How To Create a Transparent Alien Egg in Photoshop

Jesús RamirezJesús RamirezCompositing
ByJesús Ramirez

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  1. 0:00 Introduction
  2. 2:20 Create a background from scratch using the "Clouds" filter.
  3. 5:15 Create a ground plane using an image of wood.
  4. 8:43 Create a clear egg by manipulating an image of a bubble.
  5. 12:30 Create an alien creature by manipulating an image of a salmonfly.
  6. 22:00 Create highlight and shadows.
  7. 28:35 Add bubbles & dust to the inside of the egg.
  8. 33:16 Use an image of a jellyfish to create more egg details.
  9. 38:55 Add color highlights to the ground plane.
  10. 44:45 Create a vignette
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You can build a transparent alien egg in Photoshop by combining five ordinary photos with layer masks, blending modes, and a few filters.

The egg itself starts as a photo of a soap bubble. The Luminosity blending mode is what turns it into clear glass.

The creature inside is a salmonfly. The Plastic Wrap filter gives it the wet, slimy look of something still growing.

This is a compositing project for beginners. Nothing here needs a plugin, a stock 3D model, or a generative feature.

By the end you will have a full scene: a painted background, a wood table, shadows, glowing highlights, floating dust, and a vignette.

The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and every tool it uses still works the same way in the latest version of Photoshop.

Finished transparent alien egg in Photoshop with a creature inside resting on a wood ground plane

Key Takeaways

  • The egg is a photo of a soap bubble. The Luminosity blending mode at about 43% opacity is what makes it look clear.
  • The creature is a salmonfly. The Plastic Wrap filter, set to a highlight strength of 9, is what makes it look wet.
  • Shadows are never pure black. Sample a dark color from the surface the shadow falls on, then darken that sample.
  • A clipping mask locks dodge and burn work to the layer below it, so stray strokes never spill onto the background.
  • Two blending modes carry the liquid inside the egg. Screen drops the black pixels and Difference pulls out fine particles.
  • Loading a layer as a selection is the trick that keeps everything inside the shell. Hold Ctrl and click the egg thumbnail, then add a layer mask.

Table of contents

What You Will Learn

  • How to build a transparent alien egg in Photoshop from five ordinary photos
  • How to paint a background from scratch with the Clouds filter
  • How to turn a soap bubble into clear glass with a blending mode
  • How to dodge and burn safely inside a clipping mask
  • How to fake liquid, dust, and glow inside a clear shape

Requirements

Before you start

  • Photoshop CS6, or the latest version of Photoshop
  • Five photos: a wood texture, a soap bubble, a salmonfly, bubbles in water, and a jellyfish
  • A new document at 1280 by 780 pixels, 72 ppi, with a transparent background

Practice Files

Download the images used in this tutorial and follow along step by step.

003 – Alien Egg (14557 downloads)

Keyboard Shortcuts

ActionWindowsmacOS
Create a new documentCtrl NCommand N
Show or hide the rulersCtrl RCommand R
Fill with the foreground colorAlt BackspaceOption Delete
Free TransformCtrl TCommand T
Merge downCtrl ECommand E
Show or hide guides and extrasCtrl HCommand H
Group the selected layersCtrl GCommand G
PasteCtrl VCommand V
Invert a layer maskCtrl ICommand I
UndoCtrl ZCommand Z
Step backward through historyCtrl Alt ZCommand Option Z
Load a layer as a selectionCtrl click the layer thumbnailCommand click the layer thumbnail
Decrease or increase the brush sizeLeft Bracket or Right BracketLeft Bracket or Right Bracket

Step 1: Build the Background

Create a new document with CtrlN (Windows) or CommandN (macOS). Set the width to 1280 pixels, the height to 780 pixels, the resolution to 72, and the background to transparent.

Turn the rulers on with CtrlR (Windows) or CommandR (macOS), then drag a guide out of each ruler. With snapping on, both guides lock to the center of the canvas.

Drag one more horizontal guide down to 490 pixels. That line is the horizon where the wall meets the table.

Double-click the layer name, rename it wall, and fill it with white using AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS). Right-click the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object.

