In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create an abstract artwork of a woman in with modern geometrical elements. You’ll learn how to work with abstract elements, make lighting effects, enhance contrast and color and more.
Create a new 1300×1300 px document in Photoshop and fill it with white. Hit Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer and press G to active the Gradient Tool. Select Linear Gradient and pick the colors #b62741 and #2e3b9f. Drag a line from the top to the bottom of the canvas and you should have a similar result like below:
Step 2
Make a new layer and fill it with black. Click the second icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to add a mask to this layer. Select a soft round brush with black color with the opacity about 10% to paint on the middle section .
Step 3
Create a new layer and use a soft brush with the color #6db1bd to paint on the middle. Change this layer mode to Hard Light 100%.
Step 4
Add a new layer and use a soft brush with the color #885ca9 to paint around the canvas. Change this layer mode to Color 50% and add a mask to this layer. Use a soft black brush with the opacity about 10-15% to remove the color effect around the middle.
Step 5
Create a new layer and activate the Custom Shape Tool (U). Select Circle Frame and pick the color #63a1ec to draw a shape on the middle of the canvas.
Double click this layer, choose Drop Shadow and set the color of shadow to black.
Step 6
Duplicate this layer and change the color of the shape to #360955. Right click this shape layer, choose Clear Layer Style and use the Move Tool (V) to move it to the left a bit.
Change the mode of this layer to Overlay 50%:
Step 7
Duplicate this shape layer and change its color to #ec63bd. Move it to the right of the first one and change the layer mode to Overlay 30%. Add a mask to this layer and use a soft black brush with the opacity about 20% to erase the left of this circle.
Step 8
Duplicate this layer and move it a bit to the left. Change the color of the shape to #ec6663. I’ve changed the mode of the shape to show the original color.
Continue duplicating this layer and use the Free Transform Tool (Ctrl+T) to make it a bit smaller. Move it to the left of the existing circles and alter the shape’s color to #431070. Change this layer mode to Normal 100% and add a mask to this layer. Use a soft black brush to erase around the shape to make some shade for it.
Step 9
Open the model image and drag it into the main cans using the Move Tool. Place it in the circles’ area and add a mask to this layer. Use a hard black brush to remove the background and most of the body of the model, leaving the head and a part of the neck and shoulder visible inside the circles.
Step 10
Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation and set it as Clipping Mask. Reduce the Saturation values to -32:
Step 11
Make a Color Balance adjustment layer and change the Midtones settings:
Add a Curves adjustment layer and increase the lightness.
