In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we will learn how to create a beautiful abstract photo manipulation applying some advance techniques of masking, lightning and the use of adjustment layers.

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Final Image

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Resources

• fairy32 – faestock
• Texture – angeltouch1
• Abstract – angeltouch1
• 15 Grunge PS Brushes – sarytah

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Step 1

Create a new file with a width of 1200 px and a height of 1500 px at 72 dpi (Dots per Inch). Background Contents should be White.

 

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Step 2

First off, let’s activate the Gradient tool (G).

Then open the Gradient editor box and input the following:

Now drag the mouse in the direction of the red arrow.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 3

Now activate the Single Row Marquee Tool.

Let’s make a new layer and name it “Line”. Now click on the canvas you can see that you have a selected part so fill it with #409cf9.

Repeat the same process and you will get something like this :

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Step 4

Now add a layer mask to our lines layer .

Now activate the Brush tool (B) using these settings :

Brush size: 400px

Hardness: 0%

Opacity: 40%

Flow: 100%

Color: #000000

Now paint over the highlighted area.

Reduce the layer opacity to 25% :

The result should be similar to this:

Now create a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from the icon at the bottom of the layers palette .

When the Hue/Saturation box opens, input the following:

Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (lines layer and Hue/Saturation) to make a clipping mask.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 5

Now activate the Elliptical marquee tool, hold down the Shift key to restrain proportions and drag out a circle as shown below, use the Paint Bucket Tool to fill it with black .

Now add a Layer style by clicking on the fxicon at the bottom of layers palette .

When the Layer style box opens, input the following Gradient Overlay settings:

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 6

Now activate the Brush tool (B) using these settings :

Brush size: 3px

Hardness: 100%

Opacity: 100%

Flow: 100%

Color: #000000

Then activate the Pen tool (P) and draw a line then right click on the line and choose Stroke Path.

When the Stroke path box opens, input the following:

Now again make a right click and this time choose Delete Path .

The result should be similar to this:

Now add a Layer style by clicking the fxicon at the bottom of layers palette.

When the Layer style box opens, input the following Gradient Overlay settings:

The result should be similar to this:

Add more lines:

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Step 7

First off, let’s open fairy32 stock in Photoshop. We will be using the Girl from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

Now go to Select > Color range :

When the Color Range box opens, input the following and click on the highlighted area :

Press V to activate the Move Tool. Left-click the image and drag the image to the main canvas and change layer name to “Girl”.

Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd +T), then while the “Girl” layer is selected, resize it as shown below:

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 8

Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and open the brush set “15 grunge ps brushes” by Sarytah. To load them, simply, right click on your canvas through any layer and then click on the drop-down button as shown below:

This will prompt the contextual menu to pop up and once you see that, just click on Load Brushes.

You will now be prompted to this directory: Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Brushes so make sure that you have put the brushes within this folder, or navigate to the folder that contains the brushes. Now locate the brush set and click OK. Right click on the canvas again using your Brush tool (B) and now you’ll notice that you have 15 grunge ps brushes.

Now create a vector mask by clicking on the Add Layer Maskicon at the bottom of layers palette.

Now this time choose any grunge ps brushes and use these settings:

Brush size: 400px

Hardness: 0%

Opacity: 40%

Flow: 100%

Foreground Color: #000000

Background Color: #000000

Now paint over the highlighted area.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 9

Now,let’s open “abstract” file in Photoshop. We will be using the sky from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

Click the “abstract” and press V to activate the Move Tool. Left-click the image and drag the image to the main canvas and change layer name to “Abstract 1″.

Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd +T), then while the “Abstract” layer is selected, resize it as shown below:

The result should be similar to this:

Now create a new Color Balance adjustment layer by clicking the icon at the bottom of layers palett . Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (Abstract 1 layer and Color Balance) to make a clipping mask.

When the Color Balance box opens, input the following:

The result should be similar to this:

Make a duplicate of abstract 1 layer (Ctrl+j):

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Step 10

Now,let’s open the High Resolution Bokeh Texture in Photoshop. We will be using the Texture from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

Click the High Resolution Bokeh Texture and press V to activate the Move Tool. Left-click the image and drag the image to the main canvas and change layer name to “Light”.

Change it’s layer mode to “Screen”.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 11

Now create a Color Balance adjustment layer which can be found by pressing on the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button shown on the layer window:

When the Color Balance box opens, input the following:

The result should be similar to this:

Create a Gradient map adjustment layer which can be found by pressing on the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

When the Gradient map box opens, input the following:

Change it’s layer mode to “Luminosity”.

The result should be similar to this:

Create a Gradient map adjustment layer which can be found by pressing on the Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button shown on the layer window.

When the Gradient map box opens, input the following:

Change it’s layer mode to “Overlay”.

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And We’re Done!

