Psdtuts+

How to Use the New Timeline Panel in Photoshop CS6

Martin Perhiniak — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:30:30 PDT

Have you always wanted to add special effects to your videos but found the thought of learning Adobe Premiere or After Effects a bit daunting or time-consuming? Photoshop CS6 includes a new video timeline panel that will allow you to add effects to your video clips directly in Photoshop. In this episode of our Introduction to Photoshop CS6 series we will show you how this new feature works. Let’s get started!

Is the Creative Cloud the Best Choice for You?

Grant Friedman — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:00:34 PDT

Recently, Adobe released the Creative Cloud, a subscription service that will allow you to use all of Adobe’s Creative Suite applications, and more, for just $49.99 per month. The Creative Cloud is a radical deviation from Adobe’s traditional pricing structure, and a model that many think will completely change the industry. In this article we will take a look at the pricing model for the Creative Cloud to help you decide if it’s the right decision for you.

Back in 2011, before we had ever heard of the Creative Cloud, we asked our readers in an article, if they thought that Photoshop was too expensive. As you can imagine, this article inspired a passionate debate about Adobe’s pricing structure and whether or not it was fair to consumers. Back then, a lot of our readers felt that Adobe products were just too expensive, and as a result, they simply could not afford to purchase Adobe’s products.

The Creative Cloud, however, significantly reduces this barrier. Users no longer have to pay for a full license up front. They can now subscribe to individual applications like Photoshop for just $19.99 per month or purchase a subscription to the full creative cloud, which includes all of Adobe’s Creative Suite apps, and more, for just $49.99 per month. This means users can now choose the option that works best for them. They can pay for a license up front, or choose to spread out the payments over time.

This brings up an important question; which plan makes the best sense? Before we answer that question however, it’s important to first talk a bit about Adobe’s traditional pricing structure. A traditional license to Photoshop CS6 is $699. Photoshop CS6 Extended costs $999. If you needed more than one Adobe application, suites start at $1,299. This is a lot of money for the average hobbyist, or to some one just getting started in the industry; and as we said earlier, many users simply can’t afford it.

Adobe clearly needed more options for it’s consumers but how could they offer their high quality products to their users, at a reduced price, and still manage to run a profit? Well, that’s where the Creative Cloud comes in. Users can now get individual access to their products for just $19.99 per month or access to the entire Creative Cloud for just $49.99 per month. This makes Adobe products much more appealing to users who simply can’t afford the initial investment of a traditional license.

With that said, many of our readers have asked us which model makes the most sense over time. $49.99 per month sounds like a fantastic bargain but how do the numbers work out 2, 5, or 10 years from now? Well, let’s take a look.

In the charts below, we looked at a potential user’s total investment in Adobe products over time. In the first chart, we compared a traditional Photoshop CS6 license to an individual subscription to Photoshop CS6 through the cloud, over a 9-year period. We took into account the cost of an upgrade at 2-year intervals. As you can see, users who subscribe to the cloud have an advantage over traditional license holders for about 4 years. After that time, it becomes more economical to have purchased a traditional license.

So what does this mean in real numbers? It means that at the end of a 9-year period, a person subscribing to an individual subscription to Photoshop will have paid $700 more than a person who purchased an individual license and then upgraded every 2 years.

What about users who subscribed to the full Creative Cloud at $49.99 per month? The chart below compares the full Creative Cloud to Adobe’s family of Creative Suites. We looked at CS Design standard that costs $1,299 to buy and $549 to upgrade. CS Design and Web Premium which costs $1,899 to buy and $749 to upgrade, and the Master Collection which costs $2,599 to buy and $1049 to upgrade. Like our previous chart, we took into consideration an upgrade every 2 years.

Editor’s note: these numbers are based on the upgrade from CS5 to CS6.

What we found was that Creative Cloud is a far better deal that puchasing a license for the Master Collection. As you can see, at no point during the 7-year period that we reviewed would a Creative Cloud subscriber end up paying out more money than a traditional license holder.

On the other hand, Creative Cloud customers do eventually end up paying out more money than traditional CS Design Standard and CS Design and Web Premium Customers. How much time does it take? That depends on the suite that you’re comparing it to. It will take about 3 years for a Creative Cloud customer to pay more money than a CS Design Standard customer, 5-7 years for a Creative Cloud customer to surpass a CS Design and Web Premium customer.

So what does this mean in real numbers? It means that after 7.5 years, a Creative Cloud customer will have spent $1,603 more than a CS Design Standard Customer, and $403 more than CS Design and Web Premium customers. A traditional license is usually a better deal, unless you need everything included in the Master Collection.

