Tutorial Name: Maka an Aurora Background (Description: The easy way in Ps)
Graphics or Web Development?: Graphics
Tutorial:
Introduction
Do you see those wallpapers in Windows Vista and 7 and wonder how they did it? I'm here to show you an easy way do replicate it. In the end, you should get something like this: (modified) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
What You'll Need
Before you begin, make sure you have the following:
And, if you want to go a little bit further (modify it), you'll need:
Got all that? Then let's begin.
Step 1 The Image
Open up Photoshop and create a new image (Ctrl + N) at 1600x1200px. Create a new layer and call it "Image". Then, minimize the image so that you can't see canvas you just made. Open your image ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) and hit Ctrl + A. This should select all of you image. Then press Ctrl + C, to copy the image. You can close the image now. Pull up you new canvas and paste the tree image into the layer called "Image".
Step 2 The Blur
With the "Image" layer still selected, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussain Blur. Set the intensity to something high, between 100-250. In this example, I'll use 250.
Step 3 The Line-Thingies
Now, it's time for the good stuff. We need to create those aurora lines. The easy way: with the circular marquee tool! Select the tool (M) and draw a thin oval across the image.
Now, reset your colors (D) and reverse them (X). You should now have white as your foreground color. Grab your brush tool (B), and select a 300px airbrush.
Then, brush just a bit of white along the marquee line. Try to keep the line even. If you mess up, just hit Ctrl + Z, and start again.
Now, set the layer to Overlay.
Step 4 Moving
Now, hit Ctrl + D to deselect the marquee and Ctrl + T to rotate and move the line into place. For a good effect, move the line into the same spot and rotate them slightly. The white on white overlay makes a good effect.
REPEAT STEPS 3-4 SEVERAL TIMES UNTIL YOU HAVE ABOUT 10 LINES
You are now finished with your wallpaper. Keep reading to find out how to add some cool effects.
Step 5 A neat background
Remember when we created a new layer in the beginning of this tutorial? We did that for a reason, so that we could create a neat background. Select that layer. Get your shape tool (U) and select the custom shape. And select the shape that looks like a beach ball: .
NOTE: IF YOU CANNOT SEE THIS SHAPE, YOU NEED TO PRESS THE ARROW FACING RIGHT IN (LIKE IN THE ABOVE IMAGE) AND CLICK ALL. THEN HIT OK AND YOU WILL SEE ALL THE SHAPES
Now, zoom way out and draw a very large shape. Make sure this layer is underneath the image layer still! Try to keep it centered. To finish the effect, change the shape's color to #6f6f6f or a similar color and change the blending style of the "Image" layer to Overlay. Cool huh?
Step 6 A cool title
Did you see in the preview image the text I added? Wondering how to do this? It's really simple. Scroll to the top of your layers and create a new one at the top. Grab your text tool and select CLUB as your font. I set my size at 48px.
Write some text like your name or your something. Then, double click the layer to pull up a layer style window. Select Gradient overlay and change the styles like below.
To get the gradient that I used, reset your colors or reverse them again. Then, the gradient should be the second in the list.
To finish it up, we'll add some stroke with the following settings:
The gradient that I used looked like this:
There we go!
Step 7 Echo effect
Right click on the text layer and duplicate it twice. Then, set the origional and the last text layer to invisible. Select the middle layer and change the opacity to about 25%. Double click on the "T" so that all of your text is selected. Now, change the font size to something slightly higher than 48px. I will use 55px. You can now make the first and third text layers visible. Select the third layer and do what we did for the second with these changes: set the opacity to something less than 25% and set the size to something larger than what you used previous. I will use 5% for my opacity and 60px for my size. Your echo effect is now complete.
Step 8 Tagline
If this truly is for a company or organization, you might want to add a tag line. This is unbelievably simple. Just grab your text tool (T) and write your line. I used Antipasto. I then added a gradient over the text. The gradient was the exact same as the title.
Fin
Thanks for reading my tutorial guys! I hope I actualy taught you something. Enjoy the finished product!
~kewlkreator
The PSD can be given on request but please try to do it yourself.
