The Photoshop Topic: Questions & Answers

[Hush Little Batman]

I did a search and couldn't find a topic devoted solely to image-editing (and the ones I did find were joke topics) so I figured I'd start one.

I'm pretty sure there are many members here who use, or try to use, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or some other image-editing/graphics creation program and I thought a thread where we could seriously talk about our techniques and such could be fun (and educational).

I'll start off by showing how I took a low-res cap from an episode of JLU and tried my best to spruce up the image.

Here's the original image:
http://img120.imagevenue.com/loc399/th_64515_stewartandshayera20_122_399lo.jpg (http://img120.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=64515_stewartandshayera20_122_399lo. jpg)

I used Photoshop CS.

1. First thing I did was create a new layer to work on (Layer>Duplicate Layer).

2. Now I corrected the darkened image. If you go into Image > Adjustments, you'll find that there are various ways of achieving this and in this case, the 'Auto Color' option worked well. Newbies should take note - what works on one image doesn't necessarily work on another and this is why most photoshop users always give the same advice ("Play around with the settings") because the truth is that when it comes to PS, there is no one way to do things.

3. I increased the brightness and contrast levels a little more because even though they were raised through the Auto Color mode, the image was still too dark for my liking.

4. Then I got to work on cleaning away those nasty looking artifacts and pixels and I did this by selecting the 'Eyedropper' tool and clicking on Shayera's hair. Using a 'Soft Brush', I began "painting" over her hair with the selected color, effectively removing all the pixels and artifacts. When that was done, I moved onto another area and repeated the process until both she and John were completely "restored", so to speak.

Here's the final image:
http://img140.imagevenue.com/loc387/th_66136_stewartandshayera20b_122_387lo.jpg (http://img140.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=66136_stewartandshayera20b_122_387lo .jpg)

Which I'm using in my new avatar.
http://img17.imagevenue.com/loc488/th_75875_johnandshayeraicon1_122_488lo.jpg

So there you have it. What do you think? Does anyone want to try their hand at this or perhaps post their own retouched image? Could be fun. :)

[Hush Little Batman]

I started off with this:

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/7577/kristen1gt9.th.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kristen1gt9.jpg)

And used the Clone Stamp tool to remove the text.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/772/kristen2wx8.th.jpg (http://img214.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kristen2wx8.jpg)

[StoneGold]

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a59/stonegold/Image11.gif

[MKTerra]

I do like messing with the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org) sometimes :)

http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/thumb_44cc0c1070ade729436574.jpg (http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/pview/17095/FMP_tessa_swim_huge.jpg) + http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/thumb_44cc0c13810dd164730690.jpg (http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/pview/17096/gseed_cag_lacus_dresses_huge.jpg) = http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/thumb_45074795c03cf218221764.jpg (http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/pview/26391/gseed_cagalli_tessamod_chapstick.jpg)

At some point I may get around to removing the page line...

[Hush Little Batman]

I do like messing with the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org) sometimes :)

Good job on switching the heads of the girl on the beach.

Question: what alteration[s] did you make to this pic?


http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/thumb_44cc0c13810dd164730690.jpg (http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/pview/17096/gseed_cag_lacus_dresses_huge.jpg)

[MKTerra]

Good job on switching the heads of the girl on the beach.

Question: what alteration[s] did you make to this pic?Boy, I don't remember exactly now... After I copied out the head and resized it to fit the new body, I probably tried a bunch of changes (hue, saturation, lightness, contrast) until the skin colors matched.

I think once I finished that, the hair looked kinda green, so I selected it (repeated uses of the wand and circle/square selectors; Holding Shift to add, holding Ctrl to remove) and adjusted the color balance.

Also, the shaded patches of skin didn't match, so I selected them and filled them with colors picked from the body. I didn't know about the Clone tool yet so I didn't use it, but I think it looks okay.

Later I did learn of the Clone tool, and I used that to draw over the hair jewelry.

[Hush Little Batman]

I meant what changes did you make to the pic below, since you also posted it.


http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/thumb_44cc0c13810dd164730690.jpg (http://ww1.pureupload.com/public/pview/17096/gseed_cag_lacus_dresses_huge.jpg)

[MKTerra]

I meant what changes did you make to the pic below, since you also posted it.Oh, that one's unmodified. If you look above, I have

[Picture A] + [Picture B] = [Picture C]

But it's not so noticeable since the pictures are alot taller than the math symbols. A and B were the original pictures I used to put together C.

Maybe I should try upping the text size of the math symbols...

[Hush Little Batman]

Ah, okay I see what you did. Yeah, I guess the first time I missed the math symbols between the pics. :p

[CoffeeStained]

I like Photoshop... my devart manip (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/27229171/?qo=13&q=by%3Acoffeestainedstudio&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps).

[Hush Little Batman]

I like Photoshop... my devart manip (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/27229171/?qo=13&q=by%3Acoffeestainedstudio&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps).

Nice work Coffee! Do you have any other pics you've maniped that you'd like to share?

Here's another, very simple one, I did:
http://img107.imagevenue.com/loc446/th_09278_shayera001_122_446lo.JPG (http://img107.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=09278_shayera001_122_446lo.JPG)

Into
http://img129.imagevenue.com/loc459/th_09587_shayera001a_122_459lo.jpg (http://img129.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=09587_shayera001a_122_459lo.jpg)

[howyadoin]

Then I got to work on cleaning away those nasty looking artifacts and pixels and I did this by selecting the 'Eyedropper' tool and clicking on Shayera's hair. Using a 'Soft Brush', I began "painting" over her hair with the selected color, effectively removing all the pixels and artifacts. When that was done, I moved onto another area and repeated the process until both she and John were completely "restored", so to speak.I'd use a layer mask for something like that. Gives you a lot more flexibility.

[Hush Little Batman]

I'd use a layer mask for something like that. Gives you a lot more flexibility.

In what way?

[En Sabah Nur999]

How do you change the background color on a wallpaper, say red to black?

[howyadoin]

In what way?In that the original art is still there; it's just hidden. If you decide after the fact to change something back, it's just a matter of editing the layer mask. You can also use layer masks, adjustment layers and layer sets to adjust colour while still preserving the original source art underneath.

