QUICK TIP
For special effects like fire, smoke or splashes, using a stock photo is the fastest way to achieve a great
result. Don’t hesitate to experiment and try various photos and blending modes. At least you don’t need to
wait for a lengthy 3D rendering to be performed.21
MISSILE TRAIL
The missile also needs a trail. In this case
you need a photo. Go to a stock website and find
some photos of launching rockets, shuttles and so
on. Choose one or just get image ‘18769121’ from
iStock. Create a new group for it and place the file
into the scene. Rotate and transform the image,
checking it against the guides. Then remove the sky
from the photo using a mask and the Quick Selection
tool. Apply some adjustment layers to reconcile the
image with the scene.24
FINAL TOUCHES
Congratulations! Your action scene is now
complete. But there is one thing that you can
improve. The fighter is currently slightly too merged
with the landscape, but you can pull it out using
lighting. Create a new layer in Overlay mode beneath
the fighter and brighten the space in front of the
plane with a large soft white brush. Then darken the
space behind it with a black brush. At the end,
darken the corners of the scene with broad strokes.
Now it’s finished!20
FIGHTER TRAIL
Let’s add a motion effect on the illustration.
Unhide the guides and create a group beneath the
fighter. Name it ‘Fighter trail’. Create a new layer in
Normal mode and just draw trails using a soft black
brush. Check the direction against the guides! Then
create another layer and draw some trails using a
white brush. Change the mode of the group to
Overlay. It’s too intense, so set the Opacity of the
group at 30%. Create a mask and hide some parts of
the trail using a black brush.23
PARTICLES
In order to make the illustration more
dramatic, add some particles flying into the camera.
Go to CGTextures and download the first image from
‘Fireworks0008’. Open it and remove the background
using the Magic Wand tool. Place it into the scene.
Rotate and move it to the left-bottom corner using
the Transform tool. Create a Brightness/Contrast
layer and greatly reduce both the sliders with Use
Legacy checked. Use a Hue/Saturation layer to
desaturate them twice and change the colour.19
FOG
The fighter is flying through the mist, so let’s
add some fog on the wings to demonstrate this.
Create a group above the fighter and drag in the
same ‘Smoke0403’ image that you used for the
landscape. You even can use the same adjustment
layers. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T and place the fog on the right
wing. Duplicate it and place the copy on the other
wing. Then create a new layer and draw some small
pieces of fog on the shoulders of the plane using any
rough white brush.22
LIGHT EFFECTS
Let’s start with missile trail reflections. You
can use the same image but it’s quite pale, so go to
CGTextures and find image ‘Flames0002_M’. Lay it
on the top-right side of the cockpit scene in Screen
mode. Do the same for the helmet of the pilot. Also
add some yellow tones on the nose of the fighter.
Now let’s add a bright flare on the missile. Get the
supplied file ‘light-effect.png’ and place it into the
scene in Screen mode. Feel free to experiment with
it using adjustment layers.TRANSFORM 3D RENDERS