integrating effortlessly into existing workflows. ExpressKeys and Touch Strips are present once more, allowing users to preconfigure frequently used modifier keys, or initiate functions such as the Display Toggle. Both significantly improve workflow and productivity. In all, the Cintiq 12WX is ideal for the working creative, and the good people at Wacom have hinted that such products are just a taste of things to come. “We have developed a concept – ‘open up, sense more’ – to act as a focal point of our brand for the next phase in our growth,” explains Stefan Kirmse, director of marketing at Wacom Europe. Han Stoffels, managing director, Wacom Europe GmbH, added: “These are exciting times for Wacom and we have set our ambition for the company to advance dramatically over the next few years, building on our expertise and experience within the creative sector to offer innovative products not only for designers, but also for consumers.” So, where better to start than by purchasing the Wacom Cintiq 12WX and putting these sentiments to the test? At an asking price of £800 and with so much incentive, you’d be Christmas crackers not to.

www.wacom.eu

FAMILIAR FUNCTIONS: Cintiq 21UX and Intuos3 functionality is integrated into the Cintiq 12WX, which includes the ExpressKeys and Touch Strips

ERGONOMICS: The ergonomically designed, cordless and battery-free Grip Pen is precise, and provides advanced control and realistic results due to the 5,080lpi resolution and 1,024 pressure levels in both the pen tip and eraser

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Letters

Mailbox

Do you have a question, rant or rave about the magazine? Email your thoughts to [email protected] or visit www.advancedphotoshop/forum We always endeavour to disrupt the flow of the magazine as little as possible, and it should be easy enough to read through the content without having to resort to tearing it out and spoiling the pages.

SUBJECT: Missing CD FROM: Ken Hughes I’m a keen reader and I was just wondering if you could post online or send me the tutorial files for issue 36. Unfortunately, to my surprise, it did not accompany my copy of the magazine. Thank you for all your time!

Advertising is a fact of life in magazine publishing, if we’re to keep bringing you top images and content

SUBJECT: Catalogue concerns FROM: Dave White I have just received my subscription edition of Advanced Photoshop, delayed due to the postal strike. I have been a subscriber since you changed the name and greatly enjoy the mag. For the first time ever, I have a very strong complaint. Don’t hard bind advertising catalogues in the magazine! I keep my copies for later reference. I don’t wish to retain the catalogue, and you have effectively reduced my choice to either keeping what I don’t want or ripping the pages out, which cannot be done tidily. As a matter of principle, I won’t be looking at the catalogue either! Apart from that, thank you for your hard work in producing what must be the best Photoshop mag on the market. Editor replies: First of all, apologies for the delay, the postal strike affected all, and delays were unavoidable. We’re afraid that advertising is a fact of life in publishing, and it exists in all forms of print media (just take a look at the Sunday supplements to see it in extremes). Campaigns such as this fund the whole process of creating, printing and distributing the magazine.

Editor replies: We have had a couple of letters and emails from readers this month saying that their CD has fallen out in the shop, or for whatever other reason, is not present. If this has happened to you, then fear not! All the tutorial files that would have been on the CD are now available online for you to download. Just point your browser to www.advancedphotoshop. co.uk/tutorials.php to get the files you need to complete the tutorials in the magazine.

SUBJECT: Tutorial disappointment FROM: Greg Lanier I have been working on the Surreal Photomontage tutorial in your most recent issue (Advanced Photoshop 36). I was very excited to see that technique, because it’s the type of thing I want to learn to do. However, the more complex parts of the tutorial are given as ‘add anything you want’ or something similar. What? I wanted to learn how to make the ground underneath the suspended building, and you taught me NOTHING! Why do I pay all this for an expensive magazine to be met with ‘information’ like that? I mean, show me one time how to do it, then let me use my imagination. On top of that, the photo example is so small and dark I have no idea how it should really look! I know there are many ways to do things, but show me at least one way! Now I’ll have to go elsewhere to find out how to do this… Otherwise, you have a very fine magazine and I’ve enjoyed every issue.

Editor replies: We’re sorry to hear that you weren’t happy with this particular tutorial. We always hope that you’ll take away the techniques from the tutorials and use them on your own images. Often there is more than one way to perform a task, and the method you choose is dependent on the images that you’re using. Many tasks, such as making selections and cutting out subjects, are not explained in full as our general readership is pretty au fait with them. However, we will take your comments on board when writing future tutorials.

The tutorials aim to give you the techniques you need to work on your own projects, rather than just copying our expert’s results

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SUBJECT: Surreal montage FROM: Insane Webs – Graham (on the forum) I’ve been trying the rather splendid tutorial for the surreal montage (as if you hadn’t worked that out already) and was wondering about a couple of points and looking for advice. When applying the Healing Brush to eradicate the symmetry on the land below the buildings, how did you achieve the effect? (Not the method, but how and where you applied changes.) Also, it talks of brushes from Blue Vertigo. Which brushes exactly were used? Thanks in advance.

On the

forum SUBJECT: To degree or not to degree? FROM: Nckmed Next week I’m going to a university near to where I live. I’m trying to decide if I want to get my second degree in Graphic Design or Computer Science. I’m good with both, but I can’t think of which one to get. Do any of you have an idea what I should go for? If so, why?

Editor replies: We asked our expert imageer Nelson Balaban, author of the tutorial, to answer your questions. In answer to the first one, he says: “You just have to use the Healing Brush. I can’t think of a proper answer for this… could anyone? Just make sure to use it 75% Hard and Replace, as stated in the tutorial.” And in terms of which brushes were used? “None. I’ve just pointed to a cool site for resources. The brushes used are exclusively done by me. I also encouraged you to make your own brushes.” We always encourage our readers to use their own materials to follow our tutorials, rather than just producing an exact replica. The key is to experiment using the guidelines given and see what you can come up with.

FROM: Revjessecuster I’ve got a degree in Computer Science – it’s done me no good at all, although all my friends managed to get jobs, but they had to start on very low wages. I wish I’d done an art degree.

SUBJECT: Work in print FROM: Jane Woodman I am in my first year at university studying graphic design, and on the side I do work on flyers and posters for a friend’s band. I would really like to get my work printed in a magazine like Advanced Photoshop – if it’s good enough, of course. However, I am a bit confused by the Peer Pressure section in the magazine and on the web. They seem different, and I’m not sure if I should be following a brief or doing my own thing to be considered for publication. Editor replies: Hi Jane. We’re sorry for the confusion. There are a number of ways to get your work in print. First, there is our regular Peer Pressure section in the magazine, where you can showcase your work, whatever it is! To submit your work for consideration, simply follow the instructions on page 78 this issue and be in

Want to see your work in print? There are a number of ways, including Peer Pressure on page 78

with the chance of winning a fantastic prize from The Illustration Source. On the website (www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk) we also run a Peer Pressure challenge, where we provide three images that can be used to create a work of art. At least one of the images must be used, and the best image chosen after the closing date will win a subscription to the magazine. Finally, we also run a monthly challenge on our forum under the Peer Pressure section, which is just for fun. Simply design any image based around the challenge topic and submit it on the forum to get feedback from other users. The winner will be printed on our On the Web pages (this issue on page 26). We can’t wait to see your work, so what are you waiting for?

“WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE OUR READERS TO USE THEIR OWN MATERIALS TO FOLLOW OUR TUTORIALS”

FROM: Rook1983 There’s no guarantee of obtaining a great vocation in either discipline. I am not sure what Computer Science involves, as it wasn’t on the syllabus when I was at uni, but usually illustration and graphics courses amalgamate all disciplines, teaching students how to use most creative digital software. FROM: Frosty I just switched my major last semester from Computer Science to Graphic Design. Comp. Science wasn’t for me. In coding, you can’t express yourself creatively at all. In graphic design you can, though. I’m excelling in all my classes as well, so things are looking up. Of course, this is another artist’s biased opinion as well. FROM: Revjessecuster I’d have to disagree about not being creative with coding. I used to love the beauty of code. But I prefer art. FROM: Nckmed I would have to agree coding is an art. Just like artwork coding is its own form of art. It’s amazing how you can create anything you want (as long as you’re good at it). That’s the reason I wanted to learn coding.

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insight EPIPHANIES: “Originally a promo illustration for Ten4 magazine mail out, which I reworked into this image for my portfolio”

EUM: ““The THE OCTOD tended to in Octodeum is ising and be a mesmer mix of twoentertaining design, dimensional rger areas of combining la and more flat colour acter details intricate char w liberties a fe st ju ke ta at th d anatomy an with human of physics” the rules

on Insight: Chris Dickas

excuse to have sonal project and an pe, and to draw ESCAPADE: “A per d sha an r ou col , on siti po some fun with com e picture” ters together into on some funny charac

t”. He’s already ton for punishmen lf-proclaimed “glut BA Honours in Graphic Arts and se a is on as ck Di a Chris first dia: mmunications Me o separate degrees: graduated from tw tropolitan University and a MA in Co Back to back no l. Me s sto ed Bri , Le st of England Design from University of the We r fazed him. Animation from the n, that the freelance arena has neve the son started working g, ka Dic isin e, rpr su gre de Un rs less. on from his Maste ati seen my film at my du d gra ha er ey aft “Th ly . Short mpany 442 South co d ase me title sequence l-b so sto for Bri freelance for portunity to pitch op the me d ation and came in ere str off degree show and I may be good at illu ht ug tho I s thi g ekly listing rin work with them. Du ector of Venue.” A Bristol and Bath we sional portfolio. fes dir art pro n’s the so th ka wi contact to form Dic , producing mmissions began magazine, these co n has gone from strength to strength ngs for MT V. He sti so d ka From there, Dic for the BBC, ITV an in title sequences Bristol and Exeter’s – ed a us nd rk ga wo pa on Pro ati for on anim ati str illu l United na tio promo UTNE Reader in the has also produced as well as work for ht, nig ie ind ve . ati an biggest altern D label in Jap hoes in Istanbul and a DV in contemporary illustration, the ec States, a nightclub ed olv le inv op ily pe av of he lot is n by. “A Although Dickaso ps from times gone erican luences are perha of mid-century Am nt sce of his work and inf ini rem is t hard to tha be le sty uld a wo ve it t ha I t bu is, comment tha w intentional that at I do,” ho wh re of su t lot no a to I’m l . cartoons/design ons of America) fee cti pers and du ap Pro wr t ed ee nit sw (U A’ nces from weird lue deny there is a ‘UP inf my e h, I guess ug tak lly tho , “I actua arkets. In summary explains Dickason. rs and shapes in foreign superm d lou fin co I t t fla tha g ing xin ag mi created by bits of pack on the relationship my style is based up thought out drawings.” oned work ll we of Dickason’s menti work has a with detailed and dly an integral part my tte of mi h ad uc is “M op n. sh itio Photo compos rt and finish of every many different characters and some process, at the sta to ity with tiv ac of l ful is t are therefore vital tha subject matter ects of Photoshop an asp l d na an l itio too os ic mp an co e an org frenzied action. Th I use Photoshop as images in, work. Sometimes ration – scanning plo ex the success of my d an ss ce pro ht tweaking, etc – d ug an tho g tin my jus for ad instrument re-drawing them, m, the ng nti pri adjusting them, t I find exciting.” ncept and style tha until I develop a co k o.u n.c www.chrisdickaso

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12.07

MINOTOURIST: “A concept initially used for The Monster Mash Exhibition in Bristol and London in 200 5. Photoshop was vita l in creating this imag e, that is a mix of found im agery and vector graphic digital illustration”

WALK DON’T WALK: “I think Nishant Choksi is great, as is Adrian Johnson, Allan Sanders, Alberto Ceriteno and The Tea Party Studio. I generally think I admire anyone who can produce something visually different and exciting, whilst retaining a personable humour in their subject matter”

ZEN DOG: “One of my first ever illustrations. An oldie but a goodie that I used as a means to teach myself Photoshop and Illustrator back in the day”

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insight ’s book. The boat tration from the children THE TREE: “Another illus house” s’ folk my at d d that I foun is an old 3D model in woo

MR SCARE: “Another illustration from the children´s book. Mostly photomanipulation, but you can find some drawings as well, like Mr Scare himself”

tration, aps my most popular illus is THE VOYAGE: “This is perh s to create. Photography one est fast the of one and it was my sketchbooks” from ers ract cha with blended

MR DAHISTROM: “A portrait of one of my closest friends. with this one was to The challenge turn an ordinary Sw edish tractor into som ething new”

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Alex Jansson

12.07

At the beginning of Alex Jansson’s career there was a program called Picture Publisher. It was free, easy, but very limited. “Photoshop scared me,” admits Jansson, a freelance illustrator working in Gothenburg, Sweden. “For five years I went to art school and then tried my luck as a traditional oil painting artist. Meanwhile, I got more and more interested in experimenting with the computer and I slowly started to develop my style.” Jansson’s success is an inspiration for all. After starting to show his digital work at art communities online, he received an overwhelming response. Soon he had his own website up and running, and around that time the commissions started to trickle in. He’s now a lot less daunted by the ins and outs of Photoshop. “In my opinion you don’t need to know a lot of technical stuff to master Photoshop,” says Jansson. “The most important thing is that you have a clear vision of what you want. I use Photoshop the way I paint, with intuition and a ‘loose’, straightforward kind of attitude.” Jansson is currently working on a film called The Curious Kind, an exam project for his Bachelor’s degree, which takes up most of his precious time. “I’m also putting the final touches to my children’s book called Boatsman And The Stranger. Then there is this everongoing process of creating the world that most of my illustrations are part of,” says Jansson. “It’s been a part of my life for the last 15 years and a book is slowly taking shape.” www.alexanderjansson.com

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racter from my TH: “The main cha GTON IN THE BA d 3D elements IN an TT oto HA Ph AN t. Ha SM t His BOAT man Hattington Los ats Bo ok, bo s en´ childr shop” e painting in Photo are blended with som

ny, many layers and EMBER ZAVALLA: “Ma picture to get the this in used e textures wer shine after rain” sun of ted wan I feeling that

THE HOUSE OF ZOUNDRA SEAL EA: “This is quite a basic photomanipulation. There are no painted eleme nts at all, actually”

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insight Insight: Miriam Castillo

for a short story called SIMULACROS: “Created to creepy tale so we’ve tried ‘Simulacros’, the story is a sweet and infantile to give come up with something n idea” some contrast to the mai

all over that kids do all the time “Drawing is something , a graphic tillo Cas iam Mir s say ,” walls and notebooks from the Universidad del designer who graduated it , some of us keep doing ver we “Ho . xico Valle de Me ” up. wn gro ’ve we t tha despite the fact tfolio and ever-expanding por Describing a flourishing tillo’s Cas c’, ani ‘org and e’ -lik am a is as being ‘imaginative’, ‘dre ide an ere wh fts, dra tchbook work originates from ske n the images in. sca I dy, rea it’s k thin I formed. “When ers I toshop, whereas for oth Sometimes I only use Pho n. itio pos com the on ing end mix it with Illustrator, dep er to ord in , end y ver the es in at Photoshop regularly com l.” erfu pow make it clean and ng to expose her work in Castillo is currently planni handmade art with into galleries, as well as getting com – “Which I do with ns. esig bitd rab der www.thun s on pillows, bags and a partner, creating design ’ll other objects.” inal style, we’re sure we With such a quirky and orig in the near future. ’s work be seeing more of Castillo m www.miriamcastillo.co

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tools in my case are the Blur s” BLURS: “The most useful ng texture to plain surface givi in lot a effects. These help

elements I found in FROM THE SEA: “I used fish, grass, flowers, star es, leav as nature, such e scanned in and wer y The ls. cora feathers and e passed along wer ures pict cell e cleaned. Som d” frien t ogis biol a to me from

WORKING PROCESS: “For me, as an illustrator, the basic and most important part of the whole process is when you’v e defined what it is you’re looking for and you’re able to start thinking about anoth er”

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12.07 ALL DIGITAL: “An image created dig itally from beginning end. This image wa to s a mixture of vector s and photographs”

ws you to toshop allo c TIAL: “Pho only limit for graphi EN T O P T e h. Th GREA ng you wis ation” hi yt er ev e mak agin your own im creation is

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insight URBAN FUTURE:

CG “This is one of my earlier pieces,” explains Morrell. ils “There were so many deta in here, I remember struggling to deal with all the layers.” Another image in that has been showcased the Exposé series

THE INEVIT

AB with this one. Th LE: “All-out fantasy e heavily polluted atmosphere off ered a great ch ance for using an exagge rated colour pa lette”

Stefan Morrell Cover artist Stefan Morrell is “for the most part self-taught” gleaning valuable information on digital techniques from books and the internet. However, looking at his images you wouldn’t think that this pro fell into producing art ‘accidentally’. “I’ve always been interested in the arts in one form or another, but moving to the digital medium was perhaps more accidental than anything else – the culmination of trawling the internet for art sites when first getting a computer several years ago,” Morrell explains. “It was seeing websites like CGTalk.com [CG Society’s forum] or Renderosity that really got me interested. My ideas of digital art were of it being very sterile and lacking in any ‘life’.” Those websites also helped to launch Morrell’s digital career: “Most of my first jobs have come through having a portfolio online; consequently, the majority of the enquiries I get start off, ‘We saw your work on CGTalk.com’.” As such, Morrell is happy to extol the virtues of the internet portfolio: “Having an online exposure is a great way for various clients to get a good look at the style of my images. It also helps to work with overseas clients, being based in New Zealand.” Morrell’s work obviously uses a lot of 3D techniques, but Photoshop certainly has its part to play too. “There is a large amount of 3D in my images, which is created using 3ds Max and rendered in multiple passes for postworking in Photoshop,” he explains. “The 3D models need to be textured before rendering, so I also make use of Photoshop for textures, most of which are photo sourced and colour corrected, layered up and given some life with custom brushwork. The texturing process is probably where I do most of my Photoshop work.” So what’s next for the talented “environment artist”? “I’m currently doing some illustrations for an upcoming Honda ad campaign, creating vast sci-fi cityscapes for highquality magazine prints. For the kind of images I like to do, it’s the dream job!” http://stefan-morrell.cgsociety.org/gallery/

/

WATERWORLD: e de around the sam

Ma y, time as Walled Cit depicting a watery tual scene with concep s transportation. Thi seen image can also be g’s in Ballistic Publishin Exposé series of rrell books, to which Mo is no stranger

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th this image I

THE WALLED CITY: “Wi lishing’s Exposé 5

12.07

Pub recently received Ballistic Fiction” Masters award in Science

THE VA

LLEY: “This one was made while working on the Waterworld image. Sometimes a quick deviation is good for refre shing the creative juices”

URBAN ENVIRONMENT: “A recurring theme with my images is the urban ins environment,” says Morrell, which expla the gritty realism in his work

HOOD: HBOUR that IG E N E ts TH the artis

ing ell Describ ired him, Morr with d sp have in quite impresse ry says: “I’m e contempora , le th some of inters. Dylan Co a matte p i – the iconic r sk fo Chris Sto ey’ve created to” th ire imagery ething to asp m film is so

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Website

On the web

www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk Our website and readers’ forum is perfect for showing off Photoshop creations. We present the best images on the site this month. Log on and upload to get your images here next issue! MARUO YOBI HANA

ARTIST: Robert Porter EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: ropa-to.deviantart.com “This image is created with the most basic tools of Photoshop. All I did was position a silhouette of a flower, butterflies and leaves with a red stroke for the outline. Then I proceeded to copy and paste repeatedly in order to get the desired patterns. That is pretty much everything you need to know if you want to create an image like this!”

