How to Create a Severed Arm

Step 1

We will be using two different stock items for this project - first, the arm from cobweb-stock (use "Arm08.jpg" from the zip file) and a lump of meat from stock xchng. Please remember to follow these artists rules and credit them where appropriate.

We start by opening the arm picture in Photoshop and duplicating the "Background" Layer by clicking Command + J. We want to preserve the background layer for later on. Hold the Alt key + double-click the duplicate layer, then rename it "Arm."

Choose the Pen Tool (set to Shape Layer) to cut out the arm from its background. Its important to have a clean cut, so first zoom into the picture using the Magnifying Glass and carefully trace around the edge cutting across the top of the arm, as in the picture below. If you set the Fill in the Layer Palette to a 0% you will be able to see the arm, but still manipulate the path.

Step 2

Once you have completed your path and you are happy with it, click the Eye Icon in the Layer Palette next to the Shape Layer to hide it. Follow this by holding Command + Clicking the Shape Layer. This puts a Selection around the "Arm" Layer, now press Command + J on the keyboard to create a copy of the arm onto a new Layer, rename this Layer "Arm Prime" and hide it by clicking the Eye Icon.

Step 3

We are now going to remove the arm and shadow from the "Arm" Layer. Choose the Heal Tool from the Toolbox with mode set to normal in the options bar. Sample some of the sheet around the arm by Holding Alt + Clicking the sheet. Luckily the sheet is quite creased so making it look convincing will be easy.

Start painting over the arm and resample different parts of the sheet to keep the texture from repeating. Activate "Arm Prime" from time to time to make sure you don't go to far up the arm. Eventually the arm and shadow will be removed leaving you with a stump and a clean sheet as in the picture below.

Step 4

Reactivate the "Arm Prime" layer by pressing the Eye Icon next to it in the Layer Palette. Next we want to add a Layer Mask (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All) to this Layer so we can mask out some of the arm. Choose a Hard Edged brush from the Brush Picker setting the size to 80 pixels, Opacity of 100% and Flow of 100%. Next set your Foreground color to black (#000000) and on the Layer Mask draw four cutting lines as in the picture below.

Step 5

Save your progress and open the meat texture file that we downloaded earlier. Once again cut it out from its background. You don't need to be as careful with this as we want to rough it up a bit soon anyway. Use your Pen Tool as before to trace around the edge - be careful not to select the shadow.

As in Step 2 copy this to a new Layer by pressing Command + J, and rename this layer "Meat." We now want to copy it to the working document, we do this by holding the Alt key and dragging the "Meat" layer to the "Create a New Layer" Icon within the Layer Palette . This will open a dialog asking you what document you want to copy it too. Choose "Arm08" (which is our working document) from the list, and Click OK. Finally, go back to the "Arm08" document.

Step 6

Move the "Meat" layer to the top of the Layer Stack. Use the Healing Brush to remove some of the larger white patches of fat on top of the meat with other sampled texture. If you don't have the Healing Brush then feel free to use the Clone Stamp. Position the Meat Layer so it totally covers the arm and hand, move the Meat Layer below the "Arm Prime" Layer.

Step 7

We are now going to draw the flesh back onto the arm stumps, we begin by adding a Hide All Layer Mask to the "Meat Layer" (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All). Next we want to choose a Soft Edge Brush from the Brush Picker with a size of around 10-20 pixels, Opacity 100% and Flow 100%, the settings then need to be adjusted.

Press F5 or go to Window > Brushes to open the Brush dialog window. If you are using a pressure sensitive tablet then, your first stop is the Shape Dynamics, under Size Jitter locate the Command Drop Down List and select Pen Pressure.

We then want to change the Texture of the Brush to give it a nice rough look, choose Clouds from the provided list of textures, with Scale 100% also tick Texture Each Tip.

Step 8

We are now ready to paint the meat back on, Select the Meat Layer's Mask and with the Brush's Foreground Color set to White (#FFFFFF) gradually build up the arm as in the picture below. Repeat this for each section of arm.

Step 9

The shadow of the arm is used to ground the image and make it look less fake. We use the shadow from the original photo we preserved as the background layer. Locate the "Arm" Layer and Add as Reveal all Layer Mask (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all).

We will now mask out some of the "Arm" layer revealing the shadow below, try and follow the shape of the arm. Once again we will be using a Soft edge brush, or you can continue to use the textured brush we created in the last step if you wish. This will add a rough edge to your shadow especially around the stumps.

Step 10

The project is almost complete. The final steps are to draw some veins and strings of flesh onto the stumps and make some shadows. We shall reuse the "Meat" layer for this step.

First we need to copy this layer, either press Command + J or drag it to the new Layer Icon within the Layer Palette. The new layer will be called "Meat Copy." Drag this above the "Arm Prime" layer and delete its Layer Mask by right-clicking on the Mask and selecting Delete Layer Mask. Once again the whole slab of meat should be visible.

