40 Useful Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Manipulation

Home Photoshop 40 Useful Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Manipulation

40 Useful Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Manipulation

Robert Luke

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September 24, 2009

Since our last Photoshop tutorial, Photoshop Tutorials: Compilation of some stunning text effects, we got so much positive feedback that we decided to put together another collection of tutorials concentrating on photo manipulation. In this post, you’ll find everything from Pencil Sketching Effect to Creating A Slow Motion Bullet Shot Effect in Photoshop. Now the hard part will be deciding which of these amazing tutorials you will use in your next creations. Hope you enjoy!

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Creating an Abstract Watercolor Wallpaper

There are plenty of ways to create a Watercolor Effect in Photoshop. Some are very cheesy and you can easily tell that a simple filter has been used. In this tutorial, we will be using Layer Masking. - Author: Rahul Jha — There are plenty of ways to create a Watercolor Effect in Photoshop. Some are very cheesy and you can easily tell that a simple filter has been used. In this tutorial, we will be using Layer Masking. – Author: Rahul Jha

How to Apply Textures to Uneven Surfaces

Applying texture to a flat surface, or flatly applying a texture across a whole image (as a means to age it or degrade it) is simple stuff. Realistically applying a texture to an uneven surface is much more hands-on... - Author: James Davies — Applying texture to a flat surface, or flatly applying a texture across a whole image (as a means to age it or degrade it) is simple stuff. Realistically applying a texture to an uneven surface is much more hands-on… – Author: James Davies

How to Turn Humdrum Photos into Cinematic Portraits

... if you work on a project that requires a stunning shot without the stunning photography, you'll be able to cobble something together using your mad skillz! Author: James Davies — … if you work on a project that requires a stunning shot without the stunning photography, you’ll be able to cobble something together using your mad skillz! Author: James Davies

Adding Texture to the Skin

Basically, in this tutorial I’m going to be showing you how to add texture to the skin... - photoshopstar.com — Basically, in this tutorial I’m going to be showing you how to add texture to the skin… – photoshopstar.com

Photoshopping Obama ‘Hope’ Posters

President Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster is one of the most recognisable pieces of street art of all time and in this tutorial you’ll learn how to apply the same effect to your own photo using nothing but Photoshop. - photoguides.net — President Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster is one of the most recognisable pieces of street art of all time and in this tutorial you’ll learn how to apply the same effect to your own photo using nothing but Photoshop. – photoguides.net

Quick Pencil Sketching Effect in photoshop

Sketching with hand is a gift. If you don’t have, no need of worrying. There is always Photoshop to help you out with making this effect. - psdguides.com — Sketching with hand is a gift. If you don’t have, no need of worrying. There is always Photoshop to help you out with making this effect. – psdguides.com

How to turn Tom Cruise into an alien

A lot of people have asked how I do a lot of my characterizations and weird aliens, so I thought I’d finally sit down and write a tutorial. - Author: Johnrmcconnell — A lot of people have asked how I do a lot of my characterizations and weird aliens, so I thought I’d finally sit down and write a tutorial. – Author: Johnrmcconnell

Post Production Tutorial 3

Another tutorial from our on going Post Production series, this time we’ll be creating a dreamy portrait effect.

How to Mold Paint Splatter to a Face in Photoshop

n this tutorial, we'll learn how to take splattered paint Photoshop brushes and apply them to the contours of a model's face. Author: Justin Van Genderen — In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to take splattered paint Photoshop brushes and apply them to the contours of a model’s face. Author: Justin Van Genderen

Photoshop Tutorial: Make smashing glass effects

Master a convincing shattering-glass effect that has dozens of applications with this brilliant technique from Mark Mayers.

