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Christmas is just a few days away, so here is a tutorial showing how to create a Christmas design using Photoshop.
What we are going to do is really easy and can be very useful. For this tutorial, we will use some very cool icons as well. You can download them here. I hope you enjoy this little tutorial and that it inspires you to create your own last-minute postcard!
Step 1
Create a new document. Using a Layer Style, apply a Gradient Overlay, using a dark red to a black.
Step 2
Using the the Line Tool, let’s create two lines as shown. This will be our reference for the Christmas tree.
Step 3
Let’s place our Santa Claus Icon in the center of our tree. Using the Pen Tool, draw some lines like I’ve shown below. In order to do that, we need to change the way we will create our lines. Instead of using the Shape Layer, let’s choose Paths.
Step 4
Now, still using the Pen Tool, let’s round our lines choosing the Convert Point Tool.
Step 5
Next, create a new Layer Folder and name it “Star Tree.” Change the Blending Mode to Color Dodge, then create a new layer inside this folder and name it “Stars path.” Next open your Brushes Palette (Window > Brushes) and select the Brush shown below. Then set it at the values shown below in the screenshots.
Step 6
With our brush created, let’s choose the Brush Tool and make sure that the brush we created is selected.
To create the star tree, make sure that you have selected the “Star path” layer. Using the Path Selection Tool (A), Ctrl-click Stroke Path. A dialog box will appear, and in there choose Brush. Make sure that the brush you created is selected.
Step 7
As you can see, the stars follow the path we created and they change size, rotation, and opacity. Now let’s choose another brush, and in a new layer still inside the “Star Tree” folder, let’s add some lighting effects. Select the brush shown below and paint a star over Santa’s glass.
Next, in a new layer, paint a big star at the top of the tree.
Step 8
Select the “Star path” layer and double-click the layer to open the Layer Style dialog box. Select Outer Glow as shown below, and add some glow to the stars.
Step 9
Next we’ll add our text. Choose the Horizontal Type Tool (F) and type XMAS (or whatever word you would like). Double-click the layer to open the Layer Style dialog box.
Now let’s add some effects. I learned this technique from a very nice tutorial I found online, and I have just changed it a little bit.
Step 10
To create the water floor-effect, just duplicate the text layer and flip it vertically (Edit>Transform>Flip Vertical). Move it right bellow the XMAS text and apply Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. After that, choose the Gradient Tool (G), set the colors to black and white, and fill the mask with it.
Step 11
Add the Merry text and some more icons and repeat the previous step to create reflections for all of them.
Step 12
Let’s add a bit of snow.
- Set the colors to dark gray and black.
- Create a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds.
- Apply some Gaussian Blur.
- Go to Filter>Pixelate>Mezzotint
- Add some Motion Blur
- Change the layer’s blending mode to Overlay at 30%.
Conclusion
This is a very easy way to create a beautiful Christmas wallpaper or even an e-card to send to your friends or clients. However, the best thing is that it shows a bit of what we can do with the Brush Engine, in my opinion one of the best features in Photoshop.
Happy holidays everyone!
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its cool.
from: bojanmaniaka
Gracias a esta pagina web hemos podido hacer un trabajo bastante entrtenido, i algo complicado.
Suerte que tenemos un buen professor que hace las classes divertidas i gracias a esto ponemos bastanta atención porque si no seria inaguantable esta classe,
(Nacho no es peloteo esto ehh)
Marc Boixasa
nacho eres el mejor
Gracias a esta pagina web hemos podido hecer una postal navideña, pero es bastante complicado (pero porque somos un poco inutiles la mayoria con el Photoshop) jajaja
Suerte que tenemos a Nacho, nuestro professor, que es divertido y explica muy bien y gracias a eso ponemos bastanta atención.
( Nacho no es peloteo aunque lo parezca jajaja)
Marc Boixasa
Gracias a esta pagina web hemos podido hacer una postal navideña, pero es bastante complicado (pero porque somos un poco inutiles la mayoria con el Photoshop) jajajaja
Suerte que tenemos a Nacho, nuestro professor, que es divertido y explica muy bien y gracias a eso ponemos bastanta atención.
(Nacho no es peloteo aunque lo parezca jajaja)
Marc Boixasa
This a very cool tutorial
I am using it this year for my students in my computer graphics class using photoshop.Thanks for the nice inspiration!
