Chapter 15
In and Out of Photoshop
Sometimes we get locked into routines that keep us complacent and uninspired. To break free of visual monotony, try breaking free from your computer for a while. By beginning with photos in Photoshop, we can manipulate them to lend themselves to tracing. After printing them out, we can use traditional drawing techniques to create natural, personalized art. This artwork is then scanned back in and used alongside other elements as the basis for a stunning and original composition. Working this way is a breath of fresh air and provides a nice break from the usual routine.
Traditional thinkers are often under the misconception that the incorporation of tactile elements into digital art means they’ll be using scanned textures as backgrounds, or creating distressed, scratchy effects. This chapter will get you thinking beyond that. There’s so much more you can do when you incorporate the tactile into the middle of the workflow. A willingness to go in and out of the digital realm is required. And I think you’ll agree that not only is the process interesting, but also the results are a unique combination of both worlds, blurring the lines of distinction in-between.
You’ll need to have a bit of experience with shape layers and paths to make your way through the chapter with ease. All is explained, but a little know-how will make things less confusing. It is also beneficial to know your way around the Layers palette, the Tool Options bar, and understand how black and white is used within layer masks.
What you’ll learn in this chapter
Creative Techniques and Working Methods
Analysis and adjustment
You’ll learn to analyze images and adjust them in order to enhance the details. Your analysis will deviate from the analysis of photography in the classic sense. You are not concerned with the end product of each photographic image. The initial photography is merely seen as a means to an end. You will look for regions of detail that you can enhance via Adjustment tools and regardless of the color balance and tonal perfection of the final image, you’ll concentrate on creating something that you can use for the specific task of tracing traditionally.
Stripping things down
In addition to preparing images for tracing purposes, you’ll also learn to perform drastic adjustments to strip images down to the core, or essence, of the image. The result of this is a stark, black-and-white version of the photograph that clearly divides positive and negative space, removing anything in-between.
Photoshop Tools, Features, and Functions
Solid color layer masks
Many people work with solid color layers, but rarely do I see people editing the masks to realize their vision. In this chapter, editing the masks of solid color layers is the key to creating the main components within the image shown here.
Smart objects
Groups of layers will be stored within smart objects further along in the chapter. Because numerous instances of these objects are scattered around, the timesaving benefit of editing all instances of an object at once becomes invaluable.
Quick targeting
It may seem like a small thing, but the method of targeting layers by Control-clicking with the Move tool will help you navigate the clutter of the Layers palette with ease.
PART ONE: Start with photographs
1 When capturing the visual components of the illustration, there is no need for perfect lighting, focus, or exposure. The resulting images are for tracing purposes only, so your photography doesn’t need to be technically perfect. This skull was quickly photographed outdoors on an overcast day, which provided nice, even lighting.
Project files
All of the files needed to follow along with this chapter and create the featured image are available for download on the accompanying Web site in the project files section. Visit www.creativephotoshopthebook.com.
Skipping ahead
The first two parts of this chapter describe the process of preparing and creating art before entering Photoshop. If you aren’t interested in this aspect and just want to get busy creating the featured image, go ahead and skip forward to Part Three of this chapter.
2 The octopus and flower were photographed outdoors on the same day. The background of the image isn’t a concern at all because we’ll be tracing the subject only. The tree and hydro tower images will be incorporated as manipulated photos, not hand-drawn reproductions. Shooting these against a clear sky makes it easier to isolate them later on.
PART TWO: Adjust, print, trace, and scan
3 The next step, after photographing the image components, is to drastically alter the images that we’ll be tracing by hand. Open up the skull.jpg file. Choose Image>Adjustments>Black and White from the menu. The goal now is to enhance contrast while preserving detail. Choose the High Contrast Blue Filter preset from the Preset menu
4 Open up the flower.jpg. Again, use the black-and-white adjustment from the Image>Adjustments menu. This time, select the darker preset to begin with. Then, you’ll need to tweak individual sliders to enhance the contrast while preserving the detail. Repeat this process with the octopus.jpg image as well. The Blue Contrast preset does a sufficient job of converting the image to high contrast black and white, while preserving the necessary details.
