What you’ll be needing for this tutorial:

• Nebula Effects Fractal Stock
• Planet Earth
• Desert
• Astronaut Suit

1 Open Adobe Photoshop and create a new project (height: 800px / width: 600px). Import the Nebula Effects Fractal Stock image and scale it down until you’re satisfied; we’ll use this image as our background.

2 Next, we’ll be using Planet Earth image. Bring it to Adobe Photoshop, apply a layer mask and start masking all except the planet. After you finish, position it on the left side, as I did.

3 It’s time to import the 3rd image: Desert image. Once again, we’ll need to mask the sky part. I’ve also flipped the image horizontally (Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal).

4 Let’s import the 4th image, Astronaut Suit. Scale the image down, as I did, and start doing the masking one more time.

5 Select the Sand layer (that’s how I named the layer containing the Desert image we’ve used) and go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White (use Neutral Density Preset). Next, right click on the layer and go to Blending Options > Gradient Overlay. Set the Blend Mode to Color Dodge, Opacity 20%, Gradient from white (#ffffff) to #61899c.

6 We need to add a strong light behind the astronaut. Create a new layer and place it under the astronaut layer. Then choose a soft rounded brush (size around 260px) and using white color click a few times near our astronaut layer. Duplicate this layer, choose the one from the bottom and change it’s blending mode to Overlay.

7 It’s time to add a shadow to the astronaut. Select the layer, duplicate it and then go to Edit > Transform > Skew; drag the center bottom point to the left side.

8 Select the mask of the Astronaut Shadow layer, choose the Gradient Tool (Foreground to Transparent Preset) and draw a line from left bottom to top right.

9 While the Astronaut Shadow layer is selected go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius at 2,0 pixels. Change the Opacity of the layer to 60%.

10 Select the Astronaut layer, right click and go to Blending Options > Inner Glow and change the color to white (#ffffff).

11 Create a new layer between the Light – Overlay layer and the Sand layer and draw some clouds using any Cloud Brush. You can modify the clouds in any way that you consider (Scale, Warp etc). Set the blending mode of the layer to Overlay and the Opacity to 75%. Cloud Brushes on Qbrushes.net

12 Create another new layer, but this time between the Astronaut and the Light – Normal layer. Choose the soft round brush, set the size to between 800-850px, change the color to blue (I’ve used #00a6eb). Click once or twice on the astronaut. Change the blending mode of the layer to Color and set the Opacity to 30%.

13 Some final adjustments: above all layers, click the Create new fill or adjustment layer and choose Black & White, use the Maximum Black Preset. Above it, click again on the button and add Levels; you can find the settings in the image below.

That’s it! Hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial and the result.

Tutorial inspired from Dark Side of the Moon by Paulo Bert.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Man On The Moon – Photoshop Tutorial

We’ve recently found a partial backup (lost in one of the computers – lucky us) and restored it. We’ve lost a few articles, we’ve lost the theme we’ve used before, but we’ve considered us to be lucky because we had the database.

Last time we were online, we started to implement a new theme here on AREA 1. We supposed to be out for a week, but… you know the rest.

We’ve changed the hosting now, we’ve got an automated backup daily, so let’s hope there won’t be anymore problems.

There will be some changes in the near future, we’re working on hiring a few writers to bring you more tutorials & articles than before. AREA 1 is using a premium theme at the moment, we will start working on a new look as soon as the time permits us. We also thought on implementing a premium category… we’ve got a lot of work to do here, with small, but confident steps we will get where we want!

I would like to say “thank you” to all the people who advertised on this blog and to the visitors!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

AREA 1 Returns

I’ve gathered in this article some creative advertisements made by Giovanni Pirajno.

Source: Pirajno Advertising

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Creative Advertisements by Giovanni Pirajno

1. Cutting out People

Everyone who has used Photoshop for any length of time has needed to cut someone out of a photo. However, most people struggle to find a method that doesn’t take an enormous amount of time. Here, Gavin shows you how to do it with the extract filter.

2. Adding Reflections

On the web these days, it is getting hard to find a logo that doesn’t use reflection. Since there is such demand for that Web 2.0 look, here is an easy method to add a reflection to a word or phrase in Photoshop.

