Layer Modes and Masks - Part 2 - Texturing Basics

This tutorial explains how I do texturing in my work.  Again, I'll be using layer modes and masks like my previous tutorial; however, I'll be focusing more on adding images as layers and playing with curves to create different effects.  For this tutorial, I'll be working out of Gimp, but again the applications are nearly equal in PS and PSE.

Before I began with digital photography, I painted and would incorporate various materials into my pieces to create textured looks.  Now I'm replacing my pumice, garnet, and mica gels with photos of sand, gravel, bark, etc. to texture my images.

To begin, I have an image that I've already done my basic retouching to fix skin issues and inconsistencies with the background (frequency separation, dodge/burn, cloning/heal).

Like the previous tutorial, I'm going to duplicate the background layer by right clicking on it.  Another trick with Gimp, there is a duplicate layer icon at the bottom of the layers box (see 2nd picture).  Alternatively, you can also go to the Layers menu at the top of the screen and select duplicate layer from there (for any editing program).

Going forward, these are suggestions, but feel free to experiment with your work.  I'm showing my typical thought process when creating art, but others have different approaches.  After I duplicate my background layer, I will open another layer with my texture image.  There are numerous sites where you can download creative commons images for texturing or you can simply take some of your own shots.  I have an entire folder devoted to textures with macro shots of various things such as dirt, grass, rocks, cement, wood, etc.  If you're in need of texture images, I have a second  Flickr account devoted to creative commons images where you can download some for texturing:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeannienadjastudioscc/

You can also find creative commons texture images at Texturemate.com or by searching through Flickr's creative commons photos.  Be sure to check that the licensing is set to derivatives allowed and if you plan on using the images commercially, the licensing must be set to include commercial work as some of it is only for personal works.  For questions regarding how  Creative Commons licensing works, this is a wonderful resource:  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

So here is my texture shot SOOC (straight off of camera).  This is a close up of a ceramic planter on my front porch.  I will open it by simply dragging and dropping it into my open Gimp file.  However, you can also open it by going to the File menu and selecting "Open as Layers" then selecting the file you wish to open. 

If the texture image is larger than your background image, you will notice a dashed yellow line around the image to show how big it is.  If it's smaller, you'll see your background image peaking out underneath.  Either way, you will need to resize your texture layer.  To do this, select the Scale tool and click on the texture image.

Before we begin clicking and dragging in the corners to resize the image, please note that the dialogue box will always open with the width and height being unlocked. If you wish for your resizing to be scaled proportionately, click the lock icon to lock the width and height.

Once you have the image resized, click the scale button to scale complete the process.  You don't necessarily need to scale the texture image to the exact size of your background image.  You can leave excess over the edges.  To remove the excess, simply go to your Layer menu and click "Layer to Image Size".

So now I have my texture layer which defaults to "normal" mode and covers my background layer entirely.  This is where I can play with modes and masks to manipulate the color and only show some of the texture.  Below is the image with each of the layer modes selected and the opacity set at 100% to give you an idea of what is possible.

 (Left to Right:  Normal, Dissolve, Lighten Only, Screen, Dodge, Addition)

(Left to Right:  Darken Only, Multiply, Burn, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light)

(Left to Right:  Difference, Subtract, Grain Extract, Grain Merge, Divide, Hue)

(Left to Right:  Saturation, Color, Value)

For my image, I'm going to use Grain Merge and reduce the opacity of my texture layer to 35%.

Now I don't want her whole face to have texture on it.  This is where I will add a layer mask to my texture layer.  In this case, I want a white layer mask so that I can still see the texturing and I will paint with a black brush to remove what I don't like. 

I like to mask back in the original parts of the face, keeping the eyes as clear as possible.  Below is my layer mask showing.

If you find some spots are not easily removed or still look awkward, you can select the texture layer itself and use the heal tool to remove "rough" patches.  You can also apply various blur filters to either the texture layer itself or the mask to create different effects.  

