May, 2021 Shift Art Photoshop Challenge is Closed!

Theme: Angels & Demons!

For this month’s challenge, we are playing with the idea of beings from higher and lower realms. Would you prefer to create a vision of a celestial creature such as an angel or cherub? Or a dark world filled with devils and beasts? Or perhaps an epic battle between the forces of light and dark?

There are lots of ways to play with this one, and the sky (or the underworld) is the limit! The special rule for this month is that you must use at least one of the model images provided (either from Shift Art or Pixabay) as the main subject of your work.

Bethany’s Pro Tip:

Try playing around with the Inner Glow and Outer Glow effects on your subjects to give them a radiant emanation or spooky miasma! Select the layer you want to affect, choose the fx button at the bottom of the layers panel, and pick either Inner Glow or Outer Glow.

Play with the sliders and color until you find something you like. To add additional effects, in the same dialog box, click on the name of the effect (clicking on just the checkbox does not give you the sliders for that particular effect).

Top Prize:

1 year of The CJM Club Membership!*

The winner of this challenge will receive the membership of CJM CLUB. Take your Photoshop knowledge to next level with CJM Club Membership.

*First time challenge winners will receive the CJM Club Membership prize, then a $100 Shift Art gift certificate for any subsequent win.

Top Runners Up Prize:

A Lightroom Presets Pack of Choice

First Runners up will receive a Lightroom Preset pack of choice from PSD Stack. The Lightroom presets are created by Bunty Pundir, a top Shift Art instructor and contributor. Bunty is also the creator of PSD Stack.

2nd Runners Up Prize:

Second runners up will receive a Texture collection pack of choice from CJM Texture Collection.

Images Provided by Shift Art Shop for this Challenge:

The rules:

Below you will find the rules as well as the images to be used in your composition. Entries will be judged by Caroline Julia Moore, Bethany Perron, and Andrei Tallent.

Challenge rules:

  • All entrants must be Shift Art members. Join for free here.
  • Entries must be received by midnight on May 15, 2021 U.S. Pacific Time (UTC-8).
  • You must use a minimum of three Pixabay images provided in the download packet.
  • You must use a texture provided by the Shift Art Shop.
  • The main subject must be an object, animal, or person from the provided images. Note: this is the most frequently overlooked rule – please follow it to enter the challenge.
  • Previous challenge winners are welcome to participate in all challenges.
  • Entries featuring violence, hate, pornography or any other content deemed inappropriate by the judged will be disqualified. The decision to disqualify an entry is entirely at the judges’ discretion and is not negotiable.
  • You may use any of your own assets/images as long as they are under public domain, or if you have full commercial rights to them. This includes textures and overlays. See our article on finding images for ideas of where to find images.
  • Only one entry per member, per challenge.
  • Upload your entry image as a JPG with a width of 1200px on the longest side. Images with smaller dimensions will not be accepted. Maximum file size is 50Mb.
  • SPECIAL RULE: When posting your entries on social media, please tag: #ShiftArtChallenge

All images on this page, and in the challenge assets for this challenge, were provided by Shift Art Shop, or found on Pixabay.


This challenge is closed.