A_P_I133_2015_

12

MASK OBJECTS

Refine your rough masks of the objects

using different brushes or the Pen tool. Don’t be too

precise though, only do it where it’s noticeable.

There is a trick to create a good mask for

complicated objects like the harvester. Make a new

layer above it, open the Layer Style window and

choose a vivid colour for the Color Overlay. Then

paint the harvester with different tools. Make a

selection from the layer, Cmd/Ctrl+Click on the layer

icon, and apply it as a Mask for the harvester.

11

MAKE THE POTATOES

In order to make the surface of the potato slice you’ll have to join two photos – the edge on the

front and the field in the background. Above all, add contrast to the frontal bushes to make it as close to

the background bushes as possible. Mask the group with the edge photo and remove part of the bushes

with a rough brush. The Rough Round Bristle from default Photoshop brushes works really well. Then

follow the annotated steps on the picture below.

13

IMPROVE THE MASKS

In order to make the masks of the objects

more natural-looking, let’s pay more attention to the

surface where they are placed. Remember, it’s grass,

so the shadows and the lower edges of the objects

cannot be absolutely smooth. To improve them just

grab a small hard brush and draw blades of grass on

the edges of the masks. Don’t forget about the top

edges of the shadows. They need some blades too!

10

TRANSFORM SOIL TEXTURES

At the moment you need to lay the soil

textures on the sides of the pie. Convert the

‘RockJagged0018’ and ‘SoilRough0067’ textures to

Smart Objects. Double the ‘SoilRough0067’ texture

for the long parts. Before using the Warp tool for

curving, use the Free Transform tool to move edges

of the Smart Object to the edges of a side. Don’t

forget about the perspective. Then use the Warp

tool to reach a proper shape. For the middle layer

just turn it into a pattern, Edit>Define Pattern,

Layer>New Fill Layer>Pattern.

09

REPLACE PREVIEWS WITH

()'(Ɏ2%3Ĉ0(/4/3

So your draft is finished. Check once more to make

sure that you don’t have any photos that look out of

place. Especially pay attention to perspective. It’s the

most important factor to reach a realistic look. The

second one is the light direction. You can improve it

slightly but changing it completely can be a really

hard task. If everything looks good, replace the

photos with high-res ones. Use the same masks

and adjustment layers.

STOP SKETCHING AND GO HIGHRES!

0,!#%ď()'(˶2%3ď0(/4/3ď!.$ď-!3+ď4(%-

001 DESATURATE THE SOIL

4UNEďTHEďSOILďCOLOURďWITHďADJUSTMENTďLAYERSď'ROUPďTHEMď-ASKďTHEďGROUPď

ANDďCLEARďTHEďBUSHESďWITHďAďROUGHďBLACKďBRUSH

002 END BUSH LINES

#OPYďTHEďMIDDLEďSOILďLAYERďTOďTHEďPOTATOďGROUPď#REATEďAďBLACKďMASKďONďITďANDď

DRAWďTHEďSOILďONďTHEďENDSďOFďTHEďLINESďWITHďAďROUGHďWHITEďBRUSH

003 ADD A BUSH

-AKEďAďCOPYďOFďTHEďPOTATOďFIELDďLAYERďANDďCUTďONEďOFďTHEďBUSHESďFROMďITď

4HENďPLACEďITďONďTHEďLEFTďSIDEďOFďTHEďPOTATOďSLICE

001

003

002

Especially pay attention

to perspective. It’s the

most important factor to

reach a realistic look