The mode of an image can be completely
changed by adding rain. Whether a driving storm or a few drips,
it takes just a few steps to produce perfect precipitation.
We'll use PhotoSpin's image PS018068 for this example, turning
an idyllic canoe ride into a soggy nightmare.
Add a new layer to your image by clicking the
New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. At the top
of the Layers palette, change the new layer's blending mode from
Normal to Screen and reduce the layer's opacity to about 80%.
(Changing the more and reducing the opacity enables you to
monitor the effect as it's applied.)
Fill the layer with 50% gray
(by default, the top-right swatch in the Swatches palette).
Change the noise to "rain" with the Blur> Motion Blur filter.
Adjust the angle to suit the content of your image and keep the
Distance setting between 3 and 10, depending on the pixel
dimensions of your image.
Adjust the opacity of the layer in the
Layers palette to suit your needs. Here's the effect so far,
which is generally acceptable for most purposes:
We can fine-tune the look a bit for more exacting situations.
Duplicate the rain layer by dragging it to the New Layer button
at the bottom of the Layers palette. Make the lower of the two
rain layers active by clicking on it. Apply a very slight
Gaussian Blur, perhaps 0.7 pixels. Change the layer's blending
mode from Screen to Hard Light and reduce the opacity to about
40%. Press V on the keyboard to activate the Move tool. Using
the arrow keys on the keyboard, offset the layer to the right
and upward just a bit. Select the command Edit> Transform>
Rotate. Take advantage of Photoshop CS's "scrubby" sliders and
click on the Rotate field's icon (to the left of the field
itself) and, with the mouse button down, drag to change the
angle of rotation. In Photoshop 7, click on the Rotate field and
enter 1.5, then press Return or Enter on the keyboard.
The second rain layer (blurred, offset,
and rotated) provides a little more depth to the effect. [Insert
Image-06]
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