Can you imagine what the creative and abstract side has the underwater world? This lesson will help you step by step add colors and breathe life into a simple stock image using photo manipulation techniques. You will learn how to create your own work of art from several images. These steps are simple and fairly easy to implement, do not be surprised at the technical simplicity of the seemingly difficult lesson.
Final result
Source materials:
Step 1
Before you begin, you need to visualize the concept that will form the basis of your composition, it is sort of like writing down the main points before writing the main report. Usually we start from the bottom layer, which is the background. The background used in the lesson can be downloaded from the link at the beginning of the lesson.
Always try to keep as high a resolution as possible. Because of this, you do not have to worry when resizing images.
Step 2
The next thing I’m going to do is to change the background a bit so that it fits in perfectly with our concept. What I want to do is to draw the observer’s attention to one object, this will be a C4D abstraction, which we will add later. It is clear that the fish that swims around and the burning eyes of the underwater inhabitants seem to distract the attention of the observer.
Therefore, we will remove some areas that may distract attention, while maintaining the background.
For simplicity, when deleting and processing areas, I will use the soft brush by default.
Result.
Step 3
Try to use a vector mask, with which you can easily undo the committed action in case of an error. Click the button (in the red circle) in the bottom toolbar to create a vector mask.
Next, on the vector mask, apply a standard black soft brush. In order to undo the committed action of the brush, simply switch the brush color to white and paint over the patch area. When working with a vector mask, make sure that the vector mask is active in order to apply the brushes on the vector mask and not on the layer itself (which contains your image). The vector mask is located to the right of the layer thumbnail. It’s okay that we act in the usual way that I usually use.
Step 4
Duplicate the layer (Ctrl + J), placing it below the main background. Shift the duplicate layer so as to combine both layers so that they appear as a single image.
Repeat step if necessary.
Step 5
Next, we will enhance the contrast of the background. You can use adjustment layers. Curves (Curve) or Levels (Levels) to enhance contrast, but for the sake of perfection, we will enhance the contrast manually
Choose a soft brush with a light yellow tint and paint over it in the upper right corner with a brush. Change the blending mode for this layer to Soft light (Soft Light) (for clarity, blending mode on the screenshot Normal (Normal). I want to emphasize that ‘the stream of light’ comes from above.
Repeat the action, but with a black brush. Change the blending mode for this layer to Soft light (Soft Light), layer opacity is 25%.
Step 6
Continue brightening on several separate layers until you are satisfied with the result. In most cases, use the blend mode. Soft light (soft light) and low opacity for most layers. Switch the brush color between white and different shades of yellow. It takes a little patience to do this, but it’s fun nonetheless.
Step 7
We darken with a soft black brush using the same technique.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 8
I always create the main focus before everything else, so I clearly know what to do in the next steps. We use abstraction C4D. Visit the deviantArt user’s page stinky666 at the link at the beginning of the lesson to download the free C4D abstract shape set. This user is one of some guys who download resources without requiring anything in return. In fact, his abstractions are present in most of my works.
In any case, we use this abstraction.
We will need a smaller version of the abstraction, but without first reducing the size. Remove the right side of the abstraction, then apply scaling, place the abstraction on the seabed. Turn clockwise slightly. In case you have difficulty turning, then press Ctrl + T to activate a free transformation. You can also change the size of the abstraction by pulling the squares at the corners of the image. To rotate, move the cursor beyond the outer edges of the image until a semicircular arrow appears. Just move the semicircular arrow with your mouse and you will see what I mean.
Do the same thing again, but this time, remove the left side of the abstraction. Place the second abstraction next to the first to reduce the gap between them. Change the blending mode for both layers to Hard light (Hard Light).
Step 9
In the next step, we will add my favorite abstractions. Be careful not to overdo it, try using just a small part of the abstraction instead of the whole image. Step by step, layer by layer.
I chose one of the abstractions with which we begin.
Great, isn’t it? Unfortunately, we use only a small part of the abstraction, the sphere. Scale, rotate, delete excess areas and change the blending mode to Hard light (Hard Light). The result is in the screenshot below.
You can try the distortion if you want, Filter – Distortion – Wave / Warp / etc. (Filter> Distort> Wave / Twirl / etc), but in this case, I did not use this filter. Position the created bubbles below the layers with the main abstractions. The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 10
Repeat the previous step. This time, I chose the next figure.
