In this tutorial, we'll change a full of sunshine, ordinary photograph into a gloomy image of the world after destruction of mankind. Using simple tools, we'll turn lively streets into abandoned ruins overgrown with weeds. A number of stock images and a few little tricks will let us optimize our work and make this job more interesting and spectacular. So let's go!
How to Make a Dark, Post-Apocalyptic City Illustration
Jul 7th in Illustration, Photo Effects by Mikolaj Dobrucki
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the image we'll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below. You can view the final image preview below or view a larger version here.
Preparation
All the photos I've used are taken from the stock.xchng site. Let's take a look on them, before we start: the city, the flag, the texture 1, the texture 2, the texture 3, the grass texture, the can, the can 2, the banana skin, the old newspaper, the grass, the bushes, the bushes 2, the plants and the clouds. Also I've used one set of brushes, found on DeviantArt: Birds Brushes.
Step 1
Open the city image, which you intend to use, and save it under a different name. The first thing to do in order to achieve the appearance of the deserted, empty city, is to remove all signs of life, like people and lights. Use the Clone Stamp Tool and Brush Tool, which we'll be useful for finishing the details. Both tools should be soft-edged and have a size of 5 to 10 pixels.
Step 2
Now, in order to create the appearance of destruction, several actions need to be taken. First, change the appearance of the dark, blue banner (center-left of the image). Use the Brush Tool to erase most of the gold letters, and use the Clone Stamp Tool to remove the lower part of the banner.
Step 3
Open the flag image, and separate the flag from the background. Go to Select > Color Range to select all the blue pixels and press Delete. Use the parameters as in the image below.
Select the Eraser Tool (large size and hardness set at 0%) and remove the side part of the flag.
Finally, make the image monochromatic (Image > Adjustments > Black & White).
Step 4
Place the flag onto the surface of the main image. Use the Move Tool to move the layer into the appropriate position and the Eraser Tool to remove the unnecessary pixels.
Then go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and set up as shown below.
Step 5
Use the following tools to finish the work here: Clone Stamp Tool, Eraser Tool, Brush Tool, Burn Tool, and Dodge Tool.
Also select the Brush Tool and treat all other banners and flags in a similar way.
Step 6
Transform the windows now. Use the Brush Tool to remove some of the glass and alter the details. Apply some transformations with the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and Move Tool if you want to.
Step 7
Review the whole main image looking for areas where changes need to be made. When transforming the details, first mark them using the Polygonal Lasso tool, and subsequently cut out, paste in as new layers and transform them with the Move Tool. Use the Brush Tool during the process, if necessary.
Step 8
The last stage of creating an impression of destruction is removing flowers from the street. Paint all the flowers over with black, using the Brush Tool. Make up the missing parts of the flower pots with the Clone Stamp Tool, and add the shadows using the Burn Tool.
Step 9
Now we need to work on the textures. Create a new layer and go to Filter > Vanishing Point to apply the texture 1 onto the surface of asphalt. If you don't know how to use this filter, I recommend you read Alvaro's tutorial Getting to Grips with the Vanishing Point Filter before starting this step.
Step 10
Change the Blending Mode of the layer to Multiply. Select the Eraser Tool and remove the unnecessary parts of the texture.
Finally place texture 2 onto the sidewalks in the same way.
Step 11
Overlay texture 3 over the buildings, in the way similar to the sidewalks and street, but do not use the Vanishing Point filter.
Step 12
The last texture to be overlaid on the street surface is the grass texture. Contrary to the previous ones, in this case set the Blending Mode to Overlay.
Step 13
Now we will use a large number of stock photos. They will help make our image more detailed and interesting. Place the images of the can, the can 2, the banana skin, the old newspaper, the grass, the bushes, the bushes 2 and the plants in the document, resize them and erase the backgrounds.
Select the Burn Tool and apply some shadows.
Next select the Brush Tool, change its Blending Mode to Color. Alter and adjust the new elements so that they coexist better with the texture and color of the main image.
