How to Create a Colorful Pendant Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

by Rose

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What You'll Be Creating

Looking for a nice little gift? This tutorial will show you how to use a bunch of layer style, textures, and shapes, to create a bright, colorful pendant text effect. Let's get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

• Sedona Script FLF font
• White satin stock 8 by Starbl00d-Stock
• Artist Heart by aarizvi
• Stars and Flares Brush Set by MysticEmma
• Free Pack 6000 photoshop gradients by Supertuts007 (Load theCHROMES.grd file)

1. Create the Background

Step 1

Create a new 1024 x 683 px document, place the White satin stock 8 image on top of the Background layer, and resize it as needed.

Step 2

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layerspanel, and choose Levels.

Step 3

Change the Gamma value to 1.85 and the Highlights value to 205. This will brighten up the texture.

2. Create the Text and Style the Stroke

Step 1

Create the text using the font SedonaScriptFLF, the Size 350pt, and the color#f062b2.

Duplicate the text layer twice, and change the second copy's Fill value to 0.

Double click the original text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 2

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Style: Stroke Emboss
• Size: 8
• Gloss Contour: Cone
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
• Opacity: 75%
• Shadow Mode - Opacity: 50%

Step 3

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cone
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

Step 4

Add a Stroke with these settings:

• Size: 5
• Position: Outside
• Fill Type: Gradient
• Style: Reflected
• Angle: 90
• Use the stove pipe 80 gradient fill.

Step 5

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

• Opacity: 45%
• Distance: 11
• Size: 20

Step 6

Click the + icon next to the Drop Shadow effect tab to add another one, and then select the new Drop Shadow tab.

Use these settings for the second Drop Shadow effect:

• Blend Mode: Color Burn
• Opacity: 15%
• Distance: 10
• Size: 5

This will style the pendant's stroke.

3. Style the First Copy Text Layer

Double click the first copy text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 16
• Gloss Contour: Ring-Double
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode: Color Burn
• Color: #4c0d33

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Guassian - Inverse
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

Step 3

Add a Texture with these settings:

• Pattern: Metallic Snakeskin

This will style the first part of the text.

4. Style the Second Copy Text Layer

Double click the second copy text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 18
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: 135
• Altitude: 74
• Gloss Contour: Cone - Inverted
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
• Shadow Mode: Linear Burn
• Color: #11d6b3

Step 2

Add a Texture with these settings:

• Pattern: Metallic Snakeskin

This will style the second part of the text.

5. Create the Rings

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool, press and hold the Shift key, and then click and drag to create a 25 x 25 px circle. Release all.

Press and hold the Option key to subtract a smaller circle from the bigger one.

Click and drag again, release the Option key, and press and hold the Shift key instead. Then keep dragging to create a smaller 15 x 15 px circle.

You can press and hold the Spacebar to move the circle around, and then release all when the smaller circle is in the middle of the bigger one. This will create the ring shape.

Step 2

Duplicate the Ellipse 1 shape layer three times. Rename the second copy toEllipse 2, and the third copy to Ellipse 2 copy.

Place the Ellipse 1 and Ellipse 1 copy rings somewhere on the edge of the first letter, and the Ellipse 2 and Ellipse 2 copy rings somewhere on the edge of the last letter.

6. Style the Bottom Ring Layers

Double click the Ellipse 1 layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 7
• Gloss Contour: Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
• Shadow Mode - Opacity: 50%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cone
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

Step 3

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

• Opacity: 45%
• Distance: 11
• Size: 20

Step 4

Add another Drop Shadow with these settings:

• Blend Mode: Color Burn
• Opacity: 15%
• Distance: 10
• Size: 5

Step 5

This will style the bottom ring layer.

Right click the Ellipse 1 layer, and choose Copy Layer Style. Then right click theEllipse 2 layer, and choose Paste Layer Style.

7. Style the Top Ring Layers

Double click the Ellipse 1 copy layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 7
• Gloss Contour: Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
• Shadow Mode - Opacity: 50%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cone - Inverted
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

Step 3

This will style the top ring layer. Copy and paste this layer style to the Ellipse 2 copylayer.

8. Add the Chains

Step 1

Open the Artist Heart image, and use the Lasso Tool to select the right chain. You can then use the Quick Selection Tool or the Magnetic Lasso Tool to add the end of the chain to the selection.

Go to Edit > Copy, and then go back to the original document.

Step 2

Go to Edit > Paste, and then go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Place the chain layer on top of all the Ellipse layers, and resize it as needed. Use the Move Tool to move the chain on top of the right rings.

Step 3

Copy and paste the Ellipse 1 layer's layer style to the chain layer, and then double click the chain layer to uncheck the Bevel and Emboss and Contour effects.

This will apply only the Drop Shadow effects to the chain layer.

Step 4

Duplicate the chain layer. Then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical, and move the flipped chain on top of the left rings.

9. Add the Flares and the Background Blur

Step 1

Create a new layer on top of all layers, call it Flares, and change its Blend Mode toLinear Light.

Pick the Brush Tool, and set the Foreground color to #f4f1e2.

Choose any of the Stars and Flares Brush Set tips, resize it, and if you like, you can also change its Angle value under the Brush Tip Shape tab in the Brush panel (Window > Brush). Add some small flares to a couple of the bright areas.

Step 2

Select the Satin layer, and go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift. Change the Blurvalue to 7, and click and drag the lines you have to get a result you like.

10. Add Some More Shadow

Step 1

Select all the text, Ellipse, and chain layers. Duplicate them, right click any of the duplicated layers, and choose Clear Layer Style. Then go to Layer > Merge Layers.

Rename the merged layer to Shadow, and place it on top of the Levels adjustment layer.

Step 2

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and change the Lightness to -100.

Step 3

Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters, and then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Change the Angle to -35, and the Amount to 115.

Step 4

Use the Move Tool to place the shadow so that it extends from the text.

Step 5

Change the Shadow layer's Blend Mode to Multiply and its Opacity to 7, or any other value you like.

Step 6

Finally, use the Move Tool to nudge the Ellipse 1 copy and Ellipse 2 copy layers a little bit. This will show the rings below them, giving the illusion of a more 3D look.

Step 7

Keep in mind that you can move and resize any parts you feel need moving or resizing.

Congratulations! You're Done

In this tutorial, we adjusted the lighting of a satin texture, created a couple of text layers, and styled them to create the main text effect.

After that, we used the Ellipse Tool to create the ring shapes, and styled them as well. We also used a stock image to get the chain, adjusted its coloring, styled it, and added it to the text. Finally, we added some flares, and blurred the background to finalize the effect.

Please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions, and outcomes below.

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How to Create a Children's Colorful Bicycle in Adobe Illustrator

by Yulia Sokolova

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What You'll Be Creating

Summer is a great season to uncover your bike and go cycling down the road! There is still a whole summer month ahead, so let’s take a ride through the exciting process of creating of a flat-style children's bicycle in Adobe Illustrator, using simple shapes, options from the Stroke panel, and various Pathfinder operations. Let’s start!

1. Render the Wheel of the Bicycle

Step 1

We’ll start from the essential part of the bike: the wheel. And firstly we’ll form a tire. Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to make a 150 x 150 px circle. Switch the Fill color to Noneand the Stroke color to dark-violet in the Colors panel. Head to the Stroke panel and set the Weight to 8 pt.

Step 2

Let’s convert our circle to curves and add a gentle shadow to it, making the tire more three-dimensional. Go to Object > Expand > Stroke. Now we have a ring-shapedCompound Path.

Copy the shape and Paste it in Front twice (Control-C > Control-F > Control-F).Select the top shape and move it to the right a bit using the right arrow key (I’ve switched the top shape to outlines, so that it's clearly visible in the screenshot below).

And here’s a trick. Select the shape that we’ve moved and the one beneath it. Use the Minus Front function of Pathfinder to cut the shapes, so that we have only two pieces left. Switch the Blending Mode to Multiply in the Transparency panel and adjust the color, turning the shapes into a subtle shadow. We’ll be using this method further on, adding semi-transparent shadows to other parts of our bicycle as well.

Step 3

Copy the shape that we’ve created and place the duplicate inside the first shape, making it smaller. Change the color of the inner shape to light beige, creating the rim.

Step 4

Now we need to add some spokes. Make a vertical line with the Line Segment Tool (\), holding down the Shift key. Set the Stroke Weight to 3 pt and the color to the same beige as we have on the rim. Keeping the line selected, double-click theRotate Tool (R) icon in the Tools panel. In the pop-up Rotate Options window, set the Rotate Angle value to 90 degrees to place our line horizontally. Click the Copybutton to make two crossing lines.

Let’s multiply the spokes. Select the crossing lines and open the Rotate Optionswindow again. Set the Angle value to 360/20. This way Adobe Illustrator will automatically calculate the proper angle degree for 20 copies. Click the Copy button and then repeat our last action by pressing Control-D several times, making more copies of the spokes.

Step 5

Let’s add a wheel fender. Make a circle of the same size as our wheel and put it on top, covering the wheel. Swap Fill and Stroke (Shift-X) colors and set the Stroke Weight to 8 pt, making a thick outline. 

Now take the Scissors Tool (С) and click on the left and right anchor points. This way we’re splitting the shape into two equal halves. Delete the lower half. As for the upper half, set the Weight to 8 pt, and the Cap and Corner to middle positions in the Stroke panel.

Step 6

Object > Expand the fender, fill it with a girlish pink color and add the shadow in the say way as we did previously, using the Minus Front function of Pathfinder. Place a small 25 x 25 px circle inside the wheel, using the Align panel to Align it to Key Object, placing it right in the center of the wheel.

2. Add More Parts to Our Bicycle

Step 1

Let’s depict a panel that covers the chainstay. Take the Rectangle Tool (M), make a narrow turquoise rectangle and place it horizontally. Select the upper right anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and move it up a bit by pressing the up arrow key multiple times or by holding down the Shift key and pressing the up arrow key to move it to a larger distance. Repeat the same for the lower right anchor point.

Use the Live Corners feature of Adobe Illustrator CC to make the corners rounded: select the shape and as you see the tiny circle indicators next to each corner, pull any of them to its maximum. If you’re using earlier versions of the program, feel free to apply Effect > Stylize > Round Corners.

Step 2

Select the pink circle on the wheel, hold down both Alt and Shift and drag the circle to the right to create a copy. Make the copy circle a bit larger and add another one on top. You can also make the corners in the right part of the turquoise shape more rounded by selecting all the anchor points of the right side and using the Live Corners function again to increase the roundness.

Step 3

Use the Line Segment Tool (\) or the Pen Tool (P) to draw a small diagonal stroke with 5 pt Stroke Weight for the crank arm. Add a pedal on top of it with theRectangle Tool (M) or Rounded Rectangle Tool.

Step 4

Draw a thick line with 10 pt Stroke Weight for the seat tube. And add another thinner line, almost perpendicular to the seat tube, forming a triangle. Form a pink seat on top with the help of the Rounded Rectangle Tool.

Step 5

Now select the wheel, hold down Alt and Shift and drag to create a copy, making the front wheel. Let’s rotate the fender of the front wheel a bit. Select the fender, take the Rotate Tool (R), place the pivot point in the center of the front wheel (Alt-click in the center) and release the mouse key to open the Rotate Options window. Set theAngle value to 20 degrees.

Add the head tube in the front of our bicycle by holding Alt-Shift and copying the seat tube, so that the lines are parallel.

Step 6

Now it’s time to add a stem and a handlebar to our bicycle! Draw a polyline with sharp corner with the help of the Pen Tool (P). Select the anchor point at the corner and Convert it to Smooth from the control bar on top. Duplicate the created stem and change the color of the copy to pink. Keeping the shape selected, use theEraser Tool (Shift-E) to delete most of the copy, leaving only a small piece for the handle.

Step 7

Add two more tubes connecting both parts of the bicycle. Bend the top tube with theCurvature Tool (Shift-`), forming a smooth arch.

Step 8

Let’s add some minor details to give our image a finished look! Select the chainstay covering and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset value to -5 px, thus creating a new shape inside the selected one. Make the shape darker and add some more elements to the bicycle to your liking.

To make a simple and clean composition, put a light-beige rectangle in the bottom of the Layers panel for the background and add a few darker spots on the ground around the wheels.

Step 9

Finally, let’s form the clouds that we can place in the top area of our image. Use theEllipse Tool (L) to make a row of white circles, overlapping each other. Keeping the circles selected, take the Eraser Tool (Shift-E), hold down the Alt key, and drag theEraser Tool above the bottom part of the cloud, making a white rectangle. When you release the mouse button, all the unwanted parts are gone. Our fluffy cloud is ready!

Let’s Go Cycling!

Great job, guys! We’ve finished making a flat children’s bicycle, using simple yet effective techniques. I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick tutorial and will come back for more. Stay tuned and keep creating beautiful things!

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Photoshop Errors: Quick Tips to Keep Photoshop From Crashing

by Melody Nieves

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Does Photoshop crash a lot for you? We all know the feeling well. You work hard on your latest project, only to experience a sudden and abrupt crash that results in frustration, delayed deadlines, and even loss of work. Whether you're new to Photoshop or an experienced designer, sometimes Photoshop crashes. All software is susceptible to this common problem, but there are solutions that can work. 

First and foremost, you should always make sure to update your software. Not only should you try to update to the latest version of Photoshop, but also to download any driver updates for your programs and devices. If you're still experiencing issues, here are a few more simple solutions to combat this problem:

Solution #1: Clean Up Your Computer

Photoshop's performance is greatly determined by how much space is available on your computer. Check your disk space to see how much is available. Delete any files that are taking up space, or consider moving them to an external hard drive.

Solution #2: Limit Your Workload

Are you working on multiple projects at once? Avoid any unnecessary clutter that will affect the performance of Photoshop by closing out of windows you're no longer using. 

This solution also relates to how many layers you're working on. Many digital artists use dozens or even hundreds of layers to illustrate their work. To keep Photoshop from slowing down as a result, consider merging layers together or even flattening them to reduce file size and improve performance. 

Solution #3: Set Your Performance Preferences

You can easily manage your Scratch Disks, adjust the Memory Usage, and set the History and Cache by going to Edit > Preferences > Performance. 

Adjust these settings according to what works best for you and your operating system. Realize that your new settings are specific to your Photoshop use (photo editing, digital painting, etc) so adjust wisely. 

Solution #4: Purge All

Memory is used up by Photoshop to store data for options like Undo, Clipboard, and History. If you're okay with losing your ability to undo your latest changes, go to Edit > Purge > All. With your history now deleted, you're able to free up more RAM. Also, if you've made a mistake in choosing this, luckily there is an Undo option. 

Know More Solutions?

Hopefully you'll find some relief in these quick solutions. And when all else fails, restart your computer. 

Do you have a different solution that also works here? Feel free to tell us how you solve this Photoshop error in the comments below.

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Do More With Finder for Mac: iCloud

by Rahul Saigal

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Mac applications have been able to store their documents in iCloud for a few years. On iOS, however, each application had its own private location in iCloud that no other application could see. 

They were accessible to the same application on each device. For example—you could never access a note saved in a notetaking app by using a different note-taking app.

iCloud Drive gets rid of this type of tedious workflow; you’ll see all the files you’ve saved, regardless of which application they were originally created with.

iCloud Drive synchronises data in real-time. If you start writing in Pages, on Mac, you can pick up where you left off on an iPhone or iPad. 

To take advantage of this feature you must upgrade apps to the latest versions to ensure they work. To use iCloud Drive a device must meet these minimum requirements:

• iOS device with the latest operating system iOS 8
• Mac with OS X Yosemite
• PC with Windows 7 or later and iCloud for Windows 4.0
• At least Safari 6, Firefox 22, or Google Chrome 28 to access the file oniCloud.com

Using iCloud Drive

Once you've upgraded the iOS devices to iOS 8 and the Mac(s) to OS X Yosemite, it’s easy to get started. 

Using iCloud Drive on a Mac

On a Mac, go to System Preference > iCloud and check the box next to iCloud Drive. Click Options to select which applications will store data in iCloud. You can turn their access on and off in this window.

