Creating a Photoshop statue requires two photo sources: a figure, such as a dog or man, to use as the statue, and a texture, such as stone or metal, to use as the surface of the statue. This article assumes some basic knowledge of Photoshop CS2 for Windows XP, which is used. However, the procedures apply in general to all versions of Photoshop for all operating systems.
Open the figure photo in Photoshop. The picture appears in the background layer. Double-click on the background layer in the "Layers" palette to advance it to Layer 0.
Combine the "Magic Wand" and "Lasso" tools to delete the background. Fill in any gaps on the figure with the colour that surrounds the gap. Since this is going to be a statue, precision is not critical.
Select the entire image and convert it to black and white by choosing the "Image" menu, "Adjustments" and then "Desaturate."
Lighten any black or very dark areas, such as hair on the head. Select the area using the "Lasso" tools and then lighten it by choosing the "Image" menu, "Adjustment" and then "Brightness/Contrast."
Select the eyes and fill them with a medium grey colour.
Open a photo of the texture you want to use for the surface of the statue. Drag the texture on top of the original photo, making sure to cover all parts of the figure. The texture appears in "Layer 1." This example uses granite.
Click in "Layer 0" of the "Layers" palette to select it.
Using the "Magic Wand Tool" click outside the figure onto the transparent background. Make sure the "Contiguous" text box is turned off so you can select everything except the figure.
Click in "Layer 1" on the "Layers" palette to select it. Your previous selection now refers to the stone texture. Press the "Delete" key to remove the unwanted parts of the stone texture. Only an outline of the figure remains on the stone.
Select "Multiply" from the drop-down in the "Layers" palette. The underlying figure photo appears through the stone texture.
Choose the "Image" menu, "Adjustments" and "Levels" to display the "Levels" dialogue.
Adjust the sliders under the output levels until you find an acceptable combination of texture and figure. This example moves the black slider until 134 appears in the left "Output Level" box. Click the "OK" button to accept the changes.
Adjust the level curves on the figure, if needed, to change any lifelike shading to something approximating a hard surface. Click on "Layer 0" to select it. From the "Image" menu, choose "Adjustments" and then "Curves" to display the "Curves" dialogue. Click on the diagonal line and move it to adjust shading. This example clicks on the upper-right corner and moves that point down until the output level is 229. Click the "OK" button to accept the changes.
Smooth the outline of the figure, if needed, to enhance the texture. Use any of the "Blur" options from the "Filter" menu.
Add a background layer if needed. This example puts a new layer below "Layer 0" and fills it with white.
Save the image.