In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a dark night hunter scene. You’ll learn how to combine different stock images together, turn a scene from day to night, add a moonlight, create a dark atmosphere as well as make some special effects. Along with this tutorial, you’ll also learn how to work with groups, manage your layers and pay attention to the details.

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new document with the given settings:

Step

Open the street image. Isolate it from the background and drag it into the white canvas using the Move Tool (V):

Step 3

Open the sky image. Select the sky part using the Retangular Marquee Tool (M):

Drag this selected sky into our main document using the Move Tool. Set this layer under the street one.

Step 4

Create an adjustment layer and set it as Clipping Mask to change the sky color. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance:

Step 5

Create a Curves adjustment layer to darken the sky:

Step 6

Come back to the street layer. Make a Color Balance adjustment layer (set as Clipping Mask) to change its color:

Step 7

Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the street:

On this layer mask, use a soft black brush with a very low opacity (about 5-10%) to reduce the Curves effect on the parts below:

Step 8

Make another Color Balance adjustment layer to change the street color a little:

Step 9

Create a new layer, change the mode to Overlay and fill with 50% gray:

Active the Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range, Exposure about 10% to daken a detail below. You can see how I did it with Normal mode and the result with Overlay mode:

Step 10

Make a Curves adjustment layer on the top and darken the whole scene:

On this layer mask, use a soft black brush with the opacity about 10-15% to erase the pavement and other parts to give them some light there:

Step 11

Create a Gradient Map adjustment layer to change the light and color of the scene:

Change this layer mode to Exclusion 90%.

Step 12

Use another Curves adjustment layer to darken the scene. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to refine the light and contrast of the image.

Step 13

Open the model image and isolate her from the background using your familliar method.

Make two new layers on the top. On the first, use a brush with the color #8a6454 to paint some missing hair for the model:

On the second, use a brush with the color #d2bba9 to paint some lighter flying hair for her head.

Hide the background and the fill layer and hit Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt+Shift+E to merge all transparent layers into a new one.

Step 14

Place the merged model layer onto the street.

Use a Curves adjustment layer (set as Clipping Mask) to darken the model. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to reduce the effect on the arm, shirt and gloves.

Step 15

Use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to reduce the model saturation:

Step 16

Make a Gradient Map adjustment layer with the colors #494996 and #f7e68a. Change this layer mode to Soft Light 100%.

Step 17

Make a Photo Filter adjustment layer and pick the color #f3e784.

Step 18

Create a new layer with the same settings in the step 9. Use the Dodge and Burn Tool to give more light to the hat and gloves, also create more details for them.

Step 19

Create a new layer, use a soft brush with the color #0d0b19, the opacity avout 20-22% to reduce the highlight on her trousers:

Step 20

Open the sword image. Select a sword using the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L).

Place the sword under the lower arm of the model:

Add a mask to this layer and use a hard black brush to make the sword look like being held inside the hand:

Step 21

Make a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (set as Clipping Mask) to change to sword color:

Step 22

Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the sword. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase the top of the sword blade:

Step 23

Create a new layer with the same settings in the step 9. Use the Dodge and Burn Tool to refine the light and shade of the sword:

Step 24

Create a Curves adjustment layer on the top of the layers and reduce the lightness.

On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase some parts of the model, the street and some of the houses:

Step 25

Make a new layer, hold Cmd/Ctrl and click the sword thumbnail layer to load its selection. Fill this selection with the color #c2f1f2:

Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to erase the bottom and make the color faded out into the sword.

Step 26

Double click this layer, choose Outer Glow:

Step 27

Make a new layer and fill in the sword with the color #fd83df, also paint on her trousers with the same color. Apply a layer mask to erase any unwanted parts then change this layer mode to Overlay 100%:

Apply an Outer Glow effect to this layer:

Step 28

Create a new layer under two sword effect layers. Use a soft brush with the color #c2f1f2 to paint around the sword area. Change this layer mode to Soft Light 100%:

On a new layer, change the brush color to #fd83df and paint the light on the trousers part around the sword. Change this layer mode to Overlay 100%:

Step 29

Cut out the devil woman 1 from the background and place her on the top of a left house:

Create a new fill layer (set as Clipping Mask) to change the contrast of this woman. Lower the opacity of this layer to 70%. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to reveal the woman and reduce the effect as shown below:

Step 30

Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the woman a little. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase the model head and a hand one.

Step 31

Add the devil woman 2 after isolating to the roof of the right house:

To make the shadow for her on the roof, create a new layer under this one. Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click the devil woman layer to load her selection and fill with black. Flip it vertically (Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical):

Lower the opacity to 50%. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the radius to 4 px:

Add a mask to this layer and reduce the intensity of the top of the shadow:

Step 32

Use a new fill layer with the color #8a8f9f (set as Clipping Mask) and lower the opacity to 30%. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase the lower part of the head to keep the shade there:

Step 33

Select all the devil woman layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+G to make a group for them. Change the mode of this group from Pass Through (default group mode) to Normal 100%. Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer within this group to desaturate these women:

Step 34

Use a Color Balance adjustment layer to match the devil women with the background:

Step 35

Open the horns image. Select the horns and add them to the women’s head. Add a mask to each of these layers and blend them with the heads using a soft black brush:

Step 36

Make a group for the horn layers. Use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to desaturate the horns a bit:

Step 37

Use a Curves adjustment layer to brighten the horns:

Step 38

Add the smoke image to our working document and use a layer mask to reduce its intensity:

Use a Curves adjustment layer (set as Clipping Mask) to make the effect more subtle. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to keep some smoke areas more visible:

Step 39

Add the moon after cutting it out to the top of the scene:

Double click the moon layer, choose Outer Glow and Inner Glow:

Step 40

Use a Color Balance adjustment layer to change the moon color a little:

Step 41

Create a new layer on the top, use a soft brush with the color #cecfd6 to paint more glowing light for the moon and the area around it. Change this layer mode to Soft Light 100%.

Step 42

Make a Gradient Map adjustment layer on the top of the layers.

Lower the opacity of this layer to 20%:

Step 43

Make a Color Balance adjustment layer to change the whole color a bit. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to reduce the light on the moon and the model.

Step 44

Time to add another light and color to the scene. Use the Lasso Tool to select the bottom right of the street and set the feather to 60:

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer:

Step 45

Load the mask selection of this Channel Mixer layer and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance:

Step 46

Use a Curves adjustment layer to brighten the effect at the bottom right and some details of the model and sword. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase the rest as I don’t want it to be affected by this adjustment layer:

Step 47

Time to take of the model shadow. First make a new layer under the model one and use a soft black brush with the opacity about 40% to paint the shadow under the model shoes:

Step 48

As you see we’re having two light sources, one from the moon and one from the blue effect at the right corner of the street. Make two new layers under the model one. Use the same method as done with the devil woman 2 shadow to create two shadows with the approriate directions as indicated in the previous sentence. I lowered the opacity of the shadow created by the street light to 50% and the one created by the moon to 40% (as it’s further). Apply a Gaussian Blur of 4 px to each of these layers.

Step 49

Make a Vibrance adjustment layer to enhance the final effect. On its layer mask, use a soft black brush to erase some parts of the shirt to reduce the effect there:

And We’re Done!

