|
Photorealistic Reflections
posted in Photo Effects
Rays/Sunbeams in Photoshop
Sun Beams EffectMarch 20th, 2007
Download the Sun Beams video (4.8mb) 11 Comments
|
I haven’t done a screencast in ages! (Yet alone a photoshop one). But the other day I got an email from Pang who asked whether I could make a screencast to demonstrate how to recreate the sun beams effect that I used in an old wallpaper. I was all too happy to oblige so here’s the screencast, it’s in .h264 so you’ll need QT7 or 
|
Oh, right. The stifling heat. But that just brings us to another of summer’s joys: The cool comfort of the cinema. In honor of some of our favorite summer blockbusters (Harry Potter and Transformers), we bring you our p.s. Help us out, Digg this tutorial! From the forum… Submit your fave food photo, How to print a photo on soft acrylic, the always-popular What am I Wednesdays (WAIW) #5, Ben asks Do you carry a camera around with you? (and so much more…) Scarface
It’s time to say hello to your inner Cuban drug lord with a Scarface poster spoof. Make a Scarface Poster from your Photos Pirates of the Caribbean
To top it all off, you think you might be coming down with scurvy. That’s 3 points for the pirates and 1 big healthy point for you. Arrrr! Go have another orange, then sail the high seas in your very own Pirates poster, matey. Make your own Pirates of the Caribbean Poster Sin City
Take your shot on a trip to Sin City for a gritty and cool comicbook conversion. * Seriously. She’s fictional. Pixar’s Cars
We can’t promise that it’ll talk to you, but we promise it will look awfully cute. White Noise
In the unlikely event that static on the television doesn’t totally creep you out (even though it’s so 1952), this one could be useful for subtly letting your loved ones know that they’re watching altogether too much television. Put yourself in the tube with the White Noise Effect 300
Conbert your pics to the 300 look with a tutorial or via a Photoshop action. And if faking isn’t enough for you, bulk up with this guide to the authentic 300-inspired workout.) Give your photos the ‘300′ Look A Scanner Darkly
That digital rotoscoping stuff is pretty, though. And this tutorial will show you how you can do it with your photos. An “Indie Movie” Effect
Go your own way, Hipster. Use this tutorial to give your photos an indie movie look. Apply the “Indie Movie” effect to your photos The Old-Timey Effect
It wasn’t broken then, and it ain’t broken now. Take your photos back in time with the Old-Timey effect The Cheesy Chick Flick Effect
What more is there to say? Those sappy lovey dovey chick flicks might be formulaic, but we love ‘em all the same. There’s a formula to the chick flick movie poster, too. And this tutorial will tell you everything you need to know. The “Cinematic” Effect
A little cinematic blurring, a set of black bars, some color color changes, and you might be able to convince your friends they’re looking at your latest prints from the set. |
Tall glasses of lemonade, your legs sticking to the seat of your car, the days stretching languorously into the evening. What’s not to love about summer?
You know you look good in black and white. And you’ve been wanting to toss nose candy like confetti since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. Why not indulge yourself a little?
You hardly ever get to pillage, your roomates hate it when you sing sea chanties and you don’t know where to find one of those awesome hats with the big feathers in ‘em.
An evening with Nancy Callahan* may not be in the cards, but fancy up like a Frank Miller character and at the very least, you’ll boost your chances.
Your wheels are feelin’ the heat this summer, too. Doesn’t that horseless carriage of yours deserve a little fun in the sun? A few Photoshop tweaks and your car will be grinning like a Cars car.
Looking for a quick way to cool down? Send a shiver up your spine by adding a little White Noise to your image. 
So the Spartans didn’t do so well in the end. At least they had some pretty, stylized skies to gaze upon as they made their last stand.
The posterized illustration-style look of last year’s Scanner Darkly managed to make Keanu look even more emotionless. If that’s possible.
You like your coffee strong and your movies independent. You scoff at the movieplex crowd while dreaming of Maggie Gyllenhall and Zooey Deschanel.
Love the classics? Think "talkies" are overrated? Put the 21st Century behind you and make your pictures look like old movie stills.
He lovers her, she loves him. She’s happier than she’s ever been, and they love taking walks on that sun-soaked beach you see there.
For a general cinematic feel, try out this “movie-like effect” tutorial.
What you need to have: Adobe Photoshop
What you will learn: colour mood adjustments + depth of field effect + film effect
PS: ⌘ key for Mac users / CTRL key for Windows users
Colour mood adjustments
1. Adjust the Hue/Saturation: ⌘U/CTRL-U
2. Adjust the brightness and contrast: Menu > Image > Adjustments > Exposure…
Depth of field effect
3. Duplicate current active layer by dragging it to the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
4. Apply lens blur on the new layer on top: Menu > Filter > Blur > Lens Blur…
Adjust according to your own preference.
5. Click on the ‘add layer mask’ button at the bottom of Layer window. Then click and select the ‘Layer mask thumbnail’ (the white rectangle).
6. Select brush tool(b), set the master diameter to 400px. Then choose the focus point in the photo and click on it.
Film effect
7. Create a new layer by clicking the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
8. Fill the new layer with black colour: reset colour to default black & white (d), switch black colour to background (x), fill the layer (⌘-del/CTRL-backspace)
9. Set the opacity of the black layer to 70% by pressing ‘7′
10. Use erase tool(e), set the master diameter to 400px. Then start erase the center of the photo.
11. Flatten the image: Menu > Layer > Flatten Image and add noise: Menu > Filter > Noise > Add Noise…
Cinemascope (optional)
12. Add black bars on top and bottom of photo and it’s done!
Use Rectangular Marquee Tool(m) to select (drag) upper part of photo, hold the shift key and select the bottom part, fill with black colour (⌘-del/CTRL-backspace)
You can also add an extra step to twist the colour into this mood by using ‘Color Balance’(⌘B/CTRL-B). Drag the slider towards cyan and blue for Shadows, Midtones & Highlights.
Adobe Photoshop and Warp Text
One very powerful, over-looked, text tool in Adobe Photoshop is the warp text function. This is a very fast way to add various warps or bends to your text. (I added bulge to the logo above.) Here is a quick rundown of how to use this tool.
1. In the Layers palette, select the layer containing the type you want to warp.
2. Choose Layer > Type > Warp Text.
3. Position the Warp Text dialog box so that you can see the text you want to warp.
4. Choose a warp style from the Style pop-up menu.
5. Select the orientation of the warp effect--Horizontal or Vertical.
6. To adjust how much warp is applied to the layer, drag the slider for Bend until you achieve the desired effect.
7. To change the perspective of the warp, drag the sliders for Horizontal Distortion and Vertical Distortion until the perspective is as you want it.
8. When you are satisfied with the text, click OK.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/including_waterma...
Including Watermarks on Videos with QuickTime Pro 7
Including watermarks on QuickTime Movies with QuickTime Pro 7 can seem confusing but this tutorial will show you how.
First you'll create a Quicktime Poster Movie. If you have an image file supported by QuickTime Pro you can navigate to the File Pull-down Menu in QuickTime Pro and select Open File. Photoshop .PSD and JPEG .jpg are good image formats to use for this purpose.
Once you open your file you can then select Save and this will save your image as a Poster Movie, which is a one frame video. When you have your poster movie created you are ready to watermark your QuickTime Movie in QuickTime Pro.
Open the QuickTime movie you want to apply the watermark to and also open the poster movie you just created. Now, select the Poster Movie.
While you have the Poster Movie selected choose Select All from the Edit Pull-down Menu and then choose Copy from the Edit Pull-down Menu.
Next select the QuickTime Movie that will receive the watermark. Under the Edit Pull-Down Menu choose Add Selection & Scale and this will apply the poster movie to the entire video.
The next thing to do is make sure your Poster Movie to be used for the watermark is on the top most layer in QuickTime Pro.
To do this navigate to the Window Pull-down Menu and select Show Movie Properties. Select the video layer for your watermark which is usually labeled Video Track 2 if it is the second layer that you have created in QuickTime Pro. Next, select the Layer pop-up menu at the bottom of the Show Properties dialog window inside the Visual Settings Tab and make sure Video Track 2 has a lower number than Video Track 1 (your primary video track). This will put the watermark which is on Video Track 2 in front of the video on Video Track 1.
Another cool element of using Quicktime Pro for creating watermarks is you can scale the size of the Poster Movie used for the watermark if you desire or you can reposition the watermark to the lower right or lower left corner of the QuickTime Movie if you want.
This is done by adjusting the Offset under the Visual Settings inside the Show Properties dialog window. Notice how in the previous image above under Offset it displays an Offset of 420 x 440 pixels. This moves the watermark to the lower right corner.
note: If you are creating a watermark for streaming videos many compression tools are able to input an image file to have it used to display a watermark.
Page curl Avid Xpress with two sides
Within Avid Xpress Pro, learn how to create a page curl with different media on the front and back of a 3D page curl.
To start, place 2 clips directly on top of each other. Make sure they are both the same duration. In this example I am using 3 second clips.
Navigate to the Avid Xpress 3D effect palette and place the same identical 3D page curl on both segments.
Next, click on the effects editor button which will bring up the Avid effect's editor window. Make sure you are adjusting the 3D page curl effect that is on V2.
You now need to enter into the Avid’s advanced effect's editor in order to access the controls for the front and back of the page curl. Click pink button in the lower right corner of the effects editor to promote the effect to the advanced keyframe module.
Within the advanced keyframing editor, twirl down the shape category for the page-curl effect. Select ‘show bottom only’ for the page curl on V2.
Now repeat the same steps for V1, but sit it’s parameters to ‘show top only’.
At first these parameters will seem a bit backwards since V2 is the top track, but it works. For review make sure your two page curl effects are set up like this.
V2 (show bottom only)
V1 (show top only)
If you want to swap the media on the front and back, you’ll need replace the media that you have on V1 and V2.
Avid pip rotating with front and back sides
Using Avid Xpress or Media Composer, is there an easy way to flip a picture-in-picture on the x or y axis that has a different front and back? The Avid software makes this relatively easy using a feature called nesting.
Edit a short clip to the Avid timeline. Then drop the pip effect icon from the effects pallette onto the clip.
Then click on the Avid effects editor button to enter into effects mode. This is where you will create a spin so your picture-in-picture rotates on it's y axis.
This will bring up the Avid effects editor window. Within the effects editor window click on the 'promote to 3D' button in the lower right corner of the window. This will promote the basic pip into a mode where you can move elements within 3D perpsective.
Within the 3D effects editor, click on the 'y' rotation tool.
Go back to the Avid composer window and click on the first keyframe. The keyframe should rename pink when activiated. Make sure the first keyframe is turned on, and the last keyframe is turned off.
Then use your mouse curstor to grab the right rotation handle, within the picture-in-picture, to flip it around to it's other side.
You'll notice that the back is an inverted image of the same media on the front. In order to replace the video content that appears on the back side, you will need to open up the nested track. To do this, click on the red segment arrow, at the bottom of the Avid timeline. Then double click on the pip effect icon with the V1 track.
This will open the V1 track into two nested tracks. The trick is to split V 1.2 in half using the add-edit command. Park the blue timeline indicator in the middle of the clip. This is where the y coordinate of the pip is at a value of -90 degrees. Neither side should be visible within the Avid composer window. Make sure V1.2 is the active timeline track. Then click the add-edit button. This will split V1.2 in half.
With V1.2 split into two sections, you now need to edit a different video clip into the other section.
To Replace Content for Back Side
- Patch the V1 source track to V 1.2.
- Click the 'Mark Clip' icon to mark the second section on V1.2
Next, load a new clip that you want on the back side into the Avid source window. In this exampe, I am using a clip with the contents of fire. Then click the red overwrite button to edit the new content from the source window into the marked section on V1.2
adding plasma effects avid titles
Did you know you can easily add a plasma wipe, or any other transition to a title without affecting the background? The trick is to nest the plasma wipe inside the nested fill layer of a title.
