GG Blog

Novo blog

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:08:12 +0000

Este é o meu novo blog pessoal.

http://gg.host22.com/

http://goncalogoncalves.pt.vu/

Posted in Web

http://blogtcm.host22.com/

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:05:57 +0000

http://blogtcm.host22.com/

Posted in Web

Isto está calmo…

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:46:47 +0000

Pois é, não me tem apetecido muito postar aqui nada, suponho que sejam por causa das “férias”. Em breve o ritmo volta ao normal com mais novidades.

Posted in Geral

Best breakdancing…

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:38:26 +0000

Posted in Videos

Realistic Star Field in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 02:45:08 +0000

Resultado final:

		To start, first create a new document of your preferred size with a black background. Its important to make sure it’s a BLACK background; otherwise, you could possible get undesirable color effects later. Next, create a new layer, name it “small stars,” and make it completely black as well. We’re doing this because later we’ll be erasing, and we want a pure black background to show through the holes we create in this new layer. Now add noise to the picture. To do this, go to Filters > Noise > Add Noise and generate a noise field using the following settings: Amount: 10%, Gaussian, Monochromatic. This will make a very subdued but detailed noise field. It may look dim, hard to see, and unlike stars, but keep it like that for now. Once the image gets brighter, it’s hard to go back to dimmer stars (trust me on this).

		The next step is to “diversify” the star field by bringing out the brighter stars and getting rid of the dimmer, almost invisible stars so they don’t clutter up our space scene later. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness & Contrast and run Brightness: -30 Contrast: 75. You’ll notice some appreciable (but still subtle) results right away. In these beginning steps, keep things low-key and subtle. Right now, we’re just laying the groundwork. Brighter stars come later.

		We’re not done yet not by a long shot. Duplicate your small stars layer and name the duplicate “large stars.” Run Brightness & Contrast again, this time with Brightness: -100, Contrast: 50. This thins out the stars even more to leave only a few fairly bright ones. Then scale the large stars layer by hitting ctrl + T and dragging while holding the shift and alt keys to keep the proportions of the layer consistent. [The concurrent keys on a Mac are Command-Shift] Scale the large stars layer to approximately twice the size of the original. You’ll need to zoom out a decent amount to do this, and don’t worry about the fact that most of your new layer is outside the image boundaries what we’re about to do will apply itself to the whole layer regardless.

		Invert (ctrl + I) your large stars layer. We’re doing this because it’s easier to see the results of the next step with black specks on white. You should now have a whole bunch of fuzzy grey specks. Hit ctrl + L to bring up the Levels dialogue box and enter the following settings into the top where it says “Input Levels.” In the three boxes from left to right, enter the values 230, 1.00, and 250. This increases the contrast of the image with a fine control, giving us specks that are nicely defined and ready to become our larger stars. Hit OK. Invert the layer again, bringing it back to the normal white stars on black look.

		Hit ctrl + T again and scale that puppy back down so that it’s just a little bit larger than the image you’re working with. Hit Enter.

		At this point you can change the layer mode of the large stars layer to “screen.” You’ll notice a sort of tacky “echo” effect going on. We will fix that right away by rotating the layer 180 degrees. Hit ctrl + T one more time and move your cursor to a corner of the large stars layer so you get the rotate arrow cursor (looks like the resize cursor, but bent). Hold shift and then click and drag, rotating your large stars layer 180 degrees. Hit Enter.

		The Story Okay, so now we’ve got a very basic star field. However, there’s one problem. This is the most boring, depressingly monotonous star field ever made. What we want is a star field that tells a story of stellar evolution, with clusters and deep space and such. This is the intuitive part of the process, so you may have to save this Photoshop file and try several times before you’re truly happy with your results.

		Take your eraser and start erasing bits and pieces of each layer separately. Be as random as possible. There is no wrong eraser brush size, although you’ll want one with a crisp edge and nothing smaller than about 10px. Go nuts. What we’re doing here is randomizing the star field in a human fashion, so it doesn’t look so computer generated. In order to make it better, however, we’ve got to thoroughly trash it first. Additionally, you should see fewer large stars than small stars, so be especially brutal on the large stars layer. This is also an opportunity for you to eliminate any obvious patterns you see in your stars (sometimes the computer starts generating patterns with its noise generation) and we want to nip those in the bud.

		Once you’re all done and have a sad, pathetic star field, flattenyour document (Layer > Flatten Image). It’s time to start cloning your stars and “shaping” your star field. Grab the clone tool… Use a variety of brushes (brushes with a crsip edge are preferable, however…) The idea here is to now start telling a story with your stars. This is where you make your clusters and dark spaces come alive. Try using the clone brush both in normal mode, or in “screen” mode (you can change the modes in the options bar across the top of your screen), which will add the stars you clone instead of merely replacing the underlying canvas. This will also bring out some of the smaller, dimmer stars that you never really see, giving you a much broader range of stars (which is always a good thing!) There is no set technique for this process — it’s all based on gut instinct and whim. Avoid cloning edges, as the stars will form a very noticeable edge. Also avoid cloning stars and placing them right next to the selected source area.

