Creating a Stunning Sci-fi Illustration Using Photoshop and Poser

In today’s tutorial We will walk you from beginning to end of the entire process of setting up and rendering a 3D . we will show how to flawlessly blend 3D renders with stock images using digital painting techniques to create a stunning sci-fi illustration. So don’t be anxious if your drawing skills are not you’re strongest quality – in fact, Poser was originally developed as a practical dummy to assist artists and comic book creators, so let’s get on track!



Step 1
Launch Poser, select the default figure in the main viewport and hit delete. Go to Library > Figures > Daz People > Michael 4, highlight the thumbnail and click the Create New Figure tick at the foot of the palette to load the model. At this stage were not concerned with textures, so select Smooth Shaded under Document Display Style.



Step 2
Select the Coalition Rapier library (found under Figures > Mestophales > Coalition > Rapier). Select the top Rapier icon and click the Create New Figure double-tick icon. Ensure the suit is selected, then choose Figure > Conform To and select Michael 4 in the following window to make the suit follow the figures movements.



Step 3
With the suit still selected, choose Pose > Mestophales > Coalition > Rapier and highlight the Mat-Armor-1 Olive thumbnail, then click the Apply Library Preset tick. Now to add the weapon. I found this pulse rifle in old library, but you can easily use something similar from DAZ3D such as these sci-fi rifles.
Load the weapon, mine is not a Smart Prop, so I had to use the Transform Parameter dials to rotate and position it just below the figures right arm.



Step 4
Select Four Ports from the bottom-left pull-down menu and use the Camera Controls to access the best position/angle to view the right hand and weapon. Now fine-tune the Transform Parameter dials to accurately position the weapon.



Step 5
Select Michael’s right hand and apply the Grab preset pose (Library > Hands > P6 Male). Now select each individual finger/thumb mesh in turn and adjust them to grasp the trigger and handle.


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Tags: 3D Graphics, Creating Posters, After Effects, Sci-fi Illustration, Photoshop CS6, Poser 7, digital painting, Photoshop Tutorials, 3D Max Tutorials, How To Create

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How To Create Media Player Design In Photoshop

In this tutorial we’ll teach you how to create a Media Player Interface in Photoshop.

Step 1

Create a new file 398×398 pixels. Using the Layer Style on the background select Gradient overlay and make the colors #016497 and #6bd3f5.

Create a new file, with the Paint Bucket tool fill the layer black. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise (make it 20%). Make the layer opacity 14%.

Select the Round Rectangle Tool and create the main shape for the Media Interface. Double click on the layer to bring up Layer Style, go into Gradient Overlay and make it these colors: #000000 and #2e2e2e. Select Stroke and make the size 1px and color #000000.

Hold down the ctrl key and Layer Thumbnail containing the box, this will highlight the box. Create a new layer and fill the box shape it white, press the right key once to move over the highlighted shape and press delete. You should have a thin line on the side of the box. Get the eraser tool with the soft edge and make the opacity 60%. Lightly erase the top and bottom edge of the line to make a shiny edge effect.

Do the same step to the right side of the box.

Select the Rectangle Tool and create a box in the middle of the previous box like above. Open up the Layer Style to the layer, select Gradient overlay and make the colors #000000 and #2e2e2e.

Like the previous step do the white lines to this new square layer.

Step 2

Select the rounded rectangle tool and draw a rectangle. Holding down the ctrl-key, press down on the bottom right corner and move to the right. Do the same move with the bottom left side of the other side. Make sure the bottom is even.

Holding down the ctrl-key and layer box selecting the rectangle shape. Go to Select > Modify and Expand by 2 pixels.

On the new layer open up the Layer Style > Select Gradient and make the colors from bottom to top #454545 #626262 #646464 & #222222. Select the Stroke tool make the size 1px, color #oooooo and opacity 71%.

Holding down the ctrl-key select the rectangle box layer to select the shape. Create a new file to go underneath the rectange shape and fill it #FFFFFF. Press ctrl and press the up arrow once to make it viewable on top of the rectangle shape. With the eraser tool on a 60% opacity, slightly erase the edges.

With the Zoom Tool enlarge the panel area. Select the line tool, make it 1px. With the colors black and white draw 2 lines side by side. Rasterize both layers and merge them into each other (press ctrl E on the top layer).