You need to put the plasma effect into a nested track. Otherwise the plasma wipe will work as a transition across your title and the background layer.
First, edit a title to the Avid Xpress or Media Composer timeline. Then use the red segment arrow and double click on the title to open up the nested track.
The title will open into three tracks which are:
V1.3 Matte
V1.2 Fill
V1.1 Background
Place the plasma wipe at the front of V1.2. as a transition.
*Important, the transition may not apply as a transition the first time you try to apply it. It might only allow you to place the effect onto the entire segment. If this happens, simply remove the effect and try again.
After applying the plasma wipe as a transition, click on the Avid effects editor icon. Make sure V1.2 is turned on before clicking on the Avid effects editor button. 'The Avid effects editor button looks like a pair of seatbelts.
The Avid effects editor window should now appear with controls where you can change your plasma wipe parameters. Make sure you adjust the width and softness controls.
You'll notice that the adjustments only apply to the title fill track instead of the entire frame.
 |
Before reading on, my best advice is to find a legacy copy of Photoshop 7.0 (not 7.01) and hold on to it with your life. Life has been good for the typical Avid editor, because Adobe changed the way it handles .tga files within the Photoshop application. Unfortunately, they have gone back to the old way of saving .tga files, and if you own Photoshop 7.01 or the new Photoshop CS (8.0), you will need to learn some archaic steps to make your titles look good within the Avid application.
So, that being said, if you have a graphic similar to this one (and you are running Photoshop 7.0), all you need to do is save the file as a .tga file (32 bit). Import it into the Avid software, and you have an awesome looking graphic that recognizes the transparent background within Photoshop. It basically saves you about 10 steps from this point.
There is only one other step you'll need to do before importing your graphic into the Avid software, which is to change the import settings within the Avid software to 'Invert Alpha Channel'. That's it. Everything will be beautiful. Go to the Project window and click on the settings tab. Within the settings tab double click on the import settings.
In the lower right corner click on the 'Invert Existing' option for the alpha channel.
Before continuing on with the tutorial, let me explain why this is such a big pain in the ass if you do not have the ability to save .tga files with transparency as in using Photoshop 7.0. The Avid Xpress software uses white (instead of black) as a default setting to key out elements. Therefore, if you have a an alpha channel that is white, it will key out the white area. This is perfectly fine, except every other non linear editing system I know of is the opposite.
So, no big deal, just invert the alpha channel within the Avid import settings, yes? Well, this is fine until you discover that your awesome looking graphic that you designed in Photoshop doesn't look quite right with its soft drop shadow, or glowing edges. 
Instead of a nice black drop shadow, you will get a soft white one. Talk a look at the following graphic and you will see what I mean. You'll notice that is has a software white edge around the edges of the text. This is because the Avid interprets the background checkerboard layer in Photoshop as white.
If you don't need any layer effects with your graphic that you are designing, then this process is much easier. Just build your graphic on a 720 x 534 canvas with a transparent background, and save it as a .psd file. Import the graphic into the Avid (within import settings set to invert alpha), and everything will be fine.
First, I'll assume you have created your layered graphic with some visual effects added to it. If not, jump back to this tutorial on using Photoshop for video and design your graphic with some Photoshop effects layers.
Once you have some effect layers for your graphic, right click (or control click if you are using a Macintosh) on the 'f'' icon to create 'real' layers out of the special Photoshop 'Effects Layers'.
This will create 'real' layers out of the special Photoshop layers. You will notice that the layers are still group together. You will need to merge them all into one single layer.
Go to the 'Layers menu' and select 'Merge Visible'. This will merge all of the layers that make up the graphic into a single Photoshop layer.
Next you need to select the entire merged layer (drop shadow and all). Control Click (PC), Command Click (MAC) on the single merged layer.
This will select your graphic. You should see a bunch of dotted lines or (ants) that surround your text graphic.
Now move over to the channels tab, and save the selection as an additional channel. This will become the alpha channel for the graphic. You'll notice the alpha channel is saved as white, and it includes all of the selected areas of the graphic. Click back onto the layers tab.
In the Photoshop tool palette, change the background color to black. You can click on the small curved arrows to switch the white background to a black background.
Navigate to the layers menu, and select 'New', 'New Background from Layer'. This will change the background of the canvas to black. But remember, we have already saved the alpha channel.
Finally, you can now save your graphic as a .psd file. The Avid will now properly interpret the Alpha channels with the proper soft drop shadow.
If you've done everything correctly, your text graphic should look similar to this when placed on V2 and keyed over some background video (V1).
Andy-Warhol-Up Your Photographs
|
Pop Art Recommended for Beginner to Intermediate Level Photoshop Users
Step 1: Abstracting the Photo
 If you are a fan of pop art and the work of Andy Warhol, then this is the Photoshop tutorial for you.
The first step is to find an image/photo. Warhol created his silkscreen prints from a variety of sources and subjects. There really is no limitation on subject matter at all when you consider that Warhol's work ranged from Coca-Cola bottles to Marilyn Monroe.
I have chosen to use one of my own photos. The picture shown right is a scaled down version of the end result I achieved.
At the end of this tutorial save the file to disc, take it down to your local print shop and get a large high-quality print. It will make a fantastic piece of Andy Warhol inspired art for your wall or a great gift! Let's get started...
a) Preparing the Photo Open up your photograph/soon-to-be-masterpiece in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer. Just click the layer called "Background" and drag it to this icon Rename this new layer "Photo" or something similar. Create a new layer (  Now working on the "Photo" layer we need to clear out all the unwanted parts of the photograph. In this case I want to isolate the kissing couple and delete the rest i.e the background walls and sofa. To cut out the couple I use the Pen Tool. Now to some-up how to use Photoshop's pen tool in a few sentences isn't easy...if you have never used the pen tool before, do the PEN TOOL TUTORIAL first. Remember to make sure the pen tool is set to create a Work Path. See below.  *NOTE: You could use the eraser tool but the results won't be as professional. Make Andy Warhol proud! Take the pen tool create a path around the couple and then make it into selection. Invert the selection (CTRL + Shft + i) and hit delete.  Desaturate the photo (Ctrl + Shft + U) and Crop so that the photo has an interesting composition.  Adjust the Brightness/Contrast... Image >> Adjustments >> Brightness/Contrast  Obviously the settings will be different for your photograph. Just adjust the sliders until your photo becomes quite dramatic. Now comes the fun part... b) The Cutout Filter Apply the Cutout Filter to the "photo" layer with the settings approximately as shown below.  Adjust the Levels (Ctrl + L). You want to adjust the sliders until your photo is black, roughly 3 shades of grey, and white.  Now apply the cutout filter again. This time increasing the edge simplicity. The idea behind this is really to abstract and simplify the photo. Of course don't just use the numbers shown below, trying experimenting!  Adjust the levels again if you feel the urge. I like the look of 3 tone (white, black and grey). Below is my image.  Don't forget to Save Now let's organise the canvas and create an Andy Warhol inspired layout.  |
Andy-Warhol-Up Your Photographs
|
STEP 2: The Repetition Canvas
Preparing the Canvas Open up a new canvas (Ctrl +N) with the settings shown below. The size is A3 (landscape)...you could make it bigger or smaller, but A3 is a good size poster/print, especially if you get it framed. We use 300 dpi for the best quality print . Plus make sure the mode is set to CMYK if you intend to print it. Click OK  Now go back to your original canvas. Click on your "photo" layer and drag and drop it onto you new "Warhol" canvas.  Create a new layer and rename e.g "bg1". Make sure it is in the "frame 1" set and below the "photo" layer. See the following image.  Working on the "bg1" layer take the Rectangle Tool (  The image below shows you how your work area should look now. Don't worry about the size of the "photo" and "bg1" layers, we are about to adjust that.  Make sure your Rulers are on (Ctrl + R), and drag two guides to divide up the canvas into 4 sections. Take your time and get it exact. See below. *TIP: Make sure SNAP TO GUIDES is on and use the rectangular marquee with the INFO WINDOW to measure distances.  Now click on your "frame 1 " set in your layers window. We are going to transform the two layers of this set. Edit >> Transform >> Scale Hold down Shft as you scale up or down so that pic maintains it's correct proportions. You want to achieve something like the picture below. See how the bottom-right corner rests in the centre of the canvas. Press Enter to complete the scaling.  Right click on the "frame 1" set and select Duplicate Layer Set.... Do this 2 more times so you have a total of 4 sets. Rename all your sets to "frame 2", "frame 3", and "frame 4". Now move all the sets into the right positions. If you hold down Shft as you drag the sets, it contrains the movement to only vertical or horizontal...very handy!  Right so now your work area should look like the image above. Almost there! Actually now might be a good time to remind you to Save. Use the move tool and the keyboard arrow keys to move the sets apart a little and get the composition just right. You are now ready for Step 3: The Color >>  |
) at the bottom of the layers window. Place the layer into a set by click dragging them onto the set. Rename the set appropiately e.g "frame 1". Your layers window should now look like the image shown below.
) and drag a rectangle to the size of the "photo" layer. Make sure the mode is set to Shape Layers before you draw the rectangle!!!! Lots of people make the mistake of checking this!! See image below.Andy-Warhol-Up Your Photographs
 STEP 3: The Color Warhol Poster
The second half of this tutorial should be relatively fast...provided you can decide on the right colour combinations! Someone once asked Andy Warhol... "What are the right colours? How do you know which are right?" Andy Warhol's reply... "Well I don't know, after you finish it you know what's right." Adding the Color Change the "bg1" color for each set by double clicking on the Layer Thumbnail as shown below. Select a colour from the Color Picker window that pops up and then click OK.  Not sure what color to use? Use the Andy Warhol picture below as a guide.  Now to add color to the people. There are two methods here so you can experiment around a little to see what you like best. Method 1Create a new layer in the "frame 1" set and rename it "pc". (That stands for people color, not very imaginative). Place this layer between the two existing layers. See below picture.  Now holding down Ctrl click on the layer "photo" in the Layers Window. You will see a little dashed-line square appear on the cursor hand. See image below.  Look at the canvas and you will find the "photo" subject/s perfectly selected. Now still working on the "pc" layer, grab the paint bucket tool and fill the selection with you a vibrant color.  Now click on the "photo" layer and change the mode to Screen. See images below. That's method 1 done  The result I achieved with method 1...  Method 2Working on the "frame 2" set now, complete method 1. However this time we are going to take it a little further. Link the "photo" layer and the "pc" layer. See image below.  Now merge these linked layers (Ctrl + E).  Create a new layer and rename it "pc 2". Place this layer on top of "pc 1" layer Ctrl click on the "p1" layer to perfectly select the image again. Fill the "pc 2" layer with a vibrant color. Now set the mode of the "pc 2" layer to Multiply. Your layers window should look like mine shown below.  The result I achieved with method 2...  NOW EXPERIMENT! Try different color combinations. Try different modes. Try linking all the layers in one set together and merging THEN adjusting the Hue/Saturation...(Ctrl + U) on the layers. Once you have completed all 4 sets and are happy with the result Save You are now ready for Step 4: The Finishing Touches >> |
Andy-Warhol-Up Your Photographs
STEP 4: The Finishing TouchesIf you have a tablet, simply create a new layer above all the other layers and sign your name. No tablet? Please don't write your signature with your mouse...it will probably just turn out a mess. DEFINITELY DON'T USE THE TEXT TOOL...that is not a signature! Get piece of real white paper and do your signature with a black pen. Scan the signature. Click on the layer in the Layers Window and drag and drop it onto your Warhol canvas. Move the signature into place and scale it to the right size. Quite often with scans there will be some unwanted grey marks. What we want is nice black lines on a perfectly white background. You will probably need to Adjust the Curves... Adjusting Curves First make sure your image doesn't have any colour... Image>>Adjust>>Desaturate...Then... Image>>Adjust>>Curves... The line in the "Curves" dialogue box will appear as a diagonal. Click on this diagonal line twice and drag these two markers until your line forms an "S" shape (as shown above). The lower marker will increase the black values as you pull it down. The upper marker will decrease the grey values as you pull it up. The exact shape of YOUR "S" curve will depend on YOUR signature image, so watch your image as you move these markers until you achieve the desired result. Finally set the mode of the signature layer to Multiply.Save your photoshop file. I called mine "warhol_unmerged.psd". This way I can also change the colors and make more interesting prints in the future. b) Adding Canvas TextureLots of print shops can now print your photoshop files directly on to canvas which is really cool but it is also expensive. If you can afford to do this stop here. Simply flatten your image. Save the file to disc and go to the print shop. Layer>>Flatten Image If not try this... We are going to apply a canvas grain effect to our picture, so it's going to look like a print from a canvas original...which I happen to like the look of. This step is optional, you may not like it. I think you should try though, to see what it turns out like. Flatten your image. Change the mode to RGB. Filter>>Texture>>Texturizer... The settings I used are shown in the image below but have a play round for yourself! Remember the keyword is SUBTLE!  Change the mode back to CMYK. Save. I called this file "warhol_merged.psd" Off to the printer you go! So that's it! That's how to change you photos into Andy Warhol inspired masterpieces. I hope you found this Photoshop tutorial helpful. Feel free to contact me via my contact page if you have any questions. |
(updated 10/10/06: You can download the stone texture from free stockimages site such as Free-StockPhotos)
Have fun!
Step1. Open your portrait (file>open or ctrl+o)
Step 2. Desaturate your photo; image>adjustments>desaturate or shift+control+u
Step 3. Open your stone texture file, and drag it into your face photo. Change the layer blend mode to multiply.
Step 4. Now you’ll need to eliminate the eyes. using your pen tool draw a path around her left eye and make a selection (go to your Paths Pallete, click on the work path, and click the ‘Load Path as a Selection’ in the bottom of your pallete).
Step 5. Use the clone tool and select an area of the stone texture as your source and clone it around the eye. Go to curve adjustment and play around with the curve to adjust her new eye brightness/contrast. Choose your blur tool, and smooth the edges of the new eye. Here’s what I come up with:
Step 6. Now repeat step 4 and 5 to do the right eye.
Step 7. To make the eye more three dimensional: create new layer, change the blend mode to ‘linear burn’ and change the opacity to around 20-30%. Choose the brush tool and choose black foreground color. Start to burn the area around the eyes with your brush tool. Play around with your opacity to get the perfect result. Here’s mine:
Step 8. To add three dimensional effect to your statue: Create new layer, choose gradient tool, set radial gradient, white to black and apply it to your new layer.
Step 9. Change the blend mode to linear burn, and play around with the opacity for your desired result.
So here she is with her new look..
I like the concept. For those lazy people like myself ( well lazy at times )... photofiddle.com or art.com will allow you to upload a photo and they will do the work for you on the fly. If you want to purchase a print it can be some $$$ ( depending on what you want ) but worth it. Made the girl friend a nice print in an Andy Warhol like style for her birthday and have gotten rave reviews.
Great detail on the how to though. Good Stuff.
Open your picture in photoshop that is going to become pop art and duplicate the layer called "Background". (Just click the layer called "Background" and drag it to this icon 
at the bottom of the layer window to duplicate the layer.)
Rename this new layer "dots". (To rename a layer right-click on the name in the Layer Palette and select Layer Properties).
Create another new layer and fill it bright blue using the Paint Bucket tool 
.
Drag this layer between the two existing layers and rename it something meaningful i.e "blue". The image below shows what your Layer Palette should look like. This is the basic set up to begin.
Now working on the "dots" layer we need to clear out all the unwanted parts of the photograph. In this case I want to isolate Scarlett and delete the rest i.e lilac background and bit of text.
To cut out Scarlett I use the Pen Tool. Now to some-up how to use Photoshop's pen tool in a few sentences isn't easy...if you have never used the pen tool before, do the PEN TOOL TUTORIAL first.
Remember to make sure the pen tool is set to create a Work Path. See below.
*NOTE: You could use the eraser tool but the results won't be as professional.
Take the pen tool create a path around the person (or thing) and then make it into selection. Invert the selection (CTRL + Shft + i) and hit delete. Deselect (Ctrl + D)
b) Making the Dots
Desaturate the "dots" layer (Ctrl + Shft + U).
Next adjust Threshold to something dramatic (still working on the "dots" layer).
Image >> Adjustments >> Threshold...
The settings I used are shown in the image below, but you will need to experiment to see what threshold settings works for YOUR image.
Using Threshold will leave the image looking very pixelated (jagged). So apply Gaussian Blur (approximately a 2-3 pixels should do it). Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur...
In your Layers Palette right-click on the "dots" layer and select Duplicate Layer.... See image below.
Select New for the Destination Document. Now you will have 2 documents open in photoshop.
Working on your new document change the Mode to Greyscale.
Image >> Mode >> Greyscale
A dialogue box appears..."Discard color information?"...Click OK.
Now change the Mode to Bitmap.
Image >> Mode >> Bitmap
A dialogue box appears..."Flatten layers?"...Click OK.
Choose Halftone Screen on the Bitmap options window. Click OK. See image below.
Next appears the Halftone Screen box. Apply the settings shown below. Note you may want to experiment with the Frequency as this decides the size of the dots. Click OK.
Almost there with the dots. All that's left is to transfer the dots back to the first document. (See part C).
c) Organising
Change the Mode back to Greyscale
A dialogue box will appear...Make sure the size ratio is 1 and click OK.
Now change the Mode back to RGB.
In your Layers Palette right-click on the layer and select Duplicate Layer.
There should be 3 three options as the Destination Document. Choose your original psd (which should be the top one). See image below.
Your Layers Palette should look like the one shown below. You can close the second psd that you created..there's no need for it now.
The final step for creating the dots is to create a Clipping Path between the new layer and the "dots" layer.
To create a Clipping Path...hold down the ALT key and move your cursor between the 2 layers in your Layers Palette. When the cursor turns into a "double bubble" (see image below) click to create the clipping path.
Now link the "dots" and "Background copy" layer. See image below.
Merge Linked layers (Ctrl + E)
Your picture should now look like the one shown below..only better because it's not so small and compressed!
Now is a good time to Save (Ctrl + S) your work. On the next page it's time to add color in STEP 2 >>
STEP 2. Adding Colour
Having achieved a great looking half tone effect, it's time to add the colour.
I'm going to use Fill Layers to colour this picture. Fill Layers are great if you are indecisive about your colour palette and fantastic for colour experimentation for pop art.
At the bottom of this page I will briefly show how intermediate level photoshop users can really take their images one step further. Combining this tutorial with my "Turn Photos of People into Line Art" tutorial you can really achieve stunning results.
a) Creating Fill LayersDuplicate the "dots" layer. Rename this layer "white" and drag it below the "dots" layer in your layer palette.
Adjust the Brightness/Contrast on the "white" layer.
Image >> Adjustments >> Brightness/Contrast...
Set the Brightness to +100, and adjust Contrast until white
Now the "white" layer is white! Your layers palette should look like the one shown below.
Change the blend mode on the "dots" layer to Multiply.
Click on this icon 
at the bottom of your Layer Palette and select Solid Colour...
Select a colour in the Colour Picker dialogue box. Click OK. I've gone for a red shade to colour her lips. You don't need to be too picky here because we can change the colour easily later on.
The new fill layer created will appear in your layer window. Right-click and rename the layer e.g "lips" to colour the lips.
Drag the new fill layer below the "dots" layer in your layer palette. See below. Your image is now totally filled with the colour of the fill layer...but don't worry we are about to fix that.
Create a Clipping Path between the "lip" and "white" layer. This will ensure that you don't colour over the lines ^_^
Change the foreground colour to black. Working on this new layer, take your Paint Bucket Tool () and fill the "lips" layer black. The colour disappears...this is because the colour will only show up where there is white on this fill layer.
Now for the colouring. Change the foreground colour to white. Get your Paint Brush Tool (
) and start painting where you want to the colour to appear. Use a hard brush with the opacity set to 100%. Make sure that you zoom in when colouring, so that it is nice and tidy!
b) More Fill Layers
Repeat the above step creating a new fill layer for each colour/item in your picture. Below is my layers palette.
Note how I have used clipping paths on all the new fill layers.
At any time if you are unhappy with a colour that you have chosen, simply double click on the Layer Thumbnail (as shown above) and re-select a colour. Now you have the ability to change the colour of the hair for example, to a whole new colour in a second flat!!
You're pretty much finished.
You will need to add a caption, or a speech or thought bubble to make this a Lichtenstein inspired piece. Custom shapes have a few speech and thought bubbles to choose from.
The font I used in my finished picture is ANIME ACE.
Try experimenting with the colours too for something really bold.
I've had a lot of people ask me how I create half tone shading on my line art pictures. CLICK HERE to see my finished Scarlett Johansson pop art piece.
I've written two tutorials on creating the line art.
-Turn Photos of People into Line Art
-Create Basic Line Art form Your Photos
The picture of my layer palette below pretty much explains it all.
Obviously the line art is the top layer.
Duplicate the half tone layer and place it over each colour layer with a clipping path.
Set the mode of the half tone layer to Soft Light (or something similar).
Adjust the opacity of the half tone layer until it looks good.
That's it!
I hope you found this Photoshop tutorial helpful. Feel free to contact me via my contact page if you have any questions.
Also check out the following page to see some fantastic art that others have created by following this tutorial...
Ladies and Gentlemen, we introduce you to Tim Shelbourne and welcome his Photoshop expertise to this issue of DTG! Welcome Tim, and thank you so much for sharing this tutorial...
Photo to Pencil Sketch
[Editor's Note: Folks, we regularly get two or more requests from readers for any help using Photoshop to convert a photo to a sketch -- pencil, charcoal, conte, or other mediums. This is by far the very best tutorial we've seen to date -- bar none! When we saw this technique in the Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook we knew at once we had to share it with you! Thanks to O'Reilly Publishing we're able to bring the technique to you in its entirety! ]
Tim Shelbourne writes...
Ask any artist and they'll tell you that all the tubes of paint in the world cannot replace the simple pencil when it comes to artistic potential. Through the centuries, the litmus test of an artist's ability was demonstrated best through the medium of drawing. In days of yore, student painters spent years drawing with graphite to hone their skills.
The so-called "Sketch Filters" in Photoshop consistently yield very disappointing results; re-creating the quintessential sketch demands a little more inventiveness and an approach that mimics traditional techniques. Pencil sketches work especially well when very soft leaded pencils are used on a tinted paper, with a few touches of white chalk here and there to heighten the tones. This is what we'll produce here, digitally.
Don't worry if your drawing abilities aren't up to snuff, all that's required here is the ability to scribble!
Note: Due to the size and number of diagrams, we've made these thumbnails clickable, and should open the actual diagram in a new, pop-up window. If they don't, be sure you have JAVA turned on, and Pop-up blocking turned off.
(1) Open your original image in Photoshop.
Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color,
call it "Gray Fill," and click OK.
In the Color Picker, choose a light gray.
(2) Click the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" icon at the base of the Layers palette and choose Pattern from the list.
Click in the Pattern Swatch in the dialog box, hit the right-pointing arrow, and select Grayscale Paper.
Choose Fibers 1 from the swatch.
Increase the Pattern Scale to 340% and click OK. Set this layer to
Soft Light, and 35% opacity.
(3) Right-click/Ctrl-click the background layer and choose Duplicate Layer, calling the layer "Glowing Edges."
Drag this new layer to the top of the stack and go to
Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges.
Use these values:
Edge Width 3, Edge Brightness 11, Smoothness 10.
(4) Invert the Glowing Edges layer using
Image > Adjustments > Invert (Ctrl/Cmd+I).
This layer only needs to be black and white, so go to
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U).
Set the layer's blending mode to Multiply with an opacity of 15%.
(5) Duplicate the background layer again, calling it "Sketch Layer," and drag this duplicate to the top of the stack.
Desaturate this layer using Image
> Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/ Cmd+Shift+U).
