Creating a glass ball tutorial
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by: DavidPeters
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Step 1. make a simple circle with your circular marquee tool. Red makes for a nice color, but you can go with anything you like.
Step 2. Give the circle a innerglow layer effect, just change the glow color to black and the blendmode to multiply. Why am I using the Inner glow instead of the inner shadow? Because inner glow doesn't have an angular deflection, and thus is easily uniform.
Step 3) Load the selection from the circular area. On a new layer, drag the linear gradient in white to transparent downward from the top making sure it is close but not entirely at the bottom.
Step 4) To transform the white gradient, press Ctrl/Cmd+T. Drag the handles bringing it upwards going halfway through, and drag it just a small amount inward from the top and sides. Now to create a merge composite layer: Hide the background. Create a new blank layer on top and press Alt+Ctrl+Shift+E or Option+Cmd+Shift+E on Mac, to create a merged layer on top.
Step 5 - Taking this merged layer, make a circular selection above larger than the original circle. Use your judgment on what looks right and then copy the section and paste it into a new layer. Now the top segment of the orb is done. Place it again in the exact position.
Step 6. Now to go onto the base of the orb. In a new layer create an eleptical shape that fits into the lower half of the circle. Duplicate this layer and reduce the size a little, as shown in fig.6.
Step 7 - Choosing the larger ellipse layer, press Ctrl/Cmd and click on the layer thumbnail to load its selection. Next drag across using the grey-white-grey-white-grey color combination using the cylindrical gradient tool.
Step 8) Again, duplicate this layer bringing the duplicate upward. Place the small white portion above the actual gradiated layer. Link both of these layers reducing their size some, so that the outer gradiated ellipse is just within the red circle.
Step 9) Select the duplicated gradient layer, now giving it a faintly different gradient of greys and whites. Bring the duplicated gradient layer down, arranging it under both of the other layers. Position it to where it is visible from both sides since it is the rim of the orb.
Step 10. Now to remove the portions of the orb that aren't required. As before by keeping Ctrl/Cmd pressed and clicking on the layer thumbnails; first select the large outer rim elipse (with the gray gradient) and then Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+Click on the thumbnail of the the upper top portion layer (created in step 5). You will now have the 2 ellipses selected. We want to also select the bottom portion of the orb. Choose the Rectangular marquee tool hold down shift and drag over the bottom portion. Inverse the selection (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I) and delete the middle portion of the orb. The figure should look as it is in Fig.10.
Step 11) Let's create the glass portion. Make a circle of the same size of the orb in any color and place it behind the other layers.
Step 12 -As with the first outer orb, give this circle the same inner-glow effect, bringing it forward to cover all but the red outer sections of the orb.
Step 13) Go to the layer palette and make the fill amount =0 to make the layer invisible, but keeps the layer effects visible.
Step 14) Create a white gradient reflection like in the red circle, in a new layer above the glass layer, to have a more realistic lighting effect. You will have to adjust the settings as needed to make it as realistic looking as possible.
Step 15 -Select the base layers, which are the grey metal gradient layers and the white ellipse, merging them together. Press Cntrl+U to fine-tune the hue of the layer. Since it is at this point grey, click on colorize, and convert to a reddish color to keep with the color of the orb itself.
Step 16 -Lastly, make a very small drop shadow to the upper piece of the red orb, in order to create more realism. The lower portion may seem off, so create a new layer above the red lower orb portion. Select the radial gradient tool in the white to nothing option and drag from a point over the red to just a bit inward. Erase parts that are not enclosed within the red portion.
Now you have a glass ball. Any items can be displayed inside the ball now, but make sure they have a good reflection effect added on. This effect will provide the base a shiny and realistic look.
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