10e20 Blog

I recently came across this article in the New York Times technology section called “Looking Perfect, One Pixel at a Time”. This article talks about the booming cottage industry of photo retouching and the types of clients they work for and the reasons people or companies seek out these services.

Everything from human vanity (the obvious dominating service), restoration of damaged photographs to age progression for police agencies and missing persons reports.

Yup Phojoe.com even did an age progression of Elvis (sans the drugs and junk food and maybe if Betty Ford was around).

Some clients ask for ex lovers or spouses to be removed from a photo…does anybody remember the fine people of Lacuna, Inc.? Cause that’s were we are heading…slowly.

This got me thinking…when will people use this digital photo retouching for their pets? Maybe some already do. Sending out holiday cards this season and want Fido or Mister Bo-Jangels to look extra regal and sleek or fluffy and soft…not shabby and well-normal.

So lets have fun here- lets push it even further and give em’ tattoo’s! I know- “What about the fur Pat?”, yeah lets just keep it silly and shave em’ or get the short haired ones. Lest keep it digital of course…

Here is a brief little Composite tutorial that can turn your favorite feline photo or canine Christmas card into a real eye opener for your friends and family.

You will need:
A picture of your pet
A picture of your weirdest friends tattoo or some strangers online
A stamp to send it to your family for the next holiday
…and a touch humor

Step 1. Set up all the photos you will be using in one document. I found several tattoos from or stock library and a cute (some would beg to differ) hairless Egyptian cat.

Step 2. Isolate the tattoos that will be composited onto the cat. This can be done by using the lasso tool or any other selection tool.

Step 3. Placement of the tattoos on the cat. This is when you see if you want “THUG LIFE” to go across the belly or the back.

Step 4. Transform and Distort the tats to the basic direction and angle of the body. By using Edit/Transform/Warp and choosing anything from Free Transform to Perspective you can manipulate the way the tat falls on the body.

Step 5. Blend. This is a bit tricky. You need the tat to look somewhat like it is on the body of the cat… Working with the Layer Palette Blending Modes try experimenting with the best setting. Darken works well, but can be too dark. Also adjusting the colors selectively will give you a more refined color scheme and fit in better with the tones of the cat.

Try not to make it to real…you don’t want your aunt the staunch animal rights activist to send PETA knocking at your door. Maybe add a little disclaimer at the bottom just to save everyone the hassle.

Happy retouching!