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Create an Eerie Underwater Composition in Photoshop

Sometimes certain scenes are too expensive, dangerous, or even impossible to photograph. This is when people often turn to Photoshop. In only a little bit of time, you can create a very realistic looking image. Today we will be learning how to create an eerie underwater scene. So, get your scuba gear on and let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

Step 1

We are going to first open up the background ocean image, as this will dictate how large our canvas is going to be. You can do this by either dragging and dropping the image icon onto your Photoshop icon, or go to File > Open.

Step 2

Once the background is opened in Photoshop, go to: Image > Image Size. In the popup box, we are only going to modify the Width. Set the width to: 630px.

Step 3

Before you can modify the background image, you are going to need to unlock it. We can do this by double clicking on the layer in the layer panel and by clicking "OK" on the "New Layer" popup.

Step 4

Once the background is unlocked, you can go ahead and drag it down, just until the bright rocks on the bottom are no longer visible. This will allow us to add more water to the top portion of the image. Grab your marquee selection tool and select the bottom portion of the image up to below the waves in the water, and then click the "mask" button in your layers panel.

Step 5

Select the top portion of the water and click "Cmd/Ctrl + J" on your keyboard to duplicate the selection to a new layer. Move the layer up just slightly and scale it upwards just so it covers about half of the transparent portion of the canvas.

Click "Cmd/Ctrl + J" one more time, to duplicate that layer. Take this layer, and move it upwards until it reaches the top of the canvas. Don’t worry about the water looking a little stretched. That won’t be noticeable once we are finished.

Step 6

Now that we have the background filled in, we have to work on the bottom edges of the new layers that we created in the last step. We can do this very simply by using layer masks once again. We do this by clicking on the layer in the layers panel and then click the "mask" button. A new thumbnail image of a white box will appear next to the layer thumbnail.

You will now need to select a midsize brush with a hardness of 0%. We are going to use this brush to gently paint the bottom portion of the selected layer. By doing this, it will make the layer blend in. You will have to repeat this step for both of the water layers.

Step 7

Import the Shark image. You can do this by going to File > Place and navigating to the shark image. Or you can just simply drag and drop the image from your folder directly onto your Photoshop document. Once it is imported, scale the shark to size, and then place it on the right side of the image about halfway up the image.

Step 8

Now it’s time to remove the background from the shark image. We are going to do this exactly like we did in step 6, with the mask tool. Click on the shark layer and then click the "mask" button in your layer’s panel. With a small brush slowly erase around the entire shark, removing the background. The closer you get to the shark, the better the final image will look.

Step 9

You can leave the shark as-is, but I prefer to give the shark more of a gray look. We are going to accomplish this by creating 2 duplicates of the shark and modifying them slightly. First step is to select your current shark layer and changing the Blending Mode to "overlay". You can do this by clicking the box with the word "Normal". This box is located at the top of your layers panel.

Duplicate that current layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J), change the Blending Mode to "Hard Light". We are going to want to "Desaturate" this layer. You can do this simply by clicking "Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + U", or you can do it the hard way by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. This will turn the image black and white. Duplicate the desaturated layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J) and change the layer mode back to "Normal", but this time change the "Opacity" to 60%.

Step 10

Now it’s time to give the background a dark eerie look. Create a new layer above the water background layers and fill it with black. Then grab a very large eraser brush (about 1000 px) and erase the top left portion of the black background. Lower the opacity of this layer to about 65%. Create one more layer and fill it with black. Using the same size eraser brush, erase the top right portion of the layer. This time lower the opacity to 80%.

Step 11

We now have 8 layers in our layers palette and it is looking a little sloppy. We can quickly organize it by selecting the 3 shark layers and clicking "Cmd/Ctrl + G". This will create a new folder with those layers in it. Lets do the same for the 5 background layers (2 black layers and 3 background image layers).

Step 12

At this point, our scene is looking pretty empty. Lets fix this by duplicating the shark and giving him 2 friends. Select the "Shark" folder and drag it down to the "New layer" icon on the bottom of the layers palette. Go ahead and add one just above the current shark and then another on the left side of the canvas. Mess with the opacity and scaling of the shark to give the sharks more "depth".

Step 13

Now that the sharks are all placed, we need to give them a couple of friends, turtles. Go ahead and load the turtle image into Photoshop, exactly like you did with the shark image. At the moment, the turtle is swimming towards the left. We are going to flip the image horizontal so the turtle is swimming towards the right. We can rotate the image horizontal by going to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

Step 14

We need to now remove the background from the turtle image. We do this the exact same way as we did with the shark. Create a layer mask and then just paint around the turtle. This time, we want to leave a little bit of the coral that is under the turtle. You also want to mask a small amount of the background on the edges of coral. This way there are no hard edges.

Step 15

As you can see, the turtle stands out pretty badly. We need to do pretty much exactly like we did with the shark. Set the turtle layer’s blending mode to "Overlay" and set the opacity to 60%. Duplicate the turtle layer by clicking Cmd/Ctrl + J. Then set that layer to "Hard Light" with an opacity of 100%. As you can see, the turtle is standing out still, we need desaturate that layer. You can do this by clicking "Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + U", or going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Step 16

One final step for the "Hard Light" layer, is to slightly mask the bottom portion of it. We can do this by clicking on the "mask" thumbnail on the layer. Then with a black brush with the size of about 300px and a hardness of 0%, gently paint the bottom half of the turtle and coral. This will help make the turtle and coral blend in with the background Now, take both of those layers and put them into their own folder called "Turtle / Coral". You can do this by selecting both layers and clicking "Cmd/Ctrl + G".

Step 17

The turtle feels a bit out-numbered because there are so many sharks, so lets give him a friend. You can make a copy of the turtle, just like we did with the shark, by dragging it to the "new layer" button at the bottom of the layers pallet.

The problem with just cloning the turtle is that it has the little bit of coral at the bottom of the image, so we are going to have to remove that. Rather than redoing all of the previous steps, we are going to just add a layer mask to the folder. You can do this by clicking the folder, and just like with a layer, you click the "mask" button at the bottom of the layers pallet. With the mask created, paint away the rest of the coral with a small brush. Now, you can place the turtle at the upper left corner of the canvas. I recommend scaling, rotating and lowering the opacity to give it some depth.

Step 18

There is one more image for us to work with. This will just be repeating the exact same steps as the turtle. Go ahead and load up the Coral image and place it on the lower right corner of the canvas. Mask out the background, just like we did with the other images. With this image, all we have to do is change the layer Blending Mode to "Overlay" with an Opacity of 40%.

Step 19

Now that we are done with the images, we can begin adding a little detail. We are going to add bubbles to the water, to give some character to the fish. First, we will have to load the bubble brushes. You do this by right clicking the canvas. In the brush selection pop-up, click the arrow on the top right, go down to "Preset Manager." In the "Preset Manager" window, make sure your Preset Type is on "Brushes", then click on the "Load" button and load the brush file.

Step 20

Your brushes are now loaded, but painting 1 bubble at a time would take way too much time. We can save time by simply modifying the brush. Click "F5" to open your brush menu, or go to Window > Brush. Select the bubble brush with the number "690." In this window we are going to do the following: Size: 6px – Spacing: 210%. On the left, click "Shape Dynamics." Size Jitter: 30% – Minimum Diameter: 10% – Angle Jitter: 10% – Roundness Jitter: 20% – Minimum Roundness: 25%. On the left, click "Scattering." Scatter: 1000% – Count: 1 – Count Jitter: 18%. You don’t have to worry about any other settings.

Step 21

Now that your brush is set, create a new layer and make sure your brush color is white. Then paint the bubbles. I like to give 1 to 2 rows of bubbles (vertical rows) by each mouth and gills. You can also add a few in the background. Pretty much anywhere you feel bubbles should be placed. Feel free to play with the brush size. Once your bubbles are brushed, lower the bubble layer’s Opacity to about 20% to 30%.

Step 22

We need to go back to a "default" paintbrush. You can do this by right clicking the canvas and in the brush selection menu, just select one of the round brushes at the top. Set the size to about: 35px and make sure the hardness is 0%. Create a new layer and make sure your brush color is white. Now, we are going to paint "rays" coming from the top right of the canvas.

Step 23

We need to now make the sunrays blend in quite a bit better. First step is to add noise to them. You can do this by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Make the amount 16%. Then add Gaussian Blur. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Make the Radius 22.0 pixels. Lower the layer Opacity to about: 20%. If you feel that the light rays are a little too "heavy", you can create a layer mask, and gently mask out certain portions of the rays. For example: the bottom edges, and parts that intersect with the fish.

Final Image

Congratulations, you have successfully created an eerie underwater scene.

Envato Meetup Live Video Stream Tonight!

Tonight at 7pm CST we will be streaming a live video feed from our Envato Community Night here in Chicago. This will give you a chance to “hang out” with the Envato staff as we have an informal meet and greet with those who use the sites. Each site editor/manager, including myself, will make a point to come over and say hello. For those who can’t make it, we’ll record the stream for you to go back and watch later.

Update: Recordings Added

For those of you who couldn’t watch the video live, feel free to watch the recordings below.

Introduction: Part 1

Q & A Time: Part 2

Captivating and Amazing Out of Bounds Photo Effects

Out of Bounds (OOB) is an interesting photo effect where the object or scene in the image seems to jump right out of the photo or its borders. It is a photo manipulation technique to add an illusion of 3-dimsnsionality to a flat photo. Getting an interesting OOB effect depends largely on the photo angle and the overall execution of the concept. It is lots of fun to create an OOB effect. You can use any photo editing software such as Photoshop or Gimp. With some imagination, creativity and basic photo editing knowledge you can create an amazing OOB image that captivates the viewer’s attention. This article showcases 50 most spectacular examples of Out of Bounds photo effects. We have also featured some excellent tutorials if you are interested in learning how to create this effect in Photoshop. So lets venture into this mesmerizing world where you will find creatures, people, and vehicles jumping right out of the screen.

