Comic Style in Photoshop: The Cartoon Training Vol. 1

In this chapter, I'll show you the precautions I took when creating the source material, give you an insight into one of my Photoshop files and introduce you to raw development.

In the video I welcome you and tell you how I came up with my comic style and I also give you an insight into the training.

Here I give a brief insight into the photographic part and show you what the pictures looked like before retouching. I explain what basic requirements the pictures should meet so that the comic style can be perfectly realized and give you helpful tips on what to look out for during the shoot.

In this video I give you an insight into my final Photoshop file of one of my comic style images, showing the steps that got me to the final image and illustrating the content of the training.

The first steps of image processing begin in Camera Raw. I will explain my workflow in detail and why I move which sliders.

In the second chapter, I make posture corrections to the model and use montages to create a basis for my typical comic look. You will also receive tips on image composition and learn how to create an image section without defining it straight away.

In the video, I explain how to replace an awkwardly positioned hand using a mask. This method can also be applied to other parts of the image.

In this video, I show how to customize a Photoshop file for later comic book style editing and since a lot of space is needed, I show how to increase the workspace with simple steps.

In this video, I walk through the first steps of turning a model into a cartoon character, showing my method of enlarging a character's head to enhance the fun look of the image.

Equally important for the caricature-like appearance of the figures are their enlarged eyes. This video shows various options for this.

If you wear glasses, you should emphasize the effect of enlarged eyes. I have a few tips for this too.

In this video you will learn tips on how to create a flexible image section. Normally you use the cropping tool for this, but I have found a great method that allows you to change the section at any time without any problems.

In this section you will get a detailed insight into my approach to getting a perfectly shaped comic figure and I will show you my best techniques for liquefying and deforming in Photoshop.

In the video, I describe one of my approaches to liquefying people, highlighting the importance of working with Smart Objects to be able to reconstruct the settings at any time.

I'll show you another approach to liquefying that I often use. With this method, it is important to fix the parts that are not to be moved in the liquefy dialog.

Here you can find out how I go about changing the shape of a person's body. For me, it's particularly important that my figures have very large hands and a narrow body.

Here you can see how and why I smooth the contours of my figures. I use this technique to bring out the comic look in my pictures particularly well.

I explain my workflow for liquefying faces. You will learn how I change or intensify the facial expressions of my characters and which methods are most effective.

After the face has been liquefied, I shape the model's head so that it fits the overall picture.

Pictures in which the teeth can be seen look more comic-like if they are somewhat more even and rounder in shape.

In this video, I explain how the body shape of a figure can be changed retrospectively. This method is particularly effective if you want to change the posture of a figure.

Finally, I'll explain how you can easily liquefy the figure after cropping by using the liquefy filter on the mask.

In this chapter, we will look at skin retouching to achieve a softer, "painted" skin or to add smaller details such as missing stubble. Here, too, some techniques can be transferred to images that are not intended for the comic style.

The video explains the basic tools for simple skin retouching and shows you how to do it on an empty layer.

I explain my way of frequency separation, a technique I use when I want to perfect the retouching in the image by removing spots in the skin.

Learn how to remove skin blemishes using frequency separation and see how it works.

Due to the frequency separation, tonal value breaks occur from time to time, especially on gray backgrounds. Here I explain how you can also eliminate these with the help of frequency separation.

In this video, I demonstrate how I remove blemishes in the skin and give them an even more comic book look by smoothing the skin a little.

Since I want to give my figures a very plastic skin, I'll show you my most tried-and-tested method for achieving this, which involves matching the color tones of the skin using frequency separation.

The pixels are often affected by strong liquefaction. In this video I explain in detail how I make the pixels look good again with the help of frequency separation.

Red veins can often be seen in the eyes, which is completely natural, but looks very human and therefore less like a cartoon character. I explain how to remove these veins in this video.

In the last video on frequency separation, I explain how to fill in a beard using the detail and color layer. This technique can be used for more than just beards.

To give the comic figure a more three-dimensional look, this chapter explains the basic functions of Dodge and Burn. I then offer an insight into my complete Dodge and Burn workflow and show you how you can enhance and add highlights using simple methods.

The first video explains how to lighten and darken and gives you all the information you need to understand what Dodge and Burn does to the image.

