Advanced Photoshop Issue 058

OVER 60
FREE
RESOURCES
• •
VECTORS BRUSHES TEXTURES
ISSUE
ISSUE
5849
47
Realistic brushwork | Motion graphics | Fantasy lighting | Get your first commission | Using photo references | Interview: Sam Gilbey
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
FANTASY
LIGHTING
Bring photos to life with creative
lighting and exposure techniques 8-PAGE FEATURE
MOTION
40 PAGN
TECH
ES OFES,
IQU
ND
TIPS ADVICE
GRAPHICS
Learn how to use Photoshop’s
Animation options like a pro
PRO A
REALISTIC
IN-DEPTH WORKSHOP
BRUSHWORK
• Combine hard and soft brushes • Master brush modes
• Add tones with the Airbrush • Create custom brushes
HOW TO...
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
W.ADVANCED • Use CS4 keyboard

WW PH shortcuts
O • Scan in textures
• Get your first
TO
commission
SH
• Become a
OP.
fashion illustrator
CO.UK
ISSUE 58 £5.99
READERS’ GALLERY USING PHOTO REFERENCES
ISSN 1748-7277
58
Get essential exposure and win Turn any portrait photo into a manga-
a Flash website worth £99! inspired illustration with our tutorial 9 771748 727009
001_AVP_58_CoverWeek4.indd 1 27/5/09 14:40:44

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/photoshopfaceoff
Magazine team
Welcome to
ac g. s nd ha h,
rf in ok a y ra
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Editor Julie Easton
su sh o BC he Sa
ol bli f b B . T e,
co u s o he nd if
julie.easton@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Advanced Photoshop
w. P ie r t la s w
☎ 01202 586243
w an er o g hi
S
r
w ill s rk f f En ith
fo
EN
Editor in Chief Jo Cole
ac ed wo t o w
US
M trat art es ace
jo.cole@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Photoshop’s brush engine is
m
w f
co
us d h r
CO
Senior Staff Writer Adam Smith
ill uce out l Su
e.
od e s oo
improving all the time, so the Designer Stacey Grove
VID
pr th s C
a
m un
Senior Sub Editor Colleen Johnson
DA
fro id r
program is a great tool for digital
m
v
Sub Editor Sam Robson
Da
Group Art Editor Lora Barnes
painting. It’s a great skill to learn too, as Head of Design Ross Andrews
mastery over the brushes can help Contributors
Debbi Allen, David Cousens, Natalie Johnson, April Madden,
you to add punch and originality to all Kirk Nelson, George Patsouras, Josie Reavely, Rob Shields,
Sarah Slee and Amy Squibb
kinds of Photoshop projects. Advertising

Digital or printed media packs are available on request.
To help you really get to grips with the power of the Commercial Director Ross Webster
brush sets, we have got a range of workshops designed to ☎ 01202 586418
re mi ou de e
ge at
io n n
ca m p y w , sh
ross.webster@imagine-publishing.co.uk
er ss la sig
to th
isi itze ste Am tor
w and in rica
bs r h ia
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help you out. First, we have a look at improving your

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Head of Sales James Hanslip
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digital painting in a more traditional sense, creating a ☎ 01202 586423

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, p n g co i
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james.hanslip@imagine-publishing.co.uk
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fantasy scene with realism. If your drawing skills need

BS
al ketp -de ag edit

JO
rtf ni ur e ee
Advertising Manager Hang Deretz
.
po mu be p n th a fr
ar in r y
RO
m s an phe put
some practice, then our manga-inspired illustration ☎ 01202 586442
LIE
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m
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Co on d s
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hang.deretz@imagine-publishing.co.uk
ta tog the
tutorial looks at how you can use a photo

TA
an ill loc hi
Advertising Sales Executive Stuart McBride

o is
t w ly b S
NA
Ph lie
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reference to help generate an initial sketch.
bu ent Ro
☎ 01202 586438
ta
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stuart.mcbride@imagine-publishing.co.uk
m
Finally, we take a look at how custom photo

rr
Cover disc
cu
brushes can add that little something extra to Interactive Media Manager Lee Groombridge
your photo projects with our guide to fantasy Head of Digital Projects Stuart Dixon
Senior Multimedia Editor Steve Litton
lighting techniques. apxtrahelp@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Our main feature this month might push you out of International
Advanced Photoshop is available for licensing. Contact the
your comfort zone, exploring the Animation tools present International department to discuss partnership opportunities.
in Photoshop Extended packages. We take a look at how International Manager Cathy Blackman
☎ +44 (0) 1202 586401
t.c e a io, re in
to import, edit and export video, create animated clips

lo e o d e r
po sit fol ild en
.b l w p an b te
n’s
licensing@imagine-publishing.co.uk
ct na ete s n in
gs b rt ch se
di so pl ine ca l pa
ls mo er rea op
el h lic a
te ion elp on,
es an k
d ng
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from scratch and talk to the pros about where Photoshop

ur sc es
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or
Subscriptions
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ad er m az ork ta
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m
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comes into a motion graphics workflow. Subscriptions Manager Lucy Nash

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☎ 01202 586443
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Finally, flip to our Industry section to learn how you

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lucy.nash@imagine-publishing.co.uk
s u C it sh st
s .
ch ks. T eo d C a fr
le op wr Wa arti
KIR
PA
can become a fashion illustrator, discover the best To order a subscription to Advanced Photoshop:
o vid n is
ta tos tin the hics
bo us Isla ras
☎ UK: 0844 848 8402

GE
o u in p
rio ng ou
Illustration university courses in the UK and find

Ph rib r ra
☎ Overseas: +44 (0) 1795 592 880

va Lo Pats
OR
nt ine g
co tra is a
Email: adphotoshop@servicehelpline.co.uk
ck h g
out how to use new online design

tp ut
m e
GE
rk
fro org
13-issue subscription (UK) – £62.30

Ki
Ge
marketplaces to get your first paid commission. 13-issue subscription (Europe) – £70
13-issue subscription (ROW) – £80
See you next month!
Circulation
Circulation & Export Manager Darren Pearce
Julie Easton ☎ 01202 586200

Production
advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk Production Director Jane Hawkins
julie.easton@imagine-publishing.co.uk ☎ 01202 586200
http://twitter.com/advancedpshop Founders
Managing Director Damian Butt
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The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost
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© Imagine Publishing
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The next issue of Advanced ISSN 1748-7277
Photoshop goes on sale 16 July 2009
4
Advanced Photoshop TORS
004_AVP_58_EdIntro.indd 4 28/5/09 14:15:23
Cover
Cover image
“This piece was inspired by Joan of Arc for the
perseverance of her devotion to God and for the
faith that’s carved in our own hearts. She was a
character who symbolised much; someone who was
Imageer:
famous as a demonic fanatic and at the same time as
MARIO WIBISONO
an adored heroine and saint.
“This image was created in Photoshop using a
mouse and an Intuos3 graphics tablet. It took 70
hours to complete.” “Created in Photoshop using a
/ http://raynkazuya.cgsociety.org/
mouse and an Intuos3 tablet”
5
Advanced Photoshop
005_AVP_58_CoverImage.indd 5 28/5/09 14:17:50

INDUSTRY SECTION INDU
Check it out now, starting on page 70 S STR
14 paECTIONY
We present the second instalment of our new Industry section, dedicated to ges
for m of adv
a
digitaking it as iace
helping you become a professional digital artist. Each month we speak to
top industry artists, getting loads of advice on how to follow in their l artis
footsteps, plus we look at the best university courses from around the world. t
ISSUE #58
inside... 36
Add depth to your
digital artworks
INSIGHT
The best digital artists around
Laura Alejo
18
18
Brian Gossett 42
Sean Thurlow 62
COMMUNITY 08
The latest news, website images and readers’
thoughts from our mailbox and forum
News 08
Mailbox 12
On the web 14
THE COVER Web challenge winners 16
Our fantastic cover image is courtesy of Mario
Wibisono. You can learn how to improve your own
digital painting skills on page 50 this issue in our
Workshop by George Patsouras HELP 64
Tips, techniques and problems solved
Helpdesk 64
INDUSTRY SECTION 70
Essential advice for becoming a pro digital artist
Interview: Arnaud Simon-Laforest 70
Feature: Getting paid commissions 72
scribe to Uni focus: Illustration courses 78
b
To sudvanced rn to Career guide: Fashion illustrator 82
A op, tu cial 56 90
osh spe
Phot 68 for affer! Re-create these rainbow Our pick of the best reader
THIS MONTH’S CD 98
pagereader o
lighting effects submissions this month
Superb stock art, project files and more!
CD guide 98
6
Advanced Photoshop
006-007_AVP_58_Contents.indd 6 28/5/09 14:19:25

22
We interview
Sam Gilbey
© Sam Gilbey
FEATURES/REGULAR TECHNIQUES
Insightful interviews and in-depth articles Essential guides to professional Photoshop skills
INTERVIEW: SAM GILBEY 22 ADD DEPTH TO YOUR PHOTOMANIPULATIONS 36

Sam talks comic art and Tarantino in our big interview Use gradients and layer styles like the professionals
MOTION GRAPHICS 28 USING PHOTO REFERENCES 44

Make your art move with our guide to Photoshop’s Animation tools Turn a photo reference into a manga-inspired illustration
RESOURCES: HARDWARE & SOFTWARE 84 FANTASY LIGHTING EFFECTS 50

Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II, Manga Studio and Filter Forge Add some dazzle to your stock photos with this workshop
RESOURCES: BOOKS 88 IMPROVE YOUR DIGITAL PAINTINGS 56

The latest Photoshop and art titles reviewed and rated Get to grips with real-media and custom brushes
READERS’ GALLERY 90 HELPDESK 64

The very best submissions from our readers this month Four pages of advice on using Photoshop better
7
Advanced Photoshop
006-007_AVP_58_Contents.indd 7 28/5/09 14:19:54

Community Exposé 7
The finest digital art in the known universe
EXPOSÉ 7: The ultimate collection of the
world’s best artwork
The latest creative news from around the world
INSIDE SPREAD: A taste of the incredible

artwork featured
Ballistic Publishing has announced the release of the latest

addition to its pioneering series, showcasing what it terms as
‘the finest digital art in the known universe’: Exposé 7.
A colossal 6,288 images were entered in total, presenting
judges with the unenviable task of whittling them down to the
391 that are featured in the final publication. Top entries came known names like Stephan Martiniere (concept artist and Exposé
from 288 artists in 51 countries, with over one third of these Grand Master), Lorne Lanning (co-founder of Oddworld
artists being published for the very first time. Inhabitants), Chris Sloane (art director of National Geographic)
Daniel Wade, co-publisher at Ballistic Media Pty Ltd, enthuses: and Max Dennison (matte artist and founder of Matte Painting
“One of the most interesting parts of bringing together an UK), to name a few.
Exposé book every year is observing the choices that artists make When asked for any tips on how to get work published in the
on what they create. In recent years we’ve seen an increase in next Exposé edition, Daniel Wade explains: “We list the judging
the number of entries from countries like China, Korea, criteria for each category in our call for entries announcement
Singapore and Indonesia. In time, artists inspired by the artwork on the Ballistic Publishing website, which should give artists a
from these countries will incorporate those influences into their good idea of what will help them succeed. The entries that stand
artwork, and in a very healthy way it will drive experimentation out have great composition, a dynamic colour palette and tell a
in these styles.” compelling story. It takes a lot of hard work to master these skills,
Entries for Exposé 7 were split into Master and Excellence but the journey is just as rewarding as being recognised by your
classes and reviewed by a panel of revered artists, with well- peers in a publication like Exposé.”
Exposé 7 is available in three editions: hard-cover ($75,
approximately £49), soft-cover ($64, approximately £42) and
Limited Edition ($170, approximately £111), which includes 16
extra pages of artist profiles and eight Limited Edition prints.
Also available for the Limited Edition and the first 300 hard- and
soft-cover buyers is an exclusive 30-minute video tutorial by
Exposé 7 cover artist Bente Schlick. You can access more
information about the books and availability via the Ballistic
Publishing website.
• Pg 08......................News
• Pg 12 .................Mailbox p, Painter
UGH: Photosho www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/expose/expose_7
SAILING THRO
• Pg 14 .................Website Yap Kun Rong,
JAPAN
8
Advanced Photoshop
008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 8 28/5/09 14:24:22

Large print, fine detail
An exclusive collectors’ Carbro Edition of renowned as the professional photographer explains: “Epson’s
News
bites
photographer Tim Flach’s latest book, EQUUS, is now Stylus Pro 11880 has given me the quality and detail that
available. This luxuriant 300-page tome boasts a I demand. I have also been using the company’s latest
selection of original signed platinotype and carbro printer, the Stylus Pro 7900, to output the proof prints for
prints, bound by hand in an Italian silk printed cover the ‘Carbro Edition’ because of its astonishingly accurate
and delivered in a leather case designed and made by colour reproduction.”
Asprey. Limited to just 25, the books will retail for
£25,000 each. DCS CMYK BOOKS
To promote his special edition of EQUUS, Flach – in Independent colour management
conjunction with Epson – has produced a stunning 60- and digital imaging specialist Colour
Confidence has introduced a new DCS
inch print of one of the images from the book Horse
CMYK Books range. Printed to FOGRA
Mountain. This print, which is mounted on aluminium,
standards, these are available in
is proudly displayed in the New Bond Street store and is Professional and Mini versions,
testament both to Flach’s expertise as a photographer printed on three key print substrates:
as well as the quality of Epson’s printing technologies, coated, uncoated and newspaper/
recycled. The full DCS CMYK Books
range is available now, via www.
colourconfidence.com.
HORSE MOUNTAIN: One of Tim Flach’s
www.epson.co.uk / www.asprey.com images, Horse Mountain, reproduced as a 60-
inch print for Epson’s New Bond Street store
WIN $25,000
Simplify selective colouring ple
Blurb (www.blurb.com) is
announcing its call for entries for its
second annual Photography.Book.
(MY) LADY IN RED (SPOTS): An exam Now International Juried
with
of creator Lawrence Murray’s work Competition. There are three
tintii © Lawrence Murray categories – Fine Art, Editorial and
indii.org – Commercial – and the grand prize is
tintii 2.1.0 – the updated software from
ever to appl y selec tive colour $25,000 to finish (or start) a
makes it easier than
you love the stun ning photography project of the winner’s
effects to your imag es. If
ing), then choice. The closing date is 16 July
style of Sin City (known as colour popp 2009. Enter now at www.
It work s by separating
you’ll want to give this a try. photographybooknow.com.
of your imag es into grou ps of
the colour profile
“If you love the style

of Sin City, then you’ll
want to give this a try”
tive changes
TOWER: An hues, allowing you to then make selec DOWN &
example that to desa turat e, while leaving
want
shows how
easy to use
to thos e you
others intact. Just select the colou rs you want to DIRTY
the tintii
interface is
keep, and the rest is conv erted to black and white. UPDATED
-to-u se meth od, you don’ t have Scott Kelby’s
Thanks to this easy
tions by hand , and there are original Photoshop
to make fiddl y selec
g options to bible Down & Dirty
plenty of post-processing fine-tunin has had a revamp. Originally a
s and issue s like flyaway
ensure complicated edge revered resource for PS 5.5, this
hairs are easily dealt with .
version has been brought up to date
ce
tintii is available as a free, open sour for CS4 users. Featuring the latest
Linux only), or
standalone program (Windows and special effects, amazing 3D effects
Photoshop or
you can purchase it as a commercial using Photoshop Extended and
Pro plug -in for appr oximately $9 faking studio shots, Photoshop CS4
www.indii.org/tintii Corel Paint Shop
or £7. Down & Dirty Tricks is available from
www.kelbytraining.com for $36.
9
Advanced Photoshop
008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 9 28/5/09 14:24:57

Community
Perfect prints for less
In the news: Epson has launched six new affordable desktop printers.
Q&A
Designed to meet modern consumer demands for low-cost
hardware and inks, the stylish new range of printers
promise affordability without skimping on quality.
The Epson Stylus Photo P50 aims to provide
photography enthusiasts and amateur digital artists with
high-quality output, using Epson’s Micro Piezo print head
technology. The P50 uses individual inks for greater cost
TOM efficiency and even coats prints with a fingerprint-resistant
WELSH
We chat to Tom Welsh,
top layer to improve their durability. It can also print
borderless photos up to A4 and comes with a full set of inks
and paper in the box to get you up and running. Available
architect of Snap Art 2, from 1 July, you can pick up a P50 for £90 (RRP).
to find out more about the benefits of A further five models are added to Epson’s popular Stylus
the software, as well his vision of the family: the SX515W, SX415, SX215, SX115 and S21. These
future of digital art
printers are geared towards everyday use by families that
love to share their images. The Epson Stylus SX515W
Q: WHY USE SNAP ART 2 EPSON STYLUS SX515: A versatile all-in-one (available now, RRP £150) is a printer, scanner, copier and
OVER THE TOOLS AND designed for family life fax all in one, with built-in Wi-Fi, an LCD screen as well as
TEXTURES PHOTOSHOP PictBridge and memory card slots. The SX415 (from 1 July,
ALREADY OFFERS? RRP £120) is a robust all-in-one that sports a 2.5-inch LCD,
A: Snap Art helps the user create PictBridge and memory card connectivity, while the SX215
images that look like handmade art www.epson.co.uk features a new push-scan button and will only set you back
and are much more realistic than the £100. Completing the line-up, the SX115 and S21 are on sale
filters provided by Photoshop. From a from 1 July, sporting RRPs of £70 and £50 respectively.
single photo, you can create a portrait
or landscape that looks like a real
painting and that is ready for printing
on canvas. We also provide a rich user Alien Skin launches Snap Art 2
interface so you can control where to
put the image detail, the style of the
strokes, the colours of the image, the
Photoshop plug-in FOCUS CONTROL: Use this tool
to pinpoint
canvas texture and lighting. The clever people at Alien Skin have areas where you want to retain
detail
launched yet another
innovative piece of creative soft
ware to help digital artists
Q: WHAT’S THE BEST create masterpieces with greater
ease than ever before.
THING ABOUT CREATING Snap Art 2 is a Photoshop plug-in
that allows you to
ARTWORK DIGITALLY? turn photographs into stunning
works of art with just one
A: You don’t have to worry about click. The program is capable of
simulating a wide range
messing up. Each setting can be saved of textures, as well as realistic-look
ing individual
so you can go back and tweak the brushstrokes that look so good,
Alien Skin boasts: “The
result. Also, you can create something finished piece begs to be hung
that looks real in just a few minutes. in a gallery, especially
when printed on canvas.” It even
goes so far to say that
artwork created using Snap Art
2 is “indistinguishable
Q: IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT from handmade art,” which is quit
e an endorsement.
DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR Although it’s possible to quickly
generate artwork from
ART? ARE WE GOING TO BE photos automatically, the software
does allow the user
USING PAINT OR PIXELS? control over the results, with the
facility to pinpoint areas
A: I think there is room for both styles. where you want more detail to be you want. Most of the filters
retained (Focus
Working with real paint is a totally regions). There are hundreds of included with Snap Art 2 also
new styles as well as ten
unique experience and cannot be distinctive natural media to choo offer a Photorealism slider,
fully replaced. On the other hand, a se from, including
watercolour, oil paint and pencil which lets you keep images like
program like Snap Art opens up a lot sketch, to name a few.
You can then customise the look portraits clear around your
of possibilities for photographers of your chosen tool’s
strokes by adjusting options like subject’s face for instance, with
who have the ability to create the paint thickness and
brush size until you end up with painterly effects elsewhere in
amazing results with a camera but precisely the look that
the frame.
who do not have a background in
This high level of user control and a
drawing or painting. I have seen some slick interface make
Snap Art 2 look pretty appealing, and
talented photographers do at $199
www.alienskin.com/snapart/in (approximately £130) for the full softw
fantastically creative stuff with tools dex .aspx are (discounts
like Snap Art and Photoshop. available for upgraders) it’s an affor
dable way to
supplement your arsenal of creative
toolkit.
Find out more at www.alienskin.com
10
Advanced Photoshop
008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 10 28/5/09 14:25:35

RATE AND COMMENT: Don’t forget that you
can rate images and comment on them on our
online gallery
critiqued, so get your thinking caps on and get

commenting! Keep up the good work.”
I totally agree with the above, but the
navigation for the gallery section of the site in On the
some way seems quite drawn out; it seems to be
quite difficult to browse and leave comments
without it taking slightly too long. I think this is
forum
most likely putting people off from getting
involved more and leaving comments, ratings, SUBJECT: Can I make the Brush
etc. I’m sure you’ve realised this, but just tool work more like a real pencil?
thought I’d let you know – sorry if I’m pointing FROM: lenn
out the obvious! I don’t have any problem sketching with
traditional pencil and paper. Most of my
Editor replies: You raise an interesting point, Tom. images are scanned onto my PC then
We would love to hear whether other readers
have had trouble with the commenting system
“Check out our new painted over in Photoshop. I bought a
Wacom Cintiq graphics tablet, however, I
and whether there are any websites that use
easier commenting systems you have come
Industry section, am finding it harder to use a graphics
tablet for digital art compared to the
across that you could recommend we take a look starting on page 70, traditional pencil and paper. Are there any
at. The comment system is there to help our artists
develop their artwork and get public opinion, so
which is aimed at settings in Photoshop that can make the
Brush tool act more like a real sketching
we want it to be as accessible as possible. people looking to pencil? I kind of find Opacity, Flow and Pen
find the right Pressure settings confusing compared to

the traditional media. Is there anyone here
SUBJECT: Matte-painting masterpiece
FROM: Jemima Cross
career path in the into digital art that can give me any tips?
I just picked up issue 56 of Advanced creative industry” FROM: belic

Photoshop, hooked in by the matte-painting First, the best way to get an understanding
cover line. I am a student at the moment, of how Flow and Opacity settings work for
Editor replies: Hi Jemima, glad you liked it. There
learning digital art techniques and starting to you is to use them over and over. Practice
was so much talent in that feature, so the tips and
think about where I would like to go next, what makes perfect when it comes to digital art.
tricks are coming from the best authorities! Why
branch of the industry I would like to move into. There are a few tips on how to fine-tune
not upload your own matte paintings to our
I love concept art and matte painting so I got your tablet available online, eg, http://
gallery site for feedback from other gallery users?
the magazine to help me find out more, but I guides.macrumors.com/Setting_Up_A_
In the meantime, check out our new Industry
got more out of it than I expected! The Wacom_Tablet_Tutorial.
section, starting on page 70, which is aimed at
professional tips were fantastic and the tutorial Also, you might want to experiment
people just like you, looking to find the right career
by Andreas Rocha was stunning. I learnt so with your nibs. When I got my Wacom I got
path and job title in the creative industry.
much! Thanks AP. an extra set of nibs and ‘roughed’ some of
them up a bit. I filed one nib down to have
a finer point, one to have a large slant for
MATTE PAINTING: Send us your matte shading, etc. This doesn’t affect the brush
paintings, we’d love to see them!
shape in PS, but it gives you a more natural
feel when coming from paper to plastic
and aids you in creating the right brush tip.
I’ve also heard putting a low GSM paper
over the top of your tablet and drawing
through it helps with the transition,
although I’ve never tried that one.
Can you help fellow readers?