50 Captivating Out of Bounds Creations

The Train

Lizard Popping Out

Get Me Out

Get Me Out is an amazing surreal styled Out of Bounds effect. The old antique photo frame, the expression of the subject and the clever use of lighting and shadow gives the entire image an extra dimension and adds a surreal effect. You can easily create a photo effect like this with a great original image, some stock resources, if necessary and with the effective use of Photoshop . Some of the tutorials featured at the bottom of this article can also guide you to create a surreal Out of Bounds illustration.

Bridge

Napoleon

Wildlife Book

You would not want to read a wildlife book where animals come out of the book! The concept of creating an Out of Bounds effect with the book is brilliant. The idea is beautifully executed.

VROOOOOM!

You might have seen many Out of Bounds effects with a car jumping out of photo frame, but this one is fantastic. The dust, the tire tracks and the whole execution of the concept adds action and depth which makes the outcome realistic.

Dress Lady

Fish – Out of Bounds

Snake Book

Snake Book is another very unique and original idea where the subject, a snake in this case, is shown coming out of magazine’s page. It is amazing to see how 2 different images (a book and a snake image) are put together and how the whole composition is given an Out of Bounds effect.

Holding Hands

Holding Hands is a clever example of what you can do with Photoshop. The concept is brilliantly executed with five different images of hands pulled together to create a simple yet incredible piece.

Bridge To Somewhere

Hungry Snail

A cool Out of Bounds effect of a snail coming out of a photo for food. In this meticulously executed idea, four different source images are used and they work really great together.

Hang On

Taking Off

The Escape

The idea of television sinking in the sea and the cute joyous fishes jumping out of its screen makes The Escape a visually appealing piece of Out of Bounds photo effect.

Sports Gallery

Escape in Time

Cave Nymphs

Out of Boundry

Possible with Photoshop

Slides

Slides is an amazing and unique style of Out of Bounds effect with the creatures coming out of slides. The little details like water drops and dirt really add to the over all image and keeps the viewers attention.

Interactive

That is one smart monkey who can jump out of photograph for food, a very interactive piece indeed.

Waterfall

Humm, Pizza

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Humm, pizza is a drooling and mouth watering Out of Bounds effect. If you ever wished you could eat your favorite food directly from an advertisement or photo, you can do that with Photoshop.

The Lady Loves Chocolates

And if you think pizza isn’t enough, here are some chocolates.

Zodiac

Honeymoon

Honeymoon is a cool romantic example of Out of Bounds effect. The expression on the face of subject, the way he is jumping out of frame, the colors of the image and the background scene makes it an awesome piece of work.

OOB Guy

Battle

Out of Bounds – OOB Art

Loves Me

Surfing

Pulling Crackers

In Pulling Crackers, subjects are coming out of hinged picture frame. The soft pastel colors of the images in frame and all the decoration around it makes it a beautiful piece.

Internet Kiss

Riding China Style

Living Art

The Easy Way

Photoshop Solutions

A creative way to solve water shortage problems.

Comming Out Clean

Spiderman

Reaching Out of Bounds

Catch of the Day

Bubbles

Sticking Out

Snail

Beer

Hold Yourself Together

This actually is not an out and out photo manipulation but a drawing done with a graphite pencil from a reference. The style of this portrait is really very creative, all the pieces of polaroids with the hands holding them makes the concept an interesting Out of Bounds artwork.

Little Artist

Bridge

It is impossible to not get inspired and fascinated. Well, I also created one Out of Bounds effect.

Tutorials on Out of Bounds Effect

Create an Out of Bounds Fantasy Illustration

This fantastic tutorial from Psdtuts+ shows you how to create an Out of Bounds fantasy illustration where you create a painting on a wall which is a real world. It guides you through the process of creating a fantasy scene, making water pour out of a painting. You can create this surreal illustration with the use of absorption effect, colors and a variety of stock resources. You can also watch a video tutorial complimenting this text and image tutorial. If you have never experimented with surreal concepts in your artworks and want to incorporate it, we have an excellent Creative Sessions’ article, Incorporating Surrealism Concepts into Your Digital Artwork to guide you.

Out-of-Bounds

A simple and easy tutorial that can get you started with Out of Bounds photo effects. This tutorial shows you how after carefully analyzing the image you should decide where the best perspective is for the frame (the part that will set it out of bounds), how to hide the part of image with Layer Mask and how to add the shadows to add the extra dimension to the image.

Create an Out of Bound Photo in Photoshop

This easy to follow tutorial shows you how to create Out of Bounds photo effects in Photoshop using the Polygon Lasso Tool, Warp Effect and how you can tweak the colors using color saturation levels.

3D Border Breakout

A detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Out of Bounds effect. This tutorial also shows you how to give the illusion that the subjects are jumping out of the picture by adding depth through perspective, shadows and some imagination.

Photos Out of Bounds

Here is a fun Photoshop tutorial that shows you how to make a picture jump out of the frame into another photo. You’ll use two images for this tutorial, Pen Tool to extract the part of image, Transform Tool to set up perspective and Layer Styles for more effects.

Using Photoshop To Make an Image Jump Out of Frame

The following tutorial teaches you how to create an Out of Bounds photo using basic Photoshop skills to isolate the target, giving it a realistic look with proper perspective and other effects. It highlights the importance of choosing the right photo to get a true 3D effect.

Create an Out of Bounds Surreal Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

This tutorial is a detailed walkthrough of an artwork, which shows you how to create a surreal out of bounds effect in Photoshop. The tutorial uses variety of stock images and highlights the advantages of adjustment layers and how important they are to create a intense photo manipulation. In this detailed step by step walk through it is interesting to see how the subject, a shark in this case is shown coming out of antique photo frame and how the photo manipulation is given a realistic look using various Photoshop tools and effects.

Midnight Magic Scene Creation in Photoshop

This again is a very interesting tutorial if you want to show a subject coming in or going out of TV screen and a big photo frame. This tutorial demonstrates how you can give a dramatic effect to the scene by using Blending Modes, Layer Styles and Photoshop Filters.

Photo Cutout

This tutorial demonstrates a very simple technique where the subject is extracted from the image using Extract tool and a clever use of Layer Mask to hide the part of image to create a effect that makes the subject look like it’s coming in or out of a photo. In this tutorial you will learn how to use Photoshop’s Extract tool, Layer Masks and Layer Styles to create a cutout from a photo.

Out of Bounds Photoshop Action

And finally, a bonus! This actually is not a tutorial but a Photoshop Action which simplifies the steps needed to create the impressive Out of Bounds photo effect. The Action allows you to define the border size, the perspective of the image, the out-of-bounds areas and you can also add the shadow effects. The action is very flexible and makes use of layer masks, which allows you to fine tune the effect at a later stage. There is also a video that guides you through the process of using this Photoshop Action to create an amazing OOB photo effect. At Panosfx you will also find some more great Photoshop Actions.

Further Resources

As you work through above tutorials to create an OOB effect (or any photo manipulation) it is essential to know some of the basic Photoshop techniques like working with Layers, Layer Masks, Selection and Transform techniques. Below we have listed the links to some of those tutorials.

Create a Motorola Droid Style Phone in Photoshop

Recreating electronic devices in Photoshop is a great way to learn. Today, we will demonstrate how to create a Motorola Droid style phone in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

Step 1

Start by creating a new 2000 x 2000 px canvas and save it as "phone.psd." Use the Pen Tool to the outer silhouette of the device. Make sure it is black. Name it MAIN BG.

Step 2

With the Pen Tool, draw a shape for each main section of the phone. Notice that we are leaving a small gap between the shapes to give the illusion of separate parts. Organize your shapes in groups ( Cmd/Ctrl + G ), and rename the layers as seen below.

Step 3

Now make the side of the phone and again organize and rename them as shown below. It is very important to keep your layers organized because this project requires many layers.

Step 4

Now that we have defined the main parts of the phone, let’s start adding some shading. Double click the "Front / bottom / 1" layer , and apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings shown on the image below. Drag the mouse onto the canvas, and with the Layer Styles Window open and Gradient Overlay selected, reposition your gradient.

Step 5

Duplicate the "Front / bottom / 1" layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J), rename the duplicate to "2", and apply a Gradient Overlay and Inner Shadow with the settings shown on the image below. Press OK.

Step 6

Close the "Front / bottom" group. Select and double click the "Front / center / 1" layer. Apply a Gradient Overlay with the same settings on the picture below. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 7

Duplicate the "Front / Center / 1" layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J), rename the duplicate to "2", and double click to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen on the following image. Press OK.

Step 8

Close the "Center Group" and select the "Front / Top /1" layer. Double click it to apply the Gradient Overlay with the settings of the image below. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Remember you can drag on the stage to move the gradient while the Layer Style Window is open and Gradient Overlay is selected.

Step 9

Duplicate the "Front / Top /1" layer ( Cmd/Ctrl + J) , rename the duplicate to "2", and double click to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen on the image below. Press OK.

Step 10

Close the "Front " group, double click the "Side / Side_Bottom / 1" layer to apply a Gradient Overlay as seen in the following image. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 11

Now, double click the "Side / Side_Back / 1" layer to apply a Gradient Overlay as seen in the following image. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 12

Duplicate the "Side / Side_Back / 1" layer (Cmd/Ctrl + J). Rename the new layer to "2", double click it to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen on the image below. Notice that now the blending mode of the gradient is set to Multiply because we are making a shadow (not a light) on the right left corner. Drag the gradient to reposition it to the corner. Press OK.

Step 13

Duplicate the "Side / Side_Back / 2" (Cmd/Ctrl + J) layer. Rename the new layer to "3", double click it to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen in the following image. Again, notice that now the blending mode of the gradient is set to Multiply because we are making a shadow (not a light) on the bottom left corner. Drag the gradient to reposition it to the corner. Press OK.

Step 14

Close the "Side / Side_Back" group and double click the "Side / Side_Center/1" layer to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen on the image below. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 15

Close the "Side / Side_Center" group and double click the "Side / Side_Top/1" layer to apply a Gradient Overlay with the settings seen on the image below. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 16

Now, close the "Side" group, and with the Pen Tool, make the shapes for the buttons and the speaker. Make a small circle with the Ellipse Tool (u) for the microphone. For the center part of the speaker make a shape and paint it grey (bfbfbf). Organize all shapes following the image below.

