Design a Dark and Crimson Forest Scene in Photoshop

Posted on December 21st, 2008 under Photo Effect, it has 24 Comments and 33,830 Views so far.

In this tutorial, I will show you the processes I used to transform an average forest Photo into a Dark and Crimson Forest Scene, inspired by the Japanese Survival Horror Playstation game “Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly”.

We will explore various layer blending options, an interesting way of rendering light and various image adjustment options.

Here is a preview of the the final result:

Ok let’s get started!

Step 1

Download this image off the net and use it as a starting point of this tutorial.

Load the image into Photoshop and duplicate the background layer. Set the blending option of the duplicated layer to “Hard Light”.

Step 2

Duplicate the background layer again and put this duplicated layer on top of the one in the previous step.

Hit Ctrl + U to bring the Hue and Saturation Image adjustment tool, apply the following settings:

Change the layer blending option to “Soft Light” and keep all other blending options unchanged.

Here is the effect so far:

Step 3

Create a new Hue and Saturation Adjustment Layer (see below for detailed path)

Apply the following Hue and Saturation Settings:

The effect so far will look like this:

Step 4

This is an optional step. Personally I feel the image is a bit saturated and feel a bit hard. So i decided to add some softness to the image and desaturate it a bit.

To desaturate the image, duplicate the “Background Copy 2″ layer, hit Ctrl + Alt + Shift + B to bring up the Black and White image adjustment tool, apply the following settings:

Still on this layer, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply the following settings:

Here is the image so far:

Step 5

Now we can add some butterflies on the image. Create a new layer called “Butterfly” and load the “Special Effect Brushes” brush preset (see image below for details):

Paint some butterfly on the image as shown below (be aware that your result may look slightly different to mine because the brush dynamics).

Hint: User the Eraser Tool with 50% opacity and flow to erase some parts of the butterfly to create some depth. You may also hit Ctrl + T to bring up the free transformation Tool to adjust the shape of the butterfly a bit.

After painting the butterflies, set the layer blending option of this layer to “Color Dodge”:

Step 6

We can add some extra lighting effect to image. To do this, create a new layer called “lighting”, use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to make a selection. Fill the selection with black colour:

Maintain the current selection, go to Filter > Render > Fiber and apply the following setting:

Hit Crtl + T to bring up Free Transformation Tool, rotate the selection as shown below:

Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and apply the following settings:

After rendering motion blur, change the layer blending option of this layer to “Overlay” and you will have the following image:

Ok let’s it for this tutorial~ You may add some more lighting effect, adjust the colour balance, or test applying some more texture onto it! Always remember not to limit your creativity!

Here is my final image for this tutorial:

If you have any question, simply drop me a line!

Thank you very much and have a nice day!

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24 Comments

Lucas Says:
animal
verygood…..
Daniel Says:
My god, very very good tutorial… keep going with this stuff man:) I really like it
Sumithra Wijayantha Thilakarathna Says:
NICE WORK….
sukhi Says:
Its an exellent tutorial i loved it thanks….
as i was reading it I found a Mistake in ur writings under step 6 u said go to filter > render > motion Blur At render it should be blur
James Says:
Thanks Lucas, Daniel and Sumithra~ Glad that you guys enjoy it!
James Says:
Hi sukhi, good point! I will correct it right now! thanks very much!
EMMANUEL Says:
IT WORK PERFECTLY IN MY PROJECT THANKS!
James Says:
No problem EMMANUEL~
Jen Says:
For some reason i cantget the Black and White image adjustment tool to come up. Is thre another way to get it up?
James Says:
Hi Jen, you may have an earlier version of Photoshop which doesn’t have the black and white adjustment tool. You can get around this by desaturating the image first, then use curve tool to adjust the contrast.
Hope this helps :)
Ben Thompson Says:
Interesting article. I found some more information here
nikhil Says:
This what I need
many many thanks
sulafa - kuwait Says:
u r the best
its very good tutorial
Business Cards Says:
Your wide range of skills is evident in all your different tutorials. I’m sure your tuts have helped a lot of people. Your creativity and imagination is inspiring. Excellent work!
Seifer Says:
Really Simple and Easy!
I liked it :)
FilthyInsomniac Says:
i was just wondering I’m running Photoshop7.0 and the black and white tool does not come up and neither does the fiber option are these associated with newer PS?
James Says:
@FilthyInsomniac: yes, those options are linked to the newer version. WIth the black and white, you might be able to get around it by using Channel mixer “with monochrome” option enabled.
MudiW Says:
VERY good tutorial, can you please please provide the psd or mail me the psd of your final result?

Thanks.
Fyhring4 Says:
I like your tutorials..
taryarL Says:
့i’m a big fan of fatal frame (ps2)
i love this one most :)