GOLDEN SEPTEMBER

ARTIST: Bente Schlick EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.creativesoul.de “This picture originated as a sketch on the evening of my birthday in the middle of September. I love September, because autumn’s nearly there and the leaves have changed their colour. In Germany, autumn begins mid- to end-September, yet you can still catch some lovely summer days when you can, as I like to, sit on the Elbe’s riverbank in Hamburg and enjoy the last warm rays of sunshine. I used references, especially for the hands. For the textures on the background and the tattoo on the arm I used brushes, which I created out of photos. All in all it took me about 20 hours to complete.”

Readers’ Challenge THE RESULTS – NOVEMBER Due to popular demand, you can now take part in a monthly online readers’ challenge. Take a trip to our forum website at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum and scroll down to the Peer Pressure section. Keep an eye out for the most recently announced challenge. Readers are welcome to post one Photoshop creation up in response to the theme, and all visitors are invited to cast their vote for the winning design in our online poll. We’re pleased to announce the winner of our ‘Ice’ theme, Garry Ure. Here’s a bit about the piece from Garry. “The Eyes-Cube image was originally created as part of a ‘Freaky Foods’ Photoshop challenge. I started off with a stock image of an ice cube (taken by James Wilsher and found on stock.xchng) and an image of a fake eyeball. After cutting out the eyeball I applied the Glass Distort filter a couple of times to replicate the diffracted effect that you get when looking through glass or, in this case, ice. To make the eye look as though it was inside the ice cube, I changed the eye layer blending mode to Hard Light and applied a layer mask.” www.garryure.co.uk / http://garry79.deviantart.com

THE MODERN WORLD

ARTIST: Paul Beckers EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: paulbeckers.hyves.nl / kwestievanlef.nl “I am always trying to make series of designs, so this picture of the week was the starting design for a series. I am a collector of textures: crunchy walls, transport pictures, etc. I collect pictures every week on the internet, or I take my camera out to make my own pictures. I work for a couple of magazines, and I also do flyers, posters, concepts, etc. The thing that is getting bigger and bigger is my customising of shoes and bags. I work together with a sneaker store called Sneak Preview in the Netherlands, Nijmegen, where I sell my shoes, bags, T-shirts, canvas art, etc.”

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Inter view SCOTT ROBERTSON Driven by a passion for design

from an early age, Scott Robertson talks us through his life choices and career path that led to the inspirational and successful designs that he’s now producing

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cott Robertson is a big hitter in the design world. He knows what he wants and he gets what he wants. He has carved out a solid career for himself as a respected product designer, lecturer, author, publisher and even computer games developer – and that’s just for starters. This man is driven. However, don’t mistake this go-getter attitude for arrogance. The fact is you’d be hardpushed to find a more modest person. This is someone who’s got where he is today because of pure passion for design – something that has never wilted in his 40 years on this planet. ”When I was a kid I always wanted to be a car designer,” says Robertson. “I loved cars and enjoyed drawing my own designs and building models. Both of which are good primer activities to becoming a car designer.” Robertson’s passion for design grew and developed from childhood, nurtured by his illustrator father: “I would have to say that my father, who attended Art Center College of Design in California, was my first and probably most important and influential teacher. From him I learned how to think creatively, always thinking several steps ahead of the current task. I also learned the basics of drawing in perspective. Knowing that a place like Art Center existed and that designing cars for a living was a viable career path, was a huge motivator toward my becoming a concept designer.” After high school, Robertson progressed to Oregon State University for a few years before applying to Art Center. “At OSU I studied as

UNDERPASS: “The idea is that you are the camera and are flying along at the same speed as the jets and the boat, so they stay in focus while the background whizzes by…”

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Scott Robertson

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many different topics as possible to see if I found anything I enjoyed more than industrial design. Meanwhile, I kept working on my portfolio for application to Art Center, with my father as the ‘critical eye’ on the work I was doing.” At the age of 20, Robertson was accepted by Art Center, where he began to flourish and really get stuck into what he loved most – transportation and product design. “During my last two terms I did mostly independent studies, pursuing the design of objects that rode the line between traditional transportation and product design. Bicycles and bicycle helmet design would be two of these types of products.” Robertson’s time at Art Center was an era when 3D digital modelling and Photoshop were not accessible – so Robertson had to face the challenge of teaching himself the programs.

Inspiration Take a look at Robertson’s designs, and you’ll see works of passion and devotion. When you look at them you can’t help imagining him scribbling away as a child, creating weird and wonderful vehicles and longing for the day when they would come to life. These days, his designs often do just that – evolve from screen to reality. The boyish thrill of cars, bikes and anything with wheels has never left Robertson, and this is reflected in his portfolio of work. “It’s hard to grow up playing with Hot Wheels and not have Launch (left): “This was a really fun piece to do because it came together so easily. I love the look of late afternoon sun on rusted steel. A lot of the first sketch remains in the finished piece”

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Scott Robertson

that show up throughout your work now and again, I suppose,” he says. Nevertheless, it’s apparent Robertson is uncomfortable being bound by style-defining terms such as ‘masculine’. “I’ve never thought much about marketing a personal style,” he says. “I’m in constant pursuit of inventing ways to create interesting forms and images. Also, I very much like to pursue new tools and techniques for the invention of these forms and images, such as the blending of digital and traditional rendering techniques. If my work has a masculine edge, I guess it’s due to growing up in America, with my first design and artistic interests being in the area of car design.” Like many young ambitious males, the overriding influences for Robertson as a child were classic sci-fi movies such as Star Wars and Blade Runner. Robertson says: “Later, as I learned more about the artists and designers who created the content for those types of films, it became their work as presented within various ‘art of’ books that I came to admire.” Robertson took a particular shine to the work of Syd Mead, who published inspirational work of his visions of the future. Around the mid-Nineties Robertson whole-heartedly embraced the web, using it to see what other artists and designers were up to. Robertson says, “Now, having become one of those lucky individuals with the skills to create work like that which inspired me, I’ve turned more to nature and my immediate friends as my primary sources of inspiration. When inventing a

new design or style I try not to look at any work done by other designers, as I don’t want my own work to at all reflect that of another designer. My inspiration from my friends does not come from looking at their work, but from talking to them about various ideas on styling, technology, philosophy, art and the future.”

landing: “A rendering like this is really about having the patience and determination to sit for about a week at the computer and pick away at it. The most enjoyable part was the painting of each ship and the figures” SR Concept bike (below): Although Robertson is a master of concept design, he often runs many of his designs past his students to get their input and opinions before finalising the work

Practise what you preach Aside from his concept design work, Robertson has spent much of his career teaching at various institutes. One of his first teaching posts was in Vevey, Switzerland, which first drew him to its beauty. “It was a great opportunity to get back to practising my drawing and rendering skills, and to travel to Europe, specifically Switzerland. A former Art Center teacher with whom I had stayed in contact, Imre Molnar, was working there and needed help. In addition, the industrial design work I was doing around the end of 1994 was not as artistically rewarding as I wanted it to be, and it was at this point that I fell in love with teaching,” Robertson explains. When asked how teaching stacks up against the rewards of creating his own designs, Robertson is reluctant to commit himself. “It’s rare that I get to create truly my own designs, unless I’m doing work for one of my own books. Otherwise, all the designs and art I create are done to fulfil someone else’s business interests. That’s the job – can I create something for them that will be so desirable that their customer

Criss cross (left): After spending

years designing production bikes for clients like Kestrel, it was really great to design and render bikes like these. They are similar to ones I did for the film, Minority Report”

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will spend money on it? What the design is used for does influence my satisfaction with it. If it’s an object or experience that can enrich our lives and not further damage the environment, then of course I gain more satisfaction from the job.” When it comes to satisfaction through teaching, Robertson is equally enthusiastic: “At its best, it’s like sharing a secret answer to a question that someone had been searching for, for a very long time. It makes me proud to see the variety of imaginative, original designs and images my students invent as their creativity and skills are developed throughout their time in my classes and at Art Center.” It seems Robertson’s own education has had a huge bearing on how he approaches topics with his students, drawing on past lessons to push them in the right direction. “The methodologies of creative thinking that I was taught, and that I now teach, can be used to solve many of the challenges life will bring you. The practised ability to change your point of view, to look at an idea or problem from another perspective, has served me well throughout my life, and I owe a debt of gratitude to those teachers who took the time and had the patience to teach me what they knew – and I thank them for that.” With so much on his plate, how does Robertson keep the momentum going? “My motivation is probably my imagination and the thrill of seeing my designs realised in another form instead of

RUINS (ABOVE):

“Whatever story the piece suggests to you, I hope you enjoy it,” says Robertson

START YOUR ENGINES (RIGHT):

“Rendering in Photoshop, I put all of the tricks I could think of into this one”

remaining in two dimensions. I seem to be a bit of a ‘big picture’ idea guy. I like the concept of the idea more than working out all the details.” There’s no doubt that one of his main driving forces is his students and peers: “My peer group is a great sounding board for critiquing my concept art and designs. I can always find several of them doing much more inspiring art and design work than my own projects. This fuels my competitive nature and helps me rally back to push harder to improve my own skills.” In some respects, this competitive streak extends to a need to beat not only individuals but also the destructive forces threatening the

planet. “This might sound a bit metaphysical, but when I’m dead I want the world to be a better place than when I was alive. With the skills I have and knowing who I am, I try through teaching and publishing books to inspire others to create rather than destroy.” This environmental awareness is very obvious in much of Robertson’s work, particularly his concept bikes and transportations. “I don’t find much professional or personal satisfaction in the creation of more products than we as a human race need,” says Robertson. “I think this is why I’ve chosen to do more and more virtual products, ie the design of environments, characters, vehicles

IT’S HARD TO GROW UP PLAYING WITH HOT WHEELS AND NOT HAVE THAT SHOW UP THROUGHOUT YOUR WORK NOW AND AGAIN 32

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and props for the entertainment industry. Here I can create many, many things, and the only limitation is time and money. I can feel good about the designs not ending up in a landfill somewhere or spewing toxic waste into the air we all breathe. In designing things for these new worlds, when your customer tires of them, they can just flip a switch and they’re gone.” With so much experience under his belt, Robertson has a lot to offer the rookie designer. He’s firm in his belief that good foundation skills such as perspective drawing are essential in order to make a good designer. “After they’re armed with good foundation skills, both traditional media and digital tools, they will be in a position to draw and paint anything they can image. But to make a career through the application of these skills, they will need to work well with others and achieve stunning original visual results ‘on call’ as well as on time.”

The future For Robertson, his varied career has been moulded on firm artistic roots – of which he has his father to thank. With so much accomplished, what’s next for this entrepreneurial designer? “Professionally, for the next few years at least, I’ll be the Chair of Entertainment Design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. A couple of years ago I was asked by Art Center to write a new Entertainment Design curriculum that would help educate concept designers of the future. The programme has been working well as a minor for the last year and a half – so much so, they wish it to be its own department. My publishing company, Design Studio Press, will continue to publish innovative, original art and design books. I will try to do more educational DVDs with The Gnomon Workshop. Last, I’m trying to leave the summers open to create original Intellectual Properties to license for development into videogames and movies.

LIFT OFF (ABOVE): “The

color rendering of one of the antcraft rising through the clouds on its ascent into space. You can get a sense of scale when you see the pilot’s head in the cockpit”

HOVERCRAFT (INSET): One of

the best things about Robertson’s job is being able to create the ultimate boys toys that only dreams are made of

All the artistic visual development of these future properties will be featured in upcoming Design Studio Press books, such as our first IP, Alien Race, due out in July 2008.” That’s a busy couple of years planned ahead, and it’s obvious Robertson thrives on the buzz of a bustling work schedule. With so much to offer, there’s no doubt Robertson will go on designing and teaching students his secrets to success well into old age. A born designer through and through – his dream of being remembered for his beneficial work is certainly looking promising. “When I die I want to have the feeling that I have left all my knowledge and skill behind for others to do with as they may.” We’re sure his students will take away some great lessons from such a skilled master. To see more of Robertson’s work and his company’s books visit: www.drawthrough.com and www.designstudiopress.com. 5

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MASTERCLASS

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Focus on soft focus Simple to sublime: seven strategies for soft-focus style ON THE DISC On the CD this month you’ll find the starter image for this tutorial. Look for ‘SoftFocus01.jpg’.

OUR EXPERT

Kirk Nelson

Kirk, hailing from Washington DC, is a regular contributor here in the ranks of Advanced Photoshop. He also writes for our sister magazine Photoshop Creative. This month he tackles a variety of techniques for creating soft-focus effects.

BY KIRK NELSON

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oft focus. You are probably familiar with the term: it describes the effect on a photograph where the highlights bloom and create a soft blur around the brightest parts of an image. It’s a common effect for glamour photography because it tends to hide blemishes and produce a dream-like appearance. But do you know how it’s produced? If the term ‘spherical aberration’ immediately comes to mind, we suggest you pick up our fine Digital Photographer magazine on the next rack over there. You are currently reading a Photoshop magazine, so Gaussian Blur is closer to our preferred flavour. As with most things in Photoshop, there are many paths leading to the same destination. Over the next several pages we’ll explore seven different techniques for simulating that soft-focus style. These range from push-button simplicity to ‘How did you come up with that?’ surprises, each with their own set of advantages. We’ll walk you through each technique and then you can decide for yourself which works the best for you.

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First technique: quick and easy This first technique is a pretty standard, straightforward, no-fuss method. Open up the ‘SoftFocus01.jpg’ file from the CD. Select the background layer and hit Ctrl+J (or Cmd+J) to duplicate the background layer.

Faded effects Here’s a useful little function that’s frequently overlooked – the Fade command. This reduces the Fade effect and applies it to only the brighter elements, all in one handy step! Go Edit>Fade Gaussian Blur. Set the Opacity to somewhere around 65% and the mode to Lighten. Hit OK and you’ve got the solution to all your quick and easy soft-focus needs.

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Our friend, the Gaussian Blur Ah, the old Gaussian Blur. Where would we be without it? Probably not doing a soft focus effect, that’s for sure. Almost every soft-focus technique involves this filter in one way or another. With the duplicate layer active, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. A radius of 5 pixels seems to work pretty well.

“THE FADE COMMAND CAN REDUCE THE BLUR EFFECT AND CHANGE THE APPLICATION MODE IN ONE HANDY STEP” 35

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Second technique: Use an Adobe Action This next technique is ridiculously simple. It’s about the closest thing to having a soft-focus entry in the filters lineup. Go back to the unaltered image and open your Actions palette, found next to the History palette. From the pull-out menu select Image Effects – this adds several image-enhancing effects options that are available at the push of a button.

Just push the button Notice one of the new Actions is called Soft Focus. Select it and hit the Play button at the foot of the palette. Wasn’t that easy? If you want, dig down and see how the Action works – it’s essentially a duplicated layer with a Gaussian Blur. You can then set to Lighten.

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Third technique: Black and White The first two techniques tend to add saturation to the image colours. This might be a good thing, or it might not. That usually depends on the image and the final effect you are aiming for. This technique adds a soft focus while pulling some saturation out of the image. Once again, return to the unedited source image and duplicate the Background layer. Now go Image>Adjustments>Black and White. We encourage you to experiment with the settings here and see how it impacts the results. But for now, we just go with the default values.

Soft and calm Use the Gaussian Blur again (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) with a radius of 5. Now set the layer’s mode to Lighten and lower the Opacity to around 65%. Notice how this technique washes out the colours. This could be useful for creating muted backgrounds for a colourful, vibrant foreground object.

8 Adobe Labs

plug-in

Want to try to reproduce this amazing image of Christmas-time at Rockefeller Center? Well if you have CS3 Extended, you can get a head start by going to labs.adobe.com and grabbing a plug-in called ‘Photoshop CS3 Extended Plug-In for Google 3D Warehouse’. This allows you to use models from Google (sketchup.google. com/3dwarehouse) as a 3D layer. You can even search its warehouse right from Photoshop! Find the Rock Center model as seen here, then just add background buildings, change the lighting, create glowing windows, etc.

Fourth technique: Soft focus with style Here’s one that goes a bit outside the norm and produces a soft-focus effect that’s a little more interesting than average. Duplicate the unaltered background yet again. On this new layer go to Filter>Other>Maximum and use a radius of around 8 pixels. This creates large areas of harsh bright colours.

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G-Blur returns Not to be left out, use the Gaussian Blur again. This time nudge the radius down to 4 pixels, or about half of what you used for the maximum filter. This softens those harsh shapes.

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“AS WITH MOST THINGS IN PHOTOSHOP, THERE ARE MANY PATHS TO THE SAME DESTINATION” 10 11

Zoom, zoom Let’s use the soft-focus effect to help enhance the focal point effect already present in the image. Go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Change the method to zoom and amount to 15. Keep the blur centre approximately over where the Christmas tree is in the image.

Tone it down The last few steps has our tree exploding into an array of light. Kind of fun, but not really the effect we’re after. Change the blending mode to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to a level where the effect isn’t too overwhelming. We set it at 30% for this example.

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Reveal details This effect covers up some of the fine details. To bring them back, add a layer mask (Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All) then select a soft-edged brush with black paint. Be sure you’re on the mask, not the layer itself and use the brush to softly paint away the Blur effect and reveal the detail layer underneath.

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Fifth technique: light and dark This next technique allows you to fine-tune the brightness (or darkness) of the effect. Begin again with the unedited image. This time, make two duplicates of the background layer. Name one ‘LightBur’ and the other ‘DarkBlur.’ Then run the Gaussian Blur filter on both of them.

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Go towards the light Select the ‘LightBlur’ layer and change the mode to Screen, then reduce the Opacity to 50%. The image will looked pretty washed-out, but we’ll correct that in the next step.

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The dark side Select the ‘DarkBlur’ layer and set the mode to Multiply and Opacity to 50%. Take note of how the two layers cancel each other out and allow the image to keep the same tonal value. This technique is useful because it’s easy to adjust the light and dark areas of the image by changing the opacity of those layers.

Technique

Gallery Here you can see the results of each technique described in this tutorial side by side. There’s no correct answer to which is best, it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Every technique produces a similar effect, but here’s a quick run-down of the advantages of each: #1 Quick and easy. This one is simple, effective, and makes use of the under-utilised Fade command. #2 Adobe Action. This effect is a pre-written Action that ships with Adobe. Super-simple to use and produces a very subtle effect.

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Sixth technique: Diffuse Glow This approach adds an interesting grain to the soft-filter effect. Once more, return to the unedited source image and duplicate the background. Now go to Filter>Distort>Diffuse Glow. Adjust the settings to your liking, but we used a Graininess of 3, Glow Amount of 5 and Clear Amount of 15.

#3 Black and White. This strategy achieves the soft-focus effect and mutes the colours. An excellent choice for a background effect. #4 Soft focus with style. This process features enhanced colours and gives an interesting directional blur to the effect, so it complements the focal point of the image. #5 Light and dark. By using this double-layer combo effect, you gain a great deal of precision control over the lights and darks of the image. #6 Diffuse Glow. This effect adds a beautiful soft grain to the image. #7 Crazy luminosity mask. This technique uses an obscure command and makes you look like a Photoshop wizard in front of your friends!

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Pin Light Set the mode to Pin Light. This mode really accentuates the image colours while keeping that nice grainy glow. You could say that this looks good and call it done, but we’d like to go a bit further down this path.

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This is familiar Duplicate the ‘Layer1’ and apply the Gaussian Blur again. Now set this layer’s mode to Soft Light and reduce the Opacity to 30%. The change is subtle, but it helps to even out the glow from the previous steps.

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Two layers, one mask Select both layers and hit Ctrl+G (or Cmd+G) to group them together. With this new group selected, hit the Add Layer Mask icon at the foot of the Layers palette. This way you can use a single mask for both layers. Just like before, use a soft brush and black paint to reveal details that were hidden by the blurring.

Seventh technique: crazy luminosity mask technique We had to include this one just for the sheer off-thewall, creative-thinking approach to getting a pretty useful effect. Once again go back to the starter image and duplicate the Background layer (it’s the last time, we promise!) and create a Luminosity Mask. How do you do that? You won’t find it in the menus, it’s one of those mystical Photoshop tricks that’s passed down from one generation to the next. You must press Ctrl+Alt+~ (or Cmd+Opt+~) to create a selection based upon the luminosity values of the image.

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Put on your mask Hit the Add Layer Mask icon to use the selection as a mask. Now it’s just those bright areas of the layer that are visible. To illustrate this better, we added a layer filled with black just below this layer.

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Level things out Make sure the mask is still the active layer, not the layer itself. Then go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. Slide the middle handle to the right until all the midtones disappear and all that’s left is the brightest spots of the image. Here we put ours at the 0.20 mark. You can delete the black layer at this point, because we won’t need it any more.

Let it snow, let it snow! To finish things off we used the Blizzard action, found in the same Image Effects folder from the second technique. We duplicated it several times and scaled those layers down so they would work as background snow fall. Add this to some layer masking and your favourite soft-focus technique and you’ve got an image worthy of a magazine cover!

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No Gaussian Blur here Let’s give the old G-Blur a rest, shall we? Instead, let’s add an Outer Glow layer style. Change the glow colour to white and adjust the settings to taste. Hit OK and there you go! While this technique may seem a bit odd, it’s surprisingly flexible. By changing the levels on the mask you can adjust the range of the soft focus. Using an Outer Glow layer style also allows for more custom adjustments than a blurred layer.

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Feature

image is everything

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image is everything Although Photoshop plays an important role in contemporary photography, a keen eye for a good image is still everything, as Nick Spence discovers BY Nick Spence

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here is little doubt that Photoshop has had a substantial impact on the work of photographers in recent years. It’s given everyone, regardless of status, education, budget, access to high-end equipment or darkroom facilities, the ability to compete at a professional level. It’s also freed many to experiment and explore new creative possibilities, producing work that would be difficult, if not impossible, to produce traditionally with film. Along with the wide acceptance of digital cameras and advances in broadband, the internet and email, it’s also helped speed the creative process from shoot to client’s desk. Yet it has brought increased pressure to startle and seduce clients expecting out-of-this-world images at a click of a mouse and Photoshop sometimes compensating for the lack of photographic vision. Getting the balance right between great photography and good Photoshop is key, and for each of our photographers profiled here, image is everything. Trained as a master ( printer, Traer Scott (www. traerscott.com is a fine-art traerscott.com) photographer with a background in portraiture and fashion. Fortunate to have a darkroom in her home, Scott was very reluctant at first to switch to digital, feeling that it would compromise the artistic experience and outcome of her work. Loving her darkroom and the quality that film brought, picking up Photoshop was something she had put off doing. “I had to learn everything, including Photoshop, on my own from the bottom up,” explains Scott. “I was quickly struck by two things: first,

how gratifying and informative an immediate image can be, and second, how much money I was saving by not shooting film. I suddenly felt much freer to experiment and take chances, because there wasn’t that old budgetary constraint and I could immediately correct for lighting and other elements if necessary.” The switch to working with Photoshop made Scott more confident, particularly in studio settings, although she still aims to shoot everything right the first time. “The boundaries Photoshop sets are much wider than film, but I try to do as much as possible through the lens, particularly with my books where authenticity is crucial to the integrity of the work.” With Street Dogs, a remarkable collection of photographs of dogs living alone or in packs on city streets, newly published by Merrell, Scott used Photoshop to reproduce tried and tested traditional techniques to heighten a realistic image. “I tried to limit the retouching to traditional ‘darkroom’ techniques like dodging, burning and overall exposure and contrast control. One of the big joys of photography for me is to know that what I capture really did exist, if only briefly.”

Elements of fantasy With more exotic work, where fantasy and surrealism add an air of ethereal otherworldliness, Photoshop also offers Scott the ability to enhance her already darkly seductive work. “I’m working on a fine-art series that’s shot under and in water. It’s dark narrative portraiture with lots of costuming. I feel like these images are created 60/40 in the camera and in Photoshop, but all the key elements are still there when I click the shutter.” Primarily shooting with a Nikon D200 DSLR camera using Photoshop CS3 on an IBM ThinkPad Z60m laptop, Scott contends that while Photoshop has changed her working methods completely, it shouldn’t distract from fundamental basics of trying to produce a timeless thought-provoking image. “Photoshop can make a mediocre photo more dynamic and it can cover up simple flaws in wellcomposed images such as focusing or exposure errors, but if you don’t have vision, at least some

everything “Getting the balance right between great photography and good Photoshop is key”

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Feature © Andrew Kendall

CASE STUDY

A good gig shooting stars Shooting on location anywhere from summer festivals to tiny back rooms of pubs, Andrew Kendall is acutely aware of time and his surroundings when snapping a galaxy of musicians. Away from the song and sweat, his workflow will involve several software programs to ensure clients receive images pronto from his Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and Canon EOS 5D. Always shooting in RAW, Kendall’s first step will be selecting the files using a professional assetmanagement tool for both speed and to visually catalogue and organise all his images. “Then it’s on to getting the file from RAW into a TIFF file that I can work with in Photoshop,” explains Kendall. “Most of the time I’ll use Adobe Camera Raw, which comes with Photoshop, or Canon DPP. The selection and the RAW conversion are the most important steps. I’ll play around with RAW presets I’ve used before and tweak everything to get the rough look I want.” Location shooting with variable light conditions means some work still needs to be done before images are in the hands of clients. “I’ll take the TIFF into Photoshop, take out dust spots and any minor distractions. If the colour adjustments are minor, I’ll also do that here. If not, I’ll resave and take the image into Adobe Lightroom, which is amazing for most aspects of colour alteration. Once I’m done I save back out to TIFF, archive the file and run a Photoshop batch to do final sharpening and save it to JPEG. Then it’s just a case of sending it to the client, usually via FTP or email. It may sound like a lot of stages, but it soon becomes second nature.”

© Andrew Kendall

Andrew Kendall’s portraits include stunning images of Jarvis Cocker, Bloc Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, Robbie Williams, Madonna and a galaxy of up-and-coming stars technical skill and solid composition to begin with, no program can make your work strong,” insists Scott. Dylan Collard (www.dylancollard.com) is another whose work has gradually shifted from traditional filmbased photography to a more digital-based workflow. After Collard left college, for the first six years his work was 95 per cent black and white, and darkroom-based. This has shifted towards colour over the years, and digital capture and retouch has become a natural part of this progression. Today he combines both film and digital capture to great effect for a number of prestigious clients, as well as continuing to develop a strong strand of personal work. “Currently I’m shooting both film and digital capture. I like being able to jump between the two, using each format to its strengths, my choice being based on the job in hand. I find digital capture has its strengths in studio-based photography, whereas film comes into its own in low-light location situations. I think I’ll always be happier with my 5 x 4 on a stormy moorland in the rain.” For Collard, Photoshop offers a level of control over an image that helps ensure the finished photo resembles both his and the client’s desired look. “I see Photoshop as an extension of the darkroom,” enthuses Collard. “Whether I shoot on film or digitally, my images always go through a digital process at some stage. I love the intricacy that Photoshop offers over traditional

darkroom printing and the control this gives.” Although Photoshop can eliminate many flaws and lighting inconsistencies, an over-reliance can cause more headaches at a later date. “Photoshop is a very versatile tool that can develop and change the look and feel of a photo, but the ‘It’s okay we can do that in post’ attitude is dangerous, as it invariably leads to hours of postproduction work that could have been achieved with half an hour’s extra time spent on lighting,” he warns.

Hitting the deadline Working digitally also benefits clients, being able to select and review work in volume and within a timescale more suited to impending deadlines. Digital images worked on in Photoshop can be easily emailed or sent by FTP, although ultimately the client will dictate the format. “Where possible with film I’ll shoot and supply clients with RA4 12 x 16 gloss prints for scanning,” explains Collard. “The format clients receive is always decided at the quote or estimate stage. Digital capture jobs vary – it’s part of the photographer’s job to be able to supply work in whatever format the client wants.” Working digitally also means you can shoot at length without being restricted by excessive print costs, though this may mean clients are spoilt for choice. “I’ve done jobs where the client wants every single frame shot. A commission I did recently ended up with 7,000

image is ev “I love the intricacy Photoshop offers over darkroom printing and the control this gives”

www.andrewkendall.com

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image is everything © Andrew Kendall

© Dylan Collard

A recent digital convert, Dylan Collard now shoots both digitally and traditionally, having worked in black and white and darkroom-based for six years after leaving college. “I like jumping between the two, using each format to its strengths – my choice being based on the job in hand”

© Andrew Kendall required for the product they were marketing. There was no ‘fix it’ Photoshop. Ideally the photographer got it in one. Great lighting, great exposure, great quality. To do this requires time.” As well as time to shoot and develop a style, it’s vital that a photographer acquires a keen eye for detail, composition and mood – something that can be all too easily fixed in Photoshop. “It’s a lazy way out. So many times I hear ‘We’ll Photoshop it’, even cleaning the product,” suggests the award-winning Gullachsen. “A good photographer should be getting it 95 per cent right. The ideal is still to put the right subject in front of the lens, capture it and use the software to do as little as possible.” Although Photoshop can mimic many traditional film stock qualities with the aid of filters and plug-ins, it can’t do everything. “There are certain qualities that cannot come across; a real bromide toned print cannot be duplicated. But for reproduction, especially at 72dpi on a screen, who can tell?” Despite his reservations, Gullachsen offers some solid advice for anyone wanting to follow in his footsteps: “Be passionate about your work and remember that being a photographer is always going to be better than working!”

In one day’s shoot, Lorentz Gullachsen can easily generate 300-500 images, something that can be lost on clients expecting instant results from digital technology: “Processing and grading images still takes hours”

© Lorentz Gullachsen

shot frames,” says Collard. “Once the test frames were eliminated there was still a vast amount of work left that was handed over to the design agency and client. While they enjoyed the freedom of choosing where and how they used the images, they were bogged down with the volume of data they had to handle.” While the advantages of technological progress will be obvious to many, new developments add new potential problems and pressures for the photographer, as Dylan Collard suggests. Lorentz Gullachsen (www. gullachsen.com), with a long distinguished career begun in advertising, has seen the good and bad of the digital revolution in recent years. “The technology has made life less relaxed. Results are expected today,” laments Gullachsen. “On some shoot days I can shoot 300 to 500 images, and processing and grading these images takes hours even with the fastest Macs. Yet, the client often expects instant results because their snaps of 6MB take seconds to process.” Times have clearly changed, and some of the care, attention and time devoted to shoots may have been lost forever. “The Seventies and Eighties were the golden age for advertising photographers, silly fees and a mystery about the alchemy. The advertising clients trusted their agency to ‘look after’ the images that were

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Feature CASE STUDY

Creative Q&A – before and after Steve Brown explains how he created these striking images for Finnish folk metal band Turisas and Century Media Records. Q. Can you explain the creative process? A. I start with a sketch and mood board of reference photos, then work out what I need to achieve the idea. For this shot I wanted to have the sun shining through behind them as they charged towards the camera, so I made sure I placed a light in the studio in the right position. I then started assembling the background elements. Sometimes I go out and shoot specific elements, or take elements from my extensive library of skies and backgrounds. Q. What role does Photoshop play? A. I cut the band out using the Channels to create a layer mask and then took a shot of a grassy field, shot at the right height and angle, to use as the ground. To give the feel that they were cresting a hill, I then shot a strip of turf as a silhouette and used it as a layer mask to create the edge of the grass. The sky and mountains were then dropped in behind the grassy hill and smoke. Bits of earth and dust were then placed around their feet to give the added impression that they were charging forward. Q. How do you ensure that all the elements match up seamlessly? A. The final, and in a way most important, stage is then to balance all the colours and tones, using Curves, Levels and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers to pull the image together and make it feel as though it’s all being lit by the same colour and strength of light.

Not a patch-up tool Steve Brown (www.stevebrownphoto.co.uk) is another feeling the benefits of working with Photoshop yet realising it’s not a one-fix solution to patch up a poor snap. The photographer, who counts the BBC, Sony BMG and David Lloyd Leisure among his clients, concedes much still needs to be done through the lens: “Through the lens is still very important. Photoshop is not a tool for making bad photography good, it needs good raw materials to make a good final image.” That said, Photoshop has allowed Brown to utilise extensive ‘green-screen’ style shooting techniques and digital post-production compositing that previously would have been the domain of large studios and big budgets. “Photoshop allows me freedom to produce images I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, whether for reasons of budget, time or physical impossibility. I can, with very limited resources, produce something that looks like a still from a Hollywood film,” enthuses Brown. Typically, Brown works by pulling together different photographic elements then combining them seamlessly to create a single dramatic image. He takes full control of the process from pre-production through to delivery of the retouched images. “I’m always thinking when shooting any future component of an image, how will this fit with what I have already shot or am going to be shooting. Is it at the right angle, is the camera the same height from the ground, is the lighting the same, is the lens set to the same settings,” says Brown. “Photoshop is then used to bring all these elements together, but within the original visual concept and to the original sketch.” He will regularly take his portfolio to shoots to help the bands and actors he often photographs visualise the final images. “If they haven’t seen examples of my work, it’s very difficult for them to make the connection between the green or white paper background they’re standing on in a studio and the epic, cinematic scenario I’m describing to them,” laughs Brown. “Seeing examples of previous shoots and

© Steve Brown for Century Media Records

© Traer Scott

image is ev Traer Scott, a fine-art photographer with a background in portraiture and fashion, was raised as an only child in a house full of animals

www.stevebrownphoto.co.uk

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image is everything © Traer Scott

© Lorentz Gullachsen A good photographer should be getting 95 per cent right, says Lorentz Gullachsen. “The ideal is still to put the right subject in front of the lens, capture it and use the software to do as little as possible”

Traer Scott’s work covers portraiture, editorial and fashion as well as a series of books on dogs knowing they were shot in the same way helps them to ‘act’, pretending to be in the situation I am describing and contributing to the final result.” While clients may not be Photoshop gurus, they’re acutely aware Photoshop allows a level of digital image manipulation previously unlikely or impossible with traditional film. Clients will often make tweaks to things they wouldn’t have minded if they didn’t have the option to change them. For Brown, very few people understand that in order for something, eg a location, to appear in an image, you do have to go and take pictures of that element beforehand. “I was recently asked to put a band in a ruined city, and had to explain that I would have to actually go to a ruined city to shoot it first. There is an idea that it’s cheaper and easier to do certain things in Photoshop rather than spend a little extra time doing it for real on the shoot, when in fact it isn’t.”

Knowledge is everything For Andrew Kendall (www.andrewkendall.com), like all our photographers, knowledge of what makes a good image is still the most essential element to what he does. “Someone who knows a good image could pick up a poor photographer’s work and improve it, but if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, there really isn’t anywhere to go,” says Kendall, whose own music-based work has drawn many admirers. Working digitally, often in poor lighting conditions, allows Kendall to frequently make the best of a bad situation. “I often find myself in situations where shooting conditions aren’t ideal, but from experience, I know if I underexpose a few stops or push the ISO to a certain limit, I’ll be able to capture a RAW file that will look great after it’s been processed.” Kendall has partly built his reputation by harnessing all elements of technology, particularly the internet, to get his work seen and out there. Restricted by picture editors who don’t necessarily share his vision and page size restraints, Kendall puts many of his atmospheric live gig pictures online while the music is still ringing in his

ears. “Putting pictures on my website was what initially attracted attention and started getting me paid work. Now, with a decent site or a Flickr account you have the control to show the world what you want. It’s a sad fact that once your pictures are out there, people can steal them, and I’ve had a few printed without permission even by supposedly reputable broadsheet newspapers. That said, the amount of exposure and work I get through being online far outweighs the negatives.” For Kendall, software like Photoshop is a tool for realising the image you want to create. Each piece of software has its own strengths, and it’s a matter of picking out the pieces that work best for you and stringing them together into a workflow. “When you shoot you should be thinking of the whole process. The only info you need out of your camera is the histogram, but you need to know the limits of your camera and what you can do with software later.” Technology and Photoshop have allowed Kendall and others to refine and showcase their talents for all to see. His advice? “Get a digital SLR and a decent flashgun, and shoot as much as you can in as many situations as possible. The techniques I learned taking pics of friends in my kitchen still apply if I’m shooting Thom Yorke or Noel Gallagher in their dressing room. When you’re ready, get a website or Flickr account and get your best work online. Photography is just like anything else. If you love doing it you’ll probably start getting some great results and people will pick up on what you’re doing.”

