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Posted on 16/06/07 09:10:59 AM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Smoothing out lines in photoshop
Hi I'm wanting to create a Julian Opie style portrait where he paints a simple version of a person using like a marker pen for his lines. Is theres any brush that is recommended to create equal pressure black lines. When I try all I get is a jerky line and I would love to know how to smooth it. I did try a vector program called vector eye that did smooth all lines but as soon as I saved it as a PS file opened it back up in PS the lines where jagged again. can anyone help Phil |
Posted on 17/06/07 00:51:14 AM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Smoothing out lines in photoshop
Try drawing your lines with the pen tool. First set up the brush for the size and hardness that you would use if you were going to use the brush. Then draw the path where you want the line using the pen tool. When you get the path like you want it, keep the pen tool selected, right click and select "Stroke path" from the pop up menu. Select the brush tool from the dialog that pops up. You will now have a line drawn in the shape of the path. |
Posted on 17/06/07 02:52:32 AM |
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Pierre
Constructional Confabulator Posts: 637 Reply  |
Re: Smoothing out lines in photoshop
A variation on Dave's suggestion, when you're done creating the line with the pen tool, go click the brush tool and press "enter". This wil strike the path with the brush that is active and with the foreground color. Note that your path has to be active in the Path palette for this to work, but normally it should be as it is the last thing you do before selecting the brush tool and hitting enter. I find this way a little faster but it is a matter of taste. Do let us see the result of your experiments!   _________________ |
Posted on 22/06/07 07:58:34 AM |
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Babybiker
Shadow Spectaculator Posts: 151 Reply  |
Re: Smoothing out lines in photoshop
Some very interesting effects can be achieved by altering your brush settings before stroking the path. I recently traced a photo of a lion, using one path for each seperate feature of the lion's face. Then altering the brush shape dynamics to - Size Jitter = 0 Control = fade minimum diameter = 40% (This needs playing around with for each line!) It took several attempts to get each path started in the right place so that the thick part of the line was in the right place, and even more time to get the minimum diameter setting right for each line, but I ended up with a vaguely "tribal tattoo" style representation of a lion. Here is the final image (heavily reduced in size and compressed)  |
Posted on 22/06/07 08:53:45 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7075 Reply  |
Re: Smoothing out lines in photoshop
That's fantastic! I'd never thought of using a fade to vary the line thickness like that. Whan an excellent solution. |
Posted on 22/06/07 09:25:25 AM |
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Babybiker
Shadow Spectaculator Posts: 151 Reply |
Re: Smoothing out lines in photoshop
Thanks Steve, It was done for a friend who has just taken on a pub (The White Lion - yes I know the Lion isn't white, but it's a very long story!). As the best meetings go, we were sat in another pub discussing a new logo for menus, chalkboards, mirrors etc - he wanted the standard Lion Rampant design, but after much scribbling on the back of beer mats, and a few more pints, I convinced him to go with a tribal tattoo style head. The next morning I woke with a hangover, realised what I had agreed to do, and started wondering how to achieve it! In total, this took over 24 hours at the pc, with lots of feedback from my partner (where would we be without there criticism?) to achieve and get right till I was happy with it, believe it or not. Hopefully it will be going to print on the first menus, and as a giant etched glass logo in laser cut vinyl, in the next couple of weeks. BB |