In this short tutorial you will learn what layer masks are and how to utilize them for working faster and more efficiently in Photoshop. Lets consider what masks do: They hide or show things. Masks in photoshop work the same way: they can hide or show parts of images. In general filling a layer mask with black hides a part of the image. Filling a layer mask with white shows a part of an image. Filling the mask with gray will show the part of the image with varying opacity based on how light or dar the gray is.

Step 1: Select two photos that you want to combine and place them in your Photoshop document. I just selected two random photos that I found on the internet for the purposes of this tutorial. Photo 1: A giant wall of bananas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/myszka/2241313997/ Photo 2: A nice comfy living room setting: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1208339 Make sure the banana photo is below the living room photo:

Step 2: Select the living room photo in the layers palette and click on the mask icon at the bottom. (if you cant see it go to view>Layers) This creates the layer mask. You should notice a white box next to your layer with a little link.

Step 3: Select the couch area of photo 2 using your selection tool of choice.

This is the area of the photo we are going to hide. After this area is selected Step 4 With the banana layer selected fill the couch area with black.

Filling the mask with black tells Photoshop to hide this part of the photo. The banana background should now show through. Your image should now look like this:

With a few simple tweaks you can show the texture of the wall and the shadows by setting the blending mode of the banana layer to soft light.

Such lovely wallpaper.
Download the PSD Simple Layer Mask PSD (zip) By Niki Brown – author of The Design O’Blog. Follow me (@nikibrown) on twitter!

Adobe Photoshop is the premier tool for digital artists when it comes to professionally enhancing images. Whether you’re a beginner just learning the ropes or an advanced user looking for unique techniques to add to your Photoshop arsenal, you’ll find some tutorials here that you’ll surely want to bookmark. In this article, you’ll discover plenty of tutorials that deal with enhancing images, adding unique and impressive effects, and recreating digital replications of popular traditional photography techniques. 1. Cross Processing

You can learn how to apply the Cross Processing film-developing technique digitally to your images by reading through this quick and educational tutorial that leverages the powers of the Curves tool in Photoshop. 2. Lomo Photography

Take your ordinary digital photos and simulate the Lomo Photography effect (also known as Lomography) that will apply a dreamy and surreal effect onto your images in this tutorial that uses a Levels Adjustment layer among other Photoshop techniques. 3. HDR Photo Effect

Create a pseudo-HDR image by reading through this popular Photoshop tutorial that uses basic Photoshop tools, options, and techniques such as adjusting Shadows/Highlight settings and changing layer Blending modes. 4. Gritty Effect

Improve your photos with a dramatic gritty bronze effect to make them truly pop though the techniques discussed in this Photoshop tutorial. The tutorial uses a combination of techniques including the utilization of a Curves Adjustment layer. 5. Dave Hill Look Photo Effect

This simple but impressive tutorial takes inspiration from Dave Hill’s unique photography work to create stunning HDR-like renditions of ordinary photographs using a combination of techniques that involves the Unsharp Mask in Photoshop. 6. Soft Focus Photography

Learn about an image-enhancing technique that you can easily apply onto your images by reading through this handy Photoshop tutorial from photoshoptalent.com that uses a Color Balance adjustment layer as well as other Photoshop options and techniques. 7. Movie Photo Effect

By following along this Photoshop tutorial, even the plainest photos can embody a stylish Hollywood film look-and-feel. The technique involves a few Image Adjustment (Image > Adjustment) options like tweaking Exposure and Hue/Saturation settings. 8. Extreme Contrast Photo Effect

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to add some noise, how to take advantage of Photoshop’s sharpening tools, and how to add a simple Adjustment layer to give a photo an "extreme contrast" effect. 9. Infrared Photo Effect

The infrared photo effect can be a unique and stunning way to create one-of-a-kind photos. Learn how to simulate this photography technique digitally through this helpful Photoshop tutorial that takes advantage of Photoshop’s Channel palette. 10. Soft Focus & Glow Effect

Do you want to change a plain and boring scene into a dreamy and surreal photo? If so - check out this wonderful tutorial on applying a soft focus and glow effect onto your photos using the Gaussian Blur filter and adjusting layer Blending modes. 11. High Pass Filter

In this straightforward image-editing tutorial, you will learn a quick technique for enhancing your images to give them a subtle HDR effect by using Photoshop’s handy High Pass filter and adjusting layer Blending modes. 12. Vintage Photo Effect

Renowned graphic/web designer Veerle Pieters discusses a method for putting on a vintage photography effect on images in this tutorial that uses a few techniques like adding a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer and utilization of Smart Filters. 13. Split Toning Black & White Effect

Learn to apply the split toning (a variance of sepia toning) photography effect which takes ordinary photos to produce a vintage-style photo effect. This tutorial uses several Photoshop options like adding a Color Balance Adjustment layer and the Channel Mixer. 14. Change Hair Color Tutorial

If you want to add a bit of spice in your photos - one way to do so would be to change the subject’s hair color. Learn about a method for coloring hair in this tutorial that shows where Photoshop’s notoriety for digital manipulation comes from. 15. Coloring Effect Tutorial

In this quick and simple Photoshop tutorial, you will get a chance to discover some methods for coloring your images using a few tools and options such Adjustment layers, modifying Blending modes, and the Blur filter. 16. Light Effects

