Posts Tagged ‘themes’

August 10th, 2011

35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

Desktop wallpapers have always been a great source of inspiration and the best way to spice up your dull desktop. Usually, Microsoft Windows includes some really nice and cool wallpapers with every new release of its Windows Operating System, which are based on the Windows version by default. But here, we have gathered 35 very classic and free of cost Windows 7 Wallpapers which you can download and add beauty to your desktop. Enjoy!


Cute Babies Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

This Windows 7 Theme has got 10 high resolution backgrounds of 1920 x 1200 pixels and will fit very well in all laptop and desktop screens.

Th Windows7theme3 in 35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

Animal Pals Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

This theme is dedicated to the friendly relationship of animals with other animals in their natural habitat. This Windows 7 Theme will fit very well in nearly all computer screens as all the background images in the theme are of very high resolution.

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Seven Wonders of the World Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Seven Wonders of the World Windows 7 Theme is dedicated to the seven wonders of the world at various points of history.

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California Landscapes Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

California Landscapes Windows 7 Theme is a theme dedicated to the beautiful landscapes of California. This Windows 7 Theme contains 12 high resolution 1920 x 1200 backgrounds which will fit very well into all laptop and desktop screen sizes.

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Download Nature Theme for Windows 7 Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Microsoft has updated the Windows 7 personalization gallery with another awesome theme called Nature. The theme is created from photos from Microsoft blogger Mike Swanson. You get to have a closer look at nature’s beauty with this Windows 7 theme.

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Download Official Spring Theme pack for Windows 7 Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Microsoft has released a new spring theme for windows 7 to bring the feeling of season change right on your desktop.

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Two Windows 7 themes by Windows Blog – The Wild & Back to Nature Download Wallpaper: 2000×1333

In this pack you will find two new Windows 7 themes. The first one is called The Wild and consists of 11 high definition wallpapers with Savanna sound scheme and default windows colour. Second one is called Back to Nature. It also consists of 11 wallpapers and has the sound scheme “Raga”.

Th Windows7theme28 A in 35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

Th Windows7theme28 B in 35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

Windows 7 Fall Leaves Theme Pack Download Wallpaper: 1920×1080

All the wallpapers are 1920×1080 (Full HD) in resolution and would fit pretty nicely on all types of displays, wide-screen or not.

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Avatar Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

To download Avatar windows 7 theme pack for your desktop.

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Valentine’s Day Theme For Windows 7 Download Wallpaper: 1024×768

A Valentine’s Day Theme for those who willing to give their desktop look and feel of Valentine.

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Download Windows 7 Ferrari Wallpaper Pack
Download Wallpaper
: 1920×1200
Windows 7 Ferrari Wallpaper Pack for your desktop.

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Download Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard Wallpapers Full Pack Download Wallpaper: 2560×1600 1920×1200

If you don’t use Win 7 OS or Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you are missing some high-resolution wallpapers that come bundled together in OS which are pretty amazing. For you, we have collected and combined all the wallpaper from both, so you can download and enjoy them on your existing operating-system.

Th Windows7theme9 A in 35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

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Official Windows 7 Wallpaper Pack (M3 Build 6801) Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Here is the collection of wallpapers that comes with Windows 7 M3 Build 6801.

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Windows 7 International Wallpaper Pack 1 Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Extra Fresh Windows 7 Wallpapers that come with the international theme packs.

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Download Windows 7 RC Official Wallpapers Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Another cool part of Windows 7 RC is Wallpapers, cool wallpapers which you will love to have on your desktop.

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Windows 7 Official Wallpaper Pack Full HD 1090p Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Windows 7 Official Wallpaper Pack Full HD 1090p

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3D Abstract Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

3D Abstract Windows 7 Theme is a theme which consists of high resolution backgrounds of abstract 3D structures. There are 10 HQ backgrounds of 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution in this Windows 7 Theme and it will fit very well into computer screens of all resolutions.

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Cool Windows 7 Russia Wallpapers download pack Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

A mindblowing theme pack of Windows 7 Russia Wallpapers for your desktop.

Th Windows7theme15 in 35 Wallpapers Themes for Your Desktop

Windows 7 RTM Official Logo widescreen Wallpapers Download Wallpaper: 1680×1050

Here are cool Windows 7 wallpapers featuring that official logo. Wallpapers are available in different colors in cool widescreen resolution of 1680×1050.

