I wanted to add even more mist to a recent Bryce render, so I opened the image in PhotoShop, added a layer of pale blueish white, used the clouds filter on that layer....

and then I was sort of stumped.

I tried adding a gradient to that layer (thinking it might fade the layer to transparency, so I could see the image beneath)

It didn't - it just changed the clouds filter to white at the bottom of the image and blue at the top.

I then tried using the eraser, set to 'brush' to erase the cloudy layer away in specific areas, so I could see the image below - only in certain areas.

This worked, but very badly, as the eraser brush jumped from position to position as I moved the mouse, leaving behind hole-punched looking gaps in the mist, nasty!

I wanted a smooth area of transparency with a very soft edge.

Is there any way to do this?

Can the eraser be adjusted?

or should I be using some other method?

is it something to do with masks?

Help?

Fran, usually the gradient should be applied to a layer mask with the mask selected otherwise the gradient is applied directly to the image obscuring it. In this case it sounds like you applied it right to the cloud layer image so it canceled itself out.

To use the eraser tool on the cloud layer, try making the brush soft and then change the opacity to somewhere between 25 – 50%. That way you erase gradually and not take big chuncks out of the layer. And you can also change the opacity of the cloud layer.
 

And finally, do yourself a favor and follow this tutorial to create a cloud brush but if you don’t have time for the tutorial right now then simply download the readymade brush from here:

http://www.lunacore.com/photoshop/tutorials/tut021.htm

down towards the bottom of the page he offers a link to download the brush. Try this brush with different foreground and background colors. Hope this helps.

P.S. Just in case: put brush in brush subfolder in the Photoshop presets folder. Then load it in the brush palette.

I've made my brush - loved doing that - my 1st one!

Only where he says:
"hover over the brush to make sure you delete the right one, the name will appear,"
well... no name appears, so now I can't tell which brush is which.

How do I get PhotoShop to tell me the names of brushes?

Right-ho, cos that's where I'm hovering and I'm getting nothing...

Hang on, maybe it's not having the selection tool on... You seem to have an arrow where I had a hand....

Nope, I have an arrow right up until my cursor gets over the brushes, then it changes to a hand... that's weird!

(and no names still)

Anyway right click works, so thanks for that.

You may have to hover a little while longer. I placed that arrow there to indicate where the mouse cursor should be because when you screengrab the cursor disappears.

Thanks Quest! I can't wait to try this tutorial. It looks awesome.

 Rather then drawing with the erasor tool on the layer, i would draw on the layers mask with a similarly configured brush instead.  That way you can always recover areas that were turned invisible, unlike with the erasor.

I don't understand Photoshop masks and so rarely use them; it means that I've come up with some useful useful self-taught alternatives that work well with Bryce renders, I think. My two cents' worth:

Use a cloud brush as the eraser, that way the 'erasings' will not be too solid and will look more natural.

The biggest single tip I can come up with is to use Bryce to make mask renders of the various elements in your picture, say near, middle and background objects, and use these to produce seperate layers for each element of the picture in Photoshop over a background of the flat, basic Bryce render.  You can then paint your FX in front of, behind and even between your scene elements; it works especially well with smoke/steam/clouds and light rays.  I've attached a few samples where I used this technique with Bryce.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1617658

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1616421

Caution - this one's got gore and slight nudity:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1393832

And one with Poser, the principle's the same:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1736193

Rayraz,

Quote -  Rather then drawing with the erasor tool on the layer, i would draw on the layers mask with a similarly configured brush instead.  That way you can always recover areas that were turned invisible, unlike with the erasor.

How do you make a layers mask though? 

I've no idea.

Paul Francis,

I've used mask renders from Bryce before, but I don't really see how to use such a thing in this particular render as it's not a distance landscape with some things behind others - here I just have a corridor with one thing inside it.

Fran, open a new layer above your image and apply your cloud filter, Next, go to the layer menu and select layer mask: reveal all. Select the eraser tool make sure you have it on soft brush mode and reduce its opacity to 10 -15%. Start erasing on the upper part of the cloud layer and you should start seeing through down to the image below. See what’s happening in the layers palette on the mask?

 To make a mask, you first select the layer you want, then you look at the bottom of the layers panel for an icon that looks like a grey square with a white dot in the middle. If u click it once, you get a raster mask for (pixel drawing) if you click it a 2nd time you also add a vector mask (for vector drawing). both masks will act on your image, so you can use both for combined effect if so desired. But in practice you'll probably only use the raster mask.

To draw on the mask you must first click the mask thumbnail in the layers panel, to select the mask. To draw on the layer itself again, simply click the layers thumbnail.

I would create a new layer, scribble randomly with any brush. Then filter guassian blur until the edges fade enough, then fiddle about with the opacity and blending options of the layer. Alternatively, I would download a picture of some wispy clouds. Then drag that on as a layer and play about with the blend modes and opacity again.

You know what? I haven't the first clue of what you lot are on about.

Must be your age!

 As a cardinal, he cant admit to heresy... ;-)

Orbital... ROFL!!

Any good?

Been using the cloud brush I made from the tutorial - and used lots of layers.

I didn't use the Gaussian blur though, but I did mix around the layers opacity - and the brush's opacity before using as well...
I'm going to try doing some masking in Bryce after all as well, since you never really know what'll work until you try it.

(Muttermumblemuttergripesmoanmumble)

The black is Object mask, the grey is distance mask (although altitude mask looks a very similar grey). it doesn't seem to matter whether I have everything selected, some things selected, or just the robot selected.

Help?

(the side view shows the camera and the objects in the scene.)

It's kind of hard to tell Fran but by any chance do you have a 2D plane in front of the camera somewhere? Maybe for the mist effect? That could be blocking the object view.

Bingo, you're right.

It's working now that I've hidden the plane - now I just have to remember, or find out, what to do with the distance mask...