13
Advanced Photoshop
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Community
Web challenge
The winners TH
Challenge reference: AP 057 MOIS
On our website, www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions.php, we run a web
challenge where you are asked to create an image in Photoshop using at least one
P NT RI H’
of three images provided. These challenges are updated monthly and they are
becoming increasingly popular, so get your entries in for a chance to win.
ZE S
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

Challenge start images
Photoshop: The Premium Collection Volume 3. This
contains our pick of the very best tutorials, interviews,
profiles and features from the last year of Advanced
Photoshop magazine.
STARCROSS’D
ARTIST: Thomas Ciccone
WEB: www.pixlmix.com
“Both the dog and bird images are composites of

several layers, with various filter effects and Eraser
brushes applied. I then utilised some vector art,
coloured with soft hues in the background to
reinforce the transition and create some subtle
movement upward. Several overlay layers of
textures and brushes created the paper effect.”
EXOTIC FOREST
ARTIST: José Paulo Amorim Reis
WEB: www.zepaulocreation.blogspot.com
“I tried to give some colour to this image. I chose the

dark bird mixed with a lot of colourful animals. I chose to
point out a green and exotic landscape that reminds us of
heaven, nature, beauty and peace. To develop this work I
used some adjustment layers, such as Brightness and
Contrast, Levels and Hue and Saturation. I also use some
brushes to smudge parts of the image. I used some tools like
Burn and Dodge to darken and lighted some sectors of the
composition and finally used a Sharpen filter to create some
more details.”
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016-017_AVP_58_WebWinners.indd 16 28/5/09 14:35:29

Community
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
more. The disc only holds 700MB, so we simply
didn’t have the room to put them in.
Finally, we found that in many cases the PSDs
actually caused more confusion than they did
help! Some of our tutorials come from images that
already exist – ie we see an image that we like and
SUBJECT: Shoddy work! ask the artist to show us how they did it. A lot of
FROM: Paul Douglass the time the layers are not organised or there are
I’ve been a subscriber to the magazine for years some missing where they have merged layers in
and love it; I can’t fault it really… except now! the past, so it wouldn’t correlate to the tutorial. In
I’ve just received issue 56 of Advanced other cases, artists change their minds halfway
Photoshop and while having a quick flick through a piece, and you’ll see lots of ‘hidden’
through on my commute to work I noticed the layers that don’t contribute to the tutorial.
feature on pages 84-88. I’m under no illusion I hope that this explains our decision to you.
that I’m the only person to spot this, however, We will review our policy on the back of your
the main image of the iMac used on page 84 email, however, it is the first time that we have
has clearly been flipped. At first I noticed this had this query. It would mean balancing the
simply because I use an iMac and know that the needs of those who wish to have the layered
CD/DVD slot is on the right rather than the left. I PSDs and those who would rather have the
thought that was quite bad of you, lazy actually, additional content, like video tutorials, stock
and then I saw the keyboard, followed by the images and brushes, as there is simply not
Apple logo! Come on, the irony that a schoolboy FLIPPING OUT: Did you spot our ‘deliberate’ enough room for everything!
error like this could be made in a Photoshop error back in issue 56 of the magazine? One keen-
eyed reader did…
magazine surely can’t be lost on you. I’m
assuming the ‘web page’ wasn’t supposed to be magazine, issue number 56, and I saw that there SUBJECT: Website question
fullscreen and, if so, what happened? Or more to aren’t the full PSD tutorial files on the CD. I can FROM: Tom Starley
the point, if not, why wouldn’t you leave the only see the starting image but not the final one I have just got a quick question regarding the
desktop and icon bar on there for a less with all the Photoshop layers. This problem also Advanced Photoshop website. I’ve noticed that
amateurish look? appears in your previous issue. Why are the full in the Editor’s blog it reads: “Hi guys, just a
PSD files with layers not included? In many cases friendly reminder to KEEP POSTING COMMENTS!
Editor replies: Hi Paul, thanks for pointing that out! over the last year, I found the full PSD files with We love the standard of artwork coming
You’re right, of course, there’s no excuse for that all the layers the best possible way to follow the through our gallery’s virtual doors, but there
getting through to print. We’ll keep a beady eye tutorial, so I decided to buy a subscription to seems to be an absence of ratings and
on these sorts of things to ensure that nothing learn that way. But now, if I’m honest, I don’t like comments. We are all here to learn and be
else like this slips through. your choice not to include the full PSD file,
because many of the tutorials aren’t as clear.
LAYERS AND ALL: How useful would the fully
layered PSD be on our disc, and is it worth the
SUBJECT: PSDs on the disc? Editor replies: We used to try and always include sacrifice of the other resources?
FROM: Alessandro Pallotta the PSD files of the tutorials on the free CD, but
I’m from Rome, Italy, and I have a subscription made the decision a while back to take them off
with Advanced Photoshop. Today I received the for a number of reasons.
First up, we often have copyright issues about
what can and can’t go on the disc. For example, if
“We’re finding that a contributor uses a stock image from, say, iStock,
the number of that we can’t get permission from the

photographer to distribute on the disc, then that
layers used is would be in the layered file, which would have to
be removed and potentially affect the entire
increasing and the final image.
file sizes of the Second of all, where we are trying to get high-
profile artists to break down their work for more
final PSDs can professional techniques, we’re finding that the
number of layers used is increasing and the file
easily top 300MB” sizes of the final PSDs can easily top 300MB and
12
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012-013_AVP_58_Letters.indd 12 28/5/09 14:28:30

Community
On the web
Our website and readers’ forum is perfect for showing off Photoshop creations. We present the best images on
the site this month. Log on and upload to get your images here next issue!
JUST A JOKE
ARTIST: Mimika
Papadimitriou
WEB: www.
advancedphotoshop.co.uk/
user/Mimika
“I’m a graphic designer

living in Greece and I
began to create digital
art ten years ago,
making cute clip art
from scratch, through my
website www.
mimikascraftroom.com.
Recently, I started to
experiment with
photomanipulations. I
love to turn my dreams and emotions into images. I prefer to express
myself through my creations, and Photoshop is a great way to do this! This
image was born from personal experiences and reflects some sweet and
sour times in my personal life. I used stock photos from deviantART as
well as my own, blended and composed into the entire piece, while
some parts have been painted. I love working with Photoshop as it is full
of great tools that help you improve your compositions.”
HYDROGEN
BLOCK KARLA
ARTIST: Sudarshan A ARTIST: Javier Alvarado Quesada
WEB: www. WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/poisonvectors
advancedphotoshop.
co.uk/user/Suddu At the tender age of 22, Costa Rican graphic designer Javier
Alvarado Quesada’s colourful artworks have twice been made
”I am a 14-year-old graphic designer from Tamil Nadu in India. I have been Picture Of The Week on the Advanced Photoshop gallery
learning graphics on my own for over a year now. I really enjoy website (you may remember his stunning work Giros, which
photomanipulation, so this picture was more of an experimentation for me. was voted POTW at the end of last year. If not, you can find it at
For Hydrogen Block, I had the vision of a block of hydrogen that could be www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/show_image.
used as fuel in the future. I drew the lines using my graphics tablet, php?imageID=12279).
extracted water from a few stock images to give it the splashy feel and I “I am a freelance graphic designer. This piece (Karla)
manipulated them to fit the boarder. I added a few image adjustments to comprises a total of 100 layers mixing vectors and renders to
finish it off.” try and express energy from the movement.”
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014_AVP_58_WebShowcase.indd 14 28/5/09 14:30:59

R
E B NE
W IN
W
HOPE
ARTIST: Mona Parvin
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/anom
Our winner this month was chosen because of the use of stock and because the final image was unlike any other entry that we received into the
contest this month. Artist Mona Parvin shares the secrets of how she created her finished image: “I used all three images. For the bird I did a lot
of masking, filtering, dodging and playing with Curves. To join the bird’s beak with the tree trunk, I used a lot of gradients as well as the Cloning
Stamp tool, and I painted the beak to blend into the tree.
“For the background, I used several layer copies of the tree photo that I desaturated, changed blending modes and masked. Then I used
different paint colours to create texture. For the house, I changed the adjustment layer to black and white and masked out what I wanted, then I
painted it with different colours. Finally, I painted some floral lines to add detail.”
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016-017_AVP_58_WebWinners.indd 17 28/5/09 14:35:48

insight
Zip: “Illustra
tio
stickers. Hand n for Hush
-drawn vector
shapes were
created in
Illustrator, vo
lume texture
and colour in
Photoshop”
is a
Vokal: “This
a
poster design for
rt
clothing line, pa
of a collection of
es
five posters. Shap
and lines were
designed in
e,
Illustrator. Volum
r
texture and colou
we re ap pli ed in
Photoshop”
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018-019_AVP_58_Insight1.indd 18 28/5/09 14:36:49

Nike ID: “Pencil
sketches were
applied over the
image, then
scanned into
illustrator. I
brought the basic
shapes into
Photoshop, where I
added the volume,
texture and colour”
Laura Alejo
Website: www.lauraalejo.com
Clients: Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Discovery Channel
Growing up in her native Spain, Laura Alejo was always doodling and building
things. Receiving a degree in Industrial Design from Escola Massana, she
continued her studies by completing a degree in Graphic Design. This was all
invaluable experience, which encouraged Alejo to kick-start her own design
studio, Studio Copyright (www.studiocopyright.com), with colleagues Joel
Lozano, David Pocull and Cristina Belles.
“It was here that we started work in motion graphics on top of print,” she
explains. “In 2007 I decided to move to New York, and after some freelance work I
was offered a designer position at content creation studio Hush (www.heyhush.
com).” Currently, she holds the title of lead designer and art director. You will have
seen Alejo’s designs featured in advertising campaigns such as Niketown New
York (London, 2008) and Vokal Clothing (2008), as well as in branding for
international leaders in the mobile phone industry Nokia and Sony Ericsson.
But regardless of her transatlantic success, this hasn’t changed her habitual
application: “I always begin with pencil-on-paper sketches.” Usually then
generating basic forms, shapes and typography in Illustrator, Alejo eventually
combines all the elements in Photoshop. “It’s the final step in my process,” she
admits. “I also use it to retouch images and to create collage compositions. I work
intensely with Photoshop because it allows me to be very precise. It allows me to
be extremely detailed and that gives my work the deep richness and strength that
I strive for when approaching reality within my designs.”
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018-019_AVP_58_Insight1.indd 19 28/5/09 14:37:09

Interview MARK MIL
about getting
LA
Millar. As a lif
character th
at M
R 1: “4Tale
elong fan of nt magazine asked me to
ark had
comics mysel
f, this was a illustrate the career of co
the composit written for was kind of dream commission. Bein mic writer Mark
ion to flow an daunting to
start with, bu g able to draw any
d to tie into t
the narrativ
e about how ultimately it was all
his career de
veloped”
SAM
GILBEY Sam Gilbey’s love of films,
comic books and
videogames is obvious
when you take a look
through his portfolio. We
find out more…
S
am Gilbey has been a busy man;
MARK MILLAR
over the past few months, he’s been 2: “For the second
in Portugal at Offf (the International spread I moved
Festival for the Post-Digital Creation onto the Marvel
work he’s done, so
Culture) as well as creating artwork for clearly Spidey had
numerous magazines. to make an
“It’s a bit crazy,” the artist agrees. Looking appearance! And
more recently
at Gilbey’s portfolio, you will see how heavily Mark’s own
movie-based artwork features. Films, comic books characters have
been making their
and even videogames have had a distinct way to the movies,
influence over the artist, who particularly enjoys so I wanted to show
creating portraits: “I have quite a broad range of that as well
without breaking
influences. Movies are really central, as before I the continuity of
started getting commissions I thought, ‘What do I the illustration”
really like?’ and I wanted to celebrate what I
thought was exciting about movies. I’ve always
played videogames and been really inspired by No Heroics was nominated for the Best New British TV
them, too. On one level, I suppose you could say This love of a comic-book style can clearly be seen Comedy of 2008 at the British Comedy Awards,
that they have been more influential for my in Gilbey’s work for ITV’s No Heroics (Tiger Aspect thrusting it further into the spotlight. Gilbey
graphic design work and my web design stuff Productions). The station’s first original sitcom, explains how he got involved: “Just before the end
because you’ve got all these years of people which began in September 2008 and was made of 2007, I was contacted by Dick Lunn (art director,
creating amazing things to refer to. up of six episodes, is a series about a group of Hot Fuzz) about possibly being involved with this
“Comics as well. I grew up reading a lot of friends, who are also off-duty superheroes. It new show about a group of British
comics; my uncle gave me tons of his Seventies
reprints of a lot of the Marvel stuff, so I had lots of
Spiderman comics that I adored.
“Anything that you’re experiencing at that age
“It’s about going back to the inner kid
is going to have a continuous effect. It’s about and trying to hold on to the feeling of
going back to the inner kid and trying to hold on
to the feeling of how excited I was to see that how excited I was to see that movie or
movie or play that game and capture that sense,
keeping things positive. I’d say my work feels
play that game and capture that sense,
positive, as my colours are bright and saturated.” keeping things positive”
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022-027_AVP_58_Interview - NEW.i22 22 1/12/09 16:27:21

Sam Gilbey
NO HEROICS POSTER: “I designed this poster to

help promote the show, and it was also framed and given
to the main cast when shooting wrapped. I’m a real fan of
classic movie posters, particularly those of the master,
Drew Struzan, so to be able to create something in that
vein was a huge thrill”
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Advanced Photoshop

Interview
24
Advanced Photoshop

Sam Gilbey
CONCHORDS: dimensions and proportions, but that’s pretty

which would appear directly in shot in a couple of “I’ve always loved much it. I think there’s a big problem at the
doing portraits,
CHUN LI: “I can remember in the early 90s when episodes.,” explains Gilbey. “It was clear that at the and creating moment with copyright infringement stuff that
gamers everywhere were getting very excited about the heart of the show was a real love for comics and illustrations of the goes on. All my stuff is drawn on a Wacom Intuos
near arcade-perfect conversion of Street Fighter II coming movies, TV shows
to the SNES. It’s an iconic game series, so when number IV the genre in particular, with plenty of relatively tablet. I tend to start off in Painter and then go to
and games that
was released earlier this year, I thought I’d celebrate with a obscure references being thrown around. Having inspired me is how Photoshop. I build up the tones and shades in
tribute to one of my favourite characters, Chun Li” I started out before
spent the last few years creating portraits in both Painter and go back and forth between the
I had any
personal work and commissions, this really was an commissions. It’s
programs, but always do the final stages in
superheroes who spend a lot of the time in ideal project for me.” something I Photoshop. That’s the best way to get the colour
the pub, and aren’t necessarily all that, er, heroic. It An advocate of both Adobe’s Photoshop and continuously seem balance right and to get the correct effects.”
to return to, and
sounded like an interesting take on the Heroes Corel’s Painter to create his art, Gilbey uses naturally this has And it is this technique and work ethos that has
format, injected with a healthy (or perhaps sketches to start all of his projects: “With also steered the seen Gilbey’s artwork grace the pages – and even
unhealthy, depending on how you look at it) dose everything that’s available now it’s easy to dive kind of covers – of many a magazine, including
commissions that I
of British cynicism.” Gilbey’s work on the straight into Photoshop, but unless you have a tend to get. Which Advanced Photoshop. His variety of well-known
production was an eclectic mix, from designing real sense of what you’re trying to achieve then is fine by me!” clients and projects is sure to inspire other
fake comic-book covers to adorn the walls of a you’re never going to get the best results.” creatives to want to follow in his footsteps, but for
pub, to the backboard of a pinball machine. “It Working on a Mac, Gilbey doesn’t like to work Gilbey it is more important for aspiring artists to
turned out that I was needed to help bring the set over the top of reference files, but prefers to make follow their own path: “There’s a lot of stuff around
to life with some comic and superhero inspired an observational sketch and then move away at the moment where you don’t actually know
artwork, and to produce other pieces of artwork from it as quickly as possible: “I use it to get overall what individual person has created it because it
looks like everything else out there. Whatever style
“I tend to start off in Painter and then go you feel you want to do, really push it as far as you
can. Once you start a piece, don’t keep referring
to Photoshop. I build up the tones and back to work that other people have done. You
shades in Painter and go back and forth just have to go with your own instincts.
“Give yourself time to develop your own thing
between the programs, but always do and it’ll come eventually, but it’ll come because
you’ve given it time to grow. Keep it fresh and do
the final stages in Photoshop” your own thing.”
25
Advanced Photoshop

Interview
SCOOTER: “I’m making a
renewed effort this year to sketch
as often as possible, whether that’s
digitally like this one, or old-school
in my sketchbook. This is based on
a photograph I took at Offf”
ERRANT TEE:
A man of many talents “Errant Surf So what does the future hold for Gilbey? “I’m
It is with this attitude that Gilbey approaches all teaches people not sure what I can talk about at the moment,”
how to surf and
his projects, not all of which revolve around art. asked me to design teases the artist. “I want to do an experience
Working with Jason Arber, his former co-worker their new logo and diagram to demonstrate what it was like being at
on the aforementioned Pixel Surgeon, Gilbey has branding, and a t- Offf. A typographic illustration with lots of little
shirt too. I wanted
recently completed a music piece for a Channel to create a free- details, the things that were interesting or even
Five ident: “My degree was a dual honours degree flowing illustration” the things that were slightly annoying. That’s the
in Visual Arts and Music, so I suppose if I wasn’t main thing my brain is thinking about right now.
doing this then music might have been another I’ll probably post a blog about it on my site.”
thing I could have done. GarageBand is great for His website can be found via www.sam-gilbey.
keeping a little bit of that happening still.” com (below). You can also buy some pieces as
In fact, Gilbey also has lots of projects on the well, although the official Gilbey shop is still in
go, not all of which are paid commissions. development: “I like to keep busy and have lots of
Personal projects are just as important to this things on the go; I feel more inspired that way,
artist. He’s a firm believer in the fact that if you even if that’s also slightly more stressful.”
have a good enough idea then you can apply it to
any medium. And even though this keeps the www.sam-gilbey.com
designer on his toes, that’s just the way he likes it:
“I’ve always got several things at the back of my
mind that I’d love to have time to do or to sketch
down somewhere. I’ve never felt like ‘What shall I
do next?’, it’s more ‘I’d love to do that but don’t
know when I can’. The problem is getting time to
do everything! The trick is to have a notebook
with you all the time, so when you have an idea or HALLOWEEN FLYE
R:
a double bill at the New “Edgar Wright was presenting
an idea about how to evolve a project, just have it Beverly Cinema in LA,
if I’d be interested in
creating a flyer. Rather and asked
ready to make notes or do sketches. In reality I my Shaun of the De than reusing
ad illustration from
I had some fun doing a few years back,
don’t do as much of it as I’d like to do.” some bespoke illustra
is something I’d like ted type. This
to explore further in
the future”
26
Advanced Photoshop

Sam Gilbey
Lisbon Sketch: “Sketching is so important to keep
going, just because it’s a place to experiment and develop
things that you wouldn’t necessarily want to try for the
first time on a commission. Offf 2009 in Oerias, Portugal,
was very inspiring and I’m making some drawings from
the photos I took”
“It’s easy to dive straight into

Photoshop, but unless you have a
real sense of what you’re trying to
achieve then you’re never going to
get the best results”
27
Advanced Photoshop

N
Feature
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28
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028-035_AVP_58_MotionFeat.indd 28 29/5/09 09:58:01

Motion graphics
K
Key
ey terms
We trante r m s
you’ll disslate some key
animatiocover when e terminologie
n metho xploring s
Twee ds
n
t weenin : In digital an
im
key fram g, a process w ation this re
h fe
frames es, automatic ere the user rs to motion
ove r a p all ca
eriod o y creating th n define t wo
f time. e in -be
Key fra t we e n
points m e :K
of moti ey frames are
drawn on befo used to
o re d
one ke r other wise cre the frames in efine pivotal
y frame a te d . -bet we
anothe a A
r set at t the beginnin n example wo en are
the car g o f a movin uld be
stoppin
Frame g. g car, a
nd
display rate: This re
ed seq fe r s to
animati uentiall the num
o y
frames n. The highe per second w ber of frames
p er sec r the ra ithin yo
transitio on te, ur
n will b d, the more fl meaning more
e. uid you
r anima
Rotosc tion
live vid oping: This
eo to c a n imation
ac tion. reate a tech
A nim
from fr r tists at temp ation mimic nique traces
ame to t to kee k ing th
video’s fr p is
motion ame while foll consistent lin live
. owing e
the live work
De pt h -ac tion
backgro of f ield: Th
is
Blurrin und focus wit refers to fore
g h g
Retouc one will draw in an animate round or
h a d
or adju ing 2D anima t tention to th scene.
s ti e
accom ting vir tual ca on with comp other.
plish th meras u
is. in 3D so ter soft ware
ft ware
De pt h helps
black-t mat te: A g
o -whit reyscale
and im e gradie image
p n made u
values or ted into Aft ts. Produced p of
a n d co e r E ff ec ts, th in Photosho
pixel va nv e r t s is reads p
lues clo them in
ser and to d the
darker istances, wit colour
values h white
fur ther
away.
29
Advanced Photoshop

Feature
IMAGES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

4 MUSIC PITCH, 2009: This work was
produced as part of a Channel 4 UK ID
pitch frame
COPYRIGHT: Superfad (Justin Leibow)
ATTACK ATTACK: This image was included as part of

Wyld Stallyons’ promotional showreel for the summer
of 2008
nts
COPYRIGHT: Jason Arber, Wyld Stallyons
eleme
o u r d esign e
PRODUCED AT TRANSISTOR ce y nb
produ an the
STUDIOS: This playful image is part ou can h layer c ou go
,
of an image pitch that Oeffinger
o t o s h o p , y
la y e r s . E a c
li g h t ly y a s
produced for Transistor Studios Ph ual ing s ent.
individ d, vary ovem
COPYRIGHT: Daniel Oeffinger within r e p o sitione f gradual m t o the
d or ce o nce in
CHARACTER SKETCH 2: Wignall resize a s equen h is seque mes fr
om
tin g t ra
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30
Advanced Photoshop

Motion graphics
Have en Spe e d u p you r
TI P
project tough flexibility wor k fulpoyw ou
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but lear o animate wha in your
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in econols to produce the bare your ap tomated effe
plication ct
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, which g e n e rc ia l p rojec ts
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examp d frame layer instantly app lex st yles an
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when w ators w L ay e r s yo u r
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g Levels p to
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31
Advanced Photoshop

Feature
a
ge of
dvanta op
s t lee
ffiil
tand an
d t a k e
Photos
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for verathe s
TI P
the stre er Effects. Ne pability when
and Aft software’s ca lowdown on ort
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bend a to another Photosh op CS
suited pabilities
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Photoshop CS d import
al re ad y re vealed that ex po rt an
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ovides impr G -4 are
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pa bi lit ie s. M u kn ow th at
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and DV Stream se media
H.264 (iPod) r those who wish to utili projec ts,
w s fo th ei r
is great ne devices in
tertainment lpapers on
from their en t such as animated wal rs.
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creating cont and animated screensa ch the data
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All these files with current and future so
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32 eo a
nd w
ie nde
r ur o. es ,
Advanced Photoshop

Motion graphics

MAGIC INK: Jon Burgerman approached Wyld
Stallyons with the idea of animating his
illustrations to promote his forthcoming book
Pens Are My Friends
RADIO NOVA: A commercial created for

popular French radio station, Nova. It depicts a
tale about the repression of the town folk who
are freed by music
PRODUCED AT LOVE AND WAR: This image

was a background used for V2 Vodka, via Love
and War
COPYRIGHT: Daniel Oeffinger
FRIENDLY HANDS: Wignall has recently

begun Photoshop to build frame-by-frame
sequences to be used later in After Effects
E d it PRODUCED AT FAVORITE COLOR: Produced

Pho i nng
g in P
at Favorite Color, this image is part of a set of
design boards for GSN, The Network For Games
to
soft shop h i n P hot Onc COPYRIGHT: Daniel Oeffinger
war
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A TALE OF SLAP DASH: Misunderstanding
was the basis of this short personal project,
it is
pati
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rned Adob
w e ’s s i m ulta
ent
a n d surr
t eve
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which was played at various animation
mus ility sup tended ith ph premie incl n e ous o u ndin
s b een T i m elin
festivals across the world
tech clin por ’s en oto r ed u d , i l e
n g it t in h a a n d im i t ing i n gO t r ans g fram l u st p a
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33
Advanced Photoshop

Feature

GAP COOL KIDS: Justin Leibow directed
both the live action and graphics for this
GAP Vote For advert campaign
THE DOLL: The Doll is a short film about death,

desire and robots, made for boutique lingerie label
Lascivious in 2007 by Wyld Stallyons
PRODUCED AT LEROY AND CLARKSON: Oeffinger

pitched these design boards for an original sports talk to
show, After Further Review ate
COPYRIGHT: Daniel Oeffinger a l gam
am r
also e, fo port
TITLES FOR BUSHIDO: Wyld Stallyons was given the r e can cts. Tak r im
t w a f fe a y e
task of creating of creating a manly set of titles, with a
of so
f le Dl
idua shop 3 are
eces d indiv ople op
hint of Eighties Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van
Damme, for Bushido, a mixed martial arts sport p i o to p e
two ishe e Ph to f tosh
beloved of late-night TV The compl ects’ liv ls: “A lo in Pho s 3D
c r Eff a with t
te a eve ffec e
crea l e , Afte Moen r design After E nd mov
NIKE COMBINATION STYLE FRAMES: A personal m p r e e x t t h e e a s ee
exa ind Dt to tat l to
project, including the Nike logo and the theme
t i o ns. S citing 2 right in ity to ro It’s coo v ing
op l xis. t mo bit
Combination. The whole idea was to create a
campaign, including idents, posters and a logo t i n g ex ging it the abi z - a j e c
crea en brin u have xtra hop ob s that
COPYRIGHT: Sindre Moen th o an e os ide s
and . Here, y adding ur Phot ly prov Shadow
PRINT NOW NETWORK SPOT: Still from Sprint’s Now a c e s b y y o i n i t e r o p
s p jec t ro m de f s, D
r ob cts f t. It Blur .”
Network spot exploration, 2009
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34
Advanced Photoshop

Motion graphics
I nd ustr
In y iinsight
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project toug Toh sflteoxpibility in y n
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but lear o abneim ate ywohuar baco ur riv
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h ’v o
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e p te s
comme prac tical effe led with Afte d ways
rcial de c ts. No r Effec t
yo u h a sign is w creatin s to
ve d
examp produced en own to you. B g the
les, jus o u g h ac u t o n ce
prospe t where
c tiv do you complished you feel
This qu e clients? promo
te
creativ estion is put yo u r w
e to Justi ork to
design direc tor at in n L e ib ow, co -f
and liv ternati
Super fa e -ac tio onal bra ounde
d n n r/
motion . He reveals: produc tion c d - driven
design “Appro omp an
much li require aching y
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the pla
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35
Advanced Photoshop

MASTERCLASS
Model photo from iStockphoto.com. Image

number: 5667288; photographer: Quavondo
36
Advanced Photoshop
036-040_AVP_58_GrungeMC.indd 36 28/5/09 14:49:21

Add depth to your
photomanipulations
With just a few simple steps, you can take your
2D image to the next dimension
A
dding depth to any image can open up in stone and can be tweaked to fit different images. Also,
countless possibilities, making this simple remember that patience and attention to detail are
yet effective technique an essential tool for more important than any program or tool you might ON THE DISC
any digital designer. use. The techniques are also transferable across a wide On the disc, you’ll find the model image
Over the course of this six-page Masterclass we take range of different Photoshop projects, helping you to and an image used for the disintegration
the surrealism of Magritte, the shadow box sensibilities of improve depth in all your compositions. effect. There is also a document of links
for the free stock photography used in
Cornell and add a dash of contemporary fashion to To complete this image, we will be using Adobe
the tutorial.
create a stylish, sophisticated image that is both classic Photoshop CS3 and a selection of stock imagery. A
and modern. Wacom tablet is always recommended as it is a great OUR EXPERT Rob Shields
The techniques covered include a Radial Blur depth tool that can easily cut your production time in half,
Rob Shields is a freelance illustrator currently located on the east
effect, creating a subtle colour palette and making depth but it is not necessary. The filters and colour techniques coast of America, but will soon be pursing his masters in Media
of field work with your composition rather than against used in this tutorial are all standard to Photoshop and Communication in Switzerland. For his full portfolio, please
visit www.robshields.net.
it. As always, the techniques you see here are not written CS3 or later.
“We take the surrealism of Magritte, the

shadow box sensibilities of Cornell and add a
dash of contemporary fashion to create a
stylish, sophisticated image”
1 Extraction
Open up your image of the model and hit Cmd/
Ctrl+J to make a copy of the image. Next, go to Select>
2 Fine-tuning
Now you will see that a portion of the model’s
dress and face are selected. Remove these selections
Color Range. Keep all the settings as default and select using the Quick Selection tool (W) at 250-300 and set to
the grey background colour of the image itself. In the Negative (left side of upper toolbar). Once the model
Preview box, make sure the model herself looks as much herself is no longer selected, press Cmd/Ctrl+X to erase a
like a silhouette as possible and hit OK. large portion of the background. Remove the remaining
background using the Pen tool or Eraser tool.
3 Background
Open the paper texture link
found on the CD and place the
image behind the extracted
image of the girl. Desaturate the
paper by going to Image>
Adjustments>Desaturate. Now
select a light grey colour from the
paper. Fill a new layer behind the
paper layer with this and, with a
soft Eraser set to 2,500, erase the
centre of the paper layer and drop
the Opacity to 35%.
37
Advanced Photoshop

MASTERCLASS
4 Add the classic light slash
On a new layer with the Marquee Selection tool
(M), draw a large horizontal rectangle across the image.
5 Add some colour
Set the Foreground Color to a light pink and on a
new layer, with a soft brush set to 900px, add some pink
Take a large soft brush and, with the Foreground Color
set to white, colour in the top edge of the marquee
colour effects. At this point it doesn’t have to look
perfect, we just want to add quick splashes of colour.
Quick tip
rectangle. Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, set the Angle to Refine this colour by using a Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur> To add the additional teardrop effects, simply
0, Distance to 333 and hit OK. Set the blending mode to Gaussian Blur) set to 250. Repeat this one more time, but duplicate the original teardrop and move it to the
Soft Light, duplicate the slash layer and place the slashes hitting Cmd/Ctrl+F. other eye. Use the Burn tool to darken the drops,
both in front of and behind the girl. which accounts for shading. Another great way to
add dynamic flow is to use the Liquify command
(Filter>Liquify).
6 Circles are the new triangles

Using the Ellipse tool, hold the Shift key and add
your circles as one layer. In the blending option of the
circles layer, select Add Gradient and have the gradient
fade from pink to black. Open the ‘Pieces.jpg’ image
located on the cover disc, set its blending mode to
Exclusion and place the particle effects near the circles.
Move the direction of the light slashes to better
complement the image.
7 Pretty in a panic
Open the crystal ball
image from the link on the
CD. With the Lasso tool, cut
out small pieces from the
crystal ball and place these
below the girl and then
delete the leftover ball.
Duplicate the girl and, using
a clipping mask, cover the
broken pieces with her. With
the Lasso tool, go back and
add detailed disintegration to
the original girl.
8 Pearls
Using the Lasso tool, select a pearl from the girl’s
necklace and copy it to a new layer (Layer via Copy).
9 Nice lines
Using the Lines tool, we are going to hold Shift to
add all the lines to one layer so we can add the same
Duplicate and add pearls around the girl. For some pearls, gradient we used for our circles. This technique is a little
increase their size to 2 or 3 and 400%. This will give the trickier with lines. Press Shift when you are starting each
appearance of depth to the image. Don’t worry about new line, but release it when stretching out that line to
resolution on larger pearls. We want the larger pearls to avoid getting stuck with 45- and 90-degree angles.
be blurred.
10 Teardrop
Open the teardrop link found on the CD.
With the Lasso tool, select a small area of the bubbles
and delete the rest. Desaturate the bubbles, set the layer
to Screen and place these bubbles on her right eye. To
add a shadow on her cheek, duplicate the layer then add
a black Color Overlay blending mode and drop the
Opacity of the entire layer to 12%.
38
Advanced Photoshop

11 1, 2, 3D
Duplicate the Background layer and size it
down to 75% or 80%. Add a Radial Blur (Filter>Blur>
“Each piece will have colours that will
complement it as well as colours that will
Radial Blur). Set the Blur Method to Zoom with a
Strength of 250 and set the Quality to Best. Hit OK. Now
work against it, so it’s important to try
set the blending mode to Exclusion and you have your various options”
3D box.
12 Add more depth

Duplicate one of the shattered piece layers
from the bottom of her dress. Use Edit>Transform>
13 Dying her hair
To fix the girl’s ‘grey’ hair, select the main girl
and, using the Polygon Lasso tool, select the lower right
Distort to flatten this layer, making it appear flat on the side of her hair. Use the Dropper tool to select a medium
ground. Duplicate the girl, shrink her to about 60% and brown colour. On a new layer, use the Bucket tool (G) to
move her behind the main girl. Add a tear to the small fill the layer. Add a clipping mask to combine this layer
girl with a soft white brush at a low opacity and use of with the main girl and use the Smudge tool to blend
the Smudge tool (R). everything. Colour, Smudge and repeat.
14 Hole in the wall

With the Polygon Lasso tool, cut out a box
15
and make sure that its lines run parallel to the top and
bottom of the ‘room’. Place the box you cut out on a new Add clouds
layer and, using the Distort command, flatten the box to Open the link to the clouds provided on the
make it a window ledge. Duplicate the ledge and distort CD. Find a small section of clouds that will look right on
it again to finish the window. Repeat everything for the its own and repeat the process found in Step 1 using Selective colour
second window. Select>Color Range to remove the blue from those
clouds. Now position the new cloud near the window The Selective Color option, along with Levels,
Curves, Channel Mixer and the various blending
and repeat the process for the other window.
options, allows the artist to perfect the palette of
any piece. When using these tools, the key is to
remember that there are no set values and that
experimentation is rewarded. Each piece will have
colours that will complement it and colours that
will work against it, so it’s important to try various
options. For this particular image, using Selective
Color we changed the reds to +2% Cyan, -48%
Magenta, -60% Yellow and +22% Black. In
neutrals we used +25% Cyan and -30% Yellow.
16 Photo finish
Add a Photo Filter via Layer>New
Adjustment Layer>Photo Filter. With the Photo
Filter window open, select Color and choose a
light magenta colour. Click OK. Add another
Photo Filter and select the Filter option; use
Warming Filter (81). Create another Photo Filter
on top of the main girl and this time use a deep
magenta. Create a clipping mask and set the
blending mode to Overlay.
39
Advanced Photoshop

MASTERCLASS
17 More colour
Next up, set a light
pink as the Foreground Color
18 Think inside the box
Add a little more depth by duplicating one of
the shattered dress layers and increasing its Size to 135%.
and add some colour to the Hit it with a medium Motion Blur at an angle of -25. Now
edges of the model with a soft select the back of the ‘room’ with the Polygon Lasso tool
brush. This time, instead of and press Cmd/Ctrl+X to delete it.
Gaussian Blur, it is the Overlay
blending mode that will be
utilised. This will end up give
the colour more of a glowing
appearance. Do the same
again but with cyan as the
preferred colour. At this point
in the composition’s creation,
it is advisable to desaturate
the clouds.
19 Some finishing touches

Open the water ball image from the link on
the CD. Set the blending mode to Screen, duplicate the
20 Deconstruction is fun
Add more disintegration effects the old-
fashioned way using the Polygonal Lasso tool to
layer and place behind the girl. Using the Ellipse tool, highlight different areas. You can quickly switch between
create a large circle behind the girl that is white. Set the Lasso selection and movement but alternating (L) for
blending mode to Darken with an Opacity of 50% and Lasso and (V) for Move. Use this technique to pull the
add a gradient to it that fades from white to clear. model’s arms apart around the edges.
Smart Sharpen
After a composition is finished, it is always useful
to flatten the image and make any final
adjustments. In this case we used the Levels
adjustment tool to make the colours a bit bolder.
We also used the Smart Sharpen tool to make the
image crisper. Although it’s not immediately
intuitive, the Unsharp Mask can also sharpen an
image, almost the same as bringing it into focus.
22
Don’t overdo it
Set sail with sharpening
Open the sailboat image found on the CD. or you will end
Extract the boat, shrink it down to a reasonable size and up creating more
distortion than
21
desaturate it. Now duplicate a small section of the water
crispness and
Out to sea ball and give it a Motion Blur. Duplicate this layer and
the image will
Reuse the cloud image to add a backdrop move it under the clouds to give the appearance of rain.
look overdone.
(you will have to duplicate it a few times). Open the surf
picture link found on the CD. With the Polygon Lasso tool,
create the desired sea shape and fill it with white. With
the surf image, create a clipping mask over the white
shape you created. Use the Smudge tool to get rid of any
inconsistencies that you see.
“Don’t overdo it with sharpening or you will

end up creating more distortion than
crispness and the image will look overdone”
40
Advanced Photoshop

insight You Make It You: “This
piece of editorial advert
artwork was produced in
Brian Gossett
collaboration with TAG SF
and Microsoft for Zune”
Website: http://briangossett.com/
Clients: Apple, Microsoft Zune, Philips
Brian Gossett is an artist who has firmly embraced the concept of

merging art and commerce. So much so that this has driven him on
within his design career. Since graduating from the University of
Houston, Texas, he has worked for major clients including Coca-Cola,
Apple and AT&T.
After graduating, Gossett took on any commission that came his way
via acquaintances or friends of friends. “Most were very small
commissions with many paying me in drink tabs at bars,” reveals
Gossett. “Early on I took on quite a few flyer and logo design
commissions. It was all through networking with people I knew. It
helped me build a portfolio that would eventually get me a job out in
Los Angeles.”
First majoring in Fine Art, Gossett was then introduced to graphic
design by his friend Joel Gabiola. He reveals: “In the past few years, I
have moved from print design to motion design. I see myself as a
conceptual-based illustrator using whatever means necessary
to tell a story or sell a concept. Lately, I have been merging analogue
with digital.”
Using a broad variety of creative techniques, Gossett has nurtured
an extremely commercial style. Photoshop plays an integral part in
producing his projects, as he admits: “Photoshop is my go-to tool for
most images I make. It may be a mix of compositing and lighting,
illustration and digital matte painting, style frames or photographic
retouching. I also use it to clean up elements I create by hand or to
colourise line art that I draw and scan in.”
tellite
Sirius Sa n
Ra d io : “T his televisio
as
rt co nc ep t artwork w
adve llaboration
uced in co
prod
d Country”
with King an
Nickelodeon Kid
’s
Choice Award 20
08: “This
television promotion
al artwork
was produced in col
laboration
with Roger”
42
Advanced Photoshop
042-043_AVP_58_Insight2.indd 42 28/5/09 14:54:37

MySpace Music Billboard: “This is a billboard
pitch artwork, in collaboration with Exopolis/MMA. The
photo was supplied by Tyrone MacKay”
43
Advanced Photoshop
042-043_AVP_58_Insight2.indd 43 28/5/09 14:55:18

Step-by-step
Workshop
Model phot
o
3316148; ph from iStockphoto.co
otographer m.
: Umbar Sh Image number:
akir (Atom
icSparkle)
44
Advanced Photoshop
044-048_AVP_58_MangaWS.indd 44 28/5/09 15:00:36

USING PHOTO
REFERENCES
Create a manga-inspired artwork using a photographic base
S
ome purists rail against people using because there is a layered PSD on the cover ON THE DISC
reference in their art – but they disc that has the lines all ready for you. Once
On the cover disc, you can find
probably just don’t get hugged you are done there, you can learn how to the reference photo the tutorial
enough! Any artist worth their salt will happily render and bring in some manga-style quirks was based on, a PSD file with the
tell you that a good reference can really inform to your artwork. lines to work from and we’ve also
thrown in some custom brushes
and improve an image. When working from references, you may be and added extras.
In this tutorial, you’ll be shown how to use a tempted to pick colours from the photo itself,
reference photo as the basis of a manga-based but it’s not advisable because you’ll rarely get OUR EXPERT David Cousens
illustration. It is obvious that not everyone the exact colour you’re after due to the sheer David runs Cool Surface (www.coolsurface.com) with his
reading this will be confident enough with number of pixels in a photo. You’ll normally wife, Sarah, from the southwest of England. They have
their drawing skills to start an illustration from find that if you start colour picking then your produced artwork for the BBC, illustrated a series of books
for Macmillan Publishing and produced work for a
scratch, so the tutorial will begin by using image will start looking a bit dull and lifeless. number of international magazines.
photos to help get you started. For those of Instead, it’s recommended to use colours
you that really don’t feel like attempting a inspired by the reference; your work will be
drawing, don’t worry, you haven’t been left out, much more exciting and vibrant!
Scan everything!
1 Bring in the reference
Create a new file (230 x 297mm, 300dpi).
Create the following layers from the bottom: ‘skin’,
2 There’s a fine line…
It’s a good idea to change the girl’s hair
and make it styled more like manga, as well as to
Although there are many sites to scour on
the web that offer royalty-free textures, it’s
‘clothes’, ‘clothes2’, ‘hair’, ‘rough’, ‘lines’ and ‘above’. add some accessories and clothes. Hide the quicker to make a texture yourself. Scan
Open the model image from the disc, then copy reference layer and reduce the Opacity of the everything you can reasonably fit in your
scanner; just be very careful not to scratch
and paste into your canvas. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T, resize rough layer to 48%. Start to draw your lines on
your scanner while doing it!
and angle to create an interesting composition. the lines layer using the ink brush. Alternatively,
Reduce the photo layer’s Opacity to 57%, and you can use the lines provided on the disc.
3
start sketching your artwork on the rough layer
using the blue pencil brush provided on the disc. Why so blue?
Lay in the flat colours of your image with
the Ink brush on the relevant layers. Keep any
different colours that are touching on separate
layers, as this will make things easier when you
come to the shading. Manga can lean towards
the hyperreal, so choose something like a royal
blue for the hair colour.
“It’s a good idea to change the girl’s

hairstyle and make it styled more like
manga, as well as add some
accessories and clothes”
45
Advanced Photoshop
044-048_AVP_58_MangaWS.indd 45 28/5/09 15:04:17

Step-by-step
Workshop
A bit on the side 4 Get your layers done
Give the skin, clothes and clothes2 layers
two clipping masks each (create a new layer
5 Shade away
It’s time to start adding some basic
shading using the inking opacity brush. Open the
When working with references, it’s often and tick the ‘Use Previous Layer as Clipping reference photo then start on the skin layer,
very helpful to have the reference in close Mask’ box, then click OK). Set each of the top adding the shading on the Normal clipping
view when you’re working; you’ll notice clipping mask layers to Overlay under blending mask. The shading will only appear on the skin,
throughout this tutorial we’ve almost
mode, leaving the other at Normal. Select a allowing you to use bolder brushstrokes without
constantly had the reference open in
light blue and hit Shift+Backspace to fill the worrying about going over the edges!
another window. Don’t just take a quick
look and assume you’ve taken in all that Background layer with your Foreground Color.
you need to, as the human brain is
surprisingly bad at retaining information
(and that’s not just our excuse for
forgetting people’s birthdays). Look at
your reference twice before drawing, and
then look again after only a few short
seconds. Aim to be looking at least every
six seconds and you’ll be surprised how
accurate your work can become!
7 Give me
some skin
Use an Airbrush to
add darker tones to
the skin, using warm
6
browns on the
Bye-bye black lines Overlay clipping mask
To make the lines look less intrusive, lock the lines layer (click the layer. Lock the skin
chessboard icon in the Layers palette) and colour them. Because the layer then use a Radial
transparent pixels are locked, you will only recolour existing pixels. Start Gradient tool (G) to
to detail the eyes and lips. Remember that both are three-dimensional, introduce some light
so think about form, where shadows lie and how wet they are. Using an beige highlights.
Airbrush, add grey shadows on the eyeballs and add some smooth Repeating this on the
highlights on the lips. Use the inking opacity brush to add variations in skin Overlay layer will
the iris and the watery reflections on the eyes. add more variation to
the lighting.
8 It’s getting a bit blurry

