How to Create an Out of This World, Medieval-Fantasy Themed Photo Manipulation

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to create an out of this world, medieval-fantasy themed photo-manipulation. Using a few images, and brushes, we're going to make a seamless image of a stormy night filled with dragons bathing a medieval ship in flames. We're going to learn how to create a storm, how to create realistic looking fire, how to create realistic waves from a ship and how to give it a fantastic color using Photoshop adjustment layers.

Preview of Final Results

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Out of This World, Medieval-Fantasy Themed Photo Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial

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Resources

• Stormy Sea - darkrose42 stock
• sky III - nestrstock
• Digea Rain Brushes - Jelena Jovovic Photoshop brushes
• Tall Ship PNG stock - Alegion-Stock
• Dragon T1P1 stock - Shoofly-Stock
• Flames Fire Photoshop Brushes - redheadstock
• Grungy Paper Texture v.5 - bashcorpo
• Canvas Texture White Paper - Enchantedgal-Stock
• Waves-Brushes-Sampler - FrozenStarRO

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Step 1: Create a New Image File

To start, let's create a new image file, go to the Menu bar and click File > New, and then input the following values on their respective fields:

• Width: 1920px
• Height: 1080px
• Resolution: 300pixels/inch
• Color Mode: RGB Color; 8 bit
• Background Contents: Transparent

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Step 2: Create the background

In this step, we will be creating the major element of our picture which is the stormy sea and the sky. To start, let's open the image "stormy sea" by darkrose42 stock. Once the image is open, activate the Rectangular Marquee tool by pressing M on your keyboard. See image below:

When you've activated it, click on an area on the edge of the image and drag a selection area (Rectangular Marquee) on the area shown below:

Once you've made the selection area, move the image to our canvas.
To do that, activate the Move tool by pressing V on your keyboard. Once you're done, the mouse pointer will change and a small cross will be added to the bottom-right part of the cursor.
When you see that change, left-click on the image using the Move tool and then drag the image within the selection area to our canvas.

Before we proceed with the next part, we will need to rename this layer to "Sea".
To rename a layer, simply double-click on the words: "layer 1" to prompt a text box to appear. Once that appears, you may now rename the layer.

Next, we're going to rotate this image for composition purposes. To do that, make sure that the "sea" layer is activated and then activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T). Once you've done that, you would see a box around the image with 9 squares on its edges. To rotate the image, follow the instructions as shown on the images below:

The result should be similar to the image below:

After that, click on the "Sea" layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and input the following:

• Brightness: -25
• Contrast: 0

The result will be similar to this image:

Now that that's done, let's now open "Sky III" by nestrstock.
Activate the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and select the sky. See image below:

When you're done, activate the Move tool (V) and drag the selected part of "Sky III" to our canvas. On the layer window, position this layer under the "sea" layer so that the "sea" layer would appear in front. Once done, rename the layer to "sky". See the image below:

Position the "sky" as shown on the image below:

The result is as follows:

After this, we will need to flip our "Sky" image horizontally for composition purposes. To flip an image horizontally, simply activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T) and right click on the canvas to bring up the contextual menu; pick Flip Horizontal.

The result:

For composition purposes, we will transform our sky layer so that the beautiful parts of the sky would be seen. To do that, select the "sky" layer once again and activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T) and follow the instructions shown on the image below:

After that, we're going to transform it once more, and again, for composition's sake. This time, we're going to resize the sky for the viewer to see bluest part of the sky and to make our image appear more minimal.
To start, click on the "sky" layer and then activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T). See more steps on the images below:

The result:

Once you're done with that, activate the Transform tool once again and rotate the image as seen below:

The result should be similar to this:

Now, we're going to create the light on the horizon. To start, let's create a new layer by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N on your keyboard. When the New Layer box opens, type: "Light 1" as its name. Next, position this layer between the "Sea" and "sky" layer. Once you've done that, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following settings:

• Brush size: 500px
• Hardness: 0%
• Opacity: 15%
• Flow: 100%
• #: fff9c7

To input those settings, first press B on your keyboard to activate the Brush tool (B) and input all the settings mentioned above on their respective places on the Options window (Shown below). See image below:

To input the value #: fff9c7, simply follow the instructions shown on the image below:

Now we're all set to paint in the light on the horizon. Click on the "Light 1" layer, activate your Brush tool (B) and then follow the steps on the images below:

The result should be similar to the following:

When you're done, select all the layers that you've created and the press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group the layers. You'd notice that a folder will be created; to see the layers, simply click on the drop-down button. Rename this Group to "Background".
Note: Renaming a group is similar to renaming a layer.

