Shotoshop = Photoshop Trick

How to Create a Severed Arm

2009-12-26T00:56:00.002+07:00

Step 1

We will be using two different stock items for this project - first, the arm from cobweb-stock (use "Arm08.jpg" from the zip file) and a lump of meat from stock xchng. Please remember to follow these artists rules and credit them where appropriate.

We start by opening the arm picture in Photoshop and duplicating the "Background" Layer by clicking Command + J. We want to preserve the background layer for later on. Hold the Alt key + double-click the duplicate layer, then rename it "Arm."

Choose the Pen Tool (set to Shape Layer) to cut out the arm from its background. Its important to have a clean cut, so first zoom into the picture using the Magnifying Glass and carefully trace around the edge cutting across the top of the arm, as in the picture below. If you set the Fill in the Layer Palette to a 0% you will be able to see the arm, but still manipulate the path.

Step 2

Once you have completed your path and you are happy with it, click the Eye Icon in the Layer Palette next to the Shape Layer to hide it. Follow this by holding Command + Clicking the Shape Layer. This puts a Selection around the "Arm" Layer, now press Command + J on the keyboard to create a copy of the arm onto a new Layer, rename this Layer "Arm Prime" and hide it by clicking the Eye Icon.

Step 3

We are now going to remove the arm and shadow from the "Arm" Layer. Choose the Heal Tool from the Toolbox with mode set to normal in the options bar. Sample some of the sheet around the arm by Holding Alt + Clicking the sheet. Luckily the sheet is quite creased so making it look convincing will be easy.

Start painting over the arm and resample different parts of the sheet to keep the texture from repeating. Activate "Arm Prime" from time to time to make sure you don't go to far up the arm. Eventually the arm and shadow will be removed leaving you with a stump and a clean sheet as in the picture below.

Step 4

Reactivate the "Arm Prime" layer by pressing the Eye Icon next to it in the Layer Palette. Next we want to add a Layer Mask (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All) to this Layer so we can mask out some of the arm. Choose a Hard Edged brush from the Brush Picker setting the size to 80 pixels, Opacity of 100% and Flow of 100%. Next set your Foreground color to black (#000000) and on the Layer Mask draw four cutting lines as in the picture below.

Step 5

Save your progress and open the meat texture file that we downloaded earlier. Once again cut it out from its background. You don't need to be as careful with this as we want to rough it up a bit soon anyway. Use your Pen Tool as before to trace around the edge - be careful not to select the shadow.

As in Step 2 copy this to a new Layer by pressing Command + J, and rename this layer "Meat." We now want to copy it to the working document, we do this by holding the Alt key and dragging the "Meat" layer to the "Create a New Layer" Icon within the Layer Palette . This will open a dialog asking you what document you want to copy it too. Choose "Arm08" (which is our working document) from the list, and Click OK. Finally, go back to the "Arm08" document.

Step 6

Move the "Meat" layer to the top of the Layer Stack. Use the Healing Brush to remove some of the larger white patches of fat on top of the meat with other sampled texture. If you don't have the Healing Brush then feel free to use the Clone Stamp. Position the Meat Layer so it totally covers the arm and hand, move the Meat Layer below the "Arm Prime" Layer.

Step 7

We are now going to draw the flesh back onto the arm stumps, we begin by adding a Hide All Layer Mask to the "Meat Layer" (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All). Next we want to choose a Soft Edge Brush from the Brush Picker with a size of around 10-20 pixels, Opacity 100% and Flow 100%, the settings then need to be adjusted.

Press F5 or go to Window > Brushes to open the Brush dialog window. If you are using a pressure sensitive tablet then, your first stop is the Shape Dynamics, under Size Jitter locate the Command Drop Down List and select Pen Pressure.

We then want to change the Texture of the Brush to give it a nice rough look, choose Clouds from the provided list of textures, with Scale 100% also tick Texture Each Tip.

Step 8

We are now ready to paint the meat back on, Select the Meat Layer's Mask and with the Brush's Foreground Color set to White (#FFFFFF) gradually build up the arm as in the picture below. Repeat this for each section of arm.

Step 9

The shadow of the arm is used to ground the image and make it look less fake. We use the shadow from the original photo we preserved as the background layer. Locate the "Arm" Layer and Add as Reveal all Layer Mask (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all).

We will now mask out some of the "Arm" layer revealing the shadow below, try and follow the shape of the arm. Once again we will be using a Soft edge brush, or you can continue to use the textured brush we created in the last step if you wish. This will add a rough edge to your shadow especially around the stumps.

Step 10

The project is almost complete. The final steps are to draw some veins and strings of flesh onto the stumps and make some shadows. We shall reuse the "Meat" layer for this step.

First we need to copy this layer, either press Command + J or drag it to the new Layer Icon within the Layer Palette. The new layer will be called "Meat Copy." Drag this above the "Arm Prime" layer and delete its Layer Mask by right-clicking on the Mask and selecting Delete Layer Mask. Once again the whole slab of meat should be visible.

The meat needs to be a little darker for the strings - so we adjust it with Levels (Image > Adjustments > Levels) setting the Input Levels to 0, 0.64, and 255. We are then going to add another Hide All Layer Mask to this Layer (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All>).

Choose the Brush Tool again, the textured brush should still be active. If not, then set it again as in Step 7, adjust the size so it is very small around 4 or 5 pixels. On the Layer Mask draw some strings of flesh joining the stumps together. Draw it from flesh to flesh - not skin to flesh.

Step 11

The strings of flesh will cast shadows down onto the cloth beneath, we can easily fake this by choosing the "Meat Copy" layer Mask and holding Command while Clicking it. This will put a selection around the strings.

Next we make a new Layer called "Shadow" and fill the selection with black (Edit > Fill > Black). Using the Move Tool adjust the shadow slightly so it is away from the strings. The black will be too dark so we reduce the Opacity to around 50%. You can also add a 2 pixel Gaussian Blur if you feel it is still too sharp. Finally, drag it below the "Meat" layer.

Step 12

Choose the Burn Tool from the Toolbox and set the Range to Midtones. Next set the Exposure to 20% and click the Airbrush option. Select the "Meat" layer and add some dark edges where the meat is exposed. Select "Arm Prime" and change the range to shadows, then burn the flesh where the arm has been severed.

Conclusion

The final and probably the easiest step is to create a Black And White Adjustment Layer at the top of the layer stack and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. This makes the picture darker and more washed out. If you don't have the Black and White Adjustment Layer option, then create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and reduce the Saturation to -100.

Have fun cutting up your own meaty images. The final image is below.

How to Create a One-of-a-Kind Twitter Background

2009-12-26T00:43:00.001+07:00

Step 1

The first thing to do here, is to draw the mascot, a twitter bird. There are lots of cute, bright and shiny twitter birds out there so I wanted one that was not only different, but that represented my style. After all, a twitter profile is all about the owner.

The process seen below is very stretched out, but can be shortened. I don't want you to think that this is only way you should do it, but in case you don't have a lot of experience with line art, it's good to take your time, and get every stage right. In time, after becoming more experienced, a simple doodle can be enough to get you started in Photoshop.

For now though, start by getting a regular piece of paper and drawing out a few basic sketches of the bird. Focus on getting the posture right, and don't worry about the details. those will be covered later.

Step 2

As you may notice, the position of the legs in the screenshot below is not identical to the final result. As a matter of fact, I changed them at every stage because it's a bit difficult to make them look natural and aesthetic at the same time. Just trace a rough image of your bird in this first stage.

Step 3

Now you'll need some tracing paper. It's basically a semi-transparent paper that allows you to draw something on top of a reference image, in this case our rough sketch. I used two pencils: a 2B, and an 8B. The higher the number, the softer the tip. I used the 2B to trace the outlines and 8B to draw shadows. The eraser is cut in half, so that you can use the sharp edge to erase small areas. That's helpful for adding highlights.

I also slipped an extra sheet of tracing paper in between to make the rough sketch less visible. If your image has too much contrast, it's a good idea to fade it out more so you don't get confused.

Step 4

Use the pencil to trace the outline of the bird. You can now start to worry about the details.

Step 5

You should now have completed the general outline of every part of the bird.

Step 6

Begin to add shading, so that the bird looks 3D. Notice that the shadows are very basic, and don't need to look very realistic. This is only a part of the whole process, and not a final image so don't worry about making it look great. All you need to do is clearly define shapes and lighting.

This part is important because all the shadows will become continuous lines in the future steps. Blank spaces are highlights and parallel lines are shadows. Make the lines more distant and shorter, and the human eye will perceive it as a gradient. This is basically a hand drawn halftone screen.

Step 7

Grab another piece of tracing paper and place it over the pencil sketch you made. This time we'll use this one as a reference for the final, line art bird.

Step 8

Now all you have to do is draw parallel lines across the shadows. In order to fade them out, just draw the lines shorter and shorter.

Step 9

Remember that you can fade out the outline too, not just the shadow lines.

Step 10

This time, be very careful about all the details. Make those shapes look like real feathers, not simple curves.

Step 11

Continue this process across the head and body. Make sure to leave out enough highlights.

Step 12

Like I said, the feet went under one final modification. I wanted something in between an attack position and low level flying.

Step 13

I made the second wing generally darker than the first. That makes the drawing look more dynamic and realistic. Casting an equal light over the entire bird can make it look less interesting. Even if the posture is too symmetric, you can always rely on lighting to spice it up a bit.

Step 14

And there it is, all done. Perhaps a bit too tall and stretched, but it doesn't matter since you can't see it all in the twitter background anyway.

Step 15

Scan it or take a photo of it and put it in Photoshop. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and boost up the contrast considerably. Darken out the lines, but bring up some of the highlights too.

Step 16

Go to Select > Color Range. Inside the window, click on a black area of the photo so that you have a selection of the black lines. Press OK and copy the selection (Command + C).

Step 17

Create a new Photoshop document that is 750 px in width and 700 px in height, and at 72 dpi. Paste the bird (Command + V), double-click its layer and add a Color Overlay effect. Chose a dark blue (#387ebc) and press OK. Create a new blank layer (Command + Shift + N), click on both layers in the layer menu and merge them (Command + E). That will flatten the Layer Style.

Step 18

Now in a new blank layer underneath the line art, use the Pen Tool (P) to give the bird a background color (#33ccff).

Step 19

For this part it would be best to have a pen tablet, but it's not completely necessary. You can either use a regular brush, or the pen tool to create the highlights and shadows. I did it with a tablet. In this step, trace the first few highlights with white and make it a clipping mask so it only appears inside the bird.

Step 20

Now draw larger strokes of a bright cyan (#7ff4fe). Make a separate layer for each of these.

Step 21

Underneath the previous one, paint even larger highlights with a slightly darker cyan (#4de2ff).

Step 22

A final highlight color will be a few gray accents (#ddded9).

Step 23

Now use a bright yellow (#f5e456) to color the beak and add some shadows as well, with a darker yellow (#bcb833).

Step 24

To finish the bird, fill in the beak with the same dark blue, and draw the eye. Use white, and the same dark yellow.

Step 25

You'll have to go back to the drawing board now to paint a few clouds. I used several types of comment boxes for this. This being a social network, comic style shout-outs are right on cue. Trace the outline with a shade of gray (#d0cdbe).

Step 26

Give its background a lighter shade (#edeedb).

Step 27

Now just draw a few thin lines for shadows (#dfe0d0) and highlights (#ffffff).

Step 28

Repeat this process to create a few other types of comment boxes. Combined, these express simple statements, thoughts and exclamations. I try not to shout too much on my profile, so don't worry, these are purely decorative. I don't yell at my followers :)

Step 29

It's time to add a bio and links. The simple small text is Calibri Regular and the headlines are in Rockwell Std Bold. The ampersand is Mrs. Eaves Medium Italic. Use the same colors as the bird.

Quick Tips

Always remember to try out different antialiasing methods when working with type, especially at low resolutions. In the first example, the word is in Sharp mode. Notice that the middle letters seem to buckle and drop below the bottom line. It may be subtle, but it is a mistake.

Not only that, but the letters are not even parallel. Each one seems to have it's own orientation. To fix this, try an alternative method of antialiasing, in this case Strong. Now the letters have a common orientation and leveled baseline.

While the previous may be a subtle fix, the next is a very common mistake. Uneven tracking can lead to some letters overlapping and others being too far from each other. While you can't usually notice these bugs at regular small lines of text, large display text will reveal these inconsistencies.

To fix this, you have to manually change the space between each letter. Choose the Type Tool (T), click inside a line of text and drag a selection of the first two letters. Input an appropriate number in the tracking field. When you've found just the right space, select the second and third letter and do the same. Go through each space of two-by-two letters until all the tracking is correct. You can see the difference of custom and standard tracking in the above and below instance of the word.

Step 30

Find the vector shape layer where you traced the bird. Click on the Vector Mask thumbnail of the layer to bring up the path. Use the Path Selection Tool (Black arrow) to select the path and copy it (Command + C). Open illustrator, paste the path (Command + V) and press enter in the window that opens up in Illustrator (Compound Shape). Select the stroke color and chose white (it's black here just so you can see it). Set the Stroke weight to 2 pt.

Step 31

Bring up the Stroke Panel (Window > Stroke) and use the following settings. Don't mind the gray background.

Step 32

Copy it (Command + C) and paste it (Command + V) in the Photoshop file as a smart object. Repeat the process with the comment boxes too.

Step 33

Using the same headline font, create a few typographic accents around the comment. We'll also use a variety of birds from the Birds 2 Vector Pack of Go Media's Arsenal. Just paste them as Smart Objects and give them a Color Overlay with whatever color you'd like.

Step 34

Use different birds with different colors. Try not to overdo it, or overlap them.

Step 35

I also wanted to give the idea of birds carrying messages, so I placed letters around, nearby or held by the actual birds. They are all with one of the three fonts we used earlier.

Step 36

Repeat the motif in the top corner as well. Don't make it scientific. Keep the orientation random, and not necessarily all in one direction.

Step 37

And then just spread the birds all over the canvas. Remember to fade them out though on the right and bottom by placing fewer and fewer.

