Project files, desktop

designs, stock art…

ISSUE 35

GRAND
3D in Photoshop | Dynamic Brushes | Grand Designs | How I started out | Interview: Yoshi Tajima

EE
FR
O F
IONAL
ESSIDEO N
PR CS3 V ALS O
DESIGNS
How Photoshop is used to
T ORI CD create elaborate architectural
TU THE plans and mock-ups

USING 3D IN
HOW TO…
Draw accurate portraits
Make images out of type
Master advanced colour tools
PHOTOSHOP
Incorporate fully editable 3D content
Speed up your work with layers into your artwork with PS Extended

5-PAGE WORKSHOP

DYNAMIC
BRUSHES Get inventive with your own custom brush
presets and paint realistic details the easy way

SHAREYOUR
ARTWORK NOW
VISIT OURWEBSITE AT
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

ISSUE 35
ISSN 1748-7277 £5.99
35

9 771748 727009

HOW I STARTED OUT... pages of professional

Valuable professional tips from the tips & essential step-
35
UE

hottest Photoshop talent around by-step tutorials

ISS

001_AVP34_Cover Sucre d'orge.ind1 1 21/8/07 16:26:41

 Cover

Cover image
This beautiful image, entitled ‘Sucre D’Orge’, was
created by French digital artist, Mélanie Delon,
whose Insight portfolio is featured on page 18. Imageer:
Mélanie’s usual process for creating her images is to MÉLANIE DELON
draft a basic sketch in Painter to find her colours and
composition, and then perfect the image in
Photoshop by applying textures and details.
MÉLANIE TENDS TO
/ www.eskarina-circus.com APPLY HER TEXTURES AND
DETAILS IN PHOTOSHOP
Represented by Norma Editorial

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

ARTSingapore 2007
If you’re planning to go off on your summer holidays, then why not
globe trot to sunny Singapore. From 4–8 October 2007, Southeast
Asia’s biggest contemporary arts fair is back in town. ARTSingapore
just keeps getting bigger and better every year, with this year’s show
occupying a staggering 5,000 square metres at Level Four, Hall 404 in
Sutec, and featuring artwork from 86 galleries from 14 countries.
Supplying regions such as Australia, India, Korea, Taiwan and, of
course, Singapore, it’s sure to provide an impressive display of art that’s
worth over $20 million. Classic work along with newly launched pieces
by up and coming artists will be on show to all visitors. Contributors
include Andy Warhol, Arie Smit, Zheng Delong and Fernando Botero.
ARTSingapore also serves as a networking platform where gallery
owners, collectors and artists alike can forge business alliances, acquire
new artwork and even share ideas and information.
ARTSingapore is, however, more than an ordinary arts fair, as it will
also be hosting an array of talks by leading industry experts, providing
F&S.II.98,
II.98.tif – Andy Warhol, Mao
art enthusiasts with more opportunities to network with one another. ANDY WARHOL - Mao F&S. cm (Edit ion 196/250 – Gallery
er, 91.4 x 91.4
Topics covered include how to invest in art and the trends to look out for, 1972, Screenprint on pap
Korea
Representing: Leehyun Gallery,
as well as dialogues with prominent artists and art collectors. These will
allow visitors to gain an insight into the art industry, as well as fine-tune their own collections and investment strategies.
Chen Shen Po, organizer of ARTSingapore 2007 explains: “Through ARTSingapore 2007 we aim to boost the visual arts market in
the region with our optimal combination of the best modern art and exciting new talents from galleries and collectors all over Asia,
as well as the rest of the world.” It looks like it’s going to be a must-see event if you are lucky enough to be in the area.

www.artsingapore.net

ZHOU CHUNYA, Peachblossom, 2007,

oil on canvas, 250 x
200cm – Gallery Represented: Aura Galle
ry, China

ZENG FANZHI, Andy Warhol, 2005,

oil on canvas, 130 x 130cm – Gallery
Represented: Jasmine Fine Arts,
Singapore

oil
ZHANG XIAOGANG, Big Family, 1996,
on canvas, 110 x 130cm – Gallery
pore
represented: Jasmine Fine Arts, Singa

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 10.07
HOT
or
NOT
HOT
PUNKS THE COMIC
SUMMER SPECIAL
Dates: Hits the shelf 29 August
www.punksthecomic.com
This quirky read will please quite a
few comic fans. With a cool, grungy
look that complements its surreal
SOON TO EXPAND: ClickforArt.com will be adding a continental persona, it’s set to be an independent
Join the revolution flavour to their site and we’ll see more great artists joining the line up
with more fabulous art to splash on your walls. You could be one of them
comic smash – but be quick, stock
is limited.
ClickforArt.com has officially launched and they’re
here with a mission to redecorate the walls of the
world. This June at the Grand Designs Live Exhibition
ARTCAR FEST
saw the official launch of the site and what a Dates: 27 – 30 September
beginning it was. With a refreshing blend of styles for www.artcarfest.com
your home and work place, ClickforArt.com This west coast extravaganza offers
demonstrated that at last there really is a choice for the some of the funkiest car designs
modern art consumer. With plans to revolutionise the around. From spray jobs to unusual
bodywork modifications, the
public idea of art and try to put ‘real art’ into our lives,
creativity knows no bounds.
it offers many an incentive to see this plan through.
One of the main joys of ClickforArt.com is the
choice you are given; you can select the size and PEE & POO ® SHOP
format of the image you like. There are all the current Favourite product: Delightful briefs
favourites available from the big-boxed canvasses to selection £3.44 ($7)
the chunky contemporary frames and the fancy, http://shop.kissochbajs.com
ornate borders (all come in four colours). The real No one should pooh-pooh these
selling point, however, is the opportunity to buy and delightful little characters. Available
sell artwork. You can find work for extremely at such low prices and there are great
competitive prices, ranging from £80 to £500, for summer special offers.
works from established and pioneering artists alike. A
few popular names you might like to purchase include
digital artist Nik Ainley and leading street artist, Dist.
The styles are extremely varied, having simple,
NOT
unquestionable talent in common.
So how do you get a slice of the pie? Well, ClickforArt
BOYFRIEND PILLOW
Price: $19.98 (£9.80)
is always on the look out for new talent. Artists just
www.bizrate.com
need to get in touch at info@clickforart.com or 0800
We’re not sure if this is sweet or
023 2948. End products allow artists’ work to be slightly tragic, but it is definitely
viewed, purchased and cherished in formats that will unnerving. On the bright side, it
do them justice, and it’s so easy and affordable for doesn’t snore, fart or hog the duvet!
the consumer.

JOIN THE CREW: For those interested in the excitement ClickforArt

WEBSERVER FROG
www.clickforart.com www.conceptlab.com/frog/
has provoked, why not get involved and submit your work? Who
knows, you may just make it in time to exhibit in their October (5–7) Has the world of conceptual art gone
event at the NEC, Birmingham barking mad? Science, art or just
plain gross? We’ll let you decide!

11
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 insight
Hazel keeps your house in order
Are you one of those digital doers who suffers from a features, including Spotlight
cluttered desktop? Fed up with having to waste countless Integration, so rules can filter on any

DIARY
hours and minutes arranging and ordering your files? Well,
we might just have the product to solve all your problems.
Noodlesoft is proud to present Hazel 2, which helps users
create powerful workflows that organize your files for you.
Metadata in the system. The new
App Sweep feature is distinctly
useful, allowing Hazel to watch for
thrown away applications and giving

DATES
That’s right, you don’t have to do a thing. users the option to throw away its
Simply create rules to rename files or sort them into support files. Also provided is Growl
subfolders, based upon any known file attribute. support, which means users can receive notifications on
Noodlesoft has added a multitude of new and improved their own desktop. A new Menu Bar icon and preview
features have been thrown in for good measure, too.
With options to manage your Trash Folder, Hazel 2
NICHOLAS HUGHES IN acts as a powerful and organised housekeeper for your
DARKNESS VISIBLE folders and files. This piece of intuitive software is
13 September – 11 November immediately available for download, for Mac OS X
The Photographers Gallery, Newport platform, and features the standard free trial. With a
Street, London UK retail price of just $21.95/£10.77 it’s a real bargain and
can be purchased directly from Noodlesoft at www.
noodlesoft.com. Hazel 2 is a free upgrade for existing
THE LONDON users already registered with Noodlesoft.
DESIGN FESTIVAL
Until 25 September
www.noodlesoft.com
London UK,
www.londondesignfestival.com

FRIEZE ART FAIR

11 -14 October
Regents Park, London UK
Hidden and Unfamiliar
Taryn Simon is classed as one of America’s new talented and medicine, to entertainment, nature and religion. Shot
with a large-format view camera whenever possible, her
PROVOKING MAGIC: young-generation of photographers. So what better place
to exhibit her works than at The Photographers’ Gallery, ethereal yet foreboding compositions are as diverse as her
LIGHTING OF INGO London, where commitment to showcasing new talent subject matter.
MAURER and highlighting the best of international photographic The project displays Taryn Simon’s ability to assume
14 September – 27 Jan 2008 practice to UK audiences is principal. dual roles as shrewd informant and collector of curiosities,
Cooper-Hewitt National Design For all those unfamiliar with Simon’s work, she has compiling an inventory of what lies inaccessible, hidden
Museum, New York US been involved with influential projects like The and out-of-view within the borders of the United States.
Innocents, which documented cases of wrongful The images on show not only transform the unknown into
10TH ANNUAL conviction in the United States, investigating a seductive and comprehensible form, confronting the
divide between those with and without privilege of access,
SACRAMENTO ARTS photography’s role in the process.
but also capture visions of the unseen and frequently
FESTIVAL An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar
exhibition, collaborating with the Museum für Moderne strange magic at the foundation of a nation’s identity.
October 5 - 7 Kunst, Frankfurt/Main, will be the main attraction this This unusual exhibition runs from 13 September to 11
Sacramento Convention Center, November, so there will be more than enough time to visit
autumn and a no doubt a must-see. The exhibition
California, US The Photographers’ Gallery.
examines a culture through the careful documentation
of diverse subjects, which range from science, politics
www.photonet.org.uk
White Tiger (Kenny), Selective
Inbreeding, Turpentine Creek
Wildlife Refuge and
Foundation, Eureka Springs,
Arkansas © 2007 Taryn Simon/
Courtesy Steidl/Gagosian

Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and

Storage Facility, Cherenkov
Radiation, Hanford Site, US
Department of
Energy, Southeastern
Washington State Arkansas
© 2007 Taryn Simon/Courtesy
Steidl/Gagosian

12
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 Letters
Mailbox
Do you have a question, rant or rave about the
magazine? Email your thoughts to
advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk
or visit www.advancedphotoshop/forum
SUBJECT: Mag PDFs
FROM: Samer Sayef
I am very glad to find a magazine that cares
about Adobe Photoshop news and designers.
Sadly, your magazine is not available in Syria. Is
there any way I can get hold of back issues on
the internet as a PDF file?
Editor replies: You’re in luck! It’s taken a while,
but the Advanced Photoshop eMag is almost
here. The new eMag format, which has been
successfully tried and tested on our sister
magazine, Photoshop Creative, contains a
staggering amount of pages of Adobe
Photoshop tutorials and projects from a
selection of back issues. All articles are faithfully
reproduced and can be viewed at any size.
Individual articles or an entire database of
images can be located using the easy Quick
“IT’S TAKEN A WHILE, BUT THE
ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP EMAG
IS ALMOST HERE”
16
Advanced Photoshop
016-017_AVP_35_Letters.indd 16
Search tabs, so you can find the tutorial or
feature you’re looking for at the drop of a
hat. To be one of the first to hear about the
release of the new eMag, keep an eye
on www.imagineshop.co.uk.
SUBJECT: Problems with Vue
FROM: C.D Short
I am just catching up with issue 32 of Advanced
Photoshop and failed to download Vue 6 as
instructed. I copied and pasted http://ple.e-
onsoftware.com/Vue6PLEWin.zip but I have
had no success in downloading. Can you
please help?
FROM: Julia D Gray
Congratulations on a brilliant magazine. I have
just been trying to download the Vue 6 PLE as
VUE: For advice on downloading Vue6 PLE we
recommend that you visit e-on software’s online
technical support
recommended in your article on page 15, issue
32, but encountered some problems. Have you
heard from other would-be users who have had
similar problems to myself? It’s just impossible
to open! Would be a wonderful offer if I could
get to use it!
Editor replies: We have had several emails
regarding this matter, most appearing to be
from PC users. Unfortunately, we’re in no way
affiliated with Vue 6 and, as this was featured
as a news story, I’m afraid we can’t offer any
technical advice on downloading. e-on
software offers online technical support. In
order to access this visit www.e-onsoftware.
com/support/TechSupport.
SUBJECT: Lost disc
FROM: Ralitza Soutanova
I’ve just bought issue 32 of Advanced Photoshop,
but it is unfortunately missing the disc. I
returned the magazine to the shop but all their
stock was discless. Is it possible to obtain a
spare disc?
Editor replies: Unfortunately we are unable to
provide spare discs for our magazines. We
recommend that you check the inside back
cover before purchasing to ensure that the disc
has not been taken out. Should you find that
your disc is missing, we advise you to return the
22/8/07 16:58:31
 SUBSCRIPTIONS: Need some inspiration for your Photoshop art? A subscription to Advanced Photoshop
will ensure you always get fresh and creative ideas delivered straight to your door
magazine to your newsagent/bookseller, who
should offer an exchange or a full refund.
SUBJECT: Subscription
FROM: Enric Batista
After much consideration, I’ve decided to
subscribe to Advanced Photoshop magazine. The
issues I have read in the past gave me
such an inspiration that I think I will get my
money’s worth!
I realise that I’m just a rookie when it comes
to creating digital art, but there’s no doubt the
magazine will motivate me to develop myself
and create art that, at the very least, will satisfy
me (and hopefully others too). So I’ll soon be
visiting the online shop.
Editor replies: We’re glad to hear it, Enric. We
constantly strive to find a good balance
between inspirational and technical content.
Let us know your views on the magazine once
you’ve digested a few!
SUBJECT: Photoshop fun
FROM: Paul Harding
I was recently browsing through my collection
of Advanced Photoshop back issues and
happened to come across a few Head to Head
challenges and Photoshop Relays. These
016-017_AVP_35_Letters.indd 17
were good fun to read and a little bit different
to the usual tutorials, but they haven’t made
an appearance for a while. Do you think
this is something you might do again in the
near future? I’d love to be a part of one of
these features.
Editor replies: Thanks for your email Paul. Don’t
fret, we haven’t dropped the idea of a Head to
Head or Photoshop Relay, and we will be
including these and other challenge concepts
again in the near future.
SUBJECT: Evolution
FROM: Toni Yard
Just thought I’d drop you a line to say how much
more I like the in-depth reviews over the older
style Resources pages. Although the old
Resources were good for a quick look through, I
was starting to find them a little repetitive and
there wasn’t much room for information. I do
hope you continue to keep featuring a variety of
different reviews and don’t favour exclusive pro
kit that might be too expensive for the majority
of us readers.
Editor replies: We thought it was time for a little
change here. Rest assured, we will do our best
to feature a mixed bag of reviews.
On the
forum
SUBJECT: Jobs
FROM: Ferinus
I’m starting my final year at uni (BSc Media
Production and I might continue with a
Masters in Journalism) and the part of my
degree I’ve enjoyed most is my Photoshop
work. I was wondering if you guys could
suggest any jobs based on image
manipulation (rather than art/drawing) in
the media. There is the obvious work such
as doing photo touch-ups for magazines,
but I’m just hungry for any additional
information you can give me.
FROM: Cake
I know around these parts there are quite a
few marketing companies who require in-
house designers. I think they pay pretty
well too.
FROM: Revjessecuster
Cake – any chance you know where these
jobs are advertised?
FROM: Downie:
Photoshopping can pop up in many jobs. I
have found my Photoshop skills, if you can
call them skills, to be very useful in my job
as a filmmaker. When creating opening
credits and graphics, I can do it myself
rather than hiring someone to do it for me.
Also, when someone in my office needs a
poster or logo for something, I can hop
onto Photoshop and whip something up.
Recently, my office has employed another
media worker to work on photography
projects where I can pass on my skills in a
peer-led way to improve photos. She also
gives me hints on Photoshop skills she has
picked up.
So all in all, Photoshopping is not a
requirement for my job title, but I still
manage to use it in a lot of my work.
FROM: Cake
I think the best place to look for design
work and actually find some good jobs is
the Guardian online jobs board (www.
guardian.co.uk). The advanced search is
pretty good for searching specific areas of
the UK.
17
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22/8/07 16:58:43
 insight
ELIXIR: “I wanted
to create something
almost perfect
technically. The
blending part was
the most important
and difficult to do.
I’ve created a lot of
new skin brushes
for that particular
part”

NT TO PLAY
DO YOU WA e
IT H M E? : “Probably on
W .I
my fa vo ur ite paintings
of n painting
had a lot of fu of detail
a lot
her. There is
in that piece”

n
Insight: Mélanie Delo Mé lan
aight into digital pa
ie Delon jumped str never looked back. Always with a
inting while
French dig ital art ist
o and has digital
ool three years ag to put her hand to
studying at a 3D sch , mo stl y on paper, she decided
wi ng
keen interest in dra history. ite
rest, as they say, is re fruitless, not qu
application and the her two years spent at this school we tly becoming an
fou nd tha t 05 , ins tan
Mélanie otoshop in 20 ky
t she discovered Ph did find her first digital steps a bit tric
being her thing, ye y sel f-t au gh t, she e fou nd my ma rks,
Mo stl rk I’v
enthusiastic user. tience, time and wo
“But with a little pa
without guidance: sh e say s. llins and Jon
ted to it,” sources. Craig Mu
and now I’m addic fro m a variety of capable itio n and
es ran ge co mp os
Her influenc for their sense of sters
ste r, am on g oth ers, are mentioned lds a sp ec ial pre ference for old ma
Fo ad mi ts tha t sh e ho mi x of fan tas y and
technique. But Me
lanie
he r sty le, wh ich she describes as “a an d the y
ation for cal painters
as a source of inspir e the pre-Raphaelite and neo-classi s, sad ones most
ing . I lov pa int ing
classical paint telling stories in my
certain way. I love hunt ”.
influence me in a bols like a treasure le
tim e, hid ing litt le de tai ls or sym
n he r ap pli ca tio n: “I usually do a litt
of the en t is reflected withi n I switch on
ric ate tre atm mp os itio n, the
This int s and the co otoshop is
just to find my color ture and detail. Ph
sketch on Painter, the ref ining, applying the tex us ua lly aro und
I’ll do siz e,
Photoshop where litt le de tai ls. I wo rk on a big canvas
rk
really the best to wo a Wacom Intuos3.
”
house:
pi, with, of course, French publishing
4,000px with 300d commission was unpaid for a small xio us ab out not
t-e ve r I wa s so an
Mélanie’s firs my home page. s really
mail with a link to t I made it and I wa
“I just sent them a in tim e; the de adline was short, bu do wn the lin e,
finishing the paint
ing r client. A few years
th the res ult .” Sa fe to say, so was he er ed ito ria l co mm issions, featuring
happy wi acquired oth started
ums, Mélanie has e has just recently
lurking the CG for as Ex po se 4 and Exotique2. Sh ve mb er: “It ’s a
ok s s No
in such ballistic bo ok , pu bli sh ed by Norma Editorial thi t oth er pro jects: a
bo o go
work on her first art I can’t wait to see it finished! I’ve als ng to se e a lot
wonderful project
and ver.” We are expecti
on dig ita l pa int ing and a comic co
tutorial book
near future.
more from her in the us.com
/ ww w. es ka rin a-c irc
lt part was the
“Here the most difficu bably spent more
SUCRE D’ORGE: t tex ture. I’ve pro
to cre ate tha
candy - how the painting”
than on the rest of
time on that thing

18
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 10.07

BRUME: “I tried something

LYA: “There are a lot of
EN SILENCE: “I ma different with the light and
de it for a daily symbols used within
sketch forum as CG composition, something
talk, so it’s kind this composition, a lot
of a speed painting almost unreal, because she’s
. I lov of contrast. The piece is
of beauty; she’s a mo e this kind the keeper of the land of
split into two parts, one
nster, but dreams”
you’re not afraid of in the light and the
her”
other in darkness”

