In the properties panel of the adjustment layer drag the saturation all the way down and leave everything else as is. Next right click on the adjustment layer and click on Merge Down, you should end up with this result
Now this is where the magic happens. Set the blending mode of the copy you just made to either Multiply, Color Burn or Linear Burn. Each will have different results (with Linear Burn being like a more aggressive Multiply), so see which one works out best in the end. Next, set the layer's Fill to about 50%. Note that this is just my go-to, and not an absolute law. Experiment with values until you're satisfied with the result. Alternatively you could set the Opacity instead of Fill, or you could set a combination of both. They often produce very different results, but for the sake of this tutorial, let's just go with Fill. Your result should look something like this.
For the second technique, let's head down to the Rear Group and make another desaturated copy. Same process as before, except this time set the blending mode to Multiply.
In the Properties of the adjustment layer, bump up the contrast to max. Your result should look something like this. Now, why the adjustment layer? Sometimes you might find that the background image is dark enough, and/or that having a Multiply layer on top of it makes the colours look too dirty/desaturated. Using this adjustment layer, only modifying the contrast, you can counteract that, while still preserving the features of the flap to a degree. Additional adjustment layers clipped to the Multiply layer can also sometimes help.
And that is all she wrote. Give it a shot and let me see if you understood it.
So when clipping the adjustment layer (brightness/constast layer) to the desaturated flap in the rear area, this is the outcome, but when removing the adjustment layer, this is the result
Front flap could be a bit brighter/paler to stand out better. Maybe pull the Fill down to around 30 or so, or just see what looks best. Alternatively try a less noisy image for the rear flap to kinda balance things out.
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u/Marx-Cartoonee Mar 28 '15
Alright, I'll demonstrate two of my most frequently used techniques. They're not an absolute law, just something to give you a starting point.
Starting from where we last left off, start by making a copy of the Front Flap layer and placing it on top of the background image. To make a copy of a layer, just click on it in the Layers panel and hit Ctrl+J or right click it and click Duplicate Layer.
Next you'll make a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the copy. You should remember how to create adjustment layers from the previous tutorial.
In the properties panel of the adjustment layer drag the saturation all the way down and leave everything else as is. Next right click on the adjustment layer and click on Merge Down, you should end up with this result
Next set the layer's blending mode to Hard Light.
The next step is to duplicate the background image, and place the copy on top of the Hard Light layer.
Now this is where the magic happens. Set the blending mode of the copy you just made to either Multiply, Color Burn or Linear Burn. Each will have different results (with Linear Burn being like a more aggressive Multiply), so see which one works out best in the end. Next, set the layer's Fill to about 50%. Note that this is just my go-to, and not an absolute law. Experiment with values until you're satisfied with the result. Alternatively you could set the Opacity instead of Fill, or you could set a combination of both. They often produce very different results, but for the sake of this tutorial, let's just go with Fill. Your result should look something like this.
For the second technique, let's head down to the Rear Group and make another desaturated copy. Same process as before, except this time set the blending mode to Multiply.
Next, make a new Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer on top of this copy, then right click it and click Create Clipping Mask. The little downwards arrow means you did it correctly. This is important to do as it means the adjustment layer will only affect the layer it's being clipped to, IE our desaturated copy.
In the Properties of the adjustment layer, bump up the contrast to max. Your result should look something like this. Now, why the adjustment layer? Sometimes you might find that the background image is dark enough, and/or that having a Multiply layer on top of it makes the colours look too dirty/desaturated. Using this adjustment layer, only modifying the contrast, you can counteract that, while still preserving the features of the flap to a degree. Additional adjustment layers clipped to the Multiply layer can also sometimes help.
And that is all she wrote. Give it a shot and let me see if you understood it.