| This is a quick guide showing how the background texture featured in the Snow Man Gift Cover was created using PhotoShop. |
  The main page background is based on a graduated fill. Select a light blue as the foreground colour.
Click on the Graduated fill drop-down and select the, colour-to-white option. (ringed) Use the graduated fill tool to fill the background, blue at the top grading down to white. |
 Create a new layer and fill it with 50% grey. |
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Set Distribution to Uniform and tick the Monochromatic box. |
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Select Filter > Pixillated > Crystallize... The cell size controls the size of the particles, set it to approx 14, then click <OK> |
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Select Filter > Blur > Motion Blur... Set the angle to 72 degrees. Set the distance to 295 pixels. Click the <OK> button. |
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Click on Edit > Free Transform. Stretch out the picture so that it stretches slightly beyond the edge of the picture. Press the <Return> key to complete the transformation. |
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Go to the layers palette, make sure that the top layer is still select. Drop the Opacity slider until it looks just right! I used 26%. That is basically the completed texture, and the end of the tutorial. The remaining elements of the cover sheet go on top of this layer. |
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The colour is set by using the eye dropper tool to pick up orange colour from the Snowman's nose. |
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Next tutorial I'll cover how I added the remaining text in Illustrator and finished off the sheet. |
Make sure that the grey layer is selected. Click on Filter > Noise > Add Noise...
The noise on the background is too fine, to make the particles of noise larger we'll deploy the Crystallize filter.
To convert the speckled background into a falling snow effect we'll use the motion blur tool.
Notice that, in the previous picture, the edges of the motion blur look different from the middle. To even this out we'll expand the picture slightly so covering up edges.
Now we'll fade out the snowfall effect so that it becomes a subtle streaking against the graduated fill.
The next step in the creation of the cover is to drop the Snowman picture in on a new layer the add the title 'Snowman' the font here is Bauhaus 93.
After which I added some effects for the text. In this case, a drop shadow and bevel.Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
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What we need are needles. Needles and baubles. The problem is that as the branch part of the Christmas tree is wrapped round, the needle texture needs to be wrapped round as well. Here is one possible solution using the all powerful PhotoShop. I've started off by copying the branch outline from Illustrator and filling it with green.
Use Image -> Canvas size to make sure that the canvas is exactly square.
Add a new layer for the needles.
Choose the Dune Grass brush in the brush presets list and set the brush size to around 50 pixels. Set the foreground colour to a light green and the background to a dark green.
Sweep the brush over the new layer to completely cover it in grass.
Add a small drop shadow in the layers window using the setting above.
Click on Filter -> Distort -> Polar co-ordinates. This is the step that neatly wraps the effect round for you.
With the Move Tool, move the new layer so that it is centred over the centre of the branch and resize it if necessary.
Create a blank layer above the needles layer. Select the new layer and the needles layer and select Merge Layers. This flattens the drop shadow effect into the needles layer.
Click to select the branch layer. Use the magic wand tool to select the branch outline. You should see the marching ants round the outline.
Select the needles layer. (Layer 2 above) Click on Select -> Invert selection and delete the excess needles.
That's it! Add the baubles - perhaps the subject of another tutorial!
Print out and assemble.
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In a previous post I described how I created the headline text for workshop notes. I was aiming for a cut paper look. I used Illustrator to stack three copies of the title each with a different colour and different line width. It worked well but was difficult to edit. As so often in Illustrator and Photoshop there is a better way! Using the Appearance palette its possible to add more than one outline to a shape and arrange the order that they are displayed. Here's how its done.
Type the text that you are working with over the top of a locked grey rectangle. This is 30pt text using the font HVD Comic Serif Pro.
With the text selected, open the Appearance palette (Windows -> Appearance) and click on Add New Fill
Select an appropriate colour for the fill (This is M65 Y15)
Next click on Add New Stroke, set the colour to M40 Y10 and the width to 5pt. Add another stroke and set it to white and 8pt. Drag the strokes down below the fill in the Appearance Window so that they are in the order shown above.
That's it. Really easy - and it's still editable. And that is why I love Illustrator.
I finished the picture off by dropping it into Photoshop and adding a drop shadow.
Cool.
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Here's a quick run through of how I created the new Workshop Notes ribbon that runs across the front page. I hope you find it useful/interesting.
I was aiming to create a cut paper look for the text. As if the words had been cut out from paper and pasted into place.
