👁 0 views
How to Create a Futuristic Fashion Photo in Adobe Photoshop
Today, we’ll create a futuristic fashion portrait in Adobe Photoshop! We’ll explore the concept of hand-painting in more detail, as opposed to using filters or presets. It may sound difficult, but I assure you that you don’t need to be a digital painter to start applying a few professional painting techniques to your photos!
We’ll explore color grading using adjustment layers, and how grading colors in stages can change an image from flat to vivid and powerful!
Finally, we’ll look at why it’s a smart idea to start using smart objects and how they give you ultimate control and the pinnacle of non-destructive editing.
What You’ll Need
- Girl with pink hair
- Night sky
1. How to Create a Pixelated Night Sky Background
First, we’ll create a pixelated night sky background. You should keep the background simple when editing portraits so that the subject is the main focus of the photo.
I also want to briefly cover why we use “smart objects”. As you’ll see, we’ll create very few ourselves, and I really want to encourage artists to use them if they don’t already! Feel free to skip ahead if you do!
What Are Smart Objects?
If you right-click a layer, you’ll see the option Convert To Smart Object. This essentially means the pixels on that layer are never permanently edited. You can scale it down and then scale it back up without it getting blurry. Any filters added to the layer become “smart filters” and can be moved or adjusted at any time. They also have their own layer mask, so you can mask each filter individually.
This makes them the most powerful tool for “non-destructive editing”, which means editing without overwriting the original image data, or overwriting as little as possible. This lets us change our minds about anything, at any time.
Pros and Cons
It sounds great, so why not make everything a smart object? There are two main reasons. The first is that it makes your file size very large. If you drop a 3000 x 3000 pixel smart object image onto the canvas and scale it down to 500 x 500 pixels, it will still retain its original size data. Over time, this can be very hard to handle, even with a good computer.
The second reason is that some filter options and layers aren’t available for Smart Objects. Note that you can’t use Vanishing Point from the filter options. Smart Objects are a bit more limited in what you can apply to them.
When Should You Use Smart Objects?
I mostly use them with blur filters, whenever I want a filter concentrated in a specific place, or if I’m adding many different filters and adjustments.
Personally, I don’t use them to preserve the original image size or for anything I only adjust slightly. Basically, I only use them when necessary!
Smart Objects can seem a bit difficult or confusing on paper, so I don’t want to overcomplicate it, but I hope this course helps you!
Now, back to the tutorial!
Step 1
Create a New Document sized 3680 x 5098 pixels.
Place the Night Sky image onto the canvas.
Step 2
Select the night sky layer and right-click> Convert To Smart Object.
Go to Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic. Settings: 27 square.
Next, add a Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. Settings: Amount 500%, Radius 1.0 px, and Reduce Noise 10%.
Step 3
Use a Curves layer to brighten the stars in the sky. Settings below:
Double-click the Curves layer to open the Layer Style panel. Hold the Alt key to split and move the Blend If sliders! Settings:
Duplicate the Curves layer to create even more stars.
Step 4
Now, we’ll add light to the sky.
Create a New Layer and keep its setting at Normal.
Using a large, soft round Brush with a Flow Rate of 5%, paint white streaks of light in the upper part of the frame.
Create another New Layer and set it to Soft Light.
Using the same brush from before, paint over with white, brightening and enhancing the sky background.
Group all your background layers into a new group and name it “background”.
2. What About the Lighting and Size of the Subject?
Next, we’ll take our subject and place it on the canvas.
Step 1
First, place the girl with pink hair in the center of the canvas.
Use the Pen Tool to cut out the body and the Refine Edge/Refine Edge Brush Tool for the hair.
Step 2
Next, we’ll add light and highlights to our subject.
Create and clip a New Layer to our subject, setting it to Screen.
Using a large, soft round Brush with a 5% Flow Rate, paint blue along the edges of the model. Gently bring the light up onto the subject’s shoulders and chest, surrounding her with subtle light.
