Archive for the ‘photoshop’ Category:
How to Create a Wall Graffiti of Bob Marley
We’re are going to immortalize the iconic Bob Marley on a brick wall – graffiti style. Graffiti has come a long way to the point that its argued by some to be respectable works of art for it was and still is considered as rude and destructive in the public sphere. On count, it is highly expressive and does lend to images/text powerful forms representation.Same goes for this tutorial where we’ll be applying Layer masks and Blend modes to merge a grunge-like image of Bob Marley with a brick wall.
Step 1
Start with a Bob Marley picture of your choice. Open a new transparent
document with the document size set to 1280 x 1024 px and a resolution of 140 inch/pixel.
Step 2
Go to Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation and increase the Saturation value to 100.
The reason for increasing the Saturation to the maximum was to vividly bring out the shadings of the face. I also had the picture resized to reveal potions of the transparent background.
Step 3
Head on over to Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation yet again or
hit Ctrl+U for the Hue/Saturation dialog box. This time, reduce Saturation to -90.
If I had just opted to desaturated the picture completely to gray scale, the picture would’ve appeared to have a faint bluish tint.
Step 4
We’d now fade the details of the image. Clicking on Image>Adjustment>Brightness/Contrast set the parameters below:
Step 5
We’d now apply a rough tile effect by going to Filter>Texture>Mosaic Tiles from the menu. Set Tile Size to 27, Grout Width to 4 (which determines the size of the cracks) and Lighten Grout to 7.
The result:
Step 6
We’ll now apply the Brick Filter effect over the Mosaic Tiles which
would of course blend all nicely and hence, create a more convincing rough
brick wall composition. Go to Filter>Texture>Texturizer and click
the drop-down menu for the Brick texture and set the parameters below:
The result looks better than having any one of the texture filters left out.
Step 7
Download this brick texture from www.sxu.hu
but if you do find a wall with smaller bricks, the better. I was interested in this wall because of how uneven the bricks were. Drag the brick texture picture to the main document window and place it below the “Marley” layer.
Step 8
It was delibrate to have parts of the brick wall to show through when
the Marley image was resized earlier. Also resize the brick picture by
pressing Ctrl+T to enter the Free Transform mode. Holding down the
Shift key, drag the corners of the picture to scale it down while maintaining
its original aspect ratio. Hit the Enter key when done.
Step 9
Set the “Marley” layer’s Blend mode to Hard Light and reduce its opacity to about 45%.
Step 10
With the Foreground colour set to black by hitting the D key, select
the Brush Tool (B) as a Spatter Brush. Increase its diameter to about 153
px and on the brush’s Options bar reduce its opacity to 90%.
Step 11
Click from the left, the third icon at the base of the Layers Palette to create a Layer mask for the “Marley” layer. Now paint around the edges of Marley’s head and his face, particularly around the chin areas. Don’t completely reveal the bricks (except for the edges of the image) while painting away.
Step 12
Select the Gradient Tool (G) and set the colours of Color Stops as shown below:
Step 13
On the Gradient Tool’s Options bar, set the Gradient to Radial and then
drag the tool from the center to the left side.
Step 14
Set the Graidient layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light and its opacity to 75%. And we’re through! Jah Rastefari mon.
MORE VARIATIONS:
Here, I’m playing around with Blend modes and opacities to come up with a
couple variations. The one below is a favourite of mine; the Marley image is a lot more
defined but yet it blends quite nicely with the wall. The “Marley” layer Blend type here was set to Hard Light and its opacity reduced to about 60%.
Moving on further, a Brick Texture Filter effect was applied to the brick picture to get the result shown below:
Now finally, this is another variation with the Blend mode set to Vivid Light. The details of the face here are more faded and the orange-brownish colour of the bricks shows through.Whatever your choice of the Blend modes Ive highlighted, it all comes down to your personal preference.
Creating a Grunge Autumn Themed Calendar for September
In this tutorial, we’ll be creating an Autumn themed Calendar for this month of September. The style here is dark and grungy and the final result is appropriately titled the ‘The Fall.’ This being the season of falling leaves from trees. The techniques used to attain the final image are the application of Blend modes, the use of grunge brushes
Step 1
First off, open a new document Ctrl+N, and set its document size to 1280 x 768 px and the resolution to 140 dpi. The wood texture below was from www.mega-tex.nl. Drag wood texture into your working document window.
Step 2
Press Ctrl+U for the Hue/Saturation Dialog box and then reduce the Saturation to -42. This is to fade the wood’s colour a little. We don’t intend to make the colours of our composition too vibrant.
The result:
Step 3
Go to Filter> Render> Lighting Effects and set the Lightening parameters below:
The Lighting Effects result:
Step 4
Now to paint over the lightened wood texture with a grunge specific brush. Download a set of grunge brushes by ART-D. Select the ‘BB Grunge_9′ brush from the Brushes Palette and increase its size to 1166 px and the brush colour that is, the foreground colour to #1f1710.
Step 5
Create a new layer and paint just once over the wood image.
