Hiya! Time for another “How To” session! In this tutorial we will be creating a sci-fi inspired composite using simple layer mode tricks and easy painting techniques. This tutorial leaves a lot of room for experimenting and always remember that every image is different.
In this tutorial we will be creating a sci-fi inspired composite using simple layer mode tricks and easy painting techniques. This tutorial leaves a lot of room for experimenting and always remember that every image is different.
Software: Photoshop Cs6 Time: 45 min Level: Advanced
Step One – Create Sky First off we are going to create a bright starry night sky with a hint of a nebula. Create a Solid Color fill layer and set it to a dark blue (#070e24). Next create a new layer and with the Elliptical Marquee tool set to a high Feather of 50px or more (the amount depends on the size of your image) create an oval shape.
Above that group, create a new layer set to “Soft Light”. Now, we are going to do some broader shading and lighting. With a large soft brush set to 30% flow paint black around the corners of the image and white in the middle.
The first adjustment layer is a Hue/Saturation layer with the Hue set to “+161” and the layer mode set to “Hard Light”
Above that is a Color Balance layer set to -43 Red and +35 Blue.
Above that is a curves layer set to what you see below:
The final result:
Shrink and position the city image until you are happy with where the lights are located on the mountain range. Now add a layer mask, and mask out any parts of the city image you want to hide. Here is my first bunch of lights:
First, a Brightness/Contrast set to Brightness 22 and Contrast -50. Next, a Curves layer set to what you see below. Select the mask and with a large black soft round brush mask out the middle so that it’s only darkening the outside of the image.
Above that, clip a Color Balance layer and set it to red +15, And above that clip a Color Lookup layer set to “Moonlit” at 84% opacity.
Then that’s it, you are finished!
