How to Mold Paint Splatter to a Face in Photoshop
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In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to take splattered paint Photoshop brushes and apply them to the contours of a model’s face. This is a relatively simple technique, which yields excellent artistic results. Let’s get to it!
Final Image Preview
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Video Tutorial
Our video editor Gavin Steele has created this video tutorial to compliment this text + image tutorial.
Preparation
First thing you will need to do to create this effect is find some nice paint splatter/spray brushes. For this particular piece I used brushes from Brusheezy: 842-Splatter. You’ll also need an image to apply this to. In this case, I shot this image myself.
Step 1
Copy the background and paste it onto a new layer. Rename the new layer Subject and turn the background layer to white.
Create a new layer labeled “Extra Skin.” Then using the Clone Tool, Alt-click on other parts of the face that best match the color of skin you want to copy. I suggest using a soft brush to blur out the edges.
For this I usually just play around with the Cloning Tool until I get close to something that looks right. This may take some experimentation, as you have to pay close attention to the light source in the photograph. To see a more in-depth tutorial on the cloning tool you can visit this page on Psdtuts+.
Step 2
Once we have covered all the facial features, select the “Extra Skin” layer and the "Subject" layer, then press Command + Alt + E on to merge the layers into a new layer. Rename this layer “Faceless Subject.”
Step 3
Now we can start building our paint splatter area. Create a new layer and call it “Paint map.” Select the Brush Tool and start to paint out the area you want the paint splat to appear in. This is where your paint splatter/spray brushes will come in handy.
It doesn’t matter what color you use; here I have chosen yellow (#ffc924). It also helps to lower the opacity of this layer so that you can better line up the splats over the subject’s face.
Make sure that you only paint where you want the splatter to occur, you may have to paint/mask/erase a bunch to get a nice paint splatter. Take your time with this Step; it may be the most important one of the process.
Step 4
Once completed you will want to get rid of any layer masks by right-clicking on the “Paint map” layer and selecting Convert To Smart Object. After that, change the layer style of the “Paint Map” layer to Overlay. You should now have something that looks similar to the picture below; keep in mind that no two paint splatters will be exactly the same.
Step 5
Next create a new layer under the “Paint map” layer, and name this layer “Extra Skin 2.” With this layer selected Command-click the "Paint map" layer to select the paint splat you have created. Next click on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layers palette.
Step 6
Turn the visibility of the “Paint map” layer off. With the “Extra Skin 2″ layer selected, grab your Cloning Tool again and start copying portions of skin into the area that has no skin.
Again try to match the lighting of the photo; you are basically creating an extra skin layer that will become paint once colored. I find it helpful to turn off the Aligned option for the cloning tool in the top tool bar.
Step 7
Once you’ve created a nice splatter area made from skin, turn the visibility of your “Paint map” layer back on. You should have something that looks like the image below.
Step 8
Create a new layer above the “Extra Skin 2″ layer and name it "shadow." While holding down the Alt key, click between the “Extra Skin 2″ layer and "shadow" layer to clip it.
Step 9
Grab a big, soft brush and paint some black to amp up the shadows needed for the “Extra Skin” layer.
Step 10
Turn the opacity of the "shadow" layer down to around 75%.
Step 11
Create a new layer above the “Faceless Subject” layer and name it “Paint Background.” With the foreground color set to black, start painting some paint splats with the splatter brushes.
Step 12
All we have to do now is add a little bit of shadow to create the illusion the paint is lifted off the face. First create a new layer and name it “Shadow 2,” then Command-click on the “Paint Map” layer to select it. Making sure you are still on the “Shadow 2″ layer, fill the selection with black.
Step 13
Making sure the selection is still active, click on the Create Layer Mask button on the the bottom of the layer’s palette.
Step 14
Select the mask for the "Shadow 2" layer and invert it by pressing Command + I, or going to Image > Adjustments > Invert. This should invert the mask and hide the black area we just filled.
Step 15
Disable the link between the mask and the shadow paint by clicking on the chain between the layer icon and the mask, as shown.
Step 16
Make sure the paint portion of the “Shadow 2″ layer is selected and go to Edit > Transform > Warp.
Slightly adjust the shadow so that it peeks out from behind the paint splat. Depending on how much you want the paint to appear lifted, you can adjust it a lot or a little. Once you have the shadow right where you want it, apply the change.
Step 17
You are bound to have some unwanted shadow from the "Shadow 2" layer; to clean it up, simply paint over what you don’t want in the layer mask.
Step 18
Lower the opacity of the shadow to around 72% and you should be all set!
