2BRAND NEW

VIDEO
TUTORIALS
PLUS: BRUSHES, TEXTURES & MORE
ISSUE
ISSUE
5549
47
Create vexel art | Dramatic exposure effects | Spherical panoramas in CS4 | Interview: Scott Lukowski

TE THIS
CREA
VER
CO T ST
D WITH A
ARTEUIDE TO
GE AGE G EXELS
6-P FECT V
PER

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

DRAMATIC
EXPOSURES
Create a high-contrast sports scene with
photographic exposure and focus effects

CREAT
VEXEL E HOW TO

ART
• Use the Cloud
filter effectively
• Build surreal montages
• Create concept art
Join t for games
tool, he new v
• Win Photoshop
challenges
layer
ing a exel trend • Get perfect
nd gr
adienby maste
composition
ts for rin
a pho g the Pen
to-re
al eff
ect O.
UK GET ON
P.C
HO

OU
DVANCEDPHOTOS
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

R COVER
W.A
WW

SPHERICAL PANORAMAS MAKING MERCHANDISE ISSUE 55

ISSN 1748-7277
£5.99

New to CS4: rotate around the interior of a From badges to toys, we show you 55

building with this great panoramic feature how to plaster your art on anything 9 771748 727009

001_AVP_55_Cover.indd 1 4/3/09 10:31:43

 Editorial
Imagine Publishing Ltd
Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill
Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ
☎ +44 (0) 1202 586200
Web: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/photoshopfaceoff

Magazine team
Welcome to

hr ou ’s a g w nd ,
hc . Y he in l a nd
Editor in Chief Jo Cole

ra rt . S rk ita la
sa l a 1 o ig ea

in n f o a h
ist ca ls it
:// xe 00 n w d Z
jo.cole@imagine-publishing.co.uk

Advanced Photoshop

r
e. in n
tp ve 2 e th ew

g. he
ht n nce be bo N
Deputy Editor Julie Easton

or d
at rt o p si has art, om
pe o d in fr
julie.easton@imagine-publishing.co.uk

R
ex osh , an st ent
EE
Here at AP, we like to make sure that ☎ 01202 586243

ot nal ere ud
Ph itio int y st
HT
Senior Staff Writer Adam Smith

d en og
we’re on top of the latest and best Designer Stacey Grove

RA
tra ke iol
sa ab
SA
Senior Sub Editor Colleen Johnson

ha ah,
trends in digital art creation. That’s why

r
Sa
Sub Editor Sam Robson
we spend our time trawling the Group Art Editor Lora Barnes
Head of Design Ross Andrews
internet and our online gallery, Contributors
Debbi Allen, Jeff M. D Guzman, Ben Harvell, Natalie Johnson,
figuring out what’s popular and Lars Meyer, Kirk Nelson, Josie Reavely and Sarah Teer
Advertising
bringing it into the mag. Digital or printed media packs are available on request.
This month is no exception. For a start, we have a Commercial Director Ross Webster
☎ 01202 586418

re re d o rs s
tu fe in ne ha
tutorial looking at how you can create dramatic

ca nc u of
ross.webster@imagine-publishing.co.uk

fu dif o f in he
o wh itio s a on al
ur t a s t d w , s
e t d et ge m git
as er f g’s rtr e a in

gr e L sé ain d
ed it an d
e c Ed he

of .
.

re e i t
er on
AP

photographic effects to emulate sports advertising styles Head of Sales James Hanslip

yo a n n th
so th po P r
ac im 6 te
N
al or Ex ait wa

ak an mp jud his Di
k h ov in Po nc ny

th ed d t

N
ov iti

er t
MA
or s c lish the elle pa

☎ 01202 586423

e
SO
n wi co e . T th
as seen in recent ads for trainers from Nike. You can apply
s w a b n xc m

.
UZ

james.hanslip@imagine-publishing.co.uk

ca to l art o th zine of
ff ’ en Pu e i E co

HN
w ta g t a or
Je hos stic Be an FX

the style to any of your photographs or use those

EG

ho igi kin mag edit

Advertising Manager Michaela Cotty
n ’s V

JO
as Bal olde . He or a

☎ 01202 586441

e d ea r y
M.D

th sp phe put
provided on the disc.
e w or G es st f

LIE
en ra de michaela.cotty@imagine-publishing.co.uk
ag ry f for pin rti
Y
im o er ilip t a

be tog the

We also take a look at the popular art of

TA

Account Manager Hannah Bradshaw

m n
RE
te nn h ep

o is

☎ 01202 586436
ca wi he P onc

NA
Ph lie

vexelling. Ever since deviantART gave this

FF

c li

ta
t c

hannah.bradshaw@imagine-publishing.co.uk
a

Na
JE
is

style its own category, we’ve been dying to Cover disc

ff
Je

Interactive Media Manager Lee Groombridge

g

give it a go – and now you can too, by following Head of Digital Projects Stuart Dixon
our in-depth six-page guide to getting started. Multimedia Editor Steve Litton
apxtrahelp@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Other tutorials look at surreal photomontages,
International
concept art for videogames and creating spherical Advanced Photoshop is available for licensing. Contact the
panoramas in CS4 Extended. Add this to our four-page International department to discuss partnership opportunities.
International Manager Cathy Blackman
rt t,

Helpdesk and you’ve got a whole host of tips and

ad . H e n a tis

☎ +44 (0) 1202 586401

:// len mi ow l ar
ttp fa de n ta

techniques to keep you going for another month. licensing@imagine-publishing.co.uk

. : h st ka l-k igi

th l
er ita
.
er
m re -We sta el d

Subscriptions
isw dig
as ri . O ne qu to

ot cre p o S4 s.
ho tin hi e

4 E he k
en l
d.

.co he in n a w nd
xt rica

If you are looking to take your artwork further and

CS p ir
os a f t , th
Ph on to C ie
N

de
m to re a k th

p g s s, K

rt d e Ku t a
in al n l in er

on is
SO

Subscriptions Manager Lucy Nash

ta un rh e ts a tor
ra t tu o s p des on

make a career from it, then we have the last in our series
no ea h m ask lp m

an fo rd th r lp

☎ 01202 586443
EL

HE
vi e No ny, al a cu
pa a gr uc M r He this

de an b f in ma isu a s

lucy.nash@imagine-publishing.co.uk
KN

RT

of the Freelance Survival Guide. This time, we look at

ne nd t th you ain

s
t c or er d v , i

To order a subscription to Advanced Photoshop:

do er a s a ith ag

ar eld n G an yer
KIR

WE

marketing yourself and innovative merchandising

lso ilt ok w yet

☎ UK: 0844 848 8402

ss y i tic e
Dü em las rs M
s a s f e lo ut d

m e

☎ Overseas: +44 (0) 1795 592 880

ha oud H ou o han

IS

ideas, from the humble business card right

ad g p La
ON

Email: adphotoshop@servicehelpline.co.uk
ac yin aka
y n
lp s o

through to plastering your work over office 13-issue subscription (UK) – £62.30
ud s,
AD
he irk i

st oni

13-issue subscription (Europe) – £70

K

Ad

walls. There’s loads of great advice here to get you 13-issue subscription (ROW) – £80
on the right track. Circulation
Cl

Circulation & Export Manager Darren Pearce

Finally, whatever level you’re at in your digital art, then ☎ 01202 586200
we’ve got a five-page look at the world of Photoshop Production
competitions that you can enter, with tips from judges Production Director Jane Hawkins
☎ 01202 586200
and entrants alike, as well as a look at what a win can Founders
mean for your future career. Managing Director Damian Butt
Finance Director Steven Boyd
Happy Photoshopping! Creative Director Mark Kendrick
Printing & Distribution
fo hich ye o nica per

r d ld N is
ita p n
or ect
w.

Julie Easton
ig be iko
ou ou r a Th
Y

lo
l w erf
e h p

Printed by St Ives Andover, West Portway, Andover, SP10 3SF

kf
EL
r y c ve l.
r, w ed ec ho

advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk Distributed by Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London,

ne nc s t tos
AV

☎
an ie ng o

EC1A 9PT 0207 429 4000

sc er hi Ph

julie.easton@imagine-publishing.co.uk
RE
n xp ll t d

Disclaimer
so r e f a an
SIE
Ep he e o er

The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost
an ast dg aph

or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine
JO
nd s c wle gr

Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part

a a ha o to

without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised
er he kn pho

and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the
am , s ive d
x c th ns te

magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of

pi on te en

print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent

CONT
ol m ex tal

and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
an is a
ith ie

Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademark of

w Jos

Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or

other countries and is used with express permission.
Co

RIBU
© Imagine Publishing
Ltd 2009

The next issue of Advanced ISSN 1748-7277

Photoshop goes on sale 23 April 2009

4
Advanced Photoshop TORS
004_AVP_55_EdIntro.indd 4 4/3/09 12:21:43
 Cover

Cover image
Vexel art is one of those art forms that comes quietly
out of nowhere and builds into a huge style that
everyone wants to know how to emulate.
deviantART gave it its own category on the popular
Imageer:
community site, recognising its rather large
SARAH TEER
following. It’s for the hardcore Photoshopper – it’s
time-consuming and it’ll kill your system, but it looks
fantastic! Sarah Teer is a master of the technique and
shares her advice in our tutorial on page 50. “Vexel art is time-consuming,
/ http://sarahchristine.org
but it looks fantastic”

5
Advanced Photoshop

005_AVP_55_CoverImage.indd 5 4/3/09 12:22:57

 E
K SIT d
-LOO
NEW .advance.uk
wwwoshop.co
phot

ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP WEBSITE

www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
The Advanced Photoshop website is your portal to everything
Photoshop, making it easier than ever to upload your images to your
own gallery, read the latest Photoshop and magazine news, buy
current and back issues and play with our Photoshop Face-Off feature.

ISSUE #55

inside... 36
Professional concept
art explained
INSIGHT
News and showcases from around the globe
News
08
08
Showcase: Alexis Taieb 12
Showcase: Joshua M Smith 14
Showcase: Emeric Trahand 16
Showcase: Fabio Sasso 18

COMMUNITY 22
Our readers’ comments, feedback and images
from our mailbox, email, website and forum
Mailbox 22
THE COVER On the web 24
If you want to learn how to create the image on our Web challenge winners 28
cover, then turn to page 50 to find out everything
that you need to know about vexel art

HELP 74
Tips, techniques and problems solved
Helpdesk 74

RESOURCES 90
Vital assets to improve your Photoshop work

d va nced p at Hardware and software reviews 90

isit the A nline shoo.uk Book reviews 94
V o .c
shop ineshop oks
ot o
Ph .imag es, bo 62 78
www ack issu andise Get dramatic exposures in Our pick of the best reader
THIS MONTH’S CD 98
for b d merch
sports scenes submissions this month

an Superb stock art, project files and more!

CD guide 98

6
Advanced Photoshop

006-007_AVP_55_Contents.indd 6 4/3/09 12:24:12

 30
We interview
Scott Lukowski

© Scott Lukowski

FEATURES/REGULAR TECHNIQUES
Insightful interviews and in-depth articles Essential guides to professional Photoshop skills

INTERVIEW: SCOTT LUKOWSKI 30 CREATE AN ALIEN CONCEPT SCENE 36

We talk Watchmen, concept art and Photoshop with the artist A professional guide to creating concept art for gaming clients

PROMOTIONAL MERCHANDISE 42 VEXEL ART 50

From business cards to wallpaper, we look at successful merchandising Learn how you can master this complex Photoshop technique

READERS’ GALLERY 78 SURREAL MONTAGES 56

The very best submissions from our readers this month Dali-inspired compositions made simple

IN IT TO WIN IT 84 DRAMATIC PHOTO EFFECTS 62

How to enter – and win – popular digital art competitions Create a sports image with impact in our guide

REVIEWS 90 SPHERICAL PANORAMAS 68

We review the latest iLife suite, Nikon camera, Epson scanner and more Check out this new feature in CS4 Extended

7
Advanced Photoshop

006-007_AVP_55_Contents.indd 7 4/3/09 12:24:54

 WORKFLOW SETUP: For digital
painters and illustrators in
GET TO GRIPS: particular, the new tablet is an
Customise your pen essential part of the workflow
with the optional
The latest creative news extra grip

EASY DOES IT
: The latest Wa
easy to use an com offering is
d comfortable
to hold

A new era of technology

from Wacom
Wacom has long been the leading light in graphic tablet
technology, and the latest release, announced on 25 March,
looks set to keep the company at the top of the bill.
Introducing the Intuos4 pen tablet system for photographers,
designers and artists. In terms of styling, the Wacom is a familiar
beast for most of us, with ExpressKeys located to the side of the
new tablet. These can be orientated on either the right or the left
side by simply rotating the tablet and changing the options
within the software. New to this upgrade, the ExpressKeys also
boast illuminated OLED displays that remind users of the current
feature assigned to each Key.
On to the pen, where there’s also been some nips and tucks
design-wise. The Touch Ring controls up to four different
functions in any application, with a button in the centre able to
toggle between features including zoom, scroll, brush size,
canvas rotation and layer selection, among others, with the
location of the LED along the perimeter indicating the currently
selected function.
Able to deliver 2,048 levels of pressure, the pen captures each
and every nuance. Offering users a more natural-feeling
experience, the new tip technology offers a near-zero starting
pressure. In terms of design, the ergonomically shaped pen is
ultra-slim, although users preferring a more robust tool can opt
for the replacement grip to add some thickness to the barrel.
Like the tablet, the pen offers functionality for both right- and
left-handed users, placing the shortcut and modifier keys in an
ambidextrous position.
On the software side, the Intuos4 introduces precision mode
and radial menus, enabling more precise and accurate work in a
more user-friendly way than ever before.
For the creative sides of us, Art Pen turns on the rotation
feature in Photoshop and Illustrator, which delivers natural brush
effects like a calligraphy pen, as well as Airbrush, Classic Pen and
a battery-free Wacom Mouse – the ultimate creative package.
Available in four sizes, the tablet is priced from £209 for the
small, £319 for the medium, £409 for the large while the extra
large comes in at £719.
www.wacom.eu

8
Advanced Photoshop

008-011_AVP_55_News.indd 8 4/3/09 16:30:13

 Objects of affection
Those talented people at House Industries have All of the creations are bright, colourful and full of
News
bites
produced a new collection of typefaces, ideal for use in character, based on the designer’s illustrative style, and
personal and professional projects, as well as a host of can be bought direct from the website. You can also
other cool paraphernalia, inspired by textile designer request a free catalogue online and keep updated on all
Alexander Girard. things Girard via the blog.
The 17 fonts can be described as artistic and folksy
with a contemporary feel, while the rest of the objects
created are slightly more whimsical. These include
TAKE YOUR WORK
jigsaw puzzles, memory games, building blocks, dolls
http://girard.houseind.com/ INTO THE KITCHEN
and even a nativity. Make a statement with these new
Photoshop magnets from Meninos
PUZZLES: Purchase objects of art or the fantastic (www.meninos.us). Designed in the
fonts online style of Photoshop tool palettes and
drop-down menus, they’re great for
customising the photos on your fridge
– turning ordinary white goods into a
FONTS: The fonts are available in screen from Photoshop.
one pack for $250, or in smaller
bundles

PHOTOSHOP
FRIENDS UNITED
Have you found Adobe Groups yet?
Designed as an easy way to meet

The Photoshop Oscars!

like-minded Photoshoppers, you can
search for groups, join them or start
your own. Head to http://groups.
adobe.com/, then search via country,
actors, musicians
In the past few months, we’ve seen application or through the Popular
s by the Oscars, Groups link.
and the like celebrated in their field
Phot osho p user, though,
BAFTAs and Brits. For the
s pale in com paris on to the
these ceremonie STAY GREEN: Stay Green Go
Photosho p User Awa rds. Red by Mike Campau –
were revealed Composites/Collages category
Now in its fourth year, the 11 winners
scooping the
in early February, with Ciro Marchetti
in Show : “It’s an hono ur to win, and
accolade of Best
ama zing to gain reco gniti on by one’s peers.”
it’s also
jettin g off to Barcelona
The top prize sees Marchetti
r for the Phot osho p User
to create a future cove
rtunity for the
magazine – a once-in-a-lifetime oppo
on, said of the
artist. Awards lead judge, Felix Nels
event: “Every year the participan ts raise the bar across IT’S A
the board, and this year was no diffe rent. The quality,
has simply
PIRATE’S
execution and creat ivity in ever y categ ory
s the judging
LIFE
got better and better. It certainly make We all know the
much more challenging. dangers
contest was to
“One of the original reasons for this associated with
pher s, desig ners and Phot oshop users pirated software – both morally and
give photogra
skill level the oppo rtuni ty to have their art to the health of our computers. But it
of ever y
ence .” seems some people will never learn,
viewed by an international audi
as a second Trojan has been
identified in an Adobe Photoshop
DRAGONS: Dragons by Nelsy
Adriana Perez Jimenez, winner
CS4 Mac download. Over 5,000
in the Illustration category people have illegally downloaded the
www.photoshopuser.com
torrent and opened up their
computer for remote attacks.

9
Advanced Photoshop

008-011_AVP_55_News.indd 9 4/3/09 16:31:45

 insight
IN THE
NEWS:
Q&A
CIRO
MARCHETTI
We chat to the Best in Show winner of
this year’s Photoshop User Awards,
Ciro Marchetti…
Q: WHAT MADE YOU ENTER
THE NAPP PHOTOSHOP USER
AWARDS? WAS THIS THE
FIRST TIME?
A: There are various options for digital
art competitions, but NAPP
Photoshop User Awards represent a
large audience, and a diverse one,
too. The categories, and by default
the entries, cover such an eclectic
range of themes and application of
the software. I have entered before
and was honoured to have been
recognised by winning the Artistic
category on two previous occasions.
Q: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
HAVE WON?
A: Well, obviously it’s an honour, but
it’s also recognition by my peers.
While the range of styles and imagery
produced will vary enormously, the
common denominator is the tool
itself: Photoshop. We may use it in our
own particular way, but our shared
familiarity allows us to relate to and
appreciate the process employed by
others, and demonstrate the variety
of work that can be achieved with it.
Q: WHERE DO YOU SEE
YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?
A: “Trying my best to keep up with all
the wonderful features that
Photoshop offers us every couple of
years. I’m particularly excited by the
improved immersion of 3D into
Photoshop CS4. 3D has always
intimidated me, and its placement
within the familiarity of the
Photoshop environment may finally
allow me to literally take my own style
and subject matter to a new level.
10
Advanced Photoshop
008-011_AVP_55_News.indd 10
The ultimate ultra-zoom?
2009 may only be a few months old, but it’s already seen a
plethora of camera launches from all the big names.
to wildlife from afar with the 624mm reach. Creative
shooters can also snap macro at just 1cm to fill the frame,
Not one to be left behind, Nikon has introduced a range compose images using either the viewfinder or LCD and,
of COOLPIX compacts to extend its range and the flagship for the sports shooters, you can even record frames from
of these is the new P90. before you press the shutter release. And all for just £379!
A bridge camera sporting the looks of a DSLR coupled
with the functionality of a compact, the P90 has a number
of features to tempt the creative shooter. LONG-RANGE SHOOTING: The front of the
P90 boasts a 24x zoom lens with 26mm wide-
First off, there’s the large, three-inch, vari-angled LCD, angle capability
which is ideal for high- and low-angled shooting. The in-
camera editing features Quick Retouch and D-Lighting
(which helps create perfect exposures) and anti-blur, auto
scene and face priority AF.
However, this camera isn’t just a bag of
tricks; the NIKKOR lens is capable of
producing some stunning results
thanks to the 26-624mm, 24x zoom
glass up front. The 12MP sensor and
high ISO sensitivity then work together
to ensure great low-light performance.
And like all the Nikon CoolPix cameras
before it, this is also likely to be
intuitive in use.
But perhaps the best thing about
this camera is the flexibility that all of
these features together offer. Shoot
landscapes at 26mm or zoom in close
f
www.nikon.co.uk
All-in-one action from Canon
Canon’s spring launch saw the com
pany introduce three
new all-in-one printers, and a new
intelligent scanner, too.
The slimline CanoScan LiDe 700F
offers creatives high-
quality, 9,600dpi-resolution scan
ning of photos, 35mm
film and documents, all for just
£119. Its most attractive
feature, though, is its innovative
three-way orientation,
allowing users to store and use it
lying down or upright.
Canon also introduced a new prem
ium printer at the
top end of its Pixma range. The
MX860 offers users a
premium print engine combine
d with scan and copy
functions, a high-speed auto docu
ment feeder and fax.
Nothing out of the ordinary unti
CANON PIXMA MX860: Cano l Canon incorporated
n’s new Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity
high-end printer, the MX860 offer
s
into its £259 printer.
users fast and accurate results Finally, the manufacturer also relea
sed two
new low-cost solutions for the all-in
-one
market – the Pixma MX320 and
MX330. Priced
at £99 and £149 respectively, the
new offerings
boast print, scan, fax, copy and auto
document
feeder, with the 330 also sporting
a 4.5cm TFT display.
www.canon.co.uk Ideal for the first-time buyer, thes
e bolster an array of
printing solutions, and with the
extra function of scanning,
they are the perfect partner for
the creative artist.
4/3/09 16:32:48
 Enhanced online printing service theprintspace
Online professional printing service
eprin tspa ce.co.uk) has unve iled its new site,
(www.th
high -quality prints
which offers a lot more besides the
that it produces.
ve Printspace
Now theprintspace offers the informati
dedicated to using
TV, which has a whole host of videos
it, calibration for
the service, getting the most out of
osho p tips. Each of the
good colour results and Phot
leme nted by a text versi on if you
videos is also supp
the vide os them selve s are shor t, to the l
need it, but PRINTSPACE TV: Learn about digita
point and well narrated. darkroom techniques, screen
phers and artists, calibration and more
Designed for professional photogra
s digit al C-typ e print s for deep, rich
theprintspace offer all
n Giclees with SERVICE GUIDE: The website has
blacks, subtle tonal variations and Epso the details about the prints and other
can also order a
various paper options available. You services available
site, so that you can see the
sample pack from the web
pape r for your self. It offer s CMYK proofs
quality and the pment, or let the
ork, too. ICC latest retouching and printing equi
to help control the colour of your artw experienc ed team do it for you.
d so that you can
profiles are available for downloa Find out more about theprintspace
on its website,
proof on-screen in Photosho p. blog for the latest news www.theprintspace.co.uk
where you can also acce ss its
ity Print
Theprintspace offers ‘Museum Qual well as infor mati on abou t the
post -prod uction work and updates, as
Mounting ’ servi ces, as well as
exhib itions it holds regu larly.
you can go to use the
through its London studio, where

focal press books

[dXVaegZhhWdd`h u lt i m at e r es ou r c es f or P ho t o s hoP c s 4
9780240521343
9780240811093
9780240521152

9780240811147

7nHiZkZ8Vea^c 7nHiZkZ8Vea^c 7n9ZgZ`AZV 7nHjZ7addb

A^hiEg^XZ/—')#.. A^hiEg^XZ/—''#.. A^hiEg^XZ/—'&#.. A^hiEg^XZ/—''#..
the art of creating create a dazzling array of effects a truly unique guide to the creative side use Photoshop to turn your photographs
photorealistic montages in Photoshop of Photoshop into works of art

Visit focalpress.com/cs4 for video tutorials, sample chapters, 10% Discount!!

L]ZcndjdgYZgVcnE]didh]de8H)Wdd`
podcasts and our monthly photography competition and sign up Y^gZXidca^cZ[gdb[dXVaegZhh#Xdb$Xh)
to our eNews for exclusive tips and discounts Use offer code CS4ART. Offer expires 31/05/09
11
a Z V g c  ™  b V h i Z g  ™  X g Z V i Z
f o c a l p r e s s . c o m / c s 4

008-011_AVP_55_News.indd 11 4/3/09 16:33:12

 insight

made this
Gobelins: “I
belins
poster for the Go
e (School
L’Ecole de L’Imag I was
en
of the Image) wh it
I did
studying there.
Kewa
with my friend
ii.com). He
(www.kewash
nster
created the mo
ile I did the
characters, wh
e
typography. Th
s
composition wa hop,
otos
produced in Ph
of the
integrating all
s together”
visual element

From here to
fame:
“From Here to Fam
e was a
Parisian crew that
organised a few pa
rties. I
produced all the flye
rs.
Following a rough
that
scanned, I redrew the I
type
and the illustrations
with
Photoshop brushe
s”

12
Advanced Photoshop

012-013_AVP_55_Insight1.indd 12 4/3/09 12:27:01

 Best Wishes: “This
illustration was made with
my friend iLK (www.
ilkflottante.com). I made the
whole black-and-white type,
and did the whole yellow
dripping type, with
background effects”

Alexis Taieb an SH KS pa
his is a flyer fo
MInimix: “T made the
rty. I
Illustrator,
whole type in h that I made
r

ug
Website: www.tyrsa.fr follow in g a ro
paper first. Th
en
Clients: SHKS, DDB, Draftfcb, Publicis on a sheet of
ke d th e lig ht and
I wor hop
cts in Photos
shadows effe
te de pt h”
Paris-based graphic designer Alexis Taieb is a recognisable digital talent, whose to crea
own skills evolved from more traditional methods. Venturing into graffiti over a
decade ago, Taieb learnt much that shaped his expressive understanding of
typography: “It gave me the opportunity to learn about things like colour
sensitivity or the shaping of letters from complicated forms.”
As his skills matured, he eventually explored the digital format. Photoshop in
particular has become an integral creative device of his. “I’d rather work on
Photoshop than Illustrator because vector forms look cold,” explains Taieb. “Even
if I start my work with vectors, I end up using Photoshop to include textures or
add lighting effects. I feel way more comfortable with Photoshop as it gives me a
sense of freedom.” However, Taieb does not leave the entire creative process in
digital hands. “I always get my roughs on paper,” he explains. “It’s very important
for me to start my graphic process this way. I think you lose some spontaneity
with the computer medium.”
He also gets by with a little help from his friends. Making up part of the SHKS
crew (www.lickmyshks.com), Taieb produces design that ultimately keep his
creative juices flowing: “For them, I do visuals such as mix tape covers, party
flyers, even jewellery design in a recent collaboration with Adeline Affre. All these
personal projects are important to me, as the work I do for big clients, such as
DDB and Publicis, doesn’t always allow me to express what I like doing. I’d be
really frustrated if I couldn’t do these personal works.”

13
Advanced Photoshop

012-013_AVP_55_Insight1.indd 13 4/3/09 12:27:26

 insight
Joshua M Smith
Website: www.hydro74.com
Clients: Lucasfilm, Mattel, Quiksilver, Nike

Joshua Smith’s experiences with digital media started back in 1998. His love affair
with artistic education turning sour, he rode the wave of creative enthusiasm and
became a totally self-taught artist. Out of pure passion, he evolved his creative skills
by himself.
However, this meant making huge sacrifices, which were made apparent quickly,
as Smith recalls his first commission. After posting avatar illustrations at a band
portal, he was contacted by a large record company: “During the summer, I drove
45 minutes each day to the college computer lab to work on the illustration. It was a
very painful $500 that I made, but totally worth it because I learned a lot quickly.“
This determination has certainly paid off, seeing him work for some impressive
clients, including Lucasfilm, Mattel and Hasbro. “A lot of my work is within the
snowboard and action sports community,” he reveals. “To be honest, you can find
pieces pretty easily in the market that I have touched in one form or another, from
custom pieces I’ve developed or clip art that was sold via You Work For Them.”
Success to him is as much about attitude as it is about ability. This becomes clear
when he explains his own style, saying: “In a generic form, I am first a vector
illustrator, typographer and graphic designer. As far as doing pieces in Photoshop, I
don’t plan really. I just go in with an idea and gather up resources from various stock
sites. When people ask, I try to avoid saying ‘freelance’, even if it is that, but instead
just say I run a graphic design company. Both are true, but the term freelancer has a
‘less than’ feel.”

Kink Ad: “A full-p

age
mixing in vector sha ad that focused on
pes
GQ Bond: “A piece done for well as having a dra , a high-contrast style as
matic effect in an ob
GQ in promotion of the new action sport photo vious
”
James Bond book through Stem
Agency in London”

Waist Deep:
“Website mock-
up for the movie
Waist Deep for
Evoke LA. The
idea was to
develop
something that
had many layers,
which could be
used in the site’s
functionality”

14
Advanced Photoshop

014-015_AVP_55_Insight2.indd 14 4/3/09 12:28:16

014-015_AVP_55_Insight2.indd 15 4/3/09 12:28:33
 insight
Emeric Trahand
(aka Takeshi)
Website: www.stillontherun.com
Clients: Adidas, Swatch, Ferrero Rocher, UNICEF, Sony BMG

You might remember Emeric Trahand’s work from the cover of issue 46 of Advanced Photoshop. However,
he has also had a number of high-profile clients and advertising campaigns in his time. The 27-year-old
French designer and illustrator, who divides his time between his home country and New York, has
surprisingly only been involved in digital creation for three years. Art has always been a part of his life,
though: “As far as I can remember, I’ve always been drawing, sketching, painting walls, doing graffiti on my
sneakers… still, I didn’t really ever imagine I could end up as a professional designer.” He’s come a long way
from his first commissions through friends, creating graphics for album covers or flyers.
Photoshop has played a huge part in his progression: “I think I started ‘playing’ with Photoshop a few
years back, and felt that the potential of digital tools was huge. I just kept experimenting, worked on very
small projects, tried to get better results and, with time and experience, I started to be a full-time designer.”
Trahand has plenty of work to keep him busy for the foreseeable future: “I’ve just finished a piece for the
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and do have a few collaborations on the go. One is with the
photographer Bert Spangemacher, who I had the chance to meet in NYC. I also collaborate with Henrik
Rypkema and Man Hoang, the co-founders of computerlove (www.cpluv.com), and have some more long-
term projects with multidisciplinary designer/illustrator, Cita Sadeli.”

Once Upon A Time:

“Personal piece for
promotion purpose. Play
ing with photomontage
techniques. 2008”

16
Advanced Photoshop

016-017_AVP_55_Insight3.indd 16 4/3/09 12:30:08

 Refugee:
“Per
Experimentin sonal Piece.
g th
painting. 2008 e digital
”

wear
Ins2one street
Piece.
2: “Commissioned
A4 magazine ad, for ter
win
Ins2one Streetwear
collection. 2008”
Quantum: “Commissioned piece.
Gustav Magazine/Swatch. Illustrating
the new Swatch James Bond villains
collection. 2008”

17
Advanced Photoshop

016-017_AVP_55_Insight3.indd 17 4/3/09 12:30:34

 insight tor: An exam
ple of person
poster vec sso, as seen via his popu o
work by Fabi
o Sa
design blog,
Abduzeed
al
lar

18
Advanced Photoshop

018-019_AVP_55_Insight4.indd 18 4/3/09 12:31:34

 Dragons
Attack: “Image
created for
Abduzeedo.com
using 3D objects
in Photoshop”

Flying Girl: “Image created for

Pixelmator.com for the release of its
new Photo Editor”

Fabio Sasso
Websites: http://abduzeedo.com, http://fabiosasso.com/
Clients: PSDTUTS, Abduzeedo

Brazilian Fabio Sasso is the man behind the popular design blog Abduzeedo, which
looks at the very best digital creations daily. Sasso is a graphic and web designer
based in Porto Alegre who indulges in personal work for the blog site, as well as
work for clients through the studio he co-founded, Zee (http://zee.com.br/).
Sasso has a degree in Graphic Design, which has helped to develop his work:
“When I was in college, I thought that was a waste of time – now I see that it was
important. Mainly because of the nice background you get in Art History and other
similar subjects.” He began as an intern in 1999, then five years ago he started Zee
along with a friend. In 2006, the studio was robbed and they lost everything, forcing
them to start everything from scratch. The Abduzeedo blog began as a way to back
up all Sasso’s work: “Fortunately, the blog grew more than I expected and my
tutorials got quite popular. That has helped me to get more work worldwide.”
Sasso’s images might have a contemporary look, but they are actually inspired by
days gone by: “I’m really into the Eighties style, mixing RGB colours and light effects.
Photoshop is great for that, the blending modes and filters work just great. My
favourite technique is using elements in white with the Color Dodge blending
mode and a bit of blur over a background with dark gradients. It creates a nice
glowing effect.”

19
Advanced Photoshop

018-019_AVP_55_Insight4.indd 19 4/3/09 12:31:56

 Letters
Mailbox
Do you have a question about the magazine? Email your
thoughts to advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk or
visit www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum
TURNING JAPANESE: This Tokyo skyline,
created following our tutorial back in issue 49, was
sent in by reader Belinda Langasdalen
SUBJECT: Photomontage challenge
FROM: Belinda Langasdalen, Norway
Tokyo was my hometown for a year, and this is
my colourful, cheerful, messy impression. Some
buildings disappear into the sky, although the
sky is actually just more buildings… Tokyo is all
about skyscrapers, trains and cute girls making
V-signs! Translucent layers at the back make
Tokyo seem never-ending, like it is in real life. I
followed the instructions pretty closely to
improve my cutout skills. I’ve used Photoshop in
architecture school, but this is the first time I
have done something illustrative just for fun. I
bought the magazine to learn new stuff and I
have learnt more in recent weeks than in the
last two years!
“All the content on our discs is for
non-commercial use, so it can only
be used in work that’s not for sale”
22
Advanced Photoshop
022-023_AVP_55_Letters.indd 22
Editor replies: Thanks for sending in your image,
Belinda, it is so great to see work from around the
world. Although I am very jealous, as I would love
to visit Tokyo myself – it seems to have made such
a great subject for your photomontage. I’m glad
that you found the tutorial and the magazine in
general so helpful. Why don’t you set up a gallery
on www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk so we can
see more of your wonderful Photoshop work or
tutorial images?
SUBJECT: Text concerns
FROM: Nick van der Waarden,
Australia
Living in Australia, I’ve just received a copy of
the fiftieth issue of Advanced Photoshop. It’s
another superbly produced magazine, with
articles that will keep my imagination from
becoming stale! Keep up the great work.
Obviously, your ‘layout’ artists are young
and innovative.
That brings me to a minor criticism; I’m
reaching the end of my working life, and find
that some text in your magazine has become
very hard to read. Take for instance the answers
in your Mailbox. The text is so faint that it has
become illegible to me.
Another place I encounter difficulty is where
white type is used on a pale orange background.
Colleagues of similar ages to me have the same
problems. Given time, we will all get older and
our eyesight will deteriorate, but that doesn’t
mean we should be excluded from some truly
great reading.
Editor replies: Hi Nick. Your remarks have been
taken on board. It’s a great time for comments like
this, as we’re in the process of changing the
magazine, and this includes the readability of
certain pages and elements, so we’ll be looking at
your concerns when working on these pages. We
don’t want to eliminate anyone from reading any
part of the magazine! I’d love to hear from anyone
else with similar – or completely different –
opinions on how they’d like to see the magazine
develop over the next few months.
SUBJECT: Disc content usage
FROM: Linus Carlsson
First of all, I just want to say that I really like your
magazine, with its good content and tutorials. I
have only bought four or five issues of the
magazine – I don’t live in the United Kingdom,
so the price is little too high. One of the main
READABILITY ISSUES: If there’s any part of
the magazine that you think needs improving,
then let us know!
4/3/09 12:33:29
 FAKE 3D: Distort vs Perspective: SUBSCRIPTION
what’s your view? SERVICES: Save
money and hassle
by getting
Advanced
Photoshop
delivered to your
door each month
On the
forum
SUBJECT: Tutorials
FROM: Steven_jurado
Looking through this site, it is evident that
readers are not just using Photoshop to
create things with. As a keen reader who
loves nothing more then a glossy, detailed
tutorial, I have often turned to Advanced
Photoshop for software guidance.
Although I appreciate the magazine is
called Advanced Photoshop, I feel it
would be great to have some tutorials that
incorporate Illustrator and Photoshop
together, even InDesign.

reasons I did begin to buy it was to get some of
the nice tutorials, plus some brushes, textures
and images.
However, I did read that the textures and
images are for private use only. So does this
mean I can’t even use some elements of the
images/textures in any design/art piece I make
that I want to sell?
Editor replies: Hi Linus, I’m glad that you like the
magazine! The price can be high in some
countries, so it is a lot cheaper to take out a
subscription; see my reply to the letter below to
find out more about our subscription costs.
All the content on our discs is for non-
commercial use only, so it can only be used in
artwork that is not intended for sale. However, we
always ensure that we include the website
information of each supplier of content for the
disc. In many cases, you will find that by visiting
the supplier’s website, you will find information
about how the images or brushes can be used for
commercial work. Sometimes you will need to
donate a fee to the supplier, but in other cases you
might just have to give them a credit – it’s worth
taking a look if you want to use the content in
your commercial work.
SUBJECT: Subscription queries
FROM: Kristopher, San Francisco
Greetings. My name is Kristopher, a 3D
Animation student at the Academy of Art
University in San Francisco. I’m very happy that I
CD RESOURCES: The contents of our CD are for
personal use only, but visit the original suppliers’
websites for information on using them in
commercial works
discovered your magazine; it has become my
source of inspiration and my daily read. I would
just like to know, is there a subscription service
for the US? I would really, really like to subscribe!
Editor replies: Kristopher, I love your enthusiasm!
And the good news is that you can subscribe from
the US. A World subscription costs £80, which is for
13 issues and includes all postage costs. At the
time of writing, £80 was roughly equivalent to
$115 USD, which is less than $9 USD per issue. For
those readers in Europe, the cost of a subscription
is £70 and in the UK it is £62.30 (or £25.15 every six
issues, which saves you even more). You can
subscribe via www.imaginesubs.co.uk, or using
the forms inside this issue on pages 25 and 72.
Even better, you don’t have to wait for each issue
to hit the shops, so you’ll get your copies sooner.
FROM: jules247
I like your thinking! Many times AP refers
to the reader dropping in on Illustrator to
do this, that and the other… it may be nice
if they did include the odd tut for those
who are not that familiar to Illustrator.
FROM: Illustrator
I wouldn’t like to see mixed tutorials in the
mag, sorry. I buy it utterly for Photoshop
and want as much out of it as possible for
Photoshop work. I know what you mean
about the references that are made to just
nipping into another program; we want to
follow it and be able to immerse ourselves
in the complete process, but an
indulgence into cross-program tutoring
would be editorial space I would rather not
give up.
I would prefer that if there were any
aspects of other programs I needed to
know in order to follow a tutorial, I would
rather research it by other means than lose
space in the magazine for what could be
potentially more Photoshop information,
hints and tips.
Can you help fellow readers?
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

23
Advanced Photoshop

022-023_AVP_55_Letters.indd 23 4/3/09 12:33:44

 Website

On the web
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
Our website and readers’ forum is perfect for showing off Photoshop creations. We present a selection of Picture
of the Week winners here. Log on and upload to get your images on this page next issue!

FUTURISTIC CITYSCAPE
ARTIST: Sorin Bechira
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/bechira

“I am a graphic/multimedia designer with more than eight years of

experience. I always try to experiment and to work on every field of
visual communication, including digital matte painting, VFX, graphic
design, illustration, typography and combining traditional techniques
with digital ones. This piece is a digital matte painting, meaning that it
is built from several pictures, combined with brush techniques to make
it look real. The idea was to depict a futuristic cityscape with flying
ships that are built from today’s architectural elements. I’m sure you will
recognise some of the famous buildings in this picture.”

ZEHELLIANOZ
ARTIST: Naethen Lie
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/
user/nae
“I’m a 21-year-old freelance graphic
designer and digital artist based in
Indonesia. I have really fallen in love
with photomanipulation and abstract
for doing all my artwork. I made this
piece in Photoshop and imported
some details from Illustrator and
CINEMA 4D. I started picking the
right image stock for the artwork and
made some contrast fire to bring
more detail to the artwork.”
S.O.S.
ARTIST: Jeff Michelmann
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/gucken
“I am a 20-year-old self-taught hobby artist living in Germany. I
created this piece with photomanipulation techniques, 3D
and painted elements. The meanings behind this picture are
the boundaries of humankind and the bad happenings that
may occur by trying to exceed them. Although this picture is
already some months old, I am still very proud of it because I
reached a new level by using techniques that were very new
to me. This piece couldn’t have been created without the
constant support of my family and friends. Also, the person
you see in that picture is actually me!”

24
Advanced Photoshop

024_AVP_55_WebShowcase.indd 24 4/3/09 12:34:52

 Website

Web challenge
The winners THI
Challenge reference: AP 054
MO S
On our website, www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions.php, we run a web
P NT
RI H’
challenge where you are asked to create an image in Photoshop using at least one
of three images provided. These challenges are updated monthly and they are
ZE S
becoming increasingly popular, so get your entries in for a chance to win.
Check out the website for details of our latest challenge and how to enter. The
winner will collect a special prize for that month (prizes change frequently) and will
also have their design printed in the magazine, along with two runners-up.
Our prize this month is a copy of the latest
Advanced Photoshop: The Premium
Challenge start images
Collection Volume 3. This contains our
pick of the very best tutorials, interviews,
profiles and features from the last year of
Advanced Photoshop magazine.

MY POLAROID GIRLS
ARTIST: Robb Castaneda
WEB: http://neda.carbonmade.com

Robb explains to us how he made

this interesting collage-style image:
“I started this picture by having the
two mannequins in the photo
provided become a shell for two ‘real’
women. Next, I wanted the whole
picture itself to be made out of
Polaroids, a homage to the late, great
film type. The whole picture consists of
about ten layers or so, and was made
with various custom brushes, a few
stock body parts and a lot of burning
and dodging.”

G-DIMENSION
ARTIST: Giuseppe Parisi
WEB: www.g2-studio.com
BEHIND EVERY “This image is a
HAND, THERE composite background,
ARE TALENTS created by blending
ARTIST: Frederic three different photos.
David Cerveaux The door was
WEB: www. manipulated to appear
advancedphotoshop.co.uk/ open, and an energy
user/onemansoul sphere was created
using clouds and Liquify
“I saved some images filter in PS. Some digital
generated from Apophysis, painting of shadows and
then blended each into the lights made all the
picture by playing with elements of the scene
different blending modes.” perfectly match.”

28
Advanced Photoshop

028-029_AVP_55_WebWinners.indd 28 4/3/09 12:38:34

 WE
WINB
N ER
FAITH
ARTIST: Irvan Risnandar
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/Ipank

We love this image and the way that the mannequin image has been integrated into the piece. Irvan tells
us how it was created: “The image was created using the mannequin photo. There were two mannequins,
so I used one’s body and other’s face. I repainted the head and did all the swirls by hand. I made this with
lots of layers, smudging and blurring to create the smooth marble effect on the mannequin’s skin. I also
played a lot with Curves, Hue/Saturation and the Bevel filter.”

29
Advanced Photoshop

028-029_AVP_55_WebWinners.indd 29 4/3/09 12:38:51

 Interview
SCOTT LUKOWSKI
From Watchmen to Titanic, he’s worked on a huge range
of blockbusting Hollywood films. Inventor of worlds, Scott
Lukowski talks to us about his development in the global
industry that is concept art

S
cott Lukowski is an artist who
specialises in making fantasy become a
reality. As one of the leading concept
designers in the entertainment industry today, it is
his responsibility to make a significant
contribution to the filmmaking process by
developing new vehicles and characters, as well
as lavish environments.
Many of us have no problem spending our
hard-earned cash at the movies, and people like
Lukowski took immense pleasure in immersing
himself in this parallel world, enforcing his own
creative slant.
“For the most part, my work on Watchmen was
a hybrid of key frame art and conceptual design,”
he explains. “The evolution of each piece I
created revealed a cinematic version, while
remaining true to the original graphic novel. The
original graphic novel was famous for its unique
take on the superhero world, and was listed as
one the 100 best novels of all time by Time.
Translating Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic
work into a big-screen adaptation posed some
interesting challenges.
“I had to maintain the original vision while
creating something that could really exist.
Everyone involved had a passion for their work,
and the end result shows this.”

“Translating Alan Moore and Dave

Lukowski are a big factor as to why. Today’s
cinema is saturated with stunning special effects
and costume design, but none of this gets off the
ground before being conceived by visionaries
Gibbons’ iconic Watchmen into a
such as Lukowski. big-screen adaptation posed some
His latest project involved contributing to the
long-awaited DC Comics movie adaptation, interesting challenges. I had to maintain
Watchmen (http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.
com). Tasked with creating the essence of this
the original vision while creating
fantastic reality and its troubled superheroes, something that could really exist”
30
Advanced Photoshop

030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 30 4/3/09 18:04:42


Origins
Getting results is a must in Lukowski’s line of
design. “Realising the director’s vision is the key to
concept art,” he reveals. “Achieving this goal often
requires inspiration from many sources, reference
material from history or classical artworks, natural
and artificial lighting elements and, of course, the
source material if applicable. It’s always risky to
take on the challenge of translating a beloved
world, story or character from a different form of
media or era into a modern cinematic application
that will be seen by millions.”
This is a challenge he is always willing to take
up. Some would find such design overwhelming,
but not Lukowski. In fact, he has always found
elaborate projects liberating. From an early age, he
has been fascinated with all things creative: “I
loved drawing and making my own toys and
vehicles from basic materials, and was also easily
absorbed with studying mechanical devices,” he
030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 31
Scott Lukowski
WATCHMEN CO
NCEPT ART –
THE OWL SHIP
AND ITS
CRADLE: This illu
the final of many stration de picts
ve
cradle, where the rsions for the
Owl Ship rests
within its dark ch
amber
X C LU SI V E
E !
IMAGE
WATCHMEN CONCEPT ART – TENEMENT
INFERNO:: The Owl Ship approaches the building on
fire, as the rescue begins
explains. “My parents noticed this interest and
encouraged it from an early age. By the time
I was in sixth grade, I decided I wanted to
become an inventor. My concept drawings
grew and developed beyond the page, taking
shape as primitive working prototypes I built
from disassembled electronics and various
raw materials I found lying around the house.
High school flew by, and when I had to choose
a career path, the decision to major in Industrial
Design was an easy one. It was a choice that
balanced my passion for design and interest
in development.”
Development is a word that seems to suit
Lukowski, as he has become a leading light in the
conceptual design arena. Over a career spanning
12 years, Lukowski has worked on blockbusters
including Superman Returns, Terminator 3,
Armageddon and Titanic. But seeing just how far
he has come, where did it all begin? Exactly how
did he find himself in such a lucrative and
enjoyable career?
Absolutely honoured
During his senior year, Lukowski was fortunate
enough to be one of four students honoured with
the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Fund Award, which was
an annual competition held for graduating art
majors at the university. He explains: “Not only was
this a huge honour, but it also made my ticket to
California a possibility. With my family’s support, I
packed my car with everything I owned and hit
the road to Los Angeles.” He’s never looked back.
Lukowski took advantage of this head start in
the industry, starting work as a visual effects artist.
This involved sculpting and fabricating various
miniature on-screen elements from scratch for a
variety of films. He explains: “When starting in this
department, I had the opportunity to work with
and learn from some of Hollywood’s best at
various companies, including Digital Domain, Stan
Winston Studio and New Deal Studios.
“There, my work included a variety of vehicles,
characters and architectural elements, some of
which ended up in museums once filming was
complete. During this stage of my career, I was
also able to incorporate my drawing and design
talents where they were needed most. Every
element of the piece had to be realised before it
was completed for filming. Ultimately, this led me
down the path to the art department, where my
career evolved.”
31
Advanced Photoshop
4/3/09 18:05:06
 Interview
“My earliest digital work
was a hybrid of traditional
pencil sketches with added
value, which was achieved
within Photoshop”
His means of application evolved, too. In
these early stages, his concept art process firmly
focused on traditional media. Graphite and pastels
were his weapons of choice, however, for practical
reasons Lukowski decided to incorporate digital
tools into his creative process. He explains: “My
earliest digital work was a hybrid of traditional
pencil sketches with added value, achieved within
Photoshop. Over time the software became a
more prominent tool, as it had proved to be most
efficient when it came to the evolution of the final
vision. Editing complex designs and compositions
was made possible without the added time of re-
creating the illustration completely.”
All in the mind
However, Lukowski has never really lost touch
with his creative roots, as he reveals: “Even with
32
Advanced Photoshop
030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 32
WATCHMEN CONCEPT ART – THE HIDDEN
CONTENTS WITHIN BLAKE’S CLOSET: Shortly
after the death of Edward Blake, ‘the Comedian’, Rorschach
discovers his inner sanctum
WATCHMEN CONCEPT ART – THE RIOT: The
Owl Ship hovers above an angry mob during the police
riots of 1977
such a powerful and flexible software tool, I still
often realise my initial concepts as a loose sketch
on a scrap of paper before I begin my digital
process. I then develop what could be a few lines
on paper into a final digital entity, and evolve the
concept into various levels of illustration. This
depends on what the design challenge requires.”
But whatever the present assignment and
challenge, Lukowski’s style is now achieved mainly
within Photoshop. This has become the one
constant in his daily design work. He has found it a
repeatedly diverse and intuitive tool, during the
process of any filmmaking.
Our favourite creative software can only do so
much, though. Imagination is as important to his
invention as any tangible skill. He reveals:
“Conceptualising something from the inside out
brings function and believability to the overall
aesthetics of the piece, no matter how fantastic
the element might be. I made a point of
4/3/09 18:05:31
 Scott Lukowski

WATCHMEN approaching each design as if it would really work

CONCEPT ART in the world for which it was made. This unique
– THE OWL combination of fantastic imagination mixed with
CHAMBER: This
is an early version practical production makes for a far more
of art portraying innovative design.”
how the Owl Recognising his past creative skills, yet firmly
Chamber might
look like in the implementing those in his present, Lukowski
abandoned admits that he has to make modifications on a
subway tunnels
buried below
day-to-day basis. Instead of finding this awkward,
Dreiberg’s residents he relates to it in his familiar optimistic fashion. By
embracing change, he encourages his clients, as
he explains: “My style changes depending on my
assignment and the tools I bring the project to life
with. A shift in style can often help achieve what
the director envisions. Mood and lighting can be
just as important as the design itself.”
He elaborates, providing further insight into his
impressive application skills: “Sometimes
computer-generated models are incorporated
into the process or reference materials, specifically
chosen by the director, are utilised in a variety of
ways. Often the illustration is left as a concept, in
an unfinished, painterly state that is meant to

33
Advanced Photoshop

030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 33 4/3/09 18:05:48

 Interview

suggest the possibilities inherent within it.

