Make A Smoking Dancer

Craft intricate shapes out of incense smoke trails using blending modes and transform controls with smokin’ hot Photoshop whizz james Paterson

- James Paterson

Smoke trails create beautiful organic shapes that are perfect for a Photoshop project. We’ve supplied a few smoke images, but you might want to make your own. It looks best when shot in front of a dark backdrop and lit from behind. The contrast with the background makes the smoke stand out, and the back lighting gives it a beautiful glow. The easiest way to achieve this is to light an incense stick from behind. Once done, you can turn the flowing smoke into any form you like – such as our dancer – using simple blending mode and transform controls. This is easier than it looks, and the results can be stunning.

STEP BY STEP / All smoke and no mirrors

1 Make a new document