Create a Retro Pop Art in Photoshop

 

Preparation

We will be using Keeley Hazell image again for this Retro Pop Art tutorial.

Click here to download Keeley Hazell image.

All rights of these resources belong to their respective owners.
   

Step 1 – Understanding Pen Tool

There are 2 types of path strokes, with and without Simulate Pressure.

Set the Brush to 1pt and draw a straight path with Pen tool. Right-click on the path and select Stroke Path. Select Brush, uncheck Simulate Pressure and you will get a line like the top example.

Select the Brush tool and open up Brushes palette located at top right of Options bar. Check on Shape Dynamics and enter the settings shown in the diagram. Close the palette once you are done.

Set Brush size to 3pt and draw a straight path with Pen tool. Right-click on the path and select Stroke Path. But check on Simulate Pressure this time. You will get a line like the bottom example.
   

Step 2 – Tracing the Figure

Create a new document of size 750×550 pixels. Drag Keeley Hazell image in and create a new layer above and name it as Outline.

Using the technique in Step 1, path the general outline with Pen tool. Set Brush to 1pt and stroke your path without Simulate Pressure.

Draw the paths for hair and other details. Set Brush to 3pt and stroke these paths with Simulate Pressure.
   

Step 3a – Painting Figure

Create a new layer below Outline and name it as Skin.

Set the foreground color to #E6B292. Using the Brush tool with a comfortable size (like 15-20pt), paint the skin as shown in the diagram.
   

Step 3b – Painting Figure

Create a new layer below Skin and name it as Hair.

Set the foreground color to #795229 and paint the hair as shown in the diagram.
   

Step 3c – Painting Figure

Create a new layer above Skin and name it as Shirt.

Set the foreground color to #9E5D18 and paint the shirt as shown in the diagram.
   

Step 3d – Painting Figure

Create a new layer above Shirt and name it as Face.

Set the foreground color to #000000 and paint the eyes, eyebrows, ear and nose.

Set the foreground color to #FFFFFF and paint the teeth then #EC6060 for the lips.
   

Step 4a – Adding Halftone Effect

Hide all the layers except for the original image of Keeley Hazell.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. Then Image > Adjustments > Threshold. Set the levels to 80 and hit OK.
   

Step 4b – Adding Halftone Effect

Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone.

Set the Max Radius to 6 and Channel 1, 2, 3 and 4 to 0. You should get a nice black-white halftone effect like the one on the left.
   

Step 4c – Adding Halftone Effect

Select this halftone layer and arrange it to be the topmost layer on the panel. Set Blend Mode of this layer to Soft Light and Opacity to 50%.

Unhide all the other layers under it.
   

Step 5a – Adding Background

Create a new layer below everything and name it as Background.

Set the foreground color to #662855 and background color to #3B022D. Make a linear gradient across the screen diagonally.
   

Step 5b – Adding Background

Select the Custom Shape tool, click on Shape Layers and then choose Registration Target 2 from the preset list.

Set the foreground color to #4953BD and draw a big burst like the one in the diagram. Set the opacity of this layer to 30%.
   

Optional

I have added another halftone effect to the background to complete the design.

Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and I wish you a Happy New Year!

Click here to view the final image.
 
The websites play as a fundamental role to boost up the business profit, especially when you want to create a retro-pop-art image in its texture. To capture the maximum customers, a business should attain the appropriate dedicated servers and select the cheap hosting option, to enhance the speed and the security of the website. On the other hand, be cautious about the domain registration and its jumble. The best option in this regard is internet.
I am Johnson Koh, a graphic and web designer in Singapore. Founded 10Steps.SG in August 2008 with the purpose to share my experiments and interesting design news.

114 Comments | Write a Comment

  1. Mawtiii says:
    January 26, 2010 at 12:21 am

    How did you do the optional step?

    Reply
  2. anji says:
    January 24, 2010 at 9:17 am

    uhm. I just can’t customize the brush for stimulate pressure. I can’t see any options like the one with the size jitter etc. in my brush window

    Reply
  3. yudi says:
    December 30, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    what is photoshop do you use?

    Reply
  4. rakshasa says:
    November 20, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    hi
    i have a little problem
    i cant find Shape Registration Target 2
    please may anyone tell me where can i download ?
    thank you so much
    great tutorial <3

    Reply
  5. jhonfaisal says:
    November 7, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    cool man….
    I am very lucky to get this tutorial and I was hoping to understand and do it ….

    thanks ….

    Reply
  6. Robostar says:
    October 15, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Nice tut! This is what I came up with…

    http://megapixeldesign.deviantart.com/art/Ultrakill-140342418

    Reply
  7. Daniel =) says:
    August 25, 2009 at 2:41 am

    Hi there!
    i was wondering if you can tell me how to do the last effect you made
    ”halftone effect” the last one is te ”optional step”

    it would be awesome if you can mail me how to do it
    if not… ill keep in touch with your website!

    salam! and 5 stars to your tutorial

    :)

    Reply
  8. Arie CS says:
    August 12, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Yeahhhh . . .
    Many Path Tutorial in there . . :-D . .
    Very very thx for this Help Johnson . .
    I hope I can understand to use the path . .

    Succes for this site . . .
    God Blez u . .
    :-)

    Reply
  9. Arie CS says:
    August 12, 2009 at 7:54 am

    I’m using Photoshop CS3 . .
    Yeah , I have that . .
    But by the stroke Function so difficult . .
    Any Tuts Learn it ? ?

    I’m so sorry about that . .
    and so thx for you Johnson . .

    Reply
  10. Johnson Koh says:
    August 12, 2009 at 5:39 am

    Hi Arie, I found this video tutorial for u http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z36DXVgauM0&feature=related :)

    Reply
  11. Johnson Koh says:
    August 11, 2009 at 4:10 pm

    Hi Arie, sorry that the lines cannot achieve by the filters. May i know what version of Photoshop you are using? Do you have the Stroke Path function?

    Reply
  12. Arie CS says:
    August 11, 2009 at 1:47 am

    I can’t make the line’s like that bro . .
    But I very very want to try this Tuts . .

    Can I make it by CutOut effect Or Skecth ? ?
    Help me . . .

    Reply
  13. Joshua Rogers says:
    July 28, 2009 at 9:37 am

    Hey. Great tut. But the only problem was the with and without simulate pressure. I’m using Photoshop CS4 and when you select the pen tool, your brush options go away. So i guess what i’m trying to say is I don’t know how to set up the brush with and without simulate pressure. If you guys could help me I would really appreciate it.

    P.S. Nice Tut

    Reply
  14. PHILLIP says:
    July 19, 2009 at 10:21 pm

    I can’t seem to get step 2 i already outline the picture and i already applied the stroke effect but the original image is still there. can somebody redo this tutorial and make it a little easier, i feel that it’s not complete..

    Reply
  15. mac9erd says:
    July 15, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    thanks.. :)

    Reply
  16. surendar says:
    June 27, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Super sir,
    Exellent work.
    Thanks.

    Reply
  17. Johnson Koh says:
    June 17, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    Hello Chaxz, are you able to right-click on the work path created and choose “Stroke Path”? The “Simulate Pressure” is the checkbox of that open panel.

    Reply
  18. chaxz says:
    June 17, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    hi,i like ds tuts but im hard up on the first part,i couldnt find the simulate pressure mentioned above..pls. help..tnx

    Reply
  19. maria jose says:
    May 31, 2009 at 5:48 am

    no se le entiende muy bien u.U si explicaran con mas pasos e imagenes musho mejor!

    Reply
  20. Imran says:
    May 31, 2009 at 12:03 am

    Beautiful Work.

    Reply
  21. Mohd Saqib says:
    May 22, 2009 at 12:14 am

    Really nice and easy tut… I like it.. but the only prob is that I am anable to get the pic of Keeley Hazell from the given link above. If possible pls see the link properly and give me it on my email id…
    I appreciate it very much.. :)
    Thanks in advance
    Saqib

    Reply
  22. daMz. says:
    May 21, 2009 at 4:49 am

    Fantastic Tits mmm.. sorry tut

    JAaj
    jaa
    ja
    ja

    Reply
  23. huwaw69 says:
    May 20, 2009 at 8:02 pm

    the tutorial is good and the model is pretty!

    Reply
  24. ibrahim turan says:
    March 26, 2009 at 7:41 am

    good :)

    Reply
  25. goodgraph says:
    March 18, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    groovy

    Reply
  26. gie says:
    March 12, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    can u tell me abaout retro art? coz I think it’s……. retro ?right

    Reply
  27. Johnson says:
    March 10, 2009 at 10:31 am

    Hi Sayz, did you manage to get till Step 4a? With that image, you can get the halftone effect at Step 4b by going to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone (apply the settings stated above will do).

    The last halftone is the similar. What I did was I created a large radial gradient (from black to transparent) at the background then apply the same Color Halftone filter.

    Reply
  28. Sayz says:
    March 10, 2009 at 2:57 am

    I have problem with the 9th step, how do I create that effect?

    And also, how to create the last half-tone effect?

    Reply
  29. Joey says:
    February 28, 2009 at 11:01 am

    grr.. i feel stupid
    i just cant get it
    if someone would just make a decent video… :]

    Reply
  30. brandon says:
    February 24, 2009 at 5:04 am

    thanks so much man

    =]

    Reply
  31. Johnson says:
    February 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    @Adam: Yup it does takes awhile.

    @Brandon: It is better if you can draw and stroke each line with just 2 to 3 anchor points. Having too many anchors may result in what you have got. I will do up a post on How to Use Pen Tool tomorrow and you can have a read on it.

    @Kate: You need to click on the right arrow of the Custom Shape Panel and choose to load ALL. Then hit OK for the prompt and you can find the Registration Target 2 shape.

    Reply
  32. kate says:
    February 23, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Hi, great tut…i am having difficulty finding the registration target 2 to select though to make the burst effect…..i know where the shape layers button is but where is presets > registration target 2 ??? please help, i would love to know! cheers!

    Reply
  33. mohsen says:
    February 20, 2009 at 8:40 am

    if possible put video tutorial!!!!!!

    Reply
  34. brandon says:
    February 19, 2009 at 8:06 am

    I NEED SOME HELPPP!!
    if you look at the pic below it shows that i have completed step 2, the face and all, buttt the lines come up too short, in the shirt and the hair, why? and if it helps i have cs3 extended… and i did NOT use the pen tool, i used the freeform pen tool and the add anchor point tool. i didnt understand the pen tool thing at the beginning so i just used those two, and any help would be greatly appreciated.. thanks so much.

    http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/jumpman2334/yeah.jpg

    Reply
  35. Adam says:
    February 18, 2009 at 2:36 am

    I cant seem to get the lips or eyes right =/

    Reply
  36. moih60 says:
    January 31, 2009 at 8:40 am

    thanx man..amazing tutorial and the last step give it more reality

    Reply
  37. Reqalke says:
    January 29, 2009 at 6:13 am

    Awesome! Will be sinking my teeth into this delicious meal!
    :)

    Reply
  38. MeRad says:
    January 22, 2009 at 10:34 am

    Photoshopped!

    Reply
  39. RaSh says:
    January 13, 2009 at 4:44 am

    Hey!
    Really impressive tutorial! I recently compiled a list of 20 Blogs you can’t live without and mentioned this post (and a few others) among my favorite ones on this Blog.

    Do drop by and let me know if there’s some other post/Blog that you feel I should’ve mentioned!

    Thanks!

    Reply
  40. mike says:
    January 12, 2009 at 12:20 am

    Awesome! Will be sinking my teeth into this delicious meal!

    Reply
  41. Omair Rais says:
    January 11, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    Thanks for the tutorial. Sexy lady.

    Thanks.
    Omair Rais
    http://www.omairarts.com

    Reply
  42. FlangouS says:
    January 9, 2009 at 11:52 pm

    thanx m8 I’l check it out

    Reply
  43. Johnson says:
    January 9, 2009 at 8:44 am

    Hi Blue and FlangouS, I’m sorry that a step was missed out in Step1 resulting in the problem you guys have met.

    I have modified Step 1 above with a better explanation and see if it helps better this time. Main thing is to open up Brushes palette, check on Shape Dynamics and select Pen Pressure.

    Cheers~

    Reply
  44. FlangouS says:
    January 9, 2009 at 2:45 am

    the last post I made it with my real name! fokas

    Reply
  45. FlangouS says:
    January 9, 2009 at 2:43 am

    I do as you do in step 1…
    I choose a basic brush with 0% hardness , I create a straight line with pen tool , right click (check Simulate Pressure) stroke path…

    the result deffers from yours :(

    your line fades from left to right but mine fades up and down…

    pls help me out , I really want to create something following this tut…

    PS: I posted before my result pic but it seems that my post disapeard :(

    Reply
  46. Fokas says:
    January 9, 2009 at 1:27 am

    Dear , Johnson

    I have this prolem…
    view here—> http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4817/15965721wd0.jpg

    I’ve finished the tut and the outcome seemed pretty ok but too sharp… I believe if i hadent this “brush” prob the outcome whould be awsome!

    Very Very nice tut helped me a alot, but if you could show me what i do wrong , or how you did it i would be great!

    PS: I use adobe Photoshop CS3 extended ( i dont know if this matters anyway! and all my tools had default – [from photoshop] – settings)

    thanx in advance…

    Fokas From Greece!

    Reply
  47. Blue says:
    January 9, 2009 at 12:40 am

    i cant get the same effect with the stimulate pressure.. the line just looks thicker.

    Reply
  48. Blue says:
    January 9, 2009 at 12:18 am

    this is not that comprehensive.. please make it mkore comprehensive..

    Reply
  49. Johnson says:
    January 9, 2009 at 12:15 am

    Welcome to 10Steps.SG Forest! Hope you enjoy the works posted here. :D

    Reply
  50. Forest says:
    January 9, 2009 at 12:05 am

    Awesome Tutorial, I have been using photoshop for years and never thought about using the simulate pressure like that before…. I found you from GrandMasteB’s Head’s Up 7 BlogRoll.

    Reply
  51. Johnson says:
    January 8, 2009 at 8:15 am

    @Selam: Thanks for helping with the explanations!

    @Constance: To set the size of the brush, select Brush tool on the toolbar, and you can see the brush shape and size below the main menu (directly under Image).

    You will need to set the foreground color to #000000 before stroking the path. Hope these helps.

    Reply
  52. Constance says:
    January 8, 2009 at 8:09 am

    Okay…I am confused and frusterated.:(
    I have a picture open in PS that I would like to use. You say se the brush to one pt. HOW? Then I tried to draw a line with the pen tool…right click on it and go to stroke path…but stroke path is grey’d out…WHY? Any help would be great and VERY appriciated.

    Reply
  53. selam says:
    January 7, 2009 at 7:08 am

    “Leo”

    you must draw a line by using pen tool then right click the line, then click the “stroke path” and you will see the simulate option

    Reply
  54. Leo says:
    January 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    is this for cs4? i cant find any of those settings for the pentool in cs3

    Reply
  55. Johnson says:
    January 6, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    Happy new year guys. Thanks for supporting this tut!

    @Bob: Totally agree!!!

    Reply
  56. motaa says:
    January 5, 2009 at 8:21 pm

    thanx man .good tut and easy appliction

    Reply
  57. Santana says:
    January 5, 2009 at 1:52 pm

    Nice Tutorial man !! happy new yeas!!

    Reply
  58. bob says:
    January 4, 2009 at 7:20 am

    wow Keeley Hazell is so hot

    Reply
  59. Niyi says:
    January 3, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    Great tut! I dont even need to know how to draw to do this!

    Reply
  60. psaddict says:
    January 3, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    Added to http://www.psaddict.com

    Reply
  61. rejidesigner says:
    January 3, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    Fantastic Tut.
    The end result has come out perfect.

    Reply
  62. Johnson says:
    January 3, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Thanks Moih60! :D

    Reply
  63. moih60 says:
    January 2, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    thanx man .good tut and easy appliction .

    Reply

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