Step 17

Double click the "Buttons / 1" layer, and apply the Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay following the settings of the image below. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 18

Do the same with the "Buttons / 2" layer, apply the Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay following the settings of the image bellow. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 19

Do the same with the "Buttons / 3" layer, apply the Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay following the settings of the image bellow. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 20

Do the same with the "Buttons / 4" layer, apply the Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay following the settings of the image bellow. Press OK. On the Layers Window turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 21

With the "Buttons / 4" layer selected, create a rectangle anywhere on the space using the Rectangle Tool (U). Rename the layer of the rectangle you just created to "All". Now select the Path Selection Tool (A), select the path of the "Buttons / 4" layer, copy it (Cmd/Ctrl + C), and paste(Cmd/Ctrl+V) it onto the path of your "All" layer. Do the same for "Buttons / 3" layer, the "Buttons / 2" layer, and the "Buttons / 1" layer. This may be a little tricky to understand, but following the image below illustrates how it is done.

Step 22

Now double click the "All" layer and apply a Gradient Overlay and Inner Shadow following the settings of the image below.

Step 23

Close the "Buttons" group and select the "mic / Mic" layer. Make sure it is Black and its Fill is at 100%. Apply a Bevel and Emboss with the settings of the image below. Press OK.

Step 24

Close the "mic" group and select the "speaker / Speaker" layer. Apply an Inner Shadow and Gradient Overlay with the settings shown on the image below. Press OK. On the Layers Window, turn the Fill of the layer to 0%.

Step 25

Now lets make the center part of the speaker. Create a new document with size 4 x 4 px. Zoom in as much as you can. With the Mask Tool (m) make a selection like in the picture below. With the Paint Bucket Tool fill the selection with black. Deselect all (Cmd/Ctrl + D) and go to the menu Edit/ Define Pattern , a window will prompt for you to write a name for the Pattern, write any name and press Ok.

Step 26

Go back to the file phone.psd and double click "speaker / Speaker center" layer. Add a Gradient Overlay, Inner Shadow and Pattern Overlay with the pattern we just created. Check the picture below for the settings.

Step 27

Let’s create the HDMI plug. Start by selecting the Pen Tool (P) and drawing the outer shape of the plug. Rename it to "1" and press (Cmd/Ctrl + G) with the layer selected to make a group. Rename the group to "HDMI plug". Then apply a Bevel and Emboss style to the "HDMI Plug / 1" layer following the settings on the picture below.

Step 28

With the Pen Tool, create another Shape over the last one, make sure its color is CCCCCC and apply an Inner Shadow Style with the same settings as those on the following image.

Step 29

With the Pen Tool, create another Shape over the last one. Make sure its color is 797979 and apply an Inner Shadow Style with the same settings as those on the following image.

Step 30

With the Pen Tool, create another Shape over the last one, Make sure its color is 343434.
And your HDMI plug is done.

Step 31

Let’s make the USB plug. With the Pen Tool, draw the outer shape of the plug. Make its color 0e0e0e. Rename it to "1" and press (Cmd/Ctrl + G) with the layer selected to make a group. Rename the group to "USB plug".

Step 32

With the Pen Tool, draw the inner shape of the USB plug. Make it black 000000. Rename it to "2". Apply the Inner Shadow, Inner Glow and Gradient Overlay styles following the image below.

Step 33

Let’s make the display screen. Start by drawing the outer part of the screen. Make it black 000000.

Step 34

Draw the inner part of the screen name it "2" and hide it. Paste the image you would like to be in the screen over the "Display / 2" layer and rename it to "wallpaper" (I am including a beautiful image with the source files in case you wish to use it). With the Cmd/Ctrl key pressed, select the Vector Mask Thumbnail of the "Display/2" layer. That will make a selection. With your "wallpaper" layer selected, press the Add Layer Mask button to hide the part of the wallpaper that is outside the screen. Now click the small chain links that appear on your "wallpaper" layer to disable the link between the layer and its mask With the thumbnail of your "wallpaper" layer selected, press Cmd/Ctrl + T to transform it, and press the Cmd/Ctrl key to distort the image you are using as wallpaper to match the phone’s perspective. Press Return key when you are done. Apply a Gradient Overlay and an Inner Shadow style to your "wallpaper " following the settings shown at the bottom of the image below. Press OK. Finally, again enable the link between your "wallpaper" layer and its mask.

Step 35

Let’s do the glare of the screen. With the Pen Tool, make the shape of the glare over your "wallpaper" layer. Rename the layer to "glare" and apply a Gradient Overlay Style following the settings of the image below. Turn the Fill of the layer to 0%. Press OK.

Step 36

Now go and download the USB, HDMI, and MOTOROLA logos. Paste them into your "phone.psd". Using Cmd/Ctrl + T to transform, and the Cmd/Ctrl key while transforming to distort your logos to match the perspective of the phone. Place all the logos in a group named "Logos". All the shapes of the logos should be color grey 959595.

Step 37

Now do exactly the same with the icons. The only difference is that you will have to draw them with your Pen Tool using a reference image. Make sure the four icons are color grey d7d7d7. Make a group with all the icons and name it "Big Icons". Do the same with the three big icons, but make them color white FFFFFF, and set their Fill to 50%.

Step 38

If you are still here with me, it means you are an extremely patient and detail-oriented person, so let’s take it a little bit further and add more detail to make our phone look even more life like. Make a new 100 x 100 px document with a black background. In the menu, go to Filter/ Noise Add Noise following the settings on the image below. Press OK. In the menu go to Edit / Define pattern, and name it "Noise".

Step 39

Go back to your "phone.psd" file. Double click the first layer you created, "MAIN BG", and apply a Pattern Overlay style with the pattern "Noise" that you just created following the settings on the image below. Press OK. This will add some texture to the plastic.

Step 40

While pressing the Cmd/Ctrl key, select the Vector Mask Thumbnail of that same "MAIN BG" layer. This will select the entire phone. Now press the "Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer" button at the bottom of the layers window and select "Foto Filter.” This creates an adjustment layer named "Photo Filter 1" over the "MAIN BG" layer. Drag "Photo Filter 1" to place it between the "USB plug" group and the "display" group.

Double click the thumbnail of the "Photo Filter 1" layer and the "adjustments" window will pop up. Apply the same settings as those on the image below.

Step 41

Using the Shift Key, select all layers and groups, from "MAIN BG" to "Big Icons", and press Cmd/Ctrl + G to make a group with everything inside. Name that group "Final Phone". Drag the "Final Phone" group to the "Create a New Layer" button at the bottom of the layers window. This will duplicate the "Final Phone" group. Select the new "Final Phone Copy" group and press Cmd/Ctrl + E to merge all layers inside that group into one layer. Rename it to "Reflected". Select the "Reflected" layer and go to the "Edit / Transform / Flip Vertical" menu.

Step 42

Now drag the "Reflected" layer to its final position. Press the "Add Vector Mask" button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Ensure you have white as your foreground color and black as your background color. Within the Mask Thumbnail of the "reflection" layer selected, drag from top to bottom. Finally, paint the Background layer with gray "c2c2c2".

Final Image

Garry Milne: Skating His Way to the Top

Like his creations, there are many layers to Garry Milne. While some of his images may have dark undertones, Milne is anything but. Here he talks about his inspirations, skateboarding and the importance of being nice to people.

Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man.” If such a statement is true then we’re in for a hell of a ride with UK-based Illustrator Garry Milne as he describes his usual outfit as being a skin tight zebra print jumpsuit. That was quickly followed by the obligatory, “I’m kidding,” of course but still…

So do I start with Garry Milne the person or Garry Milne the artist? Both are equally fascinating. Here are some quick facts about him: he enjoys a “super nice” White Russian, can flick his slipper into the air and catch it back on his foot, and chose the 1990s hip hop anthem “Jump” by Kriss Kross as the music to feature on his MySpace page, though on that same page he says his favorite kind of music is “anything with a pan-pipe solo long enough to make me question what I’ve done with my life.” If that alone doesn’t endear you to him then maybe I should mention the fact that his intricate, complicated illustrations have been featured in publications such as 4 Talent Magazine and The Skinny’s Student Guide.

The Secret’s Out

Milne currently resides in a flat in Hertfordshire with his girlfriend Nadine who is pursuing a PhD in Psychology. It makes you wonder if she can read into Milne’s complicated illustrations and discern anything about the inner workings of his mind. He assures me that he never puts any secret images or inside jokes into his client work but “that’s not a bad idea, though…maybe [I] should!” He says he leaves the “strange stuff” for his personal work.

As a child he said he was loud and outgoing, and credits that to having an older brother to look after him. In addition to his older brother Stuart, his family consists of his parents who have always been extremely supportive of his artistic endeavors, allowing him to “make a mess of their living room for many years.” Stuart, who has featured some of his photography work alongside his brother’s in an exhibit titled “Milne vs. Milne”, was a different story in Milne’s early days. According to him, his older sibling taught him his first lesson in perseverance, in a way that only an older sibling can:

"I drew a picture of the Bushwackers- a WWF wrestling tag team back in the day. I was so pleased with it and I was showing everyone. It was sooo bad but everyone was being nice. I showed my brother and he couldn’t keep the laughter in – he cracked up. I got in a strop and tore it up. The next day I did another one which was better than the first. I think that taught me a valuable lesson about not settling on your first attempts."

Lessons Learned

Interesting enough, Milne passes that “big brother torch” to those starting out in design, “Don’t give up. No matter how unlikely it seems – remember why you started art/design – because you love it and things will happen. Also be nice to people. It’s a real cliché, but knowing the right people is a big part of the game.”

Right now Milne has a day job as a Graphic Designer at a local company where he does the typical promotional and corporate work. It’s at night and some weekends when he does his illustrating and creates pieces like Day Dreamer, Head or Heart and Piece Offering. I wouldn’t have been doing my job if I didn’t be a pain and ask him to explain that one, particularly because he describes it on his website as a “Personal comment on how I sometimes avoid explaining my work.” Milne played nice and answered the question for me, but I feel like I’d somehow be taking away some of the mystique if I revealed his answer.