Now that we know how the numbers work out, it’s time to make a decision. Is the Creative Cloud a good deal, or not? Well, that really depends on your perspective. How do you use Adobe’s products? Which products do you need? Are you a professional designer, a student, or a hobbyist? Is this a long or short-term investment? These are all questions that you will need to answer before you make your decision.

If you can’t afford a traditional license to Adobe’s products, then you don’t really have a choice. At $49.99, the cloud is a bargain, and your only option. You’ll be able to use their products for a low monthly fee without having to invest a lot of money up front.

If you are a student, the Creative Cloud is a fantastic deal. You can get a student discount for just $29.99 per month and get access to all of Adobe’s Creative suite products at a fraction of the cost of a traditional license. You’ll be able to evaluate the software, and decide if design is the industry you want to be in, without having to make a huge initial investment in software.

If you’re trying to learn the software but you’re not enrolled in school, the Creative Cloud is also a smart option. You’ll be able to download the software, learn how to use it, and then decide if the software is for you.

If you’re a hobbyist, it really depends on what your hobby is. If you’re a photographer who just needs Photoshop, it might be in your best interest to buy a traditional license as opposed to subscribing to an individual subscription or to getting a subscription to the entire cloud. You might also want to consider how serious you are about the hobby. Will you only be needing Photoshop for a few months, or for several years? If you only need a handful of applications, and don’t need access to everything in the Master Collection, then it might be best to purchase a license to CS Design Standard or CS Design and Web Premium. It really depends on your needs. You’ll have to decide for yourself which is the best option.

If you’re a professional designer, it depends on your needs. If you only need Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator then it might be a better idea to purchase a license for CS Design Standard. If you need a few more apps or want Photoshop Extended, then maybe a traditional license to Design and Web Premium is the way to go. If you need all of Adobe apps, then it seems that the Creative Cloud is the best choice.

If you’re a design firm, again, it depends on your needs and depends on what type of design that your firm does. Do you need access to all of Adobe’s products? If so, the cloud seems to be the way to go.

Conclusion

We understand that all of our readers are different and you are all looking at the Creative Cloud from a different perspective. For some of you, the Creative Cloud is a fantastic opportunity to explore everything that Adobe has to offer its users. For others, the Creative Cloud might not be a very good fit.

That’s what we love about the Creative Cloud. Adobe has realized that their users use their products in different ways, and therefore, have different needs. From our perspective, the Creative Cloud is really about adding more choices. You can choose to buy a traditional license for a large up front sum of money, or you can purchase a subscription to the full Creative Cloud for just $49.99 per month and spread out the payments over time.

Does the Creative Cloud cost more in the long term? That depends on what license you’re comparing it to. For several of the licenses, it does, for the Master Collection it does not.

So what’s the verdict? Is the Creative Cloud a good or a bad thing? Are the pricing options fair or not? In our opinion, the cloud is a fantastic new option. The design community has complained about the high cost of Adobe products for a long time. The Creative Cloud addresses those concerns in a way that is fair to both Adobe and its users. Ultimately, the Creative Cloud gives us more options, it will allow more users to earn a living off Adobe products, it will slow piracy, and hopefully make Adobe a more profitable company. It’s a win/win/win.

With that said, we would love to hear your thoughts. Do you like the new pricing model? Is the cloud the best fit for you? We would love to hear your perspective.

Editor’s note: when we originally published this article, we based our calculations off a potential upgrade from CS5.5. This produced some slightly incorrect conclusions. Since then, we updated our numbers to instead include an upgrade from CS5. This should more accurately reflect a typical user upgrade over a 2-year period.

The Kickstart Guide to Breaking Into Freelance Illustration

Grant Friedman — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:30:27 PDT

A career in freelance illustration is much more than drawing pretty pictures. As much as you’d like to spend the entire day sitting in front of Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, you’ll also need to learn about selling yourself, keeping your portfolio fresh, and all the administrative tasks that we love to hate. In this article, our friends at Freelance Switch will introduce you to five talented freelance illustrators who will share some incredibly useful advice about working in the industry.

View the Full Article

Quick Tip: Create a Mech-Inspired Text Effect in Photoshop Using Layer Styles

Jan Stverak — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:36 PDT

In this quick tutorial we will show you how to create mech-inspired text effect using layer styles in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

Step 1

First create a new .PSD document, 600 x 400 pixels in RGB mode, 72 DPI with any background color. Now prepare your assets. Install the SF Sports Night fonts into your computer and open all .PAT files.

Step 2

Now go to Menu > Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and use the settings below. You can also access Blending Options with two faster ways. First and the fastest way is to double click on the layer in your layers menu. Other way is to right click on the layer in your layers menu and choose Blending Options. When you are done with all the settings below, don’t forget to hit “OK” in the Blending Options window!

Step 3

Now we can start making our text effect. First choose the type tool and change font to SF Sports Night NS AltUpright, size around 175 pt and anti-aliasing Sharp. Now type your text somewhere in the center of the image. You can write any word, but in this tutorial I’ll use "MECH".

Step 4

Finally we are ready to start with our text style. Go to Menu > Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and use the settings below on our text. You can also use the quicker methods to access Blending Options from "Step 2" of this tutorial. When you are done with all the settings below, don’t forget to hit "OK" in the Blending Options window! This text layer will add some shadows and lights into the final result.

Step 4

We are almost there. Now we need to duplicate our text layer. Select the text layer in layer menu and go to Menu > Layer > Duplicate layer and name it as you wish. Now go to Menu > Layer > Layer Style > Clear Layer Style as we will make different style for this layer. Finally go to Menu > Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and use the settings below on our text. Again, you can use the quicker methods to access Blending Options from "Step 2" of this tutorial. When you are done with all the settings below, don’t forget to hit "OK" in the Blending Options window! This is the main text effect layer and must be on top of the second text layer.

Conclusion

Now you are finished. TIP: Now you can rewrite the text with something else (in both text layers) and the effect will still remain same. You can also play with different fonts.

What’s New on Tuts+ Premium?

Grant Friedman — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:49:09 PDT

One of the best things about Tuts+ Premium is that we are always adding new content. In addition to the loads of content that our site editors publish each month, Tuts+ Premium also includes in-depth courses, ebooks, and forums. Today, we wanted to let you know about a couple of exciting new items that may be of interest to our readers on Psdtuts; the addition of Thread’s Not Dead, an "essential strategy guide for dominating the t-shirt design business" and a new Advanced Digital Painting Course.

Thread’s Not Dead

What if the most prolific and influential people in the modern t-shirt design scene got together and discussed everything they wished they knew when they started? That’s exactly what we have here.

Inside these 10 chapters are 117 pages of essential strategy pulled from the success and failures of some of the best in the biz. The book’s author, Jeff Finley, is a veteran designer and one of the founders at GoMedia.

Key topics include design, freelancing, band merchandise, personal branding, marketing, sales, printing & production, retail, e-commerce, and more.

Advanced Digital Painting by Matt Kohr

This 12-lesson course by veteran instructor and concept artist Matt Kohr shows the entire illustration process from line-art to final, focusing on visual problem solving. While this course will briefly address the tools and commands used, its primary aim is to explain the creative and technical process behind it.

How to Draw a Leica Camera in Photoshop

Mohammad Jeprie — Tue, 22 May 2012 06:00:49 PDT

Leica is considered one of the most prestigious camera brands. In this tutorial, we will draw one of the most notable Leica cameras in Photoshop, the Leica M1. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Background and Floor

Make new file (Command/Ctrl + N) and set its size to 110 × 700 px. Activate gradient tool. Set its mode to radial from #f5f5f5 to #c4c5c4.

Step 2

Duplicate layer by pressing Command/Ctrl + J. Hit Command/Ctrl + T to transform it. Pull upper handle down to convert it into a floor.

Step 3

On layers panel, click Add Layer Mask icon to add layer mask. Paint upper mask with black until it fades onto the background.

Step 4: Basic Shape

Open Paths panel. Click new path icon. Use pen tool to draw camera basic path.

Step 5

Grab a leather texture from Design Instruct freebies section. Below, we use Leather Texture 04 from the collection.

Step 6

Current leather color doesn’t fit the camera appearance. We need to change its color to gray. Add new adjustment layer Hue/Saturation and use below settings.

This is the result after we add Hue/Saturation.

Step 7

Copy basic camera path and place it on top of the leather texture.

Step 8

Select leather texture and adjustment layer. Hit Command/Ctrl + G to place them inside a group layer. Click Layer > Vector Mask > Current Path. The leather texture is now goes inside the path. From this point onward until Step 29, make sure to place all new layer inside this group layer.

Step 9: Metal Parts

Duplicate camera path. Click Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Select color #9ebec5. Add a rectangular path on middle of the path. Modify its bottom side to turn it into a curve. Set its mode to Subtract. Add a rectangular path and set its mode to Add to Shape. See picture below to see the shape that you need to make.

Add Layer Style Bevel and Emboss and Gradient Overlay.

This is the result we have. This shape is going to be metal part of the camera.

Step 10

In Layers panel, Command/Ctrl-click layer shape to make new selection based on its shape.

Step 11

Make new layer. Fill selection with black.

Step 12

Soften it by adding Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).

Step 13

Hit Command/Ctrl + [ to place the layer under previous layer shape. Move the shadow down a few pixel.

Step 14

Make new layer and then activate brush tool. Manually, paint black as shadows on left and right side of the camera.

Step 15

Repeat previous step, this time use white for highlights. We want to place the source light on left side of the camera. So, draw a white line on left side of the camera. Use eraser tool with 0% hardness and 20% opacity to erase highlights on its leather texture.

Step 16

Reduce layer Opacity to 10%. This is enough to add subtle highlight onto the camera.

Step 17

Add another highlight on right side of the camera using same technique. This time set its Opacity to lower than 10%. Remember that highlight on left side needs to be more stronger because the light source is placed on top left side too.

Step 18

Command/Ctrl-click camera main path to make new selection based on its shape.

Step 19

Make new layer. Click Edit > Stroke. Select black as its color with width 2 px.

Step 20

Deselect by pressing Command/Ctrl + D. Click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to soften the line. Use soft eraser to erase parts of the line. This line will be shadows on camera’s edge.

Step 21

Let’s repeat previous, but this time for highlight on the metal part. Command/Ctrl-click metal part layer to make new selection. make new layer. Click Edit > Stroke and choose white color. Remove selection and then soften it using Gaussian Blur.

Step 22

Use Eraser tool to erase some part of the highlight line.

Step 23: Add Metal Texture

Make new layer and then fill it with white. Click Edit > Fill, select white color and then click OK. Click Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

Step 24

Click Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set angle to 0° with very big distance size.

Step 25

Change layers blend mode to Overlay and reduce its Opacity.

Step 26: Add Highlights

Let’s add some soft highlights onto the camerea. Activate Brush tool and set its Opacity to 40%. Change background color to white. Make new layer and then draw small highlights on top left of the camera. Don’t worry if the result looks too rough. Soften it by applying Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).

Repeat this steps on other areas of the camera.

Step 27

Make new and paint shadow on left side of the camera. Make sure to use a big and soft brush.

Step 28

Make new layer. Draw big shadow on right side of the camera. Reduce layer Opacity until the result is natural.

Step 29: Lens

Make a new separate group for drawing lenses. Draw a thin rounded rectangle with color #add9e7. Select shape using Path Selection tool and hit Command/Ctrl + Alt + T to duplicate and transform it. In the option bar, set angle to 2°.

Make sure the new path is selected. Hit Command/Ctrl + Shift + Alt + G to repeat the transformation. Keep doing this until we have a full circle shape.

Add Drop Shadow and Outer Glow with following settings.

Step 30

Repeat previous steps, but this time draw a black rectangle with angle 5°.

Reduce layers Opacity to 10%. Hit Command/Ctrl + [ to move the layer down and place it under previous circle shape.

Step 31

Make new layer on top of circle shape. Dab white and black on its edge using a soft big brush. Hit Command/Ctrl + Alt + G to convert the layer into a Clipping Mask. This way, the pixels will goes inside the shape.

Step 32

Draw bigger circle behind the lens and lines. Use #a2cedc for its color.

Douible click layer and activate Gradient Overlay with following settings.

Step 33

Make new layer right above the circle and dab white and black using soft big brush. Convert the layer to Clipping Mask (Command/Ctrl + Alt + G).

Step 34

Draw a circle shape with color #202323. Make new layer and dab white on its right side. Convert layer to Clipping Mask by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt + G.

Step 35

Draw smaller circle with color #1b1c1e. Make new layer, convert it to Clipping mask and then dab black and white on its edge.

Step 36

You should now understand the process. Repeat this a few times until we get a complete set of circles inside the lens.

Step 37

Draw smaller circle again with color #0f0c14.

Add subtle Gradient Overlay.

Step 38

Draw a small circle with color #111010.

Step 39

Draw a big circle covering whole lens. You can use any color for this shape.

Double click layer shape and add subtle Gradient Overlay with Opacity 11% from black to white.

Reduce Fill layer to 0%. This way, we can reveal the lens and add subtle gradient on top of it.

Step 40

Draw a rounded rectangle. Select the path using Path Selection Tool. Hit Command/Ctrl + Alt + T to duplicate and transform the shape. Alt-drag transformation reference point and place it on center of the lens. Rotate the shape for 30°.

Step 41

Repeat the process by pressing Command/Ctrl + Shift + Alt + T. See picture below to see the result.

Add layer style Inner Glow and Gradient Overlay.

Step 42

Reduce Opacity to 40% and Fill to 0%.

Step 43

Place the layer on top of small circle shape we made in Step 37. Convert layer to Clipping Mask by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt + G. Split each path into separate layers.

This what we will have after we split each path into separate layer shape.

Step 44

Let’s add highlights inside the lens. Make new layer and place it above all layers. Use soft brush to draw white spot on the lens. Don’t worry is the result is very harsh, we can fix it easily.

Step 45

Add Gaussian Blur to soften the highlight we have just manually drawn.

Step 46

Draw a circle shape covering the lens.

Add layer style Gradient Overlay. Set its mode to radial from black to white.

This is the result. Change Fill layer to 0% to reveal the lens underneath the shape.

Step 47

Make a new layer. Draw a circular selection on venter of the lens and fill it with black.

Step 48

Click FIlter > Render > Lens Flare.

Change layer’s blend mode to Screen and reduce Opacity to 19%.

Step 49

Draw a circular path using ellipse tool.

Step 50

Activate Type tool and click right on the path. Remember to do it exactly on the path, not inside or outside the path. If you do it correctly, your text direction will follow the path curvature.

Step 51

Make new layer above the text and then paint some shadows. Erase unneeded shadow using Eraser tool.

Step 52

Repeat the steps above to add more texts on the lens.

Step 53

The lens is currently appears flat. We need to add shadow to give it depth. Command/Ctrl-click lens basic shape to make new selection based on its shape. Make sure marquee tool is selected and then hit down a few times to move the selection down.

Step 54

Make new selection and place it under the lens. Fill selection with black. Deselect (Command/Ctrl + D) and then soften it using Gaussian Blur.

Step 55

Hit Command/Ctrl + T to perform transformation. Right click and select Warp. Pull lower right box.

Step 56

Warp transformation sometimes add rough edges. To fix it, we need to soften it again using Gaussian Blur. This time use bigger radius.

Step 57

Add layer mask and then paint lower right corner of the shadow with black until it fades onto the camera base.

Step 58

Draw a rectangle shape on lower right of the lens with color #e0f6fa. Activate pen tool then click and drag its middle top side to add new point. Use Direct selection to select it and drag it down until we get a curve.

Step 59

Add some circles on left and right side of the shape. Make sure to set its mode to Add to Shape in the Option Bar.

Add Gradient Overlay onto the layer shape.

Step 60

Rotate the shape 135°.

Step 61

Duplicate shape by pressing Command/Ctrl + J. Place it behind the original shape. Pull its middle point down. See picture below to see the result.

Step 62

Make new layer and then paint shadows on top of the duplicated shape.

Step 63

Make new layer again and put it behind the lens. Paint our previous shape shadow on the camera.

Step 64: View Finder

Draw a rounded rectangle with color #c7d4d5. Inside the shape, draw smaller rounded rectangle and set its mode to Subtract from Shape.

Double click layer to open Layer Style dialog box. Add Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss.

Step 65

Command/Ctrl-click shape and move the selection 3 pixels left and down. Make new layer and place it under the shape. Fill selection with black.

Step 66

Click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to soften it.

Step 67

Make new layer again. Activate brush tool with small brush size. Paint needed highlights and shadows. While painting this, make sure to remember that our light source is in upper right corner of the canvas.

Step 68

Make new layer, this time place it on top of the shape. Paint subtle shadow inside the shape.

Step 69

Draw a small rectangle inside the frame. Set its color to #37383c.

Add layer style Inner Glow and Gradient Overlay.

Here’s the result.

Step 70

Draw a small circle on center of the viewfinder with color #e0e1e1. Reduce its Opacity and Fill to 2% and 90%. With these settings, the circle seems to be inside the viewfinder glass.

Step 71

Make new layer. Paint subtle shadows and highlights inside the viewfinder glass. Use very soft brush with low Opacity, no more than 5%. Remember, we want it to be very subtle.

Step 72

Activate the viewfinder glass. In Layers panel, double click it to open Layer Styles dialog box. Activate Bevel and Emboss and Gradient Overlay.

Step 73

Use same technique to draw another viewfinder on left and right side of the camera.

For the left side, you can simply duplicate the first viewfinder and resize it.

Step 74

Draw a black rounded rectangle on top of the small viewfinder.

Add Bevel and Emboss.

Reduce Fill layer to 0%.

Step 75

Double click layer to open Layer Style dialog box again. Activate Layer Mask Hides Effects.

Step 76

Click Add Layer Mask icon to add layer mask and then left side of the shape with black. We want the Bevel effect fades onto left side of the camera body.

Step 77

Make new layer. Command/Ctrl-click shape to make new selection based on its shape. Fill it with black.

Step 78

Hit Command/Ctrl + D to deselect. Click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to soften the black pixels.

Step 79

Hit Command/Ctrl + T to transform the shadow. Right click and select Warp. Pull down lower area.

Step 80

Select upper shadow and then hit Delete key. Reduce its Opacity to 40%.

Step 81

Command/Ctrl-click shape we have made in Step 74. Make new layer and then click Edit > Stroke. Set its color to white.

Step 82

Soften the stroke by applying Gaussian Blur.

Step 83

Erase some of stroke line.

Step 84: Draw Switch

Draw a circle shape with color #bcb4ac. Add a polygon path on top of it with mode Add to Path.

Add Layer Style Drop, Bevel and Emboss, and Gradient Overlay.