		The Details Alrighty, that’s much better. Again, you may need to experiment with this to get a result that you’re really happy with. Finally, we come to the step that’s the most fun by far: adding glow. Duplicate your layer again and name this new layer “star glow.” Go up to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Blur with a radius of about 6 to 8. Hit OK. This gives us a diffuse blur where we have the highest concentration of stars, as if the cluster of stars was glowing brighter as a whole. Change the mode of the star glow layer toLinear Dodge (or screen if you’re using an earlier version of Photoshop). Hit ctrl +B to bring up the Color Balance dialogue box. Using color balance (also found under Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) give your glow a color. This is entirely at your discretion. (I’ve always enjoyed a good blue, so that’s what I’m going with.)

		[If you want your stars to have a more individualistic glow, you can repeat this process: duplicate the star layer (should be your background layer if you're following this tutorial to the letter) and blur with a smaller radius, say 3 or 2. Change layer mode to linear dodge, yadda yadda yadda.]That’s it! You’ve got a star field! Actually, you’ve got an intermediate star field. If you TRULY want to go the extra mile, you can start adding background dust, larger stars (camera flares work remarkable well when shrunk down) and spatial anomalies. This is entirely up to you. The main point is that your creation is a) distinctly yours, and b) much better than the crap Bryce or any other program that boasts star field generation puts out. Why? Because YOURS is human-made, not based on predictable algorithmic output.

		Other Details As you can see, I’ve gone a few extra steps in my star field… Some of the items I’ve added include the following: Lens Flare Stars Create a new layer and fill it entirely with black. Set the layer mode to Linear Dodge (this is the best mode, screen just doesn’t cut it sometimes). Render a lens flare (Filter > Render > Lens Flare). Duplicate the layer and resize as needed to create dynamic star clusters in the foreground. (You’ll need a flare layer for every single star you want to create.) Space Dust Grab a big fuzzy brush (size is your call) and add a texture to it. For details on how to do this, look at my Make a Planet tutorial, it’s explained in detail (and the same texture from that tutorial can actually work quite well here). Create a new layer above your star layer(s) and set the mode to Linear Dodge or Screen. Startbrushing on dust with a color of your choosing (a transparent brush of 20% opacity works well here). Sometimes it works well to put a lot of textured color strokes down and then erase the excess away until you’ve got what you want.

The real secret to star fields, however, is not just the human touch: it’s all in the simple process of never stopping. All the steps I’ve laid out for you can be repeated, taken out of sequence, etc. In fact, the more layers you have, and the more work you put into your star field, the better it will be, because you’re drawing closer and closer to the crucial aspect of a star field that most people overlook: it isn’t drawn at all, it evolves.

Frustration
The frustrating part of all this is that, since you’re specifically moving away from the computer-generated look, you leave the comfort of a set method or recipe for success in creating stars. Intuition plays a large part in this tutorial, which I am finding hard to account for and explain (for that, I do apologize). If you’re a relative newcomer to photoshop, the steps I’ve listed above should help you on your way, but the real work in creating the look you want is only available through repeated attempts. The old adage “practice makes perfect” is applicable here… much as you may want to shoot me for saying it!

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Linhas coloridas no Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:40:19 +0000

Resultado final:

STEP 1= open a new document 1000 px / 1000 px and fill it with black

STEP 2= create a new layer (put it in the top) and fill it with white

STEP 3= go to filter >> render >> fibers and apply the following settings

STEP 4= go to filter >> blur >> motion blur and apply the following settings

STEP 5= apply a gradient overlay layer style with the following settings (remember to set the effect to overlay like shown in the box)

STEP 6= convert the layer to a Smart Object and duplicate the layer; set the layer to Overlay and go to filter >> other >> high pass and apply a radius of 10 pixels

STEP 6= set the black background layer as invisible and merge visible (shift+ctrl+E); than resize the merged layer as shown in the picture

STEP 7= free transform the merged layer rotating it of 45 degree and stretching it to the corners

STEP 8= go to image >> adjustments >> levels and apply this settings

FINISH= apply any effects you want to personalize your image

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Free Hugs Campaign – Official Page (music by Sick Puppies.net )

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:04:41 +0000

Abraço

Posted in Videos

Abstract image in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:57:48 +0000

Resultado final:

Part one:
Open up a new photoshop document and make the size 900 by 900. Then click on view and select view actual pixel from the drop down menu.

Click on the gradient tool and create the gradient below. I used #081d48 on the left and #075f9d on the right.

I then drag out the gradient on the work space with the light color on top. With that create a new layer.

Now select the brush tool and pick soft air brush as your settings.

With that brush selected, change the setting to the Brush Presets shown below. To get that option, click on the brush and on the upper task bar you will see this icon click on it and you will see the settings below.

Shape Dynamics Settings

Scattering Settings

Using the bush settings described, and on the new layer create the glowing orbs shown below.

Duplicate this layer, so you will have two layers with the orbs. Now using the free transform tool to switch the orbs in the other direction. This can be done by adding a (-) sign to the width of the orbs.

Move the orbs to the other side of the work space (right side). Make sure that the orbs have a symmetrical look to it. It should look like a rough example of wings when you are finish.

Merge the two layers with the orbs together (you can press ctrl&E to do this.)

Now duplicate the layers with the orbs again and click on the original layer with the orbs. Move to filter > blur then Gaussian blur. Apply a blur of about 3.9.

Merge the two layers with the orb once again. Now duplicate this for the last time (ctrl &J). Click on the original (should be the bottom layer of the orbs) and select the smudge tool . Use a soft brush with a size of 40 and strength of 25.

