Hey PSDFANs!

In this tutorial, I’ll show how you can combine different stock images to create this cohesive and unified scene of an aquatic Giant tortoise. You’ll also learn how to manipulate trees, stones, waterfalls and textures to create an island on the tortoise. Finally, we’ll add lighting effects and adjust the colour of our entire scene.

Let’s get started

What you will be creating

Here’s look at the outcome you’ll be able to produce by the end of this lesson.

Step 1

Create a new document by selecting File > New and set the setting as shown in the image below.

Step 2

Now, place the underwater image by selecting File > Place. Place it as shown in the image below.

Step 3

Add a layer mask to it by clicking on the second button on the layer panel at bottom right side. Grab the brush tool by pressing (B) on the keyboard. Use a soft round basic black brush to hide the upper part of underwater as shown in the image below. You can see the result below.

Step 4

Duplicate the underwater layer and move it to the right as shown in the image below.

Step 5

Place the underwater image again but this time in the center of the main document as shown in the image below.

Add a layer mask to it and use a soft round basic black brush to hide it’s parts to blend it properly to the scene. Here are the results. Now select all the underwater layer then press (Ctrl+E) on keyboard to merge all three layer into a single layer.

Step 6

Now, add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer as clipping mask to the underwater layer (see the image below for New Adjustment layer button and clipping mask button). Set the setting as shown in the image below.

On the layer mask of Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results so far.

Step 7

Now, add a Curves adjustment layer to the underwater layer as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 8

Now, place the sky below the underwater layer.

Step 9

Now, add a Curves and Exposure adjustment layer to the sky image. Set the setting as shown in the image.

Here are the results.

Step 10

On the layer mask of Exposure adjustment layer I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 11

Add a Color Balance adjustment layer to the sky as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 12

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to the sky. On the layer mask of Brightness I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results so far.

Step 13

Now, place the underwater 1 image above the underwater layer and activate the Free Transform tool by pressing (CTRL + T) on keyboard. Resize it, so it can cover the entire scene.

Step 14

Add a layer mask to it and using a soft round basic black brush hide the selected part as shown in the image below.

Change the blend mode of underwater 1 to soft light. Here are the results.

Step 15

Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer above the underwater 1 without clipping it. Set the setting as shown in the image below.

Change the blend mode of Gradient Map to soft light and reduce the opacity to 69%. Here are the results.

Step 16

Extract the tortoise using your favorite selection tool then place it to the main document as shown in the image below.

Step 17

Add a layer mask to tortoise and partially hide the underwater area of the tortoise by painting in the layer mask about 30% opacity and flow with soft round basic black brush.

Step 18

Add a Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer to the tortoise to blend it the scene.

Here are the results.

On the layer mask of both adjustment layers I hided the selected effect.

Here are the results.

Step 19

Add a Photo Filter adjustment layer to the tortoise and set the setting as shown in the image below.

Reduce the opacity of Photo Filter to 80% and here are the results.

Step 20

In this step, we’ll add water waves to the scene. Place the water waves image to the main document as shown in the image below.

Step 21

Add a layer mask to the water waves and hide the parts of water waves as shown in the image below using a soft round basic black brush.

Now, change the blend mode of water waves to hard light and reduce the opacity to 50%. Here are the results.

Step 22

To blend the water waves to the scene I added the Brightness/Contrast and Curves adjustment layer to it.

Here are the results.

Step 23

Now, duplicate the water waves layer two times including Brightness/Contrast and Curves adjustments layer. Position it in different places like shown in the image below to get more water waves inside the underwater. Here are the results.

Step 24

Add the Volcano image to the main document as indicated below. We only need the selected parts (see the image below) of volcano not the rest of.

Add a layer mask to it and hide the unwanted part to blend it to the tortoise.

Step 25

Set the blend mode of volcano to hard light. Here are the results.

Step 26

Now, duplicate the volcano layer two times and place it to left and right to cover the tortoise parts (don’t forget to use the layer mask) as shown in the image below.

Step 27

Now, select all the valcano layer and then press (Ctrl+G) to group them. Name this group ‘Island’. Then add a Hue/Saturation adjustments layer to the Island group. Set the setting as shown in the image below. You can see the results below.

Step 28

Place the tree image to the main canvas.

Step 29

Add a Brightness/Contrast and Photo Filter to the tree. Set the setting as indicated by below image.

Here are the results.

On the layer mask of Brightness/Contrast adjustments layer I hided the selected part as shown in the image below to brighten the right part of the tree.

Step 30

Place the stone image to the main document as shown in the image below.

Add a layer mask to the stone. Use a soft round brush tool to hide the unwanted parts as shown in the image below.

