May 28, 2009 at 5:15 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | 2 Comments
Tags: Kiosk Orbs in Photoshop
1
Step 1. make a simple circle with your circular marquee tool. Red makes for a nice colour, but you can go with anything you like.
Step 2. Give the circle a innerglow layer effect, just change the glow colour to black and the blendmode to multiply. Why am I using the Inner glow instead of the inner shadow? Because inner glow doesn’t have an angular deflection, and thus is easily uniform.
Step 3. Load the selection from the circular area and on a new layer drag the linear gradient (white to transparent) downwards from top (close to the bottom but not completely bottom).
Step 4. Now press Ctrl/Cmd+T to transform the white gradient. Drag the handles to bring it upwards halfway through, and drag it in a bit in from the top and sides.
Create a merge composite layer: Hide the background – Create a new blank layer on top and then Press Alt+Ctrl+Shift+E (Option+Cmd+Shift+E on Mac) to create a merged layer on top.
2
Step 5. take the merged layer and create a circular selection above. the circle should be much larger than the original circle. Again use your eyes to tell you what seems right, then copy the section and paste it in to a new layer. This creates the top portion of the orb. Place it again in the proper exact position.
Step 6. Now to go onto the base of the orb. In a new layer create an eleptical shape that fits into the lower half of the circle. Duplicate this layer and reduce the size a little, as shown in fig.6.
Step 7. Select the larger elipse layer and load its selection by pressing Ctrl/Cmd and clicking on the layer thumbnail. Now select the cylindrical gradient tool and going with the grey-white-grey-white-grey colour combo, drag across.
Step 8. Duplicate this layer too and bring the duplicate upwards, as shown. Now place the white small portion up above the actual gradiated layer. Place it as shown in fig.8. Link both layers and reduce their size by a bit, so that the outer gradiated elipse is just a bit within the red circle.
3
Step 9. Take the duplicated gradient layer and again select it , now giving it a slightly different gradient of greys and whites. Now bring the duplicated gradient layer down. arrange it beneath both the other layers, and position as shown in fig.9. It should be a visible from both sides as it is the rim of the orb.
Step 10. Now to remove the portions of the orb that aren’t required. As before by keeping Ctrl/Cmd pressed and clicking on the layer thumbnails; first select the large outer rim elipse (with the gray gradient) and then Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+Click on the thumbnail of the the upper top portion layer (created in step 5).
You will now have the 2 elipses selected. We want to also select the bottom portion of the orb. Choose the Rectangular marquee tool hold down shift and drag over the bottom portion. Inverse the selection (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I) and delete the middle portion of the orb. The figure should look as it is in Fig.10.
Step 11. Now to create the glass portion. Create a circle of the same size of the orb, any colour you want. Place it behind the other layers.
Step 12. As with the initial outer orb, give it the same kind of innerglow effect, and now bring it forward so as to cover all but the red outer portions of the orb.
4
Step 13. Now goto the layer palette and make the fill amount =0. This makes the layer invisible, but keeps the layer effects visible, as shown in Fig.13.
Step 14. As you had done with the red circle, ie, creating a white gradient reflection, create the same in a new layer above the glass layer, so as to create a more realistic lighting effect. Adjust the settings as required to make it as realistic looking as possible.
Step 15. Now select the base layers, ie the grey metal gradient layers and the white elipse, and merge them together. After this press Cntrl+U to adjust the hue of the layer. Since it’s grey, click on colorize, and adjust to a redish colour in keeping with the colour of the orb itself.
Step 16. Finally give a very slight drop shadow to the upper portion of the red orb, just to attain more realism. Secondly the lower portion seems off. SO create a new layer above the red lower orb portion. Then select the radial gradient tool, and select the white to nothing option. Now drag from somewhere above the red to a little bit in. Erase portions that arent contained within the red portion. Check Fig.16. to see the effect.
5
You orb is ready. You can display any items in there now, just make sure any Items kept in have a good reflection added on. This will give the base a shiny appearance.
6
May 27, 2009 at 1:06 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | 1 Comment
Tags: Use Over 40 Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts to Create a Reflective Timepiece
Step 1
Well, to get things started off right, let’s make a new document with the dimensions of 2304 pixels by 1708 pixels, and 300dpi. These dimensions worked great while creating this tutorial, so let’s stick with them!
Next we’ll set some guides. Be sure your snap feature is turned on View > Snap (Command + Shift + Colon key). Unfortunately there is no visual aid to show that it is turned on. Press Command + R to display your rulers, then use the Selection Tool (V) to drag a guide from the left and top rulers, ensuring they snap to the center of the artboard. Press Command + Colon key to hide any Guides at any time.
Don’t worry, if you make a mistake, just press Command + Z to undo. If you make a few mistakes, just press Command + Option + Z to step back to where you were. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff!
Here’s an interesting trick. Change the background of your artboard by selecting your favorite color, grabbing your Paint Bucket Tool (G), then Shift-clicking on the artboard. Cool right?
Step 2
Lets work from the bottom up, kinda like a painting. First lets create a nice blue gradient for the background. Select the Gradient Tool (G), select radial from the gradient choices. When choosing your colors, you can use #3e5198 for the foreground, and #222d53 for the background.
The effect we want is a lighter center, and a slightly darker outside. This creates more visual interest, rather than just a plain solid color. Once you have your colors selected, simply click and drag from the center of the artboard to the right edge and release.
Step 3
For Psd Plus members, Drag in the supplied “concreteTexture.jpg” image that is found in the “source” file in this tut’s member download, or grab a texture you prefer off the net. Make sure it is on a layer above the “background.” Scale (Command + T) and adjust as needed. Set the color mode to Overlay (V, then Shift + or -), and reduce the Opacity of the layer to 30% (V, then 3). This will give us a nice subtle effect.
