Guide for Manips by Cheeky:
1. 
Always start with a good photo. It goes the same with regular photos that aren't manipulated. You cannot save a bad photo in photoshop. I think the same goes for manipulations. You need an interesting subject, good light quality and choose something that inspires you right away.
2. Decide what your theme is. When researching Hayao Miyazaki movies, I found that his regular themes are flight, childhood and nature. Find something that inspires and fuels your creative work as a muse. As you can tell, I find decay, blood and ugly things to be inspiring, for whatever reasons. I can't explain why but I create a character for them and give them some of my own emotions. I'm always drawn towards bloody sick looking eyes. Whatever works to give you that certain element, your creative reason.
3. Try to retain as much detail from the original photo. I think this helps give it a realistic look rather than scrubbing it up to the point that you’ve started to create something else entirely. The more details you keep, the better it will appear. So instead of masking them with tons of layers and brushes and textures, work with and around the details you want to keep.
4. 
Keep it simple, unless you have an idea centering on clutter. Try to make each element and detail work within the manipulations, like a photograph. Have each thing be there for a reason, not just because you wanted to put something in a random spot. Do it until it’s placed and it looks and feels right. I end up using brushes then going backwards until it feels like it belongs and it’s not distracting anymore. Each element needs to work together to make the piece feel finished and coherent. If you find that you’re adding things and it’s just not working, try taking away some textures and starting over.
5. Unless it’s part of your design, muted colors tend to work better. To me, they’re much more appealing for my style these days. I cringe when I see manipulations that are over done, colors that don’t work or were just random and too many clashing elements. Try using a color schemer to see what colors work best together. My common palate is in the cool range. My favorite accent is dark gem colors on pale white skin with blue tones. If you can make brighter colors work, go for it. I usually use pastels to keep within my muted tone rule if I want something light.
6. Be original! This applies to any other creative art and it will help you to stand out and create something you’re proud of. It all still relates to any other art. Pull inspiration from movies, music, people, books, friends and family. If something sparks or shocks a vision, look for some stock that fits your idea and go for it. Create your own brushes and textures, form your own process and ideas, look for stock that no one else has used. I try to stay away from popular stock images or take my own stock photos. Taking your own photos can also assure that you get the photo you want.
7. Lastly, develop your own pattern to editing. Learn what works best for you, decide on your favorite options and tools in Photoshop and sink into a comfortable and flexible routine. I call it my 3-step method. I prep the photo, apply textures and the general main bits involving my theme and then a cover up to add texture over top and bleach out any harsh shadows or colors. Find what type of manipulations you’d like to do and practice. My favorite thing to do is to listen to quiet ambient music reflecting the mood of the piece and zone out alone in my room.
So find what works for you and get into it!
