step-023m

And here is the final outcome of the front legs.

step-023n

With the back legs we’re going to do the exact same steps. Just remember to add a new layer on the top of the root layer of the left leg and add some shadows on the root.

And here is the final outcome of the back legs:

step-023o

And here is my layer stack of the roots.

step-023p

Your image now should be similar to this one:

step-023q

Now add all this layers we created for the roots in a new group called Roots.

step-023r

Right now we can see the legs of the elephant through the roots and we don’t want that, so open our Elephant group again and click on the layer mask of the elephant layer. (which we created on step 17)

Now hide the legs of the elephant following the instructions on the image below:

step-023s

Your image should now look like this:

step-023t

We’re almost there! We just need to add the root shadows and then we’ll enter the final stage of our manipulation.

So go to our elephant group and add a new layer above the Shadow layer we created on the step 17. Name the new layer ‘Root Shadow’.

step-023u

Open the turtle group again and Ctrl/Command click the thumbnail of the turtle.

step-023v

Now paint the shadow of the roots with a hard brush.

step-023w

Then add a Gaussian blur to make the shadow more realistic, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to around 10px.

step-023x
step-023y

Set the opacity of this shadow layer to around 40%.

step-023z

And now we’re finally done with all those stock images and we’re ready to make the final adjustments.

step-023zz

Step 24:Final Adjustments

To start with out final adjustments, create a new layer on the top of our layer stack.

step-024a

Now select a gray color by going to the color picker and setting ‘H’ to 0, ‘S’ to 0 and ‘B’ to 50.

step-024b

Fill the new layer with gray using a shortcut. Alt/Option+Delete will fill the layer with gray for you.

step-024c

Now change the blend mode of this layer to Overlay and you will se no difference in your image.

step-024d

Select the Dodge Tool(O) with a soft brush(hardness between 0~50%) and the exposure at 10%

step-024e

And now start “painting” your gray layer with the Dodge and the Burn Tool. Here are some tips:

  • Doge Tool will make place you paint brighter
  • The Burn Tool will make the place you paint darker
  • To quickly change between them hold Alt/Option, this will change the tools as long as you hold the Alt/Option key (You will use this A LOT)
  • If you made a mistake and it’s too late to undo the changes don’t worry, just select the Brush Tool and paint the area of the layer you want to “reset” with gray again (that’s why we’re using this gray layer)

This is the most important step of our manipulation, and can really improve your final image if you do this right. So take your time in this step and don’t rush with the painting.

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32 responses to “How to Create a Surreal Scene Full of Life in Photoshop”

  1. lucy Avatar
    lucy

    oh,I know it.

  2. lucy Avatar
    lucy

    I like it very much.But how can i entire to see it.

  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    thank! so much for that creation

  4.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Such a beautiful artwork!!

  5.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    great tutorial thank you

  6. sunny khan Avatar
    sunny khan

    this tutorial was awesome thanks

  7. Thrilled Avatar
    Thrilled

    Really great tutorial. Very well explained step by step.

  8. Maidul Islam Avatar
    Maidul Islam

    You’ve made a very nice and comprehensive collection of WordPress Themes. I appreciate it. Really great art work with typography. Thanks for sharing this nice post.

  9. Maidul Islam Avatar
    Maidul Islam

    You’ve made a very nice and comprehensive collection of WordPress Themes. I appreciate it.

  10.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Outstanding tutorial!Clear instructions and awesome picture instructions. Very nice, thank you a bunch.

  11. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Beautiful image. Congratulations to the technical and thanks for the tutorial:)

  12. Noels Avatar
    Noels

    Loved it!! Thankyou, I learnt such a lot :)

  13. bephot Avatar
    bephot

    thanks! learn a lot of useful shortcut and tips here

  14. katrina enright Avatar
    katrina enright

    I cant get my roots and elephants feet to lok right i need help

  15.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    this looks awesome and easy

  16. josts1234 Avatar
    josts1234

    when I go to the exposure everything turns black. What do I do?

    1. kenzmobile Avatar
      kenzmobile

      its -0.25 not -25. i did the same thing

  17. Ali Guest Avatar
    Ali Guest

    I can not thank you enough, the amount of things I’ve learnt in two hours is incredible, would usually take me a week of watching and reading tutorials, but nope, you’ve used many techniques that made my life easier! Thank you is not enough!

  18. HoHe Avatar
    HoHe

    Great tutorial!But the mountain photo is missing :/Some extra help…

    1. SalahKabbani Avatar
      SalahKabbani

      just do what i did , 
      download the attached PSD from up there and take the mountain photo from there :D

    2. HoHe Avatar
      HoHe

      @SalahKabbani Thank you for your response :)But how can I take it from the mountain layer

    3. HoHe Avatar
      HoHe

      @SalahKabbani OK! Got it!I decided to replace the mountain photo with a desert one ^_^Thanks anyway :)

  19. landon912 Avatar
    landon912

    awsome tut

  20. SalahKabbani Avatar
    SalahKabbani

    Thank you so much for this tutorial really great photo and great explanation love it. 
    but i have a problem with the mountain photo , the link of this photo doesn’t work , can you please upload it again or give me another photo that could be good for the tutorial ?
    thanks

    1. SalahKabbani Avatar
      SalahKabbani

      Never mind i took it from the downloadable project :)

  21. Ayaron Avatar
    Ayaron

    I like it. 
    Thank you for your awesome tutorial.

  22. MahmoudAbdulkarim Avatar
    MahmoudAbdulkarim

    Very nice Job!
    Thanks a lot dear ^^.

  23. JohnnySteel1 Avatar
    JohnnySteel1

    Hi Guilherme, From the start of your tutorial you say to go to lens correction and distort the image to + 25,00, it distorts the image considerably !, is that right, ?, by the way it is a great tutorial,
    regards and respect johnny

    1. JohnnySteel1 Avatar
      JohnnySteel1

      Its ok, all i did was after the lens correction was used the free transform tool and adjusted the image to cover my canvas again lol, My bad..

  24. Taha Avatar
    Taha

    Can I use CS3 for this creative tutorail.

  25. Taha Avatar
    Taha

    Can I use CS3 for this creative tutorail.

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