Really could use help on this one - the Impossible challenge!

[D-BLOCK]

Hi all,

I just introduced myself today in the newbies forum and outlined that for fun I enjoy re-editing Movie posters with me and my friends faces on top of the actors. - I have done this to varying degrees of success but with this one particular poster has given me the impossible challenge.

(hopefully iv now attached it onto this post :redface: )

So at this stage I would normally select a photo from a friends facebook - open it in a different tab, use the polygonal laso tool to cut around head then attach it onto the body by resizing it with free Transform button.

If the skin tone is off the extent of my abilities is to either change the Hue / Saturation

OR more recently...

I learnt the trick on youtube where you can use quick mask mode and colour in the face a different colour - and I did this on my friends head to make his skin green for the Incredible Hulk.

In this particular picture none of these techniques are working at all!!

The poster image seems to have an almost canvas feel to it and has a very reddish them through the skin, hair and background.

Even if i use eye dropper tool on a part of the skin to fill in the quick mask it just doesnt seem to work to give that colour gradients and I have no idea how to start to attempt this

This is why its my biggest challenge - my impossible challenge because my capabilities (very limited) are stretched and to me this is impossible!!!

BUT...

Im hoping one of you GURU's sees this as a breeze walk in the park and can offer some advice that would be so much appreciated

Thank You

 

[$1r_M4x1mu$]

Hi D-BLOCK

This is what i think it was done here.

- Don't worry about the red coloration for now that will be the last part to get on to.

1. All the characters in this composition have been extracted, cutted out, from some other random pics
This extraction has been done by using one of many techniques to extract picture objects, some of those techniques are pointed out in this tut.
Photoshop For Beginners: 6 techniques to extract anything from its background

2. Once you got the characters extracted it's just matter of position it and transform it "size, rotation, perspective, warp, etc.
Photoshop 101: How To Use The Free Transform Tool | Design Reviver

3. Adding background, for this purpose the author has used a very basic bokeh picture

4. Added all the text on the pic by using the text tools, changed font, size, etc

5. Now for the interesting part.

Once you are finished whit the composition, here come the final retouches and fx including the red coloration.

- The important thing to remember here, is that you will always apply scene coloration and fx, mostly at the final stage of your work, cause other ways if you want to match overall color tone to each object in your work, basically is going to be a very painful and time consuming work, not mentioning the final document size, that will most likely slow down your system.

- In order to create the black_redish scene's coloration you can use a gradient map Image>Adjustments>Gradient Map, this tool will allow you add a gradient color to the scene resulting in a mixed coloration starting whit black and ending whit red, you can choose the direction of the gradient in the gradient editor window.

make sure to apply this tool, on a copy of the flattened image, and belnding mode set to overlay or multiply, depending on the scene, in this case i'll say blending mode is set to overlay whit a 60-75% opacity.

There's another technique to be considered, specially if the color to be applied to the image consist in a solid color fill, in this case you jut need to create an empty layer above your flattened image and fill it whit color, and once again, set the blending mode to overlay or multiply whit a low opacity, deppending on your taste

Also when finished whit the gradient map or color overlay as in this image, you may apply a bit of noise, Filter>Noise> Add Noise.

Posibly some levels adjustments to increase the dark or shadow spots a bit.

And last but no least i can see a considerable percentage of sharpening on the picture via Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask 100/120%

Hope this helps.

 

[D-BLOCK]

Hey Maximus,

So in Summary you think I should...

1) cut out all 12 heads from my friends photos

2) Free Transform and position over each face

3) Then apply the colour techniques you outlined which should affect all 12 faces?

(If there is 1 layer for each face = 12 layers and like you said very time consuming, would this mean for the colour effects at the later stages be best applied if I flatten the image or merge leayers somehow???)

How would I do that?

Thanks You advice is excellent and incredibly thorough - Cheers

 

[Steve]

Hi and welcome to PSG.
Try Image|Adjustments|Match Colors.
Open the background image and your friends image in PS, 2 different files.
With your friends image selected go to Image|Adjustments|Match Colors.

Where it says source, select the background image.
Use the sliders to get it close, don't shoot for perfect you won't get it with this tool, then click OK.

Then drag the image to the background as another layer.
I use mask, not quick mask or erase for this but do what ever works for you.
Then you can fine tune the face image with whatever is necessary to match the colors, Hue/Saturation, Selective Color, Color Balance, etc.

The example is over done I didn't bother trying to adjust it at all, I should have.
The Fade slider would have gotten it much closer.

 

[D-BLOCK]

Hi and welcome to PSG.
Try Image|Adjustments|Match Colors.
Open the background image and your friends image in PS, 2 different files.
With your friends image selected go to Image|Adjustments|Match Colors.

