Make a Rope or Steel Cable.

[tourist]

This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download it

Make a Cable or rope:

You will need the shape 3d and Drop Shadow plugins for this effect.

1. Start with a square canvas. Mine is 600x600.

2. Add a new layer and call it template.

3. Using [line/curve] tool, divide the canvas into 6 equal parts.

4. Using the [magic wand] tool, left-click inside each of these equal parts, add new layers, and fill with color.

You should have this when you are done.

You may want to name your layers.

5. On strand 6 layer, select the [eraser] tool (brush width=2), place it at coordinates 0,1 and erase 1 pixel all the way down the canvas.

6. on strand 1 layer, using the same tool, place it at 0,599 and erase all the way down the canvas.

7. In this step we will start the process of making the strands look rounded. We will add [median blur], [drop shadows], and [gaussian blur] to each strand.

A. MEDIAN BLUR; Duplicate each strand layer. Now choose the upper duplicate of one of the layers.

find the [median blur] effect and use these settings...

Select each duplicated strand layer and repeat this effect.

B. DROP SHADOWS; Select one of the layers that you added [median blur] to. Make sure your primary color is black, and find the [drop shadow] effect.

use these settings...

Repeat this effect on all duplicated strand layers.

Now choose white as your primary color and apply [drop shadow] effect to the same layers with these settings...

Your canvas will then look like this...

C. GAUSSIAN BLUR; Do a [gaussian blur] effect on each of the above layers. I used a radius of 30.

8. Erase the template layer, then flatten image.

9. Add a new layer, fill it with black, and place it behind your main layer, and flatten image.

1o. Go to Layers, Rotate/Zoom and rotate either (+45) or (-45), then zoom in until the canvas is just filled completely with the background.

11. Now find the [shape 3-d] effect and use these settings...

12. Lengthen your rope or cable by making your secondary color transparent, double you canvas height, duplicate layer,

then move a layer upward until the textures line up. You will notice that it is not a perfect seam.

To fix this make both your primary and secondary colors transparent. Then select the [gradient] tool.

Choose linear gradient and transparent mode. Start just below the seam and continue the gradient upward

until the seam disappears. Repeat this step until you get the desired length, then scale down.

A variation of this is to make the image black and white, then use curves to get a metallic look.

If you want to add shadows follow these steps:

1. use the [magic wand] tool and select the area outside of the rope.

2. Invert the selection and use the [move selection] tool to extend the selection to the entire canvas.

3. Invert the selection, add a new layer, and fill with black.

4. Find the [unfocus] effect and apply.

5. Go back to the rope layer add with the [magic wand] tool select the area outside of the rope.

6. Go back to the shadow layer and erase selection.

Here is what you will end up with...

Now if I can only figure out how to tie a square knot with shape 3-d...hmm?

[killer93yo]

thats nice

[Xara-lampos]

Cool tutorial. But, at step 7. it says "drop shadow" which is a plugin, if i recall correctly....

[TopHATslash]

Cool tutorial. But, at step 7. it says "drop shadow" which is a plugin, if i recall correctly....

Correct.

Very nice tutorial. When I read the title, because of the miss-capilization, I thought it would be a 5 step polar inversion tutorial, but turned out much better, 9/10..

I do recommend capilizing (I know, mis-spell) the 'M' in 'make'..

[tourist]

Thanks for the correction suggestions. *fixed*

[Max Power]

On the first view it looks like there are too many steps which could be made in one step with a nifty plugin. I'm thinking about how to make this tut faster...

7/10, I like Shape3D tuts.

[Dalton]

This is pretty cool.

Do red colors and it looks like uhh... what's the name?

Liquorish.

[offtopic](Wow! Firefox says I spelled that right! woot woot!) [/offtopic]

[Ash]

On the first view it looks like there are too many steps which could be made in one step with a nifty plugin. I'm thinking about how to make this tut faster...

7/10, I like Shape3D tuts.

You can make this tut much much faster.

Hint: Tile Image plugin

[creed]

3. Using line/curve tool, divide the canvas into 6 equal parts.

This is for the newer people...

To make it exactly equal be sure to count pixels and to get straight lines hold shift and maneuver line tool while in use.

...Do red colors and it looks like uhh... what's the name?

Liquorish.

haha, someone should combine this with the pool stick tut. and make a liquorish pool stick

[Curmudgeon]

what would be even easier than drawing lines to divide it is to use the gridmaker plugin

[tourist]

You guys sure do like your shortcuts . I like them too . The question I have is can you tie a square knot with Paint.net?

I made a...

[Ash]

You guys sure do like your shortcuts . I like them too . The question I have is can you tie a square knot with Paint.net?

I made a...

Look Here

[tourist]

Excellent candy canes Ash. After reading your comment I opened up Paint.net and made the following in 3 steps: fill canvas, tile reflection, shape 3d . . I continue to learn a lot from you and others .

[gippal40]

Wow this is a very good way to utilize simple strpies into an almost optical distortive way (look at a cable then scroll down and it will turn)!! Very good!

[oma]

this is a very successful tut. everyone co-operated to discuss various methods to elaborate and modify the original, there wasn't any bashing just good honest idea exchanges. . you all are to be commended.

and I simply love the results.

PS now I know how Ash made that candy cane its been bugging me since Christmas. LOL!

[Wrencher]

took me a while to figure out Ash's tile reflection & Tourist's 3 step process

but heres my attempt

[ChitoDog]

Very nice examples of the finished effect, but I was somewhat stuck and a little confused with this tutorial. You state:

6. on strand 1 layer, using the same tool, place it at 0,599 and erase all the way down the canvas.

I tried positioning the mouse on "0,599" but according to the measurements that show at the bottom right of PdN, "0,599" starts at the bottom left of the canvas, not the top right. So shouldn't it be "599,0" instead?

I was also somewhat stuck on step 12. particularly where you say,

then move a layer upward until the textures line up.

which layer are you talking about from the 2 and how do you move it upwards? I see at the bottom of the "Layers" window that one choice says "Move Layer Up". Is that what you mean? If so, when I click the bottom layer to move up, nothing happens. Also you say in step 12,

double you canvas height

Do you mean to raise the image size up to 1200, or to raise the canvas size to 1200?

Basically all of step 12, especially the beginning 2 or 3 sentences, sound a bit confusing to me. If it's not too much trouble to explain step 12 with a little more details, I'd appreciate it. Thanx in advance.