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Tutorial details:

• Programs: Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Modo
• Difficulty: Advanced
• Estimated Completion Time: 5-7 h

Step 1 – Preparing the canvas

Before we begin there are a few things worth mentioning. All the photos in this tutorial belong to the author, Pirosca Marcel. They were not gathered from stock sites around the net. The main character was shot in my photo studio.

First off I opened the original image resulted from the shooting with the main purpose being isolating the character and the shadows on the floor. First thing I noticed was that his face was not expressive enough for what I had in mind.

Before we begin cutting out the character I needed to replace his head with one from another picture where he looked more optimistic. I always shoot a lot of pictures every session, so when situations like this arise I have plenty of other images to choose from. The most important thing is that the light sources must be in the same place so it integrates seamlessly and believably. The light needs to come from the same directions. I have found the image below to be a good match for what I needed.

Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool create a selection around his head. The background contains only a flat color, so the selection should be very easy to make. I selected his head just as in the image below, then copy/pasted it into the original image, on a new layer.

I scaled and rotated it so that it matched the old head.

As you can see some integration is needed to be done for the head to blend perfectly. First off, cut out the background head so we can work on our new one. Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select and delete it. We should now have something similar to what we see below.

Notice that the most important region to work on is his neck. In order to obtain a nice transition from one to the other we need a transparency mask on the new head, then with a relatively soft (50%) Eraser Brush start deleting some of the harsh edges on the neck until you reach a good result. This part is open to a lot of trial and error, so using a mask will help us recover some of the parts we may have accidentally deleted. Finally, you should obtain something similar to the next image.

As we can see we need to work on some of the details. We need to fix the shirt and neck lighting in order for him to be believable. For the neck I used a combination of Dodge/Sponge tool as illustrated below.

In order to fix the shirt I copy/pasted a part of his shirt and then I blended it (using curves and transparency mask).

We are now ready to isolate our guy and the shadows on the floor. As he is a hard edged surface against a flat background it should be fairly easy to select him using the Polygonal Lasso Tool. I personally prefer this tool over the paths approach to selection because I don’t have to adjust any control points and tangents, even though it means a lot more clicks. Copy/paste him into a new layer.

Next thing we want is having the shadow on a different layer. As you can see the background of the photo studio was kind of dirty, so in order to remove the stains I applied some Surface Blur. I found that this type of blur is best for this operation as it removes noise while preserving some detail.

Once we got to this stage we can select the shadow using Color Range and the following settings.

Of course there will be some unwanted regions in the selection. Hit OK, and after the selection was made enter Quick Mask mode. Proceed to erase the unnecessary parts, as depicted in the image below.

Now in order to have the exact shadow we need to subtract the contour of our guy from the remaining selection. While in Quick Mask mode Control-click the thumbnail of the main character layer in the layers palette. This will load the selection for that layer. Press Delete to erase the quick mask inside the selection.

Exit Quick Mask mode and we have the selection of the shadow. Just copy/paste it onto a new layer.

We now have the character and his shadow isolated and on separate layers. We are ready to begin the final image.

Step 2 – Composition

This was a HUGE piece of work, size related. In order to achieve the final image we need to create an image 3613 by 5000 pixels. To get an idea of what I actually wanted, first I took the main character and moved it around the canvas; finally deciding to place him on the lower half of the image following the flow of his body. Being on a separate layer meant I could add all sorts of details behind him. The first thing that needed to be done was to further differentiate him from the gray background.

Use a white, soft brush with 20% Opacity to create a glow behind the guy.

Next it’s time to determine how the lines in the image would flow. For this I used my tablet with the size controlled by the pen pressure and Opacity set to about 30%. I proceeded in drawing the lines on which our man was surfing by holding Shift (so that the brush draws a straight line) and pressing harder on the tablet (for the line to be thicker) at his feet and then pressing less as the lines faded away.

This gave the lines the feeling of perspective and also helped me to give a sense of depth. I have to add that this is a process prone to a lot of trial and error, so it might take a while until you are satisfied with the results.

Now it gets interesting. In order to be able to replicate all of the planes fading away and also maintain proper perspective I used the Vanishing Point Filter to eyeball the plane our man is surfing on. There is an entire discussion here, because you can’t define that plane exactly how it is in reality since you have no reference. After several attempts I settled for the one below, thinking it works. To do this go to Filter > Vanishing Point.

The deal with Vanishing Point is that these planes can be extended at 90 degrees or arbitrarily. Using this method I further constructed additional planes to help me keep track of perspective, while trying to match my sketch lines as close as I could.

With this setup in position I was now able to add elements that will be flowing along these planes. But first I had a point to settle.

Somewhere along the line I experimented with color variations since the gray seemed a little dull. I love color and decided to use its power to give it a little punch.

Step 3 – Color Scheme

In order to obtain the proper colors for this piece I used three adjustment layers and placed them on top of the image. Two of them affecting only the skin (using masks), and a third one to set the general mood. For the skin, a Levels and a Color Balance to add subtle color enhancement.

