TechLife Australia – September 2019

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Because the photo will be broken down into just a few fairly

simple areas, it’s a good idea to emphasise some of the features

and details first. By using Liquify to enlarge the eyes and nose,

we can ensure that they stand out in the final artwork. Once that

is done, it’s time to start making the black section of the artwork

with Levels and the Cutout filter. This should be done on a

duplicated copy of the edited dog layer, preserving the original

copy so we can use it later to make the green section.

STANDOUT

Exaggeratingand

enlargingthe

featureswith

Liquif ymeansthey

willstillstandout

afterbeing

simplifiedintoflat

colours.

PUSHTHELEVELS

Thisis a veryextremeLevels

adjustment,tomaketheblack

areasstandoutontheirown.

IT’SHISTORY

Withthetrialanderrorinvolvedinthisprocess,

it’sbesttokeeptheHistorywindowopen.

HIDEIT

Clickingthis

eyeballiconhides

thecontentsofthat

layer.Clickagainto

bringback

visibility.

01

DESATURATE THE IMAGE

Press Cmd/Ctrl-J to duplicate the background, thus preserving a copy

of the original as a backup. Hide the original background layer (click

the eyeball icon in the Layers palette). On the new layer, press Shift-Cmd/Ctrl-U

to desaturate it.

03

ADJUST LEVELS

Press Cmd/Ctrl-J to duplicate the layer. On the new layer, press Cmd/

Ctrl-L and drag the input sliders so the areas you wish to make black

are distinct. For this image values of Black: 0, Grey: 0.01, White: 92 work well,

but this will vary depending on the photo.

02

LIQUIFY
We want to exaggerate some of the features, so go to Filter > Distort >
Liquif y. In this instance, se the Bloat Tool (B) at around 600px on the
eyes and nose to enlarge them, and the Warp Tool (W) to slightly nudge the
eyebrow area upward. Click OK to apply.

[ STAGE 1 ]

BUILD THE BACKGROUND

USE LIQUIF Y, DESATURATE AND LEVELS TO GET YOUR PHOTO READY.