In this tutorial I will be showing you how to create a playful fantasy scene with a split water surface effect. I will also be showing how using complementary contrasting colors can bring depth to an image. Let’s begin!
Step One
First we are going to create the base of out sky and sea. We will do this by using three different images and blending them together. Place an image of a sunset (image #43345693) about half way on your canvas.
Next we are going to focus on the water surface. Start with adding some lighting and slight color by creating a new layer and clipping it to your water surface layer. Set the layer to “Soft Light”. Now, with a soft round brush paint black where you want the water to be darker and white where you want it to be lighter. Keep the position of the waves and sun in mind. Also paint some orange and red near the horizon line. Layer set to “normal”:
Now, we are going to move onto the water bottom, which is created using the water edge image. We will be using 3 layers and all of them will be clipped into the original water edge layer. First we will do some color correction using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Clip on into your water edge layer and set it to these settings: Colorize: Checked, Hue 253, Saturation 33 and Lightness -62. This will turn it a purple color.
Now we are going to add children to our umbrella boat. Extract your children and place them accordingly.
To bring everything together we will be using a slew of adjustment layers to add color and atmosphere. I want to show how well adjustment layers can be mixed and matched to completely change and image. These layers should be above all other current layers and are listed from bottom up. Curves adjustment layer set to:
Step Seven
Finally, we are going to add some final touches to make the image feel more complete. Using your favorite orange/red lens flare image, place it over the son i the sky.
We hope you liked this tutorial! Go on and create your own water surface effects with these techniques! Share with us any questions or comments you may have below!