Post pobrano z: How to Create a Dark-Themed Fashion Image in Adobe Photoshop

Today we will be exploring the darker side of fashion by creating a latex-clad spider woman! We will create our own spider-web brush using simple shapes, create our own bead detailing from scratch, and use textures to add both depth and detail. 

Hopefully, you aren’t afraid of spiders because here we go!   

Tutorial Assets

Here are the resources we will be using: 

• Woman in Black Latex
• Round Wood Mirror Frame
• Dust and Hair Particles

Find more high-quality resources on Envato Elements!

1. How to Create a Dusty Background 

To start, we will be creating a background for our subject. A dark and dusty environment sounds fitting for a spider, don’t you think? 

Step 1

Let’s create a New 2287 x 3440 px Canvas.

Create a Color Fill Layer and fill it with a very dark blue #000308.

Place texture „07” from the Dust and Hair Particles texture pack so that it is flipped vertically and the exact size of our canvas. 

To increase the contrast, go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. Settings: Contrast: 63

Set the texture to Screen with a 73% Opacity. 

Step 2

Create a New Layer and set it to Overlay. 

Using a very large, soft round Brush, paint black on both the bottom and the left side of the canvas.

Create another New Layer and, with the same brush as before, paint white on the middle and top portion of the canvas. 

Step 3

To finish up the background, we are going to add some simplified spider webs. These aren’t our main spider webs, just some extra background detail, so don’t overthink them!

Create a New Layer.

Using a hard 1-2 px Brush, paint white strings coming from all four corners of the canvas, painting in a large „swooping” motion.  

Group all of the background layers together, naming it „Background.”

2. How to Add Our Subject to the Background

Next up, we are going to place our subject in its newly created environment! 

Step 1 

First, we are going to extract our subject, which is our Woman in Black Latex.

As the subject has no difficult cloth, clothing or hair to extract, feel free to use whichever method you prefer! I personally favor the Pen Tool. 

Resize and place the subject so that she is roughly in the same position as you see below, directly in the middle of our canvas.

Step 2

Add an Inner Shadow Layer Style to the subject. Settings:

Step 3

Now, we will be changing our subject’s lipstick to a dark black color. 

Create and clip a Black to White Gradient Map Layer into our subject. Click on the Layer Mask and hit Control-I to invert it, turning it black. 

Using a medium, hard round Brush, paint white over the top of the lips to mask back in the black and white gradient map. 

Step 4 

Create and clip a Brightness/Contrast Layer into the subject. Settings: Brightness -83 and Contrast 23.

Copy the gradient map’s layer mask onto the Brightness/Contrast Layer to darken the lips. 

Step 5

Now, let’s extract our Round Wood Mirror Frame. Again, use your preferred method! I used the Magic Wand Tool since the image is on a nice, crisp, white background.

Place the frame directly behind the subject.

Step 6

Create and clip a Gradient Map into the wooden frame. Settings:  

1. #000000
2. #1b1b1b

3. #2f2f2f

4. #a7a7a7

5. #ffffff

Step 7

Add an Inner Shadow Layer Style to the now black frame. Settings: 

Step 8

Group all of the main subject and frame layers together, naming it „Model”. We will be using this group to help make our shadows. 

Duplicate the „Model” group and Right-Click > Merge Group. 

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Settings: Lightness -100.

Add some blur to the shadow by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Settings: 50 px. 

Move and morph the shadow up and to the left using the Warp Mode in the Free Transform Tool.

3. How to Create a Moody, Dark Color Grading

Now on to the mood lighting! Usually, I would save this for the end, but the color change is so drastic in this image that I think it’s worth doing it sooner. 

Do note that this group of layers will always be above all other layers. All layers from here on out will be located under these five adjustment layers. 

1. Color Lookup Layer: (3dLUT) FoggyNight at 60% Opacity

2. Color Lookup Layer: (3dLUT) Moonlight at 47% Opacity. Blend If: Hold Alt to separate and move toggles.

3. Color Lookup Layer: (3dLUT) Kodak 5205 at 70%

4. Selective Color: (Reds) Cyan -100, Magenta +56 and Yellow +63 

5. Curves Layer:

Group all of the adjustment layers together and name the group „CC” or „Color Correction.”

4. How to Create a Spider-Web Brush in Photoshop 

Now, there are plenty of premade spider-web brushes and textures; however, they are so fun to paint by hand! So we are going to create our very own brush from scratch. 

Step 1

For the base of our brush, we will be creating a water droplet shape. Create a New 300 x 300 px Document. Make sure the background is white. 

Using the Ellipse Tool, create a black 45 x 45 px circle with an 80% Opacity and a 40% Fill.

Step 2

Add a black Inner Glow Layer Style. Settings:

Next, add a black Inner Shadow. Settings: 

Step 3

Create a New Layer above the circle. Using a small, soft round Brush, paint a crescent moon shape on the upper-left part of the circle. 

Merge the layers together and give the merged layer a very slight Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Settings: Amount 1 px.

That was just so our brush isn’t too sharp. Very few things in the world have a hard, crisp edge, so don’t be afraid to blur things a bit!

Crop the canvas down so that it is the exact size of our droplet. 

Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset, naming the brush „droplet.”

Step 4

Now that we have our brush made, we need to set up its settings. Open up the Brush panel and select our new brush. 

Open up the Brush Settings panel. Settings:

• Brush Tip Shape Spacing: 116%
• Shape Dynamics Size Jitter: 25% Transfer: Checked

Hit the Create New Brush button in the lower right-hand corner of the Brush Settings panel in order to save a new brush with these settings.

If we didn’t do this, we would have to redo the brush settings every time we selected this brush. 

Step 5

Finally, we get to use our brush! Create a New Layer below our „Model” group.

Select our new brush and set the Size to 15 px. However, keep in mind we will be changing the size as we paint our webs. 

Paint strands of white web in a swooping motion. If your lines are shaky, try increasing the brush’s Smoothing to 30–50%. This will help keep your lines steady. Just paint slowly if you are using a mouse.

Make some strands slightly thicker than others, and use a large, soft round Brush to erase some of the edges of the strands to create a tapering effect. 

Step 6

Create a New Layer and paint smaller webs towards the bottom of the subject and top of the frame. Make these strands less prominent than the ones around the head of the subject. 

Duplicate the web layers to increase their brightness. Just erase any part of the webs you don’t want to be brightened.  

Group all of the web layers together, naming the group „Webs.”

5. How to Design a Set of Abstract Spider Eyes

Next, we will be designing an abstract version of spider eyes with the use of self-made beads and a nifty face-painting technique that can be used in multiple different ways in any color you may need! 

Step 1

First, we will be adding a layer of face paint to our subject’s face. Create a New Group and add a Layer Mask to it. Name the group „Face Paint.”

Hit Control-I to Invert the mask.

Create a selection around the subject’s face similar to what you see below. I used the Pen Tool, but you can use whichever way you feel most comfortable with!

Step 2

Fill in the selection with white. Create a Black to White Gradient Map and place it into the group. The group’s mask will act as a layer mask for all adjustment layers that are placed within it. 

Step 3

Create a Brightness/Contrast Layer, also placing it into the group, above the gradient map. Settings: Brightness -116 and Contrast 65.

Create a Color Balance Layer, placing it above both the B/C and gradient map layers. Settings: Red +46, Green -25, Blue -34.

Using a soft round Brush, mask out the eyes, using the group mask. 

Step 4

Now, we will be creating our „spider eye” beads. Create a black circle using the Ellipse Tool. 

Step 5

Create a New Layer and clip it into the black circle. 

Using a small, soft round Brush with a 5% Flow, paint a white crescent moon shape onto the right side of the bead. 

Build up the white slowly and concentrate the white in the middle of the curve of the moon shape. 

Add a small white radial gradient shape, using a slightly bigger brush size, over the moon shape as well. 

