How To Create A Painted Pet

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PHOTO EFFECTS
How to Create a Painted

Pet Portrait Effect in
Adobe Photoshop
by Kirk Nelson
61
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23 Jan 2015
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11 Comments
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What You'll Be Creating
Pet portraits are are great way to add a creative flair to a snapshot of your beloved
fur-covered companion. Crafting a hand-painted portrait may seem intimidating and
the type of project only an accomplished artist should attempt. But Photoshop's
smudge brush makes the process so easy that even a beginner can achieve
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stunning results. In this tutorial I will walk you through the process of touching up a
photo to be fit for a pet portrait, and then show you how to use transform it into a
hand-painted masterpiece. It's easy and it's fun!
This tutorial is one part of a larger set of instructions for the course:Creative Photo
Effects in Adobe Photoshop.
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1. Prepare the Photo

Just transforming any photo into a painted portrait will often produce merely
mediocre results. This is because photos frequently contain the natural chaos of the
real world, whereas painted imagery usually depicts an idealized version of reality.
This separation between realism and idealism is subtle but important. Paintings are
intentionaleach stroke of paint is placed for a reason. Photos capture how the
world truly appears, whether it is picturesque or not.
The best results from any photo to painting process must take this into account.
Then the starting photo almost always requires a bit of editing before beginning the
painting process.
Step 1
Begin by using the Download Attachment link to retrieve the starter image,
animals-3.jpg. Open the file in Photoshop and notice that there are a number of
things about it that don't fit an idealized, painted version of this puppy. The straps
hanging down into frame, and even the chair leg draw attention away from the
focus.
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Step 2.
Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to create a rough selection around the chair leg.
Then go to Edit > Fill and set the Contents to Content-Aware.
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Hit OK and Photoshop fills in the selected pixels with new pixels derived from the
background to remove the chair from the image!
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Use the same process to remove the straps from the top of the photo as well. When
finished, be sure to cancel any selection with Select > Deselect (Control -D).
Step 3
Use the Spot Healing Brush Tool (J) to remove smaller blemishes and spots that
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could be distracting if smudged. In the case of our photo, there are a few spots on
the nose that can be cleaned up.
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Step 4
Add a new layer called Eye Black and use the Brush Tool (B) to softly darken the
outsides of the eyeballs. It may appear disconcerting now, but the final result will be
worth it.
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Step 5
Use the Pen Tool (P) to draw out a crescent shape for one iris. Use a soft brown
color for the fill ( #c07c3e ). The shape ultimately will be softened in the smudging
process, so don't be overly worried about getting the shape perfectly correct.
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Step 6
We will use a combination of Layer Styles to give the iris shape a more natural
appearance. Double-click the Eye Shape layer and add the following style settings.
Add a Inner Shadow style with these settings:
Use Global Light is unchecked
Angle: -79
Size: 10 pixels
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Add an Inner Glow style with these settings:

Opacity: 53%
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Source: Center
Choke: 15%
Size: 8 pixels
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Add a Pattern Overlay style with these settings:

Blend Mode: Luminosity
Opacity: 48%
Pattern: Streaks
Scale: 65%
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Then finally add a Drop Shadow layer style with these settings:
Blend Mode: Screen
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Color: #d79356
Uncheck Use Global Light
Angle: -119
Distance: 4 pixels
Size: 4 pixels
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The final result should be an iris that looks considerably more lifelike.
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Step 7
Use the Move Tool (V) and hold down the Alt key to drag a copy of the iris shape to
other eye.
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Step 8
Paintings usually contain more saturated colors than photos. Go toLayer > New
Adjustment Layer > Vibrance. Set the Vibrance to +88 to give the photo deeper
color saturation.
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Step 9
The nose could use some additional pink hue. Go toLayer > New Adjustment
Layer > Hue/Saturation. Check the Colorize box and use these settings:
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Hue: 359
Saturation: 33
Lightness: -13
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Step 10
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Click on the mask thumbnail for the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to target it.
Then go to Edit > Fill and choose Black for the Content to fill the mask with black
and hide the colorization effect.
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Step 11
Grab the Brush Tool (B) and double-click the Foreground Color Chip. Set the
color to White. Right-click to get the Context Brush Panel. Select the Soft Round
brush preset, and set the brush Size to 40 px and the Hardness to 50%.
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Now use the brush to paint the colorization effect back onto the dog's nose. Be sure
you are still targeting the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer's Layer Mask. The
reduce the Opacity of the adjustment layer to 68%.
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Step 12
Now let's enhance the blue color of the carpet. Add anotherHue/Saturation
adjustment layer. Change the Color Channel drop-down menu to Blues and make
the following settings:
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Hue: -29
Saturation: +60
Lightness: +21
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Step 13
Select all the layers by going to Select > All Layers (Alt-Control-A) and convert
them all into a smart object by going to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to
Smart Objects. Rename the layer to Pet Portrait Retouch.
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Step 14
The smudging process works best if the finer details are removed from the image
first. Go to Filter > Blur > Smart Blur and use these settings.
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Radius: 2.0
Threshold: 50.0
Quality: High
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Step 15
Go to Filter > Liquify and use the Bloat Tool. Size the brush to be just slightly
larger than the dog's eye and just click a few times to gently increase the size of the
eyeball. Do this for both eyes.
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Step 16
The nose looks slightly lopsided at the moment. While still in theLiquify window,
use the Forward Warp Tool (W) to adjust the nose shape and make the crease of
the nose more vertical.
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2. Smudge Basics
Now that photo is touched up and ready to be transformed into a painting, we need
to setup the Smudge Tool to properly smudge the pixels. There's an interesting
quirk about the smudge brush in that it tends to ignore low transparency settings on
layers. Some see this as a bug, but we will exploit it as a feature to assist in
creating the painting effect.
Step 1
Reduce the photo layer Opacity to 15%. This should make it barely visible. Then
add a new layer over the photo named Basic Smudge.
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Step 2
Select the Smudge Tool. If you don't see it, hold down the mouse button on the
Blur Tool until you get the tool flyout, and select theSmudge Tool from there. In
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the Options Bar, open the Brush Selection flyout and click on the gear icon near
the top right. Select the M Brushes from the list.
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When prompted, choose to Append the brushes to your list or brush presets.
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Step 3
In the Brush Preset panel, scroll down to near the bottom of the list where the new
brushes were added. Select the Soft Oil Pastel brush and set the Size to 36 px.
Then in the Brush panel, engage the Shape Dynamics and make the following
settings.
Size Jitter Control: Pen Pressure (if you are using a pressure sensitive
graphics tablet; otherwise ignore this setting)
Angle Jitter Control: Initial Direction
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Engage the Transfer property and make the following settings.

Strength Jitter Control: Pen Pressure (if you are using a pressure sensitive
graphics tablet; otherwise ignore this setting)
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Step 4
Here's the real magic of this technique. Using the Smudge Tool with the Sample
All Layers option engaged means that the tool will pull the pixel information from
the underlying layer, even though that layer is nearly invisible. The tool disregards
the opacity setting and "sees" it as fully opaque.
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So brushing along the image will produce smudge brush strokes that pull the pixel
colors from the photo, without actually painting on the photo!
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colors from the photo, without actually painting on the photo!
So follow along the natural flow of the fur to capture the main features of the dog.
Be attentive to the natural contours and don't brush against them.
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Step 5
Add a new layer called Background Smudge just over the photo layer. This will be
the layer for painting all the non-focal areas of the painting.
The only difference in painting the background area is the brush size. It should be
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considerably larger to produce paint strokes that contain less detail. I suggest a
Size somewhere between 200 px and 250 px.
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Step 6
Continue the smudge painting for the background elements. Along the edges of the
main brush strokes, be careful to brush in towards the edge, not away, or you can
inadvertently smudge the original strokes out further.
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3. Detailed Smudge Work

