Facial Skin Layered Mapping

 

Part 5.2 – Finishing the Color Map

Before You Begin

Have your work file and your reference images open in Photoshop.   Have your model open in AM.  Have the artistic skills compartment of your brain warmed up.

Introduction

Now the rest of the elements of the bump maps will be transferred over and we’ll add some color from the reference images to finish the color map.  Because the bump maps and color base I’m using will be different from yours, I can not give you exact setting changes for adjustments.  I can only tell you what type of adjustments to use and show you what the final product will look like.  Again all changes to the color map are subtle changes.

 

Incorporating the Major Bump Layers

The Lips

The Eyes

Blemishes

Veins

 

Incorporating the Major Bump Layers

 

  1. Next well bring down the remaining elements of the bump maps.  Hide everything but the following Bump layer set layers: Ears, Lips, Upper Eye Area, Lower Eye Area and Bump Base.
  2. Do Image->Duplicate and flatten the duplicate.  Select all and copy.
  3. Return to your Work file and hide the Bump layer set and unhide the Color layer set.  We have added subtle details with the Diffusion 1-4 layers and we do not want the subtle details to fade or be lost.  Because we are now working with layers that have Overlay and other blend modes that have been tweaked and may not contain pure transparent 50% gray backgrounds any longer, these layers may fade our details.  To prevent this we’ll put these layers below the Diffuse 1-4 layers.  Select the Color Pale layer and do paste.  Name the new pasted layer Dark Areas and change the Blend Mode to Overlay.  You can now go back to the temporary image we created in step 2 and close it.
  4. Now select the new Dark Areas layer and duplicate the layer.  Name the duplicate Dark Details.  Hide Dark Details for now and re-select the Dark Areas layer.
  5. We need some areas of dark color around the eyes and some very soft light/dark areas around the ears to tweak the color.  We don’t need this for the mouth area so use the Clone tool to cover the lips with the gray background.
  6. The intent is to blur the image to get our dark areas around the eyes and the variation around the ears but I can see on mine that the ears stand out more then the eyes (Figure 5.2.1).

 

 

Figure 5.2.1

 

  1. Using Burn I’ll darken the ears a little so they at least stand out as much as the ears (Figure 5.2.2).

 

 

Figure 5.2.2

 

  1. Two things are still wrong: first I goofed on the eyes – I want the dark area to be contained below the brows.  When I blur this image it will spread the dark areas and I’m already above the brows.  Using the Clone tool at 50% I shave off the upper part of the dark area from the eyes so that it fades and there are no sharp edges.
  2. The second thing that is wrong is that the areas around the ears when blurred will spread beyond the ears – I know from experience that this will not look good in front of or under the ears.  So using the Clone as before I reduce the area of each ear to about 50% (Figure 5.2.3).

 

 

Figure 5.2.3

 

  1. Time to apply the G-Blur (Gaussian Blur).  I want the areas to spread softly and evenly out until I only have the barest hint of the details that are there now.  However, if you attempt to do this all in one blur pass you will likely get faint circles or ‘banding’ around the dark areas so do the G-Blur in several small steps – in my case the first Blur has a Radius of 2.  What you want to avoid in each blur is take it as far as you can without getting the banding.  When I’m done I have smooth edges and no banding (Figure 5.2.4).  If you do get some banding you can smooth it out using the Smudge tool at about 12%.  You can use the guide to see if you’re covering the areas you need.

 

 

Figure 5.2.4

 

  1. Now duplicate this layer and name the duplicate Extra Dark Areas.   This is in case we need to increase the saturation.  Now duplicate this layer and name the duplicate Darken Dark Areas.  This layer will later be used to tone down the color.  Hide both these new layers and return to the Dark Areas layer.

 

here

 

  1. Change the Dark Areas layer Blend mode to Overlay (Figure 5.2.5). 

 

 

Figure 5.2.5

 

  1. The color change is too distinct in the ears and there is too much color around the eyes.  Using Smudge/12 I blend the ears more and then I reduce the Opacity of the layer until the eyes and ears are very subtle (Figure 5.2.5.1).

