photoshop tutor

Complex 3d Abstract Wallpaper…Simplified

2009-08-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it: making great abstract 3d wallpapers is time consuming, tedious, and difficult. It literally takes years to build the skills to create some of the more impressive artwork found around the internet. But you’re in luck. Here are a few methods in one tutorial which help to create a good looking abstract wallpaper.

There are three major aspects to designing abstract art:

3d (the main objects in the peice)
Lighting (light flares, explosions, etc)
Color

I am going to try to simplify each one of these three aspects for you so you can get a fast start into creating something like this:

Part 1: The 3d

Learning to create great 3d renders is difficult, not possible in Photoshop, and there are many tutorials on the subject. However, if you want a quick start, run over to Deviant Art and grab some free-for-all renders. Here are a few packages (the one I used is out of the first) which can help you out.

If you can find them, renders in .tga format are the best because they come with an alpha layer. The alpha layer is an exact outline of the render and it will help you to very easily isolate the object and remove the background (making it transparent and easier to implement). If you have .tga, just click on the Channels tab (in Photoshop), control + click on the alpha layer, and then copy and paste the render out of its background. This is the 3d that I used. Credit to trijn.

Part 2: The Lighting

This particular peice will have the render in the foreground and the lighting coming from behind it – that’s why I chose such a dark 3d render. I started off with a black background and a large green light source in the center of the page.

Now I put some difference clouds (Filter >> Render >> Difference Clouds) onto a new layer (always put new elements onto a new layer). For difference clouds you want your selected background color to be black and your selected foreground color to be the color youd like your clouds to be. I also brought down the opacity of my clouds.

Now for the interesting part. “Brushing” or “air brushing” is the term generally used to refer to the detailed cloud, smoke, and light that artists will use in their peices. There is a fine art to doing it with an airbrush but again, for beginners, I’ll show you an easier method to use. Go to Stock Xchng (you will need to register for a free account) and get a stock image of clouds. Isolate the clouds and with your eraser (soft edges, 120px wide) erase the edges so your clouds have no corners.

Now that you have an edge-less cloud, duplicate the layer many times and use the Transform menu to make lots of different looking clouds. Layer >> Transform >> Distort, Perspective, Skew, etc.

I put mine in the middle and set them all to Color Dodge. Experiment with the different blending modes to get something that works with your particular wallpaper.

Here is where I am so far.

Now, this is a cool and extremely simple effect I figured out a few years ago. Grab a 1 pixel pencil and (on a new layer of course) scribble all over the canvas. For a good effect, try to make the scribbles be emenating somewhat from the center.

All you have to do now is a radial blur (Filter >> Blur >> Radial Blur) at highest quality, zoom, and around 50%. Duplicate the layer one or two times and set them to overlay. This will create a great zooming lighting effect with some good highlights.

I decided to throw in some light beams. They’re somewhat cheesy but if you like them, go for it. All you do is grab a soft airbrush (i used one around 9px thick) and draw a long, vertical line.

Shear your line layer (Filter >> Distort >> Shear) usign whatever line guideline you’d like. Add an outer glow, distort it, and duplicate it how you see fit.

Here is where I am at this point:

Part 3: Color

I like to do the color at the end and adding color isn’t nescesary in all cases; some might argue that the image above looks better than the image below. All I’m going to recommend for this tutorial is to grab a very large and soft brush (300px), create a new layer on top, and make large blobs of related colors. Important: new layer for each different color.

Now, set all the layers to the Color blending property and modify all of their opacities until you get something you like.

Note that this is an extremely simplified process of creating 3d abstract art. This one took around 30 minutes; a quality peice of artwork takes days. But this is a good start for someone with some Adobe Photoshop experience.