And smudge the upper left and upper right of the orbs. This will give them a pointed look. Use the picture as a reference.

Create a new layer, now using this brush Click here to download it. Add it to your workspace. Duplicate the layer and place both of them in a place where you like.

I placed them in the middle of the orbs to make it look like light particles. You can try the same thing if you want, feel free to do what you want though. Click on the original abstract brush you placed on the canvas and use the blur tool again to make it a little smoother. You Just drag it over the abstract to remove any pixilated sections. You should use a soft brush to do this, use 19 as the amount of strength.

Merge the two abstract brush layers together. Now use the erase tool to remove any edges you donâ€™t want.

Use the settings shown in the picture as a reference.

Erase this

Now go to layers and pick new layer adjustments from the drop down menu and finally select color balance. Select violet as your color. You will see mid tones, shadows, and highlights. Just apply the respective setting to each. Use the picture at the bottom as a reference.

Shadow

Midtone

Highlight

Click on image to see a better picture

After you finish this blend (merge) all the layers together, that includes the background and the abstract.
Duplicate this layer and set the top layer to hard Light for the final step.

That is it. You are finished.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Fire Lines V2 in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:12:43 +0000

Resultado final:

01

For this tutorial your going to need a good stock photo lined up. Something with action…and preferably dark (this effect works much better in a dark setting)

02

Open the stock photo, then go to the paths tab and click create new path.
Press “P” on the keyboard to select the pen tool, Get a basic idea of where the fire is going. Keep in mind dimension and action. Swirls do wonders!

03

A. Click to start your path
B. Click your next point, hold and drag to create a bezier spline path, which is necessary to create flowing lines
C. Continue doing this, following the idea of where you want the fire to go.
Dont worry about getting it right the first time as you can change the spline at any time…another little tip – if you press and hold ctrl while using the pen tool you can temporarily access the direct selection tool which will allow you to edit the spline (a big time saver)

04

And eventually…you get something like what i have below. Remember that your only going to use the parts of your path that are in front of the object your path follows…in this case the models arm, and leg. So don’t waste time trying to make the hidden parts look pretty.

05

A. Now you want to select a soft round brush (i used a 5 pixel brush here) and pick an orange color.
B. Make a new layer and name it Fire.
C. Go back to the paths tab and select stroke path with brush.

06

You should immediately see the stroked path.
On mine you’ll see splatters and flairs that weren’t part of the original path. Those give the fire line the illusion that it is moving, and were accomplished by simply grabbing the clone stamp tool – using a spatter brush and cloning/stamping areas of the path at random.

07

Mask/erase the parts of the path that are behind the legs/arms or whatever it is your paths follows.

08

Right click on the Fire layer and select blending options, and use these options/values.

Feel free to play with the settings (that’s how i discovered this technique)

You might end up with something better!

09

Duplicate the Fire layer, and set the layer mode to OVERLAY
Click the eye next to inner shadow and inner glow on the duplicate layer to deactivate them.

10

Now double click on outer glow on the duplicate and change the values to this.

Conclusion

Spend a little time, and you can make something like what i have below…

For a different effect, duplicate the FIRE layer again, and filter>distort>wave.

Play with the opacity levels, and play with the blending modes – particularly OVERLAY.

Good luck!

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Sondagem

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:55:53 +0000

Posted in Geral

How to Create a Flaming Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:52:56 +0000

Resultado final:

Step 1

For this project, I used two nice images that suits for the manipulation; image1, image2. I would like to thank the author of this two great pictures, which is thiquinho and huibidos from sxc.hu. And before we continue with the steps, I need to inform you that this tutorial is written using Photoshop CS3.

Step 2

Let’s start with image1, open and duplicate this image by using the Image > Duplicate command from the menu bar. In the Duplicate Image dialog box, you can name it anything you like, but to follow this tutorial reference, name it “PassionFire” and hit OK. By doing this, we kept the original image. Be sure to save.

Step 3

With the “PassionFire” image active, duplicate the “background” layer. Set the foreground and background color to black and white by pressing D on the keyboard. Click the “background” layer again and fill it with the foreground color ~ which is set to black. See the images below.

Step 4

Reactivate “Layer 1,” then press Command + Shift + U to apply desaturate command. Now invert the color by pressing Command + I. Your image should look like a film’s negative now.

Step 5

Duplicate “Layer 1,” then apply the find edges filter from Filter > Stylized > Find Edges. Next, invert the color by pressing Command + I and change the Blending Mode to Hard light. There, your image now has contrast white line and a very dark background.

Step 6

To give the white line more contrast, duplicate the “Layer 1″ copy then change the Blending Mode to Screen.

Step 7

Now we move to the second image. Drag image2 into “PassionFire” document image window using the Move tool. If the Paste profile mismatch dialog appears, just click OK to fix it.

Step 8

The fire image from “image2″ should be in “Layer 2″ now. Change its Blending Mode to screen, this will hide all the black colors in “Layer 2.” If done right, your image should be similar to the one below.

Step 9

Duplicate “Layer 2″ by pressing Command + J. Make sure you use the Screen Blending mode, same as the original “Layer 2.” Next, make “Layer 2″ become invisible by hiding it from the layers panel.

Step 10

Click the “Layer 2 copy” to make it active, then use the Free Transform command ( Edit > Free Transform) to rotate and resize the fire image like shown below. Don’t forget to press Enter when you’re done transforming.

Step 11

Still in the same layer, now use the warp command (Edit > Transform > Warp) to bend the fire image – so it following the hair flow. Press Enter when done. See the example below as a reference.

Step 12

If you feel the result is not quite good enough, simply use the Liquify filter to fix it. I assume you already know how to use the liquify filter; the Forward Warp tool and Twirl Clockwise tool is the only tool I used to get this result (see image below).

Step 13

Duplicate the “Layer 2″ copy, then use the Free Transform command to resize and rotate the fire image in the current layer. Don’t forget to reposition the fire image too. Once you get this composition (see image below), hit Enter.

Step 14

Repeat the previous process to get the hair covered with fire. Just duplicate and modify the layer until you get all the hair part covered. If needed, use the Liquify Filter again. The end result of this process should look like the image below, notice how many layers are used.

Step 15

Okay, now activate “Layer 2″ and make it visible again. Then Change the Blending Mode to Vivid Light. This step will colorize only the white line in the layer below it.

Step 16

Still in “Layer 2,” apply the Free Transform command to resize and rotate the fire image like shown below. The purpose is to cover up the girl’s body and hair with the fire texture. Press Enter when you’re done transforming.

Step 17

We’re gonna blur the fire image in “Layer 2,” To do so, apply the Gaussian Blur filter from the Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur menu. Fill the Radius around 10 to 15 pixels, then click OK when done. Blurring the fire image will cause its texture to blend smoother with the layer below it.

Step 18

Now add a layer mask to “Layer 2.” Then use a soft round Brush tool with Opacity at 100%. Set the brush size according to your need, then just mask until the fire outside becoming hidden. See the process below.

Step 19

Sure we will remove the white line shown in the image (marked in red rectangle below). First, add a new blank layer below “Layer 2.” Then simply paint it with black using the soft round brush tool.

Step 20

Now go to the top most layer (mine is: “Layer 2 copy 6″), add two adjustment layers which is Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast. Careful not to change the layer adjustment order, or the color effect will be wrong. Below you can see the setting I used to complete this step, also pay attention to the adjustment layer order.

By adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, we unify all colors. The Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer brings more color contrast and makes sure the image color’s looks like real fire.

Step 21

I’m sure you notice the fire sparks effect. I create it using the Brush tool with this simple setting. No special brush needed, but if you have one that will be useful then feel free to use it. Below you can see all the settings I used within the Brush palette, of course you can change the setting as you like. Just make sure the brush spatter enough and vary the size.

Step 22

Now to use the modified brush, create a new blank layer below the adjustment layers ( mine is named “Layer 4″). Choose 50% gray from the swatches palette, then you can start creating the fire sparks. Remember not to be monotone, resize the brush size if needed. I start using a big sized brush, then reduce it to smaller size (you can change brush size faster by pressing the bracket keys on the keyboard ).

If you’re not sure how to do this steps, just imagine where and how the fire sparks will flow if it was real fire. For me, imagining stuff is very helpful.

Step 23

To make it more interesting, create a new layer and change the Blending Mode to Screen. Then use a normal soft round brush (not the one we modified earlier), with an Opacity of 50%. Just click in the part of body, neck, and hair. I’m not sure how to explain this, but you can see the difference between the above and below images.

Conclusion

And that’s all of it! Hope you learned something new and had fun. You can view the final image below or view alarger version here.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

DragonForce – Through the Fire and Flames

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:15:28 +0000

A música mais conhecida dos fãs do Guitar Hero! xD

On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light,
In flames of death’s eternal reign, we ride towards the fight.
When the darkness has fallen down, and the times are tough all right.
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight.

Fighting hard, fighting on for the steel, through the wastelands evermore,
The scattered souls will feel the hell, bodies wasted on the shore.
On the blackest plains in Hell’s domain, we watch them as they go,
Through fire and pain, and once again we know…

So now we’ll fly ever free, we’re free before the thunderstorm,
On towards the wilderness, our quest carries on.
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight,
Deep inside our hearts and all our souls…

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lives all so wasted and gone;
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days-
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!

[Small interlude]

As the red day is dawning, and the lightning cracks the sky,
They’ll raise their hands to the heavens above with resentment in their eyes.
Running back through the midmorning light, there’s a burning in my heart;
We’re banished from a time in a fallen land, to a life beyond the stars.

In your darkest dreams see to believe, our destiny is time,
And endlessly we’ll all be free tonight…!

And on the wings of a dream, so far beyond reality;
All alone in desperation, now the time has gone.
Lost inside you’ll never find, lost within my own mind,
Day after day this misery must go on!

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lives all so wasted and gone,
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days,
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!

[Big interlude]

Now here we stand with their blood on our hands,
We fought so hard now can we understand
I’ll break the seal of this curse if I possibly can
For freedom of every man!

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lives all so wasted and gone,
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days,
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!

Posted in Música, Videos

How to Integrate 3D Images into Dynamic Scenes

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Resultado final:

Step 1

The first and most important step to utilizing this technique properly is creating the right background. In this case our backgrounds will be 3D. However you can create your own using whatever 3D program you want, but since this tutorial is in Photoshop and not a 3D program, I’ve provided six pre-made backgrounds for PLUS members to download.

