In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a realistic snow globe in Photoshop with a snowfall effect, using your own photos.
This snow globe effect is part of my Animated Snow Globe Photoshop Action for Christmas and my Snow Globe Christmas Mockup with GIF Animation from my portfolio on GraphicRiver.
Tutorial Assets
The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:
- Snow Brushes
- Snowing Texture
- Snow Globe Overlay
- Frozen Snow Texture
- Winter Bokeh Lights Texture
- Red Ribbon PSD File
- Castle Image
1. How to Create the Background
Step 1
Create a new 1200 x 1200px document and create a new layer called Blue Background. Fill the layer with color #d9d9d9 using the Paint Bucket Tool.
Step 2
Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and set the Amount to 5%, Distribution to Uniform, and check Monochromatic.
Step 3
Open the Layer Style Window of this layer and add a Gradient Overlay (colors #ffffff and #000000) and a Color Overlay (color #4dc4de). You can of course choose any other color that you like for the Color Overlay.
2. How to Create the Snow Globe Effect
Step 1
Add the Snow Globe Overlay in a new layer; you have to resize the image to fit your canvas if you are using the same canvas size. Call this layer Shade. Duplicate this layer and call it Highlight. Hide the Highlight layer for now.
Step 2
Set the Blend Mode of Shade layer to Multiply, Opacity 100%.
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Curves. Click directly on the Curve line and add one point with Output 130 and Input 69. Add another point with Output 244 and Input 183.
Right click on the Curves adjustment and choose Create Clipping Mask.
Step 3
Make the Highlight layer visible. Set the Blend Mode to Screen, Opacity 100%.
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Curves. Click on the first point and drag to move it; set the Output to 235 and the Input to 0.
Click directly on the Curve line and add one point with Output 55 and Input 71. Add another point with Output 114 and Input 215.
Right click on the Curves adjustment and choose Create Clipping Mask.
Step 4
Go back to the Highlight layer and click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Pick the Brush Tool and choose the Soft Round brush; set the size to around 200 px. Set the Foreground Color to #000000. Click on the layer mask and simply paint over the center of the snow globe.
3. How to Add the Castle Image
Step 1
Create a new layer below the Shade layer and call it Castle Image. Copy and Paste the Castle Image in this new layer. You have to resize and move the image to get look that you want.
Step 2
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Gradient Map. Right click on the Gradient Map adjustment and choose Create Clipping Mask.
Set the Blend Mode of the Gradient Map to Color, Opacity 92%. For the gradient, choose the colors #154654 and #e8fdfd.
4. How to Create the Snow Surface
Step 1
You can hide the Castle Image layer for the moment. Pick the Ellipse Tool and create a shape as shown in the image below. Call this layer Snow Base.
Add an Inner Shadow layer style to the Snow Base layer. The color for the shadow is #1d2528.
Step 2
Create a new layer and call it Frozen Snow Texture. Copy and Paste the Frozen Snow Texture stock image in this layer. Right click on the layer and choose Create Clipping Mask.
Go to Edit > Transform > Perspective and modify the perspective by dragging the points. If you want you can also reduce the opacity of this layer.
Click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Pick the Gradient Tool with Linear Gradient and set the colors for the gradient #000000 and #ffffff. Position the pointer in the image where you want to set the starting point of the gradient, and drag to define the ending point. Hold Shift as you drag.
5. How to Add the Red Ribbon
You can now make the Castle Image layer visible again. Create a new layer above the Gradient Map adjustment of the Castle Image layer, and call it Red Ribbon.
Download the bow-vector.psd, and inside you can find the red ribbon. You can change the color of the ribbon. Go to File > Save for Web and Devices and save the image as PNG-24 with the Transparency option checked. Add this PNG image on the Red Ribbon layer by going to File > Place.
6. Add the Image Inside the Snow Globe
Step 1
Click on the Red Ribbon layer. Hold down Shift and click on the Snow Base layer to select all the layers in between. Go to Layer > New > Group from Layers. Call this new group Castle.
Step 2
Go to the Shade layer, Control-click on the layer thumbnail to make a selection. Go to the Castle Group and press the Add Layer Mask button.
Step 3
Go to the Castle Image layer and add it as a layer mask. Set the Foreground Color to #000000 and use the Brush Tool to paint over the areas that you want to hide. You can use a soft round brush and different opacity levels.
Step 4
If you want you can reveal more of the castle's original colors. Go to the Gradient Map adjustment of the Castle Layer and use the Brush Tool (color #ffffff) to paint over the areas that you want to reveal.
7. How to Create the Falling Snow Effect
Step 1
Create a new layer called Falling Snow inside the Castle Group. Copy and Paste the Snowing Texture in this new layer. Set the blend mode to Screen, Opacity 100%.
Step 2
If you want more of the snow effect inside the snow globe, you can use the Snow Brushes. Create a new layer and use the Brush Tool with color #ffffff and different opacity levels to add more snowflakes.
8. How to Create the Winter Background
Step 1
Create a new layer called Bokeh Lights. Copy and Paste the Winter Bokeh Lights Texture in this layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian and set the Radius to 15 pixels.
Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light, Opacity88%.
Step 2
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Brightness/Contrast. Right click on the adjustment and choose Create Clipping Mask.
9. How to Add Snowflakes Brushes
For the final touches, you can create three different layers and add snowflakes around the edges of the canvas using the Snow Brushes. Use color #ffffff for the brush and different opacity levels to create a vignette.
Congratulations, You're Done!
The is the end of this tutorial. I hope you've enjoyed learning how to create a snow globe in Photoshop in just a few easy steps.
If you are looking for a quicker way to create a snow globe in Photoshop, you can try my premium items. This snow globe effect is part of my Animated Snow Globe Photoshop Action for Christmas and my Snow Globe Christmas Mockup with GIF Animation from my portfolio on GraphicRiver.