Final Image

That's it! Our twitter background is complete. You can view the final image preview below or the full-size image here.

This is the version I have on my twitter profile.

How to Create Eroded Metal Text

2009-12-26T00:24:00.003+07:00

Step 1

First we need to define a pattern of dots. Lets start by creating a new document 100 pixels wide and 100 pixels high, with a Resolution set to 300 pixels/inch. Fill the "Background" layer with black. Grab the Elliptical Marquee Tool, set the Style to a Fixed Size and set the Width and Height to 24 pixels. Click anywhere inside the canvas, then click inside the selection, drag and position it in the top-left corner of the canvas.

Fill the selection with white. Drag one vertical and one horizontal guide to the center of the selection. Hold down the Shift key, press Down the Arrow key four times to move the selection down 40 pixels. Fill it with white. Now move the selection 20 pixels up and 20 pixels right, then fill it with white again. Move the selection this time, 20 pixels down and 20 pixels right and fill with white.

Now drag two more guides to the center of the selection as in the image below. Move the selection 40 pixels up and fill with white once again. Now grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool and select the area between the crossing guides as shown below. Go to Edit > Define Pattern and name the pattern "Holes." Now that we have defined our pattern, you can close this document.

Step 2

Now create a new document 1450 pixels wide and 700 pixels high at a resolution of 300 pixels/inch. Make sure the Color Mode is set to RGB. Use the Horizontal Type Tool to type your text. I used Arial Black at a size of 116 pt.

Step 3

Now we'll apply two Layer Styles. First apply a Stroke using these settings: Size set to 10 pixels, Position set to Inside, Blend Mode of Normal, Opacity at 100% and color set to black. Then apply a Pattern Overlay and use the following settings: Blend Mode set to Normal, Opacity at 100%, Pattern set to "Holes," and scale set at 50%.

Step 4

Make the "Background" layer invisible and create a new layer on top and name it "2 Alpha." Go to Image > Apply Image and check Invert. This will flatten the current visible layers in the selected layer and invert it.

Step 5

Command-click the "2 Alpha" layer to load the selection and hit Command + C to copy. Go to the Channels Palette and create a new Channel. Hit Command + V to paste. Hit Command + D to deselect.

Step 6

Go to the Layers Palette. We don't need "2 Alpha" layers anymore so delete it. Turn off the visibility of the Pattern Overlay style of the "PSD" layer and set the Text Color to white. The layer is named "PSD" because I typed the text: "PSD". Your text layer is named whatever you typed.

Step 7

Create a new layer on top and again name it "2 Alpha" because this one will be going to an alpha channel. Make sure the "Background" layer is still invisible. Go to Image > Apply Image and uncheck Invert.

Step 8

Now Command-click the "2 Alpha" layer to load the selection and hit Command + C to copy, go to the Channels Palette and create a new channel, then hit Command + V to paste. While you're in the Channels Palette, Command-click the "Alpha 1" channel to load the selection.

Step 9

Go to the Layers Palette and create a new layer named "Text." Set your Foreground Color to 80% gray by hitting Alt + Backspace, then Deselect.

Step 10

Since we'll have a dark background in our final image, it's a good idea to make the background darker now. So fill the "Background" layer with 90% gray. Now we'll apply two Layer Styles to the "Text" layer. The first one is a Pattern Overlay with these settings: Blend Mode set to Soft Light, Opacity at 100%, Pattern set to "Black Marble," which is located in the "Rock Patterns" and Scale set at 100%. The second Layer Style is a Drop Shadow with these settings: Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 100%, Angle set to 120 degrees, Distance set to 16 pixels, Spread set at 30% and Size set to 15 pixels.

Step 11

Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer and name the duplicate "Paint." Drag the Effects of this layer to the trash in the Layers Palette as shown below.

Step 12

Go to Channels Palette and create a new channel. Go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Now go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds. We'll apply this filter twice more, so Press Command + F twice. Now go to Image > Adjustments > Invert. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command + L) and set the Input Levels to 200, 1, 255. The white areas in this image is going to be the eroded parts of the paint. Command-Click the channel to load the selection.

Step 13

Go to the "Paint" layer in the Layers Palette and hit Delete to clear the selected area. Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer and name it "Grain." Make the "Grain" layer invisible for now, then Deselect.

Step 14

Go back to the "Paint" layer and apply a Drop Shadow Layer Style with these settings: Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 100%, Angle set to 120 degrees, Distance and Spread set to 0, and Size set to 5 pixels. Apply an Inner Glow and use these settings: Blend Mode of Color Burn, Opacity at 35%, and Size set to 1 pixel. Now apply a Gradient Overlay with these settings: Blend Mode set to Overlay, Opacity at 60%, Gradient set to Black and White, Style set to Linear and Angle set to 90 degrees. Set the "Paint" layer Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 15

Create a new layer above the "Paint" layer and name it "Color." Grab the Gradient Tool, open the Gradient picker in the Tool Options and pick: Blue, Red, Yellow. Set it to Linear Gradient and fill the layer as shown below. Hold down the Alt key and click the line between the "Paint" and "Color" layers to define the "Paint" layer as a Clipping Mask. Set the "Color" layer Blending Mode to Difference.

Step 16

Go to the "Grain" layer in the Layers Palette and make it visible. Go to Filter > Artistic > Film Grain. Set the Grain to 10, Highlight Area and Intensity to 0, and set the Blending Mode for the layer to Color Dodge.

Step 17

Command-click the "Text" layer to load the selection. Create a new layer on top and name it "Highlight." Grab the Elliptical Marquee Tool and use the Arrow keys to move the selection 1 pixel left and 1 pixel up. Fill the selection with white. Move the selection 1 pixel right and 1 pixel down, back to where it was and hit Delete to clear. Apply an Outer Glow Layer Style to the "Highlight" layer using these settings: Blend Mode of Overlay, Opacity at 100%, and Size set to 2 pixels.

Step 18

Go to the Channels Palette and Command-click "Alpha 2" to load the selection. Go back to the Layers Palette and create a new layer on top. Name it "Highlight 2." Move the selection 2 pixels right and 2 pixels down. Fill the selection with white. Now move the selection 2 pixels left and 2 pixels up and hit Delete to clear. Now deselect.

Step 19

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 1 pixel. This is going to smooth the highlight.

Step 20

Go to the Channels Palette and Command-click "Alpha 2" to load the selection again. Go back to the Layers Palette and create a new layer on top and name it "Shade." Move the selection 2 pixels left and 2 pixels up. Fill the selection with black. Now move the selection 2 pixels right and 2 pixels down and hit Delete to clear.

Step 21

Deselect by hitting Command + D. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 1 pixel.

Step 22

Command-click the "PSD" layer to load the selection. Create a new layer on top and name it "Shade 2." Fill the layer with Black. Move the selection 2 pixels up and 2 pixels left, then hit Delete to clear. Command-click the "PSD" layer again. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 2 pixels.

Step 23

Command-click the "PSD" layer again and load it's pixels. Create a new layer on top and name it "Highlight 3." Fill the selection with black. Move the selection 2 pixels down and 2 pixels right and hit Delete to clear. Command-click the "PSD" layer and load the selection again, because we don't want this highlight to be blurred towards the outside. Now go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 1 pixel. Deselect by hitting Command + D.

Step 24

Create a new layer above the "Background" layer and name it "Texture." Fill the layer with black. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Set the Brightness at 160% and set the Lens Type to 50-300 mm zoom. Then go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. Apply a Glass filter by going to Filter > Distort > Glass and use these settings: Distortion set to 20, Smoothness set to 2, and Scaling set at 100%. Finally, apply a Gradient Overlay Style to this layer and use these settings: Blend mode of Multiply and Opacity set at 70%.

Step 25

You can achieve different variations of this effect by changing the gradient or color of the "Color" layer and changing the Texture of the Pattern Overlay Layer Style of the "Text" layer.

Conclusion

Yes that's it! I hope you learned something new and enjoyed this tutorial!

How to Create Glass Transparency

2009-12-15T23:35:00.002+07:00

Organizing the Stock Images

The final photo manipulation in the tutorial was created using the following stock-images:

Ocean Sunset, by flordelys-stock
Sky by causticstock
Hamster in Bowl by linepotter-stock
Shark by krayker
Flag by dollieflesh-stock
Pirate Hat by Mizzd-Stock

Step 1

I won't insist on the easy parts because this is pretty obvious. First, open the two pictures that are going to form our next background and flip them horizontally (Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontally) and just place them like I did in the image. It's not necessary to mask anything because the pictures fit just perfect one to the other.

Step 2

Now let's give this background a dynamic sensation with the Warp Tool (Edit > Transform > Warp).

Step 3

Since the warp tool gives the image a flat look, we need to do some waves so go to Liquify (Filter > Liquify). Use the picture below as a reference for how the waves should look after manipulation with Liquify.

Step 4

Cut out the funny hamster with the Pen Tool and place them in the middle of the ocean.

Step 5

Go to Edit/Color Range and click on the lightest color in the image (the highlight on the glass). Arrange the fuzziness value like in the image below.

Step 6

Click OK on the Color Range dialog box and you will see the selection active. Then make sure you are on the glass layer and click Command + J to create a copy of the highlights from the glass. If you hide the glass layer your selection should look something as in the image below.

Step 7

Hit Command + D to make sure there is nothing selected, and then go on the glass layer and make a duplicate (Command + J) and lower the opacity of the copy layer to around 60% like in the image below. You will see the highlights are now sharp and white like on real glass not transparent and gray.

Step 8

Now we must bring the mouse back. You could use the Pen Tool and cut him out, but there is a faster way and the result is just as good. Bring the original glass layer in front of the highlights layer and glass copy layer. Make a mask and paint with black, leaving the mouse with white. Make sure you don't go near the mouse with a soft edge brush.

Step 9

Select the three layers ("original glass," "glass copy," and "glass highlights") and hit Command + E to merge the three layers. Then create a mask and mask the lower part of the glass so it looks like it's underwater. If you are not very satisfied with the result, you can use a low opacity brush and mask some areas on the glass that you think should be more transparent.

Step 10

Add the flag. You will have to change the highlights on the flag pole. Select them like in the image below, hit Command + J and move the highlights to the left of the pole and then paint with a brown color (use the eyedropper on the pole) on the original highlights.

Step 11

Using the brush with a black color, make a shadow like in the image below and lower the opacity to 45%.

Step 12

Cut the pirate hat and arrange the size to fit on the head of the hamster (1). Then on a new layer just under the hat layer, paint some shadow on the head of the hamster using a soft edge and low opacity black brush (2). Then on a new layer in front of the hat layer paint some shadow on the hat, again using a low opacity and soft edge brush (3).

Step 13

In this step we will add the shark to make this image more funny. Cut out the shark's fin and place it under the "hamster" layer. Cover it on the mask and paint a shadow with black on another layer. Set its opacity to 30-40%.

Step 14

Next cut out the sea behind the ball and place it like I did in the image. This is how the water is seen through a round glass like the ball

Step 15

Now let's give this image a cool look with some filters and adjustment layers. First go to Adjustment Layers > Curves (Input 91 Output 41), then Erase the middle of the mask.

Apply an Adjustment Layers > Photo filter (orange at 30%).

Apply an Adjustment Layers > Gradient Map (Opacity at 60%).

Apply an Adjustment Layers > Hue/Saturation (Saturation at +57).

Apply an Adjustment Layers > Color Balance (Levels at -19, -16, and -34).

Step 16

Grab the Smudge Tool (strength at 90% and brush size 2-4 px), and start smudging the hamster's fur like I did below.

Step 17

Go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur (6 px) and change the blending mode to Soft Light. Use the image below as a reference for how the layer mask should look for this step.

Step 18

Go to Filters > Blur > Radial Blur and use the settings in the image below. Click OK, lower the Opacity of the zoom layer to 50 and mask it in the center. This will give the image some light dynamics.

Conclusion

The final image is below.

How to Create a Magician's Hat

2009-12-12T02:39:00.002+07:00

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop CS or Newer
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated Completion Time: 30 to 50 mins

Step 1

Create a 450 px by 450 px document with a white or transparent background. Drag out two guides at the center of the document (for your own convenience). Now use the Pen Tool to make a shape like the one shown below.

Name this layer as "body." Make sure you place this layer and all layers constituting the hat in a single layer-set (call it "Hat").

While creating an irregular shape like the one above, it's hard to keep symmetry on both sides. The easier way is to create half of the shape first.

Now grab the Path Selection Tool (A) and click on the shape. Press Command + C to copy the path and then press Command + V to paste it on the same shape layer. The copied path will be selected spontaneously.

With the Path Selection Tool (A) still selected, go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal and move the path rightward until you get the required shape. Click and drag a selection to select the two paths simultaneously then click the Combine button located in the Options bar.

Step 2

You can now add some reflections to the "body" layer. To do so, duplicate the "body" layer (Command + J) and reduce it's fill to 0%. Go to it's Layer Style and give it a Gradient Overlay.

When you're done with the settings, don't click OK. Before doing so, move the gradient leftward so that you have something like that shown below.

Step 3

With the duplicate "body" layer selected, go to Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and drag a black to white gradient as directed.

Step 4

Duplicate the "reflection" layer and go to its Layer Style. Move the Gradient leftwards while applying the following changes.

Step 5

It's time to add a shiny band on the hat. Create a shape of any color using the Pen Tool.

The band should not be flowing outside the hat's body. Command-click on the "body" layer and go to Select > Modify > Expand, type 1px and click OK. With the "band" layer selected, click the Add Layer Mask button.

Step 6

Give the "band" layer the layer styles shown below. Move the gradient rightward before closing the Layer Style window.

Step 7

Duplicate the "band" layer and remove all its layer styles except the Gradient Overlay. Reduce its fill to 0% and make the following changes to the Layer Style. Note that this gradient is placed leftward.

Step 8

It's time to make the top part of the hat. Use the Ellipse Tool (U) to make an ellipse like the one shown below and name it "top."

Give it these Layer Styles.

