How To Create A Fantasy Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop

10/17/2019 How to Create a Fantasy Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop
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DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION > PHOTO MANIPULATION
How to Create a Fantasy Photo

Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop
by Jenny Le 23 Jun 2016
Di culty: Intermediate Length: Medium Languages: English
Photo Manipulation Fantasy Adobe Photoshop

https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-fantasy-photo-manipulation-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-26583 1/79
What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial I'll show you how to create a fantasy pathway scene. First we'll build the
background from grassy ground and a forest. Later we'll add the tree, gate, small forest
and pathway. After that we'll add the child and grass, and we'll make the basic light and
color. Finally we'll add the light texture and make some lighting effects.
Need more inspiration? Create fantastical artwork of your own by using Photoshop
Actions from Envato Elements.
Tutorial Assets
The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:
Ground
Forest
Tree
Pathway
Gate
Child
Grass
Light texture
1. How to Build the Background
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Step 1
Create a new 1800 x 1357 px document in Photoshop with the settings below:
Step 2
Open the ground image. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) to select the grass area
only and move it to the white canvas using the Move Tool (V). Place it in the lower half
of the canvas:
Step 3
Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 30 px:
Select the lter Mask and use a Soft Round Brush with black color (soft black brush) to
erase the blur effect in the foreground:
Step 4
Go to Layer > New Adjustment layer > Hue Saturation and set it as Clipping Mask.
Change the Master Saturation, Reds and Yellows values:
Step 5
Create a Curves adjustment layer and reduce the lightness. On this Layer Mask, use a
soft black brush to reveal some light on the background:
Step 6
Drag the forest image into our main document and place it in the upper half:
Use a Layer Mask to make a smooth transition between the ground and the forest:
Step 7
Apply a Gaussian Blur of 12 px to the forest. Use a Soft Black Brush on the lter Mask
to reduce the effect along the transition between the ground and forest. Here are the
results on the lter mask and on the picture:
Step 8
In this step we'll make shadows for the trees in the forest. We aim to make the main
light source come from the middle of the forest so the shadows of the trees must be
more visible. Create a New Layer and use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to select the big
tree on the right (no need to be so precise) and ll it (Shift-F5) with black .
Flip it vertically (Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical) and move it under the tree. Use the
Free Transform Tool (Control-T) to distort the shadow to t the light direction:
Apply a Gaussian Blur of 15 px to this shadow:
Step 9
Use the same method to make shadow for the other trees:
Step 10
Create a Curves adjustment layer on top of the layers and increase the lightness. On
this layer mask, use a soft black brush to make the light effect visible only in the middle
of the background:
Step 11
Create a New Layer and change its Blend Mode to Soft Light 100%. Use a Soft White
Brush to paint more light for the middle of the forest.
2. How to Add the Tree

St 1
Step 1
Isolate the tree and add it to the mid ground. Use Control-T to decrease the length a bit.
Use a Layer Mask to remove the hard edges and blend the tree with the ground:
Step 2
Apply a Gaussian Blur of 4 px and erase the blur effect on the lter mask, leaving it
visible only on the tree contour to t the softness of the background:
Step 3
Create a New Layer, change the mode to Overlay 100% and Fill with 50% gray:
Activate the Dodge and Burn Tool (O) with Midtones Range, Exposure about 10-15% to
brighten the tree contour and darken the middle a bit to t the light and shadow of the
background. You can see how I did it with normal mode and the result with Overlay
mode:
Step 4
Use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and bring the Saturation value down to -62:
Step 5
Make a Color Balance adjustment layer and change the Midtones settings:
Step 6
Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the tree. Paint on the tree contour to reveal the
l h h
lightness there:
Step 7
Create a New Layer and use a Soft White Brush with a low Opacity (about 15-20%) to
paint along the tree contour to make some hazy light on there.
3. How to Add the Gate and Small Forest

