Creating Smoke - Photoshop Tutorial

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Introduction

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In this article, we'll show how to create smoke in Adobe Photoshop without using pre-made images or expensive software. This step-by-step tutorial is perfect for both beginners looking to improve their skills and experienced designers seeking new ways to achieve realistic effects.

Materials Needed:

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* Adobe Photoshop CS5 (or later) installed on your computer

* A graphics tablet (optional but recommended)

Step 1: Create a New Document

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Open Adobe Photoshop by double-clicking its icon or searching for it in the Start menu. Once inside, go to File > New... and set up a new document as follows:

* Name: Smoke Tutorial

* Width/Height: 800x600 pixels (any size will do)

* Resolution: 72 DPI

* Color Mode: RGB8

Step 2: Create Layers for Each Component of the Smoke

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To keep our layers organized, we'll create separate layers for each component of the smoke:

1. Layer > New > Layer... and name it 'Background'.

2. Repeat step 1 three more times to get a total of four layers:

* Name them in this order: 'Smoke Main', 'Smoke Middle', 'Smoke Top'

3. Arrange these new layers so that they're on top-to-bottom like this:

Background

Smoke Main (bottom)

Smoke Middle

Smoke Top

Step 3: Set Up Your Brush Tools and Preferences

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For better control over our brushes, let's set up some basic preferences first.

1. Go to Window > Actions & Touch-Up Paths... then click on the 'Restore Default' button at the bottom left corner of this dialog box.

2. Now go back to your Layer Panel (Window > Layers), select each layer one by one starting from top down, and change their Blending Mode drop-down menus as follows:

* Smoke Top: Multiply

* Smoke Middle: Normal

* Smoke Main: Screen

Step 4-7: Create the Base of Each Layer Using Gradient Maps & Burn Tool

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Now let's start creating our base layers using gradient maps and the burn tool:

1. Select 'Smoke Top' layer by double-clicking on its name in Layers Panel.

2. Go to Edit > Convert Smart Object (Ctrl+Shift+F7) so we can apply effects without messing up our original image data.

3-4: Create a Linear Gradient Map

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5. Double click anywhere inside the Layer panel where 'Layer 1' should be and select 'Linear' from the drop-down menu at top left corner of this dialog box that appears next:

* Click OK to apply changes

6. Apply Burn Tool & Reduce Opacity

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7-8: Set Foreground Color, Choose Brush, And Paint Smoke Patterns Onto Each Layer

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9. Select 'Smoke Top' layer again by double clicking its name in Layers Panel.

10. Press Alt (Option) + Shift to access the brush tool options bar at bottom of Photoshop window:

* In this dialog box under 'Brushes' tab, select 'Basic Brush Presets' from left column then choose a soft round brushes with 100px diameter and zero Hardness (0%). Click OK.

11. Press Ctrl+Shift+F7 to exit Smart Object mode.

12-13: Repeat Steps 8 &9 for Remaining Layers ('Smoke Middle', Then 'Smoke Main')

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14-16: Add Noise, Gaussian Blur & Multiply Layer Blending Modes To Each Layer

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17. Duplicate the 'Noise' layer by pressing Ctrl+Shift+C and then paste it into each of your remaining three layers ('Middle', 'Main').

18. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask (Ctrl + Shift + F) with these settings:

* Amount: 50%

* Radius: 5px

* Threshold: -128

19-20: Apply Gaussian Blur & Multiply Layer Blending Modes To Each Layer Again

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21. Repeat step 18 for each layer, increasing the radius by a factor of two each time (i.e., 10px on 'Middle', then 25px on 'Main').

22. Once finished with all layers, go back to your original background layer ('Background') and press Ctrl+Shift+F7 again.

23-24: Apply Layer Masks & Multiply Blending Mode To Final Composite

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25. Select the top-most layer (which should be called something like 'Layer 1' since we renamed them earlier) by double-clicking on its name in Layers Panel.

26. Go to Layer > New > Layer Mask > From All... (Ctrl+Shift+Option + Shift + M).

27-28: Apply Gaussian Blur & Multiply Blending Mode To Final Composite

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29. Select the layer mask you just created by double-clicking on its name in Layers Panel.

30. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask ( Ctrl + Shift + F) with these settings:

* Amount: 100%

* Radius: 10px

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And that's it! You now have a realistic smoke effect created entirely within Adobe Photoshop without using any pre-made images or expensive software. The key to achieving this level of realism was breaking down the process into smaller, more manageable steps and using various tools like gradient maps, layer blending modes, noise filters, Gaussian blurs, etc... Practice makes perfect so don't be afraid to experiment with different settings until you achieve the desired effect for your own projects!

2025.03

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