Photo brushes and

grungy textures
ISSUE 49
47
Fake 3D in Photoshop | Selective colouring | Perfect skin tones in digital paintings | StroMotion effects | Interview: James Porto

* Master the
Liquify HOW TO…
* Create a Stro tool * Turn your digital d

NEEW
Motion effect esigns into cl

N W
* Design pro *G othes
fessional phot et your work on a book co
REEEEEEX !!
omontages * ver
Paint from a F
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COLOURING

F A K E
5-PAGE MAS

3
Transform y
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with this proour photos
colouring te fessional
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IN PHOTOSHO Get the 3D loo P

than the tools k using nothing more
* Create depth
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DIG
Use custom ITAL PAINTING * Use perspe realistic shad
ctive grids * A ows
get realistic brushes to pply the Tran
sform tools
in your pain skin texture
tings

PERFECT
SKIN TONES
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

ISSUE 49
ISSN 1748-7277 £5.99
49
pages of GET ON OUR COVER!
9 771748 727009 professional Upload to our website for a
WWW.ADVANCEDPHOTOSHOP.CO.UK tips and expert tutorials chance to see your image here

001_AVP_49_CoverWk4final.indd 1 17/9/08 17:34:16

 Cover

Cover image
Michael characterises his indulgent artistic style as
‘mixed media’, or a cross between Imageer:
photomanipulation and digital painting. His artwork MICHAEL OSWALD (MICHAELO)
is predominantly created using basic tools in unique Model:
ways, including various paintbrushes, the Smudge MOSH
tool and Dodge and Burn. Also unique to Michael is
his preference to a mouse, which he used here to
create AmalgaMATE II, part of a series of cyborgs that HIS ARTWORK IS
Michael assures us we will see more of in the future!
/ www.bymichaelo.com
CREATED USING BASIC
TOOLS IN UNIQUE WAYS
4
Advanced Photoshop

004_AVP_49_CoverImage.indd 4 18/9/08 14:14:59

 se
owca d
ry sh e
Galle .advanc .uk
wwwoshop.co
phot ON THE COVER: ALLURE
Lee Gough
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/generallee
“The inspiration for this image was the photograph itself.
I knew when I saw it on iStockphoto.com that I had to do
something with it.”

ISSUE #49

© David Dean
inside... INSIGHT 7 10
News and showcases from around the globe
News 10
Showcase: Lee Woodgate 14
Showcase: Jeanspezial 16
Showcase: Heisuke Kitazawa (PCP) 18

COMMUNITY 7 22
Our readers’ comments, feedback and images
from our mailbox, email, website and forum
Mailbox 22
On the web 24
THE COVER
7 70
Our excellent cover image this month is courtesy of
Michael Oswald (aka MichaelO), whose work can be HELP
seen at www.bymichaelo.com
38 Tips, techniques and problems solved
How do you get your
designs on a book cover?
Helpdesk 70
Insider Info: Liquify filter 72

the Ad
es
ed
vanc hop at RESOURCES 7 86
Visit op onlin op.co.uk
Vital assets to improve your Photoshop work
osh esh ks Hardware and software 86
Phot .imagin es, boo 92
wwwback issu handise
Book reviews

for d merc
an THIS MONTH’S CD 7 96
Superb stock art, project files and more!

32 CD guide
Brush index
96
98
Brand Nu explains how to create a colourful London cityscape

6
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006-007_AVP_49_Contents.indd 6 18/9/08 09:44:34

 80
Your designs on clothes –
how to do it here

© Photo by Ed Redman

TECHNIQUES
FEATURES/REGULAR
7 26
Essential guides to professional Photoshop skills
INTERVIEW: JAMES PORTO
We explore the mind behind this unreal photography
COLOURFUL PHOTOMONTAGES 7 32
Clean, crisp montages from your stock images

FEATURE: BOOK COVERS 7 38 FAKE 3D IN PHOTOSHOP 7 46

Learn how you can get your work selected for book covers A popular 3D look, without the 3D tools

PEER PRESSURE 7 74 PHOTO PAINTING

Transform a simple car image
7 52
Our pick of the best Advanced Photoshop reader creations

FEATURE: CREATIVE CLOTHING 7 80 SELECTIVE COLOURING

Use this photographic technique professionally
7 58
Find out what it takes to turn your designs into T-shirts
READER’S WORKSHOP
REVIEWS 7 86 PERFECT SKIN TONES 7 64
We take a look at Photoshop Elements 7 and more Digital painting techniques courtesy of our reader

7
Advanced Photoshop

006-007_AVP_49_Contents.indd 7 18/9/08 09:44:58

 Editorial

Imagine Publishing Ltd

Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill
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Welcome to ☎
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in io i ha s de
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Photoshop Elements 7, which we julie.easton@imagine-publishing.co.uk

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Senior Staff Writer
Adam Smith
unveiled in the News last issue and Designer
Stacey Grove
have a full review of this issue, then Senior Sub Editor
Colleen Johnson

straight off the back of that, Adobe Sub Editor

Sam Robson

announced CS4 – and that’s when we Senior Art Editor

Lora Barnes

got really excited!

Head of Design
Ross Andrews
Contributors

ee ver tio ,
You can find out more of the details in the News

g! . K o o sk

d
ur an
Nik Ainley, Sam Hampton-Smith, Radim Malinic (Brand Nu),

p ag n
in re s c M e
in rso V rke d
ar rt Br r
om ork sh
rm e
e.

m fla ic tro lpd

in al a d fo

fo . Se
sh e MT wo r an
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yo e
Kirk Nelson, Gary Puntorno (design),
y.c w iti

ns le ly th ’s t
section this month and we’ll be taking an in-depth look
yb n an d

tio g a e O te th os
co ns mp e S He
LE
w fo be as to

Bente Schlick, Nick Spence and Gary Tonge

es in th ea on m
w e do e h stra
AIN

qu tion n in o cr is m our
next issue, but having seen it action, I reckon that Disc
tim g A . H illu

t th y
N
Interactive Media Manager

r
po t se how s in we
NIK
ds in UK ce

SO
Photoshop is just getting bigger and better. For those Lee Groombridge
w. r p ,
l f lu he an

fe g rie ns
til nc n t el

ef din ue to a
EL Head of Digital Projects
t s s, i d i fre

who never upgraded when CS3 came out, CS4 just clu q d
Stuart Dixon
KN
bu nt se a

in sing han
s, lie a is

in d
ay y c er b ley

might make you consider taking the jump. Multimedia Editor

si e
es n
KIR
pr is o
rw n n in

Steve Litton
Ai ma esig ik A

c
But before the CS4 hype starts, we’ve got
rk

apxtrahelp@imagine-publishing.co.uk
d N

Ki

Advertising
plenty in this issue that you can do with your Digital or printed media packs are available on request.
Head of Sales
current version of the program, from selective James Hanslip
colouring techniques and painting perfect skin ☎ 01202 586423
Advertising Manager
tones, to designing a funky photomontage. I’m Michaela Cotty
☎ 01202 586441
particularly excited by Nik Ainley’s tutorial on faking 3D michaela.cotty@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Account Manager
effects in Photoshop, as it’s a look I’ve been watching for Hannah Bradshaw
ag we ars eb anc the

ages, but have only seen it done in 3D apps or Illustrator. ☎ 01202 586436
re ce .
ou ien ww

hannah.bradshaw@imagine-publishing.co.uk
e m , s ye is e in
az ’re ’ ex sit e
e! on er w
th ist 20 h fre tor

For the features, we’ve looked at getting your work Account Manager
in h p e
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zli d ith nic on
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U

.u

m l a h st a ir
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dn urs
br co c
az n an k w ali ati
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seen, whether that’s on the cover of a book (page 38) or

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8
Advanced Photoshop TORS
008_AVP_49_EdIntro.indd 8 19/9/08 09:40:54
 Keeping an eye on the latest trends in contemporary photography, art
and design, Insight sets out to snapshot innovation in the making

Photoshop CS4 announced

Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4,
and importantly Photoshop CS4, have
been announced after much
speculation. So what exciting new
additions can the creative consumer
expect? We’ve been lucky enough to
find out.
The CS4 interface aesthetics are
similar and commands still reside where you would expect,
which allows for familiar and efficient application. But the
software now addresses the modern digital artist and the
necessity to actively work from multiple on-screen sources in
way of an easy-access tab system. No more Ctrl/Cmd+Tab or
rifling through the Window drop-down menu, users can now
access multiple documents by clicking the labelled tabs along
the top of the workspace.
Digital painters will find even more advancements, making it
the optimum software to apply in. You will be able to preview
brush sizes and density before applying them to your
composition. The Burn and Dodge tools now incorporate a new
Protect Tones checkbox, which will protect visual elements you
wish to stay unaffected.
The Adjustment options have had a serious face-lift. Vibrance
is also available as a checkbox on your brushes, functioning
similar to Lightroom’s own option, adjusting the saturation so
that clipping is minimised as colours approach full saturation.
Vibrance also prevents skin tones from becoming oversaturated.
Curves can now be applied through on-image controls,
operating through a simple image click to add points to your
curve. Likewise, Hue/Saturation operates by dragging on your
image. Such operations are said to provide Photoshop CS4 with
89 per cent less mouse travel.
There’s also an improved Mask palette, including the latest
Refine Mask dialog box. This option will permit users to smooth,
feather and much, much more. Content Aware Scaling is a new
feature that allows you to make an active selection to preferred
visual elements and expand without other area disruption, much
like seam-carving technology.
There will also be an Extended version launched with
powerful 3D creation technology. This will permit users to wrap
2D images around 3D forms, merging, adjusting and
harmonising exposure. However, these are just a staggering few
high-functioning advancements made by Adobe for its most
popular creative science. For more updates on Adobe Photoshop
CS4 see the Adobe website or the Advanced Photoshop news
blog at http://news.photoshopcreative.co.uk.
www.adobe.com

TWO
PACKAGES: As
with CS3, there
are two versions
of Photoshop CS4
available:
standard and
Extended. CS4
Extended
introduces new
3D capabilities in
this release

NEW INTERFACE:
CS4 looks much the
same on the surface but the
PERFORMANCE: CS4 should bring improved interface has been improved with
performance, as well as a much more intuitive workflow, the introduction of tabbed windows
meaning you save time on common tasks

10
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010-012_AVP_49_News.indd 10 17/9/08 18:09:18

 Let battle commence
10.08
If you like testing the aptitude of your design
What’s
and are a creative who sets high standards,
then Zoo Qoo is the site for you. Showing
steady and positive growth over the last nine
months, now with 100,000 visitors a month,
hot?
HOT
you have to first overcome the acid test that is
Zoo Qoo council approval before you can
display your artistic wares.
You must maintain sufficient ratings to
stay, keeping you on your creative toes, but if
you want to up the ante even more then Zoo MIMOBOT
Qoo now provides the entertaining and Boba Fett Series 2, from $39.95
rewarding monthly Creative Battle Zone. (approx £21)
Here, users’ works are pitted against one www.mimoco.com
another over the course of a month, and the The most fun and innovative designer
USB flash drives we’ve seen. Love the
victor will lift the hotly contested Battle Zone
Star Wars range.
crown and, of course, a whole host of
sponsored prizes.
So if this sounds like a relishing challenge,
then visit www.zooqoo.com and see if you
have what it takes. Go on, we dare you!

: A key www.zooqoo.com
PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
its best work
element to Zoo Qoo is that it circulates
d agents and
around its growing list of hand-picke
talent scouts

JESSOPS JPICS
www.jpics.co.uk
Paris Photo ‘08 Jessops Jpics ensures the high-street
service is reflected online. New
Paris Photo ’08 is active at last, with participants customers get 20 free prints and can
competing for a prize worth 12,000 euros. Open to upload their photos online.
contemporary art photographers represented by
participating galleries, Paris Photo ’08’s prestigious CASIO G-SHOCK
international expert panel will shortlist a maximum of
LIMITED
30 projects that will finally be exhibited at Paris Photo
from 13-16 November and then name the ultimate
EDITION
$130 (approx)
prize winner.
Entrants are prompted to submit work subjects on a www.gshock.com
specific theme, in relation with the world of BMW. These are watches for all weathers,
situations and now occasions with
Specifically, the experience of moving, opening up
these cool vibrant-coloured limited-
spaces and boundaries, a desire to keep going forward
edition types.
and getting beyond your own limits and transcription
MUSEO DE LA FUANA
of movement.
SALVAJE, LEON #01:
With its unceasing search for excellence, combining Bernado Jordi, Museo de
high aesthetic standards and technological innovation, la Fuana Salvaje, Leon
#01, 2007
the benchmark has been set for those aspiring to enter. Chromogenic copy, 125 x
So if you’re interested in sampling inspirational 154cm
photography on the cutting-edge of commercial and © Courtesy Galeria Senda,
Barcelona
artistic creativity, then the event will be held at the
Carrousel du Louvre. Take a look at www.parisphoto.fr OLYMPUS
for further information. HYPER Nº3: Darzacq
Denis, Hyper nº3, 2007
[mju:] 1060
£238
© Courtesy Denis Darzacq
et VU’La Galerie, Paris www.olympus.co.uk
www.parisphoto.fr The world’s smallest straight-type 7x
zoom camera is one sexy slimline
piece of hardware.

11
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010-012_AVP_49_News.indd 11 17/9/08 18:09:46

 insight
Out of Hand
The first of a kind, the School of Visual Arts New York City,
in partnership with Giraldi Media, present the Out of Hand

DIARY
International Festival. This event is looking to showcase
innovative digital content created by the student
community that’s intended for mobile and other wireless
or handheld devices.

DATES
Although the mode seems specific, the creative means
certainly aren’t and the Out of Hand International Festival
invites enthusiastic artists, designers, filmmakers and
general creative thinkers all across the world to enter their
inventive and truly original works through online YOU’VE GOT COMPETITION: You can check out the
submission at the site below. competition when activating the entries icon. Here, you can
Cash and other prizes can be expected for the top digest animations and shorts already accepted
ZOO ART FAIR submissions, presented in New York in March 2009. Co-developer Patricia Greaney reveals: “We are looking for
17-20 October However, exposure is just as valuable as rewards and all content that may have only been faintly envisioned by those
www.zooartfair.com entries will be seen worldwide, offering maximum who created the delivery systems.” The competition concerns
Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington exposure. The public will also have access to submissions itself with the criteria ‘Will I want this pushed to my portable
Gardens, London, UK on the official website and be permitted to personally rate device? What will the students, the citizens of tomorrow, want
what they see. to use this new technology for?’ Giraldi, the director’s
production company, explains: “This is why the emphasis will be
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF on Wi-Fi devices. It’s about the mobile content. Not how it is
OIL PAINTERS created, but to what end.”
EXHIBITION Be it digital video, game or any other interactive digital idea
for a handheld device or a mobile phone, all types are welcome.
29 October – 9 November
www.mallgalleries.org.uk Submissions must be entered by 31 December 2008. For more
Mall Galleries, London, UK information, visit www.outofhandfestival.com.

www.outofhandfestival.com
UK DESIGN FOR
PERFORMANCE JOIN IN: Entry couldn’t be easier with the online entry form.
Until 18 November Just fill and upload and wait to see if you’re accepted
www.vam.ac.uk
Victoria and Albert Museum, London,
United Kingdom

Mr Site has the answer

MEMORY IS YOUR So you’ve accumulated your best work
, got your digital audio and video. Your site will inclu
IMAGE OF portfolio sorted and you’ve got a good
idea about how cart, hosting and email.
de a secure shopping
PERFECTION you’d like your website to look. Unfo
afford to pay for someone to make
rtunately, you can’t If this all seems to good to be true then
think again, as
Until 30 November one or know how to 60,000 users are deploying Mr Site as
make one yourself. Well, worry no more a creative solution
www.mcasd.org as Mr Site is here throughout various industries. Mr Site
to help. comes in two
Museum of Contemporary Art San versions for varied users: Standard and
Diego, San Diego, USA Mr Site’s award-winning Takeaway Web Pro. Each version
site software provides functions relating to the stand
allows those unfamiliar with web desig ard of website the
n a chance to get a user requires. Pro includes extra and
professionally designed dotcom onlin advanced site features
e at a fraction of the such as PayPal shopping, business statio
CATHERINE OPIE: price. Upon purchase, you can choo
professional website designs that are
se from a selection of visitor statistics and extra web spac
nary creation tool,

AMERICAN by simply dragging and dropping pictu

easily customisable e. Let’s not also forget
Pro’s principle feature, Site Boost, whic
h provides a set of
PHOTOGRAPHER res, text logs and user-friendly tools, helping a website
appear higher up on
Until 5 January 2009 the Google food chain after search
results.
www.guggenheim.org The Standard edition costs £34.99, appr
oximately $64,
Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New EASY ON THE with a monthly renewal fee of
£2.90 (about $45) a month.
York City, USA POCKET: Mr Pro retails at £99.99, approximately
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affordable of Mr Site Takeaway Website, visit www
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designed
dotcom
websites for www.mrsite.com
business or
for pleasure

12
Advanced Photoshop

010-012_AVP_49_News.indd 12 17/9/08 18:10:31

 insight : “A n a
al illustra
dvertori oing debate o
tion for
n
Shell

ology ts the on
g
Crimin age represen
il. Th is im ce ss e s”
O p ro
capture
carbon

Addictive Fo
ods: “Commissi
magazine. An illu on
stration about ad from FHM
dictive foods”
Lee Woodgate
Lee Woodgate is an illustrator who remembers the digital revolution. Embracing it at the
time, he now has a successful editorial style that has seen him work on commissions for
top clients such as the Guardian newspaper, FHM, GQ magazine and British Gas.
Woodgate’s vibrant approach to design began on a holiday to Butlins. “In about 1978,
I won myself a Tricky Mickey magic set. Needless to say, I was hooked from then on.”
Later he studied Illustration and Design at Barnfield Art College, then a degree in
Illustration at the Ipswich annex of the UEA. “The course was not the greatest in my
opinion,” he recalls. “It had absolutely no coverage of the practical things that are
required to be a working freelance illustrator, ie invoicing, self-promotion, the standard
of roughs required on a job, and dealing with clients and very tight deadlines.”
Despite this, Woodgate now successfully works out of València, Spain, and endorses the advantages
that digital software and hardware have provided him. “I bought my first Mac G4 in 2000 with a Prince’s
Trust small business loan. I was blown away by what I could do digitally compared with what was
achievable pre-Photoshop, and the History palette is one of the most useful things I’ve ever come
across in my life. I’m pretty much self-taught in Photoshop, but it’s such an intuitive program that I was
rarely stuck with problems for long.”
Woodgate draws directly onto his Wacom Cintiq, using imagery found online. “I build the images
with shapes, colours and self-made patterns, paying close attention to the brief given to build up an
infographical pop art image interpretation. I often use hundreds of layers within Photoshop.”
Being as self-motivated as he is educated, his first commission was unsurprisingly through his own
endeavor. “I paid for a page in the annual showcase book Contact Illustrators. This book really helped to
get me on my feet as it put a miniature portfolio of my work plus my contact details under the noses of
thousands of art directors.” It’s been onwards and upwards for Woodgate ever since.

/ www.leewoodgate.com Family Fo
t editorial piec
e for a slot in
rum: “Recen g child who is fixated on
un
yo
about a very a PSP device”
the Guardian

14
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014-015_AVP_49_Insight1.indd 14 17/9/08 18:12:06

 10.08

d Deliria,
Mild Deliria: Mil
er. “These are
2004, pencil on pap
that I made
large-scale drawings
the Academy of
during my study at
as part of my
Fine Arts in Poznań
diploma work”

r
on: “Cover fo
Switched trical
itc he d On magazine (Elec ired by
Sw ica tio n) . In sp
publ
Trades Union s and regulations for
rd
electrical haza this subject”
on
a special issue

C aption
in
Aircraft Inte g for the Deaf: “E
riors Intern ditorial illus
illustration at tr
representin ional. It’s a graphic co ation for
piece on ca g the elemen llage
ptioning fo
r the deaf on ts drawn from an edito
airlines” rial

15
Advanced Photoshop

014-015_AVP_49_Insight1.indd 15 17/9/08 18:12:32

 insight
ber
Ricard: Num
pe op le m ak ing
of
o.
the picture: tw
“This illustration e
ob
was made in Ad
a
Photoshop for
oject”
commercial pr

Robot: “This
illustration
had been
made in
Illustrator and
then painted
in Photoshop”

picture 5: “Again, this was completed very quickly in an improvised way.

Consequently what it depicts is direct and hopefully reads quickly too”

Battlefron
t:
xx xx xx xx xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xx xx
xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx
xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

n:
C avema
people
Number of cture:
e pi
making th us the
three, pl
cture
original pi his
maker. “T
n is based
illustratio ge
on a vinta
n, scanned
illustratio d on top
and painte oshop”
in Phot

16
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016-017_AVP_49_Insight2.indd 16 17/9/08 18:13:17

 Jeanspezial
10.08
The Jeanspezial collective consists of eight talented creative individuals contributing to its
enjoyable and expressive identity. Three make up the Jeanclode digital illustration team,
including Mathieu Julien, Nicolas Barrome and Sebastien Touache. Espezial, involved in
traditional painting and sculpture, includes Maud Dardeau, Mattieu Javel, Grégory Banas,
Joris Goulenok and Maikuru. All of them together make the Jeanspezial group.
Friends during and since study, this creative crew made the right decision to work
together as freelance illustrators. After spending a year getting a broad base of competent
works together, Mathieu Julien explains: “We felt ready; we gathered our agreed favourite
pictures and started to invade the internet. At this moment, we were completely unknown.
After sealing and sending lots of mail to advertising agencies, we received our first
interviews and eventually our first commission. It was advertising in a French magazine.
Before this we had completed a few commissions, but more in a local capacity. That was the
first time people trusted us with a real big project.”
Since then, the Jeanspezial collective hasn’t stopped supplying the demand for their zany
assorted style. There’s no specific method to this, as Julien explains: “Unlike hairy scientists,
we don’t use any equations. It all depends on the project. Sometimes we start with a sketch or
a photo, sometimes we directly start on a new document in Photoshop. Sometimes we use
Photoshop to put the finishing touches on a vector image. But we also use Photoshop
sometimes to make a model for traditional paintings. As a resume, Photoshop is one of our
favourite tools, although we also use vector software for drawing on our computer.”
Jeanspezial’s creative influences were more specific. Julien reveals: “We really appreciate a
lot things, digital and non-digital. Each one of us has his godfathers, but I’m the one answering
the interview so in my opinion, I think so-me is making really fresh things in type drawing.
ViaVia has a killer style back from the past/future and Ben Newman is not bad at all.” He adds:
“There are also very nice things in analogue drawing, painting and writing.”

