Preserved Topic: Abstract light art

Hey I know I already asked about metals but I'd like something else to fall back on when I need a break, so I can kind of switch between the two.

How would I make abstract "light" art? I'm not sure that's what you'd call it but...Any sites where I could get tutorials on how to? Thanks.

Eet Eez too shvety...

do you have a link handy to a site or piece that displays this...?
I'm not quite sure what you mean... so an example would be good.


FAQs n' Bits: Michael

abstract light art?


I'm....lost....


Get to know how to use the tool first, then worry about what kind of stlye of art you want to produce =)




[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-24-2003).]

"Abstract light art"...... what do you mean? ....... or do you mean the trend whore 3D space stuff, or just a image with differnt shades of colours (which light is, but I won't go there yet).

As said above, show us a image what you think is abstract light art and then we might be able to help you.

~ goes and looks at google....hhhmmm... ~

COPEY

Select the gradient tool. Set the mode to difference. Drag, drag, drag. Change gradients and options and repeat. Heh, that's pretty abstract, even psychedelic with the rainbow gradients.

Hehe. Ok. Well...umm...only thing I can think of is http://drain.opticulture.org some of his backgrounds contain light streaks with variating colors and patterns. Something on that line.

Eet Eez too shvety...

Where's Warjournal when we need him? And where's that Burst of Light tutorial?

Digital Kyp:
Give us links to the backgrounds you're talking about. It would be sooo much easier!

http://drain.opticulture.org/wallpaper.shtml wallpapers
http://www.impactdesign.org/tutorials/ray_of_light.htm ray of light tutial. (not the one by WJ)

I think for the effect that you're after, you'll like the 'color dodge' blending mode. It's somewhat tricky to use. whay you have a picture you want your 'ray of light' (where's webshaman when you need... aw, nevermind) on, make a new layer, fill it with black and set it to color dodge. (in PS versions 5.0 and below you don't need to fill with black first) then add the rays of light in white, using the airbrush (the various blur filters afterwards can help a lot)

Ah. The digital black hole guy. WJ is allllll too familiar with this one.

There was a rather long thread on eyeball concerning this, where WJ wrote a tutorial. The thread has long since been gone (I think), but the following is WJ's method.

Start a new doc and fill with black. It's a start.

Time for some swirls. Now open a photo -- pretty much
any photo will will do. In my second one, I used
photos of some pr0n queen I had laying around. Copy
it. Free Transform the copy and bring the top down and
the bottom up -- basically squish it. Run Polar Coords
to turn it into a donut. Use the Move tool to
drag-n-drop into the new doc.

Once it's in, it's a good idea to add an Adjustment
Layer > HSV to Colourize it. This Adjustment Layer
will be used to Colourize the whole thing, so all
Layers that you add go underneath it.

Back to the donut that you just dropped in. Hit Free
Transform (ctrl + t) and squish it slightly
horizontally and rotate it into place. Set Blending
mode to Screen. Run Levels (ctrl + l) and play with
the sliders until it looks good. Add a Layer Mask to
it and use the Airbrush to paint out the areas that
you don't want -- I used an Opacity of 15% and took it
slow.

Repeat the above a few times. After a few, you should
have some good looking Saturn-esque rings.

I also added some big, sweeping swirls. I did this by
grabbing a photo, running Polar Coords, dropping into
the new doc, Free Transform, Levels, and Layer Mask to
paint out what I didn't want. Basically like adding
the ringlets, but no Free Transform before Polar
Coords.

The lines going into (or coming out of) the center is
pretty much the same as I explained earlier. Photo,
Polar Coords the other way, grab left or right half,
drop into new doc, set to Screen, and Edit > Transform
> Distort into place. Levels to taste.

I also added some subtle lines radiating out from the
center of the black hole. Grab a photo, Motion Blur at
90 degrees, Polar Coords, drop into new doc, set to
Screen, Free Transform, and Levels to taste.

For making it glowey, I took a slightly bad route.
Above the HSV Adjustment Layer, I added a Colour Dodge
Layer filled with black and Airbrushed the highlights
in with white. What I should have done is lower the
Lightness in the HSV layer, ctrl + a, ctrl + shift +
c, ctrl + a, order it to the top, set it to Dodge, and
tone down some parts by Airbrushing black. Live and
learn.

Nothing terribly tricky. The first one I did was a 15
minute hack. The second one I did took just over an
hour.

If any of you folks get anything you'ld like to show,
by all means show it.

play.fiddle.learn

edit: If forgot to mention Radial Blur. After running
Polar Coords for cirles, I ran Radial Blur to smooth
it out.

Digital Kyp: Some nice advice above from mahjqa & Raptor. But to me the art at twisted drian seven, is (dare I say it) very simple if you know how to photomanip and use know how to use blend modes like overlay, colour dodge, screen (basically the one that pick up the light areas).

I said it's simple, cus I was doing this stuff when I was just learning photoshop, don't think I'm being big headed about this stuff, it's just that's it's simple to produce if you know what your doing with photoshop, but most of time it can be just play around. Most of his randomised madness are great, but the wallpapers to me just look like more like randomised madness .

What I would do to start off (as I did way back in 2000) is get some photos of roads at night time like these (do a 'night' search) and play with distorting filters, making twists and curves. Just play with stuff and see what you get as you have the base light. Once your playing, you'll find shapes and good pieces to work with, keep these and use them in a creative way. Then just add more duplicate layers on top and do the same. In a reasonable way, now set some of them layers to overlay blend mode and some at say screen and see what you get.

Just play around, it's the best way for this type of style. Unless you have a clear view in what you want, then it gets hard.

COPEY

Ok thanks guys, I'll look into it.

Eet Eez too shvety...