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Step 3: Add Rain

Now in this step, we will be adding rain to make the image look it is in the middle of a mighty storm. To do that, we will need to create a new layer first (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name this new layer: "Rain 1".
With that done, activate the Brush tool (B) and then open the Brush pack: "digea rain brushes" by Jelena Jovovic – before everything else, make sure that you have downloaded these brushes on the Photoshop Brushes directory (Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Brushes).
Now we will open the brushes. To do that, first right click on the canvas while the Brush tool (B) is activated and then click on the drop-down menu to show the advanced Brush's options. See image below:

Once you're done with that, we will Load the brushes from the directory where we saved it.

Now, upon clicking "Load Brushes" from the menu, it would prompt you to the Photoshop Brushes directory. Locate "digea rain brushes" and then press OK.
Once open, right-click on the canvas while the Brush tool (B) is activated and then pick the following brush:

Once loaded, use the following settings for the Brush tool (B).

• Brush size: 2500px
• Hardness: Default
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• #: ffffff

Now, let's paint the rain!

The result will be:

Now, because the wind on the sea is facing the West, we're going to flip the "Rain 1" layer to make it more realistic.
Activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T) while the "Rain 1" layer is activated. Right-click on the canvas to activate the contextual menu and click on Flip Horizontal.
The result will be as follows:

That much rain doesn't look like there is a storm, does it so we're going to add two more layers of rain. First, let's create the second layer. Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it "Rain 2". Activate the Brush tool (B) and make sure that the same brush is loaded and then input the following settings:

• Brush size: 2000px
• Hardness: Default
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• #: ffffff

The result:

Next, flip it horizontal again to make it appear like the image below:

Now that we're done with "Rain 2", let's now create "Rain 3". Create a new layer once again and name it "Rain 3" and then activate the Brush tool (B). This time, we're going to use another brush. See below:

Once that brush is ready, input the following settings for the Brush tool (B):

• Brush size: 2500px
• Hardness: Default
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• #: ffffff

Now, let's paint:

The result should be similar to this:

After that, select all the layers and group them. Name this group: "Rain".

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Step 4: Add the Ships

In this step, we will be adding the ships. To start, let's open "Ship 4" by Alegion Stock. ("Ship 4 is from the Tall ship PNG stock. You'd notice that this stock has a transparent background - this means that you could simply transfer this image to the canvas. Upon opening, just activate the Move tool (V) and drag that ship to our canvas.
Upon moving, create a group under all the "Rain" group and layers and on top of the "Background" layer and include the ship image into that group. See image below for instructions:

Rename this group to "Ship"
After that, rename the ship layer to "ship 1". Now that the ship has been moved to the canvas and renamed, let us now activate the transform tool to resize it. See image below:

When you're done, let's we will now edit the look of "ship 1". We're going to make it blend with the rest of the images to make it more realistic. To do that, first click on "ship 1" and then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and input the following:

• Brightness: +5
• Contrast: +3

After that, activate the Dodge Tool (O). To do that, follow the instructions on the image below:

When it's activated, input the following settings on the Options window:

• Brush size: 100px
• Hardness: 0%
• Range: Midtones
• Exposure: 25%

Now, we're ready to use the Dodge tool (O). See the image below as to where you're going to use the Dodge Tool (O).

When you're done, we're now going to edit "ship 1" to make it look like it really is on water.
Activate the Eraser tool by pressing (E) on your keyboard.

Once activated input the settings below on the Options Window:

• Brush size: 10px
• Hardness: 0%
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• Zoom level: 100%

For the Zoom level, simply go to the Navigator Window and adjust the zoom level. See image below:

Use the Eraser on the area shown below:

The result:

Step 5: Create the Ship's Lamp

Finally, let's add a little finishing move to the ship; because it is a stormy night, the ship should have a lighted lamp in the ship, right? So let's create one. To do that, first create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name this layer "Light for ship 1". Position this layer on top of "ship 1".
Next, activate the Brush tool (B) and then right click on the canvas. Once the menu is open, click on "Reset Brushes". See image below:

