How To Create a Zombie Effect in Photoshop
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The zombie effect in Photoshop turns an ordinary portrait into a rotting, brain-eating creature using a skull, a rust texture, and a few adjustment layers.
You build it with clipping masks and layer masks, so the original photo never changes.
It is written for beginners. If you can add an adjustment layer and paint on a layer mask, you can finish this composite.
By the end you will have a full scene: green skin, a skull showing through the face, torn flesh, ruined teeth, and a foggy forest at night.
The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and every tool it uses still works the same way in the latest version.
Nothing here is zombie-only. The same masks and textures work on any composite, including a face swap.
Key Takeaways
- A clipping mask keeps every texture and adjustment inside the cutout, so nothing bleeds past the edge of the subject.
- Multiply keeps the dark parts of a rust texture and drops the light parts. That is what makes a flat texture read as a wound.
- A Layer Mask filled with black hides the whole layer. Painting with white brings back only the part you want.
- Loading a painted layer as a selection turns one rough shape into a reusable mask for every texture that follows it.
- The whole effect is non-destructive. Hide the layers above the portrait and the original photo is still there, untouched.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Step 1: Start the Zombie Effect With a Cutout
- Step 2: Make Zombie Skin in Photoshop
- Step 3: Blend a Skull Into the Face
- Step 4: Add Flesh Wounds With Textures
- Step 5: Texture the Hands and Shirt
- Step 6: Make Zombie Teeth in Photoshop
- Step 7: Drop the Zombie Into a Forest
- Step 8: Finish the Zombie Effect With Fog
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Zombie Effect in Photoshop, Done Right
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to drain the color out of skin with adjustment layers
- How to blend a skull into a face with a layer mask
- How to build torn flesh out of a rust texture
- How to mask textures onto clothing with a loaded selection
- How to finish the scene with fog, a night curve, and a vignette
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop CS6 or the latest version
- A portrait with the background already removed
- A photo of a skull
- A rust or grunge texture, a forest photo, and a photo of smoke
Practice Files
Download the images used in this tutorial and follow along step by step.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Create a clipping mask | Alt click between two layers | Option click between two layers |
| Free Transform | Ctrl T | Command T |
| Commit a transform | Enter | Return |
| Fill with the foreground color | Alt Backspace | Option Delete |
| Load a layer as a selection | Ctrl click the thumbnail | Command click the thumbnail |
| Invert a layer mask | Ctrl I | Command I |
| Undo the last step | Ctrl Z | Command Z |
| Step backward | Ctrl Alt Z | Command Option Z |
| Make the brush smaller or larger | Left bracket or Right bracket | Left bracket or Right bracket |
Step 1: Start the Zombie Effect With a Cutout
Every zombie effect in Photoshop starts with a clean cutout.
The subject needs to sit on its own layer with the background deleted. If your photo still has a background, remove the background in Photoshop first, then come back here.
The cutout does more than tidy the frame. Every texture you add later gets clipped to this layer, so the empty area is what stops the rust from running off her shoulder.
Note: The video cuts the subject out by hand. In the latest version of Photoshop you can select the layer and click Remove Background in the Properties panel, or use Select Subject and then mask. The Contextual Task Bar that floats under your selection offers the same buttons.
Step 2: Make Zombie Skin in Photoshop
Zombies do not have great skin, so the first change is color.
Click the Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Hue/Saturation. The controls open in the Properties panel. If you do not see it, go to Window > Properties.
Drag Hue to the right until the skin turns green. In the video that lands around 20. Then pull Saturation down a few points, to about -4, so the color looks drained instead of painted on.
Delete the empty layer mask on the adjustment layer to keep the stack clean, then clip the layer to the portrait below it.
Tip: To clip a layer, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the line between the two layers. The cursor turns into a down-pointing arrow when you are in the right spot.
Now add a Levels adjustment layer and clip it the same way. Drag the midtone slider to the right to darken the face, around 56 for this image.
She still looks healthy, so go back to the Hue/Saturation layer and push it further. Desaturate a little more and raise Hue to about 46 for a greener, sicker tone.
Note: These numbers fit the photo in the practice files. Judge the color on your own image instead of matching the values, since skin tone and lighting change what looks right.
Step 3: Blend a Skull Into the Face
Open the skull photo, then drag its tab down so both images float. Select the Move Tool and drag the skull onto your composition.
Place the skull layer directly above the portrait and clip it. It turns green, because the adjustment layers above it are now affecting it too.
Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) for Free Transform and scale the skull to match her head. Hold Shift while you drag a corner handle to keep the shape.
Lower the layer opacity while you work so you can see the face underneath. The skull in the practice files faces the wrong way, so go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal, then rotate it into place.
Tip: If the skull does not sit right, right-click inside the transform box and choose Warp. Pull the handles to bend the skull around her cheekbone and jaw. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS) to commit.
Raise the opacity back to 100 percent. Click the Layer Mask icon, set your foreground color to black, and press AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS) to fill the mask with black. The skull disappears.
Switch the foreground color to white, grab the Brush Tool, and paint the skull back over one eye and cheek. The story is that something tore her face open and the bone shows through.
Paint with black to hide anything you bring back by mistake, like her lips. Use [ and ] to size the brush down as you get close to the edges. For more mask control, these pro masking tricks are worth a look.
Step 4: Add Flesh Wounds With Textures
The textures are the real trick in this composite.
Drag the rusty metal photo into the document with the Move Tool and move that layer to the top of the stack. Set its blending mode to Multiply so the dark, broken parts of the rust sink into the skin and the light parts drop away.
Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) and scale the texture down over her eye, holding Shift so it does not stretch. A stretched texture pixelates, which reads as a mistake rather than a wound.
Because the layer is clipped, the texture cannot spill past her body. That is the payoff for cutting the background out in Step 1.
The texture still has hard edges. Add a Layer Mask, pick a soft black brush, and paint those edges away until the rust fades into the skin.
Warning: Check that the mask thumbnail is selected before you paint, not the layer thumbnail. Painting on the layer itself smears black across the texture. If it happens, press CtrlZ (Windows) or CommandZ (macOS) and click the mask.
Duplicate the texture layer and move the copy to the other side of her face for a second wound. Soften its edges the same way, and let a little bleed into her hair. It reads as dried blood.
Step 5: Texture the Hands and Shirt
Her hands and clothing need different treatments, so build a selection you can reuse.
Add a new layer, clip it, and paint her shirt in with a black brush. It does not need to be perfect. Set that layer to the Color blending mode and leave it alone.
Duplicate one of the face textures, drag the copy to the top, and clip it again. Move it over her hand, delete the old mask, and add a fresh one.
Now press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the shirt layer thumbnail to load it as a selection. With the new mask active, fill that selection with black to knock the hand texture off the clothing.
Tip: To reuse a texture on the other hand, duplicate the layer and click the chain icon between the layer and its mask. With them unlinked, you can move the texture while the mask stays put.
For the shirt itself, bring the rust photo in again, scale it over her chest, and set the layer to Soft Light. Load the shirt selection again and click the Layer Mask icon, and the stains land only on the fabric.
Add a clipped Curves adjustment layer above the stains and pull the curve down for contrast. They stop looking dull and start looking like dried blood.
If a mask ever comes out backwards, press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to invert it rather than starting over.
Step 6: Make Zombie Teeth in Photoshop
Her teeth are still too white and too straight for something that eats brains.
Drag the skull photo in a second time and press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS). Flip it horizontally again and line the skull’s teeth up over her mouth.
Add a Layer Mask, fill it with black, then paint with white to bring back four teeth. Ignore the rough edges for now.
Nudge the teeth up with the Move Tool and widen them so they cover more of her mouth. Point the tips, since pointed teeth read as scarier than flat ones.
Select the Burn Tool and darken the teeth until they lose that fresh-from-the-dentist look. Keep the strokes light so they stain rather than turn gray.
Step 7: Drop the Zombie Into a Forest
Zombies always end up in the woods, no matter where the outbreak starts.
Drag the forest photo into the document and send that layer all the way to the bottom of the stack. Keep it out of the clipping group, since the background should not inherit her adjustments.
Position the trees so the horizon sits behind her shoulders. Leave space around her, because the fog and the vignette both need room to work.
If the two photos do not agree on color or light, the fix is a color and tone match, not a stronger effect. Here is how to match a subject into any background.
Step 8: Finish the Zombie Effect With Fog
Fog, darkness, and a vignette are what sell the scene.
Drag a photo of smoke in above the forest and press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS). Stretch it wide and squash it short so it reads as ground mist.
Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the radius to about 6 pixels. Then set the layer to Screen so only the bright smoke shows and the black background vanishes.
Duplicate the fog layer twice. Move one copy up and to the right, the other up and to the left, so the mist looks layered instead of stamped.
Select the top two fog layers and drop their opacity to around 35 to 40 percent. Leave the bottom one near 77 percent.
The scene is still shot in daylight, and zombies come out at night. Add a Curves adjustment layer at the very top, click the middle of the line, and drag down until the whole image goes dark.
Finish with a vignette. Add one more layer, pick a large soft black brush, and paint around the edges of the frame until the corners fall away and your eye lands on her face.
Tip: Went too far? Press CtrlAltZ (Windows) or CommandOptionZ (macOS) to step back through several states instead of undoing once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start with a cutout portrait, then stack Hue/Saturation and Levels adjustment layers to drain and darken the skin. Blend a skull photo into the face with a Layer Mask, add rust textures on Multiply for wounds, and drop the subject onto a dark forest. Every layer is clipped to the subject, so nothing touches the original photo.
You need four photos: a portrait with the background removed, a skull, a rust or grunge texture, and a forest. A photo of smoke adds the ground mist at the end. The practice files above hold the images used in the video.
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and drag Hue to the right until the skin turns green. Pull Saturation down a few points so the color looks drained. Then add a Levels adjustment layer and drag the midtone slider right to darken the face.
Multiply works best on skin, because it keeps the dark parts of the rust texture and drops the light parts away. Use Soft Light for stains on clothing, where the fabric should still show through. Both modes sit in the menu at the top of the Layers panel.
Bring the skull photo in a second time and line its teeth up over the mouth with Free Transform. Fill a Layer Mask with black, then paint four teeth back with a white brush. Darken them with the Burn Tool so they do not look freshly cleaned.
Yes. The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and every tool it uses still works the same way. The latest version only makes the first step faster, because Remove Background cuts the subject out in one click.
Place a photo of smoke above the background, stretch it wide and short with Free Transform, and run Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at about 6 pixels. Set the layer to Screen so only the bright smoke shows. Duplicate it twice and lower the opacity of the copies to build depth.
Yes. Every change sits on its own layer, adjustment layer, or Layer Mask, so the portrait underneath is never edited. Hide the layers above it and the photo looks exactly as it did when you opened it.
Zombie Effect in Photoshop, Done Right
That is a full zombie effect in Photoshop, built from four photos and a stack of masks.
None of it is permanent. Hide the layers above the portrait and the young woman is back, exactly as she was.
Watch the full tutorial above to see every step in real time, and comment on the video if you get stuck.
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.
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Next, learn 7 easy Photoshop tips to make your composites more realistic.
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
thanks for the professional tutorial
Thanks for the comment!
very impressive, look’s like a real zombie 😉
Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
This tutorial was very helpful.
I like how you explain things very clear
Thanks soo much
No problem! Thanks for watching!
Thanks, Africa, Uganda
thanks for the tutorial .
you’re welcome!
thank you… very helpful… you are an artist
This is one of my favorite ones!!!
Thank you, Chuck!
Yes very nice
I wonder with what comment did you fill with black at the minute 11:36?
Next time can you link the photos you used please… I’m trying to look for a rust video as good as yours
Thank you for the tutorial
dear sir image download link is not working
this was a little hard but it worked out at the end