Web 2.0 Design Kit, Part 2

Diagonal Line Patterns

There are a lot of websites out there that use some sort of variation of a diagonal pattern. One of them being this website (look up) and a few other sites. The hardest part of this is creating the actual pattern.
The first thing you’ll want to do is create a new document by going to [File > New] or pressing [Ctrl + N]. When the New Document dialog opens, set the Background Contents to [Transparent]. The dimensions settings will depend on the size of the line you want to create and the amount of space between the lines. For this first example I’ll just be using 1-pixel wide lines spaced 1-pixel apart, so my dimensions will only have to be 3px x 3px.

Since my document is so tiny I’m going to zoom in as close as possible, 1600%, by pressing [Ctrl + =]. Using the Pencil Tool with a Brush Size of 1, I’ll draw three dots in a diagonal.


Select All by pressing [Ctrl + A] and go to [Edit > Define Pattern...]. You can then name your pattern in the Pattern Name dialog box.

Your new pattern is now ready to use. Create a new Pattern Fill Layer by going [Layer > New Fill Layer > Pattern] or by using the button on the bottom of the Layers palette.

You can click on the down arrow next to the current pattern, if your new one isn’t selected, to find your pattern. Click on the small right-facing arrow and choose “Small List” to see the names of your patterns.

Press OK to finish the new Pattern Fill layer. You’ll now have your diagonal pattern.

It’s pretty ugly right now, so I’m going to drop the Opacity of the new layer to around [15%].

To create a thicker line pattern we’ll have to determine our size and spacing then create a new layer. I’m going for 4-pixels wide spaced 4-pixels apart, so I’ll create a new document [Ctrl + N] 12px x 12px. Select the Line Tool and set the options in the Options bar to [Fill pixels], Weight [4px], and [Anti-alias] unchecked.

Draw your line diagonally holding the [Shift] key to make sure it’s completely diagonal. Then zoom in really close again.

Select the Square Marquee tool [M] and draw a 7px x 7px square and drag the corner to the line like shown:

Press [Ctrl + J] to duplicate the selection onto its own new layer. Drag that new layer to the corner. Then make another square selection starting in the corner like shown:

That selection is going to be the new pattern, so, go to [Edit > Define Pattern] and follow the steps from before.

Rounded Corners

Rounded corners are nothing new in web design. It became trendy then died down a little bit, I think, because it’s hard to program for (I’m a web developer), but with some new solutions popping up, they’re becoming easier to deal with.
This method will show you how to create smooth rounded corners that can be fine-tuned. A little more flexible and technical than just going [Select > Modify > Smooth] or using the Rounded Rectangle Shape tool.
Starting with a square or rectangle selection, create a new Solid Color (or Gradient) Fill Layer, making sure your selection is smaller than your canvas.

Now we’ll add a small Gaussian Blur by going [Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur]. Setting the blur higher will make a more rounded corner; lower setting for a smaller corner. A good average is usually [3.0 pixels].

Now we can use two methods to finish our corners, Curves or Levels, so I’ll show you both. Personally, I like using Curves, so I’ll show you that method first.
Bring up the Curves dialog box by pressing [Ctrl + M].

Click on the Curves line to create an adjustment point. Add a point to the upper end of the line and drag it towards the middle. Do the same with the lower end of the line. Adjust the points until you see your blur start to sharpen and your rounded corners appear. Use the image below for reference.

You now have rounded corners.
To use the Levels method, bring up the Levels dialog box by pressing [Ctrl + L].

Drag the two side sliders towards the middle and you’ll see the blur disappearing and the rounded corners starting to show.


With a little experimenting and a combination of these techniques, you can make your website design a little more modern and (maybe) a little more trendy.

Note: If you want to make an angry “Web 2.0″-related comment, please read this first.
Thanks and enjoy!
MASTER FILE DOWNLOAD
I’ve decided to make my master .PSD file for these tutorials available for download.
Download the Web 2.0 Design Kit Master PSD file (82.5kb ZIP).

