Step 5. Background and Colour Experimentation

In the image below you can see the background I created. It consists of a basic stone texture with a hotspot added to force the main subject to the front.

To create the stone texture background...

Duplicate the gradient layer. Then go into the channels tab.
Create a new alpha (you can name this stone or whatever) and apply a difference cloud filter
Filter >> Render >> Difference Cloud
ctrl f will keep applying the filter until you get something you like.
You can apply a noise filter if you like, not too much though because it can get too grainy looking.
Now back in your layer palette click on the duplicated gradient layer (make it active).
Add the light Filter >> Render >> Lighting Effects
On the left you can see the image and it has an ellipse around it. You can grab the points on the ellipse and move it around the image. One point projects a light source, the tighter the circle the brighter it will become. Try and get the ellipse to surround the whole image without burning it out. BEFORE YOU CLICK OK...
At the bottom of the Lighting Effects Menu there is a dropdown that is Texture Channel. Make sure you select "Alpha 1" (or whatever you named the new alpha you created). You will see the image on the left change to a stoney look.
Then all you have to do is adjust the mountainous slider to your liking.

Easy huh? You can play around with the settings but I just used the defaults. Once this is done I used the dodge and burn tool to brighten and darken areas but it's not really necessary.

If you look closely at the layer palettes below you can see that I have altered the hue/saturation/brightness of various layers to achieve the different results. By keeping your colour work on seperate layers you can virtually alter every aspect of the final look.

So that's it!
I hope you enjoyed this digital colouring tutorial and maybe even learnt something new along the way.

-Troy Packer