Elements

ELEMENTS

COMMON PROBLEMS IN

QA

+

CAN I USE WATERCOLOUR

TEXTURES IN MY WORK?

WHAT IS OUT OF BOUNDS, AND IS IT EASY

TO CREATE IN ELEMENTS?

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@PshopCreative

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PhotoshopCreative

Alternatively, you can email:

[email protected]

Watercolour textures are popular resources on the

internet, and are great for incorporating into your projects.

While you might want to use them as overlays for digital

art or incorporate them into compositions, they can be

central to creating beautiful textured artwork, too.

Start of with an image and then go to the Fill Layer

icon. Select Threshold to reduce the layer to just black

and white. With your image now being two colours,

drop in your watercolour textures; we’ve supplied some

on the FileSilo to use. Set these to a Screen or Lighten

blend mode and use the Levels adjustment to tweak the

contrast and exposure of the textures.

Finally, add a watercolour paper texture to the

background and set to the Multiply blend mode to add a

little more to the background. Play with the Gradient Map

and Brightness/Contrast adjustment layers to harmonise

the image further, bearing in mind that a stronger contrast

will make your image stand out more.

An out-of-bounds composition places some kind of screen or window in one

image, with elements breaking out of the screen and spilling into the scene. They’re

extremely fun to make and can really bring out your creativity.

Start with the supplied image of the bucolic, grassy scene, and cut out the iPad

to place into the image, before cutting out the screen of the iPad, too. Place the

beach scene within the iPad and then add the supplied sunrise stock image, using

Multiply to blend the two images together. Add some more sand and hit Mask; with

a sot brush, blend the sand falling out of the iPad and onto the grass.

Next, add the birds and the subject: you can cut the birds out with the Magic

Wand and the subject out with Quick Selection. Then, duplicate your original scene

and move it to the top of the layer stack. Hit Mask, then Invert (Cmd/Ctrl+I). Select

a white grass brush, and mask in the grass over the edge of the sand and the iPad.

Finish with a Lens Flare (Filter>Render>Lens Flare) and make adjustments if need

be, such as Hue/Saturation and Levels, using the Fill Layer icon.

PERFECT THE THRESHOLD

Use a black or white brush on your

Threshold layer to edit the contrast

of the image.

On the FileSilo

Download your free

resources at http://www.filesilo.

co.uk/photoshopcreative

PICK LOCATIONS WISELY

Use two scenes that have similar

horizons or elements, such as the

Before trees in this image.