In this tutorial, we will learn how to manipulate a simple photo into a flooding torrent of a scene. We'll use some relatively simple techniques to give this image a semi-realistic, stylized feel. Let's get started!
How to Create a Photo Manipulation of a Flooded City Scene
Jul 20th in Illustration, Photo Effects by Andrew Gardner
Final Image Preview
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Video Tutorial
Our video editor Gavin Steele has created this video tutorial to compliment this text + image tutorial.
Step 1
With the main image opened, use the Clone Stamp tool to remove any unwanted entities, like the elderly couple walking. Try and clone areas around the couple so it doesn't look odd and mix your usage of soft, and heavy round brushes to define those edges.
Step 2
Next you will want to cut around the edges of the roof tops so we can add in our stormy sky. Use the Polygon Lasso Tool for this. Don't worry about accuracy, as we'll be blending everything later, just make sure that the sky is cut out. Once selected, unlock the "background." Now double-click the layer, then rename it to "backdrop" and hit Enter. Delete the sky.
Step 3
Open the Stormy Sky image and place it underneath your "backdrop" layer. Then press Command + T to Free Transform), hold Command while you drag the bottom corners inwards to add some perspective to the sky, don't forget to resize if necessary. Apply the transformation when you are happy.
Step 4
It doesn't look very nice does it? That's because we're not done yet. Open and place the wave image in the center of the image. Now use the eraser, and a soft brush on it. Get in close and erase the bits you don't want. Don't worry if your messy, as the tidying comes later.
Then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and use the settings shown below.
Then go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and use these settings.
Rename the layer to "Wave," and your image should now look like the one shown below.
Step 5
Now comes the complicated bit. What you'll need to do is add all the water files to you're image and one by one, free transform them to flow with the perspective of the water then erase the hard edges.
You might also need to duplicate some files in order to fill up areas. Always remember to play about with the textures using the distortion method in free transform and a soft eraser. The more you do, the better it will look. You can see the phases of building up the flooding water in this image.
Step 6
Now we have our water sorted, merge all the "water" layers into one single layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and use the following settings.
Your water should now be nice and blue and match the "wave" layer from earlier. Now merge the "wave" layer with the "water" one.
Step 7
Remember the tidy up I mentioned a while back? Well its time now. Turn off the "water" layer so you are left with just the backdrop and the sky.
With the Burn Tool selected at highlights and at 50% exposure, and a soft brush set, start burning the rooftops and the sky around the rooftops so they appear darker.
Open the derelict1 image and place it at the right side of the street in the distance. Use a soft eraser to remove those sharp edges. Merge it with the "backdrop" layer.
Step 8
Let's tidy up some more. Turn on the "water" layer sand and start tidying around the edges using a soft eraser. Then select the Smudge Tool and a 20px charcoal brush using the settings below.
Start smudging the edges of the "water" layer creating very small splashes and more defined edges to realistically create the effect of water hitting a surface. This might require patience and a steady hand, but time will pay off. It might also be wise to duplicate the layer before smudging as you don't want to use all your undo's.
Step 9
Next, select the backdrop layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and use these settings.
And your piece should now be coming together. Its still a little off, but there is a lot more to do, so lets move on!
Step 10
Time for the splashes. Now this is the hardest step of the tutorial, and requires a lot of patience, but persevere and you will find that patience is in fact a virtue (I know, silly right?).
Open up the splash1 and splash2 images and carefully cut out the splashes themselves one by one. Place them onto the canvas. Now use the Warp Transformation (Edit > Transform > Warp) to get the arches you need to create effective splashes, and erase any unwanted areas.
You'll need to do this for the two cars and for where the water hits the wall down the buildings of the street.
You might also benefit from smudging the edges of the splashes to give them more movement, as well as adding some white brushing to a new layer and smudging it. Now merge all your "splash" layers.
