Cool Grunge Signature - Photoshop tutorial

. First open a new document that is the size you would like your sig to be, I used 200x400px, and make sure your colors are black and white by pressing (D). And go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Press ctrl+f to randomize this until you get a design you like. Remember that these clouds will be the basis for your layout of your sig, so do it until you feel it looks right.



2. Take a grunge brush set (you can find one at http://glitter-tramp.com/juuichi/ or just create your own, but that takes time and is frustrating if you don’t like the result) and fill the canvas with white brush strokes from these brushes. They should create an old and outdated "grunge" look. Next, right click the layer and click blending options. Enable the drop shadow at default settings to give an added effect.



3. At this point you should have a render or stock photo in mind. I am going to use a halo render from planetrenders.net. Due to the fact that I like my grunge sigs to have a dirty look I am going to use a orange/brown background by creating a Color Balance Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance...). Play around with the colors until you are satisfied for your own.



4. At this point I duplicated the render and with the duplicated layer, applied a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) at 6.0 px and decreased the opacity of the layer to 20% through the blending options of the layer.



5. Next select the layer with your render on it and click "Add Layer Mask" in the layers palette. Use the Black and White gradient to fade parts of the render in and out. This will help to blend the render in with your background and look like it is one with the background.



6. Next we will add the text, the hardest part of a grunge theme sig. For mine I used a simple text (Lucida Sans) because I could not find any that fit in with my theme, hopefully you have better luck. I still managed to get this font to work. First duplicate your text layer and play with the blending options on the duplicated layer. Next move the original text to the front and lower the opacity so you can see the lower text easier, Then link the two together and merge them together. Take back out your grunge brushes, except this time through the eraser tool, and take off little specks of your text to make it have the grunge feeling. You just created your own text!

7. Put this text in a corner and adjust the size accordingly and you have your own sig. Select your background layer, right click it, and select blending options yet again. Put a 1 pixel black stroke on the inside part of this layer. Now sit back and enjoy your masterpiece that you have created. Hope this helped you to create your first grunge sig.



Source: http://www.tutorialhero.com/tutorial-9-cool_grunge_signature.php

Effects ›› Amazing Abstract Background - Photo

Step 1: Create a new file, 500x500 px, with the Black background. Then use The Gradient Tool to make like this



Step 2: Go to Filter -> Distort -> Wave, leave the default settings (or you can change to your favourite), press OK



Step 3: Press Ctril-F 9 times, you will have



Step 4: Press Ctril-J to create Layer 1. Then Transform -> Rotate 90 CW. Use Blend Lighten for this Layer 1





Step 5: Press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-T 2 times to make 2 copies of the layer 1.



Press Ctrl-E 2 times to merge down to layer 1. Now we only have the Layer 1 and the Background



Step 6: Double click on Layer 1, click on Gradient Overlay. Choose any color you like. Make sure that the Blend mode is Overlay. Press OK



Step 7: Change the Blend mode for Layer 1 to Screen, and we have the final result

Metallic Styles in Photoshop

Metallic Styles in Photoshop

In Effects by Collis

In this tutorial we're going to create a metallic effect using layer styles and gradients that you can apply to different objects. We'll put it on a nice background and create a style for lettering that makes it look like it's embedded into the metal. You can download the sample PSD file from the link at the bottom of the tutorial if you'd like to simply copy+paste the layer styles.

Step 1:

BACKGROUND LAYER

We start as always with a background gradient. I've used a Radial Gradient with two shades of a lovely light green. The exact colour codes are:

Foreground colour - #93cc1a
Background colour - #7eb704

Step 2:

To give our background a bit more oomph we will next fade it off at the edges. So using a big soft brush and a foreground colour of black, create a new layer and just go around the edges as shown.

Then switch the layer to opacity 30%.

Step 3:

Now duplicate that last layer of black edge and go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use a setting of 20px to blur out the layer and give it a softer effect.

You may be wondering why we didn't just use a different radial gradient in the first place, and indeed you probably could do that. I like to use this method on the edges as it's more precise.

Step 4:

Now to get a bit of background effects I grabbed a font called "TW Cen MT (T1)" which I think might be a default font, and just made two "S" letters. I used the colour #cecfd0 and then made them gigantic and set the layers to "Multiply". This created some nice curvy shapes in the background.

Step 5:

Now I need a shape to use my metallic effects on so using the Custom Shape Tool (U) I select this "Fleur de lis" shape to use because it's a reasonably complex and nice shape. Again I used the colour - #cecfd0 - because it's a nice light grey to base our metallic effect on.

Step 6:

To start the mettalic effect right click on the layer and choose "Blending Options".

First add a drop shadow to lift the shape off the background. The key to drop shadows is to NOT make them too full on. A good drop shadow should be subtle. I often don't use black, but rather a variation of the background colour, so in this case a dark green.