Step 14
With a Brush Tool already selected, change its Blending Mode back to Normal and add the settings in the Brushes Panel as shown below.
Paint some blades of grass, trying to make this as realistic as possible.
Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation using the settings below.
Step 15
At the end, use the Brush Tool, Burn Tool and Blur Tool in order to add more flora, and make the image more appealing and consistent.
Step 16
Select the Burn Tool and add some hard shadows on all the walls.
Use the Brush Tool with the Blending Mode set to Color to add some green smudges.
Step 17
Change the Blending Mode of the Brush Tool back to Normal once again, and add the settings in the Brushes Panel, as shown below.
Using a green color for the brush, add some flora on all the buildings.
Use the Burn Tool and Dodge Tools to make highlights and shadows. This will enhance the effect of three-dimensionality.
Step 18
Add some green and flora on cars, boards and flower pots using the same methods. Look at the third image to see all the successive small steps of working on the white road sign.
Step 19
Import the photo of the clouds into the document and place it in the bottom part of the image.
Next add a Mask to the Layer. Use the Pen Tool or the Magic Wand Tool to make a selection on the sky, next go Select > Inverse and Fill the selected area (of a mask, not an image) with black (using the Paint Bucket Tool).
Step 20
Go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White and use the default settings.
Use the Burn Tool and the Dodge Tool to change the contrast of the clouds, if you want to. Finally, select Brush Tool to paint the clouds with a new hue. First set the brush to a big size (about 150 pixels), hardness set to 35%, and Blending Mode set to Color, and use some pastel shades.
Step 21
Without changing any of the brush settings, add some warm colors to the buildings and streets. At this point, your image should look like the one below.
Step 22
Download the Birds Brushes set and open them in Photoshop. Add a few birds in the sky using a proper size.
Step 23
Now it's time to add final effects to your image. At this moment you must have only one layer. Simply save your work as a JPG or go to Layer > Flatten Image to do that. Next go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and add the settings represented in the image below.
Step 24
Last but not least go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and set up as shown.
Conclusion
Well done! You've now seen the whole process of turning an image of a lively city into a state of decaying ruins. Let us hope this will never happen in reality. You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )Benjamin Reid July 7th
There’s some great techniques in there and are explained really well, would be good to see some more tutorials from yourself.
It reminds me very much of the film with Will Smith in, the name escapes me at the moment though.
I might try this out with a picture of my local town, nice!
( )Tebe July 7th
I Am Legend perhaps?
cool tutorial, thanks
( )Benjamin Reid July 8th
That would be the one, mind was a blank when writing it. Thanks @safeaim to.
Jeevan July 13th
Wow, thanks for taking the time to put this together for us. Great tutorial. Awesome job.
Kumar Harsh July 27th
loved it!!!
Corey July 7th
Very nice, thanks! Good techniques I think.
( )safeaim July 7th
Ben: I am legend!
Nice tutorial
( )lawrence77 July 7th
welcome post Mikolaj Dobrucki!
I expect more from u in the future!
Cute tutorial, cute techniques, Thanks….
( )chris July 7th
Ok this one looks really great. Seing myself taking a closer look at it in the evening
( )massafakka July 7th
wtf!! i love it!!! ive been searching for something like that for days! lol
thx for sharing it buddy
( )Ash July 7th
Now that is a tutorial. Great level of detail and nice result.
( )Legacy July 8th
i totally agree. great tut!
( )Jared July 7th
Great work!
( )Alvaro July 7th
Great techniques, really enjoyed the flag part.
( )Lucas July 7th
That’s really nice tutorial, good job (:
( )Dave July 7th
Wow, destruction on the chrysler building is a lot easier than I thought… some overlayed texture, florals, and green smudges / burns.
I hope I’ll be able to use these techniques in the future.
Cheers
( )punkd July 7th
So perfect work. I learned some new techniques, read the tutorial of Vanishing point and mainly I have inspiration for new project.
( )Rasmus July 7th
Cool techniques! Especially the one with the vanishing point used to apply texture to the road…
( )Rafael Braga July 7th
Wooooww … I’ve been looking for something like this for months. I know that we have here a plus tutorial like this… but this one uses only images from sxc.hu … so … I don’t have to pay for them and practice.
( )Melody July 7th
yea, I immediately thought it must’ve been inspired by I Am Legend…all you need is some crazy ass mutants in the dark corners lol..
There’s been a lot of apocalyptic graphics going around..I guess it’s on everyone’s mind..
( )r4ge July 16th
Cause of in myths and legends it is sometime soon that its the end of the world, yet its only the begging.
( )r4ge July 16th
Beginning I meant* =P
g3niuz July 7th
great great grat..
yea reminds on i am legend too …
but this just rocks ;D
( )Dullface July 7th
Man this is SUCH a sweet tutorial!
( )No matter what anyone says, this site IS the best for photoshop tutorials. I’ve been doing them for 6 years, and nothing beats this place.
Nikhil July 7th
This is really dirty and awesome tutorial….
Now I am going to make some dirty wallpaper for my clean desktop….
Thanks for the post
( )Rafi July 7th
this is simply awseome!
( )chillyweed July 7th
WoW ;p
( )Brett July 7th
Ya that definitely has an I Am Legend feel to it. Very nice result, you really make me feel bad though man, it says you’re a Polish teenager which would make me think you are anywhere from 13-19 and that really makes me feel bad. I’m 19 (of polish decent ironically) but I couldn’t do something like that at my current skill level. But I’m sure i’ll learn a lot just off of this tutorial, I just skimmed through it, seems to be easy to follow and has some great techniques.
( )Dullface July 8th
Just don’t ever give up.
( )Brett July 9th
Haha thanks, I hope to not ever give up. I love this field too much
Josh July 7th
A must do tut!!
( )lyndon July 7th
badass, all these techniques can easily be applied to motion graphics are very awesome. thanks a lot man, ill definetly be using them when i get some 3D tracking software
( )Luke July 7th
Very Nice! The final outcome looks like a painting! The best Apocalyptic Scene I have come across. Nice Job!
( )Personalisierte Kinderbücher July 7th
Wow, great tutorial, reminds me on the future citys from the terminator movie
.
( )Felix July 7th
nice job!
( )will try it some day
Mayank July 7th
Cool man awesome work and explanation??
( )mateo85 July 7th
very nice
( )good job
L89 July 7th
very great tutorial. thx
or I am legend
( )look like Fallout 3
spidermonkey July 7th
This is fantastic! Will be so useful to me in the next 5 months or so!!!
( )Musam July 7th
this is superb tutorials!
( )yeah! nice dude!
feel the moment in I am Legend movie like L89 said.
i never watch Fallout 3.
Ben July 8th
I like your head lol
( )Mitch October 10th
ROFL
shyam July 9th
superb tutor
( )Aaron July 9th
umm…Fallout 3 is a game…not a movie.
( )Lain July 8th
Good techniques.
( )The outcome is very good, although it reminds me of a video game :0
weiluo July 8th
oh mygod i love it
( )bboytjuh July 8th
Nice tut!
I thought of ‘I am Legend’ myself 2!
( )haha great techniques man!
Niels July 8th
Purely awesome..!!
Very nice tut,
( )tnx
RUGRLN July 8th
This is one great tutorial! Anyone knw why always in the summer PSDTUTS churns out such gr8 tuts!?! Gr8 job!
