Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Creating an abstract background- Erin Pfau

Abstraction - Create an abstract background

This short but powerfull tutorial will explain you how to create an abstract background from scratch in a few easy to follow steps.
seperator2
seperator
Step 1.
Create a new document. I've used 800x600.
Fill the background with black using the paint bucket tool (G)
Duplicate the black layer (Cmd+J)



Step 2.
Go to [Filter > Render > Lens Flare] and place a flare on desired position



Step 3.
Repeat step 2, but place the flares somewhere else now.



Step 4.
Go to [Filter > Pixelate > Mezzotint] and apply short lines. Repeat Mezzotint by applying (Cmd+F) about three times.



Step 5.
Once done, go to [Filter > Blur > Radial Blur] and apply these settings:

Amount: 100
Blur method: Zoom
Quality: Best




Step 6.
Now you have to go to [Filter > Distort > Twirl] fill in around (60) and hit Ok.
Abstraction Image 8



Step 7.
Nothing special right? Duplicate the layer (Cmd+J) and set the blending mode to Lighten.
Select the just duplicated layer and re-apply the last filter using (Cmd+F)
Abstraction Image 8,5Abstraction Image 9



Step 8.
Looks better already! Repeat these steps: Duplicate layer, blending mode on Lighten, and re-apply the filter a few times (Cmd+F) untill desired result.



Step 9.
Now select all layers and merge them into one by using (Cmd+E when all selected)
Duplicate that merged layer and go to [Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal] also set this image to lighten.
Merge the 2 layers together using (Cmd+E) with both layers selected.
Abstraction Image 10



Step 10.
Looks pretty cool already huh? And we're not even done yet :)
Now go to [Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation] or by using (Cmd+U)
Set Saturation to -100 to make the background Black 'n White.
Abstraction Image 10,5



Step 11.
Let's color the background!
Go to [Image > Adjustments > Color Balance] or simply by using (Cmd+B)
Settings I've used:
Shadows: 40 / 0 / -50
Midtones: 40 / 0 / -40
Highlights: 50 / 0 / -50

Abstraction Image 11


Step 12.
When colored go play with the Levels wich can be found in [Image > Adjustments > Levels] or by using (Cmd + L)
Settings I've used:
13 / 0.55 / 251

No comments:

Post a Comment