Ever tried to cut out a furry animal in photoshop to copy paste it onto a different image and did it look like the animal has been hit by a grass mower?  Now you can keep from this sort of digital animal abuse XD. Simply follow the steps in my tutorial and keep our pets save and happy :).

In this tutorial you will learn how to re-draw the fur on animals you have masked or cut out and chopped. This tutorial also includes the use of quick-mask, more uses for the “fur redraw trick” a different way of making a shadow in grass, and many other tips and tricks.

Don’t mind you, I am still in the progress of restoring this tutorial so If it is not completed yet with all images, please check back in a day or so. Thank you!!

To create puss in boots I have used several sources images that I will post separately again during the tutorial. Here they are all at once…

Step 1

First source we need is the cat. I found this image at the time at sxc.hu. A large website with loads of free and royalty free stock-photo’s. Ofcourse you can use basically any animal for this tutorial as long as its furry.

Step 2

Then we will have to cut out the cat. I have done this using the quick-mask way. I will show you how. Open the source image with the cat and click on the quick-mask icon. Make sure you have your back and foreground color settings put on black/white as by default.

Step 3

I have used a soft bush on size 9 for the parts where the edges are more sharp. I blow up the image to 200 % in this case since I don’t need to be extremely careful since we are going to redraw the fur so any mistakes we will hide later on anyways. While you “paint” the mask on the cat you will see the color red appears where you painted. Now if you make a mistake that you want to correct you can simply do so by using your eraser and switch back to your brush to continue masking.

Step 4

As we keep masking /brushing the cat we will come to parts where there’s more hair. We don’t need to mask it really precise.. just what is important is that you stay inside the cat.. As in.. don’t take anything of the background in the mask ..  it works best to stay a little bit away from the outside border.. not too much.. the cat isnt on a diet :). You can also use a bigger size brush here…

Step 5

Here you can see the total result of my masking.

Step 6

Click again on the quickmask icon as shown in step 3. You will see the part that was red is now a selection.

Click on select –> Inverse as shown on the image here. Or use CTRL + shift +I. you now have selected the cat itself.

Step 7

Now make a new layer (shift+ctrl+n) Copy the selection (ctrl +c) and paste (ctrl +v) it on the new layer.

Step 8

Make the layer with the original source invisible by clicking on the little eye icon next to it.

Step 9

And this is what you will have on your screen now.I have moved up the cat a little to the center of the screen so we have the room to add the hat and the sword and the boots.

If it doesnt fit on your screen later on while you work you can simply enlarge the canvas.(image -> canvassize)

Step 10

Now we are going to our second source image.. leave your file with the cat open and save it from time to time so in case your computer crashes you still have most work saved… (that happened to me too many times in the past). Open the second source in photoshop.

I have masked the hat the simulair way as I described how I masked out the cat starting at step 3, but now I used the softbrush 9 all the time all arround the edges because we dont need to redraw fur on the hat. Except ofcourse the feathers. You can use a taller size brush for that. It is ok if you take parts of the background with it since the backgrounbd is blue here and we are going to put it on a blue back ground so it will work out fine in the end.

Step 11

After cutting out the hat using quick-mask, copy paste it on a new layer on top of the cat the same way you copy pasted the cat in. I keep this short here now because you can simply go back in steps and check on how to mask. Then we are going to make the hat fit on the cat. Go to edit —> free transform (ctrl +t) and turn it till you have the right direction.

Step 12

If the hat doesnt fit on the cats head we will have to resize it as well while in free transform mode still.. just make sure you click the lil cable/link icon as I call it ( you can see this in the picture here.)

Step 13

Now we are going to make the hat fit even better, using edit –> transform —> warp. You can pull the hat now at more points to make it fit better on the cats head.

In this second image you can see that the hat fits much better now.

Step 14

I am going to erase now a few parts that overlapped the cat too much. But we are not going to do that blind.

Set the layer with the hat to 65% opacity like in the image here.

Step 15

Looking at our work now you can clearly see where the hat overlaps the cat.

We do want the ear part covered so I dont erase that. but the other lilttle

parts that overlap the cat that I want to be gone.. I am going to erase using

the eraser does not need to be too precise but dont be too hasty either. the

easier the fixing up will be later on.

Step 16

Here you see the result of my work. Compare it with step 15 :).

Step 17

Now we can set the opacity of the hat back to 100%.

Step 18

Moving on to the next source. The boots…

Here is our source with the boots.

But before we continue we are going to link the layers with the cat and the

hat together. So in case we have to move them arround, they move together so

we dont have to keep puzzling them in the right position again.

Step 19

Select the layer with the hat by clicking on it. Then hold down CTRL key and

click on the layer with the cat.

You see both layers are now turned grey and thus selected. Right lick on one

of the layers and select link layers.

Step 20

When you look at the navigation on the top right corner you can see the cat

is in the middle of the canvas.

We are now going to move up the hat and the cat.

Step 21

Click on the move tool and move the cat with the hat upwards.