/ www.jeanspezial.com
FRUITY F
R
made in Ill ANK: “This one-man
ustrator fo
r a birthday illustration was
”

:
e
e:
he
ure
his
sed
age
ned
n top
hop”

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 insight
Rise Of Denovo Monster: “A cover illustration for a band
called De Novo Dahl. They had a pretty firm idea of what they
wanted, so I took their idea then sketched, painted and finished it
all in Photoshop”
Heisuke Kitazawa (PCP)
We featured Heisuke Kitazawa, aka PCP, in our Insight section before (way back in issue 21),
so we wanted to catch up and find out what he has been up to since. His images still
display the same colourful and surreal worlds that they always have, but his projects are
becoming even more well known and for bigger clients. Most recently, the freelance
illustrator has been working on a project for KENZO Parfums designing limited-edition gift
sets, which are available to buy online. Also recently, he has worked on interior murals for
Hotel Tomo in San Francisco and CD designs for bands like Her Space Holiday and Grand
Hallway. Other clients in the past include Honda, Sony Music Entertainment and the Joie
de Vivre group.
Kitazawa became a freelance illustrator almost by accident: “I didn’t know what I
wanted to do after high school, so I started drawing.” He went on to study at university in
California and then got his first commission for his website. Nowadays, he uses our
favourite Adobe app for all his work: “Most of the time I use Photoshop from beginning to
end. I also use a Wacom Cintiq and draw straight onto screen.”
His style is distinctly unique and when asked about his style, Kitazawa says: “My friend’s
five-year-old daughter said she was scared!” The surrealism on display can be unnerving,
but it certainly shows a lot of talent. His projects are just as varied and looking to
the future, he explains that his next piece of
art will be a wall-sized painting for a new
hotel in downtown Los Angeles. We’re
sure that when we catch up with him
again in another two years, there will be
even more to add to that extensive list of
clients of his.

/ www.hypehopewonderland.com

And It Raine
d All Day: “P
that I’ve done robably the big
in Photoshop: gest illustration
Photoshop did the
n’t seem to min file size went beyond 2GB,
d at all – it’s pr but
etty tough!”

18
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018-019_AVP_49_Insight3.indd 18 17/9/08 18:15:28

 L’Eau Par Ke

the Pencil and

nz
Photoshop, I did o Homme Box: “Illustrated
the layout in Illu
strator. I just us
in
10.08
Paintbucket to ed
ols and lots of
Undos”

lots of
: “I was doing
Tomorrow r my clients, so I
Words Of gs fo
tchy drawin
happy and ca something for myself ”
aw
thought to dr

19
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018-019_AVP_49_Insight3.indd 19 17/9/08 18:17:13

 Letters

Mailbox
Do you have a question or opinion about the
magazine? Email your thoughts to
advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk
or visit www.advancedphotoshop/forum
SUBJECT: eMag volume two?
FROM: Shawn Rodgers
Hi Advanced Photoshop. I am a new reader
and I decided that I would like to get hold of
some back issues as I enjoyed the copy I read
so much. So I bought Volume 1 of the eMag, as
it was the cheapest and easiest way for me to
get my hands on old issues. It only goes up to
issue 31, though, and if my calculations are
correct then Volume 2 should be released
soon. Could you tell me when I would be able
to get hold of that?

Editor replies: You’re right, Shawn. Volume 2 is

indeed just around the corner. It will cover issues
32 through to 47 in the same format as the first
edition. Expect to see it in the eShop (www.
imagineshop.co.uk) this month.
There will also be the third volume of our
popular bookazine, The Premium Collection,
later this year, so make sure you keep your eyes
peeled for that, too.
SUBJECT: CS3 Extended workshop –
love it…
FROM: Simon Andrews
PAINTING TUTORIALS: We do try and cover every I always buy Advanced Photoshop and try all
kind of Photoshop work in our tutorials, including digital the tutorials from beginning to end, with
painting, but at the same time we understand that
they’re not for everyone! varying degrees of success. I was particularly
enthused by the 3D models workshop in issue
SUBJECT: Can’t paint, won’t paint 47, as I have got CS3 Extended but have never
FROM: Bruce Sykes
I have just read my copy of Advanced
Photoshop 46, and I’m a little disappointed. I
love using Photoshop, but one of the reasons “POST ON
that I use it is because, quite frankly, I can’t
draw! I love the fact that with Photoshop I can OUR FORUM
create art using photographs, textures,
WHERE
USERS, THE
vectors, brushes, etc, without having to lift a
pencil and draw a thing! Therefore, although

MAGAZINE
the tutorials on Concept Creatures and Portrait
Painting are lovely, they are completely lost on

TEAM AND
me. Please, please, please can we have more
manipulation work? I loved the rest of the
issue, though!
EVEN KIRK
Editor replies: Hi Bruce, sorry to hear that you
were disappointed with the tutorials in issue 46. NELSON
We do try and cover all aspects of Photoshop in
the magazine each issue, from digital painting to HIMSELF
EMAGS: Volume 1 of our eMag has the full content
and tutorial files from issues 16 through to 31. Look out
photomanipulation, and illustration to
photography postproduction. This issue we have ARE ON HAND
for Volume 2 hitting the Imagine eShop soon
(www.imagineshop.co.uk)
plenty of tutorials for you that work with
photographs – no drawing skills required. TO HELP”
22
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022-023_AVP_49_Letters.indd 22 17/9/08 18:18:10


actually used the 3D tools in it, simply because
I had no idea where to start. This tutorial really
opened my eyes to the possibilities when
using freely available models. I had so much
fun learning how to alter the models, and with
no 3D experience needed! Firmly bitten by the
bug, I really enjoyed the feature at the back of
the magazine looking at the integration of
Photoshop with 3D software. I don’t think I’ll
ever be as skilled as those guys, but it was a
real eye-opener of just what is possible when
you jump into another dimension! Thanks AP!
Editor replies: Thanks for writing in, Simon. We’ve
had a varied response to our 3D coverage (see
the letter below), but we do try and cover all
bases with our tutorials and the use of 3D
models with Photoshop work is seemingly on
the rise, so I thought it important to give some
space to the growing trend. Certainly, we’re not
going to be turning into a 3D mag, but with
Extended it’s easy to get started with free
models, transforming the way you work.
SUBJECT: …or hate it?
FROM: Jane Saunders
Did I accidentally pick up a copy of 3D World
and not Advanced Photoshop last month
(issue 47)? I buy the magazine because I like to
do more with my Photoshop program; but in
two dimensions. I only have Photoshop CS so I
couldn’t begin to follow the tutorial that
required CS3 Extended – six pages that were a
complete waste to me. Then, the back feature
looks at 3D software that I will never splash
out for. While the images in this feature were
fantastic and the artists undoubtedly talented,
I want to see work done solely in Photoshop;
isn’t that the point of the magazine? I hope
this isn’t a trend for the future.
022-023_AVP_49_Letters.indd 23
3D: Please do always
let us know your
thoughts on 3D
tutorials and features in
Advanced Photoshop
HELP AT HAND: If
you need help with a
Photoshop query,
send it in to our
Helpdesk pages
Editor replies: Hi Jane. 3D seems to be a very
debated topic within the pages of Advanced
Photoshop – some readers love it, some hate it
and some find it a completely alien subject, plus
everything in-between. We try and cover all
trends, styles and uses for Photoshop, and
therefore, on the odd occasion, that’s going to
mean looking at 3D and CS3 Extended. But fear
not, we haven’t forgotten our roots and you’ll
find more photomanipulations, digital paintings
and illustration projects coming your way!
SUBJECT: Flashy effects
FROM: James Hamilton
Wow! Just got my copy of issue 47 of Advanced
Photoshop and I’m really impressed by the
tutorials this month. I’ve just started on the
Vivid Commercial Effects one by Adam Smith.
I’m still new to Photoshop, but this is exactly
the kind of thing that I want to learn how to do,
so I’ll be sending in my final version when I’ve
finished. I reckon that I’ll be having a go at the
Creative Retouching next, but the Speed
Painting might be a little out of my depth for
now! Last of all, the Helpdesk is great; really
informal, yet informative. I’ll be sending in my
questions as I come across them!
Editor replies: Thanks for the praise James… and
we didn’t even have to pay you to say it! We’re
always listening to what the readers want from
our tutorials, and the lighting effects came up
time and again. Any other effects you’d like to
see, let us know! As for the Helpdesk, Kirk Nelson
is our resident expert and his advice is always
spot-on. If you want to pose a question to him,
then email advancedpshop@imagine-
publishing.co.uk, or for a quicker response, post
on our forum where fellow users, the magazine
team and even Kirk himself are on hand to help.
On the
forum
SUBJECT: A good reason to think
about backing up your work online
FROM: Nick S
Sobering story on the BBC website about a
photographer, Tamy Dahan, who lost
everything in the Camden Town fire back in
February. Yet the hardest losses are the
most personal and irreplaceable. Having
never uploaded her images, she has no
virtual copies to fall back on. “I can’t get
over losing my pictures, especially those of
my father. They were like my foundations.”
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
magazine/7546756.stm
FROM: jeaston82
A really good point, Nick. Portable hard
drives are so cheap now that it’s easy to
keep a full backup of every piece of artwork
ever created. There are also plenty of online
backup solutions. Better to be safe than
sorry, after all!
FROM: revjessecuster
I need to do this!
FROM: Quicky
£50 gets you a virtually bombproof hard
drive these days. Not a lot of money for a
life’s work.
FROM: Nick S
Good point, but online backup could
protect from fire, flood and theft.
FROM: Quicky
As long as the servers and tape system
don’t go down. I think I have about three
HDs here and one stored at my mother-in-
law’s as a fail-safe, but any good backup
options are always good to share.
FROM: Nick S
Freecom has just announced the ‘world’s
smallest 2.5-inch external hard drive’ in the
form of its new Mobile Drive XXS. It
measures 10.98 x 7.96 x 1.35cm, a size that
Freecom claims the Mobile Drive XXS is 27
per cent smaller than its closest competitor.
160GB, 250GB and 320GB, with prices
starting from £45.
www.freecom.com/news.asp?id=7707&ca
tName=press
Join the debate at
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum
23
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17/9/08 18:19:29
 Website

On the web
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
Our website and readers’ forum is perfect for
showing off Photoshop creations. We present
the best images on the site this month. Log on
and upload to get your images here next issue!
LADY OF WAR
ARTIST: Olof Erla
EMAIL: oloferla@januar.is
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/
oloferla
“In May 2002, I graduated as a Bachelor of
Arts in Graphic Design from the Iceland
Academy of the Arts. I have been working
as a graphic designer since then, mostly in ALLURE
the digital art and broadcast design ARTIST: Lee Gough
department of TV1/RUV in Iceland. Working EMAIL: info@fluidwebdesigns.co.uk
in television has been a dream come true. WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/generallee
Emotion, aura, sensitivity – that’s what my “I am a freelancer based in Manchester and I have been
work is all about. It is what I wait for when using Photoshop for the past six years. The inspiration for
I’m making a picture. The image has to this image was the photograph itself. I knew when I saw it
give me the right feel to be ready. I had an idea about on iStock that I had to do something with it. I wanted to
this picture in my head for a long time. A woman in red with a bow, walking tall in front create a sexy image that wasn’t tacky. The hair was
of a army. She is there to do battle, to show strength, bravery and love. It was created in created by taking a picture of some fibre optic cables
Photoshop. I took this picture of the model myself. And since I work in television, I am and then using the Smudge tool to distort them. I created
fortunate enough to have access to costumes and props to aid my images.” all the markings on the model’s face and body using the
Pen tool and setting the Layer mode to Overlay.”

THE MAGIC UNDERWORLD

ARTIST: Andreea C
EMAIL: frozen_star_ro@hotmail.com
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/
FrozenStarRo
“I started doing photomanipulations two years
ago and, somehow, Photoshop stuck with me
since, even though I’m the kind of person that
gets bored easily. I try to diversify the themes
of my artworks and over time I’ve gone from
fantasy to conceptual, from dark to surreal or
sci-fi. And I’m self-taught. Fantasy would have
to be my favourite genre, though, because it
gives me a chance to work with magic
effects. This is actually my first mermaid
work and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it
would be at first. I used a 3D render for her
tail and, generally, they look kind of fake
against real photographs, but the textures
used on the overall piece made it blend
well with the rest. The underworld
background was put together from four
images and a few brushes for the algae.
The hardest part would have been the model/
mermaid, because I had to carefully use the Clone Stamp to erase the bra she was
wearing and to fit the shells instead and give the hair a watery, floating look.”

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 Inter
view
BLUE MAN GROUP-DRUMMERS:
“This is the global branding image for the
Blue Man Group and appears in billboards,
ads and all manner of promotion for their
shows in all of their venues worldwide”

JAMES PORTO
Describing himself as a ‘photographic artist’, James Porto’s work mixes
in-camera brilliance with postproduction trickery to create his unique style

M
ixing the surreal with the real is all
in a day’s work for American
photographic artist James Porto.
His images blend the everyday with the
unimaginable in such a seamless manner that he
lends a realism to unreal situations. He works out
of a studio in NYC and indulges in both photo
illustrations as well as straight photography for
advertising, editorial and fine-art projects. In fact, if
you visit his website, www.jamesporto.com, it is
split between Real and Unreal sections to keep
the two separate. On top of this, he has also been
teaching a graduate-level course in Photo
Illustration at the School of Visual Arts.

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His passion for photography began early, at the
same age that his youngest son is now (he is
married with two boys aged 16 and 11). “Even
then, I was continuously experimenting with
making photographs that were unusual,” he says
of his early dabblings. “I’d print multiple negatives
on a single sheet of paper, solarise prints, use litho
film, anything to get a unique-looking image.”
Porto grew up in the Middle East where there
was an absence of most forms of media, which he
says has “shaped my visual sensibilities”. Porto
explains: “A media desert in the actual desert. It
gave me a lot of time and space to dwell in my
imagination with few outside influences. The
constant bombardment of messages, ads and
media in the current age leaves little room for our
own thoughts to form. I was fortunate to have
been exempt from the mind-numbing onslaught.”
026-031_AVP_49_Interview.indd 27
As he grew up, Porto knew that he wanted to
make a career out of photography and went to
RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) in New
York to get a Bachelor’s degree in Professional
Photography. “While there, I learned every
possible means of combining images using
traditional methods and left with a portfolio of
multi-image photo illustrations.”
The Big Apple
After university, Porto moved to New York to
push his career forward, which turned out to be
a successful move. “In my portfolio I had a
product shot that seemed pretty cool, so I sent it
over to Pierre Cardin. To my surprise, they called
back to book me for my first commercial
assignment and I had only been there a few
weeks! I somehow managed to produce the
James Porto
2001 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
SWIMSUIT MAGAZINE: “The
concept was to portray supermodels in
bathing suits as various greek
goddesses. This was a collaboration
with Joanne Gair who did the body art.
The winged figure is Heidi Klum and
the copper statue is Fernanda Tavares”
image and it hung in Macy’s for several years.”
Despite this standalone success, Porto chose to
assist for other photographers for a few years to
gain business experience. “It proved to be a
good move as I learned a tremendous amount
in that period.”
Nowadays, Porto works with an impressive
stream of big-name clients, both editorially and
in the advertising world. To name just a few, the
magazines that he has been featured in
includes: American Photo, Business Week, ESPN,
Fortune, Forbes, Glamour, GQ, New York Times
Magazine, Newsweek, New York, Photo Italia,
Rolling Stone, Scientific American, Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit, Time and Wired. His advertising clients
include: Absolut, Adidas, American Express,
AT&T, Bell Helicopters, Blue Man Group, Epson,
IBM, Illford, Kodak, Lockheed, Motorola, Nike,
27
Advanced Photoshop
19/9/08 09:23:20
 Inter
view
I’D PRINT
MULTIPLE
NEGATIVES
ON A SINGLE
SHEET OF
PAPER,
SOLARISE
PRINTS, USE
LITHO FILM,
ANYTHING
TO GET A
UNIQUE-
LOOKING
IMAGE
Pepsi, Radio City Rockettes, Reebok, Seagrams,
Sony, Texas Instruments and Verizon. An
impressive list by anyone’s standards, and Porto
continues to be in demand for his unique
photographic projects.

Wide variety
He’s kept a studio in New York for almost 24 years
(he’s now 48) and has done a wide variety of
projects in that time. “Early on, I positioned myself
as a photographic problem solver and special-
effects whiz, and as a result received many
challenging projects that tested the limits of what
I knew was possible, and gratified me when I was
successful,” Porto explains. “Those early years were
pre-Photoshop and I became proficient at
producing seamless multi-image
photocompositions using elaborate pin
registration and in darkroom masking procedures.
Making a photograph this way was so technically
difficult, limiting and laborious, that working
digitally now always feels like a precious gift. In the
Nineties, I found a vast market for my work as
digital imaging came into the mainstream; finally,
the style of images I had been making in the
darkroom were in great demand.” And how would
Porto describe his ‘style of images’? “A mixture of
the surreal, the hyperreal and the classical.” It is no
GLASSLAND: surprise then, that when asked to name his
“An experimental favourite digital artists, Porto points to Matt
image with a
rescue theme”
Mahurin, another artist whose work could be
described with the same words. Surreal imagery
like this is less seen in the commercial world than

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WINGED WOMEN (ABOVE, TOP RIGHT
AND BOTTOM RIGHT): “Three images from a
body of personal work exploring themes of female beauty,
power, and vulnerability”
straight photography or more traditional photo-
illustration, and it seems that Porto doesn’t always
get the recognition that he deserves. “I’ve had a
few awards, but have not been disciplined about
entering too many contests. Also, my style of work
is a bit out of the mainstream and seems to get
overlooked when I have entered.”
Many a good photographer uses his art form as
an expression of themselves as an individual,
maybe as a remedy for situations in their personal
life or to convey joy and emotion. For Porto, this is
certainly a sentiment that rings true. “I’m
passionate and sensitive; often, I feel so much
beauty in a moment that I’m overcome with
emotion. My photographs are attempts to
approximate these ecstatic moments. Alternately,
026-031_AVP_49_Interview.indd 29
James Porto
the intensity of life can bring waves of darkness
and my work also provides a way of expressing
these feelings.” He also describes himself as self-
critical, but this only adds to his potential rather
than holding it back. “When you’re your own
toughest critic, it pushes you to exceed your
potential. When this happens, you may even
stumble upon a good image, and if you really
push it, a great one.”
Photos and Photoshop
Clearly, Photoshop plays a part in Porto’s creations,
but in a more subtle way, blending the
photographic images together to create a
seamless realism, and it is obvious that it is a talent
behind the camera rather than in front of a
computer that plays a big part here. “My primary
tool for image creation is the camera; I’ve always
been a photographer first and foremost, and I only
use my original photography in the compositions.
29
Advanced Photoshop
19/9/08 09:23:57
 Inter
view

ROCKER (LEFT), LEMON PEPPA (ABOVE) AND SACOWGOWEA

(BELOW): “Three images from the annual Chick-fil-A (fast food chain) calendar
which uses cows as spokesanimals to ‘Eat more chikin!’ The musical cows are from the
2008 calendar and the Indian cow is from the 2007 calendar”

RED SCREAM: “An image made to illustrate a 1994

Wired article on Extropians”
PHOTOSHOP IS THE KEY
PIECE OF SOFTWARE THAT
ENABLES ME TO COMBINE A
MYRIAD ARRAY OF
UNRELATED IMAGES INTO A
NEW MEANINGFUL WHOLE
Photoshop is the key piece of software that going strong. “I am currently searching for the
enables me to combine a myriad array of right gallery to exhibit the Winged Women project
unrelated images into a new meaningful whole.” and a publisher for the book,” says Porto. He is
At the moment, Porto is working on a series of more than happy to take on a challenge, too, and
fashion images for his portfolio. The series of isn’t afraid to be pushed out of his comfort zone.
Winged Women (of which you can see a sample “Projects that are technically challenging,
on these pages and more on his website) is still impossible or simply big productions are very

30
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 James Porto

DAREDEVIL 100 ULTRA FINAL:

“The art director must have seen something
inside the portfolio that was promising
enough to give it a try, so he hired me on the
spot and I got my first gig at illustrating an
entire book for him”

ROX CAB: ”An image from Spectacular, The Radio City

Rockettes 75th Anniversary book published in 2007 and
for which I did all the new original photography”.

SUPERLAB: “An image for Time magazine. illustrating

how doctors were collaborating with Olympic athletes
and their use of performance enhancing drugs”

invigorating for me. It can be a little scary

attempting the unknown, but always satisfying to
conquer.” Taking this to heart, Porto explains what
he is moving on to next. “My latest explorations
and experimentations are merging CGI (3D
modelling) with photography and I’ll see where
that takes me.” We can’t wait to see either! For
more artwork and information, visit his website at
www.jamesporto.com.

