In this fantasy photo manipulation tutorial, we will learn how to create a sorceress with a butterfly energy orb. This tutorial will show you how to blend images together, use Photoshop brushes, and apply photo effects.
Step 1: Create the Photoshop document
To start, let’s create a new image file, go to the Menu bar and click File > New, and then input the following values on their respective fields:
- Width: 2480 pixels
- Height: 3508 pixels
- Resolution: 300pixels/inch
- Color Mode: RGB Color; 8 bit
- Background Contents: Transparent
Step 2: Create the fantasy background
On this step, we will be creating our fantasy background. Open “Misty Forest Stock 1” by Angband. First, let’s move the image to our canvas using the Move tool (V). To do this, press V and left-click on the image and then press V. Now, drag the image to the canvas. When you have the image on the canvas, rename it to “Background”.
Note: To rename a layer, simply double-click on the words: “layer 1” to prompt a text box to appear. Once that appears, you may now rename the layer.
Once on the canvas, transform this image using the Transform tool. To activate it, press Ctrl/Cmd + T). To know that the Transform tool is activated, you would see a box with small boxes in its corners and sides encompassing the image. Let’s now transform the image by following the instructions on the image below:
Next, we will be blurring the image to create a sense of depth against the subject. To achieve this, go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur. Once the filter opens, input the following:
- Faster
- Depth map
- Source: None
- Blur Focal Distance: 0
- Invert: Unchecked
- Iris
- Shape: Octagon (8)
- Radius: 64
- Blade Curvature: 0
- Rotation: 0
- Specular Highlights
- Brightness: 0
- Threshold: 255
- Noise
- Amount: 0
- Distribution:
- Gaussian: Checked
The result should be similar to this:
Next, we will be creating glowing light on our background to give it a much more fantasy-themed look. First, let’s create a new layer. To do that, press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N and then a box would pop up; when this box pops up, type “Light 1” on the name box. This new layer should now be on top of the layer: “Background”. Before we activate our Brush tool, we’ll need to set the Brush’s color. To do that, click on the Foreground color box as shown on the image below:
Once you’ve done that, the Color Picker box would open. Locate the # box and input the following values:
- #: ffffdb
Now the color is ready, let’s activate the Brush tool by pressing B.
Input the following values:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 50%
- Flow: 100%
Note: To reduce or increase the Hardness, right click on the image while the Brush tool (B) is activated, then you’d see the Hardness scale, which is at default – 100%, just move the slider to the left to get 0% or to the right to get 100%.
Before you start painting, make sure that the “Light 1” layer is activated or highlighted, if it is not, simply left-click on it. Now it’s time to paint; follow the instructions on the image below:
Create a new layer once again (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and this time name it “Light 2”.
We will be using the same brush color with Light 1 (ffffdb). Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and use the following settings:
- Brush size: 900px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 50%
- Flow: 100%
Brush-in the region shown on the image below:
Next, create a new layer again (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name it “Light 3”. Activate the Color Picker again through clicking the Foreground Color box. Once its open input the following value:
- #: fffff4
Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and use the following settings:
- Brush size: 800px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 50%
- Flow: 100%
Apply the brush on the region shown on the image below:
Next, we’ll be darkening some parts of the image to give emphasis to our subject which will be added later on. First, let’s create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “Darken BG1”. Open the Color Picker and use the following settings:
- #: 000000
Then input the following brush settings:
- Brush size: 700px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 25%
- Flow: 100%
Use the Brush on the region shown on the image below:
Finally, when you’re done select all the layers that you’ve created and the press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group these layers. You’d notice that a folder will be created; to see the layers, simply click on the drop-down button. Rename this Group to “Background”.
Note: Renaming a group is similar to renaming a layer.
Step 3: Create the Sorceress
Now in this step, we will be adding our subject – the sorceress. To start, open “Black Magic 22” by liam stock. We need to separate it from its background. To do that, we will need to activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L).
