Create a Dynamic ‘Dance’ Desktop Wallpaper in Photoshop and Illustrator

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Photoshop, when combined with a vector program such as Illustrator, can yield some incredible effects that are perfect for creating desktop wallpapers. The ability to combine stock images with vector shapes, 3d objects and lines will help make any of your compositions more dynamic.
In this tutorial, Bram Vanhaeren of into1 will show you how to create a dynamic desktop wallpaper called ‘Dance’. You’ll learn how to manipulate some stock images, create super cool vector 3D shapes, and build a dynamic composition using multiple elements.
Read on to get started!
Tools Used

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator

Final Image Preview:

(Wallpapers Here)

Step 01

When I’ve got an idea in mind and I’m ready to start the artwork, I begin by gathering my resources. In this case, I’ll build up my artwork around a stock picture. Take the time to get the most fitting photograph for your concept. There are plenty of websites where you can find lots of good-quality stock pictures to buy. For this project I’ve found a beautiful girl break dancing.
I’ve chosen this stock image, because I wanted to create a energetic dance scene for a desktop wallpaper. You can get images such as this either from paid stock sites, or from free sites like SXC and deviantART.

Step 02

To start off I like to cut out the model from the stock image, I prefer the Polygonal Lasso Tool and the Pen tool for the final touches. Make sure you cut everything out well. Work on a black background to check if everything is cut out smoothly. I also desaturated the model colors. We will be working on black and white, because it’s easy to add nice color effects on them later.