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 MASTERCLASS

32
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032-037_AVP_49_London.indd 32 18/9/08 13:00:10

 33
Advanced Photoshop

032-037_AVP_49_London.indd 33 18/9/08 13:01:17

 MASTERCLASS

Colourful
photomontages
Learn how to create a contemporary cityscape with stock images and
advanced blending and colouring techniques

ON THE DISC
On the CD you will find a full list of all the
stock images that we used if you want to
use the same ones, otherwise, scour stock
sites for your own images of London, or any
town to follow the steps.
OUR EXPERT Brand Nu
Yet another contemporary illustration tutorial courtesy of
Radim Malinic, who is best known for his work with Fuze/Coca
Cola, O2, BBC, Heineken and Harrods. You can see more
dazzling Brand Nu trademark colours at www.brandnu.co.uk.
E
nough art has been inspired by the glorious capital of the British Isles, while plenty of mediocre
postcards can be purchased alongside the tinned biscuits wrapped in a Union Jack by the ever-flowing
stream of tourists. If you wanted such a thing, there’s even kitchen aprons emblazoned with a London
impression of some kind. Although those are the more mainstream ideas of London memorabilia, there is another way
to sum up the Big Smoke. Imagine everything from a nice cup of tea, black cabs, St Paul’s Cathedral to the ever-present
CCTV cameras, sprinkled with a pinch of Monty Python and the colours of impending autumn. Indeed, those could
possibly be the ingredients for this tutorial.
Unless you’re a budding photographer with an overspill of high-resolution location images, illustrations as complex
as this one require the time to research stock libraries to find the right photographs, which then need to be prepared for
the final piece. As you may find, not one library will hold all the shots we would like to use. Depending on the image
quality, preproduction time may vary a bit. However, Adobe Photoshop is the application of choice to make the job
easier. After following the next six pages, you’ll be a master of clipping masks and the Pen tool, you’ll be a shortcut guru
and will find yourself sprinkling blending modes on your cereal the next day.

It’s a
Hard Light’s life
In order to accomplish a vibrant and eye-
popping colour collage, we’ll be using one of
Photoshop’s most trusted blending modes, Hard
Light, via layer clipping masks. The main point of
this photomontage is flexibility; to undo, redo or
change any filters and colours as many times as
you like without losing a single pixel’s worth of
1 Planning permission
Our illustration will involve quite a vast number of
various elements, so let’s first grab a piece of paper to jot
down the list of landmarks that we want to include. Here,
we’ll go from the O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium
Dome) along the river to Battersea Power Station, and
include all the essential pieces that make London the
exciting place it is.

3
quality. As our image is going to tell a million
Cutting to the chase
stories, the preparation of our elements may be
time-consuming yet rewarding, with new tricks Good things comes to those who… are patient
learned along the way. Don’t worry, though, the actually, as this part is the most time-consuming and
result will be well worth your time. little bit tedious, however, nonetheless imperative for the
success of this piece. Open the images one by one, and

2
draw a path around the elements you wish to cut out.
Groundwork Double-click Work Path in the Paths palette and save as
At our digital disposal, we’ve got many tools that ‘Path 1’. The hidden benefit is that you can use the vector
make our workflow a piece of cake, especially the royalty- shape any time in the future when you need silhouettes.
free stock image websites at all levels of prices and Close the images for now.
quality. Before you embark on the Big Smoke piece,
collect landmark images of your choice (or use the list of
images from our final illustration) and consider the
angles, sizes, quality, etc.

“WE’LL INCLUDE THE ESSENTIAL

PIECES THAT MAKE LONDON THE
EXCITING PLACE IT IS”
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 4 Follow the signs
As we’d like to get away from the purely
photographic finish, during the tutorial we’ll make most
of the elements our own. Open the images for the
Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square street signs and as
per the previous steps, separate the sign out of the
image. Use the Magic Wand to select all the letters and
lines, then copy and paste (Cmd/Ctrl+C) on the new
layer (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N). Select the original layer, and
bring up the Levels (Cmd+L) to bring out a nice white
colour in the sign.
6 Clone Stamp
Inevitably, some of the
elements are naturally a bit
dilapidated in real life. Open the
signpost image and cut it out in the
previously outlined fashion. Make a
selection from the layer (hold down
Cmd and right-click the Layer icon),
create a new layer and select Clone
Stamp with a Sample of Layers
option. Then sample and clone in
the direction of the object, and you
should end up with a signpost
looking like new.
7 One way or another…
As well as cutting out the individual layers,
some of the elements will need to retain the whole
information via Quick Masks. The Red Bull Air Race plane
trails strong lines of smoke, so use a brush to reveal some
of it, making it transparent. Draw around the plane with
the Pen tool, make a selection and apply a Quick Mask.
Make white your Foreground Color, then choose a newly
made brush and set your brush Opacity to 50%.
032-037_AVP_49_London.indd 35
5 Retouch the lion’s share
As we had to rely on the stock libraries, some of
our images require a little retouching to slot in perfectly
as elements. We found a lion statue image, separated it
and transferred onto a new layer. As there’s loads of work Make your life easier with
shortcuts
ahead, we’d need to work quite fast. Go to Image>
Adjustments>Replace Color, then highlight the white
snow and match it to the colour of the statue. What
Replace Color can’t do, Levels easily finishes. Whether you’re a Photoshop enthusiast or you
use the application to bring home the bacon,
there’s many ways how the application can make
your workflow even easier while concentrating
on the innovative results from the creative flow.
The factory settings have already been designed
to speed up hundreds of common tasks,
however, we’ve found that some customisation
is always needed to suit the project. As you may
find yourself, for example, wandering over to the
Layers palette to switch the visibility off each
layer via the little ‘eye’ icon, we’ve decided to kill
off the Help shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+comma in favour
of Hide/Show layer. This tutorial utilises a lot of
grouped layers, so instead of manually double-
clicking the image to get to Layer Properties to
name the group, set Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+comma to
do just that.
8 Easel, canvas and brushes
After some time of preparation, we’re finally ready
to embark on the final piece. Create a new document
(Cmd/Ctrl+N) and set it to 460 x 300, noting that this
doesn’t include the bleed. Don’t forget the CMYK mode
and 300dpi for the best desired effect. As the body of
illustration will be quite colour-flexible, we can start with
a basic Background Color, which might change later.
9 Bricklaying
Select and open all
of the images you’ve
prepared and carefully
outlined. Make a
selection from the path,
copy the selection and
paste into the new
master document. You’re
free to place your
elements as you like or to
follow our arrangement.
35
Advanced Photoshop
18/9/08 14:13:10
 MASTERCLASS
10 Hard Light and clipping masks
We’ve got the scenery working really well
together, so now the fun part comes in. Select any
bottom layer from the Layers palette, click on the
Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom and choose Solid
Color while holding Alt. By doing so, an option pop-up
window will give you an option to give your new colour
layer a clipping mask in the shape of the original
element. Tick the box and choose any colour for now. Set
the Color layer to Hard Light or Linear Light, which will
give the building a nice tone. Double-click the colour
box to adjust the tone for the best result.
11 Complementing colours
At this stage, the colours can be any of your
choice. As per the previous step, you could change the
tones and blends at any time again
14
Perspective and cast shadows
Now we’ve got most of our elements in
place, let’s get working on perspective and shadows. Use
any object to create a Drop Shadow. Right-click the FX
icon, then copy and paste the style onto other elements
in the fore. Individually right-click the FX again, select
Create New Layer (Cmd/Ctrl+T) and Free Transform while
holding Alt to achieve the right perspective. Optionally,
you could mask (Cmd/Ctrl+/) the far end of the shadow
and brush some off.
“DURING THE TUTORIAL, WE’LL
MAKE THE ELEMENTS OUR OWN”
36
Advanced Photoshop
032-037_AVP_49_London.indd 36
13 Time for a cuppa
Here we found a cup image, but instead of
simply cutting out the element, we’ll make it our own. By
using the outline path, we’ll brush the colour on a new
layer. Make the brush colour grey and set it to Overlay.
The same process will be applied for the tea in the cup.
To round off our tea break, open any images with a
dominant sky and loosely cut out the clouds to paste
onto the top. Desaturate (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U) and set to
Overlay. The cup will gain an interesting texture and
12
enhance the shadow towards the bottom of the cup.
Layer properties
Select your two new layers and group them
(Cmd/Ctrl+G ). In your horizontal toolbar, change the
option for autoselection to Group from Layer. This will
make any future order changes much easier. Our final
piece will count over 100 separate layers, as it makes the
illustration much easier and more enjoyable when you
can just grab the groups. If you have assigned a new
Layer Properties shortcut, then renaming groups should
be easy now. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+comma to do so.
15
Toby Carvery
Next up, we’re going to enliven our already
fun-looking composition with some extra vector
elements. It’s up to you if you decided to draw the
elements in Adobe Illustrator or stay in Photoshop.
16 Stanley Road
In a new document (sized 150 x 100mm),
select the Box tool and draw double yellow lines, white
lines and a background road. Hold down Opt/Alt any
time you wish to copy an object. This will make it easier
and indeed faster. Select All (Cmd/Ctrl+A) and Copy All
(Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C), then paste on a new layer. Free
Transform and select the Warp tool from the Horizontal
toolbar from the drop-down menu, then just experiment
a little to get the right shape.
18/9/08 14:13:42
 17 Custom brushes from images
Find an image of a wall with a rough texture,
convert it to Grayscale mode and brush around the
edges with a white brush set to 250px. Adjust the
contrast via Levels (Cmd/Ctrl+L) to bring out the grain,
then follow Edit>Define Brush Preset. Name the brush
and it will show as the last one in your Brush Presets.
19
CCTV
London wouldn’t be the place it is without
the ever-present CCTV cameras that follow us wherever
we go. We’ve placed the camera towards the top of the
image to give it prominence. Using the same process as
before, create a Drop Shadow layer and separate it by
creating a new layer from the blending mode and adjust
the cast shadow with Free Transform.
032-037_AVP_49_London.indd 37
18 The sky’s the limit
Open an image of sky and paste it in its full
glory into your piece (Cmd/Ctrl+/). Quick Mask the layer
and brush off the edges to give it a fluid shape.
Desaturate (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U) and set to Overlay. Next,
create a new layer and brush various tones of orange
below the sky to make the clouds come through.
“ANY IMAGE
WITH THIS MANY
LAYERS WILL
NEED EXTRA
TWEAKING”
20
Do not obstruct the doors, please
Now that the image has taken an excellent
shape along with vibrant colours, there’s still space to
include some other bits and pieces, such as a tube map,
the end of the Circle line and a Union Jack. As the map is
set to white as its Color Overlay, the flag is masked and
set to Overlay.
21
need a little extra tweaking in sizes and positioning. If
desired, you could adjust Levels (Cmd/Ctrl+L) to deepen
the colour tones. Other than that, it’s pretty much a wrap.
We want to see
photomontages of your
home town!
The techniques that you have learnt across
the last six pages can be applied to images
from any town, city or village, anywhere in
the world. So, we’re challenging you to come
up with your own photomontages based on
where you live using the same skills that
Brand Nu has unveiled here. Scour stock
sites or go out with your camera and collect
images of the biggest landmarks around you,
then use your Photoshop talent to turn them
into a work of art!
Send your final pieces into us and we’ll
print the best. Email them to
advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk,
with ‘Photomontage challenge’ as the subject
header. See below for image requirements
and terms and conditions.
Image requirements
You’ll stand a better chance of seeing your
work in print if you adhere to the following
criteria: make sure that your images are
high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or CMYK),
300dpi minimum, and can be printed at 15 x
15cm minimum. Don’t forget to include a
small text file detailing how you created your
work as well.
Terms and conditions
By submitting images to Advanced
Photoshop, 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
are also confirming that your images do not
infringe any copyright regulations should
they be published.
It’s a wrap
Any image with this many layers will always
37
Advanced Photoshop
18/9/08 14:14:07
 Feature
BLEED BACK PANEL SPINE WIDTH
5MM AROUND 210MM VISIBLE WIDTH 20MM

£5.99 UK • $10.50 US

T
he old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to

cover
– great book cover design

Judge a
contemporary publishing. Under threat from the visual distractions of film, television and the internet, an
arresting cover design can help entice the reader and hint at the power of words and the world of wonder

book
within. With increasingly hectic lives, finding the time and patience to actually read a book can be a challenge, but
books are still reassuringly cool and suitably portable to be read almost anywhere and at any time. Better to be
seen reading a book than staring blankly into the display of a mobile phone. A great cover will define both the
author and reader, give prominence on any book shop display and offer some clues to the millions who choose
books as gifts each year. A striking or seductive design will also help attract the eye when books are sold online,
where covers are reduced significantly in size.

by its
For the designer, books are a treat and a challenge, a combination of words and images that both inform and
suggest, often in a single illustration, what the reader might discover inside. Normally a fair amount of
information, from ISBN bar code, price and publisher, to a summary and choice quotes from reviews, needs to be
included. The spine requires a level of legibility to ensure it can be easily viewed on a bookshelf from distance.
Compromise can kill creativity and what you see in-store and online can be the result of design by committee, so
remember the priority to always sell books first and foremost. The promise of eBooks, led by the Kindle, Amazon’s
wireless reading device, along with the Sony eReader available from Waterstone’s, could diminish the importance
of the book cover altogether. For publishers, authors, designers and illustrators, these are interesting times as
tradition meets technology head-on.

66

ISSN 1748-7277
49
WWW.IMAGINE-PUBLISHING.CO.UK
WWW.ADVANCEDPHOTOSHOP.CO.UK
9 771748 727009 6 66059 47299 3

38
Advanced Photoshop

038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 38 19/9/08 10:24:53

 Judge a book by its cover
SPINE WIDTH FRONT PANEL BLEED
20MM 210MM VISIBLE WIDTH 5MM AROUND

book
cover
Judge a by its

– great book cover design

cover
Judge a
book

ct blend of words anindto

The perfe n draw the reader elp
by its

images ca inative worlds and h k

new imag writer’s vision, as Nic
define the covers
Spence dis

BY NICK SPENCE

39
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038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 39 19/9/08 10:25:18

 Feature
THE
rules of attraction
– selling books by design
Although there are no firm formulas for a successful book design, some sound
principals will help ensure your cover is a success
• THE BRIEF: Make sure you understand the brief,
keep well within the deadline and provide all
relevant elements that are requested by the
publisher or art department. If in doubt, ask for
clarification as commission deadlines can be tight
and budgets small.
• COMPOSITION: A good understanding of the power
of composition will help your cover significantly jump
off the shelves. Cropping images and inventive use of
text can add clarity to your cover.
• COLOUR: The use of colour, muted or Day-Glo,
harmonised or irregular, will also play an
important role in setting the scene, creating
atmosphere and suggesting the type of book,
from romance to horror, contained within.
ISSN 1748-7277
49
9 771748 727009
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Advanced Photoshop
038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 40
• DEVELOP A THICK SKIN: Because the focus of
publishing is selling books, you may find your image
compromised, hacked about or simply engulfed in
gaudy gold type. Remember that your next job is just
around the corner and move on.
• EXPLOIT YOUR STRENGTHS: Do what you do best
and look for commissions that best suit your style. If
your expertise is in epic sci-fi fantasy painting, then
approach suitable publishers and promote your work
on related websites and blogs.
• FIND A FOCUS POINT: Space may be limited and
the addition of a back, spine and flaps may
muddle things, but try and find a focus point
within the design that will draw the reader in.
• KNOW YOUR MARKET: Your cover design should
reflect the publisher’s target audience. Look at similar
books and authors in the same genre, and try and
determine current trends and popular imagery within
that genre.
THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY (ABOVE):
“The client had originally asked for an image of
the Eye occupying the right-hand half of the
cover, but I ended up with the characters
looking up at the Eye, which makes it look a bit
different,” explains David Dean
© DAVID DEAN
• SIMPLE AND LEGIBLE: Sometimes the best
designs are the simplest so ensure all the elements
add up, including the spine, and especially if you
are asked to produce handwritten text. Make sure
your choice of colours doesn’t make copy illegible.
• TYPE: The use of type can be both powerful and
evocative, giving a strong idea of what’s in store for
the reader, and hand-drawn and artistic type can be
as effective as an image in setting the tone.
• SPACE TO BREATHE: A complex and claustrophobic
design, especially within the limits of a book cover,
may leave little space for a title, photo, bar code and
text. Where necessary, leave space for the designer to
add all the other obligatory elements.
19/9/08 10:26:27

D
isplayed on book shop shelves, point-of-
sale and window displays, along
supermarket aisles, in newspapers,
magazines and online, book covers offer the
chance to be seen by a wide and varied audience.
As publishers cater for every possible reader, genre,
passion and interest, there is a good chance your style
will suit book cover design. Finding an appropriate,
artistically sympathetic publisher is a good start, one
that will be able to best showcase your talents. “First
of all, don’t send samples to a publisher that doesn’t
produce the kind of books that your illustrations
would be suitable for,” insists freelance designer Becky
Chilcott, who works mainly in publishing. “Do your
research. Try and find out the name of someone to
send examples to at the publishers. It looks more
thoughtful and well researched if you don’t just send
it to ‘The Art Director’.”
If you’re just starting off and aiming to attract
publishers and commissions, book mock-ups should
give a good idea of your potential. “When I started out
as an illustrator, about half the work in my portfolio
was book cover mock-ups,” explains renowned
illustrator David Dean (www.organisart.co.uk). “Book
covers are a very specific kind of illustration with
certain requirements. It is useful to show that you can
not only interpret and respond to a long text, but
understand that a book jacket is a piece of packaging
as much as it is a flat image.” The more realistic your
mock-ups appear, the more chances you have of
attracting interest from publishers and art directors.
“One thing I used to do, prior to having a computer,
was to have photocopies made of my mock-ups and
then wrap them around a book and photograph
them. I’d then show these alongside the flat artwork
in my portfolio to demonstrate how the cover worked
in the round.”
Publishers can work with a number of people when
putting together a book design and any related
marketing plan, including promotional material. Not
surprisingly, with limited budgets much is done in-
house. “Most book design is done in-house but that
often involves commissioning illustrators and
THE LISTERDALE MYSTERY: First published in 1934
with over 100 million copies sold, The Listerdale
Mystery, a collection of short stories by classic crime
writer Agatha Christie, gets a makeover from Brighton-
based design studio Crush, with the intention of bringing
it to a whole new audience
© CRUSH
038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 41
Judge a book by its cover
typographers. Normally the typography is created in-
house and the illustration is commissioned once a
concept has been agreed on,” explains Becky Chilcott.
“If we’re after a specific ‘look’, then we will commission
typography as well, as some illustrators have a
particular style that work really well on book covers
and adds a bespoke, handcrafted element that
traditional typefaces sometimes lack, but it really
varies on a book-by-book basis.”
As a publisher’s priority is to sell books, often
printed in large runs, much rests on getting the cover
just right for the target market. “You generally get
longer for a book cover and there may be several
rounds of roughs before a design is decided on,”
“We mostly provide at
least three unique
concepts when
designing a jacket”
– Michael Fusco
suggests Harriet Russell (www.harrietrussell.co.uk),
whose illustration and design work has won many
admirers. Designs may get rejected or modified and
the process is prolonged and occasionally frustrating.
“It has to be seen and approved by several different
people, which may include the art director, designer,
the author and the sales team, which can make the
whole process longer. Editorial tends to be much
faster moving and generally has a shorter shelf life.”
Book cover design commissions offer not only the
chance to work with new and upcoming authors, but
also to reimagine established ones, reviving the great
and the good for contemporary and new audiences.
Unlike iconic album covers that may change only in
size from vinyl to CD to MP3 download, book covers
change regularly, often with each reissue or film or
television tie-in. A chance to work with a classic of a
THE WHITE GIRAFFE: “When I was commissioned to
do the cover for The White Giraffe, I had no idea that it
was going to be the first book in an ongoing series.
Fortunately, the cover that I ended up with was simple
enough that it was easy to make the subsequent covers
fit in with it,” explains David Dean
© DAVID DEAN
genre clearly appeals to many, although few
designers get to deal with the author direct, dead or
alive. “Rarely we talk to the author. This is unfortunate
because talking to the author would be great. Some
of our favourite people are authors,” laments designer
Michael Fusco (www.michaelfuscodesign.com), who
previously worked in publishing for many years.
“About 90 per cent of the time we deal with the art
director at the publishers. Sometimes we can have a
conversation with the editor.”
Famously, some authors and designers, Philip Roth
and Milton Glaser, Chuck Palahniuk and Rodrigo
Corral, have formed enduring partnerships that have
achieved a consistency throughout their published
works, but regrettably few writers get to pick who
does the cover artwork. Although author feedback
can be scant, information is provided so the designer
isn’t completely in the dark. “Depending on the cover,
we usually only get a manuscript,” explains Fusco.
“Sometimes the editor has an idea for a direction to
take the jacket, but we mostly provide at least three
unique concepts when designing a jacket.” Supplying
the manuscript or a synopsis for any relevant details
needed in the image is a clear advantage.
Occasionally, the author will still be writing the book
when the subject of a cover is considered. Ideally, a
detailed brief, including the exact measurements of
the cover, copy, text, branding requirements,
information on the age range, market and target
audience, what the book is about, will all be useful
pointers for producing a successful cover.
Unlike editorial illustration, where an image exists
on its own framed by text, a book has more than one
surface on which to work on. “Assuming the
commission isn’t just for a front cover, I would always
supply a rough of the entire wraparound. The reason
for this being that I tend to work on the whole
wraparound as one design rather than concentrating
solely on the front cover with the rest added as an
afterthought or an extension,” explains David Dean.
Ideally, each section – front, back, spine, flaps –
should work as an individual element yet remain
uniform and consistent. “Simply because the book is a
WIT AND HUMOUR: “Personally, I appreciate a bit of
wit in a cover, some element of the design that makes
me nod and smile appreciatively at some little trick the
illustrator or designer has pulled off,” explains David
Dean, which is true of his fun and colourful jacket design
shown above
© DAVID DEAN
41
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19/9/08 10:26:50
 Feature
Feature
3
4
2

8
5

6
7

GREAT
cover art
– why these covers work
Eight great covers, that’s for sure, but what is it about them that makes
them work?
• 1. KEEP IT SIMPLE: A book cover is a relatively • 3. FINDING FOCUS: With this book cover, • 6. TRUE TYPE: Strong and artistic use of type,
small canvas on which to work, so keeping an image Michael Fusco Design uses a monochrome image to especially hand-drawn lettering typified by this
simple, such as this example by Harriet Russell, will draw the attention to the colour text. Having a strong wonderful example by illustrator Harriet Russell, can
leave room for any additional text, copy and focus point, such as a image or text, is likely to catch be as effective as any illustration or photograph, while
promotional stickers. the eye. extending your potential for being commissioned.

