Adobe Photoshop: Create an Amazing Broken Egg and Yolk Drawing in Photoshop updates

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Create an Amazing Broken Egg and Yolk Drawing in Photoshop updates

Amazing Broken Egg and Yolk Photoshop Tutorial

Learn how to draw this beautiful drawing of a yolk in an egg shell. This extremely detailed tutorial will show you how to create a realistic broken egg shell and add reflections and shadows to create the curvature of the yolk. A high resolution PSD is included with this tutorial.

Preview of Final Results Photoshop updates

Amazing Broken Egg and Yolk Photoshopupdates

Program: Adobe Photoshop CS4

Difficulty: Medium

Completion Time: 1-2 Hours

Step 1

First of all, we have to create some egg. The easiest way is to download the file (http://photoshoptutorials.ws/downloads/psd/Egg.zip ) which is the source of my previous tutorial. There you can delete all the layers except the ‘shadow’, ‘bg’ and the hidden copy of our egg named ‘egg copy 2’. And this will be our starting point. If you want to train yourself, you can just follow the steps from my previous tutorial (link) and made up the egg. The reason I’m using this egg is that I want to leave a bit of orange color on the eggshell and also some texture. I will not care about shadows and will cast them later. So for now we have something like this:

Step 2

We have to play with some adjustment layers to make our egg almost white. The reason of changing color is a contrast. Background is orange, and yolk also. We must do something that will grab attention. Something that will center the point of view and separate things.
In the Layers window click the icon shown below and choose Levels.Photoshop updates

In the adjustment windows type these settings: 0 – 3,31 – 182.

Step 3

For sure we need some mask for we have applied our adjustment globally. Yet there is a better way for this- we will use clipping mask. To do a clipping mask move the cursor between layers in layer’s window. Hold alt, and when cursor will change, left-click.

Now get back to the Step 2, but instead of Levels, choose Brightness/Contrast. Apply it also as a clipping layer, but it must be below Levels adjustment layer. This is important so stick to the layers hierarchy. The settings we are using:

And that’s how our egg looks like:

Step 4

Create new clipping layer in between two adjustment layers.

Now [ctrl.jpg"> + [click.jpg"> on a thumbnail of our base egg’s layer. We will get a full selection for our shadows. Now pick some marquee tool so we will be able to move a selection. Move it few pixels to the left.

Get the gradient tool, set it’s mode to Linear and Opacity to 30%. Then choose some dark color, like #13110c. Now make some gradient inside a selection. Arrows shows the length and starting points of gradients.

Step 5

Then go to Filter > Blur >> Gaussian blur and apply these settings. It is possible that you will aslo have to move your gradient a bit to the right and bottom as I did.

Step 6

Create new layer under the Levels adjustment layer (still as a clipping mask) and make a selection similar to this one. We will create another shadow. You could ask- why we are using selection if we already have a clipping mask...? Here is the answer- the reason is just a saving of RAM memory. You probably won’t notice that this time, but, believe me- when you will work with very huge documents with tons of layers these operations would be a blessing.

Then pick a Gradient tool and make some gradients here and there starting from the very bottom. The settings and color should be same as before.

But this time, change the layer’s blending mode to Color burn and opacity to about 75%. You should get this:

Step 7

It is good practice to organize your layers into a folders. To do this, select all the layers you wish to group (Click on a first layer in Layers window, then hold [Shift.jpg"> and click on last).

Now just hit [Ctrl.jpg"> + [G.jpg"> and your layers will jump into a folder.
Now drag your newly created group onto the New Layer icon so you will duplicate your group.

Now hit [Ctrl.jpg"> + [E.jpg"> and your group will change itself into one flat layer (it is named merging). Hide the first group- it just for mistake purpose to have some copy. Then duplicate our new egg layer. For now you can also hide it. You can aslo name them as follow.

