Re: Basic skin softening
here is a very basic approach to softing the skin:
1. duplicate your original layer by dragging it to the "new layers" icon located at the lower right of the layers palatte. (its the one that looks like a page with the corner folded over)
2. run your favorite blur filter on it (i use smart blur or gausian blur). dont worry about going over board with it because we will adjust the opacity later.
3. still on your blur' layer, alt-click the layer mask icon. (its the box w/ a circle in it, located 3rd from the left in the layers palatte). this will fill your layer with a black mask. the image should now look like the original layer, because we have concieled the blur' layer behind the mask.
4. using a soft edged brush, start painting in white the areas you feel need the most softening. areas to watch for are the eyes and around the mouth, these should remain relatively sharp.
5. once you have painted in th soft areas, adjust the opacity of the blur' layer by adjusting the opacity slider located in the upper right of the layers palette. i usually back it down to around %50, but your tastes may differ.
viola (french for ta-da) you are done! hope this helps!!
|