digitally collage a camouflage paper jacket

8/9/2019 Digitally Collage a Camouflage Paper Jacket

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DIGITALLY COLLAGE A CAMOUFLAGEPAPER JACKET

Tutorial from

http://psd.tutsplus.com/

Compiled by
http://psd.tutsplus.com/http://psd.tutsplus.com/http://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://psd.tutsplus.com/http://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://psd.tutsplus.com/


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INTRODUCTION

This tutorial demonstrates how to control the placement of patterns to blend an image into thebackground, as camouflage. It also shows how to make that same pattern pop out and mold intorealistic texture in other areas of the design. Let's take a look at a workflow to achieve this

effect.

Recently, I wrote an article onRepeating Shapes and Patterns. This article shows some uses ofpatterns in design and illustration. The section on Camouflage Techniques discusses theblending of the foreground and the background of an image by using patterns. The article alsoshows some artwork that influenced this design.

This tutorial uses vector masks and the Burn Tool to achieve many of the effects presented. Ifyou're not familiar with these tools, you will be by the end of this tutorial. It shouldn't take youmuch longer than an hour to complete, even if you're a novice. Let's get to it!

Step 1:

Download the two photos we'll be using for this tutorial:modelandtorn paper. I downloadedthe medium size. Now create a document 1132px by 1696px (these are the same dimensions asour model pic).
http://psdtuts.com/articles/6-techniques-to-compose-your-work-using-repeating-shapes-and-flexible-patterns/http://psdtuts.com/articles/6-techniques-to-compose-your-work-using-repeating-shapes-and-flexible-patterns/http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=5344254http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=5344254http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=5344254http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=4997465http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=4997465http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=4997465http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=4997465http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=5344254http://psdtuts.com/articles/6-techniques-to-compose-your-work-using-repeating-shapes-and-flexible-patterns/


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Step 2:

Place our texture background in the back and turn its visibility off for now. Also, place a copy ofour model photo behind and hide it as well, as we will be using a destructive editing technique,so it's good to keep a copy. We're going to use techniques found in thisvideoto extract themodel from the background.

Select the "model layer" in the Layers palette. Then go to Filter > Extract. Grab the HighlighterTool and outline the hair with an 80px Brush Size. Outline the rest of the model with a 10pxBrush Size, zoom in when necessary. Then grab the Fill tool and Click inside the image. Then hitOK. The result is the last in the series below.

Tip: We use the Extract Filter because it gives us professional results quickly. After applyingthe extract, use the History Brush Tool if you need to clean up the extraction.
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Step 3:

Turn the "texture" layer's visibility back on, and the background is now replaced. Notice howthis texture isn't quite long enough to fill the entire background. The lower left and rightcorners are not filled. We'll need to account for this in later stages of the design process.


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Step 4

Now let's start building our Camouflage Collage Jacket. We're going to break it into six parts.This will give us some flexibility. You could choose to break it up into more or fewer parts. Ichose to use vector masks. This was chosen because we're using a collage style. The vectormasks give hard-edged cuts. It fits the style of what we are looking for. We will work from backto front. Let's start with the left side.

Copy the "texture" layer. Then position it behind the left side of the jacket. Make sure this layeris selected. Then grab the Pen Tool (P). Make sure that Paths are selected. The Paths button islocated in the top left-hand corner of Photoshop's interface. Start drawing the shape of the leftside of the jacket. Keep in mind what will go in front of this layer. This will help with decidingthe path. Also, overshoot the original jacket a little, as you don't want the original tan jacket toshow in the final design.

Once you've drawn the mask, Ctrl-click and select Create Vector Mask. Then name the layer"left_side." Position the new layer in front of the model. Then add to the mask. Make sure theVector Mask Thumbnail is selected. Then draw in the small patch at the bottom of the design,as shown in the last image below.

Be careful of which area you choose to use from the background, as some areas of the textureimage are blurry. Those areas wouldn't be the best to put into the jacket. Notice how wechanged the jacket path to be a bit larger in the left-hand corner. This hides that area wherethe background ended.


