Matrix Code Tutorial

1: This is a very simple tutorial that been banded all over the web since the launch of The Matrix: Reloaded and only uses a few filters. Start off with any size image, but bear in mind that the size of the 'code' will not change, and so it might be worth starting large and scaling down. For the purposes of this tutorial, I'll use a 200x200 canvas. The first filter to apply is some grain: go Filter || Texture || Grain with both the sliders to full, and the type to vertical.
	2: The next filter is neon glow - go Filter || Artistic || Neon Glow. Set the size to 5 and the brightness to 15, although these settings depend on your taste and the size of the image. The colour doesn't matter at this stage.
3: The next filter is 'glowing edges' - Filter || Stylize || Glowing Edges. Set size and smoothness to minimum, and brightness to about 10.
	4: Finally, colourize it to the obligatory bright green and put on your desktop, webpages, whatever. Copyright by : http://www.psgallery.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Orbs Tutorial

1: Similar to the gems covered elsewhere on the site, orbs have a glassy quality and are perfect for buttons, compnents of larger images, etc. Start with a blank canvas; I'm using 400x400. Make a dark grey (about 80%) circle in the middle by using the elliptical shape tool whilst holding shift and making sure its rasterised, or fill an elliptical marquee in the same way, then deselect (ctrl/cmd + D). Use a gaussian blur (Filter || Blur || Gaussian blur) with setting of 1. An optional drop shadow can be added, using settings similar to these.
	2: We want to leave the edge pixel or two a dark colour, so to do this hold ctrl/cmd and click the layer that you are working on (most likely labelled Layer/Shape 1) to select the cricle, but not the drop shadow. Go Select || Modify || Contract and enter a setting of 1 or 2 px depending on the size of your image. This means what we do will only effect the selected area until we deselect. As you've probably guessed, these orbs are created with liberal use of the airbrush tool. Use settings similar to these. The area in the top right should be dark, and the bottom left a light grey as shown in the example image. Using the smudge tool and gaussian blur (Filter || Blur || Gaussian Blur) may help - remember it doesnt need to be too neat, use the example opposite as a guide for the effect your aiming to achieve.
3: Add a small elliptical highlight to the top left of the image as in the gems tutorial, and you're done. You can play about with the airbrushing in the middle of the orb for as long as you like, I'm not too happy with the example here. Copyright by : http://www.psgallery.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Metal Text Tutorial

1: We're going to try to get a really metallic chrome effect on our text, using curves and other features in Photoshop. Start off with a large canvas, the larger the better - I'm using 800x800. Make some text and have it a light-medium grey, in the example I'll use #B3B3B3. Start off by using a nice big bevel and emboss with settings similar to these. As usual, the size should be suitable for the size of the image; try to make it look like the example.
	2: Now we need to rasterize our layer. Create a new layer by pressing ctrl/cmd + shift + N, then link the new layer with the text layer, and press ctrl/cmd + E to merge it. This will rasterize our text layer. Now we need to adjust the image using curves - press ctrl/cmd + M to open the curves menu, then enter a nice even zig zag, as shown here.
3: Go Image || Adjustments || Variations, set the slider at the top to one notch from the bottom, and then click once on the 'Current Pick' box, once on the 'More Blue' box, and then once on the 'More Green' box - now click OK. Press ctrl/cmd + M again to open up the curves menu, and enter a slightly different curve like this. Now add a drop shadow using the default settings by going Layer || Layer Style || Drop Shadow and clicking OK.
	4: Now use the layer styles again (Layer || Layer Styles) to add an inner glow using these settings. Go to layer styles again and this time add a second bevel and emboss, with these settings. For the next stage, we need to create a selection - hold ctrl/cmd and click on the main layer in the layers palette. This will select the letter/text - now go Select || Modify || Contract and enter a value of 3. Now go Select || Feather (ctrl/cmd + shift + D) and enter 3 again.
5: At the bottom of the layers palette, click the 'Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer' button - a circle half black and half white - and click 'Gradient Map'. Click the arrow at the side of the dialogue box that appears (see thisimage), and load the file 'Metals'. Apply the gradient in the bottom left (black > white > black - "Steel Bar"), then set this layer's blending mode as 'overlay'. This should give a similar effect to that seen opposite. If not, try the tutorial a few times - there are several variables such as the curves input that can make quite a difference, and it takes some practise! Copyright by : http://www.psgallery.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Energy Blast

Vertical Line

Create a new image. For this tutorial, I used 500x500. Fill the background with a dark color. I used #1b1b32.

Create a new layer then double click on that layer, and name it blast.

Create a vertical line on the blast layer by using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (shown right) (M or SHIFT + M).
My line was 50x500.

Fill the selection by setting your forground color to white (you can press D to reset to default colors).
Then press ALT + BACKSPACE

Deselect by pressing CTRL + D

2

Spikes

Now we add the spikes.

Filter » Stylize » Wind » [ Method: wind Direction: From the Left ]

Repeat the last filter 2 more times by pressing CTRL + F twice.

3

More Spikes

Spikes on the other side.

Filter » Stylize » Wind » [ Method: wind Direction: From the Right ]

Repeat the last filter 2 more times by pressing CTRL + F twice.

4

Motion Blur

Add a little blur.

Filter » Blur » Motion Blur [ Angle: 0° Distance: 20 pixels ]

Play with the # of pixels to get different effects

5

Polar Coordinates

Rotate the Blast Layer by pressing CTRL + A to select all, then CTRL + T to enter transform mode, then right click on the layer, and select Rotate 90° Clockwise, then press ENTER to apply the transform.

Now would be a good time to copy the blast layer if you want more then one blast ring. You can do this by pressing CTRL + J to duplicate the current layer, then click the eye icon next to the dup layer to turn it off for now.

Now we need to bend this into a curve. Make sure you have the blast layer selected,
Filter » Distort » Polar Coordinates [ Rectangle to Polar ]

6

Color Dodge

Next set the fill mode to Color Dodge and the fill to 80%.

You should have a nice little blast ring now, and just need something to put below it and then just tweak the fill percent on the layer to get exactly what you want.

Well this in its self, is not all that impressive, so lets go on to the next section where I will show you how to spice it up a bit.

Sun Layer

Create a new layer above the other layers and name it Sun. Fill it with black, by pressing D to reset your colors, then ALT + BACKSPACE to fill with your foreground color. Set the blend mode to Color Dodge.

Filter » Render » Lens Flare [ 105mm Prime, Brightness: 100%]
Make sure your Flare Center is in the center, or as close as you can get it.

2

Energy

Create another new layer below the sun layer, and name it energy.
Set this layers blending mode to Color Dodge.

Filter » Render » Clouds
Filter » Distort » Pinch [100%]
Repete the last filter two times by pressing CTRL + F twice.

3

Chrome

Copy the energy layer by pressing CTRL + J

Filter » Render » Lighting Effects

Colors: White
Light type: Omni
Intensity: 14
Gloss: 65
Material: 96
Exposure: 30
Ambience: -8

Filter » Sketch - > Chrome [ Detail:4 Smoothness:7 ]
*tip: you can play around with the numbers on both the Lighting Effects, and the Chrome filters to achieve different effects.

4

Levels

Now we just make the whites a little whiter by using Levels
Press CTRL + L to bring up the Levels.
Slide the sliders around untill you get the amout you want.
I used 25, 1.00 133

You should have a pretty nice looking energy blast effect.

5

Play around

This is a very fun tutorial to play around with and create endless possiblilities. Try these on your energy copy layer:

Filter » Render » Lighting Effects

Colors: White
Light type: Omni
Intensity: 14
Gloss: 65
Material: 96
Exposure: 30
Ambience: -8

Levels: 0, 0.55, 187

Copyright by : http://xen-fx.com

Continue Reading...

Metal Orb

Metal Orb

Step 1
First of all, lets start out with our base used for the orb. The base layers I used are recycled from a skin I made and look like this. It doesn't really matter how you make your since most of it is covered by the lcd anyways.

Step 2
Next you would need to add the lcd display. In my case I used the color #5B7168. I'd suggest that you use a much more fun looking color than this boring green. If you want to duplicate this shape, its suggested that you make one half of the shape (left or right) and mirror it on the other half. This should save you some time from working with the vectors.

