Blending In Photoshop
01. Firstly, we need to create our base, go to File >> New.. (shortcut: ctrl+n)
When I'm making blends/layouts I use a large base, usually 1000x1000. You can choose what ever size you're comfortable with.
02. Drag or copy&paste the images you want to blend onto your new base. For this tutorial,
I'm using the lovely Zooey Deschanel. You can use your own images, or the same as I to practice with.
(Image 1,
Image 2)
03. Using the move tool (shortcut: V) arrange the two photos of Zooey so one is slightly overlapping the other.
If it helps, you can lower the opacity of the top image so you can get an idea exactly where your images overlap
(Opacity is located at the top of your layer pallete)
(screenshot)
Be sure to increase the opacity back to 100% when you're satisfied with the placement!
04. Time to bust out that handy little tool called the eraser! (shortcut: e) The two pictures of Zooey I'm going to blend aren't really that big,
so I wont need to use an overly large brush. I chose a 65px soft, round brush.
(screenshot)
The more solid looking round brushes have a much higher hardness. If you look look at the screenshot below you can notice the vast difference between the two.
The second erasing is very soft and feathered looking. This makes the soft eraser a much better choice for erasing the basics of
our blend. What you want to do is erase the parts that are overlapping her body. I've outlined the section I'll be erasing.
If you're using different pictures its obviously going to be different, but you get the idea.
(screenshot)
05. Once you've gotten rid of most of the background overlapping Zooey, you're ready for finer detail! This part can be tedious and you'll need patience.
A lot of inexperienced graphic designers make the mistake of stopping at just erasing the obvious. As a designer, you should ALWAYS strive for neatness and develope patience.
06. The zoom tool is going to be your new friend and the eraser, of course, will be your BFF! I only needed to zoom in twice (300%) depending on the images you chose
you may or may not need to zoom further. As you can see from the screenshot below we need to erase the semi-transparent-remaining-background overlapping Zooey's arm, shoulder and hair.
(screenshot)
07. Switch to a hard, round eraser brush (I'm using an 8px one). Starting from the outside erase in toward her arm. Be careful when you actually get to her arm.
You may need to adjust the size of your brush to a smaller one. Have patience, work slowly and if you make a mistake and erase a bit of her arm, hit ctrl + z to undo.
You should end up with something like this... (screenshot)
Any part of the body that requires close erasing should NOT look like the second image in this screenshot.
08.The final step is to merge your layers (shift+ctrl E) then crop to your desired size. Decorate with brushes, text, ect. Congratulations for learning to blend :)
