Graphix1

Free Textures – 2 Packs to Download

carol — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:39:38 +0000

Today I am bringing you 2 sets of free textures. The Satin Stripes is a set of 8 textures each with a different gradient overlaid. They are 2434px x 2434px 72ppi.

RGB Textures is a pack of 3 in red, green a blue - quite different and unusual textures. 3000px x 2000px 72ppi.

I hope you can use and enjoy these free packs.

Click on the images to download the .zip files.

Random Posts

Still Life in Urban Decay: Memory-Invoking Photography

carol — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:03:12 +0000

Urban decay is all around us, I don't think there is a country in the world that doesn't have some kind of urban decay. It's a sad fact of life.

However, we can try to find the beauty within the destruction. Sometimes the old saying holds true: Beauty is more than skin deep.

In this round-up I have gathered some images of urban decay that incorporate still life. I have chosen these photographs to invoke memories... albeit not your own memories – if you really get your imagination going with these images, the whole experience can be quite sad and moving.

Urban Decay in Albany

Decay (not for the faint hearted)

Came across this giant teddy...

Please wash your hands

The doctor will see you now

Abandoned Building, Camp Washington

Yes, urban decay is a way of life, but how often do we really look deeper, beyond the surface destruction and desolation to the life and vitality that was once present in such places?

Please leave any comments or acknowledgments for the photographs/photographers below.

Create a Liquid Gold Text Effect in Photoshop

carol — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:08:11 +0000

This tutorial will walk you through the steps to create this liquid gold text effect. There are many gold text effect tutorials out there, but with this one I will show you how you can easily adapt it to create just about any liquid-filled text.

It is a fun effect using a method that can be played around with to achieve very different and interesting results.

Step 1

Create a new file using the following settings:

Fill the background with dark grey #1F1F1F

Step 2

Select the Type tool, Cooper Std font, or a similar heavy, rounded style font, size 300pt, foreground colour black.

Type your required text.

Right click on the layer in the layers palette and click on Rasterize Type.

Step 3

Duplicate the text layer twice so you have name these layers (from the bottom layer upwards): Text, Text copy and Text copy 2

Turn off the visibility of the Text and Text copy layers and make sure the Text copy 2 layer is highlighted in the layers palette.

Step 4

Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the thumbnail of the Text copy 2 layer in the layers palette to select the pixels.

Select>Modify>Contract: set to 4px, click OK

Hit the delete button.

You should be left with just a thin outline as shown below:

Step 5

Double click on the layer in the layers palette or click on fx at the bottom of the layers palette to bring up the blending options. Apply the following settings:

Bevel and Emboss:

Contour:

Color Overlay:

Stroke:

The result should be like that shown below:

Step 6

Make the Text copy layer active and restore the visibility.

Hold down the Ctrl button and click on the thumbnail in the layers palette to select the pixels.

Select>Modify>Contract: set to 3px, click OK

Select>Inverse

Hit the delete button.

Step 7

Double click on the layer in the layers palette or click on fx at the bottom of the layers palette to bring up the blending options. Apply the following settings:

Bevel and Emboss:

Color Overlay:

Your text should be looking like this:

Step 8

Create a new layer above the Text copy layer, hold down the Shift key and click on the Text copy layer so now both the new, empty layer and the Text copy layer should be highlighted. Right click on either of the highlighted layers and click Merge Layers, make sure the layer is still called Text copy.

Hold down the Alt key and click on the adjustment layer icon (circle half black and half white) at the bottom of the layers palette – make sure you hold down the mouse button while navigating to Solid Color.

Check the box Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask, click OK.

Use gold colour #937837. Set the layer mode to Color.

Step 9

Create a new layer above the Background layer and fill it with any colour.

Double click on the layer in the layers palette or click on fx at the bottom of the layers palette to bring up the blending options.

Apply the gradient of your choice, or use the same one I have used with the following settings:

Reduce the layer opacity to around 65%

Step 10

Make the Text layer active and restore visibility.

Ctrl + T to transform the object.

Right click within the Transform box and click on Skew. Move the top centre handle to the right.

Right click within the Transform box and click on Perspective. Move one of the top corner handles out a little.

Right click within the Transform box and click Free Transform. Move the top centre handle down to about two thirds of it's original height.

The transformation should be looking something like this:

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur: set to around 4, click OK

Reduce the layer opacity to around 40%

The finished effect:

You can make changes to the colour or the settings to give different effects, and here are a couple of examples:

Milky Text Effect

To achieve this effect I added another Text layer below the Text copy 2 layer and applied a Bevel and Emboss settings making the following changes to the default settings: Depth 1%, Size 46px, Gloss Contour: Half Round.

The font is Creampuff, available from 1001freefonts.com.

Water Text Effect

To achieve this effect I changed the colours for the colour overlay blends and used some bubble brushes.

The font is Alba Matter, available from dafont.com.

So as you can see, playing around with the settings can create some very different effects. You could perhaps have Chocolate Text, or Orange Juice Text. The possibilities are endless.

