How was this effect achieved

B
Posted By
BlackFlux
Apr 25, 2004
Views
327
Replies
18
Status
Closed
I have a logo and I am trying to achieve the same effect as the batman image below. Only difference will be my personal logo and instead of red I want to use blue.

Any suggestions?!?!
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CC
Chris_Cox
Apr 26, 2004
By hand, with careful painting.
TD
Thee_DarkOverLord
Apr 26, 2004
Looks like its been done in a 3-D program to me
P
Phosphor
Apr 26, 2004
Nahhhh….I’m not gonna waste my time messin’ with gradients and transformin’ and discombobulatin’ etc, but…it doesn’t look too tough. Some KPT plugins migh make it easier, but it’s not something that would require a 3D app.

A man’s got to know his tool(s) to be able to pull on ’em in the proper way. The whole deal about an app like Photoshop is to learn it well enough to make it do your bidding, with the simple grace and ease that you would need to do something as simple as signing your name.
P
Phosphor
Apr 26, 2004
Interesting, odd, unusual gradient patterns <http://home.comcast.net/~phoz/bbs/batgradient.jpg> aren’t that difficult, in and of themselves, using Photoshop-native tools. But can you wrangle your tools well enough to make the colors transition where you want them to?

THAT is the question.

Try making gradients, transforming them, making mirror-image copies, radial blurring, play with the curves and/or levels, blending modes, distortions.

EXPERIMENT, MAN!

Its good exercise for the brain, but even better, it’s exercise for your artistic soul.

Could one of us here absolutely replicate that sort of gradient—as you displayed for us—as applied to your particular logo?

Yeah, probably, with a bunch of effort. But this is supposed to be YOUR work, not ours.

Your job, as a creative artist, is to learn and explore your tools so you can figure out how to do it yourself.

That’s what separates the innovators from the copycats.
TD
Thee_DarkOverLord
Apr 26, 2004
didnt say it would require a 3-d app, just that thats where i think it was created, And would for me be a lot easier to do, just sticking a light source behind the object, let the software do all the hard work, but im a lazy git 😉
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Phosphor
Apr 26, 2004
Awwww, crap.

There I go again, wastin’ my time messin’ with gradients and transformin’ and discombobulatin’colors, etc…

Oh, well…it’s always fun, inventing pixels on-the-fly.

I suggest hours of this sort of thing to everyone I meet who expresses an interest…
TD
Thee_DarkOverLord
Apr 26, 2004
Im interested
B
BlackFlux
Apr 26, 2004
Thanks for all the suggestions, any others?
JB
Jonathan_Balza
Apr 26, 2004
The effect kind of reminds me a little bit of this tutorial < http://user.fundy.net/morris/redirect.html?photoshop16.shtml>. Maybe some creativity on the step where he uses the wind filter would get some interesting effects. Maybe motion blur instead?

A little playing around with the motion blur got me this <http://www.balzasteel.com/temp/raytest.jpg>. All PS, with a couple duplicate layers for the text to get the 3d effect. Then a gradient map for the color on top of the all black and white image.
JB
Jonathan_Balza
Apr 26, 2004
Oh yeah, of course this would best be accomplished in a 3d program. This effect is VERY easily done in Cinema 4D. (Therefore, I would assume other 3d programs as well.)
B
BlackFlux
Apr 26, 2004
I think the best solution would be that of Thee_DarkOverLord. Where he suggested placing a light source behind the object and letting the software do all the hard work.

Only thing is trying to get my 2D logo done in Photoshop into the 3D app (3D Studio Max).

Any suggestion on that?!?!
I
ID._Awe
Apr 26, 2004
Yes, make paths and export to an illutrator file and import for the shape and you will have to do all the colouring, bevelling and such in StudioMax.
CC
Chris_Cox
Apr 26, 2004
Overlord – probably not 3D, the lighting is too inconsistent.
B
BlackFlux
Apr 27, 2004
Ok this is what I did:

ctrl – click > Path > Make work path from selection

Why isn’t the line straight? Is there a way to clean up the lines?
PC
Philo_Calhoun
Apr 27, 2004
The background is radial blur, zoom, set on a high amount (with some red spots on a black background). The foreground should be a vector shape traced out with the pen tool. The foreground edges could be painted in or set as gradients. FWIW, I would do this in Illustrator.

Another thing you might try: fill a layer with the medium red in the background and add about 8 spotlights (filter>render>lighting).
PC
Philo_Calhoun
Apr 27, 2004
BlackFlux: do you know how to trace things out with the pen tool? It will give a much better path than converting a selection to a path.
B
BlackFlux
Apr 28, 2004
I am ashamed to admit that I don’t use the pen tool that often.
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Phosphor
Apr 28, 2004
So learn how to use it and dispel that shame!

🙂

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