Step 6

Duplicate the black circle and smush it down horizontally, bringing it to the bottom of our bead. 

Bring the Opacity down to 30% to create the bead’s shadow. 

Step 7

Group all three bead layers together into a group and name it „Bead.”

Duplicate the group and Right Click > Merge Group. 

Place the beads all over the upper face. You can do it similarly to how I have done it, or create your own pattern! 

Step 8

Place beads behind our subject, onto the spider webs, as well. 

Group all of the copied bead layers, of which there will be quite a few, naming the group „Beads Copies.”

Create some highlights using either an Overlay Layer or a Curves Adjustment Layer. 

6. Adding the Final Touches

We are in the final stretch! We just have a couple more dust and web details to add, bringing her dark and dusty environment to life. 

Step 1 

Place another copy of the „07” texture from the dust texture pack right below our „CC” group, again flipping it vertically.

Set the texture to Screen.

Step 2

Go to Filter > Blur > Shape Blur and set the settings to what you see below: 

Enlarge the texture so that the dust particles look closer and out of focus. 

Step 3

Using the Line Tool, create a few diagonal lines coming from the bottom-right corner of the canvas.

Make them slightly random, not perfectly side by side. 

Step 4

Add a Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Settings: -72 Angle and 85 Distance. 

This will give the lines a nice out-of-focus effect. Experiment with different blur filters! I tend to prefer a shape or motion blur to make objects look out of focus rather than a Gaussian blur, for instance.  

Group these two new layers together, naming the group „Details.”

We’ve Done It! 

Sometimes making our own resources seems daunting, but it can be as easy as combining some simple shapes and stringing them together! Learning how to use basic tools, instead of solely relying on premade resources, gives you the ability to create without restriction. 

It’s not about how many resources you have, but instead how well you know your base set of tools with which you can create those resources yourself. 

And as always, share your art down below, along with any comments or questions! 

Post pobrano z: How to Create a Minecraft Character in Affinity Designer

In today’s
tutorial, we’re going to embark on a creative journey into the land of
Minecraft and learn how to create a cute little character using Affinity
Designer’s handy Isometric Grid.

So assuming you’re a fan of the game, quickly get a coffee refill and
let’s jump straight into it!

Also, don’t forget you can always expand the
project by heading over to GraphicRiver where you’ll find a great selection of
vector pixel art.

1. How to Set Up a
New Project File

Assuming you
already have Affinity up and running, let’s set up a New Document by going to File
> New (or by using the Control-N
keyboard shortcut) which we will adjust as follows:

• Type:
  Web
• Document Units: Pixels
• Create artboard:
  checked
• Page Width:
  800 px
• Page Height:
  600 px
• DPI: 72

2. How to Set Up
an Isometric Grid

As soon as we’ve
created our document, we’ll want to set up a custom isometric grid, which will
provide visual guidance when it comes to drawing the shapes of our character.

Step 1

To do this, simply
go to View > Grids and Axis Manager,
where we will first enable the Show grid
option, and then uncheck the Use
automatic grid one so that we can set up a custom one as follows:

• Grid type: Isometric
• Spacing:
  16 px
• Divisions: 4 px

Step 2

Once the grid is all set up, we need to make sure that our shapes are
actually snapping to it, so go to View
> Snapping Manager (or use the little Magnet icon) where we will make sure it’s enabled, and then uncheck
all the options except the Snap to grid
one.

Normally, we would have the Force pixel alignment option enabled, but due to the angles of the
grid’s lines, our shapes will end up having comma-delimited values, which as
you know can’t snap to the Pixel Grid.

Step 3

As you can see, the resulting grid is made out of multiple 16 px tall rhombi, which have 4 subdivisions along each of their
sides (16 in total), which become
clearly visible once you zoom in on them. We are going to rely on them in the
process of defining the size of each and every shape, using the outer edges of
the rhombus as a Width measuring
unit, and its inner vertical height as a Height
measuring one.

