Fantasy Art Photopshop Tutorial – Plasma in the Lake

1. Make a new canvas, we used 600*480 px here, but the size is of course optional.

2. Select the Gradient Tool, using two shades of blue (see below), fill your canvas, so that the darker colour will be on top.


3. Take a photo of a girl. Traditionally I am using Becca‘s photo from her Deviant Art account, but you can replace her with any semi-sitting figure of your choice. Crop the figure and paste her unto your canvas. In needed, resize her so that she will fit in.

4. To get rid of the visible crappy cropping, and to give the girl more emphasis, add blueish glow to her by going to Layer >> Layer Styles >> Outer Glow and applying the following settings:

This is what you would get:

5. Make a new Layer. Make sure your primarily and secondary colours are black and white. Go to Filter >> Render >> Clouds




And, if needed apply the clouds effect a several times to achieve the desired randomly “clouded” effect.

6. Reduce the opacity of the layer to semi-visible.

7. Press Ctrl+T for free transform, and then right mouse click and “Scew”. Drag the left corner of the clouds layer, as shown on the illustration below:

Press “Enter” when you are done, then Ctrl + D to deselect the layer.
8. Duplicate the clouds layer. Select the upper layer and go to Edit >> Transform >> Flip Horizontal.

9. Select the girl’s layer from layers panel and drag it to the top, so that it would be your utmost upper layer.

Remember to remove the parts where layers turn to be on top of one another.
10. Take a photo of a lake with water circles. We used this one from Digital Free Photo, but again – this is optional.
Paste the layer unto your composition, so that the circles in the water will be “around” the girls or your main figure.

11. Using the Eraser Tool, remove the lower part of the girl’s layer, so create the illusion as if she is really sitting inside the water and the water circles are “from” her.

12. Set lake’s layer blending options to Luminosity.

13. Drag the Layers of the clouds on top of the water later and using eraser tool with soft edge (100px) remove the sharp parts, so that only the “steaming” clouds will remain, no edges.

14. Now to the hard bit – creating the plasma cycles.
Make a new layer (this is important) and place it on top of all the others.
15 Using the Elliptical Marquee tool, draw and ellipse. While the ellipse on the new layer is selected, Right-mouse-click and choose “stroke”. Apply the settlings below for the stroke effect:

16. Press Ctrl + T to free transform, and then right-mouse-click >> Prospective. Try to distort the round layer you have to it would look like the line is surrounding or flowing around the girl.

17. Using the Eraser tool with big soft edge, remove the “farther” part of the round, behind her head, like this:

18. While this layer is selected, go to Layer >> Layer styles >> Outter glow and apply the following glow settlings:


19. Duplicate the layer a several times and each time transform the round using the prospective settlings, so that the circles chaotically surround the main figure’s body.

20. Remember to leave the “front” part of the circle visible and erase the “back” part of it. This is more or less what you should have by now:

21. Flatten the Layer.
22. Go to Image >> Adjustments >> Levels and apply the following settlings to give the image an overall bluish hue:


23. Duplicate the layer.
24. While the upper layer is selected (and your background colour in the palette is set to white), go to Filter >> Distort >> Diffuse Glow and apply these glow settings.

25. Reduce the opacity of the “glowing layer” to 20% (or less, depends on your image).
26. Flatten the layer again to merge both layers into one.
27. Using some star brushes (download free on deviant Art resources page), apply the stars chaotically around and allover the glowing cycles.

28. Select the background layer (the artwork, not the stars) and to to Renters >> Lightening effect, apply the following spot light effect twice.

29. Get back to Stars layer, and go to Layer >> Layer Styles >> Outer Glow, and add the following glow using white #ffffff colour.

30. Duplicate the stars layer.
31. Go to Filter >> Blur >> Radial Blur and apply these settings.

You may choose to reduce the opacity of this layer if you feel the rounded blurred effect is too strong. That’s it, your artwork is ready:

Cell Phone Parental Control Software Review

 

Track Your Child's Smartphone Online

Don't worry about the content your child is viewing on their smartphone anymore. With the right software, you can monitor all their cell phone activity from any internet connection.

Why Cell Phone Parental Control Software?

Smartphones are computers that fit in the palm of your hand. Because these small devices have the power to connect to the internet, similar to your home computer, they require the same powerful protection. Your child's smartphone is their social hub and it allows you to stay in touch with them, but do you know what kind of information and media they're sending and receiving? Do you know what types of websites they visit? It's wise to keep at least some control over your kids' internet usage and wireless communication for their own safety and your peace of mind as a careful parent.
An increasingly common trend among teenagers is sending explicit content to one another or bullying their peers through messages and multimedia content on their phones. When your child has parental controls on their phone, it gives you control of the content being sent to and from their mobile device. Some of the best cell phone parental control software products allow you to set alerts if your child sends or receives specific keywords or phrases from a list you create. Additionally, you can view any text messages to see if your child is being cyberbullied or is cyberbullying someone else.

Cell Phone Parental Control: What to Look For

Each parental control application has a different area of focus. Some programs focus on logging the cell phone’s content, while others focus on features such as GPS monitoring, alerts and blocking content. The best software will offer a combination of these elements. It should provide several logging capabilities and additional features. Although, no matter how good the mobile parental control software may appear, make sure the software supports the smartphone you want to protect.
Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate this parental control software.

Feature Set
Mobile parental control software can offer a vast variety of features to fit the needs of you and your child. Several software applications give you control over the phone by allowing you to block certain websites and contacts and set time restrictions for the phone to be in use. Additionally, a good software application will include several further privacy features such as remote wipes or locks, in case your teenager loses track of their cellular device.

Logging
The best software will let you view your child’s call history, including the time, date and length of their phone calls. It will display all incoming and outgoing text messages so you know if your child is hiding information or has become victim to a cyberbully. Contact lists, photos, videos and visited websites will appear on the logs so you know what your child is viewing and who is sending it to them. As soon as your child accepts a file, message or call, the information will immediately be available on your account, so even if your child erases the activity from the phone’s memory you will be notified.

Ease of Use
For a software application to be beneficial, it must provide a user-friendly interface and simple navigation. The software must be easy to install and should remain hidden in the back of the phone so your child cannot tamper or disable the application. Some of the best software programs provide you a web account that gives you full control over your account. Having a web account allows you to view your child’s cell phone activity no matter where you are.

Help & Support
The best cell phone parental control software will provide customer support if any problems, concerns or questions may arise while installing or using the software. Telephone and email support are vital for providing excellent customer support. Additional resources, such as an extensive FAQs section available on the manufacturer’s website, are also beneficial.

A combination of these elements will provide the tools needed for you to keep an eye on your children. When using the best cell phone parental control software, you not only keep them out of trouble, you keep them safe too.