Okay, so you’ve grasped the techniques, but you need more
than that if you’re to produce a range of original eye-catching work.
Don’t underestimate the power of composition or the importance of
balance.
This tutorial
will teach you to create stunning effects using glows, loads of Colour
Dodge, and lots and lots of neon – hot pinks and lemon yellows are
prominent here. You’ll also learn how to utilise white in all the right
places, so that white areas look less like negative space and more like
the result of added energy and light.
The finer details are very important, too. The small glowing dots used
throughout this image may be small, but they add so much. Always pay
attention to detail in anything you create – simplicity is good but
there are always details that, when added, make all the difference.
This tutorial stresses the importance of strong colour. The background
of this piece contains a faint floral pattern, which is key, but very
subtle. It does not call your attention or stand out on its own. Rather,
it serves its purpose as a background correctly. In addition, another
dimension is added using flowers and scanned imagery, giving the image a
truly organic feel. So keep in mind the importance of strong colours
and solid composition in all your work and you’ll see instant results.
1 Open Model1.tif from the support files. Adjust the
Brightness/Contrast to -50 and +30, respectively. Now go to
Filter>Sharpen> Sharpen to ensure that the whole image appears as
crisp as possible.
2 Using the Pen tool, draw an outline around the
girl’s body. Do not worry about the finer details around the hair, but
do make sure that you outline inside the area where her arms bend
upwards. Save this Path and label it “Outline”.
3 Create a new layer named Colour Fades. Set the
Blending style to Colour Burn. Select the Path you made in step two and
click on Load Path as a Selection.
4 Now select a default circle-shaped Brush with soft
edges and make the size roughly 550. Using bright pinks, yellows,
greens and blues, brush lightly on the girl’s skin using single clicks
to add subtle colour to the shadows already present.
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5 Make a new layer and label it Colour Fades
Background. Again, click on Load Path as a Selection before choosing
Select>Inverse. Repeat step four, but add the soft colour to the
background, mostly around the girl’s body.
6 Open BackgroundDesign.tif from the support files,
Select All and Copy. Go back to the main image, click on Load Path as a
Selection and then choose Select>Inverse and then Edit>PasteInto.
Rename this layer “Background Design”.
7 Duplicate and move the Background Design layer
until you have enough to fill the background. Then merge all of these
duplicated layers into one and again label it “Background Design”.
Finally, set the Opacity to about 15-20 per cent – whatever looks good
to you.
8 Next, make a new layer and label it “Diagonal
Lines”. Using the Polygonal selection tool, create diagonal lines going
from the middle of the left edge to the middle of the top edge. Then,
with the Brush tool, paint inside using the same technique as you did on
the girl, using pink and yellow.
9 Create a new layer and label it “Stars, Wires”.
Next, choose Layer>LayerStyle >OuterGlow. Set the Blend mode to
Colour Dodge, the Opacity to 100 per cent, noise to 0 per cent, and use a
solid pink colour (#F19AC2). Ensure that Technique is set to Softer,
Spread to 0, and Size to 18.
10 Choose a default soft edge circle Brush with the
Airbrush turned on at or around size 12. Click randomly all over the
background to create a galaxy of stars. Try clicking and holding to
utilise the Airbrush feature and create a larger star.
11 Using the same brush, make long strokes across
the girl’s body, working from the bottom left to the top right to create
the wires/lines. Repeat this process until you have dozens. You could
change the size of the brush to produce a thicker wire.
12 Create a new layer named “Wires Behind”. Select
the Outline path, click Load Path as a Selection and then
Select>Inverse. Use the technique used in step 11 to make the wires
again, only this time you should make them behind the subject. This adds
dimension to the image.
13 Open Design.tif from the support files, Select
All and then Copy. Paste this into the main image and rotate it to fit
accurately into the curve of her arm. Move to her chest, and set the
Layer to Screen.
14 Duplicate this Layer before choosing
Edit>Transform>FlipHorizontal. Move the Layer to her left-hand
side so that it aligns correctly with the first and, finally, set this
layer to Screen.
15 Open Flowers1.tif from the support files and then
Copy and Paste it into the main image. Set the Blending mode to Screen
and place it on the left-hand side, near her right arm, as shown.
16 Duplicate that Layer. Next, choose
Edit>Transform>FlipHorizontal and then Edit>Transform>Scale
and make it a little smaller, ensuring that you keep it in proportion.
Place this alongside her other arm.
17 Open Fireworks.tif from the support files and
Copy and Paste it into the main image. Set the Blending mode to Lighten,
the Brightness to -30 and the Contrast to +30. Position the fireworks
near her ear.
18 Now open Flowers2.tif and again, Copy and Paste
into the main image. Set the Blending mode to Screen. Move these flowers
to the bottom-middle area near the girl’s hip so that the stems follow
the curve of her body.
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19 Duplicate this Layer. Choose Edit>
Transform>Flip Horizontal and then Edit>Transform>Scale and
make the new layer about one-third the size of the first. To balance the
composition, place this on the left-hand side, next to her other hip.
20 Go back to the “Stars, Wires” layer, right-click
on it and select Copy Layer Style. Create a new layer named “Beauty”.
Right-click this new Layer and choose Paste Layer Style. Now, using the
default soft-edge Brush tool at size 10, write the word “Beauty”.
21 On the main Layer, the original photo, use the
Burn tool on the Shadows at 100 per cent and go over the girl’s face
once with a size 100 soft-edge Brush. This adds great shadow and
definition to her face.
22 Finally, flatten the image so that you have just
one Layer and go to Image> Adjustments>ColorBalance. Set Cyan to
-50 to remove the hot colours and give it a crisper feel. You can now
adjust any of the other colours until you reach your desired hues.
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