Step 6
Change the layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light.
Step 7
Create a new Curves Adjustment Layer by clicking on the fourth icon from the left on the Layers Palette or go to Layers> New Adjustment Layer> Curves. Drag the midpoint of the straight line downwards to reduce the brightness of the image slightly.
We have now a dark wood surface that appears to be whittling away. Name this layer ‘grunge.’
This is the arrangement of the layers on the Layers Palette so far.
Step 8
Set the Foreground colour to #322c28 and from the Tools Panel, select the Rectangle Tool (U) and on its Options bar, select the ‘Fill Pixels’ icon.The square to be
drawn would be automatically filled with colour.
Step 9
Double-click on the ‘block’ layer for a Layer Style and select the Drop Shadow style. Set its parameters as shown below:
The Inner Shadow Layer Style adjustments:
Step 10
Create a new layer and with the Brush Tool (B) selected, right-click to choose a new grunge brush – ‘BB Grunge_7 ‘and ‘BB Grunge_9′ to be precised. Set the brush colour to #262321 and reduce its opacity to about 85%. Paint on the block not minding if you exceed its boundaries and then on the layer, right-click to select a ‘Clipping Mask’ to ‘fasten’ the brush painting to the block.
Step 11
Select a Soft Round brush and change its colour to #181412. Paint over the block as shown below:
Step 12
Head on to Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur and set the Blur Radius to about 45.5 pixels. *Note:when the effect has been applied, there’s no need to erase around the edges of the block where the blur might have spread. Finally, set the layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light.
Step 13
For a new layer, select the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M) and draw a circle that just encompasses the lower right corner of the block. Use a White Soft Round brush with an opacity of 75% to paint within the circle. Press Ctrl+D to clear the selection.
Step 14
Apply a Gaussian Blur of a Radius of about 60%. This in effect, increases the light intensity at a point without affecting other areas of the image.
For this layer ‘light,’ reduce the blur’s opacity to 60%.
Step 15
We’ll now add text for the date by selecting the Type Horizontal Tool (T).With the Tool, drag to create a rectangular shape.
Step 16
On the Type Tool’s Options bar, choose the font type as ‘Agency FB‘; the style as ‘Bold‘; size to 24 pt and colour to black. Alternatively, these adjustments can be made on the Character Panel. Enable this if not visible already, by going to Menu bar and select Window> Character. Type in the numbers for the month of the September; hit Enter to go into the next row for another set of numbers and so on.
Step 17
For a new layer, type in the numbers “30, 31″ for the numbers of the previous date and “1, 2, 3″ for
the numbers of the next date (the text colour doesnt matter for now).
Step 18
To make the date correspond with the direction of light, we’ll add a Gradient to it. Double-click on the first date text layer and select a Gradient Overlay Layer Style. Edit the Gradient by changing the Color Stops to the colours show below:
Step 19
Reduce the Gradient’s Opacity to 85% and set its Angle to -72.
Step 20
Add a Drop Shadow style with the adjustments below:
Step 21
For the second date “30, 31, 1, 2 and 3″, add a Bevel and Emboss Layer style. Set its parameters as shown below:
Step 22
Still on the second date, add a Color Overlay Layer style and set its colour to #957f6fand reduce its Opacity to 85%.
The final result:
Step 23
Also type in the days of the week and on the Character Panel, set the font colour set to #181615.
Step 24
For the month and the year, type in “SEPT . 2010″ and the Character Panel set the font type to “Broken Ghost” (you can download it for free at dafont.com)and the font colour to #363535.
Below we have a font with uneven edges that tallies with grittiness of the whole composition.
The completed date for September:
Step 25
Select a Spatter brush for the brush and set its Opacity to 85% Erase a little the set of numbers last row and the last two numbers on the row before. The aim is to make the numbers appear scratched.
Autumn wouldnt be complete without leaves; these maple leaves were downloaded from www.sxc.hu.
Step 26
Drag any maple leaf you fancy into the main document window and use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to extract the leaf from its background. Just click anywhere outside the leaf and hit the Delete key to clear the selection and you’re done! You may have to use the Eraser Tool to clear any hint of white left on the leaf.
Step 27
Use the Move Tool (V) to position the leaf and with the Free transform Tool (Ctrl+T), you might have to scale the leaf down.
Step 28
For the ‘Maple leaf’ layer, add a Drop Shadow Layer style:
Step 29
Follow up with an Inner Shadow style making the adjustments below:
The result below:
Step 30
Select the Brush Tool as a grunge brush and paint just once over the leaf.
Step 31
Create a Clipping Mask for the layer by right-clicking it and selecting this option. Set the layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light and reduce its opacity to 70%.
Step 32
With the Elliptical Marquee Tool, draw a circle and fill with a white colour and deselect or you could just use a Soft Round brush with the appropriate size and stamp a white brush mark over the leaf.
Step 33
Have the round white circle blurred with a Gaussian Blur and set the layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light. Also erase around the leaf to clear any paint outside it.
And this is our Calendar for September. Like I mentioned earlier, its titled “The Fall.”
How to Create Pepsi Can in Photoshop
In our tutorial, we’ll be creating a shiny Pepsi can. For it to be convincingly realistic, a number of Layer Styles such as Gradients, Inner Shadows and Glows would be applied to a flat can shaped image.The resulting effect would be a 3D-like Pepsi can.
Step 1
We start off with a document size of 750 x 850 pixels, a resolution of 140 dpi and a white background. Head on to the Tools bar and pick the Pen Tool (P), then outline a shape of a can as shown below. You may want to enable Grids (pressing Ctrl+’), as guidelines as well. Also, an actual Pepsi can was used as reference for the most part of the tutorial.
The final outline:
Step 2
Right-click the can’s path and select Fill Path to add colour to the shape. I must add that, what the colour is, doesn’t matter at this point since we’ll be applying Layer Styles with a new set of colour.
The path has to be filled for Layer Styles to work or the layer would be indicated as empty.
Clear the path of the can shape with the Marquee Tool (M), by making a selection around the can and hitting Delete. Pressing Ctrl+D clears the selection. Duplicate this “can” layer for use later.
Step 3
Now, double-click on the “can” layer to bring up the Layer Style dialog box.
Select a Gradient Layer Style and edit its Gradient and Style (select Reflected) as shown below:
Step 4
Add an Inner Shadow Layer Style as well:
The final result for the “can” layer below:
Step 5
Select the “can copy” layer duplicated earlier on and below the Layers Palette, click on the third icon from the left for a Layer Mask. Select a Soft Round black brush with an opacity of 80% and paint away some of the mask of the ‘can’ duplicate.To get straight lines when painting, hold the shift key when painting downwards. Also reduce the opacity of the brush when fading/erasing the central section of the mask.
Step 6
To better blend the reflection we’re trying to create, go to Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur and set the Blur Radius to 4.0 pixels. And we get the result below:
Step 7
Create a new layer and name it “base.” We’ll now sketch out the base of the can with the Pen Tool as its been done below:
Step 8
From the options within the Pen Tool, select the add Anchor Point Tool and add more points to the outline and adjust them with your mouse or directional keys on the keyboard until the lines are
acceptably smooth.
Below is the final outline:
Step 9
Right-click within the outline (with the Pen or Anchor Point Tool still Selected), and select Fill Path for as ash colour to fill the base with. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a selection over the base and hit Delete to clear the base’s outline. Press Ctrl+D to clear the selection.
We have the result below:
Step 10
In a new layer above the “base” layer, draw a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (U) and fill with an ash colour – #e8eaeb.
Step 11
We’ll create a brushed metal effect here with this popular technique. Go to Filter> Noise> Add Noise and set the Amount 32.5%. Also have Monochromatic checked.
Step 12
Head on to Filter> Blur> Motion Blur and increase its Distance to 70 pixels.
Step 13
Hit Ctrl+T to enter the Free Transform mode. Right-click, select the Warp Tool and bend the just slightly the rectangle.
Step 14
Right-click the layer and select the ‘Create Clipping Mask’ to clip the layer to th “base” layer. Also hit Ctrl+E to merge the two layers as one. The layer should still maintain the name as “base.”
Step 15
Add a Bevel and Emboss Layer Style with the parameters below:
Step 16
Follow up with an Inner Shadow style:
Step 17
Still on the Inner Shadow Layer Style dialog box, select Contour and adjust the points of its Mapping as shown below:
Step 18
Add a Satin style and reduce its opacity to 18%, Distance to 15% and Size to 25%.
Step 19
Adjust the Satin’s Contour Mapping to something of a slope.
Now we have a realistic looking metallic base for the can. Though the
steps used to achieve this was a bit tricky execute.
Step 20
In a new layer, select a Rounded Rectangle Tool with its Radius set to 5px on the tool’s Options bar. Fill the shape with the colour #e8eaeb and clear its outline with the Marquee Tool.
Step 21
Follow Steps 11 and 12 for a brushed metal effect for the “rim” layer.
Step 22
Press Ctrl+T for the Free Transform tool – the Warp Tool to be precised. Bend the rim of our can just a little upwards from the points (handles).
Step 23
For a more polished metal look, burn and lighten the areas of the rim with the Burn and Dodge Tools (O) respectively.
The result produces a shiny metal appearance.
Step 24
We’ll also add an Inner Glow Layer Style to the rim as this gives the rim a softer edges without fading.
Step 25
I downloaded a Pepsi logo and positioned it at the middle of the can with the help of Guides. Just enable them by pressing Ctrl+R and with the Move Tool (M), hold and drag the margins (rulers)of the workspace to align the Guides that appear from them.
Step 26
Position the Pepsi Logo within the set Guides. That done, press Ctrl+; to clear the Guides and Ctrl+R to remove the rulers.
Step 27
The logo mustn’t be perfectly round and so the Warp Tool (Ctrl+T) would be used to narrow its sides just a little. The aim of this to make the logo appear as if its bent over the curves of the can.