• 2. COLOUR COUNTS: Here, Michael Fusco Design
uses a carefully selected, sometimes muted, colour
coordinated range to add atmosphere and draw the
reader in with a simple but striking use of text, while
linking four covers with the effective use of colour.
ISSN 1748-7277
49
9 771748 727009
• 4. TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE: Book covers have a
definite visual language and are used to help target
an audience, appealing to specific age groups, gender
and fans of particular genres, including here by David
Dean young readers and animal lovers.
• 5. PAINT A PICTURE: Here, illustrator David Dean
paints a perfect picture describing visually both the
title of the book and description given on the back,
visually setting the scene for the story within.
• 7. THE PERFECT CUT: Cropping an image is an
essential way of adding focus, drama and great
design to a book cover, typified here by Michael Fusco
Design. Suggesting a face rather than showing it can
also potentially appeal to more readers.
• 8. STUNNING STOCK: The use of stock imagery
doesn’t have to look clichéd. Michael Fusco Design
makes great use of historical paintings by adding a
strong design, including a sympathetic typeface.

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three-dimensional object and so you never see all the
parts at one time, equally it has to work as a single
packaging concept.”
The spine particularly can be overlooked by artists,
although, as Dean suggests, this is often your first
and possibly only contact with the book and its
design: “I consider the spine to be almost as
important as the front cover since when you go into a
book shop, unless the book is displayed on the
bestseller charts, it will be displayed on a shelf and
it is the spine that has to do the initial work of
attracting the reader’s eye.”
Unusually, Dean works traditionally, normally
supplying book artwork to the client ready to be
digitised for the printing process. The client or art
editor will typically request in advance how the work
should be delivered. As supplying full artwork
complete with text and copy is not unusual, it helps if
you know your software. “We design in Photoshop
and Illustrator and the final artwork is supplied in
InDesign,” explains Carl Rush of Brighton-based studio
Crush (www.crushed.co.uk). Having the skills to
produce an entire book, including the page layouts
and accompanying illustrations, could open doors to
new opportunities beyond book cover designs. “We
have designed full books including The Fundamentals
Of Illustration by Lawrence Zeegen, a unique
collaboration between the author and Crush as
creators, researchers and designers. We approached
AVA Publishing with the idea of producing a
book to showcase some of today’s finest new
illustrators. It became a labour of love, and will
hopefully provide a valuable resource for future
generations of practitioners.”
Fortunately for Crush, recent book cover design
briefs have been fairly open, allowing for a level of
creativity missing with some jobs that pay better. A
good track record has also seen publishers
commission them due to previous published work.
038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 43
Judge a book by its cover
“Working on book covers with an
open brief is some of the nicest work a
designer can get, and is one of the most creative
avenues for designers at the moment.” For Rush,
versatility is the key to help ensure your career in
book design is a long and rewarding one. “I think to
be a good book designer you need a huge wardrobe
of ideas and styles. Don’t be afraid to try new styles.
This is not a job for the designer who loves Helvetica
and minimalism.”
As if to show their adaptability, recent Crush work
has included revamping the Bible into a bestselling
summer read, Sacred Games, drawing on Victorian
fiction, mystery novels and Bollywood movies, and
The Making of Mr Hai’s Daughter, combining Pakistani
heritage with British iconography. “Book cover design
is not about making something look pretty. It is first
and foremost about a great idea that conveys the
essence of the book,” insists Rush. “Never try and tell
“In a book shop, it is the
spine that has to do the
initial work of attracting
the reader’s eye”
– David Dean
the full story in an image, it won’t happen. Once you
have a great idea then the styling should be
appropriate to the content, for example, historical,
contemporary, academic, etc.”
As many book covers rely heavily on stylised type
to set the tone and theme, having a distinctive hand-
drawn writing style or the ability to craft typography
can help secure more commissions. If you are
producing only a cover image, you may be at the
mercy of in-house designers and typographers.
“Whenever I am commissioned for a book cover, I will
almost certainly be asked to draw the type as well.
Sometimes a publisher will want the cover to be
exclusively lettering,” explains Harriet Russell. “I would
suggest developing your own personal way of hand-
drawing or producing type that fits in with your
illustration style. It will give you more control over the
whole design if you are commissioned to do the type
as well.”
David Dean is another who often gets asked to
draw lettering for a cover, particularly as his portfolio
contains several exquisite examples. These will be
drawn on the rough with everything else and then at
finished artwork stage, either provided as a separate
layer or, if the lettering forms an integral part of the
illustration, painted directly onto the artwork.
“Sometimes the client just asks me to leave room for
them to add type, but in these cases I often send two
versions of the rough one with space left, and one
with my own idea for the lettering,” adds Dean. “More
often than not they will opt for the latter. It makes
their job easier, but it also means that the cover works
better as a whole since both image and type are
stemming from the same vision of the book.”
Another way of securing book cover design
commissions is to create your own books, either
through self-publishing or finding an established
publisher to take you on. Even if you have yet to find
paid work, it’s a good way to practice, improve your
skills and raise your profile. “I’d worked on my own
books, A is for Rhinoceros and The Utterly Pointless
Counting Book, as part of my MA project before I got
any book cover commissions,” says Harriet Russell.
Published by Italian publishers Edizioni Corraini,
Russell has subsequently worked on more books for
them. “I now work on a mixture of covers, insides and
my own books. I think the work from my nonsense
alphabet certainly helped in getting my first couple of
commissions. All the lettering for this book was hand-
drawn and I think publishers could see the potential
for me doing hand-lettered titles.”
While poor editorial illustration is unlikely to
adversely affect sales of newspapers and magazines
at least in the short term, good book cover design
should help generate income and interest. Inevitably,
some of your better work will be rejected for fear of
compromising a book’s commercial appeal. Michael
Fusco maintains a ‘hidden reject section’ on his
website, where visitors can browse those covers that
missed out on a wider audience by clicking on a red
cross. “Some of the best ideas out there get rejected
for a multitude of reasons. The buyer and marketing
team have a lot of control over the cover of a book,
and generally their ideas of how a book cover should
look are not envelope pushing.”
The creative process then can be both a stimulating
and taxing one, mixing many achievements with a
few disappointments. “Develop a thick skin because
even if you come up with the best cover for that book,
there’s always someone that’ll feel like it’s not quite
right and will kill it. That said, we love books, and
would never abandon them for flashier pastures,”
enthuses Fusco. Although many now spend hours in
front of computer screens, books will long have the
power to inform and enthral. For those with any sense
of imagination, a good cover is that first step into
whole new worlds of wonder. “In the end, it’s
something that will get the person in the store to pick
it up and wonder what its all about. I often buy books
based on the jacket. I hope that people have bought
some of my books for the same reason.”
43
Advanced Photoshop
19/9/08 10:28:00
 £5.99 UK

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Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain, have self-published in the past. Known as vanity publishing to some, the results often looked cheap and
unprofessional, but were ironically expensive as would-be authors paid for hefty print runs in the hope of selling them to friends, family and the wider public,
while still aiming to attract bona fide publishers. Companies such as Lulu (www.lulu.com) and Blurb (www.blurb.com) now offer print-on-demand (POD),
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Particularly popular among first-time authors, artists, photographers, designers and illustrators, POD providers offer simple tools to lay out and upload your
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stores or sell them yourself, deciding what price to charge. You are unlikely to get rich quick, but as books are printed to order, you won’t be left with hundreds
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Remember, doing it yourself requires diligence and a keen eye for detail. It’s worth having someone else examine your handy work before you go to print,
checking spelling and grammar and ensuring images are of a high-enough resolution to avoid pixelation. If funds are particularly tight, consider a collective
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professional sheen to college projects and degree shows by presenting a joint quality produced book, catalogue or calendar rather than a postcard or business
card. Sending a prospective client a bound portfolio or brochure is likely to have greater impact than a link to a website or a few printed examples, and may
repay your investment in the long term. If the thought of putting together a book still seems some way off, consider producing a simple and effective PDF
magazine. Websites such as pdf-mags.com (www.pdf-mags.com) offer links to dozens of free examples to get you inspired, and producing your own shouldn’t
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“Never try and tell the full story in an image, it won’t happen”
– Carl Rush, Crush
66

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49 WWW.IMAGINE-PUBLISHING.CO.UK
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44
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038-044_AVP_49_Feature.indd 44 19/9/08 10:28:13

 MASTERCLASS

46
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046-050_AVP_49_3DshapesMC.indd 46 19/9/08 11:53:33

 Fake 3D in Photoshop
Nik Ainley talks us through creating 3D without touching any 3D tools

T
his is one of those tutorials where we will use
Photoshop not because it is the ideal tool,
but as a demonstration of Photoshop’s power
and versatility.
This tutorial was inspired by a request to know how to
replicate a certain imagery style using only Photoshop.
These referenced images were produced using 3D
software, such as 3ds Max, which are built for producing
such scenes. Trying to reproduce this effect using just
Photoshop (not even with the help of Illustrator with its
useful line-drawing and 3D effects tools) is a good way
to get to grips with many of Photoshop’s functions.
Faking three-dimensional objects in Photoshop has
a lot of uses in design other than being a demonstration
of its abilities. Apart from the fact that it negates the
need to either purchase or learn 3D software, it can often
allow results to be produced far more quickly than with
such software.
We will have a good look at Photoshop’s Transform
function in creating the illusion of perspective, as well as
clipping groups and airbrushing to create shading.
This image was created at about 3,000 x 3,500 pixels in
size, so any measurements in this tutorial should be
adjusted to whatever size you work at.
ON THE DISC
You don’t need anything but Photoshop to
complete this tutorial in its entirety, but
you will find a layered version of the final
image on the disc so that you can see
better how it was all put together by Nik for
this tutorial.
OUR EXPERT Nik Ainley
Nik Ainley is a freelance illustrator and designer based in the
UK. He has worked for many clients, including Adobe, MTV and
British Airways, but still finds time for personal artwork. Check
out more of his stuff at www.shinybinary.com.

1 Line ‘em up
The most important aspect of getting a good
3D feel is creating realistic perspective. To achieve this,
we are going to create a guide grid. There are two ways
to do this. The first involves drawing out a grid such as
this using the Line tool or Pen tool, and then
transforming it with Distort selected to give it some
perspective. We prefer this method, but the second one
is certainly quicker.
2 A bit of perspective
The second way is to use the Vanishing Point
filter, which is rather useful for perspective-based
trickery. On a new layer, enter the filter and draw out a
plane with a nice perspective. Then click on the little
arrow at the top and choose Render Grids to
Photoshop, then exit the filter and, hey presto, you have
a nice grid to use. The filter can get oddly grumpy
about producing differently orientated planes, though,
so watch out. The Plane Drawing tool will change
colour to let you know this is happening. We explain
why we don’t use the filter for the whole process in the
boxout on page 48. Not quite
perfect
“TRY CREATING
YOUR OWN
There are several different ways that doing 3D
in Photoshop makes things a lot harder than
using a 3D program. Apart from the fact that all

SWATCH FOR THE the lighting and shadowing has to be done

manually and won’t be as accurate as with a 3D

BACKGROUND” program, we are much more constrained in

terms of moving things around.
To demonstrate this, in the image below,

3
the shiny object has been moved from its
Background intended position. As you can see, its
work perspective is now completely wrong and it
Now place and keep doesn’t fit in with the rest of the image. If we
this grid at the top of wanted the object here, we would have to
your image. We will reproduce it as a flat object and then distort it
to match the grid in its new position.
be turning it on and
off throughout in
order to match
various objects’
perspectives to it.
Add a gradient to the
background, trying
to match the angle
of your grid. This in
turn adds a quick bit
of depth.

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 MASTERCLASS
4 Shape time
Now to add our first object. You can use anything
you want here really; simple geometric shapes work
very well. Using either the Pen tool or the Shape tool,
draw out a simple shape. Make it quite big so that
distorting it later doesn’t introduce fuzziness.
7 Merge
Now we are going to match this object’s
perspective to our grid. At this point, make sure the
object’s colours and details are as you want them, as it
is much harder to change after this process. First merge
all your object’s layers together. If you want to use this
object several times, create a copy of your layers before
you merge them and hide them so you can use them
again later.
9
Use your eye
The important thing to keep in mind here is to
match the angles of the Transform tool’s edges to your
grid. If they are directly over a grid line then they should
run in exactly the same way. If they are in-between grid
lines, make sure their angle is somewhere in-between
the grid lines’ angles that they are within. If your grid
doesn’t have enough lines, you might have to go back
and make another one. Use your judgement to decide
what looks right.
48
Advanced Photoshop
046-050_AVP_49_3DshapesMC.indd 48
5 Details
To make our shape a bit more interesting, we are
going to add some colour and details. First of all, we
made sure the shape was white, and then got a
selection based on its outline (Cmd/Ctrl-click on the
layer’s thumbnail). We then contracted the selection by
about 20 pixels (Select>Modify>Contract) and filled this
with a dark pink on a new layer.
8 First distortions
With your grid enabled (we will always be talking
about the grid you made at the start, not the standard
Photoshop grid) and your merged object selected,
enter Transform mode. With the Distort mode selected,
choose where you want your object to be and start
matching the perspective of the grid. Note here that
once we have transformed our object, it will be
matched to the perspective at that specific point on
your canvas and can’t be moved again.
10
Flat is boring
Now we want to add some depth to our
object. First of all, make sure you are zoomed in at 100
per cent (if you aren’t already) and select your object
layer. Now, holding down the Opt/Alt key, tap the down
arrow about 20/30 times. To repeat having to do this in
the future, you might want to write a quick Photoshop
action that does this for you.
6 More details
To make it a bit more interesting we first added a
layer style to this new layer. We used a Gradient Overlay,
white to black with a Soft Light blending mode from
top right to bottom left. We also added a fuzzy Inner
Glow using a dark grey and blending mode set to
Overlay. We then duplicated this a couple of times,
shrunk them down and recoloured them.
Surely
Vanishing
Point?
It might seem odd to spend time messing
about with the Transform tool to fake
perspective when Photoshop has an amazingly
advanced filter built to do exactly that. We
have our reasons, though.
The filter is nice, but in terms of gaining
Photoshop techniques, learning how to use
the Distort tool properly will serve you a lot
better in the long run. It allows much quicker
and versatile results than the rather
cumbersome filter.
The filter also doesn’t actually produce the
greatest results, we find. Apart from
oversquashing things in our eye, the edges of
objects after filtering can be nastily jagged.
Below is a close-up of two objects’ edges, the
top one after going through the Transform
Distort tool and the bottom through the
Vanishing Point filter. See how the bottom
edge of the second object isn’t anti-aliased.
It certainly has its uses, though, even for this
picture. Try using it in order to see where
objects could fit into in your composition
quickly, and then give them perspective using
the Transform tool.
19/9/08 11:54:29
 11 Too many layers!
Now select all of these copied layers (do not
select your original layer, which should now be at the
bottom of the stack) and merge them together (Cmd/
Ctrl+E). Move this new merged layer underneath your
original layer and make it all white (Cmd/Ctrl+U and
push the Lightness slider up to +100). You might not
notice any change at this last step, but that’s okay.
12 Shading
We want to add some shading to this new
layer to give the impression of depth. First of all, lock
the transparency of your bottom, all-white layer. Now
using the Gradient tool set to black to transparent and
linear, drag from the left inwards and then right
inwards. This part is very much down to personal
judgement in terms of how you want it to look.
13 A little bit more detail
In order to add a bit more realism, we are
going to pay special attention to the corners (or in this
case, corner). Zoom right in on the corner of your
object, and create a selection that only has one side of
the object inside (however, it doesn’t matter which
right now).

14 Smarten those edges up

Hide your selection so you can see what
you’re doing better (Cmd/Ctrl+H), then using a big, soft
brush, daub black onto your layer just outside of your
selection. The fuzziness should creep over the edge of
the selection onto your object.
15 The dark side
Now invert your selection and repeat the
process, but now you will be affecting the other side of
your object. Make sure to make it either slightly lighter
or darker than you just did so you end up with some
distinction at the edge. We decided to have the right-
hand side of my objects always darker to give the
impression of a directional light source.

16 Well, that was easy but…

If we want to use other objects with less
rectangular shapes, we have a slightly more difficult job
matching perspective. However, there’s a very easy trick
we can use to help this. Let’s try a disc. On a new layer,
draw a circle.

17 Be square “FAKING 3D IN PHOTOSHOP HAS

Do the same sort of tricks and effects you
did to your first object to make it look a bit nicer. Once
you have merged these layers together, on a new layer
underneath draw a big square that just encompasses
the circle. Use a contrasting colour so it stands out from
the circle.
A LOT OF USES IN DESIGN OTHER
THAN BEING A DEMONSTRATION OF
ITS ABILITIES”
18 Much easier!
Now match your new object’s
perspective to the grid as before, but make
sure you have both your circle and square
layers selected. Luckily, transforming them
both at the same time is no problem for
Photoshop. Match the grid lines up to the
transform box as before. Once you have
done that, you can simply delete the
square layer. A circle isn’t too much of a
problem, but for more complex shapes,
this technique really helps.

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 MASTERCLASS
19 Pesky shadows
Adding shadows between objects is one of
the best ways at creating the illusion of depth, and also
one way in which 3D programs produce amazing results
much more easily that Photoshop. The easiest way to
have the shadows is associated with the object they are
falling on, rather than the object they are casting. Create
a new layer above the object you want the shadows to
fall on, and group it with the object layer (Opt/Alt-click
on the line between the two layers).
20 Softly does it
Creating this clipping layer is a bit like using
a layer mask, as whatever we do in this new layer will
only fall on the object below. This is good as we don’t
want the shadow running over the edges. Using a big, Quick
tip
soft brush, daub black onto this new layer underneath
whatever objects you want to appear above your
object. The further away you move the shadow from
the casting object, the higher above it will appear to be.
A good way to bring interest to this sort of
image is to add details to the front of your
objects. Do this before adding perspective to
them so you can do the distorting all in one go.
Try adding shapes, patterns, textures or text to
your objects to make them livelier. Vary the
colours but try to keep some overall colour
scheme in mind.

22 Float them all

Once you’ve finished creating and placing all
your objects and are happy you aren’t going to add any
more, we can add a bit more depth by giving them all a
shadow. Select the outline of all your layers (Cmd/Ctrl-

21
click on your layer thumbnails while holding down Shift),
Block party then on a new layer just above your background, fill this
We now have selection with black. Gaussian Blur this layer by about 40
the basic techniques for pixels, move it down and to the right a bit, then drop its
creating the entire image. Opacity until it looks right.
So we just have to keep
creating objects, match
their perspectives to
somewhere on the grid, add
depth and make sure the
shadows are in place. This is
the time-consuming part,
and you can add as many
objects as you like. Try to
keep your layers organised
into layer groups to stop
yourself from going mad.

23 Softening
To add a few finishing touches to the image,
we first need to flatten the entire thing. Do this and copy
25 And we’re done…
Flatten your two layers together and run a
light Unsharp Mask on them (settings of 30, 0.6, 0 should
the result into a new document. It’s best to do these final do) and make any final tweaks to lightness or colour you
bits separately to your layered file so you can go back think the image needs. That should be it; hopefully, you’ll
and change things if necessary. Run a Gaussian Blur over have something that looks like my image.
your new flat layer (about 30 pixels or so) then fade
(Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F) to a Soft Light blending mode of
about 30% Opacity.

24 Depth of field
Now to add some fake depth of field.
Duplicate your image and run a Lens Blur filter on it (40
pixels or so). Add a Hide All Layer Mask to this layer (hold
down Opt/Alt while clicking the Add Layer Mask button).
Use a white to transparent gradient, or a big, soft brush
to start adding white to this layer mask to make parts of
the image blurry. Try making the top or the bottom of
the image blurriest or specific objects that appear to be
further below the others.

50
Advanced Photoshop

046-050_AVP_49_3DshapesMC.indd 50 19/9/08 11:55:17

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071_AVP_40_eMagAd.indd 1 14/1/08 17:19:37

 Step-by-step
Workshop

l
a t i onsas
pirercla
Insast nal artisPthsosthoasrheop
M essio d ou
Prof ecrets anto help yls
s il
their chniquees your sk
te prov
im

52
Advanced Photoshop

052-056_AVP_49_PhotoPaintWS.indd52 52 19/9/08 12:49:25

 PHOTO
PAINTING
Working up a new digital image
based on a low-resolution
photographic resource
OUR EXPERT Gary Tonge

Currently working full time as an art director in the games industry, and
additionally as a freelance illustrator and concept artist via his website
www.visionafar.com, Gary has 20 years worth of experience as a
professional artist.

T
his tutorial will hopefully help you
identify how to go about utilising a
photographic resource as the
backbone to a digital illustration, even if the
image is not in the correct resolution, taking
the photo and creating a high-resolution
advertisement image by fundamentally
repainting the piece at a much greater detail,
adding all the necessary elements and
nuances to bring the final image to spec for a
client. Essentially, this tutorial utilises the photo
elements of PS and also the illustrative ones
combined, underlining the importance of staying
legitimate to a product’s (in this case a car)
absolute look, but placing the object in a newly
painted scene and assuring that the new
composition is coherent and pleasing to the eye.
Photoshop is absolutely the right tool for
this task; its layering system allows you to
repaint and tighten lines and shapes, while
safely leaving the original photograph
underneath. The colour controls are invaluable
when analysing the tonal balance of the piece
and for tweaking or changing specific areas of
the image as work progresses, and finally the
painting tools quickly and effectively
transform the piece from its low-res origins to
a printable final piece, representing the
product in the client’s requested style.

