Professional Photo Editing – Fixsr.com

Still life compositions are like photographs in that they portray the details of objects as moments frozen in time. Still life images don’t tell a story, they simply depict the objects themselves. In today’s tutorial we will explore this style of art by creating a still life candle in Photoshop.

---

Resources Used

The following resources were used during the production of this tutorial:

• Wood Texture

---

Step 1

First, create a new file, 900×768 px and with a resolution of 300 ppi. Fill the background layer with a radial gradient as shown below.

---

Step 2

Now make a new layer and name it as "Candle top". Using the Elliptical marquee tool (M), create a perfect circle by holding down the Shift key while dragging.

---

Step 3

Fill the entire selection with the colors as indicated below using a Radial gradient.

---

Step 4

In the "Candle top" layer, select the small thumbnail on the left side of the layer’s name while holding the Cmd key to activate the selection marquee around the circle.

---

Step 5

Now go to Filter > Distort > Twirl and change the its value to an angle of 490 degrees.

---

Step 6

Press Cmd + T to activate the resizing handles, then do what is shown below.

---

Step 7

Create a new layer and name it as "Candle body". Using the Elliptical marquee tool (M), make a shape as shown in figure (a). Then using the Rectangle marquee tool (M) set in Subtract from selection mode, do what was done in figure (b) and the final product should look like (c).

---

Step 8

Using a Radial Gradient, fill the entire "Candle body" selection with the colors as indicated below.

Your image should look similar to the below image.

Note: Make sure that the "Candle body" layer is placed below the "Candle top" layer.

---

Step 9

Next add a new layer and name it "Highlights". Now, just as in Step 4, Cmd-click the "Candle body" layer to activate the selection around the shape.

Using the brush tool with a Master diameter of 168px and hardness of 0%, apply a subtle amount of color #985e11 to add a small glow below the body of the candle. This will give an illusion of light passing through the solid translucent body of the candle.

---

Step 10

Now make a new layer and name it "Highlights-2." Use the same technique as in Step 9 but use the color #ffffff for the brush with a Master diameter of 168px and hardness of 0%.

---

Step 11

Now add a new layer and name it "glass". Using the Elliptical marquee tool (M) make a shape as shown below.

Next use the Pen tool (P) to draw a shape as shown below. Make sure to select Subtract from selection mode from the pen tool panel before plotting the points. After completing the shape, right-click and choose Make Selection. From the Make selection window, configure the feather radius to 0px then click OK.

Apply a linear Gradient as shown from top to bottom.

Lastly, change its opacity to 7%.

---

Step 12

Now duplicate the "Glass" layer and rename it "Glass highlights" then change its opacity level back to 100%.

Using the Eraser tool (E), erase the areas as indicated below, leaving a small amount at the bottom.

---

Step 13

Next, add a new layer and name it "Glass face". Then, using the Elliptical marquee tool (M), make a shape as shown below.

Now using the Pen tool (P), set it to Subtract from selection in the Pen tool panel, then make a shape as shown below. After completing the shape right-click and choose Make selection from the drop down menu. From the Make selection window, adjust its Feather radius to 0px, then hit OK.

Next use the Pen tool (P) to make a shape as shown below, make sure that the Pen tool (P) is set to Subtract from selection mode from the Pen tool (P) panel. Press right-click and choose Make selection from the drop down menu. From the Make selection window, adjust its Feather radius to 0px, then hit OK.

Finally, fill the selection with #ffffff and set its opacity level to 30%.

---

Step 14

Now add a new layer and name it "Left glow". Then, using the Pen tool (P) draw a line as shown below. Now go to the Brush tool (B) then right-click anywhere in your image to show the brush panel. From the brush panel configure its values with a Master diameter of 20px and hardness of 0%. Then go back to the Pen tool (P), right-click and choose Stroke path from the drop-down menu. From the Stroke path window, define its stroke to use the Brush tool. Hit OK to accept the changes. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and from there, change its radius to 2px then press OK. Lastly, change its opacity level to 80%.

