Graalians - [Tutorial] Solace Signature Guide

http://i.imgur.com/GsnON.png

That's embarassing.

Materials Needed

GIMP or Photoshop
Basic Image Manipulations Skills
2/3 of a Brain
About 7-10 Minutes

Other Information
Difficulty: Easy
Time: Around 7-10 minutes
My Result (Variations in Progress):

http://i.imgur.com/Bkgit.png

Alright, without further ado, let's begin.

1. Open up a blank canvas - Mine was 400x125. Resize this if you're using this tutorial for other purposes (desktops, guild pictures, etc). Put in this stock, or choose your own of a similar theme.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8099/tut2.png

2. Smudge out the balcony area (I used the calligraphy brush) - it doesn't matter if the smudging doesn't flow too well, just make sure the parts that aren't covered up by the render are.

http://i.imgur.com/lDYuc.png

3. Bring in your preferred stock (I think anime characters look fantastic in this) and smudge it so that it blends well with the image. I know mine isn't excellent. It's still a work in progress.

http://i.imgur.com/QtfUE.png

4. I added in a nebula stock image, and set this layer to 'lighten only' (you can do this in the layers dialogue, from the drop down arrow). I erased the parts that didn't look too good and lowered the opacity a little. You can use your own stock (Google Horsehead Nebula, it looks nice as well) or use mine provided here: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6340/witchheadnebula.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VqvgH.png

5. I added in the same stock image, and set it again to 'lighten only'. I erased parts that didn't look too good and added some of the nebula's colorful parts and blended them with the image.

http://i.imgur.com/ultKs.png

6. Do a Copy Visible: Right Click -> Edit -> Copy Visible, and put this in a new layer. I raised the contrast just a little, by 8 at most. Looks very subtle, but nice.

http://i.imgur.com/PxQEI.png

7. Here, there was some blank space in the top right of the image, so I took a mountain stock and set it to 'soft light', and erased everything from the left of the render.

http://i.imgur.com/TtaF7.png

8. I added a light source above my render by creating a new layer, and setting my gradient to radial (FG to Transparent). Make a vertical line above her head a little past the canvas top. Lower opacity if needed.

http://i.imgur.com/I1A5j.png

9. Add some text and you're done! I used a font called 'Scriptina', and lowered its opacity a touch just to have it blend with the image. I then added another text box with a quote, setting the font to Arial and the color to a color on the render. Make sure you add these close to the focal point (the render).

http://i.imgur.com/Bkgit.png

10. Please add to my reputation if this post helped you, it would be greatly appreciated. Happy designing!

Oh, here's some chill music to listen to while you do this: http://www.youtuberepeat.com/watch/?v=UlLZay66fgY