Photoshop Creative No. 142

Masks are one of the most-used features in Photoshop, and it’s easy to see why. Being able to edit photos without losing information offers the freedom to experiment and ultimately create original works of art. This issue’s feature shows you how to composite some of the most incredible scenes thanks to masks. Follow the guides on p18, then have a go at creating your own masterpiece. Also in this issue are step-by-step tutorials on making an abstract portrait, turning photos to sketches with filters, drawing a unique map with the Pen tool, and much more. There are also advanced guides on expert compositing and taking portrait shots further, plus a pro guide on creative advertising to help you master the tricks of the trade when it comes to dynamic designs.…

Creative brushes Apply all sorts of brushes to your projects for fun effects or gritty textures Stock images A wide variety of stock, including photos, vectors and illustrated logos Tutorial files All the assets and start photos you’ll need to follow our tutorials On the FileSilo this issue… • 3 creative packs containing 323 assets from ArtPlanet, GuerillaCraft and SparkleStock worth $47 • 290 stock photos from Go Media and Media Militia worth $45 • 82 actions from Rockshutter and SparkleStock worth $31 • 50 brushes from Media Militia • 4 illustrated logos from Aloysius Patrimonio worth $122 • 1 font from Imagine Publishing FileSilo The home of great downloads – exclusive to your favourite magazines from Imagine Publishing Secure and safe online access, from anywhere Free access for every…

There’s nothing more inspiring than surfing the internet and seeing what other artists are creating, and we encourage you to do so. Here are some of our favourite pictures that caught our attention recently, from some of the world’s most exciting artists and designers. Allan Kingsbury www.behance.net/ alscompdf53 I first made a background from Photoshop brushes and then applied a noise filter. More brushwork was applied on a layer over the background. A Flood filter to create the river was applied, then some more brushes were applied over each side of the river. Jakub Cichecki www.jakubcichecki.com I started painting basic shapes with a regular round brush over a simple pencil sketch. Then I worked out a basic colour scheme and started adding details like the simplified tree pattern. I used…

Fábio Paiva www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/fabiopdesigner Image of the issue I used several images that could be from a child’s imagination; I wanted to create another world. I used colour adjustment, brightness/contrast and filters, and I made a small blur on the background layer. Marcia Nakamoto photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/MarciaNakamoto I already had the photo of the little girl; I found a macro of the forest, then came up with the idea of creating a fairy! I used brushes, adjustments and filters to bring this composition to life. Elissandro Pinto   Elissandro This image was created for a Photoshop competition in Brazil. A lot of work was spent on correcting the colour of the water and working on the lighting. A lens flare was added to complete the piece. Ivan Paez photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/creative%20type This was created with…

Challenge entries The best entries and overall challenge winner 1 Bob Parsi Centre of Attraction I used all the elements provided. I used layer options, adjustment layers, masking, clipping and blending. The result is bright, and makes the girl the focus of the image. 2 Trevor Budd Who Am I? In this image, I used exclusively only the four images, and lots of blends modes, cutouts and layers! The idea was for the Queen chess piece to represent the girl. 3 Debbie Weinenger Checkmate I used the chess pieces and the ocean floor images. I also used the brushes and cloud image from the ‘Dramatically change the weather’ tutorial (issue 140), along with the Mezzotint filter in order to create the rain. 4 Mark Robinson Don’t Play Chess With Dragons…

The doors of LOVE flooded open in 2001, when Executive Creative Director Dave Palmer and three colleagues decided the time was right to do an agency their way. “We’d all worked together in another agency in Manchester, and decided to go it alone,” he explains. “Our ambition then was simply to tell brand stories in the most creative way. Thankfully, that philosophy remains at the heart of the agency through a combination of recruiting like-minded people and choosing to work with ambitious clients.” The company has changed and grown a lot during the last 15 years, though it’s stayed true to its Manchester roots, and Palmer has stayed true to it. “Over the years,” he says, “the various founding members have left to pursue other interests, leaving just me as…