Adobe Photoshop

Create a Cool Halftone Effect in photoshop updates

2011-09-07T21:01:00.003-07:00

In this tutorial, we’re going to go a bit retro. You’ll learn how to create halftone patterns and creatively cut up an image of a model holding a boombox. You’ll then use those cut elements to make your design. We use some layer styles to get everything to come together cohesively. The effects are fun, and you can apply these methods to other designs as well.

Step 1

Start out by downloading/purchasing our image from iStockPhoto: Boombox Image. Alternatively, you could apply these techniques to an image of your choosing and still follow along (or as in the download PSD you could just use the ‘comp’ that iStock lets you download).
I downloaded the largest image available for this photo. There is some reason behind this madness: we’ll be using cut images from the large photo to place into our design. Using the large image will allow us to have larger speaker elements.
Make a copy of this large photo. Open up the copy and resize it to 500px wide and make sure Constrain Proportions is checked so the height changes proportionally. Save this file as .psd and name it boombox_final. This will be our canvas for this tutorial. Also, open up our original large image we downloaded as we will be cutting some images from it starting in Step 3.

Step 2

Let’s prepare our boombox_final.psd document. First cut out the boombox image. Also cut out the top half of our model. Below is an image of the top half of the model cut out. You can see the boombox cutout in the preview of the layers palette as well as the layer order. We need to cut out these pieces so that we can place elements behind them as we build our design.

Step 3

Let’s jump over to our large image. Grab the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Draw a selection that covers the right speaker. Then Command/Ctrl-Click and select Refine Edge. Use the settings in the image below.

Step 4

Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the settings below.

Step 5

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Copy this selection.

Step 6

Now paste this cut out image of the speaker into the boombox_final design. And move it to the bottom left corner.

Step 7

Now we are going to follow the same steps to place some texture over the speaker. First make a small selection in our large stock photo. Then type Cmd/Ctrl-Click and select Refine Edge. The only difference in this setting is that we set our Feather to 15px. The rest is the same. Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the same settings as we did before only this time change the Max Radius to 10 Pixels. Then go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Copy the selection, then paste it into our design and move it to the bottom left corner over the speaker.

Step 8

We’re going to jump over to our large stock image again. Grab the Brush Tool. Give it a Master Diameter of 900px and a Hardness of 0 percent. Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Click in the center of the image. Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the settings in the image below.

Step 9

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). It should look like the selection below. Invert the selection by going to Select > Inverse. Copy this selection.

Step 10

Paste the selection into our boombox_final document. Give it a layer style of Lighten. You can see the white dots emerge in the bottom of our document. Place it so that it matches the image below. Then copy the speaker we placed before and move it behind our model, but in front of the large dots.

Step 11

Create a new layer in our boombox_final.psd design document. Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Grab the Brush Tool. Make sure it’s set to Master Diameter of 300px with a Hardness of 0 percent. Draw across the bottom of the image. Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the settings below.

Step 12

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Create a pink gradient and draw it from the left and angle down to the right to get a result similar to the image below. Reposition this layer in the Layers Palette just above the speaker behind the boom box. Set the layer style to Screen.

Step 13

Copy the gradient. Use the Free Transform Tool to reduce the size and reposition in the bottom right-hand corner over the larger pink gradient. Keep the setting to Screen. Then make another copy of this and free transform it by reducing and rotating it to fit in the top left hand corner. Do that one more time for the top right-hand corner.

Step 14

Let’s copy some elements. I copied the texture in the bottom left corner and placed it behind the bottom right of the boombox. I also placed a copy in the top right. I made multiple copies of the speakers. Then I used the Free Transform tool to scale them. The image below shows where these copies were placed.

Step 15

Create a new layer. Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Grab the Brush Tool. Make sure it’s set to Master Diameter of 50px with a Hardness of 0 percent. We make our line follow the edges of some of the elements in our design. Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the settings in the image below.

Step 16

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Then fill our selection with a pink gradient.

Step 17

Set this layer to Vivid Light to achieve the effect below.photoshop updates

Step 18

Next we are going to make our text. Grab the Text Tool and write the word boombox in all lowercase. I used a font called Silom with -70 character tracking and 120pt type.photoshop updates I’ll show the Layer Styles used to create the font effect in the screenshots following the image of the text effect below.

Step 19

Now we’re just going to have some fun and copy some elements around the design until it looks cool. I copied the x and played with its Gradient Overlay colors. I placed a handful of them by the boombox and also up top. The gradients have different variations from pink to purplephotoshop updates. I also used Free Transform to change the size and rotate the letters. I added a couple more speakers at the top left behind the large x. Then I copied the brush tool pattern we made a couple times and placed that over some elements top right and then top left. The final image is below.

Conclusion

Halftone patterns are a lot of fun, and like anything in Photoshop, they can be combined with layer styles to create some cool effects. Finding interesting areas of an image to copy and overlay your design. In this case we used a speaker. Try cutting out other parts of your next design to mix and match with various effects. Thanks.photoshop updates

sr:pspt

Create a Cool Halftone Effect in photoshop updates

2011-09-07T21:01:00.002-07:00

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Turn on Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q). Then go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Use the settings below.

Step 5

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Copy this selection.

Step 6

Now paste this cut out image of the speaker into the boombox_final design. And move it to the bottom left corner.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). It should look like the selection below. Invert the selection by going to Select > Inverse. Copy this selection.

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15

Step 16

Let’s go back to Edit in Standard Mode (Q). Then fill our selection with a pink gradient.

Step 17

Set this layer to Vivid Light to achieve the effect below.photoshop updates

Step 18

Step 19

Conclusion

How to Create a Hellacious Flaming Skull in Photoshop updates

2011-09-07T05:22:00.003-07:00

In this tutorial, we’ll go through all the steps of creating a flaming skull in Photoshop. We’ll be using some images we shot ourself of flames, and a stock Designious vector skull to get us started. This tutorial covers some relatively simple steps and some clever photo manipulation techniques. Let’s get to it!

Final Image Preview

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

Step 1

For this tutorial, I used Photoshop CS3, a skull from Designious.com (you could choose to use a free skull though, such as Skull Vector Pack 1) and some hi-res flames images. The high-res image files are available to Psd Plus members in the download pack. Though non-members are certainly welcome to shoot your own flame photos or find some stock to use here, so you can follow along.
To get things started, create a new document 210mm by 290mm with a 100% black background.

Step 2

Copy (Command + C) and paste (Command + V) the vector from Illustrator to Photoshop as pixels.

Step 3

On a new layer create an ellipse filled with dark red (#4c0400) that surrounds the skull. Next, apply a Gaussian Blur of 250px (maximum value), and place that layer under the skull.Photoshop updates

Step 4

Let’s prepare the skull for the flames. Select the white color from the skull. (Select > Color Range) and fill it with an orange-yellow color(#f9ae31), except the teeth and mandible that will be filled with light red (#e82b19).Photoshop updates

Step 5

Select the red area using Select > Color Range and then contract using Select > Contract > with 4 px, then and Delete.Photoshop updates

Step 6

Select the yellow color. Next use a Brush with Toll on 250-300 px, Hardness of 0, Opacity at 10-15%, red for the color (d02207), and gradually color from the interior towards the exterior, until you get a skull with a bit of glow.

Step 7

Lets try to add some volume to the skull. Use the Eraser Tool with a diameter of 200px, Hardness of 0, and Opacity of 70%, and erase some of the red. Here we establish the lighter and darker parts of the skull so we can see some volume.

Step 8

Now double the Skull layer. Select the skull closest to the background and apply a Gaussian Blur of 8-10 px to create a glow.
Select the area under the nose including the teeth. Now grab a 80px Brush with a color of red (#d02207). Brush color on the right and left sides creating a soft gradient that ads depth to the lower part of the skull.

Step 9

Now that we have a hot skull on our screen, let’s start the fire! Open the files with the flames and prepare each of them to be used on our image as follows:
A. Open the flames files.

B. Go to Select > Color Range, and select the darker area of the background. Next, Invert the selection (Command + Shift + I).

C. Go to Select > Modify > Feather, and set to about 20px. Then drag and drop them into our main skull document.

D. Set the blend modes to Screen or Lighten.
E. For the flames that will have other flames on top of them, we’ll need to adjust the color Balance. You can do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance (Command + B).

Step 10

Use the Free Transform Tool (Command + T) to arrange each flame into the desired position and the desired proportions.

Step 11

Notice that the teeth area looks a bit darker than the rest of the skull so using the Brush Tool(B) and yellow (d02207) you lighten some parts of the teeth so they can blend better with the flames.

Step 12

Use the Smudge Tool (R) on the flames near the eyeballs to make them touch the skull so that you create a smooth transition from the skull to the flames.

Step 13

Use the Smudge Tool (R) to make the yellow parts of the skull blend with the base of the flames.

Step 14

Use the Smudge Tool again in the red areas from the shadow where you try to draw a contour going towards the dark areas.

Step 15

Use the Dodge Tool (O) to enhance the glowing effect on the edges of the skull.

Step 16

Use the Burn Tool to work on the shadow areas of the contour so you can smoothen the passes from light to dark.

Step 17

Now for the smoke. To create the smoke, use the same flame images and apply the same techniques you did in Steps 10 and 11 to them. The difference here though is that you’ll need to desaturate these images to make them look like smoke. You can do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation > Desaturate (Command + U), then set it to -100 for Saturation, and -16 for Luminosity.

