Flash Tip: Creating the Illusion of Distance by Adjusting Brightness

From Adrien-Luc Sanders, former About.com Guide

Using layers and a little brightness adjustment, you can create a more realistic illusion of objects or a landscape receding into the distance. Depending on the light source, objects spaced at a distance will either appear lighter or darker as they grow farther away. That change in brightness as well as in size is how the eye measures relative distance.

For this example, we’ll use a simple landscape of mountains, created quickly and easily by drawing a jagged, erratic line with the Pen Tool and then filling the area below with a gradient of two shades of brown, just for a little variety. The snow caps were painted in with the Brush Tool. It looks a little crude, but it serves its purpose.

This example only works if you make a symbol (F8) out of the object. You can do the same thing manually, but this way is quite a bit easier.

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