[Guide] Photoshop Lessons

[eKoIce]

Lesson 1 - Create a wallpaper using normal renders and pictures.

 

In this tutorial, I will be teaching you how to create a awesome wallpaper using only a image found on deviantart and settings found in Adobe Photoshop. This will be the final outcome.

 

 

Now lets get on with the tutorial !

 

 

Step 1:

 

Open up your image in Adobe Photoshop. If you have to, resize the image to your desired screen resolution. In this tutorial, I will be working on a 1024px by 768px screen size. This tutorial will be a mixture of images and text. Some might see this as a easy tutorial, some may not. I personally think you need a bit of background knowoledge of Photoshop, but for the learners I have attached a learn-only PSD file.

Step 2:

Duplicate your image around 5-6 times. Your layer palette should look like so now. I have named the top layer “Top Layer”, please don’t edit this layer just now!

 

To make things easier, follow the names I have called the layers - it will help during the tutorial.

 

 

 

Step 3:

 

Now for every layer called “copy”, you must do the following: Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and enter these settings:

 

 

After you have done this, move all the motion blurred layers around the window, until you get this kind of effect:

 

 

Step 4:

 

Now in case your thinking “what the hell - that’s a mess”, don’t worry!

 

Highlight the top layer which has been motion blurred, and press Ctrl+e and continue doing this until you only have 2 layers left.

 

Now, for the final time, go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and repeat the process one more time. Your result should look like this now:

 

 

Step 5:

 

Its now time to add more color to the wallpaper. I will be doing this in 2 different ways. Remember that these color will work for this wallpaper. If you use your own render or image, then play about with the colors - its how you will learn!

 

The first method that I will use is the Color Balance tool. To do this, simply go to Layer > New Adjustment Level > Color Balance and enter these values in this order:

 

    * Shadows: -20 , +10 , +18

    * Midtones: -30 , -8 , +10

    * Highlights: -49 , +17 , -29

 

Now for the second method. This will involve the Brightness And Contrast tool. To do this, simply go to Layer > New Adjustment Level > Brightness/Contrast and enter these values in this order:

 

    * Brightness: +12

    * Contrast: +1

 

Now we are nearly finished, just a couple more steps to go.

 

Step 6:

 

Remember that top layer we had, called “Top Layer”? Its now time to edit that.

 

Set the blending options to “lumminosity”. This is shown in the image below (I have highlighted the box in case you are not sure where to click - drop that box down and select the “lumminosity” option).

 

 

And that’s it, a very effective wallpaper without a lot of work involved.

 

 

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Lesson 2 -Matrix!

 

Learn how to create the awesome Matrix text effect.

 

1 - Open a new Document, whatever size you like. Give it a black background layer. Create a new layer and select the type tool.

 

2 - Now we'll get to work on creating that text with all the strange characters. How do we do it? Well, we could spend half the day typing strange keyboard combinations or call on the help of an every day text editor. Since I'm on a Mac the obvious choice is BBEdit. For PC's, I dunno, maybe word or something will work. What you do is open up a graphic file not supported by the text editor. I found opening a TIFF file worked quite nicely.

 

 

Look at that! Just like Matrix text except horizontal and not so glowing. Woo, now we're cookin. Select a big ol' chunk of text out of the middle somewhere and copy it to the clipboard. Head back into Photoshop next.

 

3 - With the type tool selected click and drag over the entire document to create paragraph text. Next select vertical type by clicking the icon in the left corner of the tool options bar, then select top align. Then, open the Character and Paragraph Palettes. Choose a nice computer font. I used Courier New. Set the font size to 6 px. Choose a green color for the text. Now paste your text from the clipboard and accept it by clicking the checkmark in the tool options bar. Set the Tsume to 70%. This reduces the space around the characters by 70%, scrunching them together more like the matrix text.

 

 

4 - Set the spacing to 10 px and duplicate the layer. Change the font size to 8 px and the spacing to 15 px. Set the layers blend mode to Linear Dodge.

 

Duplicate that layer. Change the font size to 10 px and the spacing to 30 px.

 

 

5 - OK. Getting kinda busy isn't it? Let's work towards a little randomness now. Click the layer mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette and set your foreground/background colors to default black and white (d). Choose Filter>Render>Clouds then Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast. Slide the contrast all the way up to +100%. Give it gaussian blur of about 20 pixels. Do this with all three text layers and it should be looking better, but we're not done yet.

 

 

 

6 - More randomness is in order. More masking is in order too. Create a new layer set by licking the folder icon at the bottom of the layers palette then drop your 3 text layers in there. Make sure the layer set is selected and click on the layer mask icon. This time we'll be spending a little more time with our masking. Choose the brush tool and select a 6 pixel, hard, round brush. Make sure black is your foreground color and start painting away strips of text being sure to leave lone strips falling down by themselves. You'll want to take more from the bottom than the top and just kind of break it up some in the middle. Remeber if goof you can always paint stuff back in with white, your text isn't really being harmed. The beauty of layer masks.

