Contents

Visualizing Your Resultant Image

Properties of the Stock Image
Preparing the Image
Know your Charts
The Process: Stage 1
The Process: Stage 2
The Process: Stage 3
The Final Touch
Considering Other Processes
Final Image
Visualization
Normally visualization simply means the creating of a picture mentally. Initially a graphics
designer should be able to create the final image mentally before going into clicking off on the
computer or PC. Visualizing helps in many ways including the process of getting the final image
in much more prospective background. Apparently most designers don’t go into the act of
creating a mental picture of their final image not knowing the various packages visualization
brings into this process.

Aim
The aim for the elaboration of this topic on this tutorial is make the learner understand why
visualization is very much crucial and delicate process of graphics design

Reason
Now, in the world of Information and Commutations Technology and even System Analysis a
study(Feasibility Study) in particular is always carried out before any other process is been
initiated. This study helps with determining what methodology is to be used, what kind of
interaction the user will receive from the system, etc. But in Graphics, this study is more or
less like creating the mental output of your final image before heading into work. Not does
this lead to creating your image mentally but it also helps in architecting a process to follow
while creating the image.
The process that is been created by the Designer is therefore used to create the image, which
then results to a 100% output in the work done.

Importance
The importance of visualization as stated earlier is mostly to be considered as not many will
never want to go through this process before diving into the main topics of this tutorial. These
importance include:
1. A clear version of the image is being produced
2. Much easier processes and steps are produced in detail.
Finally visualizing the final image before working is of very great importance to every Graphics
designer. Even in other branches of Computer Studies, this kind of a process also exist, in
which, a process to achieve the result is outlined.
How to Visualize
To create a mental representation of your project, you have look at the original image (Stock
Image). By looking at the image try to understand what that image is all about. Seeing the
image, you will have to see how you can transform the image into what you painting in your
mind.

Visualizing may seem too difficult at first but after putting much thought into what you are
trying to achieve, it may turn out easy.
In other words, visualization can be seen as the planning phase or rather the feasibility study
of creating the image in mind. And as for the processes being outlined, they can be written
down in the form of a note or a document. Any of the documents created can be used for
future references.
The Stock Image Structure
One of the major things to be looked at when you are about to animate an image, is the
structure and appearance of the image. The image maybe a stock image but there are still
some hidden flaws. The only thing to be considered at most is the resolution of the image and
the size of the image.
There are factors to be studied before animating the image. They include the following;

Image Clarity
The clarity of the image is to be considered, as it has to do with the clearness of the image. It
also affects the final image and it helps greatly when working on a zoomed image. If the image
clarity isn’t of good quality then working on a zoomed environment is going to very difficult
and this will have do with working on edges.

Image Sharpness
Sharpness is of great importance because the image edges are to determine the outline of the
animated image. The image sharpness also helps with easy edge selection if it is of good
quality. Sharpness has to be of a moderate level.

Image Contrast
This deals with how vivid the image should look like. The contrast of the image is also to be of
a moderate level or better still at a fairly high level. The contrast helps with easy determining
and comparing of colors of the animated image.

Image Resolution
This talks mainly about the image color depth. It also deals with the color output of the image.
High resolution images may hardly display on smaller devices and they give the best results
when it comes to the color depth and as the low resolution images, they are generally the
opposite of high resolution images.

Image Size
The size of the image is important, for the size of the image tells us how the quality of the
image might be. If the size of the image is large, then the quality of the image may be at
maximum else if the image size is small then quality may be low.
Preparing the Stock Image
Preparation of the stock image depends on how good is the quality of the image. Preparing
the stock image usually base on retouching but not all details of the image may be retouched
as it depends on image quality. I am using an image with high resolution, so let’s get started…

Step 1
Open the image and duplicate it

Step 2
Make sure the duplicate image layer is selected. Click on the images option on menu bar then
click on adjustments. Select the Brightness and Contrast option, then make sure brightness
level is on 12 and your contrast on 50.
Step 3
Next we will have to work on the midtones of the image. Click on images option from the
menu bar then click on adjustments, then click on Levels. On the this pane there are three
dials there, the black one represents shadows, the white one represents highlights and the
gray one represents midtones. One the bottom are three textboxes initially under the three
dials. The one in the middle is for midtones. On this textbox type in the value “0.83”, then click
Ok.