Here’s a quick note on Opacity and Fill. The number pad (1 = 10%, 2 = 10%……0 = 100%) will change the Opacity or Fill (press Shift and number to change Fill) to whichever tool is selected. If the Selection Tool (V) is active, then it will adjust the layer. If the Brush Tool (B) is selected, then it will adjust the brush. The same goes for the Gradient and Paint Bucket Tool (G).
Step 4
Create a new layer and name it “Main Clock.” Select the Circular Marquee Tool (M), and drag from the center of the artboard out towards the edge. The trick is to press Option+Shift while dragging. This will constrain proportions and create a marquee from the center, out.
Leave some free space on the top and bottom. Press (D) to change to the default colors. Next, press Option + Delete to fill the marquee with your foreground color. Deselect the marquee (Command + D). Don’t like the color you just filled the circle with? Pick a different color and press Shift + Option+ Delete and see what happens! The transparency is preserved!
Select the Main Clock Layer and the “Background” Layer by Command-clicking each layer (if a marquee appears, that means you clicked on the layers thumbnail. Oops!) Press (V) for your Selection Tool, then align the circle by pressing the Align Vertical Centers, and the Align Horizontal Centers. This is a precautionary measure to make sure everything lines up later down the road.
Filling Note: If you press Command + Delete, the marquee will fill with the background color. An easy way to remember which one does which is to observe on the left side of your keyboard, the Option button is on the left of the Command button (just like the foreground and background colors).
Step 5
Now we get to add some effects. Double-click on the “Main Clock” layer to open up the Layer Style dialog box. Enter the following adjustments (everything else can remain as the default setting):
- Drop Shadow: Opacity = 65%, Angle = 90 (make sure Global Light is checked), Distance = 49, and Size = 79.
- Inner Shadow: Opacity = 65%, Distance = 0, Choke = 12, and Size = 38.
- Inner Glow: Blend Mode = Color Burn, Color = #a32025, Size = 111
Bevel: Technique = Chisel Hard, Size = 81, Soften = 14, Highlight Mode Opacity = 45, and Shadow Mode Opacity = 45.
Step 6
Here comes the fun part! Let’s create the numbers for the face of the clock. Select your Type Tool (T) and click anywhere to make a text field. Type in the number 00 (a nice round number to help us align everything) and make sure the text is center aligned. The size should be approximately 40pt (to increase or decrease the size of the font use Shift + Command + < or >). Helvetica Neue Font was used, but almost any font will work. Click your check mark box to accept the changes.
Now let’s align this text to the background, the same way we did in the previous step. Command-click the text layer and the background layer , then use the align tools to ensure we are directly in the center.
Step 7
Next, Shift-drag the text box to the top of the circle, and let it snap into place. It should be half on, half off of the top edge of the “Main Clock.” Aligning it this way will give us a nice visual, letting us know that everything aligned properly.
Once in place, press Command + T for the Free Transform Tool. Your anchor will be in the center of the transform box. Shift-drag it down to the center of the circle. Zoom in (Command + Plus key) if you need to be more precise. Change the angle to 30 degrees and click the check box to accept the changes.
Now press Command + Option + Shift + T eleven more times to repeat the transform and make a new layer via copy. Wow, that’s amazing!
Step 8
Adjust the number to read correctly by selecting the layer, then pressing Command + T. Grab the bounding box corner and rotate it into place while holding Shift. Edit the text by double-clicking the text layer and entering the appropriate number.
Note: Using the bounding box to rotate the numbers into place is the quickest way, but you have other options as well. Try rotating it 30 degrees, then click the check box to accept the changes. Now press Command + Shift + T to repeat the transform. Keep doing this until the number is in place. Now you can select a different number layer and use the same keyboard shortcut. Neat!
Once all of the numbers are correct and can be read properly, select all of the numbers by Shift-clicking the entire set of numbers. Press Command + G to group all of the numbers together. Name the group “Numbers.”
Step 9
Now we want to make a copy of all of the numbers to one layer. Option-click the eye on the “Numbers” group. This will turn all of the other layers off. Press Command + Option + Shift + E to stamp everything visible to a new layer via copy. Name this layer “Merged Numbers.”
Now turn on the other layers by clicking on each layer eye. You can keep the group “Numbers” turned off. The reason we made a copy is to keep an editable copy of the numbers, to apply the effects to only one layer which reduces file size, and to learn a great shortcut!
Step 10
Resize the Merged Numbers layer (Command + T), so it fits inside the clock as shown below. Be sure to hold Option + Shift while dragging to constrain the proportions to the center.
Apply effects to the “Merged Numbers” layer. Use the settings indicated below. Don’t be afraid to choose your own settings either. Make it your own!
Here are the settings used:
- Outer Glow: Opacity = 56, Color = #a32025.
- Bevel: Style = Pillow Emboss, Size = 24, Soften = 8, Highlight Mode Opacity = 30, and Shadow Mode Opacity = 30.
- Gradient Overlay = #ffffff, #c8c8c8, #ffffff, #c8c8c8, #ffffff (refer to image below) Click New to add this gradient to the presets field because it will be used in Step 13).
Step 11
Create a new layer and name this “Hour Hand.” Use your Custom Shape Tool (U) and choose the pencil shape from the drop down menu at the top. This looks most like a clock dial. Drag out a shape to make it look like a short, thin hour hand. Press Command + T, then hold Shift while rotating the hand so it is straight up and down. Position it towards the center to help you measure the next hand.
We need a longer minute hand now. Duplicate the layer by pressing Command + J. Rename this layer “Minute Hand.” Select the Square Marquee Tool (M) and drag a square around the upper part of the hand. Now press Command + T and drag the hand so it is a little longer than the other one. Doing this will keep our pointed area proportional between the two hands.