Step 9

Duplicate the "top" layer and place the duplicate layer below the "top" layer in the layers palette. Move the duplicate layer 7px down then give it these Layer Styles.

Step 10

Make another copy of the layer and reduce its fill to 0%. Just make these changes in its Gradient Overlay settings.

Step 11

With the Ellipse Tool (U), make a black ellipse over the "top" layer.

Give the layer these Layer Styles.

Step 12

Now you need to add shadows at the required places. Create a new layer below the "top" and it's duplicate layers. Command-click on the "top" layer and move the selection a few pixels down, then fill it with black. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, enter 5px and click OK. You'll clearly notice that the shadow is flowing outside the hat's body.

To fix it, Command-click on the "body" layer and with the "shadow" layer selected, click on the Add Layer Mask button in the Layers Palette (as you did in Step 4). Set the Opacity of the layer between 30% to 50%.

Step 13

A shadow can also be placed beneath the base. To do so, fill an elliptical selection with black on a new layer, reduce the Opacity of the layer to 30%. This layer must be placed below the "body" layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur, make the settings as shown in the image below before clicking OK.

Step 14

On a new layer, fill an elliptical selection with black and set the Opacity of layer to 50%. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, enter 2.5 px and click OK.

Step 15

The hat is done. You can now add a wand to the hat. Create a new layer set (name it "Wand") and hide the "Hat" layer-set by clicking on the eye to the side of it's name in the layers palette. Use Rectangle Tool (U) to draw a rectangle and give it a Gradient Overlay.

Step 16

Add two strips at the end of the wand while giving them a Gradient Overlay of purple shades.

Step 17

To reduce the flatness of wand, add anchor points to the strips using the Add Anchor Point Tool. Move them some pixels up. Along with that, add an ellipse at the end of the lower strip as shown.

Step 18

Duplicate the "Wand" layer-set and press Command + E to merge the duplicate set into a single layer. You can now hide the original "Wand" layer-set. With the merged "wand" layer selected, go to Edit > Transform > Rotate and rotate the wand 75 degrees CCW. Place it in a suitable location.

Conclusion

A shadow of the wand, falling inside hat's body, can also be added to complete our image.

If the final image appears too bright or dark on your monitor then you can add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to the final image. To do so, open the final image in Photoshop then go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast, use settings that please you.

Blend a Planet Transparently

2009-12-09T02:10:00.005+07:00

Preparation

Before we start download all the necessary pictures (girl, background, earth, tree, apples and moon) and brushes (glitters and clouds).

Step 1 - Background Preparation

Open the photo with the girl. Right-click on the "background" layer and select Layer From The Background, which unlocks the layer. Name the layer "GIRL."

Now open the picture of the background and drag it into the picture with the girl and name it "BACKGROUND." As you can see the background is smaller than the photo of the girl. To make it bigger click on the layer "BACKGROUND," preset Command + T, and while holding Shift make it bigger. If you hold Shift, proportions of the picture stay the same.

Place the "BACKGROUND" under the "GIRL" and make the "GIRL" layer invisible. Before blending these two images together we will work on the background a little bit.

If you look at the "BACKGROUND," you can see that the quality of the image is quite bad because of resizing. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to about 1px. It will be a little blurry, but it really doesn't matter. Press OK.

Now make the background darker - add Adjustment Layer Levels. The button Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer can be found on the bottom part of the Layers palette. If you don't see the Layers palette, then press F7 and it appears. In the dialogue window Levels set the Input Levels on 34; 0,82; 255 and press OK.

As you can see in the preview image the background isn't reddish but blue. To change your background add a new layer above the "BACKGROUND" layer and adjustment layer Levels and name it "BLUE TONES." Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick this color #1f79a3 and fill the layer with it. Now change the Blending Mode of the layer to Color and set the Opacity to 80%.

Step 2 - Blending he Hair

Blending flying hair is always difficult because there is no easy or quick way to do it. But in case that you have a stock photo with a light background and want to blend it with a dark background, there is one trick you can do really quickly only by changing blending modes.

Duplicate the "GIRL" layer, name it "FLYING HAIR" and place it under the "GIRL" (which should still stay invisible). Now change the Blending Mode to Multiply (you can also use Blending Mode Darken if Multiply looks too dark). Add a vector mask to this layer and with a black brush paint over all the parts of the layer except the hair to make them invisible.

Step 3 - Cut Out the Background of The Girl

Make the "GIRL" layer visible. You need to cut out the background of the layer. There is many ways how you can do it. Use the technique that you're most comfortable with. But remember to cut everything very carefully. I know it can be boring to do it, but if you make it sloppily the result will never look realistic. You don't have to care about the hair much because we've prepared that in the previous step.

After cutting out your picture it should look like the image below.

Step 4 - Retouching The Girl

The girl has ugly shadows under her eyes, cheeks and nose, from the lighting cast during the shooting of this photo. In this step we'll remove these shadows. Add a new layer above the "GIRL" and name it "RETOUCH." Right-click on the layer and select Create Clipping Mask.

Now grab the Stamp Tool (S), select a soft, round brush and set the Opacity on 20%. Press Alt and click on a lighter area of her face to set the place from where the skin will be duplicated. Then paint over the areas with shadows (areas which are circled in the picture below). Change the source of the cloning from time to time to get a more natural result.

In the picture below you can see how the face looks before and after using the Stamp Tool.

http://psdtuts.s3.amazonaws.com/351_Transform_Planet/09.jpg

Step 5 - Color Adjustment of The Girl

It's obvious that the girl doesn't fit the background. We'll fix that during this step by using several adjustment layers.

At first we will remove the yellow light from the light bulb. Add a new Adjustment Layer Hue/Saturation and make a clipping mask from it. Set Edit on Yellows and lower the Saturation to -54.

Now we'll make the girl bluer. Add a Color Balance Adjustment Layer, make a clipping mask from it and set it as you see in the pictures below.

To make it even bluer add a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer. Don't forget to create a clipping mask from it. For dark tones select a dark blue color (I used #072519) and for light tones use white. Press OK and lower the Opacity to 30%.

And one last thing for now - we will increase contrast. Add a Levels Adjustment Layer, create a clipping mask from it and set the Input Levels to: 33, 0,73, and 238. Press OK.

After this step your picture should look like this:

Step 6 - Brighten Eyes

This is just a quick step, let's brighten the eyes. Add a new layer above the "GIRL" and all clipping masks and name it "BRIGHTEN EYES". Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick #808080 as the color and fill the layer. Then change the Blending Mode to Overlay. Select a soft, round brush at a size that is similar to the size of the irises, pick a white color and paint over the irises. It makes them brighter.

Step 7 - Adding The Planet

Open the picture of earth and drag it into the manipulation. Name the layer "PLANET." As you can see the planet is too big. To make it smaller press Command + T and resize it. Hold Shift to constrain proportions while resizing. Cut out the background of the planet.

Let's add two layer styles: Inner Shadow and Outer Glow. The Add Layer Style button is located at the bottom part of the Layers palette.

Set the layers styles as you can see below:

Add an Adjustment layer of Hue/Saturation above the layer "PLANET" and set the value of the Hue to +90 and Saturation to -20. Press OK and make a Clipping Mask from this layer.

Change the Blending Mode of the "PLANET" to Hard Light. It makes it semi-transparent.

Step 8 - Adding The Tree

In this step we will add the tree. Open the picture of it. Go to Select > Color Range. Then click on the white background which will select it.

Press Command + Shift + I. It makes inverse selection. Drag this selection into the photo manipulation above the "PLANET." Name the layer "TREE." Press Command + T and resize the tree on the proper size. Don't forget to hold Shift during the process so proportions stay the same.

As you probably see the selection should be better. It's again not hard to fix it. Command click on the thumbnail of the tree. It activates the mask of the layer. Now go to Select > Modify > Contract and set it to 2 px. Press OK. Now press Command + Shift + I (inverts the mask) and then Delete which will remove the unwanted parts.

Add a Levels adjustment layer above the "TREE" layer and set the Input Levels on 21; 1,12; 232. Press OK and create a clipping mask from this layer. Then add a Color Balance adjustment layer and set it as you can see below.

After this step your photo manipulation should be similar to this one:

Step 9 - Changing the Global Light

In this step we will make the place around the planet brighter to catch the viewer's attention on this place. Add a new layer under the "PLANET" and name it "GLOBAL LIGHT." Grab the Gradient Tool (G) pick #808080 color and fill the layer. Now go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and set the dialogue window as shown.

Notice that I place the brightest spot from the center to the place where the planet is. Now change the Blending Mode to Overlay. It changes the light of the manipulation.

I also used this layer to make the eyes even brighter. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select a soft, round brush with a Diameter similar to the size of the pupils, pick white for the color and paint on this layer over the girl's pupils. It makes them brighter as shown.

Step 10 - Adding Clouds

In this step we will add clouds. Install the clouds brush you downloaded. If you don't know how to do that look at this tutorial. Add a new layer on the top of the layers and name it "CLOUDS." Pick white for the color and paint some clouds around the planets. You can paint them around the tree and girl's hand as well. It's completely up to you and your taste.

Once you're finished duplicate "CLOUDS" and change the Blending mode of this layer to Screen. This step makes the clouds nicely white, not grey.

One more thing which must be done is adding shadows. It's really easy. Duplicate the "CLOUDS" once again and place this layer under the "CLOUDS." Command-click on the thumbnail of this new layer. It activates the mask of the layer. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick a black color and fill the selection. Now move the layer a little bit to the right and lower the Opacity to 25%, which gives it a more realistic result.

Step 11 - Adding the Moon

Open the picture of the moon, cut out the background, and drag it into your manipulation. Place the layer on the top of your other layers and name it "MOON." Change the Blending Mode to Screen.

Now we'll add an aura around the moon. Add a new layer under the "MOON" and name it "AURA AROUND THE MOON." Grab the Brush Tool (B), select a soft, round brush and pick a bright blue color. Lower the Opacity of the brush to about 15% and paint around the moon to make a nice aura.

Step 12 - Adding Apples

Open the picture of the apples. Select the apple in the front and drag it into the photo manipulation. Press Command + T, and while holding Shift make it smaller. Duplicate the apple several times and place it in different places of the tree. You can flip them and rotate them to get more variety.

Once you're finished merge all layers with the apples into one and name it "APPLES." Now we have to blend them and add the shadow underneath. To blend them add a vector mask (the button Add Vector Mask is located at the bottom of the Layers palette in the same place as the Add Layer Style button, which we used a few steps back) to the layer. Now with a black brush, paint over some areas to make them disappear.

Now add a Drop Shadow Layer style. Set it as shown below.

After this step your picture should by similar to this:

Step 13 - Changing Lights And Shadows

Now we will change the lights and shadows so they fit better to the scene.

Add a new layer on top of all the layer and name it "LIGHTS & SHADOWS." Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick #808080 color and fill the layer with it. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay. Now grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white for the color and paint over the areas you think should be lighter. Use a lower opacity to make the light not so strong and a higher opacity to make it stronger. Lighten the pupils of the girl once again.

Now pick a black color and paint over the area where shadows should be. Play with the opacity again to get more realistic results.

Step 14 - Adding Glitter

Install the glitter brush you've downloaded before. Add a new layer on top of your layers. Name it "GLITTERS" and paint with the brush around the girl's hand a little.

Step 15 - Adding Aura Around The Girl

To separate the girl from the background a little we will add aura around her. Add a new layer under the "GIRL" and name it "AURA AROUND THE GIRL." Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick #808080 color and fill the background. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay. Now grab the Brush Tool (B), select a soft, round brush, pick white for the color and paint around the girl. You can see what I mean below.

Step 16 - Global Adjustment

We've already placed all elements so now we have to adjust the picture. At first add a new Gradient Map Adjustment Layer on the top of your layers and set it as you see below.

Now add a Levels Adjustment Layer and set it like this:

Decrease the saturation of the picture. You can use an Adjustment Layer of Hue/Saturation or (like me) use the Gradient Tool. Set the Opacity of this layer to 60%.

After this step your picture should look like this one:

Step 17 - Increasing The Saturation of the Eyes

As you can see in the preview picture, the eyes are more saturated than the rest of the picture. We'll make it in this step.

At first click on the vector mask of the adjustment layer with gradient and lower the opacity. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick a black color and choose the same size of brush as the pupils are. Now paint over them. This step will remove the desaturation effect on the eyes.

Now add a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and set the value of Saturation to +100. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick a black color and fill the vector mask of this adjustment layer. Then grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white for the color and paint over the pupils. It makes them even more saturated.

Step 18 - Sharpening

Grab the Marquee Tool (M) and select the whole manipulation. Now go to Edit > Copy Merged and then press Command + V to paste the merged image. Place the layer on the top of all the layers.

Go to Filter > Other > High Pass... and set the value Radius on about 5 px. Change the Blending mode of the layer to Overlay.

The whole picture is sharper. But according to me the sharp background doesn't look nice and it should be without the High Pass effect. Grab the Eraser Tool (E) and erase this layer on the places where the background is, as shown below.

Step 19 - Changing Lights And Shadows Once More

This is the last time we change the lights and shadows. Paste the merged picture once again on top of all layers. Now press Shift + Command + U to desaturate the image and Command + I to invert colors. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the value radius on about 15 px. Press OK. Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Overlay and lower the Opacity to 30%.

Step 20 - Final Touch

You are almost done. There are two easy things to fix. At first I think that the image should be little bit darker. To fix that add a new Levels Adjustment Layer and set the Input Values on 0; 1,1;255. Press OK.

Now add a Color Balance Adjustment Layer and set the Color Levels on -6; 0; +4 and press OK. That's all.

Conclusion

Congratulation! You've just finished this photo manipulation. Hope that you've learned something new in this tutorial or found inspiration for your next photo manipulation. Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Street Dance Illustration

2009-08-08T02:39:00.009+07:00

Apply effects to photos and create a contemporary pattern using a brush. In this Photoshop tutorial, you will practice several techniques to create this Photoshop illustration. This tutorial is recommended for experienced Photoshop users because it uses a wide variety of filters and tools.

