Creating a Distinctive Photo Manipulation with Ice and Fire Textures in Photoshop

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

Model

Metal Image

Fire

Ice 1

Ice 2

Step 1: Enhancing the Metal Texture

Create a new document sized 860px * 1140px with black background, load the metal image into Photoshop and select a piece as shown below:

Copy and paste the selection over to our document, resize it to cover the canvas. Then apply the following Accented Edges filter to give it a special effect:

and here is the effect so far:

Use a soft eraser, remove the edges of this layer as shown below:

Add the following 3 adjustments layers on top:

Black and White

Levels

Curves

and here is the effect so far:

Step 2: Incorporating the Model

Load the model image into Photoshop and cut out the head area, paste it onto our document as shown below:

Apply the following Surface Blur settings to smooth out the skin a bit:

Use a soft eraser, erase the edges of  the face.

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

Black and white

Layer mask on the black and white adjustment layer:

Levels

Layer mask on the levels adjustment layer:

Curves

and here is the effect so far:

Step 3: Introducing Ice Texture

We will add some ice texture onto image. Load the ice 1 image into Photoshop and use the Lasso Tool to select a piece as shown below:

Copy and paste into the document, and set it as a clipping mask to the face layer:

Apply the following Crystallize filter to add some crystal effect into the ice texture:

Apply the following black and white adjustment to this ice layer:

Change the blending mode of this ice texture layer to “vivid light”:

and here is the effect so far:

Step 4: Infusing Fire Texture

Now let’s go to the fire image and select the fire with the quick selection tool.

We can then copy the fire texture over and place it under the face layer, use the free transform tool to resize it to fit the shape of the face:

Add some fire texture over the head as well:

Step 5: Adding “Dark Energy”

Now we want to give this photo some further surreal effect by adding some “Dark Energy” around the face. To do this, simply duplicate the fire texture layer once and apply the following black and white adjustment:

and you will the fire texture changed into some black/grey lines, as shown below:

We can then duplicate this layer a few times, and attach them around the face:

Step 6: Enhancing with Additional Ice Texture

We can further add some ice texture over the face. Load the “ice” 2 image (pick one from the pack) into Photoshop, and select a portion with the Lasso Tool as shown below:

Copy and paste a few of those selections onto our document, change the layer blending mode to “screen” for those new ice layers and use the free tranform tool to adjust their shape as you see fit. Here is the effect so far:

Step 7: Final Touches

We’re almost done! To fine-tune the effect, I added the following image adjustment layers on top of all previous layers:

Selective color

Curves

And here is my final effect: (click to enlarge)

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created a surreal photo manipulation by blending ice and fire textures in Photoshop. Experiment with additional adjustments and techniques to customize your outcomes further.

Additional Tips

1. Experiment with blending modes for different texture combinations.
2. Utilize layer masks to refine specific areas of your composition.
3. Explore other adjustment layers such as Hue/Saturation for colour adjustments.
4. Incorporate brushes or overlays to add intricate details to your manipulation.
5. Save your work regularly and consider creating a layer backup for experimentation.

Feel free to share your results and ask any questions in the comments below. Happy editing!