Step 1: Setting Up

Make a new document with these settings:

Next, select the fill tool (G) and fill it with #626262. Now, we need to make a new adjustment layer. Make a brightness/contrast layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast). Put it on these parameters.

We add this adjustment layer so as everything looks better in the later stages.

Step 2: Making the Circle

Select the circular marquee tool and use these settings:

Make a selection and fill it with #649ad2. Then, grab a soft eraser, on a low opacity, and erase some areas like this:

This is so that it looks more 3D, and later on, it’ll add a nice transparent feel to our icon.

When you’re happy, and you have a similar result to the one above, add these Layer FX to it, to make it look better.

You should now have something resembling this:

Step 3: Making the Circle 3D

In this step, we’re going to make the circle look 3D. The theory of this is simple. You think about where the light is coming from, then add shadows and highlights to fit your light source if you keep this consistent, then you’ll have a much better final result. Below is some light theory that should make it easier for you.

OK, grab your circular marquee tool, set it to 10px Feather and make it 200px by 200px. There are many different ways of getting highlights/gloss and shadows. My favourite, and I think one of the best ways to get gloss is like this.

Change the layer mode to multiply

And then, with white as your foreground colour, add this Layer FX

Shadows are much easier to make, and in a way, more powerful. You can have more highlights than shadows, because shadows are more obvious. For a shadow, simply make a circle, you can vary this and the feather px. Then, you can set it to soft light, overlay or of course, normal, it really comes down to which one you like best.

With the shadows, you can make them very discreet, yet they still play a very important part in the eventual outcome of the icon. Highlights are less noticeable, so you can add more of them, but with shadows, they play a bigger part; and have more of an impact.

The worst thing you can do when shadowing is zoom in too far. When you do that, you can’t see the whole image, and so you can’t really tell if it looks right. Make sure that when shadowing, you can see the whole image, and you’re thinking about what you’re doing!

By now, you should have a well highlighted and shadowed 3D sphere, resembling this. Don’t worry if it looks a little strange at this point, it’ll all come together later on.

Step 4: Adding Detail

Now, that looks OK. I added some highlights on the right that add a lot; I used the highlight technique described above. In this step, we are going to make those really nice 3D looking lines. The way to do this is simple, which we’ll find out in a bit.

Select your pen tool and get a brush size of 3px wide. You want to use these settings for the pen tool.

Next, we want to start drawing paths like this:

Set your brush size to around 3 – 5pxNow, for PC users, press right click > stroke path, for Mac users; CTRL + click > stroke path. When you stroke paths, there are two types of stroke paths. With simulated pressures and without simulated pressures. Here is an example of both.

If it doesn’t work, you may need to reset your brushes here’s how to do that:

In the next step, we’ll work out how to make these lines aid the 3D look.

Step 5: Detailing the Detail

You probably have some white lines now, looking 3D, but not merging into the icon. Set the layers to soft light or overlay, you can also lower the opacity and/or the fill of the lines. You can also get a soft eraser to erase some areas to make it look more 3D.

If you look carefully, you will also see not only the very distinct circles, which I’ll tell you how to do later; but also the very faint ones. To make both of them, grab the circular marquee tool with these parameters:

You can then edit the layer styles. For mine, I simply set the opacity to 50%. But you could set it to soft light or overlay.

For the faint ones, but it below every ‘line’ layer, and set it to soft light or overlay and lower the opacity.

In the next step, we’ll make 3D paths, that really add to the image.

Step 6: 3D Paths

This is a really short step, but it adds a lot.

Firstly, get your pen tool open, and then follow these steps.

Step 7: Making the Basic Box

If you want to have something to trace around, you can do so around here. But of course, if you want to make your own, go for it! When you’re tracing, use the pen tool, and make each side on a new layer. Then, fill the paths with white (#ffffff). Then add these layer FX to every side.

On the ‘front’ sides, set the fill to 15% and the ‘back’ sides to 10%. This’ll get it looking transparent.

In the next step, we’ll work on making it more 3D.

Step 8: Highlighting the Box

Remember that highlight technique earlier? Well, use that technique on paths like this. Make a new layer above each box ’side’ and then make a path accordingly. To make ’swirly’ paths, make two points, then; click in the middle of the path and drag it up/down left/right and it’ll make a nice path. Have a look at this example.

Then, select the right ’side’ layer and press CTRL + SHIFT + I or for Mac users CMND + SHIFT + I, then press delete. In the next step we will look at adding more detail into the box.

Step 9: Adding Details to the Box

In this step, there’s not going to be much writing, more annotated pictures. I am using the techniques for stroking paths, highlights and shadows that we looked at earlier to make the box, and anything you seen in these pictures.

Step 10: Making Everything Glow

That looks good, but… Not full of that striking glow. To get something to glow, it’s really easy. Simply get an airbrush, 100-300px and just paint on white. For background highlights, make new layers at the bottom and highlight there. For more centralised ones, do it on top, and maybe in a smaller brush.

To get a better glow-type look, adding lots of layers on 5-10% opacity will look much better than two or three on 40%. You can also add blue highlights to give it more of a glow.

Step 11: Finishing Details

The icon looks good, but it’d be nice to add a bit more shadow. Make a new layer at the top (behind your contrast one) and fill it with black (#000000) and set the fill to 0%. Then add these layer styles and you have a nice shadowed look.

And you’ll have a nice shadowed look to your image.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve learnt about strokes, layering, shadowing, highlighting, layer FX, layer modes, opacity and fill. Put together you can make so many amazing things in Photoshop, so good luck; and make sure you check Tutorial9 frequently for tutorials!

I hope you enjoyed creating your own internet icon!

A large version of the final image can be seen here.

