Photoshop Gurus

Text Sticker Logo Design in Photoshop

2010-11-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial will guide you how to design a Text Sticker Logo in Photoshop.

Final Result:

Step 1: First of all Open New Document of Custom size, Height & Width 1200×1200 pixels, Resolution 300 & Mode RGB Color.

Step 2: Now Open New Layer & then create the following shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press right click > Make Selection.

Step 3: Now fill the #b51616 color in selection area.

Step 4: Now go to Blending Options and use the following settings.

Step 5: Now select the ‘Horyzontal Type Tool’ & use the following setting & write the Text.

Step 6: Now create the selection at new layer & press Right Click & go to the ‘Feather Option’ gives
the ‘Feather Radius’ 5 pixels then fill with # ‘430404′ color.

Step 7: Now create shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press Right Click > Make Selection & fill with # ‘ 919191′ color

Now highlight the some parts with the help of Dodge Tool .

Step 8: Similarly create the other shapes then your ‘Final’ image should look like as shown below.

How to Create Fire Texture in Photoshop

2010-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

This easy tutorial will guide you how to create / design fire texture in Adobe Photoshop.

Step 1:

Create a New File using the following settings:

Now create a New Layer and fill it with black.

Step 2

Create a New Layer
Set White as the foreground colour
Select the Brush tool, Flaked Paint Brushes, the second brush in the palette (flakedpaint08)
Set the size to 1290px
Position the brush to cover all of your canvas and click once
Merge this layer and the black-filled layer together

Step 3

Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation – apply the following settings (make sure Colorize is checked):

Step 4

Filter>Artistic>Plastic Wrap – apply the following settings:

Step 5

Create a new layer and fill it with black
Reduce the layer opacity to 80%
Create a new layer
Set the foreground colour to white
Select the Brush tool, Flaked Paint brushes, the 5^th brush in the palette (flakedpaint05)
Set the size to 1290px
Position the brush to cover your canvas and click once
Reduce the layer opacity to 85%
Merge this layer and the black-filled layer together

Step 6

Set the layer mode to Overlay
Reduce the layer opacity to 70%
Right click on any layer and click Flatten Image
The finished project:

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. The design of this texture came about purely by accident – by playing around with this new set of brushes in Photoshop. As this is such a short tutorial, maybe you could take some time to either go back to the beginning or start again but change the settings – for instance, change the Plastic Wrap to another filter. You just may come up with something incredible! Please share your results with us by adding a link in the comments section.

In Photoshop Simple Make Up

2010-10-12T01:46:00.000-07:00

This Tutorial enhance your normal portrait photo into beautifully fair skin and well done makeup,

Step 1: Open a image, Dulplicate the picture (Ctrl+J) twice

Step 2: Go to Filter > Distort > Diffuse Glow.

Step 3: Set the Grainess into 0, Glow Amount of 2, and Clear Amount of 6. OK.

Step 4: Go to Image > Adjustment > Hue & Saturation. Set the Saturation to 30

5 :Now we want to start putting makeup on the model. choose Burn Tool. Select the suitable brush size, with Normal Brush, with the Hardness of 0. Set the exposure into 11, range: Midtone. Start brushing on the area of the eyelid, to darken the area like putting the eyeliner. Brush on the eyebrow.

6: To highlight certain area we need Dodge Tools. Still using the same brush and the same setting, set the Range of Midtone, exposure : 16. Highlight on the eye to shine the eye.

7:After that, Select the Sponge Tool. This is the step for giving the color to the part that we highlighted. Set the brush into Saturate, flow: 22. Start brushing on the eye. Now you can see the color is now visible and the eye looks better.

Step 8: Still with the Sponge tool, now create the eyeshadow. Brushing on the both corner of the eye. Also, brushing on the cheeck and lips.

Step 9: make the hair looks shiny. Using dodge tool, with the same Setting in the step 6. Start highlighting on the hair.

Step 10 : Color of the hair. Choose Sponge tool, set the everything like in step 7, except the flow is 48. Brush on the hair.

Make New Flowing Harmonic Fibers In Adobe Photoshop

2010-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

This tutorial is very complicated, so do not be frightened by the number of steps — they are there so that even beginners can follow along.

Step 1: Make new print document. That is, set the DPI-value to something above 250 and make the document quite big. A landscape A4 will do just fine for this tutorial.

Step 2:First we are going to make the dreamy background effect. So begin by resetting your foreground and background colors by hitting D on your keyboard. Then go ahead and render some clouds on a new layer (Double-click the Background layer, then use Filter > Render > Clouds).

Step 3:Apply a Motion Blur filter (Filter > Blur > Motion Blur).

Step 4: Repeat the last filter (Ctrl + F).

Step 5:Now duplicate Layer 0, then scale it up 200% (Ctrl + T).

Step 6:Apply a Wave filter to Layer 0 copy (Filter > Distort > Wave).

Now press the randomize button till you find something that you like.

Step 7:Add a Levels Adjustment Layer to crank up the highlights.

Step 8:Add another Adjustment Layer, this time Hue/Saturation.

Step 9:Duplicate Layer 0, name it Waves and place it on top of all other layers.

Step 10:Flip the Waves layer horizontally (Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontally), then scale it up 150%.

Step 11:Apply a Wave filter. Use the same settings as before, but set the number of generators to 2.

Step 12:Set the Blending Mode of the Waves layer to Lighten.

Step 13:With the Waves layer selected, press Ctrl + L to adjust the Levels for the layer.

Step 14:Adjust the Hue/Saturation for the Waves layer (Ctrl + U.

Step 15:Add a new Color Balance Adjustment Layer to selectively modify the colors for Shadows, Mid-tones and Highlights.

Step 16:To give our waves a more defined look, go ahead and add a Curves Adjustment Layer.

Step 17:

Now press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E to stamp visible layers. This creates a new layer that has all the contents of the visible layers below.
Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 50 pixels.

Step 18:Click the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers palette. Then use the Layer Mask icon (next to the Layer Icon) to activate it. To activate the layer, just press the Layer Icon, but for now we are going to work on the Layer Mask so go ahead and activate it.

Step 19: Press D on your keyboard to reset your swatches to Black/White. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), then — with the layer mask active — drag a gradient from an interesting point of your image, out extending towards the edge of your image.

Step 20:

With the top layer selected, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Check “Use previous layer as clipping mask” and press OK.
Set the Saturation to -100 and the Lightness to +25.

Step 21:Now, to create endless amounts of color variations you can add a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer on top of all other layers. Set the Blending Mode of this layer to Color, then adjust the Hue and Saturation sliders.

Now Final Result

Pic To Illustration Vector EffectA

2010-10-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

We are going to show you a quick and simple to convert a pic in to illustration vector effect.

Step 1: First you Select a image

Step 2: Duplicate the Background layer.

Step 3: Now apply the Cutout filter (Filter => Artistic => Cutout).I am using 5 levels, with the Edge Simplicity set to 3 and Edge Fidelity set to 3. OK.

Step 4: Edge Thickness is set to 2, Edge Intensity to 1 and Posterization to 4.OK.

Step 5: Color adjustment Photo Filter adjustment layer.

Step 6: And , to add ‘colored’ effect, a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer will help take away the natural highlights/shadows even more.

Step 7: Final vector Pic

Change The Background With Eraser

2010-10-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a example of the background eraser tool. This tutorial will also change into how to use it to get a selection.

Step 1: First chose any image and select background eraser tool

Step 2:First copy the background layer by dragging it to the new layer icon.

Step 3: Go to Eraser tools and Right click or use the options bar or brush palette to choose an eraser brush size.

Step 4: erase the background simply move with eraser tool

Step 5: crosshairs in the middle that determine the point of what is going to be erased of everything that is within the circle of the brush. What is actually erased and to what degree is determined by the tolerance % level.

Step 6: For example here you see that contiguous isn’t getting that patch of green on the other side of her.

Step 6: When you turn on ‘discontiguous’

Step 7: Keep using the magic eraser to go around the outskirts of the subject.

Sept 7: Here’s a spot for a regular eraser with eraser tool

Step 8: Note how it jumps beyond off color range of the picnic basket to get to the in-color sampling range of the grass inside the handle.

Step 9:Here’s a result of using the background eraser tool. It’s pretty accurate for creating a clearly defined foreground object as long as you have a distinct background that separates them. When color ranges are too close together then you get a lot of spilling over and it gets ugly and even tolerance might not save you.

Step 10: Grab the Lasso tool (L) and draw a loose selection all the way around the subject.

Step 11:Now switch to the moVe tool and nudge up once and then down once with your arrow keys on the keyboard. This will close the selection in around the subject.

Step 12:Now you can do such things as make a new background layer by creating a new layer and then filling it with a color of your choice using any of my taught methods. To fill an entire layer you’ll want to Select: Deselect (Ctrl/Cmd D)

Step 13:the selection and then fill otherwise you’ll fill the selected area on a new layer. Make sure that layer is beneath the foreground layer in the layers palette.

Step 14:Grab a large regular eraser and just clean up the spots or pixel dust that is left behind on the layer of your foreground subject.

Step 15:Change the color if you want to, swipe a gradient, pull in a different background image with the moVe tool, add some text, etc. and you’re ready for print.

finally i change the background.

Change Yellow Color Teeth To White In PhotoShop

2010-10-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

We are going to change yellow color teeth to white. First open your required image. I gonna use this image.

Step 1:

Step 2:

First select the ‘lasso’ tool from the Toolbar or press “L”.

Step 3:

Starting point for our selection around the teeth

Step 4:
And continue selecting around the teeth by keeping your mouse button depressed

Step 5:
Finish the selection return to the starting point and release the mouse button.

Step 6:
Go menubar and choose, “Select > Feather”.

Step 7:

Enter “1″ for feather radius – if you were working on a larger image you would want to increase this value to “2″ or even “3″.

Step 8:

Click “Create new fill or adjustment layer” button at the bottom of the layers palette and click on “Select”Hue/Saturation”.

Step 9:

In hue/saturation dialogue box, first yellows from drop down menu

Step 10:

Use enter these settings

Final i make yellow teeth to white teeth in photoshop.

How to Design World in One Minute in Photoshop

2010-10-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a short Photoshop tutorial for designing World in One Minute.

Final Image

Step 1: First go to File > New and follow the below setting in the screenshot:

Step 2: Set the Background color (I used #cff8fc) and Foreground color (I used #010d62).

Step 3: Then go to Filter > Render > Clouds and make the following setting:

Step 4: If you want more changes in colours, press CTRL+F .

Step 5: Now go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and do the following setting.

You have done it.

drawing Effects Designing Using Photoshop CS4

2010-07-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

drawing Effects Designing Using Photoshop CS4

Learn Sepia in Selective Mode Using CS2 Photoshop

2010-07-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Learn Sepia in Selective Mode Using CS2 Photoshop

Out Blown Skin Photoshop Tutorial

2010-06-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Out Blown Skin Photoshop Tutorial

Bring Skin Look Nice By Photoshop

2010-06-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Bring Skin Look Nice By Photoshop

Change Movie Poster & add your Face

2010-06-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Change Movie Poster & add your Face

Simple Eye Make Up Using Photoshop

2010-06-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

Simple Eye Make Up Using Photoshop

2010-06-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Simple Eye Make Up Using Photoshop

Super Lighting Effects Using Photoshop

2010-06-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

Super Lighting Effects Using Photoshop

Create Brushes with Colorful style in Photoshop

2010-06-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

Create Brushes with Colorful style in Photoshop

2010-06-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

Create Brushes with Colorful style in Photoshop

kirtsy / Upcoming

2010-06-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

kirtsy / Upcoming

Wing Heart Photo Logo By Adobe Photoshop Tutorial

2010-06-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Wing Heart Photo Logo By Adobe Photoshop Tutorial

Design Heart like Web Template Using Photoshop

2010-06-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Design Heart like Web Template Using Photoshop

Color Palette Designing | Learn Web, Designing and Other Tutorials across the Web - Software

2010-06-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Color Palette Designing Learn Web, Designing and Other Tutorials across the Web - Software

Cute Text Effects Using Photoshop

2010-06-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cute Text Effects Using Photoshop

Glossy Metal Text In Photoshop

2010-03-11T01:10:00.000-08:00

Note: This tutorial is written for Photoshop CS on a Windows XP platform and assumes you have a basic knowledge of Photoshop. However, this technique will work on most versions of Photoshop or similar graphics package.
You are going to make some glossy metal text like this:

1. Create a new canvas 85 pixels wide and 45 pixels high with background colour #CCCCCC.
2. Change the foreground colour to #DCDCDC and choose the font for your text. I’ve chosen BankGothic Md BT but most fonts will work (the bolder the better – try to avoid light fonts). Set the font size to 36pt and the anti-aliasing to Strong. Type DQ onto the canvas.

3. Add an Outer Glow layer style like this:

4. Your canvas should look like this:

5. Add an Inner Glow layer style like this:

6. Your canvas should look like this:

7. Add a Gradient Overlay layer like this:

8. Your canvas will look like this:

9. Add a Stroke layer like this:

10.Your canvas should look like this:

11. Right-Click the DQ layer and choose Duplicate Layer… Name the layer to Outline and click OK. In the layer panel drag the Outline layer so it is underneath the DQ layer but above the Background layer. Right-click the Outline layer and choose Clear Layer Styles. Set the Fill of this layer to 0%.
12. Add an Outer Glow layer style to the outline layer like this:

13. Your canvas should look like this:

14. Add a Stroke layer style to the outline layer like this:

15. Your canvas should look like this:

16. Create a new layer above the DQ layer and name it Highlight. With the Highlight layer selected hold down Ctrl and left-click the DQ layer to select the layer’s transparency. The canvas will look like this:

17. Set the foreground colour to #FFFFFF and select the Fill tool. Fill the selected area of the Outline layer and set the layer opacity to 50% so it looks like this:

18. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool and select the bottom half of the Highlight layer like this:

19. Press Delete. It is now finished and should look like this:

Design A fabric Text Effect In Photoshop

2010-03-11T00:51:00.000-08:00

Let’s go! First of all, make a new document in Photoshop. I created a new document sized 1000×500 pixels with all the default settings, RGB, 72 dpi, transparent background etc. Then find some appropriate fabric texture. Actually, you can use Google Images to find the texture or feel free to use mine. Open up the texture and copy it to the canvas.

Now, duplicate this texture three of times and combine as below. Be attentive that texture edges are different (you can see arrows on the borders).

Use the Eraser Tool and a soft round brush about 50 ps to make the edge of textures softer and invisible.

Ok, merge all of texture layers in one and apply Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.

You should have the result similar to this:

Make texture clearer with Sharpen Tool:

Ok, we are done with background. Let’s start to create text effect. Get out the Horizontal Type Tool and write out your text, for example ‘ClotH’ in whatever color you want. I’ve used a font called Arial Black (300 pt, Crisp). This is standard Windows font.

After that change fill opacity to 85% for this layer and begin to create text effect. First of all we need to add some pattern to Photoshop patterns palette to use it for creating text effect later. Open this texture or find another one using Google Images and use Edit > Define Pattern to save this picture as pattern. Go back to our created file and apply the following layer styles to the text layer:
• Drop Shadow
• Inner Shadow
• Outer Glow
• Inner Glow
• Bevel and Emboss
• Contour
• Satin
• Color Overlay
• Pattern Overlay
• Stroke

Now your image should now look like the image shown below:

Well, we’re done for this tutorial! Enjoy your own cool fabric text effect.

How To Create A Cool 3d Text Effect In Photoshop.

2010-03-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

STEP 1
Open a new photoshop file, i created a 600px by 600px file and set the resolution to 72. After that i have added a gradient to the background layer.

STEP 2
Now create the text you would like to appear in 3d, make sure you create every letter on an new text layer. And move the letters around. Something like this:

Select the Move Tool “Press V” and rotate the letters to different directions to create a playfull look.

STEP 3
Now select 1 letter, so lets select the letter “F” and press “ALT + left arrow on your keyboard” and do this like 7 times.
You will now see that you have created 7 layer copies of the “F text layer” and that they all moved a little bit to the left.
You can create more if you want, for a deeper 3d effect.
Your letter looks something like this.

