While grunge has its origins in the 90s, recently the style has been gaining in popularity once more. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a dirty, urban-style image using both well-known techniques as well as a few new ones. You will learn to easily extract complex shapes and we will also create our own grunge texture.
What We're Making
This is the final image we will create:
Preparation
This tutorial is very stock-heavy. Since the basic theme of the image will be "music," I gathered a few stock images from iStockPhoto. I suggest that you also choose a theme and gather a bunch of stock images you think will be useful before you start creating the image. Here are links to the ones I used: Girl, Speakers, Boombox
Step 1
Before we start with the stock, we will quickly create a texture for later use.
So create a new document. I used 800 x 600px for my canvas size. Make sure your foreground color is black and your background color is white. You can simply press D on your keyboard to do that.
Add a new layer and go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Choose the following settings: Amount 50%; Distribution = Uniform; Monochromatic = On. After that, use Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush with settings: Brush Size = 2; Brush Detail = 8; Texture = 1.
Now again, add some noise by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and use the previous settings. Then use Filter > Artistic > Paint Daubs with the settings shown in the screenshot:
Step 2
Now use Filter > Brush Strokes > Splatter with Spray Radius = 20 and Smoothness = 5. Your image should look like this:
Step 3
Go to Select > Color Range, choose Highlights, hit OK, and you will see that random areas in your texture are now selected. We will delete them by pressing Delete. Also, delete the background layer and you're done with your texture! Save it, we'll use it later.
Step 4
Now we will just cut out all the images that we will use for our further work and save them.
You can do that by using the Pen Tool (P). If you have a complex shape that you want to select accurately (i.e. hairstrands), then fear not because I will show you a very useful technique in the following steps.
The model in the stock photo I'm using has very fine hair strands. We want to select her body shape while also accurately selecting the fine hair strands. In order to do this, go to the Channels palette and identify the channel with the highest contrast between the model and background. In this case, I chose the green channel and duplicated it. Make sure the channel is selected and not hidden.
Step 5
Our goal is to make a selection of the model. The model should be solid black and the background as white as possible. With that in mind, we need to paint the headphones and the model's top solid black, as they are too bright. So trace around those parts and fill the selection with solid black.
Step 6
Press Ctrl+M to open up the curves window and drag the two controllers further together to raise the contrast between model and background. You might need to repeat this a few times. In the end there may still be some bright parts. Quickly trace around them and fill them with black.
Step 7
If you're satisfied with the result, Ctrl-click the channel to make a selection. Press Shift+Ctrl+I to invert the selection or go to Select > Invert. Now click on the RGB channel and copy+paste the selection into a new 800x600px file. Voila! You have selected the model with all the fine hairstrands.
Step 8
We want to give the model a distressed look. Desaturate the model (Shift+Ctrl+U) and duplicate the layer. Set the duplicated layer to Multiply and make sure it's on top. Select this layer, open up the curves window again (Ctrl+M), and raise the contrast until you like the result.
Step 9
Desaturate the other images, add them to the model, and make a nice composition.
Step 10
For the next step, we will use some damaged paper as a texture. Just scan some crinkled paper or try to make a picture with your camera. You can download my paper texture here.
Step 11
Paste the texture above our image and set the layer style to Multiply. If necessary you should also desaturate it and raise the contrast a bit. Flatten the image and make a rough selection of the objects, like below:
Step 12
Paste the selection into a new file and add the texture we made in the beginning. Set the Opacity of the texture to 15% so it's more of a background effect.
Fill the background layer of the new file with a color of your choice to give the image more life by making the paper cutouts really contrast out from the background. I also added some notes that I quickly scribbled by using a small, round brush and then followed the same paper texture technique.
Don't forget to add drop shadows to your objects. This way they will look like they were cut out of paper and pasted on top.
Step 13
Next I've added some halftone effects and swirl brushes as well as some splatter brushes. If you don't know how to make halftone effects, check out Sean's Halftone Tutorial. For swirl/splatter brushes go to DeviantART or Brusheezy.com. Besides that, I added an image of a cityscape. You can find some great scapes for free at Sxc.hu. When you find an appropriate image, desaturate the cityscape, boost up the contrast and set it to multiply to get the effect in the final image below.
Conclusion
I am sure that the textures you created and used during this tutorial will be very useful for some of your following projects. I also believe that the new technique I showed you to extract complex shapes will also help you in your further work. You might have realized that we didn't necessarily need to cut out the hair so exactly, since we pasted the model to a plain white canvas. However, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to show you this technique :-)
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )chandan March 14th
Awesome again.
( )spasquini March 14th
Really nice step-through tutorial. Some interesting techniques inside!
Thanks
( )appox March 14th
Really nice
( )Arnaud March 14th
Very cool effect.
I test this week end
( )Salva March 14th
good one!
( )pica March 14th
always nice to turn on your computer in the morning and find stuff like this in your rss
( )great as always
giackop March 14th
like it very much.. thanks..
( )David March 14th
looks good!
( )KvaShi March 14th
Thank you very much
( )Xavier March 14th
Really great effects! Love it
( )Shane March 14th
I really like this style of image, halftone usage and so on – nice tutorial.
Thanks Markus. Hope everyone at PSDTuts has a nice weekend!
( )Chee March 14th
The skyline behind is SINGAPORE!
( )Jason March 14th
Wow! Love the effect! Very inspirational
( )Cheears March 14th
This is fantastic, Markus! It’s not just a photoshop.
( )It’s your creativity in photoshop.
Keep it up. We need to see more this type of work.
FullAperture March 14th
Sweet looking color scheme. The swirls are a nice touch. Great job!
( )OriginMaker March 14th
Really nice artwork!
( )Markus March 14th
Oh! It looks like the tutorial Sean made, but still not the same!
Great! ( My name is also Markus :b)
( )x0n March 14th
wow… I was thinking about that collage style like… 5 minutes ago, then I get on this site and There’s this new tutorial…
Crazy..
Nice work btw…
( )Douglas March 15th
Amazing tutorial!
BTW, about the splat brushes, I’ve made some great splat brushes for Photoshop that you can download at my DeviantArt’s brushes account: http://oilusionista-brushes.deviantart.com/gallery/
See ya.
( )Wouter March 15th
WOW hot
( )Niall Doherty March 15th
Wow. Love the technique for cutting out the model with the fine hair strands preserved perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the great work.
( )b00m March 15th
good work.
( )Tagy March 15th
Great technique..Great tutorial..Great outcome..
( )Thanxx Markus
Mark Abucayon March 15th
great job doing this tut.
( )Erika March 15th
The link to Smashing Magazine at the top is incorrect. Looks like it might’ve been pasted twice.
( )tom March 15th
this one sucks!!!
( )Zach March 15th
some really interesting techniques, i really liked the city scape technique. simple, and cool.
( )Eduardomatica March 15th
WOW! Demasiado bueno!
Muchas Gracias, I like it!
Thanks.
( )Shane March 15th
Hi Collis,
hope you don’t mind me saying here, but the link to Smashing Magazine on the post list page that leads to this post is incorrect.
Cheers,
( )Shane.
das_1980 March 15th
Has anyone else got stuck when creating the texture in step 1. I have followed the steps to the letter but when i do the fresco filter with the suggested settings it all goes wrong. I have followed the rest of the steps but it’s just not working out, any suggestions?
( )Renato March 15th
Muito bom
( )Ben Griffiths March 15th
Some interesting effects there, thanks
( )Markus March 15th
Hey, sorry it is not the “Fresco” filter but the “Dry Brush” filter ( Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush )
That should solve your problem!
Also, I hope Collis reads this so that this will be changed in the tutorial.
I really apologize for that, it was kinda late when I started writing!
( )dakeat March 15th
I ran into the same unexpected turn with the texture steps. If you increase the contrast (somewhat significantly) on the clouds via Levels or Channel Mixer, you will better match his final results.
( )goldenthunder March 15th
that is awesome. i love it! thanks!
( )Terry March 15th
i came here to see the hot asian chick… and more or less like the tut…
grunge may be back, but it is in the hot topic vein of “pop art”. i like the layout and focus here.
( )details March 15th
nice one. i also love how you’re encorporating keyboard shortcuts. thanks!
.details.
( )Arnaud March 15th
I have test, its very simple and cool
( )Collis March 15th
Hey guys! Fixed the filter typo, thanks for the update Markus!
Also fixed the link I accidentally pasted in five times over lol
Sorry about the two errors guys! Great tutorial Markus!
( )Joshua Michie March 15th
This is just awesome! I’m totally gonna use this!
cheers!
( )daniel lopes March 15th
really cool!!!
( )VectorCars March 15th
Amazing technique. Good
( )VectorCars March 15th
Cooool!! Thanks very much Markus.
( )LEO March 15th
bravo!!!!!
( )[C]antwo March 15th
Thanks! Good tut
( )^^
Paulo Sales March 15th
amazing concept…nice tut
( )congrats Markus
bweb March 16th
great job
( )Jenny March 16th
Oooo I REALLY like this one. Great idea!
( )computer jobs March 17th
very nice and unique artwork
( )DudeZilla March 17th
One of the best ..
( )Atro March 18th
Thank you for sharing this. Beautiful Artwork
( )web design cheltenham March 19th
brilliant style – some of the techniques you used are top notch. cheers
( )Katalog Stron March 19th
I really like this kind of art. Thanks for tutorial.
( )W@Di March 20th
Очень краÑиво, люблю такой Ñтиль!
