Photoshop Tutorial : misunderstood emboss and contour now made easy!

Here’s another notable tutorial by Wu Hui ( Winbluegod ) from Beijing of 4-designer.com. This full Photoshop tutorial will make it easier for you to understand the significant effects of Bevel Emboss and Contour.

Free Photoshop Tutorial on Embossing Here’s another notable tutorial by Wu Hui (Winbluegod) from Beijing of 4-designer.com. This full Photoshop tutorial will make it easier for you to understand the significant effects of Bevel Emboss and Contour.

First, let’s see an example

Emboss_and_Contour

The major difference between the two examples below is in contour, and the contours in the bevel embosses can not be omitted to the tool itself. All contours in the PSD must be treated one by one because they vary in function and effect.

compare_two_embossings

(Click on this image above to open their dialog boxes)

To make it easy to understand, let’s see the contour in the following picture.

examine_the_contour

The height expressed by the linear here is the height defined by the contour. Where there is any sawtooth, select “Anti-aliased”.

different_contours

The type of a contour directly decides the stereo structure of the graphic.

Do you find that the contours are similar to the cross sections of the above graphics? You are right, they are examples of contours we talk about here.

NEXT: we see the settings of the bevel and emboss

Now let’s see the settings of the bevel and emboss

contour_profile
Click to enlarge this for better viewing

depth_controlls
Since we are familiar with “styles” and “method”, we will know their effects after trying. Here we will focus on explaining other attributes.

1. Depth and size

  • Depth: control the top of the emboss.
  • Size: control the width of the emboss (take the outer edge as the starting point).
  • Soften: control the turning degree of the corner.

emboss_depth_control

And, a variation on that technique intersecting surfaces:

intersecting_surfaces

embossing and contouring 9
2. Angle and height

Angle: direction of light source
Height: angle irradiated by light

angle_and_height

gloss
3. Gloss contour

Though it is also called contour, but it is “gloss contour” here. It is for controlling the overall light and shade.

Below you see three variations of gloss contour.

Open this graphic to see the other values required to generate these surfaces.

gloss_examples

Postscript: these are all of the principles of Bevel and Contour. Other relevant parameters are easy to understand and you will know their usages after trying to adjust. Contour is highly directly and often results in influence after directly changing sizes of graphics, so it is necessary to adjust specific values to optimum at any time.


And, thanks for reading

     

Wu Hui
           
(Winbluegod) from Beijing of 4-designer.com

 


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