In this tutorial we are going to Transform a Sunny Image into a Rainy Grungy Illustration.Start by downloading this picture from sxc.hu. This image is great for the task because it already has a wet floor with puddles, which will make the composition more believable.

We need to get rid of the yellows, and give the picture a darker, blue-ish look. First, hit Ctrl + U and select the Yellow channel. Bring the saturation down to 0.

Then, select Image > Adjustemnts  > Photo filter and apply the deep emerald filter. Hit ok, then repeat this step and apply the deep blue filter.

We got rid of the warm tones, but now let’s give it a more dramatic blue look. We’ll do this by applying a gradient map adjustment layer. Click at the bottom of the layers palette on the half white/half black icon to find the gradient map adjustment layer. I used these blue shades: #003366 at left and #27aae1 at right.

Next, we need to even out the contrast a little bit, and we do this by applying a Curves adjustment layer. Place two nodes on the curve like below and drag the upper one slightly downwards.

Now let’s make it all darker and more for a rainy weather. Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and use these settings: -14 for brightness, +65 for contrast.

There’s one corner that’s still too bright: the rooftops. Make a triangular selection with the polygonal lasso and, with the selection active, add another Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. Place this layer right on top of the background layer.

Let’s make some rain. At the top of all layers, create a new empty layer. Set you background and foreground colors to black and white (hit D) and then choose Filter > Render > Clouds.

Go Filter > Noise > Add noise and use the setting below:

Now, let’s apply Filter > Blur > Motion blur, like below:

The magic happens when we turn the layer’s blending mode from Normal to Soft Light. But that’s not good enough. Make a rectangular marquee in the middle of the image. Then hit Ctrl + J to paste it in a new layer (make sure that you are on the rain layer before doing so). Then, hit Ctrl + T to activate the transform controls.

Enlarge the selection to fill the entire screen. This will make the “raindrops” in the foreground look larger. You should also slightly rotate it counterclockwise (-0.7 degrees). Afterwards, let’s sharpen this layer to make the raindrops stand out some more. Use Sharpen > Smart Sharpen and settings like below:

Let’s add some light to the streetlamp to make the composition more dramatic. Make a new layer (make it below the rain layers – the two rain layers should stay at the top of the layers stack) and then create a circular selection around the lamp. Hit Ctrl + Alt + D and feather the selection by 100 pixels.

Fill the selection with a bright cyan: #00aeef. Deselect, switch the layer’s blending more to Screen, then add a layer mask to this layer (where you filled in the light). We’ll have to make the opaque parts of the lamp more visible. To do this, turn off the visibility of the light layer and select (with the pen tool or the lasso tool, if you wish) the shape of the lamp.

Feather the selection by a few pixels (3 to 5). Then, switch on the layer’s visibility, set your foreground color to a light gray (55% gray will do) and click on the thumbnail of the layer mask you have added earlier. Hit Alt + Delete to fill in the mask with the foreground color.

Then, make another layer and a smaller circular selection.

Feather it by 20 px and fill it with white. Afterward, hold down Alt and drag the mask from the previous layer over the new layer. This will copy the mask from the cyan layer to the white layer.

Next, duplicate both light layers and delete the masks on the duplicates. We’ll use them to create the refection of the light on the asphalt. Move the two layers down vertically and transform them to look more horizontal.

Then, switch the cyan’s layer opacity to 50% and the blending mode to Lighten. The white reflection – make it 30%.

Merge the two layers Shift to select them both and hit Ctrl + E). Ctrl + click on the layer’s thumbnail to load it as a selection. Next, apply Filter > Distort > Wave and use the settings below:

Deselect. Next, hit Ctrl + T to transform the reflection again: turn it 90 degrees and stretch it to look like below:

To give it a more illustration feel, click on the topmost layer and hit Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E to make a snapshot of all layers. Sharpen this layer with Smart Sharpen (same settings as before). And you’re done!

Hope you enjoyed it:)

Credit: ardis-creative.com