Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to quickly transform faces into simplified, but powerful, retro, WPAP-hybrid-style portrait posters.
For your convenience, if you'd like to use the same photo and typeface I'll be using
in this example, I provided their links in my video's description or project files.
Feel free to use any photo and font you like, however, if you do use another photo, make sure resolution is 150 pixels per inch
To check its resolution, go to Image and Image size.
It's width and height can be anywhere 1000 and 2000 pixels each.
As I mentioned, the resolution is 150 pixels per inch.
If you're not using this photo and the photo you are using doesn't have a white or
black background, you'll need to make the background white or black.
To do this, we first need to separate the subject from its background.
If you're using CC 2019 or earlier, I'll explain how to do this in a moment.
If your using CC 2020 or later, unlock the background and open the Properties panel.
if you don't see it, go to Window and Properties.
Click "Remove Background".
Photoshop automatically makes a layer mask of our subject thereby masking out the background.
We'll make a new layer below it by Ctrl or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
We'll fill the empty layer with white or black depending on the characteristics of your subject.
If your foreground and background colors aren't black and white respectively, press "D" on your keyboard.
If they're inverted, press "x".
To fill the empty layer with white, press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
To fill it with black, press Alt or Option + Delete.
For this example, I'll fill it with white.
In versions CC 2018 and 2019, open your Quick Selection Tool and click "Select Subject".
Photoshop makes a selection of our subject.
To check it, press "Q" on your keyboard to see it as a quick mask.
If you notice that the quick mask is missing some areas or adding areas outside your subject,
press "Q" again to revert the quick mask back into a selection and drag your tool over the areas it missed.
To remove areas outside the subject, press and hold Alt or Option as you drag over those areas.
Click the Layer mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection next to the subject.
Make a new layer below it and fill it with white or black.
We'll convert our visible image into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively
and allow us to replace the subject with another without having to redo most of the effects.
To do this, Shift-click the subject layer to make it active as well and click the icon at the upper, right.
Click "Convert to Smart Object.
Go to Filter and Gallery.
Open the Artistic folder and click "Cutout".
Make the Number of Levels: 8, the Edge Simplicity: 6, and the Edge Fidelity 1.
Let's reveal more detail in the eyes.
To do this, make a copy of the layer by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J.
Double-click "Filter Gallery" in the copy to open it
and make the Edge Simplicity: 4.
Next, we'll reveal back the simpler version while keeping the detailed eyes.
We'll make an inverted layer mask next to the copy by Alt or Option-clicking the Layer Mask icon.
This masks out the copy.
We'll reveal back the eyes of the copy by opening our Pencil Tool
and pressing "x" to invert our foreground and background colors.
We want white to be our foreground color.
Open the Pencil Picker and pick a Hard Roind point.
I'll make its size 30 pixels, but I'll show you how to adjust its size in a moment.
Make its hardness 100% and its Opacity 100%.
To adjust your pencil's size, make sure the CapsLock key is off and press the right or
left bracket key on your keyboard.
Draw over the areas of the irises and the pupils to reveal back the less simplified
copy of our subject's face.
We can see white in the layer mask where we drew over our subject.
In layer masks, white reveals and black conceals.
Click the Adjustment Layer icon and click "Color Lookup".
Click "Load 3D LUT".
LUT is an anacronym of Lookup Table" These presets are based on pre-existing filters
used in video post-production to essentially change the original set of colors
into a new set of colors to get a desired result.
I won't toggle through all of them, but you get the picture.
Feel free to apply any of them to your image.
For this image, I’ll choose "Bleach Bypass".
Open the Adjustments panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Adjustments.
Open "Single adjustments" and click "Levels".
Drag the Input Shadows level to 110 or you could just type it in.
Doing this essentially darkens the darkest tones of our image.
For this image, I’ll open the Vertical Type Tool and open the Type Picker.
Pick any font you like.
If you want to use the font I provided, after you install it, type in "ColorTube" and click it.
I'll make its size 100 points, but again, feel free to adjust the size based on the
font you choose and the number of characters in your text.
You can make its aliasing anything you want.
Click the top, flush icon, click on your document and type your text.
To reposition it, open your Move Tool and drag it.
To adjust the space between all your characters, double-click the large "T" of your text's
thumbnail to highlight your text and press and hold Alt or Option and left or right arrow key on your keyboard.
Open you Move Tool again to deselect your text.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!