 

 

Figure 5.2.5.1

 

  1. I see that my color has lightened a tad so before I do anything else I’ll use Brightness/Contrast to get my color back.
  2. Although I’ve reduced the color saturation in the eyes area I need more darkness the eye areas.  Believing I have enough color saturation I will skip the second Overlay layer I created for this (Extra Dark Areas layer).  If yours is lighter then this you may need to add the Extra Dark Areas layer as a second Overlay layer and adjust its Opacity to increase the saturation.
  3.  Now make the Darken Dark Areas layer visible and change the Blend Mode to Hard Light.  For me this results in messing up the ears again and darkening the eyes too much.  Also the edges of the dark area around the eyes is too sharp and my color has gone off again (Figure 5.2.6).

 

 

Figure 5.2.6

 

  1. Okay.  First, using the Clone tool on 100%, I’ll just remove the ears from this layer.  Next to I’ll G-Blur the layer a bit to soften the edges around the dark eye areas.  Next I’ll lower the Opacity to lighten the dark area.  Finally, using Brightness/Contrast, I’ll get my color back.  You should wind up with something like Figure 5.2.7.   Should you need additional dark color in the eyes you would leave the Opacity at 100% and duplicate the layer to get more of the dark color. 

 

 

Figure 5.2.7

 

  1. I can also remove the Extra Dark Areas layer as I did not need to use it.
  2. Save your file.
  3. Now we return to the Dark Details layer (an appropriate name about now!).  We want to pull in the details of the lips and also some faint details of the eyes.  Remove the ears from this layer using the Clone tool.
  4. Again we’re going to use an Overlay layer and a Hard Light layer to get the colors we want.  Duplicate this layer and name the new layer Darken Dark Details and hide this layer for now.
  5. Select the Dark Details layer again and change the Blend mode to Overlay.  The details are too sharp.  We needed this sharpness in the bump map but not here.  Use G-Blur to soften these details and remember what Radius you use.  You should wind up with something like Figure 5.2.8.   Now get you color back the usual way.

 

 

Figure 5.2.8

 

  1. Next select the Darken Dark Details and change the Blend mode to Hard Light.  Now apply twice the amount of G-Blur that you used on the saturation layer (Figure 5.2.9).  This formula normally gives you a great base for the lips.  Now adjust using the Smudge tool and adjusting the Opacity get these areas looking something like Figure 5.2.9.  Don’t forget to check your color and if needed get it back in the usual manner.

 

 

Figure 5.2.9

 

  1. Time to test what we have.  Save.  Create the color map in the usual manner.  Refresh it in AM and do a test render (Figure 5.2.10).

 

 

Figure 5.2.10

 

  1. I can see I’ve gotten just the color I wanted in the lips, ears and eye areas.  However, as often happens, as I add the skin maps areas I previously thought were okay are missing something or wrong.  In a close up the skin looks a little splotched and I will need to reduce the Diffuse 3 layer’s Opacity a bit.  Also the lips are missing the fine crisscross lines I can see in my reference images (Figure 5.2.11).  This will require adding to the Bump layer set and then carrying the addition forward to the Color map.  I can also see that the jaw line is wrong: it should come up and meet with the bottom of the ear but instead goes behind the ear.  This requires a change to the mesh and for now I will only note it in my TTD section of the model control file to remind me to do it later.  I do not believe this change will cause undo map stretching – thank goodness as this would mean start over (like section 1 of this tut!).  This is why signing off on the face mesh before the mapping is done is so important.

 

 

Figure 5.2.11

 

  1. To fix the splotches I reduce zoom in and hide the Diffuse 3 layer to confirm that this is what is causing it.  Yep.  So I decrease the Opacity until I think that it is right.
  2. To fix the lips I simply add a normal layer to the Bump layer set above the lips and name it Lip Cracks.  Then add a bunch of horizontal and vertical lines to the lower lip using the Line tool set at 100%.  I reset the to 50% and draw lighter lines on the upper lip then decrease the layer Opacity until it looks right.  I generate a new wrinkle bump map.
  3. I then duplicate this layer and move it down the Color layer set.  I can tell I’ll need to increase the saturation and also darken so I duplicate this layer with the name Darken Lip Cracks and for now hide the duplicate.  I change the Darken Lip copy layer to Overlay – this works even though I have not filled it with transparent 50% gray and it has the advantage of not messing up the color.  I reduce the layer Opacity until I can barely see the lines then select the Darken Lip Cracks layer change  the  Blend to Hard Light and reduce the layer Opacity until it looks right (Figure 5.2.12).

 

 

Figure 5.2.12

 

  1. I then generate another wrinkle map, refresh the image in AM and re-render.  Much better (Figure 5.2.13) – time to move forward.

