Smoke Effect

Smoke Effect

1. Step one, open a new image, it doesn't really matter what size but be sure to set your background color to black. (this effect generally looks its best on a black background.) Make a new layer and select the "Polygonal lasso tool" and create an abstract shape that looks similar to the example below.(It doesn't really matter what color you use here either, but just don't make it too dark, and feel free to experiment.)


2. Now we can start our highlights of our smoke. Select the "Dodge" tool and make the brush size around "50" and the "Range" to "highlights." Now use this tool around the edges and corners of your shape. Next, select the "Burn tool" and use it in the middle and wherever you see fit. You should have somthing that looks like this:


3. Here we can make it look like smoke now. Go to "filter"/"Distort"/"Wave." And make the settings as follows:

- Generators "5"
- Wavelength "10"/"120"
- Amplitude "5"/"35"
- Scale at "100%" for both.

4. Right after you have used the "wave" filter you can go to "Edit"/"Fade-Wave" and set the opacity to "50%." Now repeat this distort and fade method many times, or untill you think it looks best.


5. To make this effect look even better you may have to "distort", resize, and change the blending modes when fading a bit. And lastly, to make it different colors instead of the same throughout. make a new layer and use the "brush" tool all over the place using different colors. then set that layers "blending mode" to "Overlay." And there you have it, a simple yet effective smoke method!

It's amazing what you can do with some Adobe Photoshop training and a little time!

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How to Create a Fog Effect in Photoshop

How to Create a Fog Effect in Photoshop

In this lesson, you will learn step by step how to create a fog. We will also add a picture fantasy character which will be walking on our landscape.



Step 1

Start by opening forest image. Go to Image > Image size to reduce photo size to 1000px width and 669px height.


Step 2

To create a sense of dense fog on the distance and dispersion on the foreground, we will make a few layers of fog, but with different gradations of saturation. Create a new layer (press Shift+Ctrl+N) and fill it with white color by using Paint Bucket Tool, then set up opacity to 95% for current layer. After that we need to create mask for current layer. Use Select > Load Selection to select layer content, then use Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All to create mask for all layer. Now remove selection with Ctrl+D and move to the next step. Select the Gradient Tool and fill our layer with linear black-and-white gradient as you can see on the picture below:



Step 3

Select the Eraser Tool (Soft Brush, Size: 100px, Opacity: 20%) and make a few strokes with brush on Layer Mask area and paint over the nearest tree and stone, the middle and foreground.



Step 4

To achieve the effect of realistic fog (the fog has the ability to climb and irregularly travel along the ground) first of all press D to set up foreground and background colors black and white, then create a new layer and apply Filter > Render > Clouds:



Step 5
After applying filter to layer, change layer mode to Screen and set up opacity to 40%.



Step 6

We are now going to add goddess picture. Open the picture and copy it to our main canvas. Then use Edit > Free Transform to reduce picture of Goddess a little bit and move it left like on my screenshot, which you can see below:



Step 7

Duplicate goddess current layer with Layer > Duplicate Layer (or press Ctrl+J) and hide the bottom copy (click on the eye, which indicates layer visibility). Go to upper copy and change blending mode to Screen for this layer.



Step 8

Now we need to create mask for current layer. Use Select > Load Selection to select layer content, then use Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All to create mask for all the layer. Now remove selection with Ctrl+D and select the Brush Tool (Opacity: 45%) with soft round brush and paint background area with black color.



Step 9

Go back to the hidden copy of layer and make it visible again. Use Select > Load Selection to select layer content, then use Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All again to create mask for all layer. Now remove selection with Ctrl+D and select the Brush Tool (Opacity: 61%) with soft round brush and paint background area with black color again.



Final Image

Set opacity to 34% up for current layer and we are done with our tutorial.

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Stunning Digital Smoke Effect

Stunning Digital Smoke Effect



Step 1
Open Illustrator, and using the Pen Tool (shortcut: P), draw two different curved lines, try to make them cross each other like the ones below. Those will be the shape of our smoke. After that, do the same thing again and draw two more lines. From those two pairs of lines, select one pair, and set the stroke color of the first line white and the other with dark gray(70%). Repeat the same thing on the other pair of lines but invert the colors. The reason we do this is because when we import those shapes in Photoshop we will be able to tweak the colors with a lot more ease.


Step 2
Using the Blend Tool, click on the edge of the white line and then click on the edge of the gray line. It will create a line between the two lines. With the Blend Tool selected, go to Object>Blend>Blend Options. There, change the Spacing to Specified Steps and put 200 steps. Repeat the same procedure on the other pair of lines we have.



Step 3
Now it’s all Photoshop from here. Copy the first blend and paste it in to Photoshop as a Smart Object. Repeat that for the second layer. We choose to paste as Smart Objects because you can scale and re-scale without losing quality. This happens because they remain vectors rather than becoming bitmap graphics. Besides that we can edit the vectors again, and if you are using the CS3 version it’s possible to apply all filters in a non-destructive mode as well. That means if you apply any filter you will be able to change their parameters anytime or even delete the filter effect returning to the original image. This is not dissimilar to Layer Styles except now with filters.


Step 4
Here I just organize my layers using folders. Set the blending mode to Multiply for both folders: Shape 1 and 2. After that apply a Gaussian Blur with a radius of 1 pixels in both layers: Smoke 1 and 2.


Step 5
Duplicate both layers inside of each folder. So you will have Smoke 1, Smoke 1 Copy, Smoke 2, and Smoke 2 Copy. Change the Blending mode of the Smoke 1 Copy and Smoke 2 Copy to Overlay


Step 6
Now we are going to change the color from that grayish tone to a blueish one by creating a new fill or adjustment layer and choosing Hue/Saturation. Put that layer on top of the others and double-click on the layer to edit the Hue/Saturation parameters.