 

 

 

7 - Now let's give the text a little glow. Duplicate each text layer. After you duplicate it right click on the layer and choose "rasterize layer", then right click on the layer mask thumbnail and choose "apply layer mask". After you've made a rasterized copy of all 3 text layers and applied their layer masks move them beneath the text layers and merge them together. Give them a gaussian blur of about 1.5 pixels. Click the layer mask button again and choose render clouds. I just thought it looked lonely down there all by itself without a mask to keep it company. Almost done.

 

 

8 - Create a new layer above the layer set. Select the transparency of all 3 text layers by command clicking on the first layer and then shift-command clicking on the last 2. Press command-h to hide the selection so you can see what your doing. Set white as your foreground color and paint in highlights for the text. Deselect and give it a gaussian blur of about 1.5 pixels, set the blending mode to Color Dodge and drop the opacity to about 80%.

 

 

 

9 - This one's optional. If your color seems a little bit off like mine did just add a hue/saturation adjustment layer and slide the hue around until you're happy.

 

 

10 - Now we'll do the big text. Create a new layer on top. Select the type tool and a font that looks good for the job in capitals. I used Palatino at 48 pixels. You could probably find a better Matrix font at one of the download sites if you wanted to. You should also reset your tsume and spacing back to normal in the character palette. Type your text in white and duplicate the layer twice. Rasterize all 3 layers. Go to the bottom text layer and tick the preserve transparency box in the layers palette. Fill the layer with the color you used for the background text and uncheck the preserve transparency box. Do this for the middle text layer as well. On the bottom text layer choose Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, set the angle to 0 and blur it until it looks about right. On the middle text layer make sure preserve transparency is off and choose Filter>Other>Minimum and enter a setting of 2 pixels or so depending on the size of your type. Now give it a small gaussian blur, maybe 2 or 3 pixels. On the top (white) text layer select the rectangular marquee tool and select a piece of text on one of your letters. Then select the move tool and nudge the selection any direction you want by 1 or 2 pixels. Repeat as necessary until you're done. Link the three text layers together and position them wherever you want. That's it, you're done.

 

 

In hindsight I think this effect could probably be improved by using more text layers, especially the smaller ones, and varying the spacing more but at the moment I don't really care to go back and rewrite the tut for it. The best advice I can give for achieving any effect is to look at an example and try to recreate that. Just play around trying different things until you get it right.. you'll learn so much in the process and won't need tutorials for everything anymore. That's exactly what I did here, I just took the time to type it out as I fiddled.

 

 

All Credits to : Faceless

 

 

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[eKoIce]

Lesson 3 - Chrome buttons

 

Great buttons for your interfaces and homepages.

 

 

 

 

1 - Create a new document, and add your desired background color.

 

Then create a new layer (layer 1) and select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and draw a shape similar to mine in figure 1.

 

Fig. 1 

 

2 - Then download and add this layerstyle.Duplicate the layer and call it layer 2

 

fig. 2 

 

3 - Still at layer 2 select the Move Tool and drag out some helpful Guides according to figure 3. You do this by simply clicking and draging them out from the Rulers.

Then select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection similar to mine. Make sure the Snap option is checked (View - Snap).

 

fig. 3 

 

4 - Then hit the Delete key to get rid of the selected area. Deselect.

 

Now repeat on the left side of the button.

 

fig. 4 

 

5 - Go back to layer 1 and duplicate it - layer 3.

Move this layer below the layer 1 layer and use the Free transform tool to make it look like like fig. 5.

Then change the Drop Shadow layer style to Distance: 2 pixels and Size: 5 pixels.

 

fig. 5 

6 - Then duplicate layer 3 - call it layer 4, and drag it below the layer 3 layer.

Then I used the Edit - Transform - Scale option, and entered Width: 103%, Height: 90%.

 

fig. 6 

 

7 - Now go back to layer 1 and add a scanline Pattern Overlay layer style. To do this just download scanline psd-file, open it in Photoshop - Select all - Edit - Define pattern - and name it Scanlines.

(PS! To make the scanlines show I changed the Gradient Overlay mode to MULTIPLY!)

 

fig. 7 

FINAL RESULT :

 

 

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Lesson 4 - Bubble Gum text

 

Really smooth and yummy plastic text.

 

1 - Hey Guys! Ready for some yummy plastic text? This effect is made using lightning effects, the plastic wrap filter and layer styles, and I think it looks really smooth.

Hmm - suddenly I got the urge for some bubble gum :)

This will be the final outcome.

 

 

2 - Start by opening a new image (mine is 500 x 170 pixels) and select the Type Tool and type the desired word. Be sure you use large letters for the effect to turn out right - you can always minimize it later... (Font used: Yellow Submarine - 200 pt)

 

Select the text by hitting Ctrl + left clicking the text layer.

Create a new layer (call it text) - select the Paintbucket Tool and fill the selection with a light blue color (I used font color #6897BB).

Hide the original text layer.

 

Keep your selection and go to Channels.

 

fig. 2 

 

3 - Now click the "Save selection as channel" button, and then drag the Alpha 1 layer down to the Create new layer tab to duplicate it.