Step 3
Now that we have the lcd, lets add some layer styles to give it more dept.
Inner shadow: color=black [view settings]
Outer glow: color=#646464 [view settings]
Inner glow: color=#171A21 [view settings]
Satin: color=#black [view settings] [view contour]
Stroke: color=#272C38 [view settings]

When your done, you should have something looking like this.

Step 4
Next you'd need to add the font to the lcd display, its good to make the font big so it takes up most of the display. You want to font to stand out the most in the entire image as the center of attention. Latter the glass on top would help complement this allot. To the font you'd have to add some layer styles, these are the ones I used.
Drop shadow: color=#black [view settings]
Bevel: color=#default [view settings]

When your done, you should have something like this.

Step 5
Your next step is to add a little bevel around the lcd display. So right click on the lcd display layer thumbnail in your layer palette, and click "Select Layer Transparency". With the selection visible, click on your toolbar: Select > Transform Selection. Click the chain link on the toolbar to "maintain aspect ratio" . Then set the values in the toolbar to that of the image below. This should make the selection 5% bigger.

With the selection enabled, go back to the base metal layer and then Ctrl+C to copy that portion from the base. Then Ctrl+V to paste the selection to the new layer. Make sure the new layer is between the lcd display and the base layer.

Now apply these layer styles to the new layer.
Inner shadow: color=#black [view settings]
Bevel: color=default [view settings]

When your done, you should have something like this:

Step 6
Next you'd have to add the glass to the lcd display, and now we have a chance to make things look funky.
First: select layer transparency of your lcd display and select your gradient tool with white as your foreground color, automatically Photoshop would make a gradient called "Foreground to Transparent". [view settings]
Second: One a new layer, Create the gradient from the top of the lcd down to by about 60 pixels.
When your done, you should have something like this:

Third: With the the layer your just created selected, as your active layer. From your toolbar, click Edit > Free Transform. In the height box (H) from your edit box like Step5 make the height value about 215% to 220%. Then move the layer down a bit so that its just within your lcd display area.

When your done you should have something that looks like this:

Forth: We set the layer blending mode to "Overlay", now you should see the how the light intensity brightens the up the lcd display. No screenshot for you this time :(, look at the shot of the next step to see where you should be

Step 7
Next we do yet another gradient, so redo the First and Second parts of Step 6 in a new layer. Now we have a new third step
Third: With the the layer your just created selected, as your active layer. From your toolbar, click Edit > Free Transform. In the height and width boxes, make both values 75%. Then move the layer down a bit so that its just within the top areas of your lcd display area.
Forth: Set the layer blending style to "Lighten"

When your done you should have something that looks like this:

Step 8
Next we add a little area where the light darkens a bit, just for more color instead of having too much white at the top.
First: Select layer transparency of the lcd display area, create a new layer and fill with a gradient from the top of the selection with a distance of about 25 pixels. Use a gradient of with color: white to color:#89A99D (if your lcd is a different color, use a similar color variation) [view settings]. Before making the gradient, set your gradient type to "radial"

You should have something like this:

Second: From your tool bar, click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, with a radius of about 4.0 pixels.
Third: Now that its blurred, the layer is a bit too much so reduce the Opacity of the layer to 50%.

When your done, you should have something like this:

Step 9:
Now you need to use your own judgment. Use your airbrush tool with color=#CCFFED. Use a gradient looking radial brush at a size of about 15. On a new layer, make one glob at the top tip of the lcd display with the middle of the brush being at the top most part of the lcd.
Second: Once you've done that, select layer transparency of the lcd display then go back to the layer and delete that portion of the layer.
Third: On your toolbar, click Edit > Free Transform and adjust the height and width of the layer until it suits the look that you like. Also reduce the opacity of the layer a bit.

When done you should have something like this:

Step 10:
Go back to the firs layer that you put on the of the lcd display, the one that you set the layer style to "overlay". If you did it correctly, some portion of the layer should be on top of the metal like mine did, just at the bottom lip.
Now duplicate that layer and carry it to the top of all the layers you have. Select the layer transparency of the lcd display and back to the layer you just duplicated. Then delete the area with that selection.