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a futuristic, metal jumping whale. We are not actually creating the metal whale, but we are using 5 stock images and a brush set, along with Photoshop’s built in tools and filters to create this stunning photo manipulation.

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Final Image

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Resources

• Lake Brienz
• Whale
• Glitter + Sparkles Brushes
• Lightning Photoshop Brushes
• Water splash – 4
• Splash Pack

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Step 1

Let’s start our tutorial by opening the image “Landscape” and making a duplicate (Ctrl + J).

Apply a 5 px Gaussian Blur to the duplicated layer.

Add a layer mask to the duplicated layer by choosing Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All.

In the layer mask paint with black over the surface of the water to mask the blurring effect and put more focus on the foreground.

Here’s how my mask looks:

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Step 2

We will be using a lot of adjustment layers in this tutorial. To create an adjustment layer simply click Layer > New Adjustment Layer and choose the appropriate one.

In this case I am going to use a Hue/Saturation so go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. If we were to use a Curves Adjustment layer you would simply go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. Got it?

Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer to change the color of the overall scene.

Here’s how the image should look now:

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Step 3

It looks a bit too saturated for me so let’s add another Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer and drag the slider to the left to lower the saturation.

The image should look like this now:

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Step 4

Now let’s darken the mood a little bit. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer and drag the curve downwards like so:

The image should look darker:

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Step 5

Open file “Whale”. Ctrl-click on the Whale layer to select it and press Ctrl + C to copy it.

Go back to our tutorial file and press Ctrl + V to paste it.

Choose the Move tool (V) and position the whale as shown below:

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Step 6

Now let’s create the reflection on the water.

Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + N) and using a Chalk brush at 10% Opacity paint a reflection underneath the whale and on the surface of the water.

Here’s how my painted reflection looks:

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Step 7

The whale emerges from the water so we should have some splashing water illustrating this.

Open the file “Water1”. Before we start doing anything we have to change some settings.

Choose the Eyedropper Tool (I) and in the Option bar (in the upper area) set the Sample Size to 5 by 5 Average.

What we want to do now is to extract the water and the some of the rippling effect from this photo. The tool that will allow us to do that in an easy way is Color Range.

Choose Select > Color Range and with the eyedropper click in the region shown below:

The Color Range window should look like this:

Click OK to finish the selection.

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Step 8

Now that we have a selection press Ctrl + J to create a new layer from selection.

Ctrl-click on the newly created layer to select it and Ctrl + C to copy it.

Go to our tutorial window and press Ctrl + V to paste it.

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Step 9

Use the Free Transform Tool (Ctrl + T) to resize and position the water as in the image below:

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Step 10

Add a layer mask to the water layer by choosing Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all. Choose a soft round brush and paint with black to remove the obvious edges and to integrate the water with the environment.

Here’s how my layer mask looks:

And here’s how the image looks:

The water looks a bit grayish so let’s make a bit brighter and whiter. In order to do this simply duplicate the water layer by pressing Ctrl + J.

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Step 11

Let’s add some additional water drops around the whale to make it look more realistic.

Open the file “Water2”.

Use Select > Color Range selection window to select the water as we did on the previous water image and press OK.
Your Color Range window should look like this:

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Step 12

Duplicate the selection by pressing Ctrl + J.

Ctrl-click the newly created layer to select it and press Ctrl + C to copy it.

Go to our tutorial window and press Ctrl + V to paste. Use the Free Transform tool (T) to resize and position the pasted layer as shown below:

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Step 13

Add a layer mask to this layer by choosing Layer > Adjustment Layer > Reveal All. Use a soft round brush to paint with black and mask the obvious edges and unwanted areas. You basically want to leave some water drops below the whale’s belly so paint with black everything but the area you want to be visible.

Here’s how it should look:

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Step 14

In order to add more drops of water around the whale simply duplicate the water layer you just masked and use the Free Transform Tool to position it where you want more water drops. Then in the layer mask paint with black or white to hide or reveal water. In my case it took 7 more duplicates of the water layer, each of them positioned at different locations around the whale and masked as I saw fit.

And here’s how my image looks like:

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Step 15

Group all those water layers you created in the previous step by selecting them (Ctrl-click each or click the first one and Shift-click the last one) and press Ctrl + G.

Add a layer mask to the group by choosing Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all and paint with black to hide unwanted water.

And here’s how my image looks:

This technique of using layer masks on groups is a very useful one when you want additional control and you work with lots of layers.

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Step 16

Let’s add some additional glitter and some lightning.

Import the sparkles brush using the Preset Manager (Edit > Presets > Preset manager) or simply double click the .abr file (it might not work on older versions of Photoshop).

Select a sparkle and set the foreground color to white. Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + N) and place some sparkles on the whale.

