Create a Striking Photo Manipulation of a Face Distorted in Space

Step 10

Repeat steps 8 and 9 until you have created enough fragments (10 or 20 should be enough). Feel free to rotate and resize the fragments (with Ctrl + T) to make them more random and interesting.

Step 11

The fragments look fake because they don’t have a shadow. Now we could add a shadow to each and every fragment but this would be time wasting. Instead group all the fragments together (hold Ctrl and click on each other to select them and Ctrl + G to group) and double click the group icon to open Advanced Blending options window. Add a Drop Shadow effect with the settings shown below and all the fragments will get a shadow.

Step 12

I find that there are still too few fragments for my taste. Duplicate the fragments group once or twice and resize/rotate each duplicate (use Free Transform – Ctrl + T) to make it look different from the original. Place the duplicates in random positions – but still in the right side of the image. If something is wrong with a duplicate group simply add a layer mask to it and hide the offending sections (paint with black in the layer mask).

Step 13

Now let’s create some holes in the face from where the fragments have flown. Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + N) and use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to a selection of a small triangle (roughly the size of one of the fragments) and fill it with white (Shift + F5). Repeat this procedure until you have ten or fifteen white triangles on the face as shown below.

Step 14

Now double click the holes layer to enter Advanced Blending options and add an inner shadow and a color overlay effect to make them look realistic.

Step 15

Duplicate the holes layer with Ctrl + J and resize/reposition it next to the original holes layer to have some variation. Use a layer mask to correct eventual bad looking areas.

Step 16

Now let’s add some contour lines to the face and nose (they blend with the overall crystals) to make them more prominent. Create a couple of new layers and set the blend modes to Overlay. With a small round soft brush at 30% opacity paint with white some scribble lines around the face and nose as shown below.