Create a Powerful Mental Wave Explosion Effect
Create a Powerful Mental Wave Explosion Effect
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial, I will show you how
to create a crazy explosion, like a mix of Magneto’s ability with Peter
Petrelli’s power. We will use images and filters to produce this wave explosion
effect. Even though it may look like a difficult tutorial, it’s really not that
hard.
Step 1
Open a new document. I used
800x600px. Look for a road photo on the Internet. The one I used can be
downloaded here. After downloading, place the photo in your document.
Step 2
Now we need a photo of a person. The
one I used can be found here. Once you have your photo, it’s time to extract the guy from
the background. Using the Pen Tool(P) create a path like in the image below.
After that go to the Paths Palette and create a selection from that path. Then
go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection. Lastly, I named this layer
“dude.”
Step 3
Go to Edit>Transform>Scale and
reduce the size of the guy. Then go to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal. We
do that to match the light direction.
Step 4
Go to Image>Adjustments>Curves.
The idea here is to darken the guy a little bit so he will fit better with the
background. Use the image below as a reference.
Step 5
Holding Cmd/Ctrl click on the mask
thumb of the “dude” layer. That will create a marquee selection of the guy.
After that create a new layer. Rename it to “shadow” and fill it with black.
Then go to Edit>Transform>Distort and move the vertices to make the
shadow in perspective. The last thing here is go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian
Blur.
Step 6
Grab the Ellipse Tool(U). Select
Paths instead of Shape Layer. Create a Circle, like the image below. After that
grab the Direct Selection Tool(A) and adjust the bottom of the circle.
Step 7
Create a new layer. Rename it to
“clouds.” Then go to Filter>Render>Clouds. While holding Alt, click on Clouds.
After that go to the Path’s Palette and create a selection from the path and
mask the layer.
Tip: As you will be using the
Render>Clouds, you will probably need to apply the filter several times
until you got the clouds just right. Keep working with it until the light and
dark areas are in a good position.
Step 8
Go to Filter>Liquefy. In the
Liquefy Dialog Box select the Bloat Tool (B). Then for the settings use: Brush
Size 550, Brush Density 100, Brush Pressure 100, Brush Rate 60, and Turbulent Jitter
75.
Then select the Show Backdrop Option.
That will allow you to see the clouds and the background. It will be necessary
to use the Bloat Tool in the right place. Click a few times and deselect the
Show Backdrop. Then you will see the effect and will be able to repeat it more
times in the correct place.
Step 9
Change the Blend Mode of the cloud
layer to Soft Light. Then create another layer and rename it to “Clouds 2″ and
repeat Steps 7 and 8. We will need another cloud to make it more turbulent.
This time, however, use Multiply for the Blend Mode.
After that, create yet another layer.
Rename it to “Clouds 3″ and repeat Steps 7 and 8. For this layer use Color
Dodge for the Blend Mode. The last thing here is with the Eraser Tool (E)
delete some parts. This layer is used to give highlights to the clouds.
Step 10
Group the “Clouds 3″ layer and go to
Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. After that, select the Brush Tool (B), give
it a black color, and mask some parts of the clouds that are close to the ground.
Step 11
Select the “Clouds” layer and go to
Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen More. Then repeat this Sharpen filter on Clouds 2
and 3 layers.
Step 12
Create a new layer. Rename it to
“Glow.” Fill it with white and go to the Path Palette. Create a selection from
the clouds path as we did in Step 9. Then mask the layer.
After that go to Layer>Layer
Style>Outer Glow. Use the default settings. Then go to Layer>Layer
Style>Create Layer. This command will create another layer from the Outer
Glow. You can delete the white layer and leave just the Outer Glow layer.
Step 13
Create a folder called “Lights.” Move
the “Glow” layer to this folder. Next select the “Glow” layer. Then go to
Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Then select the Brush Tool, black for the color,
and start masking the glow. We need just the outline; however, some bright
spots in the middle will give a nice result.
Step 14
Create a new layer beneath the clouds
group. Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool create a selection like the image below.
Fill the layer with black and use 40% Opacity.
Step 15
Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal
All. After that select the Gradient Tool(G) and use a black and white gradient.
Then mask the layer, like in the image below.
Step 16
Duplicate the
layer and go to Layer>Layer Mask>Apply. Then go to
Edit>Transform>Distort. Repeat the same thing we did for the shadow of
the guy on this layer. Group these two layers and rename the group to
“Shadows.”
Step 17
Create a new
layer right above the road photo. Go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Then go to
Filter>Distort>ZigZag. Use 100 for the Amount and 5 for the Ridges. For
the Style use Pond Ripples.
Step 18
Now go to
Edit>Transform>Distort. Distort the layer until you get the right
perspective. After that, change the Blend Mode to Overlay. Again, as we are
using Render Clouds, the results may vary so you might need to erase some parts
to make it more realistic.
Step 19
Create an
Elliptical Selection like the image below. Then fill it with black. After that,
create another Elliptical Selection, but smaller. Then delete that part of the
layer. With the Magic Wand Tool(W) select the black part of the layer.
Step 20
Duplicate the road’s layer and select it. Make sure that
you still have the Marquee Selection from the Step 19. Then go to
Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection. You can delete the black ellipse layer
from the Step 19 or just hide it.
Go to Layer>Layer Styles>Bevel and Emboss. This is
another way to create the ripple effect. You could use Displace as well.
Step 21
Go to Layer>New Layer Fill>Gradient. Use Radial for
the Style. For the colors use #ddc396 and #2f1e00. Change the Blend mode to
Color Dodge.
Step 22
Here I used another image from Stock.Xchng, image. Just place it on top of all layers and change the Blend Mode
to Overlay.
Step 23
Now let’s make some adjustments. First, lets darken our
Magneto dude a bit more. Select the Burn Tool(S) and burn the back of the guy.
After that, change the Blend Mode of the “ripples” layer to Soft Light. You can
delete some parts of the clouds as well.
Step 24
Create a new folder, beneath the “dude” layer. Name the
group “power” and change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge. After that, create a
new layer inside of this group. Then using the Brush Tool with white color,
create some lights coming from the hands of the guy. Tip: use a regular brush with 0% for the hardness.
After that you create another layer. Use some brushes to
add more effects. I used some abstract brushes from http://brusheezy.com. Then add a Pink Outer Glow Layer Style.
Step 25
Import the truck image, you can download it at image. Then with the Magic Wand Tool(W) select and delete the
background of the photo. Leave just the truck. After that go to Edit>Transform>Flip
Horizontal. Move the truck to the side of the road.
Step 26
Go to Image>Adjustments>Curves and make the truck a
bit darker. After that, using the Rectangular Marquee Tool(M), create a
rectangular selection a bit bigger than the truck. Then go to
Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. For the settings use Amount 2, Method use Spin,
and set Best Quality. Next go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Then use -75
degrees for the angle and 3 pixels for the Distance.
Step 27
Now we will create the truck’s shadow. To do that select
the Truck’s layer, click with the right button of the mouse and choose Select
Pixels. Then create a new layer and fill it with black. Put this layer beneath
the truck layer and go to Edit>Transform>Distort. Distort the shadow to
make it look more real. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Change the
Opacity of this layer to 60%.
Step 28
Group the truck and the shadow layer and rename it to
“truck.” Then organize your folders in the Layers Palette.
Conclusion
You can add more elements to the image, like a traffic
cone or more cars. But always change the curves in order to make the objects
have the same lighting. That will make the image more realistic. For some
effects, there will be many other ways to achieve a similar result. Experiment
with different methods of achieving an effect, like we did with the ripples.
Finally, stick with the ones you think are the best for that image.
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