You can see a lot of copy layers in your layer panel.

STEP 4
Select the last copied layer, in my case this is “F copy 7″. And ad a gradient to it.

This is how your letter will look like:

STEP 5
Repeat STEP 3 and STEP 4 to get the same effect to all of your letters. Try different settings for every letter. So dont do “ALT + LEFT” for all your letters in STEP 3, try ALT + UP or RIGHT or DOWN. Just play with it. I also used different gradient colors for the letters. I ended up with this:

As you can see in my layer panel i also created some layer groups, to keep the layers ordered.

STEP 6
The letters are very basic now, so i also added a pattern to all of my letters.
To add a patern make sure you lower the opacity of your gradient.

I used different patterns and ended up with this.

You can download some nice patterns HERE.

STEP 7
Now lets add some shadow and some satin to the text. To do this you need to merge all the layers together except the top layer, see the screenshots below. So select the layers and press “CTRL + E” to merge the layers together.

Now go to the “layer style” of the merged layer, and add some shadow and satin to the layer.

Here you see Shadow and Satin added to the letter F.

Here i have add it to all the letters. The letters look a lot more 3d now.

STEP 8
To finish the text i have added a stroke to the letters. Add a 2 pixel stroke to the “top layer/colored layer” and a 1 pixel stroke to the (bottom layer) background layer. See the screenshot below.

STEP 9
Now we have all the basics. It’s up to your imagination to create something special and unique.
These are some options you can add:
1. Change the background by placing a big spiral brush.
Add a new layer on top of the background layer, press B and pick a big spiral brush to fill it. Also set the opacity to 6%.

2. You can also add a paint splash on a new layer, using the Brush Tool “B”. For some cool brushes take a look at brushesdownload.com.

Now it looks like this:

3. As final touch you can add a layer on top of all the other layers, and filled it with black using the Paint bucket Tool “G”.

Then take the Eraser Tool “E” and selected a 550pixel Soft Round eraser.

And click 2 times in the middle.
1 click:

2 clicks:

Also set the opacity of this layer to 70%.

You are done, you have created a Cool 3d Text Scene.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Making A Blazing Hot Text Effect

2010-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

This is a picture showing what you will be able to do with text after you go through this tutorial, its very easy and you'll be done really quick, just imagine you can use the same effects on objects and stuff:

To start making this awesome effect first go to the File menu and click New..

First color the background layer black using the paint bucket tool. After this press CTRL+SHIFT+N to make a new layer and type in 'BLAZING HOT' in white colour. I used the Carribean font, which I found on a site somewhere, you can download it here if you want to use it, or you can use any other font you like.

Once this is done, just go to the Image menu > Rotate Canvas > Rotate 90 C
This will rotate your canvas, this will help us with the next step.

As soon as you get this done, just go to the Filters menu, and apply Wind from the Stylize menu.
Filters > Stylize > Wind
When you do this photoshop might tell you that the type layer needs to be rasterized before proceeding, and that it will no longer be editable. Click OK.
Remember to make sure you activate the "From the left" button in the menu:

As soon as you're done press CTRL+F two times to repeat the filter and you will get something like this:

Now to get the image back into position just go to Image > Rotate Canvas > 90 CCW :

Now to make the blazing fire effect just go to Filters > Distort > Ripple
Make sure you apply the same settings:

This will give you these results:

Now to add the colour and give it that magic, just follow these steps carefully:
1. Go to Image > Mode > click Grayscale
When you do this, this message will pop up :
Changing modes will affect layer compositioning. Flatten image before mode change?
Click on Flatten. Although, when you add this effect to a larger picture or anything else you have created make sure you have no further editing to do, because when you flatten an image you are merging all the layers together, rendering all those layers uneditable individually.
2. Go to Image > Mode > click Indexed color
3. Go to Image > Mode > click Color Table
Then set the table to 'Black body':

Make Wood and Grass Text

2010-03-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

Step 1 – Start with a simple text layer

Open a new psd file. Use the Pen Tool to draw a simple vector shape like in the picture below. Be careful to choose Paths from the top bar; this way your shape will not be visible and the most important it will help you write a custom aligned text. Click on the shape to write the text following the path. If the text is perfect horizontal it is not good…try again!

After you’ve drawn the shape with the Horizontal Type Tool write a simple text “Welcome”. The settings for the text are:

The color is not important because we will apply a texture anyway.

If you want to move the text along the path simply drag one of the points from the picture below and the entire text will follow the path. If you want to modify the shape than choose Convert Point Tool from the toolbar and click on the vector points and move them up /down/right/left. It works just like another vector shape. You can Add points, Delete Points, etc.

Write the text “Home” with the same settings and follow the exact same steps. You don’t have to make the exact shapes I did; you can do better! Mine for “Home” text is this:

Step 2 – More work on the text effect!

Now we have two text layers Welcome and Home. Select this two layers and right click Rasterize Type and than right click Merge Layers. Call this new layer Text.

Duplicate Text layer and call it Text 1.

Select Text layer and right click and choose Blending Options and check stroke:

You should obtain something similar to this.

Step 3 – Transform the background text into Wood

Create a new layer above the Text layer. Set the Foreground color red. With the Brush Tool cover the white area between the 2 text. Merge the 2 layers : Text layer and Paint layer. Call this new layer Wood.

Step 4 – Transform the background text into Wood

Lets make a little inventory. We have 2 layers: Wood and Text 1.

Right click on Wood Layer and make the following settings for Color Overlay and Stroke:

The color is # ab8753.

The color is # 46433c.

Now you should have this image on your screen:

Step 5 – Wood fence texture

I’ve searched the internet for nice wood texture and I found this very beautiful one

Copy the texture and place it above Wood layer. Press CTRL and click the Wood layer thumbnail. You will see a selection of this layer. Go to Wood texture layer and press CTRL+C and CTRL+V. You will se that a new layer appeared. Call this new layer Wood Texture layer and delete the initial texture. Set the Blending Mode for this layer from Normal to Multiply 100%.

Step 6 – Give Depth to the Wood

I want to apply a new stroke to this layer so for that I need to duplicate Wood Layer and than to merge the 2 wood layers. The result is that the new created layer has no stroke checked on Blending options.

So right click on the new Wood layer, choose Blending Options and check Drop Shadow(color # 000000), Bevel/Emboss(Highlight color # a6824b, Shadow Color # 000000), and Stroke(Color # 281f14) like in the pictures below:

Step 7 – Let’s work with Text1 – Green Text

I will work now with Text1 layer the one that has the green text. We will apply a grass texture to it. For that copy this nice grass from flickr. Delete the parts that is not grass and duplicate several times and move it until you obtain a big grass area so that it covers the text.

We will do something similar to what we did to wood texture. Press CTRL and click the Text1 Thumbnail and than go to Grass texture layer and press CTRL+C and CTRL+V. Call the new layer Grass texture.

For Grass layer make the following settings in the Blending Options window: drop shadow and Bevel and Emboss.

Step 8 – Final Touch!

Copy this nice lady bug and crop it. Resize it and place it on the wood fence.

Set the Foreground Color to # 49351e and draw a rectangle below all the layers.

Did you notice the red circles? This is where I will use Eraser Tool brush size 2-4%, opacity 100% to give the impression of continuity to the fence lines. I will have to delete parts from Wood Layer and Wood Texture Layer.

For the final touch with the Burn and Dodge Tool I have darken/lighten parts from the Wood layer and Grass Texture Layer.

This is the final result!

Design A Spectacular Text Effect In Photoshop

2010-03-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Start by creating each letter separately in a 3D program, I use Xara3D (download the Xara3D 6 trial to your Desktop, run the installer file and follow the on-screen instructions), and import them into a Photoshop document.
Create a new file in Xara3D and then start representing by one figure of the next year (2010)

Select for the beginning the text options by clicking on the Text Options icon:

… and then the Color options:

… set the Extrusion options:

Also the Bevel Options

… finally the Shadow Options:

Then we have to set also the angle of the figures’ position on the file and the light:

Choose after that the Export to File option and save each character:

Create a new document (Ctrl+N) in Adobe Photoshop with the size 1920px by 1200px (RGB color mode) at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch. Using the Rectangle Tool (U), let’s represent a big rectangle reserved for background we want to have.

For this layer click on Add a layer style icon from bottom part of the Layers panel and select Gradient Overlay:

Click in the color bar to open the Gradient Editor and set the color stops as shown. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor dialog box.

We’ve got the next background:

Import the earlier saved figures into a Photoshop document. Keep each figure in its own layer, and then arrange them around each other, in whatever way looks good to you.

For the layer containing the first ‘0′ figure we’ll adjust the Hue/Saturation (CTRL+U) settings. Click and drag the Hue slider to change the color of the selected figure

We’ve got the next color for first ‘0′ figure:

Next we’ll represent four new layers (Create new layer) for each figure and select Hard Round brush of white color from Brush Tool (B)

and paint very accurately the frontal parts of the figures as shown:

Each layer must have different Layer Style. For the layer contain ‘2′ figure, click on Add a layer style icon from bottom part of the Layers panel and select Gradient Overlay:

Click in the color bar to open the Gradient Editor and set the color stops as shown. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor dialog box.

We’ve got the next gradient for ‘2′ figure:

Set the Layer Style >Gradient Overlay for the ‘0′ figure as shown:

Click in the color bar to open the Gradient Editor and set the color stops as shown. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor dialog box.

We’ve got the next gradient for ‘0′ figure:

Set the Layer Style >Gradient Overlay for the ‘1′ figure as shown:

Click in the color bar to open the Gradient Editor and set the color stops as shown. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor dialog box.

We’ve got the next gradient for ‘1′ figure:

Set the Layer Style > Gradient Overlay for the very last figure:

Click in the color bar to open the Gradient Editor and set the color stops as shown. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor dialog box.

We’ve got the next gradients for figures:

Make A Cool And Realistic Denim Textured Typography

2010-03-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

How creative can you get with fonts and typography?
There are so many tutorials on Creating awesome typography on the web, so this might seem a little bit redundant. As a matter of fact, I wanted to get ideas on how to create a unique style of typeface, so i decided to search for a few which had this uniqueness compared to all others and I stumbled upon a rather impressive set of fonts. Graphic river have released one of their new fonts, a textile lettered font, which immediately caught my eye. I wanted to create something similar to the typeface so i experimented a little bit and came up with this tutorial. Hope you guys like it.

I think one of the best features of Photoshop is the Layer Styles. We can create all sorts of effects like plastic, glass, water, ice, metal, and blend text with various textures. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a denim textured typography with stitches. I will use only Layer Styles, and once our new style is created, we will be able to save the style and apply it wherever we want.

Step 1 :
Open Photoshop and create a new file with size 500 x 500px and fill it with light gray shown below :

Step 2:
Now, select the Type tool(T) and Type the letter ‘R’ or anything that you like. I used the font known as ‘ROLAND’. You might as well use any other. It doesn’t really matter. Just use a font which has the least bends and curves. You will know why later

Step 3:
Now, right click on the Text layer on the layers palette and click on ‘Rasterize layer’ option. Now, CTRL + Click the text layer so that it gets selected(marquee selection). Now go to SELECT >> MODIFY >> CONTRACT and set the value as 8 pixels.

Step 4:
Now Click on the rectangular marquee tool and right click on the image(the selection) and select ‘MAKE WORK PATH’. You will notice the marquee lines became a path.

Step 5:
Now Click on the brush tool and use a 50% hard round/soft brush with settings as shown below.

Step 6:
Create a NEW LAYER by going to LAYER >> NEW LAYER. Change the foreground color to WHITE. Now, select the PEN TOOL and right click on the path and select ‘STROKE PATH’. Use the Brush as the option and DO NOT TICK ‘Simulate pressure’.

Now you will notice the path has been converted to a thick line with the brush we just selected.

Step 7:
Now, to make the stitches. There are actually 2 ways to create the stitch effect. You can either define a new brush preset and apply over the work path with some shape dynamics modified. Or you can use an eraser on the above image and get the effect. I chose the latter because I wasn’t quite satisfied with the former one. If you have a suggestion, please feel free to make one.
Make sure, the white line has been created on a new layer. OK, Now Select the Eraser Tool and start erasing parts of the line in the direction perpendicular to the path. I hope its not that difficult to understand
You should be getting an image similar to the one below:

Step 7:
Now for the texture. I used a texture of denim from Filter Foger that I found here. I have uploaded so that you can directly download the image.

Step 8:
Paste the above image in your document above the TEXT layer but below the Stitches layer. So, it must something like this:

Step 9:
Now, Select the denim texture layer and ALT + CLICK on the border of the denim layer and texture layer to create a Clipping mask. Use the image below as reference.

Step 10:
Now, Select the BURN Tool and click on the Denim layer and using a soft brush with a radius of 50 px or so, burn the borders of the image so that it appears dark and realistic. Use the below image as reference

Step 11:
Now comes the interesting part. It is always fun to experiment. Let us make the letter even more bold and realistic. Create a new GROUP and name it ‘R’ and select all the layers from the layers palette, except the background layer and drag and drop them into the group. Now, convert the group into a SMART OBJECT by right clicking on the group and clicking on ‘Convert to smart object’. This gives a lot of flexibility to the group if you want to meddle with it later.
Double click on the smart layer and apply the following layer styles.

Step 12:
Well, that’s it. The final image must look something like this:

Step 13:
Now if you want, you can also add a background texture. I used this stock image of a ‘Jute Bag’. Go and grab it and paste it below the smart object and your typography is ready.

Hope you guys liked the tutorial. If you think, there were ways I could have optmised some steps, Please let me know. I shall appreciate and change if necessary. Good Luck.
Here is the final version of the image I created.

How To Create A PDF Icon

2010-03-09T05:51:00.000-08:00

1. Creating Background

First you have to create a new Photoshop document. I'll use size 200 x 250 (width x height).

Now select "Rounded Rectangle Tool":

Now right click on your layer and select "Blending Options". If it's done set these settings:

Now create a new layer and select "Rectangular Marquee Tool":

And draw something like this:

When it's done right click on your layer and select "Blending Options". If it's done set these settings:

Now your icon should look like this:

Now I'll use this image for foreground:

Now add it to your icon so it would look something like this:

Now click on "E" to select Eraser Tool and delete some places on your image like this: (you don't have to do like I did)

Now press "T" to select text tool and write"PDF" onto your icon.

3. Final Words

Well, that's it. I hope you like this tutorial. My final outcome looks like this:

Final Result.

Craeting A Journey Across the Desert

2010-03-09T02:25:00.000-08:00

Make A Journey Across the Desert Art

About the Image - This image was a personal project, I wanted to paint an exotic open desert landscape and imbue with a sense of mystery. The painting was created using Adobe Photoshop CS3, took approximately 8 hours of work over the course of two days.

As you are about to see, I used a direct mass painting approach working without a preliminary drawing. I choose several of Jean-Lean Gerome’s paintings with a similar theme to use as a reference for my color pallet and composition. I highly recommend studying the works of classical painters to enhance your understanding of artistic techniques.

Considering that the image is primarily a horizontal composition, I choose a pretty wide aspect ratio. I started by establishing the horizon line, placing it just above center. Using the gradation tool I added in the sky and ground tones choosing somewhat desaturated colors with the intention of adding saturation as the image progresses. I also kept the edge at the horizon line soft to have the flexibility to tweak it later on.

The next step was to block in the sky, I used mostly gray blues with a little bit of earth tones to help blend it with a ground.

Painting the ground plane was a very similar process, keeping it pretty simple. I was looking to paint more of a rocky desert landscape which allowed me the opportunity to reflect some of the sky tone on the rocky planes.

It’s generally a good idea to paint in layers; background first, then middle ground and finally the foreground elements. That way you can tweak your composition later without worrying about overlapping and visual continuity.

At this stage, I put more work into the sky adding some storm clouds to create both drama and interest. To make the process more efficient, I used some of my own custom cloud brushes, which are fun and easy to create. I also added a foreground rock element to help bring the viewer into the picture.