You can view the final outcome below. I hope that you enjoyed the tutorial.

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.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a misty landscape matte painting with a dark castle. We’ll create a misty scene with the layered mountains and the light from afar. The main technique here is blending with adjustment layers, masking and brushes. There are something basic you should know about contrast, distance, intensity etc, and we’ll dive into all of those in today’s lesson!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new document in Photoshop with the given settings:

Step 2

Open the sky image. Use the Move Tool (V) to drag it into our white canvas, use the Free Transform Tool (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to enlarge it as shown below:

Step 3

I used an adjustment layer to darken the sky. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves:

Step 4

Drag the mountains 1 image into our main document and place it as shown below:

Click the second button at the bottom of the Layers Panel to add a mask to this layer. Use a basic, soft brush with black color to erase its sky and mountain part as the screenshot below shows:

Step 5

I used an adjustment layer with Clipping Mask to reduce the mountains saturation a little:

Step 6

I used Curves (Clipping Mask) to darken the mountains:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush with a very low opacity (10-15%) to reduce the effect on the top of the mountains:

Step 7

Isolate the mountains 2 image and place it in the foreground:

Add a layer mask and use a soft black brush with a very low opacity (10-15%) to erase the top of the mountains as shown below:

Step 8

I used Hue/Saturation for these mountains:

Step 9

I used Color Balance to add some cyan/blue to these mountains:

Step 10

You can see that the mountains contrast does not fit the dark background. I used a Curves adjustment layer to solve it:

Step 11

Make a new layer, change the mode to Overlay 100% and fill with 50% gray:

Active the Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range, Exposure about 15-20% to darken a part on the top of a mountain. You can see how I did it with Normal mode and the result with Overlay mode:

Step 12

Open the mountains 3 image. Place it over the working document as shown below:

Use a layer mask to blend it with another mountains, we need the layered mountains on the left:

Step 13

I used Hue/Saturation for these mountains:

Step 14

I used Curves to darken them:

Step 15

Add the mountains 4 image to our main document:

Mask off some parts of the image to get a similar result like below:

Step 16

I used Curves to increase the contrast of these mountains.

Step 17

Make a Color Balance adjustment layer to match their color with the background:

Step 18

We’ll make some mist to add some depth to the scene. Open the sky image. Use the Retangular Marquee Tool (M) to choose a sky part:

Place it at the right edge of the image, also set this layer between the mountains 1 and 2 ones:

Add a layer mask and use a soft black brush to remove the hard edges and leaves some smoke/mist between the mountains layers.

Step 19

Duplicate this layer and move it to the left. Use a layer mask to reduce the clouds opacity and make the mist effect more subtle:

Step 20

Duplicate this layer again and place it between the mountains 2 and 3 ones. Use a layer mask to create some mist between these layers:

Step 21

Take another sky part and place it in the foreground, also set this layer above the mountains ones:

Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to create some subtle mist effect for the foreground:

Step 22

Isolate the castle from its background and place it on the top of the mountain near the middle.

Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to blend the castle with the mountain:

Step 23

I used Hue/Saturation for this castle:

Step 24

I used Photo Filter to add some subtle cyan to the castle:

Step 25

The castle looks too bright so I used Curves to decrease its lightness:

Step 26

The castle does not look blended well with the misty mountains so I used a Color Fill layer to fix it. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color and pick a dark brown color (#343c45):

Lower this layer opacity to 70%:

Step 27

Make a new layer on the top. Use the Retangular Marquee Tool to select a window of the castle and set the feather radius to 2:

Fill it (Shift+F5) with a red color (ff0000):

Duplicate it several times and arrange them randomly on the windows, transform them if needed:

Step 28

Apply the Outer Glow effect for each red light layer:

Step 29

Make two new layers on the top. Change the brush to the birds ones and the color to #010b15. Choose the birds you like and paint them on the top of the mountains, around the castle top:

Step 30

It’s time for coloring the whole scene. Make a Color Balance adjustment layer on the top:

Step 31

I used Curves to increase the contrast a little:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush with the opacity about 20-30% to reduce the dark of the middle:

Step 32

Final step : Make a Vibrance adjustment layer to boost the whole color:

And We’re Done!

You can view the final outcome below. I hope that you enjoyed the tutorial.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to paint a fantasy woman portrait with Photoshop. You’ll learn how to use brush to paint properly as well as take care of details. A graphic tablet is highly recommended for this tutorial.

Let’s get started!

What You’ll Be Creating:

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

Step 1

Create a new document in Photoshop with the settings below:

The background color should be black.

Step 2

Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer. Active the Brush Tool (B) and paint with the color #2d0f02 on the black canvas:

Step 3

Make a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #ddbeb1 to paint a shape of a woman so you can know where to paint the details.. You can look at your reference to know how to form it but there is a very important rule : don’t trace your reference and copy every detail of it. Reference is for you to learn about anatomy, perspective, lighting, shadow, etc,..and from it you can paint your own. It might be very hard and needs practice, especially if you’re a beginner but trust me, it’s worth.

Create a new layer and use a soft brush with the color #c99b89 to paint behind the head, shoulder and neck for a basic shading:

Step 4

Make a new layer and use a soft brush with the color #7b6055 to paint on the nose part.

Click the second button at the bottom of the Layers Panel to add a mask to this layer. Use a black brush to form a nose for the face, remember to increase the brush hardness with the nostril and lower the hardness for other details. Also determine the light source so you can paint the light/shade properly later. In this case I am to make the light from the front of the model.

I made a new layer, changed the mode to Multiply 100% and used the same brush to darken inside the nostril:

Step 5

Create a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #ddbeb1 (same with the skin) to paint a shape of the ear.

Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to blend the ear with the head:

I made a new layer, changed the mode to Overlay 100% and filled with 50% gray:

Active the Dodge and Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range, Exposure about 20-30% to create the details of the ear. Look at the references to see how the ear formed. You can see the result of mine with Normal mode and Overlay mode:

I used a layer mask to reduce the highlight on some parts below:

Step 6

Make a new layer with Clipping Mask and use a soft brush with the color #7b6055 to strengthen the shade inside the ear and make it more realistic:

Step 7

Make a new layer under the ear layer, use a soft brush with the color #7a432c to make a shadow for the ear. Don’t worry if it does not look neat, it will be mostly covered by the hair later:

Step 8

Make a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #e8b5bb to paint a lips base:

Create a new layer under the lips one and use a soft brush with the color #7a432c, the opacity and flow about 20-30% to paint the shade under the lips and on the chin:

I used a new layer with the same settings like in the step 5 and used the Dodge and Burn Tool to create light/shade on the lips, Notice that the light come from infront so the front of the lips must be brighter and the edges darker:

Step 9

Make a new layer above the lips one, use a hard brush with the color #fbf3f4, the size about 10-15 px (it depends on the size of your document) to paint the lips texture:

I used a new layer, took a hard brush with the color #452c2e to paint the thin shade between two lips:

Step 10

I made two new layer and used the Dodge and Burn Tool to create more details, add lighting/shade to the face and body. Now the reference is necessary to know where to paint properly.

