CutOuts

You will need clean line art for this.
Click here to download and save the
bear and stars used in the tutorial.

Open a 400x400 image.
Fill with a color and texturize it.

Click on the Bear image to make it active (blue).
Drag the layer from the Layer palette onto the 400x400 image.

Add the stars to the Bear layer.

Click on the selection icon (rectangle)
and box in the bear and stars.

Like this

Then click on the bear to make the marquee
surround the images.

Right click on the floating text and Delete it.

Then Right Click and Delete the layer the images was on.

All you have left is the textured image
 and the marquee.

Click on Cutout. Use these settings.

Then Drop Shadow with these settings.

Selection / Select None.
Add a layer

Drag Layer 2 under Layer 1 as shown.

Use the paintbrush set on 100% hardness and pick colors
to paint into the background.

Like this.

I X'ed out Layer 1 so you could see what
 layer 2 looks like when I was done.

And this is the finished project.

Let's see what YOU can come up with.