CS4 Photoshop

In this tutorial we will explain how to create a metallic copper text effect using layer styles in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

• Concrete Bunker Texture
• Argel Font
• Palace Balls Picture

Step 1

Create a new file. Set Width and Height to 700 px and the resolution to 72 PPI. Name: Angel text

Step 2

Fill the canvas with the Concrete Bunker texture.

Step 3

Marge the concrete bunker texture to the background.

Step 4

Go to menu > Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation > use the values as shown below.

Step 5

Apply Sharpen twice: Go to menu > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Add Noise: Go to menu > Filter > Noise > Add Noise > use the values as shown in the pop-up, in the left side of the image below. Create a new empty layer over the background; fill it with color code #252829. Apply Blend mode "Color" as shown in the menu, in the right side of the image below. Finally merge it to the background (Command/Ctrl+E).

Step 6

Type the word “Angel” using the “Argel Font”, font size 310 pt, tracking 0. Select the letter “A” and set tracking to 40. All values as shown in the image below.

Step 7

Using the "Move Tool", select the text and background layer, then click the align commands: "Align Horizontal Center" and "Align Vertical Center" on the top menu to center it.

Step 8

Apply a Layer Style on the text layer (right click over the layer > Blending Options). Set Blending Options step by step as shown in the image below and click ok.

Note: to edit the Gloss Contour in the Bevel and Emboss step: click the contour thumbnail to open the Contour Editor pop-up > click in the contour mesh to add points and enter values for Input and Output.

Step 9

Copy the image “Palace Balls” from the browser, paste it over the text layer “Angel” and rename the image layer to “Reflection01.” Using the "Move Tool," select "Reflection01" image layer and background layer, then click the align commands: "Align Bottom Edges" and "Align Left Edges" on the top menu, as shown in the image below.

Step 10

Select “Reflection01″ image layer and using the “Rectangular Marquee Tool”, right click over the picture and choose “Free Transform”. Then lock the proportions with the loop icon “Maintain Aspect Ratio” on the top menu, as shown in the image below and reduce Width and Height to 70%, set Horizontal Position to 1099.2 px and set Vertical Position to -7.8 px and press enter.

Step 11

Apply a Layer Style on “Reflection01″ image layer (right click over the layer > Blending Options) and apply Gradient Overlay values as shown below and click ok, to get a metal copper tone.

Step 12

Apply Sharpen thrice: Go to menu > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen (remember repeat this step three times).

Step 13

Reduce Noise: Go to menu > Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise. Using the values as shown below.

Step 14

Duplicate layer “Reflection01″ and rename to “Reflection02.” After renaming it apply: Blend mode to Lighten and Opacity to 50% as shown below.

Step 15

To achieve a stunning reflection effect, select “Reflection02″ image layer and using the “Rectangular Marquee Tool”, right click over the picture and choose: Free Transform > Flip Horizontal > and reduce Width to -90% and Height to 90%, set Horizontal Position to 513 px and set Vertical Position to 108 px as shown below and press enter.

Step 16

Select the two image layers and go to menu > Layer > Create Clipping Mask. To put the reflections inside the layer font. Finally, select the two image and text layers to link them by clicking over the "Link Layers" icon at the bottom of the layers palette. To have the final text effect linked.

Final Image

In this past, working with a lot of text in Photoshop was a hassle. Global changes to text simply could not be made easily. In Photoshop CS6, Adobe has given us new ways to manage our text. This episode of our Introduction to Photoshop CS6 series will explain the new Paragraph and Character style panels. Let’s take a look!

For many professional illustrators, Photoshop is the tool of choice to create hand-drawn digital artwork or paintings. With the right knowledge and skills, it can be used to create stunning works of art. With that said, we’re not all professional illustrators. In this tutorial we will explain how to achieve similar results by applying Filter Forge effects to quick hand-drawn sketches. Let’s get started!

Filter Forge is a powerful third-party plugin that allows you to apply over 4,000 amazing effects to your images, and even create your own. To learn more about Filter Forge, you can visit their website, download the trial version of the software, or check out their filter gallery.

Split Frequency Healing is a technique that you can use in Photoshop that will allow you retouch photos without affecting the photo’s respective tone or texture. In this tutorial, commercial retoucher, Daniel Meadows, who has worked for clients such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Chanel, and L’Oreal Paris, will explain this technique and how it can be used in your workflow. Let’s get started!