Step 18

Now lets apply a 2px Blur filter on the smoke so it blends better. Do this by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Conclusion

Now the sparks! Using a Brush of 3px with 100% Hardness and 100% Opacity you start drawing the sparks. You can alter some of them using the Smudge Tool (R). And that puts the finishing touches on this image.

sr:psp

How to Create a Hellacious Flaming Skull in Photoshop updates

2011-09-07T05:22:00.002-07:00

Final Image Preview

Step 1

Step 2

Copy (Command + C) and paste (Command + V) the vector from Illustrator to Photoshop as pixels.

Step 3

On a new layer create an ellipse filled with dark red (#4c0400) that surrounds the skull. Next, apply a Gaussian Blur of 250px (maximum value), and place that layer under the skull.Photoshop updates

Step 4

Step 5

Select the red area using Select > Color Range and then contract using Select > Contract > with 4 px, then and Delete.Photoshop updates

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Now that we have a hot skull on our screen, let’s start the fire! Open the files with the flames and prepare each of them to be used on our image as follows:
A. Open the flames files.

B. Go to Select > Color Range, and select the darker area of the background. Next, Invert the selection (Command + Shift + I).

C. Go to Select > Modify > Feather, and set to about 20px. Then drag and drop them into our main skull document.

Step 10

Use the Free Transform Tool (Command + T) to arrange each flame into the desired position and the desired proportions.

Step 11

Notice that the teeth area looks a bit darker than the rest of the skull so using the Brush Tool(B) and yellow (d02207) you lighten some parts of the teeth so they can blend better with the flames.

Step 12

Use the Smudge Tool (R) on the flames near the eyeballs to make them touch the skull so that you create a smooth transition from the skull to the flames.

Step 13

Use the Smudge Tool (R) to make the yellow parts of the skull blend with the base of the flames.

Step 14

Use the Smudge Tool again in the red areas from the shadow where you try to draw a contour going towards the dark areas.

Step 15

Use the Dodge Tool (O) to enhance the glowing effect on the edges of the skull.

Step 16

Use the Burn Tool to work on the shadow areas of the contour so you can smoothen the passes from light to dark.

Step 17

Step 18

Now lets apply a 2px Blur filter on the smoke so it blends better. Do this by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Conclusion

sr:psp

Make a Surreal 3D Outdoor Room Scene in Photoshop updates

2011-09-06T04:43:00.003-07:00

Preview

Here is the scene that we will create. Click on the image for a full sized view.

Resources

Yellow Flower Field by 333half-evil-stock (Royalty Free License)
Field 025 by Julia Starr (Royalty Free License)
Floor by Photodream stock (Royalty Free License)
Painter by Michael Vincent Manalo (Royalty Free License)
Paper Texture 1 by Wojciech Sadlej (Royalty Free License)
Textures by yawee (Royalty Free License)

Step 1: Create a new file

Our scene will be large-scale and high-resolution. To start things off, create a new file with these settings:

Width: 3000px
Height of 3000px
Resolution: 300 dpi
Color Mode: RGB Color – 8 bit
Background Contents: Transparent

Step 2: Replace the sky of our wallpaper

To begin, let’s open the Yellow Flower Field stock in Photoshop. We will be using this to create the walls of our room, so transfer it to our 3000×3000 canvas. Click our stock image, press V to activate our Move Tool (V), and then drag the image to our canvas.

We need to get rid of the sky in this yellow flower field and replace it with something else because it is overcast and so it won’t match the vibrant scene we are intending to produce. To do this, we will use the Lasso Tool (L).
Hold down the left mouse button on the Lasso Tool icon in the Tools Panel long enough and three Lasso Tool variations will appear on the side. Choose the Magnetic Lasso Tool and left-click on the part where the horizon falls and drag it to the edge. You will notice that the Magnetic Lasso Tool sticks to the foreground and automatically selects the area we want to get rid of.
Now that the selection is created, hit Delete to remove the sky from the stock image.

We will replace the deleted sky in the Yellow Flower Field with the sky in the Field 025 stock image. Open "Field 025" and press C to crop the sky from the image.
Once you have cropped the sky from the image, press V to activate the Move Tool and transfer the sky to our main canvas. Place our new sky’s layer under the Yellow Flower Field’s layer and position it so that it is filling up the top portion of our first stock image.

Note that there is a region with jagged and harsh edges on the field that results from deleting the area with the Magnetic Lasso Tool. Let’s try to smoothen up those regions. Activate your Eraser Tool (E) and set its option values to the following:

Brush Master Diameter: 125
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 100%
Flow: 100%

Note: In case you’re having a hard time finding it, the Hardness option is located in the brush tip drop down menu, beside where you set the Brush Master Diameter option.

Use the Eraser Tool on the region indicated by the image below.

Now we need to flatten our image and create a new canvas. To flatten the image, right-click on any of the layers and then choose Flatten Image.

Step 3: Set up the workspace for creating the walls

In this step, we will be creating a new canvas for the walls and the floor of our composition. Create a new canvas with the same dimensions as our original canvas (refer to Step 1).
We will move the three sides of the walls of our room piece by piece into the new canvas as separate layers so that we can photo manipulate them individually. To help us accurately position our elements, activate your rulers by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + R or go to View > Rulers and make sure that Rulers is checked.
Also, open the Navigator Panel (Window > Navigator) and set it to 15% to set the ruler’s unit increments to 1.

Step 4: Create the left wall

To transfer pieces of the image, we need to select them precisely and copy them from the previous canvas. Activate your Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), position the mouse cursor at 0 on the ruler (top left corner of the canvas) and then drag it to point 3. This will be our left wall.

Drag that selected region to our new canvas by using the Move Tool (V).
Next, we need to transform the wall to give it a good perspective from the viewer’s standpoint. Press Ctrl/Cmd + T to activate the Free Transform command. Left-click on the canvas and choose Perspective from the contextual menu that appears. Transform controls will appear on 6 points around the image—we only need to pull on one of them. Pull the transform control on the lower right corner upwards to adjust the perspective. Once you are done, press Enter to accept the transformation.

Step 5: Create the center wall

Click on our old canvas and use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select the region from points 3 to 7 in the ruler. This will be our center wall.

Once that is finished, use the Move Tool (V) to drag that region to our new canvas and to align it with the left wall that is already in the canvas.

Step 6: Create the right wall

To complete the room’s walls, transfer the last piece from the old canvas to the new canvas (the right wall). Use your Rectangular Marquee Tool again, and select the region from point 7 to 10 on the ruler, drag that to our new canvas using the Move Tool and then align it with the rest of the walls, just like in the previous steps.
We also need to transform the perspective of this wall, following the same method as with the right wall using the Perspective command. However, this time, click on the box on the lower right and drag it down to the level of the left region.

Now, merge all three of wall layers by right-clicking on one of them in the Layers Panel and then choosing Merge Visible.

Step 7: Scale the walls

We need to resize the walls of the room to give the floor more room by using the Free Transform command (Ctrl/Cmd + T).

Once you have scaled the walls, just hit Enter to apply the transformation.

Step 8: Add the floor of the room

Now it is time to incorporate the floor in our 3D room. The first phase of this is to open the Floor stock image in Photoshop. Drag it to the new canvas and put it under the walls. We need to transform it to fit our image and make it look authentic using the Free Transform command.

Step 9: Blend the seams of the floor and the walls with partitions

We need to make the blending of the areas where the walls and the floor meet or else our work won’t look natural. We will do this by adding a partition on the joining points of the wall, which will help in creating the illusion that the sky and the field is the wallpaper of our three-dimensional room. Start by creating a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N).
Afterwards, we will use the Line Tool (U) to create the partition.

Set the color of our Line Tool to black (#000000) and then make a rectangle shape, using your rulers as a guide. The rectangle should have a width of 5 inches and a height of 0.4 inches. You can draw this in the top left corner of the canvas to make it easier to draw accurately since we can always use the Move Tool to position our shape to the appropriate location later on. Holding down Shift will help keep your lines at right angles.

With the rectangle created, move it down to where the wall and floor meets.
With the rectangle positioned, we will distort it so that the alignment is correct. Activate the Free Transform command (Ctrl/Cmd + T), right-click on the rectangle, and then pick Distort.

If you notice, the rectangle isn’t well placed, so we need to continue to distort it.

Let’s duplicate that rectangle and put it on the opposite side (the right part) of the 3D room. Duplicate the distorted rectangle layer by pressing Ctrl/Cmd.
Once duplicated, activate the Free Transform command, right-click on the shape in the canvas, and then go for Flip Horizontal.
Use Move Tool (V) to move the shape to the opposite side of the room. You may Rasterize the two rectangles if you wish—do that by right-clicking on their layer and choose Rasterize Layer.
Note that the floor isn’t aligned with the duplicated rectangle—we need to repair that. Use the Skew transform command by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + T, right-clicking on the distorted rectangle, and then choosing Skew from the contextual menu that appears. Make sure that it is aligned with the image that it was duplicated from.

After skewing, you will see that a little bit of the floor is visible between the duplicated rectangle and the field. To take care of that, we will rely on the Clone Stamp Tool (S).
Activate the Clone Stamp Tool by pressing S, afterwards click on our wall image in the Layers Panel to make sure we’re on the correct layer, and then Alt/Option + left-click on the area we intend to clone to set our clone stamp’s reference point.
After targeting the region that you want to clone, apply it on our target areas.

Create another layer for us to put our new rectangle into. The new rectangle should be placed in the middle of our piece, in between the left and right rectangles.

I would recommend rasterizing the center rectangle’s layer.

Step 10: Coloring the floor

The floor is made out of wood, so let’s change its color so that it integrates better with our scene. Click on the floor’s layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. In the Color Balance dialog window, set Tone Balance to Midtones. For the color values use: +14, -17, and -64.
Observe that after the Color Balance correction, the floor has now changed from a pale gray to a brown color.
Let’s continue to improve the color of the floor by lowering its brightness. Click on the floor’s layer, go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and set the value of the Brightness option to about -60.

Step 11: Manual adjustments to the floor

Afterwards, create a new layer on top of the floor’s layer. Use the Brush Tool (B) with the following option values to manually correct portions of the floor:

Master Diameter: 600
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 20%
Flow: 100%

Use the reference image below to see where you should apply your brush strokes.

Step 12: Adjust the color contrast of the floor

Next, let us adjust the contrast to improve the look of the floor. In the Layers Panel, click on the Create a new fill or adjustment layer button, then select Gradient Map.

Use the Black, White gradient preset for the Gradient Map. With the Gradient Map created, double-click its layer in the Layers Panel and change its opacity to 100%. Then change the layer’s blending mode to Luminosity.

Step 13: Create lighting and shadows on the wall and floor

Now we will apply some lights and shadows to give it the illusion of having dimensions. Create a new layer on top of all the layers. We will draw these lights and shadows manually with the Brush Tool. Activate your Brush Tool by pressing B and set its values to the following:

Brush Master Diameter: 900
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 20%
Flow: 100%

Paint the shadows as shown in the reference image below.

Create another layer and make sure that the brush values are still the same.
Paint more shadows as shown in the reference below:

At this point, the shadows may seem too dark and prominent, so reduce the opacity of the layer to about 70%.

Notice that the regions on top of our partitions are too bright, so let’s decrease the brightness by brushing in some shadows on it.
Create a new layer; activate your Brush Tool again, and change its settings to the following values:

Brush Master Diameter: 400
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%

Brush on the regions indicated by the reference image below.

Now that that’s done, let’s step back for a moment to organize our Photoshop document by creating a group, Layer > New > Group. You can also do this by clicking on the Create new group button in the Layers Panel, which is represented by a folder icon. Name this group as "room" or something intuitive to you.
Choose all the layers under the "room" group and drag them inside the group.

Step 14: Inserting the painter in the picture

It’s time to include our painter into the scene. Open our Painter photo in Photoshop. Separate him from the background by using the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and tracing along the painter’s body. I recommend using the Polygonal Lasso Tool because it is more accurate than the Magnetic Lasso Tool, albeit using it is a bit more labor-intensive. The Magnetic Lasso Tool sometimes gets confused by certain parts of the image, making the lasso selection imprecise.
After you have isolated the painter, drag it to our main canvas using the Move tool (V), positioning him on a suitable part of our piece.
Switch to Free Transform mode (Ctrl/Cmd + T) and resize the painter.

Step 15: Give the painter accurate shadows and highlights

Now let’s add some shadows and lights to the painter to make him look like he’s really inside the room. To do this, we will use the Dodge Tool/Burn Tool (O). On the Options bar, adjust the Tools’ settings to the following values:

Brush Master Diameter: 125
Range: Midtones
Exposure: 15%

Apply the Dodge Tool and Burn Tool on our painter as presented below.

Now add shadows on the room’s outdoor wallpaper where the painter is working to make it look like he is casting a shadow onto it. Create a new layer and name it "shadow of painter" to keep our work organized. Place this layer under the painter’s layer.
Activate your Brush Tool (B) and use the following option values:

Brush Master Diameter: 200
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%

See the image below for the area where we need to apply the brush on. Be sure to paint in the newly created layer that is below the painter.

The shadows created by the painter, at present, needs more work. Create a new layer and name it "shadow of painter part two" or something inherently similar. Put this under the "shadow of painter" layer.
Refer to the image below to visualize where to apply your brush strokes.

Step 16: Apply shadows to the ladder

To make the ladder that the painter is on look authentic, let’s add some shadows to it. Create a new layer and name it "ladder shadow1".
Use your Brush Tool (B) to add the shadows to it, using these values for the Brush Tool:

Brush Master Diameter: 80
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 50%
Flow: 100%

See image below for the regions to be brushed on:

Step 17: Adjust the ladder’s color

Notice that the ladder is too white. We should decrease its brightness because it is too prominent and will distract the viewer away from the overall scene. Click on the painter’s layer, then from the menu, go to Image > Adjustments > Selective Color. This will allow us to adjust only the white colors. In the Selective Color dialog window, choose the Whites option and utilize these option values:

Cyan: 0
Magenta: 0
Yellow: 0
Black: +30
Method: Absolute

Applying this image adjustment will change the ladder’s color to gray.

Step 18: Create more shadows on the ladder

Let’s create a new layer and name it "ladder shadow2" to add more shadows to the ladder. Use your Brush Tool (B) with the following values to paint the shadows:

Brush Master Diameter: 25
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 35%
Flow: 100%

See reference image below for the areas that brush should be applied to.

Now let’s group all these layers for organization, you can call this group "painter and ladder".

Step 19: Create the vignette

Let’s create a vignette to further enhance the viewer’s perspective of the image. To do this, we need to create a new canvas (File > New or press Ctrl/Cmd + N). Use the same settings as in Step 1, but make sure that the Background Contents option is set to White.
Once the new document has been created, go to Filter > Distort > Lens Correction. Find the Vignette section and use these settings:

Vignette amount: -100
Midpoint: +50

Drag this vignette layer into our main canvas, making sure that it is placed on top of all the layers that we have thus far. Then set this layer’s blending mode to Multiply and layer opacity to 35%. You can adjust the opacity depending on your tastes, but I found 35% to be the sweet spot.

Step 20: Add textures to the image

To give the image a distinct, grainy look and feel, let’s add some textures. Download and open the Textures stock photo (listed in the Resources section) or any texture that you like (see the Design Instruct Freebies section for an array of free texture files).

Place the texture on our canvas and resize it to fit our canvas using the Free Transform command (Ctrl/Cmd + T).

Change the texture layer’s blending mode to Soft Light and drop the layer opacity down to 20%.
You’ll see that this simple step results in a drastic mood change in our piece, but we’re not done yet. Duplicate the texture layer by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + J and then use the Eraser Tool (E) to remove certain parts of it as seen on the reference below:

Set the duplicated layer’s blending mode to Soft Light and its opacity to 70% or so.

Let’s apply another texture—this time we will be using Paper Texture 1. Again, place this texture into our composition and resize it with the Free Transform command.
Then, with the texture in place, set its blending mode values to Overlay and drop its opacity way down to about 8% (we want this to be very subtle).
Maintain your organization by grouping all the texture layers in a group "textures".

Step 21: Apply (a ton of) image adjustments

In this step, we’ll retouch our scene to enhance its color and overall appearance.

Solid Color adjustment layer

First off, let’s change its color. Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer button in the Layers Panel and select Solid Color. Use a very dark blue color for this fill layer (#000218).

With the fill layer applied, set its blending mode to Exclusion with its layer opacity moved down to 60%.

Gradient Map adjustment layer

Next, create a Gradient Map adjustment layer using the Create new fill or adjustment layer button again. Set this adjustment layer’s blending mode to Luminosity, and the opacity to 100%.

Curves adjustment layer

Let’s enhance the image’s white balance now. Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button again and select Curves. Click the Gray point eyedropper and sample from a location in our composition as indicated below to set the gray point of the Curves adjustment layer.

Photo Filter adjustment layer

Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button again and select Photo Filter. We will be reducing the yellowish color of our image. When the Photo Filter dialog window opens, click on the Filter option drop down menu and select the Deep Blue filter. Also, use the default Density value, which is 25%.
Afterwards, reduce the opacity of the Photo Filter adjustment layer to 50%.

Levels adjustment layer

Next up, we’ll use a Levels adjustment layer. Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button again and pick Levels to give the light parts of our piece a slightly darker tone. In the Levels option dialog window, click on the Channel drop down menu to expand your options. The default value is RGB, but change it to Red (Alt/Option + 3), and then input these values for the shadow, midtone, and highlight input levels respectively: 15, 1.00, 255.
Do not close the Levels dialog window just yet because we also need to modify the Blue channel. Click on the drop down menu once again and select the Blue channel (Alt/Option + 5). Then use these values for the input levels: 15, 1.00, 255.

Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer

Afterwards, we will lessen the scene’s brightness. Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button and choose Brightness/Contrast. Use 1 for both the Brightness and Contrast options.
Next, we need to perform some color balancing to make it a little more pleasing on the eye by reducing its yellow tinge. Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button and select Color Balance. Use the following option settings:

Color Levels: -7, 7, 7
Tone Balance: Midtones
Check the Preserve Luminosity box

This should even out the colors of our composition and make them more harmonious.

Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer

Let’s augment the Saturation of the composition a little bit to make the image more vivid. You guessed it: Click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer and select Hue/Saturation. Use these option values:

Edit: Master
Hue: 0
Saturation: 5
Lightness: 0

This should add more color to our scene.

Another Photo Filter adjustment layer

Create another Photo Filter adjustment layer, selecting the Warm Filter (81) photo filter preset to give the piece a warmer tone. Make sure that the Density is at 25% and that the Preserve Luminosity option is checked.
Reduce the opacity of the new Photo Filter adjustment layer to 70%.

Step 22: Apply more shadows to the wall

For the final (re)touch, let’s add more shadows to the walls. Create a new layer and activate your Brush Tool (B) once again. Set the brush option values to:

Brush Master Diameter: 400
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 10
Flow: 100%

Refer to the image below to see where to apply the brush.

Step 23: Add one final adjustment layer (Curves)

Then add a Curves adjustment layer.

Keep our document organized by grouping all the adjustment layers that we have just done in a group called "adjustments".

Step 24: Use the Smart Sharpen Filter

This is a good place to save your Photoshop document as a PSD file, if you haven’t already.
Lets sharpen the image. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen and use these values:

Amount: 125%
Radius: 1.0
Remove: Gaussian Blur
Check the More Accurate option

Step 25: Saving Your Work

After you’ve finished the sharpening, you may flatten the image by right-clicking on any layer and selecting Flatten Image. Before doing this, you may want to save it as a TIFF (which can be opened by many types of graphics editor) or a PSD file first, which would allow you to make modifications to your work without reducing its quality. In addition, you can view cracks in the image through the Histogram.
As a final product, save your image as a JPG file.

Conclusion

We performed a lot of Photoshop techniques and methods in this photo manipulation tutorial to compose a scene using various stock images. We leaned on the different free transform commands such as Perspective, Distort, and Skew to create the walls of our outdoor 3D room.
We used some proven expert techniques for incorporating the painter realistically into the scene by using the Dodge Tool and Burn Tool. We created a vignette, added a few textures, and used plenty of layer adjustments to make our scene look more appealing and artful. I hope you discovered some nifty techniques that you can incorporate into your own Photoshop methods.
If you have questions and suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
Don’t forget to showcase your own version of this tutorial through the Design Instruct Flickr group pool.

Download Source Files

surreal_outdoor_room (ZIP, 98.2 MB)

sr:ds

Make a Surreal 3D Outdoor Room Scene in Photoshop updates

2011-09-06T04:43:00.002-07:00

Preview

Here is the scene that we will create. Click on the image for a full sized view.

Resources

Yellow Flower Field by 333half-evil-stock (Royalty Free License)
Field 025 by Julia Starr (Royalty Free License)
Floor by Photodream stock (Royalty Free License)
Painter by Michael Vincent Manalo (Royalty Free License)
Paper Texture 1 by Wojciech Sadlej (Royalty Free License)
Textures by yawee (Royalty Free License)

Step 1: Create a new file

Our scene will be large-scale and high-resolution. To start things off, create a new file with these settings:

Width: 3000px
Height of 3000px
Resolution: 300 dpi
Color Mode: RGB Color – 8 bit
Background Contents: Transparent

Step 2: Replace the sky of our wallpaper

Brush Master Diameter: 125
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 100%
Flow: 100%

Step 3: Set up the workspace for creating the walls

Step 4: Create the left wall

Step 5: Create the center wall

Step 6: Create the right wall

Step 7: Scale the walls

We need to resize the walls of the room to give the floor more room by using the Free Transform command (Ctrl/Cmd + T).

Once you have scaled the walls, just hit Enter to apply the transformation.

Step 8: Add the floor of the room

Step 9: Blend the seams of the floor and the walls with partitions

Step 10: Coloring the floor

Step 11: Manual adjustments to the floor

Afterwards, create a new layer on top of the floor’s layer. Use the Brush Tool (B) with the following option values to manually correct portions of the floor:

Master Diameter: 600
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 20%
Flow: 100%

Use the reference image below to see where you should apply your brush strokes.

Step 12: Adjust the color contrast of the floor

Step 13: Create lighting and shadows on the wall and floor

Brush Master Diameter: 900
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 20%
Flow: 100%

Brush Master Diameter: 400
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 15%
Flow: 100%

Step 14: Inserting the painter in the picture

Step 15: Give the painter accurate shadows and highlights

Brush Master Diameter: 125
Range: Midtones
Exposure: 15%

Brush Master Diameter: 200
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 25%
Flow: 100%

Step 16: Apply shadows to the ladder

Brush Master Diameter: 80
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 50%
Flow: 100%

See image below for the regions to be brushed on:

Step 17: Adjust the ladder’s color

Cyan: 0
Magenta: 0
Yellow: 0
Black: +30
Method: Absolute

Applying this image adjustment will change the ladder’s color to gray.

Step 18: Create more shadows on the ladder

Let’s create a new layer and name it "ladder shadow2" to add more shadows to the ladder. Use your Brush Tool (B) with the following values to paint the shadows:

Brush Master Diameter: 25
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 35%
Flow: 100%

See reference image below for the areas that brush should be applied to.

Now let’s group all these layers for organization, you can call this group "painter and ladder".

Step 19: Create the vignette

Vignette amount: -100
Midpoint: +50

Step 20: Add textures to the image

Step 21: Apply (a ton of) image adjustments

In this step, we’ll retouch our scene to enhance its color and overall appearance.

Solid Color adjustment layer

Gradient Map adjustment layer

Next, create a Gradient Map adjustment layer using the Create new fill or adjustment layer button again. Set this adjustment layer’s blending mode to Luminosity, and the opacity to 100%.

Curves adjustment layer

Photo Filter adjustment layer

Levels adjustment layer

Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer

Color Levels: -7, 7, 7
Tone Balance: Midtones
Check the Preserve Luminosity box

This should even out the colors of our composition and make them more harmonious.

Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer

Edit: Master
Hue: 0
Saturation: 5
Lightness: 0

This should add more color to our scene.

Another Photo Filter adjustment layer

Step 22: Apply more shadows to the wall

For the final (re)touch, let’s add more shadows to the walls. Create a new layer and activate your Brush Tool (B) once again. Set the brush option values to:

Brush Master Diameter: 400
Hardness: 0%
Opacity: 10
Flow: 100%

Refer to the image below to see where to apply the brush.

Step 23: Add one final adjustment layer (Curves)

Then add a Curves adjustment layer.

Keep our document organized by grouping all the adjustment layers that we have just done in a group called "adjustments".

Step 24: Use the Smart Sharpen Filter

This is a good place to save your Photoshop document as a PSD file, if you haven’t already.
Lets sharpen the image. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen and use these values:

Amount: 125%
Radius: 1.0
Remove: Gaussian Blur
Check the More Accurate option

Step 25: Saving Your Work

Conclusion

Download Source Files

surreal_outdoor_room (ZIP, 98.2 MB)

sr:ds

How to Create High Quality Metal 3D Text in Photoshop updates

2011-09-06T01:09:00.003-07:00

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

Most of you probably know those awesome letters that were generated with 3D programs. But what about when you don’t have any particular program and you need to make 3D typography? This tutorial will show you how to create the 3D text shape and give it a high quality metal look using pure Photoshop. Check it out!

Step 1

Let’s start with a new document of 1500 pixel by 1500 pixel, and 300px/inch resolution. Create a new layer, name it "3D TEXT_first." Then grab the Type Tool (T) and type big letters of your desired text, in my case it’s written as 3D TEXT. Also don’t worry if your text goes out of canvas, it has to be very big. Because we’re going to rasterize this layer and distort it in the next step.

Step 2

So now, right-click on the "3D TEXT_first" layer and select Rasterize Type. Then use Edit > Transform > Distort and create a nice perspective to our text by dragging the corners. Make sure your text is way smaller. This way you won’t lose its quality and the text won’t get blurry.
Tip: If you fail by distorting, and some text edges look fuzzy, use Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask, and increase the Amount.

Step 3

Now that the text is way smaller and has a nice perspective, create a duplicate (Command + J) of this text layer and name it "3D TEXT_last." Switch to Move Tool (V) and use keyboard arrows to position the "3D TEXT_last" layer a bit above the "3D TEXT_first" layer. In my case this was 16 pixels up and 2 pixels right.

Step 4

Create duplicates (Command + J) of both text layers and position them as you see in the image below. Make sure you have exactly the same order as shown, as it’s important!

Step 5

Now turn off "3D TEXT_first" and "3D TEXT_last" layers. Select the "3D TEXT_first copy" layer and make around 60 copies (Command + J). Now, select "3D TEXT_last copy", go all the way down to the bottom of Layers Palette, hold Shift and left-click on the first "3D TEXT_first copy" layer – this should select all 60 layers. Next right-click on those layers and select Link Layers.

Step 6

Switch to Move Tool (V), select "3D TEXT_last copy" layer. Go to the upper toolbar of the move tool. Click on Distribute Vertical Centers and Distribute Horizontal Centers. Then notice that our letters were perfectly distributed creating a nice 3D shape. Next, select all linked layers and merge (Command + E). Name this layer "3D TEXT_merged."

Step 7

Go to Layers Palette, turn on "3D TEXT_last" and open this layer’s Blending Options. Apply a Gradient Overlay from #1a3236 to #cffffb. As for setting the Angle, try to make this gradient look darker on the top of letters, and lighter on the bottom of them.