Step 11
Getting there right? Now you need to do some tweaking to the colors of the image. This can mean anything from water, to the sky or the buildings. In my example, I think the water is a little too blue, so I'm going to desaturate it a little.
Basically use this step for any odd bits and bobs to tweak your image to make it look more streamlined. Be creative, and more importantly, make it look tidy. I lowered the saturation of the water a little, and added some red to the buildings.
Step 12
Now we'll work on the fog. Its sounds daunting but its actually fairly simple to do. Select a blue color from your water using the Eyedropper Tool. Now select the Gradient Tool and use the following settings.
You will need to create a new layer underneath you're "water" layer and create the gradient so it blocks out any backdrop behind the water.
Duplicate the layer (Command + J) and place it on top of your water layer, at about 30% opacity. Set this layer to Multiply.
Step 13
This next step is to add rain. There are lots of tutorials on the web that show how to create rain. Here is one that goes into great detail, which you could check out. We'll keep it relatively simple in this tutorial though. First, create a new layer and fill it with black. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and use these settings.
Then Filter > Blur > Motion Blur> and use these settings.
Then Image > Adjustments > Levels and use the following settings.
Set the Layer to Screen and use a soft eraser to erase the bottom and top of the Layer, then go to Edit > Transform > Free Transform the "rain" Layer so it covers the whole screen.
Step 14
It looks a little bit empty in the middle of the water doesn't it?
Open up the car image and place it somewhere in the distance, underneath the "fog" layer. Resize the images and erase the edges carefully and use the splash1 image to give some life to the car.
Step 15
Now is the fun part. You'll need to create a few gradient maps first. Click the Adjustment layer button located at the bottom of your layers window and select the Gradient Map option. Then Click the little arrow in the top-right of the box and select Pastels as shown.
Use the following settings. Finally, set the layer to Multiply at 100%.
Conclusion
Now its just a case of adding depth and a few other adjustments. Select the Blur Tool at 20% strength, then start blurring the "backdrop" layer in the distance and on the rooftops.
Create a new layer and go to Image > Apply Image and then go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen, which gives the image a more detailed and stylized feel. Now you're done!
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )Swany July 20th
interesting, not sure if I like the rain, but I’m about to try it out.
( )Listoric July 21st
Same here, the rain looks cheap, but the rest of the picture is well done. The atmosphere is quite good.
Maybe someone want’s to take up the challange and creates a rain tutorial with realistic looking rain?
( )Waasys July 20th
Nice! but a bit too much light on the right entrance
( )Luis Lopez July 20th
Excellent tutorial, but i don’t like the rain effect either was better before sharpened.
( )Rit July 22nd
Right U r. Rain makes every thing blurish not sharp…
( )Dave July 20th
I agree with Swanny about the rain… it is too distracting from the flowing water.
I just did this sort of thing the other day – haha, what a huge coincidence that it came up here the day after I did it!
Here is mine… (hope this is okay with Sean) : http://aevion.xtreemhost.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2012-v1.jpg
( )zecesar July 21st
Nice one. Think you should cast a little more shodows though.
( )Nobody July 26th
I think the scale of your water is wrong – even if the body of the wave itself is huge, it should consist of lots of smaller waves. You can tell in your image that the water doesn’t belong there. But it’s a good effort.
( )Stanley Parrish July 20th
I like the effect that the light gives. Pretty good tutorial
( )Andrea July 20th
Nice tut, but also I don’t like the sharpened rain effect, i will end it one step before:)
( )Rohan July 20th
I love it!
( )Rohan July 20th
Although I do agree that the tut should end one step early
( )Tim July 20th
Looks great minus the rain effect which doesn’t look connected to the scene. Why do you guys insist on using that?
( )Tebe July 20th
The rain looks rather poor, it shouldn’t be going that straight vertically. Otheriwise nice outcome and the tutorial is well explained, too.
( )Diego SA July 20th
Good one, and agree with everyone dislike.
