Metal in CS3?

[GoMegaX]

Howdy all. Got another query for you fine folks..

For some reason, I just can't seem to get my metals to look right in CS3. I watched a video from Carlos Cabrera on the subject and must confess, I have no idea what he's doing in it. lol. I seem to have the misfortune of being a hands-on learner instead of a watch and learn mindset.

Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

[magnel]

i have the same problem, I can't achieve a metal or steel look in CS3.

[GoMegaX]

Glad I'm not the only one.

[magnel]

Yes, I have been trying to teach myself from this guys sketch:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110797

It's a really awesome sketch and I'm no where near that good, but I have just been blending my grays with cream-colors and such, kind of gives a reflective look to it.

[GoMegaX]

lol. I'm not even trying anything that complicated. I can do metal just fine with traditional stuff, but my brain doesn't seem to function quite as well in photoshop. I can't even get my downloaded plugins to work. lol I must be digitally retarded or something.

[magnel]

Ahah I see, well I had just found this, I guy kind of briefly describes how metal can be conveyed in photoshop, you can see it here (http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=graphicssoft&cdn=compute&tm=30&f=11&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-robot.html).

I am the same way, I am new to the whole digital painting thing, I have always either painted or prismacolored my work, but I figure if I'm getting into the industry I might as well start learning.

Hope all goes well.

--magnel

[GoMegaX]

Still looking for any tips on the subject, but I found something that might be helpful to anyone else having issues in this area.

To create your own metal texture
-Create a new piece
-Use the paint bucket tool to paint the whole thing gray (I preferred a darker shade but the lighter ones came out alright).
-Go to filters> noise> add noise
-Adjust level of noise (I went pretty light on the noise, around 25).
-Make sure the noise is set to Gaussian?? and also, check the monochromatic box.
-The go to filter>Blur> Motion blur and set the pixels to what you want but keep your angle at 0. Play around with it as the differences can be dramatically different.

That's it. If anyone was even interested. Me and Magnel can't be the only n00bs at work here. lol

[GriNGo]

Can you post your explorations on it? It's kinda hard to visualize what you're doing just by reading.

[GoMegaX]

Sure! I would love to... mind telling me how? lol

[magnel]

take some screen shots showing step by step

Because I see what your saying, but it's not really working for me

[GriNGo]

Ok, to attach an image... click on "Post Reply" or "Go Advanced".. a little below the text box should be a button called "attachments".. click on it and then a mini window will pop up, that will let you to select the image files you need and attach them... don't forget to use the "Save For Web" feature in photoshop, which drastically reduces the image size of JPG images...

[GoMegaX]

Here we go... going to do this in steps because I am retarded. lol

Step 1: Just started a new image and used the paint bucket to make it a lighter shade of grey...

[GoMegaX]

Next, went to the filter menu and selected noise, then selected 'add noise'.

When the sub menu popped up, I set the noise level to 25. Also made sure to select gaussian and check the monochromatic box at the bottom.

[GoMegaX]

Then, we went back to the filter menu and selected 'Blur', then 'Motion Blur' in the sub menu. In the window that pops up, I set it to 30 pixels for the speed, keeping my 'angle' at 0.

[GoMegaX]

This was done with the same process but I instead set the 'Motion Blur' to 150 just to give an example of the difference.

[GoMegaX]

Sorry about the number of posts, but for some reason, my comp won't take the screeny. For a more in-depth walkthrough, go here:

http://www.bluesfear.com/tutorials/metal.php

You'll notice this person opted to change the angle of his 'Motion Blur' and it does seem to come out nicer than the one I had found first. They also modified their lighting effects, hues and saturations I'm sure. Wish I had gotten to it first, or at least before I made all those silly posts. lol Sorry guys.