Tutorial Details
- Program: Photoshop
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Completion Time: 1 hour
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
Creating conceptual work can be fun and relies heavily on your imagination. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to combine stock photographs to create a stunning effect that can be easily reproduced to work with almost any combination of images.
What we’re going to be creating
The outcome to this tutorial depends heavily on what you want to create and what’s going on in your head. I collected two stock images that I thought would work together before I began from sxc.hu. Here are the links to the stock images I used: Landscape, Cityscape. You can use the same stock images I have, but I would also recommend you to experiment as that’s half the fun!
Step 1
Lets get started. To begin open your canvas (I used size 1200×900px) and drag in the landscape stock. From here, pull out the Burn Tool (O) and use it to darken some areas to create some shadow on the hills below the position where the buildings will be.
Step 2
Next, drag in the cityscape stock, resize it, and position it (I lowered its Opacity to 30% in order to position it) so the buildings nest on top of the hill. You can position it where you like. Next you need to get rid of all of the parts of the stock we don’t need so you have to do the tedious job of rendering around the buildings.
Step 3
Next, duplicate the rendered stock layer and flip them around a bit and position them so that they fill the rest of the hilltops.
Step 4
Now, create a new layer and apply the image: Image > Apply Image. On this new layer, take out the Burn Tool again and darken the areas where the buildings meet the hilltops to create a smoother transition and in the sky area surrounding the buildings.
Step 5
For the next step, you will need some star/planet brushes. I got mine from DeviantArt. On a new layer, select a few brushes that you like, and in two or three places add the brushing to the sky.
Step 6
Next, we are going to create a new layer and apply the image again (Image > Apply Image). Now we are going to add some lighting to this layer, so go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and select 2 0′Clock Spotlight. Play about with the angling settings until you get something that you like.
Step 7
Make another new layer and apply the image yet again. We are going to play around with the coloring now so go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Select the Midtones radio button and in the three Color Levels boxes, enter these values: +46 +11 +13. Now select the Highlights radio button and enter these values: +26 +16 -7. Again, you can play around with these settings if you want a different look.
Step 8
Next, we are going to add two gradient maps. To do this click on the half black, half white circle on the bottom of the layers palette and from the menu select Gradient Map. In the dialogue box, select the Purple > Orange gradient which should be a default one and click ok. Set this layer to soft light and lower the Opacity to 50%. Do the same again but this time select a Black > White gradient map. Set this to Darken and lower the Opacity to 20%.
Step 9
Create another new layer and apply the image again. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, drag the slider to around 1.0 and hit Enter. I then set this layer to soft light at 20%.
Step 10
Next, we’re going to play around with the depth of the image using curves. To do this, click on the half black, half white circle on the bottom of the layers palette and from the menu click on Curves. From the Preset list, select Custom. Now play around with the curves for each RGB color in the Channels list. This will have a big impact the overall look of your finished piece, so feel free to experiment.
Step 11
Next, we will sharpen the image, so go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Lower the Opacity of this layer to 30%.
Step 12
To add a bit more depth to the image, we will add another curves layer. Set the Preset back to None and play about with the curves until you get something you like.
Conclusion
Hopefully you will find something in the tutorial useful. Remember…the only limit is your imagination, so don’t hold back.
Here’s the final piece
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By Jonny McGurn
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This is so beautiful.. Makes me wanna be in more debt and dish out the $ to buy a graphic editor just for kicks!
nice
I really like this one nice photo combination and the outcome is awesome!
Good job.Result is awesome.
“Next, duplicate the rendered stock layer and flip them around a bit and position them so that they fill the rest of the hilltops”
How do you flip it around like you did? [I'm a bit of a noob, I admit it]
Great tutorial though, the outcome is absolutely spectacular.
Flip is also like edit<transform<flip horizontal
Buy an image editing program haha, or download, or use gimp if your christian
isn’t concept art but a good tutorial on how to make a collage
Great tutorial, thanks a lot!
beautiful :)
Awesome!! Thanks a million!
http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq307/redlute/Photoshop/redwall.jpg <- Mine
Thank you so much for sharing this. Beautiful image and interesting concept ;P. Hope not are a problem if I mention this tut here: http://margotyvy.deviantart.com/art/City-Universe-98862411
Ivy
Iam sorry to say but the dodge and burn you have used have ruined ur piece of work
great tut! keep up the great work! :D
Such an awesome tutorial. One day I will give it a go!
looking good. check out mine at
http://thephotoshopper.blogspot.com
Great intro
What is up with all the jerks? Constructive criticism is one thing, but bashing is another. Know-it-alls with no humility really irk me, especially since most of them are like 17-year olds with a graphic design class in high school. Like it or not this is a straightforward, neat, effective tutorial. Art is in the eye of the beholder. It’s one of the few truly fluid things. Stop acting all high and mighty with your technical rules and attitude. You’re not as awesome as you think.
Good tutorial! Thanks!
I found this very inspiring, thank you. It’s always nice to see how people create things and to be able to take the information in and learn from it. Keep up the creative work. Ignore those who are quick to knock you.
A bit of problem in the perspective, but overall this looks fantastic.
What a great tutorial!
Keep ‘em coming!
I like someones advice and all the other guys on his side. They teaching you how to be grown up artist hehehe I don’t mind and I’m not judging johnny too
Thanks for the information. It will be useful for many.
Thanks for the tut! Here’s my outcome:
http://chemicalrubber.deviantart.com/art/Lost-City-106191685
Incredible. Couldnt believe if looking from the original picture. Great tuts!
That was pretty amazing. Is there anything else you can do.
Just perfect tutorial
Thanks. Amazing tutorial.
Nice tutorial but if you look close your buildings have different lighting on each one of them, try to adjust that
Great tutorial but I can’t seem to add planets without having them look like square images. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.
wonderful…
just… wonderful!!
Thank’s!!! ;) And for the inspiration also :)
that’s great ;)
Es genial. Me encanta.
Jesus.
Spain
Hoyos (Cáceres)
nice tutorial johnny!
thanks Jonny it was very interesting tut
its good but want more tutorials on my email id can plz send it
wonderfull image
awsomeeee…
this was amazing…just started using photoshop
great tutorial jonny, but i just don’t know how to make the planets appear like that. when i used my brush, the planet just became transparent. please help since i new to photoshop :D
Have you made a new layer?
Your colour should be white and you might want to brush 2 or 3 times over to get the clear light effects out of the brushes. Still having problems with it? Email me ;-)
Great tutorial. Enough space to play with colour techniques to make your own creation of it.
Here is my result. I’m not so stoked about the shadows but I like the effects.
http://i47.tinypic.com/j8o1hc.jpg
Any comments? :)
Hate this Premium!!! Take it out!!!!!!!! >:(
I dont have the Lighting Effects for step 6. I am using Photoshop cs5 on Mac.
NICE IM GONNA CREATE A MASTER PIECE LIKE THIS NOW!
Hi, I just finished completing this tute and As pleased as I am with the results I did find it a bit hard to understand. I’m not exactly new to Adobe but Photoshop isn’t my main tool so a bit more detail in the instructions would have been nice.
For Example, there was no detail (or visual guide) as to whether we were to keep each building section on a separate layer, or whether we were meant to merge it all together after each step (I ended up merging each step together)
And it wasn’t made clear which image(s) we were meant to be applying, nor the settings we should use from step 4 onwards. It also looks as if you may have used masking, or simply a soft brushed eraser tool to edit the galaxy brushes, I myself know about those things but maybe for future reference some explanation of how to “cut out” the building’s stars and skies might be of use to those new to Photoshop, or like myself, simply don’t use it so often.
All in all it was a lovely tutorial once I figured my own way of doing things, and the image turned out beautifully.
Thank you
Great tutorial. I thought it would be too hard, but I created something different, dark, and abstract. Thank you.
Very beautiful!
Great tutorial, after 10 years using photoshop it’s amazing what you can still learn. Thanks
Quality. Im more of a ‘play it safe’ artist grungey, textured imagery etc. This is a whole different side of photoshop for me, thanks for sharing will no doubt give it a try. Thanks.
Great tutorial, Thanks for sharing this but don’t have lighting effect…