Princess of Egypt

Step 1. Preparing photo.

Create new image of the desired size (mine is 808x1135 pixels). Save it. Frequent saving means less headache if something bad happens (computer hangs up, problems with power supply etc.).

Open a photo you like, copy it's contents to newly created image (swith to the photo, press Ctrl-A then Ctrl-C, swith to newly created - and saved- document and press Ctrl-V). New layer will be created. Rename it to "IMG" (double-clik layer name to rename).

If "IMG" is too large, press Ctrl-T to transform (hold Shift while transforming to constrain proportions).

Step 2. Remove everything you don't need.

Fortunately, you don't have to make any "perfect" or even accurate selection. Just take Eraser tool, make sure it is in brush mode, right-click on the image and set brush size to large (e.g.100 pixels or more) and hardness to 0%.

Erase all unnecessary details.

Here's what I got after erasing:

Step 3. Create basic wall texture.

Select Layer - New Fill Layer - Pattern. Choose pattern you like. Rename layer to "Basic Wall".

Move "Basic Wall" layer under "IMG" layer and set "IMG" blending mode to "Hard Light".

Step 4. Add wall color.

Select Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Hue/Saturation. Check "Colorize" and adjust color. Place Hue/Saturation layer between "IMG" and "Basic Wall".

Step 5. Make it brighter.

Select Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Levels. Adjust gamma to make image brighter. Place levels layer between "Hue/Saturation" and "Basic Wall".

Step 6. Add hieroglyphs.

Simple way to add hieroglyphs is to use one of the numerous "Egyptian" fonts (I used one by Jim Loy). You may find it on the author's website. To install the font, download it, unzip and copy to your fonts folder (e.g. C:WINDOWSFONTS)

Add layer style to your font layers with hieroglyphs to make them "3d":

Step 7. Adjust colors.

Image after some color adjustments (mainly Hue/Saturation):

Step 8. Final result.

Here's the final image after a little more editing (mostly to accentuate aged effect):