Select Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set
the Radius to 3.4 pixels. With the main shading
9 Blooming ’eck!
Also using the Radial Gradient tool, add
shading/highlights to the clothes layers (the T-
softened, you can add more detailed shading shirt and sleeves) on their respective Overlay
to the face using the Airbrush. On the skin layers. Simulate light bloom by making any light
layer’s Overlay clipping mask, add some more gradients bleed over onto the shading. Add
subtle variations (eg, add a soft pink gradient to detail to the laces with the inking opacity brush.
her cheeks) and use both the Airbrush and the
Radial Gradient tool to add highlights.
“Start to detail the eyes and

lips. Remember that both
are three-dimensional, so
think about form, where
shadows lie and how wet
they are”
46
Advanced Photoshop
044-048_AVP_58_MangaWS.indd 46 28/5/09 15:05:57

10 Oh, to be imperfect…
To make the skin look more authentic
and less digital, you need to add imperfections.
11 Dressing up
Open ‘dress print.jpg’, pressing Cmd/
Ctrl+A and Cmd/Ctrl+C to copy it. Cmd/Ctrl-
12 Push it around a bit
To make the pattern look less like it’s been pasted in, go to
Filter>Liquify. Press W to select the Forward Warp tool and start
Use the speckle brush with Opacity set to 26% click on the clothes layer thumbnail to select manipulating the pattern so that it fits the form of the T-shirt. Use the
and Flow to 32% and a mixture of beige and everything on that layer, then use the Lasso cursor in the same way you’d use the Smudge tool to push things
browns to simulate freckles and pores. By tool (press L) while pressing Opt/Alt to deselect around, using your shading as a guide. To improve the appearance of
reducing the Flow, your brushstroke will retain everything except the T-shirt. Go to Edit>Paste the pattern, select Image>Adjustments>Levels (or press Cmd/Ctrl+L)
its dots and not form a smooth stroke. Into (or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V) to paste the pattern and input the levels to Black: 31, Grey: 1.59, White: 232.
into this selection above the clothes layer. Set
the blending mode to Soft Light.
13 The situation’s getting a

little hairy!
Using the hair brush, start building up the hair.
14 A visit from the stylist
You may choose to refine the edges
of the hair as they are looking a bit messy by
“Look at your
reference before
Use darker colours first, because dark colours
will show through the lighter ones, giving the
adding in more stylised tips to the hair. Use the
inking opacity brush to add more detailed
drawing, and then
illusion of depth, then work your way up to the strands of hair, referring to the reference as a look again after a
lighter colours. Don’t worry about painting
individual strands, just concentrate on overall
guide, but feel free to improvise; you can get
away with more fantastical hair in manga. few seconds…
form for now.
you’ll be surprised
how accurate your
work can become!”
16 Burn to the background

Bright red should never be used
as a background, as it distracts the viewer’s
attention from the foreground, so set the layer
blending mode to Linear Burn then open
‘textured paper.jpg’ and paste it in at the very
bottom in the Layers palette. Set the blue
15
background layer to Soft Light.
Rising sun
Open ‘sunburst.
psd’. Copy and paste the
contents of the red lines
layer into your artwork,
directly above the
Background layer. Free
Transform the sunburst
(Cmd/Ctrl+T) so that it is
larger, ensuring all of the
beams point towards the
main focal point (her face).
By leading the eye, the
composition is stronger.
47
Advanced Photoshop
044-048_AVP_58_MangaWS.indd 47 28/5/09 15:06:28

Step-by-step
Workshop
17 A darker sun
Create a new clipping mask layer
linked to the sunburst layer. Use a deep red with
18 Border control
Now you’re going to emulate the style of an Ukiyo-e print’s
borders. Click on the sunburst layer, hold Shift and click on the very
19 Lost in translation
Open ‘kanji.jpg’ and paste it onto the
very top layer of your artwork. Set the blending
the Linear Gradient tool to make the outer top layer to select all the layers in-between. Free Transform the mode to Multiply to make the white disappear.
edges of the sunburst darker. This will make contents of all the selected layers and shrink them so there’s a border If you’re curious as to what this writing says, the
them appear as they are receding slightly, around the artwork. To add a rectangular border, make a selection with translation of this kanji is ‘manga’.
drawing more attention to the centre. the Square Marquee tool around the artwork, then Cmd/Ctrl+Ctrl/
right-click on the marching ants and hit Stroke. Choose a Width of five
pixels using the same colour as the very darkest part of your sunburst.
20 Lighten up!
The pattern on the T-shirt is still a bit
distracting. On the dress pattern layer, go to
21 Details, details
Cmd/Ctrl-click the thumbnail of the
layer your lip colour is on and use the Lasso
Customise and share!
Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and move tool with Opt/Alt to deselect everything except We’ve given you a few custom brushes to
the Lightness to +37. Create a new layer called the lips. Use a light red Spot Gradient to add play with on the CD. Some of these were
‘overlay’ at the very top of the Layers palette and more vibrancy to the lips. Create a new layer made by us and some were shared by
set to Overlay. Use a light skin colour with the called ‘stars’ above the overlay layer, and use a other generous artists. Play around with
Spot Gradient tool to add highlights to the skin. white colour with the cartoon stars brush to their settings to see how you can alter
them to make new brushes. Click on the
add some small stars on her cheekbones. On
Brushes tab and try altering the Scatter
the appropriate clipping mask layer (Normal,
Jitter, or see what happens when you
not Overlay), use the leathery texture brush to experiment with the Dual Brush options.
add texture to her necklace and armbands. You never know what sort of brush you
may create!
22 Fabricating reality
Cmd/Ctrl-click the relevant layer to
select the sleeves and, on the overlay layer, use a
23
mixture of dark blue and white with the inking
opacity brush (with 59% Opacity) to suggest Final touches
fabric detail. Render the lines by following the Press Cmd/Ctrl+J on the paper layer
form in a vertical direction, then cross over them to duplicate it and set the blending mode to
with lines in a horizontal direction to suggest Multiply. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+~ to
the intersecting nature of the fabric. select the image’s luminosity. Click on the very
top layer, then press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C to copy
the selection from all visible layers then hit
Cmd/Ctrl+V to paste the selection. Set the
blending mode of this new layer to Soft Light.
Finally, pick a dark red colour and add a border
by using the handwriting brush, holding Shift.
Then retrace over the border freehand, going
slightly over the lines to get a more natural look.
Add any small flourishes (eg, the small tattoo on
her arm) then clean up errors and you’re done!
48
Advanced Photoshop
044-048_AVP_58_MangaWS.indd 48 28/5/09 15:06:55

Step-by-step
Workshop
FANTASY
LIGHTING EFFECTS
Learn how to transform stock photos using little more than exaggerated
lighting and advanced photo-retouching techniques
S
urrealism and ultra-realism are stunning whole. We’ll also be using tried-and-
ON THE DISC
playing a big part in modern tested photo-retouching techniques, such as
You’ll find a cloud image on the
disc, which can be used to create advertising, creating exciting and Overlay-neutral layers. Likewise, you will
a custom brush, courtesy of entertaining aesthetics. Take, for example, discover the usefulness of feathering images as
www.sxc.hu/profile/ Marvel’s Embrace Change comic series print well as how to produce great bleeding lighting
straymuse. The model image
used is included, and there are ad campaign, or the absorbing Rock Band 2 effects from this and with the basic Lens Flare
links to other stock photos. television advert, among other numerous options.
Adam Smith
examples. All that we see in the media Although this tutorial is reliant on stock to
OUR EXPERT
encourages us to experiment with our own an extent, we’ll be showing you how
Senior staff writer Adam Smith experiments with more
industry-standard effects in this tutorial. This time he’s
exciting styles, and that’s exactly what we Photoshop’s Shape tool can be used to
delivering attractive ways in which to create strong have done in this playful tutorial. complement visual effects. We will also reveal
advertising-style imagery. No plug-ins or extravagant methods are how you can make your own cloud brush sets,
required here. All that you see can be created able to be applied time and time again from
1
using the power of Photoshop’s blending photo stock. By the end of this tutorial, all these
Cut out modes and layer mask options. We’ll reveal Photoshop functions will merge to create a
Open a model image supplied on the disc how to intuitively layer effects to create a gratifying composition.
from iStockphoto.com, and select the Pen tool
2 3
set to Shape Layers in the Options bar. Zoom
in and trace the model’s outside edge. Drop Copy and paste Tidy up your model
the layer’s Opacity to 70% to clearly see where Create a new layer and click Shift+F5. This Repeat your Pen tool treatment as before
you’re applying the tool. Next, hold down Cmd/ activates the Fill options. Set Contents to White to select the wall area in the crook of your
Ctrl and Ctrl/right-click your shape layer in the and click OK, creating a white-filled layer. Cmd/ model’s arm and rasterise the layer. Cmd/Ctrl-
Layers palette and select Rasterize. Ctrl-click your shape layer thumbnail to create a click this layer’s thumbnail, activate your Girl
selection. Activate your model layer (the layer and hit Cmd/Ctrl+X. You can now erase or
Background layer) by clicking on it. Press Cmd/ place this shape layer beneath your white-filled
Ctrl+J and place this new model layer at the top layer to hide it. Select the Smudge tool, set at
of your stack. Name it ‘Girl’. 80% Strength in the options bar, and start
flicking out your hair edges to soften the hard
edges with a small, soft brush.
“Take the absorbing Rock

Band 2 television advert. All
that we see in the media
4 Back lighting
Select the white-filled layer and activate
Gradient Overlay from the Add a Layer Style
encourages us to options. Double-click on the Gradient bar to

launch the Gradient Editor and make the
experiment with our own gradient blue (‘#3c456e’) to white. Set the
Opacity to 65% and Radial. Activate the Reverse
exciting styles” option before applying the layer style.
50
Advanced Photoshop
050-054_AVP_58_LightEffectsWS.in50 50 28/5/09 15:17:48

Model photo from iStockphoto.com. Image number:
6817628; photographer: Kevin Russ (kevinruss)
51
Advanced Photoshop

Step-by-step
Workshop
Creating
cloud brushes
5 Sharpening and eyes
Next up, duplicate your Girl layer and
apply an Overlay blending mode. Select
6 Eye treatment
Use the Eraser tool to let the pupil show
through and then duplicate. Apply an Overlay
Filter>Other>High Pass and apply a two-pixel blending mode, select the Blur tool and apply to
Step 1: Begin by opening your cloud Radius. Duplicate the copy of the Girl layer. the layer edges. Duplicate and change the
image. This example shows ‘1167678_ Zoom in on your model’s face and select the blending mode to Overlay, with Opacity set at
56222509.jpg’ from www.sxc.hu, which is Ellipse tool. Choose a light blue colour and draw 60%. Repeat for the other iris, setting the base iris
on the disc. Select Image>Adjustments> a shape selection around your model’s right iris. layer’s Opacity to 60% and use Hue/Saturation
Desaturate, turning your image black Rasterise this layer and erase the edges using tools to adjust colours if required. Place all eye
and white. selection and Eraser tools so it fits over the eye colour layers in a group, labelled ‘Eyes’.
shape. Apply a Soft Light blending mode at
100% Opacity.
Step 2: Select Image>Adjustments>

Levels. Move the Shadows slider to the
right, darkening the background. Slide the
Midtones slider to the left, lightening your
cloud value. Now you have great contrast.
7 Create a shadow
Create a new layer, hide all
the layers apart from the Girl
layers and the Eye layers, then
press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E.
Turn the gradient background
layer back on. Name this new
layer ‘Shadow’, then Cmd/Ctrl-
click the layer thumbnail to make
Step 3: Click Cmd/Ctrl+I, inverting the a selection. Select Image>
image tone. If you notice any interference Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and
in your white background, paint it out. decrease Lightness to -100.
Finally, select Edit>Define Brush Set and Choose Select>Modify>Contract.
name and save your cloud brush. This will Contract by 30 pixels. Now select
now appear in your Brushes palette. Feather from the same options,
then set Radius at 40 pixels.
8 Prep for lighting

Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I, hitting Backspace
twice. Click Cmd/Ctrl+D. Apply Soft Light to the
9 Bleeding light
Apply a layer mask to the Merged girl layer.
With this layer active, Cmd/Ctrl-click the Girl layer
Shadow layer at 70% for Opacity and Fill. Apply a thumbnail to select the model. Press Cmd/Ctrl
layer mask to the Shadow layer. With a soft- +Shift+I. Select a soft black brush at 50% Opacity.
edged black brush, paint out the eyes. Create a Paint away the model edges on the layer mask to
new layer, then press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+ add shining white light. Cmd/Ctrl-click the Girl
E, calling it ‘Merged girl’. Create a new layer layer thumbnail and press Cmd/Ctrl+J with the
beneath this, named ‘White’. Fill it with white. Merged girl layer thumbnail active.
“Select the
Gradient tool from
the toolbar and
apply a horizontal
Transparent
Rainbow gradient”
52
Advanced Photoshop

10 Outer glow
Name this layer ‘Outer glow’ and
select Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation.
11 Erase edges
Activate your Merged girl layer mask
and again Cmd/Ctrl-click your Girl layer
12 Shape tools
Create a new layer at the top of the layers stack, and then hit
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E, calling this layer ‘All merged’. Select the
Increase Lightness to the maximum, apply and thumbnail. Select>Modify>Feather again, but Rectangle tool and draw a shape the length of your model. Rasterise
then Cmd/Ctrl-click the layer’s thumbnail. Apply this time applying a Radius of ten pixels. Cmd/ this layer and Cmd/Ctrl-click the layer thumbnail. Select the Gradient
a 40-pixel Feather value (Select>Modify> Ctrl+Shift+I and zoom in close to your image tool from the toolbar and apply a horizontal Transparent Rainbow
Feather). Just hit the Backspace button once edges. Press Cmd/Ctrl+H to hide your selection gradient. Cmd/Ctrl+D your selection and select Filter>Blur>Motion Blur.
and deselect (Cmd/Ctrl+D). Now apply a layer then apply a 60px, 30% Opacity soft-edged Apply an Angle of 80 degrees and a Distance of 999 pixels.
mask and erase all of this layer’s value beneath black brush, bleeding out your image edges.
the knee area.
13 Rainbow effects
Name this layer ‘Rainbow’ and rotate
it 45 degrees clockwise. Apply a Screen
14 Softening effects
Select a soft-edged black brush at
30% Opacity and apply it sparingly to the ends
“There’s nothing like
adding a few extra
blending mode at 70% Opacity and place across
your model’s chest. Apply a layer mask and still
and stronger areas of your Rainbow shape layer
mask. Duplicate this layer, reposition the new
elements to really help
with the Transparent Rainbow gradient active, rainbow over the model’s legs and again edit make your artwork ‘pop’”
apply the Gradient tool from the bottom of your using a layer mask function.
model’s dress to the top of her head.
Added extras
There’s nothing like adding a few extra
elements to really help make your artwork
‘pop’. We’ve gone ahead and included a
host of flying contraptions, such as planes,
birds and balloons (see the links
document on the disc).
However, make sure after adding these
elements that the lighting matches. The
best way to do this is import your image
and Cmd/Ctrl-click the layer thumbnail.
Then proceed to add your black and white
soft brushes to the Overlay-neutral layer
within your selection. You can also utilise
15
Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation
Light ray effects options, increasing and decreasing
Select the Rectangle tool Saturation and Brightness values.
and draw a thin pink horizontal shape. However, when doing this you’ll need to
Rasterise this layer and apply a layer activate your image layer first.
mask. Name this layer ‘Ray’. Select a
soft-edged black brush at 30%
Opacity, blending mode set to
Dissolve, and apply to the bottom
edge of your shape. Set the blending
mode to Normal and apply again to
your bottom edge and ends of your
shape. Now apply a Screen blending
mode to this layer and rotate 45-
degrees anti-clockwise.
53
Advanced Photoshop

Step-by-step
Workshop
16 Colour adjustments
Duplicate and reposition these ray layers over your model.
Place one at her shoulders, a couple across her midriff and wherever
17 Lens flares
Create a new layer
and press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/
else you wish. Take advantage of the layer masks to edit and to fade Alt+E, calling it ‘All merged 2’.
away edges further. Alter the Hue values in Image>Adjustment>Hue/ Select Filter>Render>Lens
Saturation (making sure that Colorize is ticked) to alter layer tones to Flare. Select a Movie Prime Lens
your liking. Once satisfied, create a Rays layer group and place these Type and, with Brightness set
layers in it. to 30%, place this around your
model’s upper body. Add a few
lens flares, set at between 30
and 60% Brightness. We’ve
placed them beneath her arm,
at her shoulder and around her
head, so it’s as if the light is
burning behind her.
18 Masking out interference

You’ll notice that this lens flare effect
will leave interfering light streaks across your
19 Applying cloud brush
Create a new layer named ‘Clouds’.
Select your new cloud brush (see page 52) and
image. To limit the effect of these, apply a layer set your Foreground Color to white and
mask to this All merged 2 layer and select a Background Color to black. Activate your
Finishing touches soft-edged black brush at 30% Opacity. Now

brush away these light streaks without
Brushes panel and activate Color Dynamics,
setting Control to Pen Pressure. Now build up
interfering with your lens flares. cloud layers at your model’s feet and around her
After applying these effects, you might person. Alternating between cloud brush types
find that you want to make a few further is advisable to get a more realistic effect.
amendments to your composition, such as
retouching any flaws from the previous
steps. We’ve also added some Illustrator
lines for a bit of motion. If you want to do
the same, create a couple of Line Paths in
Illustrator with the Pen tool. Go to Object>
Blend>Blend Options and set Specified
Steps at 20-30. With the strokes selected,
go to Object>Blend>Make. Select this new
wave shape and Copy and Paste into
Photoshop. You can find out more about
creating this effect online. Try: www.
ndesign-studio.com/resources/tutorials/
abstract-background/.
20 Overlay-neutral layer
Holding Opt/Alt, click on the ‘Create a new layer’ icon in the
21
Layers palette. In the New Layer options, set blending mode to Overlay
and activate the ‘Fill with Overlay-neutral color’ option. Making sure Retouch layer
Shape Dynamics>Controls are set to Off in your brush options, select a Similarly, add this to
soft-edged 20% Opacity white brush and apply to the left side of your image areas where the light is at its
model’s features. strongest, such as the edges of your
model’s hair, within the hair strands
themselves and along the contours
of the body. Also apply to the top
edges of your light rays with a small
hard brush. Just hold Shift and click
from edge to edge to get the
intended effect… and you’re done!
“Build up cloud layers. Alternating

between cloud brush types will give a
more realistic effect”
54
Advanced Photoshop

Step-by-step
Workshop
t i o nal
ira opre
Insporkalsarh sha
Wofession andtisPthsotoysohuop
Pr ecrets to help ls
s il
their chniquees your sk
te prov
im
56
Advanced Photoshop
056-061_AVP_58_PaintingWS.indd 56 28/5/09 15:24:25

IMPROVE YOUR
PAINTING SKILLS
Learn how to create high-end photomontages using
a range of selection and cutting-out techniques
I
n this walkthrough, I will show you how same one to follow this tutorial, or better yet,
to illustrate a realistic fantasy painting. choose one of your own to come up with
ON THE DISC
Persephone was created entirely in Adobe something original. On this issue’s cover disc are the
Photoshop, although any digital painting This image was created in order to practise custom brushes needed to
create Persephone. Although
program, such as Corel Painter, should work painting drapery, which I view as a challenge. I you can re-create Persephone,
equally as well. Choose whichever program decided to base this on the mythological tale try using this tutorial to come up
you’re comfortable with (for the sake of this of Persephone, because I felt the figure’s pose with an image of your own.
tutorial, I am using strictly Photoshop in order suited this character very well. Greek
OUR EXPERT George Patsouras
to keep things simple). mythology inspires me heavily in my work,
The model for the figure was referenced and I wanted to show that with this image. George Patsouras is a freelance digital painter from Long
Island City, NY. His work can be seen in various
from a member of deviantART, http:// Her story mainly revolves around her videogames, magazines and children’s books. If you fancy
lockstock.deviantart.com/, who has some abduction from Earth to the underworld by checking out his complete portfolio after working your
amazing fantasy-esque stock photography Hades. This image deals with that concept, way through this tutorial, then take a trip to his website
at http://cgaddict.blogspot.com/.
available free of charge. By all means, use the albeit with subtlety.
1 Start with a blank canvas

The first step is an easy one. I simply created
a new document, sized around the same as the
3 Work on the pose
When I had a decent pose drawn, I
created a new layer. This is where I made a
reference photo (this helps to be more accurate in serious attempt to draw the figure as precisely
terms of drawing the figure). I worked at 300dpi as possible. I took my time here. Remember, if
to ensure the highest quality. Additionally, I used you have a good composite sketch already set
the Gradient tool to quickly fill in the canvas with up as a base, the less likely you are of messing
a fairly light grey colour. up the ‘big picture’. I worked in a very high
resolution here, set around 8.5 x 11 inches and
at 300dpi.
“The figure’s pose

suited Persephone
very well. Greek
mythology inspires
2 Sketch the pose
With that done, it was time to re-create
the pose from the reference photo. It didn’t
me… and I wanted

have to be 100 per cent precise – what I was
aiming for was capturing the essence of the
to show that with pose quickly without any detail. Break down the
figure into either a skeleton or a bunch of
this image” cylinders – either way will suffice. Remember
that the ideal figure is composed of eight heads.
57
Advanced Photoshop

Step-by-step
Workshop
Quick tip 4 Clean up the lines
When my final sketch was completed, I
deleted the preliminary line work, as I no
5 Expand the composition
My initial composition wasn’t well thought
out, as I kept it limited to help me draw the figure.
Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation tool can come longer had any use for it. To clean up the Now that the sketch of the figure was complete, I
in handy when it comes to changing existing line art, you can use the Eraser tool or, could think about the composition on a bigger
colours quickly and effectively. Select if it’s a bit too sloppy, you can create yet scale. Using the Crop tool, I selected the whole
Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation.
another layer and trace over your existing image and expanded on it to something more
Never be afraid to experiment!
sketch as well. Any method will do. suitable. It’s a good idea to really think about
what you want to paint in the background before
cropping (or here, expanding) anything.
“Always keep the
same light source
and define all the
elements. If the
light is coming
from the left of a
figure, it should be
shown on its skin”
6 Quick colour composite

I filled in the canvas with a green/yellow
colour using Photoshop’s Gradient tool, and
7 Colour palette
Skin tones are very important and it
always pays off to plan them ahead. I created a
8 Apply colours to the figure
Here, I colour-picked one of the tones I
created from the colour palette and quickly
quickly filled in the base colours of the figure and new document and tried out my skin tones applied it to the figure. I also chose a colour for
drapery. I knew the background had to be very there before applying it to the painting. In this the drapery, which I would later change for
environment-heavy and natural, so I tried a few case, I chose fairly light peachy tones for the something else entirely.
quick attempts at it. All my work at this point was highlights and warmer hues for the shaded
done with a hard-edged brush and limited to parts of the figure to help her pop out of the
simply three layers (background, figure, drapery). background. Remember to apply some of the
Remember to establish a strong value statement skin tone colours to the background as well –
at the beginning stages of your painting. this will help unify the image.
10 Refine
the figure
Although I was happy with
how the form of the figure
was turning out, my
brushwork was a bit too
harsh, so I used a softer
9
variation to smooth
Begin to shade everything out. I applied the
The figure is by far the same lighting to her dress as
most important element of the I did to the skin to unify the
painting, so I made sure to image as a whole. Always
spend the most time on it. keep the same light source
Looking at a reference as a for everything, and define all
guide, I began to shade in the the elements accordingly (if
figure accordingly. I applied the the light is coming from the
first light source, coming from left of a figure, for example,
the left side of the figure. it should be shown on its
skin and attire).
58
Advanced Photoshop

11 Colour change
The colour of the figure’s attire was
bothering me, as it just didn’t seem to flow well
12 Play with the background
Backgrounds are always fun to paint
because you don’t have to be as careful as you
13 Enhance the lighting
Although I had already established a light source coming in
from the left, that didn’t stop me from including one more! I added
for this piece (perhaps it was a bit too luxurious would be for, let’s say, a human figure. Moving another light source, this time one not so obvious but equally as
for its time), so I quickly fixed this using a tree’s branch up and down five inches won’t important, coming from the right side of the image. This helps to define
Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation option. I was lucky; look wrong, but doing that on a figure’s leg is a the figure even more and create some interesting contrast, too.
the shading of clothing isn’t as complicated as whole different story. With that in mind, I
skin, for example, so I was able to get away with painted away and just went with what feels
this. Most of the time you might not be so lucky, right. There’s really no right or wrong here.
so always plan ahead.
“Backgrounds are always fun to paint Hard- and soft-

because you don’t have to be as careful edged brushes
as you would be for a human figure” The brushes I use to paint primarily are
quite simple; a regular hard-edged brush,
a soft-edged brush and a spackled brush.
14 15
Learning to combine these three brushes
Unify the image More background work
effectively takes years of practice, but it
A nice way to unify an image is to The background is a bit too empty,
makes all the difference in creating
apply its colours all around. In this case, I applied so I decided to quickly add a tree in the middle something that looks believable. I usually
the skin tones to the background, with a very to help fill in the negative space. Even at this start off with the hard-edged ones to
low Flow. I also did the same to the figure, early stage, I kept in mind the lighting of the define form, the softer edge to blend
applying certain tones from the background to image and applied it to the tree. (although you must be careful with this –
the figure’s flesh. overuse of the Airbrush can make your
figures look quite plastic) and a spackled
for shading and texture.
16 Custom brushes
Although happy with the
background’s progress, I felt that it was missing
something. This is where texture can be useful. I
used a leaf brush to add some much-needed
texture and detail to the background. Also, I
altered the tree’s shape that I added previously
to help complement the figure’s posture.
59
Advanced Photoshop

Step-by-step
Workshop
17 First signs of detailing
This is when I decided to get serious
about the painting, and began to detail it. I used
18 Refine the fabric
Looking at the reference photo, I
painted in the smaller variations of the clothing
“I decided to add
more texture and
a smaller variation of the hard-edged brush and
brought out the forms of the drapery as well as
folds. This part is very important, as it plays a
huge part in how believable the image looks. I
details to the
the harsh textures of the tree branches. I worked used a hard-edged brush for the sharp curves, foreground as well
in at a very close zoom at this stage. but also made heavy use of the Airbrush to
give it a softer, elegant look. as the background.
Although custom
brushes can help
you save time, they
should never be
used as a crutch”
19 More custom brushes

For the foreground, I used some brushes created specifically
for grass and set it to Scatter. This quickly covers the foreground with
20 Apply foliage
Using more custom brushes, I
decided to add more texture and details to
strands of grass, which can be very useful for an image like this. I both the foreground as well as the
painted in some other details as well, such as some tiny flowers background. I set the brush mode to Scatter to
scattered throughout. obtain the most desirable effects. In addition to
the custom brushes, I also manually painted in
other details as well. Although custom brushes
can help you save time, they should never be
used as a crutch.
21 Paint the doves

At this point, I felt that adding doves
would strengthen the purity of my character, so
I decided to place these birds near her.
Additionally, the surrounding doves would help
the figure pop out as well, which is a plus. I
22
painted the birds similar to how I painted
Tweak the lighting everything else; starting with basic shapes,
To help the figure pop out even working on the major forms with lighting in
more, I decided to tweak the lighting a bit. I mind and using smaller brushes as I continued
used Photoshop’s Lighting Effects tool to help to add in details.
accentuate the lighting I had already set up,
23
very subtly. In addition, I used a large Airbrush
and went over the highlights with the mode set Lucky accident
to Soft Light for a softer look. At this point, I had
what I like to call a ‘lucky
accident’. I duplicated the
Background layer, inverted it
horizontally and set it to Soft
Light. What this did was imply
more detail than what was
already there, so I took this
opportunity to add to it further
by painting more tree branches
and such like. This is why you
should never be afraid to
experiment in a program like
Photoshop – many lucky
accidents are bound to happen!
60
Advanced Photoshop

24 Add Hades
The image was turning out well at
this point, but something was missing. In order
25 Work on Hades
I decided to give him a golden
look, so I crafted his armour and attire out of
26 Further refinement
As soon as I was comfortable with Hades’ look, once again I
decided to refine the image further. Using smaller brushes, I added
to help tie in the Persephone theme, I decided gold, something I felt was quite fitting to a more detail work throughout. Additionally, I went over the figure with a
to add Hades to the background. I wanted it to scene like this. I made a note to myself not to Soft Light layer to help her pop out of the background even more. I
be very subtle, more like a nod than anything overwork him, as Persephone is the focal point kept the Flow very low for effects such as these.
else, so I painted accordingly, concentrating on of this image. I painted in Hades with a
his silhouette first. combination of both the hard-edged and soft-
edged brushes.
27 Almost there…
The image was
pretty much finished at this
Creating
custom brushes
point, but the colours did
need a bit of improving. I Custom brushes are excellent for
used Photoshop’s Color background work. I created several custom
Balance tool to enhance the brushes for this composition, which helped
colour slightly. Additionally, me significantly in speeding up the
I created a new layer and painting process.
First of all, create a new document in
set it to Color. Using a soft
Photoshop and carefully draw some grass
Airbrush with 3-5% Flow, I
on it. Then select Edit>Define Brush and
added in some tones voila! You can now use this brush and
throughout the image to apply it to create certain textural effects,
give it some more life. like foliage for instance.
Brushes like these are best used in
Scatter mode, found under Brush Presets.
28 Add noise
Adding some noise can help make a
digital painting look more traditionally made. To
29 Harmonise colours
The final step was to quickly
harmonise the colours using Photoshop’s
Custom brushes can be used for literally
anything: skin pores, fabric texture, wood
texture… the list could go on and on. It is
important that you never underestimate
apply noise, first I created a new layer and filled excellent Photo Filter option (Image>
the power of custom brushes, because
it with a neutral grey colour, such as R = 128, G = Adjustments>Photo Filter). In this case, I chose
they are invaluable to any digital artist,
128, B =128. I then selected Filter>Noise>Add the underwater colour to help unify the image professional or amateur.
Noise with an Amount set between 100-200%. (feel free to choose one you feel works best for
Then I set the blending mode to Overlay and your own image). And that’s it done! I hope
lowered its Opacity between 3-10%. Finally, I you learnt a thing or two from this tutorial.
selected Filter>Blur>Blur More. Happy painting! “Custom brushes
can be used for
anything: skin
pores, fabric
texture, wood
texture… Never
underestimate their
power, because
they are invaluable
to any digital artist”
61
Advanced Photoshop

insight
Spear City: “Draw
ing the viewers into the
as we ll
piece was
as give the sense
to do her e,
something I wanted tool to get
the Lasso tool and Pen
of movement. I used ldin gs”
the bui
the straight edges on
Sean Thurlow
Website: http://10thladder.wordpress.com/
Awards: Addy Awards (Bronze/The Big Friendly Giant; Silver/
Pyramid Head/Splats; Silver/Pyramid Head/Splats; Gold/Roller
Crazy Derby Illustration-2007)
Enforcer:
“Textures played a
big part in this Sean Thurlow was born and raised in Sussex, New Jersey, and started out doodling
piece while I was from a young age, as he states: “You can say I was definitely that kid scribbling in my
painting it in
school notes 80 per cent of the time in middle school and high school!” He exhibited
Photoshop. I was
aiming for this a strong interest in horror, fantasy and sci-fi, which still comes through in his work
particularly gritty today. “Generally, illustration is my core area of focus,” Thurlow explains. “This could
look and got it
using the Overlay be illustrations for books, covers, magazines, posters, flyers, etc. I’m also looking to
layer mode” expand into areas of concept art for games or movies.”
Thurlow is currently a college student at Pima Community College, but is hoping
to transfer to the well-known Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Despite
his young age, Thurlow got his first commission in his early high-school years: “I did a
small design for a company that was in town in Tucson looking for a logo on a card.
Me and about five other students in my art class came up with a couple of designs
and I was the lucky one to get my design chosen.”
Photoshop is just one part of a very varied workflow for Thurlow, as he says: “I
really like sketching in pen, pencil and markers. I even paint traditionally and lately
have been messing around with oils. Photoshop is really amazing at retouching
pieces and it is a great digital painting program. It is really neat how you can mix
traditional mediums with digital. I love how you can scan real paint strokes and turn
those into brushes in Photoshop.”
62
Advanced Photoshop
062-063_AVP_58_Insight3.indd 62 28/5/09 15:28:54

Wavering
Tree: “I always
liked working on
trees, and I drew
and painted this
in my own time. I
wanted the tree
and background
to show some
movement, so I
came up with
parts of the tree
breaking as a neat
little touch to it”
Way To Th
e Temple:
for an enviro “I was going
nment that
and depth. I indicated sc
really wante ale
of grass in th d to paint a
is so I used a lot
strokes to in lot of paint
dicate the bl
and hills” ades of gras
s
63
Advanced Photoshop
062-063_AVP_58_Insight3.indd 63 28/5/09 15:29:19

Q&A
Helpdesk
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!
Send us your queries, your questions, your conundrums and your challenges. Our
humble Helpdesk hero will take on your personal Photoshop perplexities
What a knockout
Q
noise pollution: Use multiple noisy
Hey Helpdesk guy, thanks in advance for images to produce a single image that’s
clean and smooth
helping with this. I’ve been struggling with it
for a while and I figured you were the person
to call on.
I’m trying to create a sort of inverse clipping mask. You
know how if you clip an image to a text or shape layer, the
image only fills that area, like the rest of the image has
been cut away, right? Well, I’m trying to do the reverse, so
the shape is cut out but the rest of the image is visible. I
know I can just use a layer mask, but those aren’t
dynamic, I have to re-create the mask every time I change
the text or shape. What’s a man to do?
Joseph Laudermann
Quick t
To seam ip
A
less
Joe, you were right to come to me. This sounds levels o ly adjust the
like a job for… Helpdesk Guy! That’s an f just a
portion sm
incredibly specific request there. The layer mask of an im all
create age,
a feat
is the most natural solution to your quandary, yet the selectio hered
n first
limitation you stated is bothersome. Which got me to
thinking, there has to be a better way.
Try this. Put your text or shape layer above the image
you want to cut out. Set the Fill percentage to 0% (that’s Noiseless stack You will need the Extended version of Photoshop for
important!), then open the Layer Styles dialog box for the
shape or text layer. In the Advanced Blending section
there’s a drop-down box for Knockout. This will do exactly
what you are looking for. When set to Shallow, it ‘knocks
Q Hola, Helpdesk! I’ve got just the question for
you. A while back I was shooting a scene with
my regular old point-and-shoot digital camera
(no, I don’t have a DSLR just yet). I used a tripod and
this one, though. Go to File>Scripts>Load Files into Stack,
then use the Browse button to add your photos to the list.
Click on the Auto Align and Create Smart Object options
before pressing OK. Wait for Photoshop to do its little
out’ or clips the layer beneath this layer. When set to Deep, decent lighting setup and everything. At the time, I still dance, then go to Layer>Smart Objects>Stack Mode>
it knocks out all the layers below it and lets the wasn’t quite used to the camera settings and my shots Median. Hey presto! This will analyse each image in the
background layer show through. Notice that the text or ended up with a lot of noise. I’ve tried the standard stack and remove as much noise as possible.
shape is still editable and the effect updates along with methods of noise reduction to varying degrees of
any changes. success. Now here’s my question: since I have several
shots of the same setting and I can pull them all in as Save Selections, or not
separate layers, is there an effective method of selecting
and masking out the noise of each shot? That way, the
other layers can fill in and the end result is a smooth,
noiseless composite.
Q Dear Advanced Photoshop, first of all, I love
the mag. Ever since reading it, my Photoshop
skills have grown tremendously, plus the mag
is always inspiring.
Carolina Gettyson Onto my question. I’m trying to load and save
selections across documents, but I can’t! The document
A
Carolina, that is one excellent question. I love drop-down menu doesn’t list the file I need. What’s going
your approach here. “I’ve got a bunch of nearly on? Software malfunction? Conspiracy? Aliens?
identical photos covered in noise, can I Illuminati? Glitch in the Matrix?
combine the best parts of each and eliminate the Marcus Elliott
nastiness?” That’s really thinking outside the box. Yet even
A
www.sxc.hu: 1022837 and 1111273 with such a creative idea, Adobe’s already been there, Ah, my dear Marcus, those are all very good
explored the area and built a box around it. It’s like that, theories. But I can assure you that the trouble is
a knockout blow: Use the Knockout setting in the
Layer Styles to create a ‘reverse clipping’ effect you see. much more pedestrian than that.
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.
64
Advanced Photoshop
064-067_AVP_58_Helpdesk.indd 64 28/5/09 15:31:51

Scanning textures
Q I’ve been trying to create my own textures

for photomanipulation projects by
scanning in items that I think will be
interesting. I tried splashing tea on some paper and
scanning it in. The splash shape is excellent, but the
paper is warped and wrinkled from the liquid and
didn’t scan in very well. Is there any way I can clean up
a scan like this?
Brenda Wheatley
A
Creating your own library of textures is the
best way to add original flair and
personality to your work. And while a
flatbed scanner can be invaluable for such a task,
many times the scanning results aren’t quite what
you’d expect. Let’s take a look at a few ways to turn
this scan into a usable texture – and even save it as a
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW: How to use dragging it to the New Channel icon at the foot of the custom splatter brush.
channels to select hair
1
palette. Then use a Levels adjustment to increase the
Photoshop allows you to save a selection as a channel, contrast. It’s likely you will need to do some cleaning up Starting scan
done by going to Select>Save Selection. In the dialog with a brush to eliminate any stray areas. When you are This scan of spilled tea on paper has a great
box, there’s a drop-down menu that allows you to select happy with the way the channel looks, Cmd/Ctrl-click on splatter shape, but the paper wrinkles and uneven
other documents currently open in Photoshop. This lets it to create a selection. Then go back to your layer and use colour coverage are less than ideal for a usable
you save your selections across documents easily. The that selection however you see fit; perhaps use it as a texture. Start out by using a paintbrush to paint over
command has an equivalent in Load Selection, too. mask on the layer containing the hair. I know the process obvious elements that should be removed, like the
The catch is that in order to swap selections between seems obscure, but it’s very effective and is used by paper edge or visible scanner parts.
documents, the documents must be identical in size. So professional retouchers on a regular basis.
make sure both documents have the same pixel width
and height. Otherwise, the document won’t even show
up in the drop-down box, putting you in exactly the same Top tip: Managing your
frustrating situation that you’re in now! Hope that helps
you out!
file sizes
Have you found that the file size of your PSD files
2
Channel selections tend to be overly large and somewhat
Q
cumbersome? To some extent, large file sizes Careful selections
Mr Helpdesk, I’ve heard references to ‘using simply come with the territory. Go to Select>Color Range and use the add
channels’ to create selections for difficult The most direct correlation to a file’s size is the and subtract Eyedroppers in conjunction with the
items, such as hair. But I’ve looked at the number of pixels required in the file. The more Fuzziness slider to create a selection around the
Channels palette and I don’t see anything that looks like pixels, the bigger that file size. What you may not
splatter. Be cautious not to include the paper
selection tools. How is this wizardry done? realise is that even unseen pixels count towards
wrinkles. After pressing OK, go to Select>Modify>
Phil Gaitmann Photoshop’s tally. Including pixels that aren’t even
on the canvas and you may not even realise they Feather and enter a value of 1.
A
Phil, there’s no need to apply to Hogwarts to are there.
For example, if you have a canvas that’s 800 x
figure out this trick. This technique is common
600 pixels large and drop a digital picture on
enough that experienced users tend to refer to
there that’s 2,400 x 3,200, you only see a small
it casually in passing, like it’s as simple as applying a portion on your canvas, but the rest of that image
Gaussian Blur or Drop Shadow. is still there, unseen and gobbling up megabytes.
Once you’ve found the Channels palette (it’s next to You can check the real size (the size that
the Layers palette), go through each channel individually Photoshop sees) of your designs by going to
3
looking for the one with the most contrast between the Image>Reveal All. To trim out all those unseen
hair and the background. Duplicate that channel by pixels, go to Select>All and then Image>Crop. Fill the spill
On a new layer, fill the selection with black.
Cancel the selection and merge the splatter layer
with a solid white layer. Use Levels (Image>
Adjustments>Levels) to increase the contrast. Paint
out any marks along the edges and Edit>Define
Brush Preset will give you a custom splatter brush.
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND: Pixels outside the

SIMILAR SIZES: You can save selections across canvas still count against file size
documents, but only under one condition…
Remember to specify whether you’re using a PC or Mac and the version of Photoshop you have.
65
Advanced Photoshop

Q&A
“The monthly Web Shape, then go to Layer>Vector Mask>Current Path. This
makes the path your container. In the Layers panel,
Challenge winner deselect the chain link between the layer thumbnail and
receives recognition the path thumbnail. This will allow the two items to be
manipulated independent of each other.
in the mag… perfect
for honing your skills Skill sharpener
ON THE PUP: Use InDesign-style content containers

to a razor’s edge”
InDesign-style frame and content
Q Great graphics guru of Helpdesk lore,
I’m seeking some wisdom and ask you to
graciously impart some of yours. I’m
constantly developing my Photoshop skills, a feat your
Q
in Photoshop
Okay, I’m going to admit this right up front – excellent magazine plays no small a role in. But I find that
I’m an InDesign girl. I do layouts all day long I tend to forget things and lose my edge when I’m not
Top tip: Nondestructive and only use Photoshop for occasional photo producing a piece. I guess the old ‘use it or lose it’ proverb
Dodge and Burn touch-ups. So there could be an easy answer to this and
I’m simply missing it. InDesign has this great workflow
is true in the graphics world as well, but I don’t always
have actual creative work to do. And when I do, I’m not
where the content (image or text) is independent of the really sure how good it is, or if everyone is just being
The Dodge and Burn tools are a valuable asset in frame or container. So I can drop in a box and place an polite. Do you have any advice on how to keep my skills
any artist’s toolbox. These tools provide the ability
image so that it is being viewed through the box. I can sharp and not lose my edge?
to directly paint light and dark areas onto an
move, scale or rotate that image without the box being Tony Danvers
image. The technique is very organic and natural,
yet many modern artists tend to avoid them due changed. And vice versa, the box can be edited without
A
to their destructive nature – destructive in the changing the image. Is there any way possible to do this Wow, you may be pouring on the hyperbole
sense that they change the image pixels directly. in Photoshop? with that opening, or maybe you’re channelling
The same effect can be accomplished by adding Sarah Reighnol-Smith Bill S Preston, Esq. I’m not sure which is better.
a layer on top of the image and filling it with 50%
A
grey (through the Edit>Fill dialog box). Change Sarah, you are a very rare, special person. Most
this layer’s blending mode to Overlay and you will folks ask how to make InDesign act like
see the grey completely disappear. Then simply Photoshop. Not Sarah, oh no, she wants her
paint with black paint in the areas you want to
InDesign container functions in Photoshop. I salute you.
burn and paint with white paint in the areas you’d
The container-content relationship that InDesign users
like to dodge. By keeping this overlay as a
separate layer, the underlying image is never so enjoy isn’t found naturally within Photoshop, but with a
altered. The painted layer is also very flexible in bit of creativity it can be approximated pretty well. Begin
that it can be repainted at any time, or painting with File>Place (that sounds familiar, right?) to deposit an
with 50% grey as an Undo brush. image on your canvas. Photoshop automatically turns this
into a Smart Object – that’s a good thing, it allows you to
scale the image down without losing resolution. Next,
create a vector path by either using the Pen or one of the AP’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: Use the monthly Web
Challenge to keep your skills sharp and get your work
Shape tools. Be sure the Options bar is set to Path and not featured in the magazine!
Animated adjustments
1 Set up the layers
Q Hi Helpdesk, I wondered if you could Begin with your video layer in a Photoshop
answer a question for me. Do adjustment document. Add an adjustment layer and set the settings
layers work with CS4 Extended’s animation how you see fit. In this case, we’ve added a Hue/
features? I have a video and have applied a Hue/ Saturation adjustment layer with Colorize enabled to
Saturation layer. I open up the layers in Animation, give the video a deep blue tint.
adding a keyframe to the adjustment layer’s style
clock. But when I try to add animation, the playback
just shows the last hue setting.
Eve Smyth
A
Eve, you’ve happened upon one of the
fascinating things about the new animation
features in Photoshop. Certain things that
you’d expect to be able to animate (like adjustment
www.sxc.hu: 1101889 layer settings) simply won’t work. But there is always a
GREY AREA: Use a black-and-white Overlay layer for workaround. In this case, we’ll cross-dissolve between
a nondestructive Dodge and Burn effect two adjustment layers to give the same effect.
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.
66
Advanced Photoshop

