Create a new document about 500X500 pixels.

Then make a new layer and using your rectangle marquee tool draw a box on your new layer. Name this layer Box. Then in your layers pallete select the Channel Tab. Then select your Create new channel button. Next hit X Then D to Reset your colors. Fill the selection with white. Then hit Ctrl D or go to Select>Deselect. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to about 20 and then hit ok. Next hit Ctrl+L and then drag the arrows toward the center to where they are touching each other and then press ok. Name this channel Rounded.

2.Now go back to your layers pallete by selecting the layers tab. Then make sure your on layer 1 and go to Select>Load Selection. Select Rounded from your Channel drop down menu and press ok. Now you should see your selection on your document. I am going apply one of the interface metal styles to my selection. You can download the interface metal styles at Adobe Exchange. Just search for Interface Metals. To apply a style, Select your paint bucket tool then go to your styles pallete and Select your style and then go back to your document and fill the seletion.

3.Now don't deselect yet, if you have already just go to Select>Reselct or ctrl+Click Layer 1 in your layers pallete. Now go to Select> Modify>Contract. I contracted mine by 15 pixels. You can vary this depending on how thick you want your border. Now After you contracted your selection hit the Delete Key or Press Backspace to clear the selection. 4.Now lets fill the inside of our document. With the selction still present select your BG layer and then create a new layer. Now fill it with a color/Gradient/Style of your choice. Thats it! I used the same techniques on alot of my web templates. This process works good for side boxes and Text Boxes for web pages, Interface Borders, Etc. This technique can be applied to any kind of shape so be creative and see what you can come up with!

1.)

Make a new Document 400 x 400 2.) Hit D to reset color settings. 3.) Fill with Black (Ctrl-D) 4.) Render > Lens Flare in each corner ( 50-300 mm Zoom )

5.) Filter > Sketch > Chrome (Any Settings) 6.) Do four more Lens Flares right in front of the 4 you did in step 3 7.) Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates and have the Rectangular to Polar checked off and ur set. Final Result :

Enjoy _________________

Tutorials > 3D Make your fonts 3D!!! Find a place where you want your 3D-font... Then place your text (any font, any size) in any colour or style you like... (NOTE: NO OUTER STYLES LIKE STROKE, OUTER GLOW OR DROP SHADOW!!!)

 Create a layer under your text-layer and merge them together, no transform the perspective like the picture below: Duplicate the perspective-text-layer and click the first layer and press "DOWN" 30 times!

GOTO Filter>Render>Lightning Effectsand make sure that the lower layer is a bit shadowed...

 Click the lower layer and hold ALT and press "UP" as many times as you pressed "DOWN" 2 steps ago... (Wich is 30 times!)

Merge ALL the text-layers together and now you can add a dropshadow and maybe change the hue...

Tutorials > See-through bar Follow these guidelines to make a See-through box.

Open up an image any size or background and grab the "Retangular Marquee Tool" and make a selection like mine:

Add a simple Stroke and Drop Shadow. (Just click them, you don't have to set them)

 Lower the Fill to 50% and you're done...(You can do this with anything)

Industrial Metal Navigation Open a new document, File>New and I set my deminsions 400X400. If you were wanting to go ahead and make this a standard web page size, just set yours to 778X600. Now when you have that document open, using the paint bucket tool, fill your back ground layer with #2d2d2d. This isn't necissary, but it gives our image a nice dark background to work on. Now create a new layer above that and then using your rectangle marquee tool draw out a horizontal

selection. Make this sorta thick because we are going to add perspective to it. Now fill it with #3d3d3d then click the little 'f' and select 'Stroke'. Apply a 1 pixel, black inside stroke. Press Ctrl+D to deselect. Your image should resemble mine:

2. Now grab your dodge tool. Make sure your on the layer we just drew the nav bar on. Set your brush tip size to a 5 pixel hard round, Range:Highlights, Exposure:100. Now make one swipe horizontally across the mid bottom section. Now set your dodge tool to a 1 pixel tip and then make 2 swipes across the bottom part of where we just dodged.(Note: This is not an exact science, so feel free to experiment). Now you should see your nav bar starting to take a perspective. Pretty cool huh?

3. Now grab your burn tool and about a 9 pixel soft brush. Range: Midtones, Exposure: 50% and burn a little on the bottom part of the nav menu. Now set your brush to about a 21 or so pixel soft brush and set your Exposure to 10% for your burn tool and burn a little bit on the back part of your nav(top half of your nav). Don't over do it, just a subtle touch is fine. If you would like to add a little dropshadow to your image now that will be fine. Just click the little 'f' and select dropshadow. Apply it to your liking. Now, you should have something that resembles mine. It probally won't be exactly like is considering i can't click your mouse for you. :P

4. Ok, now lets add some insets, create a new layer above the rest of your layers and grab your pencil tool, set the tip to 1 pixel and color to black. Now start creating your vertical lines, cutting out your buttons. Don't be afraid to zoom in! Get up close, it won't hurt. Hold shift to draw a straight line with the pencil tool. Now once you get your buttons chisled out like you want them, create a new layer above that and set your pencil tool to a 1 pt , white color and opacity: 30%. Now draw on the outside of each black line you just made. And lastly, set the layers blend mode to soft light and duplicate it once.

5. Now were getting closer. Go back to your original nav bar layer and select your dodge tool again. Set it to about a 9 pixel soft brush and dodge the front corners of where two buttons meet (Did I loose you? Check the image). Then start lightly dodgeing blotches around and over yoru insets. Now add your text, anything you wish... I did a nifty little reflection effect. You cand find relection tutorials all over the net so i won't bother with how i did that. Also i burned a little bit behind my text to represent shadows coming off the text. And, guess what? Thats it! Hope you enjoyed.

Hey reader of this tutorial. Please don't only read this tutorial but also help us out on our forums, which are about GFX Design, programming, 3D modeling, and much more! Thnx! =)

ESSENCE OF ICE TUTORIAL

So you'd like to make something like that? Well normally I'd say "Go learn photoshop as I did you lazyguy!" but since I'm in a good mood today hmmm I could teach you something ;) I'll start with saying it doesnt require a great talent. Every person with an IQ between Forrest Gump and Albert Einstein should be able to make this, so let's see what we can do! First press Ctrl+N to create a new document, then put the size on 300x400. Press D to get the colours back to default (foreground: black, background: white), then create a new layer with the keys Ctrl+Shift+N. Name the layer as you prefer

then select the lasso tool

(the free one or the point to point one) and draw a

triangle like this:

now we have to fill it in some way. Take the brush tool

, select a light blue colour and put these settings on the bar above:

To recapitulate they are:

Brush size with a value between 15 and 40, as you prefer. Mode: color dodge Opacity among 60% and 70%

Now use the brush inside the triangle. Make a first layer of blue (it should be dark), then make a second one in a smaller part of the triangle (should look a bit lighter) and do this operation till you get a small area with a white color. At the end it should

look like this: Now we can deselect it and make another one. Select another triangle in a different position, but it has to be attached to the one we made before by

some part. Colour it as before and it should look like this: . If it doesn't there must be something wrong. Check the work and make sure you followed the points. Now let's make other 5 or 6 triangles. They must all be linked, you are free to link each one to another of your choice. After those operations, you'll get something like this:

Now, since we cant be bothered making all that work another time, let's just duplicate the layer and move it to another position. Do this 4 or 5 times; if you want you can rotate the layer a bit. In the case of this image, I left the top right corner empty When you are finished, merge all the layers with Ctrl+E untill you get only two layers: the black background and the triangles.

Get a light blue as foreground colour and black as background colour. We have to Duplicate the layer. The one near the background must be blurred: select Filters>Blur>Radial blur with these settings: Amount: 100 Blur method: Zoom

Now we have to adjust the brightness and contrast. Select: Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast and put them so that you'll get a darkysh blue colour for your blurred part. Select the layer above, the one with the triangles, and go to Filters>Sketch>Chrome. Play with the settings a bit, but the default ones should be ok. Then go to image>adjustments>invert (or Ctrtl+I), and invert it. Now you'll have to higher the contrast/brightness(Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast), and play with hue/saturation (Ctrl+U) till you like the colors. You'll have to get something similiar to this:

Phew the hard part is done. Create a new layer, make another 4 or 5 triangles with filling and all, use the wave filter (the default settings should be ok) then press Ctrl+F to use the filter over and over, till we get something like this:

And now we can say it's finished. You can add writings like I did or just leave it like that. The first time you should get a decent thing, the second a better one and over and over plus, if you change it everytime the possibilities are infinite. That's all, I hope you liked this euhm little tutorial (sorry for ALL those images) and hmm Ciao! Adis! Au revoir! Hasta la vista! Or whatever :D -Vitto

Realistic Fire 1. Create a new document around 500X500. Set black as your background color and then select about a 9 pixel brush. Set white as your fore ground color. Now create a new layer and about 20 pixels from the bottom or so draw a straight white line. from left to right. Now take out your smudge tool and select about a 19 pixel hard round brush. Now using kinda wavy upstrokes. Brush across your line as if you were creating the flame shapes.

