194
1
Here’s our starting image: a
mechanic with a wrecked car. All the
elements may be in place, but it seems
rather disjointed; some smoke would tie
the whole scene together well.
5
If you want thick, black, oily smoke,
then change the mode of the
Clouds layer to Multiply. In this mode, all
the white will disappear, leaving just the
black smoke visible.
W
HEN BUSINESSWEEK MAGAZINE RAN A
story about fighter jets switching to biofuel, they
wanted an illustration of a jet trailing a cloud of smoke
spelling the word Chicken Fat.
It turned out to be a tricky job, and one in which I had
to bend the rules. Normally, such writing would all be joined
up with a continuous line of smoke, but in this case legibility
was more important than accuracy. I drew the initial smoke
in pale gray, with a soft-edged brush, then added shading
using the Dodge and Burn tools. It was a slow process, with
much duplicating of layers as I tried out different versions.
But there are much simpler ways of making standard
smoke, and that’s what we’ll look at here. This version
requires little more than a couple of applications of the
Clouds filter.
Making smoke without fire
IMAGE: IN CHARACTER
7
Light and shade
SHORTCUTS
MAC WIN BOTH
195
2
Start by making a new layer. Use a
large, soft-edged brush to paint in
the area you want the smoke to take up.
It’s probably easiest to see if you paint
the smoke in white.
3
Creating a hard line between the
smoke and objects in front of it
adds to the realism. Here, I’ve added a
Layer Mask to the smoke and painted
out the front of the car.
4
Lock the transparency of the
Smoke layer (use ), set the
foreground and background to Black
and White (use d) and use Filter >
Render > Clouds to make the smoke.
6
Changing the mode from Multiply
to Screen has the opposite effect:
now, the black disappears, and we’re left
with just the white smoke. In most cases,
this is a better way to go.
7
If the smoke seems a little too
wispy, then brighten it. Use Curves
or Levels to lighten it all – or, if you
prefer, use the Dodge tool to paint in
highlights just where you want them.
8
For a better look, duplicate the
Smoke layer and move the copy
behind the original. Run the Clouds
filter again, and set the mode of this
version to Multiply.
HOT TIP
The Clouds filter
simply creates
random textures,
and can be used
for any purpose
where natural
texture is required.
Hold O A as
you choose the
filter for a tighter,
smaller pattern
effect.
If you find the
Clouds texture is
too fine – say, if
you’re working
on a large image
size – then try this
method. Make a
small rectangular
selection on a
new layer, and
run the filter. Then
use the smoke
you’ve drawn as
a Clipping Mask,
stretching the new
texture to fit over
the top.
How to Cheat in Photoshop CC
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.