Twelve Super Cool Leaves Textures for Your Design and Photo Manipulations

Well, this is my newest set of Textures, this time Leaves ones. Hope you will find them useful and decide to include them in your art works. All they are unrestricted stock, but don't forget to click on some of the Share buttons or to recommend them. Thus more people can get benefit of my stock photos.
By the way the fourth photo named Autumn Leaves is entirely my creation. I firstly pressed then arranged the leaves and hope you like the result. Enjoy! :)

Withered Fern Leaves

Red Leaves

Water-Lily Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Ivy Leaves

Green Leaves Texture

Colorful Leaves Texture

Leaves Texture

Plant

Green Leaves Texture

Kaleidoscope Plant Leaves

Leaves Texture

Create Twirled Rays Background in Illustrator

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a vortex of pink and purple rays with golden highlights in Adobe Illustrator.

In order to create the Pink Rays, we are going to use Average command, Rotate Tool, Twist Warp and Clipping Mask. I used Illustrator CS4 to create this artwork, but all other CS versions of the program are applicable.

This should be your final result:

STEP 1

Create a new .ai document by selecting File, New, then choose Basic RGB Document. From Units drop down menu select Milimeters and set Width and Height to 270mm both.

Create Gradient Background with Segmented Circle

STEP 2

Take Rectangle Tool and draw a square covering your artboard. Fill the square with Radial type Gradient. For the first gradient swatch choose this color: R=0, G=169, B=157. The color of second gradient swatch is a darker blue: R=0, G=0, B=255 and the color of third gradient swatch is: R=0, G=169, B=157. This will be our Background. As we won’t manipulate it anymore, select it with Selection Tool and go to Object, Lock, Selection.

STEP 3

Using Rectangle Tool again draw a rectangle as you see on the following screenshot. Fill it with any color (no Stroke color!). As you can see I have chosen pink color from the default Swatches but later it will be changed.

STEP 4

Grab Direct Selection Tool and select both bottom points of the previously drawn rectangle, then go to Object, Path, Average. When Average dialog box appears, choose Both axis. This will turn your rectangle into a ridged triangle.

STEP 5

While the rectangle is selected, add 6px Stroke of any color. I have chosen dark red (R=193, G=39, B=45) but it will be changed in the next step.

STEP 6

With the triangular shape selected, click on Object menu, Choose Expand, in the dialog box uncheck Fill option and leave only Stroke option checked, then press OK.

Deselect the object. Now take Direct Selection Tool and select only the Stroke. Fill with the following Linear Gradient with Angle 90 degrees:

First Gradient Swatch (Location 0%): R=251, G=201, B=38;

Second Gradient Swatch (Location 47%): R=255, G=251, B=204;

Third Gradient Swatch (Location 75%): R=238, G=214, B=136;

Fourth Gradient Swatch (Location 100%): R=255, G=251, B=204;

STEP 7

In this step I decided to change the Fill of the triangle. Using Direct Selection Tool select only the Fill of the object (not the Stroke) and choose a nice purple Fill Color: R=171, G=74, B=156.

STEP 8

Reselect the triangle with Selection Tool. Take Rotate Tool, hold down Alt key and at the same time click on the center point of the triangle (don’t release left mouse key), move the center point to the end point of the triangle and release the mouse key. Rotate dialog box appears on your artboard. Enter 4 degrees in Angle option and press Copy button. This will rotate and duplicate the object at the same time. See the screenshot for this Step as a reference for your actions.

STEP 9

One copy is not enough to create an image full of rays. So start pressing Ctrl+D a few times until you close the circle of rays. Your artboard should look like my screenshot.

Add New Colors, Apply Twist Warp and Clipping Mask

STEP 10

You can leave all your rays in one and the same purple color we already choose. I decided to add more colors. As you see on the following screenshot, I have used four additional colors to make my rays more dazzling. For the purpose you should select with Direct Selection Tool the respective triangle (select only the Fill, not the Stroke) and change its color. I used these colors:

1. R=201, G=40, B=255
2. R=244, G=120, B=59
3. R=169, G=103, B=170
4. R=241, G=90, B=34

STEP 11

With Selection Tool select all objects (except the background) on your artboard. Group them (Object, Group or Ctrl+G), then go to Effect, Warp, Twist, leave the default options and press OK button. Have a look at the screenshot to this step to see the result.

STEP 12

Keep the group of twisted objects selected. Go to Transparency panel (Window, Transparency) and set the Blend Mode to Exclusion. Deselect.

