
Step 15
Change the rainbow layer blending mode to Color and lower the Opacity to 37%. Place the rainbow closer to the moon like shown below.
Step 16
Open file “Underwater” and select all (Ctrl + A). Copy then paste into our document. Use Free transform to resize and position the layer like shown below.

Step 17
Paste the “Underwater” file again by pressing Ctrl + V and resize it like shown below.

Step 18
Add a layer mask (Layer > Layer Mask >Hide All) and using a round white soft brush at 30% Opacity paint in the layer mask to reveal some of the center area of this layer.

Step 19
Add a Curves Adjustment layer and drag the curve downwards to darken the scene. But because we want to apply this effect selectively we will mask some of the darkening effect in the next step.

Step 20
Press D to set default colors and select the gradient tool (G). Click on the layer mask than hold the Shift key and drag from bottom part towards the upper part. This will darken the bottom of the sea and will make the underwater scene look more realistic because if you look at underwater scenes you will notice that the part near the bottom of the sea it is darker.

Step 21
In this step we will create the caustic reflection of water on the bottom of the sea. First create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + N) and choose Filter > Render > Clouds. Make sure you have default colors set (press D to set default colors).

Step 22
With the same layer selected choose Filter > Render > Difference Clouds. This step will give us this interesting effect shown below.

Step 23
Press Ctrl + I to invert the colors because we want our underwater reflection to be white.

Step 24
Let’s increase the contrast a bit and make the caustic water reflection more pronounced. Add a Curves adjustment by choosing Image > Adjustments > Curves and drag the left slider towards the center.

Step 25
As you can see in the image below the effect looks much cleaner. This image could also be used to create Lightning effects. If you want to create Lighting effects in your other projects simply change the layer blend mode to Screen and the black parts will disappear leaving you with a nice Lightning effect. After that simply add a layer mask and hide the unwanted parts. But let’s continue with our underwater scene and proceed to the next step.
25 responses to “Create an Underwater Scene of a Giant Goldfish in Photoshop”
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I hate you!
-Joshua Gragas -
alguno de los tutoriales estan en video para mi es mejor en video gracias
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I would definitely be interested in getting that set!Thanks for sharing.
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This is really fantastic. The unlimited access makes it even better
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Fantastic idea. I especially like the water surface.
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Either I’m blind and don’t see what happened to the “ripples” layers after Step 25 or there are steps missing. There’s no way they go from the jagged-edged difference render to smooth realistic ripples by just blending the edge in with a brush. Clearly there is more manipulation needed to make that layer looks like it does in Step 26.
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What’s the point of having the already-completed project available for download? I can’t access DeviantArt and would love it if the zip file just contained the images and brushes so that I can actually DO the project. Thanks
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hi
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Tutorial is great. It helps me so much. Thanks
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You are awesome.
Thank you so much. -
nice work guys…….. its awesome
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Hi
I reached the point where i should get a nice ripply light on the bottom of the sea .. i did everything just the way it was illustrated but all i get is this ..
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l567/abdelrahman11/abdelrahmans%20album%202/194081.jpg
what should i do ?-
Don’t you See the next pages
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I like It. Good Job. Thanx
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You are awesome.
Thank you so much. -
The best tutorials!
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Sir need can you send pictures in zip file? My email is .
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What is it>>???
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TRYING to learn the basics, here bro.
The eye was not hidden. I know to check that much.
An explanation WHY something works is how a lot of people learn, not just me. I wasn’t complaining or blaming, just wishing there was more to it.
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OK I’m ****ing sorry about that bro
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I wish you could say WHY certain things are done (so I can understand when I might need to use them in the future) and so I can understand what the outcome is supposed to look like.
For instance… I don’t understand why we need a layer mask in Step 18 and why we are painting in white over the top of it…
Since it doesn’t seem to want to let me do it as stated (I get an error, “Could not use the brush tool because the target layer is hidden”), I have no idea what the outcome is supposed to be and can’t figure out how to get to the next step without just skipping Step 18.
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your fault for not knowing the basics. Dont blame the tutorial bro. You can’t paint because your layer is hidden. Click on the EYE icon. Layer mask is like a mask to show\hide what is visible on the layer.
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This is so beautiful but please tell me, do I really have to pay for those images? :(
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no you dont because sxc is a free site
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wow…an amazing photoshop tutorial about create a rainbow.
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