The result:
Step 28
With the Burn Tool (Range set to highlights and Exposure at 25%), darken the sides of the logo.
The logo now blends with the darker shades of the can.
Step 29
For the “text” layer use the Horizontal Type Tool (T), to type out the letters below. But before then, on the Type Tool Options bar, change the font to Myriad Web Pro and the foreground color on the Tools bar to white.
Step 30
This font was chosen because, it came closest in replicating Pepsi’s. Anyway, hit the Ctrl+T to enter Free Transform mode and scale the text downwards only just slightly.
Step 31
With the Rectangle Tool (for a new layer), draw and fill a small vertical rectangles with white.
Step 32
Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to clip off a part of the “o” letter and clear the selection (Ctrl+D).
Step 33
Draw another small rectangle across the “o” for an “e”.
Step 34
Pressing Ctrl+T for the Free Transform Tool, more specifically, the Warp Tool, change the Warp type from Custom to Flag and its Bend to 30% at the Warp Tool’s Options bar. The “e” is given the signature shape of the original Pepsi logo.
Step 35
Right-click within the Warp and select Flip Horizontal to change the orientation of the Flag Warp to the way of how the original logo is.
Step 36
Before merging all these shapes with the text, the text must be rasterized by heading to Layer> Rasterize > Type. Then press Ctrl+E to merge the shapes the “text” layer. And With the Free Transform Tool, rotate and scale the text for a flatter look.
Step 37
Still within the Transform mode, have the text Skewed. That is, slanted forward on its axis.
Step 38
Select the Burn Tool, with an Exposure of 10% and darken the lower plane of the text.
Step 39
Type out the weight figures of the can in a new layer.
Step 40
Have the text slanted with the Skew Transform Tool.
Below is the final result:
Step 41
Create a new layer in between the “logo” and “rim” layers. Fill the layer with white using the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and then go to Filter> Pixelate> Mezzotint. Select the Type as Fine dots from the drop-down list.
Step 42
Add a Motion Blur with a Distance of about 230 pixels.
Step 43
From the Layers Palette, set the Blend Mode to Color Burn and reduce the layer’s opacity to about 45%. You’ll notice that the Blend effects does not show on the white areas of the image.
Step 44
Use the Warp Transform Tool to bend the ‘brushed’ effects so as to give the can a more rounded appearance.
The can now has a convincing brushed metal appearance.
Step 45
To make the brushed metal look not too distinctive, use the Eraser Tool (E) with a reduced opacity of 5% and carefully fade some portions of the brushed effects – do not erase completely.
The result:
Step 46
Now to create a couple shiny portions of the can at selected areas. Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and on its Options bar, choose ‘Add to selection’ to create multiple selections (in this case, flat
circular shapes).
Step 47
Fill the selection with white using the Paint Bucket Tool and deselect the selection. Select the Smudge Tool at Strength of 50% and smear the white thinly across the can.
Step 48
Use the Eraser Tool to fade edges of the smudge.
Step 49
Create a new layer as the background layer and fill it with any colour; as the colour doesn’t matter for now. Add a Gradient Overlay Layer Style to the layer with the parameters below:
You’ll notice that the previous effects from Step 43 shows
through now and this is a good thing.
Step 50
Erase certain areas of the background layer with the Eraser Tool’s opacity set at 80%.
Step 51
Apply a Gaussian Blur to the layer with a Blur Radius of about 72.2 pixels.
Our Pepsi can now has an enhanced background. Something you’ll associate with an Ad for a product in a magazine.
Step 52
We’ll now fade the brushed metal effect at some points with the Eraser Tool.
Step 53
Create a “shadow1″ layer and select the Ellipse Tool to draw a flat circle. Fill it with black.
Step 54
Add a Gaussian Blur to the shape with a Radius of about 8.7 pixels.
Step 55
In another layer, draw another circle and fill with a black colour.
Step 56
Blur this circle a lot more than the previous one. This time with the Blur Radius set at 33.5 pixels.
This is the order of the layers so far in the Palette.
Step 57
Create a new layer at the top of the Layers Palette and name it “gloss.” Select a white Soft brush and paint the on both sides of the can – hold down the Shift key to constrain your brush stroke to a straight line.
Step 58
Set the “gloss” layer’s Blend mode to Soft Light and reduce its opacity to 76%.
Here another image with the “gloss” layer’s Blend mode changed to Overlay. I sort of like this blend for it give the Pepsi can a lot more radiance that corresponds with the intense light from the background. Well, we’ll stick with the above image – if you prefer.
Step 59
Finally, darken the both ends of the base of the Pepsi can with the Burn Tool for a more solid look. And we’re are through! Hope this kick-starts some fella’s career in the brand marketing field.
Ideal resolution for an image on the web
What do you recommend? Should your web image have a resolution of 72dpi or is it irrelevant as the browser works in pixels and 100 pixels are 100 pixels no matter what dpi you select? What do you think?
