USE CLIPPING MASKS CREATIVELY
11
MASK OTHER ELEMENTS
Repeat the previous step of applying a clipping mask to the
portion of hair in the layer behind the back of the head. You can either
adjust the stock image so both galaxy layers line up or you can choose
a darker portion of the stock image to give the illusion of depth within
the hair. Then, you’ll do the same thing to the bird silhouette folder and
the eyes. Clipping masks applied to a layer above a folder will clip to
the folder’s contents.10
CLIPPING MASK THE HAIR
Import one of the listed galaxy stock
images to your document. Place it above the
filled-in hair layer in the Layers panel. With the
galaxy layer selected, go to Layer>Create Clipping
Mask (Cmd/Ctrl+alt+G) to clip that layer to the one
below it. Now we have fantastic galaxy hair! Note
that you can use the Move tool to change what
portion of the galaxy image appears within the
boundaries of the hair so long as you’re only
moving the galaxy layer.09
MAKE CLOUDY HAIR
On a new layer, we’ll build the hair. Our subject’s hair is fluffy and cloud-like. In order to create it you’ll
need to overlap ellipses with the Ellipse tool. Hold down the Shift key while drawing your ellipses in order to
create a singular mass. Fill the shapes in with a bright, easy to see colour in the Properties panel.WORK UP THE COMPOSITION
ADD HAIR, BIRDS AND ASSORTED FANTASTICAL DETAILS TO THE DESIGN(^001) Use the Paint Bucket tool to change BIRDS STAND OUT
each bird silhouette’s colour to something bright and noticeable
against the black background
(^002) Add smaller ellipses around the hair BUBBLY HAIR
and birds so the hair looks bubbly and fantastical. Take advantage of
negative space
003 DRAWING
The hair behind the head, neck, and ears is on a new layer underneath the
rest of the design’s content
001
003
002
BEHIND THE HEAD
12
SHADE UNDER THE HAIR
On a new layer underneath the base hair layer, paint brown and dark brown to
give the illusion of the galaxy cloud casting a shadow onto our subject’s forehead. When
you reduce the Opacity of the brush to 40% and the Flow to 60% you can build up the value
slowly and use a softer brush to blend those shadows in together. Follow the direction of
the shadows we created earlier in the tutorial to remain consistent within our design.