Enhance your images by adding a few cool lighting effects; learn how in this Photoshop tutorial. The tutorial uses various Photoshop tools such as the Gradient tool and taking advantage of the Pattern Overlay layer style. 17. Snow Photo Effect

Add some weather into your photos by viewing this tutorial that teaches its readers how to add falling snow onto a photograph. The tutorial adds in the snow by using the Add Noise Photoshop filter, blurring it, and overlaying it onto the image’s layer. 18. Streams Of Dusty Light

This interesting Photoshop tutorial shows you how to add a surreal stream of light to make your photos truly unique and eye grabbing. The tutorial leans on the Radial Blur filter to create the streams of light. 19. Photo Color Correction

If you have an image that you would like to correct for color, Photoshop is here to help! Read this PSDTUTS tutorial in order to learn about one of Photoshop’s strongest tools: the Curves Adjustment tool. 20. Enhance Skin Tutorial

In this Photoshop photo-editing tutorial, you’ll come across a process for effectively improving your subject’s skin. One of the Photoshop tools you’ll be encountering in the tutorial is the Healing Brush tool. 21. Gaussian Blur

Using the Gaussian Blur filter on images can result in unique photo scenes. If you’d like to know how you could use this Photoshop filter in a manner that enhances your photos, you should read this excellent tutorial. 22. Tilt-Shift Miniature Fake Technique

If want to use the Tilt Shift photography technique without spending boatloads of cash in purchasing the equipment to do so, read through this helpful tutorial on how to fake the popular technique. Have a good Photoshop tutorial to add to the mix? The comment section is a great place to find other resources that didn’t make the cut. If you know of a good image-editing tutorial that we somehow missed - share it with all of us in the comments! *Edited by: Jacob Gube Related content

35 Basic Tutorials to Get You Started with Photoshop 10 Excellent Open Source and Free Alternatives to Photoshop 70 Excellent Photoshop Resources 21 Advanced Photoshop Tips, Tricks and Tutorials Roundup Related categories: Photoshop and Tutorials

About the Author Tomas Laurinavičius is interested in web design, graphic design and web development, based in Lithuania. He’s also the founder of Iniwoo, a site about photoshop, web design, wordpress and inspiration. If you’d like to connect with him, you can follow him on Twitter.

Adding textures to your designs are fundamental, they bring digital art to life and without them they would be flat and, well, boring. Creating intricate textures can be time consuming and often difficult, it is now time to learn from the experts.

To help, we have compiled a list of the most sought after Photoshop textures tutorials, not only useful as resources, but, also good means to learn new skills. Realistic Grass Texture

Glass Texture

Leather Texture

Honey Texture

Red Slate Texture

Rust Texture

Brick Texture

Leather Type Texture

Flower Texture

Wood Texture

Realistic Stone Texture

Metal Texture

Leopard Skin

Alabaster Texture

Dry Wall

Wood Texture

Asphalt Texture

Wave Texture

Lava Texture

Plaid Texture

Brushed Aluminum Texture

Grungy Metal Texture

Rust Texture

Rock and Stone Textures

Dirty Screen Texture

Jeans Textures

Stone Texture

Dots Texture

Fence Texture

Technodots Texture

Wood Texture

Liquid Blood Texture

Wrinkled Paper

Gold Texture

Marble Textures

Desert Texture

Water Texture

Dragon, Snake and Reptile Scales

Grungy Paper Texture

Military Style Texture

Quite a bold statement, Learn Photoshop in 24 hours. Its simple and you can. Stepping into Photoshop at first can be quite daunting, were do you start? With these 20 tutorials we have given you some direction, you will start of with some very basic techniques and build towards the more advanced. By the end of it you will be an expert.

Tutorial 1: Combining Two Photos for New Effect - Basic Tutorial running time : 10 minutes. We’ll start with something basic. In this tutorial you will learn how to use the Marquee Tool, how to adjust the Opacity, working with Layers, creating Paths from a Selection and using the Text Tool. Let’s get your feet wet.

Tutorial 2: Grass Texture - Basic Tutorial running time : 15 minutes. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a nice-looking grass texture. This tut covers Filters, Rotating an image, Brightness and Contrast and working with Hue and Saturation.

Tutorial 3: Underwater Effect - Basic Tutorial running time : 15 minutes. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an underwater scene from scratch, using Gradients, Transform and Filters. As well as getting started with Brushes.

Tutorial 4: 2d Mirror Effect - Basic Tutorial running time : 10 minutes. In this tutorial you will learn how to Duplicate, Flip Horizontally/Vertically, Feathering and Blending. Simple, yet effective.

Tutorial 5: Sony Ericsson Logo - Basic Tutorial running time : 20 minutes. This is your first tricky tut. You will learn how to save your time, changing layer styles and using the copies of your initial effect or form. Shapes, Layer Styles, Drop Shadows, Filters, Color Overlay are used very well in this tut.

Tutorial 6: Paint Graffiti on Wall - Basic Tutorial running time : 30 minutes. You will be using custom brushes to recreate the graffiti wall, and working with multiple layers.

Tutorial 7: Team Fortress 2 Sprays with Transparency - Basic Tutorial running time : 30 minutes. This tutorial will show you how to create quality Team Fortress 2 Sprays with transparency using Photoshop.