Download the PSD (or source files)

Before starting, it’s we must download and thank Moonchilde-Stock and SXC for their wonderful stock images.

Final Image Preview

Before you start take a look at the final image you will be creating.

Step 1 – Preparing the scene

Start by creating a new document. The canvas below is 1655×2132 and filled with black.

Step 2 – Creating the background

Create a new layer group called "Background". In this new group you will create the main elements that define the background. Start by creating a new blank layer. Make sure the Foreground color is black and Background color is white. Render some clouds by going to Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 3

Next you need to apply a Radial Blur to this layer (Filter > Blur > Radial Blur) and apply a amount of 100 with Blur Method set to Zoom and the Quality to Best.

Step 4

Press Command + F (Ctrl + F on Windows) to apply the same filter again.

Step 5

Bring up Levels (Command + L or Ctrl + L on Windows) and adjust the settings to produce similar results as shown below.

Step 6

Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) set to 100% Feather and select several parts of the cloud render to delete (Remember: after making a selection, hold shift and create a new selection to add to the previous selection. Learn More About the Selection Tools). Delete this selection (Delete or Control+X). You may decide to feather this selection prior to deleting once more to make a softer deletion.

Step 7

Open this layers Blending Options and apply a Radial Gradient. Use the settings below to get a similar result.

Create a Blank Layer underneath this layer, and merge the layers together (Select Both Layers > Layer > Merge Layers). Set the layer to Linear Dodge and duplicate the layer (second layer must be Linear Dodge as well).

Step 8

Duplicate the layer again and this time apply a Twirl to this layer (Filter > Distort Twirl) with the angle set to 350.

Step 9

Create a black layer over the burst layers and add some noise over this layer (Filter > Noise Add Noise). Set it to 50% Gaussian and check Monochromatic.

Apply a Radial Blur over the Noise layer. Set it to Zoom, Amount 100% and Best Quality. Repeat this filter (Control + F).

Next bring up the Levels panel (Command + L or Ctrl + L on Windows) and apply 50 – 1 – 90 and erase the edges of the layer using the Eraser Tool (E) set to a soft brush. Set the layer to Color Dodge and 60% Opacity.

Step 10

In this step you will use a Nebula stock image. There are many to choose from, but I have chosen the wonderful stock image created by Moonchilde-Stock. Erase the edges of the image with a soft brush, and set the image to Linear Dodge and 80% Opacity.

Step 11 – Color Adjustments

You are finished with the Background Group.

Next you will create another Group called Adjustments. Inside this group create a new layer and using the Soft Brush (B) you need to add a spot of pink color #ff00f0, into a new layer a red color #fe3c00 and into another new layer an orange one #ff6c00. Each color should be in it’s own layer for easy adjustments.

Set each layer as follows: pink Linear Dodge and Opacity 21%, red Linear Dodge and Opacity 5%, orange Linear Dodge and Opacity 21%.

This is one of those steps that requires the best judgement of the designer. For this particular setup, these values made sense, but do as you see fit obviously.

Step 12

Create a new Solid Color Layer with the color #eca700.

Set the layer to Color and Opacity 24% to give the image a bit of a color cast.

Step 13

Repeat Step 12 but this time apply this color #00af3a and for the layer style again use Color and Opacity 11%.

Step 14

Repeat Step 12 but this time apply this color #001eff and for the layer stile again use Color and Opacity 16%. Also above all the layers and groups add the texture provided by SXC and set the layer to Overlay. Please note that this same effect could definitely be achieved by other means such as a levels adjustment layer if you’re comfortable using them.

Step 15 – Creating the Symbol

You are finished with the Adjustments Group. This next part of the tutorial focuses on the Omega Code symbol (but you’re free to create your own logo/symbol if you’d like). Create a New Group between the Adjustments and Background groups and name it Omega, this group will hold all the details and the Omega Symbol.

Create a new layer. Press Command + A (Ctrl + A in Windows) to select everything and press Command + Shift + C (Ctrl + Shift + C in Windows) to copy merged and then press Command + V (Ctrl + V in Windows) to paste into a new selection. Place the new layer inside the Omega group if it’s not already there..

Create a triangle shape and place it in the middle of the composition. You will use this shape just for reference.

Step 16

Make a selection around the black triangle (Ctrl + Click Layer in Layers Palette). For the moment, hide the triangle shape layer. Select the layer you have created in Step 15 (the merged copy of all other layers) and with the selection simply cut out a piece out of the merged layer.

Step 17

Show the triangle layer again, and be sure it’s rasterized (Right Click > Rasterize). Apply the following adjustments: Command + Shift + Option + B (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B on Windows) with setting in image below.

Then set the layer to Soft Light. Duplicate this layer and set it to Multiply and 10% Opacity.

Step 18

Now you will have to create 4 more Triangles but these Triangles will have some cuts inside of them. To create the triangles you need to duplicate the triangle layer you have created back in Step 16, apply a black and white adjustment (Command + Shift + Option + B or Ctrl+ Shift + Alt + B on Windows) then use the Levels Adjustments to make it lighter (0 – 1.00 – 176).

Step 19

Create a smaller black triangle. Duplicate this triangle, and transform it so that there is an even smaller triangle within it (Note: Hold Alt + Shift while transforming to transform in proportion, and from the center). This triangle should occupy roughly 1/4th the area of the large triangle we applied the Black and White adjustment to in the previous step.

Step 20

Duplicate this black triangle 3 more times and place them like below.

Step 21

Make a selection around one of these triangles then select the big triangle and cut (Ctrl + X) a portion out of it. Paste this cut into a new layer, and delete the black small triangle layer.

Step 22

Repeat Step 21 for all the other triangles and deactivate the big triangle from step 18.

Note: Each of the small triangles should now be in a layer of their own.