( )b July 8th
looks very cool like a drawaing or painting rather than a photo manip which is refreshing
nicely done ill be doing that today then
( )b July 8th
IF anyone know howmyou can move something .5 of a pixel instead of i’d be very gratefull – i know in ai you can do this thanks
( )just email me if u want
b July 8th
sorry start again
If anyone knows how you can move something .5 of a pixel instead of 1 ,i’d be very gratefull – i know in ai you can do this thanks
Thomas July 8th
Good Result and awesome work, unfortunetly aint the level of tuts that is usually a tradition here, maybe more detailed tut in some areas, like how exactly did you demolist up the car ect. still amazing
( )Simon Stark July 8th
This is great!
( )Gareth Hardy July 8th
Abosultely fantastic tutorial, thanks!
Will give this a go for sure.
( )Minisite Design July 8th
This is Great!!! thanks for your tutorial!!
( )Voxen July 8th
Nice tutorial but the grass is a little too flash to looks realistic, also it looks somewhat blurry in the ground and should cast shadows. Nice image overall.
( )kevinsturf July 8th
this is one amazing tutorial. I really love all the techniques you used and especially I get to learn how to properly use that perspective tool.
( )TuanAnh July 8th
How can I say? This tut is WOW !!
( )Marvnation July 8th
Bravo really well done
cant wait to do something similar
( )todo sobre el mundo de la actualidad informatica July 8th
good input
( )Patrice July 8th
I’m a Legend Like.
Nice tutorial.. You showed some nice techniques to make a good photo montage. Loved it ++ Really inspirating.
( )eggsposure July 8th
You am Legend!
i just need to take a photo worth the apocolypto effect!
( )I have never stolen a car July 8th
Very nice tutorial thanks.
It looks like the results of decades of Republican Party policies: underinvestment in roads and other infrastructure, ignoring climate change, etc. At least you know somewhere else there are nice gated communities and bloated corporations doing quite well, so it’s not all gloom and doom. ; )
( )Jim July 10th
“underinvestment in roads and other infrastructure.”
lol
( )Vampire Daze July 8th
Great job! It looks fantastic and is very well explained.
( )Craig July 8th
Wonder where you got inspiration for this one
Great tutorial
( )Sam July 8th
This is not illustration
( )HaRRah Sun July 8th
Great tutorial can’t wait to try it out
( )FihArts July 8th
AMAZING
( )Symon July 8th
Really nice work. Thanks.
( )Diego SA July 8th
OMFG! The simplest ways are used to create these effects. I’d never expect a extreme makeover of New York could be so easy!
( )Really f…ing awesome! Congratulations!
CgBaran Tuts July 9th
Great work i love it!!!!
( )Mr Kuzio July 9th
The result seems like the movie “I Am Legend”.
( )Diego SA July 9th
That’s true!
( )b July 9th
very cool enjoyed doing that nice cheers buddy
( )abu July 9th
It’s really good to see amazing talents out there and wow dude that is so brilliant, keep up the super work.
( )RUGRLN July 9th
Nice but paying for PLUS, one would expect the the tutorial files we pay for to be useful and not just have 3 flattened layers, one of which was made by Alt+Merge Visible…
( )Diego SA July 9th
Seriously? What a revolt!
( )koen buysse July 9th
perfect example why NOT to get plus tutorials from this site…
( )a few time back, there was a tut about “destroying” a city building… the outcome was great, and it probably was a great reason to get tuts plus…
but this FREE tut is so much more impressive and cool !!!
i mean, come on! look at it! I am legend all over again !!!
REALLY COOL TUT !
more!!! we want more !!!
Daniel July 9th
You’re tutorials are absolutely great! Good work!
( )rishteria July 10th
really good job, i like it so much, great techniques
( )Steven Jaimangal July 11th
Just Great this reminds me of one my favourite movies, ” I am Legend” just great. thanks for tut. i love the effect i acheived on my piece of work
( )Lorenzo July 11th
hands down! awesome man!
i’ll be wrecking the main street of my city soon. 
thanks for this! we should all make something like this for the places we live in, and spread the word that, “hey, this could happen if we aren’t careful.”
( )robb July 11th
a very detailed tutorial.
great one.
thx for sharing.
oh btw u left 1 thing: will smith and his dog.
( )Labeed Assidmi July 12th
good stuff .. my favorite part is creating the texture on those buildings and signs. That fine detail always get me.
( )payod July 12th
c00l…
( )now imma go ruin my school building.. mwahahahahha *evil laugh*
Julio July 12th
Deffinetly Bro, you’re a great designer.
Congratulations !!
( )Vietcung July 12th
So impressive
THanks
( )surendar July 12th
Nice one…
( )tnks………..
Sudar July 12th
marvelous…
( )Cloud Web Solutions July 13th
Nice tut!
( )paul July 13th
even his cloning is good!
( )Eric Shafer July 13th
Really nice tutorial, great techniques and finished result.
Featured here: http://www.presidiacreative.com/best-of-the-web-28/
( )"Survulus" (Andrew Golden) July 13th
If only this tut had come along earlier, would’ve helped massively with this project I was working on a month or 2 ago. Still, awesome tut.
V art forum V
( )http://www.graphicscat.tk
ketut adi July 13th
nice detail superb imagination
( )Wojciech Bednarski July 14th
This is madness, great tutorial, thanks!
( )León July 14th
Please, I made a mistake, could moderators erase this and my previous message? I’m ashamed right now
( )James July 15th
Great work of art.
( )Daniel July 15th
Great tutorial! One of the best I’ve ever seen, simply awesome!
U were so deep when explaining so everything went on easy:)
( )Mario July 15th
i got stuck on making people dissapear but u made it loook awwsomee nice
( )mazri July 16th
nothing i can say…AWSOME!!! so creative & talented
( )Nestor July 17th
Excellent results and clear tute, thanks
( )john black July 17th
I hope that it does happen.
( )There are far too many of us.
Imagine a world with no money.
Nature rules.
Eneza July 17th
G-R-E-A-T! Just Great
( )Petry July 20th
Realy beautiful, thanks a lot for the tutorial, i will start right away!! I just needed something like this for game that I’m making. Again, THX A LOT!!
( )Renton July 20th
Really wonderful! One of the best tutorials I’ve read.
( )Brian (France) July 20th
Hi Mikolaj,
I am not that good on photoshop but I wanted to try this with my town. It’s in Rennes (Brittany) in France. Here is the result :
click here
It took me a lot of time to take all those people out of the pic but it was a good training.
Thanks again for your tutorial; it was a lot of fun,
Brian
( )Vale July 20th
Awesome!!
( )Daniel July 21st
really nice…. good concept.. must be try it
( )Photoshoplu July 24th
Tutorial’s result very horror. And it’s not tiresome.
Congratulations!
( )Jeremy Darko July 26th
Dope Tut. Thanks!
( )Greg July 27th
Great tutorial and amazing result !
( )Roberto July 27th
Great tutorial…
Hard Work…
I will start now..
Let’me work..
and..
Thks 4 Tutorial.. AMAZING EFFECT
hugs From São Paulo / Brazil
( )aeea July 27th
great job! but the windows should be broken or dirty…
( )landscape photography July 27th
wow, really fantastic tut, great image and clear instructions. Keep em coming!!
Thanks for sharing.
( )long nguyen ngoc July 27th
Good Work!
( )jay July 28th
Great Work man! really inspiring.
( )Toniccio July 29th
This is fully look like an impressionist painting, I like it, great effects and very clear tut, thx for sharing!
( )Lillan July 29th
Awsome and good explanation!
I will give it a try
( )indu July 30th
My work ppl…
http://indu111.deviantart.com/art/Apocalyptic-city-131210818
comment back on deviant if u liked !!
( )Sean Smyth July 30th
Magnificent.
I was thinking “I am Legend” before even reading the comments. The final outcome is fantastic and really believable.
Not only should I say well done on the final piece but congratulations on documenting and relaying the process to us coherently.
Thank you.
( )Noah July 30th
Nice, very nice.
