Lynda - Digital Painting: Transforming a Portrait

Transform a portrait or family photo into a piece of art worthy of framing, in this digital painting tutorial with artist John Derry. John shares his library of custom brushstrokes and years of experience with you, and shows how to combine the powers of Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter to convert your snapshots into art. Learn to adjust the tone of the original image; paint skin, eyes, and hair; minimize the background; and add subtle vignetting. Plus, John shows you how to bundle and submit your image to online services that will print your painting on canvas.

Topics include:

Building the image nondestructively

Extending the edges of your image for gallery wraps

Removing distractions

Handling patterns

Making preliminary tonal adjustments

Blending skin

Adding lighting

Using vignetting to focus on the subjects

author John Derry

subject Design, Photography, Digital Painting, Portraits,

Projects software Painter X3, Photoshop CC

level Intermediate

duration 4h 19m

releasedAug 29, 2013

Welcome 1m 33s

Using the exercise files 35s

Installing custom content 1m 45s

1. In the Beginning...5m 37s

A short history of the portrait 1m 42s

Tools of the trade: Software 2m 38s

Tools of the trade: Hardware 1m 17s

2. Workflow Strategies13m 1s

The Photoshop PSD format: Working in Photoshop and Painter 6m 20s

Layer painting: Building up the image nondestructively 3m 44s

Getting your artwork printed 2m 57s

3. Photograph Preparation29m 39s

First step: Know your final output size 5m 30s

Extending edges for gallery wraps 8m 14s

Remove distractions 5m 20s

Preliminary tonal adjustment 10m 35s

4. The Background18m 26s

Maximize the subjects via background adjustments 7m 39s

Back-to-front progression 3m 44s

The background is not the subject 7m 3s

5. Clothing and Accessories34m 42s

Limit clothing detail 9m 9s

Handling patterns: Toning down selective detail 10m 43s

Handling patterns: Restoring selective detail 5m 46s

Jewelry is an extension of personality: More detail 9m 4s

6. Skin: Hands, Arms, Legs, and Feet22m 56s

Skin: Practice how to blend 5m 12s

Dealing with blemishes 8m 54s

Hands have personality! 8m 50s

7. The Face50m 10s

An introduction to the face 2m 8s

Painting a child's face 9m 43s

Painting a child's eyelids and eyebrows 2m 24s

Painting a child's lips 2m 57s

Painting a woman's face 8m 23s

Painting a woman's lips 6m 19s

Painting a man's face 9m 17s

Painting a man's mouth 4m 58s

Painting a man's beard 4m 1s

8. Eyes: Windows to the Soul24m 23s

Painting a child's eyes 10m 31s

Painting a child's eyes: Final touch-ups 6m 26s

Painting a woman's eyes 5m 42s

Painting a man's eyes 1m 44s

9. Hair28m 46s

Painting a child's hair 9m 56s

Painting a woman's hair 6m 51s

Detailing a woman's hair 6m 49s

Painting a man's hair 5m 10s

10. Final Details27m 3s

Final painting touch-ups: Background 9m 1s

Final touch-ups: Subjects 5m 21s

Using vignetting to focus on the subjects 2m 56s

Adding lighting to the subjects' faces 4m 23s

Final color and density adjustments 5m 22s

11. Conclusion32s

Next steps 32s