Sometimes you may want to create particular illustrations where you want to give certain shapes the appearance of water droplets. Here is the step-by-step tutorial to transform images into water droplets with Photoshop.
Sometimes it may happen to create particular illustrations where we want to give certain shapes the appearance of water droplets. Here is the step-by-step tutorial to transform images into water droplets with Photoshop.
Adobe Photoshop has always been recognized as the undisputed leader in the photo editing software market. However, it really shines in creating photorealistic effects. A deep knowledge of its tools also puts infinite possibilities in our hands. Let’s now see how to create “liquid” illustrations.
First, let’s open the image to which we want to apply the effect. For the following example, we chose a flat texture to make the work easier even for novices. The following operations, however, can be applied to any type of image and at any angle. You just need to apply the Transform > Distort or Perspective tool to what you have created.
The first thing to do is create a new transparent layer. Click on the appropriate icon in the Layers palette (the one shaped like a sheet as indicated in the figure). Now choose an image you want to transform into a liquid shape, or, if you prefer, draw it with the Photoshop brush, black color, and Hardness and Opacity values at 100%.
To choose the image to use, open the File Browser from the Window menu and search for it on your computer using the convenient previews. To open it, just double-click on the preview. Then select the image from the Select > All menu, press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard, move to the working file, and paste into the layer by pressing Ctrl+V.
Select the background with the Magic Wand Tool making sure the Contiguous option is turned off, and delete it. Then soften the edges of the figure. From the Filters menu click on Blur > Gaussian Blur. The value to set can vary greatly depending on the image size. Adjust to have the least loss of detail possible.
Go back to the Layers palette and reduce the Fill of the layer with the globe to 0% using the slider shown in the image. With this operation, the figure will disappear completely, but don’t worry: the effects we apply will be perfectly visible since the opacity remains at 100%.
From now on the process is simpler than it seems; you just need to get familiar with the Layer Style settings. So open the relevant dialog window by clicking on the appropriate icon as indicated in the figure, or by double-clicking on the layer preview thumbnail.
Click on the Outer Shadow item to activate its tab. Set the Blend Mode to Multiply with Opacity 75% and adjust Distance and Size to 3 pixels. Regarding the angle, in this example, we left the default value; however, this option should be evaluated each time according to the overall lighting of the photo you are working on.
Now activate the Inner Shadow tab. Select the Blend Mode Color Burn with Opacity at 46%, Distance 3 pixels, Choke 2%, Size 13 pixels. Already with these last two settings we can start seeing the transformations we are gradually applying to our image. Now let’s proceed to add relief and brightness.
Activate the Bevel and Emboss tab. In the Structure box choose the Inner Bevel style, the Smooth technique, and set a Depth of 830%. For Direction select the Up button, assign a Size of 6 pixels and an Soften value of 7 pixels.
In the Shading box, for the Highlight Mode option, select Screen, assign the color white and opacity of 66%. For the Shadow Mode select black color, opacity 47%, also setting this option’s Blend Mode to Screen. Leave the other options unchanged and observe the progress of our image in the figure.
Activate the Inner Glow tab. In Structure select the Overlay method with 37% opacity and black color. Activate the Softer edge technique, with Choke at 4% and Size 3 pixels. For now, leave the Contour, Range, and Jitter values unchanged; if necessary, we will come back to adjust them later.
To finish it all, also apply the Glossy Finish style. Set its Blend Mode to Color Burn with Opacity 8%. Assign a Distance of 9 pixels and a Size of 73 pixels. As in the other tabs, leave the Angle and Contour values at the default settings. Finally, press OK and admire our finished work.
As you have seen, the realization was much easier than it seemed; however, keep in mind that the settings we assigned to the various options are indicative, as the values and some blending modes will need to be adjusted case by case based on the background image and its light source.
For this reason, we recommend downloading the sample file, as we have added a layer in a different color, duplicated the layer with the “liquid” globe, and modified some options to adapt it to the darker background as you see in the image above. This way you can compare the various changes that were made.
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