This project has 19 layers. There are four images and the one of Buffy is in twice. There are five texture layers, two adjustment layers and 6 text layers.  The four images were worked on in separate PSDs before bringing the finished image to this project. So this is what we want to end up with.

For this project I started with a dark texture. I wanted a dark one to suit the angst of the drabble and, by happy coincidence, a dark background makes blending images together a lot easier than a light one.

 

 

This is a texture. A texture is simply an image of something that might be considered interesting and textures are added to give interesting looks to digital artwork. It's a black base with water color brushes used to add splotches and then blended. I thought it quite a moody look. To this I added my main image of Spike. Originally I had thought to use a B&W version but as my background is black I picked a colored one instead.

 

 

It's not overly noticeable but this image still has it's own dark background. I did not cut Spike's head out at all and though I did have to add a Layer Mask it was only to get rid of the grey smudge in the corner which is part of his shirt. What I did do was change the Layer blend mode to Linear Dodge.

 

 

This has done two things for me. It has removed the dark background of Spike's layer and let the bottom texture show through where it covered it before. It has also added quite striking lighting to Spike and made his shadows more interesting. Now I want Buffy up in the top opposite corner. She is dead right now and I want some sky about her and a star for the title of the drabble and the piece. I gacked this interesting image from the net.

 

 

This one I will mask eventually and remove some of it, but for now I change the blend mode to Color Dodge and watch it fade into my background nicely leaving some startling highlights.

 

 

So now I still have my sky and the bright light that will be the basis of my star and some ethereal lights for Buffy. I add my Buffy image and set the Layer mode to Linear Dodge.

 

 

Because the background to Buffy's image is quite light and the background is lighter behind her, there is still a lot of it showing so I will have to mask and erase it. I decide to duplicate this layer to add more depth to the image. I set the duplicate layer to Darken and this is white I get.

 

 

I decide I don't like the line of light across the image and I want more of a night sky. So I mask Buffy's background and remove some of it and add part of another texture - a galaxy from wg graphics. It has some very nice gold coloring and I masked it to fit around Buffy's face and left it at Layer mode Normal. This layer is under Buffy and over the original night image.

 

 

I've still got the light from the original image through Buffy's face and the gold galaxy lifts the image and also covers some of the blending of Buffy's image into the work, as well as adding stars into the background. I'd like a little warmth though, because Spike would think of her with warmth so I add another galaxy texture with red tones. This layer is above the gold texture but still below Buffy. I left it at Normal mode and masked some of it that showed through her face left some to give an ethereal look to her. I think the red tones showing through give the warmth I was looking for.

 

 

Now I add my two other main images, move them around, re-size them, mask out the edges and set both layers to Linear Dodge. This fades them in nicely and adds a little highlight to both images. Blend modes are amazing and experimenting with the different ones will give quite different effects.

 

 

I create a new layer and, using foreground color white and a star brush, I paint in my North Star, adding a little Motion Blur to give it some high in the sky texture. I add my Title text. The text I've picked is very flowing, something I think William would have used. It's a very light text so I copy it two times to give it some dimension. I add an outer glow to the bottom layer and set the size to 128 and spread to 29 and reduce the opacity to 10%. I add a Bevel to the top layer. A different font for the sub text and the author adds interest and an artistic look to the titles. I spend a little time with finding a text that I think fits the piece I'm working on. Text is very much a part of the overall image and is more than just words.

 

 

It's coming together but it still needs something. I add a clipped exposure layer to Buffy set to +.62 to bring out the highlights in her face and to further bring out a heavenly complexion. A gradient map beneath, placed below the text, helps to pop my charachters and give them a little tonal warmth. I set this layer to Overlay and Opacity 20%.

 

 

 

You can see the extra highlights in Buffy the added subtle coloring of the Gradient Map. It has pulled the tones of the image together.

 

 

The image is looking good but I think I could do better. I add a galaxy texture behind the text, masked and set to Lighten at 100% opacity and a further galaxy texture with a bright white star burst set to Color Dodge and 100 %. Add my tag and we are back to the finished product.

 

 

About an hour or so work, not counting the actual composition which happened over a day or so as I tried different caps and discarded them. Using a black or dark background is of great benefit to blending images as you do not need to spend hours cutting out the backgrounds you don't want. I often use textures as overlays for the same reason and to pull an image together. The galaxy textures come from WeGraphicsdotnet. There is a link on my resources post. I subscribe and I think these are subscription only, though they do have giveaways as well. However, there are loads of places with free, for non commercial use, textures and you will find links to a few on my resources page.

 

 

 

May the blend be with you!