The idea is to convey the director’s vision without
WATCHMEN
CONCEPT ART
Alex McDowell was a great experience, especially
on an epic project like Watchmen.” This is a project
“The best part of
taking it over. To create something flexible
enough to encompass what they originally had in
– HOLLIS
MASON’S
that has been in the wings for over two decades,
with the first script draft produced in 1988. Having
working on a
mind, along with any subtle changes that may
HOUSE: Dan
Dreiberg, Nite Owl seen numerous revisions handed around all the project like
Watchmen is the
2, pays a visit to his
occur to the filmmakers as the project continues.” major film studios, this project was long overdue.
old friend and
mentor Hollis, the Lukowski’s enthusiasm to get started was
Forever fascinated original Nite Owl understandable, and he sees this as one of his development of the
Even today the challenge of turning fantasy into
reality is one of the most thrilling parts of
most suitable and thrilling creative ventures. He
explains: “The best part of working on a project darker, gritty and
Lukowski’s job. He is still rife with enthusiasm, and
he takes pleasure in working with his peers, teams
like this is the development of the darker, gritty
and often mechanical theme, which matches my
often mechanical
of talented artists and individuals, who have all core style and passion. This project, and the theme, which
coordinated their efforts into visually stunning and
believable final products. The Watchmen project
filmmakers involved, really allowed me to dive in
and immerse myself in this stylistic and parallel matches my core
was no exception. He reveals: “Working with
director Zack Snyder and production designer
world.” When it comes to approaching his work,
Lukowski has never lost his excitement.
style and passion”

34
Advanced Photoshop

030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 34 4/3/09 18:06:06

 Scott Lukowski

WATCHMEN CO
NCEPT ART –
MANHATTAN DR
at
’S LAB: The ren
the Rockefeller ewable energy
Institute reactor

He has had the accolade. He has worked on

many major projects. But what really motivates
the man, and the artist inside the man, is a real
passion and enthusiasm for what he does, as
much now as when he was a ten-year-old boy.
“My fascination with materials and how
mechanical elements work in a practical world
aided my creative process in design,” he explains.
“Conceptualising something from the inside out
brings function and believability to the overall
aesthetics of a piece of work, no matter how
fantastic the element might be.” We’re sure we will
see more magical reinventions for the masses to
enjoy from him, and many more reasons to go to
the movies in the years to come.

www.scottlukowski.com

35
Advanced Photoshop

030-035_AVP_55_Interview.indd 35 4/3/09 18:06:34

 MASTERCLASS

36
Advanced Photoshop

036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 36 4/3/09 18:01:21

 Create an alien
concept scene
Learn how to take concept art
out of this world and create an alien environment
C
reating an alien concept environment is fun
to do. There are no rules on how structures
should look, and not even the landscape is
bound by restrictions. It all boils down to how far your
creativity brings you.
Concept artists need to have a solid design before
jumping into the rendering part of the image. In this kind
of work, they are designers first and artists second. They
need to follow the rules of perspective as well as
understand vanishing points and atmospheric levels in
order to make the image believable. This isn’t different to
creating characters, as the rules of anatomy should be
the first thing to consider.
In this tutorial, we shall create an alien environment
from the concept stage, structure design, previsualisation
to the final rendering of the image, exactly how things
“They need to follow the rules of perspective
as well as understand vanishing points and
atmospheric levels in order to make the
image believable”
1 2
Thumbnails
It is always best to start with thumbnail sketches.
As it has been emphasised, this makes your work faster
and keeps ideas flowing freely. This allows you to
concentrate primarily on the layout and composition,
rather than getting into details at an early stage. Right
now, we need to create a landscape, the different angles
of view, perspective and lighting in order to determine
which works best.
036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 37
are done in a professional pre- and post-production
setup. You will learn how to create the custom brushes
needed for textures and patterns using photos and
shapes. Using only Photoshop’s Brush tool, it is easy to
create perspective guidelines and grids. We will also
guide you through creating visual scale and distance
with a few rules, tricks and techniques, without the use
of characters and vehicles to help you. Gather enough
for architectural and landscape photographs, as these
will help you easily understand our discussions regarding
depth of field, atmospheric levels and perspective, using
these as a guide as we move along.
Last of all, we encourage you to create a completely
new concept, so that by the end of this workshop you
already have a brand new work of art you can call your
own. Have fun creating that award-winning image!
Design studies
Rather than start painting windows, doors or other
designs directly onto our artwork, it’s better if we start
doing studies of the elements that we’re putting in our
structures separately. It’s the same approach when
creating concept sketches of armour, weapons and other
equipment for a character design. With this process, you
have a solid idea of what will be placed and could be
easily added later on. It’s best to just create as many as
you can and then pick what works best.
ON THE DISC
On the CD, you will find all the brushes
needed for this tutorial. The sketches and
modelling sheet are also included for
reference, plus a layered version of the
image’s PSD files on how it was built nearing
its final stage.
OUR EXPERT Jeffrey M de Guzman
Jeffrey is a concept artist for a VFX company in Makati, the Philippines.
He is an Excellence Award winner for his picture Golden Bee in the
Portrait (Painted) category for Ballistic Publishing’s Exposé 6, which
was also chosen as the cover for the Limited Edition. His work has also
been published in Exotique 3 and 4, and he was Advanced Photoshop
issue 48’s cover artist. See more at www.jeffmdart.com.
About the
artwork
This image was awarded first place and the title
of Grand Champion for the 2D Painting category
in an online competition called Unearthly
Challenge on Gameartisans.org. Gameartisans.
org and Polycount.com are the two competing
forums in this event, where artists compete to
create the best alien environment. If your idea of
an environment is meant for good, register with
Gameartisans next time the challenge comes
around, but if it’s evil then Polycount is for you.
It’s a long eight-week event where you need
to show your work-in-progress, design and
planning stages. The rules are simple: create an
alien environment so appealing that if it were to
be made into a game, it would be fun and
interesting to play. No characters and vehicles
were allowed to be seen in the image, as this
takes the attention away from the environment’s
design. It was judged by a ten-man jury each for
2D and 3D, which included game managers, art
directors and lead artists of different game
companies worldwide. Out of 300 initial
participants and 100 finished entries, the judges
chose seven finalists for 2D Painting, while seven
were chosen from the 3D department.
An actual trophy is given to first-place
winners, with a brand new PS3 plus cash and
other goodies coming from game company
sponsors. But most rewarding of all is the pride
of winning the event, having competed against
top-class artists from around the world. You can
take a look at the results at http://gameartisans.
org/contests/events/4/finals/.
37
Advanced Photoshop
5/3/09 16:56:44
 MASTERCLASS
3 Create perspective lines
Laying out our perspective
guidelines is essential. This enables us to
Quick
freely work on our landscape while tip
keeping focus with every perspective rule
and vanishing point. With a solid circle To easily create guidelines using the same solid
brush, click on the origin point and hold circular brush, go to Brush Settings and adjust
Shift, then move your cursor to the next Spacing to 100%. On the canvas, drag the
brush downwards while holding Shift to guide
point. This method creates straight lines in
it straight down. Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to Free
any angle you wish.
Transform and drag it horizontally on both
sides. This creates evenly spaced-out
guidelines to go with our perspective lines.

4 Work on it a bit
We then increase our thumbnail sketches to a
fairly large size and try and put in the details we’re after.
But try to restrain yourself from working on it further, as
the last thing you want to do is have an almost complete
piece of art and then learn later on that it doesn’t work.
From the studies, copy and paste designs to the base
structures to give you an idea of how it would look like.
Occasionally, flip the canvas horizontally to see if it still
works the other way round.

“Keep in mind the following: blacks and whites

on the nearest subject are blacks, fading to
grey in the distance. Check the swatches and
you will see how it was arranged”

5 Colour wash
From the images we have worked on, apply a
colour wash to give us a visual regarding the look and
6 Start grey
It is always good
practice to start in
the atmospheric feel of it. Add a layer on top of it set to greyscale. We can easily
Soft Light and paint over colours to bring the images to give depth and
life. Keep it loose and fast, as this is a part of the atmospheric values to
previsualisation stage in our concept included for the our image without
final composition. worrying about colours.
Keep in mind the
following rule: blacks
and whites on the
nearest subject are
blacks, fading to grey in
the distance. As a
reference, check the
colour swatches and
you will see how they
are arranged, which
applies to the same rule
that we have discussed.

38
Advanced Photoshop

036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 38 5/3/09 16:31:35

 7 Take inspiration
With our initial studies made, we now need to add
more visual elements to our structure design. From this
point, we can easily alter our base concepts to a more
intricate one. If we are not concentrating as much on
architecture and more on character design, this
technique works fairly well as we can incorporate our
armour or costume ideas in this image, especially since
this is an alien environment we are working with and we
need to make a totally original idea from it.

“God Rays on a 45-

degree angle…
capture the viewer’s
attention and direct it
to the main image”

Composition
Make a better framing structure design to
direct the eyes to the entire image. God
Rays on a 45-degree angle are useful, as
they would capture the viewer’s attention
and direct it to the main image
Revisions
We need to make changes and adjustments, as some things in
the scene aren’t working out. Increase the head space to make
more room for the sky and to make the centre image stand
out. Increase the size of the gate for better framing and scale

Done and dusted

The image has been worked on based on
the desired perspective and atmospheric
levels. The initial structure design has been
painted in, land has been textured to form
believable rock formations and clouds have
also been painted in
To do!
Cables connecting from one structure to the
other create a better composition and
smoother storytelling. Lampposts add both
distance and scale reference to the image.
Also, try painting lava-like terrain on the
ground floor of the landscape

39
Advanced Photoshop

036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 39 5/3/09 16:32:00

 MASTERCLASS
8 Colour
From the colour studies we have, we can use the
same approach. Add two new layers on top of our black-
9 Rocks brush
To easily mimic rock formations and textures, we
must create our own brush for it, using a photo of a
“It is essential to
study about linear
and-white sketch layer, one set to Color and the other
Soft Light. Simply wash in the colours you desire. Merge
boulder and setting the Levels sliders. Press Cmd/Ctrl+
Shift+U and desaturate the image. Go to Edit and set as vanishing points,
the layer and repeat the steps to change the blending
mode to Soft Light and Overlay, and then add more
the default brush settings. In the Brush Settings tab,
change the shape dynamics with Angle Jitter set to
which are the one-,
colours until you’re happy with the combinations. 100% and Brush Spacing also at 100%. two- and three-
point perspectives”

Design
foundation
The importance of atmospheric levels and
perspectives can’t be emphasised enough. It is
essential to study about linear vanishing points,
which are the one-, two- and three-point
perspectives. Without a good knowledge of
these basic guidelines, an environment concept
will never look proper and right. This principle
also helps a lot with the proper scale of an
object, giving the correct impression of distance.
Atmospheric levels are the supporting element
in painting this subject matter, as distance won’t
be believably achieved once the proper colour
levels are painted in. A discussion of these topics
can be found at 2D Design Notes (http://
daphne.palomar.edu/design/space2.html).

10 Texture with the rock brush

With our basic rock formations painted in,
we can now add a new layer on top of it set to Overlay.
Freely brush in with the custom rock brush, increasing
and decreasing the size, and also changing the hue
and colour palettes to give more depth and detail.
Using the same brush as the Eraser, rub out unwanted
parts and then set the layer’s Opacity to 50%.

11 Paint clouds
In issue 48 (Fantasy Characters tutorial), we
showed you how to create skin and freckle brushes.
12 Patterns brush
Since most
architectural structures are built
Those same brushes, included on the CD, can be used to using repetitive patterns, we
create cloud formations. Choose a base colour for your can create our brush so that we
cloud and gradually change the colour to a brighter one, can easily put in those parts
as we put in highlights and darker tones for the shadows. without painting them one by
Play with the brush sizes and colour tones as you paint one. Make a new file, 200 x 200
them in to make it realistic and not uniform looking. Our pixels, then create a triangle
goal here is to make it look fluffy and soft. and add details of any shape.
Create this as a brush and go to
Brush Settings, then select
Direction in Angle Jitter in the
Other Dynamics setting. With
the brush set up this way,
patterns are angled and lined
up properly to each brushstroke
that we make. Apply the same
procedure and create groups of
circle patterns.

40
Advanced Photoshop

036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 40 5/3/09 16:57:29

 13 Those sparkling things
The ground is similar to that of a volcanic
land, as there is lava spilling out from cracks in the soil
and pyrotechnical materials. Once you have painted lava
spills from the cracks, add a new layer set to Screen, use a
standard solid circle brush with Spacing set to 1,000%,
Scatter at 1,000%, a Count of 3 and Jitter of 100%. Pick a
bright yellow colour and randomly brush into parts near
the crack. This creates an additional illusion of those
sparks and bubble explosions happening.
16 Gradient depth
Paint the cables using Quick Masks
(using the Q keyboard shortcut), then grab the
gradient (G) and drag it to half the length of the
cable. Press Q and it will transform to an inverted
selection. Invert via Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I, open Curves
with Cmd/Ctrl+M and increase the foreground’s
black levels. Invert the selection to decrease the
level of black where the cables connect to the
structure. Keep these on a separate layer.
18 God Rays
To strengthen and add drama to the
composition, God Rays will be a great addition. With the
Pen tool (the P keyboard shortcut), create a shape like a
cone but without a pointed tip. Right-click, choose Make
Selection and fill with bright purple in a new layer.
Reduce the layer’s Opacity to 25% and set the layer to
Screen. Then go to Filter>Gaussian Blur and adjust the
slide to 50 pixels. With your skin blender/cloud brush,
gradually erase out portions as it hits the structure.
Remember that a light beam gradually fades as it gets
further away from the source.
036-041_AVP_55_ConceptMC.indd 41
14 Framing
Framing is the essential element in a
15 Scale and distance
The only way to show distance is to create a
pattern that decreases in size as it goes away from the
composition, especially when painting foreground element. We can easily show this by putting
landscapes. It adds depth and, most importantly lampposts in the bridges where structures are
of all, it directs the centre of focus, which leads connected. In another layer, create a pattern with equal
the viewer’s eyes since it is mostly black. We will dimensions. This will serve as our measurement for
create another structure in the foreground as we distance. Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to Free Transform following
paint hints and parts of it. It is very important the our perspective guidelines. From there, we may now
shapes of the foreground elements should be strategically place our fully painted lamppost resizing
designed in such a way that it artistically points as we go.
to the main subject without grabbing attention
and veering away from the main concept.
17
More textures
To make the image more believable, we
must add varying amount of textures to it. Here, we
could make use of our Cracks brush from issue 50 (50s
Pin-up Art tutorial) and the Scratch brushes from issue
48, included on the CD. Add a new layer set to Overlay
and paint into parts where it’s noticeable. Erase away all
the unwanted parts and reduce the Opacity to 50%.
“The way to show
distance is to create a
pattern that
decreases in size as
it goes away from the
foreground element”
19
Colour correction and
adding overall noise
Now we need to intensify our colour
levels. Pull up Color Balance using Cmd/
Ctrl+B, and switch intensity as you choose
Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. Keep
playing with the colours in the slider, as
you may discover better combinations.
Then add a new layer filled with white and
go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise, setting it to
100%. Set layer to Multiply with Opacity at
5%. Flatten the entire image and it’s done!
41
Advanced Photoshop
4/3/09 18:03:28
 Feature

© Joe Rogers © J ere

my
A nd
re

r ew
y An d
© J e re m

042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 42 6/3/09 11:11:43

 Promotional merchandise

ANCE
EL AL
FREURVIV E

PROMOTIONAL S GUID

PART 3

MERCHANDISE We take an in-depth look at various promotional

merchandising options, from business cards to badges,
flyers to magnets, to find out how you can get your
artwork noticed

P TIP
ersonality goes a long way in the
design industry. Prospective clients
do want to see exactly what you can
do, but sometimes it takes something a little
more personal to grab their attention. It’s here
that promotional merchandise comes into its
own and can help expand your client list in a
big way. Even if you are not looking to
promote your artwork in this way, getting
your designs on badges or postcards for
friends and family can be cheap and
potentially rewarding.
Sending out free samples always creates
such a buzz and can really show off your
inventive nature, taking your ideas beyond
the page or screen. Over the next eight pages,
we’ll be taking a close look at what
Suitability promotional merchandise is available to you,
Formats aren’t whatever your budget, as well as the best
more suitable for places to go to get these products made.
one client over We’ve got some great advice from artists who
another, but have been there and done that – they show us
design styles the products they’ve made and how it’s
should helped them to forge ahead in their careers.
correspond with Finally, if you’re not sure what to do with your
the tastes of the shiny new collection of badges, we take a look
client receiving at who to send them to in order to get the
the product best results.

© Anna Goodson Man

agement

© Jeremy Andrew
© Jeremy Andrew 43
Advanced Photoshop

042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 43 6/3/09 11:12:19

 Feature
Product: Memory Chip business card
Manufacturer: www.wooden-nickel.com
Manufacture cost: $200/£140 for 500
Copyright: Roland Murillo
ymor business card
Product: Emerson Ta
rintforless.com
Manufacturer: www.p /£349.30 for 2,000
$500
Manufacture cost:
rig ht : Em er so n Taymor
Copy
Business cards
One of the most commonly considered pieces
of promotional merchandise is the tried-and-
trusted business card. This format has always
been a big hit with clients, as it’s discreet and
transferable. This means the business card
creates a personal reaction between you and
the client. It’s also portable so, even when
pocketed, it stays with them and can be easily
rediscovered at any given time. Essentially,
the business card is a prop to prompt a client
into getting in touch and not to forget about
you and your design.
Some artists, however, will have their hang-
ups. At a regular size of 8.5cm by 5.5cm and
250 grams per square metre, you may be
concerned that your business card will be
forgotten in the client’s wallet. So maybe it’s
44
Advanced Photoshop
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 44
TIP
time to start thinking outside the box with
exactly what’s possible in the world of the
business card.
Variety is the
LA-based multimedia designer Emerson
Taymor (www.emersontaymor.com) certainly
spice of life did. Despite retaining conventional sizing,
Weigh up which is Taymor’s business card presents creativity and
best for you personality through its ingenious
between local or functionality – the centre of the card pushes
online vendors. out into a pop-up image of himself. Of the
Find out the product, he says: “I really wanted to sell myself
strengths of as a person, as much as a designer. The design
various has the potential to stand up on people’s
establishments, so desks, so I will always be in clients’ minds.”
you can take This sort of innovative card is possible
advantage of many through the use of die cutting. This is a
services for process applied to the sheet of paper with the
different projects right amount of pressure, cutting out the
desired object, as Taymor explains: “This
special machine is usually used on the outside
of paper to produce unique shapes. But many
printers allow you to create custom die cuts of
your choice. I uploaded a PDF of my custom
die line and the custom die line overlaying
the image of my card. This custom die line
was a one-pixel stroked path, which allowed
the printer to translate that into a die. Then
they could cut out the shape I wanted.”
While this looks incredible, the process
does come with a costly setup fee, which is
worth bearing in mind if you’re just starting
out. Card weights, which are imperative to the
die cut process and final look, are also subject
to the manufacturer, as Taymor explains: “My
card is printed on 120lb card stock. Printers
use different paper weights and it is
important that you get some samples from
“The design has
the potential to
stand up on
people’s desks, so
I will always be in
clients’ minds”
– Emerson Taymor
the printer to see which will work best for
your project.” Taymor was more than happy
with his manufacturer, Printingforless.com,
which provided a punctual service with daily
updates on the process. It provided him with
2,000 cards at a competitive price of only
$500, around £350. He has been quoted up to
$1,900, or £1,334, for 2,000 cards previously,
proving that it pays to shop around.
6/3/09 11:12:55

