01
ADD SOURCE FILES TO STACK
Before you begin, you need to download both the car and background files from the source disc and load them into a stack in Photoshop (File>Script>Load files into stack). Make sure the Car layer is over the Background layer. Once the car is overlaid, use the Pen tool to mask the car from its original background. 
02
ALIGN BOTH IMAGES
Angle the car to make it more dynamic. Again, the most important tool is your eye. Scale, align and use the Perspective tool to match it closely to the perspective of the road, but be careful not to distort it too much. Use Edit>Transform>Perspectiveto alter the perspective of the car to match the road
03
BRUSH IN THE SHADOW
the next step is to duplicate the Car layer and place it below, then title it ‘Shadow’. Invert the mask to reveal the shadow of the car and mask the areas you want to keep. You can also change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay to blend it nicely onto the road.
04
CLONING AND EXTENSION
Now you need to remove the cones on the road in the foreground. You can do this using the Clone Stamp tool. Over your Background layer, create a new blank layer. Enable your Clone Stamp tool and from the main Toolbar on the top, enable Current & Top. Now, using neighbouring areas of the road, remove the cones. In this case, as the car will cover the majority of the road, it does not have to be too precise. Do the same for the buildingsCLONING AND EXTENSION
05
ADD BLUR TO THE BACKGROUNDIt is now time to blur the road to give the image a sense of movement and speed. Since this is a linear movement, you can create this using Filter>Blur> Radial Blur. Use an Amount of about 5-10 based on the speed you want to portray. In this case use 7. Under the Blur Method options, enable Zoom, under the Quality options, use Best, and in Blur Center, match the centre of the grid to the horizon of the background
06
REFLECTIONS ON THE ROAD
You now need to create a reflection on the road, as you are creating a rainy scene, which will result in a reflective surface. What you need to do is make a copy of your Car layer and flip it vertically. Apply Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to give it a hazy feel and also reduce the Opacity to keep the intensity minimal. You can use a value of 3 in this case. You will also need to repeat this process for the background buildings
REFLECTIONS ON THE ROAD
You now need to create a reflection on the road, as you are creating a rainy scene, which will result in a reflective surface. What you need to do is make a copy of your Car layer and flip it vertically. Apply Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to give it a hazy feel and also reduce the Opacity to keep the intensity minimal. You can use a value of 3 in this case. You will also need to repeat this process for the background buildings
07
SMOKE
You will now add smoke behind the car for a dramatic effect – reason being that when a fast car comes into contact with tar, it generates a smoky effect. Look for free smoke images on Google and www.cgtextures.com. Find something against a darker background. Bring in the image and place it behind the car and surrounding areas of the wheels. Set it to Screen mode. This makes it transparent. If you see other artefacts, mask them out using the Brush tool
08
WATER SPLASH
Since this is going to be a rainy scene, you will need to add water splashes behind the car and surrounding areas of the wheels. Search for water splash images on www.cgtextures.com. Find something against a darker background. As in the previous step, bring in the image and place it behind the car and surrounding areas of the wheels, then set it to Screen. Mask out artefacts with the Brush.
QUICK TIP
If you want to add a blur, before applying, convert this layer to a Smart Filter and apply it. You will find this under Filter>Convert for Smart Filters. This technique allows you to click on the layer and amend the value.This is a non-destructive technique.
09
RAIN
Time to make it pour. To create the rain, add a new layer and fill it with black. Go to Filter>Noise> Add Noise. Set an Amount of 100, Gaussian Distribution and enable Monochromatic. Scale this layer to 300-400%, then add Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. In this case angle it at 70-85° so it is not completely straight and set an Amount between 100-150. Put this in Screen mode and add a Curves adjustment for some additional contrast.
Time to make it pour. To create the rain, add a new layer and fill it with black. Go to Filter>Noise> Add Noise. Set an Amount of 100, Gaussian Distribution and enable Monochromatic. Scale this layer to 300-400%, then add Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. In this case angle it at 70-85° so it is not completely straight and set an Amount between 100-150. Put this in Screen mode and add a Curves adjustment for some additional contrast.
10
DARKEN THE BACKGROUND
Now you need to grade the image. As you are creating a night scene, you will use adjustment layers that help to darken images. Use Curves for darkening the top and bottom section and also for contrast. Use Hue/Saturation for desaturation. In this case, reduce the Saturation to -5. Also use Exposure and Brightness/Contrast to darken the imagery. Use Color Balance to add blues. Keep the car bright by adding lightness with the Curves tool.
Now you need to grade the image. As you are creating a night scene, you will use adjustment layers that help to darken images. Use Curves for darkening the top and bottom section and also for contrast. Use Hue/Saturation for desaturation. In this case, reduce the Saturation to -5. Also use Exposure and Brightness/Contrast to darken the imagery. Use Color Balance to add blues. Keep the car bright by adding lightness with the Curves tool.
11
COLOUR LEAKS AND FLARES
To add colour leaks and flares, you will need to create a new layer and set it to Screen. Use bright colours such as red, orange, yellow and blue, then paint across areas of the image with varying brush opacities. In terms of placement for flares, you can use them to enhance the traffic lights, lights within the buildings, etc. Approach this effect by enhancing the lit areas and then start brushing across areas that could provide more dynamism to the shot.
