As is always the case in
Photoshop, there are many ways of doing the same thing. Here are 4
- in increasing difficulty and effectiveness.
Method 1:
This one is REALLY simple.
Select the
sky and clouds using the magic wand or the stitch tool (or any other
method of selecting an area). Then go edit,
copy, edit, paste. You now have a
second layer of the selected area. Go to
windows, show layers.
Select the top layer. In the white box
that says normal, use the small down arrow and select multiply.
This produces instant doubling of the sky density only. A great effect
that is basically invisible.
Method 2:
Again select
the sky with your method of choice. Go
to image,
adjust, selective color. Using
the small down arrow, go down and select
blue. With
the absolute
box checked, add
100% black to the blue. Now go to cyan
and repeat the processes. If the sky
still is not dark enough, repeat the entire processes. If you have no
other blue in the picture, it is not even necessary to use a selected
area. Keep in mind, this does not effect the white clouds.
Method 3:
Select the
sky. This time feather
the selected area about 3 pixels. Then,
using the dodge
and burn action described
in an earlier lesson, simply use a VERY large
paint brush and
paint the sky darker. This gives you a little more control than simply
darkening the selected area. It is not as precise as the first two
methods and is my least favorite.
Method 4:
Select the sky
using the magic wand. Hold down the shift key as you select to add more
of the sky. Hold down the alt key to delete part of the sky. When you
have all the sky selected, use Select -
Modify - Expand (1 pixel). Now use
Select - Feather
(1 pixel). These last two steps will more effectively blend your new sky
with the original scene. Leave the
marquee (marching ants) there.
Now open a cloud scene of your
choice and drag
it into the original picture. In order to place these clouds behind the
original scene you will need to rename the
background layer (double
click, rename, like xxx). Move the cloud layer to the bottom.
Activate the top layer (blue on layer pallet) and Cut. The old sky drops
away and the new sky shows through.
