In this 2-part tutorial you are learning how to create the look of an aged, hand-tinted photograph by using masks, fill and adjustment layers, blending modes and layer styles.

Download Tutorial Files

In Part 1, I showed you how to age the photograph using tools from the brushes palette, brighten the photo using layer masks and filters, and add an artificial water-damaged look using an alpha channel.

In Part 2, you will create the title and the kanji (Chinese character) to the left of it using the Type tool, Layer styles, and the Distort filter. Then you will add a few finishing touches with the Shape and painting tools.

Create the title treatment

STEP 1

Select the Horizontal Type tool. Choose a font you like. I chose Trajan Pro bold. Click on the Color Swatch in the options bar and move your cursor over the image. The cursor changes to the eyedropper tool. Sample a light warm gray from within the image. Click in the image window and type OKAYAMA. Make the initial cap about 84.5 points and the other letters about 60 points. Reduce the Layer opacity of the new Type layer to 74% and change the blending mode to Hard Light.

STEP 2

At the moment the type is a little too clean looking compared to the rest of the composition. Here’s a little trick that will quickly give the type a distressed look. Load the type as a selection by Command-clicking (Control-clicking on PC) on the T symbol in the Layers palette. Make a new layer. Name it stroke. Make your foreground color black. Go to Edit>Stroke and apply a 3px stroke to the outside of the selection. Deselect (Command-D on Mac, Control-D on PC).

STEP 3

Go to Filter>Distort>Ripple. Make the amount about -714 and select small from the Size drop-down menu and click OK. Hide the layer by clicking on the eyeball next to the layer in the Layers palette.

STEP 4

To distress the edge of the type, highlight the Type layer and add a Layer mask. Load the distorted stroke as a selection by Command-clicking (Control-clicking on the PC) on the stroke layer. With the Type layer mask highlighted, use black and soft round brush (about 65px) with a flow or opacity of 45% and begin masking the edges of the letters. Press Command-H (Control-H on the PC) to hide the marching ants so you can more easily see the results of the masking.

STEP 5

To fade the type in and out, deselect, increase the size of your brush to 125px. Uncheck Shape Dynamic in the Brushes palette (press F5 to open the Brushes palette). Lower the flow or brush opacity to about 7%. Randomly paint on the mask, decrease the opacity more in some areas by overlapping strokes.

STEP 6

To give the title a somewhat illustrated look duplicate the layer and, with the lower layer highlighted, click on the Add a layer style button (the circled f icon) at the bottom of the layers palette to access the Layers styles menu. Choose Stroke. Make the stroke 2px wide, 100% opaque black. Click OK. At the top of the layers palette just below Opacity is Fill. Reduce the fill of this layer to 0%. That will cause the type itself to disappear, but the stroke will remain visible. Make the Layer Opacity 35% and change the blending mode to Multiply.

STEP 7

Next you will separate the title somewhat from the background and accentuate the illuminated quality of the composition by adding highlights to the title. Make a new layer above OKAYAMA copy and name it “highlights”. Load OKAYAMA as a selection by Command-clicking (Control-clicking on the PC) on the T symbol in the OKAYAMA copy layer. Choose a large (100px) round soft brush with a flow or brush opacity setting of about 10%. Make the foreground color white and paint lightly the top and right portions of the selection, gradually adding highlights to the type.

STEP 8

Reduce the Layer opacity if needed and change the blending mode to Color Dodge.

Create the kanji (Chinese character) using a Solid Color fill layer

Kanji is the Japanese name for the Chinese characters that are an integral part of the Japanese writing system. Adding such a character to the composition will immediately tell the viewer this is Asia. The particular kanji you will be using in these steps means tranquil or calm. You will create the kanji much as you did the look of water-damage –by using an alpha channel selection.

STEP 1

Open the image Kanji.tif. Select All and Copy. Go back to Postcard.psd. Click on the small triangle in the upper right corner of the channels palette and choose New Channel. Name the channel “kanji” and under Color Indicates, choose Selected Area and click OK.

STEP 2

Load the kanji alpha channel as a selection. Make the RGB channel active and hide the kanji channel. In the Layers palette highlight the layer abstract texture then add a solid color fill layer from the fill and adjustment layer menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. Name the new fill layer kanji. When the Color Pick appears, move your cursor over the image and sample a medium warm grey from within the image and click OK.

STEP 3

Scale the kanji to about 57% and position it in the upper left corner slightly behind the O in OKAYAMA.

Add texture to the Kanji with a Pattern fill layer.

Pattern fill layers are a great way to add an organic quality to an otherwise flat looking object.

STEP 1

Command-click (Control-click on PC) on the thumbnail in the layer kanji to load it as a selection. Click on the Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer button at the bottom of the layers palette. Choose Pattern way up near the top of the menu. When the Pattern dialog appears, click on the Pattern Swatch. This will open the Pattern Presets palette. Click on the small triangle in the upper right corner and from the drop-down menu choose Artistic Surfaces. When asked if you want to replace current patterns, click Append. This will add the Artistic Surfaces collection of patterns to the Pattern presets. Then select Wax Crayon on Vellum and click OK.

The kanji now has texture and blends nicely with the rest of the composition.

Finishing touches

You will finish the composition by adding a black Shape at the bottom to give the composition structure, contrast, a place for the eyes to rest, and a non-busy background in which to put descriptive information.

STEP 1

Select the Rectangle Shape tool (just below the Type tool). In the options bar make sure Shape Layers is selected on the far left. Click on the Color Swatch in the options bar and pick black in the Color Picker. Make a rectangular shape at the bottom of the composition, approximately 0.65 inches high.

Note: Refer to Figure 23 below for the next three steps.

STEP 2

Select the Horizontal Type tool and a font you like, I chose Post Antiqua (Bold and Roman). Create separate Type layers for each of the following lines of copy and position them as shown below in Figure 23:
Images of (12 points, bold)
January 2006 (10 points. Roman)
A unique eye captures the seasons of Japan in the Land of Sunshine – Okayama (8 points, Roman)

STEP 3

Next, you will create a very narrow horizontal Rectangle Shape. The point of this shape is simply to create interest with an additional design element and place emphasis on Images of. Choose a light warm grey and, with the Rectangle Shape tool, make a shape about 0.020 inches high. It only needs to go from the left edge to just beyond the O. Position the shape so it appears just above “Images of” in the image window. In the Layers palette, put the Shape layer below the layer “Images of”. Add a layer mask. Make the foreground color black and use a brush or Linear Gradient to mask out the left and right sides of the shape, blending the shape into the background.

STEP 4

Finally, you will create the red stamp in the lower right. In addition to being reminiscent of the wax stamps the Japanese use as signatures, the red is a nice accent color. The symbols in the stamp represent the name Okayama written in kanji. Open Stamp.tif and follow the same procedure as used in making the kanji. Choose red for the Solid Color fill layer. Use Free Transform to rotate the stamp slightly. Add a layer mask and use a texture brush to distress the stamp and blend it with the background.

That concludes this tutorial. You now know some of my favorite Photoshop techniques. Have fun using them to add interest and depth to own Photoshop creations.

More images of Japan will soon be available at www.digitaldesignranch.com

In this tutorial you will learn how to create the look of an aged, hand-tinted photograph by using masks, fill and adjustment layers, blending modes and layer styles.

Download Tutorial Files

This composition is the first in a series I plan to create for a bound collection of postcards using the images of a talented photographer I know from Japan who happens to be my wife. She has kindly agreed to let you download the photo used in this composition so you can work through tutorial. Please remember the image is copyrighted and cannot be sold or reproduced without her permission.

Getting Started

If you have ever read any of my tutorials or books you know I am big on working nondestructively. That means working in a way that keeps your options open and allows you to make changes quickly and easily, without damaging your original image. To work nondestructively you need to use masks. The first thing you will do in this tutorial is use a layer mask to create the aged, distressed-looking outer border of the photograph. The main thing to remember when masking is white reveals and black conceals.

Photoshop comes with a large array of brush presets. You can access the brushes by selecting the Brush tool and opening the Brushes Presets picker on the left side of the options bar next to the word Brush or by opening the Brushes palette by pressing F5 or clicking on the Brushes palette icon near the right end of the options bar.

To create the distressed look of the border, you will be using brushes I refer to as texture/grunge brushes. Photoshop assigns these artistic names such as Chalk, Rolled Rag, Sponge, and so on. Some of these are available in Photoshop’s default set of brushes. For a wider range of brushes, click on the small triangle in the upper right of the Brushes Preset picker and choose Faux Finish Brushes from the drop-down menu. When the dialog appears, choose Append and click OK. You can also create your own grunge brushes and numerous web sites offer free brushes that you can load into Photoshop to greatly increase your brushes arsenal.

STEP 1

Open the image Bike.tif. Double-click on the background layer and rename it “bike”.

STEP 2

Add a layer mask by clicking on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Make your foreground color black. (To create a good distressed border takes some practice and experimentation. Don’t get discouraged if yours doesn’t look like mine right off the bat.)

STEP 3

From the Brushes Presets choose the brush named Chalk. (It may help if you choose Large List from the drop down menu. This will provide you with the names of the brushes as well as the icons for the various brushes.)

STEP 4

Make the brush about 100px in diameter. You can use either the Standard or the Airbrush mode for this project. Out of habit I tend to use Airbrush most of the time. If you use Standard mode, reduce the brush opacity in the options bar to about 30%. If you use the Airbrush mode, reduce the flow to 30%. It’s easy if you stick to one or the other.

STEP 5

Be sure the foreground color is black (remember, black conceals). Use a series of strokes and scrubbing motions to mask the edge of the photo. Do not try to create the effect using only one brush or one size of a particular brush. Vary the brushes and sizes quite a bit to get an irregular, organic-looking edge. Some of the other brushes I used were Rolled Rag, Sponge, and Stencil Spray Wet. You may want to duplicate the layer several times (Command-J on Mac, Control-J on PC) and repeat the process several times until you get something you are happy with.

STEP 6

Add a solid color fill layer by clicking on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button at the bottom of the layers palette. Choose Solid Color at the top of the menu.

STEP 7

When the Color Picker appears, choose a light to middle value warm grey and click OK. Move the fill layer below “bike” in the layers palette stack.

STEP 8

Save your document as Postcard.psd

Set the mood and focus attention

STEP 1

Add a levels adjustment layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels). Lighten the entire image by moving the right and middle sliders to the left until the Input Levels at the top of the dialog read approximately 0, 1.44, and 196

STEP 2

Go to Edit>Fill and choose Foreground Color if your foreground color is currently black, otherwise choose Black from the drop down menu. This will completely hide the effect you just created.

STEP 3

Change your foreground color to white (white reveals) and use one of the texture/grunge brushes (Chalk for example) to selectively reveal the effect. Concentrate mainly on the center of the image. Leave the edges dark. See image below: right now the image should look something like the one on the left, and the mask should look like the image on the right.

Note: You can view just the mask by pressing Option (Alt on the PC) and clicking on the thumbnail of the mask in the layers palette.

Add a hand-tinted look with a Solid Color fill layer and blending mode

STEP 1

Use the Create New Adjustment Layer icon to make a new solid color fill layer above the levels adjustment layer. Choose a turquoise color from the Color Picker (I used 86, 215, 243). Change the layer’s blending mode at the top of the Layers palette to Color and reduce the Opacity to 14%.

STEP 2

This next bit sounds a little confusing at first, but it’s a very useful technique that you need to learn. Highlight the layer mask on the new colored fill layer, then Command-click (Control-click on the PC) on the thumbnail of the level’s adjustment layer mask. That will create a selection based on the level’s mask.

STEP 3

Fill the selection on the fill layer’s mask with black. This will hide the turquoise in the center portion of the image and leave it around the edges. Soften the edges of the mask using one of the texture brushes with a diameter of about 80px on a Flow or Opacity setting of about 30%. If the turquoise appears in the center of the image rather than the around the outside, press Command-I (Control-I on PC) to invert the mask.

STEP 4

Next, give everything a warm, aged tone by adding a new adjustment layer. This time choose Photo Filter from the Adjustment Layer menu and select Warm Filter 85 from the filter’s drop down menu. Change the Layer opacity to 60%.

Use Channels and Curves to add the look of water-damage.

An important note about masking: When you make a selection then add a mask, the area inside the selection will be white (REVEALED) and the area outside the selection will be black (HIDDEN). In the next steps you will use this feature with an adjustment layer to add texture to the image, creating the appearance of water-damage. These steps will be easier if you undock the Layers and Channels palettes so that both can be seen at the same time.

STEP 1

Open Abstract.tiff and Select All (Command-A on Mac, Control-A on PC). Copy the selection (Command-C on Mac, Control-C on PC) then go back to Postcard.psd

STEP 2

Open the Channels palette. Click on the small triangle in the upper right corner of the palette and from the drop-down menu choose New Channel. Name the channel “abstract”. In the dialog under Color Indicates, choose Selected Area and click OK. You have just created an alpha channel.

STEP 3

When you click OK, the image window will be completely white. That’s because what you are seeing is the new channel, not the images in your Layers palette. Paste the image you copied from Abstract.tiff into the new channel (Command-V on Mac, Control-V on PC).

STEP 4

Use Free Transform (Command-T, Control-T on PC) to reduce the size and rotate the image to your liking. Click the box next to the RGB channel to turn on the eyeball. This will cause your alpha channel to appear red in the image window with the rest of the image visible below or behind it, allowing you to see how the alpha channel relates to the rest of the composition as you size it. I scaled the abstract texture to 57%. When you are happy with the way the texture relates to the photo of the bike, click the Check Mark in the Options bar.

STEP 5

Highlight the RGB composite channel. This should automatically hide the new alpha channel. If not, click the eyeball next to the alpha channel. Load the channel as a selection by Command-clicking (Control-clicking on PC) on the thumbnail of the new alpha channel in the Channels palette.

STEP 6

Go back to the Layers palette and add a curves adjustment layer. Name the layer “abstract texture”. Now here’s an important point – adjustment layers automatically come with layer masks and, as I said at the beginning of this section, when you have an active selection and add a mask, only the area inside the selection will be revealed. That means when the Curves adjustment layer is created it will have a mask based on the alpha channel selection you just made. As you modify the adjustment layer, only the area inside the selection will affect the image below. Click on the curve in the Curves interface to add a point and move the point toward the upper left corner. To increase the effect, add a second point and move it up and to the left. A texture will appear on the image.

STEP 7

For an even more dramatic effect, duplicate the Curves layer. Change the blending mode of the copy layer to Color Burn and reduce the layer opacity to 50%

That’s the end of Part 1. In Part 2 of this tutorial you will create the title and the kanji (Chinese character) to the left of it using the Type tool, Layer styles, and the Distort filter. Then you will add a few finishing touches with the Shape and Painting tools.

More images of Japan will soon be available at www.digitaldesignranch.com

You already have quite a few layers and, by the time you finish this part of the tutorial, you will have many more. If you have been diligent about keeping your layers organized into Groups, as suggested, you should be able to navigate through the document without too much difficultly.

FILL THE SHELVES WITH BOOKS
This is probably the most time consuming part of the entire tutorial. The steps are simple, but there just isn’t a quick way to create roughly 100 books. But, I will show you how to make a “master” book group and use that to create the rest of the books relatively painlessly.

Make a master book

Refer to The Image Above while performing the following four steps.<

STEP 1

Make a new group above WALLS/SHELVES named BOOKS. Within BOOKS make another group named BOOK 1.

STEP 2

With BOOK1 highlighted, select the Rectangle Tool. Be sure Shape Layers is chosen in the options bar. Pick a foreground color of your choice. Zoom in close on one of the shelves and create your first book. Name the layer book.

STEP 3

Add a small bevel, choosing Smooth in the Technique field of the Bevel and Emboss dialog.

STEP 4

Select the Pen Tool and choose Shape layers in the options bar. Create a new shape layer for the title area on the spine, curving the top and bottom segments to create the illusion of dimension. Rather than trying to match the width of the title area with the width of the book exactly, you may find it easier to extend the sides of the title area beyond the sides of the book and press Option-Command-G/Alt-Ctrl-G to use book as a Layer Clipping Mask.

Refer to The Image Above while performing the following two steps.

STEP 1

Choose black as the foreground color. Click Create new fill or adjustment layer at the bottom of the Layers palette.  Select Gradient from the fill layers at the top of the drop down menu.

STEP 2

In the Gradient Fill dialog, click on the Gradient Preview to open the Gradient Editor. Choose the second preset, Foreground to Transparent and click OK. For Style, choose Linear. Enter −180° in the Angle field and 60% in the Scale field. Click OK. Save your document.

Make a Multiple books
Use the group BOOK 1 as the "master" from which your can create all the other books. To make the library look more realistic, vary the sizes and colors of the books.

STEP 1

Duplicate the group BOOK 1 to preserve it as your master. Hide BOOK 1 by clicking on the eyeball to the left of the name. With BOOK 1 copy highlighted, choose Merge Group from the Layers palette drop down menu .

STEP 2

Rename the merged layer using the appropriate color designation, such as red book. Make a new group to contain multiple copies of the layer red book. Drag red book into the new group. Make multiple copies of the layer red book by highlighting the layer and pressing Command/Ctrl-J. Or press Command/Ctrl-Click on the preview of red book in the Layers palette to load it as a selection. Then select the Move Tool. Press Option/Alt and drag to the left or right to make a copy of the book on the same layer .

STEP 3

Use this technique to fill all the shelves in the library .

USE A REFLECTION TO MAKE THE FLOOR SHINE

STEP 1

Hide the layer background and the group FLOOR.

STEP 2

Make a new layer above FLOOR and name it reflection.

STEP 3

Firmly press Option/Alt and select Merge Visible from the Layers palette drop down menu.

STEP 4

Activate the Free Transform command (Command/Ctrl-T). Control-Click/Right-Click within the Transform Bounding Borders and choose Flip Vertical from the contextual drop down menu.

STEP 5

Move the layer down so the bottom edges of the shelves are touching. Click OK

STEP 6

Show Background and FLOOR. Drag the layer reflection into FLOOR. Add a layer mask to reflection. Choose black as the foreground color and select the Gradient Tool. Choose Foreground to Transparent from the Gradient Editor presets and Linear Gradient from the Gradient Styles in the options bar. Working on reflection’s Layer mask,drag up from the bottom of the image window. Release just before the hearth.

STEP 7

Use a large soft brush at about 20% Opacity to gradually minimize the reflection in front of the fireplace.

STEP 8

Click on the image preview of reflection in the Layers palette (so you are working on the image itself, not the Layer mask). Add a Gaussian Blur of about 1.8px. Lower the Layer opacity to 80%

ADD FINISHING TOUCHES TO THE MIRROR AND CURTAIN

Before creating the lighting effects, you may want to make your illustration look more finished by putting an image in the mirror and folds in the curtain.

STEP 1

Make a group named MIRROR CONTENT below the layer mirror in the group WALL/SHELVES. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to make a selection slightly larger than the area inside the mirror, then, add a mask to the group MIRROR CONTENT.

STEP 2

Use a brush and multiple layers to create an abstract swirl as I have done, or create an image of your own. Blur the layers and try different Layer blending modes .

STEP 3

To add folds to curtain, define the folds by making a path with the Pen Tool (select Paths in the options bar). Press Options/Alt and add a layer above curtain. Name the layer curtain shadow and check Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask. Load the path as a selection, feather the selection 4px, and fill the selection with dark red. Change the Layer blending mode to Multiply .

ILLUMINATE THE SCENE

Now for the really fun part, creating the illusion of light. This will set the mood and bring the library to life.

STEP 1

Make a layer at the top of the Layers palette named outer shadows. Use a large soft airbrush, foreground color black, flow 20% and paint an irregular “frame” around the outside of the image. Change the Layer blending mode to Multiply and modify the Layer opacity if necessary.

STEP 2

Highlight the layer wall panel within the group WALL/SHELVES. Option/Alt-Click on the Create a new layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. In the New Layer dialog, name the layer panel shadow and check Use Previous Layer to Create a Clipping Mask.

STEP 3

Choose a dark brown color. Select the Gradient Tool. Choose Foreground to Transparent in the Gradient Editor and Linear Gradient from the Gradient Styles in the options bar. Drag from just outside the lower right corner of wall panel toward the center of the image. Release just as you reach the mirror frame. Change the blending mode to Multiply and lower the opacity to 60.

STEP 4

Make another layer above panel shadow, again use wall panel to create a Layer Clipping Mask. Name the layer panel glo.

STEP 5

Choose yellow as your foreground color. Select the Gradient Tool and choose Reflected Gradient from the Gradient Styles. Begin your drag slightly above the sconces and release slightly below. You may need to try this several times on different layers to the right spreading effect. Reduce the Layer opacity to 50% and use the Move Tool to reposition the panel glo, if necessary.

STEP 6

Make a new layer above LEFT SCONCE. Name it light glo soft. Select the Gradient Tool. Choose Radial Gradient from the Gradient Styles (still on the preset Foreground to Transparent). Choose yellow as the foreground color and drag from the center of the lamp out about 1/2″. Reduce the Layer opacity to 45%.

STEP 7

Make another layer above light glo soft and name it light glo bright. Again using a Radial Gradient, choose white as the foreground and drag from the center of the light out about 1/8″.

STEP 8

Duplicate light glo soft and light glo bright and position the copies above RIGHT SCONCE. Use the same technique to add an illumination effect above hearth.

STEP 9

On additional layers at the top of the layer stack, use brushes with black to add more shadows throughout the library. Change the Layer blending modes of these layers to Multiply and modify the Layer opacity as needed. On another layer, use a brush with yellow to add more highlights and glows throughout the library. Change the blending modes of these layers to Overlay and reduce the opacity as needed.

CREATE THE REMAINING ELEMENTS

The andirons were created using the Pen Tool with Shape Layer chosen in the options bar. The smoke and fire were created with Brushes. The sparkling embers were created by making a few spots of yellow on a separate layer and changing the Layer blending mode to Dissolve. The box on the mantel was created with Shapes and Layer Styles. The decorations on the box and the knobs holding the curtain, were created with the Custom Shape Tool which provides you with many decorative Shape Presets – select the Custom Shape Tool and click on the preview next to the word Shape in the options bar to access the presets (see above image). Now, go ahead and add some elements of your own to the library.

Although Photoshop is not a 3D modeling application, you now know how you can use it to create a 3D look – perfect for creating quick comps or, if you want to spend a little more time, even finished illustrations. And, look for ways to combine these techniques with photos for some very interesting results.

Daniel Sorenson is an award winning print and motion graphics designer, author, lecturer, and educator. With over 15 years experience in entertainment marketing and advertising he has worked on many high profile campaigns with some of the industries biggest players. His list of clients include FOX Sports, FX Networks, CBS, Universal Television, CNN, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop CS2 for Advertising and Marketing: Secrets from an Entertainment Advertising Insider, published by Peachpit Press, shares Photoshop techniques and behind-the-scenes information invaluable to anyone using Photoshop in a commercial situation.

Design the Floor Tile

You will create the floor in a separate document, then move it your final library illustration. The floor needs to be wider than the final illustration to allow you to transform it and create the illusion of perspective.

STEP 1

Make a new document 10” x 7”, 150ppi, CMYK.

STEP 2

Select the Rectangle Tool and choose a tan foreground color (I used C-18%, M-34%, Y-38%, K-1%). Hold Shift and make a square about 3” x 3”.

STEP 3

Press Command/Ctrl-J to duplicate this layer. The new layer will be automatically named Shape 1 copy. Click on the color preview of Shape 1 copy to open the Color Picker. Change the color to black.

STEP 4

Press Command/Ctrl-T to activate the Free Transform command. Enter 90% in the width and height fields in options bar and click the check mark or press enter.

STEP 5

Duplicate Shape 1 copy and change the color of Shape 1 copy 2 to C-23%, M-57%, Y-80%, K-3%. Activate the Free Transform command and enter 95% in the width and height fields and click the check mark.

STEP 6

Duplicate Shape 1 copy 2. Change the color of Shape 1 copy 3 to black. Use the Free Transform command to rotate the shape 45º. Enter 68% in the width and height fields. Click the check mark.
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STEP 7

Duplicate Shape 1 copy 2. Change the color of Shape 1 copy 3 to black. Use the Free Transform command to rotate the shape 45º. Enter 68% in the width and height fields. Click the check mark.

This now represents one tile. You will use this to create a custom shape for making the rest of the floor.

Create a Custom Shape

STEP 1

To add a custom shape to the Shape presets, you make a square selection around the area you wish make into a pattern and go to Edit>Define shape. BUT, here are a couple of the gotchas, Photoshop won’t let you define a shape if you are on a vector layer, such as a Shape layer. You have to have a regular pixel-based layer highlighted in the Layers palette. Click on the layer background in the Layers palette. Also, you can’t use my favorite selecting trick to make the selection – Command/Ctrl-Click on the vector mask. It seems you have to use the Marquee Tool to make the selection around the area you wish to define as a pattern.

STEP 2

With the layer background highlighted, select the Marquee Tool. Hold the Shift key and make a square selection just inside the edges of the Shape 1. Then go to Edit>Define pattern.

STEP 3

Once you have your custom pattern created, you really don’t need the shape layers any more. Click the eyeballs to hide them or drag them to the trash at the bottom of the Layers palette. Save your document as Floor Pattern.psd.

Put Your New Pattern to Work

Now all you need is a layer filled with your custom pattern. You could do this by creating a new regular layer and go to Edit>Fill>Pattern and choose your pattern. But, you would not be able to scale the pattern. You’d be stuck with the pattern being whatever size your selection was when you defined the pattern. By using a Pattern fill layer you can scale the pattern to create a floor with only a few large tiles or a very complicated floor with many small tiles. Once you have the Pattern fill layer just the way you want it, you will use the Transform command to distort the layer, making it appear to be in perspective. But, here’s another gotcha, you can’t use the Transform command to distort a Pattern fill layer. So, you will first create the Pattern fill layer, make a copy of that layer, rasterize the copy layer, bring that into your final illustration and then perform the transformation. Sounds complicated, right? It’s really very easy.

Create a Pattern Fill Layer

STEP 1

Add a new Pattern fill layer by clicking on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette and selecting Pattern, near the top of the menu. When the Pattern Fill dialog appears, if your new pattern doesn’t appear, click on the preview and choose your pattern from the presets. It will be at the very end.

STEP 2

Enter 49% in the Scale field

Rasterize the Pattern Fill Layer

STEP 1

Duplicate Pattern Fill 1.

STEP 2

With Pattern Fill 1 copy highlighted, go to Layer>Rasterize>Fill Content. Rename the rasterized layer floor. Save your document.

Putting the Floor in Perspective

Refer to The Image Above for the next eight steps.

STEP 1

Keep the document Floor Pattern.psd open and open your library illustration, created in Part 1.

STEP 2

In your library illustration, make a new group above background. Name it FLOOR.

STEP 3

Select the Move Tool. Click on floor in the document Floor Pattern.psd. Press Shift and drag the layer floor into the group FLOOR you just created in your final library illustration. The Shift key will cause floor it to be centered in your library illustration. Save and close Floor Pattern.psd.

STEP 4

Activate the Free Transform command. Zoom out and drag open the image window so you can access all the handles around the Transform bounding border.

STEP 5

Click the top center handle and drag down until it is just slightly above the lower edge of the wall.

STEP 6

Command/Ctrl-Click on the upper left corner handle. Hold Shift and drag it in to the left edge of the image window. Command/Ctrl-Click on the upper right corner handle. Hold Shift and drag it to the right edge of the image window.

STEP 7

Click (do not press Command/Ctrl this time) on the bottom center handle and drag it to just below the lower edge of the image window.

STEP 8

To exaggerate the perspective, Command/Ctrl-Click on the lower corner handles and drag each away from the center of the image. Visually center the floor on the fireplace, with one of the vertical seams in the floor intersecting the middle of the fireplace. When you think the perspective looks believable, press OK. Save.

Make the Hearth

Refer to The Image Above for the next four steps.

STEP 1

Choose a foreground color that is a slightly lighter shade of red than the fireplace surround (I used C-6%, M –86%,Y – 86%, K– 0%).

STEP 2

Highlight the layer surround and use the Rectangle Tool to create a new Shape layer that is as wide as the distance between the bookcases and a bit higher than the tiles are deep at that point in the perspective. Overlap the wall about 1/8". Click on the individual corner points of the path with the Direct Select Tool and adjust so the hearth appears to be in the same perspective as the floor tiles. You don’t have to get this perfect right now. You will probably want to adjust these points further after the next step. Name this layer hearth.

STEP 3

Use the Marquee Tool to select the portion of hearth that overlaps the wall. Press Option/Alt, then click Add layer mask at the bottom of the layers palette.

STEP 4

Click Add a layer style at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose Bevel and Emboss. Set the parameters as follows: Style – Inner Bevel, Technique – Chisel Hard, Depth – 271, Direction – Up, Size – 10, Soften – 0, uncheck Use Global Light, Angle – 90º, Altitude – 16º, Opacity for both Highlight and Shadow – 75%. Choose a deep yellow for the highlight color and a dark brown for the shadow. BEFORE CLICKING OK, CLICK ON BLENDING OPTIONS (in the left pane right below Styles). In the Advanced Blending pane check Layer Mask Hides Effects. This is a great trick, write it down and remember it. Click OK. The bevels appear on the sides and bottom, but not on the masked area at the top.

Add the Marble Texture

Refer to The Image Above while performing the following five steps.

STEP 1

Highlight surround in the Layers palette. Option/Alt-Click on Create new fill or adjustment layer. Choose Pattern.

STEP 2

Click Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask. Click OK.

STEP 3

In the Pattern Fill dialog, click on the preview, then, click on the triangle in the upper right corner of the presets pane. Choose Small List to view the presets by name. Then choose Clouds. For now, leave the scale at 100%. You can go back later and experiment with different textures and scale. Click OK.

STEP 4

Change the Layer Blending Mode of the Pattern fill layer to Multiply.

STEP 5

Duplicate this layer and place the copy above the layer hearth. Press Option/Alt-G to use hearth as a Layer Clipping Mask.

Now that you know how to do it, you can play around with other textures and blending modes. If you think the effects look too dark, try lowering the opacity of the Pattern fill layer. Use these same techniques to make the floor and rear wall of the firebox.

In Part 3 I will show you how to fill your haunted library with books, make it appear that the room is being illuminated by the wall lamps, and create a reflection that will make your floor shine.

Daniel Sorenson is an award winning print and motion graphics designer, author, lecturer, and educator. With over 15 years experience in entertainment marketing and advertising he has worked on many high profile campaigns with some of the industries biggest players. His list of clients include FOX Sports, FX Networks, CBS, Universal Television, CNN, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop CS2 for Advertising and Marketing: Secrets from an Entertainment Advertising Insider, published by Peachpit Press, shares Photoshop techniques and behind-the-scenes information invaluable to anyone using Photoshop in a commercial situation.

• Part 1 – Create the bookshelves and fireplace using the Shape Tools and Layer Styles.
• Part 2 – Create the floor and add texture to the fireplace using custom patterns and Pattern fill layers.
• Part 3 – Use gradients and brushes to create the illusion of illumination, making the illustration look more natural and adding a sense of drama.

For those who are new to shape layers, they are created using the shape tools, which are located with the vector tools about half way down the toolbox. These tools are used to create shape layers. Each shape layer consists of a Solid Color fill layer and a vector mask. Vector masks use paths to reveal or hide the fill layer. Layer Stylesare used to add cool effects, such as bevels and drop shadows, to objects. The Layer Styles menu is accessed by clicking on the f button at the bottom of the Layers palette.

(Note: When key commands are given, the Mac command will be given first followed by the Windows command. For example Command/Ctrl-R indicates that for the Mac you would press Command-R and for the Windows Control-R)

Setting up the Document

Refer to The Image Above while performing the following five steps.

STEP 1

Make a new document 5″x7″, 150ppi, CMYK (you can use RGB if you prefer).

STEP 2

To help set the color tone for the illustration, fill the white background layer with a dark tan (I used C-9%, M-34%, Y-68%, K-2%).

STEP 3

Set guides to define the position of the bookcases, width of the fireplace, and the height of the wall. To set guides, show rulers (Command/Ctrl-R), click on the vertical ruler and, using the top ruler as a reference, drag a guide out. Place it at about 0.75″. Place another guide at 3.5″.

STEP 4

From the horizontal ruler at the top of the image window drag two guides down. Place one at 3″ and another at 5″.

STEP 5

Go to View>Snap and make sure Snap is checked. From the Snap To (directly below Snap) dropdown menu select Guides.

Tip: From time to time you may wish to hide the guides to better see the results of your work. Press Command/Ctrl-; (semi-colon) to hide or show guides. I will show or hide guides in the figures depending on whether or not I think they are helpful or distracting.

Make the Wall and Bookcases

STEP 1

Option/Alt-click on the Create a new group button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Name the new group WALL/SHELVES.

STEP 2

Select the Rectangle Tool. Choose Shape Layers in the options bar.

STEP 3

Choose a medium brown foreground color (I used C-28%, M-66%, Y-91%, K-16%). To create the first shape, drag from the upper left corner down to the 5″ horizontal guide and across to the right edge of the image window. It may help to open the image window slightly and begin and end the drag slight outside the image area. Rename this shape layer wall.

STEP 4

Make another group named RIGHT BOOKCASE. This group should be above wall and within the group WALL/SHELVES.

STEP 5

Temporarily hide wall. With the Rectangle Tool and the same foreground color as wall, click just outside the upper right corner of the image and drag to the first vertical guide and down to the lower of the two horizontal guides.

STEP 6

In the options bar, choose Exclude overlapping shape areas and temporarily uncheck Snap (under View in the main menu). Make another rectangle inside the first one so you end up with something resembling a picture frame. Rename the layer bookcase.

STEP 7

Use the Path Selection Tool (the black arrow) to select both paths (press Shift to make multiple selections). Use the Align buttons in the options bar to center the rectangles vertically and horizontally.

STEP 8

With the bookcase’s vector mask still active, choose Add to shape layer from the options bar. Draw a narrow horizontal rectangle about 0.75″ from the top of the shape. This is the first shelf. With that path still active select the Path Selection Tool. Click on the path and press Option/Alt to duplicate the path. Press Shift to keep the copy from moving to the left or right. Drag down about an inch. This will copy the path and create another shelf. Repeat this four times, giving you a total of five shelves.

STEP 9

Select all of the shelves and click Distribute vertical centers in the options bar Click the vector mask preview in the Layers palette to deactivate the paths and see what the shelves look like.

STEP 10

Click the Add a layer style button at the bottom of the Layers palette and select Bevel and Emboss. Set the parameters as follows: Style – Inner Bevel, Technique – Hard Chisel, Depth – 101%, Size – 24px, Soften – 2px. In the Shading pane, uncheck Use Global Light. We want the light to appear to come from the wall lamps (sconces) that will flank the mirror. This means we will need to manually set the light source, controlled by the Angle and Altitude settings, to get the effect we want. To set the light source, click on the small crosshairs inside the circle between Angle and Altitude and drag it to the approximate position of where the wall sconces will be. Later you will set the light source by entering numbers in the Angle and Altitude fields. Change the highlight mode color to a light, slightly orange yellow and the shadow mode color to dark brown.

STEP 11

Change the foreground color to black and make a rectangular shape on a new layer the same size as the bookcase. Place it below bookcase. Save your document.

You now have one completed bookcase (sans books). To make the other bookcase, simply click on the group RIGHT BOOKCASE and drag it to the Create a new layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Use the Move Tool to drag the new group to left. Rename the new group LEFT BOOKCASE. Change the light source in the Bevel and Emboss dialog to make it appear the light is from the right rather than the left.

Construct the Fireplace – Create the Main Elements of the Mantel

Refer to The Image Above for the next seven steps.

STEP 1

Close the group WALL/SHELVES and make a new group named FIREPLACE. Recheck Snap and press Command/Ctrl-; (semi-colon) to show guides.

STEP 2

To create the mantel select the Rectangle Tool and make a new shape about 0.25″ high and the width of the space between the bookcases. The top of the shape should be at the horizontal guide 3 inches from the top. To add richness, choose a slightly darker brown. Name the layer mantel.

STEP 3

Add a Bevel and Emboss layer style with the parameters set as follows: Style – Inner Bevel, Technique – Chisel Hard, Depth – 181px, Size – 8px, Soften – 1px, Angle – 90º, Altitude – 10º. The highlight and shadow colors can remain yellow and dark brown. Three-dimensionality is all about light and shadow. For an object to have volume, it must cast a shadow. Before closing the Layer Style dialog, click on Drop Shadow. Make the Opacity 75%, the Distance – 3px, Spread – 0px, and Size – 5px. Click OK.

STEP 4

Make another rectangular shape layer about 0.125″ high and about 0.25″ or so less wide than the mantel. Nudge the shape right up to the bottom of the mantel. In the Layers palette drag the new layer below mantel. Name the new layer large molding. The same layer styles used on mantel should have been automatically applied to the new layer. If not, add them.

STEP 5

Duplicate large molding (Command/Ctrl-J). Use the Move Tool to move the shape down so the top of the shape butts against the bottom of the original layer large molding. Rename the copy layer small molding.

STEP 6

Choose the Direct Selection Tool (the white arrow) and click on the bottom segment of the path on the layer small molding. Press the Shift key and drag the segment up until the shape is about half as high as large molding.

STEP 7

Click on the vector mask preview of small molding to deselect the path. To center the three elements of the mantel, highlight the layer mantel then press Shift and click on large molding and small molding in the Layers palette. Click Align horizontal centers in the option bar to center the three shapes on each other.

Add Detail to the Molding

Refer to The Image Above for the next six steps.

STEP 1

Click on the vector mask preview of large molding to activate the path. Select the Rectangle Tool and choose Exclude overlapping shape areas from the options bar.

STEP 2

Start about 0.25″ from the left edge of the original path and make a rectangle about 0.125″ wide. The rectangle should either be exactly the same as the original path or extend slightly above and below the original path. The layers above will hide any overlaps. Press Option/Alt +Shift to copy the rectangle and move it to the right about 0.25″. Repeat this until you have 12 rectangles “cutting holes” in the original shape.

STEP 3

Choose the Path Selection Tool. Press Shift and click on each of the new paths until they are all selected. Click Distribute horizontal centers in the options bar.

STEP 4

With the new paths still selected, use the arrows on your keyboard to visually center the new paths within the original path. (If you were to select the original path at the same time as the new paths and then press Distribute horizontal centers, you would end up with one piece in the center that is larger than the others).

STEP 5

The light source should be from directly above. If it is not, open the Bevel and Emboss dialog and change the Angle and Altitude settings.

STEP 6

Make a black shape the same size as large molding and place it at the bottom of the mantel stack. Name it mantel shadow. Eliminate the layer style by clicking on the word Effect and dragging it to the trash at the bottom of the Layers Palette.

Make the Columns

As with the bookcases, you will first make the right column then copy it, move it to the left and change the Angle and Altitude settings in the Bevel and Emboss dialog. Refer to The Image Above as you do the following steps.

STEP 1

Make a new group named RIGHT COLUMN. Place it below the mantel layers within the FIREPLACE group.

STEP 2

With the Rectangle Tool, choose Create new shape layer in the options bar, and create a new shape about 0.4″ wide extending from the top of small molding to the bottom of the wall. Name the layer column. Set the Bevel and Emboss parameters as follows: Depth – 141%, Size – 6px, Soften – 1px, Angle – 117º, and Altitude 30º. Uncheck Use Global Light. In the Drop Shadow Structure pane make the Opacity about 60%, the Angle 117º and uncheck Use Global Light.

STEP 3

To make the base of the column, change the radius of the Rounded Rectangle Tool to 55px in the options bar. Make a new shape about 0.5″ wide and 0.15″ high. Center the shape on column and have it overlap the bottom of column so it straddles the line between the base of column and the area that will be the floor. Name this layer base. Set the Bevel and Emboss parameters as follows: Style – Inner Bevel, Technique – Chisel Soft, Depth – 321%, Direction – Up, Size – 54px, Soften – 8px, Angle – 82º, Altitude – 53º, Highlight Mode Opacity – 61%, Shadow Mode Opacity – 75%.

STEP 4

Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool. Set the Radius in the options bar to 25px. Start just below small molding and drag down ending just above base. Make the path about 0.05″ wide.

STEP 5

Use the Path Selection Tool and the Option/Alt key to duplicate this path twice. Select all three paths and click Distribute horizontal centers in the options bar. Name this layer grooves.

STEP 6

Grooves should not have a drop shadow. To create the illusion that these are carved into the column rather than protrude out, open the Bevel and Emboss dialog, uncheck Use Global Light and set the Angle to -20º and the Altitude to 26º.

STEP 7

Duplicate the group RIGHT COLUMN and move it into position on the left side of the fireplace. Rename it LEFT COLUMN. Reverse the light Angle in the Bevel and Emboss dialogs for column and grooves to make it appear the light source is from the right and above.

STEP 8

Choose a deep red color and, with the Rectangle Tool, make a new shape below the group RIGHT COLUMN slightly larger than the space between the columns and the molding. Name this layer surround. Select Exclude overlapping shape areas in the options bar to create the fireplace opening.

STEP 9

Create a black rectangular shape a little larger than the opening in surround. Name this layer firebox and place it below surround in the layer stack.

Now, using what you have learned so far, create the panel above the fireplace, the mirror, the wall sconces and the curtain. The sconces may look complicated, but they are really just a bunch of ellipse and rectangular shapes. The tricky part may be getting the lighting to look right. This may take some experimentation. Try different settings for Depth, Angle and Altitude, and opacity of the highlight mode. I tried to make it look like the lower elements of the sconce were being shaded by the first, larger piece of molding and actually being lit from below by light reflected off the mantel. The curtain is easy. It was created using the Pen Tool with Shape layers selected in the options bar. Start and end the path for the curtain beyond the sides and top of the image window so the bevel will only appear along the bottom and the curtain will appear to extend beyond the frame.

In Part Two, you will learn some of my favorite tricks – creating custom patterns and using Pattern fill layers. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to create the appearance of an intricately tiled floor.Daniel Sorenson is an award winning print and motion graphics designer, author, lecturer, and educator. With over 15 years experience in entertainment marketing and advertising he has worked on many high profile campaigns with some of the industries biggest players. His list of clients include FOX Sports, FX Networks, CBS, Universal Television, CNN, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop http://www.layersmagazine.com/_beta/?p=87 In this final part of the tutorial, you will create a title treatment and type that will add to the emotion and be integrated with the overall illustration. A spread such as this, indeed any ad or page layout, will have more impact and hold together better if the type interacts in some way with the other elements in the composition and is treated in a way that contributes to the emotional thrust of the story, rather than just sitting on top of the illustration like an afterthought.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop CS2 for Advertising and Marketing: Secrets from an Entertainment Advertising Insider, published by Peachpit Press, shares Photoshop techniques and behind-the-scenes information invaluable to anyone using Photoshop in a commercial situation.

INTEGRATE JEFF INTO THE COMPOSITION AND SET THE MOOD

Temporarily hide the groups JEFF and JILL by clicking the eye icons to the left of the groups’ names in the Layers palette. The cold blue tones and dramatic lighting of the subway image already lend an air of mystery and intrigue. We will intensify feelings by making the blue even cooler and more saturated and the light more glaring.

References made to right and left are absolute, meaning it’s your right and left I am referring to as opposed to Jeff or Jill’s right and left.

STEP 1:

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose Solid Color. When the Color Picker appears, pick an aqua blue (I used: C-89, M-16, Y-3, K-1) and click OK. Solid color layers are called fill layers. Fill layers, like adjustment layers, are completely nondestructive and can be edited at any time. At first, the entire background is covered by the blue fill layer. From the blending modes menu choose Color (way down at the bottom of the menu). Now the color of the fill layer is applied to the image below while allowing the dark and light values of that image to show through.

STEP 2:

To intensify the lighting effect, select the gradient tool and choose radial from the gradient styles in the options bar. Show the group JEFF by clicking the eye icon to the left of the group’s name in the Layers palette. Click the gradient sample in the options bar to open the Gradient Editor dialog. From the presets pane, choose the second preset, Foreground to Transparent. Click OK. Make a new layer named flare and be sure your foreground color is white. Starting just to the right of Jeff’s chin, click and drag to the left to create a glow. To intensify and localize the glow, repeat this step on another layer, but don’t drag as far. Play with the layer opacities to modify the effect to your liking.

STEP 3:

Now to integrate Jeff into the composition. Make a new layer named silhouette and place it below jeff. Hide the layer jeff momentarily and Command/Ctrl-Click jeff’s layer mask. This will load the mask as a selection. On the layer silhouette, fill the selection with black.

STEP 4:

Use the Rectangular Marquee tool to make a selection from the center of silhouette and extending to the edge of the image frame. Fill with black.

STEP 5:

Refer to the image above for the next three steps. Add a layer mask to silhouette. Select the gradient tool, choose linear gradient from the options bar and Foreground to Transparent from the presets in the Gradient Editor. Start at the right edge of the image frame and drag into the image. Release about where Jeff’s neck meets the collar of his jacket. This will blend the right side of the layer silhouette into the subway wall.

STEP 6:

Unfortunately, the channel selection we made when we first knocked out Jeff’s background didn’t do a great job along his face. Zoom in close and you’ll see the edge looks pretty ratty. You want this edge to be very clean. Use the Pen tool (choose the path option in the options bar) and make a path along the edge of his face on the outside of the rough edge that currently exists. Zoom in really close when doing this to make sure your path is accurate. It isn’t necessary to go along the coat, because that will be mostly covered by type. After you get to the collar of his jacket you can take the path into the silhouette, up to the top of the image window, and close the path by clicking on your starting point.

STEP 7:

Load the path as a selection, add a one-pixel feather, and fill with black. Make sure you have the silhouette layer itself selected, not the layer mask. Save your document.

STEP 8:

Show jeff and duplicate the layer. Hide the original-it’s just there to preserve the original mask. Fill the layer mask on jeff copy with black. Command/Ctrl-Click on the layer mask of jeff to load it as a selection. Then, working on the layer mask of jeff copy, use a large soft brush (about 250 pixels) with white paint and light pressure (if you are using a graphics tablet; otherwise lower the flow or opacity to about 20%). Gradually reveal Jeff’s face. The eye on the right of the image should be the most opaque. The other eye and rest of the face should be barely visible.

STEP 9:

Duplicate the color fill layer you used to colorize the subway and drag that layer above jeff. The blending mode should still be Color. Press Option-Command-G/Alt-Ctrl-G to use the layer jeff as a clipping mask. Jeff (the image) is now colored with the same blue as the subway but, although we want Jeff to have the same blue tint, we don’t want the tint to be as strong on him as it is on the subway. We still want to keep some of his human color, so reduce the layer opacity of the solid fill layer to 66%. On the mask use a brush and black paint to gradually hide part of the color over the eye on the right. You may need to spend some time fine-tuning the masks to get just the effect you want.

STEP 10:

Add a Levels adjustment layer above the color fill copy layer and increase the contrast of Jeff’s face. Change the blending mode of the group to Normal to prevent the adjustment layer from affecting the layers outside the
group.

INTEGRATE JILL INTO THE COMPOSITION

STEP 1:

Show and open the group JILL. Again, duplicate the color fill layer used to colorize subway and drag it above the layer jill. Press Option-Command-G/Alt-Ctrl-G to create a layer clipping mask group. Lower the opacity to 40%-we want Jill to have more color than Jeff to bring her forward and make her look more human. On the layer mask of color fill copy 2, paint with black and a low flow or pressure to gradually reduce the amount of blue on Jill’s face and the front of her body.

STEP 2:

Move the to jill’s layer mask and use a large soft brush with black paint to hide the lower left portion of her jeans and cause her lower body to fade into the background.

Add a Levels adjustment layer above jill. The original photo of Jill was much cooler than the photo of Jeff. You need to color correct Jill slightly to make her skin tone match Jeff’s. In the Levels dialog, choose Magenta from the channel menu at the top (remember our final document is being built in CMYK because it will be printed on a commercial printing press). Move the left slider to the right to increase the amount of magenta in the image. Change the blending mode of the group to Normal.

MATCHING THE LIGHT SOURCES

To effectively integrate (composite) the image of a person into an environment other than the one in which he or she was originally photographed, you may need to take steps to reconcile the light sources. Many professionally lit photographs have more than one light source. There is usually a main light source and one or more secondary light sources. Jill was photographed with a strong light on her face, but there is another light source (perhaps reflected off the wall she is leaning against) that is illuminating the opposite side of her body. Cast shadows are extremely important if you wish an object or person to appear as if they are truly part of an environment. A cast shadow on the wall will quickly establish that Jill is actually in the subway leaning against the tile wall. But, the shadow would have to be created by the secondary light source and, as such, cannot be very dark. Some reference to the primary light source needs to be made. By adding a bright light on the wall just to the right of Jill you can create the illusion that, perhaps, the wall is on a corner and a strong light is spilling around the corner lighting up Jill’s face.

STEP 1:

Make a new layer named shadow and place it below the layer jill. Use a brush and black paint to paint an abstract shape that approximates a cast shadow. You may want to blur the layer slightly if your shadow looks too lumpy or heavy-handed. Reduce the Layer opacity to 67% and change the blending mode to Multiply.

STEP 2:

To create the sense of the strong light spilling around the corner, make a new layer above the flare 2 in BACKGROUND. Make your foreground color white. Select the gradient tool, choose Linear gradient and Foreground to Transparent. Open the image window a little and start your drag slightly out of frame on the right and drag toward Jill. Release just as you overlap her body. Use Layer opacity to adjust the effect to your liking.

Coming up Next:
That’s the end of Part Two. In Part Three we will create a title treatment and body copy that continue to tell the story and enhance the emotional impact of the composition.

Daniel Sorenson is an award winning print and motion graphics designer, author, lecturer, and educator. With over 15 years experience in entertainment marketing and advertising he has worked on many high profile campaigns with some of the industries biggest players. His list of clients include FOX Sports, FX Networks, CBS, Universal Television, CNN, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop CS2 for Advertising and Marketing: Secrets from an Entertainment Advertising Insider, published by Peachpit Press, shares Photoshop techniques and behind-the-scenes information invaluable to anyone using Photoshop in a commercial situation.

This tutorial will be presented in three parts. Here’s how I’ve broken it down and a list of some of the topics that will be covered in each installment.

Part 1. Set up the final document, knock out the backgrounds of the people and place the people in the final document. Topics covered: Channel selections, Pen tool, Free Transform, and layer masks,

The images have been provided by iStockphoto.com and you are welcome to use the images for the purpose of working this tutorial only. They cannot be sold or used for any commercial purpose without the permission of iStockphoto.com.

In this story a young woman meets a stranger on the subway, setting off a series of events that will turn her view of reality upside down. The story is loaded with mystery, and intrigue. There is an uneasy sense of some impending disturbing event. The story takes place in the cold, unnatural light of a subway. Your challenge is to capture these feelings visually. Effectively evoking these feelings will inform the reader about the story and, hopefully, pique their interest. Color and lighting will accomplish this to a large extent while integrating the images visually and putting the two people together in their own strange and intimate reality — removed from the normal look and feel of the original photography.

This is a two-page spread. The image will need to be created to the bleed size of the publication (usually about 1/8″ beyond the trim size). To make things easy let’s say the bleed size is 17″ x 11″, the trim size is 16.75″ x 10.75″, and the live area-the area within which all important material must be kept-is 16.5″ x 10.25″.

SET UP THE FINAL DOCUMENT

STEP 1:

Make a new document 17″ x 11″, CMYK, background color black. To make the file easier to work with, we’ll use a resolution of 150 ppi (normally magazine artwork would be created at 300ppi.) Save the document as HumanError.psd.

STEP 2:

Open the image Subway.jpg. Double-click on the layer background and rename it subway.

STEP 3:

In your document HumanError.psd, hold Option/Alt and click the Create a new group button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Name the new group BACKGROUND and click OK. I find it helpful to distinguish groups from layers by using all uppercase for group names and all lowercase for layer names. Hold down the Shift key and drag the layer subway from Subway.jpg into the group BACKGROUND in HumanError.psd. Holding down the shift key will place the layer in the center of the image window. Close Subway.jpg-no need to save it. Save document HumanError.psd.

KNOCK OUT JEFF’S BACKGROUND

In all my tutorials I stress the importance of working nondestructively. This means working in a way that keeps your options open and allows you to make changes quickly and easily. At its most basic, this means not deleting or permanently altering pixels if at all possible. Layer masks are an important component of working nondestructively. With layer masks, rather than throwing background pixels away you can simply hide them, leaving them intact if you need them later (which very often you do when the client or your boss starts to make changes).

I’ve named our two leading characters Jeff and Jill. Open the document Jeff.jpg. Before you bring Jeff into your final document you will knock out (eliminate) the white background, and you will use a layer mask to accomplish this. Yes, it’s true you’ll probably never want that white background again, but to help you get used to the idea of working nondestructively, I’d like you to use a layer mask to hide those pixels rather than throwing them away.

STEP 1:

In your open image Jeff.jpg rename the background layer jeff. To knock out the background using a layer mask, you first need to make a selection around Jeff. Since he is against a solid white background, a channel selection is the way to go. Open the Channels palette. Highlight each channel and see how much contrast there is between Jeff and the background. You want to find the channel in which Jeff is the darkest. In this case it’s the Blue channel (this image is still in RGB). Duplicate the Blue channel by dragging it to the Create new channel button at the bottom of the Channels palette.

STEP 2:

With the new channel (Blue copy) highlighted, use the Levels command (Command-L/Ctrl-L) to force the image of Jeff to go as black as possible by moving all the sliders to the far right. In effect you are trying to create a silhouette. Use a brush and black paint to clean up any remaining white areas. As long as Blue copy is the only channel highlighted when you paint on the image in the image window you are only affecting that channel and are not damaging your original image in any way.

STEP 3:

Activate all color channels by clicking on the RGB composite channel at the top of the channels stack. Then, Command/Ctrl-Click on the Blue copy channel to load it as a selection.

STEP 4:

Zoom in close and you will notice the selection does not go right up to the edge of Jeff’s body. To get rid of all the background and avoid “halos” (a white rim of background showing around the figure) and to accommodate a slight feather, you need to contract the selection, pull it in so it slightly overlaps Jeff’s body. Go to Selection>Modify>Contract, enter 3 in the Contract by field, and click OK. Add a layer mask by clicking the Add layer mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Save the document, choosing Photoshop from the Format menu. Once you have added a layer mask you can no longer save it as a jpeg.

COMPOSITE JEFF INTO THE FINAL DOCUMENT

STEP 1:

In your document HumanError.psd, close the group BACKGROUND and make a new group named JEFF. Drag the layer jeff from Jeff.psd into the new group.

STEP 2:

The image of Jeff will automatically be converted to CMYK. In our composition we want Jeff to be facing the opposite way, into the spread. Activate the Free Transform command (Command-T/Ctrl-T) and Control-Click/Right-Click to bring up the Free Transform menu. Choose Flip Horizontal. To achieve the dramatic effect we are after it is necessary to enlarge Jeff. Scaling an image up is something to be avoided whenever possible because it is a destructive move that does degrade the image. But sometimes it is necessary. Here the image of Jeff will be treated in various ways to create the effect we are after, so the amount of softening that will occur due to resampling (adding pixels when scaling) will be insignificant. Enter 140% in the width and height fields in the options bar and click the check mark or press enter. You can close the document Jeff.psd.

KNOCK OUT JILL’S BACKGROUND AND COMPOSITE HER INTO THE FINAL DOCUMENT

STEP 1:

Open the image Jill.jpg. Rename the background layer jill. This time use the Pen tool to create a path and make a selection around Jill before adding the layer mask. The Pen tool is probably my favorite selection tool, but it is one of the least intuitive. Okay, so choose the Pen tool; be sure to select the second option, Paths, in the left portion of the options bar. The default is the first button, which creates a new Shape layer. From the path area option buttons on the far right choose the last one, Exclude Overlapping Path Areas. Make a path around Jill slightly inside the edge of her body. This will allow you to add a feather without picking up the background. You won’t be using the lower portion of her legs at this point, so you can close the path below her knee. With this working path still active, make another path to get the area between her legs. Command/Ctrl-Click on the path thumbnail in the Paths palette to load the path as a selection. Add a 1-pixel feather, then add a layer mask.

STEP 2:

In your final document, HumanError.psd, make a new group named JILL and drag the layer jill from Jill.jpg into the new group. Use Free Transform to flip the image horizontally. Position Jill approximately as shown in the figure and refine the layer mask using a brush and black paint to clean up any halos that may be showing along the edge of Jill’s body and to soften her hai. Save the original image of Jill as Jill.psd and close it.

Coming up Next:
Part 2. Create the mood and integrate the figures into the composite using color and light. Topics covered: Adjustment and fill layers, layer clipping masks, and blending modes.

Daniel Sorenson is an award winning print and motion graphics designer, author, lecturer, and educator. With over 15 years experience in entertainment marketing and advertising he has worked on many high profile campaigns with some of the industries biggest players. His list of clients include FOX Sports, FX Networks, CBS, Universal Television, CNN, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Daniel’s new book, Photoshop CS2 for Advertising and Marketing: Secrets from an Entertainment Advertising Insider, published by Peachpit Press, shares Photoshop techniques and behind-the-scenes information invaluable to anyone using Photoshop in a commercial situation.