Step 3
Create and clip another layer to the subject, keeping its setting at Normal.
With the same Brush as before, paint white on the subject’s shoulders. Slowly build up the light over a few layers to keep it soft but dynamic.
Step 4
Create and add a New Layer to the subject, keep the setting at Normal, and bring the Opacity down to 30%.
With a small, hard round Brush, paint bright highlights along the edges of the subject, including the folds and creases of the shirt, to keep the subject from looking flat and two-dimensional.
Next, we’ll edit the colors and add a shadow to our subject.
Create and clip a Brightness / Contrast layer to our subject. Settings: Brightness 52.
Let’s finish coloring the model by clipping a Hue / Saturation layer to the subject. Settings: Colorize Checked, Hue 223, Saturation 28, and Lightness -23.
Finally, add a light source behind the subject.
Create a New layer within the subject layers, setting it to Screen.
Paint a light blue glow behind the shoulders and head using a large, soft round Brush. Build up the light slowly using a low Flow Rate.
Create a New layer, set it to Normal, and repeat the last step but with white.
Group all your subject layers together into one group and name it “Subject.”
3. How to Paint and Create Galaxy Hair
Next, we’ll add a galaxy effect to the subject’s hair! This will include hand-painting some hair strands, using a custom hair strand brush, for perfect hair.
Step 1
Duplicate the night sky layer and bring it above the “Subject” folder. Delete all the filters, and delete its layer mask if it has one.
Go into the “Subject” folder and Control-Click the model’s layer mask (or the layer if you don’t have a layer mask) to create a selection in the shape of the subject.
Go back to the night sky and add a layer mask to it.
Use a soft white round Brush to mask the stars away from the body and face. Create a long, soft effect from blue to pink.
Step 2
Add an Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation filter to the duplicated night sky. Settings: Saturation -28.
Add an Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast filter. Settings: Brightness 75 and Contrast -33.
To finish, adjust the Blend If settings to what you see below.
Step 3
Painting hair strands: Use a default round brush to paint the hair strands; however, you can get even better results by quickly making your own hair brush!
Create a New Document sized 850 x 850 pixels.
With a small, hard round Brush, paint five black dots, all of different sizes, similar to what you see below. Note that the dots aren’t perfect.
Step 4
Crop the new document down to its exact pixel size.
Go to Edit> Define Brush Preset and name the Brush “Hair-Strand”.
Select the brush and, in the Brush Settings panel, bring the Spacing down to 1%.
Step 5
The other brush settings will change as you paint; here are my general settings:
- Brush Size: 1 to 5px
- Flow: 75%
- Pressure for Size: On
- Pressure for Opacity: On
Some tips :
- Smoothing: 30 to 50%
- Flow: 50%
- Smudge Tool set to 20% Strength for the edges
When painting hair, use quick long strokes, or short flicks, to create natural-looking strands. Hair has a lot of texture and is uneven, so feel free to make it a little messy.
When painting with a mouse, use the Smudge tool and pull the strands out so the ends of the hair have a tapered effect. After that, smudge each strand.
Step 6
Now for the actual painting!
Paint white on your galaxy hair layer. Use the techniques above to blend the galaxy and the pink hair together.
Step 7
Create a New layer above the galaxy hair layer.
Copy and paste the subject’s layer mask onto the new layer to use as a template.
Using the same techniques as before with the blue hair, paint white hair strands along the edges and the middle of the subject’s head to start creating the highlight and hair effect.
Create a New layer below your “Subject” group, and do the same to further blend the white hair strands together and add more detail.
Step 8
Create a New layer above your top hair layer.
Paint some flyaway hairs.
Step 9
Add a little glow to make the hair stand out and look a bit thicker and brighter.
Add an Outer Glow layer effect to all three white hair layers we just painted. Settings: Blend ModeScreen, Opacity 100%, Color and Size 18 px.
