Close Menu
PSD VaultPSD Vault
  • VIP Area
  • Photoshop Basics
  • Photo Effect
  • Text Effect
  • Premium Tuts
  • Resources
  • Drawing
  • Inspiration
  • Web Graphics
  • Abstract
  • Freebies
  • Advertise
  • Get in Touch
  • About PSD Vault
Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube TikTok
Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube TikTok RSS
PSD VaultPSD Vault
  • VIP Area
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
  • Photoshop Basics
  • AI
  • Photoshop Error Fixes
  • Video Tutorial
  • Photo Effect
  • Text Effect
  • Premium Tuts
  • Drawing
  • Opinion
PSD VaultPSD Vault
Home»Photo Effect»Design Surreal Concept Manipulation with Alien Structures in Photoshop
Photo Effect

Design Surreal Concept Manipulation with Alien Structures in Photoshop

By James QuSeptember 11, 20215 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

In this Photoshop tutorial, I will show you the steps I took to Design this Surreal Concept Manipulation with Alien Structures in Photoshop. This is an intermediate level tutorial so some steps can be tricky, but why not have a try!

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

The idea for this manipulation is that I would like to create some sort of out-of-this-world structure (alien alike) and add it to a open space (desert, dry land) with dark sky. Overall, these objects create a surreal feeling and a fantasy environment.

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

PSD Vault VIP Membership

You can download the PSD File for this tutorial via the VIP Members Area for only $6.95/Month (or less)! You will not only get this PSD File, but also 200+ other PSD Files + Extra Goodies + Exclusive Photoshop tutorials there. Signup now and get exclusive!

OK Let’s get started!

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

Desert

Sky

Tree

Female Model

Cliff

Step 1

Create a new document sized 1440px * 700px with black background. Load the desert image into Photoshop, select the sand portion of the image, copy and paste it onto our document, resize it to fit as as shown below:

Duplicate this desert layer once and apply the following reduce noise filter (filter > noise > reduce noise) to this duplicated layer:

And you will add some soften effect to the sand texture after applying this filter:

Add a layer mask to this duplicated desert layer:

and you will fade the top edge of the texture, as shown below:

Add the following 2 image adjustment layers:

Black and White

Levels

and you will have the following effect:

Step 2

Load the sky image into Photoshop, select a portion and paste it onto our document, above all previous layers:

Fade out the bottom edge with the layer masking technique mentioned in step 1:

Add the following 2 image adjustment layer as clipping mask to the sky layer:

Black and White

Layer Mask on black and white adjustment layer:

Levels

Layer mask over levels adjustment layer:

and here is the effect you will have so far:

Step 3

Let’s add some surreal structure into the image. I decided to manipulation a tree image and turn it into some sort of alien style object. So load the tree image into Photoshop, use the quick selection tool to select a portion as shown below:

Copy and paste the selection onto our document, resize and position it as shown below:

Erase the edge with a soft eraser:

Add the following 2 adjustment layers as clipping mask to this tree layer:

Black and white

Levels

Layer mask on the levels adjustment layer:

You will repeat this process and add a few more tree texture onto the bottom of this Alien structure:

Step 4

I decided to add one more tree texture on top of the first one, just to create a break-apart effect. So go back to the tree stock image, select another piece and paste onto our document:

You will notice I apply some liquify filter effect to this layer, to create a flowing effect around the edge:

Add a Black and White adjustment layer as clipping mask to this layer:

and here is the effect so far:

We can add some particle effect to the image – Go back to the tree image and select some small pieces with quick selection tool:

Copy and paste them over to our document, resize them to a very small scale, place them under the second tree layer:

Step 5

Load the model image into Photoshop and cut it out:

Paste and resize the model, position it under the tip of the structure as shown below:

Add some light above the model image just to create some surreal effect:

Step 6

Load the cliff image into Photoshop, select the small rock in the sea and cut it out:

Paste it onto our document, reduce its size a bit with free transform tool:

Use a soft eraser to erase the bottom edge, so it blends into ground texture:

Duplicate this rock layer once and flip it horizontally, reduce the size of the duplicated rock a bit and move it to the right:

Step 7

We’re almost done! Flatten the image (don’t forget to save first) and duplicate the background layer, apply some unsharp mask filter to it:

Mask out the following area on the sharpened layer:

Add some cloud around the structure to add some dramatic effect with either cloud brush or filter:

Hint: use free transform and eraser tool to adjust the cloud shape and size.

and here is the effect so far:

I then further added some colour effect onto the image, and here is the final effect I have: (click to enlarge)

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

alien structure photoshop photo effect tutorial surreal concept manipulation surreal photo manipulation
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
James Qu
  • Website

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.

Related Posts

Create Colourful Fiery Portrait in Photoshop

May 7, 2025

How to Swap Faces in Photoshop Quickly & Seamlessly

May 2, 2025

How to Use Photoshop’s AI Content-Aware Crop for Perfect Image Transformation

April 26, 2025

2 Comments

  1. Kbharathbg on April 23, 2012 5:34 PM

    Its just Awesome Tutorial Great…..Thank you.

  2. wid on May 4, 2012 3:28 PM

    I just love this kind of photo manipulation….great result!

Don't Miss

How to Resize Images Without Losing Quality in Photoshop 2025

May 17, 2025

The Beginner’s Guide to Photoshop AI Masking Tool

May 10, 2025

Curves or Levels: Choosing the Right Tool for Stunning Edits

May 9, 2025

For Beginners

Basics

How to Resize Images Without Losing Quality in Photoshop 2025

By James QuMay 17, 20255 Mins Read

Curves or Levels: Choosing the Right Tool for Stunning Edits

May 9, 2025

Photoshop Clipping Masks – Everything You Need to Know

May 8, 2025

10 Photoshop Blur Gallery Tricks That Will Make Your Photos Look Professional

April 26, 2025

You May Also Like

Photo Effect

Create Colourful Fiery Portrait in Photoshop

By James QuMay 7, 20254 Mins Read
Photo Effect

How to Swap Faces in Photoshop Quickly & Seamlessly

By James QuMay 2, 20253 Mins Read
AI

How to Use Photoshop’s AI Content-Aware Crop for Perfect Image Transformation

By James QuApril 26, 20255 Mins Read
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • About Us
  • Get in Touch
  • Advertise
  • VIP Area
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
© 2025 PSD Vault. All Right Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}