Step 85

On top of the shape, draw a circle with color: #87a0a8.

Add Drop Shadow, Outer Glow, and Bevel and Emboss with following settings.

Step 86

Draw bigger circle, this time with color #9eb8bd. Place behind both previous shapes.

Double click layer shape to open Layer Style dialog box. Activate Drop Shadow and Gradient Overlay.

Step 87

Make new layer and paint subtle shadow behind the dial.

Step 88

Draw a circle, smaller than the previous one.

Add Bevel and Emboss

Step 89

Make new layer and then manually paint highlights on the circle.

Draw another highlight on the smaller circle.

Step 90

Make new layer and make circular selection covering top of the circle shape. Fill it with black and then click Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

Click Filter > Blur > Radial Blur and select Spin for its blur method.

Step 91

Change layer’s blend mode to Screen and reduce its Opacity.

Below is the result in 100% magnification.

Step 92

Draw a small circle with color #ccc6bf. Add Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Inner Shadow, and Gradient Overlay with following settings.

Step 93

Duplicate the shape by pressing Command/Ctrl + J. hit Command/Ctrl + T to resize it. Repeat this process a few times.

Step 94

Draw two small dark circles shape on the dial. Add following Layer Styles.

Step 95

Make new layer and place it under the set of circles. Use soft brush tool to paint soft shadow on the camera body.

Step 96

Repeat this process to draw another switch on the camera.

Step 97: Screw

Draw a small circle shape with color #cbd6d8. Add Inner Shadow.

Step 98

Draw smaller circle shape with color #c8d5d8. Add rectangle path with path mode Subtract. To convert it into a screw we need to add following Layer Styles.

Step 99

Make new layer and then manually paint subtle highlight on the screw.

Step 100

Use same techniques to draw a dark screw.

Step 101

Make below switch using combinations of techiques that we have learnt earlier.

Step 102

Draw a circle with color #2c383a.

Step 103

Draw a ring shape with color #e4e0e4. To do this, you just need to draw a circle and add smaller circle inside it and set its mode to Subtract. Add Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss with following settings.

Step 104

Command/Ctrl-click ring shape to make a new selection based on its shape. Click Select > Modify > Contract to reduce the selection size.

Step 105

Make new layer and then fill selection with black. Hit Command/Ctrl + D to deselect.

Step 106

Add Gaussian Blur filter to soften it.

Step 107

Erase some of the line stroke using soft eraser tool.

Step 108

Make new layer. Command/Ctrl-click ring shape and click Edit > Stroke. Set its color to white.

Step 109

Erase some of the white lines.

Step 110

Draw a small circle inside the ring shape. Set its color to #bfd4d9. Add following Layer Styles.

Step 111

Make new layer and then paint highlight on the shape. Convert layer to Clipping Mask by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt + G.

Step 112

Make new layer and paint some highlights and shadows on top of the shape.

Step 113

Draw a small circle shape with color #646a68. Add Gradient Overlay and Inner Shadow.

Step 114

Draw smaller circle shape with color #bfd4d9. Add a rectangle path on its center and set its mode to Subtract. Add Drop Shadow, Bevel and Emboss, and Gradient Overlay.

Step 115: Draw Speed Dials

Draw a rounded rectangle behind the camera and add Gradient Overlay.

Step 116

Make new layer on top of the shape. Set foreground color to black and then paint random shadow using soft brush. Convert layer to Clipping Mask.

Step 117

Make a new file with canvas size 6 × 6 pixels.

Step 118

Zoom in to maximum using zoom tool. Activate pencil tool with brush size 1 px. Draw below pattern using only black, white, and gray color.

Step 119

Click Edit > Define Pattern to save the image as a pattern.

Step 120

Make new layer. Place layer right above the dial shape. Draw a selection covering the camera dial. Click Edit > Fill. Activate Use: Pattern. Select pattern we have just made earlier.

Step 121

Convert layer to Clipping Mask by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt G. Change layers blend mode to Overlay and reduce its Opacity.

Step 122

Draw a rectangle behind the Speed Dial with color #5c6c6b. Add Layer Style Inner Glow.

Step 123

Make new layer. Draw some highlights and shadows on new layer.

Step 124

Draw a rectangle with color: #5c6c6b. Click the middle its upper and lower side to add new points. Select both new points and move them up.

Step 125

Make new layer and then convert it to Clipping Mask. Click Edit > Fill, select Use: Pattern and select pattern we have made earlier.

Step 126

Set blend mode to Overlay with Opacity 40%.

Step 127

Make new layer. Activate big brush tool and then paint some highlights and shadows. Convert layer to Clipping Mask. This way, all the highlights and shadows go inside the shape.

Step 128

Draw a rectangle behind previous shape with color #627c82. Make new layer and then convert it to Clipping Mask. Paint some highlights and shadows.

