wrapping objects with displacement maps

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Wrapping objects with Displacement MapsPhotoshop Tutorial

Displacement maps see like such strange and difficult animals until you learn to tame

them. In this long overdue tutorial, I will teach you what you need to know about

displacement maps in plain English, so that you can take advantage of the stunning

effects that can only be created by using these maps.INGREDIENTS

by Colin Smith Rock texture

Channels

Displacement maps

Lighting effects

Filters

Layer Blending modes

Difficulty 7/10

More Great TutorialsPhotoshopCAFE home

1

This is the technique that will

wrap your art around objects and (seemingly) magically make it hug every

contour
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Begin with a texture, you must be in RGB mode. I have another tutorialunder textures that shows you how to create this rock surface. You can

also just download it if you wish.

Download Rock here.

2

Click on the Channels palette and

click on each channel until you find the one with the most contrast (dark to

light). In this case it is the Red channel.
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3

We need to make a new document out of

the channel.

Either right click/Control+click on the channel area of the channels palette,

or click on the top right arrow to open the drop down menu. Choose

"duplicate channel."

Under destination>document, choose new.

Click ok

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You will now have a new document. This will become

our displacement map. Apply a 0.7 Gaussian blur (Filter>blur>Gaussian

blur) to lower the sharp detail a bit. This will make for a smoother image in

the end.

5


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Save the document as a

.psd, Any name will work, just remember it and the location. I put mine on

the desktop.

We have now created our displacement map for use later on.

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On our original document, click on the "RGB" to

restore the default channel display.

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Open the layers palette and add

your artwork or text on a new layer. This is the content that you want to

warp. Make sure you have everything you want to warp on one layer. If

you have text, rasterize it now. (Right click on the layer palette next to the

name and choose "rasterize layer" from the pop up menu.

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Now lets apply the

displacement map...

Filter>Distort>Displace

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Use the settings shown here

when the Displace palette opens.

Click ok

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You will now

see a browser asking you to choose a displacement map.

Navigate to the desktop and load the image we created at the beginning of

this tutorial.

Click open


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You will now see your artwork

distort to hug the texture of the rock.

Lets jazz it up a bit.

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Choose Overlay mode to add some realistic

blending.

Duplicate the distorted layer to add a bit more strength to the effect.

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Here is the result on the

blending mode.

See how the color blends in with the texture.

14

Here is exactly the same

image but with a variation.

I added an inner shadow layer style to the top layer and dropped the

opacity of the second layer to 30%

I hope you had fun with this tutorial and learned a lot.


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See you at the cafe

Reflective Liquid typePhotoshop Tutorial

Tutorials on creating metal type abound online, as do variations on simple liquid effects.

Most are fairly short, offering a good foundation for the reader on how certain effects are

achieved but fail to take that extra step (or few steps) to make the piece really shine...INGREDIENTS

Guest Tutorial by by Al Ward Layers

Lighting effects

Levels

Curves

Type Liqufy

Difficulty 6/10

More Great Tutorials

PhotoshopCAFE homeReflective Liquid Type by Al Ward(UPDATED MARCH 2010)ActionFx.com: Home of 50,000+ Photoshop and Elements

Presets

Tutorials on creating metal type abound online, as do variations on simple

liquid effects. Most are fairly short, offering a good foundation for the

reader on how certain effects are achieved but fail to take that extra step

(or few steps) to make the piece really shine. Once you have an idea of

how different techniques fit together in a piece, it is fairly easy to combine,

say, the process to create metal and the process to create liquid to create

something that exists in both sides of the FX map.
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1

Create a new image with the following

attributes:

Width: 11 inches

Height: 11 inches

Resolution: 300 ppi, 8bit

Background Color: White

Color Mode: RGB (Important or itwon'r work)

2

Since the desired effect is to appear liquefied, a font that appears to have

been made with a crayon or round brush will work perfectly. Select the

Type tool and open the Character palette from the Options bar. The font

Ive chosen is called WallowHmkBold if you do not have this installed

on your system just use the font of your choice. The attributes for the

characters are seen below:

3
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Note that the color is gray in the

#666666 range and NOT stark black.

Type a word across the face of the image.

4

Rasterize the type layer, then paint a few additional gray dots around the

type.

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Open the Channels palette and

duplicate a channel the Blue channel will work fine. Go to

Image>Adjustments>Invert.

6

Open the Filter menu and select

Blur>Gaussian Blur. First, blur the channel at a 25 pixel radius. Blur the

channel again at a radius of 15 pixels.


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7

Turn on all the other layers (Clickthe eye to the left of RGB)

Turn off the Blue copy channel, but dont delete it youll need it in a

moment or two.

Click on the letters RGB to make sure that th RGB channel is active.

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Go to

Filter>Render>Lighting

Effects. Set it up as

outlined in the imagebelow be sure to

select the Blue copy

channel as the Texture

Channel.

Make sure you change

the light angle and shape on the left by dragging the 4 dots

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The result of all

that is a pretty basic bevel, and yes, you could do pretty much the same

thing with a layer style. Some habits die hard, however, and I like the end

result better when channels come into play. What can I say? Ive been

doing it this way since at least PS 6, and if it aint broke, dont fix it!

10


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Duplicate

the text layer and go to Filter>Sketch>Chrome. Set up the reflections as

seen in the dialog box below:

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Now you can play with Layer Styles a bit. Open the Layer Styles dialog box

and select Bevel/Emboss. Enter the following settings note that the

Shadow color is again gray in the #666666 range and not black. Make sure

the Gloss Contour is changed to cone.Once done click OK.


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12

Make a Curves adjustment layer and Levels adjustment layer with the

settings seen here:

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Against a black background the shine really comes out.


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14

Turn off the background layer or layers (if you added

the black separately) and merge all the others together.

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To give

the type an enhanced liquid quality, go to Filter>Liquify. Use the Bloat tool

to expand or otherwise warp areas of the text as seen here. Once you are

happy with the distortions, click OK.


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You can now throw the text into any image you so

choose. In the following example, Ive blurred a tech-style background,

placed the type in that document, then placed a duplicate of the blurred

layer above the text. The Blend mode of the top layer is changed to Soft

Light to serve as reflections off the type, or making the type appear

transparent allowing you to see the background through it. Ill let you

decide what is actually happening.

Thats it for now. Until next time, Ill see you at ActionFx.com. Take care!
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wrapping objects with displacement maps

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