Name: `miskis aka Carolyn White
Tools of the Trade: Adobe Photoshop 7- CS2 ~ ~ DAZ3D ~ Sony CyberShot P150 ~ Trusty laser mouse ~ Wacom Graphire3 ~ Cannon 35mm Rebel Ti
Likes to use: I usually get inspired by random stock images. I will browse until one says "hey use me!" so there isn't any one stock[er] I use. Though the less used, less restricted, the better. I have a thing for hand positions, odd I know... But something elegant or strong in the way they are held will catch my attention. Default photoshop brushes & custom brushes.
Examples of her work:



`miskis’s tips and tricks:

Since many of the previous T&T's have gone over stock quality I will skip that just to avoid being redundant, but always keep it in mind when making an image.

1.- Simplicity:
Don't confuse this with lack of details! Simplicity can be your friend. Pick a focus point for your image, whether it be a subject/object or an idea, and build around it. Trying to stuff as much meaning or imagery into an image isn't going to make it better and often just confuses the viewer. This for me goes hand in hand with composition, you want the eye and image to flow .. like a story or good song.

2.- Smooth Edges:
There are almost as many different ways to cut out an image as there are techniques to blend them, there is no 'right' way., only the one(s) you are comfortable with. I like the pen tool but I use multiple methods constantly depending on what I am doing.
One thing I've found no matter which method I use, the final step before cutting is always smoothing my selection edge.
Not much worse to me then seeing a well composed piece with jagged, pixelated, wiggled or pointed cut edge(s). Heavy smudging can lead to, instead of jagged raw edges, warbled & waving edges. The blur tool is useful, but over done it can distort something you want kept sharp.
If you are unfamiliar with it : select>modify>smooth. It will drastically cut down on the need to smudge/blur your edges. There is also the handy 'contract' 'expand' and 'border' features there, all controlled by pixel dimensions.
*ps.. try to avoid feathering a selection. It tends to add a sort of halo or glow around it..unless of course thats what you are going for

3.- Green Screen
After cutting an image out I almost always 'green screen' it to check for any bleed or bit of BG I missed that is sometimes hard to notice and it helps a lot when you are trying to get a really smooth cut edge, a drastic BG color change or blend two pieces to look like one. Green screen is actually a misnomer because the color I choose depends on the image color, you want a very bright contrasting color.. I use neon pink a lot since it's rarely anywhere IN an image I create. I switch from dark to light colors to check for any edges in matching colors, or 'see through' areas when melding multiple images into one. I also do a final check on a color close to whatever my BG color(s) will be in the final image.
(I usually build my image/BG up from a gradient base vs a solid color)

4.- Smudging
If you must, please, please don't over do it! Smoothing out colors and pixels is one thing, making it look like a swirled ice cream cone is another. It doesn't make it look painted, it makes it look rushed and sloppy. If you're going to do it use a size appropriate soft-edged {feathered} round brush set to airbrush, and instead of a high strength, try using a lower strength and go over it multiple times with very small strokes in the same direction as the image., IE: if you're smoothing an arm, follow the arms natural shape and curves, if material, follow the natural flow/fall of it, don't make figure eights or use a 45px brush on an area 5px wide. And remember, hair has strands! It's not one big smudged lump of colors! It may take longer but to me it's worth it. A lot of times I prefer to paint over a stock image then smudge it.
*Note on brush sizing: ..keep one hand on your mouse (tablet users can use their pens ) and use the ' [ and ] ' with your other to change your brush size, stopping to simple change the size is a waste of time*

5.- Brush Control
Speaking of brushes . Get to know your default brushes and their capabilities! Your brush palette is there for a reason. You can rotate/turn brushes, change their dynamics, edges, scattering, fade control. If you paint or do brushwork at all on your images don't ignore that little tab. Once you learn what you can do with this little overlooked gem, applying the different effects to custom brushes opens up another world of possibilities. As well as learning about brush mode, opacity and flow.

6.- Take Tips From Painters
Though photo manipulation is an art in itself (don't let anyone tell you different!), you can take many, many cues from traditional and digital painters and their tutorials. Light, shadow, color theory, composition all play as much an important role in good manipulations as it does in straight painting. I tend to do a lot of painting on my images from facial features to an entire subject to BG clouds, clothing, etc. Whatever your style or genre', knowing, or at least being familiar, with these can make the difference between something that looks cut, pasted and thrown together vs a complete stand alone piece of art.

7.- Liquify
I love this tool. I consider it a tool even though it's technically a filter. I wont write a tutorial about it but I think every photo-manipulator should get to know it's uses. Want to dainty up that jawline? Plump those lips? Soften or sharpen a nose? Give a digital boob job (quit giggling you know you wanna!)? Tighten up some love handles or a waistline? Pull some wild strands of hair or clouds out? Make some elfish ears..big eyes..create a vortex.. Or the opposite?.. stretch, pucker, bloat..swirl.. it's all there it just takes, like everything, a little time and practice and works much cleaner then the smudge tool does. It can also be a great blending tool along with free transform to make multiple pieces fit better as one.

