How to Make a Melting Camera Scene
Download Source Files
In this tutorial, we’ll use the Layer Mask Tool and Liquify filter to "melt" the camera. I recommend you work with a tablet for this one (it makes your work easier), but if you don’t have one it is also possible to go through this tutorial. Let’s start!
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 $19/month. You can view the final image preview below.
- Program: Adobe Photoshop CS4
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Estimated Completion Time: 2 – 2.5h
Step 1
Open the camera file by bennorz, double-click on the layer to unlock it and create a new one beneath. Fill the new layer with a red (#ff0000) color. Now you have a red background beneath the camera layer and it makes it easy to see borders of the object when masking. It is not necessary to use red, but it is better to use a color which is not in the object.
Apply a layer mask to the camera layer. Be sure to have it selected when masking.
Step 2
Masking is the non-destructive way of removing parts of the image especially the background. That’s because erasing is done on the mask not on the image so you can create a mask and then delete it and the image stays untouched. Other great things of masks are that you can use a variety of tools to create it such as the Pen Tool or brush.
This time we will use the brush technique. Select the Brush Tool and set its Hardness to 93% – a mostly hard brush creates better borders on objects. Now we are ready to start masking.
Step 3
You can start whenever you want in the image, just bear in mind that if you use a "Black color" the brush will start erasing the image and if you use a "White color" or eraser (E) the image will start appearing back.
So mask everything except the camera – just paint around the camera, zoom in and out and resize the brush to get the adequate effect. Pay more attention to corners – the most critical ones are shown in white circles below. Here you should be most precise. It may take you some time practicing before you are used to it.
Step 4
Create a new document that is 1600 px wide and 1200 px high at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch and fill the "Background" layer with a gray (#dfdfdf) color. Put the masked camera image into this document. If you have the document with the camera still open, then you can just drag it with the Move Tool (V). It will create a new layer with the camera in the workspace. There is still the mask which we won’t need to edit so right-click on it and choose Rasterize Layer.
Step 5
Now we have the camera ready. So duplicate the layer, then resize it as shown below.
Step 6
Now it’s time for the Liquify filter. You can find it in Filter > Liquify filter (Shift+ Command + X). Then just drag parts of the camera image the way the arrows show. Bear in mind that the camera is laying on the plane and the effect should have a little perspective so you have to play with the technique a little bit to get adequate results.
Step 7
Grab the Eraser Tool (E) and set the Hardness to 0%, then select the “camera” layer, not the melted one. Now erase it to almost fit the melted copy. Then select both layers, the not melted and the melted ones, then merge them. You can merge layers by selecting them and press Command + E.
Step 8
Now open the Liquify filter and polish the melting effect on the merged image. Then duplicate the layer and move it to the bottom, just above the background layer. Then go to Edit Menu > Transform > Flip Vertical, and adjust the position of the result.
Step 9
Now we are going to create the ice plane. Just open the tiles photo and put it into the scene. Scale it by going to Edit > Transform > Scale (Command + T). Now drag the corner with the while holding Shift to fit the document width, and then duplicate the layer. These two layer should be arranged at the bottom of the scene just above the “Background” layer. Arrange the duplicated layer to the top-left corner as shown below.
Step 10
Merge the two plane layers. Decide where is the horizon line and delete the remaining part of the image above it. Then grab the 300px Brush Tool with Hardness set to 0 and delete the border of the image to create a blurred effect. Then set the Opacity of the layer to 25%.
Step 11
Now select the layers of the camera and its reflection and merge them. Then create one more duplicate of the result layer. Drag these two copies of the camera to the exact positions and resize them to create the illusion of space.
The layers of the cameras should be behind each other in size and ordered from larger to smaller. Create a new layer just beneath the layer with the largest camera. Then grab the Brush Tool and set the Hardness to 0. Select 100% white and play around with Brush sizes to draw fog around the cameras. The simple rule is to avoid the tendency to cover the whole space with white.
Step 12
To create more illusion of space the cameras should be disappearing a bit, so set the Opacity of the smallest one to 25% and 55% for the middle one.
Step 13
Now we bring some light into the image. Select the largest camera layer. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare, and choose the 105mm Prime with 76% Brightness. Then adjust the position of the reflection to the top of the lens.
Step 14
Now we are almost finished. We can also add some scratches to the ice plane. Grab a 1px size Brush and set a white color for it.
If you think the scene needs more realism, then you can add some shadow beneath the largest camera layer. Create a new layer and draw the shadow with a black color. Now adjust the Opacity or set the layer style to Overlay.
