Psdtuts+ Updates - Announcing Windows AppStorm!

Announcing Windows AppStorm!
Win a Free Business Account From BaseKit (x3)
Quick Tip: How to Create an Abstract Wireframe Text Effect

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 11:28 AM PDT

We're immensely pleased to announce that, after months of waiting, a new member of the AppStorm network has landed: Windows.AppStorm! Read on to find out more about what this fantastic new site has to offer…

Complimenting Mac.AppStorm, Web.AppStorm, iPhone.AppStorm, iPad.AppStorm, and Android.AppStorm, our new Windows site will be offering reviews and roundups covering the entire Windows ecosystem, including Windows Phone 7, and games, along with tips and tricks to get the most from Windows.

We know that many Tuts+ readers use Windows devices every day and want to provide you with a fantastic resource for everything Windows related. We’re incredibly excited to bring you excellent Windows content of the high quality you’ve come to expect from AppStorm – daily reviews, how-to’s, roundups, news, and opinion.

Subscribe and Stay Up-to-Date!

We have some absolutely fantastic posts lined up over the coming weeks, and we’d hate for you to miss out… There are a few different ways to subscribe to Windows.AppStorm – hopefully one of the following options will work for you!

Subscribe to our RSS feed
Follow @windowsappstorm on Twitter
Sign up for Email Updates
Stay up-to-date on Facebook

Get Stuck In

As a treat for all newcomers to Windows.AppStorm here are a some links to articles published in the interim, you won’t be disappointed!

Head over to Windows.AppStorm…

Win a Free Business Account From BaseKit (x3)

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 09:30 AM PDT

As a Photoshop artists, we know that you will need to create your own website at some point in your career. A website is an important aspect of any business and is something most designers spend quite a bit of time on. Unfortunately, most Photoshop artists aren't expert web designers. Some may know code very well; but others may be illustrators, print designers, or photographers; and let's face it, our time is always limited. That's why today, our friends from BaseKit have come to the rescue and are giving away a free 1-Year Business Plan ($240 value) to 3 lucky readers of this website.

BaseKit is web design software that allows you to create professional websites from within your browser in just a few clicks. You don't need any technical skills and you can use a pre-packaged website template to get you started. Simply choose how you want your site to look, add your content and publish.

Some of you may be wondering what makes BaseKit different from all the other website builders out there. In the past, other website builders relied on flash as a platform to build their sites. Those sites tended to be a bit clunky. BaseKit changes all that and is fully HTML which means they work on all devices – even mobile phones. To learn more about BaseKit, visit their website.

To enter to win a free Business Plan from BaseKit, all you have to do is fill out the form below.

Submit Your Entry

Up For Grabs

A Free Business Plan for 3 lucky readers.

Rules

To enter, submit using the form above.
You may only enter once.
Make sure to enter a valid email address so that we can contact you.
Entries will be accepted until Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11:59 PM, EST.

Screenshots

You can see some screenshots of BaseKit below.

This giveaway was sponsored by BaseKit

Quick Tip: How to Create an Abstract Wireframe Text Effect

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT

In this text effect tutorial we will demonstrate how to create an abstract wireframe text effect. Let’s get started!

Step 1

Let’s start by creating a new document which is 900 px wide and and 600 px high at a resolution of 300 pixels/inch. Make sure the Color Mode is set to RGB.

Step 2

Fill the “Background” layer with Black. Get the Type Tool and type your text. I wrote “ABSENT”. I used Futura Md BT font, set Font Style to Medium and Font Size to 220 px. I also set the Tracking to 20 to increase the space between letters. Make sure the Text Color is set to White.

Step 3

While the text layer is selected on the Layers Palette, hit Command/Ctrl + E to merge the text and the "Background" layers.

Step 4

Now go to Filter > Distort > Wave and use these settings: Type: Square, Number of Generators: 1, Max Wavelength: 635, Min. Wavelength: 257, Max. Amplitude: 141, Min. Amplitude: 62, Horiz. Scale: 24% and Vert. Scale: 22%. Now you’ll have a pretty distorted text. Please keep in mind that the result depends on these parameters as well as the size, tracking and position of the text.

Step 5

We’ll add another displacement effect to our text and we’re going to use Fragment filter for that. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Fragment.

Step 6

Now go to Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges, set Edge Width to 1, Edge Brightness to 6 and Smoothness to 1.

Step 7

We’re going to copy this image to a new alpha channel and make a selection out of it. First hit Command/Ctrl + A to select the whole layer, hit Command/Ctrl + C to copy. Then go to the Channels Panel create a new channel and hit Command/Ctrl + V to paste. Command/Ctrl-click on the Alpha 1 channel thumbnail to get the white pixels selected.

Step 8

Now go back to the Layers Panel. Create a new layer and name it "Text". Fill the selection with White, hit Command/Ctrl + D to deselect. Go to the "Background" layer and fill it with Black. Now we’ll apply a Layer Style to "Text" layer. Select the "Text" layer in the Layers Panel and apply a Gradient Overlay using these settings: Blend Mode set to Normal, Opacity set to 15%, Gradient set to Blue, Red, Yellow, Angle set to 140 and Scale at 150%. Select the “Background” layer in the Layers Panel and create a new layer. Select both “Layer 1″ and “Text” layers, hit Command/Ctrl + E to merge selected layers. Now the layer style we’ve just applied is merged with the layer.

Step 9

It is time to add some lighting effects now. Duplicate the “Text” layer by hitting Command/Ctrl + J. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 4 pixels. Hit Command/Ctrl + J again to duplicate the “Text copy” layer. Set Blend Mode to Overlay and hit Command/Ctrl + J once again to duplicate the “Text copy 2″ layer.

Step 10

Select “Text copy” layer in the Layers Panel and duplicate it. Drag the “Text copy 4″ layer just above the “Background” layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 6 pixels. Then go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and use these settings: Colorize: Checked, Hue: 315, Saturation: 38 and Lightness: -30.

Step 11

Now we’ll create the background. Create a new layer above the “Background” layer and name it “Lights”. Get the Gradient Tool, pick Foreground to Transparent and set to Radial Graident. Zoom out and apply gradients starting from outside the canvas as shown in the below image. You can use the colors shown below as well as you can pick your own.

Step 12

Create a new layer above the “Lights” layer and name it "Circles". Get the Brush Tool, pick one of the standart round brushes and open the Brushes Panel and change the settings as shown below.

Step 13

Set Foreground Color to #3fc5c6 and Background Color to #ad4cb1. Paint the "Circles" layer with random brush moves.

Step 14

Now go to Filter > Blur > Surface Blur, set Radius to 25 pixels, set Threshold to 175 levels and apply. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with a Radius of 4 pixels.