Step 12
Turn off the visibility of the “Minute Hand.” Drag the “Hour Hand” up so the end is within the center guides. Press Command + T, rotate it holding Shift, then move the anchor point to the center guides (zoom in if necessary). Rotate the hand to the location of your choice (sometimes the anchor can’t be edited until the object is rotated). Now do the same with the “Minute Hand.”
Step 13
Use the settings below to style both hands. The “Minute Hand” will have slightly more distance in the drop shadow, so it appears to be above the “Hour Hand.” Here are the settings:
- Drop Shadow: Opacity = 55, Distance = 11 (14 for the “Minute Hand”), Size = 13.
- Inner Shadow: Opacity = 42.
- Bevel: Technique = Chisel Hard, Size = 9, Highlight Mode Opacity = 55, Shadow Mode Opacity = 55.
- Gradient Overlay: Use the same color of gradient that was saved in Step 10, Angle = 96.
Step 14
Adding some light spots to the clock hands will make our effect even more realistic. Create a new layer and name it “Highlights.” Press (D) for your default colors, then (X) to switch to white.
Press (B) and from the brush menu (if you are using CS4 you can use the following shortcuts) select a brush diameter of 150 (Control + Option-click-drag), and a hardness of 0% (Control + Option + Command-click-drag). Set the Opacity to 30% (press 3). For earlier versions of PS, use the Bracket keys to adjust the diameter, and Shift + Bracket keys to adjust hardness.
Paint the white spot anywhere you can see it. Now select a Brush Diameter of 50, with 0% Hardness. Set the Opacity to 60% (press 6). Click once in the center of the previous highlight.
Now select your Circular Marquee Tool (M). Drag a circle around your highlight. Press (V), now click inside the marquee to cut it and reposition it. Find a white part on the “Hour Hand” and try to center your highlight to the upper edge of the hand (it depends on where you put your hands, but remember the light source is coming from the top).
Before you deselect, Option-click and drag a new copy to a highlight on the “Minute Hand,” and the upper edges of the numbers 7 and 12. Now you can deselect, and pat yourself on the back for making it this far!
Step 15
Add your company logo if you would like. Just drag it into your document, making sure the logo layer is below both hand layers. Position it, then use Command + T to resize it.
Copy the layer style of the numbers by right-clicking and selecting Copy Layer Style, then right-click on your “logo” layer and select Paste Layer Style. Decrease the bevel effect until it looks more realistic (Bevel: Size = 5, Soften = 0).
Step 16
Hold the hands together by creating a center piece. Create a new layer and name it “Center.” Command-click on the “Main Clock” layer thumbnail to create a marquee. Fill it with any color (Command + Delete), Deselect the marquee (Command + D), resize to the center (Command + T). Don’t forget to hold Shift + Option to constrain the proportions to the center.
Now copy the “Main Clock” layer style, and paste it onto the “Center” layer. Make a few minor adjustments as shown below. The drop shadow distance should be a little more than the “Minute Hand” layer because it is above both hands:
- Drop Shadow: Distance = 19 and Size = 13.
- Inner Glow: Uncheck this effect.
Step 17
Let’s create the cover now. Create a new layer and name it “Cover.” Command-click on the “Main Clock” layer thumbnail to create a marquee. Press (D) for default colors, then press Command + Delete to fill it with white. Deselect the marquee (Command + D). Lower the layer opacity to 20% (V, then 2).
Resize (Command + T, then hold Shift + Option-drag) the “Cover” layer to fit a little inside the beveled edge of the “Main Clock.” See the image below.
Create a Layer Mask by clicking on the button at the bottom of the Layer Panel, select your Gradient Tool (G), make sure Linear is selected, then choose the same gradient from Step 10. Now click on the Layer Mask to select it. Zoom out if necessary, and drag a gradient from the upper left corner of the image, down to the lower right corner. This effect will had some variation to the cover and make it appear to be a more reflective surface.
Step 18
Now we need to continue to build up the glare effects to make the “Cover” look more realistic. For those of you who have watched my Glass Ball Tutorial on YouTube, this step will be a breeze.
Create a new layer and name it “Glare.” Command-click on the “Cover” layer thumbnail to create a marquee. Press (D) for default colors, then press Command + Delete to fill it with white. Deselect the marquee (Command + D). Lower the layer Opacity to 40% (V, then 4)
Transform the “Glare” layer by pressing Command + T, then Shift-dragging from the bottom and bring it above the center line. Shift + Option-drag from the right side to squeeze the layer, then Shift-drag from the top to squeeze it down into place. Use the image below for reference. Make sure the glare is covering the number 12, as shown.
Step 19
Create a Layer Mask for the “Glare” layer. Select your Gradient Tool (G) and make sure the Linear Gradient is selected from the gradient field above. Choose default colors (D). Select the Layer Mask, then drag a gradient from the bottom of the circle to the top. Instant Glare! We still have some polish to add though.
Default Colors Note: If you are on a layer, the letter D makes black the foreground, and white the background. But, if a Layer Mask is selected, and D is pressed, then the default colors are reversed. Just press X if you need to swap them.
Step 20
Create a new document by pressing Command + N. Let’s make this a square document. The size should be 7 inches by 7 inches at 300dpi.
Double-click on the background layer,then press OK to unlock the layer. Fill the layer with black (try to use those shortcuts you learned in the previous steps). Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare, then select the 105mm Prime option at 110%, and press OK.
Lets Fade the Filter we just applied. Press Command + Shift + F. Lower the Opacity to 90%.
Fade Filter Note: This shortcut is only accessible directly after a filter is applied. It’s great for lowering the Opacity or changing the blending mode of a filter without affecting the pixels it is sitting on top of.
Step 21
Go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. Select Polar to Rectangular, and press OK. Whoa, what happened! Don’t worry, it’s going to look great I promise!