To use the layer as a base for the drawing, increase the contrast a little, by going to
Image > Adjustments > Brightness and Contrast. Drag the Contrast slider to the right to a value of 22.
Now set the layer blending mode to Darken and leave the opacity set to 100%.
(6) We need to add some Noise to this layer to break the image up a little, so go to
Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
Use an Amount of 12%, choose Gaussian for Distribution, and check Monochromatic.
(7) Add a Hide All layer mask to this layer using Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All.
To make the drawing, simply scribble on this layer mask using a special brush.
(8) Select the Brush tool and click in the Brush Picker.
Click the right-pointing arrow in the Picker and choose Dry Media Brushes. Scroll down the thumbnails and double-click Pastel on Charcoal Paper.
(9) Hit F5 on the keyboard to display the Brush Options.
Click the Other Dynamics panel and set the Opacity Jitter Control box to Pen Pressure.
Click Shape Dynamics and set the Size Jitter to Pen Pressure.
Set Minimum Diameter to 70%.
Photo to Pencil Sketch
Tim Shelbourne writes...
(10) Now you can begin sketching...
Be sure that the foreground color swatch is white.
In the Options bar, increase the size of the brush to between 20 and 25 pixels. Now begin to scribble onto the Sketch Layer's layer mask. At first, just concentrate on the main facial features within the image. Use just a little pressure on the stylus, or a very low opacity for the brush.
Scribble loosely over all of the required parts of the image, changing direction often to create a hand-shaded look.
(11) Use plenty of cross-hatch scribble where the strokes overlap in opposite directions. Remember, there is no actual drawing ability whatsoever required here, we are simply scribbling to reveal the layer lying beneath the Layer mask.
(12) Increase the size of the brush a little by using the right-facing square bracket key on the keyboard.
Continue to scribble over the image, remembering to keep the brushwork nice and loose, building up the tones around the features of the face. In the hair, and around the outside of the image, use the brush at a bigger size and make the strokes even more sketchy.
(13) Finally, reduce the size of the brush again and use it with white at full opacity to scribble more into the main features, adding some really dark strokes.
See the "Before & After" with a rollover to compare the work to the original photo
Tip FEEL THE PRESSURE!
In exercises such as this, using a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet has huge advantages over using a mouse. Many of the special brushes in Photoshop, such as the one we're using here, have characteristics that can be set to respond directly to pressure. Although this exercise can be completed with a conventional mouse, the opacity of the brush has to be controlled manually in the Options bar. When using a graphics tablet we can simply apply more pressure to the stylus to create darker strokes. Graphics tablets are relatively cheap nowadays, and stunning results can be achieved with even the most inexpensive models.
Good luck and keep on Photoshopping!
A Gradient Tutorial
Written by Mike Rundle — 57 Comments
(Posting this here instead of BusinessLogs.com because our server is currently being moved!)
If you add together all the “interface tricks” designers use on 1) websites, 2) blogs, and 3) web applications, the one common thread is the idea of manipulation. When we use gloss, gradients, or drop shadows it’s because we’re trying to manipulate your eye into thinking the 2D screen in front of you is a lush 3D landscape filled with volume, depth, and light sources. When you visit a site that looks really sleek and cool, it’s probably because they manipulated your eye correctly and the 3D effect looks “real”, and on sites that look odd or “not as real” it’s because the effects they used didn’t mimic what your eye believes as 3D. Your eyes have been looking at things in the world for a very long time and they’re used to what a shadow looks like, what a light source’s highlight on an object looks like, etc. If you don’t approximate what your eye “thinks” something should look like then your design won’t accomplish the 3D look you’re trying to emulate.
Here are three blocks with various gradients applied, check them out and I’ll go over the differences:
1
Box 1 illustrates a classic problem I see a lot, and that’s the loss of saturation in the image. Saturation is how intense a specific color is, and a less saturated hue is muddy or grey. When light strikes an object it doesn’t make it less saturated, but simply lighter and possibly more saturated (more saturated because the added light counteracts the shadow mixed with the color) so keep that in mind. Note that the box doesn’t look very “rounded” or 3D at all, it just looks flat and uninteresting.
2
Box 2 shows another type of gradient some designers use, and although it looks better than Box 1 (doesn’t lose saturation) it’s off because it’s not subtle enough. Box 2 looks like a copper panel that has been hit with a flashlight at full blast — not the effect we’re looking for. Tricking eyes into seeing 3D when there’s only two dimensions means reproducing what they see normally, which would be common objects with inside lighting, or outdoor objects with subtle natural lighting. A flashlight or strobe light is not a common light source, so don’t use that metaphor when working with gradients.
3
Box 3 is the best out of all. The light source is subtle, the color of the highlight has more saturation than the other two, and the color change is gradual enough to trick your eye into thinking it’s a beveled, 3D panel. If you’re going for a beveled-out look, this is the type of gradient you should be trying to reproduce.
Creating A Gradient In Photoshop
There is a dedicated gradient tool in Photoshop, but just like with anything “obvious” it turns out to be anything but. There are multiple ways of producing a gradient in Photoshop, and I’m going to show you the way I always use because it’s pretty non-technical and produces reliable and reproducible results.
Step 1: Fill Your Base Layer
I like to use a Foreground->Transparent gradient, and to work with that you need a color to show through the bottom transparent area. To start, make a New Layer (Shift+Cmd+N, Mac) and fill it with a color a bit on the dark side. Here’s a screenshot of the color I picked, note how I’m trying to stay closer to the right side of the Hue color square so that my base isn’t muddy (moving farther to the left decreases the Saturation, making it muddy):
Step 2: Make Your Gradient Layer
Make a New Layer again, name it something different from your base layer, make sure it’s on top of the previous layer.
Step 3: Pick Your Lighter Color
Your foreground color should still be the dark red you selected in Step 1. Click on the foreground square to bring up your color palette, and then select a secondary color that is lighter and slightly less saturated. Keep your second color close to your first, just so your gradient is subtle and not as jarring:
Step 4: Make Your Gradient
You now have a solid color base layer, and a highlight color you’re about to use as your gradient. There are many ways to use the Gradient tool, however I highly suggest only using the Foreground->Transparent mode because you can control it the best, and we’ll be using that mode here. Select your Gradient tool (part of the Paint Bucket Fill tool if that’s already selected) and make sure the top toolbar looks like this:
These settings mean: 1) Foreground->Transparent gradient type, 2) Linear gradient orientation, 3) Normal mode, 4) Full opacity to start, 5) Transparency is turned On. The two most important are the first and the last: make sure that Foreground->Transparent is selected, and that your gradient is free to turn transparent at the end.
The gradient tool works by dragging a line across the area you want to apply the gradient. In a normal, linear, FG->TRANS gradient, your foreground color will start at your first point and will become transparent by the end point. The longer your line the smoother your gradient will be, but if it’s too long then it’s difficult to see the gradient at all. I normally make my gradient line about 10° past vertical, leaning towards the upper left, because you’re trying to emulate a top-left light source in all user interface design. Varying the length of your gradient, the degree tilt, and the placement of the start will allow you to tweak various parts in order to get it perfect. Here’s a screenshot of my gradient, with the start and end points indicated:
And that’s it! Here are some review points:
- Make it subtle, not drastic.
- Keep your color intact, don’t lose saturation.
- Use multiple layers for maximum flexibility, combine after you’re fully satisfied.
Happy gradienting!
Sep 04
Creating grunge brushes
2006 at 11.32 am posted by Veerle
My recent tutorial about creating pattern backgrounds sparked some questions from readers if I could do the same for something that is referred to as “grunge”. The pattern tool is ok for repeating items but the grunge look gets it effectiveness just from the randomness I think. So I think it would be better if I show you how to make a grunge brush instead. I know several of those are available for download but there is nothing more rewarding then creating your own :)
So in this article I'll show you how to create 2 types of brushes that can be used to create the grunge effect. Like always this is just one way of doing things as I'm sure there are others also. In a next tutorial I'll explain another way to create a similar effect in Photoshop if you just want borders. A brush is better because you can apply it everywhere and it gives you more creative freedom then the other technique.
Creating a random grunge brush
Choosing and preparing the image
First of all you have to find a perfect suitable photo to start from. I've found a lot of good material on the TextureKing website to start from, but you can start from any image you like. Next you desaturate your image : Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (command/control + shift + u). Then you play with the levels : Image > Adjustments > Levels (command/control + l). The values shown are different for each image and each result you want to achieve, but in most situations you'll have to drag the outer sliders more towards the middle, so you get a more back and white effect. Make sure you don't exaggerate, make sure there are some grey areas left.
Select a suitable area and clean up
Now select the Lasso tool from the Toolbox and select an area which you think would be perfect to create the brush. Copy this selection and past it into a new document. Now select the Erase tool from the Toolbox and select the Rough Round Bristle brush from the Brush palette. If you have removed the default brushes you need to reset the brushes to get to this brush. Now, clean up the borders of your selection so you don't see the edges. Reduce the size of the brush if needed.
A grunge brush is born
When you're done, go to Select > All (command/control + a) and go to Edit > Define Brush Preset and name your brush. The brush will appear in the brush palette now (last one in the row). Now you can test the result, by selecting a color and choose the Brush tool from the Toolbox and click in your document.
Creating corner brushes
You can also create corner brushes. Just select another area from the image that would suit as a grunge corner and repeat the same steps. You can rotate your image to create similar other corners.
The final result of my grunge design
Save your brushes
Creating these brushes requires a lot of experimenting, but it's fun. You can create your own set of brushes by saving them in the Brush palette located in the Options Toolbar. This is of course important since your brush will be saved permanently as a Brush Set (.ABR file), so don't forget this. Otherwise as soon as you reset your Brush palette, your brush will be gone. Click the little arrow button on top right and select Save Brushes from the menu. You have to make sure that only your brushes are loaded in the palette, otherwise the other default brushes are saved as well in that set. By saving them in an .ABR file you can create your own collection of brushes.
Creating patterns in Photoshop CS2
2006 at 02.19 am posted by Veerle
Have you ever wondered how you create a seamless pattern in Photoshop? It’s easy and it’s fun. Let me show you how…
Step 1 - Create a Color Fill
First of all create a vector illustration in Illustrator CS2. It might be just a simple dot or circle. Copy this object. Go to Photoshop and create a new document of 300 by 300 pixels. Select the Rectangle Selection Tool from the Toolbox and drag a squared selection (hold down shift) in the center of the document. Leave enough space around the square. Click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer in the Layer's Palette and select Solid Color. Select a color you like and click OK.
Step 2 - Paste your Illustrator object
Paste your Illustrator object. Select Smart Object in the Paste options. In the View menu, make sure that Smart Guides are active (Show > Smart Guides). Snap and Snap to Layers should also be checked.
Step 3 - Place your object over the border
Drag your object over the border of the Color Fill. If you see the Smart Guide and feel the object 'snapping', release the object.
Step 4 - Drag a 2nd object on the other side of the border
Duplicate the layer (drag the layer in the Layer's Palette onto the Create New Layer icon). Now drag the object over the bottom border of the Color Fill holding down the shift key. Again, when you feel the Snap effect release your mouse.
Step 5 - Drag other objects on the other side of Color Fill borders
Repeat step 3 and 4 for the left and right side of the Color Fill.
Step 6 - Fill up the 4 borders of the Color Fill
Make sure the border of the color fill is nicely filled. Play around with the shape by transforming it (command/control + t) and using different Layer transparency values. Just make sure that each shape on either side is still the same, so that in the end the pattern will match seamlessly.
Step 7 - Fill up the middle of the Color Fill
Now fill up the middle of the Color Fill. Make sure you have enough variation. You might need to turn off Snap and Smart Guides. Once you're finished, click on the Layer Mask of the Color Fill Layer in the Layer's Palette holding down the command/control key. The Color Fill is now selected. Go to the Edit menu, select Define Pattern and give your pattern a name. If the option is greyed out, you just need to select another layer. Now do the test by creating a new document (make sure it's big enough to see the effect), hit command/control + a and go to Edit > Fill and select your pattern.