Step 129

Paint subtle shadow under the speed dial.

Step 130

Add more realism to the shape by painting stronger highlight.

Step 131

Draw a thin rectangle. Make new layer and paint small highlight and shadow inside the shape. Convert the layer into a Clipping Mask.

Step 132: Shutter

Draw a rectangle with color #727f80. Click half of its upper and lower side to add new points. Pull the right side down using Direct Selection tool. See picture below for reference.

Step 133

Make new layer and then activate a small soft brush with Hardness 0%. Draw some black lines on top of the shape. Soften the lines by adding Gaussian Blur. Convert the layer to Clipping Mask by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt + G.

Step 134

Earlier, we have paint shadows. Now, let’s working on its highlight. Do the same thing, but this time use white for the color.

Step 135

Zoom closer and draw 1 px white line on upper and lower side.

Step 136

Draw a dark rectangle behind the shape.

Step 137

On its top, draw a rounded rectangle with color #7a8d91 to be used for the camera shutter.

Step 138

Make a new layer and then paint white random lines. Soften them using Gaussian Blur. Convert layer to Clipping Mask.

Step 139

Draw a rounded rectangle. Use same techniques to add highlight and shadows onto the shape.

Step 140

Draw another rounded rectangle, this time thinner, and then make new layer. Paint its highlight and shadow.

Step 141

Draw a rounded rectangle with color #737e7f. Add layer mask and then paint black on its right until it fades onto the shape behind it. See picture below for reference on its position.

Step 142

Repeat techniques we have learnt earlier to paint its highlight and shadow.

Step 143: Add More Highlights

Our current camera is still too flat. If you look everything closely, you will notice that there is no perfect lighting in real life. There are always random light reflections everywhere. So, that’s what we’re going to do. Add highlight onto our camera. Make new layer and then activate brush tool with 0% Hardness. Manually paint white highlight on some elements on the camera.

Below you can see the difference before and after adding the highlights. You can see this subtle difference really adds more realism onto the object.

Step 144: Shadow

Make new layer and then put it under the camera. Use soft brush to draw camera shadow on the floor.

Step 145

Remember that we need more shadow under the lens.

Step 146

Paint dark shadow right behind the camera. Make sure to match its direction with our light source position. Paint lighter shadow further away from the camera. Make sure to do this patiently until the shadow fades perfectly onto the floor.

Final Image

Below is the final result. I hope you learn something new from this tutorial. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment form below. I’d be glad to help you.

Last Chance: Digital Art Workshop This Weekend — Save 30%!

David Appleyard — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:30:50 PDT

Just in case you didn’t spot our announcement about the first Tuts+ Live Workshops at the end of last week, I wanted to let you know that this is your last chance to purchase a ticket for the digital art workshop running this weekend!

Read on for an exclusive introduction to this series of Tuts+ Live Workshops, and details on how to book.

A Video Introduction

I this video, our course instructor (Martin Perhiniak) will walk you through the contents of the workshop, and explain how helpful it can be to your future career as a digital artist!

Professional Face-to-Face Training

Martin Perhiniak is one of our most popular authors on Psdtuts+, a Certified Adobe Design Master and Instructor, and an incredibly talented teacher. Martin has worked with companies like Disney, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, Sony Pictures, Mattel, and DC Comics. He will be running a series of Tuts+ Live Workshops over the next three months, giving you the chance to become a Photoshop expert.

The workshops are taking place in London, UK, in a state of the art learning environment (here’s a video of the training centre), and over each two-day course you’ll learn everything you need to know about a particular area of Photoshop. We’ll even provide an iMac, second screen, and a tablet for you to use during the course!

It’s an amazing opportunity to take your Photoshop career to the next level, learning skills that will make you a better creative professional. If you’re wanting to take the first step into being a full-time Photoshop professional, these workshops are the perfect start.

Dates, Prices, and Topics

We have an exclusive offer for Tuts+ readers, saving you 30% on the price of the Digital Art Workshop! Just book using the link below, and Martin will send you a discount code for your ticket.

Workshop	Dates	Price
Digital Art	26-27th May	£350 +VAT (was £497!)	Last Chance to Book!
Graphic Design	9th-10th June	£497 +VAT	Book Your Place
Photo Retouching	4th-5th August	£497 +VAT	Book Your Place

If you’d like to find out more about what each workshop involves, check out our in-depth overview of the different workshops on offer.

Have Your Say & Win!

We’d love to have your thoughts on how we should continue this project. Should future live workshops be held online instead? Or in a city near you? Take our thirty second survey and we’ll pick a random respondent to win a three month Tuts+ Premium membership on Friday 31st May!

Give us your feedback on Tuts+ Live Workshops!

