Monday, January 19, 2009

Magic Talisman

1. Create a new black (or dark colored) 1024x768 image. Create a new layer. On this second layer, use the ellipse tool ff and hold the shift-key to draw a circle. Make sure that the circle is using paths ff so it will not color in the circle.

Magic Talisman image 3

2. You now have a path outline of a circle. Select the pen tool Magic Talisman image 4, right-click on the canvas and from the pop-up menu, select "Stroke Path." This will outline your path using whatever brush and color you have selected. I would recommend using the hard round brush at 3 pixels. Right-click and select delete path.

Magic Talisman image 5

3. Still using the pen tool Magic Talisman image 6, select the Custom shape tool and choose a Magic Talisman image 8 shape. I chose the bulls eye. Using whatever shape you selected, place it somewhere inside the circle. The select "Stroke Path" as we did before and delete the path.

Magic Talisman image 9

4. Now use the line tool Magic Talisman image 10 to make your design a bit more elaborate and original. Use a slightly smaller pixel width than before, like 2 pixels. Duplicate the layer. Select the bottom layer and go Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur 4 pixels. With the top layer selected, go Layer > Merge Down.

Magic Talisman image 11

5. Duplicated the merged design layer and select the lower layer and go Filter > Distort > Ripple. Select a large ripple or about 750%. Now Filter> Blur > Radial Blur and make sure you select Zoom and set the amount to 100. Duplicate that layer and set the upper distorted layer to Vivid light. Merge all the layers except the black background.

Magic Talisman image 12

6. Use the Move tool Magic Talisman image 13 on your design layer and go Edit > Transform > Distort. Move about the circle until you have it in your desired position.

Magic Talisman image 14

7. As a final touch, duplicate the layer and set the lower layer to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur 8 pixels. Set the upper layer to Overlay and go Layer > Flatten Image. Finally, use the Dodge tool Magic Talisman image 15 at a brush size of 50 pixels and an exposure of 90% to highlight areas and emphasize the glow. You now have a kick-ass surface for any character to stand or sit on!

Magic Talisman image 16