Pros and cons

Working over a photograph has both advantages and
disadvantages. One of the advantages is the ability to be
able to already see the form lines you are working with,
effectively tracing the contours of complex details such as
light clusters, which can be troublesome and time-
consuming to paint from scratch. A disadvantage would be
the inability to find other shots of the car (this model was
not out at the time of writing) so we could not study or
photograph the car in the way that we would have chosen.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
1 Scale it up
Here is the original photograph (resolution
of 1,024 in the x axis). The image is a pretty good
one to be honest, seeing as it was the only useful
file that could be found and the project timeline
was pretty short. First of all, we need to scale the
image up to 300% to make it usable for the
advertising profile needed by the client.
2 Improve the clarity
Close in, you can see that in addition to
the artefacts prevalent in the JPEG file, the
resolution is very low and things like the shut
lines and light clusters lack any meaningful
details. My goal is going to be to greatly improve
the clarity of the piece by repainting the entire
car, paying specific attention to areas where the
shape is defined.
3 Understand the image
Whenever I am working with a piece, I
almost always set up some perspective
construction lines to help me understand the
focal length/FOV of the shot. In this case it is a
photo, but I need these lines to help me
construct the environment surround, too. I’ve
also created a black-and-white copy here, so I
can see where the tonal barriers lie as well .

4 Intersection
Next up, try
creating a new layer
5 Environmentally aware
I quickly added a rough wash over the
environment so I could see the overall tonal
and drawing some nature and feeling of the intended final piece. In
clean lines over the this case, the environment is going to be quite
car in order to help dark and edgy, kind of acrid with heat and smoke,
establish the most but the car will remain clean and punched-out
important shapes within the piece. Very loose and large
and intersections of brushstrokes are enough at this point.
the subject. This will
aid you greatly as
you choose your
fights when focusing
on detailed
increments on the
up-scaled image.

“I ALMOST 6 Groundwork
Working around the piece, I moved over to the ground area and 7 Wheel diameter
One of the client’s requirements for this

ALWAYS SET (while using the photo a little for the start point) started adding details
and cracks to the floor. This will be the groundwork for the lava field the
project was to increase the diameter of the
wheels from 17 to 18 inches. At the time they

UP SOME car is going to sit on. Again, keep those lines loose as well. You are after a
quick snapshot of the final look at this point, nothing more, so keep
were not sure if the car was going to have a
larger braking system too, so we knew that what

PERSPECTIVE things fluid and easy to alter. needed to be done was to increase the wheel
size and leave the callipers pretty much the same.

CONSTRUCTION
LINES TO HELP
ME
UNDERSTAND
THE FOCAL
LENGTH OF
THE SHOT”

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 8 Time for reflection
So while working on the upscale and
re-detailing of the wheels in general, I carefully
calculated the diameter increase required and
the impact on tyre profiles. The final wheel has
needed a lot of attention to bring it up to spec,
including the reflection of the new
environmental features.
11 Alterations
Along the front of the vehicle, the
client was going to be doing some alterations,
most notably the addition of a leading edge
‘splitter’ for the STI catalogue, and the alteration of
the fog lamp covers into brake and engine air
intakes. While rescaling the piece and adding
these, I also added the lighting effects for the
environment to the car’s body.
13 Flip reverse
You may have noticed that the entire
image I am working on is a flip, mainly because I
thought the aggression of the car works better
reading left to right. But to accommodate this, I
then moved the driver’s seat back across to make
it right-hand drive, as the flip made the car look
like a US model.
052-056_AVP_49_PhotoPaintWS.indd55 55
9 Light clusters
Another area that needs a lot of attention
is the light clusters; inherently, they are going to
Quick tip
pull the eye towards them, being highly
reflective and bright. They are also the hub for a The key to following this tutorial is
getting a good source image. As I have
number of shut lines and panel edges, so this
explained, you don’t need to get a
area requires a lot of attention…
particularly high-resolution one, but you
do need to make sure that the car has
enough information for you to work with.
It helps if the background is uncluttered
and clean, and that there are no obvious
reflections or flares in the paintwork. Try
www.sxc.hu for free resources that you
can use to complete the project.
10 Sharpening
As you can see, the lights have gone
through quite a lot of work to increase the detail
levels and also to contour the colouring and
reflections to better represent the environment
the car is in. Sharpening those shut lines is also
very important – this whole area now looks
tight and tidy.
12 Background details
As the car is taking shape here, I
moved up to start treating the background in full
detail, adding swirling deep clouds, lightning and
smoke plumes, as well as lava spewing from the
focal volcano, the latter being a visual
representation to the explosive performance of
the car. This is purely paint work, and I carefully
added layers of clouds until the final look was
satisfactorily achieved.
“SPIKED
ROCKS HELP
TO FRAME THE
VEHICLE AND
COMPLEMENT
ITS
COLOURING”
55
Advanced Photoshop
19/9/08 12:52:56
 Step-by-step
Workshop
Be focused 14 Rock and roll
To add some more aggression and
movement to the piece, I used angled spiked
15 Contrasting surfaces
Paramount to this image is the
cohesion with a shiny car sitting in a dirty and
rocks jutting in the direction the car is facing. hot environment. As you can see, I worked
When working up a project of this type,
These, coupled with the lava behind the car, extensively on the visible flank of the car to
try first to understand the nature of what
help greatly to frame the vehicle and generate a believable reflective quality to the
you are going to represent. In this case,
complement its colouring. Again, it was fully paintwork while still maintaining the paint
the major challenges have been to create
painted and left a little loose so the car looks attributes. Many other details were added as
a print-quality end piece, tightening the
image up to a quality that makes the car striking against the background. well, while also upping the resolution and
look sharp and detailed, but also tightening all the lines.
cohesively combining this with a visceral
and dirty-looking environment. Work
was focused on amending or adding to
the original subject, such as the
paintwork, bodywork additions,
reflective properties and ancillary details
such as the badges and wheels.

“WHEN WORKING UP A
PROJECT, TRY TO UNDERSTAND
THE NATURE OF WHAT YOU ARE
GOING TO REPRESENT”
16 Badge of honour
Another side effect of the flip is the
incorrect positioning of the badges. I carefully
17 To boldly go…
Taking in the image as a whole, what should strike you is the cleanness of the car’s lines and its quality paintwork/
reflectivity, but the simmering aggression of the environment and the car’s standing out within it, impervious to the hostile
repainted these in their new positions and added nature of the place, even feeling at home there.
little nuances of lighting information from the
environment to solidify them into the scene. Take
note also of the reflective qualities on the right-
hand side of the image (for instance, on the light
clusters and paintwork).

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 Step-by-step
Workshop

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 SELECTIVE COLOUR
ON THE DISC
Included on the disc is an Illustrator
file containing the henna tattoo
artwork. The photo of the flower is
available for free from www.sxc.hu.
The main portrait image is from

Professional colouring techniques explained iStockphoto.com.

Sam Hampton-Smith

W
e’re surrounded these days by
beautiful, highly stylised,
selectively coloured portrait
photography that appears in magazines,
posters and adverts. The mark of a successful
portrait is in the appearance of fine detail,
shade and light, perfect composition and
storytelling. If that sounds like a big ask for
your DSLR and photography skills, don’t
despair. It’s not as hard as it sounds and you
certainly don’t need to be David Bailey to
capture an image that can form the basis of a
great portrait.
In this tutorial, we are going to look at how
to take an image, just as it might come out of
your camera, and tweak it to achieve the
‘magazine look’. We will examine sharpening
techniques and learn a few tricks for bringing
your portrait alive. By selectively colouring, we
will draw attention to specific areas of the
image, adding emphasis and impact. Finally,
we will look at embellishments to help sell the
portrait, as well as looking at how to blend and
OUR EXPERT
combine both images and accoutrements Sam started his design career working at HSBC and has since
moved on to run a studio in Scotland. He has a particular
sensitively, and we will end up achieving a
interest in typography. You can contact him through www.
balanced final composition. hampton-smith.com.
Given a reasonable starting image, you can
apply this technique to many different types
of photograph to enhance detail, change the
mood and provide a new emphasis, turning a
reasonable image into a great portrait.
Sharpen for detail
Most digital cameras apply sharpening in-camera before you
ever get to see the image. This actually isn’t that desirable as
you have no control over the amount or level of sharpening.
If you can, shoot RAW image files and use the Unsharp Mask
to add detail. By duplicating the layer and applying
sharpening to the top layer, you can blend in those areas
where you want detail while avoiding those where you don’t.
If you want to give a general detail boost, merge the layers of
your completed image and then apply sharpening as the
final step. Be careful to apply filters and effects before
sharpening to avoid strange artefacts being introduced.

1 Open the start image

We are using an image from iStockphoto.
com (image number: ‘4380822’), but this will
work on any portrait image. Our image will work
nicely for the technique because it has a lot of
contrast and natural framing created by the hair
and background.
2 Duplicate and blend
We can accentuate the contrast and
give the image additional richness by applying
Curves or Levels adjustments if desired. For this
photograph, duplicate the Background layer,
set the duplicate layer to use the Soft Light
blending mode and reduce the Opacity down
to 16%. Instantly, you have added contrast
and mood.
3 Sharpen and blend
This photo has a narrow plane of focus
around the subject’s eyes. Even in this area, if
you zoom in to 100% and look at the skin
detail, you can see that it could be a little
sharper. Duplicate your Background layer again
and apply the Unsharp Mask filter (Filter>
Sharpen>Unsharp Mask) with values of
Amount = 108%, Radius = 2px and Threshold =
1. Set the blending mode to Soft Light and
reduce the Opacity to 30%. Turn this layer on
and off to see the effect.

“A SUCCESSFUL PORTRAIT
HAS FINE DETAIL, SHADE
AND PERFECT COMPOSITION”
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 Step-by-step
Workshop
4 Tint your image
We’re going to give our portrait the sepia
treatment before bringing colour back in
5 Begin
colouring
Next up, create a new
selectively. The easiest way to do this in a layer above your
nondestructive manner is through a Hue/ adjustment layer.
Saturation adjustment layer. Add one above the Choose a big, soft brush
three Background layers and set Hue to 36, and paint around the
Saturation to 23 and Lightness to -2. Tick the eye socket and cheek
Colorize checkbox and click OK. bones with a bright
pink or purple colour.
This will look
horrendous at this
stage, but don’t worry –
the next step will blend
it beautifully.

6 Blending modes
Here, we’re going to apply layer blending
modes. We’ll use the Overlay blending mode,
but it’s worth experimenting to see what works
well with your specific image. First, set the
blending mode to Overlay and reduce the
Opacity to something around 30%. Then blend
the edges using the Eraser set with a very big,
soft brush.
7 Continue painting
Choose a bright red, lower the Opacity of your paintbrush and
continue to paint on the same layer to build up a range of tones.
Because the layer is now set to Overlay, the colours you choose will
translate differently; pick bright colours for the best results. Aim to use
the paint to help describe the contours of the face.
8 Add a layer mask
You may find that it’s difficult to paint
close to the eyes without giving the woman an
unfortunate eye condition. Add a layer mask to
your layer, painting in black paint over the eye
area to hide any paint that inadvertently ends
up in this area.

Blending modes and

the power of Overlay
Blending modes
9 Darken the lips
Create a new layer and again set it to use the Overlay blending
mode. Choose a dark grey and paint over the lips to darken them.
10 Add eyeliner and shadow
Create another new layer and again
set to Overlay. We’re going to paint in some
perform pixel Reduce the Opacity as you see fit. You can experiment with using colour contrasting eyeliner and shadows, so choose a
comparisons here, but as the lips are partially out of focus, we decided to stick with an nice green and paint carefully over the top of
between the almost monochromatic effect. the eyelid. Choose a darker colour to paint
layer selected,
under the eye; green, purple or blue works well
and all visible
in this instance. Reduce the Opacity if you feel
layers beneath.
the effect is overpowering
Typically, you
would use a
Screening-
based blending
mode to mix in
a highlight, and a Multiply-based
blending mode to mix in a shadow. In
this tutorial we make use of the Overlay
blending mode, which is broadly a mix
of the two. Anything exactly 50 per
cent grey will disappear, anything
darker will be multiplied and anything
brighter will be screened.

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 11 Blue eyes
The eyes look a bit lifeless just now, so
we’re going to spruce them up and make them
sparkle. Start off by creating a new layer and
paint with a bright blue over the iris area. Be
liberal here to ensure good coverage, then set
the layer to use the Soft Light blending mode.
12 Stop the bleed
Add a layer mask and paint with black
to prevent the blue bleeding outside the iris
area. Using a hard-edged brush, paint black
onto the mask where the pupil is. By using a
hard brush, you’re giving the pupil a hard edge
and making the eye look more defined.
13 Lighten the iris
Draw a circular marquee over the right iris and on a new layer,
fill with a circular gradient from white to black. Add a Layer Mask and
isolate the pupil. Set the layer to use the Screen blending mode, and
reduce the Opacity. This effect brightens the iris and is popular for giving
subjects incredible-looking eyes. Repeat for the left eye.

14 Add highlights
The highlights on the eyes are nice, but
could do with being brighter to add sparkle.
Create a new layer and with a small, soft brush,
paint white with a single click over each existing
highlight. This should be just enough to brighten
the existing highlight. If you’ve gone too big or
too small, delete the layer and try again with a
differently sized brush.
15 Bring in flowers
Download image no. ‘1060337 ‘ from
www.sxc.hu and use File>Place to add it to the
16 Duplicate and arrange
Create duplicates of the flower, scaling and repositioning each
to achieve a pleasing arrangement. We ended up with three sets of two
image. We need to mask out the background, so flowers grouped together in a triangle arrangement. Drag the flower
make a selection around the flower and add a layers underneath the Sepia toning adjustment layer, set the blending
layer mask. You will need to spend some time mode to Lighten and reduce the Opacity until they match the
making your selection accurate. Soften the mask composition tonally. We used a value of 64%.
a little by applying a Gaussian Blur to the mask.
Resize and position near the ear.

17 Under
painting
The hair is now shining
18 Colour the flowers
Create a new layer above the sepia adjustment layer and use
the techniques we employed in Steps 5 and 6 to gently colour the
through the flowers, so flowers. Remember that this is a supporting element rather than the
to deal with that, main focus, so try not to overcook the effect. We opted for pinks, greens
create a new layer and browns set to Overlay at 34%.
underneath the
flowers and paint with
black underneath the
flower petals to hide
the hair where
necessary. It’s good to
be a bit imprecise here
as naturally you would
see some translucency
in the flower petals.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
19 Add shadows
The flowers look pasted on just now
because they’re not interacting with the scene.
We can deal with that quickly by adding a fresh
layer underneath the flowers and painting in a
shadow. Paint with black using a soft-edged
brush, and reduce the Opacity to around 75%
to complete the effect.
22 Duplicate, blend and smooth
Set the tattoo layer to Linear Burn,
30% Opacity. Select Gaussian Blur and choose a
value of 1.2px. Create a copy of the layer and up
the Opacity to 45%. Add a layer mask and daub
grey and black randomly.
Research online
If you’ve got an idea for an element
that would work well with your
portrait, do some online research to
see what it might look like. There’s a
whole world of potential reference
material out there that’s fully
searchable and catalogued. For our
henna tattoo, we ran a Google image
search and downloaded some images
to use as a reference for our tattoo
design. Be careful not to infringe
copyright; it’s fine to use images for
reference and inspiration, but you
shouldn’t incorporate original
reference images without permission
from the copyright owner.
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058-062_AVP_49_SelectiveColourWS62 62
20 Add a tattoo
We’re going to add some body art. Select File>Place, and
locate the Illustrator file ‘Henna Tattoo.ai’ on the CD. Choose to place it
21 Add Layer Styles
Add some Layer Styles to breathe life
into the artwork. Choose Layer>Layer Styles>
as a Smart Object (this allows you to resize as much as you like without Bevel & Emboss. Accept the default settings, but
losing the clean lines). Resize and position to the left of the flowers so position the Light Source at 145 degrees. Add
that it interacts with the lines of the model’s face. another style, this time choosing Color Overlay,
and select a nice brown that will blend tonally
with the rest of the image.
23 Add background texture
Create a new layer and place some
patterned artwork, or paint rough patterns in a
24 Add sparkles
Add some sparkle dust around the eyes by creating a new
layer, and painting bright yellow/white spots using a tiny brush. Select
very dark brown. The aim here is to add Layer>Layer Style>Outer Glow and adjust the settings to suit your
interesting texture to the dark area on the left sparkles, then set the overall layer to use the Linear Dodge (Add)
of the composition. Reduce the Opacity until Blend Mode.
the pattern is barely visible. This isn’t essential,
but adds visual interest to the overall scene.
25 Add noise and grain
This is down to personal taste, but
we felt the image needed some overall noise
and grain to add character and sit all the
elements together naturally. Add a new layer at
the very top of the stack. Select Edit>Fill and
50% Gray. Set the layer blending mode to
Overlay then choose Filter>Noise>Add Noise.
Choose Gaussian, Monochromatic and an
Amount around 3-4% to taste.
18/9/08 15:10:40
 d e r’sp
Rea r k s htheoartists
wGreo ages
from nced
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at imn the Adv website
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Phot lained in
exp

064-067_AVP_49_ReaderWS.indd 64 18/9/08 15:05:40

 PERFECT SKIN TONES
Painting a character’s face, including some tips and tricks on how to use lighting
L
ight can play an important role when
painting a portrait. It often tells a lot
more about the character than just the
story the creator had in mind. When playing with
light, we can create a certain mood, be it
mysterious, threatening, relaxing or something
else. When painting a portrait, light can majorly
change the colour scheme of skin tones. Light
can prompt feelings and speculation, it can bring
1 Sketch basis
When starting a portrait, I would
recommend that you sketch it beforehand. I
usually use pencil sketches as a basis for an
outline and place it on a separate layer (so I can
Hide or Unhide it if I like). After that, I try to lay
down the basic colours for the skin tones,
parted in warm and cold tones. Later, you can
mix them up for more differentiated colours.
4 Smoothing
In this next step, begin to smooth the
whole painting a little, uniting the hard
brushstrokes to a homogeneous surface. For
this, use an Airbrush such as the Smudge brush.
I would recommend not to press too hard with
your graphic pen that much in order to get soft
transitions. Additionally, don’t forget to flip your
painting horizontally from time to time. While
this can give you a refreshing new look, it can
also reveal mistakes that you might not have
noticed while working.
064-067_AVP_49_ReaderWS.indd 65
up questions such as, ‘Why is the light the way it
is, what happened here? What’s the real secret of
the character?’
Since light has so many different lively
sides, it might not always be easy to use it in
the right way.
In this tutorial, we will concentrate on cold
and warm light, and how we can use it to
make a character’s portrait more believable.
2 Defining colours
Now we need to define the light sources.
To make the painting more interesting, I chose
to have two light sources. The main source is
coming from the left side of the painting,
covering the left half of the face, while the
second source is just a soft light on the right
cheek. The left side will be the warm side of the
face (with mixed red, brown and yellow tones),
whereas the right side will be the cold side
(blue and violet tones). Start to lay down the
basic colours with a hard, round-edged brush
with an Opacity of 88%.
ON THE DISC
We’ve provided a brush set with
the five brushes used to paint the
face. Included are two hard,
round-edged brushes, two
Sparkle brushes and one Smudge
brush. Have fun!
OUR EXPERT Bente Schlick
Bente is a concept artist and fantasy illustrator from northern
Germany. You can have a look at her illustrations on her
website at www.creativesoul.de.
3 Defining more colours
With the same brush, try to get more precise, using mixed tones
of blue and brown for bright parts of the cold side and a mix of bright
yellow and brown for the warm side of the face. Depending on which
side you work on, you should always mix the colours you want to use
with the basic colours set up at the beginning. For example, you can
see that I mixed the brown for the eyebrows with a reddish tone (warm
side) and a dark blue (cold side). At this stage, also start laying down the
colours for the hair using soft blue and green tones that are similar to
the background.
“SINCE LIGHT HAS
MANY DIFFERENT
LIVELY SIDES, IT
MIGHT NOT ALWAYS
BE EASY TO USE IT
IN THE RIGHT WAY”
65
Advanced Photoshop
18/9/08 15:06:18
 Step-by-step
Workshop
5 Getting detailed
Return to the hard, round-edged brush
and now attempt to get that overall smoothed
Quick tip
picture. Pay a bit more attention towards
It’s always helpful to search for photos
defining the eyes and the lips a bit more. For the or paintings that have a cue state that
lips, use mixed red and yellow tones, combining appeals to you (and it doesn’t need to
them to a flesh-like colour. The inside of the eyes be a portrait), so you can take them as
are still a dark colour. The best way is to paint references for you own paintings. I
them from dark to light in little steps. It also is have a folder full of these images.
good if you have vaguely appointed the rest of

6
the face before starting on the eyes.
Defining eyes
When starting on the eyes, remember
the light sources once more. The inside of the
left eye is a purple mixed with brown and a
hint of ochre, whereas the inside of the right
has a dark turquoise mixed with a dim green.
The iris on the right-hand side is also a little
darker than on the left-hand side. When
adding little light highlights to the eye,
remember to use a turquoise colour rather
than a pure white, as with most portraits, this
can look unnatural.

7 Contrast
In this step, add another little highlight into the right eye, taking the secondary light source
into consideration. You can set the contrast of the portrait by using really bright tones for highlights

8
on the lip, the cheeks and the nose.
Eye finish
Now we can start to work out the eyes a bit
more. For small details, use a similar brush like the
one you did for the skin, the only difference being
that the Opacity is a little higher and the
brushstrokes ought to be more delicate. When
painting the eyelashes, retain a soft stroke, don’t
press your graphic pen down too hard and don’t
paint one lash parallel to the other. Instead, paint
them crosswise, but don’t paint too much of
them. You can use the brush in the same way for
the eyebrows. Additionally, don’t forget to add
little highlight strokes into the iris. Try not to use
the same colours that the iris already has, but try
others like, in this case, blue or yellow. You can
also play with the effect of your Layer palettes in
order to achieve different lighting.