You can leave your thoughts or recommendations below, or you can leave your answer on the original question on Answers here: What resolution do you recommend for an image on the web?
What resolution do you recommend for an image on the web?
This question was originally asked by Kevin M..
There have been four varied answers so far, you can view them below:
Thanks to everyone who asked a question, but most importantly thanks to everyone that took the time and effort to offer helpful and useful answers.
How to Create a Quick Photo Flash Gallery in Photoshop
In Photoshop its possible to easily create interactive photo albums or presentations; be it, Html tables to flash picture galleries for the web. A useful feature for creating online portfolios for personal websites or simple products showcase.
Step 1
First off, create a new folder for where all your images will be stored in and name it ‘Web Gallery.’ You could also use Adobe Bridge within Photoshop to source your images. But we’ll be sticking with the first method right now. Launch Photoshop and open a new document Ctrl+N.Go to File>Automate>Web Photo Gallery.
Step 2
In the Web Photo Gallery Dialog box, select the Gallery Styles as ‘Flash – Gallery 1.’ The thumbnail of every other Gallery appears on the right of the Dialog box.
Step 3
For your source files, under Source Images choose the folder you created earlier on when you click on Browse. Locate the folder, as in my case, the folder was stored in C://Documents and Settings>My Documents>Picture Gallery.
Step 4
For where the final output will be saved, click on Destination to locate your prefered folder or create a new folder by clicking on ‘Make New Folder’ and rename it as ‘Web Gallery’.
This is what the directories of where your folders are located would look like:
Step 5
Still within the Web Photo Gallery Dialog box, under Options choose General and the Extension as .html or .htm.
Step 6
Select Banner and type in the Site Name to whatever you want as your title. Fill in the other fields with information required.
Step 7
Choosing Large Images, you’ll be able able to set the size and picture quality of your images. The state of quality of your images determines their download time when they are live on your web server.Under Title Use you might want to check Title and Description or anything else. These options displays additional information on images when click on.
Step 8
For the Thumbnails (that would appear below the main images), set their Sizes to Large and resolution to100 pixels. Now click OK to generate the gallery.
Step 9
The web gallery launches automatically from your default web browser. If Internet Explorer is your default browser, you may encounter a problem.
Here, you’ll be confronted with a security warning restricting the use of Javascripts that the web gallery needs to run. Just click once on the security warning’s tab and on the pop-up that shows up, click on ‘Allow Blocked Content’ to get the flash web gallery running.
Below you have the flash gallery up and running. It also comes with a nice and smooth transition effect when navigating between images.
On the bottom right corner of the web browser window, are some simple controls . For instance, the button with the question mark when clicked on, reveals the metadata or information that you might have added or embedded in your image. Such information could include description, title and soon. These can be set under the Options: Security>Content: Custom Text. Here you’ll find basic text formatting options like font colour, size, type e.t.c.
You can also embed watermarks unto your images for copyright purposes by selecting Security under Options. (Note: the image below is not mine – its a free stock image from
www.sxc.hu. I’m using it for demonstration purposes alone for this post).
Other Customizations:
To add sound to your presentation or gallery, choose an mp3 file of choice and rename it ‘useraudio’ and have it copied. Head on to the directory where the Flash gallery style in use is (you may have to close Photoshop first). This should be inC://Program Files/Adobe/Photoshop CSx/Presets/Web Photo Gallery. Open the ‘Flash-Gallery 1′ folder and paste your mp3 file in there.
If you’re familiar with basic HTML coding, you further customize the outlook of gallery. Opening your ‘Web Gallery’ folder, select and right-click on the ‘Photos’ XML file and choose the Notepad or any text editing application you might have.
Everything editable in this open XML file. We are just going to edit the obvious – that is, the colour elements in the photo gallery.
For the gallery’s Background colour, change “#0F0F0F0″ TO “#FFFFFF” (white), the Banner’s colour to “#000000″ (black); here the gallery title, authors name,contact info and so on is turned to black. Save the file when you’re done.
The result below:
How To Create A Google Android 3D Logo in Photoshop
This tutorial was inspired by a 3D rendered version of the Google Android logo that I came across. So, I decided to try out achieving relativity the same result with Photoshop – CS 2 to be precised. And the final image was outstanding to say the least. The interplay of light and shadows are key for a near-realistic result for a traditionally 2D program as Photoshop.
The Google Android logo:
Step 1
In the first step, we’ll create a new document with the size of 800 px by 600 px and a resolution of about 140 dpi. Then we select the Ellipse Tool (U) and draw a circle.
Step 2
Right-click within the circle and select Fill Path and choose the fill colour as #a4ca39.
Step 3
You may enable Grids for guidance if you choose by pressing Ctrl+’. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and make a selection at about half of the circle and hit the Delete to remove the selected area. Press Ctrl+D to to clear the selection. Now create a new layer and select the Pen Tool (P) and create an arc below whats left of the circle. Adjust the Anchor Points with your mouse or direction key on the keyboard until you’ve obtained a smooth curve.