Graphics or Web Development?: Graphics
Tutorial:
Aurora Background in Photoshop
___________
___________
Introduction
Do you see those wallpapers in Windows Vista and 7 and wonder how they did it? I'm here to show you an easy way do replicate it. In the end, you should get something like this: (modified) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
What You'll Need
Before you begin, make sure you have the following:
- Adobe Photoshop CS3
- This image: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
And, if you want to go a little bit further (modify it), you'll need:
- The font "CLUB" (Available free version: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] )
- The font "Antipasto" (Available free: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] )
Got all that? Then let's begin.
Step 1 The Image
Open up Photoshop and create a new image (Ctrl + N) at 1600x1200px. Create a new layer and call it "Image". Then, minimize the image so that you can't see canvas you just made. Open your image ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) and hit Ctrl + A. This should select all of you image. Then press Ctrl + C, to copy the image. You can close the image now. Pull up you new canvas and paste the tree image into the layer called "Image".
Step 2 The Blur
With the "Image" layer still selected, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussain Blur. Set the intensity to something high, between 100-250. In this example, I'll use 250.
Step 3 The Line-Thingies
Now, it's time for the good stuff. We need to create those aurora lines. The easy way: with the circular marquee tool! Select the tool (M) and draw a thin oval across the image.
Now, reset your colors (D) and reverse them (X). You should now have white as your foreground color. Grab your brush tool (B), and select a 300px airbrush.
Then, brush just a bit of white along the marquee line. Try to keep the line even. If you mess up, just hit Ctrl + Z, and start again.
Now, set the layer to Overlay.
Step 4 Moving
Now, hit Ctrl + D to deselect the marquee and Ctrl + T to rotate and move the line into place. For a good effect, move the line into the same spot and rotate them slightly. The white on white overlay makes a good effect.
REPEAT STEPS 3-4 SEVERAL TIMES UNTIL YOU HAVE ABOUT 10 LINES
You are now finished with your wallpaper. Keep reading to find out how to add some cool effects.
Step 5 A neat background
Remember when we created a new layer in the beginning of this tutorial? We did that for a reason, so that we could create a neat background. Select that layer. Get your shape tool (U) and select the custom shape. And select the shape that looks like a beach ball: .
NOTE: IF YOU CANNOT SEE THIS SHAPE, YOU NEED TO PRESS THE ARROW FACING RIGHT IN (LIKE IN THE ABOVE IMAGE) AND CLICK ALL. THEN HIT OK AND YOU WILL SEE ALL THE SHAPES
Now, zoom way out and draw a very large shape. Make sure this layer is underneath the image layer still! Try to keep it centered. To finish the effect, change the shape's color to #6f6f6f or a similar color and change the blending style of the "Image" layer to Overlay. Cool huh?
Step 6 A cool title
Did you see in the preview image the text I added? Wondering how to do this? It's really simple. Scroll to the top of your layers and create a new one at the top. Grab your text tool and select CLUB as your font. I set my size at 48px.
Write some text like your name or your something. Then, double click the layer to pull up a layer style window. Select Gradient overlay and change the styles like below.
To get the gradient that I used, reset your colors or reverse them again. Then, the gradient should be the second in the list.
To finish it up, we'll add some stroke with the following settings:
The gradient that I used looked like this:
There we go!
Step 7 Echo effect
Right click on the text layer and duplicate it twice. Then, set the origional and the last text layer to invisible. Select the middle layer and change the opacity to about 25%. Double click on the "T" so that all of your text is selected. Now, change the font size to something slightly higher than 48px. I will use 55px. You can now make the first and third text layers visible. Select the third layer and do what we did for the second with these changes: set the opacity to something less than 25% and set the size to something larger than what you used previous. I will use 5% for my opacity and 60px for my size. Your echo effect is now complete.
Step 8 Tagline
If this truly is for a company or organization, you might want to add a tag line. This is unbelievably simple. Just grab your text tool (T) and write your line. I used Antipasto. I then added a gradient over the text. The gradient was the exact same as the title.
Fin
Thanks for reading my tutorial guys! I hope I actualy taught you something. Enjoy the finished product!
~kewlkreator
The PSD can be given on request but please try to do it yourself.