Step 4
Next we will adjust the saturation of the image. Click on image option from the menu bar then
click on adjustments and click on saturation. Type in the value for saturation “9”.
And we are done with the retouching for now. You can disable and enable the retouched
image to see the difference between the original image and the retouched image. The edges
of your retouched image would much more visible on and the color of the image will be a bit
vivid then before, it also makes the light and dark areas of the image more visible. The image
should look like this after retouching…

Note
Please note that the values for may vary on this image or on other images depending on the
quality of your image. So feel free to experiment with other values and options while
retouching your image.
Color Scheme
Before we begin with the animation, we will need to set up an effective color scheme. Though
it may seem somewhat difficult to know the kind of color scheme to might be easier if you
refer to other color schemes available online. But for now you will be learning how to setup
your own color scheme.
First we will be staring with the skin color. Now this may seem difficult at first but it is worth
to try. Open a new workspace and create small rectangles or squares using your tool . After
creating your rectangles (5 to 4 in number), try filling them with these colors.

Now the color codes for this color scheme are “#FFF1D8 (Light skin)”, “#FFE8BF (Light-Fair
skin)”, “#F3D197 (Fair Skin)”, “#D9BB86 (Dark-Fair skin)”, and “#C69C6D (Dark skin)”.
These color codes can be typed in a section at the bottom of the color picker dialogue box.

The importance creating a color scheme is for the referencing purpose in the later time of the
designing process. When color is to be applied into a section of the image being animated, it
would be easy to select a suitable color for the image.
Other color schemes can still be created for other objects like the clothing, eye color and even
the hair and the surroundings. For this particular image I am using, there is a color scheme for
hair and eye color.
The shadows and highlights has only two colors which is black (shadows) and white
(highlights). They are the only components with this kind of basic color.
The colors used for his tutorial may be different as it may yield different results, so try other
colors within the orange range of colors (refer to the color picker above).
Image Management
This has to do with how you handle the image in use for this animation. While you about to
begin with the animation, it is best you take note of the image you will use for the placement
of colors, the image you will use for your selection, the image you will use for the application
of your effects and the image you will use for the application of your shadows and highlights
later on…
I will have to describe the images listed above for a better understanding:

Image for Selection and the Placement of Colors –

This image is a duplicate of the retouched image. It is used for selection of the various
components of the image then application of the colors. Due to its sharp edges selecting will
not be that difficult to carryout.

Image for the Application of Effects –

This might either be the retouched image or the original image it depends on your choice. This
image will be used to apply any effect you want to display behind the animation.

Image for the Application of Shadow and Highlights –

This image is usually desaturated (black and white) and used to apply the dark and light areas
of the animation after placing the colors. This plays and important role as it will bring out the
most of the final image.

Note
Now one thing to put in mind is that most these images listed above have its background
removed for a better result. But it will still be important if you keep one of the images with its
background still intact.
First Stage
The first stage is based on the removal of the image background and the application of your
strokes on the image. Let’s begin!

Step 1
Duplicate the retouched image. Then create a selection on the background using the Magic
Wand tool or the quick selection tool . On this image select only the white area of the
background.

Step 2
After creating the selection, press the delete key on your keyboard. Make sure you are on the
layer of the duplicated image.

Your image should look like this after removing the background. Note you have to disable all
images with a background in order for to see this.
Step 3
Once the background is off selecting the edges will not difficult. To select the edges, press
Ctrl+A while on the image layer without a background, to create a selection around the
image. Select the edit option and click on stroke. On the size of the outline type in 3px, make
opacity is 100% and color is black and the location should be outside. Then click OK.

Step 4
To add stroke to the face and arm areas, click the Brush tool , right click on the image and
select the “round point stiff brush” from the menu and set its size to 3px, then press ENTER.

Select the pen tool and start making along the jaw line of the face.

