Step 1

Ok let’s first do the background. Grab the texture below, click on it to get the bigger version. If you would like to get the original for other project, grab it here on Flickr.

Step 2

Ok now, DUPLICATE that Texture/Layer and select the first layer. Since we want a taller background, go to CANVAS SIZE and increase the Height to 1600px by clicking the arrow pointing straight down.

Then select the duplicated “texture” Layer we first created and move it up to increase the height of what will be a concrete wall.

Use the ERASER with a big soft brush, maybe 300px in size, Hardness 0% and Opacity 50% and erase to blend the two layers together. Merge the two layers and it should look like what you see below:

Step 3

Now grab the texture below (CLICK ON IT FOR THE BIGGER VERSION), copy and paste it on top of the texture we already have. Change its Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY. (Original Texture Here)

Step 4

Then DUPLICATE that texture and change the Layer Blending Mode to OVERLAY and change the Layer Opacity to 20%. It should look like this below:

Step 5

Now let’s add some more texture to our background. Grab the texture below and position it somewhere on the background, I personally put it on the right side(middle). Change the Layer Blending Mode to SOFT LIGHT.

To better blend it with the background, let’s add a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer on top of our texture. Because we ONLY want the adjustment layer to affect the texture right below it and NOT the entire background, we will RIGHT-CLICK on the Adjustment Layer and select CREATE CLIPPING MASK. By doing so, you will see a small arrow pointing down appear indicating that the adjustment layer is only affecting the layer below it.

Now with the HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer selected, decrease the LIGHTNESS to -7

You can use a soft ERASER brush to erase the edges of the texture so it better blends with the background.

*Note that using adjustment layers is a good habit to have because it is a non-destructive process which means that we can go back and readjust things if we want to.

This is how it looks now:

Step 6

Now let’s increase the size of our canvas. Select the bottom layer and go to IMAGE > CANVAS SIZE and increase its size to 2600px wide and 2055px in height by clicking the arrow pointing UP. The background color should be #080909. I personally added a New Layer and put it under all Layers and filled it with the color #080909.

This is how it should look like now:

Step 7

Now let’s adjust the color of the background a little. Add HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer on top of the layer stack and enter those settings:

Tick the COLORIZE box
HUE: 190
SATURATION: 12
LIGHTNESS: -15

This is how it should look like now:

Step 8

Now let’s add a concrete floor. Grab the texture you see below (CLICK ON IT FOR THE BIGGER VERSION).

Step 9

Now Copy and Paste the texture on top of the Layer stack.

Go to Edit > Transform > Scale and before scaling anything, position the texture as you see below:

Step 10

Then grab the middle top point and bring it down to where the wall and the floor should meet, like you see below:

Step 11

Don’t click anything yet as we are not finished, go to Edit > Transform > Perspective and then grab one of the top corner point and bring them to meet a bottom corner of the concrete wall. Then you can lick anything in the Tool palette, then click APPLY the transformation.

This is how it should look now:

Note: If you want to do it exactly like me, grab the pic below, add it to your layer stack and scale it up. Then you change the layer Opacity of the floor texture to 50% and transform it exactly like I did.

Step 12

Ok now let’s add a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer to our floor but ONLY to our floor. So let’s do like we did earlier, select the HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer we have just created, RIGHT-CLICK on it and click on CREATE CLIPPING MASK to assign the adjustment layer to the layer right below only.

Once that done, enter the hue/saturation settings below:

Tick the COLORIZE box HUE: 202
SATURATION: 14
LIGHTNESS: -73

This is how it looks now:

Step 13

Ok now that we have the background for our scene, let’s add the cartoon sketch. This is important because the proportions of a cartoon are very weird and unusual and when you are using photos of real human, a cartoon sketch will help you realize just how much you need to transform your photos to achieve a believable cartoon look. If you want to do your own cartoon creation but you really suck a drawing, you can grab any cartoon you find on the web and you like and use it as a guide for proportions.

Now the cartoon sketch I did was simply using a pen and paper and then scanning it. Grab it below (click on it for larger version), add it on top of the layer stack and change the layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY.

This is how it should look:

Step 14

Now let’s add the boots. Click on the picture to grab the full size photo of the boots.