© Lorentz Gullachsen

© Dylan Collard

Dylan Collard loves the intricacy that Photoshop offers over traditional darkroom printing and the control this gives to his work, particularly commissions

everything “Get a digital SLR and a decent flashgun and shoot as much as you can in many situations”

© Dylan Collard

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MASTERCLASS

Deep-sea photomontage techniques ON THE DISC On this month’s disc you will find the jellyfish files needed to complete this tutorial, as well as a custom brush set. Background underwater images are courtesy of iStock and will need to be purchased from the site to be used, or you can source your own.

OUR EXPERT

Mark Mayers

Mark Mayers is a freelance Illustrator and designer based in Cornwall. He was recently awarded Designer of the Year by MetalFX Technology. To see more of his work, visit www. markmayers.co.uk.

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Inject some life into your Photoshop work and create a stunning composite underwater scene BY MARK MAYERS

he ocean depths are the least explored of all the world’s ecosystems, and many say that the ocean realm is truly the last frontier on earth. Beneath the world’s oceans lie rugged mountain ranges, active volcanoes, vast plateaus and almost bottomless trenches, the deepest of which could easily swallow up the tallest mountains on land. In this tutorial you’ll see how easy it is to create a life-like underwater illustration by montaging stock photography and 3D renders. You’ll discover how Photoshop’s Blend features can enhance your composing skills, how channel extraction techniques can save you hours of cutout work and finally how you can breathe life into some deep-sea creatures by adding realistic textures with the help of custom brushes and layer blending modes. These techniques can become part of your everyday workflow, making you work faster and more efficiently. To get the most from this tutorial we recommend downloading the large versions of the iStock images we’ve used, or you can source your own. Now open up Photoshop and dive in!

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New document Create a new RGB document 466mm wide x 303mm high with a resolution of 300dpi and the background content set to White. Go View>Proof Colors (Cmd+Y), which simulates the effect of a CMYK conversion without changing the image data. RGB colour spaces are larger than the range in CMYK, and more colours are likely to be preserved when finally converting to CMYK.

Cloning around Purchase and download ‘iStock_ 000003698439XLarge.jpg’ or a similar underwater scene. Create a new layer and use the Clone tool to eliminate the diver or other distractions. Work on your new layer ensuring the you’ve got the Sample All Layers option selected. By cloning the image on a new layer you’ll have greater flexibility if things go wrong. When you’re happy, flatten the image.

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Linear Gradient Use the Color Picker tool to select 48R, 184G and 242B as your Background and 24R, 42G and 89B as your Foreground Color. Next, add a Linear Gradient while holding down Shift using the foreground-to-background option. To eliminate the banding effect, go Filter>Add Noise. We used a setting of 5% with the Uniform Distribution selected.

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Blend in Drag/drop into your working document as a new layer, adjusting the Opacity to 73% and name it ‘Seaweed/fish’. Next, add a layer mask and create a Liner Gradient on the top of the mask. The new layer blends in well apart for some areas (circled in yellow). To fix this, double-click on the layer thumbnail to access the Layer Styles dialog. Directly under Blend If, you’ll see options for this layer. Hold Alt to split the slider and drag the left-hand one to 115.

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Float the selection Open the ‘Rocks.jpg’ file from the disc and rotate the canvas 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Use the Lasso tool to make a rough selection from the left-hand rock area, hit Cmd+J to float the selection as a new layer and move the new layer content to the left. Repeat this technique using different rock areas until you’ve made a vertical pillar, and when you’re happy flatten the image.

Toggle the visibility Use a hard-edged brush to fill any remaining black/grey areas within the rock and switch to a white brush to erase any remaining black/grey outer areas. Next, create the right-hand edge of the rock. It helps to toggle the visibility of the composite channel as you work. You can also alter the opacity of the channel mask by double-clicking on its thumbnail.

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Channel extraction You now need to extract the rock from the background. Inspect the Channels palette to see which channel holds the most contrast, in this case it’s the Blue. Duplicate it and hit Cmd+L to access the Levels and drag the sliders as shown – what you’re aiming for is a clean silhouette of the rock. Don’t worry about the remaining background areas, you’ll fix them next.

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Channel modification Invert the channel and Cmd-click on the thumbnail to generate a selection. Target the composite channel and Copy/ Paste into your working document as a new layer above the background and name it ‘Background rocks’. Position to the left and scale/rotate until you’re happy. Set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 60%. Next add a Gaussian Blur of 3 pixels.

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Ocean ceiling Open ‘iStock_ 000003969132Large.jpg’ or similar, drag and drop into your working document as a new layer and name it ‘Ocean ceiling’. Stretch horizontally to fit the canvas width and add a layer mask. Holding down Shift, drag a Linear Gradient to mask off the bottom and continue masking the top edges using a large soft-edged brush at a low opacity.

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Flip and rotate Get ‘iStock_000002186595Large.jpg’ or similar and flip the canvas horizontally, then rotate 90 degrees clockwise. Follow the same channel extraction techniques to select the left-hand rock areas. Copy/ Paste into your working document as a new layer above the background rocks and name it ‘Midground rocks’. Move to the right and scale/rotate, set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 80%.

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Inverse the selection Set your working file to one side and open the ‘Render_1.jpg’. Hit Cmd+Y to view proof colours and select the background with the Magic Wand tool (with a Tolerance set to around 20), inverse the selection, contract by 3 pixels and feather by 1 pixel. Hit Cmd+J to float a new layer. Now fill the Background layer with the same gradient used in step two.

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Adjustment layers rule! A neat way to alter an object’s colour is by adding a non-destructive adjustment layer. Target your new layer and click on the Hue/Saturation adjustment icon at the foot of the Layers palette, ensure the ‘Use previous layer to create clipping mask’ option is checked and adjust the Hue to +153. Next make a layer-based selection on the jellyfish and fill the selection with white in a new Alpha channel.

Advanced

blending Photoshop’s Blend If feature is an overlooked technique. It allows you to create convincing composites without having to resort to making intricate selections or using layer masks. Using Blend If on the topmost of two layers will blend that layer and the one below it, according to the lightness values in either or both of the layers. To access it simply double-click the layer you want to blend. In the drop-down Blend If list, select the Gray, Red, Green or Blue channel data as the basis for blending. Using the two bars under the drop-down list, you can control the blending. The sliders under the bars represent the spread of lightness values from 0 (black) to 255 (white). By splitting the sliders you’ll make softer transition in blends, similar to blurring a mask or feathering a selection.

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Custom brushes Load ‘Deepsea_Brushes.abr’ and generate a selection from Alpha 1. Create a new layer at the top set to Multiply and begin to paint surface details using a pale blue. These brushes were created at quite a large size, so adjust their diameter to suit. Vary the brush opacity and experiment with the Brush Preset options such as Scattering and Texture.

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Layering textures Repeat this technique with another layer on the creature’s head using a paler blue, but this time set the blending mode to Overlay. Continue painting on new layers experimenting with different blending modes. Working this way will give you greater freedom than just working on just a single layer.

RGB or

CMYK? It makes sense to perform most of your tonal and colour corrections in RGB mode and use CMYK mode for fine-tuning. Working in RGB mode means that the range of colours in RGB spaces are much larger than CMYK, and more colours are likely to be preserved after adjustments. You can also save memory and improve performance because you are working with fewer channels. By using the Proof Setup and Proof Color commands, you can preview composite CMYK colours and separation plates using the CMYK working space defined in the Color Settings dialog box. You can also preview colours using a custom CMYK colour profile.

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Add realism To build up the creature’s textures further, ensure your selection from Alpha 1 is active and create a new layer, setting the blending mode to Multiply again. Pick a medium red and paint some veins around the neck and tail areas, remembering to select a variety of custom brushes and adjust their opacity and presets as you work.

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Create a sphere The next few steps will concentrate on making the creatures tentacles. This step may seem strange, but bear with us! Create a new layer and with the Elliptical Marquee tool draw a circle approximately 420 pixels in diameter and fill the selection with a pale blue. Next, use the Dodge and Burn tools to create a 3D sphere.

Give it a wave Position the tentacle on the neck area and use the Eraser tool to blend it in. Continue duplicating the sphere layer, squashing it to varying degrees and repeating the Wave Filter. To avoid a uniform look, scale each one and use different Wave Filter settings. Also try running the filter a couple of times on the same one.

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Squash and pull Duplicate the sphere layer and switch off the original layer’s visibility (you’ll need the original sphere later). On the duplicate layer use the Transform tool to squash and pull it to an extreme ellipse. Next go Filter>Distort>Wave and use the settings shown. Feel free to use your own settings, but keep the number of generators low otherwise you’ll end up with a drastic result!

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Tentacle texture Once you’re happy, Shift-click on all the tentacle layers and hit Cmd+E to merge them. Add texture by generating a layer-based selection, creating a new layer and with the selection still active paint inside with a dark red colour, using the techniques detailed earlier. Set the layer’s blending mode to Linear Light and set the Opacity to around 40%.

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Warp and twirl Distort the end sections of the tentacles by going Filter>Liquify and use the Forward Warp and Twirl tools – remember you’re aiming for a natural, nonuniform look, so use different Liquify brush settings sparingly to vary the effect. Also in your View settings, ensure Show Image is checked to view all other layers while liquifying.

“NEXT, USE THE DODGE AND BURN TOOLS TO CREATE A 3D SPHERE” 22

Mask it off Save a layered version before deleting the background and 3D sphere layers. Hit Apple+Shift+E to merge. Now drag and drop as a new layer into your working document at the top of the layer stack. Add a layer mask and using a large soft-edged brush set to a low opacity, paint out the tail area behind the vegetation.

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Glowing tentacles Create a new layer beneath the tentacles, make a layer-based selection from the tentacles and fill your new layer with white. Add a Gaussian Blur of 4 pixels and set the layer’s blending mode to Overlay with an Opacity of 50%. Next, add a layer mask and using the Gradient tool drag a Liner Gradient to mask the top half of the tentacles.

Give it some highlights Add some specular highlights by creating a new layer, setting the blending mode to Overlay. With a medium-sized, soft-edged brush set to a low opacity, paint over any highlight areas on the jellyfish. Next, add a Levels adjustment layer to the jellyfish, remembering to check ‘Use previous layer to create clipping mask’ and adjust the Midtone slider to 0.75.

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Practice makes perfect Open ‘Render_2.jpg’ and practise the same steps to texture and add the tentacles. Alternatively we’ve supplied a completed version (‘Jellyfish_3.tif’). Drag and drop as a new layer at the top of the layer and stack and scale/position. Perform the same levels adjustment, add specular highlights as before and then merge the layers.

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Shear it Highlight the jellyfish layers and merge them, duplicate the layer, position to the left to include an adequate area of transparency on either side and move it beneath the original layer. Go Filter>Distort>Shear. The control line is similar to a Curves adjustment as you can place and move points on the line. When you’re happy with the preview hit OK. Now adjust the layer Opacity to 70%.

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Let there be light Now to add some beams of light. Create a new layer below all the jellyfish and draw a series of bars with the Marquee tool. Ensure your Foreground Color is set to white and your gradient’s foregroundto-transparent option is selected. Now pull down a Linear Gradient while holding Shift.

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Shear again Duplicate the layer and use the Shear Filter again, adjusting the curve until you’re happy. Now scale/rotate and position to the left. Adjust the layer Opacity to 70% and move the layer underneath the original jellyfish. Next, add a layer mask to hide the tail areas as you did earlier.

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Light distortion Add a Motion Blur with an angle of 0 degrees and a Distance of 195 pixels. Next, go Edit>Transform>Perspective and distort the rays until you’re happy. You may need to erase areas, so do this using a layer mask. Now zoom in and fine-tune the image. We added a slight Gaussian Blur to the background jellyfish to give a sense of depth.

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Final step As a final touch, add some subtle noise to the image by creating a new layer at the top and filling with black, then go Filter>Add Noise, set the Amount to the maximum of 400% and check the Distribution method of Gaussian. Now set the blending mode to Screen, adjust the Opacity to 20% and you’re done.

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Designing unique and fun architecture can be easy, as long as you understand the nature of the elements BY MIKE CORRIERO ON THE DISC You’ll find a list of the brushes used in this tutorial, including personal custom brushes, default brushes and brushes created by other artist for free use. The original sketches and layered PSD files will be included as well for your personal use at the full-resolution scale.

OUR EXPERT

Mike Corriero

Mike is a freelance concept artist and illustrator for the video game and film industries living in NJ, USA. His work has been featured in a number of promotional outlets, including Ballistic Publishing series like Exposé. Some of his clients include Radical Entertainment and Liquid Development to which he has contributed work for projects delivered to Flagship Studios and Ensemble Studios through the art direction and outsourcing of LD. His work can be viewed at www.mikecorriero.com.

Concept Illustrations

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s an illustrator I usually start my sketches in pencil. However, when creating a concept involving a house or any kind of architecture, it saves a lot of time to work out the perspective in Photoshop. In this tutorial I’ll explain some methods on painting textures and materials for architecture and show you how you can truly push the extent of Photoshop’s customising options for such paintings. Although Photoshop does have a huge abundance of filters, effects and options, most purist artists will likely never even stumble upon them. I myself still learn new effects hidden within this amazing program after years of use. I’m going to stick mostly to the advantage of its customised brushes and textures, and how they can produce a traditional painted style. In addition, I’ll explain a bit about how light works and what happens when it creates shadows.

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Starting

steps When I’m finally ready to start working on the cottage itself, I will refer to a few reference photos just to keep as a reminder of certain details in this specific architecture. The concept for the most part isn’t going to change much from my initial drawing, but I just wanted to get a better feel for the overall design of a small cottage-type home. The other photos, like the green trees with the makeshift fence and path, are a perfect reference to study and apply the light transition effect taking place. These three photos contain all the information really needed.

Play with composition I originally came up with four similar designs, but with variations in the architecture and the layout of foreground/background elements. Composition and conceptual ideas can be worked out easily and quickly at a smaller scale, so thumbnails are a vital part to the start of any painting. We’ll work with idea number three.

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Take it to scale Once you’ve set the document up and the scale is set to the correct size, you can nearly always judge from the rough thumbnail what needs to be refined and changed. The composition for the most part should be okay, since it’s the placement of the elements that are important here. It’s necessary to take into consideration your lighting and values, which also play a key role in a good composition and direct the viewer’s attention. Thinking about these things from the start will help make it flow more easily once you get going.

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Readjust the sketch Flip the sketch and correct any skewing or shifts in appearance with the mirrored effect. Often things will appear off tilt when flipped or reversed from the original layout. We’re going to adjust a few extra things like the stairs and cliff edge with a small digital brush. A brush I use often for digital sketching as well as painting is the Airbrush Pen Opacity Flow brush, which is a part of the basic brush set. It’s a round brush that makes blending colours and painting with pressure flow well.

Refine the key element The whole focus of this image is really going to revolve around the architecture of this makeshift cottage. It’s going to be beautiful but it also needs to feel old, weathered and put together by an unprofessional architectural hobbyist. Although the sketch was wonky and rough, we do want to keep some of those lines that gave the design its character. So here and there during the painting process we will change some perspective lines and try to keep true to the original by making it feel homely and cosy.

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Base colour wash Set up the sketch so it’s on a Multiply layer and add a new layer beneath that for the colour. This is a quick step in which the real point is mainly to block in the base colours almost like you would with watercolour or an acrylic or oil wash. It’s just very light and simple, and helps eliminate the white on the canvas while separating the colour of the elements. The Multiply layer allows the colour to show through while the white of the sketch is obsolete and the pencil-work remains.

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Darken and separate Use your brush to lightly overlay a darker wash of blue to apply some shadows to make it easier for you to lay in some lighting later on. Apply a bit more separation to the elements of the bricks, the windows and the house in general. Keep it simple for now, because it’s easier to start laying in light and shadow once you establish the basic colours of each element within the painting. When that’s done, you can jump in and start to really define edges, light and details. Flip the canvas quickly to check how the colour and some simple lighting may be affecting the composition.

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Back to front Starting with the sky and the farthest elements in sight (the treetops and leaves of the background), erase that portion of the Sketch layer, rendering certain areas. There are a few custom brushes I’ve created for leaves that are included on the CD for you to follow this workshop. You don’t usually need to provide a great deal of form or contrast of values to show perspective. Just let the shape of the treetops help your composition while also serving their purpose of creating depth.

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Colour value and depth While continuing to work from the back to the foreground, keep in mind how the saturation of colour and the contrast or the difference in values affect the depth of an environment. The trees in the background (1) consist of a cooler hue that is lighter in value compared to the shadow (3) of the tree in front of it. The highlights (2) of the apple tree are brighter than the hue of the background trees, so that it will appear closer in depth to the viewer and ‘pop’ from the background elements.

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Above and below Set up a few layers to define the rest of your process. A Back-Up Sketch layer is needed so you can refer back to the original lines of the thumbnail for reference. The Paint Above Sketch layer is used for more confident choices and details being painted on top of the Sketch layer before it’s erased, and, last, the Base Color layer will always remain and eventually become the main painting with all the layers combined. Begin by blocking in elements that exist on the same level or plain such as the apple tree and the tree hanging over the roof.

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Color Dynamics effect There’s something you can do with the brush settings that can give an effect reminiscent of mixed paint. Select Color Dynamics in the Brush Presets window and slide the bars back and forward for Hue, Saturation and Brightness Jitter. You can select Pen Control options like Pen Pressure in the drop-down. Select a lighter and darker colour in the foreground and background palettes so you can produce strokes of colours that will vary in value, colour and saturation based on how hard you press the pen to your tablet. In addition to these, the pressure sensitivity of the Airbrush Pen Opacity Flow brush will let you create a nice mixed paint effect that you can control and blend as you wish.

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Colour adjustments Before you get really involved in heavy details, it’s time to make some minor colour adjustments. You only need to adjust a certain hue and not affect the entire canvas. This can be done using the Selective Color option under Image>Adjustments. Apply a more lush green to the grass and leaves while darkening the shadows and muting the saturation a bit.