With the landscape established it was time to block in the key elements of the composition. Before starting work on the bones, I studied some pictures of whale skeletons to give me a basic idea of the type of iconography I need. While I wasn’t trying depict any specific creature, I still wanted the skeleton to look plausible. I used a solid opaque color and a smaller brush to lay in the silhouette, making the bones wrap the terrain in an S curve. It took a number of attempts before I was satisfied with the overall shape. Even though bones are a very organic form, it’s still crucial to adhere to the rules of linear perspective, in order to create the illusion of form in space. The camel rider was painted in the same fashion, starting with the silhouette shape and then adding the lights and darks.

Once I was satisfied with the overall composition, it was time to work out the bones. Since I was pleased with how my initial lay-in turned out, the overall silhouette did not change very much from start to finish. The main challenge here was getting the foreshortening to read correctly.

At this point everything was starting to come together. I finalized the clouds and the camel rider, tweaking him until the scale between him and the skeleton was just right. I added an atmosphere layer using a soft cloud brush loaded with my background color. This helped reinforce my depth cues pushing the background information into the distance.

The last major step was to finish painting and detailing the landscape, I made sure to turn off all the unnecessary layers while painting. I used a lot of particle brushes to get the right effect. Achieving a realistic look, is a matter of studying at a lot of reference material, getting the colors, values and edges right during the lay-in stage and then zooming into specific areas and adding information locally.

For the most part I used two of the standard brushes that come with Photoshop, one is a solid gauche-like brush with a softer age, I use it lay in all my tones, and the other is a chalk-like brush which is great for adding texture.

Here I wanted to show how you can use a series of large sweeping curves in your composition to lead your viewer’s eye to the main area of interest. Notice how the skeleton, the landscape, the clouds and even the birds are all pointing to the rider.

Another compositional device to draw attention to the focal point of the image is the use of color accents. I placed a daub of red color next to its complimentary which is green, it is a subtle effect, but an effective one nonetheless.

The finishing touches included adding some bone texture to the foreground part of the skeleton, some vultures in the sky that I imagine are accompanying our guy on his journey and the moon in the background to give the scene more of a fantastic feel.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this article and that the insights that I provided will help you in your future artistic endeavors. .

Design A With Using Photoshop Junk Tree Paradise

2010-03-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hi all! For this tutorial I used a wacom intuous 2 tablet, Photoshop CS4 , and Painter IX. Join me as I take you on a quick demonstration of my painting process of Junk Tree Paradise.

Step 1:
- Start out with thumbnail sketches to rough out the ideas. I choose the bottom one. The idea was "kids who survived from the destruction of world war III and found the beauty and hope in the world."

Step 2:
I added a new layer in photoshop, underneath the drawing and begin coloring the details. Afterwards I make a 3rd layer on top of everything and begin to paint on top of the initial drawing and under color layers.

Note (I also add a overlayer layer on top of everything and paint in some violets, yellows, and blues to warm and saturate the picture more. Then I add a Photofilter set to Warmer Filter (85) to warm it even more. All these things gives the picture more life.)

Step 3:
I flatten the image and decided to stretch the canvas out more horizontally as my ideas begin to change. Every now and then I bring the picture into Painter and use the Round Camel Hair and just add Water Brush to add the details like the sky and the green ground. Then I jump back into photoshop and continue to paint.
In Photoshop I used the default Hard Round Brush as well as the Oil Pastel large brush. A little trick for painting texture into the plants with the Oil Pastel large Brush is to set Color Dynamics setting on and turn up the Brightness Jitter a little. It'll give the impression of more detail than you really painted by hand.

Also I'm flipping the canvas constantly to make sure things are working right. It gives you a fresh look on the picture and clarifies any possible mistakes.

Step 4:

Even crazier I stretch the canvas more as new ideas begin to form. The new idea was to split the picture into two halfs like two seperate paintings. One side will have the destruction the other side will have the peace. I played a lot with the color by using Color Balance in Photoshop and Photo Filters, fooloed around with differnt cloud designs by looking up references of clouds online, and just had fun making things up.

Step 5:

At this point I wanted to add the kids back into the picture and really make them focal points.

Step 6:

Finishing touches are always very important. Added a heart design on front characters shirt, made music notes, leaves, and birds flying in the background. I also went over everything and outlined it with a black or light colored small sized brush. It seemed to really pop the things out more, especially the clouds.

Here's the final result. I hope you enjoyed the gang. Take care Godbless.

Brushed Explosion In Photoshop

2010-03-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

Brushed Explosion In Photoshop.

Step 1: Open A New Photoshop Document
Open a new document in Photoshop by going up to the File menu and choosing New…, or by using the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+N. You can choose your own width and height for your document, but if you want to follow along, I chose the 640×480 size from the list of available presets to keep things simple. I’ve also left my Resolution value set to its default of 72 pixels/inch. Since I’m creating this text effect for the web, it makes no difference what I set the resolution value to, so the default value is fine:

Step 2: Add Your Text
With your new blank document open, grab the Type tool from the Tools palette or by pressing T on your keyboard. Make sure black is selected as your foreground color. If it isn’t, just press D on your keyboard to reset it to black. Choose your font in the Options Bar at the top of the screen. Thick, heavy fonts work best for this effect. Then, go ahead and enter your text. I’m going to use “Impact”, and I’ll type the words “LIGHT BURST

Step 3: Resize Your Text With Free Transform
With your text layer selected in the Layers palette, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T to bring up the Free Transform box and handles around your text. Hold down Shift+Alt and drag out any of the corner handles to make your text larger and fill up more of the document area. Holding Shift constrains the text proportions, and holding Alt/Option resizes the text from the center:

Step 4: Rasterize Your Text
We’re going to be applying several filters to our text, but Photoshop doesn’t allow us to do that without first rasterizing it, which simply means to convert it into pixels. So again with the text layer selected, go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose Rasterize, and then choose Type. This will convert our text into pixels. It will still look the same in the document window, but in the Layers palette, the Type layer will now be a regular layer:

Step 5: Add A Selection Around Your Text And Save It
Ctrl-click directly on the thumbnail preview area of the text layer in the Layers palette to quickly load a selection around your text:

With the text selected, go up to the Select menu at the top of the screen and choose Save Selection. When the Save Selection dialog box appears, just click OK. There’s no need to name it or make any changes to the options.
Once you’ve saved your selection, press Ctrl+D to deselect your text.
Switch over to your Channels palette for a moment (it’s grouped in beside the Layers palette) and you’ll see your selection saved as a new channel named “Alpha 1″ at the very bottom. We’ll be coming back here a bit later to load our selection again:

Step 6: Use “Fill” To Fill Your Text Layer With White And Set The Blend Mode To “Multiply”
Switch back to your Layers palette once again, and with the text layer selected, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill, or press Shift+F5 on your keyboard to quickly bring up Photoshop’s Fill dialog box. When the dialog box appears, set the Contents to White and change the Blending Mode to Multiply:

Click OK when you’re done. Nothing will seem to have happened in your document window, but if you look at your text layer’s thumbnail in the Layers palette, you’ll see that all of the empty space around the text has now been filled with white, while leaving the text black thanks to that “Multiply” mode.
Step 7: Apply The Gaussian Blur Filter To The Text
Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Blur, and then choose Gaussian Blur. When the Gaussian Blur dialog box appears, enter a Radius value of about 4 pixels and click OK to apply a slight blurring to the text:

Step 8: Apply The “Solarize” Filter To The Text
With the text layer still selected, go back up to the Filter menu and this time choose Stylize, and then choose Solarize. This will turn the document black, and your text will appear as a white stroke:

Step 9: Lighten The Text With Levels
The text is looking a little dark, so let’s lighten it. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+L to bring up Photoshop’s Levels command, and drag the white point slider on the right in towards the left until you reach the right edge of the histogram:

Step 10: Make A Copy Of The Text Layer
We need to make a copy of the text layer at this point, so to do that, with the text layer selected, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J, which will add a copy of the layer above it in the Layers palette:

Make sure the copy of the text layer is selected because all of these next steps are to be done on the copy. We won’t be touching the original again until near the end.
Step 11: Apply The “Polar Coordinates” Filter To The Text
Go back up to the Filter menu, and this time choose Distort, and then Polar Coordinates. We’re going to send our text to the North Pole. Alright, no we’re not. What we are going to do is make it look very strange. When the Polar Coordinates dialog box appears, select the Polar To Rectangular option at the very bottom and then click OK:

Step 12: Rotate The Canvas 90 Degrees Clockwise
Go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen, select Rotate Canvas, and then choose 90° CW to rotate the canvas 90 degrees clockwise:

Step 13: Invert The Image
Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+I to invert the image, so black becomes white and white becomes black:

Step 14: Apply The “Wind” Filter Three Times
Go back up to the Filter menu once again, choose Stylize, and then choose Wind. When the Wind filter’s dialog box appears, make sure Method is set to Wind and Direction is set to From the Right:

Click OK to apply the Wind filter once. Then press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F twice to apply the same filter two more times.
Step 15: Invert The Image Again
Press Ctrl+I to invert the image once again:

Step 16: Apply The “Wind” Filter Three More Times
With the image inverted, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F three more times to apply the filter to the image three more times:

Step 17: Brighten The Image Again With Levels
We need to brighten the image again using Levels, but this time, we’ll let Photoshop do the work for us by using Auto Levels. To do that, press Shift+Ctrl+L to apply the Auto Levels command to the image, which will brighten it up:

Step 18: Rotate The Canvas 90 Degrees Counterclockwise
Go back up to the Image menu at this point, choose Rotate Canvas once again, and this time choose 90° CCW to rotate the canvas back to the way it was originally:

Step 19: Apply The “Polar Coordinates” Filter Again
Go back up to the Filter menu again, choose Distort, and then choose Polar Coordinates. This time choose the Rectangular to Polar option and click OK:

Step 20: Set The Layer Blend Mode To “Screen”
Go up to the blend mode options in the top left of the Layers palette and change the blend mode of the text copy layer from “Normal” to Screen by clicking on the down-pointing arrow and selecting “Screen” from the list:

Step 21: Apply A Gradient Fill Layer To Add Color
Click on the New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

And select “Gradient” from the list:

When the Gradient Fill dialog box pops up, click inside the gradient preview area at the top:

This will bring up the Gradient Editor dialog box. Click on the gradient swatch in the top left, the black to white gradient first, and this will make sure that both colors on either side of the gradient have their opacity set to 100%:

Then set your gradient colors to whatever you like. I’ve set the color on the left to a reddish-orange, and the color on the right to a yellowish-orange:

Exit out of the gradient dialog boxes once you’ve chosen your colors.
Step 22: Change The Blend Mode Of The Gradient Fill Layer To “Color”
With the Gradient fill layer selected, go back to the blend mode options in the top left of the Layers palette and change the layer’s blend mode to Color:

Step 23: Apply A Radial Blur To The Original Text Layer
We’re done with the text copy layer at this point. We’re going to finish off the last few steps by working on the original text layer, so click on it in the Layers palette to select it. Then go up to the Filter menu, choose Blur, and then choose Radial Blur:

Set the Amount to about 65 pixels, the Blur Method to Zoom, and the Quality to Best, as circled above, and then click OK to apply the filter to the original text:

Step 24: Load The Saved Text Selection
Only a couple of things left to do. First, switch over to your Channels palette again like we did earlier. We’re going to reload that selection we saved. To do that, simply right-click anywhere on the Alpha 1 channel at the very bottom, which will load the selection back into the document window:

Switch back to the Layers palette when you’re done. The selection is now loaded in the image:

One thing left to do…
Step 25: Fill The Selection With Black
With the original text layer selected in the Layers palette and black still as your foreground color, press Alt+Backspace to fill the selection with black and finish the effect.
Press Ctrl+D to remove the selection, and you’re done!
Final Result:

Design Avatar Wallpaper In Adobe

2010-03-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

Design Avatar Wallpaper In Adobe

In the beginning you should create a new document sized 1900х1200 pixels and fill it with black color.

Then I would like to bring the picture one of the heroes to our canvas. You can find different pictures on Google Images or feel free to use mine. Open up the picture and using Ctrl+C copy it , then go back to the main canvas and press Ctrl+V to paste copied fragment. Move this fragment to right lower corner.

As you can see the picture less then canvas, in this way press Ctrl+T and hold Shift button to enlarge the picture pro rata. The result should look as mine:

After increasing the image sharpness has become worse. We can fix this problem by duplicating current layer with Ctrl+J and Filter > Other > High Pass with next parameters:

After that change layer mode to Overlay and you will get the next result:

Ok, continue our tutorial. Merge current layer with previous and move new layer to the right as shown on my screenshot below.

Then to change color balance a little bit to get the picture with the same hue as on advertising posters apply Image > Adjustments > Layers with similar settings to these:

The result should be next:

Ok, move to the next step. We have to make eyes color more bright and contrasting, to add accent on the picture. For this effect apply Polygonal Lasso Tool and create selection as on my picture below:

Holding Shift button select the second pupil of the eye area.

After that use Select > Modify > Feather to feather selection about 2 pixels. Then apply Image > Adjustments > Color Balance with similar settings to these:

You can see the result below:

Remove the selection with Ctrl+D. Looks good, isn’t it? Then create a new one layer, select the Brush Tool and a soft round brush about 400 pixels to hide image borders like on my picture you can see below:

Move to the next step. After that we need to add the text. Select the Horizontal Type Tool and write out the name of the film with different color, it doesn’t matter. The set up next text presets for this text line:

The result should be next:

In the above image I’ve used Papyrus as my font of choice. Actually, it is commercial, but if you don’t have it, you can easily find a good alternative. Ok, after that apply Outer Glow, Bevel and Emboss, Contour and Gradient Overlay layer styles to this layer:

Now we have something like this:

And the last one thing that we have to do to add glowing balls on the background. How we can do this? Ok, I will show you the easer way. Select the Brush Tool and a hard round brush about 15 pixels. Then click the button ‘Toggle the Brushes palette’ on the Options Bar to open brush presets window or by choosing Window > Brushes. Here we can see a couple of presets. Now, set up the following presets for current brush:

After that add a few strokes to the background on the new layer using color of #c9eaff.

Duplicate this layer with Ctrl+J and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with similar settings to these:

Merge current layer with previous.

After that apply Outer Glow layer style to new received layer.

The result should be next:

Ok, to finish off the tutorial create new layer and fill the left upper corner with black to transparent gradient.

Ok, we are done! Enjoy your own cool looking wallpapers!

Design Eye Catching Laser Particle Abstract Effect

2010-03-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, I will show you how easy it is to design this very eye-catching, Laser Particle abstract effect in Photoshop. This is a beginner level tutorial and steps are really simple, have a try!
I made this tutorial fin order to show you how you can use dynamic brush settings, motion blur filter and cloud filter to create great looking effect, which can be used widely in all sorts of occasion to spice up your design.
Here is a preview of the final effect:

No stock image is required for this tutorial.
OK let’s get started!