Step 10
To finish the hair, paint in some stars. Create a New Layer.
The best way is to paint six-pointed stars with a soft round Brush.
Next, on another New Layer, repeat the step above, but with a larger Brush
Group all the hair layers together, except the hair layer below the “Subject” group, and name the group “Hair”.
4. How to Create the Eyes and Makeup
Next, we’ll enhance the subject’s eyes using a very simple trick!
Step 1
Create a New layer and set the Opacity to 43%.
Using a medium, hard round Brush, paint black over the whites of the subject’s eyes to darken them.
Step 2
With the Custom Shape Tool, create two hollow circles using the “Circle Frame” shape, found in “Shapes”, placing each circle over the subject’s original eye color.
Change the circles to the light blue color # b6d8ff.
Use a medium, soft round Brush to mask the outer part of the circles so they no longer overlap the subject’s eyelids.
Step 3
Next, on to the makeup.
Create a New Layer and set it to Multiply.
Using the Color Picker Tool (hold Alt while the Brush tool is active), pick the soft pink color from the subject’s makeup (# a9687b).
Using a soft round Brush with a Flow of 20%, slowly extend the model’s pink makeup under the eyes, making sure it has a pointed edge. Change the brush size as you paint.
Build up the color slowly, and when you’re happy with the result, copy the makeup to the other eye!
Step 4
Create another New layer, keeping it in Normal mode.
Using a medium, hard round Brush with Flow at 5%, paint white in the inner corners of the eyes. Again, build up the color slowly to create a more textured, realistic makeup effect.
Step 5
Create another New Layer, keeping it at Normal.
With the same brush used for the white eye makeup, paint a white circle in the middle of the subject’s lips. Lower the Opacity to 70%.
Step 6
Double-click the lips layer to open its Layer Style panel.
Settings for Blend If:
Group all your makeup layers together and name the group “Make up”.
5. How to Create the Light Trail Effect
Next, we’ll add a light effect to her clothes.
Step 1
Create a New Layer, keeping it at Normal. Note that a lot can be done with a normal layer!
Using a medium-sized, hard Brush, paint light pink # ffc5d1 lines across the subject’s shirt.
Paint one long line first, then erase parts of the line with a hard Eraser Tool to get sharp edges on the line.
Step 2
Duplicate the line and copy it over to the other side of the subject. These lines will be the foundation of our lights.
Step 3
Double-click the left light layer to open its Layer Style panel.
Blend If settings :
Step 4
Add an Inner and Outer Glow to the left set of lights.
- Inner Glow: Blend Mode Normal, Opacity 100%, Color White and Size 51 px
- Outer Glow: Blend Mode Screen, Opacity 100%, Color
#ff73dcand Size 18 px
Step 5
Right-click > Copy Layer Style on the left light layer and Right-click > Paste Layer Style onto the right light layer.
Step 6
Create a New layer and set it to Screen.
Using a soft round Brush, paint light pink # fdc4d0 under all the lights. Lower the layer’s Opacity if the light is too strong.
Step 7
Next, create a new brush to achieve the light trail effect.
Create a New Document sized 960 x 2734 px.
Drag and drop your left lights layer into the New Document, delete all the layers, and change the color to flat black.
Crop the file down to the exact size of the lines.
Go to Edit> Define Brush Preset and name the brush “Light Trails”.
Step 8
Go back to the original layer.
Select the light trail brush and set its Spacing to 1%.
Set the Flow to 1%.
Step 9
Create a New Layer, setting it to Screen.
Select the new light trail brush and, using hot pink # ff597e, align the brush with the original lights on the left side of the subject.
Press and hold, then drag upward in one long motion, making a slight zig-zag motion at the end of the stroke.
Press Control-Alt-Z to undo.
Step 10
Flip the brush and do the same for the right side of the subject on a New Layer also set to Screen.
Step 11
Create another New layer set to Screen
Create a much smaller trail by making a very short stroke with the light trail brush, as opposed to a long one like before. It will create a small rectangle-like shape.