This is especially true if you are looking to
try something completely different, like
multidiscipline designer Roland Murillo
(www.murillodesign.com). His ‘Memory Chip’
business card has been received well by
clients, but he reveals: “When it was time to
develop a format of my own, I took the
concept of a tactile business card to heart. I
bypassed paper and went straight for wood.”
Murillo admits to having no idea how he
would produce cost-effective wooden
business cards. After extensive research
online he managed to find a local vendor. The
CASE STUDY:
FLYERS
Sometimes a simple, stylish solution is
best. A graphical mailer or flyer lends itself
by grabbing a client’s attention when
falling on their desk. Urban graphic artist
Simeon Elson (www.simeonelson.co.uk)
produces some inspiring examples.
His decorative samples successfully
highlight his style, logo and contact
details through traditional layouts. Their
400gsm silk and matte-laminated finish
creates a stimulating textural feel. Elson
admits: “My flyers are quite smooth, but
don’t have an overaggressive gloss, which
I felt would complement the attitude of
my artwork well.”
Such sophisticated items don’t have to
be expensive, as Elson explains: “In total I
spent £300.80 including VAT for two lots
of 1,000 luxury double-sided Showcards.
As they were on a special offer, at half
price, I went for a thousand of each
instead of 500.”
He goes on to reveal: “Many
prospective clients are impressed by the
artwork, print, weight and finish. Also,
when I make my chase-up calls, a lot of
recipients remember my cards straight
away when I mention my name, which is
always a good sign. In addition, they have
helped me gain more work and many
more leads the more I send out.”
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 45
Promotional merchandise
oldest wooden nickel manufacturer in the
world, The Old Time Wooden Co. (www.
© Joe Rogers
wooden-nickel.com), was in his hometown.
“The Memory Chip didn’t cost any more than
a paper card to produce, about $200, or £140,
for 500,” he explains, “but the per-unit costs
drops dramatically when you start thinking in
the thousands.” Using a local manufacturer
made the production process easier for
Murillo to monitor and manage.
He does admit: “I did have to modify my
original design to fit the round format,
though. Most of the rectangular cards were
either wood laminate on paper or individually
assembled by hand and glued, which takes a
long time and would be more fragile than the
time-tested circular form I use.”
Magnets
Be prepared to change your designs or
original ideas as you go, depending on
whether they will suit your chosen format or
whether the cost is getting too high. However,
there are plenty of low-cost and versatile
© Joe Rogers
solutions that will suit most designs.
International freelance illustrator David
Cousens’ (www.coolsurface.com) magnetic
calling cards are just one great example. His
product was produced by custom printing
service VistaPrint.com. Inventing
Product: Colour vs Context
Manufacturer: www.tuckeyprint.co.uk
Manufacture cost: £840/$1,204 for 500
Copyright: Joe Rogers
45
Advanced Photoshop
6/3/09 11:15:26
 Feature
BADGE-MAKING KIT
CHESTER OCAMPO
Badges are a great promotional device that
will not only entertain a client, but also help
them identify with the creative brand that is
you. These are some of the easiest and
cheapest promotional items to make, as
they can be personally produced in your
own studio. Here, we present some
essential bits of kit that will allow you to
create some great examples to send to your
potential clientele.
Button Badge Machine
This is the most essential part of your kit.
Many examples of this hardware will only
accommodate one badge size, so it’s worth
finding and investing in a machine that has
interchangeable badge moulds. This won’t
limit your design potential and you won’t
have to dish out another £150 to buy a new
machine. www.blankbadge.co.uk is a
preferable retailer, with a current range of
machine and mould sizes, starting from as
little as £133.50. All prices include VAT.
G Clamps
Heavy-duty G Clamps are useful for
clamping your machines to sturdy surfaces.
This makes sure that your badges aren’t
manufactured distorted. These can be easily
picked up from local hardware stores, for
instance Homebase. Online retailers are in
abundance, including www.ebay.co.uk and
www.toolspot.co.uk.
Hand cutters
If you don’t fancy sitting and cutting out
circles around your badge designs one by
one, then you’re best off investing in a
heavy-duty hand cutter. These come in a
range of sizes, from 25mm by 25mm, up to
46
Advanced Photoshop
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 46
70.5mm by 45mm. An extensive range can
be bought from www.my-accessories.co.uk.
Prices start from £39.95.
Paper weights
High-quality plain papers will suffice for
laying ink and design, but badge sizes
correspond with paperweights. Getting this
relation right is essential, so you produce
best results in your badge making. For
example, a 25mm round badge cut responds
best with 120gsm paper, whereas a 58mm
round cut works well with an 80gsm paper.
For more info on this subject, visit www.
blankbadge.co.uk.
promotional items through patented
printing processes makes manufacturers such
as this a preferable option for designers.
Turnaround times are usually minimal, around
three days for magnets, and prices are as low
as £7.99 for 25 magnets. Cousens explains: “It
TIP
has very reasonable prices, we find the service
to be reliable and, most importantly, it always
produces quality results.”
This magnet format can act as a business
The right card, a miniature billboard and a standard
investment magnet. Importantly, it can be presented to
Strategy and multiple audiences. It can be attached in both
planning are a part public and personal places. Letter boxes, bus
of any successful shelters, phone booths and office spaces… the
endeavour. sky’s the limit (as long as it’s magnetic!).
Handing out Cousens adds: “The magnets can take pride of
expensive place on white goods – think how many times
promotion items a day you go to the fridge!”
needs to be well
targeted and Postcards
relevant. Investing Another great solution for showing off your
time is more designs, this time on a slightly larger scale, is
important than through the use of individual postcards or
investing money postcard books. Freelance editorial and
advertising illustrator Joe Rogers (www.
colourboxonline.com) has done just that to
promote his abilities. Printed on 300-gram
matte card with a nice textured finish, it makes
a nice keepsake, as Rogers explains: “This
postcard collection is designed to be both a
book and individual postcards. The recipient
can either keep it intact or send pages to
people, thus the artwork has the possibility of
being spread further than the original
recipient. I wanted to choose a design that
could comfortably sit on a cluttered desk of a
client or that had the potential for favourite
images to be ripped out and pinned on a
pinboard or stick on a wall in the office.”
This product is a luxury in comparison to
regular paper examples. However, creating a
collection of works needs a lot of dedication.
Rogers took the time to organise face-to-face
meetings with printers, outlined his plans and
discussed suitable binding process. Sourcing
Tuckey Print Ltd (www.tuckeyprint.co.uk)
through word of mouth, he says: “I chose hot
glue binding to make my postcard books. It’s
cheap and provides the possibility to rip
individual pages out of the book easily
without damage. I had a look at previous
examples of products they had made, in order
to make sure they could complete the job to
my satisfaction and, of course, discussed the
price. 500 24-page, 300-gram, matte-coated
printed and bound postcard books cost
around £840 including VAT. That works out at
around £1.70 per book, which is a very
reasonable price.”
6/3/09 11:15:49

The per-unit costs drops when item
amounts increase, and this is something that
Rogers took full advantage of: “250 books
would have cost almost £700. I thought it
might be more sensible to get an extra 250
books printed for an additional cost of only
£140. This would allow me to keep around
250 books to sell (the other 250 books being
sent out to select clients and companies),
enabling me to eventually pay for the project
and make a small profit.” The incentive of
something free, which otherwise would cost
others, makes the client appreciate your
merchandise even more.
Cards, stickers and badges
Other great promotional merchandise
formats, which can be sold and/or shared
with multiple audiences, include greetings
cards. These can be distributed to clients who
“This allowed me
to keep around
250 books to sell…
enabling me to
pay for the project
and make a profit”
– Joe Rogers
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 47
Promotional merchandise
Product: The Streets of Jeremyville buttons
Manufacturer: www.badgebomb.com/www.oneinchround.com
Manufacture cost: As little as $200 for 100
Copyright: Jeremy Andrew
Product: Monkey Decider playing cards
Manufacturer: www.evansgraphic.com
Manufacture Cost: 300 card sets for $700/£488.22
Copyright: Chet Phillips
can then send them on, sharing your
work with others. They are also
cheap and easy to manufacture.
Stickers, badges and playing cards
also fall into this category.
International illustrator Chet
Phillips’s (www.chetart.com) own set of
Monkey Decider cards are a great example of
how promotional items can be customised to
maximise interaction. In the spirit of the
famous childhood toys, the Ouija board and
the Magic 8 Ball, he explains: “Rather than a
postcard or brochure, this is something that
supplies a bit of interactive fun that people
can play with and show to others.” Each card
offers a comical choice of reactions to
questions asked, which can be used in
interviews and briefings.
The Monkey Decider card is also proof that a
hands-on approach can make for successful
promotional merchandise and can be
TIP
financially viable. Phillips invested time using
his wife’s Corner Rounder cutting machine to
smooth his cards’ edges: “I purchased Kraft
jewellery boxes from a company online (www.
jewelrysupply.com) that served as the
container for the cards, stand and instructions,”
Modesty
Remember never
he reveals. Designs were printed on Crack and to forget that
Peel paper, using I-Gen digital press, so they
could be applied to sturdy 14-ply, 1.3 to
creativity prevails
in terms of Phillips notes the benefits of outside help at
1.5mm-thick mat board. This keeps the cards recognition. key stages in the cards’ production. He
from warping. “I enlisted a woodworker to cut
and sand wooden strips into 2.5 inches in
Smarter is better.
Simpler is better.
acquired the service of Gloria Evans Graphic
Consultants (www.evansgraphic.com) to aid
length by 1.5 inches in width by 0.75 inches in
depth pieces,” Phillips explains. This was to
Relevant is better.
Extravagant may
in the pre-production stage. Consultants are a
great way to accomplish professional products,
produce the cards’ display stand. just be expensive as they work as a go-between with clients
47
Advanced Photoshop
6/3/09 11:16:29
 Feature
and local printers, finding the best rates,
picking up and delivering the press proofs and
delivering the finished products. Their input
and Phillips’s invention made it possible to
produce 300 card sets for a total cost of $700,
or £488.22.
Coasters
Art agencies also play a significant part in the
promotional merchandise arena. Many
produce their own innovative items and re-
enforce these with proven track records in the
industry. This offers you first-rate
representation. Anna Goodson Management
is a prime example, with its successful AGM
coasters. A simple device, yet lavishly
decorated with artists’ designs and titles, they
have been well received by clientele across
the globe for eight years. Goodson explains:
“The main reason they are so successful is
because they are so beautiful. AGM represents
some of the most talented illustrators from
around the world, and everyone appreciates
Product: Mak
eM
Manufacture ore Pictures poster
r: www.alocalp
Manufacture
co
Copyright: Be st: £72 for 100
n O’Brien
Advanced Photoshop
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 48
TIP
great art. The coasters are also very practical;
it’s a great gift to keep around.”
Get noticed
People recognise the AGM coaster. Its
continuous, commercial branding creates a
A bit of sensation among clients, and this is something
personality goes a
long way. Clients
that you can reproduce with a well-thought-
out strategy. Branding your promotional items
will be inundated
with emails from
creates unified symbolism, which means
clients are more inclined to take notice when
designers, so receiving them.
sending
promotional items Collectables
usually captures International illustrator Jeremy Andrew (www.
their attention jeremyville.com) knows this all too well. With
straight away an extensive product range from toys to
wallpapers, he has benefited from self-
producing and teaming up with production
companies over the years to create lavish,
assorted promotional products. He explains:
“Doing commercial work, fine art and also
having a brand merges various disciplines and
creates a total story.” These stories spill into his
products. A great example is his Streets of
Jeremyville badge sets. With 20 buttons in the
whole set, after you have received one you’ll
probably be tempted to collect them all.
Of course, when looking to profit from
promotional branding and collectables, you’ll
always come back to researching for the most
rinter.com
suitable manufacturer. Playful freelance
illustrator Ben O’Brien (www.bentheillustrator.
com) agrees. Creator of the successful Speaker
Dog brand, he admits at seeing an opportunity
to both promote and profit when fans of the
Speaker Dog came calling for printed posters.
He explains: “We looked into various printing
y
myville to
N ig h t m a re in Jere ot.com
Product: rer: www.kidrob
tu
Manufac oft vinyl
ia l: S nd rew
Mater : Jeremy A
y r ig h t
Cop
“The result is
vibrant colours,
clean lines and all
without costing the
earth, in more
ways than one”
– Ben O’Brien
options and discovered an eco printing
company that was very affordable and still had
a high-quality print. This meant that we could
produce a lot more and also make them more
affordable for our customers.”
Produced by A Local Printer (www.
alocalprinter.com), designs were printed on
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-approved
conventional silk paper, using vegetable oil-
based ink with eco digital toner: “The result is
vibrant colours, clean sharp lines and all
without costing the earth, in more ways than
one.” This all adds up to a minimal print cost,
with 100 prints costing O’Brien £72, around
$103.32, excluding VAT. “Therefore [cost] has no
shaping on our design, opening the floodgates
of creativity, allowing us to make more of what
we and our clients and customers love.”
Hopefully, we’ve inspired you to do more
with your artwork and look beyond simple
promotional ideas to create products that
inspire and intrigue, setting you up for a
successful freelance career.
Product: Gelati Woods
Manufacturer: www.domestic.fr
Material: Wall vinyl
Copyright: Jeremy Andrew
6/3/09 11:17:12
 Promotional merchandise
Product: The AGM coaster
Manufacturer: www.quadcom.com
Process: CTP (computer-to-plate)
Copyright: Anna Goodson Management
042-049_AVP_55_Feature.indd 49
PRINTING SERVICES
Moo (www.moo.com)
Providing an extensive range of traditional
promotional products at an extremely cost-
effective process, Moo.com is one of the
best custom print services online. Its items
include miniature business cards, stickers,
postcards and greetings cards.
With Moo, you can upload and apply
multiple images with each batch of cards or stickers, at no extra
cost. All items are also hand-packed in a trendy Moo-designed
wrap or folder. Prices start as low as £9.99, cheaper than the ink
cartridge and paper it would cost to produce your own.
VistaPrint.co.uk (www.vistaprint.co.uk)
VistaPrint.co.uk offers a great try-before-
you-buy service on a variety of products,
designed through a set of ready-made
templates. Again, it offers a competitive
price list on a range of traditional
products. Some of its more entertaining
items include T-shirts, magnets and sticky
notes. Upload and Proofing fees have been recently slashed,
and items can cost up to as little as £1.24, exclusive of VAT, for
singular items. It also runs special offers, and
provides handy product specifications for every
product so you know what trim and bleed sizes
to provide before production.
TShirt Studio
(www.tshirtstudio.com)
TShirt Studio
provides great
incentive. There’s a
ten per cent
discount on all
orders over £50
and standard shipping applies. There’s no
minimum order on items and a two-day
dispatch applies, or express shipping if it’s
necessary. When it comes to T-shirts, they supply
men’s, women’s and unisex garments. But that’s
not all they supply. Jigsaws, coasters, cushions
and even teddy bears are available as print-on
merchandise. No upload fees apply.
One Inch Round
(www.oneinchround.com)
We’ve provided you
with the means to
customise and make
your own badges.
But if you want a
quick and easy cost-
effective solution, then One Inch Round is the
place to go. Here, you can step up your
presentation with their fun, stylish Button Packs.
Five package styles using recycled content are
on offer. You can order as few as 100 of their
‘mini-packs, including four Buttons for $200.
49
Advanced Photoshop
6/3/09 11:17:58
 Step-by-step
Workshop

r e ateer
C cov
thee u
er the
ncovind vexeal ge
W s beh six-p
t t
secrtehis experg started
in
a t inok at getat photo
r
lo with

50
Advanced Photoshop

050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 50 5/3/09 17:01:09

 VEXEL ART
We show you how to master the Pen tool, and
introduce you to the new world of vexel art
T
hroughout the course of this tutorial,
you’ll learn the basics of one particular
method of vexelling, focusing on
using the Pen tool, paths and layers.
Getting started is often the hardest part and
involves searching for the perfect image. It’s
important to work with large images, and as a
beginner it’s particularly helpful to avoid images
with too much varying contrast or something
with too much going on. Browsing stock image
galleries and collecting a few potential images to
work with is often a good idea. Give yourself
some options, and settle on the image you feel
most comfortable with.
1 Getting started
Open the image and
your Layers palette. Create
some groups referencing the
major areas to focus on: Skin,
Left Eye, Right Eye, Lips and
Hair. Within the Left Eye
group, create a new group
called ‘Eye Whites’. Make a
new layer in this group called
‘Eye Whites Base Layer’. Zoom
in on the left eye (between
200% and 600%).
“Getting started is
often the hardest
part and involves
searching for the
perfect image. It’s
important to work
with large images
and to avoid those
with too much
varying contrast”
050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 51
Photoshop is one of the simplest mediums to
work with when it comes to vexel art. The
functions are simple and easily repeated,
allowing for quick build-up of the piece once
you get going. Some other programs, while
producing the same end product, come with an
increased complexity, providing unneeded
features. Even as it is, Photoshop has plenty of
features irrelevant to vexelling!
The newness of vexel art has created a huge
interest in the method, with many eager to try
it but unsure of where to begin. This tutorial will
provide you with an easy step into the world
of vexelling.
2 The base layer
Using the Pen tool, select the whole area
of the eye whites. Using the Eyedropper, select a
medium to light colour from the eye whites,
then return to your Pen tool. Right-click (Cmd-
click for Macs) and select Fill Path. Leave the
default settings, simply pressing OK, and then
hit Enter to remove the created paths.
ON THE DISC
The only file required is the
original image, which you can
download from iStock, number
‘7133124’, but we encourage you
to try it on your own images.
OUR EXPERT Sarah Teer
Sarah, a biology student from New Zealand, has a keen
interest in art, both digital and traditional, and has been
working with Photoshop since 2001. You can find her at
http://sarahchristine.org.
What is a vexel?
A vexel is a work made in raster (ie bitmap,
involving pixels) in which an image is
created through building up layers, one on
top of the other, slowly building contrast.
It often (not always) involves replicating
an image of your choice, following the
shapes and colours. The term ‘vexel’ was
coined several years ago during a heated
discussion at a popular forum. Several
members became frustrated when others
referred to their vector-like yet raster-
based images as ‘vectors.’ In an attempt to
put an end to the incorrect terminology, it
was suggested they called such an image a
‘vexel’ – combining vector and pixel, and
describing the raster qualities of the image
while making significant reference to the
style from which vexel was derived. The
primary difference between vexels and
vectors is the method of creation.
Compared to vector art, vexels are (at least
partly) created in raster, thus pixels,
compared to the use of vector shapes.
However, working with raster means you
can’t rescale vexels infinitively. Raster-
based textures and patterns can also be
used to add extra detail to work. Many
consider that the use of vector functions
(ie Gradient Mesh) should be avoided
when vexelling, as well as digital painting
techniques (blurring and smudging). The
vexel community would tell you there’s far
more to vexels, but these are the basics.
51
Advanced Photoshop
5/3/09 17:01:27
 Step-by-step
Workshop
3 Shadows
Set the base layer you have just created to hidden. Select one of
the darker colours from the eye whites. With the Pen tool, once again
“Duplicating the original image and
posterising this layer can make for a
create a path, this time focusing on where the eye whites begin to
transition from light to dark. On a new layer, above the base layer, fill
quick and easy way to see the contours
the path and hit Enter to remove the created path. of the image you will be working with”

4 Building up contrast
Unhide the base layer. Return to the layer
you just filled, and play with the Opacity and
Fill until it creates a smooth transition,
appearing a few shades darker than the base
layer (we used Opacity = 11%, Fill = 20%).
Continue to select increasingly darker areas,
filling the path and adjusting the Opacity and
Fill. Always do each on a new layer.
5 Highlights and gradients
With the shadows built up, begin adding
some highlights in a similar fashion, filling paths
with lighter shades. Gradients are also useful for a
quick transition for both shadows and highlights
here. Create a new layer, select the area and
right-click, choosing Make Selection>New
Selection. Drag the Gradient tool (set to
Foreground to Transparent) then modify the
Opacity and Fill.

6 The iris
Create a new group above the Eye Whites
group, hiding Eye Whites in the process. Create a
new layer, labelled ‘Iris Base Layer’, creating a path
around the iris’s outline, and fill with a medium
colour picked from the original photo.
Alternatively, create a selection and use the
Gradient tool, creating a dark to light transition.

7 Shades and shapes

Work up a contrast
between shades similar to how
you did on the eye whites. Take
particular notice of the many
different shapes in the iris. It’s
certainly not a smooth feature
– with varying shapes, shades

8
and colours producing rays
Colours and contrast and segments. Focus on these
You might find that your iris looks a little bit while building the shading and
flat. On layers just above the base layer, use highlights up.
gradients with varying colours and shades to add
the appearance of roundness. Focus on the

green around the pupil and the darker shades of
blue. The selected gradient was created by
dragging the tool at different positions around
the selection.
9
The pupil
Create a new group Quick tip
above the iris called ‘Pupil’. Hide
the Iris and Eye Whites groups, Vexel art relies on using the tones and
and create a layer entitled colours in your start image. Duplicating
‘Blank Layer.’ Create another the original image and posterising this
new layer on top of that. With layer can make for a quick and easy way
the pupil we’re working from to see the contours of the image that
the top down rather than the you will be working with. This is applied
by going to Image>Adjustments>
bottom up. Select what you
Posterize. Set the level of posterisation
consider the uppermost area of
to a point where you can see the
the pupil, select a colour from different shapes (we recommend a value
this area and fill the path. Don’t around 9.)
change the Opacity.

52
Advanced Photoshop

050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 52 5/3/09 17:01:47

 10 Continue the
good work
11 The waterline
Create a new group called ‘Waterline’
and a new layer inside called ‘Waterline Base
Continue working ‘down’, Layer’. Pen-tool the waterline, filling it with a
selecting wider areas with gradient. Hide this layer and select a darker
the Pen tool, taking shade from the area. Select the darker areas,
colours from those areas filling them and modifying their Opacity and Fill
and filling the path. Always as you’ve done previously.
work on a layer below the
last, one above the ‘Blank
Layer’ layer. Once the
circular part of the pupil is
complete, work on the
lines that radiate from the
pupil. You can adjust the
Opacity/Fill on these layers.

12 Start on the eyelashes

Hide the groups previously worked
on, then create a new group above them
(‘Eyelashes’) and a new layer. Begin by creating a
path around the general shape of the eyelashes,
and pick a shade (not too dark) from the area.
Fill the path and lower the Opacity slightly – this
will be modified once we’ve done the skin.
13 Build up the eyelashes
Build up the darkness over two or three layers. Once you
find you’re reaching the darkest areas, create Stroke paths instead of
solid blocks. Using the Pen tool, create lines where the darkest parts of
the eyelashes are on the top lid. Now Cmd/right-click to close the
path, creating a line. Go to Paintbrushes and choose the 3px brush.
14 Upper and lower lashes
Return to the Pen tool. Cmd/right-
click and choose Stroke Path, ensuring that
Stimulate Pressure is checked. Click OK, then hit
Enter to remove the paths. Go to Paintbrushes,
pick the 1px brush and repeat the process on
the bottom lashes. Lower the Opacity slightly to
80%. Build up the lashes (upper and lower) for a
few layers using the 1px brush Stroke path.

15 Gimme
some skin!
Now you need to hide the
“Create a path
around all the skin
and fill with the
Left Eye group and move
to the Skin group. Ensure
that this group is below all
the others. Create a new
colour from the
layer (‘Skin Base Layer’) and photo. Work up
select a medium-light
hue from the photograph. some shadows
Create a path around all
the skin and fill it with the
using the method
colour you selected from you used before.
the photo. Work up some
shadows using the This is a learn-and-
method you used before.
This is very much a learn-
repeat process to
and-repeat process to complete the area
complete the area you’re
working on.
you’re working on”

53
Advanced Photoshop

050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 53 5/3/09 17:02:06

 Step-by-step
Workshop
Quick tip
Modifying the blending mode of a
layer can produce a quick and often
interesting transition between layers.
Depending on the colour and the shade,
blending modes such as Soft Light can
produce an instant shadow over multiple
colours, or the Dodge settings – which can
add an interesting look to features such
as make-up. The key is to experiment on
your image and see what you can come
up with!
18 Make-up
Next, create a new group above
your Skin group called ‘Make-up’. Now hide the
skin and choose a colour of the eye-shadow.
Begin working in the make-up, building it up
darker layer by layer. Gradients are particularly
useful for this section of the vexel. Work with
opacities to ensure that the contrast from the
skin shows through.
20 Eyebrows
Hiding the skin and make-up layers,
create a new group in the Left Eye group called
‘Eyebrows’. Using the Pen tool, create a path
around the basic shape of the eyebrow, filling
it with a medium shade. Lower the Opacity
slightly, unhiding the skin layer to check how
it transitions.
54
Advanced Photoshop
050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 54
16 Building the skin
You may find it easier to work in
more groups, such as Face>Shadows, Chest
17 Highlights
When you’ve built the shadows up
significantly, add some highlights. Using one of
and so forth. Nevertheless, continue to build the brighter tones from the photo, use a
up the skin, creating more contrast. It’s useful combination of solid, low Opacity/Fill layers and
to change the colour that you use for your gradients in order to recreate the lighter areas of
shadows occasionally, producing slightly the skin. Using the Soft Light blending mode
different tones. Don’t forget the really dark can also be helpful in creating a smooth
areas such as the nostrils. transition into the highlighted areas.
19
Touch-ups
By this stage some touch-ups are necessary. Go over your
work, adding extra highlights, shadows or forgotten features on the
proper layers. For example – the pink of the corner of the eye, and
some more shading around the eye whites and iris. Using a 3px or 1px
brush in white for certain highlights is helpful as well.
“Go over your
work, adding extra
highlights,
shadows or
forgotten features
on the proper
layers – for
example, the pink
of the corner of
the eye”
21
Solid layer
sections
Build up the eyebrow
slightly, focusing on the
main blocks of colour and
shades in varying opacities.
Be general – don’t worry if
your blocks don’t follow the
contours correctly, just try
to produce a general base of
colours and shapes. This
includes the solid areas of
the lighter part of the
eyebrow (the very left,
where it tapers off ).
5/3/09 17:02:24
 23 Stroke path eyebrows –
small brush dark
Go to Paintbrushes and pick the 5px 0%
Hardness brush. Focusing on the darker hairs,
return to the Pen tool and create more strands
with a darker colour. Stroke the paths on a new
layer, again with Stimulate Pressure selected,
and lower the layer’s opacity. Repeat the
process on a new layer with the 3px 100%
Hardness brush.

