Preview of Final Results

Tutorial Resources

 Model – Poorsouls Stock

 Galaxy – Decoybg – Deviantart
  Umbrella – SXC

Step 1

First is first. We need an empty canvas to begin working. Here is my canvas size of the finished design. So you can use it
simply.

Step 2

Photoshop just presented us with a blank, white canvas. We are going to set a more neutral colored backdrop for our
design. So I created a new layer above the background layer and filled it with #e0ddd8.

Step 3
Here we have the single most important stock image for our design. I liked the look of her, she is a bit worried, uncertain
and concerned, you know I thought this is a good one for our purpose. It has nice and soft tones, no strong shadows and a
bit mild, it looks we can play a bit.

Step 4

First of all we need to isolate her from the background. We can use different Tools for this purpose. But I am going with
the Color Range command (Menu > Select > Color Range). It does a great job when selecting plain backgrounds. Load
up the Color Range box, sample the background color using the color picker. You can see the thumbnail of the image
inside the Color Range box, the white part in the thumbnail represents the area selected by the command. You can also
see some grey areas left on the corners and on the subject. We will deal with it in the next few steps. Press Ok to
confirm.
Step 5

Your selection should look something like this. The color range command does a decent job.

Invert the selection (Ctrl + Shift + I). This will now select the model.
Step 6

Let’s fine tune our selection using the powerful Refine Edge command. (Menu > Select > Refine Edge or just press Ctrl
+ Alt + R). It’s like a one stop solution. We can contract or expand the selection, feather the selection, smooth it and so
on. Click on the On Black thumbnail which lets you the preview the selection against a black background. I slightly
smoothed the selection and contracted it a bit. Press OK when you are done.
Step 7

We just refined our selection. So let’s use it to mask out the model. While the selection is on, click on the Add Layer
Mask button located at the bottom of the Layers Palette.

Step 8

Now let’s deal with the holes in the mask. To view the mask hold Alt key and click on the layer mask thumbnail. Now
you are inside the mask. Notice, there are some grey areas inside the white area and at the corners of the mask. Those are
holes and we need to get rid of them. Pick a hard brush, color set to white and paint out. Now change the brush color to
black and paint out the corners. Make sure you didn’t left any greys.
Here is the perfect mask after the corrections.

Step 9

Examine the image once again. There are lots of strands of hair which can cause problems. I want to remove them. Select
them using the Pen Tool. Since lot of Curves involved Pen Tool is the best choice. Select the “Paths” option for the Pen
Tool on the Options Panel.
Try to be as good as you can. Just leave of those strands of hair.

Step 10

If you finished drawing the path. Convert it into a selection. Hit Ctrl + Enter or just right click on
the path and choose Make Selection.
Now use the selection to hide those strands of hair. Remember we already have a mask
associated with the model. Now click on the Layer Mask. Set the foreground color to #000000
and hit Alt + backspace to fill the selection. That is the great thing about layer masks. We can
hide or reveal as we need! totally non destructive.

Step 11

One final step before we drag the model into our main document. Convert this layer into a Smart
Object. Right click on the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object from the context menu.
This is just a good practice with numerous benefits. we can transform smart objects freely and
apply filters to them without destroying the original, can apply layer masks to them and all those
good things. And at any point of time we can revert to our original image.

Step 12

Ok we are done with the model and we are ready to go. Drag the model smart object layer into
the main document. You need to resize her and position her properly on the canvas. We are not
going to use the whole of the image. Hide the bottom portion of the image. Grab the Pen Tool
and make the selection. Make it a bit organic with Curves. It should look something like the
below one.
Ctrl + Enter to turn the path into a selection.

Step 13

Add Layer Mask with the selection like earlier.

Step 14

Here everything is going to happen. We are going to create the mood, you know that is a bit retro
and set the tone for us. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer above the model layer. Modify the curve
to get the below result with nice saturated tones. If you feel we are abusing it, don’t worry it’s
going to be fine.

Step 15

Not so brilliant at this point. But from now on everything we do is going to make the design
come alive. We progressively add different elements to our design. Remember we are aiming for
some organic look with a retro feel in terms of color and shapes. We are not after nice round
smooth finishing. A mix of all those elements would do the job. So keep in mind our objective
so we can abide by it.
Lecture is over, just grab the Pen Tool and draw this outline. This is going to serve her jacket.
Remember don’t make a perfect selection we are not looking for it.

Convert it into a selection. Create a new layer above the model layer. Create this gradient in the
gradients palette. Draw the gradient inside the selection.
Step 16

Draw another shape with the Pen Tool.

Convert into selection and fill color.

Step 17

Draw this shape using the Pen Tool just above her jacket. Select the Shape Layers option on the
Options Panel before you start drawing. Shape layer is defined a vector path, so it is vector. We
can do lot of things with it.