Special thanks to Dubai Photographer, Sherif Mokbel for providing the photography for this tutorial.

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

• Model

Before You Begin

Let’s take a look at the image that we’ll be using for this tutorial. Below you’ll see a typical example of markup you might receive from a client. It might be a jpeg like this, a scan of a pen-annotated print or simply a set of instructions or suggestions, but ultimately you’ll be expected to deliver on a set brief.

We have instructions to clean up the image, a little liquify for a more pleasing curve to the back and waist, and to remove the purple-blue tone from the model’s legs. I’ll cover the techniques you’ll need to complete the shot over the course of several tutorials. Remember not to deviate too far from what your client is asking for, run it by them first. If you think a background color change is really going to make the subject pop, try discussing your ideas, especially if it’s for a portfolio project. If it’s a commercial or editorial job however and the art director wants neutral white, he or she of course, gets white.

There are quite a few ways to achieve a similar result in Photoshop, and I’ll be going through a number of them, often focusing on one in particular and giving a couple of alternatives you might want to try.

The first step we’re going to follow in completing this shot is the healing, the ‘basic cleanup.’ For this we’re going to be mostly using the clone stamp (S), but we’ll do it a little differently to the way the software intended. Be sure to start off using the key commands for your tools, you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the long run. When you’re trying to meet an unreasonable deadline and your left hand is bringing up every tool and command without giving it a thought you’ll thank me for it. Take a look at the look at the shot we have to work with:

The lighting’s a blessing, the well defined shadows and highlights give us a great guide to follow when we come to carving, but we’ll get to that. The skin is very good, with just enough marks and texture variance to give us a good run at the exercise. Remember that with high end commercial retouching you’re going to be getting professional models with great skin, great lighting, make up, wardrobe etc. It isn’t about changing the shot, or the model, it’s about perfecting it. Here’s a close up of the kind of texture variations I mentioned:

It might be instinctive to head straight for the clone stamp or healing tools, but the clone stamp will carry luminosity and tone with it, causing problems in light to shadow or vice versa. The healing tools carry the texture and then attempt to approximate the tone and luminosity with an algorithm. What if there was a way of cloning nothing but the texture, ignoring the luminosity and tone, and simply replacing a piece of texture elsewhere? Well we’ve got one, and it’s called frequency separation.

Split Frequency Healing

Now we’re going to split the image into its low and high frequencies. To get a better idea of what that means, take a look at this blog post regarding the reason for the famous ‘Mona Lisa Smile.’

It was very clear to me that when I looked at her mouth, she wasn’t smiling as much as when I looked at her eyes.

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa smiles in the blurry low frequency, but not in the high frequency texture. Look directly at the lips in the full image on the left, and then at the shadow that suggests a more pronounced smile in the blurred image to the right:

To split an RGB image into it’s low and high frequencies do the following. Create two copies of your background layer (when we’ve finished the following steps, one will be low, one high, and the original background image is kept for reference).

You’ll notice I’ve renamed them to ‘LF’ and ‘HF.’ As you might expect, to achieve the low frequency image, we use a blur. Gaussian Blur the LF layer at a radius of around 15.

The interesting bit is how we turn the HF layer into one that contains only the high frequency data, so we can view it together with the low frequency layer as one composite image. For an 8bit image, select the HF layer, head to Image > Apply Image, and use the following settings:

For 16bit images use the settings in this box:

Hit ok and you’ll have an image that looks like this:

In that layer is all the sharp, high frequency texture detail we’ve been hoping to isolate, against a neutral grey. To tell Photoshop to ignore the unhelpful grey, set the Layer Mode to Linear Light:

Our image should now look like the image below which is indistinguishable from the original (the eagle-eyed amongst you might notice a barely perceptible difference if you look very closely).

If you switch off the Background layer for a moment and toggle the visibility between just the LF and just the HF layers, you’ll notice that the image we now have is a true composite, one layer without the other doesn’t work.

But together we get the full image. The benefit we have now is that we can clone and heal on just the HF, or ‘texture’ layer without affecting the tones, and we also have the opportunity to fix tones and luminosity on the LF layer without ever affecting the texture.

Grab your Clone Stamp (S), making sure it is set to ‘Current Layer’ (we don’t want to carry any of the low frequency information onto the texture layer):

And begin to remove any blemishes by Alt (Mac: Opt)-clicking an area of good texture and painting over the areas of poor texture:

As you can see, the overall tone and lighting has remained, with only the texture affected. It’s not something we can usually do with the Clone Stamp, and the Healing Brush can fall short.

