* * * PAINTING OUR BRIDGE * * *

1. Make your "background" layer active and add a new Vector layer named "bridge". (Layers/New Vector Layer).

2. Change your foreground color to "bridge 1" and your background color to null.

3. Click on your Preset Shapes tool and choose ellipse, with the following settings:

Shape: Ellipse
Retain style: UNchecked
Anti-alias: checked
Create as vector: checked
Line style: solid
Width: 25
Join: left icon
Miter limit: 15

4. Use your Preset shape tool to draw an ellipse as shown below:

5. Convert your "bridge" layer to raster (Layers/Convert to Raster Layer).

6. Click on your Eraser tool and erase the bottom portion of your ellipse, so your bridge starts and ends on grass:

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7. Change your foreground color to "bridge 2".

8. With your "bridge" layer active, add a new raster layer and name it "bridge details".

9. Click on your Paintbrush tool and use the following settings:

Shape: Round
Size: 1
Hardness: 100
Step: 1
Density: 100
Thickness: 100
Rotation: 0
Opacity: 100
Blend mode: Normal
Stroke: Continuous UNchecked
Wet look paint: UNchecked

10. Using your paintbrush, start defining your bridge. Don't worry about going outside your bridge area, we will clean this up later. You need one continuous line, as shown below, from the top (just right of center) to the bottom right, to define the top of the bridge:

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11. Make your "bridge" layer active.

12. Float your selection (Selections/Select All; Selections/Float).

13. Add Noise (Adjust/Add/Remove Noise/Add Noise) with the following settings:

(preview panes cropped to reduce load time)

14. Apply a Guassian Blur of 0.5 (Adjust/Blur/Guassian Blur).

15. Defloat your selection (Selections/Defloat).

16. Make your "bridge details" layer active and invert your selection (Selections/ Invert).

17. Hit your delete key to remove excess pixels.

18. Float your selection (Selections/Select All; Selections/Float).

19. Emboss your selection (Effects/Texture Effects/Emboss).

20. Apply a Guassian Blur of 0.5 (Adjust/Blur/Guassian Blur).

21. Merge your "bridge details" and you "bridge" layers; rename this merged layer "bridge".

22. Deselect (Selections/Select None).

  Save

23. Click on your Lighten/Darken Brush and use the following settings:

Shape: Round
Size: 10
Hardness: 50
Step: 25
Density: 100
Thickness: 100
Rotation: 0
Opacity: 75
Stroke: Continuous UNchecked
Mode: RGB
Swap mouse buttons: UNchecked

24. Use your Lighten/Darken Brush, alternating between the left and right mouse buttons (left to lighten; right to darken), to highlight your bridge as shown below:

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25. Duplicate your bridge layer (Layers/Duplicate).

26. Using your Mover Tool move your duplicate bridge slightly up and to the right.

27. Move this layer beneath your bridge layer (Layers/Arrange/Move Down):

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28.  Using your Lighten/Darken Brush (same settings) darken the "inside" portion of your back bridge to give some depth:

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29. Merge your "bridge" and "copy of bridge" layers and rename your merged layer "bridge".

30. Duplicate your "bridge" layer and rename this new layer "bridge reflection".

31. Flip your image (Image/Flip) and use your Mover Tool to move the upside down bridge up to meet the original bridge on the left side:

36. Change the Blend Mode on your "bridge reflection" layer to Soft Light (Layers/Properties).

37. Use your Eraser Tool to erase the portion of your reflection which is NOT over water. Once you have the major portion erased, change your opacity to 7 and soften the edges):

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