Create a Red Riding Hood Themed Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

Wojciech Magierski — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:00:21 PDT

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Wojciech Magierski will explain how to create a Red Riding Hood themed photo manipulation in Photoshop. This tutorial is available exclusively to Tuts+ Premium Members. If you are looking to take your photo manipulation skills to the next level then Log in or Join Now to get started!

View the Tutorial

Tuts+ Premium Members can login now for instant access to this tutorial. Membership to Tuts+ Premium gets you access to hundreds of exclusive premium tutorials, top selling ebooks, in-depth courses, member forums, and much more. To learn more about Tuts+ Premium, Take the Tour or Join Today.

Awesome Illustrations of Mike Lim (Daarken)

Grant Friedman — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:42 PDT

In this article we will take a look at the work of Mike Lim. Lim is a concept artist who has worked for several well-known clients including Mythic Entertainment, Blizzard, and more. His artwork is full of scary monsters, dwarfs, knights, and even a skull or two. Let’s take a look!

Mass Effect 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur Promo

Hero’s Call

Black Fire Pass

Nicodemus

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Omens of War

Skaven Master Moulder

Dark Sun

Signs of Faith

A Deadly Encounter

The Edge of Night

Poised

Dwarf Slayer

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

Tuts+ Live Workshops: Photoshop Training in London

David Appleyard — Sat, 19 May 2012 03:30:17 PDT

I’m incredibly excited to let you know about a series of live Photoshop workshops we have planned over the next few months, in conjunction with Martin Perhiniak. They’ll be taking place in London, UK, and it’s a great chance to take your Photoshop training to the next level! Read on to find out more, and book your place…

Professional Face-to-Face Training

Dates, Prices, and Topics

We have an exclusive offer for Tuts+ readers, saving you 30% on the price of the Digital Art Workshop! Just book using the link below, and Martin will send you a discount code for your ticket.

Workshop	Dates	Price
Digital Art	26-27th May	£350 +VAT (was £497!)	Last Chance to Book!
Graphic Design	9th-10th June	£497 +VAT	Book Your Place
Photo Retouching	4th-5th August	£497 +VAT	Book Your Place

Digital Art

Have you ever imagined yourself working on blockbuster movies or computer games? Designing characters, monsters, weapons, cities, castles, spaceships and planets? In this intense but fun two-day workshop, you can learn all the techniques used by professional digital artists. Topics covered will be:

Digital art basics & theory
Brushes
Finding and using references & inspiration
Using a tablet
Digital sketching and painting techniques
Portraits and dynamic character poses
Concept art projects
Vehicle, character, monster, weapon, and environment design
Matte painting projects
Futuristic and fantasy cityscape

You’ll need a basic understanding of Photoshop for this course. If you are not confident, you can prepare for the course by watching Martin’s Photoshop Basix series!

Digital Art

26-27th May

£497 +VAT

Book Your Place

Graphic Design

Have you ever wanted to learn all the best practices used by a professional graphic designer? This is the best place and time for you to do that. You can learn everything you need to know through real life design examples, which makes the training extremely useful and exciting. Topics covered will be:

Logo design workflow and project
Brochure design workflow and project
Poster design workflow and project
Product packaging design workflow and project
Identity design workflow and project
Album cover design workflow and project

You’ll need a basic understanding of Photoshop for this course. If you are not confident, you can prepare for the course by watching Martin’s Photoshop Basix series!

Graphic Design

9th-10th June

£497 +VAT

Book Your Place

Photo Retouching

In this two-day course, you’ll learn all the most advanced retouch skills you need for professional work in several fields in the industry. The techniques we cover in this special course are used by high-end fashion photo retouchers, digital artists, professional photographers and graphic designers. Topics covered will be:

High-end portrait retouch
Skin softening, and changing hair and eye colour
Modifying facial and body features
Artistic portrait effects
Removing unwanted elements
Extending photos for better composition
Professional sharpening and noise-reduction
Creating the perfect group shot
Photo montage techniques
HDR techniques
Adding colour to black and white photographs
Vintage and colour pop effects
Restoring old photographs & cleaning up backgrounds
Working with Camera RAW files
Retouching landscape photographs
Professional fashion/wedding shoot retouch and montage project

You’ll need a basic understanding of Photoshop for this course. If you are not confident, you can prepare for the course by watching Martin’s Photoshop Basix series!

Photo Retouching

4th-5th August

£497 +VAT

Book Your Place

Have Your Say & Win!

While our first set of workshops are taking place in London, we’d love to have your thoughts on how we can continue this project. Let us know where you think other live workshops should be held, if you’d like to participate in an online workshop, and what topics you think we should cover:

Take our thirty second survey

We’ll pick a random respondent to win a three month Tuts+ Premium membership on Friday 31st May!