3D Album

Making an Album requires lots of photos. You can use free stock photos from http://www.deviantart.com/

or your own stock of photos. It does not require much expertise and is easy to make with the end result being quite satisfactory. None of the values given here are absolute, you can make your own changes.

You can make an album like this.

Or you can make a 3D one like this.

Step 1 Open a large white document.

Step 2 : Open a new layer by clicking on the New layer button. A new Layer 1 forms.

Step 3 : Click the Rectangular Marquee tool. The Feather should be set to 0.

Step 4 : Keeping the SHIFT key pressed draw random squares like this.

Step 5 : The Foreground Color is set to Black and Background to White which is the default.

Press CTRL+BACKSPACE to fill the selections with Black.

Step  6 : After filling the selections with Black press CTRL+D to deselect.

Step 7 : Click the Rectangular Marquee.

Step 8 : Draw a selection of the first square.

Step 9 : Open your stock photo collection.

Step 10 : Open an image. Press CTRL+A (Select ALL) then CTRL+C (copy.

Step 11 : Click on this document.

Step 12 : Press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+V to paste into the selection.

Step 13 : Press V for the Move tool. A selection appears. Reposition or resize if necessary. To resize proportionately Press SHIFT+ALT and drag a corner handle. To hide the selection Press CTRL+H. This is how you need to fill in all the squares one by one with images.

Step  14 : Click the Rectangular Marquee again.

Step 15 : Draw a selection on another square.

Step 16 : Open another image. Press CTRL+A then CTRL+C.

Step 17 : Go over to the document with the squares. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+V. The image is pasted into the selection. This is how you must paste the images one by one into the squares.

Look in the Layers palette. Each imagei s pasted is on its own layer.

All the images have been pasted into the black squares one by one.

The Layers palette looks like this. Each image is pasted into is on its own layer. It means that there will be as many layers as the number of images pasted into.

Step 18 : With Layer 13 (the last image to be pasted into) highlighted press SHIFT and click on Layer 2 (the first image pasted into).

Step 19 : All the Layers are highlighted.

Step 20 : Press CTRL+E. All the layers are combined into Layer 13. Switch off the eye icon on Layer 1.

Step 21 : Click on the Background Layer.

Step 22 : Press ALT+BACKSPACE to fill with Foreground Color which is Black.

The image looks like this.

Step 23 : Click on Layer 13 which has the images in the squares. Click on the FX button at the bottom.

Step 24 : Click on Blending Options.

Step 25 : In the Blending Options click on Inner Shadow. I will leave it at the default settings. 

Step 26 : Click on Stroke. Click on Color.

Step 27 : The Select Stroke Color opens. Type in ffffff in the box at the bottom. Click OK.

Step 28 : The Color of the Stroke has been changed to White. Change the Position to Inside and drag the Size slider suitably. Since this is a large image, I have set it at 8.

Click OK.

The image looks like this. If you want you can stop here. You can make pages of albums in this way. You can also print it. If you want a 3D effect carry on.

Step 29 : Click on the Background Layer.

Step 30 : A new Layer forms above the Background Layer.

Step 31 : Switch the Foreground Color to White by pressing x on the kayboard.

Step 32 : Click the Elliptical Marquee.

Step 33 : Keeping SHIFT pressed draw random circles.

Step 34 : Press ALT+BACKSPACE to fill with Foreground Color which is now White.

Step 35 : With Layer 14, the one in which we added the White Circles highlighted Press SHIFT and click on the topmost layer.

Step 36 : All the three layers are highlighted. 

Step 37 : Press CTRL+E. All the layers merge into one.

Step 38 : Go to 3D>New Shape from Layer>Sphere.

This is how the image looks.

Step 39 : Press CTRL+T. This dialogue box comes up. Click Convert.

Step 40 : A selection forms around the image.

Step 41 : Press SHIFT+ALT and drag a corner handle to make the Sphere bigger.

Press ENTER.

Step 42 : Press CTRL+J to duplicate Layer 13 to Layer 13 copy.

Step 43 : Click on Layer 13.

Step 44 : Press CTRL+T.

Step 45 : Drag down just a bit.

Step 46 : Drag down the middle handle. Press Enter.

Step 47 : Click the Add Layer Mask button. A Layer Mask forms next to Layer 13 thumbnail.

Step 48 : The Foreground Color is set to Black. Click the Gradient Tool. Click in Top Panel to bring up Gradient Editor.

Click on Foreground to Transparent.

Step 49 : Drag down at the bottom with the Gradient Tool as shown.

The finished image.

Other Photoshop tutorials are here

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Color Shading Action

This is another tutorial on making subtle shifts in tones in an image. I will be using Adjustment Layers, Gaussian Blur and desaturation besides other tools in photoshop. I will also turn this into an action so you can run it whenever you want to on other images without having to go through all the steps again.

This is the effect I intend to create.

I will be using this free stock image. You will find it here

It belongs to Adella

Step 1 : After opening the image in Photoshop go to Window>Actions.

The Actions dialogue box opens. Your version of Photoshop will have its own actions. Here we will be creating one of our own.

Step 2 : Click the Create new action icon.

Step 3 : The New Action dialogue box opens.

Step 4 : Give the Action a name. I have named it Green Blush. Click  Record for photoshop to begin recording.

Step 5 : The Record button lights up.

Step 6 : Press CTRL+J to duplicate the Background Layer. Press CTRL+SHIFT+U to desaturate.

Step 7 : Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Step 8 : Set a Radius of 1.5 in the Radius. Click OK.

Step 9 : Change the Blend Mode to Color.

The image looks like this.

Step 10 : Click the Add New Fill or Adjustment Layer button.

Step 11 : Click on Gradient Map from the pop up menu.

Step 12 : Click where the arrow points to open the Gradient Editor in the Gradient Map.

Step 13 : Click on the Orange, Yellow, Orange Preset.

The image looks like this.

Step 14 : Drop the Opacity of the Layer to 50% by dragging the slider.

The image looks like this.

Step 15 : Make another Adjustment Layer. This time click on Posterize from the pop up menu.

Step 16 : In Posterize, I have left the Levels at the default 4.

Step 17 : Drop the Opacity of the Layer to 50%.

The image looks like this.

Step 18 : With the Posterize 1 Layer highlighted, press SHIFT and click on Layer 1.

All three layers are highlighted.

Step 19 : Press CTRL+G. All the 3 layers are now grouped into Group 1 Layer. The Blend Mode is set to Pass Through. This Blend Mode appears automatically in case of a Group Layer.

Step 20 : Change the Blend Mode to Soft Light and drop the Opacity to 85%.

Step 21 : Click the New Layer icon. A new layer 2 forms above Group 1 layer.

Step 22 : Switch the Foreground Color to White by pressing x on the keyboard or use the small bent arrow.  Press b on the keyboard for the Brush Tool or click on it from the flyout.

Step 23 : Click in the top panel to open the Brush controls and set the Hardness to 0. Instead of setting the Size of the Brush from here, use the [ ] (left and right square bracket keys). [ will decrease the size of the Brush and ] will increase it.

Step 24 : make the Brush fairly large and click twice with it.

Step 25 : Change the Blend Mode to Overlay.

Step 26 : Click the Stop button in the Actions palette. The recording is complete. The Action can now be reused.

Step 27 : Scroll down in the Actions palette. The Green Blush Action just created is there.

The finished image.

I have opened another free stock image. You will find it here

Step 28 : Click on the Green Blush Action and click on Play.

The image after running the Action.

Other photoshop tutorials are here

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