Photoshop Tutorial: How To Create A Beautiful Sunset Over A Hill

In this tutorial, I will show you how to use a series of images to make a beautiful, sunset over a hill. We will also add an old abandoned boat to increase the atmosphere. This is a tutorial guided for beginners or intermediate Photoshop followers. We'll be using the following tools:

* Transform Tool.
* Burn and Dodge Tool.
* Clone Stamp Tool.
* Smudge Tool.

Let's begin.

End result:

Author:

Views: 61283

Score: 8.22 / 10

Author earned: $25

Practice tutorial

Tags:boatoldsunset

Step 1

We'll start downloading a beautiful pic of a sunset, provided by Lelaina, a member, and a Pxleyes mod. Here is the link, to dowload a High Resolution, Full size, picture.

http://www.pxleyes.com/images/users/L/Lelaina/474/fullsize/4a6f3af243089.jpg

When you download the picture, save it in your pictures folder, and give it a name.

Reduce the image size to: 1280 X 960 px. Resolution 72 or 100. This will be up to you.

Working with a higher resolution, gives your image a better quality, but the file, will also be bigger in size.

Step 2

Below is the picture you just downloaded.

Name the layer, "Sunset".

Step 3

Edit - Transform - Flip Horizontal.

We want the sun on the left side of the picture.

Step 4

We'll hide the part of the roof that is on the left side of the image.

Ctrl + T (To Transform the image).

Select the middle left handle from the Transform box. Pull the handle to the left until the part of the roof is hidden.

Step 5

Open layer, "Sunset".

Move the image a little to the top. Use the Move tool (V).

Step 6

This is the image we'll use to make the hill.

The image was provided by pxleyes, for a contest. To download this image:

Click over the image with the right side of your mouse.

Save Image As. When window appears.

Save the image in your pictures folder, and give the file a name. "Hair".

Step 7

Bring up the image of "Hair" that you just downloaded.

Place the imge on top of layer, "Sunset".

To make the image of "Hair" smaller, use the Ctrl + T (Free Transform Tool).

Step 8

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), to make some selections of the layer, "Hair".

Copy (Ctrl + C) and Paste (Ctrl + V), the selections.

Do not name your layers. Merge your layers with copies of "Hair", down, to form only one layer. Name it, "Hill".

Step 9

We'll use the Clone Stamp Tool (S).

Use a 100 px soft brush, and opacity set to 100.

Start cloning, areas back and forth. Your cloning does not have to be perfect, as we will be using the Smudge Tool (R), to blend the area.

Use the Eraser Tool (E), to erase the edges, to give the image the idea of being a hill.

Step 10

Make a copy of this layer, and name it "Hair 2". As we'll be working over layer "Hill", hide layer, "Hair 2". Click over the eye located at the left side of this layer, to make it "Invisible".

Use the Smudge Tool (R).

A 45 px soft brush, and a strength of 45%.

Start smudging over the hair to the left side.DO NOT make horizontal strokes, instead, make it kind of wavy, following the curves, lines, and texture of the hair.

Step 11

After you are done smudging. Add some noise.

Filter - Noise - Add Noise.

Amount of 5.00. Uniform.

Step 12

Image - Adjustments - Curves.

Input: 190.

Output: 175.

The idea of using Curves here, is to darken the look of the hill.

Step 13

This image of the old boat, was provided by Paulus62, member of pxleyes. Thank you Paulus62.

To download a Medium Size of this picture, go to the following link.

http://www.pxleyes.com/picture/2337/4a3ecd781ea64.html

There, you will find other link, to download a High Resolution image.

Save your download in your pictures folder, and give it a name. "Boat".

Step 14

Here is the picture of your "Boat".

Step 15

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Make a selection around the boat, as shown in image.

Step 16

Copy ( Ctrl + C) and Paste ( Ctrl + V ), selection.

The selction will be pastes in a new layer, name it, "Boat".

Step 17

Use the Eraser Tool (E), to erase the areas "outside the boat's shape".

Be careful not to erase, inside the boat edges. Just get rid of the grass.

Step 18

Your image should look like this. We'll do some cloning over areas we do not want to be shown.

Step 19

To do the cloning.

