Aurora Borealis Wallpaper in Photoshop

Reader Tutorial: Aurora Borealis Wallpaper in Photoshop

Our reader Máté Tóth brings us something cool. "There are some phenomenons of the nature that are really beautiful. The Aurora Borealis is surely one of them. It is so awesome Apple has been using it for its wall for some time now, and today, I'll show you how to create an awesome scene featuring an aurora, in photoshop."

First, let's take a look at what we're trying to achieve:

Cool, huh? Now let's do it, shall we?

Step 1:

First of all create a new document in Photoshop. The canvas size is your choise, i'll use 1024x768px. The size basicly depends on your screen resolution.

Step 2:

Now we'll need a landscape picture taken at night. You can find the picture I used HERE. Now create a new layer and name it "trees". Paste your picture and scratch it with the Free Transform Tool (ctrl+t) till it reaches the canvas' edge. With the Magic Wand Tool (w) click on the black trees. You'll get a selection. Press ctrl+shift+i, this way you select everything but the trees. Delete the sky. If you have tha patience, you can create the selection with the Pen Tool (p) too.You should have something like this:

Step 3:

The next step is finding the background. You can find the picture I used HERE. Off course you can use an other if you don't like it. Create a new layer calles "stars" behind the one called "trees". If the picture is too small, scratch it with Free Transform Tool (just like in Step 2). We have this so far:

Step 4:

In this step we'll add the lights to the sky. Create a new layer called "aurorabottom" between "trees" and "sky". Grab a thick brush and paint the area over the trees. Use the color #caee05. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and apply it on the layer with 20px. Set it's blending mode to hard light and set opacity to 50%.

Step 5:

Now we'll add more color and layers. The next layer will be "auroramiddle" behind "aurorabottom". Grab this color: #b3ea8d and paint the area over and behind the lights made in the previous step. Add some blur to the layer. Go to Filter>Blur and apply the Motion blur and Gaussian blur. You can see the settings on the picture below. Set blending mode to Lighten and oacity to 90%.

Step 6:

Ok, I think it is the hardest step. We'll create a new brush. Create a new document with transparent background. For the size I used 30x300px. Grab the Pen Tool (p) and put 2 anchor points to your picture (as senn on the picture). With the Path Selection Tool (a) right-click on the path and select Stroke Path. In the pop-up window select brush and check Simulate Pressure. Make sure your foreground color is black and u use a brush around 9px, then press Ok. Delete your path and go to Edit>Define Brush Preset. Give a name to your brush and press Ok. Now select your brush that you just created and set it up in the Brushes menu (you can find it on the right of your screen, or in Window>Brushes (f5). Use the settings you can see in the picture below.

Step 7:

It's time to use our new brush. Pick color #8cb37c and draw the shape you can see on the picture. Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Use an angle around 65. Set this layer's blending mode to Color Dodge.

Step 8:

Now that we have all the green layers, it's time to add some purple. Make a huge spot to the middle of the sky with #953f5e. You can use any kind of brushes. Make sure this layer is above the green ones. Name it "purple1" or something like that. Apply Gaussian blur on this layer with 100px radius. Change it's blending mode to Exclusion.

Step 9:

Pick this color: #92566b, use the same brush, but set the size around 350-400px, and draw something around the middle of the sky. Off course you hvave to do it on a new layer, "purple2". Give the layer a Motion Blur effect with 90° and 100px. Set the blending mode to Overlay. We're almost done.

Step 10:

Here comes the final touches. we have to do another brush with the same shape hat we made in Step 6. We do the same options except we check Scattering and Dual brush. Use the settings that i used (you can find it on the picture below). With white color paint some lines with the new brush around the purple area. Remember to create a new layer for it. I call mine ("whitestripes" ;))Got to Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur (I promise it's the last time), set 5px and press Ok. Set the layer's opacity to 50%.

Step 11:

Finally create a new layer, go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Make sure you have the default black and white colors set. Set the layer's blending mode to Soft light and lower the Opacity. I used 25%.

Conclusion:

 

Flashing Design in Photoshop by Mike Speero

The tutorial of this week is very special, it's from Mike Speero, a graphic designer from Gothenburg, Sweden. Mike has been featured in several books, magazines, done interviews, had a poster up on a fancy Italian galleria and soon he will be selling skateboards as well.

So in this tutorial he will show you how he created one the "Flashing" design, one of his works from his portfolio which in he mixes a photo of girl with splashes of milk and light effects to create a beautiful artowork.. We also highly recommend that you visit Mike's website and check out his portfolio, it's really cool.

Step 1

Mask out the girl. Push the button in the circle, so you get the white field in your layer next to your image. Then use pen-tool or a brush with black color to erase the background. (Make sure you draw on the white field and not the picture itself)

Step 2

Make the model grey by going to Image>Adjustments>Hue/saturation. Drag the middle anchor to the grey field. An easier way is to hit cmd+shift+U.
Create a new white layer and place it in the bottom. Layer>New fill layer>Solid color.
Then size your model up or down. In this case, I shrunk her a little bit to fit the picture better. Use cmd+T to change the size. (When in use, you can always experiment by holding down shift, ctrl and cmd sometimes to get different results.)

Step 3

Time to duplicate. Go to Layer>Duplicate Layer or press cmd+J. Then go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. The top layer should now point down to the layer beneath.

Step 4

This treatment is for the top layer. Image>Adjustments>Shadow Highlights. Click in the box "show more options". Then change Shadows: Amount to 100 and Adjustments: Midtone Contrast to -100.

Step 5

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Approx 3.0 blur. Then in Blending Mode change the status from Normal to Lighten. Next to the blending mode there's the Opacity box. Make sure it's says 70%.
Also, in the clipping mask field, paint over the face so it's not that blurry.
If you did everything right, it should look something like the picture below.

Step 6

Duplicate the bottom layer and place it on the top. Then place it in the clipping mask.
Then for the top layer Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlights. See below for the numbers. And last Blending Mode>Lighten.

Step 7

Make a new duplicate from the top layer. This time only use the right hand. Mask away the rest. Then go to Image>Adjustments>Curves. If it's not that white as you wanted it to be, go to Blending Mode and change to Lighten. Duplicate the hand. Mark both hand layers and merge them by Layers>Merge Layers.
Keep the layer in the clipping mask.

Step 8

Make the background Black. Double click on the layer and go to Color Overlay>Double Click on the red rectangle and choose the color black.
Time for some splashes. Open up your splash picture in a separate window. Then go to Select>Color Range. Get as much of the content you want and press OK. In many cases the selection is for the things you don't want. To fix that go to Select>Inverse. Now copy the splash into the window we work in.
Make the splash grey by cmd+shift+U. Repeat Step 7 to make it more white.

Step 9

I never use the eraser, only the mask. Use the mask to fix with the splash so it fits the boot. This layer should be on top and not be placed into the model mask.
Next. Play around with a spray brush. Do however you want here. Change the opacity on some for a good mix of light. Add some special brushes as well. These should be in the mask.
Keep in mind: The 2 model layers in the mask should always be on the top. The things we put in there from now on, shall be placed in the bottom.

Step 10

Now we add the splashes again. Bring in new ones or just duplicate the one from before.

Step 11

Use the spray brush to paint in some colors. One layer for each color.

Step 12

Time to fix with the background. Create a new layer above the background layer. Use the Lasso-Tool and draw a triangle shaped form. When it's active, use a brush to paint outside the selected area to get this cool effect.

Step 13

Back to a white background again. But with a little extra grey in the middle. Double-click on the layer and follow the picture below.

Step 14

More splashes, but this time, put them behind the model and not in the mask.
Make some Triangles and Circles. I used purple for the triangles and white for the circles. The Opacity is lowered on both symbols. You can find them in your shape-tool options palette.
Create a shape with Lasso-tool that is in line with the previous lines in the background and move it up a little. Then you get an extra effect. I used purple color and lowered the opacity to 5%.

Step 15

Throw in some balls or whatever you like. I made mine in Illustrator and added some effects with the mesh tool there. Then I pasted them into photoshop and in Blending Mode changed them to Screen.
Use the brush to paint some shadows in the back. You can also use white to mix it up.

Step 16

Light effects. I'm gonna show you how to do them. This is a quick lecture. You gonna have to practice a little to master it.

Step 17

Make some bling bling stars and brush up the white parts so they really shine. Just some simple finishing stuff.
Create 2 new layers and place them on the very top and do like this:

Step 18

Check over your image for weird stuff. The hand looks a little strange so far. Create a new layer and place it in the model mask. Pick a white brush to paint the edges of the hand so it looks sweet.
And here's the final picture!

Clash of the Titans Text Effect in Photoshop

 

A few weeks ago watched Clash of the Titans. The movie was okay, I have to admit, I was expecting much more, but it was awesome to see some huge monsters and mythologic creatures battling in this epic movie. However in the end of the movie, when the credits started showing I was really impressed with the effect and I thought to myself that I had to do a Photoshop tutorial inspired by the movie.

So, in this tutorial I will show you how to create a text effect inspired by the Clash of the Titans posters and artworks. We will use layer styles and basic filters to achieve the effect. It will not take you more than 45 minutes to achieve the effect, but the outcome is really cool.