To prepare for his career Milne went to school and then stayed on to 6th form before heading to college to do an art foundation degree. After that he went on to university to study graphic design and Illustration. While at university he chose to specialize in illustration, but also learned a lot about design. About that he says, “That has helped me develop my style and also helps when it comes to commissions – I’m not just providing illustrations.”

After university he started doing some freelance design work and then concentrated on illustration. As is common, it took a while for him to get work and be noticed. This is where his big brother’s earlier lesson in perseverance kicks in again. “Once I was given a few briefs – more seemed to follow. I think it’s just a case of proving you can deliver a job and being in mind when the right job comes up.”

Patience is a Virtue

So far Milne’s been lucky enough to have fairly long deadlines when it comes to his work so it lets him take on more than one project at a time. While he handles those deadlines like the consummate professional that he is, he admits that they can be hard sometimes. "If you get really into a brief sometimes you’d just like to continue working on it, maybe change some things – take it further."

Luckily, though, Milne says he seems to get “fairly open briefs [and] usually the client tell me their loose idea or some aspects they want featured and I get to work.” He always starts with pencil drawings that are then scanned in and colored on the computer. Though he typically has a rough composition in mind when he starts, that often changes while he works using pencils, pens, paintbrushes, a scanner and a Mac. When in the need for some inspiration he turns to his large collection of art books as seeing the work of others makes him want to create something of his own.

Working on that Mac has sped things up when it comes to the amount of time he spends on each illustration and the longest he’s ever spend on a computer-generated one is two weeks. The longest he’s ever spent on one piece was a painting that took him two months. While painting is his favorite artistic activity, it’s something where he finds he lacks the patience he’s mastered with his illustrations. “I really enjoy painting. When you can see the effort that’s gone into a painting it’s hard not to appreciate it on some level. I’m a little impatient though – I want to see the end result now.”

One of Milne’s current projects is a series of skateboards for Motive which will be released soon. Skateboarding is another passion of Milne’s. He’s been very active in it since he was a child and even gave up playing football and basketball in school in order to pursue that more. There was a time when he thought about pursuing a professional career in it but that “didn’t really work out.” While participating in skateboarding may not have worked out career wise, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t still played a big part in the career path he did choose. The Motive project won’t be his first foray into designing boards. He’s also done a series for Discipline, which he features on his website.

I really enjoy painting. When you can see the effort that’s gone into a painting it’s hard not to appreciate it on some level.

A Clean Slate

Other than skateboarding, Milne never really set out into the world with a clear idea of what he wanted to pursue. Maybe that’s why his favorite part of any project is the blank page. That page doesn’t stay blank for long, though at the moment his workload is heavy since he’s juggling a full-time job and his freelancing. Eventually, though, he’d like to be able to devote more time to his freelance illustrating, painting and exhibiting.

At 27, though, Milne has learned some hard lessons about the design world. “Don’t take things too literally. You can get promised a lot of things and sadly they rarely come through. That sounds a bit pessimistic but just don’t get too excited about things until they’re definitely happening.” It’s safe to say, though, that things are definitely happening with this brilliant illustrator.

More From Garry Milne

On the Web

Check out Garry Milne on the web.

Psdtuts Presents Exclusive Wallpapers by Jennifer Cirpici

Another extremely talented designer by the name of Jennifer Cirpici has volunteered to create two exclusive wallpapers for the readers of PsdTuts+. This months exclusive wallpapers feature something for everyone, on one hand we have a beautiful scenery shot with lots of bright colors, and on the other we have something more textured and rough with lots of interesting paint effects. So make sure to check this out, download the wallpaper and then view Jennifer’s other art.

Exclusive Wallpaper – Breaking Canvas

I always wanted to make a Digital Artwork with a lot of bright colors because colors are associated with happiness. This is a promotional poster for my portfolio website. The concept behind this is that the guy you’re seeing doesn’t want to be stuck in a canvas like the animals but wants to jump out of it, into the freedom, not being tied to strict rules. I always work with a concept; I want my work to be more than just something you can see on the screen but also something to think about, to inspire people.

Exclusive Widescreen Wallpaper – What Guys Dream Of

For this illustration, I was inspired by Zach Bush and his matte paintings. The concept about this piece is brought out from books like ”Where is Waldo?” I wanted to create this surreal landscape with a woman in it, to see the woman you really have search for it. I made this with my wacom Intous 3 tablet and Photoshop, using different stocks on sxc, crestock, and cgtextures.

Some of Jennifer’s Other Work

Swiss Army Beetle

Cheesecake

Dance With The Devil

Special Thanks to Jennifer

Once again I’d like to thank Jennifer for participating and giving the readers an awesome new wallpaper for their desktops. Please make sure to visit Jennifer’s portfolio and check out some of her great art.

Also stay tuned for some more exclusive high quality wallpaper projects in the near
future!

Create a Graffiti-Inspired Illustration Using Photoshop and Illustrator

Photoshop and Illustrator compliment each other in many ways. Today we will demonstrate how you can use them in tandem to draw and color a graffiti-inspired illustration. Let’s get started!

Before You Begin

Before you begin, it’s always good to do a bit of planning. For graffiti art, do some research and keep it in mind when you begin planning out your sketch. Use thicker lines for the outline, thinner lines for the inner details, and wispy lines for more defined creases.

Step 2

Sketch out a drawing and scan it at 300 DPI. When you’re finished, go ahead and make a new document in Illustrator. Go to File > Place and place your image on the canvas.

Step 2

Step 3

Use your favorite brush to do the thick outline of your character and add in the face’s main details such as eyes, mouth, ears and nose. I changed up the eyes and nose for a more flowing appearance. The brushes I used are just the default circles.

Step 3

Step 4

To add a more Graffiti look to your piece, you’ll create five brushes of your choice but keep in mind to make sure they have some sort of point at the end, and also make one white. Now use these brushes to trace the lines of your sketch.

Step 4

Step 5

Once you’ve traced your sketch, it’s now time to start adding in the details. I’ve added speckles to the tongue, eyebrows and neck while adding rough lines to parts of the piece. I also decided to add white highlights to it so it would balance out the dense look. Once you’ve finished with the line art, save this Illustrator file and bring it in to Photoshop to add color. You could do this in Illustrator if you wanted to but for the purposes of this tutorial we will do it in Photoshop.

Step 5

Step 6

Now open up your lovely file in Photoshop. First, I choose where and how I’m going to incorporate my base colors in my piece. I decide to make the outline a darkish brown, while highlights and coloring will be a mix of light brown and blue. I start by holding down Cmd/Ctrl and clicking on my line art layer to make a selection. With the selection still active, delete the line art layer, make a new one and fill it you’re your desired color.

Step 6

Step 7

Next, choose your base color. For mine, the face will be colored a light brown. First, make a new layer underneath the line art, then take the Magic Wand Tool and select the whole inside of the face. Go to Select > Modify > Expand and expand the selection by 1 or 2 pixels. This is so we won’t have ugly spaces between the coloring and the outline while keeping a smooth appearance. Repeat until every space of this color is filled in, which should only be the parts you’ve decided will have it.

Step 7

Step 8

Go ahead and choose a slightly darker version of the base color you used, we will be adding the shadows. Pick places where you think shading would look best and use the pen tool to create fills.

Step 8

Step 9

Take your third color, which will be for filling certain areas of the piece and making it more colorful. As I said, I chose a blue in which I colored places like Eyebrows, tongue, and certain places of the neck. Remember to add a darker shade of blue for shadows in these areas as well.

Step 9

Step 10

I chose to put more highlights in this piece, which usually gives it a more vibrant and detailed look. I decided to put blue highlights under the line art in creases to add to the appearance.

Step 10

Step 11

Color in everything else you’ve missed, but remember to balance the colors evenly throughout the whole piece.

Step 11

Step 12

We can’t just have a plain background, right? Add a gradient to the background. I chose white and blue, the same colors I used for shading.

Step 12

Step 13

To outline the figure, flatten your coloring layers and outline together to form one layer, which you can easily do by just Right Click > Merge Down. Next Cmd/Ctrl + Click on that layer and go to Select > Modify > Expand and expand by 8 pixels. Make a new layer underneath your character and fill it with white.

Step 13

Step 14

Take your pen tool and start drawing the desired shapes underneath both the white outline and figure layers. Then fill it in with a color in sync with the rest of your piece. You can keep adding to this layer until you achieve a desired result. One thing to keep in mind though, background effects for single illustrations always make it look more appealing.

Step 14

Final Image

I’m very pleased you’ve read through the whole tutorial, and hopefully you got some needed tips on how to make a full-blown illustration in the Graffiti style. There are tons of different versions of this style, but I wanted to share my own with all of you and the process I go through. Make sure to keep experimenting and make up your own crazy elements to which you could take to the streets!

Final Image

Quick Tip: Create a Realistic Credit Card in Photoshop

In today’s quick tip tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a realistic-looking credit card using Photoshop and Illustrator in just a few short steps. Let’s get started!

Step 1

To speed up the process, we will begin by putting together some basic graphics in Illustrator. Make a 3.5in by 1.9in rounded rectangle, then fill the object with a color or gradient of your choice.

Draw some curvy lines as shown using the Pen Tool. Then go to Object > Blend > Blend > Blend Options > Specific Steps, enter 30 and click OK. Make two different lines with different colors.

Select the line art that you just created and apply a clipping mask using the shape of the credit card. Make sure that the credit card shape is placed on top of your line art and that you’ve duplicated your credit card background as well.

Note: if you are using Illustrator CS5, select the credit card and click the Draw Inside option to Paste (Cmd/Ctrl + V) inside the objects.

Use the Pen Tool to draw the ribbon as shown.

Step 2

We are now finished with Illustrator. Let’s get started by opening Photoshop, creating a new canvas that’s a bit larger than your Illustrator document and then by copying and pasting each element that you created in Illustrator individually. At this stage, you should already have some logos and graphics that you would like to place on the card. If not, go ahead and create some. Add your graphics to the card, as shown. Feel free to use the following fonts in your card as well. Download them here and here.