( )Michael July 20th
Really nice tutorial! thanks!
( )"Survulus" (Andrew Golden) July 20th
Stunning tutorial, very nice result. This’ll definately come in handy.
( )Craigsnedeker July 20th
Stunning, amazing, and wonderful tutorial!
( )Melody July 20th
Ya great tutorial but the rain doesn’t fall straight down, perhaps even at a slight angle the rain would look better.
And a little less of it could help you focus more on the wave coming towards you..
( )sriganesh July 21st
i agree with you.
( )jay July 28th
that’s just what i thought so.
( )Joe July 20th
Looked better before the gradient map.
( )Tobias July 20th
good job i like this use of function!
( )chillyweed July 20th
hey nice tut bro……
( )Simona July 20th
I like the rain, it makes it interesting and different.
( )everpress July 20th
On your “rain layer; duplicate it, create your sharpened one and leave the softer one behind it. Then use a feathered gradient selection (make a new layer then make a gradient with black at the top, transparent at the bottom and use your Layer select [option-click the gradient layer]), hide the gradient layer, select the sharpened rain, and press delete.
( )You should be left with a soft-to-sharpened transition on the rain so it appears to have more dimension.
Dullface July 20th
Sweet tutorial, doing this one as soon as possible. I’ve always wanted to do this.
( )Zy July 20th
Nice one Andrew! Best wishes from Lithuania: Zy
( )JJ Adkisson July 20th
Looks duplicated on either side :-/ not sure i like it. The rain is extremely cheesey. Eh, it lacks a good finish…
( )Marcel July 20th
Agree with the rain but the rest is awesome. thanks.
( )Merxhan July 20th
I like your tutorial, and the rain too
. You use some very good techniques and I like the coloring of the buildings. it really makes a dark appearance.
( )arnold July 20th
cool!..
( )remember this is not a showcase of some artwork this is a tutorial
spiderm0nkey July 20th
I for one really like the outcome of this. Great techniques and very interesting process from the initial boring image to the end. Nicely done!
( )lkaz July 20th
Maybe some mild droplet effect on the lens and upward spray.
Nice distortion of the water however. I also love the car in the middle of the water, gives the waves some real force.
( )andi July 20th
That’s pretty awesome, as somebody else said I’m not sure about the rain, but it’s still great
( )musam July 20th
you r really great. your tutorials always make me sick.
( )thank you!
JohnM. July 20th
Damn this is nice… but why is the rain coming straight down? I think it would look better if if was sort of at an angle. But that’s just me
( )snnaqvi July 20th
Good job
( )Style Swamps July 20th
Wicked effect!
( )Page Gardens July 20th
Reminds me of The Day After Tomorrow.
( )victor July 21st
could be extremely “heavy” rain
( )kilik42 July 21st
i cant find the actual files to work with, the links take me to stuff i have to sign up for. anybody have this problem
( )RUGRLN July 21st
I think all that it needs is the rain’s opacity be turned down a couple of notches and it’ll be fine!!
( )PCP July 21st
Wonderful tutorial…helps me to understand the power of manipulation techniques.
( )Emil Lyngbo July 21st
I think the sharpening layer at the end’s opacity should be turned down to around 40%. And maybe decrease the brightness on rain layer to make it less dramatic.
Other than that, and okay composition, but needs some more elements I think – maybe som signs or building components coming up from the water.
( )punkd July 21st
Great techniques. I thought that the water effect will be much difficult. But, yeah, the sharpen is too much.
( )Modisana July 21st
Nice Tutorial. The rain just doesn’t do it for me…
Personal opinion.
Nice Tutorial nonetheless!
( )hashi July 21st
nice!!
( )very cool!
I try it!
merb July 21st
muy muy bueno!!!