I hope you have fun and achieve a result you like.

Random Posts

Romance Action for Photoshop

carol — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:33:27 +0000

Today I am bringing you a free Photoshop action.

This action will give your images a dreamy, romantic effect. All layers are left unmerged so they can be adapted for your image.

Enjoy!

Click on the image to download the .atn file.

40+ Examples of Beautiful Foggy/Misty Scenes Photography

carol — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:22:19 +0000

Photographing foggy/misty scenes requires much skill from the photographer. Fog usual occurs in the evening and lasts until early morning. Very often over water as the water is warmer than the surrounding air.

Fog and mist naturally knock out colour, rendering the scene quite ‘flat’ and lacking in contrast, so longer exposure times are required to achieve a good photograph. When there is light involved, generally at night, the fog/mist create refraction which can fool the camera’s light monitor – these are a couple of the obstacles the photographer faces when shooting foggy/misty scenes, and where great skill is required.

This round-up brings you more than 40 outstanding and beautiful photographs shot in foggy/misty weather.

Fog in the Forest

Fog

Shrouded in Fog

Fog with Tree

Fog

In the Fog

The Fog’s a-rollin’ in

Ghosts in the Fog

Canada Geese in Morning Fog

Brooklyn Bridge in Fog

Fog Alley

Melancholic

Fog at the Golden Gate

Fog

Fog Forest

Shuswap Fog

Fog 3

Fog on the Tyne

Fog on the Water

Fogged

Blue Mists at Snoqualmie Falls

Mist in the Andes, Peru

Morning Mist

Mists over Victoria Falls

Creeping Mist

Mist 10

Lost in the Mist

Mist on the Dordogne River

Hedgehog in the Fog

Fishing in the Fog

Mist in Harbour

Awakening

Searching

Fading

Jump

Dreams

Waiting for the Miracle

The First Scene

Untitled

Drifting..

Revealed

Swimming in the Fog Morning

When we are out in fog or mist, there is a very creepy atmosphere, but good photography can change that creepiness into a soft, gentle moodiness.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing these outstanding examples of foggy/misty photography. Please leave any comments and acknowledgements for the photographers/photos in the comments section below.

Photo to Watercolour Painting Action for Photoshop

carol — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:33:20 +0000

Here is a Photoshop action that will give a photo a watercolour painting effect.

When using this action, if the effect is too much and is knocking out all the details, reduce the opacity of Layer 1 and/or Layer 1 copy 2

I hope you like this action, can use it and enjoy it!

Click on the image to download the .atn file

Unrealistic Natural Cloud Formations

carol — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:53:42 +0000

The title seems to be a contradiction in terms: how can natural cloud formations be unrealistic? But it does happen, and often!

Many times I look at the sky and consider that if an artist faithfully represented the cloud formation it would be considered unrealistic as a painting - which throws a shadow over the concept that artists are only limited by their own imagination - that is, if they want their art to appear realistic!

The best times to catch unrealistic cloud formations are sunrise and sunset and before, during or after a storm, however, strange formations can occur at any time of the day, any time of the year.

Here is a selection of beautiful but unrealistic natural cloud formations produced by outstanding photographers.

Click on any image to visit the page of origin

I hope you have enjoyed viewing these wonderful photographs - and did you agree with me that they are quite unrealistic natural cloud formations?

Please leave any comments or acknowledgements for the photos/photographers below.

New Year Gradients for Photoshop

carol — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:37:08 +0000

Here is a set of 20 gradients for Photoshop. I have called them 'New Year' simply because they were created at the beginning of the year. There is no real theme to them, just a collection of gradients that will hopefully be useful.

Although many designers don't like to use pre-made gradients, they can be a good starting point for creating your own, therefore saving a lot of time - always a bonus for busy designers!

Click on the image to download the .grd file.

Stunning Snowy Scene Photography

carol — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:36:35 +0000

Snow is a very unforgiving type of weather – it is cold, icy and generally dangerous to be out in. However, there is no doubt it is beautiful – nature plays tricks with us with snow!

For those of us who see snow most years, it is difficult to imagine there are people in this world who have never seen it – I expect that is the same vice versa too!

Here I have collected a selection of 30 snowy scene photographs that are of picture postcard quality. The beauty of the scenes draw us in… but beware, snowy weather will chew you up and spit you out!!

Click on any image to visit the page of origin

I hope you have enjoyed viewing these beautiful photographs depicting snowy scenes.

Please leave any comments or acknowledgements for the photos/photographers below.

Red Sunset PSD Colouring File

carol — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:34:37 +0000

Today I am bringing you a .psd colouring file that will turn a daytime photograph to a red sunset.

The beauty of .psd files is that all the adjustment layers are available for making your own desired changes, and although for most images not a lot of tweaking should be necessary, the facility is invaluable to get the exact effect you require.

I hope you have a use for this and enjoy it!

Click on the image below to download the .zip file