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Now that the basic smudge painting is done, it's time to turn attention to the finer
details. This is what really helps make the piece look like a painting and not a
simple filter job. Some of the features, like the nose and eyes, could use quite a bit
of attention to refine the details.
Step 1
Hide the Basic Smudge and Background Smudge layers. Add a new layer above
them called Smudge Details. Set the photo layer's Opacity up to 75%. Set the
Smudge Tool's Strength to 75% and reduce the Size to around 20 pixels. Then
carefully trace over the finer details of the nose to create a sharper smudged
version of it.
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Step 2
Turn off the Sample All Layers option and engage the Finger Painting option. This
feature deposits paint onto the canvas first, and then smudges that paint. Set the
paint color to Black, reduce the brush Size to 10 pixels and tighten up the dark
areas around the irises. Change the color to a light orange #a86f2d and add a
bright area to the iris shape near the bottom left.
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Step 3
Turn off the Finger Painting option and engage the Sample All Layers option.
Reduce the brush Size down to 5 pixels and use short strokes radiating out from
the pupil to create a bit of texture in the iris area.
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Step 4
Use the Finger Painting option again to add some white spots of specular
reflection opposite the bright area of the iris. These small gleams give the
impression that the eyes are wet and alive.
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Be sure to complete both eyes using the same techniques. Be attentive to the light
direction so the eyes appear to be lit by the same light source.
Step 5.
To give the fur a more realistic fur texture, let's create our own brush just for that
purpose. Go to File > New and create a document that has a Width of 100 px and
a Height of 100 px at 300 dpi.
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Use the Soft Round brush preset with a Size of 5 pixels to create several small
spots in a tight, but random pattern.
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Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset and name the brush Fur Brush. This brush
preset will now be available at the bottom of your Brush Preset library. The brush
file can be closed without saving.
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Step 6
Go back to the main project file and theSmudge Tool. Use the newly created Fur
Brush for the tip. Reduce the Size to around 25 pixels. Set the Strength to 75%.
Engage the Sample All Layers check box. Turn Off the Finger Painting option.
Add a new layer for Fur Smudge, and gently stroke out across the transition areas
to create the impression of fine tufts of fur.
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While smudging the fur, you will likely find that the brush tip needs to be rotated to
get a better angle. The easiest way to do this is to right-click to open the Context
Brush panel and use the Rotation Widget.
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Step 7
Next create a new layer for Single Strands. Use the Soft Round brush tip with a
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Size of 4 pixels, disable the Sample All Layers option, and engage the Finger
Painting option. Set the Strength to 95% and the paint color to a light grey
#dfdbd8 . With very swift, smooth strokes, draw out individual strands for the
whiskers, eyebrow hair, and even a few pieces of ear hair.
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4. Finishing Touches
The primary painting stage is complete at this point. You are almost done! The only
thing left is a handful of finishing effects. These are not required, but they do add a
final level of polish to an already great piece!
Step 1
Add a new layer named White just over the photo layer. Use theEdit > Fill
command to fill it with white.
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Step 2
Add another new layer to the top of the layer stack calledEdge Smudge. Use the
Soft Oil Paint brush tip again with Size set to 150 pixels, and the Sample All
Layers option engaged. Be sure to turn off the Finger Painting option. Proceed to
smudge around the transition between the painted area and the white background.
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The result should be a surrounding edge that looks much softer and more painterly.
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Step 3
Create a merged layer by holding down the Alt key while going to Layer > Merge
Visible. Rename the resulting layer Merge. Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light to
pop the colors, and reduce the Opacity to 50% to pull the effect down a bit.
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Step 4
Add a new layer named Canvas above the Merged layer. Use the Edit > Fill
command again, but select 50% Grey from the Content menu. Then change the
layer's Blending Mode to Overlay and the grey fill becomes completely invisible.
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Step 5
Go to Filter > Filter Gallery and open the Texture folder. Select the Texturizer filter
and use the following settings:
Texture: Canvas
Scaling: 132%
Relief: 4
Light: Top
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This provides a subtle canvas texture to the painting, which enhances the illusion of
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This provides a subtle canvas texture to the painting, which enhances the illusion of
the piece being an actual painting, and not a filtered photo.
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Step 6
The canvas should have an off-white color to be more realistic. Double-click on the
Canvas layer to open the Layer Style dialogue box. Add a Color Overlay style with
the following settings.
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Blend Mode: Multiply

