Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I’m going to show you how to create a stunning op art portrait from a photo.
I provided this black and white op art pattern design, however, feel free to use another design if you like.
Its link is in the description below the video or in my project files.
Remember to click the "Subscribe" button at the lower, right
to let you know as soon as I upload new Photoshop tutorials.
Open a focused, high resolution photo of someone you'd like to use for this project.
I downloaded this one and others from Shutterstock.
We want our subject to be on a black background.
If it isn't, we'll need to separate it from its present background by making a selection around the subject.
There are many ways to do this and your choice should depend on the characteristics of the background.
For this example, the Quick Selection Tool or the Magic Wand Tool would work great.
If you're using the Quick Selection Tool, drag it inside the subject to select it.
To remove areas outside the subject, press and hold Alt or Option as you drag over those areas.
To check the selection, press "Q" on your keyboard to see it as a quick mask.
Then, revert it back into a selection by pressing "Q" again.
Next, we'll refine its edges.
Go to Select.
If you're using a version earlier than CC 2015.5, click "Refine Edge".
If you're using CC 2015.5 or later, click "Select and Mask".
If you prefer to use Refine Edge, Shift-click "Select and Mask".
I did in-depth tutorials on both of these filters, so if you want to watch them, I provided their links, as well.
Check "Smart Radius", which detects smooth and hard edges.
Drag the radius to the right a little.
To adjust the size of your brush, make sure the CapsLock key is off
and press the right or left bracket key on your keyboard.
Drag your tool over soft or feathery edges like hair.
Check "Decontaminate Colors" to prevent color fringing around the edges of your subject.
I'll drag it all the way to the right.
Output it to a Layer Mask.
Create a new layer below it by Ctrl-clicking or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
We'll fill the empty layer with black, but before we do, check your foreground and background colors.
If they aren't black and white respectively, press "D" on your keyboard.
Since black is the foreground color, press Alt or Option + Delete.
We'll convert our visible image into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively
and allow us to replace our subject with another without having to redo the effects.
To do this, Shift-click the top layer to make it active, as well, and click the icon at the upper, right.
Click "Convert to Smart Object".
Make 3 copies of it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd +J, 3 times.
Hide the top copy and make the copy under it active.
We'll increase the size of the subject's face by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T to open our Transform Tool.
At the top, make sure the chain-link icon is active between the Transform's width and height.
This links them together.
In either field, type in 125%.
Then, click the check-mark or press Enter or Return.
Hide the layer and make the layer below it active.
Open your Transform tool and this time, type in 85%.
Hide the layer and make the layer below it active.
Open your Transform Tool and type in 110%.
Name this layer, "Normal" and make the layer above it visible.
Name it "Lighten".
Name the next layer, "Overlay" and the top layer, "Difference".
Make the Overlay layer visible and active and Shift-click the "Lighten" layer to make it active, as well.
Go to Edit, Transform and "Flip Horizontal".
The Overlay layers and Lighten layers are now flipped horizontally.
Make the top layer visible and active.
Open the Op Art design.
We'll place it into our face document by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + A to select it all
and Ctrl or Cmd + C to copy it.
Open back your face document and press Ctrl or Cmd + "v" to paste the design into it.
We'll reduce its opacity, so we can see the face under it.
Drag it to an area of the face that you'd like it centered over.
To resize it, open your Transform Tool.
If you can't see the Transform's entire bounding box, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0.
Go to a corner.
If you're using a version earlier than CC 2019, press and hold Alt or Option + Shift
as you drag it out or in.
If you’re using CC 2019 or later, just press Alt or Option as you drag it.
Zoom back in and increase its opacity back to 100%.
Open your Channel panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Channels.
Ctrl-click or Cmd-click the RGB thumbnail to make a selection of the design.
Open back the Layers panel and hide the pattern design.
Make the Difference layer active and change its blend mode to "Difference".
Click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection next to the active layer.
We'll copy the layer mask and place it onto the Overlay layer by pressing and holding
Alt or Option as you drag the layer mask onto the Overlay layer.
Make the face active and change its blend mode to "Overlay".
Make the Lighten layer active and change its blend mode to "Lighten".
Drag a copy of the layer mask onto the Lighten layer.
Make the layer mask active and invert it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + I. Drag a copy of it onto the Normal layer.
We'll add a black layer below it, which will give us the overall effect we want by reacting
with the blend modes of the layers above it.
Make a new layer below the Normal layer by making the Normal layer active
and Ctrl-clicking or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
Then, fill it with black.
Click the chain-link between the face and the layer mask of the top face layer.
This unlinks them, which allows us to change the size and position of either of them independently
of the other.
Make the layer mask active and open your Transform Tool.
Go to a corner and when you see a curved, double-arrow, rotate it a bit to offset the layer mask.
Have fun changing its look by re-arranging the layer order
and changing their blend modes.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!