How to Create a 3D Pop-Out Effect in Photoshop
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- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:13 Photoshop In-App Tutorials
- 1:06 Duplicate the Background Layer
- 1:29 Disable Both Skateboarder Layers & Activate BG
- 1:35 Select the Phone Screen with the Magic Wand Tool
- 1:52 Apply the Phone Screen Selection to the Skateboarder
- 2:15 Select the Main Subject & Apply a Mask
- 3:00 Fine-Tune the Mask
- 3:30 Link Layers to Move as One Unit
- 4:31 Final Thoughts
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
The 3D pop-out effect in Photoshop makes a subject look like it is bursting out of a screen, a frame, or a photo. In this tutorial, you will build the classic version of the effect: a skateboarder jumping out of a phone. The whole technique comes down to two layers and two Layer Masks, so it is a great first compositing project.
This is one of my official Photoshop in-app tutorials. You can open the practice image directly inside Photoshop and follow coach marks that point out each step, or download the tutorial files below and follow this written guide instead.
Key Takeaways
- The effect uses two copies of the same subject layer: one masked to the phone screen and one masked to the skateboarder alone.
- The Magic Wand Tool, nested under the Object Selection Tool, selects the flat white phone screen with a single click.
- The Select > Subject command uses AI to select the skateboarder automatically, and the Layer Mask icon turns that selection into a mask.
- Painting on a mask with the Brush Tool hides pixels with black and reveals them with white, which is how you fix spots the selection missed.
- Linking both subject layers and unlinking the screen mask lets you reposition the skateboarder with the Move Tool without breaking the illusion.
Table of contents
- What You’ll Learn
- Requirements
- Keyboard Shortcuts In This Tutorial
- Tutorial Download
- Create the 3D Pop-Out Effect in Photoshop
- Open the Tutorial Image
- Duplicate the Skateboarder Layer
- Select the Phone Screen with the Magic Wand Tool
- Mask the First Layer to the Phone Screen
- Select the Subject on the Second Layer
- Fine-Tune the Layer Mask with the Brush Tool
- Reposition the Subject Without Breaking the Effect
- Link the Two Skateboarder Layers
- Unlink the Screen Mask from Its Layer
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Make the Pop-Out Effect Your Own
- Related Links
What You’ll Learn
- How to open a hands-on tutorial from the Discover panel inside Photoshop
- How to select a flat area of color instantly with the Magic Wand Tool
- How to create an automatic subject selection with Select > Subject
- How to convert selections into Layer Masks and refine them with the Brush Tool
- How to link layers and unlink masks so you can reposition the subject freely
Requirements
- Photoshop 2021 (version 22.5) or newer if you want to follow the guided in-app version with coach marks.
- Older versions of Photoshop work too. Download the tutorial files below and follow this written guide instead.
- The practice file, which contains two layers: a phone and a skateboarder. Grab it in the Tutorial Download section.
Keyboard Shortcuts In This Tutorial
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Open the Discover panel | Ctrl F | Command F |
| Duplicate a layer | Ctrl J | Command J |
| Decrease brush size | [ (left bracket) | [ (left bracket) |
| Select multiple layers | Shift Click | Shift Click |
Tutorial Download
Create the 3D Pop-Out Effect in Photoshop
Here is the plan. You will stack two copies of the skateboarder layer above the phone. The bottom copy gets a mask shaped like the phone screen, so the photo appears to play on the device. The top copy gets a mask shaped like the skateboarder, so he extends past the edges of the screen. Together, the two masks sell the illusion.
Open the Tutorial Image
To open the guided version, go into the Discover panel by clicking its icon or by pressing Ctrl F (macOS: Command F). Click on Hands-on Tutorials and find this tutorial, or type Create a 3D pop-out photo effect in the search bar. Open it, then press the blue Start Tutorial button to load the tutorial image in Photoshop.
If your version of Photoshop does not include the Discover panel tutorials, download the practice file from the Tutorial Download section and open it normally. Either way, the file contains two layers: a phone and a skateboarder.
Duplicate the Skateboarder Layer
In the Layers panel, click on the skateboarder layer to activate it. Duplicate it by pressing Ctrl J (macOS: Command J), or go into Layer > New > Layer Via Copy. You now have two identical skateboarder layers, and each one will do a different job.
Next, turn off the visibility of both skateboarder layers by clicking their eye icons, then click on the background layer to activate it.
Select the Phone Screen with the Magic Wand Tool
From the toolbar, click and hold the Object Selection Tool and select the Magic Wand Tool nested under it. The Magic Wand excels at selecting large areas of a single color, and the blank white phone screen is exactly that. Click once on the white screen to select it.
Mask the First Layer to the Phone Screen
- Bring back the visibility of the original skateboarder layer by clicking the empty square to the left of its thumbnail.
- Click on that layer to activate it.
- With the screen selection still active, click the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Photoshop builds the mask from the active selection. This first mask hides most of the skateboarder image and only shows it inside the phone screen. Half of the illusion is already done.
Select the Subject on the Second Layer
Now click the empty square next to the duplicate skateboarder layer to turn its visibility back on, and click the layer to activate it. Then go into Select > Subject. This command uses AI to analyze the image and build a selection around the main subject.
With the selection active, click the Layer Mask icon again. This second mask hides the background on the duplicate layer and shows only the skateboarder, who now extends past the edges of the screen below. He appears to be popping out of the phone. That is the 3D pop-out effect in Photoshop, built from nothing but two masks.
Fine-Tune the Layer Mask with the Brush Tool
Select Subject does a great job, but the selection is rarely perfect. To fix it, select the Brush Tool and paint directly on the layer mask. Black hides pixels, and white reveals them.
For example, set the foreground color to white, reduce the brush size by tapping the [ (left bracket) key, and paint over any missing areas of the skateboard to reveal them. A minute of cleanup here makes the final effect far more convincing.
Reposition the Subject Without Breaking the Effect
This next part is not in the in-app tutorial, but it is worth knowing. Sometimes you need to reposition the subject after the masks are in place. If you grab the Move Tool and drag the layer right now, the effect falls apart, because the masks move out of alignment.
Link the Two Skateboarder Layers
Hold Shift and click on both skateboarder layers to select them, then click the link icon at the bottom left of the Layers panel. Linking layers lets you move or transform two or more layers by adjusting just one of them.
Unlink the Screen Mask from Its Layer
On the layer masked to the phone screen, click the small link icon between the layer thumbnail and the mask thumbnail to unlink them. Now the layer can move while the mask stays locked in place over the screen.
Now grab the Move Tool and reposition the skateboarder. Both copies move together, the screen mask stays put, and the 3D pop-out effect stays intact wherever you place him.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a compositing technique that makes a subject appear to jump out of a screen or frame. You stack two copies of the same image and mask one to the frame and the other to the subject, so the subject overlaps the edges and reads as three-dimensional.
The guided in-app version requires Photoshop 2021 (version 22.5) or newer. The technique itself only needs layers and layer masks, so older versions work fine with the tutorial files downloaded from this page.
The Magic Wand excels at selecting large areas of a single color, and the blank white screen is exactly that. One click grabs the entire screen cleanly, far faster than tracing it by hand.
Select Subject uses AI to analyze your image and build a selection around the most prominent subject. It gets you most of the way in one step, and you refine the result by painting on the layer mask.
Click on the layer mask, select the Brush Tool, and paint with white to reveal missing pixels or black to hide unwanted ones. Tap the left bracket key to shrink the brush so you can work precisely along edges.
Moving a layer normally moves its mask with it, so the screen-shaped mask slides off the phone. Link both subject layers, then unlink the screen mask from its layer, and the mask stays in place while you move the subject.
Yes. You need a photo of a device or frame with a clearly defined screen area, plus a subject that extends past where the screen will sit. Action shots with limbs or props breaking the frame line work best.
Make the Pop-Out Effect Your Own
Two layers and two masks later, you have a skateboarder flying out of a phone. The same recipe works with laptops, picture frames, and billboards. Once you understand that one mask defines the frame and the other defines the subject, you can build a 3D pop-out effect in Photoshop from almost any pair of photos.
Try it next with your own action shot. Watch the video above to see every step in real time.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Selections and masks are the engine behind this effect and almost every composite you will ever build. To master them, check out my Selections and Masking Mastery course, where I cover every selection tool and masking workflow in depth.
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Related Links
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