19
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018-019_AVP35_Insight.indd 19 23/8/07 14:26:51

 insight
TONY AND PAUL: “For dramatic lighting, I
kept the colour palette monochromatic, using
Insight: Patri Balanovsky
only purples and blues, with just one light source
As a youngster, Patri was hooked on games but, importantly, he wasn’t into playing
focusing the composition on the characters. For
the carpet I created a textured pattern and them; instead, he just looked at them. “I never played with any of them, I just
added grain to the whole piece” studied the visuals while my little brother was breaking the high scores,” he tells us.
Spellbound by Adobe Photoshop 4.0 when he was 17 years old, Patri was attracted
by the “simplicity and overwhelming amount of possibilities the software had to
offer”. As time went by, Patri kept exploring Photoshop, advancing his skills and
knowledge of the software and progressed to using a Wacom tablet to create
illustrations directly on-screen.
Patri’s first commission came at a local comics and animation convention, when
he was asked to illustrate a children’s book. “It was some sort of ‘fairy-tale
encyclopaedia’,” explains Patri. “I agreed, of course. In the end, it wasn’t a big
success, but I got paid rather well for it.”
With favourite fellow digital artists that include Jon Foster, Matt Dixon, Niklas
Jansson, Andrew Hou and Todd Lockwood, Patri uses his knowledge and training in
the traditional art forms and applies it to his digital work. “I use a versatile range of
brushes in Photoshop (most of them made by me, through a trial and error process)
to sketch, arrange, compose and paint my illustrations. Photoshop allows me to
work quickly and efficiently, from the thumbnail stages, through sketching and
composition explorations, colour studies and up to the final full-blown artwork.”
Patri is currently working on a feature film at an Israeli studio. It will be the first full
feature 3D animated movie ever produced in Israel. “I’m the main concept artist
there, and most of the design work will be my responsibility,” says Patri. “I will also
be doing some interior illustrations and design work for an RPG book, which will
hopefully be out in 2008.”
/ www.chuckmate.blogspot.com

ing a single
was done us
D G IR L: “This piece avily for a more
WIL ed he pt
h, referenc ing were ke
round brus The colours and light the
is tic lo ok . to ad d to
real sted
ghly contra
dark and hi osphere”
am at ic at m
dr

CROC: “I was trying to steer clear of the usual ‘bloodthirsty ferocious beast’ concept,
and went for a naïve, sweet attitude for this fellow. I used different types of brushes to
create the textures, light and shade, and mood”

20
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 10.07

PUMPKIN GEORGE: “Using a limited colour palette of purples for

most of the piece gave the oranges and reds of the pumpkin head their
radiance and the focus I was after. I painted it all with oil painting-like
brushes I have made, for a more unrefined look”

HEAVY GUNN
ER: “Trying to ac
menacing, yet hieve a
somewhat goofy
cartoon-like wa -looking and
r machine, I ga
rancid muddy co ve the whole pie
lou ce
child-like and sim rs, while keeping the design
ple. I used some
on the backgrou texture brushes
nd, armour and
gun”

d in the
K: “I painte
R C V S C YBERPUN xtured square
O te
ters with a interly
two charac to give a very rough pa
br us h, tr yi ng th of th em
, keeping bo
feel to them yet not moving. I used
an d , in
dy na m ic, background
ve ra l te xt ures for the tions”
se na
ring combi
several laye

TRIBUTE TO GLEN ANGUS: “I used a custom brush I

made for the clouds and another texture brush for the
bomb. I tried to give the whole painting an apocalyptic
look, with dramatic lighting and warm colours”

21
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020-021_AVP35_Insight.indd 21 22/8/07 17:00:39

 insight GEISHA: “Produced for Jane Doe Latex
hers, illustrating latex requires creating
, based on a clothing design of
very sharp highlights. I was able
and smearing in the gradients
to do this by painting in the highlights
using a rough smearing brush”

SC ARECROW: “So
metimes I enjoy the
roughly inked illustra look
tion; it seemed fitting of a
particular piece so for this
with the scarecrow
behind the unaltere , I coloured in
d ink lines”
OC_STUNTKID: “Produc
ed for OC
Weekly (out of California),
this
illustration needed to be
completed in
under a week. Luckily, I was in a separate
able to posed the jellyfish
piece together a lot of the JELLY SPIT: “I com ug ht the m in one at a
textures and then bro
fills from previous works” Photoshop file and mo stly cre ate d by using
n was
time. This illustratio as an d the n airbrush in
sk off are
the Pen Tool to ma spr ay pa int -ty pe brush”
tom
the colour with a cus

22
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022-023_AVP35_Insight.indd 22 22/8/07 17:01:53

 Insight: Jason Levesque: Stuntkid
ts and I be lie ve th at is
oshop ha
n Levesque, th
true,” says Jaso s seen to
e
10.07
ildren are artis Advanced Phot ded up
“They say all ch the most lavish ‘pin-up’ art ar t scho ol but never en
creator of so m e of
n dr ea m t of go in g to
ls in m ag az ines and
te . Fr om an early age, Jaso up hi nt s an d tips from tutoria y was important
da ed da
Instead, he pick d error. “Doing web design by Photoshop and
getting there. st fro m trial an in ue learning
e re co nt row.
online, an d th a lot of tim e to ractive (thisisg
ent. It gave me ed at Grow Inte
to my developm design. I’m currently employ design and illustration skills
e of my
develop a sens rtunity to hone stration on the side.”
gi ve s me the oppo ce illu ner,
com ), w hi ch ing fre el an ine, Web Desig
, while still pursu came from our sister magaz ntinued to
round the clock us com m issio n fo r m e an d I co
g break vers.
Jason’s first serio oshop colouring. “It was a bi w magazine co
r a tu to ria l on Phot up le of ye ar s, including a fe d. In the case of
fo xt co licite
them for the ne commissioned work is unso yal magazine.”
get work from per cent of my w with The Ro
t 90 rv ie ost
It seem s ab ou d seen m y in te s images and m
agazine, they ha es to creating hi ch from these
Web Designer m ured technique when it com “I sk et
otography.
Jason has a favo ferences, using his own ph hop, I’ll often ha
ve
t of f w ith ph oto re em . On ce th ey’re in Photos s lin e ar t to
star an th ng hi
per and then sc the scan.” Setti th
photos onto pa my pencil lines and clean up do all his colouring undernea
to retrace so m e of
n th en pr oc ee ds to
he us es to gi ve his
ng mode, Jaso the years th at n’t
Multiply blendi d a lot of custom brushes over ushes,” says Jason. “If you do
he ha s cr ea te e yo ur ow n br nt ly w or king on
and mak rre
’s pretty easy to to it.” Jason is cu well
work texture. “It you should definitely look in lly be out in the autumn as
it, pefu
know how to do , Pretty Gross, which will ho
book
his second art Do e La te x.
project for Jane
as a Paper Doll
id.com
/ ww w .st un tk Slayer: “This illustration
is a pretty liter
al reference to a
previous photoshoot. Her
e, I used a large scratchy
produce the scrapes in the brush to
ice. To give the ice depth
distorted the brush area I
using perspective”

rdomm: “This
illustration portrays Rachel
Domm, an illustrator from
New York. We were both
challenged to draw each
other for the recently
published art book Two
Faced. Again, you can
see my liberal use of a
texture overlay”

Sk ater: “This im
age
was created for the
cover of Web Desig
ner
magazine. With a
tight
deadline and no
available male mo
dels,
I based this illustra
tion
off of self portraits.
We
went through severa
l
rounds of changes,
tweaking the expres
sion
and clothing”

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 Letters

On the Web
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
Our new website and readers’ forum is perfect
for showing off your Photoshop creations. We
present the best images on the site this month.
Log on to get your images here next issue!
QUAKER STATE BARN
ARTIST: Mike Campau

Readers’ Challenge
EMAIL: creative@seventhst.com
WEB: www.seventhstreetstudio.com
“We worked with Doner Detroit and Digital
Image Studios (www.dimage.com) to create
THE RESULTS –AUGUST
this highly stylised ad for Quaker State. We
composited the CG barn (rendered by DIS) Due to popular demand, you can now take part in a monthly
with a background and foreground we online readers’ challenge. Take a trip to our forum website by
created using some reference photos and visiting www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum and scrolling
custom grass brushes. For the final touches, down to the Peer Pressure section. Keep an eye out for the
we added light rays and wind effects to give
most recently announced challenge. Readers are welcome to
a sense of something powerful in the barn.”
Agency: Doner Detroit, Client: Quaker State, AD:
post one Photoshop creation up in response to the theme and
Greg Sancricca, Retoucher: Mike Campau, CG: all visitors are invited to post their vote for the winning design
Digital Image Studios in our online poll. We’re pleased to announce the winner of
‘The Castle’ theme, Radu Jitea. Here’s a little bit about the
piece from Radu:
I AM SORRY “I am a 26-year-old graphic designer wannabe living in
ARTIST: Peter Wilson Dublin, Ireland. I was born in Transylvania, 30 minutes drive
EMAIL: petew232@hotmail.com from Bram Stoker’s famous castle. I always start with an image
WEB: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/user/petew232 that I have in mind, and one that has probably been chasing
http://petew232.deviantart.com me for quite some time. I love the feeling you get when you
“I tried to create a depressing atmosphere of complete a drawing and really enjoy spending time on details,
emotions shown from the characters in the
refining the work as much as possible. I like to receive
image. The woman is holding her daughter’s
constructive feedback and I’m always trying to see my own
shoulder as if to hold her back. The mother
has a drug problem that her daughter work through the viewer’s eyes. I love the freedom that digital
witnesses on a regular basis. The only face drawing and painting gives me and so far I can’t see any limits
in the image with a smile is the teddy bear, on the horizon.”
which is an object of comfort for her
daughter to hold on to. I created the whole
image using Photoshop and SXC stock
images. I used images taken with a digital
camera to add a real-life feel to the picture.”

IN THE SWIMMING POOL

ARTIST: Milos Milosevic
EMAIL: milosmmilosevic@hotmail.com
WEB: www.portfolios.com/milosmilos
“When I started creating this digital
painting, I had been occupied with
my exhibition on the theme of ‘Water
Hedonism’ (oils on canvas). I very
much like to paint people in water –
it’s my occupation!”

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 Inter
view
YOSHINOBU
‘YOSHI’ TAJIMA
In a land not so far away, works
an inspired artist. Yoshi Tajima is
an art director from Tokyo, doing
it his own way. Read on and
experience his enchanting tales
of London, fashion and fantasy

Y
oshinobu ‘Yoshi’ Tajima loves nothing
more than to spend his spare time
making collages and drawing, playing
with his computer software as if it were pen,
ink and glue itself. A self-styled art director
working out of the bustling metropolis that is BUTTERFLY GIRL (ABOVE): IDN MAGAZINE DESIGN FOREST GIRL (OPPOSITE):
Tokyo, it’s not surprising that Yoshi’s major Pencil, watercolour ink, Chinese ink, (BELOW): Illustrator Pencil, watercolour ink, Chinese ink,
Photoshop This is for IdN magazine, 15th Photoshop
interest lies within the realms of fantasy. Private work 2007 © – “This is an Anniversary special issue (Hong Private work 2007 © – “Originally, I
Far removed from the common worlds of imaginary book cover. The feathered Kong) 2007 – “I saw a girl just made a drawing face for the
metal monsters and science fiction, however, girl is one of my favourite images. I do dancing in a nightclub, though magazine NYLON Japan. I put her in a
not know why” she was not dressed like this. I forest and made a poetic look with
Yoshi’s chosen subject and conscious style often get ideas from nightclubs” magic beauty”
displays a more traditional and poignant
approach. He explains, “I just like drawing girls.
Certainly, I do not draw girls who are smiling and
have eloquent looks because what I draw is a
fantasy, like fairy tales. Characters’ feelings in fairy
tales are often described in a very stereotypical
way, such as ‘it was the saddest moment ever’ or
‘it was a great joy’. This, however, does not really
describe the character’s personal feeling; how
they felt the sadness or happiness. I think it is
because the fairy tale is a type of literature that
was generated spontaneously, as a collective
consciousness of people, not from individuals.
Ambiguity inspires your imagination more,
doesn’t it?”

Once upon a time

With this in mind and with the female as his
muse, it’s obvious that Yoshi’s almost esoteric
designs, with the profound nature of his models
and composition, has appealed to appreciative
creative masses. But where did Yoshi’s own story
begin? Everybody has a ‘once upon a time’

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 Yoshinobu
‘Yoshi’ Tajima

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 Inter
view

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moment and Yoshi’s started from a very young
age. Not completely familiar with the fairy tale
genre and not even the kind of child who liked
to draw frequently, he was fascinated by his
grandfather’s illustrations of animals and insects
and loved to watch him create applied pencil
drawings. This, however, was not the ultimate
catalyst that started Yoshi down his own creative
path to where he resides now.
He explains: “Having spent my early twenties
in London, I discovered my passion for art and
design.” In this time, he achieved a BA from the
commercial art department at the American
Intercontinental University: “It was only after that
I started to think more about my style.”
Yoshi admits that the various rich characters
and artistic friends he met in his own London
adventure, before his return to Tokyo, had an
immense impact on his appetite for art. “There is
one particular guy I remember. I used
to go to a nightclub every weekend and he was
always taking pictures of people dancing. We
got to know each other and I asked him why he
always shot people dancing. He said he found art
there.” Yoshi’s friend found his definition of art in
Gigolo girl (opposite): Pencil, watercolour
ink, Chinese ink, Photoshop
Client: International Deejay Gigolo Records (Germany)
2006© – “This is a reconstruction of Gigolo graphics. I
made many graphics for Gigolo’s website. Originally,
this was inspired by Ivan Smagghe’s mix CD album
‘Death Disco’”
026-031_AVP_35_Interview.indd 29
Yoshinobu
‘Yoshi’ Tajima
the euphoric dancer, and this evoked a wave of Josefina (ABOVE): Pencil, watercolour ink, Photoshop
creativity. Although not a professional, his Client: D-mode (Argentina) 2006 © – “I was invited for the magazine. This work
was collaborated with photographer Pablo Franco. I imagined a sexy hot
irresistible, compulsive and at times strange midsummer night”
need to shoot seemed to inspire Yoshi with
courage to follow his own artistic urges. Daydream (BELOW): Pencil, watercolour ink, Chinese ink, Photoshop
Private work 2007 © – “She is dazzling. Maybe she is in between a dream
Yoshi described how he found inspiration and awakening”
from more detached, exotic influences: “I
became conscious of fantasy by looking at many
fashion magazines when I shared a flat with a
hair stylist in London.” Although not studying nor
interested in the fashion and beauty industry,
Yoshi appreciated the photographic narrative of
the magazine images and the picturesque
female models that would become the focus of
his work. “Using those pictures (from fashion
magazines), I started making a collage book. I
think this was the awakening of my interest in
creating fantasy. I still enjoy making a collage
book in my spare time and often get ideas for my
illustrations from this.”
Through the looking glass
It is apparent that Yoshi’s impulsive style is
captivated by these stylistic effects, with an
amalgamation of influences from East to West
and across numerous genres. “I would say I am
challenging fantasy,” explains Yoshi. In fact, he is
no stranger to challenges, having already
travelled half way across the world to obtain his
qualifications and braving life in a foreign capital
city. He also loves nothing more than tackling
new ventures: “I like participating in new
29
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22/8/07 16:38:21
 Inter
view
6AM (ABOVE): projects because it brings fresh air,” he explains.
Pencil, watercolour
“Even if it means being taken out of my comfort
ink, Chinese ink,
Photoshop zone. I don’t see problems as problems; I try to
Client: THE enjoy them instead.”
CREATOR STUDIO
vol.9 (Spain) 2006 Despite describing his work as ‘challenging to
© – “ This issue fantasy’, he doesn’t think of it as strictly
asked artists to challenging the concepts of the fantasy genre: “I
draw HOURS. I was
asked to draw from just do what I want,” he says coolly. Yet how does
six to eight am” this affect his professional approach and his
relationship with his clientele? Yoshi answers,
“The gap between my thoughts and clients’
understanding does make me critical about
myself as a graphic designer. But I believe there is
always a point where the two can happily meet.
In the illustration field, I am not so self-critical.”
Working liberally within these projects, Yoshi
always sets out with an idea in mind, but it often
seems to change once he’s started. “I just let
myself go, like with l’ecriture automatique
(automatic writing), and enjoy mistakes and
accidents.”
Such a free attitude towards application is
something Yoshi considers important. It helps
FANTASY TO FASHION DRAWING LEFT: Watercolour ink, Illustrator, Photoshop
Private work 2007 © – “This is one of my recent works. I am trying to draw girls without using hand
drawing but using Illustrator. I want to bring my fantasy to a fashion drawing”
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Advanced Photoshop
026-031_AVP_35_Interview.indd 30
him to truly express himself as an individual,
which is certainly noticeable within his
lucid style.
Although familiar with digital application,
using it as an editing rather than whole creating
tool, Yoshi explains the importance of traditional
application within his composition: “I started to
focus on hand drawing more when I started
contributing to artworks for graphic books and
magazines outside Japan in 2004. By using a
computer, everyone can draw a perfect line and,
for a graphic designer, it makes work easy.
Drawing by hand, however, is always different.
Even a simple line is different. I feel more
freedom in hand drawing and emotions can
naturally flow out, too. I do not care whether I
can draw technically well or not. The most
important thing for me is to draw what I want.”
Living happily ever after
Yoshi’s method has been in constant flux since
his graduation, all those years ago. He explains: “I
started working as assistant designer of a music
22/8/07 16:38:34
 Yoshinobu
‘Yoshi’ Tajima
WILD STYLE: Pencil, watercolour ink, Photoshop
Private work © 2006 – “She’s longing to be a fashion model that is
tough and with a wild look. However, she’s still a young pretty girl”

CHEMICAL SWEET GIRL: Pencil, watercolour ink, Photoshop

Private work from 2006 © – “This was inspired by Black Strobe’s dark electro
house. This illustration will be sold as T-shirt 2008 from 2K by Gingham (US)”

magazine in Japan after graduating from
university. As I got used to DTP design, I began
working in a variety of fields, such as CD cover
and package design, book design and short
films for television.” He reflects for a moment. “My
design style changed when I started work as an
art director. Sometimes I felt jealous of
photographers, stylists and make up artists, of
their style, taking proper steps to meet the
situation.”
This renewed self-awareness inspired Yoshi to
become more involved in his own working
process and enjoy it more, changing his career
direction to what it is today. “I realised I was not
enjoying the process of design so far, because my
interest was in finished design. In order to enjoy
the process of work and visualise what I liked,
which was fantasy, I started doing private work.”
So, has Yoshi’s never-ending creative
independence paid off? Well, with such a passion
and imagination for all things design, the answer
is obvious. Setting out as a freelance graphic
designer, he soon founded RADIO, his design
office, in 1998. Working with international
clientele such as Toni & Guy Japan and BMG
International music publishing, he has gone from
strength to strength.
His recent projects have seen him work closer
to home, yet still be involved in the music
industry: “NICHIKA is a Japanese pop duo that
sounds like British rock meets melancholy mood.
I made a press kit – flyers, advertisements,
posters and CD covers. I participated in this
project as both a designer and an artist at the
same time. I think this artwork succeeded in
visualising NICHIKA’S world.”
Yoshi is also an esteemed member of Mirage,
a graphic art team, combining his talents with
fellow artists Toshifumi Tanabu and Takeshi
Yonemochi. Each member brings their own
graphic design skills to the table with the
creative motto, ‘being experimental’. The team,
founded in the autumn of 2006, are in pursuit of
graphic expression that can counter
commercialistic consumption. They are now
distributing a free poster project, Mirage A to Z,
in Tokyo, New York, London and Sydney. This
new venture attempts to evolve the potential
of graphics, through methods that incorporate
typography. Yoshi’s involvement with this art
movement appears to be an essential therapy for
such a free-minded, creative individual, as he
explains: “Experiments in Mirage release me
from clients’ work and are always like a breath
of fresh air.”
Whatever Yoshi ventures into next, if he keeps
evolving and enthusing like he has done so
many times before, we can expect to see much
more of his design. At the age of 37, his best
years are still ahead of him, and we’re certain
Yoshi’s journey is far from over. We have an
inkling that, with his fervour for art and
conviction to do it his own way at all costs
bringing him so much success in the past, he is
sure to have his very own fairy-tale ending. 5
www.radiographics.jp

EXPERIMENTS IN MIRAGE RELEASE ME FROM

CLIENTS’ WORK LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
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 MASTERCLASS

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 Incorporating 3D objects
with CS3 Extended
Ever wished you could incorporate fully editable 3D content into your 2D composites?
With Photoshop CS3 Extended, this dream is now a reality
P
hotoshop has long been regarded as the tool of
choice for 2D image editing, but with
Photoshop CS3 Extended, you also have the
ability to import 3D content. 3D object layers can now
coexist with 2D layers in the same document. You can
rotate, roll and slide objects in 3D space and have the
added flexibility of modifying their textures within
Photoshop in real-time. This is a welcome addition for
3D texture artists who constantly need to re-render in
3D applications to check results.
1 Background renders
Copy the 3D Masterclass folder to a convenient
location. We’ve supplied two Bryce renders. Open the
‘Underwater_render.jpg’ and the ‘Abovewater_render.tif.’
Shift-drag the Layer icon into your first file and name
the new layer ‘Abovewater’. Both files have the exact
pixel dimensions, so holding Shift while dragging will
pin-register your new layer.
4
Activate 3D mode
Look at the Layers palette and
you’ll see that on the ‘Ichthyosaur’ layer,
there’s a small Cube icon, which
indicates that it’s an editable 3D layer.
Double-click on the icon to activate 3D
mode and notice how your toolbar
changes, giving you options to scale,
rotate, position and render the model,
just as you would in any 3D program.
032-037_AVP35_3D Extended.indd 33
In this tutorial, you’ll create a Jurassic seascape
illustration from around 200 million years ago. We’ve
supplied two background renders and all the pre-posed,
3D reptilian creatures to get you started. You’ll be amazed
how easy it is to get 3D content into Photoshop that can be
incorporated into your everyday workflow. While you could
accomplish the same kind of object manipulation with a
dedicated 3D application, it would take a certain amount of
trial and error and long render times which makes
Photoshop’s new 3D capabilities more flexible to 2D artists.
2 Blend in
To render a single image from Bryce with such
extreme lighting contrasts would have been virtually
impossible, but combining two renders of the same
scene creates a convincing and interesting perspective.
Blend them together by adding a Layer mask to the
‘Abovewater’ layer and Shift-drag with the Linear
Gradient Tool. This will now be your working document
for this tutorial.
ON THE DISC
You can follow Mark’s tutorial through from start
to finish by using the source files found on the
CD. Special thanks go out to Benigno ‘Verus’
Fernández (www.turbosquid.com) and Scott
Ayers (www.morphography.uk.vu) for kindly
allowing us to use their dinosaur meshes.
OUR EXPERT Mark Mayers
Mark Mayers is a freelance Illustrator and designer, based in Cornwall.
Recently, he was awarded Designer of the Year by MetalFX
Technology. To see more of his work visit www.markmayers.co.uk
3 The third dimension
Opening a 3D object as a new document is
straightforward; go File>Open and navigate to ‘Ictiosaur.obj’
in the ‘3D_models’ folder. Photoshop correctly identifies the
OBJ file as an Alias/Wavefront file. Be patient; importing 3D
models with high polygon counts (this one has 21333)
means a little wait.
Photoshop prompts
you for the import
size; accept the
default settings of
1024 x 1024 pixels.
5 3D tools explained
With the default Edit the 3D Object icon (indicated
in red), you can view the tools available. ‘A’ returns the
object to its initial position, and you can also rotate (‘B’), roll
(‘C’), drag (‘D’), slide (‘E’) and scale (‘F’) it. ‘G’ has a pop-out
menu where you can manually enter coordinates, ‘H’ is a
pop-out view menu, ‘I’ deletes the current view, ‘J’ saves the
current view, and ‘K’ is a pop-out Lighting and Appearance
menu. ‘L’ is a pop-out cross section menu, ‘M’ shows
animation settings, ‘N’ cancels transformation, and ‘O’
commits the transformation. Toggle the 3D Object icon
and you’ll see Edit the 3D Camera options.
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 MASTERCLASS
6 A new dimension
Experiment with some of the 3D tools; it may
seem a little strange at first being able to edit a 3D
8 Overwriting rules
The really cool thing about editing 3D textures
this way is everything is stored within Photoshop itself.
object in a 2D environment, but if you’re experienced Say, for instance, you needed another ichthyosaur with
with dedicated 3D applications, such as Cinema 4D or the same modified texture; you would simply go
3D Studio, it will come as second nature. When you’ve Edit>3D Layers> Replace Textures. Doing this would
familiarised yourself with the tools, hit the Home overwrite the original texture supplied with the model,
button to return the model to its original position and so your next import would have the modified texture.
press Return to exit 3D mode.