Stock images used in this tutorial

These are the stock photos that were used in this Photoshop tutorial. You can purchase the same stock photos used in this tutorial or use your own photos. All you need is a photo of a skyline, old paper texture, and a dancer showing his best move.

Step 1 – Open the city skyline photo

Start by opening the photo with the city skyline.

Step 2 – Create a photocopy effect with the threshold tool

Choose Image > Adjustments > Threshold and adjust the setting to get a clean

Use the brush tool to erase the clouds so that the sky is all white.

Finally, choose Image > Adjustments > Invert to invert the layer.

Step 3 – Create a water reflection

Press Ctrl+J or choose Layer > Duplicate to duplicate the layer.

First, activate the transform tool by pressing Ctrl+T or choosing Edit > Free Transform. Then, choose Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical. Press enter to exit out of the transform tool. If you don’t activate the transform tool before you flip the image, it’ll flip all the layers instead of just the layer that you are working on.

Select the rectangular marquee tool and create a selection from the top to the horizon of the city skyline.

Press delete or choose Edit > Clear to clear the selected. Press Ctrl+D or choose Select > Deselect to deselect the selection.

Select the move tool then click and drag on the document window to move the upside down skyline below the horizon.

Step 4 – Apply effect to the water reflection

Press Ctrl+J or select Layer > Duplicate Layer to duplicate the current layer. This layer will be used to create the distorted water reflection effect.

Choose Filter > Distort > Glass. Adjust the settings so that you get a ripple effect like the image below.

Choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set the angle to 90º and adjust the distance setting to get a blur like the image below.

Step 5 – Mask the distorted reflection effect

Select the gradient tool and apply these settings:

Gradient: Black, white (with reverse setting enabled)
Style: Linear
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Reverse: Enabled
Dither: Enabled

Make sure that you have the layer mask selected. It should have a white border in the layers palette like the image below. Draw a gradient by dragging a line from the horizon to about 25% from the bottom.

Step 6 – Place the old paper texture

Currently you have the layer mask selected. Before you can use the place command, you’ll need to deselect the layer mask. Simply click on the thumbnail of top layer (not its layer mask) to deselect the layer mask.

Choose File > Place, browse for the image file of the old paper texture, then click OK. Scale the image so that it covers the entire image then click enter to apply the changes.

Step 7 – Blend the paper texture

Set the opacity of the current layer to 50%.

Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to add a new hue/saturation adjustment layer. It should appear as the top layer. Adjust the color and saturation to your likings.

Here’s what the image looks like so far:

Step 8 – Place the photo of the dancer

Choose File > Place then browse for the image file and click OK. Resize the image if necessary then press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 9 – Mask out the background

Use the magic selection tool to create a selection of the dancer. If you are using Photoshop CS2 or older, you can use the extract tool (Filter > Extract) instead.

If you created a selection with the magic selection tool, click on the button in the layers palette to create a mask. If you are using Photoshop CS2 or older and used the extract filter instead, do not add a layer mask.

Step 10 – Position the dancer to the right side

Select the move tool from the toolbar and move the dancer to the middle right like shown in the image below.

Step 11 – Setting up the layers for the posterized effect

First, we’ll need to setup the layers so that we can create a posterized effect on the dancer. Duplicate the top layer with the dancer.

Click on the thumbnail of the layer mask then press the button in the layers palette to delete the layer mask.

Choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask. This will make the current layer use the transparency from the layer below.

Finally, rasterize the layer. Right-click on the layer (not the layer thumbnail) then choose Rasterize Layer. If you are using Photoshop CS1 or older, you don’t need to do this because your layer should already be rasterized.

Step 12 – Create the posterized effect

Now that we have the layers setup properly, we can apply the effect. Choose Image > Adjustments > Threshold. Adjust the settings to get the results that you like then click OK.

To smooth the edges, we’ll use the median filter. Choose Filter > Noise > Media and adjust the settings so that the edges are smoothed like the image below.

In the layers palette, change the blending mode of the current layer to multiply.

Step 10 – Position the dancer to the right side

Select the move tool from the toolbar and move the dancer to the middle right like shown in the image below.

Step 11 – Setting up the layers for the posterized effect

First, we’ll need to setup the layers so that we can create a posterized effect on the dancer. Duplicate the top layer with the dancer.

Click on the thumbnail of the layer mask then press the button in the layers palette to delete the layer mask.

Choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask. This will make the current layer use the transparency from the layer below.

Step 12 – Create the posterized effect

Now that we have the layers setup properly, we can apply the effect. Choose Image > Adjustments > Threshold. Adjust the settings to get the results that you like then click OK.

To smooth the edges, we’ll use the median filter. Choose Filter > Noise > Media and adjust the settings so that the edges are smoothed like the image below.

In the layers palette, change the blending mode of the current layer to multiply.

Step 13 – Add a retro color effect

Start by creating a new layer (Layer > New Layer). Change the blending mode of the new layer to Color. Position the new layer as the top layer then choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask. Your layer should look like the image below.

If you do not already have the swatches palette in your workspace, choose Window > Swatches. In the swatches palette, click on the button at the top right corner and select any one of the PANTONE CMYK swatches (ex. PANTONE color bridge CMYK EC).

Click on either the cyan, magenta, or yellow color from the swatches palette. It is the first three colors in the swatches palette.

Select the brush tool then right click anywhere in the document window to bring up the brush settings. Set the hardness setting to 0%.

Using a brush size that is about one third the width or height of the dancer, paint a streak from the edge. Then, switch to another color (cyan, magenta, or yellow) and repeat the process until you get something like the image below. For a more detailed tutorial about this, read Surprisingly Easy Rainbow Light Painting Effect.

Step 14 – Create a spotlight

For this effect, we will be using a gradient fill layer. Choose Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient. Set the gradient as a white to transparent gradient as shown below.

Apply the following settings:

Style: Radial
Scale: 150%

In the document window, click and drag the gradient to reposition it. Position it to the upper left side.

Here’s what the image looks like so far.

Step 15 – Add a shadow to the spotlight

Grab the selection of the dancer. To do this, hold down the Ctrl key then click on the layer mask thumbnail of the dancer. You should now see a marquee around the dancer like the image below.

Select any of the selection tools (ex. magic wand). Click and hold inside the selection then drag it to move the selection. Only the selection should be moving and not the layer.

In the layers palette, click on the layer mask thumbnail of the gradient fill layer. Press delete to delete the selected area. You should now have a shadow like the image below. Press Ctrl+D or choose Select > Deselect to deselect the selection.

Activate the transform tool by pressing Ctrl+T or choosing Edit > Transform. Click and drag on the corners to enlarge the shadow. Move the shadow so that it is centered in the spotlight. Press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Now we need to adjust the size of the spotlight. In the layers palette, double click on the icon to edit the gradient fill layer settings. Adjust the scale setting so that it’s just large enough to cover the shadow. Reposition the spotlight necessary.

Here’s what the image looks like after the changes.

Step 16 – Dim the background

Select the Hue/Saturation layer then choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels. This will create a levels adjustment layer above the hue/saturation adjustment layer.

In the levels tool, drag the middle input slider towards the right to dim the background.

Step 17 – Create a contemporary pattern brush

Select the brush tool then open the brushes palette (Window > Brushes). Click on the button on the top right corner then select Square Brushes. When it asks if you want to append or replace, select append. Scroll down and select the 24 px square brush. It should be the last brush on the list.

Apply the settings as shown in the three images below.

Step 18 – Paint the contemporary pattern

Create a new layer and position it above the gradient fill layer.

With the brush tool selected, adjust the size of the brush so that it is about one third to half the width of the dancer. Set white as the foreground color then paint on the current layer. You may have to undo and repeat this several times to get a pattern that you like.

To finish the effect, choose Filter > Noise > Median. Adjust the radius setting until you get rounded corners like the image below.

Here’s how the image looks like with the contemporary pattern added. Next, we’ll add a layer mask to it to help visually connect the foreground with the background.

Step 19 – Create a mask for the contemporary pattern

With the contemporary pattern layer selected, click on the button in the layers palette to add a layer mask.

Load the selection from the gradient fill layer mask. Hold the Ctrl key and click on the layer mask thumbnail of the gradient fill layer. Choose Select > Inverse to inverse the selection.

Ensure that you have the layer mask of the contemporary pattern layer selected. It should have a white border around it to indicate that it is active. Press delete to clear the selected area then press Ctrl+D to deselect. Your layer mask should look like the image below.

Final Results

Click on the image to view the full image

Dazzling Dance Photo Manipulation

2009-08-03T01:55:00.002+07:00

In this detailed and lengthy Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to combine photos and add special effects to turn a normal photograph into a stunning artwork. You will also learn several tricks to reduce your Photoshop document file size and number of layers and layer styles.

Stock Photos

Here are the stock photos used for this website. You can purchase the images through Dreamstime by clicking on the image below. We used the highest resolution (unscaled) images available to write this tutorial. If you would like to follow this tutorial using the same settings we used, download the highest resolution (unscaled) images available.

Step 1 – Open the image of the dancer

Load the image of the dancer into Photoshop.

Step 2 – Place the image of the clouds

Choose File > Place, browse for the image of the clouds, then click OK. The image of the clouds will appear in your document window with the transform tool activated. Resize and position the clouds where you like it to appear then press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes. The reason why we use the place command rather than other methods is because the place command will place the image as a smart object (if you are using Photoshop CS2 or newer) to help keep the file size small if you save the document without the maximize compatibility option.

Step 3 – Blend the clouds

Now we’ll make the sky transparent so that only the clouds are visible. Instead of using a mask, we’ll use the blending options. This will help keep the file size small and reduce the number of layers in your document. Right click on the layer of the clouds then choose Blending Options.

In the blending options, move the black input slider towards the right until the sky disappears.

Hold the alt key on your keyboard and drag the black input slider all the way towards the right. The hard edges of the clouds should disappear and the clouds should have some transparency. Don’t click OK yet.

In the same layer style window, click on the Color Overlay option. Choose white as the color then set the blend mode to color. This is a simple non-destructive trick to desaturate a layer using layer styles. Click OK to apply the changes.

Here’s what the image looks like right now. You have just blended the cloud into the background without using any layer masks. We’re not 100% complete with blending the clouds in but we’re going to pause here and continue after we create a mask of the model.

Step 4 – Create an inverse selection of the model

Hide the layer with the clouds then select the background layer.

Select the magic wand tool then set the tolerance to 0 so that the black sweater won’t be included in the selection.

Click on the black area to create a selection of the background. You’ll get most of the background selected.

You can continue to add to the selection using the lasso tool. Or, if you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, switch to the quick selection tool, to easily add the bottom of the background into the selection.

If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, you can use the refine edge tool to enhance the selection. Simply select any one of the selection tools then click on the “Refine Edge” button on the option bar.

Step 5 – Create a layer mask of the selection on a group

By applying the mask in a group instead of a layer, we can simply place any layer we want in this group and it will only be visible behind the model. This saves us from having unnecessary layer masks.

Select the layer of the clouds then click on the button in the layers palette.

With the group selected, click on the button to add a layer mask. It will automatically apply your selected area into the layer mask. Anything we put inside this group will appear around the model.

Now we’ll check to see if there are any flaws to the mask. Add a color fill layer with a contrasting color such a red. To do this, select the layer with the clouds then choose Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color.

Step 6 – Refine the layer mask

Zoom into 100% view to find any flaws such as this one on the shoe.

Select the layer mask in the layer palette then use the brush and eraser to refine the edges. Use the brush tool to erase the background or the eraser tool to add. In the option bar of the brush and eraser tool, you can change the brush hardness. Use a hardness of 50% or more for sharper edges.

When you’re done refining the mask, you can delete the color fill layer and make the layer with the clouds visible.

Step 7 – Complete the blending of the clouds

Add a layer mask to the layer with the clouds. To do this, select the layer then choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All.

Select the eraser tool. Right click anywhere in the document window to bring up the brush options. Use a very large brush size with a hardness of 0%.

Make sure that the layer mask of the cloud layer is selected. To select the layer mask, click on the layer mask thumbnail in the layers palette. It should have a border around the layer mask to indicate that it is selected. With the eraser tool, erase the bottom of the clouds so that it fades gradually.

Select the move tool then move the clouds lower so that it is just above the spotlight.

Step 8 - Place the city background

Before you can use the place command, you need to have the layer mask deselected. Click on the layer thumbnail of the clouds layer to deselect the layer mask.

Choose File > Place. Browse for the photo of the city then click OK. Scale and position the image like shown below then press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Move the layer with the city background below the layer with the clouds.

Step 9 – Desaturate the city background

First, we’ll make the layer grayscale using the same technique we used earlier with the clouds layer. Right click on the layer of the city background then choose blending options.

Apply the settings as shown below then click OK.

Step 10 – Fade the bottom edge of the layer with the city background

If you look closely at the bottom of the city edge layer there is a hard edge. To fix this, we’ll fade the edge with a layer mask.

With the layer of the city background selected, click on the to add a layer mask.

Select the eraser tool then right click anywhere in the document window. Use a large brush with a hardness of 0%.

Make sure that your layer mask is selected. It should have a white border around the layer mask thumbnail to indicate that it is selected. With the eraser tool, erase the bottom of the edge so that the hard edge is gone.

Here’s the before and after of fading the bottom edge.

Here’s what our image looks like so far.

Step 11 – Add abstract colors to the background

Create a new layer above the clouds layer then set the blending mode to color. Now we can paint in this layer with any color and it will only affect the color of the layers below.

In the swatches palette (Window > Swatches), click on the menu then choose any one of the PANTONE CMYK swatches.

Now you have the yellow, magenta, and cyan colors easily accessible form your swatches palette.

Select the brush tool. On the option bar at the top, you can select the brush size, hardness, and opacity. I recommend starting with a 50% opacity to paint.

Select any of the first three colors in the swatches palette then begin painting.

You can overlap two colors to create other colors such as teal. Remember that you can adjust the size, hardness, and opacity of your brush for different results. Here is what we ended up with and how we got the results.