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Windows 7: Modern Warfare 2 Download Wallpaper: 1600×1200

This is a Modern Warfare 2 themepack, the pack includes 6 wallpapers, the wallpaper will change everyday, or you could simply right click, and select Next desktop background.

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Ocean Colour Wallpaper Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

In this pack you will find a beautiful Ocean Colour wallpaper.

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Fusion of Colors Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Fusion of Colors Windows 7 Theme is a theme with HQ backgrounds where fusion and amalgamation of various colors are showcased. In all the backgrounds in this Windows 7 Theme, contrasting colors are used to create great artistic backgrounds.

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Lightning Windows 7 Theme with sound effect Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Lightning Windows 7 Theme is dedicated to the awesome natural phenomenon of lightning.

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Saleen S7 Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Saleen S7 Windows 7 Theme is dedicated to the awesome American supercar.

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Christmas Theme With Some Beautiful Christmas Wallpapers For Windows 7
Download Wallpaper
: 1920×1200
This Christmas theme for windows 7 has some amazing wallpapers, with some matching colors of windows interface as per the Christmas season.

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The Black Wallpapers Pack Download Free Download Wallpaper: 1920×1440

The Beautiful pack of black wallpapers.

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NASA Hidden Universe Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

A universe filled with kaleidoscopic colors blazes across your desktop in this theme for Windows 7, revealed by the infrared imaging of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

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Space Theme for Windows 7 Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

This pack contains 31 high quality wallpapers. You can see several wallpapers from the theme pack below. Wallpapers are in 1920×1200, 1920×1080, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1280×1024 resolutions, but mostly 1920×1200 was used.

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Download Siena Architettura Theme for Windows 7 Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

Siena Architettura is a new official Theme from Microsoft for Windows 7. This Theme Pack consists of Background designs from the city of Siena in Italy which is declared as Historical Heritage by UNESCO.

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Grab Windows 7 Box Wallpapers and Theme Download Wallpaper: 1440×900

In this pack you will find some stylish wallpapers inspired by that box design..

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Horses Windows 7 Theme Pack with 10 Beautiful Horse Wallpapers
Download Wallpaper
: 1920×1200
Horses theme pack is the latest theme addition to the official Windows 7 personalization gallery. This Windows 7 theme pack contains 10 beautiful, high-resolution horse wallpapers that every animal lovers will really love it.

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Microsoft publishes creepy Halloween theme pack for Windows 7
Download Wallpaper
: 1920×1200
Here is gathered some of outstanding creepy Halloween theme pack for Windows 7 to spiceup to your desktop.

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Katrina Kaif Windows 7 Theme Download Wallpaper: 1920×1200

This Windows 7 Theme consists of 10 backgrounds of 1920 x 1200 resolution.

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April 27th, 2010

Create a Vivid Themed Illustration Using Simple Hand-Drawn Elements – Part II

Drawn elements are certainly something that can enhance an illustration. Even if you’re not very good at drawing, you can still create a quality piece. All you need is a good idea and some Photoshop skills. And if you don’t believe me, you will definitely change your mind after reading this Part II of his two part tutorial series. So let’s take a look inside!

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Part II Tutorial Details

  • Program: Photoshop CS3
  • Difficulty: Advanced
  • Estimated Completion Time: 4-5 hours

Introduction and Preparation

It’s a themed illustration about "No Beauty," this hides an idea that no beauty lasts forever. Suddenly all that’s great and beautiful falls apart. All the happiness is gone with the colorful pieces. The final outcome has its own mood, even thou it’s colorful, it’s still kinda frightening.

And as I said this is kinda simple but you may be wondering why this tutorial is labeled as advanced level. Well everything is fine as long as you have some base to work on. Here we have absolutely nothing, we will create this piece from scratch. So what’s hard, is all the illustration depth, shading and colorization. Beside that, there are some things you just need to feel.

Ok, now let’s take a look what we’re going to use here:

Step 1

Just to remind you of what we created in the Tutorial Part I, the first image below shows our final outcome. Remember that you need to work now below all adjustment layers (which affect the whole illustration) and also below the overall room shading that we added.

OK, so pay attention to the second image below. I drew something like that in the first tutorial part, this is the sketch of how I pictured the splashes. And I decided not to cover the whole face with splashes.

Step 2

I found three nice splashes (1,2,3) from istockphoto, which you can view in the first image below.

