Half-Translucent Effect

[Alexandria]

I have to make a digital wedding invitation and would like to use this effect:

Can anyone tell me how to make this "Half-Translucent Effect" please?

 

[Rich54]

Here's a way:

• Using the image you posted, duplicate the background layer.
• Convert the duplicated layer to a Smart Object. Then apply a Gaussian Blur of about 3.5 pixels. (The smart object allows you to go back later and vary the amount of blur, if needed.)
• Temporarily turn off the visibility of the duplicated smart object layer.
• Create a new blank layer sandwiched between your two existing layers. Label it as the Shape Layer.
• Create any (envelope) shape you like and fill it with white on this new blank layer. (I'm using a simple rectangle in this example.)
• Add a drop shadow to your shape, add a Bevel & Emboss, and reduce the layer fill (not the opacity) to about 75%.
• Turn on the visibility of your top layer and clip it to your shape layer.
• With the shape layer active, use the Move tool to position the shape anywhere you like. Because of the clipping, the blurriness of the top layer will "travel" as you reposition the shape layer.

Once you've got everything set up, experiment with all the settings: the blurriness of the top layer; the fill amount of the shape layer; the Bevel & Emboss settings. Here's what I've got:

 

[Alexandria]

Thank you Rich54 for the "simple" explanation. Was fun to make.

Was heading for this..

... and ended up with this. It's missing the "realism" to the envelope.

 

[Rich54]

It's missing the "realism" to the envelope.

Activate the Info panel (found in the Window menu). Hover your cursor across various parts of the "Harrison & Layla" image and watch what happens to the RGB values of the pixels as you move it around. In general, the pixels are darker at the bottom and lighter at the top. But even within the top and bottom, there is a lot of variation. The RGB values keep dancing around for even small movements of the cursor.

Your image, on the other hand, is 100% flat, meaning that there is absolutely no variation in the RGB values as you hover across it. That flatness contributes toward the lack of realism.

The other difference I see between your result and the sample is that yours has very little indication of thickness. The envelope and its gray background are all in the same plane. You need to emphasize that the envelope is an object that is separate from its background.






Here are a few ideas:

• Using a Levels adjustment, darken your image (just the envelope) and then apply a gradient in the layer mask so that the darkness fades away toward the top.
• Add a new layer above your image and fill with white. Set the foreground and background colors to white and light gray. Go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Change the layer blend mode to Multiply and reduce the layer opacity down to maybe 35% to give a subtle effect of lighting variation.
• For the flap portion of the envelope, try to emphasize that it is folded over and has rounded thickness that sits above the rest of the envelope. Try selecting just the flap and give it an extra Bevel & Emboss.
• The Harrison & Layla example has a drop shadow that gives the envelope extra thickness and separates it from the background.
• I took your image and applied a thin white stroke around the perimeter of the envelope, blurred by about 2 pixels. It's just another attempt to introduce the idea of thickness to your envelope.
• Lastly, for the flap portion of your envelope, I think we can see too much text. It doesn't look enough like a double-layer of translucency. I took your image and blurred the text a bit more where the flap is.

Just a few thoughts. Hope it's helpful.

 

[Alexandria]

Will give it another go and see what comes become of it, thank you