This tutorial is to make this layout:
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the steps
001. Make a new image sized 1000x1000 pixels.
002. Fill the first layer with black for the background.
003. I blended 4 pictures together to get a blend like
this. You can use any pictures you want for the blend, but I would recommend doing something dark with
around the same color scheme if you are going to use the same coloring techniques that I use later in the tutorial.
coloring
004. Next I pasted in
this texture from
bambinainnero, and set it to soft light 50% opacity to make it a bit lighter.
005. I then pasted another
texture (from
sanami276) and set it to lighten 65%, to get the white dot effect. I erased the edges and stuff so it would be a bit smoother looking.
006. I wanted the layout to be blue-ish colored, so I made a new Color Balance layer with these settings:
Midtones
-54 | 0 | +28
Highlights
0 | -15 | +14
Shadows
-28 | 0 | +27
Set the layer to 75%.
It looks like
this right now. Don't be worried by its ugliness thus far.
007. Make a new Selective Color layer, and match my settings:
Cyans
-28 | +39 | 100 | -51
Blues
+67 | -100 | -31 | +19
Neutrals
-41 | +1 | +31 | -27
Now it looks much
better!
008. This step is optional, just to brighten it up a bit. Make a new Curves layer, match this:
RGB:
Output: 91, Input:67
Output: 203, Input: 174
Blue:
Output: 118, Input: 108
Output: 194, Input: 163
Output: 216, Input: 186
Should look like
this.
text
008. Now for the text. The 'Stolen' text is 2 different layers. As you can see, the S is much bigger, that is because it is another layer with a bigger text size. First let's do the 'tolen' part. Font: 'Winthur Condensed', Size: '72pt', Color: '#301f15.' Don't mind the dark color quite yet, we still need to do the effects!
009. If you would like to achieve the Drop Shadow effect that I used follow this step. Make sure that the 'tolen' layer is selected. Then go to Layer>>Layer Style>>Drop Shadow. The drop shadow settings should be as followed:
Blend Mode: Normal, Color: #1b2a26
Opacity: 100%
Distance: 6px
Spread: 0%
Size: 0px
010. To do the pattern effect used on the text, go to the 'pattern overlay' tab on the left and click it. The pattern I used is a light green one from Hybrid Genesis. It is set to Soft Light at Opacity 100%. I encourage you to use your own pattern. If you do not wish to download patterns for this, just change the text to a lighter color.
011. Now you can make the big S that should be part of the word 'Stolen'. It is the same color and font, but Size: 110pt. To make it have the same effects as the rest of the word: go over to the layers tab, right click the 'tolen' layer and click 'Copy Layer Style.' Then right click the 'S' layer and click 'Paste Layer Style,' and it should look the same!
012. The 'golden compass' text layer is Font: Trebuchet MS, set to
italic, Size: 18pt, Color: #728a81.
013. The text 'DON'T GRASP AT ANYTHING, IT WILL COME' is Font: Times New Roman, Size: 10pt
crisp, Color: #eaecf2.
various effects
014. The leaf on the side is a brush from Moargh.de. I again did Drop Shadow, and Pattern effects on it. Now that you know how to do it, try some different colors, patterns, etc.
015. Finally, there is a dotted line running through the center of the layout. Do you see it? It is a vague divider between the navigation and the main blogging area. To make a dotted line, use the pencil tool. The Diameter of the pencil must be 1px, Hardness 100%. To make it dotted, go to Window>>Brushes, and then in the new window go to "Brush Tip Shape." Make Spacing go to: 726%, of course you can make the gap between each dot smaller or larger.
016. Now you are ready to use the pencil tool! I used the color white. To make it go in a straight vertical line as I did, click shift while you are dragging it downwards. Now you can vary the opacity of the layer. I made it like 30% so it was not entirely conspicuous.
017. You'll notice that my dotted line layer is faded in places, I just used the eraser at different opacities to achieve the effect.
THAT IS ALL! You are
done. :)
