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2011-05-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

Separating Complex Objects from Background

2010-09-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

You can find a lot of tutorials how to separate complex objects from the background. But I would like to invite your attention to another one unique simple tutorial how to achieve the desired effect in just a few steps. I got this method by experimenting.In the beginning you should find some appropriate picture to work with. You can use Google Images or also feel free to use mine picture. Open up the picture and start with tutorial.

Apply Filter > Extract with similar settings to these:

This is where we start to extract the image first of all zoom into the image with Zoom Tool so you can clearly see the outline and set the brush size to a suitable size and then simply draw around the outline of the woman’s hairstyle with Edge Highlighter Tool. If you made wrong line, you can remove it with Eraser Tool. Now fill in the area which you want extracting to do this select the Fill Tool on the left hand toolbar and simply click inside of the drawn outline.

Now press OK in the top right of the window and you should go back to the normal Photoshop window, and if you did the last steps correctly you will have an image without a background, if all done correct the edges will look fine, if not then you may find some discrepancies which

can simply be erased.

After that create a new layer under and fill it with color of #aed2da.

Now we can see that we have some defects on woman’s hair. It is not a big problem, just get out the Eraser Tool and select one of standard brushes from Photoshop palette:

Reduce brush size to 25 pixels and process areas where you can see visible defects.

Now, move to the next step. After processing problem areas with Eraser Tool we may have not so clear image parts, for example like we have from the left and right parts. For removing this problem select the Smudge Tool (Brush: 2 px, Mode: Darken, Stregth: 95%) and add a few strokes as shown on the picture below:

Then increase the sharpness for these areas with Sharpen Tool (Brush: 60 px, Mode: Normal, Stregth: 30%).

We are done on this step. Isolated picture looks nice and all parts of hear looks realistic. If you don’t have the same good results, just try to experiment to get the best results!

Creating a Page Curl Effect

2008-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

This tutorial will describe how you can create a page curl effect using just the built-in Photoshop options. No extras are needed for this effect. As usual, though, you can learn more than just the actual effect. If you scratch a little below the surface of this tutorial, you'll see that I'm also demonstrating how to create paths from selections and how to manipulate them. As well, you'll see how easy it is to create your own gradient patterns. Enjoy.

Open a new file at 200x250 in RGB mode. Set the contents to white and the resolution to 72 dpi.

Click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette (it's the one with the bent corner).

Set the foreground color to a bright yellow. I used 255, 255, 0 as this color won't dither on a web page.

Fill the new layer by selecting the Paint Bucket tool and clicking anywhere on the image.

Set the foreground color to white.

Select the line tool.

Set the width to 1 pixel and the anti-alias option to on (both of these options can be set in the Line Tool Options palette).

Draw a diagonal line from the lower-left corner to the right side as in figure 15.1

figure 15.1

Note: The line is black in the figure for clarity only. You should draw the line in white.

Select the Magic Wand tool and select the lower yellow area.

Choose Select, Modify, Expand and enter 1 for the "Expand By" value.

Click OK and then press the delete key to remove the lower area.

Select the Polygonal Marquee tool (it's on the flyout menu below the Lasso tool).

Position the tool in the lower-left corner of the image and click the mouse once.

Drag the mouse to the lower-right corner of the yellow area and click the mouse again.

Move the mouse a little to the left and up and double-click.

You should end up with a selection like you see in figure 15.2.

figure 15.2

Note: Here's where the path feature comes in. By changing the selection to a path you'll be able to get a really smooth curve for the curl. This would be difficult any other way. With a path it'll not only be easy, but it'll enable you to get a really good shape for the curve.

Open the Paths palette (it should be grouped with the Layers and Channels palettes). If you don't see the Paths palette choose Window, Show Paths.

Click the small black arrow in the upper-right corner next to the Paths tab.

From the menu that appears, choose Make Work Path. Leave the default value set in the Tolerance value in the Make Work Path dialog box and click OK.

You should now have a path instead of a selection and the marching ants that signify a selected area will be replaced by a solid line.

Select the Direct Selection tool (it's in the flyout menu under the pen tool and looks like a small white mouse-arrow pointer).

Click somewhere on the path. This will show you where the Anchor Points and Direction Lines are (see figure 15.3).

figure 15.3

Here's where it gets a bit tricky. Not too difficult, though, just a bit tricky.

Click-and-drag the top direction line towards the inside of the triangle formed by the path. This will curve the top of the line in (see figure 15.4).

figure 15.4

Great! See the nice smooth curve you get?

Now do the same with the lower direction line so that you get a good curve that sort of blends into the yellow portion of the image (see figure 15.5).

figure 15.5

Perfect!

Click the small black arrow to the right of the Paths tab again and choose Make Selection. Set the Feather Radius value to 0 pixels and set the Anti-alias option on. Click OK.

Click the small black arrow again and choose Delete Path.

You'll now have the selection again (see figure 15.6) only it'll have that nice curve that you drew. Easy, eh?

figure 15.6

Select the Linear Gradient tool.

Open the Linear Gradient Options palette (it's time to create a new gradient) and click the Edit button.

Click the New button and choose a name for your gradient. I chose Page Curl (how appropriate).

You'll now see the Gradient Dialog box (see figure 15.7).

figure 15.7

There'll only be two end points set and you'll have to choose the other points and the colors that are set at each point. For this gradient you'll need five points. The first will be a shadow (dark yellow), the second will be bright yellow, the third will be the highlight (white) the fourth will be yellow again and the fifth will be the lower shadow (dark yellow). To set a point click below the bar in the middle of the dialog box (it's the one with the two end point visible below it).