“INSERT step3a_plt.jpg”
onal Lasso tool (L) and click on any point around the sorceress and drag your mouse to create an outline over the woman until you’ve reached your starting point. See image below:
Once you’ve done that, dotted lines will form around the area you selected (in this case, the sorceress) and after that, we’re now ready to move the lady to our canvas. To do that, simply activate the Move tool (V) and drag the selected area to our canvas.
Position it similar to the image shown below:
Next, we will have to rename this layer to avoid confusion. Rename this layer to “sorceress”.
Now, we’re going to erase a part of the sorceress’ cloak to produce glare from the light on the background. To do that, we would need to activate our Eraser tool (E).
When it is activated, use the following settings:
- Brush size: 600px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 25%
- Flow: 100%
Use the Eraser on the region shown on the image below:
Next, we will be blurring the edges of the coat to make the depth of field look more realistic. To do that, activate the Blur tool (R).
When activated, input the following values:
- Brush size: 175px
- Hardness: 0%
- Mode: Normal
- Strength: 100%
Apply the Blur tool on the region shown on the image below:
Now we will be changing the sorceress’ Color Balance. Before you proceed, make sure that the “sorceress” layer is selected, and then go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. When the Color Balance box opens, input the following:
- Color Levels: -27, -15, 0
- Tone Balance: Midtones
- Preserve Luminosity: Checked
The result should be similar to this:
Now we’re going to add light on the background to emphasize the details of the cloak. First, let’s create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “Light 4”. Then, open the Color Picker through clicking the Foreground Color box. When the Color Picker opens, input the following:
- #: ffffe6
Now with the brush color set, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following values:
- Brush size: 600px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 30%
- Flow: 100%
Apply the brush on the region indicated on the image below:
The result should be similar to this:
Now, we’re going to darken the areas that won’t be affected by the light that we will be putting on the sorceress’ hands. Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “Darken 1”. We would need black paint so let’s change the brush’s color. Activate the Color Picker and input the following:
- #: 000000
Now let’s activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:
- Brush size: 600px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 30%
- Flow: 100%
Apply the brush on the region indicated below:
The result should be similar to this:
Next, let’s further darken these areas that wouldn’t be touched by the light. Create a new layer and name it “Darken 2”. Before you proceed, make sure that the brush’s color is still black.
Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:
- Brush size: 600px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 30%
- Flow: 100%
The result would be like this:
Create a new layer again; “Darken 3”. Use the black colored brush and then activate the Brush tool (B) then input the following values:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 30%
- Flow: 100%
Use the brush on the following region:
The result should be similar to the image below:
Now, let’s activate the Burn tool (O); we’re going to darken the sorceress’s pale arms because darkening it will just make it black and not darkened. When the Burn tool is activated, input the following values:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Range: Midtones
- Exposure: 25%
The result should be similar to the image below:
When you’re done, select all the layers that you’ve created in this step and then press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group them. Name this group to “Sorceress”.
Step 4: Create the Butterfly
Now in this step, we will be adding the butterfly. To start, open “Butterfly Stock 12” by Shoofly Stock.
Activate the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) and drag a selection area around the butterfly shown on the image below:
After creating the selection, activate the Move tool (V) and drag that butterfly to our canvas. Once it’s on the canvas, rename this layer to “butterfly”. Position the butterfly as seen on the image below:
Now, let’s resize the butterfly using the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T). See image below:
After that, let’s reduce the Brightness of the butterfly; to do that, simply click on the “butterfly” layer and then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. When the box opens, input the following values:
- Brightness: +5
- Contrast: 0
The result should be similar to the following:
Now when you’re done, group this layer and name it “butterfly”.
Step 5: Create the Magical Light
In this step, we will be adding the light coming from the sorceress’ hands. To start, make sure that you have downloaded the Sparkles brush by Tempting-Resources. To open that brush after downloading, simply extract or copy the brush (.abr file) to this destination: Adobe >Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Brushes.
Once you’ve done that, we will now open this brush pack in Photoshop. First, activate the Brush tool (B), once it’s open right click on the canvas to bring up the menu. When the menu shows up, click on the drop-down menu button located on the upper right portion of the menu. See image below:
After clicking that, a new menu would show up – click on “Load Brushes” from the contextual menu.
