Displacement Mapping and a little Masking

[tx51210]

Displacement Masking is one of those things that sounds hard but when you go thru the steps you realize it really is not a big deal, but it can make some really cool effects. Here is the process I used to generate this chop. Sorry for the large quantity of pics, but there are a number of small steps.



I started with this source picture of the beautiful Angelina


To create a displacement map for her face I toggled to the channels tab and duplicated the channel that had the best contrast range (in this image the RED worked) Click the New tab and you can create a new image containing just the duplicated Red Channel.


Working on the new file we created - I first used the brightness and contrast tool to increase the contrast 100% (not shown) and then I added a slight Gaussian Blur to the image as shown.


Important - Save the new file we created as a .PSD file so you don't loose the information. I called this the AJ-DisplacementMap.PSD and saved it to my working directory.


Close the AJ-DisplacementMap.PSD file and you should still have the original source file open. Working in the original file, I placed the image of the fabric that I want to apply the displacement map. It is located on a layer just above the original photo. Go to the FILTER menu and select DISTORT and the DISPLACE and you should see this Dialog Box.


Click OK and you will be asked for a file to use as a Displacement Map. We choose our AJ-DisplacementMask.PSD file.


The result will look something like this.


I changed the fabric layer's blend mode to Overlay (some images may work better with different blend modes - experiment).


Now I want to mask. I turn Off the Fabric Layer and toggle to the Channel Menu. I duplicate the Channel with the most contrast between background and the subject and then lowered the Brightness and increased the Contrast.


I then used the BURN tool set to SHADOWS and a large soft brush to convert the mask to black and white and omit all the detail on the face.


I used a black brush to paint out the whites of the eyes and any stubborn highlights on the face and converted the mask to a selection. (Control Click on the layer or pick the selection tool at the bottom of the layer menu)


You will need to inverse the selection. I then changed to the layer menu and selected the Fabric layer and with the inverted selection active, I picked the layer mask tool on the bottom of the layer menu and the selection became a mask to hide the background.


Here is one of the great things about working with masks. Since I now realized that I want her eyes to be masked I go back to the layer mask and paint white over the eyes and other areas till I am satisfied the fabric only appears where I want it to be. I can add and subtract from the mask without damaging the original or the displacement map.


The final result

[joshbond]

Awesome!

[PottieMouff]

i always forget about displacement mapping

[TDM]

wow thanks alot i just tried it and failed but i will try again when i can focus better it is alot easier to understand than most others

[tx51210]

Glad you like it. I forgot to optimize the images for the web and just went back and resaved the files to medium quality so they are 2/3 smaller files and should load faster after the net propogates the new versions. Should open faster in the morning.

I did notice a mistake in the tute. I wrote that the blend mode was overlay instead of multiply for the fabric layer. The picture shows the blend mode I used but either could be used.

[FelixtheCat]

That is very cool. The fabric makes her skin so creepy.

[SoliD]

let me guess... you got this technique from Scott Kelby's Photoshop Channels book? Same thing

[tx51210]

Actually,

Someone here asked for a tutorial on displacement masking and I had been inspired by work done previously by Pelican here on our site.

The displacement masking is pretty common stuff, but we try to make our own work for Photochopz. I have'nt seen Kelby's book, but I will check it out.

[joshbond]

So Scott Kelby holds some kind of patent on all the tools and functions in photoshop?
Does this mean I have to send him a royalty check every time I use the pen tool? Do I need write him and ask for permission the next time I want to clone something?

[TDM]

yeah im still having alot of trouble with this but im working on it ill get it.

[tx51210]

I know, its a BEAR.

[Lengo]

Thanks for the lesson. I didn't know you could do this!

edit:

I tried this, with only some success. I was working with a black and white image with limited contrast (by design, not mistake). I did't get quite what I wanted out of it, but with adding some other tricks made it turn out fairly good. THANKS, TX! I never used displacement before because I didn't know how. You da man! erm.... that is a man in the picture chop, right?

[tx51210]

Originally Posted by Lengo

Thanks for the lesson. I didn't know you could do this!

edit:

I tried this, with only some success. I was working with a black and white image with limited contrast (by design, not mistake). I did't get quite what I wanted out of it, but with adding some other tricks made it turn out fairly good. THANKS, TX! I never used displacement before because I didn't know how. You da man! erm.... that is a man in the picture chop, right?

Black and white images are harder to work with cause the layer blend modes tend to respond best to tones of gray or color. When you get to either the black or white ends of the spectrum there is less oportuinty for blending. You might have better luck converting the image to B&W after you have done the example in the tutorial.

[Lengo]

I'll try some others, but you got me started. In 8 years of having photoshop, I've never tried any kind of layer masking. Yeterday I looked at some tutorials on YouTube, so I have lots to try. Thanks to you, though, I'm on my way.

See my photo of Bebe Daniels in my gallery. It's the first that I every used layer mask on. Comments, of course, are welcome. That is, as long as they're positive ones.