The Creation of “Thinker” Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

In this tutorial, I will show you the processes of creating this “Thinker” photo manipulation in Photoshop. We will use a model image and combine with abstract lines and a few flying stones to form this artwork. We will also be using several adjustment layers to perform the final touches.

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

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

Background texture

Model by DaeStock

Stone

Step 1

Create a new document sized 800px * 1132px with black background. Choose a texture image you like from the texture pack you just downloaded, copy and paste the texture over to our document:

Use a big soft eraser to remove the following portion from the background texture:

Add the following adjustment layer on top of the texture layer:

Black and White

Levels

and you will have the following effect so far:

Step 2

We will add the model onto our canvas in this step. Load the model stock image into Photoshop and cut out the model, paste it over to our document. Re-size and position it to the centre of the canvas as shown below:

We will also remove the following parts from the leg to create a “detached” effect:

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

Black and White

Levels

and you will have the following effect so far:

Step 3

We will add some abstract lines into the mix. Use a solid brush to paint a line on the canvas, then use the liquify filter to warp the line as shown below:

The settings for the liquify filter brush:

Repeat this process and add a few lines around the model:

Continue to add the lines around the canvas as shown below:

Step 4

We will add some flying stones around the canvas in this step. Load the stone texture into Photoshop and select a piece of stone from it:

Copy and paste the selection over to our document. Reduce its size and use a cyan brush to paint over the cracks to create some special fantasy effect:

Set this blue paint layer’s blending mode to “Overlay”:

and here is the effect for the stone:

Repeat the step above and add a few more stones around the canvas:

Use the Smudge tool to add some blurry motions for the stone, in order to create some flying effect:

Step 5

We will add some extra effect to spice up the image a bit. Use a black soft brush to paint some lines under the body as shown below:

Use a particle brush to paint some dots around body:

Apply the following Radial Blur settings to this particle layer:

And you will have the following effect:

Step 6

Ok we’re almost done! For final touches, I flattened the layer and duplicate the background layer, apply some blur to the foot area to add some motions as shown below:

Add some colours for the image with the following adjustment layers:

Selective Color

Curves

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

That’s it for this tutorial! Hope you enjoy going through it and find it useful. Drop me a comment below if you have any question.

Till next time, have a great day!