PDN Fanatics

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A way of making gold metal with Metalize, Gaussian Blur and Gradient Mapping.
Metalize, AA's Assistant
Align Object
Alpha Mask
Gradient Mapping


Demo.

Open a new canvas of 200x500.

Fill the background with black, make the layer not visible, make a new layer.

Add some 108 size text, Gaussian Blur @ 1 radius, AA's Assistant at default, name the layer "Mask".


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Copy the Mask layer into the clipboard.
On your keyboard, press:

Ctrl + A
Ctrl + C
Ctrl + D

This will select All of the layer, Copy the selection into the Windows clipboard, and Deselect.


Make the layer not visible.

Position a new layer below the Mask layer, fill it with a vertical linear gradient of Hex C0C0C0 to Hex A0A0A0.

Name the layer "Text".


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Apply Alpha Mask with all checkboxes filled.


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With the Shift key down, Magic Wand the alpha outside the text, and invert selection.

Make a new layer and apply Bevel Selection at default settings.


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Deselect and Gaussian blur @ 4 radius.


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Merge down. Duplicate the layer twice.

Apply Metalize Type 1, to the lowest text layer, Type 2 to the middle layer, Type 3 to the top layer.


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Set the middle and top layers to Negation blending mode.


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Gaussian Blur all three text layers @ 2 radius.

Merge the middle text layer into the bottom text layer,
then merge the remaining upper text layer into the bottom text layer..

Apply AA's Assistant at default settings.

Use Gradient Mapping to colorize.
Be sure to have the Preserve Alpha box checked.






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The key is to apply enough blur at each step to eliminate
internal jagginess without blurring excessively.

Objects of different sizes, shapes, and gradients of different character
will require adjustments to these settings, blend modes, etc. to get
the best results.

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Can be used for jewelry making.



With Trail plugin.





Regarding Gradient Mapping

Cool! This works well.

Thanks!

Your Gold technique is superior.
Here are some comarisons to two other techniques.









The last two methods are the best to use in my opinion depending on the type of image that's being made. Sargon's technique uses Alpha Displacement and Metallize. There's a little "jaggy" going on around the outer edge but that's my fault, not usually a problem on a larger canvas. Sargon does this better than I.

My humblest gratitude to both of you for sharing with the rest of us.

Thank you, Sarkut! I will be using this for my books. I hope this tut gets stickied.

@Peter: Wow. That's super!

HELEN wrote:I hope this tut gets stickied.

Agreed, and Stickied.

@Sarkut and PeterPawn, have you guys tried to use alpha mask to clean up the edge immediately after applying metalize? I haven't tried that yet, but I thought I would ask you two.

That's a thought, I have not tried that.

Yes, I have used the Alpha Mask to clip the finished gold.
(Which tends to grow during the process, due to the blurring.)

In the case of the inlaid border on the jewel shown,
the "clipping" was saved and used rather than being discarded.

Having the mask is useful if you need a specific size and shape
for the finished product, but it does change the look to trim it.

Starting with a slightly undersized basis, and letting it grow
into a finished bit that will be only marginally clipped by
the Alpha Mask often gives a good result.

Nice technique, but ain't it funny how people's perceptions of gold are different.

I'd say this is more like brass ... but that's just me

Yes, it's somewhat brassy.

I tend to do "post-production" work, including desaturation,
hue shifts, and layers with different blend modes and opacities.

There's nothing wrong with 'brassy' (unless you're married to a woman who is ...)

I wasn't knocking the tut ... and like you say, it's for others to play around experiment

Is why I never totally show how I made something when I write a tut'.
People learn more if you don't hold their hand all the way through

Gold also depends on the viewer's monitor settings.

I prefer the slightly tarnished look of the gold when I make it but the brighter gold when someone else makes it. Odd eh?

Here is my go. It`s a combo of three tuts really - Ash`s jewel, Bbq`s technique for the setting and of course Sarkut`s for the gold .

My new WIP using Sarkut's tut. I'm loving this.

Just a small suggestion. If you want the symmetry of the fretwork, use Mirror Over Line and run it smack dob in the middle. Otherwise, it's a great work.

I'll try that to see how it looks. Thanks.