Ever wanted to create those haunting end-of-the-world scenes you see in movies? The ones where planets loom overhead and cities crumble into darkness? Turns out you can build that exact look in Photoshop with just a few photos and some smart blending.
This tutorial walks through creating a dramatic apocalyptic photo manipulation. We’ll combine a massive planet, a destroyed cityscape, and a lone figure into one cohesive scene. Plus, the techniques here work for any dark, cinematic photo manipulation you want to try.
Let’s jump in.
Setting Up Your Canvas
First, you need the right workspace dimensions. This matters more than you’d think for final image quality.
Create a new file with these exact specs. Go to File > New and punch in these numbers:
- Width: 3080px
- Height: 3850px
- Resolution: 300px
- Color Mode: RGB Color 8-bit
- Background: Transparent
Why these dimensions? They give you enough resolution for detailed work without making your computer crawl. Plus, the portrait orientation works perfectly for dramatic vertical compositions.
Save this as your base file before touching anything else. Trust me on this one.
Adding the Looming Planet
Now comes the fun part. Place your planet image using File > Place. This imports it as a smart object, which you’ll want for the blur effect coming up.
Position the planet using the transform tool (Ctrl/Cmd + T). Hold Alt + Shift while dragging corners to scale proportionally. In Photoshop CC, just Alt alone works. Place it in the upper portion of your canvas where it’ll dominate the sky.
Here’s the crucial step everyone skips. Right-click the planet layer and select Convert to Smart Object if it isn’t already. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
Set the radius to 3px. This subtle blur makes the planet look atmospheric and distant. Without it, the planet looks pasted on like a sticker. With it, the planet feels massive and far away.
Adjusting Planet Colors and Tone
Raw planet images rarely match your scene’s mood right away. So we’ll use adjustment layers to fix that.
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Clip it to the planet layer by holding Alt and clicking between the layers. This targets only the planet without affecting other elements.
Shift the hue slightly toward cooler tones. Desaturate it by about 20-30%. This removes that oversaturated look stock planet images often have.
Next, add a Curves adjustment layer. Again, clip it to the planet. Create a subtle S-curve by pulling the highlights up slightly and shadows down. This adds contrast and depth.
Creating Atmospheric Lighting
This step separates amateur composites from professional ones. We’re going to paint light and shadow directly onto the planet.
Add another Curves adjustment layer clipped to the planet. Press Ctrl/Cmd + I to invert the layer mask to black. Now nothing shows through yet.
Select the Brush Tool (B). Choose a large, soft round brush with white as your foreground color. Paint on the mask over the upper portion of the planet. This creates a lighter atmospheric glow at the top.
Lower your brush opacity to 30-40% for subtle buildups. Multiple light passes look better than one heavy stroke.
Now add yet another Curves adjustment layer. Invert the mask again. But this time, we’re painting darkness.
Use the same soft brush technique to paint darker textures on the planet’s lower half. This creates dimension and prevents the planet from looking flat. Real planetary bodies have dark craters, valleys, and shadow regions.
Vary your brush size and opacity as you work. The goal is natural-looking variation, not uniform darkness.
Placing the Destroyed City
Time to add environmental devastation. Place your city image using File > Place. Position it in the lower third of your composition.
The city needs to feel grounded in the scene, not floating. Align the bottom edge with your canvas edge. Scale it so buildings reach about halfway up the frame.
Select the city layer and add a layer mask. Grab your Soft Round brush with black as the foreground color. Paint away the sky portions of the city image. Leave only the buildings and ground.
This masking step is tedious but critical. Take your time. Zoom in and carefully trace around building edges. The cleaner your mask, the more believable your final composite.
Blending the City Into the Scene
Your city probably looks too bright and colorful right now. Real apocalyptic scenes are desaturated and dark.
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer clipped to the city. Reduce saturation by 40-50%. Shift the hue slightly toward cooler blues and greens.
Then add a Curves adjustment layer. Pull down the highlights significantly. We want this city to look abandoned and lifeless, not vibrant and populated.
Create another Curves adjustment layer. This time we’ll add selective darkness to create depth. Invert the mask and paint shadows into the foreground buildings with a soft brush.
Think about where light would realistically hit. The massive planet above would cast some light. But most of the scene should fall into shadow. Paint darkness into alleyways, under overhangs, and in distant areas.
Adding Atmospheric Clouds
Clouds sell the apocalyptic mood better than almost anything else. But they need to look natural, not slapped on.
Download cloud brushes or create your own from cloud photos. Load them into Photoshop. Create a new layer above your city but below the planet.
Select a cloud brush. Set your foreground color to a dark gray, not pure white. Lower your brush opacity to 20-30%.
Click once or twice to add subtle cloud formations in the sky area. Vary the brush size and angle between clicks. This creates natural variation.
The clouds should feel wispy and thin, not dense. This is a dying world, not a stormy afternoon. Less is more here.
Change your foreground color to an even darker gray. Add another layer of clouds lower in the composition. These should be denser and darker, creating atmospheric perspective.