Tutorial 8: Google Chrome Logo Design - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 45 minutes. Similar in concept as Tutorial 5, as in you are creating a logo, but a little more difficult using trickier techniques.

Tutorial 9: Star Explosion Wallpaper - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 45 minutes. Create your first wallpaper using textures, glows, and blurs.

Tutorial 10: Graffiti Wall II - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 45 minutes. If you felt comfortable with Tutorial 6, then this will be easy for you. Slightly more difficult, but the effect is far better .

Tutorial 11: Spectacular Grass Text Effect - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. This tutorial is made up of three parts — the background, the text itself, and some final extra effects.

Tutorial 12: MP3 Digital Player Icon - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 60 minutes. Create a Photoshop MP3 digital player logo icon, using intermediate drawing  .

Tutorial 13: Cubite Logo - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 70 minutes. Cubite logo design, similar in concept as Tutorial 12, but having a more realistic finish.

Tutorial 14: Digital Illustration Using Birds - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. This tutorial is your first step into illustration. T Tutorial 15: Amazing Photo montages - Intermediate Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. This tutorial provides step-by-step guidance on how to make a stunning, dynamic effect that recreates the look of a figure dissolving in water.

Tutorial 16: War Movie Poster - Advanced Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. In this tutorial you will create a great movie poster, using some simple but efficient techniques.

Tutorial 17: Recycle Vintage Images to Create a Photoshop Collage - Advanced Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. Learn all about how to assemble a collage in Photoshop and give it a unique retro feel.

Tutorial 18: Portable Gaming Device Poster - Advanced Tutorial running time : 90 minutes. In this Photoshop tutorial you will be walking through the making of an interesting, creative advertisement poster.

Tutorial 19: Creating a stylized male portrait - Advanced Tutorial running time : 100 minutes. In this advanced tutorial you will learn how to create a stylized portrait.

Tutorial 20: Amazing 3D Text - Advanced Tutorial running time : 100 minutes. In this advanced tutorial you will learn how to create very 3D text (using 3d software) and give it life in Photoshop. The final result is amazing.

Are you a Photoshop Expert yet? Don’t give up! download these two indispensable reference PDF files, to help you on your way: Photoshop CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows or for MAC. Adobe Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts by Trevor Morris Official Photoshop CS4 Free Help Ebook Watch this video to learn about Photoshop CS4s features: Photoshop CS4 Interface Overview This video will bring you up to speed with Photoshop CS4 and all its features. By Paul Andrew

A professional logo can enhance a company, an organization, or a product. On the other hand, an unprofessional logo can ruin a brand and mar an otherwise good designer’s portfolio. Many logos in use are unprofessional and carry all the tell-tale marks of an amateur or a beginner. Everyone thinks they can design a great logo, but simply knowing your way around Photoshop is not enough. Here are some insights into the process and workflow of effective and modern logo design. With these tips and your creativity, you can make your logo designs shine with the very best.

1. Design: Sketch and Brainstorm A lot of beginners jump right onto the computer to create a logo. However, more often than not, a lot of time is spent fiddling with special effects and filters. While this can be useful, it usually means that the thoughtful design and artistry of the logo itself has taken a back seat. A better way to start is to get a fresh sheet of paper and a pencil. Think about the meaning and the feeling you want the logo to impart to the viewer. Is it for a high tech game company or a historic non-profit organization? Should it be complex or simple? As you are thinking, sketch and doodle your ideas. Don’t worry about making everything perfect. You just want to let your natural creativity flow without your computer software taking over at this stage. As you sketch different options, start eliminating the designs that seem weak or inappropriate. When you are satisfied with your ideas, move to the computer. (For those of you with graphics tablets, you can try sketching your ideas directly on your computer, but try and keep away from special brushes and effects.)

   If you are designing a logo for a customer, keep in mind that they might not like all your ideas. So, before spending too much time on each design, you may want to present some work-in-progress designs to gauge their level of interest. This can be a huge time saver, especially if your customer has not given you a lot of direction or if they tend to be very particular.

2. Build: Vector Graphics Ah, the world of vector graphics. This is a topic that many beginners (and some professionals) find confusing. In recent years, some software such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and Fireworks have blurred the lines between vector and bitmap graphics. Common image formats like GIF, JPEG, BMP, and TIFF are all bitmap formats. Digital photos are perfect examples of bitmap graphics (also known as a “raster” images) - because they are made of dots which are also known as pixels. Bitmap graphics have a specific resolution. If you zoom in on a digital photo, you will see the individual pixels. You can scale a bitmap down in size, and get some decent results, but increasing the size of a bitmap means that you are blowing up the pixels and you will get mixed results depending on the amount of enlargement. Photoshop, Pixelmator, Paint Shop Pro, and Painter are all good examples of applications that are primarily designed for bitmap graphic creation and photo editing. They are not the best tools for logo design.

   In contrast, vector graphic files are not made of dots or pixels. Instead, they are mathematical formulas for shapes. Vectors can be enlarged or reduced, to any size, with no loss in detail or sharpness. For example, the lines and curves of a vector graphic will look equally as sharp on a small business card as they will on a giant advertising billboard. Professional logos are made with vector graphics so that they can used for commercial printing, web sites, television, and all other forms of media. Vector-capable file formats include EPS (encapsulated postscript), PDF (portable document format), and AI (Adobe Illustrator).

