Tutorials Index

Beagle Smudge
Color Management
Color Spots
Crop Tool
FFT Action
Gradient Artifacts
Gradient Mask
Layer Mask Basics
Out of Bounds
Smooth Skin Action
Sky Replacement
Window Arrange

SKIN SMOOTHING ACTION FOR PHOTOSHOP

Foreword:
In the 2nd edition of the PBase magazine (July 2005, page 16), Vikki Hansen has written a good tutorial for smoothing skin imperfections. Following the steps in her tutorial, I created a simple action.

The skin smoothing action is useful after addressing normal blemishes and fixing possible color problems. It gives the skin a natural, young, yet smooth look, without making it appear too "glamorous".

[1] Before you use this action, you should have cloned out blemishes and fixed possible color problems with the skin first. You do not have to flatten the image to run this action but if you have several layers, make sure you select the top most layer before you run it.

[2] When ready, run the action, which will create a new layer on top called "smooth skin". With it, a black layer mask is created, hiding the skin smoothing effect. At this point, your image will look the same as before.

All together, the action will invoke three different filters and prompt for user input. If the default settings look ok to you, simply click OK, otherwise adjust it first and then click OK to continue the action.

[3] Set your foreground color to white if not done so already, use a soft brush set at low opacity around 15% and start painting on the layer mask to reveal the smooth skin. Do not paint over the eyes, mouth and hair but concentrate on the skin you like to smoothen.

[4] When finished, compare the before and after by switching off the visibility of the skin smoothing layer. If the effect is too strong and unnatural, lower the opacity or start painting with a black brush to hide the effect.

[5] Remember to exclude the skin, when you apply sharpening at the end. I suggest stamping all layers into a new one on top, apply sharpening, add a black layer mask and reveal the effect where needed (eyes/nose/mouth/hair) with a white brush.

Download Action: ZIP file

Thank you to Vikki Hansen for the steps and the tutorial
Photo courtesy of Jacek and Yanga
Updated: December 16, 2005 (tested with PS CS and CS2)