Easy Way How To Create Forsaken Street Photo Manipulation

In this Photoshop tutorial you’ll learn how to create really natural forsaken street from very usual street photo. Go through these steps really carefully, because every each of them is really important for outcome result. You’ll learn here how to combine different photos together, add water in perspective, colorize your artwork to make it look good and realistic and much more.

I hope you’ll enjoy this tutorial as I did and feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand something! Let’s get to work!Final Outcome:

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe photoshop
• Version: CS3
• Difficulty: Advanced
• Estimated Completion Time: 4 hours

Preparation

Things we’re going to use:

• Venice street by ashesmakebeauty
• Cracked earth texture by cgtextures.com
• Akgae texture by FantasyStock
• Moss texture by cgtextures.com
• Grunge texture by stuckdumb
• Concrete texture by FantasyStock
• Wall texture by shadowh3
• Pond image by TimeWizardStock
• Pond texture by cgtextures.com
• Sky by Skybase
• Grass brushes by Archeleron
• Grass texture by cgtextures.com
• Ivy and tendril brushes by midnightstouch
• Dust brushes by AeneaKeats
• Light beam brushes by redheadstock

Step 1 – Removing all the signs of life

Open up the Venice street image in blank document and save it with different name. First thing we see is that there are many people in picture which we have to remove. Duplicate the original background layer and name it “Background”. Use the Clone Stamp Tool (S) and Brush Tool (B) to remove people and other details from the picture. Use soft brush around 5-15 pixels. Because we’re going to apply some textures for the street and buildings you don’t have to be so precise. Something like this will work just fine:

Step 2 – Applying textures to street

Open up Image 1 from Cracked earth texture. Go to Select > All to select canvas. Next go to Edit > Copy. Open up Psd with Venice street in it, create new layer and go to Filter > Vanishing point. Apply the texture to the street. If you don’t know how to use Vanishing Point I recommend to read Getting to Grips with the Vanishing Point Filter tutorial. Texture doesn’t have to be perfect. Use Clone Stamp Tool (S) to make it fit the street. Then apply the texture layer Layer Mask and using 5-10 pixel hard brush paint over the needless areas. Finally set the layer to Multiply. Leave Opacity to 100%. Name this layer “Cracked earth”.

Open up Algae texture and place it above cracked earth texture. This time I’m not gonna use Vanishing Point because it ruined whole image. Resize texture using Free Transform (Ctrl+T), dublicate it about 10 times so filling the whole street area. Then merge these layers using Ctrl+E. Name this layer “Algae texture” Now we’re going to do one interesting thing for lazy people just like me. Remember that we applied layer mask to previous texture and made it fit the street perfectly? So as we don’t want to do it again let’s create Clipping Mask. To do that make sure that you have “Algae texture” layer above “Cracked earth” layer. Then click the right mouse button on “Algae texture” layer and select Create Clipping Mask. For final touches set the layer to Multiply, leave Opacity on 100% and clean up ugly spots using Clone Stamp Tool (S) with large soft brush.

Step 3 – Cutting out buildings

Extract the building out of background. That will improve texture adding to buildings. I prefer Pen Tool (P), but you can use whatever you want. Try to not include TV antennas or flags. Try to cut out the
top of the buildings carefully, but at the button follow your texture path. The bottom part will not be so smooth and precise, but that’s alright. Name the cutout “Building cutout”.

Step 4 – Applying textures to buildings

Open up Image 1 from Moss texture and place it above “Building cutout” layer. Resize texture using Free Transform (Ctrl+T) and dublicate it couple times. Move these layers on the middle and right side buildings. Leave left side clear. Then using Ctrl+E merge all dublicated layers into one. Again make this layer as a Clipping Mask to the “Building cutout” layer. You can read about setting up Clipping mask in Step 2. As we can see there are some white areas because we didn’t cut out buildings so precisely. That’s ok. Select Clone Stamp Tool (S), set Sample to All Layers and using small soft brush clone these white areas. Finally set the layer to Multiply, Opacity 85% and name it “Moss texture”.

Open up Grunge texture and place it above “Moss texture” layer. Resize it using Free Trasnform (Ctrl+T) and dublicate couple times. Merge these layers using Ctrl+E. Set this layer as a Clipping Mask of “Moss texture”.

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation > Check “Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask” and set the following settings:

Do the same thing with Curves:

Finaly set layer to Overlay and set Opacity to 50%. Name layer “Grunge texture”.

Now let’s apply some textures to building on the left side. Open up Concrete texture and using Vanishing point apply the texture. Place the layer above “Grunge texture’s” Curves layer and make Clipping Mask. Set it to Overlay. Set Opacity to 70%. If it’s neccesery use Dodge Tool (O) and Burn Tool (O) to make shadows or highlights. Name layer “Concrete texture”.

Using the same methods apply Image 1 from Moss texture and Wall texture. Again if neccesery use Dodge Tool (O) and Burn Tool (O). Name these layers “Moss texture” and “Wall texture”. Set “Moss texture” to Multiply and 90% Opacity, and “Wall texture” to Soft Light and 75% Opacity.

Step 5 – Creating water

Let’s add some water to our road. As you know water is always horizontal, but it also circumfuse objects like buildings and so. Here’s an example of wrong and right water drawing.

As you can see water doesn’t go just horizontal. It circumfulses buildings. Chechk out columns and other similar prominences. If object is closer, draw the water little bit lower. If object is further, draw the water little bit higher. In sum that’s kinda all. I’m not an expert, but with those simple rules you should be able to draw something believable and good looking. So let’s begin. We don’t want to create a lots of water like it’s in example. We just want to make something similar like swamp. So the water won’t be very deep and blue. It will be very shallow and dirty. Water is always with solid edges, so for selection you should use Pen Tool (P) or Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Draw the selection and create a new Group. Go to Layer > New > Group and name it “Water”. Then add Layer Mask to this Group. If you did everything right, you should have something like this now:

Then create a new layer into this group and fill it with #46747b. Set layer to Overlay. Leave Opacity to 100%. Create a new layer and fill it with #47897c. Set it to Color and Opacity to 25%. Open up Pond image and place it above both color layers. Set it to Overlay and set Opacity to 45%. Open up Image 1 fromPond texture and using Vanishing point apply the texture. Place layer above “Pond image”. Set it to Soft Light and Opacity to 75%. Name layer “Pond texture”.

Step 6 – Adding details

Let’s add some better looking sky. Download Sky, place it under the “Building cutout” layer. Delete the sky on the water and try to place them as shown below:

Let’s add some grass to our buildings. Download Grass brushes, select green color on color picker and carefully brush on the windows and other similar areas. Name this layer “Grass”.

Then open up Image 1 from Grass texture, resize it (Ctrl+T), dublicate couple times, merge layers together (Ctrl+E) and set as Clipping Mask for “Grass” layer. Set it to Overlay and leave Opacity to 100%. Name this layer “Grass texture”.

Add Hue/Saturation for “Grass texture”.

Then download Ivy and tendril brushes and make the same effect as you did with grass. Work in zoomed in area so you can apply brushes precisely. Don’t be scared to overplay, because in picture zoomed out the ivy won’t be very visible. If it’s neccesery use Burn Tool (O) or Curves.

Now let’s remove shadow from the road and the reflection from the windows. Use Burn Tool (O) and Dodge Tool (O) with large soft brush with exposure about 20%. For removing shadow you must select “Background” layer and for the reflections “Building cutout” layer.

Let’s add some smoke to our picture. Download Dust brushes, create a new layer, select color similar #e1eec7 and start brushing. Brush around water and at the bottom of picture. Set layer Opacity to around 15%. Name this layer “Dust”.

Now we’re almost done. For better loneliness effect let’s add some light beams. Download Light beam brushes, create a new layer, select color #fbffd2 and try to place brush as shown below:

Then find “Building cutout” layer and click on it while holding Ctrl. That will load building selection. Then select Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and set it’s mode to Substract From Selection. Draw a square along building edge on left side so the selection remains like this:

Then select the layer with sun beam in it and hit Delete. Use Eraser Tool (E) with large, soft brush to make sun beam with soft edges. Set layer opacity to 25% and name it “Sun beams”.

Step 7 – Color effects

Using Layer > New Adjustment Layer command apply following color effects: (On the images there is blending mode and opacity)

Conclusion

For the final effect let’s apply some sharpen. Before doing that chechk out if everything’s alright. If neccesery use Dodge Tool (O), Burn Tool (O), Eraser Tool (E) in some layers. To make sharpen create a new layer and go to Image > Apply Image. Then go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp mask and use the settings below:

I also used Curves:

And we’re done. I hope you learned something new and you’re pleased with the tutorial.