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INTRODUCTION
This tutorial demonstrates how to control the placement of patterns to blend an image into the background, as camouflage. It also shows how to make that same pattern pop out and mold into realistic texture in other areas of the design. Let's take a look at a workflow to achieve this effect.

Recently, I wrote an article on Repeating Shapes and Patterns. This article shows some uses of patterns in design and illustration. The section on Camouflage Techniques discusses the blending of the foreground and the background of an image by using patterns. The article also shows some artwork that influenced this design.

This tutorial uses vector masks and the Burn Tool to achieve many of the effects presented. If you're not familiar with these tools, you will be by the end of this tutorial. It shouldn't take you much longer than an hour to complete, even if you're a novice. Let's get to it!


Step 1:
Download the two photos we'll be using for this tutorial: model and torn paper. I downloaded the medium size. Now create a document 1132px by 1696px (these are the same dimensions as our model pic).

Step 2:
Place our texture background in the back and turn its visibility off for now. Also, place a copy of our model photo behind and hide it as well, as we will be using a destructive editing technique, so it's good to keep a copy. We're going to use techniques found in this video to extract the model from the background.

Select the "model layer" in the Layers palette. Then go to Filter > Extract. Grab the Highlighter Tool and outline the hair with an 80px Brush Size. Outline the rest of the model with a 10px Brush Size, zoom in when necessary. Then grab the Fill tool and Click inside the image. Then hit OK. The result is the last in the series below.

Tip: We use the Extract Filter because it gives us professional results quickly. After applying the extract, use the History Brush Tool if you need to clean up the extraction.

Step 3:
Turn the "texture" layer's visibility back on, and the background is now replaced. Notice how this texture isn't quite long enough to fill the entire background. The lower left and right corners are not filled. We'll need to account for this in later stages of the design process.

Step 4
Now let's start building our Camouflage Collage Jacket. We're going to break it into six parts. This will give us some flexibility. You could choose to break it up into more or fewer parts. I chose to use vector masks. This was chosen because we're using a collage style. The vector masks give hard-edged cuts. It fits the style of what we are looking for. We will work from back to front. Let's start with the left side.

Copy the "texture" layer. Then position it behind the left side of the jacket. Make sure this layer is selected. Then grab the Pen Tool (P). Make sure that Paths are selected. The Paths button is located in the top left-hand corner of Photoshop's interface. Start drawing the shape of the left side of the jacket. Keep in mind what will go in front of this layer. This will help with deciding the path. Also, overshoot the original jacket a little, as you don't want the original tan jacket to show in the final design.

Once you've drawn the mask, Ctrl-click and select Create Vector Mask. Then name the layer "left_side." Position the new layer in front of the model. Then add to the mask. Make sure the Vector Mask Thumbnail is selected. Then draw in the small patch at the bottom of the design, as shown in the last image below.

Be careful of which area you choose to use from the background, as some areas of the texture image are blurry. Those areas wouldn't be the best to put into the jacket. Notice how we changed the jacket path to be a bit larger in the left-hand corner. This hides that area where the background ended.

Step 5:
Now we will draw the left arm. Make another copy of the "texture" layer. Then position it behind the left side of the jacket. Again, draw a Vector Layer Mask, using the same process as in the previous step. Once you've completed, name the layer "left_arm," and move it to the front.

Tip: you may want to turn the Visibility of the "left_side" layer on and off while drawing this path. Ultimately, the "left_arm" layer should slightly overlap the "left_side" layer. Also, notice how we placed the texture in a different position than when we created the first mask. This further separates these two areas. If you prefer this to look flatter here then mask the texture in the same position as the "left_side" layer.

Step 6
Let's draw the left jacket lapel next. Make another copy of the "texture" layer. Then position it behind the left side of the jacket lapel. Again, draw a Vector Layer Mask, using the same process. Once completed name the layer "left_lapel," and move it to the front. There are three pieces that make up the left lapel mask. The progressive process of making this mask is shown below.

Step 7
Repeat this process of creating Vector Masks for each piece of the right side of the jacket. Name the right pieces "right_side," "right_arm," and "right_lapel." Then position your textures the way you want them to look in the final design. On the right side, be sure to account for where the texture ends, and make the "right_side," layer cover up the missing texture spot.

You can unlink the mask from a layer in the Layers Palette. There is a little chain link icon that can be toggled on and off. When toggled off you can reposition the texture of the layer without moving the mask. You want to do any repositioning now, as we'll be using the Burn Tool in the next step. This tool works directly with pixels, and therefore is irreversible. I also repositioned the background a little.

You may also want to save a copy of the document at this point as well, in case you want to return to this stage of the design. To do that, go to File > Save As, and in the dialogue box check As a Copy. I named my copy "flat_masks".

Step 8:
Now we want to decide which areas of our image to give volume to and which areas to keep flat. We want the camouflage to be strong in parts of the image. The strategy for this design is to have some parts look like an actual jacket, and others blend into the background as flat texture. This confusion of foreground and background adds interest to the image. We want a good mix of the two. The lapels will be the focal point. We'll give them a full shading treatment.