Starting in Illustrator, type out the word. I've used 50pt American Typewriter font. Convert the text into outlines. This isn't strictly necessary but it does make it easier to move things around as the bounding box (the red rectangle in the picture above) is more accurately placed
Create two more copies of the text by <alt> dragging them. Add an outline to the second copy. I used a 7pt line in a dark green. Notice that the Corner setting in the stroke palette needs to be set to curved otherwise you'll end up with weird pointy bits sticking out of the text!
Set the stroke of the third copy to white and 9pt
Stack these three one on top of the other. Use the arrange menu if necessary to get the stacking order right. Once done, group them all together by selecting them and choosing Object -> Group
Drag the result into your waiting PhotoShop file as a smart object and resize it as appropriate.
Compete the effect by adding a small drop shadow in the layers effect palette.
Save the result - done! This technique will work equally well in your paper models, it's great for titles and labels. Quick and easy but quite effective.
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I'm going to create a gift certificate page for the shop where you'll be able to buy straightforward gift certificates as well as buying annual memberships for crafty friends.
I've created a page for the membership in two sizes; Letter for USA and A4 for the rest of the world, It'll be a single file that anyone can download and look at.
When you purchase a voucher you'll receive a code which you can then print out and paste to the page. That way you can have a nicely presented gift voucher which you can put in with a birthday / Christmas / Kwanzaa card!
Nearly done now - I just need a couple more designs and a web page then I'll do a proper newsletter about it.
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I'm finishing off the art work for the Giraffe model. Next stage - the crate. I'm aiming to create a texture that looks like a wooden crate with a notice sprayed on the outside through a stencil.
I did have a look through some of the online tutorials and found various ways of creating a wood effect, some of them incredibly photo-realistic. The technique that I have opted for in the end is one I came up with through experimentation. It's not photo-realistic and might not be the most efficient way of doing things but it works and I'm pleased with the result. See what you think.
I've started off in Illustrator by dividing the crate lid part up into areas of colour. I have a separate colour block for each of the planks of the box lid. These aren't the colours I'll be using. They are just different colours to make them easy to select. I then import the file into PhotoShop and rename the layer 'Original' This is my starting point in PhotoShop, I'll now describe the rest of the process:
Go through each of the elements of the lid, for example the vertical planks and the background and copy them onto a separate layer using the magic wand tool to select. Give each layer a suitable name.
The resultant file is available for Members to download at the bottom of this post if you want to give this a try. (cratelidoriginal.psd)
Group all the layers into a single group - rename the group 'Original'
Copy the 'Original' group and rename it to 'Modified' This leaves you with the original parts should you need to go back to them.
Set the foreground colour to RGB 255, 234, 126 and the background colour to RGB 120, 101, 46
Using the magic wand and fill tool on each layer, select first the background and fill it with the background colour, then all the other elements and fill them with the foreground colour.
Select the vertical planks layer. Select each of the planks with the magic wand and give them a wood grain effect using Filter -> Render -> Fibers
Add a small drop shadow and little Bevel and Emboss to give the planks a three dimensional look.
Select the plank ends layer. Select the plank ends with the magic wand, use the <shift> key to select multiple planks. Rotate the planks by 90 degrees (Edit -> Transform -> Rotate 90 degrees CW)
Apply the fibers effect and drop shadow + bevel to these items then rotate them back into place.
(There might be a better way of doing this but I couldn't find a way to adjust the fibers angle on PhotoShop CS5)
Complete the remaining parts in the same way - rotating them if necessary
I completed the parts by saving the file as a jpeg and dropping it into Illustrator behind the lines I had already created for the box lid.
The finished file is available for members to download at the end of this blog post. (cratelid.pdf)
Cut out, glue together, that's it!
Another driving lesson for #1 daughter then the giraffe head will complete the model!
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More experiments with mixing PhotoShop and Illustrator...
...this time to create a wooden crate effect for the Giraffe model. This is mainly the render -> fibre effect. with a bit of drop shadow. The stencil need as bit more work.
...and here is the result!
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A bit of PhotoShop work today. As part of the giraffe model I need some giraffe textured pelt. After a bit of experimentation this is what I have come up with.
Create a suitable size document. I use 1000x1400 pixels. Change the background layer to Layer 0 by double clicking it in the layers palette then fill with orange.
Set the foreground colour to a light cream suitable for the lines between the colour patches.
Next choose Filter -> Texture -> Stained Glass...
Choose appropriate numbers for the cell sizes and border thickness.
Set the light intensity to zero.
