Photoshop Tutorial - Whitening Teeth

Whitening teeth in Photoshop (like most tasks in Photoshop) can be done in more than a dozen ways.  And having done it in at least a dozen ways myself, on many hundreds of photos, I thought I'd describe the quickest and most effective method I've found.  Here goes...

Open your image of hideously yellow teeth (like mine in the photo below).

Open a Hue & Saturation adjustment layer (from the half-black, half-white circle at the bottom of your layers palette. Going to image > adjustments > hue and saturation will not work. You'll see why...).  In the drop-down box that says "Master," select "Yellows."  Slide your lightness all the way to the right.  Click OK.

You can see that the skin looks splotchy where the yellows were both lightened and desaturated.  The teeth are much improved, but overdone.

Invert the adjustment layer mask by clicking on it in the layers palette, and press cmmd/ctrl-i.  This should hide the effect.  With the mask still selected, paint the effect back in over the teeth with a medium-sized, soft, white brush.

Still too strong, so lower the opacity of the adjustment layer to about 50%, and voila.

It's an extremely fast, non-destructive, and effective method of whitening teeth in Photoshop.

~Tom 

A Breath of Fresh Creativity

This week I had three things refuel my creative juice tank. A trip to Disneyland, rereading To Kill a Mockingbird, and a container of Mexican jumping beans.

Disneyland reminded me of how much impact one artist can have on the world, and how much better life is when there is art, creativity, imagination, and time to enjoy it.

To Kill a Mockingbird reminded me of the power of good literature, and the incredibly refreshing way in which children see the world.

And jumping beans are just amazing. Everyone should have a few just to keep them entertained. And don't look it up on Wikipedia if you don't know how they do it. Something in the world should be magical enough to keep you thinking.

So thanks to a park, a book, and a bean, this week has left me with a renewed determination to be more creative, less cynical, and to appreciate those magical things I haven't figured out yet.

But don't take my word for it.

~Tom

My Philosophy on Art Appreciation

I just realized that this blog would make a perfect philosophical and marketing soap-box! I can rant on and on with completely uninformed and random opinions, and no one can stop me! (Well, except for the Google moderators. Or the FBI.) But there's no one to stop you from reading my biased opinions, and by then it's too late! They've entered your brain and distorted your perception! I can plant subliminal messages about my amazing products, create cognitive links that will make you feel happy whenever you think my name, generate legal, naturally occurring addictive endorphins, and successfully corner the market, brainwashing millions and millions of ferociously loyal clients, creating a vast international consumer base, and take over the world!! All with a free blog.

But so far, I don't think anyone has visited this blog. Hmm.

Well, maybe my anti-trust, hostile world take-over will not work, but I think I will give you my brilliant opinion of art appreciation. Here it is...

Well, actually, after writing the rest of this post it was so gosh-awful I just deleted it. It would have put ME to sleep... So instead of talking about art appreciation in general, I decided to tell you why you should appreciate MY art! What's this blog good for, anyway!

Okay. Why is my art so darned great? I'll tell you why. Every piece has personal meaning, extreme detail, great quality, doesn't look like anything that Walmart carries, and your neighbors will die with envy!

And I will make you look skinnier than you actually are.

Because, as we all know, anorexia is next to godliness, and people will believe anything they see printed or framed.

Well, that's all the wisdom I can bestow upon you today, my loyal readers.

Until next time, buy Thomas Virgin Art products wherever they are sold!

~Tom