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Check the values It’s not always easy to read your values in a colour painting, so it can be beneficial to convert the image to black and white and then use the Level Adjustments to see what’s working and what’s not. It’s easier in this mode to see what needs fixing, where your shadows or highlights need to be pushed and how the forms look.

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Re-evaluation of depth Once the values have been pushed, you might like to re-evaluate the depth due to the darkening and saturation changes in the sky and the background trees. Using a soft airbrush, a light blue was painted on top with the brush opacity lowered, helping drop the background further in depth as it originally was, while still keeping the changes to the foreground values.

Change the value By duplicating your painting and converting the bottom layer to black and white, you can fix your values and keep your original colour. Set the duplicate top layer so that the layer is in Color mode and the bottom layer’s values are adjusted as mentioned in the previous step. The Color layer will overlay to the black and white version beneath, keeping its colours but essentially switching each colour strength to match that of the black and white values.

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Foreground Focus in on the bushes, cliff and the ground, and start to erase away more of the sketch and block in those shapes and colours. In order to help move the viewer’s eye around the image, we will need to utilise light sources later on to move their eye around the page. At the moment things are still rough, and we’ve barely even touched the house. The house is the most complex element, so although we’ve laid down some colour and a little light, it’s really going to be one of the last things we get to.

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Focal point – the cottage The only parts of the original sketch that remain are the perspective lines for the cottage. The opacity has been lowered and some lines will be kept, but now it’s time to work on top of the sketch and make use of value and light to describe the construction of the design. Using the Airbrush Opacity Flow brush, adjust the Brush Tip Shape and tilt it to the direction of the cottage’s roof. Creating thin strokes between light and dark and breaking up a few areas with some thicker lines will eventually create a wood-like appearance. To achieve a thicker form, boost the weight and lighting of the wooden beams and lines to create the front of the second floor. I’ve used a wood pattern and applied that to my brush to paint the lighter sections on the front of the house’s frame. This gives it a weathered appearance.

Brush

choice One brush used with the Scatter option can really benefit areas such as bushes, trees and grass. It can cover large areas with a ton of separate little details that you really don’t want to paint one by one while still pulling off a painterly feel. You can customise the brush tip shape to tilt and flatten out the roundness to whatever effect you want; you can even apply a dual brush layer to give the brush some extra detail and break up the round edge or apply a textured pattern. This can all be found under the Brush presets and used for any default or any custom brush.

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Light transition Something that often appears in nature is the transition that takes place from bright light to shadow. The line between the light and the shadow will generally appear or give off a highly saturated hue. It’s that transition from white light (1) to shadow (3) that produces a contrast between the two, giving a saturated edge (2). Most bright light is less saturated and so contains less colour or hue, although white light is made up of the primary colours red, green and blue. Shadows usually appear less saturated and darker, but this is not always the case, since radiosity and bounce lighting have to be taken into consideration.

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Mirrored corrections Do one more mirrored check and see if anything has been affected by the light, shadows and any additional elements. There are a few things that need to be adjusted which were not seen before. Tilt the entire canvas so some lines and edges fall in unison with the horizon line. Crop and flatten a portion of the cliff’s edge to better fit with the perspective. Aside from the mirrored corrections, render important aspects of the house and environment. This includes the bricks, windows, grass on the cliff edge, the apple tree and some foreground bushes.

Details

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The staircase Since it needs to appear functional, keep in mind the scale of things and their relation in size to a person. The staircase needs to move the viewer’s eye upwards toward the cottage and tie the two levels from floor to cliff together, so it will get some extra attention later on. The flat platform is being hit by a strong light because this will be another key focal point where the owner of the home will be located.

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Foliage detailing A great resource for making the most of your brushes and speeding up the process of minor detailing is the Scatter brush option: a simple flat brush shape can be very useful in creating the appearance of bush leaves. The same technique is used for the grass, along with some Smudge tool applications. You may notice that cast shadows of leaves are located on the ground. The shadows help sell the fact that there are additional trees not within the view of the canvas. This really helps open up the world in which this cottage exists. In addition to finalising some of these sections, boost the levels on occasion to really bring out the best in the values and the lighting.

Details such as flowers on the bushes and petals on the ground will add interest to your painting. Atmosphere is important; it can be done through leaves blowing in the wind, particles floating in the air and heavy fog or dust. Other details like vines growing around the apple tree and along the beams of the cottage help sell the fact that the world is alive. Simple things like this go a long way. Even adding something like a makeshift sign saying ‘welcome’, or smoke from the chimney show the place is inhabited.

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Shadow and glass Through bounce light or ‘radiosity’, shadows will pick up colour from the surrounding environment and allow details to remain visible instead of hidden in blackness. In the same way, glass and windows will often reflect and contain an abundance of the colour that surrounds them. Once again, where bright light is hitting (2) you can see how the transition to the shadow (3) produces a saturated transitional edge (1).

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The architectural hobbyist In order to provide a bit of life and to further push the scale of things, I felt it was necessary to add at least one character. In this detailed shot you end up seeing a lot more than what’s really important, since the print size will hardly show any facial features or detail of clothing. He’ll remain a small iconic element and a kind of hidden surprise – not a crucial part of what is an architectural environment.

Signs of life Sometimes it can be important to make a scene like this believable. One way to do this, even if it’s stylised, is to show some signs of life. When you’re satisfied, flatten the image and boost the values slightly once more. In order to correct the values again, duplicate the layer and apply an Auto Level adjustment to the layer below. The layer above, which is the original, will be set to Color, but this time the opacity will be lowered. Take one final look and then close the document – it’s complete. Never obsess or it will begin to look overworked and obvious!

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CREATE A GOTHIC-STYLE IMAGE Create your own melodramatic images using Photoshop’s familiar functions

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othic art has seen many renditions throughout the centuries. From a Renaissance perspective, evolving from medieval art movements, presented through architecture such as Notre Dame de Paris, through to the slightly more romantic ideals of the 18th Century and beyond, to the post-punk and gloomy incantations of the 20th Century, it has always served to inspire the creative kind as a source of expression. With much resource to influence creative stimulation, Advanced Photoshop once again provides readers with a tutorial where past

meets present. Here you’ll learn some of Photoshop’s more dark creative capabilities. We’ll be revealing the true essence of the blending modes’ creative capacity, the subtle yet influential capabilities of the masking options, as well as how to create colour schemes and exposure for dramatic compositions. All will aid you in creating your very own accomplished gothic composition. But what’s our gothic muse for this composition, you ask? Minos, the judge of Hell, as portrayed in the first ‘cantiche’ of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, Inferno.

ON THE DISC On this month’s disc you will find the source imagery you need to complete this tutorial. You can also use these elements to create your own original image.

OUR EXPERT

Adam Smith

Advanced Photoshop staff writer Adam Smith is no stranger to the wonderful world of the macabre, creating numerous esoteric, supernatural and gothic design concepts. A keen admirer of all things spooky from a young age, his influences include Dave McKean, Dante and Pre-Raphaelite art.

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And soul Name this new layer ‘Model’ and proceed to add a Luminosity blending mode with a 70% Opacity. Now Ctrl-click the ‘Model’ layer and select Duplicate. Once you’ve created your ‘Model copy’ layer, set the Opacity to 30% and select Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set your Radius to 5 pixels and select OK. Once again, activate your original ‘Model’ layer and duplicate.

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Commence Let’s begin by opening a document 21 x 29.7cm (A4 portrait) and open ‘damaged.tif’. Now Copy>Paste this texture into the newly opened canvas, resizing appropriately and naming it ‘background’. Select Image>Adjustments> Hue /Saturation and decrease your Hue value to -30, changing your background to a more sepia tone. Now you can proceed by opening your model image.

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Body With this file open select the Pen tool, set to Shape layers, and carefully draw round the torso of your model. Once complete, Ctrl-click your new layer and select Rasterize from the drop-down menu. Ctrl/Cmd-click this new layer’s thumbnail, activate your model layer and Copy>Paste into your new document. Finally tidy up and erase any obtrusive edges before continuing.

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Tonal adjustment Place the ‘Model copy 2’ layer as the pinnacle layer in the Layers palette and apply a Hard Light blending mode, 70% Opacity, 40% Fill. Now select Image>Adjustments> Variations and then alternate between your More Yellow and More Red thumbnails, starting with the yellow, ten times. Click the Darker thumbnail twice, making sure you have Midtones set to Fine/Coarse Level 2 before application.

Illumination Gothic art, throughout the ages, has been known for its iconic dark demeanour. Exposure, be it through the medium of paint or the lighting within architecture, plays a big part in the presentation of an image. Such effects are seemingly easy to construct in your own compositions using Photoshop. Spending time to experiment with blending mode effects when mixing layers makes for the best results. In the apparent case creating overexposure works well. The simplest way to do this is by applying a strong Curves adjustment layer and then applying a Multiply blending mode. Edit the Opacity amount for specific effects.

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Expunging Now with the same layer active apply a layer mask, from the foot of the Layers palette. With the layer mask thumbnail active, select a Star 55-pixel brush, 30% Opacity and make sure your foreground colour is set to black. Now proceed to rub away the lower portions of the figure, using the Tab buttons to scroll through brush sizes, integrating the two tones of the ‘Model’ layers.

Exposure With deliberation, your figure should take on a spectral feel, fading out from the bottom up. Now it’s time to establish exposure, so activate your Background layer and select the ‘Add a layer style’ from the foot of the Layers palette. From the drop-down menu choose Gradient Overlay. Now with a Foreground to Background gradient set, click the Gradient bar to access the Gradient editor, setting the Color Picker to #f6cf50.

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Compensate Now activate and apply a layer mask to your ‘Model copy’ layer. Here start to rub away the centre of your figure, leaving intact the blurred edges. Be as precise as possible. Next add a layer mask to your original ‘Model’ layer and rub away the edges softly. Revisit all ‘Model’ layers where necessary to even up erasure, like the edges and the hands.

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Warming up Now it’s time to apply your layer style settings, so proceed by selecting a Hard Mix blending mode with a 30% Opacity, setting your Angle to 72 degrees. Your background should reflect a warm exposure, which is essential when representing the hottest of destinations: Hell. You may find that the edges of your figure are a bit obtrusive, so if necessary rub away where applicable.

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Flicker Next we’ll apply a bit more texture, so open the ‘scratch.tif’ document. Copy>Paste this into your composition and name the layer ‘flicker’. Now set an Overlay blending mode, 90% Opacity, select Edit> Transform and use the option to resize and position your texture. We have selected Horizontal Flip and decreased the layer’s width. Apply a layer mask and erase any intrusive visual elements.

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Wingman Next we’ll need to add wings to our terrible biblical character. These can be in the form of bird’s or bat’s wings – either are relevant. We’ve chosen bat wings from iStock (‘iStock_ 000003693327Large.jpg’) so you can purchase these or find your own. Using the Pen tool, quickly draw, Rasterize and Copy>Paste into your composition.

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Variations Name this layer ‘right wing’, placing it beneath your ‘Model’ layers and again select the Transform tool to reposition and resize. You may have to alter the tone of your wings in some cases, especially if you’re using the same image as us, so use your Hue and Saturation option to set the tone and the select Image>Adjustments> Variations and use the Darker command sparingly. Now apply a layer mask.

Integration Blending modes are great for creating strong chiaroscuro within your gothic composition, but gothic art has other virtues that an artist should adhere to when considering composition. A saturated appearance is also common, with colour schemes cohesive, especially in modern gothic contexts. You can take advantage of all of Photoshop’s colour adjustment options to create consistent colour schemes, such as variations and Photo filters, but Luminosity blending modes also help in this case. This effect creates a result colour with the hue and saturation of the base colour and the luminance of the blend colour.

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Coronet Minos being a monstrous, ungodly being of Hell, we’ve chosen to crown him with typical gothic iconography, ie, the skull. Select a suitable example, we’ve used an image of a fox skull, open this document and activate your Channel palette. Duplicate your Red/Magenta layer and create a strong contrast using Image>Adjustment> Layer.

Warp Start erasing where the wings converge with the figure. Once satisfied, duplicate this layer, naming it ‘left wing’, and Horizontal Flip, placing it as preferred. Now you can select Edit>Transform>Warp and reshape your wings more intently. We’ve repositioned the top nodes so the wings arch back. Now select the Blur tool from the toolbar and with a 20% Opacity, using a soft brush, soften your wing’s edges.

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Color Range Now select a white foreground colour, choosing a soft brush, using the Tab keys to toggle between brush sizes, and white out all the skull’s visual value you want. Once complete, select the Rectangle Marquee tool and Ctrl-click, selecting Color Range. Here set your Fuzziness to a value of 50. Now OK your selection, activate your layer in the Layers palette and once again Copy>Paste into the main composition.

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Create depth Name this new layer ‘Skull’ and reposition until you’re satisfied. Now apply a Hard Light blending mode to this layer and then duplicate. Apply a separate blending mode to your ‘Skull copy’ layer, which will be Multiply, and drop the layer Opacity to 80%. Reselecting your original ‘Skull’ layer, proceed by selecting ‘Add a layer style’, choosing Drop Shadow from the menu.

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Tidy the edges In the Layer Style options set a Linear Burn blending mode, 50% Opacity, Angle 125 degrees. Set your Distance to 21px, Size 70px. You’ll notice that some edges fade into the background. Others may contrast, needing to be integrated. Do so by adding a layer mask and softly erasing hard edges. You can do likewise with the ‘Model’ layers in the facial and head region.

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Workshop Influence Look around and there are plenty of great gothic influences to inspire the most imaginative of compositions. We’ve used Dante’s The Divine Comedy, a religious and political allegory, as our muse, but below are other inspirations to succumb to: WILLIAM BLAKE – Classic British artist who created masterpieces such as The Great Red Dragon and The Woman Clothed With The Sun and Nebuchadnezzar. Blake often employed both art and poetry to create a product that at once defied and superseded convention. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – One of the greatest gothic tales of all time, brought to you by Gaston Leroux (1910). Like much apparent literature it deploys both horror and romance, akin to gothic fiction. Other great literature examples include Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast (1959) and The Tell-Tale Heart (2843) by the master, Edgar Allan Poe.

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Time to burn Now simply apply a Hard Light blending mode to both horns, to add to the overall ambience of the figure. You may want to slightly desaturate them also, a simple yet effective touch. Again you can tidy up edges with the Blur and masking options and even try creating the correct shadows using the Burn tool and a soft brush, with Range set to Midtones at 30% Opacity.

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Taken by the horns Then add a 2-pixel Radius Gaussian Blur to your ‘Skull copy’ layer, to soften the edges. Now open an animal horn’s image and using either of the previous techniques Copy> Paste the horns into the composition naming them obviously. Now select Image> Adjustments>Variations and with Fine/Coarse Level set to 3, click once on the yellow thumbnail, plus three times on the Darker.

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Open the gateway Minos is now taking shape and looks as ghastly as he should, but lest not forget he is the judge of Hell, of all that pass through his gates, so let’s start to introduce this visual element. Begin by opening your window from the disc, ‘Tintern.tif’, and again select Color Range, isolating and erasing the background sky in the image. Then simply Copy>Paste once more to add another piece of the visual jigsaw into your composition.

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Let there be light Utilise the Color Adjustment option to create a cohesive tone in the apparent brickwork, setting a Pin Light blending mode and then again adding a layer mask, softly rubbing away the obtrusive edges. Now open ‘paint.psd’ and Copy>Paste into your composition, naming this layer ‘Light’. Resize, re-orientate and place beneath your Gateway layer. Apply a Linear blending mode.

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Die down Apply a layer mask to your ‘Light’ layer, selecting a Star 55-pixel brush, 50% Opacity, and begin to erase away the visual elements that breach the borders of the gateway. You can also tidy up your erased edges by choosing a soft brush, selecting the Burn tool from the toolbar and setting your Range to Highlights at 40% Opacity before applying.

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Hot as Hell Hell is bound to be a place of blistering heat, so we’ll add a blister texture to our effigy. Do so by opening the ‘peel.tif’ file and then again Copy>Paste a selection into your composition. Name the layers accordingly and apply Overlay blending modes. Once satisfied with the positioning, apply layer masks and, as always, integrate your hard edges, preferably using a brush of 30% Opacity.

Chiaroscuro The image exposure should be taking on a gothic-feel, but it needs chiaroscuro. In the same options as before, select Photo Filter. With the Color Picker select a tone, #ac7a33, set Density to 93%, preserving luminosity. Activating this layers mask thumbnail, choose Foreground to Background gradient.

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Fully exposed Next select the ‘Create new fill or adjustment layer’ icon at the foot of the Layers palette, choosing Curves from the drop-down menu. Once in the Curves dialog box, make sure your Channels are set corresponding to you image mode. Next click a point corresponding to Highlights and enter Input = 185, Output = 208 values. Now click a point corresponding to Shadows and enter Input = 62, Output = 58 values.

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Fade away Now drag the cursor from the bottom left to the top right corner and apply your gradient. You should notice that the Photo Filter’s effects have been disregarded at the bottom corner of your composition. Now apply a Hard Light blending mode to this filter layer, setting the Opacity to 50% and the Fill to 70%, offering the composition a strong sense of chiaroscuro as intended.

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Pillar and post Creating perspective in the composition can only enhance its visual appeal so open up the ‘IP_0033.tif’, cutting out the pillars in the composition. By now you’ll know that this will have to be Copy>Paste into our composition and positioned. Apply a Luminosity blending mode, decreasing Opacity to 50/60%. Erase edges as before and duplicate and position the copy layer adjacent.

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Phosphorus sky Open the ‘clouds.tif’ and Copy>Paste into your composition. Name the layer accordingly, position in your image skyline and then apply a Luminosity blending mode. Again apply a mask and erase where appropriate. Now duplicate this layer and apply a Multiply blending mode. To create a cohesive colour scheme, apply variations and Opacity/Fill values.

Lonely souls All that’s really left to do now is touch up the image exposure using the Burn and Dodge tools or adjusting existing values. Also you can add any other visual element you may feel will enhance the composition, perhaps introducing souls entering the gateway or giving the beast tattoos or markings. Whatever you choose, upon completion you should have a great gothic image.

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WORKING WITH FIRE

Pyro Painter takes you through his technique of turning flames into illustrations

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ON THE DISC

his tutorial is designed to show you how to create an original image out of fire. The technique is only a small part of my fire-painting style. You could call it the tip of the iceberg (or, in this case, the edge of the inferno). I’ve always wanted to paint with fire, and recently technology has allowed this to happen. For me, it’s the perfect medium to create digital art and Photoshop is my weapon of choice for manipulating such a volatile substance. The tutorial will hopefully give you a good idea of how I create an interesting image using fire as the body of the figure. This piece is called Time Will Waste You. I will take you through the steps and together we’ll create something a little different. I used Photoshop CS3 to create this image, with all the default filters and brushes.

