Fun ways to play with Photoshop

Want to learn how to create your own word shadowing technique? Here it is in four easy steps: 1. Open a new document. (The size I used is 500x100) Now type some text, doesn't really matter what. (I used Arial Black 36pt) 2. Now hit CTRL + A(=select all), CTRL + C(=copy) and then CTRL + V(=paste). You have now copied the layer. Move the new layer exactly above the original text layer. Hit CTRL + T(=transform) and click the right mouse button, select "flip vertical". Now move the layer down by dragging it or using the arrow keys. 3. Hit CTRL + T again and now select "Perspective". Move the lower right box to the right. 4. Now simply go to the layers window and lower the opacity of the "reflection layer" to whatever you want. (I used 25%)

A fun way to add texture to your photo is by adding lines overlapping the picture. This will create a cool effect often seen in photo albums and slide shows. You can one of the most interesting sites out there. Grids can be used in headers, pictures anything you want really. The first thing you would do is: 1. Open Photoshop. Open an image to apply line effect. 2. Desaturate the image by Image > Adjustments > Desaturate 3. Create New file with 1 pixel width, 2 pixel height and transparent background. 4. Keep Black as a foreground color. Fill the top 1 X 1 pixel of transparent background using Pencil Tool. 5. Select All using CTRL + A 6. Create a pattern by Edit > Define Pattern. Name the pattern. 7. Close the Pattern file and go back to image file. 8. Edit > Fill (Choose "Pattern" from "Use" drop down menu and again in "Custom Pattern" you will find newly created pattern) 9. Select newly created pattern and fill the image.

Often websites will use effects that will make their site look really fun. There are fire blasts, smoke, lightening and other cool effects that can make your site look quite professional or fun, whatever way you chose to have it. To create a quick and easy fire blast you can use the polygon lasso tool to select a shape like an elongated triangle. Then fill with white. Then you would Apply Filter > Distort > Radial Blur Zoom 100%. Next you would want to set the eraser as above and brush lightly around the edges of the shape until you have a triangle that has some missing parts around it, you don't want to go to heavy with this tool, just enough to take off a bit of the outer edges. Finally Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur Radius 1.2. Now you have a full blown fire blast, you can really do whatever you want to your blast, make it red or yellow, but these are the initial steps to doing it.

Interfaces are around us everyday, they look different for some really fun sites. Some find that is really entertaining is creating a skin for a media player, you can make them look really cool with different fun colors. They can be metallic, hunter like anything you want really. First you want to start with the base: 1. The Base With a new file in blank, make a new layer and in this, create an oval and fill it with black. Center it, and add the soft metal style. 2. Internal shape Make a selection of the oval, reduce it 15 pts. Now take out some parts, making the image more interesting. Copy the entire layer, and paste this into a new alpha layer. 3. Blur In the alpha layer, apply a Gaussian blur of 15 px 4. Levels Then hit Ctrl+L, and in the levels box, use the settings I show here in the image. Copy the alpha channel, and paste the image into a new layer ( standard layer). 5. Round corners The trick with the alpha results in an image with some rounded corners, very nice and with this style, better! Well, we need to select the shape again (Ctrl + mouse click) contract the selection a bit and create a new shape in a new layer. 6. New shape In the new layer, we need to fill the selection and apply the same style of the "base" but only changing the direction of the gradient fill to inverse. This change increases the effect of bevel here. 7. Screen Now, in a new layer we draw a shape for our screen and make it more rounded using the "alpha trick". Again, I fill this one with a gradient, inverse to make more effect. 8. Color screen One more layer to create the screen: A gradient (I like this green tones) and an inner shadow. I've added here some little lines to give the "scan effect". 9. Screen details And the rest of the screen details: The text, some lines for the volume and equalizer... Whatever you want. We are almost done... 10. Details Well... Now, the rest are add some details like buttons, screws and stuff like that... And of course, a logo if you want. Remember the use of the "alpha trick" and the styles that give the cool final effects.

