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FEB Photoshop Tutorials

01 Chroma Wallpapers
By Rick, Color Charge

This tutorial explains how to create a energetic, vibrant, colorful wallpaper, like the ones a
Color Charge. These lines, which we’ll call Chroma were highly inspired by the iPod Nano
2006 and some Quantum Chromodynamics nerdery stuff. You will learn how to bend blur
with Warp tool to draw the lines, beams, and steams. Then you’ll know how to add some
and vibrating color effects, and finally polish your drawing. Aside reading this tutorial, you
Photoshop CS2 or CS3, and preferably a computer with a lot of memory and a larger scree
achieve that effect.

DOWNLOAD
Photoshop file

Initial setup
Start with a very, very large screen: 3000 px x 2000 px wide. Draw a rectangle as background for the w
and fill it with a dark linear gradient layer style. Align that gradient with 45 degrees vertically (sometime
change that angle to 90 or 60 degrees). Since the beginning, pay special attention to colors: black and
as base color. The waves colors will match a triad complementary balance with the base color, in our c
violet-cyan-orange axis.

Warp Tool
Draw lines! Many parallel lines (horizontal or vertical, or both!). Group them, duplicate, rasterize, group,
rasterize… and finally add some blur. In this example I used white as base-color for the line themselve
the easiest color to balance and add glowing and other layer styles):

After you reach a wide and tall group of lines, is time for some magic: randomly distort the shape with
Transform Tool ( Photoshop > Edit > Transform > Warp ):
One thing you’ll probably notice is the amount of confusing structural lines crossing over the shape; you
attempts are going to be almost trial-and-error, later you’ll get used to this really amazing tool and will
shapes of Chroma. Don’t worry trying to find the perfect shape so early, things will fit better together wh
more than 5 separate shapes matching a pattern or a familiar shape.

When complete, remember to press the Enter key, or click on the Apply Warp button, on the top. If you
survives the intense rendering and image post-processing… your artwork should be something like t
Remember to use the Erase Tool to remove sharpen edges and give the wave a surreal looking. Explo
combinations of shapes, lines, and textures - they’ll enhance your drawings.

If you did a small shape I don’t recommend you size it up or even warping again. The Warp tool isn
because you’ll be playing with rasterized shapes - not smart objects or vector shapes. If you insist warp
same shape again, your shape is going to get some unwanted sharpen or sometimes blurry edges (dep
your case). To avoid that, I recommend you the opposite way: start with a very large area and a large s
size it down. Better results, easier to distort.

Glow, screen, multiply, and other layer styles

When you have the perfect shape, you will need to add its soul, I mean, the layer styles :). Again, open
styles panel, and mix Gradient Overlay with Outer Glow styles, and combine them with Screen
layer Blending Mode. A secret hint: when glowing, try using brightly and vivid colors, such as yellow,
or cyan, picking the color that is in complementary contrast with the dark gradient we did on the beginn

To achieve the Chroma effect, I used a gradient fill (yellow to gold), plus the following Outer Glow
following configuration:
Brush polishing
Bring your drawing to life with motion. Add some scattered round dots to simulate speed and movemen
Brushes panel ( Photoshop > Window > Brushes, or F5 ), explore the sizing, scattering (with fade),
pressure:
The big cells are just the way the smaller ones, except the size and spacing. A bit of randomness is rea
and exciting:
The "range" option in this step is very important - it will give a cellular-looking to the glowing particles
were intensely vibrating:
Poor kid…got any blurry edge? Don’t worry. Use the blur tool and correct that.
Finalizing the drawing
Be creative and fearless to do a complete mess with the shape - in my experience, the messier the bet
down the area and crop. Draw as many layers as your computer’s memory can handle. Sometimes you
able to merge layers because the effects and styles that were applied. Also use layer’s blending and op
your shapes a translucent appearance.

Our final result, after cropping:

Conclusion
Now is really easy to get waves, brightly flowing across the infinity of color…okay, I went a bit far ;). I ho
tutorial helped you. If so, please let us know more about your artworks and drawings based on this tuto
comments. Thank you!

Download the Photoshop Tutorial file.

Download some Chroma wallpapers at Color Charge.

Comments
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There are 169 comments (+Add)

169 harjinder kaur babrah
June 15th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
It is good. but difficult.

168 Rahul Singh

June 5th, 2009 at 6:17 am
this is gos

167 sheila
May 26th, 2009 at 5:57 am
hmm..im sorry…but its so hard to explain…ur tutorial is so hard to understand..unlike
other tutorial…T.T

166 LaughingMan
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 am
 Impressive.[img]http://www.websmileys.com/sm/aliens/abduct.gif[/img]

165 wezi
May 13th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
XD

164 Papirne case

May 8th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Pretty nice technique.

163 shriya
May 4th, 2009 at 9:56 am
WOW….
really so pretty ……….

162 sandeep
May 4th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Gud job n Expect more wallpapers from u
 161 laxmikant
April 29th, 2009 at 7:50 am
masldlasdk

160 CgBaran Tuts

April 25th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Creative effect and great tutorial thanks

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