Step 11

It’s time for the eye. Make a new layer on the top and use a soft brush with the color #8e5b46 to paint on the eye part. Use a layer mask to form an eye base:

I used another with the same brush to paint some wrinkles under the eye, remember to lower the brush size :

Step 12

Make a new layer under the eye one and use a hard brush with the color #d8d6d6 to paint the sclera. Don’t use white color for it as it would look flat and unatural:

I used the Dodge Tool to brighten the edge of the sclera more:

Step 13

Make a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #231917 to paint a shape of the iris (feel free to choose the color you like but it should be a dark one):

I used a new layer and a soft brush with the color #ced0d0 to paint the details inside the iris and make the pupil visible:

Make another layer, use a hard brush with the color #f1f7fb to paint a reflection for the eye. The reflection can be anything so you’re free to paint as you see fit:

Step 14

On a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #231917 to paint the eye contour and the eyelid:

I used a new layer and a brush with the color #e9e4e2 to paint a line inside the lower eye contour:

Step 15

Create a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #231917 to paint the eyelashes, remember to make the lower eyelash thinner:

Step 16

On a new layer use a brush with the hardness about 40%, the color #6c4e49 to paint the eyebrow shape. Don’t make it solid to avoid a rigid look:

Create a new layer and use a hard brush with the color #5e483f to paint the eyebrow hairs following the shape:

Step 17

Make a new layer under the eye group ( you should group your layers). Use a brush with the color #7a432c to paint more shade under the chin and the face contour:

I used a new layer and a soft brush with the color #c99883 to paint more shade on the head and body. Change this layer mode to Multiply 100%:

Create another layer and use a soft brush with the color #e9e4e2 to make more light on the face and body, especially around the eye, on the chin, cheek and shoulder:

Step 18

To make the skin more realistic, I created a new layer on the top and used a hard black brush with the settings below:

Paint some freckles on the nose, cheek, chin, forehead then use a layer mask to reduce their opacity:

Change this layer mode to Soft Light 100%:

Step 19

I use two adjustment layers to change the model color. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation:

I used Photo Filter to add some cool tone to the model:

Step 20

It’s time for my favorite stage: painting the hair. Make a new layer on the top and use a brush with the color #3a1f27, the hardness about 60-65% to paint the hair base. I want to paint a long flying one but you can paint in the style you like.

Step 21

Make a new layer and use a brush with the color #5e334c to paint the basic strands for the hair:

Step 22

On a new layer use a lighter brush (#784262) to paint more smaller strands for the hair:

Step 23

I used a new layer and a brush with the color #9d5981 to paint smaller, flying hair strands and make the hair more detailed:

Step 24

Make a group for all the hair layers and change the mode of this group to Normal 100%. Make a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to change the hair color:

Step 25

To make a depth for the hair I made a new layer and used the Dodge and Burn Tool for the light and shade, try to create a smooth look:

Step 26

In this step I used a hard brush with the color #fff0bd to make the light inside the eye stronger. Alter this layer mode to Hard Light 100%:

Step 27

On a new layer, use a soft brush with the color #d1ff74 to paint a green light effect on the left of the model and on the contour of the face and body:

Step 28

Make a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #481b07 to paint some curly lines at the eye edge:

I used another color for the brush (#74f4ff) to paint some lighter lines around the eyes, eyelashes, eyebrow:

Step 29

Create a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #e47361 to spot randomly around the eye:

Step 30

Make a new layer on the top. Use a hard brush with the color #e47361 to paint randomly around the model, remember to vary its size. Change the mode of this layer to Color Dodge 100%:

Add a mask to this layer and reduce the dots opacity:

Double click this layer, choose Outer Glow:

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the radius to 1 px:

Make a group for this layer and change its layer mode to Color Dodge 100%.

Step 31

Create another layer (within this group) and use the same brush to spot on the hair and model body:

On a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #74f4ff to paint some little sparks on the model:

Step 32

Make a new layer (within this group) and use a hard brush with the color #ff642a to paint over the picture (except the model), remember to vary its size and opacity:

Apply Gaussian Blur with 15 px:

Step 33

Make a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #bcff00 to paint some curly lines as shown below:

Duplicate it several times, transform and arrange them around the model. I applied Gaussian Blur with 2 px to the one at the bottom right of the pic:

Step 34

I used Hue/Saturation to change the color of some of them:

Step 35

I used a soft brush with the color #bcff00 to paint on the left side of the picture to make some glowing green light there:

Step 36

It’s time for coloring the scene. Make a Color Fill layer on the top and change its layer mode to Exclusion 100%:

Step 37

I used Color Balance to continue coloring:

Step 38

I used Curves to increase the picture contrast:

Step 39

I used Selective Color and adjust the Reds and Yellows settings:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush to erase the parts I don’t want to be affected by this adjustment layer:

Step 40

I used Levels to increase the contrast a little:

Step 41

In this step I used a hard brush with the color #bcff00 to paint some green hair strands on the top of the head (reflected from the green light on the background):

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.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a dark and emotional fallen angel scene using a variety of photo manipulation techniques. You’ll work with blending techniques, adjusting colour, practice retouching, painting and more.

By the end of this lesson you should mastered some practical new skills to improve your digital art!

What You’ll Be Creating:

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

Step 1

Create a new document in Photoshop with the settings below:

Step 2

Open the sky image. Use the Retangular Marquee Tool to select a sky part then drag it into our white canvas using the Move Tool (V):

Click the second button at the bottom of the Layers Panel to add a mask to this layer. Use a basic, soft brush with black color to soften the hard edges of this sky part:

Step 3

To change the color of the sky, I used an adjustment layer with Clipping Mask. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation:

Step 4

I used a Curves adjustment layer to darken this sky:

Step 5

Place the landscape image over the our main document and change its layer mode to Multiply 100%:

Step 6

Go to Filter > Blur > Gassian Blur and set the radius to 4 px:

On the Filter Mask use a soft black brush to remove the effect on the midground and create a depth to the scene:

Step 7

To reduce the sunlight on the landscape I used Hue/Saturation (Clipping Mask):

On this layer mask use a soft black brush to reduce the effect at the left edge of the sky :

Step 8

To darken the whole scene I created a Curves adjustment layer on the top:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush with the opacity from 10 to 30% to decrease the dark effect on some parts of the sky and ground:

Step 9

I used a Color Fill layer to reduce the dark contrast of the horizon area. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color:

Lower the opacity of this layer to 50%, and use a soft black brush to clear the effect around the horizon:

Step 10

Open the rock image. Take this one and place it near the foreground:

Add a mask to this layer. Use a soft black brush to blend the rock bottom with the ground:

Step 11

I used a Curves adjustment layer to darken the rock:

On its layer mask use a soft black brush to reduce the dark on the right side of the rock:

Step 12

I used Hue/Saturation to reduce the rock saturation:

Step 13

I added a Photo Filter adjustment layer to change the color of the rock a little:

Step 14

Make a new layer on the top, change the mode to Overlay 100% and fill with 50% gray:

Take the Dodge and Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range, Exposure about 15-20% to refine the light on the rock. You can see how I did it with Normal mode and the result with Overlay mode:

Step 15

Extract the model from the background:

Step 16

In this step we’ll add more hair to the model using a tablet pen (you can use hair brushes instead). Make a new layer, use a hard brush with the color #291d0f and the size about 10-12 px to paint more hair from the head top to the back:

Create another layer and change the brush color to #715c3d. Paint some lighter hair strands :

Step 17

Hide the background and the fill layers (under the model one) and hit Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt+Shift+E to merge all transparent layers (the extracted model and hair ones). Place the merged layer above the rock:

Create a new layer under the model one. Use a soft black brush to paint the shadow under the feet and the body (look at the original photo to see how the shadow formed).

