N.Design Studio

Tan Skin Tone

Filed in: Tricks & Tips Jump to comments

tan skin toneSomeone emailed me and asked how to make the golden/tan skin tone as seen in many movie posters and magazine advertisements. Believe it or not, the effect can be achieved by just couple mouse clicks. Here is a quick Photoshop tutorial to show you how to make a tan skin tone effect and apply makeups on the model. Let’s take a look at the image below, the left image is original photo and the right is final image.

Before & After

compare image

1. Overlay Layer

Open the original document that you want to apply the effect. Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer (or press Cmd + J) to duplicate the original layer. Set the duplicated layer Blending mode to Overlay. Then adjust the Opacity to 70%. The Opacity may be vary, depend on the brightness and color of your original photo source.

step 1

2. Highlight Spots

Select the original layer. Choose the Brush tool, set brush Size = 200px, Mode = Color Dodge and Opacity = 10%. Use the Eyedropper tool to pick a sample skin color from the image (Option+Click on the image). Gently brush on the areas that you want to be shine.

step 2

3. Eyeshadow

Make a selection around the eyelid, go to Selection > Feather (Cmd+Option+D) to feather the selection by 5px. Make a new layer and fill the selection with a light pink color. Then set the blending mode to Hue.

step 3

Make another selection slightly smaller than the pink layer. Again, feather it by 5px. Fill it with a blue purple color and set the blending mode to Darken.

step 3b

4. Eyeliner

Make a selection of the eyeliner. Feather it by 3px. Make a new layer. Use the Gradient tool (pick a green color, select Foreground to Transparent), then drag from the lower corner to the upper corner of the selection. Adjust the blending mode to Multiply.

step 4

Final

Use the same technique to finish off the left eye. You may also use this technique to apply the color of the lip, blush, etc.

final image

88 comments so far

  1. Gravatar
    Eugenio Grigolon
    # 1

    October 30th, 2006 at 7:55 am

    Wow, nice tutorial! And the result with few mouse clicks is amazing!

  2. Gravatar
    LJ Jun
    # 2

    October 30th, 2006 at 9:50 am

    Wow
    Nie tutorial ….
    bump

  3. Gravatar
    Kamil
    # 3

    October 30th, 2006 at 10:24 am

    Nice and very simple tutorial!

  4. Gravatar
    Ilya Grigorik
    # 4

    October 30th, 2006 at 4:29 pm

    Awesome effect, 3 thumbs up!

  5. Gravatar
    michael neutral
    # 5

    October 31st, 2006 at 2:35 am

    Great site, Great tutorial!
    top result. I’m off to try this now

  6. Gravatar
    Melle
    # 6

    October 31st, 2006 at 6:27 am

    Great tutorial, the effect looks awesome!

  7. Gravatar
    jason
    # 7

    October 31st, 2006 at 2:58 pm

    looks great! good tutorial, keep em’ coming!

  8. Gravatar
    Robert
    # 8

    October 31st, 2006 at 9:37 pm

    Nice. im going to try this on a picture of my dog.

  9. Gravatar
    Danushka lahiru
    # 9

    November 1st, 2006 at 5:37 am

    That Is awesom Tutorial.It was great

  10. Gravatar
    qho
    # 10

    November 1st, 2006 at 1:52 pm

    Thanks a bunch lad! That’s a nice one.

  11. Gravatar
    DHN
    # 11

    November 2nd, 2006 at 3:43 pm

    Weee been looking for a tutorial like this fr like a year… Awesome, and so simple. Thanks

  12. Gravatar
    kitune
    # 12

    November 3rd, 2006 at 3:54 am

    Awesome, thanks!

  13. Gravatar
    Vin
    # 13

    November 4th, 2006 at 7:01 am

    Awesome Work!

  14. Gravatar
    Andy
    # 14

    November 4th, 2006 at 1:48 pm

    Man that’s awesome! Good tutorial.

  15. Gravatar
    Wouter
    # 15

    November 4th, 2006 at 3:45 pm

    Nice job, also you make super clean and cool vectors
    I would kiss ya if ya were a girl ;)
    Cheers a fan, and also an graphics artist
    (Belgium.)

  16. Gravatar
    dofree
    # 16

    November 4th, 2006 at 11:49 pm

    强

  17. Gravatar
    raja
    # 17

    November 6th, 2006 at 9:06 am

    what a cool tutorial.:)

  18. Gravatar
    sally lee
    # 18

    November 7th, 2006 at 11:10 am

    wow thank you for teach us!

  19. Gravatar
    CJ
    # 19

    November 8th, 2006 at 8:43 pm

    Thanks a lot for the help guys, GREAT JOB keep it up. CHEERS

  20. Gravatar
    wan
    # 20

    November 9th, 2006 at 4:46 am

    beautiful very much ^________^

  21. Gravatar
    Sajid
    # 21

    November 9th, 2006 at 12:57 pm

    fantastic tutorial. i was looking for this kind of photo effect since long. thanx alot.

  22. Gravatar
    rodney
    # 22

    November 11th, 2006 at 7:36 am

    Wow that was well done!! thanx mate. Do u have any tips for grungy images like seen on posters and most designs nowadays? if u do please share

  23. Gravatar
    Maria
    # 23

    November 12th, 2006 at 9:35 am

    Wow! Just amazing! Great job!

  24. Gravatar
    Niya
    # 24

    November 13th, 2006 at 4:55 am

    Cool!Thank you^_*

  25. Gravatar
    imaginative
    # 25

    November 13th, 2006 at 8:01 pm

    its really a ingenious work .. aewsome (Y)

  26. Gravatar
    manickam
    # 26

    November 14th, 2006 at 2:21 am

    thanks, nice work….

  27. Gravatar
    marios
    # 27

    November 14th, 2006 at 3:56 am

    nice work.im a fan of ur work.waiting for more tutorials soon.take care

  28. Gravatar
    shelly yang
    # 28

    November 16th, 2006 at 10:59 am

    hello, i’m a web designer from China.
    I like your design very much. And i think a lot of design elements are from China and the other Aisa country. And you bring all these elements and the fashion design elements together. It’s quite difficult, i think. Learn from you~!

  29. Gravatar
    Arputha Rajah
    # 29

    November 18th, 2006 at 8:45 am

    Done a good job. u r helping many designers to develop their talents. Best Regards

  30. Gravatar
    Bala
    # 30

    November 19th, 2006 at 10:28 pm

    hi, very useful tips…
    thanks a lot..

  31. Gravatar
    Benja
    # 31

    November 23rd, 2006 at 7:38 am

    You’re my hero!!!! Will you post more tutorials? Please!!

  32. Gravatar
    CHRSTIAN REYES
    # 32

    November 25th, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    gracias por tus tutoriales, me sirven muchisimo… comment me please

  33. Gravatar
    Illustrator Tutorials
    # 33

    November 25th, 2006 at 7:44 pm

    Nice simple tutorial. Good job!

  34. Gravatar
    Elaine
    # 34

    November 28th, 2006 at 10:34 am

    Love your work,i was very impressed when i saw it for the first time and now i’m craving more!Never stop….

  35. Gravatar
    teddY
    # 35

    November 29th, 2006 at 5:54 am

    Dropping by via blog hopping. This is just a wondefully made tutorial! And it is surely of good use to me! Thanks for the awesome tutorial!!!

  36. Gravatar
    Joe
    # 36

    November 29th, 2006 at 6:45 pm

    dude you f-ing rock

  37. Gravatar
    mArK
    # 37

    December 2nd, 2006 at 10:29 am

    man, this blog is amazing!! I learned a lot from your blogs! keep goin’ your’re great man!

  38. Gravatar
    Braddo
    # 38

    December 4th, 2006 at 8:58 am

    Thanks for the tutorial man - love your work dude!

  39. Gravatar
    Sawsan T.
    # 39

    December 6th, 2006 at 5:03 am

    Amazing,really amazing I love this website and your designs are just wonderful!

  40. Gravatar
    firepage
    # 40

    December 6th, 2006 at 6:35 am

    é?žå¸¸ä¸?é”™ï¼?呵呵…

  41. Gravatar
    Patrick Tam
    # 41

    December 18th, 2006 at 1:48 am

    Cool. Would love you to do a tutorial on how they get photos to look almost like sketches or illustrations used in movie posters a la http://www.harshtimes.com/

  42. Gravatar
    tony
    # 42

    December 30th, 2006 at 11:14 am

    thanks for sharing your skills.

  43. Gravatar
    yunus saiyed
    # 43

    January 8th, 2007 at 4:58 am

    veryyyyyyyyyyyyyy goooooooood job
    apriciate

    over all good job

  44. Gravatar
    wilad
    # 44

    January 22nd, 2007 at 11:24 pm

    the tutorial was super super great!! very useful….

  45. Gravatar
    Bert
    # 45

    January 23rd, 2007 at 3:34 pm

    Really nice tutorial. For a glamour-like soft focus effect try applying a bit of gaussian blur to the overlay layer.

  46. Gravatar
    kyra
    # 46

    January 28th, 2007 at 4:31 am

    nice tut’s, now i can embars my pal’s ha4x.. do u ve more tut’s like shadowness do?

  47. Gravatar
    srihariraju
    # 47

    February 14th, 2007 at 1:08 pm

    Really nice tutorial. Thanks for sharing your skills. I love this website…CSS Layout.

    Thanks
    Srihari Raju - http://www.vignanam.com/srihariraju.asp

  48. Gravatar
    aprie
    # 48

    February 26th, 2007 at 12:15 am

    I am many learning from this situs, thanx

  49. Gravatar
    Gloria
    # 49

    March 18th, 2007 at 9:16 pm

    Great Tutorials, Thanks!

  50. Gravatar
    munky u
    # 50

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:57 am

    ha ha blah blah ma ma pa pa ja ja ka ka ew ew u u blew blew

  51. Gravatar
    mansungkei ®
    # 51

    April 7th, 2007 at 4:07 pm

    usefull tips… you are great??

  52. Gravatar
    Shah
    # 52

    April 9th, 2007 at 3:44 pm

    Is it really that simple? Thanks for sharing man.

  53. Gravatar
    CialisMen
    # 53

    April 17th, 2007 at 11:37 am

    Best troubleing of cialis works relieve pill done on cialis cialis should machine websites that smells dwarf blurred vision. Sexual ring discharges a method to produce seminar to bitterness in absence.

  54. Gravatar
    Mark
    # 54

    April 18th, 2007 at 3:49 am

    Thank You

  55. Gravatar
    Axhar
    # 55

    April 18th, 2007 at 6:55 am

    it is a very simple illustration tips………
    learn n enjoy…….
    thanx

  56. Gravatar
    Mac Creative - » Illustrator Tutorials
    # 56

    April 24th, 2007 at 4:11 am

    […] Tan Skin Tones  […]

  57. Gravatar
    Biblical Georgene
    # 57

    April 24th, 2007 at 4:32 am

    Zhili byli.. Biblical Georgene.

  58. Gravatar
    Luana Ume
    # 58

    May 1st, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Vse promolchat nikto ne skazhe. Luana Ume.

  59. Gravatar
    Iarlaith Giada
    # 59

    May 1st, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Zhili byli.. Iarlaith Giada.

  60. Gravatar
    Alpin Ravi
    # 60

    May 1st, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Zhili byli.. Alpin Ravi.

  61. Gravatar
    Linzi Bergljot
    # 61

    May 1st, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Vse promolchat nikto ne skazhe. Linzi Bergljot.

