In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a 3D perspective and an illusion of depth with basic Photoshop features, such as transform tools, blending modes, masks, adjustment layers, and more. I will try to explain everything in a very simple form, so that newcomers can also understand.
What you will create
We will start by creating a perspective background, adding shadows and some elements, such as chains, pipes and wires. Finally we will add some interesting textures.
You will need Photoshop CS5 or higher to complete this tutorial.
Final result:
Download lesson materials
Note: The author of the lesson used a paid image of the model. In the archive you will find a link to the source of the photo.
Step 1
So, open the image of the person. Unlock the layer. To do this, double click on the layer or drag the lock to the basket. Choose a tool Magic wand tool 
(W) (Magic Wand), which in our case is well suited for highlighting areas of close color. In the tool settings on the top panel, set Tolerance (Tolerance) at 25 and click on the background.
As you can see, the selection was not perfect. But it can be fixed in mode Quick mask 
(Q) (Quick mask). Activate the Quick Mask, select the hard brush (Brush Tool (B) and go around the edges of the selection. Depending on the settings of the quick mask, the selected or red areas will be displayed in red).
After you finish with the adjustment of the selection, exit the Quick Mask mode and press the Delete key to remove the background.
Step 2
Then go to menu Image> Canvas Size (Image – Canvas Size). Uncheck the option Relative (Relative) and change the size to 3362 x 3719 pixels. In the window that appears, a warning will appear that part of the canvas will be cut off. Press on Proceed (Continue).
Lower the person down a bit so that you can see the head. Create a new layer, drag it below the person layer and fill it with black.
Step 3
What we are going to do next is to create a pattern for our background. This template will help us in creating perspective backgrounds.
Create a new layer below the person layer. Choose a tool Retangular Marquee Tool 
(M) (Rectangular area) and create a selection of 1952×2432 pixels. Fill the selection with 50% gray through the menu. Edit> Fill (Editing – Fill).
Step 4
Open the image with the door. Select the entire image (Ctrl + A), then press Ctrl + C (Copy), go to the working document and press Ctrl + V (Paste). Move the layer with the door below the layer with the person in the layers panel. Reduce the image under our template (Ctrl + T). The door is slightly tilted. To align it, press Ctrl + T again, right-click inside the transformation frame and select Warp (Deformation). Align the door as shown below.
Step 5
Standing on the layer with the door, go to the menu Image> Adjustments> Hue / Saturation (Ctrl + U) (Image – Correction – Hue / Saturation) and decrease Saturation to -89. Then create an adjustment layer. Levels (Levels) as a clipping mask. Next to the layer with the door, apply the layer style. ColorOverlay (Overlay color).
Step 6
If you look at a person, you can see that the light source is behind it. Accordingly, the part of the wall located near the door should be in the shade.
Turn off the visibility of the layer with a person by clicking on the eye next to the layer icon in the layers panel. Open the image with the metal texture and move it to the canvas. Press Ctrl + T, right-click inside the transformation frame, select Distort (Distortion) and change the shape of the texture. To do this, drag the upper left knot of the transformation frame to the upper left corner of the canvas, and the upper right knot to the upper left corner of the door. Do the same with the lower nodes.
Check if your binding is enabled View> Snap (View – Binding). It will help us more accurately connect objects when moving.
Then go to menu Image> Adjustment> Levels (Ctrl + L) (Image – Correction – Levels) and set the settings as shown below. To create the right wall duplicate the layer and flip horizontally. Move to the right side of the door. To create the ceiling, duplicate the layer again and turn it counterclockwise. Edit> Transform> Rotate 90 ° CCW (Editing – Transformation – Rotate 90 ° counterclockwise). For the floor, duplicate the layer again and flip vertically (Edit> Transform> Flip Vertical).
Step 7
You see that the door still does not harmonize with the walls. To fix this, open the metal texture again as a smart object. File> Place (File – Post). Position this texture layer above the door layer and resize (Ctrl + T) to the width of the door. To maintain the proportions, hold Shift + Alt while scaling.
Set the layer blending mode to Soft light (Soft light). Duplicate the texture layer, press Ctrl + T, move the center of the transformation to the middle of the top edge of the frame and flip vertically (Edit> Transform> Flip Vertical).
Step 8
Turn on the visibility of the layer with a person and create a layer mask by clicking the corresponding button at the bottom of the layers panel. On the mask layer black soft brush hide your hands, feet and head. No need to be precise, as we can fix it later. The advantage of using a layer mask is that you can always go back and change the adjustments that you made earlier.
Create an adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) as a clipping mask. Set the value Hue (Color tone) by +12 and decrease Saturation (Saturation) to -70.
Step 9
Now we will add shadows to create volume for the background. Load a selection of the wall pattern (gray rectangle). Create a new layer above the layer with the door. Choose a tool Gradient tool 
(G) (Gradient), black to transparent, linear. With the Shift pressed, extend the gradient from left to right along the left side of the door. Set the layer blending mode to Multiply (Multiplication) and lower Opacity (Opacity) by 39%. Using the same technique, create a shadow for the other three sides.
