The “Love Design” iPhone Wallpaper

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial will teach you how to make a cool “Love Design” wallpaper for you iPhone, obviously not everyone has an iPhone so if you wanted you could use the techniques and scale it up to a wallpaper for you desktop for instance, the main idea is to teach you how to get cool effects.

This is what we will be making:

Final

Step 1 - New Document

First of all we need to create a new docurment, with the sizes 320 x 480 (W x H) in pixels, this is size needed for it to fit on the iPhone screen and leave all other settings as default.

Step 2 - Gradient Background

Next we need to create a gradient on the background layer, to do this select the gradient tool in the left hand toolbar and use the below colours:

Gradient Settings

And make sure that the radial gradient is selected, when this is done click in the middle and drag to any corner of the canvas and let go to get your gradient like below:

Gradient

Step 3 - Draw First Rectangle

When this is done, make sure the primary colour is set to #931D1D and draw a rectangle across the canvas as shown below:

First Rectangle

Step 4 - Shadowing

Now we need to create some shadowing to do this set the primary colour to #D5C38A and draw a rectangle in the same way you did with the first one but draw it a lot thinner and at the top of the first one as below:

Small Rectangle

When this is done press (CTRL +J) to make a direct copy of the selected layer and move it to the same place but at the bottom of the first rectangle as below:

Small Rectangle 2

With this done, select the first small rectangle you drew and go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set it to 3, and then do this process again with the second small rectangle and you should have something like this when done:

Small Rectangle blur

Step 5 - Adding The “Love Heart”

Next we need to get the heart, I did a quick Google search for “love heart” and found a suitable one so I put it into the document and resized it to fit where I wanted it to go, after this use these settings below using the blending options to get the right colour and effects:

Inner Shadow

Heart Shadow

Color Overlay

Heart Color

When these are done you should be left with something like this:

Heart Done

Step 6 - Creating A Square

Next we need to create the box that goes behind the heart this is simple, choose the rectangle tool again and set the primary colour to #690F0F and hold shift and click and drag a box around your heart so that the heart fits nicely inside the box as below:

Heart Box

Once you are happy with the size put the below settings on the layer using the blending options:

Drop Shadow

Heart Box Shadow

Once these are done you should be left with the below:

Heart Box Done

Step 7 - Add The “Design” Text

Next we need to add the design text, this is simple pick the text tool on the sidebar and select the Arial font and make sure it is bold, next to where you have placed your heart click and write the word “Design” when this is done use the settings below (again using the blending options) to get the right effect:

Text Shadow

When this is done you will have something like this:

Text Done

Step 8 - More Shadowing

The penultimate step is to create some darker patches at the top and the bottom of the original rectangle this is again to give the idea of shading, to do this do the same as the other two small rectangles (Step 4) but use the colour # 801B1B and place them just inside the top and bottom of the original rectangle:

Shadowing 2

When this is done again apply a Gaussian blur of 2 with this done you will have this:

Shadowing 2 Blur

Step 9 - Adding Texture

The final step is what makes this wallpaper comes and alive, as we all know textures make things jump out and give things depth, so what we are going to do is add a texture I again found THIS cool texture, of paint on a canvas, copy this and paste it onto the canvas and place around this area (with the top left of the image in the top left of the canvas)

Texture

With this in place make sure the texture layer is selected and go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White and then set the layer mode to Color Burn this will give you the finished wallpaper as shown below:

Final

iPhone Test

Also below is what the wallpaper will look like on the iPhone:

Wallpaper Test

If you want to know how to make the iPhone itself, leave a comment on this tutorial and if enough people want to see how it’s done then I will make it for the next tutorial.

It would be cool to see what you come up with so feel free to upload them to the Photoshop Tutorials Flickr Group and leave me a comment to say when you have uploaded one so people can comment on them,

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or head over to the Online-Photoshop Tutorials Forums and post in the Tutorials Problems section and I and others will be able to help you.

http://forums.online-photoshoptutorials.com/

psd-download

Category : Designing
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18 Comm

The ‘Colour’ Wallpaper Tutorial

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial is an addition to the previous wallpaper tutorial I did, as that got such a good response I thought I would make another wallpaper this time using different methods to achieve quite a unique look.

What We Are Going To Achieve

Step 1 - New Document

With this being a wallpaper tutorial you will need to make the canvas size the resolution of your screen, so therefore I am using the size 1440 x 900 but make sure you match it to your screen size and just go ahead and create a new document with these sizes.

Step 2 - Gradient Background

Now you need to fill in the background with a Radial Gradient, so pick the gradient tool off the sidebar and make sure that radial gradient is selected:

Now select the colours and set them to #243430 -> #000000 so that the greeney colour is on the left hand handle in the colour selection menu.

Step 3 - Texturing Background

Now that we have the colour set we are going to add a slight texture to the background to make it stand out some more, so double click the Background layer in the layers tab which will then make it an editable layer, when this is done again double click the now called ‘Layer 0′ in the layers tab to bring up the blending options and use the settings below:

To get the below texture click the little arrow next to the preview and load the “Patterns” set of textures and choose the one shown below:

And finally add a satin effect to the background to darken it abit:

After applying all of these settings above you should now be left with something similar to below:

Click To Enlarge:

As you can see the texture really gives some depth and life to the image!