The meat needs to be a little darker for the strings - so we adjust it with Levels (Image > Adjustments > Levels) setting the Input Levels to 0, 0.64, and 255. We are then going to add another Hide All Layer Mask to this Layer (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All>).

Choose the Brush Tool again, the textured brush should still be active. If not, then set it again as in Step 7, adjust the size so it is very small around 4 or 5 pixels. On the Layer Mask draw some strings of flesh joining the stumps together. Draw it from flesh to flesh - not skin to flesh.

Step 11

The strings of flesh will cast shadows down onto the cloth beneath, we can easily fake this by choosing the "Meat Copy" layer Mask and holding Command while Clicking it. This will put a selection around the strings.

Next we make a new Layer called "Shadow" and fill the selection with black (Edit > Fill > Black). Using the Move Tool adjust the shadow slightly so it is away from the strings. The black will be too dark so we reduce the Opacity to around 50%. You can also add a 2 pixel Gaussian Blur if you feel it is still too sharp. Finally, drag it below the "Meat" layer.

Step 12

Choose the Burn Tool from the Toolbox and set the Range to Midtones. Next set the Exposure to 20% and click the Airbrush option. Select the "Meat" layer and add some dark edges where the meat is exposed. Select "Arm Prime" and change the range to shadows, then burn the flesh where the arm has been severed.

Conclusion

The final and probably the easiest step is to create a Black And White Adjustment Layer at the top of the layer stack and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. This makes the picture darker and more washed out. If you don't have the Black and White Adjustment Layer option, then create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and reduce the Saturation to -100.

Have fun cutting up your own meaty images. The final image is below.

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How to Create a One-of-a-Kind Twitter Background

Step 1

The first thing to do here, is to draw the mascot, a twitter bird. There are lots of cute, bright and shiny twitter birds out there so I wanted one that was not only different, but that represented my style. After all, a twitter profile is all about the owner.

The process seen below is very stretched out, but can be shortened. I don't want you to think that this is only way you should do it, but in case you don't have a lot of experience with line art, it's good to take your time, and get every stage right. In time, after becoming more experienced, a simple doodle can be enough to get you started in Photoshop.

For now though, start by getting a regular piece of paper and drawing out a few basic sketches of the bird. Focus on getting the posture right, and don't worry about the details. those will be covered later.

Step 2

As you may notice, the position of the legs in the screenshot below is not identical to the final result. As a matter of fact, I changed them at every stage because it's a bit difficult to make them look natural and aesthetic at the same time. Just trace a rough image of your bird in this first stage.

Step 3

Now you'll need some tracing paper. It's basically a semi-transparent paper that allows you to draw something on top of a reference image, in this case our rough sketch. I used two pencils: a 2B, and an 8B. The higher the number, the softer the tip. I used the 2B to trace the outlines and 8B to draw shadows. The eraser is cut in half, so that you can use the sharp edge to erase small areas. That's helpful for adding highlights.

I also slipped an extra sheet of tracing paper in between to make the rough sketch less visible. If your image has too much contrast, it's a good idea to fade it out more so you don't get confused.

Step 4

Use the pencil to trace the outline of the bird. You can now start to worry about the details.

Step 5

You should now have completed the general outline of every part of the bird.

Step 6

Begin to add shading, so that the bird looks 3D. Notice that the shadows are very basic, and don't need to look very realistic. This is only a part of the whole process, and not a final image so don't worry about making it look great. All you need to do is clearly define shapes and lighting.

This part is important because all the shadows will become continuous lines in the future steps. Blank spaces are highlights and parallel lines are shadows. Make the lines more distant and shorter, and the human eye will perceive it as a gradient. This is basically a hand drawn halftone screen.

Step 7

Grab another piece of tracing paper and place it over the pencil sketch you made. This time we'll use this one as a reference for the final, line art bird.

Step 8

Now all you have to do is draw parallel lines across the shadows. In order to fade them out, just draw the lines shorter and shorter.

Step 9

Remember that you can fade out the outline too, not just the shadow lines.

Step 10

This time, be very careful about all the details. Make those shapes look like real feathers, not simple curves.

Step 11

Continue this process across the head and body. Make sure to leave out enough highlights.

Step 12

Like I said, the feet went under one final modification. I wanted something in between an attack position and low level flying.

Step 13

I made the second wing generally darker than the first. That makes the drawing look more dynamic and realistic. Casting an equal light over the entire bird can make it look less interesting. Even if the posture is too symmetric, you can always rely on lighting to spice it up a bit.

Step 14

And there it is, all done. Perhaps a bit too tall and stretched, but it doesn't matter since you can't see it all in the twitter background anyway.