[CoffeeStained]

I'd use a layer mask for something like that. Gives you a lot more flexibility.Not really. A layer mask is for non-destructive opacity. Are you thinking of quick masking?


Nice work Coffee! Do you have any other pics you've maniped that you'd like to share?Sure, why not. (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/41029824/)

[Hush Little Batman]

How do you change the background color on a wallpaper, say red to black?

There are many different ways to accomplish this. I assume the wallpaper in question has a solid color background?


In that the original art is still there; it's just hidden. If you decide after the fact to change something back, it's just a matter of editing the layer mask. You can also use layer masks, adjustment layers and layer sets to adjust colour while still preserving the original source art underneath.

Duplicating the original layer and working on the copy, which is what I did, works the same way. If I had made any mistakes, I could've always reverted back to the original layer with no problem.

[Hush Little Batman]

Took this Wonder Woman cap:

http://img105.imagevenue.com/loc387/th_97517_princessdiana004_122_387lo.jpg (http://img105.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=97517_princessdiana004_122_387lo.jpg )

And turned it into this wallpaper:

http://img150.imagevenue.com/loc498/th_96738_jlu_ww1g_122_498lo.jpg (http://img150.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=96738_jlu_ww1g_122_498lo.jpg)

[Fenix]

Very interesting Thread Hush Little Batman!:D

I posted an easy way to cheat quality that work similar to your hand made one. Obviously is less perfect, but it is a lot faster!. Here is a recap of what I´ve posted before:


Quote:
How to cheat quality.
Often, with all the manipulation and such, the image pixelate, and those little dots here and there are awful...
So here is what you can do:
1) duplicate the image in a new layer
2) Apply Smart blur (under filters>Blur>Smart blur) to the duplicate layer with this parameters:
Radius: 3
Thresold: 25 (a higher number here will increase the blur on the solid areas)
Quality: High
Mode: normal
3) Blend the layer using lighten, soft or hard light depending on the picture
4) Ajust the Opacity level of the layer between 50 - 80 %
5) See the result, and Enjoy.


NOTE: Keep in mind that this is a trick for Comic pictures (or anything that has defined lines and large areas of pixelated colors) only.
If its a real picture there are other tricks that maybe would work better than this. Explain me what you want to do and I`ll will help you as much as I can.

Besides, If what you want is "Sharpening" without applying the sharp filter (in order to avoid pixelation), maybe you could use this method first, and then the unsharp mask (in LAB mode only, over the brightness channel, so the colors won`t pixelate again).

ENJOY!

[Hush Little Batman]

Hey Fenix. Glad to see you in here. :)

The method you posted also works when enlarging a picture, which is very handy for comic WPs. :)

[howyadoin]

Not really.Yes, really. You can mask out areas you don't need, and paint in whatever you want on another layer. Trust me; I've been using Photoshop on the job for almost 15 years.

A layer mask is for non-destructive opacity. Are you thinking of quick masking?Nope. I'm talking about later masking. You can do all kinds of stuff with it.

[howyadoin]

Duplicating the original layer and working on the copy, which is what I did, works the same way. If I had made any mistakes, I could've always reverted back to the original layer with no problem.Ah, okay. When I read the original post, I got the impression you weren't using layers.

[howyadoin]

How to cheat quality.
Often, with all the manipulation and such, the image pixelate, and those little dots here and there are awful...
So here is what you can do:
1) duplicate the image in a new layer
2) Apply Smart blur (under filters>Blur>Smart blur) to the duplicate layer with this parameters:
Radius: 3
Thresold: 25 (a higher number here will increase the blur on the solid areas)
Quality: High
Mode: normal
3) Blend the layer using lighten, soft or hard light depending on the picture
4) Ajust the Opacity level of the layer between 50 - 80 %
5) See the result, and Enjoy.


NOTE: Keep in mind that this is a trick for Comic pictures (or anything that has defined lines and large areas of pixelated colors) only.
If its a real picture there are other tricks that maybe would work better than this. Explain me what you want to do and I`ll will help you as much as I can.

Besides, If what you want is "Sharpening" without applying the sharp filter (in order to avoid pixelation), maybe you could use this method first, and then the unsharp mask (in LAB mode only, over the brightness channel, so the colors won`t pixelate again).

ENJOY!On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bicubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.

[Hush Little Batman]

Yes, really. You can mask out areas you don't need, and paint in whatever you want on another layer. Trust me; I've been using Photoshop on the job for almost 15 years.
Nope. I'm talking about later masking. You can do all kinds of stuff with it.

Then you must be a Photoshop master. Please share some of your secrets with us.


Ah, okay. When I read the original post, I got the impression you weren't using layers.

Yes, I see I neglected to mention that. I've gone back and fixed it now. :)

And I always work on a new layer - that's one thing all newbies should be taught. Years ago when I first got Photoshop, I didn't know anything about anything (layers, .psd), so I used to work on the original background and save everything as a jpeg (it was the only format I knew). Suffice it to say, a lot of my manips could never be edited. :(


On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bucubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.

I am going to try this out.

[howyadoin]

And I always work on a new layer - that's one thing all newbies should be taught.Amen to that.


I am going to try this out.I've used it to blow photos up for use on billboards. I got the info from a guy who worked for Tony Stone (a big stock photography house, for anybody who doesn't recognize the name). They used to do the big photos for clients using Genuine Fractals, but apparently the method I described does essentially the same thing.

[elheffe]

On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bucubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.
Amazing how well that works.

[Hush Little Batman]

On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bicubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.

*smacks self*

For some reason, I didn't recognize this when you posted it and I think I know why. I've been using this method on real life photos for a few months now, but when I do it, I was told to set the high-pass filter to less than 10%. For me it worked well on some pics and poorly on others so I didn't use it as much. When you posted it here, I thought it was a completely new method, but it's not.

And yes, if there's grain on the pic, it will become very visible after doing this.

