Creating my Vinyl

Step 1

• Create a layer set and call it "vinyl." Create a new layer within the layer set, also called "vinyl," and fill it with a dark grey (almost black) colour. Fill this layer with noise by going to Filter > Noise > Add noise and use the settings shown in the screenshot on the next slide.

Step 2• The noise is used to create the circular texture that is typical for a vinyl

record. Go to Filter > Blur > Radial blur, and use the settings shown below.

After this, duplicate the layer and set the "vinyl copy" layer to Overlay. To bring out the texture a little more, I went ahead and navigated to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and applied the settings seen below to the "vinyl copy" layer.

Step 3

• To cut out the circular shape I used the Ellipse Tool.Now I've set my Ellipse Tool to Shape Layers instead of Paths because this way I can easily center my shape once I draw it out. Place the mouse in the middle and while holding down Shift+Alt, draw a circle. Holding down Shift+Alt ensures that you make a perfect circle and that it is created from the middle outwards.

• Switch to the Move tool (V) and hit Ctrl+A so that you select the entire canvas. Using the alignment controls at the top, press Align Vertical Centers and Align Horizontal Centers. This moves the circular shape to the center of the canvas.

Step 4

• To cut out the shape Ctrl-click on the Shape 1 layer and hide it by clicking on the eye icon next to it. Now select the "vinyl" layer set and hit the Mask button. This masks out the selection.

• Duplicate the "Shape 1" layer and resize it to about 5% (hit Ctrl+T, and then enter 5% in the size boxes). Ctrl-click the new "Shape 1 copy" layer, and with a black brush, I then painted the selection black in the mask that I made for my "vinyl" layer set. This creates a hole in the middle. When I did this, I noticed that I had to nudge my "Shape 1 copy" layer a bit to the left and up so that it looked right.

Step 5

• I now have the shape of my vinyl and the texture.• In order to add shine to the vinyl I created a new

layer above the (hidden) "Shape 1 copy" layer and named it "contrast.“ I then Reset my colours to black and white by hitting D on my keyboard, and then went to Filter > Render > Clouds. Next I went to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds and hit Ctrl+F a few times to reapply the filter. I then went to to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur and used the settings shown in the screenshot.

Step 6

• I moved the Contrast down to around -20 and raised the Brightness to about +50. I also used a Mask and a 50% black brush to remove the black areas. I just want to keep the highlights. Eventually I decided to lower the Opacity of the layer to 75%, and then I was satisfied.

Step 7• I then created a gradient on my vinyl.

• I did this by creating a new layer and naming it "highlights." I dragged the gradient out in the middle as shown in 1 (below), then went to Edit > Transform > Perspective and select the top-left corner, held down Shift and dragged down until the lines overlapped as in 2 (below) and then hit Enter. I then hit Ctrl+T and stretch the gradient out a bit vertically. I then set this layer to Soft Light and duplicated it twice I then spinned the top layer around a bit until I got 3 (below).

Step 7

• For this vinyl I created a sticker for the centre. I made a circle with the Ellipse Tool, then added some text and a the image I used on my back cover. I also added another layer of extra bright highlights and a colour balance layer on top to fine tune my colouring.