Right click and select stroke path option, select brush from the tool section then click OK.
The same procedure in step 3 can also be repeated for the areas of the arm and eyes of the
image but step 4 is easier.
When making your strokes, make sure you on a new layer, else you might damage the
duplicate image.
The strokes can either be on a single layer or on a multiple layer
Once finished with the strokes, rename the layer to “strokes” or “outlines”
Your image should have black lines around it as shown in the picture below

If your outlines are too black, you can reduce the opacity to your satisfaction. For this image I
reduced my outline opacity to 51% or 50%

.
You can also use other colors for outline, provided that they are dark colors.
Second Stage
This stage deals with the application of the colors on the various areas of the image. This is
one of the difficult stages in this tutorial. It is difficult because of the several color choices you
will be faced with in this stage. Even with the color schemes we’ve previously created, it may
also seem difficult to get the right choice of color for the different areas. So let’s get started…

Step 1
First we will apply the skin color. Select the image layer that is without a background and Press
Ctrl+A on your keyboard. This will select only the image.

Step 2
While the image is selected, click on the “create new fill adjustment layer option” below the
group tab, then select the “solid color” option.
Step 3
On the color picker dialogue box the mouse pointer will change to an eye dropper tool. Make
sure have already moved the color scheme you created into this present animation
workspace. Click on the colors on the color scheme. As you click on the color the selected
areas of the image will be with the color you clicked on.

Once you have selected the skin color you find suitable, click OK.
Step 4

Next we apply the hair color. While the image remains selected, use the pen tool to make
a path along the hair line and around the body.
Step 5
After making the path, right click and select the “make selection option”. On the dialogue box,
select the “subtract from selection” option then click OK.

Only areas of the hair will be selected after this action is carried out,

Step 6
Using the solid color option (as shown in step 2), fill the hair typing in this color code #13011C,
then click OK and press Ctrl+D to deselect.

Your image should look like this after these few steps.

Step 7
In this step we will be dealing with the mouth
Use the pen tool to create a path around the lips. After closing the path, press Ctrl+ENTER to
create a selection around the mouth
Step 8
After making your selection, fill the lips by typing in this color code #290136 (using the solid
color option as used in step 2), then click Ok.
Note the skin color layer has to be disabled in order to fill other areas of the image with color
and all other color layers should be above the skin color layer

Step 9
With the lips still selected, use the pen to create a path along the middle of the lips then make
a selection of subtraction (refer to step 5). After subtracting, the lower half which is selected,
with white. Change the blending mode soft and change the opacity to 52%.

Step 10
Use the pen tool to select the very dark areas of the nose. After making your selection, fill it
with gray or black. Reduce the opacity to 23%.

Step 11
Next we go for the eyes. Make selections around the dark areas of the eye. These dark areas
include the eye lashes, eye brows and the lower eye lid. When selecting around the eyes, be
as accurate as you possibly can.

Step 12
After making the selections fill he selected areas with black, then press Ctrl+D to deselect. The
eyeballs are usually filled with white.

Step 13
Select the iris and fill with any color of your choice. Select the pupils and fill them with black.
The pupils should be at a normal small size.
Step 14
Next is to create the shine in the eyes. In this part, I advise that you work on a single eye first
then copy the work done to the other eye.
Make a curved selection at the bottom of the iris then fill with white and reduce the opacity
to 72%.

Step 15
Duplicate the layer and increase the opacity to 91%. Click on filters from the menu bar and
select “Blur” option and then select “Gaussian Blur” option.

Step 16
Enter the value 2.1 for the amount then click OK. You can experiment with other values form
the ranges of 1.5 to 4.0.
Step 17
Hold the Ctrl key click on the iris color layer to create a selection around the iris, then open a
new layer and apply a gradient. The gradient applied is the “Transparent and Foreground color
gradient”. And to apply the gradient you will have to select the gradient tool from the
tools bar. Do this to each eye separately.

Step 18
Once the gradient tool is set, drag slightly from top to bottom of the selected eye. The black
color will come in as a form of shadow over the iris.
Repeat this step for the other eye.

