Enhance Your Ad Designs with 3D Splashes
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In this tutorial, I’ll show you a creative process that gets you using your crazy brain. The workflow for creating the splashes involves taking photographs of thrown paint. Through photography you can capture amazing 3D images without the need for 3D software. Learn to make a splash in your next design.
Step 1
Let’s first take a look at the image we’re creating. Click the screenshot below to view the full-size image. As always, the full Photoshop file is available via our PSDTUTS Plus membership.
Step 2
We need three boat photos taken from a high view. For this tutorial, you can substitute boats with cars, shoes, or anything else.
Step 3
Start to throw the paint from a cut plastic bottle. You can do it in front of a white wall or a green screen (if you have it) to obtain a good contrast on the edges of the splashes. The results will show better if you mix water and paint together. Be forewarned, stay away from the paint. In this attempt, we lost a cashmere pullover and a watch—irremediably stained.
Step 4
Select the best splashes you photographed. If some parts of the paint are out of focus, don’t worry. It’s a fine effect and it will contribute to a sense of depth in the final result.
Step 5
Use the Rapid Selection Tool or Magic Wand Tool to select the white background around the splashes. After you complete the selection process, go to Select>Refine>Edge and make some adjustments. Add Feather, Radius, and Expand or Reduce the selection until you find a nice result. Use a black background to remove excess white pixels on the edges. After that, go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection to hide the white background.
Step 6
For each splash you need to repeat Step 5 and duplicate the layer every time. At the end, you may have a multilayer file like the image below.
Step 7
Now switch off every Paint layer so we can concentrate our attention on the boats. Select the Pen Tool (P) and start creating a path in the shape of the first yacht. This is the only way to make it. Without a suitable green screen the edge becomes too complicated so you can’t use any Photoshop tools to speed up this step.
After you create the path, click on the dotted circle icon at the bottom of the path box to create a selection. Select > Inverse and Delete the background (or create a mask to hide it). If your object is complicated, then your paths may take some time to create. Repeat this step with all the boat images (cars, shoes, or any images you’ve chosen).
Step 8
Use three different layers to work on the boats. At the end, you should have a good composition like this.
Step 9
Now the boats need some improvements. Start with the opaque glass. Select the Pen Tool (P) and create a path around the shape of the glass.
Step 10
Go to the Path Palette. Click on the dotted circle icon at the bottom of the box to create a selection from the path.
Step 11
Add a new layer called “glasses” over the boat layer and fill it with a gradient using white to black for the colors following the direction of the arrow shown below.
Step 12
For the Blend Mode use Color Dodge. Also, set the Fill Opacity to 60%.
Step 13
Repeat this step for all the boats. Now we must improve the color of the boats. Start with Select > Color range. Then pick a white point on the foredeck of one boat with the Eyedropper and set the Fuzziness to 123.
Step 14
With this new active selection, copy the white color from the boat layer and paste it into a new layer called lights over the boat layer. For the Blend Mode use Soft Light and set the Fill Opacity to 100%. Repeat this on the other boats. Now the foredeck appears brighter.
Step 15
Start revealing every single splash layer and move them below the boat layers. Keep in mind, you can put some layers of paint below one boat layer, while being above another boat layer. Mix and match until you have a nice composition, like the second image below.
Step 16
The Warp Tool is the magician of this tutorial. From the Top Menu go to Edit > Transform > Warp. Move the anchor points creating the spray from the paint waves, bringing the splashes near the hull.
Step 17
You can also create new splashes from your images by changing their shape with the Liquefy Filter. Go to Filter > Liquify. Use a medium brush to change the shape of the blue splashes.
Step 18
Your design so far should look like the image below.
Step 19
Create a new layer over the splashes. Select a brush similar to the one used in the image below. Set the Hardness to 0%. Then, with a dark blue color selected, draw shadows below the boats.
Step 20
For each boat, duplicate a splash layer near the hull. Move this new layer over the boat. Call it “reflections.” For the Blend Mode use Overlay. Then set the Fill Opacity at about 60%.
Step 21
Select the Pen Tool (P) and create a path along the lower side of the yachts. Create a selection from the path. Then create a new layer above the boat layer. Fill the selection with a blue color picked from the blue waves. Call this new blue layer “Halo.”
Deselect (Command/ctrl+D) and from the Top Menu choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Apply a Radius similar to the settings below. For the Blend Mode use Multiply. Then set the Fill Opacity to about 75%. Now you have a blue reflection on your hull. Repeat this process for every hull (which includes this step and the previous step).
Step 22
After having completed the shadow and reflection, now we’ll create a light background. Create a New Layer (Shift+Ctrl+N). Call it background. Put this layer below the others. Use the Elliptical Marque Tool to draw an Ellipse.
Then Select > Modify > Feather and set the Radius to about 40px. From the Menu go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Use white for the foreground and a light blue for the background. Set the Opacity to 70%.
