Create a Stunning Dissolving Human Portrait in Photoshop

Dive into the surreal with this Photoshop tutorial and craft a stunning Dissolving Human Portrait effect! Perfect for photographers and digital artists, this step-by-step guide will show you how to create a captivating, dream-like image where a human figure gradually dissolves into particles, blending creativity with technical skill.

Using Photoshop’s powerful tools, you’ll transform a portrait into a visually striking masterpiece, ideal for portfolios or social media.

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

Background texture

Model by eric-karr

Fire

Glitter

Step 1

Create a new document sized 1440px * 880px with black background. Load the metal texture into Photoshop and select a portion of it with the rectangular marquee tool:

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

Use a big soft eraser tool, remove the following parts from the texture as shown below:

Add the following image adjustment layers on top of the texture:

Black and White

Levels

and here is the effect so far:

Step 2

We will add the model image into our document. Load the image into Photoshop and select the model figure:

Copy and paste the selection over to our document, re-size and position it as shown below:

Apply the following “Watercolor” filter settings to this model layer:

Then add a layer mask to this model layer, use a grunge brush (you can find plenty of those on the internet) to remove the right side of the face:

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

Black and white

Levels

Curves

and here is the effect so far:

Step 3

We add a fiery eye for this model in this step. Load the fire spark image into Photoshop, select the following portion with an elliptical marquee tool:

Hint: make sure you set the feather of the marquee tool to around 15

Copy and paste the selection over to our document, re-size and position it as shown below, and set this new layer blending mode to “Hard Light”:

Duplicate this fiery eye layer twice, you will see fiery effect become more visible:

On the topmost fiery eye layer, use the Free Transform tool to warp the fire as shown below:

Then go back to the spark image, select the following area:

Copy and paste the selection to our document, re-size, rotate and position it as shown below:

Step 4

We will continue working on the fire in this step. Use the Warp tool to warp this fire line as shown below:

Go back to the spark image, use the lasso tool to select the spark portion:

Copy and paste the selection to our document, set its blending mode to “Screen”:

Move the sparks over to the fire layer and re-size it as shown below:

Repeat this process and add more fire sparks along the line, and here is my effect so far:

Step 5

We will add some final touches in this step. Load the Glitter image into Photoshop and select the entire canvas:

Copy and paste the selection to our document and place this new layer on top of all previous layers, set the blending mode to “Exclusion” and opacity to 40%:

and here is the effect you will have:

We can play with the liquify filter and add some liquid effect to the fire:

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

Advanced Technique: Consider incorporating a Double Exposure effect by blending another image into the model’s silhouette. Use layer masks and the “Screen” blending mode to achieve this

Additional Tips for Digital Effect Creation

1. Experiment with layer styles, blending modes, and filters to create unique effects.
2. Use adjustment layers non-destructively to fine-tune color and contrast.
3. Incorporate custom brushes for abstract elements and textures.
4. Try the Dispersion effect to make parts of the figure appear to scatter or dissolve.
5. Explore the Glitch effect for a modern, edgy look.
6. Use the Pen tool to create precise selections for complex compositing.
7. Experiment with Channel Mixer adjustments for unique color effects

Remember, the key to mastering digital art in Photoshop is experimentation. Don’t be afraid to try new techniques and combine different effects to create your unique style.

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!