On this month’s disc you will find the source imagery you need to complete this tutorial. You can also use these elements to create your own original image.

OUR EXPERT

Michael Stewart

Michael Stewart, aka Pyro Painter, is a self-taught artist who specialises in fire painting. Using a mixture of photography, painting and graphic art, his overall aim is to be original. www.pyropainter.com

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Source imagery On the CD you will find a tutorial file called ‘background’. I shot this background image with my camera using a slow shutter speed while moving the camera slowly as I captured the image. This is also known as a ‘shutter drag’ and it creates a great dreamlike background image.

Fire figure Take a photograph of fire, or open up the ‘firenotcutout’ file on the CD. Duplicate this background layer and then on the upper layer using the Eraser tool with a soft round brush, cut out the shape of the figure in the painting. It might help to sketch out the figure first and place this layer over the fire when erasing out the shape of the figure. Because I already have the entire image in my head, I tend to jump in and cut it out.

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Colour changing Now that we have the shape of our character, place it as a new layer over the background image. Select with the Square Marquee tool the left side of the background and create a new layer. Adjust the Hue/Saturation to change the colour on the left side to a bright neon green. Now select the right side and change the colour to a neon purple.

Clocks I often place clocks in my art as a tribute to one of my all-time favourite artists, Salvador Dali. In my opinion he was revolutionary and helped art progress in a huge way. I always like using the subject of time in my work because clocks are everywhere in our lives. We are constantly watching the clock, so it adds a familiar element to pieces. I almost always add some sort of underlying circuitry element to my art as well. This is a tribute to another great artist, H R Giger.

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Shadows Now we’re going to work on the character. With a dark soft brush, add shadows to the orifices and edges of the figure by creating a layer and painting black over the darkest parts. Then adjust the opacity of the layer to make the shadows look more realistic. Keep making layers and adding shadows until the figure takes on a 3D look. Sometimes I will have up to 30 or more layers of shadow at different transparencies overlaying one another, because this creates the effect of depth and muscle structure.

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Eyes Make sure the eye sockets are very dark in the centre. Create the outline of the mouth and the nose with this shadow technique. I try not to have any hard-edged shadows – or very little. This tends to make it look more 3D and realistic.

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Create a frame Add some shadows around the outside of the entire image by creating a solid layer of black then using a rough-edged brush to erase out the middle of the image to create a frame-like effect. I do this in most of my own digital work, as it helps to draw focus on the subject matter.

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Clock eyes Now for the fun stuff. Time to add the clock eyes and adjust the opacity to make them look as though they belong in the figure’s eye sockets. You can find the clock image on this month’s disc in the Project Files section.

“SOMETIMES I’LL HAVE 30 OR MORE LAYERS OF SHADOW OVERLAYING ONE ANOTHER” 70

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Mouth Work on the mouth and create the lips by painting a thin red line along the top and bottom of the mouth. Erase certain parts to make the shape of the lips more prominent.

Cinematic inspiration A great place of inspiration for me is Eighties horror movies. Most of them had really interesting and crazy lighting, very bright colours and usually a fog machine. I love this look and try to incorporate it into my art often.

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Layer effects Add some depth to the lips by copying the layer and placing it over the original layer called ‘Lips’. Double-click the new layer, and using the Layer options click Drop Shadow, Contour and Texture, and then adjust the opacity of these layers until you can see the texture with the underlying image at the same time. The goal here is to keep it subtle.

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Gnashers Take a yellow hard-edged brush and make a square, then use a fuzzy brush and erase around the outside of the tooth to give it a softer 3D look. Start copying the Tooth layer, moving it slightly to the side. Alter the size of the teeth as you copy to make it look like a real smile. The teeth in the back of the mouth should have a very low opacity to let the dark shadows through. This will make them appear farther back in the mouth. After all the teeth are in place, I like to add a layer of shadow over the top of them to create even more depth.

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Slime To create the slime oozing from his face, take a bright green colour and paint in the liquid underneath the eye and mouth, and also between the teeth for an extra-gross grin. Use the Layer options to give it an outer green glow. Also take the opacity down on this layer, so you can see the fire through it.

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Chain Create the chain in his hand by making a new layer and selecting a dark red to complement the fire. Draw in the square then erase the part where the chain intersects. Use the Layer options to give the chain a 3D look. Use Contour and Drop Shadow along with a little Texture and Satin to give it a metallic look.

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Eye fire Place the small piece of fire (‘eyefire’) under the eye, erasing out an oval shape so that it fits the eye. This is a personal touch I like to add to my paintings that plays off the human eye. The figure is looking at the eye with his clock eyes, so the line of sight is very easy to see. Create a new layer and, using a small fuzzy or hard-edged brush, hold down the Constrain key and draw a line from the eye to the clocks. When doing this, randomly tap the Shift or Constrain key. It might take a few tries, but this creates a circuitry line look to your lines. Now put an Outer Glow on the lines.

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Links Copy each chain link layer and move it downward then resize each one to give them variety. While creating the chain you might have to rotate or squeeze the links to make it look more realistic. Now grab the ‘eyeballcutout’ file from the disc and place it at the end of the chain as a new layer.

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Final touches Take the opacity down again so the lines are visible but don’t take away from the overall image. This will keep the viewer’s eye bouncing around the image over and over again, looking at and following these lines with their eyes throughout the image.

“USE CONTOUR AND DROP SHADOW, WITH TEXTURE AND SATIN, TO GIVE THE CHAIN A METALLIC LOOK” 72

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INSIDER INFO Take action and maximise the efficiency of your application

Actions allow users the leisure of simplifying the most protracted of Photoshop practices. Read on to discover the full extent of this command’s capabilities

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hey are many ways to do many things in Adobe Photoshop. With a plethora of tools and functions, creative visions can be realised no matter how intricate and demanding. However, this is not to say that users must toil over protracted applications just to achieve the most accomplished compositions and effects. This is where the Actions command serves its purpose. Since Photoshop Version 4, this tool has been ever present. Currently it allows users to record and play back a series of application commands, both on a single file or batch of files. Most tools and commands are recordable in Actions.

For starters Generally, Actions are uncomplicated to create, applied in a straightforward fashion. After accessing your Actions palette (Window>Actions), simply select the Create New Set button (C) from the foot of the Actions palette, naming it accordingly. Next select the New Actions button (D) where you’ll be presented with the Action Options dialog box. Here you will name your consequent Action. You can also assign a Function Key, which will process your applications without having to source them from the Actions palette.

Progressive application However, as you evolve your understanding of Photoshop effects, so to will you understand the limitation and superiority of the

Actions command. You’ll no doubt discover that the Photoshop Actions command cannot automate specific paint strokes, zoom settings, scrolling or window selections. Nonetheless, Photoshop still provides ways to resolve occurring creative issues.

Full stops The inclusion of stops is fundamental in performing more advanced applications. These will essentially allow you to perform a task that cannot be recorded and can be implemented during or after recording your Action(s). Select the Actions palette menu and choose Insert Stop. You’ll be provided with a display that allows you to apply a short message, which will act as a reminder of the properties required to progress your application. This is essential when the action is opened in another image or shared afterwards if users are to gain the according effects. You can also activate the Continue button, which will offer users the chance to check a certain condition in the file and continue if nothing needs altering.

Take action You can insert many nonrecordable commands into an Action such as painting and toning tools. Start by choosing where to insert the menu item then select an Action’s name to insert the item at the end of the Action or select a command to insert the item at the end of the Action. Next, select Insert Menu Item from the Actions palette menu and choose a command from its menu.

Modal behaviour Understanding the utility of modals is as simple as it is necessary. This function principally pauses an Action, so that the user may specify values exclusively within corresponding dialog boxes or use a modal tool. Again, this is paramount when considering application to gain necessary effects. A modal control is indicated to the user by the according dialog box icon, within the Toggle dialog on/off box adjacent to the command. To set a modal control, merely apply your modal tool or set your values in the associated dialog box. Upon Ok-ing your distributed values, click the Toggle dialog on/ off box mentioned and when revisiting this action in another image at a later date the process will, as said, pause allowing you to change recorded values if you wish or proceed as planned.

Disable modal controls EXCLUDE/INCLUDE COMMAND:

Click the check mark to the left of the specific command you want to exclude; click again to include

To disable modal controls at any time for all commands in an Action, just click the box to the left of the Action name. Likewise, to disable for all actions in a set, click the box adjacent to the set name.

SAVE AND LOAD: Select the Actions palette menu, choosing Save Action to save. Likewise, to load a preferred action, select the same options, this time choosing Load Action

Automated Action Photoshop also allows users the option to introduce automated Actions, as well as JavaScripts that are triggered by Photoshop events. These include opening, saving or exporting files. The related Action will automatically be applied to your imagery, saving you the time it takes to load or select from the Actions palette. To access and apply this command, begin by selecting File>Scripts>Script Events Manager. You will be presented with the Script Events Manager dialog box and here you must activate Enable Events To Run Scripts/Actions. Now you can select a specific Action, or Script, from the drop menus and the Photoshop Event that commences treatment, offering a seemingly uncomplicated process.

OUR EXPERT

Adam Smith

Staff writer Adam Smith is no stranger to the Actions command, finding it an indispensable tool when considering the amount of application that goes into his own montage and manipulated compositions. Here he offers straightforward advice on significant practices.

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Helpdesk If you’ve got a pesky Photoshop dilemma, the helpdesk is the perfect place to come for an answer BY ADAM SMITH Standard Mode (Q) to view your selected area. Then go ahead and select your Smart Blur, applying sparingly for best effects that really smooth the complexion.

Kim, Wolverhampton

Channels palette. Now isolate your Green channel and select Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Choose a pixel radius between 5 and 15 pixels depending on the desired effect and then click OK. Select Image>Adjustments> Channel Mixer. Once in the Channel Mixer dialog box, activate Monochrome and move your Green slider to the far right, nearing the highest value. Drop your Red and Blue sliders to create the desired effect. Once this is complete, you can drop the Opacity of this newly treated layer to soften the effect before merging all layers. One thing to keep in mind is that this effect can be saved as an action and thus applied to other photographs or artworks, which is a godsend if your project includes multiple images (if it’s going to be a storybook, for example).

There’s a cool way to achieve an infrared effect with your photography in Photoshop that provides some fantastical lighting in your images. This is a technique that is common in wedding photography, so should give you a real fairytale feel. Start by duplicating your layer, and with this new layer active select your

Hi, Advanced Photoshop team. I am writing to you today not with a technical problem but a problem nevertheless, and hope from your many resources you can lend me a hand. I

INFRARED I’ve been using Photoshop for a few years now and God knows it’s helped me create some great fantasy effects in my artwork. I am now in my second year at university taking an illustration course, and am doing a project on fairytale-like model photography. I’m looking for some cool filter effects to really spice up my visual appeal, so was wondering if you had any ideas on how to get the best effect? SKIN DEEP: By using your Color Picker and a splay brush, Opacity set to 20-25% and blending mode set to Luminosity, you can make specific area modifications to skin complexion

GLAMOROUS I’ve been recently attending evening classes in photography. It’s something I have been keen on doing for some time and I love it. I am seriously considering putting my skills to the test on a freelance basis, perhaps producing family and glamour photos. I’ve found Photoshop goes and in hand with creating great photography. However, I am no pro and am only coming to grips with the software. I have heard of so many cool effects on how to touch up your photos, amending skin blemishes and such. I am using the Clone tool to do this but it can be time-consuming. Is there perhaps a shorter way?

TAXING SITUATION

Jill, Devon You’re right Jill, Photoshop is the greatest tool for photo editing. There is a technique that may help you with your problem, especially when considering producing glamour photography. This is known as the Surface Blur, which can be found by selecting Filter>Blur> Surface Blur. The preferred way of applying to specific areas of your model’s profile is to double-click the Quick Mask Mode icon, found in the toolbar. Now in the Quick Mask Options set your Color Indicates to Selected Areas, clicking OK. Next paint out the areas you wish to smooth and, once complete, re-select

AFTER EFFECTS: This effect is great for its intended purposes, but can also be used subtly to create a film-noir effect

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iqu es Te ch n STOCK TAKE Hi Advanced Photoshop team. I’ve been reading your magazine for quite some time now, and have learnt so much. I love the tutorials and it’s comforting to know that you provide as much as you can to help us hungry creatives. Now, however, I feel it’s time to stand on my own two feet, so could you maybe give me a heads-up on some cool royalty-free image sites, or where I can purchase some on the cheap? Michael, Fallowfield, Manchester

GAMMA GLAMOUR: Those who wish for a more technical solution to monitor brightness levels may want to address the Gamma amounts, found under File Menu>Monitor Setup. Visit www.cgsd.com for specific details

wondered if anyone would know of a good European-based site where you can sell prints, such as ImageKind or deviantART, so that buyers in Europe don’t have to pay high taxes of overseas trade? I’ll be very happy to hear from you. Ida Andersen Lang, Denmark Thanks for your enquiry, Ida – we’re sure this is a concern shared by many international artists looking to market their artwork. Even with the inclusive taxes you may well be best off dealing through sites such as deviantART. This is purely due to the opportunities they provide for promotion, being an international artistic community in a constant state of growth from both viewers, roughly 1.5 million individuals per day, as well as submitters. While that’s one option to definitely consider, we have also sourced some other viable options where artists can sell work. A prime example seems to be RedBubble.com. Here artists from Europe as well as Great Britain and America can upload, share and sell design without the penalty of commissions. RedBubble simply sets a base price and you set your own retail price. A seemingly professional retail option.

There may be slight taxation involved when selling to foreign consumers, but you’re sure to also get a good amount of sales from native region consumers. The reality is that you won’t often find a site such as RedBubble or deviantART that specifies solely to regional clients. It’s not a viable option if they wish to become profitable, as it limits growth on a global scale.

We hear you, Michael. Buying materials, and that of course includes stock imagery, can be an expense for most artists. Luckily we know of a few choice options for you. Why not check out www.dreamstime. com to start with, a microstock library site that is all user-contributed. Here you can purchase royaltyfree images for as low as $0.38 (that’s 19p), as well as download free stock. Then there’s MorgueFile. com. The purpose of this site is to provide free image reference material for use in all creative pursuits. You can contact the creator of the photo for specific permission, and the quality and breadth of photography available is very good.

PLATFORM PROBLEMS I’ve been designing web graphics for a short time, since graduating last year. I’ve been working consistently on a PC over this time and have recently realised the virtues of transferring to Mac usage. I must say it has certainly increased the productivity of my workflow. But I’ve hit a snag. I’ve noticed that there is a distinct colour difference on-screen in my design and I am worried that this has disrupted the effect of my work for all to see. Is there a way to remedy this? Brendan, Shropshire

THERE’S MORE: Why not try a few more photo sites and compare stock? There’s www.mayang.com, www. imageafter.com or www.nix.nasa.gov

This is a design problem that arises because the monitors for Macs and PCs display different levels of brightness. Usually web graphics designed on a Mac platform will be around 10-15 per cent darker on a PC using Windows. Of course, Photoshop is always there to provide a simple remedy. In this case it will allow you to proximate how these graphics will Want help with Photoshop? look when viewed on a PC, or visa versa. Simply create your image and then in the Send your emails to us at: File options choose the standard Save for [email protected] Web. Now activate the ‘2-up’ tab so you or post a message on our forum board at can compare images, select the Preview www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum. menu, top right, and choose Standard Windows Color. This will show you how Remember to specify whether you’re using your opened graphic will look when viewed a PC or Mac and the version number of on a standard Windows monitor. Selecting your edition of Photoshop. Standard Macintosh Color will do the reverse, and you can find a happy medium.

HELPDESK CALL FOR QUESTIONS

TAXES: The people who sell their work on RedBubble are responsible for complying with their local tax law(s). There are no taxes that the artist needs to pay for overseas trade apart from the local taxes – eg income tax

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This month’s pick of the bunch show off some cool creative compositions

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eer Pressure has once again been inundated with a volume of great artworks. The chosen entries this month offer an array of insights into the creative mind, sharing and revealing individual approaches and skills. We always include your email and URL, so interested parties can get in touch. All you have to do is send us high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or CMYK) at 300dpi minimum, which can be printed at a minimum size of 15 x 15cm. Send us low-res versions to [email protected] – we’ll get back to you for higher-resolution work if needed. Alternatively, log on to our forum at www. advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum. We cannot provide individual image assessment. Each issue we select one image to be ‘Best in Show’, and that lucky person will win a fantastic prize, courtesy of The Illustration Source (www.illustration-source. com), which is a great way to get your work seen. So, what are you waiting for?

Ultimately rewarding NAME: Tyson Koerper EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.tkoerper.com Koerper has, in his own words, recently “made that bold step off the cliff” into the full-time freelance design world. “My ultimate goal is to work primarily for the sports and/or motor sports markets,” he explains. “What inspires me the most in creating my art is human events, philosophy, nature… and the works by all the other amazing artists out there.” Koerper has his own attentive method of creation, usually starting with the application of traditional media – a pencil and some paper. “Once in Photoshop I trace each shape within the head individually. From there I make a selection out of the path, usually with a 1- or 2-pixel feather, and then switch to a texture layer.” The Airbrush tool is another preferred creation tool of Koerper’s when considering rendering his created forms. “I also use my digital camera to go out and take pictures of things,” things he will then place in or on his creations, such as the mechanical dragon (below). “For instance, the exhaust pipes emerging from his shoulder are from a shot I took of an 18-wheeler. The same goes for the gears used in his legs. I got those from www.sxc.hu, I believe. It’s a lengthy process, but it’s very rewarding. You can just be driving down the street and see something on the side of a building or whatever and say, ‘Aha! That would look great on the dragon!’ Pull the car over, take a digital photo of it and drop it in later.”

Not only is Tyson Koerper this month’s Best in Show, he has also won a year’s full option 3 membership to the Illustration Source, worth £150 and Featured Artist slot for November. The Illustration Source Ltd is the newest source of original art, freelance illustrators, photographers, artists and designers. Visit www.illustration-source.com for more information. If you’d like to stand a chance of winning an Illustration Source portfolio, send your images to [email protected].

