Custom Brushes

[Jax_Riley]

Can someone please help me out. I can create my own brushes, but I cannot figure out how these were done. In 2004 or so, Danish model/author Annika von Holdt began releasing a series of custom brushes. I've loved them for so long but cannot figure out how she got the misty, ethereal look to them. I've tried lowering opacity, I've tried erasing around a photo with a large soft brush-my brushes still seem 'hard'  not soft & dreamy like in this example. Hers combine to create beautiful, dreamy fantasy art. See example attached.

Thank you in advance

[melissapiccone · Accepted solution]

When you make a brush, it just captures what it sees on your screen, so you are on the right track. It's all about opacity. Can you post a pic of what you have so far for some suggestions? 

[Jax_Riley]

Thank you, Melissa... I didn't save the original attempts. I get too frustrated, and they weren't good, so I deleted them, but I did just test it out on a few images and I seem to be getting more into the range I want to be. Still seems to lack the ethereal look of Annika's but a lot of that comes down to subject matter I think. Here is what I did a bit earlier this afternoon.

[melissapiccone · Accepted solution]

I suggest you use layer masks. Your images are all the same opacity. It's hard to get the effect you are after with just using a brush on the edges. Layer masks will allow you to vary the opacity in the image itself. You can use brushes or I would suggest playing with gradients in the masks. Feathered selections  - I prefer to do this in a layer mask as well - can also help with smoother transitions on the edges. I don't know what your experience with PS is, you might need to watch a few tutorials about using layer masks and gradients in masks. 

[Jax_Riley]

Many thanks for your suggestions & help. I've been using Photoshop since version 2.5, but stepped away from it in 2010 or so and now just getting back to it, so layer masks and gradients in layer masks is not new to me. Just need to get my chops back. I'll play around with this.  Thank you again for the help and tips! Very much appreciated.

[PECourtejoie]

Hi, those look like they've been erased by very large soft rounded brushes. They can be scaled really large, you can apply them at low opacities, if needed.

[Jax_Riley]

HI and thanks for the reply. That's what I got from them and how I've been using them to make beautiful fantasy images. I'd jjst wanted to mkae a few of my own to use in addition to these. They are VERY SMALL when you select them and must scale them up quite a bit. I should have asked her how she did them when we were connecdted on Instagram several years back but she seemed more into beauty & lifestyle then going back to this.