Step 12 – Add a swirling beam of light

Create a new layer inside a new group. This group will be used to store all the special effects we’ll be adding on later. Select Group 1 then click on the button to create a new group above it. Then, click on the button to add a new layer inside Group 2.

Select the pen tool then apply the settings in the option bar as shown in the image below.

Create a curved path similar to the image below.

Select the brush tool and adjust the settings. Use the settings as shown below but adjust the master diameter setting to change the size of the brush. The size of this brush will determine the thickness of the beam of light. We used a brush size of 30 px on the high resolution file used for this tutorial. But if you are working on a low resolution file (ex. 800 x 600 pixels), then you should use a smaller brush size such as 7 pixels.

Make sure that you have the new layer in Group 2 selected. In the paths palette (Window > Paths), right click on the work path then choose stroke path.

In the stroke path dialog, select brush from the drop down menu and enable simulate pressure.

This is what our image looks like so far with the swirling beam of light. However, it doesn’t look like it is swirling around the model. In the next step, we’ll mask out certain areas to make it look like it is swirling around the model.

Step 13 – Create a mask for the swirling beam of light

Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard then click on the layer mask of group one.

Select the layer with the beam of light then click on the button to add a layer mask. It should apply the selected area as the layer mask.

Make sure that you have the new layer mask selected. Select the brush tool the paint in white over the areas shown in the image below. This will make the beam of light look like it is swirling around the model.

tep 14 – Create a lens flare

Create a new layer as the top layer in Group 2 then fill it with black.

Choose Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Set the brightness to 100% and choose movie prime as the lens type. Adjust the flare center to get a flare that you like then click OK.

Choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation then apply the settings as shown below. If you are using Photoshop CS3 or older, enable the colorize option first then adjust the hue and saturation settings.

Step 14 – Duplicate and position the lens flare

First, change the blend mode of the lens flare layer to screen.

Select the move tool then reposition the lens flare to models right top hand.

While holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, drag the lens flare to the models left hand. This will create a duplicate of the lens flare.

Step 15 – Mask the lens flare

We want to make the second lens flare appear as behind the models hand. To do this, we’ll mask it out using a layer mask. Click on the button to add a layer mask.

Select the eraser tool then use a large brush with 0% hardness.

Erase over the hand and arm so that the lens flare looks like it is behind the hand.

Here’s the before and after results.

Step 16 – Merge the lens flare layers

Because we will not need to reposition the lens flare anymore, we can merge them together. If you simply merge the two layers right now, the layer mask will be lost. To preserve the layer mask, move the layer without the layer mask up so that it is on the top. Then, choose Layer > Merge Down or Ctrl+E.

A dialog will appear asking if you want to apply or preserve the layer mask. Select preserve.

Now the two layers are merged and the layer mask is still there.

Step 17 – Import the image of the shattered glass

Choose File > Place, browse for the image of the shattered glass, then click OK. Press enter on your keyboard to exit out of the transform tool.

Step 18 – Add transparency to the glass layer

Using the same technique used earlier, we’ll make the dark area of the layer transparent so that it blends into the photo. Right click on the layer with the glass then choose Blending Options.

At the bottom of the window in the blend if options, drag the black input sliders towards the right until the background disappears.

Hold the Alt key on your keyboard then drag the right black input slider towards the right until the edges are softened.

Change the blending mode of the current layer to luminosity. This will allow the color from the layers below to be seen through the glass.

Step 19 – Prepare the layers

Duplicate the layer with the glass (Layer > Duplicate Layer)

Hide the other layer by clicking on the icon.

Step 20 – Distort the first glass layer

With the current glass layer selected, choose Edit > Free Transform to use the transform tool. Hold down your left mouse button anywhere inside the boundary border then drag it to the models left ankle.

While holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, drag the upper middle handle downwards so that your shattered glass looks like the image below.

Rotate the layer like shown below. To rotate, position your cursor outside the bounding border then drag to rotate.

While holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, drag the bottom left handle towards the bottom left like shown below.

While holding down the Ctrl key, drag the bottom right handle towards the upper left like shown below. Press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 21 – Distort the second glass layer

Select the other shattered glass layer then enable back the visibility by clicking where the icon should be.

Like before, we’ll use the transform tool to distort the layer. Choose Edit > Free Transform then position the center of the shattered glass at the models other ankle.

While holding down the alt key, drag the upper middle handle towards the bottom to shrink the layer like shown in the image below.

Rotate the layer like shown below by clicking anywhere outside the boundary border and dragging.

While holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, drag the top left corner downwards. Press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 22 – Swap the layers

Switch the position of the two shattered glass layers. Move the bottom one above the top one. This is because the shattered glass on the models left ankle is supposed to appear in front of his left ankle.

Here’s a before and after comparison of switching the layers. You can see that the shattered glass doesn’t appear to be wrapping around the models legs. We’ll fix this with a layer mask in the next step.

Step 23 – Add masks to the shattered glass layers

Select the second layer with the shattered glass then click on the button to add a layer mask.

Zoom in to 100% and use the move tool to position the center of the shattered glass on the leg.

Select the eraser tool, right click anywhere in the document window, then set the hardness to 100%.

Erase the upper part of the shattered glass that touches the leg and the beam of light like shown below. Now it looks like the shattered glass is wrapped around the leg but not in front of the beam of light.

We’ll repeat this for the other leg. Select the other layer then click on the to add a layer mask.

Like before, erase the upper area of the shattered glass that touches the leg as shown below.

Step 24 – Make the beam of light glow

To finish this photo manipulation, we’ll make the swirling beam of light glow. Right click on the layer with the beam of light then choose blending options.

Select the outer glow layer style then adjust the size until you see a glow on the beam of light.

Select a color that you like for the glow.

Next, enable the inner glow layer style and zoom in so that you can see the beam of light. Press Ctrl+ to zoom in and drag in the document window to reposition. Set the blend mode to normal.

Set the color to the same or similar color you used in your outer glow layer style then adjust the size so that the inner glow is more visible.

Final Results

Futuristic Collage

2009-07-29T03:56:00.003+07:00

In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn several ways of drawing abstract elements and blending images to create an abstract and futuristic photo manipulation. These types of photo manipulations are popular in wallpapers and signatures (AKA sigs) where people combine their interests into a collage that describes themselves.

What you will need

Preview of final results

Step 1

Create a new document with dimensions; 1600 x 1100px. First change the foreground color to a bright reddish color, the exact color doesn't matter then hit Alt+Backspace to fill the background layer red. Paste the image with the model into your document then scale and move it until it looks like the image below.

Step 2

Now we need to mask out the girl, this is usually the most tedious part of any photo manipulation but it needs to be done so you may as well get good at it. If you really can't be bothered masking it then you can download the masked image as a PSD file here then just skip on to step 5, otherwise lets start masking. The method I use is quite complicated, first select the pen tool then look at the main toolbar and you will see three small buttons at the left, select the middle one which should say paths if you hover over it. Now start tracing round the edge of the girl, don't worry too much about being accurate as we will be putting her on a black background later. Also don't go round her hair, just draw round it without going near it. After you've got all the way round her and closed your path. Next right click somewhere in the document and select Create vector mask, this will get your image looking something like the one below.

Step 3

Now change the foreground color to black or just hit D then select the background layer and hit Alt+Backspace to fill it black. You'll notice that there will be some thin white bits around the model. So select the layer with the girl on it then click the layer mask button at the bottom of the layers panel. Now select the brush tool and choose a soft round brush about 50px diameter and 50% opacity and make sure the foreground color is still black. Now just draw over the white patches just to blend the black of her clothes into the background. After you've done this do the hair but change the brush opacity to 100% then just roughly blend the hair into the background. After fiddling with it for a while you should have a result like below.

Step 4

Now depending on what version of Photoshop you have will dictate what you do in this step, If you have CS3 or above then just right click on the girl's layer and select Convert to smart object. Any other version below CS3; then select the girls layer then create a new layer then hit Ctrl+E and when the dialog box comes up select apply. Now I scaled this layer slightly and move it a bit too then added another layer mask and used the same technique as in the last step to blend the model into the background, this is optional and only do it if you think your image needs to be blended more. If you got stuck at all then just go and download the PSD file I mentioned in step 2.

Step 5

Duplicate the girl's layer (Ctrl+J) then scale it up a bit then in the layers panel move this layer below the original layer. Now change the opacity of this new layer to about 10%.

Step 6

Create a new layer then change the foreground color to white then select the brush tool. Change to a 2px, 0% hardness, 100% opacity round brush. Now select the pen tool and draw a curvy path that kind of wraps around the girl. Then right click on the document and select Stroke path and make sure simulate pressure is unchecked.

Step 7

Now pay attention to the next two steps as we will be doing the same thing a few times from now on. First Ctrl+click on the original girl's layer then select the layer with the curvy line in it then Alt+click on the layer mask button at the bottom of the layers panel (cirircle within a rectangle button). You'll see that the line now goes behind the girl. Now hit Ctrl+D to deselect.

Step 8

Now we want the line to go over and under the girl layer. So select a a hard round white brush about 50px diameter and 100% opacity. Select the layer mask on the line layer then paint on the parts that you want to appear above the girl, I painted on the parts that I've circled in red. Next we want to fade out parts of the line, mainly the ends and the parts that we want to appear far away. So change the hardness of the brush to 0% and the opacity to about 20%, also change the foreground color to black then just brush over the parts you want to hide a few times.

Step 9

Now right click on this layer and go to blending options then add an outer glow using the settings shown below. You can repeat repeat these steps to add a few more lines, I just left it at one.

Step 10

Now we're going to put in some abstract renders so open one of the renders in the pack that you downloaded then drag the render layer into your original document, you may have to minimize the windows within photoshop. Most of these renders come with the render layer and a background layer, just put the render layer in then close the document. After you've dragged it in then scale and move it until it is placed over the girl like so.

Step 11

Now we use exactly the same masking technique we used for the line, basically do steps 7 & 8 for the render instead of the line, notice how most of the render appears behind the model but some parts appear in front of her. Remember to fade out some parts of the render too, especially since there are some sharp edges in some of the renders.

Step 12

We want to go for a reddish pink color scheme so if the render you used isn't the right color then go Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation then change the hue slider until it looks right, I had to do it with the first render I used, so look at the difference.

Step 13

Now we have to do exactly the same with a few more renders. I used three in total. It is important that the renders look like they go in front and behind the girl to add depth. This is what mine looked like after I added two more renders.

Step 14

This step I guess is optional, if you want to add some more stock images into your piece then now is the time to do it. The process consists of pasting in an image, masking it like we did with the girl then scaling and positioning it in the image. Some ideas are flowers and plants, small airplanes or balloons etc. I added a couple of flowers but you can put in more or none at all.

Step 15

Next we're going to put some clouds into our picture, start by selecting the eyedropper tool then pick a color from part of your render, you should now have a bright pinky color as your foreground color. Create a new layer, now select the brush tool then go into your clouds brush pack and choose a cloud brush. Now place your cloud somewhere over the girl then use the same masking technique we used for the line and for the renders but for this we want most of the cloud in front of her. Below I've shown what it should look like after you've added one cloud and masked it.

Step 16

Now repeat the last step twice more, using a different brush and picking a different color. Remember to put it in a new layer and to mask it in the same way.

Step 17

Now we're going to add a kind of glassy effect that we've been seeing a lot recently in this type of art. First create a new layer then select the polygonal lasso tool then draw a four sided shape similar to the one below.

Step 18

Next select the brush tool and choose a 400px round brush, 0% hardness, 100% opacity then change the foreground color to white. Now just brush along, just outside the edge of the box to get this effect, you may need to try a few times to get it right. Now hit Ctrl+D to deselect then you can move or rotate this layer.

Step 19

Now do these two steps twice again, but make the rectangle selection at a different angle or size, so you have three of these glassy things like in the image below.

Step 20

Now alter the opacities of these three layer to something between about 20% and 35%, just until they look right and don't do them all the same opacity, make them different and it will add some depth.

Step 21

In this step we're going to put in some random wee lines, this is quite subtle but it still adds to the overall image. First select a 1px round brush then choose a bright color, either yellow, orange or pink then brush some randowm lines in then do the same with a different color. Take a look at stage number one. Next add a layer mask by clicking the layer mask button at the bottom of the layers panel and use the second part of masking technique that I mentioned, where you blend the ends of the lines. don't worry about making these lines go behind the girl. You can see this in stage 2. Then just change the blend mode of this layer to color dodge, You can see what mine looked like in the bottom image, stage 3.

Step 22

The next thing I did was to add some small dots, they aren't really visible in the image below but they do add to the image. Create a new layer then select the brush tool and choose a 1px soft round brush with full opacity. Make sure the foreground color is white then just put some dots on the page, try also doing some with a 2px brush as well.

Step 23

That's us pretty much finished this tutorial but I did add a few finishing touches to the image and there is still a lot you could do to it. I added a very faint lens flare on a black layer then set it to screen then masked it a lot and lowered the opacity of it. I also put some white lines in to the right of the model and in a new layer then moved the layer to the bottom of the layer stack then masked it out a bit to blend it in. I then did some color adjustments to bring out the reds and some highlights, I used a mixture of Brightness/Contrast, Curves and Color Balance adjustment layers. Just experiment with some adjustment layers until it looks good. Have fun with it.

Exotic Fashion

2009-06-29T03:14:00.001+07:00

Find out what Photoshop techniques were used to create this painting. In this Photoshop tutorial, we will walk you through several painting techniques to get you started with painting.

Setting the canvas

The first step is to create a new canvas; most important and overlooked. Choose what you want your output size to be. The larger the canvas dimensions, the more time and effort will be required to complete the painting. If you're not entering the width and height in pixels, make sure that you set the resolution to 300 pixels/inch. If you plan on printing this, make sure that you have the color mode set to CMYK color. You should also choose to use 16 bit color if you will not be using many filters and if your computer can handle it.

