This tutorial will talk you through how to create abstract art that mimics the creepiness of Giger's works. I take no responsibility for any warping of the artist's mind that may result from following this tutorial nor for the carpet stains that may result from tentacled monstrousities making a sudden friendly visit to your home.
1. Create a new document and fill with black.
2. Set your foreground color to white and your background color to black.
3. Select the gradient tool and put it in difference mode. Make it a circular gradient
4. Drag the gradient tool on the canvas, creating globes. Make sure the globes touch put don't go in straight lines. It doesn't look right. Don't touch the edge of the canvas. Name layer ?base.? Notice how the globes react to each other as you created them.
5. Copy the layer and paste it as an alpha channel.
6. Go back to your Filter/Render/Lighting Effects. Choose the Default Lighting style but add a low saturation blue light at an angle to the white light. 4 to 5 o?clock is fine. Keep the other settings as is. Use Alpha 1 channel for the texture channel. You now have the basic building block for the Giger effect.
7. Copy the base layer and set the blend mode to Overlay. This adds contrast.
8. Copy/Merged and Paste twice, creating two identical layers. Name them polar coordinates 1 and polar coordinates 2.
9. Turn off polar coordinates 2 layer. We don?t need it yet.
10. On polar coordinates 1 layer, go Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/Polar to Rectangular.
10. Now, Edit/Transform/Scale and adjust the height to 50%. Nudge the layer to the bottom of your canvas and duplicate it.
11. Now Edit/Transform/ Flip Vertical the duplicate layer. Nudge it to the top of your canvas. This should result in a symetrical image across the canvas.
12. Move the ?polar coordinate 2? layer above the two ?polar coordinate 1? layers, turn it on, and set the blend mode to Lighten.
13. Distort it by Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/Rectangular to Polar.
14. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Horizontal.
15. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Vertical
16. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Horizontal.
17. You should now have a ?ring? over the symmetrical object.
18. Copy/Merged and paste. Name new layer ?base 2.?
19. Add some organic goodness with Filter/Artistic/ Plastic Wrap. Highlight Strength 15, Detail 9, Smoothness 7.
20. Almost done. Now, distort the layer by Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/ Polar to Rectangular.
21. Duplicate the Base 2 layer and set the blend mode to Overlay. Yeah baby! Cthulu should look so good.
Here are some optional steps.
22. Create a Hue/Saturation layer and adjust the saturation down. Most of Giger?s works use subtle color at most.
23. To add some of that Giger pain to the image copy and merge the layers then go Filter/Stylize/Find Edges. Set the blend mode to Soft Light.
This will add the appearance of cracks, scrapes, and bumps to the piece.
1. Create a new document and fill with black.
2. Set your foreground color to white and your background color to black.
3. Select the gradient tool and put it in difference mode. Make it a circular gradient
4. Drag the gradient tool on the canvas, creating globes. Make sure the globes touch put don't go in straight lines. It doesn't look right. Don't touch the edge of the canvas. Name layer ?base.? Notice how the globes react to each other as you created them.
5. Copy the layer and paste it as an alpha channel.
6. Go back to your Filter/Render/Lighting Effects. Choose the Default Lighting style but add a low saturation blue light at an angle to the white light. 4 to 5 o?clock is fine. Keep the other settings as is. Use Alpha 1 channel for the texture channel. You now have the basic building block for the Giger effect.
7. Copy the base layer and set the blend mode to Overlay. This adds contrast.
8. Copy/Merged and Paste twice, creating two identical layers. Name them polar coordinates 1 and polar coordinates 2.
9. Turn off polar coordinates 2 layer. We don?t need it yet.
10. On polar coordinates 1 layer, go Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/Polar to Rectangular.
10. Now, Edit/Transform/Scale and adjust the height to 50%. Nudge the layer to the bottom of your canvas and duplicate it.
11. Now Edit/Transform/ Flip Vertical the duplicate layer. Nudge it to the top of your canvas. This should result in a symetrical image across the canvas.
12. Move the ?polar coordinate 2? layer above the two ?polar coordinate 1? layers, turn it on, and set the blend mode to Lighten.
13. Distort it by Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/Rectangular to Polar.
14. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Horizontal.
15. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Vertical
16. Duplicate the layer and Edit/Transform/Flip Horizontal.
17. You should now have a ?ring? over the symmetrical object.
18. Copy/Merged and paste. Name new layer ?base 2.?
19. Add some organic goodness with Filter/Artistic/ Plastic Wrap. Highlight Strength 15, Detail 9, Smoothness 7.
20. Almost done. Now, distort the layer by Filter/Distort/Polar Coordinates/ Polar to Rectangular.
21. Duplicate the Base 2 layer and set the blend mode to Overlay. Yeah baby! Cthulu should look so good.
Here are some optional steps.
22. Create a Hue/Saturation layer and adjust the saturation down. Most of Giger?s works use subtle color at most.
23. To add some of that Giger pain to the image copy and merge the layers then go Filter/Stylize/Find Edges. Set the blend mode to Soft Light.
This will add the appearance of cracks, scrapes, and bumps to the piece.