Now flip it vertically. Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertically. Now go back to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. This time select Rectangular to Polar, and press OK. Wow, now look at that! Did I keep my promises or what!
Step 22
All you have to do now is cut out the fat. Create some quick center guides like we did earlier. Choose your Circular Marquee Tool (M), then drag a circle from the center out to the edge of the glare. Be sure to hold Shift + Option while dragging.
Now press Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection. Press Command + X to cut out the fat.
Step 23
Shift-drag your creation into your clock document so it is centered.
Resize the reflection by pressing Command + T and Shift + Option dragging it to the same size as the “Cover” layer. Rotate the reflection so the beads of light are at the top, and aligned to the center. Accept the changes by pressing the Check Mark.
Rename this layer to “Flare,” and make sure it is above the “Glare” layer. Press (V), then hold Shift and press the Plus or Minus keys to cycle through your layer modes. Soft Light works best in our case.
Step 24
We need to add more pop to the glare at the top. Command-click on the “Glare” layer thumbnail to create a marquee. Select the “Flare” layer, then press Shift + F6 to bring up the Feather Selection dialog box. Type 100 pixels and click OK. This will fade our flare and blend it more.
Now make a new layer via cut by pressing Command + Shift + J. Now set the Blending Mode to Screen (V, then Plus or Minus keys). Rename the layer to “Flare2.”
Step 25
We better add one more lens flare for good measure. Create a new layer and name it “Flare3.” Command-click on the “Cover” layer to get a marquee. Fill it with black and don’t deselect the marquee yet. This will confine our lens flare to the pixels inside the marquee.
Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. This time choose 50-300mm Zoom, and position the flare crosshair on the left side so all of the reflections are aligned from left to right. Select 110%. Press OK.
Deselect the selection (Command + D) and press Command + T to rotate it so the brightest part is centered at the top. Accept the changes. Now set the layer mode to Soft Light.
Step 26
A few more lighting effects and we are done. Create a new layer above all of the others and name it “Inner Rim.” Command-click the “Main Clock” layer thumbnail to create a marquee. Fill the marquee with white (D, then Command + Delete). Deselect the marquee (Command + D). Press Command + T to reduce the size to meet the inner edge of the “Main Clock” Bevel as shown.
Let’s cut out the fat. Command-click on the “Cover” layer (make sure the “Inner Rim” layer is still selected). Press Command + X to cut out the center.
Reduce the layer Opacity to 70% (V, then 7). Create a Layer Mask. We need to fade the effect now. Select your Gradient Tool (G), Default Colors (D), (X) to inverse default colors, and Shift-drag a Linear Gradient from the center of the clock down to the bottom of the clock.
Step 27
Create a new layer and name it “Outer Rim.” Command-click on the “Main Clock” layer to create a marquee, and fill with white (D, then Command + Delete). Deselect the marquee (Command + D).
Now select the “Inner Rim” layer and Command-click on the layer thumbnail. Press 
for your Wand Tool, and Shift-click the center of the marquee. This will get rid of the middle part that we don’t need. Now click back on the “Outer Rim” layer and cut out the fat (Command + X). Set the layer Opacity to 80% (V, then 8).
Select your Gradient Tool (G), and choose Radial Gradient. If the layer mask is selected, press (D) for your default colors. Shift-drag up from the top of the “Outer Rim.” You will have to drag about 3-4 inches above the clock. Zoom out if necessary. This will give us a nice hot spot on the top of the clock, which is closer to the light source.
Step 28
Create a new layer and name it “Shadows.” Fill it with black. Set the layer mode to Soft Light (V, then Shift and use the Plus or Minus keys). Now create a Layer Mask, choose your default colors (D), select your Gradient Tool (G), then Shift-drag a Linear Gradient from the bottom of the image to the center of the clock. This will add a little more depth to our image by fading the light.
Conclusion
Wow, you did it! Great Job! Hopefully this tutorial has helped you and will make you a quicker, more efficient Photoshop designer.
May 24, 2009 at 1:41 pm | Posted in CorelDraw, GrApHiX | Leave a comment
Tags: Spider Web
STEP ONE
Select the Rectangle Tool, hold down the Control key, and draw out a rectangle. Holding down control will keep the rectangle proportional.
STEP TWO
Go to View > Snap To Objects and make sure it is selected. This will help find the edges and nodes of objects. The rectangle is just being used as a guide to create a straight line. Using the Bezier Tool, click the top left corner and then click the top right corner. You should have a straight line on top of your rectangle:
STEP THREE
You can delete the rectangle now so all you’re left with is the straight line. We want to make copies of this straight line, but we need to rotate the copies and use left hand side of the line as the origin of rotation. So click twice on the line and you should see the following:
STEP FOUR
Notice the circle in the middle. Click on it and move it over to the left corner. This will be the origin of rotation.
STEP FIVE
Now this next step may be a bit tricky but try and follow! While holding down the Control key, click and drag the bottom right rotation arrow downward until you see a new line appear. To duplicate the line, right click with your mouse. If you did it right you should end up with the following:
STEP SIX
Repeat step 5 five more times and you should end up with the following:
STEP SEVEN
Using the Bezier Tool, we’re going to begin to create the curves in the web. Let’s start with the following two points:
STEP EIGHT
Click on point 1 and then click and drag on point 2 until you get the following curve:
STEP NINE
Repeat step 8 for each pair of lines. It may help to click the Pick Tool and then click anywhere in the white space to deselect the previous curve before you begin a new curve. If you don’t, you may end up adding to the curve and not getting the result you intended. You should end up with the following:
STEP TEN
Using the Pick Tool and holding down the Shift key, click on each curve and then group them all together by hitting Control + G. With the group selected, grab the bottom right handle and drag inward. You’ll notice a new line of curves display. To duplicate, right click on the mouse. You should end up with the following:
STEP ELEVEN
Repeat step 10 until the spider web is complete! Here’s my final result!
May 24, 2009 at 4:39 am | Posted in GrApHiX | Leave a comment
Tags: cheat sheets, Color Charts, color codes, font
When you’re adding a color to your Web page with HTML, sometimes you can just type in the name of the color. But more often than not, you’ll need to use what’s called the hex code, which is something that the browser will be able to understand. Choose a color from the list below and look to its left to get the hex code. If we wanted our background to be red, for example, we’d type bgcolor=”#FF0000″. Try it out!
| Hex Code |
Color |
| #FFFFFF |
|
| #FFFFCC |
|
| #FFFF99 |
|
| #FFFF66 |
|
| #FFFF33 |
|
| #FFFF00 |
|
| #FFCCFF |
|
| #FFCCCC |
|
| #FFCC99 |
|
| #FFCC66 |
|
| #FFCC33 |
|
| #FFCC00 |
|
| #FF99FF |
|
| #FF99CC |
|
| #FF9999 |
|
| #FF9966 |
|
| #FF9933 |
|
| #FF9900 |
|
| #FF66FF |
|
| #FF66CC |
|
| #FF66CC |
|
| #FF6666 |
|
| #FF6633 |
|
| #FF6600 |
|
| #FF33FF |
|
| #FF33CC |
|
| #FF3399 |
|
| #FF3399 |
|
| #FF3333 |
|
| #FF3300 |
|
| #FF00FF |
|
| #FF00CC |
|
| #FF0099 |
|
| #FF0066 |
|
| #FF0033 |
|
| #FF0000 |
|
|
| Hex Code |
Color |
| #66FFFF |
|
| #66FFCC |
|
| #66FF99 |
|
| #66FF66 |
|
| #66FF33 |
|
| #66FF00 |
|
| #66CCFF |
|
| #66CCCC |
|
| #66CC99 |
|
| #66CC66 |
|
| #66CC33 |
|
| #66CC00 |
|
| #6699FF |
|
| #6699CC |
|
| #669999 |
|
| #669966 |
|
| #669933 |
|
| #669900 |
|
| #6666FF |
|
| #6666CC |
|
| #666699 |
|
| #666666 |
|
| #666633 |
|
| #666600 |
|
| #6633FF |
|
| #6633CC |
|
| #663399 |
|
| #663366 |
|
| #663333 |
|
| #663300 |
|
| #6600FF |
|
| #6600CC |
|
| #660099 |
|
| #660066 |
|
| #660033 |
|
| #660000 |
|
|
| Hex Code |
Color |
| #CCFFFF |
|
| #CCFFCC |
|
| #CCFF99 |
|
| #CCFF66 |
|
| #CCFF33 |
|
| #CCFF00 |
|
| #CCCCFF |
|
| #CCCCCC |
|
| #CCCC99 |
|
| #CCCC66 |
|
| #CCCC33 |
|
| #CCCC00 |
|
| #CC99FF |
|
| #CC99CC |
|
| #CC9999 |
|
| #CC9966 |
|
| #CC9933 |
|
| #CC9900 |
|
| #CC66FF |
|
| #CC66CC |
|
| #CC6699 |
|
| #CC6666 |
|
| #CC6633 |
|
| #CC6600 |
|
| #CC33FF |
|
| #CC33CC |
|
| #CC3399 |
|
| #CC3366 |
|
| #CC3333 |
|
| #CC3300 |
|
| #CC00FF |
|
| #CC00CC |
|
| #CC0099 |
|
| #CC0066 |
|
| #CC0033 |
|
| #CC0000 |
|
|
| Hex Code |
Color |
| #33FFFF |
|
| #33FFCC |
|
| #33FF99 |
|
| #33FF66 |
|
| #33FF33 |
|
| #33FF00 |
|
| #33CCFF |
|
| #33CCCC |
|
| #33CC99 |
|
| #33CC66 |
|
| #33CC33 |
|
| #33CC00 |
|
| #3399FF |
|
| #3399CC |
|
| #339999 |
|
| #339966 |
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| #339933 |
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| #99FFFF |
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| #00FFFF |
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| #003366 |
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May 22, 2009 at 10:11 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | Leave a comment
Tags: Burn Tool, Designing Cool Bow, Dodge Tool, Pen Tool
This Photoshop tutorial will explain you how to design similar to the vector bow using Dodge Tool and Burn Tool.
Now, firstly, you’ll have to create a new document in which you can make this design. For this tutorial I’m going to be using a size of 500×300 pixels with the default resolution (DPI) of 72 and add in the background that you want. I used linear gradient with colors of #fea289 and #fef43e.
Ok, now select the Pen Tool and create a shape like on my screenshot using color of #eb1502:
After that rasterize shape with Layer > Rasterize > Shape. Create two new shapes in the same way.
Select the Burn Tool (Brush: 45 px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 25%) and make a little burn-work with one of the shapes like on picture below.
Go to the lower layer and select it with Select > Load Selection, after that apply Select > Modify > Contract to contract selection about 3 pixels. Create a new layer and fill selected area with yellow color (#ffe826).
Apply Select > Modify > Contract one more time and contract selection about 3 pixels again. Then press Delete to clear selection and remove selection with Ctrl+D.
Select the Eraser Tool and a sharp round brush about 20 pixels to cut away part of yellow line like on my picture below:
Looks like unfinished line now. To finish this line use the Brush Tool and a sharp rounded brush about 3 pixels to draw the part of line (use the color of #ffe826):
Now, merge this layer with previous. Ok, not looking so great, yet! I would like to add some design to the ribbon. We can use brushes for this. You can use my brushes or your own it does not meter. Select the color of #ffe826 and print the design as on picture below.
Use Edit > Free Transform to rotate it a little bit like on my screenshot:
Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make selection as below to cut away unnecessary part of design and press Delete to clear selected part.
Remove the selection with Ctrl+D and merge this layer with previous. Get out the Dodge Tool (Soft round brush about 45 px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 50%) and make a little dodge-work to create highlight on the ribbon.
Now, select the Burn Tool (Soft round brush about 40 px, Range: Shadows, Exposure: 50%) and make darken part of the ribbon to bring it dimensional view.
Ok, time to finish off the bow design. Go to the lower layer with ribbon and select it with Select > Load Selection, use Select > Modify > Contract to contract selection about 3 pixels and fill the selection with color of #ffe826.
Now use Select > Modify > Contract to contract selection about 3 pixels again and press Delete to clear selected area.
Remove the selection using Select > Deselect (or use Ctrl+D). So, after that get out the Eraser Tool and a sharp round brush about 20 pixels to cut away part of yellow line like below:
Use the Brush Tool and a sharp rounded brush about 3 pixels to finish off lines with color of #ffe826.
Merge this one layer with previous and then use the Dodge Tool (Soft round brush about 45 px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 50%) to make a couple of highlights on the ribbon:
Now, time to bring dark spots to the ribbon to make it more realistic. For this effect use the Burn Tool (Soft round brush about 40 px, Range: Shadows, Exposure: 50%) to get the result as on my picture you can see below:
After that merge all of layers of the bow in one and apply following Blending Options:
• Drop Shadow
• Outer Glow
See the result now:
Well, we’re done for this tutorial! I hope it was sufficient and useful for you. Good luck!
May 19, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | Leave a comment
Tags: Adobe Photoshop CS3, Corkboard Making
Corkboard Making done in Adobe Photoshop CS3
1. Open a new file of about 3600x3600pixels. Go to File>New.
NOTE: I will not use the whole workspace. It’s just I prefer to work in a much bigger workspace.
2. Create new layer and name it as “cork”. Select the Rectangular tool 
and set the foreground to #9d8a74 and drag according to your desired size of the cork.
3. Add Noise. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Set the Amount to 20, Uniform selected and check Monochromatic. Click OK.
4. We will now create a frame for this cork. Create again new layer and name it as “frame”. While the frame layer is selected, press CTRL+click on the cork layer. This will select the whole size of the cork. With still the Rectangular Marquee tool, drag inside the selection to subtract it. But make sure you click the subtract from selection option. Set the foreground to #6a4242 and press ALT+Backspace to fill it. Then press CTRL+D to select it.
5. This time click the Polygonal Lasso tool 
and select first the upper part of the frame then add the selection in the lower part just like in the picture below.
6. While the upper and the lower part of the frame are selected, go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise and set the Amount to 20. Click OK.
7. Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Set the angle to 0 with a distance of 30. Click OK.
8. Do not deselect yet the selection. Instead press CTRL+Shift+I to inverse the selection. This will select the vertical parts of the frame.Do the same thing the upper and lower part setting. Add noise of 20 and motion blur with a distance of 30 also but this time change the angle to 90.
9. Press CTRL+D now to deselect. We will now add some style.
Bevel and Emboss:
Drop Shadow:
10. And by adding some shadow effect, here is the final result:
You can now place anything you want in your corkboard. Remember, settings in this tutorial will be different when you work in a different workspace resolution. But still you are free to explore. Make your own settings, colors and effects. This is just for an idea and most probably you can make a much better than the way i do. Thanks for reading.
May 18, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | Leave a comment
Tags: How to Create a Surreal Photo Manipulation with Twisting Water
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.
Step 1
Start with an empty document (mine is 40cm by 50cm at 240 dpi) and one beautiful sky pic for the background. I used my own image for this, which is in the download for Psd Plus members, though you can certainly search stock sites for a good sky image as well.
Step 2
Apply Color Balance (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) to add blue and cyan using the settings shown below.
Step 3
Let’s add the girl. It’s a personal photograph of mine and is included in the download for Psd Plus members. I captured the model in natural light and is easy to reproduce. You can always use your own image or stock image though. Cut it out with your favorite tool from the original picture and paste it in our main document (don’t worry about feet, we don’t need them). Place the image in the center.
Step 4
Now we are going to modify the color on the girl. Go to Color Balance again (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) and use the adjustments shown below.
Step 5
Let’s add some levels next. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and apply the following adjustments.
Step 6
Now use the Healing Brush Tool (J) to erase the details on the girl skin that you don’t like (marks, moles, etc…). Just search for a clean zone of the skin, press Alt and click with the left button mouse button. Then release Alt and click over a mark/mole and it erase.
Step 7
Let’s work on the ground now. Search for some grass photographs, like the ones that I show below. I used these grass images: 1, 2, 3, and 4. Next, cut a line of grass out carefully. It’s important to use images with quality that don’t look blurred because some of them will be close-up in our final illustration. Use all the time that you need, and the Eraser Tool with a harder edge, to get the best selection possible.
When you paste a selection in our image, use Color Balance (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) and Levels (Image > Adjustments > Levels) to match the different colors and lights. Basically, you need to add yellow/blue or magenta/green depending of the image you are using.
Step 8
We’re going to place layer over layer to make credible grass. Some of the layers will not be very visible so don’t worry if you repeat the same selection in different parts of the image. For the last line of grass (the closest to our eyes) we’ll need an image with good quality and definition. Cut it carefully and paste it over all the other layers.
Use a line of grass behind the girl to join better in the grass. Finally, use little leaves to cover details and imperfections in the grass. It’s important that you don’t merge all the layers because we will need to introduce elements between some of them. This is an easy job, it doesn’t require too much knowledge but you will need patience and good stock images. One last advice is don’t use brushes to make elements like this, unless you’re an absolute expert, as it will look bad and not photorealistic.