5 Print each image as large as you can on a single sheet of paper. A black-and-white printout on cheap paper is fine. There is no need to waste color toner or inks on this part of the process. Take each printout and tape a translucent sheet on top of it. Something like tracing paper, onionskin paper, or drafting vellum will suffice. You may wish to use two or three sheets if the underlying image on the printout appears too prominent. It should serve as a guide, not a distraction as you draw.
6 Use a black marker or felt-tipped pen to trace the photograph. The goal when tracing is to create solid areas of black, alongside thick and thin line work, to represent the shading in the image. Keep in mind that although you are tracing, the way in which you approach the shading and create your line work will express your personal style.
7 Continue on in this manner until you’ve traced each printout. You may wish to use a combination of markers and felt-tipped pens to introduce lines of varying thickness. Take your time and ensure that you don’t overdo it when it comes to creating shaded areas. Areas of negative space must be present in your drawing to represent highlights.
8 Peel each sheet away from the printout it is taped to, and then carefully remove the tape. Scan each drawing at a resolution of at least 300 ppi in grayscale mode. Perform any tonal adjustments necessary to brighten the whites to 0% and darken the blacks to 100% gray. Use Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, or whatever feature you’re most comfortable with. Make sure that you have the Info palette visible. If it isn’t visible, choose Window>Info from the menu. Ensure that you check the density of the blacks and whites with the Eyedropper and pay attention to the readouts that appear in the info window. As shown here, my dark areas are 100% black.
PART THREE: Prepare the photographs
9 Open up the hydro.jpg file. Type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-L to open up levels. We are going to use levels to begin stripping midtones out of the image. Drag the left input levels sliders toward the center to darken the shadows. Next, drag the right input levels slider toward the middle to lighten the highlights. By increasing the range consumed by highlights and shadows, you are reducing the range of midtones, thereby effectively increasing the contrast.
Using selective color
Stripping color out of separate ranges selectively allows us to enhance the effect.
1 Choose Image>Adjustments>Selective Color from the menu. Choose cyans from the Colors menu and then strip all of the color out of the cyans by pulling all of the sliders to the far left. You’ll immediately notice the whitening of cyan areas in the image.
2 You’ll notice, however, that areas of darker blue in the image are unaffected. To remedy this, select blues from the Colors menu. Perform the same operation of dragging all of the sliders to the left. This will remove much of the lingering darker blue colors from the image.
3 Now choose the Neutrals option from the Colors menu. Go ahead and strip all of the cyan, magenta, and yellow out of the neutral areas using the same method. In the end, you’ll be left with what looks like black hydro towers set against a white sky. Click OK and leave the file open for the time being.
10 Open up the tree.jpg file and repeat the same procedure you used to strip color out of the hydro.jpg image. First use levels to increase the contrast, and then use selective color to strip color out of the sky so that all that remains is a black tree and horizon set against a white sky. Click OK and leave this file open as well.
11 Now open up the tree2.jpg file. Again, perform a levels adjustment first. Because of the exposure of this image, you won’t need to darken the shadows as much as you’ll need to increase the range of highlights. After applying the levels adjustment, launch selective color. Depending upon how you adjusted the levels, it is likely that with selective color you’ll need to concentrate on whites and neutrals only, stripping cyan, magenta, and yellow out of each. Click OK and leave this file open as well.
Varying results
Because we’re relying on an intuitive approach to performing levels adjustments, the results of these conversions will vary from person to person. What you do in the Levels dialog box will directly affect how selective color adjustments will be made. If you find that areas that should be dark are being stripped away when you perform selective color adjustments, use the History palette to go back to the state previous to your levels adjustment. Perform the levels adjustment again, but concentrate on creating darker shadows this time. Then perform your selective color adjustment and you’ll likely notice an improvement.
PART FOUR: Incorporating the altered photographs
12 Create a new file in Photoshop that is approximately 7.5 inches wide and 9.5 inches high, in CMYK mode, with a resolution of 300 ppi. This will act as your working file for the rest of the chapter. Click on the Foreground Color swatch in the toolbar to access the picker. Select a cool gray color from the picker and fill the background layer with it by typing Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-Delete on the keyboard. Create a new solid color layer from the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. When the picker appears, select a darker gray color and click OK.
13 Return to the newly converted hydro.jpg file. Type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-A to select all. Then type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-C to copy the selected image. Return to the working file. In the Layers palette, Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the solid color’s mask. This not only targets the mask in the Layers palette but also makes the contents visible. Right now, because no areas of the layer are masked, the contents of the mask are pure white. Type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-V to paste the copied hydro image into the visible mask.