Double click on the shape layer thumbnail. Set the color to a nice pinkish red (#ff2847). This is
one of those benefits comes with the shape layers.
Step 18

Now Make the shape more interesting. Select the Direct selection Tool. Click on the Vector
Mask of the shape layer. Now you can grab those anchor points and work with them. Pull some
of the anchor points downwards until you got the desired look.
Step 19

We have some work in Illustrator. And we need to take the model into Illustrator. To do this Ctrl
+ click on the model’s Layer Mask. You have the selection now, press Ctrl + C to copy.
Step 20

Now open up Illustrator, create a new document and press Ctrl + V to paste. Select the image.
On the Options Panel you can find Live Trace button. Click on the small triangle next to it and
you will get dropdown menu with tracing presets. Choose Hand Drawn Sketch from the list.
Step 21

Once the tracing is completed you can fine tune the trace using the Tracing Options box. which
can be found on the Options Panel.

Step 22

Copy and paste the trace into Photoshop. We can simply copy and paste items into these
programs so easily and they work very well together. Now Place the trace layer the model layer.
Step 23

I want to apply a different color to the trace layer on some areas. Create a new layer above the
trace layer and clip it to the trace layer (Ctrl + Alt + G). Apply color with the brush wherever
you want.
Step 24

Hide unwanted lines using the Layer Mask.

Step 25

Now bring in the galaxy stock image into our design. It will add nice dynamic feel to the design.
Take it and place above the jacket layer.
Step 26

The galaxy layer spread across the entire canvas. We need to limit it only to our model and hide
the rest. Ctrl + click on the model thumbnail. It should load up the selection.

Add Layer Mask with the selection.

Step 27

Let’s make this galaxy to work. First set the blend mode to Lighten.

Add Curves Adjustment Layer. Slightly pull down the mid tone values.
Finally Set the layer opacity to 75%. It’s looking better now.

Step 28

Here I am going to make a colorful shape. I used the normal Lasso Tool to make this selection. It
will give that unevenness to the selection. Which we like to have.
Fill #ffe38b in the selection.

Lock the transparency of the layer. Make another selection above the previous one and fill it
with #ff7178.
Step 29

Finally clip our shape to the model layer (Ctrl + Alt + G).
Step 30

Let’s create this nice shape with the Pen Tool.

Convert it into selection and fill it with #ffe38b.

Step 31

Duplicate the shape.

Lock the transparency. Set the foreground color to #ff685e and hit Alt + Backspace to fill the
new color. You can fill any color anytime once you have locked down the transparency, and it’s
an alternative to Color Overlay which is accessed through Layer Styles. There is more than one
way to achieve things in Photoshop. We need to choose what is intuitive in a situation.

Step 32

Press Ctrl + T. Right click and choose Flip Horizontal. The Flip Vertical.
Place it on the other side of the face. Position it properly to get the desired look.

Step 33

Make several copies of the shape. Place them above her arm. As I mentioned you can fill
different colors in the shapes because we have locked the transparency of the layer.
Step 34

We have this shape here which is created earlier. Remember it is a shape layer that has a vector
path associated with it! Click on it.

Now open the Paths Palette. You can see the Vector Mask of the shape layer. Click on it and
drag it onto the Create new Path button at the bottom of the palette. This will create a new path
for us which we need to do something.
Step 35

Pick the Brush Tool. Set the size to 2px and hardness to 100%.

Create a new layer just above the shape layer. Back on the Paths palette right click on the path
we just created. Choose Stroke Path.
Here we go! this is what we needed, a stroke.

Step 36

I want to use only a part of it. Select the unwanted and delete it.
Step 37

Create this shape on her neck with Pen Tool.

Convert the path into selection. Select the Brush Tool. Set the color to #545064. Create a new
layer and paint inside the edge of the selection. Leave the bottom unpainted, that will make the
selection transparent one side and gradually mixing into the image below.

Created another shape using the same method as above.

Step 38

Now we are going to draw some hair for our model in Illustrator. All by our self. To do this we
need to take the image into Illustrator so that we can draw the hair on top of the image precisely
where we want. The simple way you can do this is by selecting the whole document (Ctrl + A),
then Ctrl + Alt + C (Copy merged). Now head back to Illustrator. and press Ctrl + V to paste the
image. Next Load the brushes we need to draw the hair. Go to Menu > Window > Brush
Libraries > Artistic > Artistic_Ink.

Step 39

Select the Brush Tool from the Tool bar, select art brush and draw the hair.
Don’t worry about the precision. You can Edit those paths using the Direct Selection Tool later.
Keep on adding more strokes until you finish.

If you want to modify the paths enter the wireframe mode (Ctrl + Y). Select and modify the
paths using the Direct Selection Tool.
Step 40

Copy and paste the hair into our Photoshop document. Clip the hair to the model layer.

Step 41

I want to change the color. Apply Color Overlay using the Layer Styles dialog box.
Step 42

Once again head back to Illustrator. We already have our image pasted there. Create a similar
mesh on top of the image using the Rectangle Tool and the Line tool.
Step 43

Bring into the main file.

Step 44

Apply Color Overlay.

