Create a Gigantic Fortress with a Mysterious Glow in Photoshop

Next, create another layer once again (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “light from within 3”. Activate the Brush tool (B) once again and input the following:

Brush size: 80px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: fffed8

The result:

Next, we will create another “light from within”. Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “light from within 4”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 80px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: fffed8

Now, let’s paint:

The result of that should be similar to this:

Finally, let’s create the last one. Create a new layer again (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ) and name it “light from within 5”. Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 80px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: ffffff

Let’s paint:

The result:

Now, let’s darken the whole castle wall and ground. To do that, let’s create a layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) above all the layers and groups and name it “Darken image”. Once the layer is created, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 1600px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Let’s paint now as shown on the image below:

The result:

Now that we’re done with the mysterious light, select all the layers from Step 4 - Step 5 and group these (Ctrl/Cmd + G). Name it to “WALL”.

Step 6: Create the Vignette

In this step, we will learn how to create a vignette which will help enhance the focus on our subject. To start, 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). 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 40%

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:

Step 7: Enhance the Image’s Color and Contrast

Now, we will be enhancing the image’s overall color, contrast and lightness. To start, let’s create a Solid Color adjustment layer to enhance the color of the image. From the Layer window, click on the “Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button”.

Once the contextual menu opens, click on Solid Color:

Now, clicking on the Solid Color option will open the Color Picker box. Now, input the following on the #: space.

#: 000218

Now, your screen will be filled with this dark blue tinge. To change that, we’ll need to blend it in. Change the Blending mode and Opacity of this layer to the following:

Blending mode: Exclusion
Opacity: 40%