Improve your masking skills
The Professional Photoshop Book 45
FINISH WITH MORE DETAILS
ADD COLOUR AND ATMOSPHERE TO PERFECT THE MAGEQUICK TIP
Adjustment layers are a great way to easily manipulate tones and colours on a
layer. Try out different adjustment layers as some are more convenient in tasks
like changing hue or editing a specific colour channel. All the adjustment layers
can be controlled by a layer mask, which makes it easier to edit the effect area.TIE COLOURS TOGETHER
To make objects more blended in the scene, Photoshop CS6 has a feature
called Oil Paint. To do that, open the file in CS6 and create a new layer and
merge all visible layers. Then select Filter>Oil Paint and play around with
the values but keep the shine at 0. Then select Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp
Mask at 120%. Adding noise can also help blend colours. Create a new
layer, fill it with black and select Filter>Noise>Add noise. Then set the blend
mode to Soft Edge and adjust opacity as needed.15
SET UP THE ATMOSPHERE
Create a new layer. Select a big soft brush with the colour #54ce81. Paint
on the left edge of the artwork. Change the blend mode to Screen. Create another
layer and paint a small glow. Change the blend mode to Linear Dodge. Create
another layer, use a smoke/cloud brush and paint on the left of the mage. Repeat
the step for the right side, but with the colour #767bb8. Group the layers and
place this above all the layers.16
ADD MORE DETAILS
Create a new layer. Create a circle using the Elliptical Marquee tool (M),
and then right-click>Stroke with values of 2px with white. Go into Layer
Style>Outer glow and then set blend mode to Color Dodge with the colour of
#9cff5a and Opacity at 35%. Duplicate the layer and place this inside the eye.
Create a new layer and paint the glow of the jewellery using a Screen blend mode
and a soft brush with the colour of #55cf82.17
FINAL TOUCHES
Create the Moon by filling a white circle using the Elliptical Marquee tool.
Duplicate the circle and invert it (Cmd/Ctrl+I). Overlap the black circle over the
white and merge them. Cut out the white part, and add a white Outer Glow to the
Layer Style. Create a new layer and merge all visible layers with Shift+Alt+Cmd/
Ctrl+E. Grab the Dodge tool (O) and paint on highlights to bring in more contrast.
After contrast, select the Burn tool (O) and paint shadow areas.18
MAKE FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS
Create a layer mask and paint with a black brush on skin and eye area.
Create a new Exposure adjustment layer with values at +0.28, -0.0010, 0.84.
Create a Brightness/contrast adjustment layer with values of 37, 0. Then create a
Selective Color adjustment layer. Under Red tab, set the values to 0, 0, +22%,
-52%. Under Yellow tab, set the yellow to +41% and black to +81%. Under Blue
tab, set the yellow to -54%. Under White tab, change the black to -24%. Under
Neutral tab, change the yellow to +2%. Under Black tab change the black to +2%.040-045 PPB 007 Master Masks Tutorial.indd 45 06/10/2015 16:02