22 Stroke path eyebrows –

large brush
Go to Paintbrushes, picking the 9px 0%
Hardness brush. Using a medium tone, build
up the strands of the eyebrows using the Pen
tool’s Stroke Path function, with Stimulate
Pressure selected. Using a combination of
long and short lines, stroke the paths on a
new layer, then lower the opacity so the
strokes don’t seem particularly obvious
(approximately 20%).

24 Stroke path –
small brush light
Hide the layers that you’ve previously
worked on so that you can see the original
picture again to select from. Pick the lightest
shade you can see in the eyebrows, and after
ensuring that your 3px Paintbrush is still
selected, use the Pen tool and begin creating
Stroke paths over the lightest hairs. Stroke the
path on a new layer and modify the Opacity
to suit.
25 More touch-ups
Now that the general features are starting to become
apparent in our vexel image, you may find there are more touch-ups
necessary on a slightly wider scale. For instance, it might be
worthwhile to work in some more shading to prevent the features
from looking as though they’re floating, or you may want to go and
change the Hue/Contrast of a base layer. On the screenshot below,
you can see the areas that we’ve worked on, which will give you an
idea of the sort of thing to look out for.
Quick tip
The image we’ve used here is from iStock.
You can find it by searching for image
number ‘7133124’. However, this is a
technique that can be tried on any image,
so why not search through free stock sites
to find an image that appeals to you, or
use a portrait of a friend or member of
your family? Remember, you’re going to
be looking at it for a long time, so make
sure you like your start image!

26 And there you have it!

You’ve now learnt the overall basics
of vexel art. Complete the vexel by using the
techniques you’ve just learnt on the lips, hair
and other eye. Don’t be afraid to get creative
and step outside the box – for example, give a
brunette blonde hair, or brown eyes instead of
blue. Good luck, and happy vexelling!

“Don’t be afraid to get creative and step

outside the box – for example, you
might want to give a brunette blonde
hair, or brown eyes instead of blue.
Good luck and happy vexelling!”

55
Advanced Photoshop

050-055_AVP_55_VexelWS.indd 55 5/3/09 17:02:42

 Step-by-step
Workshop

t i o nal
spirashopre
In k
Worional artisPthsotoshuop
sha
ss d o
Profeecrets anto help yls
s il
the chniquees your sk
ir
te prov
im

56
Advanced Photoshop

056-060_AVP_55_SurrealWS.indd 56 5/3/09 16:25:08

 DIGITAL SURREAL
PHOTOREALISM
Learn the techniques behind this unique style of imagery
and try your hand at your own compositions

I
n this tutorial you will learn how to start
creating pictures that have a near-
photorealistic quality, but with a surreal
twist in the composition and finish. You will
learn how to improvise with Photoshop in a
natural and logical way.
Photoshop is the best tool for creating
such pictures because it has the most flexible
layer system out there, and this is key when
building up the many different elements.
Some pictures like this will have hundreds
of layers.
Before you begin to recreate the style in
this breakdown, you have to think about
what you want to create prior to starting
work in Photoshop. First, much of the
photorealistic finish is reliant on getting
good stock photos in an adequate resolution.
The best way to get exactly the images you
want is to shoot your own, but there are
some really good stock sites out there that
offer free images in high resolutions. Second,
make sure that you have a rough idea of the
composition and theme you want to work
with. While every element will be on its own
layer so you can move things around as you
go, it’ll help you to get started and to source
the right stock images.
When you’re ready, collect the images you
want to use for this tutorial together in one
folder, and we can begin.

57
Advanced Photoshop

056-060_AVP_55_SurrealWS.indd 57 5/3/09 16:25:25

 Step-by-step
Workshop
ON THE DISC
There are no files on the disc for
this tutorial. To create your own
1 Format
The first thing that you need to think
about with a surreal composition is the format.
2 The ‘golden cut’
Many artists don’t think about the
composition – they just let their instincts do the
surrealist image in the same style For printing, you should use a format such as 4:3 work for them. But you should know what
as the one on these pages, you will
need to collect together all the
or 5:4 for the best effect. Formats like the 2:1 composition can do to your work. A so-called
stock images that you want to use. format in our tutorial can give the onlookers a ‘golden cut’, as shown below, makes the eye of
special view of the scene, but this is not the best the viewer move; a hard central composition
OUR EXPERT Adonis Werther
for printing purposes. symbolises quietness, stillness or peace.
Adonis, aka Lars Meyer, is a sculptor and digital artist,
studying plastic and visual arts at a well-known art
academy in Germany, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in
Nordrhein-Westfalen. His digital art can be found here:
http://adoniswerther.deviantart.com.

3 More compositional advice

A ‘straight-up’ composition (the white line) symbolises a positive
intension of the artist. A ‘straight-down’ composition (red) symbolises the
opposite – a negative or depressed intension. You can manage and

4
manipulate that at the end when the work is finished by mirroring the
whole picture on the X-axis. There is often instinctively something like a Let’s get started!
‘straight-up’ or ‘straight-down’ composition in the final image. First of all you need a background. It defines
the atmosphere of the whole image and also the
whole intension. Sunsets with strong red and yellow
colours automatically connect the viewer with a
feeling of warmth and passion. In this specific image,
we chose a mid-day sky with clouds.

Inspiration
“Most inspiration I get from dreams.
“The sea has the effect of showing the
Sometimes I awake at night and notice
things I saw in the dream. The next
viewer that the landscape is realistic
morning it often makes no sense at all, and deep. This little detail is as important
but the surrealism is born.
Another big source of inspiration is as the background or foreground”
‘self-made laws’. When you mix things that

5 6
you experience during the day with your
dreams and your self-made laws (for Middle ground Foreground
example, a specific and recurrent 2:1 The middle ground is an important part of The main subjects are going to be in the
format, or special symbols like a green your image, as it decides how ‘deep’ it will be. In foreground of the image, like actors on-stage in a
pyramid), it gives the images you create a this image there’s a small middle ground, theatre. Choosing to have grassy ground is
personal and personalised watermark –
because the main subjects are in the front. The easiest, because on grass you don’t need as
like individual ‘handwriting’ that the
sea has the effect of showing the viewer that the perfect shadowing as you would need on rocky
audience can recognise as yours.
My own personal trademarks are landscape is realistic and deep. It seems or dessert ground. So for the beginning, grassy
always different styled clocks without a unspectacular in isolation, but this little detail is ground is perfect.
needle, the green pyramid, a black raven, as important as the background or foreground.
the nameplate ‘AWESYB’ and, last but not
least, the metaphorical personalisation of
balance. Every one of my images has to
do with balance, sometimes in an
interpretative way, sometimes in a
personified way – a woman with her arms
wide, for example.
The ‘balance’ is the fuel in my engine of
inspiration, the reason I became – or want
to become – an artist.”

58
Advanced Photoshop

056-060_AVP_55_SurrealWS.indd 58 5/3/09 16:25:53

 7 Main subjects
It’s time to fill the image with elements. It is
a sort of collage effect: you take a stock photo,
cut out the object you want, copy it and paste it
into the new image. You can do that over and
over again. For every new object, use a new
Photoshop layer, so that like a paper collage you
can move them around as needed.
8 Minor subjects
The more minor subjects are important, too – like the wire of the
lighthouse in our image. They are there to connect the main subjects.
Masters of surrealism
They allow the eyes of the audience to move and let them discover new
little details over and over again. You force the viewer to stay along your Turn to the best-known masters of the
surrealist genre to gain inspiration and
image and so think about the concepts.
insight into this popular style.
Salvador Dali
See his work at: www.virtualdali.com

Hieronymus Bosch
See his work at: www.theartgallery.com

9 Shadows
Now we come to a part which is
very important for photorealism: the
shadows. All the objects need to have
realistic shadows and they must all have
the same lighting. An object has to
leave a correct shadow on the ground Max Ernst
and the other objects beside it. See his work at: www.tate.org.uk

“All objects need

to have realistic
10 Create
shadows
Creating good-looking and
shadows and they
must all have the
realistic shadows is not
difficult. Figure out where
same lighting”
shadows have to be placed,
then mark the area and
shape of the shadow out Quick tip
with the Lasso tool. Lower
the Brightness and the Hue/
Saturation on that area to Stock photos are essential when
create the shadow effect. creating any photomanipulation and
especially a surreal scene. You can shoot
Save a copy of your image
photos of your own if you have a good
here (to maintain the
digital camera, or you can just look out
layers), then flatten the for free sources all over the internet,
image (Layer>Flatten for example www.sxc.hu.
Image) to continue.

59
Advanced Photoshop

056-060_AVP_55_SurrealWS.indd 59 5/3/09 16:26:10

 Step-by-step
Workshop
11 More realistic colours
As you see when you look out of the window, the reality is
not a quarter as colourful as most photomanipulations are. A surreal
photorealistic image can be colourful too, but first of all we must get all
the elements to have the same saturation of colour using the Hue/
Saturation command on our new single layer.

12 Darker edges
When we have a less-saturated image, we can duplicate
the layer and apply a Multiply blending mode. Cut a soft-edged
ellipse out of the middle of the image so that the lower layer shows
through. This will create a little colour gradient from the middle to
the edges, like a real photo.

13 Contrasts
Flatten the image layers once again.
Now we need to work on the overall contrast of
14 Hue/Saturation tweaks
As mentioned before, even a
realistic photomanipulation can be
the piece. This is important, because when we colourful. To increase the colour
enhance the contrast, the shadows of the stock saturation, but not fall into creating a
photos and those we added shadows to will comic book-style image, it’s important
blend into the scene. It gives the whole image a that the colours are vivid but not over
new consistent look, which is the most the top. The colours have to be evenly
important element of a photorealistic scene. distributed all over the image. If one
colour stands out above the rest, it will
pull in the viewer’s eye, rather than
letting them take in the whole scene.

15 Finished
To finish up, flip the image
horizontally, which adds to the surreal feel of
“The paper collage
technique itself is
the piece, as it’s not the natural composition.
The paper collage technique itself is easy – the
easy – the hardest
hardest part is in the planning stages and part is in the
building your own compositions. Now try out
your own compositions and see what you can planning stages”
come up with!

Quick tip

Shadows are a very important part of

creating realism. To create truly realistic-
looking shadows, you need experience, so
simply look around you. Everywhere
there is light, so everywhere there are
shadows. Look and learn from nature how
light creates the umbra and penumbra.
Transfer these experiences to Photoshop
and your manipulations will improve.

60
Advanced Photoshop

056-060_AVP_55_SurrealWS.indd 60 5/3/09 16:26:27

 Step-by-step
Workshop

DRAMATIC
EXPOSURE EFFECTS
Create dramatic compositions with commercial sports advertising effects

ON THE DISC
On this month’s disc, you will find
both the model image (kindly
provided by freelance
photographer Jelani Memory –
www.jelanimemory.com) and the
clouds that we bring into the
background. We have also used
some water images from royalty-
free stock image sites, and you will
find the links to these throughout
the tutorial in the relevant steps,
many of which are free.
OUR EXPERT Adam Smith
Senior staff writer Adam Smith is a massive sports fan. So it
makes sense that he is aware of the most fashionable
advertising styles in the sports design arena, as he
demonstrates in this tutorial.
I
n this tutorial, Advanced Photoshop
keeps up with mainstream methods and
presents yet another contemporary
creative project by replicating sports
advertising styles. This industry sets a
precedent in what is considered à la mode and
fashionable with advertising campaigns
promoting art styles, and those that are related
to sports are some of the most dramatic and
entertaining types.
We go across the creative board in this
tutorial, applying numerous examples of
Photoshop’s most powerful image-altering
tools to create stunning high-end graphic
effects. Essentially, we’ll be showing you how
to composite stock photography and
manipulate this to create an all-inclusive, eye-
catching composition.
We will show you how to apply layer masks
and the Selection tools to correct layers and
effects. Blending modes and Blending Options
are used to rectify exposures and integrate
image elements. We’ll also show you how to
apply manual exposures and sharpen imagery,
so your design has that professional edge.
Photoshop’s Filters are explored, and we reveal
how these can be used alone, with other
toolsets, to create realistic weather effects.
All the images used and supplied for this
tutorial are high-res, so you’ll really notice the
quality of your design once you start building
up your effects.

62
Advanced Photoshop

062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind62 62 6/3/09 11:38:52

 1 Select the background
Open ‘iStock_000003395230Large.jpg’ and
select Image>Image Size. Make sure Resample
“Photoshop provides numerous powerful
techniques to retouch your photography and art
Image is unticked and set the Resolution to
300ppi. Double-click on the Background layer
projects… however, if you need a little help then
icon in the Layers palette to unlock it and name you could always try some the many plug-in
the layer ‘B-Ball Player’. We now need to select the
brickwork. You can use your own method here or options available”
follow ours. Select the Magic Wand tool, set the

2
Tolerance to 20 and apply to the brickwork.
Selection tools
This should select a majority of your background, but there will be Retouching advice
bits that need adding to or removing from the selection. The quickest
way to amend these is to choose the Polygonal Lasso tool, holding Opt/ Photoshop provides numerous powerful
Alt to erase and Shift to add, and draw around the areas that need techniques to retouch your photography
tidying up. Remember to only select the brick wall. and art projects. The method here is just
one way of doing it. We’ve supplied
many other tutorials and methods in the
past, such as John Deaville’s (www.
photofixer.com) Fashion and Beauty
Retouching in issue 43, Master Metallic

3
Photo Effects by Kirk Nelson in issue 48
Add skyline
and Fashion Retouching by Julian Knight
Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I, inverting your
(www.slingshotphotostudios.com) in
selection. Choose Select>Modify>Feather and issue 50.
apply a Feather Radius of 0.5 pixels. Click OK and However, if you need a little help then
apply a layer mask from the bottom of the Layers you could always try some the many
palette. Open ‘1120297_13767646.jpg’ from this plug-in options available. Portraiture
issue’s disc and copy and paste it into your maim (www.imagenomic.com) eliminates
image. Name the layer ‘Sky’. Select Edit> manual labour by intelligently
Transform>Scale to resize it accordingly, then smoothing and removing photo
move the layer below your ‘B-Ball Player’ layer. imperfections. OnOne software’s
PhotoTune 2.2 (www.ononesoftware.
com) provides professional-quality
colour correction, improving your post-
production work. All these resources will
definitely help you expand the
professionalism in your design work.

4 Feathered edges
At this point, your image should be
starting to take shape and coming along nicely. 5 Create fog
Select the Rectangle Marquee tool, with
Next up, activate your model layer and Cmd/Ctrl- Feather set to 10%, then drag horizontally to
click the layer mask thumbnail to select the mask make a selection across the centre of your image.
area. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I to inverse, then With your ‘Sky’ layer active, press Cmd/Ctrl+C
choose Select>Modify>Feather and apply a then Cmd/Ctrl+V, creating a new layer. Name this
Feather Radius of 0.5 pixels. Now hit the ‘Fog’. Place it above your ‘B-Ball Player’ layer and
backspace button a total of three times and press select Blending Options from the Layer Style (Fx)
Cmd/Ctrl+D in order to deactivate your selection. menu at the bottom of the Layers palette.

63
Advanced Photoshop

062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind63 63 6/3/09 11:39:10

 Step-by-step
Workshop
6 Blending Options
Set the Blend Mode to Lighten and make
sure your Blend If option is set to Gray. Holding
Opt/Alt, drag the This Layer black cursor to a
value of 0/105. Select Gradient Overlay in the
same Layer Style palette, and apply a Color Burn
Blending Mode at a 90-degree Angle with a 20%
Opacity. Click okay, then reposition the ‘Fog’ layer
to where the skyline and court meet.
9 Gradient Map
Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I, and with a black
brush at 100% Opacity, apply to your Hue/
Saturation layer mask. Press Cmd/Ctrl+D to
deactivate your selection. Add a black-and-white
Gradient Map adjustment layer and tick Dither.
Place this layer above your Hue/Saturation layer
and apply a Soft Light blending mode. Select
Blending Options from the Layer Style (Fx) menu.
Quick tip
Working with an Overlay-neutral layer is
one of the most important steps when
replicating the effects in this tutorial. Be
sure to pay careful attention to this
stage. Zooming in close to your chosen
model and altering the brush sizes as you
go, using the Tab keys, makes application
specific and quick. Get this tricky little
procedure right and your model will
literally glow. You can then apply this
technique to many of your other
photomanipulation projects.
64
Advanced Photoshop
062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind64 64
7 High Pass filter
Add a layer mask to your Fog layer and tidy the edges with a soft-
edged 30% Opacity black brush. Brush away detail covering your model.
8 Hue/Saturation
This noticeably sharpens your model
image. Lower the High Pass layer’s Opacity to
Duplicate the Fog layer, calling it ‘Fog copy’, and edit it further with the 70% and then duplicate it. Select Hue/Saturation
layer mask to build up fog layers. Duplicate your ‘B-Ball Player’ layer, from the Layer palette’s Create new fill or
naming it High Pass, applying an Overlay blending mode. Select adjustment layer options, and decrease
Filter>Other>High Pass and apply a Radius of 2 pixels. Saturation to -60%. Place this beneath your Fog
layer and above your ‘B-Ball Player’ and High Pass
layers. Cmd/Ctrl-click your ‘B-Ball Player’ layer’s
mask thumbnail.
“Working with an Overlay-neutral layer
is one of the most important steps when
replicating [these] effects. Be sure to
pay careful attention to this stage”
10 Duplicate
channel
Holding Opt/Alt, drag
the This Layer black
cursor to a value of
0/110, then the
Underlying Layer black
cursor to a value of 0/90.
Activate your Channels
palette and hide all but
the Green channel.
Duplicate your Green
channel and activate it,
hiding all the others.
Select the duplicate layer
using the Rectangle
Marquee tool, then copy
and paste it into your
Layers palette.
11
Apply Green channel
Place this new layer at the top of the
layer stack in the Layers palette, naming it
‘Green channel’. Apply a Linear Burn blending
mode, with a 10% Opacity. Create a new layer,
titled ‘Wet floor’ and place this at the top of the
layer stack. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E,
merging all the layers. Now select the
Rectangle Marquee tool from the toolbar at the
left-hand side of the interface.
6/3/09 11:39:30
 Inspirational ads
If you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and want
to sample more sports advertising styles,
then the best places to look are on the
websites of the manufacturers. Below,
we’ve provided a few inspiring examples,
packed with attractive design.
NIKE: Nike (www.nike.com) is
undoubtedly the leading light in
producing cool and creative ad
campaigns. From basketball to football,
its product range is vast and each sport
lends itself to multiple commercial styles.
We’re especially fond of the latest
Ronaldo Mercurial boot campaign. At the
website, you can also grab cool desktop
wallpaper sporting these latest designs.
LACOSTE: Lacoste (www.lacoste.co.uk)
generates some playful, stylistic
examples. Visit its website and discover
its consistent branding style. Both clean
and stylish, it relies on high-res, high-
quality photography treated through
sophisticated yet subtle photo
retouching techniques. Full of colour and
energy, Lacoste successfully sells
products through its arty persona.
K-SWISS: Visit the K-Swiss website (www.
kswiss.com) and you’ll find a great
example of how retouching can be used
in a simple yet effective way. Portrayed in
a traditional catalogue fashion, all
designs are presented in a simple, fresh
way and use photo retouching to create
powerful models and splendid
compositions. Creating a sense of
heightened reality, your focus is given
firmly to its models and products.
062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind65 65
12 Plastic Wrap filter
Make a selection across the image,
from the floor up to the model’s knees, then
13 Splash effects
Download ‘2735882’ from www.
istockphoto.com, then copy and paste it
select Filter>Artistic>Plastic Wrap. Set the into your composition. Press Cmd/Ctrl+I,
Highlight Strength at 16, Detail at 13 and inverting your image, then select Image>
Smoothness at 3. Apply a layer mask to this Adjustments>Desaturate. Resize using
layer and with a soft-edged 30% Opacity black Edit>Transform>Scale and position it by your
brush, brush away the effect on your model’s model’s right foot. Apply a Screen blending
trainers and in the background black areas. mode, then select the Blending Options from
the Layer Style options and set the This Layer
black slider to a value of 20.
14 Compositing
water layers
Apply a layer mask and
integrate edges with a soft-
edge black brush, 30%
Opacity. Download
‘4295597’ from www.
istockphoto.com, then copy
and paste it into your
composition. Select Image>
Adjustments>Desaturate
and position this new water
layer over your previous
layer, applying a Lighten
blending mode. Select
Edit>Transform>Scale and
enlarge slightly from the top
left control point.
15 Amending with layer masks
Apply a layer mask to this second water layer. Gently erase
any obvious edges in the darker image areas with a 30% Opacity soft-
16 Absolute integration
Select Blending Options from the
Layer Style options, and then holding Opt/Alt,
edged black brush. Download ‘506139’ from www.sxc.hu. Open it, set the This Layer black slider to a value of 0/255.
desaturate, make a selection around the spray with the Rectangle Decrease Opacity to 90%, apply a layer, zoom in
Marquee tool, then copy and paste into your image. Select close and apply a 30% soft-edged black brush
Image>Adjustment>Levels, applying Input Levels of 70, 1.00 and 255. to any obvious edges. Now resize with the
Position over the water layers, applying a Lighten blending mode. Edit>Transform>Scale option.
65
Advanced Photoshop
6/3/09 11:39:54
 Step-by-step
Workshop
17 B-Ball effects
Download ‘1139999’ from www.sxc.hu, then copy and
paste it into your main image. Apply a Screen blending mode,
“Search royalty-free stock sites such as
www.sxc.hu for some truly stunning
desaturate and scale and rotate using the Edit>Transform tools,
positioning as seen in the example below. Use the Rectangle Marquee skylines. Take advantage of
tool to select around the spray and water, tracing the bottom of the
basketball. Apply a layer mask as well as the same This Layer black slider
Photoshop’s Filters, such as Plastic
value as before. Wrap, to simulate weather effects”

18 Manual exposures
Holding Opt/Alt, create a new layer.
In the New Layer dialog box, set the Mode to
Overlay and activate Fill with Overlay-neutral
color. Select a soft-edged 20% Opacity black
brush and apply to your model and skyline.
This specifically strengthens shadow areas. A
white brush will apply the opposite, bringing
out the highlights.

