Photo Retouching - - distressing type to look like old wood

artmaker · #1 07-13-2006, 10:27 AM

OK, going to try and describe this.
I am making an old, weatherd wood sign with some type on it. Type needs to look either raised or chissled. (Which ever looks better.) But it has to look like old faded paint on well weatherd wood.

I have the wood down. Embossed and everything. And I have my old photoshop wow book out with some great tips on messing with type. BUT every combination of things I try just isn't it.

I can emboss the type to go over the sign ok. BUT the edges of the text is too perfect. There is a whole list of steps involving channels etc to distress type BUT I only have examples of type on a brick wall. Not on wood grain. So the book isn't much help here. Everything I have tried to apply their brick sample to my wood grain sample isn't working.

The technique that shows promise is this;
I put black type over a white background layer. Click dissolve and make it about 50%. Then merge down. Apply a filter, motion and set the direction the same as the wood grain.
This looks pretty good. BUT how do I get that into my sign file? Need to remove that white background. I cannot select JUST the type without picking up too much gray. Tried using the rgb channel but it's just too jagged. (It does need to be readable!)
I cannot find a happy medium here.

I can overlay my type over the textured sign layer only I'm back to the fact that the edges of the text are too perfect. THAT needs to be changed.

how?

sigh.
I know photoshop can do this. Probably way too simple too.
help!

recrisp · #2 07-13-2006, 11:12 AM

Personally, I would paint it.
Painting it will give you the look you want, and it's not that hard at all really. Google "wood+old" and see what comes up, or something to that effect.
Look it over and see how it's rough edges are, just kind'a copy it and play around with it, you should have some pretty good results for doing that.
In those painted areas, you can also paste small chunks of grain to make it look more believable.
Like you said, you can make it look good as far as everything else, but sharp and new looking edges make it look unnatural looking.

Select an area of color that you like for the edges and then just paint it on a new Layer, then scroll through the Modes to see what works best for it.

http://images.google.com/images?q=wo...0&sa=N&ndsp=20

http://images.google.com/images?q=wo...=Search+Images

Randy

Cameraken · #3 07-13-2006, 11:41 AM

Hi Artmaker

Are these anything like what you want?

Ken.

artmaker · #4 07-13-2006, 01:24 PM

Cameraken, YES!!!!! That bark one on the right is darn close. Would need to fill that with a faded paint color but yea!

If I attached this sample right, I think I nailed this with the flag. Text is off but hey, hoping to get help here. But look at that flag. PERFECT!

well almost perfect. Either raised or recessed would be nice and with an edge to go with the texture of the wood. But if I were to "settle" this isn't bad.

(now if only I could remember exactly what I did, as she scratches head.)

Cameraken · #5 07-13-2006, 02:31 PM

Hi Artmaker

How about This?
Just ask if you would like instructions
They are all variations of the same technique.

Ken.

artmaker · #6 07-13-2006, 07:52 PM

Yea that's perfect! Please send instruction.

Thanks.

Cameraken · #7 07-14-2006, 07:36 AM

Hi Artmaker

There are three steps to making the text.
1) Make the 3D text
2) Displace the text
3) Blend together

Step1)
I was going to write out the method but I found a tutorial which explains it far better than I can

http://www.sketchpad.net/cleartext1.htm

The method is the same but instead of using a sky image I used the wood in my first attachment and a layer filled with red in my second attachment
Also, you don’t need to use black and white as suggested. In my second picture I used black and brown.

Step2)
This is probably the same as what you did to make the flag.
Make a Displacement map from the wood image and apply it to the text. I found a very small Horizontal and Vertical displacement was enough. I used 3% in both directions.

Step3)
Blend Together.
If you used the wood image in step1) this step is not needed.
I did all the steps on one image so when the text was finished I just turned off all the layers except the wood and the text and then set the text layer blending mode to overlay.

Hope this Helps.

Ken.

artmaker · #8 07-14-2006, 03:22 PM

HI,

well this isn't quite it. The sample you posted shows the edge of each type letter being "distressed." It takes on the shape and texture of the wood. That's what I'm looking for.
The tutorial you posted only makes a shadow of the letter charictors. But it does not change the shape of the letters. I need that distressed effect on both the last sample you posted, and one above on bark.

