How to Create a 3D Leaf from a Texture Photograph
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In this beginners level tutorial, you will learn how to create a vibrant 3D leaf compilation from a single 2D photograph. You will be able to manipulate the object however you prefer. Let’s have fun with this display of greenery.!
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $19/month. You can view the final image preview below. You can view the large version here.
Video Tutorial
Our video editor Gavin Steele has created this video tutorial to compliment this text + image tutorial.
Step 1
To begin, you’ll need to find a photograph texture of a leaf. I have chosen this one from lostandtaken.com by a a photographer named Caleb Kimbrough.
Step 2
Load your new found texture into a new project. With the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) selected, Right-click on your layer in the artboard and select Free Transform. Once you have done that right-click on the texture again and select Warp. I have labeled each corner respectively as we will be moving them around quite a bit.
Step 3
Now that you have your layer in Warp mode, click and drag the corner (a) down 1/3 of your grid.
Step 4
Now click and drag the corner (point c) up 1/3 of your grid. Already our leaf is beginning to take on it’s natural form.
Step 5
Each corner has 2 arms that you can move in order to manipulate your layer even further. Pull the corner’s (point a) left arm down as shown below.
Step 6
You should give a sharper edge to your leaf. Something like this. Press Enter to finalize the Warp.
Step 7
You should have a sharp point on your leaf after the last several steps. However, your point may be a bit bent due to the Warp Tool curling. Fix this by using the Polygonal Laso Tool (L), selecting the excess curl and pressing the Delete key.
Step 8
Now lets focus on the other end of the leaf. Use the Warp Tool again (see Step 2) and drag point d as shown in the picture below. You’ll want to get both of the arms of point d to be parallel.
Step 9
Now do the same with the top-right corner (point b). Also, if you want you can tweak the leaf into whatever position you require by holding your mouse down and dragging the inner grid, as well as the other points.
Step 10
To add a bit of additional perspective Right-click on your leaf and select Free Transform. Now hold Alt + Shift and drag the top-right corner, then move it left a bit. This will give the leaf a bit of distance perspective.
Step 11
If you want to make the leaf drop at its point, use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and select only the left half of the leaf. Then proceed to Free Transform > Warp. This will allow you to move that half of the leaf without warping the right half. Make sure not to move the points that are in contact with the leaf that is not selected as this will cause a tear between the two pieces.
Step 12
Next, duplicate the layer with your leaf on it, drag that layer below your original leaf layer. Warp it a little to show some discrepancy. Repeat this process as many times as your desire. Play with it and have fun.
Step 13
On each layer you can add a simple drop shadow by double-clicking on the layer and checking the box labelled Drop Shadow. To give leaves even more depth, make sure you adjust the Distance, Size, and Opacity accordingly. The larger leaf has an Opacity of 63%, a Distance of 299px, and a Size of 84px (this is on an artboard sized at 2590px by 1943px at 72px per inch). If you have a leaf that is directly on top of another, you will want to have the distance significantly lower, as well as the size. It should be more sharp and distinct.
Step 14
Next I added a quick and easy Bevel and Emboss. It is often frowned upon to use this but it gets the job done quick. You can paint the sunlight hitting the leaf if you desire, but this is only an intermediate tutorial.
Double-click on the desired layer and check the box Bevel and Emboss. Change your Depth to 100%, Size to 65px, and Soften to 0px. Also you may want to lower the Opacity of the Highlight Mode as well as the Shadow Mode.
Step 15
You may want to add some depth of field. To do this I recommend you use a simple Gaussian Blur. Select the leaf that is below the rest of them. Right-click on the layer in the Layer Window and select Convert to Smart Object. Now select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set it to 2.6 pixels.
A Smart Object will allow you to change the settings of your applied filters non-destructively. If you are really thoughtful, you could do this with the Drop Shadow and the Bevel and Emboss on the leaves…repeat this process with the other leaves, but lower the blur as the leaves get closer to the largest leaf. We want that to be the focus.
You can also use the paint brush to mask the Smart Filter on the Smart Object. If you select the Smart Filter on your Smart Object layer, select the color black and paint on the artboard with the Paintbrush Tool. You will find that it removes the Gaussian Blur (or any other filter you applied to your Smart Object) in the area that you paint black. I did this with the largest leaf and left only the edges slightly blurred.
