Adobe Illustrator tutorial: Create lush, glossy vector images

Step 19
Set the blending mode of the new layer to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 70%.

Step 20
Select both layers by holding down Cmd/Ctrl and clicking on one then the other. Hit Cmd/Ctrl + E to merge the two together. Double-click the new layer to bring up the Layer Styles box. Select Bevel and Emboss’ from the styles list on the left. Uncheck the Use global light box and set the depth to 100%.

Set the size to 100px and the soften to 16px. In the Shading option set the angle to 101º and the altitude to 64º. Then set the highlight opacity to 24 and the shadow opacity to 100.

Step 21
Duplicate this new layer again by dragging onto the Create new layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Set the blending mode to Multiply and the opacity to 20%. Select both layers and merge again using Cmd/Ctrl + E.

Step 22
Now duplicate this layer by holding Alt/Opt while clicking and dragging, place it in front of the smaller splash and rainbow to the right and resize (Cmd/Ctrl + T) to fit.

Step 23
As a final adjustment, select the top layer, ‘Foreground elements’, in the layers palette. Then in the menu bar, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast. Set the brightness to +6 and the contrast to +18 and the image is complete.