Removal of eye glasses from images

It is said that eyes are the window to a person's soul. I don't know much about that, but I can agree that eye contact leads to better communication and portrays more confidence.

Unfortunately, not all people have clear vision and are therefore compelled to wear eye glasses. Eye glasses are not really bad, but they do block the true beauty of a person (unless you are one of those people who are made for glasses!!)

People often get their pictures snapped while wearing glasses and later wish they hadn't worn them. With Photoshop tools such as the Clone Tool, Healing Brush tool and Patch Tool, and a lot of patience, one can successfully get rid of them.

Below is my glass removal progression and outcome on Anne Hathaway. I will be posting a video tutorial on how to achieve this soon.

For more information, requests and business queries, email me at designaholism@gmail.com

Thank you, and till my next post, take care you all!

Mission Retouch & Transform

Have you ever had a photograph of yours that came out too dark, or you had an ugly zit that stopped you from using it somewhere? or you went overboard with your tan and ended up looking fried?

Do you have an old treasured black and white pic of a loved one that you would love to have in color instead?

Are you currently on braces and need a picture without them? Would you like to remove your eye glasses in your picture?

Or leave all that, would you like to magically transform yourself into a flying creature in fantasy land, or have a realistic 3D vector portrait made from your picture?

Well, guess what? In the world of design, everything is possible. It doesn't cost much, and in this web-based world, you end up looking as gorgeous as ever.

As of today, I will be posting various Photoshop possibilities in this blog, in my Facebook page and in my Youtube Channel. It is always fun to see great transformations taking place.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Take care and have a great day everyone!

For information or business queries, please contact me at designaholism@gmail.com.

Gradient Mesh Tool Portrait

Have you ever come across any applications that vectorize your images and "cartoonifies" them or converts them into a 3D vector version of yourself?

Ever wondered how you can achieve this manually?

There are several ways to attain this.

If you have been following my blog or my Youtube channel, you must have seen my Gradient Mesh Tool tutorial, where I make 3D realistic fruits using Adobe Illustrator CS3.

In this new tutorial, we use the same technique to make a portrait.

The key to a perfect realistic image, is the detailing and the amount of time you give to it. As for me, I didn't give too much time to the details for this one as I am just demonstrating the technique quickly, but I will be working on this same outcome further to create the exact version of the original image in vector in the near future.

As for now if you are interested and curious to see how its done, you can view the video tutorial here.

Have a good day everyone!

I'm Back! + Adobe Illustrator Opacity Mask Tutorial.

I came across this proverb today, "A poor workman always blames his tools," and I was like, that sounds just like me! (sounds like am boasting, but am actually pretty ashamed of myself).

For the past year, I have been blaming the absence of a software in making my Youtube videos. When I read this proverb, a thought struck me, there must be a substitute software for making my videos, I researched like mad, and discovered I did have an alternative software all along! Dumb me!

Anyway, I didn't waste any time...I whipped up a new video tutorial today.

You know how we have gradient masks in Adobe Photoshop? Well, many people don't really know how to get the same effect in Adobe Illustrator. It is in fact very simple.

It can be done by using Opacity Mask.

You can watch the video here or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQb5TC0wCvI to watch it:

This technique can be applied kinds of images, be it photographs or vector images. I feel it is very useful when creating vector logos.
This should be the final look once the effect has been applied.

Notice the reflected smiley fading into transparency.

Well, that's it for now. I would love to receive suggestions on future tutorials from whoever comes across this blog. 


Happy Weekend People! :)

Shame!

You know what's shameful?
it's been nearly one year since my last blog post! That means I have wasted nearly one year of my life in doing things that I felt obligated to do rather than those that I actually enjoyed (Yes, blogging is what I was really enjoyed!)

This year, I want to start afresh. I want to get back to blogging, making new videos on Youtube and focusing on my career.
This is not really a New Years Resolution. It is more like a new mindset I want to embrace for now and always.

So here's wishing you all a Happy New Year! May this year be filled wish joy and success for all!

PS. I would love to receive design-related suggestions from you guys for my future tutorials. So if there is anything you want me to make a tutorial on, please bring it forward!

XOXO

My Mesh Tool Fruits

If you have gone through my previous posts, you might have noticed that I have posted some of my fruit illustrations using the Mesh tool in Adobe Illustrator.
These fruits were drawn for a reason - Packaging. The packaging is going to be displayed in a branding gallery where I work along with many others that my colleagues and I have created.
This project is what kept me away from making videos and posting on my blog.

I will be posting some of my final artwork here after the launch of this new gallery. So please keep checking!
I shall also (hopefully) start making my videos again soon. I have truly missed them and I really hope I can squeeze in this hobby into my tight schedule.

Till then. take care and stay inspired!!

Another Self-Reflection

I was reflecting on my life today...summing up all the things I used to do, have been doing and want to do...
Here is what I came up with:

USED TO DO:
- Write poems...tons of them!
- In the process of building six pack abs
- Collector of various Photoshop goodies - brushes, textures etc
- Read lots of novels
- Work out daily
- Drink Avocado milkshake and have a banana daily!

WHAT I DO NOW:
- Work as a Graphics Designer
- Blog occasionally.
- TRY to work out once in a while
- make video tutorials for youtube.

WHAT I WANT TO DO:
- ALL that I used to do + what I do now + get a new exciting hobby

After this self-reflection,
I tried to tackle the no.1 thing in my list. Write a poem.
what used to come naturally to me before, took me ages and in the end I just gave up. A bad case of writer's block and a warning sign that I shouldn't let go of my passion!!
This really scared me.
My word of Advice for all today is:
if u like to do something, DO IT! don't leave it for a later time. Time don't wait for no one! we all know that...yet we take it for granted?
hmmmm...