Use the Clone Stamp Tool (S).

Press down letter (S) on your keyboard. Hold Alt, and click over an area you want to clone. I selected the area closer to the mooring post.

I used a 35 px, soft brush, and opacity of 100%.

Start cloning the area to cover the mooring post. Use the texture and color closer to it.

Step 20

Here is the cloned image, without the mooring post.

Step 21

Do the same for the green areas, there where the grass is. Do not worry about leaving, some green spots at the bottom of boat. We'll work on that later. Do not forget to clean the green area out of the little window.

Step 22

After the cloning of the boat is done, do the following:

Edit - Transform - Flip Horizontal.

We'll work on some highlights, darkening the boat, and masking some areas at the bottom.

To hide layer "Boat", click over the eye, located to the left side of layer, "Boat", to make it "Invisible".

Step 23

Open layer, "Boat", and place it on top of layers, "Hill" and "Sunset".

Step 24

Open layer, "Hair 2", and place it on top of layer "Hill".

Set the Layer Blending Mode to Overlay.

Opacity of 70%.

Layer "Boat", has to be on top of all layers.

Merge down layer, "Hair 2" to form a single layer. Name it, "Hill".

Step 25

Use a Layer Mask, to mask the bottom of the boat.

I used a 35 px soft brush, and an opacity of 50%.

Step 26

To darken the boat.

Image - Adjustments - Curves.

Input: 80.

Output: 35.

To darken areas to the right side of the boat. Use the Burn Tool (O).

Soft 35 px brush.

Step 27

Use the Dodge Tool (O), to give some highlights to the boat. As you can see, the boat has already some highlights from original image. We'll add a little touch of light to it.

Use a 35 px soft brush, and a exposure of 30%.

Step 28

Use the Dodge and Burn Tools (O) to give highlights and shadows to the hill.

Follow directions given over image.

Step 29

To give a shadow to the boat. Duplicate layer, "Boat" name this new layer, "Shadow", and place it underneath layer, "Boat".

Hold Ctrl and click over layer "Shadow" to select it.

Fill selection with black.

Layer Blending Mode to Multiply.

Opacity of 80%.

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur. Amount 4.0

Step 30

Use a 20 px soft brush, and opacity of 25%, to give a little touch of yellow, to the top of the boat.

Step 31

We reached the end of the tutorial. I appreciate your patience and dedication, to follow me this time, in the creation of this beautiful sunset. I thank Lelaina, Paulus62 and pxleyes, for providing me with the pics for my inspiration.

I hope you learned something. For you "Beginners", never get disappointed, make mistakes, correct them, look at other's work, ask, and always learn. For "Intermediates", continue learning, and also for "Advanced", teach us a better way to make our work look nice.

Thank you and good luck through the path of ART.

32 Comments:

Alan2641 says:

As Always well written and explained -- super result as well

(3 years and 354 days ago)

Guest says:

I'm always really impressed by your tuts, but I hnestly can't see what this one is!! Boat on smudged hair with a hill in the background..?! Can't see it!!

(3 years and 350 days ago)

Guest says:

Guest, I think you need to increase the brightness of your screen!

(3 years and 350 days ago)

Guest says:

Shows fine here btw

(3 years and 350 days ago)

CorneliaMladenova says:

Another awesome and useful tutorial here and the result is so beautiful

(3 years and 350 days ago)

George55 says:

Thank you for your comments. Yes, I think increasing the brightness on your screen, wil give you a better view of the boat. The idea was, to set an old boat over a hill. As you know, you can find an old, forgotten boat, resting on top of a hill, close to a lake, or river. The area, where the boat is located, is dried, and the terrain, is covered by dry grass, due to the lack of water. That is my idea of using the hair, smudge it, to form the hill and the grass. The sunset, (Thanks Lelaina) is a masterpiece of color, and light. We, members at pxeleyes, have the opportunity, to transform a regular pic, into something nice and beautiful. It is what I did here. Thank you ALL, guests and members for your support.

(3 years and 350 days ago)

Guest says:

far far better ever than other and well well explained.