Step 3

Now it’s time to add your text. Choose the Oval Typeface using #f1efed. Type out some random numbers and a name. Then apply the following layer styles.

Step 4

Now it’s starting to look more like a credit card, let’s add some shadows to make it look more realistic. Duplicate each layer, change the font’s color to black and turn off the Layer Styles, this will give us the base shadow. Now move the shadow numbers about 3-5 pixels to the right and 3 pixels down (do the same with the name as well), now go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, then type in Angle: -34 and Distance: 10px; set the Layer Blend to Multiply and 50% Opacity. For final touches of the front side, go ahead and look at your reference credit card and add an expiration date wherever you want it placed and you will be done with the front side, make a new folder and drop all the layers inside and name it FRONT.

Step 5

Now, let’s work on the backside of the credit card. Duplicate the credit card base, move the layer to the FRONT folder, then Right Click on the layer and rasterize, make a selection of it and fill it up with a color you used on the front side (I used the bright red on the top left of the credit card’s front side). Note: don’t use gradients for the back.

Go to the FRONT folder, duplicate the text layers that you used Layer Styles (credit card numbers, name and expiration date in my case) on and drag them to the BACK folder, then flip them Horizontally and change the color of the text to the same as the credit card’s back.

Now we need to change the Layer Styles of the text layers to make them look as if they were stamped and look as the reference credit card, Double Click on the layer and change the values as shown below, do the same for the other layers.

Step 6

Now the credit card looks like your reference, go ahead and arrange the rest of the elements you made for the back side of the credit card.

Some elements like the signature rectangle can be done in Photoshop, if you have a logo of your own you can rotate it 45 degrees and duplicate several times and make a pattern, then select each one and change the color of it with Hue and Saturation (Cmd/Ctrl + U), then Merge them all together, in another layer make a rectangle the size you want for the signature and fill it with white, make a selection of rectangle > select the pattern layer and click (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + I) to inverse the selection and Erase, then merge both layers.

To make the signature make another layer, select a hard black brush and make a random signature. Finally, add the security codes.

Step 7

If you like, you could end the tutorial here but now we are going to add some perspective to the card. Duplicate each folder, then Right Click on the group folder and select Merge Group, do the same for each folder. Now we have 2 layers, one of the front and one for the back of the credit card, select both layers and Click Cmd/Ctrl + T to transform and make them smaller, then rotate a little and Right Click to select Perspective and transform as desired.

Step 8

Select a layer of the credit card (no matter if it’s front or back) and duplicate, make a selection of it and fill it with a light grey, then move it about 2px to the right. To make the shadow of the card, Duplicate the credit card and make a selection of it and fill it with black, then Click Cmd/Ctrl + T to transform > Right click and select Distort and transform as desired; Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > 10 px radius; set the Layer Blend to Multiply at 30% Opacity.

To make the Reflection, Duplicate both credit card layers, select both layers and flip them vertically (Cmd + T > Right Click > Flip Vertical) and arrange them on the tip of the credit card; select a Soft Eraser Brush with 30% Opacity and erase each layer to make the reflection.

Step 9

Let’s make some lights and shadows, make a selection of the credit card, then make a new layer, select a white soft brush, Normal Mode at 20% Opacity and on the top left corner add some light, then change color to black and add some shadows on the lower right corner.

Final Image

Make a background and you are done! To make images of each side of the credit card just turn off the front side layer, remember to turn on or off the corresponding reflection layer as well; you can use this tutorial to make a credit card icon; remember that you can make different color credit cards by playing with Hue and Saturation.

Dried Ink Stains: 20 High Resolution Brushes – Premium Psdpack

Today, we have a new set of Premium Brushes available for Psd Premium Members. This set was crafted by Grant Friedman of Colorburned and includes 20 High Resolution Photoshop Ink Stain Brushes. If your next project calls for a grungy, stained look, then this set is perfect for you. Learn more at the jump!

High Resolution Ink Stain Brushes

This new Premium Psdpack Pack is available for Psd Premium Members today and includes 20 high resolution brushes ranging somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 by 2500 pixels. Each brush was created using varied mixtures of ink and water. This mixture was applied in layers which allowed the stains to dry and mix together in a wide range of opacities. Members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now! A preview of the brushes is below.

This new Premium Psdpack Pack was created by Grant Friedman of Colorburned and is available for Psd Premium Members to download today. Grant is also the Editor of Psdtuts+ and creates loads of professional quality Photoshop brushes on a regular basis. We’re excited to partner up with him on this release.

Psd Premium Membership

As you know, we run a Premium membership system that costs $9 a month (or $22 for 3 months!), which gives members access to the Source files for tutorials as well as periodic extra tutorials, and Premium Packs like this one! If you’re a Premium member you can log in and download this set. If you’re not a member, you can of course join today!

Create a Realistic iMac Icon in Photoshop

There is a lot that you can do in Photoshop with just a few select tools. Today, we will demonstrate how to create a realistic iMac icon in Photoshop that includes a 27-inch screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

Photo of iMac box (for reference)
Black & Blue Icons
Wallpaper (or any other you like)

Step 1

Create new document 2048px x 1400px. This resolution is set according to the approximate dimensions of the reference image. If you want to create a smaller illustration, just adjust dimensions of workspace and reference image to your needs.

Step 2

Before you begin, remember to keep your layers organized into folders. This is very important as this tutorial will require you to create many of them.

Step 3: Screen

Place the reference image onto the workspace and center it if necessary. Then select the Pen Tool (P) and then Freeform Pen Tool in Options panel. Then enable the Magnetic check box in the same panel. This enables Magnetic Freeform Pen tool, which will follow the part of image and create Custom Shapes in seconds.

Step 4

Create a new folder inside the iMac folder and name it Leg. Select the Magnetic Freeform Pen Tool and start drawing the shape. We are using the freeform tool to create smooth curves. When you are dragging the mouse over the border between the image and white space the anchor points are just copying the shape of it. But as you can see the tool is not so precise on straight lines so it creates too many anchor points there. The solution is to press Alt + Click to start the straight line and then Click to place the ending anchor point and get back to Freeform mode. After closing your path, feel free to remove some of the useless anchor points and simplify your path a bit.

Double click the layer with new shape to open the layer styles dialog and create a new gradient with following values and positions: #8b8b8b at 0%, #CCCCCC at 7% and 49%, #666666 at 54% #CCCCCC at 58% and #CCCCCC at 100%. This will create shadows and highlights at their place.

Create new layer just above the base shape. We need this layer for adding a shadow at the top of leg because this additional one has different direction and shape than the gradient effect.

As the shadow will be inside the base shape the best way to keep it inside the shape is to create a layer mask. As the shape itself has one by default we don’t need to create a new one. Select the base shape’s layer and press Alt + Drag the layer mask to the new layer above. This shortcut will create a copy of the layer mask on new layer.

Select the layer and then select the Brush Tool (B) with 0% – 10% hardness and big diameter and paint the shadow in top right corner of the leg.

Copy the base shape layer by selecting Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + J and in the upcoming dialog change the name. Move the layer above the shadow layer (#3). Select the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select particular anchor points and edit the shape to create top side of the leg. Create gradient layer effect with values #ced2db at 0% and 38%, and #717073 at 100%. Create two new layers above new shape. Name them Highlight (#1) and Shadow (#2). Copy the layer mask to them (Alt + Drag). With Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) create marquee for the shadow – it can be wider than base shape because the layer mask will hide everything outside. Fill it with #333333. Disable marquee, select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply blur according to the shadow. Just play with the value to get most realistic effect of shadow.

The highlight layer is pretty similar. Copy layer mask. Create marquee with the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Fill it with #CCCCCC. Disable marquee, select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Now apply little blur about 3. Create a selection with the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) – Top border should be directly on the end of blur and the bottom border should be one height out of the blur. With the marquee select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply the same value as for the shadow.

Step 5

Start by drawing the basic shape of the display. Select the Magnetic Freeform Pen Tool and start drawing the shape. Try to create as few anchor points as possible by Alt + Clicking for straight lines. When finishing the shape adjust anchor points to fit

Add a Gradient Layer style with following values to the shape: #333333 at 0% and 13%, #b5b5b5 at 15%, #666666 at 17%, #999999 at 20% and #CCCCCC at 100%. Set the angle of gradient effect to 77 degrees.

Now create a new layer above the shape and copy the layer mask to it. Select Brush Tool (B) with hardness about 5% and color #CCCCCC and paint shadow in the top right corner. Select the display shape and duplicate it by Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + J. Move the layer above the one with shadow. Move and adjust anchor points with Direct Selection Tool (A) to create front side of the display. Create a Gradient Layer Effect with following values: #999999 at 0%, #e3e2e6 at 100% and set angle to 10 degrees.

Step 6

Duplicate layer (Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + J) and set up Color Overlay layer style effect to #000000. Select the shape with Path selection Tool (A) and select subtract mode. Select Rectangle tool (U) and cover about 20% of lower part of screen. Press Combine. Rename this layer to Display Glass.

Place your Wallpaper onto the workspace and transform (Edit > Transform > Perspective) it according to the perspective.

Create new folder and name it Menu. Create new layer in this folder and name it Menu too. Apply layer mask in shape of transformed wallpaper on it – select the layer and then select Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Create selection in shape of the transformed wallpaper and select Add layer mask option at the bottom of layers panel.

Select Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and create selection for menu in top part of the display. Select Gradient Tool (G) and fill that selection with gradient from #d1d0d1 to #ffffff. The darker part of the gradient is the farther one.

Select Ellipse Tool (U) and create small ellipse which will substitute the logo in tray bar. Move it to the position at top left corner and adjust its size (Cmd/Ctrl + T).

Select Horizontal Type Tool (T) and create the menu titles such as Preview File Edit Display Window Help or whatever. Move it next to the logo at top left corner and also adjust its size (Cmd/Ctrl + T). With Horizontal Type Tool (T) selected create new text layer with time as12:15 or whatever and place it in the top right corner of display. As you can see the text doesn’t respect the perspective much. Select Edit > Transform > Skew transform and adjust the shape of this two text layers to fit the perspective.