You may notice that this method fails when dealing with hard edges, and areas where there is a dominant tone beneath the texture, such as the rather extreme example below:

For this reason, it’s necessary to start a new layer above your frequency layers, and clone over any problem areas this way. Don’t forget to set the Clone Stamp’s Sample back to Current & Below.

Healing Completed

And here’s a close up of the skin after nothing but some careful cloning, 95% of which was done on the high frequency layer:

Conclusion

At this point, we’ve improved the condition of the model’s skin so we don’t have to worry about print size, we know the blemishes are gone and for many purposes this is far enough. Not for us of course, in the next tutorial we’re going to head into dodging and burning, locally adjusting luminosity to even out tones. Please share and post your comments, and I’ll see you soon!

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Marcela Bolivar will explain how create a surreal and dreamy photo manipulation using atmosphere, lighting, masks, textures, and custom brushes. This tutorial is available exclusively to Tuts+ Premium Members. If you are looking to take your photo manipulation skills to the next level then Log in or Join Now to get started!

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In this article we will showcase the work of Ukrainian artist, Alla Mingalyova (AKA AllaD8). Mingalyova’s photo manipulations are fun, feminine, and beautiful. Let’s take a look!

The Swan Princess

I Need a Hero

My Secret Friend

Spirited Away 2

Waking Up

Farewell

Blonde

Miss S.

2008

The Brush Panel in Photoshop CS6 includes plenty of new features. In this episode of our Introduction to Photoshop CS6 series we will explain how to work with Live Pen Tilt Preview, Brush Projection, as well as the new Erodible Tip and Airbrush brushes. Let’s get started!

We know how much you guys like to test your knowledge of Photoshop so today we are giving you an opportunity to do so with another quiz from Martin Perhiniak. Please take a moment to complete this 10-question quiz and see if you’re prepared to pass our test! Good luck!

Editor’s note: this quiz is for Photoshop CS5.

We’re planning our next few Tuts+ sites, and would love your opinion and advice on which topics you think we should cover next! We’d be really grateful if you could take a minute to answer our quick poll and share your thoughts…

Have Your Say

We’ve been considering lots of different ideas for our next Tuts+ sites over the past few weeks, and wanted to also ask the opinion of our awesome community!

A selection of different concepts are included in the poll to the right, along with the option for you to submit your own ideas as well.

The important thing to note is that these are just ideas. Some of these are close to making our final cut, and others aren’t… We’d love to hear what you think, to help guide our decision.

Thanks for taking the time to offer your suggestion — I can’t wait to see what you have to say!

Win a 6-Month Tuts+ Premium Membership

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To be entered into the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post to go into a bit more detail about your site suggestion. We’ll choose one comment at random to win the Tuts+ Premium membership when the poll ends.

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Photoshop layer styles are a popular way to add effects, such as drop shadows and strokes, to layers in a non-destructive way. With the right knowledge and experience, any effect can be achieved. To achieve these effects, however, you need to understand what each setting does and how they can be combined to achieve a certain look. In this series by John Shaver from Design Panoply, we will explain every aspect of Photoshop’s layer styles feature and show you how to unlock their potential. In this article, Part 2: How to Use Drop Shadows in Photoshop we will explain the Drop Shadow settings, what they each do, and how we can use them to create different effects. Let’s take a look!

What Are Drop Shadows Used For?

The traditional use for a drop shadow is to simulate 3D depth in a 2D image. This is done by creating an offset shadow behind an object to indicate that the object is hovering above the background in 3D space.

Below you will see an example of how a drop shadow can indicate how big the light source is and where it is coming from, as well as how far away an object is from the background. By changing only the settings of the shadow, you can dramatically change the look of an image.

The Layer Styles Drop Shadow Dialog Box

The Drop Shadow Dialog Box is a good place to start for beginners because the settings are pretty basic and will give you an overall feel of how to use the rest of the effects as well. A subtle drop shadow is also one of the best effects to give your design a little pick-me-up.

Blend Mode

The Blend Mode allows you to set the blending mode for your shadow. Typically you will want this to be Multiply or Linear Burn, so that your shadow darkens the layer that is behind it.