7 Automatic updates
By double-clicking the ‘Ichthyosaur’ sub-layer, the
model’s texture will open as a child-document. To alter
the eye colour, hold Shift and draw a marquee with the
Elliptical Marquee Tool around the eye. Hit Apple/
Ctrl+U and enter +120 for Hue and +40 for Saturation.
Save and close. Now the texture is automatically
updated on the model!

9 3D transformations
Drag and drop the ‘Ichthyosaur’ document into your
working file as a new layer. Double-click on the Cube icon
and scale the object proportionately to 2.25 using the
pop-out menu and then use the other tools to position
the figure. Remember, if things go drastically wrong, you
can always hit the home button. Once you’re happy,
accept the transformations.

10 Let there be light

By clicking on the pop-out lighting and
appearance menu, you are presented with a choice of
lighting settings. We found Blue Lights best represented
an underwater look. Have a play around with some of
the other options. While some presets are a bit limiting,
a lot can be done with some simple colour
adjustments, as you’ll see later.
Bump
maps
As well as a texture sub-layer, the 3D models
also have a bump map. You may be wondering
what purpose it serves. Well, a bump map is a
greyscale version of the texture; the lighter
areas are rendered as raised portions of the

11
surface and darker areas are rendered as
Monster rising depressions. This bumping is sensitive to the
Another way to import 3D objects is direction of 3D light sources. A combination of
to go Layer>3D Layers>New Layer From 3D File, colour and bump map renders have a more
and navigate to the ‘Liopleurodon.obj’ file. Scale detailed and natural surface representation.
it proportionately to 1.78, and use the 3D
Transform Tools to pose him rising from the
water. Then drag upwards with the Slide Tool to
distance it in the scene. Set the lighting to Day
Lights, accept the transformations and move it
beneath the ‘Ichthyosaur’ layer.

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 “THERE’S AN ABUNDANCE OF WEBSITES
OFFERING FREE 3D MODELS”
12 Populate your scene
Import ‘Pteranadon_1.obj’, scale it
proportionately to 1.34, use the Roll/Rotate Tools and,
finally, distance him in the scene with the Slide Tool. Set
the lighting to Day Lights and populate your scene
Cutaways
with the remaining pteranadons in the same manner.
Try using the different render modes that allow
Duplicate some of them as well, if you want. Now
the object to be viewed in various display
put all the creatures into a new Group Folder styles, such as wireframe, smooth shaded, and
called ‘CREATURES’. so on. You can even create cross-sections, or
slices of the model in real-time and adjust the
location of the sections with a slider control, as
we’ve shown here on the fish. However, access
to these effects can sometimes vary,
depending on the type of model you’re using.

13 Fish freebie!
There’s an abundance of websites offering
free 3D models; head over to http://toucan.web.
infoseek.co.jp and download the ‘Northern bluefin
tuna’ freebie under the header ‘3DCG’. After unzipping,
import into your working document, scale and position
as shown. Duplicate it several times and place all the
layers in a new group folder called ‘FISH’.

14 Blend again
Duplicate the ‘Liopleurodon’ layer, set the
lighting to Blue Lights and move it underneath the
16 Path-based selections
Darken the inner areas of the pteranadons’
open beaks by creating paths, making path-based
original layer. To blend the creatures in a little more with selections and darkening the relevant layers with the
their environment, you’ll need to rasterize them. Go Burn Tool. You may wish to fix some of the
Layer>3D>Rasterize, now add a Layer mask to your liopleurodons’ top teeth by duplicating some to new
original liopleurodon and use a Linear gradient to layers, scaling them, erasing the original teeth and then
blend them. Now hit Apple/Ctrl+E to merge down. merging the new ones.

15 Postwork
Virtually all 3D renders require some degree
of postwork; rasterize all your models, except for the
fish, by going Layer>Rasterize 3D. You’ll need to fix
areas on the texture seams. Zoom in and scrutinise
each model – be meticulous here. Make layer-based
selections and use a combination of Clone, Healing
Brush, Blur and Smudge Tools until you’re happy.

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 MASTERCLASS
17 New channel
Merge down the ‘Abovewater’ layer. Now
open ‘Splash_channel.psd’ and Shift-drag into the
Channels palette of your working document. Apple/
Ctrl-click on your new channel to generate a selection
and, with your Background layer targeted, Copy>Paste
a new layer, moving it to the top of the Layer stack.
20 Link an Adjustment layer
You now need to lighten the top half of the
liopleurodon so it blends in a little better with the
scene. Target the ‘Liopleurodon’ layer and link an
Adjustment layer by holding Opt while selecting Levels
from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the Layers
palette. Select Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping
Mask and use the settings shown.
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19 Layer-based selection
Disable the visibility of your top layer. Target
the ‘Liopleurodon’ layer, make a rectangular selection of
the bottom half and Feather it by 20 pixels. Give it a
Gaussian Blur of 7 pixels and make a layer-based
selection. Enable the visibility of your top layer and, on
its mask, use a large, soft-edged brush and set to 50%
Opacity to add it back.
18 Add some depth
Add a mask to your new layer and, with a
small, hard-edged brush, mask the area where water
meets the liopleurodon. Make a selection from the
ichthyosaur and, with a large, soft-edged brush set at
50% Opacity, paint back the ichthyosaur. To add depth,
lessen the amount you mask towards the rear of the
figure. Use the same technique for the foreground
pteranadon, but mask at 100% Opacity, leaving the tip
of the beak submerged as if it were fishing.
21 Distance illusion
Change the Adjustment layer’s
Opacity to 70%. Now with a large, soft-edged
brush, set to 100% Opacity and work on the
Adjustment layer’s mask to paint out the
areas that are submerged in the water.
Next, adjust the Opacity of the pteranadons
that are further from the camera; we used
settings between 80% and 90%. This is a
quick and effective way to achieve the
illusion of distance.
22 Drop in a shadow
Duplicate the
‘Pteranadon_3’ layer, move it to the
top of the Layer stack, make a
selection and fill it with black. Hit
Apple/Ctrl+T to transform the shape
into a shadow, add a slight Gaussian
Blur and change Layer Opacity to
90%. With the Eraser Tool at 50%
Opacity, use a small, soft-edged brush
to erase areas. Name the layer
‘Pteranadon_3 shadow’.
22/8/07 17:04:44
 23 Adjust the opacity
Merge the ‘FISH’ group
folder and use the same masking
techniques as Step 18. To add more
detail, create another shoal of fish at
the top of the Layer stack by
importing the same 3D
model. Position, rasterize
and then duplicate several
times. Now merge them,
add a small amount of
Gaussian Blur and adjust
the Opacity to suit.

24 Specular highlights
To make the liopleurodons’ top
halves glisten, you’ll need to create some
specular highlights. Generate a selection from
the liopleurodon and add a new layer above
the Adjustment layer, setting the Blend Mode
to Overlay. With the Brush Tool, paint some
white highlights over the lighter areas of the
figure, using a variety of natural brushes at low Exporting
files
opacities. Name the layer ‘Highlights’.

We used Poser 6 to set up the figures and, after

applying custom-made textures and bump
maps, exported them as 3D objects (File>
Export>Wavefront OBJ). If you have Poser 7,

25 Ocean spray
With the Brush Tool, paint ocean spray on
several new layers at the top of the Layer stack, varying
export content with Content Exporter, a free
public beta download. For more information go
to: www.e-frontier.com/go/poser.
Alternatively, if you’re a DAZ|Studio 1.5 user,
the brush and size as you work. Also use the Blur and take advantage of the U3D content exporter
Smudge Tools at varying degrees. Having more than that enables you to prepare 3D content for use
one layer will give you much more flexibility because in Photoshop CS3. For more information visit:
you can fine-tune the opacities. Now put them all in a www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/studio.
new group folder called ‘SURF’. Photoshop CS3 Extended also supports other
common 3D interchange formats, including
KMZ (Google Earth/Sketchup), U3D (Acrobat
3D), 3DS (3D Studio) and DAE (Collada).

26 Final adjustments
Now step back and review your image; is
there any room for improvement? We lightened some
of the foreground pteranadons using Levels and a
slight colour shift to cyan on the liopleurodon, using
Color Balance. Finally, we used the Dodge Tool on the
light foam areas of the ‘Background copy’ layer.

37
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 Feature

A Design For Life

Architecture-based artwork helps bring to life the visions of town
planners, property developers, retailers and home-builders. Nick
Spence discovers how, in a world of 3D rendering, Photoshop
plays a part in creating new worlds
Background Illustration by Benoit Patterlini

38
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038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 38 23/8/07 15:06:50


F
or the uninitiated, the architecture industry
might seem a little dry. Long years of study
followed by more graft than craft, heads
buried in site plans, complex drafting and technical
illustration software. Architectural CAD
applications with good 3D modelling ability can be
heavy on both your budget and your computer’s
hard drive, taking time to render buildings,
landscapes and suitable props. They can also
take an age to master, reducing all but the
brave-hearted to tears of frustration. Photoshop
fans might want to look elsewhere for stimulating
employment. Looks, however, can be deceiving
and the creative minds bringing to life the
038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 39
A DESIGN FOR LIFE
architectural plans are producing some of the best,
most innovative and striking digital artwork today,
with Photoshop playing an important part.
It’s important to note early on that not all
architecture-based artwork is the work of architects.
Martin Drake, lead visualisation artist at Bristol-
based Preconstruct (www.preconstruct.com), draws
a clear distinction: “The first point I want to clarify, so
that you can understand our workflow and what we
do, is that we are not architects. Although some
people in our field may have studied architecture, we
don’t directly design buildings,” says Martin. “We
visualise the designs of architects and designers
through still and moving images for two primary
WE VISUALISE THE DESIGNS OF
ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS THROUGH
STILL AND MOVING IMAGES
Illustration by Benoit Patterlini
reasons. First, to market properties, developments
or schemes to potential customers and investors.
Second, to communicate the designs to planners to
aid in planning applications. There are, of course,
other applications but these are the main ones.”
Architectural visualisation offers a way into a
creative industry without the years of studying and
with the potential to appeal to a wide range of
clients. “For architects, you are talking many years of
training! But for architectural visualisation, I would
say there are good opportunities in post-production
for many different levels of experience,” suggests
Martin. With companies now offering a range of
services, it is important that you cover more than one
skill set if you fancy a career in creating such
evocative work. “My advice would be to get a good
knowledge of architecture, photography and
composition. Also, it is rare now for visualisation
studios to only produce still imagery. If you want to
be successful in the field I would say expanding your
skills to moving footage is a must.”
Companies like Preconstruct produce computer-
generated images and animations for a range of
clients, including property developers, retailers,
leisure operators and the entertainment
39
Advanced Photoshop
23/8/07 15:07:31
 Feature
industry. Their role essentially enables clients to
present their ideas effectively to stakeholders, in
order to facilitate swift consensus and decision-
making. Without their skills to visualise often
complex developments, it’s unlikely anything would
ever be built. “The work we produce can be divided
into two main categories,” explains Martin. “Moving
image, short films with a primary content of 3D CG
animation but also integration of film footage and
motion graphics, and still image – which is where
Photoshop comes in.”
Before images are taken into Photoshop, 3D
software is needed to create the designs that best
represent the vision and plans of the architects. “We
use AutoDesk 3ds Max, pretty much an industry
standard for what we do, to create 3D virtual
models. We then add light and texture, place a
camera in our scene and use a third party renderer,
like Chaos Group’s V-Ray, which is also an industry
standard, to give us a photorealistic still or
animation,” adds Martin. “Animations we composite
and edit in Adobe After Effects and cut in Adobe
Premiere. Other programs that are widely used are
AutoDesk Combustion for motion graphics,
compositing and visual effects, Eyeon Fusion and
Shake and Final Cut Pro from Apple. We composite
stills in Photoshop.”
Preconstruct renders out from 3ds Max and V-Ray,
a 32-bit floating point ‘OpenEXR’ high dynamic-
y
Illustration by
erlin i Monro
Bert
Illustration by Benoit Patt
WE CAN CREATE A COMPLETE ENVIRONMENT BY
MONTAGING CUSTOM-TAKEN PHOTOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS
40
Advanced Photoshop
038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 40
range (HDR) image file format, developed by
Industrial Light & Magic, the people responsible for
special effects in films by George Lucas and Steven
Spielberg. Such files give Preconstruct a level of
control and flexibility later on if images need to be
adjusted in post-production. Preconstruct also
produces additional supporting Render channels
such as Z-depth, Direct light, Global Illumination,
Reflection, Refraction and Ambient Occlusion. “We
take our renders into Photoshop and enhance
the image,” explains Martin. “We accurately
photomontage our CG renders of buildings into an
environment. Sometimes this is made up of a
photo of the actual site. Where a site photo is
not appropriate, we can create a complete
environment by montaging stock library and
custom-taken photographic elements of skies,
landscapes, trees and so on, with additional matte
painting techniques.”
In Photoshop, Preconstruct will then montage
people, along with their shadows and reflections,
into the stills. All the usual colour and level
adjustments you might make to a photo to change
mood and improve the image are then done. Martin
and his colleagues next paint out any errors or
mistakes. “We then add glows, Volume Light, Diffuse
glows, Blooms, Flares and effects, typically through
varied use of blending layer modes such as Screen.
Then in compositing, we render Element channels
such as multiplying an Ambient Occlusion/Dirt Pass
to add shadow detail, which would take too long to
render in a GI solution within 3ds Max and V-Ray,”
explains Martin. “We use Z-depth to apply Depth of
Field blurs, use Photoshop to enhance and adjust
reflections using a Specular or Reflection Pass and
use a pre-rendered selection matte to adjust only a
certain area of the render.” Preconstruct also uses
Photoshop to prepare textures to apply to 3D
models and batch resize and sharpen textures to use
in 3D scenes. The Offset Tool is particularly useful for
creating tileable textures.
Earlier this year, Adobe introduced Photoshop
Extended CS3, with an array of new and varied
tools aimed at, among others, architects,
engineers and construction
professionals. While new features
such as 3D compositing and
texture-editing capabilities,
2D and 3D measurement
tools and support for 3D
in Vanishing Point, are
welcome, Martin
doesn’t yet see a
time when
Photoshop will
be the only
tool of
choice.
Illustration by AHD Imaging
23/8/07 15:08:01
 Background Illustration by AHD Imaging
“New functions in the software are great, as long as
they are well tested and efficient.”
Like Preconstruct, Manchester-based AHD-
Imaging (www.ahd-imaging.com) produces
architectural stills and animations. Established by
award-winning 3D artists and architects, the
company provides a wide range of services,
including architectural visualisation and photo-real
quality exterior and interior images created from
architectural plans and design sketches. It also
produces photo-real, visually verified images
created from survey data and architectural plans.
These are suitable for all visual impact assessments
in accordance with CABE (Commission for
Architecture and the Built Environment) guidelines
for the verification of tall-building impact. AHD-
Imaging also covers film and web-based animations,
offering large format, aerial photography and
camera tracking for compositing CG elements into
live action video. It offers interactive
038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 41
Illustration by Scott Hammerstein
A DESIGN FOR LIFE
Case study
PRECONSTRUCT: HELPING TO VISUALISE IDEAL HOMES.
Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire offers a All the usual Photoshop colour and level
number of bespoke second homes nestled within adjustments were made and I added glows using
450 acres of the Cotswolds’ abundant wildlife. Gaussian Blurring, Screen mode and Soft Light
Developers of Lower Mill Estate brought together blending modes.” The dazzling results helped
an outstanding list of the world’s leading create a buzz around the new development and
architects, guided by RIBA award winning have been featured in The Times and The Daily
master-planner Richard Reid, to create Telegraph, as well as various promotional
contemporary housing that blended well with the brochures and advertising materials.
natural surroundings. To help sell the properties, Visit Preconstruct at:
which start from £310,000, Bristol-based / www.preconstruct.com
Preconstruct was brought in to bring life to the Visit Lower Mill Estate at:
innovative architecture design, helping to secure / www.lowermillestate.com
sales before completion on site.
For Preconstruct, the project typically utilised
several software packages to help perfect the
desired look. “We rendered out from AutoDesk’s
3ds Max and Chaos Group’s V-Ray, a 32-bit floating
point ‘OpenEXR’ format image,” explains Martin
Drake, lead visualisation artist at Preconstruct.
“This gave us huge flexibility, as we are able to
effectively carry out large exposure adjustments in
post-production, while preserving image quality.”
Renders are then taken into Photoshop to add
detail and further reflect the architect’s vision for
the estate, while giving a visual guide for investors
and local town planning departments. “I created a
complete environment by montaging stock library
and custom-taken photographic elements of skies,
landscapes and trees, with additional matte
painting techniques. The idea on most of them was
to obtain an autumn feel, which would not have
been achieved with site photography taken at this
time of year,” adds Martin.
Photoshop also offers a time-saving alternative
to rendering in memory-hogging 3D programs. “I
multiplied an Ambient Occlusion Dirt Pass to add
shadow detail which would take too long to render
in a GI solution within 3ds Studio Max and V-Ray.
PRECONSTRUCT: Preconstruct worked with client Lower Mill Estate and
architects Richard Reed Associates to help visualise and sell a new lavish
development. “The images were for marketing to sell the houses before
completion on site. They have appeared in adverts in the national press,
including The Times and The Daily Telegraph, and also in brochures”
41
Advanced Photoshop
23/8/07 15:09:41
 Feature
panoramas and online walkthroughs, adding a new
dimension to architectural visualisation.
For Tony Hartley Denton, managing director of
AHD-Imaging, Photoshop plays a vital role in his
company’s workflow, giving architectural
visualisation the human touch it sometimes lacks in
the artificial worlds produced by some 3D programs.
“We use Photoshop extensively within our
production pipeline. Photoshop is already used to a
fair degree with a lot of our clients. Architects render
out their elevations and then add Photoshop
textures and ambience onto the flat elevation. We
use it for modifying and creating texture maps,” says
Tony. “We also use it in the final stage of an image to
make sure that balance is achieved between the
photograph and the CGI render. CGI renders have a
tendency to be too sharp and, no matter what level
of equipment the photographer has used, the
render will need to be ‘roughened’ up a little.
Sometimes we even add a very slight noise to
emulate the film transparency’s grain.”
Photoshop also offers a level of speed and
stability that reduces the time spent rendering
images in 3D programs, especially useful if budgets
are tight and deadlines are looming. “Photoshop is a
rock solid production application with some really
powerful features,” enthuses Tony. “As ever though,
it seems to be the simplest tools that are the most
utilised. We use Masking a lot, along with Quick
Mask; whether it is used on a single layer or on a
oit Patterlini
Illustration by Ben
42
Advanced Photoshop
038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 42
layer set, it allows a very powerful, non-destructive
editing capability.” Productive tools are also
backed by reliability, so work is rarely lost due to
unexpected quitting or crashing. “One thing that
Photoshop allows, that CAD software doesn’t, is
stability. In my eight-year use of Photoshop, I can
only think of three occasions on which the
application has crashed. This also actually turned
out to be a computer RAM problem,” adds Tony.
“The ability to alter colour and tone on the fly
complements 3ds Max very well, as the colour
change carried out in the CAD application would
take much longer to realise, subject to the necessary
render times.”
Photoshop also offers AHD-Imaging a level of
integration that means compatibility problems –
the bane of many companies using an array of
software – rarely arise. “I find Photoshop really
comes into its own when switching between Adobe
Premiere and Adobe Encore DVD. The cross platform
integration means no worrying about file formats
and file sizes,” says Tony. With the recent Creative
Suite upgrade, Adobe has attempted to tighten
integration further, helping to enhance productivity
and third party support.
Like Preconstruct and AHD-Imaging, Australian-
based Hammerstein Group (www.hammerstein
group.com) uses Photoshop after 3D modelling is
completed. The company specialises in the
production of architectural and property marketing
Illustration by Benoit Patterlini
material. When selling off plans and presenting
speculative concepts, Hammerstein Group
provides the imagery to help make projects a
reality for clients. An extensive photographic
database enables staff to render the model using
real textures, creating realistic and visually
exciting work. Clients can view yet-to-be-built
properties within a photograph of the
surrounding area, blending the two seamlessly.
For Scott Hammerstein, creating a realistic
environment digitally is a vital part of the creative
process and central to the success of any project.
“I complete my 3D modelling and go through the
necessary approval process with my clients. I use
Photoshop to create layers, which are all
individually coloured and textured,” explains
Scott. “With architectural work, site photography
is important as the proposed building is usually
required to be seen in context. Photoshop is
again used to composite the layered building
group into the site photograph. Once the ‘jigsaw’
of Photoshop layers is pieced together, I begin to
accurately colour and shade the layers according
to the photograph’s lighting. The final step is to
flatten the image and blur over some of the edges
of the building to make it appear more
photographic,” he explains.
Again, Photoshop offers a level of flexibility,
time-saving workflow enhancements, and real
hands-on appeal that some programs lack. “I use
23/8/07 16:00:52
 Background Illustration by AHD Imaging
Photoshop for 100 per cent of the rendering. It gives
me a hands-on feel that 3D rendering programs just
don’t do. As I’m making a colour change to a layer, I
can watch as the colours change and decide myself
the suitability of a colour, without having to wait for
a render or use trial and error,” adds Scott. “I also use
Photoshop to apply textures and colours found in
my library of photographic reference, so I’m using
photos to colour. 3D rendering programs do this but,
again, with very little real hands-on control, and
often the textures are tiled and come out looking
computer-generated and need to be touched up in
Photoshop anyway.” Photoshop offers a range of
tools to ensure Scott’s images look as photographic
as possible. “My favourites are the Lasso, Gradient
Blur and the Clone Tool. They all help to make my
work as photographic as possible, particularly the
Clone Tool.”
Based in Paris, Patterlini Benoit is a freelance
architect working for a variety of international
companies under the moniker Rescubika (www.
rescubika.com). Like all the above, his arresting
work combines elements of 3D with Photoshop.
Patterlini first renders 3D images in NewTek’s
LightWave 3D, before ‘cooking up’ his images in
Photoshop. “Now with Photoshop I create the
picture. It is very easy to create a story with
Photoshop. It offers good compositing
options and higher end
editing tools than
Illustration by Benoit Patt
erlini
038-044_AVP35_Architecture.indd 43
A DESIGN FOR LIFE
3D programs,” enthuses Patterlini. “When I work
with Photoshop, I feel like a DJ mixing a set. I sample
trees, characters, light effects and reflection effects,
all thanks to layers.” Patterlini writes Photoshop
scripts to increase his productivity and reduce the
needless repetition that prolongs the process.
Importantly, Photoshop offers Patterlini a level of
individuality that cannot be found in popular and
more expensive 3D-dedicated programs. With
advances in technology and the wider availability of
software, Patterlini sees a time not far away when
individuality may be sacrificed for uniformity. “In a
couple of years, many 3D artists will be able to fake
reality simply by pushing the Render button. Indeed,
with V-Ray and the Maxwell Render engine used to
create photorealistic images,
faking reality is less intricate,” predicts Patterlini.
“Architectural visualisation will be easy to access for
the whole 3D community and especially for
beginners. With all due respect to architects, a
uniformed rendering look is going to appear and
each project will look like all the others.
Hopefully, Photoshop is the solution
to break uniformity and
Illustration by Scott Ham
Illustration by Scott Hammerstein
standardisation of architectural visualisation for
some of us.”
Despite his concerns, Patterlini talks
enthusiastically about architecture and anyone
wanting a career in architectural visualisation or as
an architect. “You have to be able to draw anything
at any time and know how perspective works. If you
are a student, walk in the streets with a sketch book
and draw what you see; you have to develop
accurate sight for architecture.” Patterlini suggests
visiting museums and galleries to see great
architecture first hand and gain inspiration as there
is no substitute for first-hand observation. He also
advises developing an interest in contemporary
design and ensuring you keep track of architecture
news and current trends, best found online. “Each
week, I have a look at the best 3D artists on the
internet via websites such as CGTalk, the CGSociety’s
official forum for digital artists, CG Channel, an
merstein
Illustration by Sco
tt Hammerstein
43
Advanced Photoshop
23/8/07 15:11:28
 Background Illustration by AHD Imaging