And then a Color Balance affecting the whole image to give an overall greenish mood. The settings are shown below.

We are now ready to add in the details.

Step 4 – Digital Volume

Open Illustrator and by copy/pasting and then scaling vertical rectangles you can obtain something similar to the first digital volume in the image below. Make a copy and move it below.

By adding horizontal rectangles and subtracting them, it’s easy to obtain the second one. Just create one rectangle, move it vertically (by holding down the Alt key to create a copy) and press Command + D repeatedly to multiply it.

Copy the second volume graphic and go to Photoshop.

Now paste it into the Vanishing Point filter. For some reason Photoshop doesn’t allow directly pasting paths from Illustrator there. So we must paste it on a new layer as pixels first. Rotate it and scale it vertically just as in the image below in order to have as much resolution as we can.

Then Command-click the layer thumbnail in the layers palette. This will bring up the selection of that layer. Press Command + C to copy it into the cache, then delete the layer. We can now move to the Vanishing Point filter.

Go to Filter > Vanishing Point and paste. You should have something like that shown below.

Now if you drag that selection onto the floor plane, Photoshop will automatically calculate the right perspective for you.

Do it again to extend the volume further back.

Go to blending options and add the styles shown below.

You should now have something looking like this.

In order to to have some of the squares transparent, like in the final image, create a Transparency Mask for this layer, and then use a 50% gray (#7a7a7a) to paint over the squares that you want transparent. This can be a tedious process and it is up to you to decide which ones you leave opaque and which not. I will illustrate.

Now to give it a little punch, duplicate that layer, set its Opacity to 68%, and apply the following Curves (Command + M) to its transparency mask and you get this. The gray in the mask should have turned to black so this layer affects only the opaque squares.

It should look something like this.

We have reached a delicate part which takes a lot of tweaking to get right, but the main idea is to use a copy of the volume, move it into place and then use the Warp Tool to simulate the curvature. The tricky part is that some of the lines may get curved the wrong way and I had to personally correct them. Fairly time consuming I must say, but no other idea to create that corner came to mind.

Using the same technique as before, create a transparency mask and block out some transparent squares using a 50% gray.

Again, use the Vanishing Point Filter, Warp and a Transparency Mask to create the next section. It will take some work, but I already illustrated the necessary techniques.

We proceed to add the rest of the sections until they vanish.

Back to Illustrator. Using the Pen Tool to create a path along the sketch lines. Then round the corners. The easiest way for rounding vertices is to use a script called Round Any Corner found in this archive. Read more here.

Fill the final path with white, remove the stroke, and copy/paste it into Photoshop underneath the “volume” layer.

In order to enhance the look I decided to add another volume, this time white, underneath the one we created. Use the Vanishing Point filter once again, copy the first volume created in Illustrator, and extend it into perspective, as shown below.

As we can see, the trail is overlapping the white volume, so we need a mask to hide part of it. Leave only the top-left section visible.

We just need to add the shadow underneath our guy and we’re done with this section. We isolated it earlier in another document so just copy/paste in a new layer and align it. Set it to Color Burn with 50% Opacity. Now he looks like he’s actually there.

Step 5 – Background and Foreground Images

There are multiple ways to create the flying images, but I found that the quickest and easiest was the 3D approach. Basically, I took the planes generated by Vanishing Point and tried to recreate them in 3D. Considering that they were flying on a vertical plane on the surfer’s sides meant I had to create only one plane. I could extend everything else from there. Hang on, you’ll see what I mean.

The application of choice was Modo, but this can be done just as easily in others too. Again, I did this in 3D because it was much faster, I could move the planes into perspective much easier, which means more experimenting hence better results. Arguably I could have done this with Vanishing Point too, but it would have been time consuming.

Besides on my computer, Photoshop kept crashing if I worked more than 30 seconds with Vanishing Point, which happened about 100 times when doing work on the music volume. After that, I knew 3D was the only choice. Besides you’ll learn a new technique.

First and foremost we need to prepare a backplate for the 3D environment with the plane we need to match. I used the following image. Save it as a separate JPG.

In Modo create a new scene.

Go to Item > Create Backdrop. This creates a plane which we can add the image above as reference.

On the right you will see the following menu. From the Items list choose the backdrop item you just created, then in Properties, go to Image > Load Image.

Choose the “backplate” we saved earlier.

As you can see, the backdrop rotates as we rotate the view. We don’t want that, we want it to remain still and only move the geometry. In order to do that go to Projection Type > Camera. This will make the “backdrop” invisible for the current perspective view, but it will act as a background for the camera.

Press Command + Space. This will bring up a pop-up menu where you can choose what your viewport will display. Select Camera of course.

Now if we rotate the viewport the background image will remain still. To make sure the rendering will have the same dimensions as our piece, on the right side go to Shader Tree > Render and set the width/height of the scene to 3613/5000.

We are ready now to match some geometry.

