In this tutorial we will create a wonderful abstract portrait using the capabilities of the program Photoshop.
This lesson is designed for an initial (intermediate) level of knowledge of the program. We will practice using layer blending modes and various coloring techniques. Perhaps some of the lesson steps may not seem so simple to you, but this is no reason not to try your hand!
The lesson is made in the version of the program Photoshop, so some screenshots may seem unusual to you.
Let’s start!
To start the lesson, you will need the following source materials:
Materials for the lesson:
Step 1
Create a new document 800 x 1132 pixels. with black background.
From the texture set, select the blue vertical texture and open it in Photoshop. Move the texture to the working canvas. Resize the texture according to the size of our main document:
Add adjustment layers to the texture (as clipping masks):
Black and white (Black and White)
Curves (Curves)
Now the texture has a similar look:
Step 2
Let’s start working with the model. Open the image of the girl in the new file. Separate the upper body from the background and copy it to a new layer.
Transfer the copied area to the main canvas.
Slightly reduce the girl, and place the image in the lower left corner of the canvas.
Let’s “smooth out” the skin of the model. To do this, go to Filter – Blur – Blur on the surface (Surface Blur).
Optional step (second option for smoothing the skin): If you are working with the Photoshop version, you can use the Oil Painting filter to give a beautiful effect to the skin. Settings are listed below:
Apply to the layer with the girl Filter – Strokes – Emphasized Edges (Accented Edges filter). You can choose the filter settings yourself, or use mine:
Go to the toolbar and activate the tool. Dimmer 
(Turn tool). Study the areas indicated in the example:
To the layer with the girl, we additionally apply several adjustment layers (as clipping masks).
Black and white (Black and White):
Levels (Levels):
Curves (Curves):
Work on the layer mask of the last adjustment layer, leaving the impact only in the eye area:
At this stage, your result will be close to this:
Step 3
In this step, we will add a flame to our collage.
Download the fire image in Photoshop. Activate the tool Magic wand
(Magic wand tool) and create a selection of several flames.
Copy the selection to a new layer. Move the copied area to the main working canvas. If necessary, reduce the size of the image with areas of fire. Place the flame so that it covers the hair and face of the model, and then change the blend mode of this layer to Screen (Screen) either Soft light (Soft light).
Repeat the previous step and add some more flame to the girl’s face. Do not forget about the layer blending mode! You can also experiment with other blending modes.
You can additionally place the flames on the background. My result at this stage looks like this:
Step 4
Add smoke. Create a new layer on top of the previous ones. Install a set of brushes with smoke or clouds. Set the foreground color to white. Activate the tool Brush 
(Brush tool) and on the new layer, paint the canvas area as shown below.
Also, instead of using brushes, you can apply Clouds filter (Clouds filter).
Go back to the flame file. Create a selection around the contour of the fire.
Copy the selection and paste it into the main working document. Place the flame layer above the model layer.
Activate the tool Free transform (Free transform tool) and display the flame horizontally. Blend mode (Blending mode) of this layer set Darkening basics (Color burn).
The desired effect should look like this:
Step 5
We are almost done! Work on the general view and background. Duplicate the background layer. Apply to the copy layer with the background Filter – Strokes – Emphasized Edges (Accented Edges filter). The settings are shown below:
Then add a layer mask to this layer. The red color on the image indicates the areas that need to be processed with a black brush (standing on a layer mask).
Blend mode with copy background change to Overlap (Overlay).
At this stage you will get a similar result:
To add a final accent, an adjustment layer was used. Selective color correction (Selective color). You can choose the settings for this layer yourself, this will give a special charm to your work. My final result:
This lesson is over! Hope you like it!
Have a nice day, everyone!