Placing Your Main Subject
Now we add the human element. Place your figure image (in this case, a girl on rock) using File > Place.
Position her in the lower third, slightly off-center. This creates a more interesting composition than dead center placement.
Scale her appropriately. She should look small compared to the planet but large enough that viewers can see her expression and posture.
Add a layer mask and carefully remove any background from the original photo. Take extra care around hair and clothing edges. These areas ruin composites when masked poorly.
Adjusting the Figure’s Lighting
Your subject’s lighting probably doesn’t match the scene yet. Most stock photos are shot in normal daylight. This apocalyptic world is much darker.
Add a Curves adjustment layer clipped to the figure. Pull down the overall brightness significantly. She should look like she’s actually standing in this dim environment.
But don’t make her completely flat. Add another Curves adjustment layer and invert the mask. Paint subtle highlights on the side of her face and body facing the planet. This simulates light from the planet hitting her.
Keep these highlights very subtle. Too much and she’ll look like she’s standing under a spotlight. Real planetary light is diffuse and weak.
Add a Color Balance adjustment layer. Shift the shadows toward cooler tones (blues and cyans). This matches the overall cool tone of the scene.
Creating Ground Connection
Nothing screams “bad composite” louder than a floating subject. Your figure needs to connect with the ground convincingly.
Create a new layer beneath the figure. Select a soft black brush with 30% opacity. Paint a subtle shadow directly under her feet.
The shadow should be darkest right at her feet and fade outward. Keep it small and tight. In dim lighting like this, shadows are subtle and close to their subjects.
Add another shadow pass at even lower opacity extending slightly further. This creates a soft secondary shadow that helps ground the figure.
Adding Final Color Grading
Now we tie everything together with unified color grading. This makes all your separate elements look like they belong in the same photograph.
Create a Color Lookup adjustment layer at the top of your layer stack. Try different presets until you find one that enhances the apocalyptic mood. “Moonlight” or “Night from Day” presets often work well.
Adjust the opacity of the Color Lookup layer to taste. Usually 40-60% gives you the effect without overpowering your careful lighting work.
Add a final Curves adjustment layer. Create a very subtle S-curve for overall contrast. But be gentle. Too much contrast at this stage crushes your shadows and loses detail.
Applying Camera Raw Filter
This is the finishing touch that makes everything pop. Merge all your layers into a new layer at the top (Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + Shift + E).
Go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter. This opens up powerful finishing tools.
Increase Clarity by 15-20 points. This enhances midtone contrast and makes details pop. But don’t go crazy here. Too much clarity creates ugly halos.
Add a slight Vignette by pulling down the Vignetting slider. Darkening the edges draws the eye toward your main subject and adds drama.
Adjust the Temperature slider slightly toward cooler tones if needed. This final color shift unifies the entire image.
Increase Sharpening to around 40-50. This brings back edge definition that might have softened during all the blending.
Click OK to apply the Camera Raw adjustments.
Final Touches and Polish
Take a step back and look at your composition with fresh eyes. What catches your attention? Where does your eye naturally go?
If anything feels off, now’s the time to fix it. Common issues to check:
The planet might need more contrast. Add another adjustment layer if needed.
The city could use additional atmospheric haze. Create a new layer, paint subtle gray mist with a soft brush at low opacity, then blur it slightly.
Your figure might need more rim lighting. Add a new layer, paint thin white lines along her edges, set the blend mode to Overlay, and reduce opacity.
Small details make huge differences. Spend time refining until everything feels cohesive.
Why This Technique Works
Photo manipulation is about selling the illusion. Each element in your composition needs three things: correct lighting, proper color matching, and believable integration.
The adjustment layer workflow gives you non-destructive control. You can always go back and tweak any element without starting over. Plus, clipping adjustment layers to specific elements prevents color spill onto other parts of your image.
Smart objects keep your source images editable. That Gaussian blur on the planet? You can change it anytime by double-clicking the smart filter.
Layer masks give you infinite do-overs. Paint wrong? Switch to white and paint it back. This flexibility is crucial for complex compositions.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t skip the masking step. Sloppy masks are immediately obvious and ruin otherwise good work. Zoom in and take your time.
Avoid over-saturating colors. Apocalyptic scenes should feel muted and dead. Vibrant colors break the mood instantly.
Don’t make your lighting too even. Real scenes have areas of light and shadow. Flat, even lighting looks fake.
Never neglect shadows. Even subtle shadows make huge differences in grounding elements realistically.
Don’t over-sharpen. Too much sharpening creates artifacts and makes images look processed. Subtle sharpening is always better.
Building on This Foundation
Once you master this basic apocalyptic scene, you can expand the technique infinitely. Add multiple planets. Include flying debris. Create lightning strikes or explosions.
The core workflow stays the same. Place elements, mask them carefully, match lighting and color, then unify everything with final adjustments.
Each new element follows the same process. This makes complex scenes manageable. You’re just repeating the same steps with different source images.
Start simple. Master basic two or three element composites before attempting massive scenes with dozens of layers. Build your skills gradually.