Feature
online magazine dedicated to computer graphics
and visual effects, and the French-based 3DVF.com.
Trying to get a work placement will help
improve your skills, level of learning and
understanding of how the industry works. Failing
that, the internet also offers instant feedback and
advice and can help develop your style while you
are learning new skills. “You must know design
tools such as 3D tools, CAD tools and 2D editing
tools,” insists Patterlini. “The internet is the best
community if you are in trouble with software
tools. There are forums where you can ask
any question without fear or ridicule. Once
again, you must be curious and stubborn,
and day by day you will grow up.
Ideally, you must learn at least one
new thing each day; that’s the way
to make progress.” 5

Case study
PATTERLINI BENOIT: PHOTOSHOP TOOLS AND ARCHITECTURAL WORKFLOW.

Self-taught Paris-based Patterlini Benoit has
been using Photoshop since version 5, working
as a freelance architect for a variety of
international companies. Although a
commission will often start with LightWave 3D,
a computer graphics program for 3D modelling,
animating and rendering, Photoshop is the
most important tool in Patterlini’s workflow.
After 3D elements are created in LightWave 3D,
Patterlini moves on to Photoshop. “Now with
Photoshop I really create the picture.” Using
multiple Photoshop Alpha channels, Patterlini
isolates each layer and contrasts it using
Luminosity/Contrast, after which the Desaturate
desaturate it and remove contrast. After that, I
use the Find Edges filter, invert it and add it as a
Multiply layer.” The Photoshop Color Range
command is used to simplify or remove part of
the image, such as the sky, again using a script,
while noise is added to help mimic camera noise
and break up the artificial flatness. Other
favourite tools include Motion Blur, to enhance
reflections in windows and glass walls, and
Gaussian Blur to decrease the foreground and
create a depth of field.
/ www.rescubika.com
Illustration by Benoit Patterlini

option is used a little on each layer.

Next, Patterlini can add environments such as
landscapes, sky or architectural details, using a
‘home’ script for each selection to save time. “I
use and create scripts for repetitive actions such
as Selection, Contrast and Saturation.” Textures
and scratches such as dirt, dust and reflections
in glass are then added. The next step is to add
some Lens Flare effects from a home library,
which can produce an attractive ‘bling bling’
sheen in his work. Trees and characters, using a
TIFF-based library, rather than 3D generated
images, are then added. “If they are in 3D, the
picture needs re-rendering, costing too much
time and money.”
Using Layer masks allows Patterlini to hide
details the client might not want. Applying the
Find Edges filter also helps him define his style.
“For this one, I create a JPEG of the picture,

Illustration by Benoit Patt

erlini

44
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 MASTERCLASS

46
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046-053_AVP35_Mechanical Worlds.46 46 22/8/07 16:42:01

 Creating a conceptual design
We’ll share in the creation of a mechanical city – a living, breathing, moving
mechanical force. It rises from its base and a huge wheel sunken deep in the earth
propels its motion, giving chase to the thieves who have looted its streets…

T
hrough this tutorial you will learn how to
manipulate various photographic images
together to create a cohesive and striking
piece. Using colour ranges and colour overlays you will
add a convincing mood element and create a depth of
field of view. Prior knowledge of Multiple Transform
Tools is needed as well as familiarity with Multiple Color
Tweaking Tools. Photoshop’s Advanced Color
Manipulation Tools are ideal for mixing images,
particularly if they are very different. For this specific
image, I went with the theme of a mechanical city. I’ve
always been fascinated with that ‘twist’ factor; imagine
seeing the image of thieves riding away from a city on
motorbikes, thinking they’ve got away, with no one
following. Then the city begins to move, rising up from
the ground and giving chase. You’ll create a scene that
will make the viewer want to see more. If it were a still
from a movie, I’d want to see that movie!
ON THE DISC
You will find all of the tutorial files you need to
follow Paul’s tutorial on this month’s cover disc in
the folder titled ‘Mechanical Worlds’. Paul’s
source imagery just goes to prove that even
snaps of detailed textures can be invaluable
once you start to get creative in Photoshop.
OUR EXPERT Paul Gerrard
Paul Gerrard works as an Art Director for Ubisoft UK and creates
dark art/sci-fi/surrealism, with emphasis on creation flowing from
one to the other, depending on deadlines and personal preference.
He has also worked with musicians and film directors.

1 The sketch

3
Start with the very rough composition layout
called ‘thieves’. Using loose block grey and fast lines, you First signs of mist
can create the basis for your image. It does not need to Repeat the process from the previous step to
be detailed, just simply contain all the main elements create the edge of the wheels and airbrush mist and
that we will create – for example, the city/creature, fog. With a creature so large and heavy you should
three bikers and the direction of the perspective. expect a lot of dust and mist, and this helps to create
the basis of the lighting, depth and scale.

2 Distance first
In general, I start to create the elements in the
background first, then make my way forward. So
separate the city from the foreground and bikers,
putting them on different layers. To create the basics of
the wheel on which the city moves, as well as the main
figure. Lasso around the shape, Gradient fill and blur to
even out the loose strokes of the rough image.

4 Mood colours
We need to create a colour mood
early on that sets the tone for all the
manipulation to follow. Create a new
layer, fill 100% with a pale green and set
to Overlay. Use gradients to experiment
with moods – lighter tones from the top

“USING LOOSE
down, darker from the bottom up.
Once you’re happy, leave this layer at

BLOCK GREY AND

the top, turning on and off when
needed as a guide.

FAST LINES,
YOU CAN CREATE
THE BASIS FOR
YOUR IMAGE”
47
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 MASTERCLASS
5 Using your mood guide
Now you have your mood guide, we can start to
use it to put the elements in place. Match the colours of
6 Foreground flooring
For this step, we’re going to create the ground underneath the bikers, using the image ‘wall.jpg’. Grab a piece of
the wall from the photo. Reveal the bikers layer, Lasso the wall and Skew to match the perspective. Add a gradient of
the background/city/foreground with the mood guide. pale green from the distance to the foreground, using Color Balance again to match the mood guide.
Select the background layer and, using the Adjust Color
Balance function, add colours -28 yellow and +6 green.
Repeat for each layer/element.

7 Adding sky and smoke

Here you can use ‘sky.jpg’ or any sky/cloud image
you may have. Place the cloud image on a top layer, set 8 Blends
Time to create
to Color Burn so as to keep the initial contrast of the those perspective
clouds’ depth, and lay the same image (or another blends and add depth.
similar one) above, flipped vertically. Set to Soft Light, Airbrush subtle white
and airbrush a white smoke where the foreground areas behind the
meets the clouds. foreground and clouds,
and, using a soft brush
set to Delete 5%, brush
away the distant areas of
the foreground to bring
the lighter area through.
Repeat over the clouds,
then create a layer of
airbrush mist over the
top for that final blend.

9 Overview
Now take a step back and see how you’re doing.
Reveal your mood guide (this will cause the image to
look much stronger colour-wise than it will have done
previously). If you’re happy with the flow of the image,
the perspective and the colour balance, it’s time to get
to grips with the next step.

Grab
it and go
I often study film for reference, taking
10 Adding the machine parts
Using ‘machine1.jpg’, cut out a shape from
the machine and paste it on top of the city layer. Using
screenshots and movie clips from DVDs. I find one shape for the shoulder and another for a chest
Fraps (www.fraps.com) the best tool for this plate, copy and paste, flip the shoulder and match up
job, and best of all it’s free! You can run it in the
to the perspective of the image. Cut around the
background and press a Preset key to take a
machine image to keep it in line with the rough guide
grab – it couldn’t be easier.
of the original sketch.

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 11 Adding the arms
For the arms, use ‘machine2.jpg’. This time we want to retain the original shape of the arm, so Ctrl/Apple-
right-click over the city layer to Lasso around the shape of the sketch. Copy ‘machine2.jpg’, then Ctrl/Apple+Shift+V to
12 Bodywork
Repeat the previous step, this time with
‘machine3.jpg’ for the bulk of the body. Using Dodge
paste the image into your lasso shape. Move the image around until you’re happy with flow, using Clone to move detail. and Burn, highlight where the light would hit the
machine parts and darken all other areas. Repeat with
the other two machine parts, arms and shoulders.

So many
layers
When creating any kind

13 Cohesive images
All of these elements now need to blend together. Firstly, the city needs to be in the distance, so we’ll
reduce the colours by 30%. Using Color Balance again, change the shoulder to match the arms and repeat for each
of image, don’t worry if
the number of layers
you have escalates.
From time to time it
element. Lightly airbrush white mist on the top of the arm and a dark gradient on the underside. Increase the
helps to flatten a few,
Brightness on all elements by 17 and decrease the Contrast by 32. but I’ve had up to 50 at
one time, all accessible
for changes until the
very end.

14 Making the wheel

Here we will use detail from ‘door.jpg’ to
make up the wheel from a panel-like structure. Cut out
an appropriate shape from the photo, paste, and
continue to paste vertically, decreasing the scale each
time until the shape of the wheel is full.

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 MASTERCLASS
15 Shaping the wheel
Now that the wheel has
been formed, add a dark gradient
16 Machine shade
Using the same photo images and
techniques as in previous steps, add more detail to the
by clicking from the base of the side of the wheel. Now that the bulk of the imagery is
wheel to near the coil to give it in, we can work more on the shadows. Darkening
shape and depth. Tidy up the where needed, blend the images together.
edges with the Clone Tool and add
a slight light to the top of the
wheel using the Dodge Tool.
Remember to Dodge with a
straight edge to keep your
highlight convincing.

17 Face of a city.
The original skull-like structure of the face seems too out of place now, so, using the same images, add
elements from ‘machine3.jpg’ into the face. Clone, flip and duplicate certain detail. Darken under the chin and jaw,
use the textures in the metal to add an overlay and reduce by 70%.

18 Time to focus
It’s time again to take a step back and look at
the direction of your work. Create a low-res screenshot
of all current elements and play with the image quickly.
Add light mist, desaturate colour and use light
airbrushing to add depth. This is what it may look like
once worked into with detail.

19 Where the people live

Time to press on and
work on the city buildings, which
extrude from the machine’s back
and head, reaching up to the sky.
Start with a blocked-out shape
and follow the curve of the arm.
Although we are unsure at this
stage how far the buildings go
down, they are on a separate “YOU NEED A
layer so we can delete later
FOCAL POINT AND
WAY OF MAKING
if needed.

THE CITY LOOK

LIKE IT’S ALIVE”
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 20 Bright lights, big city – part one
We are primarily going to be using ‘city_buildings.jpg’ for this part. Lasso around the shape you made
earlier and begin to clone in detail. You may need to skew and scale the cloned images to fit your shape. Repeat until
the whole area is filled in. Once done, use a soft Airbrush to fade away areas that are not needed (on the chest and
the top of the buildings fading into the mist).

Add
texture
I always use my own photographic images, but
for an easy source of textures, there are plenty
of sites dedicated to the computer games
industry that are ideal for overlay textures. Try
http://mayang.com/textures/.

21 Rust and decay

Another way of bringing your compositions together is with uniformed
overlay detail. Rust and dirt would work well here, so use a rust texture of your choice
and add to a top layer. Select an appropriate Blending Mode; I like to use Soft Light,
although it’s a matter of personal preference. It’s tempting to lay it on thick, but
subtlety is best. Skew and scale to match the machine’s perspective.

22 Depth
To add another element of depth, select the shape of the city machine
and all its elements. On another top layer, fill with a very light green at 100%, then
gradually reduce the Opacity to a desired level. For instance, I’d go with 20% so you
retain all the detail, but still tone down the dark shadows which shouldn’t be too
dark because of their distance from the foreground elements.

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 MASTERCLASS
23 Bring out the highlights
You always lose some of the highlight detail when adding mist layers, so we want to bring that back.
Flatten all the layers of the machine, including the mist layer, and copy and paste the mist layer on top. Choose Hard
24 Bright lights, big city – part two
For the building lights, use the same image
again, only this time place it on a top layer and choose
Light, reduce by 70%, and then delete the darkened areas, leaving the highlights. ‘Lighten’. This will pick out all the small light details. Clone
these details over your city machine for added effect,
particularly on the top of the arms.

25 Bring your city to life

We’re almost done with the city machine – just a couple more details. You need a focal point and way of making the city look like it’s alive and has a purpose. Eyes are
always a good start, so grab an image of light or airbrush in the colour. All on a top layer, choose the Blending Mode ‘Color Dodge’. This will retain the vibrancy of your light, but
also blend it with the detail underneath.

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 26 Flatten and level
Time to simplify things. Flatten all your
layers so you are left with only two (we don’t need the
27 Here come the bikers
Box out a primitive shape for these cyberpunk bikers. Simply Lasso and Colour fill, selecting shapes and
darkening with curves. Even though it is simple, I really like the shape as it reminds me of a throwback of Eighties sci-fi.
mood guide any more): ‘Background’, which includes
the city machine, clouds and the road; and foreground,
which includes only the still rough sketch of the
bikers. Using Levels on the bikers, increase the dark
tones somewhat.

28 Lighting
the shape
Use the simple bullet-like
29 Blur and
fade bikers
Repeat this Lasso
design and build on it. Use technique to add panel
Lasso curves once more, but detail to the bikes, slightly
this time add Rendered darker than the rest of the
Lighting Effects and fade vehicle. Add a mist layer to
depending on the angle of the each biker and fade
light source. In this instance, appropriately. Do the same
the light is coming in from the with the blur, adding and
left. It is also important to fading appropriately, more
consider that the front of the so on the distant biker.
biker would attract more light
than the sides.

30 Finishing touches
Add subtle airbrushing of mist, touching
up detailed areas of image overlaps and blurring
edges. Create flight trails and subtle hints of light
and shadows. So there you have it – three speed-
freak bikers being chased by a city!

“ADD A MIST
LAYER TO EACH
BIKER AND FADE
APPROPRIATELY.
DO THE SAME
WITH THE BLUR”
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 Step-by-step
Workshop
HOW TO DRAW FACES
Join illustrator David Cousens as he shows you how
to get a head start on drawing convincing faces
using simple but effective construction lines, ready
to scan into Photoshop

M
any people (normally pretentious
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
people) have said “there are no
rules in art”. More often than not, This Workshop highlights the
benefits of preparation and shows
however, this is to excuse a lack of skill and you how to start off on the right foot.
there certainly are guidelines. While artistic Things that will be helpful include; a
styles change over time, basic human anatomy mirror, pen, blue pencil and eraser.

remains the same. The information in this
workshop explores the general rules of
anatomy, concerning the human head, and
how you can use them to easily draw faces.
This session will cover some of the
fundamentals about drawing faces, including
the basic head structure, the differences
between male and female faces, how stress and
age affect the face and how important eyes are
in facial expressions. We’ll even throw in a cool
Photoshop trick that helps you hide all of your
construction lines as well – we’re that generous!
This class recommends using guidelines for
OUR EXPERT David Cousens
David is a freelance illustrator based in the South West of
England. He is currently illustrating a series of books for
Kingfisher publishing and producing work for a number
of magazines.
www.CoolSurface.com and http://CoolSurface.
blogspot.com
drawing, so you’ll want to use something that
won’t show in the final image, whether it’s a
pencil that you can rub out after inking your
images with a pen or the blue pencil/Photoshop
method detailed at the end of this session.
Enough talking, let’s get scribbling!

