1. Open an open shell picture (Picture 1). Open another picture of a lotus pond (Figure 2). Drag the lotus pond image into the file of the shell image.
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2. Execute menu-Edit-Free Transform and scale the lotus picture horizontally to a proportion suitable for the size of the shell opening. Hide the lotus layer first, use the pen tool to draw a path along the inner contour of the shell opening (picture 3).
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3. Return to the lotus layer, display it, convert the previously checked path into a selection, and then execute the menu-Select-Inverse Selection to delete the selected image (Figure 4).
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4. Select the burn tool, adjust the size of the stroke appropriately, set the properties of the burn tool to midtones, and set the exposure to about 30%. Paint along the upper part of the remaining lotus image and deepen the color of the upper part of the image. In this way, the processed lotus pond looks layered, like inside a shell, and the deepened part is equivalent to the shell. The upper part covers the shadow on the lotus pond (Fig. 5).
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5. Go back to the second picture you opened earlier, which is the picture of the lotus pond, and use the pen tool to outline the larger and clearer lotus flower below (Picture 6). After converting the outlined path into a selection, copy and paste the lotus flower into the image file of the shell and place it on the top layer.
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6. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the stem of the pasted lotus, hold down CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and drag the selected part vertically downward, and connect the dragged and copied part with the stem of the lotus itself. , and drag it several times to copy it, while ensuring that the dragged part is connected to the stem part that was dragged and copied before, so that the lotus stem is lengthened (Figure 7).
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7. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the lengthened lotus stem (Picture 8). Execute menu-Filter-Distort-Shear and adjust the shear axis as shown in (Figure 9). The finished effect is as shown in (Figure 10).
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8. Now you can see that the head of the lotus is misaligned with the stem. First, adjust the position of the wrong head of the lotus so that it can be connected to the stem. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the lotus. For the head, hold down CTRL+SHIFT and drag the lotus head horizontally to adjust its position so that the lotus looks more natural and not so straight and rigid (Figure 11).
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9. Drag the entire lotus, place it in a suitable position, and use the pen tool to outline the bottom part of the lotus stem beyond the shell along the curved outline inside the shell, and convert the outlined path into a selection. , and delete the image in the selected area (Figure 12).
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10. Open another lotus picture (Figure 13). Use the pen tool to outline the outline of the lotus in the image (Figure 14), and convert the path into a selection. Copy the lotus image in the selection, paste it into the shell file, and place it at the top level of the layer panel.
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11. Execute Menu-Edit-Transform-Flip Horizontally, then move the lotus image to the large notch of the shell, and execute Menu-Edit-Free Transform, hold down CTRL and drag to adjust the four corners of the transformation box nodes, so that the shape of the lotus can be better combined with the notch of the shell (Figure 15).
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12. Use the pen tool to outline the lower part of the lotus beyond the shell along the outline of the inside of the shell (Picture 16). After completion, convert the path to a selection and delete the selected part (Picture 17).
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13. Use the Burn Tool with the same settings as when using the Burn Tool previously, and reduce the stroke size appropriately. Apply a slight darker color to the bottom of the petals below the lotus to create the dark side of the bottom of the petals. Go back to the shell layer, and also use the burn tool to smear the joint between the edge of the shell and the bottom of the lotus petals, deepening the color to express the shadow of the lotus petals (Figure 18).
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14. Go back to the layer where you pasted the recent lotus flower, hold down CTRL+ALT and drag the lotus image, copy a few of them, adjust their shape and size with free transformation, and place them in different positions. Check and delete the part of the lotus stem that extends beyond the mouth of the shell. I won’t go into details about the specific steps. I believe that this step can be easily done by following the previous steps, such as (Figure 19).
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15. Okay, the combination of the shell and the lotus is almost finished. Next, add a background to the shell and open a picture of gravel (Picture 20).
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16. Return to the shell file, use the magic wand tool to select the black area around the shell in the background layer, then execute the menu-Select-Invert selection to inverse the selected selection, and then copy and paste the selected shell. Drag the gravel image into the shell file and place it on top of the background layer (Figure 21).
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17. Hold down CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and drag the gravel image horizontally, copy the gravel image, execute menu-Edit-Transform-Horizontal Flip, and move the copied gravel image to the right position, so that there are two The bright colors on the gravel image are well connected. Then merge the two gravel layers and use the stamp tool to slightly rest the edges where the two layers join (Figure 22).
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18. Execute menu-Edit-Free Transform and adjust the style of the gravel image as shown in (Figure 23).
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19. Use the Burn Tool, with the same settings as the last time you used it, and apply a slight darkening to the gravel. The deepening is at the base of the shell. This creates the shadow cast by the shell onto the surface of the gravel (Figure 24).
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20. Okay, the shadow is finished, so the picture is complete. Finally, you can use the curve command to slightly brighten the color of the shell, and then use the burn tool to slightly deepen the edge of the bottom of the shell so that the shell can be more harmoniously combined with the gravel. You can also use CTRL+U or CTRL+B to adjust the color of the shell. The specific color adjustment depends on your preference, so I won’t go into details here. This way the image will look better (Figure 25).
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