Tutorial Objective

In this tutorial we'll introduce you to the basic concepts of applying an effect to an image, previewing the results then changing over to the Brush-On mode so you can brush the results on just the areas you want.

Step One - Open an Image and Apply Color Tone and Multiply Darks

Open up a portrait style image like the example below. Apply a Color Tone effect and then apply the Multiply Darks effect. (A) In the screenshot below we're holding down the Original button to view what the original photo started out looking like.

Step Two - Select the Multiply Darks Effect

With the Multiply Darks effect selected adjust the controls to get a good tonal result on your photo. As we're going to selectively brush it on certain areas pay attention to the places where you want to add the effect to. Don't worry about any areas outside this area of interest. (A) The Mode menu is set to Global. This applies the effect to the entire photo. Before we change to the Brush-On mode, we use this to preview the effect on screen. (B) We like the way the hair is darker. (C) We like the tapered shading on the face.

Step Three - Select the Mode: Brush-On Method

Now that we have previewed and adjusted the controls on the effect we're ready to switch the mode to Brush-On. (A) Change the Mode to Brush-On. (B) The Brush-On tool becomes active. (C) The preview changes and you no longer see the Multiply Darks effect applied to the photo.

Step Four - Brush-On the Effect

Select the (A) Brush-On tool. Go to the Brush Palette (B) and adjust the Opacity to 50%, the Size to 200 and the Feather to 100. Now brush over the area of interest in your photo where you want to add the Multiply Darks effect. In our example (see below) we will brush over the facial features around the jaw-line, chin and nose (C).

In the example below we've completed brushing over the areas of interest and you can see the results. As the Brush Opacity was set to 50%, only 50% of the effect was applied to the area of interest when we made our first stroke with the brush.

Step Four - Brush Again

As we had the brush opacity set to 50%, we can add more result to the area of interest by brushing over it again. Since only 50% of the effect is added to the area of interest we can add another 25% to it by reducing the brush opacity slider to 25% before we stroke over that area a second time (50% Stroke 1 + 25% Stroke 2 = 75% effect added to area).

In the example above we changed the (1) Opacity slider on the Brush Palette to 25%. Then we brushed over the areas of interest (A), (B) and (C) again giving it a total effect of 75% in that area.

Step Six - Adjust the Controls

Now that we've brushed over the areas of interest we can change the settings on the controls and these will update the places we've brushed over. In this case let's increase the settings to 100% just to illustrate this point.

As we adjust the control (1) we can see the changes on the image in the areas of interest (A), (B) and (C).

Step Seven - Brush-Off

Now let's learn how to remove the effect from an area where we've brushed it on. To do this we'll use the Brush-Off tool. Select the Brush-Off tool (A) and then adjust the brush size to be slightly larger and change the opacity to 100% (B). Then brush over an area where you've already added the effect (C).

In the example below we've brushed away the effect using the Brush-Off tool. We removed it from the region around the nose. You can compare this to the example above to see the difference.

It is important to know that you can also remove a smaller percentage of the effect by using a lower opacity. If we had brushed over the region of the nose with a 30% opacity it would have resulted in 45% of the effect remaining (75% brushed on less 30% brushed off leaves 45% remaining).

Finishing Touch

In the example below we've finished the image by brushing on the Multiply Darks to selected areas. Then we saved the photo to show you how effective the Brush-On tool can be.

Original ~ Color Tone Applied ~ Multiply Darks - Brushed On Selected Areas

Summary

Use the Mode: Brush-On method to apply the effects to only the areas you brush over with the Brush-On tool. First you preview the effect using the Mode: Global and adjust the settings as desired. After you are satisfied with the changes in the areas of interest change to Mode: Brush-On and then apply the green Brush-On tool over the areas you want to apply the effect to. Use the Brush Palette > Size, Opacity and Feather settings to control how large the brush is and how much of the effect is added to the photo each time you add a brush stroke. It is important that you understand how to use the Opacity control on the Brush Palette to add the effects to your photo in gradual amounts. Use the Brush-Off tool to erase the effect from areas you have added it.

In the next tutorial we'll learn about how to apply effect to photos using the Gradient Path tool.