Step 15

Now use the MAGIC WAND TOOL with a Tolerance of 25 and select any white area like you see below but keep the shadows.

Step 16

Then INVERSE the selection (Select > Inverse) and click on REFINE EDGE **(or SELECT AND MASK for Photoshop CC 2019)** in the top horizontal bar. Enter the settings you see below:

Step 17

Now add a dark color(#2f383d) layer under the boots like you see below so we better see what we are doing then select the boot thumbnail at the left of the mask we created, use the Polygonal Lasso tool and make selections of the shadows like you see below.

Step 18

Then COPY then DELETE those shadows and PASTE them so they’ll be on their on layer. Then change their Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY.

This is how it should look like now:

Note: You could use a soft Erase brush here and smooth out the edges of the shadows but once we bring it over to our image, resize it and put it on the concrete floor, you wont see the difference.

Step 19

Now we only want to bring over the boots without the mask.

To do so, CTRL+CLICK (or CMD+Click) on the mask to make the selection around the boots appear, then select the boots’ thumbnail on the left side of the mask, choose COPY and PASTE it over on our scene.

Then select the Shadow Layer and bring it over too. Place it right under the boots where it should be and change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY if it wasn’t already changed.

Now select both layers (Boots + Shadows) and SCALE them down (Edit > Transform > Scale) to fit the proportion of the sketch.

At this point, we will want to also SEPARATE the boots and shadows so we can move them independently. So use the POLYGONAL LASSO Tool, make a selection around one boot, COPY then Delete than PASTE as a new layer. Do the same with the shadows and name those 4 layers (Boot right, Boot left, Boot shadow left, Boot shadow right).

Now place the boots in the position you see illustrated below:

Step 20

Since we will put a pair of pants over the boots, we need to erase the backside of the boot (inside part you see on the left boot).

To do so in a non-destructive manner, add a LAYER MASK to the “Boot Left” Layer. To do that, select that layer, then at the bottom of the Layer Palette, click the little icon where you see a square with a circle in it – this will add a Mask to our layer.

Then ZOOM the image to 200% or whatever you prefer and use a BLACK Paint brush of around 7 to 10px in size, Hardness 80%, Opacity 100% and start erasing (Painting Over) the backside of the boot as you see below: (Note: With a Layer Mask, Black hides and White reveals while tones of greys will partially reveal or hide)

Step 21

Ok now let’s add pants to our character.

CLick on the image below to get the LARGER version.

Step 22

To make a good selection of the jeans, do like we did earlier, use the Magic Wand Tool (Tolerance 25) and select the white area. Then INVERSE selection and then click the REFINE EDGE button and enter the settings below:

Step 23

Now, like earlier, CTRL+CLICK the mask we just created to make the selection appear, then click the jeans thumbnail, COPY then PASTE over our main scene

As you can see below, put the jeans on the side of the image and we will then use the POLYGONAL LASSO tool to take pieces from it and build a new pair of jeans but with cartoon proportions.

Step 24

Use the POLYGONAL LASSO tool and copy the selection illustrated below, Copy & Paste the piece above the left boot.

Step 25

Use that same piece by DUPLICATING it and then Flip it Horizontally (Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontally). Then add a LAYER MASK to that Layer and using a Soft Black Brush, erase the edges to make the 2 pieces blend together. If you don’t want to add a Layer Mask, you can simply use the ERASER to do the same job. With a Layer Mask, you will be able to come back later if you want and make corrections.

This is how it looks now:

Step 26

Now make a selection around the bottom part of the right leg as you see illustrated below, Copy & Paste over th right boot. You may have to scale it up slightly if you want.

Use a Layer Mask or the Eraser with a very small brush to make the jeans blend with the boot.

Step 27

Now select the piece illustrated below on the left leg and add it to our character’s right leg. Use a Layer Mask or Eraser again to make the parts blend smoothly. You may have to slightly rotate that part to make it fit correctly.

Step 28

Now for the thighs, make a selection of the area illustrated below, Copy, Paste and make it fit with our sketch. You’ll need to scale down that piece of jeans a little and rotate it slightly.

Then Flip it Horizontally and rotate it a little like you see below:

Step 29

Ok let’s add the zipper part, just select the area shown below, Copy & Paste it where it should be, then use a Layer Mask with a Soft Black Paint Brush Or the Eraser to erase the edges and make that piece blend smoothly.