Since I have my background layer duplicated, I can use the duplicate (showing as the middle layer) and change the color of it with curves to enhance effects.  

(Left to Right:  Middle layer Original colors, Curves applied, Desaturation)

You can add as many texture layers as you'd like and remove as much as you wish with layer masks.  Again, you can also change the opacity and modes to achieve different effects.  Feel free to experiment and enjoy that this is entirely digital so no need to worry about wasting paints or water! 

Below is the final image that I created from applying these techniques.  Please feel free to share your creations, ask questions, or give any suggestions in the comments section.  I hope this tutorial has been helpful and happy editing :)

Special thanks to my lovely model, Jacquelynn Schlegel!

Layer Masks and Modes Tutorial

After seeing many questions regarding how I create some of the edits that I do, I decided to do a tutorial on layer masks and modes.  For this tutorial, I'll be using PSE 12 instead of GIMP since it's a fairly translatable technique (and also PSE 12 came free with my Wacom tablet ;p ).  I'll also provide explanations for Gimp users where menu selections are a tad different.

Before I begin, this is my photo after basic retouching edits (frequency separation, dodge and burn, heal tool, liquify, and sharpening).  So I've cleaned up blemishes, evened out shadows, fixed distortions, etc.  Now I'm going to enhance shadows and highlights with layer modes using masks.

The very first thing you will want to do is duplicate your layer.  If using PSE or Gimp, there are two options to this.

• right click and select "duplicate layer" from the menu 
• go directly to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and select "duplicate layer".

PSE 12 users will have a pop up dialogue box asking you to rename the layer.  This is optional and I only recommend renaming if you're going to be working with more than 3 layers as it can become confusing which is which. Gimp users, you won't receive any pop up box.

After clicking OK, you are going to play with Layer Modes next.  You'll notice in the layer box you have a drop down menu that defaults to "Normal".  This is the same in both PSE 12 and Gimp.  

 

If you click on this menu, you'll see a drop down menu with 25 different layer mode options.  Gimp users will only have 21 options.  For this tutorial, I will be using Multiply and Screen.

Once you've selected "multiply", your image should look darker.  If it doesn't, make sure you have the top layer selected and not the bottom layer (aka the background layer).

Here's a side by side of the background layer (layer 1) and the multiply layer (layer 2).

Obviously, I don't want my entire image darkened like this and only want that burned look to appear in certain areas.  This is where using your layer masks comes in handy.  Here's a little explanation of how masks function:

In basic layer masking, you use either a white or a black layer mask.  White layer masks will reveal the layer on which you apply it.  Black layer masks will conceal the layer on which you apply it.  So, if you are working with two layers (background and duplicate) and you add a white layer mask, you will only see the work on the duplicate.  You will not see anything from the background layer (initially).  If you add a black layer mask, you will no longer see the duplicate layer and will only see the background layer.

Choosing which color of mask is important as it can save you time in guessing what you're changing.  For me, if I want to keep the majority of the changes on my duplicated layer (layer 2), I use a white mask so I can see more.  If I want to only use a few parts of my duplicated layer, I use a black mask so I only see the background layer (layer 1) when I begin.  

To hide or show select areas of your duplicated layer, you will be using the paint brush tool to paint directly on the layer.  When you paint, it will be opposite.  If you have a white layer mask and wish to hide what is showing on the duplicate layer (layer 2), you will use the color black.  If you have a black layer mask and wish to show what is concealed on the duplicate layer, you will use the color white.  

Layer masks allow you to erase or paint on your image, without permanently altering it.  If you make a mistake, you simply switch your paint brush color back to the main color of your mask to "erase" your mistake.  This is thousand times better than using the actual eraser tool and as you experiment with this, you can use selection tools and the paint bucket to speed up the process too.  

So here's some screen shot demos and step by step for adding your layer masks.