Make sure that Trackball Rotation is active in your camera Advanced OpenGL menu. This will ensure that the camera will be able to rotate on all axis not only on XZ.

Now the tricky part. By rotating the camera slowly try to match our 3D plane with the one in the reference. Also scale the plane and make it longer.

One thing is obvious, the camera perspective is not dramatic enough to match the two planes. When I say dramatic I mean that the parallel lines do not converge fast enough. So we need to increase it.

The perspective of a camera depends on how wide the entering cone of light is. The wider the cone, the greater the perspective. The narrower the cone, the lower. That’s why wide camera lenses tend to distort images and emphasize perspective. That cone angle is directly controlled by the focal length. Fortunately Modo’s camera model is very similar to the real world one, so we can edit that parameter.

I have found by trial and error that 10mm focal length is close to what we need.

Of course the objects are now smaller, because the wide angle covers more space. No worries there. We just have to close in with the camera, and rotate it. Suddenly, the plane fits much better.

Not the perfect match but with a little bit of tweaking the camera we are there.

This can be a tedious process because the first time you create the plane, you have to rotate the camera and change the focal length at the same time to get a good match. Which can be tricky and time consuming. But once you have the focal length determined, everything else is a piece of cake. Below are the camera settings to get the exact match.

Once we have that plane into place, we can duplicate, scale and move it to create different copies. You can move them parallel to each other to give the feeling of depth.

Observe the wide angle of the camera and the final geometry.

Press F9 to render the Camera view. It shouldn’t take long because it is a simple scene. This is what you get. Switch to Alpha Output and save a JPEG.

Back to Photoshop. Let’s see what we got so far.

Open the Alpha Image we saved from Modo in Photoshop. Copy it, then switch to our surfer, in the Channels tab create a new one and paste the alpha inside.

Now if you Command-click the channel thumbnail you get a selection.

Create a new layer and fill it with orange (#ff8f00).

Cut and paste the images that are supposed to be behind him on a new layer and move it underneath the “digital surfer” layer in the Layers Palette. This way they will seem to be behind him in space.

There are too many of them flying right now, they overcrowd the scene so proceed to erase some of them in order to maintain balance. Most are from the lower-left corner.

Now we will round off the corners of the images, so they look a little less pointy. To do that load the layer selection by Command-clicking on its thumbnail in the Layers Palette. We will first round off the small rectangles, as they need a smaller radius, and then progressively do the others. Subtract parts of the selection to obtain the one below.

Go to Select > Modify > Smooth and set the radius to 10 pixels. Then press Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection and delete. There you go. You now have rounded corners.

We need to apply the same technique to the larger images. This time with a radius of 20 pixels since they are closer to the camera. Do this for the next selection.

You will get this result.

And now the final step of this process is to round the corners of the foreground images. Repeat the above steps with using the radius in the image.

Proceed to apply the following style to the image layers. We need to give it a little depth.

The difference is very subtle around the edges but its still there.

Now we will assign different opacities to various images depending on how far they are from the camera. I need you to copy and paste the following onto a new layer and assign it 25% Opacity.

Copy and paste into a new layer the following selection and assign it a 65% Opacity.

Copy and paste the following selection into a new layer and assign it a 44% Opacity.

Copy and paste the following selection into a new layer and assign it a 75% Opacity.

After all these steps you should be looking at something like this.

The next thing to add are some highlights over the flying rectangles. Select all of them, then with a 20% Opacity, soft brush, paint some highlights on them. Take a look at the second picture below to get an idea.

The only thing left to do now is add some textures on top of them. I will demonstrate the technique used for one of the images, then by repeating it a lot all the other rectangles can be filled too. We’ll use one of my photos to do this. You can find the rest of the images used images here: xn3ctz.deviantart.com/gallery/. This is my portfolio of stock photography. Feel free to use them.

Anyway, copy and paste this image into a new layer in Photoshop.

Using the Transform tool Command-drag the corners to fit one of the rectangles we want to texture.

Then set the layer to Overlay blending mode and use a mask to round off the corners. The opacity can depend on the distance to the camera, meaning that the images in the background can be a little transparent to give the feeling of depth.

After you do this with all the other images you should end up with something pretty nice. Anyway, it is time consuming so I’ll jump straight to the end result.

Step 6 – Translucent Interface

I started by creating these fairly simple shapes in Illustrator. They will act as textures for the interface pieces.

Copy the bottom left shape into Photoshop and place it into position.

Set it to Multiply with 35% Opacity and apply the following layer styles.

Use the same settings and the Illustrator paths we first created to add the next shapes.

Add some texture using the other shapes. They should be white set to Soft Light blending mode at 100% Opacity. Place them using the Transform Tool (Command + T) and fit them to the interface pieces.

And now FINALLY the last step. Create a new layer, load the interface selection, and with a 20% Opacity, soft, white brush paint some highlights just as we did with the rectangles.

THAT’S IT! Just zoom-out turn on the visibility of all layers and enjoy!

Conclusion

With this tutorial we have explored various ways to create the feeling of depth and space while maintaining perspective. All starting from a simple photo, adding layers and layers of details all working together in a seamless piece.

I hope you liked it and learned some new techniques from this tutorial. See you online. Cheers!

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Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Difficulty: Advanced
• Estimated Completion Time: 2 hours

Video Tutorial

Our video editor Gavin Steele has created this video tutorial to compliment this text + image tutorial.

Step 1

Let’s start by creating a new RGB blank document, choosing a 512 px square canvas. Activate Snap from the View Menu (Shift + Command + Semicolon key). Set up two guides to mark the center of the canvas.

Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U), choose Shape Layer and set the Radius to 10 px in the Options bar (1a). Draw a brown rectangle by Alt-clicking and dragging from the center of the canvas (1b). This is the briefcase’s main body, so name it “main.”

Step 2

Let’s achieve a higher realism by introducing some color variation. Set up the foreground (2a) and background (2b) colors to brown hues, then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. This will create an irregular stain pattern with the two colors that simulates leather’s natural color variation (2c).

Step 3

Let’s add a real leather texture. Download this image and place it in the document, naming its layer “texture.” Scale it down proportionally until it’s slightly bigger than the briefcase (3a). Command-click the “main” layer to select its pixels then add the selection as a mask to the texture (3b).

Set its blending mode to Soft Light and reduce the Opacity to 50% (3c). It looks a bit dull, doesn’t it? Let’s add some life to it. First bring up Levels by entering Command + L and move the right-hand slider closer to the center (3d). This raises the white levels, making the texture look brighter.

Step 4

Now select the “main” layer and double-click on it to bring up the Layer Style window. First add a dark brown Stroke to mark the perimeter (4a), then Inner Glow to simulate concavity around the edges (4b). It looks better already (4c).

Step 5

Now duplicate the layer and scale it down, clearing all styles (5a). Add an Inner Glow style to simulate a full pocket (5b). The hard edge is wrong, though, so go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and choose 3 px. Now there’s a smooth color transition (5c). Now back to the “main” layer, add a Gradient Overlay to darken the top part as it is shadowed by the flap that we’ll draw later (5d).

Step 6

Now we’ll use a clever technique to create the stitches. Draw a small rounded rectangle (6a), then from the Edit menu choose Define Brush Preset and name the brush “stitch” (6b). You can erase the rectangle now.

In the Brushes palette set the brush’s properties. Set its Diameter to 8 px and the Spacing to 550% (6c). These values were found by trial and error using the preview at the bottom of the palette. The brush is ready to be put to good use.

Step 7

Choose a pale yellow color for the stitches (7a). Now create a rounded rectangle (choose the Path option for the Rounded Rectangle Tool) sized between the “main” and “main copy”. The stitches will run along this path (7b). In the Paths palette you’ll see the path you just created, double-click on its generic name and enter “main-stitches” (7c).

Now create a new layer and make sure it’s selected. Back to the Paths palette, right-click on the “main-stitches” path and select Stroke Path. A dialog will pop-up. Choose the Brush Tool and uncheck the Simulate Pressure option if it’s not already. Here’s the result (7d).

As you can see, the brush doesn’t conform to the path so the little dashes are always horizontal. We need to erase the vertical sides. Then marquee-select the dashes at the corners and rotate them 45 degrees (7e, 7f). It’s OK if they don’t look symmetrical, as that looks more natural.

Step 8

We need to create a new layer now and stroke the path again to create the missing sides. Hit B to select the Brush Tool, then F5 to open the Brush palette, and rotate the “stitch” brush 90 degrees. See in the preview window that the dashes are now vertical, that is perpendicular to the path (8a). Just like we did before, stroke the “main-stitches” path on the new layer (8b). Erase the horizontal sides and you should be finished (8c). You can merge the two layers into one named “stitches” (8d).

Step 9

The stitches look flat. Let’s add some thickness. First a Bevel and Emboss style (9a) to give the stitches some thickness, then a Drop Shadow (9b). Now they look more realistic (9c).

Step 10

Leather reflects the environment so we need to add ambient reflections. Draw a rounded rectangle near the bottom of the briefcase, choosing a light pink color (10a). Name this layer “ambient reflection,” set it to Screen mode, and 40% Opacity (10b).

We need to soften its edges so apply a 3 px Gaussian Blur (10c). Now type Q to enter Quick Mask mode. The colors will change to black and white. Type G to select the Gradient Tool and click-drag vertically to create a black-to-white gradient (10d).

Hit Q again to exit Quick Mask mode and see the gradient turned into a selection: use it to mask the layer and fade out the top of the reflection (10e). At this point you might need to adjust the opacity to 60% and blur again to get a satisfying result (10f).

Step 11

Now let’s draw a divider to suggest two pockets. Draw a thin vertical ellipse with the Ellipse Tool (U) smack in the middle (11a). Name it “pockets.” We need to make the endpoints darker, imply lighting coming let’s say from the right and also add some soft reflections around this slit. Once again layer styles will make the job easy. First add a Gradient Overlay (11b), then Bevel and Emboss (11c) and finally Outer Glow (11d). Very nice, the bottom of the briefcase is complete (11e).

Step 12

Let’s draw the flap. Snap to the center guide and draw the right half of the flap (12a). Duplicate this layer, flip it horizontally and snap it to the left side of the guide (12b). You can adjust the paths until you’re satisfied with the shape. Rasterize the layers when you’re done. Name this layer “flap.”

Step 13

Add a Gradient Overlay style to the flap, making the top part bright, as it is lit (13a). The flap needs a texture too, so duplicate the “texture” layer and move it above the flap. To avoid repetition of the pattern, flip it vertically and squash it to match the flap’s proportions (13b). Also use the flap to mask it (13c).

Step 14

The flap needs some thickness. Copy the “flap” layer and move the copy below it, naming it “flap thickness.” Move it down a bit (14a). Adjust its Gradient Overlay so it’s a bit lighter (14b). The thickness is not textured. Since the flap casts a shadow on the main body, we need to add a Drop Shadow style too (14c).

We only want the shadow to be cast onto the briefcase so we need to mask out the parts that stick out. Right-click on the “flap thickness” and choose Create Layers. This turns the styles into separate layers, masked by their parent (14d). Now Command-click the “main” layer (14e) and use this selection to mask the drop shadow (14f).

Step 15

Let’s add stitches to the flap. Command-click the “flap” then go to Select > Modify > Contract and choose 6 pixels (15a). How do you know how much to contract the selection? Trial and error, no magic knowledge required (15b).

Create a path from this smaller selection and name it “flap stitches” (15c). With the Direct Selection Tool (A), modify the path so it sticks out from the top. We want to imply that the stitches curve around to the back (15d).

Step 16

Stroke the path using our custom “stitch” brush with its rotation reverted to 0 degrees (16a). Erase the vertical sides, then manually rotate the dashes around the curved corners so they conform to the flap (16b). On a new layer stroke the path again, this time rotating the brush 90 degrees. Erase the superfluous dashes. Copy and paste the layer styles from the previous stitches (16c).

Step 17

Next up are the locks. Choose a yellow color and draw a rounded rectangle, moving it below the “flap thickness” and naming it “lower plate” (17a). Apply a gold Gradient Overlay (17b), a Drop Shadow (17c) and a Stroke to simulate highlights on the edges (17d).

Step 18

Copy this shape and move it above all layers. Name it “upper plate.” Marquee-select the parts in excess and erase them (18a). Open the layer styles and uncheck Reverse from the Gradient Overlay (18b). Reduce the Drop Shadow’s Opacity to 30% (18c) and the Stroke’s Opacity to 50% (18d). It looks good (18e). Finally make a smaller copy of the “lower plate,” name it “lock” and reduce the Stroke’s Opacity to 50% (18f).

Step 19

The lock is attached to the flap by means of a short leather strap. Behind the “upper plate” draw a brown ellipse and name it “strap” (19a). Copy and paste the layer styles from the “main” layer (19b). Modify them: reduce the Inner Glow (19c), change the Gradient Overlay color (19d), and change the Stroke (19e). The changes were needed to accommodate the smaller dimensions of the strap (19f).

Step 20

Let’s add small, point-like stitches to the flap. The procedure was explained twice already. Make a smaller copy, select it and turn it into a path. Modify the “stitch” brush’s properties (20a) and stroke the path on a new layer called “strap stitches.” This time we don’t need to rotate the dashes as they are round. Apply the same layer styles as the other stitches (20b).

Select and link the “lower plate,” “lock,” “upper plate,” “strap,” and strap stitches.” Now move them to the center of the left pocket. Copy them over to the right pocket (20c). When you copy them, the layers will all be above the originals. You need to move the “lower plate copy” and “lock copy” below the “flap thickness” so they’ll receive the drop shadow properly.

Step 21

The last element to draw is the handle. Create two small metal buckles using the Rectangle Tool (U) (21a). Apply a light gold Gradient Overlay style (21b). Create a light brown rectangle behind the buckles, skewing it to conform to the flap’s upper edge (21c). Copy it and flip it horizontally under the right buckle.

Step 22

The handle is created with a rounded rectangle (Radius = 5 px) placed below the buckles (22a). Type Command + T to invoke the Free Transformation Tool, then right-click on the handle and choose Warp. In the Options bar select Arc and set Bend to 20 (22b). The resulting shape (22c) needs to be scaled down and be made lighter (22d).

Step 23

Let’s add a couple of finishing touches to make the handle look better. Add a Satin layer style to darken the middle part (23a). Subsequently add an Inner Glow style to create the top highlight (23b). The briefcase is now finished (23c).

Conclusion

Complete the icon with a shadow or a reflection to suit your needs. In this tutorial you learned how layer styles can be used to simulate thickness and lighting with a minimum effort and how custom brushes can be employed to create patterned strokes. I hope you had fun creating the briefcase. Hey, you can use it to show off your impressive portfolio now!

