Best Photoshop Tutorials

Design a futuristic abstract poster

by Sebastiano on 19/05/09 at 7:35 am

Hi there! This week I’m really inspired so I’ve written a second tutorial This time we will learn how to create a futuristic abstract poster design using layer styles, shapes and “space” effects. The inspiration derives from a work of Edmar Cisneros. I was attracted by the ornamental squares of the background and…yes I love geometrical elements in grafic design. So lets create this nice effect :

Final Image Preview:

Step 1 – The background

Let’s start with a radial gradient from blue (#142661) to black (#000000). Now create a new layer and fill it with black. The goal of the following steps is to create a zoom effect. So make sure to have black and white as foreground and background colors and apply some clouds (filter>render>clouds). Click ctrl+alt+F to increase the contrast. Now apply the radial blur filter (filter>Blur>Radial Blur). The options are displayed in the image below. Press ctr+F to apply again the radial filter. OK, now you can see the zoom effect. Switch the layer blend mode to screen and the background is complete.

Step 2 – Geometry

Use the rectangle tool to create a square (simply press shift while drawing it). It is not important the color since we will apply blending options. Then right-click on the layer and select Blending Options. We will apply lots of styles, so I suggest you to download the photoshop file at the end of the tutorial. However you can follow the instructions in the screenshots:

Tip: if you want to position  the square in the center of your canvas, simply select the square layer, click ctrl+A to select all the pixels of the canvas, and use the alignment tools.

Step 3 – Squares

Duplicate the square layer to create our geometrical design. You simply have to resize the new squares. Then select the larger square, eliminate drop shadow in the blending options, and rasterize it. We will use the erase tool to gently erase with a large soft brush the edges in corrispondence with the light effects. Duplicate this layer and collocate it below all the other squares; then apply the gaussian blur filter (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) with a radius around 20 pixels.

How to create new squares: duplicate the layer of the square. Now press ctrl+T so that we can transorm it. Press shit+alt while enlarging the square.

Step 4 – The symbol

You can place in the center of our work the symbol you prefer. I have choosen the yin and yang symbol that is a photoshop default shape. Then right-click on the symbol’s layer and select Blending Options to give it a cooler look.

Step 5 – The pen tool

Use the pen tool to draw 4 purple (#f510a8) triangles. Then merge the layers of these triangles (select all layers, right-click>merge layers), switch the layer blend mode to overlay, and apply the gaussian blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) with radius around 20 pixels.

Step 6 – Texture

Maybe the project is too clean…we need a texture. You can find lots of hi-quality texture at texturevault (free and premium) or at zen texture (free). So download the paper texture you prefer, place it above all the other layers, set the layer blend mode to overlay and play with the opacity.

Step 7 – Brushes

To complete the work we could add some sparkles. Simply select the brush tool and white (#FFFFFF) as foreground color, open the brush option window (Window>Brushes) and change the options following the screenshots:

Step 8 – Finished!

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