Draw An Underwater Scene With Fish From Scratch

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a colorful underwater scene with fish.

You'll learn how to use the following:

* Gradients.
* Difference Clouds.
* Line Drawing, using a simple brush.
* Hue / Saturation.
* Layer Blending Mode.

You'll be amazed of the infinite ways to work with Photoshop. Have fun, and learn.

End result:

Author:

Step 1

Open a new 900 X 600 px document.

Resolution: 72

Use color # 0099CC for your foreground.

Use color # 003366 for your background.

Use the Gradient Tool (G), and make a vertical line from the bottom to the top of your layer.

Leave the layer's name, "Background.

Set the layer blending mode to: "Screen".

Step 2

Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M).

Make a rectangular selection at the bottom of the frame.

Name layer, "Ocean Floor".

This will be your ocean floor.

Use the Gradient Tool ( G), and make a selection.

Color # 000000 for background.

Color # 336666 for foreground.

Step 3

Filter - Render - Difference Clouds.

Hit the key Ctrl + F ( 7 times ).

To get something like this.

Step 4

Image - Adjustments - Brightness / Contrast.

Brightness: + 20.

Contrast: + 25.

Step 5

Image - Adjustments - Color Balance.

Highlights: Cyan -50. Blue + 30.

Step 6

Use the Blur Tool (R).

Blur the top edge of the ocean floor.

Use a soft 100 px brush to blur. Strenght, set to 60%.

Start at the bottom of the arrows, shown in image.

Step 7

Use the Smudge Tool (R).

Do some smudging over the layer, "Ocean Floor".

Use a 100 px soft brush, with an Strength of 25%.

Add some noise.

Amount: 5%.

Monochromatic.

Uniform.

Step 8

Place layer, "Ocean Floor", on top of layer, "Background".

Step 9

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L).

Draw a shape like this.

This will be the wreck of a galleon.

Use color # 999966.

Name new layer, "Galleon".

Step 10

Add some noise to the shape of the galleon.

Filter - Noise - Add Noise.

Amount: 20%.

Uniform.

Monochromatic.

Step 11

Make a copy of the layer, "Galleon". Do not name layer.

Fill the selection with color # 333333.

Set the blending mode for the layer to: Color Burn.

Opacity of 70%.

Merge the layer down.

Step 12

The layer will remain, "Galleon".

Use a 5 px hard brush, with an opacity of 50%.

Make some lines over the galleon. Use black color.

To make the darker spots, use the Burn Tool (O). Use an opacity of 70% and a 100 px soft brush.

Filter - Noise - Add Noise.

Amount: 20%.

Uniform.

Monochromatic.

Step 13

Add a Bevel and Emboss layer style to the galleon.

Use the preset settings.

Add some highlights.

Use the Dodge Tool (O) to give some highlights to the galleon.

Use a 65 px soft brush, with an exposure of 60%.

Step 14

Make a copy of circled area of the galleon.

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), to make a selection of the area shown in image.

Copy (Ctrl + C) and Paste (Ctrl + V).

Do not name layer. Move selection to the top of galleon.

Add a Bevel and Emboss layer style.

Use preset settings.

Merge layer down. It will remain, "Galleon".

Step 15

Use the Eraser Tool (E), to erase some areas from the galleon.

Make some holes on top as shown in image.

You can erase the bottom of the galleon, with a 100 px soft brush, and Opacity of 60%.

The galleon is finished!!!

Step 16

Your image should look like this.

To slant the galleon, use the Transform Tool (Ctrl + T).

Step 17

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), to make a shape like shown in image.

Fill selection with Gradient (G).

Colors for gradient: # 333333 and # 000000.

With shape selected, make a slanted line from the bottom to the top of the shape.

Name new layer "Hill 1".

Place layer, "Background", on top of layer, "Hill 1". You will see the transparency.

Step 18

With layer, "Hill 1" selected, add Difference Clouds.

Filter - Render - Difference Clouds.

Hit Ctrl + F (2 times).

Image - Adjustments - Hue/Saturation.

Hue: 80.

Saturation: 20.

Step 19

Use the Smudge Tool (R).

Start smudging the hill as I did.

Use a 50 px smooth brush, with a strength of 50%. Mode Normal.

Use the Dodge Tool (O) to highlight the areas that receive light.

Use the Burn tool (O) to burn the areas that do not receive light.

Step 20

Make a copy of layer "Hill 1".

Name new layer, "Hill 2".

Place new layer to the bottom left side.

Use the Eraser Tool (E), to erase the top part of layer, "Hill 2".

Smudge the top of the layer "Hill 2", the way you smudged layer, "Hill 1".

Filter - Noise - Add Noise.

Amount 5%.

Uniform.

Monochromatic.

Step 21

Make a copy of layer, "Hill 2".

Name new layer, "Hill 3".

Edit - Transform - Flip Horizontal.

Use the Transform Tool ( Ctrl + T ), to make a shape of "Hill 3", as shown in image.

Merge down layers, "Hill 2 and Hill 3". This will make a new layer. Name it, "Hills 2 and 3".