[T51R]

Man never thought I'd have a chance to display my photochops:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/domo.png

Magnetic lasso, layers.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/FC1591821096copy.png

Layers, cropping, transparencies

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/E6CG.png


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/DIENEMODIE.png

[T51R]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/03eac284.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/Untitled-1copyGR.png

AzuDai wallpaper

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/postcardcopy.jpg

Photography, filters and transparencies

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/ChobinatorIncavsioncopy.jpg

Transparencies, burn tool, cloning en masse.

[T51R]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/melon7jscopy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/UBvsSScopy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/HokutoNoBell2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MechaniX_034/hyundaigrassroots.jpg

[Jaye]

On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bicubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.


That just helped me tremendously with a project.
Thanks.

[En Sabah Nur999]

There are many different ways to accomplish this. I assume the wallpaper in question has a solid color background?

Sorry it's takin so long for a response. Had some connection problems. The one I am lookin to change now is the cover to Annihilation #5. Presently it has a grayish background where as I'm lookin to make it a solid black background.

http://www.popcultureshock.com/wp-content/gallery/00-single/thumb_annihilation-05_1280.jpg

[howyadoin]

That just helped me tremendously with a project.
Thanks.Any time.

.

[dVUSDOUGLAS]

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1848/3firestormarmynx3.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3firestormarmynx3.jpg)

Quote from Hush Little Batman
"Awesome. If you have no objections, would you mind explaining how you went about creating that (starting with the base images you used) in the Image-Editing Thread?"

Well I was Surfing and found the first pic here....http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/3448/52week24vf1.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=52week24vf1.jpg)

It reminded me of another pic I have seen before, the patriotic theme and all....http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/558/unclesammw9.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unclesammw9.jpg)

I started out with a white background and added the Uncle Sam pic to it, sized it so it would fit the screen. Then I cropped the Firestorm image and sized it so it was kinda in aspect to the original image. I erase the parts of the Firestorm image I do not want to use under 700% magnification, Until I am left with just the Firestorm character(usually done on a another contrasting background.....ie bright green colored one so the egdes of the desired image really shows). I added Firestorm as a layer next to see what of the original image I needed to erase/clone over so I would just end up with Firestorm showing. All cloning was done at about 500% magnification with a 13 pixel brush with the fading effect(not a hard edge, but a blurred one). I removed the parts of Uncle Sam I didn't need( he is still actually behind Firestorm, well parts of him are) and had Firestorm at about a 50% Opacity so I could see both images at the time. I used the smudge and blur tools to fade the rough edges where Firestorm's abdomen fades into the "I want you" logo. I also cloned over the "U.S." and added the DC logo. After that, I duplicated the image; Cropped the "for" and "Army" text from the duplicate image, and added them over the originals( so I could adjust the gaps on each end of the new DC logo.

I think that's how it all went down............LOL

Thanks for the inquiry Hush Little Batman

[SamuraiJack]

OK. Let me just say I'm digging all the information in this thread, and I'm trying to make my own 'papers now based on the advice of Howya and HLB (among others). Right now I'm stuck, and I'm hoping someone can help.

Here's the image:

http://www.mutanthigh.com/coppermine/albums/rogue/7.jpg


And what I'm trying to do is use the clone stamp to erase the black borders and extend the clouds/sky to turn that into a 1024x768 (or 1280x1024) background. Thanks to the advice from Howya and Fenix I'm getting pretty good at re-sizing things, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons and create new and exciting pics in the same vein as the work I'm seeing here.

Thanks in advance for any help (and thanks again to HLB for the PM as well as for creating this thread for noobs like myself...)

[SamuraiJack]

While I'm at it *grins*, perhaps someone can tell me the best method for removing the backgrounds from a picture like this:

http://ultimatecomics.free.fr/xtreme_xmen/images/XXM_Malicia.jpg

so I can place it in another pic. I've been using the wand tool, but that seems a bit heavy-handed and clumsy.

Suggestions?

[SamuraiJack]

On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bicubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.

Pardon my ignorance, but try as I might I can't figure out what the hell bicubic sharpening is... *blushes*

[Fenix]

Pardon my ignorance, but try as I might I can't figure out what the hell bicubic sharpening is... *blushes*

If you´re using Photoshop CS2 Bicubic Sharpening is one of the options for resampling (IMAGE>IMAGE SIZE-Last option in the menu resample) Available options in PS CS2:
Nearist Neighbour
Bilinear
Bicubic
Bicubic smoother
Bicubic sharper

That´s tell the program what method it should use to resize the picture.

[SamuraiJack]

Ah- well, since I'm using Photoshop 7.0 I guess that'd be why I don't see this option.

Thanks, Fenix!

[Fenix]

While I'm at it *grins*, perhaps someone can tell me the best method for removing the backgrounds from a picture like this:

http://ultimatecomics.free.fr/xtreme_xmen/images/XXM_Malicia.jpg

so I can place it in another pic. I've been using the wand tool, but that seems a bit heavy-handed and clumsy.

Suggestions?


1-Try adjusting the Tolerance level of the magic wand to-let´s say- 15 (in the menu that appears at the top like a bar, under the original menu bar).
2-Check also the anti-alising and Continuos boxes.
3-Click with the magic Wand the WHITE area of the picture
4-If that selects the whole white area completely, then inverse the selection. Under SELECT>INVERT (OR CTRL+SHIFT+I)
5-Copy and paste as usual.

There are other methods to "extract" an image from its background, but this is the faster way in a picture like the one you are using.
Maybe later I´ll explain all the other ones.

[Hush Little Batman]

While I'm at it *grins*, perhaps someone can tell me the best method for removing the backgrounds from a picture like this:

http://ultimatecomics.free.fr/xtreme_xmen/images/XXM_Malicia.jpg

so I can place it in another pic. I've been using the wand tool, but that seems a bit heavy-handed and clumsy.

Suggestions?

Really? The magic wand tool worked just fine for me.
http://img40.imagevenue.com/loc537/th_73709_Malicia_122_537lo.jpg (http://img40.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73709_Malicia_122_537lo.jpg)

Obviously that was done very quickly and normally, I'd use a combination of the wand and eraser tools to achieve perfect extraction.