Select Rectangle Tool (U) and create dock shape using #FFFFFF. Set the transparency of the shape layer to 50%. Select Direct Selection Tool (A) and adjust the positions of anchor points to fit the shape of the Dock.

Now we need the Black & Blue Icons (this tutorial works with Add On 1). Place the icons in the row. Merge them (select layers to merge and Cmd/Ctrl + E) for easier and consistent transformation. Name this icon pack layer Icons. Copy the layer mask from menu layer to this layer. Change the size of the icon pack (Edit > Free Transform or Cmd/Ctrl + T) and adjust the perspective (Edit > Transform > Perspective) and use Cmd/Ctrl + T to polish the finish. Duplicate Layer Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + J and name it Icons Ref. Select Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical to mirror the icons vertically and move them below the original ones. Adjust the perspective by Edit > Transform > Skew and set the Opacity of the layer around 45%.

Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) and set the radius to 5. Create two thin shapes for devices and place them on the side of the display.

Create a new layer and name it Reflection. Cmd/Ctrl + Click on the black screen layer (Display Glass layer) mask to create selection of display then select Polygonal Lasso Tool (L). Hold Alt and create selection around the reflection to subtract the part that is not needed for the reflection. With reflection selection still active select Gradient Tool (G) and fill the selection with gradient of following values: #FFFFFF at 0% and opacity 100%, #FFFFFF at 100% and opacity 0%. Then to get better result select Eraser Tool (E) with hardness set to 0% and size about 150 and erase the bottom border of the reflection.

Select Ellipse Tool (U) and create base shape for apple. With Ellipse Tool (U) still selected enable Subtract mode and create three new shapes over the base one to subtract holes from it. Switch to Create New Shape Layer mode back from Subtract mode. Create new ellipse for tip of the apple. Select Convert Point Tool and click on top and bottom anchor points of the ellipse to remove curves. Move the tip to the top of the apple. If the color of the apple is other than grey change it to #333333. Now place the finished apple to the bottom center of the display.

Step 7: Mouse

The mouse will be made from fewer layers than the display. It will contain three shape layers for base parts of the mouse and two layers for top reflection and logo.

Select the Ellipse Tool (U) and create an ellipse that mostly fits the shape of the mouse. Select the Direct Selection Tool (A) and adjust its position and shape to completely fit the mouse shape. In this case it is easier to use ellipse tool (U) instead of magnetic freeform pen (P) because the shape is small and contains four almost symmetrical anchor points.

Create a Gradient overlay layer style with following values: #e4e4e4 at 0%, #aaabaf at 46% and 52%, #333333 at 100% and set the angle of gradient to -87.

Duplicate the base layer and add anchor points (Add Anchor Point Tool) to the bottom border line. Edit the anchor points to adjust shape by using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and Convert Point Tool.

Create a Gradient overlay layer style with following values: #cccae0 at 0%, #d8d8e2 at 100% and set the angle of gradient to 90.

Create a Drop Shadow layer style with the following values: Blend Mode: Multiply and #000000, Opacity 75%, Angle 95 degrees, Distance 2px, Spread 0%, Size 1px.

Duplicate the layer and remove effects. Set the color of this shape layer to #dbdbe7. Adjust the anchor points’ position and curve with Direct Selection Tool (A) and Convert Point Tool to create top reflection of the mouse.

Ctrl+ Click on the layer mask of this reflection shape to create selection of it. Create a new layer for the light reflection. With selection still active select Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and with Alt pressed reduce the size of the selection to almost fit the light reflection. Select Brush Tool (B) and #FFFFFF color. Set the brush hardness to 0% and paint the light reflection.

To create the logo on top just select Ellipse Tool (U) and create ellipse shape. Add some Anchor points with Add Anchor Point Tool. Select Convert Point Tool and recreate the shape of apple to fit the perspective.

Step 8: Keyboard

The last step of creating the realistic iMac icon is to make the keyboard. This part will work with shapes, gradients, Magnetic Freeform Pen Tool and some layer effects. So if you don’t have it yet create folder and name it Keyboard.

Select Magnetic Freeform Pen Tool. Create Curves by Clicking + dragging and straight lines by Alt + Clicking. Create as few anchor points as possible but stay focused on the shape.

Select the Ellipse Tool (U) and create the side button shape. Apply a Gradient Overlay Effect to it with following values: #c6c6c6 at 0%, #666666 at 5%, #999999 at 15%, #dfdfdf at 30%, #999999 at 45%, #cccccc at 50%, #999999 at 55%, #dfdfdf at 70%, #999999 at 85%, #666666 at 85%, #c6c6c6 at 100%. The gradient is symmetrical so every color on the left side has the equal one on the right. Set the gradient Style to Angle and Angle to 120.

Duplicate the shape layer. Transform (Cmd/Ctrl + T) the size to create a small center of the button. Add the Stroke layer effect to it. Set the Size to 2, Position to Inside and Color to #5f5f5f. Set opacity of the shape layer to 28%.

Select Pen Tool (P) and create the shape for the keyboard bottom shadow. Adjust the anchor points with Direct Selection Tool (A) and curves with Convert Point Tool. Add Gradient Layer Effect to it with following values: #000000 at 0%, #545559 at 72% and #545559 at 100%. Set the Gradient Angle to 88.

Select the Pen Tool (P) or Magnetic Freeform Pen. Create top of the keyboard. I created six anchor points – two anchor points for each curve. Select the Direct Selection Tool (A) and Convert Point Tool and adjust curves to fit the ideal shape. Add the Gradient layer Effect with following values: #9b9b9b at 0%, #747474 at 100%. Set the Gradient Angle to 85.

Duplicate the shape layer. Reduce size of the shape a bit (Cmd/Ctrl + T). Select Direct Selection Tool (A) and Convert Point Tool and adjust the position of the anchor points and curves at the corners. Set the shape color to #f2f2f2. Now we have Keyboard ready for curving the keys and add some finishing layers to it.

Select Pen Tool and enable Subtract From The Shape Area tool option. Look on the reference image and try to reduce as much of the shape as possible but with keeping the look still in the shape of keyboard and its keys. The most common shape you can subtract is a rectangle so create rectangles to subtract the holes between particular keys. Don’t forget of huge place around the arrows. During the steps or at the end of subtracting, click on Combine.

Create New Layer (Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + J). Copy the layer mask of the keys shape layer to it (Alt + Drag). Select Brush Tool (B) set Hardness to 0% and Size to 20px. Set color to #a7a7a7 and draw the side shadow of the keys.

Step 9: Polish

The last part of this tutorial is focused on the reflections and shadows casted by the iMac and its accessories. Duplicate the display folder. Keep it selected and merge it (Cmd/Ctrl + E). Move it to the reflections folder. Flip the layer Vertically (Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical). Move the image to the bottom corner of the original. Select Warp Transform (Edit > Transform > Warp) and transform the reflection image to face the bottom shape of the original image.

Select Eraser Tool (E) and set Hardness to 0% and Size about 250px. Erase about half of the reflection image. Set Opacity of the brush to 50% and erase the remaining reflection. As the opacity is set to 50% the eraser tool will remove only half of it so the image will be transparent and less visible. Adjust the visibility of reflection or even its position.

Duplicate the folder of the Mouse. Merge it (Cmd/Ctrl + E). Move it to the reflections folder. Select Warp Transform (Edit > Transform > Warp) and transform the reflection image to face the bottom of the mouse.

Select Eraser Tool (E) and with Hardness set to 0% and size about 250px. Set brush Opacity to 50% and erase the remaining reflection. The effect is the same as for the Display. Also adjust the position and layer opacity.

The reflection of the keyboard can be little bit tricky because of its shape so instead of duplicating layers we are going to draw the reflection ourselves.

Select the Pen Tool (P). Create a shape for the keyboard reflection. Just copy the border of the keyboard and make some space at the bottom according to the image to the left.

Select the Shape Layer and apply following Gradient Layer Effect values: #cdcdcd at 0%, #cdcdcd at 56%, #343434 at 60%, #cdcdcd at 63%, #cdcdcd at 74%, #141415 at 79%, #141415 at 100%.

Rasterize shape layer (right click on the layer and select Rasterize). Select Eraser Tool (E) with hardness set to 0% and size to 150. Erase the bottom part of the reflection according to the shape of the keyboard. Set Eraser opacity to 50% and partly erase the remaining parts of reflection.

If you don’t have one create folder and name it Shadows. It should be beneath the iMac, Mouse and Keyboard folders and over the reflections folder.

Create subfolder in the Shadows folder and name it Magic Mouse. Create two layers inside this folder and name them Lighter and Darker. The darker one should be above the lighter layer.

Select Lighter layer. Select Brush Tool (B). Set size to 20px and hardness to 30%. Set color to #828385. Paint shadow under the mouse and set the layer opacity to 20%.

Select Darker layer. Select Brush Tool (B). Keep the size of 20px and hardness of 30%. Set color to #343435 and paint the darker shadow. Adjust position of both layers.

Create new layer in shadows folder beneath the Mouse folder and name it keyboard. Select Brush Tool (B) with Hardness set to 0%. The size should be set according to the part of the shadow. Set Color to #00000. Select Eraser Tool (E) and erase overdrawed parts. The last thing is to adjust position if it doesn’t fit.

Create a new layer in shadows folder beneath the keyboard layer. Select Brush Tool (B) with hardness set to 0%. The size depends on the part of the shadow as before but keep it small about 15px, paint the shadow at the bottom of the leg. Make it copy the shape of the leg and smoothly disappear at the sides.

Final Image

Quick Tip: Lock Your SWF to a Specific Domain Name

Do you want to keep your SWF exclusive to your site? In this Quick Tip, we’ll look at how to use a “site lock” to stop people downloading your SWF and embedding it on a different website.

Final Result Preview

Here is the file running on an incorrect domain:

We’ll build an animated display to be activated when the SWF is on the wrong domain, as in the above example. Saying that, if you just want to learn about the site lock code, skip to Step 5.

Step 1: Tweener

Before you get started writing code and adding designs to the stage, you must first get Tweener. For this project I used open source, which can be used for open and commercial projects. Caurina tweener is available a code.google.com.

After you have downloaded Tweener, just copy and paste it to your project folder. Remember, the folder must be named caurina, inside the folder there must be a folder called transitions, and inside of that a load of Flash .as class files.

With the first step done, we can get on with coding and designing the file.

Step 2: File Size and Layers

The file size is irrelevant. Domain locker’s property is to lockdown your SWF, or component, in case someone has downloaded it from you without your permission.

For this example, I have used a stage size of 540 x 400, you can use whatever size you want.

After you’ve selected the file size, create 3 new layers as in the image below. Always keep your Actions Layer empty. Organised stages are much easier to work with and understand.

Step 3: The Censor System

After you have created the 3 layers, create 2 new simple movieclips. Place them wherever you want, whatever size you want. 40 pixel height by 10 pixel width let’s say, with no stroke. Positioning is not important, because we will be placing these movieclips by actionscript later on.

Now, comes the most important aspect of these movieclips, the registration point. Look at the pictures below, when converting your bitmaps to movieclips, remember to do the following else the file will not run at it’s full potential:

And of course, the instance names:

Congratulations! You’ve added the boxes that will shut the page down, in case the domain is wrong. Now, add a dynamic text box to the middle of the stage or anywhere you want it to be. This text box will inform the user who downloaded the file illegally that the file is protected by the script.. Give it an instance name of warning_txt

Step 4: Loading Necessary Classes

Now, once you’ve created the movieclips and the text box, you are ready to code. On the locked actions layer, press F9, and add the following code:

import flash.events.*;
import flash.display.LoaderInfo;
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.net.navigateToURL;
import flash.net.URLRequest;
import flash.net.URLVariables;
import caurina.transitions.Tweener

flash.events.*; loads all the events we will probably need.
flash.display.LoaderInfo; brings up all information we need to load and that will load with the file.
flash.flash.display.MovieClip; loads all the events we will come across while using movieclips.
import caurina.transitions.Tweener; loads our tween engine, and the animation of the content blocking bars.

The rest of the events loaded are needed so that Flash gets access to the page URL in the bar.

Step 5: Checking for a Specific Page

var url:String = stage.loaderInfo.url;

Let’s suppose the SWF is loaded on the page http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html. Line 9 retrieves this URL and assigns it to the string called url.

Step 6: Cause and Effect

Now that Flash knows where to get the URL from, it’s time to compare that with our web site’s URL, and take action if they match or don’t

function pageDomainCheckInit(event:Event):void {
	if (url != "http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html") {

		warning_txt.text="This file is running on the wrong URL. Content Access Restricted!";
		closeBoxTop.x = 0
		closeBoxTop.visible = true;
		closeBoxTop.height= stage.stageHeight/2
		Tweener.addTween(closeBoxTop,{width:stage.stageWidth, alpha: 0.8, time:1, transition:"easeInOutExpo"});

		closeBoxBottom.x = stage.stageWidth
		closeBoxBottom.visible = true;
		closeBoxBottom.height= stage.stageHeight/2
		Tweener.addTween(closeBoxBottom,{width:stage.stageWidth, time:1, alpha: 0.8, transition:"easeInOutExpo"});
	} else {

		warning_txt.text=" ";
		closeBoxTop.visible = false;
		closeBoxBottom.visible = false;
	}
	stage.removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, pageDomainCheckInit);
}

stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, pageDomainCheckInit);

We’ve used an event listener to start the check-up of the previously detected URL string. What this basically does, is tell flash that if the string located in the navigation bar (or the URL where the page is hosted on) is not the correct one, then the page will execute the script of blocking out content and warn the user that the domain is incorrect. Otherwise, if the page is correctly placed, the boxes that close up the page will not be shown, neither will the warning text.

After this section is completed, we remove the event listener so the file does not eat up resources by checking and rechecking and rechecking over and over again. Once the string is successfully pulled, compared, and the script is successfully executed, the pageDomainCheckInit event is removed.

if (url != "http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html") {

This section of the code, is basically an “IF NOT”, so if the page is not http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html Flash will start executing functions below the IF, but otherwise – if the SWF is on the correct page – Flash will remove the blocks from stage, and keep everything neat and tidy. You’ll never know it’s there.

Now, let’s see what happens, when the file is not on the right domain.

warning_txt.text="This file is running on the wrong pageDomain. Content Access Restricted!";
closeBoxTop.x = 0
closeBoxTop.visible = true;
closeBoxTop.height= stage.stageHeight/2
Tweener.addTween(closeBoxTop,{width:stage.stageWidth, alpha: 0.8, time:1, transition:"easeInOutExpo"});

closeBoxBottom.x = stage.stageWidth
closeBoxBottom.visible = true;
closeBoxBottom.height= stage.stageHeight/2
Tweener.addTween(closeBoxBottom,{width:stage.stageWidth, time:1, alpha: 0.8, transition:"easeInOutExpo"});

The code you see here, positions the closeBoxes to stage start and stage end (closeBoxTop = 0 , closeBoxBotton = stage.stageWidth), and makes them invisible (closeBoxTop.visible = false, closeBoxBottom.visible = false) this hides them from the stage, keeps them away from view, and does not affect the site’s appearance. Nevertheless, they are there.

If the page, or the component is installed on a different site/domain name which it was not originally intended to be on, they become visible. They expand across the screen, covering it completely and alerting the user that the content is stolen or not where it’s supposed to be.

This measure not only informs the general user that the file is not where it’s supposed to be, but it also blocks out any content from being displayed.

Step 7: Checking for a Specific Domain

What if we only want to check whether the SWF is loaded on a specific domain?

So instead of checking if the SWF is at http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html, we just check if it’s somewhere on the domainName.com website. So it could be at https://private.domainName.com/secure/secret.html and still work.

We can achieve this by editing the code that gets the URL, like so:

var url:String = stage.loaderInfo.url;		//this line was here before!
var urlBeginning:int = url.indexOf("://") + 3;
var urlTermination:int = url.indexOf("/", urlBeginning);
var pageDomain:String = url.substring(urlBeginning, urlTermination);
var lastDot:int = pageDomain.lastIndexOf(".") - 1;
var CharacterAfterDomain:int = pageDomain.lastIndexOf(".", lastDot) + 1;
pageDomain = pageDomain.substring(CharacterAfterDomain, pageDomain.length);

Code explained

Let’s suppose the SWF is loaded on the page http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html. Line 9 retrieves this URL and assigns it to the String called url. That’s the same line we had before.

Line 10 of code retrieves the position within the URL of the ://

Line 11 of code retrieves the first / that appears in the URL after the ://. This is actually very important because between these your actual domain name can be found.

Line 12 of code, is just making the connection inside Flash of what’s in between the :// and the first / getting the domain name String ready for checking in the next step. At this point, with our example, pageDomain has been set to www.domainName.com.

The remaining code checks for the domain name string, what is before it (meaning “www” or “http://www.”) and what is after your domain name (meaning the “.”).

All of these are ignored, so that Flash can define the actual domain name. The domainName.com. Instead of checking:

if (url != "http://www.domainName.com/siteFolder/sitePage.html") {

…we check:

if (pageDomain != "domainName.com") {

The main problem with this technique is that it doesn’t work for domains that have three parts. For example, domainName.co.uk – this code will get “.co.uk” as the value of pageDomain. Still, it is my preferred method, as I will explain in the next step.

Step 8: Utility?

You may have several files on your server, on different domains, this method could have been done in such a manner that the file would be locked on one single and unique URL, as above. But if you were to run your file using deep linking for example, or subdomains, the file would stop working, due to the fact that the link would be invalid to the domain reader.

The fact that the code is if (pageDomain != "domainName.com") is very important. It will permit you to add this code to every file on your site, subdomain, deep link location; as long as your link is on that domain, the file will run, and the domain locker will not trigger!

Still, it can be useful to lock to something more specific than a domain name. Suppose you host your web site on a host like Amazon S3. Then your URL will be something like http://yoursitename.s3.amazonaws.com/folder/page.html. But someone else on Amazon S3 could have the URL http://someoneelse.s3.amazonaws.com/. They could upload the SWF to their site, and since the SWF would still be on amazonaws.com the domain locker would not lock.

Tip

Here’s a little tip you might really love. Let’s presume for a moment that you have the same content on several domain names and you don’t want to add a different code for each of your domains. You can make the file check for multiple domains at once really easily.

Meet the OR command: || Using this command inside the first checker you can add as many domains as you wish. Let me show you how!

Single domain checker:

(pageDomain!="domainName.com")

Multiple domain checker:

(pageDomain!="domainName.com" || "mydomain.com" || "hisdomain.com") really easy, isn’t it?

Conclusion

Well, this wraps it up. As you all know, full protection of flash files is never guaranteed 100%, but this is just another step, in making your site safer, better, and more secure against file theft. Don’t forget to encrypt your files before adding them to the server! Thanks for reading this tutorial, I hope it was useful to you, if you need any further help, don’t hesitate to leave your questions within the comment section.

Using AS3XLS with the Flex Framework: Data Display Options

This tutorial will cover implementation of the AS3XLS ActionScript 3.0 library for the Flex framework. This time, we’ll demonstrate editable properties of the Flex datagrid and the use of various charting components to display associated data imported from Excel .xls files.

View Screencast

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Flash CS5 for Designers: TLF and Hyperlinks + Sample Chapter!

Every type of TLF text in Flash — Read Only, Selectable, and Editable — supports hyperlinks. All it takes to add a link in a text container is to type in your text, select a few words, and enter the desired URL into the Properties panel. Optionally, you can enter a target as well.

The following is an exercise from Foundation Flash CS5 For Designers by Tom Green & Tiago Dias.

Congratulations to our three winners who all won a signed copy! And if you weren’t so lucky this time, help yourself to a sample chapter courtesy of FriendsOfEd. Enjoy!

If you want the whole text container hyperlinked, use the Selection tool to select the container itself, and then use the Link and Target properties in the Advanced Character options area of the Properties panel in the same way.

