How to Create a Beautiful Moonlight Angel Photo Composite

Everybody loves angels or demons - this is a really popular theme in photo manipulations. You will create something new on the fundaments of the old theme. You will earn many tricks for making your own photomanips. Sounds interesting? Read this tutorial and find out how easy it is!

What you'll be creating

You will need Photoshop CS5 or newer to follow this tutorial. You will start by creating a night background, then you will learn how to make lights on the model and how to create these amazing wings. In the end, you will learn, how to make an awesome aura effect.

Tutorial Resources

Sunny day 1 - arca-stock
Grass 01 png - gd08
Castithan Stock - mirish
Thorny Locust - stock-by-kai
~~Battlefield Skies - missstark~~ (Alternative)

Step 1

Start from creating 1122x1600px canvas.

Step 2

Place "Sunny day" Into your file. Switch transform to warp mode. Then warp it as is shown. It will make the foreground bigger.

Step 3

Now you will adjust the whole layer to rest of the idea. Add Adjustment layer with Brightness/Contrast. Set it as is shown.

Step 4

I think this layer is too saturated. Fix it with adjustment layer - Hue/ Saturation.

It will be night, soon. Add color/Balance for making it. More blue and less red will be okay.

Step 5

Place sky stock into your file. Mask bottom of this layer with a big brush.

Step 6

Sky is too bright and with big contrast. Fix it, by adding Brightness/Contrast layer. Make it clipping by clicking RMB on the layer with Adjustment and choose Create Clipping Mask.

Step 7

Add more color to this layer by creating an Adjustment layer with color Balance. Also, make it clippy (RMB > Create clipping mask).

Step 8

Set #5e7184 color. Choose from Adjustments - Gradient fill. Set your color to transparent. Pick radial style and make scale larger - to 150%.

Step 9

Change blending mode of gradient layer to Color Dodge. Decrease opacity to 46%. You will make by this light source.

Step 10

Add Exposure layer. I think, that background is still to bright.

Step 11

Add brightness/contrast adjustment. It will make dark mood on your work.

Step 12

Duplicate Layer (Ctrl + J / Apple + J) with gradient and place it above brightness contrast. Change opacity of this layer to 100%.

Step 13

Add new layer. Select horizont line. From filter menu pick Render > Clouds. Use light blue and dark gray colors.

Step 14

Choose Erase tool. Set big, soft brush and erase top and bottom of the rendered layer. Then change blending mode of this layer to Screen.

Step 15

Good job! You've made background :). Now it's time to model. Place stock into the middle of image. Mask her, baby! :)

Pro tip - use on mask brush with smaller opacity to make laces transparent.

Step 16

Create new layer and make it clippy. Use soft brush and with #a18d87 color raw lighter parts the models legs.

Step 17

Change blending mode of this layer to Multiply. Lights on leg will be more fitting to whole work.

Step 18

Again add new layer and make it clippy (RMB > reate clipping mask). With soft, light brush (#e1cdc2), draw lights on legs. Don't be afraid of the drawing.

You can use mask for erase mistakes.

If lights are still to hard, choose from top menu Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur.

Step 19

Add new layer. Also clippy. Choose the same brush and set #c7c8dc (light blue) color. Draw some strokes on legs and on skirt.

5 comments on “How to Create a Beautiful Moonlight Angel Photo Composite”

Lillian Johnson says:

March 10, 2017 at 1:52 am

amazing

Maidul Islam says:

October 17, 2014 at 4:29 am

Wow, these are really creative! They remind me of those Chip Fosse drawings from Overhauling’. Great work!

Nayan Chowdhury says:

August 26, 2014 at 11:02 am

Really great tutorial about photo manipulation.

Charles says:

July 20, 2014 at 8:53 pm

Can't open battle skies pic!!

1. Hayley says:
  
  August 6, 2014 at 12:30 pm
  
  opens no problem, they are in a zip file