Step 4
Fill the arc with #a4ca39.
Step 5
With the Rectangular Marquee Tool, clear the pen outline and merge the arc with the circle by pressing Ctrl+E.
Name this layer ‘head.’
Step 6
Double-click on the head layer for a Layer style. Select an Inner Glow Layer style and set its parameters below:
Step 7
Follow up with a Bevel and Emboss Layer style and set the parameters below:
Step 8
Well now add a light shadow with the Inner Shadow Layer style:
The result below:
Step 9
In a new layer, select the Ellipse Tool and draw an Ellipse within the head. Fill with a the colour #e5f2b6.
Step 10
Press Ctrl+T to enter the Free Transform Mode and then choose the Warp Tool to spread out the ellipse a little more within the head. Press Enter when done.
Step 11
Add a Bevel and Emboss Layer style:
You get the result below:
Step 12
Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Blur Radius to 4.8 pixels.
Now the droid’s head is looking more rounded with the light and dark areas.
Step 13
For a more shiny look, in a new layer, use the Pen Tool (P) draw something of an arc with the head as shown below:
Step 14
From other options within the Pen Tool from the Tools bar, select the Add Anchor Points Tool and of course add more anchor points adjusting and aligning them for smoother curves.
Step 15
Fill the curve with #.
Step 16
Head on to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to about 9.5 pixels.
Step 17
Draw another curve over the previous one and fill with white.
Step 18
Apply a Gaussian blur at a Radius of 2.7 pixels.
There we have it! A shiny and plasticy top.
Step 19
For a the little antennas of the droid, create new layers ‘antenna1′and ‘antenna2′ respectively. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and set its Radius to 30 px. Then draw a thin rectangle and have it rotated diagonally with the the Free Transform Tool. Fill with colour: #a4ca39.
Step 20
Double-click the ‘antenna1′ layer to add an Inner Shadow Layer style to antenna. Just the Shading properties is adjusted here.
The result:
Step 21
Also add an Inner Shadow Layer style to the ‘antenna2′ layer with the adjustments below:
The result below:
Step 22
Go to the’ head’ layer and select the Burn Tool ‘O’ with its Highlights reduced to 25%in the Burn Tool Options bar. Create dark lines that would appear as reflections from the antennas.
Step 23
Once again, select the Ellipse Tool and draw two oblique circles for the eyes.
Step 25
Fill these circles with black.
Step 26
To make the eyes hollow, add a Bevel amd Emboss Layer style settings below:
The result:
Step 27
Enable the Grids once more and with the Rounded Rectangle Tool, draw a square for the body of the android.
Step 28
Press Ctrl+T for Free Transform Mode and right-click the selection to select the Warp Tool. Drag and bend the upper and lower lines for a cylinder like shape and the warp handles to adjust these curves as you see it fit. Hit Enter when you’re done.
Step 29
Fill with the colour #a4ca39.
Step 30
Add a Bevel and Emboss Layer style to the ‘body’ layer with the parameters below:
Step 31
For the Gradient Overlay style, set the colours of the stops for Gradient as shown below:
Step 32
Still with the Gradient Overlay, set its Angle to zero degrees and increase the Scale to 107%.
Step 33
Finally, add an Inner Shadow Layer style setting the parameters below:
Below, is the final result:
Step 34
With the Ellipse Tool, draw a flat circle behind the ‘head’ and ‘body’ layers and fill with black.
Step 35
Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and draw an arm for the android and fill with #a4ca39.
Step 36
Add to the ‘arm 1′ layer, a Bevel and Emboss Layer style:
Step 37
Follow up with an Inner Shadow Layer style:
Step 38
Select the Gradient Overlay style and set the Gradient colours as depicted below:
And we have below a nice rounded arm.
Step 39
Draw a second arm in a new layer which should be placed behind the ‘body’ layer. Also add as before, a Bevel and Emboss layer style.
Step 40
Make adjustments to the colours of the Gradient:
The result:
Step 41
To add more gloss to the arms in respect to lighting which is a primary element for an improved 3D look for our model. Sketch out a thin curve with the Pen Tool and fill with a white colour.
Step 42
Apply a Gaussian Blur with a Radius of about 2.0 pixels.
Step 43
Run over Step41 in a similar fashion for the second arm.
Step 44
For the legs of our model, use the Rounded Rectangle Tool set at32 px to create a short leg and then fill with #a4ca39.
Step 45
Apply an Inner Shadow style to the leg:
The result:
Step 46
Create another leg – obviously.
Step 47
Add for sure an Inner Shadow layer style:
Now both legs are complete.
Step 48
We need to create a shadow casted on the body of the droid by the first arm by using the Ellipse Tool as shown below:
Have the shape blurred with a Gaussian Blur at a Radius of 7.5 pixels.
The result:
Step 49
Over the head of the droid, paint a thin short strip of white and blur lightly.
Its alive!!! Probably not. Well, this is our 3D Android!
With an added background, the realism of the android is enhanced.