If you learn to use vector-specific drawing software to create logos, you will be able to create perfect straight lines, smooth curves, and accurate shapes quickly and easily. Excellent commercial vector drawing programs include Adobe Illustrator, Lineform, FreeHand, and Corel Draw. In addition, there are excellent free alternatives including Inkscape which is shown below.

Using your pencil sketches as a guide, use your vector drawing software to recreate a crisp version of your ideas. If you are new to using vector software, take a few moments to learn the basics of using the pen tool to create lines and “bezier” curves. Keep in mind that vector shapes can have a “stroke” of varying thickness (the outside line of the shape) and a “fill” color or pattern (the inside of the shape).

1. Decorate: Color Schemes When thinking about “fill” and “stroke” colors, try and use color combinations that make sense for the logo. For example, you might not use bright pink and orange for an investment bank. For color inspiration, look online at Adobe’s free Kuler service or pick up a copy of Jim Krause’s Color Index 2.

2. Versions: Black and White After you’ve made brought your logo to life with color, consider how it will look when photocopied or faxed. If it looks muddy and incoherent when converted to black and white by a copier or fax machine, its time to get back on the computer and make a separate version of your logo that is purely black and white and ready for anything. The black and white version may differ somewhat from the original, but it should retain the overall look and feel. You may find yourself converting a solid shape to a hollow shape or vice versa.

3. Planning: Media While developing a logo, keep in mind your target medium. For example, if a logo will only be displayed on a web site, you might jazz it up with multiple colors, fades, or even special effects. However, if a logo will also be used for commercial printing, you need to consider the complexity of the logo and the expense that multiple colors and effects will add to the printing costs. For some logos, you may want to create a web version and a less elaborate print version. In the printing world, each color is called a “spot” color and the more colors that are required, the more expensive the printing. You should also take into consideration your “trapping” settings for your logo graphics. Trapping refers to the space between two colors. On a printing press, each color is usually printed separately and there can be some slight movement of the paper and machinery as each color is printed. These slight movements can cause thin hairline blanks between colors and even half of a millimeter will be noticeable if you have 2 colors that are designed to touch each other perfectly. This is equally important for colored shapes that are outlined in black. In your design, you can create an overlap (known as a “choke” or a “spread”) to occur between adjoining colors to reduce the chances that movement on the printing press will be noticeable. However, if you look at a lot of professional logos, you will notice that different colors do not always touch and there is frequently blank space built into the designs. Blank space (”white space”) is not only an important visual tool but it can also eliminate trapping worries.

4. Refine: Typography Words that form a part of a logo are just as important as graphics. A lot of beginners will use any old font for a logo. However, the lettering style, fonts, and even the case (uppercase, lowercase, mixed) in a logo can have a dramatic impact. Never underestimate the need to use effective typography. Also, if your logo uses a font, use your software to convert the letters into shapes/outlines. That way, if you need to send the vector file to someone, they won’t need to have your font installed on their system.

Written exclusively for WDD by Derek Underwood, a professional web designer and software developer. You can read more about Derek and contact him at his website: http://www.derekunderwood.com Logo design is interesting and challenging. Have you designed some logos? Share your logo designing experiences and tips.

As you know all that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, at this occasion I have previously showcased some really 23 Valentine’s Day Wallpapers to spice up your desktop for your inspiration, now again at that time of Valendine’s Day here’s a collection of 20 Beautiful Valentine’s Day Advertisements from leading companies. I hope you enjoy this collection of Valendine’s Day Advertisements and if I’ve missed your favorite, please let me know. Ad of ADEL Saatchi & Saatchi for Procter & Gamble

iPod Shuffle Valentines Promotion

iPod Shuffle Valentines Promotion

iPod Shuffle Valentines Promotion

Candy Gram Fundraiser Poster

cinecittadue Doves

How to Revive your Love this Valentine

Celebrate this Valentine’s

From YOU to YOU

British Airways Valentines Day

Valentines Day

Portuguese Cardiology Foundation Valentines

Sheba Valentine

Postit Heart

Dom Francisco Restaurant Valentines Day

123 Fleurscom Planes

Valentine Avon

Luxury Hotel Brochure

Happy Valentines Day

Heineken Valentines Day

You May be Interested In More Interesting Posts:

30 Unforgettable Christmas Advertisements Around the World

15 Incredibly Useful Wordpress Plugins to Boost your Blog

23 Valentine’s Day Wallpapers to spice up your desktop

27 Wonderful Typographic Posters For Inspiration

23 Very Conceptual & Terrific Dark Art Photos

21 Must Have Web Apps for Designers and Developers

Give a Hand to Wildlife - 23 WWF Most Heart Touching Advertisements Around the World

18 Awesome Christmas Lights and Imaginary Photos

23 Tremendously Useful & Free Web Resources to Increase your Productivity

34 Mindblowing Advertisements of Shoe Brands, I have ever seen!

22 Most Striking New Year Wallpapers for you Desktop!

25 Outstanding Christmas Wallpapers to Decorate your Desktop!

25 Very Creative Movie Posters of 2008

by Steven Snell Photoshop users can save themselves a great deal of time and end up with better results by taking advantage of readily available freebies, such as brushes, patterns and shapes. With the wide variety and (often) high quality of resources available, whatever you need or are looking for is in most cases already available somewhere. The only problem is that the vast quantity of freebies can make it difficult to track down what you need. Hopefully this collection of excellent Photoshop patterns will help. The resources featured here are all available as downloads in PAT format, which can be placed in Photoshop. In addition to this format, there is also a number of quality resources online for creating or using patterns in other formats that can be used by any program, not just Photoshop. As with any type of freebie, always be sure to check the license or requirements set by the creator. Skull Patterns Two skull patterns from Go Media using an image from one of its vector packs.

