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Home»Photo Effect»Create a Dark Human Photo Manipulation with Liquified Water Texture in Photoshop
Photo Effect

Create a Dark Human Photo Manipulation with Liquified Water Texture in Photoshop

By James QuDecember 10, 20115 Mins Read
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In this Photoshop tutorial, I will show you the steps I took to Create Liquid Human Photo Manipulation with Liquified Water Texture in Photoshop. This is an intermediate level tutorial so some steps can be tricky, but why not have a try :)

Along the way, we will be using custom water drop brush and combine it with liquify filter, as well as some vexel hair techniques. We will also be using a variety of selection techniques and some basic photo retouch tool to add extra effect to the image.

The PSD file of this tutorial is available via the PSD Vault VIP members area.

Here is a preview of the final effect I have for this tutorial: (click to enlarge)

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OK Let’s get started!

To complete this tutorial, you will need the following stocks:

Model – by GosnayStock

Water Drop Brush

Rock

Step 1

Create a new document sized 1280px  * 800px with black background. Load the rock texture into Photoshop and we will use it create a base – use the quick selection tool to select a triangle shape as shown below:

Hint: I used a 54px hard brush setting for the quick selection tool, this way we can keep the edge selection rough, as well as adding some smaller selections around the main triangle selection.

Use a soft eraser, remove the edges as well as parts of the rock to create some depth:

Also use the burn tool (20% exposure) to darken some parts of the rock:

Add the following 3 adjustment layers to this rock layer as clipping mask:

Black and White

Levels

Curves

and here is the effect so far:

Make a new layer folder and put all the previous layers into it, duplicate this folder twice and resize them to a smaller scale, attach them to the left and right edge of the main base:

Step 2

Load the model image into Photoshop, cut out the model and paste it onto our document, resize it to fit the width of the rock:

Use a soft eraser, gently remove the bottom edges so it blends into the rock texture.

Use the Dodge tool (20% exposure), Slightly brighten the hair portion:

Again use the dodge tool, set the brush size to be around 7-10px, with around 30% exposure, brighten the edges of the model as shown below:

Add the following 3 adjustment layers as clipping mask to this model layer:

Black and White

Levels

Curves

and you will have the following effect:

Step 3

Let’s add some water texture with the liquify filter. Firstly create a new layer and use a water brush you downloaded, paint some texture on the new layer, then use the liquify filter to warp it as shown below:

On the liquify filter setting, make sure you set the backdrop to use “Background”, this way you will see the black background instead of seeing the transparent the background:

You can also further apply the Twirl filter (Filter > Distort > Twirl) and add some rotating effect to the water texture:

You will have the following effect on the water texture:

Duplicate this water texture layer a few times, and scatter them around the canvas as shown below:

Hint: utilise the liquify filter, warp the water texture into different shape and size. Add the texture to different parts of the model’s body.

Add some more water texture with a smaller water brush around the model:

You can further add some water stream around the rock area for some surreal effect:

You can create a new layer under the model layer, and use a soft white brush to paint some back light around the model:

Step 4

Let’s add some vexel hair on the model for some dynamic effect. Use the Pen Tool to draw the following path:

Pick a 3px hard brush with 100% hardness:

Stroke the Path with the Simulate Pressure option turned on:

You will have the following effect after the stroke:

Use a soft eraser to remove the edge so it blends into the rest of the hair:

Duplicate this hair layer once, use the Hue/Saturation adjustment tool to adjust the lightness – this will create a layered effect for the hair:

Duplicate the hair a few more times, resize and rotate them, then attach them to the different part around the head area:

Step 5

We’re almost done :) For some final touches, we can add some cloud effect with the cloud filter (or a cloud brush) to the image:

Hint: use a soft eraser tool to remove some parts of the cloud to create depth and make some shape for the cloud.

You can also add some highlights around the feet area with a soft white brush:

I also decided to add some warm colour around the model, and here is the final effect I have for this tutorial: (click to enlarge)

That’s it for this tutorial! Hope you enjoy it and find it useful! Till next time, have a great day!

liquid human photoshop liquify filter photoshop water texture photoshop
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James Qu
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James is a seasoned Photoshop expert with over 25 years of experience, mastering the software since its 5.0 version. As the driving force behind PSD Vault, he authors the majority of its in-depth tutorials and insightful articles.

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8 Comments

  1. Reggie on December 13, 2011 3:01 AM

    I love everything about your website….as a Graphic Designer I use photoshop a lot,,( about 18 years) ….there is always something to learn…..

    Thanks

  2. john on December 17, 2011 12:45 AM

    Is only my impression or do you really love to use rock textures in your tutorials? ! It looks very nice :)

  3. PSD Vault on December 17, 2011 3:08 PM

    yes I do love rock textures :)

  4. Glennbragazza on February 7, 2012 10:41 AM

    Lovely! but you always put ‘and then i decided to add some ___’ at the end and i hae no idea how to do those things, such as in this one saying ‘
    I also decided to add some warm colour around the model’

    how would this be done (im fairly new to this)looks great!! which is why im asking lol :P

  5. photoshop image masking on June 18, 2012 3:41 PM

    Great useful tutorial. Your post is very much helpful for the designer. Very easy to follow step by step. I like your post very much. Thanks a lot for sharing !! 

  6. Kwonnie on September 23, 2012 3:56 AM

    Amazing effect but you should really go into more detail on the coloring process.

  7. Null on January 4, 2014 7:27 PM

    Get to the coloring details. Don’t skip us on that one.

  8. Billy Washington on December 18, 2017 9:33 PM

    Amazing effects ! i see the coloring details are very really nice

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