Next, activate the Brush tool (B) and then right click on the canvas. Once the menu is open, click on "Reset Brushes". See image below:

• Brush size: 40px
• Hardness: 0%
• Opacity: 60%
• Flow: 100%
• #: fffee8
• Zoom level: 50%

Now, to apply it:

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Step 6: Create the Waves

Now that we're done with the ship, let's now create the waves.
To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N); name it "wave 1" and position it below the ship layer. Next, activate the Brush tool (B) and then right click on the canvas; click on Load Brushes and then open "Waves Brushes Sampler". Once those brushes have been loaded, choose the following brush:

Input the following brush settings before proceeding to the next step:

• Brush size: 400px
• Hardness: Default
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• #: ffffff

See the image below as to where to apply the brush:

When you're done with that, activate the Transform tool and rotate the image as shown on the image below:

Now, we're going to erase some unwanted parts of "wave 1". Activate the Eraser tool (E) and input the following:

• Brush size: 50px
• Hardness:0%
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%

Now, reduce the Opacity of "wave 1". To do that, simply click on 100% beside the Opacity window and input 70%.

The image should now be similar to this:

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Step 7: Create the Dragon

Now in this step, we're going to add a menacing dragon. Before we begin, let's create a group on top of the "Ship" group. To do that, simply click on the "Ship" group and press the "Create New Group" button on the lower part of the Layer window. See image below:

Once you're done, open "Dragon Stock T1P1". This stock image is a PNG file so when it opens you'd see four dragons on a transparent background, which means you, can just select a dragon and move it to our canvas. Now, to begin, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). See image below:

Now, to select the dragon, use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to create a selection area around the dragon shown on the image below:

Once you've done that, activate the Move tool (V) and move the dragon to our canvas. After moving, rename it to "Dragon 1". Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to resize the dragon as shown on the image below:

After that, rotate the dragon using the Transform tool (Ctrl + T). See image below:

For the dragon to blend in with the rest of the images, we will now edit its Brightness/Contrast. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast while the "Dragon 1" layer is active. Input the following:

• Brightness: -30
• Contrast: -50

The result should be like this:

Step 8: Create the Dragon's Fiery-breath

With the dragons done, let us now create the flames from the mouth of "Dragon 1". To start, first create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) on top of the dragon layer and name it "fire 1". After that, activate the Brush tool (B) and load the SS-flames brush set (Flames Fire Photoshop Brushes). Once you have the brushes loaded, activate the Brush tool (B) again and choose the following brush:

Now, that your cursor has now changed to that brush, you may now input the following:

• Brush size: 400px
• Hardness: 0%
• Opacity: 100%
• Flow: 100%
• #: deec5e

Apply the brush on the position shown on the image below:

When you're done, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl + T) and rotate "fire 1" as shown on the image below:

The result:

Now, we're going to edit its Blending Style to give this fire a glow. To start, right click on the "fire 1" layer to open the contextual menu; once open, click on "Blending Options".

Once the Blending Options menu opens, input the following:
Blending Styles:

• Styles: Outer Gow
• Blend Mode: Lighten
• Opacity: 50%
• Noise: 0%
• #: ff6000

Elements:

• Technique: Softer
• Spread: 0%
• Size: 70px

• Quality: DEFAULT

See image below:

Now to amplify the light of the fire, create a new layer and name it: "Fire Light". Activate the Brush tool (B), right click on the canvas, click the drop-side button and click on Reset Brushes. Once you've reset it, input the following:

• Brush size: 600px
• Hardness: 0%
• Opacity: 25%
• Flow: 100%
• #: fffed7

Once you've done that, apply the brush on the region shown below:

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 9: Create the Vignette

In this step, we will learn how to create a vignette which will help enhance the focus on our subject/s.
To start, click on the "Rain" group which is the top most layer in the Layer window and then go to the Menu bar and click on File > New and use the same settings we used to create our canvas. (Refer to Step 1). (Clicking on the "Rain" group will automatically make the vignette on top of all the other layers).
Take note, the background contents should be: WHITE
Once it has been created, go to Filter > Distort > Lens Correction. Find the tab Vignette and use these settings:

• Vignette amount: -100
• Midpoint: +50

Now that that's done drag the vignette to our canvas using the Move tool (V) and put it on top of all the layers that we've created, and then set the following:

• Blending mode: Multiply
• Opacity to 50%

To set the blending mode, simply click on the drop-down menu beside the word "Normal" on the top part of the Layer window. The Opacity is located just beside that drop-down menu as well. See image below:

The unblended Vignette will look like this:

Once the blending mode is set to "Multiply" it would look like this:

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Step 10: Retouch the artwork

In this step, we will need to retouch the image to enhance the beauty of the image. To start, let's create a Solid Color adjustment layer from the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button located on the Layer Window.