Step 4 - Adding The First Line

The main part of this image are the multiple lines that go diagonally across the image, this is simply one line with some blending options added which has then been repeated and manipulated to bring the sense of ‘colour’ to the image, to make this line we need to grab the rectangular marquee tool and draw a rectangle from one side of the image to the other:

Now we need to style it by adding the blending options:

Gradient:

For the gradient try to match the colours as best you can, or you can use your own set of colours to match your style:

Bevel And Emboss:

And now a simple bevel and emboss, but we are going to remove the shadow from the option by taking the opacity down to 0% this is so that we get a nice highlight at the top:

Also add a simple drop shadow with all of the default settings to give some depth to the line

With these three blending options applied you will have a line across your image that looks like this:

Step 5 - Multiplying The Line Across The Page

The best thing to do here would be to press CTRL + J to duplicate the layer and then hide the original one by pressing the eye in the layers tab next to the original line layer, this is so that you have one there you can come back to if you mess up further on.

With the duplicated line you need to rotate it to a 45 Degree angle, to do this press CTRL + T to enter Free Transform mode and hold down shift whilst rotating the layer until it is at a 45 Degree angle, with this done place in the bottom right hand corner as shown below:

Now all there is to do, is duplicate the layer (CTRL + J) and reposition it above the one before it, and repeat this process until you have something similar to the image below:

TIP: Move the lines around a bit so that you get a different array of the colours rather than the same colour all the way through.

To create the lines on the other side of the image simply group together all of the previous lines layers and put them in a group:

When the layers are in a group, the little folder icon appears with your group name, right click on this group and choose “Duplicate Group” which will make an exact copy of the group and call it something relevant e.g. “Lines Left”

Now with the duplicated group selected in the layers tab go Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal which will flip all of the layers inside that group over, now choose the move tool and move to the left hand side of the screen and position in reference to below:

So they want to look like a mirror image of each other basically

Next we need to cut off the bottom of the lines, to do this we need to highlight the top line on the right set (shown below) when we have this layer selected in the layer tab CTRL + CLICK in the box next to the layer name to get the crawling ants around it:

With the crawling ants around the line press CTRL + SHIFT + I to invert your selection, and the from the sidebar menu grab the magic want tool (making sure you still have the line selected in the layer tab) and then ALT + CLICK anywhere in the top left section of the image, this deselects this part and should leave the bottom right part of the image the only bits with crawling ants around.

With the bottom right selected select the group of the lines on the left and go through each of them pressing Delete to delete the part of the lines that are crossing over and you SHOULD be left with something similar to below:

(Note: The group of lines on the left need to be placed under the group of lines on the right in the layers tab so that they don’t appear on the top of the lines on the right)

That is the lines finished with although you can mix and match the colours if you wanted to

Step 6 - The Text

This part involves writing out the text and adding the drips to it which is basically drawing drip like shapes below the text using the pen tool,

I chose the word “Colour” because I think it is what best describes this wallpaper so I proceeded to grab the text tool from the side toolbar and wrote the text in the middle at the top of the image, I used the font Jesaya for my text and then wrote the word colour, all in lowercase

(Note: As I am english I am spelling it the english way but you can spell it however you want to)

Now you should have something like below, note also that it doesn’t matter about the colour of the text at the minute as we will be adding a gradient to it later:

Now grab the pen tool and draw a drip like shape coming from the bottom of the letter “C”

(Note: Not all drips will be the same so play around and experiment with your own shapes and drips)

With this done I had something similar to below:

Now proceed to do the same with the other letters and remember to be creative with your drips and you can even miss letters out if you wanted it’s entirely up to you, when you are done playing you will have something similar to what is shown below:

(Note: I also added some drips below the text to give the effect that it was falling off the text drips above)

Now select the text layer and all of the drip layers and right click and choose “Rasterize Layers” this will make them all into pixels (if they are not already) now right click again and choose “Merge Layers” this will make them all one layer.

To add the same effects to the text as you have on the lines then find the original line that you made in the layers tab and right click and choose “Copy Layer Style” and then go back to the now merged text layer and right click and choose “Paste Layer Style”

With this done you will have something similar to below:

Now simply add a nice, relevant motto to the top right hand side of the text, I chose “It’s All Around Us” as the motto as I believe that it best describes colour at the minute as everywhere you look there is always some colour that stands out at you.

With all of the above steps completed you will have an image like the one shown below, and now only one more step to go and then we are done:

Step 7 - Adding An Overlaying Texture

To finish we are going to add a texture over the top of all of the layers so that it gives it some more depth and brings it more to life, the texture we are going to use is located HERE you may recognise this layer from a previous tutorial that I did on a retro grunge poster that has turned out to be very popular, with this in mind I thought I would use it in this tutorial, as also I think this particular texture definitely adds alot of depth to the image.

So once you have grabbed hold of the texture then open it up in Photoshop and drag and drop it into the wallpaper canvas, and resize and rotate if necessary so that you are happy with it and then with it selected change the layer style to “Soft Light”

With this done you should be left with the finished wallpaper as shown below:

It would be cool to see what you come up with so feel free to upload them to the Photoshop Tutorials Flickr Group and leave me a comment to say when you have uploaded one so people can comment on them,

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

Category : Designing
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25 Comm

Making a Compact Disc Icon

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial will show you the steps and techniques used when creating a CD icon which can be used on websites etc… Very useful as the same techniques can be applied when making other icons/images

What We Are Going To Achieve

As you can see it looks realistic and it is also vector style so can be scaled easily

Step 1 - Create A New Document

The best thing to do when making an icon is to make a large canvas when designing it as this helps add detail and allows for the image to be scaled later without the worry of pixelating it, bearing this in mind I started out with a canvas of 500×500 so therefore I can scale it down later.

Step 2 - Creating The Basic Shapes

The first thing you need to do is create the basic shapes for the CD and then we will add the stylings later

The first shape is a simple circle in the middle of the Canvas, to start with give it a neutral colour and then we can also change this later use the image below as reference:

First Shape:

The next shapes are also simple circles so just use the images below as reference on where to put them and what sizes they all need to be:

Second Shape:

Third Shape:

Fourth Shape:

The next few shapes are different to make as they involve using the perspective tool and rectangles:

First of all grab the rectangle tool and draw a rectangle like below:

Next press CTRL + T on your keyboard to enter transformation mode, this then allows you to play around with the shape, simply right click on one of the anchors and choose “Perspective”

When you are in perspective mode then click on one of the right hand side anchor points and drag either up or down (depending on which anchor point you chose) the idea is to make one side larger than the other:

Now you need to move this rectangle to the desired position, to do this simply rotate the rectangle and place in the position you want, also if needed resize and change perspective:

Now we need to make it fit to the outer shape to do this right click the rectangle layer in the layers tab and choose rasterize layer which allows the shape to be edited further, with this done CTRL and CLICK on the preview image of the Fourth Shape in the layers tab, like below:

This will give you the crawling ants around the biggest circle which indicated that it is selected, now press CTRL + SHIFT + I to invert the selection and make sure that the rectangle layer is selected in the layers panel and then press delete to get rid of the excess part of the rectangle to leave you with something like below:

Now press CTRL + J to duplicate it then simply rotate it and place it on the other side of the circle so that you have something like below:

Using the same principles as the above 2 rectangles we need to make 4 more, but they dont need to have the perspective added to them, so repeat the last few steps without the perspective steps so that you have something like this:

Step 3 - Adding The Blending Options

Now that we have the basic shapes in place we can start to add the blending options and effects which will then start to give this CD some life,

We will start with the first circle shape and work up from there, on this we need to set the colour to white and add a drop inner shadow using the settings below (to access the blending options menu simply double click the desired layer in the layers tab) :

Color Overlay:

Inner Shadow:

When these blending options have been applied your first shape will look something like this:

Now to move onto the second shape, on this shape we need to add a colour overlay again using the colour #CFCFCF and the add a stroke which is just plain white (#FFFFFF) and has a size of 3px:

When the color and stroke have been applied you will have something like below:

Now for the third shape we need to add a simple drop shadow, this effect is faint but will add to the final effect:

For the biggest circle we need to add the main gradient and a white stroke, for the gradient use the settings below:

And for the stroke you need the settings below:

When these settings have been applied then all of the main basic shapes are done, and you will have something like the image shown below:

Step 4 - Adding Details

To give the overall CD shape a border the best thing to do is to duplicate the biggest circle shape and add a larger stroke to it, this will show the CD to have a grey coloured border, to duplicate just press CTRL + J when the fourth shape (biggest circle) is selected in the layers tab and it will create another exactly the same, then go into the blending options and add a stroke with a size of 6px and colour #B7B7B7, this will give you the image below:

To finish off this CD we need to add some colour to the extra rectangles that we have created, using the image below as a colour reference simply add a colour overlay to each of them with the colours specified, or a gradient overlay if there are 2 colours shown:

And there you go we are finished! once you have all of the colours and gradients added then you will have a finished CD icon which can be used for many different things, below is the fullsize finished image.

It would be cool to see what you come up with so feel free to upload them to the Photoshop Tutorials Flickr Group and leave me a comment to say when you have uploaded one so people can comment on them,

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

Also if you want, this CD will be in an icon pack that I will be releasing soon just leave me a comment and if I get enough people wanting the pack then I will release it when it is completed and I once I have done some more icons.

Category : Designing
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18 Comm

The ‘Creativity’ Wallpaper

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial is possibly one of my favourites as I love the outcome, we are going to create a desktop wallpaper with a bit of a difference, we will use a range of techniques and most importantly we are going to use our imagination and creativity skills,

What We Are Going To Achieve

Step 1 - New Document

Create a new document that corresponds to the size of your desktop, mine being 1440 x 900, you can check yours by right clicking on your desktop and choosing Properties from the pop up list.

Step 2 - Radial Gradient Background

To start we are going to add a radial background to the canvas, to do this pick the gradient tool and make sure it is set to radial gradient (Top toolbar option) and then set your colours to the below:

With the gradient colours set then drag the cursor from the middle of the document to one of the outer corners in order to get a evenly distributed gradient like below:

Step 3 - Write The Text

To get the effect so that the “Y” has fallen over you need to write the text seperate, so first of all write the word “Creativit” I have used the font MUSEO which can be found with a quick search in Google and then set the font spacing to “-50″ the font menu can be opened by going to Window > Character on the top toolbar then you can use the settings below:

When you have applied these settings then your text will look like that shown below:

When you have this, then you can write in the Y in a seperate layer, then simply choose the move tool and rotate the Y so that it looks similar to below:

Now that you have the basic layout, you can add some very simple blending options, to do this simply double click the desired text layer and make sure that the drop shadow is ticked and press OK, now do the same for the letter Y and you will have an outcome similar to below:

To add to the effect you can add a simple shadow as shown in the Realistic Shadows tutorial which makes it look as if it is sitting on a floor.

