Finished abstract assignment for my Computer Art class. Ended up going for something simple (lack of time), just playing around and experimenting with Photoshop. Had loads of fun and learned a ton with this assignment.
I was going to start off with a background fill, but decided to go with a Gradient instead. Once I pulled up the Gradient menu I went with one of the ones I haven’t really used before. I choose the complimentary colors blue and orange.
Next I went into the Filter menu and decided on Pixelate>Pointalize, adjusting the amount until I found something I liked. Then I duplicated the layer and used the Ctrl+T command to Transform the new layer (holding shift key to maintain the proportions). Then I centered the new layer so it aligned with the first. I then duplicated that second layer and set the Blend mode to Multiply and lowered the Opacity.
I then duplicated the first (bottom layer) and went back into the Filter Menu, this time choosing Distort>Spherize and placed the Blend mode to Multiply.
I couldn’t see the sphere shape all that well, so I ended up repeating the process (Filter>Distort>Spherize at 86%) four or five more times.
I felt the colors weren’t saturated enough, so I duplicated the spherized layer and started experimenting with the Blend modes until I got something I liked.
Then I took that layer and added a new Filter to it. Choosing Blur>Lens Blur. This created the glowing feel to the sphere.
Again playing with Blend modes until I found something that worked. This time settling on Vivid Light and adjusting the Opacity (duplicate layer).
My final step was to add a Lens Flare. Filter>Render>Lens Flare and then decided the little square was distracting, so I got rid of it.
I really didn’t know what I was doing from one step to the next, it wasn’t’ until I got that sphere shape that things started moving for me. Even then it was a journey of exploration. I did learn a lot though, through this process, I haven’t used the Filter>Distort>Spherize before, so this was a cool find for me, as I can definitely see it being useful in the future.
-Jesse
“Success is all about letting your will power takeover from your fears.” -Unknown
jesse vanwagner 