Carbon Fiber A carbon fiber pattern.

Patterns from PunkSafetyPin This set of 15 patterns from a deviantART user offers more than 30 other packs of patterns.

Grunge Pattern Set Nine large and high-quality grunge patterns.

Dots Pattern Set Eight dot patterns of various colors and styles.

Hexagonal Patterns Seventy-two black-and-white horizontal and vertical patterns.

Skulls and Hearts Three different gray, white and pink patterns.

Charcoal Demask One seamless pattern.

Victiorian Dreams Textures Ten textured patterns of different variations.

Paisley A set of eight stylish paisley patterns.

Checkered Patterns Three different patterns featuring a checkered design.

Different Texture A swirling flourish pattern.

Scanline and Screentone Patterns A big collection of 27 different patterns.

Spiderman Pattern One tileable metal pattern.

Patterns from DesignSpice A set of 10 repeating blue patterns.

Zig-Zag Pattern Set Eight colorful zig-zag patterns.

Scanlines1000 A set of 21 transparent patterns of scan lines.

Patterns by Raimyu A set of 20 patterns of different kinds.

Squidfingers Pack A huge set of 108 different patterns of all kinds.

Textured Stripes Six patterns of textured diagonal stripes of various colors.

Floral Patterns A set of 17 patterns with different floral styles.

Tile Patterns A large set of 36 patterns of tiles. Brick and wood patterns are also included.

Animal Print Patterns This set includes 18 different animal-fur print and skin patterns.

Grungy and Dirty Patterns Seamless, big texture patterns. There are 27 in the set.

Micro Patterns A big collection of 54 patterns.

Vector Patterns Twelve attractive patterns in this set.

Wallpaper Patterns A total of six patterns (two different sizes of three patterns).

Dots and Stripes Patterns Ten patterns, four of stripes and six of dots.

Floral Patterns Includes 28 patterns, plus PNG files for each.

Cards Pattern Eight different variations of the pattern are included.

Handmade Paper Patterns A set of seven patterns (the same pattern in seven colors).

Patterns by Camilak3 A set of 17 patterns that include stars, butterflies, hearts and paw prints.

Web 2.0 Pattern Collection A huge set of 133 patterns in various Web 2.0 styles.

Seamless Patterns Six different patterns to choose from.

Stripes Patterns This set includes four patterns in various colors.

Wood Pattern Textures Set This set includes 19 wood patterns with different shades and styles.

Plaid and Checkered Patterns A total of 25 patterns are included in this set.

Lace Patterns This set contains 19 seamless lace patterns.

Noise Patterns Ten seamless noise patterns for adding texture.

Brick Texture Patterns This set includes eight brick patterns.

Composition Patterns Five patterns of notebook paper and a composition book.

PS Patterns Pack A set of three different patterns, including squares, dots and hearts.

Fire Patterns A set of 20 high-resolution fire patterns.

Chevrons Pattern Set A set of eight patterns of different shapes and colors.

Fiber Paper Pattern Set A set of 10 patterns of different colors with a textured look.

Patterns #22 A set of 30 colorful patterns.

Spring Fling This set includes 36 pink and green patterns.

Stripes Patterns A set of 30 disturbed stripe patterns.

Line Patterns This set contains 25 colorful patterns of lines.

Bourbon Stripes A set of 12 stripe patterns, both vertical and horizontal, with different color combinations.

Hearts and Boxes Three patterns in a hand-drawn style.

Related Resources, Tutorials and Articles: How to Install Photoshop Patterns If you’re unsure how to install and use the patterns featured here, this article explains the simple process. Photoshop Tutorial: Creating Custom Patterns Hongkiat has a tutorial that demonstrates the steps in creating a simple repeating pattern.

Creating Patterns in Photoshop CS2 Veerle demonstrates how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to create a seamless pattern.

BgPatterns A fun and useful tool for creating your own JPG file to use as a repeating pattern.

Stripe Generator If a striped pattern is what you’re after, this tool will let you create your own any way you like it.

COLOURlovers COLOURlovers has a great collection of user-submitted patterns for downloading in PNG format.

About the Author Steven Snell is a Web designer and freelance blogger who can be found on his own blogs: Vandelay Website Design and DesignM.ag. (al)

© stevensnell for Smashing Magazine, 2009. | Permalink | 60 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Submit to Reddit | Submit to Facebook | Who is linking?