Face facts: the easy way to draw a face

Draw an oval and then a line straight down the middle. Now draw a
horizontal line halfway down the oval to create an eye line. Draw
another line halfway between the eye line and the bottom of the oval
(the chin) to create a nose line. Finally, draw a line between the nose
and the chin that’s almost halfway, but this time slightly closer to the
nose. Start the ears from the eye line and curve slightly up before
heading down and finishing on the nose line. The distance between
the eyes should be one eye’s width, as shown below.
It’s not just facial hair! The differences between men and women…
While the rules for the facial proportions apply to both men and women, there are some
fundamental differences that you should remember. Generally, a man should have a reasonably
broad jaw, whereas a woman’s should taper in more smoothly towards the chin. The male forehead
should be more dominant with a higher hairline and the eyebrows should be thicker and closer
together. Women’s eyelashes should be longer. Another general rule for men is to render the top lip
but only suggest the lower lip, whereas a female’s lips can be rendered with unbroken lines.

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 Learn your lines
We’ve covered basic head structure, now let’s discuss the
effects of expression lines. Diagonal lines heading towards
the bridge of the nose indicate stress, so use lots of these
when you want someone to look angry. To suggest age,
use more vertical lines to emphasise how gravity is taking
its toll on the face. For older faces, remember that the hair
thins and has less body, so draw it closer to the head. As
people get older, their ears and noses tend to grow as
well, so draw the ears slightly below the nose line.
Not all lines on the face are negative, however; lines
that are mostly horizontal look benign and friendly.
This is because we normally associate them with
smiling and laughter.

Don’t tell her she looks old!

Unlike showing stress on a male face, you should avoid
adding too much detail to women’s faces because it ages
them a lot more than it does with men. Ideally, to keep
women looking attractive, they should be drawn with
as few lines on their face as possible, even when they
are angry!
You can still suggest an angry expression on a female
face by choosing the most appropriate lines – but do
prioritise, as too many will have a negative effect. Use
them sparingly so you don’t suddenly age her 15 years!

See things through someone else’s eyes…

The most important aspect of any face is the eyes. They’re
not called the windows to the soul just to be pretentious;
the eyes can affect the face more than anything else. If
you look at the image here, you’ll see that the only
features that have changed are the eyes and eyebrows,
but each set has created a completely different
expression. Spend a lot of time thinking about how the
eyes look. Always remember that your eyes are wet, so
there should be a reflection of light on them somewhere.
It’s only a small touch, but it makes all the difference.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
I’m not being vain – it’s for research! Exaggerate
Good reference helps any drawing, and looking into a mirror gives you Now you know the basic rules, start bending them! People have varying types of mouths, noses and
access to the best reference for faces available! Pull all sorts of even head shapes, so we accept design variations quite easily. Just remember that because we relate
expressions in the mirror to draw for reference. Although we all have to people through their eyes, they have to look close to what we expect them to.
different faces, the basic configuration remains the same, so you can
apply the expressions to any type of face. Just try not to get distracted
and start doing your hair!

And finally, the Photoshop bit…

Draw with a Prismacolor Col-erase blue pencil.
The benefit of using a Col-erase pencil is that
you can draft your lines and rub them out easily
if you make a mistake. For your final lines, you
can just use a normal graphite pencil instead
of ink, so further changes can be made easily, Bye bye blues!
if required. To remove the blue
construction lines, scan your
image into Photoshop in RGB
mode (not CMYK), then make a
new layer above the artwork.
Select the original artwork
layer (Ctrl+A), then click on the
Channels tab in the Layers
palette. Make only the blue
layer visible and copy it
(Ctrl+C). Go back to the new
layer via the Layers tab and
paste it (Ctrl+V). Voila – just the
dark final lines remain!

“LOOKING INTO A MIRROR GIVES YOU ACCESS TO THE

BEST REFERENCE FOR FACES AVAILABLE”
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 Step-by-step
Workshop
WORKING WITH DYNAMIC BRUSHES
Photoshop’s Brushes palette: no longer just for dotted lines. Kirk Nelson helps unravel the mysteries
of this powerful, yet frequently overlooked, feature to help you add life to your designs

ON THE DISC
On this month’s CD you will find the
base imagery and all the custom
brushes used in this tutorial. Feel free
to add your own brushes and
illustrations to give your image a
personal touch.
OUR EXPERT Kirk Nelson
Kirk Nelson has been a graphic artist for ten years in the
Washington D.C. metro area. His work has appeared in
such publications as the Marine Corps Gazette and
Transition Point. He utilises several media types and is
constantly striving to enhance his concept visualisation
products with innovative new ideas and techniques.
I
f you’ve ever created a dotted line with
Photoshop, it’s likely that you’ve used the
Brushes palette. It’s even more likely that
after you adjusted the Spacing, you closed the
palette as soon as possible. Who could blame
you? Just look at it; it’s got obscure sliders,
checkboxes, strange widgets, and it jumps all
over the place! Even the Filter Gallery is easier to
comprehend than this thing. Maybe you’ve
even been curious enough to look at some of
the documentation, then you’ve found a long
list of slightly different brush strokes that don’t
really look all that helpful. Well fear not, faithful
artist; we’ll help you tackle the Brushes palette
and use it to produce something that doesn’t
just resemble a bunch of random brush strokes.
Grab your graphics tablet, too. No other feature
in Photoshop uses the benefits of a pressure-
sensitive tablet quite like the Dynamic Brushes.
Let’s try creating a lush garden with several types
of plants and flowers, and a beautiful fountain at
the centre. Leaves, vines, flowers, grass and
running water are all elements that would be
quite a challenge by any other means but we’ll
show you how Photoshop’s Dynamic Brushes
are more than up for the task.

1 Grab the CD
This design is fairly complex and includes
several elements, created in several different
ways. But since this tutorial’s focus is on
Dynamic Brushes, we’ll go ahead and jump you
forward a few steps and give you the elements
created by other means. You’ll need to get the
tutorial files from the CD. Look for the main file,
GardenTutorial.psd. This tutorial file already has
the basic elements in it. The walkway was
created with a custom Pattern Fill, Perspective
Tool, and a Vector Mask. The fountain was made
using the Pen Tool to draw the shapes, Gradient
Tool for the shading, and some hand painted
details. The background trees are shapes drawn
with the Pen, Layer Styles of Bevel and Emboss
and Texture Overlay, then blurred a bit to
enhance the depth. The sky background is a
simple gradient. The grass is the result of
Render>Clouds with different shades of green
selected as foreground and background colours.

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 2 Tear it off
We’re going to be using the Brushes
palette a lot in this tutorial. So, instead of having
to open it up all the time, just drag it onto the
workspace to tear it off from the interface and
leave it open. Also, grab the custom brushes file
from the CD, called GardenBrushes.abr. To load
these brushes, go to the fly-out menu from the
Brush palette, select Load Brushes and hit the
GardenBrushes.abr file. Take a moment to look
through the Brush
palette and get familiar
with the settings. We’ll
move fairly quickly
through these steps, so
instead of relaying
every single setting on
every brush, we’ve
provided the brushes
you’ll need and we’ll
discuss the major
points of how to make
these brushes work.
5 Hedge your bets
Behind the trees, add another layer called
‘Hedge’. Change the foreground colour to a
more saturated green and the background
colour to a very dark green, almost black. Select
the Hedge brush from the Brush Presets. This
brush is based on Photoshop’s default Spatter
brush. The Spacing and Scattering have been
adjusted too. In the Colour Dynamics area,
check the Foreground/Background Jitter is set
to 100%. Paint in a back hedge, add a Gradient
Overlay from the Layer Styles menu, set the
mode to Multiply and pull the Opacity down to
around 50%. Add another Gaussian Blur.
058-062_AVP35_Brushes.indd 59
3 Tree Leaf Brush
Inside the BGTrees group, create a new
layer called ‘LeavesFront’. Select a dark greenish-
4 Leaves, leaves, and more leaves
Add a layer behind the trees, called
‘Leaves Back’. Shrink the brush slightly, using the
grey colour for the background and a lighter Diameter slider, under Brush Tip Shape, and
version of that colour for the foreground. Grab paint leaves behind the tree trunks. Darken this
the Tree Leaves brush from your Brush palette. layer with the method of your choice (We like to
This brush was created from the standard use Levels) Then use a slight Gaussian Blur
Photoshop Chalk brush, with the main (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, around 3 pixels) on
differences being the Spacing (under Brush Tip both layers of leaves to give some focal depth.
Shape) set to 110% and the Scattering set to
161% on Both Axes. These settings space out and
scatter the brush tips and prevent the brush from
creating a solid,
straight line. Use this
to paint in some
leaves on top of the
background trees.
6
Just add water
For the water pools in the fountain, creates layers called ‘TopPool’ and
‘BottomPool’, inside the fountain group. Use an Ellipse selection to create the
rough shape of the pools. Set the foreground to white, and the background to a
very light blue. Use Filter>Render>Clouds to fill the selection. Then add a bit
of noise with Filter>Noise>Add Noise (about 10%). Use the Blur Tool and
Smudge Tool to break up the uniformity of the texture. Then use Layer Masks
to further shape the layers to fit inside the fountain by masking out the front lip
of the fountain.
7 Turn the fountain on
Now we’ll use a custom-made brush.
Select the Water Splash brush, to simulate the
Sketch it out
shape of splashing water. Notice the Size
Before starting any project, it’s always a good idea to
control is set to Pen Tilt, and the Opacity is set
sketch out the idea first. Good old pencil on paper still
to Pen Pressure. This means you can use your
remains the best way to begin. There’s something very
Stylus pressure and tilt to make the brush tip
intimate and magical about scratching that graphite across
small and dense at the bottom and larger and
an expanse of white parchment. It’s a very quick, fluid and
fainter at the top. We used a white foreground
forgiving medium that makes it perfect for letting ideas
and light bluish-grey background, but set the
evolve. Use your sketches to flesh out your thoughts and
Purity to +20%. Hold down Shift to keep your
don’t be overly concerned about making them perfect or
brushstroke vertical. Keep experimenting with
including every little detail. Sketches are meant to be
the tilt and pressure.
exploratory, a tool used to bring ideas to life. Sketching an
idea forces you to evaluate it for holes or shortcomings,
before ever starting the design. This can help to avoid
time-consuming problems or mistakes later on.
Many times an artist will scan these sketches in and use
them as a guide for the design inside Photoshop, so try it
yourself. Sketch out your idea for a garden, scan it, and use
it as a background layer to build your work on. It may seem
painful at first, but you’ll reap the rewards later on.
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23/8/07 14:28:00
 Step-by-step
Workshop
8 Cap it off
Set the Purity to -20% to lighten up the
paint. On a new layer, use the same brush to
paint in the ‘cap’ where the water begins to fall
back down. Also, paint in the water falling from
the top pool to the bottom. Use the bracket
keys – [ and ] – to adjust the brush Size up and
down to add more variety to the strokes.
11
Instant growth
Now put some tulips along the brick walkway. Select the
Tulip Stalk brush. Set the foreground to a medium yellow-green and
background to a deeper green colour. Notice the brush is set with the
Size control at Pen Pressure, but the minimum diameter is at 47%. This
means size is determined by the Stylus pressure. This way, no stalks
are miniscule, yet they vary in size. Start by the fountain and brush
forward, increasing pressure. Add a slight drop shadow Layer Style
(Opacity around 12%) to define the edges.
Make it your own
While going through this tutorial, your image will
probably appear slightly different than the one shown
here. That’s because we’re working with brushes that are
sensitive to multiple variables like pressure, tilt, scattering,
and random jittering. This makes each and every brush
stroke unique. It’s the very nature of Dynamic Brushes. This
also makes them virtually impossible to reproduce exactly.
Even the Stroke Path command produces a different result
every time if you have Scattering turned on. So, instead of
attempting to create an exact replica of this tutorial, use it
as more of a guide. Adjust the sliders to suit your own
taste. Experiment; make mistakes and discoveries. You’ll
learn a lot more that way than by simply entering the same
numbers we used.
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058-062_AVP35_Brushes.indd 60
10 Blur the drops
Duplicate layer with the downward
drops. Add a Motion Blur (Filter>Blur>Motion
Blur) and set the Angle to 90% and the Distance
to 20 pixels. Place it under the other layers and
drop Opacity down to around 70%.
9 Water dropper
Create a new layer on top of the previous
layer and select the Water Droplet brush. This
brush is basically a small, soft round brush,
adjusted to simulate individual water drops.
Notice in the Brush Tip Shape section how the
roundness and angle have been adjusted. This
keeps the drops from being perfect circles. Also,
the Size and Scattering are set to Pen Pressure.
The harder you press, the larger and more
scattered the drops become. The Count control
(under Scattering) is set to Fade, which enables
you to stroke out from the fountain. The longer
the stroke, the fewer drops are painted. Paint in
the smaller drops falling down, the mist and the
splash where the water hits the pools.
12
Stalk shadows
Let’s use this same brush to add the
shadows from the stalks. Change the
foreground colour to black, Paint Mode to
Multiply, and Opacity to 50%. In the Brush
palette, check the Flip Y checkbox (under Brush
Tip Shape) change the Angle Control (under
Shape Dynamics) to Pen Tilt, and turn off the
Colour Dynamics. Now paint the shadows onto
a layer under the stalks. Tilt the pen in the
direction you want the shadows to point.
13 The Flowers under your nose.
On a new layer above the stalks, we’ll create the tulips, so let’s call this layer ‘Tulips’. Set the
foreground to a tulip-like orange and the background to a darker shade of that colour. Select the
Tulip Shape brush. Using the brackets to adjust the size, start at the back and paint forward. Use short
brisk strokes to help place the flowers where you want them. Notice how, even though the brush has
colour variations, it translates to transparency in the painting. In order to get the look we want, we
need to do something else. Duplicate the Tulip layer twice. On the base layer (the original one you
just painted), add a soft Inner Glow set to Multiply and Glow Colour set to a medium grey. Set the
second layer to Overlay, and the
top layer set to Multiply, at 37%
Opacity, with the layer blending
sliders adjusted as shown here
(Use the Alt key to split the slider
handle). What did this do? We
used copies of the same layer in
different blending modes to
add the shading to the tulips
we couldn’t have done with
the brush.
22/8/07 17:17:01
 “NO OTHER FEATURE IN PHOTOSHOP USES THE
BENEFITS OF A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE TABLET QUITE
LIKE THE DYNAMIC BRUSHES”
14 Nice arches.
To create the lattice archway, select the Arch Shape Top brush and set your foreground
colour to white. This brush is a simple rectangle that will serve as the rungs of our archway. Notice it
15 Perspective brush trick
To create the rungs down the sides
of the arch, we need to ensure they point to the
has Spacing set to 100% and Angle Control set to Direction. This will spin the brush tip in the vanishing point at the centre of the image, so
direction of the brush stroke. Photoshop always spins the tip from the centre, so we added a small 1- they will all have a slightly different rotation
pixel wide line at the far end to ensure the brush spins from the edge of the rectangle. Create a new angle. To do this by hand in Photoshop is hard,
layer and switch to the Path palette. Select the Interior Arch path and hit Stroke Path from the fly-out but here’s a neat trick to let the Brush settings
menu. Delete the stray pixels in the centre, producing perfectly spaced and angled rectangles. do it for you. Change the Angle Control (under
Shape Dynamics) to Fade and set the steps to
45. Now Stroke the Arch Side path on a new
layer. Instant perspective rungs! Duplicate the
layer and flip it horizontally to do the other side.

16 Add the edges

Grab the Lattice Edge brush – really
nothing more than a square brush set at 30-
pixel diameter. On a new layer, use the Stroke
Path command on the Interior Arch and Exterior
Arch paths. This finishes off the top of the lattice
work. Add another layer, and stroke the Arch
Side path. Duplicate and flip this to create the
edge on the left. Merge all these layers together
Custom brushes
and add a Layer Style of Bevel and Emboss with
We use several custom brushes in this project, you may be
texture to give the shape some depth.
wondering where they came from. They were created
within Photoshop as separate files, and defined as brushes
with Edit>Define Brush Preset. This creates a new preset in
your list of available brushes. Keep in mind that brushes
are defined in greyscale with black being opaque and

17
white being transparent. That means any colour
Growing vines
information you try to define will be converted to greyscale
We’ve got our lattice arch, now let’s
and given corresponding transparency. We used the Pen
grow some vines on it. Grab the Rose Vines
Tool to draw hard outlines for brushes that needed well-
brush. It’s a 20-pixel, round brush but the Size
defined edges (Leaves, rose petal, tulip stalks, etc.). For
Control (under Shape Dynamics) is set to fade
brushes that needed soft edges, like the water splash, we
at 750 steps. This will taper the vines down at
would blur the shape before defining the brush.
the end of the path. Make sure you’ve selected
Did you know that brushes are not limited to just the Brush
a sufficient green colour, and created a Rose
Tool? Photoshop allows you to use the same brush controls
Vines layer. Now stroke the Rose Vines path.
with several tools, such as Clone Stamp, Eraser, Blur,
Adding a slight Bevel and Emboss gives the
Dodge, Burn, Sponge, Sharpen, Smudge and Art History.
vines some depth.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
18 Leaves again?
Change to the Rose Leaves brush.
This brush was created by drawing a set of
19 A brush by any other name…
To create a rose, start with the Rose Petal Brush. Notice under Shape Dynamics, the Angle
control is set to Direction. Select a nice pink foreground and a darker pink background. On a new
leaves with the Pen Tool. Set your background layer, draw a circle to form a ring of rose petals. Add a Gradient Overlay Style set to Radial Gradient,
colour to be slightly darker than the foreground, Mode set to Multiply. This darkens the centre of the ring. Add a new layer, reduce the brush Size and
add another layer, and stroke the same Rose Roundness (under Brush Tip Shape) and draw a smaller ring. Add the Gradient Overlay style as before.
Vines path to produce the leaves. A slight Drop Repeat this process, drawing smaller rings of petals until the centre is filled in. Merge the Layers and
Shadow will help set them off from the vine. To add a Satin Layer Style to darken the edges of the
easily make the rose bush thicker, duplicate the petals. This image shows the progression of
leaves and vine layers, flip them horizontally, creating the rose. Draw as many as you like.
scale them a bit vertically and put them behind
the arch layer, so it looks like the lattice work is
going through the middle of the vines.

20 Background bushes.
Change the paint colours to a light
brown foreground and a dark brown
background. Use the Grass brush to paint in
the background bushes. Add a Drop Shadow at
37% Opacity. Then use a Layer Mask to soften
the bottom edge. The mask doesn’t cut off the
drop shadow, just the brush strokes. Finally,
add a slight Gaussian blur to make it work.

21 Touch of blue
Use the same Tulip brush from earlier,
but with blue shades for background/
foreground. Then paint in some flowers on the
background bushes. Here, we added a slight
Drop Shadow and Satin style. Add a Layer Mask
Lock down and use the Grass brush to reveal some of the
bush through the flowers. This makes it look like
the flowers are growing throughout the bush.
When creating custom brushes, you might run into a
situation where you’ve got all the sliders and settings just

22
how you like them, but you’d like to switch the brush tip
Lots of grass
with a different brush and you’re afraid of losing your
Select the Garden Grass brush. This
settings. Or maybe you’ve got the Shape Dynamics just
is essentially the Photoshop Dune Grass brush
right and you’d like to keep those settings but use a
with Flip X checked and Scattering set to 137%.
different brush. How can you do it without having to
Set your foreground and background colours
recreate a new brush or scribbling down a bunch of cryptic
to light and dark shades of green that are
numbers? Use the Lock icon, next to that control in the
appropriate for grass. The best method for
Brushes palette. This
filling the ground with grass is to use lots of
locks the settings of that
layers. Start in the background with the brush
category so you can
small and work your way forward, gradually
choose any other brush
increasing the brush Size and Saturation. Some
preset. The locked
elements need grass in front of them, like the
setting will override the
rounded part of the walkway and tulip stems.
preset settings of your

23
new selection, while still
Final touches
allowing you to control
To finish things off, we’ve added
the options manually.
some shadows and highlighting to enhance the
Need to reset them? The
image. These are added as layers set to Multiply
Palette menu has a
for shadows and Screen for highlights. Then the
handy Reset All Locked
Opacity is reduced a bit, and Layer Masks help
Settings option.
to blend those elements into the scene further.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
INCORPORATING GRAPHICS AND TYPE
Think text is just for reading? Don’t be
fooled; it can also make great artwork,
especially in Photoshop

P
hotoshop enables us to learn how to ON THE DISC
create dynamic images using You can follow Brian’s tutorial through
typography, shape, texture and colour. from start to finish by downloading
the base image called ‘Celeste’ on
The reason why it is so effective at this style of the CD. Alternatively, why not try this
work is because it adds a new dimension to a technique on one of your own
conventional collage by being able to adjust portrait images?

layers, sizes, and colours. Photoshop also allows
you the freedom to be totally creative and does
not restrict your progress, but enhances it to
create unique images every time. The
inspiration for this style came while I was at art
school and I was cutting up some old Vogue
magazines to use on a collage, and started to
create figures and shapes made out of the
editorial content and adverts. Once I started
using the Mac, the style evolved from
OUR EXPERT Brian Grant
Brian is a freelance graphic designer and has over ten
years experience. He specialises in creating concepts and
design solutions for commercial and creative brands. His
current client list includes Sony, Coca Cola and Adidas, to
name but a few. You can see more of his work by visiting
www.anisometriclondon.co.uk.
conventional collage to a digital approach that
still has a creative, organic feel. There are always
ways to improve and develop the style and I am
constantly aiming to push more boundaries.

