As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I have decided to share three different tutorials regarding the most popular effects used in my artwork! In my last post, I guided you through how to achieve the "face stretching" effect. For today's post I will walk you all through how to create what I call the "eye dripping" effect.
What is the "eye dripping" effect?
This effect involves a focus on the eyes of a model and making it appear as if a glowing liquid is flowing out of them. There are a few variations I use with this effect, but the basic version involves covering the eyes of the model with a glowing color layer and then adding the glowing drips down the face. An example of the effect can be seen in my artwork below:
'"Let's put balls in holes."'
The Tutorial
Step 1.
First, you will need to find a free-to-use image where the face of the model is clearly visible and at an angle that shows the most surface area of the face. In this example, I will be using a photo taken by Atikh Bana from Unsplash, a royalty-free image repository that I have mentioned in past blog posts!
Step 2.
Next, create a new layer by selecting the empty square icon at the bottom of the layer panel.
After creating a new layer, select the pen tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen (The icon looks like an old ink pen!).
Then, using the pen tool, click and drag to draw an outline around the model's eye.
Step 3:
When you have completed outlining the model's eye, right click within the outlined area and select "Make Selection" from the drop-down menu that appeared.
Step 4:
In the dialog box that appears, set the "Feather Radius" to 2 px and then click OK.
Step 5:
Next, select the brush tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen and brush over the selected area until it is completely filled in.
Repeat steps 2 through 5 for the model's other eye.
Step 6:
After covering both eyes, duplicate the eye fill layer with Ctl + J (Cmd + J on a Mac) and rename it to "Eye Glow."
Then, select that duplicated layer and go to: Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
In the dialog box that pops up, set the "Radius"to 30 pixels and then click OK.
After clicking OK, set the duplicated layer's blending mode to "Lighten" (This can be found as a drop-down menu at the top of the layers panel.). By doing this, a cool glowing effect occurs around the eyes.
Step 7:
To further take advantage of this glowing effect, make sure the skin of the model is either darker or of higher contrast in comparison to the color you used for covering the eyes.
In my example, I decided to add a a brightness / contrast adjustment layer. If you are following along completely, I set the "Brightness" of that layer to -70 and the "Contrast" to 40.
Step 8:
Next, create another new layer and name it "Eye Dripping."
With this layer selected, select the brush tool from the toolbar on the left of the screen.
Then, click the brush preview drop-down in the toolbar at the top of the page and set the "Hardness" to 100% and the "Size" to what you believe to be a small size.
After changing these settings, begin to draw lines from the eyes to the bottom of the cheeks, around the chin area. While doing this, make sure to follow the contours of your models face in order to better convince your audience that they are actually real.
*A tip I have for drawing these lines is to use a drawing pad of some kind. I personally use a Wacom tablet and it allows me to draw better, more convincing lines for my artwork!
Step 9:
Once you have drawn your lines, double left-click on the "Eye Dripping" layer to bring up the layer style dialog box.
In the dialog box, click the checkbox for "Outer Glow" and then select the following options:
- Blend Mode: Overlay
- Opacity: 80%
- Noise: 20%
- Color: Same as the line itself
- Spread: 10%
- Size: 30 pixels
Then click OK.
Step 10:
After completing the layer style of the lines, feel free to add any other adjustment layers you want in order to bring the entire image together.
I hope this tutorial helped, but if there is any confusion, leave me a comment down below and I will answer it right away!
- Jared