Step 18

I used Curves to darken the model:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush to erase the upper part of the model as I don’t want it to be affected by this adjustment layer:

Step 19

I used another Curves adjustment layer to brighten the upper part a little:

Apply brush masking on the lower parts:

Step 20

I used Hue/Saturation to decrease the saturation on the model:

Step 21

Create a new layer with the same settings in the step 14. Use the Dodge and Burn tool to refine the light and shade of the model:

Step 22

Open the wings image and drag them onto the model back:

Add a mask to the wings layer. Use a tablet pen to work on the mask to reveal some hair on the model back as shown below:

Step 23

Make a new layer on the top. Active the Clone Tool and remove an unwanted detail on the wings:

Step 24

I used Color Balance to change the wings color. On this layer mask erase the upper part of the wings with a soft black brush:

Step 25

I used Curves to darken the wings and apply brush masking on their upper part:

Step 26

I used the Burn Tool on a new layer to darken the intersection of the model back and wings:

Step 27

Take the feathers and arrange some around the model, use the transform tools to tweak them if needed.

Step 28

Add more feathers to the background and apply Gassian Blur with 12 px to them:

Step 29

Arrange many more feathers over the picture, place the bigger ones at the edges. Apply Gassian Blur with 6 px to them:

Step 30

Selected all the feather layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+G to make a group for them. Change the mode of this group from Pass Through (default group mode) to Normal 100%. Make an Invert adjustment layer on the top of the layers within this group to invert the feathers color:

Step 31

Use Color Balance to change the feathers color:

Step 32

I used Curves to darken the feathers:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush to remove the dark effect on the feathers at the middle section where is illuminated by the light:

Step 33

I used Levels to darken the feathers more and apply brush masking on the following parts:

Step 34

Create a new layer on the top. Use a soft brush with the color #7f0101 to paint on some of the feathers and the wings to make a bloody effect there.

Step 35

Make a new layer and use the same brush to paint the wounds on the model arm and legs, beside the lips corner and blood on the rock. I highly recommend you to use a tablet pen in this case:

Step 36

Make a new layer, use the Burn Tool to make the wounds look more realistic:

Step 37

I use the same brush on a new layer to paint some bloody lines falling from the wings:

Step 38

Create a new layer on the top. Use a hard brush with the color #e3e0e0 to paint a broken circle above the model head:

Step 39

On a new layer, use a soft brush with the same color, lower the opacity to 20-30% to paint a glowing effect at the edges of this circle:

Step 40

Create a new layer and use a hard brush with the same color to paint some light hair strands on the head top where is affected by the glowing light from the circle:

Step 41

Make a new layer on the top of all layers. Change the foreground and background color to #7d645a and #808080. Go to Filter > Render > Clouds:

Lower the opacity of this layer to 15%.

Step 42

It’s time for coloring the picture. Make a Gradient Map adjustment layer on the top:

Lower this layer opacity to 20%:

Step 43

I used Color Balance to add some cold tone to the picture:

Step 44

I made three Photo Filter adjustment layers on the top:

Step 45

Create a Vibrance adjustment layer to boost the color:

Step 46

I used Levels to brighten the upper part of the scene a little:

On this layer mask use a soft black brush to erase the lower part of the picture:

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.

Today’s tutorial will show you how to photo manipulate a fantasy woman, floating in an underwater setting. There’s tons of great techniques in this tutorial, including lighting, colouring, blending, detailing and much more. By the time you’ve completed this lesson you’ll be able to create a realistic underwater effect.

Let’s get started!

What You’ll Be Creating:

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

Step 1

Create a new document and fill it with white. The ratio between width/height of my canvas is 3/4 but feel free to make your own. Go to Layer-New Fill Layer -Solid Color:

Step 2

Go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Curves to darken the picture:

On Curves layer mask, press B to active Brush Tool. Use black brush with opacity about 20-25% to reduce the dark at the top right of the picture ( where we’ll add main light source to). You can see how I did it on layer mask and result on picture:

Step 3

To increase the contrast I used a Levels layer:

On Levels layer mask, I varied brush opacity from 20 to 100% to erase the top right:

Step 4

We’re creating an underwater environment. If you look closely at many underwater photographs, especially at natural environments, you’ll see the noise, debris, plankton, etc…To imitate this effect, make a new layer on the top and fill it with black (Shift+F5). Convert this layer to Smart Object. Go to Filter-Noise-Add Noise:

Choose Filter-Blur-Gassian Blur and pick radius as 1.5 px:

Change the mode to Screen 5%. The change might not be noticed at looking the whole pic so I took a close-up of the bottom left :

Step 5

I added a Curves layer with Clipping Mask to darken this effect a little:

Step 6

Duplicate this layer and set the opacity at maximum (Screen mode 100%) :

Click the second button at the bottom of Layer Pallete to add mask to this layer. Use black brush to erase the top right :

Step 7

To enhance this effect I used a Levels layer:

Here are some close-ups of the result:

Step 8

Make a new layer and use soft white brush to paint on the pic. I changed the mode to Overlay 100% and used layer mask to erase unwanted parts:

Step 9

To add more details to underwater effect, I used starry texture. Choose the first one and place it at the bottom of our image, change the mode to Screen 20%:

Step 10

Duplicate this layer and increase opacity to 60%. Move it to the top right and use layer mask to reduce opacity of the effect as shown below:

Apply Gassian Blur for this layer:

Step 11

Open underwater stock. Use Retangular Marquee Tool (M) to choose the top of this picture and drag it with Move Tool (V) onto the top of our main canvas:

Change the mode to Soft Light 100%. Use layer mask to remove hard edge and blend it with background:

Step 12

Create a Hue/Saturation layer to match color of this part with the scene:

Step 13

Open model stock and isolate her from background :

Step 14

In this step I’m going to paint more hair for the model (If you don’t want to do it, you can use hair brushes instead). I’ve picked several colors from model hair (#6e6259, #7a6859, #302725, #908980, #c3bbb1) and drawn strands following light, shadow and direction of the original . Press F5 to change settings of the brush to Pen Pressure:

Here is my process of painting (I rotated the model so you can see it more obviously). Remember you must vary brush sizes for painting small or bigger strands:

Step 15

Merge extracted model layer and hair ones. Place this layer at the center section of the pic:

Add layer mask to this one. Use soft black brush with opacity about 30% to make the flying fabric appear translucent:

Step 16

We’ll start retouching the model with some tools of Photoshop. First make a new layer with Clipping Mask. Use Healing Brush tool (J) to remove tattoos on the legs and refine some details on the face and arm:

Step 17

Create a new layer and active Clone Tool (S). Use it to remove some details on model arms and knee:

Step 18

In this step I used a new layer with Smudge Tool , Strength about 30-35% to soften model skin. The working area includes the face, arms and legs:

Step 19

On a new layer I used soft brush with color #a58b81, opacity and flow about 30-38% to paint on the face, arm and waist to brighten and soften the skin there:

Step 20

Make a new layer, use brush with color #977f76 with same opacity and flow to paint on some details of the arm and waist to refine skin color there, also blur the vein :

Step 21

Make a new layer, change the mode to Overlay 100% and fill with 50% gray:

Take Dodge and Burn with Midtones Range, Exposure about 20-25% to refine the facial details, waist, also re-define the light there a bit. You can see how I applied this tool with Normal mode and result with Overlay mode:

You can see that the model looks fuller now.