Step 19
Now that the eye is complete you may now proceed to selecting and filling the fingers. You
can fill the fingers with any color of choice.

Your image should look like this after those steps.

It is recommended that you may need to create new layers and work on some the areas
separately in order to avoid unchangeable mistakes and also group the layers for this stage.
And we are done with this stage.
Third Stage
In this stage, we are going to apply the shadows, highlights, tints and shades. This can be a
little complex as most people will find it hard to identify the areas listed just now, so I will be
giving the steps in detail. Before we begin make sure the layers on the previous stage are
group together as we will making this on top of the color layers.

Step 1
Duplicate the retouched image (the one without the background). Then click on images from
the menu bar and select adjustments then click “Desaturate”.

This will turn your image to black and white (grayscale). White will be for the highlights while
black will be for shadows. You can also use this short cut to desaturate “Shift+Ctrl+U”.

Step 2
After desaturation, duplicate the desaturated image and click on images then select the
“Threshold option”. Value for the threshold will always change as we work on different parts
of the image.
So first we apply the threshold for dark areas of the body.

The level is 128 for this step. Click OK

Step 3
Use the Magic Wand tool to select the black areas around the eyes and hair, then press
DELETE. Use the wand tool select the white colors around the image and press DELETE as well.

Step 4
Change the blending mode to soft light and change the opacity to 42%.

Step 5
Repeat the same process for the eyes but with a different opacity of 52%.
Step 6
Repeat the same process for the sections of the upper lip with an opacity of 50% and lower
parts of the mouth with an opacity of 75%.

On this half of this stage we have only worked on the shadows. Now please note that each of
the shadows applied are duplicates made from the desaturated image. Therefore each
shadow must be on its own layer.
Now on the second half of this stage we’ll be applying the highlights. The procedure here may
seem similar to that the shadows.
Let’s start.

Step 1
Duplicate the desaturated image then apply your threshold from the images option under
adjustments.
Step 2
On threshold, enter the value 138, then click OK.

Step 3
Use the Wand tool to select the black colors then press the DELETE key to clear out the
black colors.

Step 4
Change the blending mode to “Soft Light” and the opacity to 79% or 82%.
Step 5
To apply highlights to the hair, create your threshold adjustment with this value 44. After
making the threshold adjustment, go to the color layer for the hair, hold your Ctrl Key then
click on the layer mask to make a selection of the hair.

Step 6
Select the Wand tool right click and click on “Select Inverse”.

This will select all other parts of image except the hair. After carrying out this command, press
the DELETE key. All other parts of the image will be deleted except for the hair. Once done
press Ctrl+D to deselect.
Step 7
To eliminate the black color around the hair, click on “Select” from the menu bar then click
on color range.

Step 8
When dialogue box opens, use the mouse pointer to click on a part of the hair covered with
black, then click OK.

Step 9
Once the selection is made, press the DELETE key to eliminate the black colors.

Step 10
Blending mode should be on “Normal” and opacity should be reduced to 10%

Step 11
Repeat the same procedures used for applying highlights on the hair to apply highlights on
the mouth. Use this value for threshold “26”, Blending mode “Soft Light”, Opacity “50%”.
Unlike the shadows, the highlights are each made from duplicates of the desaturated image.
Remember to always group the layers for easy referencing.
Next up we’ll be applying the shades and tints. They are more like shadows but they present
this sharp look on areas of the image that are darker than the normal shadows.
So let’s get started.

Step 1
Disable the Shadows and Highlights group, and the Colors group.
Select the pen tool from the toolbar and create a path along the darkest part of the image,
once the path is closed, press Ctrl+ENTER to make a selection.
Darkest parts of the image is indicated below…

Step 2
Fill the selection with using this color code #847862 from the solid color option in new
adjustment layers option at the bottom of the layers tab. Change the blending mode to
“Multiply” and change its opacity to 12%. Press Ctrl+D to deselect.

Step 3
To apply the tints is almost the same procedure as applying the shades. The only difference is
the change in color and opacity. Color code used is #847862, opacity reduced to 7% and
blending mode is at “Multiply”.
Areas for tints are shown below

Your image should look like the one below after applying your shades and tints.

