[fobside]

I want to create a large image to fill a screen...1280x1024. I want it to be a black background with blue light flying towards the viewer...but not straight at the viewer. I want the light to have a random path towards the viewer. The closest thing I can think of is some of the iTunes visualizations. I don't want it to be solid lines since it's like light flying toward the viewer...more like glowing streams.

Does anyone know how I can go about doing this? Please respond here. You can also contact me by email at fobside@hotmail.com

[fobside]

anyone?

[Dogma]

I assume you're using Photoshop, right?

Well, you can go about this in several ways, but the easiest is just to use the Eye Candy 4000 plug-in 'Motion Trail'.

Otherwise it's a case of working out how you want the motion trail to look, and using various blurs, coloured brushes and warps. If you want, describe, or pencil draw just what you want and scan it, I'm very good at drawing a proper image from a few scribbles.

I'll be watching.

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“I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a
wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion,
inefficiency, and demoralisation” - Petronius Arbiter 60A.D.

[itomato]

It's kind of hard to visualize what you mean. I think you mean something like this:



But this doesn't look too much like a light... More like some kind of gas/smoke..

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-- | T () /\/\ /\ T () --

[This message has been edited by itomato (edited 05-29-2001).]

[fobside]

Originally posted by itomato:
It's kind of hard to visualize what you mean. I think you mean something like this:



But this doesn't look too much like a light... More like some kind of gas/smoke..

thats pretty good but i was hoping to have more like streams of blue light and with a centered source. how can i describe this? ghostbuster guns...you know how the center of their beam didnt shoot straight out. it kinda went up and down and spiraled? thats kinda the effect i want coming out from the center but no center light source...so that bright spot where all the streams are eminating from wouldnt be bright.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

You might be able to achieve what you are describing using XenoFex.
http://www.alienskin.com/xenofex/xenofex_main.html

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Badda bing!

[Dogma]

Like this perchance?:




You did say you were thinking of Ghostbusters?

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“I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a
wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion,
inefficiency, and demoralisation” - Petronius Arbiter 60A.D.

[fobside]

Originally posted by Dogma:
Like this perchance?:




You did say you were thinking of Ghostbusters?

coming at the viewer tho with no central glow but yes, thats it almost! maybe a deeper blue but i can change my own color.

[fobside]

anyone else wanna give it a shot?

[Dogma]

You can do the effect that I showed with Photoshop, and experiment with your own settings. I think I get what you want, and it would be a shame if I had to tell you how to get it. Photoshop is like anything else, you have to create your own style, but developing ideas from other peoples tips is a well accepted way of doing it.

The way I created mine -

1. Created a small white circle in anew layer above the dark gradient.
2. With the pen tool, created a couple of 'wavy' lines and coloured them a bluish white.
3. Arrange the lines in the same direction to give a sense of direction, and added a motion blur for that speed look. The lines were also set to 'screen' mode at varying levels of opacity which gives the more 'ethereal' light effect.
4. Added an outer glow to the circle, again slightly bluish, and motion trailed the glow with Eye Candy 4000. I also smeared the edges with my Wacom to add a more 'comet' like gaseous effect.
5. Added a slight inner glow, which provides a more realistic light effect.
6. After committing to merge all the layers, I added a custom lens flare I made in Knoll Lens Flare Pro. Again the Flare was small, and light, but just enough for add a Sci-Fi edge to it.

You can do many of these effects that I used Cool Filters for by hand, heck we used to have to do them by hand! If you want to do the Ghostbuster like wavy trails, especially in a 3D lie way that you appear to want, you may want to transform them with the Perspective transform tool, and work it so it looks just how you want it. Also as the glows etc. are all editable in PS 5.5 plus, then you could experiment with those also.

Most of my best successes have come from messing about. Please try a couple with the tips anyone's posted and show us how you're getting on. If you don't give us any feedback, we can't tell you what you maight try changing in your technique.

------------------
“I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a
wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion,
inefficiency, and demoralisation” - Petronius Arbiter 60A.D.

[fobside]

thanks. ill try it when i get back to my apt later today.