MacFormat UK – September 2019

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Scenic reflections APPLE SKILLS

SEPTEMBER 2019 | MACFORMAT | 45

HOW TO Add water to a landscape pic

1

Duplicate layer

Go to File > Open and browse to a landscape

shot. Click Open. Click on the Layers panel’s

tab. Choose Layer > Duplicate. Select the Move

tool [V]. Drag the shot up so that the subject

is near the top of the frame.

2

Flip layer vertically

In the Layers panel, click on the original

background layer at the bottom of the stack.

Click the padlock icon to unlock the layer.

Choose Arrange > Flip Vertical. Drag the flipped

layer downwards to create a reflection.

3

Mask the top layer

Click on the top layer’s thumbnail. Choose

Layer > New Mask layer. A white mask attaches

itself to the top layer. Grab the Paint Brush

tool. Click on the white mask. Spray black

strokes on the mask to hide the lower section.

4

Apply Zoom blur

Click on the bottom layer. Choose Filters >

Blur > Zoom Blur. Drag the Radius slider to

20.5px. Click to place a point on the water’s

horizon so that the pixels blur outwards,

creating depth and perspective. Click Apply.

5

Add a ripple

To selectively ripple sections of water

choose the Elliptical Marquee tool. Set Feather

to 25px to give the selection a soft edge. Draw

an elliptical selection. Choose Filter > Distort >

Ripple. Use a low Intensity value.

6

Lighten the water

Press ç+D to deselect the marquee.

Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layers >

Levels. Drag the Gamma slider left to lighten

the reflection layer which helps to differentiate

the colour and tones from the original image.

Genius tip!

Upgrade

The latest version of

Affinity Photo includes

the option to resize

thumbnails in the

Layers panel. This

makes it easier to

indentify a layer’s

contents at a glance.

Jargon buster

Use a layer mask to

reveal or hide part of a

layer. Paint black to hide

pixels on an attached

photo layer, or white to

reveal them. Press X to

toggle between a white

and a black tip.