ROCOCO

The first image shows the original photo in black in white. Using the rectangular marquee tool, I selected half of the image and created a masking layer. To emulate her natural color, I used the eyedropper on the original image and found the hues I would need to colorize the photo. On several layers, I used the Color blend mode to fill in her skin, eye, lips, and blush. For her blush and lips, I lowered the opacity to get a more natural look. For her headband, I separated each flower into a separate layer and used the Color blend mode. 

In the image to the left, I used a low-opacity Multiply layer to establish a green background. I also used a low-opacity Multiply layer on her skin to make her feel rosier, like the style of Rococo. Then, using an oil brush with wide spread, I painted in lines to emulate the brush strokes of the Rococo style. On these layers, I added a color overlay to make the image feel light and desaturated. The next image shows how I added foliage in both the foreground and background using a variety of oil brushes and blending brushes. Both of these layers have the Multiply blend mode. The last image shows the completed product, where I have added flowers to the bushes (using the Lighten blend mode and texture FX) more colors to the background (using the Color blend mode).

BAROQUE

On the left is the black-and-white version of my original image. I used the rectangular marquee tool to section off the right half and attach a masking layer. I then used the lasso tool to select various parts of the body (skin, eye, hair, etc) and fill them in with their corresponding color using a soft edge brush. I then applied the Overlay blend mode to them and adjusted opacity where it needed to be. The trickiest part was correctly outlining the hair with the lasso tool because it had many frizzy curls that were hard to define.

Referencing Baroque art, I chose a nearly-black green to use for the background. Then, using a large, low-opacity, soft-edge brush, I made a yellow stroke around the head and shoulders to give the image dimension. On this stroke, I lowered the opacity and set the blend mode to Lighten.  I also used a small pencil brush to scatter in some random white dots to make the image seem slightly weathered. On this layer, I greatly lowered the opacity, changed the blend mode to Dissolve, and added texture FX. This did not seem like enough texture, so using the pencil tool, I made thin white lines to emulate scratches. I copied this layer two more times until I had three scratch layers and then offset them from each other. I noticed that Baroque paintings are typically very dramatic, so using a soft edge brush and the Overlay blend mode, I added some dramatic shadows to the face, neck, and hair. On the same layer, I used a light yellow to add some dramatic highlights to the cheekbone and eye. Finally, I covered the entire right side of the image with a yellow color overlay to complete the desired look.

VAPORWAVE

Using the rectangular marquee tool, I sliced the original black-and-white image in half and added a masking layer to the right side. For her skin and eye, I used the lasso tool to select the area and applied the Overlay blend mode. For her blush, freckles, and hair, I used the Color blend mode. Her shirt was a challenge because of the many small letters, but using the lasso tool, I selected all of them at once and filled them in with a Multiply blend mode. The square pattern on her shirt is an Overlay blend mode, but the shirt itself has a Multiply blend mode. Her hair was difficult to select due to the curls and frizz, but I solved this problem by varying brush opacity to get the general shape of her hair.

I started the Vaporwave edit by creating a background. Using the main colors I saw from my research (blue, purple, pink, orange), I used an oil brush and a blender brush to create a blended background. I applied the Linear Burn blend mode to this layer to make the colors pop and I added an Inner Glow as well as a Gradient Overlay to emphasize the aesthetic. I wanted to apply these colors to her as well, so I created a gradient color layer, where I made a custom vaporwave gradient and lowered the opacity so that it could be seen on her face. I wanted the image to feel more neon, so I used a soft edge brush to make a light teal stroke around her body and applied the Hard Light blend mode to make it pop. With the pencil brush, I drew a thin straight yellow line at the top and used the clone stamp tool to make evenly spaced lines in the background. I then free-transformed these lines to make them seem like they went farther and farther away into the background, and I copied and flipped this layer so that I would have the same effect coming forward. Finally, I used the rectangular marquee tool to select small rectangles and apply an Invert adjustment layer on them. I made three of these rectangles, each one having a different color overlay so that it would fit in with the aesthetic. I also added a thin white stroke to each rectangle to make them pop from the background. On two of the rectangles, I played with the masking layers to create patterns that I noticed are common in vaporwave aesthetics (triangles and lines). 

POST-APOCOLYPTIC

On the left is my original black-and-white portrait. Using the rectangular marquee tool, I selected the right half of the image and created a masking layer. For the skin and its details (blemishes, blush, freckles), I used a Color blend mode and a variety of tones to accurately portray his skin texture. For the eyes, stubble, and shirt, I used an Overlay blend mode. For the beard, I used varying tones of grey on an Overlay blend mode to create a salt-and-pepper look. When referencing the original photo, I realized that the beard had a slightly orange tone to it, so I added a low-opacity color overlay to it.

After reviewing some post-apocalypse images for inspiration, I decided to start with a Soft Light yellow layer, low-opacity. Then I created the background using a custom gradient overlay that ranged from dark, desaturated yellow to light, desaturated yellow and applying texture FX. Then, using the Overlay blend mode, I added dramatic shadows and highlights to his face with a soft edge brush. Both the shadow and highlight layers have yellow color overlay attached, however the shadow layer also has a drop shadow attached to deepen the shadow. I felt stuck, so after looking over reference photos again, I noticed a lot of them had green, so I added some splotches of green to the background using the Lighten blend mode. I also thought that the words on his shirt were distracting so I colored them the same color as the background and applied the Pin Light mode. Using a dry brush, I made diagonal rough strokes with a desaturated dark yellow and then lowered the opacity and applied Linear Burn to add a textured look to the image. The final fix was a Vibrance adjustment layer, which was -27 saturation and +35 vibrance to make the image seem worn, as well as the Warming Filter 81 at density 29%.

ABOVE AND BEYOND - 70s / RETRO

Starting with a black-and-white photo, I halved the image with the rectangular marquee tool and applied a masking layer to the right half. To colorize the image, I used Multiply, Overlay, and Color blend modes to achieve an accurate representation of the features and clothing. The hair (color blend mode) was difficult due to the wispy and frizzy nature, but using a soft edge, low-opacity brush to find a middle ground between solid and transparent was key to colorizing the flyaways and frizz. 

I started with a custom gradient overlay using colors I found to appear the most in images relating to the 70s aesthetic (muted oranges, yellows, and blues). I angled the gradient to follow the direction of the eyes to make the composition make sense. I also tried to create a grainy texture using the texture FX and adding the Multiply blend mode to the layer. I added highlights to the face using a yellow soft edge brush and changing the blend mode to lighten. I created a worn down, scratched look using a thin white pencil brush to draw dots and lines across the image, making it seem as though it had been creased or nicked. On this layer, I also added low opacity splatters using the splatter brush to make the image seem faded and changed the mode to Screen. A lot of the reference images I was looking at had flowers, so using a dry brush, I doodled yellow and brown flowers over the image. I separated the drawings into two layers so that I could make one layer have Color Burn so it would show up clearly in the background and I could make the other layer have Lighten so that it would show up against the shirt. The final change was the addition of a Vibrance layer, which had the adjustments -35 vibrance and -2 saturation to make the image seem faded yet bright, and the addition of the Color Pop Filter.

FINAL IMAGES