"i can’t imagine anybody taking the time to do this by hand"
See, that’s the funny thing.
A lot of people thinkbecause the software we have is so powerful there’s a one-click method for everything like this, when in fact there ARE graphic artists who make a handsome living because they know how to create effects like that which can’t be done any other way besides manually. And they’re paid to take the time necessary.
Now, am I saying similar effects can’t be done easily with the help of Layer effects or some other kind of Filter or plug in?
No, I’m not.
But in this case, it looks like it was done with Illustrator.
Manually.
You’ll gain a lot of valuable insight by experimenting and finding your own methods, and your own style. If you need some inspiration, there are a bazillion tutorials just waiting at the other end of a Google search.
have no problem doing it by hand, at least once and then creating an action….. but obviously the reason i posted here is because i haven’t been able to duplicate it myself. i’ve come very close but it just doesn’t look the same. my point in posting here is to learn a new technique, not to find an easy way out, or to offend any graphic artists. anyway, i’m guessing it has been done with illustrator which is a program i’m not familiar with.
maybe i will try this thing you speak of called "google search"…
I’ve come very close but it just doesn’t look the same.
Close observation should reveal what the differences are. Good knowledge of PS and AI should allow you to adjust these differences.
well.. i’ve downloaded a trial of illustrator and luckily my job has a corporate subscription to popular video tutorial site so i’m going to give it the ol’ college try. nothing wrong with a bit more knowledge.
thanks for the advice.
The real point I was trying to make is that you should certainly use tutorials to learn your fundamental skills, and then apply what you’ve learned to create your own style. Maybe it’ll look exactly the same as the image you referenced, maybe it won’t. No harm, either way.
I don’t mean to say that there is nobody here who will walk you step-by-step through a cut-and-dried recipe for getting the exact same look, but that’s not really within the scope of these forums.
That’s why there are a bazillion tutorials online. When you get stuck on a particular point, that’s where the regulars here shineby reading your description of what you’ve tried so far, what you’ve attempted in order to get past the sticking point, we’ll be better able help you ferret out exactly why you’re having the trouble.
This could have been done in Illustrator or Photoshop.
Even without any automated filters (I’m sure they’re out there if you’re willing to buy), this could be pulled off in something as old as Photoshop 4 in about 5 minutes with thoughtful use of saved and shifted selections.
hmm… Jim you mean like selecting the letters, adjusting/contracting the selection, making a duplicate layer and filling it in with white, adjusting blend/opacity and then shaving off the bottom? or some other method? i tried doing something similar to that but i wasn’t getting that nice rounded, smooth effect… when i got to removing the bottom part of the overlay it looked really bad. i duplicated the selection and used it to delete the bottom part of the overlay to just leave that top reflective part but… it looked sloppy.
what am i missing?
"
this could be pulled off in something as old as Photoshop 4
"
A’yup
"
in about 5 minutes
"
Not so sure about that.
"
with thoughtful use of saved and shifted selections."
A’yup.
🙂
you mean like… …then shaving off the bottom?
Yes.
Mix in ‘Select>Modify>Smooth’ to get the nice rounded smooth effect so that the highlights are not perfect matches to the top of the letters.
Convert selections to paths and then you can tweak with pen controls if you really want to refine it.
Not so sure about that
Phos: wanna race? 🙂
thanks Jim, you know the more i look at it (the original vs my re-creation) i think the reason it looks sloppy to me is because the font i used to duplicate the effect (billboard) is wider and more squared off at the top.
after i smoothed it out a bit it didn’t look half bad. i think it would look a lot better if i had used a rounder font… thanks for the tips though.
Jim
I’d gladly take you up on that if we were sitting side-by-side, with the systems and set ups of our own choosing!
Sounds like fun!
🙂
I choose Photoshop 4 on a Pentium 1 with 32 MB of RAM.
Perhaps my simplistic view of this task is that I used to airbrush BC and this would be just as simple with a single mask of friskit. I’m sure the task can seem much more complicated with the latest version of Photoshop with its overwhelming bells and whistles.
