In the film, every superhero needs a villain. In the new film “X-Men: Apocalypse” appears Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur), a powerful super mutant, one of the main opponents of X-Men.
Today I will show you how to draw a portrait of your Apocalypse using photo manipulation techniques and digital drawing techniques.
The final result:
1. Research and inspiration
The magic of creating photo manipulations, especially when inspiring fans of art, is to explore and search for inspiration on the Internet.
Pro Apocalypse
From the Wikipedia article, we can learn that the Apocalypse is one of the most powerful mutants in the universe. He was born in ancient times, adhered to the philosophy of the merciless destruction of the weak at any cost.
For this portrait of the Apocalypse, I used the image of a man that I found on the Envato Market website.
The original image of the model along with the final portrait of the Apocalypse.
The model on your original image should have special features! Here are some reasons why this original image is suitable for the Apocalypse:
- A man with strict facial features, including a wide jaw, pronounced eyebrow and a thick neck (most likely due to the structure of the body).
- Empty facial expression is perfect for turning into a villain.
- Due to the short haircut, it is very easy to turn a man into a bald one.
- A good close-up of the image of the model, ideal for creating a portrait.
- Good lighting on the image allows you to clearly see all the original features of a man.
Sticking to Old Design
If you watched the trailer for the new film “X-Men”, then you may notice that my design of the Apocalypse does not look like the design that you saw in the film. This is because I decided to stick with the original character design as a way to pay homage to the comics. Your choice to change your armor and style will depend entirely on you. As soon as you make your choice, you can start creating this photo manipulation.
2. Prepare the source image.
Step 1
Since This photo manipulation is more suitable for working with a brush, it is best to increase resolution (resolution). Let’s go Image – Image Size (Image> Image Size). Change the resolution to at least 300 dpi.
Step 2
Next, with the tool Magnetic Lasso 
(Magnetic Lasso Tool (L)), create a selection around the image of a man. Right-click on the selection area and in the window that appears select the option Invert selected area (Inverse), and then press (Delete) to get rid of the background.
Since the man’s face is angled, then press the keys (Ctrl + T) to activate the tool Free transformation (Free Transform) and then select Turn (Rotate) to rotate the image and center the head.
Step 3
The skin tone of the Apocalypse is represented by a muted blue color. We can fix this with a correction. Hue / Saturation (Hue Saturation). Let’s go Image – Correction – Hue / Saturation (Image> Adjustments> Hue Saturation). In the settings window that appears, set the following values:
- Color tone (Hue): -150
- Saturation (Saturation): -67
- Brightness (Lightness): +3
Step 4
Now let’s create a simple sketch of the armor. Using a hard round brush, draw armor using the inspirational ideas you saw on the Internet. The design should be simple and symmetrical. The design of the armor will be slightly modified in the following steps, so creatively approach the refinement of the armor as regards its additional functionality.
Step 5
Even though the man’s face is centered, I want the neck to look more symmetrical. Using tool Polygonal Lasso 
(Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)), select the left side of the man’s neck. Press the keys (Ctrl + J) to copy the selection to a new layer. Next, reflect the image with the neck horizontally, for this we go Editing – Transformation – Flip Horizontal (Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontal).
3. Create the face of the Apocalypse.
Step 1
Did you know that most of the villains were created with really angular features? To make our man look like the Apocalypse, we need to change his facial features. Let’s go Filter – Plastic (Filter> Liquify) and gently modify its eyes, eyebrows, jaw, nose and mouth. Create a duplicate with the image of a man just in case you mess up the image.
Tools like Deformation (Forward Warp Tool (W)), Shrinkage (Pucker Tool (S)) and Bloating (Bloat / lessons / tools (B)) will help you with retouching.
Raise the eyebrows, the head should be more rounded, the lower lip should be thinner. To correct facial features, use the tool. Deformation (Forward Warp Tool (W)).
Keep on increasing his brows. Start changing the expression of his mouth by pulling the tips of his lips down. Do not worry if the man will look like a caricature.
Pull the mouth and eyebrows in different directions to enhance these facial features.
Step 2
To create the effect of a smooth bald head, we simply use the tool. Stamp 
(Clone Stamp Tool (S)). Take a sample from the bald areas of the skin, and then start painting the upper part of the head, where short hairs are visible. Continue to adjust the head until the head is completely bald.
