PSD Tuts 2009

Custom Sim Cards Tutorial

2009-10-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

Create a new document the size you want your simcards to be, select the rounded rectangle tool and draw out your rectangle, fill with your choice of color.

Add there layer styles to your rectangle.

You should have something like this.

Select the rounded rectangle again and create a small rectangle inside your current rectangle. Hold down the SHIFT KEY on the keyboard while dragging to ensure the rectangle stays perfectly square.

Now add these layer styles.

You should have something like this.

Now select the pen tool, using the color black and a 1pixel brush draw these lines.

On a new layer draw.

Now all your lines are drawn add this layer style to each line layer. (best way is to add to one line layer then right-click and goto copy layer styles, high-light every other line layer, right click and goto paste layer styles.)

You should now have something like this.

Select the pen tool on a new layer above your simcard but UNDERNEATH your gold plate make a selection like this and fill with the color white. Set opacity to 10%. You should have something like this.

Now add your logo and text to your simcard. Highlight all the layers and press CTRL + T and rotate it anyway you like, once rotated hit the enter key. Select the simcard layer and cut the corner off. You should then have something like this.

Photoshop parachute mail service logo stock photo

2009-10-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hi friends . . . you know how to create the Photoshop parachute mail service logo stock photo in Photoshop?

Let’s see, how to create.

[1]-First of all open New Document of Custom size, Height & Width 500×400 pixels, Resolution 72 & Mode RGB Color.

[2]-Now Open New Layer & then create the following shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press right click > make selection.

[3]-Now fill the #’c6f1416 color in selection area.

[4]-Now select the ‘Dodge Tool’ & Highlight the some parts.

[5]-Now create shape with the help of ‘Ellipse Tool’ & press right click > make selection & fill with Wight color.

[6]-Now create shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press right click > make selection & fill with #’fe5655′ color.

[7]-Now create shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press right click > make selection & fill with #’e5bc6d’ color.

[8]-Now go to Blending Options,& use the following settings
Photoshop Technique-How to use the Blending Options feature.

[9]-Now create shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ & press right click > make selection & fill with #’eac473′ color.

[10]-Now move the selection with the help of right arrow key press Ctrl+Shift+I
& Now create the selection at new layer & press right click & go to the ‘Feather Option’ gives
the ‘Feather Radius’ 13 pixels

[11]-Now select the ‘Burn Tool’ & create the following shading.

[12]-Now go to Blending Options,& use the following settings
Photoshop Technique-How to use the Blending Options feature.

[13]-Similarly create the other shape like me.

[14]-Now select the ‘Brush Tool’ & use the following setting.

[15]-Now create the following shape with the help of ‘Pen Tool’ with color # ‘b6aaaa’ right click select "Stroke Path"
& use the following setting of stroke path.

[16]-Similarly create the other strokes like me.

[17]-Now your ‘Final’ image should look like as shown below.

How To Change Eye Colors

2009-10-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

we will learn in this tutorial how to change eye colors in easy way just follow steps correctly

first open your image you want to change eye color

second select color replacement tool

make the tool mode like the next image

then choose your color and start to color the eye

final image and result

Change colour of car lights

2009-09-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

This Car tutorial will teach you how to change the colour of car lights in Photoshop. You need to use the lens flare filter and hue/saturation tools for this tutorial. I have used a free stock image of a car which is available from: www.sxc.hu

Change colour of car lights

Step 1

Open an image of car in Photoshop.
Insert a new layer Ctrl + Shift + N.

Step 2

Take the paint brush tool with an appropriate brush size and paint the areas of the car lights in a black colour like below:

Step 3

Select Filter > Render > Lens Flare and move the crosshair to the centre of one of the black areas you painted. Now change the brightness to 70 % and the lens type to 105mm Prime.

Repeat this for the other black area you painted.

Step 4

Change the layer blending option to “Screen” like below:

Step 5

Select Image > Adjustment > Hue/Saturation and adjust the sliders to your liking. I have selected the following settings.

Hue: 255
Saturation: 100
Lightness: -7

Remember to check the Colorize checkbox.

You should now have a different colour car lights.

Remove car door handles

2009-09-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

This Photoshop car tutorial will teach you how to remove the door handles from a car. You need to use the clone stamp tool for this effect. This tutorial only requires three steps. I have used a free stock image of a car which is available from: everystockphoto.com

Remove car door handles

Step 1

Open an image of a car door in Photoshop.

Step 2

Select the clone stamp tool with an appropriate brush size. Then hold down the ALT key and click to take a sample of the door panel paint.
Now simply paint over the areas of the door handles, note you may have to take another sample.

If you have more than one door handle, you can repeat this step.

Step 3

Select the smudge tool with the strength at 40% and blend in the areas of the door handles. This will make the removed door handle look more realistic.

You should have a car with no car doors handles

Carbon fibre hood

2009-09-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

In this car tutorial you will learn how to create a carbon fibre hood in Photoshop. This process involves superimposing a texture of carbon fibre on top of the current hood of the car. You will need an image of a car and a image of carbon fibre for this tutorial.

Carbon fibre hood in Photoshop

Step 1

Open an image of a car in Photoshop.

Step 2

Make a selection around the hood of the car like below. You can either use the pen, polygon lasso or the quick mask tool.

Step 3

Copy the selection of the hood onto a new layer by selecting Ctrl + J.

Step 4

Open a texture of carbon fibre and then copy it and paste it into the image of a car. Select the Free transform tool (Ctrl + T) and resize the texture to the same as the hood. You can also use the perspective and distort tool to position the texture into place.

Step 5

Now return to your duplicated hood layer and choose Select > Load selection you should now the selection around the hood.

Step 6

Select your carbon fibre layer then choose Select > Inverse and hit the delete key. Deselect the layer by pressing Ctrl + D.

Step 7

Now change the blending styles to Overlay. Then select Image > Adjustment > Brightness/Contrast and adjust the value accordingly to your image.

Matrix Effects In Photoshop

2009-09-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we will learn how to make Matrix Effects In Photoshop.

A) Create new document in Photoshop using a 300 x 200 document. Then fill your canvas with #ffffff this color.
B) In Filter Menu Go To The Texture And Click Onto Grain that Will Produce Grain Effect.
C) Now Turn The Grain Intensity To 100 Points And Contrast Also To 100 Points And Also Change The Type As Vertical.

D) Go To The Filter Menu Again And Select Artistic & In Artistic Menu Click Onto Neon Glow And Turn The Glow Size To 5 Points, Glow Brightness To 15 Points Click OK

E) Again Jump To Filter Menu And Use Stylize, In Stylize Click Glow Edges And Turn The Edge Width To 1 Point And Brightness To 6 Points And Smoothness To 2 Points.

G) From Filter Menu Click Blur, In Blur Click Motion Blur Effect. Turn The Distance To 3 Pixels, Angle To 90 Degree.

H) Save The Document As Matrix Effect. Download the PSD file from this tutorial from here: Matrix Effects in Photoshop.

Please feel free to contact us or leave a comment.

Add hood scoop to car

2009-09-02T10:29:00.001-07:00

This car tutorial will teach you how to add a hood scoop to a bonnet of a car. You will need an image of a car and an image of a hood scoop for this effect. I have used free stock images which are available from everystockphoto.com

Add hood scoop to car

Step 1

Open an image of a car.

And an image of a hood scoop in Photoshop.

Step 2

Select the lasso tool (L) and make a rough selection around the hood scoop like below:

Step 3

Choose Edit > Copy to copy the hood scoop then select your other image and select Edit > Paste. Now select the free transform tool Ctrl + T and resize the hood scoop to your preferred size. To get the hood scoop to the correct position, select Edit > Transform and choose either the skew or distort tools and adjust accordingly.

Step 4

Select the eraser tool and remove any access from the hood scope layer. Then select the smudge tool and blend in the edges. Now change the blending style to luminosity. You can experiment with the various blending styles if you wish.

You should now be able to add a hood scoop to car.

Clear car lights

2009-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote a tutorial about changing the colour of the car lights. However, in this tutorial I show you how give your car lights a clear look. This process is even simpler than changing the colour as only the channel mixer property needs to be adjusted.

Clear car lights

Step 1

Open an image of a car in Photoshop, use an image with has rear lights.

Step 2

Select the lasso tool or quick mask tool and make a selection around the areas of the car light like below:

Step 3

Select Image > Adjustment > Channel Mixer and check the Monochrome tab at the bottom of the pop-up window then click ok. You can adjust the constant slider which will increase/decrease the brightness of the clear colour.

You should now have clear car lights.

How to Make a Dark, Post-Apocalyptic City Illustration

2009-08-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial, we'll change a full of sunshine, ordinary photograph into a gloomy image of the world after destruction of mankind. Using simple tools, we'll turn lively streets into abandoned ruins overgrown with weeds. A number of stock images and a few little tricks will let us optimize our work and make this job more interesting and spectacular. So let's go!

Preparation

All the photos I've used are taken from the stock.xchng site. Let's take a look on them, before we start: the city, the flag, the texture 1, the texture 2, the texture 3, the grass texture, the can, the can 2, the banana skin, the old newspaper, the grass, the bushes, the bushes 2, the plants and the clouds. Also I've used one set of brushes, found on DeviantArt: Birds Brushes.

Step 1

Open the city image, which you intend to use, and save it under a different name. The first thing to do in order to achieve the appearance of the deserted, empty city, is to remove all signs of life, like people and lights. Use the Clone Stamp Tool and Brush Tool, which we'll be useful for finishing the details. Both tools should be soft-edged and have a size of 5 to 10 pixels.

Step 2

Now, in order to create the appearance of destruction, several actions need to be taken. First, change the appearance of the dark, blue banner (center-left of the image). Use the Brush Tool to erase most of the gold letters, and use the Clone Stamp Tool to remove the lower part of the banner.

Step 3

Open the flag image, and separate the flag from the background. Go to Select > Color Range to select all the blue pixels and press Delete. Use the parameters as in the image below.

Select the Eraser Tool (large size and hardness set at 0%) and remove the side part of the flag.

Finally, make the image monochromatic (Image > Adjustments > Black & White).