There are tons upon tons of settings that can be created in 3D, but I’ve chosen two that I think are easy to work with and effective, a vast sky, and a landscape + sky. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to work with the vast 3D sky (below) I created this sky using the program Cinema 4D, which I do most of my 3D in. There are two different sky’s included for alternative usage.

Step 2

OK, I’m going to start walking you through the best ways of utilizing this sky setting. The main advantage of using a vast sky is that, depending on your concept, you can create a main focal quite easily, while also having a good amount of negative space, which always helps.

For this particular piece, I used the concept of a castle. In general, when using the vast sky setting, adding cloud images in the area were your focal will be gives texture and variation. Any stock clouds will do here. In this instance, I added some and filled my sky with clouds. However, filling your canvas isn’t always necessary. My cloud images are set on Screen Mode for blending at 40-60% Opacity.

Step 3

Next, we continue with our prepping of the background before adding the focal point. Designating a particular area for your focal in advance saves time and allows you to distribute details where needed, while maintaining negative space.

I’ve now drawn a looping line using the Pen tool and I’ve faded it into my clouds with the Eraser soft brush. Once I place my focal in, then the line will only be visible at the bottom of the piece, where it looks like a continuation of the platform. Keep in mind this line can go in any direction. I’ve also added two subtle textures on multiply at 50% Opacity, to fade the clouds a bit, any texture works for this.

Step 4

Next we need to take a good look at the main stock image we are going to use for the focal point, as the elements around the focal need to be placed perfectly and we can’t do that without setting a location to begin with. So I’ve made a black box roughly around the area I’m going to put my castle to use as a guideline below.

Step 5

Alright, lets get started on accenting the castle then. The line, texture, and clouds we added before will be barely noticeable in the end result. What we are going to do is to create the objects that will flow around the castle and be noticeable in the end product. One of my favorite objects to use with the sky setting is a planet or moon. You could use this image, or create your own moon, which is what I’ll do next. Since my final image will be in a night-time environment I’m using a moon, but a sun, or planet works just fine as well. You can choose whether you want your moon to be photorealistic or not.

So to start creating the moon, make a new document at a large size. Take the Eliptical Marquee tool and hold down Alt + Shift to make a circular selection. Now drag or copy in a metal texture of your choice. Then put a moon texture on the layer above it, and set it to overlay.

On the moon layer texture go to Layer > Create Clipping mask. Place one more texture of your choice in and set that to soft light. I chose a paper texture. Mask this layer also. Now go to Select > Load Selection, Edit > Copy Merged and Place it into your document. Resizing will probably be necessary. After that is done, then go to Filter > Distort > Spherize and apply a spherize at 100%.

Step 6

If you are going for a photorealistic moon, then conventionally it’s placed it in the top left or right corners of the image. I did a non-realistic moon and so I want to place mine above and behind my castle image. So I’ve taken my black box outline and placed the moon right at the upper focal area of my box. I then apply the layer styles shown below.

Step 7

Unfortunately, I can’t show you how to make this, but what I’ve put in is a 3D object composed of exploded splines and such in Cinema 4D. I placed this next to my moon and then desaturated it so that it complements the moon rather than competing with it visually. The desaturation ensures that it does not detracting from the focal point of the moon.

Step 8

Now remember when we added that vector line in step three? We are going to do a few more. Draw these again with the Pen tool, except this time move horizontally. If, however, your first line in step three was primarily horizontal then make these vertical. I drew about three to four lines in neutral colors (gray and white). Next, I duplicated the object three times and transformed it to a different perspective each time to make different areas of the line stand out once my focal had been placed.

Step 9

The next step is one of the most important – the main focal point. I’ve put my castle stock in right where I said it would be. Notice how my line objects stick out perfectly and my moon and 3D object fit just behind the castle. This is how your image needs to look. Remember, I used a castle, but if you are not going for a realistic image you can use pretty much anything (such as: a city, building, car, airplane).

Step 10

Our actual stock has been placed in so we can start working on improving its look. I’m going to use a little Liquify action to achieve my result. Duplicate the castle stock image and go to Filter > Liquify. Start using the brush on the tops, bottoms, and edges of the stock and move them out, creating a liquidish image.

Then use the Bulge tool in small areas of the center to make it look more 3D. I did this on the windows. Keep in mind that we still have one more focal to add that will go above the castle and that if you liquefy the bottom of your castle, it probably will not be visible. You artwork should look something like the image below at this point.

Step 11

Now to make the castle look bright and give it a glow I’ve added a nebula stock that I had handy, though any glowing space image will do for this purpose. Here is a nebula stock image, though choose one that you like. Make sure that you isolate the image to only a certain small portion and desaturate it. Then set it to Screen Mode for Blending.

Step 12

Given that this is a non-realistic night sky with clouds and moon, why not add some stars? To do this create a new document, one that is exactly the same size as your current document, and take two dark colors. I’m using a dark gray and dark blue (#071521 and #1f1d1c).

Go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Make a new layer, take the Brush tool setting your foreground color to white, and select a hard round default brush at 5 Px with a Hardness of around 60%. Now start clicking like crazy in different areas. After your fingers are a little tired, go back and change the settings of your brush to 3 px at 80% Hardness. Keep clicking again until you’ve filled up the canvas. Now go to the layer style on your star layer and set the following properties.

