content issue 08/2010

cover artist – interview

Randy Monteith 
Randy Monteith is a self-taught artist. All his ideas come from an
overactive imagination, that is only put in check when he finishes a
piece of artwork and then the process begins again.

creative class interview

Distractions Interview with April Elisabeth 
José-Paulo Reis 
photomanipulation
interview Making the Mood
Interview with Natalia Voloshyn  Naomi Bensen 

digital painting
Forest Fairy
Alena Lazareva  Dearest Readers!
Let’s face it: the Summer is about to end. Most of you are probably coming back from
workshop holidays and I guess you don’t feel like getting back to work, is that right?
How to paint a realistic eye The sunny days will soon be over, but it doesn’t mean that the holiday fun has to
George Patsouras 
stop! Try to change all the good energy you have into art. Be creative and let us inspire
How to paint a realistic lips you with our September tutorials:
George Patsouras  In this issue, Alena Lazareva will show you how to make a beautiful digital painting
of a Forest Fairy and José-Paulo Reis – how to prepare an intriguing vector image. You
interview can also improve your photo retouch skills with Ylenia Peronti and Armand Johnson
Interview with Armand Johnson  or become a master of a realistic digital painting, in which George Patsouras will help
you. You can also enjoy the works of Randy Monteith, our cover artist, and read the in-
photo retouch terview with Natalia Voloshyn, April Elisabeth and Armand Johnson.
Glamour Retouch I hope that each one of you will find something useful and interesting for himself.
Armand Johnson  Have a good lecture!

How to change eye color Magdalena Mojska

Ylenia Peronti  magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org
Editor in Chief
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 interview

Interview with
Randy Monteith
I am self-taught as an artist. So any mistakes I have
made are intentional. All my ideas come from an
overactive imagination, that is only put in check
when I finish a piece of artwork and then the process
begins again. I have been working with Photoshop for
almost 7 years now. I am lucky enough to have two
images chosen for two of RedBubble’s books GAIA
and Compassion, Courage and Friendship. I have been
interviewed in Photoshop Creative Magazine #14 and
have images printed in Advanced Photoshop as well.
Recently in Issue #60 of Photoshop Creative Magazine
the editors chose my portfolio on their webpage as
one of the Top 5 rated portfolios. I am not one to think
outside the box, but blow it to bits, so stand back and
watch me now!

Please tell our readers something about yourself. sea (who is my biggest fan) is 17. I work for Bombardier of Thunder
I am 49 years old , I have a great wife who is my inspiration in so Bay, Canada, where I do the electrical electronics testing on the rail-
many ways. My son Rory is seven years old and my daughter Chel- cars we manufacture for the world.

4 .psd Photoshop
interview with randy monteith

Why did you choose to become a digital artist?

Someone sent me an email with a picture that someone did of an
animal that was made up of three other animals and I said to myself:
Great Idea! but I thought I could do so much better. I had no clue what
software was out there until some friends told me about Photoshop.
I am self taught as an artist and have taught myself Photoshop all
on my own. Creating Digital Art is a great outlet , I get to see all these
crazy ideas I have in my head come to fruition.

.psd Photoshop 5
 interview

6 .psd Photoshop
 interview with randy monteith

What are you currently working

on?
No real projects , just some experi-
ments that sometimes turn into
pieces of artwork. I love coming
up with new techniques, take an
old techinque and stretch it a little
further then others have.

Any advices to those who would

like to become digital artists
as well?
Don’t think outside the box! Blow it
to bits! A program like Photoshop
can be very scary to learn there
are so many tools and things you
have to know how to use. Just
take your time and learn a small
part at a time. Then you will learn
how to slowly start using different
parts of the program together en-
abling you to understand it better
and create some amazing art!

Where do you look for the inspiration to create?

My ideas come from all over, I have a very overactive
imagination that works non-stop.

Could you tell us a bit about the advantages and

difficulties of your profession? What do you find
the most satisfying about it and what can be
discouraging?
In my case, because I have a regular job as a elec-
tronics tech, I am lucky I don’t have to rely upon my
income from my artwork. But this also gives me the
freedom to work on what I want to work on and not
what the boss tells me to do. I mainly create art for
myself. If others like it then that’s a bonus.

Are there any works you are particularly proud

of?
Yes there are quite a few actually. Broken from Within
was featured in an ad for Photoshop Creative maga-
zine. Wither won a first place prize in a international
art contest sponsored by Corel. Earth Bound was fea-
tured in a limited edition book by Redbubble.

.psd Photoshop 7
Distractions

In this tutorial I will show you how to acheive an interesting effect using vectors.

medium | 45 min.
adobe photoshop CS5 | adobe illustrator
 distractions
01

Step 1
To begin, create a new document as shown below.

02

Step 2
Fill the background layer with black color: [Alt] +
[Backspace]. Next select the picture for this tuto-
rial. Any picture will do, but the photo of a face or
a portrait will be the most suitable here. Now you
need to cut the face out of the picture. In this sce-
nario we used Pen Tool since it provided the best
result. In Paths panel click left mouse button on
the thumbnail you created. Next press [Ctrl] +[C]
to copy and [Ctrl]+[V] to paste it.

03

Step 3
Now we will adjust contrast of the cut out image.
Go to Layer>New Adjustments Layer>Selective
color and set the values as you see in the picture
below.

.psd Photoshop 9
 creative class

04

Step 4
Duplicate the model's layer and desaturate it
using [Shift]+[Ctrl]+[U]. In the Layers panel
select desaturated copy of the model and go to
Filter>Blur>Lens Blur and use the settings below

05

Step 5
Now we need to save the document as PSD file
(File>Save as).

