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Posted on 23/02/08 1:40:34 PM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply  |
Etching Tutorial
The technique I used is quite simple. So here we go; 1 The first layer is of course the background layer. 
2 The second layer in the stack (Medallion) is just a simple cutout of the medallion filled with white. 
3 A new, third layer (in my case Horisontal) is created and filled with white. On this layer you go to Filter->Sketch->Halftone Pattern… Be sure to set Pattern Type to Line. The other settings I used were 1 for Size and about 5 for Contrast to get a slightly fuzzy background, but play around with these settings to suit your image. 4 The pattern you just created may need to be scaled or duplicated to cover the area supposed to be ‘etched’. In my case it was necessary to scale it down, so I had to duplicate that layer, move one of them above the other (Move tool) and merge those two layers to create the Horisontal layer. Rename the layer if necessary. 5 Duplicate the layer from step 4 and rename to Vertical. Rotate this layer 90 degrees (Transform tool). Again, make sure the ‘etched’ area is covered. If not, duplicate and move, horisontally this time, to create the Vertical layer. Set the blending mode to Darken. 
6 Duplicate those two layers, we’ll have use for them later. 7 Merge the two duplicated layers and give the new layer a good name. On this layer I applied the wave filter (Filter->Distort->Wave…) at very low settings to break up the uniformity, but that’s up your taste and your image. To further break up the uniformity you might want to use the Free Transform Tool and/or Warp Tool. The last thing in this step was to use the Medallion layer to get a selection and remove any grid outside of the medallion. 8 Now to the Hillary Clinton profile. First I sized and positioned the profile on a new layer (Hillary). Then a copy was made and desaturated (Desaturated Hillary). 9 Return to the Horisontal and Vertical layers. Move them to the top of the stack. Use the Transform Tool to rotate the Vertical layer about 45 degrees. For a different image other angles may be more suitable. 10 Make the Desaturated Hillary layer the active one and hide all the others. Use Select -> Color Range… In the select drop down list select Shadows and click OK. 
11 Make the Horisontal layer active and use this selection to create a layer mask. 12 Repeat steps 10 and 11 for the Vertical layer but instead of using Shadows for selection mode use Midtones. 13 Make a copy of the Desaturated Hillary layer. Move this layer below the Horisontal and Vertical layers and make it active. Now run Filter -> Stylize -> Find Edges. Add a Levels Adjustment layer and clip that to the layer you just copied. Move the slider to remove all but the outlines. Merge these two layers when done and and name the new layer Outlines. 14 At this stage you will find that the Etched Background layer will need a layer mask to exclude the profile so create that mask now. Your picture should now look something like this. 
15 To be safe, before using the Liquify filter, I advise you to duplicate the Horisontal and Vertical layers. 16 Hide all layers but the Desaturated Hillary and the Horisontal layers and make the latter active. Now open Liquify and use any of the tools to modify your grid according to the features of your image. I found it easier to work with the Show Mesh setting rather than the Show Image setting. 17 Repeat step 16 for the (now not so) Vertical layer. 18 In my case I also added a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer to each of the grid layers to give it the right green color. I hope everything here makes sense. If anything is unclear, feel free to contact me. Whaler _________________ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Posted on 24/02/08 02:09:11 AM |
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Abby-Helen Artfield
** Posts: 70 Reply |
Re: Etching Tutorial
Thanks Whaler, for the great tutorial. I'm working on it this weekend. So far I've come up with a number of different results, I'm having fun with experimenting. My intention was to use your method on a "stamp" poster but I find that it does not show up on small images. Or am I doing something wrong? Abby-Helen |
Posted on 24/02/08 12:00:38 PM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply |
Re: Etching Tutorial
Actually I don't think you do anything wrong, it's just a scaling problem. If you have a small picture (in pixels) to start with you'll find that you get a too coarse grid, or too few lines, to work on. My suggestion is then to increase the image size and/or the dpi. As always, it's what you start out with that decides this. I would love to see your "stamp" when you're done. _________________ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Posted on 01/03/08 11:53:13 PM |
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Abby-Helen Artfield
** Posts: 70 Reply |
Re: Etching Tutorial
Whaler, I created a number of interesting "etchings" but I need more practice. I printed your tutorial so I have a copy of your instructions to follow. I was about half-way finished with the "Stamp Poster" when a very strange thing happened. It disappeared. And so did all my resource images. I went into Bridge and tried to open my poster. I got this message, "Could not complete your request because a JPEG marker segment length is too short (the file may be truncated or incomplete)." Can you or anyone else please tell me what this means? I'm working on a Mac Duo with Photoshop CS2. I have created quite a few posters and have never run into this before. Thanks, Abby-Helen |
Posted on 03/03/08 08:47:29 AM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply |
Re: Etching Tutorial
I'm sorry to hear about your problems, Abby-Helen. I don't know the reason for the error message, but it seems like the file has become corrupt in some way. Let's hope it's not a HD drive problem. I would check this, though, since you have lost more files. I'm not familiar with how you do this on Macs as I' working on a PC, but I'm sure somebody else on the forum can elucidate you. I've seen similar error messages from other programs, but never for PS. Has anybody else run into this problem and/or this error message? _________________ Only in my brightest moments I understand myself |
Posted on 04/03/08 11:43:48 AM |
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Abby-Helen Artfield
** Posts: 70 Reply |
Re: Etching Tutorial
Whaler, I've done the maintenance on my HD, all seems to be well. As for the "Stamp Poster" I'll put it on hold for now. I'll watch the behavior of my computer before I venture into such a large project. I do wonder about one thing in regard to losing the poster etc, just before this lose I received an email from adobe telling me how to uninstall Adobe Stock photos, as they are no longer available. By doing this could something have triggered this mishap? Thanks for your help. Abby-Helen |