Step 22

In your navigation you will see now this.

Step 23

Now we are going to cut out the boots from the source image I allready gave

in step 21. We do this one by one the same way as we cut out the cat and the

hat, with the quickmask way as I have descibed it starting at step 3. This

time we also work more precise like when we maskd the hat and use a small

brush for the edges.

When we have done all the edges we can mask whats inside and copy paste it in

a new layer on top of the cat file like we have done with the hat in step 13.

Place the boots with the move tool at the desired place where normally the

legs would be. We also make the boots fit by changing the shape like the hat

in step 15.

Step 24

First we enlarge the canvas so the next step will fit on it. We do this by

going to Image –> canvas size or Alt + Ctrl + c.

On that window that appears select in the drop down menu where it reads

height, percent from the dropdownlist and set it to 150 %. Then click ok.

Link all the layers again together like I described in step 22 but also

include the boots now.

Move the selection down so you have more room for the sword.

Next we go back to the source image where we got the hat from in step 12 but

now we want not the hat but the sword.

Mask out the sword as you have done with the hat and the boots starting at

step 3 and copy and paste it on top of the other layers as described before

aswell. I am sure you are starting to get the hang of it after having it done

a couple times now.

Place the sword so that it looks like the cat is holding it with one paw and

resting it on the other as if hes inspecting it. We might have to work on the

grip a little bit to make it fit nicely.

Step 25

Create a new layer and place this below all the others.

Select a part of it with the marqueetool like I have done here.

Step 26

I filled up the selected rectangle with a blue color.

Step 27

Do the same with the bottom part thats not colored in yet but now with a lil

bit lighter color blue.

Step 28

Here we add the lines that will make the dark line between the floor and the

wall, using the line tool.

Select the line tool and change background color back to black and draw a

line completely from one side to the other side just a few pixels wide.

Make sure its excactly in the middle between both colors blue.

Duplicate the line and set the opacity to 65 %. Then move the line with your

move tool so it sits excactly on top of the other line.

Then duplicate this line too and now move it so it sits excactly below the

darkest line. The opacity of this layer is 65% aswell.

Step 29

Blow up the size of your image again using the slide below the navication

picture and erase little parts on all the layers where its needed.. like

arround the sword and the boots. clean up your work.. outlines and such need

to be erased using a small soft brush. I usualy use brush 9 or 5 so I can

work precise.

Step 30

Now we are finally moving on to where I explain how to redraw the fur.

First I start with the top paw of the cat. As you can see fur being redrawn

is definatly needed here…

click on the layer with the cat so its selected. With the rectangual

selection tool I selected the part where the paw is. Not too big a part and

not too small a part.. just the paw is what we need. Copy and paste the paw

on a new layer and move that new layer with just the paw on top of the layer

with the sword… since.. the fur we are going to redraw would look best if

they cover the sword a little no?

Step 31

Select the layer with just the paw and set your smudge tool like I did in

this image.

Size 2 and 72 % strength.

Start making strokes from the inside to the outside.. make sure you dont

stroke everytime in the excact same directions. Vary the strenght of your

brush and sometimes you might even want to vary the size of your brush

between 1 and 2. I usualy vary between 40 and 95. The more time you put in

this and the more carefull you do this the better the result will be at the

end. I also usualy blow up my image and here it is at 200%.

Step 32

Then the next step is to cover up the brush strokes we did in step 34 just

with a few strokes starting even a little further away from the edge and

stroking it till a little further where out strokes from the first step

started so we create another layer of fur actualy.. these strokes should not

need to be too many its just to add more depth to the fur. As you can see in

the result here, it looks now very realistic like the rest of the cats fur

:).

Step 33
Now we are going to do the same with the legs of the cat.

Go to the cat layer and select the part with the rectangle marque where the

legs go in the boots and copy paste that in a new layer.

Move that layer up untill above the boots layer.

Erase the parts you dont need up to the edge of the boots using the same

technique as in step 18 with the hat.

Then we can start redrawing the fur using the smudge tool again on size 2

strength 80. Vary the strenght of the brush and dont make the fur too much

here since we want to see the edges of the boot still shine a little thru the

fur. like on the result in this image.

Step 34

We continue our fur prject with the hat. Again go to the cat layer and select

the cats head where the edge of the hat is. you might have to do this in

several steps because the edge is a little rounded. start redrawing the fur

here too but make sure the strokes are not too long here… a cats hair and in

particulair this kind of cat is usualy a bit shorter on the head. I am sure

you are getting the hang of it allready and if not please go back to step 31

to refresh your memory on the fur smudging :). Also make sure you don’t

forget the ear 🙂

Step 35

Our next step is the feather on the cats head..

We use the same technique as we did with the fur but this time we set the

size of the brush bigger and the strength a little higher. Do vary it a

little but make the differences between the strength not as much as with the

fur. Make long strokes and make sure you vary the direction of the strokes a

little, also makes sure that not each stroke has the same length. look at my

result here 🙂

Step 36

Now we are almost done.

Well almost… we still have the rest of the cats fur to be redrawn back on…

Its something really worth to take the time for because it will make your

image look ten times better. Now you have so much experience redrawing the

fur on the cat you have to cover up the lil straw that the cat originally was

holding, with fur aswell..

And thats how I make a cat, rabbit, dog, bear or any other sort of animal

with fur, look like its NOT been hit by a grass mower. 🙂

Now If you want to add a photobackground to your image keep on reading.

Step 37

I was not done.. looking at my end result something was missing..

so I went back looking for another source image.. the back ground…

this is the one I found and decided to use.

Step 38

I have now linked all the cat layers in the psd with the cat. To do so, you

will have to keep your ctrl button pressed while you click with the left

mousekey on each layer of the cats attributes, including his clotes and

sword. By doing so you will see that each layer you selected turns dark grey.

Now click  with the right mousekey on one of those layers and sellect “link

layers”. We allready had linked some layers so we just needed to link those

that wherent linked yet. You can also choose now to merge down all the cat

layers, theres 3 ways to do this.. 1- Click on the cats layer thats in top of

the list and press “ctrl” and “e” key. 2- right click on the top cat layer on

the list and select “merge down”. 3- Go to the menu while selected the top

cat layer like I show in this image and click there on “merge down”. You can

do so till all cat layers are merged… I myself usualy make sure I have a

copy of the psd with all the unmerged layers so I can go back and change

things if I want to later on.

Step 39

I have copy pasted the layer with my background image below the other layers

and dragged it with the free transform tool the size I wanted it, like i have

described before in step 12.

Step 40

As you can see the cat really looks like hes floating now… we are going to

change that and make him stand IN the grass and I will show how to make a

realistic shadow here using brightness / contrast settings. First we drag an

oval at the cats feet using the eliptical marquee tool. make sure you have

the grassbackground layer selected when you do this.

Step 41

Copy paste your marqueeselection onto a new layer and put that layer

inbetween the cat and the grassy background.

Select the cats boots and change its opacity so you can see the flowers thru

it well enough to work with it.

Go back to your new layer with the eliptical shape of the grassfield and

erase with a small soft brush all the grass that covers the boots but keep

the flowers with the stems! Make sure you only erase the grass that covers

the boots.

Step 42

Change the opacity of the boots and you will see it looks like the image as

in step 40. Duplicate the grassy layer where we just erased the grass from

the boots. and select the first of these two layers ( we are not going to

touch the top layer of the grass) Now we are going to redraw the grass the

same way we did the fur and the feather. If you forgot how please go to step

33 and refresh your memory :). You might have to play a little arround with

the size of the brush and the strength before you found a setting that you

are satisfied with. Since its grass and thicker as fur you will nee a bigger

brush and a little harder likely so you can drag the grass a little longer.

We dont have to redraw a whole lot but just enough so it looks like the boots

are realistic standing in the grass. When you start smudging be carefull that

you dont smudge the flowers and end up with yellow smudges.. if you do so by

mistake just undo (ctrl +z) or go to your history and go a step or more back.

Step 43

When you are finished with that we are going to make the shadow.

Look first to see if there are any other shadows in the image. Just so you

have something to compare with and to have an idea in what direction to place

the shadow. The tree here gave a good shadow and I am going to show you how I

made a simulair looking shadow for the cat.

Go back to the background layer with the field and the tree.
Draw again with the eliptical marquee tool to make an oval selection. We will

have to turn this selection a little bit into the same direction as we want

the shadow to go. Go to Select–>transform selction and turn the oval

selection till you are satisfied with the direction. Copy and paste this

selection on to a new layer and drag the layer on top of all the other layers

with grass.
Don’t worry about the parts that cover the grass we just draw and the boots,

we will correct that later.

Step 44

Now the oval is going to be transformed into shadow, using brightness and

contrast. select the layer with this oval and go to image—> adjustments–>

brightness/contrast.

Play with the settings untill you are satisfied with the color ( we want to

darken it to match the shadow color of the tree.) When satisfied click ok.

Drag the layer below the other layers with the ovals with the redrawn grass.

Now the last few things we have to do is erase the parts of these layers that

cover our new made shadow and make our shadow edges less sharp..

Merge the two grass ovals that we used to redraw the grass.

Use the erase tool ( not too large and hard brush) on that layer and erase

carefully the light grass that we did not redraw up to the edge of the boots.
Now go back to the shadow layer and take a large .. real large soft brush..

and erase carefull just the edges of the shadow so they arent so very hard

and sharp anymore.. dont erase too much though!

Step 45
Now I am done creating my puss in boots completely. You can save your work as

a jpeg or any other format if you like. I hope you find this tutorial

usefull.

Good luck with your own creations!

Tags: Photoshop, Photoshop Tutorials, Puss in Boots, tips and tricks, tutorial

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 4:23 pm and is filed under News, Photoshop Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.