Step 4

Place the flag onto the surface of the main image. Use the Move Tool to move the layer into the appropriate position and the Eraser Tool to remove the unnecessary pixels.

Then go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and set up as shown below.

Step 5

Use the following tools to finish the work here: Clone Stamp Tool, Eraser Tool, Brush Tool, Burn Tool, and Dodge Tool.

Also select the Brush Tool and treat all other banners and flags in a similar way.

Step 6

Transform the windows now. Use the Brush Tool to remove some of the glass and alter the details. Apply some transformations with the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and Move Tool if you want to.

Step 7

Review the whole main image looking for areas where changes need to be made. When transforming the details, first mark them using the Polygonal Lasso tool, and subsequently cut out, paste in as new layers and transform them with the Move Tool. Use the Brush Tool during the process, if necessary.

Step 8

The last stage of creating an impression of destruction is removing flowers from the street. Paint all the flowers over with black, using the Brush Tool. Make up the missing parts of the flower pots with the Clone Stamp Tool, and add the shadows using the Burn Tool.

Step 9

Now we need to work on the textures. Create a new layer and go to Filter > Vanishing Point to apply the texture 1 onto the surface of asphalt. If you don't know how to use this filter, I recommend you read Alvaro's tutorial Getting to Grips with the Vanishing Point Filter before starting this step.

Step 10

Change the Blending Mode of the layer to Multiply. Select the Eraser Tool and remove the unnecessary parts of the texture.

Finally place texture 2 onto the sidewalks in the same way.

Step 11

Overlay texture 3 over the buildings, in the way similar to the sidewalks and street, but do not use the Vanishing Point filter.

Step 12

The last texture to be overlaid on the street surface is the grass texture. Contrary to the previous ones, in this case set the Blending Mode to Overlay.

Step 13

Now we will use a large number of stock photos. They will help make our image more detailed and interesting. Place the images of the can, the can 2, the banana skin, the old newspaper, the grass, the bushes, the bushes 2 and the plants in the document, resize them and erase the backgrounds.

Select the Burn Tool and apply some shadows.

Next select the Brush Tool, change its Blending Mode to Color. Alter and adjust the new elements so that they coexist better with the texture and color of the main image.

Step 14

With a Brush Tool already selected, change its Blending Mode back to Normal and add the settings in the Brushes Panel as shown below.

Paint some blades of grass, trying to make this as realistic as possible.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation using the settings below.

Step 15

At the end, use the Brush Tool, Burn Tool and Blur Tool in order to add more flora, and make the image more appealing and consistent.

Step 16

Select the Burn Tool and add some hard shadows on all the walls.

Use the Brush Tool with the Blending Mode set to Color to add some green smudges.

Step 17

Change the Blending Mode of the Brush Tool back to Normal once again, and add the settings in the Brushes Panel, as shown below.

Using a green color for the brush, add some flora on all the buildings.

Use the Burn Tool and Dodge Tools to make highlights and shadows. This will enhance the effect of three-dimensionality.

Step 18

Add some green and flora on cars, boards and flower pots using the same methods. Look at the third image to see all the successive small steps of working on the white road sign.

Step 19

Import the photo of the clouds into the document and place it in the bottom part of the image.

Next add a Mask to the Layer. Use the Pen Tool or the Magic Wand Tool to make a selection on the sky, next go Select > Inverse and Fill the selected area (of a mask, not an image) with black (using the Paint Bucket Tool).

Step 20

Go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White and use the default settings.

Use the Burn Tool and the Dodge Tool to change the contrast of the clouds, if you want to. Finally, select Brush Tool to paint the clouds with a new hue. First set the brush to a big size (about 150 pixels), hardness set to 35%, and Blending Mode set to Color, and use some pastel shades.

Step 21

Without changing any of the brush settings, add some warm colors to the buildings and streets. At this point, your image should look like the one below.

Step 22

Download the Birds Brushes set and open them in Photoshop. Add a few birds in the sky using a proper size.

Step 23

Now it's time to add final effects to your image. At this moment you must have only one layer. Simply save your work as a JPG or go to Layer > Flatten Image to do that. Next go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and add the settings represented in the image below.

Step 24

Last but not least go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and set up as shown.

Conclusion

Well done! You've now seen the whole process of turning an image of a lively city into a state of decaying ruins. Let us hope this will never happen in reality. You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

How to Make Vista Button

2009-08-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

This tutorial has very easy and simple steps to create this wonderful effect. Only step that is Gradient needs some practice.

This is will be your final result

First step Open New Document or press ctrl + N

after that set Height to 256 and Weight to 256 then fill with black background color, OK

go to Rounded Rectangle Tool or Press U

Set Radius to 10px start draw to the blac

k background as shown below

go to the Layer palette > select shape 1 > add layer style or double click shape 1 selected

Now we are going to start to make shiny effect choose Gradient Overlay >set as shown below

don't forget to set color and all of its opacity

Next step choose outer glow > set size to 10px

Ok...well done...and you will get the nice Vista Button

I will post how to make a hover Vista Button for the next posting, so don't forget to save the .psd file that you have gotten.

Photo Manipulation

2009-08-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Would you like to make creative photo manipulation? If yes, then this tutorial special for you!

Ok, to begin you need to find a few photos to make composition by using it. First of all find the photo of the eye. Use Google Images or different stock photo resources. Also you can use my photo. Open this file and duplicate the layer with Ctrl+J, then desaturate upper layer with Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (or use Ctrl+Shift+U):

Ok, go on. Get the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select eyeball area as on my picture:

Press Delete to clear selected area and remove selection with Ctrl+D. Eyeball area becomes color again.

Time to add the texture to the skin. Now, find another one picture of the Earth map or use mine. Open this picture and copy it to our main canvas and reduce it a little bit. Change layer mode for this layer to Soft Light.

Apply Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast with next presets:

Now you should have something like this one below:

After that make contrast correction. Now, using the Dodge Tool with moderate settings (Soft brush: 65 px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 50%) do a little bit of dodge-work.

Ok, now we need to make clear eyeball area again. Select the previous layer (Ctrl+left click the Layer Thumbnail in the Layers Palette) and press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection, after that press Delete to clear image in selection.

Deselect this fragment with Ctrl+D. Then apply the Sharpen Tool (Mode: Normal, Strength: 50%) and a soft round brush about 500 px to the map layer to make it sharp.

Move to the next step. Find a new one picture of fish in water; also feel free to use mine. Open this picture and copy it onto the main canvas. Then select water bubbles using the Polygonal Lasso Tool and cut this selected fragment to the new layer with Ctrl+Shift+J.

Hide the layer with picture of fish (click on the eye, which indicates layer visibility), we will use it later. Now set the layer mode to Multiply for layer with water bubbles. After that move it to the eye area as on my picture below:

Get the Sharpen Tool and make this layer sharp.

Ok, after that select the Eraser Tool and make clear all outside eyeball area. See the result below:

Go back to the hidden layer with fish and make it visible again. Select the Magic Wand Tool and divide fish from white background.

Then press Delete to clear image in selected area and remove the selection with Ctrl+D. Use Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to reduce fish as on picture below:

Duplicate this layer two more times and reduce it in the same way.

That’s it for now. You are done! Here is what I got:

Feel free to experiment with various photos and you will get the excellent result!

Create Your Own Realistic View Stamp

2009-08-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

In this lesson I will show you how to create your own realistic stamp, which you may use further in your design.

First of all, we need to create a new document with the size of canvas 500×300 pixels, white background. Then we need to find some texture for the paper. We can do this by searching via Google Images or by taken my texture. Open it and locate at the canvas as you may see on the picture bellow:

Go to the next step, I mean start creating stamp ingenuously. Remember, firstly we need to make stamp in scale 20% larger than original size, further we shall decrease it to get more realistic lay out. Firstly, create a frame and stamp within it. Use the Ellipse Tool and create round shape with any colour. It does not meter which colour you will use.

Set up fill opacity to 0% and apply the Stroke layer style to this layer:

Get this one result:

After this we duplicate the layer and make it a little smaller, on this time press and hold Alt+Shift to get the proportional decreasing.

In next stage you need to type text across the circle line. Use the Horizontal Type Tool to type some text, move cursor perpendicularly to circle’s line and when it will take a look like on picture below start to type the text.

Type the text ‘Company Name Goes Here.’ The font we are using is Arial – standard free font from the Windows’ font library.

After this step make the circle smaller again by pressing and holding Alt+Shift:

Now, I suppose we need to fill the free space between 2 circles. Use the Custom Shape Tool and choose the form that you may see bellow from the standard Photoshop palette:

Drawing the star on our canvas:

Copy this star two more times with Ctrl+J and move it a little bit left to get the result as bellow:

Finally, we need to add text within the little circle. Use the Horizontal Type Tool and type some text within it. I used the Arial Narrow font.

After that rotate this text using Ctrl+T for transformation:

We have finished design for our stamp. Now, we need to make it stylish to give it realistic view. Merge all layers except background in one and apply the Gradient Overlay layer style to received layer.

Then create a new layer over and merge it with the previous one to get all effects in one layer. Then use the Eraser Tool (Mode: Pencil, Brush size: 1 px) and erase chaotically as you can see at the picture bellow:

After this set up the mode layer to Dissolve, then create a new layer over and merge it with the previous one.

At this point we’re decreasing the stamp view on 20% and set up the layer mode to Multiply.

Our stamp is almost done! The last one thing we need to do a little spread the stamp in some places. Use the Smudge Tool (Mode: Normal, Strength: 50%) to make smearing as you can see at the picture bellow:

Now, our lesson is over! Hope that you had not troubles with it performing!

Add Cool Fireworks to the Photo

2009-08-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

If you are interesting in pyrotechnics then this tutorial special for you!

In the beginning, find some appropriate photo of the night sky where we can demonstrate fireworks effect. I think this one photo will be great example. Open this picture. Now, before we can start making fireworks lines, I would like to note you that you need to get out the Brush Tool before and set up with the following settings:

Then change some brush presets to create realistic fireworks lines. You can do it using Window > Brushes:

After that set foreground color to #c0ff00. Ok, select the Pen Tool (make sure that you’re working with Paths instead of Shape Layers). Draw out your line using paths:

Then press Esc to finish the current line. Create a new layer, after that right-click and select Stroke Path.