 

 

Figure 5.2.13

 

The Lips

 

  1. Next we’ll tackle the details that the bump map can’t give us.  First the lips.  Both male and female are done the same way it’s just that female lips can be far more complex.  Looking back at Figure 5.2.11 the lips for this model will be about as complex as they come.  There’s no science here.  For males and many females the base color we already developed might only need some touches of semi-transparent white (new layer, dap some white, lower the Opacity).  Remember that chaos and randomness are always required.   My role model is wearing lipstick so the base is not quite right.  First I cut the lips out of the reference image and I do consecutive G-Blurs on them until I’ve mixed all the colors into one.  This gives me an average color.  I create a new layer named Lips at the top of the stack above the Diffusion 4 layer (now we’re laying down color and so this needs to go on top to add to the lower layers).   I paint the lips this color (Figure 5.2.14-a) then reduce the Opacity until it looks as close to the overall color of the reference lips as I’m going to get with this combination (Figure 5.2.14-b).
  2. Next, to move this base, closer I do Image->Adjustment->Hue/Saturation (<ctl>u) and with Colorize checked I tweak the Hue to see if I can move the color closer.  For myself, squinting my eyes helps this process.
  3. Next I need to break up this color a little bit so I create a new transparent layer and name it Lips 1 and place this under the Lips layer and using the same color I paint around the outline of the lips and extend lines inward (Figure 5.2.14-c).  I blur it a tad to get rid of the sharp edges and play some more with the Opacity of both these layers until it looks good to me (Figure 5.2.14-d).  I also rename the Lips layer to Lips 2 to keep things looking right.
  4. Next using the eye dropper I pick out another dominant tone from my reference image’s lips, create a new transparent layer named Lips 3 above the Lips 2 layer.  So I can go nuts with the Wacom pen and not worry about going outside the lips area I use the Polygon tool to outline the lips as a selection.   Now I dab this color about randomly, blur it a tad and reduce the opacity (Figure 5.2.14-e) until it all looks right together with the other layers (Figure 5.2.14-f).
  5. Again I use the eye dropper and pick out a third color and I create a transparent Lips 4 on top.  This time I outline the horizontal line between the upper and lower lips and paint random chaotic lines and blotches kind of radiating outward.  Seeing that the lips also contains varying shades of gray, I use the Sponge tool and dap this image randomly to reduce the color saturation (Figure 5.2.14-g).  Again I tweak the Opacity until it looks good (Figure 5.2.14-h).
  6. Finally I play around with the Opacities of all the layers until I like things and then to finish up I move both the Lip Cracks and Darken Lip Cracks layers up so that both sit between the Lips 2 and Lips 3 layers – why?  Because I tried moving them all about and this is where they look best (Figure 5.2.14-i).

 

 

Figure 5.2.14

 

  1. Well it looks good in Photoshop but how will it look on the model?!?  Time to test it out (Figure 5.2.15).

 

 

Figure 5.2.15 – Works for me

 

The Eyes

 

  1. Next are the eyes.  Whether it’s a male or female face the area where the eye lash comes out of has a special color -- normally a shade of pink.  Create a new transparent layer and call it Eye Lash Primer and using the Guide 1 layer as a guide, paint the edges of the eye lids where the eye lash will grow out from white (we do this because we will most likely reduce the Opacity of the layer we paint the pink color on and we do not want it to begin merging with the colors beneath it..
  2. Next either grab the pink shade right off your reference image or just use red.  Create a new transparent layer named  Eye Lash Area and color in the edges of the eye lids.  Play with the Opacity until it looks right (Figure 5.2.16).

 

 

Figure 5.2.16

 

  1. The upper eye lids may or may not have a special shade – for a male model or a female with no makeup, as is maybe perfect or, a touch of gray (transparent layer, paint with 50% gray, lower Opacity) or, a touch more saturation (Overlay layer, with light burn) and/or a darkening layer (Hard Light layer with burn).  In my case we’ve got makeup and a nice purple shade I like so I’m going for it.  I’ll pull the shade right off the reference image, create a new transparent layer named Upper Lid and paint the upper lids (Figure 5.2.17-a).  Then I’ll reduce the saturation of this color until it is almost a neutral gray, create another transparent layer above named Upper Lid Top Color and paint streaks of this color across the lash (Figure 5.2.17-b).  Finally I’ll tweak the Opacities of these layers until I like it (Figure 5.2.17-c).