06

Step 6
In this step you need to make sure that you have
chosen or made the right vectors to be used in
the image you are creating. As soon as you have
it done, drag into Photoshop and choose Smart
object. To do that, highlight your Vector in Layers
panel, right click mouse button and from the drop
down menu select Convert to smart object.

10 .psd Photoshop
 distractions

07

Step 7
Now put your vectors in your file. Choose the first
one and go to Filter>Distort>Displace. Use the
settings shown below. You have to do it for all the
vector layers. Choose the file you saved before in
PSD format to complete the displace filter. Next,
duplicate the face image as many times as the
number of vectors you add to your file. We need
the original copy of the image you cut on top of
any smart object you create. Once you have the
images on top of the vector layers you have to
create Clipping masks. Right-click on each copy
of the image layer in the Layers palette and select
Create Clipping Mask.

08

Step 8
Once you have done all the clipping masks, you
must give some layer properties to the vector lay-
ers. Click on fx below the Layers panel, select drop
shadow and use the settings below.

09

Step 9
You can modify the settings of each smart object
layer just the way you want. I hope you enjoy it!

by José-Paulo Reis

.psd Photoshop 11
 interview

Interview with
Natalia Voloshyn
I’m a 21 years old master student
from a beautiful city of Lviv, Ukraine.
Though my occupation (I’m a linguist)
can hardly be called “arty”, I’ve been
madly in love with Photoshop and
photography for nearly 3 years. Being
an artist is an amazing feeling.
You can find more of my works at:
http://voloschka-photo.deviantart.
com/
http://voloschka.deviantart.com/

Tell our readers something about yourself. How did your digital urge to create. Also, I was a lot into photography at that time but I
arts adventure started and why did you choose this profession? didn’t have a camera. After browsing a couple of websites with pho-
I’ve been a digital artist for three years now and my relationship with tomanipulations, I understood that it’s not necessary to have expen-
this form of art started rather traditionally – I was driven by a strong sive equipment to create – and I decided to give it a try.

12 .psd Photoshop
 interview with natalia voloshyn

Where do you get the inspiration for your works?
Anything can be an inspiration – music, films, books, different kinds
of art, even random lines in the conversation. I often build up an im-
age of a future artwork in my imagination, it can be my vision of a
certain concept or feeling, or just a fantasy scene. But sometimes I
just play around with images, textures and brushes and something
interesting comes along the way.
Could you tell us a bit about the advantages and difficulties of
your profession? What do you find the most satisfying about it
and what can be discouraging?
Digital art is very time consuming. It might take up to 5 hours or
even more to create a piece. It is also quite tiring as it requires hours
of concentration and sitting in front of a computer screen. The most
satisfying thing about being a digital artist is that nothing limits you

.psd Photoshop 13
 interview

– if you want to create a beautiful lady with huge butterfly wings or

a dark dungeon with ghosts, it is up to you. Anything is possible. Im-
ages, brushes and textures give you an opportunity to experiment
as much as you want. However, digital art is technically difficult and
requires a lot of practice, which can be discouraging at times.

Are there any works you are particularly proud of? Any personal
favourites?
That’s a tricky question. I really like my latest pieces ‘Free’, ‘Perfec-
tion’ and ‘Carried Away’ but it would be wrong to call them favourite,
as all of my works mean a lot to me.

14 .psd Photoshop
interview with natalia voloshyn

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on a piece portraying an imaginary being, perhaps a
girl, lonely, lost and rejected, longing for warm human feelings but
not being able to find them. It is going to be a dreamy fantasy piece,
quite dark and atmospheric.

What are your plans for future? Are there any particular goals
you would like to achieve?
I consider myself being a perfectionist, so I try to improve my skills
with every new piece I create. I would like to move more in the direc-
tion of digital painting, learn some new techniques.

Any advices to those who would like to become digital artists

as well?
The first and the most important piece of advice – don’t stop. Don’t
give up, even if things go totally wrong or are not as good as you ex-
pected. Be patient, try to build up an image in your mind first or draw
a sketch, and then recreate it step by step. If you feel that you lack
knowledge, browse for some tutorials, they can be very helpful. Im-
prove your skills. And remember - the sky is the limit.

.psd Photoshop 15
medium | 30 min.
adobe photoshop CS3 | wacom tablet
 forest fairy

Forest Fairy
I wanted to draw a beautiful fairy with long hair and bright green eyes, running
through the forest. I decided to paint it in bright colors of yellow and orange.
The image needed to be magical.

01

Step 1
I made a sketch in Photoshop using Wacom tablet.
After I made a rough sketch, I decided to add dif-
ferent decorative details during the process of
drawing.

02

Step 2
I drew the basis for the face, body and dress on
a new layer. More details and highlights would
be added later.
.psd Photoshop 17
 digital painting

03

Step 3
I started to paint the basis for fairy's hair. I used
a wide, round, soft brown brush and drew it on
a new layer. Then I began to paint more details of
fairy's body and of her dress by adding shadows
and highlights.

04

Step 4
At this point, I began to refine the face and make
up, continuing from step 2, and adding more de-
tails. I focused on the looks and the eyes because
I think it’s very important. I painted some pinkish
shades on the face, added highlights, and textured
the lips. After that, I added eyelashes.

05

Step 5
In this step I drew the hair. I decided that fairy's
hair would be long, with a reddish-yellow hue.
First I drew the basis for hair using a dark color.
Then I painted waves of the hair lighter. I used
several colors to draw the hair (brown, orange,
red and various shades of yellow), as it gives
the effect of more volume. To draw the hair I use
a soft round brush. In the brush settings, I set
Shape>Dynamics>Fine hair fine hair and sized it
to 2 px.

