Photoshop Advanced Tutorial

Create a Stylish Coffee Cup With Smart Objects

2012-07-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a realistic coffee cup with a customizable label using smart objects in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

Pattern

Step 1

Begin by creating a 1500 x 2200px document at 300dpi. Fill the background layer with #c2c2c2.

Step 2

Here you can see the different parts that are needed for the coffee cup.

Step 3

Start by setting up some guide lines, one in the center vertically at 750px and one horizontal at 1100px.

Step 4

We will start by creating the cup. Make the side-outline of the cup with the Pen Tool, make sure it is set to paths and Add to path area ( + ). When one side is created, select it and press Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + T to make a copy, move the pivot-point to the center line and right click on the shape and choose Flip Horizontal. Create the bottom with the Ellipse Tool, click and hold on the vertical guide line and hold down Alt on the keyboard to make it symmetrical over the center line. Create a new solid layer out of the shapes and fill it with white (#ffffff) and name it cup.

Step 5

Repeat the same steps to create the label.

Step 6

The lid is made in the same way. Make sure when you create the bottom part of the lid to change it from Add to path area ( + ) to Subtract from path area (-).

Step 7

To create the inside of the lid, copy the bottom ellipse from the lid and change the shape to Add to path area ( + ), fill it with a grey (#adadad).

Step 8

Create the lid ring the same way as the cup, make sure that the bottom ellipse is the same size as the lid horizontal. Name it lid_ring.

Step 9

Now all of the parts needed for the coffee cup are created, you can now scale them so that the coffee cup is approximately 1100px high and 650px wide. Make sure your layers are in the same orders as those showed.

Step 10

Now it’s time to make the parts come to life, we will start with cup. Create a shape that is slightly bigger than the cup. Make a gradient fill as showed bellow, create a new layer on top of the gradient fill and name it gradient. Select both the gradient fill and the new layer and press Cmd/Ctrl + E to merge them.
Free transform (Cmd/Ctrl + T) the layer so it follows the cups shape. With the layer selected hit ALT + Cmd/Ctrl + G to create a clipping mask. Now the gradient layer will only be visible where the cup is.

Step 11

With the Pen Tool, make a path beneath the cup that follows the cups bottom arc. Create a new layer on top of the gradient layer and name it bottom_shadow. Stroke the path with a soft brush with black (#000000). With the layer selected hit ALT + Cmd/Ctrl + G to create a clipping mask.

Step 12

To create the lid gradient do the same as for the cup, but when free transforming the shape switch from free transform to warp mode to be able to get the gradient layer to fit the lid shape. Don’t forget to make a new layer and merge the gradient with it before transforming.

Step 13

The same way we made the bottom shadow on the cup we will make a bottom shadow on the lid. Name this layer lid_bottom_shadow.
We also need to create a top highlight, do the same way but use a white brush and name it top_highlight.

Step 14

Double click the lid_ring layer and make a gradient overlay as shows bellow, press OK and then right click on the layer and select create layers, this will result in a new layer on top of the lid_ring layer named lid_ring’s Gradient Fill.

Step 15

Make a path with the Pen Tool that follows the bottom of the lid ring, make it so it deviates a little from the bottom in the ends. Create a new layer and name it bottom_shadow. With the new layer selected, stroke the path with a large soft black brush. Create one more layer and name it bottom_shadow_2 and stroke the path with a smaller brush. Change the opacity for the both layers down to 10% and make them so the lid ring is there clipping mask.

Step 16

Create a path that follows the lid rings bottom shape. Create a new layer on top of the top_highlight for the lid and name it lid_ring_bottom_shadow. Stroke the path with a black brush, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and set it to 6px. Change the opacity down to 30%.
Duplicate the layer and change its name to lid_ring_top_shadow and move it up so it becomes visible over the lid ring, change the opacity down to 18%. Make sure both layers have the lid as there clipping mask.

Step 17

Double click the lid_inside layer and create a gradient overlay.

Step 18

Now it’s time to create the shadow on the cup from the label. Create a path where the label ends and a new layer on top of the bottom_shadow for the cup and name it label_bottom_shadow. Stroke the path with a black brush. Duplicate the layer and rename the new layer to label_bottom_shadow_2 and change the opacity to 10%. Select the first layer and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and make it a 10px blur, change the opacity down to 40%. Make sure both layers have the cup as there clipping mask.

Step 19

Create two new layers on top of the label layer and name them gradient_left and gradient_right. Set them to have the label as their clipping mask. With the Gradient Tool selected make the gradients as showed bellow. Change both layers blending mode to Multiply.

Step 20

To make the cup feel more “round” we will make some highlights on the side of the label. Create to paths on either side of the label and a new layer on top of the gradient layers and set it to have the label as its clipping mask and name it side_highlights. Stroke the paths with a soft white brush and set the blending mode of the layer to Soft Light.

Step 21

The lid will cast a shadow on the label, so start by creating a path with the Pen Tool as showed. Create a new layer on top of the side_highlights, name it lid_shadow and set it to have the label as its clipping mask.
Stroke the path and then blur it a bit and set the layers blending mode to Multiply and opacity to 25%

Step 22

Repeat Step 21 but name the layer lid_shadow_2.

Step 23

Now it’s time to create the print for the label, create a path that is slightly bigger than the label and make it a solid color layer and fill it with a color of your choice and name it lable_print. Bring down the opacity of the layer so you can see what is underneath it. Put this layer direct above the label layer, this shall make the layer have the label layer as its clipping mask.
Right click the layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Now you are able to free transform the layer but by right clicking the layer and select Edit Content you will always be able to edit and update the layer as it where when it was converted to a smart object.
Hit Cmd/Ctrl + T to free transform the layer and then switch to Warp Mode and try to get the layer to look like showed bellow. It is important that both the horizontal and vertical lines are as showed, otherwise the label print will look bad.

Step 24

Right click the label_print layer and select Edit Content (or double click the preview window for the layer in the layer tab). This will bring up the label print in a new window. You can delete the solid color layer and import the pattern. Go to File > Save, this will update the smart object in the original file. Your cup should look something like the one showed below now.

If the print is distorted in a strange way you can always change the transformation you did in step 23, just hit Cmd/Ctrl + T and switch to Warp Mod.

Step 25

Go back to the label_print window. The text that will go on the label can be put wherever you want but to make the cup look more realistic don’t put the text dead centered on the label. I have chosen to put it so it is goes out of frame.
You can put any kind of text here and also change the pattern to something else or use a solid color.

Step 26

To make the text look more like it’s really on the cup we need to make some color variations on it. Start by making a new layer on top of the “large coffee”-text layer and name it gradient, with the Gradient Tool create a black gradient from the side almost all the way to the center line, make the layer so it has the large text as its clipping mask and set the opacity to 28%.
Create a new layer on top of the just created layer and name it highlight, with the gradient tool create a white gradient next to the side. Also mask it to the text layer.
Now do the exact same thing to the other text.

Step 27

Create a new layer on top of the pattern layer and name it highlight, make a brush stroke along the center line with a large soft white brush. Change the opacity of the layer down to 15%.
Duplicate the layer and add a layer mask, with the layer mask selected and the Gradient Tool make a black gradient from the bottom up to the center so the bottom part of the layer is faded down from full opacity to zero opacity at the bottom. Change the opacity of the layer to 20%.
Save and close the label_print layer, now the label is done.

Step 28

The side highlights on the label is to dark for this print so change the blending mode of the side_highlights to Screen and the opacity to 70%.

Step 29

To make the cup look like its actually standing on something it needs a shadow.
Go in to the cup layer and copy the bottom shape. Create a new fill layer with the just copied shape and name it shadow. Place it on top of the background layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Motion blur and make a 225px blur and then make a 6px Gaussian blur.
Duplicate the layer and stretch the first layer so the width is 120% and change the opacity down to 20%. Transform the other layer so it’s width is reduced to 80% and change the opacity down to 60%.

Step 30

Select all of the layers except the background and hit Cmd/Ctrl + G to group them, rename the group to cup. Duplicate the cup group and hit Cmd/Ctrl + E to merge it. Transform the new layer so it is ca 60% of the original size and move it over to the left side.
To make the image look more interesting we will make it as it were photographed with a very short focus. Go to Filter > Blur > Lens blur set the radius to 21px and hit OK. Duplicate the layer and move the new cup to the other side.

Step 31

To add some details to the image we will create a stirrer.
Use the same technique as for the cup to create the stirrer, fill the layer and name it stirrer. Right click the layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Now it’s time to place it so it looks like its laying besides the large cup, free transform it so it looks good. You can always go back and change it later if it looks weird.

Step 32

The stirrer should be made out of wood so here you can add a texture if you like or make the wood from scratch. We will be making the wood from scratch so you can put a “purely made in Photoshop” under you finished image.
Start by opening up the smart object and make a new solid color layer with the color #9f7948. Create a new layer on top of the solid color layer. Name it grains and go to Filter > Render > Clouds hit Cmd/Ctrl + T and stretch the layer so the height is ca 400%. Go to Filter > Blur > Motion blur and make a 200px blur with a ( + /-) 90 degree angle. Go in to Image > Adjustments > Posterize, choose level 20 and hit OK. Hit Cmd/Ctrl + L to bring up the levels for the layer and change them so the image gets more contrast. Now we need to add some fibers in to it. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise, put the amount to 50% and hit OK. Go to Filter > Blur > Motion blur and make a 10px blur with a (+/-) 90 degree angle. Change the blending mode of the layer to Multiply.
To add some depth to the grains duplicate the grains layer and rename it to highlights and invert it (Cmd/Ctrl + I). Hit Cmd/Ctrl + L and change the inputs levels to 75-1,0-140. Change the blending mode to Screen and the opacity to 50%. Put the layer beneath the grains layer and nudge it one pixel down and one to the right.
Select all of the created layers and make them so they have the stirrer shape as their clipping mask.

Step 33

Add a text or a shape to the stirrer and put in the layer properties showed below.
Save and close the stirrer smart object.

Step 34

Cmd/Ctrl click the layer preview window of the stirrer smart object to get the shape selected. Create a new layer beneath the stirrer and fill the selection with black. Duplicate the layer and name them stirrer_side and stirrer_shadow with the shadow layer on the bottom of the two.
Hit Cmd/Ctrl + T to free transform the both layers and nudge them down to create the thickness of the stirrer, you might want to skew it a little bit so the far end is thinner.
Select the stirre_side layer and with a black brush with hardness set to 100%, paint in the missing ends so the sides connects to the stirrer. Double click the layer to bring up the layer properties and make a color overlay. Right click on the layer effects and select create layers.
Create a new layer on top of the stirrer_side layer and name it highlights and mask it to the stirrer_side. With a soft white brush paint in some highlights on the side, just create some variations in the color. Change the blending mode to Overlay for the layer.

Step 35

To add some highlights to the top of the stirrer create a new layer on top of the stirrer smart object layer and set it to mask down to the stirrer. Take a large (>1000px) white brush and make a dot in the middle of the stirrer. Change the opacity to 58% and blending mode to Screen.
Duplicate the highlights layer and put it beneath it, change the blending mode to Overlay and opacity to 20%. Nudge it down towards to left end of the stirrer.
To add some more highlights make a bevel and emboss on the stirrer smart object layer, change the shadow settings so they are the same as the highlights so you get highlights all the way around.

Step 36

Select the stirrer_shadow layer and add a Motion blur and a Gaussian blur to get the shadow correct.

Step 37

Add a new guide, this will be the horizontal line for the image. Create a new layer on top of the background and name it highlight and make a large Radial Gradient in the center.
Duplicate the layer and rename the two layers to highlight_bottom and highlight_top. Mask off the two layers so they only can be seen in their respective area (as showed below).
Unlink the layer mask and the layer on highlight_top and transform the highlight so it reaches the top of the image and change the opacity to 90%. When done re-link the layer mask with the layer.

Step 38

Create a solid color black layer and mask of some of the image as showed below and change the opacity of the layer down to 30%. Name it low_light.

Conclusion

Finish the image by adding a frame and some text, also put a label in the top corner.

Design a spectral photo-manipulation

2012-07-31T20:04:00.002-07:00

Preview:

Click to enlarge

Step 1

The starting point of this tutorial is the photo of an abandoned castel room. This photo is spectral even without any kind of photo-manipulation. Sometimes inspiration derives from a place, like in this case. Each place has something to say, a story behind. Let’s imagine how many things could have happened into a castle bedroom…
Open the photo in Photoshop.

Step 2

To darken the room, duplicate the layer (ctrl+J) and set the duplicated layer blend mode to Color Burn with opacity 30%.

Step 3

Now I don’t like this “warm” atmosphere. So go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Black & White to play a bit with colors. Move the cursors to modify the room colors.

Step 4

To make the details of the room more evident, press shift+alt+ctrl+E to merge all the layers into a new layer. Then apply the high pass filter (Filter>Other>High pass).

Then set the layer blending mode to Overlay. Below you can see the difference between the room before and after the effect.

Step 5

You can notice there is a light coming from the left, there should be a window in front of the bed. I want this light stronger, as if the entire left wall disappeared. To do so, we will use a filter that allows you to manage and create light effects. As we made in step 4, merge all the layers into a new layer. Then go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Here you need to set up the style to “omni blu” and then move the light to the left, in correspondence with the mirror.

Now press shift+ctrl+U to desaturate the layer and set its blending mode to screen. The light effects looks perfect now.

Step 6

It’s time to introduce the first character of the scene, a melancholy child. After downloaded the image, extract the boy with the pen tool and merge him into the Photoshop document. Then press ctrl+T to re-size the kid, and put him on the bed.

Step 7

Since light comes from the left of the scene, we have to create the shadow effect of the boy on his left. Create a layer and move it below the kid’s layer. Grab a large soft (hardness 0%) black brush and paint to create the shadow. Reduce a bit the layer opacity and create other layers with other shadow effect. If you use several layers with different opacities the final result will look more realistic.

Step 8

To darken more the boy and to make his color contrasts stronger, grab the Burn tool in Shadows mode. Reduce exposure to around 50% and paint over the boy, in particular on his left (shadow area).

Step 9

The kid is too mush saturated. So press ctrl+U and reduce saturation to -35.

Step 10

To create the ghostly presence, I’ve used another beautiful shot of a child, realized by Angi Nelson. Extract the child with the pen tool and paste her into the document.

Go to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal. Then re-size and rotate the child (ctrl+T) so she will look oriented in the direction of the boy.

Add a layer mask and use a large soft black brush to gently eliminate the bottom of the child.

Step 11

To transmit the idea of a ghostly presence, duplicate the lady’s layer by pressing ctrl+J. Then go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur and enter a distance around 80 pixels.

Then, using the mask, eliminate the head from the duplicate layer. In this way the head of the original layer will appear without the blur effect.

Step 12

As we made with the boy, reduce the saturation (ctrl+U).

Step 13

Create a new layer an set its blending mode to overlay. Then grab a soft white brush and paint over the child to create a light effect. Reduce the opacity of the layer if necessary.

Step 14

Select all the layers of the flying spectral presence and group them (ctrl+G). Then add a layer mask to the group and eliminate another part of the child. Then reduce the opacity of the group to 80%. Here is how my ghostly child looks at this stage:

Step 15

To increase the dark effect on the right, I created a new group of layers where I’ve painted on using black soft brushes.

Step 16

It’s time for the last adjustment layers. Let’s start with the Vibrance layer (Layer>New Adjustment layer>Vibrance) to lower down saturation to -30.

Then use the Color Balance layer (Layers>New Adjustment Layers>Color balance) to modify the colors of the entire scene. I played with the options to turn the atmosphere from “normal” to “spectral”, with a blue cold room as result.

And here is the result:

Step 17

The last touch: merge all the layers into a new layer (shift+alt+ctrl+E), then switch the layer blending mode to Color Burn with opacity 30%.
Finito! For every problem or suggestion, you can use the comments;-)

Making a Surreal Manipulation in Photoshop

2012-07-31T20:00:00.002-07:00

Preview

Resources needed

Arms

Step 1

Open the room image, use the original dimension. Now open the woman model stock and subtract her using the Pen Tool (P). Copy the woman on your document and scale her down. Use a layer mask or the Eraser to hide the head. You will see that there are some hairs on one of the arms, you can hide them painting with the brush and the same color as the hand.

Step 2

If you followed my other manipulation tutorials you will probably guess what’s next. That’s right! Color adjustments and shadows. Let’s go with the color adjustments. I can’t stop saying this: use adjustment layers because they are non-destructive. I wanted the woman to be pretty much the same color as the wall so what I sampled a color from the wall and I added a Color Fill adjustment layer, set the Blend Mode to Color and reduced the Opacity to 50%. Then I added a Levels adjustment layer to increase the contrast.

Step 3

Let’s continue by adding some shadows. You can cast a shadow duplicating the woman layer and use the distort tool and also create some soft shadows on a new layer using the brush tool. I made a video showing both techniques, you can watch it here: http://www.psdbox.com/tutorials/realistic-shading-demonstration-video/.
I also added some shadows on the body itself with a low opacity soft brush and Overlay blend mode.

Step 4

Open a cracks image from the pack and add it over the woman’s body. Set the blend mode to Multiply and increase the highlights and shadows using Levels (CTRL+L) in order to hide the white background.

Step 5

Now I will show you how to mask a light bulb. Masking transparent objects in Photoshop like glass or ice can be tricky. Regular selection tools don’t apply here because you have a lot of gradients and highlights that must be kept.
Go ahead and open the light bulb image. First, cut out the light bulb shape using the Pen Tool (P).

Step 6

Go straight to the channels panel located next to the layers tab. The details that tell you that this is actually a light bulb and not an egg are mainly the highlights and reflections. So, your objective is to keep the highlights and remove everything else.
Duplicate the blue channel and increase the shadows midtones and highlights. See image below.

Step 7

Now get a small hard edge brush and start painting with white the metallic cap, the contact wires and the filament. Help yourself by loading the bulb selection with CTRL+T while you’re on the layers palette.

Step 8

Now keep increasing the midtones and shadows using Levels. Not as much as in the preview image

Step 9

When your ready, with the channel still selected, select the light bulb mask using the shortcut CTRL+Click (click on the channel icon). With the selection loaded go to layers and click the layer mask icon or go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection.

Step 10

Apply the mask on the light bulb and copy it on your manipulation scene. Scale it down and place it where the woman’s head was.

Step 11

After adding the light bulb make color and contrast adjustments as needed to make it blend with the surrounding scene. As you can see, it looks too white. I wanted to give it a yellowish color so I added a gradient map with a similar color to the wall and tried several blend modes until I found that the best one in this particular case was Vivid Light. Then I got a photo of a crouching man, masked it and placed it inside the bulb.

The basic manipulation is done. All the you have to do now is some final general adjustments. I also want to show you the second version with the tap head. If you want to skip this part go to Step 15 to see the final adjustments.

Step 12

Making the tap head is a lot easier than the light bulb version because there is nothing to mask here. Just crop the tap with the Pen Tool (P) and place it where the head of the woman was.

Step 13

Make some adjustments to the tap if you want, but it’s looks almost right. I desaturated it a bit and I increased the midtones.

Step 14

Now I also added some human arms coming out the tap because I wanted to make the image look even more abstract. You can add what ever you like. Just cut and paste a few different arms from the stock images provided. Do not use the same arm twice because it’s easily noticeable. Use different sizes as well. When you’re done, paint some shadows over the arms close to the tap and also on the hands that are behind.

Step 15

This is an important step because here is where you get the final effect that makes you image look old and special.
First I pasted a grungy stock image above all the layers, turned Opacity down to 10%, I desaturated it and changed its Hue.

Step 16

Now, just like on many of my other tutorials, I made some general color adjustments using gradient maps with different blend modes, in this case two. See image below for details.

Final result

Version 1 – Tap head

Version 2 – Light bulb head

High-Rise B-Movie Poster Case Study by Falcon White Design

2012-07-31T19:56:00.001-07:00

Inspired by such great artists like Drew Struzan I wanted to do a different kind of a promo photo that looks more like a kind of a lobby card with a mixture of painted touch and filthy film grain look.

Step 1

First I needed some hilarious photos in front of a green screen to make the extraction in Photoshop easier.

Step 2

After browsing through millions of photos I chose those body parts I would like to put together because the perfect image is mostly hard to find. So I did this “digital Frankenstein-ing” with layer masks. The models were mixed with different stock photo material, like falcons or owls. Why? ‘Cause Dinosaurs are extinct. ;)

Step 3

With the combination of adjustment layers and the rectangle tool feat. Asphalt and wall textures I build a rooftop. Because I don’t have a helicopter anymore I had to buy an adequate stock photo. ;-)

Step 4

Running dudes in front of a white layer doesn’t kick ass at all. So it’s better to place another stock photo – this time a high-rise skyline – in the background. With some self-made vanishing point lines it should fit right. I also build a quick helipad, to make it clearer that the helicopter already dropped the three amigos on the top of that building.

Step 5

To make it look more Rock’n’Roll and not like a cheap montage, I played around with some adjustment layers like color balance or gradient maps.

Step 6

I added a few shadows and a smooth vignette. For the contrast I gave everything a little bit more brightness.

Step 7

The old-school method of dodge and burn helped me a lot giving everything a constant look.
I matched the colors of the helicopter optically and a couple of adjustment layers later… I couldn’t believe it, but my image looked like this. ;-)

Step 8

Finally brought it to an end with the finishing move “old movie projector lines” followed by some noise and a smooth blur to create the look of a sleazy, 70s B-movie scene. I hope you enjoyed this case study for abduzeedo.com.

Photoshop CS4 and 3D

2012-07-31T19:45:00.002-07:00

Stephen Burns - www.chromeallusion.com

Adobe is bridging the gap between two dimensional and 3 dimensional approaches to creating art. It started with CS3 where we have the ability to import 3D objects into 3D Layers and have some of the same navigational functionalities as 3rd party 3D program. In addition, we can access the textures via the use of Texture Layers. This gives us the flexibility to alter them to match our final vision in post production.

Now we have the long awaited Photoshop CS4 that has upgraded its 3D capabilities greatly from its predecessor. Its 3D engine goes beyond reading the object and its textures. It will allow you to import & add lights to your 3D scene. It will also read and apply Glossiness, Specularity, Bump and Reflection maps. Photoshop reads its texture information off of UV maps (U –Horizontal and V-Vertical). These are basically 2 dimensional images maps that are mapped onto 3 dimensional surfaces. This style of surface mapping allows the most flexibility as to where you apply your textures.

In this tutorial we are going to explore UV mapping in a 3D program and import the 3D object into CS4’s 3D Layers. Then we will discover the great flexibility that we have with the new advances to the texturing engine.

Let’s start with the basic 3D options for creating 3D primitives from single or multiple images. You can access this under the 3D options located on your menu bar. So, Open any image and select the Cube option to create a 3D cube.

If you are a beginner at 3D modeling and texturing, CS4 will help you get familiar with the basic tools and texturing capabilities through its intuitive interface. Primitives are basic 3D shapes such as spheres, cylinders or cubes to name a few. Essentially, CS4 will take any image and place it onto the primitive that you choose. In this example I have chosen a Cube. Let’s learn how to navigate a 3D object.

Take a look at your tools bar and notice that we have something new. You will see a toolset for navigating 3D objects imported into CS4. There are two sets of tools. One set is for the navigation of the object and the other is for the navigation of your camera.

Basic 3D Navigations

When you select any navigational tool a 3D Axis guide automatically appears adjacent to your model that has red, green and blue color designations. These correspond to X, Y and Z axis. On a grid the “X” axis (red) is simply a movement going from left to right. The Y axis (green) is a movement going up or down. And finally, the Z axis (blue) is movement going in or out into the scene.

Access the 3D menu

Step 1.

If you place your mouse on a circular shape for any of the axis take notice that a ringed shape will appear that designates the direction which you will be restricted to. When you rotate automatically a dark blue highlight will display the position where you began and where the position ends.

(L) Rotation along a designated axis. (R) Resize along all axis

Stretch along a designated axis

Next, if you place your mouse directly on the cubic shape located at the end of each of the axis you will resize the shape of your object along that axis.

Place your mouse on the larger cubic shape where all of the axis connects. If you click and drag here the entire object resizes without distortion.

Finally, you can shift your object along a designated plane. This places your mouse on the plane between two axes allowing you to drag your mouse.

Now that you have a basic idea how to navigate your 3D object let’s take a look at a 3D object that was created in NewTek’s Lightwave (www.newtek.com ). We will examine how to bring in Third-Party 3D models into Photoshop’s 3D layers.

Importing Third-Party Models

Take a look at figure nine. What you’re looking at is a texture laid over UV coordinates for the body of a submarine created in LightWave. UV coordinates are simply the surface of the 3D object that has been unwrapped and laid out like a flat sheet of paper so that we can draw or paint on it. When you are completed with drawing or painting on this paper we can then wrap it back on to our object to display the new edits that are accurately placed. For example if we want the rims of the windows to be black we simply find that location on the UV map that is designated to the window’s rims and paint that area black. When the map is reapplied to your 3D object your window rims will take on that color. This painting or editing is done in any two dimensional digital paint program which in this case is CS4.

Example of UV map with texture of submarines body

Take a look at figure 10 and you will see the top view (top left), side view (bottom right) and the perspective view (top right) of the submarine. On the bottom, left hand corner you will see the UV map for the submarine’s body. Let’s define further where that is. The egg shaped cockpit on the left hand side of the model is designated as the submarine’s body.

Figure 10: 3D model displayed in LightWave

Figure 11 shows the panel that displays all of the textures for this sub. Please take note of them because when we go into Photoshop you will see these names applied again.

Fig 11: View of LightWaves texture panel

Importing your model into Photoshop

Let’s go back into Photoshop and import the model that was created in LightWave. It is important to know that Photoshop will read several formats natively that include the following:

3DS
Obj
DAE
KMZ
U3D

Depending on your software of choice, check with the manufacturer to find out if they have created a plug-in for Photoshop thatwill read and import the application’s models and textures. In this example the LWO Importer can be downloaded from NewTek’s site (www.newtek.com).To import any 3D object into Photoshop’s 3D layer access your 3D menu and “new layers from 3D file”

Import object into Photoshop’s 3D layers

Once the object is imported you will see in your Layers Palette not only the thumbnail of the model but the textures that have been applied to it through LightWave as well.

Display of the imported model from LightWave

If you double click on the texture as a designated body automatically the texture will open up into its own file.

Display of the texture for the body of the ship

This texture can be edited like any image in Photoshop. In this example a yellow stripe has been applied around the base of the windows. After the stripe is applied all you need to do is hit Ctrl S/Cmd S to update the model.

Yellow stripe applied to the model

Figure 16 shows the visual result of the model in Photoshop.

Fig 16 Update the texture on the model

The technique that I have shown you works well but is an old technique from CS3. CS4 has been updated to take advantage of the paint tools. In other words we can utilize our Paintbrush to paint directly onto the model. This feature is really going to revolutionize the workflow of 3D modelers and concept artists.

To start it is important to open up your 3D Palette. Near the bottom of the palette you will see an option that says ‘Paint On’. Make sure that ‘Diffuse’ is selected. This option simply allows you to paint directly on the surface of the texture within that particular layer.

Experiment with these basic shapes to get to know how images are mapped onto their surfaces. Simply open a bitmap image in win this particular

Set ‘Paint On’ to ‘diffuse’

I recommend that you apply the next procedure to all of your layers because as you are painting on your model you’re going to want the entire object to have the ability to acccept paint. In order for your object to accept editing from the Paint Brush you need to have a layer that will accept bitmap information. Next click on a layer that designates the texture that you are interested in editing. Create a brand new layer above the one that’s already there as shown in figure 18.

Place a new layer above your texture

Now you’re ready to begin painting. Just select your paintbrush with any color that you choose as your foreground color and begin applying it directly to the object. Don’t forget to use your navigational tools to move, rotate and pan your object. Figure’s 19 through 21 shows examples of the surface of the submarine edited with the paint brush as well as the smudge brush.

Paint directly onto the model

All of the information that we paint on the ship will be applied directly to the new layer that we created as shown in figure 22.

Additional paint being applied to the model

Fig 22: Textures are applied to the Blank layer that we created

3D Panel Options

CS4 has given us other powerful tools for viewing and editing the surfaces on the objects. The 3D panel is divided into 4 sections which are 3D Scenes, 3D Mesh, 3D Materials and 3D lights.

Let’s begin with 3D Scenes.

One of the 3D scenes feature is to give you a visual representation of the model in a number of styles. We will look at only 3 of those but experiment with the others on your own. Take a look at Figure 23 thru 25. The Bounding Box options simply places an outline of a cube as a representation of the more sophisticated shape. The Shaded Wireframe displays the edges of the polygons that make up the model. Raytracing represents the final render. Take notice that Raytracing actually displays the reflections as well as the shadow details.

(top) View of the shaded wire option applied to model.
(above) View of the Raytracing option applied to model.
(below) View of the Shaded Wire frame option applied to model

The next button is for your 3D Mesh options. Here you can use all of the navigational tools to position, rotate, scale and move your object. In addition you can choose to Cast Shadows or catch shadow from itself or other objects.

View of the 3D Mesh Panel

Now, take look at your 3D Materials option. This is where you can modify and add Bump Maps, Glossiness, Shininess, Opacity and Reflectivity. In this example the ‘windows’ material is chose and its Reflectivity is up to 64%. As a result you can see the reflections from the submarines side.

Reflectivity applied to 64%

Figure 28 shows the Reflectivity set to ‘0’. Now reflections are no longer applied.

Reflectivity applied to 0%

Applying and Altering Lights

One of the more powerful features in CS4 is the ability to add, manipulate and move lights through the document. To see the lights themselves in your document you must turn on their visibility which is an icon at the bottom of the 3D Lights palette. Let’s start by taking a look at controlling shadows.

Figure 29 shows the Softness option set to 0%. Take note of the hard edge of the shadow.

Figure 30 shows the Softness option set to 65%. Here the edge of the shadow is soft and pleasing.

There are several types of light source in your scene. As a default you have 3 light sources automatically applied to your scene and they all will be Infinite light sources. You can alter these lights to other styles just by selecting the style from the drop menu as shown in figure 31. Your choices are Spot, Infinite and Global. Spot is more directional where you can change its falloff and direction. Infinite is a broader light source that is still directional. Global emits illumination in all direction. Figure 31 shows the spot light positioned for illuminating the top of the sub.

31:Spot Light illuminating the sub

You also, have the option to alter the color to match the lighting in your scene.

Bump Maps

Once the lighting is set up correctly then it’s time to bring in your bump maps to really add some character and detail to your model and it’s easy to do. Just keep in mind that 3D engines utilize black and white information to create the bump. The highlights give the surface the appearance of rising forward and darker tonalities makes the surface recede.
To apply a bump map go to your Materials panel and next to the Bump Strength then select Load Texture from the drop list.

Load a new texture dialogue box

View of the bitmap used to create the bump

The material for the body of the sub was originally chosen so ‘body bump’ designates that it’s the map for that surface.

Figure 35 shows the completed results.

Once you have finished updating the surfaces on your model then you are ready to use it for a concept piece. The final image shows the textured sub as part of an underwater environment. So, the galaxy is truly the limit in CS4.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. Keep an eye out for my new book “The Art of Poser Pro and Photoshop CS4” where we will explore some artistic opportunities with Photoshop CS4 Extended and Poser Pro.

How to create a retro Lomo effect in Photoshop

2012-04-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

We show you how to turn a digital photograph into a Lomographic image using a range of essential Photoshop tools

Lomography is more than just a style; it is an entire photographic movement. Lomography refers to images produced by a dedicated Lomo camera, which produces a very distinct style.
However, part of the culture of Lomography is to take as many obscure photographs as possible, breaking all photographic rules and conventions, such as shooting angle. There are exhibitions and websites dedicated to the trend and it is only getting more popular since its initial uptake in the Eighties. The cameras used for Lomography tend to be low-fidelity and cheap, so the key is not in perfectly exposed and toned images.
If you don’t have a Lomo camera, then the actual look is pretty easy to emulate in Photoshop. Search for a start image that is unusual – maybe the angles are off, or it’s a bit blurred… imperfect is best for this effect. The key elements of a Lomographic photo are high-contrast colours and a distinct vignette, as well as a cross-processed colour tint. Using adjustment layers and a combination of blending modes, we can easily build up this effect. We will also add lens flare and a paper texture to give it a more realistic Lomo look.

Step 1: Add a vingette

Open up your start image and duplicate the Background layer. Lomo photography always has a dark vignette, which can be applied in one of two ways. You can either use the Lens Correction filter, or you can draw it by hand. We prefer the latter as it looks less precise, which suits the effect. Use the Lasso tool to draw a rough circle around your image with a high Feather of about 70 pixels. Inverse the selection and then use a Levels adjustment layer to darken these corners to suit.

