How to create Pencil sketch with Photoshop

How to create Pencil sketch with Photoshop

Have you
ever come across some super fine, super-exact and modern pencil sketch that
leaves you wondering? Well many of them are really pencil sketch, no doubt. But
do you know that many of them are actually done in Photoshop? Yes, you can
transform a good quality photograph in to a super fine pencil sketch with the
help of Photoshop. Creating pencil sketch in Photoshop is not that difficult.
All you need is some basic knowledge on Photoshop. I hope this article will
help you to create your own pencil sketch. In steps I have tried to explain how
a photograph can be transformed in to a wonderful pencil sketch.

In
reality a pencil sketch takes days or even weeks to be created and perfected.
But thanks to Adobe that we have Photoshop. Now we can transform any photo in
to pencil sketch within minutes. The all powerful Photoshop will transform the
lines and shades of a Photograph in to the lines and shades of a pencil sketch.
There are some basic steps to create the pencil sketch. And there are other steps
to make it perfect. The out come will really become something wonderful if you
follow all the steps.

First
select your image. To create this type of effects your image must be with a
clear background. Because crowded background will not appear that good after
the editing. And the light, focus and other stuffs must be of professional
level. You can use an image with a clear background. Alternatively you can remove
the existing background with clipping path or masking before you
start working on it.

Once you
are done with selection, open the image file in Photoshop. Go to the layers
window. You have to create a duplicate version of the background layer. You can
do this by dragging the background layer to the New Layer icon. Alternatively
press CMD/CTRL+J to duplicate the layer. Now go to Image > Adjustments >
Invert. Or you can use the short code CMD/CTRL+I. Then click right mouse button
and select Convert To Smart Object.

(Photoshop
shortcuts will come real handy in this type of editing works. Earlier I
published a post on Photoshop Shortcut Compilation. You can check that
out.)

Go to the
Filter menu of Photoshop and select Gaussian Blur. Change the radius to around
40 pixels. As we have already selected Smart object, so that will apply the
Gaussian Blur filter as a smart filter. It will not apply the effect
permanently. This also gives us the chance to edit the settings if needed.

Now you
have to change the blending mode of the duplicate layer and make it Color
Dodge. It will create a high contrast. As a result, grainy details of the image
will be visible.

Go to the
layers panel and click on the Adjustment Layer icon. It will open the levels
window. Edit the levels and make the image a bit darker. Change the midtone and
shadow slider position. Move them to right. This will darken the image.

Next add
another Adjustment Layer. Select Black and White option in this occasion. This
will remove the colors and a more pencil sketch like appearance will be
created.

Please read the full article: Pencil Sketch with Photoshop

How to do VHS effect in Photoshop

How to do VHS effect in Photoshop

The return of the old trends is nothing new. Visual effects and designs of the bygone days
often come back and considered as something trendy and attractive. In web we
can find a lot of photographs styled with 60s or 70s filters. And they look
good. We will find chrome designs considered as cool which were actually
dominant during the 80s. We see editing effects to deliberately make photos and
graphics look old and vintage. Looks like our love for the past is all
conquering.

Today we
will work on something like that. We will create the VHS effect on a photo. We
will take a photo and distort it with Photoshop. We will add other effects to
it so it can replicate the distorted VHS effect found in VCR. We will also add
some texts of similar kind to make the effect natural.

I hope
most of you still remember how VCR worked and how were the VHS effects. There
was a certain VHS effect when we paused or rewind the cassettes. Today we will
recreate the similar effects. Let us see how to do it.

How to
create VHS effect with Photoshop

First
open the selected image in Photoshop. I am using an image from unsplash. First
we need to wrap the image. We need to use the Liquify tool for this purpose. Go
to the filter menu of Photoshop and look for the liquefy tool.

Now
select the Forward Wrap tool. Reduce the pressure to 30. Then drag the tool
from left to right across the whole image. To go thorough the large and small
distortions, you need to alter the size of the brush.

When you
are done with the Liquify process, press OK to save the changes. Now draw a
marquee selection across certain portion of the image. Then press Cmd+T for
Transform. Then stretch that portion. It will create the effect of screen
tearing.

Please read the full article on Clipping Path

How to create drop shadows using Photoshop

How to create drop shadows using Photoshop

What is Drop Shadow

Drop shadow is a necessary effect in the graphics world. It is an effect created by Photoshop that resembles the natural shadow of any product or person.  As a natural law any solid substance will create its own shadow when placed against light. By applying drop shadow, a dark shadow like effect can be added to any product/person that needs it.

Why we will need drop shadow?

Drop shadow serves a lot of purposes. It makes any product look more natural. If we remove the background of any product, or place the product on a newer background, it might appear unnatural. Usually the product will not fit in the new surface unless some editing works are done. Drop shadow is one of those works that will make the product appear realistic in the new surface.

When we place any product on white background for ecommerce purposes, it looks flat on the surface. An additional drop shadow will make it look natural. The object will appear a bit elevated from the surface. For some type of products drop shadow is applicable. Such as tables, chair, cell phone, tree, people and so on. And for some other type of products a reflection effect is needed. Mostly those products are shiny. Products like ornaments, glasses, jewelry falls in to this category.

Difference between drop shadow and cast shadow

Though they are both identical, still there are differences between these two types of shadows. Drop shadow is applicable if the created shadow is going to be horizontal. Just like a shadow under a sofa. Drop shadow is applicable for texts too. On the other hand if the shadow is going to be something vertical than cast shadow is applicable rather than drop shadow. For instance a shadow of a standing person, tree, lamp post or something alike.

In this article we will show how to create drop shadow and cast shadow with Photoshop in easy steps. We will also show how to adjust and fix the new shadow so it fits the product and the background perfectly.

How to create drop shadow

Step 1

In the first step we need to create the drop shadow of the product. For this, go to the Layer Panel and select the layer style button. Then select Drop Shadow. By this, a drop shadow will be created. But it will not appear natural or integrated with the images. We have to do some additional work to make it natural.

First we need to modify the color of the shadow. The selection of the color is very important for a natural drop shadow. You have to consider a number of things before you select the right color. If the product is placed away from the surface, then the shadow will be of lighter color. If the product is closer to the surface, the color will be deeper. Also if there are more objects in that surface then check the color of their shadow. Try to match it as much as possible.

From the drop shadow dialogue box, select the black rectangle. You will find it beside Blend mode. A color box will appear and it will allow you to select your desired color.

You have to modify the ‘Size’. It will allow you to adjust the softness of the shadow. Again you have to think and determine the softness of the drop shadow according to the context. When you are done, click OK to apply changes.

Please read the full article: Drop shadow service