S E P 1 3 2 0 1 0 3 1 C OMME NTS
B Y E RI C VA S QUE Z
In this design tutorial, we are going to perform a photo manipulation of a
beautiful woman breaking free from the confines of her stone prison. We
will be using Photoshop to blend various images together along with a bit
of brushwork, adjustment layers, and layer styles to create a masterful
and compelling image.
Author: Eric Vasquez
Eric Vasquez is a Graphic Designer, specializing in Print and Web Design. He's a graduate of the
New England Institute of Art in Boston and has over 4 years of professional and freelance work
experience. He's been featured in Advanced Photoshop Magazine and The Art of Fashion Art
Exhibit and Artists In The Station Art Exhibit. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit Eric's portfolio at
ericvasquez.net.
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Tutorial Resources
Stock image: Makeup & Fashion on iStockphoto
Textures: Texture Pack 04 (Paper texture pack) by AnOrderOfFishSticks
Texture: rock texture 1 by Mardukex
Brushes: Crack Brushes i by Hawksmont
Texture: Free Nebula Dust Texture by Zerofiction
Step 1: Isolate the Subject from the Background
First, pick a stock photo of the model you want to feature. It’s best to pick a stock photo with a flat background so that
you can easily extract the subject from it.
I used the Makeup & Fashion stock photo from iStockphoto. We want to open up our stock photo in Photoshop as we are
going to need to remove her from the background. I know that when working with photos such as this, that the hair can
be particularly tricky to deal with. The good news is that this really gets easier the more you do it and practice it.
If you happen to be fortunate enough to have a tablet, then that will make the job much easier. I am using a Wacom
9×12” tablet and what I’ve done is create a layer mask (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All) on top of the stock image. I
zoom in very closely using the Zoom Tool (Z) and begin to trace around the model, brushing the mask with a solid black
brush to hide the extraneous background elements. There are of course other ways of achieving the same result and it is
best to use the method that you feel most comfortable with for this step.
Step 2: Create a New Photoshop Document
Now that we have isolated our subject, we are going to create a new Photoshop document — I have chosen a standard
paper size (8.5×11”) where I have moved my image over.
Double-click on the default Background layer to unlock it, and double-click again to bring up the Layer Style dialog
window. Check off the Color Overlay box on the right to apply this layer effect. For the color, use a mid-tone gray
(#a9a9a9) which should work nicely.
Once you have selected the color, click OK to accept the changes. You should now have something like the image
below.
Step 3: Darkening the Edges
Create a new layer between the Background layer and the layer containing the image of the model. Select the Gradient
Tool (G) from the Tools Panel and then you should be able to find the Options Bar for the Gradient Tool. Make sure to
select a gradient that goes from solid black to transparent, and also check off the Reverse option.
Create a fairly large gradient fill on this layer — you may have to resize it a bit using Free Transform (Cmd/Ctrl + T) so
that the fade occurs only around the four sides of our image. You could also do this manually with a large soft brush, but I
find that by using the radial gradient, you can ensure that the fade is even on both sides.
Step 4: Building a Grunge Background
Next, we will be using one of the awesome Grunge Paper Textures by AnOrderOfFishSticks. For this image, I am going
to be using the 5.png file from the texture pack, but feel free to use any of the paper textures that you like the most.
Drag the texture image into your document and scale it up so that it spans across the entire dimension of the canvas.
Once you have enlarged the paper texture, we are going to desaturate this layer (Image > Adjustments > Desaturate). A
quick way of desaturating an image is to use the shortcut keyboard shortcut: Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + U.
After desaturating the texture, the last thing we want to do for now is to change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay
and reduce the Opacity to about 60%. By doing this, the grunge texture will be a little bit more subtle rather than using
the colorful variation that we started with. If you haven’t already done so, this would be a good time to save your work.
Save, save, and save again… just in case! Don’t lose the work you’ve been slaving on for hours.
Step 5: A Bit of Styling
Duplicate the image of the model by selecting the layer and then pressing Cmd/Ctrl + J (shortcut for Layer > Duplicate
Layer).
Next, go to Filter > Other > High Pass and then set the Radius to 12.5 before clicking OK to apply the filter.
After applying the High Pass filter, we will once again apply another filter. Choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with the
Radius set at 5.
After applying both filters, change the blending mode of the top image to Overlay and merge it (Layer > Merge Down)
with the layer beneath (which should be the original image of the model) by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + E. You should notice a
subtle softening effect on the model, particularly on her face and the details of the dress.
