Create a Gold Statue From a Photo in Photoshop
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The gold statue effect in Photoshop turns a photo with strong contrast into a shiny, colorized statue using the Apply Image command and the Camera Raw Filter.
The process is simple: All you need is a photo with a lot of contrast and the Apply Image command in Photoshop.
Then, you can use the Camera Raw filter to smooth out the image and get even better results!
The video was recorded in Photoshop 21.1. Every tool in this tutorial, including the Remove Background button and Apply Image, still works the same way in the current version of Photoshop.
Key Takeaways
- The Remove Background Quick Action uses Photoshop’s AI to mask a subject in one click, but you still need to clean up small gaps by hand.
- The Apply Image command with the Difference blend mode and Invert turns a photo into a chrome-like silhouette, and running it twice strengthens the effect.
- Desaturating the image before the Camera Raw Filter keeps the chrome effect from picking up leftover color casts.
- Clipping a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to the Chrome layer with Colorize checked lets you tint the whole statue gold without touching the background.
- Pushing the Luminance and Texture sliders in Camera Raw removes body hair and fabric texture so the surface reads as smooth metal.
- An Inner Shadow layer style adds depth to the flat chrome look once the color is in place.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Tutorial Image
- Remove the Background with Quick Actions
- Refine the Layer Mask
- Smooth Details with The Camera Raw Filter
- Use the Apply Image command to create the Chrome Effect
- Add a Solid Background Color
- Colorize the Hue Saturation Adjustment
- Fine-Tune with Camera Raw
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Wrapping Up the Gold Statue Effect in Photoshop
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to remove a background with the Quick Actions panel and clean up the mask by hand.
- How to desaturate a photo and smooth it in Camera Raw before applying an effect.
- How to use Apply Image with the Difference blend mode to create a chrome look.
- How to colorize a chrome effect gold with a clipped Hue/Saturation layer.
- How to add an Inner Shadow layer style for extra depth.
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 21.1 or the current version
Tutorial Image
Remove the Background with Quick Actions
Duplicate the Background layer by pressing CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to save a copy of it. This process will be destructive, meaning we cannot revert back to the original once we start applying the effects, filters, and adjustments.
Rename the duplicate layer as “Chrome.”
Disable the original Background layer so you can focus on working on the Chrome layer.
Then, choose Window > Properties to make sure you have the Properties panel on your workspace.
Under Quick Actions, click the Remove Background button to let Photoshop’s AI analyze the image and find the main subject. It selects the subject, applies a layer mask, and instantly removes the background.
For subjects with tricky edges like hair, see how to remove a background in Photoshop with a more precise, three-step method.
Refine the Layer Mask
The resulting layer mask isn’t always perfect. Zooming into the hand area of the subject, you can still see the remaining parts of the background. However, you can easily remove this using the Brush tool and setting black(#000000) as the Foreground color.
Select the Layer Mask thumbnail and start painting on the spaces between the subject’s fingers to hide these areas with the existing layer mask.
If a subject is too complex for a brush touch-up, channel masking in Photoshop can cut out edges that selection tools miss.
Smooth Details with The Camera Raw Filter
Select the Layer thumbnail and choose Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. By desaturating the image, it removes the color from the image and leaves it in greyscale.
By zooming in, you can see many fine details, such as body hair and the mesh pattern of the shirt, which can obstruct the chrome look you are aiming for.
Choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
Note: Camera Raw’s sliders are now grouped under Light, Color and Effects instead of one Basic tab. Texture and the Detail tab sliders used here still work the same way.
On the Basic tab, reduce the texture by bringing the slider down to smoothen the image’s textures.
Note: Click on the Toggle icon to see the original settings and what the image looks like after you apply the adjustments.
Then, go to the Detail tab and increase the Luminance slider to the maximum to give it a smooth, oil-painting look.
The Luminance Detail controls the noise threshold and is useful for noisy photos. Reduce the value by sliding it to the left to smoothen it further and remove the details.
Reduce the Luminance Contrast to the minimum to produce smoother results.
Use the Apply Image command to create the Chrome Effect
Choose Image > Apply Image.
On the Apply Image window, set the Layer as Merged, and also set the Channel as RGB.
Set the Blending mode as Difference to turn your subject into a black silhouette.
Not sure how blend modes work under the hood? Blending Modes Explained breaks down what Difference and the other modes actually do to the pixels.
Then, check the box for Invert to produce a chrome-like effect on the subject.
Press OK to apply the changes.
Now to further enhance the effect, repeat the process once again.
Choose Image > Apply Image.
On the Apply Image window, Photoshop remembers the last setting so all you have to do now is to press OK to apply the changes.
If there’s an area of the image that needs further enhancement, use the Lasso tool to select it. You can repeat the process, but this time it will apply only to the selected area.
Then, press OK to apply the changes.
Add a Solid Background Color
To have a better view of the image, create a solid fill layer.
Go to the bottom of the Layers panel and click on the New Adjustment Layer icon and select Solid Color.
On the Color Picker window, select a dark grey color and press OK to exit the window.
Colorize the Hue Saturation Adjustment
Select the Chrome layer.
Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon and select Hue/Saturation.
On your Properties panel, click on the Clip Layer Mask icon to clip the adjustment layer to the Chrome layer below it. By doing so, any adjustments applied to the layer will only affect the Chrome layer and nothing else.
Check the box for Colorize to apply color to the Hue/Saturation layer.
The new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer still has Colorize, alongside color swatches that make targeting one color even easier.
With the Hue slider, you can slide the pointer to the yellow-orange area to set the color to gold.
Increase the Saturation slider to further bring out the rich gold effect.
Fine-Tune with Camera Raw
To further smoothen the image, select the Chrome layer, and choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
Zoom into the image to see the effects closely.
On the Basic tab, reduce the Texture slider.
On the Detail tab, increase the Luminance to increase the noise reduction and remove the remaining details of the body hair, facial hair, and the mesh pattern of the shirt.
Double-click on the side of the Chrome layer to bring out the Layer Style window.
Check the box for Inner Shadow.
Double-click on the color thumbnail to bring out the Color Picker window and select one of the shadow colors on the chrome layer.
Select the dark golden color as the color of the inner shadow.
Press OK to exit the Color Picker window.
On the Inner Shadow Structure, adjust the Size and Opacity sliders to enhance its appearance.
When you’re happy with the adjustments, press OK to exit the Layer Style window.
Frequently Asked Questions
The gold statue effect in Photoshop turns a photo of a person or object into a shiny gold statue. You build it by removing the background, converting the subject to a chrome look with Apply Image, then tinting it gold with a Hue/Saturation layer.
Duplicate the layer, then open the Properties panel and click Remove Background under Quick Actions. Photoshop’s AI masks the subject automatically, and you can paint on the layer mask with the Brush tool to clean up any leftover background.
Desaturating removes color casts that would otherwise show up once you apply the chrome effect. It also makes it easier to see fine details, like body hair or fabric texture, that the Camera Raw Filter needs to smooth out.
Setting the Apply Image blending mode to Difference turns the subject into a black silhouette. Checking Invert flips that into a bright, chrome-like effect. Running Apply Image a second time strengthens the metallic look.
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer clipped to the Chrome layer, then check Colorize. Drag the Hue slider to the yellow-orange range for gold, or to any other hue for a different metal color.
The first pass smooths skin and fabric texture before the chrome effect is applied. The second pass, run after colorizing, removes texture the effect brought back and gives the statue a more even, polished surface.
The Inner Shadow layer style adds a darker tone along the edges and creases of the statue. Setting its color to a dark gold, rather than the default black, keeps the shadow consistent with the rest of the effect.
This tutorial needs Photoshop 21.1 or the current version. The Remove Background Quick Action, Apply Image, and Camera Raw Filter have been part of Photoshop since before this video was recorded and still work the same way.
Wrapping Up the Gold Statue Effect in Photoshop
The gold statue effect in Photoshop combines a clean background removal with two passes of the Apply Image command and a colorized Hue/Saturation layer.
Once you have the chrome look, you can push the color toward gold, silver, or any metallic tone you want.
Watch the full video above, and comment on the video if you have a question.
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