---

Step 15

Next add a new layer and name it "Right glow". Now use the Pen tool (P), make a shape as shown in figure (a). Then right-click and select Make selection from the drop-down menu. From the Make selection window, configure its feather radius to 0px then hit OK. The effect should look like figure (b). Fill the selection with #ffffff, as shown in figure (c).

Now from figure (c), go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur. From the Gaussian blur window, change its radius to 5px then press OK. Next, change its opacity level to 70%. The effect should look like figure (d). Next use the Pen tool (P) to define a shape as shown in figure (e). Next, right-click and choose Make selection from the drop-down menu. From the Make selection window, change its radius to 0px then hit OK. After that, Cmd + Shift + I to invert the selection then hit delete. The final product should look like figure (f). Lastly, change its opacity level to 70%.

---

Step 16

Add a new layer and name it "Rim highlights". Then, using the Pen tool (P), draw a line as in figure (a). Now go to the Brush tool (B) then press right-click anywhere in your image to show the brush panel. From the brush window, configure its values with a Master diameter of 2px and Hardness of 100%. Then go back to the Pen tool (P) then right-click and choose Stroke path from the drop-down menu as in figure (b). From the Stroke path window, define its stroke path to use the Brush tool as shown in figure (c.) Hit OK to accept the changes. Next, change its blend mode to overlay.

---

Step 17

Next, add a new layer and name it "Shadow shade". Using the Pen tool (P), make a shape as shown in figure (a). Next right-click and select Make selection from the drop-down menu. From the Make selection window, set the feather radius to 0px. Using the Paint bucket tool (G), fill the entire selection with #000000, as in figure (b). Erase it as shown in figure (c).

---

Step 18

Add a new layer and name it "Wick Shadow". Using the Brush tool (B), set the  Master diameter to 20px with a Hardness of 100%. Place a small dot in the center of the twirl on the top portion of the candle as in figure (a). Hit Cmd + T to activate the resizing handles, as in figure (b). Resize the circle vertically, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and setting its radius to 32px. Change the layer’s opacity level to 66%.

---

Step 19

Next, add a new layer and name it "Wick". Using the Pen tool (P) make a shape as in figure (a). Right-click and choose Make selection from the drop-down menu. From there, adjust its feather radius to 0px. Using the Paint bucket tool (G) fill the entire selection with #000000, as shown in figure (b). Using the Brush tool (B), set the Master diameter to 17px with a Hardness of 0%, apply a small amount of #8b8b8b on top of the wick.

---

Step 20

Next is to put a gradient "glow" effect on the wick. Add a new layer and name it "Wick burn". Use the colors as indicated below with their corresponding brush size.

---

Step 21

Now we’ll be creating the flame for the candle. For this part instead of creating a new layer, we’ll be creating a new group, named "Fire group". To create the flame, follow the instructions below with its corresponding layer name, color and brush settings.

Note: Make sure that all of these layers are made inside the Fire group to prevent a cluttered layers palette.

---

Step 22

Now we’ll make the reflection for the candle. First, duplicate all of the candle layers. You can do this by Cmd-clicking the layers needed. After you’ve selected all the components drag them to the Create a new layer icon in the layers palette, (a). Next, merge all layers by right-clicking within the layers palette while the blue highlights for all the layers is still active. Next, select Merge Layers from the drop-down menu as in figure (b). Now name this layer "Reflection". Next hold Cmd+T to activate the resizing handles then right-click and select flip vertical from the drop-down menu.

Place the image as shown below.

Adjust its opacity level to 6% and erase areas as indicated below using the Eraser tool (E) with a Master Diameter of 257px and Hardness of 0%.

---

Step 23

Next, let’s add shadow to our candle. To do this, add a new layer and name it "Shadow 100". Next, using the Elliptical marquee tool (M), make an oval shape as shown below. Fill the entire selection with #000000. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and set the radius to 7.2px.

