Hello everyone this is Chris from Spoon Graphics
back with another video tutorial for Adobe Photoshop.
Today we're going to look at creating a photo effect inspired by the loading screens and
cover artwork of the Grand Theft Auto 5 game, which feature a life-like illustration style
of the characters but with a clear digitally painted appearance.
I kind of wish I'd covered this topic back during the game's prime, but it has become
a classic effect that remains popular for creating tribute art and parodies.
The result could also be used as a foundation for creating a cartoon or comic book effect
too.
Due to the nature and theme of the game, the effect works best when combined with pictures
of gangsters, fast cars and scantily dressed ladies against the city streets.
Whereas the originals were likely painted from scratch, we'll use stock photos as the
source of the effect, which will then be transformed with the help of a cocktail of Photoshop filters.
Each filter produces an important part of the overall result, and together they replicate
the digitally illustrated look perfectly.
But before we begin, a big thank you to Envato Elements for sponsoring today's video....
So to create the GTA photo effect, begin by opening your desired source image into Adobe
Photoshop.
You can find this free image I've used linked in the description.
The first step is to right click the Background layer and convert it into a Smart Object.
This will allow all the filters to be applied non-destructively, so the settings can be
altered if necessary.
Begin with a Shadows and Highlights adjustment from under the Image > Adjustments menu.
I'm assuming this array of settings are set by default.
So simply click OK.
What this step does is brighten up the photo to bring out the details from the darker areas.
Next, go to Filter > Stylize > Oil Paint.
Configure the settings to 2 in the Stylization option and max out the cleanliness to 10.
Leave all other values at zero with no Lighting effects.
This oil paint step seriously smooths out the image, so the niggly details aren't enhanced
with the next filter, which is applied from the Filter > Filter Gallery menu.
In the Filter Gallery window, choose Poster Edges.
Configure the settings to 0 Edge Thickness, 1 Edge Intensity, then max the Posterization
to 6.
If you want more of a comic book effect with a cell-shaded appearance, you can try out
lower posterization values.
The Poster Edges filter helps add some line work to enhance the illustrated appearance.
Even though everything was smoothed out with the oil paint filter, some areas are too detailed
with unwanted texturing.
Double Click the little icon next to the smart filter in the layers panel, then drop the
opacity to around 60% so the texturing is less visible.
A great filter that helps clean up those unwanted lines is Reduce Noise from under the Filter
> Noise menu.
Max out the Strength to 10 with all other sliders at zero.
A side effect of the noise reduction is everything is now slightly blurry, so go to Filter > Sharpen
> Unsharp Mask.
Enter values of 70% Amount with a Radius of 4px, which helps bring back some definition
to the edges.
Filter > Blur > Smart Blur is another great filter that helps smooth out the unwanted
details.
Set the options to 4 Radius and 25 Threshold, with the Quality option set to Low.
One last addition that really brings the effect to life is another effect from the Filter
Gallery.
This time choose Cutout and set the values to 4, 4 and 2.
Depending on the lighting of your image, you can play around with the number of levels
to find a better array of shapes.
Once applied, change the options for this Smart Filter by double clicking the little
icon.
Set the blending mode to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 50% to enhance the shading
of the artwork.
The basic effect is complete, but adding a complementary backdrop really finishes off
the artwork.
Open up a photo of a city street, like this shot of LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA by Sean Pavone
from Shutterstock.
Follow the exact same steps to reproduce the effect on this background image.
To save some time in this tutorial, I've created a Photoshop Action which will automatically
apply the filters.
You're welcome to download it for yourself by following the link in the description.
Add a new layer and use the colour picker to choose a hue from the image to use as a
colour cast.
Use the ALT+Backspace shortcut to fill the canvas, then set this layer's blending mode
to Screen.
Reduce the opacity to fine tune the amount of colour grading.
Switch back to the original document to copy across the model.
Since we'll want to add a stroked outline later, any easy selection method isn't going
to generate nice smooth edges, so to cut out the subject from the background, the Pen tool
is going to be the way to go.
Double click the Smart Object layer's thumbnail to access the original source photograph.
Select the Pen tool and zoom in, then trace around the entire subject, staying a few pixels
towards the inside to avoid capturing any slithers of background in the clipping.
Any loose strand of hair can be excluded to keep a basic silhouette.
Click and drag to form simple bends, then if you need to navigate around a sharper corner,
give the point a click while holding the alt key to remove the bezier handles before continuing.
Once your path is complete, right click and choose Make Selection with 0 feathering.
Apply a layer mask to have the background erased around the selection.
To erase any negative space, make selections of those paths and fill the area with black
within the layer mask.
Go to File > Save to have the new source file updated within the main document with the
same filters applied.
This PSB file can then be closed.
Go to Select > All followed by Edit > Copy Merged to capture a snapshot of the artwork,
then paste it into the city scene document.
Scale it to size and move it into position.
A great little trick to easily colour match the clipped image to its new background is
using a Curves adjustment layer.
Hold the ALT key and click between the layers to clip the effect to just this layer.
By default the adjustment layer's layer mask is activated, so give the actual layer icon
a click to select it instead, then in the Properties panel, hold the ALT key and click
the AUTO button.
Choose Find Dark and Light Colors from the options, then colour pick three new hues for
the Shadows, Midtones and Highlights, choosing relevant colours from the background.
Change the blending mode of the Curves adjustment layer to Colour, then alter the opacity if
necessary to blend the subject with its new environment.
To add a Stroke, double click the subject's layer to open the Layer Styles window, then
select Stroke.
Configure the settings to Outside, then adjust the stroke amount.
I ended up with about 6-7px.
Sample the stroke colour from the darkest part of the image, rather than simply choosing
pure black.
The final result is a great recreation of the GTA 5 art style that retains the realism
of the source photograph but processes it with enough filters to give it a digitally
painted appearance.
If you enjoyed this tutorial or found the tips useful be sure to give the video a Like
and subscribe to my channel to stick around for more of my content.
Head over to my Spoon Graphics website to grab my free design resources bundle, otherwise
thank you very much for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.