In this tutorial I will be showing you how to use a variety of techniques to create a surreal sketch effect, using high resolution images, creating brushes and manipulating paths in both Illustrator and Photoshop. If you don’t have Illustrator you can still create the effect using the PSD files supplied

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop / Illustrator
Version: CS or Higher
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated: Completion Time: 2-3 Hours
Final Image Preview: Click Here

Downloads Required:
Main Image: Sara Coulson Photograph by Stephanie Aubert
Stock Images: notepaper, hand with pencil, humming bird 1, humming bird 2, humming bird 3
Fonts: king and queen, one way
Photoshop Brushes: grunge brushes, spatter brushes

Optional Downloads:
PSD File: craigabbott_tut.psd
Rainbow Curve Path for Step 25: rainbowcurve.psd (Required for those whithout Adobe Illustrator)
Square Path for Step 28: square.psd (Required for those without Adobe Illustrator)

Step 1

The source image I have chosen is from an aspiring local Photographer called Stephanie Aubert, who was kind enough to allow me to use it for the purpose of this tutorial. So please take the time to check out her website, and her work, at www.stephlewisphotography.co.uk. The model in the picture is Sara Coulson, another excellent local Photographer. You can find her, and check out her Photography at facebook.com/saracoulson.photography.

Ok lets begin. First, locate and open your source image. Ctrl-Click (Right Click) the “background” layer and choose Layer From Background to unlock the layer for editing. Rename this layer “Girl”.

Step 2

Choose the Pen Tool (P). Using a series of clicks create a work path around your subject. I zoom in and use many Work Points. The more points you have the smoother your image will appear.

Step 3

One you have completed your Work Path. Find the Paths Pallet. You can find it in the Menu Bar at the top under Window > Paths. Find the “Load Path As a Selection” button at the bottom. This will select the area around our girl.

Step 4

With the girl selected choose Select > Refine Edge from the top toolbar. This will allow us to tweak the background around our model before we delete the background, this is to maximize the crisp, clean look in your work. Tweak the settings until you are happy, and click OK. A common bad habit is to over do the feathering to compensate for the bad selection. This makes your work look blurry, so always ensure you take your time, use the pen tool and zoom in close before you get to this stage. The arrow below indicates background change. If you cant see your edges very well simply change the background.

Step 5

Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection to remove the background from behind your subject. Just to explain what we are doing here, a Layer Mask hides parts of your picture as if you have deleted it. If you delete it, its gone forever. If you use a layer mask you can simply draw it back in if you change your mind. Therefor you should always try to use Layer Masks instead of using basic tools like Delete and Erase.

Step 6

Download and open the picture of the notepaper. Select the entire image by choosing Select > All (Cmd+A / Ctrl+A) and then select Edit > Copy (Cmd+C / Ctrl+C). Paste it into our artwork image and drag it below the “Girl” layer in the Layers Panel. Name this layer “Notepaper”. With the Notepad Layer still selected we will use the Free Transform Tool to resize it. Choose Edit > Free Transform, then simply drag the corners until you reach the desired size (TIP: Hold down shift at the same time to keep the proportions constrained and stop stretching).

Step 7

Next we need to make our notepaper look a little bit more grungy. Choose Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. The paper will now be grey in colour, but still does not look very dirty.

Step 8

Before we can progress we need to install the THB Grunge Brush Set. Some operating systems will allow you to simply double click on the .abr file to install the Brush Set. If not you simply drag the .abr file into the following directory.

• On Mac:- /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Presets/Brushes
  
• On Windows:- C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\Brushes

Then follow the images below to load up the brush set.

Step 9

Create a new layer above the Notepad Layer. Choose the colour black. Then choose one of your newly installed grunge brushes, adjust the size, and make some mess on the paper. Repeat the step a few times making sure each brush stroke is on a new layer. I used the corner brushes and used the Free Transform Tool like before to rotate and flip the images to where i wanted them. To flip an image Ctrl+Click / Right-Click the image when in Free Transform Mode. Take note of the red square highlighting “Normal” as this will be changed in the next step.

Step 10

Choose the Blend Mode (highlighted in the previous step) and set it from Normal to Overlay. This will make the black become a lot less translucent and look a bit more like grubbyness than paint. After that download and install the Splatter Brushes, the same way we did with the Grunge Brushes, ready for the next step.