ADOBE COMPANIONS: Use Photoshop’s
Image Processor from Bridge
CS4
spotlight
New keyboard shortcuts in CS4
Anybody who is an aficionado of keyboard
shortcuts or hot keys can attest to how much
time they save. It almost becomes an art to itself;
some artists even brag about how they can work
Quick t in Photoshop even without the toolbar and
ip
Can’t fi
nd y
when p our cursor
menus simply because they are so proficient
with hot keys.
ainting In CS4, there are minor changes that shake
the spa ? Ta
cursor cebar, th p things up a bit. It stems from the decision by
switche e
Hand to s to the Adobe to have Photoshop fall in line with other
ol and Adobe applications (like InDesign, Illustrator and
to loca is easy
te on s
creen Flash) and have Cmd/Ctrl+1 trigger a 100%
zoom, while Cmd+~ (or Ctrl+Tab on a PC)
toggles through open documents within
Photoshop. This decision meant that the old
functions associated with those keys had to
As for keeping your skill sharp, did you know the megapixel DSLR, but is there an easy way to browse move elsewhere. Specifically, the ~ used to
magazine has a website, www.advancedphotoshop.co. through them all, resize, automatically level and transfer target the composite channel and Cmd/Ctrl+1
uk, where you can create a gallery of your own and have the ones I want to the memory card? I’m hoping to avoid would target the first channel (red in RGB or
other artists comment on your work? There’s even a doing this manually for hundreds of pictures. cyan in CMYK), Cmd/Ctrl+2 the second channel
Picture of the Week feature where winners are printed in Jerri Strathmore and so on. Now because of the reassignment of
the magazine and have a chance at getting their work on ~ and 1, those channel operations are now two
A
the cover. Even more, the monthly Web Challenge invites The best way to accomplish this is to use keys to the right. So to target the composite
readers to create artwork using at least one of three Photoshop’s companion program, Bridge. First, channel in CS4, press Cmd/Ctrl+2 (add Opt/Alt to
selected images. The winner receives recognition in the set up an action for levels and resizing in that to load luminosity), while the first channel is
magazine and some fun prizes. It’s perfect for honing your Photoshop (that’s pretty straightforward through the now targeted by Cmd/Ctrl+3, the second by
skills to a razor’s edge. Actions panel). Then open Bridge and navigate to the Cmd/Ctrl+4, etc.
folder that contains your photos. Hold down the Cmd/Ctrl But perhaps the sweetest inclusion to the
key and select the images you want. Then go to shortcut family is one that actually involves the
Batch from Bridge Tools>Photoshop>Image Processor. In the dialog box, be mouse. CS4 lets you resize a brush by dragging.
Q Hey AP Helpdesk team. My grandparents just

got a new digital picture frame and I wanted
to send them a memory card full of pictures
for it. I’ve got thousands of photos from my big ten-
sure to specify the folder to save the photos in (put them
directly on the memory card), check the Run Action
preference and select the action you just created. Then hit
the Run button and let Photoshop do the work!
Hold down Alt+right-click on PC or Ctrl+Opt on a
Mac, and drag the mouse left or right to adjust
the brush size on the fly. Add Cmd on the Mac or
Shift on PC to adjust brush hardness.
www.sxc.hu: 1135540
QUICK ZOOM:
2 3
Cmd/Ctrl+1 now
Faded effect Reverse fade sets the zoom to
Open the animation panel and under the Create a second adjustment layer; we added a 100%, just like in
other Adobe apps
adjustment layer you will see several attributes. Click the Hue/Saturation layer for a sepia-toned effect. Animate
stopwatch icon next to the Opacity attribute to set a the Opacity of this adjustment layer to be 0% at the
keyframe at the first frame of the video. Go to the last first frame and 100% at the last. On playback, you’ll see
frame and change the Opacity to 0%. Photoshop that the video now transitions from blue to sepia over
LIGHT
automatically adds a keyframe and fades the effect over the course of the video. WORK:
the timeline. Loading
luminosity is
now done with
Ctrl+Alt+2
(Cmd+Opt+2 on
a Mac)
RESIZING
REDUNDANCY:
Give the brackets
a break. CS4
allows draggable
brush resizing
Remember to specify whether you’re using a PC or Mac and the version of Photoshop you have.
67
Advanced Photoshop

I N D U S T RY ● E D U C AT I O N ● R E C R U I T M E N T ● C A R E E R S
INDUSTRY ARNAUD
SIMON-
An interview with…
LAFOREST The illustrator and character designer

for videogames talks to us about
Photoshop, going freelance and
staying passionate about his work
COPYRIGHT: Monte Cristo Games
A
rnaud Simon-Laforest is better Advanced Photoshop: Does any piece of work
known by his online alter-ego EyeS-L, stand out in particular for you?
but the 30-year-old freelance Arnaud Simon-Laforest: There’s one I like a bit
illustrator has built up quite a name for more than the others: an illustration I did for Hero
himself with his work for global videogames of Sparta for Gameloft. I was free to do what I
companies. Currently working from his home in wanted; I tried to find a dynamic action before
About the Villeurbanne, France, we pin him down between choosing a dynamic point of view and I think the
insider commissions to find out more about the man

behind the art.
result is fun to look at. I tolerated the mistakes I
did because they don’t prevent the eye from
Job Freelance illustrator/
character designer enjoying the energy of the scene. I also had fun
Clients Gameloft, Electronic Advanced Photoshop: Bonjour Arnaud! You’re drawing the pack illustration of Gameloft’s Chuck
Arts, Monte Cristo
a freelance illustrator and character designer now, Norris – Bring on the Pain. And I was thrilled to
Awards CG Hub Master Artist,
3D Total Excellence Award, CG but where did it all begin for you? know that Mr Norris asked for a copy to have!
Gallery Editor’s Choice, Arnaud Simon-Laforest: After high school, I
deviantART’s Daily Deviation
entered a French art school in Lyon, called Ecole
Website www.eyes-l.com
Biography Arnaud Simon- Emile Cohl. I studied there for four years, and
Laforest is currently working as during the last two years I began working as a
a freelance illustrator and
character designer. His work
character designer for Widescreen Games, a
can be seen in various games videogames company in Lyon. After four years of
from Gameloft for mobile drawing and modelling characters and creatures
phone formats, as well as in
Silverfall from Monte Cristo there, I decided to go freelance.
Games on the PC or PSP. He
has also done work in the past
for EA Games Advanced Photoshop: Why did you choose to
make the step into freelance?
Arnaud Simon-Laforest: I wanted to improve
Inside guide to everything my drawing skills, work on different projects as
that you need to know to well as focus on illustration. Being freelance can
make it as a professional be an exhausting job… but I like it and I wouldn’t
digital artist, including pick another one. I’m still learning and always
university and college looking forward to see what I will be drawing the
courses, industry advice following month, knowing it’ll probably be
and interviews with pros something unexpected. And that’s also why it is
interesting, because you sometimes have to draw
» Pg 70 ........................Industry interview
the unknown, what’s uninteresting to you
» Pg 72 .............................First commission
» Pg 78 .......................................................Uni focus personally, and understand it to find your own GANGSTAR 2: This image was created using
» Pg 80.........................................Course guide way to make it interesting to draw and to look pencils and Photoshop
» Pg 82...........................................Career focus at… I never get bored! COPYRIGHT: Gameloft 2008
70
Advanced Photoshop
070-071_AVP_58_IndustryIntro.ind70 70 28/5/09 15:46:00

INTERVIEW
D
T “Being freelance can
be an exhausting
job… but I like it and
I wouldn’t pick
another one”
HERO OF SPARTA: This image was

created using pencils and Photoshop
COPYRIGHT: Gameloft 2008
Advanced Photoshop: How do you go about creating

your images?
Arnaud Simon-Laforest: I begin with a quick rough on
a paper or on screen, then I draw the line on paper and
scan it. Afterwards, I use
Photoshop to add colours,
lights, shadows, effects, etc. I
always work with a lot of
layers, all named and
organised so I don’t go
crazy. It allows me to easily
ZOMBIE INFECTION: This image was created using modify my work to fit the
pencils and Photoshop client’s requests.
COPYRIGHT: Gameloft 2008
Advanced Photoshop: What would you say your Advanced Photoshop:

dream job would be? Do you have any advice for
Arnaud Simon-Laforest: Working on my own comic artists wanting to break
book. I would prefer to say graphic novel, because I would into the industry?
like the pages to look like illustrations. I would like to be Arnaud Simon-
proud of it. But I’ll need a lot of time to make that dream Laforest: Be passionate!
come true… Always draw what you feel
like drawing (even if teachers
Advanced Photoshop: What projects are you working or employers don’t like it) it)
on at the moment? because drawing has to stay fun.
Arnaud Simon-Laforest: I’m working on different Always keep an open mind about
projects, but unfortunately I’m not able to say much how you could evolve your art. Feed
about them because of the non-disclosure agreement I yourself with what you see, listen and
have to sign in my contracts. All I can say right now is that watch, and put your personality in what
I’m working on quite a big illustration and on another comes out of the mix.
with one of my favourite superheroes! I am also working
on a point-and-click game where my characters will BARON: This image was created using
appear on screen, which is a very good way to see them pencils and Photoshop
come to life. COPYRIGHT: 10Tacle/Widescreen Games
71
Advanced Photoshop
070-071_AVP_58_IndustryIntro.ind71 71 28/5/09 15:46:46

INDUSTRY Getting paid commissions
I N D US T RY ● E D U C AT I O N ● R E C R U I T M E N T ● C A R E E R S
©J
IHI
A; C
our
tesy
of P
h
okk
i
© AD
RIAN
MON
TESO
R O; C
ourte
sy of In
kd
TIP 1
E M E MBERCE
R U DIEdeN
E A n is
TH r forget that usesigd by
Neve ed to be ver y
intend ne else. It is thing
e o om e
som roduce s
s y to p u l but that
ea
t is beautif eal to a
tha nly ap
p
may o d audience
limite
72
Advanced Photoshop
072-076_AVP_58_MarketplaceFeatur72 72 28/5/09 16:33:14

F E AT U R E
Your in-depth guide to…
GETTING PAID
COMMISSIONS A new breed of online market is opening, giving artists more
chances than ever before to make money from their masterpieces
N
ew design marketplaces are hot spots of potential
earnings and a shortcut to instant community
fame. This new breed of websites is cracking open the
way we do business. Instead of selling yourself online through
a gallery or agent, this new category of sites deliver a wider
range of business opportunity right to the designer’s feet.
Furthermore, these sites stock bulging community resources,
like forums and blogs, which can be handy for getting feedback
and spreading information on new commissions up for grabs.
Pitched as social networking with the job pages thrown in,
these digital shop windows are set to become the norm.
Traditionally, artists promote themselves through individual “The very idea
TI that for a
WOR P 2
blogs or gallery websites, trying to get themselves noticed in a
D OF swarming sea of like-minded artists. With no systematic

minimal fee of,
In a b MOU
process in place, most go unnoticed. However, the new online
Inkd
desig siness as TH
u design market routes are intended to help make this process say, $400, you
n c
goo , it is vit lose-kn
more cohesive for both the artist and the buyer or client. Some
get to look at
your d custom al to prov it as present the artists’ designs for clients to buy or make contact
c e
a go lients. As r ser vice e
id and others are publishing the client’s project for artists to pitch more than 100
prov od job yo well as to for. We talk to the people behind three up-and-coming sites:
amazing
ide fa u w doin
high n i ll g
level tastic org need to crowdSPRING, Phokki and Inkd. We grill the founders, their
and s o a
exce f commu isation,
n clients and their artists to see whether this could be the next designs from
llent
ser vi ustome ion
c
nicat big thing for fresh talent. great artists all
ce r
crowdSPRING over the world
One of the so-called new breed is crowdSPRING (www. is quite
crowdspring.com). In this arena it is companies that do the
initial posting. The firm publishes a commission on the site, incredible”
allowing any registered artist to pitch ideas and put forward – Klaus Moeller.
their take on what the company wants. The company then Director of Western
picks its winner. Recently, crowdSPRING has enticed the likes of Canon Inc
LG Electronics, which posted a commission worth $80,000. “The
competition is called Design the Future,” informs Bethany Sirt,
PR director of crowdSPRING. “We’re very excited about this
competition because it gives consumers, professionals,
students and design enthusiasts all a chance to exercise their
creative imaginations and have their ideas be heard. You don’t
have to work for LG to make an impact on the future of mobile
phones and you can win a lot of money! We are starting to see
more and more large organisations use us as a platform to
build their brands. Whether the competition is open to the
public or through our crowdSPRING Pro option, creatives
73
Advanced Photoshop

are now seeing more diverse and higher-paid projects up on our site.” A FEATURED SITES
thought echoed by regular client Bill Hale, vice president, Marketing and
Take a snapshot look at what there is and what they do:
Business Development for Transplace (www.transplace.com), who
opines that the site offers businesses more flexibility and options than CROWDSPRING
traditional methods: “crowdSPRING hands us access to many different www.crowdspring.com
With this site, it’s the businesses that do the posting and the artists flock in to offer their
styles from several thousand artists around the world. To date, we’ve services. The fee is set by the brand that also chooses the ultimate winner. Recently, LG
posted four successful commissions – all of which have been tremendous posted a commission offering $80,000 to the artist of the winning design.
successes. We have a dozen more on the schedule to be posted in the
next few months. My advice to designers is to listen to feedback PHOKKI
www.phokki.com
carefully. Go out and take a look at the company website and see if you As well as starting a gallery, becoming part of a community and opening a shop window
can get an idea of their current style. Most companies will not want to to present your style, Phokki also organises regular art challenges. The winner is featured
get too far away from their existing style, subtle changes will do a on the website and pockets a Wacom tablet.
company good… within their current brand.”

INKD
http://inkd.com/
Capitalising on the success of photography microsites, Inkd is an online marketplace for
designers to sell their wears and set their prices. The website also opens the lines of
communication between business and artists.
“I always like to explore a new

creative style in art… Phokki gives
me a great platform to share my joy
with everyone, especially when it
can be commercialised”
– Koh Chung Chek
ki
Phok
Phokki
sy of
ourte
At Phokki (www.phokki.com), the aim of the game is to sell your style

© ADRIAN
rather then individual pieces of previously created work, allowing MONTESORO;
I A; C
budding artists to gain experience and build their work portfolio from Courtesy of Inkd
© JIH
the ground upwards. Artists generate a portfolio gallery that illustrates

the style of art they trade in, and companies can then visit the site and
scour for an artist’s style that fits their project. The company in question
can then contact the artist and make a commission with the view of the
talent re-creating their particular style for the brand’s project. Entering
the premise of the site into an international business plan competition,
Sean Seah (the present CEO and co-founder) and Kris Kasidit
Methajarunon’s (co-founder and current marketing director) idea won
the competition and Phokki was born. “Phokki is an online marketplace
for commissioned art services. Artists can offer commission art services
to potential buyers. Buyers, on the other hand, can have their artwork on
many different types of merchandise, as personalised art gifts and
decorative items.”
Methajarunon says the site offers more to the artist than just the
obvious. “While artists can earn revenue from their commissioned
services, we try our best to give the ‘face’ and ‘space’ to the individual
artist – the artist is given full accreditation to his or her work. They will
now earn what they deserve, both monetarily and in terms of
recognition.” Still in its infancy, the beta version of Phokki currently
deducts 30 per cent of the transaction but it is up to the artist what they
charge for their work. The proportion of business interest is to increase
soon, hoping to attract more talented designers, Methajarunon also
urges: “At this point, we have about 800 artists contributing to more than 3
500 art styles. Regardless of modest beginnings, a few artists have TIP
already secured their first orders. We are currently planning to scale the
PAY TS…ce,
number of buyers, a portion of which come from partners that we are in
NU he pri
negotiations with. I have a strong feeling that the artists who offer
quality services will earn a decent revenue from the Phokki platform.”
PEA t to set t t your e
u ge ok a rs a
r
If yo ke a lo . If othe r high-
ta ition ts fo not be
Inkd pet anu t
com ing pe it migh effor t to
Operating like a show-and-tell stock site, Inkd (http://inkd.com/) is a rg rk , n d
ch ity wo me a
l i
“currently the world’s largest destination for downloading qua th the t mpete
w o r c o
74
Advanced Photoshop

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY:
Industry
advice
Klaus Moeller,
director of
Western
Canon Inc
(www.
©J
IH
thecelebrityvault.com),
I A;
on sourcing designers
Co
urt
from crowdSPRING
esy
o
f Ph
Q. What is crowdSPRING’s
okk
main appeal?
A. It is by far the most cost-
i
effective way to enable a company

to choose and view designs from
different designers as opposed to
the old-fashioned way of having
one designer come up with
several ideas.
i
of Phokk
Q. How many commissions

has your company posted on
sy
this site?
TIP 5
; Courte
A. Three so far. Two for logo

FLEXIBI designs and one for a website,
Flexibilit LITY including our charity, The
© JIHIA
yw Amazon Foundation.
with web ill score points
sit
and ensu es like Inkd Q. What level of success
re
demand you are in have you had through the
products . The more site as opposed to more
can be u or mediums it traditional avenues?
sed
TIP 4 the more on or through, A. It has been an absolute dream.
your The very idea that for a minimal fee
of succe chances
STYLE
of, say, $400, you get to look at
ss are more than 100 amazing designs
SAFEthTe Y
message
from great artists all over the world
is quite incredible. All three times
tion to
Pay atten to deliver in your .
the site has not just met but super-
t exceeded our expectations.
you w a n your style
ig n a n d ultimately oing to
de s g
tyle that is . Q. What are the benefits for
It is this s al clients on or off you as a company?
rn p o te n ti goo d at
tu e ed to b e A. It’s highly affordable, there’s a
yo u ’l l n ing
Plus, y do fast turnaround as well as
it and enjo e
creating
incredible choice and options.
to be co m
it if it is m a rk
e
your trad Q. Are there are negatives?
A. None that we have
encountered. We will definitely use
professional, ready-made print designs for small-medium business,” design. Our model is therefore very similar to a stock photo site. crowdSPRING for all future
projects. We used to use freelance
says founder and CEO Kelly Smith, who also claims it’s the first of its The designer submits work and gets paid each time the item is but I believe we are now fully
kind. With experience building a creative marketplace and downloaded. The theory is to provide recurring revenue on converted to crowdSPRING.
observations of the microstock industry, it occurred to Smith that the each piece of creative, just as photographers enjoy when they
same concepts that worked in other creative markets could be upload an image to a stock photo site.” This model allows each Q. What is your best piece of
advice for an artist hoping to
applied to the graphic design arena. “We decided to start with print piece to be downloaded (and in time a payment made to the win your commissions?
artist) repeatedly. A. Well, this is the tough part. I
Another huge draw attracting designers to this fledgling would say only to go after a job if
you are willing to come up with
website is the facilitated communication between companies something truly outstanding. Make
and designers on the site, whether they bought from them or it clear that you are willing to do
multiple revisions until the client is
not. This means a designer may be able to secure a commission
“The reason we promote ourselves for other work just because a site visitor liked their style,
100 per cent satisfied and that you
hope to be considered for future
is to let more people understand whether it be to create a customised print design or other
design work that the website doesn’t offer directly. Smith
work by the client.
and appreciate our art. Therefore, advises designers considering signing up to learn from the
Q. What improvements to the
site would you like to see?
social relationships play a great bestselling microstock photographers: “They are very proactive A. I think crowdSPRING should
have an area where a panel picks
marketers and they don’t expect any single site or community
role in this” to do their work for them. They work hard to drive links back to
the top ten awarded projects each
month and showcase these for
– Koh Chung Chek their content and are active in the blogging community.” prospective clients.
75
Advanced Photoshop

