EPTTell me if you learned something or get inspired. Also feel free to point out i make mistakes like writing STRG instead of CTRL. I always write this blog mostly during the night when i have nothing else to do and maybe had a beer or two
Check out the previous parts here:
http://www.teamliquid.net/blog/photoshop
http://www.teamliquid.net/blog/photoshop/rss
somehow you can follow this blog but i sadly have no clue about RSS feeds... If you want a reminder PM me i will PM you back if any new part comes out. As mentioned before i will divide every blog entry into 2 categories. Something i feel is generally important and has nothing to do with Photoshop´s possibilities itself and then a closer look at some tool or function.
So here we go:
Weapon of Choice
Nearly everyone i know who does something related to Images, Graphics, Deisgns etc started with Photoshop. It´s like the weed of drugs. Photoshop is the creature that drags you into the dungeaon filled with mean designers, who only steal ideas, people who judge your work without having any clue and pure evil suite wearing scorpions who see you as a tool for their own sucess. Yes the world of media has no soul. The most important skill you need on your journay, no matter what you do, is passion. Passion is the only thing that will keep you going. So make sure you actually do what you are passionate about. I will talk about some different Software.. Maybe Photoshop isn´t what you looking for. Maybe there is a Software better suited for your needs. It´s important to use the right Software. You would never write a letter with a thick brush or paint a colurful image only with one pencil. It´s a very bad example but i can´t think of anything else. So, lets look at some images and judge for yourself what attracts you the most. What is it you desire? What is your passion?
I will only post links here. All pictures are too big thats why. I want you to check out Depthcore.com and cgsociety.org. Those are sites that features people who have a beautiful understanding of art and a sharp knowledge about the software they use. Cgsociety is a very famous community. Alot of users there made their way to the very best regarding their profession. It´s mostly based around 3D (hence the name CGI), but there are people from Pixar and such surfing this site. It´s a bit like the teamliquid for starcraft. There are alot more sites like this.. I´ve never been a fan on deviantart but if you know some others let me know!!! Oh yeah, worth1000.com is also a site you might want to check out. It´s a community based around contests. You can work your way up if you win those contests! Sometimes there are even companies making contests for whatever they need and the winner gets some money
i don´t want to advertise those sites of course they are already well known.Now lets see what makes the most impression on you. Take a look at those pictures.
(Keep in mind those are only just examples to get my point across)
1)
http://www.depthcore.com/img/artwork/temple/3752.jpg
2)
http://www.depthcore.com/img/artwork/noir/4055.jpg
3)
http://features.cgsociety.org/newgallerycrits/g33/85333/85333_1237833829_large.jpg
What picture you remember most?
1) The first one is pure Photoshop ownage. It´s a nice composition and very well excecuted. I actually love the "technical part" of it the most. You cant see traces of Photoshop in it. And thats a very important thing. You don´t see traces of Photoshop in good works. Someone i know once said to me "The best pictures are those where you dont even see they are manipulated". Of course, the way to go is Photoshop and good, high resolution pictures to work with!! This is what you maybe want to do? Keep reading my blogs :D
2) Maybe you like the first picture but the second one is something you often find on your desktop as a wallpaper? You like those illustrated artworks? Less is more? Your weapon of choice is Adobe Illustrator. Remember the path tool from Part-2? Illustrator is all over that thing. Yes you could do this picture with Photoshop... One important thing to know is that Adobe Illustrator works with vectors not pixels. This means if picture "2)" actually is made with Illustrator, you could blow it up to the size of a skyscraper and it still is sharp. Google into it if you want to know more!
