Creating a Layered Iris Alpha in Photoshop

     

There are tons of free alphas for Zbrush out there, but what if you just can’t find what you are looking for? Here I will show you how to edit and combine two existing alphas in photoshop to create a custom layered alpha. The custom alpha I create here is an iris for an eye.

I was working on a personal project and when I got to the eye I figured that the iris should have an alpha. I couldn’t find a good one, so I decided to create my own. Instead of creating one from scratch, I’d like to show you how you can get free alphas and use them to create custom ones.

First, you should find a good reference image to work from. When creating an iris, it’s a good idea to find a macro image of an eye.

Eye by anniewinge

Then you can go to the Pixologic Download Center and find some alphas that resemble what you are trying to make. Try to find a couple different ones to layer together. I chose a plasma clot and some wrinkles.

Free Alphas from Pixologic Download Center

In photoshop you can fill in areas with black that aren’t wanted, and use the dodge and burn tool to bring out the parts you want to accentuate. Don’t worry about the middle, it will be black later. Here are the results I got for each layer.

Modified Alphas

In another layer, use the marquee select to create a circle where you would like the pupil to be and fill in black. Create a larger circle to line the outside of the iris, invert the selection and fill the outside with black. I like to keep it crisp around the edges to separate each part of the eye better. For other alphas, you may want to blur the outer edge

Play around with the layer blending modes until they both show up well. I set the plasma layer to difference and 72% opacity and the wrinkle layer to exclusion. And there you go, you have an alpha!

I used this alpha for the eyes of the Maynard model I am in the process of sculpting but you could make a custom layered alpha in this way for just about any project.

Maynard Render, Naomi Farber, Original ZBrush Sculpt

Compare and Contrast

When I remade "Number 14" by Mark Rothko, I chose to keep the geometric shapes of the rectangles and their positions on the page to use as a foreground and background. I also chose to keep the same color scheme, because of the emotional reaction the colors generate. I changed the piece by adding an organic shape, in the form of a woman, to give subject matter to the piece. It’s asymmetrical shape creates more interesting balance. It also adds movement and leads the eye around the page. Additionally, I added depth to my version by building up layers of translucent color, and only making the parts of the body that are pressed up against this imaginary barrier opaque. This added perspective to the piece.

I chose to use this composition to rework the painting because I felt that it helped show the emotions that he originally wanted to portray. In his work, Rothko wanted people to see raw emotions. I decided to keep that psychological aspect when re-designing this piece. I turned the red rectangle into a transparent box, or screen. The figure is trapped inside a box of red here symbolizing fear, anger, and violence. On the outside is the cool serenity of the blue. The twist is that the figure is blue too, but does not realize she has the potential to be calm because she is too caught up in trying to break through the fear.

Work In Progress

Here is a digital rough draft of my final composition.

Objective Critique

Mark Rothko's painting titled "Number 14" is a piece in which two roughly painted rectangles, one red and one deep blue, lay on a background of dark burgundy. He used color to create emotional responses from his viewers. Rothko also used color to create contrast and emphasis in his painting, with an almost complimentary color scheme to his two rectangles. The red rectangle is emphasized because of the brightness and warmth to the color. The shapes, geometric rather than organic, which lay one on top of the other, create a sense of symmetry and pattern. Rothko's use of rough line work around the borders of the rectangle shapes create texture in this piece.

Subjective Critique

Mark Rothko's "Number 14" is an Abstract Expressionist painting that he created as a series of paintings he created to evoke raw emotion, The piece, however, left me unsatisfied. Several reasons why I do not like this painting have occurred to me. First, the painting seems unfinished. There is no subject matter for this artwork which leaves me feeling like the painting is a work in progress (although I know this to be untrue). I also do not like the fact that this artwork is symmetrical and uses only geometric shapes. This makes it rather boring and I would not have stopped in a museum to study the painting. Finally, I think that the painting could use just a little bit of depth. I like the flat, matte look, but there is no sense of foreground or background; and, in fact, the red stands out more because of it's bright warm color.

In my opinion, the colors and brush strokes, are appealing, but the painting needs some work in order to look finished. I felt that this painting was a bit boring without subject matter, although I like how the lines are very muted and rough. It is flat and could benefit from some type of object to create a sense of foreground and background. I like the overall contrast of the piece. The symmetrical balance and oversimplified nature of this artwork makes it something that I would not purchase, and yet it has potential to be recreated into something more visually pleasing. 

I will keep the overall color scheme, although I plan on creating an asymmetrical, silhouetted figure to bring out the background. I will possibly add something below in the foreground to "finish" out the piece; yet depending on how strong the silhouette is, this may not be needed. I want to keep the overall colors and brush strokes similar to the original; however, I will add just a little variation to the colors, or to the thickness of the paint between layers, to give more depth. I want to keep it a fairly flat, matte painting still, so not much variation will be needed.  I plan on using acrylic paint to achieve these things in my final piece. 

Image and Basic Information

"Number 14"

By Mark Rothko

Oil on Canvas

1960