When the load brushes box opens, locate the file: “sparkles_by_an3czka.abr” and press OK. Now, when you activate the Brush tool (B) and right click on the canvas, you’d see a different brush pack – you’d now see the “sparkles brushes”. Now, let’s start adding the magical light. First, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name it “Magic 1”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and right click on the canvas and then choose the brush shown on the image below:
Next, we will change the brush’s color. Activate the Color Picker box and then input the following value:
- #: d5edff
Input the following values for the Brush tool (B):
- Brush size: 1600px
- Hardness: Default brush hardness
- Opacity: 100%
- Flow: 100%
Now, it’s time to paint. Follow the instructions as seen on the image below:
The result:
Next, create another layer and name it “Magic 2”. We will be utilizing the normal or default brushes and in order for us to do that, we would need to reset the brushes. First, activate the Brush tool (B) and then right click on the canvas, then click on the drop down arrow button and when the contextual menu appears, click on “Reset Brushes”. See image below:
After resetting the brushes, change the brush’s color by activating the Color Picker and using the following values:
- #: d5f5ff
Once you’ve done that, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following values:
- Brush size: 800px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 50%
- Flow: 100%
Now let’s paint! See image below for more instructions:
For the next layer, input the name “Magic 3”. We will still be utilizing the default brushes on this layer.
Then activate the Color Picker and input the following color code:
- #: e6f9ff
Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following settings:
- Brush size: 1600px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 25%
- Flow: 100%
The result should be similar to the following image:
On our next layer which will be named “Magic 4”, we would need to Load the CRASH_SPACE.abr brushes by KeRen-R
Once you have loaded the said brushes, we would need to change the brush’s color. Input the following on the Color Picker box.
- #: e6f9ff
When you’re done, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following settings:
- Brush size: 615
- Hardness: Default
- Opacity: 100%
- Flow: 100%
Now, let’s start painting; see image below for more instructions:
The result:
Now that that’s done, let’s make it look more magical by making the sparkles glow. First, right-click on the layer: “Magic 4” and then when a contextual menu opens, click on “Blending Options”.
When the Blending Options box opens click on the “Outer Glow” tick box on the Styles section.
Next, click on the word “Outer Glow” to bring you to its settings page. Once there, input the following:
- Structure: USE DEFAULT VALUES
- Elements
- Technique: Softer
- Spread: 0%
- Size: 30px
- Quality: USE DEFAULT VALUES
The result should be similar to the image below:
Next, let’s create another layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then type “Magic 5” as its name. Before you proceed, make sure to reset the brushes and then activate the Color Picker tool and input the following:
- #: e2fbff
For the brush settings, input the following:
- Brush size: 20-60px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 100%
- Flow: 100%
See image below for more instructions:
Now, for the last procedure on this step, let’s add a very strong and bright light. First, let’s create a new layer and then name it “Magic 6”. We will be using the same brush color that we used for “Magic 5”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and then input the following:
- Brush size: 900px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 100%
- Flow: 100%
Paint on the region shown below:
Now, the image should be similar to this image:
After that, select all the layers that we’ve create in this step and then press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group them. Name this group: “Magical Light”.
Step 6: Add the glow on the sorceress
In this step, we’re going to add the glow on the sorceress’s face produced by the Magical Light on her hand. To start, let us first create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) over all the layers that we’ve created. When the new layer box is open, name it to “Glow 1”.
Now that this new layer is created, let us set up the brush color that we’re going to use. Activate the Color Picker by clicking on the Foreground box. When it opens, input the following:
- #: e2fbff
Take note that this will be the brush’s color for this whole step. Activate the Brush tool (B) and use the following settings:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 25%
- Flow: 100%
We’re first going to light up the eyes of the sorceress. Before you proceed, it is recommended that you zoom in to your image. The recommended value is 400%. You can set this up by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + (+) or by manually inputting the desired value on the Navigator window.