Color: #fff9e8
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and here's the final effect!
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Want More?
Think this project was a lot of fun and eager to learn about other techniques for
creative photo painting in Photoshop? This project is just one of several covered in
the Creative Photo Effects course here at Tuts+. Check out the full course to learn
about the Oil Paint filter, the Mixer Brush Tool, and even how to create your very
own custom Painting panel!
As a final treat, here's a time lapse video of this Pet Portrait Project, for your
enjoyment!
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Suggested Tuts+ Course
Difficulty:
Beginner
Length:
Medium
Categories:
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Photo Effects
Animals
Adobe Photoshop
Digital Painting
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About Kirk Nelson

graphics geek or Visual Information
How to Create a Photo Caricature in

Adobe Photoshop
Specialist for the past 17 years around the
I have been working as an all around
Washington DC Metro area. With my career

spanning across almost every aspect of the design
industry, I have worked from web design, to 3d
animation, to logo design, to photo retouching.
Jobs
WordPress Developer
at WebDevStudios in Philadelphia, PA,
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at WebDevStudios in Philadelphia, PA,

USA
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at Tuts+ in New York, NY, USA
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scatmack
2 months ago
Thank you so much!

Time flew by in the blink of an eye!
I sat here listening to music for 3 hours and just slowly painting the dog!
I was so focused, that I missed you not painting everything and leaving out the background.
In the end I didn't want to change it because that was the work I put in :)
Keep up the work!
Greetings from Germany :)
Reply Share
Kirk Nelson > scatmack
2 months ago
Spectacular! Great work scatmack. I completely understand what you mean about losing track of
this. I often find these type of painting projects to be wonderfully therapeutic!
Thanks for sharing your result.

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mysun
2 months ago
Amazed
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Carlo
2 months ago
do you think it will work good also if the object is a human? TIA
Reply Share
Kirk Nelson > Carlo
2 months ago
Hi Carlo,
Yes, it will. The brush work is slightly different due to lack of fur, but the process is the same. Here
using the same techniques.
Reply Share
Carlo > Kirk Nelson
2 months ago
nice, I also want to create one...thanks for sharing your works :)

chen wei
Reply Share
2 months ago
Wow, really good. I come from China, thanks for sharing, let me find pleasure.

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duken
2 months ago
Hola estaba realizando este tutorial pero quede en este paso si alguien lo entiendo podran ayudarme por
Please understand this step could help me please
Reply Share
Kirk Nelson > duken
2 months ago
Hi duken, I'm happy to help, but I'm afraid I cannot speak Spanish, are you able to converse in Eng
suspect there may be some confusion in the translation of the step instruction.
1
Reply Share
duken > Kirk Nelson
2 months ago
Seriously you can help me, I am interested in finishing this tuts and the translation of tyradu
help me to google but do not know where to reach you Might kirk by facebook
https://www.facebook.com/duken...
Reply Share
Kirk Nelson > duken
2 months ago
Hi duken,
I sent you a message on facebook, I'm happy to try to help you with this.
1
Reply Share
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Design & Illustration

How to Create a Painted

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What You'll Be Creating

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1. Prepare the Photo

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Add an Inner Glow style with these settings:

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Add a Pattern Overlay style with these settings:

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Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

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Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

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Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

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Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

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Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

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