Photoshop Gradient Map Tutorials for Beginners

One of the most useful Photoshop adjustment layer is the Gradient Map that you can use to enhance your photos. You can use a gradient map as a non invasive method in which you can change the color map of your image, adding multiple color effects. Using Photoshop gradients(GRD files) you can create virtually unlimited number of color effects.
I will start this tutorial by saying that I am not a Photoshop master so I get a little confused sometimes; for example in this tutorial I will explain for all the Photoshop beginners a quick way to enhance a photo by using a Gradient Map. As you will see if you open the fill or adjustment layer tab we have to gradient options: the Gradient (Fill) and the Gradient Map; so the question is which one to choose and use? And of course what is the difference between the two of them. For the first question I will choose the first option, the Gradient (Fill) instead of the Gradient Map. For the second question I have no answer.

Gradient Map and Gradient Fill Adjustment Layers

A Gradient Map is in fact an adjustment layer that can be applied to a layer/multiple layers and to enhance the image result. Learn more about adjustment layers from this tutorial.

So let's start with a beautiful premade background. Add a Gradient adjustment like shown in the image.

Click on the gradient to open the Gradient Editor; there you can change the existing gradient, create one yourself or you can load and use one of the many Photoshop gradients available for free on the internet.

Now set the Blend Mode of the gradient map to Overlay and the opacity 45%

You can play with different gradients and you can obtain beautiful results in just a few minutes using Photoshop gradient map adjustments. In the same way you can use the Gradient Map instead of the Gradient (Fill) and see which of the results suits you best.

A Photo Inside a Photo

In this Photoshop tutorial, we are going to create a photo inside a photo in Photoshop. This effect will bring the main subject of your photo in the spotlight by creating the illusion of a smaller, cropped version of the photo within itself.

1. Open whatever image you would like to work on in Photoshop. This is the image we will be using for creating a photo inside a photo:

2. Duplicate the background layer.

3. Go to: Filter > Blur > Radial Blur and make the following changes:

4. Create a new layer. Name this layer as Photo.

5. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to draw in a rectangle.

6.  Right click on the shape and choose Fill Path.

7. Choose 50% Gray and click OK.

8. Double click the Photo layer to open Layer Style.
    Make the following changes:

9. Right click the Photo layer and choose Delete Path.

10. Duplicate the Background layer once again and place it over the Photo layer in the Layer Panel.

11. Right click on the layer thumbnail of this new background layer and choose Radial Blur.

12. Go back to the Photo layer.

13. Press CTRL+T to rotate the Photo layer.

14. Now create an Adjustment layer and choose Curves. Then make the following changes:

That’s it,

Final Picture:

Sin City Style Photoshop Tutorial

Beautifull Sin City Art photoshop effect video tutorial .
Sin City Style Photoshop Tutorial - The best free videos are right here

How to Smooth Skin Without Losing Texture in Photoshop

There are several ways to smooth skin in Photoshop. All to often, however, skin can appear too smooth, fake, and synthetic. Today I will demonstrate a straightforward technique to help you smooth skin fairly quickly while preserving the texture of the pores. Let’s get started!

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the final image that we will be creating.

Original Image

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the original image.

Step 1

First, open your image and duplicate your background layer. Simply drag the layer onto the new layer icon in the bottom right of the layer palette. Now set the blending mode of this newly created layer to "Vivid Light."

Step 2

Now, let’s invert this layer. Do this by pressing Cmd + I or Image > Adjustments > Invert. Then, apply a Gaussian Blur by selecting Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Applying a blur filter to an inverted picture will make it look shaper. Use the slider until you can see the pores on her face.

Step 3

Now let smooth the skin! Go to Filter > Other >High Pass. Move the slider until you are happy with the smoothing. You may notice some ghosting and other weird stuff around the eyes – just ignore it for now. Concentrate on the cheeks, forehead and nose.

Step 4

Almost done! Create a new mask for the layer and fill it with black to hide the image. Switch your color to white, select the mask and start drawing on the skin with a soft brush. Start at the cheeks, move over to the forehead, the nose and stop on the chin. If the effect is too strong for your liking, just lover the opacity of the brush and you’re good to go!

Final Image

We’re finished! I hope that you learned a few new techniques here. If you have a different approach, let me know in the comments!

AKVIS Sketch Quicktime Transition

In this tutorial, we are going to use AKVIS Sketch with Photoshop (CS4+) to easily create a QuickTime movie that starts out with a sketch and transitions to a full-color photo!
Materials needed:

• Photoshop CS4+;
• AKVIS Sketch (This tutorial assumes you have installed as a plug-in);
• QuickTime plug-in;
• A model photo.

 

Original

 

 Result

Step 1. Start with a model photo.

Step 2. With that layer active, press Ctrl + J (Windows) to quickly make a duplicate. Name the duplicate layer “Sketch.”

Step 3. With the “Sketch” layer still active, go to Filter -> AKVIS -> Sketch.

Call AKVIS Sketch plug-in

Step 4. You will now be taken to the AKVIS Sketch interface. Use the handy presets drop-down to select some nice pre-configured settings. Don’t be afraid to fine-tune the settings. I chose AKVIS Default.

AKVIS Sketch window

Step 5. Click the After tab. Aftera few moments of rendering, you will see how the image will look after the current settings are applied. If you are satisfied, click OK Sign, If not, continue to tweak the settings.

Processed image

Step 6. You will now be back in Photoshop, and the AKVIS Sketch filter will be applied to the “Sketch” layer.

Step 7. Let’s open up the Animation panel. Go to Window -> Animation.

Open up Animation panel

Step 8. If the Animation is in Timeline mode, open up the panel menu and choose Convert to Frame Animation. You will see one frame, and the thumbnail should reflect the active “Sketch” layer.

Panel menu

Step 9. You will see a time delay setting below the frame. Make sure that is set to 0.1 sec. Also, on the bottom left of the Animation panel, the Loop setting should be set to Once.

Frame settings

Step 10. Click Duplicate Selected Frame to make your second frame. Toggle off the visibility icon to the left of the “Sketch” layer in the Layers panel. The second frame in the Animations panel should now reflect the original photo layer.

Duplicate Selected Frame

Step 11. With the second frame still selected, click the Tween icon at the bottom of the Animation panel.

Tween icon

Step 12. A window will appear. Make sure to Tween With: Previous Frame. Set the Frames to Add: 10.

Tweening

Step 13. You will see that 10 frames will be added in between the two initial frames, for a total of 12 frames.

Step 14. Go to File -> Export -> Render Video.

 

Export

Step 15. Name your video, choose your save destination, leave the settings to default (unless you are an expert), and click Render.

Render video

Step 16. You will now have a QuickTime movie that shows your AKVIS Sketch blooming to full photographic beauty!

Final Result

 The author of this tutorial is Andre Villanueva.

How to Make a Timeless WEDDING Photo from a snapshot

Photoshop CS6 tutorial showing how to quickly transform any ordinary snapshot into a golden-hued, timeless image that will last forever. These techniques work especially well for wedding photos.

Ways to become skinny in 3 minutes

How to become skinny in 3 minutes: This is an Old Photoshop work to show the power of this program. This video would show only one of thousand possibility that Photoshop offer to us. After using Photoshop for long time you will have anyway something to learn.