I didn't do this for the flag at all. That's really easy.
1. Duplicate the wood grain layer so you have two.
2. Take the bottom layer and apply the emboss filter. Which gives it texture but removes color.
3. Turn on the upper wood layer and set your layer to overlay. Puts back the color.
4. The flag layer above all that is set to about a 30% opasity.

Thats it!

But even the flag has a perfectly rectangular edge. Be nice to make that look like it's actually painted on the textured wood, or better yet, sunk into it. Hmm, thinking out loud here, I wonder if a copy of the wood embossed layer under that flag would work? I'll have to try that.

I have a tutorial that does this all for a brick surface but I cannot figure out how to make this work on a wood grain surface. It has to do with taking your text layer into channels and applying a variety of filters. I can get the effect ok but then cannot remove or select that and get it back into layers. You have to have black and white when working in channels but then it's impossible to remove the gray that is produced.

With the tutorial you have here, the "gray" area is inside the text. So keeping a text channel saved effectively makes a "cookier cutter" to clean up the effect. But this doesn't work when I WANT the jagged edge.
(I have done that one many times by the way. Add a few steps and you can make a nyfty fux gold.)

How did you do the samples you posted???

Cameraken · #9 07-14-2006, 03:55 PM

Hi Artmaker

It is step2 that makes the “Distressed” look. Using the Displace filter.
I thought that step was the same as the flag.

2a) open the wood texture and save it as woodDM.PSD (a displacement map)
2b) on the finished text layer Filter > Distort > Displace
Fill in the Vertical an Horizontal distortion required (I used 3%) Click OK
2c) navigate to woodDM.PSD and click Open.

That’s it. The wood displacement map will now be added to the text and give the “Distressed” look I had in my attachments.

There is a tutorial here
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutoria...ap/dispmap.htm

This tutorial also shows Step3 and sets the blending mode to Overlay.

Hope this Helps.

Ken.

artmaker · #10 07-14-2006, 07:29 PM

HEY that is TERRIFIC!!!!!

Lookie!

So THAT is what the displacement filter does. Very cool.
Thanks. I'll keep that tutorial.

I still need to tweak this a bit. Text is too narrow for this effect. Color is a bit intense too. But all fixable now.

Thank you SO much!
Jen

Cameraken · #11 07-14-2006, 08:10 PM

Hi Artmaker.

Well Done Jen.
That is great.

I’m glad you got it sorted.

The displace filter has a lot of uses (even for things like brush strokes)
If you would like to learn more then one of the best tutorials is here

http://www.thegoldenmean.com/technique/displace1.html

It is heavy going but well worth it

I forgot to mention that the displace map should be a B&W PSD (Thanks Craig) and also have a slight Gaussian blur applied.
The Red Channel Controls Left – Right
The Green Channel Controls Up – Down
The Blue Channel is not used

Well Done Again

Ken.

artmaker · #12 07-15-2006, 10:40 AM

Hi again,
WOW that tutorial is great! Thanks! I have that site bookmarked now too.
Read throught the whole thing.

I did the sample above with only the red channel and I think it's too harsh. For one thing, this will go on a Tshirt pocket so it's not a very big image. The bottom line of type (not shown) is almost not readable.
So it has more tweaking to do.

But hey, I know what that displacement thing is all about now. VERY cool indeed! I'll probably redo this image a dozen or so times. By then I'll have this down boy!

Thanks again.

Cameraken · #13 07-15-2006, 01:37 PM

Hi Jen.

You are welcome.

One last link for you, seeing you enjoyed TheGoldenMean.

http://tech-slop.serveit.org/tob.shtml

I bet you don’t read that lot in a day

Ken.

artmaker · #14 07-16-2006, 12:36 PM

COOL! Another one to add to my bookmarks.

I actually teach a biggining photoshop class at my local college once a year. I'll pass these sites along.

Thanks again.
Jen

artmaker · #15 07-18-2006, 12:07 PM

Say, hope your still watching this.

Reading one of your tutorials, it mentions using TWO channels. red and green. I know how to make a map out of ONE channel but it doesnt go into making one with two.
Here;
http://www.thegoldenmean.com/technique/displace2.html

I'll go play around now. Going to try and make two seperate maps, one from each channel and see what I can do with that. But if you know a way to make an image map using both channels at once, could you please post that?

Thanks again.