Hell of a Tutorial in Pixelmator

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a really cool effect. First, we will use basic filters to create a 3D text effect; then, we will blend some stock photos and textures to produce one hell of a wallpaper.

Step 1

Open Pixelmator and create a new document. I’m using, as usual, 1440×900 pixels. Then with the Gradient Tool (G), fill the background layer with a radial gradient. To create the radial gradient, go to View>Show Gradient. Add a new gradient and use black and brown (#3b251c) for the colors.

?

Step 2

Using the Type Tool (T), add some text to the document. I typed “ HELL.” The font I used is MOD, and you can download it for free at this Website: http://abduzeedo.com/friday-fresh-free-fonts-1.

Step 3

Change the font color to a dark grey, and then go to Layer>Rasterize Type Layer. After that, go to Edit>Transform>Distort. Then move the points to apply a perspective to the text. The idea is that the text will then appear to be holes on the floor either going to or coming straight from hell.?

Step 4

It is quite simple to create this perspective. Select the Lasso Tool (L) and start creating selections in the portions of the text that will be the walls. First, let’s select the ones that are facing the same direction.

Step 5

Add a new layer on top of the HELL layer and go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. This step will restrict the render area to the area within the HELL text. Fill the selection with a very dark grey.

Step 6

Then repeat the same process for the other parts of the text that have these kind of walls. Use different shades of grey to create the 3D effect.

Step 7

Holding Command, click on the thumb of the HELL layer, which will create a marquee selection in the area of that layer. Add a new layer on top of the other layers used to create the 3D effect; then go back to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. Fill the selection with orange and, with the marquee selection still active, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Use 30 pixels for the radius. After that, change the opacity to 60 percent.

Step 8

Add a new layer on top of the previous one (the orange one); then go again to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. After that, go to Filter>Generate>Clouds. Use black and white for the colors. Then just change the b lending to Color Dodge and the opacity to 40 percent.

Step 9

Once again, add another layer and transform it to Clipping Mask. Then fill the layer with black, using the Paint Bucket Tool (N). Because it’s a clipping mask, you will only see the area within HELL. Select the Brush Tool (B) and use white for the color. Then paint some areas in white as shown in the image below. After that, just change the blending to Color Dodge.?

Step 10

At this stage, we will add some realism to the scene. To do that, let’s use some stock images of fire. The one I used was courtesy of Shutterstock images, and you can download it from this Website: (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-2933444/stock-photo-fire.html).
Copy a part of the flame and paste it into the document. Use the image below for reference.

Step 11

Now add more flames. You can use different stock photos, but just try to get a fire image with a black background, because it’s easier to hide the blacks using Screen for the blending. Also use the Transform tools to create variations of the same flame. You will have to use the Lasso Tool (L) to delete parts of the flames to make it look like they are coming from the hole.

Step 12

Add another layer on top of the other layers and go to Filter>Generate>Clouds. Use black and white for the colors. Then using the Eraser Tool (E), delete most parts of the layer, leaving just the area over the effect. Also you can go to Image>Levels and increase the black inputs. Use the image below for reference.

Step 13

Change the blending of the clouds to Color Dodge.

Step 14

Import a concrete texture and put it behind the other layers. I obtained the one below from Shutterstock images, and it can be found at this Website: (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-16751947/stock-photo-large-concrete-wall-texture-background.html).
To apply the perspective, go to Edit>Transform>Distort.

Step 15

Change the blending to Multiply and the opacity to 40 percent.

Step 16

Now let’s add some cracks to the floor. To do that, we will simply repeat the same thing we did in the previous step. Select a stock photo to illustrate your purpose. The image I used is from Shutterstock images and can be located at this Website: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-44864269/stock-photo-cracked-ground.html. Apply the perspective through Edit>Transform>Distort. Then desaturate the image by going to (Image>Desaturate). After that, change the blending to Multiply. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) to delete the areas that are far from the center.

Step 17

Duplicate the layer with the cracks from the previous step; then go to Image>Invert. After that, change the blending to Color Dodge and move the layer 1 pixel down. This will create a really nice effect, making it look as if lava were flowing from the cracks.

Step 18

Select the layers you used to create the fire effect and duplicate them. After that, merge all the copied layers and go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Use 20 pixels for the radius. Finally, change the blending setting to Screen. This step is optional, but it adds a nice glow to the effect.

Conclusion

Select all layers and duplicate them. After that, merge all the copies once more so that you will have the image in one layer only. You can then go to Image>Brightness and Contrast and just slightly increase the contrast, raising it to +3. That should be sufficient to add that dramatic dimension to the image.

As you can see, the creation of the fire part is quite simple–pretty much just using blending and some blurs. But the most important part of this tutorial, in my opinion, is the beginning, where the Lasso Tool and Clipping Mask Layers were used to create a nice 3D effect.

?

www.abduzeedo.com

Clash of the Titans Text Effect

So, in this tutorial I will show you how to create a text effect inspired by the Clash of the Titans posters and artworks. We will use layer styles and basic filters to achieve the effect. It will not take you more than 45 minutes to achieve the effect, but the outcome is really cool.

Step 1

Let's start our design in Illustrator, it's easier to get the text done in Illustrator, even though you can do that in Photoshop as well. When I saw the official Clash of the Titans poster I knew that font, it was the Bank Gothic, or the Bank Gothic is very similar. So with the Type Tool (T) add the word "clash", then "of the" in another independent object and then "titans", again in another object and line. All of the in uppercase.

Step 2

Select the texts and go to Type>Create Outlines. With the Direct Selection Tool (A) start editing the text. First the A of "clash". then the F of "of" and the T and E of "the". After that edit the word "titans" by changing the T and A. Use the image below for reference. Basically you will be moving points, but be careful to keep the same alignments and angles as the original text.

Step 3

Now open Photoshop and create a new document. Create a new layer and fill it with any color, then go to Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay. Use a light beige #fee4c8 and a very dark brown #0f0802 for the gradient, use Radial for the Style and 100% opacity.

Step 4

Add a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Make sure you have black and white for the colors.

Step 5

Change the clouds' layer Blend Mode to Color Dodge. After that go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Over the Layers Palette, click on the mask thumb of the layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds to apply the clouds to the layer mask, that will make the clouds less strong. Tip: play with masks and apply filter on the masks, you will be surprise with the possibilities and the results.

Step 6

Go to Edit>Transform>Warp. Select the Fisheye warp type, then move the controller towards the center of the document. That will create a really nice blur effect, much faster than the zoom blur in Photoshop.

Step 7

Copy the words "Clash of the " from Illustrator to Photoshop. We will do these words first because we will apply a different Layer Style preset for the Bevel and Emboss.

Step 8

First thing here is to search for a old and rusty metal texture. I found the one I'm using on Google Images.

Open the image in Photoshop and then go to Edit>Define Pattern. After that go back to our design and select the layer with the words "clash of the", the go to Layer>Layer Style>Pattern Overlay. Select the metal pattern you have just created.

Step 9

After the Pattern Overlay, select Bevel and Emboss. For the Technique use Chisel Hard, for the Depth use 500%, for the Size use 120 pixels, for the Soften use 0 pixel. Over the Shading Options, use 95º for the Angle, 35º for the Altitude, then for the Highlight Mode use Color Dodge with white for the color and 65% for the Opacity. For the Shadow Mode use Color Burn with Black for the color, then 40% for the Opacity.

Step 10

Now select Contour, then just change the Range to 50%.

Step 11

Here you can see the effect you will have. Notice that the ligths are coming from the bottom, or the center of the document, and that is why we split the words.

Step 12

Copy the word "titans" from Illustrator and paste it in Photoshop. On the layers palette select the layer we applied the layer styles in the previous steps and with the right button of the mouse click and select Copy Layer Styles. After that select the "titans" layer and click again with the right button of the mouse click and select Paste Layer Styles. Double click on the layer to open the Layer Style dialog box. Select Bevel and Emboss, then just change the Direction to Up.

Step 13

This is the effect you wll have gotten so far, notice now that the light for the word "titans" is coming from the top while for the "clash of the" is coming from the bottom.

Step 14

If you watched the movie you will know that the Pegasus was a black winged horse, so I got an image of a winged horse from Shutterstock, you can find it over here. It's a vector image, but that is fine, just place it as it is coming from the center.

Step 15

To make the horse more realistic and less vector style go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Use 35º for the Angle and 20 pixels for the Distance.

Step 16

For the flares you can create them using different techniques, you can do that using the noise gradient, the lens flare filter (least recommended) and using an image. I have used a image that is really good for that on most of my projects, the only thing I do is to change the Hue and Saturation to make the colors match the design. You can find the image I used here.

As you can se the background of the image is black so the only thing you have to do is to change the Blend Mode to Screen, so the black will be transparent.

Step 17

Add more lens flares over some letters of the texts. Use the image below fore reference.

Step 18

Select all layers and duplicate them, after that merge all the duplicated layers into one layer only. The keyboard shortcut to that is Command(mac)/Control(pc) + Alt + Shit + E. Select this layer and go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Use 5 for the Amount, Zoom for the Blur Method and Best for the Quality.

Conclusion

The zoom blur will give that movement idea to our design, as the text is coming out of the page, exactly like the credits at the end of the movie. You can add some noise as well to give that movie style to the image. The technique on this tutorial is pretty simple, there's nothing that is difficult to be done, but the most important thing was that I wanted to show you that you can find inspiration everywhere, but it's important that you turn this inspiration into something real. The best way to do that is through personal projects ;)

Click on the image for full preview.

www.abduzeedo.com