How to Add a Mermaid to a Dark Bleak Landscape

To lighten them add new adjustment layer Curves on the top of all layers and set it as shown below.

You want to adjust only the highlighted parts. To achieve that grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), pick black color and fill layer mask of this adjustment color with it. After that grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white color and paint over the highlighted areas.  After this step your photo manipulation should be similar to the one below.

Step 13 – Adjusting the Dress

The bottom part of the dress is too flat which doesn’t look realistic. It should have similar shape as rocks below it. You’ll fix it in this step.  Grab the Marquee Tool (M) and select the bottom part of the skirt. Press Ctrl + Shift + C to copy it merged and then Ctrl + V to paste it. Place this new layer on the top of all layers and name it SKIRT. To adjust its shape go to Edit > Transform > Warp and warp it similarly as on the following image. After you’re done press Enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 14 – Darkening

In this step you’ll make midtones of the image darker. To do that add new adjustment layer Curves on the top of all layers and set it as shown below.

Step 15 – Desaturation

Previous adjustment made the image more saturated. You’ll desaturate it in this step. Add new adjustment layer Hue/Saturation and set the value Saturation on -15.

Step 16 – Light on Woman

Let’s add more light on woman to draw more attention to her. It’s a good trick to use – viewer’s eye go first to the brightest parts of image. You can use it to your advantage while creating other photo manipulations.  Add new empty layer on the top of all layers and name it LIGHT. Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), pick mid grey color (#808080) and fill the layer. To blend it properly change its Blending Mode from Normal to Overlay.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush, set its Size on about 300px and Opacity on 10%.

Pick white color and paint gentle glow around woman. You can see where you should paint on the picture below. It’s highlighted with red color.

After you’re finished pick black color and paint vignette around the edges of your photo manipulation.

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