I used this abstraction twice using two layers. Removed unnecessary areas and changed the blending mode for both layers to Hard light (Hard Light).
Combining with what we have at the moment:
Step 11
Of course, we are not going to add some abstractions. In order for the work to be most interesting, it is necessary to use various resources. Since we create the underwater world, it would be appropriate to use images of bubbles / drops. Download the water bubbles from the link at the beginning of the lesson.
Place the bubble layer below the C4D shape layers. Change the blending mode for the bubble layer to Lightening (Screen), opacity 70%. It is clear that with the blend mode Lightening (Screen), water bubbles will become slightly brighter compared with a dark background and, accordingly, seem out of place. Mode Light replacement (Lighten), on the other hand, will seem too sharp. Well, since such a task, just increase the contrast. I immediately increased to 100.
Picture – Correction – Brightness / Contrast(Image> Adjustments> Brightness / Contrast).
Leave the sites that you like and delete the rest. Place the bubbles on both ends of the C4D shapes. The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 12
I don’t know whether you’re going to find it appropriate or not, but I think the image will look better. I used a vintage texture that can be downloaded from the link at the beginning of this tutorial.
Place the texture layer below the C4D shape layers. Change the blending mode for the texture layer to Overlap (Overlay). You need to reduce Brightness (Brightness) and strengthen Contrast (Contrast) several times until you get the result, as in the screenshot below. The procedure is the same as in the previous step.
Step 13
Download some Light Glare images from the link at the beginning of this lesson. I used this image.
Flip the image vertically and turn it clockwise slightly to create the perfect flow. Next, using a soft eraser, process the edges of the image so that the image does not seem as if it was just picked, cut and pasted. It is best to use a soft brush of large diameter, because it is more natural and creates a more gentle effect. Change the blending mode to Light replacement (Lighten), layer opacity 50%.
Result:
Step 14
Next, I want to create a bubble effect. There are several ways to create such an effect; you can search for photos with light effects on stock resources or use C4D shapes, etc. For our tutorial, I use a bubble image. If you do not know where to find these images, you can use this link. If you have a slow Internet, first download the Bubbles set.
The basic principle for image data is to replace the blend mode with Lightening (Screen) or Linear Dodge (Linear Dodge). You can add as many images as you like, until you get the desired result, however, for a change, I propose to reduce the area of images while increasing their number. Due to this, the overall picture will be more harmonious and will look less like just cut and glued
Therefore, I started with this image (007):
Choose the best position to place. This step is quite difficult to explain, because basically, you will need a good artistic intuition. Position the image close to the focal point so that it is complete instead of piling up. If necessary, use the eraser to remove some areas.
The result is in the screenshot below:
Change the blending mode to Lightening (Screen), layer opacity is 100%. You should have it, as in the screenshot below.
Step 15
The same concept and technique of execution, but this time we use this image. (047)
Position.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), layer opacity is 100%.
Step 16
Next, image 049 from the Bubble set.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), the opacity of the layer is 80%.
Step 17
Next, image 023.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), layer opacity is 100%.
Step 18
Further, the image is 041. I am not against repetition, patience is a virtue.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), layer opacity is 100%.
Step 19
Image 001.
This time, I’m going to do a little color correction. Let’s go Image – Correction – Color Balance (Image> Adjustments> Color Balance) and apply the values that are shown in the screenshot below.
Blend mode Linear Dodge (Linear Dodge), layer opacity is 100%.
Step 20
I thought that the “flow of light” was not bright enough and dramatic. Perhaps he does not attract the eye of the observer, if we leave everything as it is. Therefore, choose a soft white brush with a hardness of 0% and paint it as shown in the screenshot below, then change the blending mode to Hard light (Hard Light), layer opacity 30%.
Create a new layer and repeat the previous step. This time, change the blending mode to Hard light (Hard Light), layer opacity is 35%.
Create another layer, blending mode for this layer set Hard light (Hard Light), layer opacity 20%. Do not be lazy, doing everything on one layer, because the more layers you add, the light of each layer will overlap, thus providing a more desirable result.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 21
I decided to give the image a more magical feeling, therefore, the best way is to add textures with light highlights, because they remind me of fairy dust. You can download a set of textures here if you do not have such textures.
I chose a texture with blue highlights.
Next, position the texture slightly above the main C4D abstractions. Then, remove about 1/3 of the texture. Still, too much texture is not very good.