“WHEN PAINTING A
PORTRAIT, LIGHT CAN HAVE
A MASSIVE IMPACT UPON
THE COLOUR SCHEME OF
SKIN TONES”
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 9 Lip finish
To finish the lips, use the same brush as
you did for the eyes. Add little strokes on the
left and right side of the lips, maybe setting the
layer Opacity to 80%. Also, add some highlights
above the lip to make them appear that bit more
glossy. Here, just as with the eyelashes, less is
more! For example, leave out the darker parts
near the mouth.
10 Hair finish
Use a Sparkle brush for the hair, “THE INSIDE
which makes strokes that already look almost
like hair strands. Try to go a bit wild with them OF THE EYES
to achieve a natural look. After that, use an
airbrush, the Smudge brush to blur the strands ARE STILL A
a bit, mostly in the back part of the head. Then
go back to the eyelash brush again, adding DARK
separate strands of hair here and there.
COLOUR. THE
BEST WAY IS
TO PAINT
THEM FROM
DARK TO
LIGHT IN A
FEW STEPS”
12 Overall finish
As you approach the end, you should
just check your overall portrait. Sometimes you
will find little things that need to be fixed or
added, such as some more highlights on the
cheeks or maybe some more colouring in the
eyes. Also check the contrast of the portrait.
Often it is useful to take a break and look at your
painting again some time later.

11 Skin finish
For the final skin touch-ups and to
give it a more realistic look, use another Sparkle
brush. Just paint softly over the cheeks, the chin
and the forehead. If you like, you can use layer
effects such as Multiply, Hard Light or Soft Light.
Play around a little to get a result that you like.
Also, use the Sparkle brush in the iris once more,
using a yellow colour tone and setting it to
Multiply. This will achieve some red-coloured
dots into the eye.

Be our next reader

The Reader’s Workshop has been going
strong since we first introduced it back
in issue 40. As we get so many emails
asking how you can be considered for a
Reader’s Workshop slot, let us explain.
The best way to come to our attention
is to build a gallery on our website
(www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk), but
you can also send an email with the
image that you think you could break
down for our consideration.

67
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 Helpdesk
From Olympic effects to mythical creatures via misbehaving styles, find out what our
Helpdesk expert has up his sleeve this month BY KIRK NELSON
OLYMPIC PHOTOSHOPPING
Wow! The Olympic Games in Beijing were
amazing! I was riveted for days, taking in
every moment of coverage. I must know how
to do that cool effect where they combined
several frames of a video clip into a single
image. It was used mostly for the gymnastics
and diving, and has to be one of the neatest
effects to come out of these Olympics.
Maria Albanseth
I wholeheartedly agree with Maria. I had Olympic
fever like crazy this summer! The effect Maria’s asking
about is called StroMotion and the first moment I
saw it, I immediately started thinking about how to
accomplish it in Photoshop. Turns out, it’s really not
that hard.
First, you need to find a video clip showing a good
range of motion. If you don’t have access to a high diver
or a world-class gymnast to fly through the air, a child
jumping off a swing will work just fine. The hardest part of
the process is selecting individual frames of the video clip
and turning them into layers. If you happen to have CS3
Extended, this is simple enough because it allows you to
import the clip as a video object. Make several copies of
the video layer and begin scrubbing through them to find
the frames you want to keep. As you identify a frame,
rasterise that layer to nail it down.
When you have a full stack of rasterised layers, use
the Auto-Align function to remove any camera
movement and ensure the frames overlap precisely.
Then use a layer mask on each layer to hide that
layer’s background and reveal just the action object.
SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT: Capture the action,
Olympics style!
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070-071_AVP_49_Helpdesk.indd 70
THE WHOLE WORLD IS A STAGE: Using the Difference
blending mode makes inverted text overlays a snap
This is actually easier than you think. Because the
backgrounds all line up so well, the masking can be
done quickly with a large soft brush and requires
minimally detailed touch-ups.
DIFFERENCE TEXT
Hey there, Helpdesk guy. I’m working on a
project that has a black silhouette over a plain
white background. I’d like to lay text over the
entire image and have it the reverse colour of
what’s behind it, so the text over the white
background would be black, while the text
over the black silhouette would be white. I’ve
tried to use two text layers and mask out the
areas to hide, but it’s driving me crazy – and
I’d really like to not go crazy! Can you help?
Earl Hendrickson
Earl, I have to begin by stating that going crazy is
hugely underrated. The best part about going
crazy is that you don’t even know you’ve gone
there; it’s the ultimate in blissful ignorance. Or,
at least that’s what I hear.
But regarding your Photoshop question,
your instinct to attempt using layer masks is
a good idea but can be pretty labour-
intensive, and if you end up having to change
the text for some reason, you’ve got to redo
all that masking work. Fortunately, there is an
easier way! It’s the Difference blending mode.
First, set your text colour to solid white, then
change the layer’s blending mode to Difference by the
drop-down menu in the Layers palette. Now your text will
be the perfect inverse of the background colour.
EXACT LENS FLARE POSITIONING
Lens Flare position. Tiny preview window.
Help, please?
Edgar
Edgar, I can tell you are not a man who wastes words.
I suspect you also detest wasting time trying over
and over to hit just the right spot with the Lens Flare.
The problem is with that minuscule control window
provided in the Lens Flare dialog box. How can
anybody be expected to have pixel precision within
a box that’s no more than a few centimetres wide?
HELPDESK
CALL FOR QUESTIONS
Want help with Photoshop?
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.
Remember to specify whether you’re using
a PC or Mac and the version number of
your edition of Photoshop.
18/9/08 10:38:21

GLOBAL POSITIONING: Use a hidden dialog box to
position your lens flares with precision
Here’s a little secret Edgar: hold down the Alt key
when you click in the window and you’ll get a second
box that allows you to enter in the exact pixel values
for the flare centre. Of course, this means that you’ll
need to know the pixel co-ordinates ahead of time.
Those can be found in the Info palette as you move
your cursor around the canvas.
The second method of choice is to create a new
layer and fill it with 50% Gray. Render the Lens
Flare onto this layer then set the blending mode to
Overlay and the grey fill disappears, leaving just the
Lens Flare alone on its own layer to be positioned
wherever you like.
GET A GRIP ON THE GRADIENT
EDITOR
I’ve used the Gradient tool to create fades
from one colour to another, or used the
presets for foreground to transparent, but
sometimes this isn’t quite enough. I’d like to
be able to have the transparent area only
halfway transparent, or perhaps have the
transparency start later in the gradient. Is it
possible to have finer control over the
transparency in a gradient?
Elizabeth Fisher
Elizabeth, as useful as some of those gradient presets
are, they can’t cover every possible need. And some
don’t seem to ever cover any need (I’m looking at you,
‘Russell’s Rainbow’!). You’ll be happy to know that the
Gradient Editor does allow for some sophisticated
customisation of gradients. It’s all about the stops.
If you look at the Gradient Editor bar in the lower
portion of the dialog box, you’ll notice some little
square boxes above and below the gradient preview.
These stops control the appearance of the gradient
and can be added, deleted or removed as needed.
The stops below the gradient control the colour. The
stops above control the opacity (that’s the opposite
of transparency; Adobe likes to be confusing). If
070-071_AVP_49_Helpdesk.indd 71
es
n iqu
ch
Te
FULL STOP: Take
full control of
transparency with the
Gradient Editor
WINGS OF FIRE
I was wondering if there was a way to create a realistic
fire-and-smoke image? I am trying to create a picture of
a tiger with fiery wings.
Brianna Brady
Here’s a method to re-create a devil-spawned cat in
Photoshop. While there are methods of drawing flames
within Photoshop, I recommend using some actual
you select one of the opacity stops, you can set the photos as a base and then using the drawn flames to
Opacity value in the input box below. Use this for finer form them together.
1
control over the gradient’s transparency.
As a final word of advice, after crafting your perfect Warped flames
gradient, be sure to use the Save button to create Use the Channels Selection technique to copy
a preset from it so you don’t have to go back and the bright flames onto the tiger. Then with the Warp
rework it all over again. tool, shape selections from the fire layers into wings.
DISOBEDIENT LAYER STYLES
Hi Advanced Photoshop, I love the magazine
and never miss an issue. I was hoping you
might be able to help me with odd Layer Style
behaviour. I have some text with several nice
layer styles applied. I also have a layer mask
fading the text away. I can’t get the Layer
Styles to fade out with the text – it’s like the
2
Styles simply ignore the mask entirely. What’s Wing frame
going on? I’d sincerely appreciate any help Use the Smudge tool to break up the hard lines.
you can offer. Add a bright orange Outer Glow. Then use Smudge
Allyson O’Malley with a Chalk brush tip to create flames from the lines.
Hey Allyson, I’m glad you find the magazine helpful,
thanks for being such a faithful reader. The problem
behaviour with your Layer Styles should be dealt with like
any other problem behaviour. Swift and severe legal
action! No? How about a stern lecture and revoking of
privileges? Okay, what about demerits, certainly demerits
are in order. Still nothing? Well, the issue you are having is
that the Layer Styles are not obeying the layer mask. This
3
can produce some rather unwanted results, especially
when using the Drop Shadow and Stroke styles. The way Final effect
to correct it is to open the Layer Styles dialog box and go Finish with some lighting effects and additional
to the Blending Options. It’s the first area listed on the left. flames in the eyes. Create the background smoke with
Next, in the Advanced Blending section, check the box a large grey brush followed by the Liquify filter.
next to Layer Mask Hides Effects. And that’s really all there
is to it. Your Layer Styles should now be wonderfully
obedient little pixels!
LAYER MASQUERADE: A single checkmark can force
Layer Styles to obey a mask
71
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18/9/08 10:38:50
 Insider
Info
INSIDER
v INFO
Liquify filter
Be it pucker, bloat or rotate, this powerful Photoshop filter effect lets you produce
dramatic or subtle distortions in retouching projects, or even when simply creating
artistic effects

P
hotoshop is highly regarded for its powerful filter effects. These permit you
to alter your imagery in a manner of stylised fashions, and present you with
hours of fun when incorporating them into your compositions. A recent and
Working with layer masks
innovative example is the Liquify tool, which we have previously covered in our The Liquify filter accommodates selection and layer mask applications in the
tutorials. This filter is both practical and fun in its functionality, and permits you to Mask options. This set of five varies in application effects, like the Replace
distort and retouch imagery with a sophisticated degree of control. We reveal how selection, which shows the selection or mask in the original image, and the
this command does so through its specialist range of options. Add To selection that lets you add to the original mask using the Freeze tool.

enabling you to push pixels in any when dragged down. It also allows you to

Hot keys OUR EXPERT Adam Smith

direction you wish by dragging them
around. In the section beneath this are six
All the commands mentioned are other tools with their own individual
accessible through a set of hot keys distortion properties that are useful for
for selecting tools more efficiently, various effects.
speeding up the application. We’ve First, you have the Twirl Clockwise tool.
listed them for you to remember: This does exactly as you’d think – it
rotates pixels in a clockwise fashion when
W – Forward Warp tool holding down the mouse button or
R – Reconstruct tool dragging the mouse. Holding Opt/Alt
C – Twirl Clockwise tool
when doing this will allow you to apply a
S – Pucker tool
counterclockwise effect.
B – Bloat tool
O – Push Left tool The Pucker tool follows, allowing you
M – Mirror tool to direct pixels, inverting them essentially
T – Turbulence tool to the centre of the brush area (again, by
F – Freeze Mask tool holding the mouse button). The Bloat
D – Thaw Mask tool tool is vice versa, and both these tools
can be used to great effect when
expand visual values when rotated
Senior staff writer, Adam Smith, works across a variety
clockwise. The Mirror tool copies pixels to
of creative projects and warrants the merits of
the brush area when dragged in a Photoshop’s powerful filter effects. He knows all too well
perpendicular direction. Holding Opt/Alt how the use of these can be time-efficient, as well as
extremely entertaining.
and dragging the mouse will mirror the
area in the direction opposite to that of
the stroke. The Mirror tool can be utilised
to create sophisticated water reflection
effects when applying overlapping
strokes. The Turbulence tool is equally
useful in creating specific visual
properties. It functions by smoothly
scrambling pixels in an image to create
fire, clouds and wave effects in your
desired imagery.
Reconstructive facility FINELY I-TUNED: This iPod-style artwork
Directly beneath the Forward Warp tool has benefited from using the Liquify filter

Alteration capabilities
To access the Liquify filter, simply select
Filter>Liquify. Liquify fundamentally
permits you to push, pull, rotate, reflect,
pucker and bloat any given image. It
does so through a set of specific
toolbar, brush and masking options.
At the top of the toolbar you will
discover the Forward Warp tool, which
works in a straightforward capacity,
distorting figurative imagery in model
photography projects, or exaggerating
and streamlining features.
The Push Left and Mirror tools are
seemingly recreational effects. The Push
Left tool works on two levels: moving
pixels left when dragged up, and right
ALL THE BITS: Unlike a few Photoshop filter
effects, the Liquify filter can be applied to both 8-
bit and 16-bit image files
is the Reconstruction tool, which can be
applied through its own options set.
These can be found within the
Reconstruction options, and the best
effects can be easily obtained when
using this tool with the Liquify filter’s
Mask commands.
Masks can be applied in numerous
ways. Specific application is obtained by
using the Freeze and Thaw Mask tools.
These dictate masked and unmasked
image areas respectively when coupled
with your Brush Option values. To
instantly apply a mask to all, select Mask
All from the Mask Options.
There are eight Reconstruction options
and Reconstruction tool modes: Rigid,
Stiff, Smooth, Loose and Revert, and they
all apply variant effects with
fundamentally similar outcomes. Most
dissimilar is Stiff, which functions with
weak magnetic properties. This means
that when you increase application
distance from your frozen areas, the
effects lessen.
Reconstruction tool modes include
Amplitwist, Affine and Displace, which
seem most useful for those working on
photographic compositions. The Displace
option allows you to reconstruct
unfrozen areas to match the
displacement at the starting point of your
reconstruction. Simply put, it allows you
to replace all or parts of your image to a
different image area by clicking and
spiralling out from the starting point in
the brushed area.
JUST FOR FUN: When used appropriately,
the Liquify filter can provide creative hours of fun,
as well as superior application in order to create
stunning effects

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 Our pick of the best reader submissions
sent to us this month

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

Texture-laden
NAME: Molly McCausland
EMAIL: mollymccausland@gmail.com
WEB: mollinda.deviantart.com

Molly is a 24-year-old Fine Art student living just outside Burnley,

Lancashire. “I am doing my degree at Blackburn College, which is a
fantastic course as they really encourage you to experiment, which is what
I enjoy,” she says of her current situation. “However, everything I do for my
degree is traditional work, but the way I work is very similar to my digital
art – I do a lot of monoprinting, building images up in layers,
experimenting with ink opacity and textures and I really enjoy the
surprise outcome.”
Despite the accomplished results of the images shown here, illustration
was a complete accident for Molly. “I began to create digital art when I
was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia three years ago; I was off work
and just started to play out of boredom. I had completed my Art
foundation course the year previously, and after a year working in
offices I was yearning to get back to my art. I explored digital collage
and photomanipulation, and then left that behind completely for comic
art drawn straight into Photoshop with my Wacom tablet. Over time I
began to feel that something was missing, and in an effort to make my
work more interesting, I started layering textures over
doodles and cartoons.”

THE CANDY
HERE COMES
BOVE): “T his was drawn
MAN (A th a friend abou
t
on wi
after a discussi g in my
ing, culminatin
owing in popu
larity bees disappear ndy Man had them
am pu nk seems to be gr that gritty, theory th at Th e Ca
mbugs”
ND LINEN:
“Ste
y heart as I lo
ve ss off as mint hu
LEATHER Aally has a special place in m ising was fun on this one – it n and
was wrapped to pa
ily, an d it re . Th e te xt ur le athe r ap ro
da world t the
tlook on the ay to bring ou
industrial ou the perfect w
e a tre asur e hunt to find ON THE OUTSIDE (LEFT): “It’s like
lik
les”
the brass gogg Babe, but with wings. Another snippet
from my internal monologue, which is
less witty than Dexter, but there are
more unicorns”

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074-077_AVP_49_PeerPressure.indd74 74 18/9/08 10:42:53

 Dark and BEST
interesting IN SHOW
NAME: Mario Veltri
EMAIL: marioveltri@marioveltri.com
WEB: www.marioveltri.com

“My primary aim is to induce Photoshop

and the digital media I use to produce
artwork with the same smell and taste of
traditional art,” says Mario Veltri. Which
certainly explains why his images have a
tangible feel about them, as if they have
been coloured with pencils on paper. “I
look for inspiration in the deepest part of
my soul, digging deep to find both good
and bad feelings from my memories,” he
continues, when looking at how his work is
created. “I wish to thank all the people who
contributed to my sorrows, because without
them I would have never become an artist.
Above all, I want to thank my mother, who
always believed in me.”
Mario’s current job is head of illustrators
for Edizioni Master, one of the main Italian
publishing companies, but he’s hoping to
gain work experience abroad. He started his
artistic education in Rome, where he
attended the Accademia Delle Arti e Nuove
Tecnologie and the Scuola Internazionale
Di Comics.
When asked about how his digital art
develops, he describes himself as
having a “photographic imagination”. He
explains: “When someone describes
something to me, I can immediately
see it in my mind, in all
its details.”

ALICE: “I created this character for a

friend to represent her player in
the RPG Changeling: The
Dreaming, a hallucinated
version of Alice In
Wonderland. For people
who know this game, her
class is Redcap”

the
na l taunt against
ar twork is my perso elt y
MAIALE: “This te battery farming and all the cru
industry. I ha
food
like starvation”
connected to it,

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074-077_AVP_49_PeerPressure.indd75 75 18/9/08 10:43:42

 Discover the thinking behind the art

JUMP: “This was a personal piece of artwork. I started with the photo
of the man and it just grew from there. I used textures and vectors to
build up lots of layers”

Printed
perfection
NAME: Emily Kemper
EMAIL: emilykemper@ekgraphics.co.uk
WEB: www.ekgraphics.co.uk

Emily is a freelance graphic

designer based in Oxfordshire, UK,
who is better known by her design
alias, ‘ekgraphics’. She says: “I
specialise in designing for print. My
favourite areas of design are posters
and flyers, especially for nightclubs
and club brands, where the work
can be very personal and creative.”
She has been using Photoshop
since she was 18 years old while on
an Art foundation course. “I was
hooked from there!” she exclaims. “I
knew that I wanted to become a
graphic designer. I love to learn
new techniques and am always
looking to improve my designs.
Advanced Photoshop has helped
me a lot in developing my style. I
have just bought a Cintiq 12WX, so I
am hoping that will bring a new
dimension to my designs.”
A talented designer for sure,
Emily is currently looking for more
freelance work to add to her
bulging portfolio of designs.

SWITCH IT OFF: “This poster is part of an

energy awareness campaign. My aim was to
draw attention to the resources, power and energy behind the
switch”

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 Colourful characters

best in
NAME: Manuela De Simone
EMAIL: desi.cloe@gmail.com
WEB: www.desicloe.deviantart.com

Manuela De Simone was

born in Rome in 1982.
After attending high
school in Rome, she
followed it up with three
years on an Illustration and

show
Multimedia Animation
course at the European
Institute Of Design.
When asked about her
style of art, she says: “All
along, my interest has been
Sponsored by…
Not only is Mario Veltri this month’s
to focus on looking for an Best in Show, he has also won a
original and never year’s full Option 3 membership to
featureless style that is able The Illustration Source, worth £150,
to transmit good feelings.” and Featured Artist slot for October.
This is something that she The Illustration Source Ltd is the
keeps with her during all her newest source of original art,
various professional freelance illustrators,
photographers, artists and
experiences and commissions,
designers on the net. Visit www.
which has included illustration,
illustration-source.com for more
graphic design, animation, information. If you’d like to stand a
advertising and e-learning as chance of winning an Illustration
well as publishing. Source portfolio, send your images
From her work, it is possible to to advancedpshop@imagine-
note a marked penchant for publishing.co.uk.
children’s illustration; certainly,
the examples submitted here Image requirements
show a beautiful, colourful range You’ll stand a better chance of
seeing your work in print if you
of characters.
adhere to the following criteria:
At the moment, as well as
make sure that your images are
expanding her knowledge and high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or
furthering her artistic abilities, she CMYK), 300dpi minimum, and can
works in the advertising sector for be printed at 15 x 15cm minimum.
a number of different companies Don’t forget to include a small text
for online work, restyling business file detailing how you created your
images and art direction. For all work as well.
Manuela’s work, she prefers to use
Photoshop and Illustrator alongside Terms and conditions
By submitting images to Advanced
her Wacom tablet. She’s able to
Photoshop’s Peer Pressure, you
perform elaborate personalised hereby grant Imagine Publishing
designs and illustrations as well as and, if relevant, clients to whom the
graphics upon request. relevant work has been provided,
an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-
free licence to use such intellectual
property in relation to work similar
THE FLY or equivalent to the work. This
(ABOVE): “As with includes the right to showcase work
the other images on multimedia formats. By
shown here, Manuela submitting work, you also confirm
used a combination of
that your images do not infringe
pencils and
Photoshop to create any copyright regulations should
this image” they be published.

