Hey, this is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I want to tell you about my "go-to" website for all my graphic assets.
You may not have heard about it, so this video is more of a "show and tell" than a tutorial.
Joining Envato Elements provides you with hundreds of thousands to millions of professional-grade graphic assets.
They re all here in Envato Elements.
These are some quick examples that I created just before uploading this video using 1-click, Photoshop actions
that I downloaded from Envato ELements.
The photos that I used in these examples are also from the 5 million high-resolution photos
in Envato Elements.
I also downloaded a cool template design in which I replaced text with my own.
All their templates are fully customizable.
Each template includes all the fonts, graphics, and everything else you need.
Before we dive into each of them, I want to let you know that Envato Elements is offering
a free, 7-day trial.
Click the special link in my video's description.
You have nothing to lose and you can cancel at any time.
I don't have to hunt through various websites to find the best fonts, plugins, actions,
high-resolution photos, templates, motion graphics and backgrounds.
They're all here in Envato Elements.
Just browsing through the website inspires my creativity.
When I download a Photoshop action or plug-in, Envato Elements provides a quick start PDF
guide and a video tutorial that guides me step-by-step to create the awesome final image.
The instructions are amazingly simple, thorough, and effective.
Envato assets can be used in Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, WordPress, Premiere
Pro, Final Cut Pro, PowerPoint and so much more.
The first example I'll show you that I downloaded from Envato is an incredible Photoshop action
that automatically converts your photos into the look of the hand-drawn sketches in the
style of the great Renaissance painter, Leonardo DaVinci.
Whenever you "Download" anything this panel will appear.
It asks whether you want to add it to a recent project or create a new project.
Since I already downloaded it, I'll tick the project I downloaded it to.
Once you start your free trial, click "Add & Download".
I save everything to my desktop for quick access.
Double-click the DaVinci zip file to open it.
It contains the custom brushes for CC and above, as well as the same brushes for CS6 and earlier.
It also contains all the patterns, the action, a "Help" pdf file, and 15 paper textures from which to choose.
To install the brushes, patterns, and action, simply double-click each one.
Double-click the Help pdf file and once it opens, click the "Help Guide Video".
It'll guide you step-by-step through the process of creating it, which is actually quite simple and straightforward.
I'll use this photo of an electric guitar that I also downloaded from Envato Elements.
The first step is to make a selection around the subject in the photo.
There are many ways to do this and I covered all of them in my tutorials.
Once you make a selection, click the new layer icon to make a new layer.
Fill the selection with any color and deselect it.
Open your Actions panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Actions.
Scroll to the bottom and open the "Da VInci Photoshop Action".
Click the "Da Vinci Sketch v1.2 [SELECT THIS...]" and click the "Play" button.
That s it!
This action is automatically creating dozens of layers that build on each other.
At some point, the action will pause and a message will pop up instructing us to select
any of the 15 paper textures that are provided.
Click "Continue".
Click the Zip file icon to open the action zip file.
Right-click any of the paper textures and click "Open with" and the Photoshop version you're using.
Press "v" to open your Move Tool.
Drag the paper onto the tab of your DaVinci sketch.
Without releasing your mouse or pen, drag it down and release.
To rotate and resize it, open your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T.
Go to a corner and press and hold the Shift key as you rotate it until it snaps 90 degrees.
Go back to a corner and press and hold Alt or Option + Shift as you drag it out or in
until your entire document is filled with the paper texture.
All the individual elements of our sketch can now be moved around, resized, or hidden.
When you find the element you want to move or resize, make that layer active.
Before you move or resize it, make sure "Auto-Select" isn't checked.
This will ensure that another element on your document won't be selected.
Now move it to a new position.
Continue doing this with other graphic elements until you're happy with the results.
The Action in the next example creates a dynamic dispersion scatter effect in your photos.
Double-click the Brushes and the action for the version of Photoshop you're using.
Open the Help.pdf file and click the video tutorial which will guide you through all the steps.
As before, make a selection around your subject.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer and fill the selection with any color.
Make new layer above it and click the foreground color box.
Pick another color and open your Pencil or Brush Tool.
Paint over the area of your subject in which you'd like the dispersion effect to be directed.
It's important that we name the middle layer, "subject" and the top layer, "area", otherwise the action won't work.
Now that we have our image ready, in the "Actions" panel, open "Ashes n Embers".
You'll see 4 options from which to choose.
Each of them indicates which direction the dispersion effect will go.
In this example, I'll click "Right" and click the "Play" button.
Immediately, Photoshop automatically builds this incredible effect at an insane speed
saving you hours of time.
We can now adjust anything in our image such as the toning, cracks, ashes, smoke, and colors.
For example, I'd like to intensify the orange embers.
I'll make that folder active and make two copies of it.
Next, we'll create an awesome impressionist, drip painting effect.
This effect is basically created with just 3 clicks.
Once we open its zip file, double-click the Action, the brushes, and the Pattern.
Open the Readme text file and highlight the link to the video tutorial.
Copy the link by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + C
and paste it into your Browser by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + v.
The video shows us how to prepare all the settings for the action to work.
In the Actions panel, open the "Impressionist - by Sevenstyles", click "Impressionist",
and the Play button.
Let Photoshop "rip".
When you see this message, click "Stop" and then proceed to brush over your document to
reveal the painting under it.
Click "Play" again to resume the action.
When it pauses, click "Stop" and brush around the edges of the painting to reveal soft background strokes.
Click "Play" for the last time for the action to complete.
This next example runs a "script" that transforms photos into professional-looking pencil sketches
mixed with watercolor paint.
After you download the script file, pattern, and brushes,
open your Polygonal Lasso Tool and loosely draw around your subject.
Make a new layer, fill the selection with a color and deselect it.
Go to File, Scripts and "Pencil Sketch FX".
That's it!
Photoshop does the rest.
Of course, when its done, you can tweak the characteristics of any of the elements if you like.
I hope I was able to show you the phenomenal benefit of having unlimited access to this
treasure trove of millions of graphic assets at your fingertips.
Click my special link in the video's description to get you started.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!