1 Starting out
To begin, set up a new document that
measures 230 x 297mm and make it 300dpi.
2 Face
Create a new
layer set called ‘face’. I
The base photographic image does not have tend to start with the
to be high-res, as the final piece will not dark areas first and to
include any of the base imagery. You could do that, I zoom in to
even use a sketch or illustration. Create a layer 200% and trace over
set with the base image. Our model is Celeste. the dark sections of
It is a good idea to start with the face as that is the image using a
the most complicated area. combination of the
Lasso and Pen Tool. I
do not use black, but
rather deep purples,
browns and reds to
keep things more
appealing and colourful.

3 Free movements
When doing this, try to be free with your
movements as it is not important to religiously
stick to the image because it will change when
the texture is added. Just have fun! Once you
have outlined a section, fill it with a dark blue
colour with a value of R:7, G:8, B:19.

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 4 Adding type
The next stage is to add typography to
the dark areas of the image. All the colours on
the piece should keep to a set colour scheme
and when you are finished, areas of text should
be visible, making up dark shades of the image.
5 Twist and turn
To make things more interesting, I
rotate, twist, turn around, stretch and layer
the typography with the imagery to create a
new texture. When adding the type, it’s a
good idea to merge down the type layers so
that everything remains on one layer. With
the amount of layers that I use (going into
hundreds), keeping unmerged layers wastes
time and memory, so I keep everything on
the dark layer at this stage.

6 Introducing colours
Now it’s time to introduce colours into the piece. Create a new set of layers to represent all of
the colours. For example, ‘oranges’ will include various tones of orange. The colours that will be used
7 Substituting colours
One method that is very useful is to
substitute colours on your image. So, if you
will not be totally realistic skin tones, but exaggerated vibrant colours that will bring even more life to looked at the image where it showed reds, you
the image. could change those to blues and create a
completely different effect. At this point it’s
difficult to pass on a technique because you
should be able to get into a creative flow and
go with what feels right at the time.

8 Layering colours
Don’t worry if things
look sketchy at this stage,
they should do! The
important thing is to keep
going and do not lose faith.
Create a few more new
The Wright stuff
layers and give each new
An inspiration for this style of work came from the artist Ian
layer a separate colour to
Wright, who worked on a number of musical portraits for
work with. Once the colours
the magazine NME in the Nineties. He used things like
start to get overlaid on top
shoelaces, salt, tissue paper and more to create his work. I
of each other, they begin to
was particularly inspired by one of his pieces and thought
create an interesting
the style would be very interesting if it was incorporated
textured effect.
with typography.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
9 Contrast
There are some really nice colours and textures going on, but it’s
now time to tighten some things up. Begin by adding style to the hair,
10 Dark areas
Now the image has a balance on abstraction and control. The dark areas are blocked in
solidly because we will be working on that area later, once the rest of the figure has been put in. You
using the Pen Tool to create stylised strands. These are created can keep adding more hair and colours to the face until you’re happy with the way things are
individually, one by one. It’s more time-consuming but will create a looking, but don’t get bogged down with trying to get things looking perfect.
better effect than any filter for this style of work.

11 The body
Use the Pen Tool to create the shape
of the body as a guide. The same process will be
used on the face, so not as much detail is
required now. Put in the dark areas first and add
a new layer set called ‘body’.

12 Background
Now the image is
really beginning to take shape.
It’s time to put in a
background colour and create
something eye-catching.
Double-click on the original
background layer in the Layers
Palette. We’re going to add a
gradient fill onto this layer.

Shapes and sizes

Further inspiration came from visiting a lecture by a
“PUT IN A BACKGROUND
COLOUR AND CREATE
typographic screen printer called Alan Kitching. He created
wonderful pieces of printing designs using varying sizes of

SOMETHING EYE-CATCHING”
typography, and I combined the idea of type with portraits
to create something different.

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 13 Gradient effect
Choose two different
colours as the foreground and
Changing colours
background colours on the Substituting colours is a great way to create something unique
Tools Palette. The yellow colour and notable for your creations. An example would be if an
has a swatch value of R:255, image had blue tones, then I could change all of those colours
G:255, B:0 and the warmer to orange, and change brown tones to pink. It is unusual at
yellow has a swatch value of first, but as you build the colours up it starts to take shape. The
R:255, G:180, B:0. Apply the important thing is to use your creative judgement.
gradient to your background
layer. Start from about 100

14
pixels above the base of the
right-hand side of the image Body tones
and move diagonally to the top Now it is a case of continuing the
left of the image, making sure same process for the face as we did with the
that the brighter yellow is on body. Remember to keep your applications
the foreground palette. looking random. With the introduction of the
background colour, things look brighter and
more alive.

15 Mask
Add a layer called ‘template’ on the body layer set. Colour it green so it’s easily visible, then
either type in or copy and paste text onto the page. Make the text 36 points large and make sure that
it covers the entire body of the Celeste image. Create a selection from this green template layer and
use it to create a mask. You can obtain dummy text from www.lipsum.com.

16 Repeat process
Now it’s time to repeat the process again. Adjust the size,
leading and kerning of the text. Alter the colours of the text and build
depth and a dynamic effect, in a similar way to how the face was built.
Keep going until you are happy with it. Turn the text on its side, rotate
and flip until you start to build up the look that you want.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
17 Don’t be restricted
Here’s where you can really let go and have fun. Unlink the
layers and move the text around to create even more of a random
18 Creative judgement
Experiment by taking away layers
and testing variations to create interesting
effect. Soon the base image becomes unimportant and it’s down to shapes and new textures. You can create more
your creativity to define the image. interesting variations using the Lasso Tool and
cutting away shapes from the text. It is a good
idea to leave layers on file, even if you’re not
using them, and try different combinations of
layers with other groups to create different
effects. You might find that less is more.

19 Unnecessary
detail
Now it’s time to use the Lasso
Tool to cut away the excess
shapes that you don’t want to
include. It’s a test of your nerve,
but you need to use your
creative eye and get cutting.

21 The other
foot

20
Create another shadow
Shadows layer and repeat the same
To balance things process for the other foot.
up, we need to put shadows After the shadow is
under Celeste. Select the blue complete, cut away the
used in her hair and use the Pen shape of the leg using the
Tool to create a shadow from Pen Tool to complete the
the base of her right shoe to the impression of the shadow.
edge of the page, with a You should now have a
gradient fading to 0% Opacity. funky infusion of colour,
graphics and type, all
in your finished piece
of artwork.

Possibilities are endless

Think outside the box and remember that you are only
limited by your imagination. You could create a surreal
abstract representation of anything in the world. It does not
have to just be limited to fashion or portraits. Once you’ve
completed your design you can make quick and simple
alternatives by experimenting with the Variations command.

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 Helpdesk
If you’ve got a pesky Photoshop dilemma, the Helpdesk is the perfect place to come for
an answer BY ADAM SMITH
EMBEDDED INFO: This is a great option that can jog your memory and save you from having to remember or jot down
precise applications
RECORD YOUR APPLICATION
Hi there. I’m an eager Photomanip artist and I
love to create fine art as well as restore and
enhance photography. I work with a lot of layers
and, at times, have specific ways of working that
I like to keep track of. I know all about saving
applications but wondered if there is a more
concise way of remembering just what tools
and effects I have applied to a piece of art. I
have heard on the grapevine that there is.
Please help.
Richard, Tamworth
We’d be glad to, Richard. Saving and loading your
applications is a great way to reuse specific preferred
effects. However, just because you have saved them
and filed them away doesn’t always mean you’re
going to remember where they have been applied
and to what effect. But there is a way to resolve this
dilemma. Simply access your Preferences option,
from Edit>Preferences (Windows), Photoshop>
Preferences>General (Mac OS) and select General.
Click the History Log box to activate the options.
You will be presented with Metadata, Text File and
Both. Essentially, you need to activate Metadata.
This will embed specific application info in your file
information. What a useful little reminder!
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070-071_AVP_35_Helpdesk.indd 70
A HELPING HAND
Hi all. I was wondering if you could help me out.
In September I will be starting university, doing
a Graphic Art and Design degree. Do you have
any good URLs or book references that will help
me out, to gain a better understanding? I have
looked on Amazon and visited bookshops but
don’t know what books will work best for this
course. Thanks for your time.
Peter, Doncaster
Well Peter, the subject you will be studying can cover
many different disciplines, from illustration and digital
practice to layout etc. We think having a creative
appetite will help you find your feet. However, there
are plenty of book titles that can influence and inspire
your practice and method. One prime example is the
Basics Design book series from AVA Publishing. This
includes topics such as format, typography, image
and colour, demonstrating the skills of recognised
industry professionals. You could also try www.
design-bookshelf.com, a site dedicated to promoting
the publishing industry’s most innovative design-
related titles. Other than that, perhaps tapping the
online communities for those that have participated
in the same course might be interesting. You could
even question some top professionals for their
opinions. No one knows better than them and you’ll
find most are only too happy to help.
SAVE THE DAY
Hi Advanced Photoshop team. This may not be
the most obvious of problems to solve, but I’ll
ask anyway as it’s driving me mad! Is there a way
that I can set up an action or script that
automatically saves my work during a specific
time? I recently lost a very detailed piece of
work due to poor housekeeping and it was not
funny at all. Hope you can help.
Danny, Dartford, London
IN A NUTSHELL: AutoSave is a general purpose utility
that can automatically save your edits and modifications
periodically for a number of commonly used applications,
and auto backup Photoshop and Microsoft Office
documents when auto saving
22/8/07 16:50:28

Well Danny, you might like to try purchasing the
affordable plug-in from ATopSoft, AutoSave. For just
$19.95, that’s £9.80, you can purchase this package
that is both Mac and Windows platform compatible.
This is a general-purpose utility that can automatically
save your edits and modifications periodically for
Photoshop 7, CS and CS2, as well as other commonly
used applications.
With AutoSave, you can easily retrieve the old
artwork from the backup files after making fatal
mistakes. This is a godsend for digital artists who
devote themselves to hours of work and forget to
save. It’s happened to the best of us. With an intuitive
interface, it’s easy to use and you can quickly enable/
disable AutoSave by pressing just one hotkey. Auto
backup and set your Backup file count configuration
from One to Unlimited. Also, set the Auto Save
interval from One second to Unlimited minutes.
Visit www.atopsoft.com/products/autosave for
your copy.
SPLIT MONITORS
How do I go about splitting monitors? I have
recently bought a second monitor and I would
love to have one dedicated to palettes and the
other to canvas. I don’t know where to start.
Saran, Ohio, US
Well Saran, without specifying whether you’re using
Mac or PC platforms, we’ll gladly offer advice on
both. Split screening is readily available with the Mac,
excluding Mac Mini. The iMac, MacBook and MacBook
Pro all have a video output port, but require an
adaptor, specific to each machine but readily available
from Apple retailers. This is to connect another
monitor, and once this is done you can extend your
desktop onto the second monitor or mirror your
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.
070-071_AVP_35_Helpdesk.indd 71
main desktop. As for the Mac Pro, it has a dual output,
meaning you can connect two monitors straight away
and, again, extend or mirror your main desktop. All
configuration of dual monitors can be activated by
simply accessing System Preferences>Display, thus
allowing you to choose which is the main monitor
and what side the second monitor is on.
PCs are a little less cost effective and a little more
complicated, as standard they only have one output
port. Adding a second graphics card allows you
to extend or mirror your main desktop and you’ll need
a VGA or DVI cable to connect your second monitor.
However, some PCs have a dual output graphics card
(like the Mac Pro). Configuring the dual monitor setup
is done in Control Panel>Display. Then click on the
Settings tab and choose which is the main monitor
and what side the second monitor is on, as before.
PRODUCT OPTIONS: There are other alternatives for
screen splitting, such as plug-ins like MaxiVista. With screens
split across four screens and an increased desktop space,
you can get simultaneous visual access to a massive
collection of Photoshop toolbars
“YOU CAN EXTEND YOUR DESKTOP
ONTO THE SECOND MONITOR OR
MIRROR YOUR MAIN DESKTOP”
es
n iqu
ch
Te
CLOCK MAKER
Greetings. What a great magazine you
create; it’s really good. In Photoshop, is there
any way of putting the clock numbers
around the inside clock circle, with equal
distance between them, like the numbers of
an original clock? Best wishes to all at
Advanced Photoshop.
Fatah, via forum
What we can provide you with, Fatah, are the
operations that will allow you to build and
develop your clock face. Obviously, start by
opening your symmetrical clock face and make
sure that your Rulers are active (View>Rulers).
Now drag and drop guidelines at the central
horizontal and vertical points on your ruler and
then drag another similar pair where you want to
have the edge of your hour marks, say two points
in both ways from the edges of your clock face.
Draw your first hour mark, activate your base layer
by Ctrl/Apple-clicking the Layer thumbnail and
the Reactivate Hour Mark layer.
Now activate the Move Tool, selecting the Align
Horizontal Layers option in the Options bar above.
Press Ctrl/Apple+D to deactivate the selection.
Next, move and align your hour mark, according
to the top guidelines and duplicate the layer. Now
move this layer, aligning it with your bottom
guidelines, and you have your twelfth and sixth
hour marks. Merge the layers, then duplicate
and rotate by 90º.
Finally, merge all your hour mark layers
together and select the Move Tool. Duplicate this
layer and then Shift-click the edge, setting your
Set Rotation value to 30º. Duplicate this layer and
repeat the step to achieve perfectly plotted
hour marks.
LETS FACE IT: Once you have mastered the basic
functions of creating your symmetrical clock face, which
are so simple, you can become adventurous and
decorate it accordingly
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 Insider
Info
INSIDER
INFO
The leisure of layers
Gone are the days of time-consuming layer navigation and awkward options, thanks to
Photoshop’s evolving science. We take a trip down memory lane to appreciate these benefits

S
ome of us digital users reminisce about our first encounters with
Photoshop. The awe we experienced at the palettes and filters, the
endless brush samples and adjustment options, and the realisation of
layers. This dream, however, soon turned into a nightmare and the thought of the
now seemingly archaic Layer options brings us out in a cold sweat. Since the
revolution that was CS2, the Layers palette functionality has been at its best and
the legacy continues into CS3. This month, Insider Info takes a retrospective look
at old functions and we count our blessings when they’re seen again in
comparison to the present technology. We’ll begin with Multi-Layer Select.
Multi-Layer Select
Since Photoshop CS2, users have been able to intuitively select multiple layers at
any given time. Gone are the days, as recent as version CS, when to be able to
operate this function users would have
to click in the Link column next to the
layer or layers they wanted to link it to,
so that the Chain icon appeared. This
could be a slow and arduous task at
times, especially when working on a
vast multi-layered image. The
improved options offer a more
object-oriented feel.
You can select multiple layers in
several ways. Selecting the Move Tools,
activate the Auto-Select option. This
will allow you to select layers by
clicking on your graphics on the
canvas. Dragging this tool over
multiple images will select multiple
Adam Smith
OUR EXPERT
Advanced Photoshop Staff Writer, Adam Smith has
worked on numerous previous commissions for The
NDSF, as well as having work published in The Times
and in several online and editorial publications.
Adam is partial to creating his own photomontage,
freehand and digitally-enhanced illustrations.
layers. Shift-clicking multiple canvas
objects will let you select specific
multiple layers in the palette. Locking
the layer will avoid the hazard of
selecting unwanted layers. However,
this can be a nuisance at times, so users
can simply Shift-click on multiple
target layers from the palette.
You can drag and drop multiple
selected layers to copy from one
document to another and all can be
moved, transformed (by checking the
Show Transform Controls option),
aligned, grouped and warped.
Link Layer
The option to link layers has not seen
much of a transformation, only Layer
‘Sets’ being renamed ‘Groups’; the
functionality has stayed much the
same. With regard to linking layers,
you will notice that, unlike CS and
before, there is no longer a visible
empty well between both the Eye icon
and Layer thumbnail. This is due to the
Multi-Layer Select option decreasing
the need for linkage. However, the
option is still presented to cater for all
users’ needs.
Secret within
Less of a new function but one that
is sometimes overlooked, is
History States. By selecting your
Preferences>Performance, you can
activate History & Cache>History
States. This determines the
number of history states applied to
your application, from 1 to 1,000.
Less of a Layers function, but if you
work with multiple layers with
many applications, it’s an
invaluable option.
In order to link layers, simply Shift-
click, selecting your target layers.
Then Ctrl-click one target layer to
access the Options bar, selecting Link
Layer. Alternatively, click the Link icon
at the foot of the Layers palette. To
unlink, repeat your selection. You
won’t forget which layers you’ve linked
because the Chain icon is still
displayed. You can use the Layers
palette flyout to choose the Select
Linked Layers option.
Fresh enhancements
There were also some new features in
CS2, carrying on in CS3. For example,
with the removal of the Well on the
Layers palette, a new obvious indicator
was essential. This became the Framed
Corners Selected Layer icon. This is
displayed by the distinctive double-
wide stroke around the corner of your

Seeing double layers and applied Layer Adjustments

MOVING MASKS: Move a Layer mask
from one layer to another by clicking
and dragging the related thumbnail.
Alt-clicking and dragging creates a copy
of the mask, while Alt+Shift creates a
copy and inverts the mask.
MENU COMMANDS: Previously
available as shortcuts, handy
commands are accessible, including
Layer>Delete>Hidden Layers,
Layer>Hide Layers, and Layer>
Layer Mask>Delete, Apply, Link,
and Enable/Disable.
Improved functionality of the
Layers palette has been made for
the user’s convenience. For
example, quick Layer or Layer
Style/Adjustment duplication,
activated by Alt-clicking and
dragging the thumbnail/layer in
the Layers palette. You will see a
heavy black line between layers –
release this where you want the
duplicated layer to be.
and Styles thumbnails.
Another original layer change is the
option of a No Layers Selected state.
With this option, it is now possible to
have no layers selected at any stage. To
activate this operation, all you have to
do is select the empty area in the
Layers palette. Alternatively, you can
choose Select>Deselect. Just keep in
mind that you will have to activate your
preferred layer before you can begin
application once more.

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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 a volume of great
artworks. The chosen entries this month offer an array of insights into the
creative mind, sharing and revealing individual approaches and skills. Read
on, enjoy and if you feel that you have what it takes to showcase your work and join
the ranks of your Peer Pressure fellows, then don’t hesitate to send us your entries.
We always include your email and web address, so anyone interested in your designs
can get hold of you. All you have to do is send us high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or
CMYK) at 300dpi minimum, which can be printed at a minimum size of 15cm x 15cm.
Send us low-res versions to advancedpshop@imagine-publishing.co.uk – we’ll get
back to you for higher resolution work if needed. Alternatively, log on to our forum at
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum. Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual
image criticisms.

Angel Although Shane received a degree in Visual Communications from

NAME: Shane Grajczyk
EMAIL: shane@shanesart.com
WEB: www.shanesart.com
Shane’s professional career, which has spanned the best part of ten
years, has been in design and multimedia development. However, he
has always been illustrating in one form or another, “whether it’s
inking out a tattoo design, airbrushing a portrait of a loved one, or
just drawing whatever comes to mind on the closest thing
resembling a piece of paper”.
the Arts Institute of Colorado, he classes himself as a self-taught
digital artist “who tends to sway back and forth between the loose
strokes of digital painting and the clean lines of vector illustrations”.
Shane tells us that lately he has been putting wings on his subjects
to portray innocence: “I wanted to mix vibrant colours and gritty
textures with the feel of smooth skin and silky hair. So, after detailing
the foreground image, I experimented with a few large brushes to
capture the gritty background element, then proceeded to add
vector wings to the foreground image.”

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 es
n iqu
ch
Te
Water bound
NAME: Simon Rudd
EMAIL: simonrudd@pompeysworst.co.uk
WEB: www.pompeysworst.co.uk
Water bound was made from four different stock pictures that Simon found
on different sites. Using an Adjustment layer, he changed the lighting of the
picture from daytime to twilight and then blurred the clouds and mountain
to give them depth of field. “I positioned the model on the rock, trying to
give her a natural pose and also added a small shadow next to her on the
rock,” explains Simon. “A slight blur was added to the girl’s outer edge to
blend her with the background, followed by smudging her skin with a small
soft-edged brush, set to low strength to give her smoother skin.” The ball of
light and wisps on the image were added last by Simon, using the Elliptical
Marquee Tool, filled, deselected and then blurred, while the wisps were
drawn in using a soft-edged brush on the tablet. Final adjustments were
made using a Levels Adjustment layer, giving the picture a blue tint.

SCHOOL ROOTS (ABOVE): “Once I got the main idea on the

BRAZIL WALLPAPER (RIGHT):
canvas, I had to create the environment. Using a picture of a
“Sincerely, this art was a shout-
room as the background, changing its perspective with the
out from my heart. I was living
Transform Tool and creating the floor with shapes, textures and
this nostalgic moment in my life,
photos, the idea started getting its initial look”
thinking about my homeland, my
friends, our art, my childhood
and the unique nature and
culture that I can only see at
home. Every time I look to this
art, it’s like my mind takes a trip
to my country”

HEART TRASHED: “I
started this art drawing
on a notebook while
living a crucial boring
moment in one of my
school classes. As soon
as I scanned it, I knew
that the game was on”
Brazil
NAME: Renato Braga
EMAIL: crazy@coconutbased.com
WEB: www.coconutbased.com
Renato is a freelance artist and art director in California, known as
NATO or Coconut based. To create an image, he usually pictures
the idea in his mind and then draws his idea, or finds a photo that
can be used as a good background. “These initial elements are
used like a new canvas. I start putting all the elements together,
working with brushes (you cannot imagine the endless brush
library that I have), working on shadows, blending modes or using
pictures as textures.” Renato’s favourite technique is to desaturate
photos and then bring the colours back in the way he wants them.

