| By
clicking the small box at the bottom of the dialog, you can
use to Hue slider to create a unified color over the whole
image. This can be great for creating monotone backgrounds
behind a central figure. To select an image from a white background
and save the shadows underneath it (important for figures
in motion, especially those who are jumping), we can use the
luminosity of the image. In order to do this, use the magic
lasso and QuickMask tools to roughly select the desired areas.
Next,
you should use the Float command to create a new layer of
your selection, leaving the old copy in place below it. You
can then save this selection to the Channels palette. Then,
turn off the floated copy and create a new layer. By pressing
"Ctrl+Alt+tilde (~)", we can select the luminosity
of the image – essentially its brightness. However,
we wanted to select the shadows – the opposite of brightness.
To do
this, simply use the Invert command under the Selection menu.
Make the new layer the target of this by clicking it. Fill
the blank layer with black, with the reverse luminosity selected.
This will look ghostly, and the base layer will suddenly go
very dark, but don't be confused by this. You can now turn
your floated copy back on, and put whatever background you
choose behind your figure on a lower layer. The figure and
its shadows will appear above the new background.
Layers
and Shadows
To add
a shadow to a picture which does not already have one, simply
apply a Layer Style to the desired layer of the image. This
effect can be found under the Photoshop Layers menu in all
recent versions of the program. Simply apply the drop shadow
Layer Style to the image, and a small shadow in the chosen
color will appear beneath your selection. You can change the
size and transparency of the drop shadow in the Layer Style
tab.
To create
a motion blur effect, select your figure and copy it onto
a new layer. Now, on a layer below it, with the selection
still in effect, fill your selection with black, or any other
color. You can apply the Motion Blur filter from the Filters
menu to this selection and create lines of movement without
disturbing the figure on the layer above. Play with the distance
and angle of the motion blur to see what kind of look you
can create in your image. You can combine this filter with
other effects for different kinds of motion lines.
Two photos
can be easily merged in Photoshop. Drag the smaller image
into the larger by clicking and holding it. You can create
space in one image using the Resize Canvas function under
the Image menu if there is not enough room. The dragged image
should appear as its own layer on top of the original image.
Next,
turn on the Layer Mask function and make sure that the double
lines appear around the icon for the mask to show that it
is selected. Then, create a radial gradient (with your colors
set to a white foreground and black background) to mask part
of the new image, revealing the portions you wish to show.
With the lasso tool and brush, you can adjust your mask to
reveal and conceal the desired portions of the image. This
effect is great for integrating images with two people, making
them appear to interact.
Another
good effect for creating a dramatic image is turning the image
into text. To do this, move your selected image to a new layer.
Then, create the text that you would like to mask into the
image on a text layer. Heavy and bold type styles are best
for this, as they provide the greatest amount of image area.
This increases recognizability. Ctrl-click the type layer
to select the area of the type, and then change to the original
image layer.
It is
then easy to Float or copy and paste the area covered by the
type onto a new layer. Once the original photo layer is turned
off, the picture-type can be easily seen. This effect is great
when combined with drop shadows or other layer effects.
Photoshop
Lighting Effects
Lighting
effects are in great demand for Photoshop images. These can
be accessed through the Filters menu. One very popular lighting
effect is the Lens Flare, which allows the user to create
the look of a ball of light on their image. This effect, and
the Spotlight effects can be used to add magical effects,
new light sources, or other lighting changes to an image.
Layer
transparency can be used to drop ghost images in behind a
figure. To do this, simply paste the desired image into a
layer below the main layer and set the transparency slider
to whatever opacity you choose. This effect can be very useful
when combined with the colorization effect listed above. Multiple
transparent layers can be used with different images to create
the impression of motion leading up to the main figure.
An old
photo look can be created by colorizing a photo to a sepia
color, then adding effects to imply damage. Careful application
of the airbrush Eraser tool can create fading. The Noise filter,
applied with monochrome turned on, causes the photo to look
grainy and old. Using low opacity transparent layers above
the image, with the layer set to Multiply, will darken the
darkest areas of the image, creating a murky effect.
These
and many other tips and tricks allow the Photoshop user to
make exciting changes to their photos and create new and different
images. A great way to learn new techniques is to play with
the software. Spend a few minutes every day trying different
things and in different orders, you'll be surprised just how
much you'll improve. And finally, if you want to achieve a
specific effect but you have no idea how, do a search in Google
or Yahoo, you're bound to find what you need that way.
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