I was asked to provide a few software tips and I´ve been trying to think how I work and what I can come up with. I must say that I think it´s pretty hard to give any concrete tips because I don´t think that much when I work. I´m focused on the picture and how I want the result to be and really not how I do it.

 

But one thing I do a lot is postwork in Photoshop after rendering a scene. So the tips and trix I can come up with is mostly for postwork. I work a lot with separate layers and add details to my renders.

 

One example is to add cracks and detail to skin by layering a nice rusty photo or cracked paint. Turn the layer to soft light or overlay and use the eraser brush to fit it to the part you wanna add detail to. Work with the opacity till you find a good balance between the original and the overlay. I do this a lot and often work with several layers this way. Mostly to detail some part of the picture but sometimes also to add a nice touch of grain and detail to the whole image.

 

Coloring is also something I do in postwork. I copy the original layer and mute the colors. Then add a new layer and choose layerstyle color and paint new colors over the render. Here I keep the opacity pretty low to avoid to sharp colortones. Quite often I actually recolor the whole scene this way. It´s

 

When I am satisfied with the colors and textures I flatten the image and duplicate the layer. Then I often work a bit with dodge and burn on that layer to enhance lights and reflections. Adjust the opacity to get the desired effect and join it with the background.

 

Sometimes I also use a couple of Photoshops filters to get a more painted feeling to renders. I always work on a duplicated layer so I can adjust the effect with opacity. The two filters I find useful from PS originalfilters are Dry Brush and Poser Edges. I work on fairly large pictures when I use these effects.

 

A general thing I often do when I render is to do alternative renders with different materials and atmospheres. This can create very nice effects when the renders are overlayed in Photoshop.

 

Well this is a couple of ways that I work. I hope some of these tips are useful.