One of the most common mistakes people who are new to Adobe Photoshop make, is to just apply 1 filter (sometimes 2 if they are really adventurous) and think they have achieved something really great. Sadly in reality it just looks like you applied 1 filter (or 2) and most people who have been using photoshop for a while can spot it.
Hopefully from this tutorial you will learn some interesting ways to combine filters and be able to pull off some better image manipulations. You may even learn some new filters if you are newer to photoshop and some helpful tricks.
If you would like to follow along with this tutorial using my mask image then click here to download it. Be patient as it opens (it's 205KB) in another window. Once it is open, right-click on the image and select "Save Image As..." to save it to your computer.
I suggest you read through the entire tutorial before you begin...
Image 1:
Duplicate the mask layer and apply the chrome filter.
Filter >> Sketch >> Chrome (I just used the default settings for this.)
Image 2:
Drop the opacity on the chrome layer down to about 45%. It can be dropped as little or as much as you like. I wanted the base colour to come through while keeping a good amount of the chrome detail.
Merge the layers together.
Image 3:
Duplicate the mask layer and change the mode of the top layer to Overlay.
You can scroll through all of them to see the different effects each one has on the overall image. There are a few others that would make nice blends.
Merge the layers again.
Image 4:
Play around with the Hue and Saturation to see what variations you can get.
Image >> Adjustments >> Hue/Saturation...
There are heaps of possibilities here, from gold and silver, right through to glass.
Image 5:
Fine tune the colours with the Colour Balance.
Image >> Adjustments >> Colour Balance...
I got a nice bluish-purple. Again play with the sliders to see what you can come up with.
Image 6:
I adjusted the Levels slightly to push the darks back and to bring out a bit more detail in the chrome pattern.
Image >> Adjustments >> Levels...
I also used the Dodge Tool with a soft brush in certain areas to bring out the highlights a bit more. This had the added advantage of slightly altering the colour and saturation of the blue giving the mask an icy translucent look.
Image 7:
I wanted to bring in a basic background for the mask, one that would either compliment or be part of the main image of the mask. I thought I would try to make the background merge with the mask. I duplicated the layer again, and applied a Polar Co-ordinates filter.
Filter >> Distort >> Polar Co-ordinates Polar to Rectangle settings, You will have to hide the top layer to see the effect.
I erased around the mask in the top layer to show the filter effect of the lower layer.
Image 8:
To break up the symmetry of the Polar filter, I rotated the layer 90 degrees.
Edit >> Transform >> Rotate 90 CCW
Image 9:
For the eyes, I created a new layer and used white with a soft round brush to shade them in.
I then put an Outer Glow effect on it.
You can use any settings you like to get the desired effect. My settings were Spread 3%, Size 80%, and the Range at 100%, and with a bluish colour to match the rest of the image.
Image 10:
Next I thought I would give his eyes a bit of cold mist coming off them. Create a new layer, called something like "eye mist". I drew a few rough lines with a small hard brush over one eye. You don't have to be tidy at all with these, and they should be totally random.
Image 11:
I applied a Wave filter to the "eye mist" layer.
Filter >> Distort >> Wave
Again, play with the settings to see what you can come up with.
Image 12:
To make it a bit more random, I duplicated the mist layer a few times and applied the Wave filter a few more times to these layers.
I also applied a Gaussian Blur to a few of the layers too.
Image 13:
I then changed the opacity of each mist layer in varied steps, for example, One layer at 80%, the next layer at 60% and so on.
I then merged the mist layers together, duplicated and then flipped horizontal, and moved into position over the other eye.
Image 14:
I added a few star effects to it. I created a custom brush for these.
To create the custom brush star brush...
Create a new psd at 300 dpi with a white background. (the dimensions I used was 200 x 200 pixels).
Next create a shape like the one shown above. (Create one tapered black line, duplicate and rotate 90 degrees, to form a cross. Merge the 2 layers and duplicate. Rotate this new layer 45 degrees using free transform, and scale down at the same time. Finally on a new layer use a large soft brush to create the center glow).
Now take the Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a selection around the star pattern.
Finally, in the Edit menu, near the bottom, is the Create Custom Brush option.
Image 15:
This step, like the stars was just another add-on at the end. I worked on half the face, using a grid line at the middle point, so I can duplicate the layer and flip and match the two together to get a perfect symmetrical design.
Create a new layer
I first select a hard brush with a reasonable size, (about 3 for this image). Then using the pen tool I draw out my design. You can vary the width of the brush as you stroke the lines, as I have done with this one.
Image 16:
As before I duplicate the layer and then flip horizontal and match together. Merge the layers together.
Image 17:
Now make a selection of the pattern design layer.
Select >> Load Selection
This makes a selection around the design. Turn off the visibility of the design layer and right click on the mask layer.
Go down to Layer Via Copy
This will create a new layer with the shape of the design layer filled in with the pattern of the mask.
Apply a Pillow Emboss
Layer >> Layer Style >> Bevel and Emboss (select pillow emboss from the drop down menu)
Play around with settings until you achieve something that looks good.
Image 18:
It's a little hard to see on the image above, due to the picture being scaled down to fit on the web page BUT what I did here was adjusted the colour of the design layer. It's a little easier to see the difference on the more purple chin design area. You can do this using Hue/Saturation or Colour Balance (moving the magenta slider).
Finally
I erased the ends of the design, which came to a hard point at the ends, using a soft eraser brush.
That concludes this ice mask tutorial!
I hope you enjoyed it and maybe picked up a new trick or two. Remember that experimenting is the key.
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