3. Removing Objects

What if you have a great photo of you and your girlfriend, but her ex-boyfriend in standing there in the background? Easy, you delete him. Using the clone tool, you can remove just about anything as long as the image around it isn’t too complex. Here’s how.

4. Creating the iTunes Grunge Background

Apple’s style has influenced so many other products, and almost everything on the web. This tutorial shows how to create the grunge background from the recent iPod commercials from scratch. It’s a very good tutorial on basic illustration in Photoshop.

5. Eye Color Adjustment

Have you ever wanted to enhance someone’s eye color, or change it altogether? What about making them red to get that Twilight Vampire look? Here’s a good tutorial on adjusting eye color.

6. Making it Rain

It’s difficult to shoot quality images in the rain, so why not add it after the fact? Here is a solid tutorial on adding rain to any photo using only Photoshop.

7. Removing Stray Hairs

Have you ever shot the perfect image of a girl, only to spend hours removing stray hair? Here’s how to do it the right way.

8. Create a Photo Montage

This tutorial illustrates how to create a montage of images, which look like Polaroid photos scattered about. You can apply the principles learned here to create scrapbook pages or more complex collages.

9. Get the Sin City look

An Excellent tutorial on how to apply the look from the movie to any photo with a good light source.

10. Taping things up

The trend these days is to create virtual art that looks as if it is a photo of a real object. Thus, many graphical layouts are starting to use Photoshop-created scotch tape to add depth to an image, and evoke an illusion of tangibility. Here’s how to tape up an image in Photoshop.

11. Fantasy Photo Manipulation

Here is an awesome tutorial on how to create digital art using a combination of photo elements. It is a good overview on photo manipulation in general, but highlights how to get that fantasy look many crave.

12. Ornate Typography

Text doesn’t have to be boring. If you are creating art for print media or logos for a blog, there needs to be something special added to the text. This video illustrates how to beef up your plain old text, and add some flair.

13. Dramatizing a Photo

Truly great photographers can shoot the perfect image, without any tweaking after the fact. For the rest of us, we usually need some Photoshop help to make the image pop. This tutorial shows how to burn and tone an image to create a more dramatic mood.

14. Product Creation

Create an iPhone in Photoshop from Howard on Vimeo.

The secret to many ad campaigns is that the products in the ad are not photographed. Rather, they are created from scratch in Photoshop. Here’s how to create an iPhone from thin air.

15. Selective Colorization

Have you ever seen those cool wedding shots where the image is black and white, but all of the flowers are in color? Levels, curves, and layers in Photoshop – here’s how to do it.

16. 3D Text

CS5 added some powerful new tools, one of which allows you to add 3D effects to text. It’s been requested for years, and now it’s here. Check it out.

17. Applying Textures

Here’s the situation. You have an awesome object, but it looks a bit plain. You wish it had more texture to it. Enter this excellent tutorial on applying textures to any surface, even if the surface isn’t smooth or geometric.

18. Puppet Warp

The puppet warp tool in CS5 is super cool. It is better shown, rather than described. Here you go.

19. HDR Imaging

If you are trying to create high-dynamic range images in anything other than CS5, you know how hard it is. Now, Photoshop makes it simple. Lynda shows you how.

20. Starburst Diffusion Effect

Mood is everything. An average image can be transformed into something inspiring, if the right mood can be achieved through photo manipulation. Check out this video to see how to add a diffusion filter effect which creates the feeling of a bright, summer day.

You can also check the latest video tutorial on AREA 1, Create A Holy Mountain Scene In Adobe Photoshop.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

20 Best Photoshop Video Tutorials

For those of you who don’t know what was it about, read the followings:

The purpose of favSHARE.net is to gather the best articles around the web, mostly related to web/graphics/blogging. All the articles are hand-approved by us to ensure the highest quality.

You can read more favSHARE.net – Share Your Favorite Articles.

My initial target was 10 articles/day; thanks to all of you who submitted articles on the website, the result was an average of 15 new articles/day!

