Using Photoshop to Cut Off a Finger

I’m not sure how many people have seen my horror work but I spent years removing faces and turning people into monsters. So for this tutorial I thought I’d show you a simple method of how to remove a finger using Photoshop.

Step 1

I took a photo of my hand on my desk, because we will be using the clone stamp a simple background is best for this process.

Step 2

Select the Pen tool and trace around a finger. I used my middle finger but you can use any one you want. Once you have traced around the finger, right click on it and select Make selection from the menu.

Step 3

Copy the finger to a new layer by going to Layer>New>Layer via copy and hide it by clicking the eye next to it in the layer palette.

We now want to select the Clone Stamp (set the Current and Below in the options bar) and clone the finger out, take your time on this and keep resampling different areas so it looks natural.

Step 4

We now want to build the finger up slightly, select the rectangle marquee tool and make a selection of the edge of the hand.

Step 5

Copy the selection and press Crtl+T to move/ rotate it so it covers the place the finger was. Name this layer Skin Graft.

Step 6

Add a Reveal all Layer mask (Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All) to the Skin Graft Layer and using a black soft edge brush mask away part of the skin / table top so it blends in with the surrounding area.

Step 7

Select the “Lock Transparent Pixels” lock in the Layer Palette and using the Clone Stamp (set to current and below) sample some of the local skin and paint over the new skin graft. The lock will stop you going over the edges.

Step 8

No unhide the finger layer and using the move tool, reposition it away from the hand slightly.

Step 9

Add a layer mask and using a black soft edge brush trim the edges of the finger back slightly so its not so “cut out”.

Step 10

Finally make a new Layer under the Skin Graft Layer and add a small amount of shadow to the hand and finger.