( )Lorenzo July 21st
very nice! but i agree with most guys, and girl, the rain shouldn’t be too emphasized and straight down like that. also, more things that come along with the flood would be nice.
thumbs up
( )Ziare Phresh Soldier July 21st
Here mines just added a little of my style in it and made it kind of a movie like.
( )Ziare Phresh Soldier July 21st
Here mines just added a little of my style in it and made it kind of a movie like.
( )http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/3742464534_db7031ab51_b.jpg
spyderr July 22nd
yeah… and the red typo rocks xD
( )Ziare Phresh Soldier August 2nd
Thank man
Johannes Leuchovius July 21st
Really great! ;D
( )Palusko July 21st
Very good, I like it a lot!
( )aShine July 21st
Misunderstood, why he deleted people if they are on this area, there is the wave?
( )L89 July 21st
OMG! i love it. many thanks^^ and thx for the video Gavin
( )sd July 21st
i dint like the rain… rest of all is ok
( )cognaq July 21st
the rain can be done better by making a few layers and tilting them a little bit, creating masks on some.
( )(rain does not come down vertically in a storm, but goes with the wind)
study some photos of storms
Tom Ross July 21st
I actually don’t mind the rain. Awesome tutorial overall, some great techniques!
( )bai July 22nd
I love the rain and the tutorial …ha ha ha
( )MoonBoy July 22nd
Freacking good. I like the sharpnest of wahet but not of the rain
( )Morten Lassen July 22nd
This is awesome but I wouldn’t use the gradient map and the rain effect. Definitely going to try this out!
( )zazugu July 22nd
its nice, but i dont like this rain, not natural. the rast is B.E.A.utiful
( )Toby July 22nd
This is mine:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/905/theflood.jpg
I just added a bit more “Volume” to the Water (Free Transform/Warp),
Mixed a few Waterdrops into (these from the Tutorial linked for better rain!)
and at last Played a bit more with the Color… That’s it
Is it okay? Comments please!
( )greetings from germany
jay July 28th
its just too fake man, but i like the water.
( )Rit July 22nd
excepting the sharpening effect of rain I like the tutorial very much. so many known tools and processes….but unknown applications….
Great…
( )EdpeppeRs July 22nd
very nice tutorial!
( )clark July 22nd
Great tutorial, it should look better without the rain.
( )zoon July 22nd
awsome…
( )antniio July 22nd
I used a different place
http://antniio.deviantart.com/art/Tower-Of-Pizza-130397338
( )nanang July 23rd
yeach great tutorial bro i like it….
( )farhan rao July 23rd
Very nice tutorial….
( )ArabMoney July 23rd
How make this effect ?
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1051/effectsprayhowmakethat.jpg
help me please !!
Thanks !!!!
Contact-me please
( )JESUS GERARDO July 24th
I JUS LOVED IT…I DID ONE BY MYSELF, AND ITS AMAZING ..THANKS
( )Moksha July 24th
nice one
( )underdog July 25th
awesome!!!!
( )Kevin July 25th
Pretty good tutorial, not great but I can’t say I would have done it better myself. Agreeing with most of the comments here, the rain looks really cheap, blurry and distracting.
( )Find a decent tutorial on how to make rain before you try out this tutorial. It’s also very unusual that every raindrop falls in the exact same direction, especially not in STRAIGHT down.
Robin July 25th
Great Tut…..Thanx
( )Julien July 26th
here is mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37567268@N02/3757323083/, thanks for the tips, really useful, and actualy easier than it seems!
( )neeti July 27th
not bad …but u can make rain more gud …nevermind..nxt time…
( )landscape photography July 27th
Thanks for sharing, I’m still yet to see any convincing PS rain.
( )Eric Shafer July 27th
The rain looks kinda cheesy but overall it’s a nice tutorial.
Featured here: http://www.presidiacreative.com/best-of-the-web-30/
( )Ofer July 28th
Great exmple, liked it a lot
( )Kasper July 28th
So creative! Great inspiration – makes me wanna try out something like that myself
( )Nicholas Pufal July 29th
I really did like this tutorial.