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 Discover the thinking behind the art

Remembering a dream
NAME: Tom Law
EMAIL: law.tom@gmail.com
“This image depicts the slow process of remembering a dream after
waking,” explains Tom. “It is never easy and often patchy, which is why I
decided to use a Polaroid theme. Polaroids are a way of capturing a moment
quickly, and then being able to physically hold the image.” Tom wanted to
add a sense of surrealism to the image by including things that can only
happen in dreams. “There are also elements of nightmares within the
dream, such as dark windows and hands appearing from under the sand.”
Tom used a number of techniques to create the image. “Panophotography is
one – it’s a slow process but can be very effective. I also used simple tools
such as shapes to create the Polaroid frames. The most time-consuming part
of creating the image was putting it together, bit by bit, like recounting a
dream. The image slowly takes shape.”

Absorbed within
NAME: Erin Williams
EMAIL: erinmw@hawaii.edu
WEB: edubz02.deviantart.com
Using a series of three stock images from sxc.hu and a girl from a deviantART
stock account, Erin began by cutting out the sky, field and girl and working on
each piece separately, changing the colour values, contrast, saturation and hues.
“When I felt each photo shared the same look, I combined them all. Then I did
some major colour changes again, until I felt it looked perfect and like one
photo.” Erin is currently attending the University of Hawaii, majoring in Art and
Graphic Design. “I hope to continue art as a career and be very successful at it.”

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

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 es
n iqu
ch
Te
Hope
NAME: Carl Wright
EMAIL: carl.wright@rbs.co.uk
WEB: www.myspace.com/thewrightskills
Born in 1970, in Islington, Carl Wright recognised a deep-
founded desire to express himself creatively by the age of four
or five, when he read his first Spiderman comic. “Before I knew
it, I was attending a course in every art style I could lay my
hands on, in an effort to quench my creative thirst to tell stories.
This led to a string of freelance jobs, which included making
logos, poster designs, business cards and portraits.” Now Carl’s
focus is on getting his pet project off the ground – a three-part
story that he has been creating on and off for a couple of years.

SECRET (OPPOSITE): “Another image from the Chronicles of Gideon project. With this
one, I was really trying to capture an innate deviousness with the character’s expression.
I’ve gone for a solid black backdrop to help convey a sense of evil. While colouring, I tend to
use the Burn and Dodge Tools heavily, to help flesh out various textures”

THE JOURNEY (ABOVE): “An

image taken from my
Chronicles of Gideon project.
This started off as a line art
drawing of the foreground
character, which was scanned
in and coloured in Photoshop. I
always work on a Hollywood
blue screen-style method in
that I always do foreground
and background images
separately, then flatten them”

ENEMY OF MY ENEMY
HOPE (LEFT): “I’m
(LEFT): “This image, and indeed
not sure why, but it’s one
character, is inspired by those old
of my favourite pictures. It
swashbuckling villains from
started off as a rough sketch
movies such as Sinbad. I was
that gradually, through a steady
trying to convey a sense of wilful
process of layering with the Burn
abandonment, mischievousness
and Dodge Tools, developed into
and absolute deviousness”
this simple piece”

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resources
Wacom Cintiq 21UX
The Cintiq 21UX is the latest model from Wacom. We find out if it’s worth the £1,799 asking price...
T
he Wacom Cintiq is a machine made to
suit the needs of the modern day
digital artist. Regardless of use,
perhaps as a drawing area or even a painting
canvas, this interactive pen display offers the
creative in question maximum control
matched with ultimate comfort, even after
many hours of application.
At first glance, the Cintiq 21UX certainly seems
expensive and, yes, it will probably take up a bit
of space, but not as much as you would think.
This beast of a machine truly utilises every square
inch to its advantage, be it for practical or
aesthetic purposes. It does, however, have a
certain slimline, sexy façade. With 21.3 inches of
high resolution, the LCD monitor demonstrates
picture-perfect quality. Couple this with the
control, comfort and productivity of Wacom’s
sophisticated patented cordless tablet
technology and, well, you have one spectacular
working area.
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Weighing in at 22.4lbs, to be precise, it’s
surprising just how easy this heavy piece of
equipment is to manoeuvre as well as assemble.
To start with, installation is effortless and setting
up the machine causes minimal fuss – you only
have AC Outlet, USB and DVI-I connections to
hook up. Fitting perfectly into the adjustable
stand, dynamic control seems to be the name of
the game when selecting your preferred
monitor position. Customised with 180˚ rotation
and the ability to incline between 10˚ and 65˚, it
leaves you with an extremely flexible and
ergonomic working area that certainly minimises
eye, arm and shoulder strain. The Cintiq can also
be quickly manoeuvred and removed from the
stand for use on your lap at any time.
Adding to this leisurely experience is the
supplied pen, which comes with a secure
cushioned grip as standard. The Grip pen allows
you to apply brush strokes and pen lines in the
most natural of ways.
With an active working area of 17 inches by
12.75 inches, there is more than enough space
to create detailed natural media art and organic
effects. The pen becomes instinctively active at
5mm from your monitor screen, and with the
height and breadth of your working area, it
handles like a dream. With the DuoSwitch found
on the side of the pen, you can easily navigate
through your workspace and desktop. Default
settings are applied, with the Upper Switch set
to Double-click, allowing you to instantly move
and open documents and files, and even open
Layer Options in Photoshop. The Lower Switch is
set to Right-click, allowing you to access file
options or apply layer styles in Photoshop, as
well as access all other standard options
instantaneously.
In the same way that the Wacom pen can be
used on a standard tablet, the digital eraser at
the opposite end can be used to correct details,
for a truly authentic sketching experience. This
works like any actual pencil eraser,
with pressure dependent on your
own applied weight. The monitor
also comes equipped with
ExpressKeys, with easily identifiable
functions acting as essential
commands to allow you to simulate
keyboard commands. These include
the Ctrl/Command modifier key
(left button) for Windows, Shift
modifier key (top right), Alt modifier
key (bottom right) for Windows
and the Space key (bottom). When
using Photoshop, these keys are
assigned to modify a tool or switch
to complementary tools, such as
the Move Tool and Color Picker,
which makes for smooth
application and creation. The
ExpressKeys are also, however,
GET TO GRIPS: To further
enhance your comfort, the
Cintiq 21UX comes with a
cushioned Grip pen for use
directly on the screen, allowing
you to create in the most
natural way possible
22/8/07 17:22:49
 resources
Similar products
Genius G-Pen560 Tablet
Manufacturer: Genius
Web: www.pctronix.co.nz
Price: $101.25 (£49.85)
(www.pctronix.co.nz)
Spec: 4.5” x 6” working area
Cordless pen
Pressure sensitivity 1024
Adjustable display stand
Resolution (LPI) 2000
Mac OS 10.2.5/ Win 2000/98SE/X
A standard product that seems a cost effective
alternative to the Wacom family. Works as
standard but only provides two-button
control, which can be programmed as left
and right mouse buttons. Appears very
TOTAL CONTROL: The Cintiq 21UX has an 21.3” high-resolution display and a dynamically adjustable stand that
limited in comparison.
allows the display to be rotated, inclined and even quickly removed for in-lap use
Rating: 2/5
fully customisable to fit every user’s creative word-formatting programs, as it operates a
needs. For instance, you can set a pair to continuous function when you press and hold –
commonly used keystrokes, such as ‘[’ and ‘]’ to seemingly ideal for scrolling through long
toggle through standard brush sizes. documents or web pages.
The Touch Strips, above the ExpressKeys, are All in all, using the Cintiq was a pleasurable
an innovative feature that we found very experience. You find yourself comfortable at all
practical and they complemented the immersive times and the size and quality of the screen, with
working experience you find yourself in when a 1600 x 1200 UXGA resolution, really allowed us
using the Cintiq. They invite you to simply slide to appreciate designing. All the associated keys
your finger across, allowing you to perform speed up your workflow, once you’re familiar
Scroll, Zoom or even custom keystroke actions. with them. It also has an air of technological Sympodium DT770
They serve as a Zoom function by default in
graphic applications such as Photoshop, but, like
sophistication in appearance and purpose,
which makes you feel like a real pro. A joy to use, Interactive Pen Display
the ExpressKeys, they can be customised to even for the smallest design tasks. 5 Manufacturer: Sympodium
toggle through rush styles, sizes and other tool
options. They can also be deactivated at any Specifications Web: www2.smarttech.com
Price: £2,333.55 ($4,739.20)
time, which is more practical than we first Manufacturer: Wacom (www.shopuk.co.uk)
thought; we found out the hard way that it can Web: www.wacom-europe.com Spec: 17” (43.2cm) LCD screen
be quite irritating when trying to design or Price: £1,799 with SXGA resolution
illustrate, when your drawing arm accidentally Spec: Cintiq 21UX interactive Any 100mm VESA mounting
activates functions. This feature also came in arm can be used
pen display
handy with other standard software, such as 8.9kg weight
21.3” diagonal screen size
16.2 million Colour
LCD screen with UXGA resolution
Emulation via FRC
(1600x1200)
Two operating angles, 30˚
Adjustable display stand or 45˚ from horizontal
Cordless, battery-free Grip pen This is a product for those that want effortless
and pen stand
presentation. You can write over slides in digital
Replacement nibs (1 stroke nib,
ink, save your notes, access any website or
1 felt nib, 3 standard nibs)
multimedia files and project your work onto a
Pressure levels of 1,024
large screen. You can also touch the screen
Apple Mac OS X 10.2.x/ Microsoft
with your finger to navigate the interface
Windows 2000, Microsoft
Windows XP menus of your room-control system. Better
with software such as Windows versions of
Summary: The Wacom Cintiq 21UX is
Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.
another masterstroke from Wacom, offering
Rating: 3/5
not just another top-performing market
alternative, but also a truly intuitive product
that gives users further advanced options
with heightened navigation, control and
comfort. Makes creation a digital dream.
Rating: 5/5

“ALL THE ASSOCIATED KEYS SPEED

UP YOUR WORKFLOW”
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 Resource reviews
resources
Even the pros need a little helping hand now and
again, so take a look at this little lot
Brilliant Adobe Photoshop CS3
Not quite as ‘Brilliant’ as the title would suggest unfortunately, but a good place to learn the basics of
the latest version and to find out what’s new in one fell swoop
Manufacturer: Pearson Prentice Hall
Web: www.pearson-books.com
Price: £16.99
Spec: n/a
T o say that Brilliant Adobe Photoshop CS3 is an in-
depth guide would probably be an understatement,
as it really does cover everything you could think of!
Literally starting from installing CS3, all the way to using
Photoshop with other programs, the book offers a very
comprehensive look at all CS3 related matters, so much
so that it fully prepares you for taking the Adobe
Certified Expert (ACE) exam!
The book helpfully identifies ACE objectives throughout
its text, so it’s easy to spot the important subjects to pay
attention to. Written by Steve Johnson (the author of over
35 books) and graphics designer and illustrator Andy
Anderson, Brilliant Adobe Photoshop CS3 follows a logical
progression that could seem a tad overwhelming if you
tried to read it in one go. Fortunately, it’s also designed as
a reference guide. If you only need to know about one
Big book of fashion illustration
For all fashion enthusiasts out there, this is a must-read, offering some real design delights and
showcasing an impressive variety of different styles and techniques
Publisher: Batsford
Web: www.anovabooks.com
Price: £19.99, $29.95 (US), $35.95 (Can)
Order at: www.anovabooks.com or many local
booksellers
V ery rarely do you get a book title that lives up to its
name or reputation, but the Big Book of Fashion
Illustration ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’. It truly is
big, with well over 380 pages packed with illustrative
goodies. Then there’s the fact that it’s jammed with all
kinds of fantastic fashion illustration.
A genuinely resourceful sourcebook, brought to you by
Martin Dawber, this title has everything a fashion illustrator
needs. Sporting over 1000 new innovative fashion
illustration examples, supplied from over 250 artists from
every corner of the globe, there is something to inspire all
those working in the associated field of fashion design and
illustration. Showing an appreciation for all styles, the
examples of art display many ways of using diverse media
and technique to achieve expressive composition. These
pieces are brought to you by talents in the industry, such
as Giulio Iurissevich, Meirav Shaul Karen Sentry and
Advanced Photoshop-featured Christopher King.
The book’s layout is dynamic and lets the images
‘breath’ within the confines of the page. This allows you,
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082-084_AVP_34_Resources.indd 82
topic, it’s a simple matter of checking the index and
skipping to the relevant section. Occasionally, the
exploration of the content feels too extensive, and the
book can get a bit heavy as a result. For example, does it
really take seven steps to explain the Clone Stamp Tool?
We’d have liked less writing and a few more impressive
images to accompany the explanations as some of them
really do feel like they’re there purely to fill up space. If you
need a book to tell you to insert the CS3 DVD and follow
the on-screen instructions to install the program, you’re
really not ready to use Photoshop! Ultimately, the book
strangely reminds us of textbooks from school; the
information is useful but the presentation could do with a
little more style and a little less content to make it a truly
worthwhile purchase, If you’re looking for a decent
reference guide, however, you could do a lot worse. 5
Summary: A good reference guide that unfortunately has
a tendency to cover subjects laboriously, resulting in too
much filler material.
Brilliant: It may be a tad too much like a
Rating: 3/5 school textbook, but this is a very good book that
can help you solve problems quickly
the readers, to soak up the visual
delicacies at your leisure. From
printmaking to digital, every section is
clearly identified, enabling you to
navigate easily and find what you’re
looking for instantly. Chapters include
the major areas of fashion, including
menswear, womenswear and
children’s clothing, along with
accessories and, our personal
favourite, Youth culture, offering some
distinctive contemporary samples. At
the back of the book, you’ll find all
contacts for contributing artists, so it
acts as a network for clientele as well
as inspiration for aspiring amateurs.
At an affordable cost of £19.99
($29.95) it is a must-have. As honest
as the title itself, this really is the
ultimate resource. 5
GO BIG: This book stands testament to all the
Summary: A great resource for those looking for breathtaking contributions from the artists
involved and the enthusiasm of producer, Martin
inspiration and authentic entertaining examples of art. It
Dawber. The ‘big’ book contains a ‘big’ range of
will really get the creative juices flowing and all at an
artistic examples
affordable price for the volume of work received.
Rating: 5/5
23/8/07 10:08:17

