Photoshop Creative No. 143

Photoshop’s filters are underestimated. While they can provide one-click fixes to improve images or add fun effects, used creatively filters can produce stunning results. Turn to p18 and see for yourself! Create a fantasy scene like the one on this issue’s cover, dramatic fire effects, a pop-art portrait or a surreal composition. Also in this issue are step-by-step tutorials on illustrating with the Pen tool, crafting a travel composition with masks, retouching old photos like never before, and much more. There are advanced guides on painting perfect portraits, creatively editing product shots and making isometric art. Plus, Elements users will learn how to build a low-poly portrait, make a miniature scene in a light bulb and more. If that isn’t enough, check out some of the incredible entries to our…

Textures Apply interesting textures to your art, from animal print to grunge effects Illustrated logos Employ a range of illustrated logos to complement your work Tutorial files All the assets and start photos you’ll need to follow our tutorials On the FileSilo this issue… • 2 creative packs containing a total of 454 assets from ArtPlanet and SparkleStock worth $39 • 369 textures from Cassandra Cappello, Go Media and Media Militia worth $93 • 8 mockups from SparkleStock worth $10 • 4 illustrated logos from Aloysius Patrimonio worth $134 • 1 font from Hanken Design Co. worth $1 • Plus all the files to follow the tutorials! FileSilo The home of great downloads – exclusive to your favourite magazines from Imagine Publishing Secure and safe online access, from anywhere Free…

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. Ahmed Karam www.behance.net/ ahmed21karam This image started off as a sketch before the low-poly triangles were added and then filled with colour. This image was created in Photoshop with a Wacom Intuos tablet. Aly Bassam www.behance.net/ AlyBassam In this picture I kept the facial figures clear in the girl and worked on giving her a meaningful depth of perspective. In addition to that, I have used a layer mask and several copies of both images with different blending modes and opacities. Katya Maleev www.katyamaleev.com I used…

Andreas Schmalz www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/A.S-Artworks Image of the issue I like the beautiful Chinese mountain region of Songshan, so I laid out some pictures of it and added fantasy elements, such as the waterfall and temple, to it. After I felt the components were right, I started adding light, shadows and colour. Joseph Xerri photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/joseph.xerri The idea behind this artwork was to create a fantasy image to promote a casino slot game. Using basic Photoshop tools and digital-painting techniques, I was able to create this artwork showing a mermaid protecting treasure. Yasser Khaddor photoshopcreative.co.uk/user/castillano I made this image by composing five images: the earth, the moon floor, the sky, the ball and the person sitting on a wall. I focused more on shadows and brightness, and finished with Gaussian blur and a…

Challenge entries The best entries and overall challenge winner 1 Abbas Albadri Random All of the start images were combined to create this random composition. The texture finds its way into the background, and the bike was stripped down and added to the foreground. 2 Bob Parsi Digital Reality I used all the elements provided as a starting point. I created this by using blending modes, blurs, effects, adjustment layers, brushes and much more. 3 Marcus Jones Jelly-Baby Mountain It seemed a good time to go mountain biking so I created a jelly-baby mountain course. I combined layer masks, Dodge & Burn, cloning, liquifying and some filters – all done using Elements 12. 4 Trevor Budd Cycle Race This image was made using just three of the photos supplied and…

Although Bratislava’s Radoxist is like many other design studios in having evolved out of one man’s freelance career, it is different in many ways. Its owner, Radoslav Žilinský, has always been very clear about the work the studio does: “We combine 3D graphics, photography and creative retouching” and are “aiming purely at visuals for advertising agencies and their clients.” He’s also not in a rush to grow the business out of all proportion. “I was never a person of great ambitions,” he says. “I always wanted to stay true to myself. So my studio grows with my personality.” And finally, the two-man core team exist in a co-working studio space in an old factory called Connect, which gives the opportunity to work with as many, or as few, freelancers as…