Retouching eye area

 

 

Image Editor Adam Smith shows you how to retouch professionally, obtaining authentic results

When creating a commercial retouch image that deals with facial reconstruction you must be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to the finest details.

Half the battle is retouching something to the point where it is totally transformed, only for it to look like it hasn’t been retouched at all.

Here we focus on the eye region. Taking out bags and crowsfeet is one thing, but entirely without a seconds thought will create horrid synthetic effects.

Addressing size, shape and contour can radically transform your models features, for a more healthy and attractive look.

Mastering the illusion of realism is the true skill or any great retoucher. Here we show you how.

Step 1: Clean the eye area

Many will apply the Patch tool again here to clean up bags under the eyes, which isn’t the wrong tool but many people apply it in the wrong fashion. The best way is to apply the Patch tool to the deepest line, which is usually the hollow where the eye sits, dragging to an area below where the texture matches best. Then work up to the next eye line doing the same. Finish your effect using the Healing Brush tool, applying this in directions that match the patterns of the skin before hand.

Step 2: Expand the eye

Even at this stage the subject’s face has taken on a far more smoother appearance, now enabling us to pull out key features without distracting artefacts. Start by making a selection of the right eye, duplicating this to a new layer. Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to activate your Free Transform handles but don’t do this manually. Instead use the W and H values in the above options bar, so we get symmetrical resizing and don’t go crazy with scaling. Next apply Edit>Transform>Warp handles to open up the eye more, before applying a mask and integrating edges.

 

Step 3: Shape the eyebrows

Digitally plucking the eyebrows is simple. Just zoom in at around 200%, applying the Healing Brush tool to work out stray hairs. However, at times your subject’s eyebrows may be plucked and uneven, even missing hair through scar tissue. Here you’ll need to work in values and have a whole lot of patience. Grafting is one of the more reliable ways to achieve the perfect eyebrow, which consists of you making selections of the brow and duplicating. Set this duplicate layer’s blending mode to Darker Color, place, warp and integrate with a Layer Mask.

Step 4: Build up eyelashes

Gaps may appear in the eyelash area and you can amend these manually. Simply make a selection of the adjacent eyelash, copy and paste this into a new layer then mask away skin edges, applying a Darken blending mode. You can then reposition and apply Levels (Cmd/Ctrl+L) to blend the eyelash even further. You can also apply the Burn and Doge tools for a more specific lash layer effect, but using Levels enables you to work much faster.