How to Airbrush a Picture on CS3
Traditional airbrushing means that an artist uses an airbrush tool to spray a fine mist of paint onto a work. It works well for gradients and is often used with stencils. Digital airbrushing, while sometimes used for coloring, is more often used to touch up photographs. There is no one airbrush tool in Adobe Photoshop. Instead, the digital artist adjusts the Brush tool to replicate the effect of a traditional airbrush.
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Instructions
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Open Photoshop and click on the "File" menu button in the top left-hand corner. Click on "Open" and select your photo or image.
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Press the "Z" key to select the Zoom option and click on the part of your canvas that you wish to airbrush. Photoshop will zoom in on that portion.
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Choose a color for your airbrush. If you are coloring your image, click on the small black rectangle in the left hand menu and use the sliding scale to select your color. If you are touching up a small part of your image, press the "I" key to select the eyedropper tool. Then click on the part of your image that most closely resembles the color you wish to replicate.
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Press the "B" key to select the Brush tool. This is the tool you will use to replicate an airbrush effect. Photoshop has several different effects available for its brushes. The two main ones are a nib with a hard, solid edge and a nib with a soft, fuzzy edge. Go up to the Brush portion of the top menu and click on the circle next to it. Move the sliding bars to adjust the size of the brush and how soft the edge is. Set the Hardness to zero.
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To the right of that is the Opacity setting. Click on this and set the opacity to 70 percent. This will mean that the lines you draw will be slightly transparent.
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Color in the portion of the image you wish to airbrush. If you need the airbrush to be more opaque, simply cover over it twice. For the most control, use a digital tablet and stylus. The pressure you apply to the tablet with the stylus will vary the line width, giving you more-dynamic lines.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Businesswoman working on a graphic tablet image by Monika 3 Steps Ahead from Fotolia.com
