Previews:

About

Required Resources

Download the Media Militia Resources

Final Image Preview

Detail

Step 1:

First off, we need to create the text.

Open up 3ds Max. In the Create tab, click on the Shapes button. Click on the Text object type button. Then type in JEYA in text area in capital letters. We will use Arial with the font size at 100.

Step 2:

In the Front view, click, drag and align the text to the X axis as shown below.
Tip: You can use the Select and Move tool to better align the text.

Step 3:

With the text still selected, click on the Modify tab. In the Modifier List drop down choose Extrude.

Step 4:

Step 5:

In the Modifier List drop down, choose Lattice. Use the following Settings:

Radius: 6.5
Segments: 23
Sides: 3

It should look similar to the following image:

Step 6:

Now we are going to create the other text that will go below our main JEYA text. Because we want all the same settings on the new text, we will clone the original JEYA text.

In the Edit Menu, choose Clone (CTRL+V). In the Clone Options, choose Copy. Click OK

Step 7:

Make sure the Select and Move tool is selected. In the Front View port, drag the Y green arrow downwards. The cloned text should be just below the original JEYA text.

Step 8:

Make sure the cloned text is still selected. In the Modify tab, click on Text in the stack order. Change the Text to say "one" in lowercase.

Step 9:

Using the Select and Move Tool, reposition the "one" text to the right side - just below the "JEYA" text. I aligned the bottom of the "Y" with the top of the "n"

Step 10:

Open the Material Editor by clicking on the button in the toolbar or press M on your keyboard.

Step 11:

Click on the Diffuse Color Selector and type in the following colors:

Red: 214
Green: 35
Blue: 35

Change the Specular Level to 25 and the Glossiness to 22

Step 12:

Now we need to apply the material. Drag the material from the Material Editor on to both of the text objects.

The text should change to the color Red. If they don't try dragging it again.

Step 13:

In the Perspective View, you need to activate it by right clicking anywhere in the view. The view should turn yellow.

Click on the Front side of the ViewCube.

Tip: If you don't see the ViewCube, you can use the keyboard shortcut: Alt+Ctrl+V.

Step 14:

Im the bottom left, use the Pan View tool and drag the text into the view. Then use the Zoom Tool to pull away by dragging downwards in the Perspective View.

Tip: You can also pan by dragging in a viewport while pressing the middle button of a three-button mouse. To zoom, roll your mouse scroll wheel.

Step 15:

In the Create Tab, click on the Lights button. In the Lights drop down box choose Photometric.Then click on Free Light.

You should get a dialog box asking you to change the Exposure control, choose Yes

Step 16:

In the Perspective view, click and drag the Free Light just over the "o" in the "one" text.

In the Left view, move the the light with the Select and Move tool to look like the following:

Tip: Look at the grid spacing to judge distance. You might need to use the zoom tool to find the light in the viewport.

Step 17:

In the Photometric - Free Light Modifier properties change the Color to Halogen (Warm)

Step 18:

In the Create Tab, click on the Lights button. In the lights drop down choose Standard. Click on the Skylight button.

Step 19:

In the Front view, place the skylight in the upper right hand corner as pictured below:

Tip: Remember you can use the Pan View Tool to pan around the view.

Step 20:

In the Front view, using the Select and Move tool, select the JEYA text.

Open the Modifiers Tab. Control click on the Lattice and Extrude modifiers to select both of them.

Step 21:

Right click on one of them and choose CUT. You should be left with just the JEYA text.

Now Right Click on the JEYA text and choose Convert To: > Convert to Editable Spline

Step 22:

In the Modifiers Tab, Selection roll out, Click on the Vertex button.

Step 23:

In the Front View, select the end of the letters vertex points to extend them.

Step 24:

Use the Select and Move tool and drag them all the way up.

Tip: Zoom out to drag the vertices higher.

Step 25:

Do the same with the "A" and "Y". I also pulled the top part of the "E" into the "Y"

Note: You will need to move on both the Y and X axis for diagonal lines.

Step 26:

With the JEYA text selected, go back into the Modify tab. right click on Text in the modifiers stack and choose Paste.

This will paste back in the Lattice and Extrude modifiers.

Step 27:

Right Click on the JEYA text and choose Convert To: > Convert to Editable Mesh.

In the Modify tab, click on the the Vertex selection button.

Step 28:

In the Left view, you need to delete all background vertices that don't look good in the perspective viewport.

Select them by using the Select and Move tool. Make a selection around them and press delete. Here are the vertices I deleted.

Step 29:

Make the Perspective view active, then click on the Orbit Tool.

Anywhere outside of the Orbit right drag to the left making it rotate about 30 degrees or until your text looks good to you.

Tip: Remember you can use the Pan View tool and Zoom to get a look that you like.