COLOUR LEAKS AND FLARES
To add colour leaks and flares, you will need to create a new layer and set it to Screen. Use bright colours such as red, orange, yellow and blue, then paint across areas of the image with varying brush opacities. In terms of placement for flares, you can use them to enhance the traffic lights, lights within the buildings, etc. Approach this effect by enhancing the lit areas and then start brushing across areas that could provide more dynamism to the shot.
12
CAR LIGHT STREAKS
For creating car light streaks, search for free images on www.deviantart.com. Look for images that are on dark backgrounds, preferably black. Place the images behind the car and position them accordingly. Change the blend mode to Screen. Brush out any artefacts you do not require. In certain instances you will need to distort them and also apply a Gaussian Blur of value 1 to eliminate artefacts. You can change their colours with Hue/ Saturation depending on your choice. In this case you can leave it on white.
For creating car light streaks, search for free images on www.deviantart.com. Look for images that are on dark backgrounds, preferably black. Place the images behind the car and position them accordingly. Change the blend mode to Screen. Brush out any artefacts you do not require. In certain instances you will need to distort them and also apply a Gaussian Blur of value 1 to eliminate artefacts. You can change their colours with Hue/ Saturation depending on your choice. In this case you can leave it on white.
13
CONTRAST, GRADING AND SHAPE
This is where you will need to enhance the image to bring out colour, grit and dynamism using colour adjustments. These can be found in the Layers panel under the adjustment layers section. You can start with the Color Balance tool. Adjust the midtones by adding a value of -10 for Cyan, 5 for Green and 5 for Blue. Also add Photo Filter using Green and reduce the Opacity to 20% so it is subtle. Add a Curves layer with an increased contrast, which helps accentuate the texture.
14
SWITCH ON THE LIGHTS
Since you have converted a daytime shot into a night scene, it would be nice to add lights to the buildings on top to help add realism. Create a new layer and using the Lasso tool, draw the shape of a window the size of the one you would like to add lights to. Fill with white and change the blending mode to Overlay, then reduce the opacity to your liking, as it will vary for each. Apply Gaussian Blur of 2-3 to soften the edges.
SWITCH ON THE LIGHTS
Since you have converted a daytime shot into a night scene, it would be nice to add lights to the buildings on top to help add realism. Create a new layer and using the Lasso tool, draw the shape of a window the size of the one you would like to add lights to. Fill with white and change the blending mode to Overlay, then reduce the opacity to your liking, as it will vary for each. Apply Gaussian Blur of 2-3 to soften the edges.
15
SHARPENYou have almost reached the end of the tutorial. You will now need to sharpen your main subject in the image, which is the car. You will also need to merge all layers for this step. Go to Layer> Merge Visible. Apply Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask. Under Amount, use a value of 100. For Radius, use a value of 4 and a Threshold of 1. Watch how sharp the image is. Mask this layer and only brush in the areas of the car
16
HOTSPOTSTo give the car a glossy and shiny feel, you will now add hotspots. These are spots of light you generally find on the edges of objects or alongside them, depending on the angle of light that reflects on them. Create a new blank layer and using a soft brush, place them on areas around the car. Generally you can add 2-3 of these. You can also add a tint of colour using Hue/Saturation. In this case you can add a yellow tint
QUICK TIP
When brushing for masking or for adding colours, use varying brush opacities as it helps in the process of blending, just like an artist would with their brush strokes. It gives you more fluidity. Also, keep merging your files and layers along the way to reduce the file size.
When brushing for masking or for adding colours, use varying brush opacities as it helps in the process of blending, just like an artist would with their brush strokes. It gives you more fluidity. Also, keep merging your files and layers along the way to reduce the file size.
17
NOISEFor the last couple of steps, you will need to add some noise over the top of your image. The reason for adding it is to conceal certain artefacts and banding that may have been caused and generated in the image during the process of blending, grading and compositing assets. Create a blank layer. Fill it with 50% Gray. Set this layer to Overlay mode. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Add a value of 2-5 depending on how subtle you would like to keep it
18
VIGNETTE
VIGNETTE
Towards the end, add a vignette to pop the car from the rest of the image. Add a Curves adjustment, increase the darkness and mask it. Brush with varying opacities alongside the border of the image only to reveal the dark areas and leaving the car region untouched. You can also use Exposure and the Brightness/Contrast tool for creating vignettes, applying a similar principle of masking. If you feel the need to add a more tonal value, use the Color Balance tool as well.
COLOUR LEAKS
With regards to painting colour leaks, keep
painting with varying brush opacities and also
using soft brushes. Mixing colours with different
blending modes can create nice effects. If you are
trying to creating a sun burst effect, you can paint
a yellow spot for example and change its
blending mode to Color Dodge. It will look odd at
first, but then reduce the Opacity to around
10-20%. In certain cases, it tends to give nice
hotspots. This technique can also be adopted for
creating fog and haze, so long as you remember
to paint with softer brushes and varying opacities.
With regards to painting colour leaks, keep
painting with varying brush opacities and also
using soft brushes. Mixing colours with different
blending modes can create nice effects. If you are
trying to creating a sun burst effect, you can paint
a yellow spot for example and change its
blending mode to Color Dodge. It will look odd at
first, but then reduce the Opacity to around
10-20%. In certain cases, it tends to give nice
hotspots. This technique can also be adopted for
creating fog and haze, so long as you remember
to paint with softer brushes and varying opacities.
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