Adobe Photoshop Basics

Download this zip file for all the images you need to complete the exercises for Lesson 8. (Mac users can use Aladdin's free Stuffit Expander to extract the zip file.)

Exercise Eight - Clone Tool, Adjustment Layers, Layer Effects

Practice Image: cloneproject.jpg

Before

After:

We're going to screen back the left side of this image and add some text to it, but first we need to clone out those marbles and make a curve adjustment.

It looks a little dark and dreary to me, so let's apply a curves adjustment layer to brighten up the midtones a touch. Rather than using the standard curves command, this time lets apply the curve on an adjustment layer since we haven't done that yet.

Choose new adjustment layer either from the Layer menu or the Layers palette. Grab the middle of the line and move it up and left just enough to give it a little curve until the brightness looks right to you.

Add a new layer and clone out the marbles on the empty layer.

Be careful to preserve the light streaks when you clone out the marbles, but you don't have to get it perfect since we'll be screening it back and adding text.

Make a rectangular marquee selection in the left half of the image, but stay about 1/4 inch away from the sides.

Add a new brightness/contrast adjustment layer. Because you had made a selection before adding the adjustment layer, the selection becomes a mask for the adjustment layer.

Adjust brightness to +70 and contrast to -50 and click OK.

In the layers palette, click the layer mask thumbnail for the adjustment layer you just created.

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian and blur the edges about 5 pixels.

Add a Text layer and position your text within the screened area.

Give the text a little layer effect to your liking.

For the final touch, use the sharpen tool to go over the metallic highlights on the watch and chain to give it a little bit of pop.

When I was finished, the image seemed to have a slight green cast. Because I used an adjustment layer, I was able to go back to the curves adjustment layer by double-clicking on the curve thumbnail in the layers palette. Then I selected the green channel and dragged the curve down just the tiniest bit to remove that slight cast. I also went to the blue channel and moved the bottom section of the curve up just the teeny tiniest bit to remove some yellow from the shadow areas of the background.

You can also fine tune the brightness/contrast adjustment layer now, too, if you wish.

I've included my finished PSD file (cloneproject.psd) in the zip file of images for this lesson so you can open the file and examine it. (Photoshop 5.x users: some layer effects may not appear properly when you open this file because it was created in Photoshop 6.)

Next > Exercise Nine