Photoshop filters make simple cloud effects-PS tutorial

At the beginning of the development of Photoshop, programmers added the filter function, which was not favored at the beginning. Strictly speaking, a filter is an external plug-in. although its effect is changeable, it actually uses the internal image processing function of Photoshop. Its existence or absence is not a necessary condition for Photoshop to run. In development PhotoshopFirst, programmers joined FilterThis feature was not favored at the beginning. Strictly speaking, a filter is an external plug-in. although its effect is changeable, it actually uses the internal image processing function of Photoshop. Its existence or absence is not a necessary condition for Photoshop to run. Similarly, it cannot do anything beyond the scope of Photoshop capabilities. for example, it cannot provide pure vector gradient as Illustrator does.

Although the use of filters is simple, they can often get some good results. Most of these effects are casual and illusory, and they are highly adjustable. you can modify the parameters to create other effects, especially when multiple filters are used in combination. But remember that for a complete file, the filter is only one part. In the basic section, we have not introduced the actual use of filters too much. one is due to space limitations, and the other is that we do not want you to use filters too much in the beginner stage, to form a filter dependency.
Most filters add effects on the basis of the original image. the added effect does not affect the overall contour of the image (except for extreme settings), such as frequent Gaussian blur, there are also Mosaic, reduce colors, waves, and so on. They all share a common feature that must depend on existing images. A type of filter is special, that is Rendering filtersIn the filter menu, it is a specialized rendering category. they feature that they can generate images themselves, typically cloud filters, which use foreground and background colors to generate random cloud effects. Because they are random, the images generated each time are different.
The cloud filter has a brother: Stratified cloud filterThe difference between the two is that the former only generates images based on the foreground and background colors. In addition to color, the latter also references the original image. Therefore, after ten consecutive cloud filters are used, the effect looks similar to that after the first use. the more times the stratified clouds are used continuously, the more sharp the cloud edge in the image. The principles of fiber filters are similar, except that the image style is different from those of the previous two. These three filters are used to create special filters. Most of our subsequent special effect instances start with them.
The same as the rendering class lighting effect filter, which is rarely used due to the general effect (similar to the gradient), the lens halo filter must have the original image to have a significant effect, and is rarely used.
　　 A typical cloud effect production process is as follows:
1. create an image, set the foreground color and background color to the black and white by default, and create a grayscale image using a cloud filter.
2. Then, use the color adjustment command such as curve or color order to increase the contrast.
3. use other filters for further processing.
4. use the color adjustment command or gradient ING to color the grayscale image.
5. other post-processing methods.
6. crop the image area.
In this case, steps 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are not mandatory, and the order is not fixed and can be freely used. The last step 6 seems to be a little far-fetched, but it is very important for webpage creation, because we cannot make a special effect Image occupy a large page area. In addition, if the overall effect is normal, do not discard it at will. if you crop it with your heart, you can get a very good final image. This is just like taking photos. photography masters do not have to take famous mountains and rivers, and sewers and even garbage dumps can make an artistic conception.
The first thing you should remember is to make them in gray scale and then color them later. This gives you more control over the effect. In addition, you must follow the principle of retaining the maximum editable content and use adjustment layers and smart objects (which must be Photoshop CS3) for other operations. In this way, you can change the parameters at any time to achieve different effects.
The next step is to master the principles and usage of gradient ING, which is located at the end of section 14th of the basic tutorial, the seemingly unrelated section is actually the first step for everyone to continue learning the current content.
　　 Next we will follow the process above to create a simple cloud effect.
1. create a 300x300 white background image, use the default black front and White back to use [filter> rendering> stratified clouds], and then repeat the ctrl f for 5 to 10 times, obtain a gray-scale image, as shown in.