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  20 Free iPhone Wallpapers

  If you are a real iPhone fanatic and change your wallpaper every month, then this is the freebie for you. The pack contains 20 very cool wallpapers ranging in many different styles for everyone’s favorite cell phone.

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• 

  Storm Cloud Textures

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• 

  Hair Styles Vectors

  This is a unique freebie that not everyone might want, but it is still cool enough to feature. This pack contains vectored images of different male and female hairstyles. The pack contains 8 different high quality vectors, so check it out if this is something you think you would need.

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• 

  22 Textures from the Grand Canyon

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• 

  Rust Texture Pack

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• 

  80 Stunning Backgrounds for your Website

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Article Wrap

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  Graphic Design Education

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  Showcase of Beautiful Textured Web Designs

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  5 Overlooked Features In Photoshop

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  Negative Space in Logo Design

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  Top Linked Design Articles

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  Things to Ask your Clients for Besides Money

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  How to Choose a Logo Designer

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Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Tutorial Details

• Program: Photoshop CS and newer
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Estimated Completion Time: 30-45 mins

Step 1

First of all, create a new 500px by 500px document with white background. Drag out some guides at the center of the document for convenience. Select the Pen Tool (P) and make a shape like the one shown below.

Step 2

You need to add some colors and a thin-white strip to the shape. To do so, double-click on the layer and apply the following Layer Styles.

Step 3

Duplicate the shape (Command + J) and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal, move the duplicate shape rightward so that the sides join each other as shown.

Step 4

Due to similar colors, the two shapes give a flat look to the roof. There’s a need to fix that. Open the Layer Styles of the duplicate layer, and apply the following changes.

Step 5

Set foreground color to “830F00.” Draw a shape like that shown below with Pen Tool (P). Name the resulting shape “roof left”.

Step 6

Duplicate the shape and name it “roof-right”. Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal and move the duplicate shape rightward so that you get something like this.

Step 7

With Pen Tool (P), draw another shape like the one shown below, name it “body.”

Step 8

Double-click on the layer and give it these Layer Styles.

Step 9

You need to put the roof’s shadow on the body of the house. To do so, Command-click on the “roof left” layer, then Command + Shift-click on the “roof right” layer to sum up the selections of the two layers. Move the selection down and on a new layer fill the selection with the color “5F5343.”

Step 10

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, enter 10px and click OK.

Step 11

You might notice that after the filter has been applied, the shadow is flowing outside the house’s body, which doesn’t look right. To fix it, Ctrl-click on the “body” layer, and press Command + Shift + I to invert the selection. With the “shadow” layer selected, press Delete.

Step 12

You now need to add a prominent part of the house – that is the door. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), and on a new layer fill a selection with black.

Step 13

Give the door the following Layer Styles.

Step 14

Now we need to add some details to the door. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Shift + U) and draw a black rectangle with a 3px radius.

Step 15

Go to its Blending Options and apply these settings.

Step 16

Duplicate the shape and move it down so that you have something like this.

Step 17

A handle can now be added to the door. Use the Ellipse Tool (U) to make a small circle on the door.

Step 18

Give the circle a Drop Shadow and a Radial Gradient.

Step 19

You can add a slab above the door. Use the Pen Tool (P) to make a shape like the one shown below.

Step 20

Go to its Blending Options and give it a Gradient Overlay of a similar tone as that of the roof.

Step 21

With the Pen Tool (P), make another shape like the one below.

Step 22

Give the shape the following Layer Styles.

Step 23

Create a new layer and fill a selection with black on it. Make sure that this layer is placed below the “door” layer in the Layers Palette.

Step 24

Give the black strip a Gradient Overlay of the following colors.

Step 25

As a further detail, you can add a door-step to the house. Make a shape like the one below with Pen Tool (P).

Step 26

Give the door-step a Gradient Overlay.

Step 27

To give the door-step a 3D look, add some thickness to it. Set the foreground color to “A26431″ and draw a shape like the one shown below.

Step 28

It’s time to add windows to the house. Start doing so by filling a selection with black on a new layer.

Step 29

Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), fill a selection with white on a new layer as shown.

Step 30

Go to the Blending Options of the windows cross section, and give it these styles.

Step 31

Now, you need to make shutters. Just like you made the door, make a shutter and put it on one side of the window. Make a copy of it and move it to the other side, give a Drop Shadow to the shutters if you want.

Step 32

Just for increasing details, add a slab to the window like you did for the door. The only difference is that you need to apply the Layer Styles of the door-step to the slab you are making for the window.

Step 33

Create a layer set and put in it all layers that constitute the window. Duplicate the layer set twice and transform it to 60% of its original size. Put the smaller windows on the right side of the door.

Step 34

You can now add a chimney to the house. Create a new layer and on it, fill a selection with black.

Step 35

Give it a Gradient Overlay with these colors.

Step 36

Make a shape like the one below to give the chimney a 3D look.