Fun With Facial Hair

Photoshop provides a pretty easy way to make some fairly realistic looking facial hair. This tutorial will show you how fun and easy it is to add facial hair to a photo.
Select the Brush tool [B] and under the Brush menu find the Dune Brush and select it.

TIP: You can choose to view your brushes by selecting “Text Only” from your brush menu.


Use the Eyedropper tool [I] and sample the color of your person’s hair. Hold the [Alt] and sample another, slightly different, color of your person’s hair.

Now we’re going to go through the wonderful Brushes Palette. You can open it by going to [Window > Brushes] or by pressing [F5].

This is where all the magic happens. Under “Shape Dynamics” we’re going to: increase the Angle Jitter a bit, decrease the Roundness Jitter a bit, and check both the Flip X Jitter and Flip Y Jitter checkboxes.

Under “Scattering” we can control how dense we want the hair to be. We’re going to start her off with a little 5′o click shadow. So I’ll set the Scatter to around 200% and the Count to 2.

Under “Color Dynamics” I’m just going to increase the Hue Jitter slightly.

Now I’ll just create a new layer [Ctrl + Shift + N] and decrease my brush size to something small… like 5 or 6. Then just start painting in the appropriate areas.

Now let’s say we wanted to make the hair a little thicker. All we have to do is increase the Brushe size slightly (8 or 9 here) and start painting again.

Just keep playing with the “Scattering” settings, Brush size, and color to get different types of hair. You can even play around with the Layer modes and duplicating the layers.



See? So much fun.
UPDATE
Since a few people were having troubles with the brushes, you can download my brushes here: psLAB Brushes. You might see a few extra brushes, but the hair one is at the bottom.

Aging People

This Photoshop tutorial will show you how to add on the years to almost anybody. It’s basically a practice using the Burn and Dodge tools. This is a fairly advanced tutorial, so it helps to have a little bit of artistic talent, even though I don’t. Go ahead and select the Burn tool [O].

Now, I might have a slight advantage, since I’m using a Wacom tablet. Tablets are the perfect compliment to Photoshop for almost any project. If you have the means, I highly suggest picking up at least a Wacom Graphire 3. You can usually find them for under $100. Tablets let you control the sensitivity of your brushes by how much pressure you apply.

If you don’t have a tablet, then you’ll want to get used to using your [Enter] key on your number pad. This allows you to quickly jump to your Exposure setting in the Options bar. You’ll also want to get familiar with your [{] and [}] keys. These keys allow you to quickly adjust your brush size. Ready?

Another helpful tip, is to go to [Window > Arrange > New Window]. This will duplicate the window, not the image, and allow you to keep one window at 100%, while you do your work in the zoomed-in window. This helps you from having to repeatedly zoom in and out.
Let’s open the photo of the person that we’re going to be aging. I chose this photo of Salma Hayek, for one, cause she’s hot, and for two, she already has a bit of natural wrinkle going on… which is good to start with.

Select a small brush size of 2 or 3. Make sure the Range is set to “Midtones” in your Options bar. Start with the eye area and start brushing some straight lines for the wrinkles. Now these won’t look too realistic yet, so hold the [Alt] key and trace the lines you just made. This will highlight (Dodge) and add some depth to the wrinkles.

Now start tracing the natural lines of the face and extend the lines a little bit. This will strengthen and lengthen the natural wrinkles.

Now choose an even smaller brush size of 1 or 2, and add some “accent” wrinkles. Use the same Burn, then Dodge technique.

Select a wider brush size of around 4 or 5. Lower the Exposure to around 3-4% and darken in the areas around her eyes, the cheeks, and some of the wrinkles.
Now go to the neck region. Up your Exposure a bit, hold the [Alt] key and create some thick white lines vertically on her neck. Let got of the [Alt] key and trace the light lines. Add a little bit more shadow if you need, and try to make it blend into the chin.

Now you can go back and add any little accent wrinkles you want.

Now choose the Brush Tool [B] and select the Grass brush.