Change the blending mode Linear Dodge (Linear Dodge).
Step 22
From the same set, select a texture with orange highlights.
Process in some places with an eraser, then turn a little to get a suitable angle of inclination.
Change the blending mode to Lightening (Screen).
You can guess that in this lesson, I change the blending mode after I transform and rotate the image a little. I do it this way because in this way it will be easier for you to understand and see the changes that I have applied. Although, in practice, it is much easier to first change the blending mode, and then use the eraser.
Step 23
Next, once again use the resources of Sanami276’s, select one of the textures with small particles, which we add to the flow of light.
But, I want our particles to sparkle, for this we apply inversion to the color by pressing the Ctrl + I keys or go Image – Correction – Inversion (Image> Adjustments> Invert).
Erase the texture by selecting the desired position.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), layer opacity 60%.
Now, do the same, but on the other hand.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), the opacity of the layer is 80%.
Step 24
I’m still not happy with the result. Therefore, this time, we will set up the brush and add the glitter manually. Select the default soft brush, and then apply the following settings.
Apply the brush in the direction as shown in the screenshot below.
After several attempts, you should have it, as in the screenshot below:
Step 25
Download the Light Glare from the link at the beginning of this lesson. Select the image shown below.
I am going to use this image to add a soft light effect. Rotate the image for a more suitable angle. You can apply a slight deformation to the image, so that it more ideally fits our background. Press Ctrl + T to activate the free transformation, then right-click on the document, and in the window that appears, select the option Deformation (Warp). Apply the deformation until you are satisfied with the result.
Blend mode Lightening (Screen), layer opacity 40%.
Step 26
Next, choose a hard brush, brush size 1 ~ 3px. Change the foreground color to white. In this tutorial, I used a 1px brush. Freely paint with a brush to fill the space that seems to be the most empty. I set the position of the brush at 45 degrees and just draw a brush back and forth. The main thing is that you brush each stroke quickly enough to avoid wavy lines. Then, change the blending mode to Normal (Normal), layer opacity 70%.
Step 27
We continue our lesson further, further, we use a very simple and widely applicable, nonetheless, useful pattern. Create a new document with the following settings.
Choose a tool Pencil 
(Pencil Tool) 1px, color – black. Then draw a line like in the screenshot below.
Fade the created pattern, let’s go Editing – Define a pattern (Edit> Define Pattern).
Go back to our document, select the tool. Oval area 
(Elliptical Marquee Tool), then create the shapes as shown in the screenshot below. While creating shapes, hold down the Shift key. Holding down the Shift key is used to create symmetry for the ellipse and helps to create an additional selection.
Without removing the selection, select the tool Fill 
(Bucket Tool) and select the option Pattern(Pattern) instead of option Main Colour(Foreground Color).
Next, fill the selection with the pattern you created earlier. Press Ctrl + I to invert black to white. The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 28
To complete the picture, we need to lighten some areas to improve the contrast. First, choose a soft white brush of relatively small size and with this brush, draw a few dots, as shown in the screenshot below. Change the blending mode for this layer to Soft light (Soft Light), layer opacity 40%.
Repeat the previous step, but this time use the color shade # fc5e73 and change the brush size several times. Change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay), layer opacity 80%.
# fcbfd4, blending mode Overlap (Overlay), layer opacity 50%.
# fce1e1, Overlap (Overlay), 40%.
# ebfaa2, Overlap (Overlay), 80%.
# fbf261, Overlap (Overlay), 65%.
# fff99c Hard shine(Hard Light), 60%.
# 9fff72 Hard shine(Hard Light), 80%.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 29
We have almost finished the lesson, but do not stop there. It remains to carry out the final color correction. Create Gradient map (gradient map), change the blending mode for this adjustment layer to Soft light (Soft Light), layer opacity 30%. I used pre-made gradients that I downloaded on DeviantArt. The color range for the gradient map is from # 280042 to # 654260 to # 846962.
Add another adjustment layer. Gradient map (gradient map), color range from # 671d19, # a44c40 to # ce865a. Change the blending mode for this adjustment layer to Soft light (Soft Light), layer opacity 10%.
Result:
Step 30
Create an adjustment layer Color Balance (Color Balance) with the following settings.
Step 31
If you wish, you can add a small text. And we finished the lesson!
Final result