A little dialog box will appear as in the screenshot. Choose Brush and press OK.

You can see the result on the picture below.

Create other lines in the same way. It will be better to create about 5-6 lines, not more.

Looks good, isn’t it? Ok, go to the next step. Apply Outer Glow layer style for this layer.

Effect will be next:

Ok, after that select the Brush Tool and set up the next presets as on my picture below:

Draw the print on the same layer.

After that change the brush from the palette and add a little bit more dots in the bottom of lines.

Do it a couple of times.

Now, select a new one standard brush as shown below.

Make the same prints as on my picture.

And the last one thing that we need to do is add the glow around the fireworks. Create a new layer and move it under the layer with fireworks. Set foreground color as #b3c8ff, then select the Brush Tool and a soft round brush about 170 pixels and print a big dot like mine:

Change opacity to 45% for this layer.

Then add I little bit more fireworks in the same way:

Ok, time to move our fireworks out the tower. Use the Eraser Tool to clear foreground from flashes.

Looks better, but, I think, not finished. Do you agree with me? To remove this unsuitable feeling go to the background layer and duplicate it with Ctrl+J. after that change picture hue with Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.

Now we have something like this:

Select the Eraser Tool (Opacity: 30%) to clear left part of image from the blue glow.

Looks better! Don’t you think? That is it for now! Enjoy this tutorial!

Transformers Movie Wallpaper

2009-08-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Are you Transformers fan? You like the transformers movie? You want to create your own exclusive wallpaper to enjoy it every day on your desktop? Ok, then this Photoshop tutorial will be useful for you.

First of all, create a new document sized 1900×1200 pixels, then set up foreground and background color as #000000 and #46577c and apply Filter > Render > Clouds:

After that start with creating a composition and after that we will go back to background to finish it off. So, I would like to bring picture of transformer to our wallpaper. Actually you can use different pictures heroes of this movie, but I prefer to use the picture of Barricade. Open up the picture and copy the image to the left lower corner of the wallpaper. Don’t forget to reduce it.

After that select the Brush Tool and a soft round brush (Size: 500px) and paint left side of transformer with black color to create an impression coming out of the darkness.

Duplicate this layer with Ctrl+J, go back to upper original layer and enlarge it a little bit more. Then apply Filter > Blur > Motion Blur with following presets:

Your effect should look as mine:

Then apply another one Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur:

And set opacity up to 55%.

Ok, now continue background stylizing. Go to background layer and paint background partially with black color using the Brush Tool with soft round brush about 300 pixels. You should have the picture like mine:

Now let’s add some text. Get out the Horizontal Type Tool (just the regular one) and write out something like ‘Transformers’ with any color. Use such font settings like on picture below:

In the above image I’ve used a font called SF TransRobotics, which you can download here. Let’s move to the next step. I think, it will be a good idea to stylize the title. Check out the texture resource like http://www.cgtextures.com and find some nice metal texture or feel free to use mine. Copy texture to the canvas, resize it then crop it to the words logo pixels (go to the text layer and load the text selection with Select > Load Selection, after that invert selection with Ctrl+Shift+I and then go back to the texture layer and press Delete to clear selected area).

Remove the selection with Ctrl+D, after that get out the Sharpen Tool (Brush: 150 px, Mode: Normal, Strength: 30%) and make this layer sharpen.

Ok, now apply following layer styles for this layer:
• Inner Glow
• Bevel and Emboss
• Color Overlay

See the result on the picture below:

Add the second text line in the same way.

Ok, time to add the last one object – the Deceptions’ logo. You can find black and white logo thru the Google Images or use mine and bring it to our canvas like on my picture below:

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to separate logo from the background, then press Ctrl+I to invert the selection and press Delete to clear selected area. After that stylize it like the text lines.

We are almost done with wallpapers! Now, select the Dodge Tool (Brush: 80 px, Range: Highlights, Exposure: 20% ) to do a little bit of dodge-work on the logo.

And the last thing that we need to do! To make our metallic effect more realistic we can add some glares to our logo. Now select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and make round selection. Then get out the Gradient Tool, make black and white your foreground and background colors, and set the gradient similar to these:

Deselect object with Ctrl+D and transform it by using Edit > Free Transform like on picture below:

Change layer mode to Color Dodge and rotate like on my picture.

Then bring more glares to picture like mine:

Our logo is done. Looking great! Actually, to bring our logotype more brightness apply Ellipse Tool to make a sphere and fill it with a black color as on picture below:

Ok, press Ctrl+D and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with 100 pixels of radius.

Well, we’re done with the wallpapers! I hope it was sufficient. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

1024×768 | 1280×800 | 1280×1024 | 1440×900 | 1680×1050 | 1900×1200

Decomposing a face in photoshop

2009-08-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this tutorial is to go through some advanced photo manipulation techniques; you will learn to work with masks, filters, selections, etc.
This tutorial is a follow-up of “how to change the skin texture” tutorial that I’ve posted last week. If you haven’t read that one yet, I strongly suggest you do it before going through this one, since I’m going to refer to the techniques shown there, later.

Here are the images I’ve used for this tutorial. You can either use these, or find others on stock images websites.

First you will need to make some selection sets. You can start by selecting the skin using the lasso tool, or magnetic lasso tool.
After having finished the selecting, click on “select”, “save selection” and type “skin”.
Without deselecting it, hold “shift” and start selecting the other parts of person as well (in this case, the hat and cloths), using the same tools.
When you are done save this selection as well and name it “person”.

What we need to do next, is to make new layers for each of the selections above. Therefore, with the last selection still active, click on “layer” (located in the menu above, between “image” and “select”), then click on “new” and choose “layer via copy”
Alternatively you can use the shortcut (ctrl+J).
Load the other selection (named skin) and repeat the process. You should end up with 3 layers like in the screen capture below.

Decomposing the skin into small chunks

This part is quite boring to be honest, but try to have patience because it determines the way the final image will look.
Select the skin layer and using the lasso tool or the polygonal lasso tool, start selecting pieces of the skin and move them apart, like in the screen capture bellow.
It would be a good idea to hide the other layers while doing this.

Place the bigger chunks further away from the face and the smaller ones closer to it. Also, decrease the distance between the pieces as they get smaller. Take a look at the image bellow to have an idea regarding what you should be ending above with, after about 20 minutes of work.

Having finished this step, select all the pieces you’ve created (by surrounding all them with either the lasso tool or the polygonal lasso tool), and make an new layer from this selection (like we did for the skin, only this time choose “layer via cut”)
Rename the new layer “chunks”

Adding the illusion of motion
Without suggesting motion, the image looks like a jigsaw puzzle. First, make a copy of the new “chunks” layer, and rename it “motion blur”. As you have guessed apply a motion blur filter. At the moment, all the pieces that you have previously decomposed look like they are moving very fast. We can improve the effect even more, by making the pieces “decelerate” as they get closer to the face.
Create a layer mask (by selecting “layer”, “layer mask” and “reveal all”). You will notice the icon of the mask next to the layer in the stack. Make sure it is active (so that you work on the mask and not on the actual layer) and draw a gradient, from white to black, using the gradient tool (from left to right, like in the screen capture bellow)

You should end up with an image similar to the following

Notice that I have painted the background in black for now, since we are going to replace in anyway later in this tutorial.

Fine tuning
In order make the effect more convincing you need to add a texture with cracks. Open the desired texture in photoshop and drag it over your psd file as a new layer (name it “texture1”). Change the blending mode from normal to overlay.
Hold “Ctrl” and click on the icon of the “skin” layer. Choose “select inverse” and delete the parts of the “texture1” layer that are not covering the face.
Using the eraser tool with a soft brush, delete the right part the texture. You should end up with something similar to the following image:

It is starting to look ok, but the left part of the face still lacks depth. Select the skin again (by holding Ctrl and clicking on the layer icon) and make a new layer, just above “texture1”.
With the selection still active, choose a very smooth brush and paint the recently create layer with black, just around the left edge of the face.
When you are done, change the opacity to about 80% and you should obtain something like this:

In order to make it look like a zombie, apply another texture to the face of the character using the technique learnt in the tutorial named How to change the skin texture in photoshop (that I have mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial).
In this case I have used an old copper texture, and came up with the following image:

Unhide the layer named “person”. Click on “select”, “load selection” and choose “skin”. With the “person” layer active, click delete. This way you will keep only the clothes of the character, since you have been working on the skin in an upper layer.

Background
Open the background image in photoshop and drag it over your psd file, under the layer named “person”.
Adjust the color balance and curves so that it will blend well with your character. After a few minor touches in some places (like color burn and color dodge) you should obtain something similar to this:

(click on the image to view a higher resolution one)

Design belt watch brown large in photoshop

2009-08-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

Today I will show you how to create a Photoshop design belt watch brown large in photoshop.

[1] Take a new file of 400 pixels, 400 pixels, of resolution 72 dpi in the RGB mode.

[2] Create a new shape with the help of Elliptical Marquee Tool,
open a new layer fill the selection with #e2ddd9.

[3] Take the “Burn Tool” move the selection with the help of Up Arrow key,
then create following Shading with the help of Burn Tool. Do not “D” select.

[4] Now press Cntl+Shift+I now create following Shading with the help of Burn Tool.
Do not “D” select.

[5] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[6] Create a new shape with the help of Elliptical Marquee Tool,
now fill the selection with #9d908a.

[7] Take the “Burn Tool” then create following
Shading with the help of Burn Tool.

[8] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[9] Create a new shape with the help of Rectangular Marquee Tool,
fill the selection with #898383.

[10] With the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[11] Create a new shape with the help of “Pen Tool” right click select
make selection open a new layer fill the selection with #b9aaa3.

[12] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[13] Create a new shape with Rectangular Marquee Tool,
fill the selection with #52332e.

[14] Take the “Burn Tool” then create following
Shading with the help of Burn Tool.

[15] Create a new shape with the help of Elliptical Marquee Tool,
fill that layer with #3e1b15.

[16] Take the “Burn Tool” then create following
Shading with the help of Burn Tool.

[17] Take the “Burn Tool” then create following
Shading with the help of Burn Tool.