Step 1

Firstly let’s make a really simple Photoshop Brush to use later on in the tutorial. Create a new document sized 70px *25px (actually the dimension is not important here, as long as you keep the width roughly 3 times to the height and make it a rectangle shape).
Press Shift + F5 to fill the background layer with any color you like:

and go to Edit > Define Brush to create a custom Photoshop brushset:

Press “Ok” to proceed, you will see the new brushset appearing in the brush list:

Step 2

Now let’s create a new document (size doesn’t matter here) in Photoshop, fill the background layer with Black color. Create a new layer called “on top of the background layer (always a good practice because if something goes wrong you can simply delete this layer) and, let’s now apply some brush dynamics to the brush we just created.
Brush Tip Shape (Make sure to reduce the brush size to a smaller one around 20px)

Shape Dynamics

Scattering

And use this dynamic brush to paint some patterns of the new layer, as shown below:

Step 3

Hit Ctrl + T then right-click on this layer, choose “perspective” and alter the shape of this layer into the one shown below:

This step can be a bit tricky, you might want to try a few times ( to get the right feeling. Ultimately what you want is a kind of splashing/exploding effect. I adjusted a few times myself and this is what I have after the adjustmet:

Use a soft brush eraser to erase the left edge of the dynamic shape, so it blending into the background, therefore creating more depth:

Step 4

Duplicate this “Particle” layer once, apply the following motion blur setting to the duplicated layer:

Make sure the Angle of the motion blur match the angle of the previous particle layer.
Here is the effect you should have after applying the motion blur filter:

Reduce the opacity of the duplcated layer to around 80%, you will have the following effect:

Step 5

To tune-up the effect a bit, we use the cloud filter to add a bit of smoke around the laser particle. To do this, create a new layer called “smoke effect”, use the Lasso Tool with 30-40px feather to draw a selection around the particle, go to Filter > Render > Cloud and fill some cloud inside the selection:

Hit Ctrl + L and apply the following levels adjustment to this layer:

Resize this layer to a very small size, change its blending mode to “Screen”, positon it to the location as shown below:

Make a few duplication of it and scatter them around the particle, you will have the following effect:

Add some color over it by creating a new layer on top of all previous layer, set the blending mode to either “color dodge” or “overlay”, paint some colour over it: (Hint: use color balance adjustment layer for more control)

Step 6

To finishing up the image, we can flatten the layers, then apply the following “Smart Sharpen” Filter on the flattened layer – this will make the image look more crisp:

and you will have the following effect:

That’s it for this tutorial! Here is a final image I made afterwards:

You can apply this effect to tons of occasions – photo retouch, web headers/footers, manipulations, etc. Just to add extra flavour to your design :)
Hope you enjoy this tutorial and find it useful! Until next time, have a great day!

To Create A Shocking Text

2010-03-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

In This Adobe Photoshop Tutorial I will show how to create cool text effect named "Shoking text".

Step 1 - Preparing the Text

Create a new image 400x400px with a “transparent” background. Rename the only existing layer “back”.
Fill (Edit > Fill) layer "back" with black (Hex #000000). Using the Horizontal Type Tool, write some large text in white (Hex #FFFFFF).
For this tutorial, I wrote “N-sane” in 80 pt with the font Impact. Rasterize the text (Layer > Rasterize > Text). Rename the layer that has the now rasterized text “Text”.

Step 2 - Vertical Wind

Duplicate layer “Text” and rename the new layer “Text 2”. Hide layer “Text 2” by clicking on the eye to the left of it on the Layer Palette.
Activate layer “Text” on the Layer Palette and merge all visible layers (Layer > Merge Visible).
Transform the image 90 degrees clockwise (Edit > Transform > 90 degrees CW )

Apply the Wind filter (Filter > Stylize > Wind) with the method “Wind” and the Direction “From the Right”. Repeat (Ctrl-f ) this filter.
Now, apply the Wind filter (Filter > Stylize > Wind) again except this time, use the Direction “From the Left”. Repeat (Ctrl-f ) this filter.

Step 3 - Horizontal Wind

Transform the image 90 degrees counter-clockwise (Edit > Transform > 90 degrees CCW ). We are now going to apply the Wind filter again except this time, only once in each direction.

Apply the Wind filter (Filter > Stylize > Wind) with the method “Wind” and the Direction “From the Right”.
Now, apply the Wind filter (Filter > Stylize > Wind) again except this time, use the Direction “From the Left”.

Apply the Ripple Filter (Filter > Distort > Ripple) to make the light wavy.

Open the Hue/Saturation window (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) and press Ok with the default values.

Step 4 - Final Touches

Unhide layer “Text 2” and activate it on the Layer Palette.
Select the text on the layer by pressing Ctrl then clicking on the thumbnail of the layer on the Layer Palette.
Contract (Select > Contract) the selection by 2 pixels. Now Fill (Edit > Fill) in the selection with black (Hex #000000).

Step 5 - Extra

This is the end of the original tutorial. We have added this following section for those of you who wish to add more contrast to the text.
First, merge all visible layers (Layer > Merge Visible).
Duplicate the only existing layer twice. You should now have three layers.
Change the Blending Mode of the middle layer to "screen".
Change the Blending Mode of the top layer to "overlay".
Your text should have much more contrast now!

Design Vista Aero Wallpaper in Photoshop

2010-03-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

In this photoshop tutorial you will learn how to design a Vista aero Wallpaper.

Step 1:
You have to find a suitable picture, I've used this one:

Step 2:
Apply a Gaussian blur with radius about 75pixels (I used 75px.)

Step 3:
Layer->New adjustment layer->Color balance and apply these settings:

It should looks like this:

Step 4:
Now make a rectangle selection and follow the instructions on the next picture:

Go to blending options and set the blend mode to Overlay,

Now go to outer glow and apply these settings:

It should look like this:

Step 5:
Duplicate this layer and rotate it (using free transform - edit->free transform or CTRL+T)
Put it OVER the 1st one but rotated!

Now using Line tool make a line and shape it using warp tool (edit->adjustments->warp)

When you have finished apply these settings to this layer:

If you want to write something ,put its blend mode to overlay

You have the final result-cool looking vista aero styled wallpaper!

How to Create a Cool Button in Photoshop

2010-03-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

This simple tutorial will guide you how to create a cool button in Adobe Photoshop.

Step 1:
Create a New Document (Ctrl+N) with a white background. Create new layer (Layer/New/Layer). Create a circle selection.

Step 2:

Fill it with Gradiet tool in Radial gradient mode . Name this layer "gradient".

Step 3:
Create two guides crossing in the center of "gradient". Holding the Shift and Alt keys create a new cicle smaller than "gradient". Name this layer "main reflection".

Step 4:
Using Anchor Point Tool transform "main reflection".

Step 5:
Add Vector mask . And fill it with black and white gradient in Linear gradient mode .

Step 6:
Create new cicle and cut it with elliptical selection. Name it "edge".

Step 7:
Add Vector mask.

Step 8:
Dublicate "edge". Go to Edit/Transform/Rotate (Ctrl+T) and rotate it. Make reflection in the bottom.

Step 9:
Select "gradient" layer and go to Layer/Layer style/Drop shadow.

Step 10:
Add any elements and it's done.

Final Result:
The final result will be Cool Creative Button...! :-)

Design a Vintage Radio Icon in Photoshop

2010-02-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

In this Photoshop Tutorial, you’ll learn how to design an old vintage radio using simple shapes, gradients, patterns and textures.

Materials Needed:

Paper texture
Wood pattern
Spiderman pattern

Step 1

Start by creating a new document (Ctrl+N) 700×700 in dimension.

Step 2

Make a radial gradient backround from center to any corner, using colors #d2934c and #38240d.

Step 3

Create a new layer (Ctrl+Shift+N). Using the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) with 10px radius, draw a rectangle. Then go to layer’s Blending options and use gradient overlay from #161616 to #3a3a3a.

Step 4

Now let’s use our paper texture. Copy it above all the other layers. Be sure it covers the rectangle. Then Ctrl+click the rectangle layer’s thumbnail. Then inverse the selection (Ctrl+Shift+I) and press delete. Change blending mode to overlay. You should have something like this now.

Step 5

Create a new layer. Again use the Rounded Rectangle tool but this time make a smaller rectangle with 5px radius. In layer’s blending options use the linear gradient overlay with these colors: #563a1c; #61442b; #563a1c; #c18c5f.

Step 6

Repeat Step 4 but this time Ctrl+click the previous made 5px rectangle’s thumbnail and set the paper texture’s blending mode to Soft Light.

Step 7

Create a new layer. Take the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and draw a few pixels smaller rectangle than the previous one. Use gradient from #c18c5f to #563a1c.

Step 8

Repeat Step 4 – Ctrl+click the previous made rectangle’s thumbnail and set the paper texture’s blending mode to Soft Light.

Step 9

Create a new layer. Draw a few pixels smaller rectangle than the previous one. Go to it’s blending options and set an inner shadow and the wooden pattern as shown in the picture.

Step 10

Let’s make the wooden panel shine a little bit. Create a new layer. Ctrl+click the rectangle layer we created before (so that you select the entire rectangle we will be adding the highlight to). Then take the Elliptical Marquee tool and while holding Shift+Alt, drag it over to make a selection like in the picture. Then use a white to transparent gradient from right to left and change the opacity to 13%.

Step 11

Create a new layer. Draw a smaller rectangle and change the blending options as in the picture. Use the pattern from source files. Use colors #7b4f28 and #b27d52 for the gradient.

Step 12

Create a new layer. Using pencil tool, draw two 1px lines using #120c04 for the dark one and #67482c for the light one.

Step 13

Now let’s make the radio knobs. It’s basically gonna be just a bunch of circles with different gradients and blending options. For each of the circle create a new layer. Then group all these layers (select the layers and press Ctrl+G) and duplicate the group. Place them as in picture.

Step 14

Now we’ll add a few more details. Create a new layer. Draw a thin rectangle, fill it with #3b260f and above it in a new layer a smaller one, fill it with #d9a15b. Add inner shadow to both of them.

Step 15

Duplicate the previous 2 layers 2 times and slightly change the position of the smaller rectangle.

Step 16

Let’s make the radio shine a little bit. Create a new layer. Using the pen tool, draw a shape like in the picture. Then left click-make selection and fill it with white. Change the opacity to 35%. Duplicate this layer and make it 2 times smaller (Press Ctrl+T and scale it down). Then duplicate both of these layers and put them on the other side of the radio.

Step 17

Let’s add a base for the radio. Create a new layer. Using 10px rounded rectangle tool, draw a rectangle, fill it with #1e1209 and place below all the other layers.

Step 18

Next let’s add some pixel-perfect details. Take the pencil tool and draw 1px white lines around the radio. Use a large, soft eraser to erase the ends of the lines. Change the opacity to 27%

Step 19

Let’s make the background more interesting. Create a new layer above background layer and with the Rectangular Marquee Tool select a bit more than half of the whole image and fill it with gradient from black to transparent. Lower the opacity to 31%.

Final Result

Now to finish the thing, let’s make a nice reflection. Merge all of the radio layers, except background. Press Ctrl+A then Copy (Ctrl+C). Press Alt+Ctrl+Z till all the radio layers come back and then paste (Ctrl+V). Flip the layer vertically and Using a round soft brush, erase it’s bottom. Lower the opacity to 20%.

Conclusion

Well, I hope you learned something new from this tutorial. Using these simple techniques you can make great looking icons. Here are a few other examples.

Create a Simple Autumn Scene in Photoshop

2010-02-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial I will be teaching you how to make a vibrant, simple Autumn Wallpaper using vector files and some simple techniques in Photoshop.

Quick Nav:

Step 1: Create a New Document

Create a new Photoshop document (file>new) at any size you would like. I suggest giving the file a name such as Autumn. For this tutorial I created one at 1920×1200 (72 dpi) which would be a great resolution for a wallpaper.

Step 2: Create a Background

Unlock your background layer by double clicking the background layer. Make sure to rename it from Layer0 to background.Double click on the background layer to open up the Layer Style, then select gradient overlay. The gradient overlay should be from #fcef87 to #fe9f09.

Step 3: Add The Vector Objects

Drag the layers “Cloud L” and "Cloud R" into the Autumn file. Then resize each layer (Ctrl⁄Cmd + t) to the appropriate size for your resolution.

Vectors

I have made the vector.psd as sample layers for your vectors but you can always make your own vectors using Photoshop or Illustrator.

Smart Vector Layers

If you notice the layers with the objects are Smart Vector Objects, this means that they don’t depend on a bitmap but rather vector. This means you can make the objects as large as you want without distorting the image.

DO NOT!

You can’t just simply copy the content of each layer because this is a special vector layer! You MUST drag the layers into the autumn.psd file we are working on!

Step 4: Create a Hill

Create a new layer (layer>new>layer) and rename it to hill. Then grab your pen tool and make a closed wave like structure.
Right click on the path and select fill path. Black is fine for now.
Double click on the hill layer and select on Gradient Overlay. The gradient should go from #b30100 to #fe9833. Select ok then right click on the path and select delete path.

Your image should look something like this:

Step 5: Adding a Pond

Create a new layer and rename it pond. Make sure that your foreground color is #fcef87 and your background color is #db8500 and, using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), make a rectangle underneath the hill.
Select the Gradient Tool (G) and make sure that the gradient at the top left matches your foreground and background color. Then drag the gradient tool from bottom to top. Then deselect (Ctrl/Cmd +D) the selection we made with the marquee tool.

Step 6: Creating a Tree and Some Grass

Then drag the Tree layer from the Vector.psd file to our Autumn file, the same way you did for the clouds layers.
Once you have properly placed and resized using the Free Transform Feature(Ctrl/Cmd +t) the tree layer in the Autumn file create a new layer and rename it to grass. Drag the grass layer under the pond layer and drag the tree layer under the grass layer.
Select the Brush tool (B) selected and make your foreground color set to #f18a1c and your background color #f89e3d. If you have CS4 select the Dune Grass brush, if not download this brush here. Then bush on the grass layer and make sure to go a bit under the pond layer.

Step 7: 2-10 Blending The Grass

Create a new layer and name it Blend. Merge the Blend layer and the pond layer by holding the Alt button and going between the boarder of the two layers. You should see an icon with a black and white circle, when you do click on your mouse. Then grab a soft brush in the Brush tool (B) and paint with your brush near the top of the Blend layer.
Then Grab the Blur Tool and select the Pond layer and start to blur the edges.

Step 8: 2-10 Word Step Description

Move the Ripples, leaf, and sparkle layers (in that order) from the Vector.psd file to the Autumn file. And place it on top of the pond like so:

Step 9: Adding Leaves

Duplicate the Leaf layer (Layer>Duplicate Layer) as many times as you would like and spread each layer around the tree.

Leaves

Try to Free Transform (Crtl/Cmd+t) the leaf layers and spin them around so they look like they are blowing away. I domonstrate the results in the image below. It is good to experiment in these situations.

Step 10: Adding Sparkles

Duplicate a couple of the Sparkle layers and resize and spread them near the Hills.

Step 11: Adding Some Glow

Select the Brush Tool (B) and create a new layer called Glow. Make sure that your foreground color is white #ffffff and the brush is a small circle size like 4. The hardness should be 100%. With those attributes make dots on the Hill area.Change the Layer Style of the Glow layer

Create Fantastic Stone Textures in Photoshop

2010-02-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, I will show you a quick and easy way to make a realistic stone texture with the help of the Liquify Filter. This tutorial is written for users who have a basic understanding of the tools and techniques commonly used in Photoshop. Enjoy!

The Final Image

This is what we will be creating:

Step 1: Setting Up the Document

Create a new Photoshop Document (File>New) at any size with a black background. For this tutorial, I created one 550px x 300px (72 dpi).

Step 2: Making Dots

Make sure your foreground color is set to white. Now, select a nice-sized brush and set its hardness to 100% (To find the hardness slider, just open the Brush Preset picker by clicking on the brush icon at the top of the screen, right below the main menu bar). Start making dots.

Step 3: Creating More Dots

Use the ‘[' and ']‘ keys to change the brush size up or down and continue to fill in the dots until they take up the entire document.

Keep Going…

Watch where you put those dots!

It is important that no dot overlaps another. There must be black showing through all the way around every dot.

Step 4: Preparing to Liquify

In the main menu, select Filter>Liquify. In this window, you will use the preset brush type (which should be the Forward Warp Tool). All you need to do is change the size by adjusting the slider on the right. Adjust the size to 95.

Step 5: Liquifying

On all the large dots, click inside the white space and drag your brush slightly over thier edges to ‘warp’ their shapes.

Doing it right!

It is important that you use a brush size smaller than the dot you are working on and that your brush is entirely within the dot before you click tp warp the shape. This limits any unwanted blurring of the edges.

Step 6: More Liquifying

Continue with the rest of the dots, adjusting the size of the brush to fit that dot. Ultimately, you’ll want to ‘push’ the dots closer together until the black in-between becomes just a thin line. Click ‘OK’ when you’re done.

Step 7: Naming Layers

Double Click the ‘Background’ layer in the Layers panel to bring up the Layer Properties and rename it ‘Stone’.

Step 8: Duplicating the Layer

Duplicate the ‘Stone’ layer (Ctrl⁄Cmd + J). Rename the new layer ‘Shadow’ and set it to Multiply.

Step 9: Adding a Guassian Blur

In the main menu, go to Filter>Blur>Guassian Blur. Set the Guassian Blur to 3.5 and hit OK.

Your image should now resemble this:

Step 10: Adding Layer Styles

Double click the ‘Stone’ layer to open up it’s Layer Styles. Add a Color Overlay and a Pattern Overlay with the following settings.

What’s That Pattern?

The pattern used is called ‘Shredded Plastic’. If you cannot find it, then, in the texture selection drop down, click the arrow and append the Texture Fill 2 set.

Your image should now resemble this:

Step 11: Adding Highlights

Create a New Layer, name it ‘Highlights’. Use a small, white brush with 0% hardness to add some highlights.
Here are the brush strokes on a black background (for illustrative purposes).

Here is the image with the highlights added:

Step 12: Adjusting the Highlights

Set the transparency to 70%.

Step 13: Adding Low Lights

Create another New Layer and name it ‘Low Lights’. This time, use the color black with a 90% hardness to add low lights.
Here are the brush strokes on a white background (for illustrative purposes).

Sloppiness Counts

Dont try to be neat. Be more jagged in your strokes to simulated that coarse stone contours.

Here is the image with the low lights added:

Step 14: Adjusting the Low Lights

Set the ‘Low Lights’ layer to 20%.

Create a Fantastic Abstract Fan Poster

2010-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, we are going to get creative with layering, lighting, and texture to build fantastic abstract piece. More specifically, we’re going to employ some unusual techniques to make a fan poster for the band Omega Code, but you’ll quickly see many different applications for what is taught here.
Before starting, it’s we must download and thank Moonchilde-Stock and SXC for their wonderful stock images.

Final Image Preview

Before you start take a look at the final image you will be creating.

Step 1 – Preparing the scene

Start by creating a new document. The canvas below is 1655×2132 and filled with black.

Step 2 – Creating the background

Create a new layer group called "Background". In this new group you will create the main elements that define the background. Start by creating a new blank layer. Make sure the Foreground color is black and Background color is white. Render some clouds by going to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 3

Next you need to apply a Radial Blur to this layer (Filter > Blur > Radial Blur) and apply a amount of 100 with Blur Method set to Zoom and the Quality to Best.

Step 4

Press Command + F (Ctrl + F on Windows) to apply the same filter again.

Step 5

Bring up Levels (Command + L or Ctrl + L on Windows) and adjust the settings to produce similar results as shown below.

Step 6

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) set to 100% Feather and select several parts of the cloud render to delete (Remember: after making a selection, hold shift and create a new selection to add to the previous selection. Learn More About the Selection Tools). Delete this selection (Delete or Control+X). You may decide to feather this selection prior to deleting once more to make a softer deletion.

Step 7

Open this layers Blending Options and apply a Radial Gradient. Use the settings below to get a similar result.

Create a Blank Layer underneath this layer, and merge the layers together (Select Both Layers > Layer > Merge Layers). Set the layer to Linear Dodge and duplicate the layer (second layer must be Linear Dodge as well).

Step 8

Duplicate the layer again and this time apply a Twirl to this layer (Filter > Distort Twirl) with the angle set to 350.

Step 9

Create a black layer over the burst layers and add some noise over this layer (Filter > Noise Add Noise). Set it to 50% Gaussian and check Monochromatic.

Apply a Radial Blur over the Noise layer. Set it to Zoom, Amount 100% and Best Quality. Repeat this filter (Control + F).

Next bring up the Levels panel (Command + L or Ctrl + L on Windows) and apply 50 – 1 – 90 and erase the edges of the layer using the Eraser Tool (E) set to a soft brush. Set the layer to Color Dodge and 60% Opacity.

Step 10

In this step you will use a Nebula stock image. There are many to choose from, but I have chosen the wonderful stock image created by Moonchilde-Stock. Erase the edges of the image with a soft brush, and set the image to Linear Dodge and 80% Opacity.

Step 11 – Color Adjustments

You are finished with the Background Group.
Next you will create another Group called Adjustments. Inside this group create a new layer and using the Soft Brush (B) you need to add a spot of pink color #ff00f0, into a new layer a red color #fe3c00 and into another new layer an orange one #ff6c00. Each color should be in it’s own layer for easy adjustments.
Set each layer as follows: pink Linear Dodge and Opacity 21%, red Linear Dodge and Opacity 5%, orange Linear Dodge and Opacity 21%.
This is one of those steps that requires the best judgement of the designer. For this particular setup, these values made sense, but do as you see fit obviously.

Step 12

Create a new Solid Color Layer with the color #eca700.

Set the layer to Color and Opacity 24% to give the image a bit of a color cast.

Step 13

Repeat Step 12 but this time apply this color #00af3a and for the layer style again use Color and Opacity 11%.

Step 14

Repeat Step 12 but this time apply this color #001eff and for the layer stile again use Color and Opacity 16%. Also above all the layers and groups add the texture provided by SXC and set the layer to Overlay. Please note that this same effect could definitely be achieved by other means such as a levels adjustment layer if you’re comfortable using them.

Step 15 – Creating the Symbol

You are finished with the Adjustments Group. This next part of the tutorial focuses on the Omega Code symbol (but you’re free to create your own logo/symbol if you’d like). Create a New Group between the Adjustments and Background groups and name it Omega, this group will hold all the details and the Omega Symbol.
Create a new layer. Press Command + A (Ctrl + A in Windows) to select everything and press Command + Shift + C (Ctrl + Shift + C in Windows) to copy merged and then press Command + V (Ctrl + V in Windows) to paste into a new selection. Place the new layer inside the Omega group if it’s not already there..
Create a triangle shape and place it in the middle of the composition. You will use this shape just for reference.

Step 16

Make a selection around the black triangle (Ctrl + Click Layer in Layers Palette). For the moment, hide the triangle shape layer. Select the layer you have created in Step 15 (the merged copy of all other layers) and with the selection simply cut out a piece out of the merged layer.

Step 17

Show the triangle layer again, and be sure it’s rasterized (Right Click > Rasterize). Apply the following adjustments: Command + Shift + Option + B (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B on Windows) with setting in image below.

Then set the layer to Soft Light. Duplicate this layer and set it to Multiply and 10% Opacity.

Step 18

Now you will have to create 4 more Triangles but these Triangles will have some cuts inside of them. To create the triangles you need to duplicate the triangle layer you have created back in Step 16, apply a black and white adjustment (Command + Shift + Option + B or Ctrl+ Shift + Alt + B on Windows) then use the Levels Adjustments to make it lighter (0 – 1.00 – 176).

Step 19

Create a smaller black triangle. Duplicate this triangle, and transform it so that there is an even smaller triangle within it (Note: Hold Alt + Shift while transforming to transform in proportion, and from the center). This triangle should occupy roughly 1/4th the area of the large triangle we applied the Black and White adjustment to in the previous step.

Step 20

Duplicate this black triangle 3 more times and place them like below.

Step 21

Make a selection around one of these triangles then select the big triangle and cut (Ctrl + X) a portion out of it. Paste this cut into a new layer, and delete the black small triangle layer.

Step 22

Repeat Step 21 for all the other triangles and deactivate the big triangle from step 18.
Note: Each of the small triangles should now be in a layer of their own.

Step 23

Apply the below Blending Option for all 4 triangles.

Step 24

Now use the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection like below. Create a new layer and in this layer apply a Soft White gradient set to White/Transparent (a soft, large white brush may work just as well). Set the layer to overlay and Opacity 70%. The soft glow is not visible at the moment but as you proceed they will look very nice.
Note: Erase the edges with a Soft Brush.

Step 25

Keep on creating more glows, different sizes like in step 24.

Step 26

Same technique with the left side.

Step 27

And the bottom side. Keep layering the effect on top of one another to build up a powerful collection of highlights.

Step 28

Now you will use the same technique but this time create circle selections using the Elliptical Marquee Tool, invert the selections and then use the Radial Gradient. You will set these layers to Overlay and 88% Opacity.

Step 29

Next you will need to use the Pen Tool (P) and create paths on different locations over the 4 triangles. Then you will have to stroke those paths with a small white brush and set the layers to Overlay and Opacity so that the effect isn’t overwhelming.

Step 30

Use the Pen Tool (P) and create 2 white strokes 1px that will intersect and use the Eraser Tool (E) on the edges to fade them out softly. Then apply a soft white Outer Glow to it

Step 31

Duplicate, or create several more of these star elements to give your symbol a bit of polish!

Conclusion

We’re finished! Hopefully you’ve picked up a few new techniques and had fun while doing so. Please share any of your personal creations in the comments for others to see! You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

Design a Stylish Retro Game Boy Poster in Photoshop

2010-02-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

This tutorial will walk you through the process of creating a vector Nintendo Gameboy in Illustrator and then using it to produce a cool retro poster in Photoshop.

Materials Needed:

Gameboy Stock Photo
G.B.Boot Font
Textures: Circlebox Textures & Lost and Taken

Step 1: Setting Up The Illustrator Document

Please note that if you don’t have Illustrator, or simply don’t want to use it, you can download the Vector Gameboy at the bottom of the screen! You can place the .AI file straight into Photoshop!

Head over to Adobe Illustrator and open a new Web Document – This will automatically set the document to RGB at a suitable resolution/dpi. The size of the document doesn’t really matter because the outcome will be a vector image, meaning it’ll be scalable. I used an 800×600px document set to portrait.
Download the Gameboy stock photo from SXC.hu and place it into your document. You can do this by going to File > Place and then locating your image. Lower the opacity of your gameboy and lock the layer.

TIP: Double-Clicking the Layer…

To save some time when lowering the opacity and locking the layer, try double clicking on the layer to bring up a layers option menu. This allows you lock the layer and dim all images on the layer with just a few clicks!

Step 2: Tracing Using Various Tools

Make a new layer and select the Pen Tool. It’s time to start the tracing. With 1px black stroke selected, trace round the main shape of the gameboy.

Carry on tracing some main shapes of the object until you have something like you see above. Remember you’re not limited to using the Pen Tool, try other
tools such as the Ellipse Tool and Rounded Rectangle Tool. You can also Copy & Paste some items to make sure they’re the same, such as the select, start, A & B buttons.

Fill in a few of the not so bold areas, such as the grooves at the top of the Gameboy using a thinner 0.5px stroked line.

TIP: Holding the Shift Key

If you come across neat corners or straight lines, try holding down the shift key when working with the Pen Tool. It can sometimes save a lot of frustration.

Step 3: Adding Some Retro Type

Install the font ‘G.B.Boot’ if you don’t already have it (you can find the link at the top of the page). It’s not the exact same as the original Gameboy font, but will do. Fill in the few areas of text that are required, such as Nintendo GAME BOY, Select, Start, A and B. I also filled in the text above the Gameboys screen: ‘dot matrix with stereo sound’.
To get the right text size you just need to experiment. You might find you need to Create Outlines of the text by going to Type > Create Outlines before you can rotate the type into place. When the outlines are created, you can also resize the text, as well as stretching it, without losing any quality.

Step 4: Adding Colour Using The Eyedropper Tool

It’s time to add some colour to our game boy, which should be looking pretty cool. The colors here are up to you, but I’m going to stick with original color scheme as was used on the gameboy in the stock photo we used earlier. You can get your stock photo up so it’s side by side with your new vector game boy, which makes it easier to select colors using the Eyedropper Tool.
Select the outer stroke of your game boy (the first line we did) and fill it with a grey. You can remove the stroke, we won’t be needing it! Do the same with the screens border, the screen and the buttons, obviously using there own specific colors. I also added a red light next to the screen, which I’m sure most people will know means the Game boy is switched on.

Step 5: Adding Grooves Using Gradients

The main shape of our gameboy is looking pretty good, but very flat. To make it look a little more 3D we should add some shadows: the easiest way to do this is by adding gradients and custom shapes. With the stock image still showing, trace over some of the ellipses that can be seen beneath the buttons and move them into place on our vector image.

Select one of your new shapes and delete the stroke. Open the Gradient window by going to Window > Gradient. Select two colors similar to the one you used as your game boy background to give it a shadowed look – try experimenting with both Linear and Radial gradients. The best way to get this right is by looking back at the stock photo to see what direction the light source is coming from. Once one gradient is done, repeat the process on the others.
Another thing to do to make the game boy more realistic is to set your new gradients to different blending modes. Open the Transparency window by going to Window > Transparency. Different blending modes do different things depending on the color of the object selected as well as the color of the object beneath, so experiment. I used Colour Burn at 50% opacity on all of my gradients.

TIP: Put the Color Guide to good use…

If you’re using your own color scheme for the game boy, you might find you don’t know what colors are best to use when it comes to adding shadows. Use Illustrators ‘Color Guide’ to help you choose different shades of the same color.

Step 6: Adding Shadows Using Custom Shapes

Our Game boy is getting there. Before we add some more shadows, add a slight gradient to the Game boy itself, and repeat the process with the screen and the screens border. Whilst we’re there, change the color of the thin strokes above the screen and on top of the game boy.

Grab the Pen Tool again and draw a rough shape round the bottom right corner of our Game boy, like you can see above. Fill it with a color from your Game boys background gradient and change its blending mode to Multiply at 70%.

Select the main background of our Game boy – copy and paste it in place by going to Edit > Paste in Front. With the new background select, hold shift and select our rough shadow shape. With both objects now selected, open the Pathfinder window by going to Window > Pathfinder, and then click on Intersect. If you did this right, you should be left with just the shadowed area.

Repeat the process using the same technique for any other shadows. Don’t limit yourself to shapes, sizes and colors – try using the same technique for highlights, too (you might want to use a lighter color set to overlay). Again, use the same technique to add highlights and shadows to your buttons. Once you’ve done this, your game boy should be complete – I’m going for a simplistic look simply because I want it to stand out from the lighting effects and overlay shapes I’m going to be using in poster.

TIP: Experiment!

Different things work better for different people, try adding different gradients to your shadows and experiment with different blending modes and opacities/transparencies. You won’t know what works best until you find it!

Part 2 – The Poster

Step 1: Setting Up The Photoshop Document

With our vector illustration complete it’s time to start jazzing it up and making a poster from it in Photoshop. Open a new document, I’m using an A4 document set to RGB at 72 pixels per inch. If you’re planning on commercially printing the document, use the color mode CMYK set to at least 300 pixels per inch.
Fill the background with a dark grey to grey gradient, and place your vector game boy into the document by going to File > Place.

Step 2: Adding Some Depth

First of all we’re going to add a little more lighting to the Game boy. Rasterize your Game boy layer (this will turn it into pixels, you won’t be able to scale it afterward), and select the Burn Tool. With a soft brush, brush round the shadowed areas of your game boy to give it a darker color. Do the same with the Dodge Tool to the lighter areas. The burn tool and dodge tool have reverse effects: for e.g. if you over do it with the burn tool, you can reverse the effect using the dodge tool.

Make a new layer beneath the Game boy and select the Brush Tool, select a large white soft brush. On the new layer, brush a random shape beneath the Game boy. Make another new layer beneath the Game boy and repeat the process with a black brush. Set the white blobs blending mode to Overlay, and the black blobs blending mode to Soft Light at 30%.

Step 3: Adding Some Texture

Go to File > Place and locate one of the textures you downloaded from the links at the top of this page. I’ve gone with one of my own Red & Yellow Dyed Paper Textures. Once you’ve inserted the texture, drop the saturation of it so it’s black and white. You can do this by going to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Once you’ve dropped the saturdation you’ll probably notice your Gameboy is also black and white. To fix this, click on the new adjustment layer and drag it to above your texture layer in the layers panel. Merge it with the texture layer by holding Cmnd+E orCtrl+E. Change the blending mode of the texture layer to Multiply at 50%.

Find another texture you like and repeat the process again. This time I used one of Caleb Kimbroughs Experimental Grunge Textures. This time I set the textures blending mode to Difference at 10%.

Step 4: Adding Some Color

Make a new layer and grab the Brush Tool. Select a large, soft brush and your first color (I’m using a electric blue color). Brush around some areas of your poster and change the layers blending mode to overlay.

Repeat the process a couple more times using different colors. I used blue, green and pink on the same layer.