18 .psd Photoshop
 forest fairy

06

Step 6
I decided to make the dress more beautiful. First,
I drew bright yellow patches on the dress and the
folds. I drew highlights with a soft, round brush
setting the Opacity to 40%. I then painted gloss
on her dress. For this I used a brush size of 2-5 px.
Glitter (point brush). I drew it on multiple layers
with varying transparency and used a bright yel-
low and red brush. The more points you paint, the
more the dress will shine! On the brightest parts
of the dress I put more points of bright color.

07

Step 7
When I finished the details on the girl's body,
I drew a flower in her hand. On a new layer with
Opacity 50%, I drew a light train. I used a soft,
round brush with Opacity set to 30-50%.

08

Step 8
I started to paint the background and used a soft,
large brush. I made the left upper corner of the
background lighter and the bottom of the back-
ground - darker.
.psd Photoshop 19
 digital painting

09

Step 9
I then painted an abstract leaf in the right side of
the background and applied the Gaussian Blur fil-
ter (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur). Now, using a soft
brush, with light yellow I added rays of the sun. Af-
ter that I again applied the Gaussian Blur.

10

Step 10
In this step I added decorative items and orna-
ments. I used a brush size of 2 px and yellow and
brown colors to paint decorations (to look their
best, they need to be drawn very accurately).

11

Step 11
I drew the falling leaves on 2 layers: a front and a
rear layer. On the foreground, I painted the leaves
brighter. To layer the leaves in the background,
I applied a Gaussian Blur.

by Alena Lazareva

20 .psd Photoshop
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How to
Paint a Realistic Eye
This tutorial will explain how to paint a realistic eye in Photoshop. Eyes are by far one of the
most important aspects of any painting, especially if it’s a portrait. It’s also one of the most
fun features to paint, as painting an eye is much easier than one might think.

medium | 30 min.
adobe photoshop CS5
 how to paint a realistic eye
01

Sketch
Before laying down a single brushstroke, it’s
important for me to create a rough sketch. It
doesn’t have to be perfect, but we need to get
our point across here. This will only make things
easier during the painting process. Create a new
layer and sketch in an eye.

02

Laying down the Base Color

This step is simple enough; here we lay down the
base color for the skin. Simply use the Gradient
tool here and fill the background layer with your
color choice. In general try not to go too light or
too saturated here.

03

Defining Form
Using the HSB Slider, (Windows>Color), pick
a darker more saturated color for the darker areas
of the skin, and paint it using a simple Hard Edged
brush. I also pick a lighter, less saturated tone for
the highlights of the skin. I choose a color for the
eye, in this case, a bright blue and paint that in as
well.

.psd Photoshop 23
 workshop

04

Bringing Life to the Skin

The values of the skin need some work here.
I choose an even brighter, lighter color to define
the form of the skin. I introduce the lighter tones
according to the lighting here, which is a standard
front light. I add the lighter tones to the tone, the
bridge of the nose, near the eyebrow, and around
the eyelid to make things appear more realistic.

05

Smoothing Out the Skin

At this point, all my work was done using
a standard Hard Edged brush, which is great for
defining form quickly. To blend the skin and give
it a more photo realistic look, I now switch to
a soft brush (Hardness at 0%) and Opacity at 50%.
I blend all the sharp transitions until things appear
much smoother. Additionally, I paint darker tones
on the blue iris to give it more depth.

06

Bringing More Life

At this point I work a bit more on the skin tones,
adding some more saturated reddish tones on
the area around the eye, as well as the cheek.
I also add a more saturated blue to the eye as
well. I do this all with a soft airbrush at a fairly low
opacity on a new layer, then merge it down when
I’m satisfied with how things are looking. I also do
some more detail work using a softer Hard Edged
brush as well.

24 .psd Photoshop
 how to paint a realistic eye

07

Details
I’m satisfied with how things are looking at this
stage, so I start working on the details. Using
a fairly small brush, I begin to add some ‘bumps’
around the eye to give it a more realistic looks.
I also create bumps around the eyebrow using
a both a fairly light as well as dark color to help
it pop for a realistic look. I also add details in the
iris using a lighter bluish color to really bring the
image to life. I work in at a very large zoom at this
stage as well to make things easier and more
accurate.

08

Refinement
I go over everything with a Soft Edged brush at
a low opacity for a more realistic look. Additionally
I bring out the details more using fairly small, hard
edged brushes. I work on the eyebrow, painting
each strand in, as well as the eyelashes.

09

Color and Texture Enhancement

Things are looking a bit too muddy for my taste,
so what I do here is create a new layer set to
soft light, and enhance the colors quite a bit.
I introduce much warmer tones around the eye to
give it more life. Finally, I slightly overlay a leather
photo texture to give the skin a slightly more
realistic effect.

by George Patsouras

.psd Photoshop 25
How to
Paint a Realistic Lips
In this tutorial, I will explain how to paint realistic lips with Photoshop. Before attempting to
paint lips, it’s essential that you practice drawing lips as well as the head in general to get
the best results possible.

medium | 30 min.
adobe photoshop CS5
 how to paint a realistic lips
01

Sketch
I almost always start off with a sketch for my
serious paintings, and this one is no different.
I create a new layer, and with a Hard Edged brush,
I quickly sketch in the lips. Getting the lips to look
right now just makes the painting process that
much easier.