Step 37

Make another shape of any color for the chimney.

Step 38

Give the shape a Gradient Overlay with these colors.

Step 39

Set the foreground color to “D6C08D” and make a shape like this.

Step 40

It’s time to give shadows to the base of the house icon. Create a new layer, then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) to fill a selection with black.

Step 41

Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and then Filter > Blur > Motion Blur with these settings.

Step 42

Make a similar shadow for the door-step. You can set the Opacity of the shadows from 80-90% or from 20-30%. I added some grass and ended up with this.

Conclusion

The final image is shown below! I hope you enjoyed creating this icon design!

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Click here to download the files to follow along with this tutorial.

This video requires Adobe Flash Player.

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Aetuts+ – After Effects Tutorials

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  11 Classic CSS Techniques Made Simple with CSS

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Psdtuts+ – Photoshop

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  Create an Intense Movie Poster in Photoshop

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  Build a Promotional iPhone App Website Wireframe in Fireworks

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Activetuts+ – Flash, Flex & ActionScript Tutorials

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This Plus Tutorial is Filled with Creative Tips

In today’s tutorial we will be focusing on creating a flowing aesthetic that works great for a Product Advertisement, and I will be guiding you by using an image I created for the Tiger Beer company in Singapore.

Tiger Beer commissioned this image for their exhibition “Tiger Translate.” The image ended up not being used by the Tiger Beer company for theme relation purposes, but aesthetically they were very pleased with the outcome. I’ve decided to share that workflow and process with you Psd Plus readers today in the hopes that you can utilize these techniques when given a product advertisement job!

Plus members can Log in and Download! If you’re not a member, you can of course join today! Below is the final image we’ll be creating in this tutorial.

Professional and Detailed Instructions Inside

Plus members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now! Below are some sample images from this tutorial.

PSD Plus Membership

As you know, we run a premium membership system here called ‘Plus’ that costs $9 a month (or $22 for 3 months!) which gives members access to the Source files for tutorials as well as periodic extra tutorials, like this one! You’ll also get access to Net Plus and Vector Plus, too. If you’re a Plus member, you can log in and download the tutorial. If you’re not a member, you can of course join today!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the Psdtuts+ RSS Feed to stay up to date with the latest Photoshop tutorials and articles.

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Time to get all wound up! Start up C4D and open the scene you created in Part I.

Step 52

First we’re going to use a few free materials from the web. You’re going to have to register to be able to grab these, but it’s free and totally worth it! The first one is a brushed metal material. After you download it, open it. You’ll have an empty scene and you can find it inside the Materials Menu. While having the mouse pointer over it, copy it.

Step 53

Paste it into our type scene and double-click on its icon from the Material Menu. Inside the Editor, make a few changes to the following tabs. The first one is Diffuse A.

Step 54

Then change Specular 1 A.

Step 55

Change the Intensity of the Specular 2 A to 20%.

Step 56

From specular 3 A, change the color, size and glare.

Step 57

To apply a material to an object drag it onto one inside the scene, or over a layer from the Objects panel.

Step 58

Place this metal texture over the rest of the word as well.

Step 59

The dots that come from the letter will also have a metal casing. We’ll create a different appearance for the rest.

Step 60

It’s time for a new material. I know it’s strange to modify a wood texture into a bronze surface, but with a few tweaks, it should fool most people. Download this material and place it in the scene. This material comes with a texture, or image. This means that it will have to be linked to this texture the whole time. All you need to do is add a reflection with the same texture, so activate the Reflection tab and find it inside the download folder.

Step 61

Drag it over center loop.

Step 62

Place it over all all the remaining objects of the first letter.

Step 63

And finally, add it over the rest of the word.

Step 64

The final material we’re going to use for this scene is gold. Get this material and make one simple change. Switch the Color to black.

Step 65

We want this material to appear only on the front of certain objects. Drag it over the diamond and change the Selection to C1. While C1 is the front face, C2 is the back. You can also use R1 and R2 as selections, but not for this tutorial.

Step 66

Place this material over the following objects.

Step 67

With the type all done, it’s time to make a final render. You’ll need to bring up the Render Settings (Command + B) and from the General tab, use the settings shown below.

Step 68

Next is Output. Here you can change the render size and aspect ratio.

Step 69

Check the Save Image box and don’t forget to specify a path. Also, by clicking on the Alpha Channel, you get to use it to make a quick selection of the content in Photoshop.

Step 70

And finally, change the Antialiasing settings to the ones shown below. You should calibrate these according to what your computer can handle, or how much time you’re willing to wait.

Step 71

Hit Shift + R to render it in a new window. This might take a while.

Step 72

Once you have the file saved, open it in Photoshop. Bring up the Channels menu and Command-click on the Alpha 1 icon. This will make a selection of the content.

Step 73

Go back to the Layer Menu, and double-click on the background layer. Give it a name if you like, and press OK. Add a quick mask by clicking on the highlighted icon.