Step 4 - Adding The Spill

To add the spill make sure your foreground colour is set to a bright colour (I chose RED as that is the colour I wanted the final spill but you can use any colour) and then with the PEN tool selected draw a shape the same as below:

Now move this layer below the letter Y layer in the Layers tab so that it looks as if it is actually spilling out of the letter itself, now we can add the seperate splatters which are simply little shapes drawn with the pen tool, any shape can be drawn and any amount can be drawn it is up to you, also you can use the below image as a reference:

You can also add a gradient to the main spill and the little splatters to get a better effect and add more depth so you can add the Gradient below through the blending options menu:

To finish off the spill you can some highlights as shown below, these are made with the pen tool when the foreground colour is set to a lighter version of the original colour used:

When you have applied these highlights then you will have the finished spill like below:

Step 5 - Adding Broken Cables

There must be a reason why the letter “Y” has fallen over and spilt the liquid inside…? Well there is the cables that hold it up have snapped, so in this step we are going to make those cables, first of all grab the pen tool and draw a simple path on the end of the horizontal bar on the letter “T” (shown below) once this has been done create a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N) and then right click the path you have just made and choose “Stroke Path” and then press OK this will make the path a line created by your brush, now do the same on the top of the letter “Y” and you will have something similar to below:

Apply a simple Drop Shadow through the Blending Options menu and also make sure the cables are white, so if they are not already white, then add a Colour Overlay also through the Blending Options menu and set the colour to white.

Once the cables are done then we need to make them look as if they are frayed at the ends, so they actually look like they have broken apart, to do this zoom into the end and then choose the Smudge tool from the toolbar (shown below) and simply drag away at the edges so you have something similar to below:

Now do the same to the other part of the cable, once you have done this you will have something similar to below:

Step 6 - Adding The Hat

This step is simple as it is just a case of getting the hat image and inserting it into the document and then positioning it in the right place,

So grab the HAT picture located HERE!

And open it up in Photoshop, when this is done drag it onto your wallpaper document and position on the top left of the letter “C” that is pretty much it as I have already rotated it to the correct angle, but it can be resized/rotated accordingly, when the hat is in place you will have the same as below:

Step 7 - Adding The Liquid In The “V”

This step is very similar to Step 4 where we adding some liquid/paint to the inside of the letter “V” to do this set your foreground colour to any desired colour that you want and using the Pen Tool again draw a shape like below:

Now drag this layer below your text layer in the layers tab so it looks as though it is inside the letter, and then double click the layer and apply the below gradient (Change the colours if you want to):

With this gradient applied create some liquid drops so it looks as though something has just fallen in it and splashed it everywhere, use the below image as a reference, once done apply the same gradient to all of these drops:

Now you can add the highlights again using the same methods as in Step 4, grab the pen tool and make a shape but make sure the foreground colour is set to a slightly lighter colour than what is on the drop itself, when this is done you will have something similar to below:

When this is done we will have something similar to below and will be left with one final step:

Step 8 - Adding A Slogan/Motto

To finish we are going to add a simple slogan/motto to the bottom right of the word “Creativity” so make sure your foreground colour is set to white and type the text “It’s Amazing What You Can Do…” or something similar and then open up the blending options menu and add a simple drop shadow you are then left with the below:

With this done we are finished, feel free to add more things to it, and experiment with different shapes and words and see what you come up with, if you create something then why not upload it to the “Photoshop Tutorials Flickr Group” so others can see what you have achieved

So now we are finished you should have something that looks like the below:

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

Category : Designing, Website News/Updates
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54 Comm

Creating A Retro Grunge Poster

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial is an add on from the Poster article the other day, we will create a Retro/Grunge style poster using the pen tool some textures and playing with text to make it look more retro,

What We Are Going To Achieve

Step 1 - Create A New Document

First of all as always create a new document using the sizes 750 x 1000, this size is suitable for a poster design.

Step 2 - Grab The Pen Tool

Now you need to grab the pen tool and start drawing some shapes, first set your foreground colour to #018270 and draw a shape the same as below to get perfect 45 degree angles when drawing with the pen tool hold down shift and click at what you think is 45 degrees and it will make it straight:

Now continue with this same method, but when drawing the rectangles make sure the shapes differ in size to add some variation within the poster, Use the colours as shown below:

#3bbba9

#ea2a2a

Now continue mixing and matching with these colours until you have something similar to below:

Step 3 - Blending Options

Now we are going to add a simple Stroke to each of these shapes to do this, double click on the first shape to bring up the blending options menu, from here select the stroke at the bottom and make sure the colour is set to white (#FFFFFF) and leave the size at 3px:

Now we need to repeat this throughout all of the shapes to do this right click the first shape in the layers tab and choose the option Copy Layer Style and then right click each of the other shapes and choose Paste Layer style, this will simply copy and paste the stroke to all of the shapes this will leave you with something similar to below:

Step 4 - Adding A Background Texture

Now we are going to add a background texture to the shapes to do this grab hold of THIS texture and copy and paste it into your current document and resize and position so that you are happy with it, when you are happy press CTRL + SHIFT + U to desaturate the layer, you now should be left with something like below:

When you have the same as above all you need to do then is set the layers style to Multiply:

When this is done then the background texture is complete and you should have something that looks the same as below,  notice the grungy sort of look to the background:

Step 5 - Adding The Text

Now we need to add the text to the document, I have added the text “RETRO” all in capital letters this is so that it corresponds with the effect we are going for, the text I have used is called ADFBEasterEgg which can be found HERE when you have the text added to the centre of the document you should have something like this:

Now we are going to modify the text by making the letter T and the first letter R longer, to do this grab the rectangular marquee tool and make a selection the same as below:

Now make sure that the Text layer is selected in the layers tab and then pick the move tool and press CTRL + C to copy the selection and then create a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N) and then simply paste the selection by pressing CTRL + V and position the layer underneath the selection made as shown below:

Now you can resize the selection as you see fit, I have lengthened it to the length shown below, I have also applied the same method to the letter T, when these are done you will have the same as below:

Step 6 - Adding Brushes

This step is simple as all you need to do is to download THESE Retro brushes and also THESE brushes and simply play around with the different options/brushes that are available, for a guide on installing brushes simply go to THIS tutorial on Tutorial9.net once these brushes have been downloaded and installed then play around and use the below image as a reference to what brushes to add where:

Step 7 - Adding A Background To Text

We are going to add a background to the text, to do this we need to group all of the layers that make up the text so select the layers by CTRL + Clicking them individually in the layers tab and the right click and choose Merge Layers (Note: You may need to rasterize the text layer so simply right click and choose rasterize layer this will convert it to pixels)

When you have all of the layers that make up the text into one layer CTRL + Click the box next to the layer in the layers tab which will select all of the outside and you should see the crawling ants like below:

With this selection made go to Select > Modify > Expand and use the settings shown below:

When this expand has been applied you will have a selection as below:

When you have this selection create a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N) and then pick the Fill Tool and fill the selection with the colour #4c2222 you will then have the below:

Step 8 - Adding A Texture To The Text Background

To finish we are going to add a texture/pattern to the background we have just created for the text, to do this grab hold of THIS pattern and copy and paste it into your poster and position it over you background (Note: Place the pattern layer below the text layer BUT above the background text layer so it gets applied to the background only)

Now right click the pattern layer in the layers tab and choose Create Clipping Mask and then to finish set the layer style to Color Burn this will then get rid of the white from the image and darken the remaining colour, now place the grunge texture above all of your other layers so that it is applied to all the layers this will then leave you with the finished poster:

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

If you have taken the time to have a go at this tutorial then upload your finished images to the Photoshop Tutorials Flickr Group so others can see what you have achieved using these methods.

Category : Designing
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216 Comm

Creating A Grungy Banner

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial will show you how to create a grungy style banner that can be used on posters or on websites, it is a very simple process and therefore quite a short tutorial but offers techniques which can be used on any project,

What We Are Going To Achieve

Grungy Banner Done

Step 1 - Create New Document

First of all as always you need to create a new document for this tutorial I have used the sizes 500 x 500 but as normal you can use whatever size is suitable for you, once you have this then fill the document with the colour #FFFDE6

Step 2 - Draw Some Rounded Rectangles

This step is simply to draw 2 rounded rectangles using the rounded rectangle tool (shown below) so make sure that your foreground colour is set to #FFFDE6 and draw a rounded rectangle with a radius of 5px, when this is done double click the new shape in the layers tab which will bring up the blending options menu, with this open use the below settings:

Rectangle Tool

Stroke:

Rectangle Stroke

With these settings applied you should have something similar to below:

First Rectangle Done

Now we need to draw our second rounded rectangle, this time make sure that the foreground colour is set to black (#000000) and draw a shape the same as below:

Second Rectangle Done

Now right click in the layers panel on the second shape and choose rasterize layer as shown below:

Rasterize Layer

With this done select the Rectangular Marquee Tool (Shown Below) and make a selection the same as what I have done below:

Rectangular Marquee Tool

When you have the same selection simply press delete (Note: Make sure that you have the second shape layer selected otherwise it won’t do anything) when this is done you should have a shape with a flat bottom which then needs to be positioned on top of the other shape as shown below:

Now to finish off with these two shapes select both of the in the layers tab (CTRL + Click both of the layers) and then choose the Move Tool and rotate the two layers so that you have the outcome below:

Step 3 - Adding The Brushes

The first brush set we are going to use can be found on Brusheezy but to save you time finding it there is a link to it HERE, once you have downloaded the brushes load them into Photoshop and use the brush shown below:

With this brush selected create a New Layer (CTRL + Shift + N) and set black as your foreground colour and then press the ” [ ” key on your keyboard this will make the brush go smaller, I made mine go to 200px and the applied it to the top right hand corner of the rectangles we created earlier:

Now you have the basic principle you can play around with the different brushes in the pack and apply them all over the shape, but make sure to create a new layer for each separate brush as this allows you to change them later if needed, when I had finished playing around I had something like below:

Now if you wanted you could change the foreground colour of the brushes and apply some more around the rectangles to make it look more warn like below:

Next we need to add the second set of brushes which can be located and downloaded HERE and then we can start playing around with these brushes, there aren’t a lot in this set so just choose the brushes that you like the best and apply them on your banner, you can use the below image as reference (Note: Make sure the foreground colour is set to black #000000)

As you can see it is just a case of experimenting where you want the brushes to go and where looks good, when you have something you are happy with then we can move onto the final step.

Step 4 - Adding The Text

Now it is just a case of adding some text to the banner I simply added the name of my website like below (Note: I used the Font TW CEN MT Condensed Extra Bold) when the text has been been added simply rotate as before and place inside the of the banner:

Now to finish off you can some more of the splatter brushes over the top of the text which would help make the text look worn and grungy like the rest of the image and when this is done you have the finished product like below, this could be used for posters or websites the list is endless:

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

Category : Designing, Web Graphics
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33 Comm

Creating A Vector Style MacBook From Scratch

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial is quite a long one, so I would go get a drink now if I were you, OK we are going to make a MacBook Pro in Photoshop using shapes and different blending options, combining these two simple things we get a realistic vector outcome which can be used in many different situations, so…let’s begin,

What We Are Going To Achieve

Below is the outcome of this tutorial, as you can see it looks fantastic and it’s not that hard to create…

First of All

Don’f forget to create a new document as always this time I am using the sizes 1000 x 800 to make sure I can add alot of detail to the Mac

Part 1 - Basic Shapes

This section will cover creating the basic shapes for the Mac, so here it doesn’t matter about colours or gradients but make sure to use slightly different colours for each seperate section as not to get confused between them, this combined with giving each layer it’s own name will help to differentiate between them.