This will give the lights more detail, making them appear more dynamic and also increasing their brightness.
Step 12
Duplicate both the long and short light trails to strengthen them and increase their intensity.
Group all your light layers together and name the group “Light”.
6. How to Hand-Paint Lens Flares
Step 1
Create a New layer and set it to Screen
Using a soft round Brush, paint pink # ee3b72 and light blue # 0776d2 diagonal lines across the model’s chest, intersecting the lights.
Keep your brush flow between about 1 and 5%, and when painting, keep your strokes long and loose, gradually building up the light with each stroke.
Step 2
Create a New layer and set it to Screen
With a medium, soft round Brush, paint light blue # 0776d2 to create light on the subject’s shoulders and neck.
Step 3
Create a New layer set to Overlay.
Using a mix of a soft and a hard round Brush, further build up and define the light on the subject’s shoulders and neck.
Use the Smudge Tool to remove any lines if needed.
Step 4
Next, create large, soft, six-pointed stars.
Create a New layer, keeping it at Normal.
Using a soft white round Brush with 1% flow, paint a line intersecting the light coming from the left shoulder.
The lines should be more defined in the middle and diffused at the ends. Start with a large brush, and gradually shrink down to a smaller brush with each stroke.
Hand-painting the light gives it more texture, making it more natural and dynamic.
Step 5
Repeat the step above, creating a few larger six-pointed stars or lens flares.
Step 6
To finish the lights, create a lens flare texture.
Go to your “Background” group, duplicate it and Right-Click > Merge Group
Using a very large, soft Eraser Brush Tool, erase parts of the extended sky so that part of our subject is visible.
Step 7
Set the extended sky layer to Screen.
Step 8
Darken the extended sky layer by creating and clipping two Brightness / Contrast layers to the sky layer. Settings:
- Contrast: 100
- Brightness: -75 and Contrast 100
Step 9
Finish by adding Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to the extended sky layer.
Settings: Radius 10 px.
7. How to Do a High-Contrast Color Grade
To blend our image together and give the overall image a big boost in intensity, we’ll do some color grading. We’ll use 8 adjustment layers to achieve the final effect.
Each layer is created on top of the last one, but if you get confused, double-check the numbers. Put all the adjustment layers into a group named “CC” for Color Correcting”or “Color Grading.”
Step 1
Here are the first four adjustment layers, all of them Selective Color.
- Selective Color: Colors Neutrals, Cyan +15, and Magenta +10 at 50% Opacity
- Selective Color: Colors Blacks, Cyan +11, and Magenta +7
- Selective Color: Colors Reds, Cyan -74, Magenta +31, and Yellow +28
- Selective Color: Colors Blues, Cyan +58, Magenta +5, and Yellow +14
Step 2
The next four adjustment layers are two Selective Color layers and a pair of Color Lookup layers. The last two Color Lookup layers will give us the high-intensity contrast the image needs!
- Selective Color: Colors Cyans, Cyan +32, Magenta -28, Yellow -10 and Black +9
- Selective Color: Colors Reds, Cyan -78, Magenta +33, Yellow +35 and Black +26
- Color Lookup: (3DLUT File) Fuji ETERNA 250D fuji 3510
- Color Lookup: (3DLUT File) Filmstock at 20% Opacity
8. Add Depth with Blur
Step 1
Select all your layers, duplicate them, and merge the duplicates to create a flattened copy of your image.
Next, right-click> Convert to Smart Object on your flattened image.
Add Filter > Blur Gallery > Iris Blur. Settings: Blur 40.
Step 2
Using a large, soft round Brush set to black, mask out the blur around the subject’s head on the Smart Filter’s layer mask.
We’re Done!
As always, keep experimenting with different techniques, and don’t forget to post your work below, along with any questions, comments, or critiques!
Sharing computer, Windows and software tips. If you have a question, leave a comment below.