Conclusion
The final image is below. Enjoy applying these techniques in your own work!
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By Justin Van Genderen
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totaly cool
Getting trouble with step 5….when i select the extra skin layer and the paint layer…the add mask button cannot be used..why is that?
I’m having the same trouble. Somebody please help!! Why is it doing that?
Smth happend with eyes and lips. There are no eyes?
He ate his lips?)
i think the tutorial sucks, you leave out so many steps between 3 and 4, it made it impssible 4 me to finish
Now this, is a wonderful tutorial.
Does anyone has a good clean picture like that one used here so I can try this tutorial? Maybe with a white background…
I love it
GOOD JOB!!
how do you know this technique?
hehehe..
wow great tut cant wait to try it out…i never thought to blend and smudge the face to manipulate it :)
Dying to try this out :D
That is a perfect tutorial, not too easy , not to bad…
PERFECT and the result is pefect too
Thanx a lot !
Awesome Tut!
Thx for Share.
Awesome:-)
wow! thats really great! nice tut!
This is great! You are really talented artist… :)
Great tutorial!
… am I missing something? Wouldn’t it be considerably easier to simply create a displacement map of the face and bring the detail from the map into the splatter?
great tuts
I am just wondering if you can make a tut on how to draw a refreshing glass of water with some ice cube floatting on the surface
thx
Wouldn’t it be faster to just get a camera and splash your friend’s face with real paint? LOL
It would save about an hour’s work
I concur… a lot more fun and a lot less work to just photograph the real thing. Interesting tut though.
really creative and latest tutorial for learning more effects and tools.
thanks admin
Vidiya
Cool stuff!!
I agree about the shadows behind the ink, but I’d suggest a combination – keep the hard-edged splodges and add or blend this with a blurred version.. They kind of look like they’re part strands of hair and part ink blotches.. Really cool!!
TO GOOD BRO
A little creepy and the steps were a bit hard to follow but overall it was an OK tutorial.
it’s to guddd …
pretty cool !
help, how do you command click on a mac? I’ve tried apple click, doesn’t work.
Can someone please help? ..For some reason I cannot do step 6 (8:00mins into the video). I create a new layer under the “Paint map” layer, I then command-click the “Paint map”, add a Layer Mask, turn the visibility map off and then alt click within the extra skin layer and click to paint the skin splat and nothing happens. I’ve tried alt clicking different layers ect. and yet nothing happens. Any advice?
Do u have click on the layer thumbnail…? try this
Im havin the same problem!! i dont want to quit now either.. have you figured it out??
I have highlighted the splatters edges with Dodge Tool…now it looks like actual paint
IMO step 6 looks the most badass…
Thats a really cool effect, can’t wait to try it out :)
i like this..
Well it seems that I was the only one that had trouble with the volume. So low that I could not hear. Reading is good, but video is better.( for tuts)
The fx are nice.
Thanks for posting.
i’d definitely take the beard out along with the eyes etc.. when clone brushing. there’s too much definition.
wow, thats so amazing and osome!!!
nice article man, so amazing and god
I am in the painful process of learning Photoshop myself and I can only be amazed of what you guys can do. Hopefully I’ll get there too (in 5-10 years from now :D)
I found it easier using the patch tool to get rid of my eyes…
Patch around eyes..
Move it to my forehead
takes the same sample from forehead and patches it over the eyes.
like this……………………………………
You are my hero… I can’t believe there’s something of this value on the web that’s free… amazing! Thanks ALOT!
wow just fantastic! keep up the good work!
This is super cool
very original art
cool :)
WOW! cool
nice tutorial but step 6 doesn seem to want to work with me, when cloneing it nothing happens. Any ideas?
Nice Tutoooo Thankss!!! ;)
Seriously cool tut :) FEATURED! will be putting it up on http://designrfix.com this week. cheers!
help! once you have downloaded the paint splatter. where do you find it to actually apply it to the photo.
thanx for this great work.
Could someone offer some advice please, in step 4 when i set the paint map to overlay it seems to rest behind the subject rather then over it.
the subject i am using is a simple black object with a transparent background. Could this be the cause?
disgusting. but have to do this for photography class. sadly.
Really awesome stuff BUT its still kinda scary.
looks like cheese was splattered into his face.
kudos to you for originality.
Hola bueno yo sueño con estudiar diseño grafico me gusta mucho pero me quede en el paso 6 no puedo aser ese efecto k la pintura forme parte de la piel osea no entiendo como aserlo con el tampon de clonar alguien me puede ayudar?