You'll find that the majority of tuts out there advise you to use Extraction (Filter > Extract) to remove an object from its background. One of the reasons why is because if too much of your image is removed in the process, you can always paint it back in using the History Brush. Personally I found it too time consuming so I extract images using either the aforemenioned magic wand or the Polygonal Lasso tool. Unlike the wand, the PL gives me pinpoint control over what I'm selecting.

Assuming you have Photoshop, this is where you'll find it.
http://img147.imagevenue.com/loc445/th_73463_polygonallasso_122_445lo.jpg (http://img147.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73463_polygonallasso_122_445lo.jpg)

[Fenix]

OK. Let me just say I'm digging all the information in this thread, and I'm trying to make my own 'papers now based on the advice of Howya and HLB (among others). Right now I'm stuck, and I'm hoping someone can help.

Here's the image:

http://www.mutanthigh.com/coppermine/albums/rogue/7.jpg


And what I'm trying to do is use the clone stamp to erase the black borders and extend the clouds/sky to turn that into a 1024x768 (or 1280x1024) background. Thanks to the advice from Howya and Fenix I'm getting pretty good at re-sizing things, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons and create new and exciting pics in the same vein as the work I'm seeing here.

Thanks in advance for any help (and thanks again to HLB for the PM as well as for creating this thread for noobs like myself...)

Basically, you can go 2 ways here, Or you recreate the whole background (meaning blues and clouds) or you just cut away the picture of Rouge, find a Clouds usuable background a put this picture in it.
Second option seems easier and faster, because if you tried to clone the whole sky is a lot of work.
Anyway if you want to do it I´ll triy to guide you throught it.

[Fenix]

Personally I found it too time consuming so I extract images using either the aforemenioned magic wand or the Polygonal Lasso tool. Unlike the wand, the PL gives me pinpoint control over what I'm selecting.


Yeah, I found the Polygonal lasso the less time cosuming tool for extraction, but it depends on the type of picture and background, that´s why is useful to have more than one method at hand.

Methods of extraction:
Magic wand
Polygonal Lasso
Magnetic Lasso
and Extraction Filter.

I guess the only one left to explain is the magnetic lasso.
Similar to the Poligonal lasso with the difference that it works by pixel contrast. it´s very tricky to find the right setting for each image, but sometimes is very useful.

[Hush Little Batman]

Basically, you can go 2 ways here, Or you recreate the whole background (meaning blues and clouds) or you just cut away the picture of Rouge, find a Clouds usuable background a put this picture in it.
Second option seems easier and faster, because if you tried to clone the whole sky is a lot of work.
Anyway if you want to do it I´ll triy to guide you throught it.

Yup, cloning the whole sky is a lot of work because there's not much of it on the base image. I cut Rogue out (Magic Wand) and put her on a new bckgrd. It was a hell of a lot faster.

http://img109.imagevenue.com/loc595/th_76104_rogue_122_595lo.jpg (http://img109.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=76104_rogue_122_595lo.jpg)

[SamuraiJack]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm going to tinker with some stuff this weekend if I have time. If not, I'll get to work Monday and put this stuff into practice.

[howyadoin]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm going to tinker with some stuff this weekend if I have time. If not, I'll get to work Monday and put this stuff into practice.Don't be afraid to use Layers. Layers are your friend.

[Hush Little Batman]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm going to tinker with some stuff this weekend if I have time. If not, I'll get to work Monday and put this stuff into practice.

A few tips:

1. Use layers.

2. Always save a copy of the file as a .psd in case you want to edit it later.

3. Whenever you open an image, its always a locked layer - i.e., you can't edit it. Make it editable by going to Layer > New > Layer From Background. This will allow you to move it up and down the layers palette.

[SamuraiJack]

I've been so busy the last few days I've not had a chance to tinker with anything, but I'm hoping I can get some practice in soon. Thanks again for all the tips/hints.

[OverMaster]

I wish I could do Photoshop work, but truth is, it's Greek to me. I don't even know how to start.

[bakla]

Love the High Pass tip, Howie. I haven't utilized CS2 as much for print lately because my photographers usually do all the retouching (saves a TON of work for me personally - love that), but I always had problems blowing up images for posters because of the fear of blurring after Photoshop sizes it up. After reading the tip here I googled it and found quite a few other people utilize this (varying using the Soft Light, Hard Light and Overlay modes for the layer overlay). Something to keep in mind the next time I need to size things up. Thanks! And like you, I've been using Photoshop for over 15 years - I started with Photoshop 2.0! - but you learn new things everyday.

[Hush Little Batman]

I wish I could do Photoshop work, but truth is, it's Greek to me. I don't even know how to start.

The first thing you need to do is aquaint yourself with the toolbar (http://www.arraich.com/ref/aatoolbar6.htm). That's a good way to get started. :)

[howyadoin]

Love the High Pass tip, Howie. I haven't utilized CS2 as much for print lately because my photographers usually do all the retouching (saves a TON of work for me personally - love that), but I always had problems blowing up images for posters because of the fear of blurring after Photoshop sizes it up. After reading the tip here I googled it and found quite a few other people utilize this (varying using the Soft Light, Hard Light and Overlay modes for the layer overlay). Something to keep in mind the next time I need to size things up. Thanks! And like you, I've been using Photoshop for over 15 years - I started with Photoshop 2.0! - but you learn new things everyday.Cool. Glad to hear you got some use out of it. I've probably used it a dozen times in the past week.

On a realted note, are you using InDesign? My favourite feature in there is the Separations preview - not only can you see the seps, but you can check the ink limit, too.

[bakla]

Cool. Glad to hear you got some use out of it. I've probably used it a dozen times in the past week.

On a related note, are you using InDesign? My favourite feature in there is the Separations preview - not only can you see the seps, but you can check the ink limit, too.
I love InDesign - and I was a hardcore Quarker, but completely switched over after two weeks of learning it. I'm pretty technical and savvy with my web and print programs, but I don't really do my own separations - that's what I have my printers for. I take the Art Director's route and make them do all the more technical print things while I just show up at press time and adjust the CMYK levels. I like the more fluid, on-the-fly method of correcting colors. :)

[howyadoin]

Another handy technique when you're doing extensive retouching is to paint in some solid colour, add a little noise, and then do a very slight Gaussian blur. This is especially helpful if you're working on a photo that wasn't shot digitally, 'cause you can use it to match film grain.

I've also used it to simulate organic textures like sand.

[OgyJoe]

Some great tips in here so far. The main thing I use Photoshop for is making band flyer and retouching photos from live shows, but I am trying to get better with the editing more complicated pictures. I have a couple of cool flyers I was happy with, but the originals are at home (that's what happens when you work on five different computers and have different stuff in different places) so that I can actually show you the beginning to end.

Here are a couple of things I have difficulty with, in case some one has a moment to explain a little more in depth.

1) What is the best way to remove the background and other distracting extras from a picture. I can use a wand, but if some of the colors mix, or if there are a lot of colors, it can be quite flaky. And my hand is not really steady, so manually cutting it out by hand becomes difficult.
2) I hear the clone brush mentioned a lot for use in expanding backgrounds, but I have not seen any good explanation of how to use it.
3) Does anyone know how to reliably turn a photo into a cartoon/comic look? I have been trying to find a good way to do this for a while, but none of the methods I have found look good at all.

Thanks in advance. I will get those aforementioned flyers posted the next time I am at my home PC (probably tomorrow night).

[howyadoin]

What is the best way to remove the background and other distracting extras from a picture. I can use a wand, but if some of the colors mix, or if there are a lot of colors, it can be quite flaky. And my hand is not really steady, so manually cutting it out by hand becomes difficult.Well, there's no magic bullet here. Automatic methods won't always work, for the reasons you stated, and manual ones are evidently not your forte, either.

My recommendation? Use layer masks, and zoom in really close. It'll be a lot more work, but in the long run it'll get the job done.

Or to put it another way, you need to decide what your priorities are. You can do it fast, or you can do it well.

[Hush Little Batman]

Here are a couple of things I have difficulty with, in case some one has a moment to explain a little more in depth.

1) What is the best way to remove the background and other distracting extras from a picture. I can use a wand, but if some of the colors mix, or if there are a lot of colors, it can be quite flaky. And my hand is not really steady, so manually cutting it out by hand becomes difficult.

2) I hear the clone brush mentioned a lot for use in expanding backgrounds, but I have not seen any good explanation of how to use it.

3) Does anyone know how to reliably turn a photo into a cartoon/comic look? I have been trying to find a good way to do this for a while, but none of the methods I have found look good at all.

1. The only option left I can think of is to use the Eraser tool. It doesn't require as much control as manual cutting, but it's definitely more time consuming.

2. Well first things first - do you know how to use the Clone Stamp tool? Because if you then it's not hard to explain but if you don't, then you'll need a couple of quick (http://www.tutorialtomb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=928) and simple (http://www.arraich.com/ref/aatool_clone6.htm) tuts explaining what it does.

3. Since you didn't provide any examples on the methods that didn't work, it's hard to suggest what you should try next.

[MaxofSteel]

3) Does anyone know how to reliably turn a photo into a cartoon/comic look? I have been trying to find a good way to do this for a while, but none of the methods I have found look good at all.

What I like to use is the Cutout filter in combination with the Poster Edges filter. They're both in the Artistic submenu of the Filters tab. You can substitute the Poster Edges with Ink Outilnes in the Brushstrokes submenu.

I use them in the order I mentioned so that the cutout doesn't oversimplifiy the outlines, but you can play with those option for whatever works for you.

Hope that helps.

[OgyJoe]

Does anyone know how to reliably turn a photo into a cartoon/comic look? I have been trying to find a good way to do this for a while, but none of the methods I have found look good at all.


What I like to use is the Cutout filter in combination with the Poster Edges filter. They're both in the Artistic submenu of the Filters tab. You can substitute the Poster Edges with Ink Outilnes in the Brushstrokes submenu.

I use them in the order I mentioned so that the cutout doesn't oversimplifiy the outlines, but you can play with those option for whatever works for you.

Hope that helps.

That seems to be a popular consensus, but I cannot seem to get results I am happy with using this process. I will try to gather examples.

[OgyJoe]

From time to time, I work up a decent flyer for my band by ripping off some piece of pop culture. Submitted for your approval, here is my flyer workshop.

Episode 1: A Simple Deconstruction

Original: http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/th_HG01-Original.jpg (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/HG01-Original.jpg) --> Finished: http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/th_HG03-Finished.jpg (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/HG03-Finished.jpg)

This one is a simple cut and crop job.

As soon as I heard the band was playing at a club called the Holy Grail, I couldn't help but immediately think of Monty Python. Thus I came up with this flyer (which got a good response).

First I found the image I wanted.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/HG01-Original.jpg

Now I wasn't the happiest with this picture, but it was the best I found before I gave up hunting, and had a solid color background, so it would be easy to manipulate. Before we begin, you should make a copy of the background layer. (NEVER work on the original layer.)

Quick Tip: Always make a copy of your background layer before editing your image. You may need a piece or all of it later, and you may just not be happy with your work at all and want to go back to the beginning.

I didn't need the DVD image, or anything on the left side, so I just cropped that right off. Next all I had to do was clean up the text. I needed nothing but the Holy Grail part, so I wiped out everything else with rectanglar marquees. I decided to leave the little circle with the flags coming out of it, so I just used an eliptical marquee to remove the GO and filled it back in as red. The only problem point was the cloud. After cutting the text that overlapped it here, I filled in a matching white, and then just used a smudge tool for blending. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. And then my image was stripped and ready for the show details.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/HG02-Stripped.jpg

All I had to do now was fill in all the text. Nothing hard about that. And when I was done, I had a good looking flyer that all Holy Grail fans on my MySpace "friends" list loved.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/HG03-Finished.jpg

Things I might have done different now:


Added a bevel and/or inner glow to get the rest of the text to match the effect of the Holy Grail text.

Things I would have liked to have done, but am not sure how:


Put the band members' faces on the Grail characters in a way that matched the style of the original image.

Well, that wraps up this session. Questions? Comments?

