Right, so a lot of people whom I've shown this picture to constantly ask me how I did it, and how long it took.
(It never ceases to amaze me how shocked people are when I reply with "Less than 10 minutes.")
So, in this tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to make something called an Abstract Twirl. Which is this here:
This is actually a scaled down version of this (1k px X 1k px):
http://i29.tinypic.com/357k8yd.jpg
Alright, so first off, you need to know that this can be very RAM-dependant, depending on the size of your picture. So be wary of how big you make it.
Creating the Base
1.) Reset the
Color Picker (
press D ).
2.) Create a
new image anywhere from
500x500px to
1000x1000px with a
"transparent" background. (I like to use 1000x1000px on these because it pulls out more details.)
3.)
Fill (
Edit > Fill ) the background with
Black ( Hex #000000 ).
4.) Create
two new layers.
5.) On the
top layer, using the
pen tool, draw a
three to four pointed blob.
Example:
(To use the pen tool, just click, drag, release. It will create nice lines for you.)
6.) Click on the "
Paths" tab (next to Layers and Channels). You should see the shape you just created.
7.)
Right click on the "
Work Path" and click "
Make Selection."
8.) Go back to the
Layers tab and make sure you are on the
top layer.
9.) Take the
gradient tool and make a gradient like this:
10.) Drag the gradient from
around the center of the blob to
one of the edges.
11.)
Without deselecting, use the
Chrome Filter (
Filter > Sketch > Chrome ) with the settings below.
Your blob should now you like something like this:
NOTE: PS CS2 and CS3 both Chrome a little differently than each other. From experience, I've noticed that CS3's Chrome is not as 'shiny' as CS2's, so your result will vary a bit.
12.)
Deselect (
click outside the selection or press Ctrl-D ).
13.) This part is a bit tricky.
Right-click the blob and choose "
Free Transform."
14.)
Right click it again and go "
Perspective."
15.)Grab the
lower right corner and
drag it all the way to the
left.
16.) The free transform lines should make an
hourglass shape.
17.)
Double-click inside the transform box to apply the transformation.
18.)
Right click the blob again and choose "
Free Transform."
19.) Once again,
right click and choose "
Perspective."
20.) This time take the
upper right corner and pull it all the way
down.
21.)
Double-click inside the transform box to apply the transformation.
Should have something similar to this:
22.)
Right-click on the layer with the blob on it and open up the
Blending Options.
23.) Put a "
Drop Shadow" on it with these settings:
24.) In the "
Layers" panel, click on the
eye next to the
black background layer to hide it.
25.)
Click on the layer with the blob on it and Merge Visible (
Layer > Merge Visible ).
26.)
Unhide the
black background layer.
Great, you're done creating the base!
Creating the Action
1.) First we need to create the
action. An
action is a set of procedures that can be automatically run.
2.) Right now you should have two layers, the
background and the
blob.
Make sure you are
on the layer with the blob on it. Click on the "
Actions" tab (by the "
History" and "
Tool Presets" tabs).
3.)Click on the "
New Actions" button (it looks like a paper with its edge folded).
4.)Name your new action "
Abstract Twist" and assign any "
Function Key" (make sure you remember your function key). The function key will repeat the action every time it's pressed.
5.) The
Action is now
recording. This means it is recording ever step such as moving something or using a filter. Duplicate the
Blob layer.
6.) On the new blob layer, Go
Edit > Transform > Rotate and enter the settings below:
You should not touch the
X and
Y values.
7.) Press the
Stop button on the
Action tab to stop recording.
Creating the Abstract
Now comes the RAM intensive part. You should be on the
blob layer right now. What we are going to do is use the action to rotate and resize the blob over and over until it is unnecessary.
1.) Start
pressing your Function Key (from step 1) over and over again (
not too fast or Photoshop will not be able to keep up) until the blob gets so small that you cannot see it.
Should have something like this:
You have created the Abstract!
Coloring the Abstract
1.)
Hide the
background layer.
2.)
Choose any
blob layer and
Merge Visible (
Layer > Merge Visible ).
3.) Create a
new layer above the
blob layer.
Fill (
Edit > Fill ) this layer with
any color you want.
4.) Change the
Blending mode of this layer to "
Color".
5.)
Ctrl-click the blob layer to create a
selection of the
abstract.
6.)
Invert the Selection (
Select > Inverse ) and
press Delete.
This pretty much concludes the tutorial.
But, here are some other things you can do:
Optional Goodies
- If your abstract seems too dark,
duplicate the layer and set the upper layer’s
Blending Mode to "
screen".
- If you want to make your abstract glow,
do not delete the inverted selection in Step 9 . Instead,
duplicate the layer with the abstract on it and set the upper layer’s
Blending mode to "
screen". Apply a
Gaussian Blur (
Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur ) the upper layer with a
power of 2-5.
- Want to make your abstract more colorful? You can paint directly over the layer with color to change the colors!
http://i26.tinypic.com/10mk176.jpg http://i30.tinypic.com/jkc2dt.jpg http://i30.tinypic.com/t7lax0.jpg
Hope you all enjoyed this.
+Rep if you'd like to.