I used 224, 224, 116 for the top (first) shadow, 255, 255, 0 for the yellow and 175, 175, 81 for the bottom (last) shadow colors (see figure 15.8).

figure 15.8

Space the color points as you see in figure 15.8.

Note: You can also download the gradient file here and use the one I've created. Just store it on your hard drive and load it by clicking the Edit button on the Gradient Options palette and choosing Load.

With your gradient set click Save, and choose a folder and a filename.

Click OK to close the dialog box.

Place the mouse near the top-middle of the triangular selection and drag it towards the bottom of the selection. Make sure that you drag on an angle so that the gradient is angled properly (see figure 15.9).

figure 15.9

If it's not right, choose Edit, Undo and try again.

Choose a dark color, select the type tool and add some text to your new sticky note (see figure 15.10).

figure 15.10

grafx-design.com

Removing Transparency with Brushes Photoshop

2008-12-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

Some brushes were made to be transparent, others were not. And because of the nature of Photoshop (or PSP/GIMP) brushes, sometimes they end up looking that way when they shouldn’t. This tutorial will explain how to remove the transparency from brushes, when needed. It is the singlemost important concept in making image-based brushes look realistic.

The tutorial has been made with Photoshop in mind, but these principles are all very basic. If you understand how to use layers in PSP (Paint Shop Pro) or GIMP, you should be able to follow along with this tutorial.

1. Open an image. Any image will do, as long as it is made up of varying colors. We’re just going to use it as a backdrop for your brush, to show when the brush is no longer transparent (when the background doesn’t show through anymore).

Once you have it open, make a new layer on top of that background layer. Click on the “Create a new Layer” button on your layers palette (to be sure your layers palette is showing, click “Window” on the main menu and make sure there’s a check mark next to it). I’ve highlighted it in pink here.

2. Rename that layer to “Black” by right clicking on it in the layers palette and choosing “Layer Properties.” Type “Black” in and hit “Ok.”

Load the brush set of your choice. I’m going to be using one of my own brushes, from my “Leaves” set. This one is the “Sycamore1″ brush, if you want to follow along. Choose black as your foreground color. Then, making sure that the “Black” layer is active/selected (if you’re not sure, just click on it to select it), click in the middle of the canvas with your leaf brush. Make sure that it doesn’t overlap the edges of the canvas! If you need to, resize the brush first so that it fits.

3. Notice how you can barely see my leaf brush? And what you can see is extremely transparent. But it’s there. Now, to get rid of that transparency.

4. Time to make a new layer again. Click on the Background layer to make sure it’s selected, and then click on the “Create a New Layer” button on the layers palette again. It should create a layer between the Background and the Black layers. Rename it the same way we did before (right click on the layer and choose “Layer Properties”), and name it something like “Color.”

This is the layer that we’ll be adding color to.

5. Holding down CTRL (CMD for Mac), left click on the “Black” layer within the thumbnail window (I’ve highlighted it here in pink). Make sure that you click within that thumbnail! Older versions of Photoshop let you click anywhere on that layer, but CS2+ makes you click on the thumbnail. ALL versions will work if you click on the thumbnail, which is why I say to do that. :) When you do, you should notice that there is now a selection on the canvas.

What you’ve done here is selected the leaf brush’s shape. CTRL (CMD) + click loads the layer’s content as a selection. You’ll see what I mean on the next step.

6. Select the color that you want your leaf to be as your foreground color. I’m using green (imagine that, eh?).

Now choose the paint bucket tool. Make sure that your “Colors” layer is still selected and then click somewhere on the canvas within the leaf. It will fill in the leaf selection area with green. If you only do this once, it will still be somewhat transparent. If you want to remove all transparency, click several times, until you can’t see through it anymore.

7.Select > Deselect to deselect (or CTRL-D on PC, CMD-D on Mac). Here’s what my leaf looks like now. Notice the little bit of extra green around the edges? That happened as we used the paint bucket tool over and over again. But we don’t want it there, it doesn’t look right.

So, choose the magic wand tool and click anywhere outside the leaf area on the “Colors” layer. That selects the portion of the canvas outside the leaf. Now, Select > Modify > Expand and choose 1 or 2 pixels. I used 2. Hit DELETE, then CTRL-D (CMD-D on Mac) to deselect your selection and get a look at what you’ve done.

8.Much better, right? Looking a bit more like a leaf now.

But, notice those see-through areas at the base of the leaf, where the leaf’s “vein” is? You can see a bit of the tree through it.

That’s because of how Photoshop brushes work. Remember that they are made using black/gray on a white background. Wherever that white background is, the Photoshop brush is completely transparent. So, anywhere that there was white on an image, there will be holes when you make it into a brush.

Knowing this, all that you have to do now is go back and fill in those holes with white or a color very close to it.

9.To do so, let’s make a new layer beneath those the Color layer.

Choose white or a very light green as your foreground color, then go in and “paint” the white into the transparent areas. You don’t need to be precise, because your leaf isn’t transparent anymore! The white will only show through where you have those “holes.”

10.This is what mine looks like now. It looks a good deal like a maple leaf! No fake-looking transparency. You can use this technique with just about any brush there is.

If you’re good with your mouse, you can paint in colors on that “Colors” layer instead of using your paint brush tool. Doing it this way, you can add multiple colors to your image, and much more intricate details. But as you can see, this technique works just fine the way that I’ve explained it here, and anybody can do it!

You can also go through and add a gradient, pattern, etc. to your “Colors” layer, if you so choose. Maybe the leaf didn’t have enough texture for you this way and you wanted to add your own. That’s how you’d do it - by choosing “Layer Styles” on the layers palette and selecting “Pattern Overlay.”

