In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows us how to create a surreal honeycomb effect in Photoshop. This can be used in your fantasy works and conceptual images.

In the video, Esparza starts by walking us through some blend mode tips as she uses the soft light and overlay blend modes to build a foundation for the editing to come. I use these blend modes often, as they are the best for blending textures onto most things. One thing Esparza does is take notice of the form and shape of the body. She makes sure the texture and form match that of the body, so it does not just look like a cut-and-paste job.

Another cool tip from the video is about using groups to edit multiple layers at once. This comes in handy when trying to manipulate many layers of textures. It can become very messy in larger photo manipulations like these, so good layer management always works a treat.  As the tutorial moves along, Esparza begins to touch on some small digital painting tricks to define the honeycomb. If you have not yet gotten into that side of photo manipulation, here is an excellent place to start. The painting is minimal but a nice little intro to that world.

This tutorial is great for beginners and even intermediate Photoshop artists who maybe do photo manipulation but have not tackled any advanced tricks. The techniques used in this video can be applied to many different situations, so get creative and have a play.