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This tutorial shows you how to make realistic wood from scratch using the standard filters, layer styles, and adjustment layers found in Photoshop.
step 1
Photoshop 7 & later
1. Start a new drawing at 800 x 600 pixels with a background color of Black.
step 2
2. We are using two shades of a brown color with one light & the other dark. Choose #C5B2A0 for the Foreground & #857361 for the Background.
step 3
3. Using the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” with “Style = Fixed Size”, “Width = 35px” “Height = 450px”. Click on the screen, then drag the rectangular box to the left side.
step 4
4. Make a New Layer and leave the Marquee enabled, click the “Filter” - “Render” - “Clouds” option.
step 5
5. Go to “Filter” - “Noise” - “Add Noise” , with “Amount = 15%”, “Distribution = Gaussian” and “Monochromatic” checked.
step 6
6. Go to “Filter” - “Blur” - “Motion Blur…” , with “Angle = 90″, “Distance = 20px”. If you have made your plank considerably taller, then you will need to adjust the distance slider to get the best effect. Experiment with this.
step 7
7. On a New layer repeat Steps 3 - 6 again, but this time use “Width = 30px” listed in Step 3. Drag the rectangular box to the right side of the 1st plank. Line them up on the top side using a Guide Line and space them close together.
step 8
8. Create one more plank on a New layer, using a width value of your choosing following Steps 3 - 6. Once again, line them up on the top side using a Guide Line and space them close together. So all together we have 3 planks created and properly positioned. Make sure you link the 3 planks in the Layer menu
step 9
9. Make a “New Layer Set…” and “Name:” it 3 planks. With the new layer set closed, drag and drop the 3 plank layers into it.
step 10
10. Now drag the rectangular marquee to select the faded out bit on the top side of the planks. Select each plank layer then press the delete key, until you have all the top sides of the 3 planks trimmed.
step 11
11. Repeat Step 10 selecting the bottom side of the planks to eliminate the faded portions.
step 12
12. Now select the New Layer Set and Right-Click. Select “Duplicate Layer Set…” and you will have quickly created another 3 planks. Repeat this step until you have four 3- planks Layer Sets in total. Select each of the 3 planks Layer Sets one at a time and drag them into position so that you end up with twelve planks evenly spaced apart.
step 13
13. We are ready to apply Layer Styles and Adjustment Layers to our planks to give them a more realistic feel. Select one of the planks inside the bottom Layer Set and Right-click twice to open the Layer Style menu. Select “Bevel and Emboss”, “Texture”, and “Pattern Overlay”. (Use the settings shown in the image below) When you have it how you want it, right-click on that layer and select “Copy Layer Style”. Now, select each plank one at a time, right-click and select “Paste Layer Style” for each of the remaining planks to apply the styles you have created on each plank.
step 14
14. Here is a view of how the planks look at this point. Notice how all the planks have the same dark spot shapes throughout. It doesn’t look natural and needs to be fixed up.
step 15
15. This can be easily changed for each plank by going back to “Pattern Overlay” and sliding the Scale bar back & forth to make each plank unique in it’s appearance. Just play with that until you get a look that is satisfying for you.
step 16
16. Now, we are going to change the tint or hue slightly between each plank to add further variance to our wooden planks. Open one of the plank Layer Sets and select a plank. At the bottom/center of the Layer palette is a half black & half white ball. Go ahead and click on it, then select “Hue/Saturation…” . Without making any changes to the sliders. Go ahead and click the “Ok” button to get the menu out of the way. Now move your mouse cursor to where the plank layer meets the new Hue/Saturation layer above, while holding down the Alt key. When your cursor turns into a black pot with a handle on it, press the left-mouse button. What this does is lock the hue/saturation layer onto the plank layer so that its settings will not effect any other layers in the palette. You will see the Hue layer move to the right with an arrow pointing down to the layer it has an effect on. Double-click on the Hue/Saturation icon on the left and adjust the three sliders which control the ‘Hue’ , “Saturation”, and “Lightness” for each plank. Experiment with these settings for each plank to give each plank a slightly different hue.
step 17
17. Here is a view of what I came up with after adjusting all the plank’s Hue/Saturation.
step 18
18. We are going to now create some stains to put on the planks. Create a new layer, select the default black & white (shift - D) for your colors. Make a selection of all the planks by (Ctrl - Shift - Click) on each plank. Click the “Filter” - “Render” - “Clouds” option, Click Filter - Artistic - Cut Out; Number of Levels = 6, Edge Simplicity = 4, Edge Fidelity = 3, Click Filter - Pixelate - Mezzotint…; Type = Course Dots, Go to Select - Color Range…; Fuzziness = 40%, Click OK. Now Go to Select - Inverse, and Delete. Set Layer to “Overlay”, Opacity = 15%.
step 19
This concludes the techniques I use to create a realistic wood effect in Photoshop and it works well in many situations. The power of stock Photoshop is amazing and using the features inside of the filters, layer styles & adjustments layer gives you an infinite variety of possibilities. The main idea when using these techniques to experiment and try different patterns and settings to achieve the desired outcome.
step 20
Note:
It is important to keep the layer style & adjustment layer effects very subtle in your work for best results. I slightly exaggerated the effects a bit so that they would show up well enough for those using this tutorial. But, use natures cues in your work by incorporating detail and sublimity in your effects.