Using the eraser tool slightly erase the top and bottom of the line.

Zoom out and duplicate layer to make 4 lines.

Using triangle shapes and square shapes create little icons for the media player. For each shape make the gradient #385870 #bbdbf3 and 45657d.

Select the rounded rectangle tool and make a shape like the one in this picture. Go into Layer Styles > Gradients Overlay and make the colors #4daaf2 and a3d7ff. Select stroke, make it 1px and the color #000000.

Holding down the ctrl key click on the rectangle layer to select the shape.

Click on the Elliptical Marquee Tool and while press ALT key select the area of the rectangle you wish to go away to make it look like the shape in this image.

Make a new layer and fill in the shape white, then make the opacity for that layer 11%.

If you wish to put a scene from a movie in the player, get a image you. Place it in the centre of the screen, hold down on the ctrl key and select the rectangle screen shape.Selecting the image layer press ctrl+x, then delete the image layer. Press ctrl + P which should paste the new image on a layer. Place the image underneath the reflected shape and make the opacity 78%.

Zoom in to the image, select the color #0a4579 and with the pencil tool draw a speaker shape.

Select the brush tool and with the same color draw 2 circles, then copy and paste the circles to make more. Make sure everything is even.

Put all the media interface files (excluding the background) in one folder. Duplicated the folder, right click on the new folder and select Convert to Smart Object. Right click on the file again and press Rasterize Layer.

With the duplicate layer selected press ctrl+T (make sure when you do this the Marquee Tool is selected), pull down the image to make it look like the screenshot above.

Make the layer opacity 49% and select the eraser tool. With a soft edged eraser at 70% erase the bottom of the image.

Lastly with the layer still selected go to Filter > Blur > Blur to make the image slightly blurry. Do this a number of times to get your desired effect.

Here’s the final Result

Tags: Media Player, Creative Designs, Photoshop Effect, Photoshop Tutorials, How To, Creative Art

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Photo Retouch Using Split Frequency Healing In Photoshop

Split Frequency Healing is a method that you can apply in Photoshop that will allow you retouch photos without affecting the photo’s relevant tone or texture. In this tutorial, commercial retouch artist, Daniel Meadows, who has worked for clients such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Chanel, and L’Oreal Paris, will elucidate this technique and how it can be used in your workflow.

Final Image



Take a look at the picture which we are using for this tutorial. Client might give you a typical example of markup image below. It might be a jpeg or scan of a pen-annotated print or just a set of directions or suggestions, but ultimately you’ll be expected to deliver on a set brief.



We have instructions to clean up the image, a little liquefy for a more pleasing curve to the back and waist, and to remove the purple-blue tone from the model’s legs. I’ll cover the techniques you’ll need to complete the shot over the course of several tutorials. Remember not to deviate too far from what your client is asking for, run it by them first. If you think a background color change is really going to make the subject pop, try discussing your ideas, especially if it’s for a portfolio project. If it’s a commercial or editorial job however and the art director wants neutral white, he or she of course, gets white.
There are quite a few ways to achieve a similar result in Photoshop, and I’ll be going through a number of them, often focusing on one in particular and giving a couple of alternatives you might want to try.
The first step we’re going to follow in completing this shot is the healing, the ‘basic cleanup.’ For this we’re going to be mostly using the clone stamp (S), but we’ll do it a little differently to the way the software intended. Be sure to start off using the key commands for your tools, you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the long run. When you’re trying to meet an unreasonable deadline and your left hand is bringing up every tool and command without giving it a thought you’ll thank me for it. Take a look at the look at the shot we have to work with.



The lighting’s a blessing, the well defined shadows and highlights give us a great guide to follow when we come to carving, but we’ll get to that. The skin is very good, with just enough marks and texture variance to give us a good run at the exercise. Remember that with high end commercial retouching you’re going to be getting professional models with great skin, great lighting, make up, wardrobe etc. It isn’t about changing the shot, or the model, it’s about perfecting it. Here’s a close up of the kind of texture variations I mentioned.