Step 23

Apply the below Blending Option for all 4 triangles.

Step 24

Now use the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection like below. Create a new layer and in this layer apply a Soft White gradient set to White/Transparent (a soft, large white brush may work just as well). Set the layer to overlay and Opacity 70%. The soft glow is not visible at the moment but as you proceed they will look very nice.

Note: Erase the edges with a Soft Brush.

Step 25

Keep on creating more glows, different sizes like in step 24.

Step 26

Same technique with the left side.

Step 27

And the bottom side. Keep layering the effect on top of one another to build up a powerful collection of highlights.

Step 28

Now you will use the same technique but this time create circle selections using the Elliptical Marquee Tool, invert the selections and then use the Radial Gradient. You will set these layers to Overlay and 88% Opacity.

Step 29

Next you will need to use the Pen Tool (P) and create paths on different locations over the 4 triangles. Then you will have to stroke those paths with a small white brush and set the layers to Overlay and Opacity so that the effect isn’t overwhelming.

Step 30

Use the Pen Tool (P) and create 2 white strokes 1px that will intersect and use the Eraser Tool (E) on the edges to fade them out softly. Then apply a soft white Outer Glow to it

Step 31

Duplicate, or create several more of these star elements to give your symbol a bit of polish!

Conclusion

We’re finished! Hopefully you’ve picked up a few new techniques and had fun while doing so. Please share any of your personal creations in the comments for others to see! You can view the final image below or view a larger version here.

Download the Free PSD

Materials Needed:

• Desert 1
• Desert 2
• Iron mask
• Clock
• Bronze Hand
• Gearing Brushes
• Galaxy Brushes
• Bird Brushes
• Sky
• Tree texture
• Celtic Rune Charm Pack

I would like to thank the great photographers and artists for giving me permission to use their images: Rene Asmussen, night-fate-stock, vividlight, jdbartlett, Mind-Illusi0nZ-Stock, Amor-Fati-Stock, ewark, lpdragonfl, Andrew C., Sage-Dreamer, redheadstock.

Before you use any stock images from these photographers, please make sure that you read their stock rules and respect them. They have worked very hard to create all these stock images.

Step 1: Create a new document and add the sky

Go to File > New (Ctrl+N) and create a new document in Photoshop. Then download this sky stock image, open it in Photoshop and move it into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Then go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this image. Name this layer "sky", hit Ctrl+G to put it inside a group and name the group "background."

Step 2: Add a small galaxy on the sky

Create a new layer inside the "background" group and name it "galaxy." Then download these brushes and install them. Select the Brush Tool (B), chose one of those galaxy brushes, set the foreground color to #8c8c8c and create a small galaxy on your sky. Then set the blend mode of this layer to Color Dodge 25%.

Step 3: Add the first desert stock photo

Download this desert stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Double-click on the background layer to unlock it, then use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to select the sky and delete it. Move this image into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Hit Ctrl+M to open the Curves window and use the settings from the following image. Name this layer "desert 1."

Note: You can also use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase some parts of the sky from this photo.

Step 4: Duplicate the "desert 1" layer

Duplicate the "desert 1" layer (Ctrl+J), and then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Use the Move Tool (V) to move this layer to the right side of your document and name it "desert 2."

Step 5: Add the second desert stock photo

Download this desert stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Double-click on the background layer to unlock it, select the sky using the Magic Wand Tool (W) and delete it. You can also use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase the top area of the desert. Move this image into your document using the Move Tool (V) and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Double-click on this layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay. Name this layer "desert 3."

Note: Arrange the image from this step in a way that makes visible the hills of the other two desert photos beneath it.

Step 6: Add the iron mask

Download this iron mask stock photo and open it in Photoshop. Use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the mask from the background and then use the Move Tool (V) to move it into your first document. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this layer; right-click on the image, select Flip Horizontal and then hit Enter. Name this layer "iron mask" and put it inside a group (Ctrl+G). Name the group "iron mask" too.

Step 7: Add a Gradient Overlay layer style to the iron mask

Double-click on the "iron mask" layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay.

Step 8: Mask the bottom area of the iron mask

The bottom area of our iron mask should be buried in the sand. To make this happen, make sure that you have the "iron mask" layer selected, and then go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All. Select a black soft brush (B) and paint with it over the bottom area of your iron mask.

Step 9: Add a Levels adjustment layer

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels, check the "Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask" option and use the settings from the following image to make the iron mask brighter.

Step 10: Create a shadow for the iron mask

Ctrl-click on the thumbnail of the "iron mask" layer to select it, then create a new layer and fill it with black. Put this layer beneath the "iron mask" layer, then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical. Move this shadow at the bottom of the mask. Then go to Edit > Free Transform, hold down the Ctrl key and transform the shadow like I did. Blur this layer (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) and then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a big soft brush with the opacity of 20% to erase some areas of this layer. Keep in mind that the shadow should be darker at the bottom of the iron mask and brighter at the other end. Name this layer "shadow."

Step 11: Add a sign on the iron mask’s forehead

Create a new layer, set the foreground color to #cca899, select a soft brush (B) with the diameter of 100px and click once in the middle of the iron mask’s forehead. Name this layer "forehead light" and set its blend mode to Overlay 75%. Then download the Celtic Rune Charm Pack, open the "Rune-Ger.jpg" image in Photoshop and use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the sign from the background. Move this sign into your first document using the Move Tool (V) and put it above the forehead light. Name this layer "forehead sign" and set its blend mode to Overlay.

Step 12: Add two scars to the iron mask

Download this tree texture and open it in Photoshop. Move the image into your first document, use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize the image and put it on the right cheek of your iron mask. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light and use the Eraser Tool (E) and a soft brush to erase the areas of this texture that you don’t need. Then duplicate this layer (Ctrl+J), go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal, use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize this layer and put this scar on the other cheek of your iron mask.

