Make the page pop

Claire Gillo shares her top tips on how to create a fairytale scene using three images

Combining images together to make a fun and surreal scene is what Photoshop is all about! To make your book scene look authentic, you need to have patience when it comes to selecting and blending in the figures, so don’t rush these stages. For best results use Layer Masks with your selections, and zoom in close to your subject, working your way around the selection with a small brush to tidy up the edges.

In step 1 of the tutorial below, I use the Pen Tool to make a Shape Layer of book pages, which I can then apply my grass image onto. The Pen Tool is by far the most accurate way for cutting out shapes with curves and straight lines in Photoshop. It can take a little time to master the Pen Tool, but once you know the tricks, you won’t ever look back!

If you haven’t used the Pen Tool much, or at all, I recommend that you first go to Adobe’s Pen Tool help page (helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/using/drawing‑pentools. then get practising. www.clairegillo.com Instagram: @clairegillophotography