( )Robert March 20th
Trop pérav ! t’as découvert photoshop hier toi non ?!
tu t’éclates comme un hamster dans une boule ! Yeahaaaa !
( )Cady March 24th
sry i got lost at step 5 =[
( )marrie1129 March 31st
i love it so much ,it give a means to creat new things
( )marrie1129 March 31st
很喜欢他,她给我一ç§æ–°çš„设计手法,这里我觉得ä¸ä»…仅给的是教程,而是一ç§è®¾è®¡æ‰‹æ³•,而ä¸åƒæœ‰äº›æ•™ç¨‹,åªæ˜¯æ‰‹æ³•çš„积累,SO LOVE IT ,THANK YOU
( )Sharing Best Practices! April 4th
Great tutorial as always, thanks for sharing.
( )pxl_chic April 12th
this was fantastic..i used what i learned and ended up making a flyer for my friends band!..you rawk!..thanks for the tut!
( )Geoserv April 19th
STUMBLED!
Another fantastic tutorial.
VOTED for you at:
( )http://www.newsdots.com/design/psdtuts-photoshop-tutorials-and-links-creating-an-urban-style-piece-of-artwork/
Bayu April 24th
Design yang cantik . . . Jadi banyak belajar nich trima kasih yach, i hope you understand what i say btw thanx for your great design
( )Reza farshbaf May 3rd
Great tutorial! I would love to use it in my current joomla template for church websites.
( )North_country_boy May 13th
Cheers! this tut is really cool! nicley done!
( )Prostoi Max May 14th
Very good tutorial. Interesting techniques & really great work!
( )Somendra Goswami May 20th
Its very nice creativity.
( )me May 26th
The Tutorial is very good, the composition/color/artwork total great.
But I don’t get the swirl brush thing…
The pinky swirl thing u did is definetly not just a brush…-.-
anyway really good =)
( )andrea June 13th
http://www.partytimerent.com/
SOme one its making money…..
( )Ray June 13th
slow clap!! very very nice…eye popping!
( )Mansoor July 24th
Thanks for Posting.
( )Excellent Tut.
justhat1girl August 9th
Awesome tutorial! It was really helpful! I used it here: http://justhat1girl.deviantart.com/art/Punk-Rock-Lovestory-94209580
( )Designvn September 18th
Cool tut ! Thank you for share !
( )Raymond September 19th
Thank you for sharing your grunge tutorial especially your selection technique. It worked great for me. Thanks!
( )Jinsey October 10th
Great!
( )Great!
Great!
Great tutorial!……………………………………………………………………………….;)Tq for sharing.
Liya November 8th
Okay, I’m already stuck on the first step. If my “artistic” brushes are not options, what do I do? I can’t continue until I figure this out.
Some days I’m too dense for words!
( )Jemma November 12th
Hi can anyone help a damsel in distress?
Is there a step missing between Step 5 and Step 6??
There is a box on the as the picture of the woman that says “Create vector mask, Delete path, Define custom shape, Make selection….â€
Where are the instructions of where to find these menus. I tried without them and only got ONE black line in the curves window from bottom left to top right and NO curves.
Has anyone tested this tutorial as I couldn’t go any furhter
( )Ross Varrette January 7th
this is sick!!!
( )Eugenio February 3rd
Truly amazing, thanks a lot for the masking part, i’m gonna use it a lot!
( )Abhimanyu Jain February 8th
Cannot be compared with your artwork though…
but here is mine
http://whizkid86.deviantart.com/art/Retro-Love-story-112264114
I really liked working on it
( )thanks A lot!!
Korgana February 9th
Hi..i’m new at using photoshop, so it was a little messy at first!! (while trying to do the right thing with the girl) but at last it worked perfectly!! thanx a lot!!
( )Santiago February 19th
Thank you for the tut.
http://santidiablo.deviantart.com/art/Kaley-113292612
( )JIm February 24th
Really nice work
hey vj
( )vaj February 24th
yoooooooooooo jimmy boy, what’s up, how you doin’?
( )Multidesign February 25th
Very nice.
( )luisjulio March 8th
Oh bro that impressed me.
( )Martin Nandwa March 14th
Quite impressive…
( )nazra April 8th
Trully awesome!
( )libor April 30th
great…
( )iddaa May 8th
Wow. Love the technique for cutting out the model with the fine hair strands preserved perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the great work.
( )whizkid May 19th
Another try…
http://i39.tinypic.com/qzgakx.jpg
Thanks!!
( )inc June 6th
Thank you
very very nice tutorial
cheers
( )MayilKannan.k August 27th
it is very very nice and usefull to me
( )MayilKannan.k August 27th
good and nice
( )j_marreros September 9th
thanks Markus, good work
( )emma September 23rd
great job
( )Sarah Elizabeth October 23rd
yea thanks for showing how to do the easy stuff and tell us to go different places for the cool hard part. =(
( )