CASE STUDY: Adrian Montesoro (http://adrianmontesoro.com/) was THE DOWNSIDE

Artist advice one of the first digital artists to sign up to the stock site and
Is all that glitters gold? We look into the expected
Koh Chung confesses it’s a great way to earn a buck or two: “Generating
recurring revenue is something that is becoming well understood
negatives if this new breed of marketplace takes hold
Chek, known
by photographers (via microstock sites), but for graphic designers With every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. In reality, this new
as Jihia in there aren’t that many outlets to generate one design and possibly breed of marketplace could lower the overall standard of the digital art
online design sell it over and over. In fact, the idea of recurring revenue for a print
market, saturating the workplace with millions of copycat designers.
Another concern affecting established freelancers is the expectation for
community designer really hasn’t been possible. Historically, each project we do the current market value of artists’ work to plunge, with newcomers eager to
circles (www.jihia.com), is on a custom basis.” But Montesoro says being a designer on Inkd secure work for little reward – trading their labour and copyright for what is,
in some cases, very little money. The exercise of pitching themselves against
is a fan of Phokki.com isn’t purely motivated by money, especially as designers currently each other forces the asking price lower. “There will always be some debate
after recently scooping only see 20 per cent of anything that sells, a figure that may rise about whether these sites are good for the creative industry,” suggests
Adrian Montesoro. “Most people will notice that the quality of designs on
a recent Art Challenge later in the year: “Thanks to this new concept, Inkd is getting a lot of Inkd is quite high. You are judged by the company that you keep and you
organised by the site press, which means I’m getting much more traffic than I could drive can’t control what others allow to be published in such a marketplace, so I’d
to my own site.” To operate successfully on a site that could soon be encourage designers to work with the site that shares your creative values.”
Q. Why does Phokki work the victim to copycat launches, designers need to make a name for
for you?
A. I always like to explore a new
themselves and fast. One way to do that is to demonstrate to the Final word
creative style in art. However, I client that you can think about more than just design. “Show them The trio of services mentioned in this resources article are three of
never had a chance to share my that you are trying hard to understand their business objectives,” the most visible of this new breed of sites currently scooping up
design with people once I created Montesoro advises. “There are many great designers out there but it talent and pimping them in some degree towards clients. From
an interesting design. Phokki gives
me a great platform to share my is important to design with the view that your work must one-off designs to repeated big-buck commissions, there is
joy with everyone, especially when accommodate technical considerations, marketing goals and certainly a lot of pie to go around if artists and businesses continue
it can be commercialised.
budget constraints. If a client realises that you understand all of to participate. However, if you are more orthodox in your
Q. How has it helped you their concerns that surround the design project, then you are much approach, remember there are still sites like www.freelancers.net,
attract clients? more likely to win their confidence.” offering the more familiar style of jobs offered and jobs wanted.
A. Phokki is a portal that provides a
platform to offer our design
service to people. It keeps me 6
TIP
Y ING
LIT
motivated and surprisingly happy SPR
rowd
when someone asks me to
A y of c
QU KEhYajarunosn:
tes
Cour
perform a commission based on
IS et se
my style and the person
appreciates the work I have done.
tM thu
Besides that, it is rather interesting
K a sidi kki en m the /
ro
Kris m Pho d out f f work
to see some other art styles,
especially photomanipulations
fro stan lit y o
ey”
“To d, quais the k
done by other artists. Some really
spark my creative juice and get w
me started! cro r vice
se
Q. How much money can an
artist earn through this?
A. This really depends on the
artist’s self-marketing strategy.
Phokki has no limit for artists to set
the price for their design.
Q. Are there any other

benefits besides income
and promotion?
A. This portal gathers both artists
and art lovers from around the TIP 7
world. Furthermore, there will
CONT
always be some ‘surprises’, like
publicity opportunities – such as Don’t ACT
hesita
this interview! contact t te to
h
©J poten e clients o
Q. Are there any negatives of IHI
A; C Buildin t ia l buyer r
s.
using this site? our
tesy is esse g relationsh
of P ntial fo ip
r repe s
A. Well… it makes me busier when
hok or eve
the jobs come in! ki nd at
busine ebut
Q. Do you use other sites as ss
well as Phokki?
A. The reason we promote
ourselves is to let more people
understand and appreciate our art.
Therefore, social relationships play
a great role in this. I actively
participate in community events, © X RO
MPKI
not only in the field of art but also DX; C
other fields. Through ourtesy o
f Phok
demonstration of the passion in ki
my art, I hope that one day my
work can make an impact to many
different industries.
76
Advanced Photoshop

INDUSTRY Uni focus
The best digital art courses and student artwork from around the world
University of the 3 MOBILE (BELOW): “The winning
West of England
competition entry to design a poster for 3 Mobile
Broadband, this image was printed 80,000 times
and used in a 3 Mobile campaign in winter 2008”
© SAM BEVINGTON
BA (Hons) Illustration
A
imed at people with high standards of artistic skills,
UWE’s BA (Hons) degree offers students the chance to
explore and craft their illustration skills further
through experimentation with a variety of media and
techniques, both digital and the more traditional.
Course As Gary Embury, senior lecturer in Illustration, explains: “The course
details is very popular so we have a good, diverse range of students to
University of the West of select from, nationally and internationally. We have a strong course
England
Tel: +44 (0)117 965 6261 team who encourage students’ individual development and are
Web: www.uwe.ac.uk interested in a wide range of outcomes, including print, digital,
Course BA (Hons) Illustration moving image, three-dimensional, narrative, sequential, editorial
Duration Three years
publishing and design.”
Entry requirements
Foundation Studies Diploma, Year one focuses on the importance of drawing as visual
BTEC National Diploma or communication, while year two introduces the wider influence of
equivalent qualification in art
and design
professional practices. Year three then takes students into a self-led
study period, during which the vital concept of illustration as a
business is taught. Throughout the programme, the university is
visited by professional illustrators to pass down their expert
knowledge, and a two-week work experience module is also
undertaken, as well as the chance to study animation. Most of the
course is assessed based on artistic assignments and submissions of
developmental work, but there is also a written exam in visual culture
modules and a dissertation, too.
Current student Sam Bevington enjoys the flexibility the degree
offers him: “The tutors are open-minded and don’t try to force you
into their way of working. When I look at my work from the first year I
am always surprised by how much my work has improved. I enjoy
illustration now more than I did when I started, I am able to look at
my work more objectively and I have also learned to be more
confident in my own way of working.”
Artist info
UWE has seen many successful students come through its doors,
with recent accolades including first place at the regional Lloyds Art
of Nurture competition (2009), second place at the Cheltenham
Illustration Awards (2008) and the bronze award at the 3x3
Illustration Awards (2009).
Sam Bevington
Personal portfolio site:
www.thebevlak.com
Year on course: Third
Bevington is an illustrator on
UWE’s BA (Hons) degree who
has enjoyed great success,
having been selected for the
Association of Illustrators
“I am able to look at my work
London Transport exhibition
and having his poster design more objectively and I have also
used by 3 Mobile Broadband.
He says: “The course has learned to be more confident in
given me the conﬁdence and
the skills to go out and get
work for myself.”
my own way of working”
Sam Bevington
78
Advanced Photoshop
078-080_AVP_58_IndustryUni.indd 78 28/5/09 15:48:16

UNI FOCUS
Artist info
Zanny Mellor
Personal portfolio site:
www.zannymellor.com
Year on course: Third
A third-year student studying

UWE’s BA Illustration degree,
Mellor has completed many
great projects and took third
place in Lloyds’ National
illustration competition 2008,
as well as having been
selected for the Association of
Illustrators’ London Transport
exhibition. Currently, she has
been commissioned to create
album artwork for a new band
called Patch William.
THE TRIANGLE, BRISTOL: “This

is one of set of reportage-style
illustrations created in response to
the movement around this area of
Bristol. Tea, inks, pencil and
watercolour were used to create
this image, and much of it was
digitally collaged on top of the
original drawing”
© ZANNY MELLOR
R: “A
AL POSTE nal
LM FESTIV atio
TRAVEL FI First Annual Intern
poster for
The ted using
is was crea
av el Fi lm Festival, th r to draw the film
Tr n on pape them
ink and pe and then scanning ng
el s an d th e car, gs, fin al ly addi
re in
ranging th the type”
in and rear
Z A N N Y MELLOR
©
79
Advanced Photoshop

INDUSTRY Uni focus
The best digital art courses and student artwork from around the world
Course guide
Illustration
Some more of the best Illustration courses from around the world
BFA Illustration MA Illustration Foundation BA (Hons)

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS and Animation Diploma in Art Illustration
Tel +001 215 717 6030
Web www.uarts.edu
KINGSTON UNIVERSITY LONDON and Design THE ARTS INSTITUTE
AT BOURNEMOUTH
Tel +44 (0)208 417 4646
About the course CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ART Tel +44 (0)1202 533011
Web www.kingston.ac.uk AND DESIGN
Rated by US News & World Report as Web www.aib.ac.uk
being one of the top three schools for About the course Tel +44 (0)207 514 6000
illustration in the US, The University of Kingston’s postgraduate course allows Web www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk About the course
the Arts offers a small class-based illustrators to sculpt their skills further, This degree-level course encourages
while giving expert advice on how to About the course students to push the boundaries of
Illustration degree that supplies a
market yourself to clients. There is an This Foundation Diploma supplies firm illustration, teaching aspects of fine
variety of teachings. Using traditional
exploration of the traditions of groundwork for a degree course or art and design together to further
and experimental media, ranging from
illustration and areas that students can other further education routes. With develop artistic skills. With the
drawing to photography, graphic
specialise in, including moving image, teachings in art, design, media and opportunity to focus on print-based
design and digital image-making,
printmaking, digital imaging and book digital imagery, the programme allows or screen-based work, the course also
students choose what to concentrate
illustration. The university offers a you to choose your own area to allows collaboration with other
on themselves. There is also a focus on
variety of facilities, including a complete a concentrated study in. You studies, such as Fashion Studies and
the business of art, with assignments
printmaking workshop and a fully are taught through tutorials, Film Production.
being completed for real clients.
equipped film and animation studio. assessments, studio critiques and
Duration Four years personal experimentation. Duration Three years
Duration One year (full-time), two years Entry requirements
Entry requirements (part-time) Duration One year
See website for details A minimum of five GCSE passes or
Entry requirements Entry requirements Level 2 of the 14-19 Diploma. Plus two
A BA (Hons) degree or equivalent Portfolio of work; one GCE A Level/ A-levels (or equivalent qualification), at
qualification in Illustration or Animation AVCE/BTEC National Diploma/GNVQ least one of which should usually be in
or a related subject Advanced Diploma; and three GCSEs an Arts, Design or Media subject. See
(grade C or above) website for further details
BA (Hons) BA (Hons) Digital Fashion MDes Visual

Graphic Design Illustration Illustration and Communication
(Illustration) UNIVERSITY OF
WOLVERHAMPTON
Communication (Illustration)
UNIVERSITY OF TEESIDE Tel +44 (0)1902 321000 CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS UNIVERSITY OF DERBY
Tel +44 (0)1642 218121 Web www.wlv.ac.uk Tel +44 (0)207 514 7015 Tel +44 (0)1332 593216
Web www.tees.ac.uk Web www.csm.arts.ac.uk Web www.derby.ac.uk
About the course
About the course Wolverhampton’s degree teaches you About the course About the course
A practice-based degree, Teeside’s how illustration works in professional This new short course is a great way for Derby offers the opportunity to
Graphic Design (Illustration) course practice, as well as helping to develop beginners to introduce themselves to combine undergraduate and
provides a high level of hands-on your drawing skills. A year-long work the world of fashion illustration, or for postgraduate study in this studio-
experience, with a theoretical element placement is encouraged to give you designers to develop their skills. Using based MDes course. While you start
taught through lectures and seminars. insight into the industry, as well as the Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and off by studying the same modules
Students are encouraged to develop course having an emphasis on crafting InDesign, participants will spend their as BA (Hons) Visual Communications
management skills and to complete a your communication skills to prepare time creating strong visuals and (Illustration) students, the third year
work experience placement, as well as you for a business environment. The fashion stories in a class that aims to takes you on to develop your skills
being given the opportunity to work BA (Hons) Illustration can also be help you communicate fashion ideas further. Students are encouraged to
on live projects and competition briefs. studied as part of a joint degree with and designs quickly and creatively. challenge what the subject can be,
Duration Three years Graphic Communication. Duration Four days while also being given the
opportunity to complete projects
Entry requirements Duration Three years Entry requirements for creative businesses.
220-260 UCAS points Entry requirements No formal entry requirements
Duration Four years
240 UCAS points
Entry requirements
180-240 UCAS points
80
Advanced Photoshop

INDUSTRY Career focus
Get the job you want with tailored advice from industry insiders
So you want to be a…
Fashion illustrator?
Producing artwork for a top brand or designer is often
seen as a dream job, but just how do you get a career
in fashion illustration?
Introducing
B
eing a fashion illustrator involves working in an
industry that is always changing. It’s an opportunity
the experts to create artwork to match those trends, while also
Emma Rios
Emma previously ran her own
standing out from the crowd. The great thing is, like fashion
fashion label. She has worked in itself, lots of styles are catered for – it’s just your job to make
fashion illustration for ten years. your work known to industry professionals. We spoke with
www.emmarios.com
Kavel Rafferty
five fashion illustrators to get their advice on creating a
Kavel is a self-taught illustrator career in this field.
who has been working in the
industry for seven years.
www.kavels.net
What key skills should I have?
Jonathan Williams Are there any essential abilities required to work as a
Jonathan has worked in fashion fashion illustrator?
illustration for ten years. His DIOR DARLING: Created for a book
work has been short-listed Jonathan Williams: It’s important to have strong figure called Fashion Wonderland, published by
twice this year for the V&A drawing and visualisation skills. In addition to that, you Victionary (www.victionary.com)
Illustration Awards. © CHRIS EDE
need to have a rich imagination, an eye for detail and the
www.jonathanwilliams.co.uk
Chris Ede ability to interpret other people’s ideas. Wannabe fashion
Chris is a freelance illustrator who illustrators should have the ability to follow and predict
has been working in fashion constantly changing trends, as well as being able to What Photoshop tools are useful to the role?
illustration for a year. His clients
include The Guardian, The recognise cultural differences. What aspects of Photoshop am I likely to use in my work?
Sunday Times and The 2012 Chris Ede: You need the ability to sketch freely and Kavel Rafferty: In my opinion, skills in layers and colour
Olympic Committee.
www.chrisede.com
confidently with an understanding of how garments matching are important.
Adam Lowe behave on the human form. Your illustrations should ooze Adam Lowe: I find that I use Photoshop to adjust colours,
Adam’s client list includes Nike, glamour, colour, imagination, youthfulness and style. You contrast and to basically clean it up, so I use Brightness/
The Guardian and Vedette Clothing.
should have the ability to adapt to changing trends while Contrast, Selective Color, Clone Stamp and the Airbrush.
Via www.illustrationweb.com
still retaining your individual style. It’s important to be If you’re scanning at home from a large image then there
What’s the able to work quickly and effectively while under are obviously layers to blend, which is when the old
best way to pressure, as deadlines are usually very short and Eraser comes in.
promote demanding. You must be very competent with using
computer software such as Adobe Photoshop and How do I get work experience?
my work? Illustrator to create, send and promote your work. It’s a great way to build up your portfolio, so how do I go
about getting some experience in the fashion industry?
Jonathan Williams: Many degree courses have
programmes that introduce prospective illustrators to the
“Have a strong online industry through work placements. Ideally, a placement
presence. Send out an would be supervised by a college tutor who is in regular
‘update’ newsletter contact with both the student and the employer.
every three months, Chris Ede: There are plenty of opportunities on the
then send a mailout of University of the Arts’ websites (www.arts.ac.uk); it’s a
your latest work every service for students and recent graduates to help develop
six months. Submit your their careers. This is a great platform to bag those first
work to as many important and difficult commissions or work experience.
illustration/design
blogs as possible – this
is a good way to get What’s the average starting salary?
your work seen” I know it’s likely to differ from company to company, but
what sort of money should I expect to start on?
SMALL PATTERN: This quirky yet stylish illustration was produced for
Chris Ede Bompas and Parr (www.jellymongers.co.uk) Jonathan Williams: It can vary anywhere from £15,000 to
Fashion illustrator © EMMA RIOS £19,000 per year, depending on who you work for.
82
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082-083_AVP_58_IndustryCareer.in50 50 28/5/09 15:55:12

CA R EER FOCUS
ISRAELI: Jonathan Williams was commissioned
Industry insight
to create Israeli for GQ magazine in Russia
(www.gq.ru)
© JONATHAN WILLIAMS
BEAUTY ILLO FOR BON SWEDEN: Kavel Rafferty A closer look at how
produced this illustration for Bon Magazine in Sweden one artist got into
(www.bonmagazine.com)
© KAVEL RAFFERTY
fashion illustration
Adam Lowe
Freelance
fashion illustrator
“I decided to concentrate on fashion mainly because I
found that my style was more uninhibited when
focusing on the human form. It appealed because after
a couple of years of odd-job illustration, I wanted my
images to be divorced from diagrammatic story
elements and not be overthought, working on a much
more naturalistic level.
I attended the Illustration course at Falmouth College
of Arts in Cornwall, my first jobs thereafter being for the
25 Survivors collective based in London, working
sporadically for various institutions and magazines. The
nature of all of my early work was chaotic, eventually
including editorial, politics, council initiatives, in-store
Chris Ede: Freelance commissions
painting, cold-calling record companies, arranging
can generate publishing fees between
fashion shoots/spreads – even a bit of fontography for
£300 to £800 for a single illustration
Dizzee Rascal’s shoe box – all while still keeping the
within a magazine, depending on the
priorities of advertising brands balanced in the
stature of the client plus the number in
process. However, I am now trying to change the focus
circulation. A cover usually generates
of my work slightly. I’ve decided to work direct from
fees between £400 and £1,000, but
various fashion institutions, either from right there at a
again depends on the client. Artwork
show or working directly with an established label.”
for the textile design industry starts
from about £250 per design.
How do I build up a good reputation? How do I expand my portfolio?

How do I ensure my client is satisfied so there’s a
“Get involved in as many things as possible. Do work
possibility of repeat commissions?
experience for fashion magazines and labels you like;
Jonathan Williams: You need to listen to the client and Emma Rios work on commissions even if there is no budget because
fully understand their requirements. It’s essential to Freelance you’ll need your work in print to show prospective clients.
deliver the work on time and within budget. fashion Also, try working in different mediums and collaborate with
{
Emma Rios: Be really reliable and ensure you get back to illustrator different people”
any emails and phone calls quickly. Remember that in
the professional world people want things on their desk
quickly, so meet your deadlines. Want to know more?
More sites, courses and books to boost
Any other tips? your fashion illustration knowledge
What’s your best advice for a potential fashion illustrator?
Inspirational websites
Jonathan Williams: Anticipate changes in the market.
www.prospects.ac.uk
Experiment with new media and processes. Enter
http://abduzeedo.com/stylish-fashion-illustration-
competitions. Persevere. Immerse yourself in ideas and inspiration/
events that activate the imagination, not just in the world
WHAT OTHER Essential training
of fashion but also theatre, music, interior design, etc. SOFTWARE Experimental fashion drawing (short course)
Kavel Rafferty: It’s really important to show your work at PACKAGES WILL Cost: £315 Location: Central St. Martin’s, Charing Cross
every opportunity you get. And, probably most I BE USING? Rd, London Website: http://courses.csm.arts.ac.uk/
Aside from using Photoshop,
importantly of all, keep drawing! of course, Adobe’s Illustrator BA (Hons) Fashion Illustration
Emma Rios: Always keep a notebook to scribble down and InDesign packages will Cost: £3,225 Location: London College of Fashion, John
play a key role in the Prince’s St, London Website: www.fashion.arts.ac.uk
your inspiration. Work on a personal project and think of production of your work.
other creative roles you can work in, too. Just don’t give Another useful program is Must-have resources
up. Even when you feel like it’s not going anywhere.
Corel Painter. Also, if you Fashion Illustrator
have the spare cash and you Author: Bethan Morris Publisher: Laurence King
Chris Ede: Gain as much work experience as possible don’t own one already, it’s a Publishing Price: £12.97 Website: www.amazon.co.uk
good idea to invest in a
from the start. Working on live briefs for the first time and graphics tablet. Wacom is 100 Years Of Fashion Illustration
with people within the industry gives you the hunger and often a popular choice, so visit Author: Cally Blackman Publisher: Laurence King
www.wacom.com to check
desire you need to survive in a tough career. out the range.
Publishing Price: £18.99 Website: www.play.com
83
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082-083_AVP_58_IndustryCareer.in51 51 28/5/09 15:55:38

resources
Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II

An update to an older model, but can it compete in the future?
“Inks can
be replaced
individually,
making a smaller
slice in the
budget of the
average small
photo-printing or
graphics studio”
cheapest to replace. Based on pigment rather
than dye, they offer more true colour and added
longevity on the right kind of paper stock, but
they’ll set you back around £10 or $15 a
S mall enough to fit in a home office or

studio, but capable of producing
professional-quality, long-lasting prints –
EXPANDED VIEW: The output tray at the bottom of
the unit adds to its size, and if you’re printing a lot or on
heavy paper then it’s wise to ensure that this tray is
cartridge. They’re available in Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow, Red, Green, Matte Black, Photo Black,
Photo Cyan, Photo Magenta and Grey. This last
supported, too. Single-sheet input is below it
that’s how Canon is marketing the Pixma Pro one is a reason why Canon is touting this printer
9500 Mark II. Another thing that the Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II to photographers especially, for use in
The printer is a larger format than the dinky has inherited is a reliance on the Single Ink monochrome reproductions. For black-and-
desktop pods in Canon’s SELPHY range and it’s System, which despite its name means that a white photography or Photoshop work, this is
pretty titanic in weight, though slimmer in profile maximum of ten inks are separated into fantastic; for colour paintings, though, it can
than some others in its class. It’s slightly less ugly individual cartridges. This means that inks can be cause bleaching or dullness in areas of subtly
than its predecessor as well, although it still has replaced individually, making a smaller slice in toned shadow.
the same boxy, brooding bulk on the average the budget of the average small photo-printing Although it claims to handle paper weights
desktop and requires a good amount of room for or graphics studio than replacing an entire up to 300gsm on certain approved stock, the
its trays to be unfolded. It has two of these: a integrated tank and print head. Nonetheless, the Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II is happiest with
single-sheet feed tray below the output slot at complexity of colour that this Canon printer can something relatively lightweight. It handled a
the front, and the standard multiple-sheet feed bring to an image – up to 276 trillion colours, in slimline inkjet canvas of around 250gsm,
up at the back. Both can handle paper up to A3 fact – means that you’ll run low on most colours although performance seemed slightly balky. We
in size and up to 300gsm in weight on papers at a pretty equal rate, which may mean a bit of a used the single input tray at the front of the unit
that are ‘Canon approved’. As these include stock hit to the wallet when the time comes to and wouldn’t recommend rushing prints on
by fine art and photo paper makers such as replenish the cartridges. heavier and more textured papers through the
Hahnemühle and Innova, there are a range of It’s a thirsty beast, too – our review unit was
weights and textures available for use with this soon bled dry with relatively little warning, and SINGLE INK SYSTEM: The Pixma Pro 9500
printer, from high-gloss photo stock to canvases as it feeds off Canon Lucia inks, they’re not the Mark II makes use of single ink cartridges
combined with an easily replaced FINE print
for digital art. head. Available colours include the usual
It even has built-in ICC profiles for a range of suspects, plus Red, Green and two shades of
Black and Grey
supported media, and you can create your own
for other types of paper. This is done through the
built-in Color Management Tool Pro 2 software.
Retaining the CS2 support of its predecessor, it
has moved with the times and added extra
compatibility for Photoshop CS3 and CS4 to the
original model’s profiles. Also included in the
software is the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint Pro plug-
in, which enables direct printing from Photoshop
using these profiles.
84
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084-085_AVP_58_Canon.indd 84 28/5/09 16:00:09

resources
Competitors
Epson Stylus Pro R1900
Manufacturer: Epson
Web: www.epson.com
Price: £399.99 ($637
approximately)
Req: Windows 2000, XP, XP x64, Vista
Mac OS X (10.3.9-10.4.x)
The original Pixma Pro
9500’s rival was an
Epson so it’s only fair
that the Canon's
descendant’s leading
competitor is the
Epson Stylus Pro R1900. Also packing A3
printing with ten pigment-based inks, the
Epson unit focuses more on glossy paper
stock than the multifaceted Pixma Pro
9500 Mark II. It’s a bit more cheery in the
ink department as well, replacing Canon’s
drab Grey with its own fiery Orange. The
Epson Stylus Pro R1900 has been out
longer so can be found cheaper online
than its newer rival from Canon, and it
boasts its own dedicated Photoshop plug-
in, too.
8/10
HP Photosmart Pro B9180
Photo Printer
Manufacturer: HP
PRINTING CAPABILITIES: This Web: www.hp.com
digital painting is printed on semi- Price: £567/$699.99
matte Photo Rag paper and showcases
great colour balance overall, but some Req: Windows 2000, XP Home,
bleaching in areas of subtly toned XP Professional; XP
darkness where Grey ink has been used
instead of Photo or Matte Black
Professional x64
Mac OS X v10.3; Mac OS X v10.4
or higher
multi-sheet feed at the back of the unit, while we owner or freelance graphic illustrator. Take the Linux (pay a visit to www.hplip.
were slightly wary of just how much the printer case of the Ambient Light Correction feature. It’s net to see supported versions)
seemed to sulk and gargle throughout the only available in Windows Vista, making it It’s cheaper
process, so patience is definitely the best option unusable by the legions of Photoshop amateurs than the
for ensuring saleable canvas prints. The printer and professionals using either a Mac or Windows Canon
wasn’t tested with any digital ground, a pre- XP. In this attempt to look completely up to date, model and
printing paper-varnishing substance used for Canon has forgotten that Windows Vista will that’s
adding texture to prints of digital paintings, soon be superseded, leaving what could have without taking into account the various
however, on a very lightweight fine art paper, been an excellent selling point to turn slowly promotions available when buying direct
such as Hahnemühle’s Inkjet Canvases, we into vapourware. 5 from HP. Compared to the older, cheaper
wouldn’t foresee any major problem with using a Epson, the Photosmart Pro B9180 is still
Manufacturer: Canon
light gloss on it to liven up a print of some somewhat of a poor relation, though,
Web: www.canon.com
Photoshop art. boasting only eight inks to both
Price: £729/$849.99
Canon has a tendency to update its products competitors’ ten. These, however, include
Req: Windows 2000, XP or Vista
rather than bring out completely new ones, and the interesting flavours Light Cyan, Light
Mac OS X 10.3.9-10.5.x
indeed the Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II does make Magenta and Light Grey as well as both
Program-based requirements
some improvements on 2007’s previous version. Photo and Matte Black, allowing for more
may vary by application
There’s Kyuanos, Canon’s colour management subtle colour gradations than the Canon
system, which profiles media, lighting conditions SUMMARY: The Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II is a model without the potential
and other such factors that allow you to optimise good update to an aging older model, but oversaturation possible in the Epson. It
the look of your prints – a sensible option, given misses a few tricks where software is features HP’s Adaptive Lighting, and it’s
just how long you’ve spent tweaking the images concerned and requires careful management usable in all supported operating systems,
in Photoshop. including various versions of Linux.
7/10
to produce perfect prints.
But some new features, however, seem
designed to frustrate the average small studio
7/10
85
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084-085_AVP_58_Canon.indd 85 28/5/09 16:40:09

resources
Manga Studio 4 Debut

Make manga-styled comics with this Photoshop-compatible plug-in
Manufacturer: Smith Micro