Step 1 - Creating The Front

The first step is to create the front of the Mac, to do this simply pick the Rounded Rectangle Tool (shown below) and draw a fairly long rectangle similar to the one below:

The shape is drawn near the bottom of the canvas in order to leave enough room for the rest of the Mac above:

When the shape has been drawn right click the layer in the layers tab and choose rasterize layer this is so that we can erase some of the top, to do this choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (shown below) and cut off the top of the rectangle with a selection similar to below, this is to get rid of the curved top and create a flat base:

Selection to be made:

Once the above selection has been made press delete on your keyboard to be left with a rounded rectangle with a flat top:

Step 2 - Creating The Keyboard Section

This step will show you how to create the keyboard section for the Mac, this will require us to create some perspective so it looks like it is 3D, First slightly change your foreground colour and then draw a rectangle like below using the normal Rectangle Tool:

Now press CTRL + T to make it so that the shape can be transformed and on one of the anchor points right click to bring up the transformation menu, from this menu choose the Perspective option:

Now when you click and drag one of the anchor points it will make the shape seem to get smaller therefore creating perspective, with this option click the top right anchor point and drag to the left so that you have something similar to below:

Now you have the above shape then you need to make it smaller, so make sure you are out of the transform option by pressing Enter or clicking the Tick Icon in the top toolbar, and simply drag the shape downwards so that it isn’t as tall and you should have something the same as below:

Step 3 - Creating The Screen/Monitor

To create the screen is simple as it is just one rectangle but making sure you get the size right is important as it won’t look realistic if the screen is to big/small so again slightly change the colour of the foreground colour and simply choose the Rounded Rectangle Tool and draw the shape below (Note: After the shape has been drawn simply go to the layers tab and drag it below the keyboard layer so that it doesn’t appear on top of it)

Position in Layers Tab:

Main Screen Drawn:

With this done we now need to create the final main shape which is the inner part of the screen

Step 4 - Creating The Inner Screen

The final main shape to be drawn is the inner part of the screen which again is just a simple rectangle but it’s size and position is important, so as before make sure your using the rounded rectangle tool and drawn the below shape with again a slightly different foreground colour:

Part 2 - Adding The Blending Options

Now we have all of the main shapes we can start to add the blending options to each different shape to make them look more like a MacBook,

Step 1 - Blending Options For The Front

To get the blending options menu up simply double click the chosen layer in the layers tab which will bring up the blending options menu,

Most of the blending options for the layers are similar as to what options to use but the settings for each maybe different so I will just simply put up the screenshot of each setting followed by what it should look like,

Inner Shadow:

Gradient - Set To 90 Degrees:

After applying these settings then your front should look like this:

Step 2 - Blending Options For The Keyboard Area

Inner Shadow:

Gradient - Set To 90 Degrees:

After applying these settings then your keyboard area should look like this:

Step 3 - Blending Options For The Outer Screen

Inner Shadow:

Gradient - Set To 90 Degrees:

Stroke:

After applying these settings then your Outer Screen should look like this:

Step 4 - Blending Options For The Inner Screen

This being the most simple part all it has is a Stroke as an image will be placed over the top later to make it look more like a desktop screen:

Stroke:

So after all these options have been applied you should have something that resembles a laptop sort of shape and more specifically a MacBook Pro shape and colour, the next section we will start to add some details onto the image.

Part 3 - Adding The Details

Possibly the most time consuming part is adding the little details e.g. buttons, webcam etc…but all of it adds to the realism so lets start with adding a wallpaper to the background,

Step 1 - Adding An Image To The Inner Screen

First thing is first, we need an image to add to the inner screen, so I have just chosen a standard Mac wallpaper that you seem to see everywhere, but for the sake of this tutorial we shall use THIS image

To add it to the inner screen simply copy and paste it into your document and place it directly above the Inner Screen layer in the layers tab,

When it is in the right position simpy right click the wallpaper layer and choose “Create Clipping Mask” which should make it a clipping mask of the Inner Screen layer and just be displayed there as shown below:

Step 2 - Adding The Button on The Front

Now we need to add the button on the front of the Mac which is simply three rounded rectangles inside one another,

Outer Part:

Choose the Rounded Rectangle Tool and set the radius to 20px (Top Toolbar) and draw a rectangle in the middle of the front base the same as below:

Now add the following Blending Options:

Gradient - Set At 0 Degrees:

Stroke:

Now once this is done you should have something the same as below:

Inner Part:

The inner button is pretty much exactly the same as the outer button except it is smaller so it fits inside the outer button and also it has the same blending options except the Stroke is set to 2px instead of just one, use the below image for size referencing:

(Inner) Inner Part:

This is simply just a very small inner rectangle with the colour #717D8A and is placed within the inner part on the left hand side:

Step 3 - Adding The CD Slot

The next part is to add the CD slot onto the front of the Mac, to do this first draw another rounded rectangle with the radius set to 20px, this time draw it on the right hand side of the image and then go on Blending Options and use the same Blending Options as used on the Outer Part of the button, when done you will have something similar to below:

Now we need to add another inner part to the CD drive this is where the CD bit actually goes but there is no blending options needed for this so set the foreground colour to #808080 and draw another rounded rectangle just inside the outer part, use the image below for reference:

Finally for the CD drive we need to add a little slot in the middle so that it looks like a CD can be put inside for this use the Line Tool (Shown below) and set the foreground colour to #6E6E6E and draw a line from the left edge to the right edge so that you have something like below:

Now to finish off the front of the Mac we need to add a little hole, where the headphones plug in (I think I can’t afford a Mac atm so wouldn’t know) to do this simply choose the Elipse Tool and draw a small circle on the left hand side of the button and make sure the foreground colour is set to black (#000000) and there we have finished the front of the Mac as shown below:

Step 4 - Adding The Clips At The Top

These clips are what keep the lid closed and are very simple to create as again it is just a case of using the Rounded Rectangle tool and creating two little rectangles,

1st Rectangle

The first rectangle is simply thin and long and just needs to be black (#000000) place it just to the left of centre at the very top of the screen as shown below (Note: Make sure the radius of the Rounded Rectangle Tool is set to 2px)

2nd Rectangle

This rectangle is the same thickness but also really short and needs to be placed on the very left of the first rectangle and on top, draw it with the foreground colour at #90939B and then go on blending options and set the stroke to the below settings,

When this has been applied you will have something similar to below:

Now all we need to do is the same for just right of centre on the screen so that there is two clips, the best way to do this would be to in the layers tab go on the 1st rectangle and press CTRL + J (Duplicates Layer) and move it across to the other side and then do the same for the 2nd Rectangle, when this has been done you will have the same as below:

After this is done we are nearly there, just the webcam and feet to go,

Step 5 - Adding The Webcam

The simplest thing to add would probably be the Webcam as this is just a black rounded rectangle placed in between the two clips at the top and next to this a little dot which is found on Mac’s make sure the radius is set to 2px and simply add these two features using the below image as reference:

Step 6 - Adding The Feet

The penultimate step to creating the MacBook Pro is to add the feet simply again draw a rounded rectangle underneath the bottom of the Mac just in from the left hand side and make sure it is below your Front Base layer in the layers tab and when this is done simply press CTRL + J and transfer to the right hand side of the Mac and there you go you now have feet:

First Foot:

Second Foot and Progress upto Now:

Step 7 - Writing MacBook Pro

The final main step is to simply write MacBook Pro in the centre of the screen just above the keyboard area I used font Verdana and font size 10, and then when this is done we have our finished MacBook Pro.

Alternatively you could keep going and add a shadow underneath and maybe a reflection, each of which I have written tutorials on:

Reflection

Shadow

And if you wanted to tell people Mac’s are made by Apple then you can add the Apple logo in the centre of the display, and below is the final image which you should have, click the image to see the full size version

UPDATE: Thanks to an email from “Scot”, he sent me a picture of the Mac keyboard which can be implemented into the design first of all here is the picture:

Mac Keyboard

And to insert it onto the current keyboard simply open it up in Photoshop and drag it into your current document as shown below:

Now set the opacity to about 40% of the layer so that you can see through it and now press CTRL + T to go into transform mode, whilst in transform mode right click on one of the anchor points and choose Distort as shown below:

The distort menu allows you to drag the corners of the image in to any position, in this case we are going to drag them onto each corner of the keyboard layer like below:

Using the above method do the same with the other 3 corners so that they each match up with the correct corners, when done press enter or the tick in the top toolbar to apply the transformation and set the opacity back to 100% then you will have something similar to below (Note: Zooming into the corner helps when tryin to be precise)

To finish double click the new keyboard layer to bring up the blending options and use the settings shown below:

When this has been applied then you are complete and we have the final MacBook Pro including the keyboard (Thanks to Scot) and we should have the final image like below:

And as always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can…

Category : Designing
Tags : , , , , , ,
93 Comm

Making A Social Bookmark Background

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial will show you how to make the cool image you often see behind the social bookmark links at the bottom of posts on most websites, some are more elaborate than others which helps to make your social bookmarks stand out more, I will show you how to make the background image and what techniques i used in order to get the effect I have ended up with, they are basic steps but ones that can be applied to other situations,

Images You Will Need:

As this is a social bookmarking background we need some images that represent the best social bookmark sites, e.g. Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon, these can be changed to what bookmarks you prefer or use the most you just need to find your own images, all the images I used are shown below (they all should have Transparent backgrounds so you won’t need to cut them out):

1. Digg

2. StumbleUpon

3. Del.icio.us

4. Reddit

5. RSS Icon

6. Folder Icon

Step 1 - New Document

As always we will start with a new document, for this tutorial I have picked the size of 650 x 200, this is because it best matches my website and it’s sizes so match the sizes you pick to your website (if you are just here for the techniques then use the sizes that I am using)

Step 2 - Draw A Rectangle

For this use the Rounded Rectangle tool (shown below) and draw a rectangle that fits most of your canvas as shown below:

Drawn Rectangle:

Step 3 - Add Blending Options

Next we need to add some blending options to the rectangle to make it stand out from the background and look better, I used the settings below, but again this was to match my website so if your website is a different colour or you just want to use a different colour then by all means use what colour you want:

Gradient Settings:

Stroke Settings:

Now you should be left with something like the image below:

Now that we have are main background you can add a shadow underneath it to make it look like a physical presence rather than a flat image by using THIS tutorial which shows you how to add different realistic shadows.

Step 4 - Adding The Icons

The next step is to add all of the icons to the image making sure that they are in the right positions and at the right size (personal preference) so first make sure you have downloaded all of the icons you need and then make sure they are opened up in Photoshop along with your backround image, to get an image on to your background make sure the Move Tool is selected and simply drag and drop the image onto your image like shown below:

(Note: Once you have placed the image onto the document you can close the original image as you won’t need it anymore and it will create more work room)

Once all images are positioned correctly then you should have something that looks like the below image, if you are following this tutorial to receive the same outcome then use the image below as a guide on where to place the images and what sort of sizes to put them at:

The image below shows the order of the layers which is important to show things appearing in front and behind the folder and rectangle:

Step 5 - Editing The Icons

Next we need to edit a couple of the icons to get the right effect and bring a bit of life into the image,

The Digg Icon

With the Digg icon you can probably see he doesn’t look like he is integrated into the image properly as he is just placed on the top of the folder, to make him look like he is inside the folder looking out we need to rub out a few bits of him