First, PSE users, you will click on the layer mask icon.  This defaults to a white layer mask.  You can also add a layer mask by going to the top menu, selecting "Layer"  - "Layer Mask" -  "Reveal All" (for a white mask) or "Hide All" (for a black mask).  Gimp users, life is easier for you.  Just right click on your duplicated layer and select "Layer Mask" from the menu.  You will receive a pop up box that defaults to White, but can also select Black if you wish.  Just click the "add" button to add it.

Using the icon method to add a layer mask, you should see a little white square next to your duplicated layer.  Make sure when you are working with layer masks that you have the layer mask itself selected before you paint (it will show the turquoise border around it as in the screenshot below).  If you don't have it selected, you will be painting on the actual layer which isn't reversible if you make too many edits--the undo button has a limited history!
Gimp users, your box will be bordered in white, which doesn't stand out at all.  So make sure that it doesn't show with a black border around it because that means you have a different layer selected.

Now it's time to paint on the layer mask.  First select your paint brush tool.  PSE users, a menu will appear at the bottom of your screen to adjust the brush's size and opacity.  For this, leave the opacity at 100%, but change the size as you need.  When I'm increasing shadows or highlights with this method, I typically use a basic round fuzzy brush.  However, feel free to use whatever brushes you'd like to experiment.  Gimp users, to change brushes just double click the paintbrush icon in your tool bar and a dialogue box will open where you can select style, size, and opacity.

Brush selection menu -- I have a lot of options from adding creative commons ones to my PSE.

 Next I'm going to change my brush color as I need a black paintbrush to paint on a white layer mask.  This is how I'll hide parts of the duplicate layer (layer 2), letting the background layer (layer 1) show through.  To do this, click on the switch arrow so your foreground color changes from white to black.

To begin painting just place your cursor on the main image display and start painting away!  You'll see your layer mask thumbnail begin to change and show the areas you've colored in black as you go.  If you don't notice any change--double check that your layer mask is what is actually selected (PSE = turquoise and Gimp = white -- if not selected it will have the black border).

Since the thumbnail is tiny and hard to see details, you can check if you missed a spot by changing your view to only the layer mask.  Do this by holding down the ALT key on your keyboard and left clicking on the layer mask thumbnail.  To return to normal viewing, repeat this step.  Gimp users can do the same step.

Some small tips and tricks!  You can run the Gaussian blur filter on your layer mask to smooth out the edges of your paint brush strokes.  You can also change the opacity of your brush itself if you want to reveal/conceal less on the layer mask.  

Another technique you can apply is changing the layer opacity levels to alter how much or little the layer mask will reveal/conceal of your duplicated layer.  Just click on the drop down for the opacity and move the slider as desired.  Gimp users, you will use the opacity slider at the top of the layers dialogue box.

When you have your duplicate layer with mask adjusted to how you like, you can save your PSD file with the layers intact.  This will allow you to reopen the file and make changes without having to start all over again (for example, maybe you print the image and it's too dark, so you can reopen the PSD file and lower the opacity of the layer mask to lighten the image).  This is how I store my files in case I need to make later adjustments.  If you want a jpeg image to display, after you've saved your file as a PSD file, do "save as" and select jpeg to create a jpeg copy of the file that can be printed.  Gimp users, you will want to export your file as PSD (you can also do save as XCF -- which is a file that can only be opened in Gimp, but I recommend PSD as it saves and opens faster than XCF files).  Then you can export your file as a jpeg to have your printable image.

This is my final image after doing both a multiply layer with a mask and then a screen layer with a mask.  Below is a screen shot of my layers with masks, the final image, and side by side comparisons of the various layers.

Layers with Layer Masks

Final Image after masking edits

Unmasked Layers (Original/Background, Multiply, Screen)

Unmasked Multiply Layer vs.
Masked with Painted Areas Multiply Layer

Unmasked Screen Layer vs.
Masked with Painted Areas Screen Layer

Original image compared to final image with all layers visible.  It's a subtle change as I didn't want super drastic for this image.
Also, wanted to give special thanks to Chanelle Culler for being my lovely model here!