There are few ways to do the extraction, and because the background is white it’s quite an easy task. You can do this using Color Range, however we don’t need the full splashes here, and a more accurate job need the Pen Tool. Look at the third splash below and the green rectangle. It’s a good part to fit our face.

Let’s zoom into this part and use the Pen Tool to cut it out. Using this technique is reasonably fast (and the color range technique sometimes leaves a little bit of the background color, which we don’t want). So check the last image below (the black one) and you can see it’s very precise. I compared the background with a black color and yes, it’s full red, no white edges.

Step 3

Now as I said we just need a little bit of this splash, so make it fit into the face and use a soft eraser or a layer mask to get rid of the square edge of the splash (first image below). Then apply Image > Adjustments > Selective Color and brighten all the tones in this dark red splash. To do this we need to use Reds, Yellows, Neutrals, and Blacks (second image below). Now this looks over saturated, so let’s take the saturation down (third image below). Then it’s good to give a little more brightness (forth image).

Step 4

I’ll show you now what to do in points:

  1. This is the result we reached so far.

  2. Create a new layer above the splash, with Blending Mode set to Color. Grab a soft brush and paint with a brownish color to make the shade more suitable to skin shadows.

  3. Compare image 1 to 3, and see how the shade changed its color. It’s starting to look like it’s really a skin splash!

  4. Merge all the layers connected with the splash into one. And use the Burn Tool (range: Midtones) to make the splash darker, like the bottom face color.

Step 5

Now duplicate the face layer and place it above the splash. Flip it horizontally to make the dark skin cover our splash (first image below). Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All (second image below). Then use a soft, black brush and paint on the layer mask while having the “splash” selection activated (third image below).

This may look a little confusing. Let’s review what this does? Well, basically we’re revealing the skin from the copied face. And we’re doing this on the splash to make it look more skin textured. It’s a tiny difference, but believe me, if you zoom in, you will see the difference. The splash will look like real skin.

Step 6

OK, let’s bring up another splash. Again use the Pen Tool to make a precise cut out. Now turn it in the right direction (first image below). Then use a hard eraser (or layer mask with a hard, black brush) to make a perfect match to the skin (second image below). Then soft-erase the squared top part of the splash.

Step 7

As when we were applying the previous splash, use Image > Adjustments > Selective Color and adjust the same colors. Play around with the values starting from Reds, Yellow, Neutrals, and Blacks. Try to make the splash color brighter (first image below). Then turn down the saturation (third image below) and finally give a touch of brightness (forth image below).

Step 8

  1. Use the Burn Tool to match the colors of the bottom face skin and our splash.

  2. As previously, duplicate the “face” layer and place it to cover the splash with skin.

  3. Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All (this fully masks the duplicated “face” layer).

  4. Add the skinny touch painting on the layer mask with a soft, white brush.

  5. Make some final touch-ups. I used the Patch Tool to get rid of unwanted light and burned some parts more with the Burn Tool.

Step 9

OK, when it comes to adding lighter splashes, the job is much easier.

  1. Make a good match with the skin shape.

  2. Use Selective Color the same way as previously to get the over saturated look (and it’s great with selective color, as it also makes the shade softer).

  3. Next use Hue/Saturation and turn the Saturation halfway down (don’t overdo) to match the splash color with skin color.

  4. If it still isn’t enough, go (as previously) to Brightness/Contrast and enhance the Brightness, while lowering the Contrast just a touch, and we should be fine.

Note: The lights may sometimes come a bit sharp and bright, so you can always get rid of them using the Patch Tool or just by erasing some parts of the splash.

Step 10

As you see now, the shadow below the face will be a little bit different because we changed the shape. Find the same color as you used previously, while painting the shadow. Grab a very soft brush and add more shadow where objects are getting closer to the ground (as you see in the fist and second images below).

Step 11

Now to add more skin-splash touches, we need to use another image of paint. It’s a good to have it in the same color, then the adjustment values will not change much. So bring up this Splatter image to Photoshop and start extracting using the Pen Tool.

As you see in the first image below, you do not have to cut out the whole piece, just the bottom part. And also the extraction needs to give you a nice rounded stain without dark shadows.

Everything is shown in the images below. You just need to repeat what you did previously with the splashes, but yeh, with each new splash you must search new adjustment values (as they are not the same). So the values will be quite similar, but not exactly the same.