Set the foreground color to a hue of 178 degrees, 21% saturation, and 52% brightness. Set the background color to 171 degrees, 21% saturation, and 35% brightness.

Run Filter > Render > Clouds. The two colors you just picked become the soft haze behind the egg.

Add Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 9 pixels. Then run Filter > Noise > Add Noise at 3.5, with Gaussian selected and Monochromatic unchecked.

Finish with a second Gaussian Blur at 1.8 pixels. That softens the grain so it reads as wall texture instead of digital noise.

Draw a rectangular selection across the top of the canvas, down to the 490 pixel guide, and click the Add Layer Mask icon. In the Properties panel, feather the mask to 5 pixels so the horizon is not a razor line.

Tip: Because the wall is a Smart Object, every filter stays editable. Double-click a filter name in the Layers panel to change its settings, or click the small icon beside it to give that one filter its own blending mode and opacity.

Step 2: Create the Wood Table

Open the wood texture and drag it onto the composition with the Move Tool.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) for Free Transform. Hold Shift as you drag a corner handle to scale the wood down.

Move just outside a corner until the pointer turns into a curved arrow, then rotate the boards 90 degrees and scale them back up to fill the canvas.

Duplicate the layer and slide the copy sideways to cover the bright highlight in the grain. Select both layers and press CtrlE (Windows) or CommandE (macOS) to merge them, then rename the result table.

Start Free Transform again, right-click the wood, and choose Distort. Pull the top middle handle straight down to the horizon guide.

Right-click again and choose Perspective. Drag the top right handle outward until the boards fan toward the viewer.

Right-click one more time and choose Scale. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) so the table stretches from its center, then press Enter.

Drag the table layer below the wall layer. Hide the guides with CtrlH (Windows) or CommandH (macOS) to judge the horizon, then press the same keys to bring them back. View > Show > Guides does the same thing.

Warning: On macOS, the first press of CtrlH (Windows) or CommandH (macOS) asks whether the shortcut should hide Extras or hide Photoshop. Choose Hide Extras, or the whole application vanishes every time you reach for it.

Step 3: Make the Transparent Egg

Open the soap bubble photo. Choose the Elliptical Marquee Tool and drag a selection around the bubble, as close to the edge as you can get.

Click the Add Layer Mask icon to hide everything around the bubble, then apply the mask. You will not need that background again.

Pick the Smudge Tool, set Strength to 32%, and raise the brush to about 125 pixels. Push the reflections around with short strokes until the house and trees in the bubble are unrecognizable.

Turn on Lock Transparent Pixels in the Layers panel if you keep smearing past the edge.

Drag the bubble into the composition, move it to the center, and rename the layer egg.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) while you drag a handle, so the bubble scales from its center. Aim for roughly 380 pixels wide and 480 pixels tall.

Start Free Transform once more, right-click, and choose Warp. Pinch the top in, push the middle out, and pull the bottom in to get the egg shape.

Set the layer blending mode to Luminosity and drop the opacity to 43%.

Luminosity keeps the brightness of the bubble and throws away its color, which is exactly what a clear shell does. If the modes are new to you, start with blending modes explained in plain English.

Step 4: Cut Out the Alien in Photoshop

Open the salmonfly photo. It is a real insect used as fishing bait, and it already looks like an embryo.

Grab the Quick Selection Tool and drag across the body. Shrink or grow the brush with the bracket keys as you work down to the legs and the tail.

Click the Quick Mask icon below the color swatches. Everything outside the selection turns red.

Take the Brush Tool and paint with white to add to the selection, or black to remove from it. Clean up the claws and the tail, then click the Quick Mask icon again to return to a normal selection.

You do not need a perfect edge here. Most of the creature sits behind a translucent shell.

Double-click the background layer to unlock it, add a layer mask, and apply it. Drag the creature into the composition and rename the layer alien.

Right-click the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object. Run Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 1 pixel.

Now open Filter > Filter Gallery > Artistic > Plastic Wrap. Set Highlight Strength to 9, Detail to 11, and Smoothness to 5.

Drop the layer opacity to 90% and drag the alien layer below the egg layer.

Note: Current Photoshop makes this first pass in one click. Press Select Subject in the Options bar, then refine the edge in the Select and Mask workspace instead of Quick Mask. Here is how Select Subject works on a real photo.

Note: Plastic Wrap still lives in the Filter Gallery, but a fresh install may hide most of the gallery. Turn it back on in Preferences > Plug-Ins with Show all Filter Gallery groups and names, then restart Photoshop.

Step 5: Add Shadows and Highlights

Put the light source in the top left corner. Every shadow then falls to the bottom right.

Add a new layer above the table and name it egg shadow. Load the egg as a selection with Ctrlclick the egg thumbnail (Windows) or Commandclick the egg thumbnail (macOS).

With the Eyedropper Tool, sample the darkest brown in the wood, then push that color darker in the picker. Shadows borrow the color of the surface they land on, so pure black always looks pasted in. For a newer method, see how to make realistic shadows in Photoshop.

Fill the selection with AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS). Use Distort to lay the shape flat on the table, then blur it with Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 6.8 pixels.

Duplicate that shadow twice and pull each copy tighter to the base of the egg. A contact shadow is always darkest where the object touches down.

Select all three and merge them with CtrlE (Windows) or CommandE (macOS).

Add a layer named highlight. With a soft white brush around 200 pixels, click once below the egg, set the layer to Overlay, and lower the opacity to about 63%.

Now light the creature. Add a layer above the alien, fill it with 50% gray, and set it to Overlay. The gray disappears.

Paint highlights with the Dodge Tool and shadows with the Burn Tool, both set to Midtones at about 50% exposure.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the line between that gray layer and the alien layer to make a clipping mask. Every stray stroke snaps back inside the creature.

On one more layer, paint small white dots over the green markings, set it to Overlay, and name it alien lights. Step backward with CtrlAltZ (Windows) or CommandOptionZ (macOS) if a stroke goes wrong.

Select the three creature layers and press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS). Grouping them lets you resize the alien later without losing its lighting.

Step 6: Add Dust Inside the Alien Egg

Open the photo of bubbles in water and crop it with the Rectangular Marquee Tool.

Desaturate it in Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, then darken it with Curves and Levels. Burn any patch that stays bright.

The darker the background gets, the cleaner the next step works.

Drag the image in, name the layer bubbles, move it below the alien, and set the blending mode to Screen. Screen hides every black pixel and keeps every bright one, so only the bubbles survive.

Scale and warp the bubbles into position with CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS).

Load the egg as a selection again, then click the layer mask icon. The bubbles are now trapped inside the shell.

Open the jellyfish photo and draw a selection over an area of water full of floating specks. Copy it, and paste it into the composition with CtrlV (Windows) or CommandV (macOS).

Name that layer dust and set the blending mode to Difference. It picks the fine particles out of the water and leaves the flat tones behind.

Scale and warp the dust until it covers the whole egg, mask it the same way, then drag it above the egg layer so the specks read clearly.

Tip: Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click an existing layer mask to reuse it. That is faster than loading the egg selection from scratch for every layer.

Step 7: Blend the Jellyfish Membrane

Go back to the jellyfish photo and select the animal itself this time. Copy it and paste it into the composition.

Start Free Transform and flip the jellyfish horizontally so its trailing arms point toward the creature.

Drag the transform pivot point up to the top of the egg, then rotate. The jellyfish now swings along the curve of the shell instead of around its own middle.

Set the layer to Screen, move it below the alien layer, and mask it to the egg.

Click the chain icon between the layer thumbnail and the mask thumbnail to unlink them. Now you can slide the jellyfish around while the mask stays put.

Line the top of the jellyfish up with the curve of the egg, and let one strand appear to attach to the creature.

A hard edge may show along the jellyfish. Screen makes white pixels solid and black pixels invisible, and the gray pixels along that edge land in between.

Open Levels and drag the black input slider to the right. The gray falls to black, and the edge disappears.

Finish by painting black on the mask with a soft brush, under the creature, to remove the part of the jellyfish you do not want.

Step 8: Add Color Highlights to the Table

Light passing through a clear object picks up the color of whatever sits inside it. That colored spill on the table is the detail that sells the whole scene.

Add a layer named color highlight and set the brush to about 200 pixels.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) to switch to the Eyedropper Tool, sample a green from the creature, and click once off to the side.

Repeat for a yellow, an orange, and a red. You end up with four colored dots in a row.

Set the layer to Screen, move the dots onto the table below the egg, and squash them into a thin band with Free Transform.

Run Filter > Blur > Motion Blur at about 19 pixels to smear the colors sideways. Follow it with Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 2.1 pixels to kill the last hard edges.

The scene still looks pale, so warm it up. Add a Photo Filter adjustment layer and set the density to around 20%.

Then add a Curves adjustment layer. Pull the shadow end of the line down and the highlight end up to make a gentle S curve.

If the contrast bites too hard, lower the opacity of the Curves layer to about 90%.

Step 9: Blur and Vignette the Alien Egg

Select the whole canvas, run Edit > Copy Merged, and paste. You now have a flat copy of the scene on top of the stack.

Blur that copy with Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 3.5 pixels, then add a layer mask.

Paint black on the mask over the egg with a large soft brush. The edges of the frame stay soft while the egg snaps back into focus, which fakes a shallow depth of field.

Add one more layer, fill it with black, and name it vignette. Give it a layer mask and paint white in the middle with a large soft brush.

That gives you black in the center instead of around the edges. Press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to invert the mask and the vignette lands where you want it.

Bring the layer opacity down to about 73% so the corners darken without going muddy.

Add a final layer named egg highlight. With a soft white brush, click once on the upper left of the shell where the light hits it, then lower the opacity to about 75%.

If the vignette swallows that highlight, brush black onto the vignette mask to bring it back.

Tip: When a brush stroke lands too strong, go to Edit > Fade Brush Tool and dial it back to 65%. Fade only works immediately after the stroke, so reach for it before you click anything else.

Note: A painted vignette still works, but Post Crop Vignetting in the Camera Raw Filter now does the same job with one slider and stays editable. Compare it with this customizable vignette method.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make a transparent alien egg in Photoshop?

Start with a photo of a soap bubble, smudge away its reflections, and warp it into an egg shape. Set that layer to the Luminosity blending mode at about 43% opacity so it reads as clear glass. Then place a cut-out insect behind it and mask bubbles and dust inside the shell.

Which blending mode makes an object look transparent?

Luminosity keeps only the brightness of a layer and drops its color, which is how the bubble turns into a clear shell. Screen is the other one to know, because it hides black pixels and keeps bright ones. Lowering the layer opacity afterward controls how much of the shell you see.

Where is the Plastic Wrap filter in Photoshop?

It sits in Filter Gallery under the Artistic group. On a recent install the gallery may show only a few groups until you turn on Show all Filter Gallery groups and names in Preferences > Plug-Ins. Restart Photoshop after you change that setting.

Do I still need Quick Mask to select the creature?

No. Current Photoshop makes the first pass with Select Subject in one click, and you refine the edge in the Select and Mask workspace. Quick Mask still works and is worth knowing, because painting a selection in red is the clearest way to see what you actually have.

Why does my drop shadow look fake?

Most fake shadows are pure black. Sample a dark tone from the surface the shadow falls on with the Eyedropper Tool, then darken that sample in the picker. Build the shadow from two or three blurred copies as well, with the tightest copy nearest the object.

What does a clipping mask do in a composite?

A clipping mask limits one layer to the visible pixels of the layer underneath it. In this composite it keeps dodge and burn work locked to the creature, so a stroke that runs past the body never shows. Hold the Alt or Option key and click the line between the two layers to create one.

Can I follow this tutorial in an older version of Photoshop?

Yes. The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and every tool it uses is still in the current release under the same name. Only the selection step has a faster modern route, through Select Subject and Select and Mask.

Your Transparent Alien Egg in Photoshop

Five photos, a handful of masks, and two blending modes carry this entire scene.

The parts that sell it are small. A shadow tinted by the table, a colored spill of light, and a few specks of dust do more work than the egg itself.

