Skin Retouching Tutorial Pt. 2 Discsusion

[DavidTO]

Discuss this tutorial here.

[hooyah]

Originally Posted by DavidTO

Discuss this tutorial here.

I got the blurring down already...but i'm still stuck with the sliding options in layer styles, takes me a while to comprehend it really. can anyone share with me their knowledge on it?

Also i'd just wish to know how to get that skin glowing a little more. That i know lies in channels and as edgework has kindly shared. Does anyone else have insights?

Kudos David for starting this!

[edgework]

Originally Posted by hooyah

I got the blurring down already...but i'm still stuck with the sliding options in layer styles, takes me a while to comprehend it really. can anyone share with me their knowledge on it?

Also i'd just wish to know how to get that skin glowing a little more. That i know lies in channels and as edgework has kindly shared. Does anyone else have insights?

Kudos David for starting this!

Are you referring to the Blend If... sliders in the Layer Styles dialogue? I don't believe those are a factor in this operation, though there's no reason why they couldn't be, if called for. I'll be discussing them in the next segment; they definitely figure in there.

The "sliding" options in the smoothing/sharpening procedure are the various opacities you choose for your different High Pass Filter layers.

[hooyah]

Originally Posted by edgework

Are you referring to the Blend If... sliders in the Layer Styles dialogue? I don't believe those are a factor in this operation, though there's no reason why they couldn't be, if called for. I'll be discussing them in the next segment; they definitely figure in there.

The "sliding" options in the smoothing/sharpening procedure are the various opacities you choose for your different High Pass Filter layers.

hey edgework, my post was a little vague, what i meant was using the blend if for restricting the effect to areas of the skin.

The second part was where i sought your advice regarding how the skin can be glowering and shiny...that i've already am trying to decipher from your very valuable post to me in the original thread...just thought if someone could help me further in understanding this.

[G_D]

You messed up a few steps in the tutorial which made it very confusing.

The part about high pass. One sentance you're saying to use "linear light", and then the next setance you're calling it "hard light", and then "linear light" again after that.

Linear light and hard light are 2 different blend modes. And hard light looks closest to what is in your screenshot.

[edgework]

Originally Posted by G_D

You messed up a few steps in the tutorial which made it very confusing.

The part about high pass. One sentance you're saying to use "linear light", and then the next setance you're calling it "hard light", and then "linear light" again after that.

Linear light and hard light are 2 different blend modes. And hard light looks closest to what is in your screenshot.

You're correct. At the bottom of page one I refer to a "hard light layer" when I should have identified it as the High-Pass Layer.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[hooyah]

Originally Posted by edgework

You're correct. At the bottom of page one I refer to a "hard light layer" when I should have identified it as the High-Pass Layer.

Thanks for pointing that out.

so which do we use edgework, hardlight or linear light, will both instances work?Which is preferred actually

[hooyah]

http://ayrusis.multiply.com/photos/album/23

check this link out, this is the shiny texture i was trying to get.. anyone got any suggestions to this secret?

[edgework]

Originally Posted by hooyah

so which do we use edgework, hardlight or linear light, will both instances work?Which is preferred actually

As I mentioned in the tutorial, Soft Light, Overlay and Hard Light have all traditionally been used with the High Pass filter, with decent sharpening results.

The benefit of using Linear Light, at 50%, is that it is the closest thing Photoshop has to a perfect Additive function. Recall that a 30 pixel Gaussian Blur topped by a 30 pixel High Pass layer in Linear Light/50% will return the image to its original state. This provides you with a measurable starting point, and a way to gauge the various High Pass settings that will emphasize different levels of detail.

The point is not just to sharpen, or, even, to sharpen at all. It's to obliterate detail so that you can selectively replace it. Linear Light at 50% gives you a predictable way of doing that. Hard Light, Overlay and Soft Light all act with less intensity than Linear Light. It's qutie possible that you might prefer to set one or more layers to those blending modes, if you find the detail is too harsh. These are choices you will arrive at through your own trial and error process, discovering what works for your own style.

The problem with this technique is that grasping the mechanics is really just the first step, and a fairly easy one. Juggling the infinite possibilities that rise out of those mechanics is the real trick and the only way to get where you want to be is to try as many variations as possible. But you might as well start with the approach I outlined in the tutorial, for no other reason than that it will give you a reference point against which to measure your variations.

[edgework]

Originally Posted by hooyah

http://ayrusis.multiply.com/photos/album/23

check this link out, this is the shiny texture i was trying to get.. anyone got any suggestions to this secret?

Yes. I'm working on a tutorial right now that should answer enough initial questions that you'll be able to work out the rest to suit your own needs.