02

Picking the right base color

Pick a mid-tone for the skin, one that’s not too
saturated or too light (a common mistake many
artists make). To quickly fill in the canvas with
a color, I simply use the Gradient tool. After it’s
done, I use a hard edged brush to paint in the
red lips.

03

Defining Form
Once I chose my base tone, it’s time to define the
form of the skin. The first thing you must think of
is where does the light come from? In this case,
I decide to go for a fairly simple front light and
shade accordingly. Using a Hard Edged brush,
I use darker, more saturated tones for the darker
parts of the skin, and a lighter, less saturated tone
for the highlights of the skin for a realistic effect.
Use a darker midtone for the ‘top’ lip, and bring out
lighter tones for the bottom one (this works for
most lighting situations).

.psd Photoshop 27
 workshop

04

Bringing out the Highlights

Things are still looking too flat for me at this stage,
so I choose a much brighter midtone to bring
out the form of the skin. As always, I simply use
a hard edged brush at this step. I bring out lighter
tones on the ‘corners’ of the lips, the chin, and on
top of the lips.

05

Smoothing out the Skin

Once I’m happy with my value statement, I decide
to soften everything out with a soft edged brush.
I choose Hardness 0% under my Brush Settings,
and with a 50% Opacity, I smoothen out the rough
transitions.

06

Details
I start bringing texture to the lower lips using
a fairly small, Hard Edged brush. I zoom closer
here to make things easier, and begin to paint the
texture of the lips keeping the form in mind, using
a circular stroke. Additionally, I bring out a fairly
harsh highlight at the top of the lips (the part that
looks like a ‘V’), which gives the image a much
more realistic feel.

28 .psd Photoshop
 how to paint a realistic lips

07

Even more details!

I bring more contrast to the image, using lighter
tones for the highlights and darker ones for
shadows. I introduce a fairly dark tone right
underneath the lip, above the chin for a realistic
effect. I also use a darker tone to separate the
‘bottom’ lip from the top, giving the lips more
depth in the process. I also add a mole simply for
the fun of it.

08

Final Refinement
Here I add even more texture to the lips, and use
a very light, almost white color on the bottom
lips to bring more life and contrast to the image.
I clean the image out a bit in general and make
sure everything appears as symmetrical as
possible, and voila! We’re done!

by George Patsouras

.psd Photoshop 29
 contributing writers
Randy Monteith cover artist
I am self taught as an artist. So any mistakes I have made are in-
tentional. All my ideas come from an over active imagination, that
is only put in check when I finish a piece of artwork and then the
process begins again. I have been working with Photoshop for al-
most 7 years now. I am lucky enough to have two images chosen
for two of RedBubble’s books GAIA and Compassion, Courage and
Friendship. I have been interviewed in Photoshop Creative Maga-
zine #14 and have images printed in Advanced Photoshop as
well. Recently in Issue #60 of Photoshop Creative Magazine the
editors chose my portfolio on their webpage as one of the Top 5
rated portfolios. I am not one to think outside the box, but blow it
to bits, so stand back and watch me now!
Alena Lazareva
My name is Alena, I live in Russia. I`m the digital artist and the
illustrator. My interests are art, photography, computer graph-
ics. I have been drawing since childhood. I studied at the School
of Art at the artist. There I drew pictures in oils and watercolor,
is now engaged in graphic design. During the last three years I
have been enjoying working as a computer graphics artist. I love
to paint illustrations in the style of Fantasy: mythical creatures ,
fairies, elves, mermaids and angels and painting children fairy-
tales. I`m currently using Photoshop CS and tablet Wacom for
of my artworks. I hope you like my illustrations!
Website : www.alenalazareva.com
e-mail : alenka.lazareva@mail.ru
Ylenia Peronti
I’m 19 years old italian artist. From 3 years I have a passion
for photo retouch and generally for phtoshop so I started to
practice retouch first on what I call “extreme makeover”, as
described in this tutorial, and then devot himelf to studying
professional photo retouching refining technical professional
and actually retouch fashion shots. I’m supermoderator in
the Forum Graphics www.graficicreativi.com and I manage
especially the section of photoretouch. you can find me at
the following links: www.yleniaperonti.wordpress.com http://
yleniuccia.deviantart.com/
Editor in Chief:
Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org
Copy Editor: Ed Werzyn, Robert Coppa
Art Director: Agnieszka Marchocka
DTP: Przemysław Banasiewicz
Senior Consultant/Publisher/President:
Paweł Marciniak
Managing Director: Ewa Łozowicka
Marketing Director:
Magdalena Mojska magdalena.mojska@psdmag.org
Production Director:
Andrzej Kuca andrzej.kuca@psdmag.org
Postal address:
Publisher: Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK
02-682 Warszawa, ul. Bokserska 1
worldwide publishing
www.psdmag.org/en
Armand Johnson
I’m a professional photographer and graphic designer from
Northern Louisiana, USA. I have had the pleasure of working with
celebrities, non-profit organizations, and local talents within the
Louisiana region. I’ve also provided public service to the area
and worked with the local youth to teach them professionalism,
career goals, and creative thinking. I get a lot of my inspiration
from what I observe, which is everyday life.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmandjohnson
http://www.twitter.com/dajizzle
http://www.creattica.com/creatives/the-armand-john-
son/29390
thearmandjohnson@gmail.com
Jose Paulo Reis
I’m a digital artist with 3 years of experience. My passion is
fashion photography, creativity, advertising, photomanipula-
tion and digital art. Currently I’m working as a digital artist in
Lalaland Studios (fashion photography). I love fashion and
beauty photography and everything related with digital art. I’m
devoted to Photoshop, and everyday I’m trying to improve my
skills.
Enjoy my works by visiting my blog: www.zepaulocreation.
blogspot.com
Naomi Bensen
Having been raised in a colorful environment of art, music, and
creative learning, it was only natural for me to gravitate towards
photography—a medium that can catch a split second and make
it last forever. Behind the lens, I have pursued my own unique
style of photography that focuses on capturing natural and un-
staged moments. For me, photography is more than taking a good
picture—it’s about turning a moment into art. Find me at: http://
theimagination.deviantart.com/
George Patsouras
George Patsouras is a freelance and concept artist residing from
Long Island City, NY. His work can be seen in a variety of differ-
ent projects, including video games, comic books, as well as card
games. George specializes in depicting realistic fantasy images.
For more of his work, be sure to check out his official blog at: http://
cgaddict.blogspot.com
All trade marks presented in the magazine were used only for informa-
tive purposes. All rights to trade marks presented in the magazine are
reserved by the companies which own them.
Mathematical formulas created by Design Science MathType™.
The editors use automatic DTP system
Editorial contributions should be sent to:
editors@psdmag.org
Customer Service +1 917 338 3631
The Software Press Sp.z.o.o SK works individually from Adobe. The psd
Photoshop team reserves the right not to be responsible for the topical-
ity, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided by
contributors.
 interview