Hope that you’ve enjoyed this tutorial, and that it’s as helpful a technique for you as it has been for me!

obsidiandawn.com

Creating Realistic Flames

2008-12-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

This tutorial will explain how to make the best use of my flames brushes & patterns to create realistic looking flames and fire.

The flames brush set has always been one of my most popular sets. I’ve seen some people do amazing things with it.

Similarly, one of my most popular questions is: “How do you make your flames brushes look like they do in your preview images?” So, I’m giving this in-depth tutorial as an answer!

1. Once you have the tools that I list above, open up a new file (File > New). Make it 500 by 500 pixels. The resolution should be 72, Color Mode should be RGB, and Background Contents should be white. Select the paint bucket tool and choose black as your foreground color, then click on the canvas to make it black. Flames show up better on black or dark backgrounds.

2. Load the flames brush set. If you’re unsure how to do that, check out our tutorial on how to load and install brush sets.

3. Click on your brush tool, and select the flames brush that you want to use for this tutorial. I’m going to be using the “flames6″ brush, so feel free to use that one to follow along with me.

4. We’re going to want the flames on their own layer, so we can manipulate them. So, in your layers palette, click on “Create a New Layer” (if your layers palette isn’t open, select Window > Layers from the top menu).

Choose a nice bright orange as your foreground color (I’m using #ff7500). Resize your brush to about 450 so that it fits onto the canvas, and click once in the middle. Mine looks lik

e this:

5. You’re going to want to apply a pattern to those flames, since flames are not generally a uniform orange in color. They have flecks of yellows and reds and even whites in them. To do that, first you’ll need to make sure that your flames patterns are extracted into the right directory. Using your favorite extraction program (WinZip is what I used to use - but if you’re a Windows user, you won’t need one - it’s built into the Windows Operating System), unzip the SS-flames-patterns.zip file. For the destination, choose Program Files > Adobe > Photoshop (version ##) > Presets > Patterns.

Now, back in Photoshop� click on the small “f” on the bottom of your layers palette. The “Add a Layer Style” button. I have it highlighted in purple on the image to the right.

Choose “Pattern Overlay” from the menu. You’ll see a menu like the one below pop up. Click on the small down arrow to the right of the currently selected pattern, and you’ll see all of the patterns in your currently selected pattern set. We want to load the fire patterns, so click on the small arrow that I have highlighted in purple.

Since we placed the SS-fire-patterns.pat file into Photoshop Patterns directory, it should show up within the list that pops up. Look for “SS-fire-patterns” and click on it to load it. You should now see a bunch of patterns that look like flames in that window.

6. Choose one that you like. It doesn’t matter which, really. I’m using the “flames20″ pattern. I changed the scale to 57%, and you may want to change the opacity a bit, too. It depends on the color you’ve chosen and how much you want the flames pattern to show up.

If you want the “placement” of your flames pattern to be a bit different, you can change that, too. While this Pattern Overlay window is open, left click on your canvas anywhere� and drag. You’ll see the pattern move along with your cursor. If you want to put it back to where it started at any time, click on that “Snap to Origin” button.

Here’s how mine looks now:

Starting to look a bit better, right? But still not quite there.

That’s because flames are lighter in color and brighter the closer that you get to the flames’ source. A candle flame burns hottest right around the wick, then dissipates as it rises. So, the colors near the base are yellows and whites, while the colors near the tops are dark oranges and reds. Luckily, Photoshop has a tool that works perfectly for helping us create such a thing�. gradients!

7. Before you take this next step, make sure that your pattern is how you like it, because you’re going to be unable to change it. In your layers palette, click on the background layer to select it. Then click on the “Create a New Layer” button once again. This will make a new layer between the background layer and the one with your flames on it.

Your layers palette should now have 3 layers. Click on the very top layer (the one with your flames). Now click Layer > Merge Layers (I think older versions of PS may say “Merge Down” instead of “Merge Layers”) from the main menu. Or, click CTRL-E (Mac: CMD-E). That will merge your flames layer onto the empty layer beneath it, and you should be back down to 2 layers again like the image on the right.

8. Click on the top layer to select it. Choose the small “f” looking button on the bottom of the layers palette, just like we did earlier when we were going to apply a pattern (the Layer Styles button). However, this time choose “Gradient Overlay” from the menu.

The Layer Styles window will pop up. It will likely have a black and white gradient selected when you begin, unless you have some kind of special gradient set loaded. It doesn’t matter what’s there, though, because we’re going to make our own.

Click on the actual gradient area, where you can see the one color transitioning into another. Just to the right of the word “Gradient:” - the area with the colors. Clicking on that will bring up a new popup menu that looks like the one below. If you know how to add colors to gradients already, skip step 9 and just go ahead and add colors to the gradient to make it look like I have here. (Black is the left color, btw, to help the flames fade into the black background - if you don’t have a solid black background behind it, choose a dark red or orange color.)

If you haven’t done much with gradients before, don’t worry. I’ll walk you through it.

9. That bar with the colors on it is what your gradient is going to be. A gradient is basically one color merging slowly into another one. As you can see, I have quite a few colors in the gradient to help the flame color transition properly.

Click on the small black box just beneath the far left side of the gradient area. The current color will be selected just to the right of the place where it says “Color:” on the very bottom of that window. Now, click on that color� right there in the middle of that box.

A color picker will come up. Choose black or a dark red. (We’re using a color this dark to help it blend into the black background as the flame reaches the top. If you don’t have a solid background in the photo that you’re trying to use flames on, choose a dark red or dark orange for this color instead.) Click OK.