14 Type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-T to access Free-Transform. When the bounding box appears around your selection, Shift-drag a corner point outward to increase the size proportionately. Drag within the box to reposition the art on the canvas. When you’re happy with the new size and position, press the Enter key to apply the transformation. Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer mask in the Layers palette to hide it. Now you can see the effect of editing the solid color layer’s mask. However, what we’re after is the inverse of what you see here. To invert the mask, simply ensure that it is targeted in the Layers palette (it doesn’t need to be visible, just targeted). You can either click the Invert button in the Masks palette or opt for the keyboard shortcut, which is Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-I.
15 Now, duplicate the layer by dragging it onto the Create a New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. With the duplicate layer’s mask targeted, type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-T to access Free-Transform again. When the bounding box surrounds the image, right-click(PC)/Control-click(Mac) inside of it. A pop-up menu will appear. Choose flip horizontal from the pop-up menu. After the flip is complete, press Enter to apply the transformation.
16 Select gradient from the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. Click on the arrow to the right of the gradient thumbnail to access the list of presets. Select the Black, White Linear Gradient preset from the list. Change the style to radial and enable the Reverse option. Click OK and then change the blending mode of this new gradient layer to overlay in the Layers palette. This will nicely enhance the silhouetted towers in the sky effect we’ve just created.
17 Create another solid color layer. This time, choose a darker gray than the one you used previously. Don’t be alarmed by the fact that it completely obscures your composition, we’ll remedy that soon enough. Return to the tree2.jpg file. Select all and copy. Now, go back to your working file and Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the new solid color layer’s mask in the Layers palette to make it visible. Paste your copied art into the visible mask. Use Free-Transform to alter the size and position of the pasted art so that it sits near the bottom right corner within the layer mask. Invert the mask by typing Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-I.
18 Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette to remove it from view and return to the normal workspace. Duplicate this layer, and then use Free-Transform to horizontally flip it. After you flip it horizontally, duplicate this newly duplicated layer. Select a foreground color from the picker that is darker and contains more blue than the current gray of the layer. Ensure that your newly duplicated layer is targeted in the Layers palette (not the mask, but the layer itself), and then type Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-Delete to replace the fill color of the layer. Target the layer’s mask in the Layers palette and use Free-Transform to increase the size, considerably stretching the layer to the right and downward. Do not allow the left edge to move toward the right, or you’ll see an unmasked region creep into the canvas area. Apply the transformation.
Returning to the workspace
You already know that when you’re working on a visible mask, you can Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on its thumbnail to return to the normal workspace. However, you can also achieve this by simply clicking on any layer thumbnail in the Layers palette. However, do not click on another mask thumbnail, or it won’t work. It must be a layer thumbnail.
19 Duplicate this layer also and then flip it horizontally via Free-Transform. You’ll notice that you’ll need to click inside the bounding box and Shift-drag to the left to properly position the flipped contents on the layer mask on the canvas area. This is due to the fact that the mask contents were stretched beyond the edge of the canvas. Apply the transformation, then target both of these new, darker blue layers in the Layers palette and group them by typing Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-G. Name the group and then group the other two, lighter gray layers that contain the same tree. After that, group the gradient and fill layers that reside below the two groups you just created.
20 Create a new solid color layer. Specify a deep red fill color when the picker appears and then drag it beneath the top group in the Layers palette. Return to the tree.jpg file and copy it. Now, return to the working file and Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the new solid color layer’s mask to make it visible. Paste the copied tree image into the mask and then use Free-Transform to proportionately increase the size of the tree and position it centrally within the mask. After you apply the transformation, invert the image within the mask and then hide the visible mask by Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-clicking on it in the Layers palette.
PART FIVE: Incorporate the scanned drawings
21 Duplicate the red tree layer and flip the duplicated layer horizontally. Group these two red tree layers and name the group. As of now, we’re moving on from photographs to drawings. From here on, I’ll be referring to the drawings that are available for download by their file names. However, if you created drawings of your own, simply substitute them as necessary as we make our way through the chapter. Open up the flower sketch.jpg file. Copy the artwork. Return to the working file and use the Eyedropper to click on one of the lighter gray trees in the image, setting the current foreground color to that color. Create a new solid color layer. Adjust nothing in the picker and simply click OK. Make the layer’s mask visible and then paste the copied flower into it. Use Free-Transform to reduce the size of the flower and position it in the upper left.