Step 8 - Play around and experiment
As you can see, my example with the flower is rather flashy. Because we've used Smart Objects, we can change the pattern in a rather quick way. Double click the Smart Object icon on one of the Layers. This will open the object in Illustrator. Now change the shape into something else, use other colors etc. Save it and close the document. Go back to Photoshop and you'll see that all Smart Objects will change to the new one. Change the color of the Color Fill. Go to Edit > Define Pattern and save your new pattern. Create as much patterns as you like, all in a rather fast and smart way :)
See? This is fun. Still, make sure to use patterns like the one I made here with caution, don't overload your design, make sure there is enough breathing space. Otherwise it could be too flashy and playful... unless that's exactly what you are looking for of course.
related
28served
1
Kalle Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 02.49 am
Awesome tutorial! These functions aren’t in CS1 so I’d better get CS2. Actually, I haven’t even tried the CS2 bundle. Are Photoshop and Illustrator meant to be working side by side alot in the CS2 bundle, like you just did? Cheers!
2
Raanan Avidor Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 03.00 am
Great post!
For the first time I grokked how to create a pattern.
3
Pat Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 03.10 am
I actually use another technique to avoid bothering myself in order to align the different elements so they align perfectly when used as a pattern. The technique is the following:
1. create your document in Photoshop (e.g., 300 x 300 pixels)
2. copy some of your pattern object (in your exemple, your nice logo) over the document
3. go to Filter -> Other -> Offset
4. offset by an certain amount of pixels (e.g., 100 pixels) but be sure to choose the “wrap around” option.
5. repeat steps 2 to 4 until you’re satisfied with your pattern ;-)
Moreover, that technique enables you to create non-symmetrical patterns! I hope this tip is useful…
4
Matt Johnson Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 03.27 am
Ah, I have always wondered about how to make these, and though I can’t say I followed your tutorial step-by-step, the pattern-howto07.gif image showed me everything I needed to know.
Simple, yet “duh”. Love it!
@Pat - I like your offset idea also, good find.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/how_to_apply_effe...
Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Streaming Training Courses
Final Cut Pro, Motion, DVD Studio Pro and Avid training resources (866-566-1881)
« Fixing Final Cut Pro out of sync problems | Main
How to apply effects to Avid titles
This tutorial is not for the light hearted. I have included as many screenshots of the Avid Xpress software as possible. If you are having a difficult time mastering this effect, I reccomend that you take a certified Avid Training course. In particular, take a look at the Photoshop for Video graphics course, Avid Xpress 210.
I will also mention, that this tutorial is only going to work with certain effects. For this particular example, I will use the 'swirl' effect that is located in the illusion plug-ins folder.
Many seasoned Avid editors are used to holding down the (alt, or option) key to auto-nest effects on top of exisiting effects. The problem with this method, is that it will not work with titles, or keyable graphics. The end result will look like this:
The background video and title will have the same effect applied to them. This is a problem. To apply a particular effect to JUST the title, you will need to go through the following steps to create a matte key.
The first step it to create your title on top of some background video. Next you are going to (step into) the title using the step-in command located in the bottom left corner of the timeline window. *Make sure the V2 track is turned on before clicking the (step in) button.
After you step into the title, you should see three track elements. These tracks are: Alpha Matte, Graphic Fill, and a background area (should be blank)
V3 Matte
V2 Fill
V1 Blank
Mark in In and Out points for the entire segment that is located on V3. This can be a little confusing, since you will not see any physical IN or OUT points located at the bottom of the timeline. Just make sure the entire segment is marked in purple. Next, if you have not mapped the (copy to clipboard) icon, press the C-key. This will copy the V3 (matte) to the clipboard.
After you have copy the V3 (matte) to the clipboard, (step-back-out) to the original timeline.
Now that you are back to your original timeline, you need to remove the title-key effect-icon from V2. Press the remove-effect icon which will remove the key. You should now have a timeline that looks similar to the graphic illustration below.
You now need to add an additional video track. You can use the keyboard shortcut (ctrl + Y) to add an additional Video Track. Next navigate to the clipboard montior menu, located under the Tools menu.
After selecting the Clipboard Monitor, it should bring up a source window with a black-and-white matte of the clip you copied from within the nest.
You need to edit this new source clip onto V3. Next, navigate to the effects palette and drop a matte-key effect onto V3.
Your timeline should now look like the graphic illustration below.
Believe it or not, you should be back to where you started. The only difference, is you have rebuilt the effect from scratch utilizing a matte key effect. You have now seperated matte and fill tracks so effects can be applied to them seperately. With V3 turned on and highlighted, press the (step-in) arrow again.
Drag the swirl effect (from the Avid Xpress effects palette - illustion category) onto V3. This is where you would also create any necessary key-frames to animated the effect over-time.
Your Avid Xpress Pro composer window should like something something to the graphic illustration below.
Notice, how the the matte has the swirl effect applied to it. Now, you need to copy these effect parameters so they can be used in the next step. To do this, click on the effects editor icon to launch the Avid Xpress Pro effects editor window.
Within the Avid Xpress Pro effects editor, you need to drag the (swirl) effect icon from the effect editor and drop it into a bin. This effect icon will store the parameters and any keyframe adjustments that you have made to that effect.
After you have saved the (swirl) effect icon off into a bin, you need to (step-back-out) to your original timeline. You will notice that only the matte has been affected by the (swirl) effect.
You need to apply the same parameters to V2 (the graphic fill.) Drag the (swirl) effect that you stored in your bin to V2 (the graphic fill). Your final 3 layer effect should look like the example below. You will now need to render the top-most layer.
The Final result should look like the example below.
Remember, if you make any adjustments to this effect, you will need to make the same adjustments to the Matte Layer and the Fill Layer. They need to mirror each other.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/special_effects_w...
Final Cut Pro, Motion, DVD Studio Pro and Avid training resources (866-566-1881)
« Exporting Compression Settings from Sorenson Squeeze | Main
Special Effects with Avid Titles
Here is a simple tutorial on how to create a gleam of light that travels through a title.
The first step is to navigate to the clip menu, and select new title. The title tool window will appear.
For this example, make the title fairly large, in this case 128 points. Choose a color other than white. This is because our traveling gleam will be a white color.
Once you have designed your title. Go ahead and save it to a bin.
Go ahead and edit 3 seconds of the title to the timeline. Edit the Title on V1. This next step is to click on the red segment arrow, and double click on the title. The V1 track will open into three sub tracks which will be labeled 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.
Make sure your timeline looks similar to the example above.
Now, park the blue indicator about half way in the middle of your title, and turn on the V 1.2 track. Click on the (add-edit) button. This will break the 1.2 track into two pieces.
Go to the Avid effects palette and find the horizontal edge wipe effect.
Drag the horizontal edge wipe effect onto V 1.2 where you made the (add-edit).
After you have dropped the horizontal edge wipe effect on V 1.2, your timeline should look similar to the example below.The next step is to create the wipe. Click on the effects editor button. The effects editor button is in the upper left corner of the timeline window, it looks like a pair of seatbelts.
After you click on the effects editor button, the effects editor window will appear. Within the effects editor window, simply give the edge wipe a width and a softness value. You may want to change the duration of the effect to 2:00 seconds for a slower moving wipe.
That’s it! Play the sequence. You should now see the traveling wipe play through the title.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/photoshop_for_vid...
Photoshop for Video Creating Glass Bug
These days, understanding Adobe Photoshop is almost a necessity when it comes to editing on a non-linear editing system. Even with all the new title tools available, there are still many practical effects that may require Photoshop. One practical and very easy effect to create is a glass bug. You see them all the time in the lower right corner of the screen. It's a great way to add your companies signature or logo but without interfering with the visual piece since it is transparent. Here are the steps.
Scan your logo or title into Photoshop and removed the background. It is best if you scan your image on a solid color background. This will make it easy when using the magic wand if you need select the background.
Before you begin, you will need to unlock the background layer. To do this, hold down the 'alt key' and double clock on the lock icon on the background layer.
You can select either the object itself, or the background. Choose whatever is easier. In this example, I will select each letter in GeniusDV.
First, select the Magic Wand tool, or press the ‘W’ key. Click on each letter of your logo to select it. Hold down the shift key to add areas to your selection until the entire object is selected.
If you choose to select your object instead of the background, simply navigate to the select menu and choose inverse.
The next step is to delete the background. After the background layer is unlocked, it will change to become ‘Layer 0’. You can now press the ‘Delete’ key to delete the background. Your logo should now appear on a checkerboard background which represents the alpha channel.
Now, you need to add a bevel to your object. Double click on ‘Layer 0’ within the layers tab. This will open the layer style effects box. Activate and click on the Bevel and Emboss category.
Your graphic should now look like this.
The last step is to make the graphic transparent. All you need to do is adjust the fill slider for the layer to '0'.
Your finished object should now look like this.
*When you save your graphic, it is important to save it as a .png file. If you do not, both Final Cut Pro and Avid will have issues with understanding the effect layers that we build as part of this graphic.
Simply import the finished graphic into your nonlinear system and place it on your V2 track. I have tested this with both Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro. If you are using this example for Avid, make sure you invert your alpha channel within your import settings.
Here is the finished example, using the Avid Xpress Pro software as an example. Very cool.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/avid_xpress_creat...
Avid Xpress Creating a Moving Film Strip
I hope you enjoy this tutorial for Avid Xpress. You should be able to complete the filmstrip tutorial regardless of what version of software you are running. If you find any errors or problems, please email me and I will correct them.
Here is what the finished sequence should look like when you are finished with this tutorial
The first step to creating a moving filmstrip with Avid Xpress is to find at least 6 clips and set a duration of 3 seconds for each of them.
To do this, double click on each clip within the Avid Xpress bin window and mark IN and OUT points for each clip so the duration of each clip is exactly 3 seconds.
You may want to use the hidden source pull down menu and set the timecode display to I/O. This will help you when marking IN and OUT points for the clip so you have a visual reference.
It is very important that each clip is exactly 3 seconds long.
Within the Avid Xpress bin window, verify that all of your clips are exactly three seconds long. You can verify this by pulling down the fast menu in the lower left corner of the bin window and selecting headings.
Make sure you have the text tab selected at the top of the Avid Xpress bin window. Otherwise, you will not be able to access the headings selection within the fast menu.
Next, select the IN-OUT heading within the Avid bin column section box.
You may want to click on the All / None button to deselect all the other unnecessary headings.
Verify that all of your clips have an IN-OUT value of exactly 3 seconds each.
The next step is to edit each of your clips to the timeline window. You can save some steps by selecting all of the clips by using (control + A) on a PC or (command + A) on a MAC.
After all of the clips are selected, you can drag all of them together directly to the Avid Xpress timeline window.
You may want to pull down the timeline (fast menu) and select (clip-durations) to verify that all of your clip segments are exactly three seconds in duration.
Next, you will want to delete all the audio tracks. This is because they will get in the way when building your final composite. To do this, deselect the video track, and highlight all of the audio tracks.
Then press the delete key on your keyboard. Click on the OK button to delete all of the Avid Xpress audio tracks within the timeline window.
The next step is to add two additional video tracks. To do this, navigate to the clip menu, and select New Video Track. Repeat this process until you have a total of 3 video tracks.
Within the Avid Xpress project window, select the effects tab. Within the effects tab, find the PIP effect. Drag the PIP effect to the first segment within the timeline as shown below.
After you drop the PIP effect onto the first segment, you need to enter into effects mode. Park the blue timeline position indicator over your first segment and push the segment mode button. The segment mode button looks like a pair of (seatbelts) and it is located in the upper left corner of the timeline window. After you click on the effects editor button, the Avid Xpress effects editor window will appear.
The Avid Xpress editor window is where you can adjust the parameters for any particular effect.
For now, leave all of the adjustments at their default positions.
While the effects editor is open, the composer window will change to ‘Effects Mode’ You should see a wireframe edge around your picture-in-picture effect.
