photoshop design

16

Duplicate these two layers and flip them vertically. Position the abstract ‘clump’ above the model’s head (below the ‘abstract kaleido’ in the Layers palette). Add a layer mask and drag out a vertical gradient running white to black from top to bottom to hide the tendrils.

Step 17

Create a new square document (300 x 300) = and fill with black. Render a Lens Flare in the precise middle. Reduce Saturation to 0 and crunch the Levels by sliding the Mid tones towards the Highlights as before. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+A to select all, then Crmd/Ctrl+l to invert. Define this as a brush (Edit>Define Brush Preset).
 

Step 18

Open the Brushes palette and select your newly made brush. In the Shape Dynamics, turn Size Jitter up to 100%, then Scattering up to 1000% on both axes. Create a new layer and brush liberally behind the model, erasing unwanted parts as you go. Less is more, but make sure the effect is present!

Step 19

Now that the basis of the image is complete, it’s time to put the finishing touches in by adding fine details. We’ve made a couple of extra kaleidos from the shapes and positioned them symmetrically. We also etched out the lily images that you downloaded and scattered them around before adding more lighting. This is where the magic happens, so take your time to enjoy the techniques we have discussed.

Tip: Adjustment Layers
We talk about adjustment layers a lot and there’s a very good reason for it; we have never released a finished piece of artwork that didn’t have at least two adjustment layers sitting on top of it to unify the piece’s palette and balance the composition out. Applying specifically to this piece, after we finished balancing all of the layers by hand, we had a play around and found that a couple of small adjustment layers worked wonders.
First we added a Color Balance adjustment layer and moved the Highlights quite significantly (around the 25% mark) towards Yellow and the Mid tones fractionally (around 5%) towards Cyan. Setting the blending mode to lighten completed this effect and really made the image pop a little more, while infusing it with a lovely warm tone.
To balance this, we then added a Channel Mixer layer and upped the contrast in the Blue Channel by 10%. Select the automatic layer mask, drag out a Black to White gradient running diagonally from the top right and you have a subtle effect that further breaks symmetry without creating imbalance. Experimentation is key with adjustment layers play with their position in the layer hierarchy, play with their opacity, but always make sure they are there.

                                   
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