We will predominantly use the Burn Tool (O) to brush in our shading. Once that tool is selected, choose a soft brush with a size between 40px and 80px. You can tap the left and right brackets ([ ] )on your keyboard to quickly increase or decrease the brush size. The options for this tool are located in the top left-hand corner of Photoshop's Interface. Focus on the Range of Midtones mostly here, but if you want to make the Shadows or Highlights darker you could choose those Ranges as well. I also left the exposure at 50 percent. Keep in mind if you overdo it, you can grab the Dodge Tool, and lighten the image again.

Now Burn areas of the lapel with the Burn Tool. Focus on the outer edges. Turn off the texture and look at the original jacket. Take clues from the shading done to the original jacket, though feel free to differ when it makes sense. For the most part, significantly darken the inner edge of the lapel. Then darken the outer edge a little bit to create a curvature on the lapel.

The images below show the right lapel being created. Notice how we start with shading the inner shadow on the lapel. Then we move on to add some shading to the outer edge of the lapel. Overall a larger brush can be used on the inside. Then drop the brush size down a bit for

the outside edge. The last image shows how the Burn Tool adds shading to the lapels. They now appear curved and are no longer flat.

Step 9:
Now we will burn the "left_side," and "right_side," layers to add some emphasis to the lapels. We will also add shading in the sides. We're going to let the left side blend into the background, but shade the right side more. The arrows in the images below show the areas shaded the most. The final image in the set below shows our results so far.

Step 10:
Let's give the sleeves some volume. We'll be using the Burn Tool on the "left_arm," and "right_arm," layers. The arrows below indicate where most of the shading was placed.

CONCLUSION
Now that we have composed the image, go in and make any final adjustments. There is great variation that can be achieved with this type of design. It depends on how much volume you want areas to have, or if you want some areas to appear more flat. Consider using this kind of collage-style camouflage technique in one of your own designs. The final image is below.

INTRODUCTION
While grunge has its origins in the 90s, recently the style has been gaining in popularity once more. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a dirty, urban-style image using both well-known techniques as well as a few new ones. You will learn to easily extract complex shapes and we will also create our own grunge texture.

Preparation:
This tutorial is very stock-heavy. Since the basic theme of the image will be "music," I gathered a few stock images from iStockPhoto. I suggest that you also choose a theme and gather a bunch of stock images you think will be useful before you start creating the image. Here are links to the ones I used: Girl, Speakers, Boombox.

Step 1:
Before we start with the stock, we will quickly create a texture for later use.

So create a new document. I used 800 x 600px for my canvas size. Make sure your foreground color is black and your background color is white. You can simply press D on your keyboard to do that.

Add a new layer and go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Choose the following settings: Amount 50%; Distribution = Uniform; Monochromatic = On. After that, use Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush with settings: Brush Size = 2; Brush Detail = 8; Texture = 1.

Now again, add some noise by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and use the previous settings. Then use Filter > Artistic > Paint Daubs with the settings shown in the screenshot:

Step 2:
Now use Filter > Brush Strokes > Splatter with Spray Radius = 20 and Smoothness = 5. Your image should look like this:

Step 3:
Go to Select > Color Range, choose Highlights, hit OK, and you will see that random areas in your texture are now selected. We will delete them by pressing Delete. Also, delete the background layer and you're done with your texture! Save it, we'll use it later.

Step 4:
Now we will just cut out all the images that we will use for our further work and save them.

You can do that by using the Pen Tool (P). If you have a complex shape that you want to select accurately (i.e. hairstrands), then fear not because I will show you a very useful technique in the following steps.

The model in the stock photo I'm using has very fine hair strands. We want to select her body shape while also accurately selecting the fine hair strands. In order to do this, go to the Channels palette and identify the channel with the highest contrast between the model and background. In this case, I chose the green channel and duplicated it. Make sure the channel is selected and not hidden.

Step 5:
Our goal is to make a selection of the model. The model should be solid black and the background as white as possible. With that in mind, we need to paint the headphones and the model's top solid black, as they are too bright. So trace around those parts and fill the selection with solid black.

Step 6:
Press Ctrl+M to open up the curves window and drag the two controllers further together to raise the contrast between model and background. You might need to repeat this a few times. In the end there may still be some bright parts. Quickly trace around them and fill them with black.

Step 7:
If you're satisfied with the result, Ctrl-click the channel to make a selection. Press Shift+Ctrl+I to invert the selection or go to Select > Invert. Now click on the RGB channel and copy+paste the selection into a new 800x600px file. Voila! You have selected the model with all the fine hairstrands.

Step 8:
We want to give the model a distressed look. Desaturate the model (Shift+Ctrl+U) and duplicate the layer. Set the duplicated layer to Multiply and make sure it's on top. Select this layer, open up the curves window again (Ctrl+M), and raise the contrast until you like the result.

Step 9:
Desaturate the other images, add them to the model, and make a nice composition.