 

 

Figure 5.2.17

 

  1. Sometimes there’s a touch of gray along with the darkening around the eyes.  How much, if any, depends on the reference images you are following.  To do this just add another transparent layer called Eye Gray and dust with gray 50% around the lower and upper inner eye socket.  Use a soft brush so it fades out.  Tweak the Opacity until it looks right (Figure 5.2.18).

 

 

Figure 5.2.18 – Adding a touch of gray

 

Blemishes

 

  1. Now well add some blemishes – first freckles.  Add a new Overlay layer called Freckles and using Burn/40/5 dap a few (or a lot?) of spots around the cheeks and across the upper nose.  Make them different sizes, some light, some dark, some round, some oval, etc.  
  2. Duplicate the layer and name it Darken Freckles then hide the Freckle layer the using the Brush size 5 Opacity 20% and Color 50% gray paint lightly over some of the spots decreasing their visibility in a random way.
  3. Now Reduce the Darken Freckles layer’s Opacity to 0%.  Make the Freckle layer visible again and reduce it’s Opacity to 50%.  Now re-select the Darken Freckles layer, change the Blend mode to Hard Light and slowly raise the Opacity until you have freckles with different colors (Figure 5.2.19).

 

 

Figure 5.2.19

 

  1. My model is too young for age spots but adding these can really add realism, almost anyone can have light ones and, they are easy as well as interesting to add.  Zoom in on the area where you want to add an age spot.  Now duplicate the Diffuse 3 layer and drag it to the top of the Color layer set (above the Darken Freckles layer).
  2. Increase the Opacity to 100% and then increase the Contrast to +20.
  3. Select the Magic Wand with Tolerance=5 and only Contiguous checked.  Select an area then doing <shift>click start selecting small areas close together but in a random pattern (Figure 5.2.20). If at anytime a selection causes the a pattern that covers the entire map just do <ctl>z to undo and continue until you have a good area.  Click inside the patter to select a more solid region.

 

 

Figure 5.2.20

 

  1. Now keeping the selection active create a new Overlay area and name it Age Spot 1.  You’ll need to name and select the blend mode and gray fill in the New Layer Dialog box to keep the selection active.
  2. Now select the default background/foreground colors (d) then do Filter->Render->Clouds.  Hit <ctl>f several times until you get a light dark pattern within your selection.  Then do Filter->Noise->Dust and Scratches and adjust the settings until you get more chaos within the pattern (Figure 5.2.21).

 

 

Figure 5.2.21

 

  1. Next add Noise Amount=8.
  2. Keeping the selection active again create a new Overlay layer named Darken Age Spot 1.  Hide the Age Spot 1 layer.  Do all the things you did to the last layer but shoot for a different pattern (you just want different chaos).
  3. Finally un-select all and change the Darken Age Spot 1 layer to Hard Light or if it looks better Multiply (you can actually choose any blend method that looks good), unhide the Age Spot 1 layer and tweak the Opacities until it looks good (Figure 5.2.22).  If the pattern seems too granular just use the Smudge tool to smooth out the layer that’s causing it (normally the Darken layer).  Also remove the duplication of the Diffuse 3 layer – we just needed this to help us select a splotchy random pattern.  To get a very realistic age spot you should hide this one and repeat the entire process in the same area and overlap 2 and even 3 chaotic patterns.

 

 

Figure 5.2.22

 

Veins

 

  1. The final step is dealing with any veins you created.  Duplicate the Vein layer in the Bump layer set and bring it down into the Color layer set.  It should be the top layer.  Rename this layer Vein Color.
  2. Change the Opacity to 100% and the Blend mode to Normal.
  3. Using the Eye Dropper select the gray background then do Select->Color Range.  Adjust the Fuzziness so that hot pink fills the veins but not beyond them.  Click Okay.  Firmly press Delete.
  4. De-Select all.  If the veins look too thick <ctl>click the layer to select the colored pixels then do Select->Feather at 1, invert your selection and press <Delete>.
  5. Now do G-Blur/Radus=3.
  6. Finally adjust the Opacity until the vein color barely shows (it should be very subtle).
  7. That’s it except for testing the color map and tweaking the new layers until it looks right (Figure 5.2.23).

 

 

Figure 5.2.23

 

 

Go to Part 6.1 –Specular Intensity