How to Create Dramatic Sci-Fi Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

In this tutorial you'll learn how to use different blending modes to professionally blend images, you'll see different ways of adding lights and shadows and discover the way how you can add realistic fire to your pictures. Let's get started!

Preview of Final Results

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Dramatic Sci-Fi Photo Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial

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Resources

• Background, sky, clouds, rock, woman, hand- Pelleron-Art
• Flames - 1, 2, 3
• Helicopter
• Cloathing
• Sword
• Moon
• Mist Brushes
• Smoke Brushes
• Hair Brushes
• Bird Brushes

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Step 1 - Preparing Background

Download the picture of background and open it in Photoshop. Double click on the name of the layer and rename it to BACKGROUND. It's a good habit to name all your layers properly because it's easier to orient in them later.
Let's make the very first adjustment. Right now the picture has very low contrast. To fix it add new adjustment layer Levels. You can find the button Add new fill or adjustment layer in the bottom part of the palette Layers. If you don't see this palette go to Window > Layers or simply press F7 on your keyboard.

Set the Input Levels on 43; 0,80; 216.

Your image should look like the one below so far.

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Step 2 - Cleaning Foreground

In this step you'll remove roofs in the trees in foreground because they're quite disturbing.
Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it e.g. CLEANING FOREGROUND. Grab the Stamp Tool (S), select some soft round brush and set the Opacity on 100%. Remove the roofs which are circled in the picture below.

If you're not familiar with how to use the Stamp Tool (S) I recommend you to read some tutorials about this excellent tool. Time spent with learning about this tool is definitely worth it.
Be careful to not to use the same source spot all the time to avoid the repetitive pattern you could get. Below you can see the example of correct and wrong cloning.

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Step 3 - Adding Sky

Download the picture of sky and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place it on the top of all layers and name it SKY.
To blend the layer with the rest of the image change its Blending Mode from Normal to Multiply and lower its Opacity on 70%. You can find both these options in the upper part of the palette Layers.

As you can see on the following picture the upper part of the sky is blended properly. But the bottom part needs some adjusting. You'll fix it in the following step.

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Step 4 - Blending the Bottom Part of Sky

As I already said the bottom part of the sky needs to be blended better. Right now it causes that the city on the horizon is too dark which doesn't look believable. There is also very sharp transition between the added sky and the rest of the image. You'll fix both in this step.
You could use the Eraser Tool (E) to give away the unwanted parts of the sky but I would recommend you to avoid this solution. If you use the Eraser Tool (E), the erased parts are lost for good and you can't let them reappear if you need.
I've got better solution for you - layer masks. If you use them you don't erase or delete some parts, you just hide them and you can let them reappear any time you want, which is very practical. Especially for photo manipulators.
Make sure that the SKY layer is active - just click on it. And then add layer mask by clicking on the button Add layer mask in the bottom part of the palette layers.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and lower its Opacity on about 30%. Pick black color and paint over the areas of sky you want to make invisible. To get the inspiration where to paint you can take a look at the following image. Areas which should be hidden are red highlighted.

Note to how layer masks work: If you want to hide something paint over it with black. If you want to make it visible again paint with white. E.g. 50% grey color makes the picture 50% invisible etc..

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Step 5 - Making Sky More Dramatic

I don't know how you but I really like drama in my pictures and drama often means high contrast. That's why you'll increase contrast of sky in this step.
Add new adjustment layer (same as in step 1) Levels above SKY and set the Input Levels on 37; 0,68; 218.

You want to adjust only the sky and not the rest of the image. To achieve that you'll create clipping mask from this adjustment layers.
Right click on the Levels adjustment menu and choose the option Create Clipping Mask.
On the following picture you can see the order of the layers so far.

And there is how your image should look like so far.

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Step 6 - Details in Sky

Left side of the sky is kind of boring right now. It's just big grey area without any details. You'll make it more interesting in this step.
Download the picture of cloud and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place it on the top of all layers and name it CLOUDS.
To blend it properly with the rest of the sky you need to do two things - first change the Blending Mode and second make soft transition with use of layer mask.
Let's start with changing the Blending Mode. Change it from Normal to Luminosity and lower its Opacity on 75%.

Now add layer mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and lower its Opacity on 30%. Pick black color and paint around the edges of the layer to create nice, soft transition. On the following picture you can get inspiration where to paint. It's highlighted with red again.