OMG! I’m definitely a PS idiot as I even didnt know that the Brush option would allow so many different layouts! It’s incredible!
Really liked your tut and definitely save on my computer.
Keep up the great job and have a merry christmas.
Thanks for this fantabulous tutorial!
OMG! I’m definitely a PS idiot as I even didnt know that the Brush option would allow so many different layouts! It’s incredible!
Really liked your tut and definitely save on my computer.
Keep up the great job and have a merry christmas.
Thanks for this fantabulous tutorial!
Not enough information in this tutorial to make the final product look like yours.
No information on how to get the star at the top to look like that. And there is definitely something missing on how to make the stars look red,white,gold,etc. Mine all looks red (in different shades).
hi i have just 1 problem and that is where do u get the * from in the brushes dialog? i dont seem to have it : /
Very informative tutorial. Thanks! Keep ‘em coming. Merry Christmas EV1
wow!! it’s amazing! thank’s
even when making the folder colour dodge and the layer normal, the stars still appear a pale red. What colour do u use to paint them on?
Muchas gracias por el tutorial, me parece magnifico tu trabajo.
I know this is a only english post… i thought maybe giving a little multicultural apreciation to you art.
in case you don’t know spanish:
“Thanx a lot for the tutorial, i think your work is awesome” <— translation
for people who asked, u can open the menu (top right button on the panel) and choose “assorted brushes”
nice tut :)
wishing u a merry xmas from Italy!
Cool tut, Fabio. Where I can see another one?
Totally agree with JD (@ Dec 18, 2009), there’s just not enough information on how to get this effect. Just read through all the comments to get some gen re. steps 6 & 7 — cannot figure out how to make the stars looks golden and glowy.
Evidently Fabio’s too busy creating another fabulous tut to clarify, so can some random poster who’s successfully managed to figure it out please shed some light on this (pun definitely intended)?
Thanks a bunch in advance!
can’t figure out step 4 i have the lines like you have (besides where you have white circles i have hollowed squares) but the space between my lines are filled with black triangles. and for some reason i can’t make the lines rounded.
pretty awesome tut… i’m new to photoshop but quite advanced in gimp and inkscape so i needed about one hour to get used to the ps interface and then i had no probs following the instructions… maybe its not suited for absolute graphics design & manipulation beginners though
greetz~
oops! I can’t do step5. brushes did not display.
Thank you for the tutorial ! =)
I learnt something new and I experimented it myself.
Though the text color didn’t turned out the way that it supposed to look like,
so I did my own adjustment.
Here’s the outcome ;)
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8372/xmas0.jpg
Great and easy tutorial. Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!
Here’s my work.
http://i024.radikal.ru/1012/0b/86f6e38a7e21.jpg
This is a very nice and easy tutorial. I’m using the xmas tree as my facebook icon.
Found this funny, I keep getting some spam emails that are using this image in the email :)
Example:
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/5499/screenshot20101224at207.png
It’s nice that even spammers enjoy our tutorials.
Thanks for the tutorial!
Easy and Convenient, lovely!
And Merry Christmas to you! :D
Here is my one:
http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz196/Josh5726/santa.jpg
Sorry, the link won’t work.
Here is the new one that I uploaded…
http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz196/Josh5726/Photoshop/santa.jpg
Thanks for the tutorial!!
Nice tutorial, I couldn’t follow it completely as things started going wrong with the brush. I got the star brush but I couldn’t get them look like your on the settings too wide spread all over not thin on the end and thick in the middle.
I will try again one day.
I’m not familiar with photoshop. How can I get the dark red to dark colour as background?
Simple but really nice e card ! Cheers
Would be a great tutorial if the pictures loaded.
Great! I will translate this tutorial into Vietnamese. Thanks for sharing :)
We do not allow people to translate our content into other languages and post them on other sites.
Great tutorial… But I can’t seem to get the same glow on the stars as you have done… Is it because this depends on the colours of the brush chosen?
(this is before step 8….)
Hey,
for all of you who had problems with the stars – i just figured out what the problem was. I also just got light-red stars and noc changed the backgroud color to exactly the same as the original picture has (i just copied the picture and inserted it in ps to get the colour) – so with the right red it will word.