To keep things simple, I’m going to use some
simple annotation where R= one edge/height of the larger rhombus,
and a small r= one edge/height of the
smaller division.

3. How to Create the Character’s Lower Body

As soon as we’ve created our custom isometric grid, we can start working on
the actual character, and we will do so by creating a blank version of its
entire body one section at a time.

Step 1

Using the Pen
Tool (P), draw the front section of the legs using a 6 x 4 R shape, which we will color using #596C7B and then position
as seen in the reference image.

Step 2

Add the side section of the legs using a 2 x 6 R shape, which we will color using #384C57 and then position
onto the right side of the previous one.

4. How to Create the Character’s Upper Body

Now that we have the main shapes of the legs, we can move up and start
working on the upper body, which we will create one shape at a time.

Step 1

Start by creating the torso using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the legs’ front section, which we will position above, making sure
to change its color to #E47145.

Step 2

With the torso in place, we can now start working on the character’s arms
and shoulders.

Create the main shape for the left arm using a 2 x 6 R rectangle, which we will color using #96693B and then position
next to the torso as seen in the reference image.

Step 3

Add the front section of the right hand using a
copy (Control-C > Control-V) of
the one that we’ve just finished working on, which we will position on the
opposite side of the torso.

Step 4

Create the side section using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the shape
that we’ve just created, which we will horizontally reflect (right click > Transform > Flip Horizontal),
and then position on its right side.

Step 5

Add the shoulders and upper section of the torso
using a single shape, which we will color using #E58047 and then position as
seen in the reference image. Once you’re done, make sure you select and group (Control-G) all of the upper body’s
composing shapes together before moving on to the next section.

5. How to Create
the Character’s Head

Since at this
point we pretty much have all the sections of the character’s body, we can move
up and focus on creating the main shapes for its head.

Step 1

Start by drawing the front section using a 4 x 4 R shape, which we will color using #96693B and then position
on the body as seen in the reference image.

Step 2

Add the side section using a copy (Control-C
> Control-V) of the shape that we’ve just created, which we will color
using #3E2815 and then position on the right side, making sure to
horizontally reflect it (right click
> Transform > Flip Horizontal).

Step 3

Finish off the head by drawing a 4
x 4 R shape which we will color using #6D4A2D and then position on top of
the two rectangles, as seen in the reference image. Once you’re done, select and
group all three shapes together using the Control-G
keyboard shortcut.

Quick tip: at this point, it would be a good idea to start
organizing our project by opening up the Layers
panel and naming the different sections that we’ve grouped, so that we can
more easily target and navigate the body parts of our character.

6. Adding Details
to the Character’s Head

Now that we have
the blank version of our character, we can begin adding details to it, and we
will do so from the head down.

Step 1

Draw the mouth using a 4 x 2 r shape,
which we will color using #BD9169 and then position towards the lower edge of
the head’s front section, as seen in the reference image.

Step 2

Create the left eye using two 2 x
4 r shapes (one colored using #FFFFFF and one using #3E2815), which we will
group (Control-G) and then position
on the upper-left section of the mouth, at a distance of just 1 r from its top edge.

Step 3

Add the right eye using a copy of the one that we’ve just grouped, which
we will position on the
opposite side of the mouth, making sure to flip their colors.

Step 4

With both eyes in place, we can quickly draw the hair segment (#4C341E)
using the reference image as our main guide. Take your time, and once you’re
done, move on to the next step.

Step 5

Finish detailing the current section by adding the little golden
earring using a 1 x 2 r shape, which
we will color using #E19B4F and then position on the side section of the
head, aligning it to the lower eye line. Once you’re done, select and group all
of the head’s details together (Control-G)
before moving on to the next section.

7. Adding Details
to the Character’s Upper Body

Now that we’ve
finished working on the head, we can shift our focus over to the character’s
body, where we will gradually start adding details to it.

Step 1

Create the front section of the left sleeve using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the arm’s
main shape, which we will then adjust by first changing its color to #E47145 and then cutting its height in half.