While in 'Effects Mode' click on the reduce image icon. It is a magnifying glass with a minus sign. Click on this icon twice.
You will now be able to see the edge of the screen.
Click on the first keyframe within the Avid Xpress composer window. The keyframe will turn pink.
Then, drag the wireframe image to the right of the visible screen area.
Next, click on the last keyframe within the Avid Xpress composer window.
Then drag the wireframe image to the left of visible picture area.
*When dragging your wireframe image, DO NOT grab the image from the white dot in the middle. This white dot in the middle of the wireframe image represents the starting keyframe. You animation will then move backwards if you grab the image from the middle dot.
If you press the play button while in 'effects mode' you wireframe image should move from the right side of the screen to the left side of the screen.
Once you have built the first picture-in-picture effect, you need to copy the same effect to all the other segements.
You do this by draggin the effect from the Avid Xpress effects editor window, and copying it to all the other segments.
If you have six segments, you will have to repeat this process 5 times until each of your segments has the same picture-in-picture effect applied to it.
After you are done, close the effects editor window.
Now, you need to move the blue position indicator forward exactly one second from the start of the sequence. Turn on the red segment arrow drag the next segment up onto V2 and snap it to the blue position indicator. *if you are using Avid Xpress Pro, hold down the control key to snap the segment to the head of the blue position indicator.
After you are done, move the position indicator forward 1 more second, and drag the third segment up onto V3 and snap to the position indicator.
When you are finished, your sequence should look like the example shown below. Make sure you move the (monitor) icon to the top most track so you can see all of the layers below it.
That's it! Now back up and play the sequence. You should have a moving filmstrip that moves across the screen.
Depending on how fast your machine is, you may need to render your sequence to play the sequence.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/creating_a_dvd_wi...
Creating a DVD with Avid Xpress
If you are new to using the Avid Xpress software, you will certainly encounter a job where you will need to create a DVD.
A DVD uses a mpg2 compression scheme Unfortunately, the current version of Avid Xpress Pro does not include an mpg2 export option. First, you will need to export a Quicktime movie. Next, you will need to convert the Quicktime movie into mpg2 format.
Depending on the DVD authoring program that you are using, you may not need to export to mpg2. Programs such as Sonic's My-DVD, and Apples I-DVD will automatically encode a mpg2 file for you.
The Avid Xpress software uses a DV codec that is odd field dominant. Mpg2 is always even field dominant. This causes a problem when exporting a Quicktime movie from Avid Xpress.
If your DVD ends up looking something like this, then you have a field reversal problem. Notice how the image appears to have a tearing effect. The solution is simple, simply export your Quicktime movie from the Avid as odd-field first.
Fortunately, Avid provides a DV-Stream codec that represents the RAW video that is recorded from a DV camera. Using the DV-Stream codec will automatically export your movie as an even-field dominent movie.
If your DVD authoring program does not take the DV-Stream format, you will need to export a QuickTime movie using a compatible codec. Then, select (odd or upper field first) in order to reverse the field order.
If your DVD authoring software does not support any other codecs other than mpg2, you will need to use a media conversion software product such as Sorenson Squeeze, or Media Cleaner Pro
Import the DV-Stream movie from Avid Xpress into either of these products, and then export a mpg2 movie.
When the field order reversed, the video will play back correctly from a DVD. Notice how the tearing effect has been removed.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/avid_express_pro_...
Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Streaming Training Courses
Final Cut Pro, Motion, DVD Studio Pro and Avid training resources (866-566-1881)
« Getting Audio Clips Back In Sync in Final Cut Pro | Main | Avid Express Pro Capturing »
Avid Express Pro Marquee Title Tool
Giving your text that extra look is a very important part of taking your work to the professional level. I frequently use some form of glowing title. You can add a glow very easily in the new Avid Marquee Title Tool which is now bundled with Express Pro HD. To simulate a glow follow these few steps.
1. Highlight the object you want to glow and choose windows then properties and shadow.
2. Adjust your shadow properties to match these.
-Show shadow need to be selected
-Type: Drop
-X offset: 0
-Y offset: 0
-Opacity: 50 or higher
-Softness: 50 or higher
-Shadow color: glow colorYou can adjust your opacity and softness to your application. The opacity is really depending on the color you choose and the background color in which the graphic will live. Try this the next time you want to spice up your text and discover the power and ease of Avid Marquee.
Posted by Mickey on November 30, 2006 11:09 PM | Permalink
Avid and Advanced Keyframes
Advanced keyframes is one of the most underused abiltys of the Avid edting applications. I wanted to take the next few entries and let you in on what advanced keyframes are and how to use them. When you use advanced keyframes, separate timeline tracks, keyframe tracks, appear in the Effect Editor. These keyframe tracks allow you to manipulate keyframes in groups or to open a separate keyframe graph for each individual parameter.
One of the main benefits of using the advanced keyframe model is that it allows you to modify a parameter's keyframes independently from other parameters' keyframes. With standard keyframes, every keyframe affects every parameter.
Effect track: The keyframes in this track correspond to the keyframes in the Effect Preview monitor. If you select a keyframe in the effect track, the system automatically selects all of the keyframes at that point in time in the effect (all the keyframes directly under that keyframe in the Effect Editor window). This makes it easy to move, delete, or perform other operations on many keyframes at the same time.
Parameter group track: This track shows all the keyframes in the specific parameter group. If you select a keyframe in the parameter group track, the system automatically selects all the corresponding parameter keyframes in the group. Parameter groups can have subgroups. For example, in the previous illustration, Color and Blend Color are subgroups of Border.
Parameter track: This track shows the keyframes for the individual parameter. Parameter tracks are lighter in color than the parameter group tracks. You can open individual parameter tracks to fine-tune the parameter values in a keyframe graph.you can perform an operation on all three types of tracks, this guide refers to the track as a keyframe track. You do not have to use advanced keyframes in the Effect Editor. You can work using standard keyframes, in which each keyframe affects all parameters. In addition, advanced keyframe functions are available even when a keyframe graph is closed to show only the keyframe parameter track.
Avid and Advanced Keyframes cont.
The first thing you need to know is how do you promote your effects to advanced Keyframes. Many effects support advanced keyframes and if it is available for that particular effect the Promote to advanced keyframes button appears in the effect editor toolbar.
To promote an effect to advanced keyframes:
In the Effect Editor toolbar, click the Promote to Advanced Keyframes button.
The Effect Editor displays the effect with keyframe tracks.
The following are some things to consider when you promote an effect to advanced keyframes:
You can choose whether or not a newly promoted effect first appears with no keyframes or with two keyframes, one at the start and one at the end of each parameter. You set this option in the Effect Editor entry of the Settings list.
Once you promote an effect to advanced keyframes, the Acceleration parameter category no longer appears. You manipulate acceleration (ease-in and ease-out) of the effect using the spline or Bézier interpolation options, which give you more control than the standard Acceleration parameter category.
Avid Advanced KeyFrames part 3
Once you start working with advanced keyframes you will need to become aware of what you are looking at. Commands you select in the Effect Editor window apply to the keyframes in the Effect Preview monitor. For example, if you select "Add Keyframes to Enabled Groups" from the Effect Editor shortcut menu and then deselect all groups, you cannot add any keyframes to the Effect Preview monitor. In this case, enable a group in the Effect Editor shortcut menu before you add keyframes or select another command from the shortcut menu.
When you select a keyframe in the Effect Preview monitor, the system automatically selects the corresponding keyframe in the effect track and all keyframes directly under that keyframe. The following illustration shows the result of selecting a keyframe in the Effect Preview monitor.
Add a dash of color to black-and-white photos
The geniuses at Digital Photography School show how to create some pizzazz by adding a small area of color to a black-and-white photo.
The process involves "desaturating" the color from an image and then using the History Brush to "paint in" the desired area. It's pretty simple overall, though you'll need to go slowly and exercise care around the edges. This tutorial leverages Photoshop, though it should work similarly in any image editor that has the same desaturate and history-brush tools. — Rick Broida
djheath says:
Mono, with a Dash of Colour - Photoshop CS2 Tutorial
The following Photoshop Tutorial Was submitted by Digital Photography School Forum member Ian Potter (henryscat). Ian’s photos can be viewed in his Flickr account.
Objective: To produce a black and white image that contains a hint or a splash of colour.
In this tutorial we are going to have a look at reproducing a very popular technique that is widely used by professional photographers to “wow” their clients. I see this frequently in wedding photography and it always seems make an impact.
Please Note: For the purposes of this tutorial I am going to assume that you understand the basics of Photoshop (opening files etc).
The Technique:
First of all you are going to need a picture that is suitable for the task. This should be a colour image that will make an impact in mono, and has an area of colour you wish to bring back to the photograph (please see examples above). Alternatively you can download the provided photograph.
1) Open the file and select IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>DESATURATE to remove all colour from the image. Please note that the file is still RGB. We must not turn the colour mode to Mono or the next bit won’t work.
2) Select the History Brush from the tool palette (2a). Then make your brush size around 10 - 11 px using the palette located just under the file menu bar (2b). Hardness should be 100%.
3) Using the History Brush we can now “paint” back in time to when our image was in it’s full colour glory. Remember and lift off now and then so you can undo any mistakes without having to start again.
4) Continue the process until the area is complete. Take extra special care by zooming in when necessary. I found the area near the ladies hand needed this treatment.
And that’s it!
The secret is just to take your time during the painting process and be careful around the edges. Use any size of brush (and indeed, more than one size) for each job that you are comfortable with.
n.b. all images and text are the sole copyright of Ian Potter and may not be reproduced for commercial or personal purposes. There is a thread in our forums dedicated to this post here.
9 Responses to “Mono, with a Dash of Colour - Photoshop CS2 Tutorial”
- Kevin O'Mara Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 11:02 amI would highly suggest converting the image to B&W by using the channel mixer adjustment layer method (as detailed here on this very site and then using solid black paintbrush to draw on the adjustment layer to reveal the desired color. The channel mixer method gives a much more richly-contrasted and balanced B&W image than just desaturation.
- Fidel Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 11:09 amI was wondering, is it possible to do this after one fiddles with the channel mixer?
- Furgus Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 1:03 pmI would also suggest duplicating the image onto another layer. Using any method to change that layer to B&W, then add a layer mask to the B&W layer. Use the eraser tool on the layer mask to erase the B&W image where you want color. If you mess up, switch your default color to black. This will put the B&W image back and let you do it over. This method is very easy and helps out a lot of you mess up.
- Julián Rodriguez Orihuela Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 1:08 pmDefinitely what Kevin O’Mara suggest is a better method.
Using the Channel Mixer adjustment layer you can paint back what you want in color.
The settings for naturalistic b&w are approximately:
R: 30
G: 60
B: 10
Monochrome: X - googlit Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 1:31 pmsimilarly, if you want to add color that wasn’t there before, create a new layer above your pic (which can be in either color or b&w) and change its blending mode to color. Then pick a paintbrush and a color, and start painting. The paintbrush’s blending mode should be normal.
so you can do something along these lines… it’s a flickrfly. :)
- googlit Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 1:32 pmbah… link didn’t go thru:
http://flickr.com/photos/googlit/327749454/ - Karp Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 9:12 pmhttp://dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=25
^ the most beautiful way of selective desaturation
The other option I like more is the following:
1. Select > color range
Flavor it with
2. Select > feather & Select > Modify > Expand/Contract
3. Select > Inverse
4. Image > Adjustments > Channel mixerOr even better, the above but with masks and adjustment layers.
- Karp Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 9:23 pmOn a side note, that’s Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry, Scotland right?
Weird coincidence - Matthew Miller Says:
December 20th, 2006 at 11:52 pmI think this gimmick works best when the color is used to highlight something of significance in the image. Whatever you color is instantly the focus of the image. In the examples, this works okay (but honestly, not stellar) with the drinks, but I’m not so sure about the tie. With a wedding, you’d probably want to focus on symbolically significant items — candles, rings, flowers.