Since the bottom of the door is lighter, for this gradient layer, set Opacity (Opacity) at 60%.
Step 10
Now you need to add shadows to the walls. You can use the same gradient technique as above. But you can also use the tool Burn tool
(O) (Dimmer). In the tool settings, select Range (Range) Midtones (Medium tone) and soft brush with a small Exposure (Exposure) Dim the bright areas. Do not forget to create a selection layer.
Step 11
Create a shadow from the person on the door. Load the layer selection (Ctrl + click on the layer thumbnail), create a new layer below and fill the selection with black. Deselect (Ctrl + D). Go to menu Edit> Transform> Distort (Editing – Transformation – Distortion) and lower the two upper corners down, as in the image below. Next, apply Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur (Filter – Blur – Gaussian blur) with a value of 86-92 px. Set the blending mode to Multiply (Multiplication).
Step 12
Now we will create a hole in the wall, ceiling and floor. Choose a tool Elliptical Marquee Tool 
(M) (Oval area). Create an oval and on the new layer fill the selection with black. Rename the layer to Ellipse. Activate mode Distort (Distortion), as you did earlier and distort the oval, as shown below.
Step 13
Create a copy of the oval layer and slide it to the left and down a little. Next, load the selection of the first oval. Then press Ctrl + Alt and click on the thumbnail of the layer with a copy of the oval. This action subtracts the selection of the second from the selection of the first oval. Create a new layer and fill the selection with white. Rename this layer to Ellipse shape. Turn off the visibility of the layer with a copy of the oval.
Step 14
Add texture to this layer. Create a new layer. Tool Retangular Marquee Tool (M) (Rectangular area) create a selection around the ovals and fill the selection with color. Make sure the rectangle is big enough and covers the ovals. With the rectangle selected, apply the filter Filter> Noise> Add Noise (Filter – Noise – Add Noise), Amount (Effect) about 275%, Monochromatic (Monochrome). Without removing the selection, apply another filter. Filter> Blur> Motion Blur (Filter – Blur – Blur in motion) Angle (Angle) 0, Distance (Offset) 36 px. For this texture layer, create a clipping mask (Ctrl + Alt + G).
We can use Brightness / Contrast to darken it a bit. But instead, I copied a part of the metal texture onto a new layer and created another clipping mask above the noisy layer. Set the blending mode to Overlay (Overlap) and lower Opacity (Opacity) up to 49%.
Step 15
Create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N). Load the selection of the Ellipse layer and go to the menu Edit> Stroke(Editing – Perform a stroke). Set the Width to 3 px, white, Location (Location) – Outside. Then apply Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur (Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur) with a value of 5.3 px. Decrease Opacity (Opacity) layer up to 30%. Using this technique, create a few more holes on the right wall, ceiling and floor.
Step 16
Insert the robot into the work as a smart object File> Place (File – Post). The layer with the robot must be below the layer with the person in the layers panel. Zoom out the robot (Ctrl + T) and flip vertically (Edit> Transform> Flip Vertical). Create a correction layer for the robot layer. Levels (Levels) as a clipping mask.
Step 17
Now we need to set the color and tone for the robot to match our scene. Add another adjustment layer. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) as a clipping mask. Decrease Saturation (Saturation) to – 51.
Then apply a layer style to this layer. Color overlay (Overlay color) color # ffde00, blending mode Color (Chromaticity), Opacity (Opacity) 3%.
Step 18
Create a copy of the robot, flip vertically and horizontally and place it in the opposite corner. We need to add a little shadow to the lower robot so that it looks more realistic. To do this, duplicate the layer again, change the layer blending mode to Multiply (Multiplication) and lower Opacity (Opacity) up to 76%.
Step 19
Add a layer mask to the copy of the bottom robot and erase the shadow. Since the light source is located in front of our objects, their frontal part is illuminated more strongly. And the farther the object is from the light source, the darker it will be. The image below shows with red arrows, where the shadow should be stronger, green – weaker. Take a soft brush and vary the opacity of the brush.
You can change the brush opacity in 10% increments using the numeric keypad: the number 1 will be 10% opacity, the number 2 will be 20% and so on. If you need a specific level of opacity, then after pressing the number 4, immediately press the number 3 – 43%. If you want to change the hardness of the brush, then pressing Shift + [- increase and Shift +] – decrease.
Open the image with the locomotive. Choose a tool Polygonal Lasso Tool 
(L) (Polygonal lasso), cut out a part of the pipe and paste it into our canvas below the human layer. Rename this layer to Pipe. Duplicate the layer, flip and lengthen the pipe.
Step 21
Use the same method to create depth and shadow. But first discolor the tube through the menu Image> Adjustment> Desaturate (Shuft + Ctrl + U) (Image – Correction – Desaturate). Then press Ctrl + L to open the correction window. Levels (Levels) and set the parameters as shown below (black marker value 51). Copy the layer style from the robot and paste it onto the pipe layer. Next, duplicate the pipe layer and change the blending mode to Multiply (Multiplication). On the copy layer mask, work on the light and shadow as you did in step 19.