MERMAID’S DREAM
(RIGHT): “This image was
created using pencils and
Photoshop CS2”

DANDELION (LEFT):
“This image used a THE PRIZE: Check out The Illustration
combination of Photoshop, Source’s website to see the portfolios of
Illustrator and pencil” previous winners of Best in Show

77
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 web
Discover the thinking behind the art

chall
enge THIS
MONTH’S
PRIZE
Our prize this month is a copy of
our popular bookazine, Advanced
Photoshop: The Premium Collection
Peer Pressure WEB 2. The lucky winner will receive a copy
of this essential resource, which
CHALLENGE – THE WINNERS contains our pick of the best tutorials,
Challenge reference: AP 048 features and portfolios from issues
passed, along with a CD of all the
project files needed.
On our website, www.advancedphotoshop.
co.uk/competitions.php, we run a web NAME: Darren Williams
challenge where you are asked to create WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.
an image in Photoshop using at least one of uk/user/Bonditz
three images provided. Up until now, these GOING GALACTIC: “There were three main
challenges have been running for three stages: editing out the cranes, some buildings
months at a time, but due to their popularity, and extending the height of others. Through
experimenting, the idea to create a
we are now making this a monthly event. symmetrical structure then developed, with
Check out the website for details of our filters helping to create the background.
latest challenge and how to enter. The Finally, there was design, making sure there
winner will collect a special prize for that was contrast, a focal point, homogeneity
and an interesting composition”
month (prizes change frequently) and will
also have their design printed in the W EB
magazine, along with two runners-up.
W I NNE R

Runner-up
NAME: Francisco Flores Runner-up
WEB: www.inknition.com NAME: Glendon Gengel
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/
THE LAST ONE: “Based on all the Zombie stories,
this is a rendition of the vision of the last man on earth.
user/lusid
Basically, what I did was take four pictures and put one SPACE INVADER: “I took individual
on top of the others and mess around with filters, pictures from my stash of oddball shots and
colour and blending FXs” obsessively distorted each image into the side of
a cube without using 3D software”

www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions.php
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 Feature

© Re
dBub
b
le / p
hoto
by Ed
Redm

80
an

Advanced Photoshop

080-084_AVP_49_Feature.indd 80 19/9/08 10:36:06

 Pretty in print

f the
es o n
sid u a
bo th fer yo ial
iga te to of merc
vest ence com thing
n f e
We i uction into th tive clo
ro d ig ht c rea
p ins rld of
wo

T
he world of creative apparel is an These factors have undoubtedly
ever-expanding franchise. The face expanded the opportunities for so many
ea of fashion is changing as consumers talented designers to showcase their skills
d

D
op look to personalise their wardrobes.
© Dr
Individuality is back in fashion, and more
and more of us are purchasing unbranded
clothing solutions. Of course, this
popularity coincides with the accessibility
of design tools and advanced print
processes, and with so many production
ble
on a national and global scale. This is no
more prevalent than in the T-shirt design
arena. Serving as far more than a mere
practical function, these decorated
dressings allow artists to showcase designs
that may never have seen the light of day.
This industry is providing possibility, profit

possibilities available, creative apparel is and, importantly, a purpose.

ub
dB

e now an extremely attractive proposition for But what does it take to make headway
©R
those who are looking to expand into the in such a popular and competitive creative
world of freelance. arena? How can you enrol in its thriving
commercial ranks? Is success truly
dependent on who has the biggest coin
purse? What funds are necessary and
investment required, and what alternative
options exist for artistic entrepreneurs? We
strive to find you the answers that will
expand your own potential to achieve
such goals. We question the self-made
freelancer and the international enterprise,
providing informed opinions and good
advice on how you can get a head start in
the world of creative apparel.
© Drop Dead

81
ad

Advanced Photoshop
De

rop
©D

080-084_AVP_49_Feature.indd 81 19/9/08 10:39:16

 Feature
The first steps
Creatives are full of good ideas, but when it comes to
realising these and specifically transferring ideas into
tangible goods, then cost instantly becomes an
overriding factor. The creation of designer T-shirts and
other goods such as toys, boards, bags, etc, needs
calculated expenditure, and dealing with grants and
bank loans may seem mind-boggling. It may even
seem that your ideas are dead in the water before
initiating your intended projects. However, just
remember, taking that first step is the most important
and doesn’t always have to be the hardest. Having a
clear and concise course of action is essential, and you
don’t have to put this together by yourselves.
Oli Sykes, founder of Drop Dead Clothing, has seen
his creative apparel company go from strength to
strength over several years. Still at the tender age of 21,
Sykes seems to have done his homework, taking his
business venture very seriously as he reveals with good
authority: “There are quite a few very important pieces
of equipment that are needed before you get started,
like a good computer and software to help create the
designs. Most designers will already be set up in that
area, so the biggest outlay is the money needed to get
the first stocks in.”
With outlay in mind, Sykes
recommends a solution that
makes the process far less
daunting: Business
Link (www.
businesslink.gov.
uk). An
organisation
funded by the
UK government
to help UK
businesses
either in setting
up or growing
their existing
commerce,
Business Link
provides all
services
SPRING ‘08
Oli Sykes says:
“We’ve never made
our products in-
house. We have
manufacturers that
turn our
imagination
into reality”
080-084_AVP_49_Feature.indd 82
free of charge. They help point new businesses in
the direction of funding that could be available in
the local area, with advisors helping you create a
business plan to secure a loan from a bank through an
online service as well as support through local advisors.
Productive support
Core issues such as business planning, tax-efficient
borrowing and grants and government support are
related to customers by dedicated working teams.
When questioned on how Business Link can specifically
produce advantages for aspiring commercial creatives,
Jessica Valentine, intermediary manager at Business
Link, answers: “Business Link can help creative people
and companies improve their business performance by
offering them easy access to information, advice and
guidance on a wide range of relevant issues.” She
continues: “Business Link’s start-up service will help
people setting up businesses in the creative sector to
develop the skills and knowledge they need to
maximise their profit and potential, offering advice
sessions and training, as well as access to
comprehensive information.”
Of course, Business Link is just one of many start-up
solutions on the market that can really help you get a
competitive head start, which also includes Shell
LiveWIRE and the Prince’s Trust.
Creative communities are now contributing to the
world of designer apparel, offering artists the means to
You need to decide who you are aiming
your brand at and then make sure the
product fits that customer profile
experiment with productivity at minimum cost. Ed
Redman, RedBubble’s minister of Shirts, affirmed the
benefits of such assembly, with RedBubble having sold
more than 100,000 products in over 70 countries. He
explains: “When you start in the creative apparel
industry, you either have to invest a lot of money into
printing equipment or into having your stock made up,
and there is risk involved in both. Then you need to
worry about shipping logistics, tax and all sorts of other
things that you really don’t care about because you’re
much happier sitting in Photoshop all day. We
Material wholesalers
© Drop Dead
OUTSOURCE:
Sykes reveals:
“We don’t buy in
the materials or
moulds; we use
an agent to
create our
products and so
the agent is
responsible for
sourcing the blank
tees, fabric, etc”
© Fir
ebrand Live
take all of that away, leaving you to
relax and get on with designing, gathering feedback
and generating sales without taking any risks.”
In essence, POD sites such as RedBubble provide
you with a studio and shop front free of charge.
However, alternative fees do apply, usually existing in
the form of percentages consistent after regularly
applied base prices. However, RedBubble doesn’t have
a percentage cut. Redman explains: “We set a totally
transparent base price. In the case of short sleeve T-
shirts, it’s £9.45 or $17.40, then the artist sets whatever
mark-up they want.”
Of course, such percentages or base prices are
essential, permitting creative communities to provide
optimum provisions and ultimately benefiting those
employing their services. In RedBubble’s case, the fee
covers its cost to provide you with an American
Apparel shirt, prepping designs for print, the actual
print itself and its own profit understandably. For those
of you who choose to run your own creative franchise,
American Apparel
www.americanapparel.net
Providing global online clothing solutions across 14
countries, including Mexico, Japan, Canada, USA, United
Kingdom and Europe, American Apparel is a popular
wholesale solution for the T-shirt designer.
American Apparel provides designers with the latest
and most contemporary clothing styles that can be
personalised at competitive prices. It also provides
extensive colour solutions, with some T-shirt types
available in over 30 tones.
19/9/08 10:20:56
 Creative clothing
Materials and
manufacture
Two scenarios occur when self-producing
your creative product. As Sykes mentions, “the
biggest outlay is the money needed to get the
first stocks in,” and then there’s printing costs. It is
more common at present for a creative to use an

agent responsible for sourcing the fabric and
garment manufacturing, accommodating
material and print costs in one transaction.
However, some of you may have a preferred cut
of T-shirt that suppliers may not provide. It’s a
conscious choice of the creative as to which is
more suitable.
There are plenty of plain T-shirt suppliers to be
found in catalogues or through a mere Google
search. Such suppliers, including the likes of Polo-
shirts.co.uk and Brookes (www.ebrookes.co.uk),
provide premium material from retailers such as
Fruit of the Loom, with minimum prices like £1
for a single unit, dropping with the more
products purchased.
Screenprinting itself, the most prominent print
process in the industry, amasses expenditure. This
process incurs set-up costs based upon the
amount of colours used within any design.
Seeing as production includes a plate per colour
and this is inclusive of the print cost, the more
garments you print, the more cost-effective your
purchase. However, it’s expected that initially
your funds may be restricted. Sykes reveals: “I
would advise new businesses to balance out
costs by using a variety of designs for their first
© Drop Dead
STACKED (RIGHT): Oli Sykes says: “My sole
intention when starting Drop Dead Clothing was
just to create something original and unique that
I would really want to wear”
production using a maximum of two colours, and
then a couple using more intricate designs.”
As printing costs will accumulate, it’s essential
to get the right printer to produce agreeable
standard products, as Sykes explains: “When
choosing a company to work with, we look for
good-quality cotton that keeps its shape and
washes well.” Again, a preferred option is
reiterated. “One of our favourite companies to
work with is American Apparel.” The ability to
determine all factors will make your business
experience seem more qualified. However,
investing in the efforts of others has its benefits.
Due to the accumulated membership and thus
finance sustained by POD companies, printing
processes are at times far more extensive.

© Firebrand Live (T-shirt by Drop Dead)

ANSWERS CLOSE TO HOME: Sykes explains:

“I was fortunate in that my parents believed in
my ideas and were prepared to give me a loan to © Firebrand Live (T-shirt by Drop Dead)
set up my business”
ead)
Live (T-shirt by Drop D
© Firebrand

Brookes
www.ebrookes.co.uk
With a UK express delivery of one to two business days,
Brookes is an effective whole solution for those looking
for a speedy supply. It provides all standard types of T-shirt
styles, including the popular V-neck and fairtrade types.
Its colour range is more conservative than others, yet
displays fashionable options. Products range from less
than £2 for standard types, increasing for more lavish
material, but you can get a logo attached to each
purchased garment from as little as £1.10 per print.
Polo-shirts.co.uk
www.polo-shirts.co.uk
Although providing stock for global companies like Birds
Eye and Adidas and supplying premium brands like JHK,
Hanes and UCC, Polo-shirts.co.uk is a cost-effective option.
With all the latest commercial styles and a preferable
colour range, Polo-shirts.co.uk will sell some single unit
items as low as 99 pence and also run regular discount
offers, some of which are as beneficial as 50 per cent off.
Not only this, but they also have a flat rate delivery charge,
so no matter how much you order it will only cost £5.

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 Feature
Price of publicity
RedBubble deploys direct-to-garment printing, as Ed
Redman explains: “DTG printing holds two seriously
market-changing benefits. First of all, there are no set-
up costs, no screens have to be made, it just prints
straight from a file. Second of all, it makes no difference
how many colours you have, unlike with
screenprinting, and can expertly print photograph
style bitmaps onto fabric with the same speed and
grace as a single-colour text shirt.”
With regards to promotion, again accruing cost, SALE NUMBERS: Redman says: “Sales
averages are not clear cut, and so much of it © RedBubble
whether advertising, digitally or in print, the more
depends on how you promote your own work,
improved this factor is, the more likely your company is but some are selling 30-50 units a month”
le
to succeed. The average site can cost anything in the © RedBubb
region of £200 up to £450 and beyond, but it’s a worthy
investment as Sykes concurs with Redman. “A good
website is really important as this is the company’s
shop front and needs to be appealing to the customer
even before they have seen the products for sale.”

POD sites such as

RedBubble
essentially provide
you with a studio
and shop front free PRODUCT

of charge
PARTNER: Sykes
says: “We are
currently partnered
He also provides insight into cost-effective options: with American
“In the early years, I didn’t pay for any advertising in the Apparel for our
clothing products,
traditional sense. I think the important factors are to partly because they
know who your customers are and to think of inventive make fantastic high-
ways to get your products seen by them. When I hear a quality cotton wares
band whose music I love, I’ll ask them if they like our in fashionable cuts”
clothes and give them free clothes to wear.”
RedBubble offers a cost-effective solution,
promoting throughout its global community via its all-
inclusive service. “Being such a large melting pot of
talent, it is generally best for us to promote RedBubble
as a whole. We regularly run competitions that end in
exhibitions or books, we’ve had radio interviews and
magazine articles and we have the homepage and
featured galleries to showcase individuals’ work.”
However, this may not guarantee specific attention
to your own stock and may deter the more single-
minded and self-sufficient creative producer. The lack
of a specific target audience may deter your specific
franchise and understanding your target consumer can
be integral to brands’ success, as Sykes leaves us with
bl
e

this final thought: “You need to decide who you’re ub

dB
© Re
aiming your brand at and then make sure the product
fits that profile. I knew I wanted to create something
that I would want to wear, that was something quality
and cool, but not out of my price range.”
© RedBubble

84
ble

Advanced Photoshop ble

ub

© RedBub ed
B
©R

080-084_AVP_49_Feature.indd 84 19/9/08 10:23:07

resources
Adobe Photoshop
Elements 7 Beta
The cut-down version of Photoshop has carved itself a decent following of its own
Specifications
Manufacturer: Adobe
Web: www.adobe.com
Price: £65, upgrade from £49 (excl VAT);
$100, upgrade from $80, with
Photoshop.com Plus
membership from $140
Req: Windows XP with SP2 or SP3, or
Windows Vista
2GHZ or faster processor
1GB RAM
1.5GB hard disk space
Colour monitor with 16-bit colour
video card
CD-ROM drive
Internet connection required for
some features
P hotoshop Elements has been with us
now since 2001, when Adobe rolled out
its cut-down package aimed at consumer
editors rather than professionals.
Its price and features were greatly reduced,
and it built itself a rather enthusiastic audience
who wanted to edit their images with the power
of Photoshop but not the complexity. Since then,
we’ve had five versions – one almost every year –
and it’s still going strong. With each version, its
features and the possibilities it presents have
been growing, to the point where it is no longer
a ‘reduced’ Photoshop, but a great piece of
software in its own right.
With version 7, that’s becoming even more
obvious. The icon has changed to match the style
of the newest CS3 suite, so it doesn’t immediately
What do you want to do?: There are four main
parts to the Elements program: Organize, Edit, Create
and Share, which are neatly tabbed from the start
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086-087_AVP_49_Resources.indd 86
Family package: Photoshop Elements 7
won’t satisfy the digital artists in us, but it’s a
great starter package and anyone can use it
Growing up: The new Elements 7 logo is
clean and crisp, just like its older sibling, and
fits nicely into the CS fold
scream ‘consumer’ from your desktop. At the
moment it’s PC only, but the Mac version will
follow later as both formats are on different
production cycles. Still, we couldn’t wait to have a
play with it after an inspiring presentation earlier
in the year.
The splash screen that you get when you first
launch Elements displays the newest features so
you can quickly jump into learning more about
them if you wish. There are the usual four tabs
across the top of the screen, organised according
to workflow: Organize, Edit, Create and Share. The
first of these is Elements’ answer to Bridge and is
a great way of getting your images in order. You
can view them large or full screen, add star
ratings and keywords and sort pictures into
Organizer: A great way of keeping track of your
images, the Organizer lets you add keywords, search
metadata and rate your images
albums – and you can do all that quickly and
easily. The Search function has been improved,
allowing for faster searching with keywords,
dates and camera data, and compound searching
helps filter down your results even further. There
wasn’t a lot wrong with the Organizer in the
previous version, so it is no surprise that there’s
not a lot new here.
It’s the Edit functions that have taken the most
refinement and addition, which is what we’re
most interested in anyway. Each of the three key
editing palettes – Quick Edit, Full Edit and Guided
Edit – have new additions to help you get more
from your digital images. The biggest, and most
hyped, of the new additions are the Smart
Brushes in the Touch Up panel. You select the
effect you want to achieve, such as converting to
black and white or enhancing skies, then brush
over the area that you want to apply it to in
Quick Edit mode. An automatic and quick,
accurate mask will be created based on the
colour values of what you’re selecting, as well as
applying the chosen effect. This selection will
then be shown as a mask in Full Edit mode if you
want to refine it further.
There are more Smart Brushes available in Full
Edit as well, which work in the same way, offering
quick, intelligent adjustments. Of course, these
are no substitute to creating a proper selection,
and the results vary according to how clean the
area you are trying to select is, but it is a good
way to get started.
18/9/08 12:41:23

GUIDED EDIT:
Even if you know
your way around
image editing pretty
well, the automated
functions in the
Guided Edit can
save you time with
good results
QUICK EDIT: The
new Touch Up tools
with four Smart
Brushes are at the
bottom of the panel,
and are great for
making selections as
well as applying any
adjustments that
are necessary
Another big addition in this edition is the
Scene Cleaner in the Photomerge options, found
under Guided Edit. Version 6 introduced Group
Shot – where people from two similar images
could be combined into one – which we have
used before and found it to give reasonable
results with a bit of work, but certainly not
flawless. Scene Cleaner removes objects that you
don’t want in a scene and works on the same
principle of having two photos, one as the image
you want to remove the object from and the
other with the area you want to sample from to
cover the removed object. It relies on you having
two suitable images to work with, but the results
are much the same as with Group Shot. A bit of
practice can give you reasonable results.
The Guided Edit function is there to help
walk you through the steps needed to get a
certain effect and this has been enhanced with
new features. The most exciting for us is the
addition of Automated Actions to complete tasks.
The ones included in the package are pretty
basic and fun to play around with for effect,
but it is the capacity for expansion that really
got us interested, which could lead to all sorts
of possibilities.
086-087_AVP_49_Resources.indd 87
The last two tabs are pretty self-explanatory,
and allow you to create things like photo books
and slide shows, with new templates added, and
share your work via email or an online album.
They both work in a simple, step-by-step manner,
and it’s easy to create these projects.
At the end of the day, with Photoshop
Elements you have to take it for what it is. You
can’t compare it to a CS package because that’s
not what it is. Without doubt, this is the best
version of Elements ever and well worth the
upgrade. It’s also brilliant for the whole family; if
you want to introduce them to the Photoshop
world, this is a great place to start for editing
images and making first steps into creating digital
art. At this price, you are getting more than you
could hope for with the Adobe name and power
to boot.
Summary: The best Elements package ever.
If the full version of Photoshop is outside of
your price range and you just want to play
with the tools, you can get a lot of
functionality out of this.
Rating: 5/5
resources
Adobe Premiere
Elements 7
Manufacturer: Adobe
Web: www.adobe.com
Price: £65, upgrade from £49; with
PSE7 £95, upgrade from £79
(all excl VAT);
$100, upgrade from $80,
with Photoshop.com Plus
membership from $140; with
PSE 7 $150, upgrade from
$120, with Photoshop.com
Plus membership from $180
Req: 1.8GHZ processor with SSE2
support (higher for HDV, Blu-
ray or AVCHD)
Windows XP with SP2, Windows
Media Center or Windows Vista
512MB (XP) or 1GB (Vista) RAM
(higher for HDV, Blu-ray or
AVCHD)
4.5GB hard disk space
Colour monitor with 16-bit video
card and 1,024 x 768 resolution
DirectX 9 or 10 compatible
DVD-ROM drive
QuickTime 7
Where there’s Photoshop Elements, you can be
sure to find Premiere Elements. The two
products always come hand in hand at the
same price point (and cheaper if you buy as a
bundle) and aimed at the same core market.
There is a lot of competition in the consumer
video-editing arena, but Premiere Elements
comes with a certain calibre, thanks to the
overwhelming popularity of its sibling, Adobe
Premiere. It works in much the same way as
Photoshop Elements, in that it offers a range of
features that have been adapted from the full
version to make them easier to use. The tools
are still powerful, it’s just that a lot of that
power is hidden behind the scenes so that you
don’t have to worry about it. The biggest new
features are InstantMovie and Videomerge. The
former puts together a film for you from your
video clips based on predesigned templates.
We tried it with a bunch of footage and it does
work quite well, though the actual templates
are a little cheesy and we actually would rather
work to our own scripts. Still, for a short, quick
home-movie presentation, it does save hours
of precise editing! Videomerge is basic
chromakey work, or greenscreening, where you
can extract a subject from one clip and put it
into another clip. The process is rudimentary,
but as with Photomerge, it’s a nice addition.
Summary: Good video-editing functions
and it’s easy to use, making this a great
option for those who want to get more from
their video clips without any hassle.
Rating: 4/5
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resources

Epson Perfection V700 Photo

It’s crystal clear that this scanner offers favourable image reproduction, but does its other
functionality deliver?

