Edge Smoothing (Photoshop)

This tutorial shows how to smooth rough edges in Photoshop. Please note, this only works on pictures cut from the background (in this case, Sims). Here is the photo that I am going to start with (please ignore the crappy cut-out of the sim).

For this tutorial, we are going to use a layer mask to smooth the edges. Shift-click your cut-out layer so that the sim is selected. Now, click the small icon at the bottom of the layers panel that looks like a white circle in a gray rectangle (circled below). Your layer mask will be added to that layer and it should look like silhouette of your sim on a black background.

With the layer mask selected, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the radius to around 3. Click okay.

Now your sim in the layer mask should be slightly blurry. With that layer mask still selected, go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. Play around with the levels by moving the outer arrows towards the middle arrow until the edges on your sim look smoother. You can also move the middle arrow around to get the desired effect. My settings are shown below. The values for the arrows read 145, 0.53 and 227. Your photo will change while you adjust the levels so you can see the result before clicking Ok.

As you see from the photo below, the edge on my sim's shoulder is a lot smoother than it was before (I added a black background to it so I can see the result better).

This is just one method you can use to smooth rough edges. You could also use an eraser and carefully go over the edges. This technique is tedious and time-consuming and it helps to have a steady hand. Another method that could be used is to use the smudge tool and carefully run it over the edges (this works best for images not cut from the background).

So that is it. If you need more explaination or have any questions, feel free to ask.

Eye Makeup (Photoshop)

This tutorial shows my way of "drawing" eye makeup. Here is the photo that I am starting out with.

Next, I'm choosing an upper eyelash brush (which can be found here). I'm leaving it at the default size for now since I'm going to resize it to fit the eye in a minute.

On a new layer, click to stamp the brush on the photo (I did it twice for a darker color). As you can see, it is a tad big for the eye.

To fix this, I am going to go Edit>Transform>Free Transform to adjust the size of the brush so that it fits the eye well. To keep it the same proportions, hold shift while changing the size. Hold control and click on one of the boxes around the brush to distort the shape for a more precise fit.

Do the same for the other eye. I normally duplicate the first layer then flip it to fit the other eye instead of using another brush.

Now I'm going to paint a dark area over the area where the lash meets the eye to make it blend in better.

After drawing the lines (which are curved along the edge of the eyes), I go to the "Filter" menu and choose "Blur" then "Gaussian Blur".  I set the blur radius to 4.2 since I don't want it to be really blurred and click "Ok". Move that layer under the eyelash layer.

Now I'm going to do pretty much the same thing with the eyeshadow. I chose a pink color and brushed the color over the eyelids. Make sure it is on a new layer. Currently, the layer is above all the others so that we can see what we're doing.

Use the Gaussian blur again but use a larger radius so that it is blurred a little more. The amount of blur is up to you. For mine I used 11.1 pixels for the radius.

When you're done adjusting the blur, move the layer underneath the other makeup layers. Choose the "Multiply" blending mode and lower the opacity so that the makeup isn't so bold. I chose to lower it to 67%. You could use other blending modes if you'd like. Sometimes certain colors look better with different modes like "Overlay".

Add lower lashes if you wish using the same method and add the black behind it as you did before do give it a more blurred look.

This step is something I like to do but it is completely optional. I hid all the makeup layers to make it easier to see. I took a small, soft brush (about 10 px) and drew a dark line along the top of the eye ball. The red circles in the photo below show where I added the lines. Sorry it is hard to distinguish from the makeup already on the picture.

Use the Gaussian blur again but don't blur too much. I used about 4 px for the blur radius. This is what it looks like afterward. I use this to give the eye a more rounded look.

I did the same with the lower lid. (The picture below shows it before blurring.)

This is what it looks like with the rest of the makeup showing. Now you're done!

This is my final product after some color adjustments and shading.

Before:

After: