Photoshop Light Effect

7/31/2019 Photoshop Light Effect

1/17

Final Image Preview

Step 1 The Background:

Start by creating a new canvas, sized 19701320 pixels. Then, grab this custom background

that I made (click the image for the full size):
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/BG_1.jpghttp://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-35.jpg


2/17

Next, were going to combine this with another background, so click the image below or visit the

following link and download this background: http://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-

108044404

Next, reduce the Fill option of this second background to 79% (see screenshot below):

Step 2 The Foreground:
http://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-108044404http://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-108044404http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-3.jpghttp://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-108044404http://jakezdaniel.deviantart.com/art/Texture-3B-108044404


3/17

Now, we need our foreground subject image. Were going to use this little rocker boy. You can

use the following image that I used: http://tonya-tjphotography.deviantart.com/art/Rocker-6-

86012281 or you can use any of your own images that you desire. One thing youll notice about

this image is the hair, which will be a bit difficult to extract. Software such as Vertus Fluid Mask

can easily extract these images, but for this tutorial, I will be extracting it manually using the

pen tool and I will apply some cutting techniques.

Using your pen tool, slowly trace around the subject, then go to the Paths tab and then right

click the path you made, make selection, and then you have your foreground subject. If youre

a bit unfamiliar with extraction techniques, read this article on Types of Extraction in Photoshop.

Notice that there are still some white edges left in the hair, so again you can use the pen tool to

cut it off. You could manually try to remove only the white area, but I found it quicker and more

effective to give him a haircut. And for finishing I used a soft brushed eraser and

Layer>Matting>Defringe (width 1) and resized it to fit the document.
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-6.jpghttp://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-5.jpg


4/17

Now we will make some shadow for the boy, which will help create depth for our image. For the

shadow I used a soft brush, 200px using black color to brush the perspective shadow (see

below screenshot or use your judgment). Then, go to Filter>Gaussian Blur>30px to give it a

more natural feel. Reduce the opacity if necessary, erase some overlapping black parts caused

by the gausian blurr, and you should have a result like mine:


5/17

Now, we need to make the boy seem less pasted onto our background. To do this, well burn

the edges of the boy a little bit, using the burn tool with the settings of 100px, Range: midtones,

Exposure: 50 and then go to Layer>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast. Check the use layer

clipping mask and apply the following settings:

Add some crack to the walls to have more details and add visual impact. You can use a stock

image, or the following brush: Download.

Step 3 Adding Abstract Elements:

I used a rendered C4d. There are packs of C4D renders all over the internet, deviantART is a

great place to start.
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-9.jpg


6/17

Resize it and use desaturate (CTRL-SHIFT-U) to make it pure grayscale. Next, move it into your

desired position, for this image, I wanted to make it seem as though it was the boys wings


7/17

Next, erase some areas that you dont want in your image. It should match the foreground

subject and the shadowing we created already, in order to allow the perspective to remain. You

can use the selection of your foreground subject to remove areas and make it seem like the

render is wrapped around the subject.

Duplicate the C4d layer, then bring back the duplicated one to the bottom of the layers boy.By doing this, you can add a backup of unwanted erased parts, and you can make the render

feel more solid.

Next, we use the same C4D render, desaturating it and resizing it. Slowly we can add more

elements, varying the size to achieve our desired effect. Erase any unwanted areas, and try tobuild your render around the boy.


8/17

.

Step 4: In making the light effects, I only used default tools in Photoshop. Using the pen tool for

illustration, you can draw some paths and stroke them. Create a new layer, then set your brush

to white, 7px, soft (hardness set to 0%). Next, draw paths along the subject where you want

light to appear. While the pentool is active, right click on the surface, choose stroke path, and

check the simulate pressure option.


9/17

Open the blending options, and apply the following settings to your layer.
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-18.jpghttp://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-17b.jpg


10/17


11/17

Duplicate the line layer twice, and then blur the duplicated one. Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur at

10px. Duplicate it again, and make a new group and then set the blending option to linear

dodge (see below screenshot). Linear dodge is one of the most powerful layer modes in

achieving quality lighting effects.

Next, make a new layer and then fill it with black and set the blending options to linear dodge.

Grab the brush tool, and brush a little bit of red in his shoulder and use this command CTRL+Fthree times (to blur it again). This will enhance the glow effect from the lighting.

Repeat this process and try to make some brush adjusments make it bigger or smaller. Try

making it 10px,5px,3px, whatever you want. Try to put some it to the bottom layer of the boy.Heres how it looks after my illustrations and repeating the process of previous grouped layers.

Just experiment use soft eraser to fade it some parts nicely. I used motion blur to achieve some

movement in the piece. Overall, I had 7 groups for the lighting effects.

Step 5 Extra Effects:


12/17

Add some small particles, like its splashing away from the boy. In this step, I used a nebula

stock. There are many available through http://resurgere.deviantart.com/ or

http://hameed.deviantart.com/gallery/?3949421#Stock:

Place it on canvas and change the blending option to Linear Dodge, then desaturate it to make

it black and white. This will add some extra contrast to our image, apart from just the red. Now

that it is desaturated, you can duplicate and place it anywhere you want, just play around tosee what gives a good result. I suggest putting some of it behind the boy, to create a nice

illusion and enhance the depth. Erase any unwanted parts using a soft eraser.


13/17

Step 6 Smoke:

I added some smoke, for the original work I used a stock image of smoke. Unfortunately, I was

unable to find the same image I used, but I will still show you the erased parts of the smoke.

Theres plenty of free stock images of smoke (check http://sxc.hu for example) and see what

works for you. If you want the same image that I used, it is available below:

Simply paste this smoke image into the document, move it over the boy and set the blending

mode to Screen or Linear Dodge depending on your desired result. You can adjust your layer

order to achieve the appearance of the smoke behind or in front of the lighting effects.
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/smoke.png


14/17

Step 7 More Effects:

Next, we can add awesome lighting effects to dramatically increase the visual impact of the

piece. First create a new layer (CTRL-SHIFT-N) . Fill it with black and change

the blending option to Linear Dodge. Grab the rectangular marquee tool, and use your

gradient tool (from white to transparent), then erase the sides a little to make it softer.


15/17

Step 8 Final Lighting Adjustments:

We are almost done. Now we will add some more red lights to incorporate the extra color into

the piece. Well be using a soft brush, paint bucket and blending options here. Create a new

layer, fill it with black, change the blending option to Linear Dodge. Use the brush, and then

refer to the screenshot below

Were essentially done now, but we should make some adjustments to achieve better depth and

sharpness. Create a new layer, and Apply Image (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E). Next, go to Filter->Sharpen->Sharpen. Then, apply a curves layer by going to Layer->New Adjustment Layer-

>Curves. Apply the following settings:


16/17

After applying the curves, add a layer mask (Layer->New Layer Mask) and erase some of thecurves layer (particularly around the head of the boy. Reduce the opacity to 42%, and then you

can add your own gradient maps and adjustments if you so choose. Heres my result after

adjustments:


17/17
http://design.creativefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-34.jpg

Photoshop Light Effect

Documents

Transcript of Photoshop Light Effect