But, it was time for a change, a big one. So, I’ve decided to delete all the database and start it again, but this time not using WordPress, but Pligg. For a sharing website, Pligg has more options that WordPress.

So this is the day, when I announce you that the new favSHARE.net is online and I wait for you to register & submit your articles!

A few important things that I want to add:

• all articles are twitted via @favSHARE;
• all articles are shared on favSHARE Facebook Page;
• you can earn money, just by submitting articles, via our Google Adsense Sharing Revenue System;
• you can add the SHARE button on your blog/website – Check out our Tools.

You can read more on favSHARE.net Blog.

For any bugs/suggestions leave a comment here or send an e-mail using the Contact Page.

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

favSHARE.net Relaunched

It’s time for a new Adobe Photoshop tutorial, here on AREA 1.

Last time, we’ve created a surreal scene, Holy Mountain – watch the video tutorial.

This time, we’ll gonna create a burning city landscape among with a survivor.

What you’ll need for this tutorial:

• Air Show
• Car Fire
• Beach
• City Skyline
• Tightrope
• Jumping Man

Result of this tutorial:

Now, we have our images. It’s time to open Adobe Photoshop and create a new 800x600px project.

First, import the Jumping Man stock image to your Adobe Photoshop project.

Now, using the Magic Wand or the Quick Selection Tool, cut all except the man himself.

It’s time to import the second image used in this tutorial: Tightrope.
Take this image, scale it down until it looks okay for you and position it above the hands of the man.

Take that small piece of rope and duplicate it, until you make a big rope, which length covers all area, from left to right.

Now, rotate (go to Edit > Transform > Rotate) the rope a little and using the Eraser Tool, select the Soft Round 9px Brush and erase the rope above the hands so it looks like the man has grabbed that rope.

It’s time to import our 3rd and 4th images: City Skyline & Beach.
Scale the images down and put the City Skyline layer above the Beach layer.
Now, using the Eraser Tool, delete the clouds from the City Skyline and the bottom part, until you see the water from the Beach layer.

Select the City Skyline layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast; check Use Legacy and set the Brightness to -50 and the Contrast to +25.

Select the Beach layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast; check Use Legacy and set the Brightness to -40 and the Contrast to +30.

Now, import the 5th image: Car Fire. Scale it down and position it above all layers. Change its blending mode to Lighten. Now, using the Eraser Tool, delete some parts that you don’t like from the fire. Set its opacity to 80%.

It’s time to import our last image: Air Show. Put this layer above the Beach layer. Scale it down and position it in the top left corner. Change it’s blending mode to Color Dodge. Now, using the Eraser Tool, delete the blue clouds.

It’s time for our final adjustments. Create a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer and position it above all layers; check Use Legacy box and set the Brightness to -30 and the Contrast to +15.

Now, create another adjustment layer, but this time Hue/Saturation and position it under the Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer; check the Colorize box and set the Hue to 10/Saturation to 40/Lightness to 9.

That’s all! Hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. Stay tuned, there are more to come!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Burning City in Adobe Photoshop

Hope you’ll enjoy these designs as much as I did and find them really inspiring for your work! If you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Inspired By AREA 1 Flickr Group #4

Hope you’ll enjoy these designs as much as I did and find them really inspiring for your work! If you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Inspired By AREA 1 Flickr Group #3

Hope you’ll enjoy these designs as much as I did and find them really inspiring for your work! If you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Inspired By AREA 1 Flickr Group #2

Hope you’ll enjoy these designs as much as I did and find them really inspiring for your work! If you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you have some great designs and you’d like them to be featured here on AREA 1, don’t hesitate to join AREA 1 Flickr Group.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to be the first who receives the latest posts on AREA 1, follow us on Twitter if you want to receive great links everyday or give us a Like on Facebook! Remember that YOU can also write a guest post on AREA 1 and get 1 MONTH OF ADVERTISING!

Read more web/graphic design, SEO, blogging tutorials & articles on AREA 1.

FREEBIE:

RSS & Twitter icon by AREA 1 PREVIEW
Download: DOWNLOAD

Inspired By AREA 1 Flickr Group #1