In this abstract photoshop manipulation tutorial you will learn how to create a simple yet nice abstract artwork using only 3 stock images. Combining stock images to create a nice abstract artwork in Photoshop sometimes is just a matter of keeping things simple. If you were looking for photoshop manipulation ideas you’re on the right spot. In this case I used only three stock photos to create this simple Photoshop tutorial.

Stock used in this tutorial

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• Background
• Water ripple
• Woman

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Advanced Layer Blending in Photoshop

The “hardest” part of this manipulation tutorial is blending the water droplets with the sky. Use a background image that has a clear sky or very diffuse clouds for a more realistic result. Knowing how blend modes work will save you a lot of trial and error time.

I chose the Multiply blend mode for the water droplet stock and used levels to brighten up the midtones. This gave me a good blending but there is a “hidden blending feature” in Photoshop which allows you to blend an image based on the tones.

On the layer styles panel look for the Blend if at the bottom of the Blending Options tab. With the blend if sliders you can blend the black or white tones.

Photoshop color trick – Photoshop Manipulation Tutorial

If you want to match the colors of the sky exactly across the whole water ripples image, you can duplicate the background layer and place it above it using the Color blend mode. Notice how the color changes on the After version.

Add the falling woman and reduce the scale to create a more dramatic effect. This will make this artwork look a lot more abstract. You can be creative and use other images if you prefer.

Use adjustment layers to create the general adjustments of your abstract manipulation and create some mood. Using Curves you can create a nice Split Tone Effect. Gradient Maps and other adjustments can help you get the color mood that you like.

Abstract Photoshop Manipulation Tutorial – Skyfall