Before air conditioning and the electric box fan the only means that most people had to cool themselves on a hot day was a hand-held fan. Today, we will demonstrate how to illustrate a realistic, Japanese-style folding fan in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Resources Used

The following resources were used during the production of this tutorial. To download them, just sign up at CG Textures. They are free!

• Paper Texture
• Wood Texture
• Fabric Texture

Step 1

Let’s start this project by creating a new file 1000 x 800 px with a resolution of 300 ppi.

Step 2

Using the Paint Bucket tool, fill the entire layer with #b8b8b8.

Step 3

Next, open the file Paper.jpg and place it over the "Background" layer. Rename this layer "Wallpaper" then set its blending mode to Overlay.

Note: Paper.jpg is a large image, so press Cmd (Ctrl) + T to activate the resizing handles and adjust its size.

Step 4

Next, open Wood.jpg and place it over the "Wallpaper" layer. Rename this layer "Wood." Press Cmd (Ctrl) + T to resize the image. Resize it to make it smaller and place it in the middle of the canvas as shown.

Note: While resizing, hold down the Shift key to constrain the image both vertically and horizontally.

Step 5

Next, we’ll add a 3D effect for the "Wood" layer to make it as if it is a wood plank. To do this, double-click the "Wood" layer to open its Layer Style window then apply the settings below.

Step 6

Now we’ll make guidelines for the fan. To do this, add a new layer and name it "Outer Circles." Using the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) make two circles as shown below.

Step 7

Next, duplicate the "Outer Circles" layer by pressing Cmd (Ctrl) + J. Press Cmd (Ctrl) + T to resize the image as shown.

Note: While resizing, hold down the Shift + Alt key to evenly resize the image both vertically and horizontally on both sides.

Step 8

Using the Pen tool (P) make a set of lines (make sure to put every line on a new layer) following the indicated degrees, making a pizza-like diagram like as shown below.

Step 9

Merge the "Outer Circles," "Outer Circles copy" (duplicated layer of the "Outer Circles"), and the layers of all the lines by Cmd (Ctrl) + clicking the layers then right-clicking on it and selecting Merge Layers from the drop-down menu. Rename this layer as "Guidelines" and decrease its Opacity level to 50%.

Step 10

Next add a new layer and name it "Outer zigzag." Using the Pen tool (P), draw a path alternating from the inner circle going to the outer circle and back again to the inner circle until you’ve reached the 16th point from the 0 degree angle like as shown.

Step 11

When you’ve reached the 16th point, right-click and select Stroke Path from the drop-down menu. Prior to this, make sure to configure the Brush tool (B) to a Master Diameter of 2px, Hardness of 100%, Color #000000 and Opacity level of 100%.

Step 12

Next, add a new layer and name it as "Inner zigzag." Do exactly what we did in the "Outer zigzag" making sure to start from 0 degrees up to the 16th point.

Step 13

Now we will make the folding effect of the fan. To do this, we’ll start by adding a new layer, after that follow the instructions below.

Note: Make sure to create each line in a different layer. Connect only the "down" portions of the zigzags.

After connecting all the "down" portions of the zigzag, including the 16th point from the 0 degrees, press Cmd (Ctrl) then left-click the layers comprising all the lines and select Merge Layers from the drop-down menu. After that rename the merged layer as "Black lines."

Step 14

Use the same technique as outlined in Step 13 but now connecting only the "up" portions of the zigzag with the Pen tool (P), having the same configuration for the Brush tool, but now using the color #ffffff. After that, merge all the layers and name it "White lines." Change its Blending mode to Overlay.

Step 15

On the "White lines" layer, use the Eraser tool (E), configured to a Size of 100px and a Hardness of 0%, to erase the indicated areas as shown below.

Step 16

Next, we will add some shading. Add a new layer and name it "Shades." Using the Pen tool (P), make a shape as shown below. After making the shape, right-click and choose Make Selection from the drop-down menu.

Fill the entire selection with #9f9f9f and set its Blending mode to Multiply.

Do this as shown until you reach the other side.

Step 17

Add a new layer and name it "Sticks." Using the Pen tool (P), make a shape like as shown below. After that, right-click and select Make Selection from the drop-down menu.

Using the Gradient tool (G), set to Linear Gradient, fill the entire selection with the colors indicated below.

To add some thickness, double-click the "Sticks" layer and apply the values shown below.

Step 18

Next duplicate the "Sticks" layer then hit Cmd (Ctrl) + T to activate the resizing handles. Reposition the center of rotation axis (a) to the center point of the fan (b) then rotate it to the next shade (c).

