Tutorial: 01 - Retouching using History Tool
Okydoky, well I've been asked how I get the smooth skin effect in my icons but unlike most people, I don't use the blur tool as I find it difficult to control, especially around the edges of the face. Basically, I don't like using the blur tool, so what do I use?
The History Tool.
See not many Photoshop users use this or, heck, know what it is so I though I'd write a little tutorial.
This tutorial was made for PS 7, and I'm not sure if it translates to other imaging software.
Retouching using the History Tool
Firstly, open up the image you want to work with. In the case of this tutorial, I'll be using an image of Dougie Poynter from Mcfly:
See, I know he's a teenager and all, but heck, I like to have the smooth skin effect in my graphics.
So go to the History Palette and then click on the Snapshot tool to create a copy of your original image:
Then go to Filters on your toolbar, Noise and then Dust and Scratches...
Now shift the pointers about until you get the smoothness of the skin that you want.
In Dougie's case, I shifted the Radius to 4 and the Threshold to 0.
Now, going back to the History Palette, make another snapshot of what you have now (the filtered image):
Select the box besides the SECOND SNAPHOT (the filtered one). This will be your History Layer from where your History TOOL will work from:
Now activate the FIRST SNAPSHOT (the unfiltered/unsmooth one) by selecting the layer:
This screenshot shows what your work area & History Palette should look like now.
Now for the smoothing out part. Select the History Tool from your toolbox:
Smooth out the skin and in fact, any other part of the background or clothes that you want.
DO NOT GO OVER THE EYES OR HAIR WITH THIS TOOL AS IT JUST MUCKS UP THE PICTURE (>.<")
And thus, after smoothing, you should find you have a nice image with smooth skin to work with:
So as I said at the beginning of this tutorial, I personally prefer the History Tool to the Blur Tool. This technique gets easier with practise because it is only just a couple of steps to acheive something that looks great.
I don't know whether I've done this clearly enough as it's my first tutorial, so if you have any questions, just ask and I'll try to answer =)
Happy Photoshopping! (^_^) xx
The History Tool.
See not many Photoshop users use this or, heck, know what it is so I though I'd write a little tutorial.
This tutorial was made for PS 7, and I'm not sure if it translates to other imaging software.
Retouching using the History Tool
Firstly, open up the image you want to work with. In the case of this tutorial, I'll be using an image of Dougie Poynter from Mcfly:
See, I know he's a teenager and all, but heck, I like to have the smooth skin effect in my graphics.
So go to the History Palette and then click on the Snapshot tool to create a copy of your original image:
Then go to Filters on your toolbar, Noise and then Dust and Scratches...
Now shift the pointers about until you get the smoothness of the skin that you want.
In Dougie's case, I shifted the Radius to 4 and the Threshold to 0.
Now, going back to the History Palette, make another snapshot of what you have now (the filtered image):
Select the box besides the SECOND SNAPHOT (the filtered one). This will be your History Layer from where your History TOOL will work from:
Now activate the FIRST SNAPSHOT (the unfiltered/unsmooth one) by selecting the layer:
This screenshot shows what your work area & History Palette should look like now.
Now for the smoothing out part. Select the History Tool from your toolbox:
Smooth out the skin and in fact, any other part of the background or clothes that you want.
DO NOT GO OVER THE EYES OR HAIR WITH THIS TOOL AS IT JUST MUCKS UP THE PICTURE (>.<")
And thus, after smoothing, you should find you have a nice image with smooth skin to work with:
So as I said at the beginning of this tutorial, I personally prefer the History Tool to the Blur Tool. This technique gets easier with practise because it is only just a couple of steps to acheive something that looks great.
I don't know whether I've done this clearly enough as it's my first tutorial, so if you have any questions, just ask and I'll try to answer =)
Happy Photoshopping! (^_^) xx