From SuspireWiki
I’m just going to take you through an abbreviated version of how to create a general wax seal in Photoshop. I’m using Photoshop CS3 for this example, but all of the techniques/functions/stuff can be found on the earlier CS versions, and I believe Photoshop 7 and ME as well.
Contents |
Open up Photoshop & Pick a Base Size
Okay, you’ve got Photoshop open. Awesome. Go to File menu then select New. We'll pick a starting size of 640W x 480H in pixels.
Layers (Background)
Okay, now we've got a pretty big sized base layer to work with. That's fine, because we can use the room to toy around in. The first thing I want you to do is find your Layers Panel it should have one single layer, called Background on it. If you can't find it right away, you can go to the Window menu and select Layers.
The Base Layer (Layer 1)
Okay, take a look at your Tool Box that's generally on the left side of your screen and should look like this:
Now, there should be a Rectangular Marquee Tool (in the picture above it's the top left dotted box). Click and hold it, and it will bring up the ability to select the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Do so.
Now then, hold down your Shift Key and drag out a circle onto your Base Layer. When you're done, it should look something like this:
Okay, now, go to your Layers Panel. There's a button second from the left called "Create New Layer". Click it. Now you should have a layer called "layer 1" on top of the Background one. It should automatically be selected.
Now, hold down your Shift key and press F5. It should bring up the Fill Window. Just pick to use Black for the fill for now, we'll change the color later.
Okay, now click Ctrl+D to deselect the circle. Now you should have just a circle on Layer 1.
The Waxy Ring (Layer 2)
Okay, now, go to your Layers Panel again. Go and and click to add another new layer, which should come up as "Layer 2".
With Layer 2 as the active layer, go to your Tool Box. At the bottom there's 2 colored boxes, the first one is your foreground color one. Click it to bring up your color picker box. Pick a color that's bright and completely clashes with your base layer and background. For this, I'm going to use a bright blue color.
Now, with that being done, in the Tool Box, find your Brush Tool. In my tool box picture, it's the 4th down on the right. At the top of your screen you should see a little section that says "Brush:" and then have the picture of a circular brush, and then a number for a size of it under that. For this example, we're going to use a size 19 solid brush, so click on the little window and bring up the brushes. Double click the one that is solid and 19.
We're ready to start making the outline of our "drippy" part of the wax seal. So, trace the outline of your circle (make sure Layer 2 is active!) with your blue paint brush in a rough idea of how you want it to look. Hey, it doesn't have to be perfect, that's the whole idea! Mine came out looking something like this:
Picking our Color Scheme
Okay, we've got the base guidelines down. So now comes the fun part. Go to your Tool Box and pick your foreground color that you want your seal to be. I'll pick a nice dark purple color for this example.
Once you've picked your color, have a look at your Layers Panel. Right click your base circle (Layer 1). There should be something called Blending Options. Click that and bring it up. Click Color Overlay, then click the default Red color to bring up the color picker window. Now, use your cursor to click your Foreground color. Click okay. Now, your thing should look like this:
Now, right click on your Waxy Ring layer (Layer 2) and do the same thing. Now your whole thing should look the same color.
Our Logo (Layer 3)
Now, every seal has to have some kind of logo, or letter, or something inside. So... go to your Layers Panel. Click on Layer 1. Now, with Layer 1 as the active level, either paste an image or use your Font tool (in the Toolbox) to pick your design. Now, it's possible your image will need some clean-up. There's an Eraser Tool, have fun with that!
Now, after you either use the lettering or your picture, it should be the layer in between your base and waxy ring layers in the Layers Panel. In that panel, make sure that layer is active, then change the Fill to 0%. It's still there, just for now it's invisible. Now, right click on that layer in the panel and go to Blending Options.
Since we're going to want to look like it's "indented" go to "Bevel and Emboss". Change Direction from up to Down. The other settings as default are generally fine, but you can play with them if you want. Now, here's what mine looks like:
We're starting to look almost like a seal!
Making us look Waxy
Okay, now, let's start with the Waxy level (Layer 2). Go to the Layers Panel and, making sure Layer 2 is selected, right click and go to Blending Options again.
Go to Bevel and Emboss. This part will take a little "judgement" on your part, so just decide what looks good to you. Use the Size slider and drag it up so that the Waxy circle looks smooth and liquid-y. For my waxy circle, I went all the way up to 43px. And then, I changed Depth to 750%.
Now, let's give it a little "flare". Click Drop Shadow. The default settings are generally good, but for me, I turned the Opacity to 100%. And here is what my waxy ring now looks like:
Slick, huh? Now, we just need to tidy it up a little.
Smoothing it out
Go to your Tool Box. On the left side, there's a tool called "Smudge Tool". Click that and hold it down, then, select the Blur Tool when it becomes available. With your Waxy Layer active (Layer 2), run it around the edges to smooth out the edginess of it to your liking. It's a very subtle change, but it helps to make it a hair more "smooth".
Finishing Touches
Now, on your Layers Panel, you'll see little Open-Eyes next to each layer. On the Background layer, click the Open-Eye, which will make it disappear, and your white background will disappear. This is intentional!
Now, go to your Image menu. Select Trim. Click Based On to Transparent Pixels and make sure Top, Bottom, Left and Right are selected, then click OK. Now, your image is shrunk exactly to the size of your seal. We're almost done, but not quite!
Go to your File menu and click Save for Web & Devices. On the Preset section, make sure PNG-24 is selected. Then, hit Save.
We're still not done, don't get your panties in a bunch about how gigantic it is!
Now. Go ahead and go to your File menu again. Click Open and pick your file you just saved to open it back up. Now, then, we can finish it up.
Click Image menu then go to Image Size. You'll probably want to set the Width to 150 Pixels, which should automatically set the other height to a pixel. Then, go ahead and go to your File menu and click Save for Web & Devices. On the Preset section, make sure PNG-24 is selected. Then, hit Save.
Congrats. You're done!
