http://dharmavati.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] dharmavati.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] iconnaissances2008-03-07 08:47 pm

Sunburst guide

I've seen a lot of people ask how to get the sunburst effects and I've seen a few tutorials on how to get the effect, but the method I like the most is a really simple way of getting a great two-tone sunburst effect. I haven't seen anybody post about it yet and I hope this small guide is helpful!

Translatability: This guide was made for PS CS2. I'm not so sure if it would work with other versions of Photoshop (except maybe CS3) and it most probably won't work for other programs since it uses a preset tool that comes with PS CS2.

How to get from to in a couple seconds!



Okay, first, you start out with your image against a background. I'll be using a simple elephant shape against a solid background but you can always mix it up by having a person against texture or anything else.



Then, you click on the Custom Shape Tool (which you can find in the same menu as the Rectangle Tool on the Tools bar) and load the shapes that fall under the "Symbols" category. Find the shape named Registration Target 2. It will look a bit like a wheel with many spokes. This is the handy-dandy tool that you can use to create sunbursts in about a second. :D



Then, you create a new layer between your background and your object and pick the color that you want this layer to be. In my case, I chose a light blue color. Click at a corner outside of your picture and drag the shape's outline like shown below. Make sure that the thick outline of the circle is outside of the area of your icon/image (if it makes it easier for you, you can zoom out a bit to do so). Also, make sure that the small, inner circle of the spokes is fully covered by your top image. As you can see from the example below, the inner circle is inside the body of the elephant.



When you release your mouse, you should get something like what I got below. And you're pretty much done! :)



Of course, for different effects, you can play around where you have the small circle.

<-- for this one, I put the circle a little bit below the center of the image.

<-- for this one, I put the circle in the upper right corner so it was just outside the image.

I'm sure there are other ways to use this and it's a fun tool to experiment with. Since the middle layer with the sun burst is separate from the background, you can even fiddle with the blending options to achieve cool effects. I hope you found this tip helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions or confusions... and happy iconmaking!

[identity profile] garfreak.livejournal.com 2008-03-08 03:20 pm (UTC)(link)
aww
thanks for this!
mems
^^

[identity profile] kittysuck.livejournal.com 2008-03-08 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I think the best of all this is actually you're icon! The elephant, the colours, the sunburst... fantastic!

[identity profile] pastelpiggy.livejournal.com 2008-03-08 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
mem'ing, thanks!

[identity profile] ashtraygen.livejournal.com 2008-03-08 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Pretty awesome tut, thanks!

[identity profile] ippai-kitai.livejournal.com 2008-03-09 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
well, isn't that clever?!?

memming!

[identity profile] nepthys6669.livejournal.com 2008-03-10 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
thanks for explaining how to do this

[identity profile] dreams-secrets.livejournal.com 2008-03-10 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
That was easy! Love the effect of it.
+memories :)

[identity profile] rileylange.livejournal.com 2008-03-11 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!

[identity profile] girl-meets-boi.livejournal.com 2008-03-14 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
omg!!! ive been trying to do that for ages!! thank you!

[identity profile] waterbird.livejournal.com 2008-03-16 11:04 am (UTC)(link)
This is so great. I always wonder how everyone does the funky stuff in their icons. Thank you for the tutorial!

[identity profile] x-priyanka.livejournal.com 2008-04-07 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
LOVEEEEE the tut..
this is how mine turned out =)

Image

[identity profile] hollywoodism.livejournal.com 2008-04-10 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
THIS IS AWESOMEEEE ♥

[identity profile] fairytrees.livejournal.com 2008-04-19 06:38 am (UTC)(link)
Cute. Trying later. :) +mems.

[identity profile] midnite-rundown.livejournal.com 2008-05-09 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
I never would have thought of this...thanks for writing it up! It's so easy, but really cool.
Where'd you get the Elephant shape? Is it a brush?

[identity profile] 4tsandgrowing.livejournal.com 2008-05-24 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I love this tutorial. I do not have the Registration Target two. Is there someplace I can download it?

[identity profile] lostemilie.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 08:55 am (UTC)(link)
I also don“t have it :( Hopefully someone can upload it

[identity profile] gladysm.livejournal.com 2008-06-03 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
in my photoshop, there is no REGISTRATION TARGET 2, how can i install it?

[identity profile] gladysm.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
thank you so much!

[identity profile] gladysm.livejournal.com 2008-06-07 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
actually i cannot completely understand this tutorial...
can you show me your HISTORY? :(

[identity profile] matinee-idyll.livejournal.com 2008-06-12 07:23 am (UTC)(link)
Doesn't work with PS6. Damn.

[identity profile] lunar47.livejournal.com 2008-06-13 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
wow, that was incredible simple. very cool

[identity profile] three-nails.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow! Thank you =D.

[identity profile] irati86.livejournal.com 2008-07-17 12:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for this tutorial!!! Is relly useful ^^

[identity profile] coolbeans9.livejournal.com 2008-07-17 02:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Memming! I didn't even know I had those things. Thanks :]

[identity profile] sweetsnigz92.livejournal.com 2008-07-17 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you soo much!! Been wanting to know how to do that!! lol

[identity profile] picturesayings.livejournal.com 2008-07-17 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
this is quite helpful. gonna try it out next time i open PS. thanks

[identity profile] picturesayings.livejournal.com 2008-07-17 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
oh, btw, i added it to mems

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