Airbrush with the Mouse

This tutorial will teach you how to create a nice airbrush-effect without the help of a drawing-tablet!

Step 1

For this tutorial you can use a picture of a random person. I've chosen the cute Lacey Chabert!

Step 2

First, create a white new layer ABOVE the picture and lower the opacity a little bit. This helps working with different colors!

Step 3

Select the 1px standard brush and set the color to BLACK. Then select the Pen-Tool and draw around the hair and the face. When you made a line, press ESC to start with new anchor points. Press ESC to delete your entire line-creation. Make sure you draw nicely since these are gonna be the lines! Make sure you make every step ON A NEW LAYER!

Step 4

Do the same with the possible clothing, this time on A NEW LAYER AGAIN!!!

Step 5

BE VERY CAREFULL with the lips, because these need to be soft and not HARD and ROUGH... so SOFT.. think soft

Step 6

Eye lines and the eyebrows come next

Step 7

Then do the nose, but lower the opacity to 50%

Step 8

Create an eyeball and just duplicate it and cut off the pieces that reach the border! The eyeball should look like this below: A color with a black circle in the middle and three or two white shine-circles.

Step 9

Color some WHITE behind the eyeballs

Step 10

Then, create a new layer BELOW all the lines and choose a standard color for the skin

Step 11

Choose a bit darker color for the shadow. Also, don't mind your drawing. Just make sure where you drew is the place you need shadow!

Step 12

Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and select a nice setting, depending on the image

Step 13

Then select a brighter color for the highlights and do the same on a new layer!

Step 14

Give that layer also a Gaussian Blur!

Step 15

Then select a REALLY dark color for the real shadow.

Step 16

Blur that as well

Step 17

Draw some red/maroon blusher IF NEEDED!

Step 18

Gaussian Blur it again!

Step 19

Choose a red color for the base of the lips.

Step 20

Then add a pink color on top of it and give it a Gaussian Blur. Then add white lines to show the gloss.

Step 21

Brush some white on the place of the teeth, IF NEEDED!

Step 22

Grab a gray brush and draw teeth, maybe also lower the opacity...

Step 23

Brush the clothes in 1 color again!

Step 24 Draw with a darker color some lines where the pleats are

Step 25

DUPLICATE that layer and lower the opacity of the original

Step 26

Give the duplicate a Gaussian Blur

Step 27

Choose a little bit darker color for more and heavier pleats

Step 28

Duplicate the layer and give the original a Gaussian Blur

Step 29

Lower the opacity of the duplicate

Step 30

Give the hair 1 color also

Step 31

Select the 1px standard brush again and start drawing some ROUGH lines through the hair with a different color then the standard color

Step 32

Do the same with a little darker color

Step 33

Do the same with a very bright color

Step 34

And just play around until you got nice hair!

Step 35

And when you're done, you merge all layers and you got your Airbrushed-Human!

Click to enlarge