Tutorial #13
After doing the halftone texture I wanted to focus some more on a "smoother" colour focused texture. :)
Going from this image to this image for this set
This was made with Photoshop CS 5 using various filters and a flood fill layer. Most of these should be available in earlier versions of Photoshop.
General Notes:
• You should click on the images to get the gigantic image in it's original size (2048x1536 px).
• I love the preview option of PS. I know this existed in Photoshop CS3 already (and not in PS 7), but I can't say when it was introduced. It allows me to switch between different filters without leaving the menu and I love using that to randomly skip through the different filters (not all are available through the menu though) and test all kinds of filters before settling on one. Most of the time it's really going back and forth between different things and eventually shrugging and saying "I'll keep that" before I start the process all over again.
• For all kinds of filters I usually use one of two methods: 1) I use whatever settings the filter is on 2) I adjust the sliders/numbers back and force until I've settled somewhere between extreme or a slight change, until I find something more or less satisfying depending on my current mood.
• Unless otherwise noted, all layers are set to normal and 100%
• Whenever I mention I merge I used the following key combination: ctrl+shift+alt+e
Step 1:
In a first step I copied the base layer and set it to soft light, trying to go for a warmer look in comparison to the previous texture set. After that I copied the layer again and for some reason decided to use a blending mode I never really use: Exclusion. Maybe I chose it because I usually don't use it and felt like "let's go crazy"
to
to
Step 2:
Now I merged all the layers together to start applying the filters. The first one I used was the patchwork filter with these settings:
square size: 4
relief: 8
to
Step 3:
Wanting to create more interesting parts I used the ripple layer with the following settings:
amount: 489%
Size: Big
to
Step 4:
So far any distortions were on a rather small level and I was far from happy with that. So I used one of the more extrem filters (that I had discarded in the beginning as too extreme): polar coordinates.
I used the option Rectangle -> Polar to get a circular effect.
to
Step 5:
To soften the result somehwat I used a surface blur.
radius: 31
threshold: 61
to
Step 6:
Now I merged everything and used the blur tool to cover the sharp edge from the top to the middle.
to
Step 7:
I copied or merged the layer (I wrote down merged, but it would make more sense to just copy the previous merged layer since I used it at 100% normal anyway). I set this layer to soft light to add more contrast to the image.
to
Step 8:
Now I created a new layer and filled it with white before useing a difference cloud filter and set this layer to soft light at 50%. I really love the difference cloud filter as it lightens and darkens the image at random places.
to
Step 9:
I decided I didn't like the overall colour and to add a slightly different one. For that I created a new flood fill layer. I set the layer to soft light and tried different colours until I decided I really liked purple (#ac05c5).
to
Step 10:
Now I merged everything again and set it to 70% before I did another Surface blur with the same settings as the last one.
radius: 31
threshold: 61
to
Step 11:
Once again I merged everything to apply the filter to everything. This time I used another filter I like to use: dark strokes.
It really helps to give more depth to the colours.
balance: 6
black intensity: 6
white intensity: 2
This left some strange blots that I didn't like. I added a mask and hid them by painting the areas black on the mask.
to
Step 12:
In this last step I merged everything once again and used a Water Paper filter on it, using these settings:
fiber length: 15
brightness: 60
contrast: 80
to
Now all I had to do was crop in some interesting areas. I was especially interested in the areas with the black parts to have some "neutral" areas since I personally tend to use either Multiply, Screen or Soft Light for the textures I use. Nonetheless, there were some interesting colour changes with no black involved.
Going from this image to this image for this set
This was made with Photoshop CS 5 using various filters and a flood fill layer. Most of these should be available in earlier versions of Photoshop.
General Notes:
• You should click on the images to get the gigantic image in it's original size (2048x1536 px).
• I love the preview option of PS. I know this existed in Photoshop CS3 already (and not in PS 7), but I can't say when it was introduced. It allows me to switch between different filters without leaving the menu and I love using that to randomly skip through the different filters (not all are available through the menu though) and test all kinds of filters before settling on one. Most of the time it's really going back and forth between different things and eventually shrugging and saying "I'll keep that" before I start the process all over again.
• For all kinds of filters I usually use one of two methods: 1) I use whatever settings the filter is on 2) I adjust the sliders/numbers back and force until I've settled somewhere between extreme or a slight change, until I find something more or less satisfying depending on my current mood.
• Unless otherwise noted, all layers are set to normal and 100%
• Whenever I mention I merge I used the following key combination: ctrl+shift+alt+e
Step 1:
In a first step I copied the base layer and set it to soft light, trying to go for a warmer look in comparison to the previous texture set. After that I copied the layer again and for some reason decided to use a blending mode I never really use: Exclusion. Maybe I chose it because I usually don't use it and felt like "let's go crazy"
to
to
Step 2:
Now I merged all the layers together to start applying the filters. The first one I used was the patchwork filter with these settings:
square size: 4
relief: 8
to
Step 3:
Wanting to create more interesting parts I used the ripple layer with the following settings:
amount: 489%
Size: Big
to
Step 4:
So far any distortions were on a rather small level and I was far from happy with that. So I used one of the more extrem filters (that I had discarded in the beginning as too extreme): polar coordinates.
I used the option Rectangle -> Polar to get a circular effect.
to
Step 5:
To soften the result somehwat I used a surface blur.
radius: 31
threshold: 61
to
Step 6:
Now I merged everything and used the blur tool to cover the sharp edge from the top to the middle.
to
Step 7:
I copied or merged the layer (I wrote down merged, but it would make more sense to just copy the previous merged layer since I used it at 100% normal anyway). I set this layer to soft light to add more contrast to the image.
to
Step 8:
Now I created a new layer and filled it with white before useing a difference cloud filter and set this layer to soft light at 50%. I really love the difference cloud filter as it lightens and darkens the image at random places.
to
Step 9:
I decided I didn't like the overall colour and to add a slightly different one. For that I created a new flood fill layer. I set the layer to soft light and tried different colours until I decided I really liked purple (#ac05c5).
to
Step 10:
Now I merged everything again and set it to 70% before I did another Surface blur with the same settings as the last one.
radius: 31
threshold: 61
to
Step 11:
Once again I merged everything to apply the filter to everything. This time I used another filter I like to use: dark strokes.
It really helps to give more depth to the colours.
balance: 6
black intensity: 6
white intensity: 2
This left some strange blots that I didn't like. I added a mask and hid them by painting the areas black on the mask.
to
Step 12:
In this last step I merged everything once again and used a Water Paper filter on it, using these settings:
fiber length: 15
brightness: 60
contrast: 80
to
Now all I had to do was crop in some interesting areas. I was especially interested in the areas with the black parts to have some "neutral" areas since I personally tend to use either Multiply, Screen or Soft Light for the textures I use. Nonetheless, there were some interesting colour changes with no black involved.