July 21st, 2007
Stained Glass Window Tutorial
This tutorial will explain how I achieve the effects used in my stained glass window work. This tutorial is very simple, when creating work I spend a lot more time tweaking the settings and filters until it looks right to me, but this is the basic steps I take:
Step 1
Usually I sketch out the design I want in Photoshop, but in this case we are using a simple cross shape, so I skip the sketching and move to creating the blocks of colour. Occasionally I use gradients in the colouring of the glass just to keep things interesting, in this case all the colours are gradients.
Create a new layer and block in the shape and colour you want to use.
Step 2
Usually I draw the frame out with vector tools or with custom brushes, in this case the frame is simple. Duplicate the layer you created in step 2, hold ctrl+u and in the Hue/Saturation screen shift the Darkness/Lightness slider all the way to dark, the layer should be black.
Step 3
Using the Marquee tool, cut away the black layer to form the frame.
Step 4
Now for the textures, I keep a texture file and custom made texture brushes for these kind of things, but you can search google.com for textures. I find that rock like textures are best, if you copy them to a new canvas in photoshop, press ctrl+u and open the Hue/Saturation box, slide the Saturation all the way to the left (making the image greyscale). Now you may need to go to Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness/Contrast and tinker with the settings to boost the detail of the texture. Once this has been done, we will make it a brush by going to Edit -> Define Brush. Save the brush and select the paint tool and the brush we just created, and select the colour white.
Now on a new layer in our window file, paint the texture over the window. Duplicate this layer and invert it (ctrl+i) then we need to flip it by going to Edit -> Transform -> Flip Horizontally.
We should now have 2 texture layers one white and one black (make sure the black layer is above the white one).
Step 5
Select the white texture layer, set the layer to Overlay and the opacity to 77%.
Step 6
With the first black texture layer, set the layer style to overlay.
Step 7
Duplicate the black texture layer again, set the layer style to normal, the opacity should be 100%.
Step 8
Select the eraser tool, set the brush to 200 pixels soft edged. Use the [ or ] keys to make the brush bigger or smaller, the brush needs to be able to sit in the middle of a section of window with a gap between it and the frame.
Erase the center of the texture, leaving the area’s around the edge of the frame in tact.
Then adjust the layer opacity to taste.
Step 9
Now back to the frame! First we double click the frame layer and when the blending options come up (you can also click the right mouse button and choose blending options) we choose the Bevel/Emboss option, tweak the settings until you feel the frame looks right (in this tutorial we just used the default).
Next we apply a filter, go to Filters -> Artistic -> Plastic Wrap up the detail and smoothness a little and ok it.
Step 10
This is an optional extra, I have a thing for detail, so I add weld spots to the window as well. To do this I duplicate the frame layer, open the blending options and, keeping Bevel/Emboss on, add Stroke, set to black and 1 pixel wide. Having done that I proceed to erase the layer, keeping the area’s in which the frame joins with another section (or bends sharply) from being erased.
Step 11
Next we tinker with the Contrast of the layer by going to Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness/Contrast and upping the settings to make the welding look brighter and more silvery.
Step 12
Once that is done, we apply a Plastic Wrap filter to the weld layer (Filter -> Artistic -> Plastic Wrap).
Step 13
Now we tweak the opacity of the layer so that it blends with the frame layer yet stands out at the same time, to give the impression the welding is there without it being to obtrusive.
Also added a little lighting effect to the frame layer by going to Filters -> Render -> Lighting Effects. I change the light type to “Omni“, then in the viewer to the left I move the ring of light to where I wanted it to be (in this case it was the center of the window) and clicked ok.
And there we go, as I mentioned I usually spend a lot more time tinkering with the various filters and what not as I am creating a window to get the desired effect.
Here is an example of one of my finished pieces that has had more time put into it, Photoshop is a pretty powerful tool which has some good effects that can be applied to work.