[18] Create a new shape with the help of Polygonal Lasso Tool,
open a new layer fill the selection with #c9c5c2.

[19] With the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[20] Create a new shape with “Pen Tool” right click select
make selection open a a new layer fill the selection with #b2a89c.
Do not “D” select.

[21] Now move the selection with Right Arrow key then go to
Select>Modify>Feather Selection by 1px.

[22] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[23] Create a new shape with Elliptical Marquee Tool,
fill that layer with #a8978d.

[24] With the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[25] Create a new shape with “Pen Tool” right click select make
selection open a new layer fill the selection with #3d221b.

[26] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[27] Using the pen tool draw a shape as shown below right click
select the make selection and fill that layer with #594e4c.

[28] Take the “Dodge Tool” highlight the f ollowing parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[29] Using the pen tool draw a shape as shown below right click
select the make selection and fill that layer with #bcaea1.

[30] With the “Dodge Tool” highlight the following parts,
with the help of Dodge Tool.

[31] Take the Brush Tool set the brush size is 1px.

[32] Now draw a lines like me.

[33] Done !!!!!!!

Professional Tips for Improving Photoshop’s Performance

2009-08-21T00:13:00.001-07:00

In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at the Photoshop Preferences to increase our Performance. With more and more features and important improvements, Photoshop gets more effective than ever. On the other hand, depending on the Photoshop version, features for working with 3D imagery, motion-based content, and advanced image analysis, greatly increase the requirements of both Graphics and Hardware.

There’s nothing worse than being detained from your workflow because of performance deficit. That’s why you should check out this tutorial to work more efficiently without wasting your time and improve your workflow and designs!

What you'll learn

First, we’ll take a look at the Photoshop requirements and the basics on how to increase performance without touching Photoshop. Later we’ll jump into Photoshop and take a look at the Preferences and how to set them up wisely. Since I’m currently working and experimenting with the new Photoshop CS4 version, all settings or images apply to the latest version. There could be some minor differences to other releases, but most of these tips are all-purpose. Let’s take a look at what you’ll learn:

Basics

The first thing which comes to one’s mind is the CPU, Memory and Hard disk, but with the current release Adobe designed new features to additionally take advantage of your display card’s GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to accelerate performance. New features like: Smooth display at all zoom levels, Animated Zoom tools, Rotating the Canvas, the Pixel grid or the possibility to move colors matching to the GPU, require additional performance and adjustments.

Photoshop GPU features

Preparation

The first thing to do, is to update your display card’s driver and DirectX since we are working with images, motion graphics or 3D objects. Unfortunately, we don't have much control over the Video-RAM, but we can update the drivers to help the system utilize the given power.

A clean and ideal system and up to date operating system is a must-have. The second step is to defragment your hard drive and close all unnecessary processes other than Photoshop. Most of the time you can’t even see any difference or increased performance, but you can use the built-in monitoring tools (MAC: Activity Monitor, Windows: Task Manager) to experiment, control and understand what happens.

Making sure the basics are properly processed, should give us a good foundation before jumping into Photoshop. You can take a look at the different tools and resources which I think should help you get started.

Photoshop Requirements

It is obvious, that your PC or Mac should definitely meet the standard requirements. This tutorial won’t help you increase performance where no performance is available. Instead, we'll try to allocate memory, set scratch disks, change the properties in different sections and monitor our processes to make use of wasted performance. Nowadays, it shouldn’t be a problem to find, buy and work with a decent system, so we won’t talk about hardware and what system to choose. But feel free to leave a comment, if you have any questions.

With different Photoshop versions to choose from, you should think about why you are using the current version or why you want to upgrade to a specific version. If you are only working with still images and don’t plan or need to integrate 3D objects or any other special features, you should think about getting the standard version. On the other hand, users who work in these areas should consider buying or upgrading to the extended version. Each version has special requirements besides the general requirements, which will later affect the performance on your system.

Photoshop Preferences

Now it’s time to jump into Photoshop. The default configuration are neither bad, nor perfect. Each one of us has different needs and a different workflow, that’s why we’ll take a look at all the different settings to make sure each one of us is happy.

Since some features are not necessarily required like the Zoom or smoother Hand moving feature, we’ll try to disable different features or plug-ins to reduce the launch time, optimize other preferences and make the most of our RAM and even more. Open the Preferences by going to the Photoshop menu (Mac) or Edit > Preferences (PC) and let's start.

After the Preferences Window opens, you'll find a simple and easy to choose list on the left side. These are the different sections that we'll work off. You can access these sections from the General Preferences Window as we did or by selecting them directly by going to Edit > Preferences > Section (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > Section (Mac).

General

The first General section helps you configure some of the more common features that affect the workflow. You should spend some time experimenting with these settings to find the best solution for you. The flick panning is a good example. Although it's a cool feature, it's not necessarily speeding up your work. You can simply disable the features and later enable them whenever you want to use them. Note, that the changes take effect the next time you start Photoshop.

Color Picker

Let's you choose between Windows, Mac or Adobe Color.

Image Interpolation

Let's you choose between Nearest Neighbor, Bilinear or Bicubic, which focus on different ways of constructing new data points within the current range.

Options

Some of these features heavily rely on RAM. Try to experiment with the options to keep a little dynamic while disabling unimportant features, which are intended to catch one's eye instead of being useful.

History Log

History Log is disabled by default, but it could be useful in some cases. By enabling it, Photoshop will log all your steps while working and save them in an external file. This could be interesting for tutorial writers or anybody who wants to track one's workflow. Note, that this feature will require additional RAM.

Interface

This section provides different options for interface style and management. By playing with these settings, you can style, dynamically open, close or move different panels or palettes.

General

These options help visualize the interface for easier navigation and better understanding.

Panels & Documents

If screen size doesn't permit you to display all needed panels at the same time, you should choose to remember panel locations and close or collapse your panels when clicking away. That way you'll increase your workspace. Note, Photoshop needs to store the information in the RAM which will affect the performance.

UI Text Options

Let's you choose your Interface language and font size.

File Handling

File Saving Options

Each time you save a file, Photoshop adds additional information or even small thumbnails for better compatibility and preview. The more information you add to your file, the bigger it will get. You can set the options to Ask for better control. Photoshop will then ask you what to do before saving your file.

File Compatibility

You can additionally experiment with the options for RAW-files and Version Cue. The Camera RAW Preferences provide useful options like the RAW-file Cache size or TIFF / JPEG Handling. You should spend some time experimenting with these settings considering your Camera and workflow.

Version Cue

If you want your projects to be compatible to Version Cue, you should enable the feature, otherwise disable it for smaller file size.

Recent Projects

At the bottom of this section, you'll find an option to set the the number of projects you want to be listed in the recent file list (File > Open Recent).

Performance

Our main focus in this tutorial is the performance. So far, we were able to increase performance slightly. This is the place where we can boost our performance dramatically. Setting everything to the maximum isn't the best solution. Therefore, read the following paragraphs which should help you decide.

Memory Usage

The first and easiest way of increasing Photoshop performance is allocating more memory to Photoshop by moving the slider to the right. RAM is one of the main requirements besides your processor speed and hard disk space. Depending on your system, Photoshop will be able to work with up to ~1,6GB Ram (32-Bit) or up to ~3,2GB (64-Bit).

Most of the modern PC Systems are 64-Bit ready, so if you ever wondered why you can only use ~1,6GB (32-Bit) or 3,2GB (64-Bit), though you have 4GB or more, you should consider an upgrade to a better OS and the 64-Bit version of Photoshop. As you can see, upgrading your RAM only increases performance when working with the proper OS and Photoshop version. When planning an upgrade, always remember that your OS and other processes need RAM too.

History & Cache

By default, Photoshop saves 20 history states. It is difficult to weigh whether you should decide in favor of history states or performance. If this is the first time you’ve heard about the history states or rarely use them, you can set it to 5 or 10. Other users should keep an eye on their workflow to find the best level.

You should consider Image-cache, when working with high-resolution images. Caching Images decreases time needed for updating the image while working in different zoom levels. Photoshop creates images with lower resolution which are used to update quickly. The higher the Cache level, the more levels Photoshop will create for you to display. Which will require more RAM. You can set your value between 1 and 8. I recommend using this feature when working with high-resolution images. When working with smaller images, it's not necessarily required.

Scratch Disks

When your computer doesn’t have enough RAM to perform an operation, Photoshop uses free space on any available drive to save special files. Photoshop provides the functionality to set up to four scratch disks, which are similar to virtual memory.

By default, Photoshop uses your primary hard disk as the scratch disk. You should change that, because it can slow down performance if your operating system uses it to for its virtual memory needs or space is limited. You should prefer internal hard disks instead of external or removable drives, but make sure you set the scratch disk to a defragmented hard disk which has plenty of free space and high revolution.

Photoshop requires at least 1GB of free disk space, but more is better. With a maximum of 64 EB you should be able to boost your Performance using scratch disks, that's for sure. In most cases one or two extra drives should be sufficient, but investing in a powerful RAID systems should definitely increase your performance when working on bigger projects with huge file sizes.

GPU Settings

Photoshop automatically detects your display card. If it is OpenGL compatible, Photoshop will give you the option to enable OpenGL Drawing. By clicking on Advanced Settings, you'll have additional options for better OpenGL control.

Advanced Settings

The Advanced Settings window should give you an insight on what the GPU is capable of and what its tasks are.

Cursors

I've never touched this section and I think I'll never change the appearance of the cursors. I don't think this will affect the performance, instead this is just an extra option Adobe offers designers to customize their Photoshop appearance.

Transparency and Gamut

Transparency Settings

Allows you to select a transparency grid size and to choose a color scheme for the transparency grid which shines through your layers.

Gamut Warning

As soon as an image moves out of the CMYK color space, this color will mask the specific areas.

Units and Rulers

Units and Column Size

This section allows you to change the different measurements for units, types, rulers or column size. For example, change your type measure from points to pixel or vice versa. Depending on the final output, you should prefer pixels for screen output or pica, inches or points for print.

New Document Preset Resolutions

When creating a new document, Photoshop asks you what resolution to work with. You can set the default values here.

Point / Pica Size

Choose between PostScript or Traditional.

Guides, Grids and Slices

You can't create high quality designs and layouts without using guides, grids or slices. They help you align and measure your designs perfectly. Different Images with different colors could cause problems detecting the guides in the image. This sections gives you some options to customize your guides, grids and slices for better visualization.

Plug-Ins

Each time you launch Photoshop, it loads Plug-Ins and presets with it. Some of them are useful, some not. We can temporarily disable Plug-Ins which we rarely use and enable them at a later time whenever needed. To disable a plug-in, navigate to the Plug-Ins folder inside the Photoshop install folder and then insert a ~ in front of the plug-in name.

Plug-Ins Folder

By organizing your Plug-Ins in folders, and adding them to this section will, it will ensure better control and better performance. You can later disable the whole folder instead of searching for the single Plug-Ins.

Extensions

Adobe Kuler is one of the cool extensions integrated into Photoshop. By disabling these options, Kuler won't be able to connect and download the color schemes from the Kuler network. If you aren't using any of the extensions, you can disable this feature and save some RAM in the background.

Type

This sections of no importance for any notable increase in performance, but offers options for Quotes, Text types and Preview sizes. This is another section where I wouldn't change anything. You could change the size of the Font Preview Drop-down menu, but that could cause delays.

Tips and Links

Thumbnails and Snapshots

Each layer has its own Thumbnail to preview what's on the layer. You can change the size of the thumbnails or even disable them. I wouldn’t disable them, but if you are working on a slow system with less RAM you should definitely consider smaller thumbnails.

In addition to the History states, Photoshop offers Snapshots which are very useful, but they are stored in your RAM which makes Photoshop slower. Again, if you’ve never used this feature, then you can disable it.

Layers and Channels

The number of layers and alpha channels in your file can also impact on the size of your file or the time needed to save it. By deleting empty layers or merging them together, you can minimize your file size and the time needed for saving and opening the files.

Fonts and Styles

If you like to add hundreds of Fonts to your library, Photoshop will require more time to load all the fonts while it starts. It's better to clear out unused fonts. You should try out some font management utilities like Suitcase (Windows and Mac OS) or Font Agent (Mac OS). This also applies to brushes, gradients, custom shapes, styles, patterns and other freebies you download. Clearing your lists will definitely help shorten launch time.

Conclusion

I hope this tutorial was useful for you. Feel free to leave a comment, if it helped increase performance on your system. I'll try to answer your questions, should there be any. Thanks.

How to Create a Photo Manipulation of a Flooded City Scene

2009-08-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial, we will learn how to manipulate a simple photo into a flooding torrent of a scene. We'll use some relatively simple techniques to give this image a semi-realistic, stylized feel. Let's get started!

Step 1

With the main image opened, use the Clone Stamp tool to remove any unwanted entities, like the elderly couple walking. Try and clone areas around the couple so it doesn't look odd and mix your usage of soft, and heavy round brushes to define those edges.

Step 2

Next you will want to cut around the edges of the roof tops so we can add in our stormy sky. Use the Polygon Lasso Tool for this. Don't worry about accuracy, as we'll be blending everything later, just make sure that the sky is cut out. Once selected, unlock the "background." Now double-click the layer, then rename it to "backdrop" and hit Enter. Delete the sky.

Step 3

Open the Stormy Sky image and place it underneath your "backdrop" layer. Then press Command + T to Free Transform), hold Command while you drag the bottom corners inwards to add some perspective to the sky, don't forget to resize if necessary. Apply the transformation when you are happy.

Step 4

It doesn't look very nice does it? That's because we're not done yet. Open and place the wave image in the center of the image. Now use the eraser, and a soft brush on it. Get in close and erase the bits you don't want. Don't worry if your messy, as the tidying comes later.

Then go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and use the settings shown below.

Then go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and use these settings.

Rename the layer to "Wave," and your image should now look like the one shown below.

Step 5

Now comes the complicated bit. What you'll need to do is add all the water files to you're image and one by one, free transform them to flow with the perspective of the water then erase the hard edges.

You might also need to duplicate some files in order to fill up areas. Always remember to play about with the textures using the distortion method in free transform and a soft eraser. The more you do, the better it will look. You can see the phases of building up the flooding water in this image.

Step 6

Now we have our water sorted, merge all the "water" layers into one single layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and use the following settings.

Your water should now be nice and blue and match the "wave" layer from earlier. Now merge the "wave" layer with the "water" one.

Step 7

Remember the tidy up I mentioned a while back? Well its time now. Turn off the "water" layer so you are left with just the backdrop and the sky.

With the Burn Tool selected at highlights and at 50% exposure, and a soft brush set, start burning the rooftops and the sky around the rooftops so they appear darker.

Open the derelict1 image and place it at the right side of the street in the distance. Use a soft eraser to remove those sharp edges. Merge it with the "backdrop" layer.

Step 8

Let's tidy up some more. Turn on the "water" layer sand and start tidying around the edges using a soft eraser. Then select the Smudge Tool and a 20px charcoal brush using the settings below.

Start smudging the edges of the "water" layer creating very small splashes and more defined edges to realistically create the effect of water hitting a surface. This might require patience and a steady hand, but time will pay off. It might also be wise to duplicate the layer before smudging as you don't want to use all your undo's.

Step 9

Next, select the backdrop layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and use these settings.

And your piece should now be coming together. Its still a little off, but there is a lot more to do, so lets move on!

Step 10

Time for the splashes. Now this is the hardest step of the tutorial, and requires a lot of patience, but persevere and you will find that patience is in fact a virtue (I know, silly right?).

Open up the splash1 and splash2 images and carefully cut out the splashes themselves one by one. Place them onto the canvas. Now use the Warp Transformation (Edit > Transform > Warp) to get the arches you need to create effective splashes, and erase any unwanted areas.

You'll need to do this for the two cars and for where the water hits the wall down the buildings of the street.

You might also benefit from smudging the edges of the splashes to give them more movement, as well as adding some white brushing to a new layer and smudging it. Now merge all your "splash" layers.

Step 11

Getting there right? Now you need to do some tweaking to the colors of the image. This can mean anything from water, to the sky or the buildings. In my example, I think the water is a little too blue, so I'm going to desaturate it a little.

Basically use this step for any odd bits and bobs to tweak your image to make it look more streamlined. Be creative, and more importantly, make it look tidy. I lowered the saturation of the water a little, and added some red to the buildings.

Step 12

Now we'll work on the fog. Its sounds daunting but its actually fairly simple to do. Select a blue color from your water using the Eyedropper Tool. Now select the Gradient Tool and use the following settings.

You will need to create a new layer underneath you're "water" layer and create the gradient so it blocks out any backdrop behind the water.

Duplicate the layer (Command + J) and place it on top of your water layer, at about 30% opacity. Set this layer to Multiply.

Step 13

This next step is to add rain. There are lots of tutorials on the web that show how to create rain. Here is one that goes into great detail, which you could check out. We'll keep it relatively simple in this tutorial though. First, create a new layer and fill it with black. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and use these settings.

Then Filter > Blur > Motion Blur> and use these settings.

Then Image > Adjustments > Levels and use the following settings.

Set the Layer to Screen and use a soft eraser to erase the bottom and top of the Layer, then go to Edit > Transform > Free Transform the "rain" Layer so it covers the whole screen.

Step 14

It looks a little bit empty in the middle of the water doesn't it?

Open up the car image and place it somewhere in the distance, underneath the "fog" layer. Resize the images and erase the edges carefully and use the splash1 image to give some life to the car.

Step 15

Now is the fun part. You'll need to create a few gradient maps first. Click the Adjustment layer button located at the bottom of your layers window and select the Gradient Map option. Then Click the little arrow in the top-right of the box and select Pastels as shown.

Use the following settings. Finally, set the layer to Multiply at 100%.

Conclusion

Now its just a case of adding depth and a few other adjustments. Select the Blur Tool at 20% strength, then start blurring the "backdrop" layer in the distance and on the rooftops.

Create a new layer and go to Image > Apply Image and then go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen, which gives the image a more detailed and stylized feel. Now you're done!

Blood Effect

2009-08-19T04:33:00.001-07:00

In this photoshop tutorial we are going to create Blood Effect.

Step 1:
Create a new document. Now press "D" on your keyboard to reset the foreground and background colors to black and white.
Make sure your background is BLACK.

Step 2:
Apply Filter> Render> Clouds and then go to Filter> Render> Difference Clouds, apply difference clouds 4 to 5 times more.

Step 3:
Apply Filter> Artistic> Film Grain and apply the following setting:

Step 4:
Go to Filter> Brush Stroke> Dark Stroke and apply these settings:

Step 5:
Then go to Filter> Artistic> Neon Glow, I went with Dark red and the settings:

Step 6:
Duplicate the layer.
Then select the duplicated layer and go to Image> Adjustments> Invert

Set the duplicated layer blending mode to 'Differene'.

Step 7:
Mere the layers together. Now Add RED color, go to Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation and apply the following setting:

Blood Effect

Successful Night Or Low Light Photography

2009-08-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Twilight is a magical time. Just because the Sun is down, doesn't mean you should put away your camera. When the Sun sets, a different looking world exists for photographers. Colors don't appear the way they do in daylight. Instead, colors display based on your camera's white balance setting and how that setting matches the various light sources in your scene.

Backgrounds become less distracting. Street lights and lit building interiors give you outlines and shapes of various colors. Chances are not everything in your scene is lit. So what you see in your viewfinder is very close to what you'll get if you expose carefully and properly. People in your scene don't matter as much unless you want them to. Passers-by don't register in your image. Even if they do, they are a blur unless you "freeze them" with a flash.

Cars show up as trails of red and amber lights. Skies take the color or aura of the city's lights especially if there are low lying clouds to reflect it. Compared to other subjects, night photography doesn't require a whole lot of equipment. The following are necessities:

1. A steady tripod
2. a cable release to trip the shutter. Most people can get by using the self-timer. The key is to not shake the camera when you trip the shutter.
3. a flashlight to illuminate the knobs and dials of your camera.
4. optional-- a portable flash with lots of batteries

You pretty much will get what you see in your viewfinder. You don't have to worry about trying to light anything except when you want to include a person in the picture. But I'll discuss that later. The various elements in your picture lights itself freeing you to just concentrate on your composition and exposure. Fountains tend to have spots and colored lights on them, christmas trees are never displayed in public without multicolored lights and beautiful majestic architecture in most civic centers are usually brightly lit up showcasing a city's pride.

