Create This Surreal Representation of the Mind Artwork in Photoshop ~ Photoshop for you !

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Learn how to create a surreal representation of the thoughts of a creative and business minded individual. You'll learn how to make objects come out of the womans head and place steampunk objects over the eyes.

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Surreal Representation of the Mind Artwork Photoshop Tutorial

Tutorial Resources

big blue sky stock – fahrmboy stock
old wood texture – kovik
bite me 5 – faestock
clock – mzacha
paper boat – selicula
suitcases – frozt stock
dummy series – drniels
old gauge – falsemaria
water pressure gauge – fantasy stock
paper texture 1 – wojtar stock
texture 119 – sirisu-sdz

Step 1: Create a Photoshop Image File

Now, let’s start by creating a new image file, go to the Menu bar and click File > New, and then input the following values on their respective fields:

Preset: Custom
Width: 2480 pixels
Height: 3508 pixels
Resolution: 300pixels/inch
Color Mode: RGB Color
Background Contents: Transparent

Step 2: Create the Sky

In this step, we will be creating the sky of our image. To start, open “big blue sky stock” by fahrmboy stock. Next activate the Rectangular Marquee Tool by pressing M on your keyboard.

Once activated, create a selection area around the sky as shown below:

Step 3

Now that you have the sky selected, left-click on it and drag that sky to our canvas using the Move tool (V). Position it as shown below:

Now, because of its size, we definitely need to reduce it to give the background a sense of depth and in order for us to resize the “sky”, we would need the Transform tool. Activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize the image as shown below:

The result:

Step 4

Now, let’s darken the sky to make it look more dramatic. Start by left-clicking on the “sky” layer and then press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N on your keyboard to create a new layer directly above the selected layer; once the box opens, input “darken sky”.

Step 5

Once you’re done with that, let’s now activate the Brush tool (B) but before we start, make sure that the active Brushes are the default brushes. The default Photoshop brushes are shown on the image below, if that’s not what you see, then follow the instructions below:

Right click the canvas while a layer is selected and while the Brush tool (B) is activated and then click on the button highlighted below:

Then click on “Reset Brushes” from the contextual menu.

Now, that that is done input the following settings for our Brush tool (B):

Brush size: 2500px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Note: The #: 000000 is the color of the brush. To change it to that, simply do the following:

Once the Color Picker box opens, input the following on the # box:

Now, we’re all set to paint, use the Brush tool on the following region on the darken sky layer:

The result of that should be similar to this:

Step 6: Create the Floor

Now, we will proceed to making the wooden floor to where the woman’s head is floating on. To start, open the stock image: “Old wood texture” by kovik. Once open, activate the Move tool (V) and drag it to our canvas. Put this layer above the “sky” layer and rename it to “floor”.

To rename a layer, simply double-click on the words: “layer 1” (you can find that on the layer window) to prompt a text box to appear.

It should appear on the image like this:

Step 7

Now, we would want this floor to appear flat and not like a wall, to do that, we would need the help of the Transform tool. Activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and right click on the canvas to bring out the contextual menu. Once it is up, click on Perspective.

Let’s transform it to a floor now, see image below:

The result:

Step 8

Next, we will darken the floor to make the light more realistic. First, let’s create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) above the floor, name it “darken floor” and then activate the Brush tool (B), once open, input the following:

Brush size: 1500px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000
Now, let’s paint:

The result:

Step 9

Next, let’s enhance the light on the horizon. Create a new layer above the darken floor layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name this new layer as “horizon”.

Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 1300px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: ffffff

Now, let’s paint:

The result:

Step 10

When you’re done, select all the layers that we’ve created and press Ctrl/Cmd + G to group them. Once grouped, rename it to “Background”.

Step 11: Create the Lady’s head

In this step, we will be creating the woman’s head. To start, let’s open “Bite Me5” by faestock.

Once open, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)

Now, let’s create a selection area around the head of this woman.

Note: The Polygonal Lasso tool (L) is great in creating straight lines to form polygonal shapes, hence its name; create a selection area around the woman’s head as shown below:

Step 12

Once you’ve done that, activate the Move tool (V) and drag her head to our canvas. Put this layer above the “Background” group. Rename this layer to “head”.