See image below:
Now that the image is zoomed in, you can now accurately paint. For more instructions, refer to the image below:
Once you’re done with that, let’s now proceed to the other eye.
The result when viewed at 25%:
Create another layer; after creation name it “Glow 2”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 25%
- Flow: 100%
The result of that should be similar to the image shown below:
Create a new layer and then name it “Glow 3”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and use the following settings:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 15%
- Flow: 100%
Refer to the image below for more instructions:
Next, create another layer and name it “Glow 4”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and then input the following:
- Brush size: 500px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 15%
- Flow: 100%
For the final layer, we will be making the pendant on her necklace glow. Name this layer: “Glow 5”. Have your Brush tool (B) ready and then input the following settings:
- Brush size: 10px
- Hardness: 0%
- Opacity: 100%
- Flow: 100%
Before you proceed, it would be recommended to zoom at a level of 400% to be accurate. Use your brush on the region shown on the image below:
When you’re done, right click on the “Glow 5” layer and click on Blending Options. Once that is up, click on the Outer Glow tick box and click again on the Outer Glow word to bring up its menu. When the menu is up, input the following:
- Structure: USE DEFAULT VALUES
- Elements
- Technique: Softer
- Spread: 0%
- Size: 54px
- Quality: USE DEFAULT VALUES
The result as seen from a zoom level of 25%:
When you’re done, group these layers and name the group: “Glow on sorceress”
Step 7: Create a Vignette
In this step, we will learn how to create a vignette which will help enhance the focus on our subject. To start, go to the Menu bar and click on File > New and use the same settings we used to create our canvas. (Refer to Step 1). Take note, the background contents should be: WHITE Once it has been created, go to Filter > Distort > Lens Correction. Find the tab Vignette and use these settings:
- Vignette amount: -100
- Midpoint: +50
Now that that’s done drag the vignette to our canvas using the Move tool (V) and put it on top of all the layers that we’ve created, and then set the following:
- Blending mode: Multiply
- Opacity to 100%
To set the blending mode, simply click on the drop-down menu beside the word “Normal” on the top part of the Layer window. The Opacity is located just beside that drop-down menu as well. See image below:
The unblended Vignette will look like this:
Once the blending mode is set to “Multiply” it would look like this:
Step 8: Retouch the image
In this step, we will be enhancing the feel and look of the image by retouching it. First, let’s start off by creating a Solid Color adjustment layer. To do that, click on the “Create New Fill/Adjustment layer” button located on the Layer window. See image below:
Once the Solid Color box opens, it would show the Color Picker box. Input the following on the “#” box.
- #: 000229
When you’re done, set the following:
- Blending mode: Exclusion
- Opacity: 40%
“INSERT step8b_solid_color_1.jpg”
Next, let’s create another Solid Color adjustment layer. This time, input the following color code:
- #: 754a27
When done, input the following:
- Blending mode: Soft Light
- Opacity: 40%
The image should now be similar to this:
Next, create another Solid Color adjustment layer, and input the following color code:
- #: ff7e00
Set the following:
- Blending mode: Soft Light
- Opacity: 10%
The image should be looking much warmer after applying that adjustment layer. Next, create a Photo Filter adjustment layer.
When the Photo Filter box opens, input the following:
- Filter: Warming Filter (81)
- Density: 25%
- Preserve Luminosity: Check
After that, create a Color Balance adjustment layer.
Input the following values:
- Color Levels: 0, -5, -5
- Tone Balance: Midtones
- Preserve Luminosity: Check
The image should now be similar to this:
Step 9: Give the image a radiant glow
Now, we will give the image a luminous effect to compliment the glowing orbs the sorceress is creating. To do that we will need to compress all layers or simply, flatten the image. To flatten the image, right click on any layer and then choose Flatten from the contextual menu.
Once it is flat, duplicate it (Ctrl/Cmd + J); click on the duplicated layer and then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Input the following:
- Radius: 16.0 pixels
After that, you’d see that your image is really blurry; so to make it glowing, change the Blending mode of the blurred (duplicated layer) to Lighten and set its opacity to 35%. The result should be like this.
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