Turn any photo into a dot grid artwork with these Photoshop actions. You'll get great results with dots that change size. They get larger in brighter areas and smaller in darker areas. Free download available.
Preview of the Final Result

Tutorial Resources
Step 1
Create a new 2000x1500 px document and fill it with white. Open the forest image and drag it into the white canvas using the Move Tool (V).
Step 2
Activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to select the right of the forest path Press Ctrl+J to duplicate this part into a new layer and flip it horizontally (Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal) . Move it to the left of the forest.

Step 3
Click the second icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to add a mask to this layer. On this layer mask, activate the Brush Tool (B) and select a medium-hard round one with black color. Use this brush to erase the top of this part as shown below:
Step 4
Open the staircase image and use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select the staircase part only to add to the lower section of the main canvas. Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to erase the wall on the left and blend the right wall with the existing ground .

Step 5
Duplicate this layer and flip it horizontally. Move it to the right of the forest path and use both soft and medium-hard black brushes to refine the mask of this layer


Step 6
Come back to the original staircase image and take a part from the wall to add to the right edge of the forest to fill in the existing wall. Use the Free Transform Tool (Ctrl+T) to distort the wall part to fit the existing wall.

Step 7
Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush to blend this part with the existing surface.
Step 8
Make a new layer and use the Clone Tool (S) to remove the plants on the one of the steps on the left of the staircase.
Step 9
Select all of the staircase layers and the cloning one and hit Ctrl+G to make a group for them . Change the group's mode to Normal 100% and make a Curves adjustment layer within this group. Decrease the lightness and on this layer mask, use a soft black brush to remove the dark effect on the upper of the staircase.

Step 10
Open the pagoda image and isolate the pagoda only to add to the far middle of the background.. Add a mask to this layer and use a hard black brush to erase the unwanted detail on the top right of the pagoda and a soft black brush to reduce the lower's visibility of the pagoda.

Step 11
Make a Curves adjustment layer above the pagoda one and set it as a Clipping Mask. Increase the lightness to make the top of the pagoda look like in the haze. On this layer mask, use a soft black brush to reduce the effect on the bottom.
5 comments on “How to Create a Mysterious Forest Scene with Adobe Photoshop”
fantastic work learnt lot more from this tutorial, thanks a lot.
Must have been my app, I see them now, thanks
Glad you figured it out. I believe you were on page 3 instead of page 1.
Hi, sounds good but where is the first part? This begins with step 32.
Awesome