QUICK TIP
Mask specular and reflection layer passes
with grunge brushes to banish those obvious
CG highlights and create more natural and
weathered-looking surfaces.04
SET UP THE WORKSPACE
In both the plane groups, make sure the beauty pass is on the
bottom of each group and the passes are turned off. You want to start
with just the base render here. To give a bit more bleed to the image, go to
Image>Canvas Size and set the size at 5500 x 4000 pixels. Create a new
layer at the bottom of the stack and fill it with a sky blue. You can use this
to start working with the renders before developing the backplate.05
WORK WITH THE RENDER PASSES
The base render is very flat, so using the layers you’re going to try to make it
more dynamic. The first obvious step is to increase the contrast. To do this, add a
Curves adjustment layer. Opt/Alt-click between the layers to create a clipping mask so
it only affects the render. Set the Opacity of the Curves to 40%. You can also use the
reflection layer in Overlay mode set to 40% Opacity. This will give you a stronger blue
colour in the reflections.06
MORE DIFFUSE AND SPECULAR
The pass called Total Lighting is all the
diffuse lighting without any reflections or specular,
and can be used in Screen mode to add overall light
back into the image. Set at 25%, it brightens up the
render. You can also use the specular pass here to
increase the intensity of the highlights. Set it to
Linear Dodge at 40%. Create a mask and use a
brush with a splatter pattern to break up the
over-bright highlights for a grungier look.07
NOSE CONE HIGHLIGHT
Having render passes allows a lot of
flexibility in controlling the image after the
time-consuming render process. Here you can add
in a highlight on the nose cone to help communicate
the form better. Right now it’s quite flat, so you can
use the specular layer to create a strong highlight.
Duplicate the specular layer, set it to Screen mode at
100%, and add a Levels adjustment (0,1.0,100). This
will make the specular brighter without having to
add extra layers. Mask off the highlight to just the
cone using a splatter brush.08
ADD THE REFLECTION PASS
The reflection pass is a very powerful tool
for post-production and can have dramatic effects.
It’s best to have the reflections in the render slightly
lower than desired so you can have more control in
Photoshop. Set the layer mode to Screen at 60%. At
high altitudes, the light is very intense, so the
reflections would be very bright and blue. To increase
the reflection on the glass canopy, duplicate the layer
and set Opacity to 40%. Mask the layer to the glass.EXPERT BLENDING