 

Now we have to blur things up a bit.

Still at the Alpha 1 copy layer go to:

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 8 pixels

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 6 pixels

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 3 pixels

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 1 pixels

 

Now go back to Layers.

PS! Still keep your selection!

 

fig. 3 

 

 

4 - Select the layer called "text" and go to Filter - Render - Lightning effects - and use the setting shown in fig. 4.

 

fig. 4 

 

 

5 - Still keep your selection and go to

Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 1 pixel.

 

Select - Modify - Contract - 1 pixel.

Then hit Ctrl + Shift + I to invert the selection and hit Delete to get nice clean edges.

 

Now it's time to deselect (Ctrl + D).

 

Now drag this layer down to the Create a new layer tab to duplicate it. Call this layer Plastic wrap.

 

fig. 5 

 

6 - Now go to Filter - Artistic - Plastic Wrap and enter the values shown in figure 6.

 

Now duplicate this layer.

 

On the Plastic Wrap copy layer change the layer mode from Normal to Overlay.

 

fig. 6 

 

 

7 - Go back to the Plastic Wrap layer and add a nice drop shadow with the values shown in fig. 7.

 

Your image should now look like final result image at the top of the page.

 

Want more?

Want really shiny plastic?

 

Well - keep on reading...

We're just a few steps away from getting the result shown in figure 8.

 

fig. 7 

 

 

8 - Activate the Plastic Wrap layer and go to Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Hue/Saturation and check the Group with previous layer option - OK.

In the Hue/Saturation window check the Colorize option and enter Hue: 304 and Saturation: 100 - OK.

 

Remember the very first text layer we made? Hit Ctrl + left click the original text layer. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool and use the arrow keys to move the selection 4 pixels to the right and 4 pixels down. Then hit Ctrl + Shift + left click the original text layer again. Now you shall have the text layer + the shadow area selected.

Go to Edit - Copy Merged.

Then create a new file with the same size as the original image - white background. Edit - Paste.

 

The last thing you have to do is to add a nice drop shadow effect and you're done!

(I used the default setting in the Drop Shadow layer style - I just changed the color to #76008A and the opacity to 51 %).

 

fig. 8 

 

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Lesson 5 - Pixelated shadow

 

An easy but very effective text effect.

 

1 - This is a very easy tutorial, but I love this effect.  Ok - here it goes:

 

Open the image you want to add the text to, or create a new one of course :)

 

fig. 1 

 

2 - Type your text.

This effect looks particulary good created with a white color.

 

Now drag your text layer down to the Create a new layer tab to duplicate it. Then drag the duplicated layer below the original text layer.

At the duplicated text layer go to Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - and enter a radius of 3,9 pixels.

 

fig. 2 

 

3 - Then go to Filter - Pixelate - Mosaic - Cell size 12.

(You can of course enter any value you want - this is just what I used).

 

fig. 3 

4 - It lookes a little blurry by now so we have to sharpen it up a little bit.

Go to Filter - Sharpen - Sparpen. Do this twice.

 

Now just apply a nice drop shadow effect to the original text layer and you are finished.

 

Below you see my final image.

With the blue image I entered 2,5 pixels for the Gaussian Blur and 8 squares in the pixelate action.

 

fig. 4

 

 

 

5 -

 

 

Final RESULT :

 

[eKoIce]

Lesson 6 - How to Load and Use Photoshop Brushes.

 

I forgot to put It at The First Lesson..But..Im not Perfect ;D

 

 

Credits to my friend : Scully7491

 

 

 

[eKoIce]

I will take The next Post For Future Photoshop lessions...cause, the Posts I have already submitted aren't anymore Udatable cuz They are Full, and I can't Add More Things Inside Of them.

 

So Sorry To Global Moderators..But I need to do it.

 

2 are Enough ;D

[NITROUS SYSTEM]

Nice work m8 ;)

[eKoIce]

Ty NITROUS ;D

 

Very Glad To Hear It ;D

[MewMew]

very well done ekoice..really cool..do u mknd collecting them in a pdf file?

[ÐarkyXtremē]

very good job :D

[eKoIce]

very well done ekoice..really cool..do u mknd collecting them in a pdf file?

 

why not ;D maybe when i finish the lessions number (15-20) maybe i do that.

[Protaris]

NICE WORK EKOICE

ITS VERY GOOD FOR NEWBIES (NOT NOOBS :D ) LIKE ME

[MASTROPOS]

Its Fantastic work pal nice

[eKoIce]

THNX...

 

Later I will post more...;D

 

 

P.s. My mouse Is died ;D

[Kampylakos]

hell yeah! nice EkoIce ;) thx for this wonderfull guide!

[Thelasthero]

nice share eko,although i tried to make a wallpaper with the first guide but sh!t

Anywayz I was looking for a flash image maker......and i found it

[eKoIce]

ok ;D

 

After Those Basic Photoshop Lessons, I will Post later Some VERY easy Signature TUTORIALS. ;D

 

p.s. Coffe & Sigarette Time ;D