3-D
Logos in Photoshop
by
Bryan Gettman aka UNFLUX : 2 April 2004
This tutorial continues from the first page.
If you accidentally stumbled here without having completed
the first page,
click here.
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We're finally to the meat of the effect!
The trick to this effect is so simple, and looks
fantastic!
Make sure the layer with your logo is selected. On your
keyboard, hold Crtl+Alt, and then hit the UP arrow key.
This a keyboard shortcut to duplicate layers easily. You
can see the effect of your logo becoming 3-D right away!
Make as many layers you think looks good. I duplicated
the layer 10 times:

[
duplicating layers gives it a 3-D look ]
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If this is the colors you wanted for your
logo, then you're done! Otherwise continue on so we can
learn how to colorize it.
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Oh! you're still here....great! OK, time
to colorize. We need to merge all of the duplicated
layers you just created. Go to your layers panel and
merge them down by selecting the top layer (the last one
created) and hit Ctrl+E on your keyboard. Do this as many
times needed to get your now 3-D logo on to one layer.
Don't merge it all the way down, leave your background
layer there.
 |
Note |
You can also go to the
main menu and select Layer/Merge Down, starting with
the top layer, however, keystrokes tend to be
quicker than using the Main Menu. |
|
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Now that the logo is on it's own layer, we
want to give it some color, right? Of course we do. In
the Layers Panel, select the layer with your now 3-D logo
on it. Staying at the Layers Panel, hold Ctrl while you
click a second time on the Layers panel. This will select
and highlight your logo on the canvas:

[ selecting
your logo to colorize it ]
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Make a new layer above the layer with your
logo. Make sure the new layer is selected, and then choose
the Paint Bucket Tool. Select the color you want, then
fill in the empty layer within the selection.
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Go to the Layer Panel and change the layer
type from Normal to Color.
 |
Note |
Coloring is pretty fun
as well, and you'll find it's one of the more
flexible parts of this technique. You could have
started your image in any color, but using black
gives a more natural look to the highlights then
starting out in your desired color. Duplicating
color layers can also increase the amount of color
that shows through. |
|
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If you need to, you can change your
background color to whatever you want to match the logo.
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You can easily add drop shadows, glow
effects, etc once you've gotten all the layers merged down
to one. Here's the final graphic logo after adding a few
other effects to the logo:

[ final
3-D logo in photoshop ]
As you can see,
doing 3-D in Photoshop is fun, and it's very easy to do.
Once you've practiced this technique a few times, you'll see
how quickly you can whip up a cool-looking 3-D logo. Most
of the steps are flexible in that you can change the
settings and attributes as you see fit for your work and
design.
There you have it - a 3D logo. If you need any
help, please post in the
Drawing and Design forums.
Here's a couple
examples where I used this technique on real web sites:


Bryan Gettman
aka UNFLUX
www.unflux.com
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