With the same layer still selected, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and give it a high pixel radius. I used 250 pixels.

Make another new layer above the color blob layers, and with the same brush paint a shadowed area beneath the game boy using a dark grey or black color.

Step 5: Duplicating The Game boy

Go to File > Place and place your Gameboy Vector image back into the Photoshop. Move the layer beneath the original gameboy image and place it somewhere you like. Change the blending mode to overlay and lower the opacity.

Repeat the step again, use a soft eraser to get rid of any areas you don’t want.

Step 6: Adding A Screenshot

Head over to Google and search for a screenshot of a Nintendo game in action. Copy and paste the image into your document and position it in place over your Nintendo screen. Set the layer to Multiply to get rid of any white areas and take on the color in the background. Lower the opacity as required.

Step 7: Adding Texture to the Gameboy

Download another texture, I’m using another one of my own from my Ink Stained Packaging Paper texture pack. Place the file on top of the Game boy. With the Game boy layer selected, hold Cmnd or Ctrl and click on the preview image of the game boy in the layers palette. Go to Select > Inverse to inverse your selection. Click on the new texture layer and hit the delete key.

With the new texture layer still selected, change the blending mode to color burn with an opacity of 20%.

Step 8: Creating and Adding Some Custom Shapes

Head back over to Illustrator and use the rectangle and ellipse tools to create some custom shapes. You can download these shapes by hitting the big green button at the bottom of this tutorial if you don’t have Illustrator, just import them into photoshop by going to File > Place.

After modifying the shapes to how you like them, copy one of the Illustrator files and paste it into your Photoshop document as a smart object. Rasterize the layer and hold Cmnd or Ctrl and click on the layers preview image in the layers palette. Using a soft white brush, paint over areas of it to give it a gradient like effect.

Set the layer to overlay, and delete some areas using a soft eraser. Duplicate the layer, rotate and reposition it somewhere else in your document.

Repeat the process with some other custom vector shapes from your Illustrator file.

Step 9: Adding Some Finishing Touches

Make a new layer above all the other layers and select the Brush Tool. Choose a medium sized soft brush and brush white blobs randomly over your canvas. Change the blending mode to overlay at 20%. Repeat the step again, this time changing the blending mode to overlay at 30%. Make sure the white blobs are in different places.

Duplicate the original game boy layer. Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, cut areas of the new game boy layer away. Move the layer slightly, and change the blending mode to overlay, use a soft eraser to get rid of some areas of the new layer.

Make a new layer and select the Pen Tool, start to draw some curly lines round the game boy. Once you’ve finished your curly line, with the path still selected, select the Brush Tool. Select a small soft brush, and make sure you have a light color selected. Select the Pen Tool again and Ctrl+Click (right click for Windows users) on the path. Click on Stroke Path, make sure the simulate pressure box is ticked.

Select a hard eraser, and delete some areas of the curvy line we’ve just created.

With the curvy line layer selected, go to Layer > Layer Styles > Blending Options. Add a gradient, inner glow and outer glow. The settings all depend on the size of brush you used to create the glow, so just experiment and go with what you think looks best. Create a new layer beneath the curly glow layer, and merge the two together. This just means we can set the blending mode. Change the
blending mode to Pin Light, and delete/reduce the intensity of the glow in some places using a soft eraser.

Play about with some settings like contrast levels and color balances, and save!

Creating a Set of Digital Painting Icons

2010-01-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the finished icon for this tutorial. We'll draw the tablet and the stylus complete with shiny screen, side buttons and blue LED status lights.

Program: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Step 1

Fire up Photoshop and create a new RGB blank document, choosing a 512px x 512px square canvas. Choose a dark gray foreground color then select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) from the toolbar. In the option bar at the top of the screen enter 30px for the corner radius (1a) then Alt-click and drag from the center of the canvas to create the main body of the tablet (1b). Alt-clicking centers shapes, selections and transformations around the mouse. It's a pretty useful keyboard shortcut so note it down. When you're satisfied with the shape right-click on the layer and choose Rasterize Layer. Name it "base."

Step 2

Let's establish now that the light comes from the top. This requires that we make all upward-facing surfaces lighter and all downward-facing surfaces darker. We will stick to this rule throughout the tutorial.
The tablet's main body looks flat. Let's add some lighting by choosing a light gray as foreground color and keeping the previous dark gray as background color (2a). Hit G to select the Gradient Tool. Before we paint the gradient, though, let's lock the "base" layer's transparency by clicking the transparent square at the top of the Layers palette (2b). Now we can safely paint all over the tablet because we will be limited to the existing pixels. Paint the gradient with a vertical stroke, light to dark (2c).

Step 3

The surface of the tablet is not so smooth. There's a very fine grain. To create that go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and choose 1%, Uniform and Monochromatic (3a). See the result (3b). We also need to give the tablet some thickness so double-click on the "base" layer to open the Layer Style window and click on Bevel and Emboss. Refer to image 3c for the settings. Now the tablet has thickness and a gentle curve around the edges (3d).

Step 4

Let's draw the glass surface. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) again but this time set Radius to 10px (4a). Draw a smaller rectangle at the top center and name it "glass" (4b). Rasterize it, lock its transparency and fill it with a vertical gradient from a medium to a very dark gray (4c).

Step 5

The actual active area is a bit smaller than the glass and has sharp edges. Draw it with the Rectangle Tool and give it a Gradient Overlay style, light to medium gray (5a). Now is also the time to add a logo at the bottom of the glass. Use the Text Tool (T) and a very light gray (but not white) to add your custom logo (5b).

Step 6

The glass is inset from the tablet's base plastic surface. Duplicate the "glass" layer and name the copy "glass rim." Set the Fill to 0% (6a). The layer's actual pixels are invisible but any Layer Style we add will not. That's a neat trick when you just want to use a layer's contour without showing its content. What we want is Bevel and Emboss again. Make sure you choose the "Down" option, which will create an inset bevel (6b). Now the glass has a hard, shallow edge inset from the base (6c).

Step 7

To finish the screen we'll add a big reflective highlight. Cmd-click the "glass" (7a) then fill a new layer with white (7b). Name it "reflection" (7c). Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) make a slanted selection over the right side of the layer (7d). Add the selection as a mask (7e) then set the layer's blending mode to Screen, 20% opacity (7f). The screen is finished (7g) so we can group all related layers now (7h).

Step 8

For the LED light, pick the Ellipse Tool (U) and draw a 7x3 pixel, light blue ellipse at the top left corner of the tablet (8a). Name it "LED 1" then add an Outer Glow (8b) and Inner Glow (8c) layer style. We now have a nice glowing status light (8d).

Step 9

Duplicate the LED light and add some symbols below them. Make up your own or refer to pictures of the actual Cintiq.

Step 10

On to the side buttons. First let's make the touch strip. Choose the same gray as the "base" layer. Using the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) with a 2px radius draw a thin vertical strip on the left side of the glass (10a). The strip is inset from the main body so let's add a Bevel and Emboss style (10b). Activate the Contour option too (10c). See the result (10d).

Step 11

Next to the touch strip there is another scalloped section that contains the four function keys. Duplicate the strip, move it to the right and widen it so the four keys will fit. Name it "key strip."

Step 12

For the function keys choose a lighter gray color. Draw the top key with the Rectangle Tool (12a) and name it "top key." They key casts a shadow all around itself. Create that shadow with an Outer Glow style (12b). The remaining keys can be easily created by duplicating the "top key", adapting their proportions and positioning them on the strip (12c).

Step 13

Group both strips and the five keys in a group called "BUTTONS L." Duplicate the group, name the new one "BUTTONS R", move it to the right of the glass and flip it horizontally (13a). To finish the tablet let's add a drop shadow. On a new layer beneath the "base" draw a thin long black ellipse. Set it to Multiply, 70% opacity. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and choose 3px. The result is a soft, natural-looking shadow (13b).

Step 14

Time to create the stylus now. Draw the right half of the stylus using the Pen Tool in Shape Layer mode (14a). Create the other half (14b) then merge the two shapes together. Use a medium gray as base color (14c). Name the layer "pen body."

Step 15

Let's add the main highlight. Duplicate the pen layer and scale it down horizontally. Brighten it using either Hue/Saturation (Cmd + U) or Brightness/Contrast (15a). Finally add a 1px Gaussian Blur to blend it with the bottom layer (15b). You might need to set the highlight's blending mode to Screen depending on the colors you picked and the outcome you desire. Name the layer "pen body reflection."

Step 16

Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) select a thin horizontal strip on the "pen body reflection" layer halfway up the tapered end. Darken the selection (16a). Now select the tip on both layers and erase, leaving a flat end (16b).

Step 17

Add the nib as a simple dark gray rectangle (17a) on a layer below the "pen body." The eraser can be created with a dark gray ellipse, it too on a layer below the pen (17b). Since the eraser is rounded we need to add some color variation on the surface. We do this with a Gradient Overlay style (17c).

Step 18

Draw the rubber grip with a rounded rectangle slightly tapered so it flares at the top (18a). The radius should be really small, about 3px. Add a Gradient Overlay style (18b). The rubber grip now appears round (18c).

Step 19

Let's draw the side button on the stylus. Draw a dark gray rectangle on a new layer, right where you thumb would be if you gripped the stylus (19a). Marquee-select the bottom two-thirds (19b) then hit Cmd + J to copy the selection to a new layer. This side of the button faces upwards, therefore we have to brighten it (19c). Hit Cmd + E to merge this face down. Now we only have to add an Outer Glow to simulate the hole in which the button is set (19d). The side button is complete (19e).

Step 20

Group all the layers that make up the pen and name the group "PEN" (20a). Keep the layer structure for later modifications. Duplicate the group and hit Cmd + E to merge all layers into one. At this point we can add a Drop Shadow (20b) and position the stylus where we want. We are done (20c).

Conclusion

I hope you learned a few tricks from this tutorial. Maybe it even made you want to buy a tablet! As always with icon design, we relied on vector shapes and layer styles to obtain maximum effect and flexibility. Should you want to change colors, thicknesses or light direction you can always go back to the layer structure and make the necessary adjustments. See you next time for our final design in this series when we'll create a cityscape display icon!

How to Make a Melting Camera Scene

2009-12-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we'll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Program: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: 2 - 2.5h

Step 1

Open the camera file by bennorz, double-click on the layer to unlock it and create a new one beneath. Fill the new layer with a red (#ff0000) color. Now you have a red background beneath the camera layer and it makes it easy to see borders of the object when masking. It is not necessary to use red, but it is better to use a color which is not in the object.
Apply a layer mask to the camera layer. Be sure to have it selected when masking.

Step 2

Masking is the non-destructive way of removing parts of the image especially the background. That's because erasing is done on the mask not on the image so you can create a mask and then delete it and the image stays untouched. Other great things of masks are that you can use a variety of tools to create it such as the Pen Tool or brush.
This time we will use the brush technique. Select the Brush Tool and set its Hardness to 93% - a mostly hard brush creates better borders on objects. Now we are ready to start masking.

Step 3

You can start whenever you want in the image, just bear in mind that if you use a "Black color" the brush will start erasing the image and if you use a "White color" or eraser (E) the image will start appearing back.
So mask everything except the camera - just paint around the camera, zoom in and out and resize the brush to get the adequate effect. Pay more attention to corners - the most critical ones are shown in white circles below. Here you should be most precise. It may take you some time practicing before you are used to it.

Step 4

Create a new document that is 1600 px wide and 1200 px high at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch and fill the "Background" layer with a gray (#dfdfdf) color. Put the masked camera image into this document. If you have the document with the camera still open, then you can just drag it with the Move Tool (V). It will create a new layer with the camera in the workspace. There is still the mask which we won't need to edit so right-click on it and choose Rasterize Layer.

Step 5

Now we have the camera ready. So duplicate the layer, then resize it as shown below.

Step 6

Now it's time for the Liquify filter. You can find it in Filter > Liquify filter (Shift+ Command + X). Then just drag parts of the camera image the way the arrows show. Bear in mind that the camera is laying on the plane and the effect should have a little perspective so you have to play with the technique a little bit to get adequate results.

Step 7

Grab the Eraser Tool (E) and set the Hardness to 0%, then select the "camera" layer, not the melted one. Now erase it to almost fit the melted copy. Then select both layers, the not melted and the melted ones, then merge them. You can merge layers by selecting them and press Command + E.

Step 8

Now open the Liquify filter and polish the melting effect on the merged image. Then duplicate the layer and move it to the bottom, just above the background layer. Then go to Edit Menu > Transform > Flip Vertical, and adjust the position of the result.

Step 9

Now we are going to create the ice plane. Just open the tiles photo and put it into the scene. Scale it by going to Edit > Transform > Scale (Command + T). Now drag the corner with the while holding Shift to fit the document width, and then duplicate the layer. These two layer should be arranged at the bottom of the scene just above the "Background" layer. Arrange the duplicated layer to the top-left corner as shown below.

Step 10

Merge the two plane layers. Decide where is the horizon line and delete the remaining part of the image above it. Then grab the 300px Brush Tool with Hardness set to 0 and delete the border of the image to create a blurred effect. Then set the Opacity of the layer to 25%.

Step 11

Now select the layers of the camera and its reflection and merge them. Then create one more duplicate of the result layer. Drag these two copies of the camera to the exact positions and resize them to create the illusion of space.
The layers of the cameras should be behind each other in size and ordered from larger to smaller. Create a new layer just beneath the layer with the largest camera. Then grab the Brush Tool and set the Hardness to 0. Select 100% white and play around with Brush sizes to draw fog around the cameras. The simple rule is to avoid the tendency to cover the whole space with white.

Step 12

To create more illusion of space the cameras should be disappearing a bit, so set the Opacity of the smallest one to 25% and 55% for the middle one.

Step 13

Now we bring some light into the image. Select the largest camera layer. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare, and choose the 105mm Prime with 76% Brightness. Then adjust the position of the reflection to the top of the lens.

Step 14

Now we are almost finished. We can also add some scratches to the ice plane. Grab a 1px size Brush and set a white color for it.
If you think the scene needs more realism, then you can add some shadow beneath the largest camera layer. Create a new layer and draw the shadow with a black color. Now adjust the Opacity or set the layer style to Overlay.

Conclusion

Now we have finished the illustration of a melting camera. You can add some typography to it and get to create a really nice camera ad or use it as is.