2.Now Press Ctrl+U and check the colorize box....set Hue: 38 and Saturation:60. Now start knocking down the lighting adjustments abit until you get a shade of orange. Now press ok and in your layers pallete duplicate your fire layer. Now the next step is really personal preference. On your new layer set your blend mode to Either Linear Burn, Color Burn, Linear Light, Vivid Light, Overlay, Or Color Dodge. It really all depends on how hot you want your fire. Thats it!!

[che guevara cut out]

1 OPEN YOUR IMAGE OF CHE GUEVARA, YOU'LL FIND PLENTY OF THEM ON THE
INTERNET, BUT REMEMBER: IT HAS TO BE A REAL PHOTO OF OUR FREEDOM FIGHTER, NOT AN IMAGE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN MODIFIED!!

2 GO TO FILTER > ARTISTIC > CUT OUT AND APPLY THESE SETTINGS
OR JUST PLAY AROUND UNTILL YOU GET THE EFFECT YOU LIKE

3 NOW RETOUCH YOUR IMAGE IF NECESSARY, USE THE BRUSH OR THE

CLONE STAMP TOOL TO FIX SOME SMALL

"LEFT OVERS"

4 HIT SHIFT+CTRL+N TO CREATE A NEW LAYER AND FILL IT WITH A

RED COLOR, I USED OVERLAY

#7F2B24 AND CHANGE THE BLENDING MODE TO

Tutorial: Segmented Rings

When designing logos, the best course of action is to keep things simple. The reason for this is obvious - business logos find their way onto absolutely everything, from t-shirts to coffee mugs, and only simple designs can be so endlessly flexible. Segmented rings are very popular in logo design because they are visually stunning and very distinctive. Chances are that you've seen them on the internet a great deal already, gracing everything from gaming websites to corporate portals. This tutorial details the most reliable method for creating these rings. NB. Please note that I make extensive use of rulers, guides, and Snap functions in this tutorial - all of which are described in exquisite detail in the Photoshop help file. If you aren't familiar with these commands it is HIGHLY recommended that you learn the basics before proceeding any further. Step 1: Create a 200px by 200px blank document and fill the background layer with white. Create a blank transparent layer on top, rename it Shape1, and select it. Position guides in the centre of the image, as shown on the left. Then, using the circular marquee tool, create a 180px by 180px fixed selection and Edit > Fill it with Black. Now use the move tool to move the circle until it snaps automatically into position in the centre of the image.

Step 2: Create a new transparent layer on top of the others called Shape2, and repeat the circle creation part of step 1, but this time with a grey circle of 140px by 140px. Move it into the snapped central position as before.

Step 3: Now create a selection around the Shape2 layer by holding down CTRL and clicking on the layer in the layers palette once. After you have done this, select the Shape1 layer, and tap the DEL button on the keyboard. Delete (or Hide) the Shape2 layer and you should be left with a smooth ring identical to the one opposite.

Step 4: Using the rectangular marquee, create a rectangle 200px in width, and 10px in height. Position it in the middle of the ring, and press DEL to erase a small portion of the ring.

Step 5: Now choose Select > Transform Selection from the menu and rotate the selection by 45 degrees. You can do this by entering the value directly into the toolbar or by holding down SHIFT on your keyboard and dragging outside the selection (this moves the selection in 15 degree chunks). Press ENTER to finalize the selection changes and then DEL once more. Repeat this step twice and you should end up with a segmented ring like the one on the left. Step 6: Add a little individuality to your work by clicking on Edit > Transform > Perspective. Drag the corners around until you have achieved the effect you desire, and press ENTER to finalize the change. There you have it - a very snazzy segmented ring awaiting your further decoration.

Variations: It should be remembered, of course, that segmented rings are a primary building block of more complex designs. With a little time and effort you can build upon the ring and the principles in its creation to make some very pretty logos. Also bear in mind that you can omit Steps 4 and 5 if you want to create a halo! Just have a play around and see what you can come up with - the example logo below took a mere 5 minutes from start to finish!