Here's how to set up:

1. Change the ISO on your camera to 1600 or whatever the maximum number is.
2. If you have a digital SLR, attach your longest focal length lens on your camera and take a light reading. The idea here is to use the narrower field of view so that your lightmeter can give you a more accurate light reading. If you have spot meter reading mode on your camera, that will give you a similar result.
3. Take note of the exposure reading you get in step 2.
4. Calculate that exposure reading for ISO 200
5. Switch lenses to a wide angle or even a more "normal" focal length lens and compose your shot. Mount your camera to the tripod.
6. Tighten all the axes on your tripod head so that your camera doesn't move in during the exposure.
7. Finally, set the camera to the self-timer mode. Some cameras give you a choice of 2 seconds or 10 seconds. The whole idea is, you don't want to jostle the camera when you press down on the shutter. Let the camera settle on its own and 2 seconds ought to be enough for that.

Calculating Exposure

Making your camera's CCD or CMOS more sensitive to light makes it easier for you to get a light reading. If you leave your camera's ISO at 100 or even 200, your meter might not register a reading especially if the scene is something lit only by moonlight. Remember that there are always 3 components to exposure: ISO, aperture and shutter speed. For the sake of our discussion, let's say when you pointed your camera in step 2 at the scene, your meter recommends 1/15 sec at f 2.8 ISO 1600.

If you haven't read this yet, then just take my word on this. High ISO settings yield images that are extremely noisy. That's the equivalent of grain in the analog or film world. So what we'll do next is figure out equivalent exposure at say ISO 200. How did I arrive at a shutter speed of 1/2 second for an aperture of f2.8 when I switched the ISO from 1600 to 200?

ISO 200 is 3 f-stops less sensitive than ISO 1600. There are 2 ways for me to do achieve equivalent exposure. Let's examine the first method which entails leaving the aperture the same at f 2.8 and only changing the shutter speed. That means I'm only increasing the time the shutter stays open, allowing in more light by the same 3 f-stop factor.

So I'll need to set the shutter speed from 1/15>1/8>1/4>1/2 sec (counting from 1/15 sec > 1/8 sec> 1/4 sec>1/2 sec = 3 stops). Now that you have your exposure for an aperture of f 2.8, let's say your subject has some depth and you want to be sure more of it is in focus. You can figure your exposure by changing the just the aperture, leaving your ISO the same at 200.

Let's say you decide you want make your picture at f11 giving you more depth-of-field. You again have to increase the time the shutter stays open in the same ratio or f-stop to get the equivalent exposure. F11 lets in 4 stops or 4 times less light than F 2.8. So you'll need to set a shutter speed of 4 whole seconds. (counting the aperture settings from f2.8 > f 4> f 5.6 sec>f 8.0>f 11 = 4 stops). (counting the shutter speed settings from 1/2 sec>1 sec> 2 sec> 4 sec = 4 stops.) The second alternative to achieve equivalent exposure, opening the aperture to let in more light, is not always practical because I would be restricted to using my "fastest" lens, a 50 mm f1.4.

Even that lens has physical limits--it's widest aperture is f 1.4. The resulting image would still be underexposed by 1 stop. I would need to buy a 50 mm f 1.2 lens. Have you priced one of these? Canon makes one for about $1500.

If you have a tripod, you have the luxury of dropping your shutter speed without worrying about camera shake. That is often your best option because you really don't want to be making pictures the whole time at your widest aperture whether it is f 1.4 or f 2.8.

At those apertures, focus is critical since the depth-of-field is very shallow. If you happen to set up on a pedestrian bridge and people are working on it as you are making the exposure, then you might have to wait for a lull in foot traffic.

Peter Phun is an adjunct photography instructor at Riverside City College. He is a freelance photographer, web designer and stay at home dad. He previously worked as a staff photographer for 18 years at The Press-Enterprise, Southern California's 4th largest daily newspaper. Peter is the webmaster for the Mac user group in the Inland Empire. For more information about this Riverside based photographer, visit http://www.peterphun.com.

How to Design the Firefox Logo in Photoshop

2009-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

The World

Firstly create a new document at 1024px x 970px and start off with selecting the ellipse tool (U) and drawing a large circle (hold SHIFT to constrain the proportions) and make the top of the circle nearly touch the top of the document and the bottom of the circle nearly touch the base of the document. Change the colour of this new shape by double clicking the colour next to your shape in the Layers Palette and then entering #1f0e6d in the space underneath RGB. This is your basic shape for your globe and should look like this:

1.) We first create the world shape

We now need to duplicate the world shape by right clicking on the circle we’ve just created in the Layers Palette and clicking Duplicate. We need to scale this down slightly, so press CTRL+T and you will be switched to Free Transform in which we can manipulate the shape freely. Scale the shape down ever so slightly by selecting the top-right resizing handle and by dragging inwards whilst holding both SHIFT+ALT. Now we add a new gradient layer by going Layer>New Fill Layer>Gradient. Give it a name and click OK and you should be brought up with a gradient fill dialogue. Now you need to click on the gradient next to Gradient: (not the dropdown, the actual gradient) and this should bring up a gradient editor. Along the gradient slider there should be a black box on the bottom left and a white box on the bottom right. Double click on the left black box and change its colour to #251979 and then double click the right box and change the colour to #67c4d4. Then click the top right box and change its Opacity value to 100%. Click OK and you should be presented with a Layers Palette that looks like this:

Your layers palette should look like this.

Now you need to click on your 3rd layers (or what should be called ‘Shape 1 Copy’) vector mask and drag it onto your newly created gradient fill layer. This should create a vector mask for your gradient fill layer and should look like this:

The layers palette with your new vector mask.

Now comes the tricky part, creating the land on the globe. To achieve this we use the pen tool (P) to create the organic shapes required to look like the land. Select the pen tool (P) and make sure Shape Layers is selected in the tools menu instead of Paths. Now begin the clicking and dragging process involved in using the pen tool until you achieve the following result (I can’t help any more than this for the pen tool (P) but if you want to cover the basics check out this tutorial):

The globe with the land added.

Now we need to subtract a piece of land from the island we’ve created and to do this you click on the vector mask on the land shape in the Layers Palette (with the pen tool (P) still selected) to select the land; then click the Subtract From Shape Area button on the tool options bar. Now just remove the piece of land using the same method used for adding it until you have removed the piece shown in the image below:

Remove the chunk displayed from your land shape.

With your shape selected, we now need to invert the land so that it appears the same as on the Firefox logo. To do this, select the path selection tool (A) and select just your main land (not the subtracted one). Now press the ‘-‘ (minus) button to invert the selection and then click your subtracted piece of land and press ‘+’ (plus) to add the island back to the shape. Now right click on your layer in the layers palette and select Create Clipping Mask to clip your land to the globe and it should look like this:

This is how you're globe should look with the land removed.

Now to achieve a gradient effect utilising layer styles. To achieve this you need to select Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay in the Photoshop menu and you will be presented with the options needed to edit a gradient. Click on the gradient next to Gradient: (not the dropdown, the actual gradient) and this should bring up a gradient editor. Along the gradient slider there should be a black box on the bottom left and a white box on the bottom right. Double click on the bottom left black box and change its colour to #00022e and slide it along until Location reads 40%. Then double click the bottom right box and change the colour to #0f80bc, click OK, OK, OK and you should be presented with this:

The globe with a subtle gradient.

Now we need to create the classic Web 2.0 shiny orb effect (when will we tire of it?) by selecting the ellipse tool (u) and drawing an oval at the top of the globe so that it looks like this:

Add the reflection.

Now select Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay in the Photoshop menu and you will be presented with the options needed to edit a gradient. Click on the gradient next to Gradient: (not the dropdown, the actual gradient) and this should bring up a gradient editor. Along the gradient slider double click the bottom left black box and change it to #ffffff (white). Now click the upper left black box and change the Opacity to 0% and location to 40%. Click OK and this will appear to make no difference. Click the Blending Options in the layer style dialogue and look for the Advanced Blending section. In this section should be a Fill Opacity slider which you need to drag to 0%. Above that section is General Blending where you’ll find an Opacity slider which needs to be dragged to 50%.

After this brief bit of advanced blending, click OK and you should be presented with this:

The finished globe.

The Fox

The fox is definitely the tricky bit and you’ll need to have a good understanding of the pen tool and how it works to pull this off. I am writing the following on the presumption that you have managed to achieve the previous section of this tutorial and are confident with the pen tool and layer styles.

First we need to start off with the arm. Draw the following shape with the pen tool (P) and double click the layer to bring up the Layer Style dialogue. Change the gradient properties until you achieve a result that resembles the image following. I used the colours #941403 and #c04b11 to achieve the following effect (remember to tweak the angle and scale in the layer styles dialogue to achieve the desired result):

We start with the arm.

Now we have the base of the arm. We now need to duplicate this layer so we can add the orange upper-half of the arm. After the layer has been duplicated (right-click, duplicate in Layers Palette) we need to subtract a chunk out of it in the same way we removed land from the globe in the first part of this tutorial; click on the vector mask of your duplicated shape in the Layers Palette and with the pen tool (p) selected click the Subtract Shape Area Button. Now draw a curve that matches the image that follows, removing the lower part of the foxes arm. Once complete, double-click the colour at the side of the layer and apply #d46518 as the shapes fill colour. Tweak the angle and scale in the layer styles dialogue to achieve the desired result and you should now have something that resembles this:

The arm and shading.

We now need to create a quick highlight. To do this select the pen tool (p) and draw a shape on the fox’s paw that resembles the image that follows. Apply a simple layer style with a gradient that uses #f5f498 colour for the left gradient box and the same colour on the right but with 0% opacity. Click Ok, Ok and go to Blending Options in the layer styles dialogue and in Advanced Blending change Fill Opacity to 0%. Tweak the angle and scale in the layer style dialogue to achieve the desired result and he result should be something like the following:

The completed arm with highlights.