3) You really like the third? I understand... i do too. Are you obsessed with why things look like they do and want to visualize things you cant do with the help of the other software? You go watch the new transformer movie but give a shit about the actors or storyline? This is by far the most technical geeky road you can go with any Software. 3D Software is more complex than everything else and the learning curve is extreme compared to others. You also need to know about other software if you want to go down the road of 3D. There are alot of sub categories here. You go for still imagery? You want to animate things? You want to make models for computer games? No matter what you want to do - you need a good technical understanding about what you are actually doing and the right 3D-Suite to do so. If you go for still images you need to be real good at photoshop. If you want to be good at animating things you need to know about Adobe Aftereffects (only one of lots of software around). If you want to go into games you will need to understand the mechanics behind games. For my part i dived into Cinema4D because i worked at a companie that only used MAC´s. It´s also the easiest most intuitive software to get into 3D. Autodesk Maya for example is the holy grail. This is whats used in hollywood. I admire those people but also i am happy doing still imagery. It´s what i feel i am the most talented at. Anyway i really want to learn Maya. Argh... enough about me sorry =)
I cant capture everything. There is so much more software around. The point i try to make is Photoshop is extremly fun and somehow easy to get into. But Photoshop is not the only thing out there. And you want to use the right software for what you have in mind. Find out where your passion/talents are and you will be motivated much much more if you use the right software. Try to get your hand on different Software. Most offer free trials or discounts for students. Try it out
A closer look at the Clone Stamp Tool.
Alright back do Photoshop
Let´s look at a tool that if poorly used will be commtented with "i know this is shopped, i can tell by the pixels". This is where some of the "magic" starts. But the tool itself is very simple. It comes down to experience and good use. I won´t explain much because there is not much to explain. Basicly all i have to say is USE IT!! IT´S REALLY GOOD!. There are some other tools which more or less do the same thing but this is the first you should learn and master. If we know this one we will appreciate the other ones. If we know how to use the Stamp Tool we know the strenth and weaknesses of the other ones. This is a tool which mostly is used to make things "go away". So the idea is we "clone" some pixels on some part of the image onto another part. Think about a picture of you standing on a beach. But there is this tupid person walking behind you that just ruins the hole picutre. Or lets say you have a picture of yourself where you have a realy big whelk. No problem - stamp it away.
This is the basic way how to use it:
1) Press S for the Clone Stamp Tool. Choose a round brush with smooth edges.
2) Press and hold "ALT". The brush turns into a "crosshair".
3) Click on the region you want to "clone" the pixels from. This will be the starting point for your Clone Stamp Tool. No matter where you now start painting with your stamp tool, the first click you do will paint the part you clicked on while holding down "ALT".
It´s really easy once you understand it. Go figure out what kind of crazy stuff you can do with it. It´s lots of fun. Maybe post your results in here?
For making it very clear what this tool does i present you one eyed Day9 :D
![[image loading]](http://www.digitho.com/images/oneeye-day9.jpg)
I basicly painted over his eye with the pixels of his forehead.
This is a very powerful tool. Only be satisfied when you feel that no one ever will know what you changed. It will be your secret
Of course one eyed Day9 is a bad example because it´s so obvious Also feel free to play around with opacity and different kind of brushes. Again your aim is to hide the fact you actually used this tool.For people who are bored and aleary know about this: Go and find a highresoltion picture of a person. I really mean high resolution! At least something you can zoom into this kind of detail:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Juvd1.jpg)
Make the eyebrows look fancy for example. Trim them for example.
Alright thats it. I hope i find more time soon and will make a more exciting part than this one.
Hope you learned something. As always ask any questions you like or feel free to add things you think are important!
-leech
Addition from comments:
On July 07 2011 04:40 Finskie wrote:
I like your blogs alot and i find them useful! Keep it up!
One thing about 3D to note though (since thats what i do) is that you need to master Photoshop ,aswell as the 3D-software of choice, to be able to get those kind of results that professionals do. 3D-software and Photoshop go hand in hand through out the ENTIRE process.
Cheers!
I like your blogs alot and i find them useful!
Keep it up!One thing about 3D to note though (since thats what i do) is that you need to master Photoshop ,aswell as the 3D-software of choice, to be able to get those kind of results that professionals do. 3D-software and Photoshop go hand in hand through out the ENTIRE process.
Cheers!
Very true. Alots of programs go hand in hand
To make an extreme example: If you render a 1second long animation you can render out 25 pictures (25fps). Those can be opened in Photoshop and later rendered back into a codec ! So even if you are interested into Animation sooner or later you should check out Photoshop :D Thanks for pointing this out Finskie :D