Thanks for sharing and look forward to seeing more from you.
( )Ziare Phresh Soldier July 31st
Here mines what y’all think?
( )http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3768978500_568e15c70a_b.jpg
Mikkel August 3rd
Cool tutorial! I made a website a while back which was based on a “post-apocalyptic” theme, which was a huge Photoshop job. I used some different techniques than you (wish I’d known about Vanishing Point though!) but it’s still relevant, I guess.
There’s some good tricks in this article though, that I’ll certainly make use of next time around!
Check it out: http://www.thesilverband.com
( )DrMartin August 3rd
Great work!… good tutorial!.. thx
( )s3r0x August 3rd
Nobody can send me a good link for that texture please :
( )grass texture , banana skin
Please I want so much try this .
Thanks a lot
KNK August 4th
ONE word “AWESOME” , gotta try at my downtown (OTTAWA), I’m sure it will be great.
( )PDA August 5th
simpli AMAZING Prototype and I AM LEGEND
( )s3r0x August 6th
Nobody can send me a good link for that texture please :
grass texture , banana skin
Please I want so much try this .
Thanks a lot
(Sorry i forgot the mail)
( )I J August 6th
Hey guys, just thought of helping u out….for all those who find the grass texture missing from sxc.hu, do take them from my deviant art link and complete this awesome tut !! cheers appreciated !!!!!!
( )I J August 6th
ooops…here is the link
http://indu111.deviantart.com/art/Grass-Texture-Apocalyptic-city-132328370
( )s3r0x August 8th
Thanks a lot , now i can finish this awesome tuts !
José Gonçalves August 25th
Thank you. I cna not too, finish the photo
DamianRamirezNet August 7th
muy bueno
( )Divyesh Gajjar August 7th
GooD Job Baddy
( )James F August 7th
Uhh, maybe I’m missing something but I’ve spent the last hour just trying to remove two people from the original city picture. I know I’m new to photoshop but if it takes this long to remove everyone properly I’m not going to get done with step 1 for weeks! Any help would be greatly appreciate, thanks!
( )Jorge Linares August 7th
one of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen
( )Chris August 10th
Very nice tutorial. But the grass photo is no longer avaible. can u fix it or send me this texture?
( )GunnerA21 August 10th
scroll up indu111 has a link to it.
( )Henk Jan August 12th
Someone got the picture without all the humans and lights from the city?
cba to erase them, please give a link
thanks
( )gary velez November 5th
Tienes que pintar y clonar las partes que salen los humanos
( )Kamil Molendys August 12th
Great tutorial… but there is a problem. The image banana skin is no longer avaible. Can you send me this texture?
( )DARMO GANDUL August 14th
So very nice !
( )uud August 22nd
so Wonderful guyssss,,,,,
( )i’ll Be wait The next your Job?
Stephen York August 23rd
Yeah, if someone has the city picture with all of the peolpe taken out, that would be VERY helpful. I think I’ve worked on it for about 45 minutes and I was able to get done is like half of that bottom right corner…
I’d really like to do this tut, but with school coming up, I don’t think I’ll have the time to spend hours upon hours erasing all of the people.
Also, can someone re upload the banana peel?
( )José Gonçalves August 25th
Great Tutorial. One of the best i ever seen. 5 Stars
( )mango September 2nd
Thanks for the tutorial. It was insightful and detailed. This is what I did with your tutorial. I took it another step. Thanks.
http://mangoprojects.blogspot.com/2009/09/city-of-relaxation.html
( )egauseless September 2nd
awesome,,,
( )great tutorial
IcarusMalfoy September 21st
Great tutorial! I’m really pleased with how mine turned out.
( )Donald October 21st
I must try this tutorial later, I think it had a fantastic outcome.
( )Kind Weihnachtsgeschenk November 9th
Really great, thats the tutorial i have been looking for a long time.
( )adrian November 12th
awesome work, I love this style, do you have any additional info on digital painting. Adrian
( )