Step 9
Let’s go now for the water drop in the hand of the girl. As you can see, we have got a good stock image that doesn’t need too much editing to get a good final look. That’s the importance of the stock images that we use; the better they are, the less work we’ll have to do on them in Photoshop.
Cut and paste it into our image behind the girl layer. Then use the Color Overlay option in Layer Style (Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay) to make blue the green tones in our drop. Use the Overlay in Blend Mode, select a color similar to the one in the image and set the Opacity to 59%.
Step 10
Now let’s add some more drops floating and falling from the hand. Use photographs from drops that have a white or blue background to get a perfect match with our cloudy background. I used this image.
Step 11
It’s time to create some water spirals. One more time we need a good stock image that can be used as we want. This time we will use the water falling from a hose. Select it and paste in our image. Now go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and change the Hue to +111.
Step 12
Now go to Edit > Free Transform (Command + T) and move the water to the position in the sample and go to Edit > Transform > Warp. With this mesh you can distort the object to make it twist.
Step 13
Once you have got a look similar to the image below, use the Blur Tool (R) on the edges of the water to make it blurred. You can use a subtle motion blur if you want too (Filters > Blur > Motion Blur).
Step 14
Duplicate the water layer and move down the lower one. Apply a Gaussian Blur (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur) with a Radius of about 32 pixels. Now use the Eraser Tool (E) to delete the blur that doesn’t fall over the body of the girl. Add some green and yellow using Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and finally change the kind of layer from Normal to Soft Light.
Step 15
Use the Burn Tool with an exposure of about 40% over our “water” layer, creating some shadows on different zones.
Step 16
This will be easy. Duplicate the “water” layer again and use Free Transform (Command + T) to move it into the position shown below. Move it between some of the grass layers, like it is jumping and running.
Step 17
Duplicate the “water” layer one more time. This time we are going to make the new layer bigger and move it closer to the viewer’s position (between the “grass” layers again).
Step 18
In this last layer, add a motion blur. Go to Filters > Blur > Motion Blur and set it to an Angle of 16 and about 30 pixels of Distance.
Step 19
Copy and paste a piece of the water stream to improve the end of this water stream, as shown below. Then move it to the zone near the grass and use the eraser or a layer mask to make the union perfect.
Step 20
Now let’s add some details. Cut some blades of grass and use motion blur on them to emulate the effect of moving, then place them around the water steam. Next, create some little white spheres with the Ellipse Tool and apply motion blur again. These are shinning drops that I can paste here and there to make the stream a little more personalized.
Step 21
Now let’s use the original water stream again. Move it with the Free Transform (Command + T) to the position in the image, then use the Eraser or a Layer Mask to merge the edges of the two stream layers. Go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and use the Colors Levels that you can see in the image below. Finally, use the Burn Tool and Dodge Tool to add some shadows and highlights to the stream. What we’ve done is added some green to the water, like it was reflecting the color from the grass.
Step 22
Let’s use a copy of the original water stream again. Go to Edit > Transform > Warp to modify the selection as shown. Then move it into the position in the second sample image below. Finally, add some more drops and shines as we’ve done before.
Step 23
Let’s use the original water stream >. Use Free Transform (Command + T) to modify the selection like in position (2). Then use Edit > Transform > Warp to get the stream like in position (3). Add drops and shines again. It’s easy; as you can see we’re just repeating all that we’ve done in previous steps.
Step 24
There’s nothing new here. Repeat the previous step and modify the selection with Edit > Transform > Warp to get the stream that you can see in the sample below.
Step 25
Let’s work on details now. Select the layer of the “girl.” Use your Eraser or one Mask Layer to improve the selection of the girl. Use it carefully in the hair. Then use the Healing Brush Tool as discussed in Step 6 to correct the final details. As you can see in the image below, the girl on the left is the original girl image, and the one on the right is the final version.
Step 26
We’re still on the “girl” layer. Select the Burn Tool, and with Range in Midtones and Exposure about 25%, and use it on the places where the shadows of the water fall. Use the sample image below as a guide.
Conclusion
Personally I like the colors and light. But I invite you to use Adjustments Layers to modify and change them as you want. Go to your upper layer and then go to Layer > Adjustments Layers > Levels (for example); modify it as you want to get your perfect image. You can make the same with Color Balance, Curves, etc…
May 17, 2009 at 3:36 am | Posted in GrApHiX, PhOtOsHoP | Leave a comment
Tags: Making Skin Beautiful
Overview
This subject will be covered in steps as follows:
- Removing or softening major flaws in the skin
- Touching up undesired reflections and highlights
- Apply a Gaussian blur to the skin to soften and blend it.
- Spot sharpening
Note for MAC users: Substitute the Option key for the Alt key when specified in the tutorial.
Removing or softening flaws
There are many ways to remove flaws from the skin; however, I like to use the clone tool. I do not use the clone tool to remove and replace the skin but rather in a special way that will allow me to work slowly to hide the flaw or blemish on the skin. The beautiful young lady pictured here is typical of teenagers in that hormones may cause zits or other eruptions on their skin that are unsightly. As a photographer it is our job to lessen that and make the model look their best. You will note on the neck of this young lady a rather large skin eruption. This is not a normal mark and one that I am sure she wishes were not there.
On the tool bar on the left hand side of the workspace is the clone tool. Click on this tool. Now go to the mode setting at the top and select a soft brush that is near to or smaller than the blemish. Move to the right and click on mode, setting it to lighten. Move to the right and set the opacity to around 12% and the flow rate to 100% or less. You are now ready to begin hiding the blemish. Find a good patch of skin near the blemish, position your brush on it, hold down the ALT key and click your mouse once. Now begin to soften the blemish by doing a click and hold while going over and over the blemish. You will note that it begins to lighten. Continue until the blemish is gone. In the center of the blemish it is lighter than the surrounding skin. Set mode to darken, ALT click on the good skin and repeat the process above to darken this lighter area. The blemish is now gone as shown in the image. You might also note that I have lightened some of her permanent moles and fixed other light or dark areas using the same technique described above. I generally do not totally remove permanent moles on a models face.