Step 8

Before we will start to do anything we have to make some little planning. Pick up Ellipse tool and make shape that will simulate for now our yolk. Don’t bother yourself about the color. Also you don’t have to be very precise. Just make a shape and then make it fit to the egg. This will also in some way indicates a perspective.

Step 9

Now we will try to make some detachment. Treat our shape as a yolk and watch for its border. Select the eggshell layer, pick Polygonal marquee tool and make a selection like one below:

Step 10

As we have a selection, go to Select > Transform selection.

Now you can transform a selection like a normal layer. What I mean- you can freely use transformation methods on the selection.

Why we are here? Our selection is pretty simple. Also is square-alike. We will try to make it more interesting and form it into a shape of ellipse.
Go to Edit > Transform >> Warp and try to shape a surface as I did. The beginning of the arrow indicates my handling point. Then follow your movement with an arrow direction. Sometimes I am dragging whole surface (click in the middle of square), sometimes just single points. You will see what I am doing. Just follow my steps:

And our selection looks like this one. Look on the flow of selection that is highlighted with an orange line.

Step 11

Actually it is pretty bad behavior, but we can just press [Delete.jpg"> and we will get rid of unneeded part of eggshell. In most cases you should use mask. I am sure of my steps so I am not doing so. With a deletion it is easier to modify a layer.

Step 12

Now make visible our layer named inner eggshell (which is a second copy of egg’s layer) and go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. Then change the value of Brightness to -9. Our layers are imposed and we want to see some difference between them.
As you can see we have to move our primary yolk a bit down.

Now select the inner eggshell layer again. What we are going to do is exactly the same process as we did with first egg layer. Pick Polygonal Marquee tool and make a selection that will looks like broken eggshell.

Finish the selection and hit [Delete.jpg">. Here we will not work on a selection with transform modifications. We have something like this, but I hope you have already noticed that our shadows are on wrong side. Of course we could just flip this layer at the beginning, but I wanted to work with you a bit more with transformations.

Freshly at this point we will do the flip (Edit > Transform >> Flip horizontal).

Now we don’t have only to make a nice edge shape. We also have to make it fit to the first part of eggshell.

Step 13

While you have inner eggshell layer selected, go to Edit > Transform >> Warp. Again, the beginning of the arrow is a handling point and the direction indicates the direction itself. Don’t look on the width of each arrow.

See what we wanted to achieve? The flow of the shape and its fitness on borders.

Step 14

Create new clipping layer to the inner eggshell.

Pick gradient tool (we still have same dark color and same gradient settings) and make two linear gradients. Actually you can make even more gradients. Just watch out for the shadows pervasion. I made one more gradient and changed the layer’s opacity to 30-50% with blending mode of Multiply.

You should also make some small gradients as below to complete the 3D look. But don’t get over with a darkest parts.

You can also make some really soft gradients one the same layer from the top so the edge (that we will create in the future) will be more visible.

At the end I’ve duplicated the gradient’s layer and on the copy changed the opacity to 30% and blending mode to Overlay.
You can try to play with gradients even more by adding some more of them. Try to achieve a deep/sphere effect.

Step 15

Now duplicate the eggshell layer:

Move the copy few pixels upward. Then go to Image > Adjustments >> brightness/Contrast and type 30 in the brightness input.
Go to Edit > Transform >> Warp and try to achieve some 3d look of the edge.

We are done. Now you can hide the brighten layer under the original one in layer’s order or just make a selection (as I did) of an original layer and hit [Delete.jpg">.

That’s how the egg looks for now:

Step 16

Some of the edges needs little fixes. Zoom in your image and look for details to repair, like one below:

Just make a selection and fill it out with light color.

The previous deletion causes to destroy whole bottom edge (it is semi transparent), but I won’t repair this for it is more useful for us than unhelpful. In this case it makes a contrast transition.

At the end add some texture to the eggshell (but a little, really, small touch).