Interview with
Armand Johnson
I’m a professional photographer and graphic designer
from Northern Louisiana, USA. I have had the pleasure
of working with celebrities, non-profit organizations,
and local talents within the Louisiana region. I’ve also
provided public service to the area and worked with
the local youth to teach them professionalism, career
goals, and creative thinking. I get a lot of my inspiration
from what I observe, which is everyday life.
See more of my works here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmandjohnson
http://www.twitter.com/dajizzle
http://www.creattica.com/creatives/the-armand-
johnson/29390

Contact me:

thearmandjohnson@gmail.com

Please say a few words about yourself.

I have a degree in Graphic Design and I really enjoy art, all forms of it.
Whether, that is music, acting, dancing, painting, photography, etc. I
am intrigued by many different forms of art. I DO like to play video
games (when I have time, but who doesn’t) and I DO consider video
games as ART, but that’s a different subject. I’m kind of laid back and
very business like in my approach to most things.

Why did you choose photo retouching and what do you find
fascinating about it?
When I was in undergrad, I collected plenty of music CD’s and DVD’s.
It always intrigued me how flawless and perfect looking the cover
art was. I thought to myself, I want to reach that level of perfection
in what I do. But graduating with a BFA in Graphic Design kind of
steered me away from that in some regards. It wasn’t until about 5
years ago when my Aunt asked me to gather a couple of shots for
some of my cousin’s promotional work that I begun to take retouch-
ing very seriously. After I took the shots, I thought: These images
need to be presentable. So, I started to dabble with perfecting the
images which pushed me into retouching. By being a photographer,
retouching is essential to my workflow, because I want my images
to have that commercial, professional appeal. I want my work to
look like it belongs in a magazine, as a poster, or on a billboard, etc.
I find retouching fascinating because how one can push and perfect
an image to his/her likings and to the client’s likings as well. It’s a
great feeling to boost someone’s confidence by showing them the
retouched image in comparison to the original. It can help them gain
or retain their “swagga”.

32 .psd Photoshop
 interview with armand johnson

Where do you look for the inspiration to create?

There are several photographers and retouchers, well known and
not, that inspire me with their work. Joel Grimes and Dave Hill are
probably the most prominent amongst the photographers. I admire
their approach to their craft and absolutely love their end result.
Other notable photographers are Dustin Snipes and Dallas J Logan.
As for retouchers, I think Amy Dresser is amongst the best. Her work
is incredible. Nick Saglimbeni is also. He’s an awesome photographer
and retoucher. But, that is just the list of people. Nature and natural
things are very inspiring because of their calming attributes. Also,

.psd Photoshop 33
 interview

there is a bevy of websites that are exceptionally useful for inspira-

tion. Abduzeedo is my favorite. Being an artist, you can get your in-
spiration from anything and anywhere. An idea can gravitate towards
you at anytime.

What are the main advantages of your profession and what can
be discouraging about it?
An advantage of being a retoucher is the payoff. If you’re great at it,
you can eventually open up to a much larger clientele, such as the
entertainment (music, movies, etc.) and fashion industries. Once

34 .psd Photoshop
 interview with armand johnson
you’re attached to some major clients, your rep (credibility) increas-
es for the better. What can be discouraging is the journey to arrive at
that stage. There are many individuals proclaiming themselves pro-
fessionals (whether photographers, retouchers, etc.) that are hurt-
ing the industry. They are utterly confusing clients. A random person
with a camera is not a photographer and a random person with a
copy of Photoshop is not retoucher. A lot of lower level clients tend to
desire commercial level work for pennies on the dollar. That’s just not
feasible. Retouchers probably spend more time with an image than
anyone else involved with the creative process. They deserve to be
compensated properly.
Do you have any achievements that you are particularly proud
of?
Yeah, I just recently got a couple works approved on the major cre-
ative website Creattica.com. Also, being featured in this magazine is
very rewarding! I look forward to achieving more goals and receiving
more accolades. Life’s a marathon, not a sprint.
.psd Photoshop
What about your plans for the future?
I plan on making my stamp within the industry as have the other
successful digital artists. I’ll always be refining and fine-tuning my
craft to become more diverse. I won’t go into too much details cause
I have a laundry list of things. That could take all day ;) But I will say
this, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into the right plac-
es and I believe this interview and collaboration with PSD Photoshop
magazine is a crucial step in this process.
Do you have any advice to those who would like to become
digital artists as well?
Be artistic and approach things from a creative perspective. I find
many individuals wanting to be artists without being artistic or cre-
ative. It’s a process, not a fast food restaurant. The creation of mas-
terpieces and wonderful works of art takes careful planning, time
and effort. There has to be a love for what you do. Photoshop is only
a tool which is used to create art. It is not meant to replace it or the
process of creating it.
35
advanced | 45 min.
adobe photoshop CS3
 glamour retouch