Step 45

We are going to create a leaf particle brush. Here I have an isolated leaf. You may like to come
up with your own thing. Once you have it separated into a new layer go to Menu > Edit > Define
Brush Preset
We need to tweak various parameters to get our particle brush working. Find the Brushes Palette
under Menu > Window > Brushes. And set these parameters.
Now paint some particle using our brush. Keep it subtle. Change the brush color to vary the
color of the particles.
Step 46

We continue to add more shapes to our design. We are going to create a simple blend in
Illustrator. We already have our design pasted there. So draw these two circles around her
necklace pendent with the Ellipse Tool (L).
Step 47

Select the Scissors Tool and cut the circles where they intersect the necklace.
Step 48

Select both the circles, press Ctrl + Alt + B. Double click on the Blend Tool to edit the blend
count.

Step 49
Paste into Photoshop.

Step 50

We have almost finished with the model. Let’s move on the background and spice it up. Open up
the masks image in Photoshop. Copy the mask on the right side.

Step 51

Switch back to illustrator, create a new document and paste the mask there.
Step 52

Trace the mask using the Trace command. Choose the Hand Drawn Sketch preset from the
tracing presets. By default your trace should look like this.

Step 53

Paste the mask trace in the main file. And place it behind the model.
Step 54

Color is too dark, let’s apply a different color using the Layer Styles box.
Step 55

We are going to trace yet another image. This time drag and drop the image into Illustrator.
Select the image and apply Hand Drawn Sketch preset to it. When finished Take the trace into
Photoshop.

Step 56

Paste in the main file.

Place it below the model layer. Well it looks nice and organic and the background is coming
alive. let’s move on!

Step 57

Bring in the Umbrella image into the design. Place it below all the other layers. This image has a
nice retro look and will complement our design.
Step 58

I selected a portion that I want to use.

Mask out the umbrella with the selection.

Change the layer blend mode to Linear Light to make it more cheerful.
Step 59

Create a new layer below the model layer and make another selection using the Lasso Tool. Fill
the selection with #fe7163.

Step 60
Draw a triangle shape with the Pen Tool.

Step 61

Apply a 1 pixel stroke to it using the Layer Styles box.

Reduce the Fill opacity to zero because all we need is a triangle outline.
Step 62

Draw some random shape below the triangle. Use the Pen Tool or Lasso Tool whatever you like.
Step 63

Ctrl + click on the triangle’s vector mask.

Invert the selection (Ctrl + Shift + I). Hit delete. And it looks good.

Step 64
Create another shape following the same method as above. Create a circle shape layer using the
Ellipse Tool.

Step 65

Reduce the fill opacity to zero.

Apply stroke.
Step 66

Make the circle a half circle by deleting one of the anchor points. Use the Direct Selection Tool
to select the anchor point.

Step 67
Create another random colored shape below the half circle. Just as before Load selection from
the shape layer, invert it and deleted the excess area.

Step 68

Once again back to Illustrator. Select the Rectangle Tool and Draw a bar. Open the Transform
Palette. Menu > Window > Transform. Skew the bar by 60 degrees by entering value in the
Skew field.
Step 69

Duplicate the bar and stack them. Apply different colors to them.

Step 70

Paste the shape in Photoshop. Place it above the model layer. Press Ctrl + T and rotate to match
the angle of the stripes of the umbrella.
Change the layer blend mode to Overlay.

Step 71

Switch back to Illustrator. Draw a similar path using the Pencil Tool (or Pen Tool). Open up the
Artistic_Ink palette. Select the path and apply a brush stroke to it.
Step 72

Bring into Photoshop. Place it behind the model and adjust the rotation.

Step 73

Apply Color Overlay.

Step 74

We are heading to Illustrator for one last time. Create some swirls using the Pen Tool.

Step 75

Once you have drawn the swirls, select each individually and apply art brush to them one at a
time.
Step 76

Draw circle with the Ellipse Tool. Apply art brush to it. Change the stroke width if it is thick.

Step 77

Select all swirls and press Ctrl + C to copy. Now Paste in Photoshop. Duplicate and arrange
them over the model’s jacket.
Step 78

We need to create a custom pattern (in a separate document). Take the Pencil Tool and set the
stroke width to 2 pixels. Turn off the background Layer. Put a dot. Make a 7 x 7 pixels selection
starting from the corner of the dot. Now go to Menu > Edit > Define Pattern. Press Ok when
dialog box appears.
Step 79

Here is the area I want to apply the pattern. I selected it using the Pen Tool and converted into a
selection. Then press Shift + F5 (Menu > Layer > New Fill Layer > Pattern) and locate the
pattern you just created and press Ok. That should fill the area with our custom pattern.

Step 80

We are almost there. I am not satisfied with something. That is the hair. The galaxy is a bit
strong there. So we need to calm it down.
Step 81

Click on the galaxy layer. Pick a soft brush. Set the brush color to #284965. Paint over the hair
region directly on the galaxy layer. Don’t paint over her face while brushing, be careful. Well I
think it is much better now and the hair is looking good too.
Notice the difference.
Step 82

Title Added. The font I used is Motel King. You may like to use your own font.

Step 83

Finally get back to the background layer. I feel it is too solid, so let’s add a Layer Mask to the
background layer. Hide some of the background by painting with a brush, color set to black.
This will reveal the white background beneath it. Well if you don’t have the default white
background in your document, create a new layer and fill it with #ffffff and place it below the
current layer. Once you did it, I will say that’s it, we just finished it Successfully!.