Quick texture tips in Photoshop: Smoke


Ivan Khomenko divulges some of the best techniques for creating smoke textures
in Photoshop…



You can download the brushes used in the follow tip here.

Step 1: Smoke I

In this tip I'll first say a couple words about creating smoke in Photoshop. Basically it all depends on which brush you use for creating smoke. Of course you can manage it with only a standard Photoshop brush set, for example with a default air brush, but in this case the smoke will look too soft and without sharp edges. If you want a thicker and denser smoke effect, you should use a special smoke brush (you'll find it with this tutorial).

So to start, you need to create a new file (you can use the shortcut Ctrl + N on your keyboard), and set the resolution to 2000x1400. Then you'll need to create new layer Shift + Ctrl + N. Now you can find the brush we'll be using for the smoke - it should be third from the top in your Brush Presets Panel on the right side.

Finding the right brush for the effect you want

Finding the right brush for the effect you want

Step 2: Smoke II

Select the brush above, and then choose a suitable color for your smoke. If you need to erase some parts of the smoke, you can use the same brush to erase areas - just choose the Eraser Tool.

Using the erase tool to remove areas

Using the erase tool to remove areas

Step 3: Smoke III

Everything is ready, so now you can start to paint. Imagine that the wind will blow from right to left across the scene; in this case our smoke will be painted in as seen here.

Painting in the smoke, thinking about the wind direction

Painting in the smoke, thinking about the wind direction

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Step 4: Smoke IV

Don't forget that smoke is volumetric object and so has dark areas on the underside and lighter areas over the top - the same as if it were a spherical object.

Adding a third dimension to the smoke using shadow and highlights

Adding a third dimension to the smoke using shadow and highlights

Step 5: Smoke V

The last thing you can add to make your smoke more realistic is a drop shadow. For this purpose you can use another special brush, which is found fourth from the top in Brush Presets Panel. This is a flat brush which is very useful for situations such as this.

A drop shadow makes the scene more realistic

A drop shadow makes the scene more realistic



An example of smoke textures put into practice

An example of smoke textures put into practice

Related links:

Check out Ivan Khomenko's Artstation
Get our Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop book

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