The rst collage task will be

to combine the two glowing

burner images. To prevent
the layers from accidentally
moving, make each one active
and click the Lock Position
icon at the top of the Layers
palette. Next, click on the Eye
icon for the top layer (clock on
stove) to turn it off. Click on
STEP 2 Lock Layer Position; Add a Layer Mask
the middle layer (burner on) to
make it active, and then click
on the Add Layer Mask icon
at the bottom of the Layers
palette. This will add a white
layer mask to the middle layer.
White in a mask shows every-
thing on that layer.
The rst step is to bring the
three source images together
into one le as separate layers.
Well use the Stove-Burner-1
image (the one with the glow-
ing burner) as the base image.
Make the Stove-Burner-2 le
active, select the Move tool (V),
hold down the Shift key, and
drag that image on top of
STEP 1 Combine Source Files as Layers
Stove-Burner-1, releasing the
mouse button before the Shift
key. Its important to release
the mouse before the Shift key
in order for the images to be
properly aligned. Repeat that
process with the Stove-with-
Clock le. Double-click directly
on each layers name and give
them descriptive names.
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS
L A Y E R S M A G A Z I N E J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 48
Creating the Collage
Adobe
Photoshop CS2
Time to Burn
B Y S E N D U G G A N
With a photo collage thats preplanned, you have the ability to set things up and
shoot the images so that your Photoshop collage work will be easier than if you
were starting with photos that were taken at different times or different locations.
In the example for this tutorial, well be using three photos of a stove taken using
a tripod so that they all align perfectly. The rst shot is a clock on top of the burner. Next, the clock was
removed and the burner was turned on to record it red hot. Finally, the lights in the kitchen were turned
off to capture the intense heat glow from the burner. Along the way well cover several useful masking
and collage techniques, as well as explore some methods for adding burn damage and creating smoke.
[If youd like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, visit
www.layersmagazine.com/downloads.html.]
S
E

