Design a futuristic 2011 wallpaper

We couldn’t start the new year without a Photoshop tutorial on how to realize a high-style 2011 wallpaper! Let’s create together a futuristic type treatment in 16 easy-to-follow steps. We will deal in particular with layer masks and light effects. Also I will show you the power of layer styles and how they can be used to realize awesome text effects.

Preview

Download the wallpaper:

• 1920×1200
• 1680×1050
• 1440×900
• 1280×1024
• 1280×800
• 1024×768
• iPhone
• iPad

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Step 1

Let’s start creating a new 1920×1200 pixels document in Photoshop (this is the size of my desktop, you are free to set up yours). Resolution is 72 pixels/inch.
After unlocked the background layer (double-click on it), right-click on its thumb in the layers window add select “blending options”. Here add a gradient overlay going from grey (#565656) to black (#000000).

Step 2

To create a grunge background we need a texture. Our Scratched Metallic Textures set is perfect for this purpose. I used metal_2.jpg.
Merge it into the document (File>Open… and select the texture). Then press ctrl+T to activate the Free transform tool and rotate and resize the texture to match the canvas size.

Desaturate the texture (Image>Adjustments>Desaturate) and set the layer blend mode to overlay with opacity around 25%. Apply a couple of times the sharpen filter (Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen) if the texture is too much subtle.

Step 3

The choice of the right font is fundamental to achieve the desired result. In this case I used Null, a marvelous bold free font.
The text color is not important, we will modify it later with layer styles. Font size is 335pt.

Step 4

With the blending options, add a 16px stroke effect to the text, with position set up on “inside”.

Step 5

Now the tricky step: we need to separate the stroke effect from the white text. Why? Because if we separate them, we can apply different layer styles later to both the stroke and the text.
In the layers window, right-click on the styles (displayed below the text layer), and select “create layer”. You will obtain a layer with the text and a separated layer with the stroke effect (the small arrow indicates the clipping mask).
If you hold down alt and click between the text layer and its stroke, you will eliminate the clipping mask and the stroke effect will be transformed into a black rectangle. We can replace the stroke without the clipping mask (that could cause problems later, this is why we’ve eliminated it). Simply select the stroke layer, ctrl-click on the text layer to select its pixels and press the “add layer mask button” which is at the bottom of the layers window.

Step 6

To eliminate the area of the text that is overlapped by the stroke effect, select the text effect layer, ctrl+click on the stroke layer (pay attention to click on the layer thumb, not over the layer mask), inverse the selection (Select>Inverse) and add a layer mask.
In the screenshot below I moved down the the text layer so you can see better the result of this step:

Step 7

Right click on the layer mask of the text and select “Apply layer mask”. Do the same with the stroke. Now we have 2 layers containing 2 simple shapes.
Zoom in and refine the edges of the stroke with the help of the rectangular marquee tool:

Step 8

We can start adding style to the stroke shape. Open the Blending options window and add a dark grey (#242424) color overlay:

Then select Bevel and Emboss to give depth to the shape:

Finally add a drop shadow (white) to stand out the stroke shape:

Step 9

To add a touch of grunge to the stroke shape we can use one of our Grunge textures Vol1. I merged grunge7.jpg into the document, then I resized and rotated it (ctrl+T) and set the layer to overlay so you can preview how the texture will affect the stroke.

Reduce opacity to 30%, then ctrl+click on the stroke layer and add a layer mask so the texture will be applied only to the stroke shape (same technique explained in step 5)

Step 10

Let’s switch to the blending options of the text layer.
Add a dark grey (#282828) color overlay:

Add satin set up on color dodge with white as color, in order to lighten the text:

Finally add an inner shadow:

Step 11

Create a new group between the text and the stroke layer. Here we will put in the texture for the text. Add a layer mask to the group after selected the text layer (ctrl+click on its thumb). In this way all what we will put inside the group will affect only the area covered by the text.
Firstly I put in one of our Concrete textures. Set the layer to overlay with opacity around 35%.

Secondly I created a new layer and painted over the edges of the text using a large soft black brush (hardness 0%)

Step 12

The last touch to the text will be a eye-catching line inside the stroke shape. Create a new layer and ctrl+click on the stroke shape to select its pixels. Then go to Select>Modify>Contract and enter a value around 7px.

Press alt+delete to fill the selection with the foreground color (the color is not important at this stage). Then press ctr+D to deselect.

Step 13

Open the styles window to stylize the inner shape. Start by adding a gradient overlay (angle 90°) going from yellow (#ffb90d) to a warm red (#cc0045) to green (#009980)

Add Bevel and Emboss with the following settings:

Add a soft white outer glow:

Step 14

Create a new layer and fill it with black. Make sure to have white and black as foreground and background color and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Set the layer to screen and reduce the opacity to around 15%. We have so created subtle clouds that will enhance later our light effects.

Step 15

It’s time to add color to our composition. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Gradient Map to create a new gradient map layer (you can see it into your layers window). Set a gradient going from purple (#6f156c) to green (#00601b) to orange (#fd7c00). Switch the layer to overlay with opacity 70%.

Step 16

To complete the wallpaper, let’s add some astonishing light effects, using the usual technique: create a new group and put it immediately below the gradient map layer. Switch the group blending mode to color dodge. Create a layer inside the group, grab a large soft white brush e click once. Move the light effect over the area you want to enhance. Play with layers’ opacities so light effects won’t be too much strong.

Finito!

The wallpaper is now complete! Enjoy it ;-)