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Lower layer bleed through effect


keunai

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Basically I have a text layer and a layer below that, I want to bleed the text layer through and show the details of the photo beneath with that similar look that you get when you use overlay on a part of the photo that has those same characteristics... Simply put I need the text to have enough detail to be legible and yet I need it to be able to basically 'enhance' the texture below via saturation and maybe even sharpness.

I've attempted to do this in several different ways through layer masks, through several text layers with different settings and using most of the blending modes. I know that I've done it before and yet I cannot remember how I've done it in the past and so I'm going to go ahead and place a simple reference image here and if anyone has any ideas... I'd love to hear them.


Capture.PNG


As you can see in that picture the text has a ghosted effect and the details from beneath the text can be seen as well as the effect of the details being saturated and sharpened to a point where it gives the text a 'texture' and yet still retains that ghostly look.

Thanks for any assistance that anyone can provide.
 

IamSam

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Hello and welcome.

Your example image is too small..............can't see what it is your referring to. Could be a simple clipping mask. Perhaps a larger or different image?
 

keunai

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Thank you for the welcoming.

Well unfortunately the image I was dealing with was rather tiny, and that's actually the full size of that selection... If you look carefully however you can see that the details blend through showing that the background is actually being used as part of the texture, of course I've tried a clipping layer, a masking layer, several blending modes, several techniques with lighting, etc... I just needed a fresh perspective.
 

keunai

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Hmm.... It seems like transparency with a gradient and yet it doesn't seem to be that... Interesting effect, however there is one bit missing... The colors need to be saturated or intensified to create a sort of 'ghosting' effect that allows the text to stand out a bit more... Otherwise it's very good.
 

IamSam

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Still just guessing. Without a better example it's hard to tell.

Screen Shot 2015-02-27 at 10.42.49 PM.png
 

keunai

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Yeah I do apologize for the lack of an example, and hm... What I mean is something like... You can take the bits of the photo that are shown through and basically sharpen, saturate, and even bloom the actual content... Think of it like pulling out a piece of the photo and applying a few filters on it to create that bloom effect over the whites, and that really nice contrast between the colors... It's hard to explain, but you've been able to get closer than I have and perhaps that is just because of images who knows. I'll see if I can find a better image as well.
 

dv8_fx

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It could be one two things..

Either the text on the layer is in the same shade of light red as in the background and that the opacity is lowered ...

....Layer set to multiply or something else (soft light?), and opacity lowered slightly. Probably use airbrush with a certain red shade in a darkening mode to give it a gradient-ish effect.

Can't give a go at it as I have something loaded in another application here. Give it a try.
 

keunai

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I'll go ahead and give that a try, it's certainly quite an 'interesting' situation and I do wish I had a better photo... But anyways, I'll take a go at it.
 

dv8_fx

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There's definitely another layer that has been nudged down. The text could also be on that layer or grouped as a set.

Eraser tool set at airbrush could also have been used to delete parts to blend to the darker background layer.
 

keunai

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Alright, I tried something pretty specific and it managed to work decently well..

1. I took the text layer and set it to 'Soft Life' and turned the opacity down to 60%.
2. I used the text to create a mask and then applied a brightness layer effect using the text as the mask layer... Basically I brightened the text to the maximum value to allow the light to be easily blended across the scene and become visible as opposed to being hidden in the background.
3. I applied a stroke effect and a bevel to create a more defined look.


I'm still working on making it look a bit more 'defined' and working on creating that saturation look, but here is what I have thus far.


Capture.PNG

Unfortunately due to what I am working on, it is rather small but I am at least able to speak of the process I used for it.. If you can see in the image the bits of the image do bleed through, and it does have that 'texture' look but it still requires that additional saturation and 'ghosting' from the image.
 

dv8_fx

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To me, the dark theme on your sample image works well with the effect your going for. In the same way a glowing ghost looks better in the dark..... :cheesygrin:.

With this last image your working on, the "mar" on your text seems to blend in nicely. Maybe need to retouch the "Var" a bit more? Maybe duplicate the text, apply a different color, play with the modes then Delete the mar to blend it in with the rest......

Just thinking out loud.....
 

keunai

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No that's certainly a good idea, and it's a good way of thinking of it... I believe that the color is certainly the key here and of course that effect is probably not going to work nearly as well as on the sample image, but I'll have to see what I can come up with.

Unless you can think of anything else, I think there isn't much more that I can ask for... Pretty much just going to be a matter of messing around until it turns out right.
 

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