Do the same on the box just beneath the right side of the gradient. Select a light yellow color.

Now we need to add more colors to the gradient. To do that, just click beneath the gradient bar anywhere along it. You should have created another box. Click on that box and then change the color just like you did before. Keep doing that until you have 5 boxes with various colors in them, just like I have in the image above. You can then click on the little boxes and drag them into the proper position until they are spaced like I have them in the image.

The colors that I’ve used in my gradient are: #310101, #7d1a00, #ff9600, #ffc000, and #fffcc8.

10. Once you have them how you want them, click “OK” to bring you back to the Layer Styles window.

Click on “Reverse” just to the right of the gradient bar, since we want the darks at the top and the lights at the bottom.

There’s all kinds of things that you can play around with now to make your flames look just right. As you can see in my image below, I’ve changed the blending style of the layer to “Hard Light,” the Opacity to 70%, the angle of the gradient to 112�, and the scale to 133%. All of these are up to you. Play around with the settings, see which blending style you like best, how dark you want the gradient to show up, etc. These are going to vary depending on your image, the background, which brush you used, which pattern you chose� any number of factors. So don’t be afraid to play around with it!

11. As a last step, I took a round, soft brush that was set at a very low opacity and erased around the top edges of the flames to help them fade off into the black background. Flames are fairly transparent, and they become moreso near the tops of the flame area. My flame now looks like this:

Still not as perfect as it could be, perhaps, but that goes a HUGE step toward helping create more realistic flames using my brushes and patterns. I’ve gone ahead and made an image using a bunch of layers, each with a different flames brush from my set and some of the various patterns. As you can see, it looks pretty good! This was made using the techniques listed here.

That’s it! I hope that you’ve enjoyed this tutorial, and I hope that it answers some of your questions about how to best use my flames brushes and fire patterns. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

obsidiandawn.com

Children holder for photos

2008-11-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever tried to make funny holder for photos? Ok, this Photoshop tutorial I’m going to be showing you how to make a simple and nice smiling flower children holder for photos.

Alright, you can start by first creating a new document; I used a document size of 500×500 pixels, white background.

Now you’ll want to begin with creating basis for holder. Get out the Custom Shape Tool and select Flower 1 Shape (this is standard shape).

Use color of #94cb00 to get the picture as below:

Now you have go to Blending Options and apply the Drop Shadow and Inner Glow layer styles to this layer.

I think we need to add leaves to our green shape. For this effect select Burn Tool (Range: Shadows, 30%) and darken this shape as shown below:

Ok, time to add yellow flower core. Select Ellipse Tool and create a round shape with color of #fff93a similar to mine:

Then apply the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow and Inner Glow layer styles to this layer.

Ok, not looking so great, yet! Now we can put something like smiling face on this core. First of all, I would like to add some glare to it. Make a round selection using Elliptical Marquee Tool and fill it with white to transparent linear gradient.

Make a new one selection as on picture below and press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert selection, then delete image outside the selection.

Press Ctrl+D to remove the selection. Good! Now select the Ellipse Tool to create a shape with a black color as on picture below:

Duplicate this layer (Layer > Duplicate Layer) and move it a little bit left.

And the last one… we need to add a mouth. Make the selection using Elliptical Marquee Tool as shown below and fill it with a black color.

Make a new one selection and cut away part of circle to get a ‘smile’ similar like to this:

Press Ctrl+D to remove the selection. Looking better now! Merge all layers of the face into the one and rotate it (Edit > Transform > Rotate).

Time to add a couple if ribbons to our holder for photos. You can do this by using Pen Tool with the color of #94cb00.

Right click the Layer Thumbnail in the Layers Palette and select Rasterize Layer. To bring our ribbons three-dimensional effect use Dodge Tool with moderate settings (Range: Highlights, 30%) do a little bit of dodge-work on the each ribbon. We should have an image like below:

Select Burn Tool (Range: Shadows, 30%) to make the same things.

Now apply the Drop Shadow and Outer Glow layer styles to this layer.

OK, we’re done for that part, but we I think we should bring some picture to our canvas.

Actually you can use different pictures or photos. I prefer to use this one, used above. If you want to download this picture, please feel free: MonstersInk.jpg.
Apply the Outer Glow and Stroke layer styles to the layer with picture.

Our children holder for photos is done!

photoshopstar.com

Metallic Tubes and Wires

2008-11-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is an advanced Photoshop tutorial. Do not attempt this if you are not sufficient with the basic functions of the Photoshop Interface. My Lighting Effects tutorial is recommended reading, so if you don't have experience with the Photoshop Lighting Effects filter,

1
Start with a new image, 250x250 pixels. Select a dark gray as the foreground color. Create a new layer, and with the Pen or Paintbrush tool, draw a wire shaped line on it, 15 pixels thick.

Gradual curves look nice. This may take a few tries to get right.

Name the layer Wire.

2
Make a copy of Wire, by dragging it onto the New Layer button. Double click on the new layer, and rename it Cut Wire.

Hide the original layer Wire, by clicking on it's eye icon in the Layers window. We'll use that layer later on.

Now, grab the Eraser tool, set the brush size to about 5 pixels, and cut the line up.

3
Hold down Ctrl, and click on the hidden Wire layer in the Layers window.

This will create a selection out of the layer Wire's transparency

Next, go to the Channels window, and click the Save selection as channel button .

Select the new Channel in the Channels window, then double click on it and rename it Wire Bevel.

4
Gaussian Blur the selection by 9 pixels, then by 6 pixels, then by 3 pixels, and finally 1 pixel.

AutoLevels Ctrl+Shift+L, the selection.

