TOP Layer--SPHERE: ( or cube, pyramid, cylinder, etc.) IN A SEPARATE LAYER, in the top position of the layers palette

Create a circle with the elliptical marquee. (Hold down both Shift and Option/Alt keys to constrain shape, to create a perfect circle.) Fill with the radial gradient, varying the length of the "rubber band" to achieve the effect you prefer. Reverse gradient if necessary to achieve appropriate fill.

MIDDLE Layer--SHADOW: IN A SEPARATE LAYER, in the middle position of the layers palette

FILL: If your selection is still active (marching ants), then fill with black on a separate layer to create a flat circle. Fill using the paint bucket tool, using the black foreground color (or select Edit/Fill from the main pulldown menu).

(If necessary, to reactivate your selection, click on the thumbnail of the sphere, located in the layers palette. )

From the pulldown menu select Select / Deselect to deactivate marching ants, or CMD/Ctrl D.

RESHAPE: Use Edit/Free Transform to reshape the circle into an oval shape. Select CMD/Ctrl T to activate Edit/Free Transform. Hold down on the CMD/Ctrl key while scaling and rotating your "shadow." Use arrow keys to reposition. Select RETURN or ENTER to accept, and CMD/Ctrl period to cancel.

Select the move tool (v) and drag the shadow into the desired position.

BLUR: Select Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur to soften the edges of the shadow. Vary the radius as desired.

BLEND: Select Multiply from the Blending Modes pulldown menu in the Layers Palette, to BLEND the shadow into the background.

BASE Layer--BACKGROUND: IN A SEPARATE LAYER, at the base of the layers palette

Fill entire area using linear gradient. Use foreground/background setting for gradient and select default white/black for gradient color. Reverse gradient if necessary to achieve appropriate fill. Constrain gradient by holding down the Shift key.

DOWNLOAD THIS PSD FILE

TECHNICAL NOTES:

Changes will be applied only to the active or selected layer.

Select the move tool (v) to move elements on the active layer.

Deactivate the selection--marching ants--by selecting Select / Deselect from the pulldown menu.

To quickly select a shape residing in a transparent layer, hold down the COMMAND/CONTROL key and click on the layer. The shape should now be an active selection, surrounded by the marching ants.

Double-click on background layer to transform the Background into a Layer. Select Layer / Flatten Image to merge the multiple layers into a single layer.

VARIATIONS: We will explore these possibilities in class.

1-Select a filter from the Filter menu and apply a texture to the background gradient. If the application of the filter produces no effect, try adding noise prior to applying the filter. Select Filter / Noise / Add Noise and check Monochrome in the dialogue box. Then apply a filter.

2-Transform your black and white image to monochrome. Use a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer (see the base of the layers palette) OR Select Image / Adjust / Hue & Saturation. Check Colorize in the dialogue box. Drag the hue slider to change the color.

3-Use the rectangular marquee or the lasso tool to create a square or triangle. Duplicate the layer several times. Apply the transform tool to the shapes residing in the separate new layers to create the sides and top of the form. Select Edit / Transform / Skew, Perspective, Scale, Distort, or Rotate.

4-Activate the top layer with the Sphere. Select Layer / Effects / Drop Shadow. Select Apply in the dialogue box and alter the distance in pixels. Notice the limited flexibility of this built-in effect.

5-To achieve a more convincing shadow fill the shadow area using the Linear Gradient set to black and white, from dark shadow (under the sphere) to the illuminated area(away from the sphere). LOCK the transparent pixels in the shadow layer so that your FILL only affects the shadow itself. UNLOCK the layer after you have applied the gradient. Your shadow layer should already be set to MULTIPLY.

VOCABULARY

highlight

shadow

cast shadow

value scale

contrast of value

brightness

high value

low value

middle gray

histogram

levels

%K or density

notan: flat value pattern

chiaroscuro

--waligore06