How to Create a Surface Reflection

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a stylish and appealing reflection with the use of Adobe Photoshop.

This reflection effect can be applied to any object, image or text with a transparent background. I have decided to use my own logo (copyrighted) to apply this surface reflection effect. View Figure1 below as an illustration of the logo which I will start off with.

Figure 1

I have opened my logo with the transparent background as shown in Figure1 above.

Do the same with your image, object or text. Once you have done that, you need to create a background. Move over to the 'Layers' panel and click the 'New Layer' icon, *or press 'Ctrl' + 'Shift' + 'N' as a keyboard shortcut to create a new layer.

Ensure that this layer is below the layer with the image in the 'Layers' panel. If it is not, simply click and drag this layer below the layer containing the image. You now need to rename this new layer which you have created. Rename this new layer by double-clicking directly on the text/caption of this layer, and then typing the new name 'background' at the insertion point.

Press 'D' to reset the colors in the 'Color Box' to the default colors which is black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF). Then press 'X' to switch the primary and the secondary colors, thus making white (#FFFFF) the primary or foreground color.

You will now fill the 'background' layer with white (#FFFFFF). To do this, press 'Shift' + 'F5', and click the 'Ok' button when the dialog appears. View Figure2 below. You design should now look something like this.

Figure 2

Actively select the layer containing the image. Rename this layer as 'real image'. You can do this by double-clicking directly on the text/caption of this layer, and then typing the new name at the insertion point.

With the 'real image' layer still selected in the 'Layers' panel, press 'Ctrl' + 'J' to duplicate this layer. The new duplicate layer will appear above the original layer in the 'Layers' panel. It should be below the original layer, so you need to click and drag it below the 'real image' layer. The default name of this layer should be 'real image copy'. You may now rename this layer as 'reflection image'.

View Figure3 below as an illustration to the next step, and then follow the instructions which follow.

Figure 3

Select the 'reflection image' layer in the 'Layers' panel. Then go to 'Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical'. This will turn the contents of this layer upside down. Then hold the 'Ctrl' key and click and drag the image to position it as shown and illustrated in Figure3 above. In other words, the content of the 'reflection image' will be turned upside down, and the top edge of the content will touch the bottom edge of the content of the 'real image' layer.

Good work. We are now ready to fade the content of the 'reflection image' layer. Move over to the 'Toolbox' and click the icon which says 'Edit in quick mask mode' *or simply press 'Q' as a keyboard shortcut. View Figure4 as an illustration.

Figure 4

While you are in 'Quick Mask Mode', select the 'Gradient Tool' from the 'Toolbox'. You can select the 'Gradient Tool' by clicking it's icon on the 'Toolbox', *or you can simply press 'G' as a keyboard shortcut to actively select this tool. Once you have this tool selected, press 'D' to reset the 'Color Box'. Now view Figure5 as a reference to the next step below.

Figure 5

Press 'M' to select the 'Rectangular Marquee Tool'. Now click and drag a rectangle around the content of the 'reflection image' layer. Ensure that the selected area doesn't overlay the area of the 'reflection image' layer. Follow Figure5 above as a reference. Once you have done this, press 'G' to select the 'Gradient Tool'. Click at the top edge of the selected area, and drag about half way down before you release the mouse-cursor. When you are done with all of this, you should have something in front of you which looks like the illustration as shown in Figure5 above.

Figure 6

Click the icon on the 'Toolbox' which says 'Edit in Standard Mode', *or once again simply press 'Q' to reverse the mask mode back to standard mode. Then, press the 'Delete' button on your keyboard. You should have something which looks like the illustration as shown in Figure7 below.

Figure 7

There are two more things which need to be done in order to complete this tutorial, and refine your design to perfection.

The first action would be to apply a slight blur to the reflection. Ensure that you have the 'reflection image' layer selected in the 'Layers' panel. Then go to 'Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur'. When the dialog appears, use the following settings as shown in Figure8 below.

Figure 8

The last action would be to reduce the opacity of the 'reflection image' layer, thus increasing the transparency of this layer. Move over to the 'Layers' panel. Ensure that you have the 'reflection image' layer actively selected. You should see a slider at the top of the 'Layers' panel which says 'Opacity'. Move the slider to 75%, thus making this layer 25% transparent.

Once you have completed this, you may view Figure9 below as an illustration to the result which I have achieved by following this tutorial.