Here is what I ended up with in each of the views:

Tip: Look at the light placements. Do yours match up?

Perspective:

Front:

Left:

Top:

Step 30:

Now go to Rendering > Render Setup. Change the Output Size Width to 1500 and the Height to 1000.

Click on the Advanced Lighting tab.

Change the Select Advanced Lighting drop down to Light Tracer

Step 31:

Finally! Make sure the Perspective view is still active and Click on the Render button. After it is done rendering, click on the Save icon in the render window.

Change the Save as Type to TIF and click on the Setup button.

Make sure you put a check mark on the Store Alpha Channel. Press OK. Name the file and press Save.

Here is my final render:

Step 32:

Now it's time to open Photoshop.

Open your TIF into Photoshop. I included my TIF in the resources if you would prefer to use that for the following steps.

In your layers panel, ALT + Double Click on the Background Layer to unlock it.

Now go to Select > Load Selection. Make sure the Alpha channel is selected and Check Invert. Click OK

Step 33:

Press Delete to remove all the black from the background.

Go to Select > Deselect

Name this Layer "Main Text"

Double Click on the Main Text layer to bring up the Layer Style dialog.

Check Stroke and Change the stroke Size to 5. Make the color = Black.

Step 34:

Create a New Layer by going to Layer > New > Layer. Name it "Background." Make sure it is below your Main Text Layer.

Using the Gradient tool, make a Radial Gradient from #aeafaf to #000000. Make the center point black as shown in the picture below.

Step 35:

In the resources you downloaded, open Bokeh.jpg. Copy and paste it into your PSD.

Make sure it is above the Background Layer but underneath the Main Text Layer. Change the Layer Blending Mode to Overlay.

Name this layer Bokeh.

Step 36:

Hold down the CTRL key and click on the layer thumbnail for the Main Text layer to create a selection.

Step 37:

Create a new layer just below the Main Text layer. Name it "Outer Stroke."

Go to Edit > Stroke. Make the stroke color #12e2ca and the Size = 16 pixels.

Step 38:

Using a brush fill in the areas in the center of the text that didnt get filled in with the stroke. It should look like this now:

Step 39:

From the resources, bring in Spraypaint1.png and place in the PSD. Move it into the left side. Make sure it above the bokeh layer. Name the layer "Spraypaint1"

From the resources, bring in lined graffiti.png and place in the PSD. Move it into the right side. Make sure it above the Spraypaint1 layer. Name the layer "graffiti"

Step 40:

From the resources, bring in splash1.png, verticle lines.png, and lineart.png. Arrange them so they look like the following:

Step 41:

Duplicate the Splatter layer by going to Layer > Duplicate Layer

Double click on the duplicated layer and add a Color Overlay. Use the color #d5006b

Step 42:

Duplicate the Splatter layer again by going to Layer > Duplicate Layer. Move it to the right hand side.so you can see if better.

Duplicate it two more times and add a color overlay using this color: #12e2ca. Move the layers around the canvas.

Step 43:

Open the Brushes panel. Click on the pop-up menu and choose Load Brushes. Use the Graffiti Brushes you downloaded from the resources.

Brush in some spray paint splatters and drips to your liking. I used the color #12e2ca

Tip: Change the brush size to get different looks.

Step 44:

Create an Adjustment Layer by going to Layer > New Adjustment Layer and choose Hue/Saturation Use the following settings:

Hue: -18
Saturation: +12
Lightness: -2

Step 45:

Now we need to create a clipping mask, so that the Hue/Saturation will only effect the Main Text Layer

Hold down the ALT key and position your cursor in between the two layers (the cursor changes to two overlapping circles) and click. It should create a down arrow on the Hue Saturation layer.

Tip: You can also create clipping masks by choosing the top layer and going to Layer > Create Clipping Mask

Here is the layers stack so far:

Step 46:

We are now going to do the same with a brightness and contrast layer.

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer and choose Brightness/Contrast

Change the Contrast to 58

Step 47:

Make sure this adjustment layer is also a clipping mask. If it is not, then make it one.

Now create another adjustment layer. This time choose Levels. Use the following settings:

62 - 1 -255

Step 48:

I added a MEDIA MILITIA text on the side of the A with the same light blue we used earlier. The font I used is Metal.

Create a new layer and name it "Blings Baby!" Using a white brush outline the right and bottom sides of the letters.

I used a White brush - 20 pixels at 100% hardness. You should have something like this now:

Step 49:

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Make the Radius: 28.9 pixels.

Change the Layer Blending mode to Soft Light and lower the Opacity to 54%.