Now we need to start creating the bulk of the fox’s shape. We’ll start with the initial outline and can then build the details of the fox as individual layers. Begin by creating the fox outline that includes the ear but excludes the head as the following image demonstrates (using the pen tool (p)).

The body base shape.

Then bring up the layer style dialogue and apply a new gradient using the colours in a similar manner to what I have used as follows (to add new colours to the palette, click an empty space on the gradient slider). Tweak the angle and scale in the layer styles dialogue to achieve the desired result.

The fox's body gradient.

The foxes outline should hopefully now look like this:

The fox with the gradient applied.

You’ll notice that the fox’s tail is far too red with the existing gradient applied. A quick and easy way to get rid of this is to duplicate the foxes outline and with the pen tool selected and Subtract From Shapes Area selected, draw a shape removing everything but the foxes tail. Then in the layer style dialogue, tweak the gradient to remove the redness of the tail tip.

Now using the techniques employed before we need to begin on the fox’s jaw and snout. Begin by drawing the lower part of the snout with the pen tool (P) and change the shapes fill colour to #ffffcc.

The beginnings of the jaw.

We now create a new shape to act as the jaw’s highlight. Draw a shape similar to that which follows, using the fill colour #eea273. The shape can spill over the bottom half of the jaw because we then apply a clipping mask by right-clicking on the new layer and selecting Create Clipping Mask. This should nicely anchor your new shape to the jaw and remove any of the shapes overspill.

The jaw shading.

The upper snout now needs to be created, so with the pen tool (P) draw the following shape and change the gradient in the layer styles dialogue (double click the layer in the layers palette) to use the colours #9a1d06 and #db5009, remembering to tweak the scale and angle in the layer styles dialogue.

The upper snout starts to take shape.

We now need to create a subtle highlight to the fox’s upper snout. To do this, duplicate the upper snout you’ve just created and with the pen tool (P) selected, select the Subtract From Shape Area and remove the chunk as illustrated below.

Add subtle highlights to the fox's snout.

Now change the layer style of this highlight to have a gradient using the colour #df731b in both boxes, but with the right box having 0% opacity. Then remember to go to Blending Options, look for Advanced Blending and change the Fill Opacity to 0%. Remember to go back to Gradient Overlay in the layer style dialogue and tweak the Angle and Scale to match the image below. You should end up with something like this:

Fade out the highlights of the highlights.

Finally add a black button nose with a simple black/white Gradient Overlay and drag the layer beneath the other snout shapes in the layers palette.

Now we need to refine the details of the fox’s tail. Create a shape that resembles the following and apply a Gradient Overlay layer style with a gradient that resembles the following (remember to tweak the angle and scale in the Gradient Overlay options in the Layer Style dialogue):

The shape should look like this:

Fox's tail highlight shape.

The gradient should look like this:

The gradient for the tail highlights.

Together they should look like this:

The tail highlight with gradient applied.

Repeat this process until all the detail on the tail is complete, using the same gradient styles, just tweaking them slightly to suit each separate bit of detail. After you have finished the detail you should have something that looks like this:

The tail starts to look more defined.

Now you need to create the final piece of detail to the tail that also acts as the shadow to the fox’s back. To do this, duplicate the shape that makes up the fox’s body and in the Layers Palette, drag in to the top so that it overlays all your existing layers. Now select the pen tool (P) and CTRL+click your shape to bring up the shapes outline with all the anchor points displayed. Single click the majority of the anchor points to delete them and pull a few of the existing ones about until you get a shape that resembles the image that follows. Change the gradient overlay in the Layer Style dialogue to also resemble the following (tweak the layer style you used for the tails detail before):

The fox's back and finished tail definition.

The fox’s head of hair now needs to be created by drawing the following shape with the pen tool (P). You need to create a Layer Style with a Gradient Overlay that uses the colours #df731b and #e79041 and in the Gradient Overlay properties in the Layer Style palette, change the gradient type to Radial instead of Linear. This way we can add a circular highlight that follows the arch of the fox’s head. Your result should look something like this:

Nearly done - the fox's head begins to take shape.

This radial gradient that we employed previously unfortunately hasn’t encompassed the top of the fox’s head as hoped, so we need to duplicate the previous layer and using the pen tool (p) select Subtract From Shapes Area and remove 80% of the fox’s hair from roughly below the snout. I have highlighted the shape as green in the following example so you can see what I mean:

The area you need to subtract from the duplicated shape.

Now change the gradient overlay in the Layer Style dialogue to create a highlight on the upper part of the fox’s head. The result should be as follows:

The gradient applied to the upper head.

Now we need the ear to appear in front of the head, so we have to duplicate the layer you just created and cut off everywhere apart from the ear using the pen tool (P) with Subtract From Shape Area selected. I have an example below, with the ear highlighted in green so you can see the exact shape that needs to be used:

The ear shape to remove from your duplicated layer.

Now apply a gradient overlay in the Layer Style dialogue and modify the gradient so it resembles the following image:

The ear with a gradient applied.

Finally you need to create the last bits of detail to the fox’s hair in a similar fashion to how you created the detail to the fox’s tail. Draw a succession of spiky hair shapes as seen in the image below and create a gradient that uses the colours #e27d23 and #efa869, making sure you alter the angle and scale for the gradient in each spike to blend it in with the fox’s hair.

The final result!

Whew. . .

That should be it, you should end up with a Firefox logo that looks like the one above. This uses several techniques that perhaps aren't as manageable as if you approached the same task in Illustrator, but it avoids the classic problem of having to jump between Illustrator and Photoshop to make alterations, giving you a bit more flexibility. Now you have a customisable, scalable Firefox logo for whatever uses you desire. If there are any questions, please leave a comment below and I’ll try and help you as best I can.

You can download the source file below:

Download Source

Photoshop HDR

2009-08-18T00:42:00.000-07:00

Picture 1. The final result of Photoshop HDR imaging.

This is an article about Photoshop HDR imaging. The following HDR workflow is explained in detail:

Merging photos to an HDR image
Processing the HDR image
Tone Mapping

In picture 1 you see the final result. Click on the image to see a larger version at the bottom of this page.

Merging Photos to an HDR Image

Creating an HDR image in Photoshop is very simple:

Click Merge to HDR... in the menu (File > Automate > Merge to HDR...)
Click Browse button and select all the photos you want to use (at least two). The photos can be for example in JPEG or RAW format.
Click OK and Photoshop merges the photos automatically. This operation might take some time If you are merging many high resolution raw photos. (According to my experience it can take ½-3 hours when Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz merges nine 14-bit 12 megapixel raw photos.)

When the merging is done you see the preview window like in picture 2. On the left side you see the original photos, in the middle you see the HDR photo and on the right side you see the histogram. The red ticks in the histogram represent EV steps. Normal digital camera is able to capture 6-8 EVs of dynamic range. My HDR photo covers a dynamic range of almost 10EVs (picture 2). So there is more dynamic range than a single shot could capture. In my example the HDR image is made from 9 shots with 1EV intervals. Some might think that 9 exposures is ridiculously too much. It's true that the dynamic range of 10EVs could be captured even with just two shots but the result would be of lower quality. I don't know the merging algorithms of HDR programs but presumably they take best parts of the photos and / or do some averaging between the pixels in different shots and therefore noise is reduced effectively if there are several exposures. So several photos with small exposure intervals is better than a few photos with large exposure intervals (at least what comes to noise). My example photo is noise free even in the darkest shadows.

(One might wonder, what is the meaning of the slider below the histogram. That's just for viewing the HDR image at different exposures. All the HDR image data remains intact while using the slider.)

Saving the HDR Image

After clicking OK in the HDR tool, the image is normally opened in Photoshop. At first it should be saved. An HDR photo can be saved for example to PSD or OpenEXR format. I personally use OpenEXR because it can be opened in several other programs (such as Photomatix) that support HDR imaging.

Picture 2. Merge to HDR tool in Adobe Photoshop.

Original HDR Image in Photoshop

In picture 3 you see how the original HDR image looks like in Photoshop. Let's examine it a little and set some goals. There are obviously several problems: yellow cast, perspective distortion, some barrel distortion, and distracting elements on the left side. My goal is to fix all these and create a symmetrical and simple high contrast photo with completely black sky.

Picture 3. The original unprocessed HDR image in Photoshop.

Basic Clean Up

First, let's do some basic clean up to fix some problem areas. I adjusted the exposure slider (in the bottom of the HDR image) about +4EV to see the problem areas in the sky. My goal is to have completely black sky. If you look at the original image on the left (picture 4), you see several lens reflections and a few stars. I use Clone Stamp Tool and other copying methods to get rid of these (see the picture on the right). After clean up there are still some large faded lens reflections in the sky but these will be darkened to pure black later in the tone mapping process.

Picture 4. Basic clean up in Photoshop.

Perspective Correction

The next step is perspective correction. First I turn Grid on (View > Show > Grid) to be my guide. Then I use Perspective Tool (Edit > Transform > Perspective) to fix the perspective distortion. After that I notice that there is unfortunately some barrel distortion. Barrel distortion is somewhat tricky to fix but doable with careful use of the Warp Tool (Edit > Transform > Warp). To keep the maximum image quality, It's best to commit all transform operations at once. In picture 5 you see the image after perspective correction.

Picture 5. The perspective is corrected.

Removing Distractions and Creating Symmetry

There are some distracting elements in the lower left corner of picture 5. Next I'll use Clone Stamp Tool and other copying methods to fix that area. Now the photo is cleaner and the effect of symmetry is stronger (picture 6).

Picture 6. Symmetrical and simple.

Removing Yellow / Red Cast

Now is the time to remove the yellow / red cast from the HDR photo. I do that by applying Hue / Saturation adjustment filter. I decrease the saturation of reds and yellows (picture 7).

Picture 7. Yellow cast has been removed with the Hue / Saturation tool.

More Light and Less Light

There are some very dark areas (top of the domes and stairs) and some very bright areas (light poles). I can predict that these are going to problems in the tone mapping process. For example, in the tone mapping process, when I'd be adjusting the toning curve to darken the sky, I'd spoil the domes and the stairs. Similarly when I'd be brightening the church, I'd spoil the lights. The solution to my problem is local exposure adjustment that can be done manually:

More Light to Domes and Stairs

I apply Exposure (+1,5) adjustment layer to make the domes and stairs bright enough
I fill the mask of the adjustment layer with black color (to remove the effect from the whole image)
I choose white color and paint the mask on areas I want to be brighter (domes and stairs)

Less Light to Light Poles

I apply Exposure (-3) adjustment layer to make the lights dimmer
I fill the mask of the adjustment layer with black color (to remove the effect from the whole image)
I choose white color and paint the mask on areas I want to be darker (domes and stairs)

In picture 8 you can see the image after exposure adjustments. The domes and stairs are brighter and the lights are dimmer. This is the beauty of properly made HDR photos. I can apply +1.5 exposure adjustment to dark areas without revealing any noise!

(One tone mapping method is to expose the whole image manually and then just do the actual tone mapping with Exposure and Gamma method. However, I won't need more manual exposure control with my example photo.)

Picture 8. Domes and stairs are made brighter and lights are made dimmer.

Tone Mapping

Now the image is ready for tone mapping. I did a lot of Photoshop processing before the actual tone mapping. The reason is the fact that when working on HDR photo, one can execute radical color correction operations without losing any information (because of the high dynamic range). I recommend doing all color correction before tone mapping and also to save the image just before tone mapping.

In Photoshop, the tone mapping process is started by converting the image mode to 8-bit or 16-bit:

I click: Image > Mode > 16 Bits/Channel. This opens Photoshop's HDR Conversion tool.
There are four different tone mapping methods available in Photoshop. I choose Local Adaptation method because that's the only one that let's me manually adjust the toning curve (I click on the small arrow to see the toning curve).

In picture 9 you see the HDR image with the default settings of Local Adaptation method.

Picture 9. The default settings of local adaptation.

Local Adaptation and the Toning Curve

Take a look at picture 10. On the left you see the default toning curve which produces picture 9 and on the right you see adjusted toning curve that produces picture 11. How to modify the toning curve? Well let's inspect the histogram for a while. The steep mountain on the left represents the pixels of the sky and the mountains in the middle represents the pixels of the church. I want to achieve two things: black sky and good contrast to the church. The curve on the right does just that. All the pixels on the left side of the left control point become completely black. The right control point is moved to the left just where the "mountains" start. This means that the brightest pixels of the HDR photo will become almost white. These two adjustments also make the curve really steep which equals to high contrast.

Picture 10. On the left: The default toning curve. On the right: Toning curve adjusted for high contrast.

In picture 11 you see the the tone mapped image. Notice that at this stage the photo isn't an HDR image anymore. It's just a 16-bit image.

Picture 11. 16-bit image after Photoshop HDR conversion.

Sharpening

The last thing to do is sharpening. I convert the image to a smart object and apply Smart Sharpen filter to it. In picture 12 you see the final sharpened photo.

Picture 12. The Final sharpened photo.

Shooting In Low Light

2009-08-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

If you are shooting wide open, which is at the camera’s largest aperture, your depth of field will be correspondingly shallow. That means your focus is going to be even more critical than otherwise. Pick a point that needs to be sharp and really pay attention to keeping that point sharp. Generally, if you are shooting people, the most important thing to keep sharp is the eyes. When I am shooting people I focus on the eyes, shoot, re-focus and shoot again …and then do it all over again. I can’t tell you how much I hate to be editing and find that I have a potentially great shot, but out of focus eyes ruin the picture. I have found that if I am worried about an image not being sharp, I am usually right. Pixels are cheap…shoot enough to make sure you have your shot!

Shooting for stock, know your equipment, know your agency

If you are shooting with a stock agency in mind it is good to know just how high you can push your ISO before you reach the point where the agency is going to reject the image. That means you have to know both your own equipment and the standards of the agency. I was once shooting from the interior of a jeep on a mountain road in China. The scene, road-building equipment clearing a landslide, was lit by the headlights of the cars waiting for the road to be cleared. I shot the scene, hand held, but braced against the head-rest, at an ISO of 1600 with a Canon 1ds. Man did I work on that image in post (processing the digital files)! They accepted it too. With the newer cameras I have no qualms about shooting at 400, I am comfortable shooting at 800 and don’t think 1600 would really be such a stretch. But don’t take my word for it… do some testing!

Exposure and more

RAW (the file format native to the camera) has been talked to death, but keep in mind that it is more akin to negative film than transparency film and I personally find that I can safely get another stop to a stop-and-a-half in post-shoot processing. Shoot RAW, not jpeg! As far as exposure, keep your histogram as far to the right as possible without clipping (going off the edge). If you loose your highlights (which are on the right hand side of the histogram) you probably can’t get them back. I guess in that way a digital file is like transparency film.

I am not a big user of on-camera flash, but it can be a real life-saver. I suggest a good starting point is to set your flash to under expose by two-thirds of a stop. That can help bring out details without overpowering the image…and looking like you used on-camera flash! If you do use on-camera flash it is generally a good idea to bounce it or at least put some sort of diffuser over it.

Use movement to your advantage

Another thing to keep in mind is that a little movement in your image isn’t necessarily an image killer. Sometimes you can make it work to your advantage. A year ago I was shooting in the train station in Mumbai, India. The station is indoors and while it wasn’t exactly gloomy, it still qualifies as low light. I put the camera over my head as high as I could hold it and fired off a half-dozen frames at an eighth of a second. I only shot six frames because at that point a machine gun carrying police officer politely but firmly informed me that photography in the train station was forbidden. That image, in which everything has movement, even the lamp posts, has already sold a number of times as a stock picture with Getty Images (1377). Sometimes movement can make an image more dynamic and help it convey a mood or message.

Guest post by John Lund Stock

Using layers in Photoshop

2009-08-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

Introduction

The system of layers in Photoshop is particularly useful for the realization of news skins. It makes it possible to make the various elements composing a skin (camouflages, markings, stains etc) in different layers and to work them individually.

Creating a layer

By default when you start a new document (Ctrl+N) only the layer "background" is present.

To add new layers it is enough to click on the icon "create a new layer" located at the bottom of the window showing the layers. The new layers come on top of the "background".
Athumbnail of the contents of each layer appears left of the name of the layer. Tip: If the window "Layers" is not visible click on "Show Layers" in the menu "Window".

Giving the layer a name

Click on a layer to make it active (a brush appears on the left), the background changes color indicating that it is selected, now right click on the layer. A menu appears, choose "Layer Properties".

In addition to the name, you can also choose the identification color of the layer.

Enabling and Disabling a layer

To make a layer visible or invisible click on the icon in the shape of eye located on the left of the layer you want to toggle.

Moving a layer

Because the paintwork on the top most layer(s) can cover the work of the layers beneath it, you might want to switch locations of the layers.

Click on the layer with the left button hold the mousebutton while you drag the layer to it's ne location.
You can also move a layer up and down using the Ctrl-[ and Ctrl-] keys combinations. Note: The "Background"-layer cannot be moved.

Duplicating and deleting layers

To duplicate a layer click on the layer and hold the mousebutton while dragging it to the "create a new layer" button at the bottom of the layers window.

To delete a layer click on the layer and hold the mousebutton while dragging it to the "delete layer" button at the bottom of the layers window. You can also access these function by rightclicking on the layer. Clicking on the "delete layer' button will delete the layer that is currently selected.

Creating a layerset

Click on the button "Create new set" at the bottom of the layers window, modify the name and color by right clicking and selecting "layer set properties" from the menu that appears.

Now you can drag the layers to the set. The layers that belong to a set show up idented.
By clicking on the eye next to the set yu toggle all layers that belong to the set visible or invisible at once. By clicking on the arrow next to the set you open or close the set. This will show or hide the layers that belong to the set from the layer window. This way you can keep the list orderly and clean.

Locking options

Each layer can be locked in various ways. Below yu find the four locking options from left to right.

Checking the most left checkbox locks the transparency of the layer
By checking the second checkbox you protect the layer from being painted on.
By checking the third checkbox from the left, you disable functions that let you move the objects painted on this layer
The last checkbox locks the layer completely. You cannot change anything to this layer.

When a layer is locked, you will see a small icon of a lock next to the layer.

Opacity of a layer

The option "opacity" makes it possible to regulate the general level of transparency of a layer without modifying its contents: 100% the layer is "opaque", 0% the layer is completely transparent.

Linking layers

You can link a layer to the active layer by clicking on the empty box right of the eye-icon. A chain-icon appears then. This makes it possible to move the contents of both layers simultaneously.

Merging layers and fattening the image

It is possible to merge layers. To do this, click on the arrow in top on the right of the Layers window.
Several options are available:

Merge Down, makes it possible to merge the active layers with the layer directly below it,
Merge Linked (Merge Down is replaced with this when the active layer is related to other layers), allows to merge all the layers that are linked with the active layer,
Visible Merge, merges all the visible layers,
Flatten Image, merges all layers with the "background".

Translated from the French tutorials by Daniel Roger

PSD Tuts 2009

Custom Sim Cards Tutorial

Photoshop parachute mail service logo stock photo

How To Change Eye Colors

Change colour of car lights

Remove car door handles

Carbon fibre hood

Matrix Effects In Photoshop

Add hood scoop to car

Clear car lights

How to Make a Dark, Post-Apocalyptic City Illustration

Preparation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15

Step 16

Step 17

Step 18

Step 19

Step 20

Step 21

Step 22

Step 23

Step 24

Conclusion

How to Make Vista Button

Photo Manipulation

Create Your Own Realistic View Stamp

Add Cool Fireworks to the Photo

Transformers Movie Wallpaper

Decomposing a face in photoshop

Design belt watch brown large in photoshop

Professional Tips for Improving Photoshop’s Performance

What you'll learn

Table of Contents:

Basics

Preparation

Photoshop Requirements

Photoshop Preferences

General

Color Picker

Image Interpolation

Options

History Log

Interface

General

Panels & Documents

UI Text Options

File Handling

File Saving Options

File Compatibility

Version Cue

Recent Projects

Performance

Memory Usage

History & Cache

Scratch Disks

GPU Settings

Advanced Settings

Cursors

Transparency and Gamut

Transparency Settings

Gamut Warning

Units and Rulers

Units and Column Size

New Document Preset Resolutions

Point / Pica Size

Guides, Grids and Slices