Easy Smooth Skin Tutorial (No Photoshop Required)

Total Editing Time: < 10 minutes

This skin-smoothing/poor man's airbrushing tutorial is going to be done completely in Paint.NET to show that with a little creativity, this program can go a long way. For those who don't know, Paint.NET is a free and user-friendly photo editing program that has many of the same tools as Photoshop. Everything that is done in this tutorial can be done in PS through the equivalent tools, so if you have PS and not Paint.NET, go ahead and use PS.

The most important part of this process is to retain some texture in the skin and keep the overall structure of the face without over smoothing. WARNING: The values used in my tutorial were what "looked" right in my project. You might need to blur more/less or use more opacity, etc. Experimenting is key since the lighting and skin tone is going to be different from mine.


Step 1: Open pic file in program, then duplicate file into new layer.

Step 2: Use Clone Stamp (Shortcut Key: L) on top layer to soften pimples and other overwhelming blemishes (if you have PS, just use the healing brush, as it covers better).

Step 3: Lower the opacity of the Clone Stamped layer to provide a more natural cover, merging it with the bottom layer when done.

Step 3: Clone Stamp of approval.

Step 4 also involves looking dead behind the eyes.

Step 4: Using Lasso Select (Shortcut Key: S), select the skin that needs to be smoothed. Use CTRL+click to select multiple chunks. Leave a small amount of space between your selections and facial features to prevent them from disappearing later!

Step 5: Copy+paste the selected area into a new layer.

Step 6: Use Gaussian Blur on the copied layer until satisfied with the coverage. The edge of the layer should just touch or go past the edges of your lips, hair, chin, etc after blurring.

Step 6: So many pictures...

... With so little room.

Step 7: Digital BB Cream

Step 7: Click Brightness/Contrast (Shortcut Key: CTRL+Shift+C) to lower contrast and lift brightness. This gives a glowy look to the face and help minimize features that blurring could not diminish.

Step 8

Step 8: Lower the opacity of the blurred layer to allow skin texture so show through. 

Optional Step 9: To prevent a washed out look, use Hue/Saturation (Shortcut Key: CTRL+Shift+U) to subtly add color back to your face.

Step 10: Merge the blurred layer to the bottom layer and save (Shortcut Key: CTRL+S) as a JPG file.

I waited 3 days for my face to get sufficiently pimply for this tutorial pic.

If you've made it this far, hopefully I've helped you in your quest for digital perfection. Next tutorial: how to apply makeup to your photos.

- Alison