[GFX] give us some tips

[Big Casino]

got any ideas or little tricks youv picked up that you wanna share? lets hear it?

heres one to start off.

To get a burst of colour make a new layer and fill it completely black then set the layer mode to colour dodge. Then take a soft brush [the blurry round ones] and pick your colour of choice then on the same layer dab on your colour. For best effects play about with the either the brush oppacity ot the layer oppacity Great for adding burst of colour over an area in your sig.

 

[Ewan]

I do that as well but I don't fill it with black first, I just use an empty layer. I also use the dodge tool where I've brushed and the lighting looks really good IMO.

Gradient maps set on lighten and lower the opacity.
Apply an image, run a high pass filter and set the layer on 20% soft light. They do it in photography I've heard and it makes tags pop.
Download PSD packs and see how other people make tags.
Experiment and try new things even if you can't pull it off the first time.

 

[Big Casino]

I do that as well but I don't fill it with black first, I just use an empty layer. I also use the dodge tool where I've brushed and the lighting looks really good IMO.

Gradient maps set on lighten and lower the opacity.
Apply an image, run a high pass filter and set the layer on 20% soft light. They do it in photography I've heard and it makes tags pop.

yeah the black just gives it more vibrance, both ways work well.

that tip about the high pass is fantastic, thanks for that

 

[Sexy Beast]

Some tricks i learned from others, and some i just tried out for myself:

• 
  
  [*]Using your own psds or even any psd for a displacement layer, and setting it on lighten, with the icky parts erased makes for a nice effect when the piece is complete.
  
  
  [*]Another, is toying around with curves and levels. When done in the correct fashion, you can get some great depth from both of them or even when combined.
  
  
  [*]when you apply a layer, dupe it. one will be sharpened by like 15 or 20 in smart sharpen, and in the same way, but with Gaussian blur. Lower the opacity in the sharpen layer to like 67 or something, and set the G. blur layer onto lighten, and erase the parts that cover the focal/that look bad. I really love that effect, tbh
  
  
  [*]For text, i've learned a good outer glow can go a long way for shiny-looking text.
  
  
  [*]If your looking for a simple, but excellant way for a light source, then just go to a new layer, and take out one of your soft round brushes(preferably something over 100px), and brush near the top or wherever your light source is needed, and put that layer on linear dodge with a 50-65% opacity, and 70-80% fill; it works well for me .
  

 

[Big Casino]

Some tricks i learned from others, and some i just tried out for myself:

• 
  [*]Using your own psds or even any psd for a displacement layer, .

I think i told you about that one im sure i remember me telling someone that
That said i havent used it in aaaaaaages, i totally forgot tbh

 

[Ewan]

A black and white gradient map on luminosity is really good. I also like lower the opacity of a B/W grad map on normal and it kinda dulls the colours and it looks cool sometimes.

Also, you can apply your image and, run a filter (Filter --> Artistic --> Dry Brush) that makes your image look like it's been painted. Lower the opacity and it adds a bit of texture to whatever you're making.

 

[Big Casino]

i alwyas have a few balck and white grads on luminosity Its a great way to darken the colour tone and give a grungier edgier look.

 

[Sexy Beast]

To stay within the B/W Gran map topic, I find putting a B/w G.map over the entire image, but erasing half of it that covers the focal(like leaving one part of the focal b/w, but the other half not) creates a great coloring effect, and really balances it out. Also, it's my favorite thing to do for a finishing touch.