In my last post, I guided you through how to achieve the "eye dripping" effect in Adobe Photoshop. For today's post I will walk you all through how to create what I call the "face cracking" effect!
What is the "face cracking" effect?
This effect involves the layering of gradients and shading in order to make it look as if a colorful gradients lays beneath the skins of the model used. At first glance, this effect appears quite simple, but do keep in mind that there are quite a few steps involved in this one. An example of this effect can be seen in my artwork below:
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 Carol Oliver from Unsplash, a royalty-free image repository that I have mentioned in past blog posts!
Step 2.
Next, create a duplicate of your main layer by pressing Ctl + J (Cmd + J on a Mac).
Then, with the duplicated layer selected, go to: Image > Adjustments > Black & White
Step 3.
In the dialog box that appears, click the drop-down menu on at the top and select "Maximum Black."
Step 4.
With the same layer selected, go to: Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur...
Step 5.
In the dialog box that appears, choose a "Radius" that only slightly blurs the model. It should appear to smooth out their skin. In my example, I set it to 3.4 pixels.
Step 6.
Again, with the same layer selected, go to: Image > Adjustments > Posterize...
Step 7.
In the dialog box that appears choose a "Levels" that creates a fair amount of blotches on the face of the model, similar to what is shown above. In my example, I set it to 11.
Step 8.
Selecting the same layer, go to: Filter > Stylize > Find Edges
The final product should appear to have dark lines around the areas in which the blotches were located. If you believe the lines are too faint, simply repeat the effect by pressing Ctl + Alt + F (Cmd + Alt + F on a Mac).
Step 9.
Next, select the magic wand tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. If you cannot find it, look for an icon that looks like a paintbrush drawing a dotted line and right click it to change it to the magic wand.
With outline layer selected, hold down Shift and click within enclosed outlines on the face.
Once your selections appear to cover a majority of the model's face, click the half-filled circle icon at the bottom of the layer styles panel to bring up the adjustment layer drop-down menu. In that menu, select "Gradient." In the dialog box that appears select the gradient of your choice!
Step 10.
After choosing your gradient, hide the outline layer by clicking the eye icon next to the layer thumbnail.
Then, click the layer mask thumbnail to select it and use the eraser tool from the toolbar on the left of the screen to erase colored areas that cover the eyes, lips, and hair areas.
Step 11.
Next, double left-click the gradient layer to bring up the "Layer Style" dialog box.
In the dialog box, click the checkbox for "Inner Shadow" and then select the following options:
- Blend Mode: Linear Burn
- Color: Black
- Opacity: 20%
- Angle: Have pointer facing to where your light source is coming from
- Distance: 8 pixels
- Choke: 8%
- Size: 13 pixels
Step 12.
In the same dialog box, click the checkbox for "Outer Glow" and then select the following options:
- Blend Mode: Overlay
- Opacity: 80%
- Noise: 20%
- Color: Choose a color that is in your gradient
- Spread: 10%
- Range: 100%
- Jitter: 0%
Then click OK.
Step 13.
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