Then, go back to the Layers window, hold down Ctrl and click on the Cut Wire layer to select it's transparency. Return to the Channels window, click on Wire Bevel, press D to reset colors, invert selection Ctrl+Shift+I, and finally clear the selection. Del

Deselect. Ctrl+D

5
Go back to the Layers window, and select the Cut Wire layer.

Filter > Render > Lighting Effects...

Click on the image to the left to enlarge.

Create a white Directional light, and aim it down, from the top. Then, create a blue directional light, shining up, from the bottom.

Set the Properties to:
Gloss: 100 (Shiny)
Material: -100 (Plastic)
Exposure: 39
Ambience: -21

Set the Texture Channel onto Wire Bevel, and the height to 15.

Now, tweak the positioning and direction of the lights to achieve the desired effect.

6
Now, click on the hidden Wire layer to expose it. Click on it again holding down Ctrl, to create the selection.

To make the line 1 pixel thinner, invert the selection Ctrl+Shift+I, go Select > Modify > Expand... 1 pixel, and clear the selection Del, and Deselect Ctrl+D.

Filter > Render > Lighting Effects...

And set the Texture Channel to Wire Transparency.

Hit OK, add a dropshadow, and you're finished!

phong.com

Reflectively Refractive Glass Filter Tutorial

2008-11-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

This is an advanced tutorial, illustrating a simple method of giving the illusion of a 3d reflection to a particular form, using Photoshop's Glass filter. It should work in Photoshop versions 5 and later. For the demonstration I will use Photoshop 7.

This method can be used in conjunction with lighting effects for slippery smooth results.

1
a) Create an image, 800x800 pixels. For reference purposes, save this image (Ctrl+S) as glass.psd.

b) Use the type tool, or create an original form, filling most of the image, preferably using a typeface with thick smooth edges.

This example is using Goudy Old Style, Extra Bold. For reference, let this layer be known as the 'Type' layer.

c) Now holding down Ctrl, click on the Type layer in the Layer Window to select the it's transparency.

2
a) In the Channels Window, press the 'Save selection as channel' button to create a channel of the selection.

b) Now, click on the new channel this created, and with the selection still in tact, Gaussian Blur it accordingly.

Might I suggest, a series of blurs in succession, so that the edges falloff very smoothly.

Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur... 9 pixels
Then blur 6 pixels.
Then blur 6 pixels.
Then again, 3 pixels.
Then again, 3 pixels.
Then finally, only 1 pixel.

The height map you create here is key to the goodness of the final effect.

Tip:

If you have My Actions loaded, this blurring process can be done quickly and easily by pressing: F8 (blur 9px), F7 (blur 6px), F6 (blur 3px), F5 (blur 1px)

c) Once you deem your blurration fit for submission, press Ctrl+A to select the entire channel, then copy it to the clipboard Ctrl+C.

d) Create a new image (Ctrl+N), of the same size (800x800), and paste (Ctrl+V) the blurred channel into it. Now, save this image as a glass_bump.psd into the same folder you are working from. You may now close it if you wish.

3
a) Download this photo by right clicking on the link then selecting 'Save target as...'. Open the image in photoshop.

Note: This can also be done by clicking on the link, so that the full image loads in your web browser, then drag the photo off the browser into Photoshop.

b)Once the image is in Photoshop, Select All (Ctrl+A), copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl+C), then go to the original image glass.psd and paste it (Ctrl+V) onto a new layer.

This will be the image which the glass refracts. Let it be known as the 'Photo' layer.

Tip:

If you use your own photo instead of this one, such as pictures of water which look cool and refreshing, make sure that it is exactly the same size as the glass.psd, or else make sure that the edges of the Photo layer go beyond he edges of the image. Also, make sure you select the whole image (not layer) (Ctrl+A) before running the Glass filter, or else there will problems with the placement of the glass refraction. You will see.

4
a) With the Photo layer selected, select all (Ctrl+A), then go in the menu:

Filter > Distort > Glass...

b) From the texture dropdown, choose Load Texture...

Then select the bump map you saved earlier, glass_bump.psd, and press OK.

These sliders are self-explanatory, though for this demonstration I will use:

Distortion: 20
Smoothness: 8

The Invert option may also produce a desired effect.

When you're done here, press OK to apply the filter.

Note: Rendering the glass filter a second or third time on the same layer (Ctrl+F) may also produce desirable effects.

The following steps are entirely optional, and should be experimented with.

5
To fit the glass refraction inside the original form, hold down Alt, then move your mouse between the Type layer and the Photo layer, until a little icon with two intersecting circles replaces the cursor, then click.

This will use the Type layer transparency as a mask for the refracted Photo layer.

To disable this, click between the layers again holding down Alt.

6
a) Holding down Ctrl click the Type layer to select it's transparency. Click on the Photo layer, then create a new layer above it.

Fill the new layer with a dark color, such as black, by pressing X (to select Black as foreground color), and then Alt+Backspace (to fill). Then deselect (Ctrl+D).

Rename this layer 'Highlight', or something to this extent.

Set the blending mode for this layer to Overlay.

b) With the Highlight layer still selected, go in the menu:

Filter > Render > Lighting Effects...

Set your texture channel to the bump map created earlier (possibly Alpha 1), then setup some nice lights, according to the Lighting Effects tutorial.

Channel height set to 100 'Mountainous', may or may not look hoopy.

When this is done, perhaps even change the blending mode to Color Dodge, or Screen... whatever appears the most groovy to your pulsating eyeballs.

