FIGURE 16.34 Selecting a grass brush style and adding a scattering effect as well as shape and color dynamics help create a brush that quickly applies a grass technique to the image... F
Trang 1to select, load, and save sets from the preset lists.
Example Painting Techniques
The tools discussed so far in this chapter provide an incredible arsenal for creative minds They can
be applied in limitless ways So far we have discussed only the basic behavior of the tools In this section, we show some examples and techniques to use the tools to paint creatively
Cross-Ref
One technique not listed here is to add a stroke to a shape or path Using paths to create shapes and then
add-ing a fill and stroke to them is a great way to paint specific objects To learn more about paths and shapes, see
Chapter 17 n
Painting from a blank canvas
The most basic form of painting is to use a blank canvas and use painting tools to paint onto the canvas You can paint onto a blank canvas in really countless methods, and this example simply gives you a few steps to try out some different techniques:
the background color to white.
You can use the Shift key to help you draw the gradient in a perfect vertical line The
gra-dient shown in Figure 16.33 is drawn by dragging from the top of the image down to the center of the image
canvas, as shown in Figure 16.33
Notice that you now have a skyline
Note
If you create the rectangle as a shape layer, you need to set the Style option to the default of None so that a
gradient style is not applied to the gradient n
Although this step is optional, it is a good idea and shows how you can add to a painting
on a separate layer without affecting the bottom
in Figure 16.34 Launch the Brush panel to configure a new brush.
Trang 2FIGURE 16.33
Adding a gradient fill and a solid rectangle quickly create the appearance of a skyline
FIGURE 16.34
Selecting a grass brush style and adding a scattering effect as well as shape and color dynamics help create a brush that quickly applies a grass technique to the image
Trang 3Dynamics, and Smoothing options
Set the Scattering to 33 percent, the Count to 2, and the Count Jitter to 100 percent, as shown in Figure 16.34 This creates a brush that scatters the grass as you paint the strokes onto the canvas
shown in Figure 16.35.
Notice how the brush technique scatters the grass
FIGURE 16.35
Applying the grass brush over the soft brown gives the appearance of a grassy field
10 Create and select a new layer.
11 From the brush styles list, select the soft brush, shown in Figure 16.36, and launch
the Brush panel to configure a new brush.
12 Set the size of the brush to 70, and enable the Shape Dynamics, Scattering, and
Smoothing options
This time, on the Shape Dynamics, increase the Size Jitter to 100 percent and set the
Minimum Diameter to 20, as shown in Figure 16.36 This creates a brush that varies the size of the soft brush and helps create a soft cloud effect
13 Set the foreground color to white, and paint the clouds onto the new layer, as
shown in Figure 16.37.
Notice how the brush technique varies the size of the stroke and helps create the variance
in the clouds
Trang 4FIGURE 16.36
Selecting a soft brush style and adding a jitter to the size as well as a scattering effect help create a brush that quickly applies a cloud technique to the image
FIGURE 16.37
Applying the soft brush over the gradient sky gives the appearance of soft clouds
Trang 5Tracing edges from an existing image
A common technique that artists use is sketching the subject area prior to painting it Photoshop provides a great method for sketching general shapes The method is to simply create a new layer and then use the Pencil tool to draw the edges Remember that when you hold down the Shift key, you can draw straight vertical or horizontal strokes, and when you hold down the Shift key and click in two different locations, you draw a straight stroke between them
When you are tracing the image, it is a good idea to create three extra layers The topmost layer is the layer you draw on The next layer should be a simple white canvas that you can turn off when you are tracing and turn on to see what the tracing looks like, as shown in Figure 16.38 The next layer down sits above the image as an adjustment layer; its purpose is to lighten the image to make
it easier to see your tracing lines while you are tracing but still see the image behind
Figure 16.38 shows an example of loading an image, creating a new layer, and then using the Pencil tool to trace some general shapes Notice that the finished product automatically provides a good perspective in the sketch
FIGURE 16.38
Using a new layer and the Pencil tool, you can quickly trace shapes in the image below to create a quick
sketch to paint from
Trang 6On the Web Site
The project used to create the image in Figure 16.38 is available on this book’s Web site as Figure 16-37.psd
You can view the different layers used to create the sketch n
Wet paint on an existing image
One of Photoshop’s biggest advancements in the past years is the addition of the Mixer Brush tool
The Mixer Brush tool allows you to treat pixels already existing in an image as wet paint You can use the Mixer Brush tool to brush around the paint that already exists, which can fix small portions
of images or apply an effect to larger areas You can use all the power of the Brush panel to create special brushes and then use them as wet paint on the image
Tip
You also could start by using the Filter ➪ Artistic ➪ Dry Brush filter to simulate brush strokes in the image
before applying your own wet paint technique The Dry Brush filter applies a similar technique, but it’s very
limited, whereas you have limitless possibilities when using your own hand and the plethora of brush styles
Photoshop has to offer.
Figure 16.39 shows an example of using a simple fan brush with the Mixer Brush tool to create brush strokes on an image to simulate the appearance of an oil painting The cool thing about this effect is that it was applied in only a few minutes If you spend longer, you can really fine-tune the brush strokes and create some fairly nice artwork
In Figure 16.39, we disabled the Load Brush After Stroke option so no new paint would be added
We also enabled the Clean Brush After Stroke option so the brush would be clean before touching the image again This allows us to keep the paint from mixing too much
FIGURE 16.39
Using the Mixer Brush tool, you can easily apply a painting stroke technique to a photo
Trang 7Photoshop merges its world-class photo-editing tools with its paint brush tools to provide the best
of both worlds This chapter discussed the Brush tools available for editing, such as the Dodge and Burn tools, as well as the tools Photoshop provides for painting, such as the Paint and Mixer Brushes You can use these tools to edit photos, paint new images, and even combine painting with photo editing
The Brush panel enables you to create custom brushes that extend your capability in editing and painting images You also can use Photoshop blending modes to apply the effects from the Brush tools in a variety of ways
In this chapter, you learned about the following:
l Customizing the Brush tool settings using the Brush panel
l Using some Brush tools for editing localized areas of images and some for painting pixels
l Adjusting the blending mode to completely change how brush stroke effects are applied to the pixels below
l Erasing specific pixels in the image
l Using Photoshop’s wet paint capabilities to create a painting from an existing image
l Tracing techniques to quickly give you a basis and perspective for painting images