After this step your photo manipulation should look similar as the picture below.
Step 12 – Lighter Center
In this step you’ll make the center of the image lighter. It will create more dimension and drama in your photo manipulation. Human eye first looks at the bright parts of the image. You can use this fact to lead viewer’s eye on the parts of the image you want. Add new adjustment layer Levels and set the Input Levels on 0; 1,00; 175.
Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill the layer mask of this adjustment layer with solid black color. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), select Radial Gradient. Pick white color and create gradient in the center of the image.
On the following photo you can see where to put the gradient. That area is highlighted with red color.
Step 13 – Adding Lens Flare
In this step you’ll continue with highlighting the center of the image and creating more interesting light. Add new empty layer on the top of all layers and name it LENS FLARE. Pick the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill this new layer with solid black color. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare and set it as on the following picture. Press OK.
To blend this layer properly with the rest of the image change its Blending Mode from Normal to Screen.
On the following photo you can see how your photo manipulation should look like so far.
Step 14 – Adjusting Lens Flare
As you may notice lens flare doesn’t look realistic right now. You’ll fix it in this step by blurring and desaturating. Click on the LENS FLARE layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and set the value Saturation on -100.
To blur the lens flare go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the value Radius on 3,0 pixels. Press OK.
On the following picture you can compare how the lens flare looks before and after this step.
Step 15 – Darkening and Adding More Contrast
In this step you’ll make your photo manipulation bit more darker and contrasted. Let’s start with darkening. Add new adjustment layer Gradient Map and use same gradient as on the following image.
Change the Blending Mode of this layer from Normal to Multiply. This way you’ll not only make shadows darker but also add blue tones to them.
33 responses to “How to Create an Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Photo Manipulation in Photoshop”
-
Love it
-
it sux no images
-
hi bro
-
thank you , I am teaclother you have explained the tutorial thanks a lot.
-
thank you , I am teaclother you have explained the tutorial thanks a
-
It is very helpful tutorial and great idea for this tutorial….thanks a lot
-
Interesting tutos and very well explained ! Congratulations!
But how can I get your stock (resources) pictures in Pelleron-Art? -
Very Nice
-
I did your tutorial in the past, here: http://annewipf.deviantart.com/art/TMM-A3P2-Apocalyptic-Sci-Fi-Photomanipulation-408652475
But it seem we cannot see the tutorials published on photoshop-tutorials anymore. :(
I tried to contact photoshop-tutorial, but it doesn’t work. :(
Could you tell me if there is something to pay now, or what we can do? Thank you. -
Please re uploaded PSD file because when i click on download showing 404 error, this is best work for me i want check how did you do this
-
Absolutely beautiful works.. This is what called “Creativity”.
-
Great, thanks for all the helpful info!
-
It’s an okay tutorial… Except I couldn’t follow it after Step 2. (including Step 2).
The instructions are so vague, and major steps are being skipped. I just can’t follow it.
You should really try to improve on that. I’d rather have too many details and too proper grammar than too little.-
Maybe you should try to find some specific youtube-workshops about this themes
-
-
WOW this tutorial suck , couldn’t understand a thing
-
Fantastic website. Lots of helpful information here.
I’m sending it to some buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thank you for your sweat! -
This tutorial is okay, but it’s obviously lacking a LOT of information that’s required to even get close to the desired look that the author is showing.
The tutorial is best at showing some ideas of what you can do and how to do it, but it’s not showing an obvious step-by-step method to get the exact look (if you’re trying for that) of the picture the author created.
-
Thoughtful tutorial. Hats off
-
Excelente
-
thanks for the tutorial!!
-
Thank you very much, it’s really helpful!
-
holy shit ! you are so great !
-
Extremely Awesome Tutorial \m/ I love it
-
Humm… We can see a reflection on the city..
-
its totally amazin!!!!!
i have learnt a lot of effects through this and its awesome…… u have got a lot of ability and please teach me some….. -
Thank you for the great tutorial,keep it up
-
hay.. in the begginig you say to create a new document.. can you please tell me the exact dimentions of the document coz i face difficulties with the begginig.. thnx a lot!
-
I believe the author used an image dimension of 600×900 pixels.
-
-
very nice!!!!
-
Great tutorial!
-
Thanks !!!!
-
Thank you very much for the tutorial, very well explained :) I have not had any problems in understanding it, Thanks
-
Good but I would change the meteors up so they aren’t the same copy.
Leave a Reply