Step 30

Now to fill the gaps remaining, select the areas shown below, Copy & Paste to fill the gaps. Use Layer mask or Eraser to make the parts blend well.

Step 31

Ok now let’s add the torso.

Below is a .PNG image with transparency and is the exact size needed. So save the picture below and put it on top of our layer stack.

This is how it should look now:

Step 32

Now there’s a gap on both sides where the shirt and jeans meet, to fill those up, make a selection of the area illustrated by the red square below, COPY & PASTE it as a new layer and then go to Edit > Transform > WARP and try to adjust and move to points so the gap is filled.

Then do the exact same thing for the other side.

Step 33

It’s time now to shape the torso in a cartoonish way and since our character is a geeky tough guy, we need to make him quite scrawny. So with the LIQUIFY filter, we will transform the torso on the left to the one on the right.

Step 34

It’s time now to shape the torso in a cartoonish way and since our character is a geeky tough guy, we need to make him quite scrawny. So with the LIQUIFY filter, we will transform the torso on the left to the one on the right.

So Select the Torso Layer and go to Filter > LIQUIFY and you can use the settings I use shown below:

Then what you need to do is using the circle with the + sign in the middle, push slightly where you see the red arrows below. What we are trying to do here is make his arms thinner, his hand bigger for that cartoon effect, his waist thinner, his shoulders higher and his neck thinner.

Step 35

Below is a VIDEO showing you how I used the LIQUIFY filter to make our character lose 40 pounds. If there’s one thing I would do over in this video is to push the shoulders inward even more. (CLICK THE FOUR ARROW SYMBOL TO SEE IT FULLSCREEN)

And this is how it looks now:

Step 36

Now the torso is a bit too long and to keep with the cartoon proportions, we need to shorten it. To do so, just bring the torso down like you see below:

Step 37

Now use the LASSO Tool and make a selection around the part of the torso that is just under his arms as you see illustrated on the left of the image below. Copy and Paste it as a new layer and set it aside for later.

Then use the Lasso tool or the Eraser and cut out the part of the shirt that was now over his pants after we lowered the torso. See below:

Step 38

Now as you can see, there’s a missing part on both side just above his hips. To fix that, use the lower part of the torso we just set aside, bring that layer UNDER the torso and fill the left hole. Now you see there’s still a hole on the right side so DUPLICATE that lower part of the torso and move it to the right side to fix the hole.

At this point, you can use a Layer Mask with a soft paint brush or a soft Eraser to make thing blend smoothly.

Step 39

To fix the hole at the bottom of his shirt, right in the middle, use the shirt piece we used to fill holes on both sides and Duplicate one of them, bring that layer Over the torso, over the hole, and use the Eraser to erase what’s not needed.

Then select the Torso layer, and using either a Layer Mask with a soft black paint brush or simply a soft erase, smooth out the parts illustrated below so everything blend together.

Step 40

Now let’s erase his neck so we can then put our own.

Select the torso layer and add a Layer Mask. Then use a small Black Paint brush with a hardness of 80% and paint over/erase his neck. You can leave a bit of skin right under his necklace if you want.

Step 41

Let’s now add a neck.

Grab the one below, it’s a .PNG file with transparency and is just the right size. Then paste it on our canvas and bring the later right under the torso.

Step 42

Now of course, we need to make the neck much thinner and we will use the LIQUIFY filter for this.

See below the transformation we need to make. I used the same Liquify settings as used earlier, shown below.

This is how it should look like now:

Step 43

Now we are going to use the same picture we used for the neck to create the lower part of the face.

Here’s below a .PNG image you can use that is the right size and where I erased the neck area using a small Erase brush with a hardness of 80% but you can use 90%.

Grab the picture below and paste it over our neck.

Step 44

We are now going to use the LIQUIFY filter to transform the jaw to what you see on the right side of the image below.

I again used the same Liquify settings as I used previously, Brush Size 136, Brush Density 50, Brush Pressure 48 – but you can experiment if you want.

Try to get similar results by pushing the liquify cursor in the direction of the arrows.

This is how it should look like now:

Step 45

Ok now let’s add a face.

Grab the .PNG picture you see below. To separate the face from the white background, I used the same technique we previously used by selecting the white area of the image, INVERSE selection and then click REFINE EDGE for small adjustments.

