The magic of Brushes

I recently started playing around with Photoshop brushes that one can download offline. I've already gotten nearly two hundred, and they were all free! They can be used to make amazing effects, like in the picture I'm about to show. The easiest way to get the new brushes is just to use a search engine like Google to find a website that has an assortment of them. They all download a little differently; some come in zipped folders, some as RAR, and others in the correct format. If yours come in one of the first two, you simply need to extract the files to the desired folder. then, in the brush menu, click "load brushes" and click the ones you want! here's a picture I made with some of my new brushes!

I was going to put this picture onto a cool background, but the lighting didn't match at all. anyway, there is a fun project for you all to have fun trying. I will make a really cool picture with these new brushes soon and post it.

Making a Rainbow

Today, I'm going to go over how to put a realistic rainbow into a picture. I used Photoshop Elements 7.0, but it should work with any other kind of Photoshop. I started out with a picture i took.

Then, I used the gradient tool on a new layer to apply a rainbow. Make sure you use the circular option up top, otherwise it will make a straight line.

Then use the move tool and the free transform tool to change the size and location of the rainbow. Lower the opacity so that it looks realistic. I put mine at thirty, but it will depend on your picture. I also used a feathered eraser to get rid of most the rainbow, except the parts I wanted.

Lastly, I copied that layer with the rainbow, (Ctrl+J) and flipped it upside down and put in over the reflection of the mountain. I had to lower the opacity again because it looks darker in the reflection. I found that about Fifteen percent was just perfect. then, for the final touch, I used the smudge tool with a very fine brush on the reflected rainbow layer to give it that reflected effect like the rest of the picture.

The final product turned out like this! Tell me what you think!!