MECHANICAL DRAGON: “This is a personal work to illustrate an idea for a short story about a girl who builds her own dragon out of spare parts”

BEST IN SHOW

BAJA: “I’m from Southern California originally, which is quite close to Baja California (in Mexico). I just wanted to make a flashy piece based on the surf and car culture”

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iqu es Te ch n Mix and match NAME: Lampros Kalfuntzos EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.3ddream.net Lampros Kalfuntzos is already well-versed in a creative capacity, completing a BA in Multimedia Graphics as well as obtaining a Masters degree in 3D Digital Design. His tendency towards choosing art as a viable profession came from being inspired by his big brother. “I have always been interested in art, but was first inclined to follow it as a career while browsing through my brother’s portfolio, who was studying Fine Arts at the time.” It was then that Kalfuntzos first encountered the virtues of Photoshop. Since then, he has seemingly become a talented artist in his own right. Starting out using Photoshop 5 and 3D Studio Max 3, he began to create flyers, posters, 3D characters and animation shorts for various projects. This creative licence led Kalfuntzos to develop an appetite for experimentation, utilising other softwares such as Poser, Flash and, obviously, Photoshop CS. Traditional medias have also been embraced. But his attention to creativity doesn’t end there. “As an amateur digital artist, I’ve always been fascinated by digital and fantasy art. Lately I’ve been trying to combine my digital skills and passion for 3D graphics, in photo manipulation and digital painting.” Watch this space.

BURN: “A digital painting using my portrait photo as a reference. A combination between old and new elements, Photoshop and a graphics tablet”

SPRING BEAUTY: “A photo manipulation created for a contest on deviantART. The mood is both soothing and melancholy”

DREAM GODDESS: Kalfuntzos is quite the contributor when it comes to art competitions. This photo manipulation, created for a contest on deviantART, was based on the theme of ‘My Perfect World’ You’ll stand a better chance of seeing your work in print if you adhere to the following criteria: make sure that your images are high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or CMYK), 300dpi minimum, and can be printed at 15 x 15cm minimum. Don’t forget to include a small text file detailing how you created your work, too.

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Discover the thinking behind the art

Foresight NAME: Teodoru Badiu EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.apocryph.net Teodoru Badiu, a Romanian-born artist living in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria, admits that although he always had a budding interesting in the arts, it wasn’t until later in his life that he began his true artist journey. Upon attending the People’s Art School in Vienna, he discovered the possibilities of computers and started to work with Photoshop. He also obtained his BA in Creative Media design. Not surprising, then, that he now works as a multimedia designer. Badiu combines his job with a strong passion for producing freelance work. He provided us with a few samples of these, as well as insight into his working practices. Badiu explains, “Once I get an idea, I think for a few days until I have a clear vision of the way the image will look like in my mind. Then I start preparing the parts I need in order to create it. I use only digital photos that I shoot myself using my Nikon D70 and I create all the textures using Photoshop. Once I have all the parts that I need, I start working on the image using Photoshop.” He adds, “I love to experiment with different media because I can create images with a unique collage-like look, and it is always a challenge to combine different media in a way that they perfectly fit and harmonise together. So in the end the image benefits from this freedom and delivers the desired message to the viewer.”

PEGASUS DIVIDED: “To have a better understanding about my creative process please visit the Tutorials section on my site, www.apocryph.net”

FLY TRY: “Like a lot of the work that I create for theodoru.com, this one is also a digital collage work made using digital photos and vector graphics”

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iqu es Te ch n PATHWAY OF SOULS: “I’ve been participating in contests on deviantART – I find them to be a great way to stimulate creativity. Lately I’ve been doing some freelance work as a book cover designer. I don’t know where my future will lead me, but I know digital art and Photoshop will have something to do with it”

The Three Ts NAME: Ryan Gilly EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: http://boxiom.deviantart.com/ Gilly is a talented, enthusiastic artist who’s already taken steps within the freelance arena, recently producing work as a book cover artist. While he is willing to accept his limitations, he never lets them hold him back. “I had always wanted to be an illustrator, but did not have the skill to back it up. I had the ideas, but not the talent to put them out on paper. One day I ran across the site deviantART.com, and instantly fell in love with the giant collection of digital art.” This artistic community helped nurture Gilly’s strong creative imagination. He explains how Gradient Effects play an integral part in his visualisation: “I used a bunch of gradients on my image, a couple to create a blank sky and some others to colour the entire image. I will often find myself desaturating an image, after hours of work, to apply an overlay gradient to the image. I think colour is one of the most appealing parts of a picture. Custom brushes were also heavily used, the feet at the bottom and texture in the sky were all created using brushes.” An intelligent and self-taught creative, Gilly lives his artistic life by a set a three values, which he calls The Three Ts: “These stand for Techniques, Theories and The Basics. They all act on one another, and combined they make a good piece. You have to listen to an image and decide what tools to use to improve or alter it.”

Emotive response NAME: Michael Wheeler EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.michaelwheelerdesign.co.uk Wheeler is an artist who finds it easier to explain himself through his artwork. “I often create images to reflect the mood I am in and love using a varied amount of media – ink, pencil, paint and photography – fusing them together in Photoshop.” Wheeler explains, “I also love exploring the different effects and textures that can be produced using the various overlay options.” Passionate about his working process, he was only too keen to reveal some of his own methods. Talking about his image Bliss , he explains, “I started this by sketching a face and scanning it in. Then, using various different ink drips I have collected over the years, I created this image placing the drops in the shadows to slowly create the image. I added the slice of colour by scanning in watercolours to define the shape of the face.” Wheeler’s work always lives vicariously through his emotions. Yet at times his method of creation can be far more technical. “Using one of my own photographs I started by desaturating the image ( Despair, below) and using the Levels to darken. I then scanned in my discarded watercolour mixing palate, which I found had interesting texture and colours. This was added to the image on a separate layer and overlaid over the original image to add colour.”

DESPAIR: “I brought in my stock of ink in drops and sprays, masking them to fit of the image and reducing the majority the sprays and drips to 70%, leaving a ” few at a 100% to give a sparkle effect

By submitting images to Advanced Photoshop’s Peer Pressure, you hereby grant Imagine Publishing and, if relevant, clients to whom the relevant work has been provided, an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free licence to use such intellectual property in relation to work similar or equivalent to the work. This includes the right to showcase work on multimedia formats. By submitting work you also confirm that your images do not infringe any copyright regulations should they be published.

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Discover the thinking behind the art

Deliberate design NAME: Ekaterina Kyulyumova-Petrova EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.solloo.blogspot.com

MANNEQUIN: “Mannequin is again a moment of horror passion. I don’t see the horror in it, and many times when people ask me where all this comes from, I can’t answer”

Surprisingly, Kyulyumova-Petrova was never really fussed about art. Of course, that was until she discovered Photoshop and she instantly knew she’d found her niche. She loved it so much in fact that it is now her primary creation tool. “My very first tries were like five years ago,” she explains. “It was all about making celebrity wallpapers. I wouldn’t say it was big success, but it was fun. Later on I started visiting different Photoshop forums and sites and one by one ideas and inspirations were coming.” She reveals herself as an artist that is ever-evolving, experimenting and trying to define her creative persona, an artist who has an emotive connection to her composition. This is certainly expressed within her working practice. Discussing her image Blue Sensation (below) she says: “I was experimenting with the colours and textures. In general I have a weakness for eyes and in this picture I tried to focus on them. The black cover makes them endless and lonely. The red lips look vulnerable and generate strong feelings.” Despite this level of confidence, like many good artists she is never far from deliberation: “At the moment I’m pleased with many of my pictures, but as all artists, I think I’m little bit too critical to myself. I would love someday to find the real purpose of my skills and use them.” BLUE SENSATION: “The black cover makes them endless and lonely. The red lips look vulnerable and generate strong feelings. I leave the associations up to the viewers”

SPY: “I used mainly brushes (veins), Sponge tool, Healing Brush tool, Clone tool. I like to put a name to it and leave it to the viewer to associate it his/her own way”

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Feature

Self-publishing Making your own merchandise just got a whole lot easier. Get yourself noticed with help from these essential designer services BY Emma Cake

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Self-publishing

hile it would be nice to think that the life of a freelance digital artist involves a bit of languid dabbling with a Wacom, and possibly some long hot coffee breaks pondering over art books and a room full of final proofs and polished prints, a large proportion of any designer’s day is spent rushing around making contacts and showcasing work. It’s one of the most fatal moves of anyone who’s serious about going pro with their art, to fail to get commissions and coverage, all because of poor exposure. You could be the most talented Photoshop artist in the world, with outstanding image-editing abilities, but if nobody has seen your designs or knows how to contact you, your career could be a slow burner. There’s no alternative for those starting out on their own other than to suffer the long, hard slog of selfpromotion. It’s tiresome, repetitive and sometimes disheartening, but it’s the foundation of a successful career. If we had been talking about this a few years ago, it would have meant only one thing – splashing the cash and paying through the nose for professional prints and merchandise. Luckily, times have changed. It’s now more acceptable than ever, and even encouraged, for an artist to work on their own promotional pitches. The selfpublishing industry is booming and there are plenty of

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resources on the internet that enable artists to produce their own merchandise – and for a very respectable price at that.

Before you begin Of course, before starting out on a venture like this you should have a strong portfolio that you have confidence in and are proud to share with your clients. It’s worth getting some feedback from others if you’re not sure how your images are going to be received by those who could by your main source of bread and butter. One of the problems of being a solo artist without colleagues or a team of other designers to offer opinions is that it can be very difficult to judge the standard of your own work. If you’ve been working on a project very closely, it can be hard to view your art objectively. As with anything that you’re planning to spend money on, if you can rely on someone who will give an honest and professional opinion about your work, then all the better. Logging onto forums and posting your work for critique by other artists is a great way to get a sense of how well received your images will be. A warning though: take some time to size up how useful a gallery site or forum is in relation to good feedback, and be aware of niceties. Okay, it can give you a warm feeling if

you receive a lot of general compliments about a particular image, but if you’re looking for specific criticisms and honest opinions (even if it’s bad news), these could be pretty worthless and even lead you down the wrong track. As the old adage goes, variety is the spice of life. As a serious artist you will need to promote the fact that you are flexible and adaptable to commissions. If you’re looking to send out self-promotional materials to prospective employers, you will be at an advantage if you have a good varied bunch of designs, so you’re not repeating your illustrations over and over. This is especially relevant if you want to create products such as badges or greetings cards. Take some time to polish up your portfolio and gain a good selection of designs. It’s more important to be precise with your final art pieces than it is to bash out a few images and turn them into self-

Self-p ublishing sites

te io sig na ns. l It’s pr mo od re im uc porta ts. Af ter n

We’ve only mentioned a few of the Blurb.com Moo.com Lulu.com many services available to artists who One of the best self-publishing sites An original printing company that will This 2007 Web 2.0 Award winner has are thinking about using their own we’ve ever used. Superb quality print your images onto stickers, great selling features that enable you mp loy designs as a basis. There’s an everbooks and a flexible but easy-to-use notecards, minicards and postcards. A to distribute through 60,000 retailers, ers you expanding world of relevant sites. software program mean you have user-friendly site with great upload schools and libraries. wil l be Here are some of our favourites: maximum control over the layout and options that allow you to import from at a na appearance of your book. web galleries. PhotoBox dva nta ge i A trusty online lab, PhotoBox is f yo u ha starting to introduce more and more ve a good product services. With a pro album varie d bun ch of you can use PhotoBox as a base to or design dges s so yo sell your merchandise and set your such as ba u’re not repeating cts e produ your illustrat own price. create som ions over and over. o t t n a w u o y if t n a This is espec ecially relev

g n i o g u fe o a y t e r a t to be u a ll, what o h s o precise w b o it is t ith your final art pieces than

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Feature

Q&a

EASY DESIGNS: Don’t forget to make use of wellestablished services such as www.photobox.co.uk

Jan Willem Wennekes – Zeptonn

Jan Willem Wennekes of Zeptonn is a freelance illustrator whose work is regularly printed onto all sorts of paraphernalia, from T-shirts and notebooks to skate decks and badges. We caught up with him to see if he could give any advice to other aspiring merchandise designers:

Q

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Why do you spend so much of your time concentrating on your own merchandise?

a

...

then you need to showcase this style first. You can achieve this by publishing something on your own.

Q

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Who do you use to produce your products?

a

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promotional products. After all, what are you going to do if an art director asks to see more work that you haven’t got – other than panic!

Self-promo options Browse the web for some self-promotional services and you will be astounded at the options available to an artist. If you can think up an idea for getting your designs on merchandise, chances are it can be done. One of the most impressive things about the recent development of these services is the quality of the result. A good quality, professional product is now available to those who don’t have a huge budget. Simple book presentation options are in abundance, varying in price depending on the finish of the binding and paper, and are a perfect way to present your images if you visit prospective clients on a one-to-one basis. Photo book services are available through many different mediums

I have a number of To be honest, I don’t sell that much printers and production merchandise myself now. Most of the items that companies that I work with on a llll neeisd to pr artist you wiThis uscompanies. o ri e s carry my style arelifsold by other regular for most romotebasis, a s A . ’ the fabut of e ct thato do your e spicase they take care of the production, veryishandy projects you need h t t you riety are which research. You need to decide flex s; ‘va stock, distribution and sales. I’m at my best when e o ible g e ause, I can go crazy and design for a product, be it a sort of paper or fabric you want to nd dag a ada ld o toy, a shirt, a pillow or a magazine. I sell my own or how big or small you want the item e pta h t s ble A book (Stingermania) and the Monsticle Breakout to be. I like to work with Fair Trade and to co poster through my own website. I also sell a Fair Wear companies whose products mm iss number of pins through prickle.com, a nice are environmentally friendly and ion s. I website that offers to take production and ethically okay. fy ou distribution out of your hands. are loo ... kin ... Do you have any future plans for gt os Has self-publishing boosted your your merchandise? en do career potential? ut

some time to polish up e k a T you rds. a r po c s g rtfo in t e lio gre an dg ain Q a

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h t e n m r u t i n d to n a

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...

After seeing my Stingermania book (a self-publication) the owner of Pop Cling contacted me to see if I would like to create a number of different skateboard designs for him in a similar style. If you want clients to come to you for a specific style

a

...

I’m working on a big project called ‘Black & White Freedrawings’ that will be published in book form. The project contains a substantial number of collaborations with befriended artists. I’m also planning to make a colouring book in the near future. www.zeptonn.nl

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ZEPTONN SHOP: There are regular new pieces of merchandise from Jan Willem Wennekes. Visit www.zeptonn.nl to find out more

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Self-publishing

BLURB: With Blurb.com you can have full control over the appearance and size of your book from photo service websites such as www.photobox.co. uk and www.apple.com/iphoto. However, many of them restrict you to designing your book to a certain number of pages and at a fixed size. One of the best book services we came across was www.blurb.com. Blurb is a US-based company geared towards the more serious self-publishing market. Despite the fact that it’s US-based, it’s easy enough to create and order your Blurb book from anywhere around the world, at a very reasonable shipping rate. The delivery time is phenomenally quick, with only a pesky Royal Mail strike putting the performance behind a day or so. With Blurb, you lay out your book yourself using Blurb BookSmart software for Mac and Windows (downloadable from the site). After choosing your book type, confirming dimensions, page number and hard or softback, you’re free to take your time over your layout, using set templates that are easily customisable – perfect if you want to set your designs out in a narrative manner. What’s also very helpful about the BookSmart software is that it will display an idiot-proof warning sign if you include an image that’s too low res (invaluable if you don’t want any nasty surprises when the book returns). Of course, as reasonably priced as it is, if you want to carry out a marketing campaign and send your selfpromo publication out to prospective clients, a large book isn’t an ideal choice. The prices for a smaller booklet may look a little shocking at first glance, but with an

LAYOUT CONTROL: The downloadable software allows you to piece together your book page by page. The controls are intuitive and it’s easy to browse through your final design before you buy ultimately larger stock of publications for you to send out, the initial costs could be worthwhile. For smaller brochures you will be better off using a reputable local printer, because the staff will be able to work closely with you to ensure you get the best results for your money. Prices will vary according to the number of pages and the quality of the paper stock you use, although you should be aware that many printers will only carry out a print run in their hundreds, rather than one-offs.

Quirky merchandise Books and booklets might be a great start if you’re looking to develop your following, but if you want to make heads turn and deliver something a bit more kooky, then merchandise could be a good option. Although some merchandise is a bit more original and fun to create, you are going outside the realms of

professional print and entering a blossoming consumer market, so you can take advantage of some great deals. One of the best companies around at the moment that offers great scope for personalised products is moo.com. This user-friendly site works wonders, because it’s such a simple idea and doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. Perfect products for the solo designer include a StickerBook for a bargain price of £4.99 onto which you can repeat one design or print out a different image on each sticker if you like. And instead of handing over a boring business card to prospective clients, the pack of 100 MiniCards (£9.99) is small enough to fit into a wallet, but eye-catching enough to turn heads as well.

Splatt ers, Shapes and Colours

g n i otio o g u esig na o y ns. I l pr e r ta a u o t’s m t o a d osh ore im ucts. After all, wh b o t po n it is

Award-winning freelance illustrator and graphic liaised with in order to print the book. “I could have designer Radim Malinic – Brand:Nu (www.brandnu. got it done for half the price in Poland or Turkey, but I co.uk) is no stranger to the world of self-publishing wouldn’t have had the control that I did.” Malinic after recently taking on the challenge of creating, previously set himself an unrealistic budget for ee mp organising and distributing his own 36-page printing 500 copies of the book, and the end result loy ers showcase book. Malinic had the advantage of having almost doubled the amount of expenditure needed. you will However, since selling his book on his website he be apreviously worked for the printing company he or t an ges has covered his costs: “For anyone who is considering adva bad ntag s a e if y ch creating their own self-publishing projects, I would ou ha cts su ve a g produ e say it’s definitely worth taking the plunge.” m ood va o ate s ried bu t to cre nch of de you wan signs so you if t n a ev l y re ’re not repeating yo ur illustrations over and over. This is espeecciall

rtant to

be precise with your final art pieces tha

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Bamboo Fun We test another innovative product from Wacom

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he Bamboo Fun is the latest in pen tool technology from Wacom. One of three in this Bamboo family range, the Fun promises users simple and easy ways to harness their creative abilities and apply their skills, complementing those consumers who dabble in the digital arts. Users can utilise its free and easy advanced pressure-sensitive resolution and battery-free pen technology to retouch, draw, paint and write with consummate ease. All you could ask from such a tool, surely? We wanted to find out firsthand, so the good people at Wacom provided us with our own model to try out. Upon extraction from its packaging it becomes clear that the Bamboo Fun will appeal to the senses on a aesthetic level. Smooth, slick and contemporary in design, it’s a very chic piece of machinery with an ice-white finish and neon lit keys. It’s also extremely lightweight, adding to the allure of its lustrous persona. A streamlined, less-is-more design that works.