Specifications
Manufacturer: Epson
Web: www.epson.co.uk
Price: £389.99 including VAT
(approximately $720)
About: Super Resolution lens:
6,400 x 9,600dpi
Digital ICE technology
4.0 DMax
Creative software includes
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3,
SilverFast SE6
Four alternative-sized
film frames

F irst impressions are usually lasting, and

when confronted with the latest Epson
Perfection V700 Photo scanner we were
impressed. Aesthetically, this hardware is
authoritative with its black and steel fashion. It’s
promoted as the world’s first flat-bed scanner at
less than £550 to offer a resolution of up to 6,400
x 9,600dpi, so it comes with good incentive.
Adding to its
authority, what are
instantly noticeable
are the hardware
dimensions. The
Epson V700 is, after Suitable for Everyone: The Epson Perfection
V700 Photo is suitable for the photo enthusiast or
all, a flat-bed scanner
advanced amateur photographer
and thus isn’t the most
ergonomic of hardware, The Epson Perfection V700 Photo presents a designers and photo manipulators, in your
optimising a lot of desk large scanning area of 203 x 254mm, which is creative projects.
space, so it’s fundamentally ideal for medium- and large-format film and These framing options, coupled with the fast
a heavy-duty machine for photography. However, this eliminates larger scanning times of the V700, make batching
those accommodating standard-sized art prints so this hardware seems almost effortless. The Epson V700 promises
expansive and professional specific to the photographic medium and user. scanning times of as little as 44 seconds for a
studio space. Needless to The dual-lens utility built into the scanning 33mm film and 11 seconds for larger
say, this isn’t one to device, which enables the high-resolution scan of monochrome documents, and after putting this
work from your 6,400dpi, enforces this factor as this allows the hardware to the test we found that it wasn’t
bedroom. scanner to disregard the A4 footprint without wanting. Include the simultaneous image
compromising visual quality. The moving TPU scanning in Photoshop and enthusiasts don’t
light also assists visual quality, ensuring smoothly have to spend hours backing up and collating
scanned images and thus sharper definition. keepsake photography of family and friends,
The Epson Perfection V700 Photo’s large making the task a leisurely process.
scanning area promotes time efficiency in your Convenience set aside, this hardware is about
workflow. It comes standard with a set of four more than just saving time, no matter how
film holders that accommodate four strips of important a factor that is in the present creative
35mm films, 12 35mm mounted slides, two 6 x arena. The Epson V700 also provides consumers
20cm maximum 120/220 frames and two 4 x 5- with some integral incorporated technology that
High-res Lens: The inch frames. This increased productivity will again only benefits the creative processes, for
Epson V700 Photo provides a
high-resolution lens of 4,800 x 9,600dpi for appeal to those of you working with large photo example, 4.0 DMax optical density. Upon
reflective and contact-sheet scanning directories, namely photographers, graphic scanning in imagery, especially that of the

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QUALITY RESULTS
(ABOVE): Image
replication really is
optimum when the V700
Photo employs its
resolution capabilities
and 4.0 DMax optical
density sciences
LIGHT SPEED (RIGHT): Users can enjoy faster
scanning and easy connection with USB 2.0 and IEEE
1394 FireWire
monochrome variety, the V700 produces a first-
class reproduction of shadow and highlighted
areas in on-screen imagery. This, of course, means
that the need for retouching imagery in your
digital software in the postproduction phase is
drastically reduced, again convenient for
photographers and artists alike working to tight
deadlines or producing prints.
Another corrective science included within the
V700 is Digital ICE technology. This allows the
hardware to recognise your scanned image and
rectifies visual interference such as dust, scratches
and fingerprints automatically, which can really
spoil any image or art piece. This is an extremely
promising function, but unfortunately we found
it slightly wanting. Perhaps this is because we
expected so much due to the standard of the
previous functions mentioned.
First of all, the application process of Digital ICE
can take anything up to six to eight minutes,
although averaging around three minutes usually.
Of course, this can be expected as the
technology is performing an advanced
operation. However, after the wait the effect
outcomes aren’t as extensive as we would have
expected. That’s not to say they aren’t noticeable,
if not compensating at least. Some creatives will
find a dose of Photoshop afterwards necessary,
perhaps even decide that the use of Photoshop’s
own powerful tool base provides a means of
088-089_AVP_49_Resources.indd 89
correction that’s much more efficient and reliable,
if not time-effective.
On the upside, if you do firmly abide by using
digital software in postproduction, then the
Epson Perfection V700 does come standard with
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 as well as SilverFast
SE6, both providing corrective creative solutions.
There is also Epson Creative Suite, which provides
you with an easy-to-use tool for retrieving and
viewing imagery.
Considering all factors, the Epson Perfection
V700 Photo is an efficient piece of hardware and
excels in producing high-quality reproductions
with its impressive resolution range. This makes it
a product that will most definitely appeal to
those looking to produce high-quality photo
reproductions, yet may fail to impress Photoshop
users in its limited corrective science. But with a
price of £389.99 including VAT and the software
included, it seems a worthy investment for its
intended enthusiast market.
Summary: The Epson V700 Photo is a
scanner that truly serves its intended
enthusiast target consumer. You’re
guaranteed high-res images with optimum
tonality, and is more than adequate to work
with on your creative digital projects.
Rating: 4/5
resources
Epson
Perfection
V750 Pro
Manufacturer: Epson
Web: www.epson.co.uk
Price: £549.99 including VAT
(approximately $1,010)
About: High Pass Optic systems
High-Reflection Mirror
Anti-Reflection Optical Coating
4.0 DMax
Super Resolution lens: 6,400 x
9,600dpi
The Epson Perfection V750 Pro is the
evolutionary step that scanner users should
really take if they wish to utilise advanced
scanning capabilities. It looks exactly the same
as the V700, so won’t take up any more space
on your desk, but there are a couple of
differences in the hardware to account for the
price difference.
This scanner includes some high-
functioning capabilities not witnessed in the
V700. Included is High Pass Optic systems that
will improve scanning speed as well as
reproduction quality and High Reflection
Mirror, which improves the reflection of the
scanned light sensor. The result of this is that it
can incorporate faster scanning speeds
maintaining high quality.
The Epson Perfection V750 Pro also sports
an Anti-Reflection Optical Coating that has
been applied to eliminate reflection and
ghosting with image reproduction. It’s truly a
worthy addition into any photographic studio.
Upon purchase, this scanner includes the
standard Adobe Elements 3 software and also
the award-winning SilverFast AI6 and Monaco
EZcolor, which helps users achieve accurate
and consistent colour across devices and
paper types. The SilverFast version is an
upgrade from the one that comes with the
V700 and the Monaco software is exclusively
with this model.
Both the Epson Perfection V700 Photo and
V750 Pro are ideally coupled with the Epson
Stylus Photo R2400 printer, which we looked at
back in issue 37. The result of which is premium
image quality that is delivered easy and quick
in the luxury of your own photo studio.
Summary: The obvious upgrade for the
advanced user. Although identical in looks,
its advanced sciences make it worth the
extra money, as does the extra software
solutions that are included in the package.
Perfect for small studios with a lot of
scanning needs. .
Rating: 4/5
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resources

AKVIS Magnifier
The same as all the rest, or does this latest AKVIS software have more to offer?
Manufacturer: AKVIS
Web: www.akvis.com
Price: $129 (approx £69)
Spec: Slidebar Parameter options
Autorun mode
Navigation window
Range of 1-30,000 pixels
Before and After preview windows

H ot on the heels of recent resizing software comes

AKVIS Magnifier. Presently a standalone application,
AKVIS makes assurances similar to other market examples that
this software permits image resizing without noticeable loss in
quality. It utilises advanced enlargement algorithms, enabling it
to enlarge digital pictures while obtaining smooth, sharp and
clearly defined edges.
Upon installation and activation, the AKVIS Magnifier
interface is familiar with Photoshop’s, thus seemingly
straightforward and you will not be daunted to put it straight to
use. Like many AKVIS products we’ve reviewed previously, this
demonstrates that it is a product focusing on enthusiastic users
unfamiliar with set processes, and its options set is extremely
easy to navigate and use.
Options function on a Parameter basis, including Sharpen
Edges, Edge Smoothness, Simplicity, Microline, which singles
out thin, contrasting lines in low-resolution imagery, and Grain.
These are applied by the popular, straightforward utility of the
slidebar. Every option is explained in depth in the bottom right-
hand designated area in your workspace so that you fully
understand the most appropriate use of each.
AKVIS Magnifier also allows you to soften images through a
simple set of Unsharp Mask options, Amount and Radius. This
can be extremely useful when working with sharp edges that
can interfere in large-scale printed material. These options
produce satisfying results throughout. Coupled with the
application of Parameters, effects were generally satisfying
throughout our own printed examples, and held their own
Go global: The software caters for global consumers with its Select
Language button, letting you choose between English, German, Russian
and Japanese
© Stephen Stacey, www.sxc.hu
High-Res: AKVIS Magnifier promises a super-high resolution of up to
30,000 x 30,000 pixels
© dalia d, www.sxc.hu
when compared to those produced using competitors’ software,
such as onOne Genuine Fractals 5 Professional Edition.
Of course, this may be due to the fact that the science behind
such software is relatively standard at present. Like in other
image-resizing software, we did find that degradation appeared
in soft edges and fine linear detail, such as eyelashes and hair
strands in model photography. However, such software is only
as good as the quality of your starting image, working best with
high-res imagery, so considering this the results were both
positive and sufficient for personal and professional use.
Closer inspection: The Navigation
All manual effects are processed by the Run button, which window, operating just like the one in
can be time-consuming in larger resizing examples and makes Photoshop, allows you to scrutinise the
the change distinction a little hard to clarify in instances. Of application of Parameters
course, comparison between Before and After is instantly
accessible using the related preview windows. This is a standard Still to come: A
release of a plug-in
option that serves its purpose, but optional split-screen modes
version of AKVIS
found in competitive software are preferable. Magnifier is planned for
This said, AKVIS Magnifier does have its own merits, namely the future, compatible
with the most popular
the Autorun button. We found that in 95 per cent of cases, the photo editors and
result of using this function was highly sophisticated, making it supporting the
an intuitive and powerful editing option. However, should you Automate function
find a set of options that are applicable over a range of projects,
then you can save them using the Presets options. This
command functions the same as when saving and loading
applications in Photoshop’s Adjustment tools. Summary: AKVIS Magnifier essentially
AKVIS Magnifier fundamentally sets itself apart through an provides consumers with an effective
creative solution that will allow first-time
agreeable retail price and its automated options, however,
users to produce competent results
option effects are similar to other competitors’ yet still obviously
without having to break the bank.
better than simple bicubic interpolation.
Rating: 3/5

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Color Efex Pro 3.0
Make photo effects fundamentally more time efficient with Nik Software’s latest release

Manufacturer: Nik Software Inc

Web: www.niksoftware.com
Price: €299.95 (approx $440, £239)
Spec: Extensively reworked interface
Control Points command with U Point
technology
Select, Zoom and Pan tools
Individual filter settings
Innovative brush option

TIME-SAVER: Color Efex Pro 3.0

groups major controls close together for
greater efficiency, letting you achieve
excellent results in less time
© SAJLENT, WWW.SXC.HU

THREE OF A KIND: With so many

filters and effects to choose from in over
three software versions, there’s
something to suit every creative and
every project

T he necessity for efficient functionality and rapid

workflow in the creative industry is prevalent, and it’s
software such as Color Efex Pro 3.0 that enables artists and
photographers to really optimise image effects through
time-effective means.
This latest version, produced by Nik Software Inc, presents an
even more superior workspace, both aesthetically and practically.
Users who are familiar with version two will instantly notice the
upgraded interface, now with a more professional edge,
sporting a contemporary colour-neutral appearance and
resizable work area.
Application couldn’t be simpler with Color Efex’s coherent
option sets. After installation and opening Photoshop, the
Selective Tool Settings palette appears. Alphabetically
categorised, you can select your desired effect from the Color
Efex Pro 3.0 complete menu, in turn activating the main
application workplace.
Each selection will access specific major controls, so editing
effects is logical as well as resourceful. All options adopt the
popular slidebar functionality and on-screen rendering of set
effects is almost instantaneous. This application speed, coupled
with the several View options, makes effect comparison first-
The effect choice is extensive and is
subdivided into photo types, including
Traditional, Stylising, Landscape and Portrait.
rate and you can see any changes in real-time, which is so Again, this prompts professionalism and
valuable for those editing imagery for professional purposes correct practices, while letting you achieve
with short deadlines. excellent results in less time.
View options include Single Image View, Split Preview and Ultimately, all three editions available for
Side By Side Preview. The Loupe option acts much like Color Efex Pro 3.0 provide you with a wide
Photoshop’s Navigator menu, yet with a Before and After range of filters and effects that without
treatment comparison at all times. This roams with the doubt will both optimise workflow and
movement of your image cursor, and the Pin icon permits you maximise entertainment.
to lock your image location for specific image area scrutiny. This
is a very valuable function when coupled with the Control
Points command.
U Point technology is incorporated and utilised within this
tool, allowing you to isolate image areas intuitively based upon
their characteristics, and apply designated effects, again using
simple slidebar functionality. This is once more a preferable
option, as it does away with the necessity of applying layer
masks and selections, which, ultimately, slow down the
creative process.
A creative addition that we found convenient, not to INTUITION: You can easily ‘brush on’
photographic enhancements to an image, as
mention entertaining, is the ability to apply more hands-on Color Efex creates and manages layers and Layer
effects using the Brush command. Once making a photo effect Masks behind the scenes for you
choice, select the Brush button at the foot of the Color Efex © LUKÁŠ PATKAŇ, WWW.SXC.HU

ISOLATING AREAS: U Point technology automatically isolates objects
based on their unique characteristics, permitting enhancements that
are easy to apply
© JEINNY SOLIS S, WWW.SXC.HU
work area and new options will appear under the Selective Tool
Summary: As easy and time effective as
Settings palette in the Tools drop menu. Also, Photoshop opens it promises. This optimum efficiency
up a new layer with the layer mask function that coincides with allows you not only to approach
your choice of options (Paint, Erase, Fill and Clear), allowing you projects in a professional manner, but
to personalise effects through recognisable practices, using also enjoy creation without time-
familiar Photoshop black-and-white brushes. This makes this a consuming frustrating factors.
familiar yet innovative tool simultaneously to create with, and Rating: 5/5
ideal when using a Wacom pen tablet or similar hardware.

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resources
Mechanika: Create the art of science fiction with Doug Chiang
Sci-fi favourite Chiang presents this informative, imaginative resource
Authors/Publisher: Impact Books
Web: www.impact-books.com
Price: $30 (approximately £16)
About: Foreword by Robert Zemeckis
Five imaginative themed chapters
Over 30 lessons on creation
Step-by-step full-colour image tutorials
Specific Photoshop creation tips
M echanika seems like your average concept art
creative manual. And in many ways it is. However, this
shouldn’t be considered as a negative feature. The book
presents all the good bits expected with such design titles, and
sets itself apart from competitors with the personal, original
insight provided by industry master Doug Chiang.
With over 140 full-colour illustrated pages, Mechanika is a
must-have for sci-fi fans. It provides you with the means to
invent and produce stunning artwork from a number of
diverse chapters. These include Robots and Machines,
Creatures and Aliens and Drama and Scenes, among others.
All the chapters should appeal, whether you’re a figurative
artist or a scenic artist, and you are bound to learn at least
something new.
Package Design Now
Another tantalising title from Taschen that will stimulate the creative mind
Author/Publisher: Taschen
Web: www.taschen.com
Price: £24.99 (approximately $40)
About: Over 390 pages of innovative examples
In-depth case studies from authorities in
the industry
Easily distinguishable chapters divided up
by type
Multilingual: there are editions in German,
French and English
A-Z of technical terms
P
ackage Design Now seems an indispensable title for
packaging designers and marketing professionals, but
fundamentally it’s a title that every artist should find
rewarding. A book concerned with inspiration as well as
presenting education, it will stimulate imagination and
invention in most creative individuals. It does so through its
saturation of design examples throughout its full-colour silky
matte-finished pages.
Package Design Now initially lays out eight in-depth case
studies that will enlighten readers and allow them to
experience package design developments, revealing the way
in which packaging is invented and produced. Case studies
are presented by some of the industry’s finest, including
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Doug Chiang starts by presenting his personal creative
rituals and the tools that he uses, including Pro White Paint, a
Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush and a spray marker unit. This
Design Tool Kit chapter is an interesting insight into his
creative method and encourages some appealing processes.
We especially like his advice on sketching out ideas in blue
pencil on Post-it Notes: “The small size of Post-It Notes forces
you to think in terms of major shapes and not details.”
Following this, Chiang demonstrates how to apply tools
and techniques through a set of involved tutorials. Each
specific example comes with step-by-step annotations and
colour thumbnails, making for a logical learning experience.
ALL-
INCLUSIVE:
From basic line
sketches to
These include some unique concepts, such as the Steambot
realising paint
and Labor Beast, which really get the imagination racing. application, this
Annotations are informative yet formal, so even the most covers it all
enthusiastic creative can follow these with ease. Photoshop
users will also find these straightforward and effective. Summary: This straightforward yet
ultimately educational book offers
An avid Photoshop user in his creative process, Chiang
more intimate than innovative teaching.
explains how each tutorial utilises the software, including
This makes it a focused and inventive
specific brush types, weights and colours, layer structures and title, which is sure to evolve your
blend mode utility. Again, this is presented in an informative, creative approach.
visual manner easy to digest, and it will ultimately improve Rating: 3/5
your digital application as well as your conceptual skills.
Charlotte Raphael, design chief for Marks & Spencer, and the
team at design consultancy IDEO.
From here on, this title acts as an encyclopaedia of the
most modern innovative samples in the packaging arena.
Each set of examples is precisely located within the nine
categories, including Beverages, Food and Luxury. The
products displayed in each section are lavish in colour, form
and function, and really give a sense of tangibility coupled
with the aesthetic page layouts to really inspire creativity.
Contemporary design is the name
of the game, with samples including
eye-catching package icons from the HARDCOVER: Edited by
likes of Apple iPhone, Coca Cola, De Gisela Kozak, consultant and
lecturer in design, and Julius
Beers diamonds and Calvin Klein. We Wiedemann, previously an art
particularly enjoyed the editor for digital and design
Miscellaneous section, presenting magazines, now building
Taschen’s digital and media
some fresh solutions from Heal’s, Pug book collections
and Tátil Design. All examples come
clearly annotated, letting you source design teams and
studios and see which materials were used in each product. Summary: Although it’s not strictly
edifying as you won’t learn any strict
There’s even an A-Z of technical terms at the back of the
methods, Package Design Now is a fine
book, provided by SiebertHead, so all terminology is
addition to your creative resources. It
comprehensible. This makes Package Design Now a resource certainly gets the creative juices flowing
of functional, innovative, elegant and eye-catching product and promotes inventive and lucid ideas.
types that will surely instigate creative ideas for whoever Rating: 4/5
chooses to purchase it.
17/9/08 18:23:35

Digital Fashion Illustration with Photoshop and Illustrator
Give the world of fashion a digital makeover with Batsford’s new title
Author/Publisher: Batsford Books
Web: www.anovabooks.com
Price: £18.99 (approximately $33)
About: Step-by-step commercial practices
Attractive contemporary styles
Full-colour inspirational artistic samples
Covers core approaches, including colour,
mixed media and photography
F ashion illustration is one of the art arena’s most valued
creative genres and this book provides a resource that
will help you grasp both its constructive and inventive
value. Just flicking through its pages, laden with colour, form
and ultimately fashion, Digital Fashion Illustration with Photoshop
and Illustrator is an exciting title that will not fail to inspire.
This book is essentially aimed at the digital designer, so
Photoshop artists and also those utilising the popular Adobe
Illustrator software will get to grips instantly with Digital
Fashion Illustration. It leaves no digital stone unturned. This
focus alone sets it apart as one of the most contemporary
types within the editorial market.
Digestible through seven creatively concerned chapters,
this book addresses all the essential stages of production.
Initially, chapters encourage traditional application and reveal
how you can retouch this using your digital software. Best
practices are related, demonstrating the correct application
Photoshop CS3 Accelerated
Another proven learn-by-doing title from O’Reilly that makes Photoshop so easy
Author/Publisher: O’Reilly
Web: www.oreilly.com
Price: £15.50/$25
About: Digestible step-by-step instructions
Explanations of vital concepts, functions
and terminology
CD full of source files
Ten chapters of practical tutorials
Full-colour, crisp screenshots
M any of you will have a good grasp of your particular
versions of Photoshop. However, there are a fair few
creatives still to adopt version CS3 in their design projects, and
Photoshop CS3 Accelerated is a title designed to allow you to do
so with minimal fuss.
This title is said to target the whole spectrum of creative
capacity, from professional to hobbyist, and is designed to
get you up and running swiftly. Like all other O’Reilly titles, it
does this in a practical and unpatronising fashion, letting
your own enthusiasm for creation let you evolve, promoted
through the title’s range of easy-to-follow exercises.
All Photoshop tools and functions are dissected and
presented in bite-size fashion, so you will grasp best
093_AVP_49_Resources.indd 93
resources
of functions like brush tools, INSPIRING RESOURCE:
layering effects and specific This is surely an essential
title for students and
Photoshop filters. enthusiasts looking to make
Of course, as you progress headway in the developing
through Digital Fashion digital fashion arena
Illustration, practices become
more involved, with chapters
providing tutorials for you to
practically apply your skills and
evolve your creativity. Some
interesting examples include basic
digital colouring, photographic
illustrations with Live Trace and
vector tracing with the Pen tool, all
as entertaining as they are educational.
All examples come equipped with full-colour thumbnails
to walk you through processes easily. However, this title has
the potential to put aside its narrative and inspire through
pure aesthetics, with wonderful artwork supplied by some of
the industry’s finest contemporary contributors. This list
Summary: The book’s overall aesthetic
includes commercial designer Neil Duerden, editorial artist
appeal is matched by its easily digestible
Maren Esdar and mixed-media artist Mia Overgaard. and highly enjoyable creative tutorials,
Kevin Tallon, fashion designer, trend consultant and teacher making this an influential resource for
at the world-famous Central Saint Martins College, presents any interested artist.
this title with good authority, and so you should be Rating: 5/5
unsurprised with the vision of the creative stimulation.
practices and familiarise yourself with everything thoroughly.
From understanding the basics such as palettes and tool
bars, through to diverse applications like the numerous
functions of filter effects, it’s all here.
This title matches previous precedents in striving to make
the edifying experience all-inclusive and as cohesive as
possible with its accompanying source file CD. This contains
resources that are ordered by chapter and easily
distinguishable. Every example comes equipped with full-
colour, crisp screenshots that make learning all the more
comprehensible. You’ll also be entertained with some
tutorials of the frivolous variety, including applying texture to
3D text, applying colour to black-and-white imagery and
simulated lighting effects using Paths.
However, some readers of the book might find that a few MEANS TO A QUALITY END: This title provides
the means to integrate techniques that will pull
minor reservations crop up. Photoshop CS3 Accelerated will together your creative knowledge, benefiting your
undoubtedly be extremely beneficial for anyone unfamiliar artistic application
with Photoshop, yet those ‘professionals’ working with
Summary: A comprehensive title that will
previous CS versions will find the learning experience
stimulate and evolve the skills of the
minimal as most practices will be mastered. Also, the title’s enthusiastic digital artist, yet may draw a
aesthetic approach seems to leave a familiar taste from earlier blank with more advanced creatives.
Accelerated titles. However, as the old saying goes, ‘If it’s not Rating: 3/5
broken, don’t fix it’.
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