Step 12

Grab the Brush Tool with soft settings (Flow at 2% and Hardness set to 0%). Create a new layer below these skin parts, and use a dark color (that fits to the surface) to add a tiny shadow. I used the color: #2f1d0e.

Then look at second image below and create two new layers above the skin parts. We will make a small touch up to one of them. As shown in the image – change these layer Blending Options: one to Overlay and the second to Multiply. Then using the same soft brush, change your color as shown in the second image below and paint in the indicated spots to make this skin look more realistic.

Step 13

It’s the right time to add some hand-drawn pieces. My drawing skills are pretty lame and I’m aware of that, but since I have some basics I was able to create several very simple elements that look good enough for this purpose. And with good Photoshop skills you can turn your simple drawings into something really cool.

So take a piece of paper, a pencil and use your imagination to create some nice shapes (or you can use mine as well). Now shoot a photo of each one (it’s good to have natural daylight while taking a picture). Then open each one and if they are too dark, use Layer > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and then Layer > Adjustments > Levels to get a nice contrast between the edges and the background. Next use the Pen Tool to extract. While extracting, work on a big canvas (don’t resize the photos).

Step 14

As you see my drawn element is quite big and that’s a good thing. Now you can use Command + T and click Warp in the top menu bar. Work on bending this shape to get various results. Obviously the warping will get our element a little blurry, but after we resize it down it will not be noticeable (second image below).

Next I wanted to add some depth to this piece by making it less plane. To do this you need the Burn Tool and Dodge Tool. In the third image below, the green arrows indicate the lower spots (that need to get painted using the Burn Tool set to Midtones) and the red arrows indicate the upper spots (that need to get painted with the Dodge Tool set to Highlights).

And after adding depth, you may color this element using Hue/Saturation.

Continue Learning…

April 27th, 2010

Create a Vivid Themed Illustration Using Simple Hand-Drawn Elements – Part I

Drawn elements are certainly something that can enhance an illustration. Even if you’re not very good at drawing, you can still create a quality piece. All you need is a good idea and some Photoshop skills. And if you don’t believe me, you will definitely change your mind after reading this tutorial. So let’s take a look inside!

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Part I – Tutorial Details

  • Program: Photoshop CS3
  • Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
  • Estimated Completion Time: 2 hours

Introduction and Preparation

It’s a themed illustration about "No Beauty," this hides an idea that no beauty lasts forever. Suddenly all that’s great and beautiful falls apart. All the happiness is gone with the colorful pieces. The final outcome has its own mood, even thou it’s colorful, it’s still kinda frightening.

And as I said this is kinda simple but you may be wondering why this tutorial is labeled as advanced level. Well everything is fine as long as you have some base to work on. Here we have absolutely nothing, we will create this piece from scratch. So what’s hard, is all the illustration depth, shading and colorization. Beside that, there are some things you just need to feel.

Ok, now let’s take a look what we’re going to use:

Step 1

I always try to work on a big canvas, but for the tutorial purposes I will go use a document that is 815 px by 1050 px. Just to save you some money from buying large pictures. Anyway, drag the paper texture to our document, duplicate it twice and to each copy hit Command + T (Free Transform) and then select Distort. Refer to the second image below and look how to transform these two paper copies, they need to create a perspective as shown.

Now in the same image – two green frames show you where to cut the main paper to get a good connection. Finally, grab the Patch Tool and get rid of the bad looking textures (third image below).

Step 2

Next use Command + U and lower the Saturation of this background paper texture a bit. If the texture still needs some work (first image below), then use the Patch Tool or Clone Stamp Tool to cover some imperfections.

Then, let’s say that the paper background is some kind of a room, so I thought these walls need some more contrast. To make the texture look better, use the Burn Tool (Range – Midtones), and burn in the connection lines to make it look more like a room.

Step 3

Now, while you still have the Burn Tool selected, make the diameter very small and paint in the top and bottom edges (first image below – where the arrows indicate). This should help to keep the walls, floor and ceiling separated.

OK, look at the second image below. From my experience I knew I’d give this image more contrast in the final product so for now I kinda lowered the overall contrast giving the feeling that all these walls are very light. To do this use levels as shown in the second image below.