Step 13: Create some lights coming out of the iron mask’s eyes

Create a new layer, select a white soft brush (B) and use it to create some lights that are coming out of the iron mask’s eyes. Name this layer "eyes light" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 85%.

Step 14: Add a bronze hand

Create a new group and name it "hand." Then download this bronze hand stock image and open it in Photoshop. Use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to separate the hand from the background and use the Move Tool (V) to move the hand into your first document. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T) resize this image and rotate it. Then select the Eraser Tool (E) and erase the bottom area of your hand to make it look like it’s buried in the sand. Name this layer "hand."

Step 15: Make some color adjustments to the hand

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves, check the "Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask" option and use the settings from the following image. Set the opacity of this layer to 80%.

Step 16

Add three more adjustment layers (Color Balance, Channel Mixer and Levels) using the settings from the following image. You can create all these layers from the "Layer > New Adjustment Layer" menu.

Step 17: Add a texture to the hand

Chose one of these rock textures that you like, or find another one on the internet, open it in Photoshop and move it into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Then use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to resize this image and rotate it. Make sure that this layer is above all the other adjustment layers, then right-click on it and select Create Clipping Mask. Name this layer "texture" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 30%.

Step 18: Use the iron mask as a texture for the hand

Duplicate the "iron mask" layer from the "iron mask" group (Ctrl+J). Then move this new layer above the hand’s texture layer, right-click on it and select Create Clipping Mask. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 19: Create a clock needle

Download these Gearing Brushes and install them. Create a new layer, set the foreground color to black and use one of the brushes which you have downloaded to create a clock needle coming out of one of the hand’s fingers. Double-click on this layer and use the settings from the following image. Name this layer "clock needle."

Step 20: Color the hand in orange

Ctrl-click on the "hand" layer to select it. Then create a new layer and fill it with the color #d57426. Name this layer "orange hand" and set its blend mode to Soft Light 70%. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a big soft brush to erase the bottom area of this layer.

Step 21: Create some gears

Set the foreground color to black, create a new layer and use the brushes which you have previously download to create some gears inside the hand. Double-click on this layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a small hard brush to erase the area of the gears that you don’t need.

Step 22: Adjust the lights and the shadows of the iron mask

Double-click on your hand layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Gradient Overlay. Then use the Burn Tool (O) and the Dodge Tool (O) to create the lights and the shadows. Experiment with the Range and Exposure settings from the option bar to get the effect you want.

Note: when you have the Dodge Tool or the Burn Tool selected you can use the Alt key to quickly shift between them.

Step 23: Create a shadow for your hand

Create a shadow for your hand using the same process which you have used for the iron mask.

Step 24: Add some clocks

Create a new group and name it "clocks." Then download this image and open it in Photoshop. Use the Pen Tool (P) to separate the clock from the rest of the image. Then move the clock into your first document using the Move Tool (V). Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T), hold down the Shift key and resize this image. Then use the Eraser Tool (E) and a grunge brush to erase some areas of this clock.

Repeat this step to add more clocks to your image. Change the size of each clock and rotate them. Take a look at the following image for reference. Select all your clock layers and merge them together (Ctrl+E). Name this layer "clocks."

Step 25: Add a shadow to the clocks

Double-click on the "clocks" layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Drop Shadow.

Step 26

Create a new layer and fill it with black. Set the blend mode of this layer to Linear Dodge (Add). Then select the Brush Tool (B), select a brush with the diameter of 2-3px, select a nice orange color and create some random lines around your clocks. Take a look at the following image for reference.

Step 27: Add some birds

Download these brushes and install them. Then create a new layer and use those brushes to create some small birds on your sky. Name this layer "birds."

Step 28: Final color adjustments

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 29

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light 38%.

Step 30

Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient Fill and use the settings from the following image. Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Step 31

Create a new layer, select a big soft brush (B) and paint with yellow in the left side of your image and with blue in the right side. Then set the blend mode of this layer to Color 25%.

Final Result

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you learned something new. What we have obtained is a photo-manipulation with some ruins in the desert; the clocks, the gears and the clock needle make everything to gravitate around the time theme.

Download the PSD

Step 1: Setting Up

First off, we’re going to get our canvas and background set up. Create a new document nine hundred wide by six hundred high, and call it Notepad. Then, set the background colour to #D4D4D4. To give the background a nice touch, set the foreground colour to #EDEDED, select the Gradient tool then drag out a large radial gradient from the center of your canvas, you may want to zoom out to do this.

Now we have our gradient set up, we’ll get going on the shape of our notepad. This next bit is the most important, as we’ll use this shape throughout the tutorial.

Step 2: Drawing The Base

Create a new layer called ‘Lower Base‘, then press P on your keyboard to select the pen tool, or click the icon in your tools palette. You need to create a shape like the one below. Have a go at creating your own, but you can always draw round this shape if you struggle. Make sure your pen tool is configured the same as in the image to the left, or you’ll get a different result to me.

Next, we need to fill the shape with our cardboard colour. Press A on your keyboard to launch the direct selection tool. Now left click inside your shape, and choose ‘Make Selection‘. Set your foreground colour to #A69889, then select your paint bucket tool by pressing G and fill your selection. Finally, duplicate the Lower Base layer, and press the Up Arrow on your keyboard five times. Rename the duplicate Upper Base.

Step 3: Adding Layer FX

We’re now going to apply the following Layer FX to our layers. Double click on the blank space after the layer’s name, or press the FX button at the bottom of your layers palette. Apply the following styles to the Upper Base.

Now apply the styles below to the Lower Base layer.