To see all of my flyers in action, check the link below. Almost all of these are mine, so if yo have questions regarding a particular one, just let me know.
http://photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/?start=all

[MaxofSteel]

Hey guys,

I'm fairly familiar with my way around Photoshop but, truth be told, I've never really had experience in digital color before.

Do any of you have a methodology in coloring a black and white image?

Are there any websites that have a step-by-step walkthru of this kinda thing?

Suggestions much appreciated.:)

[Hush Little Batman]

Hey guys,

I'm fairly familiar with my way around Photoshop but, truth be told, I've never really had experience in digital color before.

Do any of you have a methodology in coloring a black and white image?

Are there any websites that have a step-by-step walkthru of this kinda thing?

Suggestions much appreciated.:)

Coloring a B&W photo (http://user.fundy.net/morris/photoshop24.shtml).

[MaxofSteel]

Thanks for the link Batman. But what I was meaning to ask for though was how to color a drawn (line art) image.

See I generally draw my stuff in pencil with some sharpie marker for the outlines. Then I finish up with some Prismacolor marker for the colors. I'm trying to learn how to add color in Photoshop (cause those markers are just so darn expensive).

Sorry for the confusion. Any tips?

[OgyJoe]

From time to time, I work up a decent flyer for my band by ripping off some piece of pop culture. Submitted for your approval, here is my flyer workshop.

Episode 2: Adding a Little Extra

Original: http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/th_MS01-Original.jpg (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS01-Original.jpg) --> Finished: http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/th_MorpheusShadesNissi2.jpg (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/MorpheusShadesNissi2.jpg)

This one isn't too complicated either. We will basically be doing a little cutting and pasting, with a touch of recoloring.

This particular flyer was for the third installment of Ogy Joe Entertainment Presents, which is a showcase of bands I am friends with or work with. The original show was rescheduled, and I returned it with an extra act, at a new location, and with a more lienient age restriction. Due to the rescheduling, I decided to change the name from the original "v 3.0" to "v 3.0 Reloaded". I went a little flyer happy with this one, and if you look at my flyer directory (linked at the bottom of this post), you will see that. Most of these required nothing more than adding text and coming up with a humorous quote. One series actually involved some editing, and thus I present it to you here.

NOTE: Directions using Photoshop CS2.

First, I started with this image:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS01-Original.jpg

1.) Make a copy of the background image and call it "face".

2.) Get rid of the text. Luckily, the background was solid, so I could just use a Rectangular Marquee here, use the Eyedropper to get the color I need, and then fill it back in the void.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS02-TextRemoved.jpg

3.) Now we need to clean off the glasses. All I did for this was use two Eliptical Marquees. Before I did this, I added an extra layer of green (called "green screen" between the background and edited layer so that I can see clearly what was removed. That particular move is optional, but recommended.

Quick Tip: When cutting large sections from an image, it helps to have a contrasting color behind the edit you are cutting. This helps you make sure you cut out everything you needed to. When doing this, make sure to use a color that is not in the image you are cutting from, and preferably a bright color. I usually use a bright green or cyan.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS03-EmptiedEyes.jpg

4.) Now that you have two gaping holes where the lenses for Morpheus' glasses once resided, it's time to fill them in. You can start with any image you want. (This image will need to have already been tweaked however you want it. Also, it helps to be at least as wide as it is tall, and preferably wider. As a rough guidline, the lenses are roughly two tall by three wide, if that helps.) Paste your image on this file below the "face" layer, and then scale down and position acurately in the left eye. I recommend zooming in to make sure your image lines up correctly. If you used the "green screen" as I recommended, you should be able to easily tell if you left any extra space. Duplicate the layer and line it up with the right eye. You can merge these two layers once they are both in position so that you don't have to duplicate your work, and then rename the layer "eyes".

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS04-ImageinEyes.jpg

Note: Now would be a good time to save your image.

5.) Desaturate the "eyes" layer to get it to black and white. (Shift+Ctrl+U OR Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS05-Desaturated.jpg

6.) Now we need to get the color to match the rest of the image. It's not as hard as you might think. All I did was use variations. (Image>Adjustments>Variations...) Simply apply cyan until it looks right. Depending on the image you use, it should only take from 2 to 4 levels.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS06-ColoredLenses.jpg

7.) That's it. All you have to do now is add text you like. If you are in need of a good Matrix font, just simply run a google search on "download free matrix font" and you should find one easily.

Here's my final product:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/Deconstructed/MS07-Finished.jpg

I used several different images to go in the eyes, and all worked just fine with this same procedure. The only difficulty is finding an image that fits the lenses correctly.

Things I would have liked to have done, but am not sure how:


Put a "glass" effect over the lenses to make them look more realistic.

Well, that wraps up this session. Questions? Comments? Was this useful to you?

To see all of my flyers in action, check the link below. Almost all of these are mine, so if yo have questions regarding a particular one, just let me know.
http://photobucket.com/albums/h309/OgyJoe/Flyers/?start=all

[OgyJoe]

Hey guys,

I'm fairly familiar with my way around Photoshop but, truth be told, I've never really had experience in digital color before.

Do any of you have a methodology in coloring a black and white image?

Are there any websites that have a step-by-step walkthru of this kinda thing?

Suggestions much appreciated.:)

Here's another link: http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-dino.html

There are also several other handy tutorials on that site.

[MaxofSteel]

Hm. Yea this seems to be more what I was looking for. Thanks OgyJoe!

[OgyJoe]

Hm. Yea this seems to be more what I was looking for. Thanks OgyJoe!

No problem. I am wanting to try my hand at the vector art tutorial there, but haven't had time yet.

[Fenix]

Originally Posted by OgyJoe
Any chance you could explain how to create the extra background and feathers as you did?

Ok, here the due explanation, sorry about the delay though.

Actually, There isn´t much of a "magic" here...sorry to disappoint.

Tools that I used:
Brush (many different brushes)
Eraser tool
Selection tool
Clone tool
and layers.