Step 15

Scan it or take a photo of it and put it in Photoshop. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and boost up the contrast considerably. Darken out the lines, but bring up some of the highlights too.

Step 16

Go to Select > Color Range. Inside the window, click on a black area of the photo so that you have a selection of the black lines. Press OK and copy the selection (Command + C).

Step 17

Create a new Photoshop document that is 750 px in width and 700 px in height, and at 72 dpi. Paste the bird (Command + V), double-click its layer and add a Color Overlay effect. Chose a dark blue (#387ebc) and press OK. Create a new blank layer (Command + Shift + N), click on both layers in the layer menu and merge them (Command + E). That will flatten the Layer Style.

Step 18

Now in a new blank layer underneath the line art, use the Pen Tool (P) to give the bird a background color (#33ccff).

Step 19

For this part it would be best to have a pen tablet, but it's not completely necessary. You can either use a regular brush, or the pen tool to create the highlights and shadows. I did it with a tablet. In this step, trace the first few highlights with white and make it a clipping mask so it only appears inside the bird.

Step 20

Now draw larger strokes of a bright cyan (#7ff4fe). Make a separate layer for each of these.

Step 21

Underneath the previous one, paint even larger highlights with a slightly darker cyan (#4de2ff).

Step 22

A final highlight color will be a few gray accents (#ddded9).

Step 23

Now use a bright yellow (#f5e456) to color the beak and add some shadows as well, with a darker yellow (#bcb833).

Step 24

To finish the bird, fill in the beak with the same dark blue, and draw the eye. Use white, and the same dark yellow.

Step 25

You'll have to go back to the drawing board now to paint a few clouds. I used several types of comment boxes for this. This being a social network, comic style shout-outs are right on cue. Trace the outline with a shade of gray (#d0cdbe).

Step 26

Give its background a lighter shade (#edeedb).

Step 27

Now just draw a few thin lines for shadows (#dfe0d0) and highlights (#ffffff).

Step 28

Repeat this process to create a few other types of comment boxes. Combined, these express simple statements, thoughts and exclamations. I try not to shout too much on my profile, so don't worry, these are purely decorative. I don't yell at my followers :)

Step 29

It's time to add a bio and links. The simple small text is Calibri Regular and the headlines are in Rockwell Std Bold. The ampersand is Mrs. Eaves Medium Italic. Use the same colors as the bird.

Quick Tips

Always remember to try out different antialiasing methods when working with type, especially at low resolutions. In the first example, the word is in Sharp mode. Notice that the middle letters seem to buckle and drop below the bottom line. It may be subtle, but it is a mistake.

Not only that, but the letters are not even parallel. Each one seems to have it's own orientation. To fix this, try an alternative method of antialiasing, in this case Strong. Now the letters have a common orientation and leveled baseline.

While the previous may be a subtle fix, the next is a very common mistake. Uneven tracking can lead to some letters overlapping and others being too far from each other. While you can't usually notice these bugs at regular small lines of text, large display text will reveal these inconsistencies.

To fix this, you have to manually change the space between each letter. Choose the Type Tool (T), click inside a line of text and drag a selection of the first two letters. Input an appropriate number in the tracking field. When you've found just the right space, select the second and third letter and do the same. Go through each space of two-by-two letters until all the tracking is correct. You can see the difference of custom and standard tracking in the above and below instance of the word.

Step 30

Find the vector shape layer where you traced the bird. Click on the Vector Mask thumbnail of the layer to bring up the path. Use the Path Selection Tool (Black arrow) to select the path and copy it (Command + C). Open illustrator, paste the path (Command + V) and press enter in the window that opens up in Illustrator (Compound Shape). Select the stroke color and chose white (it's black here just so you can see it). Set the Stroke weight to 2 pt.

Step 31

Bring up the Stroke Panel (Window > Stroke) and use the following settings. Don't mind the gray background.

Step 32

Copy it (Command + C) and paste it (Command + V) in the Photoshop file as a smart object. Repeat the process with the comment boxes too.

Step 33

Using the same headline font, create a few typographic accents around the comment. We'll also use a variety of birds from the Birds 2 Vector Pack of Go Media's Arsenal. Just paste them as Smart Objects and give them a Color Overlay with whatever color you'd like.

Step 34

Use different birds with different colors. Try not to overdo it, or overlap them.

Step 35

I also wanted to give the idea of birds carrying messages, so I placed letters around, nearby or held by the actual birds. They are all with one of the three fonts we used earlier.

Step 36

Repeat the motif in the top corner as well. Don't make it scientific. Keep the orientation random, and not necessarily all in one direction.

Step 37

And then just spread the birds all over the canvas. Remember to fade them out though on the right and bottom by placing fewer and fewer.

Final Image

That's it! Our twitter background is complete. You can view the final image preview below or the full-size image here.

This is the version I have on my twitter profile.

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