In addition to the Photo layer, try refracting a layer of black and white scan lines to produce highly detailed moire patterns. This tutorial can also be used to create chrome looking items. Throw down drop shadows, stone textures, disgruntled dots, and hopefully better effects you've come up with by now.

Massage the pixels thoroughly, until they stimulate your eyeballs in return, and be sure to experiment until the persistantly unfolding depths of your mind push you to the brink of madness.

phong.com

membuat background retro dengan photoshop

2008-11-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Di bata kemuran ini photoshop tutor kami akan membuat baik retro kertas dinding efek gaya untuk anda desktop.

Terlebih dulu menyeret kemiringan di seberang tahap, warna pilihan anda, hanya meyakinkannya matte, tidak terang tak ada kegelapan. Lihat di warna hijau saya di atas. Sekarang dengan alat pena membuat paku suka saya perbuat di bawah, terhadap kulit hitam warna.

Sanjung tiruan dan putar mereka sepanjang pusat tahap suka dilakukan saya di proses di bawah...

Jagalah supaya menggabungkan semua lapisan paku bersama di juri lapisan dengan memilih mereka sama sekali, tepat berbunyi dan pilih menggabungkan lapisan-lapisan. Sekarang ganda membunyikan lapisan yang berisi semua paku untuk memasuki juri gaya lapisan dan gaya-pegas itu tempat sediperlihatkan di bawah.

Sekarang hanya tempat suatu benda atau teks di pusat tahap suka dilakukan saya, anda bisa menjadi rata memberinya beberapa gaya lapisan suka dilakukan saya di bawah.

Hal terakhir akan membuat latar belakang agak kotor, oleh sebab itu dengan warna gelap, memilih sikat yang kelihatan agak seperti mengotori dan menggambar suatu kotoran baik atas latar belakang (tidak terlalu gelap). Dan dilakukan kami

Photo to Pencil Sketch

2008-11-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

[Editor's Note: Folks, we regularly get two or more requests from readers for any help using Photoshop to convert a photo to a sketch -- pencil, charcoal, conte, or other mediums. This is by far the very best tutorial we've seen to date -- bar none! When we saw this technique in the Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook we knew at once we had to share it with you! Thanks to O'Reilly Publishing we're able to bring the technique to you in its entirety! ]

Tim Shelbourne writes...

Ask any artist and they'll tell you that all the tubes of paint in the world cannot replace the simple pencil when it comes to artistic potential. Through the centuries, the litmus test of an artist's ability was demonstrated best through the medium of drawing. In days of yore, student painters spent years drawing with graphite to hone their skills.

The so-called "Sketch Filters" in Photoshop consistently yield very disappointing results; re-creating the quintessential sketch demands a little more inventiveness and an approach that mimics traditional techniques. Pencil sketches work especially well when very soft leaded pencils are used on a tinted paper, with a few touches of white chalk here and there to heighten the tones. This is what we'll produce here, digitally.

Don't worry if your drawing abilities aren't up to snuff, all that's required here is the ability to scribble!

Note: Due to the size and number of diagrams, we've made these thumbnails clickable, and should open the actual diagram in a new, pop-up window. If they don't, be sure you have JAVA turned on, and Pop-up blocking turned off.

(1) Open your original image in Photoshop.
Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color,
call it "Gray Fill," and click OK.

In the Color Picker, choose a light gray.

(2) Click the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" icon at the base of the Layers palette and choose Pattern from the list.
Click in the Pattern Swatch in the dialog box, hit the right-pointing arrow, and select Grayscale Paper.
Choose Fibers 1 from the swatch.
Increase the Pattern Scale to 340% and click OK. Set this layer to
Soft Light, and 35% opacity.

(3) Right-click/Ctrl-click the background layer and choose Duplicate Layer, calling the layer "Glowing Edges."

Drag this new layer to the top of the stack and go to
Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges.
Use these values:
Edge Width 3, Edge Brightness 11, Smoothness 10.

(4) Invert the Glowing Edges layer using
Image > Adjustments > Invert (Ctrl/Cmd+I).

This layer only needs to be black and white, so go to
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U).

Set the layer's blending mode to Multiply with an opacity of 15%.

(5) Duplicate the background layer again, calling it "Sketch Layer," and drag this duplicate to the top of the stack.

Desaturate this layer using Image
> Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/ Cmd+Shift+U).

To use the layer as a base for the drawing, increase the contrast a little, by going to
Image > Adjustments > Brightness and Contrast. Drag the Contrast slider to the right to a value of 22.

Now set the layer blending mode to Darken and leave the opacity set to 100%.

(6) We need to add some Noise to this layer to break the image up a little, so go to
Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
Use an Amount of 12%, choose Gaussian for Distribution, and check Monochromatic.

(7) Add a Hide All layer mask to this layer using Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All.

To make the drawing, simply scribble on this layer mask using a special brush.

(8) Select the Brush tool and click in the Brush Picker.

Click the right-pointing arrow in the Picker and choose Dry Media Brushes. Scroll down the thumbnails and double-click Pastel on Charcoal Paper.

(9) Hit F5 on the keyboard to display the Brush Options.
Click the Other Dynamics panel and set the Opacity Jitter Control box to Pen Pressure.
Click Shape Dynamics and set the Size Jitter to Pen Pressure.
Set Minimum Diameter to 70%.

Remember, if you are not using a graphics tablet, you must control the opacity of the Brush using the Opacity slider in the Options bar.

(10) Now you can begin sketching...

Be sure that the foreground color swatch is white.

In the Options bar, increase the size of the brush to between 20 and 25 pixels. Now begin to scribble onto the Sketch Layer's layer mask. At first, just concentrate on the main facial features within the image. Use just a little pressure on the stylus, or a very low opacity for the brush.

