PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 99
1
Select a cloud shape
Open your cloud picture and pick the Lasso Tool (L),
th en set Feather to 100px. Roughly draw around the
edge of the cloud you want to use. Keep the selection small
- brushes can be up to 5000x5000px in size, but such sizes
ar e cumbersome.
4
Add mist to the scene
Go to Layer>New>Layer and click OK. Now, pressD,
th en X to set white as the colour. In the Options barset
th e brush’s Flow to 10%. Paint mist onto the scene whereverit’s
needed, altering the brush’s Size to suit using the [ and ] keys.
Lowering Flow means you can build up the effect with eachpass.
2
Turn the cloudintoa Brush
Pr ess Ctrl+L to openLevelsanddragtheBlackand
White Input Level sliders inwards, and the Midtone slider
to the right to darken the cloud. Click OK, then press Ctrl+I to
invert the colours. Now go to Edit>Define Brush Preset, call it
Cloud Brush 1 and click OK. Close the image without saving.5
Control the Opacity and masking
Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All, then click on the
brush picker. Scroll to the top of the list, pick a regular,
Soft Round brush and paint 100% black into the mask anywhere
you want to hide the mist, like the hillside and subject here. In the
Layers palette, click on Opacity and lower it to around 20%.3
Control the brush
options to make it
more natural
Open the image you want to use
the cloud brush on and select the
Brush Tool (B). Then go to Window>
Brush Settings. In the Brush Settings
palette, first click on Shape Dynamics
and then increase the Size Jitter,
Minimum Diameter, Angle Jitter and
Roundness Jitter until the brush
looks less uniform. Now click on
Scattering and increase the Scatter
a little. Finally, click on Transfer and
set the Opacity Jitter and Flow Jitter
to maximum. You should now have
a brush that looks like smoke.
When you’re happy, click on the
New Brush icon at the bottom right
of the palette, choose a new name
for the brush, and click OK to save.