[TUTORIAL] Creating an Episode-like background (Pixlr Editor tutorial)

Since Photoshop isn't accessible for everyone, I wanted to mention that there are other programs out there that are free of charge. Pixlr E is a decent alternative that offers many of the same basic features necessary for editing backgrounds. However, there are several drawbacks and some tools may not operate as smoothly as Photoshop. Nonetheless, it's still worth using if you're looking to make small changes such as changing the color of an object/area or want to add decorations on a background.

In this tutorial post, I will provide step by step instructions to help you achieve the final result below.
This guide uses the same background that was used in the Photoshop tutorial, but I've made some minor differences. (And hopefully the order of changes is more comprehensive in this post.) I would suggest reading this post that I wrote back in 2017 if you don't know the basics.

1. 

First thing you'll want to do is to open your background of choice on the website and double-click on the lock to unlock the layer. This will allow you to make edits on that layer and to rearrange the order of layers later.

2. 

The first region to be edited out is the window. Choose the lasso tool and select the type of lasso you're most comfortable working with. My personal preference is the polygonal lasso tool because it allows you to easily trace around straight edge objects.

I would recommend selecting around one small region of the window first before moving onto another area.

3. 

Note the dashed lines in the example above. This is what your editing process should look like after selecting around the window.

4. 

Press the delete key on your keyboard to clear the area.

5. 

Next, you'll want to go to the art catalog section on the Episode Interactive portal website. Find a background containing a window of your liking, open it on Pixlr E, and use the lasso or marquee tool to select around it. In this example, I'm using the window from the INT. THEATER LOBBY - DAY background.

6.

Copy and paste your window choice onto the background edit.

7. 

You'll want to erase the background that was originally part of the window, so use the lasso or marquee tool and press delete on your keyboard to achieve this. Next, I wanted the window to have two window frames. You can duplicate the layer to make it easier. Just right-click on the layer for the pop-up to appear and click duplicate layer.

8. 

I dragged my cursor to move the duplicated layer to the right. The pink line on the screen tells you when the two layers are aligned.

9. 

Right-click on the top window layer and choose merge down to make the window into a single layer.

10. 

Next, you'll want to match up one corner of your newly created window to one corner of the wall. Then, go to edit > free distort and drag the blue circles to the other corners, and try to follow the outline as close as possible. I like to keep the window layer on top of the background layer for this step so you can easily visualize the alignment.

11. 

In this step, I've moved the window layer below the background. If you've noticed, the window doesn't intersect with the couch anymore.

12. 

Go to the art catalog section of the portal again and find a pair of day and night backgrounds that you like. In this tutorial, I'm using the EXT. PHILLY SKYLINE - DAY and EXT. PHILLY SKYLINE - NIGHT backgrounds. Copy and paste these two backgrounds onto the edit tab. Use free distort on one of the layers to angle it accordingly.

13.

Unlike Photoshop, Pixlr E doesn't allow you to select more than one layer at once. After you've angled the outside background, I recommend you record the numbers located at the top. This will be extremely useful for angling the other background.

14. 

Select the other layer and enter the same numbers on the top after going to edit > free distort. Both of your backgrounds should now be at the same exact position and angle.

15. 

And I've moved both the day and night backgrounds underneath the window frame layer. I've also locked these layers so I don't accidentally move it around or make changes on those layers during the rest of the editing process.

16. 

Finally, we can install the glass to complete the window area. You can read this post here if you want to create your own transparent glass for this step. Again, use free distort to adjust the angle.

17. 

Feel free to adjust the transparency and blending mode of the glass to your liking.

18. 

Your glass layer should go in between the window frame and the day/night layers.

19. 

Next, let's change the color of the wall to make it more vibrant. Use the lasso tool to trace around the wall. Be sure to include the nooks and crannies between the leafs of the plant, the wires from the computer, and underneath the desk and corner table. This process could take you 10-20 minutes depending on your efficiency with this step.

20. 

Go to edit > copy and then edit > paste. (Don't do duplicate layer for this step.) The new layer will only include the parts of the wall that you've traced.

21. 

Also unlike Photoshop, Pixlr E doesn't create its own layer when adjusting the hue/saturation. Instead, the changes will be made directly onto the layer. Go to adjustments > hue/saturation to change the colors.

You can skip steps #20-21 if you want the changes to be made directly onto the layer. However, if you want to create several versions of this background with a different wall color, I would recommend you copy and paste the wall area. This would also prevent you from repetitive tracing of the wall.

22.

The color of the couch could also be changed. Similarly to the previous steps, use the lasso tool to select around the couch and make sure the background layer is highlighted.

23. 

Again, create a separate layer for the couch by going to edit > copy > edit > paste. Here, I decided to go to adjustments > color balance to change the color of the couch, but you can explore any of the other options under the adjustments menu.

24. 

I've taken the images from INT. FLIPPED AGENTS OFFICE OL - DAY to replace the original portraits on the wall. By now, you should know that you would use free distort to properly angle the images.

25. 

If you're satisfied with your edits, you can stop here and save the day version of your edited background. Be sure to save it as both a PXD file and as a JPEG or PNG.

26. 

Now we'll make the final changes necessary for the night version. First, let's save this file as a PXD file type and label the file name as "night". We want to keep this separate from the day version file due to the changes we're going to make, and so we will have a backup in case something goes wrong. After you've done that, go to layer > flatten image to combine all of the layers together.

27. 

To give the background a darker color, go to adjustment > curves. Adjust the levels until you achieve a look that you're satisfied with.

28. 

To finish off, we want to apply a blue-ish tint similarly to Episode's night backgrounds. First, go to edit fill and click on the box next to "color". Pick a dark blue color or you can enter the hex code I've used here (#0c103d).

29. 

Play around with the opacity levels (I recommend something between 25-40%) and blend mode. Remember to enable "preserve transparency".

30. 

This is the final product of the night version of our background! Don't forget to save the image so you can upload it onto the portal.

As a friendly reminder, these backgrounds will not be available for download and were edited for the purposes of this tutorial only. If you choose to recreate this background or edit any other background from the catalog, please tag me on Instagram so I can see it!