1: Search royalty-free stock sites

such as www.sxc.hu for some truly
stunning skylines

19 Correct focus
We’re almost there. You’ll notice that
the basketball net is standing out like a sore
thumb. To remedy this, create a new layer,
placing it at the top of the layer stack, and press
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E, merging all. With
your new layer active, Cmd/Ctrl-click your
original model layer and use the Polygonal
Lasso tool while holding Opt/Alt to isolate your 2: Take full advantage of
basketball net. Photoshop’s powerful Filters, such
as Plastic Wrap, to simulate
weather effects

3: High-res water photo stock,

integrated using blending modes,
Levels and layer masks

66
Advanced Photoshop

062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind66 66 6/3/09 11:40:10

 20 Lighting
effect
Choose Select>Modify>
Rainy day effects
Expand and set a value of
Adding rain effects will authenticate your
5 pixels, then select
image. There’s no need for you to scour
Filter>Blur>Gaussian the net for stock photography as
Blur, applying a 3-pixel Photoshop provides all the creative
Radius. Create a new power you’ll need to replicate this effect.
white-filled layer, and We show you how.
place this beneath your
Step 1: First of all, create a new white-
merged layer. Activate
filled layer and select Filter>Noise>Add
and add a layer mask to Noise. Then apply an Amount of 85, set
your merged layer, select Distribution to Gaussian and finally
a 20% Opacity and Flow activate Monochromatic.
soft-edged black brush,
and then paint in light
rays from the top right to
bottom left, as seen in
the example to the right.

4: Burn and dodge skin areas with

Step 2: Select Filter>Blur>Motion Blur,
Neutral Overlay layers for glossy,
and apply an Angle of 35 degrees and a
sweaty skin
Distance of 80 pixels. Apply a Hard Light
blending mode to your layer.

Step 3: Select Image>Adjustments>

Levels and apply Input Levels of 140,
1.40 and 235. Select Blending Options
from the Layer Style options and holding
Opt/Alt, drag the This Layer black slider
to a value of 0/200.

Step 4: Touch up your rain layer and

lighting rays using a layer mask and a
soft-edged 10% Opacity, 30% Flow black
brush. Decrease the layer’s Fill and
Opacity to 70% and play with Levels.

67
Advanced Photoshop

062-067_AVP_55_SportsManipWS.ind67 67 6/3/09 11:40:28

 Step-by-step
Workshop

Panoramic image
New fea
ture

CREATE
i
See th
n CS4
e effect in
clip on th e d c and the video
for yoursis tr
elf with thy it out
provided im e
age

SPHERICAL
PANORAMAS
Use Photoshop CS4 Extended to create a spherical panorama and view it in 3D space. No
special lenses, plug-ins or 3D software required

ON THE DISC
This month’s CD contains a short
video clip of the 3D spherical
panorama in action, plus the
flattened version of the panorama
(SphericalPano.jpg) so you can try
it at home.
OUR EXPERT Kirk Nelson
Our regular Helpdesk writer takes a day out of the office
and pays a trip to the museum with his DSLR to test a fun
feature of CS4 Extended.
P
anoramas are fun and challenging,
especially using just a standard lens.
360-degree panoramas, where the
image wraps completely around the viewer,
are even more fun and even more
challenging to accomplish without
specialised equipment.
Spherical panoramas are a step further in that
the image wraps completely around
horizontally and vertically, capturing every
possible angle from that position.
This month, we show you how to
accomplish this with a regular camera and
Photoshop CS4 Extended. Photoshop not only
has the ability to stitch together the massive
image from individual shots of an entire room,
but also to convert it to a 3D environment
sphere that can be turned and twisted any way
you please.
As a word of caution, this project requires
considerable preparation time and it generates
massive files when stitching the panorama
together. So be sure your machine is capable
of handling files that are in excess of hundreds
of megabytes in size. If you are concerned
about your computer’s memory limitations,
use a batch command to reduce your source
images by 50 to 75 per cent before generating
the panorama.
You’ll need to take your own source photos
to complete this tutorial from start to finish,
merging lots of shots together into one
panorama. Or, as a shortcut to the fun part,
making it spherical, just use the panoramic
image from the disc that has already been
merged and pick up the tutorial around Step 8.
Whichever you choose to do, it’s a great
technique to learn.

68
Advanced Photoshop

068-070_AVP_55_SpericalWS.indd 68 4/3/09 17:57:45

 1 Location scout
Selecting the right location for the
panorama is as important as the technique itself.
Large open spaces with lots of interesting visuals
work the best. If the space is privately owned or
managed, be sure to check their policy on
photography first. We selected the Udvar-Hazy
Center at the National Air and Space Museum in
Chantilly, Virginia.
2 Click, click, click
Once your location is established, set up your gear and start
snapping your pictures. A full spherical panorama will require many,
many pictures. We took over 200 overlapping shots to capture as much
of the hangar as possible. Think about how the pictures will be
assembled and mentally plan out the seams to align with existing lines
of the environment.
3 Photomerge
Drop all the photos you wish to use into a
folder of their own and fire up Photoshop. Go to
File>Automate>Photomerge and direct the
source to the folder with your images. Select
the Spherical layout and be sure to check the
Blend Images Together box. Be warned, as after
you hit OK, the Photomerge process could take
a long time. Ours took several hours.

4 Simplify things
The resultant file will
have a layer and a mask for
“Large open
spaces with lots of
every photograph used. This
will make the file large, interesting visuals
cumbersome and memory-
intensive. Delete any stray
work the best. If
layers that didn’t quite fit the space is
into the panorama, then
merge the remaining layers privately owned or
together into a single layer.
Correct any lighting issues
managed, be sure
with Image>Adjustments> to check their
Equalize. Then use the
Image>Trim command to policy on
remove empty areas of
transparent pixels.
photography first”

5 End to end
The sides of the
panorama need to fit
6 Autoblend
Set the duplicate layer back to Normal. Select both layers and go
to Edit>Auto-Blend Layers. Be sure to select the Panorama blend
perfectly together. method and check the Seamless Tones and Colors option. This will
Currently, there are make sure the lighting appears consistent where the two layers overlap.
ragged edges Press Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge the layers together.
created by the
Photomerge process.
Duplicate the layer
and move the
duplicate off the side
edge until the ends
overlap. Use the
Difference blending
mode to assist with
lining up the layers.
This is the tricky part,
but it is worth
spending the time to
get it just right to get
the best final effect.

69
Advanced Photoshop

068-070_AVP_55_SpericalWS.indd 69 4/3/09 17:58:11

 Step-by-step
Workshop
7 Trim things down.
Select the Crop tool and pull out the crop
region to include the top and bottom edges of
8 Here comes the magic
This is the part you’ve been waiting for. Go to 3D>New Shape
from Layer>Spherical Panorama. Photoshop will take your panoramic
9 Spin the 3D wheel
Select the 3D Zoom tool and adjust the
Standard Field of View setting in the options bar
the panorama. Find a distinctive visual element image and map it inside a 3D sphere that surrounds your viewpoint. You to allow you a wider view of the panorama. The
that repeats on both sides where you can easily will see the layer represented as a 3D object in the Layers palette. Your lower the setting, the wider the range. Then use
align the left and right crop handles (like the red canvas now acts as a viewfinder looking out at the 3D space. the 3D Axis tool to rotate the panorama and see
striped plane seen here). After performing the how it wraps around your viewpoint.
crop, you can check the seam using the Offset
filter (Filter>Other>Offset).

Taking your photos 10 Roof repairs

You will notice that the very top of
the sphere, directly up from your viewpoint, is
“Try to use visual
markers from the
a problem area. Bring in a flat photo of that
The most unforgiving part of this project
is taking the actual photographs. The
area and use the Transform tools to fit it to the location to keep
image over the hole and a layer mask to blend
general idea is to take shots in a full 360-
degree sweep around your position,
the edges. Then use the Image>Adjustments> each sweep of
adjust the vertical camera angle and
then repeat. Continue this until you have
Match Color feature to correct the differences
in lighting. panoramas level”
captured every visible direction. This

11
sounds pretty easy in theory, but in
practice things can go wrong quickly. Combine the patch
Here’s some advice from our battle- Go to Layer>Merge Down to
seasoned author: combine the patch layer with the 3D panoramic
If you have permission, a tripod is a object. Finally, look around the image and
wonderful asset for ensuring your shots repeat this process to cover over any other
are steady, level and solid. But museum
problem areas by hand. If you don’t have a good
owners tend to frown at the tripping
photo to fix an area, remember that all of
hazard a tripod presents. So you may
need to rely on the steadiness of your Photoshop’s regular image-editing tools (Clone
own hand. If so, try to use visual markers Stamp, Healing Brush, Filters, etc) are still
from the location to keep each sweep of available to use!
panoramas level.
The Photomerge feature requires at
least 40 per cent overlap of images
before it will even attempt to stitch them
together. Providing a generous 50 per
cent yields even better results, so try and
aim for this percentage. When shooting,
take a note of what’s in the centre of
your viewfinder and then align the left
(or right) edge with that object in the
next shot. Keep this in mind when
adjusting the vertical angle for each
sweep as well.
Make sure that you take a shot
directly up at the ceiling or sky to use as
a cover for the ‘pinch’ that is generated
by the Spherical Panorama. If you can
get one of the floor directly beneath you
(without seeing your feet), that will be
handy as well.

70
Advanced Photoshop

068-070_AVP_55_SpericalWS.indd 70 4/3/09 17:58:31

 YOU DECIDE. . .
Vote for your favourite image with Advanced Photoshop
magazine’s new interactive game!

Newgn
desi site
web

VS

www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/photoshopfaceoff
071_AVP_55_FaceOffHouseAd.indd 1 4/3/09 12:44:11
 Q&A
Helpdesk
The Helpdesk has been extended so that we can answer even more of your
Photoshop queries and questions – so keep them coming!
Squashed corners
Q
First of all, many thanks for the excellent
magazine you folks produce. I always learn so
much and am amazed by just how much more
there is to learn in each issue.
My question is in reference to the Rounded Rectangle
shape. I’ve noticed that as the shape is drawn out, the
corners maintain symmetry and each rounded corner
looks great regardless of how tall or wide the shape is
drawn. But then if I scale the shape, the corners become
stretched instead of maintaining the evenly rounded
appearance. Is there any way to scale the shape without
distorting the rounded corners?
Kylie Reuters
A
Kylie, that’s an excellent question! Some folks
wouldn’t even notice such things as unevenly
rounded corners, but you clearly have an eye
for detail. I’m guessing you’ve even noticed that other
designers have struggled with this same dilemma simply
by observing their work. Nobody wants an unevenly
rounded corner, they just happen! And what can we do
about it?
Here’s the deal, Kylie. Photoshop’s Scale Transform will
scale the entire shape uniformly, regardless of content.
That what it does and it does it well. So unless that’s
exactly what you want (which is unlikely), avoid using the
Scale tool. Instead, use the Direct Selection tool. That’s the
white arrow that is hiding behind the Path Selection’s
black arrow. Don’t try to move each path point
individually, grab entire groups. For instance, to scale the
shape to be taller, grab all four control points (two for
ROUNDED CORNERS: Use the Direct Selection tool to
keep the rounded corners from squashing
Send your emails to us at advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk or post a message on our forum board at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum.
74
Advanced Photoshop
074-077_AVP_55_Helpdesk.indd 74
GUIDELINES: Create rule of thirds’
guidelines without the maths
each rounded corner) from the top of the shape and
move them straight up. This increases your shape height,
but retains your evenly rounded corners.
Rule of thirds
Q
Hey hey, Helpdesk guy! I’m an art student in
my second year and really starting to dig into
everything Photoshop has to offer. I’m also
trying to apply all the stuff they taught us in the
traditional art courses to my digital work. I’m sure you’ve
heard of the rule of thirds, right? Dividing the canvas into
thirds vertically and horizontally and using that as a
composition assist. So can you tell me how to lay down
the appropriate guidelines in Photoshop? I know I can
take the size of the canvas, divide by three then figure it
out that way, but is there a method that doesn’t involve
so much maths?
Ethan Rome
A
Let’s see here, where’s my checklist… ah, here
it is. Okay, excited about Photoshop, check.
Trying to synchronise traditional methods with
new mediums, check. Doesn’t like maths, check. Yup,
Ethan, you’re right, you are an art student! And the rule of
thirds you’re talking about is a general compositional
guideline that divides the canvas into nine equal sections
by using two equally spaced horizontal lines and two
equally spaced vertical lines. Placing dominant
compositional elements along these lines can create a
piece with more energy and interest than one where the
subject is simply centred.
Well, Ethan, you will be glad to hear there is an easier
way to place those guidelines. Go to View>New Guide.
Now, you probably already know that you can enter exact
pixel locations, but did you know that you can enter
OUR EXPERT Kirk Nelson
Kirk has been a graphic artist for over 11 years
in the Washington DC Metro area. He writes
tutorials for our sister publication Photoshop
Creative, and opens letters, checks emails and
hangs around the AP forum online, all for the
good of our Helpdesk. If you’re having
quibbles with Photoshop, Kirk’s your man with
the plan!
RESET SETTINGS: Resetting the preferences can solve
some erratic behaviours in Photoshop
percentages? Nifty, huh? So place a guideline at 33% and
66% horizontally and vertically, and you’ll have your
familiar tick-tack-toe board.
Photoshop possessed!
Q My Photoshop’s gone crazy! I can’t get my
brushes to load, some filters simply won’t
respond correctly, my menu items are all over
Top tip: Clouds filter
The Clouds filter (Filter>Render>Clouds) in
Photoshop proves to be immensely useful in ways
that are not so obvious. It can be used as a means
of adding convincing dirt or grime to a surface, or
as a layer mask to break up the opacity of an
object in a seemingly random fashion. A trick is to
keep a PSD file of clouds slightly blurred and use
this as a displacement map. This can go a long
way to removing the overly smooth computer-
generated appearance and create a more natural,
realistic appearance. And did you know that the
clouds are never rendered the exact same way
twice? How about that holding down the Opt/Alt
key will generate clouds with a higher contrast?
Finally, filling a canvas that is sized by a power of
two (64, 128, 512, 1,024, etc) will create a seamless
cloud texture that can be repeated as a pattern.
CLOUDS: Get creative with crazy
cloud customisations
4/3/09 17:53:07
 Water caustics

Q Dear Helpdesk guys, nice magazine!

I’ve found it hugely helpful in my own
work. You know those cool dancing
light patterns seen at the bottom of swimming
pools or on the ocean floor caused by the
refraction of the sunlight through the water
surface? Is it possible to make a texture of
those in Photoshop?
Tracy Blankenship

A
Hey Tracy, great question! Those dancing
light patterns are called caustics and can be
wonderfully hypnotising to watch –
especially when lounging lazily at the water’s edge!
And yes, Photoshop can generate a texture that’s
almost as refreshing. But before you begin, first create
a new file and fill it with the Clouds filter (Filter>
Render>Clouds), then add some blur (Filter>Blur>
Gaussian Blur) and save it as ‘Clouds.psd’. We will need
it later!

1 The setup
In a new file (1,000px x 1,000px), fill the

tip
background with 50% grey and set the foreground

Q udoiwcn k
Opt/Alt and
colour to white. Go to Filter>Texture>Stained Glass
and set Cell Size to 46, Border to 2 and Light Intensity
Hold in
layer mask a to 0. Follow with Filter>Sketch>Stamp with a Light/
click on a m ask as
e the Dark Balance of 9 and Smoothness of 13.
order to se ima ge
greyscale
GLASS BALL: By adding realistic
refractions, you are able to make an image
more believable

the place and sometimes the whole program just up and

quits for no reason. What’s going on? Is this some kind of “Caustics can be
virus? Do I need to reinstall Photoshop? Somebody help
me please!
wonderfully
hypnotising to watch
2
Kathy Greise

And Photoshop can Displacement

A
Easy there Kathy, it’s going be okay. Photoshop Go to Filter>Distort>Displace and load the
is a complicated beast, and due to the highly
configurable nature of the interface, sometimes
generate a texture ‘Clouds.psd’ file. Set the horizontal and vertical scale
to 25. Duplicate the layer and set the mode to Linear
things can get a little out of whack. And other times the almost as refreshing” Dodge. Run the Motion Blur filter (Filter>Blur>Motion
program can seem to be possessed by evil spirits from the Blur) with an
nether realm of PhotoDeluxe. Fortunately, these dastardly Angle of -35 and

A
demon spawn can be easily cast out by resetting your Helpdesk heroes, Louise? Thinking about it, Distance of 60.
Photoshop preferences. First, close down Photoshop. there might just be something to that. Now Move the layer
Then hold down the Ctrl+Alt+Shift keys (Cmd+Opt+Shift while I grab a cape, pull my underwear over my slightly down
on a Mac) and launch Photoshop again. Keep holding the jeans and search for a phone booth, here’s the solution to and to the right,
buttons down until you see a prompt asking if you wish your refractions dilemma. and then repeat
to delete the preferences file. Click Yes and rejoice as Begin with a round selection the same size and the displacement.

3
Photoshop is reborn with its factory settings! position as your glass ball. Copy that area of the
background into a new layer and go to Filter>Distort> Dancing lights
Spherize, then set the amount to a full 100%. Next, run the Add a blue
Glass refractions Spherize filter twice. Flip the layer both vertically and background and group the

Q
Hello there Helpdesk heroes! Please can you horizontally and use the Warp Transformation tool to two layers together. Set the
tell me how to create realistic refractions, just enhance the curved refraction even more. Now duplicate group blending mode to
like the kind you would see in a solid glass ball the layer and add a Gaussian Blur of about three pixels. Linear Dodge. Add a group
sitting on top of a desk. I have managed to get some Use a Radial Gradient on a layer mask in order to fade the mask and render clouds on
good-looking glass, but the image doesn’t work well blur layer from the centre of the ball. Isolate the ball’s it. Duplicate the group,
unless the refraction looks just right. What do I have to do highlights and move that layer above the refractions and transform it around and
to achieve this? set the blending mode to Screen. Finally, do likewise with lower the Opacity for a
Louise Parker the shadows set to a blending mode of Multiply. secondary set of lines. To
create a soft glow, merge the
Remember to specify whether you’re using a PC or Mac and the version of Photoshop you have. layers of a duplicate group
then use the Gaussian Blur.

75
Advanced Photoshop

074-077_AVP_55_Helpdesk.indd 75 4/3/09 17:53:25

 Q&A
“Getting things to smooth out is a bit trickier,
but a clever combination of filters will get the
job done”
Top tip: Plastic fantastic
TEXT: Create plastic text using the Lighting Effect filter
It’s a fairly commonly known fact (yet rarely used)
that selections can be saved in Photoshop. Right
there in the Selections menu is Save and Load.
When a selection is saved, it’s stored as a greyscale
channel. You can even see them if you look in the
Channels palette – this way, they can be reloaded
at any time. But something that’s even more
useful is that certain filters can use these
selections to create additional effects. For
example, create a selection in the shape of some
text, then contract and smooth that selection
(both found under the Select>Modify menu) and
save this selection. Rasterise your text and go to
Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Set the Texture
channel to your saved selection and you’ve got an
easy way to add a plastic appearance to your text.
Once you get the sliders set how you like, you can
even save this setting and use it any time!
Smoother stencil effect
Q Dear Helpdesk, I’m always amazed at
how easy your writers make things
look. Here’s a question I haven’t been
able to figure out. I’ve noticed a popular trend in
advertising posters that have a stencil look using
just two or three colours, and the cutout shapes
are always smooth and flowing, not rough and
jagged. How can I get this same effect?
Carla McPhereson
A
Carla, that effect is a dramatic one indeed.
And while it first seems to be achievable
with a simple Cutout filter, it quickly
becomes apparent that the filter gives a result that’s
much too angular. And as you stated, getting things to
smooth out is a bit trickier, but a clever combination of
filters will get the job done.
Send your emails to us at advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk or post a message on our forum board at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum.
76
Advanced Photoshop
074-077_AVP_55_Helpdesk.indd 76
Zoom less, scale more
Q
Dear Helpdesk, this is one of those issues
that’s not really a huge problem but annoying
nonetheless. Sometimes when I’m scaling an
object I’m trying to match it to something in the
background. Often, this requires me to zoom in on the
canvas to get the object just right. But when I zoom in,
the scale handles are way off the screen and I can’t grab
them to adjust the transformation. So I end up zooming
out to make a minor adjustment, zooming in to check,
zooming out to adjust, over and over again. Is there a
better way to do this?
Elaine Murphy
A
Elaine, you’re going to like this one. It will save
you a lot of frustration, as well as wear and tear
on those zoom hotkeys! Once you’ve activated
the Transform tool, check the options bar across the top of
the screen. You’ll see the input boxes for Scale
percentages. You probably realise you could type in the
WARP: Selecting the None setting
will reset the warp transformation
1 Start with the classic cutout
Begin with the Cutout filter as expected (Filter>
Artist>Cutout) and keep the Levels set at around three
colours. The Edge settings will vary depending on the
image. Create two new layers above the image layer, fill
the top one with a dark colour and the next one with a
light colour, then hide them both for now.
DIAL SCALE: Use arrow keys in the Scale entry fields to
make fine adjustments
scale you want, but that’s rather cumbersome and can
interrupt your flow of concentration. Instead, click your
cursor into the box you want to change and then tap your
up or down arrow key. The scale adjustment reacts
accordingly and you don’t have to scroll out to grab those
handles! If you need to make a more drastic change in
scale, hold down the Shift key as you tap the arrows and
increase the adjustment by a factor of ten.
I can hear Elaine sigh in relief already. You’re more than
welcome Elaine!
Warp reset
Q
Is there any way to reset the warp
transformation on a Smart Object back to the
original shape? To sort of unapply the warp? I
tried putting all the control points back in the original
positions, but I can’t seem to get them right.
Marc Spoeth
2 Color Range tool
Use the Color Range tool (under the Select menu)
and sample the dark colour from the image. Use the Add
to Sample mode (it’s the eyedropper with the plus sign)
to select additional dark areas, then use this selection as
a mask on the dark colour layer. Repeat the process for
the light colour.
4/3/09 17:53:45
 CS4
spotlight
Masks panel
With CS4, Adobe introduces us to a new panel
(don’t call it a palette, that’s so CS3!) designed to
LONG ROAD TO NOWHERE: The make masking easier and more useful. The
power of the Perspective tool
Masks panel not only allows an easier method of
managing masks, but additionally adds some
new functionality that we never even knew we
FONTS: What’s the ‘to do’ about fonts? were missing!
For pixel masks (usually referred to as layer

A
Marc, if you’ve come this far, you’re already
most of the way to discovering the answer
yourself. There is no proper reset button, but
there’s the next best thing – a menu item! Select your
Smart Object and activate the Warp Transformation tool,
then check the options bar along the top of the screen.
The Warp drop-down menu is probably set to Custom.
Just change it to None and watch your Smart Object snap
back into its original shape.
Let’s talk about fonts
B) The process of creating unpopped popcorn.
C) The vertical space between lines of text.
D) A method of adjusting letter spacing based on
character pairs.
If you answered A or B, then you probably see fonts as
a method of making a necessary element – text – more
interesting. You will store thousands of fonts on your
system and enjoy the process of picking the right one to
fit your project. If this describes you, then using freely
available fonts is probably right up your alley. Try a site like
www.1001freefonts.com. Just promise me you won’t use
heavily stylised fonts for full paragraphs of text. Please save
masks), there’s a button for making some quick
adjustments such as Invert and Color Range, but
the most useful would be the Mask Edge button.
This activates the same Refine Edge dialog box
we’ve seen with the Quick Selection tool, but
applied to the current mask. It’s a great way for
adjusting the smoothness or the contrast of the
mask. The new Density slider reduces the
opacity of the mask as a whole without being
connected to the layer opacity. We couldn’t do
that before! The Feather slider does what you
would expect, essentially blurring and softening

Q So Helpdesk guy, I’ve got a fair assortment of

fonts, probably somewhere around a few
hundred. But I feel like I never have just the
right one for whatever I’m working on. Do you know of
any great resources for fonts?
Jeb Lakinsey
it for the titles, okay?
If you answered C, then you probably have some basic
knowledge of how fonts work, and you understand the
rules of using them in design (although you might want
to brush up on your terms). I would recommend some
further research, such as the book Thinking with Type from
Ellen Lupton or following a typography blog such as
the edge. But it does it nondestructively, which
means you can regain the original sharp edge by
lowering the slider!
The oft-overlooked vector mask adjustments
also include nondestructive Density and Feather
sliders. Yes, that right, a Feather slider on a
vector mask. This welcome addition silences the

A
Okay Jeb, fonts can be a touchy subject. Some
folks view them as simply ornamental, while
others view them as the lifeblood of their
profession. Before we go on, let’s try a little litmus test to
see where you sit on that scale.
Kerning is:
http://ilovetypography.com/. After perusing those, you
will solidly seat yourself into either the first or last groups
listed here.
Finally, if you answered D, then you might be the type
of person who notices the improper usage of
Copperplate on billboards. Or you find the mention of
criticism that vector masks create an edge that is
too sharp and abrupt. Now you can feather that
edge, and still move the vector points around as
needed. Huzzah!
MASKS PANEL: CS4’s

Qonvuertiincgka latyeirp
A) A city in Georgia. Comic Sans to be physically painful. You probably even new Masks panel brings a
new ease of use to masks
bleed Helvetica, don’t you? To you, fonts aren’t the details
to a
C of a design – they are the design! If this describes you,
s you
ject allow
Smart Ob ew a rp then you don’t need me to tell you that www.fonts.com
to keep th ditable is one of the most respected online resources for fonts.
n sform ation e
tra at Some of the fonts available are pricey, but well-designed
readjust it
and then e. fonts don’t come cheap! There’s even a brilliant Search by
any tim
Sight feature that allows you to find a particular font just

3
by answering a series of questions.
Smooth things out REFINED EDGES: Use
Click on the mask for
the dark colour layer and
“If you answered D, the refine edge feature on
the mask

then go to Filter>Sketch> then you find the

Stamp. Adjust the
Smoothness slider until the
mention of Comic
stencil shapes lose the hard Sans to be physically
painful. You probably
ragged edges. Do the same
for the mask on the light
colour layer, and add a solid
white layer beneath to finish
even bleed Helvetica,
off the effect. don’t you?”
FEATHER: That’s right,
you can now feather a
vector mask. And it’s
nondestructive, too!
Remember to specify whether you’re using a PC or Mac and the version of Photoshop you have.