Step 1
Step 1
Open the gate image. Remove the part inside the gate and add it to the bottom of the
tree:
Use a Layer Mask to blend the gate with the tree.
Step 2
Create a Color Balance adjustment layer and change the Midtones values:
Step 3
Make a Curves adjustment layer and change the lightness of the gate to t the tree.
E th l t h i th h tb l b
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Erase the lower parts as shown in the screenshot below because we aim to add
another light source there:
Step 4
Duplicate the forest layer and make it much smaller. Set this layer under the gate layer
and above the tree ones
and above the tree ones.
Use a Layer Mask to remove the forest part outside the gate.
Step 5
Make a Curves adjustment layer to increase the light and haze of this small forest:
4. How to Add the Pathway

S 1
Step 1
Select the pathway from the original image and place it in the foreground. Use Control-
T with Warp mode to bend the pathway a bit.
Step 2
Remove the edges of the pathway using a Layer Mask:
Step 3
Duplicate this layer twice and resize them down. Arrange them inside the gate and the
small forest. The further away they are, the smaller they should be.
Step 4
Select all the pathway layers and press Control-G to make a Group for them. Change
the group mode to Normal 100%. Create a New Layer and use the Clone Tool (S) to
remove the unwanted plant shown on a step of the pathway.
Step 5
Use a Color Balance adjustment layer to match the pathway color with the scene:
Step 6
Create a Curves adjustment layer to darken the pathway as it looks too bright
compared with the background at the moment. Paint on the top of the pathway (the
part inside the gate and small forest) in order not to change its lightness.
S 7
Step 7
Add another Curves adjustment layer to increase the hazy light of the pathway top.
Erase the rest to make it still dark.
5. How to Add the Child

S 1
Step 1
Cut out the child and place her onto the step on which we removed the unwanted plant.
Step 2
Make a New Layer under the child one and use a medium-soft black brush with a low
opacity (20%) to paint a shadow for her The child is far from the two light sources so
opacity (20%) to paint a shadow for her. The child is far from the two light sources so
the shadow should be very light and soft.
Step 3
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and reduce the Saturation value to -38:
Step 4
Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the child. Paint on the parts which are towards
the light (the front) and keep the others dark.
10/17/2019
g ( ) p How to Create a Fantasy Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop
6. How to Add the Grass

Step 1
Open the grass images pack. As the images have a transparent background, simply
move them into our main document and arrange them on both sides of the lower
foreground:
Step 2
Apply a Gaussian Blur of 8 px to each of these grass layers.
Step 3
Make a Group for these grass layers and use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to
change their color:
Step 4
Use a Curves adjustment layer to darken the grass a bit. The selected areas show
where to paint on the layer mask.
7. How to Make the Basic Adjustments

Step 1
Create a Color Fill layer on top of the layers and pick the color #160101 . Change this
layer mode to Exclusion 100%:
Step 2
Make a Color Balance adjustment layer and alter the Midtones and Highlights settings:
Step 3
Add a Channel Mixer adjustment layer and change the values of the Red channel:
Step 4
Create a Curves adjustment layer and change the color a bit with the Blue channel:
Step 5
Use another Curves adjustment layer and increase the light in the middle. Paint on the
rest of the scene:
Step 6
Continue changing the color with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer:
Step 7
Make a Photo Filter adjustment layer with the same purpose. Pick the color #01ec96 :
Step 8
Make a Vibrance adjustment layer to enhance the whole effect. Reduce the saturation
on the tree and the pathway on its layer mask to make them less blue
on the tree and the pathway on its layer mask to make them less blue.
8. How to Add the Light

Step 1
Open the light texture image pack. Choose "starry 4" image to add it to the canvas, and
change the mode to Screen 100%:
Use a Layer Mask and erase the effect on the tree, making it appear more subtle.
Step 2
Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to change the light color from red to pink:
Step 3
We're going to change the color of the small forest to make it look like another world.
Use the Lasso Tool to select the small forest area with the Feather Radius = 30. Go to
Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer:
Step 4
Make a New Layer and use a medium-hard brush with the color #ffadc4 to paint the
pink/purple light re ection from the small forest on the gate and the steps of the
pink/purple light re ection from the small forest on the gate and the steps of the
pathway which are located inside this forest.
Step 5
Use a Curves adjustment layer to change the light and contrast of the whole scene,
darkening the edges and leaving the light in the middle.
Congratulations, You're Done!

