Pixel Shooter Action Set

[Keith]

The initial Pixel Shooter Action Set for Photoshop is available now.

The set currently contains two actions. One can be used for skin softening and the other gives your image a slight painted or illustrative look. Both actions require the user to make judgments. On the downside, it isn't a quick, bam, process. On the positive side, you can tweak it to your liking, and depending on the images you run the actions on, you want the customization.

The skin smoothing action is the result of discussions by Kevin, Lisa, and others in a few threads. As each of the actions "runs", it will pause at certain dialogs that require a choice from the user. before these dialogs are displayed, the action will display a comment explaining what it is "looking" for the user to do. It is quite easy to follow along, and is a well written tutorial, all in one. Of course, if you have questions, post them and someone will reply with an answer or solution.

Both actions are inside of one Action Set. The "idea" is that as new, cool actions are created by other Pixel Shooter members, they can be added to the complete set. Once new ones are added and tested, the latest can be posted, and can be downloaded by Pixel Shooter members.

Speaking of testing. This has proven to function correctly in PSCS, and in PSCS2. One would assume that it will work in PSCS3, but we haven't tested it yet.

The Pixel Shooter Action Set is available as a ZIP file, but it is very tiny anyway. What you need to do is download it and unzip it to a location where you store your Photoshop Actions. You can save the action set anywhere. However, if you place the file in the "Presets/Photoshop Actions" folder inside the Photoshop program folder, the set will appear at the bottom of the Actions palette menu when you start Photoshop.

To load the action, if it is not in the actions palette, choose Load Actions from the Actions palette menu. Locate and select the action set file, and then click Load. It should be listed as an action set. Select an action from the set and click the Play icon at the bottom of the action palette.

Enjoy this initial release...

BIG THANKS TO MICHIGAN MAN FOR DOING THIS FOR ALL OF US TO ENJOY :notworthy:

[beaucamera]

Thanks, Keith and all for the Pixel Shooter Action Set.
I added both to PS3 and gave them a try.

The "slight paint" action worked just fine, but eliminated some hair detail so I used a mask and recovered some of what was lost.
Maybe I adjusted the sliders too much.;(;(;(

The "skin softener" action didn't do much...or at least I couldn't determine the effect it was so slight. It also isn't clear what is meant by the "hide all" Layer Mask. The layer should probably be labeled with the name "black hide all" in the action so there isn't any confusion.

You should make a note that these actions are only intended for 8-bit images. Like many other PS effects, these actions don't work on 16-bit images.

Virginia
aka beaucamera

[MichiganMan]

Beaucamera,

Forgot to mention the 16-bit part. Hey folks, these work in 8-bit mode only. If you don't know what the 8 and 16 bit is all about, they will work for you.

The "skin softener" does its deal, and then creates a mask. Most know the mask as the white box beside the layer in the layer palette. The white mask is actually a "reveal all" mask. If you hold down the Alt key while creating a mask, it creates the opposite, a "hide all" mask.

So all the "smoothing" is done on the duplicate layer, and then the mask is applied, effectively hiding (hide all) the effect. That way, you just paint back in where you want the effect to occur. Since the mask is black, painting with white will reveal the hidden effect. I paint with a soft brush at 100% opacity.

As for what it "looks like", take a portrait image (of a face, not the orientation), and run the action without adjusting the sliders. You should see a difference. If not, then you are probably running it on a face that is very "clean" and "soft" now.

This thread shows the base of the action, and about halfway through (top of page 2 for me), is an example using one of Keiths original images in the post for comparisons.

http://www.pixel-shooter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6852

The slight paint action does do its thing on the whole image. Adjusting the sliders "too much" could do what you had I guess. So, you are right in that you could create a mask and paint over the portions you want to lessen the effect on. Since the mask is white, you'd paint with black for those that may not know. You can paint with less opacity to build-up to the right effect.

[beaucamera]

Beaucamera,

Forgot to mention the 16-bit part. Hey folks, these work in 8-bit mode only. If you don't know what the 8 and 16 bit is all about, they will work for you.

The "skin softener" does its deal, and then creates a mask. Most know the mask as the white box beside the layer in the layer palette. The white mask is actually a "reveal all" mask. If you hold down the Alt key while creating a mask, it creates the opposite, a "hide all" mask.

So all the "smoothing" is done on the duplicate layer, and then the mask is applied, effectively hiding (hide all) the effect. That way, you just paint back in where you want the effect to occur. Since the mask is black, painting with white will reveal the hidden effect. I paint with a soft brush at 100% opacity.

As for what it "looks like", take a portrait image (of a face, not the orientation), and run the action without adjusting the sliders. You should see a difference. If not, then you are probably running it on a face that is very "clean" and "soft" now.

This thread shows the base of the action, and about halfway through (top of page 2 for me), is an example using one of Keiths original images in the post for comparisons.

http://www.pixel-shooter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6852

The slight paint action does do its thing on the whole image. Adjusting the sliders "too much" could do what you had I guess. So, you are right in that you could create a mask and paint over the portions you want to lessen the effect on. Since the mask is white, you'd paint with black for those that may not know. You can paint with less opacity to build-up to the right effect.

Thanks, MichiganMan.

This clarification really helps. One of the things I've learned is that masking is a very difficult concept for many, especially beginners. Even I didn't know about "hide all" masks. That's PS for you...so many ways to do things.

May I recommend that you add some of this information (FAQ's perhaps) to the action download post?

Virginia
aka beaucamera

[MichiganMan]

I added a "Read Me" file to the ZIP that is attached to Keiths post above.

The Read Me has pretty much the same info as in Keiths post, and then similar info to what I wrote as a follow-up.

So we should be good to go.

Also, until Keith answers a question, regular members will have to "buy" the ZIP using the Pixel-Shooter play money. You got enough, and it might be worth it.

Enjoy...