Step 2: Curves

Now we are going to use a Curves adjustment layers to start to achieve that lomo look. From the Curves dialog box, tweak the curve into a soft ‘S’ shape, which will help to increase the dynamic range of the image. The same exact setting won’t work for two different images, so play with the values until you are happy with the result.

Step 3: Cross process

One of the key things about lomo photography is that it needs to look crossprocessed. This is the traditional darkroom technique of exposing one type of film in the chemicals for another. This produces a lot of different effects and colour combinations, but in lomo photography, you’re looking for enhanced cyan tones. Add a Color Balance adjustment layer to your photo.

Step 4: Tweaking the values

Now you need to work on the values for the Shadows, Highlights and Midtones to emulate the crossprocessed look. For our image we used the following values. Midtones: Cyan/Red = -28, Magenta/Green = 24, Blue/Yellow = -23; Shadows: Cyan/Red = -56, Magenta/Green = -9, Blue/Yellow = -13; Highlights: Cyan/Red = 32, Magenta/Green = -16, Blue/Yellow = 16. Experiment with values until you are happy with the results.

Step 5: Sort the Saturation

At the moment, the image is too oversaturated to be an authentic lomo effect. You can sort this out in a couple of ways. You could apply a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and lower the Saturation here. Otherwise, create a new layer filled with black. Set it to Hue to turn the image black and white. Next lower the Opacity until you are happy with the effect.

Step 6: Sun spots

To really capture that retro look, we need to add in some sun spots or lens flare. Add another new layer filled with black to the top of the layer stack. Go to Filter>Render>Lens Flare. We have chosen a 105mm Prime Lens Type and lowered the Brightness to 83%. Position the flare in the top-left hand corner of your image.

Step 7: More flare

Set your flare layer to Screen blending mode so that it shows through to the image. Duplicate the layer with the flare on and move it up and to the right a bit so that it sits above your first flare, adding more effect to the image. You can add as much flare as you think your image needs.

Step 8: Texture

We are now going to add a rumpled paper texture to our image to make it look more vintage. Open your chosen image and paste it into your main photo, transforming it so that it fits over the whole photo. Set the layer’s blending mode to Multiply. We don’t really need to use the Opacity slider here, as it looks fine at 100%, but you may need to on a different image.

Step 9: Final sharpen

Finally, we want to sharpen the whole image a touch. Create a copy-merged layer of all your layers (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E) at the top of your Layers stack. Go to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask and set the Amount to 50 and the Radius to 28, leaving the Threshold at 0. And there you have it: a super-fast lomo effect for your photos.

Quick tip

Get inspired by traditional Lomography by visiting this great website: www.lomography.com. This site can help with coming up with subjects to consider manipulating, as well as telling you more about the movement as a whole.

Giving your Photograph an Antique Look

2012-03-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

This simple tutorial is an alternative method (from many others available on the Internet) for making a photograph look aged. Suitable for Photoshop beginners.
Let us start off with a normal full-color photograph. I am using the "Young Teenage Girl" from ShutterStock.

Select the photo layer, go to Filter > Noise > Dust and Scratches. Set the Radius to 2 and Threshold 0.

Duplicate the photo layer. Select duplicated photo layer, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set Radius to 4.

Make a Layer Mask on the duplicated layer. On the mask, create a Radial Gradient as shown in the screenshot below.

Download "Vintage Background" from ShutterStock. Resize it to cover the photograph nicely. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Set the Blend Mode of vintage background to Soft Light.

Download "Grunge Background" from ShutterStock. Resize it to cover the photograph nicely. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Set the Blend Mode of grunge background to Multiply. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness and Contrast. Set the Brightness to 50.

Create a Levels Adjustment Layer. Set the values to 15, 1.48, 255.

Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Check on Colorize. Set the Hue to 38, Saturation to 22 and Lightness to 0. And that is all! I have you find this tutorial useful for your future works. Cheers.

How to Create a Space Girl Photo Manipulation

2010-03-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

In today’s tutorial I will show you how to create a space photo manipulation by mixing stars and different Photoshop techniques. Layered PSD file included. Let’s get started!

Final Image Preview

Start working by opening in Adobe Photoshop CS4 a space photo like this one:

Find a stock photo with a model represented on it, I used this photo from deviantart. I would like to thank the author of this photo:

Remove the background using your favorite tools like Pen Tool (P), Magic Wand Tool (W), Magnetic Lasso (L) or even a simple Filter>Extract and insert the image on a new layer in our main document.

Click on Add a layer style icon from bottom part of the Layers panel and select Inner Glow

We’ve got the next inner glow effect around girl:

Click now on the bottom part of the Layers panel on Add layer mask icon and choose after that the Soft Round brush of black color (Opacity 15%)

Using Soft Round brush paint on the mask to hide the girl’s legs as shown:

Create a new layer and select for it a Soft Round brush of yellow color (Opacity 10%) to paint the layer:

Set Blending mode for this layer to Saturation

Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click between the layers of the yellow brush and the layer containing the girl (on the Layers panel) to create a clipping mask

Now we have the content of the layer containing the yellow color only visible within the content of the layer containing the girl

Create a new layer and select the Soft Round brush with #0000FF color (Opacity20%).

Paint the background as shown and place this layer under the layer with the girl on it:

On the next new layer we’ll apply the above used brush to continue painting the background with the color #00B4F6 (Opacity20%). This layer will be situated under the girl’s layer:

Create a new layer and apply here the Soft Round brush to paint the bottom part of the picture with violet color (Opacity 20%)

Set the Blending mode to Screen for this layer

Use again the Soft Round brush and paint with blue color on background. This layer will be situated under the layer containing the girl:

Next there will be used again the soft brush with green color this time and Opacity - 20%.

Create a new layer and apply on it the Soft Round brush to paint on the background as shown.

The brush’s color is yellow (Opacity 15%). Place this layer under the girl’s layer.

Set the Blending mode for this layer to Overlay

On the next new layer we’ll use the Soft Round brush of white color (Opacity 20%) to represent several lines, like those from below. This layer needs to be situated under the girl’s layer:

Set the Blending mode to Overlay for this layer

Let’s create the next new layer and apply on it the same soft brush of white color (Opacity 15%) to make lighter the girl’s body. This layer needs to be placed lower than the girl’s layer:

Next we’ll make the girl’s arm look more illuminated. In this case we’ll create a new layer and use here the Soft Round brush

Paint firstly with red color (Opacity 15%) the necessary element and then use the color #FDCD9E

Create A Flower Texture

2010-03-19T01:37:00.001-07:00

Step 1. Firstly open a new file, create 2 new layers. On the second layer, use rectangular marquee tool (M) to make a square selection (press shift to make square) like this picture below.

Step 2. Use Gradient Tool, I choose this one: (download this gradient at the end of this tutorial)

And make gradient like the picture below:

Step 3. This is an important step of tutorial, you have to remember this thing: Do not deselect your square selection. If you forget that, your artwork could be worse.
Ok, go to Filter > Distort > Wave and set the option :

Continue to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates > choose Rectangular to Polar. At this time, duplicate layer and hide the new one. Come back to the previous layer, go to Filter > Distort > Twirl > choose 100. Press Ok.

Open the top layer (the one that you duplicate), goto Filter > Distort > Twirl > choose -100. Press Ok. Set Opacity 55%

Link 2 this layer and merge them together, named "Flower". Come back to the first layer that you create it before, fill it with color #c78b8b .You will get this result:

Step 4. Choose Flower layer and duplicate it. In this new layer, press Ctrl + T to transform like the picture below:

Use Elliptical marquee tool and set option:

Make selection and press Delete. In this step, you will erase some areas on the layer to make 2 flowers look more pretty

Continue to erase until you see it's really pretty

Then set opacity 71% for this layer. Your result:

Step 5. Create new layer, repeat actions from step 2 to the end of step 3 with this gradient: (download this gradient at the end of this tutorial)

After all, you will get this result:

Named this layer "Flower 2", set it into screen mode and set opacity 71%.
Continue to use Elliptical marquee tool like step 4 to erase unnecessary areas:

Duplicate layer Flower 2, move it and erase like this:

Duplicate layer Flower 2 again, set opacity 55% then transform:

Continue to erase.

Create new layer and set on the top, set soft light mode. Use Paint Bucket Tool and set Foreground color #e29995 to cover this small area.

It looks more pretty than before.

Well, you've got the final result. (Click on the picture below to see full size)

CLICK HERE to download gradient files used in this tutorial

Advanced Day-to-Night Photoshop Tutorial

2010-03-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial I will teach you how to edit in photo in Lightroom and Photoshop to dramatically alter its appearance and mood. We’ll change a broad daylight scene into a night-time one, lit by a street lamp. I’ll also take the opportunity to describe some non-destructive editing techniques in Photoshop.
Below you can see the ‘before’ and ‘after’:

Day to night conversion: before and after

The original, straight from the camera image is mind-numbingly dull; it’s the very definition of dullness. It was shot in a overcast February afternoon. As boring as it is, it was perfect for my purposes. I wanted to convey a sense of ‘out of place’, of a person that doesn’t really belong there, forcing the viewer to create a story – who is this young and attractive woman and what is she doing in this miserable street?
The overcast day had the advantage of decreased contrast and a complete lack of shadows, allowing me a wide range of editing.

Creating the light/dark versions

First thing, I created two Virtual Copies in Lightroom:

Original, with default contrast. Slightly overexposed too.

The “lit” version, Contrast was set to 100, also Clarity was was to max, increased vibrance. White Balance was set to Cloudy

The “unlit” version. The image was underexposed by 2 stops. White Balance was set to Tungsten.

Same image with different WB settings

As you can see above, the altered versions are already better — especially the “night” one, dark and moody. However, the street lamp gave me the opportunity to go the extra mile in creating something realistic.

Mixing light and dark

Having exported the two versions as 16bit TIFF (for maximum quality), I opened both of them in Photoshop. I then copied the “dark” one and pasted as a layer over the “lit” version.

Creating a new layer mask

It was pretty clear already that quite a lot of trial-and-error was to be expected, so instead of simply using the Eraser to remove parts of the “dark” layer, I decided to use a mask instead.
I selected the Dark layer and from the Masks panel, I clicked on the Pixel Mask button to create a new mask.
A Pixel Mask works just like an alpha channel for the layer – it’s a grayscale bitmap where white is opaque and black is completely transparent. What’s cool about it is that you can alter the opacity of the layer by painting on the mask.

The effect of the layer mask in mixing the lit/unlit areas

You can see on the left how the mask affects the mix between lit and unlit areas.
I clicked on the mask in the Layers panel to select it and then I simply used a semi-transparent, highly feathered black brush to create transparent areas.
There are three main lit areas: the light on the wall, faing out, the light on the pavement the light spill on the roof. You can notice that I preferred to paint everything instead of using gradients, to avoid the artificial “perfect” look.

Adjusting the exposure

The light was still too even in the lit area; close the the light source I needed something much more powerful (remember that light falls off exponentially). To improve the realism, I added an Adjustment Layer just above the Lit layer.

The Exposure Adjustment Layer

The Adjustment Layer was set to Exposure (Layer –> New Adjustment Layer –> Exposure). I added a simple radial gradient as a mask for this layer the same way as previously and then I tweaked it to get a slightly overexposed look.

Adding the glow

By now I had the light on the wall and pavement pretty much in place; it was time to turn to the light bulb. For this, I simply used the Lasso tool to select the visible area of the bulb and then copied and pasted it as new layer. I then used the Curves to make the bulb much brighter. Finally, from Layer –> Layer Style –> Outer Glow I created a nice amber glow around the bulb.

Setting the glow on the light bulb

Below you can see the exact settings for the glow:

Light bulb glow settings

I still wanted to add some nice touches: the glow should not be that strong in the upper area. Can you guess what I used? Yep, another Layer Mask.
Please note: By default, layer masks do not affect the layer effects. To make a layer mask hide the effect, open the Layer Style window and go to Blending Options section. From there, check the “Layer mask hides effects” option.
In the layer mask, I painted in black the areas I wanted the glow to be weak. Below you can see the result:

Glowing behind the edges

As you can see, I did not eliminate the glow completely, but created a glow-behind-the-edges effect that is seen in high-contrast situations.

Lens flare

A simple lens flare

Most designers, upon hearing the words “lens flare” run away screaming. They are very often overused and cheesy. Even the new JJ Abrams’ Star Trek features some lens flares annoying as hell. Still, they an unavoidable part of photography and can add some realism if used wisely.

Subtle lens flare applied

Unfortunately, Photoshop’s Lens Flare effect is laughable. I think it’s the same effect as 15 years ago. I only know of two decent lens effects – one in the old plugin Kai Power Tools 6, the other is Corel Photo-Paint. Both of them allow you to control the size, glow, ring, stars, streaks and reflection trail. This is not a tutorial on lens flares, but modern, good lenses don’t create reflection trails, but only a nice star pattern with minimal interference or random streaks.
For this photo I created a very simple star pattern on black background and I put it as a layer with blending mode set to Linear Dodge (Add) at 33% opacity. You can see that the effect is barely there; its purpose is to enhance the scene in a minimal way, not to overpower it.

Shadows

Selecting the body shape

If you recall from the beginning of this tutorial, the original image had no shadows because of the overcast sky. Now, as I created a light source, I needed to create a shadow too.

Refining selection edges

With the background layer active, I started to make a simple selection on the girl using the Magnetic Lasso. I didn’t even needed to be very careful, but just to follow the contours.
Once this was done, I clicked on Refine Edge and increased Smoothness and Feathering. After that, I created a new layer and filled the inside of the selection with black.

Distorting the shadow

The next step was to convert the new layer into a Smart Object via Layer –> Smart Objects –> Convert to Smart Object. Why? It’s because a smart object’s original appearance is preserved so I could distort it any way I wanted without degrading its appearance on each step.
Finally, I set the layer’s blending to Multiply and its opacity down to 50%.

Final result

Here’s the final view with all the layers:

All layers

By Armand Niculescu

Shadows and highlights

2010-03-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

1. Open the photo
We’d like to lighten up the shadowy areas of the photo while preserving the ratio of highlights (the lightest parts). In fact, we’ll try to decrease this ratio a bit.

2.Double layer
Drag the original layer called Background upon the indicated icon to duplicate it. You can also click Layer/Duplicate Layer instead.

Make sure the newly created layer called Background copy is selected, and set the general effects mode from Normal to Luminosity so that the general effect of the colors won’t differ between the layers, only that of lightness.

3. An obscure feature
Click Image/Apply Image and set the values as indicated above. Make sure that Channel is set to Green for both Source and Target, and select Invert for Source. Set Blending to Exclusion.

Apply Image will only affect the second layer. It subtracts the green channel from its own inverse, so that dark areas get lighter, while light areas get a bit greyish.

4. Opacity
You can set the relative ratio of the two layers using the Opacity slider. By decreasing the percentage value, you dampen the effect of the change made on the upper layer. We have decreased it to 80% but you won’t necessarily need to do so every time.

5.Here’s the result!
The upper left area shows the original state while the lower right displays the modified one. You can see more details on the shadowy areas, and the strength of light areas have diminished. If you want an even more dramatic effect, duplicate the upper layer again, and set Blending for the new layer to Screen, then set Opacity to a value you like, just as in the previous step.
Finally click Layer/Flatten Image to merge the layers. Save the image, and you’re finished.

Hair dye

2010-03-18T02:22:00.000-07:00

1.Load the photo
Yes, it is red, _very_ red, but what if you'd like dark brown, blonde, or purple? No worries, each one is possible.

2. Get those lamps!
The essence of the whole procedure is to select the hair. Unfortunately, this will take the most of your time, especially when dealing with an unruly coiffure.

You have about 1001 methods to do this. We chose Quick Mask. To do so, click the indicated icon at the bottom of the Tools palette, or press Q. In Quick mask mode, you can paint onto the picture just like any other time, but the result of the painting will be a selection. Select the Brush among the tools (also indicated above), and choose a mid-sized soft one to paint over the hair. Don't mind if you touch other areas of the picture here and there, you'll have the opportunity to correct it. Of course, you won't be able to select every single hair with this method. On the other hand, it's fairly quick.

3. We need the other half
Press Q again to quit Quick Mask mode and get the selection you have painted. Well, the areas you went over make a mask, which means Photoshop will select all but these areas. In order to select the hair, you have to invert the selection. Right-click it, and click Select Inverse in the context menu.

If the selection marquee annoys you, press Ctrl+H. This makes the marquee vanish, but the selection remains active, so that from now on, you can work with just the hair.

4. From red to brown
To alter the hair color, click Image/Adjustments/Selective Color. This feature enables you to change colors using ranges. You can select the ranges at the top of the dialog. Make sure you select Absolute for Method.

For red hair, you should obviously select Reds as the color range. In order to eliminate reddishness and produce a brown color, drag Cyan to the right. We found the best brown hue when setting all the sliders to their maximum values. Black sets the lightness of hair. Increase it for darker hues.

5. Telltale signs
As the selection was not entirely accurate, other parts of the picture might have also changed their colors with the previous action. For example, the areas along the edges of the hair or the face, which have been touched by the selection, became a bit darker and browner.

Select the History Brush (indicated above), and select a small, soft brush to paint over these areas. History Brush restores the original state of the picture in the treated parts.

6. Even browner
As the first wave of Selective Color didn't provide us with the color we wanted—the hair remained a bit reddish—, we applied it once again with similar settings. If you get the hue you'd like, press Ctrl+D. This deletes the selection. You can now save the image.

7. I got my hair
You've got practically unlimited possibilities, just like with all the coloring materials available at your drugstore. Feel free to experiment with blonde, purple or anything you like!

Blonde is for advanced users, though, as you have to adjust significantly not only the hues, but also lightness. Besides Reds, we also fiddled about with Yellows, and dragging the Black slider strongly to the left was also an important step.

Have fun trying around!

Create a happy girl wallpaper in Photoshop and Illustrator

2010-02-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, Childesign will teach you how to create a wallpaper of a very happy girl, who enjoys life. The tutorial is for Photoshop, but a small step is done in Illustrator.

Final result

Here is a preview of the final product that we are going to be making. Click on the image for a large version:

Tutorial

First, select and open a stock image of a girl that you like. Here is the one we decided to go with.

At the Layers palette overview, double click Layer Background, change to Layer 0.

Now, use Pen Tool to cut the image (the outside of the girl).

Press Ctrl + click left mouse on Layer 0 to make the selection surround the girl.

Go to Select/Refine Edge. Then use the settings in the image as below:

Creat a new document (1900×1113 px) and use Gradient tool, with the following settings:

Then copy the girl and paste to this document. Ctrl + T to resize the girl.

Press Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer with the girl. At the first layer, change the Blending Mode to Darken.

At the new layer, Blending Mode is normal, use Eraser tool (smooth) to delete the space outside the girl’s hair. Duplicate layer normal layer. At the new layer, change the Blending Mode for this layer to Hard Light, Opacity 35%. This is used to lighten the image.

Hide the background layer. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to creat a new layer. Now make a selection like below:

Duplicate this selection to make a new layer. Press Ctrl + T, right-click right, choose Flip Horizontal and move it:

Add layer mask for this layer. Use smooth brush (about 200px) to clean up the girl’s skirt.

Repeat the above step, but move to another location (remember Ctrl + T to miniatures before move)

Repeat:

Now (hide background layer) press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E to merge all layers into a new layer. Choose Clone Stamp tool with the leave brush

Press Alt and click left mouse on the location you want:

Then, don’t press Alt and click out side — this is where the magic hapens. Repeat this step until you re satisfied.

Choose Brush tool with the setting:

Set ForeBackground is white. Creat new layer, choose Pen tool draw the path. Then click right mouse, choose Stoke Path:

And more:

Now, add more brush

Creat a new layer. Use Pen tool draw the path (brush 1 px):

Use Shape tool to add more shapes:

Creat new layer, use Pen tool and draw:

Fill with any color. Then open then Blending Options. Setting: Choose Gradient Overlay

Repeat the above step, but with a different color and add more flower brush:

Now, we will add sunlight. Creat a new layer, use sunlight brush:

Creat new layer, use Pen tool and draw:

Fill with any color. Then open the Blending Options. Setting: Choose Gradient Overlay

Opacity should be about 20% – 50%. Press Ctrl + T to resize this layer.

Duplicate this layer and move it.

Now, we will use Illustrator to create the nets. Create a new document (in Illustrator). Use Pen tool and setting
<
Select all paths. Choose Object / Blend / Blend Options. Setting:

Then choose Object / Blend / Make (Alt+Ctrl+B)

Choose File / Export and save in PNG format.

Come back to Photoshop, open the net file that you just made, copy and paste to photoshop (below all layers, but not the background).

Press Ctrl + T to resize the net layer as you wish.

Change the color to white and add more nets as you like.

And finally we have our finished product.

About the author

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Creating a Realistic Torn Photo Effect

2010-02-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

Creating a Realistic Torn Photo Effect – Image Preview

In this tutorial you will learn how to take a standard photo of a girl and tear it into pieces using some stock images and some nifty Photoshop techniques.
The image on the left is what your finished product will look like. OK, lets get started…
Before we start, you should download the source files…

Torn Photo Effect Source Files (ZIP)

Step 1 –

From the downloaded source files, open the image below in Photoshop, and duplicate the layer. On the duplicated layer set the Blend Mode to Screen and open the Blending Options.

Step 2 – Drop Shadow Settings

Firstly, we will start by adding some Shadow. Use the settings you see in the image below:

Step 3 – Inner Shadow Settings

Then we will need to add some Inner Shadow, using these settings:

Step 4 – Inner Glow Settings

… and then some Inner Glow with the following settings:

Step 5 – Bevel and Emboss Settings

Finally, a little Bevel and Emboss. Use these settings:

Step 6 – Merge layers

Hit OK and now Merge the original or Background layer to the duplicate one. Select the two layers and hit CTRL + ALT + E. You’ll now have a new merge layer.

This is the result so far

Step 7 – Torn Paper

Now open the below image with the several pieces of torn paper, from the source files.

Step 8 – Crop the Torn Paper

You will now need to crop the part that you are going to use, so that it is easier to select. Crop the piece of paper that is on the lower right corner of the torn paper image.

Step 9 – Select with the Magic Wand

Now you need to select the piece. You can select the white parts of the image and then invert the selection (CTRL + SHIFT + I). Use the Magic Wand tool to do this.

Step 10 – Scale and Rotate

Copy it and paste it onto the image that you are working with. Scale it down and rotate it until you get something like this:

Step 11 – Torn Background

Now we need to create the background for the torn photo. Open this image of a piece of cardboard:

Step 12 – Torn Background II

Select the white area, invert that selection. Copy and paste it onto the image you’re working on. Scale it and rotate it until it looks like this:

Step 13 – Torn Background III

Open again the image with the pieces of torn paper. Crop the yellow one. Select it as shown in the image below and invert that selection.
Remember to remove the clip. You can use the Clone tool or just cut a piece of plain paper and paste it over the clip.

Step 14 – Torn Background IV

Paste it onto the document that you were working on and place it as you can see in the below image:

Step 15 – Torn Background V

Now, the magic begins.
Set all the torn pieces of paper layers invisible. Now, open once again the image of the torn cardboard. Select the section that looks like a triangle; it’s the brownest part of the image.

Step 16 – Torn Background VI

Copy and paste it onto your current document like this:

Step 17 – Torn Background VII

CTRL + CLICK on the thumbnail of the piece of torn paper layer. Make it invisible and select the layer of the girl.

Step 18 – Copy and Paste the Selection

With the girl layer selected, copy the selection and paste it. Move the layer to the top (it may help to make all the torn paper layers visible). Now, rotate the part you’ve just pasted and move it like you can see in the picture below:

Step 19 – CTRL + CLICK

Now, CTRL + CLICK on the yellow piece of torn paper you have on the document.

Step 20 – Cut the image of the Girl

Make that layer invisible and use that selection to cut another part of the girl like this:

Step 21 – Position the Torn Paper

Copy it, paste it and move it to the top of the layers. Now rotate it a little and move it to the right just like this:

Step 22 – Applying Shadow

Now, you will need to apply some shadow to this particular piece. Open the blending options and Drop some shadow using these settings:

Step 23 – Positioning another piece of cardboard

You will now need to do something similar with the other cardboard piece. Select the cardboard layer on your left. Make that layer invisible and copy that part of the image of the girl’s layer and paste it. Place it on top of the layers and rotate it and move it so that it looks like the image below. Don’t forget to add some shadow to this piece as well, you can simply copy the layer style and paste it. (Step 22)

Step 24 – Repeat the process

This part is up to you. You will need to continue copying and pasteing parts of the photograph, and creating the final image how you would like it. Do this until you’re satisfied with the result, let your creativity rein free!
Continue copying and pasting the torn paper parts, you can even divide a part in two and rotate it like this:

Step 25 – Finished

The result could look like this, or yours may even be better!

The Author

Paola has been the author of todays tutorial, she is also known as Violet Bag and you can visit here website, Violetbag.com to view some of her awesome works and some more tutorials.

Design a Surreal Desert Scene in Photoshop

2010-02-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial I am going to show you how to create a surreal time-themed photomanipulation using Photoshop. The name of this photomanipulation is "Time Guardian" and it was originally created by Mariusz Karasiewicz (aka FISHBOT1337). I want to take this opportunity to thank him for collaborating with me on this tutorial.

Quick Nav:

Materials Needed:

I would like to thank the great photographers and artists for giving me permission to use their images: Rene Asmussen, night-fate-stock, vividlight, jdbartlett, Mind-Illusi0nZ-Stock, Amor-Fati-Stock, ewark, lpdragonfl, Andrew C., Sage-Dreamer, redheadstock.
Before you use any stock images from these photographers, please make sure that you read their stock rules and respect them. They have worked very hard to create all these stock images.

Step 1: Create a new document and add the sky

Go to File > New (Ctrl+N) and create a new document in Photoshop. Then download this sky stock image, open it in Photoshop and move it into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Then go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this image. Name this layer "sky", hit Ctrl+G to put it inside a group and name the group "background."

Step 2: Add a small galaxy on the sky

Create a new layer inside the "background" group and name it "galaxy." Then download these brushes and install them. Select the Brush Tool (B), chose one of those galaxy brushes, set the foreground color to #8c8c8c and create a small galaxy on your sky. Then set the blend mode of this layer to Color Dodge 25%.

Step 3: Add the first desert stock photo

Download this desert stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Double-click on the background layer to unlock it, then use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to select the sky and delete it. Move this image into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Hit Ctrl+M to open the Curves window and use the settings from the following image. Name this layer "desert 1."
Note: You can also use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase some parts of the sky from this photo.

Step 4: Duplicate the "desert 1" layer

Duplicate the "desert 1" layer (Ctrl+J), and then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Use the Move Tool (V) to move this layer to the right side of your document and name it "desert 2."

Step 5: Add the second desert stock photo

Download this desert stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Double-click on the background layer to unlock it, select the sky using the Magic Wand Tool (W) and delete it. You can also use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase the top area of the desert. Move this image into your document using the Move Tool (V) and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Double-click on this layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay. Name this layer "desert 3."
Note: Arrange the image from this step in a way that makes visible the hills of the other two desert photos beneath it.

Step 6: Add the iron mask

Download this iron mask stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the mask from the background and then use the Move Tool (V) to move it into your first document. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this layer; right-click on the image, select Flip Horizontal and then hit Enter. Name this layer "iron mask" and put it inside a group (Ctrl+G). Name the group "iron mask" too.

Step 7: Add a Gradient Overlay layer style to the iron mask

Double-click on the "iron mask" layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay.

Step 8: Mask the bottom area of the iron mask

The bottom area of our iron mask should be buried in the sand. To make this happen, make sure that you have the "iron mask" layer selected, and then go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All. Select a black soft brush (B) and paint with it over the bottom area of your iron mask.

Step 9: Add a Levels adjustment layer

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels, check the "Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask" option and use the settings from the following image to make the iron mask brighter.

Step 10: Create a shadow for the iron mask

Ctrl-click on the thumbnail of the "iron mask" layer to select it, then create a new layer and fill it with black. Put this layer beneath the "iron mask" layer, then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical. Move this shadow at the bottom of the mask. Then go to Edit > Free Transform, hold down the Ctrl key and transform the shadow like I did. Blur this layer (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) and then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a big soft brush with the opacity of 20% to erase some areas of this layer. Keep in mind that the shadow should be darker at the bottom of the iron mask and brighter at the other end. Name this layer "shadow."

Step 11: Add a sign on the iron mask’s forehead

Create a new layer, set the foreground color to #cca899, select a soft brush (B) with the diameter of 100px and click once in the middle of the iron mask’s forehead. Name this layer "forehead light" and set its blend mode to Overlay 75%. Then download the Celtic Rune Charm Pack, open the "Rune-Ger.jpg" image in Photoshop and use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the sign from the background. Move this sign into your first document using the Move Tool (V) and put it above the forehead light. Name this layer "forehead sign" and set its blend mode to Overlay.

Step 12: Add two scars to the iron mask

Download this tree texture and open it in Photoshop. Move the image into your first document, use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize the image and put it on the right cheek of your iron mask. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light and use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase the areas of this texture that you don’t need. Then duplicate this layer (Ctrl+J), go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal, use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize this layer and put this scar on the other cheek of your iron mask.

Step 13: Create some lights coming out of the iron mask’s eyes

Create a new layer, select a white soft brush (B) and use it to create some lights that are coming out of the iron mask’s eyes. Name this layer "eyes light" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 85%.

Step 14: Add a bronze hand

Create a new group and name it "hand." Then download this bronze hand stock image and open it in Photoshop. Use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to separate the hand from the background and use the Move Tool (V) to move the hand into your first document. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T) resize this image and rotate it. Then select the Eraser Tool (E) and erase the bottom area of your hand to make it look like it’s buried in the sand. Name this layer "hand."

Step 15: Make some color adjustments to the hand

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves, check the "Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask" option and use the settings from the following image. Set the opacity of this layer to 80%.

Step 16

Add three more adjustment layers (Color Balance, Channel Mixer and Levels) using the settings from the following image. You can create all these layers from the "Layer > New Adjustment Layer" menu.

Step 17: Add a texture to the hand

Chose one of these rock textures that you like, or find another one on the internet, open it in Photoshop and move it into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Then use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize this image and rotate it. Make sure that this layer is above all the other adjustment layers, then right-click on it and select Create Clipping Mask. Name this layer "texture" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 30%.

Step 18: Use the iron mask as a texture for the hand

Duplicate the "iron mask" layer from the "iron mask" group (Ctrl+J). Then move this new layer above the hand’s texture layer, right-click on it and select Create Clipping Mask. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 19: Create a clock needle

Download these Gearing Brushes and install them. Create a new layer, set the foreground color to black and use one of the brushes which you have downloaded to create a clock needle coming out of one of the hand’s fingers. Double-click on this layer and use the settings from the following image. Name this layer "clock needle."

Step 20: Color the hand in orange

Ctrl-click on the "hand" layer to select it. Then create a new layer and fill it with the color #d57426. Name this layer "orange hand" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 70%. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a big soft brush to erase the bottom area of this layer.

Step 21: Create some gears

Set the foreground color to black, create a new layer and use the brushes which you have previously download to create some gears inside the hand. Double-click on this layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a small hard brush to erase the area of the gears that you don’t need.

Step 22: Adjust the lights and the shadows of the iron mask

Double-click on your hand layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay. Then use the Burn Tool (O) and the Dodge Tool (O) to create the lights and the shadows. Experiment with the Range and Exposure settings from the option bar to get the effect you want.
Note: when you have the Dodge Tool or the Burn Tool selected you can use the Alt key to quickly shift between them.

Step 23: Create a shadow for your hand

Create a shadow for your hand using the same process which you have used for the iron mask.

Step 24: Add some clocks

Create a new group and name it "clocks." Then download this image and open it in Photoshop. Use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the clock from the rest of the image. Then move the clock into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this image. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a grunge brush to erase some areas of this clock.
Repeat this step to add more clocks to your image. Change the size of each clock and rotate them. Take a look at the following image for reference. Select all your clock layers and merge them together (Ctrl+E). Name this layer "clocks."

Step 25: Add a shadow to the clocks

Double-click on the "clocks" layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Drop Shadow.

Step 26

Create a new layer and fill it with black. Set the blend mode of this layer to Linear Dodge (Add). Then select the Brush Tool (B), select a brush with the diameter of 2-3px, select a nice orange color and create some random lines around your clocks. Take a look at the following image for reference.

Step 27: Add some birds

Download these brushes and install them. Then create a new layer and use those brushes to create some small birds on your sky. Name this layer "birds."

Step 28: Final color adjustments

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 29

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light 38%.

Step 30

Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient Fill and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 31

Create a new layer, select a big soft brush (B) and paint with yellow in the left side of your image and with blue in the right side. Then set the blend mode of this layer to Color 25%.

Final Result

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you learned something new. What we have obtained is a photo-manipulation with some ruins in the desert; the clocks, the gears and the clock needle make everything to gravitate around the time theme.

By Ciursă Ionuţ

How to Create a Grunge Web Design in Photoshop

2010-02-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Before we get started, let's take a look at the image we'll be creating. Click the screenshot below to view the full-size image. As always, the layered Photoshop file is available via our PSDTUTS Plus membership. You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

Step 1

This time we're going to create a full web design in grunge style using Photoshop and a lot of stock images. As this is a intermediate to advanced level tutorial, I'll skip the explanation of some basic steps. First create a new document 950 px by 800 px at RGB 72dpi. Show the rulers and drag four guides bounding the document, this will be the optimal area of the design. I'm planning to keep a fixed width layout.
Go to Image > Canvas Size and increase the width and height a lot more, 1200 px by 1000 px is OK, this way we'll be designing for wider screen resolutions. Then add more guides where you're planning to add the containers (Header, Navigation bar, Sidebar, Footer).
Let's imagine this design is destined for a Wordpress template, so we'll need a header, a navigation bar inside the header, and a right sidebar. Take a look at the bottom of the following image. Then fill a background with this color #7A8173.

Step 2

Now we're going to create a pattern for the header's background, which is fairly simple. Create a new document 50 px by 300 px and draw something like the image below. I'm using guides to make my shape as symmetrical as possible. Then go to Edit > Define pattern and save the shape as "pattern 1."

Step 3

On a new layer in our main design file, draw a 300 px height rectangle using the Rectangle Tool. Go to Filters, and add a Pattern Overlay, search for your brand new pattern and apply it. To make it look correct you must click the Snap to Origin button. Change the layer Fill to 0%, create a new blank layer above the shape layer, and merge both, this way you'll have the pattern ready to add some effects to it. Name that layer "Pattern 1."

Step 4

Select "Pattern 1" layer and apply to it some layer styles: Drop Shadow, a Gradient Overlay, and a Pattern Overlay. Try to get something similar to the bottom of image below, using following values.

Step 5

Now we're going to add the navigation bar background. Draw a rectangle hiding a little bit of the "Pattern 1" layer. Apply to that rectangle a Pattern overlay, a black to red black gradient overlay, and a soft Drop shadow. Use the values of the images below as a reference. Next, add a Layer mask > Hide all, and draw a black to white to black Reflected Gradient on the layer mask, you'll get something similar to the bottom image below.

Step 6

Now draw an ellipse (#691E1B) above the "Pattern 1" layer, name it "Light," and Apply a Gaussian Blur to it with a 50 pixels radius. I created an extra guide to draw the light in the center of the header. Delete everything below the navigation bar and change the layer's Blending mode to Color Dodge.

Step 7

To finish the first part of the layout, we're going to draw the sidebar's background. Draw some guides to delimit the sidebar and also edit the existing guides to make them fit on the actually design. Then draw a red rectangle (#3D100B) and apply the following styles: a Drop Shadow, a Color Overlay, and a Pattern Overlay.
At this point, you must consider the way you're going to cut the image into HTML + CSS; that's why I'm using Drop shadows with 0px of Distance the most of the time, and only horizontal or vertical gradients. The texture in this case has many horizontal lines. It needs to be easy to convert this into a repeating background for many areas. Also ,this is a good point to take a break and organize the layers in your folders to keep things organized.

Step 8

Now begin with the details, I want to add the site name in a prominent place, that's why I will use this nice grunge label image. Obviously you must extract the label and place it in the top left corner of our design. Try to get something like the first image below. Next, use the Magic Wand tool to select the little brown circle, then Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection. Adjust the Levels and Hue/Saturation using the values shown below.

Step 9

Now using the Eraser tool and an irregular Brush, delete some areas of the label's border. To add a paper cut effect, select the Dodge tool and use the same Brush shape to apply the dodge to the label's border.

Step 10

We're going to add a shadow to our label next. For this, duplicate the "Label" layer, change the Hue/Saturation > Lightness to -100, and apply a Gaussian Blur with a 10 px radius. Next, change the "Label copy" Blending mode to Multiply and set the Opacity to 75%.

Step 11

A last retouch for the label, change the Saturation to -40 to make it more gray.

Step 12

Now we'll add some support images, try to find images surrounding a concept, but as this is a tutorial about the techniques, I'm choosing a random one. This one is a beautiful picture of a vintage train here in the highlands of Bolivia. Extract the shape of the train however you want. Then change the "train" layer's Blending mode to Darken.

Step 13

Let's add some text, first the page name. Type something using a grunge font; you can find some interesting ones over here. For the title use a black type and change the layer's blending mode to Overlay, then duplicate the layer and change the copy's Opacity to 75%. To get a tiny blur effect, move the copied layer one or two pixels left or right. Add more text using this technique, like a slogan or something. Also, it's a good moment to add the navigation links as well.

Step 14

Now add more stuff, it's grunge style! I downloaded some Jenn B’s brushes from here, these brushes have restrictions. Using those brushes add some numbers, corners, masking tapes and whatnot, feel free to do whatever you want in this step. Just remember add all the layers below both the "Label" and "Label Copy" layers.

Step 15

Now we'll start adding the page sections. First of all, in the header we'll need a search bar. Type a search label. Next, draw a red (#6A0400) rectangle as a search input field, then apply a Stroke and a Pattern overlay layer effect.

Step 16

Now we'll start adding the main content of our design. First we're going to add a field to put some featured text on. Draw a dark gray (#0D0F0E) rectangle into a layer below the sidebar. I created four folders to keep the layout organized: One for the "Header" above everything, one for the "Sidebar" below the "Header," one for the "Content" below the "Header" and "Sidebar," and the last one for the "Footer."
You can add this rectangle into the "Content" layer, also you can add as many folders as needed inside these four folders. Once you've placed the rectangle in a proper place, apply a Drop shadow and a Stroke effect using the values below.

Step 17

Download some grunge corners and borders from here, and paste one over the gray background. Next, apply apply an Overlay effect to the corner with a color of #171612. Also, add another corner over the sidebar's background, but this time bring down its Opacity below 25%.

Step 18

Let's add some text. You can add any sample text, imagine that it's javascript driven text recent posts section, or a featured post section, something like that. I'm using the same grunge display typeface as used for the navigation bar with the color #4D0D0D and Arial with a color of #3F3F3F for the body text.
Apply a drop shadow effect to the title and add the same effect to the navigation items as well. When you convert this PSD into an HTML + CSS file, you'll need to convert these titles to images, so it's OK if you want to add more styles to them. Finally, use some guides to put the text layers into a proper place.

Step 19

Our featured bar is looking a little empty, so let's add a support image. In this case, I used a polaroid shot. You can download the polaroid picture from here. Extract the polaroid, paste it into a layer above the gray background and the grunge corner on the "Content" folder, then change the Hue/Saturation to make the polaroid a little more sepia (Select the Colorize option).
Use the same techniques for the "Label" layer's edges (Step 9). Erase and Dodge the edges of the Polaroid picture. Finally, add a drop shadow using the same technique as used in Step 10 of this tutorial.

Step 20

I had this sepia picture of myself so I'm adding it to the design. Add any image into a new layer above the "Polaroid" layer, select the black square of the polaroid, then Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection. Select the picture layer and Delete all the extra. Next, you can add more grunge details, like some masking tape over the picture, as shown in the images below. I applied a 1px Drop Shadow effect to the added tape as well.

Step 21

It's a good moment to add a RSS icon to the sidebar. Draw a Rounded Corner Rectangle (#99917E), then apply the following effects to it: an Inner Glow, a Pattern Overlay, and a Drop Shadow, use the values shown in the image below. Next, draw or paste into a new layer above the rectangle the standard RSS shape and fill it with black. Finally, change the "RSS shape" layer Blending Mode to Overlay.

Step 22

Now place the RSS icon on the sidebar's top left. Add some text like "RSS FEED." Draw another piece of masking tape, and write the number of subscribers over it. Remember, now we're working in the "Sidebar" folder.

Step 23

It's time to add a single post to our design. Just write some random text as a Title, another line for the date, category, and author. Also, some words as the text of the post. Typography is the most important in this step. I love to use Serif fonts for the titles and Sans-Serif for the body, but is just me. Decide what you feel is best for your design.

Step 24

To give our sample post a little more attitude, we're going to add a preview image, just like in the TUTS sites, but as this is a grunge design we need to add a grunge background to our images. This is as simple as adding padding top and bottom with CSS, then setting a repeating background image.
This image will be of 35mm film. Extract two small stripes from the film, and change their Hue/Saturation using the values in the image below. Next, using an irregular Eraser, Delete some areas of the stripes. Finally, add a Drop Shadow to each stripe. When you have finish with the film, paste any image below the film layers. I'm adding a picture of one of my travels. Finally, apply a Stroke Effect (#2F261D) to that image.

Step 25

Draw a 2px red line below the post and some text for the comments, it's a good idea to add all the post related layers into a new folder called "Post." Then increase the height of the document a little bit, you can do that by using the Crop tool, do this just to see how our design will look if it has two or three posts on it. Duplicate the "Post" group, and change the text and the image, as shown below.

Step 26

Actually it's looking pretty good, now add the titles of Sidebar's items. Yo can create a folder for each item as well.

Step 27

Now add a list icon. You can use any Custom shape. Add some random text, I'm using Georgia for the sidebar. Duplicate the icons and edit one to represent the hover state. Do the same for each Sidebar item.

Step 28

We're close to finished. Add some grunge details at the bottom of sidebar, by adding some grunge brushes into a new layer above the sidebar's background layer. Select the Sidebar's background layer, then go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all. Next, hide some areas of the bottom left of the sidebar's background using an irregular black Brush.

Step 29

Finally, select the Sidebar's background layer and copy the layer style of it. Draw a rectangle at the bottom of the design inside the "Footer" folder and paste the layer style into it. Next, extract and paste this image above the Footer's background.
Adjust the saturation to make it a little bit more gray. Also, you can apply to that sheet of paper a drop shadow repeating the technique of Step 10. Add some text over the piece of paper, maybe a Slogan or something. And also add some footer text, like a quick navigation bar, and the copyright information.

Conclusion

Web design isn't an piece of cake, but I hope this tutorial will help you to improve your skills. It's up to you now, design your own, or sign up for PLUS to download the PSD source and play with it. I'd love to see some grunge web designs in the PSDTUTS Flickr group. You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

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Author: Alvaro Guzman

Create a Dark Themed Web Design from Scratch

2010-02-22T05:33:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Before we get started, let's take a look at the image we'll be creating. click the screenshot below to view the full-size image. As always, the full Photoshop file is available via our PSDTUTS Plus membership.

Areas of Attraction

Let's take a look at the areas of the site that will attract a visitorâ€™s attention the most. If you notice, the area with the most attraction is around the navigation and the first post. This is very important because it will give visitors insight into the sort of content the site contains.
The next main area of attraction is to the top right of the banner. The reason it is located here is that after the visitor sees the sort of content is on the site, they will see the title of the site, along with a small description. There is where important design and branding elements belong. Since most people decide whether they like a site in a matter of seconds, they now have most of the information needed to decide to whether to stay.
The other areas that direct attention are the titles of posts and entries. Whether they are in the sidebar or the footer, these areas will give a quick summary of the rest of the content.

Step 1

Now that we know what we are going to make, and the design decisions behind the layout, letâ€™s move onto the design process.
To begin, create a new document. Mine is 1024px wide x 1200px high. Though the main content will be contained in the center 800px, this document size will show how it looks on larger monitors as well. Next, fill our background with black.

Step 2

Now we want to add a stroke and a gradient to the background to give it more depth. Grab your Single Row Marquee Tool and select a row about 400px below the top of the document. Fill your selection with (#1b1b1b). Then make a gradient underneath the stroke. Set your foreground color to (#0d0d0d). Then make a selection 1024px wide x 20px high. With your Linear Gradient Tool selected, make a Foreground to Transparent gradient. Start at the top and end at the bottom of the selection.

Step 3

Now letâ€™s create the header of the design so we know where to place our graphics. Make a selection 800px wide x 225px high. Fill your selection with black. Then make a 1px border on the inside with the color (#0a0a0a). Make sure your Rulers (Ctrl+R) are showing. Then drag a guide out to 512px on the horizontal ruler. Now drag your black header until the middle of it snaps with your guide. This will center your header.
Let's add an outer glow to our header as well. Set the Blending Mode to Normal, Color to black, Opacity to 50%, Spread to 0%, and Size to 29px. You won't notice this right now, but later when we add graphics behind the header it will cast a shadow on them.

Step 4

We don't need a floating header, so letâ€™s add our body below. Make a selection 800px wide and the rest of the height under the header. Fill the selection with black and add an inside stroke of (#0a0a0a). Nudge our body up 1px so that it overlaps the header.
Be sure that the body layer is above the header layer, since we don't want the header to cast a shadow over the body. Letâ€™s add a 10px Foreground to Transparent gradient with a foreground color of (#0a0a0a) underneath the stroke.
Before we continue, letâ€™s make sure we have our layers grouped and ordered. Place the layers that have your header and body into a group called Body. Then place your background layer, and the layers that have your background stroke and gradient into a group below your Body group called Background.

Step 5

Letâ€™s create a new group called BehindHeader. Place it between the Body and Background groups. Then create a new layer inside this group. Grab your Polygonal Lasso Tool.
Select the triangular areas growing out from the header, and fill them with the color (#151515). The point of this is to create rays of light, so try to picture a focal point behind your header that these are being led to. To make it easier, only do one side of the rays, then duplicate the layer. Then go to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal
Now letâ€™s create a Radial Gradient from the center of the ray to the outside. Make it so that it fades into the background. Set your foreground color to white, and your background color to black.

Step 6

To create an effect like the heart logo at the top right of the header, download some splatter brushes. You can find some here.
Let's review the basic process of creating these graphics. Pick a splatter brush and a color that will fit your design, then brush it onto the canvas. Create a new layer above or below your previous one, depending on which color you want on top, and select a new color. Use another splatter brush and brush it onto the layer. You can also draw shapes, like hearts or circles on different layers as well.
You could use opacities or layer effects to enhance the design. Creating brushes or shapes with the same background color will knock out portions of the design, or you can delete portions of shapes or use masks to keep it nondestructive. Repeat this process until you have the effect you desire.

Step 7

Let's take a moment away from designing and examine what we have so far. We have a background with a gradient that adds depth to the design. We also have a body and a header with strokes to separate them from the background and each other. We have a set of graphics that are currently placed behind the header to give our design a unique look.
The things we still need are the inside of the header, the title and description, the navigation, the sidebar design, the content design, and the footer.

Step 8

Now that we have the area behind our header finished, letâ€™s work on the header itself. Create a new group above the Body layer and name it InsideHeader. Now that we have our group, letâ€™s duplicate the designs that we made earlier in the upper left, and upper right corners of the header so that we can get the hidden content inside the header.
Place the graphics inside the new group. The problem now is that the layer still shows outside the header, which is blocking our shadow effect. To fix this (Ctrl-click) on the thumbnail for your header layer. This will make a selection of the header. Now all we need to do is click the Add Layer Mask button on our InsideHeader group so all the contained layers show inside the header. Finally, letâ€™s change the Opacity of the group BehindHeader to 90% so that it appears darker.

Step 9

Letâ€™s place some text on top of the header and inside the header to introduce the site. Create a logo or graphic and place it to the left so that it draws attention to the main attraction area. You can also add a Foreground to Transparent gradient layer. I used (#030a0e) for mine. If you add this, be sure to create a stroke underneath it that is brighter than the gradient. For this I used (#0b1316). This will help to add a transition between the header and the navigation.

Step 10

Make a selection of your header area. Create a new layer effect. Apply the settings shown below. For the Pattern Overlay I used a pattern of a fleur-de-lis I had available. Then create a layer mask, by clicking the Add Layer Mask Button in the layers palette. Be sure to click this with the layer selected. Then draw a radial gradient that goes from white to black. Place it at the top center of the header and allow it to overlap past the top of the document. The effect is shown in the last image below.

Step 11

For the navigation, letâ€™s make a new group called Navigation. Then create a 35px high black bar underneath the main part of our header. Then letâ€™s add a Foreground to Transparent gradient with a foreground color of (#0c0c0c) starting at the top of the navigation. It looks good, but adding a 1px stroke of (#232323) at the bottom will make the transition between the banner and the main body better.
Add some text so that you know how the links will look. I used a basic Verdana 18pt size text with Strong enabled.

Step 12

Now create new group called Date. Create a new smaller splatter effect and keep it within a 100px wide x 100px high area. Then create a new layer above these splatters. Then grab your Rounded Rectangle Tool. Set the Radius to 5px. Then make a rectangle around 50px wide by 50px high. Then add an outer glow with a Blending Mode of Normal and set the Color to black.
You can also use the rays of light you created earlier, and place a smaller version behind your box. Add some text inside the date box so that you know what it will look like. I used 12px Verdana for the month and 24px bolded Verdana for the day.
Add a title and content to the right of the date box. I used 30px Verdana with a color of white for the header, and 12px Verdana (#dddddd) for the content text. I made a sample link with the color (#36ade1).

Step 13

To create the sidebar box use the Rounded Rectangle Tool with a Radius of 10, add a stroke of (#080808) and create two Foreground to Transparent gradients. Place one on top and one on the bottom.

Step 14

Finally, the last step is to create the footer. You can create it with the same technique used for the inside of the header. Create a layer mask on the group so that it stays in a 800px wide x 300px high. I decided to place an image in the top left position. I also created small boxes with arrows to use before links, as seen in the image below. There are also hair line separators between each link. I used a Foreground to Transparent gradient to separate the footer from the main content.

Final Result

We now have a completed dark Web design that is ready to be coded in CSS/HTML. Remember the strategic reasons for placing graphics in certain areas of attraction. Create your own unique awe-inspiring designs that pop with color set against a dark background.

Author: Tyler Bramer

2010-02-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

Fairy Night Photo Effect This task we'll learn how to correct the photos' colors, change the eyes color, work with the layers, applying ready brushes and designs, create your own design and to picture the stars.

Let's start. Open image:

Apply Image ? Adjustments ? Curves (ctrl+m) to correct the colors.

That is what we've got:

To change the eye's color we have to picture on a new layer several circles, using Ellipse Tool. (Use the fast button on the Layers window to create a new layer).

Apply to this layer Filter ? Blur ? Gaussian Blur.

Change the layer's type on Overlay.

Insert the grass and several trees along the lower edge. I used two kinds of ready brushes for this.

Represent the design now, which will be situated inside the eye. I combined a ready design and a butterfly's picture. To separate the butterflies from the background they are situated, just mark them out with Polygonal Lasso Tool and cut them out with Edit ? Cut (ctrl+x). Insert them on a new layer: Edit ? Paste (ctrl+v).

The butterflies need to be discolored: Image ? Abjustments ? Desaturate

(shift+ctrl+u). Increase their brightness and contrast, using Edit ? Abjustments ? Brightness/Contrast.

Make up now a design with a ready brush and butterflies. Copy the layer and apply Filter ? Blur ? Gaussian Blur. Merge the blurred layer with that one where it is situated the design itself, applying Layer ? Merge Down (ctrl+e). Change the layer's type on Multiply.

Take a sky's photo now.

Make it darker and contrasting, using Image - Adjustments ? Curves (ctrl+m)

Cut it out along the eye's line with Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Change the layer's type on Multiply. Take a ready brush now, imitating the marble veins and cover the entire picture with it. Cut the eye's orifice.

Change the layer's type on Soft Light. Take the next instrument: Brush Tool and picture with it many points of different sizes.

Apply to this layer Filter ? Blur ? Blur. Copy it several times and blur out each of them, setting different radius with Filter ? Blur ? Gaussian Blur.

Then apply to each of the new layers one more filter: Filter ? Blur ? Motion Blur. Merge all the layers that we've got, making use of the next command: Layer ? Merge Down (ctrl+e).

Add the same way in some places several stars' accumulations.

Finished!

+ View full size image

Made by Sigma

Using Ink Drops in Your Digital Compositions

2010-02-19T05:21:00.000-08:00

Final Image Preview

Step 1

The first and probably most fun part of this tutorial is to photograph the ink drops. Get some Indian ink and any type of clear container (I used a food container). Fill the container with water, then drop in the ink and snap away.
Tips: Constantly take pictures while the ink drops, as the shapes will change considerably over time. Photograph the ink drops in front of a white background to produce clearer pictures. Experiment with dripping the ink using pipettes and any other device you can get your hands on.
If you don't have access to ink and a camera then check out these images: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Feel free to experiment with the ink drop images, but do pay attention to the usage license.

Step 2

Open a new document, set the background to black, and import the main image you want to use. I used a self portrait that I photographed myself. Cut out the image you'd like to use in your composition. After removing the background, we'll be able to focus on integrating the ink into the design.

Step 3

Adjust the levels and colors of the image using the Adjustment Layers (Layers > Create New Adjustment Layer). Using Adjustment Layers gives us greater freedom in case we need to undo something later on. Make sure all the Adjustment Layers are just above the "Man" layer. Then select them all, and create a Clipping Mask by right-clicking on them, and selecting it from the menu.
Use Levels to help create a darker, more subtle image. Also, use Hue & Saturation and Color Balance to subdue the colors and give the "Man" a tone with more yellow. Don't worry if the image looks dark at this stage, just make sure the hands stand out.

Step 4

To give the image a more defined look, we are going to add highlights. Put the "Man" layer and its Adjustment Layers into a folder. Then duplicate it. Change the Levels on the new Adjustment Layer so that the edges of the man's jacket are well defined.

Step 5

Add a Layer Mask to the layer of the "Man" by clicking on the Add Layer Mask Icon at the bottom of the Layers Window. Make sure the Layer Mask is black (which will make the layer disappear).
We are now going to bring out the highlights we want, which is mainly the prominent edges of the coat. Select the Layer Mask and draw over the parts you want to make brighter with a soft white brush.

Step 6

Its now time to select the ink drops we want to use inside the "Man." This can be as intricate as you want, however try to have a good idea of what you want the final piece to look like before you start. Once you have found an ink drop you want to use, copy and paste it into the current document.
Color doesn't matter at this stage; just pick the ink drops that have the best shape. Press Ctrl+I to invert the image, as the ink drop image will be on a white background. Then in the Layers Menu, change the Blending Mode of the ink drop layer to "Lighten", and resize the layer as necessary.

Step 7

Once you've placed all your drops, make two folders called "Ink drop - Front" and "Ink drop - BG," as we want to give some simple depth to the ink drops. Carefully choose the ones you want in the foreground and the ones you in the background. Then put the layers in the corresponding folders. Now select the "Inkdrop - BG" folder, and set the Opacity to 60%.

Step 8

We are now going to color the ink drops we have introduced. Use the Pen Tool to draw around the inside of the "Man," not including his hands or his face. Set the color of this layer to black. Then set the Blending Mode of this newly made layer to "Color," which will desaturate the ink drops.

Step 9

Duplicate the previous layer, and double-click it to bring up the Layer Styles Dialogue. Click Gradient Overlay and change the style drop down to Radial. Make the left hand color #cf2727 and the right hand #652727. Set the Blending Mode of this layer to Multiply. This step will create the impression of a glowing center in the image.

Step 10

You may find that the ink drops look quite flat now, so we need to add a bit more texture. Select one of your more intricate ink drops, desaturate the whole picture (Image > Adjust > Desaturate). Import it into your main image. Then resize it to cover your red ink drops.

Step 11

Change the Blending Mode of the layer to Multiply and the Opacity to around 20%. Ctrl-click on the previously made Layer Mask on the Color Layers. Then click back onto your new texture layer. Click Add New Layer Mask at the bottom of the Layers Panel. This will create a Mask around the image just in case you went over the edges.

Step 12

Now that we have the inkdrop sorted, let's start on the background. I used a stock image from Stock.xchng to give the background a bit of texture. You can download it here.
Desaturate the image and import it into Photoshop below the other layers. Change the Opacity of it to around 30%. Resize the photo so it touches the edges of the document. I also blurred the image slightly using Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).

Step 13

We are now going to Add a tinge of blue to the background. Add another 'Colour Balance' adjustment layer (Layer > Create New Adjustment Layer) and and a hint of both blue and green.

Step 14

To help give the piece some mood, use a large soft black brush to draw a vignette around the outside of the image. Then use a soft white brush to add a glow behind and above the "Man." Make sure to be subtle at this stage, as you want it to look as natural possible.

Step 15

We are now going to produce the inkdrop background. First, draw a black triangle, as seen in the image below.

Step 16

Next, paste the ink drops in you want to use. Change the Blending Mode of the layers to Multiply, so we are left with just the black of the images. This again is about choosing the right drops for the best composition.

Step 17

We are finally going to add the red inkdrop falling from the top. Choose the image you want to use. Then import it to the main document, using the same techniques as in Step 6.
Create a layer, and using the Rectangular Marquee tool drag a rectangle that covers the single inkdrop. Draw a rectangle over the inkdrop you just chose. Fill the rectangle with the color #912020. Then change the Blend Mode of this layer to Overlay.

Step 18

Now it's time to do a few finishing touches to the image. Add a few final white ink drops to the main background using the same techniques as before. However, make sure that the layers are desaturated, faded, and the Blend Mode set to Color Dodge.

Step 19

Decide whether you need to darken or colorize any parts of your main image. Then create layers accordingly. I decided I wanted the man's hands to glow from the red ink, so I drew over the hands with a soft red brush. Then set the Blend Mode to Multiply. Also, I added a few shadows and blue hues.

Step 20

Finally, adjust the brightness and color of the overall image by using an Adjustment Layer at the top of the document (Layer > New Adjustment Layer). Then I added a Brightness/Contrast to lighten the image, as shown below.

Author: Josh Smith

Electrifying Glow Album Art

2010-02-12T04:12:00.000-08:00

Introduction

This tutorial is a bit involved and assumes that you are proficient enough in Photoshop to follow along without me holding your hand. That being said, lets jump right in.

Step 1

I took this photo at a show The Killers played at Madison Square Garden in New York this past summer… packed house, great crowd… anyway, here’s the photo. The image is included in the lesson files available for download at the end of the tutorial.
Lets first start by drawing a nice curvy path with the pen tool that we’ll use as our main wrapping glow line. In the Paths palette be sure to rename the path so you don’t loose it when we create a new one.

Step 2

Create a new layer called "First Stroke" and switch to the Brush tool. Choose the 5 pixel round brush with hard edges, set the foreground color to white and click back to the Pen tool. Now simply Right-Click (Mac: Control-Click) anywhere on the path and choose Stroke Path. When the dialog box pops up choose Brush and Simulate Pressure. The pressure simulation will ensure that the stroke tapers off at each end.

Step 3

With your tool of choice remove the sections along the stroke that should be behind your subject. I use the Pen tool.

Step 4

Add an Inner and Outer Glow as shown below. The blue color I’m using in both styles is #6d9bff. This will be the only layer style we’ll be using and we’ll copy and paste this one onto subsequent layers as we go.

Step 5

Duplicate the "First Stroke" layer, clear the layer styles and add a 6px Gaussian Blur. This will add an additional glowing effect around the original stroke.

Step 6

Create a new layer called "Particles", activate the Path we created earlier and switch to the Brush tool. Choose a round brush of 3 pixels with a hardness of 0%, then under the Brushes palette set Shape Dynamics and Scattering to the following. (*note: make sure your foreground color is still white)

Step 7

Switch back to the Pen tool and stroke the path just like before, then remove the overlapping sections. This time the eraser tool will probably be the easiest way to remove the overlapping dots.
Copy the layer style from the "First Stroke" layer and paste them into the "Particles" layer. (*note: This can be done easily by holding down the Option (PC: Alt) key while clicking and dragging the style icon from one layer to the other.)

Step 8

Create a new layer called "Second Stroke", create a new path similar but not the same as the original with the Pen tool (or duplicate the earlier path and change it a little) then repeat steps 2-5 but this time use a 3 pixel brush and reduce your Gaussian Blur to 3 on the copy layer. Play with a lower opacity on these layers until the effect looks right to you and don’t forget to copy the layer style onto the "Second Stroke" layer.

Step 9

Now that the glow effects have been completed it’s time to really have some fun with this image.
Click on the Background layer and duplicate it by pressing Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J). Choose Image>Adjustments>Threshold from the main menu and use a setting around 85. This will obviously vary depending on your application of the technique.

Step 10

Grab the Magic Wand tool by pressing W and then click anywhere in the field of black. This may not have selected all the black if there are isolated pockets so choose Select>Similar from the main menu to ensure all the black pixels are selected.
Invert the selection by pressing Command-Shift-I (PC: Ctrl-Shift-I) then drag the layer to the trash and select the Background layer. (*note: your selection will still be active.

Step 11

Duplicate the selected area by pressing Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J). This will create a new layer with just the selection copied onto it. Call this layer "Partial".
The selection will be gone and it won’t look like anything has happened, so create a new layer between the "Partial" layer and the "Background" layer, call it "Black" and fill the entire layer with black.

Step 12

Click back to the "Partial" layer and use the eraser to remove all those annoying artifacts outside the artwork that we want to keep.

Step 13

For my finished image I added the graphic as an CD album cover.

Lesson Files + Additional Resources

Download the free .PSD file and other lesson files Right Here.

Adding Light Streaks To A Photo

2010-02-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

Let's get started!

Step 1: Add A New Blank Layer

We're going to be adding our light streaks on their own separate layer, so the first thing we need to do is add a new blank layer to our document. To do that, click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Photoshop Tutorials: Clicking on the "New Layer" icon.

This adds a new blank layer, which Photoshop names "Layer 1", above our Background layer:

Photoshop Tutorials: A new layer appears above the Background layer.

Step 2: Select The Pen Tool

As I mentioned at the beginning, we're going to create our light streaks by drawing paths and then stroking the paths with a brush. To draw paths, we need the Pen Tool, so select it from the Tools palette. You can also press the letter P to select it with the keyboard shortcut:

Photoshop Tutorials: Select the Pen Tool.

Step 3: Select The "Paths" Option In The Options Bar

Photoshop gives us three different things that we can do with the Pen Tool. We can use it to draw vector-based shapes, we can draw paths with it (which is what we want to do), and we can draw pixel-based shapes. We select between these three options by clicking on their icons up in the Options Bar at the top of the screen. You'll see three little square icons grouped together on the left side of the Options Bar. Click on the icon in the middle, which is the Paths option:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click on the "Paths" icons in the Options Bar.

Step 4: Draw A Path Where You Want The First Light Streak To Appear

With the Pen Tool selected and the Paths option chosen in the Options Bar, we're ready to draw our first path. I want my light streaks to appear in the bottom half of the photo, somewhere around the woman's shoulders and neck area, so that's where I'll draw my first path. You'll want to add several curves to your path to make the light streak more interesting. I'll start by clicking somewhere in the bottom left corner of the image to add my first anchor point, then I'll drag out direction handles in the direction that I want my path to follow. Again, be sure to check out our Making Selections With The Pen Tool tutorial first if what I just said made no sense to you:

Photoshop Tutorials: Clicking in the document to add an anchor point, then dragging out direction handles.

I'll continue drawing the rest of my first path by clicking and dragging a couple more times with the Pen Tool to add the rest of my path segments. I now have my first path running from left to right across the woman's shoulders and neck area:

Photoshop Tutorials: The first path has now been added to the image.

Step 5: Select The Brush Tool

Now that we've drawn our first path, the next step is to stroke it with a brush. For that, we'll need Photoshop's Brush Tool, so select it from the Tools palette, or simply press the letter B on your keyboard:

Photoshop Tutorials: Select the Brush Tool.

Step 6: Select The "40 Sampled Tip" Brush

Photoshop comes with several brushes that would work well for our light streak effect, but after trying a few of them out, I've found one I like the best. To select it, we'll need to bring up the Brushes palette. There's a few different ways to bring up the Brushes palette, and one of them is to click on the Brushes palette toggle icon in the Options Bar at the top of the screen:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click on the Brushes palette toggle icon to bring up the Brushes palette.

When the Brushes palette appears, click on the words Brush Tip Shape in the top left corner of the palette. Then, in the Brush tip selection area on the right, scroll down near the bottom of the list and select the 40 Sampled Tip brush. It just says "40" in the preview area, but if you have Tool Tips enabled in Photoshop's Preferences, you'll see the words "Sampled Tip" appear when you hover your mouse over the brush:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click on the words "Brush Tip Shape" in the top left corner, then click on the "40 Sampled Tip" brush in the selection area.

Step 7: Lower The "Spacing" Amount To 1%

Down at the bottom of the Brushes palette, directly above the brush preview area, you'll see the Spacing option. Whenever you paint with a brush in Photoshop, even though it usually appears as though you're painting one continuous stroke, what Photoshop is really doing is "stamping" the image over and over again with the brush tip. If the "stamps" are close enough together, they appear as a continuous stroke. The Spacing option determines how far apart the stamps will appear, and by default, the option is set to 30% for our "40 Sampled Tip" brush. That's too much of a space for our effect. Use the slider bar to lower the Spacing amount all the way down to 1%. If you look at the brush preview area after lowering the Spacing amount to 1%, you'll see that the brush now appears as one continuous stroke:

Photoshop Tutorials: Lower the "Spacing" amount to 1% to smooth out the appearance of the brush stroke.

Step 8: Set The Brush Size Control To "Pen Pressure"

If we were to stroke the path with our brush right now, the light streak effect wouldn't look very good because the brush would appear at the exact same size all along the path. We need the brush to taper off at both ends to create the illusion that the light streak is actually beginning at one end and ending at the other. For that, we'll need to tell Photoshop to simulate pen pressure for us, as if we were drawing with a pen tablet.
Click directly on the words Shape Dynamics on the left of the Brushes palette, directly below "Brush Tip Shape". Make sure you click directly on the words, not just in the checkbox to the left of the words. Clicking inside the checkbox will enable the Shape Dynamics options but won't allow us to change any of them. We need to click on the words themselves to get access to the options. Once you've clicked on the words, you'll see the Shape Dynamics options appear on the right of the palette. At the very top, you'll see the words "Size Jitter" with a slider bar, and directly below the slider bar is the Control option. This is where we get to decide how to control the size of our brush. We want Photoshop to simulate pen pressure, so select Pen Pressure from the Control drop-down menu:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click directly on the words "Shape Dynamics" on the left, then set the "Control" option on the right to "Pen Pressure".

Now, at the moment, all we've done is told Photoshop that we want to control the size of our brush according to pen pressure, but what if you don't actually have a pen tablet? If you don't have one connected to your computer, you'll see a little warning icon appear to the left of the word "Control" telling you that a pen tablet is required, but don't worry about it. In a moment, we're going to be telling Photoshop to simulate pen pressure for us, so for this effect, it makes no difference whether you have a pen tablet or not.

Step 9: Set Your Foreground Color To White

We have our brush ready to go. Now all we need to do is choose the color we want to paint with. We're going to want to paint with white, which means we need our Foreground color to be white. Press the letter D on your keyboard to make sure your Foreground and Background colors are reset to their defaults, with black as your Foreground color and white as your Background color. Then press the letter X to swap them, making white your Foreground color:

Photoshop Tutorials: The Foreground and Background color swatches in the Tools palette. White is now the Foreground color.

Step 10: Save Your Path

We have our path, we have our brush, and we've set our Foreground color to white. We're ready to create our first light streak! Switch over to Photoshop's Paths palette, which you'll find grouped in with the Layers and Channels palettes. You'll see your path listed, which is currently named "Work Path", along with a preview of the path on the left, similar to how layers are shown in the Layers palette with their name on the right and a preview area on the left. Whenever you create a new path, Photoshop automatically names it "Work Path", which means it's temporary. If you don't save the path before drawing a new one, the new path will replace the previous one and you'll have lost it. In many cases, this isn't a problem, but let's save our path just in case we want to go back to it later.
To save a path, all we need to do is rename it. Simply double-click on the name "Work Path" and Photoshop will pop up the Save Path dialog box, with the suggested name of "Path 1" already entered for you. Click OK to exit out of the dialog box and Photoshop will rename the path "Path 1". The path is now saved:

Photoshop Tutorials: The Paths palette showing the path now saved and renamed "Path 1".

Step 11: Stroke The Path With The Brush

Let's create our first light streak. Click on the small, right-pointing arrow in the top right corner of the Paths palette, which brings up the Paths palette's fly-out menu, then select Stroke Path from the list of options:

Photoshop Tutorials: Select "Stroke Path" from the fly-out menu.

This brings up the Stroke Path dialog box. We want to stroke the path with our brush, so make sure the Tool option is set to Brush. Then, to tell Photoshop to simulate pen pressure for us, click inside the checkbox to the left of the words Simulate Pressure:

Photoshop Tutorials: Set the "Tool" option to "Brush" and make sure "Simulate Pressure" is selected.

Click OK to exit out of the dialog box and Photoshop will stroke the path with the brush, creating our first light streak. Notice how the brush stroke tapers off at both ends thanks to that "Simulate Pressure" option:

Photoshop Tutorials: The image after stroking the path with the brush.

If you think your brush stroke is either too thick or too narrow, simply press Ctrl-Z (Win) / Command-Z (Mac) to undo the stroke, then make your brush larger or smaller by pressing either the left or right bracket keys on your keyboard. The left bracket key makes the brush smaller, and the right bracket key makes it larger. Try again once you've resized your brush.
We've added our first light streak, but it doesn't look much like a light streak at the moment. It looks like a fancy white brush stroke, which is exactly what it is. To make it look more like a light streak, we need to add some color and some glow effects, and for that, we'll use a couple of simple layer styles.

Step 12: Add An "Outer Glow" Layer Style

Switch back over to your Layers palette. You'll see your white brush stroke in the preview area of "Layer 1". Click on the Layer Styles icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and select Outer Glow from the list of layer styles that appears:

Photoshop Tutorials: Add an "Outer Glow" layer style in the Layers palette.

This brings up Photoshop's Layer Style dialog box set to the Outer Glow options in the middle column. Change the Blend Mode option at the top to Linear Light, which will give us a much more intense glow than what we'd normally get. Then choose a color for your glow by clicking on the small color swatch directly below the word "Noise". This will bring up Photoshop's Color Picker. You can either choose your color from the Color Picker, or if you prefer, you can sample a color directly from the image. To sample a color, simply move your mouse cursor over the image. You'll see your mouse icon turn into the Eyedropper icon. Move the eyedropper over the color you want to sample, then click to sample it. I'm going to sample a light area of the woman's skin to use as my outer glow color:

Photoshop Tutorials: Sampling a color from the image to use as the color for the outer glow.

Once you've chosen your color, click OK to exit out of the Color Picker. Lastly, increase the Size of the outer glow to somewhere around 30 pixels. You may need to raise or lower that amount depending on the size and resolution of your image:

Photoshop Tutorials: Change the blend mode, color and size of the outer glow.

Don't exit out of the Layer Style dialog box just yet because we still have one more layer style to add. Here's how my light streak looks so far after adding my outer glow:

Photoshop Tutorials: The image after applying an outer glow to the light streak.

Step 13: Add An "Inner Glow" Layer Style

We've added an outer glow layer style to our light streak. Now let's add an inner glow style. With the Layer Style dialog box still open, click on the words Inner Glow on the left of the dialog box, directly below "Outer Glow":

Photoshop Tutorials: Select "Inner Glow" on the left of the Layer Style dialog box.

You'll see the Inner Glow options appear in the middle column of the dialog box. Once again change the Blend Mode option at the top to Linear Light. Then click on the color swatch below the word "Noise" and either choose a color from the Color Picker or, as I did with the outer glow, sample a color directly from the image. I'm going to sample a darker area of the woman's skin for my inner glow color:

Photoshop Tutorials: Sampling a darker skin color to use as the color for the inner glow.

Once you've chosen the color for your inner glow, click OK to exit out of the Color Picker. Finally, increase the Size of your inner glow to around 10 pixels. As with the outer glow, you may need to play around with this value a bit depending on the size and resolution of your image:

Photoshop Tutorials: Change the blend mode, color and size of the inner glow.

Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. Your light streak should now have an intense glow to it:

Photoshop Tutorials: The light streak now appears with a bright, colorful glow.

That thin dark line we're seeing through the middle of our light streak is the path. Don't worry, it won't be there when we're done.

Step 14: Edit The Path To Create A Slight Variation Of It

Let's make our light streak a bit more interesting by adding a couple more streaks to it. We can do that easily by simply editing our path to create some slight variations of it and then stroking each variation with our brush. Switch back to your Paths palette so we can edit our path. Then, hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and move your mouse cursor directly over any part of the path. As soon as it's over the path, you'll see the cursor turn into a white pointer, which means you now have temporary access to Photoshop's Direct Selection Tool, which is the tool we need to edit our path:

Photoshop Tutorials: Hold down "Ctrl" (Win) / "Command" (Mac) and move the mouse cursor directly over the path to temporarily access the Direct Selection Tool (white pointer).

Click on the path with the Direct Selection Tool to select it, then make some minor adjustments to the path to create a slightly different path. You can drag an anchor point to a slightly different spot, or move direction handles to adjust the curves of the path, or even drag a path segment to a slightly different position. Just don't touch the anchor points at either end of the path because we want each variation we create to begin and end at the exact same spot. So other than those two anchor points, the rest of the path can be edited any way you like. We're not looking for major changes to the path. Small, subtle changes are all we need.
Here, I've changed the two main curves of my path slightly by dragging the two direction handles extending out from my middle anchor point. You can see how the curves of the path no longer exactly match the curve of the first light streak:

Photoshop Tutorials: Create a slight variation of the initial path by moving anchor points, direction handles or path segments.

We can now stroke this variation of the path with our brush. But before we do, we'll probably want to use a slightly smaller brush this time, so press the left bracket key on your keyboard a couple of times to make the brush a bit smaller.
To stroke the variation of our path, there's no need to go through the hassle of selecting "Stroke Path" from the Paths palette's fly-out menu like we did last time. Simply click on the Stroke Path icon at the bottom of the Paths palette:

Photoshop Tutorials: Click on the "Stroke Path" icon at the bottom of the Paths palette.

Photoshop strokes the new path we created with our brush. Since we're still working on the same layer in the Layers palette, the Outer Glow and Inner Glow layer styles are automatically applied to our new light streak:

Photoshop Tutorials: The new path has now been stroked with the brush, and the layer styles are automatically applied to it.

Step 15: Create A Couple More Path Variations And Stroke Them With The Brush

Repeat the previous step one or two more times to create more variations of the path and stroke each one with the brush. Try changing the size of the brush each time using the left and right bracket keys to add even more interest to the light streak. If you don't like the brush stroke you just added, simply press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo it, then re-edit the path and try again.
If you want to see what your light streak looks like without the path blocking your view, simply click anywhere in the empty area below the path in the Paths palette. This will deselect the path and hide it from view. To see the path again, click on it in the Paths palette. You'll need to have your path visible any time you want to stroke it with your brush. If the path is not visible, the icons at the bottom of the Paths palette become grayed out and unavailable.
Here's my image after editing my path a couple more times and stroking each new path variation with the brush. Again, since we're still working on the same layer, "Layer 1", in the Layers palette, the Outer Glow and Inner Glow layer styles are automatically applied to each new brush stroke. I've hidden my path from view so we can see more easily what the light streak now looks like with all its different variations:

Photoshop Tutorials: The first light streak after adding a few variations to it.

Step 16: Copy The Layer Styles On "Layer 1"

And with that, we've created our first light streak! You're probably going to want to add at least one more to your photo, and it's a good idea to place each light streak on its own layer, but we can cut down on some of the work we'll need to do by copying the layer styles we've already applied to our first light streak and simply pasting them onto each new layer we create. Switch back over to your Layers palette. You should still have "Layer 1" selected. Go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose Layer Style, and then choose Copy Layer Style:

Photoshop Tutorials: With "Layer 1" selected, go to Layer > Layer Style > Copy Layer Style.

Step 17: Add A New Blank Layer

Click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to add another blank layer. Photoshop will add the new layer above "Layer 1" and automatically name it "Layer 2":

Photoshop Tutorials: Add a new blank layer above "Layer 1".

Step 18: Paste The Layer Styles Onto The New Layer

With the new layer selected, go back up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose Layer Style once again, and this time, choose Paste Layer Style:

Photoshop Tutorials: Go to Layer > Layer Style > Paste Layer Style.

The Outer Glow and Inner Glow styles from "Layer 1" are now added to "Layer 2" and will automatically be applied to the next light streak we create!

Step 19: Add Another Light Streak

With a new layer added and the layer styles from "Layer 1" already applied to the new layer, we can easily create a second light streak. Simply draw a new path with the Pen Tool, save the path if you want by renaming it "Path 2" (or whatever you want to name it), then stroke the path with the brush. Once you've created the main light streak, hold down Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) to access the Direct Selection Tool and edit the path, moving anchor points, direction handles and/or path segments to create a few slight variations of it, and then stroke each variation with the brush, using a different brush size each time.
Here's my result after adding a second light streak to my photo:

Photoshop Tutorials: The image after adding a second light streak.

If you don't want both light streaks to be the same color, you can easily change the colors simply by editing the layer styles. Let's say I want my second light streak to be a different color. To edit the layer styles, all I need to do is double-click on the Layer Style icon on the far right of "Layer 2":

Photoshop Tutorials: Double-click on the Layer Style icon to edit the layer styles for that layer.

This will pop open the Layer Style dialog box for me. All I'd need to do is click on the words Outer Glow on the left side of the dialog box, which brings up the Outer Glow options in the middle column, then click on the color swatch and choose a new color either from the Color Picker or by sampling a different color from the image. Click OK to exit out of the Color Picker, then click on the words Inner Glow on the left to access the Inner Glow options. Click the color swatch, choose a new color, click OK to exit out of the Color Picker, then click OK to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. You can edit the colors of the light streaks any time you want simply by editing the layer styles.
Here's my final result after editing the layer styles on "Layer 2" and changing the color of my second light streak slightly, using colors I sampled from the woman's hair:

Photoshop Tutorials: The final result.

And there we have it!

Dramatic Text on Fire Effect in Photoshop

2010-02-12T03:56:00.001-08:00

The End Effect

As always we'll begin with the final result, so you can see where we're going. It's on a nice big canvas so it can serve as the desktop background on my laptop for the next week or so! click to see the full 1920px x 1200px size.

Part 1—The Background

So create a new document in Photoshop at 1920px wide x 1200px high, and with the Gradient Tool (G), draw in a radial gradient of browns (#5c3d09 to #1f1409) so you get something like what is shown below.
Notice that the gradient is not centered vertically but sits toward the top. In this image we want the top of the text to be on fire, so the top part of the image should be a bit more lit up.

Step 2

As in the grass text tutorial, once again we're going to have a textured background. But rather than starting from scratch, I just copied the background from the previous tutorial, merged all the layers and desaturated to get what you see below.
If you need to make this from scratch, first visit Bittbox to get the original paper textures and then follow the previous tutorial's steps.

Step 3

Now we set the layer to Overlay and to blend the texture into the background and voila!

Step 4

Just to add a bit more texture though, let's run the Texturizer filter. To do this, create a new layer and fill it with a brown/beige color—#66500f. Then go to Filter > Texture > Texturizer and use the Canvas texture with 80% Scaling and Relief set to 4.

Step 5

Once you have your texturized layer, set that to Overlay. This adds some extra fine detail to our texture which is good because we're working on such a big canvas.

Step 6

Next we're going to apply a layer to slightly desaturate the bottom half of the image. This is so that the top looks like it has a warmer glow where the flames are, while the bottom looks a little colder.
So create a new layer and fill it with the color #4b4f3b. Then add a layer mask with a gradient to mask out the top and fade down (so you get the effect shown).
Now set the layer to Color and 45% Opacity.

Part 2—Text + Glow = Awesomeness

OK, we now have a nice background! So let's add some text. I've used the font Trajan because it's a really dramatic looking font. Here I've placed the text in the color #cb9328, then set it to Linear Dodge (Add) with an Opacity of 8%.
What we're going to be doing with our text is making it look like the top half of the text is coming out of the background and is red hot with flames flickering off. This means we're going to run a lot of effects and apply layer masks to them so that only the top half shows while the bottom half reverts to faded out text like we have currently.

Step 8

So first create a new layer group to put all the text layers in—because there will be a lot of them.
Then duplicate the text layer and set the color of the duplicate text to #5e3f1c.

Step 9

Now set the newest text layer to Overlay and 70% Opacity. It should look kind of reddish (as shown below).

Step 10

Now duplicate the text again and set the latest duplicate to a yellowish color—#cb9328. Then set this to Linear Dodge (Add) and Opacity 30%.
Next we add a layer mask and draw a gradient so the latest text layer fades out as shown below, and beneath you can see the reddish colored combination of the bottom two text layers.

Step 11

Next we duplicate the text layer yet again, but put this layer right on the bottom. Set the color to black—#000000. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and it will ask you to rasterize the text, click yes to that, and then set the Radius to about 4px.
Then Ctrl-click any of the other text layers and go back to the black layer and hit delete so you are just left with a sort of shadow. Then duplicate this layer and merge it with the first so the effect is heavier. You should have something that looks like the screenshot below.

Step 12

Once again, add a layer mask so the shadow quickly fades out as shown. This makes it look like the text is coming out of the page.