Step 13

The next step is to Select > All, and then Edit > Copy Merge. Paste your star field into your document and set it to either Soft Light or Color Dodge at 90% Opacity (I used Soft Light). If it stands out too much, you can erase little areas (as I did) with a soft round eraser brush (Flow 35% and Opacity 45%). Below is the star field before and after blending is applied.

Step 14

Here comes the second and final focal: the platform. The castle alone floating just doesn’t look complete, so I decided to put this 3D mountain/abstract that will provide some balance (remove your guidelines now). Two of these are included in the package.

First, I added more nebula stock images on a screen mode that is Desaturated at 28% Opacity onto the platform. Second, I duplicated the platform and set it to Color Dodge (this is optional and should only be used to add contrast if needed). After that’s done I perform a slight desaturation of the image (this is optional, but I felt it was necessary in my image). To do this, I added a black to white gradient and put it to 53% Opacity.

Step 15

I only want certain portions of the platform to really stand out. To do this I duplicated the object and set it to Multiply, erasing certain parts so that they won’t get too dark. The good thing about a platform is you can usually add some sort of landmass on the very top of it and it will appear to be part of the castle stock.

Open up the Grass.TIF file from the package and insert that (duplicate three to four times if necessary). However, you can use other landmasses such as rivers, mountains, etc. Place it at the very top of the platform.

Step 16

At this point, our image needs a little texture, so I added in a metal texture on Multiply at 14% Opacity. A paper texture on Overlay at 8% Opacity, and another paper texture on Multiply Opacity at 16%. They are not completely discernible, but a slight texture is usually good for an image.

Step 17

At this point, I was not particularly satisfied with the level of contrast and color in the image. Establishing a good balance of color is absolutely crucial in any type of piece, and having a good level of contrast always helps. I’ve added a black to white gradient map at Color Dodge with Opacity of 26%, and a purple to orange gradient map at Soft Light Opacity 25%.

Step 18

Now this step is completely optional and depends only on your current image. I chose to alter the tone of my image. You might ask why? This is a matter of personal preference and experience. I think this tone makes my overall image just looks better.

However, the choice of scale depends on your piece. Sometimes changing a pieces tone can bring out details you didn’t see before and achieve better all around balance, and sometimes it can completely mess up the image. It is all up to you. I altered the tone with a black to white gradient map with the Blend Mode set on Darken at 91% Opacity.

Step 19

Now we are coming close to the end result. I am going to add a few subtle details. First, a black to white gradient map at Luminosity with an Opacity of 23%, then we’ll use a Displacement Filter. Create a new layer, go to Image > Apply Image. Next, go to Filter > Distort > Displacement. As for displacement settings this is all up to you. As for the displacement map that doesn’t really matter as long as it is big. Set that to Color Dodge with an Opacity of 76%.

Step 20

Now for a few final color adjustments. I put in a white to mocha gradient map on hue at 68% Opacity and erased it were it covered my castle because I want that to have a different hue. Then I added in a purple to orange gradient map at Soft Light with an Opacity 26%, a cyan toned channel mixer on Screen Opacity 23%, and black to white Filter on Lighter Color at 42% Opacity and 89% Fill Opacity.

Conclusion

Well that’s it for this tutorial. I hope you can now successfully create a image based around a vast sky. Always remember that when using a sky setting, give it environment, negative space, a good focal point and you should be good to go. Thanks for tuning in! You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Make Abstract Wallpaper with Brushes in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:45:03 +0000

Resultado final:

		Preparations: In this tutorial, we will try to mimic the nice abstract preview (shown on the left) that Axeraider70 made for his Ultimate Brush Pack 3. Hope this will give the beginners a better idea on how to use these great resources. Download Ultimate Brush Pack 3 here. All rights of these resources belong to their respective owners.

		Step 1 – Setting Up Background: Create a document of size 750×550 pixels then make a new layer and name it as Back Glow. Select Soft Brush tool, set its size to 700px and foreground color to #752341. Paint a large dot of pink at the center like the one shown on the left.

		Step 2 – Brush Layer Masks: Other than simply stamp the brushes around, we can use them to create simple effects on layer mask too. Select the Back Glow layer and create a New Layer Mask. Load all the brushes in Ultimate Brush Pack 3. Select some of those grundgy brushes and paint them with black (#000000) around the border of the mask.

		Step 3a – Setting Base Colors: Create a new layer and name it as Base Color 1. Using the same grundgy brushes used in Step 2, set the foreground color to #FF99B4 and paint a few spots of pink as shown in the diagram.

		Step 3b – Setting Base Colors: Set the Blend Mode of Base Color1 to Soft Light. Now set the foreground color to #FED2DD and repeat Step 3a and 3b.

		Step 4a – Colors and Contrast: Create a new layer and call it as Black Shapes. Briefly identify a center point on the document and find those brushes that stretch out in various directions. We will need to make these shapes look as they diverging out from the same point. Set the foreground color to #000000 and use those brushes in different sizes as shown in diagram. Set the Blend Mode of this layer to Soft Light.

		Step 4b – Colors and Contrast: Create a new layer and call it as Blue Shapes. Using the same grundgy brushes in Step 3a, paint a few spots of blue around.