Continue duplicating and changing the angle of the sticks for every shade until you reach the second to the last shade from the right. After that drag all the stick layers to the Create a New Group icon in the Layers palette. Name this group "Sticks." Leave the last shade to separate the last stick from the rest of the sticks because we’ll put it on a higher position on the Layers palette later on.

Step 19

Add a layer mask in the "Sticks" group and use the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) to make a circle as shown below. Using the Brush tool (B) erase the areas indicated below using #000000.

Note: make sure to place the "Sticks" group below the "Black lines," "White lines," "Shades," "Outer zigzag," and the "Inner zigzag" layer.

Step 20

Now to complete the set of sticks, duplicate another sticks layer but now take it out from the "Sticks" group. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) and create a circle from the center of the fan just like what we did in Step 19, create a layer mask and erase the parts you don’t need. The final effect should look like the one shown below. Rename this layer as "Line separate."

Step 21

Next add a new layer and name it "Face." Using the Pen tool (P) draw a shape like the one shown below. Right-click and choose Make Selection from the drop-down menu.

Next, use the Gradient tool (G), set to Radial Gradient, to fill the entire selection with colors shown below.

Step 22

Add a new layer and name it "Circle". Using the Paint brush tool (B) and the Eraser tool (E) alternately follow the directions below.

With this technique, you can make an unlimited set of designs like the ones shown below.

Next, Cmd (Ctrl) + click the thumbnail on the "Circle" layer to activate the selection marquee around the shape. Apply a color gradient using the Gradient tool (G), set to Linear Gradient, using the color numbers indicated below.

Duplicate the "Circle" layer enough to make a pleasing design. Resize and reposition the "Circles" to form the design like the one shown below. Select the "circle" layers (original and duplicates) and drag them to Create a New Group in the Layers Palette. Name this group as "Design." After that, using a layer mask, the unwanted areas of the design to complete this step.

After hiding the "Guidelines" layer and rotating it upright, the product should look like the one shown below.

Note: Make sure to place the "Design" group and the "Face" layer below the "Black lines," "White lines," "Shades," "Outer zigzag," "Line separate," and the "Inner zigzag" layer.

Step 23

Open Fabric.jpg and drag it into our project. For the time-being, decrease its opacity to about 50% so that you can see the "Face" pattern underneath. Next, use the Pen tool (P) and follow the shape of the "Face" of the fan as shown below. Right-click and select Make Selection from the drop-down menu. Hold Cmd (Ctrl) + Shift + I to inverse the selection then hit delete. After that, increase the opacity level back to 100%. Rename this layer "Fabric" then change its Blending mode to Overlay.

Note: Make sure to place the "Fabric" layer below the "Shades" layer.

After unhiding some of the layers, your image should look similar to the one below.

Step 24

Next Cmd (Ctrl) + click the thumbnails of the "Sticks" layers (original and duplicates) and the "Face" layer in the Layers Palette. This will activate the selection marquee around the layers selected. Fill the entire selection with #000000 and place this layer under the "Sticks" group.

Next, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the value of the radius to 2.0 px. Name this layer "Shadow 100." Duplicate the "Shadow 100" layer and reapply a Gaussian Blur with a radius of 4px then decrease its opacity level to 50%. Rename this layer "Shadow 50."

After revealing the texture layers your image should look similar to the one below.

Step 25

Now, add a new layer and name it "Bolt." Using the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) make a circle as shown below. Fill the entire selection with #000000.

Note: Hold down the Shift key to make perfect circles.

To make it more realistic, double-click the "Bolt" layer and apply the values below in the Layers Style window.

Step 26

Add a new layer and name it "Brownish." Using the Paint Bucket tool (G), fill the entire layer with color #442d00, set the Blending mode to Overlay and Opacity to 50%.

Step 27

Next, add a new layer and name it "Shader." Using the Paint Bucket tool (G), fill the entire layer with color #000000. Then, using the Eraser tool (E) with a size of 1200 px and Hardness of 0%, erase the areas indicated below three times.

Step 28

Next, add a new layer and name it "Light source." Using the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) make a shape as shown below then fill the entire selection with #000000.

Step 29

Press Cmd (Ctrl) + T to activate the resizing handles. Right-click from the selection and choose Perspective from the drop-down menu. Resize it as shown below.

Step 30

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set its radius to 58 px.

Make some further adjustments using the Transformation tool (Cmd (Ctrl) + T) to make it more realistic.

Final Image

That’s it! The final image is shown below. Hope you had fun working on this project and learned some additional skills and knowledge of Photoshop. Try using different patterns or pictures for the face of the fan for different results!