Step 2

Add the front section of the right sleeve using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the one
that we’ve just finished working on, which we will position on the opposite
side of the torso.

Step 3

Draw the lower section of the sleeve using the reference image as your
main guide, making sure to select and group (Control-G) the two shapes together once you’re done.

Step 4

Create the lower section of the right sleeve using the same
process used for the left one, making sure to select and group the resulting
shape and the front section together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 5

Create the right sleeve’s side section using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the arm,
which we will adjust by first setting its color to #C0512A and then shortening
its height from 6 R to 4 R.

Step 6

Add the neck cutout using the reference image as your main guide, making
sure to color the resulting shape using #96693B.

Step 7

Separate the front section of the head from the neck using an 8 x 2 r block, which we will color using #784A27
and position onto the cutout.

Step 8

With the Fill color set to #4C341E,
draw the front hair segments using the reference image as your main guide. Take
your time, and once you’re done, move on to the next step.

Step 9

Add the shoulder hair segments using #4C341E for the front section and
#3E2815 for the top one, making sure to select and group the two together
afterwards using the Control-G
keyboard shortcut.

Step 10

Draw the belt using a 16 x 2 r shape,
which we color using #343E4C and then position at a distance of 2 r from the bottom edge of the shirt’s
front section.

Step 11

Add the shirt’s bottom front details using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the ones that we’ve just created for
the sleeves, which we will position as seen in the reference image.

Step 12

Finish the detailing process of the current part of the
illustration by adding the side section of the shirt’s bottom, which we will
color using #C0512A. Once you’re done, create individual groups (Control-G) of the different sections,
positioning them within the main shapes with the help of the Layers panel.

8. Adding Details to the Character’s Lower Body

Now that we’ve finished adding the different details to the upper body,
we can shift our focus towards the legs and gradually add details to those as
well.

Step 1

Start by creating the side section of the boot,
using a copy (Control-C > Control-V)
of the underlying leg, which we will adjust by first setting its color to #152028 and then shortening its Height to
just 14 r.

Step 2

With the color set to #343E4C, draw the main
shape for the front section of the right foot’s boot using the reference image
as your main guide.

Step 3

Finish detailing the legs, and with them the illustration itself, by
adding the left boot using a copy (Control-C
> Control-V) of the one that we’ve just finished working on, which we
will position on the left side of the legs. Once you’re done, select and
group all of the details together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut, before hitting that save button.

9. A Little
Touching Up

At this point, you may have noticed that some of our
character’s neighboring shapes ended up having little white gaps between
them, which has to do with the way the software handles aliasing, which is a
problem that the people at Serif are aware of.

The official method of fixing this annoying
issue is to add duplicates of the shapes where this happens, which I’ve tested
out and seems to work. It’s not a perfect method, but it’s all we have
until we get a software update.

Great Job!

There you have it, fellow Minecraft lovers, a cute little character created using Affinity’s
powerful isometric grid.

As always, I hope
you’ve managed to follow each and every step and most importantly learned
something new and useful along the way.

That being said, if you have any questions, feel free to post them
in the comments section and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Post pobrano z: How to Create an Energy Effect Action in Adobe Photoshop

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an amazing energy
effect. I will explain everything in so much detail that everyone can
create it, even those who have just opened Photoshop for the first time. 

The effect shown above is the one I will show you how to create
in this tutorial. If you would like to create the even more advanced
energy effects shown below, using just a single click and in only a few
minutes, then check out my Energy Photoshop Action.

What You’ll Need

To recreate the design above, you will need the following resources:

• Stock Image

1. Let’s Get Started

First, open the photo that you want to work with. To open your photo, go to File > Open, choose your photo, and click Open. Now, before we get started, just check a couple of things:

1. Your photo should be in RGB Color mode, 8 Bits/Channel. To check this, go to Image > Mode.
2. For best results, your photo size should be 2000–4000 px wide/high. To check this, go to Image > Image Size.
3. Your photo should be the Background layer. If it is not, go to Layer > New > Background from Layer.