This could be some noised image. Actually I used a brush here with very small opacity. Layer on 15% Multiply. Just made some bigger and smaller round-brush paints (pretty a lot of them but in the sphere of good taste).

Step 17

This is the last step of creating egg. We had to make an edge on the inner eggshell layer. So, make a selection from inner eggshell ([ctrl.jpg"> + [click.jpg"> on a thumbnail) and go to Edit > Transform >> Warp. I won’t show you the steps of movement, just try to figure them out by yourselves. You have seen previous workouts. Here is a final transformation:

Now create new clipping mask layer to the inner eggshell. Then go to Select > Inverse. Pick hard round brush with very light color (almost white like #faf5fc) and paint an edge.

You can check how this layer will looks on Overlay blending mode.

Step 18

And here we go with yolk. Pick an Ellipse tool and create new layer between eggshell and inner eggshell.

Then make some ellipse.

Choose direct selection tool and modify a bit our ellipse. Click on a shape’s square so you will be able to modify the Beziers lines (you can also just click and move the lines).

Do the same on the opposite side.

I made the shape with white color for you to see it clearly, but you should at this point use some orange color like #fe9205. Place it along the old yolk mock-up. Then rasterize the layer (Right click on the layer in layer’s window and choose Rasterize layer). If you will have some holes, paint them up.

Step 19

The good think is to organize your lights on the surface.

All the lights and shadows on the yolk will be in clipping masks. You already know how to make them. In this case you don’t have to make additional selections and masks.
Grab some more reddish color like #913000 and use gradient tool (could be linear with 30% opacity) to make some shadows around the shape.

Duplicate this gradient layer and respectively set the blending mode of the bottom one to Overlay and the upper copy to Linear Burn with 60% opacity.

Step 20

Get Elliptical marquee tool and make some selection in the sphere of yolk (remember about new layer into clipping mask).

Now pick some lighter color- #fbcb23 is good- and with the gradient tool try to achieve something like this:

Then go to Filter > Blur >> Gaussian blur and blur our layer a bit.

We want our light to be more sharp on the edges of yolk and blur as it is in the middle. Make a new selection and place its edge along the layer’s edge, like here:

Go to Select > Refine edge and play with settings to get something like this below:

Then get Eraser tool with soft round brush and softly delete the part of edge after inversion of selection (Select > Inverse).

Do exactly the same with the bottom edge.

Step 21
Duplicate the layer and set the blending mode of copy to Overlay. Then select both layers in the layer’s window ([Ctrl.jpg"> + [Click.jpg"> on layer to select more than one) and go the Edit > Transform >> Rotate to make it fit to the overall yolk shape. You can also scale it a bit if it is too small or too large.

So we got something like this for now:

Step 22

Make some random selection and fill it with white. This will be our strongest light reflection.

Use a smudge tool to add some dynamic to the lights.

Use Eraser tool to soften the edges and then blur it all.

Use a warp transformation (Edit > Transform >> Warp) so your lights will get more round shape.

At the end point you can play with opacity and blending mode.

Make a radial gradient with almost white color and change its opacity to Overlay with 70% of opacity.

Step 23

We will make the same light reflection on the opposite side of the yolk. Start with selection.

Fill it with gradient and delete the upper part.

As in the previous step, use smudge tool.

Then blur a bit and warp the layer.

Lower down the opacity to about 15-20% and you got this:

Step 24

Here comes the last part- reflection of the eggshell edges. Make a clipping layer to the yolk. Do [Ctrl.jpg"> + [Click.jpg"> on the thumbnail of the eggshell layer so you will get a selection. Then go to the Select > Transform selection. Use a warp to modify a selection – Edit > Transform >> Warp. Try to get something like this:

Then use a brush tool with very light color to get something like this:

Step 25

Again go to Select > Transform selection and Edit > Transform >> Warp. Make something like this below. What we want to get are a soft lines from our paintings that will simulate reflections.