Step 22

We’ll go through very interesting steps. I found that the hair color looks ordinary and wanted to make it pop. A red/orange hair would stand out from a cyan/bluebackground. To do it in a non-destructive way, I used Lasso Tool to choose hair part only, then chose Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Channel Mixer (remember to check Clipping Mask options):

Step 23

Hold the Cmd/Ctrl while clicking Channel Mixer layer mask thumbnail to load its selection. Choose Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Hue/Saturation:

Step 24

With same method, I used Color Balance to make the hair more vivid:

Step 25

Add a Color Fill layer to model and lower opacity to 10%:

On this fill layer mask use brush to reduce the effect on the hair and some parts of her body:

Step 26

I used Photo Filter to add some cyan/blue to the model:

Apply brush masking on model body and hair:

Step 27

Use a Curves layer to increase the contrast of model a little:

Erase the dark contrast on some parts of model body and flying fabric:

Step 28

I used Levels to brighten the upper part of model body and erase the lower part , also reduce the lightness on some parts of model body and hair ( on this Levels layer mask):

Step 29

I used a layer with same settings in step 21. Use Dodge and Burn to refine light/shadow the hair and fabric:

Step 30

Open branches stock and extract the branches part from background:

Step 31

Use Lasso Tool to choose a branches part and place it at the bottom of our main image:

Copy another parts and arrange them around foreground:

Remember to convert all branches layers to Smart Object.

Step 32

To make depth for the scene, I applied Gassian Blur with 4 px for some branches:

I used brush to erase the top of a branch (on its Filter layer mask):

Step 33

Apply Gassian Blur with 1 px for two other branches:

Step 34

I copied a branches part and put it above the raising hand of the model:

Use layer mask to create a look of model holding that branch:

Step 35

Use Curves to brighten that part:

Step 36

Make all branches layers selected then press Cmd/Ctrl+G to make group for them. Change the mode of this group from Pass Through (default group mode) to Normal 100%. I named them from 1 to 10. I arranged 6 first layers to darken them a little.. On the layer 6, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Curves:

I applied brush masking to reduce dark effect on the top of some branches:

Step 37

On the top of layers of branches group, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Hue/Saturation:

Step 38

Use another Curves layer on the top to darken all the branches more:

Apply brush masking as usual:

Step 39

Make another on the top (above branches group). Use soft black brush with opacity 30% to paint shadow of the branch on model hand :

Step 40

Cut out the rose and place it at the left part of the branch in model hand:

I used Color Balance to turn the pink into the orange red:

Step 41

Apply Curves for this rose:

On Curves layer mask I erased the upper part of the rose to make it brighter than the lower (as it gets more light):

Step 42

Add a Color Fill layer to the rose and lower opacity of it to 20% to blend it with water background:

Step 43

Open stock with rose petals and extract them from background. Choose different petals and arrange them around the model, and at foreground with bigger ones. I applied Gassian Blur with 8 px for bigger petals, 4 px for some others and 0.5 px for the rest:

Step 44

Make group for the petals. I used Curves to brighten one as I found it a bit dark:

Step 45

Use Curves on the top of the petals layers to darken them:

Work on Curves layer mask to define light/shadow on some petals:

Step 46

Add a Color Balance layer to the petals group:

Step 47

Right click petals group, choose Duplicate Group. Right click duplicated group, choose Merge Group. Now we have selection of the petals that will be useful in next steps (turn it off).

Step 48

Load petals selection, then add a Color Fill layer (as we did with the hair):

Lower opacity of this layer to 20%:

Use soft brush to clear the effect on lower petals:

Step 49

Make a new layer on the top and change foreground to white. Use bubble brush you like, set the size as 5 px and change settings for it as shown below (press F5 to do it):

Paint bubbles under model knee, legs, near the shoulders, arm, hair, fabric, then lower opacity to 60%. Vary brush opacity to get more natural result:

Step 50

Increase the bubble size to 7 px and continue painting around the parts mentioned in previous step (on a new layer). I made these bubbles stand out by keeping the opacity 100% and brushing randomly:

Step 51

Make a new layer and change brush to light rays. Choose the one you like and paint on the top right of the pic:

Change the mode to Overlay 100% and blur the right side of it with layer mask:

Go to Filter-Blur-Motion Blur:

Step 52

Choose another light ray (I chose number 1478) to add more to the top right. I applied Motion Blur with same settings but with Soft Light mode 100%:

Step 53

On a new layer I used soft brush with color #82b6b3 to paint on the top of the light to refine color of highlight there. I changed the mode to Color 100%:

Step 54

Add two Color Balance layers to the top:

On the mask of the first layer use brush to reduce the effect on model as shown:

On the mask of the second I applied more brush masking:

Step 55

I used Photo Filter to change color of the pic a little:

Reduce opacity of the effect at the right corner of the pic:

Step 56

Add a Gradient Map layer :

Lower opacity of this Gradient Map layer to 20%. Choose layer mask, erase selected parts below:

Step 57

I used Hue/Saturation to enhance the blue on the pic :

Step 58

Use Curves to enhance the contrast of the picture:

Here is the result on Curves layer mask:

Step 59

I used Vibrance to complete the color adjustment:

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.

Today’s tutorial breaks down some key photo manipulation techniques, such as blending, colouring, texture/brush application and many more!

You’ll learn how to create a lovely surreal image that’s sure to impressive your friends. It’s time to get icy and take your photo manip skills up a notch!

What You’ll Be Creating:

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

Step 1

Create a new document with size of 900×1200 px and fill it with black. Open ice ground and use Move Tool (V) to drag it into our canvas, rotate it 90 CW (Edit-Transform-Rotate 90 CW) and use Free Transform Tool (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to resize it:

I named this layer “ice underground”.

Step 2

I use a Curves layer with Clipping Mask to darken this underground. Go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Curves:

On Curves layer mask use soft black brush to erase the bottom to keep it brighter than the rest. You can see how I erased it on layer mask and result on picture:

Step 3

I use another Curves layer to brighten the part masked in previous step:

Step 4

Add a Hue/Saturation layer to reduce saturation of this underground:

Step 5

Extract the model and place her on the underground:

Step 6

I use a Curves layer (Clipping Mask) to darken the model:

Another Curves to darken more:

On this Curves layer mask use soft black brush with opacity and flow about 20-30% to keep some parts of the model brighter ( the arms, face):

Step 7

Make a Hue/Saturation layer (Clipping Mask) for the model to reduce her saturation:

Step 8

To make a shadow for the model on the underground, create a new layer underneath the model layer. Use a soft black brush with about 50% opacity to paint under the arms:

Step 9

Come back to ice underground layer. Click the second button at the bottom of Layer Pallete to add mask to this one. Use soft black brush to erase the part behind the model arms to blend it with black background and create a depth for the underground:

Step 10

Open the stock contained closed eyes (feel free to use your own one). I make a selection around one eye part (use Lasso Tool – L) and place it above the opening eye of the model:

Use layer mask to remove the hard edges:

Step 11

I make a Curves layer (Clipping Mask) to darken this eye part:

Step 12

To blend this eyes better with the face I use a Hue/Saturation layer:

Step 13

To change color of the pic a little I add a Color Balance on the top:

Step 14

Drag winter 1 stock above the model and resize it to get a look below:

Use layer mask and black brush with hardness about 40-45% to create soft edges of the ground (try to make curvy edges and avoid a rigid look):.

