Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to create your own dazzling, comic book, pop art graphic.
I provided a template that you can download.
Its link is in the video's description or project files.
It includes 4 layers: a solid blue background, which you can change if you like, and three
comic book-style, images that we'll incorporate later - a cloud, a pointed shard, and a star.
Before we begin, if you're not already a subscriber to Blue Lightning TV, smash that "Subscribe"
button to let you know as soon as I upload new Photoshop tutorials.
I upload a new one every week.
Temporarily hide the top 3 layers.
We'll make a new layer above the active layer by clicking the New Layer icon.
In this empty layer, we'll create our cartoon burst.
If you're using CC 2018 or later, open the Curvature Pen Tool.
If you're using an earlier version, open your Pen Tool.
If you don't know how to use either of these tools, watch my in-depth tutorials showing how to use them.
I provided those links, as well.
At the top, click "Path".
Go to the top of your document and click to make the first anchor point.
Release and click below and to the right.
Release and click above and to the right.
The Curvature pen tool automatically draws a curve that connects the first and third anchor point
using the second anchor point as the midpoint of the curve.
If you're using the basic Pen Tool, make a "v" shaped path.
Open your Path Selection Tool and go to the second point.
Press and hold Ctrl + Alt on Windows or Cmd + Option on a Mac as you drag out the point to make the curve.
If you want to move any of the anchor points, just drag it with the pen tool you're using.
To make the point sharp, double-click it, release, and click below and to the right.
If the top point isn't sharp, go back and double-click it again.
Release and click to right to complete the curve.
If there's an overlap in any of the curves - no problem...just click directly on the path and drag it over.
Follow these steps as you draw sharp and curved points to create your cartoon burst.
Complete the path by clicking the first anchor point.
You know the path is complete when you see a small circle next to the pen tool.
Continue to finesse the paths until you're happy with its shape.
Right-click or secondary-click directly on the path and click "Make Selection".
The feather radius is 0 pixels.
If you see the path under the selection, open the Paths panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Paths.
Click on an empty area of the Paths panel to hide the paths.
Open back the Layers panel.
We'll fill the selection with any color for now.
The quickest way is to fill it with the foreground or background color.
To fill it with the foreground color, press Alt or Option + Delete.
To fill it with the background color, press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
Deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D. Before we add strokes and borders to our burst,
let's change the color of our white background.
Make the bottom layer active and click the foreground color to open the Color Picker.
Pick a color.
Since I already know the color I want, I'll type it into the hexadecimal field.
2089F5.
Once you pick a color, click OK or press Enter or Return.
Notice your foreground color is the color you just picked.
Fill the background with the foreground color.
Double-click the burst to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Color Overlay" and the color box.
Pick a rich yellow color.
Click "Stroke" and the color box.
Pick a bright red.
Make the size 40 pixels.
We'll be adding multiple strokes.
For all of them, the Position is "Inside", the Blend Mode is Normal, and the Opacity is 100%.
Click the "+" icon next to "Stroke" to add another one.
Click the color box and pick white.
Make its size: 18 pixels.
Add another stroke and click the color box.
Pick black and make the size: 13 pixels.
We'll convert our burst into a Smart Object, which gives us the ability to change or adjust
any of the colors and strokes at any time.
To do this, click the icon at the upper, right and click "Convert to Smart Object".
Next, we'll add a dot pattern inside the yellow shape.
Open your Magic Wand Tool and click the yellow shape to select it.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + J to cut and copy the shape onto its own layer.
Go to Window and Patterns.
Click this icon to open the list and "Legacy Patterns and More".
Open the folder and open "Legacy Patterns".
Scroll to "Web Patterns" and open the folder.
Scroll to the dots and click it.
Then, close the folder.
Change the Blend Mode to "Color Burn".
Double-click the pattern layer to open the Pattern Fill window.
Make the Angle: 20 degrees and feel free to make the scale any amount that looks good to you.
We'll convert our burst into a Smart Object by Shift-clicking the large burst to make
it active, as well, and converting the layers into one Smart Object.
Open your Horizontal Type Tool and pick a cartoon font.
I'm using "Canted FX Bold".
If you'd like to use it, as well, I provided it's link to in my video's description or project files.
I'll make the size 200 points, but feel free to adjust the size depending on the font you
choose and the number of characters in your text.
I'll make it Sharp and Center Alignment.
Click the color box and pick a bright red color.
Click on the burst and type out your text.
Our text will look most effective when the space between the characters is very tight.
To tighten the spacing, highlight your text and press and hold Alt or Option as you press
the left arrow key on your keyboard.
