How to Make a Realistic-Looking Mermaid Tail in Photoshop

Create your own mermaid using Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop is used for many purposes, from retouching glamor shots for magazine covers to restoring old or damaged family photos. The wide array of tools and functions Photoshop offers allows the user to create or alter images in almost any way she can imagine. For example, if you would like to create a realistic-looking image of a mermaid, there is an easy way to add a mermaid tail in Photoshop.

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Load an image of a standing woman wearing a bikini and an image of a trout onto your computer.
- 2
  
  Start the Photoshop application. Click “File” from the menu at the top and click “Open.” In the dialog, browse to and open the image of the woman.
- 3
  
  Click “File” from the menu at the top and click “Open.” In the dialog, browse to and open the image of the trout.
- 4
  
  Select the “Quick Selection” tool from the toolbar and use it to select the fish. Use the “Copy” and “Paste” commands under “Edit” to place the fish in the picture on the woman.
- 5
  
  Use the “Rotate” and “Scale” functions under “Transform” to position the fish so the bottom part of its body overlays that of the woman. Use the “Eraser” tool to erase the top part of the fish so the overlap begins just above the woman's navel.
- 6
  
  Go to the bottom of the “Layers” panel and click on the “Add Layer Mask” button. Then click on the “Layer Mask” white square that appears in layer 2.
- 7
  
  Select the “Gradient” tool from the toolbar. In the tool options at the top, select the default white to black gradient. Drag upward from about 50-100 pixels below the top of the fish to about 50-100 above the fish. The two images have now been blended to give your model a mermaid tail. Save your work.