[scan lines]
1 CREATE A NEW DOCUMENT (CTRL+N) AND USE THESE SETTINGS:

2 YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE THAT THE DOCUMENT YOU JUST CREATED IS

A BIT SMALL TO WORK WITH, SO GO AHEAD AND ZOOM IN, I WENT TO SELECT THE UPPER HALF OF THE IMAGE AND FILL IT WITH BLACK

1600 %

(#000000)

(USE WHITE FOR DARKER BACKGROUNDS)

3 GO TO EDIT > DEFINE PATTERN

YOU WILL SEE A WINDOW APPEAR WHERE YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR PATTERN A NAME. I CALLED IT SCAN LINES, BECAUSE THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO FIND IT BACK IN THE LIBRARY WHERE IT WILL BE SAVED

4 HIT OK AND OPEN THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO ADD THE SCAN LINES TOO.
OR JUST MAKE A SELECTION IF YOU DON'T WANT TO APPLY THE SCAN LINES TO THE ENTIRE IMAGE. CREATE A NEW BLANK LAYER ABOVE THE IMAGE AND MAKE SURE THAT IT REMAINS SELECTED HAVE A DARK BLUE BACKGROUND)

(THE LAYER SHOULD

5 NOW GO TO EDIT > FILL AND SELECT YOUR PATTERN YOU JUST CREATED
HIT OK AND THERE YOU GO!

6 YOU MIGHT FIND THE SCAN LINES TOO HARD SO BRING DOWN THE OPACITY
AND/OR FILL THE RESULT

(IN THE LAYERS PALETTE) UNTILL YOUR ARE SATIFIED WITH (GO UNDER 50 % FOR BEST RESULTS). YOU WILL SEE THAT SUBTLE IS THE KEY FOR ALL YOUR IMAGES. YOU DON'T WANT THE SCAN
LINES TO OVERWHELM YOUR ENTIRE IMAGE

Photo to Sketch
Learn how to convert photos to sketches.

Sponsors - Templatez

Here is the photo I am using for this tutorial. Feel free to use it, if you'd like.

Copy your photo into a new document and name ir 'Original'. Duplicate the layer 'Original' and rename it 'Desaturated'. Desaturate the layer 'Desaturated' so that it has no color by hitting Shift+Ctrl+U (Mac: Shift+Command+U). Duplicate the 'Desaturated' layer and name the new layer '1'. Now go Filters>Blur>Smart Blur and use these settings: Radius: 60 Threshold: 100 Best Quality and use Edge Only. Click OK and invert the layer, now apply a Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur with a radius of 1, and set its Blending Mode to Hard Light (which can by done in the upper left corner of the Layers Palette).

Duplicate the 'Desaturated' layer, rename it to '2', and move it over layer '1'. Now go Stylize>Emboss and use these settings: Height: 1 Amount: 119% Click OK and set the Blending Mode to Hard Light. Duplicate the 'Desaturated' layer, rename it to '3', and move it above layer '2'. Apply the Filters>Blur>Smart Blur filter once again but this time use: Radius: 10 Threshold: 100 Best Quality and Edges Only. Click OK. Invert the layer and set the Blending Mode to Multiply and Opacity to 40%.

Once again, duplicate the 'Desaturated' layer, rename it to '4' and move it above layer '3'. Apply the Filter>Styling>Glowing Edges filter with these settings: Edge Width: 1 Edge Brightness: 7 Smoothness: 6 Click OK and invert the layer. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 40%. Duplicate the layer '4' and Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur it, use a radius of about 3 - 4 this will give us that shaded look. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and Opacity to 100%.

Adding Color: Duplicate the 'Original' layer and name it 'Color' and move it to the top of all the layers. Set its Blending Mode to Hard Light, duplicate the layer 'Color', and set its Blending Mode to Color. Here are the finished results.

Antiquing Photographs
Old photos appeard very grainy and at times gleamed with silver. In this Tutorial you will take a nice new image and antique it.

This tutorial uses this image

1. Open up this image in Photoshop. 2. Duplicate the background image by right clicking the layer and selecting duplicate. 3. On the Background copy, Click Image=> Adjust=> Desaturate. 4. Click Filter=>Artistic=>Film grain. Use the Default settings of

grain =4 Highlight area = 0 Intensity = 10

5. Use the polygonal lasso tool to select the barn in the image. Click Select=> Inverse. Then click the add layer mask button on the bottom of the layers panel. 8. Duplicate the background copy. Click on the layer mask on this layer. Click Image=> adjust=> invert. then change the layer mode to Luminosity.