22 Invert the mask and then Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on its thumbnail to return to the normal workspace. Select the Move tool. Hold down the Alt(PC)/Option(Mac) key and then click on the flower on the canvas. Drag while continuing to hold down the Alt(PC)/Option(Mac) key to create a duplicate of the flower layer in a different region on the canvas. Repeat this process a couple more times until you have a number of gray flowers scattered across the top of the image. Create another duplicate layer and double-click on the solid color layer icon in the Layers palette to open the picker. Select a lighter gray fill color and click OK. Change the blending mode of the layer to screen and reduce the opacity to 59%.
Seldon Hunt
My inspiration for this style of artwork, especially for the incomplete state of the illustration on this particular page, is the work of Seldon Hunt. His otherworldly digital Rorschach tests have always proved compelling and inspiring. So take a look at the state of the image on this page because after this page it will begin to look a little more like my own again as I add the main visual components. Remember that Rorschach effect, then head over to his Web site and see how it’s really done. Visit www.seldonhunt.com
23 Use this same method to Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-drag with the Move tool to make numerous copies of the layer throughout the top of the canvas. Target the layer masks for individual layers and use Free-Transform to resize the contents of the mask as you see fit. This will likely result in a lot of flower layers in the Layers palette. Target all of them and then type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-G to group them.
24 Open up the octo-sketch.jpg file. Select all and copy. Return to the working file and create a new solid color layer. Choose a light yellow color from the picker and click OK. Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask thumbnail to target it and make it visible. Paste the copied art into the visible mask. Use Free-Transform to resize it and position it quite low on the canvas area, just to the left of the center. Invert the mask and then Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on it again to return to the normal workspace.
25 Duplicate the current layer and then target the original, not the duplicate, in the Layers palette. Double-click the layer’s thumbnail to access the picker. When the picker appears, move the mouse over an area of red trees in the image window and click to select that color. Click OK to change the fill color of the layer. You won’t notice it immediately in the image window because your duplicate layer is still sitting directly on top of it, but you’ll notice the change in the Layers palette. Target the layer’s mask and type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-I to invert the mask. You’ll see the effects immediately as all of the visible areas of the underlying image are covered with red.
26 Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask thumbnail to make it visible. Select the Magic Wand tool and in the Tool Options bar, ensure that the Contiguous option is enabled. Leave the tolerance set at its default value of 32 and use the Wand to click on the white area surrounding the tentacles. Once the area is selected, choose Select>Modify>Expand from the menu and expand the selection by 1 pixel. If your current background color is not set to black, press the “d” key. After expanding, type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-Delete to fill the area with black. Type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-D to deactivate the selection and then Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask thumbnail again to hide it.
27 Target both tentacles layers and group them. Duplicate the group the same way that you would duplicate a layer. With the duplicate group targeted, flip it horizontally via Free-Transform. Select the Move tool. Use the Move tool to right-click(PC)/Control-click(Mac) on one of the larger flowers at the top of the canvas. A pop-up menu will appear. The menu will list every layer in the file that has content in the area of the canvas that you just clicked on. We want to select the flower layer from the list. Although we didn’t name it, it is easy to pick out from the contents of the list. We know that it is a solid color layer and it is a copy, so both of those details will be contained in the name of the layer. Select the appropriate layer from the list and you’ll notice that the layer is targeted in the Layers palette. The group that it resides within will expand to show it.
28 In the Layers palette, Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the targeted layer’s thumbnail and drag it upward in the Layers palette to the top of the stack. When you see a dark horizontal line appear above the top group, it is safe to release the mouse button. A copy of your layer will appear. The black line indicates the copied layer’s destination, so watch for it carefully. If you don’t pay attention to the destination it might end up nested within a group. Increase the opacity of the copied layer to 100% and change the blending mode to normal. Double-click on the layer’s thumbnail to access the picker. When the picker appears, move the mouse over a red region of the canvas and click. When the red color is sampled, click OK. Use the Move tool to reposition the flower to the center of the canvas, just above where the tentacles cross over each other.
