improving images
With new shows airing and being used in art before the DVDs are out for capping more and more people are struggling to get the TV caps as good as possible. Now mine aren't the best but it's a pretty good guide to some extra things you can do to keep them sharp but soft at the same time for the perfect art.
The left
is the starting image with the areas that are really bad circled and the right the end result. Click all the images to see
in full size :)
So the first step is to duplicate the image. I do this because if you apply too
many effects/filters to the same layer you end up losing any of the original
quality. To duplicate the layer you need to right click on the base/background
(layer with the image) and select 'duplicate layer'
So now we have two copies of the same layer. I am going to set the top layer to
screen. This is because TV caps are always a bit darker so it's a good idea to
brighten them up to improve them, its always easier to darken images later on
than lighten them.
The next step is to select the top of your two layers and smart blur it. This is
done by going to 'Filter > Blur > Smart Blur' and choosing the options below.
Now because the cap I've chosen is originally a very light cap and the blur is
making it a bit too blurry I'm going to reduce the opacity of that top smart
blurred layer.
Now we move on to the bottom/base layer, so select that in your layer
platelet and for this we are going to sharpen it, this is a simple effect.
'Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen' and that's that one.
Next it's still a bit pixelated so I'm going to use the smudge too It might not be showing on your tools menu, but it will either show a finger or an odd flame shape.. well if it's the finger that's already set to smudge, if it's the flame, the just right click on it and you'll see the finger (smudge tool) option to select.
Now
because we have our two layers with different effects already I'm going to merge
them into one for the smudge tool, which is the final step. So now I have just
one layer and I'm going to make it perfect and ready to move into my wallpaper
Now the smudge tool has to be used on very low settings or it will distort your
piece.
Often I will zoom into the piece at 200% just to see clearly the pixels I'm
going to smudge out.
The important part to think about with the smudge tool is what way to use it. My
favourite is to start with the hair but following the way the hair goes. I only
do short motions and many of them, just to clean out those little pixelated
bits. And around the month, around the eyes, and down with the line of the
shadow. It's also good to do the edges just imaging you are re-drawing them,
your tool at this low strength won't drastically change anything, just soften it.
And you can never go overboard! It is just a matter of practice and seeing what
it looks like after you've played a bit, but I promise it's a great trick and
you'll love the effects on poor caps.
Anyway here is my finished result (again click for full size)