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Step 17

Import the lightning brush and create a new layer. Click once on the layer with a lightning brush of your choosing and use the Free Transform tool to position and resize the lightning layer as in the image below.

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Step 18

Now let’s add some volume and highlights to the whale.

Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + N) and with a round soft brush at 20-30% Opacity paint with white and black. White areas will look closer to the eye than the black ones and that’s how we will create a certain volumetric effect and add some white highlights in the process.

You should have something like in the image below:

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Step 19

We are almost done. Now it’s time to add some post-processing effects that will make the image look nicer.

Make a new layer from all visible layers by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E. Apply a 5px Gaussian Blur to the newly created layer.

Change the blending mode of this layer to Soft Light and lower the opacity to 30%.

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Step 20

In order to improve the contrast and lighten the image a bit add a Curves Adjustment Layer. Modify the curve like this:

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Step 21

In order to unify all the elements in our scene let’s add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer and change the hue to a nice blue color. Lower the opacity of this layer to 22%.

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Step 22

Finally we are going to bump up the contrast, so add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and increase the contrast setting to around 82.

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Conclusion

And that’s the end of our tutorial. Hope you like final result.

Learn how to create a super creative collage effect, using a range of photo manipulation, blending and compositional techniques in this Adobe Photoshop tutorial.

You’ll learn how to correctly extract your images, layer up various effects to create a sense of depth and detail, and create a cool sketchy hand-drawn effect for your photos.

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Final Image

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Resources

• Red 3-Mihaela-VStock
• watercolor.2
• Colored Grunge Textures
• Flowers

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Step 1

Create a new file with a width of 650px and a height of 1040 px at 72 dpi (Dots per Inch). Background Contents should be White.

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Step 2

To start off we’ll use various textures to create a subtle distressed background. First, add a group folder called “Texture”, then open “1.jpg” from these colored grunge textures . Place this within the folder, then hit Command/Ctrl + T and resize to cover the canvas. Name the layer “Texture 1″.

The result should be similar to this:

Reduce opacity to “30%”

Now add “8.jpg” as a new layer within the same folder, then hit Command/Ctrl + T and resize to cover the canvas and name it “Texture 2″.

Change the Blend Mode to Overlay and lower its Opacity to 50%.

Place “2.jpg” from the “source” folder as a new layer within the same folder. Resize and label it “Texture 3″.

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Step 3

Change the layer mode to “soft light” and reduce opacity to “45%”:

Now Create a new Color balance adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette .

When the Color balance box opens, input the following:

Now create a new Levels adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette .

When the Levels box opens, input the following: :

The result should be similar to this:

First off, let’s open the girl stock Red 3-Mihaela-VStock in Photoshop. We will be using the girl from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

press p to activate pen tool and then make a selection around the girl and then click V to activate the Move Tool. Left-click the image and drag the image to the main canvas

The result should be similar to this: .

Now create a new Curves adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (girl layer and Curves) to make a mask.

When the Curves box opens, input the following:

Now create a new Curves adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (sky layer and Curves) to make a mask.

When the Curves box opens, input the following:

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Step 4

Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (Girl layer and Curves) to make a mask.

Now create a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (girl layer and Hue/Saturation) to make a mask.

When the Hue/Saturation box opens, input the following:

Now create a new Curves adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (girl layer and Curves) to make a mask.

When the Curves box opens, input the following:

Now create a new Levels adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (girl and Levels) to make a mask.

When the Levels box opens, input the following: :

The result should be similar to this:

s

Now,let’s open the WaterColor2 in Photoshop. We will be using the texture from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 5

Change the layer mode to overlay and reduce opecity to 79%.

Now add vector mask from the bottom of the layers palette .

Now activate the Brush tool (B) with these settings :

Brush size: 400px

Hardness: 0%

Opacity: 40%

Flow: 100%

Color: #000000

Now paint over the highlighted area.

The result should be similar to this:.

Now activate the Brush tool (B) with these settings :

Brush size: 400px

Hardness: 0%

Opacity: 40%

Flow: 100%

Color: #3057e4

Now paint over the highlighted area.:

Now, change the layer mode to soft light

Repeat the same process using #dc2d30 as foreground color :

Now, let’s open the Drawing Flower Pattern in Photoshop. We will be using the vectors from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

change the layer mode to multiply and reduce opacity to 65%.

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Step 6

Now,let’s make a new layer and name it “Shape 1″ activate Pen tool and draw a shape. See as below :

Now fill it with #1a29a0 color .

Repeat the same process and add more shapes .

The result should be similar to this:

Now, let’s open the Flower 1 in Photoshop. We will be using the vectors from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas and name it “Flower 1″.

The result should be similar to this:

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Step 7

Now create a new Levels adjustment layer from the bottom of the layers palette. Press Alt+left click in between 2 layer’s (flower1 and Levels) to make a mask.