Step 6: Apply a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer
Press on the black and white icon (Create new fill or layer adjustment) at the bottom of the Layers Panel and then select
Hue/Saturation. This will bring up the Hue/Saturation Panel. Slide the Saturation option’s slider all the way to the left
side to desaturate the image of the model. Lower the Opacity of this Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to about 40%.
Adjustment layers will affect everything below it but will maintain the quality/integrity of those layers (i.e. it is
non-destructive and will not permanently alter any layers). Conversely, if we had applied the effect directly to the image,
we run the risk of degrading the quality and being stuck with something that we can’t later undo. By doing it this way, we
aren’t actually applying an effect to the photo of the model.
Just so you can see the effect of the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, I have placed a before and after image below.
As you can see, it’s not an extremely drastic change that we are applying, but it gives the image a slightly washed-out
look, helping us create a mood/tone that will help to make the image feel more cohesive and unified.
Step 7: Add a Levels Adjustment Layer
Once again, we are going to press on the Create new fill or layer adjustment button at the bottom of the Layers Panel,
but this time we will choose Levels. You will then see a dialog window that shows us the histogram.
What we want to do here is to boost the contrast (the dark colors) a little bit more. To do this, grab the middle gray slider
and set the position to 0.86.
Even though we have slightly desaturated the image of the model, we don’t want to completely lose the nice contrast
between light and dark colors. Modifying the levels is a great way to bring some of that contrast back into the image. If
you were to move this slider the opposite way, we would be brightening the image and giving it more of a lighter feel. I
would encourage you to play with this option more as most photos can benefit from a bit of an adjustment (unless it has
already been touched up or was taken with flawless lighting).
Step 8: Duplicate and Desaturate
Select the layer with the model and press Cmd/Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer. After that, go to Image > Adjustments >
Desaturate (Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + U) and drag the Saturation option’s slider all the way to the left.
Step 9: On the Rocks
Open up Rock Texture 1 in Photoshop then drag it into your document. I have rotated the rock texture 90 degrees (Edit >
Transform > Rotate 90o CW) and enlarged it slightly using Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to ensure that it entirely covers
our model.
When you are happy with the orientation and size of the rock texture, change the blending mode of its layer to Multiply.
Step 10: Making Your Selection
Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and then click on the model’s layer in the Layers Panel to put a selection around her. You know
you’ve selected the subject properly if you see an active selection that is indicated by the marching ants (as I like to call
them).
With this selection still active, click on the layer above containing the rock texture to make it the active layer, and then
click on the Add layer mask button at the bottom of the Layers Panel.
Step 11: Merging the Two Layers
Next, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click on the mask we have just created on the rock texture layer. You should then see a
menu where you will want to select Apply Layer Mask.
After applying the layer mask, we are going to merge this layer (Ctrl/Cmd + E) with the desaturated image of the model
below it.
Step 12: Eyes Made of Stone
Using the Pen Tool (P), make a selection around both our subject’s eyes, one at a time. When you have the selection
finished, create a new layer and fill this selection with white.
Next, select the Stamp Tool (S) and sample some of the rock texture before creating a new layer above the white eyes.
Start to fill in this area on the new layer until the white area is completely covered.
Hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click on the layer containing the eyes that are filled with solid white. This layer’s content should
be hidden at the moment because of the textured layer on top, but that is okay! When you make the selection, you will
see the marching ants again to indicate the area around the eyes has been selected. While this selection is active, click
on the layer containing the rock texture fill over the eyes, just on top of the white eyes.
Next, click on the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel. You can now get rid of the "white eyes" layer
as we have now trimmed the rock texture layer that covers the eyes.
We want to minimize the number of layers that we will ultimately end up with so that we don’t end up with an unwieldy
PSD, but at the same time, by separating them as we have just done, it makes the process easier when dealing with
selections and layer masks.
Create another new layer above the eyes and while holding down Ctrl/Cmd, click on the eye layer to create a selection.
Grab a medium-sized, soft round brush with a low opacity setting (18-22% should be good) and begin to brush around
the edges of the eyes on the new layer. The goal here is to add some shading around the eyes to add some depth.
At this point, we can merge the shadows with the eyes and the rock texture-filled image of the model. We should still
have the color version beneath these merged layers, so your Layers Panel should look like this:
Step 13: Add Some Cracks
Next, we are going to create a new layer above the layers with the image of the model. Download and install the Crack
Brushes i brush library.
Set your brush tip to one of the crack brushes and then use a solid black color to paint a few cracks here and there on
top of the image. The idea is to apply your brush strokes sparingly and only use them in a couple of areas. The reason
for this is that we want to save some of the larger areas for the subsequent steps where we are going to have larger
chunks of the statue falling off to reveal the model beneath.
Step 14: Breaking Away
We want to prepare to make some larger areas that will break away and reveal the girl underneath in order to give the
illusion that she is breaking free from her stone confines. So what we will do before that is duplicate the rock texture girl
layer and then turn off the visibility of the original layer. We are doing this so that we can retain the statue layer in its
current state in case we need to go back to it at any point. Your Layers Panel should look like this:
Create a new layer above the "Cracks" layer where we painted in some cracks in the statue earlier. On this new layer, we
are going to use the Pen Tool (P) to create some large shapes on top of the other layers and fill it with a solid white color.
These are going to be the areas where we will reveal the model below. We want the shapes we are creating to be
jagged, organic, and random — and by no means neat, precise or calculated.
Once you have created your first shape, change the blending mode of its layer to Multiply.
Double-click on the layer to access the Layer Style dialog window and add an Inner Shadow with the following settings:
Opacity: 75
Angle: 90 (and check off Global Light)
Distance: 7
Choke: 8
Size: 8
Click OK to apply the Inner Shadow effect.
Next, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and then click on the shape layer. This should make a selection around the shape. While you
still have this selection active, choose the rock texture girl layer that we duplicated. Press the Delete key to erase this
selection from the rock texture layer. You have now subtracted this shape area from the duplicate copy.
By applying the Inner Shadow layer effect, it will make it look as though the broken statue has some space between it
and the figure beneath, which is exactly what we want.
Continue this process by creating a new layer, making some selections and filling them with solid white.
You can copy and paste the layer style from the first shape we created rather than inputting the same values each time.
Change the blending mode to Multiply, then hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click the shape to activate the selection. Delete the
selected area from the duplicated rock texture girl layer simply by hitting your Delete key.
This may seem like a complex process at first, but after you try it a few times, you will get the hang of it, and it really
won’t seem so hard.
As you go along, try to be mindful of where some of these larger cracks will appear. I have gone back and used the crack
brush set in a few places because in order to depict a more realistic breaking, we must think of how concrete would
actually crumble and crack. By this, I mean that we will essentially want to add some thinner lines around the larger
areas to show them sort of leading up to the bigger breaks. Notice on the left arm (our left, her right) that I have added a
few of these thinner lines around the large break.
You can erase the pieces of the brush strokes that you don’t need, but feel free to transform and rotate them until you
are satisfied with the result. Once you are satisfied, you can merge it together with the other brush strokes on the
"Cracks" layer.
Step 15: Coming to the Surface
As we add additional shapes and cracks around the larger areas (as we have done in the previous steps), you will see
we are gradually building up the image. At this point, I am hoping that you will have something similar to what I have
below:
You can take as little or as long as you would like on this part, but I have spent some time adding more and more details
to the piece until it really starts to come to life. Here are a few close-up shots so that you can see where I have added
some additional details around the larger areas:
Step 16: Make It Shine
Next, we are going set our Foreground color to a solid white color and create a new layer above all of the cracks and
images of the model. Select the Gradient Tool (G) and make a radial gradient that fades from solid white to transparent.
Set the blending mode of this layer to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to about 30%.
Duplicate the white-to-transparent gradient layer a couple of times and move each one to a different spot in the image
where you want to bring out some of the detail and add a bit of contrast. This is more of a subtle technique that will
enhance the detail of the image.
Step 17: Add an Additional Texture
Now it’s time for us to add a bit of extra texture to the piece. Open up the Free Nebula Dust Texture in Photoshop. We
are going to desaturate this image by pressing Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + U (Image > Adjustments >Desaturate). Once you have
done that, drag the image into your document.
We want to add this nebula dust texture all the way at the bottom of our layers, so that it’s the second to last layer. You
may have to scale the image up a bit so that it covers the background. After that, we want to set the blending mode to
Screen.
At this point, only the original background layer should be beneath it.
You will notice from the image that I have organized some of my layers just by grouping them in folders. This isn’t
absolutely necessary, but it is good practice and can save you time when looking for a particular layer or group of layers
later on.
Step 18: Smoothing It Out
As the final step, we will process our scene to enhance it. First, we are going to need to save our document (Ctrl/Cmd +
S) just to make sure that everything is up to date and that we have a backup in case things get hairy in this phase. Once
you’ve saved your PSD, flatten the image so that all of our layers are merged (Layer > Flatten Image).
Make a copy of this flattened layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J) to duplicate the artwork. Next, go to Filter > Other > High Pass, setting
the Radius to 12.5 before clicking OK to apply the filter.
Afterwards, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply the filter with a 3-pixel blur Radius.
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to 40% to let a bit of the original layer shine
through.
You can see the effect by turning this layer on and off, but essentially, we have used a photo retouching technique to
sharpen and smooth out the image to add a nice polish to our design. It may be a subtle difference, but you will notice
that some of the details of our model (most noticeably around the eyes) have been sharpened and have been given an
extra bit of crispness.
Tutorial Summary
You have now successfully gone through the process of creating a photo manipulation of a beautiful woman breaking
free from the confines of her stone prison. We have used stock images to piece together a scene that was built using
intermediate-level Photoshop techniques such as adding adjustment layers, selecting with the Pen Tool, and image-
processing techniques such as the High Pass/Gaussian Blur filter combination. Thanks for following along and I hope
that you have picked up a few new tricks along the way!
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31 Comments (Add yours)
Giacomo
Colddesign
SEP 13 2010 REPLY TO COMMENT
Great tutorial, thanks!
Design Kent
Web
SEP 13 2010 REPLY TO COMMENT
great tutorial, i need an excuse to try this out now!
awsome!it is so nice~
Download Source Files
stone_woman_photomanipulation (41.00 MB)
Like 59
Jacob Gube
SEP 16 2010Editorial Team
REPLY TO COMMENT
Whoa, awesome job Owen!
I’ve rehosted it on Imgur since the link seems to be inspired
now: http://imgur.com/9j0dL.png
A question to you all: Would it be helpful if you could post
images in the comments? (Small ones though, 200-300px
max width). If enough people want this ability, we’ll discuss
this in our next meeting.
kelly
SEP 09 2011
REPLY TO COMMENT
hi eric, i don’t understand the about layers , i culd’t do that ,
as gud as this is. and i don’t find the all tools which u r telling ,
i love this work
vegligi
SEP 13 2010
REPLY TO COMMENT
Reza
SEP 13 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
Amazing post…I love it. Thank you very much.
Childmonster
SEP 13 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
Great tutorial but i think it s missing the shadow
PrintersYork
SEP 14 2010
cool! One of the best written tuts Ive seen in ages. I agree with
Childmonster though, it does miss a shadow, but hey, the rest is solid.
Cheers
REPLY TO COMMENT
Eric Vasquez
SEP 14 2010Contributor
REPLY TO COMMENT
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback! I’m glad that the tutorial is well
received. I actually had played around with putting a shadow behind the
figure but I opted to omit it from the design because I wanted a higher
contrast between background and foreground. To your point though, it may
help blend the two together but in doing so I would also run the risk of losing
some of the crispness around the darker edges as you may not be able to
see the separation as well.
Reza
SEP 14 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
Very informative and helpful. Thaks very much.
Niels
SEP 15 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
Looking good.Very nice tutorial.
Puneet
SEP 15 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
Wow, really great work. Need to try it out.
Owen Yue
SEP 16 2010
REPLY TO COMMENT
Hey! What do you think of my result? http://web1.twitpic.com
/img/162965720-f9f77867cb440bdeef5cef832529b692.4c926228-full.png
Eric Vasquez
SEP 16 2010Contributor
Owen – your image looks very good! I am glad that you felt inspired and
tried out the techniques :)
REPLY TO COMMENT
Richie
SEP 19 2010
REPLY TO COMMENT
Excellent idea and good result Eric. I appreciate you for writing such a
detailed tutorial. Creative though it is, lacks a few fundamental concepts.
This is just my observation and not a judgment so I thought I’d share it with
you.
1) Why was the High Pass filter necessary both before and after the
transformation? I don’t think “smoothing” the image did any justice to the
sculpture.
2) The drop shadow on the stone pieces contradicts the lighting… (for
some, the shadow falls to the right and for the rest, it falls to the left)
3) Just by changing the blending mode of the rock texture to ‘Multiply’
doesn’t give it a ‘complete’ real and authentic sculpture look. Maybe you
should have gone further and used the Dodge and Burn tools to create a
perfect environment for the stone textures also.
Well, those were my $0.02 :) Maybe my points of views are wrong. If they
are, please let me know.
Thanks
Richie
SEP 19 2010
REPLY TO COMMENT
Also, Here is another tutorial which does completely opposite to your idea :)
Just thought I’d mention it… ‘Bringing a Stone Statue to Life’ :
http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials/161354/tutorial
Eric Vasquez
SEP 20 2010Contributor
Thanks for your comments Richie -
I just wanted to respond to a few of the points that you had previously
mentioned. I think that when creating an image like this the light and
shadows are very important and I have definitely taken some of your points
into consideration.
1 – The High Pass filter was used more to smooth out the skin but I could
have masked out only the skin areas so it wouldn’t effect the statue portions
of the image. The idea is that to create a realistic image, think of what your
body does if it were in a cast for example, for a long period of time. Your
skin starts to get soft, pale, and doesn’t look as fresh and healthy as it
normally would. I wanted to give the model underneath that sort of look.
2 – The Drop Shadow on the statue was intended to reflect more of a head
on lighting coming from the front of the statue, but I see your point as well
that the shadows should all be going in one direction. That would be the
case if the light were coming from one side or the other, but if you shine a
light on an object directly from the front, you won’t see all of the shadows
going only one way and nowhere else.
3 – I do agree that the Dodge and Burn tools would have helped to further
achieve some contrast between light and dark, perhaps I will give this a go
for my next attempt at creating a similar effect. The Multiply Blending Mode
seemed to get the effect I wanted, but I will certainly keep this in mind for
future tutorials.
Also, I like the example that you provided in the link, which brings the statue
to life but I don’t see how it is so different from my idea to be honest. I
noticed in that design also that the skin tones appear to be very saturated
as though the figure had only been trapped in the stone statue for a few
minutes, rather than a longer period of time.
And to circle back to the comment about the Drop Shadow – I have noticed
that this piece also has some of the shadows coming from the left, and
some from the right, similar to my design where the lighting seems to be
hitting the figure from the front. On the stone piece on the chest, there is
shadow on the right side, and on the arm it is on the left. This is the same
type of shadow that I was going for with my photo manipulation.
Overall these are some very good, constructive, critiques and I very much
appreciate you taking the time to comment on this. You have some good
REPLY TO COMMENT
points, and I will be sure to try out the Dodge and Burn to further enhance
the lights and shadows in some of my future tutorials.
Federico
Capoano
SEP 24 2010REPLY TO COMMENT
I like it more when it’s almost completely covered with the stone texture :-).
Great tutorial!
iapdesign
SEP 29 2010
REPLY TO COMMENT
Wow. this one is awesome. i am trying it right now. hehe. i hope it will finish
by an hour. hehe.^̂ thank you again sir.!
white
JAN 05 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
Super good. I like the effect.
smartuts
JAN 08 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
i must try it..thx for great tutorial
Cgbaran
JAN 08 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
I will try it soon thanks
michael lewis
JAN 12 2011
REPLY TO COMMENT
hi i have downloaded the crack brushes file but i can not find any of the
brushes and i do not no how to download them. what do i do after i have
downloaded the file on to my macbook thanks
Sharon Steele
FEB 13 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
Great tutorial :-) Thanks
Alan
MAY 30 2011
REPLY TO COMMENT
I get to the part were I’m removing the large chunks and I get stuck. I’m not
seeing the color image underneath. Any suggestions?
Samantha
Gadget
SEP 21 2011 REPLY TO COMMENT
I really enjoyed doing this. Thanks so much
Deepak
Suryavanshi
SEP 23 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
Amasing use of photoshop for creating wonder!!!
interesting tutorial , thanks a lot….
satar
DEC 28 2011REPLY TO COMMENT
Thanks so much. very good
Juan
JAN 21 2012
REPLY TO COMMENT
Cool tutorial.. Shyts hard i got frustrated and quit but i will try it again, one
day when im a lil more advanced
mohammad
MAR 30 2012
thank sir.it seem interesting
i will try it.can u send me another tutorial on my email?
[EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED]
REPLY TO COMMENT
blackmondays
APR 01 2012
REPLY TO COMMENT
I am having trouble with applying the mask, with the ROCK TEXTURE layer.
It is just greyed out and I cannot apply it. Any suggestions?