77
Advanced Photoshop

074-077_AVP_55_Helpdesk.indd 77 4/3/09 17:53:59

 Readers’ Gallery
We showcase the very best of your artwork
Our Readers’ Gallery is your chance to see your work printed in Advanced Photoshop magazine. Each month we
showcase the best of the entries that are submitted to us, offering a variety of impressive styles, skills and approaches.
Here, you can find out more about each featured artist and how they create their artwork, as well as their website
details so you can find out more about them or see more of their artwork.
Anyone can submit images to Advanced Photoshop to be featured on these pages, so what are you waiting for?
Get your images in to us today and win a fantastic prize.

What you can win…

TH
Each month, one of the featured artists is selected

9
as Best in Show. This artist will win a fantastic
R
WO
9
prize, courtesy of OHFolio.com. The lucky winner

£
will receive a year’s subscription to the website
service, a fully designed Flash website template,
and a free domain name.

• A unique Flash website template

and CMS hosting service
• Create and edit your own website
content, using the easy-to-
understand tools
• Templates designed by artists
• Host up to 2,000 images

Submit your images

To be considered for inclusion in the Readers’ Gallery
pages, please send an email with a selection of
low-resolution images to advancedpshop@imagine-
publishing.co.uk. Your email should include the titles and
captions for the images provided, as well as a 150-word
bio about yourself. We will get back to you for higher-
resolution images if you are chosen to appear on these
pages. Please ensure that images are available at 300dpi,
uncompressed TIFFs or PSDs, and 15 x 15cm minimum
if requested. You can also send your images on a CD
with the information required to Advanced Photoshop,
Imagine Publishing, Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill,
Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ, United Kingdom.
Examples of past websites by ohfolio:
Terms and conditions
By submitting images to Advanced Photoshop’s Readers’ Gallery,
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.

78
Advanced Photoshop

078-082_AVP_55_ReadersGallery.in78 78 5/3/09 16:34:02

 Brittany Bell
WEB: www.brittbell.blogspot.com AD: “I use Photoshop for my post-production
work, especially in animations”
LOCATION: Wellington, New Zealand

“I first started drawing when I was 14 years old and living in Japan,
learning anime illustration. I studied architecture in New Zealand and
have worked through university as a part-time renderer and model
maker. However, I would consider myself a self-taught digital renderer. I
am currently working in the film industry.
“In my personal projects I generally create a mechanical skeleton,
melt organic skin over the structure and make cuts to reveal the interior
workings. Adding artificial light in Photoshop cuts the rendering time in
half, which is important when you are a student!
”Any exterior surroundings (eg, trees, landscape, sky) are painted on
with a variety of custom brushes and layers of opacity. Photoshop has
really enabled me to add a lot of personal touches to my work and to use
a lot of my illustration skills.”

BEST
IN SHOW
SUPERFINAL: “I like to crea
dreamy atmosphere, rath te a
er than
something super-real”

AE: “I render
daylight scenes
and then add
all artificial light
p’s
with Photosho
alpha channels
s”
and layer mask

078-082_AVP_55_ReadersGallery.in79 79 5/3/09 16:35:34

 Readers’ Gallery
Richard Roberts
WEB: www.theotherstream.com

“I am 18 years old and I am currently living in Milwaukee, WI,

United States, but I was born in the United Kingdom. Art is
my passion and I have been actively doing it for about four or
five years now. I recently opened my own freelance website
named theotherstream, which is a portfolio of my work. At the
moment I am doing some freelance graphics work, and also
have been working for the depthCORE art collective creating
some new fresh works.
“I spend my time improving my artistic skills using artistic
media, such as paint and, of course, graphic art technology.
My tools of trade include the Adobe Creative Suite,
particularly Adobe Photoshop.”

OM EGA CODE: “This piece is

pitch I did for a band call a
ed Omega
Code. I used a female stoc
k image and
did some digital painting
on her arms
to give her a better feel for
the piece.
The shapes were created
with the Pen
tool with different shades
of colours
using the Gradient tool”

80
Advanced Photoshop

078-082_AVP_55_ReadersGallery.in80 80 5/3/09 16:37:11

 tried to use a
DARKNESS: “I really make the
to
limited palette I
t, which I think
image stand ou is one of my
hie ve d as it
have ac ds
ations. I had loa
most popular cre some of my
en cre at ing
of fun wh for
-styled brushes
own messy ink lieve that if you
tu re, an d be
this pic , it
creating a piece
have fun when final design”
sh ow s in th e
really

A NEW LIGHT: “I created this in

my spare time; really, I was just
trying out something new, as this
type of style seems very popular at
the moment. I believe when
creating an image such as this, it’s
important to use a strong base
photo. I have to thank Emel
Bayram for letting me use her
photos in a number of my designs”

Michael Smith
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/MSDesign

“My love for art and design started back in school when my friend Mike
and I would sit around looking at comics and graphic novels thinking,
‘why don’t we make our own?’ Of course, our comic never took off. Doing
this, however, did manage to get us a comic strip at the back of the
school paper, and for the first time I got to see some of my work printed;
from that day on, I was hooked.
“I graduated from Swansea Metropolitan University last year, getting
a 2.1 in BA (Hons) Illustration. Since leaving, I have done a few bits of
freelance work, such as logo designs, but haven’t had the chance to do
any real design work as I’ve been moving a lot, so most of my designs
are done in my spare time just for fun.”

81
Advanced Photoshop

078-082_AVP_55_ReadersGallery.in81 81 5/3/09 16:37:43

 Readers’ Gallery

A LULLABY TO ROMANCE:
This image shows off Nina’s unique
style and when asked about what
the image is showing, she explains:
“A heart that fell asleep”

HOUSE OF MOTH
ER NATURE: “The T: “Today I am
glamorous Mother
Nature. She gives, ENCHANTMEN
and somewhat
ter
away, she rides a wo she takes a great suppor art,”
unded pear and ow general digital
ns a pair of an addict to
of cute pink shoes! ins Ni na ab out why her
” expla p
ated in Photosho
images are cre

Nina Yankovich
WEB: www.myspace.com/nina_y

“I am a freelance graphic designer based in Kerry/Dublin, Ireland. I

have always been an artistic person; even as a child, I would often
sketch all these little drawings at the back of my schoolbooks. Over
the years, as my passion for art grew, so did the desire to somehow
better my methods of work. That was when I discovered Photoshop. It
was a very exciting transition for me. Today, I am a great supporter and
somewhat of an addict to general digital art.
“I believe originality is not dead and any dreams can very much come
alive… in Photoshop, at least. My work mainly belongs to the category of
photomanipulation, while I love surrealism, witty, odd, conceptual and
sometimes macabre styles of work. Over these last three years, it was
just such a pleasure to discover, to learn and to create digital imagery,
often with the help of some wonderful people I’ve met along the way.”

82
Advanced Photoshop

078-082_AVP_55_ReadersGallery.in82 82 5/3/09 16:38:04

 IN IT TO WI
Feature

THE HOUSE OF SMURFS: This image previously won

the Advanced Photoshop online monthly challenge, a
popular contest involving photomanipulation
© DESMOND LIANG

84
Advanced Photoshop

084-088_AVP_55_AwardsFeature.ind84 84 5/3/09 11:03:49

WIN IT
In it to win it
Win and be adored; lose and it
was the taking part that
counted… right? Wrong.
Winning digital art competitions
can not only be a chance to win a
hamper full of neat prizes and
the chance to brag in front of
your peers, but it is the chance to
get your all-important foot in
that all-important door

C
ompetition is healthy and entering into the
spirit of things can cause you to affect the
evolution of the design world as a whole,
as well as reap the awards and fame that success
can bring. In this feature we will talk to the industry
experts, competition organisers, judges and winners
to unlock the secret of what it takes to enter a
competition and come out on top.
So why enter in the first place? Well, aside from the
prospect of scooping tantalising prize funds and a
bounty of merchandise (often cash prizes or essential
kit), artists can use their accolades to impress clients
and peers, inviting curiosity when added to your CV
and website. The winning design, plus perhaps the
‘not quite right’ countless drafts, can be added to your
portfolio, showing clients your manner of developing
your artwork. Altruistically, your work may influence
and inspire contemporaries as well as future
generations, not to mention perhaps alter the axis of
what’s in design vogue.
Exposing your talent can herald adulation from
peers and industry experts, harvesting contacts and
connections with the movers and the shakers, and
your name may even hit the headlines, which can
only raise your profile higher.
With stars now glistening in your eyes, it’s likely
that you feel motivated to enter. But first consider the
downside. The aforementioned ‘cloud nine’ fantasy is
achievable, but the consequences of not winning are
altogether less inviting: a sense of rejection, bruised
ego, loss of motivation, soul-destroying feelings and
the list goes on. It doesn’t have to be that way. Be
proactive and use your loss to your advantage; post
your work on forums and get feedback. Find out
where you are going wrong, as the work you
complete can also help engorge your portfolio, and
never stop submitting. What doesn’t break you will
make you stronger.

“Exposing your talent can herald adulation

from peers and industry experts, harvesting
contacts and connections”
There is an extensive rainbow of fixtures to
investigate, with the majority open to a global
audience. The first port of call is to head online and
begin by running a few internet searches. Using
keywords such as ‘competition’, ‘digital art’ and
‘Photoshop’ will bring up thousands of hits. Next, look
for online digital art-focused sites and communities,
such as Photoshop Daily, Computerlove, Abuzeedo,
Worth1000 and deviantART. Travel through the
forums on these portals to find word of what
competitions are out there – and many of these sites
will even run their own challenges.
CGSociety is one such website and regularly holds
CG Challenges and NVArt competitions (with NVIDIA).
The CG Challenges are said to be one of the largest
online art contests of their kind, with attractive
amounts of sponsorship and publicity for each.
Working within guidelines and software limitations,
artists are challenged to create outstanding artworks
based upon set themes while showing their work-in-
progress images to the community. There are major
prizes to entice creatives, with its most recent
‘Steampunk’ comp offering the biggest prize pool to
date: $220,000.
Industry expert Lorne Lanning, co-founder and
creative director of Oddworld Inhabitants (www.
oddworld.com), has judged dozens of events, such as
Exposé, Into the Pixel and CGSociety’s NVArt, and
believes they are essential as a means of driving the
standard of digital creative disciplines higher, as

QUICK TIPS:
• READ AND REPEAT: The
rules and regulations differ immensely
from comp to comp, so read them
carefully and even repeat to be sure.
• CATEGORY SELECTION: Check • KEEP IT BRIEF: Never forget the
to see if you are able to submit more than one brief. Remind yourself of it at regular intervals
entry or even into various categories, but if you and keep a checklist of the things you need
can only opt for one then choose wisely. and want to achieve within the project.

85
Advanced Photoshop

084-088_AVP_55_AwardsFeature.ind85 85 5/3/09 11:04:22

 Feature
D&AD
(RIGHT): Director Jason Zada and his team
were pleased to receive the 2008 D&AD
award for best Interactive Viral
COURTESY OF D&AD
(BELOW): Noah Harris and his
creative team scooped the gong
for best TV & Cinema Graphics in the
TV Brand Identities round of the
2008 D&ADs
COURTESY OF D&AD
well as being a method of pinpointing and
elevating exciting raw talent: “I believe in doing
whatever I can to help bring exposure to the world’s
finest digital art and to the individual artists. It’s
important for artists to get credit and exposure for
their work, and the more remote their locale, then the
more important the exposure is. We’re seeing a
continually widening spectrum of artists from a wider
diversity of cultures, as well as more sophisticated and
unusual approaches to the tools they use.”
Winning words of wisdom
Andrew Barton is a recent winner of an NVArt
competition (www.andrewdesigns.com), and he
claims the reason he entered was not for the pool of
exciting prizes but simply the honour of knowing his
images would be seen by his creative heroes: “I
entered the competition because the panel of judges
was of such high calibre. I just loved the idea of Syd
Mead looking at one of my images.” In a bid to wow
the experts, Barton created Megaville 2108, an image
of a futuristic civilisation: “My advice is to read the
“The panel of judges
was of such high
calibre. I loved the
idea of Syd Mead
looking at my images”
– Andrew Barton, NVArt winner
• MONEY, MONEY, MONEY: Some
competitions demand an entrance fee, so check before
you put the work in that you can afford to enter,
especially if you’re operating on a shoestring.
86
Advanced Photoshop
084-088_AVP_55_AwardsFeature.ind86 86
Webby Award winner
Series of screenshots taken from the winner’s
portfolio of the recent Webby Awards, by Stuart
Jackson (www.checklandkindleysides.com).
“We are on the mailing lists of the established
competitions, which typically give a gentle
reminder when submission deadlines are
approaching,” he explains. “Be original! The
internet is full of blogs and sites championing
great design, and it’s easy to be distracted by some
of the truly inspirational work around. However,
your submission should be a true reflection of you
and your skills, not what is considered to be
currently in vogue.”
© STUART JACKSON
brief and reread it. Read it again, go to sleep, wake up
and reread the brief. Your initial idea may not be the
best one; ideas evolve, so don’t fixate on just one.”
As well as creative communities, look to
corporations such as software brands, and what
better place to start than the mother ship? Adobe’s
hallmark competition Adobe Design Achievement
Awards have been running for nine years and
originally started with just six categories, explains Liz
Wilkins, the brand’s education marketing manager for
the UK: “Today, the competition has expanded to
encompass all areas of the creative world, from
interactive media to video and motion design. The
competition is now open to students in 40 countries
around the world, and is done in partnership with the
International Council of Graphic Design Associates.”
This year has seen an increase of seven new countries
added to the accepted list, which magnifies the
expected scope of rivalry for the coveted awards,
forcing creatives to up their game. “We are looking for
originality, effectiveness in meeting the specified
communication objectives and skill in using Adobe
products,” Wilkins continues. “Follow the guide
available online, and please make sure you’re
submitting the right files for the right categories as
failure to do so means we can’t progress your entry.”
One of the short-term gratifications and perhaps
most obvious attraction for entering competitions are
the prizes. The ADAA, for example, jet-sets finalists to
one of the design capitals of the world to take part in
a conference, followed by an awards dinner. Last
year’s finalists were also treated to studio tours of
some of New York’s finest digital art companies, and
• FORUM FEEDBACK: There is no greater feedback
than that of your peers, so try posting work-in-progress on
forums to get feedback from your contemporaries. Be careful
not to give too much away, though.
5/3/09 11:04:47

category winners received $3,000 and a selection of
Adobe products. This year, finalists will be flown to
Beijing for the Icograda World Design Congress.
Not all competitions work on a ‘call for entries’
basis, however, preferring the ‘don’t call us, we’ll call
you’ approach. The Brit Insurance Design of the Year
competition is one such organisation, as the curator
of the competition’s exhibition, Nina Due, informs us:
“This fixture rewards designers in a wide range of
specialist areas rather than one overall prize, looking
at seven categories on an international scale. They are
selected by a distinguished group of design
professionals as opposed to the nominees entering
themselves.” With a short list of around 100 creatives,
the curator is clear about what judges are looking for:
“Work that challenges issues in the current design
debate; work that investigates production processes
and how they can be improved though application or
use of material; or work that uses design as a tool as
opposed to a tangible product to instigate debate
“We are looking for originality and
effectiveness in meeting the communication
objectives” – Liz Wilkins, Adobe’s education marketing manager
The National Association of Photoshop
Professionals (NAPP) publishes the magazine
Photoshop User, which is dispersed to its subscription
base and registered online audience. Four years
ago, NAPP started a worldwide contest, The
Photoshop User Awards, which seeks the best work
from around the world.
Bright yellow pencils have become synonymous
with one of the world’s most prestigious design
fixtures, the D&AD awards, commonly regarded as
one of the most prestigious gongs to scoop in the
creatively focused community. Alan Dye has become
a regular in the jury line-up and is in no doubt why:
In it to win it
“Obviously winning an award, especially something
as hard as a D&AD Yellow Pencil, is a great
achievement, as it generates instant recognition
among your peers and impresses your clients. You’ll
probably get yourself a pay rise also,” he explodes
with enthusiasm. “To succeed, you’ll need originality,
well-crafted great ideas that are fit for the purpose
and that all-important wow factor!”
Start small
Narrow the field and maximise your chances by
opting for lesser-known and fewer-populated
competitions, or diversify into sub genres of

TheJudge’s
within the design community or society at large.”
Other routes to investigate include magazines and Dr Mark Snoswell
trade journals, not forgetting their mirrored online Dr Mark Snoswell is the president of CGSociety and publisher

counterparts. Visit Advanced Photoshop’s daily news
blog at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk for up-to-
the-minute alerts, because if there’s a competition
happening, we’ll be one of the first to report it.
Creatively focused magazines, such as ours, are
likely to hold one-off or regular Photoshop-inspired
projects and competitions, so be on the lookout or
join newsletter or mailing lists to keep in the know.
view
Ballistic Media. He has been a judge for the NVArt challenges and
the CG Challenges for seven years. You can find out more about
these competitions at http://events.cgsociety.org/. Here, he gives
us the judge’s-eye view on what it takes to win.
Has the competition and the What type of images tend to
standard evolved? stand out from the crowd?
Over the years the standard has steadily grown. A High-impact images that are bold in colour, contrast,
few years ago I started providing much more composition and subject.
guidance to entrants, including the provision of
sample images, stories and technical information. I What is the greatest benefit of
have also encouraged entrants to write short winning a competition?
descriptions of works. All of this has contributed to The competitions we run give entrants a chance for
a steep rise in the quality of work entered. global recognition – among their peers, viewers and
potential employers. Our competitions also offer the
What are you looking for in a largest prize pools in the world in this genre.
short list contender?
Works should be original and emotionally Are there any negative
engaging. They should be free of technical errors. consequences of entering?
Entries should also have commercial potential – The only possible downside to entering is that
they should be instantly recognisable and entrants love their work and put a lot of time into it –
engaging. They should also be broadly acceptable and as a result they may get offered jobs and have to
and not appear to be too horrific, sexual or in any make hard decisions as a consequence – but you can’t
other way offensive to our global community. really call that a negative unless you don’t like work.

NV artwork
The CGSociety regularly holds individual challenges
with huge cash prizes, and also runs competitions in
association with NVIDIA known as NVArt
What are you looking for in
terms of winning quality?
Outstanding execution of artistic content
and technical execution. Above all is the
emotional storytelling component of the image.
This element, to a successful artist, works in
any medium.
What is the best piece of advice
you can give our readers when it
comes to entering competitions
like this?
Have a go! Do not be afraid or too proud to join
in and enter. It costs nothing and the rewards can
be great.

• RESEARCH AND PREPARE: To have the • SUBMISSION MISSION: Read the rules to • ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Pay attention
upper hand, research the competition like no one’s discover how entries are accepted. If you need to post a to detail within your artwork. Execute your designs well,
business. Nose into who won last year, as the organisers print, what dimensions and on what material? If you and if the competition requires for you to write an
will want to raise the bar this time. need to send a CD, what resolution and format? accompanying essay, have someone reliable proofread it.

87
Advanced Photoshop

084-088_AVP_55_AwardsFeature.ind87 87 5/3/09 11:05:00

 Feature

art and design Top ten

Photoshop artistry or where other mediums are
recognised. The Webby Awards, for example, are

competitions
considered the longest-running website design
awards with 13 years of service. “Winning a Webby
can really help lesser-known sites break out from the
pack and find new global audiences,” says executive
director David-Michel Davies. “It’s a way to join the Brit Insurance Adobe Design
ranks of the web’s best and brightest, making you –
Designs of Achievement Awards
and your work – an industry leader, validating the
the Year November to June
Entries by invitation Who’s eligible?
work of you and your team.” and nomination Adults (18+) who are full-time
Regardless of what the competition is or where you only. This happens in matriculated students in an
find it, there are a few simple steps you can take to the autumn accredited institution of
Who’s eligible? higher education. To see
ensure you give yourself the best chance possible, as which residents of which
Industry experts nominate designs to be
Lorne Lanning reveals: “First, study the rules and considered for the short list countries are eligible, visit
theme of the competition. Think before you start Competition website: the website
putting your stylus to the screen, explore the full www.designsoftheyear.com Competition website:
www.adobe.com/education/adaa
design potential and push the boundaries to aim for
innovations that will help to cut through and make
your work stand out.
50th Annual Communication
“Take it seriously as an exercise to demonstrate
Arts Photography Competition NVArt and CG
your all. If you don’t make the short list, don’t let that March deadline Challenges
keep you from submitting in the future. If an artist is Who’s eligible? December – March
striving for excellence and innovation, then it’s only a Any photograph first Who’s eligible?
printed or produced Anyone over the age of
matter of time before their work stands out.
between certain dates in 18 may enter
Ultimately, that’s the best place an artist can wind up March each year Competition website:
– with ‘undeniable credibility’ toward their work, as Competition website: http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/
acknowledged by their peers and community… and www.commarts.com/
the industry will inevitably follow.” competitions/
photography
Cut and Paste
Global
HELEN STOREY Championship
WITH TONY RYAN, HOW Promotion Until 20 June
WONDERLAND Design Awards Who’s eligible?
© NICK KNIGHT Deadline for entries is Anyone can enter but you have to be available for
usually in March the Test Rounds
Who’s eligible? Competition website:
There are a handful of www.cutandpaste.com/events/global_
restrictions so visit the website’s rules and championship
regulations web page to check who can enter
Competition website:
www.howdesign.com/promotiondesignawards
D&AD Awards
October to February
Who’s eligible?
55DSL Anyone who wants to
October to December enter may do so
Who’s eligible? Competition website:
Mostly everyone but http://awards09.
some restrictions apply. dandad.org/
See http://
logoremix.55dsl.com/about/details/ for more
Competition website:
http://logoremix.55dsl.com/ Photoshop User Awards (NAPP)
1 November to 31 December
Who’s eligible?
Open to all Adobe Photoshop users, at any skill
The Webby level. However, employees, instructors and staff of
Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Awards the National Association of Photoshop
Call for entries via email, Professionals (NAPP) and their families are not
Winners of the British Insurance Design Awards. These visit http://webbyawards. eligible to enter
individuals were nominated and judged by experts in com/entries/ for details Competition website:
the design industry Who’s eligible? www.photoshopuserawards.com
Artists who have a project that has been in
existence during the judging year
Competition website:
• MAKE THE DEADLINE: It goes without
saying to be aware of deadlines, but remember deadlines www.webbyawards.com
can differ depending on the country you are from or the
format you intend to use (ie postal versus electronic).