Step 4

I assume you have merged all your wall layers together for easier work. If you didn’t, let’s do it now. Then duplicate (Command + J) the “walls” layer and change its Opacity to Overlay. Now go to Filter > Other > High Pass and add the value of 1 or 2. You should immediately get the result shown in the first picture below.

Now hit Command + Shift + A to select the whole canvas, then Command + Shift + C (Copy merged), and Command + V (Paste). Turn the previous “walls” layer off. Leave only the white background layer visible and the new merged layer.

Create a new layer above all, change its Opacity to Multiply, grab the Eyedropper Tool and sample some dark brown color. Then use the Brush Tool with 0% Hardness and around 3% Flow, and then paint as shown in the second picture below to create some irregular shading. Notice how the floor and ceiling is being created by doing this.

Step 5

Select the merged layer (the one with the whole canvas) and use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select the top part of the image, then hold Command and drag this part down. This will help us repair the perspective, because in the beginning we made it pretty much random (if you can imagine this, the diagonal wall lines should cross in the center of the image). Next, look at the second image below and use the Patch Tool to get rid of the straight line indicated by the arrows (which is a result of repairing perspective).

Step 6

Let’s open the scratchy texture (link in introduction) and hit Command + Shift + U to Desaturate it. Then you can add Levels (Command + L) and enhance the whites, just to make these tiny scratch lines more visible. Take a look at the second image below, what we need to do is place this texture in the floor spot.

There is also alternative way to do this step by stretching the texture (as you see in the third image below) to get the right perspective (using Command + T > Distort), but well, as not everyone has the correct eye to make this right, we can stick to the position in the second image below.

Step 7

As you have positioned this texture, go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All. This will make the texture totally invisible. So then grab the Brush Tool, make your brush setting very soft (Flow at around 4% and Hardness at 0%). Then use white for the color and paint on the layer mask of the texture.

The first image below shows the full mask view, and it’s shown where I painted to reveal the texture. Now look at the second image below, and notice how nicely this texture blends with the white background.

Step 8

Use the same technique from the previous step to create the ceiling surface. Now open the face picture. Now grab the Eraser Tool set to 100% Hardness and 100% Flow, and get rid of the surrounding skin flowers. An accurate cut out is not necessary, as we will work the face shape in the following steps. For now we also need to resize down this face to make it more suitable to the illustration (third image below). Everything needs its own place in a quality piece, let your own eye be the judge of proportions.

Step 9

Now let’s shape up this face. Grab the Pen Tool and draw a curvy path around the whole face. Pay attention to make lots of cavity shapes (absolutely no squares). After you’re done, turn the path into a selection and hit Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection (first image below), then hit Delete. Now you should get something similar to the second image below.

When you work on an illustration like this you need to do a lot of work and planning. In the third image below I wanted to show you how I pictured in my head – what the next steps might look like. I sketched the face falling apart, and basically I wanted to do this by smudging the skin, but ultimately this turned out as splashes.

Step 10

I made some further corrections to the face, as I didn’t like the face center (first image below). So if you want you can use the Pen Tool to cut more of the face. Pay attention to her nose, the holes are looking kinda weird (like the right one is barely noticeable). To correct this use the Burn Tool (with Range set to Midtones) and a small diameter. Burn the right nose hole (second image below). Be careful, the Burn Tool can affect the nose skin also, so that’s why we need a small diameter to make it with precision.

If you still have the Burn Tool selected, make your diameter bigger and paint where the green arrows indicate (third image below). I wanted to enhance some shadows and also the bottom of the face. Soon we will drop some shadow below this face, and to make everything work properly it’s good to add shade to the bottom part of this skin.

Step 11

The face seems kinda pale so let’s warm it up a little. Select the “face” layer, hold Alt and go to the Layers Palette, and pick Gradient Map (check option Use Previous Layer To Create Clipping Mask). Look at the first image below and use similar colors as mine. Select the Gradient Map layer, change its Blending Mode to Soft Light and lower its Opacity to around 20-30% (not to overload the face with color). Then using Alt again, add another Adjustment Layer, which is Curves and adjust it just a little bit to get the similar look as in the third image below.

Step 12

OK, now make sure you no longer need to change anything in the color of the face and then select these two adjustment layers (Curves and Gradient Map) and also our “face” layer. Then hit Command + E to merge them. Next use Command + J to duplicate the “face” layer, drag the copy below original one and move it a little to the top left (first image below).