Next we add a Stroke. I've used an "inside" stroke of 4px. But the key here is to switch "Fill Type" to "Gradient" and then use a nice gradient of grey and white.

The reason we do this is that if you look at metal in real life you'll see that it tends to go from light grey to darker grey to light grey and there's a lot of different shades. It isn't one single flat colour. Actually nothing in real life is a single flat colour, but that's another story.

So to get some realism we need these gradients. But also you don't want a full on gradient. Subtlety is the name of the game when it comes to gradients. make it soft changes. So here I've gone from white to that same light grey we used for the shape itself and back to white and back to grey and back to white.

Step 7:

Next to counter the stroke gradient, we add a "Gradient Overlay" using the same gradient. This appears on the main body of the shape and you can see how it contrasts really well with the stroke on the edge to make a metallic shine effect.

Step 8:

Finally to get a chromy effect we'll use the Bevel and Emboss tool, set to an Inner Bevel with a huge size and an odd "gloss contour". I must admit I made this just by experimenting, so there's no special reasoning behind it, just move the sliders around until you get some nice reflections happening in the middle of the shape.

And now we have our metallic style! You can copy and paste the style by right clicking on the layer and selecting "Copy Layer Style"

Step 9:

To finish off I added a black band up the top and then drew a rounded rectangle over it with the usual grey, applied my metallic style by pasting the style on to that layer.

Then I added some text saying "Metallic Style" and created a new style for the text. With the new style I used a different bunch of settings as follows:

Inner Shadow - Because I want the letters to look like they are punched into the metal I add an inner shadow. Make it nice and subtle though, not too full on!

Gradient Overlay - Because gradients make things look more natural, but again subtle colour changes only!

Stroke - Again I use a gradient stroke, however this time it is an Outer Stroke and it is a gradient going from dark at the top to light at the bottom. The reason for this is that it makes it look like the letters have an edge where they were punched into the metal. And it looks like there is light coming from the top and landing on that edge so that one side is lit up and the other is in a bit of shadow. This gives it a much more metallic effect.

Step 10:

And there you have it, the finished product, a nice pair of metallic styles!

3d tentacles

Step 1 Create document 250x250 pixels. Fill it with #B9CCD9 color. Create a new layer name it "tentacle". Select rectangular marquee tool [M]. Make a shape similar to mine 18 width and 240 height pixels. Fill the selection with BLACK. Don't deselect it until I tell you.

Step 2 Create a new layer above the tentacle layer. You don't have to rename it. I hope you have the selection still active. Fill it with #FCFCFC color. Now You should have two layers : Layer 1 and tentacle layer. Similar to the image on the left.

Step 3 Now apply Gaussian Filter to Layer 1. Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur with radius 4. Merge both layers CTRL+E. Now you have one layer called tentacle. You can deselect your selection selection now.

Step 4 Now all we have to do is distort it. Edit>Transform>Distort. Select right-bottom corner and using SHIFT+ALT move it to a little to the center. Do it the same with right-top corner but this time move it to the right. Watch my image.

Step 5 Add Shear filter. Filter>Distort>Shear. You can make your own or use my settings.

Step 6 Here is the most important part of this tutorial. Add Plastic Wrap. Filter>Artistic>Plastic Wrap. Settings: Highlight Strenght : 9 Detail : 9 Smoothness : 2 TIP: The trick is to add light which goes from top to bottom. It makes tentacle looks like 3D tentacle. If you want to make smaller or bigger tentacle just play with these settings.

Step 7 Add some shadows. Use layer style - drop shadow with these settings: Blend Mode: Normal Color: Black Opacity: 30 % Angle: 90 Distance: 2 Spread: 0 Size: 5

Step 8 This is the best part. We are going to cover this tentacle with BLOOD. Download some bloody brushes or use your own. I suggest you visit deviantart.com. There is a lot of great bloody brushes. It doesn't have to be blood. You can draw some spots using standard brushes. Create a new layer and name it "blood". Change the foregound color to #A2171A and splash some blood on the tentacle. Don't cover the whole tentacle. (edit: Brushes available at www.angryblue.com)

Step 9 Set the blending mode for the "blood layer" to Color Burn. While still on the blood layer hold CTRL and select "tentacle layer". Inverse a selection CTRL+SHIFT+I and hit DELETE. Now add some adjustments : Image> Adjustments> Brightness&Contrast and enter Brightness -25. Sharpen "tentacle layer". Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen. WOW!

Step 10 Final step is to add more blood spots to the background. Using this technique you can add anything to a tentacle like slime. All you have to do now is duplicate it. REMEMBER : The key is to properly set Plastic Wrap Filter. Add more tentacles and have fun. Just be creative! Congratulations, Your done!

