Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to create stunning, 1980s-style, retro, pop art portrait posters
that you can make from regular color photos of anyone.
Open a sharp, color photo of someone that you'd like to use for this project.
I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.
The first step is to check your photo's size and resolution to ensure that your results
will look similar to mine.
To do this, go to Image and Image Size.
Make it approximately this size.
The dimensions aren't as important as the resolution, which should be 72 pixels per inch.
Next, we'll convert the photo into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
To do this, click the icon at the upper, right of the Layers panel and click, "Convert to Smart Object".
We'll automatically adjust its color values by going to Image and "Auto Tone".
What Auto Tone basically does is sets the darkest pixel to black and the lightest pixel
to white the red, green and blue channels and then redistributes all the other values
in between the darkest and lightest pixels.
Next, we'll separate our subject from its background by making a selection around our subject.
Since we want our subject to have sharp, smooth edges, I suggest using the Pen Tool to draw
paths around the edges of our subject.
I did an in-depth tutorial on the Pen Tool, so if you'd like to watch it, I provided its
link in my video's description below.
If you're working on Photoshop CC, I recommend using the "Curvature Pen Tool", which I'll
be creating a tutorial for shortly.
Using either tool, keep your paths a bit inside the edges of your subject.
Once the path is completed, right-click or secondary-click directly on the path
and click, "Make Selection".
Make the "Feather Radius": 0 pixels.
Then, click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection next to your subject.
Make the subject active and go to Filter, Stylize and Oil Paint.
In earlier versions of Photoshop, the Oil paint filter is under "Filter".
The Stylization and Cleanliness are 10, the Scale is 0.1 and the Bristle Detail is 0.
Uncheck Lighting.
Go to Filter, Sharpen and "Unsharp Mask".
I’ll make the Amount: 500%, the Radius: 50 pixels and the Threshold: 0 levels, however,
since every photo has its own characteristics, feel free to adjust the Radius and Threshold.
Next, we'll make a gradient background.
Create a new layer below our subject by Ctrl-clicking or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
Open your Gradient Tool and make sure the Linear gradient icon is active.
Click the gradient bar and click the "Black, White" gradient box.
Click the lower, left Stop and the black box.
Pick a color for the top of your gradient.
Since I already know the color I want, I'll type it into the hexadecimal field: 2B0B58.
Click OK or press Enter or Return.
Click the lower, right Stop and the white box.
Pick a color for the bottom of your gradient.
I'll type in: FF7C00.
After you've picked your colors, press Enter or Return twice to close both windows.
Go to the top of your document and press and hold Shift as you drag the tool to the bottom and release.
Holding Shift kept the line perfectly vertical.
Make your subject layer active and double-click an empty area of the layer to open the Layer Style window.
Click "Outer Glow" and make sure the color box is white.
If it isn't, click it and when the Color Picker opens, pick white.
The Blend Mode is "Color Dodge" and the Opacity is 40%.
The Spread is 0 and the Size is 250 pixels.
At this point, if you’re happy with it, we can complete it by adding back the pupils
that we lost when we applied the oil paint filter, however, we can add another step if
there are areas of the shadows and mid-tones that you’d like to adjust.
First let's collapse the effects to make more room in our Layers panel.
Make a copy of the layer by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J. Open the effects of the copy and hide "Outer Glow".
Double-click "Unsharp Mask" to open it.
For this particular portrait, I’ll make the Radius: 1000 pixels and the Threshold: 50 levels.
Again, feel free to adjust these amounts.
Let's collapse the effects of the copy to see all the layers in the Layers panel.
We'll hide or mask out the layer copy by filling its layer mask with black.
Make the layer mask active and check your foreground and background colors.
If they're not black and white respectively, press "D" on your keyboard.
Since black is our foreground color, press Alt or Option + Delete.
Since the layer mask is black, it’s masking out the entire layer next to it.
Next, we'll restore back areas of the copy, by brushing white in its layer mask.
To do this, open your Brush Tool and invert the foreground and background colors by pressing
"x" on your keyboard.
White should be your foreground color.
Open the Brush Picker and choose a soft, round brush.
We'll adjust the size in moment.
Its Hardness is 0% and the Opacity and Flow are both 100%.
Then, press Enter or Return.
To adjust your brush's size, make sure your CapLock key is off and press the left or right
bracket key on your keyboard.
Brush over your subject to reveal the layer copy through its layer mask.
Lastly, we'll add back the reflections on the pupils of the eyes.
that were lost when we applied the Oil Paint filter.
Make a new layer.
Notice as soon as we did, our foreground and background colors inverted because in the
last step,the Layer Mask was active.
Invert it back, so white is our foreground color.
Zoom into the eyes by pressing "z" on your keyboard to open your Zoom Tool and dragging
it across both eyes.
Open your "Elliptical Marquee Tool" and place your cursor over a pupil.
Click and hold and press Alt or Option + Shift as you drag out a circular selection approximately this size.
Fill it with white and deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D. Make a copy of the white
reflection by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J and press "v" to open your Move Tool.
Drag the copy to the other pupil and position it so it matches the location relative to the other reflection.
To fit it back onto your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd +0.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!