Scribble loosely over all of the required parts of the image, changing direction often to create a hand-shaded look.

(11) Use plenty of cross-hatch scribble where the strokes overlap in opposite directions. Remember, there is no actual drawing ability whatsoever required here, we are simply scribbling to reveal the layer lying beneath the Layer mask.

(12) Increase the size of the brush a little by using the right-facing square bracket key on the keyboard.

Continue to scribble over the image, remembering to keep the brushwork nice and loose, building up the tones around the features of the face. In the hair, and around the outside of the image, use the brush at a bigger size and make the strokes even more sketchy.

(13) Finally, reduce the size of the brush again and use it with white at full opacity to scribble more into the main features, adding some really dark strokes.

See the "Before & After" with a rollover to compare the work to the original photo

Tip FEEL THE PRESSURE!

In exercises such as this, using a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet has huge advantages over using a mouse. Many of the special brushes in Photoshop, such as the one we're using here, have characteristics that can be set to respond directly to pressure. Although this exercise can be completed with a conventional mouse, the opacity of the brush has to be controlled manually in the Options bar. When using a graphics tablet we can simply apply more pressure to the stylus to create darker strokes. Graphics tablets are relatively cheap nowadays, and stunning results can be achieved with even the most inexpensive models.

graphic-design.com

Real Water Drops Effect

2008-09-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

One of the effects that has always grabbed my attention in photoshop is water. I am going to show you a cool an quick water effect.

Step 1:First we need to create the water drops. Open up our usual 500 x 500 pixel canvas. Go to the channels palette and create a new alpha channel. Then apply Filter => Noise to the channel. Below are my settings.

Step 2:Now, We are going to blur that layer.

So go to Filter => Blur => Gaussian Blur and use a radius of 3 - 4.

Step 3:Then go to Image => Adjustments => Threshold. Move the slider so you have an even distribution of white and black in the image. See my image below for a guide. Keep in mind that the white areas will be your water drops so adjust this according to how many drops you want.

This is my setting:

After Threshold setting your images looks like below.

Step 4:In this setup we are going to hit the image with another Gaussian Blur. This time use a setting around 6.5 - 7.5. Then apply the threshold adjustment to it again. You will see the water droplets starting to appear (the white parts) so adjust your threshold until you are happy with the amout and size of droplets. Then apply the Gaussian Blur filter one last time with a low setting of around 1.5. You should have something like this so far.

Step 5:Now since we have some jagged edges we are going to apply a levels adjustment. Go to Image => Adjustments => Levels or Press Ctrl + L to bring up the levels adjustment box. Drag both the left and right sliders in toward the center slider. Do this until you feel the jaggies are gone.

Step 6: OK, now we have our drops so the fun part starts. If you ever wanted a cow pattern then this would be the place to stop. First go back to your layers palette and create some text. A large thick font will work best here. Then duplicate the text layer and hide one of them (just in case we need to come back to it later). Select the duplicate and go to Layer => Rasterize => Type. We do this because we are going to need to distort the text soon and it needs to be rasterized first. Also, while you are in the layers palette, create a background so we can see the water droplets on it. Used a blue to purple gradient.

Step 7:Create a new layer above your text layer. Go back to your channels palette and Ctrl + click on the water drop alpha channel. This puts a selection around everything that is white. Then go back to your layers palette and fill the selection with white (Make sure your new layer above the text layer is active). Your image should look pretty close to mine so far..

Step 8: Now, drop the fill opacity of the water drops layer down to around 30%. This is located in the top right of the layers palette (It says "Fill: 100%") if you have PS 7. If you're using version 6 it is tucked in the main screen of the layer styles dialog box. Also, change the blending mode of this layer to 'Soft Light'. Then, double click the water drops layer and add a Bevel and a contour layer style. Use the settings in the screenshots below.

Step 9: Almost done. Now we just need to make it a little more lifelike. In real life, if the water drops where on top of something it would distort the view of what is below them. The text here is no exception. So make the text layer active and Ctrl+click on the water drops layer to bring up its selection. Again, make sure the text layer is active though - we only want to affect the areas of text that the water drops are on top of. Then go to Filter => Liquify (this is why we rasterized the text layer earlier). Selected the Warp tool which is the default, 64 for brush size, and 50 for Brush Pressure. Then just barely click on each area under the droplet and pushed it to the right quickly. We are just looking for a little distortion here so don't go crazy. This took me a few times to get it right so if you apply it and don't like it just undo and go back.

Step 10 (Final): That's pretty much it. Added a hard edged drop shadow layer style to the white text and here is what we came up with.

http://nicetutz.blogspot.com

2008-09-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

With some simple brushing techniques, and a bit of color tweaking, you can spice up your photos with this flaming hair tutorial.

This effect relies on a good photo. You're going to a shot of some long hair, preferably flowing in the wind or tossed in the air. Blonde hair is going to work best, so if your model has darker locks, try changing it to blonde in Photoshop.

The majority of the work in this involves brushing the hair with the Smudge Tool. Use a grungy brush, with a small diameter and 50% strength to start. Begin towards the head and brush outwards, creating organic flowing movements.

Follow the hair's natural direction as shown in the illustration below (notice the wavy black strokes). Once you've touched every strand, duplicate your layer and use a larger diameter brush to go over the hair again. Be careful not to touch the ears or skin.

When your satisfied with your wispy hair, use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select the hair -- you don't need to be exact here. Now Feather your selection by 15 pixels. With your hair selected, bump up the brightness by +9, and the contrast by +41. These settings will vary depending on your image -- we're just trying to intensify the hair. Now comes the color correction. Make the hair glow by adding yellow shadows and highlights. Play with the settings until you've got your fire. All of this fire will create heat, so take the Blur Tool and add some blurry spots to the edges of the face and neck. For some final enhancements, use the brush tool with a bright yellow and feather in a few hot spots on a new layer. Blur this layer and change the Blending Mode to Overlay.

That should do it. Add an overall yellow hue to your final image and put on your shades!
http://luxa.org

Water effect on products Photoshop tutorial

2008-09-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial i’ll try to show you how to make a nice looking product bottle with the water effect that really makes you thirsty when you look at this kind of product pictures. You can apply this stuf to almost anything though, let it be fruit, cars etc. I also saw some nice photos of models wearing clothes with a similar water effect. So this water effect is pretty popular and is a good thing to learn...

I’ll show you the basics since you need quite some experience and work to master this effect.

Things you need:

Photoshop ;D
Picture of a bottle or product - click here to download sample one
Picture of a water splat, click here to download a free HQ one that also has transparency.

First open your picture of the product, i’ll be using a Finlandia bottle since i’m a fan of it’s design and quality. If you’re a fan of photography, you make make such photos in a 5€ macro studio. Also import the transaprent water photo (download it here). Duplicate it and hide the bottom one so you keep a clean original layer for later use. Set the other ones blending to "Screen".

After that "scale down" and "position" the water layer to the product like the first picture shows below. The second picture is a zoom view. I have used the "Rectangular marquee tool" and used it on the "water layer!" but the width and the height is applied to the bottle since this is going to be blurry because i want the water splat too be behind the bottle. Use the "Layer via cut" option when right clicking.

On the new made layer, change the blending again to "Screen" and then go to Filter -> Blur -> Gaussion blur and blur the image. I have used the setting of around 3px. Clean the image a bit so it really does look like it is behind the bottle.

On the same layer, add mask to it and use the "Gradient tool" from left to right to make the ilussion perfect. Right click on the layer and use the "Free transforma". Again right-click and choose "Warp". Do a similar warp transofmation like the second picture below, apply when done. This will give the layer the look like viewing something through the bottle.

Duplicate the hidden water layer and make it visible, rotate it and scale it down like the first picture below and place it in the right position like the second picture shows. Try to really use the water and blend it with the object/product you are working on. Try to experiment with different shapes. Use a soft eraser and erase the left part that is too big.

The next step will be to delete the bottom right part of the bottle and break it’s shape. There is now a line that needs to be deleted (the first picture below). Mak a new layer and use a "white soft brush" and make the hole in the bottle like the second picture shows. After that, just hit "CTRL+I" to invert it to black. You can skip the white brush step though, i just did it like this to show you where i used the brush since you can’t see it in detail when you use black color on black.

The next step will be adding more water so again duplicate the original hidden water layer and use the "Eraser" to delete the unneeded parts like the second picture shows. I hided the other layers to easily see the whole water layer.

Make the other layers visible again (first picture). Duplicate it 3 times and make it a half circle that will fit the half-circeled lower part of the bottle. After that you will need to clean it. Use the eraser for that on the lover layers.

And you’re done. Play with it and use your own creativity to make it eben better. Here’s the final image:

I hope you enjoy the tutorial.

http://www.darjanpanic.com/

Tips dan Trik serta penjelasan tentang layout dan tampilan photoshop untuk dasar dan pemahaman

2008-07-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

HELP CONTENT!!!
Download dan pelajari LAYOUT PHOTOSHOP

Tips dan Trik serta penjelasan tentang layout dan tampilan photoshop untuk dasar dan pemahaman

+ Keterangan :
Main Menu = Sederetan Menu yang dipersiapkan untuk membantu dalam proses pembuatan dan editing gambar
Toolbox = kumpulan tool atau alat-alat yang digunakan untuk mengedit gambar
Kanvas = Tempat kita melukis atau mengedit gambar
Palette Layer = Digunakan untuk mengatur lapisan gambar sehingga dapat dengan mudah mengatur urutan lapisan gambar tanpa pengaruh bagian lapisan yang lain, anda dapat menghapus maupun mengcopy layer sesuai keinginan anda

+ Shortcut Photoshop
Canvas baru = ctrl + N
Membuka gambar = ctrl + O

Menutup aplikasi = ctrl + W
Undo = ctrl + Z
Undo lebih dari sekali = ctrl + alt + Z
Redo = shift + ctrl + Z
Resize or Transform = ctrl + T
Membatalkan perintah = esc
Deselect = ctrl + D
Inverse = shift + ctrl + I
Photoshop help = F1
Memunculkan penggaris / Rulers = ctrl + R
Memperbesar tampilan / Zoom in = ctrl + [+]
Memperkecil tampilan / Zoom out = ctrl + [-]
Menampilkan seukuran dengan layar / Fit to screen = ctrl + 0
Cetak / Print = ctrl + P

+ Jenis Format File

JPEG (.JPG , .JPEG , *.JPE)	adalah format gambar standart dengan ukuran file yang lebih kecil dari Bitmap (*.bmp)
BMP (.BMP , .RLE , *.DIB)	adalah file gambar dengan resolusi lebih jernih namun dengan ukuran jauh lebih besar dari JPEG dan sudah mendukung 32 bits colours
GIF (*.gif)	adalah file gambar untuk desain animasi maupun gambar bergerak dan hanya memiliki kemampuan warna 256 colours

Punya Tips-Tips yang kami belum tahu?
Silahkan kirim ke kontak kami www.ilmugrafis.com