Step 4: Texture

Starting to take shape! Next, we’re going to add a touch of texture to the base before we move on. First create a new layer called Texture 1, and fill it with black. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and set the amount to 50%, then press Enter. The layer should be just above your Upper Base layer, so left click it in the layers panel and select Create Clipping Mask. Set the blend mode to Multiply and the opacity to 5%.

Make a new layer, Texure 2, then repeat the process of filling and adding noise to it. This time though, before we make it a clipping mask we’re going to go to Filter > Filter Gallery, and under Artistic select Dry Brush. Your settings should be as follows, Brush Size: 2, Brush Detail: 5, Texture: 1. If you’ve done that correctly, you’ll now have just a few rough looking patches of white, on a black background. Now set the blend mode to Screen and the opacity to 10%, and make the layer a clipping mask.

Make one more new layer called Texture 3, and repeat the steps up to add noise. We’re using one of the filters again, so launch the Filter Gallery. Under Brush Strokes, select Crosshatch this time. Use the following settings. Stroke Length: 10, Sharpness: 5, Strength: 1. Once you’ve done that, press OK and use the same blend mode and opacity as last time. Make the layer a Clipping Mask, and then we’re done on step one!

This is what your image should look like at the end of this stage. If it doesn’t, I’d suggest trying to adjust what you’ve done, as it really isn’t that complicated.

Step 5: Paper

In this step, we’re going to work on the paper. To start off, we need to create the shape. Create a new layer, and call it Paper. Once you’ve done that, make sure your layer is selected then press Cntrl + G on a PC, or Command + G on a Mac. What we’ve just done is placed our layer in it’s own group. Why? Because in a bit, we’ll have around fifteen copies of the same layer, and it’ll be a mess if we don’t organise them somehow. Rename your group Sheets.

Okay, let’s start. First off we need to draw the shape using the pen tool. Press P on your keyboard like we did last time, to launch the pen tool. Now we need to draw a square shape, ensuring that it has the same perspective as our base. As with the first path, if you’re struggling to get it right you can use mine.

Just like we did last time, we’re going to press A on our keyboard to use the direct selection tool. Left click inside the shape, and then choose Make Selection. Fill the shape with white, and make sure it’s positioned nicely on the base, preferably slightly closer to the top than the bottom, before we carry on.

Now we’re going to duplicate our layer, and move it upwards by one pixel. We could do this by duplicating the layer then moving it, but a far quicker way is to press Alt + Up Arrow on your keyboard. You’ll notice the paper now appears slightly thicker. Before we continue and duplicate any more times, we’re going to select the duplicate layer, call it Darker and open it’s Layer FX panel. Apply the following settings.

Now we’re ready. Make totally sure the Darker layer moved up when you duplicated it, then by holding Shift while clicking, select both layers. With both layers selected, press Alt + Up Arrow seven times. You should now have a more 3D stack of paper. The only change we need to make now is selecting only the top layer, duplicate it one more time. Select your new top layer, left click and choose Clear Layer Style. It’ll now appear white. You can now drag the top layer out of the Sheets folder and rename it Page 2, then make another duplicate above it called Page 1. These will be used to create the visible content.

Step 6: Adding Lines And Details

Okay, we’re finished with that document for a bit. Now, we want to create a pattern that looks likes lines on a page. Create a new document one pixel wide by four down. Zoom right in so we can work accurately.

Press M on your keyboard to select the Marquee tool. We’re now going to select the bottom two pixels of our canvas, and then use the paint bucket tool to fill them with the color E5FFFA.

Now clearly we want this to repeat and make us a lined pattern. You could copy and paste, but the following method is far simpler. Press Cntrl + A, or Command + A for mac users, on your keyboard to select the whole document. Go to Edit > Define Pattern and then call it Lines before pressing OK. We’ve now saved our line as a pattern, so you can close the document you created it on. Now we need to make another new document, but this time the size should be seven hundred and fifty by one thousand pixels.

With your new document open, go to Edit > Fill. Under contents, select to use a Pattern as your fill, and then click the box next to Custom Pattern. From the options, select the last one at the bottom, which should be the pattern we just created. Once done, click OK. If you’re unsure of anything, compare with the image below.

You should now have a document filled with blue, horizontal lines. Press Cntrl + A, or Command + A on a mac, to select all of them then Cntrl + C, or Command + C on a mac. Now go back to your Notepad document. We want to create a new layer just above Page One. Call the new layer Lines.

Now we need to place our blue lines over the paper, but in a way so that they’re aligned nicely with the paper. The way we’re going to do this is by using Photoshop’s Vanishing Point filter, which can be found under the Filter menu. Open it up, and you’ll see that your cursor is a little target shape. Using this, click just outside each corner of your piece of paper.

You can drag around the corners until you’re totally happy with the shape, or delete them and start again if you think you need to. Now, press Cntrl + V or Command + V on a mac to paste your lines. By dragging them towards one of the blue outlnes, you should be able to snap them to your grid. Press OK when you finish.

Now, you should have some nice blue lines on your paper! If they’re too big like mine, you can left click the Lines layer and select Clipping Mask to sort them. Grab the Polygonal Lasso tool by pressing L on the keyboard. If you get the standard lasso, click and hold it’s icon in the tools palette. Select the top line, and delete it so that it looks like a normal notepad page with space for a title. Also, we’ll set out lines to 25% opacity.

Adding text is simpler than the lines, beause of the size perspective doesn’t matter so much. First of all, grab the text tool by pressing T on your keyboard, and pick a handrwriting style font. Size is up to you, but I’d reccomend something pretty small. Text is more decoration than a proper part of the image, so it doesn’t matter. Once you’ve your chosen text, you’ll need to rotate it so that it matches the direction of the lines.

