Photoshop in 60 Seconds: How to Create a Polyscape

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Welcome to our Photoshop in 60 Seconds series, in which you can learn a Photoshop skill, feature, or technique in just a minute!

Photoshop in 60 Seconds: Create a Polyscape

A Polyscape is an amazing photo effect that allows you to merge beautiful landscapes with the simplicity of common shapes. With the help of Clipping Masks and Shape Tools, you can create an easy polyscape full of wonder and design.

Learn how to create a polyscape in this quick 60-second video. And download the free stocks used in this tutorial from Pixabay:

How to Create a Polyscape in Adobe Photoshop

Duplicate the desert layer two times. Blur one of the copies slightly with Gaussian Blur before going to Image > Adjustments > Hue and Saturation and de-saturating it to -25.

Quickly flip the second copy upside down by going to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical, then hide the visibility of both duplicates.

Next, use the Rectangle Tool to create a salmon colored square and Rotate it at an angle. Set the Layer Blend Mode to Divide before Duplicating it twice.

Change the Blend Modes of both copies back to Normal before resizing them to two smaller squares. Right-click to set the upside down desert as a Clipping Mask to the second smallest square. Then Copy and Paste your city reference in and set it as a Clipping Mask to the smallest square.

Copy and Paste a Cityscape into the Clipped Mask

Use the Rectangle Tool again to create a square with No Fill and a Stroke of one pixel. Rotate it with Free Transform to line up with the other shapes and stretch it over the canvas.

Create a Square Stretched Over the Canvas

Duplicate this rectangle, changing the setting to fill instead of stroke, and place the layer underneath the original desert. Clip the original desert to the new shape and Unhide the blurred version to reveal a cool transition underneath.

Unhide the Copy to Reveal Blurred Transition

Want to see this in action? Check out the video above to see this lesson at work!

A Bit More Detail

Want to learn more about Adobe Photoshop's vast tools while creating awesome designs and effects? Check out these tutorials below:

60 Seconds?!

This is part of a series of quick video tutorials on Envato Tuts+ in which we introduce a range of subjects, all in 60 seconds—just enough to whet your appetite. Let us know in the comments what you thought of this video and what else you'd like to see explained in 60 seconds!