Create an Incredible Twilight Surreal Scene with Floating Islands

Feb 18, 2020

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Monika Nowakowska

Photo Manipulation Photoshop Tutorials

Step 68

Add adjustment layer with brightness/contrast. (clipping mask) Set it:

Step 69

With soft brush, #4081b7 color, on new layer draw shadows on tree. Set blending mode to Multiply. (clipping mask)

Step 70

With the same brush on new layer draw lights on the tree. Change opacity to 26%.(clipping mask)

Step 71

Create new layer. Choose spatter 59 px brush #baf3f0 color. Draw on the edges of trees. (clipping mask) Then change blending mode to Soft Light.

Step 72

Then with 1px soft brush, the same color, draw light contours. I also prepared some contours of hanging plants :).

Step 73 – Making Plants

Create new folder. With soft 1px brush #4c7373 color draw long stroke, under the light countour.

Step 74

Now with the same brush draw lianas. Arrows will guide you :)

Step 75

Make the same with lower plants.

Step 76

On the lowest parts of plants use the same technique.

Step 77 – ship

Paste ship png.

Step 78

Reduce saturation with Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Then create clipping mask! :)

Step 79

Add color/balance layer (clipping mask). Set it as shown below. Then set blending mode to Screen – it will look like lights from the moon!.

Step 80

Mask this layer.

Step 81

Then add Brightness/Contrast layer (create clipping mask).

Step 82

Mask layer. It will look like shadow :).

Step 83

Again adjustment layer with Brightness/contrast. Also clipping.

Step 84

Then set color/balance with clipping mask.

Step 85

Add new layer. Here you should set 1px soft light-blue brush. Draw gently contours of the ship and fix ropes.

Step 86 – corner leaves

In the left corner of picture, paste Corner leaves.

Step 87

From menu Filter choose blur > Gaussian blur. Set it as shown below:

Step 88

Add adjustment layer with hue/saturation. (Clipping mask).

Step 89

Now, holding ctrl, choose Leaves and Hue/Saturation layers. Duplicate it.

Step 90

Then transform it (ctrl +T, or Free transform from “Edit” menu). I flipped it horizontally and changed position.

Step 91

Wow! You are on good way! Add layer. Now with 300 px soft #6dcff6 color brush, draw as shown. It will be glow.

Step 92

Next, you should choose from menu Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur.

Step 93

Change blending mode to Soft light and opacity to 41%.

Step 94

Now you should add new layer. Choose big (800px) soft, white brush. Draw large dot on the moon. Then change blending mode to Soft Light.

30 responses to “Create an Incredible Twilight Surreal Scene with Floating Islands”

red luna

May 8, 2018

Great tutorial! It looks fantastic.

Reply
Tony T.

May 8, 2018

Thank you very much is a great job and I was surprised by the castle, since it belongs to my city Almadén (Ciudad Real) has been an incredible detail.
regards

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Optical Overlays

June 15, 2017

Super cool ❤

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Suki Ogle

December 12, 2016

Thanks, love this tutorial, and thanks for posting. Explains a lot of techniques. One thing I would add is to delete (or mask or cover) the stars that are showing thru from behind the moon. Unless they are meteors, they would not be visible behind the opaque moon.

My 2 bits

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Alan

September 2, 2015

what’s a spatter brush?
(:: – Step 55
Create new layer. (Hey! Without making clipping mask :]) Choose spatter 59 px brush #baf3f0 color. Draw on the edges of trees.)

Reply
parul soni

June 23, 2015

can u sent me this tutorial

Reply
Anonymous

May 5, 2015

amazing show

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Gina H.

December 23, 2014

This is completely insane! I am glad you offer the resources to get started as well.

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xx

December 22, 2014

A lot of material can’t download, site won’t open

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Maidul Islam

October 17, 2014

amazing!! great to see the amazing work of great experienced art directors!!

Reply
yuuki

June 30, 2014

my final is not really the same (lol)…

thanks for the tutorial, i had fun trying it :)

Reply
Sean C

May 5, 2014

In Step 4, you say “At adjustment layer make mask”. What does this mean? I’m pretty new to this, so any help would be great!

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Steve

April 26, 2014

Hi, can someone please explain to me in details how step 4 and 5 was done? After I made a new mask layer and colored in red the sky area, I then proceed to paste the sky stock. That sky stock image appeared as a new layer and not on the mask layer called “Sky – mmtEvr6.” How do you merge the sky layer with the landscape to appear as one image?

Thank you.

Reply
1. Joseph
  
  May 9, 2014
  
  For merging two layers, select both layers and press Ctrl + E.. Hope this helps..
Joseph

April 16, 2014

Hi Monika,
Fantastic Tutorial..! Thanks for posting..! I too have a blog with Photoshop Tutorials aimed for beginners..

Keep on posting nice tutorials like this.. Happy to revisit..!

Reply
Tinaras

April 8, 2014

Its great, Thankyou.

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Daniel Thomassin

March 31, 2014

Bonjour;Je vous remercie beaucoup pour votre tutoriel et l’utilisation des calques et des masques.
Je vous souhaite à tous une bonne journée à tous

Reply
mizan.ngbd2013

March 28, 2014

This is really nice. I loved the your photoshop. it ok

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@yura

March 27, 2014

its so cool.., absolutely great tutorial, thank you so much for make this tutorial.. ^ ^

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Minh Hai

March 20, 2014

great tutorial thank you so much i like it

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Eve Livesey

March 20, 2014

Would be really nice if you would inform me when you use my stock in a tutorial – we could do some social sharing and promotion

Kind Regards

Eve

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Lucy matagaro

March 13, 2014

The photos are really amazing

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Eliana Palomino

March 12, 2014

This is really nice. I loved it!!!

Reply
Photoshop

March 11, 2014

thank’s so match I like that

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Jordan

March 9, 2014

I think this could have all been a lot shorter now that i’ve read through the whole thing.

For one, hyper links, use them and just say repeat this process such as the saturation, hue, contrast and brightness factors, as well, it’s really hard to learn this tutorial if you were a beginner, saying to just “mask” something is far easier said than done if you have no idea more effective ways of doing the like with the quick mask or the layer mask.

I hate the ship, it’s like heres rocks and trees and everything natural not a single bit of water showing, oh and here’s a ship. I took it out of mine on personal choice but it’s up to you.

Last thing I’d say is the rocks you created, they look far more detailed then just using a brush to create them I’d say you took multiple layers using different sections of the rock each time and layered them on top of each other to give more depth to the photo, if you want nice crisp clean jagged rocks try using the lasso tool and deleting the brush layer piece by piece.

Reply
1. Anonymous
  
  March 1, 2020
  
  hater
Hera

March 6, 2014

Wow, love this tutorial! Amazing job, I should try it out myself. ;)

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YASIR IQBAL

March 6, 2014

i like your work style

Reply
Ifat Sharmin

March 4, 2014

Fantastic graphics work..Have to ask all of our designers to follow your articles..Thank you so much..

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Julie

March 4, 2014

What a great tuto! Trying to be better in photo manipulation this was really helpfull.
Just having a weird result on step 30 when trying to add lights to the stone, it needed to be set at 5% opacity not to have those white mass…
And also step 56 I’m not able to have something like yours, I just have this white edge as if it wasn’t well cut out, took me time to fix it but nevermind, I learnt a lot thank you! (and sorry for my bad english ahah)

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