Click Okay.
Use the Magic Wand tool to select the cream border lines.
Invert the selection using Select -> Invert. The orange areas will now be selected.
Create a new layer of just the orange patches by clicking
Layer -> New Layer -> Via Copy
Change the layer names as appropriate. (Always good practice!)
Fill the bottom Borders layer with cream.
Choose the patches layer.
Use the Magic Wand tool to re-select the cream border.
Invert the selection again.
Shrink the section with Select -> Modify - > Contact. (I used 15 pixels)
Soften the edges of the selection using Feather.
Select -> Modify -> Feather (I used 5 pixels here.)
Fill the selected areas with a dark brown colour.
Re select the outside of the orange shapes.
Add a little noise. Filter -> Noise. This will give the next filter something to work on.
Use the Crystallize filter to coarsen the texture a little.
Filter -> Pixelate -> Crystallize
Add a fur effect with the motion blur tool.
Filter -> Blur -> Motion Blur...
That's it!
Save out the file as a .jpeg file and drop it into Illustrator. Then all that is needed is to cut it to size with a Clipping Mask
And here is the result.
I'm rather pleased with it!
Right. Off to take #1 daughter for a driving lesson. Hold on to your hats!
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I use Adobe illustrator for designing my models, it if fast, powerful and flexible. Illustrator is a vector illustration program meaning that it draws using lines and blocks of colour. The plus side of this is that the files produced are small, great for sending over the internet, and the lines remain crisp and sharp even at high magnifications. the downside is that it is hard to add texture to pictures. And textures are what give pictures depth and life. I could work using a bit map program such as PhotoShop but this means that shapes are harder to draw and edit, and the files are larger. So, time to compromise.
With the BeltBot model I have mixed Illustrator for the lines and shapes with PhotoShop for the texture.
I've not tried this before so I may well develop a different process over time but for now here is what I did.
I created an Illustrator file in two layers, On the right is the top layer, the solid outline and the dotted lines for creases. To the left is the bottom layer showing the outline of the the design and the basic flat colours.
I copied the colours from Illustrator and pasted them into Photoshop.
I've then used the magic wand tool to select areas of the picture and copy them into new layers. In the above picture I've created a new layer called rivets containing the top and bottom row of rivets.
I work my way through the main image dividing it into layers. I finish up with layers for rivets, pins, brass, leather, wood and the background
I can then go through the layers adding effects. To make the rivets look 3D I added a bevel effect as well as a drop shadow and outer glow.
To create a wood grain effect I added noise to the wood layer.
The noise is a little fine grained so I coarsened it with the pixelate tool...
...then stretched it out into a grain effect with the motion blur tool.
The end result has a lot more depth than the starting image.
I then saved out the image as a jpeg and dropped it back into Illustrator on a layer behind the cut lines and crease lines. The result is a file, not as large as a full page jpeg with sharp easily editable lines but with all the texture I was aiming for.
I hope you like it!
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This is a quick guide to creating animated gifs using Photoshop CS4. The animation here is used in Workshop notes to show how the blink mechanism of an upcoming model works. It was quite hard trying to track down how to create animated gifs in photoshop so I thought it would be worth recording the process here. I hope you find it useful.
I started with two photographs of the same object, one with the eyes open, one with them closed. I held the head as steady as possible between exposures so that I would be able to use the frames in a simple animation.
Add the two frames into one document in photoshop.
Make sure that the animation window is open. Windows -> Animations
Click the drop down on the top right hand corner of the animation window (circled) and click on Make Frames From Layers
For each frame you can choose the length of time that it is displayed. I set this animation to 5 seconds for the eyes open frame and 0.5 seconds for the eyes closed. You can test the look of the animation at any time by clicking on the play button on the bottom of the animation window.
Having got the correct animation timing, it's time to crop the image to the right size.
Using the crop tool (circled) and select an area close to the subject. Check that the animation still looks okay then press enter to complete the crop.
Time to save out the file as an animated gif. Click on File -> Save For Web & Devices set the file type to GIF (top circle) set the file size to the required size. I chose 300 pixels wide. Press enter to preview the actual size of the output and make any adjustments necessary. Notice that bottom left it tells you the size foe the resultant file.
Click save and give the file a name.
Here's the completed simple animation.
I use basically the same technique to create some of the animation of my paper models. I'll use eight frames and a camera on a tripod but the prinicipals are all the same.
Give it a go - send me you pictures - let me know what you think in the comments section.
Rob
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