MAY 2005 MA XIMUMPC 6
How To
7
FAKE DEPTH OF FIELD Place a
duplicated layer above the original.
Gaussian Blur it and go to Layer, Remove
Layer Mask, Apply. Add a new mask. Draw
a horizontal black/white linear gradient on
the mask, so the layer starts off in focus
and blurs towards the feet.
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WING IT Copy the left wing from your
wing photograph and paste it into the
scene. Set the layer Blend mode to Screen.
Set the layer Fill mode to 80 percent. Add a
layer mask. Use a black brush to spray out
the parts of the wing that should be hidden
behind our fairy’s shoulder.9
FAIRY DUST Use the same
technique for the right wing.
To add a magical fairy sparkle to the
wings, open the Brush Preset Picker
and scroll down until you find the
Star Brush. Use various sizes of this
brush to add the stars to a new layer.10
ADD AN EDGE GLOW Right-click
the Kids layer mask. Choose Set
Selection to Layer Mask. Create a new layer
called “Glow.” Fill the selection white. Apply
a Gaussian Blur filter to the layer. Place the
Glow layer under the Kids layer. Erase the
glow where the children are on the book.
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WING GLOW Use the same
technique for the fairy wings. To
make the wings more ephemeral, place the
Wing Glow layers on top of the wings. Set
the Wing Glow layer blend modes to Soft
Light. Set the layer Fill modes to 55 percent.
GLOW EFFECT Add a
subtle glow to the magical
sparkle effect by duplicating
that layer and applying a
Gaussian Blur filter to it.SHADOWS You
might want to tweak
the opacity levels
of the Wing Glow
layers, or darken the
shadows for added
authenticity.12
ADDING MYSTICAL EFFECTS Any creative piece will need a bit
of fine-tuning before you’re ready to print the image. We’re going to
tweak the shadows, add a slight soft-focus effect (called Promist), and add a
glow to the sparkles. ■PROMIST EFFECT Flatten the image.
Duplicate the main layer. Apply a
Gaussian Blur to the copy and place it
above the original image. Set the layer
blend mode to Soft Light.