ZIEGLER DECODED #6 – "Himmler"
Upon the request of my friend and colleague, I’ll be presenting to you the structure of my “Himmler” piece today.
1) This picture has no reference – it was an experiment to some degree, on how to achieve a good composition using simple shapes and generally flat image.
2) Font that I’ve used was Caviar Dreams.
3) Background clouds are created using Fog Brushes – just install them, regulate the size and place on the image so it looks fitting.
4) You will find that majority of layers I’ve created are shapes. Simple shapes (doorway, road) can be created using Shape (Rectangle, Ellipse etc.) tool. Most useful and updated tutorial I’ve found on that topic is this Shape Tool Explained. Watch it to learn all the basics.
5) Some of the shapes, however, are used with reference image. I apologize in advance – I haven’t saved the original image of Himmler I was using as a reference, but the point is that, after creating a selection (we’ve already talked about different tools you can use to create those), I converted that selection into shape. You can easily do that by going to the Layers panel (your selection must be active), selecting the Paths bookmark and then, at the very bottom of that bookmark, you will see an icon of a circle with four anchor points named “Make work path from selection”. After you click that icon, Photoshop will create a work path in the shape of you selection, and you can finalize the process by coming back to the Layers bookmark and creating a Solid Color adjustment layer. This tutorial doesn’t explain this mechanic entirely, but it is good enough to start and then experiment a bit on your own. Eagle, skull and collar insignias are created with this method – I simply selected the objects I wanted to turn into shapes, and did so, playing around with them afterwards using Warp option from right-click menu.
6) Bottom text is actually two texts, some parts of which are hidden with layer masks. Those masks are created by right-clicking on the icon of the layer of Himmler’s shadow (by doing so making a selection out of a layer) and turned into a layer mask. Simple!
7) Shining. Now, in order to do that, I had to use Select – Color Select tool. Before doing so, however, I have hidden the layer with clouds – because I didn’t want to select them. Now, after choosing that Color Selection tool, I’ve picked the white color from my image and, because my image was originally highly contrast, black-and-white, I got the correct selection from the pop-up window immediately. Then, I made that selection into a new layer by selecting Solid Color adjustment layer, and applied the Outer Glow effect on that layer (double-click the layer, not the icon or the name of the layer, and tip the Outer Glow option, then play around a bit to achieve the result you want). This tutorial and many others out there will help you master this tool.
8) A little tip for you all, zieglerians – you will see that all of my shadows are created using Gradient Fill adjustment layer. Why so? Because shadows are usually darker at the base, and lighter at the very edge. So, next time you create a shadow, try to remember that tip. More professional approach on Shadows Creation – in the link.
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