"Badboy" Bonnet Tutorial

[Gazza_DJ]

I thought i'd write a tutorial on how to create a bad boy bonnet. For the simplicity of the tutorial, I'm going to use a front on picture. The same technique applies for other angles, it just so happens that a front on image is easier. Here is the base:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/steinmetzcorsaccorsa2004front72.jpg

Now, zoom in on one of the lights, create a new layer (Ctrl+Shift+N) and create a selection for the shape of the badboy bonnet you want in this blank layer. Normally i would use the pen tool and paths to do this, and then create a selection from the path as the pen tool allows much smoother selections, but to keep things quick and simple im just going to select it straight off using the polygonal lassoo tool. you should have something that looks a bit like this:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/selection2.png

Make sure you have 'Add to selection' selected and do the same to the other light:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/seleced.png

OK, now we can start extending the bonnet over the lights. Select the Colour Picker tool (I) and select a colour near one end of the bonnet near the light, like so:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/colourselect.png

This is one of the more important parts. Select the brush (B). you need to basically brush in the bonnet, but you must consider the lighting on it to get it looking realistic, and you need to try and extend the reflections (if any). You will get the best results with a smaller brush, but you must not go so small that it becomes fiddly to actually brush it in. I brush it in a series of lines, starting like this:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/brushingbegins.png

Repeat this on the other side, and you should end up with something that looks a bit like this:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/brushingdone.png

It will still look quite messy at this stage. Just make sure the reflections and the lines look right at this stage. You can see clear bands of colour, which obviously we dont want. So, select the blur brush, make it nice and big, and set the Strength to about 20%-25%. Blur it until there are no more distinct bands of colour:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/afterblur.png

You cant see any bands of colour now. however, the blurring has caused the layer to become slightly transparent. the easiest way to sort this is to right click on the layer in the layers box, and select duplicate layer:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/dupelayer.png

Now press Ctrl+E to merge the two layers together. If you zoom in on the lights, you may notice there is now a small gap between your selection line and the bonnet. use the Smudge tool at about 45%-50% strength to smudge the bonnet toward the selection line:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/blurgap.png

Nearly finished! at this point, it is a good idea to erase anything you don't need, and do any extra smoothing and blending that is required before moving on.

Once you are happy, you can add the last part, which is a 1 pixel wide line under the newly brushed bonnet. Press U, and make sure your settings match these:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/linesettings.png

and now carefully draw a line underneath the parts you just brushed, so it looks like this:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/gazza_dj/finished.png

And thats one way to do a Badboy Bonnet :D

The same technique can be adapted for modifying or drawing pretty much any part of the bodywork :thumbs: