Psdtuts+

Adobe Announces Preset Sharing and Layer Panel Enhancements for Photoshop

Grant Friedman — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:41:51 PST

Today, Adobe released their 5th sneak peek video that explains what they are working on for the next version of Photoshop. This sneak peek shows off several new features including the ability to share your presets between computers, as well as some enhancements to the layer panel. In this article, we will take a look at some of these announcements and analyze them to see what they mean for you. Let’s take a look!

If you work on several computers (a laptop and a desktop, for instance) you know how irritating it can be to save your settings onto both machines. This update to the preset manager looks like an easy way to quickly export your settings and install them onto all your machines. In addition, it will make the upgrade to the next version that much easier.

Adobe also introduced some new features available from the layers palette including the ability to duplicate several layers at one time using Command/Ctrl + J, as well as the ability to add color labels for multiple layers at once. This is a pretty big time-saver for anyone who has had to apply the same setting to multiple layers one-by-one.

In addition to those announcements, Adobe also revealed some features that they didn’t spend a whole lot of time explaining. For instance, take a look at the layers panel and compare it to the layers panel from CS5. You’ll notice some really big changes. Notice the options at the top. Could these be new ways to manage your layers? What do you think these new options do?

Also, take a look at this screengrab from the JDI section of the video. It may be hard to read, but they’ve included quite a few quick fixes in the new version.

What do you think about these new changes? Are you excited about the new version? Will you make the upgrade?

Paint a Castle in Photoshop – Part 1

Martin Perhiniak — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:00:12 PST

Photoshop is an excellent tool for manipulating photographs but it can also be used as a means to create stunning digital art. This tutorial is part of a 25-part video tutorial series demonstrating everything you will need to know to start producing digital art in Photoshop. Digital Art for Beginners, by Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor, Martin Perhiniak will begin by teaching you how to draw in Photoshop. At the conclusion of this series you will know all you need to produce your own concept art and matte paintings in Photoshop.

Today’s tutorial Part 24: Paint a Castle in Photoshop – Part 1 will explain how to paint a castle on top of a photograph. In this part we will explain how to set the perspective, draw the outlines, and lay down color. Let’s get started!

Win $300 Worth of PSD to HTML From PSD2HTML (x4)

Grant Friedman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:45:42 PST

If you’re a graphic or web designer by trade, chances are coding a website isn’t something that you prefer to spend your time on. That’s why many designers get frustrated when tasked with having to design and code a site by themselves. Today, our friends at PSD2HTML are coming to the rescue by offering 4 lucky Psdtuts readers $300 worth of services for free. To enter, all you have to do is submit your entry using the form below.

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If you need more complex PSD to HTML slicing, you can select among the variety of markup, layout and JavaScript options until you come up with something that fully suits your needs. With over 7 years of experience, PSD2HTML can handle any conversion or implementation tasks, whether it’s web page, email, or mobile template!

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This giveaway was sponsored by Psd2html.

Create a Mini Planet Using Photoshop’s 3D Capabilities

Alexandra Fomicheva — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:00:23 PST

When most people think about Photoshop, they probably don’t think about 3D. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Photoshop CS5 Extended includes some powerful tools to help you render your artwork in 3D. In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a mini planet using Photoshop’s 3D capabilities. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

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

Step 1

Create a new document, the size is 1400 x 1400px, 96 pixels/inch. Fill background layer with radial gradient or apply Gradient Overlay effect (unlock background layer).

Step 2

Insert sky image. Go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 180°. Then choose Transform > Warp, apply Arch transformation like on the example. Make active Distort transformation and drag sky layer corners. Follow screen shot red arrows directions.

Step 3

Add Layer Mask to the sky layer (click Mask icon in the bottom of layers palette). Fill Mask with the Black and White Reflected Gradient . Correct top right edge with soft large Brush Tool. Apply Screen Blending Mode, Opacity 80%. Add Adjustments Clipping Masks to this layer – Black & White and Levels. Click icon in the bottom menu of the Layers Palette. Select all adjustments layers (make them active), right click > choose "Create Clipping Mask". Apply setting for each adjustment layer like on the examples below.

Step 4

Group and duplicate sky layers, move them up. Edit > Transform > Rotate 180°. Apply Scale transformation to this group of layers to make it smaller than the bottom one. Now you should have gradient background and two groups of sky layers.

Step 5

Insert stars photo. Remove reflections with the Patch Tool. Select reflections and drag the selection border to the clean area. When you release the mouse button, the trace of the selected area is patched with the sampled pixels.

Step 6

Rotate it on 90° and apply Warp Arch transformation just like for the sky layer in previous steps. Then stretch this shape and rotate it again.

Step 7

Duplicate stars layer, turn it on 180° and move it left and down.

Step 8

Merge stars layers and apply Screen Blending Mode. In order to completely remove light background shade, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and move left black marker to the center a bit.

Step 9

Let’s make snow material for the first 3D shape. Open a new document – 1200 x 1200 px, 96 pixels/inch. Unlock the background layer and convert it to the Smart Object. Layer > Object Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object. Apply Color Overlay effect to this layer .

Step 10

Apply following filters. Filter > Noise > Add Noise and Filter > Artistic > Sponge. Use settings like on the screen shots below.

Step 11

Crate a new layer fill it with black color, Click "D" to make default black and white colors. Go to Filter > Render > Different Clouds. Repeat Command/Ctrl+ F until you get similar effect like on the screen shot. Apply Screen Blending Mode to this layer. You may save this texture as a regular JPG file.

Step 12

In order to create 3D sphere with mountains landscape, we need to make special grayscale texture. Make a new document 1200 x 1200px 96 pixels/inch. Fill the firs layer with gray color #9f9f9f.

Step 13

Create a new empty layer, go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Keep foreground/background colors black and white . Scale the "clouds" layer like on the screen shot and apply Screen Blending Mode.

Step 14

Add Layer Mask to this layer and fill it with Radial Black and White gradient from center to edges. Then make several copies of created layer. Apply random Scale, Rotation transformation for each copy and set smaller amount of Opacity – around 40-60%. Light colors are creating heights of the mountains and spots with smaller Opacity parameter making them lower. Group the clouds layers and set opacity for the group folder around 75%. Merge all texture layers and add Gaussian Blur effect, Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur ~2px. We need to make very smooth and low contrast image. You may check out the result with the high contrast texture on the last two screen shots.

Step 15

Insert created texture to the main Photoshop document. Put it above stars and sky layers. To optimize 3D rendering process, I’ve made Smart Objects for all 3D shapes in this tutorial. For another thing, our textures have different size than main Photoshop document, but in order to create the regular sphere shape, texture should cover whole working area. Right click texture layer, choose Convert to Smart Object. Double click Smart Object thumbnail to open smart object content in a separate window and convert it to 3D shape – Open 3D settings window, Window > 3D and choose 3D Mesh from Grayscale > Sphere. After editing the contents choose File > Save to commit the changes. Those changes will be reflected upon returning to the main file window.

Step 16

Here you may see the camera settings for the 3D scene.

Step 17

Use these tools to rotate, move and scale created 3D shape.

Step 18

Apply following Scene settings. In final change "Quality" from "Interactive (Painting)" to "Ray Traced Final". Download lights presets, choose "Replace Lights Presets" and find "lights_mountains" on your computer. Apply Snow texture to the Diffuse and Bump parameters.

Step 19

Apply Inner shadow effect to created 3D layer.

Step 20

To create water texture, create a new large document 2400 x 2400px, 96 pixels/inch. Apply blue gradient to the first layer.

Step 21

Set default colors just like on the screen shot, create a new empty layer, go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Then Filter > Artistic > Plastic Wrap.

Step 22

Duplicate textured layers two times. Apply Soft Light Blending Mode to the bottom layer and Screen Blending Mode to the top one.

Step 23

Add "Black&White", "Levels" Adjustment Clipping Masks to the top layer. Save this texture as a regular JPG.

Step 24

Return to the main Photoshop file; create a new layer above the first 3D mountains smart object. In order to get the exactly same size sphere, create a square 1200px x 1200px, use the same color as for the mountains texture background – #9f9f9f. Right click gray layer, choose "Create the Smart Object from this layer". Double click layer thumbnail to open smart object in a separate window. 3D > New mesh from Grayscale > Sphere. Apply absolutely the same 3D object and camera tools position settings as for the mountains shape in previous steps. The new shape should be the same size as the previous one with the mountains.

Step 25

Adjust scene settings. Apply Ray Traced Final Quality after other adjustments. Upload water texture to the Diffuse and Bump parameters. To find better texture position, right click texture icon and change Texture Properties. For the Bump setting you may use default texture properties. Download light preset for the water layer and apply it using the same way as for the mountains 3D layer.

Step 26

Add the Layer Mask to the mountains Smart Object in the main Photoshop document or to 3D layer inside the smart object. Fill the mask with the Linear Black and White gradient in the bottom part. Then choose small round Brush Tool and correct surface contour with black or white color in the Layer Mask.

Step 27

Now we have background layers and two smart objects above. Move water layer below the mountains. Load selections for the current mountains layer Select > Load selection. In order to make left bottom part of the snow shape smoother, make active water layer and copy selected area. Paste copied water part above both of objects, add Layer Mask, fill it with the linear gradient just like on the screen shot and apply Soft Light Blending Mode.

Step 28

Crate a new document for craters texture, 1200 x1200px, 96 pixels/inch. Fill the first layer with #808080 color. Keep default colors . Create a new white or black layer, go to Filter > Render > Different clouds. Repeat Command/Ctrl + F several times to get the similar effect.

Step 29

Add Levels Adjustment Clipping Mask to the clouds layer. Merge clouds with the adjustment layer, go to Image > Adjustments > Invert, and apply Screen Blending Mode to it.

Step 30

Change Opacity parameter for this layer and add Layer Mask. Fill it with the Radial gradient from center to edges.

Step 31

Draw a small circle in a new layer, apply Gradient Overlay effect to this shape.

Step 32

Duplicate created circle several times, apply Scale transformation for them to create different diameter craters, Play with Opacity setting to get different heights. Group circles layers and apply ~30% Opacity to the created group folder.

Step 33

Now you may merge all texture layers, apply Gaussian Blur filter -2px and move the final texture layer to the main Photoshop document. Convert it to the Smart Object, double click Smart Object thumbnail to open inside content in the separate window. Convert Texture to the 3D shape.

Step 34

Apply Camera position settings the same as for all previous shapes. Move, scale and rotate the 3D shape to find better position. You may find how it looks like in the main Photoshop document on the second screen shot. Apply "Snow" texture for Diffuse and Bump settings. Upload "lights_planet2" preset for this shape. Pay attention to the new light source – blue reflection from the water sphere.

Step 35

Apply Gradient Overlay effect to the third smart object layer. You may use Spectrums gradient preset – "Light Spectrum".

Step 36

Duplicate craters Smart Object layer several times to create small planets. Double click each new Smart Object thumbnail to open 3D settings. Scale, rotate and move each shape to get different positions. Correct Opacity setting for the far planet Smart Object layer ~ 84%.

Step 37

Check out all 3D shapes "Ray Traced Final" Quality scene parameter, to get the better result. Select whole working space in the main Photoshop document, Select > Select All, then go Edit > Copy Merged. Paste merged composition into a new layer (layer 18 on the screen shot below). Press Quick Mask icon .

Step 38

Choose Reflected Black and white Gradient Tool. Keep Quick Mask pressed. Find craters 3D shape in the bottom layers and load selection for this layer. Take large soft translucent white Brush Tool and touch the bottom part of selected area. Choose Select > Deselect.

Step 39

Keep active Quick Mask Mode. Load selection for the water sphere, add to selection "mountains" layer, use Command/Ctrl + Shift + click "mountains" layer thumbnail. Correct Mask in the selected area with the translucent soft white Brush Tool, just leave light pink shade on the mountains tops and "south pole". Deselect planet shape. In final touch left edge of the right bottom small planet with the small soft translucent Brush Tool.

Step 40

Deselect any active selections and then release Quick Mask button. Go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur.

Step 41

Duplicate merged layer after lens corrections, go to Image Adjustments > Black and White (default). Apply Soft Lights and Opacity 20% to this layer.

Final Image

30 Days to Learn Photoshop

Skellie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:51:13 PST

Do the tutorials on Psdtuts+ go a little bit over your head sometimes? Not to worry. We’ve released a 30 day course that will help you feel comfortable and confident using all of Photoshop’s most important functions, like layers, the brush tool, blend modes, smart objects, and lots more! In one month, you’ll have well and truly learned how to use Photoshop. The course includes over 5 hours of video lessons instructed by Ben Gribbin.

Course Overview

Introduction (33m 26s)

Introduction (6m) – Free Preview
Interface Walkthrough (9m 39s)
Creating New Documents (10m 2s)
Sidebars (7m 45s)

Layers and Navigation (1h 19m 51s)

Navigation: Pan & Zoom (7m 44s)
Toolbar Walkthrough (14m 44s)
Introduction to Layers, Part One (7m 54s) – Free Preview
Layers, Part Two (13m 10s)
The Move Tool (8m 37s)
The Brush Tool (17m 44s)
History and the History Tool (9m 58s)
The Eyedropper Tool and Color Sampler (13m 22s)

Meet the Tools (1h 28m 53s)

Bucket & Gradient Tools (12m 4s)
Selecting with the Lasso & Marquee Tool (12m 6s)
Clone Stamp & Pattern Stamp Tool (11m 44s)
Selecting with the Magic Wand Tool (4m 52s)
Using Custom Shapes (11m 58s)
Text with the Type Tool (15m 46s) – Free Preview
Vectors with the Pen Tool (11m 38s)
Opening & Importing Files (8m 45s)

Manipulating Effects (1h 49m 15s)

Save and Export Images (9m 30s)
Using Blend Modes & Blending Options (18m 43s)
Using Smart Objects (7m 52s)
Using Transform Tools (12m 38s)
Customizing Photoshop’s Appearance (9m 50s)
Repairing with the Eraser and Spot Healing Tool (7m 44s) – Free Preview
Course Project: Photo Manipulation (22m 39s)
Using Filters (9m 20s)
Dodge and Burn (10m 59s)

Conclusion (17m 35s)

Solving Problems in Photoshop (6m 1s)
Shortcuts and Performance (5m 28s)
Conclusion (6m 6s)

Part of Tuts+ Premium

Become a Tuts+ Premium member to get access to 30 Days to Learn Photoshop, as well as 11 other full-length video courses, over $480 worth of eBooks, and 796 (and counting) Premium tutorials.

If you’d like to find out more about what Tuts+ Premium is, you can Take the Tour or watch the demo video.

Create a Cocktail Blueprint Using Actions in Photoshop – Tuts+ Premium Tutorial

Diego Sanchez — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:00:48 PST

Photoshop actions are excellent tools for speeding up your workflow. In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Diego Sanchez will use Photoshop actions to create a cocktail blueprint from scratch. This tutorial is available exclusively to Tuts+ Premium Members. If you are looking to take your digital illustration 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.

The Fun and Upbeat Illustrations of Imaginism Studios

Grant Friedman — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:00:59 PST

Imaginism Studios is a group of independent and well-known artists that produce some of the most fun and upbeat designs, concepts, and illustrations that you will see from a studio or agency. In this article we will showcase some of our favorite pieces from their portfolio. Let’s take a look!

The Jellies

Red Queen

Crabby Chat

Ant Parade

Fairy and Owl

Bath Time

Marshmallow

Early Bloom

Red Sea Dragon

Mushroom Hunter

Guiding Light

Tigger

Ugly Duckling

Red Riding Hood

My Red Bike

Newborn

Create a Cereal Box Cover from Scratch Using Photoshop’s 3D Tools

Alvaro Guzman — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:00:55 PST

Hi everyone! This time I’ve got for you a fun tutorial, we’ll create a cereal box design from scratch, using only Photoshop. We will render several fruit flavored cereal loops using the Photoshop’s CS4 Extended 3D tools, apply textures to the loops, bump the surfaces and mock-up them into a real 2D image. Are you ready?

September of 2009

Before Getting Started

A couple of things before getting started. For this tutorial you must have the last version of Photoshop, CS4 Extended. Besides you need to have a good Graphic Card since we’re going to work with several 3D layers at the same time, if you don’t have one you may experience some kind of lag on your computer. This isn’t a basic tutorial, so I’ll skip some basic explanations like how to create a Layer Mask, or how to create a Gradient Fill Layer.

You’ll need to download this picture of a splashing milk bowl. And this awesome twitter icon set from my friend Gopal Raju.

Step 1 – Setting up the Document

First of all create a new Photoshop Document 800 pixels by 1120 pixels, 72dpi, and set to RGB. Then create a new Gradient Fill Layer named "Gradient." I’m using these colors: #F20000 – #8E0000 anyway feel free to change them.

Step 2 – Extract the Image from its Background

Paste the splashing milk bowl into a new layer named "Splash." Next we need to get rid of the black background, for this go to Select > Color Range, sample the black background and set the Fuzziness value to around 85, then click OK to commit the selection. Now Expand the resultant selection 1px and create a Quick Mask or a Layer Mask hiding the Black background. Finally flip the image horizontally and place it at the bottom right of the document.

Step 3 – Whitening the Milk

In the picture the milk looks a little bit pink, to make it white just add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, select Reds on the colors selector and set the Lightness value to +100, ensure the clipping mask option is enabled on the Adjustments Panel in order to apply the adjustment only to one layer. In this case the "Splash" layer. We will leave the bowl as is for awhile, it’s time to create the cereal loops. Finally add both layers, "Splash" and the Adjustment into a folder named "Bowl."

Render the Cereal Loops

Step 4 – Create a 3D Shape from a Layer

Here comes the fun, we’ll start creating the cereal loops using some 3D layers. First, create a new layer named "Loop" and fill it with some color. I’m using the Rectangular Marquee tool and the Paint Bucket to fill it with this color: #FF363E.

Go to Window > 3D to show the 3D Panel. Now go to 3D > New Shape From Layer > Donut to automatically create a 3D Layer named "Loop." Leave it as is and go to the next step.

Step 5 – 3D Panel Overview

Before we move forward you’ll need to feel comfortable with the 3D panel. All the 3D objects are inside a container named Scene, each Scene may have several 3D objects that can be Meshes with its respective Textures or Lights. You can put as many objects as you want into a Scene.

You can Filter the objects by clicking on any of the four buttons on top of the panel. Below there are the Scene options, there you will be able to change the Render Preset, Anti-Aliasing, Global Ambient Color (this one is very important in this tutorial) and select the texture where you will be painting on (we will see that shortly). Finally at the bottom of the panel you can toggle the Plane and Lights view on/off or add a new light, and of course the Delete button. Feel free to play with this panel before going to the next step.

Step 6 – Change Ambient Color and Show the Ground Plane

Our loop looks a little bit dark even though we create it from a pink layer, that’s because the Global Ambient Color is Black by default; click on the color box to change it into a dark red color (#7E0001). Now the loop looks pretty good, but there is so much left to do.

Click on the Toggle Plane button to show the plane as a reference, you’ll notice the plane perspective is almost the same as the bowl perspective, which is very convenient for the composition and lighting so we will leave everything as is.

Step 7 – Transform the Mesh View

Following, click on the Mesh button to work only with the "Donut" object (See image 1 below). In the options panel there are several transform options related to this mesh. First we’ll need to rotate the loop by selecting the Rotate button on the Mesh Tools Panel; just drag the cursor over the 3D object to rotate it, as shown in image 2 below.

Following, Roll the mesh a little bit if you need to. Then drag the mesh a little bit up, using the Drag button in the Mesh Panel (image 4), and finally slide the mesh a little bit inside the space by dragging the Slide cursor as shown in image 5 below, and then hide the Plane View.

At this point you should have something like the last image below. This step is important because we’ll repeat the 3D transform several times shortly. Feel free to practice with the Mesh options before moving forward. Remember, Photoshop isn’t 3D modeling software, so if you want to edit the mesh itself you will need other software.

