Photoshop

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a crazy explosion, like a mix of Magneto’s ability with Peter Petrelli’s power. We will use images and filters to produce this wave explosion effect. Even though it may look like a difficult tutorial, it’s really not that hard.

Step 1

Open a new document. I used 800x600px. Look for a road photo on the Internet. The one I used can be downloaded here. After downloading, place the photo in your document.

Step 2

Now we need a photo of a person. The one I used can be found here. Once you have your photo, it’s time to extract the guy from the background. Using the Pen Tool(P) create a path like in the image below. After that go to the Paths Palette and create a selection from that path. Then go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection. Lastly, I named this layer “dude.”

Step 3

Go to Edit>Transform>Scale and reduce the size of the guy. Then go to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal. We do that to match the light direction.

Step 4

Go to Image>Adjustments>Curves. The idea here is to darken the guy a little bit so he will fit better with the background. Use the image below as a reference.

Step 5

Holding Cmd/Ctrl click on the mask thumb of the “dude” layer. That will create a marquee selection of the guy. After that create a new layer. Rename it to “shadow” and fill it with black. Then go to Edit>Transform>Distort and move the vertices to make the shadow in perspective. The last thing here is go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Step 6

Grab the Ellipse Tool(U). Select Paths instead of Shape Layer. Create a Circle, like the image below. After that grab the Direct Selection Tool(A) and adjust the bottom of the circle.

Step 7

Create a new layer. Rename it to “clouds.” Then go to Filter>Render>Clouds. While holding Alt, click on Clouds. After that go to the Path’s Palette and create a selection from the path and mask the layer.

Tip: As you will be using the Render>Clouds, you will probably need to apply the filter several times until you got the clouds just right. Keep working with it until the light and dark areas are in a good position.

Step 8

Go to Filter>Liquefy. In the Liquefy Dialog Box select the Bloat Tool (B). Then for the settings use: Brush Size 550, Brush Density 100, Brush Pressure 100, Brush Rate 60, and Turbulent Jitter 75.

Then select the Show Backdrop Option. That will allow you to see the clouds and the background. It will be necessary to use the Bloat Tool in the right place. Click a few times and deselect the Show Backdrop. Then you will see the effect and will be able to repeat it more times in the correct place.

Step 9

Change the Blend Mode of the cloud layer to Soft Light. Then create another layer and rename it to “Clouds 2″ and repeat Steps 7 and 8. We will need another cloud to make it more turbulent. This time, however, use Multiply for the Blend Mode.

After that, create yet another layer. Rename it to “Clouds 3″ and repeat Steps 7 and 8. For this layer use Color Dodge for the Blend Mode. The last thing here is with the Eraser Tool (E) delete some parts. This layer is used to give highlights to the clouds.

Step 10

Group the “Clouds 3″ layer and go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. After that, select the Brush Tool (B), give it a black color, and mask some parts of the clouds that are close to the ground.

Step 11

Select the “Clouds” layer and go to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen More. Then repeat this Sharpen filter on Clouds 2 and 3 layers.

Step 12

Create a new layer. Rename it to “Glow.” Fill it with white and go to the Path Palette. Create a selection from the clouds path as we did in Step 9. Then mask the layer.

After that go to Layer>Layer Style>Outer Glow. Use the default settings. Then go to Layer>Layer Style>Create Layer. This command will create another layer from the Outer Glow. You can delete the white layer and leave just the Outer Glow layer.

Step 13

Create a folder called “Lights.” Move the “Glow” layer to this folder. Next select the “Glow” layer. Then go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Then select the Brush Tool, black for the color, and start masking the glow. We need just the outline; however, some bright spots in the middle will give a nice result.

Step 14

Create a new layer beneath the clouds group. Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool create a selection like the image below. Fill the layer with black and use 40% Opacity.

Step 15

Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. After that select the Gradient Tool(G) and use a black and white gradient. Then mask the layer, like in the image below.