“the Bamboo Fun takes creativity seriously”

Multi-platform: The Bamboo Fun carries the Microsoft ‘Certified for Windows Vista’ label, however the tablet also supports Macs

So we’ve gathered that it looks good, but can the Bamboo impress us just as much in use? After several trials, we all held the mutual opinion that this lightweight tool’s pen was far more akin to the Wacom Graphire range, so those who are familiar with this system should get to grips with this piece of hardware fairly quickly in terms of comfortable control. On the other hand, those of you more accustomed to the Intuos range may take time to adapt, due to the nostalgia of your previous device. In all fairness, the Bamboo Fun is specifically aimed at the enthusiast and those using Intuos technology will rarely need use of it, unless of course it’s in the name of amusement. Considering its target consumer, the Bamboo Fun takes creativity very seriously offering instant employment. This means that those who purchase this product also get full editions of valuable software. The likes of Adobe Photoshop Elements and ArtRage 2, among others, allow you to instantly kick-start your experimentation and get those creative juices flowing instantaneously. Not only that, but this essential device also prides itself upon being a high-functioning, ergonomic piece of machinery. According to

Wacom: “Using the ExpressKeys, together with the pen, provides an efficient way of working and means that the best possible results can be achieved quickly and without difficulty.” After testing this out for ourselves, it’s fair to say that we concur with Wacom’s assertion. The simple and appropriately sized ExpressKeys are strategically placed to allow for smooth, fast application choices when coupled with applying the Pen tool. Set from the start to default settings, it’s easy to customise these keys once you’ve got to grips with using the hardware, something that will inevitably enhance the momentum of your workflow. Setting the ExpressKeys at the top of the workstation allows every user to access them easily and comfortably, achieving a relaxed posture that feels as natural as if you were sketching leisurely in your sketchpad. The Touch Ring is another nice feature that provides basic yet engaging manoeuvres. It functions as an easy-to-use scroll and zoom function – great when working in Photoshop and other such creative programs. Clearly defined directions, illustrated on the key, allow users to gently stroke the Touch Ring, in clockwise and counter clockwise motions, to

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Bamboo One Spec: Includes ArtRage 2 Bonus software voucher for additional free software Support of pressure-sensitive tools in painting/photo applications Customisable Pen buttons Multi-directional page movement with the pen Battery-free pen with ergonomic feel USB cable connection Overall tablet size = 195 x 197 x 11mm Active area size = 128 x 93mm Bamboo One is simple to use and ideal for consumers who would like to explore the possibilities of a pen tablet. This model offers a simple and intuitive way of interacting with a computer, enabling users to discover their creative skills in an uncomplicated fashion, both in interface and exterior design.

EXPRESS YOURSELF: The four programmable ExpressKeys on the tablet can be assigned with everyday shortcuts such as cut and paste. Results can be achieved quickly and without difficulty

Rating:

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Similar products

3/5

SLIDE AWAY: Users can alter the dynamics of both ends of the pen by using the Erasure and Tip Feel slide bars, so you can adjust things to suit you and your work

zoom in and out of images. Pressing the arrows will scroll up and down your canvas accordingly. As mentioned previously, Preferences provides you with the ability to personalise ExpressKeys and pen tool functionality. Once again, these options are simplified and uncomplicated to use, concentrating on enhancing creativity and user-friendly ability suitable for the device’s target consumer. Such options allow you set operations suitable for numerous creative tasks. Users can set the pen’s keys accordingly to suit. There’s also the option to alter the dynamics of both ends of the pen using the simple Erasure and Tip Feel slide bars, which will confirm the pressure and media application/deletion of both nibs. This practical option is useful when concerning the pen tool’s Erasure, as we found its default settings to be less responsive than the Intuos and at times problematic when applying to light sketch work. Other innovative functions included in the Bamboo Fun are powerful pen-based features such as intelligent handwriting recognition found in current operating systems, providing an enhanced and personalised way of using the computer at home or work. Mapping to multiple monitors is another handy feature on offer. This means if your computer has more than one monitor in use, for example one for swatches and palettes and the other purely for canvas, then Bamboo Fun will map to your monitors. This is, however, dependent on how they are configured in your Display Properties control

panel (Preferences>Pen>Tracking: Pen Mode Details). Users can also set defined portioned areas of the screen your tablet will map to, using the Pen Mode Details options. Overall the Wacom Bamboo Fun delivers, both in looks and functionality. 5

Specifications Manufacturer: Wacom Web: www.wacom.eu Price: £69.99/$142.94 (small), £139.99/$285.88 (medium) (www.unlimited.com) Spec: Advanced pressuresensitive resolution Paper-like tablet overlay High report rate for precise control Touch Ring for instant zoom and scroll Four customisable ExpressKeys Detachable USB capable for simpler portability Active area size = 148 x 92mm (small); 217 x 135mm (medium) Summary: An ergonomic, stylish tool that strictly promotes the essence of all creativity: fun. It serves its purpose, providing a streamlined functionality and forming a highly cohesive workstation suitable for all enthusiastic creative users. All this comes at a competitive price. Rating:

Bamboo Spec: Full support of new handwriting recognition, inking and pen features in Microsoft and Apple OS High resolution and report rate for outstanding accuracy Touch Ring for instant zoom and scroll Four customisable ExpressKeys Paper-like work area Multi-directional page movement with the pen Battery-free pen with ergonomic feel Detachable USB cable for simpler portability Overall tablet size = 200 x 185 x 10mm Active area size = 148 x 92.3mm Bamboo is suited for office use, at work and at home. A simple and sleek design disguises a powerful capability, being easy, efficient and ergonomic. Coming standard with JustWrite Office, Bamboo makes it personal by also allowing you to keep digital personal notes. Rating:

3/5

4/5

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resources Creative Suite 3 Integration This publication throws practical learning into the digital mix Manufacturer: Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier Web: http://books.elsevier.com/focalbooks Price: £24.99/$51.10 Spec: Colourful, practical tutorials Troubleshooting organisation for cross-program issues Coverage of basics through to comprehensive information Practical project tasks Supplied CD-ROM with project resources Time-saving tips Platform shortcuts provided

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reative Suite 3 Integration is a publication that will help the digital creative understand the potential and true meaning of software integration. This book offers readers the means to become more efficient when operating Adobe’s Creative Suite 3. Now providing consumers with a number of different flavours, including Standard and Premium packages for both web and design, users have never been in more need of a choice resource that ‘covers all bases’. Creative Suite 3 Integration sets out to do just this, highlighting the strides that Adobe has taken to integrate these genre-defining tools.

Along with the latest incorporated Macromedia functions, this is a title with a lot on its hands. Despite this, the book delivers – from Keith Martin’s straightforward and comprehensive explanation of working practices to the analytical glossary of working terminology. Once again colour coding is deployed to all sections, making for easy navigation of working practices. From the first few pages it’s apparent that thoroughness is the name-of-thegame, with Keith Martin’s explanation of specific software dynamics and purposes featured in Creative Suite 3. Creative Suite 3 Integration also covers a majority of contemporary, professional working areas, such as Magazine Feature, Interactive Media and Designing for PDF Delivery. Couple this with the practical Project pages, accompanied by the supplied CD-ROM that includes resource imagery related to these assignments, and readers can experience sound working practices that will increase productivity when considering real-life circumstances. The book also acknowledges what software will be utilised in each section through the appearance of Adobe software logos and the clear definition of platform shortcuts used. All-in-all, this title is an inclusive revision that will enhance efficiency as well as teach users new skills and tricks along the way. 5

WHAT’S INSIDE?: Pages two and three clearly explain what is and what’s not covered. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium and Master collection have been left out

Summary: This title offers a resource that will allow confident users the ability to achieve professional results through practical exercises. Rating:

4/5

The Designer’s Desktop Manual Have this title to hand to maximise understanding of essential practices Manufacturer: Rotovision SA Web: www.rotovision.com Price: £25.00/$30.00 Spec: Flexibind 256 pages Addresses type and typography, colour, imaging, layout and printing Step-by-step projects Up-to-date digital and handmade techniques

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s soon as we laid eyes on The Designer’s Desktop Manual, we fell in love with it. A new release from Rotovision, this title simply looks fun. Colourful, considerate in design and generally pleasing to the eye, this title has all the aesthetic ability to capture your attention. But what about its content? Award-winning art director and designer Jason Simmons provides tutelage. His 15 years’ experience, including lecturing and judging for the Association of Illustrators, goes some way to authenticating the aptitude of the topics in this manual. This title is punctual and to the point, covering all the main disciplines from type to colour, layout and print. It’s all here and presented in a clear and concise way so enthusiasts and can

benefit from its teachings. Those users a bit more proficient may also learn a few new tricks as well. Each section provides samples that can be applied to working projects, so you can learn practically as you go. Within each topic the spectrum is addressed, starting from the basic techniques and educating you through to more advanced options and actions. Colour coding of sections is used once again, like in the more userfriendly titles, for easy navigation. The Designer’s Desktop Manual features some innovative as well as essential practices. The techniques promote platform knowledge, so users of Macs can familiarise with a PC’s functions and visa-versa. There are also some nice personalised practices on offer here. For example, the Folds and Bindings section provides examples showing you modes with which to promote and provide book and magazine design, as well as a two-page glossary covering all standard industry paper sizes, just in case you need to know. Nothing seems left to chance when considering production. 5

ESSENTIAL PRACTICE: This manual tackles common technical problems and establishes best practices, with a wealth of hints and tips on offer

Summary: This title, in its colourful and fun simplification, also manages to present a systematic and cohesive read that will surely evolve any reader’s skills and understanding. Rating:

4/5

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Adobe Creative Suite 3 Bible A creative Holy Grail or more a red herring resource? Manufacturer: Wiley Publishing Inc Web: http://eu.wiley.com Price: £23.99/$49.00 Spec: Over 1,250 pages of comprehensive feature tutelage 38 working chapters Thorough function and tool index Fully updated with CS3 functions Integrate and manage workflow

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t’s fair to say that Wiley Publishing Inc has a record of offering comprehensive titles that cover essential creative ground. So with that glowing reputation in mind, would one of its latest titles, Adobe Creative Suite 3 Bible, match previous set standards? This title certainly seems to deliver. Covering practices that will inspire as well as suit both beginners and those more advanced users, it’s stacked with over 1,257 pages of subject matter, including managing colour across all CS3 applications, applying effects to objects and layers and creating interactive documents. This information is accompanied by coherent illustration that helps those using the aforementioned software and tools to operate functions and tasks.

Like previous Bible books we’ve encountered, a brief chapter run-through boxout that labels what you’ll find among the pages complements each section. The contributing creative authorities have again provided useful tool and application hints as well as cross referencing, which is punctual and easy to follow and find. Also present are the New Feature notes – these allow you to know which new feature mentioned in its pages is associated to which software and how it functions. However, even though the topics are numerous and thorough, we still held slight reservations about this title. First of all, its black-and-white print left us feeling a little uninspired. This bland look also limits the possibilities for quick and simple navigation that has been experienced in more user-friendly titles, with colour-coded divisions. The issue of having to refer to the index at all times, in such a weighty publication, may be daunting for first-time users or beginning enthusiasts. Setting this little niggle aside, this comprehensive title leaves little to the imagination. Throughout its many pages it offers an education that will teach users how to utilise the latest CS3 software features in a seamless, integrated workflow, just as they where designed to do. 5

GET CREATIVE: This title will offer advice on how to easily revisit earlier versions of files, set up efficient workflows for teams, studios and freelancers and even add interactivity on the web

Summary: Once again a satisfying educational resource that is informative and concise in the examples it offers, if a little time-consuming and difficult to navigate at times. Rating:

3/5

Casio EX-Z1200 This compact from Casio certainly has the EX-factor Manufacturer: Casio Web: www.exilim.casio.com Price: £279 (SRP) Spec: 4,000 x 3,000 maximum resolution 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom 2.8-inch wide format LCD display 6cm minimum focus distance Dimensions = 93 x 51 x 22mm Weight = 152g (without batteries) 34 scene modes and full manual control

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asio is calling the Exilim Zoom EX-Z1200 its current ‘flagship model’. And we can see why. This sleek unit has an impressive 12.1 megapixels – a figure that can comfortably out-do certain entry-level DSLRs. The EX-Z1200 design is pleasant, with smooth rounded corners and subtle ergonomic features. It fits comfortably into the palm of your hand, but still manages to pack in a wealth of features. The menu interface is on the right-hand side of the clear, colourful 2.8-inch LCD. It’s navigated via the small d-pad, Menu button and the tiny ‘BS’, or Best Shot, button. Best Shot is the EX-Z1200’s name for a scene mode and it features an excellent range of presets, from Night, Sunset and Portrait to more specialised settings such as Flowing Water.

The 3x optical zoom isn’t fabulous in scope, even though it combines with a 4x digital zoom to produce a 12x total. Sadly, some clarity is sacrificed at max zoom, although thanks to this camera’s overwhelming megapixel count you can forego a little physical zoom and enlarge later. This is a great camera for portrait shots, as it focuses on the human face. Its Auto Tracking (AF) function can track the faces of moving subjects, but most intriguingly, it offers a Family First mode, in which it gives priority to the faces of those it describes as ‘recorded family members’. The only way that the EX-Z1200 lets itself down is with the fiddly size of its buttons, which your fingers can slide off of with ease. Image quality is outstanding, both in terms of the capture process itself and in its reproduction on the LCD. The camera offers a range of playback modes, from a menu of nine images at a time, to a slideshow, album function and favourites folder. It’s worth remembering while you’re being wowed by its ease of use and great design, that the EX-Z1200 is not a professional-quality camera – it’s a humble household camera. It just happens to be at the top of its range and the peak of functionality, too. 5

SIMPLE CONTROL: If you’re not a photographer, but need reference shots, this camera has plenty of automated options for perfect shots every time

Summary: The EX-Z1200 is a great allround home and family camera and, despite a few minor quirks, delivers excellent results. Rating:

4/5

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resources Urban Retro New Gelaskins Why should the decorations stop at the tree this Christmas? Accessorise with a new Gelaskin Manufacturer: Urban Retro Web: www.urbanretro.co.uk Price: Starting from £9.95/$20.26 Spec: Design contributed including DAIM, Amy Sol, Aya Kato and more Available for the iPod, iPhone, MacBook and other laptops High-grade 3M vinyl Patented adhesive technology Scratch-resistant gloss coating

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rban Retro has recently announced the launch of its newest collection of designer art skins for iPod, iPhone, MacBooks and other laptops. Familiar with the first instalment of their fresh, contemporary designs, we were keen to test drive this product. Urban Retro seems very excited about the Gelaskin, stating that the product “adds style, flair and creativity to the device of your choice.” This is something we were certainly inclined to agree with, as it seems that this second generation of Gelaskins offer even more in the way of creative delight. As the popularity of the products it decorates soars, the artistic contributors for the Gelaskin project grow.

With an array of options displaying graphic design to illustration to fine art, the Gelaskin certainly isn’t exclusive to any preferred consumer. From contributions from leading urban artists such as Dave White, to modern contemporary designers such as DAIM and classic masterpieces from Van Gough, Monet and MC Escher, there is quite literally something for every art lover. Considering the evolution of options available with an impressive depth of available designs, all should easily find something to suit. Manufactured using a high-grade 3M-vinyl and patented adhesive technology, you find yourself with one attractive product on your hands. The Gelaskin also comes standard with a glossy coating that is clear and scratch-resistant, which proved to be the case in tests. This protective exterior obviously adds durability to the product, as well as presenting a quality finish. Upon sticking down the Gelaskin on your device of choice, it’s surprisingly easy to peel off again. This is contributed to the product’s residue-free adhesion. We could only test this factor in a short space of time, however, so over a longer period this may perhaps be less responsive. That aside, we feel that the option for artistry within this product is its greatest virtue and makes it well worth sticking with. 5

skin on skin: iPhone and iPod touch owners can also download free-of-charge designs to use as screensavers, accompanying the skin of their choice

Summary: Gelaskins are a highly decorative and delightful design solution, offering fun and fresh ways to personalise and all at a competitive price. What more could you ask for? Rating:

4/5

Adobe Photoshop CS3 A-Z This title helps users dodge the frustration than can occur when partaking in time-sensitive, quality working procedures Manufacturer: Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier Web: http://books.elsevier.com/focalbooks Price: £17.99/$36.79 Spec: Covers Photoshop’s mass of tools Intuitive and colourful presentation Step-by-step tutorials helping conquer key tasks Fully updated with CS3 functions Feature Summary boxouts Colour-coded edge tabs

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his dictionary of Photoshop terms wrangles complex concepts and offers intuitive solutions making it an invaluable title for digital imagers.” This is Adobe Photoshop CS3 A-Z described by Bryan O’Neil Hughes, Photoshop product manager at Adobe. At first glance this A-Z doesn’t look daunting. Comparatively slender in comparison to other titles we have reviewed, perhaps meaning that this title isn’t as thorough as you’d expect. This would probably have something to do with this title being focused upon a specific aspect of Photoshop usage. Printed by Focal Press Books, this is a title for photographers, by photographers.

As you’d expect, Adobe Photoshop CS3 A-Z covers all of Photoshop’s mass tools and makes reference to and explains almost every action you are likely to encounter or use as a photographer. From the virtues of palette stacks to using Photoshop Filters and even Variable preferences such as Data Sets, it all seems to be in here, presented in an informed and punctual manner using best practices. But it’s not just the depth of information that sets this publication apart but the way it is possible to locate it promptly. Acting as an all-you-need-to-know, easy-tonavigate encyclopaedia Adobe Photoshop CS3 A-Z offers cohesive edge tabs, colour coded, changing for each section so you can easily thumb through to locate particular entries. But this title also includes handy Feature Summaries. These include details on where features can be found, keyboard shortcuts associated to tools and which Photoshop versions include the functions in question. New and revamped functions within the recent CS3 version are highlighted in red to easily recognise. Also the encyclopaedia features a step-bystep section, which provides a basic run through of preferential tools so users can familiarise before partaking in more elaborate exercises. In all, a title that should evolve learning and help users conquer key tasks at every level. 5

simple guide: This title helps users dodge the frustration that can occur when partaking in time-sensitive, quality working procedures

Summary: This title shepherds Photoshop users in the right direction. Colour-coded tabs, Feature Summary boxouts and tips and reminders of important techniques provide a practical publication. Rating:

3/5

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