The face below is the correct size, grab it and put it on a layer right under the chin.

Step 46

Now we will use the LIQUIFY filter again to make the face cartoonish. Select the layer you want to Liquify and go to Filter > Liquify.

Here’s below, illustrated by red arrows how you need push the face.

Since we want the face to align perfectly with the jaw already in place, just barely enlarge the jaw of the kid with glasses.

In the VIDEO below I show you how I use the liquify tool to make the kid’s face look cartoonish. (CLICK THE FOUR ARROW SYMBOL TO SEE IT FULLSCREEN)

Step 47

Now put the face right behind the jaw if that wasn’t already done like you see below. Try to make the face fit perfectly with the jaw. If you are way off and doesn’t align well, try again the liquifying. During the liquifying process, you should just barely enlarge the jaw as I said earlier.

Add a LAYER MASK to the Jaw layer that was already in place and then use a soft Black paint Brush and erase the top edge to make the jaw and the face blend perfectly like you see below.

Step 48

Ok the face is a little pale so we will do some quick color correcting.

Add a LEVELS Adjustment Layer, RIGHT+CLICK on the adjustment layer and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK to assign that adjustment layer to ONLY the layer right below it.

Enter those settings for the Levels: 3, 0.81, 232

Now add a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer and do the same thing as earlier, RIGHT+CLICK on the adjustment layer and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK. This will also assign that adjustment layer to the “face” layer only.

Enter those settings: REDS > Saturation: -7

Step 49

Now what we need to do is cover the mouth with skin.

To do so, use he POLYGONAL LASSO tool, click on the “Chin/Jaw” layer and select a big piece of skin like you see below.

Copy and paste it on the left side of the mouth. Then Duplicate it and move it to the right side of the mouth like you see below.

Now to make the left piece of skin blend better, we are going to do a bit of color correcting by assigning a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer to that layer only. So after you add the adjustment layer, RIGHT+CLICK on it to assign it to the layer that is right below.

Then enter those HUE/SATURATION settings: MASTER > Hue +1, Saturation +13, Lightness -6

Note: Don’t worry if it’s not perfect we will fix that later.

Step 50

Now we will add a new mouth to our character. Right+click and save the .PNG image below.

Step 51

The mouth image is the right size so just apply it on the face like you see below. Use a Layer Mask or Eraser brush to make the edges blend smoothly.

Step 52

Btw, I forgot to add earlier, go on the “Neck” layer and use a LAYER MASK to erase the shoulders that are visible, like you see below. It doesn’t need to be perfect as well correct that later on.

Step 53

Now let’s go back to the mouth, since we want him to look a little mad, a little tougher, we want his mouth looking like he’s a little angry.

So select the mouth layer, DUPLICATE it, select the duplicated mouth layer and use the LIQUIFY filter on it.

You can experiment but basically, on the left side, just push the lips up and on the right side, push the mouth down just a little.

This is how it should look like now.

Step 54

Now let’s do a little bit of color correcting to the ‘mouth’ layer we just Liquified..

Add right above it a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer, RIGHT+CLICK it and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK and enter the settings below:

MASTER:
Hue +1, Saturation -5, Lightness 0 REDS: Hue 0, Saturation -16, Lightness 0

Then add a LEVELS Adjustment Layer, RIGHT+CLICK it and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK and enter those settings: 0, 1, 244

This is how it looks now:

Step 55

Now we will add a new forehead to our character. A forehead and eyebrows and make him look a little older and a little angrier.

Grab the .PNG image below (forehead) and apply on the cartoon’s forehead.

Now add a LAYER MASK to the “forehead” layer, ZOOM the image a bunch of times and then use a very small brush black brush, maybe 5px in size with a hardness of 80%, lower the Opacity of the “forehead” layer to 50% so you see what you are doing and erase parts of the forehead right over the frame of the glasses. Once that done, use a bigger brush to erase anything over the eyes/glasses. Don’t forget to bring back the Opacity of the “forehead” layer to 100%.

Then use a very soft brush, a little bigger and smooth out the edges so the new forehead blends with the old one.

This is how it should look like now:

Step 55

Now the forehead is a little discolored so we will have to do a bit of color correction.

