Learn how to create this mysterious image of a newly explored space cave. This tutorial will show you how to seamlessly combine photos together, create rock carvings, smoke, and more.

Preview of Final Results

Sci-Fi Space Cave Scene Photoshop Tutorial

Tutorial Resources

• Star Field 2
• Alien Man 1
• Alien Man 2
• Hole Through the Wall
• Cosmonaut 2
• Cosmonaut 1
• Ship
• Dark Stone Field

Step 1

Open the file "Stars field". This will be our background. Let's add a Sun to it. First, create a new layer and name it “Sun”. You can put these two layers into a group named “Background” to keep your layers organized.

With the “Sun” layer selected, select the Elliptical Marquee tool and draw a small circle. Fill this circle with a light yellow color.

Add an outer glow effect using the same light yellow color. To add the Outer Glow layer style, go to Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow.

Step 2

Open the file “Hole through the wall”. Go to Select > All then copy the image to your clipboard (Ctrl/Cmd+C or Edit > Copy). Close this file and go back to the original document. Go to Edit > Paste and Photoshop will paste the image as a new layer in your document.

Step 3

Open the file “Alien man 1” and create a selection of the stone figure using any of the selection tools. Copy and paste it into your document. You’ll get a new layer with the stone. Name this layer “Upper Effigy”.

Desaturate this layer (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U or Image > Adjustments > Desaturate). Resize and position it above the wall entrance using the Free Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T or Edit > Free Transform).

Step 4

Add a Bevel and Emboss layer style (Layer > New Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss) with the settings shown in the image below.

Step 5

Create a new layer and position it as the top layer. Use the Brush tool to paint a red dot in the upper middle of the stone.

Step 6

Apply the layer styles shown in the images below to the current layer. You can access the Layer Styles window by going to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options.

Rename this layer to “Button” and place the top two layers into a group called “Effigy1”.

Here’s what our image currently looks like.

Step 7

Duplicate the group “Effigy” 6 times. You can duplicate a group by dragging the group into the new layer button in the Layers palette.

For variety, you can change the button color for each effigy by adding a Color Overlay layer style. To do this, select any one of the 7 Button layers that you want to edit then go to Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay.

Step 8

Open the file “Alien man 2” then make a selection of the central stone figure. To do this, select the Lasso tool and create a rough selection around the stone.

Next, select the Magic Wand tool and while holding down the Alt/Option key on your keyboard, click around the stone to deselect the areas.

Finally, use the Refine Edge tool (Select > Refine Edge) to enhance the selection. Use the Smart Radius feature to enhance the selection.

Copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) the selected area then close the document. Go back to the original document and paste it. Photoshop will paste this image as a new layer.

Step 9

Using the Free Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T or Edit > Free Transform), resize and position the stone like shown in the image below. Desaturate the layer (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U or Image > Adjustments > Desaturate).

Step 10

Create a new layer above the current layer then use the Brush tool to paint some bright red eyes to the dark areas of the stone figure. This will give the impression of creatures watching from the depths of the stone.

Step 11

Add a new Curves adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves). Apply a curve like shown in the image below (just click in the middle and drag down).

Step 12

Next, click on the layer mask of the Curves adjustment layer.

Use the Gradient tool to create a black to white gradient like shown below.

Step 13

To keep our layers organized, group all the layers (except for the Wal layer and Background group) into a new group called “Bw World”.

Step 14

Now let’s add the other elements to the scene. Open the file “Cosmonaut 1” and create a selection of it. Copy and paste it to our document. Next, use the Free transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T or Edit > Free Transform) and place the cosmonaut like shown in the image below.

Step 15

Next, create a new layer and move this layer below the cosmonaut layer. You can move layers up and down quickly by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+[ or Ctrl/Cmd+].

Step 16

Set your foreground color to black then use the Brush tool with a soft round brush to paint some shadows to the right of the cosmonaught (because the light source is on the left). Set the Shadow layer to Multiply then lower the opacity as needed.

Step 17

Open the file “Ship” - it’s an image of a satellite but we can use it to make a nice space exploration ship. We don’t have to worry so much about the scientific aspect of it for these types of photo manipulation.

Create a selection of the ship then paste it into the document. Use the Free Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T or Edit > Free Transform) to resize and position the ship like shown in the image below.

