In this section, you’ll begin exploring how to combine photos and graphics to create expressive, eye-catching digital artwork. These tutorials will introduce you to professional design techniques that expand your creative range in Photoshop.
You will watch and follow along with each tutorial, practicing the skills directly in Photoshop.
These tutorials are for practice only. Your work from this stage will not be collected for submission.
Instead, the focus is on building confidence and getting comfortable with the tools before you move on to the culminating task.
Double Exposure: Learn to blend two images together into a surreal, artistic design.
Combining Photos & Graphics: Practice adding design elements (patterns, shapes, or logos) into a photo and blending them naturally with tools like displacement maps and blend modes.
These tutorials prepare you for the final creative task in this stage, where you’ll design a personal self-interest graphic that reflects who you are. By practicing now without pressure, you’ll be ready to bring your own ideas to life later.
What Is Double Exposure?
It's a creative technique of combining two photos into one surreal, layered image. Photoshop simplifies this by using blending modes and layer adjustments to fuse images seamlessly.
How to Do It
Choose Two Images: One serves as the main subject, and another is the overlay image with darker areas where the subject should show through
Overlay and Align: Open both in Photoshop, then drag the overlay onto the main image. Use the Move Tool (V) and Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to position and resize.
Blend Using Screen Mode: With the overlay layer selected, change its blend mode to Screen—this makes the light areas of the overlay blend softly, revealing the subject beneath.
Refine with Levels: Adjust visibility with Ctrl/Cmd + L. Moving the midpoint slider helps reveal more or less of the main image. You can also refine placement with further transformations.
Key Tip for Success
Choose an overlay with dark areas around the parts you want to reveal. This ensures your subject stands out with smooth, natural blending. You can also try adding a third image for a triple exposure.
Visual Impact: Double exposure delivers dreamy and artistic results with simple techniques.
Creative Flexibility: You can use portraits, landscapes, textures—mix them to tell a story or explore mood and style.
Fundamental Compositing Practice: This technique reinforces core skills like blending, layer stacking, masks, and tonal adjustment.
This tutorial walks you through transforming a simple photo by seamlessly integrating graphical elements—perfect for creating posters, social media visuals, or expressive composites.
What You’ll Learn:
Graphic Creation & Perspective Matching
Create a repeated pattern from a graphic (for example, a rainbow design) and stretch it into a horizontal layout.
Use Perspective Warp to make it conform naturally to surfaces in your photo (like a wall).
Subject Foreground Cut-Out
Use selection tools to separate the subject from the background, ensuring they remain positioned in front of the graphic.
Blend Mode Integration (Multiply)
Apply the Multiply blend mode to the graphic layer for realistic color interaction with textures and lighting in the photo.
Displacement Maps for Realistic Interaction
Create a displacement map using a high-contrast, grayscale version of your photo.
Apply it to the graphic so that it wraps convincingly around surface contours (like fabric folds or brick patterns).
Highlight Overlay for Depth
Copy the highlights from the original photo and place them over the graphic to reinforce lighting and make the overlay appear integrated.
Realistic Composites: These techniques mean your graphics won't look pasted on—they appear part of the scene.
Flexibility & Control: Displacement maps and blend modes give you greater control over how graphics interact with textures, shading, and lighting.
Professional Presentation: Highlights and warpings make your final piece look polished and believable.
Your goal is to create a personal artwork that combines photography and graphics in Photoshop. This is your chance to express yourself, your hobbies, or your interests through a creative composite.
Choose a photo of yourself or an image that represents something you love (sports, music, travel, etc.).
Select at least one additional photo and one graphic element (pattern, shape, logo, or design) to combine with your base image.
Double Exposure Technique
Blend two images together using a Screen blend mode or layer mask to create a layered, artistic look.
Combining Photos & Graphics
Add a graphic element into your composition.
Use at least one perspective warp or displacement map to make the graphic feel part of the scene.
Blending for Realism
Use a blend mode (like Multiply or Overlay) and add highlights or shadows to make the photo and graphic interact naturally.
Include:
Your final artwork (center)
Small versions of the original images/graphics you used (in corners or below).
A screenshot of your Layers Panel with meaningful layer names.
Save and submit:
PSD file with all layers intact.
Final JPG showing your complete canvas with originals and layers.
This project shows that you can:
Apply multiple Photoshop compositing techniques together.
Blend photos and graphics into a cohesive, polished design.
Express your personal interests through digital artwork.