Step 31

Add Moss texture to the stone. Clip it to the stone layer then change the blend mode to Multiply. Reduce the opacity to 70%. Here are the results.

Step 32

Add the following adjustment layer to the stone.

Reduce the opacity of 2nd Brightness/Contrast adjustments layers to 53%. Here are the results. Now, select all the stone layers and group them then name this group ‘Stone’.

Step 33

Duplicate the stone group and move it to the right as shown in the image below. Here are the results.

Step 34

In this step we’ll extract the tree 1 using Calculation technique. Open the tree 2 image in Photoshop. Goto Window > Channel. Choose the blue channel duplicate it by right clicking on it then choose duplicate channel. After that Goto Image > Calculation (Make sure that duplicated blue channel is selected). Then set the setting as shown in the image below. You can experiment with any blend mode but most of the situation the Overlay and Multiply blend mode works best.

After using the Calculation, there will be an Alpha channel below the Blue Copy channel. Choose the Alpha Channel then load the selection by holding the Ctrl/Cmd key and then click on the thumbnail of Alpha channel. Go back to the RGB layer and add a layer mask to the tree 1.

Here are the results after extracting the tree 1.

Step 35

Now, place the extracted tree 1 to the main document. Add a layer mask to it and hide the unwanted part using soft round black brush. Here are the results.

As you can see we have so many rough edges on tree 1. We need to fix this. To fix it I added a blending option effect to the tree. Here are the values for blending options.

As you can see by applying a blending option effect all the hard and rough edges have gone. We have pretty much decent results.

Step 36

I reduced the saturation of tree 1 by applying Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to it.

Step 37

Duplicate the tree 1 layer and move it to the left as shown in the image below. Don’t forget to hide the unwanted parts.

Add a Blending Options effect to this layer again. Note that I have used same color for Inner Shadow used in previous step only the angle, distance, opacity are slightly different. Here are the setting.

Add Brightness/Contrast adjusment layer to it. Here are the values.

Here are the results.

Step 38

Duplicate the tree 1 again and place it, with the same Blending Option setting in previous step, as indicated by below. Here are the results.

I added a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to it. Set the setting as shown in the image below and here are the results.

Step 39

Duplicate the tree 1 layer again and place it, with the same blending option effect in previous step, as shown in the image below.

I added again a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to it. Here are the results.

Step 40

Duplicate it again and place it as shown in the image below. I have used the same color for inner shadow but this time I have changed the Opacity to 49%, Distance to 0, choke to 9 and size to 6.

Here are the results.

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and set the setting as shown in the image.

Step 41

Now, extract the tree 1 again for last time. Use the free tranform tool by pressing (Ctrl+T) on keyboard to resize it then place it as shown in the image below. Don’t forget to hide the unwanted parts using layer mask. Here are the results.

Step 42

Add a blending options effect to it and this time overall setting are changed. You can see it below.

Here are the results.

Step 43

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustments layer to it. Set the values as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 44

On the layer mask of Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results. Select all the tree 1 layer and group them then name this group ‘Tree 1′.

Step 45

Add the Waterfall to the main document and place it as shown in the image below. Don’t forget to resize it using free transform tool.

Step 46

Add a layer mask to the waterfall and hide the unwanted parts of waterfall using soft round basic black brush. Here are the results.

Step 47

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to the waterfall. Set the setting as shown in the image below.

Reduce the opacity of Photo Filter to 60%. Here are the results.

Step 48

On the layer mask of Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

On the layer mask of Photo Filter adjustment layer I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 49

Add a Color Balance and Photo Filter Adjustment layer to the waterfall. Here are the values of these adjustment layers.

On the layer mask of Photo Filter I hided the selected effect.

Here are the results. Select all the waterfall layers and group them. Name this group ‘Waterfall’.

Step 50

Select all the tree 1, stone and waterfall groups. Group them into a new group and name it ‘Created Island’.

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment to the Created Island group. Set the setting as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 51

Hide the selected the effect on layer mask of Brightness/Contrast adjustment as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 52

Load the Water Splash brush in Photoshop. Use the water 07 brush to create a waterline like shown in the image below. I have used 7 layers to create this waterline.

Step 53

Below the waterfall I created another waterline. Then use warp tool to alter the shape of waterline as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 54

I added some more water splashes as shown in the image below using water splash brushes.

Step 55

Now, we’ll add the lighting effects to the scene. I created a new layer by pressing (Ctrl+Shift+N) on keyboard then grab the brush tool and change your foreground color to #412b15. Set the opacity and flow to 100% with the size to 900 pixels then paint a big stroke as shown in the image below.

Change the blend mode of this layer to Color Dodge and reduce the opacity to 50%. Here are the results.

