How to Create Gold Pipes in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most powerful graphic applications on the market. You can use it to edit and extensively retouch any image or photograph. You can also create icons, custom graphics and texts, design a flyer, brochure, poster, or even construct an entire website. If you want to create rich gold pipes, Photoshop has wide-ranging tools and filters that make it easy to achieve a realistic metallic effect.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop. Go to "File" on the top menu and select "New." In the "New" dialog box that pops up, enter your settings for the file. Enter a width and height of 300 pixels, and a resolution of 72 pixels/inch. Click the "Background" drop-down menu and select "Transparent." Click "OK."

2. Select the "Paint Bucket" tool in the "Tools" panel. Check to see that the foreground color is black. Click in the center of your document. Your background should now be completely black.

3. Go to the "Layers" panel, and select the "New Layer" button on the bottom right of the panel. Select the "Rectangle Marquee" tool in the "Tools" panel and drag your mouse over the center of your file, where you want the gold pipes.

4. Go to the "Tools" panel and select the "Gradient" tool. Go to the gradient options menu at the top of Photoshop, underneath the main navigation menu. Click the "Gradient picker" drop-down menu. Click the tiny arrow on the upper right corner of the window that opens. Select "Metals." When Photoshop asks if you want to replace the current gradients, click "Append." Go back to the "Gradient picker" window and select the "Gold" gradient.

5. Drag your gradient vertically from the top of your rectangle selection to just a bit below it. Click ctrl+D (or cmd+D on Mac) to deselect your rectangle.

6. Go to "Layer" in the top navigation menu and select "Duplicate Layer." Enter a name for your new layer and click "OK." With your duplicate layer still selected, go to the "Layers" panel and click the drop-down menu to change to blending mode to "Multiply."

7. Go to "Filter," select "Brush strokes" and click "Spatter." Enter "21" for the spray radius and "15" for smoothness. Click "OK."

8. Go to "Filter," navigate to "Noise," and select "Add noise." Enter "3" in the amount and select "Gaussian." Click "OK."

9. Go to the "Tools" panel and select the "Brush" tool. Go to the brush tool options menu at the top of Photoshop. Enter "35" for the brush diameter size, select "Color Burn" for the mode, and opacity and flow should both be at 100%. Drag the brush in a straight line over the top of your gold pipe once and also once across the bottom of your gold pipe.

Resources

• Photoshop tutorials and plugins