The Professional Photoshop Book - Volume 7 2015

AUGMENT A MODEL WITH A METALLIC SHEEN USING

FILTERS, ADJUSTMENTS, AND NONDESTRUCTIVE

DODGING AND BURNING

CREATE SHINING

SKIN EFFECTS

A

ltering skin is a great way to give your

portraits an interesting and eye-catching

twist. Learn how to ensheath the starting

model in fresh and futuristic metallic lustre.

Filters, blend modes, and adjustments will be key

to creating the effect. The Median filter will be

employed to smooth the model’s skin, sweeping

away minor details and paving the way for a

statue-like look. Some dodging and burning will

follow to boost highlights and shadows. To stay

non-destructive, you’ll be painting black and white on

PREPARE THE MODEL

GET THE MODEL READY FOR A METALLIC MAKEOVER

50% gray layers set to Overlay instead of using the

traditional Dodge and Burn tools.

For a liquid metal look, the Plastic Wrap and Chrome

filters will be utilised. To make the effect more

convincing, follow with the Displace filter. You’ll merge

layers and save the snapshot as a new grayscale PSD. A

bit of Gaussian Blur will reduce abrupt transitions. After

saving the map, you’ll return to the main document and

apply the Displace filter. Referencing the displacement

map created will help mould the textures more snugly

into the contours of the model.

01

SITUATE THE MODEL

Open Start.psd from the FileSilo. Go to File>

Place Embedded and grab Model.psd. Confirm the

place by clicking the check mark in the options bar or

hitting Return/Enter. Press the Add Layer Mask

button With the Brush tool and a soft-edged brush at

80% Opacity paint black in the mask to fade the sides.

02

CREATE MELTING SHAPES

With the Pen tool set to Shape, create and

stack some melting shapes using white and #d5b5b3.

In the Styles palette, click on the palette menu and

choose Load Styles. Grab Melt.asl. Use the two styles

on the melting shapes. Lower the Opacity of some of

the upper shapes to 40-60%.

03

DESATURATE AND MERGE

Click Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer in

the Layers palette and choose Hue/Saturation. Drop

Saturation to -100. Paint black in the mask to remove

from the eyes, lips, and a few other areas. Merge the

layers by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+Shift+E.

You’ll be using this more throughout the tutorial, so

get comfortable with that key combination.

04

SMOOTH AND BURN

Right-click on the merged layer, Convert to

Smart Object. Go to Filter>Noise>Median. Set Radius to

10px. Add a layer mask. Paint black in the mask to

reduce smoothing on the eyes, lips, fingers, nose and

melting shapes. Create a new layer. Go to Edit>Fill,

choose 50% gray. Click OK. Set the layer to Overlay Paint

black at 10% brush Opacity to start burning.

FROM SKIN TO

SHIMMERING METAL

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1: Polish the model

Progress 2: Apply Plastic Wrap,

Chrome, and Displace filters

Progress 3: Process

with adjustments

ANDRE VILLANUEVA

http://www.000-000-0000.com

OUR EXPERT

Originally from the Philippines,

Andre now resides with his family in

Alabama, USA. He discovered

Photoshop while in school and it has

gradually overtaken his life.

SOURCE FILES

Head over to FileSilo, where

there is a starting model and

textures for you to use when

following along with the steps in

this tutorial.

Create shining skin effects

The Professional Photoshop Book 59

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