Targeting layers
Using the Move tool to right-click(PC)/Control-click(Mac) on layers and select them from the pop-up menu is quick and easy. However, you don’t need to select the Move tool before you do this. While using any tool, you can access this pop-up menu by holding down the Control(PC)/Command(Mac) key while you right-click(PC)/Control-click(Mac) on an area of the canvas. Introducing the Control(PC)/Command(Mac) key temporarily switches your current tool to the Move tool.
29 In the Layers palette, Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the flower layer and drag just below it in the Layers palette to copy it. You’ll see that familiar dark horizontal line appearing directly below your layer. When the line appears in this position, release the mouse button. A copy of your red flower layer is now directly beneath the original at the top of the Layers palette. Double-click the layer’s thumbnail to access the picker. Sample a light yellow color from within the image and click OK to change the layer’s fill color. Target the layer’s mask in the Layers palette and type Control(PC)/Command(Mac)-I to invert the mask. Again, this process of inverting the mask will hide underlying layers.
30 Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask to make it visible. Select the Magic Wand tool and use the same tool options settings that you used previously. Leave the tolerance set at 32 and ensure that the Contiguous option is enabled. Click on the white area surrounding the flower to select it. Choose Select>Modify>Expand from the menu and expand the selection by 1 pixel. Fill the expanded selection with black. Deselect and Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask to hide it.
Why expand?
You’ll notice that I am using black to fill selected areas within masks, hiding them as a result. You’ll also notice that before I fill each selection, I expand the selection slightly. This is an insurance policy against the appearance of a hairline edge at the end of the procedure. The wand selection doesn’t quite make it all the way into the black because of the anti-aliased edge where the black and white meet. If you don’t expand, there will be a very thin, light, halo between the pre-existing black and the newly filled area. The unwanted effect of this will be visible in the illustration. However, a simple expansion quickly prevents this from happening at all.
31 Group these two flower layers and then use the Rectangular Marquee to draw a small rectangular selection around the outside of the flower area. With this selection active, and your group targeted, click on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette. This will mask the area surrounding the flower. I know there is nothing visible here at the moment, but the logic for masking this group will reveal itself soon enough. Create copies of the group and strategically place flowers within the lower region of the canvas as shown here. Now, expand some of your duplicated flower groups and have a look at some of the yellow solid color layer masks. You will see that because we filled the selected outer area with black, there is an edge where the black fill ends. When you move that layer, the region on the outside of this area is white, meaning that the color would be visible. Masking the group ensures that this region is not visible.
32 Open up the skull-sketch.jpg file. Copy it and then create a new, black, solid color layer at the top of the stack in the Layers palette. Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask to make it visible. Paste the copied skull drawing into the visible layer mask. Deselect and then invert the mask so that the skull drawing becomes white and everything else becomes black. Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the layer’s mask to return to the normal workspace. With the layer mask targeted, enable Free-Transform. A bounding box will appear around the skull. Move the mouse outside of the bounding box and then click and drag to rotate the skull. Shift-drag the corners to adjust the size proportionately. Flip it horizontally and position it on the canvas as shown here.
33 Alt(PC)/Option(Mac) drag to create a copy of this layer below the original in the Layers palette. Change the fill color of the duplicate layer to the same light yellow that you see in the image in other areas. Target the layer’s mask and then invert it so that all of the visible areas on the underlying layers are hidden by the light yellow fill color. Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-click on the duplicate layer’s mask to make it visible. Use the wand to select the region that surrounds the skull. Shift-click in the empty white space between the two jaws to add it to the selection. Expand the selection and fill it with black. Deselect and return to the normal workspace.
PART SIX: Working with smart objects
34 Add both of the skull layers to a group. Draw a selection around the skull with the Rectangular Marquee tool. While the selection is active, click the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette to mask the group. Target the group in the Layers palette and then choose Layer>Smart Objects>Convert to Smart Object from the menu. Duplicate the smart object in the same way you would an ordinary layer. Make several duplicates and use Free-Transform to rotate, resize, reposition, and flip them as necessary. The goal is to create a small cluster of skulls that overlap the main area of the red trees.
35 The initial idea here was to give the skull a black outline to make it stand out within the composition. However, upon further reflection, this really just causes it to look disconnected from the rest of the image. To re-integrate the skulls into the image, double-click on one of the skull smart objects in the Layers palette. This opens a version of the smart object as a layered file, allowing you to edit the content. Expand the group in the Layers palette and ensure that you are floating the windows so that you can see red areas of your working file in the background.