Post tags: patterns, photoshop

A few weeks ago I went to the movies to see the new James Bond movie: Quantum of Solace. The movie was nice, even though I’m not a really big fan of the series, however one thing that really caught my eye was the opening credits. I really liked the effects and the style. The studio that did that animation was MK12 and I love the way they mixed sand and some sort of vector elements, it reminded me a bit of Apple’s Viva la Vida ad. In this tutorial, I will show you how I created the image inspired by the James Bond movie, in Photoshop. Here’s a preview of the final image:

Step 1 Create a new document in Photoshop, I used 1920×1200 pixels. Then place a photo of dunes. You can download the one I used here. With the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), delete the horizon and leave just the dunes in the front.

Step 2 Go to Image>Adjustment>Brightness/Contrast. Reduce the Brightness to -150 and increase the contrast to 85. The idea is to make the darks really dark while preserving the highlights.

Step 3 Next go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. Reduce the saturation to -80 and the lightness to -20 in order to make the image less colorful.

Step 4 Go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. Reduce the Output Levels. I used 0 and 150.

Step 5 Create a new layer for the background. Then fill it with a gradient. Use a light beige such as #FCF7EA and blue #2A3E64 for the colors. Use the image below for reference, and make the horizon line much lighter.

Step 6 Now add another gradient, this time from black to transparent. The dark area will be at the top. Use the image below for reference.

Step 7 Create a new folder in the layer palette, rename it Sun. After that, create a new layer inside the folder and select the brush tool (B). Use a very soft brush (a rounded one with 0% hardness). Use white for the color and a large brush to create the sun.

Step 8 Change the blend mode of the Sun folder to color dodge and this should give you a nice light effect.

Step 9 Create another layer in the Sun folder, use the same brush but this time change the white color to an orange. Paint a bit on top of the other layer (1), in order to create an orange highlight. Also, add a new layer and once again let’s use the brush tool, but with white. Reduce the size of the brush and paint a bit of the ground area (2).

Step 10 Select the first layer created in the Sun folder, the one we created in step 6. Go to Layer>Layer Style>Gradient Overlay. Use white and orange #F7AA33 for the colors and 90º for the Angle. This layer style will add a bit of color to the sun.

Step 11 Now lets add a photo of a woman to the design. I used one from iStockphoto. Cut out the woman from the background use the Eraser Tool(E) with a very soft brush and 0% hardness to delete the feet and a bit of the legs of the woman, just enough to make it blend with the dune photo.

Step 12 With the woman layer selected go to Image>Adjustments>Hue Saturation. Reduce the Saturation to -40 and the Lightness to -80.

Step 13 Now go to Layer>Layer Style>Inner Shadow. Use color dodge for the Blend Mode, 100% Opacity, 162º for the Angle, 38 pixels for the Distance, 0 for Choke, 68 pixels for Size. With this layer style, the idea is to illuminate the edges of the woman.

Step 14 Create a new layer on top of the Dunes photo layer and fill it with black. Select the brush tool (B), use white for the color and a 0% hardness brush. Change the blend mode of the layer to color dodge and start painting some areas to make them really bright. Try different opacities for the brush using the number keys (1 is 10%, 2 is 20%…). If you change the blend mode of the layer to normal, you would have something like the first image in this step.

Step 15 Create a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Make sure you have black and white for the background and foreground colors. Then change the blend mode of the layer to color dodge.

Step 16 Go to Filter>Distort>Wave. Use the image below for reference.

Step 17 To create more sand like a sand storm, without being too strong I used the noise filter. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Use 12% for the amount and uniform for distribution. After that, with the eraser tool (E) and a very soft brush, delete some areas to make the sand effect less strong. Use the image below for reference. Also repeat the steps 14 and 15 in another layer and use screen for the Blend Mode. That will make the sand look more real.

Conclusion You can add some stars and create some lines using the brush tool like the image below however, the whole idea was to show how we can create sand using the clouds and noise filters. This showed me how important is for a designer to get out of the office and get some inspiration offline.

Written exclusively for WDD by Fabio Sasso. He is a Brazilian designer living in Porto Alegre. He produces an excellent design blog called Abduzeedo. Have you followed the tutorial? Please feel free to show us your version below…

TextureKing is a project created and maintained by REH3design. Throughout the site you will find a growing repository of high quality texture photos that are free for personal and professional use.

Coquette part 2, the better, improved version of one of DryIcons’ most downloaded and most popular free icons sets. they powered this free icons set with 50 brand new icons, mostly demanded by users. This playful free icon set contains curvy and colorful free icons made with one goal, to get all the affection to your projects. These free icons flirt with style! “Coquette” free icon set contains 50 high quality, free icons in these sizes: 16×16px, 32×32px, 48×48px, 64×64px and 128×128px and 32-bit transparency PNG file format.

BG Patterns is a web based tiled backgrounds designer. You can create any pattern your site needs just in few minutes. You will have adjustable size, pictures, colors, texture and transparency in any pattern. As you create any pattern, you can also share them as well. Recently created patterns by others are also available there. You can save your created patterns there for future use as well. Preview is also available for any patterns.

