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Posted on 01/07/04 4:06:50 PM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply  |
Wood grain effect
I've been trying a technique (not sure if I'm the pioneer of) to simulate a wood grain effect 
The process is to start with a 640x480 - 50% gray filled layer to which a 25% noise filter is added and Motion Blurred by 40px horizonally. I then use the Ocean Ripple Filter from the Distort Filters set to create an undulating pattern, after which I Equalised the image and used the Fade Filter command to fade by 50% using Softlight - to make the grain subtle but noticable. To this layer I added a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer with a dark reddish brown fading to a lighter yellowish brown to give the wood its colour. I then applied the same Motion Blur/Ocean Ripple technique again to emphasise the effect. I added a 10% Noise filter and once again repeated the Motion Blur/Ocean Ripple technique. This made a fairly satisfactory grain effect so then using the Rectangular Marquee I made a selection of a small area of the grain layer and Ctrl+J the selection to a new layer. I Ctrl clicked the Layer Palette thumbnail of the new layer to make a selection and then applied a Twirl Filter from the Distort Filter set to create a knot in the wood. I repeated this a few times for effect taking selections from different parts of the wood grain layer and then link-merged all the knot layers together before applying a blending mode of Darken to it. I then switched the image to Photoshop's native Lab Color mode before applying a Unsharp Mask to the Lightness channel then converted it back to RGB mode. So my question is, does it work okay or is there anyway I can either improve upon this technique or find a better way of producing the same effect? Here's the wood grain tranformed into a plank pattern 
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Posted on 01/07/04 4:16:05 PM |
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trinityofone
Guest Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
Great technique Maiden!! Looks very effective. _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |
Posted on 01/07/04 4:54:37 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply  |
Re: Wood grain effect
Wow! The most convincing wood grain I've seen! Quite an effort to achieve, but the results are worth it. Not sure why you go into Lab mode, though - couldn't you get the same results by applying Unsharp Mask in RGB, then using the Fade Filter command to apply it only to the luminosity of the image? The wood planks look fantastic. All you need in there is some nail heads and it's perfect. I'm just in the process of reviewing the latest Eye Candy filter suite, which includes a filter specifically to create wood grain - and you can choose from a wide range of wood types. None of them are a patch on yours! |
Posted on 01/07/04 8:39:27 PM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
High praise indeed Steve. Thank you both for your supportive comments. As for going into Lab Color to apply the Unsharp Mask it was a tip from a Photographer friend of mine who works at the Pitt River Museum in Oxford as their Chief Photographer - but I think your way would work equally as well for this type of image as the other way is more of a photographer's technique to prevent colour shift. 
Planking with nails 
As a scene |
Posted on 02/07/04 08:53:22 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
Looks fantastic. Slight problem with the reflection, though: the original bust has been photographed from above, so it makes the reflection look as if it's leaning forwards when it should be leaning back. Shearing the reflection slightly and using free transform to taper it away from us helps a little. And don't forget the shadow on your floor!  |
Posted on 02/07/04 1:53:59 PM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
Yes that works much better. Your shadow is more defined than mine, which is fuzzy and unrealistic - I'll be more cautious of using too soft a brush in future. |
Posted on 13/09/04 6:06:03 PM |
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Jiger
* Posts: 17 Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
Good Lord, Maiden ! This is an even more convincing peace of wood than a piece of wood itself. Very, very nice, indeed. I'm constantly looking for good wood textures, but with this technique I can stop looking and start making my own  !
Thank you very much for sharing. This is just great !! Jiger. |
Posted on 26/12/04 03:06:13 AM |
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Einstein D Kid
Teen Trickster Posts: 281 Reply  |
Re: Wood grain effect
Is there any way you could make an action that would auto-fill a selection with that? _________________ - O(*_*O) |
Posted on 26/12/04 10:03:38 AM |
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trinityofone
Guest Reply |
Re: Wood grain effect
You could to some degree but the technique also involves copying selections, so that would have to be done manually. _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |