COLOR TUTORIAL #1

COLOR TUTORIAL #1

Color Porn Lydia.

Another tutorial, this time with a lot of contrasting and color, featuring a Crying Banshee. This will be part one of a two or three part theme I’m trying to establish. Mostly working with color porn and contrasting. 

I am using Photoshop CS5, and this is not a beginner tutorial, but it isn’t too hard either.

I will be showing you how to turn this:

into this:

First start with a duplication of the background layer, then resize and crop how you want. My cap is 500x280. Next add a black and white gradient map and set the blend mode to soft light. Duplicate the layer and set the opacity to 45%. Now some lighting. Levels, curves and levels again; these are the settings I used.

Then a gradient map, 

black, #000000; pink, #f10055. Set it to darken and make a layer mask to color the background. The mask will end up looking like this.

After that layer you want to hold CTRL and click into the black and white box for the curves layer, so that it selects only the parts of the face you highlighted with curves. Then make a levels adjustment. 

Next you want to make a new layer, empty and select a small round brush, soft. Then a nice pink color, close to the color that you used for the background, so we can color the lips. I used this color #e40559. Then change the blend mode to multiply and change the opacity to 34%.

This screenshot has a lot of tight subtle emotion and fear, and I did want to focus on that, so I made another curves layer; output 140, input 114 and then mask it so the layer is hidden. Use a white brush to paint over the tear and some on her eyelids. Erase and blend as needed. Here is my finished mask.

Then another curves for her eyes. This one should be output, 106; input, 135. Then mask and use a soft round brush again. This was my end mask.

This is where the cap should be right now.

More curves. This time we mask it for the irises; the first curves should be output, 142; input, 100. 

That’s the eyes right now. Next I added a simple selective color, just focusing on black (+5). 

Take a soft brush, black; and make a new layer. Color only the left side of the cap, like so:

Gradient fill next, just to add to the shading on the left:

Now another solid color, pink same color as the background. Mask it and use a soft brush to blend it over the background and onto some of Lydia’s hair. The blend mode is color and the opacity 25%.

Add a selective color again, +5 black. Then another, for red adjustments.

Next is a vibrance layer, masked for the face.

Vibrance +28, saturation +14.

Next a gradient fill, now this one will focus on adding even more color to the right hand side. #000000, #e09696. 

And focus it on the right, this was my mask. 

Blend mode hard light, 38% opacity.

This should be masked for only the hair. Just to adjust and bring Lydia’s gorgeous strawberry blonde hair out of the pink background. Next another magenta selective color. 

This is how it looks so far. 

I added two textures, very subtle and sharpened after. Texture 1, set that to lighten and 24% opacity. Texture 2,  this one I did screen at 16% opacity. Lastly, you press CTRL, ALT, SHIFT+E to stamp the image. Which just means you create a layer on top of everything that blends all the layers but also keeps the originals. Then filter>sharpen>smart sharpen; amount 500, radius 0.3, more accurate and remove gaussian blur. 

Here’s a second example of another screencap using pretty much the same methods: 

DOWNLOAD THE PSD HERE.

more stuff about the signs

aries

they look like don’t mess with me but actually they’re love me

too smart

they don’t care a lot about emotions… unless their own

one of the easiest ways to lose them is lying to them

cry baby

they talk too much, so it’s hard to know when they’re serious

somehow they can convince people to do the most stupid things

sexually frustrated 24/7

they’re strong like when everything is going to shit they have strength and don’t let themselves get dragged

they move their hands a lot when talking

they’re the kind of people who bite their lips when thinking and accidentally bleeds

taurus

on the outside they look very calm and quiet, but in the inside they burn like hell (they’re too intense)

they don’t lose control easily but they do lose it often

they have a hard time trusting/believing in people’s emotions

they could kill you if you hurt an animal

a great part of them have a great sleeping schedule

they care too much about people they love

they cheat on board games

very good friends

too selective when choosing who to spend their time and energy with

they move their eyebrows a lot in their facial expressions

stubborn

they don’t let people go completely

their hugs are the best hugs when you have a bad day

gemini

emotional mess (they feel nothing in the right way)

they know a lot of useful shit

but they don’t know what sleep means

being bored is the worst thing that can happen to them (they get too mean, like little children)

narcissistic af

they’re never wrong

they express their feelings in thousands of different ways, however none of them seem to work

incomprehensible love for snacks

misunderstood

they cover their feelings with humor/indifference 87% of the time

they can make anyone laugh, no kidding

they lie to themselves

sensitive af, if you spend a lot of time with them you’ll see they’re such babies

