Airbrushing in Photoshop/Retouching

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
September 9, 2018
2 replies
2332 views

Hi, I came across a photo (first pic) that I had a graphic designer edit for me a few years back and I want to know is this photo retouching or a digital drawing. I wish I had the before photo to post but only have the after. Can someone point me towards a tutorial where I can learn how to make my headshots look airbrushed. Thanks in advance.

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Correct answer Trevor.Dennis

Hi Chrishonda

They look like digital paintings, which are a bit too involved to cover in a forum thread, but I can get you started. I start with a photograph as a template to get the size, scale and positioning etc. right, and build up the painting layer by layer on top of it. There are lots of little tricks to streamline the process, like making the eyes.

Myself and another of this forum's regular posters worked as teaching assistants with Bert Monroy at Adobe MAX in 2016, and I still have the workshop notes from that session. If you send me your email address in a PM, I'll flick the PDF file back to you.

I did this painting of my wife after that session. This is 100% Photoshop.

Trevor.Dennis

Correct answer

Community Expert

Hi Chrishonda

They look like digital paintings, which are a bit too involved to cover in a forum thread, but I can get you started. I start with a photograph as a template to get the size, scale and positioning etc. right, and build up the painting layer by layer on top of it. There are lots of little tricks to streamline the process, like making the eyes.

Myself and another of this forum's regular posters worked as teaching assistants with Bert Monroy at Adobe MAX in 2016, and I still have the workshop notes from that session. If you send me your email address in a PM, I'll flick the PDF file back to you.

I did this painting of my wife after that session. This is 100% Photoshop.

chrissydetroitAuthor

Known Participant

Thank you. That's a very nice painting.

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

Chrishonda2016 wrote
Thank you. That's a very nice painting.

Thanks, but looking at it now, there are so many things I'd do differently, like add more highlights to the hair and more lines in the face. I was pleased with the lower half which looks almost like a photograph, and I think that is down to the texture added to the skin. That was done with one of the texture brushes in my favourite brush set Choose a slightly darker tone of the same colour, and paint the texture on a new layer clipped to the skin layer beneath it. Then reduce opacity for best effect.