Step 13

Now duplicate our black layer again and using the Smudge Tool (R) and a largish soft brush you want to just smudge the shadow around so it looks like burn marks.

Step 14

Here's how our text is looking now. I actually created two sets of "burn" marks, and then four sets of the shadow layer each blurred a little more than the last and each faded back.

Step 15

Now it's time to make the top part of our text glow. So first of all, duplicate the text layer again and place this layer at the very top and set it to a yellow color—#dc9a08.
Then run a Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur over it with Radius of 8px. Then grab a large soft eraser brush and just erase away parts at the bottom so it's kind of uneven.

Step 16

Set our first glow layer to Soft Light. You might want to repeat the process, erasing even more so the top part is even glowier.

Step 17

Now duplicate the text layer yet again and place this at the very top. This one should be again the same yellow (#dc9a08).
Then go to Layer > Rasterize > Type and turn the text into a flat graphic. Then Ctrl-click the layer and go to Select > Modify > Contract and use a value of 1px. Then press Delete to delete everything except that 1px outline.

Step 18

Now set the 1px layer to Overlay, and you should have something like the image below.

Step 19

Now to our 1px glow add a layer mask to fade it out down the bottom as we've been doing with the other layers.
Then duplicate the layer, and run a Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur set to 1px. Then duplicate this layer again and blur it by 2px. Then duplicate the layer again and blur it by 4px.
Then Ctrl-click any of the text layers, press Ctrl+Shift+I to inverse the selection and go through each of the glow layers and press Delete to remove any of the blur that has strayed out of the boundary of the text.
The idea is that we want the edges of the text to look red-hot with it fading in to an overall hot glow on the text.

Step 20

Next we duplicate all four of the glow layers and merge them together. This should result in a layer on top which is the original bright yellow.
Grab the Smudge Tool and run over the text, smudging it up to look like heat waves coming off the text, as shown.

Step 21

Now set this latest layer to Overlay and you should have something looking like this!

Step 22

Now we've pretty much finished our text. I went through and duplicated some of the glow layers to make it look even more fiery. Feel free to experiment with getting a real red-hot glow look by doing so.

Step 23

Next, in keeping with the last wallpaper, I've gone and added a quote underneath my main text. This provides a nice embellishment to the page. Try to use colors that fit in with the background and text layer so it doesn't stand out too much, because we really want this to be a secondary element to the main text. I've used Swiss Light Condensed as my font and laid it out just like in the previous Grass Text tutorial.

Part 3—The Flames

Finally, with all our preparation done, it's time to add the actual flames! For this, we need some images of fire set against a plain black background. A good photo is hard to find, and try as I did, I couldn't find a really great free photo. So in the end I used this photo from Fotolia which you can purchase using the link below. There was also an OK photo from Flickr which I've also linked to and which I ended up using later for the "E". So you might want to grab that too.
AcheroN—Fotolia.com
Peasap—Flickr.com
Now the technique for copying the flames over is actually really simple. I actually only learned this technique recently when reading one of Nik Ainley's tutorials for DigitalArts magazine called Create Amazing Photomontages where he did it with water.
What you need to do is:

Open up the flame image in Photoshop
Go to the Channels tab and find the channel with the highest contrast, which for images of fire should be the Red Channel, and click on it
This will make your image appear black and white, and because we're on the highest contrast layer, it will seem really bright white. Now Ctrl-click this channel and it will select all the pixels in that channel.
Click back to the RGB channel and copy the selected pixels
You can now paste the flames into your main canvas!

This is actually a really, really useful technique for copying something translucent like fire off a flat background. And as you'll see by visiting Nik's tutorial, it's also great for copying water!

Step 25

OK, so here we've pasted the flames on to our main canvas. (For clarity I've also temporarily switched off the text layers). As you can see, we've got the fire without the black background and it's partially transparent, which means it'll look super on top of our text.

Step 26

Now the next thing to do is to cut up our one bit of fire into a few pieces. Just duplicate the layer and switch off one as a backup first. Then using the Pen Tool, cut up the fire so you work with the contours of the flame so it looks natural. Here you can see I've produced four pieces of flame from the one image. You can also try flipping bits around to make them seem more random.
Set the layers to Screen mode so that any remaining black parts are totally gone, and it's even more transparent.

Step 27

Now because my text is just four letters, I need four separate pieces of fire. For the fourth one (on top of the E) I actually grabbed that Flickr photo and repeated the same process as earlier to create another flame. Also the fire on the letter I has been squashed a little as well to make it look more random.

Step 28

Applying the fire is really as easy as moving the flames over the text. You want to try to match the flames to the shape of the letter so it looks like they are dancing off the letters.

Step 29

OK here I've placed all four bits of flame over the top. It's not bad, but you can see that the I and the R have the same flame and also all the flames aren't very tall.

Step 30

So here I've gone through each flame and using the Transform Tool stretched them vertically. Also I used a bit of judicious erasing to make the flame on the I look a little more unique.

Step 31

Now to make them look even more lit up, duplicate each flame layer, run a Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur with a Radius of 3px and set the layer to 15% Opacity so it provides a bit of glow around the edges of the flames.

Step 32

So we're pretty much there! This is how the composition looks.

Step 33

Finally we'll add a last highlight. So create a new layer above all the others and draw in a white to black radial gradient as shown. Set this layer to Overlay and 40% Opacity.

Finished!

And there we have it, a text on fire effect! In the next tutorial in the series, we'll be producing the Air image, however it'll be in two weeks, not one—as I'm taking a few days off work!
If you're interested in creating flames from scratch in Photoshop, you might also like to check out this classic tutorial that coincidentally uses the exact same typeface! It's a Photoshop 6 tutorial, and I can still remember reading it like a half decade ago, but it's still very relevant, even if the screenshots feature a super retro Mac interface.

Create a Spectacular Flaming Meteor Effect on Text

2010-02-12T03:52:00.001-08:00

Step 1

First create a new document and fill it with a dark grey.

Step 2

Create a new layer, call it "Clouds," and using the Lasso Tool (L), make a selection similar to the one I've shown below.
Set your background color to a 50% grey and the foreground to a dark grey. Go to Filter > Render > Clouds and, holding the Alt key, create clouds. After that go to Images > Adjustments > Levels, and change the input levels and output levels until you make the clouds neither too dark nor too light (see the image shown).
This layer will be on top of the others.

Step 3

Create another layer and repeat Step 2, but this time just change the background color from 50% gray to a blue or green color. This will create a small cloud, lighter than the big one.

Step 4

Now we'll switch to Adobe Illustrator to create some text. I used Times New Roman for the font. After that go to Effect > 3D > Extrude and Bevel. Now we will create the 3D text. Rotate the object and change the perspective. You can use the same values as I did (shown below).

Step 5

Copy the 3D text and paste it in Photoshop.
Place it in the center and add some Noise (Filter > Noise > Add Noise).
Now let's change the Layer Style. First add Bevel and Emboss.
After that, let's add a Gradient Overlay.

Step 6

Duplicate the Type layer and add a Motion Blur (Filter > Blur > Motion Blur).
Set the angle of the blur to -53.
Change the layer mode to Linear Dodge (Add).
Create a Folder, call it "Typo," and move these two layers into it.

Step 7

Create a new layer and repeat the Step 2, this time using a selection as shown going out the back of the letter T. This will create the trailing smoke.

Step 8 Creating the FIRE

1 - Create a new layer and call it "fire1."
2 - With the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M), create a selection.
3 - Set the background color to light grey and the background to black.
4 - Create clouds as we did in Step 2.
5 - Change the Levels to increase the contrast;
6 - Change the Hue/Saturation with Colorize selected until you get an orange/yellow color.

Step 9

Create a new layer, call it "blazes," and repeat Step 8. After that, duplicate the layer and call it "flames." Create a folder and move the Fire1, Blazes, and Flames layers to this folder and call the whole folder "Fire." It will be on top of the Typo layer.

Step 10

Select the layer "blazes" and go to Filter > Liquefy. There select the Turbulence Tool (T). Now, on the edges of the fire, start creating some blazes. Use it like you would the smudge tool.

Set 11

After the Liquefy, go to Edit > Transform > Warp and change the blaze's form to something similar to the image below. After that apply Filter > Sharpen > Sharp.

Step 12

Create a new layer and call it "yellow color."
Create an ellipse selection with 30px feather and fill it with white.
After that edit the Layer Style and apply a Color Overlay using an yellow color and Multiply for the layer's blend mode.

Step 13

The order and the Blend modes for the fire are:

Flames: Lighter Color
Blazes: Normal
Fire1: Lighten
Yellow Color: Multiply

Step 14 Sparks

For the sparks we will use brushes. Create a folder and call it "Sparks." It will be on top of the Fire folder.

Inside the folder, add a new layer.
Fill it with black and change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge.
Select the Brush Tool and let's create a brush.
In Brush Tip Shape, change the Diameter to 12, and increase the spacing.
Select Scattering and set Scatter to the 1000% and Control to off. Change the Count to 2 and Count Jitter to 100%.
Select white and start painting some sparks.

Step 15

Create a new layer and repeat the Step 14 but now change the Scatter Option to 0%. Start creating some single line sparks like swirls.

Step 16

Here I used the Gomedia Spraypaint brushes to create those tiny little sparks, but you can repeat the step 14 changing the Brush size only. Basically, create a new layer, put it behind the others, fill it with black, change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge, see the color to white, and create the sparks.

Conclusion

Click the image above to view a full screen version of the final image
.Although it looks complicated, the process is actually very straightforward. I used only three or four filters, brushes, and of course, the Layer Styles. It is a mix of two other tutorials I wrote: Creating Smoke and Magic Lighting Effect in Photoshop. One thing I have to say is that itâ€™s impossible to create exactly the same fire twice, and thatâ€™s because the filter that renders the clouds does so randomly. As always, the idea is to play around with Photoshop to get your own unique results. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Master Photoshop

2010-02-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

1 - Adhemas Batista (Brazil) - http://www.adhemas.com/

2 - Bert Monroy (USA) - http://www.bertmonroy.com/

3 - Derel Lea (Canada) - http://www.dereklea.com/

4 - Eduardo Recife (Brazil) - http://www.eduardorecife.com/

5 - Ian Keltie (U.K) - http://www.iankeltie.com/

6 - Joan Charmant - http://www.joancharmant.com/

7 - Joshua M. Smith - http://www.hydro74.com/

8 - Justin M. Maller (Australia) - http://www.superlover.com.au/

9 - Nik Ainley (U.K) - http://www.shinybinary.com/

10 - Scott Hansen (USA) - http://www.iso50.com/

Displacement Effect Tutorial

2010-01-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

Information:

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to use the displacement Filter to your advantage and create a stunning black and white illustration. You will learn how to create clipping masks by using splatter brushes and how to manipulate image adjustments to sort out coloring and shadow composition. This tutorial is very easy to follow and you will learn quite a few new little tricks by doing the tutorial. Hope you enjoy it and have fun.

Artist: An1ken from Creativeoverflow
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Time needed: 45minutes

Resources Used:

Final Preview

Step 1:

Letâ€™s start off by opening up the downloaded stock image in Photoshop and then duplicating the background layer by going to Layer>Duplicate Layer. This duplicates your base layer for you, I always do it because I often want to use the base image again and if I donâ€™t duplicate it I wonâ€™t be able to work with it. Moving on letâ€™s create a new layer, Go to Layer>New>Layer and then grab your Healing Brush tool from your Photoshop Toolbar (Shortcut: J).
Make sure your sample settings in the top toolbar is set to All Layers and not Current layer, this makes use of all the layers on the layers palette instead of the single layer your currently on. Now we are going to be removing her hair from her forehead, it totally conflicts the focal point as her face and distracts you from what you should be seeing. Hold down ALT on the keyboard whilst you have the Healing Brush selected and then click on a clean spot on her forehead and then let ALT go and brush over the hair that you want to remove. Set the brush size according to your desires.

Step 2:

Letâ€™s go to the Image Adjustments Menu on your layers panel (Half Black Half White Circle) and select Brightness and Contrast. The settings you will be using for brightness and contrast are -12 Brightness and +9 Contrast. Now letâ€™s create some clipping masks, create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer and then grab your brush tool from your Tools, select a nice boasting splatter brush and add it into your image on the new layer. Hide the splatter image and create another new layer. Go to Image>Apply Image â€“ this copy merges your entire document into a single layer. Unhide your splatter layer and then select your applied image layer, go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask or (Shortcut: CTRL+ALT+G). You should now be able to move your applied image layer around within your splatter brush trails. I repeated this process 3 times and came out with the following.

Step 3:

Here comes the interesting part of the tutorial. We are going to be using the Displacement filter to generate a textured feel in the piece. Create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer and then go to Image>Apply Image. Now you will have a merged image of all the layers in one layer, I have provided download links for the displacement maps that I used in this tutorial so that you can follow precisely. With your applied image layer selected go to Filter>Distort>Displace now you will find a option box that gives you options to set the scale and displacement map placement as well as areas. For the first displacement we are going to set the Horizontal Scale to 100 and the Vertical Scale to 100, we will keep the rest of the settings default and hit OK â€“ here is the part where you search for the displacement maps on your computer that you just downloaded and once you find them use the 01.psd file for this displacement and hit open. Suddenly you will see a major change take place on your image, set the blending options to Overlay and grab your Eraser tool. Erase all the unwanted areas in the image that you do not want and then make sure you are happy with the looks of things.

Step 4:

Create another new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer then apply image once again by going to Image>Apply Image, now make your way up to Filter>Distort>Displace set your Horizontal and vertical scales to 80 and hit OK. Now use the 02.psd file and press open. Now grab your erases tool once again and erase the bit and pieces that you donâ€™t want to have in your final piece.
Now Create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer and then apply image once again â€“ Image>Apply Image. Now go to Image>Adjustments>Threshold use the default value of 128 and press OK. Now go up to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur â€“ Use 100% Zoom blur and hit OK. Now set the blending options to soft light and your opacity settings to 74% erase over bright pieces on the image.

Step 5:

Time to create a few more clipping masks with splatter brushing.Â Create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer grab your brush tool with a nice splatter brush selected and brush on the image. Now hide that splatter layer and create a new layer, apply image on this layer by going to Image>Apply Image and then unhide the splatter layer. Select the applied image layer and go to Layer>Create Clipping mask or (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + G) move the applied image around until your happy with the outcome. I repeated the process 3 times once again and this is the outcome I got below.

Step 6:

Time to bring in some color to the actual black and white image.Â Lets create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer and then fill the layer with black #000000 now that you have a filled black layer set your blending options to Linear Dodge. Next I grabbed my brush tool from the Photoshop toolbar and selected a nice big soft brush. I used pink – #ff0072 to compliment the black and white in this piece. Lets brush over her knee and hand to set the ultimate focal point. Next change the size of your brush to a smaller size and select white as your foreground color. We will use this to set the reflection and coloring of the point to a more vibrant expression. Brush inside the pink brushing you did previously. I have shown you the coloring layer below and then the outcome below that.

Step 7:

In this step we are going to be adding a gradient and another color brushing. Letâ€™s go to the adjustments menu (Half white half black circle on your layers panel) now select Gradient Fill â€“ we are going to be using a dark grey/blue to light grey. Color codes are #27333a – #737d86 – #b6bec9 keep the gradient fill settings default, Style: Linear â€“ Angle 90 degrees and hit OK. Change the blending options to overlay and the opacity to 37%.

Now we are going to be repeating the exact same process as in step 6 â€“ create a new layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer now fill it with black #000000 next change your blending options to Linear Dodge and grab yourself a nice soft round brush. I used Pink #ff0072 in this case and brushed it across her shoulder and bottom part of her chin. The color layer is shown below with the outcome of the two sections of this step.

Step 8:

In this step we are going to be adding some image adjustments to the piece to straighten out some coloring depths and composition effects. Firstly lets go down to the image adjustments menu (Half Black Half White Circle on the layers panel) in this case I used the default gradient â€“ Black #000000 to White #FFFFFF and hit OK. Now change your blending options to Multiply and drop your opacity settings down to 14% this will enrich the shadows of your image.
Next letâ€™s go back to the image adjustment menu and select Brightness and Contrast. Move the brightness up +17 and the Contrast to +25. This is going to bump up the brightness of the image and make the effects you created stand out quite a bit.
Last but not least create a New layer â€“ Layer>New>Layer then apply image by going to Image>Apply Image then navigate your way up to Filter>Other>High Pass use the default settings of 10.0 and hit OK this will turn your image into a grey scaling image. Change your blending options to Overlay and your opacity settings to 25% and youâ€™re done.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and had fun. Keep checking back for more.