Tutorials - The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction - page 494

Fig. 12.36
Compositing Modes for a Better Look
For the final tutorial on looks, I direct you to the DVD. The number of
options and possibilities and the need to see things in real time instead
of as “snapshots” made writing out this final tutorial almost impossible.
Please see the Compositing Mode tutorial for an explanation of how to
create some truly amazing looks by the creative combination of nodes,
node types, compositing modes, and selective qualifications.
The basis for this tutorial was another Bob Festa look: Pearlized
Whites. I don't really do his look justice, but the basic concept is there,
and you may be able to perfect the recipe for yourself once you see all of
the ingredients laid out.
The basic concept for the look is to use the Artbeats image of the
boxer—or the same “Kiss_nightgown” shot that Bob used—to make the
highlight areas of the image glow. The quick explanation for this effect is:
1. Select the first node. Press Shift-P to create a parallel node.
2. In node 2 (the one underneath your first node), use the Blur tab to
blur it pretty heavily by cranking up the Radius sliders (leave them
ganged).
You can also choose to add some color—blue or yellow—to the
highlights using the highlight color wheel in the 3-Way Color tab.
3. Select the Parallel node. Right-click it and choose “Morph into
Layer Mixer Node.” Or use the shift-L shortcut to launch straight
into Layer Mixer node.