Creating the layers

Before you paint anything, you'll need to create two additional layers with the blending mode on Multiply. One of the layer will be used to hold the drawing or sketch and the other will be used for the color and painting. This is the most basic layer setup and is recommended for beginners who just want to get started with painting in Photoshop. More advance users will have groups of layers for each part of the painting.

Painting

When painting, it is very helpful to have a pen tablet such as the Wacom Bamboo. A pen tablet will allow you to create brush strokes that are pressure sensitive.

Enable Pen Pressure

First, select the Brush tool and click on the "Enable Airbrush Capabilities" button in the option bar near the top of your Photoshop window. In the Brush palette, set the control to Pen Pressure or Pen Tilt (if you have a tilt sensitive pen tablet). If you're using a mouse, set the control to Fade. Fade will simulate natural brush strokes by making the brush size smaller as according to the stroke length.

Face

Painting the face is a simple process using the brush, dodge, and burn tool.

First, use the brush tool to paint a base color. Then, use the burn tool to burn the edges. Finally, select the dodge tool to dodge the highlights.

When you're done, you can use the Smudge tool to refine the edges between the highlights and shadows. In the option bar, you can specify if you only want to smudge the shadows, midtones, or highlights.

Hair

The hair can be created with almost the same technique as the one used for the face. Except this time, you'll be using the smudge tool to create the texture of the hair.

Feathers

Creating the feathers is more complicated. Begin by choosing a base color for the feather. Then, draw the shape of the feather. Using the Smudge tool at 80% strength, smudge from the center out to create the individual feathers. Finish it with the Dodge and Burn tool to create shadows and highlights.

Dress pattern

To create the pattern for the dress, draw a design on a separate layer. Then, duplicate and rotate the pattern to form other shapes.

Twigs

Creating the twigs is simple. Draw the twigs with the brush tool then apply bevel and drop shadow layer styles make it look three dimensional.

Final Results

Glossy Photos

2009-06-29T03:01:00.003+07:00

Create a stack of glossy photos. In this tutorial, you will learn how to place images into a document, add layer styles, and add a glossy shine to the photos.

Place the Images

Step 1

Create a new document. I created a 8x10 300dpi document.

Step 2

Place (File> Place) the photos you would like to include in the stack of photos.

Step 3

The image should be placed in the document with the transform controls activated. Adjust the image size. Hold the Shift key to maintain the aspect ratio while scaling the image

Step 4

Repeat step 2 and 3 for all the photos you would like to include with the artwork.

Step 5

Use the Transform tool (Image> Transform> Rotate or Ctrl+T) to rotate the photos. You can arrange the photos by moving the layers to different positions in the layers pallet. I moved the photo of the cup to the top layer so that it's the top photo of the stack.

Add a Drop Shadow and Border

Step 6

Select the layer with the image on the bottom of the stack and add a Drop Shadow layer style (Layer> Layer Style> Drop Shadow). Adjust the settings to achieve your desired drop shadow.
{mostip}Don't click OK yet!{/mostip}

Step 7

In the same Layer Style window, select the Stroke style. You should see the properties where you can adjust the stroke. Change the Position to "Inside" and the Color to white then adjust the size to create the border. Click OK when done.

Step 8

Right mouse click on the layer we've added the layer style to and select "Copy Layer Style". Then select the layer above, right mouse click and select "Paste Layer Style". Repeat this for the other layers so that all the layers (except the background layer) have the same layer style.

Step 9

To make the drop shadows look more realistic, double-click on the layer style icon of each layer and modify the drop shadow. Increase the distance of the drop shadow according to the layer order. For example, my document has 4 layers. I left the distance of the drop shadow on the first layer to 20. But I increased the distance by 5 as the layer order increases:
2nd layer: 20px
3rd layer: 25px
4th layer: 30px
5th layer: 35px

Step 10

Your document should look similar to this with a white border and drop shadow on each of the images.

Make it Glossy

After adding a white trim and a drop shadow to the images, we're finally able to add the glossy texture.

Step 11

Activate the 2nd layer with the image on the bottom of the stack. Hold the Ctrl key and click on the thumbnail of the layer. This should create a selection of the layer.

Step 12

Set white as the foreground color. You can easily do this by pressing D to reset the foreground and background to the default colors then pressing X to switch the foreground and background color.

Step 13

Add a Gradient Fill layer (Layer> New Fill Layer> Gradient Fill). This should appear above the selected layer and the layer mask of the Gradient Fill layer should have the layers shape as its layer mask.

Step 14

A Gradient Fill window will appear. In the window, change the Gradient to Foreground to Transparent, style to radial, and scale to 150%. Uncheck and check the Align with Layer checkbox to see which effect you like more.

Step 15

Repeat the previous steps to create a gradient fill layer for the rest of the layers.

Step 16

Activate the Elliptical Marquee tool and create a selection with a bulge. You may need to zoom out (Ctrl+-) to get enough room to draw the selection.

Step 17

With the Elliptical Marquee tool still activated, move the selection so that it covers about half of the top image. Select the layer mask of the top Gradient Fill layer and press delete.

Step 18

Repeat the previous two steps for the rest of the layer masks.

Final Results

The background color was changed to a 50% gray. To do this, simply activate the background layer and press Shift+Backspace. Select 50% gray and click OK.

Blending Two Images Seamlessly

2009-06-29T02:55:00.003+07:00

Let’s say you need add an image to another one, but it needs to look seamless. The image we’ll be adding to the other needs to have the same angle and texture of the other one. We can use the lens distortion tool and a layer blending mode for this example, and it’s also a fun way to learn the lens distortion tool and layer blending modes.

Step 1

Here’s the image we want to overlay onto another one.

Step 2

Here’s the image we’ll need to add the other image to. To use these examples, right-click each and save the images to your computer and open them both in Photoshop.

Step 3

Select the Move tool

Step 4

Click-and-drag the beach photo onto the television photo. Drag the beach photo so it covers the television. We now have two layers.

Step 5

With the Move tool selected, make sure the Show Transform Control is selected. Click the Layer 1, the beach layer, in the layers palette.

Step 6

Click the Eye icon of Layer 1 in the layers palette in order to see the television layer, seeing where the beach will show once we remove the area outside of the television screen. Click-and-drag the corner of the beach photo to resize it so more of it will show on the screen; hold Shift to maintain proportion. Make sure all of the television screen is covered. After resizing, press Enter to make the changes.

Step 7

Click the Eye icon next to Layer 1, the beach layer, to hide it for now. Click the Background layer, the television layer.

Step 8

Now we’ll need to draw a selection around the television screen. To select those corners, we’ll need to use the Pen tool. Select the Pen tool.

Step 9

Click (not click-and-drag) along the border of the screen near the corner. Then click-and-drag to draw a curving line on the side. The Pen tool may take a little bit to get used to, but generally click somewhere near the beginning of a curve, and click-and-drag near the ending of the curve.

Step 10

Draw the shape around the edge of the television screen, until we complete the shape.

Step 11

In the Paths palette, right-click the Shape 1 Vector Mask and click Make Selection.

Step 12

Press OK.

Step 13

In the Layer palette, click the Eye icon of the shape layer since we don’t need it, and click the Eye icon of Layer 1 and click Layer 1 to select it.

Step 14

Go to Select>Inverse and press Backspace to delete the pixels outside of the television screen on the beach layer.

Step 15

Change the layer blending mode of Layer 1 to Overlay.

Step 16

This overlays the beach image onto the television screen, but the beach photo’s angle needs to protrude a little bit in the middle to fit the television screen.

Step 17

With Layer 1 still selected in the layers palette, go to Filter>Distort>Lens Correction. Set the Remove Distortion to about -14, or until it adds some barrel distortion to fit the screen.

Step 18

The problem here is that the beach is now moved outside of the screen area. Click the Eye icon of the shape from earlier and repeat steps 11-14 to remove the area around it again. Now we have an image that is seamlessly blended with another, using both the overlay blending mode and adding some lens distortion to match the background. Be sure to remove any pixels that on top of the area outside of the screen by selecting it with the polygonal lasso tool and press Backspace to remove them.

Photo Cutout

2009-06-29T02:47:00.003+07:00

Create this fun cutout effect that makes the subject look like it's coming in or out of a printed photo. In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to use Photoshop's Extract tool, layer masks, and layer styles to create a cutout from a photo.

Step 1: Open a photo into Photoshop

To begin this tutorial, open a photo into Photoshop. To do this, open the File menu and select Open. Browse for and select a photo with a subject that you can use as a cutout then click OK.

Step 2: Duplicate the layer

Press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer.

Step 3: Open the Extract tool

To extract the subject, we'll be using Photoshop's Extract tool. Open the Filter menu and select Extract.

Step 4: Extract the subject

To extract the subject out of the photo, we highlight the edge around the subject with a brush. Before we begin, select a brush size that is just thick enough to cover the edge. Then, checkmark "Smart Highlighting". Now press Ctrl++ to zoom in until you can see the pixels clearly. Paint over the edge of the subject. When you reach the edge of the screen, hold the spacebar, click, and drag to move to a different part of the photo. When highlighting the edge, let go of the mouse button every few seconds. This way, when you make a mistake, you can simply press Ctrl+Z to undo that small portion. Although extracting can be quite boring, if stay slow and steady, you can avoid mistakes and complete this step faster.

Step 5: Fill the area

Once you're done creating an outline of the edge, select the fill tool and fill the subject. Your subject should now have a blue fill with a green outline. Click OK.

Step 6: Unlock the background layer

We need to add a layer mask to the background layer. But before we do this, we need to unlock it. Double-click on the Background layer. A window should appear where we can specify the layer options. Click OK and you should now have a layer called "Layer 0".

Step 7: Add a layer mask

Now we'll add a layer mask to the layer. Open the Layer> New Layer Mask menu and select Hide All. This will create a black layer mask and will make the layer invisible.

Step 8: Select the Rectangular Marquee tool

From the toolbar, select the Rectangular Marquee tool. It should be the second one listed in the toolbar. Once you select it, the option bar near the top of the Photoshop window should have a drop down menu where you can select the style. Select Fixed Ratio as the style and enter 6 as the width and 4 as the height. This will ensure that the selection you create will be of the same aspect ratio as a printed 4x6 photo.

Step 9: Create a selection and fill

First, make sure that the layer mask is selected. Now create a rectangular selection and fill the selection with white. Don't worry if you can't get the selection where you want it to be; we will fix this later.

Step 10: Unlink the layer mask

Between the layer and its layer mask, there is a link icon. Click on that icon and it should disappear indicating that the layer mask is unlinked from the layer. With the layer mask unlinked, we can move the contents of the layer mask without causing the layer to move.

Step 11: Access the blending options

Right-mouse click on the layer and select "Blending Options".

Step 12: Fill the area

In the Blending Options window, checkmark and select "Stroke". You should now have a set of options for the stroke. First, set the position to inside and color to white. Then, adjust the size to create a white border around the photo. Click OK when done.

Step 9: Create a selection and fill

Step 10: Unlink the layer mask

Step 11: Access the blending options

Right-mouse click on the layer and select "Blending Options".

Step 12: Fill the area

Final Results

Original Photo

After Edit

How to Create an Abstract Photo Manipulation

2009-06-28T02:24:00.005+07:00

Here we'll learn how to create an abstract photo manipulation that looks like you've just painted the subject, I've included lots of useful techniques for creating impressive abstract pieces. I've tried to keep this simple but if you don't understand any steps then just skip it as not all of them are compulsory.

Below is the image we will be creating, the inspiration for this image came from an image by Maciej Mizer, a great artist, check it out here.

Abstract Photo Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1

Go here and download the image then open it in Photoshop. Now go Image>Rotate Canvas>90°CW to get it it looking like the image below.

Step 2

IN the layers panel create a new hue/saturation adjustment layer and use the settings shown below, the reason for doing this is that we are going to increase the saturation of the whole image at the end which would make the background to high in saturation so we are lowering the saturation now.

Step 3

We are going to use an image of a parrot; mainly because parrots are colorful but you can use your own image if you want, the one I used can be found here so copy this image into your document then resize it is similar to the image shown below.

Step 4

Now probably the least enjoyable part of any photo manipulation; the extraction, it's worth get good at it though as you get quick after doing it a lot. So we only want the parrot, not the lake or the the white pole. Unless you've already got a solid way you like to extract images then use the way I'm about to teach you. Select the image of the parrot then click on the layer mask button in the layers panel to add a mask, if your not familiar with masks then basically if you paint black onto a mask then it will hide that part of the layer and the opposite goes for white, at the moment the whole mask is white so everything in the layer is visible. Select black as the foreground color then make sure the mask is selected not the layer. Now select the brush tool and use a round brush with about 80% hardness, start off with a diameter of about 30px although you'll have to change this a lot so do so by using the ] key to increase the diameter and the [ key to decrease. Now you just have to brush round the parrot, you wont need to be too accurate here as we're going for a grungy look anyway, I was pretty neat because I tend to use image that I've extracted multiple times. this was the part that I started on and I had to decrease the brush size to get into the bit next to the red feather.

I lowered the hardness of the brush to 0% for this part as the feathers need to look soft.

This is what it looked like after cutting the parrot out, well done if you've made it this far it's easy sailing from here on.

Step 5

We are going to use some watercolor brushes to create the painted effect, watercolor brushes have become really popular recently and the set I tend to use can be found hereso download and install them; you may need to restart Photoshop to get them properly installed. We are going to create all the watercolor effects behind the parrot so create a new layer then move it below the layer with the parrot in it. Select the eyedropper tool then click somewhere on the tail(is that what its called?), this is to get a reddish color that matches the color of the bird. Now select the brush tool and choose one of the watercolor brushes then click once to get the effect shown below. If you want to rotate the brush then go Window>Brushes>Brush Tip Shape and move the arrow in the circle that looks like a compass.

Step 6

Do this again twice using different brushes and use yellow and blue as the colors. You should end up with something similar to the image below.

Step 7

I then used some splatter brushes in random colors to add some more detail which you can see below. Feel free to use different brushes but I liked the effect gained from using the splatter brushes.

Step 8

You now need to find an image of a rainforest or a jungle, ideally something with lots of green plants. I tend to get my stock images from SXC so copy an image then paste it into your document and move it behind the watercolor strokes then resize it and position it like so.

Step 9

Select the layer with your jungle image then hold Alt and click on the layer mask button to, this time, create a black layer mask so this will hide your jungle image. Change the foreground color to white then select the layer mask then the brush tool and using a 0% hardness brush of about 100px diameter brush at parts round the parrot to unhide bits of the plants. In this step I only did the bits around the parrots back.

Step 10

I then repeated the last two steps for the parts below the part, you may have done this already in the previous step which is fine.

Step 11

This is an optional step but also an opportunity for you to add some personal touches. You will need some cool patterns, you can download these, use the ones that come with Photoshop or make your own, I've written loads of tutorials which include the creation of patterns, 45° lines, Photoshop's transparent pattern, diamond plating. What I did was to select the pattern stamp tool, chose a pattern and used either a splatter brush or a watercolor brush then brushed onto a new layer below the parrot layer.

Step 12

Create a new layer directly below the parrot then select the brush tool and choose a 2px hard round brush. Now using a few different bright colors draw some long freehand lines and make the pretty random and go wild. Use about three or four different colors, I've shown a couple of examples below.

Step 13

Next I added some details using the shape tools, I've shown some below so add a few of each in a new layer each time, you decide if it should be above or below the parrot. Here I used the line tool to create some crosses, I used a weight of 2px and held Shift to get the lines at 45°.

I held Shift and used the rectangle tool then reduced the opacity of the layer to give a semi-transparent effect.

Just some simple circles her, I added a few of these dotted about.

I added some more simple shapes in different colors like the white rings but I'm sure you've got the idea now.

Step 14

Last thing to do in almost any Photoshop image is to experiment with some color adjustments, the way I see it is if your a beginner then use the hue/saturation adjustment layer, an intermediate then go for the color balance adjustment layer and if you have a bit more experience or feel adventurous then try the curves adjustment layer. I added a curves adjustment layer with the settings shown below and mainly lowered the output of the blue channel increased the rest as the image was looking to cold I felt.

Conclusion

Obviously there's a lot further you can take this but the techniques I've shown here are really all you need to create an abstract photo manipulation like this one.

Alien Photo Manipulation

2009-06-28T01:53:00.008+07:00

Turn a woman into an alien by combining two photos. This tutorial will teach you several photo manipulation techniques for creating scary photo manipulations.

Stock Photos

For this tutorial, you’ll need a photo of a persons head, octopus, and any grunge texture. If you like to use the same portrait of the face used in this tutorial, you may click on the image below to purchase it. Note that we only have the download link for the image of the woman.

Step 1 – Open the octopus photo

Begin by loading the image of the octopus.

Step 2 – Detach an arm from the octopus

First, delete the white background. To do this, use the magic wand tool to create a selection of the white background then press delete on your keyboard to remove the background. Select the lasso tool and create a selection of one of the arm. Then, press Ctrl+J to create a new layer with the selected areas as its content.

Step 3 – Combine several arms together

Repeat the previous step several times until you get about five arms. They should each be on their own layers. Start by using the transform tool (Edit > Free Transform) to rotate, resize, and position them together like the image below. Add a layer mask to each of the layers then, with a soft brush, erase in the layer mask to blend the arms together.

Step 4 – Combine the octopus arms with the portrait photo

On the document with the octopus arm, copy the entire image into the clipboard. To do this, press Ctrl+A to select all then press Shift+Ctrl+C to copy merged. Open the portrait photo then press Ctrl+V to paste the octopus arms. Position it on the mouth. Add a layer mask to the layer with the octopus arms then, using a brush with a hardness setting of 0%, erase the edge slightly to blend it with the face.

Step 5 – Manipulate the eyes

Now let’s work on the eyes. Start by using the clone stamp tool to distort the eye. Hold the Alt key and click on a white area then click in the colored area.

Use the dodge and burn tools to manipulate the eyes further. Start with the burn tool to create small holes then use the dodge tool to add some highlights. Use your creativity and don’t worry too much about how it looks.

Step 6 – Apply a color effect with adjustment layers

Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves to add a new curves adjustment layer. Use the curves adjustment layer to make the image a little darker.

Now add a new Levels adjustment layer by choosing Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels. Click on the black point eye dropper tool and click on one of the darkest areas in the image. Select the gray point eye dropper tool and click on the white area of the eye.

Add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer by choosing Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Checkmark the colorize option first then adjust the settings as shown in the image below.

Step 7 – Use the burn tool on the face

Use the burn tool to darken some areas using a large brush with a soft edge. This will modify the look of the bone structure. Also spend some time to burn certain areas in the octopus arms to make the jaw look wider. You can make him look like Davy Jones in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

Switch to a small hard edge brush to burn some scars on the face like shown in the image below.

Step 8 - Add an alien skin texture

Start by opening the photo of a marble texture in Photoshop.

We’re now going to copy and paste the marble texture into the image we were working on. Choose Select > All then Edit > Copy. Close the current image of the marble texture to switch back to the alien image we were working on. Choose Edit > Paste to paste the texture into the current document.

Use the eraser tool with a soft edge to erase the marble texture so that it only covers the fast. Change the blending mode to difference.

Lower the opacity to about 30%. One note to remember is that the difference blending mode will invert the colors of the layer depending on the layer below. So if you want more blue color on the face, you can use the burn tool on the layer with the face.

You can also move the layer with the marble texture below the adjustment layer to get an effect like this image:

Step 9 – Add some abstract lines

Select the brush tool with a 3 pixel brush and 100% hardness. In the brushes palette (Window > Brushes), apply the settings shown in the image below:

Select the pen tool and, in a new layer, create a curved path like the image below. Then, right click and select stroke path. Select the brush setting and enable the simulate pressure option.

Right click again and choose delete path. Repeat this step to add as many abstract lines as you like.

Step 10 – Add highlights to the arms

It is helpful to have a pen tablet for adding highlights but this will work with a regular mouse too. We’ll create highlights by painting a thin white line.

Start by painting a line through the shape of the arm.

Here’s what our image looks like after adding some highlights":

Step 11 – Enhance the arms

Select the burn tool and set the brush to a big and soft edged brush. Change the range in the option bar to highlights then paint the edges of the arms to make it darker.

Now change the range to midtones and paint some shadows.

Now change the range to shadows and burn the areas that you feel needs to be darker to add depth.

Step 12 – Add a rusty grunge texture

Open the image of the rusty texture and place it into the image of the alien. To do this, choose Select > All then Edit > Copy. Close the image of the texture to go back to the alien image. Choose Edit > Paste to paste the texture as a new layer.

Change the blending mode to multiply then use the erase tool to erase the areas around the face so that the texture only affects the background.

Final Results

Here is our completed image. We added more red abstract lines on the eyes using the same technique in step 9.

3D Textured Text Effect

2009-06-27T03:24:00.010+07:00

In this tutorial, I will show you how you can make a stylized 3D textured text effect using various textures to give it a unique look with Illustrator & Photoshop. I will be giving you the step by step instructions along with the links to the resources & stuffs used.

Step 1

Open up Illustrator, and with the Type Tool type a letter or text, I typed the letter “C” I used the font Adobe Caslon Pro, you can use any font that you like, just make sure that it is a bit thick font to yield better results. I set the font size to 400 pt & scaled it horizontally & vertically to 150% through the Character Palette, though don't worry about the font size too much because we'll be pasting it as Smart Objects in Photoshop so we can adjust the size at any given time. The color I used for the letter is #8CC63F.

Step 2

Now go to Effect>3D>Extrude & Bevel, make sure that Preview is on. Use the settings shown below, apart from specifying rotations for x, y & z axis, I chose Tall-Round from the Bevel drop down list. The settings will more or less depend on the font, so if you have used a different font play a bit, though I will advise to stay away from the fancier Bevel settings, mostly None setting works best. You can also make it more thick by increasing the Extrude Depth.

Step 3

After you’re happy with your 3D effect, it will be time to move on over to Photoshop. Open a new document in Photoshop. Now, copy your 3D text/letter from Illustrator & paste it as Smart Object in Photoshop, press Enter key or checkmark to commit. You can now resize your text to whatever size you want, in fact, bigger the better, but for the purposes of this tutorial, I will stick to a small canvas.

Power Tip: If for any reason, you want to edit the pasted 3D Smart Object, just double click on the Vector Smart Object thumbnail in the Layer Palette, press OK on the resulting window, the Smart Object will automatically open up in Illustrator, do the changes or editing you want, then go to File>Save & close the file & tadaa the changes will reflect in your Photoshop file.

Step 4

Now, lets begin with the Photoshop magic, we will be adding various texture on the different layers & will spice them up with the variety of blending modes, the key is to experiment & choose the settings that will best suit your purpose.

Open the texture image that you would like to use, for the first layer I used a texture, lets call it Texture 1 from a texture pack on deviantArt. Go to Select>All & then Edit>Copy to copy the entire texture image, Now we are going to paste this image into our letter, but you have to tell Photoshop where to paste it. So return to your 3D text document & pressing down Ctrl/Cmd Click on Vector Smart Object thumbnail, this will select the entire text/letter, in our case, the letter “C”, now go to Edit>Paste Into (Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+V) to paste the texture image on “C”. Change the blending mode of the texture layer to Overlay.

Now, your image & layer palette should look like so:

Look at your layers palette now. You see your texture image there and a mask has been made that allows only the letter part of the image to show.

If you’re using different images, play around a bit with blending modes, mostly Overlay, Soft Light, Hard light, Multiply will give the desired results.

Step 5

Repeat the procedure prescribed in Step 4, but with a different texture. I used one of the texture from this pack.

In brief, open the texture image, Select All (Ctrl/Cmd+A), Copy it (Ctrl/Cmd+C) & return to your original document, pressing down Ctrl/Cmd Click on Vector Smart Object thumbnail to select the letter/text & go to Edit>Paste Into (Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+V) to paste the texture in the letter “C”. And, change the blending mode to Multiply.

Step 6

Now, its again time to do the same thing as mentioned in Step 4 & 5, but with the different texture image. This time I used a more colorful texture from a another texture pack over at deviantArt. And, this time I choose the blending mode to Soft Light.

This is how my image & Layer Palette looks like after step 6.

Power Tip: If you need to edit the filler texture image or if you don't like how it looks within the letter, you can still change it! Just choose the Move Tool (V) & drag over with your texture layer selected. Also, if you need to resize the texture image select Edit>Transform to resize it.

Step 7

Now, select the Background layer & fill with a Gradient Tool (G). I used Linear Gradient & the colors for the two stops are as prescribed in the screenshot. Drag the gradient tool diagonally from bottom to top.

Step 8

Pressing down Shift key select all the layers in the Layer Palette except the background layer & Link all of them. Also make sure to link the Layer Mask thumbnails with their corresponding layer thumbnails by clicking once between them.

Step 9

Now, we will do the reflection of our letter “C”. For that, select all the linked layers & duplicate them.

Step10

Merge all the duplicated layers & name it Reflection.

Step 11

On the Reflection layer, go to Edit>Transform>Flip Vertical & place it beneath the letter “C”. Adjust its perspective if the need be.

Step 12

The next step is to add a layer mask to the duplicate layer. To do this simply click on the add layer mask button in the layers palette.

Now pick the Gradient Tool (G) and draw a gradient (black to white) in the direction from bottom to mid top.

Finally just reduce the opacity of the duplicate layer and you are all done. I reduced the opacity to 20% , there is no golden rule about the opacity % , just play with the opacity setting & choose the one that suits your image.

Step 13

Finally, with the Type Tool, I wrote the words “for creativity” with the settings as shown in the Character Palette.

The font used is Larissa & can be downloaded from here. I also rotated the words a bit via Edit>Transform.

Then I applied the layer style, as shown in the screenshots below.

Step 14

To add a bit of finishing touch, I added Outer Glow to the Vector Smart Object layer, as shown.

And, that’s how my Layers palette in end & final image looks like.

Here, is a another example of image, I made with the same technique.

To take it further, play & experiment with various textures, the blending modes, also changing the various Adjustments options like Invert, Posterize, Hue/Saturations settings etc. gives the different results. You can also make the text look grungy or rusty using grunge textures, its just the matter of exploring the powers of Photoshop & tapping your creativity!

Combine Photo Elements to Create a Surreal Photo Manipulation

2009-06-27T02:39:00.004+07:00

This Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to use a variety of color, lighting, and cut and paste techniques to create a surreal photo manipulation. Combine your creativity with these Photoshop techniques to create your own photo manipulation artworks.

Step 1 - Place the background

The first step it’s to place the sky, our background, into the image. As you can see, we have changed the color of it. We’re going to create a half of the image with a warm tone and another with a cool tone using the color balance tool. To do this, select the sky and then choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Adjust the input sliders to add red and yellow. Select “highlights” and “shadows” then try adding more of these colors until you like the tones in your image.

Step 2 - Coloring the sky

Duplicate the layer with the sky. Now we are going to repeat the previous step with the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) but this time adding blue and cyan tones. Remember to add some color to highlights and shadows as well.

Select the eraser tool then, in the option bar, select a blurred brush like shown below:

Now use the eraser tool to erase the left side of the sky in the top layer. This will make the warm tones from the layer below appear wherever you paint. When using the eraser, create curved strokes rather than a straight cut. When you have finished this step, you can reduce the opacity of the current layer to make the color more subtle.

Step 3 – Add the model

Now let’s open picture of the model. Use the magic wand tool to create a selection of the model then click on the add layer mask button in the layers palette to create a mask of the model. Refine the mask by painting in the layer mask using a brush with a harder edge. When you’re done, position the woman in the centre of the image.

Step 4 - Coloring the model

As you can see the lighting of the model isn’t blending in well with the background. We’re going to fix this with the levels tool. Choose Image > Adjustments > levels and move the input sliders to add contrast that matches the contrast of the background

Now choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and reduce the saturation to reduce the saturation created when we used the levels tool. For the image used in this tutorial, the saturation was reduced by –24.