Resizing Audio Waveforms in Avid Xpress
Have you ever had the issue where your audio waveforms (or sample plot) are to large or small within the Avid Xpress timeline? There is an easy way to resize the waveforms, without changing the volume.
All you need to do is hold down the following keys to resize the audio waveform sample-plot. This is extremely useful when looking and imported music from an audio CD. The waveform is usually going to be too tall, and needs to be resized to be usable.
PC: Ctrl,ALT (+,-) keys on the keyboard
MAC Command, Option (+,-) keys on the keyboard
Antiquing Digital Images in Photoshop - Part 1
This is the first part of 2 tutorials on making images have an antique feel with Photoshop. It’s been submitted by Elise Hennen from 28 Studios. Read more about Elise below.
I’m sure you’ve seen tutorials on fixing up old, damaged photos. Well, what about how to make them that way? I’ll be showing you how to antique a photo. Throughout my tutorial, I will put the keyboard shortcuts in parentheses after a command. Those shortcuts will be for Windows machines. For Mac shortcuts, alt=option and ctrl=command (apple key). So… on to the tutorial. First off, here’s the before (left) and after (right):
Once you’ve got your picture open in Photoshop, choose the crop tool (c). Old-timey pictures were often cropped to squares, so that’s our first step. Hold shift while you click and drag the crop tool to keep it square. Crop your picture a little bigger than you want it to be—we’ll need a little space around the edges for later.
Give the layer a mask by clicking the button at the bottom of the layers palette that looks like a circle in a rectangle. Pick the gradient tool (g) and set it to radial. Making sure that the mask is selected, start at the point of the picture you want in focus and drag away from it. The further you drag, the more will be in focus. If it does the opposite, swap your foreground and background colors by hitting x and then try again.
It should look like this so far:
Next up, we add some grain. Duplicate the bottom layer and move this layer above the blurry layer. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Add enough so that you can still make out the picture. I used 11.88 percent.
In the layers palette, change the blending mode from Normal to Soft Light. You can use a different blending mode if you want a different look.
Next up, we’re going to give it a sepia look. Click the button at the bottom of the layers palette that looks like a circle half-white and half-black. Select Hue/Saturation. When the dialog box comes up, check the Colorize check box in the bottom-right. Change the hue to a yellow-reddish color and pull down the saturation. Lighten it a little, as many older pictures don’t reach true black. When your image looks good to you, hit Okay.
Lastly, it needs a vignette. Create a new layer. Make a selection with the marquee tool that’s a bit smaller than your image. Go into the quick mask mode (q). Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and raise the level until it’s very blurry. Exit the quick mask mode (q). There should be a roundish selection around the center of your image. Go to Select > Inverse (ctrl+shift+i), and fill with black. To do that, make sure your background color is black, then hit ctrl+delete. If your foreground color is black, you can hit alt+delete. De-select (ctrl+d). Change the opacity of the layer until it looks good to you. I like a very subtle vignette, so I went with an opacity of 42%. You change this in the upper-right corner of the layers palette.
Antiquing Digital Images in Photoshop - Part 2
This is the second part of 2 tutorials on making images have an antique feel with Photoshop. Part 1 is here. It’s been submitted by Elise Hennen from 28 Studios. Read more about Elise below.
All right, so you’ve got your picture looking a little older. Now, we’re going to give it some dimension and some abuse. You can do this with any picture. We’ll go from this to this:
First up, we’re going to give the picture scratches. Pick a brush that looks a little rough. Take it down to a size of two or so and make sure your foreground color is white. Create a new layer, and then go nuts. Draw little scratches all over it. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as it looks good and at least a little natural to you. Once your layer is relatively full, pull its opacity way down until the scratches are as subtle as you prefer. I wanted mine to be barely noticeable.
Put all of your existing layers into a new folder and call it something like “picture.” Then make your canvas a little larger than it is now - we want a white border around the picture. You can either go to Image > Canvas Size and resize it manually or use the crop tool. To use the crop tool (c), select the whole canvas using the tool. Then, holding down alt, resize the crop area to the size you want and hit enter.
Create a new layer underneath everything else. Use the eyedropper tool (i) to pick a light color from your picture. Fill the layer with that color. Adjust using Hue/Saturation if you want it lighter, darker, more/less saturated, etc. Your document should look something like this:
Now we want to roughen the edges of the picture on the paper. Create a mask for the “picture” folder (the button at the bottom of the layers palette—a circle inside a square). Pick a brush that’s a little rough on the edges. You may have to play with settings to get one that’s satisfactory to you. These are the settings I chose for mine:
With your foreground color set to black and the layer mask selected, paint around the edges of your picture. Paint a little ways over it. This is why you needed to crop your picture a little bigger than you wanted it. If you hold down shift when you start to paint, it will paint in a straight line either horizontally or vertically.
You can skip this step if you don’t want a tear in your picture. Zoom in to where you want the tear to be, pick a brush, and (on a new layer) paint a tear in the picture. As you work, zoom out to full size to see how it looks.
Once it looks good to you, create another layer and select the marquee tool (m). Make a selection about the size of a piece of clear tape and fill it with white. Use free transform (ctrl+t) to position it where you want it to be. Zoom in to the tape and grab the eraser tool (e). Make sure it’s on a soft brush setting (a little blurry around the edges) and pretty small. Eat away at the end of the tape with the eraser. This will give it the zig-zag look of tape torn from a dispenser. Once your tape looks good, drop the opacity until it really looks like a piece of tape.
Resize your canvas again, this time giving it a lot more room. This is where it gets interesting. Make a note of the dimensions of your document. Create a new document (ctrl+n). Go to the channels palette. It’s usually found behind the layers palette. Click the red channel to single it out. Go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Click the green channel and render clouds there. That’s it for this document. Click RGB to see the work of art you’ve created. Save this document as map.psd somewhere where you can find it again soon.
Go back to your other document. Select the “paper” layer. Go to Filter > Distort > Displace. Change the settings to 5 for both horizontal and vertical. Hit OK. It should come up with a dialog box to find a file. Navigate to your map.psd and hit OK. Your paper layer should look nice and funky.
If you don’t like the look of it, go back to map.psd and render clouds again in the Red and Green channels. If it still looks funny, play with the numbers in the dialog box. The larger the number, the further it will move the edges of the “paper” layer.
You may have noticed that it doesn’t look quite right. The picture is square, while the paper is rumpled. To fix that, select the layer mask of the picture. Hit ctrl+f to repeat the last filter with the same settings. Or you can repeat the steps you did for the “paper” layer. If your picture has some straight edges showing under the mask, move it around or resize the mask a little to fix it up.
To make sure the tear and the tape don’t extend beyond the edge of the paper, we’re going to mask them. Hold down ctrl and click on the “paper” layer’s icon in the layers palette. This should select everything in the “paper” layer. With the tear layer selected, click the button for layer mask. Copy this mask to the tape layer (in CS2, hold alt as you drag the mask to the other layer. otherwise, ctrl+click the mask, select the other layer, and hit the mask button).
I wanted to add a layer of dirt and uneven splotchiness. Create a new layer and render clouds on it (Filter > Render > Clouds). Change the blending mode to Vivid Light. It should look pretty moody. Bring the opacity down to 60%, or wherever it looks good for you. I didn’t want it affecting the picture too much, so I added a layer mask. Using a large, soft brush, I painted the mask black where I didn’t want the “grime” to show through as much.
Add a drop shadow to the “paper” layer and you’re done.
Double-click the layer to bring up the Layer Styles dialog box. Click “Drop Shadow” and play with the settings until you get something you like.
If the shadow looks orangeish, ctrl+click the “paper” layer to load the selection. Invert the selection (ctrl+shift+i), and select the picture folder’s mask. Fill with black.
Well, that’s it. Thanks for sticking it out, and I hope you learned something new!
Give this process a go and then head over to the forums to our Antiquing thread to show us your results.
Avid Title Crawl for moving matte
from Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Streaming Training Courses by johnlynn2003One limitation within the standard Avid Xpress or Media Composer title tool is that you cannot create a title that is larger than your project's frame size. In many cases this will be 720 x 480 if you are working within a DV 25 project. If you create a title that extends outside the title tool window the title will be cropped.
By using the title crawl function, you can create your own moving matte. The trick is to create a giant crawling title and then perform a video mixdown to create a physical piece of media that can then be used in conjunction with a matte key.
Here are the steps:
First launch the standard Avid title tool and create your title. Use a font size of 400. The title will not fit the screen, and will automatically word wrap. Click on the crawl button in the lower right corner over the title tool window.
Make sure the title is the selected object, and then navigate to the object menu, and select make crawl. This will create a title that crawls across the screen.
Edit 5 seconds of the crawl to the timeline. If you are working with a new sequence it is best to edit the entire crawl to the timeline and then trim it to the desired amount. Remember, the speed of the crawl is based on how much content is placed on Avid timeline. Make sure you have the correct timing before perfoming a the video mixdown.
Mark in-out points for the entire crawling title, and then perform a video mixdown.
This will create a new piece of physical media. The Avid will place the video mixdown inside your active bin window. You will use this new clip as your black/white matte. Next, create a new sequence with three video tracks and composite your clips as follows:
V3 Video mixdown of crawling title
V2 fill that goes inside the matte
V1 background videoOpen the Avid effect's palette Drop the matte key effect from the Avid effect’s palette onto V3.
Your timeline should look like this:
Since your title is white, you will need to invert the matte key in order for V2 to become the actual fill. To invert the matte key, you'll need to open the Avid effects editor window and click on the invert key button
The finished composite should look like this:
http://www.illustratortechniques.com/imitating-a-scanner-darkly.html
Imitating A Scanner Darkly
Tutorials, Free October 04th, 2006 By Aaron Sacco
Using Illustrator's pencil tool and shapes of solid color, you can imitate the graphic novel styling of A Scanner Darkly. An animator from the film shows us how.
Director Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly impressed audiences this summer with a stunning 2D animation style that mixes heavy blacks lines with shapes of solid color to represent a realistic image. After filming the movie live action, we used proprietary vector software to animate directly over live footage, preserving the likeness and performances of the actors - a process called "Interpolated Rotoscoping." This tutorial will show you how I was able to recreate a similar effect using tools in Adobe llustrator. Using Illustrator's pencil tool and shapes of solid color, you can imitate the graphic novel styling of A Scanner Darkly.
1Select an interesting image for photo reference - the bigger the dimensions of the image the better. Go to File>Place to insert it into your Illustrator file.
2Since you'll be drawing right over the top of this reference image and you want it to remain untouched, you'll need to lock it on its own layer. In the Layers palette, double-click the layer and name this layer Image. Create a new layer to draw on by clicking on the Add New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and call it Blacks.
3Press N or use the mouse to select the Pencil tool, and check that the Fill color is black and the Stroke color is None. You won't be using the stroke color because you don't want the line to have a boring static width. Instead, let's can manually produce a thick-to-thin brushstroke effect by automatically filling in the region between two arcs drawn with the pencil tool.
4Double-click on the pencil tool and change the settings to those shown here (Fidelity to 4 pixels, Smoothness to 35%, and check both Fill New Pencil Strokes and Keep Selected). You may prefer to adjust these later on depending on the kind of result you want, but these settings are good for making a smooth descriptive line.
5You're now ready to begin drawing. Similar to inking a graphic novel, start by drawing thin black outlines around major forms and fill in the darkest regions. Remember to be expressive with calligraphic shapes that yield a more dynamic result. If you need more control, you can switch to the Pen tool and draw exact curves or straight lines; however, this can become time consuming. I prefer to draw quickly with the Pencil tool and then manipulate the results afterwards by using the Direct Selection tool to refine the shape and the Pen tool to add more lines. The Pencil tool, unlike the Pen, tool does not apply Fill or Stroke until you release the mouse, which is a particular advantage since it often hides edges you need to trace as you draw them. Toggle the Eye icon on your Layers palette to hide the Image layer to check your results as you go. If you release the mouse before you completely circumnavigate the shape you are tracing, you can simply draw another shape that completes the shape. Or if it is completely wrong, you can press Command-Z (PC: Control-Z) to undo that last action and redraw it. If your line is jagged or rough, you can use the pen tool to delete extra points to smooth out the shape. Deselect the shapes after you're satisfied with them by pressing Command-Shift-A (PC: Control-Shift-A).