Final Image
There you have it. A quick and easy display of greenery. You can really play around with this and do a lot of different types of leaves and positioning. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. Half the fun is just messing around with the Warp tool. The final image is below. You can view it larger here.
Other Uses
This technique can be used in so many different projects. I have used it specifically in the Audio Jungle wallpaper contest several times and it increased the traffic to my Flickr site significantly.
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By Brent Nelson
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This is simply awesome…
Its looking more beautiful in Audio Jungle use…
Thumbs Up..
ur contact send me
It’s great. I like it ^_^
Nice, I like the integration of the leafs in the final images….
It’s fantastic! Thanks!
Wow, amazing. Never thought of that before.
wow, really good
Your Message…oh yea..
i like that…
really high quality stuff ;D
This technique is really, really useful, and not very hard either! Thanks.
Simple yet really useful.
that tutorial looks great and i am going to have a lot of fun with that. thanks!
Originally it didn’t look so appealing but when I saw the applications….then it really looked cool!!
yeah i Agree with you RG!
not much impressed this one is only finishing technique to be give to any 3d material
it is listed as a “beginner’s” tutorial.
I think it’s a great technique that could be applied to many things.
For someone that’s here to get tips and tricks to help me develop my skills, I like it. I really have no real skill in Photoshop or any other of the programs like Fireworks or Illustrator, so little tutorials like this are massive help, especially for a beginner.
I know the Tuts+ network has a reputation for providing awesome tutorials that provide insightful, alternative or groundbreaking ways of doing things, but you can’t expect every single tutorial to be of this level.
Great tutorial!
the most beautiful thing here is the simplicity of the technique, very original idea, thanks for sharing
lol I could tell how its done by just looking at the result and the title, but yea,…. I think its nice tho :)
Yeah! Love the audio jungle ones!
Must have taken a hell of a long time, to put all those leaves on the branch, or whatever you call that.. :)
very cool and easy to apply to other things
Nice. Thanks.
So all in all you warped a picture and put a basic layer effect on it and some drop shadows.
Pretty much, super basic stuff. The warp effect is good, but the bevel is too strong, it’s too obvious.
Awesome, gonna use this technique sometime… :D
much appreciated.
This is a brilliant tutorial! It’s really easy to follow, simple to do…and looks amazing! Great job!
I like the way you showed how to achieve the effect and then provided examples of ways in which it could be used. Really great stuff! It shows the practical use for simple tricks like these.
thanks, cool technique, certainly somethig that wil be useful to have in my knowledge bank.
Step 14 (the bevel + emboss) doesnt look right. The leaf is way too thick. I would lower the ‘depth’ setting to around 30-50%.
Nice wallpaper.
Nice tutorial
Great stuff, but: is there a certain way to make the (sort of) ‘string’ of leafs, seen in comp 1??
Copy the leaf several times and arrange it in a semi circle. Than group the leaf layers into a folder. Copy the folder and arrange as necessary. You don’t have to place them one at a time this way.
Great tutorial man, I think I’m gonna use this technique right now
genial!! un tut de 10!!! simple pero contundente!!! gracias!!!
very nice technique here and a great tutorial! thank you very much for sharing :)
Good! But why are those leaves so thick? :)
Overall it looks kinna cool
Cool technique, must try out
Great technique, I personally will lower the embossing a little. It takes away from the realistic look.
Brilliant tutorial and I’m going to give it a try and see what I come up with. Will be good to use in some projects or just for fun. Thanks for sharing.
If i only knew, this was so easy to acomplish
Thanks
wooh this is cool! great technique
just great. Who can imagine this with very simple technique, thanks.
Really Simple and Cool Tutorial, thanks
Don’t forget about reflexes on shadow from leaves!….
as before this is also very nice training.
not so impressed
Great tutorial!
Actually the tutorial is good, but the “Other Uses” section is amazing.
This is very simple but, calm and professional, I like it, I’m gonna use it some work, thanks very much
cheers
I never thought of that. Awesome. Simple but awesome.
looks a bit to flat… personally, I prefer the leaf without the bevel and a softer drop shadow.
Simple and great
great I totally loved it !!
WOW That’s Great! Amazing! Good Job!
since not all of us are pros or experts, this is a very helpful tutorial. :) many thanks!
your creativites Very Good Baddy