Step 22
Below the layers with the bottom robot create a new layer. Download the selection of the robot (Ctrl + click on the thumbnail) and fill the selection with black. Set the layer blending mode to Multiply (Multiplication). Go to menu Edit> Transform> Distort (Editing – Transformation – Distortion). Pull the upper left corner and tilt the shadow slightly. Apply the transformation (Enter). Then go to menu Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur (Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur). Set the blur radius to 36 px. Select Eraser tool
(E) (Eraser) and erase the unwanted part of the shadow.
Step 23
Pay attention to the support of the robot, which is in contact with the floor. Under the support should be more clear and dark shadow. The theory is simple – the closer the object is to the surface, the stronger and clearer the shadow should be, the farther from the surface, the softer and weaker the shadow.
Create a new layer under the layer with the bottom robot. Select the soft black brush (Brush Tool) (B) and draw a shadow under it. Change Opacity (Opacity) layer up to 76%. Add shadows for other objects.
Step 24
We turn to the design and add some details. Open the file with chains. Select one of the layers and drag it to our work. In the layers panel, move the layer with the chain below the layer with the person. If you notice a white halo around the chain, you can easily remove it. To do this, load the selection chain, go to the menu Select> Modify> Contract (Selection – Modification – Compress) and enter a value of 1 px. Then go to Select> Inverse (Shift + Ctrl + I) (Selection – Invert) to invert the selection and press the Delete key.
Step 25
Load the selection chain again. Choose a tool Gradient tool (G) (Gradient) Black to Transparent, Linear, Mode (Mode) Multiply (Multiplication). Hold Shift and drag the gradient from the top of the chain down 100 to 120 px.
Step 26
Drag another chain to work. Remove the white halo, if there is one, as you did above. Then go to menu Edit> Puppet Warp (Editing – Puppet Warp). This is a very effective tool. With it, you can easily twist and twist objects. Click on the grid to add anchor points. In our case, we need to add 5 pins – at the very top, in the middle, at the very bottom of the chain and between them. These pins act like joints. Moving one pin moves the pixels around it in relation to the others. Pull these pins and change the shape of the chain. Press Enter to apply the warp.
Step 27
Position the chain as shown in the image below. Load the selection of the chain and draw a gradient with the same parameters as in step 25. Repeat this step for each chain that intersects with other objects.
Step 28
We continue to add details. Open the image with the wires. Tool Pen tool 
(P) (Pen) Create a loop around one wire. After the contour closes, right-click and select Make Selection. Copy the selection (Ctrl + C) and paste it onto our canvas (Ctrl + V).
Add adjustment layers Levels (Levels) and Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) as clipping masks. On the new layers, draw the shadows from the top robot.
Step 29
Open the cracked texture. The texture layer must be above all layers. Create an adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) as a clipping mask. Install Saturation (Saturation) at -100. Change the blending mode of the texture layer to Overlay (Overlap).
Step 30
Add a layer mask and use a soft brush to erase some of the cracks. Copy the layer and repeat the process for other parts of the body.
Step 31
Add some more details. Open image Metal Textures 2 and move to work. Using tool Lasso Tool 
(L) (Lasso) Select the part of the image and click on the mask button at the bottom of the layers panel. Press Ctrl + U to bring up the correction window. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) and set Saturation (Saturation) at -100. Then change the blending mode to Soft light (Soft light) and reduce Opacity (Opacity) layer up to 66%.
Duplicate the texture layer several times and place on other parts of the body. The opacity of the layer depends on which part of the body you are going to add texture to. In the darker parts, the layer opacity should be reduced to 30%. Now take the tool Brush tool 
(B) (Brush) with soft edges and a layer mask, process edges and erase unnecessary parts of the texture.
Add some more details to make our work even more interesting. Open the image of the rivets. Tool Rectangular marquee tool (M) (Rectangular area) select a strip and transfer to work. Position the rivets along the spine. Via Puppet warp (Puppet deformation) briefly bend the shape. Press Shift + Ctrl + U to discolor the texture and set the blending mode of the layer to Overlay (Overlap).
Also process the edges on the layer mask so that only the rivets are left. You can duplicate the layer and play with opacity to enhance the effect. Duplicate the texture and distribute the rivets on the back. On the layer mask, make some rivets less bright.
Step 33
We have reached the final stage of our lesson. Open the barcode image and place a Metal Texture 2 layer under work. Set the blending mode to Multiply (Overlap). Via Rectangular marquee tool (M) (Rectangular area) remove the top of the bar code. Lower Opacity (Opacity) layer up to 51%. Change the shape with Warp (Deformation) for the texture to take shape of the body.
Step 34
Add another texture to bring the whole image together and add a grunge style. Open the coffee stained texture and move it to work above all layers. Set the blending mode to Soft light (Soft light) and lower Opacity (Opacity) layer up to 66%. Copy the texture again and place it at the bottom of the scene. On the layer mask, erase the texture where you don’t like it.
Finally, go to the menu Layer> Flatten Image (Layer – Run down). Apply Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp Mask (Filter – Sharpness – Contour sharpness). Add adjustment layer Curves (Curves).
And we are done!
Final result:
Download lesson materials
Lesson psd file