I hope that you've learned something useful for your future projects. Feel free to leave
your comments in the box below—I'd love to see them. Enjoy Photoshopping!
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Jenny Le
I'm a self-taught artist from Vietnam who loves all kinds of photo manipulation. If
you want to see my other works and tutorials, you can follow me on Facebook ,
Behance , Instagram or watch me on DeviantArt.
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Name
Ada Ciecierska • 3 years ago

Thanks! My version
65 △ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Amarlal • 2 years ago

Thanks For the Tuts. !! My Version..!!. For more - keep in touch with me .
https://www.behance.net/amr116
Nick Perperidis > Amarlal • 2 years ago

this is one of the best things i ve ever seen
Amarlal > Nick Perperidis • 2 years ago

Thanks
8△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Amarlal > Nick Perperidis • 2 years ago

Thanks For more Keep in Touch with me in FB . https://www.facebook.com/AM...
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Melody > Amarlal • a year ago

Great design Amarlal! Be sure to check out your work in this month's Created By You
Community feature!
Melody • 3 years ago

This is really lovely :)
Cerebral Xtian • 2 years ago

my version ^^ tnx 4 d' tuts :))
Game Sage • 2 years ago
see more
Axl Linux • 2 years ago • edited

Thank you for wonderful tutorial. For me, this is better than video tutorials because I have to
search and consider by myself what it happens in tut. My version is inspired by Amarlal's
beautiful work. It is made from eight screenshots from NieR Automata except pink lights and
front grasses.
see more
Amarlal > Axl Linux • 2 years ago

https://www.behance.net/ama... thanks for the compliment
Gotmtdew > Amarlal • 10 months ago

amr116 ):
Esmaeel Shakeri-Nejad • 3 years ago
Amazing. Thank you for your beautiful creation. It's my version.

Kathy Macchiato • 3 years ago
see more
Melody > Kathy Macchiato • 3 years ago

Great work Kathy! Be sure to check out your feature during this month's Created By You
community feature, posted today! :D
Susana González Gutierrez • 3 years ago

Thank you for this tutorial. My version
⛺
see more
Amarlal > Susana González Gutierrez • 2 years ago

https://www.behance.net/ama... Keep in Touch
Dan Van Deerlin • 2 years ago
⛺
see more
Helen Browne • 2 years ago

Love this tute.
see more
Ashish Kumar • 2 years ago

hello. can you plz explain little more about second part of step 3 of 1. Build the background.
Thanks.
(Select the filter mask and use a soft round brush with black color (soft black brush) to erase the
blur effect in the foreground )
see more
mini lee > Ashish Kumar • a year ago

before adding blur filter convert your ground layer to smart object(right click on the layer)
and then add the blur filter.
and click on the white layer that is made bottom of the ground layer(smart filter layer)
and select brush with black color and draw on it.
SneezyFTW > Ashish Kumar • 2 years ago

I need Help too with this can anyone help plz?
I need Help too with this can anyone help plz?
Purple Brackets > SneezyFTW • 2 years ago

Ok after like two days of being confused (I use photoshop in the Dutch language)
I finally understand what is going on in this tutorial...
When you want to blend images there are 3 ways to do it. One way to blend is by
placing one layer on top of the other and start using the eraser to manually blend
it in. The second is by again placing one layer on top of the other and setting the
opacity of the top layer lower so the first images shines through. But the third way
is what is going on here and that is blending with layer mask.
Go to your top layer in this case your white background is the bottom layer and
your green grass the top. Select the grass and then go to the icons below your
layer list. It shows something like fx and then a little square image with a dark
circle inside. Click on that square with the circle to add a layer mask to the layer.
Once the layer mask is added you can select that mask (not the grass layer, but
select the mask layer) and get your black brush that you can now use to erase
some of the mask. And thus you are blending with the black brush.
I dont know how removing the blur would give a sharp image, for that I duplicated
the original layer that I am showing as a layer underneath the masked layer... I
dont know if thats what was meant...i dont think so because its never mentioned
that you need to duplicated layers....
Hasan Al Huda Rezaliah • 3 years ago

Thanks for tutorial,, you are the best teacher,,,,,
⛺
Joseph Rasmy • 3 years ago

THX
⛺
Ron Jonathan Herrera • 3 years ago

Thank you really learn from this :D
⛺
mido shalaby • 3 years ago • edited

what is the filter mask and and layer mask and how can I use them
my photoshop version is cs5
Lucy > mido shalaby • 3 years ago

i had the same problem. I found this answer in internet http://simplephotoshop.com/...
hope it will be useful

Hannah Kear > Lucy • 3 years ago

i still dont understand
Muthaiga Institute of Awesome • 3 years ago

Photoshop basically makes us magicians in the digital world.Excellent tut Jenny
Olivia • 3 years ago

Love the end result and particularly the color scheme. It's fun to follow tutorials, most of the time
I end up learning something new!
Rasoki Bert • 3 years ago

Thank you very much! This tutorial improved my photoshop skill eg. mask, color, adjustment...
I love it! Thanks!THANKS!Thank you so much!
⛺
Liya Rybakova • 3 years ago

thank you so much! wonderful tutorial ))
⛺
Kanoktuch Poonsin • 3 years ago

Nice tutorial!! I still confuse about when I should use which adjustment.
but i will follow all of your tutorials to grab the core principle about that.
y g p p
I hope that the next new tutorial will come soon. :)
⛺
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10/17/2019 How to Create a Fantasy Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop

Students Save 30%! Save Now 

DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION > PHOTO MANIPULATION

How to Create a Fantasy Photo

Photo Manipulation Fantasy Adobe Photoshop

What You'll Be Creating

1. How to Build the Background

results on the lter mask and on the picture:

Apply a Gaussian Blur of 15 px to this shadow:

2. How to Add the Tree

3. How to Add the Gate and Small Forest

Use a Layer Mask to blend the gate with the tree.

4. How to Add the Pathway

5. How to Add the Child

6. How to Add the Grass

7. How to Make the Basic Adjustments

rest of the scene:

8. How to Add the Light

Congratulations, You're Done!

Photoshop Actions From Envato Elements

Rise Photoshop Action

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Weekly email summary

Translate this post

34 Comments Tuts+ Hub 

 Recommend 10 t Tweet f Share Sort by Best

Join the discussion…

Ada Ciecierska • 3 years ago

Amarlal • 2 years ago

Nick Perperidis > Amarlal • 2 years ago

Amarlal > Nick Perperidis • 2 years ago

Amarlal > Nick Perperidis • 2 years ago

Melody > Amarlal • a year ago

Melody • 3 years ago

Cerebral Xtian • 2 years ago

Game Sage • 2 years ago

Axl Linux • 2 years ago • edited

Amarlal > Axl Linux • 2 years ago

Gotmtdew > Amarlal • 10 months ago

Esmaeel Shakeri-Nejad • 3 years ago

Amazing. Thank you for your beautiful creation. It's my version.

Kathy Macchiato • 3 years ago

Melody > Kathy Macchiato • 3 years ago

Susana González Gutierrez • 3 years ago

Amarlal > Susana González Gutierrez • 2 years ago

Dan Van Deerlin • 2 years ago

Helen Browne • 2 years ago

Ashish Kumar • 2 years ago

mini lee > Ashish Kumar • a year ago

SneezyFTW > Ashish Kumar • 2 years ago

Purple Brackets > SneezyFTW • 2 years ago

Hasan Al Huda Rezaliah • 3 years ago

Joseph Rasmy • 3 years ago

Ron Jonathan Herrera • 3 years ago

mido shalaby • 3 years ago • edited

Lucy > mido shalaby • 3 years ago

hope it will be useful

Hannah Kear > Lucy • 3 years ago

Muthaiga Institute of Awesome • 3 years ago

Olivia • 3 years ago

Rasoki Bert • 3 years ago

Liya Rybakova • 3 years ago

Kanoktuch Poonsin • 3 years ago