As the main focus of this tutorial isn’t “how to create perfect rain”, I don’t think there is need to criticize how good is the final result of each element from the scene.
What matters here is the tutorial itself, as a whole, and this is simply awesome!
The steps are really easy to follow, and it gives a really nice basics for beginners to start doing photo manipulation
( )emile July 29th
final image looks sick! i’m about to learn it
( )Usman Arshad July 31st
Great…………………………………….. work man, Really nice tutorial, thanks alot for sharing. i will must try to do it, its really great, thanks again,
( )behnam25214 August 2nd
Thanks for ♣tutorials♣
( )jeff August 2nd
Great tutorial. Here is my effort. Left out the rain since no one seemed to like it.
( )http://www.flickr.com/photos/17368510@N00/3782345362/sizes/l/
Divyesh Gajjar August 7th
Good…………………..,,,,,work Dude
( )photo effect August 7th
this is great detail of adobe used
( )zeemiDesign August 9th
I made something comparable quite some time ago. I found this Spanish tutorial for a similar scene and used it to make my own version with a lot of modifications.
( )You can see it here on Deviantart
AlbGraphic August 13th
nice tutorial. great techniques and the final result looks amazing. good work
( )jogen August 14th
great work man…
( )suzy August 17th
nice one
( )and because u caring about a little detail its make the work very perfect
Serghei August 20th
Excellent! To achieve such a result is not difficult, thanks to the author for a tutorial!
( )dakota August 20th
i adjusted the levels on the rain layer to make it look better
( )Marcel August 31st
Thanks a lot, great stuff.
Here’s what i came up with
http://levellife.deviantart.com/art/Popcorn-135375168
( )Feroz August 31st
heres mine
http://animagicfiji.deviantart.com/art/Save-the-planet-135403751
( )chickensk September 8th
i like this. only think to say is that the water looks like it flows longer. it is not a “bump” type of water. so the water effect on the left is exagerated.
( )Rob September 1st
Well…I certainly enjoyed this tutorial a great deal. The outcome is fantastic; great tutorial Andrew.
I have to agree with Arnold…this isn’t meant to be a final showcase (those that didn’t like this, well…fix it up the way you want to) but merely a tutorial.
( )Adam September 2nd
Brilliant tutorial. You may have spent a little too much time on the “cloning people out” portion; but then again, maybe that’s an important step that most tutorials would skip over.
( )Adam @Advent Creative Web Design
sambas September 8th
Wow..Really nice tutorial, thanks alot for sharing.
( )chickensk September 8th
as others already mentioned, unsharpened image looks more realistic, and too bright white on entrances and in water waves too. otherwise very good loking water. and of course, that car in the middle looks pretty unreal. water would move it anywhere else, but not in the centre.
( )abinawa September 9th
Good job. I will try
( )M.Gz September 9th
niceee
but where is the original picture ?
coz i want to give it a try =)
( )Giallo September 21st
very nice result!!! Well explained
( )mpho September 22nd
I like what u did except the last step. it makes the whole tut unrealistic. Good word, well done.
( )amine October 1st
Heres Mine
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/5630/london1u.jpg
i hope u like it ^^
( )taryarL October 16th
great tutorial
( )thank!
Tapeten Shop October 17th
Wow this is a really cool Tut
( )sweetygailey October 19th
you are awesome.. thanks for sharing… please post more tutorial!
( )Donald October 20th
I think the final image looked great, however I cut out the last step in mine because I also didn’t like the rain in the image.
I though it looked better when you could see the flood clearer.
( )rc October 23rd
yeah, i really like this tut! so great result that i must make own…
( )http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2024/disasterkopie.jpg
Jojy-de-Killer November 19th
I’ve tried this and the result is in the link below!
http://jojy-de-killer.deviantart.com/art/Flood-in-the-City-144092735
( )