Handy Techniques for Cutting Out Hair in Photoshop

When trimming out images in Photoshop, human hair or animal fur always proves troublesome and can be tricky to achieve a realistic look. Here are two techniques I use - Author: Chris Spooner — When trimming out images in Photoshop, human hair or animal fur always proves troublesome and can be tricky to achieve a realistic look. Here are two techniques I use – Author: Chris Spooner

Manipulate Smoke to Create Hyper-Real Images

Learn to apply the Warp Tool effectively and a few other tricks to make smoke look like a skull. - Author: James Davies — Learn to apply the Warp Tool effectively and a few other tricks to make smoke look like a skull. – Author: James Davies

How to Create a Flaming Photo Manipulation

In this tutorial, we'll manipulate a picture so it looks like a woman burning in flames. Author: Jayan Saputra — In this tutorial, we’ll manipulate a picture so it looks like a woman burning in flames. Author: Jayan Saputra

Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect

Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect — How about a fun effect for your incredibly boring photo albums? Creating a old comic book effect for your photos is easy and the results are visually appealing. More fun is achieved when adding captions to your photos using comic book fonts and design elements.

Create an Asian Inspired Illustration with Impact

Create an Asian Inspired Illustration with Impact — While creating things from scratch is an awesome way to showcase your style and technique, using stock photos is an easier way to add impacting detail to your work. – Author: Alex Beltechi

How to Create a Severed Arm in Photoshop

How to Create a Severed Arm in Photoshop — In this tutorial we will be learning how to create a severed arm with fleshy stumps and strings of sinew. This will be created by using some basic Brushes and Layer Masks. Let’s get started! – Author: Simon Rudd

How to Create an Imaginative, Magical Painted Scene

How to Create an Imaginative, Magical Painted Scene — In this tutorial, we will be using several basic tools and stock images to create a fantasy artwork where everything seems to come alive from what is being painted on an old piece of paper. Let’s get working! – Author: Johnson Koh

Making of the Imaginary Paint Dancers

Making of the Imaginary Paint Dancers — I came across the amazing set of Paint Tossing freebies from Media Militia the other day and thought that I must create some artwork with them. So I visited my favorite Mjranum’s stock gallery again and done up this tutorial. Hope you will like it. – By Johnson Koh

How to Create a Sparkling Fantasy Photo Manipulation

How to Create a Sparkling Fantasy Photo Manipulation — In this tutorial, we’re going to create a photo manipulation using different techniques. We’ll be adjusting each layer and element to make a compact final image. We’ll be using multiple photos and a handful of effects to create this work. – Author: Oliver Cereto

Create dynamic distortion effects

Create dynamic distortion effects — Bring velocity and meltdown to your subjects with a little Photoshop magic. By Doucin Pierre

Create a Sleek Illustration that Fades from Line Art to Color

Create a Sleek Illustration that Fades from Line Art to Color — In this tutorial, you will work with a few images you chose and you will create a nice looking illustration. The idea behind this illustration was to create a war between reality and line art. I tried to make this one simple, but at the same time to make it look good. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and try it with your own tools and stock. – Author: Constantin Potorac

Dazzling Dance Photo Manipulation

Dazzling Dance Photo Manipulation — In this detailed and lengthy Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to combine photos and add special effects to turn a normal photograph into a stunning artwork. You will also learn several tricks to reduce your Photoshop document file size and number of layers and layer styles. – By Denny Tang

Making of a Scary Mental Hospital Scene

Making of a Scary Mental Hospital Scene — Making of a Scary Mental Hospital Scene – By Johnson Koh

How to Create a Steampunk Style Illustration in Photoshop

How to Create a Steampunk Style Illustration in Photoshop — Go simultaneously backward and forward in time with this Steampunk tutorial. The main focus, aside from the style of course, is fusing elements from different sources together to create a cohesive whole. There are many tricks to this end and we shall be looking at light sources, shadows, and image grading. – Author: James Davies

Making of a Forest Magical Scene

Making of a Forest Magical Scene — Making of a Forest Magical Scene – By Johnson Koh

The Making of a Robotic Frog

The Making of a Robotic Frog — Half robot, half frog. In this tutorial, I am going to show how I took a regular frog and opened him up to reveal a mechanical skeleton. – By Meowza

Photoshop Tutorial: Create A Slow Motion Bullet Shot Effect

Create A Slow Motion Bullet Shot Effect — In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to make a nice bullet shot effect. I decided to use a technological object such as a remote control to show a lot of tiny parts flying off after the impact: the circuit board, the buttons, a few chips…via pxleyes.com