Touching up undesirable highlights and reflections
The end of nose is a particularly onerous place for reflections and burned out highlights as you will note on the model above. Removing them is just as simple as removing a blemish. The difference is that you set the clone tool mode to darken. Select a patch of skin with the appropriate color and do an ALT click. Now go over the highlight until it looks good to you. Be careful not to go too far a field from the highlight itself as you can make the nose look flat in that area instead of rounded as it normally is. If you make a mistake, it is simple to go back a step in the history palette and redo that step. Don’t hesitate to switch between darken and lighten if need be. At this stage do not worry if everything is not perfect as the Gaussian blur will take care of minor imperfections in your work.
Apply a Gaussian blur to the skin to soften and blend it
Much of the information in this part of the tutorial was gleaned from Scott Kelby’s great book entitled The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, which I recommend highly to everyone new to Photoshop.
I will attempt to keep the “how to” part of this tutorial as detailed as possible so that those new to Photoshop will be able to follow along. This is an advanced technique so stay with me. First thing to do is to open the picture that you want to apply the Gaussian blur to. Create 2 additional layers of this image in the Layer’s pallet. An easy way to do this is to hold down the Ctrl key and click on the J key twice. You should now see three layers of the image. Hide layer 1 copy by clicking on the Eye icon next to it in the layers pallet. Highlight the middle layer by clicking on it and your layers pallet should now look like this:
In the drop down box on the Layer’s pallet change the blend mode from Normal to Darken. Next go to the menu at the top of the screen and click filter/blur/Gaussian blur and then apply a 35 pixel blur to the image. Don’t worry that your image looks bad at this stage.
On the Layers pallet, click on the little Eye icon beside the middle layer to hide this layer and then click on the top layer to make it active. Now change the blend mode from Darken to Lighten by clicking on Lighten in the drop down box. Next run a 50 pixel blur on this top layer (Filter/blur/Gaussian Blur).
After you have applied the blur, click on the middle layer to make it the active layer and then lower the opacity to 30%. Hide the background layer from view by clicking on the Eye icon beside it and then create a new layer by clicking on the New Layer Icon at the bottom of the Layers pallet. This icon is on the bottom right just next to the little garbage can. When the new layer is created click and drag this layer to the top of the stack as shown.
Next, hold down the Alt Key and with your mouse go to the top and click (hold) on Layers and while holding the mouse button down go to the bottom and release the mouse button over Merge Visible as shown here.
This creates a flattened version of your document in the new layer. In the layers pallet, make the background layer visible with the Eye icon and hide the two middle layers by removing the Eye icon from them. Make sure the top layer is the active layer and then lower the opacity to 37%. This is a subjective adjustment and you should set it at the point that your image has the right amount of blur to suit your taste. All that is left now is the removal of the Gaussian blur from the hair, eyes, eyebrows, lips, jewelry, clothing and anything else that you don’t want blurred.
Click on the layer mask icon at the bottom of the layer pallet (third from the left). Insure that your foreground color is set to black. You can change the background/foreground easily by clicking on the small x while watching it change on the leftmost tool pallet. Select a soft edged brush from the tool pallet and paint over everything that you do not want blur on (eyes, mouth, hair, etc.). Generally this is everything except the skin. Change the size of the brush so that it is easy for you to do that without getting over into the skin. Your layers pallet will now look like this.
At this point you may flatten the layers and discard the unused layers (Layers/Flatten Image). If you feel a little touch up for the brightness of the image is needed, do that with levels or Brightness/Contrast.
Spot Sharpening
Select the spot sharpener from the tool pallet on the left hand side of your screen and quickly go over the eyes, mouth, and anything else that you want sharpened.
Applying a final sharpening is up to you but in any event do not over sharpen. Watch the eyelashes and hair especially so as not to create artifacts or halo’s. Here is the final product:
Don’t be intimidated by this tutorial, once you run through it a few times it is quite easy. One last caution, it is better to error on the side of too little blur than too much. It is easy to make the skin look plastic and unnatural. The goal is to accomplish the softening but yet not have it noticed. If you remove all traces of texture to the skin you will have failed for most types of portraits.
May 12, 2009 at 6:38 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: Illustrator 8+, Stylish Vector Flower
Stylish Vector Flower
Learn how to create stylish vector/line flower with Illustrator Blend Tool. This Adobe Illustrator tutorial is great for creating background and large print illustration.
Version: Illustrator 8+
1. Flower petal
Create two stroke paths: one yellow and one blue.
2. Blend Options
Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and set it to Specified Steps = 10. Specified Steps basically tells how many step to blend from 1 object to another.
Blend
Now select the 2 petal paths, go to Object > Blend > Make or press Ctrl + Alt + B and you should get something looks like the image shown below.
3. Duplicate more petals
Duplicate more petals to form the flower by Copy & Paste or Alt + Drag.
4. Stem
Create a stem by using the same Blend technique as in the previous step. Here I set the Specified Steps = 8.
5. Leaf
The leaf is formed by 2 parts, top and bottom. I use Specified Steps = 5 here.
6. Put them together
Now put them together to create a beautiful flower.
7. Right long leaf
Create a long leaf with Blend step = 3.
8. Left long leaf
Repeat the previous step to create the left long leaf.
Final
Your final image should looks like the image shown below:
More…
Play around with the stroke color, stroke weight, Blend step, Transparency and you might get unexpected nice result. Here is a sample I did in Photoshop, with different Blend Mode, Multiply and Darken. This image style is good for creating website header, banner, wallpaper, background, large print, etc.
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