Rock Layout Tutorial
This tutorial will teach you how to make a rock-style layout as shown in the preview below. Click on the thumb to view it in full size.
1. First we’ll be using this scan as the layout base to give a grunge/dark feel to the layout. Open it up in Photoshop. Crop it out a bit so that the white edges aren’t visible.
2. Copy and paste this photo of a lightning strike onto your document as a new layer. Move it up to the top using the Move Tool so that your document looks a bit like this:
Set the layer mode for this layer as Vivid Light:
3. Make sure your lightning image’s layer is still selected. Now create a layer mask by selecting (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All).
4. Use a soft black brush and brush over the unwanted parts of the lightning image, which is the black background. So brush over everything apart from the lightning strike, which is the only part we want.
5. Take this rock on image and paste it onto your document as a new layer. This layer should be above the lightning layer. Desaturate the image by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.
6. Set the layer mode to Screen and position the image at the top of the lightning strike like so:
7. Then using the Eraser Tool, erase the sky from the rock on image, so that we’re left with majority of the hand. You don’t have to remove everything, just make the image look like it’s blended it.
8. Now take this photo of Paramore, paste it onto a new layer. Set the layer mode for this photo to ‘Pin Light’, then position the image like this, next to the rock on image.
9. Again, using the Eraser Tool, remove the edges of the image so that it looks blended in with the other images.
10. We want to add a bit of colour to this photo, so we’ll do a Lens Flare effect on the Paramore photo. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare.
Match your settings to mine and position the flare to the right of Halley:
11. Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool
and draw a shape like this
Now hold down Ctrl button, you’ll see a little scissors icon as you’re doing this, then click and drag your selected area away, move it a bit upper so that it looks kind of choppy.
12. We’re basically done with the Paramore photo. Now take this image of Greenday and paste it as a new layer, above the Paramore photo.
Set the layer mode to Overlay.
And position the image like this, so that it’s overlapping the Paramore photo.
13. Once again, you should erase the sides using the Eraser Tool like you did with the previous images to blend it in.
14. Now that we’ll be adding some text. This will sort of act as a touch up brush effect instead of where you actual site name should be. It’s just to garnish the layout a little bit. Select the Text Tool
, the font that we will be using is Impact and the font size at 72 pt
Make the font colour a nice pink to match with the lightning colour (#ff008a). Then type in your text. I wrote in ‘ROCK & ROLL’ in caps.
Set the layer mode for this text layer to Overlay:
Position it at the top of your layout and make sure that half of it is cut off so that you can only see the bottom half.
Make it look a bit messier by rotating it to the side a little. Take the Free Transform tool (ctrl+T) or Edit > Free Transform.
15. We’re done with the text. Now we want to add some brushes beneath the whole thing. So create a new layer. Drag that layer to the very bottom so that it’s beneath your lightning image but above your black background base.
16. Select the Brush Tool and select a 56px brush at 100% hardness
17. Now we’ll change the brush settings by going to Window > Brushes
Brush Tip Shape
Shape Dynamics
Scattering
Color Dynamics
19. Make your brush colour pinkish red, the same colour as your font (#ff008a), now paint the brushes on by clicking a few areas once to create this bubble light kind of effect.
Remember to set the layer mode to Lighten and opacity to 55%
Here’s what the bubbles should look like
And then we’re basically done with the entire layout! Click here to see the final result