36 Double-click the black solid color layer in the Layers palette. When the picker appears, move the mouse over a visible red area of the working file in behind the current window, and click to sample the color. Click OK to close the picker, making the skull outlines red instead of black. Close this window. Save changes when prompted. When you return to the working file, you’ll immediately notice that all instances of your smart object are updated to reflect the change. Now, although the translucent flowers at the top of the canvas add a nice effect, they obscure the tree branches at the top. To remedy this, duplicate the group that contains the red trees and place it just above the group that contains the translucent flowers in the Layers palette.
PART SEVEN: Juxtaposition via shape layers
37 Now that the composition is beginning to take shape, we can see that the hand-drawn art is taking prominence, giving the composition a very organic feel. Let’s add a bit of interest, introducing some juxtaposition in the overall feel by adding some sharp, vector-based elements. Select the Ellipse tool in the toolbar. In the Tool Options bar, ensure that the Ellipse tool is set to create paths and not shape layers by clicking on the button second from the left. Also ensure that the Add to Path Area option is enabled. Hold down the Shift key, then click and drag to draw a circular path at the bottom center, which extends below the bottom edge of the canvas.
38 Draw another, smaller circle inside of this one. Use the Path Selection tool to select the path and then click on the Subtract from Path Area button in the Tool Options bar. Hold down the Shift key and select the outer path as well. In the Tool Options bar, click on the Align Vertical Centers and the Align Horizontal Centers buttons to align the two paths. With both paths selected, hold down the Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-key and drag to copy both selected paths to another area of the canvas. Use Free-Transform to reduce the size of these paths and then, once reduced in size, copy them again.
39 Duplicate the newly reduced, copied, pair of paths again. Reduce them in size and place them so that they surround the center of the flower in the center of the image. Next, make a couple more reduced copies of the paths and place them on either side of this central pair, creating a nice cluster of circular paths. Press the “ U ” key to access the Ellipse tool. In the Tool Options bar, select the Custom Shape option. And then, in the Custom Shape Preset picker, choose the Flower 5 Shape preset. Hold down the Shift key, then click and drag to create a flower shape within one of the circular paths as shown here. You can use the Path Selection tool to adjust the placement of the new shape. Then, Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-drag the shape to the inside of the opposite circular path to copy it.
40 Target the top smart object in the Layers palette. Choose the Gradient Map option from the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. This will create a new gradient map layer at the top of the layer stack. Your current path will be used to add a vector mask to the layer. In the Adjustments palette, click on the gradient to access the gradient editor. In the gradient editor, click on the stop at the lower left to select it. Click on the Color swatch below to access the picker. When the picker appears, run the mouse over an area of dark gray-blue in the image and click to select that color. Press OK to exit the picker, and then click on the stop at the lower right. When the picker appears, choose a taupe color and click OK. Again, click OK to close the gradient editor.
Do your paths look different?
For the gradient map layer to appear as it does here, you must pay careful attention to path area operations. For instance, if you did not set an inner circle path to subtract, you might see a solid circle rather than a hoop. If you did something wrong, don’t worry about it. You can use the Path Selection tool to select any path with an incorrect path area setting and simply reset it in the Tool Options bar as necessary.
41 Now select the Stroke option from the Add a Layer Style menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. When the Stroke options appear, click on the Color swatch and then choose a white color from the picker. Set the size at 3 pixels and click OK to add a thin white stroke around the visible areas of your gradient map layer. Duplicate the layer and disable the visibility of the original layer in the Layers palette — this will avoid confusion. Ensure that your duplicate layer is targeted in the Layers palette, not the original. Use the Path Selection tool to select the flowers and all other path components except for those that make up the two central circles. Press the Delete key to remove all selected path components from this layer’s mask.
42 Select all of the remaining path components on the layer’s mask and then click on the Align Vertical Centers and the Align Horizontal Centers buttons in the Tool Options bar. Then drag all of the selected, aligned path components up to the top area of the canvas. Now, drag the current layer beneath all of the skull smart objects in the Layers palette. Enable the visibility of your original gradient map layer once again. Moving things up and down within the Layers palette is essential when it comes to building a composition like this. However, you need to pay attention to everything on the canvas as you do this. Remember, not too long ago, when we duplicated the red trees group and moved it up in the Layers hierarchy, one thing that went unnoticed as a result of this procedure was that it obscured the dark blue grass along the bottom of the canvas. To remedy this, select the dark trees group in the Layers palette and drag it above the red trees group copy.