Glamour
Retouch
In this tutorial I will show you how I performed a Glamour retouch on a photo of
my beautiful friend Asia. I photographed her against a black background for a
dramatic and edgy effect as well as using various Photoshop tools to achieve
that “glamour look” that many magazines and print work use. I will be using
Photoshop CS3 but any higher version should work as well. The tools I will be
using are: Adjustment Layers, Filters, and Blending Modes; as well as the Clone
Stamp, Brush, and Healing Brush tools.

01 Blemish Removal and Skin Smoothing

First, open the RAW image and make a duplicate of the background
layer by pressing [Ctrl]+[J]. Name the bottom layer Retouch and
the top layer Original. This creates a quick toggle between the Before
and After states. This also allows you to monitor your progress and
determine if you are making changes that have a negative effect on
the results. Turn off the top layer (Original). Next,create a new layer
above the Retouch layer by pressing [Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N]. Name this
layer CleanUp. With the Healing Brush [J] selected, make sure Sam-
ple All Layers is selected from the drop down menu and Aligned is
checked. Next, use the Healing Brush, as well as the Clone Stamp on
the CleanUp layer to remove all the blemishes and imperfections. The
settings are: 100% Opacity, 100%, with Sample All Layers and Aligned
selected. Once the skin is cleaned up, create another layer above it
[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] and name it Skin. Select the Clone Stamp tool and
use these settings: 18-25% Opacity, 100% Flow, Sample All Layers and
Aligned. Use the Clone Stamp tool to even out the Highlight, Shadow,
and Midtone areas, giving the skin a very smooth, flawless appear-
ance. Lastly, apply a little noise the layer. Go to Filter>Noise>Add
Noise and set the amount to 2.5% - 5.0% and the distribution to Gauss-
ian. After initially cleaning and smoothing the skin, group those layers
together by holding down the [Shift] key and selecting both of them
and [Ctrl]+[G] to group them. Rename the group CleanUp.

02
Color Boost
Above the CleanUp group, create a Curves Adjustment Layer and
name it CB - Curves. Use three points along the slope: 255, 255;
0, 0; and 148, 112 within the RGB channel. Then create a Levels
Adjustment Layer naming it CB - Levels. Within the RGB chan-
nel, using these values: 10, 1.15, 245. Group together these two
Adjustment Layers and name the group Overall because it af-
fects the overall image. Then, create a Curves Adjustment Layer
above the grouped layers and insert four points along the slope.
Keep the two default points 255,255 and 0, 0. Add two more: 35,
43 and 211, 201 (or somewhere within that tonal range) also in
the RGB channel. Rename this layer Jewelry. Select the Mask by
clicking on it and fill the Mask with Black. Use the Brush tool with
the foreground color set to White and paint only over the jewelry.
Rename this layer Jewelry. Create a final Curves adjustment layer
above the Jewelry layer and name it Hair. Use settings very simi-
lar to those on the Jewelry layer within the RGB channel. Select
the Mask, fill it with Black, and paint over the hair with a White
brush. Group all of these Adjustment Layers together and name
the group Color Boost.
.psd Photoshop 37
 photo retouch

03

Color Correction
Create a new layer and name it Color Correction.
Set the Blending Mode to Color. Set the Brush tool
to a Soft/Feather setting with the Hardness to 15.
Set Black as the foreground color and paint over
the lips. Then use Gold as the foreground color and
paint over the “Coach” text and the handle of the
sunglasses, changing them from Silver to Gold.
Select various colors from the skin and paint over
the discolorations in the skin. Put the layer in its
own group and name that group Color Correction.

04
Highlight and Shadow
Create a new layer and name it Face/Body and
set the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Set the
foreground color to White, select the Brush tool
with the settings: Opacity: 100%, Flow: 2% and
paint over the naturally highlighted areas, bring-
ing out the highlights. Then set the foreground
color to Black using the same settings and paint
over the naturally shadowed areas, increasing
the contrast in the image. Add a Gaussian Blur,
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to the layer with a ra-
dius setting of 15 – 30. Repeat these steps on a
new layer named Hair with the Blending Mode set
to Overlay. Create another new layer named Jew-
elry with the Blending Mode set to Overlay as well.
Once finished, rearrange the layers so that they
are in this order from top to bottom: Hair, Face/
Body, Jewelry. Lastly, group these layers together
and name the group HL/SH or Highlight/Shadow.

