technique note

[egypturnash]

I have figured out how to get an oh-so-trendy 'fading print on fabric' look with a few simple Photoshop filters. Yay.

New layer, fill with 50% grey, add noise, filter->pixellate->mezzotint (long strokes). Knock down to 10% or so. This adds a lot of texture.

New layer, B&W clouds. Filter->pixellate->crystallize, nice and chunky size. Filter->texture->grain, vertical, high on the intensity and contrast. Grain again, horizontal this time, maybe not so harsh. Pull the opacity on the layer down to about 2%, and voila... crusty faded fabric. Colorize to taste, if desired.

Could probably apply this to layers of flat color via a layer mask or some other method to create a decayed print look, too.

The 'aspects' panel of that comic I did the other day, after some simple flat colorization and a dose of this treatment, is now my current desktop image. (Addendum: it can be yours, too.)

Comments

[mattlazycat.livejournal.com]

Now my desktop has a decayed blue print wallpaper instead of a plain blue. Many thanks :)

[terzy.livejournal.com]

That is awesome, thanks!

[kensan-oni.livejournal.com]

Neat stuff!

[eselgeist.livejournal.com]

that -is- cool.. my method would be to scan in a piece of cloth/textured paper/tissue, etc. and just slap the image onto it with a multiply transparency, rather than try to recreate the look from scratch. that's pretty brute force though.. yours is much more clever and the results more controlled and elegant.