Mask it.

Open your image in Photoshop, click on the Background layer, then go to Layer > Duplicate Layer, name your layer or keep it as Background Copy, and click Ok.

Select the Background Copy layer and apply a mask to the subject you want objects to move in front of and behind. “If you have a simple, plain background, it’s very easy to do it with the Magic Wand,” says Ewa. Select the Magic Wand tool from the toolbar and either draw around your subject or use Select Subject from the Options panel, then click on Select and Mask in the Options panel. In the Select and Mask workspace you can refine your selection and apply the mask by choosing Layer Mask from the Output To dropdown menu and clicking OK.

Add elements.

Use your own drawings, or select from Ewa’s library of nature-inspired objects. Follow the library via the link above, then open your Library panel (Window > Library), locate the Ewa_Mos_illustrations library, and drag and drop elements onto the artboard. Use the Layers panel to position them in front of and behind the subject by dragging them above or below the Background Copy layer. To add more dimension, Ewa’s flower is two parts. The stem rests behind the model while the head is in front.

TIP: “I do a quick sketch first, to figure out how I want to place the elements,” says Ewa. This is the starting point. Think of where you want your objects—you’ll put them where they’re going in the next step.

Time to Tween.

Open the Timeline (Window > Timeline), select Create Frame Animation from the dropdown menu, and then click the button. A frame will appear in the timeline. Click the + button in the menu at the bottom of the Timeline and a new frame will appear. Move the objects on your artboard to where you want them to end up, then select both frames by holding down the Shift key and clicking on each. Choose the Tween option from the bottom menu. A dialog box will prompt you to choose how many frames to add. Once you’ve made your selection, click Ok. Mos recommends experimenting with the number of frames; she started with 6 and ended up with a total of 60 in order to get a smooth animation. The average animation speed is 30 frames per second, so you could try starting there.

Export it.

Click the Play button to watch your animation in action. If you’re satisfied with the outcome, go to File > Export > Render Video and use the dialog box to name your file, choose where to save, and adjust settings. Click Render to export and save it.

TIP: To create a loop, click on the first frame of the animation, click the + button, and drag the copy of the first frame to the end of the timeline. Select the copied frame and the one in front of it, and Tween them. The result will be a looped animation with the objects returning to their original places at the end..

Add depth.

Take your animation to the next level with techniques that add depth of field. To make a shadow for your moving objects, create a new layer, lower the opacity, and Use the Brush tool and color of your choice to paint in shadows underneath your object. Experiment with Blend Modes like Multiply to enhance the effect. Make sure you drag the layer underneath those you wish to appear on top. When moving objects in the second frame to create the animation, move the shadows, too. You can also try placing objects in the foreground and applying a Gaussian Blur filter to them (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) to make them “out of focus” mimicking the same look as when an object is closer to a camera lens than those behind it.