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Step 5:

Now we will draw the left arm. Make another copy of the "texture" layer. Then position itbehind the left side of the jacket. Again, draw a Vector Layer Mask, using the same process asin the previous step. Once you've completed, name the layer "left_arm," and move it to thefront.

Tip: you may want to turn the Visibility of the "left_side" layer on and off while drawing thispath. Ultimately, the "left_arm" layer should slightly overlap the "left_side" layer. Also, noticehow we placed the texture in a different position than when we created the first mask. This

further separates these two areas. If you prefer this to look flatter here then mask the texturein the same position as the "left_side" layer.

Step 6

Let's draw the left jacket lapel next. Make another copy of the "texture" layer. Then position itbehind the left side of the jacket lapel. Again, draw a Vector Layer Mask, using the sameprocess. Once completed name the layer "left_lapel," and move it to the front. There are threepieces that make up the left lapel mask. The progressive process of making this mask is shownbelow.


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Step 7

Repeat this process of creating Vector Masks for each piece of the right side of the jacket.Name the right pieces "right_side," "right_arm," and "right_lapel." Then position your texturesthe way you want them to look in the final design. On the right side, be sure to account forwhere the texture ends, and make the "right_side," layer cover up the missing texture spot.

You can unlink the mask from a layer in the Layers Palette. There is a little chain link icon thatcan be toggled on and off. When toggled off you can reposition the texture of the layer withoutmoving the mask. You want to do any repositioning now, as we'll be using the Burn Tool in thenext step. This tool works directly with pixels, and therefore is irreversible. I also repositionedthe background a little.

You may also want to save a copy of the document at this point as well, in case you want toreturn to this stage of the design. To do that, go to File > Save As, and in the dialogue boxcheck As a Copy. I named my copy "flat_masks".


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Step 8:

Now we want to decide which areas of our image to give volume to and which areas to keepflat. We want the camouflage to be strong in parts of the image. The strategy for this design isto have some parts look like an actual jacket, and others blend into the background as flattexture. This confusion of foreground and background adds interest to the image. We want agood mix of the two. The lapels will be the focal point. We'll give them a full shadingtreatment.

We will predominantly use the Burn Tool (O) to brush in our shading. Once that tool is selected,choose a soft brush with a size between 40px and 80px. You can tap the left and right brackets([ ] )on your keyboard to quickly increase or decrease the brush size. The options for this toolare located in the top left-hand corner of Photoshop's Interface. Focus on the Range of Midtonesmostly here, but if you want to make the Shadows or Highlights darker you could choose thoseRanges as well. I also left the exposure at 50 percent. Keep in mind if you overdo it, you cangrab the Dodge Tool, and lighten the image again.

Now Burn areas of the lapel with the Burn Tool. Focus on the outer edges. Turn off the textureand look at the original jacket. Take clues from the shading done to the original jacket, thoughfeel free to differ when it makes sense. For the most part, significantly darken the inner edgeof the lapel. Then darken the outer edge a little bit to create a curvature on the lapel.

The images below show the right lapel being created. Notice how we start with shading theinner shadow on the lapel. Then we move on to add some shading to the outer edge of thelapel. Overall a larger brush can be used on the inside. Then drop the brush size down a bit for


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the outside edge. The last image shows how the Burn Tool adds shading to the lapels. They nowappear curved and are no longer flat.


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Step 9:

Now we will burn the "left_side," and "right_side," layers to add some emphasis to the lapels.We will also add shading in the sides. We're going to let the left side blend into the background,but shade the right side more. The arrows in the images below show the areas shaded the most.The final image in the set below shows our results so far.


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Step 10:

Let's give the sleeves some volume. We'll be using the Burn Tool on the "left_arm," and"right_arm," layers. The arrows below indicate where most of the shading was placed.


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CONCLUSION

Now that we have composed the image, go in and make any final adjustments. There is greatvariation that can be achieved with this type of design. It depends on how much volume youwant areas to have, or if you want some areas to appear more flat. Consider using this kind of

collage-style camouflage technique in one of your own designs. The final image is below.

Compiled by
http://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://www.mininova.org/user/coldbinghttp://www.mininova.org/user/coldbing

digitally collage a camouflage paper jacket

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