Applying a hyperlink to text

As easy as this approach is, a downside is the hyperlink underline added to the text. It simply can’t be removed. Still, hyperlinks may be absolute, such as http://www.SuperSite.com/thisPageHere.html, or relative, such as../thisOtherPage.html. For relative paths, it’s important to know that the path will be determined not from the point of view of the SWF, but from the HTML file that contains it.

For example, you may choose to keep all your HTML files in the root of your website. Because you’re an organized developer, you may choose to put all your image files in their own subfolder of the root, and you may just do the same with your Flash content. From a SWF’s point of view, the relative path to all HTML files requires stepping back one folder. So, if a SWF links to one of those pages, you might be tempted to precede the destination’s filename with ../, but don’t! The HTML file that contains the SWF in question is already in the same folder as the destination page, and it’s the containing HTML file’s point of view that matters.

Using ActionScript to Add Hyperlinks to TLF Text

As you saw in the previous example, you can use a piece of text in a container to trigger an event on the Flash stage. It goes without saying that the same piece of text can be used to launch a web page. Rather than rehash everything done previously, open the enclosed TLF_Hyperlink_AS.fla file and let’s see how this is accomplished.

Step 1: Select

Scroll down to line 32 of the Script pane.

Select the word NONE, and change it to UNDERLINE. The result of this change is to actually have the clickable text look like a common HTML hyperlink that uses an underline.

Step 2: LinkElement()

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key twice, and enter the following code block:

var link:LinkElement = new LinkElement();
link.href = "http://www.friendsofed.com";
var linkSpan:SpanElement =new SpanElement();
linkSpan.text = "Click here ";
link.addChild( linkSpan);
var span:SpanElement = new SpanElement();
span.text = " to download the files for this book.";
p.addChild(link);
p.addChild(span);
textFlow.addChild(p);

As you may have gathered, all items in a TLF container are influenced or managed by elements. The first two lines establish that a variable called link will be managed by a LinkElement and will be placed in a LinkElement() object. The next line uses the common href tag from HTML to identify the link.

Now that you have established where the link is going — to the friends of ED website — you create a span for the text that will be clicked, put the text into the span, and use the addChild() method to put the linkSpan on the stage.

The rest of the code adds the remaining text, associates the link to the text in the sentence (p), puts the sentence on the stage, and flows it into the textFlow container.

Step 3: Test

Save the file, and test the movie. The text containing the link, as shown below, is blue and sports a rather spiffy underline. Click the link, and the friends of ED homepage opens.

Using the UNDERLINE constant adds the common HTML underline users are used to.

Import Statements Used for This Exercise

These are the import statements used for this exercise:

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flashx.textLayout.container.ContainerController;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.Configuration;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextLayoutFormat;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextAlign;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.TextFlow;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.ParagraphElement;
import flashx.textLayout.edit.EditManager;
import flashx.undo.UndoManager;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextDecoration;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.LinkElement;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.SpanElement;

Flash CS5 for Designers: Using TLF Text as a Button

It should come as no surprise that you can use TLF text as a button to kick off an event in your movie. For example, you could have a text block on the stage that talks about a visit to Times Square in New York, and when the user clicks the phrase Times Square, a photo appears on the stage. In this example, you are going to click some text, and a yellow star you will create on the stage starts spinning.

The following is an exercise from Foundation Flash CS5 For Designers by Tom Green & Tiago Dias.

If you’re feeling lucky, enter the Activetuts+ competition to win 1 of 3 signed copies! (Of course, you can always purchase one from FriendsOfEd..)

Step 1: New Document

Open a new Flash ActionScript 3.0 document, and save it as TLF_eventLink_AS.fla. Change the name of Layer 1 to Star, and add a new layer named actions.

Step 2: Select Polystar Tool

Click once in the first frame of the Star layer. Click and hold on the Rectangle tool on your toolbar, and select the Polystar tool.

Step 3: Mellow Yellow

In the Properties panel, twirl down the Fill and Stroke properties and set the Stroke value to None and the Fill value to Yellow (#FFFF00).

Step 4: Star

Twirl down the Tool Settings, and click the Options button to open the Tool Settings dialog box shown in Figure 6-26. Select Star from the Style drop-down, and enter 5 for the Number of Sides. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Use the PolyStar tool to create stars.

Step 5: MovieClip

Draw a star somewhere in the bottom half of the stage, convert it to a movie clip named Star, set its registration point to Center, and in the Properties panel give the Star movie clip the Instance name of starMC.

Step 6: Actions

Click the first frame of the actions layers, and open the Actions panel. When the panel opens, click once in the Script pane, and enter the following code block:

var containerSprite:Sprite = new Sprite();
this.addChild( containerSprite );
containerSprite.x  = 25
containerSprite.y = 50;

A Sprite is a virtual movie clip with no timeline. We start by creating a Sprite named containerSprite, which will be used to hold the text. The reason we need this is because there is going to be some interactivity involved. This Sprite is placed 25 pixels from the left edge of the stage and 50 pixels from the top.

Step 7: Configuration()

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key twice, and enter the following code:

var container :ContainerController = new ContainerController( containerSprite, 400, 300);</p>var config :Configuration = new Configuration();
var charFormat:TextLayoutFormat= new TextLayoutFormat();
charFormat.fontFamily= "Arial, Helvetica,_sans";
charFormat.fontSize = 14;
charFormat.color = 0X000000;
charFormat.textAlign = TextAlign.LEFT;
config.textFlowInitialFormat = charFormat;

Nothing new here. The container for the text is created along with the Configuration() object, and the formatting for the text to be placed in the container is created.

Step 8: linkHoverFormat

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key twice, and enter the following:

var textFlow :TextFlow = new TextFlow();
var p  aragraphElement  = new ParagraphElement();
p.linkHoverFormat  = { color:0XFF0000 };
p.linkNormalFormat = { color:0x0000FF,textDecoration:TextDecoration.NONE };

The last two lines are new, and their purpose is to let you change the color of a word or group of words when the user rolls over them. The linkHoverFormat property belongs to the TextFormat class and is used to tell Flash what color the text identified as a link will be when the mouse rolls over it. In this case, the color will change to Red.

As you may have guessed, the second line tells Flash what color the link is to be when the mouse rolls off. In this case, it will be blue. Naturally, links are traditionally underlined. The way the underline is removed is to use the NONE constant, which is part of the TextDecoration class. If you want the underline, it would be TextDecoration.UNDERLINE.

The next step in the process is to tell Flash what to do when the colored text is clicked.

Step 9: Click

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key twice, and enter the following:

var link:LinkElement = new LinkElement();
link.addEventListener(FlowElementMouseEvent.CLICK, linkClicked);

There is, of course, nothing to click. Let’s deal with that issue.

Step 10: Span

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key a couple of times, and add the following:

var linkSpan:SpanElement = new SpanElement();
linkSpan.text = "Click here" ;
link.addChild(linkSpan);

var span:SpanElement = new SpanElement();
span.text = " to see your star spin on the stage";
p.addChild(link);
p.addChild(span);

The next step is to get the text flowing into the container.

Step 11: Spin

Press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) key, and add the following:

textFlow.addChild(p);
textFlow.flowComposer.addController(container);
textFlow.flowComposer.updateAllControllers();

The final code bit is the function that gets the star spinning when the text is clicked. Enter the following:

function linkClicked(evt:FlowElementMouseEvent) :void{
   evt.preventDefault();
   var tween :Tween = new Tween( starMC, "rotation", Elastic.easeOut, 0, 180, 2, true);
}

The first line of code tells Flash to ignore any default settings there might be in regards to the mouse and the text in the container.

The magic happens in that second line. The parameters tell the Tween class to work with the rotation property of the star (starMC) and to apply an easeOut to the star when it finishes rotating. Naturally, Flash, being stupid, needs to be told that the rotation starts with the star at 0 degrees and to rotate across 180 degrees. It does this two times and uses seconds as the measure of time.

Step 12: Error Checking

Click the Check Syntax button as your first skim through the code looking for errors. If there are none, your computer will ding. If errors are found, they will be shown in the Compiler panel. The most common error will be spelling or a missing import statement.

Here’s a quick tip. If a class doesn’t show up as an import, the Compiler panel will tell you the property is undefined. Select the class in the code where it appears, and delete the text. Type in the first two letters of the class, and press Ctrl+spacebar. The class will appear in the resulting code hint. Double-click the class to add it back into the code. This also creates the missing import statement.

Step 13: Save and Test the Movie

The text is colored. When you click the mouse, the star spins. A completed version of this file is included with the source download.

Import Statements for This Exercise

These are the import statements for this exercise:

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flashx.textLayout.container.ContainerController;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.Configuration;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextLayoutFormat;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.TextFlow;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.ParagraphElement;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.LinkElement;
import flashx.textLayout.elements.SpanElement;
import flashx.textLayout.events.FlowElementMouseEvent;
import fl.transitions.Tween;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextDecoration;
import fl.transitions.easing.Elastic;
import flashx.textLayout.formats.TextAlign;

Design and Develop a Fantastic Flash Shooting Gallery Game – Active Premium

Plenty has been happening in the world of Tuts+ Premium lately, so let’s keep the ball rolling with another cracking tutorial exclusively available to Premium members. Here’s a brilliantly entertaining AS3 game tut, courtesy of Carlos Yanez.

Take a look at (and play around with) the final result we will be working towards:

This Premium Tutorial is Packed with Design and Development Tips

Using the Flash Tools we’ll create good looking graphics that will be powered by several ActionScript 3 classes like MouseCursor, Tween Nano, Sprite, Timers and other Events.

The user will be able to input a player’s name and destroy a predefined number of dartboards before the game ends.

Professional and Detailed Instructions Inside

Premium members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now! Below are some sample images from this tutorial.

Active Premium Membership

We run a Premium membership system which costs $9 a month (or $22 for 3 months!) which periodically gives members access to extra tutorials, like this one! You’ll also get access to Psd Premium, Vector Premium, Audio Premium, Net Premium, Ae Premium and Cg Premium too. If you’re a Premium member, you can log in and download the tutorial. If you’re not a member, you can of course join today!

Also, don’t forget to follow @activetuts on twitter and grab the Activetuts+ RSS Feed to stay up to date with the latest tutorials and articles.