  62. Gravatar
    Maribel Matty
    # 62

    May 1st, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Tebe vosled rukoj i kami vni. Maribel Matty.

  63. Gravatar
    Lareyna Marshal
    # 63

    May 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

    I ty opjat uedesh i togd. Lareyna Marshal.

  64. Gravatar
    Kodey Kata
    # 64

    May 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

    Da delo dazhe ne v goda. Kodey Kata.

  65. Gravatar
    Hadewych Aukusti
    # 65

    May 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

    I esli ya odnazhdy zamolch. Hadewych Aukusti.

  66. Gravatar
    Morgen Evette
    # 66

    May 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

    Da delo dazhe ne v goda. Morgen Evette.

  67. Gravatar
    Itzal Jonie
    # 67

    May 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

    Ne nasovsem a navsegd. Itzal Jonie.

  68. Gravatar
    Kennedy Nerys
    # 68

    May 19th, 2007 at 10:32 am

    Zhili byli.. Kennedy Nerys.

  69. Gravatar
    zio
    # 69

    June 12th, 2007 at 8:07 pm

    very good

  70. Gravatar
    shanker
    # 70

    June 14th, 2007 at 2:19 am

    Damii cha

  71. Gravatar
    William Becher
    # 71

    June 28th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    Great Tutorial!!!
    Thanks

  72. Gravatar
    Sana Orsolya
    # 72

    July 5th, 2007 at 12:16 am

    Its bad enough you do it, you do it to yoursel. Sana Orsolya.

  73. Gravatar
    lily
    # 73

    July 26th, 2007 at 8:35 am

    This is fantastic
    thanks!!!
    The girl looks great!

  74. Gravatar
    Griffin
    # 74

    July 31st, 2007 at 2:49 am

    Great tutorial! For the skin tone, I usually use the Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Photo Effects, then use a custom colour for the adjustment. Play with the colours and intensity — it’s really fun and you can get some great effects. The highlighting is also a key element :)

  75. Gravatar
    Sonam Mehta
    # 75

    October 5th, 2007 at 5:28 am

    i knew the effect but never knew can use this way !!!
    its really great to know this!!
    thanks so much:)

  76. Gravatar
    kgs
    # 76

    October 13th, 2007 at 8:45 am

    I don’t know how the original edited pic looks. But the finished one in the website is disgusting with burned out highlights and all that !

  77. Gravatar
    Srihari Raju
    # 77

    December 19th, 2007 at 1:53 pm

    Nice and very simple tutorial! Thanks for sharing your skills.

  78. Gravatar
    venkateswara Rao
    # 78

    December 21st, 2007 at 1:24 am

    hi.. cool man.. tats great effect.. b4 i used autoFX for the same.keep it up!

  79. Gravatar
    Jeff Adams
    # 79

    January 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm

    Great tutorial, thank you!

  80. Gravatar
    Bappaditya M
    # 80

    January 7th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    Great! Great Tutorial!!! thanks so much…

  81. Gravatar
    wanyx
    # 81

    February 14th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    nice tutorial

  82. Gravatar
    Bella
    # 82

    February 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    Thanks a lot, I’ve been looking for this effect for so long!!

  83. Gravatar
    John
    # 83

    March 8th, 2008 at 2:19 am

    Amazing tutorial….Ur simply awesome……

  84. Gravatar
    takisha wells
    # 84

    March 9th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    do you do it from your picturemail on the website or from your camera

  85. Gravatar
    balivisual
    # 85

    March 17th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    nice tutorial

  86. Gravatar
    electricfingers
    # 86

    April 21st, 2008 at 9:22 pm

    Hi, Did you tried to make this effect with black colour image? I want to change a normal face into metal made effect…

  87. Gravatar
    Nikzuave
    # 87

    May 17th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    This is really Cool!

  88. Gravatar
    Giuseppe
    # 88

    May 25th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

    Impressive technique. thank you!

Post your comment





Categories