05
Sharpen
Make a new layer by combining all visible layers,
[Shift]+[Alt]+[Ctrl]+[E]. This creates a new layer
consisting of all the information from the bottom
layers. Make this a smart object by right – click-
ing on the layer and selecting Convert to Smart
Object. This makes the layer a Smart Object allow-
ing the use of Smart Filters. Duplicate this layer
and rename the copy HP 6.5 and the original layer
Sharpen. Turn off the HP 6.5 layer. With the Sharp-
en layer selected, go to Filter>Sharpen>UnSharp
Mask, using these settings: Amount 60%; Radius
250.0; Threshold 10. With the Blending Mode
set to Normal, adjust the Opacity within the 30%
- 40% range and the Fill within the 75% - 90%
range. Then, turn on the HP 6.5 Layer and select
it. Set the Blending Mode to Overlay and go to
Filter>Other>High Pass. Set the Radius to 6.5, and
the Opacity within the 65% - 75% range and the Fill
within the 90% - 95% range. Finally, group these
two layers together and name the group Sharpen.
38 .psd Photoshop
 glamour retouch

06

Cool Down
Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, mak-
ing sure it is set to the Master channel. Set the
Saturation to -100. This turns the image black
and white. Set the Blending Mode set to Normal,
the Opacity within the 40% - 50% range and the
Fill within the 70% - 90% range. Select the Mask,
set the foreground color to 40% Gray and fill the
mask. Paint over only the jewelry and the colored
sections of the hair. This brings back some of the
original color but not too much of it. Finally, group
only this layer and name it Cool Down.

07
Effects
Create a new layer and name it Sparkles. With the Pen tool, create a
five – point sparkle. Once finished drawing the outline, right – click
and select Make Selection, feathering the selection by 1 pixel. Make
sure the Anti-aliased box is checked and the New Selection option
is selected. Fill the selection with White. Then, make several copies
(four should be enough) of this layer and move the various spar-
kles to certain areas on the jewelry and sunglasses. Resize those
sparkles individually using transform [Ctrl]+[T]. Once the sparkles
are at sizes you are comfortable with, click on the top most layer
(Sparkles Copy 4), hold the shift key, then the original Sparkles lay-
er and merge them by pressing [Ctrl]+[E]. Rename this layer Spar-
kles. Then add a layer style to the layer by double – clicking on it. I
selected Outer Glow. In the options for the Outer Glow effect, leave
the default setting, only changing the Size to 3 pixels. Lastly, place
this layer into its own group and name that group Effects. Switch
the Original layer On/Off and enjoy the result.

by Armand Johnson

.psd Photoshop 39
eye color
How to change

How to change the eye color very quickly but efficiently.

beginer | 10 min.
adobe photoshop CS4
 how to change eye color

Step 1
First open the photos, select the pupil of the eye
using the method you prefer (Polygonal lasso,
Magnetic lasso, pen, etc...). I used the Magnetic
lasso in this case. Right click the mouse on the
Selection and select New Layer via Copy . Rename
the layer eyes.

02

Step 2
Make sure that in the Layers palette is selected
layer eyes and from the menu Image, select
Hue>Saturation adjustments. When the window
will be open, move the Hue's cursor until you find
the satisfying color. If you want, from the same
Hue>Saturation window we can also modify the
saturation and brightness to achieve different ef-
fects. Here's an example: set the Hue value on 44.
You can also customize more the color, using the
color balance adjustment selected from the menu
Image>Adjustments>Color Balance and reduce
the opacity of the layer eyes to adjust the effect.

03

Step 3
For a more aesthetic effect, you can use the
Dodge tool selected from the Tools palette. Set
Light to a 5-10% opacity (or an opacity that allows
to achieve the desired effect) and use Dodge tool
within the colored part of the eye. Select Burn tool,
(also an Opacity of 5%) set to Midtones and Burn-
ing to define better the outline of the eye.

by Ylenia Peronti

.psd Photoshop 41
 interview

Interview with
April Elizabeth
April Elizabeth is an internationally
published photographer from
Ishpeming, Michigan. Her photos
have appeared in magazines, on
book covers and websites. Her clients
include: Random house, HarperCollins
Publishing, and The Portland Beanie
Company.

Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Tell us about your first steps in photography.
My name is April Elizabeth. I am a creative photographer from the My dad is a really good photographer and he showed me how
small, snowy town of Ishpeming in Upper Peninsula of Michigan. to use his Nikon film camera when I was young and how to de-

2
42 .pas
.psdPhotoshop
Photoshop
 interview with april elizabeth

velop the film. I really enjoyed it, but it was expensive and I Why did you choose this profession?
was unable to really get into photography until digital cameras I think it sort of chose me. I’ve always liked photography, but I never
came along. I started with a point and shoot camera and went in my life imagined myself going anywhere with it. That all changed
from there. when I bought my first slr and asked a local model to do a photo

.psd Photoshop 43
3
 interview

shoot with me. I was

nervous because I
had never done any-
thing like that before
and I wasn’t com-
pletely sure how the
camera worked, but
the pictures turned
out great and soon
more and more peo-
ple wanted to work
with me.

Where do you get

the inspiration for
your works?
I’ve always been
an introverted day-
dreamer with an

overly active imagination.

When other people are liv-
ing their life I am looking
around and thinking of sto-
ries. I’ve always wanted to
be a writer, but photography
lets me tell stories with pic-
tures and as long as I can
tell a story I am happy.

What do you like the

most about being a
photographer and what
are the main difficulties
for you?
If I am not creating some-
thing I feel frustrated. I like
that my job lets me cre-
ate things while making
people feel beautiful and
good about themselves. I
enjoy taking pictures that
have a fantasy quality to
them so that people in
the photos can be part of
something a little magi-
cal instead of ordinary,
and people who see the
photos will feel inspired.
One of the main difficul-
ties I have is my location:
the middle of nowhere in
the Midwest. Winter lasts
around 7-8 months and
it’s always very harsh and
with a lot of snow. I don’t
have a studio or anyplace
indoors thatI can go to so
this means I only have a
very short amount of time
in the year that I can really
do many photo shoots.