6Once you have finished with "inking" the blacks, you're ready to begin painting in the color. I prefer to work from dark to light. Create a new layer underneath the Blacks layer and call it Dark Blue. Each color will have its own layer and be divided into four to five tones, each with its own sublayer. Press I or use the mouse to choose the Eyedropper tool and select the appropriate colors right from the photo. Drag the color from the Toolbar into the Swatches palette (Window>Swatches). When you're satisfied with your color range, double-click each color individually in the Swatches palette to set the swatch options and check the Global box. This will make it easy later on to optionally replace all instances of that color by simply adjusting the swatches. Make sure you are on the right layer and press N or use your mouse to switch back to the Pencil tool. Just like you did for the blacks, color over the reference image with the dark blue shapes. Finish all of the dark blue shapes before moving on.
7Now that you have finished all the dark blue, create a new layer and select the next darkest tone from the Swatches palette. Repeat the process of drawing over the reference image to fill in each new color. Toggle the Eye icon on your Layers palette to hide the Image layer and check your progress.
8It's important to stay organized with your layers because there will be lots of shapes and colors to keep track of by the end. If you don't stay organized, it can become a huge headache to refine the shapes later on. The Blacks layer should remain on top at all times, and each new group of colors they should go underneath the previously finished ones. That way you are always filling in behind what you've previously finished.
9Try to describe accurately the forms with your shapes, and don't be afraid to play around with colors until they mesh well. Some parts of the picture, such as people's faces, will require emphasis and greater detail. You will probably have to add a few additional colors to increase depth and to draw attention to those regions.
10Once the whole image is filled in, turn off the Image layer and clean up the illustration. I usually create a correction layer on the bottom that can be used to quickly fill in the gaps and a layer on top to cover over any ugly spurs in the shapes. Then unlock the Image layer and drag your reference image to the side to compare it with your drawing. Continue to manipulate the image until you are happy with the results.
I expect to spend four to five hours on an image this complex. You can reduce the time you spend by limiting your colors and detail. Good luck experimenting with this new technique!
Check out the second issue of Adobe Illustrator Techniques newsletter for an interview with the lead animator of A Scanner Darkly, Sterling Allen, on vector art and inspiration.
Aaron Sacco is a freelance illustrator who recently finished working as
an animator on "A Scanner Darkly." He also works as a portrait artist
and mural painter in Austin, Texas. Check out more of his work at
www.aaronsacco.com. 
[ Illustrator Newsletter ]
Get the latest illustration techniques delivered to your door. Check out the current Table of Contents
Illustrator Techniques © 2007 Produced by KW Media Group. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Terms of Use
Adobe and Adobe Illustrator are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/creating_plasma_w...
creating plasma wipes with avid xpress media composer
Avid Xpress and Media Composer include a 'plasma wipes' effect category that allow you to perform some interesting wipes. What many Avid users may not know is that you can create your own plasma wipes that will show up in the effect's palette.
You'll need one additional piece of software, preferrably Photoshop in order to create your own plasma wipes. This is because the plasma wipes are created from .raw images.
You can create your own plasma wipes to create dynamic transitions such as:
-Paint on effects
-Burning Film
-Dynamic Wipe PatternsThere is no limit to the number of Avid effects that you can create by making your own plasma wipe effects.
The Avid plasma wipes show up in the Avid effect's palette.
The plasma wipe effects are created from a black and white image. The contrast of the image is what creates the actual wipe. Anything can be turned into a plasma wipe! Just make sure the image has some contrast. The contrast is what makes the plasma wipe work.
The Avid plasma wipes are located in the following directory:
Program files/avid xpress pro hd/supporting files/plasmawipes
There are a few rules to keep in mind when creating your plasma wipes so that Avid software will correctly see them. Your image must be:
- exactly 720 x 486
- grayscale
- 8 bit
- .raw image formatThe first step is to create an image that is 720 x 486. If your using a digital photo, simply crop the image using the Photoshop crop tool.
Next, navigate to the image/mode menu within Photoshop, and set your image to grayscale.
The last step is to save your file as a .raw (photoshop raw) image. Make sure you save it into one of the plasma wipe folders. If the Avid software is still running, you will need to relaunch the software. When finished you should see your new plasma wipe in the effects palette.
Drop the plasma wipe, as a transition, between any two segments in your timeline. Then enter into the effects editor to adjust the plasma wipe parameters.
To make the plasma wipe transition look cool, make sure you adjust the width and softness controls.
Posted by John
Photoshop FILTERS for Video with Avid or FCP
from Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Streaming Training Courses by johnlynn2003Here is a fantastic tutorial on how to use all your favorite Photoshop filters for video.
This training lesson is invaluable for anyone who uses Photoshop. We'll show you how to create a droplet that will process a set of actions so Photoshop will automatically do all the processing for you.
First, you need to export a sequential image sequence from your favorite non-linear editing program. Both Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress support this type of export option.
First, you need to create two folders. Create a folder called 'Sequential Images', and create another folder called 'processed images'. I recommend creating both of these files on your desktop so they are readily available.
Now you need to export an image sequence of a clip that you want to process. Inside your Sequential Files folder you should now have 1 picture for every frame of video. I recommend export your files using the jpeg compression format. This will speed up the processing time within Photoshop.
Remember, in most cases, you will have 30 pictures for every frame of video. 3 seconds of video equals 30 images.
After you have exported your sequential files, you will need to open Photoshop. In this example I am using Photoshop CS. Navigate to the file menu and open one of your image files. You will use it as a reference to create a filter that will be applied to all the frames in your image sequence.
Before applying the filter, navigate to the Actions Tab within Photoshop CS. Click on the 'create action' button in the lower right corner. This will start the recording process. Be careful that you do not make any unnecessary mistakes, because every function will be recorded within the Action.
After the recording process begins, navigate to the Photoshop filters menu and select the 'Stylize – Glowing Edges filter'. Adjust the parameters as you desire. After applying the glowing edges filter, it is critical that you perfrom a 'save as' function. This will be recorded as part of the action. The 'save-as' location is not important.
After performing the 'Save-as' function, make sure you stop the action. Now you're ready to create a droplet!
Creating a droplet can be tricky, so here are the critical settings. After you've entered in these settings, you won't need to enter them again for future droplets that you create.
Save Droplet In: Give your droplet a name. It should be a descriptive name based on the action you created. In this example it's named 'Glowing Edges'.
Play Action: Make sure you tell your droplet which action to play. In this case it would be Action 1. Also make sure you check 'Include all Sub Folders'.
DestinationThis part is critical. Make sure you specify a folder for your new image sequence. Preferrably, you will always leave a folder available on your desktop with this name. This way you don't have to worry about additional droplets that you create saving image sequences into different folders. Finally, click the override Action "Save As" Commands. Click on the OK button to create your droplet.
Now you can drag a folder of images onto your droplet, and Photoshop will automatically process all the images and put them into the 'processed images' folder.
The last step is to import the finished image sequence into your non-linear editing program. If you are using any of the Avid software products which include any of the Avid Xpress or Media Composer products, you only need to import the first frame of the image sequence. Just make sure 'autodetect sequential files' is selected in your import settings.
*For Final Cut Pro users, you will need to use QuickTime Pro to open an image sequence. You only need to open the first frame, QuickTime Pro will find all the other frames in the image sequence for you. Then you can save a self-contained movie directly out of QuickTime Pro.
That's it! Now you can create additional droplet's that will process your favorite Photoshop filters.
*There is one small intermittant bug that I've run across. If your droplet is 'dead' and does not work. Drag the droplet icon into any OS X or Windows XP folder, and drag it back out of the folder. This will fix the 'dead' droplet.
Adobe Photoshop and filling type with an image
from Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Streaming Training Courses by Mickey
It is very common to fill type with a particular image. You can do this in Photoshop very quickly. Here are the steps you need to take to acheive these results:
1. Open the file containing the image you want to show through the text.
2. Select the Horizontal Type tool in the toolbox.
3. Click the Character tab to bring the Character palette to the front or, if the palette isn't open, choose Window > Character.
4. In the Character palette, select the font and other type attributes for the text. Large, bold, thick letters work best for this technique.
5. Click an insertion point in the document window and type the desired text. When you are satisfied with the text, press Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or Command + Return (Mac OS).
6. Click the Layers tab to bring the Layers palette to the front or, if the palette isn't open, choose Window > Layers.
7. In the Layers palette, drag the image layer so that it is immediately above the text layer.
With the image layer selected, choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask. The image displays within the text.
8. Select the Move tool , and then drag the image to adjust its placement within the text.
www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/extracting_dvd_sc...
Extracting DVD Scenes For Edit In Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro
There is a lot of confusion circulating around the discussion forums on the topic of finding an efficient way to extract material from a DVD to import into Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro for re-editing. After doing some research, I found such a ware that will allow you to read the dvd > set in and out points for the scenes that you want > and extract that video in a format that can be imported into Final Cut Pro and Mac based Avid Xpress Systems. If you already have pre-existing VOB files, you can read them through DVDXDV and extract from them as well. Keep in mind that this ware is for Macs only.
DVDXDV Pro will allow you to extract high quality audio and video from a DVD to be used in Final Cut Pro and Avid. Their are two versions of this software, DVDXDVPro ($80), which is the more robust version of the program that will allow the reversal of the original interlaced field ordering of a DVD, widescreen resizing, 3:2 pulldown removal, and multi-channel audio export.
DVDXDV ($25) is being marketed more to the home video crowd and not the video professional. It will allow you to kick out a quicktime file with all audio in this version being exported as a stereo mix, it also allows for video cropping and resizing and field order reversing. There is also an "Expert Settings" option in the Export dialog that will allow you to manipulate compression settings.
After downloading the trial version of DVDXDV Pro, I was very impressed with the ease of use of this program. After purchasing the software, you are given a download link and a key and I imported some extremely high quality audio and Video into Final Cut Pro and Avid from this ware!
If you find yourself needing to use material from premade non-encrypted dvds, you should really give DVDXDV Pro and DVDXDV serious consideration. If you have Quicktime 6 or later,click here to see a video sample of the process of how you get DVD material into Final Cut Pro. Download the free trial version and see if its right for you!
*It should also be noted that there is an incredible product called streamclip. It is one of the few free programs that is available for both PC and MAC that will convert an mpg2 file or DVD into a single quicktime movie with the audio intact.
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/cast_shadow/cast_shadow.htm
1
Open your image and remove it from
the background.
2
Duplicate the layer by dragging tot the new layer icon in
the layers palette.
3
Make sure the foreground color is set to black 
Now fill the new layer by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete Mac:Cmd+Shift+Del (The shift key will make it only fill where there are pixels aka preserve transparancy)
Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur, amount of 3-5
4
Now to distort the shape. (If you are going to do this to text, you must render the type first)
Press Ctrl/Cmd+T, this will bring up the free transform tool. Right click on the selected object Mac:Cmd click. Select "Distort" from the pop-up menu.
You will see a bounding box with 8 little squares, click and drag the top left and top right squares (called handles) until it looks similar to the picture on the left. Press Enter/Return to apply the transformation.
5
Duplicate the shadow layer. Drag to the icon again.
Apply the gausian blur again, this time add a larger setting 5-10
6
We now want to make the shadow softer as it gets further away.
Go back to the top shadow layer and add a layer mask.
Using the gradient tool drag it from right to left to blend the 2 shadow layers.
For more details on this technique see here
7
Finally Set the shadow to multiply mode and the opacity of the top shadow layer to about 50% and the bottom shadow to about 30%
Experiment and see what looks best for your image.
Download the PSD file here.
Discuss this tutorial in our forums