This tutorial combines the Liquify tool along with some techniques to give photos a smooth painted look using PS3. I started out with this photo of Lindsay Lohan on a base layer and then duplicated the image to a new layer so I could reference back to the original and quickly restore areas if I became dissatisfied with my liquify results. You only have one undo but can use the reconstruct tool to help repair areas that go bad as you work.
I changed a lot of proportions on the face using the liquify tool. To enlarge the eyes, I tend to use a large brush and the BLOAT tool centered on the eye to keep them looking fairly normal.
This image shows the PUCKER tool in action. Pay attention to how the size of your pen affects the areas around the mouth. Vary the tool size to either allow or avoid effects of different areas as you want.
This image shows how I used the PUSH FOWARD tool to realign some stretched skin and push around some surfaces to add effects.
Here, I stopped to compare the altered version with the original and decided her nose need to be pushed back up to be more similar to her facial features. You can use the SHOW BACKDROP feature on the right hand side menu near the bottom to reveal layers below and vary the opacity to see the images together or separately.
This photo shows the first of two steps. Read this carefully so you don't skip the steps 3 thru 5.
1. Duplicate the layer with the liquified image.
2. On the new duplicated layer run the Filter/Other/HIGH PASS set to a radius of 3.
3. Change the Layer Blend Mode of the duplicated layer to HARD LIGHT.
4. Select All (CTL+A) and COPY MERGED (Shift+CTL+C).
5. Paste (CTL+V)
You should now have a new layer with the results combined.
Using the new layer, use Filter/Stylize/DIFFUSE set to Anisotropic. This smoothes out the skin and creates a soft look.
Next, rotate the Canvas 90 either direction and run Filter/Stylize/DIFFUSE again with the same setting. This further softens the image. After you run Diffuse, rotate the canvas back to horizontal.
Run Smart Sharpen set to 100, radius 1.5 and remove Gaussian Blur.
Add some contrast in the image by selecting the curves tool and adding some drag spots at the third points in the bar. Adjust to taste.
Now run SURFACE BLUR set to radius 5 and threshold 15 to soften the lined areas created by the smart sharpen tool.
I then use the smudge tool set to a soft brush and 15-50% opacity to soften areas over the face to remove any hard lines or digital artifacts. Sometimes I paint lightly like a brush and other times I click and wiggle the mouse in one place to soften an area without distorting. Whatever floats Ur boat.
Final Result
There are a lot of pics in this tute, sorry to those with dial up.
I don't claim to have invented all these steps. A lot of the painted look effects are done by a numerous folks on the net and I have picked up stuff from many of them. If you want an easy way to get even more advanced painting and illustration effects with less work, I recommend checking out a dude named Mike Warren and his actions.
I like how it looks cartoony
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