Duplicate the "Shadow 100" layer then hit Cmd + T to activate the resizing handles. Scale the duplicated later as shown below, then lower its opacity to 90%.

---

Step 24

The next step is to add a subtle "Glow" coming from the candle’s flame. To do this, add a new layer and name it "Glow". Use the Brush tool (B) set to Master diameter of 473px and Hardness of 0% with color #ffffff. Follow the indicated position of the brush below.

Set the blending mode of this layer to overlay with an opacity of 50%.

---

Step 25

Next is to add the table where the candle will be sitting. Open the file named "Wood.jpg", then hit Cmd + T to activate the resizing handles. Right-click and select perspective from the drop-down menu, then change the Wood’s shape as shown below.

Next press Cmd + L to activate the Levels window, then set the values for the three handles as shown below.

---

Step 26

Next add a new layer and name it "Wood shade". Using the Rectangle marquee tool (M) select an area as indicated below.

Fill the entire selection with #000000.

Using the Eraser tool (E) set to Master Diameter 750px and Hardness of 0% erase the area as indicated below.

---

Step 27

Next add a new layer and name it "Circle light". Using the Elliptical marquee tool (M) make a shape as shown below. Fill the entire selection with #ffffff.

Go back to the Elliptical marquee tool (M) then right-click. Select Transform selection from the drop-down menu, and change the shape of the oval as shown below.

Hit delete.

Next, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and set its radius to 7.2px then change its opacity level to 4%.

---

Step 28

As for the last step, select all the layers and drag them to the Create a New layer icon as shown in figure (a). Next, merge all of them by right-clicking in the layers panel and selecting Merge layer from the drop-down menu as shown in figure (b). Lastly, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set its radius to 5px as shown in figure (c).

Erase the area as shown below using the indicated settings.

---

Conclusion

That’s it! Hope you had fun working on this project and learned many things that will help you in the future!

Ok, here’s the deal: There’s more than one way to do 99.9% of anything you do in Photoshop. I think there may be only one way of turning it on and off, I could be wrong. It’s my belief, speaking for myself, of course that, since tutorials are meant to teach, that more than just the common methods should be shown and that many different ways of doing things should be touched on.

I did a tutorial here on TipSquirrel a couple of weeks ago, on Lightening A Dark Photo, that garnered a lot of comments, a good deal of them asking why I didn’t use, or referring to, other methods, mostly Layer Blend Modes.

My answer to them all was what I stated above: There is more than one way to skin a cat (I always hated that idiom and never could figure out why a poor kitty had to suffer just to say…), and you shouldn’t always look to the common or the expected way. I’ve said before, repeatedly, that you should experiment, have fun, try new things! Don’t always go immediately to the safe or common technique.

We are, those of us venturing out, teaching and learning Photoshop, a group of creative individuals! Being creative means not just reaching for the tried and true. Do you usually use a Layer Blend Mode? Try using Curves instead! Do you do all your Curves Adjustments on one Adjustment Layer? Try using multiple layers, adjusting the opacity on each layer for a greater degree of control! Do you use one technique, regardless of whether you’re really happy with the result? Don’t be afraid to start over!

Think outside the standard operating procedure techniques. It may very well end up that the common way is just the ticket for the project you’re doing, then again, there could be a better alternative and you just might actually learn something new, something that really will be the best thing for a future project.

That being said, let me take a moment to show the most popular common technique alluded to in the comments for that post: The Layer Blend Modes. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Layer Blend Modes! They work wonderfully a vast percentage of the time. In my opinion, in fact, they give a better result on the very photograph I used as an example. I especially love them when I combine them with another filter or adjustment to make the result even better (if needed). That being said, I also believe that if all one ever tries, or teaches, are the most obvious ways, it makes you, or those you’re teaching, rather one dimensional and fundamentally the opposite of “creative”.

I now give you the All Layer Blend Mode technique (drum roll, please)!

After opening your dark photo in Photoshop, duplicate the original layer via Ctrl +J (PC) or Cmd + J (Mac) on your keyboard or: Image > Duplicate… in your interface. With your duplicate layer selected, go into the Layer Blend Mode drop down menu

and select Screen Mode.

This particular photo is so dark, the last step needs to be repeated. If this is the case with your photo, duplicate the layer again (Ctrl or Cmd +J). The Screen Blend Mode will already be selected.

The overall photo is lighter, true, but the faces are still pretty dark so in keeping with the All Layer Blend Mode theme, repeat the layer duplication (Ctrl or Cmd +J), once more, again leaving the Screen Blend Mode selected. However, this time we’re changing it up and adding a Layer Mask.

Invert the color of the mask from white to black (make black your foreground color, make sure the Layer Mask itself is selected and use keyboard shortcut Ctrl or Cmd + I). With white as your foreground color, paint in the faces (or any areas you feel need to be lightened more).

With the mask selected, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the pixels high enough to get a nice light blur on the painted in areas.

Bring the Opacity of the mask layer down to around 35%, or enough to blend the “painted” in areas with the rest of the area.

Personally, I find the photo is still too flat and would do more tweaking with my personal preference, the Curves Adjustment Layers, but that’s just me. I prefer Curves over Blend Modes, in this case, because I can control the light and dark values more with the Histogram and Opacity. With blend modes, you use other blend modes and Opacity. Again, Curves are just my personal preference.

I think you’ll agree, either way, that this photo needs a lot more work, but at least you’ll see the idea of the lightening with the Screen Layer Blend Mode. While you’re working in Layer Blend Modes, don’t just stop at the Screen Mode! Cycle through all the Modes to see how each one adjusts the photo you’re working on, whether the photo is too dark, too light or whatever it may be. As always, play, experiment, try new things and find what works best for you!

Texture resources can come in very handy, especially if you just want to add some subtle grain to your designs or photographs. This article showcases a compilation of over 350 wooden textures, both free and premium.

---

Free Wood Textures

A great collection of free wood textures from across the web.

---

20 Grungy, Dirty Wood Textures (20 Textures)

---

Tree Bark: 10 Free, High Res Textures (10 Textures)

---

Free Hi Resolution Wood Textures (9 Textures)

---

14 Wood Textures (14 Textures)

---

Wood Texture Pack 1 (6 Textures)

---

3R Stock Wood Textures (6 Textures)

---

Wood (5 Textures)

---

Wood Texture Pack (9 Textures)

---

Wood Panels Texture Set (9 Textures)

---

Woodwork Texture Pack (9 Textures)

---

Wooden Tiles Texture Pack (8 Textures)

---

Old Wood Texture Pack (3 Textures)

---

Six Wood Textures (6 Textures)

---

Wood 01 (3 Textures)

---

Wood Texture (12 Textures)

---

Wood Texture Pack (3 Textures)

---

Wood Textures (15 Textures)

---

Wood Textures (45 Textures)

---

Dark Wood Texture Pack (11 Textures)

---

Wood Uncut (10 Textures, Seamless)

---

Wood Uncut 2 (10 Textures, Seamless)

---

Wood Uncut 3 (10 Textures, Seamless)

---

Wood Package 2 (8 Textures)

---

Texture Wood Pack 01 (3 Textures)

---

Wood Pack 1 (3 Textures)

---

Wood Board (10 Textures, Seamless)

---

Tileable Wood Textures (3 Textures, Seamless)

---

Wood Textures (4 Textures)

---

Premium Wood Textures

A small collection of premium wood textures, for those of you who don’t want to use textures that are found all over the graphic industry.