Step 50:

That's it! Here is the final design. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Download the Final PSD

About

Resources Used

• Stock by Mo-01
• Hi-Res Splatter Brushes by Bittbox
• C4D Renders by Stinky666
• Nebula Stock by Moonchilde-Stock
• Spirals 1 via Stock.Xchng

Final Image Preview

Step 1:

Step 2:

Now let’s add a Linear Gradient, select your gradient tool from the Photoshop Toolbar (Shortcut: G) we will be using two colors - #bf294d and #391948 after you have setup your gradient (Supplied Gradient outcome below) change the blending options of the layer to Soft Light and change the Opacity to 51% After that grab the Eraser tool and erase the parts you don’t want in the image.

Step 3:

Now it’s time to add some elements. I used a Nebula called Binary Stock by Moonchilde-Stock on Deviantart - Open it in Photoshop and drag it into your canvas, set its blending mode to Linear Dodge and start rotating, resizing and erasing till you are happy with its placement in your image. Now grab a Bubble C4D, you can get some C4D resources from Stinky666 on Deviantart. I used a Bubble C4D. Open it up in Photoshop and set the blending options to Linear Dodge and place the C4D on the Left Hand side, reason being the bubbles flow with the movement of the photo.

Step 4:

Moving on to our 4th step this is where the fun part comes in. We will be using Splatter Brushes called Hi-Res Splatter Brushes by Bittbox and applying Clipping Masks over them to create a great insertion into our illustration. You will never get the same result that is why I love to use the technique. Create a New Layer by going to Layer>New>Layer – Name your Layer and hit OK, you will now have a new layer to work in. Grab yourself some splatter brushes from your brush palette and brush on your canvas, it doesn’t matter what color the brush is at the moment. Once you have added your splatter, hide the layer with the splatter brushing on. Create a New layer and go to Image>Apply Image – This basically Copy Merges your entire document and gives you a full layer. Unhide your Splatter Brush layer and select your Applied Image Layer now go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask or press (Shortcut: CTRL +ALT + G) now you will be able to use your Move Tool (Shortcut: V) to move the image around inside your Splatter Brush. I repeated this process three times on various places.

Step 5:

Create a New Layer and fill it with Black #000000 set the blending mode to Color Dodge and the Opacity to 77% now use your brush tool to brush some color onto her. I used a 900px soft brush with the colors #837e81 and #811757 – The color choices are totally up to you though. Now repeat that step again and use a 900px soft brush with the color #3b3a0a and set the blending mode to Color Dodge. I used this Color to add some brightness to the wall behind the model. Now create a New Layer and apply the image (shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) now go to Filter>Distort>Wave and hit the randomize button a few times. Now change the blending options of the layer to Lighter Color and erase the parts of the image you don’t want.

Step 6:

Lets create a New Layer and apply the image (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) now go up to Filter>Stylize>Glowing Edges use these Settings: (Edge Width – 3 | Edge Brightness – 9 | Smoothness – 1) after applying the Glowing Edges Filter select the layer and go up to Image>Adjustments>Invert OR press (Shortcut: CTRL + I) This should change the entire layer into white and black, change the blending options of the layer to Multiply. You should see that this affects the image with shadows. Next create a new layer and grab your Lasso Selection tool (Shortcut: L) draw a selection on the canvas that corresponds with the flow of the image. After you have drawn your selection go to the little half filled icon on your Layers Panel at the bottom and select Pattern. I selected a skew line pattern to fit into the motion of the image. After you have selected your pattern and pressed ok set the blending options of the layer to Soft Light and drop the opacity down to 22%

Step 7:

Create a new layer and grab your Elliptical Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M) and draw a Circle behind her head whilst holding SHIFT to keep it symmetrical. Fill the Selection with Yellow #f5f32a and set the blending options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 13% - Repeat the process but, this time create a smaller circle and fill it with Blue #00acec set the blending options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 13%. Create a New Layer and Apply Image once again (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) go up to Filter>Distort>Wave and Randomize the effect and hit OK. Keep the Blending Options of this layer on Normal just erase parts of the image layer you don’t want.

Step 8:

Lets create a new layer and grab a splatter brush. Add the brush to a place on the canvas where it will add to the flow of the image. After you have added your splatter brush hide the layer and create a new layer. Apply Image on the new layer (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) and unhide the splatter brush layer now select the applied image layer and Create a Clipping Mask (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + G) position the image as you like it. Time to brighten up our image, create a new layer and Fill it with Black #000000 set the Blending Options to Color Dodge – Grab your brush tool and use some color to spice up the Image, I used - #4f4e0e green - #784c13 brown - #748694 light blue/grey This was the First Set. I then repeated the process and used #584515 brown - #324c66 blue - #53173e pink, this was the Second Set. I repeated the process again and used #3e2100 dark brown – and #2c2a2a a dark grey, I then set the Blending Options to Color Dodge and the Opacity to 78%. This was the Third Set. I once again repeated the process and used #FFFFFF White with a star brush and set the blending options to Color Dodge. This was the Fourth Set. You can see the outcome of these steps below the Sets.

Step 9:

Now let’s go down to the Half Filled Icon on our Layers Panel and Select Gradient Map use the default gradient Black to White and hit OK. Drop the Opacity of the layer down to 68% and erase some of the darkness on the models face and upper body. Next grab this spirals light photo from Stock.xchng and open it up in Photoshop. Insert it into your canvas and change the blending options to Linear Dodge, move it up to her head and erase the front part as if it is sitting on top of her hair at the back. Now Create a new layer and Apply Image (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) now go up to Image>Adjustments>Threshold and use the default settings. Now go up to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur Use a Zoom method and set the strength to 100% now click inside the white box and drag it to the upper right corner and hit OK. You should see that your Threshold layer is now Radial Blurred coming from the Right Hand side. Change the Blending Options to Linear Dodge and drop the Opacity to 13% and erase what you don’t want.

Step 10:

Now we are going to be adding a few Adjustments. Firstly Go down to the Half Filled Icon on your Layers Panel and Select Levels. Use the Settings I have supplied Below (11 | 1.00 | 245) and change the Blending Options to Luminosity and the Opacity to 58% - Next add a Green Photo Filter from the Half Filled Icon menu and set the Blending Options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 17% - Now go to Adjustments menu (Half Filled Icon) once again and Select Solid Color use the Color #fa8b08 Orange and set the Blending Options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 8%

Step 11:

In this step we will be adding a few more C4D’s to correspond to the image. I used Bubble C4D’s from Stinky666. I inserted the first bubble C4D and set the blending Options to Linear Dodge and erased the parts I didn’t want. I then proceeded to Insert another bubble C4D and set the Blending Options to Linear Dodge and erased the parts of the C4D that I didn’t want. Next I created a new layer and grabbed my brush tool and proceeded to brush on the models head. I then went up to Filter>Distort>Wave and randomized the effect. I then hid the layer and created a new layer and Applied Image (Shortcut: CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) then I made the brush layer visible and created a clipping mask from the Applied Image layer and moved it around a bit to get the effect that I wanted.

Step 12:

Lets go to the Adjustments (Half Filled Icon) Menu and select Color Balance use these settings (+23 | -5 | -15) I provided a image below too. Next I used the Clone Tool to lengthen the Light streak on her shoulder a few pixels. You select the Clone Tool in your Photoshop Toolbar (Shortcut: S) and you make sure that the setting Sample on the top toolbar is set to ALL LAYERS and not just CURRENT LAYER. Now create a new layer and go to your image press and hold down ALT you will see the cursor change and click on the lighting on her shoulder. Now let go of ALT and use the brush to lengthen the streak by clicking and dragging. Next create a new layer and fill it with Black #000000 and change the blending Options to Color Dodge and the Opacity to 71% I then used a Large Soft Brush with the colors #6d6513 green - #947934 orange - #7b7270 grey, I have provided the color layer I used. This corrected the path of the Lighting for the image with some extra color and brightness.

Step 13:

Go to the Adjustments Menu (Half Filled Icon) and select a Green Photo Filter change the Blending Options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 10%. Next go back to the Adjustments Menu and Select Brightness and Contrast add Brightness +2 and Contrast +15. Next up, go back to Adjustments Menu and select Gradient Map use the default Black to White gradient and hit ok leave the Blending Options as is and change the Opacity to 50% now erase the parts of the Gradient map that you do not want. Now create a new layer and apply image in that layer (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) then use the Burn Tool (Shortcut: O) and darken all of the over bright areas on the image.

Step 14:

We are going to be adding a few more Adjustments. Go to the Adjustments Menu and Select Gradient Map click inside the gradient to open up the gradient options and select the Purple to Orange Gradient from the Default list – Colors are - #290a59 to #ff7c00 – Now set the Blending Options to Screen and the Opacity to 16% now erase the unwanted areas. Next add another Gradient Map and select the Purple to Red to Yellow Gradient from the list – Colors are - #0a00b2 to #ff0000 to #fffc00 – then set the Blending options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 11%. Now add another Gradient Map but this time use the default Black to White Gradient. Set the Blending Options to Multiply and the Opacity to 15%

Step 15: (Final Preview)

This is going to be our last step in the process so let’s go down to the Adjustments Menu and Select Black and White and use the default settings. Set the Opacity to 25% and Erase some of the details you don’t want or need. Now create a New Layer and Apply Image (Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E) go to Filter>Other>High Pass use the default setting of 10 and then set the Blending Options to Soft Light and the Opacity to 53% this should sharpen out the image.