		Step 4c – Colors and Contrast: Set the Blend Mode of Blue Shapes to Linear Dodge (Add). This will blend the blue spots with those black ones under them and added some glow at the same time.

		Step 4d – Colors and Contrast: Create a new layer and call it as Pink Shapes. Set the foreground color to #E25884 and repeat Step 4a with other brushes. Leave the Blend Mode of this layer as Normal.

		Step 5a – Adding Glow Subjects: Create a new layer and name it as Glow 1. Set the foreground color to #FFFFFF and choose those brushes that you wish to make them your main glowing subjects. Paint them on this layer.

		Step 5b – Add Glow Subjects: Right-click on the layer and choose Blending Options. Activate Outer Glow and set Mode to Color Dodge, Color to #FF0000, Size to 30px and leave the rest as default settings. Repeat Step 5a and 5b with a larger brush.

		Step 5c – Add Glow Subjects: Repeat Step 5a and 5b with random sizes all around. Try not to overdo the addition of these glow subjects else they will “steal” the focus of those colored shapes at the background.

		Optional: There you have it! Your abstract art is done. You can create different variations of the piece with the use of Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. For the Blue, I am using -140,0,0 and for the Yellow, I am using 43,0,0. Hope you will find this tutorial useful. Click here to view the final image.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Sunlight Effect – 3D Studio Max

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:52:48 +0000

Resultado final:

How to create laser beam effect with the help of Target Direct light.

[1]-Click on the Geometry > Standard Primitives > Box and use the following setting
Create a box in the top view like this

[2]-Click on the Geometry > Standard Primitives > Plane and use the following setting
Set the plane like this in the Perspective view

[3]-Click on the Geometry > Standard Primitives > Teapot and use the following setting
Create a teapot in the top view like this

[4]-Now apply the Shell Modifier and use the following setting your object should be like this

[5]-Now click on the Light > Standard > Skylight and use the following setting ands set the Skylight like this
image as shown below

[6]-Now click on the Light > Standard > Target Spot and use the following setting ands set the Target Spot like this
Image as shown below

[7]-Now press (M) you will see the material window is open create a two material
I can import one map but different uses one for texture map and second for Environment map Image as shown below

[8]-Press the (F12) you will see the render window is open and open Final Gather use the following setting

[9]-press (F9) and you will see the final image is ready save the file in your folder

Fonte: aqui

Posted in 3D Studio Max

Photoshop’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:59:06 +0000

Functions

Pen tool : Click on the canvas to create paths with straight segments, click and drag to create paths with Bezier curves.

Freehand Pen tool : Click on the canvas and drag to draw paths freely, as though using a brush.

Add Anchor Point tool : Click on a path segment to add anchor point.

Delete Anchor Point tool : Click on anchor point to remove from path.

Convert Point tool : Click on an anchor point and drag to create bezier handles where there were none, click on an anchor point with handles to a remove them.

Keyboard Shortcuts

P : Select Pen tool or Freeform Pen tool, depending on which was selected most recently

The Cursors

The Pen tool takes on different forms depending on what you’re doing when youre using it. Each one intuitively makes you aware of the action you are about to perform.

(Caps Lock to toggle between pointer and cross hair in some cases)

Prepared to begin path
while midway through creating or editing a path
When mouse is pressed
Add an anchor point to path
Remove anchor point from path
When hovered over begin point of path; to close path
When hovered over endpoint of existing path; to continue path, or (if path is active) to edit that point
Prepared to convert existing anchor point
Freehand Pen Tool
Magnetic Freehand Pen Tool
Direct Selection Tool; Pen Tool with Command pressed
Path Selection Tool; Pen Tool with Command + Alt pressed
When hovered over canvas with Ctrl pressed; prepared for options menu

Secondary Mouse Controls (with path selected and Auto Add/Delete checked)

Pen tool hover over anchor point : changes to Delete anchor point tool
Pen tool hover over path segment : changes to Add anchor point tool

Keyboard Controls

Hold Ctrl and click on canvas. Opens up an options menu.
Hold Shift to constrain movements to 45°, 90°, 135° or 180° while creating or editing anchor points and handles.
Select anchor point with Direct selection tool and click Delete. Anchor and adjoining path segments are deleted leaving two paths.
Pen tool + Option (Alt): changes to Convert anchor point tool.
Pen tool + Option (Alt) while editing bezier curve: splits curve (unhinges handles).
Pen tool + Command whilst creating path: changes to Direct Selection tool allowing repositioning of previously drawn anchor points.

Options

The Options Bar (Window > Options), usually located at the top of your screen, provides the most important options for whichever tool is selected. This is also true of the Pen Tools and their options are outlined below:

Presets: Allows presets to be saved for whichever tool is selected. Define the options as discussed below and save as a Preset to quickly come back to those settings later.

Shape Layers: while this is selected, paths created will contribute to a shape, visible within the Paths palette and within the Layers palette as a vector mask.

Paths: while this is selected, paths created will contribute to a path, visible within the Paths palette.

Fill Pixels: The third path type option, available while one of the shape tools is selected. While this is selected, paths created will become filled areas.

Pen Tool: Selects the Pen Tool.

Freehand Pen Tool: Selects the Freehand Pen Tool.