The next step will be exactly the same that in step 2 (when we used the color balance tool) except we’re going to use it on the model. First, duplicate the layer with the model so that you have two layers. Select one of the layers with the model then, like step two, use the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) to add some red/yellow tones.

As you can see, it looks blended better with the left half of the background. Now, select the other layer of the model then choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and add some blue and cyan tones.

Now, as you did before with the sky, use the eraser tool with a soft edge to remove the left side of the layer with the girl in blue tones. Reduce the opacity on the current layer to reduce the strength of the color effect.

We’ve done the hardest part matching the lighting of the model with the background. Merge the layers of the model into one layer. Now you can play again withthe levels, color balance, and saturation (found in the Image > Adjustments menu) to make further adjustments.

Step 5 - Lightning the model

For the image used in this tutorial, the light comes from the background left. And to make the lighting match, we’ll have to darken the back of the model. To begin, select the burn tool.

Use a soft brush, edit the midtones, and set the exposure to around 30%.

Now use the brush over the models back. Try not make it too dark, just a little. Use this tool in the skirt too.

After that, select the dodge tool and paint the outline of the model (especially in her hair and her left arm).

Step 5 - Roots

Now we are going to add some roots and branches to the body of the model. It’s not difficult and you just need some images of trees and roots. We will be cutting parts of the root and tree and giving them some color like we did earlier with the color balance tool.

First step will be to look for a beautiful root and select it with your favorite tool (Magnetic lasso or quick mask mode for example). Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect selection, we will modify it later. Copy it and paste in our image.

As you can see the new image has not the same light and colors that the others, it looks out of place. What we have to do it’s the same that we did with the sky and the girl. Choose Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust the input sliders. If you move the one in the center to the left the image will be brighter. If you move it to the right the image will be darker. In our case we are going to move to the right.

Now choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and add color depending of the place where you are going to put the root. If the root it’s on the left arm of the girl, for example, it will need red and yellow. But if it is on the right arm you have to add blue and cyan. This time we are going to add yellow and red. This is how it looks with the modifications:

When you have the root ready, just place it where you think that it will look good and select the eraser tool with a focus brush. Erase all the part that you don’t need and give the correct form to the root, now it’s when you have to improve the selection root.

The final step will be to use the burn tool in the areas where we should see shadows. For example, in the image below, it was used over the arm or in the bottom. I have added a little of blue using Image > Adjustments > Color Balance too. The last step is to erase the upper part of the root to create the look of a crease.

All the roots are added using the same process. The biggest impact to your results is choosing the photos. Once you have good photos to work with, you’ll have no problem getting good results using this technique.

There is just one last detail to explain. Sometimes, to get a more realistic feeling you can add a shadow to the root that falls over the skin or the dress. Take a look to this picture:

The only difference it’s the shadow on the right arm. To make this shadow just need to make double click over the root layer and the layer style menu will be open (or choose Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow). Select Drop Shadow and then use the arrow to move the shadow with freedom. When you have putted the shadow in the correct place just use the opacity bar in the drop shadow menu to add more or less intensity.

Step 6 - Ground and grass

Now we’re going to add the ground. The first picture used it’s a simple ground with sand taken from a photo of a beach.

The grass is taken from different photographs. First, create a new layer for the grass and position it behind low the layer with the model. Select and cut different parts of grass then mix them to create a field of grass like the image below.

This layer with the grass should be positioned between the layer with the model and the layer with the ground. Create a new layer and position it above the layer with the model and add some grass to cover the back of the models feet.

Finally, carefully add some grass and stone over the edge of the grass and the ground to hide the hard edges. It’s important that you inspect the edges thoroughly to hide any imperfections.

Step 7 – Add more roots

Now we’re going to add roots and flowers in the close-up. If you have read all the previous steps, you’ll have no trouble doing this. As mentioned before, it is very important that you choose good photos to work with. The photos should be high quality and in focus from foreground to background. If you use low resolution images, the finished results will look poor.

With this in mind, use a variety of photographs of flowers, roots, and trunks. Cut them out carefully with the lasso or quick mask tool and paste in the photo manipulation. Use the same coloring technique with the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) that we used several times earlier.

To complete the blending of these images, we’re going to add to the ground. There are two ways to do this:

This is the one that I explained at the end of step 5. Using the drop shadow in the layer style menu (Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow).
Selecting the layer with the ground and using the burn tool in the areas where the shadows fall.

Step 8 - Dust

Now we are going to create some dust next to the feet of the girl. Use a picture with a cloudy sky then select one cloud using the lasso tool.

Copy it and paste in our document then choose Image > Adjustments > Levels. Move the middle input slider to the right to darken the cloud.

Then use the eraser tool in the edge of the cloud with a soft edge brush. Finally, choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and add the blur from left to right about 7 or 8 pixels. Position this layer behind the layer with the model. Duplicate the layer then move the new layer above the layer with the model. On this new layer, use the levels tool again but this time move the central input slider to the left to brighten the cloud.

The last retouching work will be to add red and yellow tones by using the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance).

Step 9 - Final Roots

We’re going to add the final roots. We need them to be positioned in a zigzag shape on the body of the model. To make this effect, we will need a combination of root photos like shown in the image below.

As always, the first step will be to select and match the different colors and lights of the roots using the levels tool (Image > Adjustments > Levels) and the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance). use the eraser with a soft edge to erase all that you don’t need and to give the ends of the roots a faded effect (so that they can be connected easily afterwards). Here is an example of combining different roots to create a large root:

It’s less difficult than it looks. Just be patient to find good images of roots and combine them using the same technique.

Step 10 - Some details

To make our photo manipulation more attractive we are going to add more details like flowers, petals, and a bird. I chose photos with objects that are easy to isolate. This will speed things up and ensure good results

Step 11 - Adjustments Layers

To complete the photo manipulation, we’re going to add some adjustments layers. Select the upper layer then choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Reduce the saturation by about –10 or to your likings. Experiment with using other adjustment layers to alter the color and effect of the final image.

Final Result

Making a complex photo manipulation like this is not difficult if you follow the a few principles of photo manipulation. Some important principles are:

Choose good photos to start with.
Make sure that the lighting and color of the objects in your composition match.
Don’t rush. Take your time to find good images to work with and carefully blend them together. Ensure that there are no artifacts or unclean edges.

The Maiden and Hummingbird Photo Manipulation

2009-05-29T02:10:00.010+07:00

Learn how to create this photo manipulation by Oliver Cereto. Some of the techniques you will learn in this Photoshop tutorial are how to give a person a cute doll-like face, how to extend backgrounds, and how to apply a moody photo effect.

Stock Photos

These are the images used to create this artwork. You can click on the images below to go to the web page where you can download the images.

Step 1

Begin by opening the photo of the of the model into Photoshop. Because we are giving this image a dark feeling, we’ll use the levels tool to reduce the brightness and increase contrast. Choose Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust the settings like shown in the image below.

Step 2

While increasing the contrast, we also increased the saturation. Choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to reduce the saturation.

Step 3

Choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. With the color balance tool, we’ll reduce the reds and yellows in the image and add a bit of green. Adjust the settings like shown in the image below. This will give it a strange color effect that is slightly similar to the color effect of lomography. This is just a simple first edit on our image and later we’ll add different color and lighting effects.

Step 4

Now let’s play now with the powerful liquify filter. Choose Filter > Liquify. In the Liquify window, you’ll find the tools on the left and the settings on the right side.

In the center of the window is the workspace and preview. Working with the liquify tool is like working with clay. Imagine that you are creating a clay figure that you can smudge and distort it in the way that you want. This is how it works, more or less.

I recommend you that you play with this filter some minutes before to start to work. It’s easy to use but you need practice to get realistic results.

Press B to select the bloat tool. The bloat tool will expand the area that you paint. It’s important that use it carefully by clicking little by little in slightly different areas rather than holding the mouse button on one area.

Now select a brush size about 260 and brush over one of the eyes. Use it carefully in the center of it and make it bigger. Do the same for the other eye.

Press W to select the forward warp tool. It’s like a finger that push pixels. This tool is really useful and can help get better results after using the bloat tool. Use it to fix some types of distortions. For example, if the pupil is not a perfect circle after using the bloat tool, you can use the forward warp tool to correct the imperfections to make it a perfect circle.

Keep the liquify window opened.

Step 5

Now let’s work on the nose. Press S to select the pucker tool. The pucker tool is the opposite to the bloat tool. The technique we’ll be using with the pucker tool is the same that the previous one but using a smaller brush size (about 190). Use it on the tip of the nose to make it smaller. Switch to the forward warp tool (w) and, using a smaller brush (about 120), push the sides of the nose towards the centre to get a smaller and thinner nose.

Step 6

Next step is to use the liquify filter over the mouth of the girl. Select the Pucker Tool (S) with a brush size about 280 and press in the center of her lips. Be subtle, we don’t want to erase her mouth. Then use the Forward Warp Tool to correct and line up correctly her smile, you can make her smile bigger if you press over the corner of her mouth and drag it carefully.

Step 7

Because we have done so many modifications to the eyes and nose, her face still looks a little too big. We are going to correct this with the forward warp tool. Select the forward warp tool and push the edge of the face and chin to make her face look slimmer. Use a brush size about 190 for the large areas and a smaller one for the smaller details.

I modify other places like the hair, pushing down it a little and then I retouch the nose, mouth and eyes. Feel free to modify everything to get the best surreal portrait as possible.

Ensure that you don’t distort the areas that you don’t want. This usually happens when you’re using a big brush. In these cases it’s useful to use a mask. Select the freeze mask tool (F) then paint the zones that you don’t want to modify (for example the neck of the model). Once you have painted the mask, you can feel free to edit without worrying about modifying the areas that you don’t want to.

Step 8

Click OK to close the liquify tool then select the burn tool. We are going to darken some of the shadows on the face. Change the brush size to about 257 px and the exposure about 25 %

Use the burn tool to darken some areas on the hair and nose.

Step 9

Now with the same tool and a brush about 60 px and 50% exposure, shape the edge of the eye to make it darker. Try not to leave it too much from the eye line. Then, with a bigger brush add more shadows over the eyes to make it even darker.

Step 10

Select now the blur tool (R) with a brush about 60 px and a strength around 71%. Paint over the face and neck to make the skin smoother.

Step 11

Now select the healing brush tool and correct the imperfections on the skin. Be sure that you erase the smudged texture created from the Liquify filter (in my sample they’re visible next to the nose).

Step 12

Now we’re going to paint the models lips to make it more striking. Create a new layer on the top and select the brush tool (B). Use a small brush (about 30) and select a dark red color. On the newly created layer, paint over the lips with the selected red color. You don’t have to be too careful because we are going to fix this later.

Change the layer mode to Soft Light and the opacity to 62%. Finally use the eraser tool to erase any painted areas that are not on the lips.

Step 13

Now select the smudge tool (R) with a small brush (about 8 px) and strength at 80 %. We are going to add some hair. in quick downward motions, smudge on the areas shown in the image below to create the hair. Alternate the size of the brush to get shorter or longer hair. You can quickly change the brush size by pressing the [ and ] keys on your keyboard.

After you created the hair, you’ll notice that the background has been blurred from the smudge tool. We’ll fix this later.

Step 14

Choose Image > Canvas Size. Enter 1840 px as the width. We are going to add the background now. Usually you would select the girl and cut and paste her over the background, but we are going to try another technique that can be helpful sometimes.

Select the texture for the background and copy it over our main image. Resize it to cover all the figure and then change the layer mode to Multiply. Now use a layer mask or the eraser tool to delete the area from the model. It’s easy and we don’t have to fight with the complicated hair selection.

Anyway, if you prefer the other way, just use the quick mask mode or lasso tool to select the girl and paste over the background.

Step 15

Flatten the image. We’re almost done this photo manipulation but let’s try something a little more difficult. We want to make the image bigger and add some elements to the right of the girl. In this step, we’ll show you two methods of doing this.

First method

The first method is to simply duplicate the background texture and place it on the right. Use the levels and color balance tools to blend it with the original texture.

Then, position the texture so that the circles match up. Use the eraser tool (E) to erase the edge of this layer. Merge the two layers then use the healing brush tool (J) to correct any mistakes.

Second method

The second way it’s copy one of the circles from our background and paste it in the empty background. Repeat this step as much times as you need to cover the background. Use the same technique with the spaces between the circles but copying the green wall.

This will be more complicated than previous idea but you will not have brightness and color matching problems.

Step 16

Open the hummingbird image into Photoshop and create a selection of the hummingbird. Choose Edit > Copy to copy the selection onto a clipboard.

Switch back to the image with the model then choose Edit > Paste to paste the hummingbird into the document. Select the move tool and move the hummingbird next to the models face. To match the contrast of the current image, we’ll use the Levels tool. Choose Image > Adjustments > Levels. Adjust the settings like shown in the image below.

Step 17

Select the wings of the hummingbird and then choose Layer > New > Layer Via Copy. With the new layer selected, apply a Motion Blur (Filter > Blur > Motion Blur) with a setting that will blur the wings slightly like shown in the image below.

Change the opacity of the current layer to 80% then use the eraser tool with a soft edged brush to delete part of the wing in the original hummingbird. Finally use the blur tool to blur some parts of the hummingbird to make it look like it’s moving.

To finish, we’ll refine the edge of the hummingbird. Erase the edges and add gaussian blur filter (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) of 0.5 pixels to the hummingbird layer.

Step 18

Now we just need to add shadows and our personal tone to the image. Select the Burn Tool (O) and burn different areas (ex. next to the girl, in the upper part of the image and in the edges).

Step 19

Now let’s go to our upper layer and select Layer > New Adjustments Layer > Levels. Modify the settings like shown in the image below.

This will modify all the layers under this new adjustments layer. Let’s add one more; go to Layer > Adjustments Layers > Hue/Saturation and set the saturation to -20.

Finally, go again to Layer > Adjustments Layers > Color Balance and modify the colors like shown in the image below.

Step 20

Press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E to create a new merged layer. Apply a gaussian blur filter (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) with 2,5 pixels on the new layer then change the layer mode to Soft Light with about 28% opacity