43 Use the Eyedropper to click on an area of red within the image, sampling it as the current foreground color. Select the Ellipse tool from the toolbar. In the Tool Options bar, click the button at the left to ensure that you’ll be creating a shape layer with this tool. Target the top layer in the Layers palette to ensure that your new layer appears above it in the hierarchy. Hold down the Shift key, then click and drag to create a circular shape layer. You’ll immediately notice that the stroke effect we used previously is automatically added to the new layer as well. This saves us the trouble of copying the effect to our new layer. Hold down the Alt(PC)/Option(Mac) and Shift keys while you draw a smaller circle inside the original circle on this layer. Select both shape components with the Path Selection tool and then align the centers vertically in the Tool Options bar.
44 While the two shape components are selected, click on the Combine button in the Tool Options bar to combine them into a single shape. The advantage of this is that we can select the entire shape by clicking on any line segment. We don’t need to click on one component and then Shift-click on the other now that the components are combined. Use the Path Selection tool to click on the shape and then Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-drag it to another region of the canvas to duplicate it within the same shape layer. Repeat this a number of times to scatter red hoops around the top of the canvas. Select individual shape instances and alter the size of them via Free-Transform.
45 Select the Ellipse tool and ensure that it is set to create a new shape layer in the Tool Options bar. Create a new shape layer that contains a single circle. Position it within the center of the gradient map hoops at the top of the composition. Use the Eyedropper to sample a dark gray color from the image and then type Alt(PC)/Option(Mac)-Delete to fill the shape layer with the new foreground color.
46 Select the Custom Shape tool. Unless you’ve changed something since you used the tool last, the Flower 5 preset will be selected in the Custom Shape picker in the Tool Options bar. Ensure that the tool is set to create a new shape layer. The Chain-Link button will be enabled in the Tool Options bar; click on it to disable it. This ensures that any changes you make will affect your new layer, not the layer currently targeted in the Layers palette. Click on the Color swatch in the Tool Options bar and select a desaturated gray color from the picker. After that, click and drag on the canvas to create a new shape layer with a flower on it. Press the Shift key while you’re dragging to constrain the flower’s aspect ratio. Ensure that you do not press the Shift key before you drag or your flower shape will be added to the previous shape layer. We want this flower to be on a separate shape layer. Use the Move tool to place the flower on top of the circle you created previously. Use Free-Transform to adjust the size of the shape if necessary. In the Layers palette, double-click on the stroke effect attached to this layer. Change the stroke color to the same red you’ve been using in the image all along.
47 Create a couple of duplicates of your flower shape within the same layer. Place them lower down, and on either side of the central elements of the image. Select the Ellipse tool and create another new shape layer that contains a small circle. Change the color of this layer to the same light yellow color used within the skulls. Create numerous duplicates of this shape within the layer and scatter them around the top half of the canvas and on the background regions on either side of the skulls. Use Free-Transform to adjust the individual shapes as required.
48 Now, depending upon the colors you’ve been using, you may or may not feel that the image needs a bit of tonal enhancement. I thought that my version needed a slight tweak, so I created a new levels adjustment layer and dragged the left and right input levels sliders toward the center of the histogram. This increased the contrast a little overall, giving the image more impact when printed. Take a moment to organize the contents of the Layers palette into logical groups wherever you can. This file is constructed in a way that lends itself to further editing. Feel free to tweak color fills, gradient, or alter smart objects at will. A well-organized Layers palette will make it much easier to perform desired edits at a later date.
Other things to consider
If drawing isn’t your thing, there is certainly no end to the resources out there that lend themselves to this technique. In this image, I used an existing ancient anatomical drawing instead of creating my own skeleton. As you can see, the overall feel remains quite similar. Also, shape layers can be used to create main visual components. Here, I created some more elaborate shapes via the Pen tool to represent wings. And finally, solid color layers are very useful; however, if you alter the blending mode and then use a real-world material like a watercolor painting in behind, it can give the image a more organic feel.