A guide for the lazy graphic maker (tips and tricks)

How to make your graphic extra especial with little effort

(Maggie's cheap tricks - light version)

Ever spent hours making a graphic, blending things in and it just doesn't seem to be enough? There might be something missing, but you can't quite know what. Sometimes things just don't seem to blend together nicely, or belong to the same picture, but why? Well, I don't know. I'm no expert. But I do know there are some things I do to make it seem less "I just pasted all this crap together" and more like one whole picture, plus making the graphic extra special. (these are cheap cheap tricks and I'm sincerely ashamed of them since there are designers out there who actually take their time to make a picture look decent)

For this I'm going to use a graphic I made. Notice this is just the blend without any effects on it. There isn't anything holding it together, so I show you what you might have before using the tips I give you. The model for this one is the gorgeous MariaAmanda from DeviantArt, and I'm using a picture from her fairy tale stock, from photographer Helle Gry Schaub (please don't sue me!) I also have to add that I'm being lazy and this is a terrible graphic for such a pretty picture so I apologize to both model and photographer.

1. Adjusting Brightness and Contrast
There's this little button at the bottom (heh) of the layers window (if you don't have it up, go to Window/Layer) called "Create new fill or adjustment layer" where you can create a new fill or adjustment layer (see, this isn't so hard). Just go all the way up to the one called Brightness/Contrast and have fun! I set mine a bit lighter with high contrast because that's what I do. (is an anti-instagram) You'll get something like this.

2. Gaussian blur.
This tool is pretty nice, and you can do all kinds of things with it, but now we're being lazy, remember? Now, we're just going to draw some white (I like white) or some other color you like (white is cool though) around the corners. It doesn't have to be perfect, because gaussian blur will fix it for you. Just go to Filter/Blur/ Gaussian Blur and set it to whatever you like. Remember this has to be very soft looking, and you can adjust the opacity of the layer until you like it. I got something like this.

3. Set the mood with gradients.
I use gradient maps for EVERYTHING. It's a cheap, easy way to add adjustment color without having to bother yourself with silly things like saturation, vibrancy, color selection and all those things that give us bad headaches. Just click that Create new fill or adjustment layer button (which I'll start calling Bill cause it's name is too long) and click Gradient Map. And go crazy. No, seriously, add as many/little colors as you want and the silly computer will do the work for you. Just set the layer to "Soft Light" and BAM, instant coloring and blending. It all fits! Awesome.

4. MOAR LIGHT!
Since I'm the queen of light (ha!) I wanted to add some blinding there. Just create a new layer and fill it all with black. Then, set the layer to Screen (nothing happened!) and go to Filter/Render/Lens flare. Do whatever you want with it. I always play with these, making it very bright or just a small amount. Anyway, have fun with it!

5. Textures

Using textures is a pretty easy way to make it all come together. I used this little baby here by ex-astris1701 (again, suing is wrong, VERY wrong) and just set the layer as screen. Got something like this.

6. Masks!

Oh yes, the so beloved masks. This is incredibly easy to make despite what most may think. I just made a new group clicking this little fella in the layers window called "Create a new group" and guess what it did?. You just need to select all your lovely layers and drag them inside the folder, just like you would files. After that, you need to click the folder and then click this button called "Add layer mask" and now go crazy. This layer works this way: anything you draw on it with black will be a goner. Anything you paint with white will stay. I started by filling it all with black and then using a brush with white to draw over it. As you can see here I started by making a circle and then went to work around the edges with different brushes from different authors I won't tell who because these were brushes I already had and no idea where I got them. BUT brusheezy has a neat selection and of course Deviantart. Splatter brushes are awesome for this, but you can also go crazy and do some shapes. PRESTO! your "special" graphic is all done!

EXTRA TIP OF THE DAY: Ever had a lovely brush but it just doesn't behave the way you want it to? Well, that's why lovely PS has this little button next to the brushes called Toggle the brush panel. It brings up the brush panel (No way!) and I sincerely recommend you to go crazy with this tool (I know I did the moment I discovered it). You can rotate your brush, make it drag, change opacity, colors, saturation, make a bunch, cure cancer and so many other things with brushes it'll just make your life easier.

You could also add text, but I'm lazy so I won't. Save your file (if you added the mask) as a PNG. JPG will add an ugly white background. Oh, and if your new file had a background just hide the layer. <_< I often forget to do that.

Have fun! Also, if you actually go crazy and use these tips, please post the graphics you made. I'll love to see them :D