Open your Move Tool and drag your text to the center.
If you want to make it bigger or smaller, let's use the Transform Tool.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + T and go to a corner.
If you're using CC 2019 or later, press and hold Alt or Option as you drag it in or out.
If you're using an earlier version, press Alt or Option + Shift as you drag it.
To angle it, go to a corner again and rotate it to an angle your like.
Then, press Enter or Return.
Double-click an empty area of your text layer to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Stroke" and the color box.
Pick black and make the Position "Outside".
I'll make its Size 53 pixels, but you may want to adjust this amount depending on the size of your text.
Click the stroke above it.
The Position is Outside, and I'll make its size 33 pixels.
The color is white.
Click the stroke above it and make the position Outside.
I'll make its size 16 pixels.
The color is black.
Click "Pattern Overlay".
The Blend Mode is "Darken", the Opacity is 100%, the Angle is 20 degrees and I'll make its Scale: 120%.
Double-click the large "T" of your text layer to highlight your text and go to Window and Character.
The Character panel will open.
Click the Italicize icon to make your text even more energetic looking.
Now, we can close the panel.
Open your Move Tool and convert our text into a Smart Object.
Next, we'll add a solid drop shadow to our cartoon text.
Ctrl or Cmd-click its thumbnail to select it.
We'll create a new layer below our active layer by Ctrl or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
In this empty layer, we'll fill the selection will black, but before we do, press "D" on
your keyboard to revert your colors to black and white, respectively.
Since black is our foreground color, press Alt or Option + Delete.
Deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D. Open your Transform Tool and type into the Angle field: 45.
This rotates our Transform 45 degrees.
Then, press Enter or Return.
Since we'll be creating multiple copies of it, we'll place it into a folder.
To do this, press Ctrl or Cmd + G. Make the solid text shape active and press and hold
Alt or Option and the Down arrow on your keyboard.
This creates multiple copies of it as it places each copy one pixel lower than the one above it.
Close the folder and open your Transform Tool.
At the top, change the angle to minus 45 degrees.
This returns the shape back to its original angle.
Drag it, so the top of it aligns with top of the text's black stroke.
If you want to make the solid drop shadow shallower, open back the folder and click the top shape.
Scroll down and Shift-click the shape a few layers down.
This makes it and all the shapes above it active in the folder.
Then, press the Delete key to delete the active layers.
If it's still too deep for your liking, just repeat the process.
Then, close the folder.
We'll convert the two layers that comprise our text into Smart Object by Shift-clicking
the text above it and converting them into one Smart Object.
Use your Transform Tool to finesse your text's angle, position, and size.
Next, we'll add some radial bursts to our background.
Make the base active and make a new layer above it.
Invert the colors by pressing "x" on your keyboard.
White is now our foreground color.
Open your Polygon Tool and choose "Shape".
The Fill should be white, and the Stroke should be empty.
Click the gear icon and click "Proportional".
The "Star Ratio" is 50% and "From Center" is checked.
Go to the center of your document and drag out a circle approximately this size.
Change its Blend Mode to Overlay and change its opacity to 30%.
To hide the path around the shape, open your paths panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Paths.
Click anywhere under the path thumbnails.
Next, we'll add another radial burst onto our background.
Open back the Layers panel and make a new layer below the active layer.
We'll need more room for the next radial burst shape, so we'll zoom out of our document by
pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the minus key on our keyboard.
Go to the center again and drag out the shape to approximately this size.
Then, press Enter or Return.
Reduce its opacity to 40% and double-click the thumbnail to open its Layer Style window.
Click Color Overlay and the color box.
I'll type in: 0052F9, but feel free to pick another color if you like.
I'll reduce its opacity to 40.
Zoom back in by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the "plus" key.
Scroll up and make the Shard layer visible and active.
Place it into a folder and name it.
Make the shard active and press "v" to open your Move Tool.
Drag it outside the cartoon burst and use your Transform Tool to angle it toward the
center of the document.
Make a copy of it and drag it onto the general area you'd like it to be placed.
Open your Transform Tool to rotate it.
We can adjust its size by going to a bottom or top corner of the bounding box and pressing
and holding Alt or Option as we drag it out or in.
Continue to make copies and use your Transform tool to position, angle and size the shards.
Close the folder and make the Cloud graphic visible and active.
Place it into a folder and name it.
Make the graphic active and repeat the prior steps.
Close the folder and make the Star graphic visible and active.
As before, place it into a folder and name it.
Make the graphic active and place them around your cartoon image.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching and remember to subscribe, like and share!