Step 22

Let's draw the coral.

Open a new layer, fill it with black color (# 000000).

Name layer, "Black".

This layer will be your blackboard to draw the image of a coral plant. Do not delete layer as we'll use it to draw more objects over.

Open a new layer, name it, "Coral 1".

Use a hard 5 or 9 px brush. Color # 99666666.

Add a Layer Style, Bevel and Emboss to the drawing.

Start drawing branches, as if you were drawing a tree.

Continue drawing more branches. For the smaller branches, use a smaller brush, a 5 or 3 px.

Filter - Noise - Add Noise.

Amount: 25.

Step 23

Here is your first coral.

Add Curves.

Image - Adjustments - Curves.

Input: 70

Output: 55

Step 24

Copy layer, "Coral 1" three times.

Name layers, "Coral 2, Coral 3 and Coral 4".

Place the corals at different places as shown in image.
Use the Transform Tool ( Ctrl + T ), to make them smaller.

Add a Hue and Saturation effect.

Image - Adjustments - Hue - Saturation.

Coral 2: Hue 85.

Coral 3: Hue: 100.

Coral 4: Hue 40.

Step 25

Let's draw the Anemone.

Open a new layer, name it, "Anemone".

Use a hard brush 13 px Opacity 100%, with color # 666666. (Fig. 1).

Use same brush with color # 000000, and draw an oval on top of drawing. (Fig 2).

To draw the arms use a 5 px hard brush with the colors you want, I used # 99333 and # 996600 for the thinner lines.

Step 26

Duplicate layer, "Anemone". Name new layer, "Anemone 2".

Place the layers, "Anemone 1 and 2", over layer, "Hills 2 - 3".

You do not need the layer "Black" for now, just close it by clicking over the left eye of layer, to make it invisible. We'll use it later to draw the fish.

Use a Color Balance, over "Anemone 2", to change the color. It is up to you what colors you want to use on your anemone. I used:

Highlights: Cyan 100%.

Merge down layers, "Anemone and Anemone 2" to the layer, "Corals". Merge down again this layer, to layer, "Hills 2 - 3". Name new layer, "Ocean Plants", in this way, you will keep all of those layers in one.

Use the Smudge Tool (R), to smudge the bottom of the ocean plants over the hill, to make it a part of them.

Use a 25 px soft brush and Opacity of 50%.

Step 27

Everything is getting into place, but where is the fish?

I will show you how to draw a fish in a simple way. I would like to look at the image provided for you, as all the information is there. This is not a common fish, I got the idea, when we had the contest to draw digital images of fish, and one of the rules, was to create your own, or draw an existing fish. I decided to make my own creation of fish. Looking kind of cartoonish, to blend with the image.

I do not want to confuse you, by writing again what is shown in the image, as I have done in all previous steps.

It is up to you to change the colors, but this is the way I thought it would be fun and nice drawing it.

Step 28

Before start making the eyes, be sure to name the layer, with the drawn fish, "Fish".

Open layer, "Black" as we will work over it to draw the eye.

Open a new layer, name it, "Eye".

Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M), to make a circular selection.

Fill selection with white. Use a 35 px soft brush, and Opacity of 60%. Color # 663300, to make a kind of shade over the white area of the eye.

Open a new layer, name it "Iris". Fill layer with color # 999933. Paint a black spot over the iris with same 35 px soft brush, and Opacity of 100%.

Give a little highlight, with a hard 9 px brush. Merge the layer "Iris" down to the "Eye" layer. Name new layer, "Eye".

Make a copy of layer, "Eye", name new layer, "Eye 2".

Step 29

How to form the fish.

You will make many smaller selections, from areas from the body of the fish. The instructions are added in image provided for you.

After all the shapes of the fish are in place, use the Smudge Tool (R), to smudge the bottom endings of shapes. Use a 24 or 30 px soft brush, and Opacity of 50%.

Step 30

You can merge down all the little shapes, you used to form the fish. By merging all layers down to layer "Fish", name new layer, "Fish".

Make three more copies of layer, "Fish". Name layers, "Fish 2, Fish 3 and Fish 4".

For "Fish 2" use the Transform Tool ( Ctrl + T ) to give this fish a different look. Use Image - Adjustments - Hue/Saturation to give it a blue color. Hue: 100.

For the little fish, just use the Transform Tool (Ctrl + T) to make them smaller, as they are copies from the other ones.

Delete layer, "Black". You won't need it again.

Step 31

Place your finished fish in any place you might think will look nice. You can also add more sea creatures to the image. If you are able to draw some fish shapes, do it.

I think we had fun creating this underwater world. Follow the directions for the last step, and we are done!!

Step 32

We arrived at the end of this tutorial. I thank you again for your patience to follow me through these colorful steps.

Do not hesitate in asking, if you have any trouble understanding some of the steps. I will he happy to help. I wish you enjoy the wonders of working with Photoshop as I do. I also hope that your learning improves, by looking at all the nice and wonderful tutorials we have here in the site. I am honored to belong to the site and to provide these tutorials for you.

Good luck to all of you!