Conclusion
Now we have finished the illustration of a melting camera. You can add some typography to it and get to create a really nice camera ad or use it as is.
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nice
Nice one.
Very in an original way
Some shadows would have added to this affect nicely GJ
I will use this on mew Magazine… for a model calendar…
wait… so like female models melting?? umm not a turn on. just saying lmao
NIce and Simple One
thnx Bro !
amazing effect i really like the technique u used here.. i will use absolutely for the next of my surreal project:):)
good one;)
I like the idea, but I don’t think it looks realistic.
If it looked more real, oit would’ve been stunning. And dont like the camera dublicates either.
agree completely…. really great idea but not executed as well as i could.
where is your execution? iirrelevant
agree.
I third that.
agreed…
i concur as well…
wow, nice tuts you got here, let me melt one 7D
the camera is a Nikon one, are there no issues with using a well known brand picture?
Problems would arise if the image used isn’t stock as it would be copyrighted to someone else. However I don’t think Nikon has a copyright on manipulating images of their cameras. Would be a little restrictive I think. I could be wrong though.
Amazing! simple and qualitatively, i like it. Thanks! Good Tutorial
nice, different to alot of others
really helping for make magazine designs where normally inn these kind of design stuff and peoples really like this as i am and me must try in my own way for design for brochure title design, thanks for these tips.
what???
very cool tutorial, thanks!
That looks amazing…looks like some metal melting…wicked effect!!!
Thanks, I like it but as been said it could look more realistic. cant really put my finger on it. maybe the melting looks a bit too flat or something.
Nice bro, take care,
Make something like a plane melts like a wax candle..
Very nice! Thank you for showing us another use of the Liquify filter
REALLY COOOL!
Nice effect and simple.
http://resourcehive.com
Great Stuff
Looks cool
So easy, so cool … great tut!
great work / wonderful tutorial
thk
great tutorial, but not too realistic. it’s good though.
Original tutorial, interesting result
pure awsomeness!
great and cool
“tiles photo” doesnt open!! fix a link!
Great post
http://www.SmashingWebs.com
it’s nice but not really realistic, it appears too fake in my opinion. The tutorial is good though :)
Hey I found your technique very useful and experimented a little bit with it, with some smoke brushes added! Thanks! There is my work http://cherrydiwa.deviantart.com/art/Fire-148354416
you could just melt your camera, then take a picture with your… oh wait, never mind
Thanks for sharing this. It was very cool! :)
Simple process but great outcome ! thanks
That’s awesome. gotta try this, soon.
Looks poor in my opinion.
Doesn’t look melted atall. it looks like the liquify tool has ruined a picture of a camera
very nice tutorial…thanks.gona melt one camera this week…
very nice and amazing technique
good luck..
Great tut, yes it isn’t photorealistic, but I don’t think the author meant it to be.
The thing I did differently in the liquify stage was that I didn’t see why to resize the camera to half size in step 5, Just cut the camera in half and copy/paste the bottom half, this may you get a much better ‘liquifying’ of the focus and zoom ring as shown in step 8, because I don’t think that was made from the half size image.
Once again though just my option keep the great tuts coming.
bravo!!!
really nice, i have to do this
yaman fadel 29 januyary
hiiiiiiiiiiiiii
ive always wanted to have a camera like this… but i have no money.. lol..
wow! its really amazing….good job!…
The reason the final image looks unrealistic is that after the second liquify step specular lighting on the melted parts of the camera need to be added. When you look at water ripples the “curved” part on top of the surface reflects light. Also, since the camera is not made up of a transparent material (except for the lens (glass), of course) subtle shadows need to be added “behind”, or in this case, above the melted ripples. A light source is implied by the lens flare — which rather adds to the unrealism, frankly — so the directionality of that implied light source can be used to apply the specular reflections with a brush tool set to a mid level Hardness and mid level Opacity on each ripple. This defines where the light is coming from and how much to apply. Do this with 100% white using small brushes. The shadows may be done using low opacity 100% black and the brush set to Overlay; play with the Hardness depending on the location. All of this done in moderation should add to the realism. After that, a tiny amount of noise (Filter>Noise>Add Noise) can be added so the melting effect can have a few implied “bumps” or “bubbles”. Non-transparent material, especially plastic, would not melt so smoothly. Great start, nonetheless.
very,very good desain..i have got many inpiration n tutorial good from you,thank very much..n add your many sampel tutorial oke
Is simple but come with great effect!!! well done!!