Step 13

Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T), resize the head and reposition it as shown below:

Step 14

Next, we will “open up” the woman’s head to see what’s inside her mind. Let’s start by “cutting it” – activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and create a selection area as shown below:

Step 15

Once that area has been deleted, it should look like this:

Step 16

Next, we will create the “insides” of her head. To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and input “Clone Stamped area”. Put this layer below the “head” layer so that the result would come up at the back of the “head” layer. Now, once it has been created, activate the Clone Stamp tool by pressing S on your keyboard.

Then input the following for the Clone Stamp tool:

Brush size: 90px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 100%
Flow: 100%
Let’s now start cloning:

To start, first make sure that you Alt + Left click on the “head” layer (alt + Left click on her forehead as shown below):

Next, left-click on the “Clone Stamped area” layer and then brush-in the area using the left mouse button shown below:

The result of that should be similar to this:

Now, if you’d notice the area created by the Clone Stamp tool is blurred on the edges so we’d need to make it look more realistic. For that to happen, activate the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) and create a selection area as shown below and then Delete the excess blurred area.

The result of that should be similar to this:

Step 17

Next, to make the “insides” look even more realistic, we would need to fix the lighting on it. Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name it “darken Clone Stamped Area”, once done, right click on this newly created layer and choose “Create Clipping Mask” from the contextual menu. Make sure to put this layer above the “Clone Stamped Area” layer.

The Clipping Mask allows the user to paint only on the clipped layer.

Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 200px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Let’s paint!

The result of that should be similar to this:

Step 18

Next, let’s adjust the lighting on the “head” layer. Click on the “head” layer and then activate the Burn tool (O).

Once the Burn tool has been activated input the following values for it:

Brush size: 1000px
Hardness: 0%
Range: Midtones
Exposure: 8%

Now, let’s darken the areas shown below:

The result of that should be similar to this:

Step 19

Now, let’s create the “head” layer’s shadow. To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “head shadow”. Put this layer below all the other layers that we’ve created for this step.

Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 300px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Now, let’s paint:

The result of that should be similar to this:

Step 20

Finally, let’s further adjust the brightness of her face to match with the shadow. To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) above all the layers that we’ve created on this step; name it “darken head”. Once done, right click on this layer and choose “Create Clipping Mask”.

Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 800px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 8%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Now, let’s paint:

The result:

Step 21: Create the Grandfather’s Clock

From this step on, we will be adding the things that are coming out of this woman’s head. First off, let’s create the Grandfather’s Clock. To start, open “clock” by mzacha. Once open, activate the Move tool (V) and drag this newly opened image to our canvas. Rename this layer to “grandfather clock”.

Once on the canvas, position it here:

Next, activate the Magic Wand tool (W) and left-click on the white space surrounding the clock. Once clicked, the Magic Wand will automatically select all the white areas surrounding the clock, now, press Delete.

The result:

Step 22

Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize it as shown below:

Next, activate the Transform tool once again (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and right click on the canvas to bring out the contextual menu. Once the contextual menu is open, click on Rotate.

Now, let’s rotate the “grandfather clock” as shown on the image below:

The result:

Once done, group the layer (Ctrl/Cmd + G) and name it to “Grandfather’s Clock”.

Step 23: Create the Paper Boat

Now, let’s create the paper boat coming out from the woman’s mind. To start, let’s open “paper boat” by selicula. Once open, activate the Move tool (V) and drag the paper boat image to our canvas and rename it to “paper boat”. Make sure to put this layer above the “Grandfather’s Clock” group.

Position the paper boat as shown below:

Next, activate the Magic Wand tool (W) and click on the white areas around the paper boat; delete each of these white areas.

The result:

Step 24

Next, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and reduce the size of the paper boat as shown below:

Next, activate the Transform tool once again, right click on the canvas and then click on “Rotate”. Rotate the paper boat as shown below:

The result:

Step 25

Activate the Move tool (V) and drag the image down. See image below:

Step 26

Next, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and put it above the “paper boat” layer. Name it as “darken boat”. Right click on this layer and then click on “Create Clipping Mask”.

Once done, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 600px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Now, let’s paint:

The result:

Group these layers and name it “Paper boat”.

Step 27: Create the Suit Case

Now, let’s add the suit case coming out of her head. First, open the stock image “Suitcases” by frozt stock. Once open, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and create a selection area around the suitcase as shown below:

Step 28

Next, activate the Move tool (V) and drag the selected suitcase to our canvas. Make sure to rename this layer to “suitcase” and then have this layer put on top of the “paper boat” group.