N

D
U
G
G
A
N

A
L
L

R
I
G
H
T
S

R
E
S
E
R
V
E
D
PSTutorJanFeb07.indd 2 12/11/06 3:54:40 PM
With the clock selection active,
click on the layer thumbnail
for the top layer to make the
actual clock photo the active
element. Press Command-J
(PC: Ctrl-J) to create a copy
of the clock on a new layer.
This xes the problem of the
clock edge being obscured by
the stove burner (you could
STEP 6 Copy the Clock to a New Layer
have also lled the selection
with white on the layer mask
of the clock on stove layer).
Double-click the layer name
and rename it to Clock, and
click the Lock Position icon for
this layer so it stays aligned in
the correct position.
Next, a selection of the clock
is needed to x the part where
the clock overlaps the burner.
You can do this either by using
the Elliptical Marquee tool
with a feather of 0 to select
the curved side of the clock,
or use the Pen tool (P) for the
greatest accuracy and exibility.
We chose the latter method to
STEP 5 Select the Clock
create a path of the clock. To
speed things up, Ive included
this saved path for you. To
load it as a selection, click on
the tab for the Paths palette
and Command-click (PC: Ctrl-
click) on the Clock path.
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS
Press D then X to set the Fore-
ground/ Background colors
to black and white. In the
Toolbox, select the Brush tool.
In the Options Bar, choose a
soft-edged brush of about 100
pixels, and set the Opacity to
50% and the Flow to 100%.
Click on the thumbnail for
the layer mask to be sure its
STEP 3 Modify the Layer Mask with the Brush Tool
active. Carefully paint over
the areas where you want to
show the glowing qualities of
the layer below: the burner,
the reected glow on the
tea kettle, the side and front
edge of the stove top, and the
indicator light on the front of
the stove.
We can use most of the stove
burner layer mask on the top
layer that contains the clock.
To copy the layer mask, click
on it to make it active, hold
down Option (PC: Alt), and
drag the layer mask up to the
clock on stove layer. Part of
the clock will be obscured;
well x that shortly. Click on
STEP 4 Copy the Stove Burner Layer Mask
the copied layer mask, and
make the stove and clock layer
visible. Use the Brush tool
to paint with black at 100%
Opacity over the burner area
to let all of the information
from the underlying layers
show through.
W W W . L A Y E R S M A G A Z I N E . C O M 49
PSTutorJanFeb07.indd 3 12/11/06 3:55:33 PM
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS
L A Y E R S M A G A Z I N E J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 50
Choose Layer>New>Layer
to add an empty layer to the
top of the layer stack. In the
New Layer dialog, name it
red glow, select Color in the
Mode pop-up menu, lower the
Opacity to 75%, and click OK.
With the Eyedropper tool (I),
sample some of the reddish
color under the burner coils.
STEP 10 Add a Reddish Glow
Select the Brush tool, set the
Opacity to 100%, and paint on
the empty layer on the side of
the clock near the burner coils.
Add a black layer mask as in
the previous step and paint
with white at lower opacities to
customize the glow effect.
Hold down the Option (PC: Alt)
key and click the Add Layer
Mask icon at the bottom of the
Layers palette to add a black
layer mask that completely
hides the texture layer. Press D
on the keyboard to set white
as the Foreground color. Select
the Brush tool in the Toolbox,
and in the Options Bar set
STEP 9 Mask the Heat Blistering Layer
the Opacity to 30%. Gradually
brush in the blistered texture
on the side of the clock. The
area closest to the edge of the
burner should show the most
blistering with it gradually
becoming less toward the top
edge of the clock.
Now lets turn up the heat
a bit on the stove. Click on
the bottom layer (the glowing
burner) to make it active.
Select the Lasso tool (L) and
in the Options Bar enter a
Feather value of 15 pixels.
Draw a loose selection around
the burner. Click the Create
New Adjustment Layer icon
STEP 7 Add a Curves Adjustment Layer for the Burner
at the bottom of the Layers
palette and choose Curves. In
the Curves dialog, drag down
substantially on the RGB curve,
drag slightly up on the Red
channel curve, and drag slightly
down on the Blue channel
curve (which adds yellow).
Click OK.
Now we get to play around
and imagine what might be
happening to the clock if it
really were resting on a hot
burner. Click back on the
Clock layer. With the Lasso
tool set to the same settings
as the previous step, create
a loose selection of the
left side of the clock. Press
STEP 8 Add Heat Blistering to the Clock
Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to
copy this up to a new layer.
Lock the layers position and
rename it heat blistering.
From the Filter menu, choose
Texture>Texturizer. Set the
Texture to Sandstone, the Scal-
ing to 195%, the Relief to 10,
and the Light to Top Left.
Scorching the Clock
continued on p. 52
PSTutorJanFeb07.indd 4 12/11/06 3:56:21 PM
Creating the Smoke
In the Layers palette, click on
the top layer to view the color
image. With a selection tool,
click inside the selection and
drag it into a logical position
for the smoke. Press D to
set black as the Foreground
color. Choose Layer>New Fill
Layer>Solid Color. Click OK in
the Color Picker. Adjust the
STEP 14 Position, Fill, and Adjust Opacity
layer Opacity, as well as paint-
ing in the layer mask, to modify
the translucence and appear-
ance of the smoke as needed.
As a nal touch, I selected the
smoke, distorted the selection,
and added a Curves adjust-
ment layer to create a shadow
for the smoke.
Choose Image>Adjustments>
Curves. Create tonal separa-
tion between the center black
smoke trail and the rest
of the channel by modify-
ing the curve as shown. Click
OK. Choose the Brush tool
with a large, soft-edged brush
tip. Paint with white at 100%
Opacity to remove any remain-
STEP 13 Rene Smoke Trail
ing gray areas, leaving only
the center black smoke trail.
Press Command-I (PC: Ctrl-I)
to invert the channel, then
Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click)
the alpha channel to load the
white areas as a selection.
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS
Now well rene the red-hot
glow effect. Hold down the
Command key (PC: Ctrl key)
and click on the layer mask for
the red glow layer to add it as
a selection. Click on the Create
New Adjustment Layer icon
at the bottom of the Layers
palette and choose Curves.
Move the lower-left corner
STEP 11 Rene the Glow and Add Scorch Marks
black point over to the middle
of the curve grid (Input: 128;
Output: 0). Add a point to the
lower part of the curve and pull
down slightly, and then a point
to the upper part and raise it
slightly (refer to the illustra-
tion). Click OK.
From the yout menu in the
Channels palette, choose New
Channel to create a new alpha
channel. Use the Rectangular
Marquee tool to select the left
half of the channel. Press D to set
white as the Foreground color,
then Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Back-
space) to ll the selection with
white. Choose Select> Deselect.
STEP 12 Create Alpha Channel; Shear, Blur, and Render Clouds
From the Filter menu, choose
Distort> Shear. For the Undened
Areas, choose Repeat Edge Pixels.
Manipulate the vertical line in
the grid to create a gentle vertical
curve as shown above. Click OK.
Choose Filter> Blur>Gaussian Blur
and add a 60-pixel blur. Click OK.
From the Filter menu, choose
Render> Difference Clouds.
Sen Duggan is the co-author of Real World Digital Photography, 2nd Edition (Peachpit Press)
and Photoshop Artistry (New Riders). He teaches regular workshops on Photoshop and digital
photography. Check out his websites at www.seanduggan.com and www.f1point4.blogs.com.
After Shear
and Blur
After
Difference
Clouds
After brush
touch-up
After invert
After
Curves
L A Y E R S M A G A Z I N E J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 52
PSTutorJanFeb07.indd 6 12/11/06 3:57:20 PM