How To Create A Desk Environment In Photoshop From Scratch!

Dec 31st in Interface by Harley Alexander

I recently did an artwork where I was creating a desktop feel. It was filled with all sorts of objects you would find strewn across a desk. In this tutorial, I will be recreating them so you can design your very own desks.

Author: Harley Alexander

I'm Harley, and I enjoy web design and photoshopping. I've been photoshopping for about 3 years, and am the owner of Baffle! inc. my freelancing company. I also enjoy surfing and playing basketball. I'm a surf life saver as well.

Preface

Ok, so obviously a desk will be filled with whatever you require. There are unlimited variations, so today I'll be showing you a few effects to get you started:

Torn paper notes
Doodles, the drawn kind
Scratches
Polaroids (with tape)
Post-it Notes

This should surely get you started on your desk interface. Bear in mind, this is from a birds-eye point of view, not a 3D, with the light-source coming from 120Âº (top left).

For a background image to start with, you will need a relatively big wood texture. For this one, Banxter has kindly provided this perfect wood texture for us.

Torn Paper Notes

The torn paper effect originally came from another tutorial I was reading, but I found it to look inauthentic, so I created a smoother and faster method. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1

First some patterns we will be using.

Paper Texture

Fill a 150x150px new document with a neutral grey, such as #bfbfbf.
Apply some really light noise (Filter> Noise> Add Noise) to the layer with these settings: Amount: 2.5%; Distribution: Uniform; Monochromatic: Selected.
To turn it into a pattern, click (Edit> Define Pattern) and call it 'page texture' or whatever else you deem suitable.

Paper Lines

Create a new document with the dimensions of 1x18 pixels (the height is whatever line-height you want for the text).
Using the Pencil Tool (B) on 1px with the color light blue (This will be the color of the lines, so pick whatever color the lines are in your notebook. I used #1a438d.), click the very bottom pixel so a dot appears.
Define this as a pattern too, name it something like 'paper lines'.

Step 2

So now that you have these two patterns, it's time to make our paper. Fill a selection with the paper texture we made. Add a light Gradient Overlay, from white to very light grey, and lower the Opacity to about 70% so it is still bright white, but you can still see the page texture. Add a Pattern Overlay using the 'paper lines' pattern we made earlier. Lower the opacity a little till it looks realistic. Finally, add some shadow. Our Light Source is coming from 120Âº (top/left). Add a Drop Shadow that is only 50% Opacity.

Step 3

Now we'll make our paper look torn. Select the Lasso Tool (L), and zoom in. Run up and down roughly with the Lasso Tool all the way around the edge of the paper. Once you reach the end, double up and go all the way back around the outside in a large circle. Press Delete, so the edge now looks rough.

Step 4 (optional)

Zoom in super close this time and select a 3px Smudge Tool (R), strength 70%. Go all around the edges and smudge away from the paper so it creates the torn effect.

Doodles

This effect is really easy to pull off, and looks great if you get the right colors and density.

The brush

We use a 1px Brush (B) with an Opacity of about 70%. You can use any color you want, but I used #234b94, #942323, or #4b4242.

The drawing

There isn't any trick to this. If you have a tablet, this step is a whole lot easier. I use a trackpad for this, and hold one finger on the click and my drawing hand's index finger to draw on the trackpad. Just, well, doodle. This part of the tutorial is the creative part. The picture above is what I came up with. On top of doodling, you can use some text in a handwritten-style font if you want.