How to Create Dark Gothic Web Graphics
Gothic web graphics should sear intensely stark, dynamic contrasts in positives and negatives: vividly bright highlights set alongside slithering grays and the black of the abyss. Gothic images should leap wolf-like out of the screen, with the razor edge of black and white offset by a single splash of color, a kiss of red on a vampire's dark tongue.
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Instructions
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Eyes of the Wolf
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Eyes Convert a color photograph of a person to a grayscale image. Click on the menu item "Image" and select "Mode" from the drop-down menu. Choose "Grayscale." This is the easiest way to strip color from an image.
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Eye of the Wolf Click on the menu item "Image" again and select "Mode" from the drop-down menu. This time choose "RGB Color."
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Contrast Click on the menu item "Image" and select "Adjustments" from the drop-down menu. Choose "Brightness/Contrast." Increase both brightness and contrast. It all depends on the image itself, but the aim is to strip out some of the detail and make the white very white and the black very black. Now you have a stark black-and-white image just begging for a splash of intense color.
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Iris Zoom in close on the eyes and use the "Polygonal Lasso" ("L") to select the irises. Set the "Feather" option to "7px." Deselect any portion of the pupils that may have been lassoed by using "Polygonal Lasso" while holding down the "Alt" key.
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Colorize There are many ways to colorize, including "painting" with low-opacity color, adjusting "hues" or using "Variations" in the "Adjustments" menu, but in this case we will apply a lighting effect from the "Filters" menu. Click on "Filters," choose "Render" from the drop-down menu and select "Lighting Effects." Set the "Style" to "Blue Omni." A different color can be selected at this point, if desired, by clicking on the color square. Click "OK."
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The graphic can be done at this point, but here we will click "Undo" ("Ctrl" + "Z") and then immediately click the menu item "Edit." Select "Fade Lighting Effects" and set the percentage to "77." Click "OK." Using this method, you can adjust the strength of the effect.
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Tips & Warnings
For compelling Gothic graphics, shoot photos with the end product in mind. If the splash of color is something other than the irises of the eyes, then frame your photo with the object in mind that you plan on "splashing" with color. Experiment in Photoshop, both with the brightness and contrast, and use different techniques to colorize.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit gothic girl image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com eye women image by Alexandr Shebanov from Fotolia.com red eye inspiration image by .shock from Fotolia.com from above black and white image by Frenk_Danielle Kaufmann from Fotolia.com black & white eye image by smn from Fotolia.com close-up blue eye image by Petr Gnuskin from Fotolia.com