Web: www.smithmicro.com / http://my.
smithmicro.com/
Price: Manga Studio 4 Debut: $49.99
(approximately £26)
Manga Studio 4 EX: $249.99
(approximately £199)
Req: Windows: XP Home and above,
Vista Home Basic and above;
Intel Pentium Processor or AMD
Processor 500MHz (XP)/800MHz A PROMISING
(Vista); 256MB (XP)/512MB (Vista) DEBUT: At less than
at least; minimum of 1.1GB disk £30, you can’t really
space (1.7GB or more go wrong
recommended)
Mac: OS X 10.4.11 or higher, or
OS X 10.5.3 or higher; Intel
Processors and PowerPC G5,
G4 processor minimum of
67MHz (faster recommended;
1GB RAM; minimum of 1.1GB
hard disk space
I f you think back to when you first started to

use Photoshop, you probably found it all a
bit confusing. Adobe writes brilliant software,
but let’s face it, it’s not always instinctive first time
around. You won’t find the same problem with decide to draw with a normal fine line, perhaps SPEAKING OUT: Using the pre-designed word
Manga Studio 4 Debut. It comes with a very a chunkier marker pen or maybe you might balloons, you can add speech and sound bubbles of
all shapes and sizes
useful Beginner’s Assistant, which helps you get choose a versatile brush pen that really makes
over that ‘where is everything?’ feeling when things come to life. For any frustrated artist workflow and be nicely incorporated within
launching the software for the first time. Happily, GOING DOTTY: trying to get smooth lines, this tool is truly a Photoshop. We would recommend using
we found that any problems we encountered Manga Studio 4 godsend. Simply draw and the software does Manga Studio to lay down any line art and
boasts over 2,300
didn’t result in trawling the internet for advice. A screen tones to this automatically. panels, screen tone, etc, then export your file
quick look around the interface seemed to reveal choose from, all of Manga Studio 4 offers other great options into Photoshop for all of your finishing touches.
which are accessible
the solution. that are necessary to make your own comic You probably won’t end up solely using Manga
from the Beginner’s
This software is designed so you can easily Assistant toolbar styles authentic. It has pre-drawn comic grid Studio 4 Debut for creating finished artwork as
make your own manga-style comic. With layouts, background images, easily applied it lacks a little finesse.
Manga Studio 4 Debut, it’s easy to make manga- screen tone (halftone pattern dots) and The Debut version loses a fair few features
style line work. You are given a number of customisable speech balloons that can be compared to its more expensive EX
options for how such styles appear. You may simply dragged and dropped onto your file. counterpart, which can be slightly irritating.
Users won’t be wasting any time organising You get a taste of how good some of the
their page, as it is designed so that you can features can look, but to be able to use them
really concentrate on the enjoyable part of fully then you have to fork out for the EX
actually drawing. Each comic panel acts has its version. Small things like the lack of an
own layer group, making them easily editable, Eyedropper tool and full-screen mode will
and you don’t have to worry about affecting have you exporting your file to Photoshop
the overall page when you apply an effect to fairly quickly. That being said, the Debut
a panel. version is a lot of fun and a very fair price for
If you use Photoshop mostly for what you get. 5
photomanipulation or image editing, you’re
not likely to get much out of Manga Studio 4. SUMMARY: Manga Studio 4 Debut is a fun,
The more expensive EX version of the program intuitive and useful bit of software, albeit
does have some filters and editing options, but slightly limited, with a very reasonable price
you’d be best sticking with Photoshop. tag. Recommended for comic artists and
However, if you’re an illustrator – or even just a
7/10
manga fans alike.
OVER TO THE PANEL: It’s a simple case of click-and- manga enthusiast – then there are some
drag to make instant panel layouts. What a time-saver! excellent features that will really improve your
86
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resources
Filter Forge
This universal plug-in makes sophisticated filter and
texture creation a breeze
Manufacturer: Filter Forge LIGHT UP: HDRI lighting settings are also applicable.
Simply choose the suitable Environment preset then
Web: www.filterforge.com manipulate Brightness and Saturation. The Surface
Price: Standard Edition $199 Height slidebar determines the height of the surface
(approximately £95); that is being lit
Professional Edition $299
(approximately £143); other DISTRIBUTE AND CONTRIBUTE: You can save
versions available effects to your favourites as presets or share them at
Req: PC: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, www.filterforge.com/filters. This free online
repository of filters created by designers and Filter
Pentium III 733MHz or better,
Forge users is forever growing
128MB RAM, 50MB free hard
disk space
Mac: Mac OS X 10.4 and higher,
G4, G5 or Intel CPU, 256MB
RAM, 80MB free disk space
Screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
or higher
Internet connection in order to
access the Filter Library and
submit filters
A re you fed up with wasting your time

scouring the web for a specific texture
or pattern, only to be left empty-handed?
up multiple sub-presets. From here, you are able
to choose from some delectable effects as your
creative starting points.
Well, Filter Forge provides a sophisticated set of Once you have established which effect is
presets and adjustment options so you can just suitable for your project, you can get to work on
create what you want and then import this into it by selecting the Filter Forge Settings options.
your Photoshop projects. Sounds simple, doesn’t Here, you can control a whole host of creative
it? Well, that’s because it is. attributes. Color 1 and Color 2 options allow you
Filter Forge complements your Photoshop to establish the two tones of your effect. Altering
workflow and will excite as well as satisfy the Color Variation slidebar establishes your
photomanipulation and 3D-based designers. The tonality; the lower the amount, the flatter the and creating website
whole idea of creating your own textures may tonal effect will be, and vice versa. backdrops. Filter Forge
seem complicated, but Filter Forge makes this The Frequency option will establish the textures and patterns are not
simple even for design enthusiasts. exposure in your produced texture or pattern, reliant on external bitmaps,
From the off, the Filter Forge interface is easy thus establishing the illusion of depth. This is an which means that any effect that you create can
to judge. First of all, you can select your desired important factor for 3D-based and photorealistic be rendered in any resolution without losing
style from a list of predetermined categories. artists. Roughness sets the contour of your detail. This is a real godsend for those working
These include tangible examples, such as image effect. Decreasing the value of this option with large file sizes.
Organic, Techno and Stone. Each of these will produce complementary effects for those But where Filter Forge truly excels is in its Filter
provides its own set of styles, which in turn serve looking to create smooth and synthetic effects Editor options. Here, you can personalise effects
in their projects; vice versa suits those looking for further through node-based components. These
more textural and organic outcomes. have multiple inputs create one desired output.
Below these filter-specific controls are the There are three types: map components, curve
Global Parameters. These settings are common components and control components. Each
for all filters and include Size, which establishes component type performs a different class of
the scale of the entire filter output. This is tasks and includes Blur, Levels, Curves, Color
extremely useful when establishing whether a Swatches and many more. Master these and
smaller detailed or sprawling texture effect is you’ll be making unique, attractive examples in
more suitable, which is great for figurative artists no time. 5
working with portrait and full-profile stock. The
Variations slider does as exactly as you would SUMMARY: The basic settings provide
expect, producing random variations of the competent results, but invest time in the Filter
filter’s look. Editor options to really master this software.
SOMETHING MISSING: Global Parameter effects Activating the Seamless Tiling option will In general, an entertaining and extremely
may be unavailable at times. If a filter uses no random result in Filter Forge producing a pattern from valuable resource for digital artists.
8/10
components, the Variation slider will be disabled. The
Size slider is disabled for filters that don’t require your effect with no visible seams. This is great for
measurable distances producing patterns for texturing backgrounds
87
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resources
Layers
The complete guide to Photoshop’s most powerful feature
Author/Publisher: Peachpit Press This makes each tutorial easy to follow and achievable for their
Web: www.peachpit.com intended user levels. An appendix at the end of each chapter
Price: £28.99/$39.99 also helps. These relate fundamental shortcuts that instantly
About: Learn from Photoshop guru Matt Kloskowski produce layer functions, introducing a more efficient workflow
Shows how to work and manage multiple within your projects.
layers at once However, we feel the sections entitled Making Selective
‘How do I’ appendix will help to enhance Adjustments and The Three Blend Modes You Need were a little
your workflow detached. These continue in a similar step-by-step format but
Reveals enhanced photo techniques using reveal several different functions within, jumping between
painting with light
numerous working examples. This makes the learning less
Smart layers completely explained
uniform than in other examples, yet nevertheless valid and
L ayer options are integral within any Photoshop project.

However, some artists may not appreciate just how much
creative potential they offer. But not any more as this title has
applicable in the end.
Inspirational sections are included, such as Advanced Layer
Blending that shows you how to integrate seamless photo
Complete resource: Downloadable project
files are available at www.kelbytraining.com/
fully exposed, with international digital photographer and compositions efficiently with minimum fuss. There’s also the books/layers to complete the tutorials in this title
Photoshop guru Matt Kloskowski revealing many cool effects. wonderful Smoothing And Enhancing Skin section, which
Layers’ chapters present a progressive insight, beginning with reveals how to get the best professional results in just nine Summary: This book is a must-have
basic functions and evolving into more complex option sets. easy steps. when wanting to know the creative
Each of these chapters includes step-by-step tutorials, Basically, this thorough title leaves no stone unturned, with capabilities of Photoshop’s most powerful
presenting common and some more ambiguous operations, Kloskowski covering the layer option’s creative spectrum. From creative asset, being both practical and
making the title totally orientated towards a workflow. the Layers palette to layer masks to layer styles, all projects work highly entertaining.
Kloskowski includes Photoshop key commands and detailed
processes in a clear, concise manner within the project step text.
towards producing applicable commercial effects, including
web page design, logo design or commercial photo effects. 5
8/10
Photoshop CS4 Channels &

Masks One-on-One
Deke McClelland presents another informal yet highly
informative creative resource
Author/Publisher: Deke Press/O’Reilly Essentially, this title makes learning about channels and layer
Web: http://oreilly.com/ masks an organic affair. This is, of course, helped by its included
Price: £38.50/$49.99 resource CD, which lets you get to grips with tutorials instantly
About: Multiple-choice quizzes test your knowledge and work towards tangible end products. This tried-and-trusted
Three hours of brand new motivational device within the One-on-One series now includes an all-new
video resources collection of video instructions three hours long.
Taught by expert McClelland with over 20 However, in most instances these resources – accessed
years of experience through the CD link directing you to online examples – are
Video lesson sections that reveal teachings mainly motivational. Creative licence is applicable through the
and included shortcuts
book and CD resources. But, of course, you can easily follow the
K eeping in line with the high standards of previous

One-on-One titles, Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks
delivers a tutorial set that will improve both your creative
videos manually in Photoshop with your own stock.
The title’s format is aesthetically sound with an easy-to-follow
step-by-step structure, and it’s packed with over 800 full-colour
Things to do: This book will teach you how
to composite highlights, shadows, clouds,
fabric, feathers, flames, all varieties of hair and
and production skills. thumbnails, diagrams and screenshots so you know exactly much, much more
We admit that this title includes over 450 pages of what you are doing. There are also some nice extras, like
information to digest, which some may think is a lot to take in, McClelland’s ‘Pearls of Wisdom’. These are presented in miniature Summary: This title will tell you
hindering your enthusiasm to progress. However, this is boxouts and share creative secrets. everything you need to know about the
combated with the book serving it all up in 12 meticulous Some of its most entertaining projects include extreme creative and practical capabilities of
projects. These are revealed by Photoshop expert Deke channel mixing that emulates infrared photography and Photoshop’s channels and layer masks, all
McClelland, who again presents professional techniques in his changing image elements with colour masks. These tutorials, at your own pace, which makes it an
informal fashion. This factor will encourage readers to be coupled with the CD, make this title an extremely useful invaluable resource.
comfortable with tackling even the most ardent techniques at
their own pace at all times.
integrated training device, which will excel your knowledge of
these Photoshop functions. 5
9/10
88
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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.
90
Advanced Photoshop
090-094_AVP_58_ReadersGallery.in90 90 28/5/09 16:07:16

l a work in
MORNING GLORY: “Stilmuch filled
ty
progress, this piece is pret
I’ve used reds,
with Overlay layers, and
and brow ns to give the image a
oranges
summery/autumn feel”
CHARLOTTE IN SPACE: “I
made this from a tutorial on a blog
(http://abduzeedo.com/) for a
friend of mine. I decided to add some
text in the background and some
symbols and shapes to add depth”
DREAM
S
was mad OF ENYO: “T
e his
promotio as a possible
n
mate’s up al poster for a
co
a stock im ming album. I to
a ok
deviantA ge from
RT
com) tha (www.devianta
th rt
manipula ad already been .
te
to add to d, and continued
it
Dodge a , using lots of Colo
nd r
warlike fe giving it a space
el y/
goddess , inspired by Enyo
of war” ,
Luke Davis
WEB: http://starcrazy.org/ or www.advancedphotoshop.co.
uk/user/Starchild
“I’m a student from England. I’ve been messing

about with Photoshop and Illustrator for about
four years now. I’ll be studying Mathematics at
Nottingham Trent University and will still continue
my graphic design work, but on a casual, freelance
basis. With any luck, I’ll get spotted. Currently, I’m
looking for some freelance work and I’m hoping to
get as much exposure as I can.”
91
Advanced Photoshop

Readers’ gallery
BALCONY: “A
Jeff Langevin 3D render with post-
production in Photoshop.
remake of a picture I ma
It was a
de
when I was
WEB: www.jefflangevin.com
on a holiday” or http://jmlan.deviantart.com/
“I have been drawing manga, videogame and comic-

inspired art since high school, but not until fairly
recently have I begun to seriously work in Photoshop
doing manipulations and digital drawing. I tend to use
somewhat surreal, dramatic lighting effects, selective
saturation and strong contrast in my images, generally
focusing on people and the human form. It is appealing
to work with photography since it is grounded in reality.
However, I try to take its familiarity and push it over the
edge more towards the fantastical. I am almost always
listening to music while working, so I have come to view
it as part of my creative process, which ultimately has
some influence on the finished product.”
BLIND ED
is an imag : “This
e
has gone that
th
many iter rough
ati
and I nev ons
er
get tired o seem to
f working
on it. Still
, th
feeling ha e
s
remained
th
with the w e same,
a
the colou rmth of
r palette
and the
displacem
I ROCK: “This is a 3D concept I had in en
figure em t of the
mind for a really long time. Visualising ph
the mood asising
words is one of my favourite habits” ”
92
Advanced Photoshop

TIME PASSED: “We are
all stars, we fall
or rise. Once time has pas
sed, the humans
will get sucked into ano
ther world of life”
Armen Mnatsakanjan
WEB: www.young-dream.net
“I am a 19-year-old designer and illustrator, born

in Armenia and living in the Netherlands. I love
everything that’s strange and abstract. I have always
been fascinated by any kind of art since I was a
small child.
It has been a journey to create my own style. It’s
poetical, surreal and fantastical with a diversity
of colours. I currently study Communication and
Multimedia Design where I learn more about
conceptualising instead of creating art. Life is my
inspiration; experiences good or bad, there’s always
something on my mind that relates to art no matter
what I do. At the moment I have a portfolio called A
Young Dream – the name brings life to my dreams
that I have had since being a kid. A new site is in
progress along with new work.”
did the
D?: “First I
K SC ARE spent many hours
DO I LOO , then
paper was
ain idea
drawing on Photoshop. The m ?’
in look scared
painting it ce that says, ‘Do I
te a fa
to crea
93
Advanced Photoshop

Readers’ gallery
STAIRS: “I want
ed to ch allenge myself
t
,
BEST
IN SHOW
. As with almos
THOSE CRAZYth perspective and composition , scanned into the
wi ing
experimenting ally inked draw
I used a tradition oshop”
all my images ed us ing Phot
pa int
computer and
BLUE HAIRED
created for a sm
GIRL: “An imag
all, self-published e
collaborative bo
ok I
while ago. My aim put together a
was to create a
fantasy-themed
image with a su
dreamlike quali btle,
ty to it”
Kelly Angel
WEB: http://kangel.deviantart.com/
“I am a 21-year-old fine art student, studying at

Blackburn College. For as long as I remember
I’ve always been driven to art, being inspired by
videogames, cartoons and comics. Shortly after
entering high school, I was introduced to the
Pokémon craze and have been heavily influenced
by Japanese anime and manga ever since.
Through joining various online art communities,
I discovered Photoshop about five years ago and
was immediately hooked on the program; now
I use it almost daily, along with my 4 x 5 Trust
tablet. Most of what I’ve learnt about digital art
has been self-taught, a lot of the time accidental
but always a lot of fun. I enjoy, more than anything
else, creating images for fun – rarely touching
darker subjects. I try to induce some hint of
humour into a lot of work whenever possible.”
94
Advanced Photoshop

Order Now! t ion
a l ed i
ig it
D
The Premium Collection Volume one

Sold ou
bookazint
available e
now on
CD for on
£9 .99
ly
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&Packin
Oversea
s+
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EXPERT STEP-BY-STEPS
ARTISTS’ PORTFOrsoLInaOl S
INSIGHTFUL FEATyoUuRES
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Be inspired for your ownselection professionals. You ca n follow
talk
The team at iLoveDust their design this finish using
up
projects by viewing
work from the projects from start to on this CD or
through how they se t
tory and of Photoshop-based art c artists in the files that are included
studio, we explore the hisPh otoshop, some of the most pro lifi
your own stock images
development of Adob e the industry
and much more
Order online now!

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Telephone +44 (0)1202 586200
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005_AVP_58_CoverImage.indd 5 28/5/09 14:17:50

006-007_AVP_58_Contents.indd 6 28/5/09 14:19:25

INTERVIEW: SAM GILBEY 22 ADD DEPTH TO YOUR PHOTOMANIPULATIONS 36

MOTION GRAPHICS 28 USING PHOTO REFERENCES 44

RESOURCES: HARDWARE & SOFTWARE 84 FANTASY LIGHTING EFFECTS 50

RESOURCES: BOOKS 88 IMPROVE YOUR DIGITAL PAINTINGS 56

READERS’ GALLERY 90 HELPDESK 64

006-007_AVP_58_Contents.indd 7 28/5/09 14:19:54

INSIDE SPREAD: A taste of the incredible

Ballistic Publishing has announced the release of the latest

008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 8 28/5/09 14:24:22

“If you love the style

008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 9 28/5/09 14:24:57

008-010_AVP_58_News.indd 10 28/5/09 14:25:35

critiqued, so get your thinking caps on and get

find the right Pressure settings confusing compared to

I just picked up issue 56 of Advanced creative industry” FROM: belic

Can you help fellow readers?

012-013_AVP_58_Letters.indd 13 28/5/09 14:29:22

Our prize this month is a copy of the latest Advanced

“Both the dog and bird images are composites of

“I tried to give some colour to this image. I chose the

016-017_AVP_58_WebWinners.indd 16 28/5/09 14:35:29

the number of that we can’t get permission from the

012-013_AVP_58_Letters.indd 12 28/5/09 14:28:30

“I’m a graphic designer

014_AVP_58_WebShowcase.indd 14 28/5/09 14:30:59

016-017_AVP_58_WebWinners.indd 17 28/5/09 14:35:48

018-019_AVP_58_Insight1.indd 18 28/5/09 14:36:49

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