Step 8 – Paint Over the Texture Layers

Now it is time to edit the textures a little bit. Select Paint On: Diffuse in the 3D options, then Select the Brush Tool and using this color #FFC6CA or something similar, chose a 100px soft brush (Opacity and Flow 50%) and paint directly over the 3D mesh. Rotate the mesh as much as you need in order to cover the entire surface of the object.

Notice that there’s a Layer named "Loop" under Textures – Diffuse in the Layers Panel, Double-Click on it to open a .psb file containing a plain view of the texture. We’ll work on that layer in the next step.

Step 9 – Working on the Diffuse Texture

On the .psb file, select the "Loop" Layer (this layer name may vary depending on your previous editing), and apply a Patter Overlay Effect to it, I chose a Rock Pattern named "Granite" built in Photoshop, but feel free to try with different textures. To keep the layer color, set the Effect’s Blending Mode to Soft Light. Finally save the .psb file, close it, go back to the main document and see how the texture looks now.

Step 10 – Bumping

Now we’ll make the surface a little bit irregular. In the 3D options panel set Paint On: Bump, select an irregular black Brush, and start paining.

Since the Bump texture is not created yet, you will see an alert about it, just hit OK on it. Then just start painting over the 3D object, using black as foreground will emboss the object, otherwise using white as the foreground will bevel the object, play with both colors until you feel happy with the texture. It’s very important to have the entire surface texturized and not only the front view (we will see why shortly).

If is easier for you, Double-click on the "Bump" texture layer in the Layer Panel and paint the bump texture over the .psb file as shows the bottom of the image below, you can use the Clone Tool for that purpose. Once you feel happy with the result, close the .psb file and go back to the main document.

Step 11 – Glossiness

To finish the texturing process we’ll add a Glossiness texture layer. Select Paint On: Glossiness in the 3D panel and using any Brush paint a little invisible white spot somewhere over the 3D layer. The important thing in this step is to switch to the Materials View, and change the Shininess Value from 40% to 80% in order to make the gloss less intense.

You can paint over the texture layer as well just like in the previous steps, but this time use a light color, white will be OK.

The loop is not finished yet, we’ll need further edits on it to make it look more real.

Step 12 – Duplicate the Loop

Now we’ll duplicate the loop in order to create several flavors. Select the Move Tool (V), then while holding the Alt Key select the 3D layer and drag it to duplicate it. Hide the original "Loop" 3D layer and select the copy, by the way I name it "Loop 2." Show the 3D panel, switch to Mesh view and use the Rotate Tool to rotate the new mesh in order to make it look different.

Step 13 – Change the Loop’s Colors

Double-click over the Diffuse Texture of the "Loop 2" layer in the Layers Panel, you will see the texture that we’ve created in Step 9. In order to easily change the color we will use a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer as shown below. Save the changes, close the .psb file and see how it looks.

Step 14 – Change the Glossiness Color

Following, double-click over the "Loop 2" layer’s Glossiness texture. You’ll see the color of the texture just as we left it in Step 11. We’ll change its color by adding a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. The final color is up to you, but try to obtain almost the same color tone as the previous step. Save the texture file and see how it looks in the main document.

Step 15 – Change Ambient Light

Finally, to complete the new flavor, change the Global Ambient light of the new 3D Scene to a more appropriate tone, in this case the following color: #01261E.

Step 16 – Do it All Again

Repeat the Steps from 12 to 15 to create different flavors of cereal loops, the colors are entirely up to you. Remember keep your layers organized, I created a Folder named "3D Loops" and four sub folders each one containing its respective loop.

Step 17 – More and More Loops

Since each loop is inside a folder named with its respective color, we will duplicate and rotate each loop several times in order to create many of them. This time I’m creating four copies for each color.

Step 18 – Rasterize the Loops

Create a copy of the entire "3D Loops" folder and hide the original, just in case you need to use any 3D layers later in the process. Now rasterize every single 3D layer in the "3D Loops" copy folder. Do this by Right-clicking a 3D Layer and selecting the Rasterize 3D option.