Step 74

We’ll now create a different background so create a new layer, and move it underneath the “Type” layer inside the Layers panel. Change the foreground color to #aaaaa9 and background color to #403c3b. Drag a radial gradient with the Gradient Tool from the center out to the top-right corner.

Step 75

Now we’re going to create the slots for each letter. Start with the bottom of the first letter. Follow the inner edge of the border and trace a vector shape with the Pen Tool. The color is irrelevant.

Step 76

You’ll now need a Small version of this clockwork image. I bet I’ll read comments about the gears not being able to physically fit inside the casing, but that’s not the point. You can use whatever mechanism image you like. Once you’ve pasted it over the shape, press Command + T, hold Command and drag each endpoint until it has a skewed appearance. Keep in mind that you have to match the perspective of the letter.

Step 77

Once you’ve done that, press Enter and Command + Alt + G to make it a clipping mask.

Step 78

Use the Clone Stamp Tool (S) to expand parts of the image that are missing. First of all, make a selection of an even surface (Alt-click), and then paint the top and bottom of the mechanism.

Step 79

Command-click on the layer icon to make a selection of the layer, and go to Select > Modify > Expand. Enlarge the selection by 1 pixel and press OK.

Step 80

With the active selection, give it a layer mask and make it a clipping mask.

Step 81

Release the clipping mask (Command + Alt + G) now and delete the shape.

Step 82

To give it an extra bit of realism, add an Inner Shadow (Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow). The shadow color is #282020.

Step 83

Let’s give the image a bit more contrast. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. After you create a similar curve, press OK and make it a clipping mask.

Step 84

In the same way, create a Hue & Saturation Adjustment Layer with -25 Saturation. Make this a clipping mask as well.

Step 85

And for a final bit of realism, let’s add a glass cover. Glass is transparent, but not perfectly transparent. You can also see it’s there by glares that appear from light sources, so let’s use these two concepts to create a Reflected Gradient (G) with black and white.

After you create one on a new layer, Make it a clipping mask.

Finally, drag the Opacity to 30%.

Step 86

Repeat the process for the remaining layers.

Step 87

This can take quite a long time, but is great for adding rich detail and making it more realistic.

Step 88

Download this pipe image and cut it out from its background with the Pen Tool (P). I’ve placed the pipe in a place that fits the perspective of the letter, but not the lighting unfortunately. The darker side of this image is near our light source, so you should normally find a different photo. But this is a tutorial after all, and with the sole purpose of learning, so it will work for now.

Step 89

Next, we’re going to make a series of Adjustment Layers to change the appearance of the pipe. The first one is Curves.

Step 90

Change the contrast again with a second Curves Adjustment Layer.

Step 91

The higher contrast has also intensified the colors, so bring down some of the Saturation.

Step 92

Now you’ll need a pen tablet to create a few highlights, visible here on black.

Once you’ve painted those on a separate layer, drag the Opacity to 70%.

Step 93

Duplicate the pipe and place it on the top of the third letter. Flip it and erase the top.

Step 94

Another image that we’ll use in this tutorial is this gauge photo. Fortunately, the perspective is spot on, so just cut it out of the background.

Step 95

Make it smaller and place it in the center of the diamond.

Step 96

To add a bit of contrast to the background, we’ll darken the gradient. Create a new blank layer (Command + Shift + N) and drag the layer opacity to 45%. Now reset the color selection (D) and fill the layer with black (Alt + Backspace).

Step 97

Next with a pen tablet, use the Brush Tool (B) to paint a few soft cloud-like shapes.

Step 98

On a layer above these, create a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer. Use these colors for left (#676767) and right (#e6d7c8). Don’t make this a clipping mask. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay.

Step 99

A final stock image that you need is this sky photo. No need to resize it, just move it around until you find a nice stream. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay and Opacity to 70%.

Step 100

Reset your foreground and background colors (D) and create a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer. Press OK and Command + Alt + G.

Step 101

Create a few more soft glows in the back.

Step 102

Now create a new layer above all the other ones and while keeping track of the light source, add highlights to all the elements.

Step 103

Create yet another layer and draw some steam. Use mostly white, but black too.

Here’s a close-up of the steam. I’ve used a pretty large brush size, but you’ll also need a small one to add detail.

Step 104

Let’s add a light reflection to the entire text. Locate the “Type” layer and add a Bevel and Emboss Layer Style.

Step 105

Now let’s make a few color adjustments to the scene. Over the top layer, add a Selective Color Adjustment Layer. Use these settings for Whites and Neutrals.

Step 106

Now add a Channel Mixer and find the Black & White with Orange Filter from the drop-down menu. Press OK, change the Blending Mode to Overlay and Opacity to 35%.

Step 107

And finally, add a Selective Color Adjustment Layer. Find the Blacks and input the values shown below.

Final Result

Believe it or not, we’re through with the second half of this tutorial! It’s been quite the trip, but three programs later, and this steampunk type is ready to blow off some steam. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this tutorial, and managed to complete it without any hiccups! Have a great day!

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