You can achieve even more variety and less plane results if you rotate this face (second image below). Then grab the Lasso Tool and make a selection around the indicated part above the nose, hit Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection (third image below) and use delete to get rid of all the unwanted parts.

Step 13

And what is this all about? This face looked very flat to me. To avoid that look it’s good to add some depth. As you can see, the first image below is the view that we get after deleting all the unwanted parts from the previous step, and the face cut is barely visible.

We’re going to use the Burn Tool (with Range set to Midtones) to add the skin depth by giving some shade to the duplicated “face” layer lying below the original one (second image below).

Continue Learning…

April 23rd, 2010

Deviant + Theme Sneak Peek from Elegant Themes

My newest theme, Deviant, has been released today. With this design I wanted to have fun and create something unique and in-your-face. I enjoy the bold titles, grungy background and left-aligned structure. You will also notice some subtle CSS3 elements throughout the theme, which I think enhance the design for those browsers that support it. While I realize this stylized design might not be a crowd pleaser, I see it working well for many niches. For more info you can browse the Features Page, or take a look at the Live Demo.

deviant-blog-1

Deviant Features

Deviant comes with all of the great features that you have become accustomed to here at ElegantThemes, including the ePanel Theme Options page and  custom widgets that give you increased control over the design. The theme also comes in six different colors, so if Red isn’t your style you can test out the Green, Blue, Purple, Orange or Black skins instead.

deviant-blog-2

I hope you enjoy the theme, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! I appreciate your feedback.

What’s to come

For those of you who are interested in what is to come, here is a preview of my upcoming theme “OnTheGo.” This design has been a lot of fun to make, as I used a completely new method to create it. Instead of starting in Photoshop, I was inspired to begin the concept using my trusty pencil and paper. After I few minutes of sketching I decided to just draw the entire diesign by hand,  and a few dozen doodles later onthego was born. I think it is turning out pretty cool so far, so watch for its release in the next week!

onthego-1

April 20th, 2010

New Themes On The Horizon

This month we have already released three new themes and a free icon set, but it doesn’t stop there! In fact, there are already some new themes in the pipeline and development has already begun. For those interested in what’s to come, here is a sneak peek of my two upcoming themes MyProduct and TheSource, as well as some more info on the MyAppTheme. By the way, if you are hearing about these new themes for the first time today then you are lagging behind! Join my Twitter and Facebook pages for the freshest updates.

MyProduct

MyProduct is something I decided to make after we started working on the MyAppTheme. I wanted to create something similar for businesses who are trying to push one major product to their visitors. This theme will allow you to really focus on featuring this “product” on the homepage, and the overall structure will allow great flexibility in how you inform people about your business.

TheSource

For some time now people have been asking me to create a “magazine” or “news” theme. TheSource is my answer to these requests. While this was my initial intention behind the eNews theme, I have since realized that eNews isn’t exactly what these people were looking for. With TheSource, I will focus on including much more content on the homepage while still retaining consistent hierarchy and readability. I also tried to push a more “media-esque” aesthetic that isn’t really found in any of my current themes.

MyAppTheme

MetaLab has also been adding the finishing touches to the MyAppTheme which I previewed earlier. For those interested, here are some more details shots of various elements of the theme.

I’m interested to hear your opinions on these new designs. Let me know what you think.

April 13th, 2010

New Theme from Elegant Themes

I have been receiving requests for a more simple, “minimal” theme for some time now. My goal here was to give users the same functionality found in most of my other page based themes in a more modest shell. Minimal is a great theme for those who want to give their blog a truly simple and elegant feel without sacrificing any of the advanced features you have come to expect from ElegantThemes. The colors are easy on the eye, and the overall minimalist approach to the design makes for a relaxing and userfriendly experience for your visitors. For more info check out the Live Demo, or view the Features Page for more details.

Minimal Features

1. Easy to Manage – The integration of ePanel makes managing Minimal a breeze.

2. Blog Section and BlogStyle Post Format - Even though the demo is page-based, you will see there is a blog section as well. Furthermore, you can always switch to BlogStyle mode which will replace your homepage with a more traditional blog layout. You can also choose to populate the featured slider with your favorite posts instead of pages. This makes the theme very versatile, hopefully satisfying the needs of both the traditional blogger as well as those who plan to use the theme to create a more page-based website.