(3 years and 350 days ago)

alwani says:

awesome tutorial , thanks to you

(3 years and 349 days ago)

Guest says:

I love this effect, very nicely done. The only thing bothering me is the line between the hill and the mountain behind it. Perhaps if there were some wisps of the "grass" hair coming up into the mountain? The separation between the two seems too stark to me. Other than that it's spectacular, wonderful coloring.

(3 years and 349 days ago)

Guest says:

I love this effect, very nicely done. The only thing bothering me is the line between the hill and the mountain behind it. Perhaps if there were some wisps of the "grass" hair coming up into the mountain? The separation between the two seems too stark to me. Other than that it's spectacular, wonderful coloring.

(3 years and 349 days ago)

Guest says:

Sorry, but I can´t see whats good with this manipulation

The hill LOOKS more like hair and the "hill" edge is to crisp

I should have made a lake out of the "hill" and used the sky as a reflection.

reMake and make it better, this one has the quality of something one of my PS student would perform after a days work with PS

(3 years and 348 days ago)

George55 says:

Guest: Pxleyes, provides us members, with some challenges every week at different levels. They give us a picture and we have to use that particular picture to create something. Some of the elements of the pic, have to be shown in the result. That's why, the hill looks like hair. If you check again step 6, there is the original pic for this contest. I got the idea of making a hill from it, and added the boat, and a beautiful sunset.

You are entitled to your comment, and I appreciate that. There are elements or ideas that a person, or in your case, students, can correct, and make it better. I am happy to know that they are learning Photoshop. I wrote this tutorial for beginners, showing how to copy and paste, and use some other tools. You, have done a good job, giving your students ideas, and if they can practice this tutorial in a day working with PS, it is wonderful.

I know it is not a great tutorial, I knew from the beginning, but just the idea of showing somebody how to do these things, makes me happy. I am not a professional. I just like working with PS and competing in the contests every week. Thank you for giving me ideas, how to change my tutorial. I think, I can not make changes, as it is listed already.

(3 years and 348 days ago)

Guest says:

Great tutorial!
Just what a novice (like myself) needs to fire the imagination and to challenge the individual creativity that is at the heart of everyones enjoyment of photoshop. Thank you.

(3 years and 347 days ago)

Guest says:

imma guest!

(3 years and 346 days ago)

AnumAkhtar says:

Great ...

(3 years and 344 days ago)

Guest says:

thanks george this is awesome! you did a very nice job burning and dodging!!!

(3 years and 343 days ago)

Guest says:

Nice tutorial, the result is wonderful.. thanks

(3 years and 343 days ago)

Guest says:

No need for anyone to be rude to the boy - I remember when I was learning Photoshop, just learning what the controls did was a lesson in itself. Thanks dude.

(3 years and 341 days ago)

Guest says:

at first i dont really recognize the "boat" idea but anyway its a good tuts! thanx i got some ideas

(3 years and 336 days ago)

[banned] says:

nice tutorial...i really like the way you discuss..step by step.thank you for sharing

(3 years and 333 days ago)

martin says:

Hey,

Could you show me how to do this in a live video stream on a certain time? I'd really like to see it and ask some questions.

I myself usually use ustream or www.tvmad.com to broadcast something online maybe they'll help ya.

If yould be willing to do it then let me know, I'd be 100% there to watch it.

Cheers
Martin

(3 years and 326 days ago)

[banned] says:

this is wonderful tutorial .. i read it 3 times and get a fantastic results and sure i put a
copy of this lesson on my site here

www.streec.com/vb

(3 years and 320 days ago)

ikrumon says:

This tutorial is sooo good

(3 years and 304 days ago)

steed says:

superb tutorial, I learned a lot.

(3 years and 287 days ago)

[banned] says:

This is a great tutorial! There is a lot of great skills used here.

(3 years and 197 days ago)

Guest says:

That's way more clever than I was exptecing. Thanks!

(3 years and 20 days ago)

Guest says:

luv it !!!!

(2 years and 264 days ago)

[banned] says:

great work

(2 years and 253 days ago)

[banned] says:

awesome tutorial...I got a vast knowledge from it...

(2 years and 218 days ago)

[banned] says:

Thanks..!

(1 year and 348 days ago)

Anusha1 says:

thank u so much

(322 days ago)

Anusha1 says:

thank u so much

(322 days ago)

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