4
44 .pas Photoshop
.psd Photoshop
 interview with april elizabeth

Do you have any personal

achievements you are
particularly proud of?
I’m very proud that my photo Shy,
with over 35,550 favs is one of the
most popular photos ever to be up-
loaded to the website deviantart.
It’s unreal to me. I’m also proud
that two photos of mine have been
licensed to be on book covers.
Growing up I never thought any-
thing like that could ever happen
to me. Being in magazines such
as this one is also very nice. All of
these things make me feel like I’ve
accomplished something in life,
and gives me confidence that I can
do even more.

What are your plans for future?

I’d like to get a studio someday. And
I’d like to get into stock photogra-
phy. I’m also working on a gothic
romance novel called Whispering
Pines and a book of short, scary
stories. I guess I plan on just creat-
ing more and trying to improve in
everything I do.

What would you advice to the

young photographers?
Don’t worry about what kind of cam-
era or equipment you have. Just fo-
cus on what you have now and try
to create something beautiful with
it. It’s the photographer that makes
the picture good, not the camera.

My most popular photo photo Shy

Shy and
andthe
thetwo
twophotos
photosthat
that were
licenses
were to be on
licenses to book
be oncovers
book covers were all taken
were aallpoint
with takenandwith a point
shoot and Don’t
camera. shootletcamera.
your ageDon’t let
your you
stop age fromstop going
you from goingThere
forward. forward. There suc-
are many are many
successful
cessful photographers
photographers whowho
areare very
very young.
young. There will
There
always
will always be obstacles, rejection
be obstacles, and other
rejection bad things
and other bad and
many times
things you may
and many think
times youabout
may quitting all together,but
think about quit-
don’t.allIf you
ting together,but don’t. If you work hard good
work hard
things will good
come.things will come.

.psd Photoshop 45
5
Making
the Mood
A photographer’s main goal is to take a photo that makes the viewer feel a strong emotion
towards it, whether it is love, hate, anger or passion. But when a photo is excellently taken,
yet the colors, lighting, and texture, don't match up to the photoer's vision, a photo will
become uninspiring. This tutorial will teach you how to take your photo to the next level and
create an image that matches your vision.
 making the mood
01

Step 1
The first step in changing a photo is doing the ba-
sics. You have to prepare your photo before you
can move to the fun stuff. In this pickture, I got rid
of any noticeable blemishes the model had, and g
of noticeable hair that were going across her face
to give more clear picture of the model. I did this
using the Patch and Clone Stamp tool. When edit-
ing a model, make sure to always keep texture in
the skin, it's more interesting that way as opposed
to having a model's face which is completely air-
brushed.

02

Step 2
The next step I took was darkening the whole
photo. I knew that I wanted the photo to be much
darker than it currently was. I could have just
used the Curves tool or Levels, but I find that when
overusing the Curves tool, a photo starts to look
overly contrasted which I don't want. So instead
I used a light gradient (Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Gradient Map) and changed the Blending
mode from Normal to Multiply. Doing this gives
the photo a lot more depth, but doesn't darken it
completely.

03

Step 3
As soon as I've got my basic photo ready, I knew
that the yellowish tinge was not the effect I was
going for, so I used both the Color Balance tool
(Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance),
and the Selective Color tool (Layer>New Adjust-
ment Layer>Color Balance).

.psd Photoshop 47
 photomanipulation

04

Step 4
The next thing I noticed was that my model's face
was not highlighted enough, it was getting lost in
the midst of forest and darkness, so I made two
new layers. One layer was for the model's face
and I simply used a soft Photoshop brush, with 0%
Hardness, and drew over the model's face and the
snake's body. I then changed both layers Blending
Mode from Normal to Screen, and applied a Box
blur (Filter>Blur>Box Blur) at 543 pixels, to both
so they wouldn't be as noticeable. Remember, you
just want hints of light, just enough so the model's
face and the snake is highlighted.

05

Step 5
The fifth step is more or less a repeat of a step
number three. I liked the way photo looked, but it
wasn't nearly as dramatic as it could be. So now
I finally decided to use the Curves tool (Layer>New
Adjustment Layer>Curves) to darken and light
certain areas, making sure again not to overdo it
but to give it enough contrast to really bring out
the picture. Next, I made two new Selective Color
layers (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Selective
Color). One Selective Colors layer changed the
leaves and clothes but not the model's face to
a more dark blue tint, while the second Selective
Color layer brightened the snake's skin.

06
Step 6
The next thing I did was making another two lay-
ers. I still wanted to brighten only the snake's skin
so for the first layer, I changed the Blending mode
from Normal to Soft Light, and then used a brush
with 0% Hardness and carefully painted over
the snake. It took a few variations before I found
a color I liked. It's helpful to remember to also look
at the whole picture. In the next layer I created,
I simply wanted to add a little more color to the
shrubbery in the background so I made another
layer, and again changed the blending mode from
Normal to Soft Light. I used a soft brush with 0%
Hardness and a maroon, and yellow color just
to add a little variation from my usual palette of
blue. I then added it all along the bushes and used
the Box Blur tool at 483 pixels, also changing the
Blending mode from Normal to Screen, to make it
less obvious.

48 .psd Photoshop
 making the mood

07

Step 7
The final step I took to finish setting the mood
for my photo was adding a texture and chang-
ing the Blending Mode from Normal to Soft Light.
I found that the texture was to overpowering at
100% Opacity, so I lowered it to 77%. I next added
my final layer and created a vignette around my
photo by using a brush with a Hardness of 100%,
and then brushed it around the outer edges of the
photo, particularly around the four corners. I then
applied a Box Blur (Filter>Blur>Box Blur) at 693
pixels, to the layer creating a nice dark blurred ef-
fect.

by Naomi Bensen

.psd Photoshop 49