Photoshop Tutorials

Photoshop Matte Painting in Easy Steps

Photoshop Matte Painting in Easy Steps
Learn how to create a breathtaking scene in simple steps. This Photoshop tutorial will teach you how to blend elements together using nondestructive techniques, paint with vibrant colors, and blur/smudge to create a dramatic scene. Preview of Final Results

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Tutorial Resources

Step 1 - Size

Open the background stock. The size of the stock is width: 2250px and Height: 1500px.
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Step 2 – Smart Object

Transform the background into a smart object. Pressing right click in the layer thumbnail and selecting the option Convert to smart object.
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Step 3 – Smart Object

Press double click in the smart object thumbnail.
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Step 4 - Edit

Now a new window will pop up. This allow you to edit the smart object. So press ok.
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Step 5 - Duplicate

Now press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer in case you need to go back to the original image.In this layer you will use the patch tool to hide undesired parts of the image.
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Step 6 – Duplicate and Change color

Press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer and then press Ctrl+U and in the option saturation put -70. The image will have this color.
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Step 7 – Save

The the changes you made to the smart object  press ctrl + S and close the window.
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Step 8 - River

Now go to folder you have the stocks and grab the image of the river. You will see that the image is an smart object itself, you can change the size clicking in the corners.
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Step 9 – Layer Mask

Create a layer mask to erase the undesired parts of the image. Pick a soft round brush to paint over the parts you want to remove. You will have something like this:
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Step 10 – Hue and Saturation

Go to Create a new fill or adjustment layer and click in the option Hue/Saturation.
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Reduce the Saturation to -60.
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Step 11 – Apply to one object

To Apply the changes only in the layer of the river you have to press right click over the Hue and Saturation layer and select the option Create Clipping Mask.
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Step 12 - Duplicate

Now go back to the Background image and duplicate the layer pressing Ctrl+J and then change the layer mode to soft light.
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Step 13 - City

Grab the image of the city, and repeat the process of creating a new layer mask to blend the layer to the background
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Layer mask:
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Step 14 - Blur

Now go to filters – blur – Gaussian blur and add 2 radius pixels to get this result:
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Step 15

Now pick a castle and resize it to fit the mountain like this:
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Step 16 – Layer Mask

Create a layer mask and like you did before hide with the brush tool the parts you don’t want to use of the image.
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Step 17 – Layer mode

Change layer mode to overlay.
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Step 18 - Waterfall

Add a image of the waterfall and resize it to fit the mountain.
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Step 19 – Layer mask

Use the layer mask technique once again to blend the waterfall.
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Change layer mode to soft light
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Step 20 – More Elements

Now add more elements to the image, can be mountains, castles, ruins, all of this to give to the image a better look. Use the layer mask technique you learned in the steps before in each of the elements and remember to change layer mode to soft light or overlay.

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41 comments on “Photoshop Matte Painting in Easy Steps”

  14. I can't not see your all works how can see your all works please help me and give me some trick how can improve my photoshop work I loved it your all work god bless you I hope you will rply me soon ................

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment! I agree with you that it can be confusing and I think I know why. In the previous step, your foreground color is probably black because you were painting with black. Set it back to white before you start Step 44.

      After that, use the Freeform Pen Tool and draw the lines like shown in the image. Right-click on any one of the stroke and click on Stroke Path. Select Brush from the menu and make sure "Simulate Pressure" is turned on. If the highlights are too thick/thin, undo the previous step, select the brush tool, and change the brush size & hardness. Then redo the "Simulate Pressure" step. keep doing this to get the right stroke - sometimes it takes a few tries.

  21. The BACKGROUND stock, which is not linked in the tutorial can be found here:

    http://castock.deviantart.com/art/Lookout-misty-mountains-141109644

    The CITY can be found on Pinterest:

    http://pinterest.com/pin/327003622913465835/

    Heres the CASTLE, I had to screenshot it from this tut:

    http://imageshack.com/scaled/large/202/fjv.png

    STONE is also screen shot, and you will need to do some cloning:

    http://imageshack.com/a/img17/6544/g84u.png

    MOSS is another screenshot, cloning required again:

    http://imageshack.com/scaled/large/546/kvne.png

    You can also google for a lot of good bridges and towers/ancient architecture.

    Reply

  25. Fantastic work...i am designer and learning to create amazing moodboards..i cant find anything regards of moodboard tutorials, i hope to find it here:-) thanks very much

    Reply

  26. beautiful work and extremely appreciable, but could not understand the steps 34 and 34 (creating hair with the help of some hair brushes pen tool or tablet). If possible please elaborate which would be a help to beginners like me.

    thanks and regards

    Reply

  27. Yeeea, just some of the pictures doesn't exist anymore, i'd love to make this tutorial but unfortunately nobody can't

    Reply

  28. Beautiful work, but when I tried to begin work on it I'm not able to access any of the pictures! Help!

    Reply

  31. Nice Tutorial. It gives a so much knowledge for photo-shop beginers Thanks for sharing your experiance.

    Reply

  34. madam..excellent creative work nearly 50 steps to create that final image what a Patience. I am just beginner in Photoshop and its most helpful to me your working steps...thankyou

    Reply

  36. Andrea excellent tutorial, I admire your work very much you are very talent and an artist. Your friend José.

    Reply

  37. I like your tutorials but you have broken deviantart links. I much prefer stock that are not from deviantart because they disappear and the owners have usage rules that make them difficult to use.

    Reply

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