Repeat this a few times, until you have all the text you want on the page. It’s worth noting that if you’re adding text at the very top and the very bottom, slightly increasing the size might be necessary because of the perspective on the lines.

Perhaps we want to add a picture, though. If so, just rotating it won’t be enough. At this stage, you need to get your image ready by resizing it, and adding a border if you’d like to. You’ll also need to rotate it slightly unless you want it totally straight on the paper.

Once you’re happy, merge all your mayers into one, call it Picture, Cntrl + A or Command + A on mac to select all, then Cntrl + C or Command + C to copy. Hide the merged layer by checking the little eye icon next to the layer. Make a new one called Applied Picture, then re-enter the Vanishing Point filter. Luckily, Photoshop still has our vanishing point grid from last time, so we can just paste our picture in by pressing Cntrl + V or Command + V, and snap it to our grid where you want it. When you’re happy, press OK and then make the final size adjustments using the transform tool.

Depending on what image you used, it could be worth setting the opacity to 50%. This makes it look far more real when we come to put a cover over our notepad.

If you want to add some tape over the corner of your image, first create a new layer and call it Tape. Using the Polygonal Lasso tool, by pressing L on your keyboard, draw the shape of a piece of tape, fill it with black, and set the layer opacity to 5%. I did, and also added the Tutorial9 Cloud logo in the style of a drawing, using the same method as above. We’re going to move onto creating a cover now, but if you want to add an extra touch try adding a fold to the paper like I did.

Step 7: The Cover

Just before we get going on this step, I’d advise you to take a few minutes to organize your layers into groups like we did before. We have quite a few layers now, and so things will begin to get pretty cluttered if you don’t.

Okay. To create the cover we don’t need to create a new shape altogether, just copy our base layer. Find the layer we called Lower Base, duplicate it, drag it to the top of the layers palette then rename it Cover. Then, left click it and pick Clear Layer Style from the menu that appears. You also need to move it up around eight pixels, so that it looks like it’s on top of the paper.

Now, enter the Layer FX panel like we did before, and select Colour Overlay. Use CCCCCC as your colour, so that the cover appears a shade of light grey. Click OK. Now you need to create a new layer below the Cover layer, and then merge it with your cover. We’ve done because Colour Overlay hides some of the other Layer FX effects, and by merging it with a blank layer actually convert the layer to that grey colour, rather than it being like an overlay.

Set the Cover layer’s fill to 10% (fill is located under opacity) then apply the following Layer FX to it.

And now with any luck, you’ll have something smiliar to this.

We’ll add some gloss to it now. Create a new layer called Gloss, then press P on your keyboard to select the Pen Tool. Now draw some glossy shapes on this layer, and fill them with white using the Direct Selection tool like before.

When you’re happy with your shapes, blur them by five pixels, set the opacity to 55%, then left click and set it as a clipping mask to the Cover layer. The effect isn’t very noticable now, but adds a nice look to the edges.

Step 8: The Rings

To finish off our notepad, we need to create two rings, and make it look like they go through the cover and into the paper underneath. Start by selecting the Elliptical Marquee tool, by pressing and holding the Marquee tool icon. Draw a small circle about one third from the bottom of your cover with it.

Once you have your selection in the right place, press Backspace on your keyboard. As you’ll see, the hole is pretty much done because of the layer FX we applied to it’s layer! Repeat this step about a third of the way from the top. The holes are pretty much fine as they are, but to add a bit more detail try adding an extra border to the holes like I have below.

Finally, we need to create the rings. Create a new layer called Lower Ring. Press M to get your Elliptical Marquee tool back, and create a circular shape like mine below.

Now fill your selection with the colour CCCCCC.

Before you get rid of your selection though, go to Select > Modify > Contract, and contract your selection by three pixels before pressing Backspace on your keyboard to clear it.

Finally, select the area hidden by the cover, by pressing L on your keyboard to get your Polygonal Lasso tool back, and clear it.

Now just repeat this step for the ring at the top, and we’re finished! I hope you enjoyed creating this, and learned some Photoshop skills along the way. For my final image, I made the background a touch darker and added a reflection, both of those edits can be found in the PSD. Thanks for reading!

Finished Image

Download the PSD

Step 1: Create a New Document

Create a new 300×300 px white backgrounded document in Photoshop.You can change the size of document if you want but keep the height to width ratio same (1:1).

Step 2: Create Front-Face

Create a new layer-set (name it "Front-Face").Within the layer-set, create a new layer (name it "Front") ,select Rectangular Marquee Tool and fill with black a selection like the one shown below.

Go to Layer>>Layer Style>>Blending Options and make these settings:

Ctrl+Click on the "Front" layer to load its selection then go to Select>>Modify>>Smooth, enter 3px then click OK, press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection then hit Delete.

Ctrl+Click on the layer and go to Select>>Modify>>Contract , enter 25px and click OK, create a new layer (name it "Front-Etch") and fill the selection with black.Go to Blending Options of this newly created layer and make these settings:

Step 3: Create the Wood Texture

Create a new layer (name it "Texture") and fill it with white.Go to Filter>>Noise>>Add Noise and make these settings:

Now go to Filter>>Blur>>Motion Blur and put these figures:

With "Texture" layer selected, Ctrl+Click on the "Front" layer, press Ctrl+Shift+I and hit Delete.By doing so, the part of texture overflowing "Front" layer will be cleared.

With the layer still selected, press Ctrl+L and make these settings:

Change Blending Mode of the layer to Soft Light and reduce its opacity to 30%.

Step 4: Add details to Front-Face

Create a new layer (name it "Line") and with Rectangular Marquee Tool, fill a 2px thick vertical selection of any length, like the one shown below:

Press Ctrl+T and rotate the line 45 degrees counter-clockwise.Move the line at the upper-left corner of "Front" layer.In the layers-palette, place the "Line" layer below "Front-Etch" layer.It’d look like this:

Go to its Blending Options and make these settings:

Duplicate the layer (Ctrl+J) and go to Edit>>Transform>>Flip Vertical.Move the duplicated layer down so that it’s edge coincides with the lower left corner of the "Face" layer.
You might notice that the duplicated layer doesn’t fit in colors down there as it does at top.To fix this, go to its Blending Options and edit these settings:

Duplicate the two lines ,flip them horizontally and move them rightward so that you get something like this:

Step 5: Add further details to Front-Face

Select the Shape Tool and draw a very small circle anywhere on the canvas.Go to it’s Blending Options and make these settings:

Make a copy of it (Ctrl+J) and move the two circles at following positions:

Make copies of the pair and move them on the remaining three corners:

Create a new layer (name it "Ridges") and fill a 2px thick horizontal selection on it with black.Make sure that the line is 2px short from either ends of the "Face-Etch" layer.

Ctrl+Click on the layer and move the selection 20px down (press Shift+Down twice), fill the selection with black.Do this till you get 7 horizontal lines:

Go to its Blending Options and make these settings:

Step 6: Add Arrow to Front-Face

Using Pen Tool ,make an arrow shape like this:

Place the arrow layer below "Texture" and "Ridges" layers.Set its Blending Mode to Overlay and reduce its opacity to 45%.

Step 7: Add Shadow to the Base

Create a layer (name it "Shadow") and place it below all other layers in layers palette.Fill a 6px thick selection with black slightly wider than front-face.

Go to Filter>>Blur>>Gaussian-Blur ,enter 2px and click OK.Now go to Filter>>Blur>>Motion-Blur ,put:
Angle=0
Distance=30px.
You’ll have something like this by now:

Step 8: Create Upper-Face

Create a new layer-set (name it "Upper-Face"), create a new layer (named as "Up") and fill a rectangular selection with black, as shown:

You can use Guides for perfect alignment.Next, go to Edit>>Transform>>Perspective , click and drag one of the top corners of  "Up" layer inside so that you get a shape like this:

Ctrl+Click on the layer then go to Select>>Modify>>Smooth, enter 3px then click OK, press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection then hit Delete.Go to its Blending-Options and make these settings:

Ctrl+Click on the layer and go to Select>>Modify>>Contract , enter 15px and click OK, create a new layer (name it "Up-Etch") and fill the selection with black.Move the layer 6-7px up.Go to its Blending-Options and make these settings:

Step 9. Add Wood Texture to Upper-Face

Duplicate the "Texture" layer from "Front-Face" layer-set and move it to "Upper-Face" layer-set.Put it above the two layers in the set.Clear the part of the "Texture" layer that overflows "Up" layer.You’ll obtain something like this by now:

10. Add details to upper face:

Add ridges,lines and nails like you did on the "Front-Face" while using same styles to get something like this:

While doing so, use 1px thick lines for ridges and diagonals.Also use smaller circles for nails.

Step 11. Final adjustments

For any final adjustment, click on "Front-Face" layer-set and go to Layer>>New Adjustment Layer>>Levels, choose settings that please you.
In addition to levels, I added a "Color-Balance" layer and came up with this:

I hope you enjoyed following the tutorial as much as I did writing it.

Download the PSD

The Final Image

This is what we will be creating:

Step 1: Setting Up the Document

Start by creating a new document (File>New) that is 950×750 pixels (72 dpi)

Step 2: Adding a Background

Fill the background with a gradient. I used the colors: #39160f and #f68f6c

Step 3: Starting the Pumpkin

Create a new layer and call it ‘Pumpkin’. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to make an oval selection. The idea is to make the general shape of the pumpkin.

Step 4: Defining the Selection

With the selection still active, hold shift or opt/alt to add or subtract from the top and bottom of the selection. You want to use these tools to shape the pumpkin. Use the images below to help you through this process

Step 5: Defining the Pumpkin

Fill the selection with a nice orange color.

Double click the ‘Pumpkin’ Layer to bring up the ‘Layer Styles’ panel and add the following effects:

The result should resemble the following:

Step 6: Adding Highlights

Create a new layer and name it ‘Highlights’. Select the Paint Bucket tool and fill this layer with the ‘Washed Watercolor paper’ pattern. You can do this in the top toolbar by selecting ‘Pattern’ in the drop down, and then selecting the pattern’s thumbnail in the second drop down.

Your image should resemble the following:

Step 7: Still Adding Highlights

Select the ‘Add Layer Mask’ at the bottom of the layers panel and press Cmd/Ctrl+i to invert the mask.

Step 8: Painting Highlights

Use a large brush with a 0% hardness set to the color white and paint in some highlights. Don’t worry about going outside of the pumpkin

Step 9: Finishing the Highlights

Set the layer’s opacity to 65% and make this layer a clipping layer by holding down the opt/alt key and selecting in-between the two layers

Step 10: Adding a New Clipping Layer

Holding down the Cmd/Ctrl key, select the ‘Create a new Layer’ Icon. Name it ‘Lines’

Step 11: Following the Contours

Use the Elliptical Marquee tool and try to make a selection on the pumpkin that would follow the natural contours. Use the image below as a guide:

Step 12: Defining the Contours

Fill the selection with any color (it doesn’t matter what color) and give it the following effects:

Your image should look like this:

Step 13: Blurring the Lines

Give this layer a Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur)

Your image should look like this:

Step 14: Copying Layers

Copy this layer by dragging it from the layers panel into the ‘Create a new Layer’ icon. This will make a duplicate layer, preserving effects and clipping.

