Angelina Goatee

by squedge

You're insane? You're ungodly patient? Good. If you want to paint hair on people, you need to be. I use Photoshop 5.5, so if you use a different program, you'll just have to bear with the names of the tools (figure out what they are on the program you use...) Here we go!

*I start with this base image of the seductive Angelina Jolie. You just know she's always wanted a goatee, and I'm just the guy to give it to her. *First, I create a new, transparent layer. Then, I select the colors I'll be working with. In this case, I select 2 of the sequoia/brownish-red tones from her hair. If I need a third tone, I'll either opt for black or find the absolute lightest color of hair I can find (using the colors that are already in the picture.) Choosing multiple colors is important to the creation of natural looking hair. You need at least two tones. (I learned this from doing crepe-hair in my stage makeup class in college. It's the God's-honest truth!)

*Next, I select the base area of the goatee on the new layer, using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, and fill it with a dark color. I'll just be using this area as a visual guide as to where the hair is growing. It won't be the layer we're painting on, nor will it actually appear in the final picture. I set the layer option for this to 30% visibility, so I can still see the 'flesh' of Jolie's chin beneath it.

*Then, I select the airbrush tool, making sure the settings are: Normal Pressure: 70% Fade: ? steps Fade To: Transparent

Using the airbrush tool with the smallest possible brush (about 1 pixel wide) I play for a minute to find the optimum length of the fade setting (how many steps it should take for the airbrush to fade to transparency). I find that with the shortness of the hairs, a good length is fifteen or less steps. I set the brush to fade at 13 steps. I create a new layer, and using the guide I created, I begin airbrushing with the darker of the 2 brown tones. While brushing, keep in mind where the root of the hair is and what direction it's growing in. Also remember that hairs always have a little curvature or curl, at least towards the root. They NEVER grow straight out of the head (I know that sounds stupid and like common-sense, but it's imperative that you keep this in mind while painting the hair.)

*I create another new layer, seeing that this color won't serve best as a base, I repeat the exercise, making the hair a little more sparse, using black this time. I repeat this step again on a new layer, using the lightest color.

*I merge the three layers, bringing the goatee together for the first time. It looks very sharp and separate. On this particular picture (which I hate to admit, isn't the greatest resolution-- but in photomanipulation, you tend to take what you can get) that could be a bad thing. So I use the Blur tool (using a 35 pixel brush, and with the pressure set to 20%) to get the hairs to lose a bit of their separate nature.

*Now, I notice that the hairs are a bit light, so I play with the light/dark levels until I'm satisfied with the result.

*Finally, the hairs still don't see to blend in. There's actually a good reason for this. These hairs (even blurred as they have been) haven't undergone the "processing" and compression this image did before I got a hold of it. In order to help the newer part of the image match the older part, I apply an "Unsharp Mask" Filter, from the selection of Sharpen filters that Photoshop provides. I play with the settings (using the Preview option, to see what I'm doing AS I do it), boosting the threshold to 255 levels (the maximum) so that we'll have the most flexibility while trying to match the image. I settle on an Amount of 235%, and a Radius of 9.4 pixels, because this seems to adequately match the rest of the picture.

*Then I merge levels and save! Remember, you really will have to play allot. There's not going to be a standard for "hair painting". So much depends on the individual image, compression, resolution, coloring, etc... that you simply MUST practice. Start in grayscale, if you want-- it's easier to match tones that way! Keep in mind the location of the root of the hair, the direction of hair growth, and that you need AT LEAST 2 tones to make realistic hair.

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