STEP 13

We are almost done. As you can see, the rays go out of the artboard borders. In order to keep object (s) within the artboard, we are going to apply Clipping Mask. Draw a rectangle of any color, which covers the artboard. With Selection Tool select both the rectangle and group of rays, right click and select Make Clipping Mask.

STEP 14

After following this step-by-step tutorial, the result of your work should be an image like the one on the following screenshot. If you have locked the selection of your Background in Step 2, just go to Object, Unlock All so that to be able to manipulate all your objects if you like to change colors and shapes.

STEP 15

This is the final result. If you have some questions, you are welcome to send me a personal message. I will be glad to help you. Good luck and enjoy the tutorial.

Create Grunge Poster with Cubism Style Background

In this tutorial I am going to show you all detailed steps I have taken to create awesome Grunge Style Poster with Cubism Background.

When following my steps, you are going to use basic instruments- Paint Bucket tool, Polygonal Lasso tool, Text tool, two brushes, Layer Mask and lots of Blending Options.

The Cork Tree Bark Texture added to the Background is my own photo and unrestricted stock.

This is the result you should get:

STEP 1

Create a New Folder where you are going to keep your .psd file, the Texture you need to download and the final result saved in .jpg, .png or any other format you prefer.

Now open Adobe Photoshop and go to File, New to create a new document. Name it Grunge Poster, then insert 2900 Pixels for Width and 4000 Pixels for Height. Insert also 300 Pixels/Inch for Resolution. Select CMYK Color from Color Mode drop down menu and Transparent for Background Contents.

Rename Layer 1 to Background then press Ctrl+G to create a group named Background too.

Create Cubism Style Background with Cork Texture, Polygonal Lasso Tool and Plastic Wrap-Dark Brush

STEP 2

With the Background layer selected, navigate to the Tools bar and Set Foreground Color to #2a5347 then grab Paint Bucket tool and drag once on your canvas to colorize it.

STEP 3

Double click on Background layer's thumbnail to activate Layer Style dialog box (Layer, Layer Style, Blending Options). Check Inner Shadow and modify three of its settings: reduce Distance to 0px, increase Size to 119px and find Half Round Contour in the Contour Picker. Thus you created thin Vignette Effect on the borders of your canvas.

This is the result you should get after applying the Inner Shadow:

STEP 4

Click on this Cork Tree Bark Texture to open it in high resolution then right click and choose Save Image As to download it. We are going to work with this Texture in the coming steps.

STEP 5

Create a New Layer on top of Background group and call it Cork Tree Bark Texture.

Open in Photoshop the Texture you downloaded in Step 4, press Ctrl+A to Select it then press Ctrl+C to copy its image.

Return to your Grunge Poster .psd document, verify that Cork Tree Bark Texture layer is selected and press Ctrl+V to Paste the Texture there.

Use Edit, Free Transform to adjust the Size of the Texture to the Size of your canvas then press Enter key to apply the Transformation.

STEP 6

Change the Blend Mode of Cork Tree Bark Texture layer to Soft Light.

STEP 7

Now Create a New Layer on top of Background group and name it Shapes. In this step we have to draw the Cubism Style shapes which will improve our Background.

Grab Polygonal Lasso tool and draw Shapes similar to mine shown on the screenshot below. Fill them with colors according to your taste. As you can see, I have used these five Color Codes: #e27635, #822786, #afb144, #569899, #ae284b.

STEP 8

Change the Blend Mode of Shapes layer to Overlay.

STEP 9

In this and the next step we have to give our Shapes relief and texture so double click on Shapes layer's thumbnail to activate Layer Style box and firstly tick Bevel and Emboss. Decrease Depth to 40% and Size to 3px, then select Cone-Asymmetrical from the Contour Picker and change Color for Highlight to #ffb849.

STEP 10

Check Texture Layer Style which is below Bevel and Emboss. Find Woven Wide (120 by 240 pixels, Grayscale Mode) from the Pattern Picker, change Scale to 239% and Depth to 200%.

This is how our Shapes will look after we have added texture and volume:

STEP 11

Create a New Layer called Plastic Wrap- Dark Brush after the Brush we are going to use in this step and place it on top of Background group.

Set Foreground Color to #6b6d1a then grab Brush tool and find Plastic Wrap- Dark Brush in the Brush Preset Picker. Set its Size to 1000px and start brushing the borders of the canvas as you see on the screenshot below.

If the chosen Brush is not exclusive for your Photoshop version, you can replace it with any Spatter Brush.