Step 8

In the Layers Palette select "3D TEXT_merged," turn it off, then hold Alt and left-click on this layer’s thumbnail to load the selection. Make a new layer, name it "3D TEXT_colored" and fill it with #a6e6fe. Deselect (Command + D).

Step 9

Now go to "3D TEXT_colored" layer’s Blending Options. Select Gradient Overlay. Make sure you select the second preset in the Gradient Editor, that is Foreground to Transparent, and then set the color values starting as: #000000, #4a4747, #ffffff, #262626, #ffffff, and #000000. Next, depending on which direction your text is going, the Angle will be different. So in my case I set the Angle to 123, and as you can see the gradient goes through the center of the whole text. So that will be our lighting.

Step 10

Some spots and the top of the letters look too bright, so we need to create just a touch of shadow in places indicated below. So hold Alt, left-click on the "3D TEXT_colored" layer to load its selection, then create a new layer above the "3D TEXT_colored" layer, and name it "Shadows." Set your Foreground Color to #1a3236 or darker, then grab the Brush Tool (B), set Flow around 30%, Hardness to 0% and paint. Then Deselect (Command + D) once you’re done.

Step 11

Now let’s start giving this text a quality look. Go to the Layers Palette, hold Alt and left-click on "3D TEXT last" layer thumbnail to load its selection. Then create a new layer above all layers, name it "Shining lines." Grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), right-click on your image and select "Stroke." Set Width to 1 pixel, Color to white, and Location to Center. Grab a nice big brush with Hardness 0% and Flow around 30%. Then erase everything except places indicated with arrows. These arrows point to lights, and those pointed edges need some shine. So make sure you leave them untouched.

Step 12

When you’re done erasing, create a duplicate of the "Shining lines" layer, lower its Opacity just a touch, and merge (Command + E) those two layers. You may switch for a moment to a black background to see if you did a good job with erasing, if not, make some further corrections. You should get something that looks similar to the image below.

Step 13

Now go to the bottom of the Layers Palette, select and turn on "3D TEXT first" layer, rename it to "Bottom shadow 1." Make a duplicate of it (Command + J), name this copy "Bottom shadow 2." Now apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to the "Bottom shadow 2" layer, with Radius of 3 pixels.

Step 14

Switch to the Move Tool (V), and by hitting keyboard arrows move this blurred shadow 5 pixels to the left. You need to create an illusion that the curvy text lines drop more shadows inside. So we do not need some outside parts of this shadow. Grab the Brush Tool (B) and softly brush parts of the shadow shown below. Don’t be to picky, there is no need to make an accurate erase. It’s OK if you leave some gray shadow edges, like in the second image below.

Step 15

Now go back and apply Filter > Blue > Gaussian Blur to the "Bottom shadow 1" layer. Set the Radius just a little smaller, like 2 pixel. Next, switch to the Move Tool (V), and by hitting the keyboard arrows, position this shadow 2 pixels down, and 2 pixels to the right. Let it cover the whole space under the letters, and remember to keep the shadow edges very thin.

Step 16

Great, we made our text really stand out. Next go to the Layers Palette, hold Command, left-click on the "Shining lines," "3D TEXT_last," "Shadows," and "3D TEXT_colored" layers. Now that you have selected them, drag these layers onto the Create a New Layer icon. Next, merge those copies (Command + E) and name this layer "Reflection." Place it above all layers and turn it off (it’s important to turn it off, so do not skip this step).

Step 17

Now, turn off the "background" layer, or even delete it, we no longer need it. Go to Image > Merge Visible, name this merged layer "TEXT." Position it above the "Reflection" layer. As you can see we have two similar layers with a small difference, the "TEXT" layer has a drop shadow, and "Reflection" has no shadow. We will be working now with the "TEXT" layer so let the "Reflection" layer remain invisible.
OK, let’s give these letters a higher quality look. Select the "TEXT" layer, duplicate it (Command + J), and this should automatically be named "TEXT copy," leave it this way. Then
change the "TEXT copy" layer Blending Mode to Overlay and Opacity to 63%. Next go to Edit > Adjustments > Gradient Map, and select the Black to White preset.

Step 18

Next, make another duplicate (Command + J) of the "TEXT" layer, and position it above all layers. Name it "Sharp edges" and by the way change it’s Blending Mode to Hard Light. Then go to Filter > Other > High Pass, set the Radius to 1 or 2 pixels. Lower this layer’s Opacity around 60-70%.

Step 19

Create a new layer below all layers, name it "Surface," press D on the keyboard to set colors to default. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and create a large gradient, through the whole image, from top to bottom. You can start it outside the canvas. Then go to Edit > Transform > Distort, and give this surface a touch of perspective. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Because when you’re done, select the Crop Tool (C), and crop the image nicely to get rid of the surface edges.

Step 20

As I was looking to this image I thought the text is a little to bright for me, so next thing I did, was select the "TEXT" layer and apply Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. I lowered the Contrast all the way down.

Step 21

Next, go to the very bottom of the Layers Palette, and create new layer above the "Surface" layer, then name it "Glass". Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), fill this layer with color #3f3f3f. Then apply Filter > Noise > Add Noise, set the Amount to 28%, Distribution to Gaussian, and leave the Monochromatic option checked.Photoshop updates

Step 22

Now, select Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, set the Angle to -90, and Distance to 144 pixels. Change this layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay, and set the Opacity to 50%. Grab the Brush Tool (B), then with a very nice soft brush of Hardness 0% and Flow around 20%, start erasing some spots of this blurred noise. Next erase places around the text to get a little of the glassy depth of the surface.Photoshop updates

Step 23

In the end, I decided to colorize this whole image. If you want to get the same final color effect, go to Layers Palette and add an Adjustment Layer on the top of all layers. Pick Hue/Saturation. Make sure you have the Colorize option checked. Then set Hue to 201, and Saturation to 17.
Next, select the "Reflection" layer, turn it on. Lower its Opacity to 20-30%, switch to the Move Tool (V), and by hitting the keyboard arrows, position it a few pixels down to make a nice reflection. Then you can apply a Layer Mask and softly erase some of the reflection bottom.Photoshop updates

Conclusion

That’s pretty much it, here is our quality 3D text, simply made in Photoshop. If you want to add some flat text to this image, make sure it’s going towards the perspective. Also, try to discover your own use for this 3D typography by experimenting with colors and lights. You can get many cool, various results.
Thanks for reading the tutorial, I really enjoyed making it. Hope you’ve learned something new. You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.Photoshop updates

sr:pl

How to Create High Quality Metal 3D Text in Photoshop updates

2011-09-06T01:09:00.002-07:00

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Create duplicates (Command + J) of both text layers and position them as you see in the image below. Make sure you have exactly the same order as shown, as it’s important!

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15

Step 16

Step 17

Step 18

Step 19

Step 20

Step 21

Step 22

Step 23

Conclusion

sr:pl

Create a cool 3D text using Photoshop updates and Illustrator in photoshop updates

2011-09-05T19:38:00.003-07:00

What are we making

Creating the 3D text in Adobe Illustrator

Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new document of 750×750 px.photoshop updates

Select the Text tool and type in your first letter with a bold font.I am using Hobo Std Medium 72px.Fill it with white color.photoshop updates

Select the letter and go to Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel.
You may hit Preview to see how the letter shape is changing.

Repeat those steps for the next letters and adjust the rotation to make different symbols.photoshop updates

Now let`s export the letters for Photoshop.Go to File->Export and be sure to choose from the list .psd extension to be compatible with Photoshop.Then go to Photoshop and load the .psd 3D text.photoshop updates

Stylizing the 3D text in Photoshop

Create a new layer in Photoshop to make a background for the text and add a radial gradient overlay.

Add the text over the background.Select the Magic Wand tool,set tolerance to 2 and select the front side of the first letter.

Make a new layer above the letter layer,select the layer and fill the selection with a blue gradient using the Gradient tool(G).

Now the letter looks better.

Continue with the rest of the letters giving them different color gradients,like in the image below.

Now we`re going to create an effect for the each depth of each letter.Double click the first letter layer,and add the next blending options:

You may see how the depth of the letter is changing in a transparent blue,like in the image:

Continue the procedure for each letter,by changing the gradient color to a similar one like the letter.

Let`s decorate them a little bit.For this step,download some decorative flower brush sets and start paint inside each letter.To paint inside them,first you must hide the letter`s face and then select them with the Magic Wand tool,with a tolerance of 2pt.Watch the images below to understand better the procedure:

Download from here the decorative flower brush sets:
Decorations by Ro-Stock
Ornament Brushes by Magical Viper
Paint each letter as you want.You may give them a color or a gradient.You decide.

Now download this Fog brush set,make a layer under the letters and paint some white fog,like in the image below:

Ok,now lets add some more interesting background elements.
Download this Line brush set and add some lines over the letters.I painted them over a layer situated between R and T.Change the layer mode to Soft light,decrease the opacity to 60-65% and add an Outer Glow.

To finish,put 2 or 3 shining stars over the letters.For this,download this lovely Stars brush set,paint some stars and give them an Outer glow to shine.

Final Image

This is how my final image looks,after following all the steps above.

We`ve reached the end of the tutorial.I thank you for reading and I hope you learned something today.If you have a problem,leave a message and I`ll help you as much as I can.

sr: ot

Create a cool 3D text using Photoshop updates and Illustrator in photoshop updates

2011-09-05T19:38:00.002-07:00

What are we making

Creating the 3D text in Adobe Illustrator

Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new document of 750×750 px.photoshop updates

Select the Text tool and type in your first letter with a bold font.I am using Hobo Std Medium 72px.Fill it with white color.photoshop updates

Select the letter and go to Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel.
You may hit Preview to see how the letter shape is changing.

Repeat those steps for the next letters and adjust the rotation to make different symbols.photoshop updates

Stylizing the 3D text in Photoshop

Create a new layer in Photoshop to make a background for the text and add a radial gradient overlay.

Add the text over the background.Select the Magic Wand tool,set tolerance to 2 and select the front side of the first letter.

Make a new layer above the letter layer,select the layer and fill the selection with a blue gradient using the Gradient tool(G).

Now the letter looks better.

Continue with the rest of the letters giving them different color gradients,like in the image below.

Now we`re going to create an effect for the each depth of each letter.Double click the first letter layer,and add the next blending options:

You may see how the depth of the letter is changing in a transparent blue,like in the image:

Continue the procedure for each letter,by changing the gradient color to a similar one like the letter.

Download from here the decorative flower brush sets:
Decorations by Ro-Stock
Ornament Brushes by Magical Viper
Paint each letter as you want.You may give them a color or a gradient.You decide.

Now download this Fog brush set,make a layer under the letters and paint some white fog,like in the image below:

To finish,put 2 or 3 shining stars over the letters.For this,download this lovely Stars brush set,paint some stars and give them an Outer glow to shine.

Final Image

This is how my final image looks,after following all the steps above.

We`ve reached the end of the tutorial.I thank you for reading and I hope you learned something today.If you have a problem,leave a message and I`ll help you as much as I can.

sr: ot

Crack and Peel in photoshop updates

2011-09-04T08:20:00.003-07:00

How to create a Crack and Peel of a person taken from a normal photo, adding colorful light to it as if the light source is located behind this object. photoshop updates,photoshop updates,photoshop updates

Click here to

Download

sr:hk

Crack and Peel in photoshop updates

2011-09-04T08:20:00.002-07:00

Click here to

Download

sr:hk

Swirl Mania in Illustrator & Photoshop in photoshop updates

2011-09-04T00:13:00.003-07:00

There are lots of ways to create swirls in Illustrator, you can even download vectors from sites such as bittbox and dezignus, and if you are using Photoshop you can download brushes with those sorts of symbols.

However in this tutorial I will show 4 ways to create swirls, and by mixing them you will learn some very powerful techniques that will allow you to easily make tons of different styles of swirls and crazy sperm vectors.

1st Way - Arc, Circle, and Path tool

Select the Arc Tool and create an arc. You can change the arc's properties by holding the mouse button and pressing the UP and DOWN keys for the angle of the arc, SPACE to move it, and ALT to change the center point.
Now create an ellipse using the Ellipse Tool (L).
After you create the arc go to Object>Path>Outline Stroke. The stroke will be converted to a shape, the select the Direct Selection Tool(A).

2nd Way - Blend Tool(W)

Create 2 circles, one will be the start and the other the end points of our swirl. Then select the Blend Tool (W) and click on the small circle and after that on the big circle. Double-click the Blend Tool icon to open the Blend Options, there you will be able to change the spacing of the elements and the orientation. Select Specified Distance and use 1pt, for the Orientation use Align to Path.

The spine is the path along which the steps in a blended object are aligned. By default, the spine forms a straight line.
To adjust the shape of the spine, drag the anchor points and path segments on the spine with the Direct Selection tool.

To replace the spine with a different path, draw an object to use as the new spine. Select the spine object and the blended object, and choose Object > Blend > Replace Spine.

To reverse the order of a blend on its spine, select the blended object and choose Object > Blend > Reverse Spine.

You can test different styles for the blend, like adding a dark stroke with some light color.

3rd Way - Spiral Tool

Select the Spiral Tool and create a spiral, you can change the style of the spiral by holding the mouse button and some keys like CMD/CTRL, ALT, SPACE, UP, and Down.
You can go to Object>Path>Offset Path and specify the offset to 3pt, you will create a uniform spiral. But if you want to make the start point smaller than the end or vice-versa, you can use the spiral as spine for a Blend.

4th Way - Twirl Tool

Create an ellipse with the Ellipse Tool, after that select the Twirl Tool and double click on the icon to open the Twirl Tool Options. Deselect the Simplify option and use 10 for detail. Then go with the center of the twirl tool over the edge of the circle and press and hold the mouse button to create a spiral.

Mixing Techniques

Step 1

Create the first swirl using the first technique. Use a very long line with a circle at the end.

Step 2

Duplicate the swirls and resize it, repeat that to create another one, so you will have 3 swirls.

Step 3

Create a spiral applying the 3rd or 4th technique, actually you can do that with blends too.

Step 4

Create another swirl this time make the circle or much bigger.

Step 5

Duplicate the new swirl, resize and make it a bit smaller than the other like the image below.

Step 6

Duplicate again the swirl, now go to Object>Transform>Reflect. Change the color to yellow.

Step 7

Create a new spiral like the image below, then duplicate it again resize it like and place it above the other spiral.

Step 8

Keep adding swirls.

Step 9

Now we will add some 3D effects using the Mesh Tool (U). This tool allows us to apply multiple gradients to one object. Just select the object then with the Mesh Tool click where you want to add a new color.
Here in our swirl we will create a highlight area and a dark area. Repeat the process to the other swirls.

Step 10

With the Pen Tool create two lines following the shape of the tail of our "sperm" shape, then apply the Blend Tool with 5 Specified Steps. After that duplicate and resize the blend and use it on the other swirl

Step 11

Add more shapes and apply the Mesh Tool. Duplicate the yellow swirl and make it really bigger like the image below.

Step 12

For the spiral add a gradient from pink to cyan, then go to Effect>Stylize>Inner Glow... Use Screen for the Mode, 75% Opacity, 5pt Blur and Center.

Step 13

For those stripes following the spiral we will create a brush. To do that is really simple in Illustrator. Just create a rectangle and drag and drop it in the Brushes Palette, then in this case select New Pattern Brush. Use the image below for reference.
After that create a spiral exactly like the one you want to add the stripes, and apply the brush.

Step 14

Select the spiral without the Brush Stroke and copy it. Then select the spiral with the stroke and go to the Transparency Palette (Window>Transparency). Double click the area next to the thumbnail, it will create a new thumb all black, select this thumb and paste the spiral. It will create a mask, just move the mast to align it with the original spiral. It looks complicated but it's easier than the explanation ;)

Step 15

Use the blend tool to add more elements and details to some shapes.

Step 16

Create more swirls using the techniques we've seen before and just change the sizes and colors. After that group all swirls.

End result in Illustrator.

Step 17 (Photoshop)

Create a new document and place your image, I used a photo from http://sxc.hu and 1440x900px for the document size.

Step 18

Copy the swirls in illustrator, the group with all swirls we have created, and paste it in Photoshop. Select Paste As Smart Objects. After that go to Layer>Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss, use the image below for reference.photoshop updates

Step 19

Duplicate the layer and go to Edit>Transform>Flip Vertical, and reduce the size of the layer and move it like the image below. After that select the 2 layers and convert them to Smart Objects and rename it to "Swirls"photoshop updates

Step 20

Duplicate the new "Swirls" and rename it to "Swirls Glow", then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, use 3px for the Amount, place it behind the "Swirls" and change the Blend Mode to Hard Light

Step 21

Duplicate the "Swirls" layer again and go to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal, again reduce its size and move it like the image below. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, use 3px for the amount again, but don't change the blend mode.photoshop updates

Step 22

Duplicate the "Swirls" layer one more time and this time just rotate it like the image below. Then go again to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, however this time use 5.5px for the Amount and reduce the opacity to 70%

Conclusion

Just place your logo and that's it. You can add more elements, you can even copy and paste each element separately and apply different layer styles to each swirl. There are many options and tons of different results from these methods, now it's all about trying different combinations.photoshop updates

Download the Files

Click here to download the files used in this tutorials

sr:ad

Swirl Mania in Illustrator & Photoshop in photoshop updates

2011-09-04T00:13:00.002-07:00

There are lots of ways to create swirls in Illustrator, you can even download vectors from sites such as bittbox and dezignus, and if you are using Photoshop you can download brushes with those sorts of symbols.

1st Way - Arc, Circle, and Path tool

2nd Way - Blend Tool(W)

The spine is the path along which the steps in a blended object are aligned. By default, the spine forms a straight line.
To adjust the shape of the spine, drag the anchor points and path segments on the spine with the Direct Selection tool.

To replace the spine with a different path, draw an object to use as the new spine. Select the spine object and the blended object, and choose Object > Blend > Replace Spine.

To reverse the order of a blend on its spine, select the blended object and choose Object > Blend > Reverse Spine.

You can test different styles for the blend, like adding a dark stroke with some light color.

3rd Way - Spiral Tool

4th Way - Twirl Tool

Mixing Techniques

Step 1

Create the first swirl using the first technique. Use a very long line with a circle at the end.

Step 2

Duplicate the swirls and resize it, repeat that to create another one, so you will have 3 swirls.

Step 3

Create a spiral applying the 3rd or 4th technique, actually you can do that with blends too.

Step 4

Create another swirl this time make the circle or much bigger.

Step 5

Duplicate the new swirl, resize and make it a bit smaller than the other like the image below.

Step 6

Duplicate again the swirl, now go to Object>Transform>Reflect. Change the color to yellow.

Step 7

Create a new spiral like the image below, then duplicate it again resize it like and place it above the other spiral.

Step 8

Keep adding swirls.

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Add more shapes and apply the Mesh Tool. Duplicate the yellow swirl and make it really bigger like the image below.

Step 12

For the spiral add a gradient from pink to cyan, then go to Effect>Stylize>Inner Glow... Use Screen for the Mode, 75% Opacity, 5pt Blur and Center.

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15

Use the blend tool to add more elements and details to some shapes.

Step 16

Create more swirls using the techniques we've seen before and just change the sizes and colors. After that group all swirls.

End result in Illustrator.

Step 17 (Photoshop)

Create a new document and place your image, I used a photo from http://sxc.hu and 1440x900px for the document size.

Step 18

Step 19

Step 20

Step 21

Step 22

Conclusion

Download the Files

Click here to download the files used in this tutorials

sr:ad

Master Special Finishes in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:20:00.003-07:00

Tony Harmer draws on simple techniques for adding spot colours, varnishes and special finishes to your layouts.

Spot colours, varnishes and UVs can add a new dimension to a printed piece by highlighting graphic elements.photoshop updates

They enhance the appearance of certain areas within an image or even bump up the appearance of colours that aren't as bright as desired because of the limitations of the CMYK process.photoshop updates
Using the cover image of Computer Arts issue 161, designed by Jose Oliveira, as its basis, this tutorial uses the scenario of preparing a piece of artwork using one spot colour (in the multicoloured triangle at the top of the page), a UV varnish (on the triangle elements) and a textured spot UV varnish (shown as bright magenta in the tutorial graphic). You'll see how other CS Design Premium applications work with InDesign to prepare the graphics for print.photoshop updates

Click here to download the support files (5.2MB)

Click here to download the tutorial for free

sr:ca

Master Special Finishes in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:20:00.002-07:00

Tony Harmer draws on simple techniques for adding spot colours, varnishes and special finishes to your layouts.

Spot colours, varnishes and UVs can add a new dimension to a printed piece by highlighting graphic elements.photoshop updates

Click here to download the support files (5.2MB)

Click here to download the tutorial for free

sr:ca

How to install Patterns in Adobe Photoshop CS3 in photoshop updaters

2011-09-02T21:19:00.011-07:00

You've downloaded new pattern and you want to load it to yous Adobe Photoshop, read this tutorial.

Put the .pat file you've downloaded into the folder /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Presets/Patterns (on mac OS X) or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\ (on Windows) .photoshop updaters

Then open your Adobe Photoshop, active Paint Bucket Tool,

go to option palette and change Foreground on Pattern.

Then click on (1) to open the Pattern Picker.

Than click on little triangel in the right upper corner (2).
Next on the list you choose 'Load Patterns' photoshop updaters
In the dialog box choose the .pat file you want to load and your new patterns appear in the Pattern Palette and are just ready to use.photoshop updaters

TO get daily updates about photoshop updates send mail to photoshopupdats@gmail.com

sr:mpb

How to create and define Photoshop Brushes in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:19:00.010-07:00

Two basic general features that characterize brushes set limits on what can be successfully turned into a brush. And what can be a brush is almost anything.photoshop updaters

First is color. Photoshop uses gray scale info while defining brushes. You can make a brush out of a colorful image but converting your document to Grayscale will give you a better idea of what you are doing. Anything that is white becomes transparent (0% opacity), anything black becomes 100% opaque and any other color turns translucent (opacity somewhere between 0 and 100%).

Second limitation is size: there is a maximum brush size possible. From Photoshop 7.0 on it's 2500 px x 2500 px (and 999 px for earlier versions). The larger the brush is created the better, so we strongly encourage you to create large brushes (ideally about 2500 px x 2500 px). The reason is you can’t increase the diameter of your brush beyond its original size without blurring.photoshop updaters

There are plenty of ways to create a brush. You may start from a scanned image, a vector graphics,
a raster graphics or a photo.
We will guide you through a process of creating a sample brush in Adobe Photoshop CS4 from
a scanned ink stroke.
Step 1
Create a black ink stroke on a white paper and scan it. The optimum scan settings will vary depending on your scanner quality. Here, we set the resolution to 200 dpi.
Step 2
Open your scan file in Photoshop and change the color mode to 8-bit Grayscale (Image > Mode).
Step 3 (photoshop updaters)
You need some time to clean the image. With your bare eye it may look ok but it’s important to always make sure that there are no artifacts. Great tools to do that are (alternatively) levels and threshold. Open the Image > Adjustments > Levels panel and drag the left slider in the Input Level panel right to the end
or open the Image > Adjustments > Threshold panel and drag the slider right to the end
It may happen that the background turns grey (after levels adjustment)
or totally black (after threshold). That means the white background is not truly white. Note, in this step always choose ‘Cancel’ - we only want to identify possible artifacts.
Step 4 (Fixing the background - if necessary)
We will use Levels.

Drag the right slider in the Input Levels panel slightly left. That turns the brightest pixels white. To check if the right slider is moved enough, drag the left slider right to meet the right one. If the background stays white, the right slider position is ok. Bring the left one back to its origin.
Step 5 (Further cleaning - if necessary)
Once the background is fixed repeat Step 3. Now you can easily see plenty of very tiny ink stains all around our stroke. Some of them may add some character to you brush, but we want to get rid of the majority of them.
There is a trick how to do that effectively and easily. Create a white background layer. Duplicate your stroke layer and turn its visibility off. Apply levels or threshold adjustment as you did before to the stroke copy layer but this time hit the OK button. Now, create a mask and start to paint over all unwanted stains with a black brush.
Once all of the stains are masked, drag the mask to the stroke layer, turn it on and delete the copy.
Step 6
Your stroke is now clean, you can adjust it a bit, again using Image > Adjustments > Levels (or Brightness/Contrast, Exposure, Curves, Threshold). Hit OK once you get an appearance you are satisfied with
Step 7
Now, with a stroke ready to be turned into a brush
go to Edit > Create Brush Preset. Choose a name for your brush and hit OK.
A new brush is created. You did not have to select your image since Photoshop recognizes all pixels that are not white and include them into a new brush area. However, if you select a portion of your image, only the selection will be turned into a brush.
Test your brush and enjoy!
What next? If you want to export your brushes (eg. send them to myPhotoshopBrushes.com) go to Edit > Preset Manager, choose Brushes as the Preset Type and select all your new brushes holding the Shift key. Pressing the Save Set button saves the whole pack as an .abr file.
If you decide to share your (own!) brushes with us, please send us a link to your site and/or a zipped .abr file as well as a terms of use info (required) and a 300 px x 300 px preview.

TO get daily updates about photoshop updates send mail to photoshopupdats@gmail.com

SR:MPB

How to install Brushes in Adobe Photoshop CS3 in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:19:00.009-07:00

If you've downloaded the .abr file and don't know what to do next, read this tutorial.photoshop updaters

Put the .abr file you've downloaded into the folder /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Presets/Brushes (on mac OS X) or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\Brushes (on Windows) .

Then open your Adobe Photoshop, active brush tool, go to option palette and click on to open the brush preset picker.photoshop updaters

Then click on little triangel in the right upper corner.
Next on the list you choose 'Load Brushes'

In the dialog box choose the .abr file you want to load and your new brushes appear in the Brush palette and are just ready to use.photoshop updaters

TO get daily updates about photoshop updates send mail to photoshopupdats@gmail.com

SR:MPB

How to install Patterns in Adobe Photoshop CS3 in photoshop updaters

2011-09-02T21:19:00.008-07:00

You've downloaded new pattern and you want to load it to yous Adobe Photoshop, read this tutorial.

Put the .pat file you've downloaded into the folder /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Presets/Patterns (on mac OS X) or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\ (on Windows) .photoshop updaters

Then open your Adobe Photoshop, active Paint Bucket Tool,

How to create and define Photoshop Brushes in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:19:00.007-07:00

Two basic general features that characterize brushes set limits on what can be successfully turned into a brush. And what can be a brush is almost anything.photoshop updaters

First is color. Photoshop uses gray scale info while defining brushes. You can make a brush out of a colorful image but converting your document to Grayscale will give you a better idea of what you are doing. Anything that is white becomes transparent (0% opacity), anything black becomes 100% opaque and any other color turns translucent (opacity somewhere between 0 and 100%).

Second limitation is size: there is a maximum brush size possible. From Photoshop 7.0 on it's 2500 px x 2500 px (and 999 px for earlier versions). The larger the brush is created the better, so we strongly encourage you to create large brushes (ideally about 2500 px x 2500 px). The reason is you can’t increase the diameter of your brush beyond its original size without blurring.photoshop updaters

How to install Brushes in Adobe Photoshop CS3 in photoshop updates

2011-09-02T21:19:00.006-07:00

If you've downloaded the .abr file and don't know what to do next, read this tutorial.photoshop updaters

Put the .abr file you've downloaded into the folder /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Presets/Brushes (on mac OS X) or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\Brushes (on Windows) .