Image Restoration, Repair & Enhancement
This DVD could well be the Holy Grail for all those who have stumbled
upon some worn family treasures or who are interested in restoration
Manufacturer: Software Cinema
Web: www.software-cinema.com
Price: $159.00 / £77.84
Spec: At least 512 MB RAM needed to use both
Adobe Photoshop and this program.
Monitor set to a minimum size of 1024 x 768,
(1280 x 1024 recommended)
Macintosh OS X and Windows 2000 or XP
A lot of digital users love nothing more than rolling up
their sleeves and finding their own creative
techniques and ways around design dilemmas. However,
for those specialist practices it’s great to be able to find a
supportive resource.
If this specialist practice is the restoration and repair of
old photography, using CS2, then surely there are few
better resources than Katrin Eismann’s Adobe Photoshop
Image Restoration, Repair & Enhancement tutorial DVD,
brought to you by Software Cinema. Katrin, a reliable artist
and author, has already co-authored many other titles and
taught digital image topics around the globe. Here, she
shares the handy restoration tips she has learnt during her
professional career.
Session videos are easy to locate on-screen and all are
presented in accomplished detail and clarity. There is
certainly plenty to learn and discover, from extreme colour
correction and removing dust and texture to more
ArtRage 2.5
Entertaining and practical digital software at an affordable price
Manufacturer: Ambient Design
Web: www.artrage.com
Price: $25 / £12.32 (www.artrage.com)
Spec: Layers Panel
TIFF, JPEG, PDF, PSD Image Formats
Resolution Support pixels and dpi
Layer Content Transformation
Toolbox Panel
Color Samples Panel
1024 x 768 graphics. 256MB RAM
Windows: Vista, WinXP or Win2K. Pentium 800MHz
/ Mac OSX 10.3 or 10.4, G4 or Intel Processor.
A rt Rage 2.5 is a new, distinctive digital paint program
developed by Ambient Design. It offers users a variety
of digital techniques and processes that are unavailable in
any Adobe app.
When you open a new file, you’ll see a page to establish
dpi and pixel per inch. You’re then given ultimate control
to create a painting surface, with options including basic
canvas and blackboard. Individual adjustments can be
082-084_AVP_34_Resources.indd 83
resources
advanced options, such as toning and tinting and the
power of lens correction. There are also tutorials on
essential preparation that can enhance your workflow, but
which can be frequently disregarded.
For example, Preferences are scrutinised and critical
features preferable for enhancing efficiency are exposed.
Specifically, preparing History States, which are important
because, as a user, you will apply a lot of individual
treatment. Such options allow you the luxury of backing
out of your less favourable technique. Also, some
unfamiliar, yet extremely useful, functions are unearthed.
The History Log’s Metadata, is one example. This allows you
the luxury of seeing how file info can embed and display
exact working application information.
Along with other essentials, such as expanding Histograms,
reorganizing and customizing your workspace for
comfortable workflow and maximum efficiency, users can
also access project files on the disc. This provides
practical education, following techniques step-by-step
and all in a disciplined order. Yet another tutorial gem from
Software Cinema. 5
Summary: Intensive but extremely thorough tutorials
teach you everything you need to know and probably
things you thought you would already know. Quite lengthy
but at the same time detailed enough to impress and MAKEOVER: This training disc will show you
inspire those with interest in photo restoration. how to transform faded, damaged photographs
into beautiful, crisp images as well as how to turn
Rating: 4/5 casual snapshots into great looking pictures
made by changing Roughness, Scale and Opacity values.
After this, it’s time to apply your media. With a multitude of
media to choose from, including Oils, Chalk and Marker, all
tools are designed to interact like their physical
counterparts. The results are quite authentic and there’s
also the opportunity to apply stencils. Using the Metallic
Paint option, you can even apply, spread and blend gold
and silver tones.
Not only is ArtRage 2.5 entertaining, it’s also extremely
functional. Option icons are presented in a funky graphical
fashion and values, including Pressure and Softness, can be
revised by dragging your mouse across the dials and icons,
which makes use easier and more fun for younger users.
Professionals can take advantage of the Refs tools, allowing
you to pin an image to your canvas as a reference. 5
Summary: Fun but, at times, can seem limited in options
compared to Photoshop. However, its single-minded
approach to application makes the applied media options
and stylish working area a real pleasure to use. EASY TO USE: Photoshop users will like ArtRage
Rating: 4/5 2.5 as it uses similar functions. It has an intuitive
interface and supports tif, jpeg, PSD and PDF files
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resources
Fluid Mask 3
For all first-time users, Fluid Mask 3 makes masking much more straightforward
Manufacturer: Vertus ™
Web: www.vertustech.com
Price: £159
Spec: Faster initial image processing
Localised edge detection and blending
Intelligent Edge Blending
New tools for colour based selections
Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service
Pack 2 or Windows Vista™/Mac OS X v.10.3.9,
0.4.9 or later
A fter sitting through several Fluid Mask 3 tutorials,
we must admit we were flummoxed. To say it was
less than inspiring would be an understatement.
However, it did encourage us to go it alone and find
that, thankfully, this software really is user-friendly.
Fluid Mask 3 options are simple to comprehend for new
users of the software and the workspace layout is very
similar to Photoshop’s. Photoshop users should therefore
be able to easily navigate the interface, accessing the
floating tool bars and Options bar. There are inclusive
brushes that allow you to apply, keep, delete or blend
masks through specific application. Tools’ sets are colour
Canon Media Storage M30
Modernise your many photo albums with this cool Canon storage device
Manufacturer: Canon
Web: www.canon.co.uk
Price: £359 / $733.29 (www.justcanoncom)
Spec: 30GB HDD
139.5 x 80.5 x 33.5mm
3.7 inch screen
160 field of view
250:1 contrast
640x480px resolution
A re those old photos fading fast, sporting a washed
out look with one to many tattered edges? Well, it’s
bound to happen eventually. You can always save to
your home computer, but that’s not so practical when
you want to transport your pics around, is it? If these
concerns sound all too familiar, then it’s time to meet
the Canon Media Storage M30.
With its slick contemporary look, this hand-held
portable photo album offers users some cool perks. Most
noticeable is its capacity to store imagery, video and audio.
The device comes with both CF and SD card slots that
support images in JPEG and RAW format, along with video
and sound files. A robust magnesium alloy shell also
securely protects your backed up files.
The ultra bright 3.7 inch TFT screen seems ideal for
viewing all those magic moments clearly and crisply, with a
160° viewing angle so you can share them with friends in a
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coded according to their function, so the designated area
is easily related to the tool used. This means you can see
everything that you are doing on-screen at all times.
The Auto fill option is a nifty function for masking
without fuss on those simple tasks, applying intuitive Blend
masks that create a degree of transparency and soften
edges. However, reapplying your Brush Tool at any time
makes all applications instantly editable.
These are just a few advantages and since version 2,
Vertus has made several new advanced options. Now
included is the Color Sampler Tool and Patch functions
(formerly known as regions), each with their own Edge-
finding and Blending settings in the associated Patch
Properties dialog box. This offers assistance for those hard ON THE EDGE: As a result of blending, natural
to cut out edges. For example, use the Color Sampler to edge-blur and contour is preserved
select a tone in the image, refine this definition in the Color Summary: An all-inclusive plug-in, that
Workspace dialog box and from here directly assign them allows first-time users minimal fuss.
to the appropriate masks. Even masking tricky elements, While it doesn’t exactly revolutionise the
such as hair, has been made simple. With the Preview Cut market, the product does include some
Out Tool, you can monitor your outcomes before finalising cool features. However, is it enough to
anything. Mind-numbing tutorials aside, this attentive justify its price? Perhaps try the 30-day
software relies on user ability above all else, offering a free trial to make up your own mind.
workflow that leaves little to chance. 5 Rating: 3/5
group. You can fit loads of photos on this handy little Summary: With playback of a variety of
gadget if you take advantage of its 30GB capacity. Its multimedia files, a headphone jack for
intuitive navigation will be familiar to EOS owners, but audio playback and USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
those who are unfamiliar shouldn’t worry, as it really is interface, as well as mass storage, this is
simple to use. undeniably an innovative device for all
All storage types are divided into five sections and digital photographers.
selection is simple, using the Direction, Set and Menu Rating: 4/5
controls accordingly. Backing up files is easy; do so
individually or collectively, simply by pressing the Backup PORTABLE: Canon Media Storage will be popular
with everyday photographers looking for new
button and following the on screen options. Erasing is just ways to store and display favourite shots
a click away, as is printing – just select the
Easy Print button. Standard options are
included; for example, the Zoom
function and Album Slide Show, where
you can apply effects, intervals and
sound for an immersive visual
experience. Everything is mapped out
for you, without complication.
With the minor disadvantage that its
approved robust magnesium alloy
body slightly restricts portability, the
Canon Media Storage M30 really does
hammer the last nail in the coffin of
photo albums, demonstrating that fiddly
photo corners and tacky albums are fast
becoming a thing of the past. Now it’s all
about digital storage. 5
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How I started out in design
How I started
out in design
Ever wondered how your favourite artists hit the big time? Well, wonder no more
as we have a heart-to-heart with some of the industry’s finest talents and find out
about their own humble beginnings By Adam Smith
L
ife leads us down many paths and the
decisions we make, as well as those we regret
not making, will affect us all in different ways.
Some of us will work hard for what we achieve and
others may be blessed with plain luck and prosper
from it.
For those of us who choose a creative path, these
rules apply just the same and who knows how you’ll
make your own big break in the world of art and
design with so many variables to consider. It will
probably be a worrying and stressful, yet exciting,
time, developing your own creative career, but trust
us when we say you are not alone out there. Even the
most favoured and revered artists will have, at one
time or another, been through such uncertainties
and all have started from humble beginnings, much
like you. The James Jeans and Craig Mullins of this
world all started out somewhere and no doubt went
through their own arduous journeys of self-
exploration before realising the potential of their
own respective styles.
You are more than likely to, at some point, have
thought ‘how did he know art was the profession for
him?’ or ‘when did she truly come to realise the
potential of her method?’ Well, we at Advanced
Photoshop thought we would reward you, the reader,
by putting these questions, and many more, to some
of the industry’s familiar faces. They share the secrets
of their pasts and explain how they faced their own
adversity and disappointment, found their own
styles, success and fortune and, at times, relied on
plain luck. Discover how all these factors have made
them the successful artists they are today and then
sit back and spare a thought for yourself; ponder
upon the realisation that you too have the ability to
086-091_AVP35_How i started out.87 87
ISLAND500: Illustration by Tomer Hanuka
fulfil your own artistic destiny, whether it be
tomorrow or in years to come.
Tomer Hanuka
Highly successful comic and editorial illustrator,
Israeli born Tomer Hanuka, has made a big name for
himself, with a glittering client list, including Time
Magazine, The New Yorker, Spin, The New York Times,
Rolling Stone, MTV and Saatchi & Saatchi.
His US success story is encouraging for those
thinking of following a similar dream. “My first year
at the School of Visual Arts was not easy for me.”
Tomer suffered from anxieties about money and a
general culture gap. However, he was determined to
see out his first years and things picked up. He
admits that his decision to leave for New York could
have gone either way: “It was a deliberate choice at
that point, it was what I wanted to pursue and I
gave it a fair chance.”
We asked Tomer if his survival in the Big Apple
nurtured his artistic ability; he replied: “By the time I
graduated, I went through oils, acrylics, collage,
montage, watercolours and tight pencils. Different
materials lead to different approaches. Once I was
out of school, I went back to drawing the way I did
MEATHAUS (ABOVE) © TOMER HANUKA: “This is
as a kid, with brush and ink,” However, something
the first image I made after I graduated. All I did in
had changed, “After four years of experimentation, I school was acrylic and oil paint. I didn’t even own a
came back to ink with a new agenda and that was computer until the very end of my final year”
SOME OF US WILL WORK HARD FOR
WHAT WE ACHIEVE AND OTHERS MAY
BE BLESSED WITH PLAIN LUCK
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 Feature
BAZOOKA TOOTH (2003) (BELOW)© TOMER
HANUKA: “A couple of years later, I created a CD
cover for rapper Aesop Rock, for his album Bazooka
Tooth. At that point, I started integrating patterns
into the flat colour spaces to enrich the image”
colour. It felt right because it was my natural thing.”
There was still a challenge to make his art new and
interesting but he succeeded and completed two
comic covers for a small self-published publication
that won him a gold and silver medal at the Society
of Illustrators annual exhibition. “It gave me the
positive feedback to keep walking down this path.”
Shortly after, he started work for The New Yorker.
“All through high school and college, I’d draw
from observation and that is crucial in the way you
KILL BILL (2004) (ABOVE) © TOMER HANUKA:
“This was for New York Magazine. I used a Japanese
wood cut print look for the background. I
started introducing textures, scanning pencil lines
and old papers, and created scratch brushes”
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AI03 LOST BOYS (BELOW) © TOMER HANUKA: A contemporary piece, created in 2006
for an American Illustration Annual, corresponding with the year 2003. “I choose Sadam’s
capture but from the point of view of Iraqi kids living in what was left of their country”
visually translate shapes out of your head.” Tomer
admires the work of many comic artists, lately
looking at Frank Quietly, and revisiting some of his
favourites when stuck for inspiration. “Personally, I
never feel too comfortable with what I do, so there
is always a thirst to find new inspiration, a different
way to think about things.”
/ www.thanuka.com
James Jean
James is an awarding-winning illustrator and
acclaimed cover artist for DC comics, garnering
three consecutive Eisner awards, among others.
Despite having always felt compelled to draw,
James didn’t take his art skills seriously until he
reached the nurturing nature at the School of Visual
Art in New York. “Art school confirmed that the
nagging little demon inside me was correct. My
teachers at art school and the friends I made there
provided inspiration, feedback and affirmation.”
However, after leaving the liberation of a creative
educational environment, provided by his art
school, James, to his own discontent, found
himself compromising.
Far from the comfortable position he finds
himself in today, at times commanding his own
briefs, James explains: “My first few jobs were awful
because the art directors didn’t trust me to create
something unique for them. Also, I felt a compulsive
need to make the client happy, to the detriment of
my own work.” However, James made a bold step
and begun to create for himself first, client second
and soon received his first big break, shortly after
graduation. This was with the giants, DC Comics.
“Thereafter, the artwork on my website did all the
leg work for me.”
ROBOT (LEFT) ©
JAMES JEAN: “Oil
on wood panel,
2000. This was one
of the first
paintings that I did
entirely from
imagination. It felt
quite liberating not
to work from
photos or from
live models”
23/8/07 14:47:52
 HAPPY KITCHEN: Illustration by Craig Mullins

How I started out in design

TRIKE (LEFT) © JAMES JEAN:
“Photoshop CS2, 2006. This piece DANSE MACABRE (BELOW)© JAMES JEAN: “Mixed media on
was created with the theme, masonite, 1999. The characters emerge from a dream, finely
‘Technology’, in mind” rendered in ballpoint pen and oil paint”

“After I was creating monthly covers for DC, I
started receiving commissions for more editorial
work. Being selected in the competitive annuals
such as American Illustration helped to establish me
in the field as well.” However, this compromise
wasn’t the only factor that provoked James into
wanting to succeed. When asked what was the true
turning point in his own career, he replied rather
unexpectedly, overlooking the accolades he’s
received. “The sketches for one of my first editorial
assignments were rejected and the AD told me to
create something more ‘fun’.” However, James
successfully used this denial as motivation: “That Center and, while studying there, learned about
simple bit of feedback and the frustration and illustration. That was a career that I had never
agony over creating those rejected sketches led me considered, or even been aware of. It was a tough
to create something that I truly enjoyed doing.” choice, but I chose illustration.” So, how did Craig
So, how did James consistently stand by the nurture his newfound artistic interest over time?
convictions of his own method? “As long as I felt like Well, he revealed that being consistent in designing
I was being honest with myself and not being has taken him far: “They call it mileage in the biz,” he
derivative, the process felt natural and intuitive.” reveals. “But it’s not really self discipline, I really
Such certainty and an abundance of style have
ultimately contributed to his fantastic success.
/ www.jamesjean.com
Craig Mullins
Craig is an inspiration to digital painters
everywhere. Many enthuse over his art, aspiring to
attain his level of application. His fan base is in no
way questioned, due to his accomplished
conceptual design.
However, Craig never considered being an artist
for a living. “I chose industrial design, went to Art

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (1999) (ABOVE) ©
JAMES JEAN: “This piece started out as a drawing
on paper, and the composition quickly expanded, as
most wars do. It demanded to be pasted onto a piece
of masonite and completed as a painting”
TIKAL (ABOVE) © CRAIG MULLINS: “For 500
Nations, a documentary on native American
civilizations. My first Photoshop professional job
with very little painting, more photo texture
composite. Had no idea how to paint in Photoshop”
PEN (ABOVE) © CRAIG MULLINS: This is a
personal sketch of Craig Mullins’, which he tried to
“make more painterly”.

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 Feature
HOVER SHIP HALL (BELOW) © CRAIG MULLINS:
“Personal sketch, trying to combine better and more
precise construction and drawing, while keeping a
more fractured paint surface”
enjoyed working, learning and getting better.
Doing a lot of whatever aspect you specialise in,
and thinking hard about it will really help you out.”
Craig also studied classically, attending Pitzer
College, California and the Art Centre College of
Design. Studying Art History quite a bit seemed to
help, “To not reinvent the wheel is a great time-
saver. I tried to learn what had been done in the
past and tried to see how it was relevant to what I
was trying to do. Sometimes it is hard to see, but
MERMAIDS © NICOLETTA CECCOLI: A sample from
a forthcoming book about fantastic creatures, ‘the
mermaids’, which revisits Nicoletta’s old technique of
combining hand drawing with Photoshop
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086-091_AVP35_How i started out.90 90
you can learn a lot.” With ‘old school’ roots in
painting, Craig wasn’t slow to adopt a digital
approach when it became available. Now he creates
almost exclusively digital work.
When obtaining his first commissions, the
internet, let alone digital software, was unavailable
“so things happened slower”. But seeing a Mac II
with 24-bit color and Photoshop was perhaps the
making of Craig, “Or maybe it did break me?” He
explains, “I do miss paint, and not having to be
careful and plan things as much. Maybe this has
lead to lazy artistic habits? But digital certainly
did help the business aspects of my career. I could
help people get their jobs done much more quickly
and efficiently.”
Craig endorses digital potential even further,
saying: “Believe it or not, the world is always looking
for fresh talent, and I mean really looking. So make
your work stands out in any way it can. Post it on a
website; you will get interest.”
/ www.goodbrush.com
CROWS (ABOVE) © NICOLETTA CECCOLI: This is a
personal un-commissioned image from Nicoletta,
created using her preferred method of applying
acrylics to paper, mixed with photos in Photoshop
THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE (ABOVE) © NICOLETTA
CECCOLI: ‘The girl in the castle’, Random house, 2007.
“This was made from clay models, photographed,
followed by more drawing on paper”
Nicoletta Ceccoli
Working with publishing houses around the globe,
Nicoletta Ceccoli has been living the dream, literally,
illustrating fantasy books for children and adults
alike, for more years than she can remember.
Nicoletta took her first tentative steps towards
her own career goal at the age of fifteen, when she
would spend most of her time drawing. “I started to
dedicate more of my time to drawing.” So much so,
that it has become a way of life that she is extremely
committed to. So, what inspires her to stay so
motivated? She revealed that a healthy social
network helps, “Many of my friends are artists, as
well as my boyfriend, so it’s really hard to separate
art from my life. We exchange ideas, critiquing on
our work.” She also made an example of
contemporary influences, like her massive book
collection and love of Photography, cinema and
comics. “All of them inspire me with new ideas,
colours and compositions.”
“I found my first commissions when showing my
portfolio to publishers during the Bologna
Children’s Book Fair (1995).” Even with such an early
professional start and an abundance of dedication,
Nicoletta explained that her career never really
received a ‘big break’. It was more of a progressive,
attentive affair, which, not surprisingly, she showed
an appetite for. “I started slowly with my first book
in 1997 and, one after the other, new commissions
came to me. My first break with my new computer
illustration style happened in 2002. I’d been
commissioned for a very strange text, more for
adults than my usual.” This was a perfect
opportunity for Nicoletta to experiment with
23/8/07 14:51:04
 OSCAR AND THE MOONCATS: Illustration by Nicoletta Ceccoli

How I started out in design

GUCCI (LEFT) © NEIL
DUERDEN: “This was an
exploration into light
and how it works on a
backdrop but not to
interfere with the
product or model shot”
VAUXHALL CORSA (BELOW) ©
NEIL DUERDEN: “An image of
great complexity. It explores the
car’s character and the way it is
used by small businesses. There’s
a feeling of movement and busy
day-to-day working life”

IN AN INDUSTRY AS FAST AS Shoulders: “This was the moment when things

changed. Well, actually they didn’t. I am still doing

ILLUSTRATION, YOU ARE ONLY AS the same now as I was before, but my name is better
known since this campaign, especially in the US.

GOOD AS YOUR LAST PIECE What does it mean to be ‘made’, anyway; in an

Photoshop and she has continued to do so on other
book titles, developing her digital style.
This creative evolution, paying attention to
contemporary methods, along with her unshakable
commitment to advancing her career, all
demonstrates an air of professionalism. When asked
how others could present themselves in such a
manner, Nicoletta replied: “ By taking your
profession seriously. Expose your work in
exhibitions that can reach the publishers attention,
like the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Mainly make
appointments and show your portfolio to the
publishers you are interested in working with
directly.” If you’re as dedicated and persistent as
Nicoletta, this shouldn’t be so hard.
/ www.nicolettaceccoli.com
agency, freelancing full time. It was a risk he was
willing to take, “I heard horror stories of people
doing the same and ending up working at Asda, but
personally I found it a good and productive step.”
Neil realised his own potential almost by chance,
“I first started doing illustrations in my spare time
and people always complimented them. I thought
nothing of this until I saw other people’s work on
the big campaigns and thought “Hey, I can do that.”
That was the moment I knew this was the way
forward.” So, what was the turning point that made
him a consistent contributing professional? It came
in the form of a worldwide commission for Head &
industry as fast as illustration, you are only as good
as your last piece.”
This is often harder than it sounds, just jump-
starting a new profession, but Neil offered these
pearls of wisdom: “Find your style, prepare to work
very long hours and become obsessed with
illustration. You’ll work on your commissions by day
and collaborations by night to home your style and
evolve it naturally to stay ahead of the competition.
This may all sound a bit heavy but, ultimately, it’s
about doing something you enjoy. This is probably
the most important factor as it is very visible within
anyone’s work.
/ www.neilduerden.co.uk

Neil Duerden
Neil is well known for his vast array of design
produced in the advertising and print industry. His
international clients include Vespa, Shock Waves,
Stella Artois and Mojo, and make him one of the
leading freelance graphic designers in the industry.
However, Neil hasn’t got where he is today without
making sacrifices. Without a formal art education
and mostly self-taught, Neil explains: “I got fed up
with the constraints of account managers who were
scared of anything new and pushing boundaries. So
the next logical step was illustration and I never
looked back.” Neil had the courage to leave a large

VESPA © NEIL DUERDEN: “19GB Photoshop file

created on a sup’ed-up Mac; it took 20 minutes to open!
This file nearly broke me – it was so frustrating to watch
the blue bar move slowly across the screen”

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 Part five
We continue our exploration
into the hidden gems of
Photoshop and explore tips
from letters R to U

R efine Edges
Refine Edges works alongside the
new Quick Selection Tool very well,
although it is also the perfect
accompaniment to any Path Selection Tool,
such as the Pen Tool. It can be used to
improve the quality of a selection’s edges and
allows you to view your selection against a number of
different backgrounds to improve your editing. This is a
good way to make quick, rough cutouts of objects onto
plain backgrounds. Refine Edges can be found in the upper
toolbar, once you have a Quick Selection Tool selected.
However, you can also find the option by choosing
Select>Refine Edge. There are two new options that you
will only find in the Refine Edge option: Radius, used to
adjust the quality of the edge in areas with soft transitions
like fine hair or fur, and Contrast, used to increase the
contrast settings to sharpen soft selection edges.
S ave for Web
command
The Save for Web command
is an alternative save option for
JPEG files, in which you can
optimise and preview your images.
You can find this command by clicking on
File>Save for Web and Devices. A ‘before and after’
preview can be displayed by clicking on the 2-Up or
4-Up tab at the top of the window. Changing the
Preset options can alter the JPEG quality and it is
possible to adjust the Image Size separate from the
Image menu, by clicking on the Image Size tab next
to the Colour Table. If you have sliced an image in
preparation for the Web, you can view your sliced
sections by clicking on the Toggles Slices Visibility
button alongside the other Tools options.
You can view all of your saved workspaces in the
Window>Workspace menu. If after a while you decide
you no longer want a workspace on your list, you can
choose the menu option Window>Workspace>Delete
Workspace. It is also possible to share your Workspace
settings with others. If you’re working on a Mac, you
can locate your saved Workspace at Users/[your
username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop
CS3 settings/WorkSpaces. On a PC, this would be
located in your Preferences folder in My Computer.
S cale Effects
If you’ve applied a layer style to an image, the
style may have been specific to resolution and
features of a given size. Scale Effects give you the
opportunity to scale your layer styles without scaling
the object that your layer is applied to. You can access
the Layer Style by clicking Layer>Layer Style>Scale

R ender filters
Render filters can be used to create 3D shapes,
cloud patterns, refraction patterns, and
S ave Workspace
You can save the current size and position of
palettes in Photoshop as a named workspace.
Effects, and then you can use the slider controls or
add a percentage, checking the Preview window
before you apply the scale change.

simulated light reflections. The most valuable filter is

the Lighting Effects option, which allows you to apply
light sources to your image, giving dramatic highlight
and shade. Lens Flare adds a basic flare lighting effect,
for which you can adjust the Brightness and Lens Type.
While other options, such as Fibres, Difference Clouds
and Clouds, are used less, they can be a good way of
applying some quick texture effects to your image.

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 A TO Z PHOTOSHOP TIPS

S hadow/Highlights
The Shadow/Highlight option can be used to
fix poorly lit images that are suffering from
strong backlighting or flash wash-out. It can also be
used to work in a similar way to a fill-in flash on a
camera. With greater intelligence than Levels/Curves,
Shadow/Highlight lightens and darkens images
according to the pixels surrounding shadows and
highlights. Image Correction default brings up two
sliders. However, you can get more control over your
image tweaks by checking the ‘Show More Options’
box. The expanded palette gives you more control
over your Shadows and Highlights, while also
offering more possibilities for correcting colour
and Midtone Contrast.

S harpen
There are several Sharpen options in
Photoshop, all set on fixing blurred images.
Probably the most useful of the sharpening options
are Sharpen Edges and Unsharp Mask. These work by
locating areas where there are significant colour
changes (a sign of blur) and sharpening them.
Sharpen Edges only sharpens edges in an image,
whilst Unsharp Mask alters the contrast of edge
detail and produces a lighter and darker line
around the edges to give the illustration of a sharp,
focussed image.

T hreshold
Threshold converts both
grayscale and colour
images into basic black-and-white
images, like how you’d imagine a
very rough photocopy to look. It’s possible to specify
a certain level as a threshold. All pixels that fall below
this threshold are converted to white, while all the
darker pixels are converted to black. The results are
very dramatic but a good option for collage work. To
access the Threshold option, select Image>
Adjustments>Threshold.

T okens
When creating a Web Photo Gallery,
Photoshop uses tokens in the HTML template
files to define a default style. You can customise
your Web Gallery and turn it into something really
special with knowledge of these tokens, and minimal
HTML coding.

U nderpainting filter
The Underpainting option can
be found in the Artistic Filters
menu. This automatic filter paints
your chosen image onto a texture
background and overlays your
original image over it. The slider controls
allow you to adjust the Brush Size, Texture Coverage,
Texture Type (custom loads allowed), as well as the
Scaling and Relief of your texture.

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