2. How to Select the Subject

Step 1

In this section, we are going to make a selection of our subject and then copy the subject to a separate layer. Choose the Quick Selection Tool (W) and select the background of the photo. Use the Shift-Alt buttons on your keyboard to add or subtract areas from the selection. After you’ve made a perfect selection, press Control-Shift-I on your keyboard to invert the selection.

Step 2

Now go to Select > Modify > Smooth and set the Sample Radius to 5 px. Then, go to Select > Modify > Contract and set Contract By to 2 px. After that, go to Select > Modify > Feather and set the Feather Radius to 2 px as shown below:

Step 3

Press Control-J on your keyboard to create a new layer using the selection, and name this layer Subject.

3. How to Create the Background

Step 1

In this section we are going to create the background. Select the Background layer, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color to create a new solid color fill layer, name it Background Color, and choose the color #000000 as shown below:

Step 2

Now go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Temp.

Step 3

Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches and go to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 4

Now press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate this layer. Then, go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the Angle to 50° as shown below:

Step 5

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Darken and press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate this layer. Then, go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal and then to Edit > Transform Flip Vertical to flip this layer both horizontally and vertically.

Step 6

Now Shift-click on the Temp layer to select all layers between and press Control-E on your keyboard to merge them into one layer. Then, press Control-J to duplicate this layer.

Step 7

Press Control-I on your keyboard to invert this layer. Then, press D to reset the swatches and go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds.

Step 8

Now press Control-I on your keyboard to invert this layer. Then, go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the Angle to 50° as shown below:

Step 9

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Multiply. Then, Control-click on the Temp copy 2 layer to select both layers at the same time and press Control-E on your keyboard to merge them into one layer.

Step 10

Now press Control-T on your keyboard to transform this layer and set the Width and Height to 200% as shown below:

Step 11

Now go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All to add a layer mask that hides the whole layer. Then, set the foreground color to #ffffff, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, and brush where you want texture to appear. Feel free to change the Hardness of the brush.

Step 12

Name this layer Background_Texture_1. Then, select the Background Color layer, go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer, and name it Background_Texture_2.

Step 13

Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches, and go to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 14

Now press Control-T on your keyboard to transform this layer and set the Width and Height to 200% as shown below:

Step 15

Now go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the Angle to 50° as shown below:

Step 16

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and enter the settings below:

Step 17

Now change the Opacity of this layer to 10%.

Step 18

Select the Background_Texture_1 layer, go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer, and name it Temp.

Step 19

Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches and go to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 20

Now press Control-T on your keyboard to transform this layer and set the Width and Height to 150% as shown below:

Step 21

Press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate this layer. Then, go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the Angle to 50°.

Step 22

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Screen. Then, Control-click on the Temp copy 2 layer to select both layers at the same time and press Control-E on your keyboard to merge them into one layer.

Step 23

Now go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All to add a layer mask that hides the whole layer. Then, set the foreground color to #ffffff, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, and brush where you want texture to appear. Feel free to change the Hardness of the brush.

Step 24

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Screen and set the Opacity to 50%. Then, name this layer Background Glow.

4. How to Blend the Subject

Step 1

In this section we are going to blend the subject more with the background. Select the Subject layer and Control-click on this layer thumbnail to make a selection of this layer. Then, go to Select > Modify > Contract and set the Contact By to 25 px. After that, go to Select > Modify > Feather and set the Feather Radius to 50 px as shown below:

Step 2

Now go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection to add a layer mask that reveals the selected area of the layer. Then, in the Properties panel, set the Density of the layer mask to 55% as shown below:

Step 3

Press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate this layer. Then, press Control-Shift-U to desaturate this layer, go to Filter > Other > High Pass, and set the Radius to 30 px.

Step 4

Now go to Image > Auto tone and then to Image > Auto Contrast to make auto-corrections of this layer tone and contrast. Then, go to Edit > Adjustments > Levels and enter the settings below:

Step 5

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Overlay and set the Opacity to 50%. Then, name this layer Subject Details.