Open the Brushes palette [Window > Brushes] and under the Shape Dynamics, check on the Flip X Jitter and Flip Y Jitter checkboxes.

Choose a white foreground color and a grey background color. Create a new layer, and shrink your brush size to around 5 or 7. Paint in the eyebrows a little bit. Set the Layer Mode to “Hard Light” and you might want to lower the Opacity a bit. This will add some grey highlights to the eyebrows.

Now you can go back and add some forehead wrinkles, and darken the teeth a little bit. Create a new layer and choose the Brush Tool [B] choose a darker skintone color, and paint some liver spots. Set the Layer mode to Multiply and adjust the opacity.

Now choose a thin brush and the Brush tool. Choose a grey color and paint in some hair strands. Lower the opacity, create another layer, and do it again. This will add some depth to the grey hair.

And that’s about it. It’s hard to write a tutorial like this, because it’s more about technique than the process. Hopefully, with some practice, you can get pretty good at this.
Original:

Aged:

Good luck!
Update: If you would like to learn how to do the opposite, check out Fountain of Youth by Lachlan Phillips.

PixelCreation Visual Effects – sponsored by Twisting Pixels

PixelCreation is an impressive suite of visual effect filters. These sensational filters are designed to allow the user to create fluffy clouds, spectacular constellations, and celestial skies. Drop in a moon add a soft glow and some twinkling stars with easy to use tools that will allow precise placement of each visual in the areas you want them. With a few simple controls the user can easily add variation to enhance each effect to his desired shape or size. Here’s how:

Target Image:

Original Image:

1. MoonGlow

1.1. Open the image in Twisting Pixels
1.2. Find your menu select [Filter] find [Pixel Creation] and then add your [Moon Glow].

1.3. Adjust your MoonGlow settings by using the sliders; move your MoonGlow by dragging it.
- Use tab labeled [Halo and Eclipse] to adjust your moon’s halo and glow.

2. Moon Ring

2.1. Find your menu select [Filter] find [Pixel Creation] and then add [MoonRing]
2.2. Make sure your MoonRing is behind your MoonGlow by dragging your MoonRing layer below your MoonGlow layer in your layer menu.

2.3. Get rid of your ring, but not the glow.
-Move the [Ring Softness], [Ring Width], and [Ring Opacity] sliders to zero to make your ring disappear.
2.4. Size the glow to fit precisely behind your MoonGlow, making the glow small.

3. Altocumulus

3.1. Altocumulus gives a foggier look. Go to your menu find [Filter] find [PixelCreation] then add [Altocumulus].

-Place as many layers of Altocumulus clouds around your moon as desired.

3.2. To keep your layers organized but your Altocumulus clouds in a group folder.

-At the bottom right hang corner click on the group folder icon to put your Altocumulus clouds in the same group.

-You can label your folder by clicking on [Group].

4. CumulusNimbus

4.1. I threw in a CumulusNimbus cloud to add a little more variation. You can do this by going to your menu find [Filter] find [PixelCreation] and adding [CumulusNimbus]
-add as many as desired
-If you want your CumulusNimbus clouds in a group folder just follow directions in 3.2.

5. Darkening your image

5.1. Your image should resemble this before making darker.

5.2. Use Monotone to darken your image. Go to your menu find [Filter] find
[PixelSampler] and add [Monotone].
5.3. Change your Monotone color by clicking on the black box next to your color slider. That should bring up your color selection.

-Choose any color, I choose a dark blue to go with this image.

5.4. Change the darkness of the picture by adjusting the [Color] slider.
5.5. To make the picture more clear adjust the [Softness] and [Softness Blend] to little or none.

6. Intensify your moon

6.1. On your menu find [Filter] find [PixelCreation] and add [Tonal Intensity].
6.2. Use the Ellipse tool located at the top left corner to have Tonal Intensity on and around the moon.

-Adjust the ellipse on and around the moon for an intense glow.

6.3. Your end product should resemble this:

Tutorial written and sponsored by Twisting Pixels