As you know all that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, Bring Valentine to your desktop and decorate your desktop with beautiful Valentine’s Day Wallpapers, you feel that your heart fills up with special warmth. At the time of Valentine here’s a collection of 23 Beautiful Valentine’s Day Wallpapers from around the world! I hope you enjoy this collection of Valentine’s Day Wallpapers and if I’ve missed your favorite, please let me know, may your heart be always full of love! Valentine by Messa

Loving you Is like an act Of a founded Perfection

Valentine Wallpaper

Rose Faery by *orafaerygirl

I Love You

Einstein

Valentine Wallpaper

Valentine by Biscottino

Valentine by Judazfx

Valentine by Anoop-pc

Cupid valentine wallpaper 1

Happy Valentine’s Day. Eat my love…

Love Rainbow

Be my Valentine by Declick14

Valentine’s Day Wallpaper Apple Style

Valentine Wallpapers

The Two and The Valentine by ~vladstudio

Valentine LXIX by Lzrdkng

Valentine by DemonNeko

Sweet Valentine by Sapoprod

Valentine Dreaming by ~spiraln

Valentind Day Wallpaper

Hearts in Motion by N8iveattitude

DryIcons is wishing you a lovable Valentine’s Day filled with candy, wine and music. These icons were designed to fit the romantic feel of the holiday. The “Valentine Love” free icon set comes with 12 high quality web icons in 32-bit transparency PNG and 32×32px, 48×48px and 128×128px size. February is about love and renewal, so don’t hesitate to let the breeze in, and may your heart be always full of love.

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard when it comes to creating web page layouts. Photoshop’s versatility, robust set of tools, and excellent workflow management make it the web designer’s preferred application when creating designs for the web. In this collection, you’ll find 40 high-quality tutorials on creating web layouts from scratch using Photoshop. This article contains a copious variety of tutorials to help you learn and master the various techniques involved in creating beautiful web layouts. 1. Corporate WordPress Style Layout

Create a dark, clean, and usable blog style layout. 2. Old Paper Layout

Learn how to create an elaborate and decorative design with paper textures. 3. Making the ‘Clean Grunge’ Blog Design

In this tutorial, you’ll see how to make a clean/grungy layout. 4. Create a Sleek, High-End Web Design

This tutorial goes over how to create a dark-themed, classy web design. 5. Clean Website Layout

Learn how to create a simple and modern web layout using Photoshop. 6. How to Create a Grunge Web Design in Photoshop

In this tutorial, you’ll read a detailed discussion on creating a grungy web design. 7. Photoshop Paper Texture Grunge Design

You will learn how to create a paper texture and then how to use it in a web design layout. 8. How a Simple Layout Can Be Mixed ‘n’ Matched

You’ll be creating a simple web layout that can easily be changed. 9. Five Looks, One Layout

Learn the process of creating a versatile web layout that can embody a variety of design themes. 10. Design a Cartoon Grunge Web site Layout

Mix the illustrated look and the popular grunge design trend in this web layout tutorial. 11. Professional Magazine Web Layout

Create a clean and functional "magazine-style" web layout in Photoshop. 12. Web Design - Journal

Learn how to create an aged journal web layout. 13. Modern Web 2.0 Web Layout

Create a modern, clean, and usable web layout by following along this tutorial. 14. White Notebook Style Web Template

Learn how to design an elegant and fancy notebook style web layout. 15. Design a Unique Grungy Website Layout

In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a grungy-themed web layout. 16. Simple Night Style Website Layout

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a night-themed web layout. 17. Professional Design Studio Web Template

This tutorial goes through a process of designing a professional web layout. 18. Design a Clean Business Layout

Create a clean, web 2.0 style web layout in this Photoshop tutorial. 19. Create a Dark Themed Web Design

This Photoshop tutorial goes over the methods involved in designing a dark-themed web layout. 20. Portfolio Design Part 1 and Portfolio Design Part 2

Create a stylish porfolio by following along this two-part Photoshop tutorial series. 21. Portfolio Gallery Layout

Learn a process for creating a sleek online photo album. 22. Business Layout #3

This tutorial will show you how to design a clean business web layout. 23. Dark Style Web Template

In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll be creating a beautiful dark-themed web layout. 24. Create a Vibrant Modern Blog Design in Photoshop

Learn the techniques involved in creating a high-impact blog layout in Photoshop. 25. Full Web Template

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a beautiful web layout. 26. Car Layout

This tutorial goes over the creation of a web layout for car enthusiasts. 27. Full Photoshop Website Design

Learn how to create a web layout that’s perfect for graphic and web designers. 28. Environmentally Friendly Layout

Create a clean and green web layout by following along this Photoshop tutorial. 29. Architecture layout

Create this architecture-themed, brown-colored web layout by following along this Photoshop tutorial. 30. Design Layout

Learn the process of creating this sleek and dark-themed web layout in Photoshop. 31. Creative Studio Web Page

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a dark-themed portfolio site. 32. Website Design Studio

Create a bright and high-impact web layout by following along this Photoshop tutorial. 33. Carbon Fiber Layout

Learn how to use carbon fiber textures in your web designs in this Photoshop tutorial. 34. Creating Business Style Template Design

Learn how to make a dark-themed, clean web layout in this tutorial. 35. Model portfolio layout

In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a beautiful portfolio web layout that has a textured background. 36. Clean Business Layout Tutorial

This tutorial will show you the techniques involved in creating an eye-catching business themed layout. 37. Premium Wordpress Photoshop Layout

