Make a Story Book Come to Life in Photoshop

Make a Story Book Come to Life in Photoshop
Make a Story Book Come to Life in Photoshop
step4b_transform
step4b2_transform_see_through

Now that we’ve transformed it, we shall be removing the grass which is outside of the book’s page. To do that, we shall be using the Polygonal Lasso tool (L). Before cutting it, it would be best to reduce the Opacity of the grass layer to 20% so you would be able to cut the grass with the book as the guide. You may also want to zoom in to the image up to 400% for more accuracy. To increase the zoom level, go to the Navigator window and change the zoom level to 400%.

step4c_zoom_navigator

Now for the process of removing the excess grass – follow the instructions on the images below:

step4d_plt_finished
step4e_layer_window
step4f_result
step4g_revert

Now for the next part, we will be distorting the grass layer to make it blend in with the book and in order for us to do that we would need the effectiveness of the Liquify tool. To activate that tool, go to Filter > Liquify.

step4h_liquify_how_to_open

You may also use the shortcut keys to open the Liquify tool by pressing Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + X. When the Liquify tool opens, use the following settings:

  • Brush Size: 344
  • Brush Density: 50
  • Brush Pressure: 100
  • Brush Rate: 80
  • Turbulent Jitter: 50
  • Reconstruct Mode: Revert
step4i_liquify_tools_menu

To begin the Liquifying process, click on the Forward Warp tool.

step4j_forward_warp_tool

For more accuracy, it is advised to zoom at the level of 25% or higher if you wish to.

step4L_warp_process
step4m_result

Now when you’re done with liquefying, just press OK.

Next, let’s edit the light on the grass, we’ll darken and brighten the necessary areas.

Activate the Burn tool (O) and input the following settings:

  • Brush size: 300 px
  • Range: Midtones
  • Exposure: 25%

Then apply the Burn tool (O) on the area shown on the image below:

step4n_burn_this_area

The result should be similar to this:

step4o_result

Activate the Burn tool (O) once again and use it on the region shown on the image below:

step4p_burn_this_area_2
step4q_result

Step 5 - Add the dirt road on the grass

What we are going to do here is that we would be adding a small road on the grassy field on the book’s open page. To start, let’s open Long Road and then activate the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to select the road on this image.

step5a_plt

After you’ve created the selection area, use the Move tool (V) again to transfer it to our canvas. Once in the canvas, rename the layer to road. Next, we will be transforming the road to blend in with the grass. Click on the road layer and then activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T). Right click on the image to bring up the contextual menu, and then when the menu opens, click on Warp. Now warping is quite similar to the Liquify tool but it differs because it isn’t as free as the Liquify tool, you can only warp a few select areas designated by the points and lines on the warp grid. Now for the Warp process, just follow the instructions seen on the following images:

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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15 comments on “Make a Story Book Come to Life in Photoshop”

  1. Thank you for posting a tutorial that actually works. Not only that, I learned a few things.
    Once again, thank you.

    1. Yes the stock links seem broken. That is the downsides of using free stock photos; they can sometimes disappear without any warning.

    1. Thanks for letting me know! I've updated the links including the long road picture. There was one picture that I couldn't find the link for but it's just a cloud picture that's easily found somewhere else.

  2. Great tutorial! I really love it! I only have one problem... It seems the image of the long road is not available anymore :( Any chance you know where to find it or maybe mail it to me? I can't find any other good images to use as replacement. Thx

  3. used this tutorial for my Lotr fan art http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/6009214_700b.jpg

    1. OMG ! , i saw it ... it was amazing , a really great masterpiece ^_^ ..... keep up the great work !

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