Step 11

Now we have the Spatter Brushes installed, create a New Layer. Pick a brush of your choice and create some spatters over the light areas of the notepaper. Change the Blend Mode from Normal to Color Burn. Call this layer Spatter Burn. Repeat this step but aim for the darker areas. Change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge this time and name the layer Spatter Dodge. You can also mess about with the opacity to make the blending more subtle.

Step 12

Next take a large soft brush and a brown colour. Create a new layer just above the notepad layer Dab the brush around the outside edges. Name this layer Grunge Brown. The Ctrl+Click / Right-Click and choose Create Clipping Mask. A clipping mask is a bit similar to the layer mask we made earlier. What it does is uses the layer directly under it to determine what is hidden and what is not. The colour we have drawn on will only show up over the note paper and not the entire background.

Set the Blend Mode to Linear Burn, and decrease the opacity until you are happy with the look.

I was still not happy with how dominant the brown was. So I selected and decreased the opacity of my Notepad Layer, to around 50%. Then selected Image > Adjustments > Levels. Change the value in the middle box to about 0.55. You can slide the middle arrow left and right until you get the look you prefer.

Step 13

Once you are happy with your background create a new layer above the Grunge Brown layer and name it White Solid. Take a large soft brush and choose the colour white. Draw a rough circle behind your subject. Try not to stray too far away from her edges the idea is to drown out the background directly behind her.

Step 14

Next create another new layer above White Solid and name it White Fade. Draw some more white spreading even further out from behind her. Try to drown out the top of the page and leave the detail at the bottom. Adjust the opacity a bit until the top is only just visible.

Step 15

Next we must make out girl into a pencil sketch. So we duplicate the layer by selecting it and dragging it onto the new layer icon, or by Cmd+J / Ctrl+J. Once the layer is duplicated choose Image > Adjustments > Desaturate to make it black and white.

Now duplicate the black and white layer to make three. This time choose Image > Adjustment > Invert. The picture will become like an old negative that was used to develop photos. Set the Blend Mode from Normal to Color Dodge.

Do not be alarmed at this point. As you will lose all the detail from your image.

Now choose Filter > Other > Minimum and set your radius to around 3.

Now choose the layer Girl Copy, hold down Shift and select Girl Copy 2 so they are both highlighted. Ctrl+Click / Right Click and select Merge Layers. Rename this layer Girl Sketch. The layer mask will vanish so be sure to create a new one by selecting the layer mask button.

Step 16

Now this is your first chance to really get creative. With the boring bits out the way you are free to decide which bits are sketch and which bits are photograph. Using the Pen Tool (P) like we did at the start remove some parts of the image. I removed her arms (leaving one glove), a leg and her torso using the vest top as a guide. The idea about a layer mask is that anything you draw in Black deletes, anything you draw in White gets un-deleted.

Then, using a brush called Rough Round Bristle I removed some of her chest making it appear jagged.

Choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and create a drop shadow on the Girl Sketch Layer.
If you find you want to make the neck shadow a bit more defined (like i did) you can add a layer between the two Girl layers and call it Neck Shadow. The simply draw in a bit of shading with a grey brush and use the Opacity function to blend it in.

Step 17

Now we will make the retro curves. To do this we need to make a whole new brush from scratch. I like to make high resolution brushes, because you can use a high resolution image scaled down, but can’t always use low resolution scaled up. We will make a new photoshop document to create our brush. Choose File > New. Set the background to Transparent, and just make it some crazy size – mine is 2000×2000.

Choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M). Draw a large, slim rectangle.

Fill the rectangle with Black using the Paint Bucket Tool. Then choose Edit > Free Transform. Ctrl Click / Right Click the selection and choose Skew. Click the right hand upright line and drag it up til the bottom and top edges are at about 45 degrees.

Now Ctrl+Click / Right Click the Thumbnail Image in the Layers Pallet.

With your rectangle selected choose Edite > Define Brush Preset. Give your new Brush a name then close down that window, we are done with this now.

Now choose Window > Brushes and find your brush. We are now going to tweek the settings of this brush so that it does all the work for us.  We will be editing the Brush Tip Shape, Shape Dynamics, Scattering and Other Dynamics. Use the image below to copy the settings for each section.