Learn how to create a "premium" WordPress web layout from scratch by reading through this Photoshop tutorial. 38. Portfolio Layout #9

This Photoshop tutorial goes over the techniques involved in creating a clean, blue-themed portfolio site. 39. Design Studio Layout

This tutorial shows you how to create a website layout that has metallic gradients. 40. Nature Portfolio Layout

Create a nature-inspired web layout by following along this Photoshop tutorial. Got a tutorial to share? If your favorite tutorial isn’t listed above, why don’t you tell us a little bit about it and drop us a link in the comments. Related content

25 Photoshop Tutorials for Web Designers 50 Free Photoshop Brush Sets for Modern Design Trends 30 Beautiful Photoshop Illustration Tutorials 30 Beautiful Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials

No doubt PSDTUTS.com is the most popular Photoshop tutorial site around. However, there are many other sites also provide a good bunch of Photoshop tutorials. If you're looking for more, they are worth checking out.

In this post, I will introduce you a list Six High Quality Photoshop Tutorial Sites Apart From PSDTUTS.com. Take a look, you won't be disapointed :)

Getting Started You’re probably familiar with the Shape, Type and Pen tools by now. If not, that’s OK. We’ll have quick refreshers for you along the way in this tutorial. This Tutorial will Teach You how to create type that follows a custom path, or fills a custom shape in Photoshop. We’ll start with paths, and move our way up to filling and typing along shapes. Type on Paths Type on a path works very similar to your typical type tool in Photoshop. Once you get a handle on how to work with it, it’s very easy. Step 1: Create a Path Instead of just clicking to start typing, we need to create a path to act as our types baseline. Select the Pen Tool (), and make sure that Paths () is selected in the Options Bar. Draw a S-Curve path just to see how it works. When satisfied, hover over the path with the Horizontal Type Tool and click to start typing along the path.

Step 2: Adjust as Needed From here, you can use the direct selection tool to modify the type along the path as well as the path itself. Hover over the type along the path and take note to the various cursor states. You can adjust the start point for the path by dragging the starting point inwards, and you can do the same for the end point. You can also determine what side of the path the text can begin on (just remember that the path will always act as the baseline of the text). When you’re finished with a path, Click the check mark in the right side of the Options Bar (Still using Direct Selection Tool).

Type in Shapes Typing within shapes is just as simple as typing on a path. After creating a custom shape in photoshop, just click inside of the shape to start typing. The path creating the shape will act as a constraint for the type.

After placing type within a shape path, the path can be readjusted (ie: reshaped using the pen tools), and the type will automatically update to fill the new shape. It’s also worth noting that you can type along the path of the shape as shown in the first part of this tutorial.

Dark Art has now become a very recognizable art and continues to grow in popularity. In this medium of art an artist has much room to convey their thoughts and feelings in their creativity. Here I am presenting 23 very conceptual and meaningful dark art photos for you, hope you all will enjoy this and i am very much sure you will be inspired and enthused by these attractive dark art collection. Not the right way by n05feratu

Artist’s Comment: A few years ago, I was a total chaos…. nothing had sense and I thought to end my life… Thanks to some friends and to their good advices I didn’t do it and today I’m very grateful to them. Some days ago, I remembered all that eposide… I was depressed, I thought I had the solution, but I was wrong; to live is the solution… an obstacle must not keep us back… it must inspire us… This image is the resut of that inspiration… today I laugh… but some years ago I cried… I want to dedicate this piece to all of those who have decided to live… this image is four you my friends. We are still in this together by n05feratu

Save the Tears LARGE PRINT by Asunder

Follow Me Down by Ragshiel

The Head by MaciejZielinski

B0010 by Monstror

Leaving this world by ~garthim

Dreams Builders by N05feratu

Return to Reason - heart by Damnengine

Take my hand. by Eriboss

We are in this together by N05feratu

UNZIPPED IMAGINATION by Hogar

Failure to Migrate

Tortured mind by N05feratu

Tongue by Treize-Orbscurarium

Still Alive

Virus by n05feratu

Fly Art

digital - manip by ~larkie

Birds: 3 wings by ^zerocomplex

Mind tricks by ~iTaylie

My heart by ~Yehikovz

Vampire Queen by Pygar

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JonDesign’s SmoothSlideshow javascript gallery system allows you to have simple and smooth (cross-fading…) image galleries, slideshows, showcases and other cool stuff on your website… Unlike other systems out there, JonDesign’s SmoothGallery is designed from the ground up to be standard compliant: You can feed it from any document, using custom css selectors. And even better, this solutions is very lightweight: The javascript file is only 24kb. It’s free as in beer and even better, this library is open-source, GPL licensed to be precise, You can download it from here!

myPhotoshopBrushes.com is a great collection of Adobe Photoshop brushes, patterns, tutorials and many useful Photoshop stuff. They are made by artists all over the world and all are free to use. Take a look, find something interesting for you and free download. With us design can be easier than ever.

IcoJoy.com glad to present you 4 new free icons. The subjects of this icons are magic, gift, vacation, money. These icons are free to use in any kind of project unlimited times. Ammount of icons: 4 Icon Sizes: 256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32 File Types: .png, .ico, .icns, .tif, .gif, .bmp, .psd Versions with shadows and without shadows are included