Explore Photoshop Mix and Fix with Visual Artist Amr Elshamy

Image created by: Amr Elshamy.

Within 13 years, Amr Elshamy went from using Photoshop for the first time to creating the image for the Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 splash screen. Starting out, Amr didn’t have any idea what Photoshop could do or how to use it. He says, “I watched someone use this program, and it opened my eyes to all of the possibilities. I was already immersed in traditional art and photography, so being able to mix photos and drawing together was a dream come true!”

On how art became his friend, Amr explains “I was dealing with a really bad case of dyslexia and was bullied in school a lot, so I was not able to communicate with others except through my art.” Photoshop became his friend and helped him create work that he shared with anyone who would listen. Having his image be chosen for the Photoshop CC 2017 splash screen was his greatest achievement. “Photoshop is not just a software for me, but it’s like my Thor hammer. Everything I can imagine is made possible by this program, and I am able to bring my wildest dreams to life.”

Being able to take Photoshop on-the-go has made the program so much more accessible to Amr. On Photoshop Mix and Fix, he shares, “I never thought it was possible to create away from my laptop, but Adobe has done it brilliantly by allowing users to imagine, shoot, create, and share from anywhere. All you have to do is download the apps.”

Amr’s Photoshop Mix and Fix tutorial

This final piece is called “Lake of Dreams.” I saw some fish in the Nile and thought that they would make for a great photo. I used my smartphone to take a couple of pictures.

After I took this fisherman photo, I imagined that there was a huge fish under the boat, so I started searching online for a fish stock image.

After selecting the above photo, I opened up Photoshop Fix to start to clean the fisherman image by using the Healing Tool to remove some of the stuff in the water.

Once I was happy with the results, I saved the photo and opened it in Photoshop Mix. With the stock image of the fish, I started to use the Blend Mode, adding another stock image of a cloud to give the illusion that the water was reflective.

I saved the final image and reopened it in Photoshop Fix. To finish, I used the Adjust Tool, Defocus Tool, and Vignette. Once everything was finalized, I saved my image and shared it to my social media channels. Thanks to Photoshop Mix and Fix, I was able to create a piece of art and never had to leave the Nile.

Amr’s parting words

An old Egyptian artist once told Amr, “The gold is under your feet, just grip it and the world will know what you are made of.” From this Amr believes that, “If you are an artist just create and experiment. Use as many tools as you can to express your art and work hard.” Amr believes that this philosophy is what will help make artists original and different.

For more of Amr Elshamy’s work, check out his website or Behance profile, and follow him on Instagram.