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COMBINE PHOTOS

AND GRAPHICS

LEARN HOW TO CREATE AN EXCITING, PAINTERLY PORTRAIT

ILLUSTRATION FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXTURES

Y

ou don’t have to be a whizz with the Brush

tool to create an effective digital painting. In

this tutorial, you’ll discover how to

transform a vintage photo of James Dean

into a colourful illustration using just some simple

photo-editing techniques and a creative use of

textures. With the methods explained over the next

few pages, you’ll be able to create a dynamic

composition that blends the iconography of 50s

Americana with images of James Dean’s beloved

sports cars, his passion for which would sadly lead

to his famous demise on Route 41 in California.

Photoshop is the most comprehensive tool for editing

photographs and is ideal for this particular trip. Along the

road you will learn how to separate photographs for

editing, master layer masks, and effectively manipulate

textures to create an organic, painted feel for your

image. Everything you’ll need to build the illustration is

supplied on FileSilo, but you’re encouraged to bring your

own creativity to some of the following techniques in

order to fully explore the possibilities for this illustration

and your future portfolio.

PREPARING THE STOCK IMAGES

CUT OUT THE PORTRAIT AND ADD A HALFTONE EFFECT

03

ADD A HALFTONE

EFFECT

As the photo isn’t the greatest

resolution, it helps to work with

a halftone as well as the original

to give added detail and a print

feel. It’s good practice to

duplicate a layer before adding

an effect, so once that’s done go

to Filter>Filter Gallery and

choose Halftone Pattern. Use a

Size of 2 and set Contrast to 25.

01

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Start by opening ‘James_Dean.jpg’. You

need to remove his head from the background.

You can do that more accurately using the Path

tool. Go to Paths and create a new layer. With the

Pen tool, start working your way around,

adjusting the anchor points to create smooth

curves where needed.

02

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Once the path is created, you can select it by

clicking with the cursor over the Path thumbnail

window and holding down Cmd/Ctrl. With the shape

selected, create a new layer for it with Layer via Copy

(Cmd/Ctrl+J) and you can begin to edit it. Ensure that

the image is greyscale as you’ll be using black and

white before colouring.

FROM VINTAGE TO FRESH

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1: Cut out photos

Progress 2: Layer textures

on a photo

Progress 3: Build a dynamic

composition

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andy-potts.com

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OUR EXPERT

Andy Potts is an award-winning,

London-based illustrator and

animator. He’s been commissioned

by a wide variety of clients in

advertising, publishing and design

and his eye-catching illustrations

have appeared in many international

newspapers and magazines.

SOURCE FILES

The files on FileSilo.co.uk/bks-609

include a public domain photo of

James Dean and a mixture of

personal photography and textures

to create an effective, painterly look.

COMBINE PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS