Create a Shiny Earth with Photoshop 3D Layers

Tutorial here.

I believe this is my first experience using the 3D tools in Photoshop. I think my final image came out decent but it definitely doesn't look as 3D as the image in the tutorial. I started out with a blank canvas and then opened a flat map of the earth. Then I went to 3D- new shape from layer- sphere. It was really cool to be able to rotate the earth. Using the 3D palette, I made adjustments according to the tutorial. I also added another earth image that shows the 'bumps' in the earth's surgace. The tutorial used CS4 and I have CS5 so my palette looked different but I tried to follow along as best as I could. I had to adjust the Infinite Light, and in the tutorial, there were three light settings but I only had two, so my earth came out different. Next I added the cloud image and made the adjustments according to the tutorial. Again, mine came out different because my settings were different. I merged all these layers together and created a drop shadow on the earth layer. I used the elliptical marquee tool to create the shadow with black, and then used gaussian blur and motion blur. I duplicated this layer and downsized it so it would be darker right under the earth. I duplicate the earth layer, flipped it vertically and positioned it below the earth layer. Next, I used a gradient to make the reflection of the earth fade. Then on the background layer, I added a blue to white gradient. I didn't like how my earth looked so I adjusted the hue and saturation to make it brighter and more blue. I think it still looks 3D, it's just not as shiny as the tutorial image.

Create an Energy Drink Ad Design

Tutorial here.

When I first looked at this tutorial, I thought it would be a lot harder than it actually was. I began by filling the background in with a lime green color and then used a radial shape filled with a similar color and another radial shape on top of that. Then on a new layer, I used the brush tool to create a series of circles with different sizes in a purple color, with the opacity at 60%. I made some green circles on top of that, and bright purple circles on top of that. Next, I merged all of those layers together and did a radial blur. I changed the blending mode of this layer to difference and merged it with the background layer and adjusted the hue. Then I used the quick mask tool and filled the whole thing in and erased from the middle and outwards using a soft brush with scattering. Then I used a gaussian blur, and I think I messed up something in this step because my circles came out too blurry compared the the final image in the tutorial. Next, I added the can image, changed the hue to make it blue and used the burn tool to darken the bottom of the can. I used quick mask mode again to erase the bottom of the can, then went to layer- layer mask- hide selection which made the can blend into the circles. On a new layer, I used filter- pixelate- mezzotint, and then used a radial blur. The tutorial said to set the mode to color burn, but it made mine super dark so I lowered the opacity. Then I just added some text in the color with a gradient overlay and an outer glow. My final image was quite dark, so I adjusted the color to make it much brighter and more blue-toned. I like how this turned out, I just don't know why the circles came out so blurry.

Displace Filter

Tutorial here.

This tutorial showed how to use the displace filter to create a realistic looking flag. First, I opened up an image of silk and made it black and white. The particular image I was using was really dark so I lightened it a lot. Then I used Gaussian blur at 2.5 pixels, and saved it as a .psd file. On the flag image, I used the displace filter with the default settings and clicked the silk .psd file. At first, the image looked really weird and squiggly. Then I placed the silk image over the flag layer and set the mode to hard light. The flag came out super bright and I played around with some other blend modes and nothing else really looked right so I used lowered the brightness. I have never used the displace filter before and I made another image without using it and you can really see the difference. Without using the displace filter, the lines of the flag are still straight so it doesn't look realistic, with the filter, the lines go along with the curves of the silk texture.

With displace filter:

Without displace filter:

3-D text with some extreme lighting

Tutorial here.

I thought this tutorial looked interesting. I began by making 'Sz' in Illustrator and I used Arial font. I think if I used a thicker font, or an actual logo, my end result would have looked a lot better. My text was pretty thin so it didn't end up looking very 3D. I am not great at creating highlights and shadows in images, so it was nice to practice with this tutorial. I used the 3D Extrude and Bevel effect in Illustrator and then opened it up in Photoshop. I opened the wood texture and placed it behind the text layer. I used the elliptical marquee tool to select parts of the wood to make darker, and the lower right corner to make a bright yellow color, which is the 'light source' of the image. I just did a fill and changed the blend mode to overlay. For the front part of the text I used a red to yellow gradient overlay and for the sides, I adjusted the curves until they were very dark. I used the line tool to make a guideline for creating the shadow. Following the guidelines, I used the polygonal lasso tool to make a triangular selection around the text and filled it with black. I used a layer mask and a soft brush to erase the black around the text to create a shadow. I also lowered the opacity of shadow because it looked too dark. I used a grunge texture as an overlay over the text and erased the excess around it. Then I used Bevel and Emboss on the text layer. Lastly, I adjusted the brightness and contrast of the entire image.

Design Beer Glass and Bottle

Tutorial here.

This tutorial showed how to place labels on bottles and make them look realistic. I began with the background, and added a purple gradient. The tutorial used a stock image for the glass and bottle, and I used the quick selection tool to cut both of them out. Then I began working on my labels. In the tutorial, the person used labels that were already made but I decided to make my own. I saved separate pieces of the labels so I could later customize what I wanted to use. I used brushes and text that I had downloaded earlier. Next, I added my labels to the glass and bottle. I used the transform tools to be make the labels look more realistic. Then I used a water drop texture on a new layer and changed the mode to overlay, so the labels will have water drops and like they are a part of the glass. I duplicated the glass and bottle layers, flipped them upside down and lowered the opacity so they look like shadows. Next I used the polygonal lasso tool to create a triangle shape. I used the shapes, filled them in (white for the highlights and black for the shadows) and then used gaussian blur and motion blur to make the triangles blend in and create dimension.

Sci-Fi Style Urban City Scene

Tutorial here.

The majority of this tutorial was blending images together and using adjustment layers. I haven't used adjustment layers very much before the last couple tutorials I did. I usually only adjusted colors and other things once I was done with the image, and then those adjustments were applied to the whole image. I learned that I could create a clipping make so that the adjustment layer is only applied to layer below it. A layer mask is automatically created so you can over the parts that you don't want the adjustment layer applied to. This tutorial used a adjustment layers to get half the image a blue-ish color and the other layer is a fiery orange colors. My image came out much darker and way too saturated when following the exact steps in the tutorial, so I adjusted the color and levels to my liking. I also omitted the girl stock image from the tutorial (mostly because the link didn't exist anymore) but I still like how the tutorial turned out. There is a lot of different colors throughout the image that I don't think I could have achieved without using adjustment layers.

Paper "Mountain"

Tutorial here.

This was just a quick and easy tutorial that I did while I was looking for something more advanced. I started with a crumpled paper image and did a Curve Adjustment and Channel Mixer to make the paper black and white and show the highlights and shadows. Then I used an unsharpen mask, despeckle, blur tool, and smudge stick filter to make the "mountains" look more textured. I used a lens flare in the upper left corner and used liquefy to make a glowing star shape. Then I added a new layer and added in the different colors, and changed the layer mode to overlay. I used a tiny star brush all over the image and then used a  motion blur.

Chilling Photo Manipulation

Tutorial here.

Clearly photo manipulation tutorials have become my favorite. I have been looking for more advanced level tutorials, and this one was labeled as advanced. I think the instructions were clear and I didn't have too many problems with this one, it just took me a while to finish.

I began by adding the pier and sky backgrounds and blending the seam between them. Then I added the body and head of the mermaid-thing, which were two separate parts. The head had to blended in to the sky more, so I used a layer mask and painted over the edges. I cut out the eyes from an animal skull and pasted them in, and used a small soft brush to make the eyes look like they are glowing. Next I added the ice layer, and I used Select > Color Range to select on the white parts of the image. The next couple steps involved some shading and adding in the hourglass and blending that in. Then I added the waves, and I used 5 different wave images for this. I used Select > Color Range to select the waves, but I found that I had to invert the selection or I would just end up selecting the area around the waves. I added in the person/wizard/magician and used a soft brush to make it look like there is an energy coming from him, like he is summoning the mermaid-thing. Next I added the lighting, and I just used a brush set. I added a mist effect using a gradient overlay. Then I added some color and lighting adjustments until I liked the result. I really like how my image turned out. It actually looks close to what the tutorial image looks like for once.

Supernatural Dark Scene with Fiery Effect

Tutorial here.

I came down with a bad cold last week and it really kicked my butt so I haven't been able to post as much as would have liked. I thought this tutorial looked cool and I think it turned out okay. I started with a black background and used a crack-pattern brush for where the girl would be standing. The link to the brushes in the tutorial was broken so I used some brushes that I already had, and the effect didn't turn out quite the same. Next, I used the quick selection tool to cut out some flames to put over the crack area. The tutorial said to use the crack pattern brushes to erase some of of the flames. This didn't turn out very well, maybe because I was using a different brush set. Then I added the girl and added a few adjustments to that. Next I added the flames on the side, which had to be scaled, rotated and warped. At first, the flames looked exactly like how they did in the tutorial and somehow ended up looking very different. Then I added in the crow. After that I used some feather brushes and made some adjustments with the color and contrast.