Step 56

Now, again create a new layer then fill it with black color. Add a Lens Flare Filter to it by selecting Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Then set the setting as shown in the image below. .

Here are the results on layer.

Move it as shown in the image below.

Step 57

Set the blend mode of Lens Flare to screen. Don’t forget to hide the unwanted parts using layer mask because we’ll only need the Lens Flare as a light source. Here are the results.

Step 58

Add a Level and Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to lens flare as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 59

Cut out fishes and place them as shown in the image below and use blend modes to blend them inside the underwater. I have used 7 layer to arrange them with different blend mode and opacity.

Step 60

Group all fish layer and name this group ‘Fish’. Add a Hue/Saturation to this group as shown in the image below.

Step 61

Load the Bubbles brush in Photoshop. Paint some bubble as shown in the image below.

Step 62

We need to paint some more lights on island. To do this, create a new layer and pick the brush tool with 30% opacity and flow. Change your foreground color to #634b11 and paint as shown in the image below.

Change the blend mode to Color Dodge. Here are the results.

Step 63

We are almost done but still short of Final Adjustments. Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer to the scene and set the setting as shown in the image below.

Change the blend mode of Gradient Map to soft light and reduce the opacity to 60%. Here are the results.

Step 64

On the layer mask of Gradient Map I hided the selected effect as shown in the image below.

Here are the results.

Step 65

Now, add a Color Balance adjustment layer and set the setting as indicated below.

Here are the results.

Step 66

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer.

Here are the results.

Step 67

On the layer mask of Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer I hided the selected effect.

Here are the results.

Step 68

Add the last final adjustment layers to the scene which is Selective Color adjustment layer.

Here are the results.

Congratulations ,You’re all done!

You can view the final outcome below. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and would love to hear your feedback on the techniques and outcome.

Today’s tutorial will walk you through some essential manipulation, blending and colour matching techniques.

In this lesson I’ll show you how you can convert a forest into a dark, foggy, ominous scene. You’ll learn how to work with shadows, lighting, adjustment layers, layer masks, dodge & burning and much more.

Let’s get started

What you will be creating

Here’s look at the outcome you’ll be able to produce by the end of this lesson:

Step 1

Create a New document by selecting file>new and use the settings shown in the image below.

Step 2

Now, place the forest image by selecting file>place then select the forest image to place it.

Step 3

I added a layer mask to forest layer by clicking second button on the layer panel then choose Gradient tool by pressing (G) on the keyboard. Choose the black and white gradient and apply it vertically from top to bottom. You can see the results on layer mask how I apply it.

Step 4

Now, I added a curves adjustment layer (settings below), and clipping it to my forest layer using a clipping mask.

Choose a soft round black brush by pressing (B) on the keyboard then paint on the layer mask of curves adjustment layer to hide the selected effect.

Step 5

Now, place the sky image below your forest layer as shown in the image below:

Step 6

I added a solid color adjustment layer to the sky. Here are the values for this layer.

Step 7

Reduce the opacity of the solid color adjustment layer to 25% and also paint black on the layer mask of the solid color adjustment layer to hide effect (see the bottom right of the below image to see where I’ve applied this mask):

Step 8

I added Photo filter and Gradient Map Adjustment layers to the sky. I also painted on the layer mask of both adjustment layer to hide the effect in certain places. See the image below for the setting and layer mask results.

Here are the results.

Step 9

Change the blend mode of Gradient map to Multiply and reduce the opacity to 70%.

Step 10

I added a color balance adjustment layer top of all the layer and painted on the layer mask of it with soft round black brush to hide the effect a bit. Use the settings shown in the image below:

Step 11

Add a Gradient map adjustment layer and paint on the layer mask to hide the effect of gradient map adjustment layer. Use the settings shown in the image below.

Step 12

Change the blend mode of the Gradient adjustment layer to soft light and reduce the opacity to 53%. Here are the results on our image:

Step 13

Create a New layer by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N on your keyboard then Grab the brush tool and change the color to #25344d. Then paint it with opacity and flow to 30% as shown in the image below.

Step 14

Now, change the blend mode to multiply and reduce the opacity to 50%.

Step 15

Create a new layer to make a light source then name it ‘Light source’.

Pick the soft round brush tool with opacity and flow to 100%, set the color to #286fbe and size to 2000 pixels. Paint two big strokes on the center and reduce the size of the brush to 700 pixels, change the color to #65aeff then again paint it on the mid. The results should be similar to this.

Step 16

I added a layer mask to the light source layer and paint it with soft round black brush to hide it a bit not too much. You can see the results below how I have done it.

Step 17

Now, change the blend mode to Linear Dodge and reduce the opacity to 63%. The results should be similar to the below image.