Select the “forehead” layer and add right above a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer and enter those settings:
HUE:
-7 SATURATION:
-20

Now since we want that Adjustment Layer to ONLY affect the forehead, you’ll need to RIGHT+CLICK on it and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK to assign the adjustment layer to the layer right underneath it.

Now I also want to decrease the contrast of the forehead so add a new BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST Adjustment Layer right above the HUE/SATURATION one, RIGHT+CLICK it and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK and then enter this setting: CONTRAST -25

Step 56

Now let’s add bigger ears to our character. Grab the .PNG image below and add it on top of our layer stack.

Step 57

Now place the ear on the left side of his head like you see below and then DUPLICATE the ear and put it on the right side of his head.

Add a LAYER MASK to both ears and erase the edges for a perfect blend.

Step 58

Now the ears are a little to dark so let’s add a LEVELS adjustment layer to both ears separately. For both adjustment layers, create a clipping mask so the Levels only affect the ears.

The LEVELS setting for the ear on the left side are: 0, 1.22, 179

The LEVELS setting for the ear on the right side are: 0, 1.62, 179

This is how it looks now: (note: maybe you noticed it but the “angry mouth” layer was invisible for the previous images, it is now visible for this image below)

Step 59

Now let’s try to fix the whitish spot on the left of his chin.

So select that “patch of skin” layer we put there to cover the mouth, right above it is a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment layer we already assigned to that Layer, just change the SATURATION from +13 to +25.

Then add a new LEVELS Adjustment Layer right on top of the HUE/SATURATION one, RIGHT+CLICK it and choose CREATE CLIPPING MASK to assign it to the “patch of skin” layer and enter those settings: 0, 0.92, 252.

This is how it looks now:

Step 60

Now let’s add some shadows under the jeans where they meet the boots.

Go under the jeans layers, grab a black paint brush, size around 35px, Hardness around 25% and started drawing shadows like you see below. One way to do this is you want 3/4 of the shadow hidden by the jeans and 1/4 visible. Then adjust the layer Opacity to your liking. I add one with layer opacity set at 50% and the other one set at 65%.

Step 61

Ok before merging our character, let’s fix the neck/shoulder area.

So select the “TORSO” layer. Then use the LASSO tool to make a selection of the area you see illustrated in red, the top part of his blue shirt, all we are going to do here is Copy & Paste that part and move it slightly so it fits perfectly with the lower part of his neck. Also use a Layer Mask or the Eraser tool on the “torso” layer to make the skin between his neck and torso blend more smoothly.

Step 62

So now it’s time to MERGE every single parts of our character. So select every layers that make up the character and go to Layer > MERGE LAYERS.

Step 63

Now let’s just fix up his chin a little better with the discoloration, etc…

First let’s name the now merged layer the ‘character’ layer.

Then Duplicate it so if we mess up, we can turn back to the original one. Also Hide the original one.

ZOOM up the image and choose the Blur Tool in the Tool Palette. This one is represented by the water drop icon.

Now for the Blur Tool, use a brush size of about 15px, Hardness 0% and a Strength of 50%.

Then start blending any parts on the chin where the colors aren’t blended smoothly.

Step 64

Then for the discoloration, what you can do is add a HUE/SATURATION Adjustment Layer, if you want to lower the saturation of certain spots but -20 for Saturation, then Fill it with Black and the use a Soft White Brush paint over the spots you want LESS saturation. You can then add another Adjustment Layer and do the same technique for spots you need to Brighten or Darken or maybe ADD Saturation.

So after making a few adjustments, this is how the chin look now. We could make it even more perfect if we’d want to spend more time on it but in the end, after the color grading and retouching it wont make a difference.

Step 65

Ok, it’s time now to start the COLOR GRADING/RETOUCHING PROCESS.

DUPLICATE ‘character’ layer (the one we were just working on) as we will accentuate his cartoonish look using a quick technique.

Select the Duplicated ‘character’ layer then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. Then tick the “Use Legacy” box and push down the CONTRAST to -50. Click OK.

Then go to Filter > Other > HIGH PASS and enter for the Radius: 7.0 pixels

Then change the Layer Blending Mode (of the duplicated character layer) to LINEAR LIGHT and lower the Opacity to 40%

This below if what you should get:

Step 66

Now let’s work on his eyes a bit. We will make them Brighter and the white part of the eye whiter.

First, ZOOM our image many times so you can easily focus on the eyes.

Then Add a SELECTIVE COLOR Adjustment Layer and set the Layer Blending mode to LINEAR DODGE and lower the layer Opacity to 50%

Fill the Adjustment Layer with the color Black as we only want the adjustment layer to affect the eyes.

For the Selective Color settings, simply go to NEUTRALS and for Black, put +10

Then use a very small WHITE brush with a hardness of 80% and paint over the brown part of the eye (iris) to reveal the adjustment layer. You will see the brown getting brighter.

Now let’s work on the WHITE of the eyes.

Add a second SELECTIVE COLOR Adjustment Layer and keep the Blending mode to NORMAL, opacity 100%

For the Selective Color settings, simply go to WHITES and enter those numbers (Cyan -3, Magenta -11, Yellow -26, Black -33)

This is how it looks now:

Step 67

Now we will do the DODGING & BURNING to push even more the cartoonish look by mostly accentuating the Shadows and Highlights.

In the end, this is what all the dodging and burning will look like(below) but I did it in 4 different steps.

Step 68

First thing we need to do when doing Dodging & Burning is add a NEW LAYER and when the New Layer window appears, choose OVERLAY as the Mode and then tick the “50% Gray” box like you see below. By doing this, this will allow us to to the dodging and burning on the layer in a non-destructive way. We can later easily correct any mistakes by erasing the dodging and burning using a paint brush with the color 50% gray. See below how to achieve the 50% gray color.

Step 69

Then once we have create a “50% Gray” layer with blending mode Overlay, we can choose 2 techniques for Dodging and Burning. We can either use the Dodge Tool which the icon looks like a ball on a stick and the Burn Tool which the icon is a hand or we can use a black or white paint brush at varying opacity to do the same job. In the end, when you change the blending mode of the gray layer from Overlay to Normal, what you will see is different shades of gray.

So for our first Dodge & Burn Layer, we will use a Black paint brush and we will only do some burning.

So use a Black paint brush with a size of 20px, hardness of 0% and Opacity of 20% and paint over the entire contour of the image like you see illustrated below. Then use a much tiny-er brush and paint the contour of the eyes, nose and mouth.

Now, when doing the contour of our character, you’ll paint over the edge and we want to delete anything that goes outside the contour. To fix this, select the “character” layer, do CTRL+CLICK on the little thumbnail to select the character, then go to Select > Modify > Expend and enter 1px, then do Select > Modify > Feather and also enter 1px. Then INVERSE SELECTION, go on the Burn & Dodge Layer and use a big Paint Brush with the color 50% Gray and paint over what you need to erase. Because of the selection, you will not erase anything that is outside the selection.

Now I find the Burning a little too dark so I will lower the Opacity of the layer to 70%.

Below is what it looks like with the blending mode on OVERLAY 70% and what it looks like with the blending mode on NORMAL 100% to give you an idea of what was done.

Step 70

Now I’ll add a second Dodge & Burn Layer (Add NEW LAYER, Choose SOFT LIGHT this time and tick the 50% gray box).

This time I’ll be working on his face a little bit more, only adding a few shadows.

You can keep using the Black Paint Brush here, you can also vary the size of the brush and change the brush opacity to 10%

This is what I did on the second dodge and burn layer.

And this is how it looks when putting the 2 dodge & burn layers together.

Step 71

Then I added a 3rd Dodge & Burn Layer (Add NEW LAYER, OVERLAY and tick the 50% gray box)

However this time, I used the usual technique of Dodging & Burning by working with the Dodge Tool (the ball on a stick icon).

Choose a brush of about 35px, Hardness 0%, Range: Midtones with an exposure of 15% and just brush over spots in the face where you see highlights. Cheeks, chin, nose, forehead. (Make sure the Preserve Tones box is ticked)

This is what was done below:

Step 72

Then I added a final Dodge & Burn Layer (Add NEW LAYER, OVERLAY and tick the 50% gray box)

I used the DODGE Tool AND the BURN Tool on this one, I used a smaller brush, Range still Midtones with an Exposure of 10%

For this layer, I basically used the Dodge tool everywhere I saw highlights and the Burn tool everywhere I saw shadows.

