photoshop assistance

[ScottXGTR]

in an effort to help you guys out, ill share some work so you can get a feel for how photoshop works.

you can download the .psd file in the attachments. and this is what you will find:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/risen.jpg

so, those with photoshop can open it and explore. feel free to ask questions.

key things to learn are the layers. notice the base truck is silver, then there is a color layer on top that is transparent. just like painting a car, you lay down a base, and then a candy. sometimes more than one layer of candy. the graphics are another candy layer on top of that. you use the blending options to make the layer transparent without losing color info. below is an exploded view for those trying visualize the layers. you can turn layers on and off and see what they do. change colors if you want. play with the settings etc etc

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/risensimpleexploded.jpg

how many layers you might ask? tons. everything is its own layer. this makes it easy to go back and change something. it is easier to hide something, then to replace it. youll also notice this is version 13. that means there are 12 other versions before this one in various states of fucked upedness. i save a new version before making any drastic changes that might ruin the piece. the undo button only goes back so far.

this is what i work with. count the number of layers, and how they are labeled.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps-view.jpg

hopefully this will help some of you. dont let the file fool you. i gave you the small version (800px wide). the actual version is about 4 times as large. i shrunk it down so i could upload it onto the website.

ill try to answer as many questions as i can. but dont expect fast answers since its close to new years.

[O.G.Tierdrop]

damn scotty nice write up

now how would one change the color of the truck if he wanted to?

[jdoe44]

It looks like he copied the layer with the body on it, used the magic wand or lasso or whatever to delete everything without paint, adjusted color levels on that layer (to get the yellow), adjusted color levels on the original body layer (to make it black and white for depth and shading), and set the colored layer on top of the original with partial transparency.

But I don't know a damn thing about photoshop and am talking out of my ass, so try it out for yourself.

[ScottXGTR]

jdoe is on the right track. his espn is kickin tonite. must be the malt liquor.

you hit the nail on the head about the top layer. its just a duplicate of the original, minus the glass, grille, and etc. i then hit it with a desaturate to remove any color info. you might have to adjust the brightness to get a good base.

then i changed the color layer with the hue/saturation tool. then i went into the blending options and set the blend mode to pin light. you can use whichever mode makes it look best. it just depends on what color you are going for.

[jdoe44]

All the random trivia you could want, but no degree or marketable skills. My college trust fund at work :dathumb:

[Kinyo]

Great demo Scott

[pugz]

nice work scotty.

[layinframe]

Thanks 4 the thread

[layinframe]

How do you magic wand the whole vehicle?

[ScottXGTR]

How do you magic wand the whole vehicle?
forget the magic wand. it wont give you a clean line anyway. use the polygon lasso and do it manually.

[manic_mechanic]

well here is my first attempt.
http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/2167/2221/30416110154_large.jpg

[layinframe]

Next ? Where do u get the graphics like the flames an stuff from

[ScottXGTR]

Next ? Where do u get the graphics like the flames an stuff from
i normally find some flames and cut them apart and put them back together.

search in photobucket or google images for "flames" and find something to work with.

[manic_mechanic]

Attempt #2

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/2167/2221/30416110155_large.jpg

[ScottXGTR]

what original pic are you working from manic?

[layinframe]

okay how do you view individual layers? and then move them around or can you

[manic_mechanic]

I am using a pic of my truck.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f160/ednigma/misc/DSCF0944.jpg

[ScottXGTR]

okay how do you view individual layers? and then move them around or can you

in the layers box you should see a little "eye" icon next to layers that are visible. click on that layer to modify it. once you are working on that layer, you can use the move tool to move it. if you hold ctrl and click a layer, itll automatically select it with the marquee. this might help you see what you are working on.

I am using a pic of my truck.

ahh. not the best to start with. what youve done is pretty good since you didnt start with a good photo tho

the best photos to use are full truck shots. preferably with a background that is simple, without too much going on. the truck itself should be a single solid color if possible. avoid pictures where half the truck is shadowed or otherwise distorted.

[manic_mechanic]

the background I used was a plain white back ground. thanks for the assist. I will try another shot of the truck.