Position the layer as shown below:

Step 29

Activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and then resize the suitcase to the size shown below:

Step 30

Activate the Transform tool once again and right click on the canvas to bring out the contextual menu. Once the menu is open, click on “rotate”. Rotate the image to the angle shown below:

The result:

Group this layer and name it “suitcase”.

STEP 31: Create the Book

In this step, we will be adding the book, so to start, open the “dummy series” by drniels. Once open, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and create a selection area around the book. See image below:

Step 32

Next, activate the Move tool (V) and drag the book to our canvas. Rename this layer now to “book”. Make sure that it is above the suitcase group.

With the book on the canvas, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize the book as shown on the image below:

Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) once again and then activate the Rotate tool through the transform tool’s contextual menu (right click on the canvas to bring this up).

Rotate the book as shown below:

The result:

Step 33

Next, let’s adjust the book’s brightness/contrast. To do that, click on the book layer and then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and input the following:

Brightness: -67
Contrast: 0

The result:

Group this layer and name it “book”.

Step 34: Create the 1^st Gauge-eye

Now, we will be replacing the woman’s eyes to pressure meters. To start, let’s open “old gauge” by falsemaria. Once open, activate the Elliptical Marquee tool (M).

Now, create a selection area around the “old gauge” stock image. See image below:

Step 35

Once done, activate the Move tool (V) and drag this gauge to our canvas. Once on the canvas, rename it to “gauge 1”. Make sure to put this layer above all the layers that we’ve created.

Position the gauge on the canvas as shown below:

Once positioned, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and then resize and reposition it as shown below:

Step 36

Next, let’s create the gauge’s shadow to make it look more realistic. First, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “shadow of gauge 1”. Put this layer below the “gauge 1” layer so that the shadow appears at the back of it.

Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 300px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Then, let’s paint:

The result:

Step 37

Next, let’s darken the gauge to make it look more realistic. To do that, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and then name it “darken gauge 1”. Make sure to put this layer above the “gauge 1” layer; right click on the “darken gauge 1” layer and then click on “Create Clipping Mask”.

Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and then input the following:

Brush size: 400px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

The result of that should be similar to this:

Now, select all the layers that we’ve created for this step and then group them. Name this group to “gauge 1”.

Step 38: Create the 2^nd Gauge-eye

Now, we will add the second pressure gauge. To start, open the stock image “water pressure gauge” by fantasy stock. Once open, activate the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) and use it to create a selection area around the “water pressure gauge”. See image below:

Step 39

Once done, activate the Move tool (V) and drag it to our canvas. Rename this layer now to “gauge 2” and make sure that this layer is above the “gauge 1” group.

Position “gauge 2” as shown below:

Activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize “gauge 2” as shown below:

Step 40

Now, let’s create the gauge’s shadow. To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and rename it to “shadow of gauge 2”. Once created, make sure to put this layer below the “gauge 2” layer.

Activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 250px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Now, let’s paint:

The result:

Step 41

Next, let’s darken “gauge 2”. To start, create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N) and name it “darken gauge 2”. Once done, create a clipping mask on this layer but make sure that “darken gauge 2” is on top of the “gauge 2” layer.

Now, activate the Brush tool (B) and input the following:

Brush size: 250px
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%
#: 000000

Let’s start painting then!

The result:

Now, that that is done group these layers and name them “gauge 2”.

Step 42: Add the textures

Now, let’s add the textures! To start, let’s open the stock image: “Paper texture 1” by wojtar stock. Once open, activate the Move tool (V) and drag this image to our canvas.

Position the paper texture 1 as shown below:

Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize it as shown below:

The result:

Step 43

Next, change the Blending mode and Layer Opacity to the following:

Blending Mode: Soft Light
Opacity: 30%

The result:

Step 44

Next, let’s add the second texture – open “Texture 119” by Sirius sdz. Once open, activate the Move tool (V) and drag this to our canvas. Position it as shown below:

Now, activate the Transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize it as shown below:

The result:

Step 45

Next, change the Blending mode and Opacity to the following:

Blending mode: Soft Light
Opacity: 70%

The result:

Step 46: Enhance the Color

In this step, we will enhance the overall appearance of our image. To start, let’s create a Solid Color adjustment layer. From the Layer window, click on the “Create New Fill/Adjustment layer button”.

Once the contextual menu opens, click on Solid Color:

Now, clicking on the Solid Color option will open the Color Picker box. Now, input the following on the #: space.

#: 00021f