By the way, note that you don’t need to be a great painter to do Dodge & Burn, I know I’m not, it might seem intimidating at first but just try it, use multiple layers if it makes it easier and the result should be great.

This is how the final Dodge & Burn Layer looks like:

And this is how it looks when the 4 Dodge & Burn Layer are put together (Seen here against a gray background)

And this is how it looks on our character:

Step 73

Now let’s work on the jeans. Since it is a relatively dark scene, I want the contour of his jeans to be darker.

The best way to achieve this is to use a Paint Brush with a Darker blue (#27304a) and paint over the contour of his jeans.

So use a brush of 40px in size, Hardness between 0 and 10% and trace the contour his jeans like you see below.

Now when you trace the contour of his jeans with a 40px brush, some paint will be outside of the edge of our character. To delete that, go back to the “character” layer, CTRL+CLICK the small thumbnail to create a selection, move back to the layer we were working on, go to SELECT > MODIFY > EXPEND and enter 1px. Then go to SELECT > MODIFY > FEATHER and enter 1px again. Now INVERSE the selection and hit Delete/Clear which will delete anything that goes beyond the edge of our character.

This is how it should look:

Step 74

Then change that Layer Blending Mode to DIFFERENCE and lower the Opacity to 30%.

Now DUPLICATE that layer and change the Layer Blending Mode to DARKEN with an Opacity of 50%.

This is how it looks now:

Step 75

Now let’s do the exact same thing with the boots.

Use the same paint brush but with the color #2b2219 and trace the contour of the boots like you see below

Then go back to the character layer, CTRL+CLICK the small thumbnail to create a selection, go back to the layer we are working on, expend and feather selection (1px) then INVERSE then delete.

Change the Layer Blending Mode to DIFFERENCE 20%.

Then DUPLICATE that Layer and change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY 40%.

This is how it looks now (on the right)

Step 76

Now let’s do the same process for the face. Trace the contour of the face like you see below: (color #b19080)

Step 77

Then use the same process as before to trim the excess paint.

Change the Layer Blending Mode to DIFFERENCE 5%.

Then DUPLICATE that Layer and change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY 20%.

This is how it looks like:

Step 78

Now let’s work on his hair a bit, make them darker.

Add an SELECTIVE COLOR Adjustment Layer on top of the layer stack and fill it with the color black as we only want to affect the hair.

Then we want to paint over his hair with a White paint brush to reveal the adjustment layer. To see what we are doing, go to the Selective Color options, go to BLACKS and temporarily increase the ‘black’ to +100. Then use a White Paint Brush with a Hardness of 80% and paint over the hair.

Once that done, enter those Selective Color Settings:
REDS: Cyan 0, Magenta +50, Yellow +20, Black +20
BLACKS: Cyan 0, Magenta 0, Yellow 0, Black +40

This is how it looks now:

Step 79

Ok since this scene is in a dark place, we will now add a vignette effect and shadows all around our image.

This is very simple, first ZOOM OUT the image, then use the ELLIPTICAL Marquee Tool and click in the upper left corner then drag and release the selection in the lower right corner.

Then INVERSE selection.

Add a brand new Layer and on it, fill the selection with the color Black.

Now add GAUSSIAN BLUR to the black area all around our image and set the radius to 200px.

Change the Layer Blending Mode to SOFT LIGHT and the Opacity to 50%

This is how it looks like now:

Step 80

Ok let’s now tackle the COLOR GRADING!

First we want to make the colors of our character blend a little better with the background so for this step, we will only work on the colors of the character.

To do so, go back to the “character” layer and CTRL+CLICK the little thumbnail to a create a selection. Then go back on top and create a SELECTIVE COLOR Adjustment Layer at the very top of the layer stack. Because of the selection we just created, the MASK of the new adjustment layer will be WHITE inside the selection and BLACK outside which is exactly what we need. We want the adjustment layer to only affect the character.

Enter those settings for the Selective Color Adjustment Layer:
REDS: Cyan -11, Magenta -8, Yellow 0, Black +13
YELLOWS: Cyan -20, Magenta -8, Yellow +15, Black +26
BLUES: Cyan -38, Magenta 0, Yellow -15, Black +5
WHITES: Cyan -1, Magenta -5, Yellow -10, Black -2
NEUTRALS: Cyan +15, Magenta +1, Yellow -3, Black +4
BLACKS: Cyan +3, Magenta +3, Yellow +10, Black 0

This is how it looks now:

Step 81

Now let’s do some color grading on this entire image.

Add a COLOR BALANCE Adjustment Layer on top and enter those settings:

SHADOWS: Cyan/Red -2, Magenta/Green -2, Yellow/Blue +5
MIDTONES: Cyan/Red -2, Magenta/Green +8, Yellow/Blue +12
HIGHLIGHTS: Cyan/Red -10, Magenta/Green +2, Yellow/Blue +10

This is how it looks now:

Step 82

Now let’s add a PHOTO FILTER Adjustment Layer.

Choose DEEP BLUE at 25%

Step 83

Let’s now add another SELECTIVE COLOR Adjustment Layer to see if we can improve the image a little more by working mostly on the blue/black/white.

Enter the settings below:

CYANS: Cyan -14, Magenta +5, Yellow -14, Black -5
BLUES: Cyan +2, Magenta 0, Yellow +10, Black -5
WHITES: Cyan 0, Magenta -8, Yellow +5, Black -5
NEUTRALS: Cyan +2, Magenta +2, Yellow +2, Black +2
BLACKS: Cyan +1, Magenta +1, Yellow +2, Black 0

This is how it looks now:

Step 84

Ok now, let’s fix the hair, there’s too much highlights on top of his head.

Here, we will do like we did earlier with the pants, boots, etc… take a Paint brush with the color #7a7a7a and trace the contour of the top of his head.

Then go back to the “character” layer, CTRL+CLICK the small thumbnail to create a selection, expend 1 px, feather 1 px, INVERSE selection, go back to the layer we are working on and delete/clear.

See below:

Then change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY and this is what we get:

Step 85

Let’s add another PHOTO FILTER Adjustment Layer and this time choose the color GREEN at 25%. The change the Opacity of the adjustment layer to 30%

Step 86

Let do the shadows now.

Go the the “character” layer and CTRL+CLICK the small thumbnail to create a selection.

Then add a new layer and fill the selection with the color Black. Then bring that layer BEHIND the character. DUPLICATE that Layer and HIDE one.

Then go to Edit > Transform > DISTORT and try to position the shadow as you see below.

Add a GAUSSIAN BLUR to the shadow and enter 2 or 3px as the radius. Lower the layer Opacity to your liking.

Step 87

Now UNHIDE the duplicated layer we just created and only keep the shoulders and above, delete the rest.

Add a GAUSSIAN BLUR to the shadow and enter 2 or 3px as the radius.

Reduce the Opacity of the Layer to about 50%, resize the shadow and place it where you see below:

Step 88

Now let’s add a bit of shadows near where the floor and the walls meet.

Use the LASSO tool and make a selection like you see below over the floor and walls and fill it with this color #b5cbdd

Then apply a GAUSSIAN BLUR to it and enter 10px for the radius.

This is how it should look like below:

And this is what it looks like when you change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY

Step 89

Now for the graffiti on the wall, the best way to to this is to use a pen and paper, write and draw and few things and then scan it.

This below is what I used (click on the pic for bigger version)

To add the to the wall, just change the Layer Blending Mode to MULTIPLY

Step 90

To paint on the wall, just use different Paint Brushes and then set the Layer Blending Mode to OVERLAY

Step 91

Finally, let’s SHARPEN our image.

MERGE everything down and resize the image to the size you want. Personally, I resized it to 900px in height.

Then DUPLICATE the merged layer, select the top one and change it’s Blending Mode to LINEAR LIGHT.

Then go to Filter > Other > HIGH PASS and set the Radius to 0.3px

Lower the opacity of the HIGH PASS layer to your liking, me I lowered it to 50%.

Then use the eraser or a layer mask with a black paint brush on the HIGH PASS layer to erase any sharpness in the background if you don’t like your background sharp. Also, use a small brush to erase any sharpness on the edge/contour of our character.

And this is the final result:

Let’s Cartoonize Him Even Further

To smooth out details, merge the image, go to Filter>Camera Raw Filter>Detail … and increase the Noise Reduction until you get the results you want. You can also adjust Detail and Contrast.