Step 18

Create a new layer then use the Brush tool to paint some shadows using a soft-edge brush (remember that the light comes from the left). Painting shadow is not an exact science thing but rather an instinctual thing – think where your light source it and how strong your shadow should be.

Step 19

After inserting the objects into our scene, we should make it look like it belongs there. How can we do that? Well, when I first started photo manipulations, I searched for exact recipes and solutions to this problem. There were only very specific solutions because each image is different. If you want to be good at photo manipulations and learn how to composite a scene with different images, you should be able to tackle problems like these. Let me share some tips with you:

• Match the contrast - If the scene is high contrast, then increase the objects contrast. If it is dull, decrease the objects contrast.
• Know where your light source is and treat the object accordingly. Use the Curves adjustment layers with layer masks so that you can selectively paint where you want the adjustments to appear. Don’t change the colors yet; change only the luminosity. It’s usually good practice to separate the luminosity of an object from its color and adapt your workflow to this practice.
• Change the colors of your object to match the colors of the scene. This is rather an instinctual process but if you want to be picky and precise, you can use some techniques (ex. measuring the objects and scenes light or dark point and taking further action with that knowledge in mind) – but they won’t always yield the best results. After enough practice, you will be able to feel if the colors are right or not.
• Decrease or increase saturation to add some final touches.

You can see how after all the adjustments, the objects blend well with its surroundings. I will not go into detail for every adjustments I did because it’s hard to explain every brush stroke I made in the layer masks. However, you can take a look at my adjustments in the PSD and try to replicate them yourself without copying every move I make. It’s good practice to not copy every workflow you see in tutorials – youll learn more if you take bits and pieces of it to create your own workflow.

After inserting an object from a different picture into our scene we should make it look like it belongs there. How could we do that? Well, when I first started photo manipulation I searched for exact recipes and solutions to this problem. I only found specific recipes and solutions because each image is different. If you want to be good at photo manipulation and compositing a scene with different objects than you should be able to tackle this problem well. Let me share you some tips from my experience:

-if the scene is contrasty than increase the object contrast. If it is rather dull than decrease the object contrast.

-know where your light source is and treat the object accordingly. Use curves adjustment layers with layer masks on which you can paint to selectively apply your corrections. Don't change the colors yet, change only the luminosity level. It usually a good practice to separate the luminosity of an object from it's colors and adapt your workflow to this practice.

-change the colors of your object to match the colors of the scene. This is a rather instinctual process but if you want to be picky and precise you can use some techniques ( like measuring the object and the scene light or dark point and taking further action with that knowledge in mind ) but they won't always yield the best results. After enough practice you will be able to feel if the colors are right or not.

-decrease or increase saturation and add some final touches.

You can see how after all the adjustments the object blend well with it's surroundings. I will not detail every adjustment I did because it's hard to explain every brush stroke I made in the layer masks but take a look at my adjustments and try to replicate them yourself without copying every move I make. It is good for you not to copy every workflow you see in tutorials and such but rather learn from them and make your own workflows.

Step 20

Open file "Cosmonaut 2" and create a selection of the cosmonaut. Copy and paste him into our document. Place him like shown below then add a clipped adjustment layer to lower the luminosity. You can do this by going to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. Checkmark the “Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask” option then click OK.

Step 21

Open file "Dark stone field" and place the stone field like shown in the image below.

Step 22

Add a Curves adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves) to darken the scene.

In the layer mask of this Curves adjustment layer, use the Gradient tool to create a black to white gradient like shown in the image below.

Step 23

Next, add another Curves adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves) to the left part of the scene.

In the layer mask, use the Gradient to create a gradient like shown below.

Step 24

Create a new layer then use the Brush tool, with a soft-edge white brush, to paint a light source.

Add an Outer Glow layer style (Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow).

Here’s how my layers currently look:

Step 25

Now lets add some smoke. To create this, start by creating a new layer. Name this layer Smoke. Go to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Add a layer mask filled with black (Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All). Select the Brush tool and paint around it using a soft white brush at 50% opacity.

Lower the opacity of the layer if needed.

Step 26

As a final touch, add a new Curves adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves).

Fill the layer mask with black. This layer should be your top layer.

In the layer mask, use the Brush tool to paint around the bottom right area or anywhere that you want to darken.

Final results

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