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Step 7 - Adding Flames

If you look at the preview picture you see that the whole city is in fire. You'll burn it in this and some of the following steps.
Download some picture of the flames listed in the beginning of the tutorial and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place it on the top of all layers. You need to blend it and change its size to fit to the rest of the image.
It would be really hard and time consuming to blend the flames with using of layer mask and the Brush Tool (B). Luckily there is really quick and effective way. Because flames have black background you can blend it easily by changing its Blending Mode from Normal to Screen. Black becomes invisible.
To resize the picture go to Edit > Free Transform or press Ctrl + T. By dragging some of the small squares in the corners resize it on the size you want. Press Shift while resizing to remain constant proportions.

In preview picture there are several elements which direction is affected by the direction of wind - smoke, woman's coat and hair and also flames. To make the scene realistic all these elements should have the same direction as wind.
To adjust the direction of flame move with the square in the direction of the narrow shown in the picture below.

Step 8 - More Flames

Use the process described in the previous step and add more flames.
To make the whole picture more realistic try to add variation to the flames. You can achieve that by using all stock photos of flames listed in the beginning of the tutorial, not only one even if it's quicker. You can also change shape of the flame by using the Warp tool.
To activate the Warp Tool go to Edit > Transform > Warp. The grid appears. You can adjust its shape and the shape of the flame.

To apply changes press Enter on your keyboard.
On the picture below you can see where you can place the other flames.

To make working with all the layers easier merge all layers with flames into one layer and name it FLAMES.

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Step 9 - Smoke

If there is fire there is usually also some. You'll add it in this step.
Download the smoke brushes listed in the beginning of the tutorial and install them into Photoshop. If you don't know how to install brushes you can read this tutorial, where it's explained well.
Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it SMOKE. Grab the Brush Tool (B) and select one of the brushes you've just installed. Lower its Opacity on about 80% and select some dark grey (not black) color. Now simply paint the smoke.
Keep in mind to paint it in the same direction as flames are burning. To add more variety to smoke change the brushes. You can also change the Master Diameter of each brush to make different size and also if you want use Warp tool same as in the previous step to change shape of some flames.
Below you can see how your picture should look like so far.

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Step 10 - Helicopters

To have more details in your photo manipulation you'll add some helicopters in this step.
Download the stock photo of the helicopter and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place in under the layer FLAMES. Resize it on proper size and name the layer e.g. HELICOPTER. To blend it properly with the rest of the image cut out the background. To do that use whatever method you're comfortable with, e.g. the Lasso Tool (L).
After that duplicate the layer three times. To duplicate it right click on in and simply select the option Duplicate layer.
Place the three other helicopters on the same place as you can see in the preview picture. Resize them similarly as you've already done it in this and previous step. And flip two helicopters horizontally. To do that go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.
On the picture below you can see the result of this step.

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Step 11 - Mist

To create bit more enigmatic atmosphere you'll add mist above the river in this step.
Download the mist brushes. I used the ones listed in the beginning of the tutorial but feel free to use any other which are free. Install the brushes into Photoshop.
Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it MIST. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some of the brushes you've just installed, set the Opacity on 100% and pick some light grey color from the sky.
Avoid using pure white color because it's usually too harsh and doesn't look well in pictures. Try to use some softer alternatives such as light grey, light yellow etc. It's the same case with black.
Below you can get the inspiration where to paint fog.

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Step 12 - Adding Rock and Woman

Background is almost done, let's focus on the foreground. This will be very quick step. Download the picture of stone and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place the layer on the top of all layers and name it ROCK.
Do the same with the picture of a woman. Place it on the top and name it, surprisingly, WOMAN.

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Step 13 - Adding Hair

Because of all the wind woman's hair should be flying. You'll do it in this step. Download the hair brushes listed in the beginning of the tutorial and install them into Photoshop.
Create new layer on the top of all layers and name it HAIR. Grab the Brush Tool (B) and select some of the hair brushes you've just installed. Press Alt on your keyboard to activate the Eyedropper Tool (I) and select some very dark brown color from woman's hair. Paint hair similarly as on the following picture.

As you can see the painted parts are bit darker than the original hair. It's intentional because the overall hair should be bit more darker to look better.
Add new layer and name it e.g. DARKER ROOTS. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick some basic soft round brush and set its Master Diameter on 1 pixel. Lower the Opacity on 40% and paint hair on the top of the head. It would be easier if you have tablet but you can achieve the same result with mouse with bit practice.
Below you can see what you should paint.

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Step 14 - Details on the Coat

If you look closely on the coat you may notice that its bottom part looks kind of weird. You'll make it better looking in this step.

Download the stock photo of the clothing and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place it on the top of all layers and name it CLOTHING. Resize it on proper size by pressing Ctrl + T on your keyboard and rotate it if necessary.
Add layer mask, grab the Brush Tool (B) and select some hard brush. Increase the Opacity on 100% and pick black color. Than hide carefully all parts of this layer except the parts which are above the woman's coat. Below you can see what I mean.

To blend it better with the rest of the coat lower the Opacity on 70%.

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Step 15 - Changing Hand

The woman on the final picture is holding a sword. But right now if you look at the picture she seems holding something else. If you add the sword now it wouldn't look realistic. That's why you'll change the entire hand in this step.
Download the photo of hand from the list in the beginning of the tutorial and drag it into your photo manipulation. Name this new layer HAND and place it on the top of all layers.

You need to hide the original hand because right now it looks really weird. Add new layer under the layer HAND and name it e.g. REMOVE OLD HAND. Grab the Stamp Tool (S) and clone the trousers instead the old hand. Below you can see what you should get.

Step 16 - Adding Sword

Download the picture of the sword and drag it into your manipulation. Place it under HAND but above REMOVE OLD HAND and name it SWORD. Resize it and rotate it to get the same look as on the final picture.
Here you can see the progress after last two steps.

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Step 17 - Adjusting Highlights

All main elements are already placed in the manipulation. Now it's time to focus on creating more dramatic lighting because right now the image is flat and not so much interesting.
Let's focus on creating highlights first. Add new adjustment layer Levels on the top of all layers and set the Input Levels on 0; 2,83; 255.

You want to make only some parts of the image that light. Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), pick black color and fill the layer mask with it. The whole adjustment disappears. Now you can let it appear only on parts you want. To do that grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and set the Opacity on about 10%. Pick white color and paint over the areas which should be lighter.
On the picture below you can get the inspiration where to paint. These areas are highlighted with red.

As you may notice the highlighted areas are around the flames, in the clouds where light from the fire may shine and on the tops of the trees - basically everywhere where light from fire could hit.

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Step 18 - Adjusting Shadows

Let's move on shadows. By adjusting them you'll be able to add more volume to clouds and create vignette to create more depth.
Add new adjustment layer Levels on the top of all layers and set the Input Levels on 0; 0,19; 255.

You want to adjust only some parts of the image again. Because of that you need to fill the layer mask of this adjustment layer with black. Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), pick black color and fill it.
Grab the Brush Tool (B), use the same setting as in the previous step and start painting shadows. Below you can see where you should paint.

On the following picture you can compare how the picture looks before and after last two steps.

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Step 19 - Light of Fire

There should be some orange light in the picture around flames. You'll add it in this step. On the following photo you can see how the buildings look before this step.

Not much realistic isn't it?
To make it more real you'll add two types of light - one very soft and diffused and one sharper.
Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it FIRE LIGHT. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and set the Opacity on about 20%. Hold Alt on your keyboard to activate the Eyedropper Tool (I) and pick some nice orange color from flames. Paint gentle diffused light around the flames (see the photo below for example).
After you're done make Master Diameter of the brush smaller (2 - 4 pixels) and higher its Opacity on about 50%. Paint thin orange lines on the edges of buildings. Below you can see exactly what I mean.

Paint the same way around all flames you put in the image. Below you can see few more examples to give you the idea of what to do.

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Step 20 - Increasing Contrast of Background

According to me background would deserve bit more contrast. To increase it add new adjustment layer Levels and set the Input Levels on 23; 0,93; 235.

You don't want to adjust the woman. To avoid that make selection of woman - press Ctrl and click on the Layer thumbnail of WOMAN.

It activates mask of the woman.
Click on the layer mask of the adjustment layer Levels you've just added (with mask of woman still activated). Grab the Brush Tool (B), set the Opacity on 100% and pick black color. Paint inside the mask to hide the adjustment there.
Below you can see how your image looks so far.

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Step 21 - Global Adjustments

Blue and cyan tones would suit better to the atmosphere of this picture. You'll add them in this step.
Let's start with gentle desaturating. Add new adjustment layer Hue/Saturation on the top of all layers and set the value Saturation on -25.

For colder color palette add new adjustment layer Color Balance on the top of all layers and set it as shown below.