When the Levels box opens, input the following:

The result should be similar to this:

Now add more flowers to our canvas.

Now, let’s open the Flower 7 in Photoshop. We will be using the vectors from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas and name it “Tattoo”.

Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd +T), then while the “Tattoo” layer is selected resize it as shown below:

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Step 8

now change the layer mode to multiply

Now add a vector mask from the bottom of layers palette .

Now activate the Brush tool (B) with these settings :

Brush size: 400px

Hardness: 0%

Opacity: 40%

Flow: 100%

Color: #000000

Now paint over the highlighted area.

The result should be similar to this:

Now, let’s open the Blue blotch in Photoshop. We will be using the texture from this stock image so we will need to transfer it to our main canvas.

Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd +T), then while the “Snail” layer is selected resize it as shown below:

now change the layer mode to multiply and reduce opacity to 60%

Repeat the same process and add the same effect to the second eye .

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And We’re Done!

Are you interested in learning how to make realistic Scotch tape by using Photoshop tools? If yes, then I will teach you how. I got this effect by experimenting.

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Final Image Preview

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Resources

• Annestown Scenery

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Step 1

First of all create a new document sized 600 x 400 pixels. Select some appropriate color, for example #7ca213 and fill your canvas with it.

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Step 2

Open a photo and copy it to your canvas. After that use Ctrl+T to reduce it and then rotate it a little bit.

Apply Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options to this layer.

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Step 3

Now we are going to create the Scotch tape. Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to make a selection which you can see on the picture below. Create a new layer and fill the selected area with #c1cccd.

Remove the selection with Ctrl+D. Now, we need to process the Scotch tape borders. Start by selecting the Eraser Tool and use one of the standard Photoshop brushes.

Gently erase the edges to achieve a similar result to that shown below.

Set the opacity to 22% for the current layer.

Time to add some defects to make our Scotch tape look realistic. Use the Dodge Tool (Brush: 7px, Range: Highlights, Exposure: 50%) to add a few light lines.

Looks better now, doesn’t it? Then use the Burn Tool (Brush: 30px, Range: Shadows, Exposure: 100%) to darken some areas.

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Step 4

To finish off creating this Scotch tape effect, duplicate the layer using Ctrl+J and change layer mode to Overlay for the copied layer. Don’t be surprised that the layer becomes a bit brighter. It is normal. Then apply Filter > Stylize > Emboss with similar settings to these:

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Final Image

That is it – your Scotch tape is complete. You can add more tape if you want. Feel free to experiment to get the best results! Good luck!

Have you ever seen any fruits or vegetables with a face? In this Photoshop tutorial I’m going to show you how to make a realistic view collage with fruit and a human face.

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Final Image Preview

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Note: Original tutorial published on Photoshopstar.com some years ago. Tutorial was updated and now republished.

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Resources

• Bloody Pear
• Young Male Face 3

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Step 1

Open up the photo and reduce the size to 800 x 600 by using Image > Image Size.

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Step 2

Open the picture and copy it to the first canvas with fruit. Then set up opacity to 45% for this layer and use Edit > Free Transform to reduce the picture and rotate it as on my picture below.

Set the opacity to 100% for current layer again and begin cleaning with the Eraser Tool. Use a soft round brush with opacity about 30%. Remove all parts, leaving only the eyes, lips and nose.

Move the layer with the face a little bit to the left by using the Move Tool.

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Step 3

Press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer and hide the upper copy (click on the eye, which indicates layer visibility). Go to the lower layer and apply Image > Adjustments > Color Balance using these settings:

After that use Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation:

Select Burn Tool (Brush: 70px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 30%) to make some very light parts a bit darker. You should get result similar to mine on the picture below:

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Step 4

Go back to the hidden layer and make it visible again. Select the Eraser Tool and remove all content, leaving just the eyeballs and mouth on this layer.

Apply Image > Adjustments > Levels to this layer:

Select Burn Tool (Brush: 45px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 30%) again and darken the mouth area.

Select the Eraser Tool and a soft round brush with 30% opacity and do a little cleaning work on the same areas.

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Step 5

Looks good, doesn’t it? Ok, move to the next step.

We should add the pear texture to the face. Go to the background layer and make selection with Polygonal Lasso Tool as shown on my picture below.

Press Ctrl+J to duplicate the selected area on a new layer.

After that move this layer above all the layers and change the layer mode to Soft Light.

Then make some brightness and contrast corrections with Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

Select the Eraser Tool again and remove any visible borders of this texture. Borders are not very visible at the moment, but still need to be corrected. After that press Ctrl+J to duplicate the texture layer. Can you see the difference now?

Use the Burn Tool (Brush: 40px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 30%) one more time to make features clearer. And you have completed the tutorial.

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Final Image