White swan Learn how to create a whimsical multi-layer composition

Creating a custom background

Start by creating a new file 4925 x 2480 in size (300dpi) then fill the background with 10% grey. Next open the ‘Concrete.jpg’ image and drag it into the new file. Now transform the image with
cmd + T (Ctrl +T on a PC) and drag the corner (holding down ‘Shift’ will constrain the proportions) until it fills the whole area. Reduce the opacity to 40% by tapping ‘4’ on your keyboard when the Move tool is selected.

Adding a custom vignette

Now tap ‘B’ to select your Brush tool and choose a large soft round brush. Tap ‘1’ to set the opacity of  the brush to 10% and select black as your colour.  Now create a new layer and gradually build up the dark colour around the edges.

Build up the textures

Open up the “grunge5.jpg” file and rotate the image using Image > Image Rotation > 90º CCW. Now drag it into the project and transform the size to fill the canvas as before. Set the blend mode to ‘Soft Light’ and opacity to around 60%, then add a ‘Curves’ adjustment layer, making sure the layer is clipped to the grunge texture, and add a subtle ‘S Curve’.

Drawing in clouds

After you’ve downloaded and installed a selection of cloud brushes from qbrushes.net, select a few different brushes and, on a new overlay layer, paint them in white sparingly around the image. Add a mask then use a soft brush in black to mask out the hard edges of the cloud brushes so they blend smoothly. Finally add a ‘Hue/Saturation’ adjustment layer, set it to ‘Colourize’ and aim for a light green colour and a very low saturation (I found around five worked well).

Using the refine edge tool

Download the model from istockphoto.com and open the image (you can use any model if you wish). Use the pen tool to trace round the model as accurately as possible, this may take a bit of practice. Once the whole model is traced right click on top of the path and choose ‘Make Selection’ then create a new mask. Now from Select > Refine Mask you can use the refine mask brush tool to paint around the hair line to perfect the mask. This is a great tool in CS5 allowing  you to cut out detail that was previously hours of work.

Contrast & colour correction

Next go to the channels and duplicate the blue layer by right clicking and selecting ‘Duplicate Channel’. Now boost the brightness & contrast on the copy using a ‘Levels’ adjustment (cmd +L or Ctrl + L on a PC). Select the new adjusted layer, copy and paste it as a new layer over the original
image, set the blend mode to ‘Multiply’ and reduce the opacity to around half. Now add a ‘Selective Colour’ adjustment layer. I’ve reduced the black by -4 in the ‘Whites’ and reduced the Yellow and boosted the Cyan & Magenta in the ‘Blacks’ by 5-15%.

Final re-touches

Time to Dodge & Burn. Hold down ‘option’ (Alt on PC) and click the new layer icon on the bottom of the layers panel. This will bring up the new layer options. Set the mode to overlay and tick the ‘fill with 50%’ option. Now select the Burn tool, set the ‘Range’ to ‘Shadow’ and ‘Exposure’ to ‘10%’ and start painting on the shadow areas you want to enhance. Do the same with the Dodge tool, set to ‘Highlights’ and ‘10%’. Focus on the brighter areas like the whites of the eyes and the shine on the lips. Finally, add a new ‘Hue/Saturation’ adjustment layer and turn the saturation up. Now fill the layer mask with black and paint with white on the mask  to reveal the layer over the lips to bring out a bit of colour. Now add the model to  your background.

Adding the wings

Download a good wing image like the one from istockphoto.com used here. We have to isolate the wings, so go to channels and select the  blue layer only. Now go to Select > Colour Range and hit OK (sometimes you’ll have to play with the sampled colours) and add a mask. As in step 5, use the Refine Edge tool on the mask and go round the feathers to get a natural looking cut-out.

Colour correction

Now, to make the wings white we’ll use ‘Hue/Saturation’ and ‘Selective Colour’ adjustment layers. In ‘Hue/Saturation’ boost the ‘Lightness’ in the red and yellow channels while reducing the ‘Saturation’. Next play around with the ‘Blacks’, ‘Neutrals’ and ‘Whites’ in ‘Selective Colour’ to achieve a subtle green/blue hue. Now add the wing image to the background image, making sure the layer is below the model. Hit cmd + T (Ctrl + T on PC) to scale up the wing and move it into place.
Duplicate the wing (cmd + J) and move it into position on the other side.

Drawing in shadows

 First add some shadow by creating a new layer, set the blend mode to ‘Multiply’ and make sure its between the model and the wings layers. Hold ‘option’ (Alt on PC) and click between the new layer
and one of the wing layers to clip it to the wing layer, this will ensure the drawn shadow will only
show on the wings and not the background. Select a soft round brush, hold down ‘I’ and click a dark
area on the wings to select a shadow colour, then with a low opacity (10-15%) paint in some shadow
areas. Repeat this on both wings.

Feather elements

Download the feathers from cgtextures.com and repeats steps 8 and 9 to cut them out and adjust the colour. Using the lasso tool, cut & paste each feather to its own layer and move those to the main image. Hit cmd + T (Ctrl on PC) and rotate each feather so it’s horizontal. Use the ‘Puppet Warp’ to add more curve to any that you feel need it (if you’re on CS4 or earlier you can use the ‘Liquify’ filter to get the same effect).

Creating depth of field

Convert each feather to a ‘Smart Object’ from Layers > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object so that you can resize them without losing quality. Copy each feather then put the originals into a folder to keep safe and hide the folder. Now transform (cmd + T) and enlarge each feather then arrange them around the canvas. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and add a blur of around 10 pixels to make it seem as if they are in the foreground. Repeat the blur on each feather with the shortcut
cmd + F.

Arranging the composition

Think of the depth as having four layers: foreground, background, in focus in front of the model and in focus behind the model. Build up each layer by copying, re-sizing and arranging the feathers in front and behind the model. For the background feathers you should make them small, add a little blur and reduce the opacity a little so they appear far away.

The pop of colour

I’ll often add a pop of colour to bring some life to a picture like this and the pink feather is used in this case. I downloaded it from istockphoto.com however you can create a coloured feather from one that was in the previous step. Add a mask using ‘Colour Range’ as in step 8 and position it on the main picture. You could use a clipped ‘Hue/Saturation’ adjustment layer to change the colour if  you wish.

Final colour correction

The last step would be to bring the image together with an overall colour correction. Here I used the ellipse tool to draw a large oval along the top and bottom of the image, with a blue colour. Blur them using a heavy ‘Gaussian Blur’ from the filter menu and set the layer blending to ‘Screen’. Reduce the opacity to taste and if you want to go the extra step adjust the hue of one of the layers just a bit to add interest.