By Crystal Shards

Level: Beginner

Filters only

Abstract is a really hard thing to master. Hopefully, though, this tutorial shows you one of several ways of making a cool abstract.

First, you need a document. It really doesn't matter what size it is. For this example, I'm going to use a 200x200 transparent 72 resolution document.

Make sure your colors are set to default (press d) and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. You should have something like this.

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab1.png

If you're picky, now's the time to rename layers. Go to Filter>Sketch>Chrome. I usually put everything up to the max, but you can do what you want for this. Okay, that looks cool, doesn't it? No, not really. So duplicate the layer, and set it on lighten or soft light. Okay, so duplicate that layer one more time. You should have three layers, like so:

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab2.png

Now, go to your second layer from the bottom and to do Filter>Distort>Wave. Fiddle around with the settings until you get something you think looks kinda cool. It helps to randomize. It might look something like this:

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab3.png

Go to your top layer and go to Filter>Distort>Shear. Go crazy with it, or don't. Again, this is all up to you. When you're done, you should have something that looks something like this:

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab4.png

Now, see what you like better, the shear layer on top or the wave layer. In most cases it looks the same, but if you've fiddled with layer settings, it might be different. After you've done that, pick the color you want your image to be on your foreground palette and merge all layers by clicking the top layer and pressing ctrl shift and e. Your screen should look like this:

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab5.png

Press v to get the move tool (just in case you click anywhere), and press ctrl and u. Check the colorize button and set it to what you like. I usually do about 25-50 saturation. In this case, I did 30.

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab6.png

Okay yay. This might not be that impressive. Maybe it's a bit lopsided or something. Well, then duplicate the layer and flip it horizontally and/or vertically so it's a little more even. You might even want to do this a couple of times. Then pick different layer settings. Here's what I got by duplicating once, flipping the image horizontally and vertically, and sticking it on color burn:

[Example] - http://www.mercury.theicy.net/tutorials/ab7.png

Experiment... Sometimes the best backgrounds can be made this way!

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