can anyone help me get a spray paint/graffiti look?

[Mike Wozowski]

i have a picture of my DD standing leaning on a wall. it just screams for graffiti on the wall. i have come up with a reasonable solution, but i am sure that someone more photoshop saavy than myself could do better. in fact, i think even i have done better before, but i totally can't remember what i did different.

can anyone help?

thanks!

[Amanda]

Mike! How the heck are ya? We haven't seen you around in a while!

You can use lots of different types of fonts and lower the opacity on them on the wall comes through just a bit and then maybe take a spotty eraser brush and lightly go over them a bit. Those would be my suggestions - but I'll let the experts answer :)

[ScrapMel]

Another tool to use is try out the airbrush feature in PS - I haven't figured out HOW to use it properly yet, but it would be worth a shot.
Also, try painting around a mask: for example get an alpha on a layer, select it, then invert your selection and on another layer, paint with the airbrush. when you delet the alpha, it will have masked out an area in its shape - can look pretty cool ...

[Mike Wozowski]

hey amanda -

i got kind of busy and stopped digital scrapping and all for a while. still don't do much ... just play around with a few things now and then.

i lurk a bit now and then, though.

here is a tut i found ... looks realistic ... but i don't know how to do some of the steps. or ... when i tred some of the steps ... nothing happened, or things didn't happen like i thought they should. : /

here is the link i was looking at:

http://www.adobetutorialz.com/articles/922/1/Photoshop-Graffiti-Tutorial

i got the font, but i didn't get the displacement filter thing to work like it should have.

anyone else want to give it a try?

[ArcaneFaery]

Hi Mike,

Check on my Innocence Lost (http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=156672&cat=500&ppuser=56638) LO and see if that is something like what you are looking for. I think I described how I did what I did, and if you want to try something and I left something out (very, very possible!) PM me and I'll try to remember.

I really want to go back and do some more LO's like this too. There's also another LO or two in that Trendsetter gallery...they are better than my entry so hopefully all that will help.

Cheers!
~Faery

[Emma]

AMY you're back! good to hear from you again

I agree, a cool font will get you a big way toward your goal

as for the displace filter, you have to save your background image as a PSD (the wall, black and white high contrast works best). Then in the Displace filter it'll ask you to load that image, and it will use it to bend layer you run the filter on

However, just changing the blend mode, adding a layer mask, and then distressing a bit with a rough brush will do just about everything you need. The displace would be cool, but not completely necessary

[Mike Wozowski]

faery - your layout looks cool! that is similar to what i am going for. thanks for linking me up to it! def.. gives me some ideas!

hey hey emma! i knew you would show up! good to "see" you!

i did finally get the displacement filter thing to work, but i am not sure it worked any better than what i was doing before. what is the displacement filter supposed to do anyway?

i have plenty of cool graffiti fonts (subway, 5 cent, 08 underground etc) some don't have the digits, though! amd, you are right, that DOES get you a lot of the way there!

i guess i will just stick with what i have been doing but work on it a little more.

i guess where i am totally guessing is the blending modes. i know how to use a couple of them and what they do, but some others, i have no clue!!!

thanks everyone for your help!

[Emma]

blend modes have two variables: the layer they change, and the layer below that affects that change. So, don't try to predict! Just highlight the word Normal, and use the arrow keys to scroll down. Pause a bit between so the preview can change, and pick on that looks cool!

The displace filter pinches areas of the layer where the "map" overlaid is black, and bloats where it's white. Makes it look like it's going in and out, up and down, over the bumpy surface of the image used as the map.

Here's an example from a 361 student where we use a crumpled paper image to distort a patterned paper
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=181881

[ArcaneFaery]

glad you like the LO! I think I reduced the opacity of the eraser brush and very carefully erased the mortar lines on my text layer until I was satisfied with it.

[Mike Wozowski]

hmm ... well then that explains why you would use a displacement map if that is what it is supposed to do!

i am still a little clueless on some of the others (i think some of them give you a total white or total black when you choose them ... haven't figured out what to do with those. i am not at my main computer, so i can't test it out right now.

well, thanks for all your help! i appreciate it.

[Emma]

playing with filters is fun: just try on photos and on background paper. They do wacky things depending on what they have to work with, so there's really no recipe you can follow or even duplicate. Experiment, you'll find your favorites! Tutorials are always fun, tons of filter tutorials for PS/E. And take my classes :)