Step 18

Extract the grave with your favourite selection tool then place it here:

Step 19

I applied a blending options effect to the grave. To apply it right click on the grave layer then choose blending options. Here are the values for blending options effect.

Here are the results after applying the Gradient Overlay effect.

Step 20

Next, I added curves and gradient map adjustment layer to the grave to blend it to the scene. Here are the values for the both adjustment layer.

Then change the blend mode of Gradient Map Adjustment layer to Color and reduce the opacity to 71%. Here are the results.

Step 21

In this step we’ll use the Dodge tool to dodge the part of the grave which reflected by our light source. Before using it, create a new layer and then go to Edit>fill and fill it 50% gray then change the blend mode of this layer to overlay.

Now Select the Dodge tool by pressing (O) on the keyboard and set the exposure to 12% and range to midtones. Then dodge the part of the grave as shown in the image below.You can see the results in overlay and normal mode.

Step 22

Now, place the bush 1 image to the left bottom corner as shown in the image below.

Step 23

Now, Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the values as shown in the image.

Step 24

To blend the bush to the scene I applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to the bush.

Step 25

Now, place bush 2 image to the scene as shown in the image below.

Add a layer mask to bush 2 and Hide the selected part as shown in the image by painting it with soft round black brush.

Step 26

I applied the Gaussian Blur filter and Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to bush 2 with same setting as applied in 24 & 23 Step.

Step 27

Let’s create some fog. To do this, create a new layer and fill it with black. Then change your foreground colour to #5b5a5a and background colour to #000000. Now, go to Filter>Render>Clouds and when you done it. You should achieve the results shown below. Name this layer ‘fog’.

Change the blend mode of fog layer to screen and reduce the opacity to 15%. Add a layer mask to fog layer and hide the effect of fog as shown in the image below.

Step 28

Extract the model and place it here. The white arrow indicates that I kept the some leaves on the model layer, but don’t worry about it we’ll fix this in next couple of steps:

Step 29

I applied a blending option effect to the model.

I created a new layer below the model layer and used a soft round black brush with opacity and flow to 30% to paint some shadows as shown in the image below:

Create a new layer again below the model layer and paint some more shadows as shown in the image below.

Step 30

Reduce the lightness of the model by applying a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. As you can see by reducing the lightness the leaves which I kept on model are now blended properly.

The result should be similar to this.

Step 31

Continue blending the model to the scene by applying a Exposure and Gradient Map adjustment. See the image below for values:

I changed the blend mode of Gradient Map adjustment layer to ‘Color’ and reduce the opacity to 50%. See the results below:

Step 32

I applied the dodge and burn effect to the model. Create new layer and fill it with 50% gray. Change the blend mode to overlay. Now, select the Dodge and Burn tool then set the exposure to 12% and range to midtones. Then start dodge and burning as shown in the image below:

Step 33

I painted some light on the model. To do this create a new layer and select the brush tool then set to opacity and flow to 30%. Now the change your foreground color to #173737 and paint some light on model as shown in the image below:

Set the blend mode to color dodge and here are the results:

Step 34

I painted some more light rays with the same settings as in previous steps but changed the color to #0a1826:

Then set the blend mode to color dodge and reduce the opacity to 60%;

Step 35

Extract the crow and place it on the the grave:

Step 36

Apply the following blending options to the crow:

Here are the results.

Step 37

I painted shadows for the crow like I painted the shadows for the model:

Step 38

Then, I applied a Gradient Map adjustment layer to the crow to match it color to the scene.

Step 39

We’ve completed our main blending and it’s time for final adjustments.

We’ll apply a series of adjustment layer to the entire scene. Add the Photo filter and Gradient Map adjustment layer to the scene first and see the image below for values. Change the blend mode of Gradient Map to color dodge then I painted with soft round black brush on the layer mask of Gradient Map adjustment layer.

The results should be similar to this.

Step 40

Now, I added a color balance adjustment layer to the scene and see the below image for the values.

Here are the results:

Step 41

I added two more adjustment layer to the scene which is a Color Lookup and a Curves adjustment layer. I changed the blend mode Color Lookup to soft light then reduced the opacity to 30%.

Here are the results:

Step 42

For the final step, we’ll apply a lighting filter to the scene. First of all create a new layer then press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to stamp all the layers in one layer. Now, go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effect then set the Hotspot as shown in the image below.

Here are the values of Lighting effect filter:

Congratulations, You’re All Done!

Awesome job making it this far! You should be proud of what you’ve created. Show it off to your friends and colleagues and get some feedback.

You can also comment here with your version, or any questions you had about the techniques used. We love to see what you guys create and we’re always here to give helpful feedback and tips to help you to improve.