Step 15: Adding More Contours

Adjust this layer’s opacity to 30% and transform (Cmd/Ctrl+T) this layer to add a new set of ‘lines’ to the pumpkin.

Give this layer a Gaussian Blur

Your image should look like this:

Step 16: Doing all again

Copy, transform, and blur the layer again. Set the opacity to 20% . Your pumpkin should resemble this:

Step 17: Creating a Stem

Create a new layer and name it ‘Stem’. Using the Rectangle Marquee tool, create a rectangle and fill it with a dark olive color.

Step 18: Defining the Stem

Give the layer ‘Stem’ the following effect:

Step 19: Merging the Effect

Right click the fx icon in the ‘Stem’ layer and select ‘create layer’. This will expand the effect on to its own layer

Select both ‘Stem’ layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge.

Step 20: Warping Fun

Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to begin to transform the new ‘Stem’ layer. Select the icon in the top properties bar to switch to the ‘warp’ mode and warp the layer to resemble a pumpkin stem.

Your finished stem should resemble this:

Step 21: Adding a Top

On a new layer, use your Brush tool to paint in the top of the stem, using a darker color. I used black for illustrative purposes. You do not need to make it this dark.

Step 22: Finishing the Stem

On the layer that has the top of the stem painted in, add the following effects:

On the ‘Stem’ layer, use the following effects:

When your done, go ahead and move both stem layers below the pumpkin (just above the ‘Background’ layer). Your image should resemble this:

Step 23: Adding Shadows

Create a new layer below the ‘Stem’ layer and name its ‘Shadows’. Set it to Multiply and use the Elliptical Marquee tool to add some shadows to the bottom of the pumpkin.

Fill this selection with black and give it a blur.

If you want, you can add another shadow that’s larger and has more blur. Here is an example:

Step 24: Burning the Base

Use the Burn tool (or any other method you like) to add some shadows on the base of the pumpkin:

Step 25: Merging a Copy

Select all Layers and press Cmd+Opt+Shift+E (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E) to merge a copy of all layers. This will preserve all of our work, and give us a merged copy to work with.

Step 26: Finishing Effect

Use the Elliptical Marquee tool with a 10px Feather and select the center of the pumpkin.

Delete the selection and give the layer a Gaussian Blur. This will add a nice depth-of-field effect to our image:

Step 27: The Final Image

Download the PSD (or source files)

Step 1: Create the shape

Create a new document in Photoshop and fill it with white (#FFFFFF). Create a new layer and use the Pen Tool (P) to create the shape of the cap (you can use an image of a cap as reference for this, or use the outline shown below). After that, press Command+Enter to transform the path into a selection. Then fill it with the color #1c1812.

Step 2: Define shapes

It’s time to define some parts of the cap. Use the Burn Tool (O) for adding some shadows to the cap (shown below) and then use the Pen Tool (P) to create two lines (#413a2f).

Step 3: Create the Texture

The rear part of the cap must be darker. Create a selection on the back of the hat, and use the Brush Tool (B) to fill the selection with a black color on a new layer.

Step 4

Right-click on the layer with the rear part of the cap and select Blending Options. Then go to Pattern Overlay and add the below settings.
Blend Mode: Hard Light
Scale: 7%
Opacity: 13%

Step 5

The seams of the visor are created with the Pen Tool (P). Create each seam on a separate layer by drawing the line with the pen tool, stroking with a thin hard brush, and then erasing the edges with a large soft eraser. Select these layers with the seams, and Merge Layers.

Duplicate them, invert their color (Ctrl+I) and place the black seams layer behind the other ones. This gives it a bevel effect.

Step 6

Create a new layer. Again use the Pen Tool (P) to create a shape like below and fill the selection with black. Then add noise to the selection (Filter > Noise > Add Noise | Keep it below 10%), and keep the Opacity of the layer to 75%.

Step 7

Create another layer and build a shape like below using the Pen Tool (P). Next thing you’ll have to do is to add some light, to make the rear side of the cap look more transparent (as if light is fading through from the other side). Use the Brush Tool (B) with white color and add some smooth light.

Step 8: Add logo

To give it an unique look you can add a brand or some unique design elements of your own. I used #7b7452 and then set the layer to Color Dodge.

Step 9: Details

To create the shape of the deeper lines in the cap, use the Pen Tool (P) to create shape selections, add lights and shadows using the Burn and Dodge Tools. Smudge the highlights and shadows to give them a softer look.

Step 10: Light

You must add some light on the visor, so make a selection and use large white brush to fill in the selection. Then select the Hard Light blending mode and decrease the opacity if needed.

Step 11: Realistic Texture

The material looks a bit cartoonish and smooth, so we need to brush some spots with different colors (darker/lighter). You can smudge them (or give them different Filter>Blur>Motion Blur effects) to make them look more realistic.

Step 12: Background

The cap is finished. Now you must create the background.

Step 13: Light

To make it more obvious and shiny, we must modify the contrast and the brightness. Select all the hat layers and merge them onto a new layer (Ctrl + Alt + E). Adjust the Contrast and Brightness (Image > Adjustments > Brightness and Contrast) until the hat pops out from the background significantly.

Step 14: Shadow

The cap looks like it is floating so we must add a shadow.

Step 15: Background

Create a new layer (ctrl+shift+n) and place it behind the cap layers. After that use some grunge brushes (like these) create a nice background using various colors.

Step 16: Background

The final step of this chop is to add light on the bottom and shadow to the top to create the space where the cap is placed.

Use PenTool(P) to make the selection and using a large soft brush create the platform for the cap.

Conclusion

Try to improvise as much as you can when you are creating the design of the cap. It’s not necessary to use all the same colors, or create a grungy background! Enjoy, and feel free to download the free PSD for reference!

Click on the image to view it at high-resolution.

Download the PSD