Until recently I have never used Topaz Clean. It is one of those programs that was in the bundle that I really did not see a use for. It wasn’t because it is not useful, don’t get me wrong. It is because I was ignorant to what it could do!
I had no idea that Clean could be used to smooth skin. It is a pretty advanced skin smoothing engine that leaves the detail in the image in tact while making a nice smooth skin tone. I was very impressed by this!
Topaz Clean also adds some pretty awesome stylized character to your photographs. If you like cartoon art or oil paint-esque photos, then there is a lot you can do with Topaz Clean. I like the effects you can achieve with those styles, however sometimes they can be overdone and look kitsch.
Through the end of May you can get Topaz Clean for $14.99 off with Coupon code mayclean
In this tutorial, I will show you the basics of Topaz Clean, how it can be used to smooth skin in portraits, and how I use it to add subtle artistic effects to my HDR images.
Download the techniques used in this video as Actions.*
*These actions will only work if you own Topaz Clean
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
Outstanding tutorial, Blake. I’ve owned Clean for quite a while now, but have never really done much with it. This has given me some ideas. The action is very handy as well.
Hi Blake,
Useful tutorial. I have owned Clean for a while and it has become an integral part of my workflow. I particularly like what it does for skin in portraits, and, while similar results can be achieved in PS using things like the mixer brush, selective use of blur and sharpening tools and masking, Clean definitely gives me a good jump off point quickly. I would recommend it for anyone.
There is a recent example of use in my workflow here – http://fav.me/d7ilmvf
great program