Step 23
Now we’ll add a background using Photoshop Brushes. Select a Rounded Brush and play with options like Shape Dynamics, Color Dynamics, and Scattering to create a good distribution of random bubble patterns. On a new layer, called bubbles, draw a texture with a light blue foreground and a dark background. After this, select Color Dodge for the bubbles layer in the Layer Palette.
Conclusion
Now you can add anything you want to your advertisement design. I placed a logo and some text in the image below. Good job, your work is finished! Remember to use your software well, but also use your crazy brain. See you at the next tutorial.
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By Alessandro Giglio
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The whole point with computer graphics is the ability to skip the canvas and paint part, and get directly to the medium. Any tutorial that shows work with real paint in order to achieve, well, real paint look, is flawed in its base.
When you first see the end result of the image you go like “OMG how did he create the 3d paint effect”, then you find out he really used paint, so funny. Lame but funny.
Wow, that is a damn good tutorial. I like that they included reflections and shadows in there, not that many people would have thought of that.
A load of unique and brilliant ideas in this tutorial – especially the paint!
Thanks for Posting.
Excellent Tut.
Absolute splashy… dawg. Gr8! job
I totally want to try this…
Because paint is rather expensive, you could actually probably use milk
it might be more difficult to capture the highlights and shadows, but when you change the hue/saturation you’d probably still get the same effect.
Excellent tutorial. Long but great results. Very Professional Thanks!
Jason
http://www.MyThemeFinder.com
Amazing piece
GR8 effort….
I don’t know – I mean, it looks good and all, but I’d be way more impressed if I didn’t have to go out and splash paint all over the place. I mean, couldn’t you just fake that in Photoshop? And you left out the most important part – who has to clean the paint up!
This tut is really awsome:)
Great tutorial. It makes me want to stop working and start playing in Photoshop.
Thanks.
Rachel
AllGraphicDesign.com
HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS, even tho I got your tutorial, I am so not bother with buying a bucket of paint so that I could throw them about. However love the tutorial, shows the development and the depth of the work, well done.
This really does look great. I’d like to see how close someone can come to this look and feel without the real paint throwing though. It will be interesting to see the comparison and the results.
I think I will be throwing many things through the air and taking pictures now. LOL . Jello would look cool. and this guy “great tut man.. seems like a waste of paint tho” A waste? Did you see how nice the ad came out? you think that paint is more valuble than the finished product?
Seriously impressive! Nice to see some grunt work being done to achieve amazing results. Kudos
Cool effect. Though I’m afraid it will be difficult to convince a client to pay for a photo shoot for paint splashes.
OMFG!!!!! THIS IS SO AWESOME!!! It looks complicated like hell, but is indeed so simple. Great job and thanks for this tutorial. Please post some more like this for us digital artists.
That is sweet. Great idea!
Hello everybody,
do you know where i can get stock photos like this?
greets
fantastico el trabajo….clap,clap, clap
Bravo,
Awesome
Gr8 n F9 idea
coolest thing ever..
wooooooooow i visit this site many time but it is the best
Waw Whata idea the best idea i like this images
It’s very phantastic tutor
Extremely Amazing Tutor!!!
Wow you send so much time and effort for this… truly worth it.
I thought it was done on C4D or 3d application.
a really long winded tutorial, but the results are really nice!
if anyone can find stock like the splashes there i’d be so thankful, email them to me if you can!
what agreat work
this just amazing
Ok, this IS rad, but who do I get to take the pics while I throw the paint (or vise versa)?
Set the camera to timer shoot and then start splashing like mad. At least you will have an interesting aftermath worth taking pictures
that looks just fantastic. Love this tutorial, thank you!
This Tut was amazing. I just finished a design using this same technique and turned out so good..words do not do it justice.
Too bad it was just a piece for school though…
Love this site…keep the amazing tutorials coming!!
thx,
Nice Thinking.
how much paint did you waste.
just kidding. respect
I think this is the one of the best tutorial ever…Thanks!
good to see that
Wow, interesting.
I used to think that the only pictures to take of the paint are the splatters left on the floor/paper AFTER the splashing of the paint, and not while the paint is flying across the air.
Now I see how beautiful flying paint is.
Aha.
Beautiful effect, looks very professional!
This is awesome! I love love love it
woW!!! Nice effect!!!!
Thanksss 4 sharing!
ur tutirials are awesome !! but its very advanced tutorial, lot of work required !!
Thanks for opening the eyes of so many to mixed media! Rarely have I ever seen so many people get so excited (including myself!) and post replies. Great job on explaining the details and for documenting the tut expertly. Hopefully this will encourage more people to add an organic edge to future works to keep pushing the limits of our creativity!
nice outcome and tutorial, but you forgot to remove the reflection on the side of the boat
than it would look so much better
You guys always churn out highly finessed and original work.
Well done on that !
Damn great work. Compliments.
Wow love this tutorial. Definitely going to do this one! Thanks