WOOD INLAY PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL

Prerequisite Photoshop skills:

• create, move, merge, rename, hide and change the blending mode and opacity of layers
• create, move, transform and kern text layers
• work with selections, select and deselect
• add and unlock layer masks
• add and change layer effects
• use the brush, pencil and magic wand tools
• use HEX color codes

Materials Needed:

• Adobe Photoshop CS3 or higher
• wood inlay design (the Craftsmen and Craftsmen Ornaments fonts are suggested)
• image file: dark cherry wood
• image file: medium cherry wood
• image file: golden oak wood grain
• image file: gold leaf texture

First, you'll need a wood inlay design. For this exercise, the Craftsmen Bold and Outline fonts were chosen for the text, and a Rennie MacIntosh style rose was selected from Craftsmen Ornaments ("s" from the keystroke map).

A) Create a Photoshop work file with the dimensions you need:

• Mode: RBG
• Dimensions: (this example is 369 x 480 pixels)
• Background: white

B) Create a text layer and position the text at the bottom:

• Font: "Craftsmen Bold"
• Text: "Roses"
• Color: black
• Anti-aliasing method: Sharp
• Kerning: adjust as needed

C) Copy the text layer above and change the font to Craftsmen Outline. Position this layer on top of the previous layer.

D) Create another text layer and position the design:

• Font: "Craftsmen Ornaments"
• Text: "s"
• Color: black
• Anti-aliasing method: Sharp

Your work file will now look like Figure 1.

In this step, you'll add all the wood texture image layers which will be used in future steps.

A) Open the gold leaf texture image, copy the image, close the file, then paste the image into your work file. Position this layer below all previous layers.

B) Repeat Step 2A for each texture file:

• golden oak wood grain texture
• medium cherry wood texture
• medium cherry wood texture (copy)
• golden oak wood grain texture

C) Verify that all the layers are in the correct order and rename them as shown in Figure 2.

In this step, you'll create a decorative border.

A) Create a text layer at the top of the layers list and position the text in the upper left corner:

• Font: "Craftsmen Ornaments"
• Text: "F"
• Color: black
• Anti-aliasing method: None

B) Use the "Free Transform" function (Edit: Free Transform), scale the above ornament until it fits neatly into the space.

C) Copy the layer, and position the ornament in upper right corner.

D) Repeat Step 3B-C for the lower left and right corners.

E) Create a new layer below the four ornament layers. Use the pencil tool (2 pixels, black) to draw thin lines that connect each corner ornament (hold down the shift key to constrain the lines).

F) Merge all the layers created in Step 3 and rename this layer "Line Border."

Your work file will now look like Figure 3.

A) Click on the "Line Border" layer and select the Magic Wand tool :

• Anti-aliasing: 2
• Contiguous: unchecked IMPORTANT

B) Click precisely on one of the black border lines or corner ornaments to create a selection area.

C) Click on the "Gold Leaf Texture" layer while the selection is still active, and click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon at the bottom of the Layers window:

D) Hide the "Line Border" layer. Deselect the area.

E) Add a layer effect (Stroke) to the "Gold Leaf Texture" layer:

• Stroke Size: 1 px
• Position: Outside
• Blend Mode: Normal
• Opacity: 100%
• Color: 3f0e06

Your work file will now look like Figure 4.

A) Hide the "Rose - Craftsman Bold" layer.

B) Click on the "Rose - Craftsmen Ornaments" layer and select the Magic Wand tool :

• Anti-aliasing: 2
• Contiguous: unchecked IMPORTANT

C) Click precisely on one of the black outlines of the rose to get a selection.

D) Click on the "Rose - Craftsmen Outline" layer. With the selection still active, hold down the shift key, then precisely click on the black outlines of the word "Roses." You should now have a selection area of both the rose shape and the outline of the word "Roses."

E) Click on the "Golden Oak Wood Texture" layer while the selection is still active, and click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon at the bottom of the Layers window, as in Step 4C. Deselect the area.

F) Hide the "Rose - Craftsmen Ornaments" and "Rose - Craftsman Outline" layers.

E) Add a layer effect (Stroke) to the "Golden Oak Wood Texture" layer:

• Stroke Size: 1 px
• Position: Outside
• Blend Mode: Normal
• Opacity: 100%
• Color: 832e15

Your work file will now look like Figure 5.

A) Show the "Rose - Craftsman Bold" and "Rose - Craftsmen Ornaments" layers.

B) Click on the "Rose - Craftsmen Ornaments" layer and select the Magic Wand tool :

• Anti-aliasing: 2
• Contiguous: checked IMPORTANT

C) Click in the area outside of the rose to get a selection. Then, invert the selection (Select: Inverse).

D) Hide the "Rose - Craftsmen Ornaments" layer.

E) Click on the top "Cherry Wood Texture Medium" layer while the selection is still active, and click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon at the bottom of the Layers window, as in Step 4C. Deselect the area.

F) To change the direction of the wood grain, unlock the image mask by clicking on the link (chain) icon to make it disappear:

This unlocks the image mask from the image. With the image portion of the layer selected (note the broken border in the image above) you can now reposition, transform and modify the image portion of the layer to achieve the best look (in our example we rotated the image and positioned the best grain area within the rose.

G) Click on the "Rose - Craftsmen Bold" layer and select the Magic Wand tool :

• Anti-aliasing: 2
• Contiguous: unchecked IMPORTANT

H) Click inside one of the black letter to get a selection of the word "Roses."

I) Hide the "Rose - Craftsmen Bold" layer.

J) Click on the second "Cherry Wood Texture Medium" layer while the selection is still active, and click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon at the bottom of the Layers window, as in Step 4C. Deselect the area.

K) As in Step 6F, you can unlock the image mask and adjust the position of the wood grain for maximum effect.

Your work file will now look like Figure 6.

A) Add a layer effect (Bevel and Emboss) to the "Cherry Wood Grain - Dark" layer:

• Style: Inner Bevel
• Technique: Chisel Hard
• Depth: 760%
• Direction: Up
• Size: 9, Soften: 0
• Angle: 125°, Altitude: 26°
• Highlight Mode: Screen, Color: e6ac7c, Opacity: 58%
• Shadow Mode: Multiply, Color: 000000, Opacity: 26%

B) To create a spotlight on the wood, create a new layer and position it at the top of the list. Using the Elliptical Marquee tool , create a vertical half-oval selection and then fill with white. Deselect the area and apply a Gaussian blur filter (Radius: 29 pixels). Set the layer blending mode to Overlay and the layer opacity to 34%.

C) To create a glossy light reflection on the wood, as if the wood were varnished, create a new layer and position it at the top of the list. Using the Elliptical Marquee tool , position the cursor in the lower right corner if the image, hold down the option/alt key and create a quarter-ellipse selection that touches the top left corner of the beveled wood. Invert the selection (Select: Inverse) and fill with white. Set the layer opacity to 16%.

Your work file will now look like Figure 7.

Save your image and enjoy your new creation.