Step 6

Control-click on the Subject layer to select both layers at the same time. Then, go to Layer > New > Group from Layers to create a new group from the selected layers and name it Main Subject.

Step 7

Now go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All to add a layer mask that reveals the whole layer group. Then, set the foreground color to #000000, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, and brush over the areas that are left from the background.

5. How to Create the Subject Glow

Step 1

In this section we are going to create the subject glow. Control-click on the Subject layer thumbnail to make a selection of this layer. Then, Control-Alt-Shift-click on the layer mask of the Main Subject layer group to intersect the selection. After that, go to Select > Modify > Contract and set Contract By to 10 px.

Step 2

Now press Control-Shift-I on your keyboard to invert the selection. Then, Control-Alt-Shift-click on the Subject layer thumbnail to intersect the selection. After that, Control-Alt-Shift-click on the layer mask of the Main Subject layer group to intersect the selection again.

Step 3

Select the Background layer and press Control-J on your keyboard to create a new layer using the selection. Then, drag this layer to the top of the layers in the Layers panel.

Step 4

Now go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 10 px as shown below:

Step 5

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Linear Dodge (Add) and set the Opacity to 70%. Then, name this layer Subject_Glow_1.

Step 6

Now Control-click on the Subject layer thumbnail to make a selection of this layer. Then, Control-Alt-Shift-click on the layer mask of the Main Subject layer to intersect the selection. After that, go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Temp.

Step 7

Set foreground color to #ffffff. Then, go to Edit > Fill and set Contents to Foreground Color, Mode to Normal, and Opacity to 100%.

Step 8

Now press Control-D on your keyboard to deselect. Then, press Control-J to duplicate this layer. After that, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 100 px.

Step 9

Name this layer Subject_Glow_2 and drag it just below the Main Subject layers group in the Layers panel.

Step 10

Now select the Temp layer, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and set the Radius to 100 px.

Step 11

Name this layer Subject_Glow_3 and drag it just below the Subject_Glow_2 layer in the Layers panel.

6. How to Make the Final Adjustments

Step 1

In this section we are going to make final adjustments to the design. Select the Subject_Glow_1 layer, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance to create a new color balance adjustment layer and name it Color_1.

Step 2

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and in the Properties panel enter the settings below:

Step 3

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves to create a new curves adjustment layer and name it Color_2. Then, drag this layer just below the Color_1 layer in the Layers panel.

Step 4

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and in the Properties panel enter the settings below:

Step 5

Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches. Then, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a new gradient map adjustment layer and name it Overall Contrast. After that, drag this layer to the top of the Layers panel.

Step 6

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light and set the Opacity to 10%.

Step 7

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to create a new hue/saturation adjustment layer and name it Overall Saturation.

Step 8

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and in the Properties panel set the Saturation to +7 as shown below:

Step 9

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels to create a new levels adjustment layer and name it Overall Brightness.

Step 10

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and in the Properties panel enter the settings below:

Step 11

Select the Subject layer, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to create a new hue/saturation adjustment layer and name it Subject_Color_Correction.

Step 12

Now press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask. Then, Double-click on this layer thumbnail and in the Properties panel, choose the Cyans preset color range, and set Hue to +55 and Saturation to -80 as shown below:

Step 13

Select the Overall Brightness layer, press Control-Alt-Shift-E on your keyboard to make a screenshot, and then press Control-Shift-U to desaturate this layer. Then, go to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the Radius to 2 px.

Step 14

Name this layer Overall Sharpening and change the Blending Mode of this layer to Vivid Light.

You Made It!

Congratulations, you have succeeded! Here is our final result:

If you would like to create the even more advanced
energy effects shown below, using just a single click and in only a few
minutes, then check out my Energy Photoshop Action.

The action works so you simply fill in your subject with a color and
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The action comes with a detailed video tutorial that demonstrates how to use the action and customize the results to get the most out of the effect.