Remember to check the padlocks once you have finished to make sure your brush is saved for future use.

Step 18

Now you have got your Brush create a new layer. The layer will end up beneath the Girl Layer, but i like to create it at the very top of the list so I can see everything I’m drawing, then move it later on. Once you have created the layer, name it Retro Curves, and choose Layer > Styles > Blending Mode. Choose Gradient Overlay. Now click on the Gradient and choose one you like. The one I Chose was in a different preset called Spectrums. To find it click the small arrow highlighted within the gradient editor.

Next choose drop shadow. Change the Blend Mode from Overlay to Darker Color and change your settings to the image below.

We will also apply an Inner Shadow. Again copy the settings from the image below. Make sure you change the colour to White as this is easy to miss.

Now click OK.

Step 19

Next set your Brush to around 1000 pixels and click a couple of times to create a ribbon of colour.

Next Ctrl-Click / Right-Click the layer Retro Curve and choose Copy Layer Style. Create a new Layer, Ctrl+Click / Right Click it and choose Paste Layer Style. This will duplicate all the Gradients and Shadows we just set on the previous layer. Now use some more clicks and build your ribbon up a little more. Repeat this step a couple of times resizing your Brush smaller each time.

Now we have our ribbon we must merge the layers before we can manipulate them all as one. Select the top layer, holding down the shift key select the Retro Curve layer and all three layers should highlight.

Step 20

Now choose Edit > Free Transform. Rotate the ribbon and position it roughly where you want it. You can stretch it out to make sure it goes off both sides of the image also.

One it is in place hit Enter to confirm it. Then choose Edit > Transform > Warp. Drag the web around using the edges to warp your curve into a shape you want.

Step 21

I decided my curve was a bit too bright so I used Image > Adjustment > Brightness and Contrast and just lowered the brightess a touch. Drag  the Retro Curve Layer under the Girl Layer.

Step 22

Ctrl-Click / Right Click the Thumbnail Image of the Retro Curve Layer and choose Select Pixels, like we did with the Black Rectangle earlier. This should select the entire ribbon. Now choose the layer mask on your Girl Layer. Set your background colour to black (TIP: hit D to default your colours to black and white, then hit X to swap the forground/background colours) and hit delete. This should remove the area of her leg blocking the curves giving the appearance of it passing between her legs.

Step 23

Now the ribbon is just about finished. The only problem is a Tutu is usually translucent. Meaning some light passes through it but it is not totally transparent. So to do this duplicate the Retro Curve layer and call it Retro Translucent. Drag it above the Girl Sketch Layer.

This looks like its just undone all the hard work we have just done but dont worry! Simply Ctrl-Click / Right Click the Layer and make it a Clipping Mask. Now change the Opacity to around 25%.

Now you should have a faint trace of where the curve should be passing under the Tutu. The only problem is it has hit her leg also. So create a Layer Mask and simply erase the parts hitting her leg using a white brush. Leaving it to show through the sides of the Tutu.

Step 24

Next download the image of the guy holding the pencil and open it in Photoshop. Use the Pen Tool (P) to cut out the hand just like in the previous steps. Be sure to cut around the shadow also as we need to keep this to maintain the effect. Then paste it into the Artwork by Ctrl-Click / Right Click on the layer and choosing Duplicate Layer. When given the option choose your Artworks file name from the drop down list. Return to your Artwork, name the layer Hand Pencil, Then use the Free Transform Tool to shrink it to a size you want.

Step 25

Now we will create some cool effect using Adobe Illustrator. If you do not have Illustrator do not panic just download the PSD files Square and Curve. Here I have supplied the images so you can simply copy and paste it.

Download: rainbowcurve.psd
Download: square.psd

To use them simply open the PSD file in Photoshop. Choose Window > Paths from the toolbar menu. Click on the path in the pallet then choose Edit Copy. Return to your Artwork and choose Edit > Paste then follow the tutorial as normal.

Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new Print Document that is 1500×1000 pixels. Choose the Pen Tool (P) and click a point near the middle left, click down the bottom and hold the mouse in to curve the line.

Choose a different tool (any will do its just to deselect the anchor point) then choose the Pen Tool (P) again. Now draw another curve, keep the left hand edge closer together than the right.