very insecure

random happiness/sadness attacks

their brain is an exhaused roller coaster

innocent without wanting to be

they seem to fit everywhere but nowhere at the same time

cancer

they look like love me but actually they’re like i fuck with you or you fuck with me

they don’t know how to handle their feelings, so they don’t

drama,,,drama,,,dRAMa,,..drama

they can be too selfish

unpredictable af

leave me alone, but give me attention

their cellphone is part of their body

their true friends knows their family (even if they have never seen them) because of all the stories they tell, all the time

they victimize themselves a lot

they know how to listen and they give the best advice ever but they don’t use it

that kind of people who their first impulse when doing eye contact with someone is smiling

they care a lot about what other people think

they plat a lot with their hands and lips

the most adorable people when they’re not angry

children loves them

they can tranquilize people quickly

misunderstood because they don’t let anyone understand them

leo

very sharp ideas/way of thinking

high moral

they need constant acceptance/validation

if you do them one you pay ten

always reading your intentions

they tend to joke about other people insecurities

they tend to do good things for people without even realizing

despite being surrounded by people, they still can feel very alone

they talk to themselves when nobody’s whatching

insecure af

a lot of craziness under the calm person they have

they wink a lot

will never cry or look vulnerable in front of others (unless they totally trust that person)

virgo

they always look like they want to kill someone (maybe they do)

public nerds

the most damaged sleeping schedules lol hello it’s 4 am

they read weird things

super committed and and helpful

they get angry when things are not done in their way

they’re the midpoint between introvert and extrovert

they have a great stalking until they have no crush anymore

they can’t tolerate it when someone is angry at them, even if they’re the ones to blame

their favorite acronym is lmao… laughing my anxiety off

they do this face a lot > 😏

libra

they’re always in love

they listen to shitty music but won’t admit it

super emotional

they probably don’t know what is happening right now

they get too weird when they’re not comfortable

a stranger is a person they’re not friends with yet

they have good intentions

creative

they blush easily

they have a hard time saying no

they hide things so they don’t disappoint people they care about

they try to make everyone happy, even if it’s exhausting

scorpio

they try to look rude, actually they’re cry babies

dark mind, bright personality

they have secret hobbies

they crave love

talking to them will make you either appreciate life or want to jump off a bridge

they get easily offended

scary when angry

protective with people they love

they hate being ignored

random laugh attacks

they can make you laugh in the most fucked up moments

they’re that kind of people who give more priority to the problems of those who love than their own

they easily connect with music

sagittarius

ready to disappear in any moment

they have watched every. movie. on netflix

using my emotions? caring about yours? nah, tomorrow… maybe

34 hour-long naps

they fuck up 10 moments and make a very epic one

they have a hard time when apologizing

they have a hard time when asking for help, they believe they can do anything

would yell at strangers if needed

intentionally do things and then say they weren’t planned but went well anyway

they tend to be sad before sleeping

this is probably not a good idea but i’ll do it anyway

very competitive, but never satisfied

capricorn

superiority complex

more party souls than you could imagine

they just want you to shut the fuck up

they’re cute until you’re obstrusive

able to intimidate people for good or for bad

they recognize their mistakes and then apologize without making a lot of drama

they keep their cool in the craziest situations

have random acts of love, like biting, cuddling, etc…

can make you feel important one minute and shit in the next minute

always have backup plans

physical appearance is important

always have weird obsessions

they play a lot with their feet

they need hugs and you to show them love, but will never say it

aquarius

they disappear with no reason

cuter than you

they get confused when choosing between good and bad

everything is overrated for them

they’re addiced to memes

feelings out of control

they’re the special snowflakes

cannabis 23/7

they will know if you lie

they lose their shit often

they think and feel more than they show

rebels

the smartest ones

pisces

they don’t like dealing with their responsabilities

they like music more than they like you

they like attention but not too much

will never accept being the 2nd option for someone

can listen to you for hours, without making it awkward

fake friendliness (sometimes)

too weird but in a sweet way

super funny. their humor is either too simple or too hard to understand

they overwhelm your mind

big heart, even bigger imagination

confused af

if you really analyze them they look like they’re stoned

translated from x

I’m sorry that I smell like cigarettes and that I’m not with you and some days I feel full and others I feel empty I’m glad that we share the same moon it’s almost as gorgeous as you are dear

we were both created in chaos, we were both born to destroy

moon dust in your lungs stars in your eyes you are a child of the cosmos and ruler of the skies

for em (via meduesa)

me: how many words have i written

is it a million

is it TWO million

word counter: 409 words

me: LIES