Original image
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2267/angelwings2uh3jp0.th.jpg (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angelwings2uh3jp0.jpg)


Wallpaper version
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7923/angelhh4.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angelhh4.jpg)

Here we go:

1. On a White Background I put the original picture (obviously,duh)
2. With a brush set name "Clouds brushes" I made the background sky clouds you see. (Brushes are another powerful toy to play with in photoshop, you could get those all around the web. Mine´s are from Deviantart.com)
3. Picking the right colors for the brushes, and creating a "clouds background" that matches the original seems easy, but it took its time.
4. Once I´ve got the background I erased the vertical black lines, and any other objects that "looks" bad here (Remember: the objective is to blend the pictures as good as you can, and in order to do so, I used the eraser tool adjusting its flow to 30-50% and a soft brush) You can work on a duplicate layer just to have the original always there if you want.
5. After that I stretch the horizontal black lines too with the old "copy paste" move. You could also redraw them, but copy paste seemed easier at the time. Once you copy it, you just have to stretch it or made as many copies as you need. Finally, merged all "horizontal" black lines together and voila... complete horizontal lines.
6. Now the "Clonnig". I use the cloning to complete the wings of our angel here. (I also used a soft brush-several sizes- with a 30% flow). For the feathers detail I used the same cloning tool with a small brush and 60-90% flow)
7. Once the image is "complete", all that it is left is to "create the final illusion of Blending". Picture composition is the key here. That´s why I added the disperse strokes of light here and there, to create the "visual path" for the picture (That´s the way your eyes will scan the picture, in a manner of speak). The light strokes were made -again- with another set of brushes named "fractals brushes".
8. Flatten, compressed and uploaded. Hope you enjoy the process.

Hope it covers all your questions but if you want more detail about something particular, ask me about it.

[Hush Little Batman]

Fenix, that is gorgeous work.

[Fenix]

Fenix, that is gorgeous work.

Thanks HLB :D

[Wild Card]

Disclaimer: I'm using Paint Shop Pro 7 but the technique can be apply to PS (the names of some of the tools will be different).

It's really simple. I like doing in vector because it can be imported to preset shapes and use over and over again without having to redoing it.
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/6811/simplewebkr5.th.jpg (http://img377.imageshack.us/my.php?image=simplewebkr5.jpg)
First set the colors. Stroke color = solid (I chose Black for the lines), Fill color = null (no fill). http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6826/colorsetxf3.th.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=colorsetxf3.jpg)
Now make a circle I like using the ellipse in preset shapes (be sure to uncheck[/u] [i]Retain style and set the line thickness)
Next using the draw tool set at type Single Line to make stands that go to the boarders (I like to start in the corners and make sort of a X and then fill in the rest (be sure the line thickness is set the same as the circle)).
Now set the Draw tool to type Bezier Curve and connect the stands.
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8249/toolssetib5.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=toolssetib5.jpg)

[Erik Bond]

I recently edited a Captain Marvel painting by Alex Ross to look like Black Adam, & it was suggested to me that I post it here. So here ya go:

First, here's the original image of Captain Marvel:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6976/shazamoc1.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shazamoc1.jpg)

And now here's the edit of Black Adam:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/830/blackadamrex5.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blackadamrex5.jpg)

As for the explanation:
I played around with a bunch of different techniques for different parts of the image. For the outfit, I created a new saturation layer & added a hue glow to it. This changed the color of the lightning, too, so I gave the arcs gradient glows to mask it. Then I used the clone stamp to give the hair a "widow's peak." I made new layers out of the ears & eyebrows & used the manual distortion tool to add "peak" to them. I also used the clone stamp to thin out his face, neck, & chin (since Adam appears to be thinner than Cap). Then lastly I went in with the brush & clone tools & hand-edited the shadows & highlights of his face to make the nose look pointier, the expression look meaner, & the cheek & jaw structure look less "chubby."

[Your Imaginary Pal]

thanks for all the tips
but you guys should know I will be using these new tools for evil.

[Hush Little Batman]

I recently edited a Captain Marvel painting by Alex Ross to look like Black Adam, & it was suggested to me that I post it here. So here ya go:

First, here's the original image of Captain Marvel:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6976/shazamoc1.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shazamoc1.jpg)

And now here's the edit of Black Adam:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/830/blackadamrex5.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blackadamrex5.jpg)

As for the explanation:
I played around with a bunch of different techniques for different parts of the image. For the outfit, I created a new saturation layer & added a hue glow to it. This changed the color of the lightning, too, so I gave the arcs gradient glows to mask it. Then I used the clone stamp to give the hair a "widow's peak." I made new layers out of the ears & eyebrows & used the manual distortion tool to add "peak" to them. I also used the clone stamp to thin out his face, neck, & chin (since Adam appears to be thinner than Cap). Then lastly I went in with the brush & clone tools & hand-edited the shadows & highlights of his face to make the nose look pointier, the expression look meaner, & the cheek & jaw structure look less "chubby."

Extremely well done. Kudos to you, sir. :cool:

[Dylan Clearbrook]

Okay.

Guess it's time I chimed into this one.

I have made several wallpapers putting comic charcters on RL scenes...like the one below:
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/3480/sneakattack2vi0.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sneakattack2vi0.jpg)

Now....I am not extremely happy with this....it looks too...out of place.

So what I would really like to do is make the RL scene look like a comic scene.

I have used the Alien Skin Snap art filter and the outcome is okay but I think it could be better. Any suggestions?

I used the filter on the picture below by basically copying the background, applying the filter to the copied layer and then adjusted the opacity.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7373/sneakattack2bnd3.th.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sneakattack2bnd3.jpg)

Dylan

[howyadoin]

So what I would really like to do is make the RL scene look like a comic scene.

I have used the Alien Skin Snap art filter and the outcome is okay but I think it could be better. Any suggestions?Try duplicating the layer, turning it to grayscale and posterizing the shit out of it.

Then set that layer to multiply, on top of the half-tone layer you did.

Alternately, ditch the half-toned one altogether and paint in the colour you want on a layer underneath the posterized one.

[Wild Card]

Okay.

Guess it's time I chimed into this one.

I have made several wallpapers putting comic charcters on RL scenes.

Now....I am not extremely happy with this....it looks too...out of place.

So what I would really like to do is make the RL scene look like a comic scene.

I have used the Alien Skin Snap art filter and the outcome is okay but I think it could be better. Any suggestions?