Rubber Band: Available from within the Pen Options dropdown while the Pen Tool is selected. Rubber Band gives a visual of the path youre about to create, without you having the cursor pressed on the canvas.

Curve fit: Available from within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. Value entered determines the accuracy to which bezier handles will be added to your freely drawn path. The higher the value, the more accurate your result will be. A value of between 0.5 and 10 pixels is required.

Magnetic: Available from the Options bar and within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. When selected, paths drawn will magnetize to pixels. The Magnetic settings as shown below, determine the width of the area the path is prepared to jump across, the contrast of the pixels necessary to attract the path and the frequency of anchor points added to the path.

Pen Pressure: Available from within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. When selected, the pressure applied to a graphics tablet (if youre using one) influences the pen width.

Auto Add/Delete: Available when the Pen Tool is selected; allows adding and removing of anchor points with the normal Pen Tool (see Secondary Mouse Controls).

Pathfinder Tools: These allow addition, subtraction, intersection and exclusion of the paths you create..

Layer Style: Available when Shape Layer is selected; this applies layer styles to shapes on a new layer (if chain link is unselected) or to shapes on the current layer (if chain link is selected)..

Other Shortcuts and Tips

(With path selected) Spacebar to give you access to the Hand tool. Move your screen without deselecting the path or changing tools.
Go to View > Snap To > Grid to allow precise creation of curves with the Pen Tool.

Best Practice Suggestions

Drag handles from the first anchor point when beginning a curved path.
Drag your handles around just one third of the curve youre creating for a smooth path.

Position anchor points on a curve where the paths begin to change direction, not in the middle of its curve.

Be sparing with your use of anchor points, fewer points = neater path.

The Exercise

This is all well and good in theory, but while these tips are fresh in your mind why not put them into practice? Download the Pen Tool Exercise file and follow the guides to create precise paths, using the hints and shortcuts covered in this article.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Samurai X – Videos

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:41:53 +0000

Eis alguns vídeos dos inícios e fins dos episódios, só mesmo para recordar xD.

Posted in Música, Videos

Wooden Text Effect in Photoshop

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:04:44 +0000

		Preparations: We will use an image of Krakograff texture and a wood texture that can be found on FreeFoto. Click here to download Krakograff texture. Click here to download the city image. All rights of these resources belong to their respective owners.

		Step 1 – Setting Up Background: Create a document of size 750 by 550px and place the texture image at the center of it. Go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects. Fill in the settings shown in the diagram.

		Step 2 – Adjusting Colors: Create a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Fill in 0 for Hue, -75 for Saturation and 0 for Lightness. Create another Levels Adjustment Layer and fill in the values 0, 0.60, 255.

		Step 3 – Placing Your Texts: The font I used in this tutorial is called Stencil. You can download it at Dafont with you have not got it. Type in your text at the center of the document. Try not to use small font sizes as we will be doing emboss effects later on.

		Step 4a – Applying Texture: I placed the wood texture on top of my “10″. Ctrl+left click on the text to load selection. Apply a layer mask on the wood texture with this selection.

		Step 4b – Applying Texture: Similar to Step 4a, I reduce the size of the wood texture since “Steps.SG” is of a smaller font size. Ctrl+left click on the texts to laod selection. Apply a layer mask on the wood texture with this selection.

		Step 5a – Apply Emboss Effects: Right-click on the “10″ and select choose Blending Options. Activate Bevel and Emboss and fill in the settings as shown. The colors used for Highlight Mode is #CEBE80 and Shadow is #000000.

		Step 5b – Apply Emboss Effects: Activate Inner Glow and fill in the settings as shown. Right-click on the “10″ layer and choose Copy Layer Style. Then right-click on the “Steps.SG” and choose Paste Layer Style. The color used for Blend Mode is #2E2E00.

		Step 5c – Apply Emboss Effects: Change the Blend Mode of “Photoshop Tutorials” to Soft Light. You should be seeing something similar to the example.

		Step 6 – Adding Border: Create a new layer below all these texts. Load their selections and go to Select > Modify > Expand by 6 px. Fill the selection with #FFFFFF on the new layer. This shall form a white border around the texts.

		Step 7a – Adding Pillow Emboss: Right-click on the border layer and choose Blending Options. Activate Bevel and Emboss. Fill in the settings as shown in the diagram. The colors used for Highlight Mode is #DBC09C and Shadow is #000000.

		Step 7b – Adding Pillow Emboss: Activate the Inner Glow and fill in the settings as shown in the diagram. The color used for Blend Mode is #000000. Finally, set the Blend Mode of this border layer to Soft Light.

		Optional: There you have it! I have added a faded skull behind to complete the design. Hope you like this tutorial. Click here to view the final image.

Fonte: aqui

Posted in Photoshop

Excelentes efeitos 3D

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:23:42 +0000

Eis alguns:

…

Posted in 3D Studio Max, Videos

Locomotiva 3D – Trabalho

Gonçalo Gonçalves — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:53:15 +0000

Estas duas últimas semanas foram terriveis, com muitos trabalhos e frequências.

Um dos trabalhos que tinhamos que fazer, foi modelar um veiculo (autocarro, camião ou locomotiva), no meu caso uma locomotiva. Apesar de ter dado muito trabalho o resultado final foi porreirinho.

Eis o resultado final:

cliquem nas imagens para ver em tamanho real

Posted in Trabalhos