Next choose the Blend Tool (W). Select one line the select the next and a third line will appear between the two.

Next double click the Blend Tool Icon that is already selected in the Tool Pallet. Choose Specified Steps and enter 50. You will then see it create a mass of lines in between the two we have drawn.

Once you are happy with your shape. Choose Select > All to highlight everything then choose Edit > Copy.

Step 26

Return to our Artwork in Photoshop. Create a new layer and choose Edit > Paste. When you are prompted select As Path.

Most likely it will end up far bigger than we want so choose Edit > Free Transform and shrink it down to size and move it into position with the Path Selection Tool (A).

Now choose the Brush Tool B and select a 1px hard brush.

Choose the Pen Tool (P) once more, choose a bright colour (I chose Green) and Ctrl-Click / Right-Click anywhere on your picture. Select Stroke Path from the drop down menu and make sure the Simulate Pen Pressure is unchecked.

This will draw the path in with the brush we have selected. Hit delete to remove the work path.

Name this Layer Retro Rainbow and create a Layer Mask on it. We will now go about removing it from her face. Just like we did with the curves and the leg, simply erase the lines from over her face and glove but NOT Her elbow. This will give the effect that the lines come up and over her shoulder.

Step 27

Now this bright green curve is not exactly looking brilliant right now. So, like we did earlier with the other curves we are going to give it a spectrum gradient. Choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and select Gradient Overlay like we did before and choose a spectrum colour. I just chose the same one as earlier to avoid too much colour variation.

Change the Opacity to around 30%. Select the layer mask again and choose a large, round, soft brush. The idea here it to delete the bottom of the rainbow out making it look like it gradually fades out.

Step 28

Next we will make some squares. Return to Illustrator and create a new Print Document like we did before. Choose the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a square by holding down the Shift key to constrain the proportions.

Now draw a second square inside the first one.

Again the same as before choose the Blend Tool (W) and Click both of the rectangles to make that third line appear in between. Double click the Blend Icon and again choose Specified steps and enter a number. I chose 13, you can use whatever you think looks best.

Choose Select > All. Then choose Edit > Copy and return to Photoshop.

Step 29

Back in Photoshop create a new layer, name it Square 1 and choose Edit > Paste. Resize and rotate the square path using the Free Transform Tool and follow the previous steps for the Stroke Path and the Gradient Overlay.

Repeat this step for a couple of more squares. I found that just shrinking the same square did not have as good an effect as returning to Illustrator and changing the specified steps to less than 13. Name your layers accordingly Square 1, Square 2 etc. Then drag the layers to below the Retro Curve Layer.

Step 30

Now we will add our Humming Birds. Download Humming Bird 1. Use the Pen Tool (P) and a Layer Mask to remove the background from behind the subject.

Next duplicate the layer to your Artwork like we did with the Hand Pencil earlier, and resize it using the Free Transform Tool. Name the Layer Hum Bird 1.

Drag the Hum Bird 1 Layer beneath the Girl Layer and Position it so just the head is visible.

Now we make it a sketch just like we did with the Girl earlier (Step 15). Duplicate the Layer, Desaturate the copy. Duplicate it again and Invert it. Switch the Blend Mode to Color Dodge. Choose Filter > Other > Minimum. Set the value to 2 then merge the two Layers together. Name this Layer Hum Bird 1 Sketch.

Darken the layer down a bit by choosing Image > Adjustment > Levels. Set the centre value to about 0.53.

Ok thats the easy Bird done. The next two are a little bit more complicated. But it is nothing we havn’t done before. We will use the same techniques as the Girl Sketch Layer on each of the other two birds.

Step 31

Download Humming Bird 2. Open it in Photoshop and remove the background just like we have been doing with the other subjects. Duplicate the Layer into our Artwork and name it Hum Bird 2. Drag the Layer to the very top so it is on top of the hand. Resize and rotate it using the Free Transform Tool until you are happy with its position.

Again follow the steps to make it into a sketch and name the Merged Layer Hum Bird 2 Sketch.

Now, create a Layer Mask on Hum Bird Sketch 2. Like we did with the girls neck earlier (Step 16), use a large raggy brush and remove some of the sketch layer so the coloured humming bird shows through from the lower layer. Again I used Rough Round Bristle 100.