BACKGROUND IMAGE: NENDO, CABBAGE CHAIR FOR THE XXI CT MAN EXHIBITION CURATED BY ISSY MIYAKE

88
Advanced Photoshop

084-088_AVP_55_AwardsFeature.ind88 88 5/3/09 11:05:47

resources
Apple iLife ‘09
It’s the greener grass for fence-sitting PC users and comes free with every
new Mac, but will Apple’s latest creative suite really change your iLife?
IMOVIE: A massive upgrade to iMovie puts the user
back in control of editing
T he year-long wait by the Mac faithful for
Apple’s flagship iLife software suite has
ended. Those familiar with the product will know
that with each new iteration comes updates to
five creative applications all prefixed with a lower-
case ‘i’. iPhoto for editing and sorting images,
iMovie for creating films from camera and
camcorder footage, iDVD for burning movies to
disc, iWeb for web design and GarageBand for
music and podcasts.
Since the suite’s launch in 2003, every year has
seen more impressive features added and, on
some occasions, as with 2008’s iWeb, entirely new
applications made available. This year, although
lacking a new piece of software, the annual
overhaul of iLife is no different, with much-touted
IPHOTO: Faces and Places allow the user to organise
images by location or person
90
Advanced Photoshop
090-091_AVP_55_AppleiLife.indd 90
upgrades to the major players, namely iMovie
and iPhoto, as well as behind the scenes
tinkering and minor adjustments to the
remaining programs.
iPhoto
The unanimous favourite in the iLife bundle is,
without a doubt, iPhoto. A simple yet devilishly
efficient tool for importing, editing and
categorising digital images, the application also
provides facilities to create slideshows as well as
print professional-quality photo books. This year,
with the inclusion of GPS-based geotagging
(global positioning data included within image
files), new travel book themes have been added
to help users chart their trips through photos
and maps. The feature behind the creation of
these books is called Places, which reads
geotagging data in images, allowing users to
browse photos by location and even look at
them on a Google Map interface. Similarly, Faces
makes the same true of human features,
recognising people in your pictures and sorting
them into their own albums.
“Catering for many formats… iPhoto
provides a superb way to organise your
Photoshop output as well as offering
some truly elegant printing options”
These three updates are not only important to
the consumers but for the Photoshop user, too.
Catering for many formats including PSD and
PDF files, iPhoto provides a superb way to
organise your Photoshop output as well as
offering some truly elegant printing options. If
you’re of a more digital publishing persuasion,
there are new Facebook and Flickr export
features included, too. As much as it might
sound sacrilegious in front of the Adobe church,
iPhoto doesn’t do a bad job of touching up
pictures either, but we don’t expect to convince
you to trade in your CS just yet.
iMovie
The most improved application of the suite,
more by default than pioneering advancements,
is iMovie. iMovie ’08 was much maligned after a
radical shift away from the previous iMovie HD
to a more beginner-friendly approach. Many of
the missing features bemoaned by fans last year
have, thankfully, been reinstated. Themes and
maps are the big coup, with automatic
transitions and slick, animated globes
implemented in a matter of clicks. Editing power
is kicked up a notch as well, with a precision
editor and a video stabilisation feature that can
turn previously unusable footage into smooth
clips. Once again, Photoshop users will benefit
from the ability to import images into the
application in order to create presentations, slide
shows and showreels from their work.
iDVD and GarageBand
While iDVD still remains a very useful tool for
sharing photos, movies and music on disc, Apple
didn’t see fit to add any more weapons to its
arsenal. Some believe the application is going
the way of the physical disc in the era of flash
drives and YouTube, but while iDVD remains
within the iLife suite, it still serves an important
purpose. If you play an instrument, simply plug
in to GarageBand and get recording with the
simple controls and effects on show. Those with
no musical experience may benefit from the
new teaching element in GarageBand, which
4/3/09 12:49:49

GARAGEBAND: Learn from the pros with
GarageBand’s new Artist Lessons feature
provides interactive lessons in guitar and piano
with additional lessons available for download
within the application. Artist Lessons are also a
new feature, and provide tuition from stars like
Sting, Norah Jones and Fall Out Boy on both
piano and guitar.
iWeb
Providing all the tools to create an amazing
website without any previous experience, the
pages you design in iWeb can be as simple or as
complex as you want them to be. From
podcasting to publishing image galleries, iWeb
has it all and its new features, although few, only
serve to enhance this process. Most notable of
the upgraded features are the widgets, small
icons that can be dragged to the page to add
anything from a YouTube video to a Google Map.
Widgets now cater for RSS feed input,
countdown timers and pictures from the Mac’s
built-in camera. With these features at your
090-091_AVP_55_AppleiLife.indd 91
resources
Faces in
iPhoto ‘09
Use face recognition to sort images by person
Step 1: Image selection
Start by selecting an image of a person in
iPhoto and click the Name button to
invoke the Faces interface. Type names
into the boxes surrounding the faces in
your photo.
IWEB: Forget the
need to understand
HTML and other
complex web design
skills with iWeb ‘09
Step 2: The name game
Now hit the arrow button at the bottom
right of the interface to move to the next
image where iPhoto will scan the image
and locate faces it thinks it recognises.
Click either the tick or cross button
depending on whether iPhoto’s guess was
correct or not.
disposal, creating a homepage, portfolio or blog
is a simple matter of filling in text boxes and
dropping in the media you require.
iLife ’09 is a solid upgrade and will no doubt
continue its job as a lure for those still using
Windows. The new features are at best Step 3: Getting the picture
impressive and at worst expected housekeeping When you have selected a few instances
on the part of Apple. For the Photoshop user, of a person’s face, iPhoto will have
iLife ’09 can’t be called a complementary enough information to regularly
product but it can serve a useful purpose for recognise them in your pictures. Hit the
enhancing and promoting your work, be it in a Done button to continue.
social or professional capacity. Ultimately, if any
of the features listed above tickle your interest,
you wont be disappointed by iLife ’09 as a new
user. If, on the other hand, you’re deciding
whether or not to upgrade, it may feel more like
a natural progression than a necessity. 5
Manufacturer: Apple Inc
Web: www.apple.com
Price: £69/$79 Step 4: Place the face
Spec: Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.6 or By clicking the Faces button at the top left
later versions of the iPhoto interface, you can view
PowerPC G4 867MHz processor albums of all the people iPhoto has
or faster (Intel recommended) recognised and add more if you wish.
512MB RAM (1GB recommended)
DVD drive
SUMMARY: Some really nice options for
upgraders who have the iLife ’08 suite,
especially in iPhoto if you use this for
organising your photos. It's worth the money
for the extra functionality.
8/10
91
Advanced Photoshop
4/3/09 12:50:06
resources
Nikon COOLPIX P6000
A compact camera that’s big on creativity, the P6000 packs plenty of muscle.
But how does it perform?
Manufacturer: Nikon
Web: www.nikon.com
Price: £430/$500
About: 13.5MP, 1/17-inch CCD sensor
Wide-angle 4x zoom VR lens
Built-in GPS
RAW file format shooting option
Manual exposure modes
F or photographers who demand high-
quality images but don’t want the hassle
of lugging around kilos of heavy camera gear,
the Nikon COOLPIX P6000 may prove to be
the perfect solution.
At first glance, it’s clear that this camera is
different from a standard compact camera. It’s
bigger, chunkier and sports a reassuringly solid
matte black aluminium body. Clearly aimed at
serious photographers, the P6000 looks and
feels like it’s built to withstand just about
anything, which is just as well given the price.
The P6000 packs some impressive
technology into its rugged, neatly sculpted
body, including a high-resolution 13.5MP CCD
sensor and a built-in GPS receiver, which
automatically adds GPS data to your EXIF data –
great for avid geotaggers. This is a fantastic
addition to the camera, automatically finding a
lock within a couple of minutes (in open areas)
and maintaining it well on the move. It’s
designed for use with the free 2GB
my Picturetown account you get with the
camera, but it’s also compatible with Google’s
Picasa software – both integrate with Google
Earth – although it is a real drain on the battery.
SHOOTING OPTIONS: The P6000 offers a 2.7-inch
LCD with a wide viewing angle, while there’s an
optical viewfinder for those times when
it’s too bright
92
Advanced Photoshop
092_AVP_55_NikonReview.indd 92
SOLID BUILD: The
P6000’s rugged
aluminium casing
lends a professional,
robust feel to the
camera’s design
On the outside, the camera’s silhouette hints
at Nikon’s much-loved DSLR design, with a
neatly sculpted rubberised grip providing a
firm purchase and an intuitive user interface
that makes shooting with this camera a breeze.
The camera offers a bright 2.7-inch LCD with a
wide viewing angle, and on the rare occasions
that it’s too bright outside to view it properly,
there’s a somewhat small but nonetheless
usable optical viewfinder, too.
The battery lasts up to a fairly respectable
260 shots per charge, however, this drops
dramatically with GPS and flash use. Invest in a OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES: A hotshoe on top of the
couple of spares if you’re likely to use these camera and optional wide-angle converter for the lens
add further creative options for users. You can also buy
features heavily for lengthy excursions. an infrared remote control for hands-free shooting
The P6000’s menu system is very clear and
easy to navigate, with plenty of customisable under incandescent lighting. The camera also
settings to give you complete creative control offers a wide ISO sensitivity range (64-6400).
over your images. You can also save custom Noise creeps in around ISO 400, but images
setting combinations in the U1 and U2 slots on remain usable up to around ISO 1600 at a push
the Mode dial – another feature that’ll benefit – we’d recommend leaving the higher settings
experienced photographers in particular. alone. The ability to shoot RAW files is a real
The zoom is very responsive, however, while bonus, and one that will be appreciated by
this means it’s quick to reach full extension, it Photoshoppers with a penchant for detailed
can be tough to stop it at a precise point image editing.
somewhere in-between, which can make it
tricky to frame shots accurately on the fly. Built-
in Vibration Reduction adds to the cost of the SUMMARY: A feature-packed compact
camera, but it does help keep your shots sharp. camera that’s perfect for photographers who
On the whole, image quality is very good want to travel light and still go home with
indeed. Colours are vivid, metering is generally detailed, high-quality images. It’s pricey and
accurate, chromatic aberration is well not without its niggles, but the P6000 is a
8/10
controlled and sharpness is good, although solid camera nonetheless.
some images took a little extra sharpening in
Photoshop and we’d steer clear of Auto WB
4/3/09 12:51:06
 resources
Epson Perfection V30 scanner
The affordable home scanning solution that promises
high-quality results

CHOICE OF SCANNING MODES

(RIGHT): You’re offered a range of
scanning modes, which allow varying
degrees of control over output according
to how much scanning experience you
have. You are catered for whether
you’re a beginner or a pro

QUICK START: Using the Quick

Install option, you simply need to
pop the CD in your PC and kick back for
five minutes while it installs all of the
software you’ve selected. You’ll be invited to
register the V30 online and you’re ready to go!

Manufacturer: Epson
Web: www.epson.com
Price: £68.51/$80
source, like a sunlit window or bright sky. We
Spec: 4,800 x 9,600dpi matrix CCD
tested this feature thoroughly and found it
Four scan buttons, including
produced generally good results. books or other bulkier items, and something that
scan to PDF and email
The V30 boasts an optical resolution of 4,800 x all scanners should offer, in our opinion.
Portrait or landscape opening lid
9,600dpi, which is plenty for all your home The V30 also includes four scan buttons for
ReadyScan LED Technology
scanning and creative projects. It’s also supplied easy operation. This cluster of large silver buttons
Epson Easy Photo Fix software
with OCR software, which allows you to scan and appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the
for dust removal as well as
edit text on your computer as well. We tried the top of the scanner and allows you to power the
colour correction
scanner with a range of print media, text and unit on and off, copy, scan to an email or scan to
photographs, as well as ‘living’ subjects like PDF – all at the touch of a button. Adding to the

E pson has long been revered for its high-

quality, affordable scanners, and the
new Perfection V30 is yet another winner.
Quick and easy to install, the V30 comes with
a single CD-ROM that packs all of the bundled
software you need to make the most of the
scanner’s advanced features. This slimline
scanner starts up instantly and features Epson’s
energy-efficient ReadyScan LED technology,
meaning it uses less power in operation than
conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamps.
Able to scan images up to A4 size, it’s perfect
for scanning old photos and comes with Epson’s
bundled Easy Photo Fix software to help you
restore damaged or faded photographs back to
their former glory. Photos that have faded over
the years can have their colour injected back into
them, and the software can even correct issues
flowers (scanography), and were impressed with
the quality of the images that the V30 produced,
all of which were finely detailed, faithfully
coloured and sharp, with a good dynamic range.
One particularly handy feature of the V30 is
the lid, which can be opened wide for two-way
scanning (both portrait and landscape
orientation) – great if you’re working with thick
COLOUR RESTORATION: Images that have faded
over time can be brought back to life, simply by ticking
V30’s user-friendliness are the four different
scanning modes that are on offer, which can be
set according to your level of experience. These
include Full Automatic, Office, Home and
Professional modes, so whether you’re a beginner
or an expert, you’re covered.
The V30’s simple design, small footprint and
ease of use, coupled with great image quality
and a responsive performance, all add up to a
great user experience. It’s a superb little scanner
that serves as a great introduction to high-quality
ADVANCED scanning at a very reasonable price point.
FUNCTIONALITY:
In Professional
Mode, you can SUMMARY: The Epson Perfection V30 is a
adjust just about
fast, quiet and easy-to-use scanner, which
everything, from
your image’s will suit any budding artist who enjoys
exposure using the creating art from scans or wants to digitise
Histogram

9/10
the Color Restoration box when scanning. You can also Adjustment palette, their film photo collection.
like backlighting, which arises when choose to add Unsharp Mask, Descreening and to Tone Correction,
photographing your subject in front of a light Backlight Correction among others

93
Advanced Photoshop

093_AVP_55_EpsonReview.indd 93 4/3/09 12:52:48

resources

Goblinoids: How to draw

and paint goblins, orcs and
other dark creatures Does what it says
on the cover!

Author/Publisher: Scott Purdy/Impact giving you the tools you need to start creating your own
Web: www.impact-books.com characters. Everything is covered, from facial expressions to
Price: £14.99/$22.99 skeletal structures and atmospheric lighting, with lots of images
About: In-depth anatomical study to explain the theory.
Six species covered with multiple characters ‘Part Two: The Goblinoids’ concerns itself with individual, in-
Double-page spread character creation depth ‘species’ design. All creatures are personalised with their
Map of the Goblin world own story, which brings the characters to life even before
Goblinoid keyword creator creation has started. Each one is dissected into four creation
stages, all of which are easy to follow. From building basic forms Gross attention to detail: If you want

G oblinoids: How to draw and paint goblins, orcs and other
dark creatures is a title that teaches you how to draw a
whole host of weird and wonderful otherworldly beasts.
Divided into two key sections, readers get to enjoy over 126 full-
colour pages of goblins, orcs, trolls, hobgoblins and more. It’s a
real fantasy feast for lovers of the genre that won’t fail to
entertain and inspire.
‘Part One: The Basics’ is aimed at the more enthusiastic
concept artist, providing insight into what you’ll need to make
your monstrous visions come alive. This is achieved through
traditional anatomical studies, where human and goblin body
parts are presented and compared. The book shows how to
make the progression from basic shapes through to final figures,
to applying base colour and determining texture and lighting
by layering colour, each is presented through explanatory
annotations and thumbnails. Some of our favourite creatures
have fantastic names, like Tunnel Rat Tailtoe Mushnroo,
Barbarian Meskin Dragonslayer and Rocketeer Noobel
Pidgeonfoot, depicted with cool additions, such as flying
machines and mechanical weapons.
In addition to being packed with creative advice, Goblinoids
also has its fair share of fun. Turn to the back of this book and
you’ll find the Goblinoid keyword creator. This consists of a
numbered list of characters, weapons and skin types. Simply roll
a dice to pick an entry from the list and you’ll end up with a
creature recipe for you to draw.
to illustrate warts, sores and scars to exaggerate
the gruesomeness of your character, check out
the related section on page 31
Summary: Goblinoids is not exclusive
to either digital or traditional artists. This
means that the book is a relevant
resource for both, and presents projects
for creatives at all levels. Essentially, it
gives you the fantasy fundamentals for
you to get on and create with whatever
means suits you.
8/10

How to Cheat in
Photoshop CS4
If you’re looking for a speedy creative solution, this title is for you
Author/Publisher: Steve Caplin/Focal Press intuitive and powerful tool types, such as the blending options
Web: www.focalpress.com layer styles and the Vanishing Point filter.
Price: £24.99/$44.95 Being presented in a fun project-led fashion makes readers
About: Authored by international graphic artist and feel secure and confident in tackling any of the book’s creative
journalist Steve Caplin tasks. Everything is evident, in bite-sized step-by-step tutorials,
15 jam-packed project-based chapters with all keyboard shortcuts highlighted, promoting recognition
Full-colour thumbnails and familiarity.
Resource CD included High-resolution thumbnails of the tool dialog boxes are
useful references, so that you know exactly what you should be

P
hotoshop is intensive and sophisticated software that
should be explored and studied to understand its full
creative potential. But if this sounds like too much hard work,
then why not just cheat?!
How to Cheat in Photoshop CS4 shows you how to create
convincing photographic work without the need of a studio,
and reveals a host of shortcuts and quick ways to achieve
otherwise complex effects.
Split into 15 chapters, it covers specific processes that will
really help you get to grips with photo editing, photomontage
and photomanipulation projects. The title is coherent but in no
way ‘mothers’ readers, as it covers some of Photoshop’s most
94
Advanced Photoshop
doing. There are even Hot Tips included, which are genuinely
useful, helping you get a greater understanding of the topic
being discussed.
On an aesthetic level, we were extremely impressed with
How to Cheat in Photoshop CS4. There are a lot of new projects in
this updated version, such as submerging in water, cosmetic
makeover and magical realism effects. Readers also get a
resource CD, which boasts video tutorials, Photoshop files and
stock imagery. All these mean that you can get learning straight
away. And don’t worry if you haven’t got Photoshop CS4 – a lot
of the content is relevant to older versions and there is still
plenty to learn!
So much to learn: This book is brimming
with easy-to-follow instructions that will surely
help you create professional, eye-catching effects
Summary: This is a title true to its word,
which lets you familiarise with Photoshop
in a concise and speedy fashion. Well
worth purchasing, as it is packed with
projects relevant to professional work as
well as being really fun for the
enthusiastic creative.
10/10

094_AVP_55_Books.indd 94 4/3/09 13:54:50


Digital Photography Secrets
This resourceful title provides the whys and hows for enthusiast and
professional photographers
Author/Publisher: Rick Sammon/Wiley
Web: www.wiley.com
Price: £15.59 (approximately $26.39)
About: Teachings from internationally renowned
expert, Rick Sammon
DSLR must-know information
Packed with full-colour stunning
photographic images
Bonus 90 minutes of helpful one-on-one
video instructions
I n this title, Rick Sammon, a popular speaker at
Photoshop World, reveals his secrets on how enthusiast
and professional photographers can create attractive
effects in their own photographic projects. This book
includes great advice on how to use software and hardware in a
skilled way to maximise your image appeal.
Guidance is presented in an extremely relaxed fashion, all
related by Sammon as if he were speaking with you directly. His
words coincide with the stunning photography decorating the
title’s pages. This means his teachings are informative and
logical, without the need for tutorial breakdowns or tip boxes.
The book concerns itself with the ‘why you should’ of
photography, and less with the ‘how you should’ in software
Massive Black
Digest a magical amount of macabre concept art
Author/Publisher: Ballistic
Web: www.ballisticpublishing.com
Price: £39.89 ($53.95)
About: Professional design from Massive Black
Projects in Photoshop, ZBrush and more
Conceptual through to finalised design
Hardback sleeve and matte cover
M assive Black is a full production artwork and asset
outsourcing studio. Having contributed to international
projects for multiple videogame platforms, film and comics, it
has now teamed up with Ballistic to provide art lovers with a
magically macabre resource.
After releasing this book from its alluring slick and stylish
hardback black sleeve, its matching premium matte-finish cover
with a gloss logo feels smooth to the touch. Enticing you to rifle
through its art-packed pages, it looks like the black Bible of
concept art.
This title presents a mixed bag of digital sci-fi and fantasy art
with a dark side. The standard of the design is fantastic and the
reputation of the contributors is first class. Every gruesome detail
is exposed in its four core discipline chapters: 2D, 3D, Intellectual
Property and Fine Art. All examples are of professional concept
work, produced for some of Massive Black’s (www.
095_AVP_55_Books.indd 95
resources
application. Essentially, Digital Photography Secrets is a title for
photographers with at least some knowledge of digital
photography. It lets you explore and interpret images and ideas
at your own pace.
This said, there is an accompanying resource CD that
compensates for readers looking to learn specific practices. This
is full of practical one-on-one video advice, as Sammon shows
you live techniques as he shoots. These include invaluable
practices, like getting the correct indoor and outdoor lighting in
your modelling shots, how to use Diffusor kits and a diagnostic
of the latest digital camera modes, such as Close Up and Rapid
Frame photography.
The title’s ten chapters really do provide a glutton of
techniques for digital photographers to sink their teeth into.
KNOW WHERE TO GO: The book includes a
great section on discovering practical resources,
such as the best creative software, equipment
and print services on the retail market. Each
There are some interesting examples, such as shooting in the example is justified and includes web links
snow and the reasons to keep both eyes open when shooting.
All are useful practices in the world of expert photography and SUMMARY: This title is inspirational as
will evolve your own attitudes towards the medium. much as it is practical. It explains the
There’s also insight into the best home digital darkroom creative nature of photography and
solutions, such as monitor styles and setup, and endorsing through Sammon’s friendly teachings, it
hardware like Wacom tablets and external hard drives. It’s here will also make you feel more confident in
where those looking to advance into using Photoshop will learn approaching your projects.
how to maximise the quality of their photo stock to use
individually or in design projects.
8/10
massiveblack.com) most recognisable projects in the
entertainment business. These include designs for the Transient
film and game world, which grew from the graphic novel, as
well as the Iron Man cross-platform videogame and PC title,
Hellgate: London.
It’s a real digital delicacy, showing artists exactly what can be
produced using the industry’s leading creative software. We
really appreciated the conceptual development work in this title, ORIGINAL COPY: This title represents a
spectacular collection of art from Massive Black,
for example, ‘Khar the Flayer’ concepts for Hell Gate: London. This a powerhouse in the areas of concept art,
is a simple set of pencil illustrations, characterising the creature’s animation and intellectual property development
possible, or rather impossible, anatomy. Its creative, expressive
resources such as this will inspire readers to venture into their SUMMARY: Bringing together over 700
own twisted design projects. pieces of artwork from studios in North
Massive Black is not just a title that presents abnormal America and Asia, Massive Black reveals
character creations to feed abject creative fantasies, but it also industry-standard work, and it’s an
gives an insight into the dark and exotic worlds invented. extremely attractive inspirational
Characters bio, plots and storyboards are all presented. All this resource because of it.
adds up to a title with a sense of individuality and personality,
defining itself from within the familiar Ballistic title range.
8/10
95
Advanced Photoshop
4/3/09 13:55:49