So first make sure that you have the Digg layer selected and then set the opacity of the layer to around 30% this is so that we can see through him and can see the edges of the folder, now we can see this we can pick the eraser tool and rub away the bits that look as though they are infront of the folder the outcome is shown below for reference:

When you have achieved something similar to the above image set the opacity of the layer back to 100% and then you will notice that he looks as though he is part of the image and is looking out of the folder saying “Hello”

The StumbleUpon Icon

Now we need to change the StumbleUpon icon a little bit in order to make it look like it has fallen out of the folder and is heading towards the floor to do this zoom into the image and make sure that the StumbleUpon layer is selected and then pick the Smudge Tool (Shown Below) and just simply click on the outer edge and drag away as shown below:

This will give the illusion of the Icon falling from the folder, repeat this 3 - 4 times across the shape until you have an image that resembles the outcome below:

To make the icon look as if it is falling towards the ground we are going to add a shadow on the floor, to do this choose the Eliptical Marquee Tool and draw a oval shape like the one shown below:

Next using the same techniques as in my Realistic Shadows tutorial, create a new layer and fill it with black and set the opacity to around 30% and then deselect by pressing CTRL + D, now go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set it to around 3 pixels, this will give a good shadow effect and make it look as if the image is falling towards the ground as shown below:

That is pretty much it, you can add a title like I have done so that people know what it is, (e.g. Save/Promote This Post) and that is the image complete, the final outcome is shown below in my actual social bookmark section.

To get a social bookmarking section like mine and in order to use the image you have just made, follow THIS tutorial that I found when making mine which helped me alot (if you are using WordPress of course)

And you can see a working demo of that and the image below (don’t forget to submit this tutorial whilst your admiring it)

As always if you have any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at: stevie489@googlemail.com and I will help you as much as I can.

Category : Designing
Tags : , , , , , , ,
4 Comm

Simple Polaroid Design

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial will show you how to get a nice polaroid image effect just using standard shapes and images, not difficult to follow and can be used in many projects, e.g. Family Holiday Photos, Weddings etc…
Very easy to follow and not complicated to complete PSD files included incase you need any extra help.

Step 1 - New Document

First of all make a new document size 500 x 500 and fill the background with default black.

Step 2 - Draw a Rectangle

Now choose the “Rectangle Tool” and draw a fairly large white rectangle as shown below, and then right click this layer and choose “Rasterize Type”:

Step 3 - Delete The Inside of The Rectangle

Now choose the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” and draw a selection as shown below, once happy with your selection simply press delete and it should delete the selection and you will end up with a Polaroid shape:

Step 4 - Apply Blending Options

Now double click the Polaroid layer which should bring up the “Blending
Options” and use the settings below:

Step 5 - Drag and Drop Polaroid Template

To put a picture into the Polaroid simply find the picture you want and open it up in a new document, when this is done grab the move tool on the Polaroid document and drag and drop the Polaroid onto the image document as shown below:

Step 6 - Resize and Position

Now resize and position your Polaroid onto the image so that you are happy with the selection

Step 7 - Copy The Image Inside of The Polaroid

Now again grab the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” and select the inner part of the Polaroid image, with the original image selected choose the move tool and simply press CTRL +C and then CTRL + V to copy and paste the selected image, now go back to the original image layer and press delete to leave you with the image below:

Step 8 - Apply More Blending Options

Next double click the selected part of the image layer and it will bring up the blending options now use the settings below:

Step 9 - Write The Title of The Polaroid Image

To finish simply choose the text tool and the font “Lucida Handwriting” and write out the title of the image on the whit space at the bottom of the Polaroid.

Final Image:

You can now make some more and compile them into an image like the one I have made below, very effective when displaying special photo’s e.g. holiday or baby photo’s.

Composition:

If you have had any problems with this tutorial then don’t hesitate to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Category : Designing
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4 Comm

Making a Sign/Banner Using Light and Shadow

by Steve Tolley

This tutorial has proven to be very popular as it shows how to make a sign/banner for a business or website using a variety of blending options to show light and shadow, which leaves you with a great effect at the end which would really stand out on any website/image.

Step 1: First of all create a new document sized 600 x 600, then choose the gradient tool and set the colours to: #000000, #49454d, and make sure that it is a “Radial Gradient” drag the gradient from top left to bottom right so that the lighter of the colours is in the top left.

Step2: Now go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and use the settings as shown below, this will create the illusion that a light is shining from the top left corner,

Step 3: Now choose the “Rounded Rectangle Tool” on the left hand toolbar or simply press “U” on the keyboard, and draw yourself a fairly large rectangle but make sure that the primary colour is set to black.

Step 4: When done right click on the layer in the layer tab and choose blending options and then choose the options and settings as shown below, when done click “OK”

Step 5: Now that you have set the blending options to the above settings you should be left with something as shown below:

Step 6: Now we can start to add text and different effects I am going to use my own text which you can also use but feel free to use your own text and effects, after entering my text I simply added a default drop shadow in the blending options menu just to show light and shadow effects:

Step 7: When you are happy with what you have created then simply hold SHIFT and click the first layer and the last layer on the layers window which should select all layers (except background) and choose the Move tool and rotate to an angle that suits you best:

Step 8: To finish you can download this “Urban” Set of brushes and create a new layer above the background layer and add the one that you think looks best and set the opacity to 5% to give your design a better feel and a bit more depth

Final Image:

I also added one of the Urban brushes to the rectangle shape on a new layer below the text layers; this was to give it a better look and to show some texture instead of flat colour.

Also if you have any problems with this tutorial or need any help Photoshop then feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me.

Category : Designing, Web Graphics
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41 Comm