MadJik Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download the PDF This looks like a journey in the colorful paths of painting with gradients and some dents distortions. It is a simple sample of using the gradient with one opaque color and one transparent color. The only effect used is the built-it dents. There is only one layer in this basic version but you could experiment the blend modes to obtain even more amazing results. My definition: An abstract picture is something that looks like nothing, but it is still nice to look at or so intrigating... So this is only a guide to process and you must fill free to use other effects or settings to create your own abstract art. My example: V3 (this tut) V2 (link) V1 to remind you... Needed plugins: - none - My tutorial: 01. 🆕 create a new image (800 x 600). Go to Adjustments/Inverte colors to have it black. 02. Set the colors: - 1. On the colors windows click on the "More >>" button to open the detailled version. - 2. Set the Transparency - Alpha to zero. - 3. Click on the double arrows to switch primary/secondary colors. 03. Choose the colors: - 1. Be sure the mode is set to primary: each click on a color list or on the wheel is affecting the primary color and so the secondary doesn't change and remains transparent. - 2. Click a light color in the color list, example: orange. 04. Draw some gradients: - 1. Click on the gradient tool. - 2. Choose a gradient mode (except the first simple linear), example: reflected linear. - 3. Click on the drawing area and drag to place 1-5 gradients. You could change the color and the gradient mode as you feel it. (If you want to change the color for another gradient, then first press Enter to finish the active gradient.) 05. Distort the image: Go to menu Effects/distort/dents and set the values as here: You should see the distortion on the image. You could click on the Reseed button to change the random distortion till you find something you like... 06. First distortion example: As the Dents is a random effect each result should be unique so your image must be different! 07. Draw some more gradients: - 1. Choose another primary color. - 2. Draw some more gradients, and test other gradient mode... 08. Second distortion example: Previous effect is still in memory so you could rerun it by pressing Ctrl+F as we don't need to change any value. (or you could go to menu Effects/distort/dents to re-open the dialog box and play with the Reseed button...) (or you could play with Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+F to re-run...) 09. More gradients in white: Adding white or black colors gives some relief aspect… 10. With the associated distortion (Ctrl+F): 11. More gradients in black: The dents effect is moving the image up. If you place the gradient in the upper part of the image you won't obtain a good result... And you should put the new gradient over the most representative color to try to balance the general aspect. 12. With the associated distortion (Ctrl+F): Don't repeat too much these steps as the dents effect will finish to destroy the first gradients... Between 2 and 6 distortion gives good results. More will have a quality loss. If you want to restart from scratch, select the black color and right-click on the image without dragging: the gradient tool will fill the whole image with black. End of tutorial Enjoy and let me see your abstracts... More examples: Ok but what for? These kind of abstracts could be used as texture or background. With more work using some plugins you could create undersea scenary or planets... Quote My DeviantArt | My Pictorium | My Plugins | Donate via Paypal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta916 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 that is spore isnt it! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trollolahem Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 this is my "abstract" thingthanks great tutorial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesusboy58 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 this is what i created using your tut and making a sphere with shape 3D then i used the storm/vortex tut and blended the two images together using another tut. but i cant remember the name of that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesusboy58 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) thanks this was a great tutorial.... this one i did with the help of a couple different tuts. woops...... sorry for double post. anyhow im gonna leave this tut b4 i make it worse for myself Edited June 25, 2012 by Ego Eram Reputo Removed repeat image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beta0 Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 (edited) I did this three times. So...better show the best result (I think.) By following the tutorial and adding some personal touch-ups (if that's what they're called.) (Note: If this isn't the same image, sorry. I don't remember which one I posted here.) Edited March 11, 2017 by Beta0 Re-linking images Quote A Gallery Where to find me :D (Please, be careful. Some of the sites I'm on might not be family-friendly. 😱 ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Eram Reputo Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Thank you MadJik for taking the time to replace the missing images. I've added a link to the PDF version. Quote ebook: Mastering Paint.NET | resources: Plugin Index | Stereogram Tut | proud supporter of Codelab plugins: EER's Plugin Pack | Planetoid | StickMan | WhichSymbol+ | Dr Scott's Markup Renderer | CSV Filetype | dwarf horde plugins: Plugin Browser | ShapeMaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.