Step 19 – Liquify

Since we’ve got all our 3D layers rasterized, we will distort them a little bit to make the loop’s borders irregular. Select any of the "Loop" layers and go to Filter > Liquify. In the Liquify window, select the Forward Warp Tool, set 100 as the Brush Size and 25 as the Brush Density and push the loop’s edges inside and outside, as shown below. Repeat this step with every single rasterized loop in your document.

Step 20 – Resize and Distribute the Loops

Now that we have a handful of nice cereal loops we’re going to put them into the milk bowl. First of all, duplicate the folder containing the rasterized loops, hide the original (by the way I named it "3D loops raster big") and name the copy something like "3D loops raster small." Next resize the entire folder in order to make the loops really small. Now use the Move Tool to distribute the loops randomly.

Step 21 – Placing the Loops

Grab any loop and place it somewhere over the bowl, try to cover a milk splash with it. Then select the mentioned loop and add a Layer Mask > Reveal All. Select the mask and using a small black brush, hide some of the loop’s areas with the milk splash. Repeat this step with all the "Loop" layers. This is maybe the most difficult part of the process, since you’ll need to re-order the Loops distribution several times.

Step 22 – Some Shadows

Create a new Layer named "Shadows" above "3d Loops raster small" folder. There paint some shadows using a small black brush (use the brush settings shown below). Besides you can use an irregular brush (like a chalk brush) and add some irregular shadows over the loops.

Step 23 – More Splashes!

As a final touch, merge the "Bowl" folder (look at Step 3) and use the Clone Tool to duplicate some areas of the splashing milk into a new Layer above all the others named "More Milk." This is easy, grab the Clone Tool, select the rasterized "Bowl" layer and hold down the Alt key, then click somewhere over the milk splashes as the clone source. Ensure the Sample value in the Options Panel is Current Layer, then select the "More milk" layer and start painting anywhere. Finally use a small Eraser to delete the extra milk. This is only one way to create more milk splashes.

Another way to do it (my personal favorite) is to grab the Selection Tool, select a portion of the milk splashes, copy, paste and delete the undesired areas. Finally, put the "3D loops raster small" folder, and the “Bowl” folder into a new Folder and name it "Bowl Final."

Step 24 – Add it into the Scene

Merge the "Bowl Final" folder (I always duplicate the folder, hide the original and merge the copy in case I need to roll back). Then look over the web for a nice mascot for our brand new cereal box, or draw one yourself. I’m using one of these nice birds of the twitter icon set, since the author has released the .PNG source file (you can open it with Fireworks) I increased its size a lot. Paste it just behind the milk bowl.

Step 25 – Add Some Background Details

Following we will add some background details, in this step I’m adding a White oval above the mascot. Select and copy a part of the bird’s wing and paste it above the oval, then duplicate the wing, turn down its Lightness and Opacity, then place it behind the original in order to create a subtle shadow.

Step 26 – Some Layer Styles

Continue with the background details, select the White Oval and add to it a Gradient Overlay (yellow tones), and a Stroke effect. Repeat this with a smaller oval but this time with red tones. Remember: keep your layers organized.

Step 27 – Brighten the Background

Create a white circle above the red gradient from Step One. Apply a Gaussian Blur to it and change its Blending Mode to Overlay, and its Opacity to 75% or so. Now you have a brighter background.

Step 28 – Add a Shadow to the Milk Bowl

Duplicate the “bowl” layer, name it "Bowl shadow" and turn down its Lighting value to -100 using Hue/Saturation Adjustments. Delete the shadow outside of the background ovals and turn down its Opacity to 40%.

Step 29 – Type the Name

Type a sticky cereal name, use a bold and narrow font with all caps. Using the Text Warp options distort it a little bit.

Step 30 – Convert the Type into a Shape and Distort it

Select the “Type” layer and go to Layer > Type > Convert to Shape in order to convert the text into a vector mask. Then use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to distort the paths a little bit, this way you can add a comic style to any kind of typography.

Step 31 – Delete the O’s

Using the Path Selection Tool (A) delete the “O” letters.

Step 33 – Add New O’s

Remember the "3D loops raster big" folder of the Step 20? It’s time to use it again, make that folder visible, duplicate it and put it above everything else. Then select four loops, delete the rest, and place each one of the four loops as an “O” in the word.

