Mini Project : Layers and Masks
During the Mid-Semester break we were tasked with creating an image of our own using the techniques we had learnt in the Jumping Guy exercise.
I chose to create an image where I implanted the planet Saturn into image from the Earth to make it appear closer.
In the first image I am just taking a selection of the planet from a transparent png, this meant that I did not have to do too much in the way of complex selections.
After copying the image, I pasted it into my new project with the background. I duplicated the background layer and brought it above the Saturn layer, then I created a mask and painted black onto the areas where Saturn would show through. I also rotated Saturn to better suit the lighting direction.
From there I also implemented a bunch of Image Adjustments to the Saturn Layer so that it would suit the colour theme of the sky. This include playing with the Curves to make it Darker, editing the colour balance towards a more bluey colour, and also adding in a Photo Filter to further adjust the warm and cool tones.
After that I edited the mask on the Duplicated Foreground Layer using a mix of black, white to cut out the best shape that I could along the mountain range. Then for the clouds in the front, it was much trickier, I had to try and include them, but not the associated stars from the original picture. I had to do this because it would not make sense to have stars in front of the planet Saturn. To implement this I used a grey colour on the layer mask so that the opacity of the shown areas could be changed.
After completing the areas on the clouds and the top area of the image, I had to then add a reflection into the water.
To do this I made a copy of the Saturn Layer with all it’s adjustments, and cut off the bottom in a new project window. I cut it in half so that I did not have to create a mask for where the reflection would be.
Once added in I messed with the transform values with both warp and perspective transform the better represent a real reflection. I also used Curves to darken it much more, and then I edited the mask for the top Mountains layer to get the shape of Saturn matching the edge of the water.
This was a pretty fun project and I really liked how it turned out.
It was definitely challenging in some areas, but overall I found it pretty easy with the knowledge that I’d gained so far.
Current Software Skill Rating :
