Wacom has launched a website that is dedicated to inspiring photographers and visual artists.
Sign up for free at www.wacom.com/en-gb/createmore and you’ll get access to a collection of video tutorials and free downloads from an international cast of cutting-edge creatives, such as Montreal-based Benjamin Von Wong, Lithuania’s Natalie Shau and Robert Hranitzky from Germany.
To give you a taste of what’s in store for you at the Create More website, you’ll find a condensed version of Robert Hranitzky’s in-depth ebook guide to restoring a vintage portrait below – along with details of a great competition!
“Colourising old photos adds a whole level of emotion and often brings out details you might have missed,” explains the Creative Director and Motion Designer, pictured above. “It is almost like looking at them for the first time.
“Taking the time to carefully study old photos and then colourise them is more than just fun. The results can be astounding.
“Giving the photos a natural colour treatment makes them much more accessible emotionally – both for you and your audience – and creates a much more immediate contact to old friends, relatives and times gone by.”
Step 1: Scan your photo
Start by scanning your photo with a good-quality flatbed scanner. Ideally, you should scan it at the highest possible quality and resolution. The photo in our example is 18 x 10 cm and was scanned at 1,200 dpi. That results in a digital version that is about 8,500 x 5,000 pixels – a good working quality.
Step 2: Remove dust and scratches
Instead of trying to fix every tiny flaw, try using filters first to get a good base to start with. Here, Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches was applied. Each image is unique, so there are no hard and fast rules for the filter values you should use. Use the Spot Healing Brush tool, Patch tool and Clone Stamp tool to repair damaged areas.
Step 3: Retouch the skin
Convert the file into a color image using Image > Mode > RGB Color. Choose a new adjustment layer and select Solid Color. When prompted, choose the desired skin tone. Select the layer mask and invert it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+I to make the color overlay disappear. Change the name to ‘skin’, change the layer-blending mode to Color and start painting in the mask to reveal the color in the woman’s face and hand.
Step 4: Work on the clothes
Proceed with the same technique to add colour to the remaining areas, such as the hair, collar, shirt and bench in this example. Alternatively, instead of painting in the mask, you can use the Quick Selection tool and the Magic Wand tool to create selections that you fill with white to mask those areas, then further refine the edges and details with a soft brush.
Step 5: Retouch the background
It is best to do this using a selection. Choose the Quick selection tool and paint over the background until you have a full selection. Choose Refine Edge and activate the Smart Radius with a 10 px smooth and feathered edge.
Step 6: Enhance the details
Finally, you can add volume and depth by using the Dodge and Burn tools to lighten and darken areas in the person’s face. Do this on a new layer filled with 50% grey and play with the layer transparency to get the desired result.
Sign up to the Create More website, and you’ll be able to download the full ebook, which also includes tutorials for restoring old landscape photos and group portraits, at Robert’s Create More page.
The site also offers free brush sets and tablet preferences to download, and there’s a fantastic competition to enter…
Win an Intuos Pro tablet!
To celebrate the launch of ‘Create More’, Digital Camera World and Digital Camera magazine readers have the chance to bag themselves a new Wacom Intuos Pro tablet.
The winner of this special competition will receive an Intuos Pro L tablet, while the runner up will win an Intuos pro S tablet.
To enter, you’ll need to show how you can create more with an image by one of Wacom’s featured artists: Benjamin Von Wong.
You’ll be able to download the PSD file of the image shown below from Benjamin’s Create More page once you’ve registered there. After registering, you’ll receive an email from Wacom containing a confirmation link. You will need to click this before you can download the PSD.
By studying the layered source file – and downloading the free ebook from Benjamin’s page – you’ll be able to see the steps he went through to create his special effects.
Use this as inspiration to create your own version of the image!
You can find the full details, including terms and conditions and where to send your edited image on the Create More competition page. The deadline for entries is Monday 30 November 2015, so you’ll need to get moving!
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