---

Colorful Wood Texture Pack (6 Textures – $3)

---

6 Tileable Wood Textures (6 Textures, Seamless – $5)

---

Dark Woodz Textures Volume 1 (12 Textures, Seamless – $3)

---

Wood Textures Pack 1 (8 Textures – $6)

---

Cool Wood Textures (26 Textures – $8)

---

Seamless Wood Patterns (8 Textures, Seamless – $5)

---

Wood Textures Pack II (8 Textures – $6)

---

5 Different Colored Wood Textures (5 Textures – $4)

---

6 Wood Textures (6 Textures – $5)

---

5 Wood Textures (5 Textures – $5)

---

You May Also Like…

• Top 50 Layer Styles, Elements and Templates for Quick Graphic Jobs
• Quick Tip: Create a Wood Panel Texture in Photoshop
• Create a Digital Camera with Wooden Accents Using Photoshop
• Massive Textures Showcase – Creative Examples of Use, Premium Packs and Tutorials
• How to Make a Highly-Textured Site Layout in Photoshop

It’s a wrap. This session has covered a mix of digital illustration articles on theory and in depth case studies. We’ve looked at various artist’s work and their workflows. We’ve taken a close look at the topic of style development, finding your market, and promoting your work. This session posted across numerous Tuts+ sites: Psdtuts+, Vectortuts+, and Cgtuts+. We’ll continue to expand each session as we cover new topics and integrate your feedback. Let us know what you think of this session’s material.

---

Digital Illustration – CS Content

• 

  Basic Principles of Digital Matte Painting

  Digital Matte Painting is a huge creative field that can add wonder and excitement to static film shots. Learn about digital matte painting principles, like set extension, camera mapping, as well as professional tips that matte painters employ.

  Visit Article

• 

  Software Assisted Illustration in the Form of Information Visualization

  Thinking about illustration inevitably calls to mind images of pencils and sketchpads and an analog, old-school creative process. There’s a certain charm to hand-drawn images, an intimate bridge between artist and page. But the digital age has brought its own magnetism to the illustrative process, liberating artists to do more than they ever could before and offering an entirely new platform for self-expression.

  Visit Article

• 

  Developing a Diverse Range of Illustration Styles

  Making a living as an illustrator is a dream for many young artists – but it takes more than dreaming to impress potential clients. A successful illustrator needs flare, persistence and a strong portfolio. Over the years I’ve experimented with various mediums and techniques to establish a broad range of styles. In this article I’d like to share my thoughts and experiences with using multiple illustration styles, as opposed to fixating on just one.

  Visit Article

• 

  From A Childs View: 30+ Creative Children’s Book Covers

  This inspirational post is all about showing you a great selection of different ways the digital medium is put to use in the modern day world to create illustrations for children’s book covers: from toddlers’ short novels and picture books, to books about color for the youth, to older kids who have a keen interest in art and design – and of course everything in between.

  Visit Article

• 

  Eighteen Artists Share Their Opinions on Artistic Style – Part I

  Talk to some artists or take a look at an online conversation about artwork and there’s a mighty good chance you’ll hear or read a mention of artistic style at some point. But for as often as it’s mentioned, style seems under-appreciated and misunderstood. So what exactly is behind a style? How does an artist develop a style and what does style mean to an artist? To find out, I spoke with eighteen highly-talented artists and I’ve conveniently assembled their responses for your edification and entertainment.

  Visit Article

• 

  Eighteen Artists Share Their Opinions on Artistic Style – Part II

  Talk to some artists or take a look at an online conversation about artwork and there’s a mighty good chance you’ll hear or read a mention of artistic style at some point. So what exactly is behind a style? How does an artist develop a style and what does style mean to an artist? To find out, I spoke with eighteen highly-talented artists and I’ve conveniently assembled their responses for your edification and entertainment. This is the second part of a two-part series. What’s that? Missed the first part? Well check it out!

  Visit Article

• 

  Scratching Your Niche Market

  As opposed to discussing just the specific techniques used to target a precise niche market, I would like to start off with a few overarching thoughts. I will cover some basic, yet very useful principles to keep in mind for the bigger picture (Get it? ‘Bigger picture,’ like your career – hehe), and then supply a case study of how I have used them in my work.

