Create an Aquarium Inside a Light Bulb with Photoshop

Learn how to combine stock photos to create a saltwater aquarium inside a light bulb. This Photoshop tutorial will show you how to combine and warp images and apply easy color correction.

Final Results

Tutorial Resources

Free stock photography can sometimes disappear. If one of the links is broken, try using the “Alternative” link instead. Many tutorials can be completed with similar stock photos.

• LightBulb – LightBulb
• Water Texture – Water Texture 1
• Water Background – Water Texture 2 (Alternative)
• Desert – Sand Texture 1
• Sand – Sand Texture 2
• Nemo – Fish 1
• Little Nemo – Fish 2
• Castle – Sand Castle
• Shell – Shell
• Beach – Starfish

Step 1 – Modified the lightbulb.

Open the photo with a lightbulb. Make a copy of the Background layer, press Shift + T, and then Flip Horizontal. Go to: Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and set the Brightness at +25.

Step 2 – Clear the lightbulb.

Pick the Brush tool (B) and with this color #f1f1f1 put the color in the area shown in the picture.

Step 3 – Create the water inside the lightbulb

Open water texture 1 and paste in the document.Go to Edit > Transform or press Ctrl+T to transform the water texture (Flip vertical and make smaller) and position the water texture to the position as seen in the image below.

Hide the layer with water texture 1 and make a path with Pen Tools (P) like in the photo.Right-click and select Make selection and set Father selection to 0,5px .

Go to Select > Inverse or press Shift+Ctrl+I to inverse the selection and hit Delete button. Set Blending Mode to Color Burn and opacity at 41%

Step 4 – Adding a second water texture.

Let’s add the second water texture so open the water texture 2 and move in our document. Go to Edit > Transform or press Ctrl+T and transform texture like me.

Press Ctrl+Click on the thumbnail of the previous layer and go to Select > Inverse or press Shift+Ctrl+I to inverse the selection and hit the Delete button. Change Blending Mode on Multiply and Opacity 45%

Step 5

Make a new elliptical selection with Elliptical Marquee Tool on the layer with water texture 2 like in the photo and press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste and move this up like in the photo.

Step 6 – Adding the sand

Open the sand texture 2 picture and press Ctrl+A and then Ctrl+C. Open the document with a light bulb and press Ctrl+V to paste the texture. Go to Edit > Free Transform or press Ctrl+T to transform the texture and make it small like in the photo.

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