Sunny Day Effects

Sunny Day Effects

September 22, 2007

Sunny Day - 1

In this tutorial I'll show you how to represent the wallpapers by imitating the vector style, create the effect of luminescence, create several types of rays, learn how to use the layers and decolorize the picture. I'll show you also how to work with layer's masks.

Create a new file of standard size wallpapers: File ? New (ctrl+n).



Paint the background's layer with the color you want to be there, choosing the Paint Bucket Tool.



Open in a new window the picture of the sky: File ? Open (ctrl+o).



Mark the picture out with Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a copy of it: Edit ? Copy (ctrl+c). Get back to the wallpapers window to insert the copy on a new layer: Edit ? Paste (ctrl+v). Make a correction of the new layer's size, applying the command: Edit ? Free Transform (ctrl+t) and decolorize it, selecting the best version of Channel option in the next window: Image ? Apply Image.



Change now the layer's Blending Mode on Screen and minimize the Opacity till 90%.



Create a new layer again (Layer ? New - Layer) to decolorize the angle the sun is situated on, choosing the Gradient Tool and changing the layer's Blending Mode on Soft Light.

Sunny Day - 2

Start representing the sun. Create firstly a round marking with Elliptical Marquee Tool, pressing the shift button and paint it out with the Gradient Tool, changing the gradient's type. Create after that a new layer again and represent on it an oval which must be painted too. Make many copies of the layer in case: Layer ? Duplicate Layer (ctrl+j). Use then the next option Edit ? Free Transform (ctrl+t) to place the rays around the sun.



Insert the flares, applying the same instruments.



Create a new layer again and group it out with the layer the sun is situated on: Layer ? Create Clipping Mask (ctrl+g). Create one more marking on the sun's surface and paint it out in white color. Change the layer's Blending Mode on Soft Light.



Combine all the layers composing the sun: Layer ? Merge Down (ctrl+e), and make a copy of the new layer (ctrj+j) and then make the lowest copy look totally white, using the next option: Image ? Channel Mixer:



Blur it out with Filter ? Blur ? Gaussian Blur.



Then make two copies of the layer just to make the luminescence more intensive:

Sunny Day - 3

Select a brush of grass shape from the standard set of brushes and two different green nuances to insert the grass along the lowest edge of the wallpapers.



Make it darker a little with Image ? Adjustments ? Hue/Saturation (ctrl+u).



Decolorize the grass' upper part on a new layer, using the usual Gradient Tool.



Change the layer's Blending Mode on Soft Light.



Then we have to create a new layer under the sun's layer and set the next shown Gradient Tool's adjustments, selecting the colors of the stripes by pressing Randomize button.



Create a kind of stretching, coming from the sun's central part and then make the layer look totally white with the Channel Mixer option.



Minimize after that the quantity of the stripes and represent one more new layer to paint it out under a different angle this time.

Sunny Day - 4

Now we have to mark out the rays placed on the layer in case by clicking on the layer and holding the ctrl button. This way we'll move off the markings, passing on the previous layer and after that on the auxiliary one: Layer ? Delete ? Layer.



Move off the rays situated above the grass by creating firstly the layer's mask: Layer ? Add Layer Mask ? Reveal All. We may apply also the Gradient Tool of black color to hide them if that is necessary.



We may select the next command also Layer ? Remove Layer Mask ? Apply. Create a new layer above the background's one to represent there one more type of rays, choosing the Polygonal Lasso Tool and Paint Bucket Tool.



We must also make the layer's Opacity smaller till 15%.



The Ellipse Tool will be helpful in adding several circles on a new layer:



On the grouped layer with the previous one (ctrl+g) we'll decolorize the rays a little:

Sunny Day - 5

Insert several flares by creating a marking with the Elliptical Marquee Tool.



Dark out the lowest part of the circles on a new layer, creating a figure's marking with the Pen Tool and the Make Selection command, painting the marked zone in black color and changing the layer's Blending Mode on Soft Light.



Next step includes downloading a set of ready to use brushes containing people figures (download them from here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/30251378/ ?qo=239&q=in%3Aresources%2Fapplications%2Fpsbrushes+sort%3Atime+people). Place them on the circles (ctrl+t).



When downloading a set of ready to use brushes containing the stars (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/24842912/ ?qo=200&q=in%3Aresources%2Fapplications%2Fpsbrushes+sort%3Atime+stars) we may add on the illustration a little more brilliance.



Apply the here shown command Edit ? Stroke for the layer containing the circles.



Insert on the picture several ornaments, downloading a set of ready to use brushes also (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/48541544/ ?qo=83&q=in%3Aresources%2Fapplications%2Fpsbrushes+sort%3Atime+flowers).



Finally the illustration is finished!

Click Fullsize Image