Toggle iCloud Drive on Mac. Click Options to select which applications will store data in iCloud

Using iCloud Drive on iPhone and iPad

On an iOS device, go to Settings > iCloud and tap on Upgrade to iCloud Drive. Any files stored in iCloud will be automatically migrated to iCloud Drive, though once upgraded to iCloud Drive you can’t revert to iCloud. 

You’ll also see a list of apps below that are already using iCloud Drive to store documents and data. Enable or decline their access with these settings.

Toggle iCloud Drive on iPad. Select the applications to enable or disable access to iCloud Drive

When you first open iCloud Drive in Finder, situated in Favorites sidebar, you’ll notice a number of folders with application icons; these folders represent the applications associated with the files within. 

You won’t find data synced with the Contacts, Calendar, and Notes applications as these are strictly application files.

To add files in the iCloud Drive, drag and drop them from your Mac. If you’re using an iCloud Drive compatible app on an iPhone or iPad, you should see an option to save the file to iCloud via iCloud Drive.

Drag and Drop files from Mac to iCloud Drive. The numbers from 1 to 5 denote various application icons

Unlike the Mac having separate iCloud Drive section, there is no standalone iCloud Drive app for iOS. There is no way to show the entire file system in the way that Dropbox does, say.

On an iOS device, iCloud Drive is an integrated feature. You can see what’s in iCloud Drive only within individual apps that support open and save documents.

In all these apps, there’s an Open button or an icon that presents the presents the iCloud Drive contents. 

In Pages app for iPad tap + key and select iCloud from the list of options. A new window will open showing files saved from the Mac.

Remember in iOS, iCloud Drive is an integrated feature. The screenshot is just an example to demonstrate open feature in iCloud Drive. The ways to access iCloud Drive may vary from apps to apps

You can store any type of file in iCloud Drive, as long as it’s less than 15GB in size. There’s no restriction in file type, so you can keep all your work documents, school projects, presentations, and more up to date across all the devices. With iCloud Drive you can:

• Store and access all your documents in one place from any of the devices
• Keep files and folders up to date across all devices
• Create new files and folders from iCloud-enabled apps
• Work on the same file across multiple apps

Using iCloud Drive on Windows PCs

iCloud Drive is not only limited to Apple’s platform, you can access it from a web browser meaning that you can access data from a Linux or Windows PC. 

You can manage all the files and folders, download and upload files, create new folders, and move files into new folders or to the root level of iCloud Drive. 

Any changes made on the web are propagated to all iCloud Drive enabled devices, ...though in reality it may take few minutes for this to happen.

iCloud Drive is accessible from browser too. 1. Create new folder 2. Upload new photos 3. Status Bar

On a Windows PC install iCloud for Windows. Enter your Apple ID and choose the content types that you want to keep updated across your devices. 

When you enable iCloud Drive and Photos, the application automatically creates new folders for those content types in File Explorer. When you save files in those folders, the files will automatically appear on your other devices.

To use Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Reminders, install Microsoft Outlook 2007 or later and if you want to keep your Firefox or Google Chrome bookmarks in sync with Safari, install the respective extensions for Firefox and Google Chrome.

iCloud Pricing Structure

iCloud Drive is a part of iCloud. The storage space is shared by iCloud Drive,Mail, Photos and Backups, so as time goes on it is increasingly likely that you will have to upgrade from the free iCloud plan. 

iTunes media (whether from Apple or you), iBooks books, applications, and My Photo Stream don't count as part of the free storage. 

To upgrade on iOS, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage and tap Buy More Storage. 

On a Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud > Manage and click Buy More Storage. You can also upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time.

iCloud Drive Pricing in USA

• 20 GB - $0.99 per month
• 200 GB - $3.99 per month
• 500 GB - $9.99 per month
• 1TB - $19.99 per month

iCloud Drive Pricing in Worldwide

Go through this helpful Apple knowledge base article for prices in other countries.

Conclusion

With OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, Apple has made efforts to make iCloud Drive easier to understand and easier to use, though it still faces huge competition from Dropbox. 

A native iCloud Drive for iOS device can clear up a lot of confusion.

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