If you are unfamiliar with how all the different Blending Modes work, I highly recommend checking out the Blending Is Fun Basix tutorial.

This is also where you set the color of your shadow by clicking the color block next to the Blend Mode dropdown menu. By default, the shadow color will be black, but you can add a tint of color or even try something outrageous to get special effects.

In the following example, you can see that the color of the shadow on the left is black, while the color of the shadow on the right is a dark maroon color. This creates the result you see below. One simple change can make a totally different looking style.

Opacity

The Opacity slider allows you to specify how transparent your shadow will be. A setting of 0% is completely see through while 100% is completely opaque.

In the following example, you can see that simply by changing the opacity from 25% to 60%, the shadow becomes much more prominent.

Angle

The Angle spinner and corresponding box allow you to change the apparent angle that the light source comes from. By turning the "Use Global Light" checkbox on, any changes you make to the angle of the drop shadow will also change the angle of the light sources used in other effects like Bevel and Emboss, Inner Shadow, etc. By leaving it unchecked, you can change the light angle for the drop shadow independently of other effects.

The recommended setting is "checked" for most cases, because we want to have a uniform light source for the most cohesive looking effect.

In the following example, changing the angle of the light source changes the way in which the shadow falls, and since "Use Global Light" is checked, it also changed the light angle for the Bevel and Emboss effect as well.

Distance

The Distance slider changes the apparent distance between the subject and the background. The effect is achieved by altering the distance between the subject and the drop shadow itself.

In the following example, increasing the distance gives the effect that the text on the left is hovering just above the background while the text on the right is farther away.

Spread

The Spread slider changes the falloff of the shadow in a linear fashion, or in other words, how gradually it fades out at the edges.

For a typical drop shadow, you will normally want to leave this at 0%, but for harder shadows you should increase it, and for shadows with hard edges or even extra strokes you can set it all the way to 100%.

In the following example, increasing the spread percentage changes the falloff of the shadow so that it stays darker longer as it fades out at the edge.

Size

The Size slider changes the apparent size of the shadow. When it is set to 0, the shadow is exactly the same size as the shape of the object. As you increase the size, the shadow grows in 1 pixel increments.

In the following example, increasing the size of the shadow gives us flexibility over controlling not only the overall size of the shadow, but the softness of it as well.

Contour

The Contour shapes allow you to change the falloff of the shadow in a non linear fashion. By choosing different curve profiles, you can get the shadow to fade out in different ways.

The only time this is really useful is when you are trying to achieve special glow or abstract effects.

In addition, the "Anti-aliased" checkbox allows you to improve the quality of the shadow falloff with a very slight drop in performance. The performance decrease is negligible, so we recommend always keeping the box checked.

In the following example, changing the Contour shape to an inverted "U" results in an odd looking "halo" shadow effect.

Noise

The Noise slider is a useful tool to give your shadow a gritty feel. If you are creating a style that is going to resemble dirt or concrete, adding some noise can help the overall effect. For a totally smooth shadow, leave it at 0%.

In the following example, setting the noise to only 15% gives us a pretty substantial amount of grit in the shadow. A good range to use is 0%-25%, as going higher than 25% can often result in a very unnatural look.

Knock it Out

What in the world does "Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow" mean? It is simple once you understand the concept, but can be tricky for beginners because it only applies in certain situations. Luckily, this setting is almost always better left checked.

When you create a new layer and apply a drop shadow to it, you are looking at two things, the layer contents, and the layer style. If you recall from Part 1 of our guide, you can hide the layer contents while still showing the layer style by setting the "Fill" in the Layers Palette to 0% for a given layer.

In the following example, both sets of text have their "Fill" set to 0%, but the one on the left has the "Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow" checkbox checked, while the one on the right does not. The result is that the text on the left creates a type of transparency mask (or "knocks out" the drop shadow), which does not allow the drop shadow to show through. Alternatively, the text on the right does not "knock out" the drop shadow, allowing it to show through.

Saving and Loading Default Settings

You can save and load default settings for each effect in the Layer Styles dialog box. By clicking "Make Default", Photoshop will store whatever settings are currently active as the new default settings for that effect.

By clicking "Reset to Default", Photoshop will then load whatever settings were last saved. This allows you to experiment and simply reload custom default settings if you want to start over.

One for the Road

Until next time, this free, exclusive layer style and accompanying .PSD will allow you to experiment with your own Drop Shadow settings.