Resources:
- floral vector pack 31 from designious.com
- girl from npoz1
- parrot from RainaDayze
- branches from PKVstock
- bonsai from Resurgere
- splashes from fotolia.com
Step1
Create a new document of 800x1200 px at 72 dpi in RGB color mode. Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill the layer with pure white (#ffffff).
Step2
Open the "paper texture" image. Select all (CTRL+A), copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our drawing.
Step3
Go to Edit > Free Transform (CTRL+T), hold the ALT+SHIFT keys and click-drag one of the corners to resize it. Make it fit our canvas.
Then hit Enter.
Step4
Open the Layers palette (F7) and set Opacity to 45%. Grab the Dodge Tool (O), set it to Shadows at 17% Exposure and lighten the dark areas.
Step5
Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer (CTRL+J). Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (CTRL+SHIFT+U). Set Blending mode to Hard Light and Opacity to 18%.
This will amplify the small midtones.
Step6
Duplicate the layer again (CTRL+J) and set layer Blending mode to Overlay at 100% Opacity. This will enhance the small highlights on the paper texture.
Step7
Select the top-most layer in the Layers palette and click the "New Layer Group" button. Name it "background". Select all layers (shift-click selection) and drag them in the layer group.
Step8
Open the "dancer" image. Double-click the lock in the Layers palette (F7) and hit OK to make it editable.
Step9
Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer (CTRL+J), then go to Image > Invert (CTRL+I).
Note:
Since we are doing a selection via Channels, I will explain how the trick works.
Try to envision the tints rather than the colors in a picture, like you would see only red, blue or green.
In our case, blue is dominant and stands out the most from the background.
Knowing this, we will be able create even higher contrasts between the element and the background using the Blue channel. The higher the contrast, the more precise our selection will be.
Step10
Go to the Channels window (Window > Channels) and click-drag the "Blue" channel on the "New Channel" button. This will create a copy of the blue channel to work on, so we don't damage the original
picture.
Step11
Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves (CTRL+M) and adjust the graph like below.
Step12
Repeat Step11 until the midtones disappear almost completely.
Step13
Use the Path Tool (P) and trace the midtone areas. Try to be more accurate in the contour areas.
Once you made a closed shape, right-click > Make Selection... and paint inside the selection with white using the Brush Tool (B).
Once done, go to Select > Deselect (CTRL+D).
Step14
In the Layers palette, CTRL+click the "Blue copy" channel thumbnail. This will make a selection of the body.
Turn on the "RGB" channel's visibility and off the "Blue copy" 's.
Open the Layers palette (F7), turn of visibility of the "Layer 0 copy" layer and select the "Layer 0? and click the "Add Layer Mask" button.
Step15
Select "Layer 0? layer and go to Layer > Duplicate Layer... (CTRL+J). Select both layers and go to Layer > Merge Layers (CTRL+E).
Step16
There's a nasty white contour left from the selection.
CTRL+click the layer thumbnail, then go to Select > Modify > Contract and set it to 1 px. Go to Select > Inverse and hit "Delete".
Step17
Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all. Grab the Brush Tool (B) and paint with black over the shadow under the right foot.
Step18
Go to Window > Arrange > Cascade and click-drag this layer into our document.
Step19
In the Layers palette (F7), click the "New layer Group" button and click-drag this layer into the group. Name this group "girl".
Step20
Create a new layer above the "Layer 0 copy 2? layer. Now grab the Pen Tool (P), set it on Paths and draw a shape like i did. Feel free to make another one if you like.
Then right-click > Stroke Path... Hit OK.
This will be only a guideline, so don't bother polishing it.
Step21
Open the "splashes", double-click the lock in the Layers palette and hit OK. grab the Magic Wand (W) and select the background. Hit Delete.
Select all (CTRL+A), copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our document (CTRL+V).
Step22
Go to Edit > Free Transform and resize it. Hold SHIFT key to preserve proportions. Hit Enter.
Go to Edit > Transform > Warp and make it look something similar to below. Hit OK.
Step23
Repeat Step22 until you cover the entire black guide. Feel free to add layer masks to cover the loose areas, like in Step17.
Step24
Select all the splashes layers in the Layers palette and go to Layer > Merge Layers (CTRL+E). Rename the resulting layer to "water". Also place it in a new layer group.
Step25
Select small splashes areas from the "splashes" picture and paste them in our drawing. Resize them, but do NOT warp them like the first ones. Try selecting areas with shapes similar to our splash.
Step26
Repeat Step25 until you cover up the entire splash. Then select all splash layers and go to Layer > Merge Layers. Also Add a Clipping Mask like in Step17 to make the water pass behind the girl.
Step27
Select the top-most layer in the "water" layer group and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Make sure you check the "Use previous layer to create Clipping mask".
Use the settings below.
Step28
Create a new layer above the "Background" layer group (Layer > New Layer or CTRL+SHIFT+N). Open the "paint brushes" and select one of your choice.
Use the settings below or similar.
Step29
On the newly created layer, throw a few brush strokes, behind the girl. Set layer Blending mode to Multiply and Opacity to 54%.
Step30
Repeat Step29, but set Opacity to 59%. Place these in a layer group and name it "splashes".
Step31
Create a new layer group below the "splashes" layer group. Name it "flowers". Now open the "vector flowers", use the Lasso Tool (L) to select a flower of your choice, copy it and paste it in our drawing.
Also place it in the "flowers" layer group.