Dylan
It's been awhile but last night I was looking at another broad and found this tread (http://www.graphicsgalaxy.com/forums/thepluginsite/viewtopic.php?t=203) and this tread (http://www.graphicsgalaxy.com/forums/thepluginsite/viewtopic.php?t=2053) both have a few suggestions.

I tried a few free plugins. Here's a pic of the results:
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/2858/jailtc3.th.jpg (http://img48.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jailtc3.jpg)
Top row L to R
Original image
Filter Factory Gallery Q – Cartoon Art
Filter Factory Gallery V – US Comic

Middle row L to R
Xero – Abstractor
Xero – Illustrator
Xero – Lineart

Bottom row L to R
Xero – Lithograph
Xero – Pastellise
Xero – Simplicity

[Hush Little Batman]

You don't have to wait until a picture is "done" before using the crop tool. You can use it at any time and in fact, I would think most wp makers use it before they start editing/manipulating.

Cropping allows you to take a picture like this:

http://img232.imagevenue.com/loc68/th_23213_scan15_122_68lo.jpg (htttp://img232.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=23213_scan15_122_68lo.jpg)

And crop it into multiple dimensions, like so:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6381/1180ra6.th.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1180ra6.jpg) http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/6193/1024fm6.th.jpg (http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1024fm6.jpg) http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7781/1280zy6.th.jpg (http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1280zy6.jpg)

[dVUSDOUGLAS]

Been working on a few pics as of late...trying my hand at repairing the color on older pics....thought I would share some of the results.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9418/2002717177508773122rsku7.th.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2002717177508773122rsku7.jpg)
This is what i first started with....

...and this is what I ended up with
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/6438/cslcopyxq2.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cslcopyxq2.jpg)

This was a total recolor...
I removed all the text...and fixed the wall by the steps...the original just looked weird to me.

For the room I tried to use colors that were appropriate for the time.... the yellows and orange for the chairs.

I did resize the pic so it would fit the screen...and did it to scale...so not too much distortion to an already damaged pic.

I enlarged the pic to 700 or 800% while I was working on it.

I started by using the brightness/contrast settings in photoshop...all I was looking for with that...was to darken the blacks some more...to give me a better idea where the egdes were.

I worked on one character at a time...saving it after each positive change in the pic. I did not want to loose the good stuff if I made a mistake (I have learned this the hard way).

I really liked the old school look of the pic...and though it would make a nice wallpaper.

[dVUSDOUGLAS]

This is the second attempt...Alot more going on in this pic...
I learned alot from the first try...and here is what I did different on this one.

This is what I started with...
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/7337/154tb9.th.jpg (http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=154tb9.jpg)

I like the 80's Legion...So I thought this would be another good pic.

A white background would of been easy to do....but I had a nice colorful one I resized and had sitting back in a file for use.
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7037/1bkgrndze3.th.jpg (http://img161.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndze3.jpg)

Here is what it would of looked like with a white background...(I had it still saved at a psd. so I can show you some of the different layers...and what I did.)
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8903/1bkgrndgg1wa1.th.jpg (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndgg1wa1.jpg)

I duplicated the image so I could use part of it (the lower left hand corner) to finish the curve on the left and right.

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/1374/1bkgrndgg2ou0.th.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndgg2ou0.jpg)

I colored the curve a tan color...then added another layer to the pic. I used a darker color and a sand/ gravel brush I downloaded fron Deviantart.com to give the curve a little texture.

I also added a layer to use just on one charater...the one in the black outfit with the stars. I used another brush...one with a glitter/ stardust pattern to do that.

[dVUSDOUGLAS]

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8430/1bkgrndgg3hn0.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndgg3hn0.jpg)

I colored a couple of other charaters since the last layer...

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/2238/1bkgrndgg5qd9.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndgg5qd9.jpg)

You can see what all the charaters look like now...and some of the repair or cleanup on the background.

...and here is the final result.
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/999/1bkgrndggcopyuz6.th.jpg (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1bkgrndggcopyuz6.jpg)

Overall I think the end product is a ok for a wallpaper...considering what I started with.
Some of the clarity that I like when making a wallpaper is just not there...its ok though.

Trying to expand my photoshop skills...going where I am not too comfortable, and just working thru it.

Dvus

[CBikle]

Okay.

Guess it's time I chimed into this one.

I have made several wallpapers putting comic charcters on RL scenes...like the one below:
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/3480/sneakattack2vi0.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sneakattack2vi0.jpg)

Now....I am not extremely happy with this....it looks too...out of place.

So what I would really like to do is make the RL scene look like a comic scene.

I have used the Alien Skin Snap art filter and the outcome is okay but I think it could be better. Any suggestions?

I used the filter on the picture below by basically copying the background, applying the filter to the copied layer and then adjusted the opacity.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7373/sneakattack2bnd3.th.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sneakattack2bnd3.jpg)

Dylan

Wow, that's pretty cool ! As a suggestion, you might try playing with the hue/saturation of your background image before flattening it to make the colors more vivid, then make a duplicate layer of the flattened image and play with the various blending modes and opacity.

[Mermaid]

Looks pretty cool to me!

[Jtryanks]

On a related note, if you need to scale a photo up drastically (say, more than 100%), here's a fairly reliable method:

Scale the photo up with bicubic sharpening.
Duplicate the layer.
Run the High Pass filter. 20-30% is a good rule of thumb.
Set the layer to Soft Light.
Optional: adjust the opacity of the new layer.Note: if the original photo has a lot of film grain, this will amplify that effect.

Question, I'm a newbie to this, i duplicated the layer, now where do I find the high pass filter and how do i set the layer to soft light?

[Hush Little Batman]

Question, I'm a newbie to this, i duplicated the layer, now where do I find the high pass filter and how do i set the layer to soft light?

The HIGH PASS filter is located under the filters menu: Filter > Other > High Pass

As for SOFT LIGHT - in your Layer Palette, click on the drop down arrow. Here's a visual on where to find it.

http://img42.imagevenue.com/loc934/th_24394_layeroptions_122_934lo.jpg (http://img42.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=24394_layeroptions_122_934lo.jpg)