[layinframe]

My next ? How do I import stuff from another picture.. Like rims an stuff

[O.G.Tierdrop]

i open the pic in a new window, than trim the background out using the magic eraser, or magic lasso, the click and drag it to the pic i want, but im sure scotty will say a different way

[layinframe]

Its like half my tools aren't workun. Dunno y

[ScottXGTR]

My next ? How do I import stuff from another picture.. Like rims an stuff

copy and paste

Its like half my tools aren't workun. Dunno y

make sure you are working on a layer that is visible. and make sure what you are working on is not under another layer. it could be working just fine, you just dont see the results because of the multiple layers

[Dragndoor94]

This Thread is awesome thanks for your knowledge guys...

[layinframe]

How did you add shadow? I got the layer an stuff down but dunno bout how TO shadow

[ScottXGTR]

create a new layer. i normally start by grabbing the polygon lasso and setting the "feather" option to 15px or 25px. you should see it at the top of the screen. it feathers the edge of whatever you are working with by however many pixels you tell it to. 0 is no feather. anyhoo, you have to adjust it depending on the size of your work. you want a fade, but you dont want it too spread out.

then i create a shape that i feel is what the shadow would look like. the fill it with black using the paint bucket. usually i move it around a little to get it looking right. i might even add another layer doing the same process. if i have to do any touch ups or add some shadow somewhere, i normally use a large feather style brush.

this shadow layer goes behind the wheels, and behind the truck and paint. ill add another layer to put a shadow on the wheels, which goes in front of the wheels, but behind the truck and paint.

[layinframe]

That's also on the paint job? An when I lasso something how do I make it a layer?

[layinframe]

Okay. I understand you started with a stock Nissan photo, copied the body with grille an all then made a copy of the truck with no windows grille or what knot... I don't see how you made it look like it wasn't color changed by the paint bucket. By mine looks like a solid block of color. The door jams, an all are also the same color as the truck. When I get on my comp ill try an post a picture

[ScottXGTR]

Color Changing 101:

first we start by cutting out the truck, minus the glass,trim, and etc. make this into a new layer that sits over the original. as seen in picture #1 below. my layer is shown above, for detail purposes.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps7/colorchange1.jpg

next, you want to change the color of this top layer. this will be our color layer. to do this, make sure the layer is selected, then go up to Image>Adjustments>hue/saturation.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps7/colorchange2.jpg

here you can change the color settings of your selected layer. check the colorize box to make things uniform, and the preview box so you can see what you are doing.

Hue= changes colors through the rainbow
Saturation= how much color is added
Lightness= the amount of white or black added

hit ok once you find your color. this is just a solid color. you can adjust other things to make it into a "candy" or transparent color. see further instructions below

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps7/colorchange3.jpg

"Candy" colors:

just like painting a car, you can layer colors to get different effects. before you can do a candy, you need to have a basecoat. so instead of just 1 color layer like above, youll need 2. the bottom layer will be your base, i find silver to work best for this. to make a silver basecoat, got to the hue/saturation options and set saturation to 0, and adjust the lightness.

the top layer is your "candy". it will be a copy of the basecoat layer, but with settings that allow for transparency.



below, i already have my silver basecoat, and we just put a green topcoat on it. you can see im working from the layers box. there are several options to adjust how the layer is seen. below, you can see i have adjusted the fill to 50% and how it has affected our green truck. Opacity works much in the same way. these just reduce how much of the top coat is shown, allwing the bottom coat to show thru. here, the silver has ligthened the green.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps7/colorchange4.jpg

below, i have put the fill and opacity back to 100%. i want to use as much green as possible. however, i am changing the "blending options" which makes the top layer transparent and blends with what is underneath. this helps preserve the light/dark details on the bottom layer, while still adding the color of the top layer.

there is no set one to use. flip through them all until you see what works best. in this case, "pin light" gives us a nice bright green.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/scottxgtr/ps7/colorchange5.jpg

if you want to add graphics, you will add them on top of this layer. your graphics may also need a basecoat as well, or else they will blend with the green.

[layinframe]

Thanks I'm slowly gettin it

[layinframe]

http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr248/layinframe4u/59a6a3e9.jpg
i used scotts background..... but this is my first photoshop, its of my brothers ranger :thumb: not to sure how to shave the handels yet, and take away the "glow" effect but for my first!

[tivanu808]

wow thats really sick dude!