Fresh Photoshop Tutorials and Resources
Today we have a nice round-up of hand-picked and fresh articles and resources for all of the Photoshop fans out… that will pretty much everyone then! There are is a huge selection (50!) of tutorials for the latest and greatest CS5, a selection of trending lighting tutorials, 100+ Photoshop actions and finally an impressive selection of web layout templates. Hope you find them useful.
Brilliant Adobe Photoshop CS5 Tutorials From 2010
Brilliant Adobe Photoshop CS5 Tutorials From 2010
40 Dazzling Photoshop Abstract and Lighting Effects Tutorials
40 Dazzling Photoshop Abstract and Lighting Effects Tutorials
40 Professional and Detailed Web Layout PSD Templates
40 Professional and Detailed Web Layout PSD Templates
100 Free Photoshop Actions (And How to Make Your Own)
100 Free Photoshop Actions (And How to Make Your Own)
In Defense Of Photoshop (Good Read)
In Defense Of Photoshop (Good Read)
By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).
Old School Microphone Design
In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to design an old school microphone.
Step 1:
Let’s start out by creating a new file. I used a 500×500 pixels canvas set at 72dpi, and I filled my background with white. Now create a layer set and name it ‘Microphone’. In a new layer draw a dark gray rounded rectangle with #424645 color shade and 43 x 104 px dimensions.
Step 2:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add an Inner Shadow, Satin and Pattern Overlay blending options to your dark gray rounded rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 3:
Add a marquee selection around your dark gray rounded rectangle through Layer > Load Selection. Then cut the top half of the selection and fill it with #BFC3C2 color shade.
Step 4:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add a Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow and Gradient Overlay blending options to your cut out rounded rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 5:
In a new layer draw a rectangle with #ECEBE9 color shade 47 x 8 px dimensions./p>
Step 6:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add a Drop Shadow and Gradient Overlay blending options to your rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 7:
Duplicate the gray rectangle design twice and position them below the first. Then in a new layer make a black rounded rectangle with the same size as your dark gray rounded rectangle.
Step 8:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add a Drop Shadow, Inner Glow and Satin blending options to your black rounded rectangle layer. Then set the layer’s blending mode to Lighten.
Result:
Step 9:
In a new layer draw a small dark gray rectangle with #656565 color shade and 7 x 7 px dimensions.
Step 10:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add a Gradient Overlay blending option to the small dark gray rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 11:
In a new layer add a small vertical dark gray rectangle next to the small dark gray rectangle design. Then add the same layer styles from the last step. Now add the same design on the opposite end of the microphone.
Step 12:
In a new layer draw a large gray rounded rectangle with #909090 color shade and 56 x 108 px dimensions. Then go to Select > Load Selection, use default settings to add a marquee selection around the large rounded rectangle. Now go back to Select > Modify > Contract, contract by 4 px and cut out the selection. Cut the top corners of the gray rounded rectangle border and position it with the microphone design.
Step 13:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add an Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay blending options to the cut out gray rounded rectangle border.
Result:
Step 14:
In a new layer draw a small gray rectangle with #909090 color shade and 17 x 9 px dimensions on the bottom of the cut out rounded rectangle border design.
Step 15:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add a Satin and Gradient Overlay blending options to the small gray rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 16:
In a new layer draw a small but long gray rectangle with #909090 color shade and 66 x 7 px dimensions below the small rectangle design.
Step 17:
Under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add an Inner Shadow, Satin and Gradient Overlay blending options to the second small gray rectangle layer.
Result:
Step 18:
Merge the ‘Microphone’ layer set through Layer > Merge Layer Set. Then under Layer Style(Layer > Layer Style) add an Inner Shadow, blending option.
Result:
Results:
Old School Microphone Design.
Four Simple and Quick Photo Effects
High quality photo effects are not only reserved for professionals or tech-savvy image editing specialists, they can be achieved by anyone, as today’s design news demonstrates. We have collected four recent photo editing tutorials that can be easily followed and achieved by anyone with a digital camera and a desire to give a little bit of coolness and professionalism to there shots.
Give Your Photos a Vintage Look
This tutorial is for anyone who doesn’t have photo editing know-how, expensive editing software or a load of time to spare, and shows you how to create a retro profile pic in a matter of minutes using some absolutely free, entirely online services.
Give Your Photos a Vintage Look
How To Give Your Photos a Cool Retro Analog Effect
Back in the days of analog photography imperfections were part of the job. Colour washes, light leaks, vignettes and blurs were all common problems that appeared during the processing of your film, particularly from cheap cameras such as the Holga, or simply down to human error. While these problems don’t affect digital cameras, you can recreate the cool effects in Photoshop to give your shots that cool lo-fi retro effect.
How To Give Your Photos a Cool Retro Analog Effect
Foggy Window Effect in Photoshop
In this tutorial you will be shown how to create a foggy window effect in Photoshop, using stock photo, brushes, and layer styles to create the simple effect. The whole process is quite simple and it won't take you more than 30 minutes to achieve.