It might be instinctive to head straight for the clone stamp or healing tools, but the clone stamp will carry luminosity and tone with it, causing problems in light to shadow or vice versa. The healing tools carry the texture and then attempt to approximate the tone and luminosity with an algorithm. What if there was a way of cloning nothing but the texture,ignoring the luminosity and tone, and simply replacing a piece of texture elsewhere? Well we’ve got one, and it’s called frequency separation. (Read More)

Tags: Photo Retouch, Photo Effects, Split Frequency, Spot Healing, Photoshop Tutorials, Photoshop CS6, Retouch Technique, Commercial Photo Shoot

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Photoshop CS6 With New Oil Paint Filter

Photoshop CS6 introduces some new filters which are very powerful tool in Photoshop. It will help you to apply quick effects to your images. The new Oil Paint filter in Photoshop CS6 will give any image a painted look. In this tutorial, we will introduce you to this new filter. So let’s explore it..

Tags: Photoshop CS6, New Tools, Photoshop Filters, Tools Tips, Oil Paint, Photo Effects, Photoshop Tutorial, Photoshop Videos
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Create A Glittering Gold Party Text Effect

This tutorial explains how to use Photoshop layer styles, filters, and brushes to create an awesome sparkly text effect.

Step 1

Create a new document that is 1350 x 1000 px. Set the Foreground color to #525252, and the Background color to #0d0d0d. Create a Radial Gradient from the center of the document to one of it corners making sure that you selected Foreground to Background gradient preset.



Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Set the Amount to 5, the Distribution to Uniform, and check the Monochromatic box.



Step 2

Create the text using the color #ffeb0f. The font used is Titania and the size is 377px. Duplicate the text layer so you have two copies.



Double click on the copy text layer (the one on the top) to apply the following styles:

- Drop Shadow: Change the color to #383838, and the Size to 10.



- Inner Shadow: Change the color to #625841, the Size to 13, and the Contour to Half Round.



- Bevel and Emboss: Change the Depth to 450, the Size to 10, the Gloss Contour to Log, and check the Anti-aliased box. Also, change the Highlight Mode color to #fff119, and the Shadow Mode color to #8a7b3e.



- Contour: Just check the Anti-aliased box



This is what the text should look like:



Step 3

Press the Ctrl/Command key, and while still pressing, click on the text layer thumbnail (icon) to create a selection.



Set the Foreground color to #7d6905 and the Background color to #d3c614. Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “texture”. Fill the selection with the Foreground color, and press Ctrl/Command + D to get rid of the selection.



Step 4

Now, we are going to use a couple of filters to create the sparkly texture. Start by going to Filter > Sketch > Notepaper. Change the Image Balance to 25, the Graininess to 10, and the Relief to 11.




Go to Filter > Texture > Stained Glass. Change the Cell Size to 2, the Border Thickness to 4, and the Light Intensity to 1. The Light Intensity property adds brightness to the center of the texture, so you can increase the value if you want more brightness in the center.




Finally, go to Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges. Change the Egde Width to 2, the Edge Brightness to 10, and the Smoothness to 5.




Change the “texture” layer’s Blend Mode to Overlay.



That’s it for the text effect. Next, we’re going to add some sparkles using the Brush tool.
Step 5

Open the Brush panel (Window > Brush), and choose a hard round brush. Change the size to 10px, and set the Spacing to something around 322%.



Under Shape Dynamics, change the Size Jitter to 100%, the Roundness Jitter to 62%, and the Minimum Roundness to 25%.



Under Scattering, Change the Scatter value to 431%.



Finally, under Color Dynamics, change the Foreground/Background Jitter to 100%, and the Brightness Jitter to 50%. This will give the sparkles different brightness and color values.



Step 6

Right click on the text layer, and choose Create Work Path.



Make the color #d3c614 the Foreground color, and change the Background color to #ffff08. Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “sparkles”, and grab the Direct Selection Tool.



Right click on the path, and choose Stroke Path.



Choose Brush from the Tool drop down menu, and make sure the Simulate Pressure box is un-checked.



This will stroke the path with the brush you’ve just created.



Change the “sparkles” layer’s Blend Mode to Linear Light.



Step 7

The last thing we’re going to do is add more shadow to the text, so that it blends more with the background, and has more depth. To do that, Double click on the original (bottom) text layer, un-check the Use Global Light box (as we want to change the direction of the shadow), and change the Angle to -20. Also, change the Distance to 8, and the Size to 10.



Change the Fill value of the original text layer to 0, so that only the shadow is visible.



Final Image

Tags: Text Effect, Photoshop Effect, Photoshop Tutorials, Glittering Gold, Party Style

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