Retouching Eyes part 3

This is part two of my tutorial on retouching eyes in Photoshop. Check out Part one

Step 21

Do not worry if the image does not look too natural at this point, as there is some more editing to be done. Select the “left highlight” layer from the Layers palette. Now go up to the blend option (you will find it in the top left of the Layers palette) and change the blend mode (change it from “Normal” to “Overlay”).

Step 22

You will need one more layer above the “left highlight” one. Select the latter and use the following keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+N) to open the “New Layer” dialog. Rename the new layer “makeup” and click “OK” to have it created.

Step 23

Now use the “Eyedropper” tool which you will find in the Tools palette (or select it by clicking the “I” shortcut on the keyboard).

Step 24

Click on an area in the shadows around the eye which is darker than the person’s skin. Be sure not to select a black shade, just a darker color. You will use this color to add some makeup.

Step 25

Paint around the eyes to add some makeup with the darker sampled color. Use the “Brush Tool” to draw around and above the eyes.


Step 26

Use the “Gaussian blur” filter to smooth the makeup. Select it from the Filter menu > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Select a “Radius” value of around 10 pixels and click “OK”

Step 27

Select the “makeup” layer from the Layers palette . Go to the blend mode options (you will find it in the top left of the Layers palette) and change the mode from “Normal” to “Soft Light”.

Step 28

It is possible that after applying the makeup, some rough spots may have resulted. Go to the Tools palette and select the “Eraser tool” (or select it by using its keyboard shortcut: E).

Step 29

Select the “makeup” layer from the Layers palette. Set the Eraser tool to a soft-edged brush and use it to erase any unwanted areas around the eyes.

Step 30

You have finished editing the eyes in the portrait and you have to admit that at this point they draw much more attention to the person’s face then before. All you have to do now is to save the final image with the desired name: go to the File menu on top on the main Photoshop window and select the “Save as” option.

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