Foggy Window Effect in Photoshop
Quick HDR Effect Photoshop CS5 Tutorial
To create High Dynamic Range pictures, you typically need at least 3 different exposures of the same photo, but in this Photoshop tutorial you will learn how to create HDR from a single image.
This technique will make the bright portions of the image darker, and dark portions of the image lighter. This also gives the image a lot more realistic look.
Quick HDR Effect Photoshop CS5 Tutorial
By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).
Create Batman Logo in Photoshop
In this tutorial, we’ll be creating the iconic Bat logo of the superhero, Batman. Here, we’ll be using the Pen Tool to sketch out the ‘bat’ and a set of Heavy Scratches brushes to add a great amount of detail to the bat logo.
Step 1
With a document size of 800 by 600 px, resolution of 140 dpi and a white background, I started with an outline of the original bat logo which I desaturated and; the contrast increased thus, leaving nothing but the shape of the logo.We’ll be using this shape as guides for our actual bat logo.
Step 2
For greater accuracy, we’ll have to enable grid lines for our document by going to View>Show>Grid.
The document enabled with Grids.
Step 3
Create a new layer ‘bat’ and on the Tools bar, select the Pen Tool and map out the shape of the bat logo as shown below:
Step 4
Now for the intricate part. For other tools options under the Pen Tool, select the Add Anchor Point Tool and add a number of points to the straight lines of the logo. With your mouse or the directional keys on the keyboard, move the Anchor points steadily upwards or diagonally to create a curve(s).
Step 5
For more smoother curves, drag the handles of the Anchor Points in the direction most appropriate.
Step 6
Add more Anchor Points and repeat the previous steps to create more curves.
Step 7
For the edges of the logo, more specifically points of the wings, ensure that they’re rounded and not sharp.
Below is the final result:
Step 8
I deleted the layer that I used as my guides and pressing Ctrl+-, the Grids were removed.
Step 9
Fill the bat logo with a grey colour.
Step 10
From www.sxc.com, download for free this brushed metal texture. Now position the top most part of the metal texture over the bat logo.
Holding down the ALT key, click inbetween the ‘bat’ and ‘metal’ layers for a Layer Clipping Mask.
Step 11
Double-click on the ‘bat’ layer and select a Bevel and Emboss Layer style. Set its parameters as shown below:
Step 12
Follow up with a Gradient Overlay style and set and adjust the Gradient Color Stops:
B.
Reduce the Gradient’s Opacity to 60%or lower, set its Style to Radial and Angle at 0 degrees.
Step 13
Also select a Drop Shadow Layer Style and set its parameters as shown below:
Step 14
Now to create some scratches and dents on the metallic bat logo. We’ll be using two sets of Scratch brushes. The Heavy Scratches brushes can be downloaded from Dawghousestudio.com and another Scratches brush by can be downloaded from Brushstock.com.Load these brushes into Photoshop and select the brush of choice from the Brushes Palette and change the foreground colour to black. These brushes have huge pixels larger than our working document and so we’ll must reduce the size of the brush(es) on application (painting that is). Do create a new layer for this.
Step 15
Hit Ctrl+T to enter the Free Transform mode and with the mouse position close to corner the selection, rotate it slightly diagonally. This is ensure some of the brush strokes don’t appear too linear.
Step 16
Select the Eraser Tool (E), and clear the brushes marks that might be left outside the logo. Also erase just slightly the inner edges of the logo. Reduce brush opacity to 90%.
The result below:
Step 17
With the ‘bat’ logo selected, create an Inner Shadow Layer style. Reduce the Shadow’s Opacity to 30%, its Angle to a 100degrees, Distance at 5 px and Size at 4 px.
Step 18
We now use another metal texture for the background. You can download this or any other metal texture you might fancy from http://www.3dmd.net/gallery/large-free-brushed-metal-texture-fs125.html.
Step 19
Press Ctrl+U for the Hue/Saturation Dialog box and make the adjusts as shown below. This sort of, to a degree desaturate the texture. (A full desaturation would have left the texture with a faint bluish tint).
Step 20
Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Blur Radius to 0.7 pixels.
Step 21
Still on the ‘background’ layer, select the Heavy Scratches brush once again and increase the brush size just large enough to cover the entire background texture.
Step 22
Select a couple of other Heavy Scratch brushes from the Brushes Palette and reduce their sizes and then paint away.
Step 23
Change the brush colour to white and reduce its opacity to 80% and add some more scratch markings around the bat logo.
Step 24
Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects and set the Light Type as Omni and Intensity to 9.
Step 25
Have the background image sharpen by going to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen. Press Ctrl+F to Sharpen again.
Step 26
Select the Burn Tool (O), set the Burn Range to Highlight and Exposure to 45%. Burn around the edges of the texture background.
Step 27
Select the ‘bat’ layer and press Ctrl+L for the Levels Dialog box. Increase the light for the bat logo with the parameters below:
The result:
Step 28
Create a new layer and select a black Spatter brush. Paint sparingly one part of the bat logo.
Step 29
Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to about 35 px. And we’re done.
