"The Pain" - Create this Eerie Abstract Photo Manipulation

"The Pain" - Create this Eerie Abstract Photo Manipulation
pain5a

Step 6

Create a new layer and set foreground to white. Use cobweb brush, number 1064 ( or your choice) to paint on background, then transform ( hit Cmd/Ctrl+T) to do it, place it at the top right of picture:

pain6
pain6a

Continue with a new layer, I use this brush again and position it at the top left. Remember you should transform it to get a different look from the right.

pain6b

Step 7

Open model stock. Use any tools you're familiar with to make a selection around model, then copy it into a new layer. Move extracted model into our document, place her at the center:

pain7
pain7a

Add layer mask for model and use soft black brush to erase around model to make her blend with background. As you see in the screenshot, I vary brush opacity for different parts of model:

pain7b

Step 8

The model looks so saturated against the background. So I use some adjustment layers with Clipping Mask option to correct the color and brightness of model. Make a Hue/Saturation layer above model layer with settings below ( Layer-New adjustment layer-Hue/Saturation) and down saturation to -100:

pain8
pain8a

As you see, model is desaturated but lost the contrast. So I make a Levels layer ( with Clipping Mask) to fix it. Go to Layer-New adjustment layer-Levels. Change value of midtones and highlights ( down the midtones but increase highlights) :

pain8b

This is result we get:

pain8c

Step 9

I want to change the brightness and darkness on some parts of model and background so I create a new layer and use soft black brush with different opacities. Paint around background edges, model and set the mode to Soft light 50%:

pain9
pain9a

A new layer and I use soft white brush to paint on the bottom left of background as I want to brighten it a bit. I set the mode as Soft light 50%:

pain9b

Step 10

Open cobweb texture. Drag it into our picture and resize it as shown below:

pain10

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U to desaturate it as we did in step 1 and change the mode to Screen 100%:

pain10a

Add layer mask and erase any rough edges:

pain10b

Step 11

Duplicate this layer twice and place them around model. You can flip or transform it to get your desired effect. You can see my result below:

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15 comments on “"The Pain" - Create this Eerie Abstract Photo Manipulation”

  1. I think the instruction is pretty good however when I enter some of the values for the blood colors they don't look like yours ....not sure if that is because I have an older version or what.

  2. You can turn this artwork into a symbolism of the Hong Kong police force by putting the blood in one eye only.

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