Video Game Girl

The concept for this was a video game effect, along the lines of the art from Borderlands but with more color.

I chose the image from Tookapic's collection of free stock images released under Creative Commons for commercial and personal use. Here is the process:

1. Filter > blur > surface blur, 20px radius, 12px threshold, applied twice

2. Filter gallery > glass > smoothness: 15, texture: frosted, scaling 70%

3. Filter gallery > poster edges, edge thickness: 6, edge intensity: 1, posterization: 5

4. Filter > stylize > diffuse

5. Copied the layer

6. Filter > stylize > emboss

7. Set layer style to overlay

8. Selected background, image > adjustments > brightness: -48, contrast: 40

9. Selected shark gun, filter gallery > cutout, default values

10. Selected woman, filter gallery > Sumi-e, stroke width: 5, stroke pressure: 2, contast: 12

11. Image > adjustments > posterize, levels: 71

12. Used the burn tool set to highlights, exposure 9% around edges of hair to give contrast from skin

13. Copied the layer

14. Image > adjustments > posterize, levels: 4

15. Changed the blending mode to overlay 

16. Set opactiy to 48%