The layer should be barely visible so duplicate the layer again once or twice then merge them together. Then finally apply the layer style "Overlay" with color=#CCFFED. Feel free to reduce the opacity of the merged layer a bit if your fee that its a bit to much.

Mine looked like this:

This gives the effect of the light shinning outside the orb on the metal that lies opposite the light.

Step 11:
Finally add some little details to the metal layer and your done :)

When the final product is done, it should look like this:

Copyright by : http://www.iamvica.com

Continue Reading...

UFO Glow

1

Create the Text

You can press D to reset to default colors, and then Then press ALT + BACKSPACE to fill with the foreground color (black).

Start with a new image 1000x500 and fill the background with black.

Set your foreground color to #042040. Create a new text layer and center it.

I used a font size of 220 pt.

2

Outside Glow

Create a new layer , then double click on that layer (in the layers palette), and name it outside glow, and then move it blow the text layer.

Hold down the CTRL key and click on the the text layer in the layers palette to select it.

Change your foreground color to #16406F then fill the selection with it by pressing ALT + BACKSPACE

Deselect CTRL+D, and then Gaussian blur the the layer 20 pixels.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 20 Pixels ]

3

Small Lines

Create a new layer above the text layer, and name it sml lines.

Select the single row marquee tool by clicking and holding down the mouse on the Marquee Tool in the ToolBox, untill the other tools apear.

Hold down SHIFT and click several different times to create several differt line selections.

After you have several line selections, fill them with white.

4

Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur the layer by 1 pixel.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 1 Pixel ]

Duplicate the current layer. CTRL + J. Then merge the two layers down together CTRL + E.

Set the blending mode to Color Dodge, then open the blending options by right clicking on the sml lines layer and selecting blending options.

In the blending options, uncheck Transparency Shapes Layer.

5

Medium Lines

Create a new layer above the sml lines, layer and name it med lines.

Make a selection, using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (shown right) (M or SHIFT + M) across the whole image, that is 5 pixels high.

Fill the selection with white CTRL + BACKSPACE

Deselect CTRL + D, then Gaussian blur by 3 pixels.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 3 Pixel ]

Set this layers blending mode to Color Dodge, and also in the blending options uncheck Transparency Shapes Layer.

6

Large Line

Create a new layer above the med lines, layer and name it large line.

Make a selection, using the Rectangular Marquee Tool across the whole image, that is 15 pixels high.

Fill the selection with white CTRL + BACKSPACE

Deselect CTRL + D, then Gaussian blur by 5 pixels.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 5 Pixel ]

Set this layers blending mode to Color Dodge, and also in the blending options uncheck Transparency Shapes Layer.

7

Outline

Create a new layer below the text layer and name it Outline.

While holding down CTRL, click the text layer to select it.

Expand that selection by 3 pixels.

Select » Modify » Expand [ Expand by 3 Pixels ]

Then fill the selection with a light gray. (#B5BBC2) Press ALT + BACKSPACE to fill, then press CTRL + D to deselect.

8

Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur Outline by 2 pixels.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 5 Pixel ]

If you want a brighter glow, leave Transparency Shapes Layer checked in blending options.

Set the blending mode on the layer to Color Dodge, and also in the blending options uncheck Transparency Shapes Layer.

9

The Darkness Inside

Create a new layer above the the text layer and name it DarknessInside.

While holding down CTRL, click the text layer to select it.

Contract that selection by 5 pixels.

Select » Modify » Contract [ Expand by 3 Pixels ]

Next, fill that selection with black, by pressing D to reset the colors, then ALT + BACKSPACE to fill with the foreground color.

CTRL + D to deselect, then Gaussian blur the layer 4 pixels.

Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur » [ Radius 4 Pixel ]

10

Motion Blur

Ok now the fun part. Select the outside glow layer, and then motion blur it as much as you want. On mine i used 200.

Filter » Blur » Motion Blur [ Distance 200 Pixels Angle 0° ]

Copyright by : http://xen-fx.com

Continue Reading...