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Amazing and Fantastical Winter Photo Manipulation

2009-12-30T18:48:00.001-08:00

Lighting Effects

One of the quickest ways to tell that an image is a composite is by the lighting. Combining elements that have different light sources can be a dead giveaway, and takes extra time to correct in Photoshop. Added lighting effects can also obscure the edges of individual elements, further unifying the overall composite.
HumanKite
by Ydole

Lighting effects can bring consistency to images with otherwise-disparate elements.
Disenchanted Lullaby
by Queenofladiestoilets

An unexpected element (such as the hummingbird in this winter scene) adds interest to photo manipulations.
Frost-bite
by Mindfreak-Kid

The icy colors and glowing snowflakes make this evoke the chilly temperatures of winter.
Ice Eye
by Lorency

Moon Race
by Loojeen

Snow Storm
by SophieBuckley

The Coming of Winter's Rain
by Aussie-gal

Snow Queen
by iKink

Another image that includes unexpected elements.
Winter Fairies
by Remembering-amnesia

External Force
by AniOcean

UpSideDown
by Glenn Karlsen

Ice Age
by Geir Akselsen

Snow has Funny Ways Sometimes
by DaizyB

Color

Color, specifically saturation and tone, can go a long way toward bringing harmony to individual elements within a photo manipulation. The examples below showcase this technique beautifully.
Ice Queen
by Pedaltone

Using the same hues and saturations throughout a composition does wonders to unify the overall image.
Ice Queen
by Mustesielu

Icy eyes are a popular manipulation subject.
The Goddess of Winter
by Jenna-Rose

Winter at the Ruins
by Jenna-Rose

Winter's Princess
by DevilKittyDesigns

Wintergreen
by RumiAji

This is My Winter Song to You
by Bebelabree

Another case where a monochromatic color scheme lends consistency to the image.
Winters Dream
by Brenda-Starr

Listen to the Silence
by Talie Lines

Early Morning Snowfall
by Talie Lines

The Road to Recovery
by Talie Lines

Frozen
by SalaBoli

Snow...Winter...
by Draganea and Ljilja

Texture Overlays

Adding texture overlays to your images works well to obscure the edges of individual elements.
Frost Horse
by Abyssus-Angelus

The hint of wings in this image adds an element of fantasy, and the use of textures throughout and the monochromatic color scheme blends everything together.
Spirits
by Mondpferd

Adding a texture to the entire image can help blend the elements included and obscure any outlines.
Queen of the Winter
by HeyJude4

Another example where texture (in this case, a ripple filter) blends everything beautifully.
Snow Blue Blood
by Sturmfeuer

Winter Wanderer
by Lilykoi

Softening

Adding a bit of blur, layer feathering, or a soft glow filter can work wonders on the overall effect of a photo manipulation. These filters do tend to add a feminine touch to images, so they're best reserved for compositions where that's desirable.
The Sugarplum Fairy
by Happybubbles

Softening the edges throughout your image helps tie everything together.
A Snow Covered Dream..
by Arcangelic

Falling Dreams
by Depth02

The Swan
by iKink

Winter Angel
by Destinysolo

Winter Walk
by Klibnob

Emphasizing Separate Elements

When all else fails, stop trying to hide the fact that your image is a composite. Sometimes emphasizing the separateness can make your manipulation look more artistic, and lets you stop bashing your head against the wall trying to get it just right. If done right, it'll look like an artsy collage.
A World Apart
by Skalydark

Increasing the contrast around individual elements can be a good way to add unity to an image when obscuring the outlines is proving difficult.
Collector Of Hearts
by Ablackwind

Winter Remorse
by Brutal-bianca

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Creating a Set of Digital Painting Icons Part 5 – Cityscape Display Icon

2009-12-30T05:27:00.000-08:00

Below are the five icons we are creating in this series.

Take a look at the icon we'll be creating in this tutorial, which is a large LED display with a finished cityscape matte painting on screen.

Program: Adobe Photoshop CS2 and later
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Step 1

Today's operating systems give us the chance to work on big icons. Open a new document and set the canvas to 512px by 512px. Set the foreground color to light gray. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) from the toolbar, make sure the Radius is set to 10px, and draw a 480px by 300px rectangle at the center of the canvas. This will be the outer frame of the display.

Step 2

Select the frame's pixels by Command-clicking the thumbnail in the Layers palette. From the Select menu choose Modify > Contract and enter 2 pixels (2a). Fill the selection with black on a new layer. This is the glass that covers the LCD panel (2b).

Step 3

Command-click the glass and contract the selection by 1 pixel (3a). Fill the selection with a white-to-black vertical gradient on a new layer, which we'll call "reflection" (3b). Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and make a trapezoidal selection around the right half of the display (3c). Apply it as a mask to the "reflection" layer, which should be set to the Screen blending mode and 20% Opacity (3d).

Step 4

Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) create a new layer above the "glass" and below the "reflection" and fill it with a placeholder color, for example light blue (4a). Name it "screen." Add a pinhole webcam at the top of the screen and a logo of your choice at the bottom. Let's make the logo glow, too (4b and 4c).

Step 5

Now we need to draw the support. Draw a light gray rounded rectangle just like we created the frame at the beginning (5a). Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A) from the toolbar. Select the top points and nudge them toward the center, tapering the support (5b). Add a vertical Gradient Overlay style to simulate the shadow cast by the display and the curvature of the support. Refer to images 5c and 5d for the settings. The result (5e) looks good but of course we need to add some thickness to the support.

Step 6

Duplicate the "support" layer. Move the copy below it and name it "support thickness" (6a). Add a Gradient Overlay style to shade the rounded corners (6b, 6c). The support is complete (6d).

Step 7

To finish the display we need to draw the shadow it casts on the ideal floor beneath it. Create a horizontal black ellipse (7a) and set it to Multiply, 50% Opacity (7b). Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and enter 10 pixels (7c). An Opacity of 50% is a good value to start with, but in this case the shadow is too strong so let's reduce it to 20% (7d). Now choose the Blur Tool from the toolbar and soften the edges of the shadow with multiple strokes until it resembles image 7e. The display is now finished.

Step 8

Create a layer group called "PAINTING" (8a). I use lowercase for layer names and uppercase for group names. It makes them easy to distinguish when the layer stack becomes long. Command-click the "screen" (8b) and add this selection as a mask to the layer group (8c). This way we ensure our matte painting won't bleed over the glass.

Step 9

We will now create a very basic matte painting that features a cityscape on a shoreline set at dusk. Let's start. Place the "screen" layer inside the "PAINTING" group and rename it "background" (9a). Using a Gradient Overlay (9b, 9c) we transform the placeholder blue into a complex gradient that represents the sky at dusk. For the sake of an icon we don't need to be extremely accurate. We have quite a few colors, though, top to bottom: dark blue, blue, light hazy blue for the horizon, purple for the setting sun and a deep blue for the sea (9d).

Step 10

In order to draw the buildings that make up the cityscape we need perspective guides. Using the Line Tool (U) and a bright green color, draw a series of perspective lines, all converging to a focus point on the left. Make sure the point lies on the horizon (10a). Group the lines.
Next draw a series of parallel horizontal lines, using a contrasting color like red (10b). Group the red lines too. Now hit Command + T to invoke Free Transform, right-click on the canvas and choose Perspective. Modify the lines' perspective so they converge to a focus point on the horizon, far to the right outside the screen (10c). Our perspective grid is now ready. Group the green and red lines together and reduce their Opacity to 30% to make them barely visible (10d).

Step 11

Pick a dark blue color. On a new layer, paint the shoreline using the Brush Tool (B) set to 100% hardness. Fill the layer up to the horizon and make sure the top is flat and horizontal. Hold down Shift to paint perfectly horizontal or vertical strokes (11a).
Now comes the fun part! Create a new layer. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) make multiple selections and fill them with the same dark blue from the shoreline. Try to create organic groups of taller and shorter skyscrapers (11b). Throw in some lowrises for variety. Continue the process until you're satisfied with your cityscape.

Step 12

The buildings need to be adapted to the perspective grid. Specifically, their tops have to be cut off along the perspective lines. Do that by using the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) to select and erase the extra pixels (12a). When you're finished you will see how the city slowly takes shape (12b). My composition admittedly is not so good, I hope you did better!
The key here is to have a couple of tall buildings up front and enough variation in order to avoid regular patterns as the buildings recede toward the horizon. The beauty of this method is that it's so easy and quick to build the cityscape that it's no trouble to start from scratch until you like what you see. Let's push forward.

Step 13

The buildings are lit from the front. This means that we have to paint the front facades with the purply-orange light of dusk (13a). Do this on a separate layer masked with the "buildings" layer. Alt-click between them (13b). Make sure you blur the base of the frontlit facades so they fade out into the lower levels of the city (13c).

Step 14

If you thought creating the buildings was fun, you haven't seen nothing yet! We will now use Photoshop's amazing brush engine to quickly paint hundreds of variously lit windows on our buildings.
Create a new document and set the canvas to 3px by 6px. Fill the canvas with black (14a). Type Command + A to select all then go to Edit > Define Brush Preset. In the pop-up dialog name the brush "windows" (14b). The brush has been added to the default presets. Let's go back to our main document.

Step 15

Hit D to load the default colors and X to swap them: the foreground will be white and the background black. Now type B to select the Brush Tool and hit F5 to open the Brushes window. From the Brush Presets choose the "windows" brush we just created (15a). Set up a very small size (3 pixels) and a very large spacing (250%) from the Brush Tip Shape option pane (15b). As you can see in the preview window at the bottom, the brush strokes will leave a trail of spaced rectangles instead of a continuous mark.
We want the windows to have different degrees of light intensity so let's turn on Opacity Jitter. Choose a high enough value like 75%. Check out how the opacity varies randomly in the preview window (15c). The brush is all set!

Step 16

Create a new layer. Paint vertical strokes by holding down Shift. See how our brush creates evenly spaced, variously lit windows? To those of you who think icons belong only in the vector world, try doing that with Illustrator! Different software, different workflows, different results (16a).
Fill an entire facade using parallel strokes. Hit Command + T then right-click on the canvas and choose Distort. Move the points up and down to match the shape of the facade (16b). If you zoom out to 100% you can see that the windows follow the perspective grid also (16c).

Step 17

Copy the layer you just painted, move it to the left and use Distort to adapt it to the facade below it (17a). Do you get the drift now? Paint new window layers with the brush set to progressively smaller sizes, conform them to the perspective grid then duplicate and adapt them to the remaining facades until you've covered all the buildings (17b). If this were a real matte painting we would need to add more color variation, refine the shape of the buildings and create different window patterns, but we are creating an icon so we can be satisfied with what we have so far.

Step 18

Set up a small greenish yellow brush (18a). Turn on Opacity Jitter and choose the Fade option. Using the preview at the bottom pick a value that looks good, like 15 (18b). Our paint strokes will now fade out. On a separate layer paint some lights at the top of the higher buildings using upward strokes (18c). Add some lights at the base of the buildings on another layer (18d).

Step 19

Set the "top lights" layer to Linear Dodge (19a) and the "base lights" layer to Overlay (19b). Now the light setup is more balanced (19c).

Step 20

Of course the water reflects the buildings so here we go. Group all the pertinent layers as "BUILDINGS" (20a). Duplicate the group. Name the copy "BUILDINGS REFLECTION" and hit Command + E to merge the group. Move it below the "shoreline" and flip it vertically (20b).

Step 21

Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set the Angle to 0 (horizontal blur) and Distance to 6 pixels (21a). The reflection is now appropriately blurred (21b). The water surface is way too calm. Let's remedy that. Go to Filter > Distort > Ripple and experiment with the values using the preview for reference (21c). Now the reflections look more realistic (21d).

Step 22

The matte painting is all but finished. Some clouds need to be added to the sky. Pick a yellowish-white color. Select the Brush Tool (B) and enter the Brush window (F5). Pick a soft, round brush and increase the spacing (22a). Set Opacity Jitter to Pen Pressure (22b). Activate Scatter and again set it to Pen Pressure (22c). If you don't have a tablet you won't see that option. Instead set both controls to Off and use different opacities for the brush strokes to achieve variation. Paint the clouds on their own layer. Take your time to obtain a good result (22d).

Step 23

We can now unhide the reflection on the display and we can declare the icon finished.

Conclusion

This was the last installment in the "Creating a Set of Digital Painting Icons Set" series. We created a simple LCD display with basic shapes and layer styles. We filled our gorgeous screen with a nice cityscape matte painting, created with an eye for perspective, light direction, and some clever brush tricks!
I hope you enjoyed this icon series as much as I enjoyed making it. We created five icons whose styles range from the sketchy to the photorealistic. This gave us the opportunity to explore many tools, techniques and workflows that confirmed what a friend Photoshop is to us creative professionals!

Creating a Modern, Glossy Mouse Icon in Photoshop

2009-12-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we'll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one?

Tutorial Details

Program: Photoshop CS3
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: 1-2 hours

Introduction

To create this icon we will mostly use the Brush Tool (B), and for adding shadows and lights the same Brush Tool (B) and sometimes the Burn and Dodge Tools (O). For defining the curved shapes you will use the Pen Tool (P) that will give you the most precise shapes.
After you are done with the creation of this mouse, you will be taken through the steps of creating the ICNS file or ICO file.

Step 1

First of all start by creating a new document by pressing Command + N and chose a width and height of 1000 px. Because the mouse will be created using white and black colors you will need to give the background of the document a color that will help you work better - in this case red was chosen.

Step 2

Next we'll start to create the two principal shapes. We'll add details over them later on.
First, create the upper shape using the Pen Tool (P), then make sure you have created a new layer. Now transform the Pen Path into a selection by pressing Command + Return and fill the selection with white as shown.

Step 3

And now that the upper part of the mouse has been created, you need to create the lower part. First create a new layer and place it below the white shape you just created, as this shape will be the support of the white shape. Use the Pen Tool (P) again to create the shape and fill the selection with #141414.
The Opacity of the white shape has been decreased so you can see what is going on behind it.

Step 4

Now that the actual shape of the mouse had been defined you will have to start adding details (shadows and lights).
Start working on the lower part of the mouse. Use the Dodge Tool (O) first and add some light like as shown.

Step 5

Double-click the black shape layer to enter the Blending Options menu and add a soft black stroke as shown.

Step 6

Duplicate the layer, but without the stroke you just created in Step 5. Use the Burn Tool (O) this time and start making the shape darker in some areas.

Step 7

Use the Pen Tool (P) next and create a 1px black stroke like below. Erase the right edge of the stroke to make it fade out.

Step 8

You have now finished working on the lower part of the mouse. Now it is time to start working on the upper part.
First of all, create some shapes to help you know how to section the shape. Use the Pen Tool (P) and create a shape like below. Now create a new layer and fill the layer with #929292.

Step 9

Create another shape again using the Pen Tool (P). After you create the path, make sure you create a new layer and fill the selection with #6d6d6d.

Step 10

Next add a simple shadow below the mouse using the black brush set to soft.

Step 11

Start adding the details on the upper part of the mouse, starting from the bottom section. Use the Burn and Dodge Tools (O) to create the shadows and lights.

Step 12

The next step is to add some texture to the bottom part because this section is created using a different plastic material than the upper sections. First create a new layer and fill it with white. Now go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and use the settings below.

Set the layer to Screen and 30% Opacity.

Make a selection around the shape you are applying the texture by holding the Command key and clicking on the layers thumbnail. Now invert the selection and erase the excess noise.

Create a mask, and using the black brush set to a low Opacity, erase parts of the noise to make it blend in.

Step 13

Use the Pen Tool (P) and create a new shape like below. Fill the shape with #373737.

Step 14

Next create a new layer above the layer in Step 13. Use the Pen Tool (P) to create a 1px white stroke as shown. Erase the edges and some areas using the Eraser Tool (E). Set the layer to 80% Opacity.

Step 15

Now it is time to create the middle section of the mouse. I call it the Glossy Strip.
This section is made out of a different material and you will use different techniques to create it. First of all the layer is too dark and you need to make it lighter gray. Do this using the Dodge Tool (O. For creating those two shadows on the sides use the Burn Tool (O).

Step 16

Create another white stroke just as you did in Step 14.

Step 17

Create two nice looking reflections on the shape by creating two strokes into a new layer using the Brush Tool (B). Then go to Filter > Distort > Wave, and play with the settings there until you obtain the same result as shown below. Do not use the same settings you see in the image below, as the result might not look the same. Instead, try to play with the settings and experiment.

Step 18

Now that you have created your reflection add a mask. Use the black brush inside the mask to hide the edges of the shape. Set the layer to 46% Opacity.

Duplicate the layer and set it to 20% Opacity and Multiply. The difference is not very obvious, but what this does is make the reflection a little more visible.

Step 19

Create another reflection. Follow the same steps or maybe just duplicate the layer and place it in the right position.

Step 20

Next create a glossy effect in front of the shape. Do this by creating a white shape like below using the Pen Tool (P).

Use the Eraser Tool (E) on the edges to make it blend in.

Step 21

Now that you are done with the sections below it is time to work on the last part of this tutorial. First use the Burn Tool (O) over the white part to add some shadow.

Step 22

Use the Pen Tool (P) and create a shape like below, then fill the layer with black.

Set the layer to Multiply and Opacity to 8%.

Step 23

Use the Pen Tool (P) again to create a 1px white stroke over the lower edges of the shape. Erase the edges of the stroke using the Eraser Tool (E).

Step 24

Create a dark gray stroke on the top of the shape, then use the Eraser Tool (E) again on the edges.

In the end add the Apple logo over mouse and you are finished.

Creating the Icon

If you have a Mac the best way to create your icons is using the Icon Composer that Apple is giving away for free over at the Developer Page on their website. You will also find this app in your developer folder in the OSX installation DVD.
First save your mouse as a transparent PNG file, then import it into Icon Composer. Then simply save it as an ICNS or ICO file. The great thing about Icon Composer is that you can also preview how the icon looks on your dock.