Easy Lightness Adjusment

2008-12-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, I will show how easy it is to adjust lightness for your photos by using the LAB Mode in Photoshop. You can apply this tutorial to any photo you like.
We will also explore the use of layer blending options, hue/saturation tool and various filters in Photoshop.
Here is a before and after comparison of the photos:

Before:

After:

OK let’s get started!
Step 1
Grab a photo of your choice. You can use the before image above if you like (It’s of my own stock so no worries). Load it into Photoshop and hit Ctrl + U to bring up the Hue/Saturation adjustment tool and use the following settings:

Step 2
Go to Image > Mode > Lab Color and change the colour mode of the photo to “LAB” (see image below)

Then go to the Channel Palette and select the “Lightness” Channel (see image below)

While the “Lightness” Channel is selected, go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen and apply the following settings: (Make sure you select the “Advanced” option)

Sharpen

You should now have the following image:

Step 3
We can add a bit of softness to the photo. Switch back to RGB mode, then duplicate the background layer once. On the duplicated layer, apply “Accented Edges” filter. See image below for details:

Then change the layer blending option of this layer to “Soft Light”

Optional: You may use the dodge/burn tool to further edit the lightness on the dupliated layer.
Here is the effect so far:

That’s for this tutorial! Isn’t that easy?!
I know there are many other way of adjusting lightness in Photoshop, so if you have any good ideas, you’re more welcome to share them here!
With the final version of this work, I added some colour overlays and further edit the lighting contrast:

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Thanks very much and have a great day!

Cloud Logo

2008-12-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

Cloud Logo

Step 1
Firstly, we are going to be creating a new document. The dimensions I have used are 600 pixels wide and 420 pixels high. Fill in the background with a subtle radial gradient from #4d99ca to #2c7bb4.

Step 2
On a new layer use the ellipticial marquee tool to form a cloud shape. To add to a selection, hold down the shift key while selecting with a marquee tool.

Step 3
Fill your cloud selection with white. To fill a selection simply go Edit > Fill with the colour #ffffff. Line the cloud up in the center of the document if you want, but we’ll be duplicating it and such later on anyway.

Step 4
Now we are going to be adding some layer styles to our cloud. To adjust layer styles right click the layer and select blending options.

Result:

Step 5
Duplicate the cloud layer (Ctrl + J) and reduce the size of it (in proportion - so hold down the shift key). To transform the size of an object just go Edit > Transform > Scale or Ctrl + T. Move the clouds around until you have them in a position that you like the look of. Ensure that you have some space to stick the text to come though.

Step 6
Select the text tool and write the name of your site there. I’ve used one of the Vista fonts ‘Cambria’. I’ve also given the text a dark outer glow effect too.

Neon Text

2008-12-21T05:53:00.000-08:00

Neon Text
Here is a simple technique that will allow you to create neon glowing text that resembles those ever-popular window fixtures. This effect is made purely with Photoshop's Blending Options (a.k.a. Layer Effects in PS 5), so it can be saved as a Layer Style if you wish to save it for quick and easy future use.

For this tutorial you will need text with rounded edges and some sort of background image. If you would like to follow along with the example I used, you can download my file that contains these two items. (Incase you are dying to know, the font used in my example is called Harlow Solid Italic).

When you are all set, select your top text layer in the Layers Palette, right-click it and select Blending Options. Click on the words "Inner Glow" to both fill the check box and select its options menu. Create a glow effect with similar options to what a chose (click the image to the left to see the full view). The color gradient you use is completely up to you. Make sure it begins with white on the left and ends with a darker color of your choice. I encourage you to play with the Choke and Size settings which depend a good bit on the your gradient.

Next, select the Outer Glow effect and create a dark radiant effect. (Click image for settings). For this effect the main settings you will need to adjust to your liking are Opacity, Size, and Range.

Similar to the last two steps, select the Drop Shadow effect. (Click image for settings). When choosing a color, pick one similar to the color in the middle of your glowing text. The Opacity, Spread, and Size settings should be customized to your pleasing. Also, if you want create a subtle illusion of looking up at your text, you may want to increase the Distance a good bit to around 20 or so.

Click OK to apply your layer effects. Now, it's time to add some dramatic lighting to the background. Click the background layer in the Layers Palette. Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Take a look at the settings I chose by clicking the image to the left. Click OK to apply your effect.

Presto! You've got yourself some groovy neon text. If you'd like to see my final result, click the image to the left