3. Two Unique Color Schemes – The only colors that seemed to make sense for this design were a dark a light neutral gray. If the lighter version isn’t your style, then be sure to give the dark variation a try.

March 8th, 2010

Polished WordPress Theme

Polish up your blog with this silky-smooth design. My goal with this theme was to create something simple, refined, and well, polished! All of my recent themes have been page-based, so I thought it was time I release a more traditional blog template. I hope this dark and “interfacey” design will be a welcomed addition the the ElegantThemes collection. For more information be sure to check out the Live Demo, as well as the Features Page in the gallery.

Polished Features

Powered by ePanel, Polished gives you full control over your blog. Customize your menu, colors, manage SEO and more right from your WordPress dashboard. Polished comes with six different color schemes, so if Blue isn’t your style, then you can always try out the Red, Purple, Orange, Green and Turquoise variations.

Click here to Download

February 28th, 2010

ElegantThemes v2 + Theme Updates

I decided that it was time to update ElegantThemes with a new look. I feel like my style has changed a lot in the past year, and I was eager to re-work the design to better represent my interests. With this update I have also done some work behind the scenes. The membership system has been updated to a much more robust script that will allow me to make continued improvements to member’s area. You will already notice that I have cleaned up the design and added some new features, and I will continue to do so in the near future.

I have also performed a database integration between the phpBB support forum and the ElegantThemes member’s area. All users will now have an account automatically created on the forum when they join (all current members have also been added). Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to log in twice – once you log in to ElegantThemes you are automatically logged into the forum. While I am talking about the forum, I would also like to welcome Yuriy to the ElegantThemes support team. Yuriy is an experienced WordPress themer who will be helping out in the forums. If you have any questions don’t forget to stop by!

I quick note to affiliates. I have already uploaded new creatives that have been updated with the v2 style. I have also made an effort to upload some new banner sizes.

Theme Updates

I have completed a few theme updates. This is just a small first round to what I hope to be series of serious theme updates. If there is anything you would like to see please let me know!

1. Code Formatting – First of all I decided to go through all my theme’s css files and re-organize them. They were a little messy and I wanted to make things easier for those trying to do customizations. You will notice that I have reformatted every css file, as well as added comments that separates the code into various sections.  For such a minor upgrade this took my forever, (considering most of my themes have 3-4 stylesheets), and while there is still work to be done I think it’s a good start.

2. eVid Updates - I’ve had some requests, after releasing ePhoto, to create a black color scheme for eVid. I have done just that. You can now switch between the black and white color schemes via the eVid Theme Options Page.

3. Wooden Updates - Wooden was among the few themes in my collection that did not have any alternate color schemes. I went ahead and added a few, you can now choose between the Red, Blue, Green and Purple color schemes.

4. Quadro Updates – I have also updated Quadro with two tier dropdown menu functionality for both pages and categories.

What’s Next?

What can you expect next here at ElegantThemes? Well, more new themes and theme updates of course! I am also working on greatly improving my theme documentation, as well as setting up a brand new tutorials section. This section will house basic video tutorials that will explain the ins and outs of setting up each theme, as well as more advanced tutorials that will cover popular customization issues.

I hope everyone is doing well. :) Let me know what you think of the new design and what types of updates you would like to see done to any of my existing themes.

See full Theme Gallery here…

February 3rd, 2010

OnTheGo

My newest theme, OnTheGo, has been released today. OnTheGo is a completely hand-drawn theme that was scanned in and compiled to create a fresh and interesting design. It is fun and playful while maintaining an air of professionalism, and its unique appearance is sure to make your website stand out amongst the crowd. Creating OnTheGo was a lot of fun, as I have never tried to incorporate a physical drawing into a theme before, let alone base the entire design on hand-drawn line. For more information be sure to visit the Features Page and check out the Live Demo.

OnTheGo Features

This theme comes with all the great features you are used to here at ElegantThemes, including the ePanel Theme Options page and all the functionality it provides, complete localization and translation to English, German and Russian, and more. Here are a few stand-out features worth mentioning in greater detail:

1. Optional BlogStyle Layout – OnTheGo was created to be a page-based CMS style theme, however, you can also use it like a traditional blog by enabling BlogStlye Format in the options page.

2. Four Unique Color Schemes – OnTheGo comes with four different color variations, including Blue, Purple, Green and Brown. You can switch between these color schemes at any time via the ePanel Theme Options page.

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