8.- Shortcuts
I wont list every keyboard shortcut, much too long, but if you don't know them there are some time savers as well as 'tricks' you should look into. Such as, you can toggle between the often used (over used in my opinion ) dodge and burn tools with the 'alt' button. Simply hold the 'alt' key down while using one and it will switch you to the alternate tool and when you release the key you will be back at the original tool. 'Shift' is another good shortcut key, use it to constrain proportions (make a perfect square or circle) when making a shape or using the marquee tools, or to paint or erase a perfectly straight line from point A to B with any brush by simply holding down the 'shift' key, this works with multiple tools. As well as the already mentioned [ ] brush sizing shortcut. There are many more you can learn.

9.- Change Your Perspective
If you start getting in that funk stage with an image (I do at least three times for every image.) something I do is change the way I'm looking at it. I simply save my image then flip the entire thing horizontally. It gives me a fresh view on it.

10.- Layers
Don't be afraid of them, but also.. remember having 362 layers doesn't automatically make it a masterpiece. Someone before me said try not to merge your layers.. which made me go :0 I will use so many, that even in layer sets the file gets hard to manage. So I selectively merge down 'matched' layers.
Ex: 5 hair highlight layers get merged into one, but I will keep my mid tones and dark color layers.
Yes I do highlights (on clothing, skin as well as shadows too) on that many separate layers because if I really like a portion, I create a new layer over it and keep going so if I screw up 100 brush strokes on top later, I simply delete that layer and not worry about starting from scratch., then when satisfied I merge all matching layers into one manageable one.
Usually I only remember to start naming them after I already have 20some going on. So the constant muttering of “oh sh*t, what layer was that highlight?!?' has an easy fix:
'ctrl+alt+right click' = layer alignment.
What does that mean? Well if you 'loose' your unnamed layer instead of scrolling through for 10min. trying to figure out where you hid it, say I lost my hair highlights layer in the midst of going back to fix a random 'oops' I just noticed.. I hold my cursor over the highlighted parts and hold down 'ctrl+alt' and right click., he active layer in my layer palette will become what I have clicked on.
*Note this is NOT exact..if you have 5 hair layers it will go to the top most layer there unless it is detailed enough for you to click on an exact portion!*

11.- Sharpening
Sharpen=Freeware Plug-in. I'm not super keen on Photoshop's default sharpen tools and filters. Too much, not enough, so for those who feel the same, I share with you Xero Graphics: http://www.xero-graphics.co.uk. There you can find all kinds of freeware photoshop compatible plug-ins including my favorite sharpening filter 'Clarity' as well as a nice smoothing filter called 'Improver'. Like the smudge tool, filters can be over done, restrain yourselves!

12.- The Final Image
After you've stared at your final image and are sure you're done ( *tsheva) and you have saved your final image in PSD, resize images for viewing in 50% increments and sharpen as you go. Why? This will help with detail loss and keep you from over sharpening in one big jump trying to keep those details. Photoshop reads best at 50% and 25% increments, (I think I remember those percentages right) if you notice at times when you view 'fit on screen' pixel distortion can become very noticeable., this is why.
Ex: a 4000x6000px 300dpi image decreases in size to 2000x3000 300dpi check your details and sharpen, adjust shadows, etc. if needed, then resize again to 1000x1500, check sharpness/levels/curves again, adjust if needed., then at the last step decrease dpi to 72dpi (all you need for on-line viewing!) select your final size ratio and see if you need to do any final adjusting.
Sometimes I will duplicate my final image and set the layer mode to softlight and lower the opacity just to add a little extra punch of color and contrast.

*Info: For those who don't, fill in your file info! {File>file info} on your saved for viewing file! (jpeg, gif, png, the file you will upload) One more tool in the copyright arsenal. A lot of copyright issues come from people assuming/saying that images are public domain, had no way of knowing the authors name, contact information, (we all know how easy it is to remove watermarks and plead ignorance) etc, etc.. well there it is, embedded right there in the file. It can be removed but it gives you the date file with the information in it.

`miskis’s 3 favourite tutorials:

*lucky13 ~ I selected a deviant instead of just one of his tutorials. Have a stroll through his gallery. There's tutorials from masking to the pen tool, all very well done and easy to understand.

How to Optimize Photoshop... by =Norke ~ Optimizing your work space (ie Photoshop) will make it all flow mo' betta'!

Books! They're out there!! You really must have a grasp of the program and it's tools to make something well. Adobe puts out “Class Room in a Book” that covers every basic tool and function, shortcuts.. the whole technical enchilada, though not much good on the 'creative' front. Just hit up Borders Books or your local bookstore for many more. I don't recommend Amazon, unless it's for a book you 'know,' because you can't look in the book and see what it covers.


<sub>Please keep in mind that these tips and tricks are never meant as the only way to do something – they are the way the artist does things. They are meant to guide you or give you ideas what can be done and should be taken as such.

If you have any suggestions for deviants you’d like to see sharing their tips and tricks, feel free to write me a note. Just keep in mind that this article is mainly focused on photomanipulators.

Lastly, I would like to thank `miskis for sharing her tips and tricks
and you for reading them
^kuschelirmel


Previous Issues:
~ #1 Aegis-Strife
~ #2 Tsheva
~ #3 YagaK
~ #4 MelGama
~ #5 Chix0r</sub>