Watch the full tutorial above to see every stroke in real time, and comment on the video if you get stuck on a step.

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Keep going

Next, learn how to cut out glass in Photoshop with blending modes.

Jesús Ramirez

About the author

Jesús Ramirez

Jesús Ramirez is a graphic designer and the founder of the Photoshop Training Channel, which he started in 2012 and has grown past two million YouTube subscribers. He has taught at Adobe MAX, Adobe Summit, and Photoshop World, teaches courses for CreativeLive and Pluralsight, and was one of five artists chosen for Adobe Stock's Make a Masterpiece campaign. His Photoshop templates shipped inside Photoshop CC 2018.

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51 Comments

    2. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this tutorial, I made mine into a unique baby picture as a zygote!

  2. When making the color highlight layer, I was unable to use the eyedropper tool (brush tool + alt key) to select the colors. When pressed, I was only able to select the colors of the current layer (which were none). I had to select the alien layer, then select the color, re-select the highlight layer and add the color circle. In the video it shows that you were able to select the colors while staying on the current layer (color Highlight). Any ideas as to what the issue may have been? Why did I have to change the layers to select the colors and it appears that you did not. Thank you

    1. Hi Chris,

      Did you make sure you had set the “Sample” to sample a color from “all layers”?

      that’s an option on a drop down on the top left?

      I’m guessing you had yours set to “current layer”

      Hope that helps!

      1. Yes there it was right in front of my face. Thanks for the response and the great tutorial!

    2. How do you download the tutorial files? Nothing is happening when I follow the directions.

  7. Hi.
    I did the tutorial !!! I am soo pleased how it came out, so easy to follow even though I am new to Photo Shop.

    Thank you ..
    Going to try out many more now .

    Over the moon Jim ………

    Sooz

  9. I don’t have any of those social networks and can’t download images [forever alone 🙁 ]

  12. I have register and watch your amazing tutorial on the alien egg, but im not a member of any of the groups below to gain access to the alien egg files, … can you help me please?

    I wish to create this alien egg

  13. Thank you! Thank you!, I got the files as instructed and completed the “Alien Egg” I’m just a novice but i think my alien came out pretty good! I don’t have a website or fb nor any of the other social networks but would love to post my work here if i knew how.

    Once again you guys are great! and I’m following everything you do.
    Thanks for your help with the files and really appreciate your skills

  14. Hey i made the Alien Egg! Turned out to be very good! Thanks for showing us how to make it 😀

    file:///C:/Users/christian/Pictures/Pictures/Photoshop/Alien%20Egg/Alien%20Egg%20DONE.png

  17. Hello, I started working on this toturial today and have run into some issues. The 1st issue is that my “shadow” seems to come out more like a brown circle then a shadow, even though I followed your exact instrutions. In addition I am unable to create a highlight. The only spot I can get the highlight to show up is when I am directly on the shadow. It will not appear on the background or on the table at all. I’m not really sure how to continue at this point. Any help would be great!

    1. Amanda,

      As for the shadow, don’t worry about the color. Use a different one that works for you. Even if you fallow exactly what I do things may look different since we may be using a different color space, the calibration of the monitors will be different and the compression of the video will change things. Just use a color that looks good for you.

      If something is not appearing where you want it to appear, it may be because you have the wrong layer order or the blending modes are different.

      I did this tutorial about 3 years ago, so I don’t remember the specifics of the highlights, maybe if you have a screenshot or a specific question I can answer it.

  21. Awsome tutorial thanks!!! I was thinking about climate change so i created this with the help of your tutorial: http://imgur.com/OJdL7Av

    let me know what you think of it and what i can do better!

    thanks in advance,

    Nick

    1. Nick,

      Thank you for sharing!

      I think it looks great! I loved that you took the tutorial and made it your own. Really good job!

    1. …. at first I didnt see them when I placed this comment they suddenly show up sry …..

  24. I juts love how you are willing to share all your experience with all the people out there, this is really rare these days, i’ve been watching all your tutorials on your channels, i thought i was really good on using Photoshop but after seeing these videos i really felt like a Newbie…
    Just keep it up man, you are a one of a kind.

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