Light Effects Worksheet
I. Creating Light Effects
A. Designate Subject from Type Information
1)
Create a New Document, 500 x 500 at 300ppi.
2) Choose Foreground/Background Colors. Edit>Fill with Dark color.
3) Create a Letter large enough to fill the space using Type Tool.
4) Select the Type using the Magic Wand. Go to the Channels palette and Click on to Save the Selection as an Alpha Channel.
5) With the Selection Active, Highlight only the Alpha Channel. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and introduce a casual gradient for edges. Click to Highlight the RGB Channel and go to Step 6.
* This will help to enhance the gradients for round edges when used as a mask.
6) Highlight Type Layer and Rasterize. Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Adjust settings for Light type including Directional, Spotlight, and Omni.
* If you do not rasterize the type layer, the filters will not be active.
7) Set Texture Channel to Alpha1 to enable selection mask and adjust Properties for Gloss, Material, and Ambience. Click OK.
8) With the selection still active, Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to smooth out the transition of the lighting effects.
9) The final image can be enhanced with use of Layer Effects. The right image has a Drop Shadow to separate type from background.
* Try this method on complex selection made from images or collage subjects.
© 2007,
Matthew Roderick
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