This ghost photo effect is a part of the Halloween Ghost Animated Photoshop Action from my portfolio on Envato Market.
Tutorial Assets
The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:
1. Add the Stock Image
Step 1
Create a new document in Photoshop. Add the image that you want to turn into a ghost effect.
The ghost effect works both for humans and animals. You can try it to create scary Halloween images.
Call this layer Nature Background.
Step 2
Press Control-J to duplicate the Background layer and call it Girl layer.
2. Remove the Girl From the Background
Step 1
First, you have to hide the Girl layer. Click the eye icon to hide the layer.
Go back to the Background layer. What we want to do in this layer is to remove the girl and to obtain a foliage background.
Step 2
Pick the Clone Stamp Tool (S). With this tool, we will copy from one area of the photo to the area where the girl is.
Keep the Alt key pressed and click where the arrow from the preview points. The cursor will change to a target: click the exact spot you want to start copying from.
We use a soft round brush of around 94 px size. Paint over the photo, starting from the middle of the girl, as shown in the preview.
Keep painting over the image until you’ve covered the entire area.
If you want, you can press Alt and choose another starting point to obtain a seamless result.
3. Remove the Background of the Girl Image
Step 1
Add a Layer Mask to the Girl layer.
Step 2
First, hide the Background layer just for this step.
Set the Foreground Color to #000000. Pick the Brush Tool (B) and, with a soft round brush, paint inside the Layer Mask to remove the background of the girl layer.
Click on the Thumbnail of the Layer Mask to paint inside the mask.
Keep painting until you’ve removed the entire background. You don’t have to make a precise cut, but make sure the background is removed.
Step 3
Right click on the Thumbnail of the Layer Mask and choose Apply Layer Mask.
Ghosting an image with Photoshop is quite easy. In the next step, we’ll turn this girl into a ghost.
4. Create Ghost Eyes in Photoshop
Step 1
Set the Foreground Color to #ffffff.
Add a new Layer and call it Ghost Eyes. To create this effect, use the Brush Tool (B) and a soft round brush.
Set the size of the brush to match the size of the eye. Add a white dot over each eye, as shown in the preview.
Step 2
Reduce the opacity of the Ghost Eyes layer to around 67%.
Step 3
Select the Girl layer and the Ghost Eyes layer and press Control-E to merge them. Rename the new layer Ghost 1.
5. Create the Ghost Effect in Photoshop
Step 1
Press Control-J to duplicate the Ghost 1 layer and name it Ghost 2.
Step 2
Hide the Ghost 2 layer.
Reduce the Opacity of the Ghost 1 layer to around 50%.
Step 3
Add a Layer Mask to this layer and, with the Brush Tool (B), paint over the lower part of the image. Use the color #ffffff and different opacity levels to create a transparent ghostly effect.
Step 4
Make the Ghost 2 layer visible again. Use the Move Tool (V) to move the layer 10 pixels to the left.
Step 5
Set the blend mode to Lighten and the Opacity to 25%. You can change these settings to your liking.
Step 6
Add a Layer Mask to the Ghost 2 layer and, with the Brush Tool (B), paint over the lower part of the image. Use the color #ffffff and different opacity levels to create a transparent ghostly effect.
6. Use a Gradient Map to Colorize the Image
To colorize the image using a gradient, go to Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map.
You can use any color tones you want. For creating ghost effects, I usually use either a black-white gradient or a blue-cyan gradient.
For this tutorial, I will use these colors: #000000 (location 0%), #6c9298 (location 32%), and #ffffff (location 100%).
7. Create the Animated Ghost Effect
Step 1
To create the ghost animation effect, go to Window > Animation. In Photoshop, you use the Timeline panel to create animation frames.
Make sure the Timeline panel is in frame animation mode. Click on either of the buttons shown in the preview and choose Convert to Frame Animation.
Step 2
Click on the arrow next to the seconds of the first frame and choose No delay. This setting determines the speed of the animation.
Step 3
Click on the arrow next to the Once setting and choose Forever. This setting determines the duration of the animation loop.
Step 4
Click on the Duplicate Selected Frames button to create a new frame.
Step 5
Make sure Frame 2 is selected and move the Ghost 2 layer 10 pixels to the left, using the Move Tool (V).
Step 6
Make sure Frame 2 is selected and set the Opacity of the Ghost 1 layer 16%. Also, move the layer 5 pixels down using the Move Tool (V).
Step 7
Click on Frame 1, hold down the Shift key, and click on Frame 2 to select the two frames.
Step 8
Click on the Tweens Animation Frames button and add 5 frames.
Step 9
Go to Frame 1 and click on the Duplicate Selected Frames button.
Step 10
Now you have 8 frames instead of 7 frames. Go to Frame 2 and drag it to the last position. So Frame 2 will become Frame 8. If you click on Frame 1 and Frame 8, they have to be identical.
Step 11
Click on Frame 7, hold down the Shift key, and click on Frame 8 to select the two frames. Click on the Tweens Animation Frames button and add 5 frames.
Step 12
Click on Frame 13 and press the Delete Selected Frames button. After deleting the frame, you will have 12 frames.
8. Save the GIF Animation
Click on Frame 1. To save the GIF animation, go to Edit > Save for Web & Devices and choose the GIF file format. Make sure the animation and loop options are the correct ones and click Save.
Congratulations! You’re Done!
In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to create an animated Halloween ghost effect in Photoshop. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial.
This ghost photo effect is a part of the Halloween Ghost Animated Photoshop Action from my portfolio on Envato Market.
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