  Visit Article

• 

  Incorporating Surrealism Concepts into Your Digital Artwork

  Have you ever wanted to incorporate Surreal concepts into your artwork, but weren’t sure how to approach it? In this article, I share my personal pipeline for fusing Surrealist notions with my imagination to create fresh work. Learn to unleash your mind, capture your dreams, and fuse wild ideas into well crafted digital works of art through experimentation, planning, and execution.

  Visit Article

• 

  Realistic Vector Motorcycle Portraits

  Every semester, in my Illustrator classes, my students always want to know how I create the Motorcycle Portraits I am known for. I often give them a brief explanation, but I have never really sat down and described the process in detail…until now. My approach to getting a realistic look in my work is a bit tedious, but I think you will agree that the end results are well worth it. Enjoy!

  Visit Article

• 

  ‘Faux’ Magazine Cover Design

  With digital tools (such as, a combination of Poser and Photoshop) one can create faux cover designs much like the surface effects of traditional painting techniques. Furthermore the speed, turn around, and cost benefits in work flow these tools provide might just put a much cherished form of illustration back at the magazine editors doorstep. Let’s review a case study on creating a “Faux Fantasy and Adventure Magazine” cover, with an authentic look and worn vintage feel from yesteryear.

  Visit Article

• 

  The Making of Lost – Part 1

  In this tutorial series, I will be covering the basic process of how I created my piece “lost.” The first part of this two part series covers the basics of creating 3D abstract pieces and how to incorporate them with photo manipulation; the second part will focus on the creation of effects in Photoshop and how to enhance and strengthen the final image.

  Visit Article

• 

  The Making of Lost – Part 2

  In this second tutorial of this two part series, we will add a background and enhance the image with Photoshop effects. Keep in mind that a key to succeed in following this tutorial series is to experiment. I will be teaching the basic techniques but in order to create a strong composition and attractive shapes, you will need to alter the settings, and experiment with other effects. Patience and determination are mandatory skills for any artist. So let’s finish this image!

  Visit Article

• 

  Selfless Self-Promotion: How to Promote Yourself Without Talking About Yourself

  Promoting yourself doesn’t have to mean talking about yourself. There are so many other ways to get your name out there and market your brand. This is something that is too often overlooked by creative professionals. Let’s look a few simple ways to promote yourself without talking about yourself.

  Visit Article

---

Your Thoughts on this Digital Illustration Session

We’d love to here your feedback and suggestions on how to improve Creative Sessions. We’re actively working to improve this project, by consistently adding more high quality material, and new intensive two week sessions releasing each month. We look forward to your comments.

---

Coming Soon, Interface Design – Creative Session

Our next session will be on interface design. In the next session we’ll cover a wide spectrum of interface design topics. We’ll dive deeper into the theory of user-centered design, creating mobile interfaces, GUI design, and more. We’ll also follow some interface designers through their working process. We have a great session lined up on interface design coming soon. Expect to see this next session post around the middle of July.

Today, we have another Psd Premium tutorial exclusively available to Premium members. If you want to take your typography skills to the next level, then we have an awesome tutorial for you. Learn more after the jump!

---

This Premium Tutorial is Filled with Creative Tips

I am sure that you will agree that there is something mysterious about black and white photography. A while back I took some photos of some dry flowers and decided that I wanted to integrate them into an illustration. Today, I will use those photos to create some beautiful black and white floral typography. Let’s get started!

---

Professional and Detailed Instructions Inside

Premium members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now! Below are some sample images from this tutorial.

---

Psd Premium Membership

As you know, we run a premium membership system here that costs $9 a month (or $22 for 3 months!) which gives members access to the Source files for tutorials as well as periodic extra tutorials, like this one! You’ll also get access to Net Premium and Vector Premium, too. If you’re a Premium member, you can log in and download the tutorial. If you’re not a member, you can of course join today!