Then open your Adobe Photoshop, active brush tool, go to option palette and click on to open the brush preset picker.photoshop updaters

Create A Glowing Extreme Wallpaper in Photoshop updates

2011-09-02T04:20:00.003-07:00

In this tutorial, we’ll create a complex glowing wallpaper using Photoshop.
We’ll be using custom brushes, several blending modes, lightning techniques, and blurs.
The tutorial was created using free resources, so you can easily recreate it by following step-by-step. To make it easy for everyone, we have included the PSD source file at the very end of the tutorial which should be great to use for quick reference.Photoshop updates
Go ahead and try it out and post your examples in the comments area.
Here’s a preview of the final image….

Step 1

Create a new Photoshop document RGB, 1400 x 900 px. Fill the background with black. Then create a new layer, name it “BG” or something like that and fill it with a Radial Gradient (#55015F – #000000). From the center to one of the sides, as it shows in the images below.Photoshop updates

Step 2

Select “BG” layer, then go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the twirl value to 250º. Hit OK and see how it looks.Photoshop updates

Step 3

Now paste the main image, you can use any picture. This time I’ll paste this image of a roller guy jumping. As I’m very creative the layer’s name will be “Roller guy”.Photoshop updates

Step 4

Now extract the guy’s shape, go to Channels, hide everything except the Blue channel then using the magic wand select the white background. Click on RGB layer on the Channels palette, then go to the Layers view again. Feather (and expand) your selection a few pixels and delete it.

Step 5

Now rotate and move the guy just a little bit to the left. Then go to Images > Adjustments > Curves and set the values below to decrease the output levels. See the image below.

Step 6

Next, duplicate the “Roller guy” layer, place the copy above the original on the Layers palette. Apply to the copy a Color Overlay (#9D0DAD) and set the Blending Mode value to Hue.

Step 7

Merge the “Roller guy copy” layer with a new blank layer. Then go to Layer > Layer mask > Reveal all and using a soft black brush, paint on the layer mask to hide the face, hands and pants. You should have something that looks like the bottom of the image below.

Step 8

Merge the “Roller guy” and “Roller guy copy” layers and name it just “Guy” (I’m putting those layers in a folder, duplicate and merge the folder). Now Dodge and Burn some areas of the “Guy” layer.

Step 9

Duplicate the “Guy” layer, convert “Guy copy” into a Smart Object. Next select the Smart Object, go to Filter > Blur > Radial blur, set Zoom as blur method and Best Quality and apply the same filter three times (Hit Command – Control + F to re-apply the filter once again). Finally, change “Guy copy” Blending mode to Linear Dodge (Add).

Step 10

Duplicate the “Guy” layer one more time, convert the copy into a Smart Object and apply the Radial Blur filter, but this time, move the Blur center a little bit to the left. Re-apply the filter a few times, move the “Guy copy 2″ layer above everything else on layers palette, then change its blending mode to Linear Dodge (Add).

Step 11

Now download this brush set. And paint one single shape into a new layer called “Brush1″. Use this color (#E700FF).

Step 12

Add to the “Brush1″ layer a gradient overlay using the colors shown below. Then put the “Brush 1″ layer above the “BG” layer on layers palette. Finally add an Outer Glow filter.

Step 13

Now add a new light above the guy, use the brush shown below and use this color (#E700FF). Also add an Outer glow and change layer’s Blending Mode to Screen.

Step 14

Add two more lightening brushes with the same layer effect of previous step.

Step 15

Following select “Guy”, “Guy copy” and “Guy copy 2″ and put them into a folder named “Flying Guy”, merge the folder, duplicate the layer and put it behind the original. Select Flying Guy copy and go to Edit > Free Transform, then reduce and rotate the guy just a little bit. Repeat that step as many times as you want.

Step 16

Now hide for a while all the guys layers, show the smaller one and apply a Layer Mask and fill it with a Radial Gradient Black – White. Repeat this with every single copy of the flying guy.

Step 17

Now we’re going to add a complex diffuse glow to make our design brighter. Change the Blending Mode to Dissolve on each Flying guy’s copy. Then down the Opacity of the copies to 75%, 70%, 65%, 60% respectively. Finally merge all the copies into one layer named “Flying guy copy” and put it above the “Flying Guy” layer or folder.

Step 18

Next, apply to the “Flying Guy copy” layer a Layer mask > Reveal all, then using a soft black brush, paint on a layer mask to hide some areas of the diffused glow.

Step 19

Hide the Diffuse layer for the moment. Now as a quick fix, to improve the lighting sensation, adjust the Hue / Saturation of the background “Brush 1″ layer. Also add a white light behind the Flying guy using one of these brushes.

Step 20

To finish the diffuse glow effect, show the “Flying Guy copy” layer, add an Outer Glow (use the values shown below). Then goto Filter > Blur > Gausian Blur, set 7,2 as blur radius and hit OK.

Step 21

Now type some text somewhere on your design, I’m using Kozuka Gothic Pro typeface (#F3B1FB), then add an Outer Glow effect to the text layer.

Step 22

Finally use this brush set to add some white sparkles.

Final result

And that’s it! a simple and quick way to create a glowing conceptual wallpaper!.

Download the .PSD source file
Written exclusively for WDD by Alvaro Guzman
Have you tried the tutorial? Feel free to leave links to examples created using this as well as any feedback that you may have. Thanks…

sr:wddp

Create A Glowing Extreme Wallpaper in Photoshop updates

2011-09-02T04:20:00.002-07:00

Step 1

Step 2

Select “BG” layer, then go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the twirl value to 250º. Hit OK and see how it looks.Photoshop updates

Step 3

Now paste the main image, you can use any picture. This time I’ll paste this image of a roller guy jumping. As I’m very creative the layer’s name will be “Roller guy”.Photoshop updates

Step 4

Step 5

Now rotate and move the guy just a little bit to the left. Then go to Images > Adjustments > Curves and set the values below to decrease the output levels. See the image below.

Step 6

Next, duplicate the “Roller guy” layer, place the copy above the original on the Layers palette. Apply to the copy a Color Overlay (#9D0DAD) and set the Blending Mode value to Hue.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Now download this brush set. And paint one single shape into a new layer called “Brush1″. Use this color (#E700FF).

Step 12

Add to the “Brush1″ layer a gradient overlay using the colors shown below. Then put the “Brush 1″ layer above the “BG” layer on layers palette. Finally add an Outer Glow filter.

Step 13

Now add a new light above the guy, use the brush shown below and use this color (#E700FF). Also add an Outer glow and change layer’s Blending Mode to Screen.

Step 14

Add two more lightening brushes with the same layer effect of previous step.

Step 15

Step 16

Now hide for a while all the guys layers, show the smaller one and apply a Layer Mask and fill it with a Radial Gradient Black – White. Repeat this with every single copy of the flying guy.

Step 17

Step 18

Next, apply to the “Flying Guy copy” layer a Layer mask > Reveal all, then using a soft black brush, paint on a layer mask to hide some areas of the diffused glow.

Step 19

Step 20

To finish the diffuse glow effect, show the “Flying Guy copy” layer, add an Outer Glow (use the values shown below). Then goto Filter > Blur > Gausian Blur, set 7,2 as blur radius and hit OK.

Step 21

Now type some text somewhere on your design, I’m using Kozuka Gothic Pro typeface (#F3B1FB), then add an Outer Glow effect to the text layer.

Step 22

Finally use this brush set to add some white sparkles.

Final result

Photoshop Elements: Colorizing a Photo in photoshop updates

2011-08-31T20:58:00.003-07:00

There are different ways to colorize a photo; that is, to add color to isolated areas of a black and white or sepia toned image and over the coming weeks I’ll show you how to do this in various ways. This tutorial however shows you how to remove the color from a colored photo, and then colorize an area of that photo. This is a great technique for highlighting areas of a photo or adding an “old world” feel to your photo.
Note: This tutorial is for Photoshop Elements 6 but the steps are probably similar in other versions.
1. The first step is to download the image and then open the photo in Photoshop Elements.
2. Duplicate the image. Right click on the layer in the Layer Pallette and select Duplicate Layer.

Click ok. You should now have two layers with the same image.

3. Click on the copied layer in the Layers Palette which is the one on top of the original, to select and highlight it.

4. Now you need to remove the color from the photo. You can do this in a number of ways. From the Main Menu, select Enhance, then Convert to Black and White, which turns the image into a black and white image. Or my favorite, select Photographic Effects from the Effects Pallette.

5. Double click on the Sepia Tone in the Effects Palette. This will change the color of the image in the top layer to sepia tones. Alternatively you could select any of the colors in the Photographic Effects by double clicking the color.

6. Select the Eraser Tool

7. Select Basic Brushes from the Brushes Drop Down Menu …

… and select size 60. You may need to adjust this size if you have resized your image.

8. Zoom in close to the image so you can easily see what you’re doing and begin erasing the areas where you want the color to show through. In this demonstration I’m colorizing the main flower and leaving the background in sepia tones.

You may need to zoom in a little closer and reduce the size of your eraser if you’re erasing small areas.

You can also remove areas using the Selection Brush Tool, Quick Selection Tool or the Magic Wand Tool.

9. Once you’ve finished colorizing, you can reduce the intensity of the color by selecting the bottom layer in the Layers Palette and adjusting the opacity slider until you’re happy with the depth of color.

10. Once you’re happy with your results, flatten the image by merging the two layers together. Right click on the top layer and select Flatten Image.

This combines both layers into one. Then save your file.

How very easy was that? And look how beautiful the little flower is.

sr:i-m