Step 7
Duplicate the Smoke 1 layer and Rasterize it. Then put it on the top of the other layer, even above the adjustment layer. After that change its blending mode to Color Dodge and apply a Gaussian Blur with the radius of 25 pixels. You will get a light blue color like a glow.



Step 8
Now we have the basics. We could stop here and have a great effect already, but let’s take it to the next level. It’s time to add some extra wafts. First fade Smoke 1 back to about 50% so it’s a little softer. Then duplicate the Smoke 1 group and fade right back to 20%. Select the group and add a Layer mask. Then using a White to Black radial gradient, mask it out as it gets to the right side so the smoke is fading off into nothing.


Step 9
Next duplicate the same fading out smoke layer we made in the last step and rotate it to make it look a bit more random. If you had time you could replicate these layers from the very beginning steps in Illustrator. Your aim should be to have wafts of smoke going away from the main smoke channel. If you want a smoke on white effect, you should stop here.


Step 10
Next create a new layer above all the others and fill it with a gradient going from white (#FFFFFF) to grey-ish blue (#C4CCD0) as shown.


Step 11
Set the new layer’s blending mode to Exclusion. Exclusion (as well as Difference) invert colors from lower layers, which gives us a smoke on dark-grey effect.


Step 12
The coloring is now pretty cool, but it could be even more graceful. Create a new layer above the others and fill it with a linear gradient from #5f4547 to #7096e4 as shown. Once you have the gradient, set the blending mode to Color and 50% Opacity.


Step 13
Finally we add a bit of text to finish off the image. This effect is best when you create it larger than you need at the end, then shrink it down and run the Unsharp Mask filter over it (Filters > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask) to get the curves looking clean and crisp.


Conclusion
Using Illustrator’s Blend Tool gives a lot of flexibility so it’s possible to create all sorts of shapes and blend them, even creating blends with four different shapes. Then in Photoshop with the Smart Objects and Smart Filters we can apply, change, and test all kinds of filters and combinations. It’s all about playing with the tool.
As Bert Monroy always says, I hope you have learned something from here and it’s not the end result but how we got there. Thanks

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NEON EFFECTS

NEON EFFECTS



Step 1
In Photoshop, open JPG image. Create a new adjustment layer, and select the Levels (Cmd/ Ctrl + L). Set the Output Level white to 130.


Step 2
Open neon lines.jpg, and use the Hue/ Saturation controls to make it black and white. Use the Rectangular Marquee tool to select one of the lines.


Step 3
Using the Move tool (V), drag this selection to girl_portrait.jpg. Change the blending options to Screen. Transform the layer using Cmd/Ctrl + T, and start to rotate it. Right-click (Cmd + click) to choose the Warp tool.


Step 4
Now you’ll see a six-section grid section on the layer, which allows you to move every section or every point. Let’s move it so it matches the one seen here. Click Enter when done, and add a layer mask onto the layer. Start brushing the layer mask, by using black to erase. For a smooth effect, try setting the Brush Opacity to 10 per cent.


Step 5
Duplicate the latest layer by hitting Alt+Cmd/Ctrl+J. Start painting the layer mask by using black to erase, again setting the brush opacity very low. Select both layers and merge them (Cmd/Ctrl+E); don’t be surprised by the black areas. Change the blending options to Linear Dodge and repeat this until the girl is entirely outlined.


Step 6
Still using the same selection from neon lines_1.jpg, start warping again, using this image as an example, using the warping position to trace the detail on the ear. Duplicate this layer, place the shading of the ear and start warping again.


Step 7
Now for the hair. Import the selection from neon lines_1.jpg again, change the blending options to Screen and try warping it so that it looks like the above right image. Use the Eraser tool to take out any unwanted lines. Duplicate the layer – we’ll still need this layer for another part of the hair. Start warping around this layer to fill in the hair.


Step 8
Open neon lines_2.jpg and make a new selection (see Step 02) to fill the body section. Don’t forget to set the blending option to Screen, and start warping again around this layer. On this layer, add a layer mask to erase unwanted sections of the image.



Step 9
Duplicate the layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J) and start warping once again. Repeat this process until the black areas have been reduced. Select the layer on the body section and merge the layers. Layer mask to erase unwanted sections, and set the layer’s opacity to 70 per cent.


Step 10
Let’s fill in the face. Return to neon lines_2.jpg and make a different selection. Copy this into the main image over the face and start warping again, starting around the nose. Duplicate the layer, move it to the side slightly and continue warping. Merge the layers.



Step 11
Now it’s time to start adding colour. Merge all of the warp layers together (not forgetting to set the blend mode to Screen). Add an adjustment layer, selecting Gradient. Let’s set the gradient from dark blue to bright blue, set Style to Linear and Angle to 180°. Make another Adjustment Gradient, this time merging from medium green to bright green.



Step 12
Customize the colour by making individual adjustment curves. Adjust the Red, Green and Blue channels individually, rather than adjusting the RGB marker.




Step 13
To create the particle effect, make a selection from neon lines_2.jpg and start warping outside the figure. Open neon lines_3.jpg and make a selection; place this over the girl’s hand. I also added some particle effects on the final images, on a new layer, using the Brush tool. Set the brush’s Tip Shape, check the Shape Dynamics and set the Size Jitter to 100 per cent. Check the Scattering, and set Scatter to 1,000 per cent. Now start brushing the layer in smooth lines, varying the size of the brush. When you’ve finished brushing, add a mask to erase unwanted particles.

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