I called this layer “ground 1″.

Step 15

Make a new layer with Clipping Mask for the ground. Active Clone Tool (S) and remove unwanted part at the tree bottom:

Step 16

Open winter 2 image. I take a part of this stock and place it over the ground 1 part after transforming:

Use layer mask to blend this new ground with sky and tree:

I named this layer “ground 2″.

Step 17

There is unwanted part on the left edge of ground 2 and I use Clone Tool to fix it (on a new layer with Clipping Mask of course):

Step 18

I use a Color Balance to change color of this ground:

Step 19

Add a Hue/Saturation layer to adjust color of the ground a little:

On Hue/Saturation layer mask I use soft black brush to erase a part at the right corner of this ground:

Step 20

Open icicles stock. Extract the part contained icicles and rock and place it above the model but under ground 1 layer.

Go to Edit-Puppet Warp and tweak the icicles part a little:

If you’re using CS 4 or older versions of Photoshop you can use Warp Tool instead.

Step 21

Duplicate this layer and flip it horizontally (Edit-Transform-Flip Horizontal), move it to the right. I applied Puppet Warp for this part too:

Use layer mask to cut out some icicles of this part (remember to use hard brush to do it):

Step 22

I take separate icicles from the stock and position them under the ground, transform and use layer mask if needed:

I used 10 layers for this effect.

Step 23

Make all icicles layers selected then press Cmd/Ctrl+G to make group for them. Change the mode of this group from Pass Through (default group mode) to Normal 100%. I named these layers from 1 to 10.

On layer 10, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Curves:

On Curves layer mask I erase some icicles part as I don’t want them too dark:

Because the mode of this group changed to Normal 100% (no Pass Through) so this Curves layer only affects the layers inside this group (icicles ones).

Step 24

Now it’s time to take care of the model. Make a new layer above Color Balance 1 layer and under icicles group. Change brush to frost ones and pick foreground color to white. Choose brush, number 1800 to spot over the model part:

Change the mode to Soft Light 100% and use layer mask to remove unecessary parts:

Step 25

I use Curves to darken this effect a bit:

Step 26

Open ice texture 1 and place it on model body, then set the mode to Soft Light 100%:

I use layer mask to remove hard edges of this texture:

Step 27

I take a part from this ice texture and place it at the right of the model. Put the mode to Soft Light 100% and use layer mask to blend it:

Step 28

Make group for ice texture 1 layers, change the mode to Soft Light 100% (it’s very important to keep the effect the same as before grouping). Call these layers 1 and 2 or whatever you want. Add a Curves layer within this group to brighten the ice effect a little:

On Curves layer mask I use brush with opacity about 30-35% to reduce lightness on some parts, especially the edges which should be darker:

Step 29

To make a stronger “icy” effect for the model, I use ice texture 2. Make a selection on this texture and drag it on model face and arms:

Add the mask to this ice layer. To get a realistic effect I use a brush that has grainy structure . Go to Brush menu, choose Reset Brushes to turn all brushes to default. Choose spatter 59 pixels brush to remove hard edges of this ice part, remember to vary opacity ( I set them about 20 to 100%) to get more natural result:

Step 30

Take another ice parts from the stock and place them over the model body, use same brush on masking:

Step 31

I use Curves to darken some ice parts a little:

Step 32

Make group for these ice texture 2 layers (including Curves ones) with Normal mode 100%. I use a Hue/Saturation layer within this group to change color of this effect:

Step 33

Add a Curves layer to darken all ice layers a little:

On this Curves layer mask I use brush with low opacity (20-25%) and small size (from 2 to 10 px) to create a little stronger contrast on the ice on model face and arms:

Step 34

Make a new layer above icicles group and under ground 1 one. Use soft black brush with opacity about 60% to paint shadow of the snow ground on the icicles:

Step 35

Make three layers on the top. On each layer use bird brushes with black colors to paint on the sky:

I named these layers from 1 to 3.

Step 36

I want to blur the birds to create a depth to the picture. On the layer 1 go to Filter-Blur-Gassian Blur and choose radius with 1 px:

With layer 2 and 3 I apply Gassian Blur with 0.5 px:

Step 37

Extract the deer and position him at the right of the ground:

Use layer mask to blend his feet with snow ground:

Step 38

I use a Hue/Saturation layer to reduce the deer saturation:

Step 39

I use a Photo Filter to add some light cyan to this deer:

Step 40

The deer looks too dark against the background so I use Curves to increase the lightness:

Step 41

To blend the deer better with the scene I make a new layer (Clipping Mask) and use soft brush with color #bfdbf6, opacity and flow about 30-35% to paint on the deer back, legs and tails:

Step 42

Open stock with footprints. I copy a part of it and place it near the deer feet after transforming and resizing:

Use layer mask to remove rough edges:

Step 43

I take another footprints and position them along the ground:

Step 44

These footprints are a bit blurry so on each footprint layer, go to Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp Mask and pick the value below:

Step 45

Make group for footprint layers with Normal mode 100%. Create a Curves layer to brighten the footprints and alter the color of them a bit:

Use brush to work on Curves layer mask:

Step 46

I use a Hue/Saturation layer to make the footprints intergrated with the ground:

Step 47

Make a new layer on the top. Use a snow brush with white color to paint on the picture:

Convert this layer to Smart Object.

I use layer mask to reduce opacity of snow on some part to create a depth for this effect:

Step 48

I apply Gassian Blur for the snow:

On Smart Filter mask use soft black brush to remove blur effect as shown below:

Step 49

I use a Channel Mixer layer to change color of the snow from a white to a very light cyan to be suitable with the scene:

Step 50

Use Curves to darken the snow around the model part (underground):

Use brush to erase the ground, sky, tree parts:

Step 51

Make a Gradient Map layer on the top:

Lower opacity of this Gradient Map layer to 30%:

Step 52

Use a Curves layer to add some yellow to the scene:

Step 53

To create some light for the pic (it’s looking a bit dull now) I use Levels:

On Levels layer mask apply brush masking:

Step 54

I use a Vibrance layer to complete the whole color adjustment:

Step 55

Final step: Make a new layer on the top, change the mode to Soft Light 100% and fill with 50% gray:

Use Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range and Exposure about 20% to darken inside the footprint to make them more visible. You can see how I applied this tool with Normal mode and result with Soft Light mode:

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.

You’ll learn advanced masking, digital painting tricks, non-destructive workflow, coloring, blending tips and much more.

Let’s get started shall we?

What You’ll Be Creating:

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

And here’s a close up of some of the cool detailing:

Step 1

Create a new document with size of 1300x900px and fill it with white. Open the ‘background’ stock.