Where it says source, select the background image.
Use the sliders to get it close, don't shoot for perfect you won't get it with this tool, then click OK.

Then drag the image to the background as another layer.
I use mask, not quick mask or erase for this but do what ever works for you.
Then you can fine tune the face image with whatever is necessary to match the colors, Hue/Saturation, Selective Color, Color Balance, etc.

The example is over done I didn't bother trying to adjust it at all, I should have.
The Fade slider would have gotten it much closer.

View attachment 8486

Hey Steve again thank you so much - another excellent method of achieving the desired result. You guys have no idea what a godsend this site has been and you taking your own time out of your day to answer my problems and help me out is really so so appreciate sincerely for al lthe time it would save searching through 100's youtube videos not getting the right answer. Thank You

 

[$1r_M4x1mu$]

If there is 1 layer for each face = 12 layers and like you said very time consuming, would this mean for the colour effects at the later stages be best applied if I flatten the image or merge leayers somehow???

How would I do that?

Indeed.

- you are going to end up whit 12 layers anyway, each layer for every extracted face right, then transform it according to each size and position.

Then flatten your composition Layer>Merge Visible or Flatten Image, or you can Merge Stamp your visible layers into a flattened image version, containing all your individual visible layers
Photoshop * Merge and stamp layers

 

[Steve]

If 10 people answer your post you'll have 10 different opinions on how to achieve this.

As far as I know there's no way to batch process images with Match Colors and unless the lighting is identical on each of your friends pictures you'll have to do this process individually for each face anyway.

You'll also be making other adjustments to individual layers and when you do, use adjustment layers rather than Image|Adjustments|adjustmentname

No matter what you do it's time consuming and remember to save often.

 

[D-BLOCK]

If 10 people answer your post you'll have 10 different opinions on how to achieve this.

As far as I know there's no way to batch process images with Match Colors and unless the lighting is identical on each of your friends pictures you'll have to do this process individually for each face anyway.

You'll also be making other adjustments to individual layers and when you do, use adjustment layers rather than Image|Adjustments|adjustmentname

No matter what you do it's time consuming and remember to save often.

Hey thats great advice - just so you can see iv started off and used Image / Adjustments / Match Colours - then I played around with the sliders and got a decent match (thats actually me over George Clooney's head)

My next objective would be to firstly rotate horizontally the layer (but when I go to image / image rotation / flip horizontally - it then flips the whole image??)

Q) How do you horizontally flip just the layer so the natural dark side is on the left like the other faces?

Q)Dont Really understand what you mean by mask / quick mask and erase? :redface: Im guessing this has something to do with getting that nice white glowing effect on other side of face????

If you could walk me through that bit then I would have one perfect head and the rest would follow suit and would be a great great help.

Im quite good at the text parts and that shouldnt be a problem so once im up and running and no how to do one face for this poster perfect im confident i can do them all.

Thank you again and everyone else for their contributions

 

[Steve]

Q1 Select the face layer then Edit|Transform|Flip Horizontal
Q2 I don't use Quick Mask and I don't drop one image on top of the other and erase the area I don't want, I use a mask.
It has nothing to do with any white glow or any other effect.
It's how I like to blend 2 layers.

There are several ways to do the same thing, here's one just for an example.

After orienting and sizing the face layer put it below the background layer.
Create a mask on the top (background) layer by selecting the background layer by going to Layer|Layer Mask|Reveal All.
There are easier ways to do this don't worry about that now.

Now there's a white box next to the background layer, make sure it's selected.
Press "D" that selected the default colors of black and white. (The 2 little boxes above the quick mask symbol)
If black isn't the foreground color hit the "X" key it switches the foreground and background colors.

Select the brush tool.

Right now the entire face photo is masked.

Now with the brush tool selected, and black set as the foreground color, and the new mask layer active, paint on the mask the area you want to Un-Mask.

If you go to far press the "X" key and paint with white.

Black reveals-White conceals.

I messed around with the Jack Nicholson image and your background.
Click on the image for 100% view

 

[agentmoeller]

Hi D-BLOCK

This is what i think it was done here...

Spot-on analysis of the movie poster, Sir Max. Seriously well done.
I would think this is a relatively easy poster to add faces to, since all the faces have the same coloration. You could do them all on one layer, and adjust the hue, etc., accordingly. Hope to see the final product.



Agent

 

[D-BLOCK]

I know its been AGES! But im back.

Thanks to Steve & Maximus for their excellent advice.

I have attached the before and afters just to let you see what I came up with to include my friends.

Thanks Again

Excellent forum