1. Create a new document, and fill the background layer with black. See my settings below.

2. Next, use Filter>Render>Lens Flare to create a 50-300mm Zoom flare right in the middle of the image, using the default settings of the tool.

3. Use the Smudge Tool until you get a result similar to what you can see below.

4. Now, go to Filter>Distort>Wave, and use the Randomize feature until you get a decent result.

5. Duplicate the current layer(it should be the only one in your document), and then use the Wave filter on it again. When done, switch the blending mode of the new layer to Screen, and move it around until you get a good-looking result(see mine below).

6. The time has come to use your own creativity now. As an example, I’ll play with the Hue/Saturation settings for each of the two layers of the image.

To achieve the result from the image at the beginning of the article, merge the existing layers, invert the image and play with Hue/Saturation settings. Good luck!

1. Create a new document in Photoshop, using the same resolution as your monitor, or a different one, if you don’t want to use it as a desktop wallpaper. I used only 800X600, because I don’t want to create a huge image and then scale it down.

2. Make sure Black and White are the foreground and background colors, and then apply Filter>Render>Clouds.

3. Next, use Filter>Pixelate>Mezzotint, with the type setting switched to Short Strokes.

4. Now, use Filter>Blur>Radial Blur, and the settings below…

5. To get one step closer to the end, twirl the image. To do this, use Filter>Distort>Twirl, and an angle setting of -130(obviously, you can play with this setting as you wish, but that’s what I used to get the result below).

6. Now, duplicate the background layer, and apply Twirl on the new one, with a different angle(I used 180), then set the blending mode for this layer to Lighten.

7. Press Ctrl+U to bring up the Hue/Saturation dialog and add some color to the current layer. Do the same with the one beneath it. Just be sure to check Colorize, then play with the values!

8. At last, simply merge existing layers(Ctrl+E, while the new layer is selected) and try some post-work. In my case, it was only Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask, and the settings below.

I hope you liked today’s tutorial, but be sure to get back tomorrow for more!

2. Hold Shift to create a square selection, and make it about 20X20 pixels, but before that, create a new channel.

3. Fill the selection with White(use the Paint Bucket Tool, or press D, followed by Alt+Backspace).

4. Go to the Select menu, and choose Modify>Contract…, using a 2 pixels setting. At last, press Del to remove the selection and move the selection up and to the left with 2 pixels.

5. Next, open the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. Give this pattern a name, and press OK. Notice how should look this new pattern in the image below.

6. Create a new channel, and use the Paint Bucket Tool to fill it with the pattern you just saved.

7. Press Ctrl+I to invert the image.

8. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to select a circular area of the image, then apply Filter>Distort>Spherize, with a setting of 100.

9. Copy the sphere to a new layer, and this is it!

To get out the jagged edges of your image, scale it down, or use a Blur filter. Then…have fun creating your disco ball!

2. Use the Horizontal Type Mask Tool to type in your text.

3. Press Ctrl+C, followed by Ctrl+V, to copy the selected area into a new layer.

4. In the Blending Options window for the new layer, enable Inner Shadow, with its default settings. If the image looks really bad after that, you can try playing with those settings, but this depends on the image you’re using, as usual.

5. Now, adjust the Brightness and Contrast settings for the text layer to negative values, somewhere between -20 and -60, depending on the texture you are using. I used -150 for Brightness, and -50 for Contrast, because the texture chosen wasn’t such a good idea…

As a final hint, I suggest you to try the tutorial about creating a rusty texture in Photoshop, I am sure the punched text would look simply great using that texture, and you’ll also get to learn something new, if you missed that one when I posted it…

1. Open the picture you think needs to be censored. Finally, I will use something different than my pictures, because I am sure you were tired of seeing me over and over again…

2. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create a selection around the area that needs to be hidden from everyone’s eyes. If you want to keep the original image intact in the same document, create a copy of the background layer, and delete all its contents, except the selected area.

3. Go to Filter>Pixelate>Mosaic, and choose a setting to match your image’s resolution. In my case(the image has a resolution of 1600X1200 pixels), I found 35 to be a pretty good setting. Feel free to take full advantage of the real time preview feature to find the best setting for your picture!

4. As an additional step, try to play with the filters available in Photoshop to get interesting effects. My suggestion is to try some Blur filters, or those from the Brushed Strokes category. Below, you can see an interesting result of the Accented Edges filter…

At last, you should be aware that I got this image from a royalty free stock photo archive, so I can’t give you the model’s phone number or email address. I am really sorry about that…