When the Solid Color tab opens, it will show the Color Picker menu as well. So input the following:

• #: 00002d

Once you're done, click on this new solid color and change the following:

• Blending Mode: Exclusion
• Opacity: 50%

Next, create another Solid Color adjustment layer from the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button. Once it opens, input the following:

• #: 52341a

Change the following once done:

• Blending Mode: Soft Light
• Opacity: 40%

The image should now be similar to this:

Next, from the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button, click on Color Balance.

Once the Color Balance opens, input the following:

• Color Levels: -41, 0 , -28
• Tone Balance: Midtones
• Preserve Luminosity: Check

Next, create another Color Balance adjustment layer and input the following:

• Color Levels: +15, 0, 0
• Tone Balance: Shadows
• Preserve Luminosity: Check

Next, create another Color Balance adjustment layer again and input the following:

• Color Levels: 0, 0, -10
• Tone Balance: Highlights
• Preserve Luminosity: Check

Next, let's create a Gradient Map from the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button.

Once the Gradient Map menu opens, choose the following gradient:

Once you've pressed OK your image will turn into a Black and White image. We would need to change that; change the following:

• Blending Mode: Color
• Opacity: 60%

Once you're done with that, click the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button once again and create a Photo Filter adjustment layer.

When it opens, use the following filter:

• Filter: Warming Filter (85)
• Density: 25%
• Preserve Luminosity: Check

After that, create another Photo Filter adjustment layer and use the following filter:

• Filter: Warming Filter (LBA)
• Density: 25%
• Preserve Luminosity: Check

Next, let's edit the Brightness/Contrast of this whole image. Create a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer.

Once open, input the following:

• Brightness: +10
• Contrast: +15

Next, let's create another Solid Color adjustment layer and then input the following:

• #: ffe081

Change its Blending mode and Opacity to the following:

• Blending mode: Color
• Opacity: 20%

Next, create a Curves adjustment layer from the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button.

Once its open, input the following:

Create another Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer once again and input the following:

• B: 0
• C: +3

And finally, let's create another Gradient Map. Choose the Black and White Gradient and then change the following once you've pressed OK.

• Blending Mode: Luminosity
• Opacity: 80%

The image should now look like this:

Once you're done, right click on one of the layers and then click on Flatten Image.

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Step 11: Give the image a traditional painting-like appearance

In this step, we're going to give our image a traditional painting-like appearance. To start, open Canvas Texture White Paper. Next, activate the Move tool (V) then drag it on our canvas.
Once on our canvas, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and then resize the Canvas Texture White Paper to fit the canvas.
The result:

Once done transforming, set the Blending Mode and Opacity to the following:

• Blending Mode: Multiply
• Opacity: 70%

It should appear like this:

Next, open Grungy Paper Texture v.5 and then move it to our canvas using the Move tool (V). Once moved, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and then right click on the canvas to bring up the contextual menu. Once the menu is open, click on Rotate 90 CW.
The result will be like this:

Now resize Grungy Paper Texture v.5 to the size of our canvas.
The result:

When that's done, change the Blending Mode, Opacity and Fill to the following:

• Blending Mode: Hard Light
• Opacity: 30%
• Fill: 30%

The result should be similar to the following:

Now, what we're going to do with the duplicated layer is that we're going to make it look like a painting. To do that, go to Filter > Artistic > Water Color on the Menu bar; once done, input the following:

• Brush Detail: 5
• Shadow Intensity: 1
• Texture: 1

The image will now look like this:

Unfortunately, we do not want our image to look like that mess, so change the Opacity and Fill of this duplicated layer to the following:

• Opacity: 40%
• Fill: 40%

The result:

Next, click on our original layer (Flattened Image) and then duplicate this layer once again. Put this duplicated layer above all the layers that we created. Now, go to Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush on the Menu Bar and set the following values:

• Brush size: 2
• Brush Detail: 8
• Texture: 1

The result will be as follows:

Once again, this doesn't look right, so let's change the following:

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Final Results