Learn how to create this mysterious image of a gigantic castle in a stormy background. In addition to combining stock photos together, you’ll learn how to create a stormy background and lighting effects.
Now, let’s darken the areas that need to be darkened:
The result should be similar to this:
Next, we will brighten the horizon of the sky; to do that, let’s create a new layer again (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and in the name box, input “horizon”. Make sure though, that this layer is above the “darken” layer.
Once the layer is created, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following settings:
Now, we can paint in the horizon.
The result of that should give a brighter horizon such as shown on the image below:
Next, it’s time we added the second stock image which will feature the rocks in this deserted wasteland. To start, open the stock image: “Petrified Forest National Park 2” by dynamix.
Once the stock image is open, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) because we will use this to create a selection area over the rocky region of the image.
Let’s do it!
Once the selection area has been made, activate the Move tool (V) and drag it to our canvas. Make sure to put it above all the layers that we’ve created.
Position it as shown below:
Rename this layer now to “ground 2”. Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize it as shown on the images below:
The result of that transformation should be similar to this:
Now, let’s reduce the Brightness/Contrast of these rocks to make it blend with “ground 1”. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and input the following:
The result of that should be similar to this:
To make “ground 2” blend more seamlessly, we’ll need to erase some parts of it and to that, we’ll need an Eraser. Activate the Eraser tool (E) and input the following:
Once you’re ready, erase the region highlighted on the images below:
The result of that should be similar to this:
Again, the un-erased part looks like this:
Now, let’s darken the general ground to make both “ground 1” and “ground 2” blend more seamlessly with the rest of the images; so, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “darken ground”. Make sure that this layer is above all the previous layers we’ve created.
Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:
And, let’s paint!
The result of that should bring about something similar to this:
The background is now complete, so select all the layers that we’ve created and then press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group all these layers. Once you’re done, rename the group to “BG”.
Note: Renaming a group is similar to renaming a layer.
Now, we will be adding the huge castle wall where a mysterious light will come out. To start, let’s open the stock image: “Battlements” by OeilDeNuit.
Once opened, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and create a selection area around the castle walls. See image below:
Next, activate the Move tool (V) and drag the selected area to our canvas. Put this layer above all the “BG” group that we’ve created.
Position the castle wall as shown on the image below:
Rename it now to “castle wall”. After that, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize it as shown on the images below:
The result of that should be something like this:
Next, we will make the castle wall blend-in with “ground 1”. To do that, we will need the Eraser tool (E). Activate this tool and then input the following:
Now, we will erase.
The result of that should be similar to this:
In detail:
Now, we will enhance the lighting on the “castle wall”, let’s make it a little darker. Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name this new layer “darken wall”. Make sure that this layer is above the “castle wall” layer. Right click on this layer and choose Create Clipping Mask from the contextual menu that pops up.
Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:
The result of that should be similar to this:
Step 11 The background created in the step 11 is so plain that we need to give it some cloud...
very nice tutorial, explained very well! thanks a alot