Manipulating a WW2 Fighter Aircraft

Manipulating a WW2 Fighter Aircraft — In this tutorial we will be learning some indispensable techniques to use for any type of photo-manipulation. We will be doing this by taking a photograph of a model plane and editing it to to look like a photograph of a WW2 spitfire which has just been shot down and is on fire. – By Ross Aitken

Space Explosion Photoshop Tutorial

Space Explosion Photoshop Tutorial — Digital space art is one of the most inventive and beautiful art genres of this era. This tutorial shows you how to create your own space scene using three stock photos and Adobe Photoshop. The majority of the effects use the brush tool, layer effects and the filter gallery. You may want to set aside an hour or two before starting this tutorial because it requires quite a bit of work to accomplish. So get those creative juices flowing and let’s get started! – by Tyler Bramer

Photo Strip (Photoshop Tutorial)

Photo Strip — This is a Photoshop tutorial on how to create a beautiful photo film strip, as seen in Apple’s iLife package design (’06 version) and DigitalMash website. The warp tool will be used to create the twisting effect (so, you need Photoshop CS2 or above to complete this tutorial). With the completion of this tutorial, you will be able build a photo strip with your own photos or artwork. Don’t miss out this fantastic feature! – Via webdesignerwall.com

Create a Realistic Blueprint Image From a 3D Object

Create a Realistic Blueprint Image From a 3D Object — In this tutorial, we’ll create a a quick mock-up of a 3D car blueprint. Then we’ll place it on an image of a drafting table. This time we’ll use a particular Photoshop 3D Render Mode to create this awesome effect. Let’s get it started! – Author: Alvaro Guzman

How to Add Flaming Decals to a Modern Car Design

How to Add Flaming Decals to a Modern Car Design — This tutorial will explain the steps needed to turn this boring Prius into an awesome street racer. This tutorial is aimed at intermediate users of Photoshop, those who know most of its basic tools and how to use them. – Author: Kyle Pero

Create a Catastrophic Tsunami, Impacting the Statue of Liberty

Create a Catastrophic Tsunami, Impacting the Statue of Liberty — Create a Catastrophic Tsunami, Impacting the Statue of Liberty – Via webmediamagazine.com

Design an Awesome Watercolour Style “City on Cloud” Artwork in Photoshop

Design an Awesome Watercolour Style “City on Cloud” Artwork in Photoshop — In this tutorial, I will show the steps I took to create this really cool, watercolour style “City on Cloud” Artwork in Photoshop. I was experimenting the new brushsets and textures I downloaded today and thought I could combine them together and see what result they can bring. – Via psdvault.com

How to Create a Photo Manipulation of a Flooded City Scene

How to Create a Photo Manipulation of a Flooded City Scene — In this tutorial, we will learn how to manipulate a simple photo into a flooding torrent of a scene. We’ll use some relatively simple techniques to give this image a semi-realistic, stylized feel. Let’s get started! – Author: Andrew Gardner

How to Create a Dark Surreal Illustration in Photoshop

How to Create a Dark Surreal Illustration in Photoshop — First of all, I would like to thank Toma Alin Gabriel for collaborating with me in creating this wonderful piece. In this tutorial we are going to create a dark surreal illustration using a few techniques and a handful of images. – Author: Constantin Potorac

AHHHHH! Oy! Alien Invasion! A Photoshop Tutorial..

Alien Invasion! — Time again to talk about aliens! No, not the illegal kind. The green kind! What better way to kickoff the summer spirit than with explosions, death rays, and a little stormy weather – thanks to our friend, Photoshop. – By Craig Henry

Use a 3D Model to Create a Dramatic Scene in Photoshop

Use a 3D Model to Create a Dramatic Scene in Photoshop — For this tutorial you’ll need Photoshop CS3 Extended, as the tutorial utilizes that version’s unique 3D Tools. You will import a three-dimensional object of an airplane and use it to create a dramatic scene. – Author: Alvaro Guzman