Do not forget to remove the stubble on the chin and upper lip, as well as the hairs on the eyebrows.
4. Create the features of the Villain
Step 1
So, we have completed the work, as for the aspect of photo manipulation, now we can go to work with a brush. First, fill the layer with Background (Background Layer) Linear (Linear) gradient. Gradient colors from black to dark blue.
Create a new layer, set the blending mode for this layer to Bright light (Vivid Light), using the same dark blue color, fill the new layer, and then reduce Opacity (Opacity) up to 20%.
Using a hard round brush, start painting armor using basic color shades. Since I forgot to draw metal ears on my sketch, but now I quickly draw them.
Step 2
Let’s go back to face. Create a new layer, set the blending mode for this layer to Darkening basics (Color Burn). Using tool Brush 
(Brush Tool (B)), paint the threatening facial expression of the Apocalypse, the color of the brush is dark blue. Try playing with blending modes to see which modes fit your photos. In this example, we can see that the mode Darkening basics (Color Burn) allows us to create the desired expression, while maintaining the gloss on the lips.
Step 3
Now, create new layers to create light and shadow. Change the blending mode for the created layers to Multiplication (Multiply). Do not forget that we have a rather dark portrait, so the shadow should be in the lower part of the neck, and also go down along the armor.
Make your eyes saturated with dark red.
Using tool Pipette 
(Eyedropper Tool (E)), select a color cast from the adjacent area before adding shadows. Draw shadows to make your face look angular. Focus on the enhancement of features such as sunken eyes, protruding cheekbones and a wrinkled forehead.
Reduce brush size. Start drawing wrinkles and grooves on the same layer. Strengthen the wrinkles that are already on the man’s face, and also add more wrinkles to enhance the effect of aging.
Step 4
It is very important to add lighting to the scene. This step will help us understand in which direction we need to add light. Draw a bright edge along the edge of the armor, and add the reflecting light on the face of the Apocalypse.
Create a new layer, set the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay). Add light effects to the man’s forehead, as well as an eerie glow on his eyes. With the help of a white brush, you can add light highlights and make separate areas brighter. You can use the tool at any time. Eraser 
(Eraser Tool (E)) to soften the effect.
5. We finalize the armor
Step 1
Do not stop too long at any one stage of drawing. Continue to work on other elements of the image to see what needs to be done next. Since face is almost complete, then I can go to armor.
The basis of armor is too simple, so I will add details to the design to make the armor look more interesting. The fastest way to do this is to use the tool. Polygonal Lasso (Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)). Create a selection of fragments of armor around the neck, as well as around the letter “A”. Press the keys (Ctrl + J) to duplicate the selected areas on the new layers. Add a piece of armor near the neck so that it looks like an extra piece of metal, and also increase the letter “A” with Free transformation (Free Transform), to do this, press the keys (Ctrl + T).
Step 2
Advanced finish edges. The metal is hard and smooth, so you need to make the edges of the metal surface sharp and even with a hard round brush. Toughness (Hardness) 100%.
6. Final Details
Step 1
Villains are usually negative characters, so armor must reflect this. To add texture, you can use grunge brushes. In this case, I used a brush. a piece of chalk (Chalk) from a standard set of brushes to optionally add texture to armor.
Play around with various armor features. Add a dent on the armor, as if it was received during a battle. If you are the same as me, then perhaps you are not too versed in the technical characteristics of the design of armor. Just make an effort to make your picture make sense, and also to have a lot of raw material with metal texture on hand, this will serve as a guide. Here I added small rivets that fasten the letter “A”.
Step 2
Next, using a small round rigid round brush, I painted scratches on the metal. You can draw scratches in any direction, as they should look as natural as possible.
Step 3
In the last step of this photo manipulation, we will make the picture a little lighter. Create a new layer, change the blending mode to Linear clarifier (Add) (Linear Dodge (Add)). Add brightening throughout the metallic armor, enhancing brilliance and saturation. Continue adding light highlights until you are satisfied with the result.
Great job! We have completed the lesson!
The photo manipulation technique in conjunction with the digital drawing technique proves that this is a unique combination! Now, using all your knowledge, you can create your super villain.
I hope you enjoyed this fascinating lesson.
The final result:
Posted by: Melody Nieves