Conclusion

You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

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Warzone Photo Manipulation

2009-12-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

This photo manipulation tutorial will give you an idea of how you can turn any photo into a catastrophe. This tutorial is good as an inspiration for ideas about how to manipulate your own photo in Photoshop.
In this tutorial i will explain step by step how to turn a regular photograph in to a warzone. I used my own photograph as original, taken on my holiday in Copenhagen:

Step 1 - Duplicate the background layer.

First I used a photo of clouds. Open the photo into Photoshop then then converted it to black and white with the Black and White tool (Image > Adjustments > Black and White). You can also use the Hue/Saturation or Channel mixer tool if you do not have the Black and White tool.

Step 2 – Paste the clouds picture into the main document

Choose Select > All then Edit > Copy to copy the picture of the clouds into your clipboard. Open the photo that you like to turn into a warzone then choose Edit > Paste. Select the background layer then choose Edit > Duplicate to duplicate the layer. Now we have a backup copy of the background layer.

Step 3 – Remove the sky

Now we’ll remove the sky of the original image. Start by hiding the top layer with the clouds and the background layer. Use the Magic Wand tool (W) or Quick Selection tool to create a selection of the sky. Once you have the selection of the sky created, hit the delete key or choose Edit > Clear to remove it. Now move the clouds layer below the background copy layer then enable back the visibility of the clouds layer.

Step 4 - Clone out the people and cars

In the Background copy layer, use the Clone Stamp tool (S) to remove unnecessary objects such as people and cars. To use the Clone Stamp tool, hold the Alt key and click to pickup a pattern/texture that can be placed over the objects you will need to clone out. Then, click on the object where you like to clone and it will start to disappear. If this is your first time using the Clone Stamp tool, it may take a few tries for you to understand how it works. Below is an example of cloning in action.

Step 5 - Create a second clouds layer

To keep our layers organized, start by renaming the following:

Rename Background Copy to Original
Rename the layer with the clouds to Clouds

Duplicate the clouds layer then use the Transform tool (Ctrl + T or Edit > Free Transform) to resize the new clouds layer so that it fills the frame. Change the blending mode of the Clouds copy layer to 70 and set the blending mode to Lighten. Complete this step by using the Eraser tool to erase the clouds from the ground and bottom of the building like shown in the screenshot below.

Step 6 – Create another cloud layer

Duplicate the original clouds layer again then move it to the top in the Layers palette. Use the Free Transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Free Transform) to rotate the current layer by 180 degrees and scale it up to about 200%. Set the opacity of this layer to 60% and blending mode to Lighten. Invert this layer (Ctrl+I or Image > Adjustments > Invert).

Step 7 - Black & white the Original Layer

Convert the layer Original to black and white. There are several ways to do this in Photoshop but here are a few ways you can do this:

Black and white tool (Image > Adjustments > Black and White)
Hue/Saturation (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation)
Channel Mixer (Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer)

Step 8 - Create broken windows, cracks and fire

Add a layer mask to the layer Original. To do this, select the Original layer in the Layers palette then click on the button. Now use the Pen tool (P) to draw a crack on the window. Right click on the path then choose “Make Selection”. Press the delete key on your keyboard or choose Edit > Clear.

Open an image of fire and copy and paste it into the current document. Position the fire under the layer Original. I used a picture of a camp fire from my vacation photos. Name this layer Fire then erase around the fire so that you have only the fire in the layer. Convert the layer to black and white using any technique mentioned above such as using the Black and White adjustment layer. Use the Free Transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Free Transform) to resize and position the fire inside the broken window.

Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to create a selection of the glasses in the window. Once you have the selection of the glasses in the window, press delete to remove that area. The fire from the layer below should be visible.
Select the layer Original then change the blending mode to Difference. Now you can see the layers below to see where you can erase. Use the Eraser tool (E) to erase parts from the top and bottom to make the fire look like it’s coming out like shown in the screenshot below. Switch the blending mode back to Normal when you’re done.

Use the Smudge Tool (R) to smudge the fire to create a hazy effect like shown in the image below. Repeat this entire step (Step 8) on the rest of the windows.

.
Now we are going to work on the cracks. Select the Original layer then select the Lasso tool (L). Draw a figure on the wall in the shape of a hole in a wall. Press Ctrl+J to create a duplicate of that selection on a new layer. Then, right click on the new layer and choose Layer Style. Enable the Bevel and Emboss style then adjust the settings to create a bevel effect like shown below.

w

Step 9 – Creating the smoke

Duplicate the clouds layer then name this new layer “Smoke”. Use the Free Transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Transform) to rotate the layer then erase around the smoke so that it looks like smoke is coming out of the windows. Put the Smoke layer above the Fire layer(s). Use the Smudge tool to blur the edge of the smoke for a windy effect.

Step 10 – Lamppost

Select the layer Original then use the Lasso tool to create a selection of the lamp post. Press Ctrl+J to duplicate this selected area into its own layer. Rotate it using the Free Transform tool (Ctrl+T or Edit > Free Transform). Rotate and position the lamp post like shown in the screenshot below. Once you’re done, use the Clone Stamp tool to erase parts of the bottom of the lamp post so that it looks broken.

Position this lamp post layer above the layer Original. Use the Eraser tool (E) to delete the area so that it looks like it is behind the metal statue.

Step 11 – Plane Wreckage

On my holiday to Norway, I was hiking and found some plane wreckage. I took some photos of it and now I’ll be using it as part of this photo manipulation. Isolate the plane wreckage then paste it in our photo manipulation project.

I named this layer Propeller then I positioned this layer above the layer Original. Desaturate the layer (Ctrl+Shift+U or Image > Adjustments > Desaturate)

Repeat this process with other plane wreck parts. Sometimes you’ll need to use the Distort tool (Edit > Transform > Distort) to distort the object for the proper perspective.

II repeated this process with a picture of an airplane engine.

Not all the photographs where in the correct perspective so i needed to 'distort' some parts.

Step 12 – Additional wreckage

This is optional, but you can add a logo to the wings or parts of the airplane. I created this star logo and placed it on a wing using the Distort tool (Edit > Transform > Distort).

I also added a car. I made the bumper look like it was fallen off then I positioned this car in front of the building.

I took an image of a tower, desatureated it, and positioned it on the far right

Step 13 – Adding mountains to the background

Take an image of mountains and remove the sky. Copy and paste the mountain into your project.

Position the mountain beside the building then erase the side so that it looks like it is behind the building.

Repeat this for the other side of the building.

Step 14 – Finishing up

Use the Burn tool (O) to burn some area of the wreckage to give it some depth.

When you’re done, press Ctrl+Shift+J to create a new layer of the flattened contents. Make sure this layer is the top layer. Choose Filter > Brush Strokes > Angled Strokes and use the default settings. Change the opacity of the layer to 20%. You can also add other things such as adding the date, more cracks, lowering the flag, etc.

Multiply with Layer Mask Photoshop Tutorial

2009-12-29T06:12:00.000-08:00

Fix overexposed photos and restore hidden details without underexposing already dark areas.

Multiply with Layer Mask Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1

Open a photo you would like to edit. Or, you may use the photo used in this tutorial (from iStockPhoto).

Step 2

To darken the image, simply duplicate the layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J) and change the blending mode of the new layer to Multiply. You may notice that the image got darker and some areas may be overly dark. We'll show you how to fix this problem in the next page.

Applying the Layer Mask

Step 3

With the top layer selected, add a layer mask (Layer> Layer Mask> Reveal Al)

Step 4

Here's the secret to this technique. The image is copied to the layer mask so that the layer is only visible on light areas. To do this, click on the thumbnail of the layer mask to select and use the Apply Image tool (Image> Apply Image) with the default settings:
Layer: Merged
Channel: RGB
Invert: Unchecked
Blending: Multiply
Opacity: 100%

Step 5

Notice the difference with the layer mask.

Tweaking the Effect

Step 6

Duplicate the layer until the desired darkness has been achieved. If you duplicate the layer too much, it may cause a posterized effect.

Step 7

If your image starts to appear posterized, you may selectively remove those areas from the effect. To do this, simply click to select the layer mask of the top layer and use the Eraser tool (E) to erase the areas with the posterized effect. If it is still visible, repeat this step for the other layer masks.

Final Results

Rollover the image below to see the before and after effect.

Quick White Balance Correction Techniques

2009-12-28T04:58:00.000-08:00

Explore the three quick white balance correction techniques and learn how to manually calibrate the balance of each channel. White balance is a feature found in digital cameras to prevent color casts by adjusting the temperature of the photo. However, lighting variance and wrong white balance settings may produce color casts that require post processing.

Quick White Balance Correction Techniques

Here are several of the most popular white correction method that's fast and easy to use. They are sorted by their effectiveness with the best technique first.

Color Correcting with Raw Editor

If your digital camera supports the raw file format and you've taken your photo in this format, you're in luck. White balance in raw files can be easily fixed at none or minimal quality loss. Because most cameras take raw photos in 12 bit color (4096 shades/color) instead of 8 bit color (256 shades/color), this gives you powerful white balance adjustments with no visible loss in quality.
Tip: Don't let the bit number fool you! Although most digital cameras are only able to produce 12 bit out of the 16 bit color, they're still a lot better than 8 bit color. 12 bit color contains 4096 tones per color and that's over 68 million colors and 4000 times better than 8 bit color!

Step 1

Open your raw file with Adobe Photoshop. The raw editor should appear.

Step 2

Try using auto white balance first. To do this, select Auto from the White Balance drop down menu. If that doesn't work, try the different options in the drop down menu.

Step 3

If that does not work or if you would like a more precise white balance adjustment, manually select a gray area in your image. To do this, use the White Balance Tool (I) and click on a point that's supposed to be gray. Try to select a point that's closest to 50% gray for best results.

Step 4

You may make final slight adjustments by adjusting the Temperature and Tint sliders.

Final Results

Rollover the image to see the before and after effect.

Color Correcting with Levels

This technique produce the best results and is extremely fast and easy. Use this whenever possible for non-raw photos.

Step 1

Download and save the following JPG file to your computer then open it inside Adobe Photoshop.
twilight 128.67 Kb (right-mouse click> Save As)

Step 2

Add a Levels adjustment layer (Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Levels).
Tip: We use an adjustment layer instead of applying levels directly to the image to practice non-destructive image processing. This way, we always have a backup of the original image as a layer.

Step 3

In the Levels tool, click on the Gray Point eyedropper. Your cursor should change into an eyedropper. With this tool, you can click on an area that's supposed to gray (50% gray for best results). For the image we're working on, we can simply select on any cement road that seems closest to 50% gray. Try clicking on a few other locations areas with cement to see which color you get. I had to try several times to find the best spot.

Final Results

Rollover the image to see the before and after effect.

Edge Sharpening Photoshop Tutorial

2009-12-28T04:50:00.001-08:00

Sharpen the edges of a portrait without sharpening the skin. This sharpening technique detects edges and applies sharpening only to the edges.

To start, we'll apply a simple sharpening to the image.

Edge Sharpening Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1

Open a photo you would like to edit. Or, you may use the photo used in this tutorial (from iStockPhoto).

Step 2

Duplicate the layer and apply your desired sharpening technique on the new layer. Some basic sharpening tools are available in the Filter> Sharpen> menu. For this tutorial, we will use the luminance sharpening technique which only sharpens the grayscale data and leaves the color data untouched. However, to do this, we’ll need to change the image mode to LAB color. Because changing the image mode too much will affect the image quality, in the next step, we’ll create a duplicate state to apply the luminance sharpening to.

Step 3

Create a duplicate of the image. In the History pallet (Window> History), click on the Duplicate State button ().

Step 4

With the new image file, apply your desired sharpening technique. I will be using the Smart Sharpen filter (Available on Photoshop CS2+ only) on the luminance channel. Go to Image> Mode> Lab Color to convert the image to Lab color. Then, press Ctrl+1 to select the luminance channel. The image should now appear grayscale. Go to Filter> Sharpen> Smart Sharpen and use the tool to sharpen the image. If the Smart Sharpen filter isn't available, use the Unsharp Mask filter (Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp Mask) instead.

Step 5

Select Window> Tile Vertically or Tile Horizontally (either one is fine). The two documents should now be side by side. Activate the window with the sharpened image. Click on the Background layer in the layers pallet and drag the layer to the window with the original, unsharpened image.

Now you should have two layers; one with the sharpening applied and one without.

Edge Detection

Before we can filter where the sharpening is visible, we need to find the edges of the image.

Step 6

Zoom in to about 300% so that you're able to clearly see the fine pixel-sized details. Notice the grain on the skin caused by sharpening in the photo below.

Step 7

To remove this, we'll need to create a layer mask with the edges. Activate the top layer and add a layer mask (Layer> Add Layer Mask> Reveal All).

Step 8

Make sure the layer mask is activated. The thumbnail of the layer mask in the layers window should have a white border around it. If it doesn't, click on the thumbnail to activate the layer mask.

Step 9

Now we'll copy the photo into the layer mask. With the layer mask activated, open the Apply Image tool (Image> Apply Image) and apply these settings:
Layer: Background
Channel: RGB
Invert: Unchecked
Blending: Normal
Opacity: 100%

Step 10

Add a Find Edges filter (Filter> Stylize> Find Edges) and Invert (Ctrl+I). The Find Edges filter detects the edges and we inverted the image so that the edges are opaque.

Step 11

You'll immediately notice a difference when you invert the layer mask. The skin now appears to be smooth but we're going to do some further tweaking for better results.

Rollover the image above to see the before and after effect.

Layer Mask Tweak

Before we end this tutorial, we'll show you some methods to tweak and enhance the results of the edge sharpening.

Step 12

Hold the Alt key and click on the layer mask thumbnail located in the Layers pallet. The image should now look like an inverted black and white sketch. Notice the curly lines on the areas where the skin is. Those fine lines are telling us that those areas are being sharpened as well.

Step 13

Removing those fine curly lines is simple with the Levels tool. Open the Levels tool (Image> Adjustments> Levels or Ctrl+L) and move the middle input slider towards the right until the thin lines disappear.

Step 14

Hold the Alt key and click on the layer mask thumbnail again to view the final results.

Final Results

Contrast Mask

2009-12-28T04:42:00.001-08:00

Brighten dark areas of a photo like a fill-flash. This effect burns bright areas and dodges dark areas to make photos look closer to what we naturally see with our own eyes.

Contrast Mask

The first step is to create a contrast mask. This is basically just a grayscale layer that'll define where the image needs dodging or burning.

Step 1

Open a photo you would like to edit. Or, you may use the photo used in this tutorial (from iStockPhoto).

Step 2

Duplicate the layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J) and change the blending mode of the new layer to Soft Light.

Step 3

With the top layer selected, Invert (Image> Adjustments> Invert or Ctrl+I). You should immediately notice the details revealed.

Step 4

The color seems to have desaturated a little bit. To fix this, simply desaturate the top layer (Image> Adjustments> Desaturate or Shift+Ctrl+U).

Layer Mask

We need to add a layer mask so that we can filter the effect so that it's only affecting the dark areas and not the bright areas of the image.

Step 5

Add a layer mask (Layer> Add Layer Mask> Reveal All).

Step 6

Make sure the layer mask is activated. The thumbnail of the layer mask in the layers window should have a white border around it. If it doesn't, click on the thumbnail to activate the layer mask.

Step 7

With the layer mask selected, open the Apply Image tool (Image> Apply Image) and apply these settings:
Layer: Background
Channel: RGB
Invert: Checked
Blending: Normal
Opacity: 100%

Step 8

With the layer mask still selected, open the Levels tool (Image> Adjustments> Levels or Ctrl+L). In the Levels tool, drag the middle input slider towards the left to increase the effect or towards the right to reduce the effect.

Sharpening

This part is just an additional trick that'll help sharpen the image with this effect. This part is optional.

Step 9

Click on the thumbnail of the top layer to activate (not its layer mask). Use the Gassian Blur filter (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur) and apply a very small blur. Using a larger blur will sharpen the image more but halos may appear if you use a setting too large.

Final Results

Rollover the image below to see the before and after effect