Adobe Photoshop CS4 – Illustrated Unit G: Creating Special Effects

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Objectives Use the Color blending mode Use the Multiply blending mode Add noise with the Overlay blending mode Sharpen with the High Pass filter Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Objectives Apply the Lens Flare filter with Screen mode Apply the Motion Blur filter Apply non-destructive filters Distort images Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Creating Special Effects When learning and practicing in Photoshop it is usually done one thing at a time-however when working in Photoshop it is on a full-scale project with many things Learning to look at the “big” picture is a great shift from just looking at one thing to an entire project Artistic sense and decisions on what to do to create an effect goes hand in hand with the tools provided in Photoshop Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Color Blending Mode Blending modes are mathematical algorithms that define how pixels affect pixels beneath them to create a special effect Blending modes can be applied throughout many Photoshop features but they are most prominent on the Layers panel and for options with specific tools such as the Brush tool Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Color Blending Mode The base color is the color of the original pixel The blend color is the color being applied The result color is the color produced by blending the base and blend colors The Color blending mode is useful for colorizing monochromatic images it applies the hue of the blend pixel to the base pixel and automatically affects the saturation of the base pixel so that the base pixel beneath it takes on the color of the blend pixel Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Color Blending Mode Color blending mode does not in any way affect the brightness value of base pixels-only the hue and saturation The Colorize option in the Hue/Saturation Adjustments panel is necessary to colorize a black-and-white image; the sliders in the Hue/Saturation have no affect on a pixel with the saturation value of “0” Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Color Blending Mode Solid color blended over the image Painting in a layer set to Color mode Colorized image Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Multiply Blending Mode Multiply mode is probably the most common blending mode it makes the blend pixels transparent and the base art is seen through that color Multiply mode is always used when creating shadows and drop shadows shadows in nature are always transparent Two important things to remember when black is multiplied it is always black when white is multiplied it becomes invisible Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Multiply Blending Mode Blending modes on the Layers panel are grouped in six sections-the grouping is intentional and specific The blending modes are grouped on similarities Color Burn and Linear Burn are two effective blending modes that are similar to the Multiple blending mode but produce effects that are subtly different Color Burn increases the contrast Linear Burn creates a multiply effect by decreasing brightness Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Multiply Blending Mode Understanding the Multiply blending mode Multiplying a solid color Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adding Noise with the Overlay Blending Mode Noise is used to describe a blanket of high-contrast pixels that produce a grainy effect over an image Sometime noise is a problem and if seen it has been termed “grain” in low-quality images online or images downloaded to a cell phone On the other hand, adding noise to an image is a technique often used to “finish” a design a layer of noise over an image can add a heightened sense of sharpness and focus Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adding Noise with the Overlay Blending Mode Noise is especially effective with multiple images used in a montage the challenge in a montage is to make it appear to be one piece of artwork and not a composition-a layer of noise adds a consistent layer across the artwork making it appear as one image There is more than one method to add noise; Photoshop creates noise from existing pixels or noise can be added to an image using the overlay technique (which is not editable) Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adding Noise with the Overlay Blending Mode No Change Understanding the Overlay blending mode Shadow Highlights Viewing results of the Noise filter Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Sharpening with the High Pass Filter Sharpness, in Photoshop, corresponds to edges Edges are any areas in an image where highly contrasting pixels meet High Pass is a filter that is very effective at finding and isolating edges uses a mathematical algorithm to identify where in the image pixels of high contrast abut fills the layer with solid gray except in the edge areas to isolate the edges Edges are mostly involved in blurring and sharpening an image Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Sharpening with the High Pass Filter When an edge is blurred, Photoshop reduces the contrast where edge pixels meet To sharpen an edge, Photoshop locates the edges and increases the contrast; providing a heightened focus to the image The Overlay/High Pass technique overlays an image on top of itself, but only at the edges the filter fills the layer with 50% gray which is transparent when overlayed, and the only areas that aren’t filled with gray are the edge areas Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Sharpening with the High Pass Filter Applying the High Pass filter Viewing the sharpened image Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying the Lens Flare Filter with Screen Mode A lens flare is a bright spot often captured in the glass of a camera lens Photoshop offers a Lens Flare filter which is useful for adding glints or bight spots to artwork The Lens Flare filter needs to be applied to already existing pixels as it can not be created in an empty layer if wanting the lens flare itself as part of artwork, fill a layer with black, apply the Lens Flare filter, then use the Screen blending mode to make the black areas transparent, leaving just the flare Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying the Lens Flare Filter with Screen Mode Positioning the screened lens flare Scaling down the size of the flare The final effect Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying the Motion Blur Filter The Motion Blur filter dialog box allows a distance and an angle for blurring pixels to be specified The result is a blur that can be used to create the appearance of motion for both artwork and text Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying the Motion Blur Filter Viewing one motion blur applied Viewing two motion blurs applied Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying Non-Destructive Filters Non-Destructive adjustments are not applied directly to the artwork; the adjustment exists on a separate layer that can be shown, hidden, edited, or deleted the original artwork is not altered Photoshop offers the ability to crate non-destructive filter layers, allowing the creation of filters on a layer than can be shown, hidden, edited, or deleted these so-called “smart filters” come with a layer mask and can be altered with an opacity adjustment or with a blending mode Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying Non-Destructive Filters Non-Destructive filters are great as they are created with a mask, called a filter mask that functions just like a layer mask if multiple filters are applied, there is still just one mask available and that mask will hide or show all of the applied filters Smart filters can be removed from layered artwork at any time by hiding the filter or to permanently delete, drag it to the Delete layer button on the Layers panel Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Applying Non-Destructive Filters The Grain filter as a layer on the Layers panel Viewing the filter applied with 80% opacity Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Distorting Images Images are distorted for artistic as well as practical effects such as creating a sense of three-dimensional artwork The Distort command is Photoshop is another type of transformation, just like scaling or rotating Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Distorting Images In addition to the Distort transformation, transforming can also be accomplished using the Skew, Perspective, (and Warp) commands Skew transforms art as though it was positioned on an angle Perspective transforms art with a forced perspective toward an unspecified vanishing point Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Distorting Images Distorting the artwork by moving the handles Viewing the final distorted artwork Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Summary Learning to look at the “big” picture in Photoshop is a great shift from looking at one thing to an entire project Artistic sense and decisions on what to do to create an effect goes hand in hand with the tools provided in Photoshop Blending modes can be applied throughout many Photoshop features but they are most prominent on the Layers panel and for options with specific tools such as the Brush tool Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Summary Noise is especially effective when applied with multiple images Color Burn and Linear Burn are two effective blending modes Non-Destructive filters are created with a filter mask that functions just like a layer mask Images are distorted for artistic as well as practical effects such as creating a sense of three-dimensional artwork Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated