Next we will use some filters to blend the head into the picture, so all the next adjustment layers will be clipped to the head’s layer. Go to the Adjustment Layers- Gradient map. You have the presets in the image below.

Adjustment Layers-Curves.

Adjustment Layers-Photo Filter.

Step 11

Open the bird photo and place it on top of the crocodile to add some color. Cut it out using color range.

Step 12

In this step we will make some small fixes, but they will make the whole picture look more blended. So cut out a row of spikes and place them at the door. Next add some light using a basic brush, with white ( opacity 40-50%). This is a small detail but it will look better in the end.

Create a visible stamp ( ctrl+alt+shift+E) Go to Filter-Liquify and start arranging all the parts that are not well done, especially the curves. Use the image below to see how it should look.

Step 13

Next we will apply some adjustment layers. First start with Gradient Map ( set the opacity to 20%). You have the presets on the picture below.

Go to Adjustment layers-Photo Filter.

Adjustment layers- Hue saturation.

Step 14

Now we will create the dust particles. Create a new layer. Select the colors you see in the picture below. With a basic brush with soft edges start painting the dust. This should look like in the image below. Decrease the brush size many times so you will have different sizes of dust. Change the dust’s colors as many times as you can. I used the same dust particle on the entire image by duplicating the first layer. For all the dust used here I used about 25 different layers ( duplicated layers from the first one)

Step 15

To add some interesting texture I used a Photoshop plug-in named Lucis Art. If you don’t have this plug-in don’t worry because I will explain how to achieve almost the same effect by using only the basic Photoshop filters. Now, if you have Lucis Art, create a visible stamp and use plaid 3. Decrease the opacity to 16% and don’t use it on the mountains. This area should remain a bit blurry.

Step 16

This step is only for the ones that don’t have the Lucis art Plug-in. Create a visible stamp and go to Filters-High Pass ( Radius 2,4%) The smaller the radius is, the bigger the amount of details will be on the image. Set the blending mode to overlay.