Basic Retouch and Colorization

This tutorial will show you how to do a basic retouch, change the colorcast of an image and colorize some of its elements.



Step 1. We will use this Naomi Watts image: 




Duplicate the layer then go to Filter -> Noise -> Median...and enter a value of around 3 pixels. Then go to Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur... and enter 5 pixels.

Step 2. Add a layer mask (by pressing the third button on the lower part of the Layers Palette) to the layer you have just blurred and fill it with black. Then pick a soft, medium sized brush and start painting with white on the layer mask. Make sure you avoid any lines on the face; use it only on the skin, to get a smooth, professional effect. Vary the brush size and opacity depending on the area. Avoid blurring the eyes, lips or hair.

After you finish this step, you should get something like this:





Step 3. Add a Curves adjustment layer with the following settings:





Step 4. Add a Selective Color adjustment layer with the following settings then fill its mask with black.

Reds: -55 0 0 0
Neutrals: -20 +15 –40 +5

Now paint with white over the lips and you will notice they’ll turn a light pink. Make sure you follow the edges of the lips properly.

Step 5. Add another Selective Color adjustment layer with these settings:

Yellows: -100 0 0 0
Whites: 0 0 0 –25
Neutrals: +20 –10 –50 +8

Fill its mask with black and carefully paint with white over the eyes.

Step 6. Go to Layer -> Flatten Image, then to Filter -> Sharpen -> Smart Sharpen... and use the following settings:





Finally, go to Image -> Canvas Size… and choose black as a color, 40 pixels for both Width and Height to add a stylish outer border.

The final result:

Create a Vivid Celebrity Blend

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a bright, vivid blend of a celebrity of your choice. As for any Photoshop creation you do, make sure you choose good quality images that are part of the same photoshoot.

I have chosen these three images:

 

Step 1. Create a new document, sized 800x600 and place the first image in the center.

Step 2. Paste the other two pictures over the base image and resize them, then use the Eraser Tool to erase the unwanted overlapping parts. (Or you could add a layer mask and paint with black all the parts you want to disappear. The advantage of layer masks is that you can easily repair any errors or go back and modify them later).

After either erasing or masking out the unneeded parts, you should have something like this:



Step 3. From this step on, all we need to work on is the chromatic effect of the final image. Therefore, we will use various Selective Color and Curves adjustment layers to enhance the colours of our image.

First we will add a Selective Color adjustment layer with the following settings:

Reds: -100 0 0 0
Yellows: 0 0 -90 -100
Neutrals: 100 0 -50 0

Next, we're going to add a Curves adjustment layer, with the following RBG settings:



Step 4. Create a new layer on top of the others and fill it with a dark beige (color code b78a58). Then set this layer's blending mode to Linear Burn and its opacity to 55%.

Add a Selective Color layer with the following settings
and then duplicate it.

Reds: -47 0 +17 0
Neutrals: +13 0 -20 0

And finally, add another Curves layer:



Step 5. The final step is to add some text like the name of the artist and your own, perhaps some song lyrics too. I'm going to add a Kylie logo, using this font (only works one-letter uppercase: A, B, C...).  I used the letter 'I', then duplicated the layer and set the copy slightly to the right, behind the other layer.  Then I set the first layer to a bright cyan (color code  21a2e4) and the second layer to a deep pink (color code fb2d5d).

Step 6. Add an outer border by going to Image -> Canvas size..., choosing the color white and inserting the value 40 pixels for both Width and Height. Then go to the same menu again and insert 2 pixels for both Width and Height, and choose the color gray.

The final result:

Create an Abstract Landscape Blend

The purpose of this tutorial is to show you how to create an abstract, bright blend by using pictures of landscapes.

We will start by using these two images:

 

Step 1. Open the first image and paste the second one on top of it, using the blending mode: Lighten, 100%.

Step 2. Emphasize the colours of the image by applying successively three Selective Color layers, as follows:

The first layer:
Reds: -92 0 0 0
Cyans: -44 +100 0 -36
Blues: +100 -43 0 +25
Neutrals: -51 0 +100 +52

The second layer:
Reds: -100 0 +100 0
Cyans: 0 0 -100 0
Blues: -57 0 -100 0
Neutrals: +25 0 -40 0

The third layer:
Reds: -100 0 +100 0
Neutrals: +20 0 -20 0

To further emphasize the image, we will use a Curves adjustment:



Step 3. Now we will add the text. A handwriting font will always look great on this type of blend. I chose the font Carpenter, 130 pts, Color: white, without applying to it any further effects and wrote 'Summer bliss'. Then I duplicated the layer, moved it slightly upwards and changed its color to 5857fd (the color code is inserted here).

Another alternative for styling the text would have been (without duplicating the text layer) to go to Blending Options -> Stroke and add a 1 pt pink or orange outer border to it.


Step 4. Add a thick outer border to the final image by going to Image -> Canvas Size… and inserting the value 20 pixels for both Width and Height, and choosing the color white. Then go to the same menu again and choose 2 pixels for both Width and Height, and choose the color gray (notice that it will appear as orange because of the Selective Color layers).


The final result:

Create a Dreamscene Landscape

This tutorial will teach you how to transform a plain image of a landscape into a mesmerizing, artistic scene. This is the image we will be starting from:



Step 1. Open the image and paste this texture over it using the blending mode: Lighten, 100%.

Step 2. Paste the texture again over the image, this time using this blending mode: Hard Light, 100%. To create an elegant vignette effect, choose the Eraser Tool, with a very large diameter (to obtain a smooth, uniform effect) and use it on the center of the image as seen in the screenshot below:



Another interesting alternative would be choosing Screen, 100% instead of Hard Light and then duplicating the layer to accentuate the effect.



Step 3. The next step is to really bring out the best out of this image by enhancing its colors. You can accomplish this by successively adding three Selective Color adjustment layers. Keep in mind that depending on the initial image these settings can result in different outcomes.

The first layer:
Greens: -100 -100 +100 0
Cyans: 100 0 -100 0
Neutrals: +30 0 -30 +5

The second layer:
Yellows: -100 0 0 0
Greens: -100 +100 +100 0
Cyans: 100 0 -100 0
Neutrals: 0 0 -30 +5

The third layer:
Neutrals: +46 0 +46 0

Step 4. Next we’re going to add an appropriate text. I’ve chosen one of the quotes here. The placement of the text is very important so try to position it on the left bottom part of the image, in a way that will compliment the whole composition. For this tutorial I chose a white color, Palatino Linotype, 14pt and added an Outer Glow effect with the opacity set to 25%.

Step 5. We will finish by adding this light texture beneath the text. Paste it and modify it accordingly to fit the image. The effect has to be subtle, but noticeable. I used Blur -> Motion Blur on a distance of 34 pixels. Then by pressing Ctrl+T I rotated it to place it diagonally. Then I deleted some unnecessary parts and some areas underneath the text that made it difficult to read.


The final result:




By using this image and following the same steps, I also obtained this:

Experiment with different Selective Color settings and light textures to obtain different effects, be creative!

About

My name is Anja Emerson and I'm an experienced freelance writer and passionate graphic designer, with an eye for all things beautiful.

‘I Love Photoshop’ is a personal blog created with the purpose of sharing Photoshop techniques, resources and tutorials with other Photoshop users.

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