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How were these images edited?


I used a H&S layer for the uniforms hardware.

Before
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 11.36.57 AM.png

After
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.00.00 PM.png

You can go crazy with adjustments! What will help the realism will be in the shading and blending based on the light source.
 
OK..............just a quick example.

This part of the uniform brass looks fake.
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.21.35 PM.png

Blur the edges with the Blur Tool...
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.22.34 PM.png

Then use the Brush Tool to add/enhance shading! This blends the brass much more naturally.
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.22.49 PM.png

Before
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.00.00 PM.png

After
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.23.14 PM.png

Once all the brass has been blurred and shaded, it will look much more real!
 
Did you
OK..............just a quick example.

This part of the uniform brass looks fake.
View attachment 110552

Blur the edges with the Blur Tool...
View attachment 110553

Then use the Brush Tool to add/enhance shading! This blends the brass much more naturally.
View attachment 110554

Before
View attachment 110555

After
View attachment 110556

Once all the brass has been blurred and shaded, it will look much more real!
Did you brushed on a normal layer? Also, would you mind if you try the trick on the face? Thank you!
 
Did you brushed on a normal layer?
Yes, a new layer. The blurring has to be on the main image. I duplicated that so if I messed up I would have the original.

Also, would you mind if you try the trick on the face?
I don't have the time for that at the moment. But I will get to it. You will have to mask the face with the Pen Tool.
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.45.44 PM.png

Here's the rest of the brass on the uniform except the filigree, will do that later.
Before
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.46.12 PM.png

After (mind you, this was a quick example. You take your time!)
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 12.48.47 PM.png
 
The face will need to be masked. (This does not include details for eyes, lips, and scars.)

All sharp edges blurred.

All texture is applied with the Brush Tool and a stippling type brush.
Original
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.52.03 PM.png

Face texture layer 1
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.52.26 PM.png

Face texture layer 2
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.52.44 PM.png
 
All of these were done quickly for demo. You take your time. All facial shading done with Brush Tool. Colors are sampled from image and adjusted to liking. Keep it subtle.

Original without texture or shading.
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.59.45 PM.png

Facial shading 1 (Light)
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.53.29 PM.png

Facial shading 1 (Medium)
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.53.54 PM.png

Facial shading 1 (Dark)
Screen Shot 2020-03-02 at 3.54.09 PM.png

I have also noticed that my screenshots are not quite the same as it appears in Ps.
 
All of these were done quickly for demo. You take your time. All facial shading done with Brush Tool. Colors are sampled from image and adjusted to liking. Keep it subtle.

Original without texture or shading.
View attachment 110567

Facial shading 1 (Light)
View attachment 110564

Facial shading 1 (Medium)
View attachment 110565

Facial shading 1 (Dark)
View attachment 110566

I have also noticed that my screenshots are not quite the same as it appears in Ps.
I especially like the chin part, it looks much more smoother and has more depth. Thank you for your detailed description, now I understand better!
about the skin texture brush, if you look into the 1st, 4th, and the last pictures, the skin texture looks much more like natural human pores. I've searched up for brushes on the internet and overlays but I couldn't find one. How do you think?
 
Some additional details. Again, done quickly for demo, you take your time!

Eye's before (Hair is the last thing we do, so it looks fake here)
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 10.25.11 AM.png

Eye Highlighting
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 10.25.31 AM.png

Scars and lips before
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 10.25.54 AM.png

Scars and lips after some detail work and highlighting
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 10.26.05 AM.png

All done with the Brush Tool and a round brush at different settings.

Note: I have also used the Blur Tool and begun blurring the hair.
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 10.31.02 AM.png
 
What type brushes are you searching for?

Photoshop Skin Texture Brushes
I'm looking for brushes which can express realistic pores/skin textures, as shown in the 1st and the last pictures. I find the pore expression on the nose in the last one pretty cool and realistic, but I don't get how to make it with brushes; it seems it has more than mere brushing over. maybe playing with blending mode/blur?
 
Some additional details. Again, done quickly for demo, you take your time!

Eye's before (Hair is the last thing we do, so it looks fake here)
View attachment 110573

Eye Highlighting
View attachment 110574

Scars and lips before
View attachment 110575

Scars and lips after some detail work and highlighting
View attachment 110576

All done with the Brush Tool and a round brush at different settings.

Note: I have also used the Blur Tool and begun blurring the hair.
View attachment 110577
this is awesome! we're getting better and better. what if we put highlights on the face? will that make it more realistic too?
 
it seems it has more than mere brushing over.
Nope. Just one stipple style skin texture brush. The settings vary but that's all you need to use. Don't over complicate the technique.
Screen Shot 2020-03-03 at 11.13.25 AM.png

what if we put highlights on the face? will that make it more realistic too?
Certainly. That's usually one of the last steps is overall highlighting. It's a process.
 
Nope. Just one stipple style skin texture brush. The settings vary but that's all you need to use. Don't over complicate the technique.
View attachment 110578


Certainly. That's usually one of the last steps is overall highlighting. It's a process.
If you don't mind, could you please show me the link where you downloaded these brushes? The first one in the screenshot looks pretty nice.
 
I've had these for so long that I don't remember where I may have found them or which ones I made myself. But I gave you quite a few links in post #29.

Also look here: https://www.deviantart.com/tag/brushes?order=popular-all-time
sorry for coming back late! I was away from my town. I just downloaded some brushes from the links you gave me, I'll try them soon, thank you!

What should be our next step? dealing with the hair? or other adjustments?
 
What should be our next step? dealing with the hair? or other adjustments?
Adjustments can be made to your own liking. I'm just setting you on a path showing you a simple and basic approach.

For my next step, I would move on to the hair.

Hair is difficult for most and requires some investment in time and practice. There are hundreds of YT videos on creating hair.
In "touching up" screenshots as you are asking about, you can be as detailed as you desire with the hair.

Let's again look at where we started....
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.29.58 AM.png

This is approximately where I left off in post #30.
I did use the Blur Tool to soften the outlines of the hair.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.35.25 AM.png

You may or may not need to make a rough selection of the hair to keep shading confined.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.39.46 AM.png

Everything I do from here will done using the Brush Tool with a round brush and various settings.
I would also like to add that I did this extremely fast for the sake of time. So it's not perfect. You take your time a do this correctly.....don't rush.

Darkening the shadows.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.44.11 AM.png

Initial shading........paying attention to light source.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.47.10 AM.png
 
Hair details. (Defining individual hair)
Note: I see that the 'girl" used some hair brushes in some of her edits. I didn't but hair brushes can save you some time. They are often difficult to control.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.49.28 AM.png

More hair definition (adding in lighter colored hair)
Note: I start pulling individual light hairs into the background.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.51.24 AM.png
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.55.29 AM.png

Blending into face....
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.59.46 AM.png

Highlighting
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.52.04 AM.png

And finally facial highlighting.............make this as subtle or intense as you desire.
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 11.53.23 AM.png

You can get as detailed as you wish with these types of edits!!! It's all up to you!

I intentionally did not try to cover all the tiny details as there are just too many to list! If you have questions just ask.
 
Everything I do from here will done using the Brush Tool with a round brush and various settings.

Per this old THREAD.

As I stated above, I only use a round brush.

I'm using a Wacom Intuos tablet. This technique would be rather difficult using the mouse!

My basic brush settings for the hair brush are:
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Flow: 100%
I have the Pressure for Opacity Icon set to ON.
I have the Pressure for Size Icon set to ON.
Hardness: 85%
Spacing: 1%
Size: 5px

You have to change the brush size occasionally.
 

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