This is one example of photo manipulation, and what can be done with a few basic tools in Photoshop. The example is from a Photoshop contest I entered.
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1. Original image provided by contest.
2. First, I used the 'Polygonal Lasso' tool to select and erase the card.
3. I used the 'Polygonal Lasso' tool again to cut out the finger and copy it to a new layer. I turned off the other layers for now.
4. 'Liquify' tool to warp the end of the finger into the dinosaur head. I also used it to clean up the edges where it had been cut from the hand.
5. I cut the thumb from the hand and then turned that layer on.
6. I duplicated the hand layer and flipped it horizontally to create the other side of the body. I also used the 'Eraser' tool to partially erase the base of the finger so it blends better with the hand.
7. I cut out part of the finger and copied it to a new layer.
8. Again using the 'Liquify' tool, I warped the finger into a leg. Then I just duplicated it and flipped it horizontally for the leg on the other side.
9. 'Liquify' tool to warp the ends of the legs into feet.
10. I used the 'Burn' tool to create some shadow on the belly, inside the legs, and under the neck.
11. I created another copy of the first finger I cut out.
12. I rotated it and scaled it down, then moved it behind the body to create the tail.
13. 'Liquify' tool again to straighten and thin down the tail.
14. I just copied the front left foot twice, and moved those layers below the others to create the back legs.
15. Image> Adjustments> Hue and Saturation to turn the dinosaur green.
16. I used the 'Burn' and 'Dodge' tool to create the eye and nose, and the 'Smudge' tool at %100 to make the mouth. Merge all layers.
17. Then, I just dragged the dinosaur layer onto a background.
18. I duplicated the dinosaur layer, then used the 'Free Transform' tool, and 'Gaussian Blur' to turn it into a shadow. I also lowered the opacity a little.
19. I used the 'Free Transform' tool on the original thumb nail to create the dinosaur's nails. I used the 'Burn' and 'Dodge' tool to blend them in and give depth. I thought the neck was too thick so I used the 'Liquify' tool to slim it down.
20. I increased the contrast of the dinosaur layer.
21. Image> Adjustment> Levels to brighten the whole image.
22. Finally, I slightly desaturated and blurred the background to make the dinosaur stand out more. I also used the 'Brush' tool with a low opacity to add a few areas of color to the neck and body. I used the 'Burn' tool to add some texture to the head.