In this video I show another way to make the skin appear less blotchy, this time using only Dodge and Burn.

In this video, I'm going to get creative and show you my technique for making the eyes of the figures look even more vivid.

This video demonstrates a method to make lips look even more sculpted and gives you a detailed description of where you can lighten and darken to achieve this.

In this video, I finish by modeling the face using Dodge and Burn. This technique gives the face more depth and makes it look even more comic-like.

In this video, I explain how you can also use Dodge & Burn to emphasize the shape of the hands and arms. This is a very important step to make your model look like a cartoon character.

How to get more shine and reflections in your model's clothes with Dodge and Burn - this step is also very important for the plastic look of a comic figure.

In this video, I explain how you can emphasize highlights in your hair. This technique is important to make the whole look a little rounder.

If the grazing light was not particularly visible during the shoot, you can use this video to paint grazing light into the picture afterwards. This is a great technique that makes the whole picture look more vivid.

The technique I teach in this video works particularly well if your model is placed in front of a dark background. You can create more distance from the background with colorful highlights and thus give the image more depth.

In the sixth chapter, you will learn how to give your pictures a more brilliant and colorful look. From simply coloring and recoloring to adjusting skin tones, you will learn everything you need to make your pictures look even more colorful.

This video is about teeth. They naturally have a slightly yellowish tinge, so to remove this and make the comic style look even more realistic, I'll show you how to bleach teeth very effectively.

In this video I want to give the eyes an even more intense tone. This is an important part of the unnatural look of my comic style.

In this video you'll learn how easy it is to color elements such as clothing, and I'll show you a way to do it without having to commit to a specific color right away.

In this video, I show you how you can recolor clothes. This method is very practical if you have a special picture idea but don't have the right clothes for it.

In this video, I explain how you can change the skin tone of your cartoon character. With this method, you can easily transform your model into Hulk or Smurf.

In this video you will see how you can give the colors in your picture the perfect tone. I show you how to change the colors as well as the brightness and saturation in the image.

When dodging and burning, the original colors of the image change from time to time. In this video, I show you how you can adjust the skin tones again.

If a grey background is too boring for you, this chapter is perfect for you. I not only explain how you can easily color a background, but also how you can adapt its color to your motif.

The video shows you how to color your background to match your image, which is a great way to make your image look more harmonious.

To give the picture more depth, I often place a light spot behind my figures. You can find out how I do this and how I change the lighting here.

In this video, I explain how you can create a selection using the pen tool to crop a person. Once you have mastered this technique, you can place your figure in front of any background.

Once you have cropped your figure, you will have a very clean background without structures. In this video you will learn how to change the color and lighting of this background.

In this chapter, you'll learn how to give your comic book image that final painterly look. As always, I'm not just offering one way, but showing you my tried and tested techniques that I've perfected over the years.

In the video, I show you a way to make your model's skin look more painterly, which is an important part of the final look of the comic style.

In this video, I explain another method for making your character's skin more vivid and painterly. This method is particularly useful if many pixels have already been damaged by liquefaction.

To enhance the comic look of the picture, I'll show you how you can make your character's clothing look sharper-edged, but this will only enhance the contours and give the picture an even more three-dimensional look.

When I get to the end of my comic style, I often sharpen my eyes and hair again. In this video you can see how I do it without it being too noticeable.

Finally, I'll explain the final touches to my finished comic style images. This chapter includes both the correction of the original clipping and the final raw conversion, which I use to give my images their final look.

When cropping, it's usually the hair that is too sharp that gives away the cropping. Here I explain how you can make the cropping of your comic figure look even better by painting the hair back into the image.

To merge the image a little more with the light spot in the background, I'll show you how to add a little extra light to the image.

To determine the final look of the image, I'll show you my approach, which only requires a single filter.

In the final chapter, you'll get tips on how to create a great comic-style image without a studio and flashes, as well as insights into Photoshop files in which my typical comic style has been implemented in a slightly different way.

In the video, you'll learn how to create a great comic-style image without a big budget or studio. I'll give you an insight into my first attempts and the final Photoshop file.

Here I explain how I created an entire comic-style scenario using most of the same techniques you can find in this video training.

I'll say goodbye and give you a few final tips on how to use your own pictures.