In this video tutorial watch as Abbey Esparza shows you how to create a digital face paint effect in Photoshop. There are many ways to do this, but this is one way I have not come across before.
In the video, Esparza creates the main bulk of the effect with only two adjustment layers: a black and white gradient adjustment layer, and a brightness and contrast adjustment layer. Then it is down to using brushes non-destructively on a layer mask. I have mentioned this before, but working non-destructively is pretty much essential to your Photoshop workflow so always try to do this.
As Esparza moves along through the tutorial she then talks about blend if, and why it is so important when creating your photo manipulations. She did not have to use it on this image, but I can vouch for the fact that blend-if is an amazing tool to use when trying to add realistic effects. Esparza is one of the best in the surreal photo manipulation image arena, and it makes me happy when she brings up techniques used by painters. Using reference images is something even the master painters did, so to have a photo manipulator advise you to do the same is a testament to her skills.
This tutorial is great for intermediate Photoshop artists who want to start having a go at more advanced Photoshop photo manipulation techniques. If you have not yet tried painting face paint onto a portrait it can be fun and lead to some amazing results. So please have a go and experiment.