Adding effects to photos can be enjoyable. You can do fun things like changing the sky or making a photograph look old. Making a picture look old starts like this, choose a picture: then we change the size, creating a "zoom" in the face. Then we will apply here Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches using: Radius: 4 pixels and Threshold: 0. This will help to dissimulate the image's pixilation. Next create a copy of this layer, we proceed to apply a blur: Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur ... Using 15 pixels. Ok, now click and add a mask to the layer. Using the radial gradient tool make a gradient in the mask like the image in the left. Now click in the icon in the layers palette, select Hue/Saturation and use this values: Hue: 38 Saturation: 22 Lightness: 0 be sure you check the "Colorize" option. Open a texture image from zombie-stock, copy (Ctrl+C) and paste it (Ctrl+V) into a new layer and set this one to multiply. After that click again and choose Brightness/Contrast, using: Brightness: -16 and Contrast: +15. Next you will want to use a duplicate from the first layer, change the colors using Curves and Selective Color (From the Image > Adjustment menu) and set the layer to Soft light. Add a pair of little blurry white circles in the eyes, in a new layer in Overlay mode. Now, save the image scratchtexture.jpg (in the left), open it, select all and hit Edit > Define Pattern. Fill a new layer with it, and set this one to Soft light. Add a border and that's finished! An old and beautiful picture.

Airbrushing can be really fun sometimes, you can create spectacular photos using shading, airbrushing and mixing these techniques. Here is an airbrush technique right here: Set the brush as above and brush across the canvas until you have a similar look to the one below. Apply the filter > Distort > Ripple Effect with the standard settings repeat a further four times. Apply the Filter > Blur > Radial Blur Zoom 50% click Edit > Fade Radial Blur > 75%. Set the eraser as above and brush lightly across the canvas until you have a similar look to the one below. Apply a Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the radius so you get the required detail of airbrushing Apply Edit > Transform > Distort to create the required shape depending on the blur applied it should come out something like below.

Creating images out of airbrushing techniques, gradiants, image editing is a lot harder than it sounds. Guess whatI am going to give you a step by step way to create a popular image: Create a normal gradient fill Layer 2 Duplicate the gradient layer and apply Filter > Render > Difference Clouds 5 times. Set the layer to soft light. Layer 3 Duplicate the gradient [layer 1] and set to multiply. Layer 4 Usings the render Apply Filter > Distort > Twirl : -75 degrees. Set the layer to soft light opacity 65% Layer 5 Usings the original render apply Filter > Distort > Twirl: +75 degrees. Set the layer to soft light opacity 65%. Layer 6 With the render, Apply Filter > Distort > Radial Blur: Zoom 100%. Apply image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast: Brightness -100 , Contrast -100. Layer 7 Another render copy, Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur: Radius 10. Apply image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast: Brightness -100, Contrast -100. Move the layer slightly to offset the shadow. Layer 8, 9 Create an area of simple airbrushing. Duplicate and offset. Layer 10, 11, 12 Create a smaller area at the center of simple airbrushing. Duplicate and reduce in size twice. Layer 13 With a black brush create a large area of airbrush in three lines at the center bottom of the image. Layer 14, 15 Create two sets of tenticles on either side of the center. Layer 16, 17 Create 2 areas of more detailed airbrushing at the start and sides of each of the tenticles. Layer 18, 19 Create 2 areas of exploding pixie dust. Set the layers to soft light Layer 20, 21 Create a basic layer with the render on again. To lighten the render duplicate this layer and set to screen, opacity 50%. Layer 22 Duplicate the render again. Apply image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Setting the highlights to yellow and mid to green. Set the layer to hard light, opacity 65%. Layer 23 Create areas of more detailed airbushing over the render, using the Crafted Light Tutorial to pick out key pertruding areas of the render. Layer 24 Duplicate the original gradient layer and carefully erase the central part, so that the image comes through from underneath but fades towards the edges. Layer 25 Create a Hue/Saturation layer: Colorize with saturation set at 0. Set the opacity to 55%. Layer 26 Create a color balance layer: Highlights: Yellow: -80, Magenta -10 Midtones: Blue +67, Green +40 Layer 27 Create a Color Balance Layer: Highlights: Yellow: -55, Midtones: Blue +60. Shadows: Cyan -40. Finally apply a gradient mask to the layer so that it applies only towards the top left of the image.

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