Step 10:
For the next step, we will use some damaged paper as a texture. Just scan some crinkled paper or try to make a picture with your camera. You can download my paper texture here.

Step 11:
Paste the texture above our image and set the layer style to Multiply. If necessary you should also desaturate it and raise the contrast a bit. Flatten the image and make a rough selection of the objects, like below:

Step 12:
Paste the selection into a new file and add the texture we made in the beginning. Set the Opacity of the texture to 15% so it's more of a background effect.

Fill the background layer of the new file with a color of your choice to give the image more life by making the paper cutouts really contrast out from the background. I also added some notes that I quickly scribbled by using a small, round brush and then followed the same paper texture technique.

Don't forget to add drop shadows to your objects. This way they will look like they were cut out of paper and pasted on top.

Step 13:
Next I've added some halftone effects and swirl brushes as well as some splatter brushes. If you don't know how to make halftone effects, check out Sean's Halftone Tutorial. For swirl/splatter brushes go to

DeviantART or Brusheezy.com. Besides that, I added an image of a cityscape. You can find some great scapes for free at Sxc.hu. When you find an appropriate image, desaturate the cityscape, boost up the contrast and set it to multiply to get the effect in the final image below.

CONCLUSION
I am sure that the textures you created and used during this tutorial will be very useful for some of your following projects. I also believe that the new technique I showed you to extract complex shapes will also help you in your further work. You might have realized that we didn't necessarily need to cut out the hair so exactly, since we pasted the model to a plain white canvas. However, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to show you this technique :-)

INTRODUCTION
In this tutorial I will show you how to create an abstract background image using Photoshop only. The design has a cool wavy pattern with interesting lighting effects, like the Blackberry 9000 wallpaper. This is a tutorial you can sit down and complete in less than an hour. Let's get started.

Step 1:

Create a new document, using a black color for the background.

 Step 2:

With the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), create a rectangular selection. Then select the Gradient Tool (G), and use red for the color of the gradient for both the start and the end, but use 100% and 0% for the Opacity so the gradient will go from red to transparent. Then create a new layer and fill it with the gradient, as in the image below.

Step 3:

Go to Edit>Transform>Distort and distort the rectangle, as in the image below.


Step 4:

Go to Edit>Transform>Warp. Then select Flag and use 20% for the Bend.

Step 5:

Create another Rectangle and fill it with the same red to transparent gradient. Set the height smaller than the first one. Then repeat the Warp command; however, this time make it to the opposite way, as in the image below.

Step 6:

Let’s add a Layer Style to the shape. Go to Layer>Layer Style>Inner Shadow, use a light pink color (#ffb3b3). Set the Angle at -90 degrees, Distance 45px, Choke 0%, and the Size 70%.

Step 7:

Now go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, use 2px for the Radius.

Step 8:

Repeat Step 6 for the other shape.

Step 9:

With the Pen Tool (P), create some paths, as in the image below. We will use them to create some light effects.

Step 10:

First create a new folder, and rename it "Lines". Then change the Blend Mode to Screen. Thereafter select the Brush Tool. Grab a basic brush with 0% Hardness and 13px size. Then with the Direct Select Tool (A), select a path. With the right button of the mouse choose Stroke Subpath. Then the dialog box will open. Make sure that Simulate Pressure is not selected and Press OK.

Step 11:

Let’s create a Layer Style for the lines. Use Inner Glow with Color Dodge for the blend mode. Set white as the color, 100% Opacity, Choke 0%, and size 8px. After that select Color Overlay and use pink for the color (#ff5c78).

Step 12:

Repeat Step 10 with the other paths. Always create a new layer for each path. You can vary the size of the brush, and you can use Simulate Pressure with some paths, as I did in the image below (1, 2, and 3).

Step 13:

Let's Mask some paths, and create new ones duplicating existing paths. With number 1, select the layer of the path and go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal all. Then select a brush with 0% Hardness and a medium size, like 50px. Then select black for the color and start masking that line. Repeat this with numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Step 14:

Here we'll make some adjustments to the shapes. Yet again, select the Shape Layer. Then go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Then with a black brush, start masking some areas of the shapes. Tip: you can simply delete the layer as well. Just use the Eraser instead of masking it.

Step 15:

Create a new layer beneath the lines but above the shapes. Then select red and select a big 100px brush. Make sure that the Hardness is 0%. Click 1–2 times, only click enough times to create an effect like the one in the image below.

Step 16:

Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue and Saturation. Make sure you select Colorize and use Hue 11, Saturation 82, and Lightness +4. Then go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels. Follow the image below for reference. After that go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Photo Filter. Use yellow, and Density of 85%. Make sure that you select Preserve Luminosity.

CONCLUSION

In this tutorial we created an abstract design similar to the new Blackberry's wallpaper. It shouldn't have taken you more than 40 minutes to finish. Even though it might look simple, this tutorial has very useful techniques. You can use them to create some nice lighting effects and wavy designs. Besides that, you will be able to create Vista-style wallpaper using these techniques as well (as some readers requested), just change some colors and Layer Styles and you'll have it.