Use the Move Tool (V) to drag it into your white canvas, and use Cmd/Ctrl+T to resize and rotate it:

Step 2

We’ll darken the background and turn it into a night scene with an adjustment layer with a Clipping Mask. On your background layer, go to New Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves:

On the Curves layer mask use soft black brush with very low opacity and flow (about 10-15%) to reduce dark intensity on some parts of the
background.

You can see how I used it on the mask and the result on your picture.

Step 3

I add another Curves layer to increase the darkness. On this Curves layer mask I remove and reduce darkness with soft brush, with varying opacities:

Step 4

I want to remove the window behind the background so I make a new layer, and use the Retangular Marquee Tool (M) to make a selection in this area. Right click it, choose ‘Transform Selection’ and rotate it as shown below:

Go to Edit-Fill (Shift+F5) and fill it with black:

I name this layer “black fill 1″.

Add a layer mask to this layer. Use a soft black brush to blend some hard edges with the background:

Step 5

Do the same method with the hole on the top of the background:

Step 6

Create a new layer on the top. Use a soft brush with red color (I choose #ff0000) to paint on the window area that was filled with black
then lower the opacity to 60%:

I name this layer “red light 1″.

Step 7

Make a new layer under ‘red light 1′ one. Use the same red brush color with opacity from 50-100% to paint over the parts illuminated from the red light. I change the mode of this layer to ‘Color’, at 100% opacity:

Create a new layer above ‘red light 1′. Use the same brush to paint on the columns and the ground to make the light effect stronger. Change
the blend mode to ‘Soft Light’, at 100% opacity.

Step 8

Extract the model using your preferred method. Place her at the center of the ground:

Step 9

Add a layer mask to your mode. Use a hard black brush to remove the lower parts of model’s dress and some small parts and details on her right shoulder and arms.

Step 10

I want to add some red to the model. Double click your model layer, choose Blending Options:

Step 11

Make some adjustment layers with Clipping Mask to change the lightness and contrast on the model.

Curves 1 and 2:

On Curves 2 layer mask I use soft black brush to erase the model’s face, hair and a small part of the hand as I don’t want them too dark:

Step 12

I use Photo Filter and Color Balance adjustment layers to add more red light to the model:

On the Photo Filter and Color Balance layer masks I use a soft black brush to reduce red on the model’s skin:

Step 13

To add more light for the model’s contour, therefore isolating her more from the background, I make a new layer with Clipping Mask. Hold Cmd/Ctrl while clicking the model layer thumbnail layer to load her selection:

Go to Edit-Stroke and pick color #ff0000:

We have this result:

Go to Filter-Blur-Gassian Blur and set radius as 20 px:

Use a layer mask to remove and reduce red intensity on the model’s shoulders, arms and hair:

Step 14

Now it’s time for the most interesting stages of the tutorial. Open the stock included dress. Isolate the dress part from the model.

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to choose a dress part and move it onto the left of model body and use the Warp Tool (Edit-Transform-Warp) to bend it like so:

Step 15

Choose a larger dress part to place at the right of the model:

Use a layer mask to remove the unwanted parts shown below:

Step 16

Keep this dress part selected, and press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it into a new layer. Use Cmd/Ctrl+T to rotate it :

Go to Filter-Liquify and choose Forward Warp Tool with the settings shown below:

Use this tool to tweak the dress part to get the form you like. Here is my result:

Step 17

Move this dress part into our main image and place it near the foreground and warp it:

Use a layer mask to blend this part with the rest:

Step 18

I use a Curves layer with Clipping Mask to darken this part a little:

Step 19

I liquify another dress part and place it at the left of the dress:

Apply a layer mask to this one to remove unwanted part:

Step 20

I use Curves to brighten this part a little then on the Curves layer mask use a soft black brush to erase the lower part:

Step 21

I add more tails to the dress using the same method. I use Curves to darken or brighten if needed. This is a great non destructive way to adjustment light in specific parts of your image.

Step 22

Continue adding more dress tails:

Step 23

Now we’ll be creating the upper part of the dress. Choose another part from your stock and place it onto the right arm:

Apply a layer mask to this part:

Duplicate it and move the duplicated area to another arm, use layer mask to blend it with the dress. I use Curves to darken it a little:

Step 24

Take another part from your dress stock an place it above the model, use the Warp Tool to make it fit her body:

Use a layer mask to remove unecessary parts:

I duplicate this layer, move it to the left and flip it horizontally (Edit-Transform-Flip Horizontal). I also use Curves to darken it a bit:

Step 25

Add another part to complete the dress:

Step 26

To edit all dress layers together, make all of them selected and hit Cmd/Ctrl+G to create a group. Change the mode of this group from Pass Through (default group mode) to Normal 100%. Create two adjustment layers within this group to darken the dress and add red to it:

Because the group mode has been changed to Normal 100% these adjustment layers will only affect the layers inside this group (your dress layers).

Step 27

Add a mask to this group (as done with a normal layer). Use a hard black brush to paint on the right hand to reveal more details of it:

Step 28

Right click on the dress group and choose Duplicate group. After duplicating, right click again and choose Merge Group. Right click the layer mask, choose Apply Layer Mask. Now we have selection of the dress that will be useful for next steps.

Step 29

In this step we’ll make shadow for the dress on the ground. Make a new layer under the dress layers group. Use a soft black brush with 40% opacity to paint under the dress tails.

Step 30

As you may see, the dress wrinkles still look clumpy and random. To fix it, I make a new layer on the top and active Smudge Tool with Strength about 70-80%. Open Brush menu, choose Reset Brushes. Choose Rough Round Bristle brush and load your dress selection using the method from Step 13 (dress copy layer shown in step 28) and start smudging along the dress to soften the details:

Step 31

In this step I want to add more small details to the dress. Make a new layer on the top. Use the Pen Tool to draw some shapes on the edges of the dress tails. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter to turn them into selections, then fill them with color #450000:

Step 32

I use Curves (Clipping Mask) to darken these details:

On Curves layer mask I use brush to reduce the dark effect on some parts below:

I name this layer “small details”.

Step 33

I think some parts of the dress should be darker so I load the dress selection again, then hold Shift key to load more small details selection. On the top of the layers, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer > Curves:

Use a soft black brush to reveal some details of the dress. Now on the layer mask of the Curves and on the picture the result should be:

Step 34

Load the dress + small details selections again, press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer, change the mode to Overlay 100% and fill with 50% gray:

Use the Dodge and Burn Tool with Midtones Range, Exposure about 20-25% to create more details for wrinkles and model body. You can see how I applied this tool with Normal mode and result with Overlay mode. You may notice that I drew a belt for our model:

Step 35

In this step we’re going to add light for the dress tails. Load the dress + small details selections and use a brush with color #8e0005 to paint along the dress’ contour. You can use a layer mask to refine the light details:

With same method I add more light for the sides of the dress with color #ff0000:

Step 36

Make two new layers and change brush size to 1px. Choose Pen Pressure in Shape Dynamics options. Draw tiny strings for the dress tails to give a creepy effect. On the first layer I use color #610002 and the second with a brighter color (#8e0005):

Step 37

Create a new layer and choose a soft 2px brush (color #ff0000) to draw spots on the dress tails to create “special eyes” for each of them:

Apply an Outer Glow for these eyes to make them more prominent:

Step 38

Extract the horns stock image and place them above the model’s head, using a layer mask to blend them:

Step 39

Make a layer group for the horns as done with dress. I use Hue/Saturation, Color Balance and Curves to darken and add red tone to the horns:

Step 40

Make a new layer within this group. Load the horn selection and use soft brush with color #ff0000, opacity and flow about 40-45% to add light to the horns:

Step 41

Load the horn selections again and make a new layer with same settings like in Step 34. Use the Burn Tool to darken some parts of the horns:

Step 42

I make 6 new layers on the top and change my brush to the crack ones from the resources section for this tutorial, using color #ff0000. Draw some cracks on the horns, use Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform if needed and hide unnecessary details with a layer mask:

Step 43

Make a new layer on the top and use a brush with color #ff0000 to paint inside the model’s eyes and change the mode to Overlay 100%. Use a layer mask to reduce the lightness on the left eye:

Make a new layer with same settings in step 34. Use the Dodge and Burn Tool to add more sharpness to the eyes:

Step 44

To add some glowing light on the model’s face, I make a new layer and use a soft brush with color #ff0000. Paint around the model’s eyes and change the mode to Soft Light 100%:

Step 45

Make a Hue/Saturation layer on the top to increase overall saturation a little:

Step 46

Final step: Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+Shift+E to merge all visible layers. Go to Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp Mask:

Add layer mask and erase the horns as I don’t want them too sharp:

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.

Today’s design lesson is an in depth guide to creating a beautiful, fantasy piece called “Summoning the Power”.

You’ll master a range of expert techniques including:

• Very advanced, multi-layered lighting effects
• Advanced, creative masking
• Correctly manipulating and blending multiple images
• Fixing blemishes, difficult edges and other difficult areas
• Many more practical, actionable techniques

Let’s get started!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new document with size 1000×1300 px and fill it with any colors you want (I choose white). Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer. Active Radial Gradient Tool (G) with colors #010619 and #01375c:

Step 2

Open sky stock. Use Move Tool (V) to drag it into our white canvas, then use Cmd/Ctrl+T to rotate it to make this part of sky visible:

Change the mode to Soft Light 100%:

Step 3

Open ground stock. I use Retangular Marquee Tool (M) to grab a selection of ground and place it at the bottom of our main picture, use Cmd/Ctrl+T to get a right perspective:

Click the second button at the bottom of Layer Pallete to add mask to ground layer. Use soft black brush to blur the hard edge of the ground:

Step 4

I want to darken and change color of the ground to be fit the sky. To do it, I use some adjustment layers with Clipping Mask. On ground layer, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Hue/Saturation:

Color Balance and Curves:

After darkening with Curves, on its layer mask, I use soft black brush with opacity about 30-40% to erase the middle section of the ground (as it’s illuminated by sky part -we’ll see in next steps).

Step 5

To darken the ground edges more, I make a new layer (Clipping Mask) and use brush with color #2f3855 to paint there. Change the mode to Multiply 100%:

Step 6

Extract model and place her at the center of our picture:

That’s the end of the preview!

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In this tutorial our resident photo manipulation expert Jenny Le will show you how to create a serene lake scene.

You’ll learn a variety of manipulation techniques, such as blending, adjusting color, retouching, using brush as well as detailing to achieve a realistic outcome.

Beyond this, you’ll learn some practical techniques such as using the displacement filter to create an artificial water surface and how to combine adjustment layers and complex, layered masking to produce some beautiful results.

Let’s get started!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Open sky stock. Use Crop Tool (C) to take the sky part only. If you use your own image, remember to choose the one with horizon.

Step 2

On background layer (sky), use Retangular Marquee Tool to make a selection on sky part:

Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate this selection then move it to the left to hide the top of castle. Click the second button at the bottom of Layer Pallete to add layer mask to this one. Use soft black brush to remove hard edge and blend this selection with sky:

I name this layer as “remove castle”.

Step 3

Make a new layer with Clipping Mask for this layer. I found something I don’t like after previous step so I use Clone Tool (S) to fix it:

Go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Curves to darken this part a little:

Step 4

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+Shift+E to merge all visible layers (background, remove castle, clone and Curves). I rename this layer as “Sky”. Choose Image-Canvas Size , extend the bottom (I double the height):

Duplicate sky layer. I rename the upper layer “sky”, under layer “lake”. On lake layer, choose Edit-Transform-Flip Vertical then move it under sky layer.

Step 5

Make a new layer under the lake one. Choose Edit-Fill with a light cyan color picked from the top of sky (#a7acaf). This layer will be a base of the water. Then add layer mask to the lake one. On layer mask, hit G to active Gradient Tool. Choose Linear Gradient Tool with default colors (black and white):

Drag a line from the top to bottom of the lake to make sky reflection faded into the water:

On lake layer, choose Filter-Blur-Motion Blur:

Step 6

Now we’ll make a ripple texture that will be using to make reflection. Press Cmd/Ctrl+N to create a new document with 2000×1000 px and fill it with white. It’s better to work on the large size (depends on your document) as it will be cropped later. On background layer, go to Filter-Noise-Add Noise:

Make sure that foreground and background are set to black and white (so texture will be easier to see). Choose Filter-Sketch-Bas Relief:

Filter-Blur-Motion Blur to smooth the lines:

Duplicate this background layer then use Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform it:

Then use Crop Tool to get a result below:

Save this file as a PSD and name it “ripple-texture” or whatever you want.

Step 7

Come back to our lake file. We’ll use Displace filter to make reflection. Hold Cmd/Ctrl while clicking lake thumbnail layer to load its selection (it’s very important, if you don’t choose, the result will look different).

Go to Filter-Distort-Displace with settings like in screenshot below (if you want to ripple more your lake, increase the values) then browse the ripple-texture file:

That’s the end of the preview!

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In this advanced design lesson you will learn how to photo manipulate a dark image of a devil woman.

You will master various photo manipulation techniques such as portrait/photo retouching, manipulating a natural landscape, creating a dark cloudy atmosphere, digital painting, image blending, multiple adjustments, advanced masking and many more.

There’s a ton of actionable, professional tips to learn in this lesson, so let’s get started!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new document with size about 1500×1000 px and fill with any colors you like (I use black). Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer and choose G to active Gradient Tool. I use Radial Gradient with colors # 021335 and #20446c:

Step 2

Open sky stock. I use Retangular Marquee Tool to make a selection on sky part then use Move Tool (V) to drag it into our black canvas, resize (Cmd/Ctrl+T) and change the mode to Soft Light 100%:

Step 3

I use an adjustment layer with Clipping Mask to desaturate the sky. Go to New Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Hue/Saturation:

Step 4

Extract model and place her at the middle section of our image after resizing:

Step 5

There are something I don’t want on her face so I make a new layer (Clipping Mask) and use Clone Tool (S) to remove it:

Step 6

I use some adjustment layers: Hue/Saturation, Photo Filter, Curves (Clipping Mask) to change color and brightness of model to be fit background:

Step 7

Open rock stock. I cut out the one on the right, place it behind the model. I want the rocks to have an evil look so I use Warp Tool to distort it to be sharper (Edit-Transform-Warp), remember to convert it to Smart Object before transforming. I set this layer under model one.

That’s the end of the preview!

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