“Work like a slave; command like a king; create like a god.”
Fantasy art is not just a style — it’s a mindset.
Every time I open Photoshop, I’m not just sitting down and edit a photo. I’m stepping into a different world, one where the rules of reality bend to the will of imagination. That’s the whole idea behind the name The Reality Bender.
In this article, I want to walk you through how I actually approach a fantasy art piece, from the first spark of an idea all the way to the final render, the real process I really use in my work.
Step 1: The idea comes first, the tools come last
Most people open Photoshop and start experimenting. I do the opposite. Before I even touch the software, I spend time thinking about the emotion I want to create. What should the viewer feel when they look at this? Mystery? Power? That emotional target becomes my compass for every decision I make later, the lighting, the color palette, the composition.
Step 2: Gathering references and assets
Fantasy art is photo manipulation at its core , which means the quality of your source material matters enormously. I spend a lot of time curating stock photos, textures, and custom assets before compositing anything. This is also where my own asset packs come in handy for fantasy art, in particular.
For the MR23 Fantasy Pack VOL.1, I actually hand-drew and photographed real materials to create the fantasy staffs.
All off them are original drawings. This obsession with authentic assets is what separates a generic composite from a piece that feels truly alive.
Step 3: Building the scene, layer by layer
Once my assets are ready, I build the scene in clearly separated layer groups: background, midground, subject, foreground, and finally the atmospheric effects. This structure keeps things clean and gives me full control when I need to go back and adjust.
I always start with the background and work my way forward. Light and shadow are established at this stage, not added at the end as an afterthought. Everything in the scene needs to share the same light source, otherwise the composition will never feel believable, no matter how technically perfect your cut-outs are.
Step 4: Glows, highlights, and atmosphere
This is where the magic literally happens. Glows and highlights are probably the most underestimated tools in fantasy art. A well-placed rim light on a subject, a subtle fog layer in the midground, or a color-graded sky can take a composition from flat to cinematic in minutes. I’ve made entire YouTube tutorials on this topic because it’s that important. The goal is always to make the viewer feel like light is actually coming from within the image.
Step 5: Color grading, giving the piece its soul
Color grading is the final language of the image. I use Levels, Color Balance, Selective Color adjustments and Camera Raw Filter to unify all the elements under a single color story. My fantasy work tends toward deep purples, cool teals, and warm amber accents. a palette that feels otherworldly but still emotionally warm. Every color decision should reinforce the original emotional target you set in Step 1.
Why I share this process
As an Adobe Community Expert, I believe the best thing I can do is be transparent about how this work actually gets made. There’s no secret formula — just a disciplined process, a love for storytelling, and a willingness to spend hours on a single light source until it feels right.
If you want to see this process in action, everything is on my YouTube channel @mr23design. And if you want to use the same assets I use in my own work, check out the shop on this site.
Want to learn more?
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