Step 1

Let's start our design in Illustrator, it's easier to get the text done in Illustrator, even though you can do that in Photoshop as well. When I saw the official Clash of the Titans poster I knew that font, it was the Bank Gothic, or the Bank Gothic is very similar. So with the Type Tool (T) add the word "clash", then "of the" in another independent object and then "titans", again in another object and line. All of the in uppercase.

Step 2

Select the texts and go to Type>Create Outlines. With the Direct Selection Tool (A) start editing the text. First the A of "clash". then the F of "of" and the T and E of "the". After that edit the word "titans" by changing the T and A. Use the image below for reference. Basically you will be moving points, but be careful to keep the same alignments and angles as the original text.

Step 3

Now open Photoshop and create a new document. Create a new layer and fill it with any color, then go to Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay. Use a light beige #fee4c8 and a very dark brown #0f0802 for the gradient, use Radial for the Style and 100% opacity.

Step 4

Add a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Make sure you have black and white for the colors.

Step 5

Change the clouds' layer Blend Mode to Color Dodge. After that go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Over the Layers Palette, click on the mask thumb of the layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds to apply the clouds to the layer mask, that will make the clouds less strong. Tip: play with masks and apply filter on the masks, you will be surprise with the possibilities and the results.

Step 6

Go to Edit>Transform>Warp. Select the Fisheye warp type, then move the controller towards the center of the document. That will create a really nice blur effect, much faster than the zoom blur in Photoshop.

Step 7

Copy the words "Clash of the " from Illustrator to Photoshop. We will do these words first because we will apply a different Layer Style preset for the Bevel and Emboss.

Step 8

First thing here is to search for a old and rusty metal texture. I found the one I'm using on Google Images.
Open the image in Photoshop and then go to Edit>Define Pattern. After that go back to our design and select the layer with the words "clash of the", the go to Layer>Layer Style>Pattern Overlay. Select the metal pattern you have just created.

Step 9

After the Pattern Overlay, select Bevel and Emboss. For the Technique use Chisel Hard, for the Depth use 500%, for the Size use 120 pixels, for the Soften use 0 pixel. Over the Shading Options, use 95º for the Angle, 35º for the Altitude, then for the Highlight Mode use Color Dodge with white for the color and 65% for the Opacity. For the Shadow Mode use Color Burn with Black for the color, then 40% for the Opacity.

Step 10

Now select Contour, then just change the Range to 50%.

Step 11

Here you can see the effect you will have. Notice that the ligths are coming from the bottom, or the center of the document, and that is why we split the words.

Step 12

Copy the word "titans" from Illustrator and paste it in Photoshop. On the layers palette select the layer we applied the layer styles in the previous steps and with the right button of the mouse click and select Copy Layer Styles. After that select the "titans" layer and click again with the right button of the mouse click and select Paste Layer Styles. Double click on the layer to open the Layer Style dialog box. Select Bevel and Emboss, then just change the Direction to Up.

Step 13

This is the effect you wll have gotten so far, notice now that the light for the word "titans" is coming from the top while for the "clash of the" is coming from the bottom.

Step 14

If you watched the movie you will know that the Pegasus was a black winged horse, so I got an image of a winged horse from Shutterstock, you can find it over here. It's a vector image, but that is fine, just place it as it is coming from the center.

Step 15

To make the horse more realistic and less vector style go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Use 35º for the Angle and 20 pixels for the Distance.

Step 16

For the flares you can create them using different techniques, you can do that using the noise gradient, the lens flare filter (least recommended) and using an image. I have used a image that is really good for that on most of my projects, the only thing I do is to change the Hue and Saturation to make the colors match the design. You can find the image I used here.
As you can se the background of the image is black so the only thing you have to do is to change the Blend Mode to Screen, so the black will be transparent.

Step 17

Add more lens flares over some letters of the texts. Use the image below fore reference.

Step 18

Select all layers and duplicate them, after that merge all the duplicated layers into one layer only. The keyboard shortcut to that is Command(mac)/Control(pc) + Alt + Shit + E. Select this layer and go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Use 5 for the Amount, Zoom for the Blur Method and Best for the Quality.

Conclusion

The zoom blur will give that movement idea to our design, as the text is coming out of the page, exactly like the credits at the end of the movie. You can add some noise as well to give that movie style to the image. The technique on this tutorial is pretty simple, there's nothing that is difficult to be done, but the most important thing was that I wanted to show you that you can find inspiration everywhere, but it's important that you turn this inspiration into something real. The best way to do that is through personal projects ;)