Learn how to use filters to manipulate your existing images into stunning creations. This is a fun tutorial that even beginners should enjoy. -Troy Packer

Ice Mask

Image 5: Fine tune the colours with the Colour Balance. Image >> Adjustments >> Colour Balance... I got a nice bluish-purple. Again play with the sliders to see what you can come up with. Image 6: I adjusted the Levels slightly to push the darks back and to bring out a bit more detail in the chrome pattern. Image >> Adjustments >> Levels... I also used the Dodge Tool with a soft brush in certain areas to bring out the highlights a bit more. This had the added advantage of slightly altering the colour and saturation of the blue giving the mask an icy translucent look. Image 7: I wanted to bring in a basic background for the mask, one that would either compliment or be part of the main image of the mask. I thought I would try to make the background merge with the mask. I duplicated the layer again, and applied a Polar Co-ordinates filter. Filter >> Distort >> Polar Co-ordinates Polar to Rectangle settings, You will have to hide the top layer to see the effect. I erased around the mask in the top layer to show the filter effect of the lower layer. Image 8: To break up the symmetry of the Polar filter, I rotated the layer 90 degrees. Edit >> Transform >> Rotate 90 CCW Image 9: For the eyes, I created a new layer and used white with a soft round brush to shade them in. I then put an Outer Glow effect on it. You can use any settings you like to get the desired effect. My settings were Spread 3%, Size 80%, and the Range at 100%, and with a bluish colour to match the rest of the image. Image 10: Next I thought I would give his eyes a bit of cold mist coming off them. Create a new layer, called something like "eye mist". I drew a few rough lines with a small hard brush over one eye. You don’t have to be tidy at all with these, and they should be totally random. This tutorial continues on the next page >>