STEP 12

Double click on Plastic Wrap- Dark Brush layer's thumbnail to make Layer Style box pops up on your screen. Firstly tick Drop Shadow Layer Style, lower its Distance to 0px and increase Size to 19px.

STEP 13

Now check Gradient Overlay in Layer Style dialog box and change these five settings:

Blend Mode: Overlay

Opacity: 30%

Gradient: choose Red-Orange, Blue-Green Gradient

from the Gradient Picker

Style: Reflected

Angle: 90 degrees.

STEP 14

Let us add 3D Effect to our greenish border in order to make it resemble lichen. So check Bevel and Emboss Layer Style, increase its Depth to the maximum of 1000%, slightly heighten the value of Size to 10px and choose Ring from the Contour Picker.

Set Color for Highlight to #98b029 and reduce its Opacity to 45%.

This should be your outcome after applying the three Blending Options on Plastic Wrap- Dark Brush layer:

Create Text, Apply Blending Options, Crosshatch Brush and Layer Mask

STEP 15

In this step you should type any Text you like. It is not necessary to use the same Text I have typed and with the same tool settings, so you can use this Step 15 only as a guideline.

Well, now grab Horizontal Type tool and type some Text of your choice. For mine I have chosen default Aharoni Font of 71.55pt Size (Center Text Option have to be checked) and also inserted Color Code #9dc7fb for Text Color. I have also left Tracking to the default 50.

Move your Text layer on top of Layers panel and press Ctrl+G to put it in a group called Text.

STEP 16

In this and the coming four steps we have to apply Blending Options to make our Text more attractive. So right click on the Text layer, select Blending Options and tick Drop Shadow. Change its Distance to 3px, Spread to 60% and size to 34px.

STEP 17

Now apply Gradient Overlay on the Text layer. Select Green, Blue, Yellow Gradient from the Gradient Picker, set its Style to Reflected and verify that the Angle is automatically set to 90 degrees.

STEP 18

The third Layer Style we need to add to the Text layer is Inner Shadow. Increase its Distance to 15px, Choke to 24% and Size to 16px.

STEP 19

In this step we have to add thin golden shaded Stroke to our Text. For the purpose tick Stroke Layer Style and modify the following settings:

Size: 5px

Fill Type: Gradient

Gradient: Select Gold from the

Gradient Picker

Style: Reflected

Angle: 90 degrees.

STEP 20

The last Layer Style we have to apply on the Text layer is Bevel and Emboss.

Choose Pillow Emboss for Style, change Size to 43px, then Set Color for Highlight to #fdff42 and color of Shadow to #837224.

This is my outcome after applying the previously described Blending Options on the Text:

STEP 21

It would be really cool if we add Texture to our Text Effect. We can do this with the help of a simple Brush.

Firstly Create a New Layer on top of Text group and name it Crosshatch after the Brush we are going to use.

Select Brush tool and find Crosshatch 3 Brush in the Brush Preset Picker. Set its Size to 300px and start making dabs over the Text with different colors. I have used the following Color Codes: #a2339a, #ec113b, #e6e54d, #78f8d5, #e29b43.

Your result should resemble my outcome shown on the screenshot below. It is not necessary to be absolutely the same.

 

STEP 22

Change the Blend Mode of Crosshatch layer to Linear Light and reduce the Fill Opacity to 50%.

STEP 23

Double click on Crosshatch layer's thumbnail to activate Layer Style box and apply Bevel and Emboss. Increase only its Depth to 490%, slightly lower Size to 3px and leave all other default settings unchanged.

This is how the Crosshatch Texture will look after applying the 3D Effect:

STEP 24

Keep Crosshatch layer highlighted then hold down Ctrl key and click on your Text layer's thumbnail to Load Selection on the Text. Click also on Add Layer Mask icon (Layer, Layer Mask, Reveal Selection) at the bottom of Layers panel.

Below is shown my result after adding Layer Mask to Crosshatch layer.

Compare your Layers panel with mine. You should have these groups and layers there:

1. Background group with four layers in it: Background, Cork Tree Bark Texture, Shapes and Plastic Wrap- Dark Brush and
2. Text group which consists of two layers: Text layer and Crosshatch layer.

I don't recommend you to rasterize your Text layer. Better leave it editable because you might decide to change it or just to use another Font.

STEP 25

This is my Grunge Poster saved in .jpg format.

Hope you learned new techniques from this tut and find it useful.

Many thanks for reading and God bless! :)