And we are done with this stage and the main process of the animation…
Adding the Background
In this part of the tutorial, you can add any type of background on your animation. It can be a
solid color, a gradient or a background of your own making (for experts only). So let’s see how
to apply the background.

Solid Color Background

Make sure you are standing on a layer below the groups, then click on the new adjustment
layers button below.

Select the solid color option and choose any color of your choice, then click OK. I am using the
color of orange for my solid color background.
Gradient Background
Unlike the first step for creating the solid color background, make sure you standing on a layer
below the groups. Click on the new adjustments button below and select the “Gradient”
option.
Once the dialogue box is open click on the gradient box to open a new dialogue called the
gradient display.

On the gradient display select the black and white gradient.

Click on the black pointer click on the color box below and select any dark color of choice. Do
the same for the white pointer but select a light color for it. Click Ok for all
You can select any color of your choice when making the gradient. I am using an Aqua and
Deep Aqua color for my gradient.

To can also change your gradient style to any one you see fit for the animation.
There are other kind of background that are created by expert designers solely for the purpose
of animation. These backgrounds can be found on the internet.
Creating a premium background for an animation such as this one will take a lot of time and a
lot of thinking since you will be trying to make the background catch the eyes of your viewers
or recipients.
A good example of a premium background is shown below.

Shows that she is on a bed or cushion

Applying Your Effects
Any kind of effect can be applied on an animation regardless the type animation. In this tutorial
I applied a drop shadow effect on the animation (see the image above). But I will show you
how to apply other effects on your animation.

Step 1
Make sure you group the various layers together. Your layer setup should look like this:

Step 2
With the two groups grouped together as seen above, make duplicate of the group named
“Cartoon”. Then convert the copy by right clicking on the layer and then select the “Convert
to Smart Object” option.

Make sure one of the group is disabled.

Step 3
After converting the group, double click the layer. A dialogue will appear showing the various
effects.
Step 4
On the dialogue, click on stroke and put in the following values;
Size: 5px, Position: Outside, Blend Mode: Normal, Type: Color, Color: White (#FFFFFF).

Step 5
Click on Drop Shadow and put these values;
Blend Mode: Multiply, Opacity: 57%, Angle: 175, Uncheck Global Light, Distance: 21px,
Spread: 8%, Size: 51px.

Then click OK
The effect made here is called Stroke – Shadow effect.
Your animation should have this kind of looking after applying your background and your
various effects.

You can edit the values of the effect by double clicking on the name of the effect you want to
edit.
After this stage your animation seems to be already in full form but in the next part of this
tutorial we will be adding some adjustments to the final image just as we did when retouching
the stock. You can practice with some features in the Filters option to create better effects to
your animation.

Applying the Adjustments

The reason for applying the adjustments just as we did when retouching the stock image is to
just make the animation look much more presentable to eyes of people.
The adjustments here will be a bit more complex than when retouching the stock image, so
detailed steps will be from here on.
Before we begin, click on the layer carrying the effects and duplicate it.
After duplicating, right click on the layer copy and select the “Rasterize” option.
Right click on the layer again and select the “Rasterize Layer Style” option.
This will enable you to add the adjustments needed on the animation.
Now let’s add the adjustments.

Step 1
Click on Images from the menu bar, click on adjustments then select brightness and contrast.
Enter the values; Brightness: -10, Contrast: 10. Then click OK.

Step 2
Click on Images, click on adjustments then select Curves. Enter the values;
Input: 139, Output: 113.

Step 3
Click on images, click on adjustment then select Exposure. Enter the values;
Exposure: 0.11.
Step 4
Click on images, click on adjustments then select Vibrance. Enter the values;
Vibrance: 40.

Step 5
Click on images, click on adjustments then select Hue/Saturation. Enter the values;
Saturation: 10.

Here is the difference after applying the adjustments. And we are done.
You can add texts to your animation if you wish.
Here is my version the final Image.
Here are some other forms of animation you can achieve with thorough practice.
Experiment with the various tools in Photoshop and other graphics software.
Final Image