Step 34 – Style the O’s

We’ll add a simple Drop Shadow style to each loop in the title.

Step 35 – Style the Text

A simple Drop Shadow and soft Bevel effects will be enough to increase the visual impact of the name. As always, it’s up to you to create more advanced effects or work with more detailed and complex layer styles. Finally put all the logo related layers into a folder named "Logo."

Step 36 – More Effects on the Logo

Duplicate the "Logo" folder, rasterize it and apply a Gaussian Blur over the Copy, then Command-click over the blurred layer in the Layers Panel to create a selection around the text. Expand the Selection by 25 pixels. Then grab the Marquee Tool, Option-click over the selection and choose Make Work Path…, set the Tolerance value to 5 pixels and hit OK. Finally, go to Layer > Vector Mask > Current Path and fill the masked layer with a reference color like red. Name this layer "LogoBG."

Step 37 – More Layer Styles

I’m using a red Gradient Overlay, a yellow Stroke and a black Drop Shadow for the "LogoBG" layer. Feel free to try something different if you want to. Place the "Logo" folder behind the "Mascot" layer, I added a Drop Shadow to the bird as well.

Conclusion

And we’re finished! I hope you liked this tutorial and found it useful. Feel free to try it with different colors, styles and create your own cereal box!

Stunning Knobs, Sliders, and LCD Style Displays

Grant Friedman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:00:00 PST

Knobs, sliders, and LCD style displays are common elements in real-world interfaces. While we have seen these types of interface elements in the real world for decades, they have also transitioned into the modern world of touch screen tablets and mobile devices. In this article, we have featured some stunning knobs, sliders and LCD style displays for your inspiration. Let’s take a look!

76 Synthesizer

This incredibly polished interface design by Jonas Eriksson was inspired by synthesizers from the 1970′s. It includes some beautifully well-done knobs, jacks, monitors and vacuum tubes.

Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set V. 5

This interface by Graphic River author Diego Monzon features a large central knob and a slick LCD style interface.

Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set

This set of interface elements by Psdtuts author Diego Monzon is part of a set available for download on our Graphic River site. This interface features some beautiful buttons, knobs, and a flip clock display.

SK Analog

This interface by DeviantArt author S0nkite features an incredible amount of knobs and sliders.

Tablet/Phone UI Pro 2 v.10 / Mobile DJ

This set of stunning interface elements from Graphic River includes a large central knob and slider that can be used to create a mobile DJ app.

DM1 The Drum Machine

The Drum Machine App by Jonas Eriksson features some retro style knobs over a nice textured leather material.

Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set v.3

This set of interface elements includes some beautifully designed switches, knobs and doodads that can be used to produce mobile interfaces.

Free Retro UI Elements Collection

This interface design by Psdtuts author Diego Monzon includes some excellently designed monitors, sliders, and knobs.

Stealth Flash Skin Theme

In this interface design, Diego Monzon includes some beautifully designed icons, sliders, flip clock, and LCD style displays.

Lennard Digitals Sylenth1 Skin

This interface design includes just about every type of element imaginable; piano keys, knobs, sliders, LEDs, and a large LCD style display in the center.

AITB Doc Fearn

This interface includes some beautifully designed knobs and some nice monitors on the right side.

Denon AVR – 1612

This design was actually created in Adobe Fireworks and includes a large central knob with some very well done audio/video jacks.

Pioneer DJM-5000 Mixer Rack

This piece, created in Adobe Fireworks was based on Pioneer’s DJM-5000 Rack Mount 4-Channel Professional DJ Mixer.

GUI – Pioneer CDJ – 1000 MK3

This interface was based on the Pioneer CDJ – 1000 MK3 and was done entirely using Adobe Fireworks. It features a large central knob and a beautiful LCD style display.

Photoshop’s 10 Most Useful Features for Digital Artists

Martin Perhiniak — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:00:14 PST

Today’s tutorial Part 23: Photoshop’s 10 Most Useful Features for Digital Artists will quickly explain some useful features that Photoshop users can use to produce digital art. Let’s get started!