Learn how to create this windy photo manipulation of a woman leaning on columns with deteriorated flags. You’ll learn how to combine images, manipulate them to fir the windy scene, and work with lighting and shadows.

Preview of Final Results

Tutorial Resources

• Model – Elandria
• Columns – Elandria
• Flag1 Flag2 – Elandria
• Mountains – Burtn
• Sky – Salsolastock
• Sky – Kuschelirmel-stock
• Rock – the-strawberry-tree
• Brushes – Jonasdero
• Brushes – illustrum

Step 1 – File

Go to file and select the option New, use the size Height 2000px and Width 2000px

Step 2 – Neutral Base

You can use something like this to have a base for the image.

Step 3 – Model

Go to file and select the option Place, this will show you a new window and you can choose the image of the model.

Step 4 – Select

To select the model, you can use the Pen tool or Lasso tool.

Step 5 – Add layer mask

Go the bottom of the layer’s menu and choose the option add a layer mask.

If you apply the layer mask correctly you will have something like this:

Step 6 – Sky

Place the image of the sky.

Change the color of the layer pressing Ctrl+U. Reduce the saturation to -50 and lightness to -25

Step 7 –Layer Mode

Change the layer setting from normal to overlay and set the opacity to 60%

Step 8 – Mountain

Place the mountains

Step 9- Gaussin Blur

Go to the menu filter and choose the option Blur and then Gaussian Blur. Use 5px of radius

Step 10 – Layer mode

Set layer mode to overlay and use the opacity in 65%

Step 11 – Orange

Create a new layer Ctrl + Shift + N and set it in soft light mode, then pick a soft round brush with warm tones, (brownish) and paint over the layer. Also remember to configure the brush to pen pressure. You have to paint with a lighter in the middle and then becoming darker in the borders

Remember where is the light coming from, the layer in the image above is set to normal.

Layer in soft light mode

Here is the color palette you can use.

Step 12 – Rock

Place the image of the rock and re size it to fit the model.

Step 13 – Selection

Like before select the rock with the lasso tool and add a layer mask to hide the undesired parts

Step 14 – Color layer

Place a layer of a sky

Go to filter- Blur- Gaussian Blur- and apply 90px of radius to the image.

Step 15- Soft Light

Change layer mode to soft light

Step 16 – Orange

Now like before in a new layer paint with a soft round brush over the image, this time with orange and yellow tones.

Layer in normal mode

Layer in soft light mode

Step 17 – LIght

With some brushes you can create the light coming from the sky

Change layer to soft ligth

Step 18 – Ruins

Place the image of the ruins.

Then as before select the columns and add a layer mask to hide the rest

Step 19 – Model

Change the model position, to do this, press ctrl+T the free transform option to make the model smaller and make her fit with the image.

Step 20 – Details

Go to the layer mask from the model and erase some parts.

Step 21 – Skin

Select model’s skin with the lasso tool and duplicate the layer pressin ctrl+j

Step 22 – Saturation

Press Ctrl+U and change the saturation of the model’s skin to -20

Step 23- Light

TO make the skin a little lighter you need to duplicate the layer one more time (ctrl+j) and change layer mode to screen and change the opacity to 30%

Step 24 – Eyes

Paint the model’s eyebrows and eyes to give more life to her.

Step 25 – Make up

This depend on your style but basically you need to add some eyeshades liner and some fine white highlights.

You also can add blush in the cheeks and some lipstick

Step 26 – Hairs

For this hairs is better if you have a tablet, if you don’t you can try with your mouse and the pen tool.

With a soft round black brush make hair strands. Remember to set the brush to pen pressure, also the brush size has to be 1px.

Make some more

Step 27 – Hair

You have the base of the hair, so now you have to fill with more hair to give a natural look.

In a new layer with a soft round brush (2px size) with a brown tone, (you can pick the same in the model’s original hair with the eyedropper tool) then start painting strands with undular movements keep the pressure really soft.

First make big strands and then with different tones, make smaller highlights and shades to the hair, also you can apply some blur to the tips of the hair

Step 28 – Shadow

Create a new layer between the columns layer and the model to create the model’s shadow. Paint with a soft round black brush around the model.

Step 29 -Stone

Pick one of the foliage brush from the pack of Jonas de Ro brushes, and paint some yellow flowers, also you can fill some spaces with the rock brush. The result has to be something like this

Step 30 – Plants

Pick a grass brush and paint around the columns to make some vines around them.

Step 31 – Shadows

Like before with a soft round black brush paint in the bottom of the model and the stone to create the shadow, you can add some gaussian blur if you think is necessary

Step 32 – Flags

The original image of the flags is this ones

Like before using the lasso tool and then applying the layer mask to hide the rest, leave only the flags like this:

To make then fit the image press ctrl+t to modify the size and the position of the flags

Step 33 – Old

Tear the flags, using the layer mask make the brush really small and hide some parts of the flag

Repeat the process with the other one and apply a motion blur on this last flag. Go to filter blur Motion blur angle 38 and distance 20pixels.

Step 34 – Flags Lighting

Select the flags and in a new layer apply a gradient in each flag, remember each flag has to be in a different layer

Change layer to soft light, and for the first flag the one that is closer use 70 of opacity and 60 of fill. And for the other30% of opacity

Step 35 – Brown

In a new layer paint over the model and columns to give a brown tone to them

Now change layer mode to soft light

Step 36 Shadow

In a new layer piant with a soft round black brush over the model to create shadows near the column. Use the layer in soft light mode.

All the area of the right of the model

Step 37 – More shadows

You can create a new layer and this time paint with a bigger brush with less opacity (30%) all over the model to make the blending. Remember use the layer in soft light mode, and reduce the opacity of the layer if you think is necessary.

Step 38 – Details

In a new layer pick a soft round brush with a yellow tone and paint where the light reflects. Also you can add some more shadows with black.

Remember to paint soft and reduce the opacity to 50%

Step 39 – Adjustment Layer

Go to the option layer then adjustment layer and then choose the option color lookup, pick the option fall colors and reduce the opacity of the layer to 40%

That’s it

Final Results

About the Author

Thank you so much for reading this tutorial, I hope this is helpful for you all. If you want to check more of my art go to www.andygarcia666.deviantart.com! Also you can find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/andygarcia666

– Andrea García