Now, there is not really much definition between the black and white and the colour. So click Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. Apply a drop shadow and a stroke to the Hum Bird 2 Sketch Layer.

If there is too much black from the stroke on the coloured humming bird just tidy it up with a smaller harder brush in the layer mask. It is because using a rough brush like Rough Round Bristle does not always entirely erase everything 100%. So sometimes there is something there the eye cant quite see but the stroke picks up on it.

Step 32

Ok the final humming bird. Im sure you notice the steps are getting less detailed, this is simply because it is stuff we have already covered. I don’t want to seem patronizing, or waste my time covering steps in detail that we have already covered earlier in the tutorial.

So… Download Humming Bird 3. Again open it in photoshop and remove the background using the Pen Tool (P). Duplicate it into your Artwork, Name the Layer Hum Bird 3 and drag the layer beneath the Girl Layer. Resize and Rotate it using the Free Transform Tool and position it somewhere so the beak is just going behind the girls head.

Turn the bird into a sketch again like before, apply the layer mask again on the merged layer and remove some of the sketched area. I left the head exposed as that is where all the vibrant colours are. Again apply our Drop Shadow and Stroke to the layer. We can do this quickly by Ctrl-Click / Right-Click on the layer Hum Bird 2 Sketch and choosing Copy Layer Style. Then Ctrl+Click / Right-Click Hum Bird 3 Sketch and choose Paste Layer Style.

Step 33

I kept looking at humming bird 3 and just thinking it didnt look right. So i decided to add a second wing. Duplicate the Hum Bird 3 Layer. Name it Wing. Choose the Pen Tool (P) and draw a path from the base of the wing around the body of the bird.

Once you have drawn your path click the Load Path As a Selection button again like in Step 2. Make sure you have your layer mask selected and delete the body of the bird so just the wing is left. You might not notice it has gone as the wing is still in place at the moment, so drag your wing clear of the body to make sure you have got it all.

Click Edit > Free Transform. Then Ctrl-Click / Right-Click your selection and choose Flip Horizontal.

Now, if we try and place this behind our subject now, the wing is going to lay over the top of it. So drag the layer Wing below the layer Hum Bird 3. Then position the wing behind the subject, do not resize it, but rotate it if you like.

Step 34

We are now going to tweak the Girl Sketch Layer so it is more in sync with the Humming Birds. I feel the sketch of the girl is not dark enough.

Choose the Girl Sketch Layer. Select Image > Adjustments > Levels and just fine tune the centre so it is more in sync with that second humming bird.

Step 35

Now we will add our font. Choose the Layer Hum Bird Sketch 2, as this is the highest layer and we want our text at the top. I used a font called the King & Queen font which I got off www.dafont.com. Choose the Text Tool (T). Im going to type the name of the Model as I think of this image as a Portrait. Choose a gray colour (I used #898989) and type your text.

Now, duplicate the text layer. Then copy the Layer Style from the Retro Rainbow Layer and Paste it onto the Duplicated Text layer. We now have a spectrum/rainbow version of our text.

Next, choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Mode. Choose Bevel & Emboss.

It looks a bit ‘too much’ at the moment, but once we hack it up with the Rough Round Bristle Brush again it should get us a better effect.

So, create a Layer Mask on the Duplicated Text Layer and use a rough brush like in the previous steps to remove bits of the colour.

Step 36

Choose the Text Tool (T) again. Sign your work. I used the font called One Way which I got from www.getfreefonts.info.

Choose Black as your colour and type your name or website or whatever you are using to sign the image. I tried to aim for the lines on the notepaper to make it look more hand written.

I wrote Craig Abbott on one line, then created a new text layer to write .co.uk as simply pressing return ment the .co.uk did not hit the line on the notepaper.

Step 37

Now we will simply do a brightness tweak to the entire image and we are finished.

Choose the very top layer, in my case its my .co.uk Text Layer. Then choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness and Contrast.

Click OK

Adjust the Brightness to around -30 this should make all the sketch a lot more detailed.

And that is it… Click below to see our final image.

Thank you for taking the time to view my work. Please leave your comments and suggestions. I love to read your feedback.

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Tags: adobe, dazzling, effects, girl, hot, image, lighting, manipulate, photoshop, sketch, surreal, text, tutorial