PhotoShop Texture Project -- Ice Age Acorn

Directions: this tutorial will show how texture and other shape techniques can be used to create an acorn.

  1. Open a new photoshop canvas. Set the width to 600 px and the height to 650 px. Set the resolution to 144, color mode to RGB and the background to white.
  1. Add a new layer named BASE
  2. Get the Marquee Rectangle Tool and draw a large square box on the canvas. Hold down the Shift key while drawing the square to assure that is square.
  3. Go to your color Swatches color palette and Set your foreground color to “medium warm brown”.
  4. Use Alt + Backspace to fill your square with this color.
  5. With the square still selected add a new layer to the layers palette. On the new layer fill the square with 50% Gray (Edit - Fill - content 50% Gray).
  6. Next go to Filter - Render - Fibers. Use the defaults of variance = 16 and strength of 4 then use Randomize to create a set of fibers to your liking. Click OK.
  7. Now De-Select.
  8. Next Lock the Transparency of layer 1.
  1. Select Filter – Blur – Motion Blur. Set the angle to 90 and the distance to 430. Click OK.
  2. Blend the two layers together by setting the blending mode of layer 1 to soft light. Lower the opacity to 70 percent.
  3. Now merge layer 1 and the base layer together (CTRL + E)
  4. Get your selection tool and then press free-transform CTRL + T. Right click in selected area and choose WARP form the menu.
  5. Push the bottom left and bottom right handle bars towards each other to form the bottom of the acorn. Then pull the top corner handle bars down a bit to round the edges of the top of the acorn. Click OK.
  6. CTRL + T again to reselect the shape. Nudge the top center handle bar down a bit to squash the shape to look more like an acorn base. Click OK
  7. Add a new layer and name it cap. Use your rectangular marquee tool to draw a wide rectangle above the acorn base. Fill the rectangle with “#ab6825”.
  8. De-select and then lock the transparency like before.
  9. Change your foreground color to “744618”.
  10. Next select Filter – Texture – Stained Glass. The settings should be cell size 28, border to13 and lighting to 0. Click OK. De-Select.
  11. Select magic wand tool. Uncheck the contiguous. Click on a lighter sections in the cap to select this color of the cap.
  12. Go to Edit – Stroke – set width to 4 and the location to inside.
  13. While still selected apply a Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur of 2px. OK.
  14. De-Select.
  15. Get your selection tool and then press free-transform CTRL + T. Right click in selected area and choose WARP form the menu. Shape your acorn cap at this time.
  16. Make the BASE layer the active layer. Select the BURN tool and set the brush size to 125, the range to midtones and the exposure to 25%. Add shading to the right side of the base and along the top of the base. Then a smaller amount of shading to the left side. The left side is where the lighting will be coming from.
  17. Next select the cap layer. Give the cap similar shading like you did to the base.
  18. Now get the DODGE tool and add highlights to both the base and the cap.
  19. Next CTRL Click the cap layer icon to select the cap. CTRL + C to make a copy
  20. Go to the Channels palette and add a layer. Then CTRL + V to paste the image.
  21. Return to the layers palette and the layer cap. Choose Filter – Render – lighting effects. Use the settings found in the picture to the right. This will add depth to your acorn.
  22. Repeat steps 28 – 30 for the base instead of the cap. In the lighting effect set the texture to Alpha 2 and lower the texture height to 25.
  1. add a blank layer below the cap layer and name it stem
  2. using the rectangle marquee tool create a square and fill it with the same med. Brown color.
  3. De-select
  4. Goto Filter – Liquify. By changing the brush size shape the square into a stem shape. OK.
  5. use burn tool and dodge tool to shade the stem
  6. select cap
  7. goto liquify select warp tool and with a small brush go in between the notches on the edges and push inward. Click OK when finished

Snow Bank

  1. select the base layer to make it the active layer
  2. use lasso tool to make a selection at the bottom of the acorn base
  3. press ctrl shift I to invert the selection
  4. add a layer mask to the layer
  5. ctrl click the mask thumbnail to select the mask
  6. invert the selection (ctrl shift I) to place marching ants around

the lasso area.

  1. Make the background layer the active layer
  2. Select the burn tool and set the range to highlights
  3. Set brush size to around 90. Shade the upper part of the selection. De-select.
  4. Ctrl + Shift click the thumbnails of the base layer, the cap and stem layers to select all three layers.
  5. Add a new layer below the base layer
  6. Set the foreground color to dark blue
  7. Alt backspace to fill selection. De-select.
  8. Free transform (ctrl T) the new layer and right click the selection and choose Distort.
  9. Grab the top center handle bar and drag down and to the right.
  10. Drag bottom center handle bar to the left. Press enter.
  11. Filter Blur Gaussian Blur about 10 pixels
  12. Lower opacity to about 25%
  13. Now let us tilt the acorn into the snow. Unlink the mask from

the base layer then select the base, cap and stem layers

  1. Ctrl T the selection and rotate the acorn a little
  2. You are finished