Does anyone know how this layered affect is created? Is this a layer mask?

[Katie Lloyd]

Hi, Can you help me figure out how this effect is created?

I saw this art wrapping paper in a gift shop and love the layered effect. I’d like to create a similar effect using my own images but have not idea how to do it. 
I have a feeling this is created using layers masks, something I don’t yet know how to use. I have a basic level of knowledge in editing photos of my artworks, but using affinity photo to create digital artworks like this would be awesome!

Can anyone pick how it’s done??

I have affinity photo for iPad and Mac. 
 

thanks in advance!

 

 

 

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums @Katie Lloyd

I’m no expert but they both looks some kind of ‘watercolour/dyeing’ process was used to create the ‘underlying’ image and then something was overlaid to partially occlude some of the pattern in some way.
It can often be difficult to replicate things like this as they are sometimes created using specific techniques that might be relatively easy with traditional (physical) materials but may be difficult to repeat digitally.
For instance, it’s easy to drop a bit of paint onto a wet piece of paper and have it naturally spread out over an area but that can be difficult to do well digitally.
Do you have a starting image (something to work with) or do you just have a blank page?

[Katie Lloyd]

Thanks for your reply!

 I am a watercolour artist so have no problem making the bottom layer.. it’s the overlay that I am asking about more to the point. 

thanks 😊 
 

 

[GarryP]

Thanks for the extra information.
I think I’m going to have to pass this over to one of the experts who will be able to advise much better.
In the meantime you could try these things:
1. Create a shape with the Pen Tool; select all of its nodes and make them Smooth; change the Blend Mode to something like Luminosity or Lighten; then maybe change the Opacity of the shape; maybe add some Blur too.
2. Add an Adjustment, such as Exposure or Vibrance; fill the Mask of the adjustment with black and then paint white over the some areas on the mask.
See attached image for some very basic and crude examples – you should be able to do something much better.
Obtaining a reasonable facsimile of the originals may be tricky so you might need to experiment quite a bit.

[Katie Lloyd]

Thanks Garry, I will have a look at that. 

I’m keen to hear from any of the other experts to see their thoughts

thanks,

Katie 

[thomaso]

On 6/28/2021 at 9:30 AM, Katie Lloyd said:

I’d like to create a similar effect using my own images

Instead of painting digitally you also can use scans/photos of (colorful) physical art and use blend modes to achieve a layered look with reduced colors as in your first photo. You also can use separate blend modes for image and picture frame.

• The blend range options (cog icon) enable more variation by masking / merging certain areas (gamma curve), for all channels or selectively.

• If you work in APub with a CMYK document you have an additional button "K Only", which merges RGB images to grayscale appearance and displays for CMYK images their black channel only.

• Another option is to apply a fill color to the image, which also influences the effect of certain blend modes.

• Your 2nd photo seems to combine a mirror/ symmetry effect (can in AD also be used while painting) with an image turned into a mask and applied to another image which makes one appear as a fill of the other.