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Tip #36: Magic Eyes Photo (Photoshop 7)
By: Tedric GarrisonFirst open the image you want to work on. Keep in mind that this is a very subtle effect. You want to choose a good image to begin with as you are trying to enhance not re-create. After the image is open, open the Layers Palette and click on the "add new layer" icon (see arrow "A" below.)
Use the Magnify glass tool to enlarge the image enough so that you mostly see just the eyes. Using the Lasso Tool from the toolbox (2nd item down the left side) make a selection around one eye (just the eye, NOT the eye lashes). Hold down the shift key and do the same thing with the other eye. (This allows you to have two active items at the same time.) Make sure Layer one is the active layer, then push Shift+Ctrl+I on the keyboard to inverse the selection.
Make sure your foreground color is set to black. Go to the brush tool (Arrow "A") and select a brush size just wide enough to cover above the eyes until you can see flesh color again. Draw in the shadow along this top edge of both eyes. In the Layers palette change the layer blend mode to Multiply (Arrow "B") and
set the Opacity slider bar down to 40% (Arrow "C"). Before you change B and C, the black above the eyes will look a little strange, don't panic, just keep going. After you have done this push Ctrl+D on the keyboard to Deselect the eyes.
Go back to the Layers palette and make the Background layer the active layer. Use the Lasso tool and make a loose selection around the iris of both eyes (see photo below.) You want a little white around the edge, (Arrow "A"), but very little. Remember to hold down the shift key so you can keep both eyes open (no pun intended.) From the menu bar running across the top, go to Select, then down to Feather. When the Feather Dialog box comes up, enter 5 pixels and click OK. On the keyboard press Control +J to place this selection on it's own layer (layer 2).
Making sure that Layer 2 is now your active layer, go back to the menu bar across the top. Go over to Filter, down to Sharpen, and over to Unsharp Mask. When I first learned this tip, it suggested 500% in the Amount section (Arrow "A"), however in this example it made the effect too dramatic. You will need to play with this number, depending on your original photo, but it should definitely still be on the higher end of the scale. Set the Radius to 2.0 pixels (Arrow "B") and the Threshold to5 (Arrow "C") This combination will oversharp the eyes dramatically. After doing this go back to the Layers palette and set the
Opacity to 50%.
Choose the dodge tool (Arrow "A") then go up to the options bar and set the range to cover highlights and exposure down to 50% (Arrows "C" and "D" respectively.) Choose a small, soft edge brush (Arrow "B") that will fit between the pupil and the outer edge of the iris. Again this will vary depending on the size of your original. I used a 5, but my original is only a 5x7 in size. After selecting the right brush, lighten the highlights on the lower right side of each iris. This may take two or three passes with the dodge tool, but don't overdo it.
Create another new layer (Layer 3) by clicking the new layer icon (Arrow "A") and change your foreground color to white. (Just type x to toggle your background and foreground colors back and forth). Using the same size brush as you did in the step above this one, now paint a white highlight on the left side of each iris. This will lookstrange until you change the blend mode to Overlay (Arrow "B").
Create another new layer (Layer 4) by clicking the new layer icon (Arrow "A"). Actually this Arrow "A" is off slightly, but you should be getting the hang of it by now. Choose the Eyedropper tool from the toolbox (Arrow "B") and look for a color just a little darker than the overall skin tone, probably in the shadow area just above the eyes. Left click once to make this your new foreground color. Now select another soft edge brush, this time one that is large enough to go between the eyelid and the eye brow. Paint the area around both eyes (to include the eyebrows), it's ok if right now it looks like she is wearing a party mask. (See photo below.)
Go back up to the Menu bar, over to Filter, down to Blur, over to Gaussian Blur. When the Gaussian Blur dialog box comes up enter 10 pixels and press OK. Since you are still on Layer 4, you can go back and clean up in excess makeup with the Eraser tool if you need to. Go back to the Layers Palette and set the Opacity to between 80 - 90 %, and your almost done. Make sure your Background Layer is active, then go to the tool bar, and select the Dodge tool (right below the Eyedropper tool you used in the step above.) Dodge the "Whites" of the eyes just a little to bring them up to the same brightness as
the rest of the eyes.
Go back to the top menu bar, go over to Layer, and down to Flatten Image and left click once. Then Save your new work under a different name so you can play with this effect several times if you wish.
Photoshop Tip #36: Tedric Garrison tedric@betterphototips.com
