How to Create Graphic Smoke Swirl Effects

This is one look when using smoke swirl effects.

The trick to working with a bitmap editor is to find easy ways to do difficult-looking things. One example of this is using a couple of tools and filters to make a realistic smoke-swirl effect. This can be done in just a few minutes, with minimal drawing involved. Whether you're designing a background for a website or just want to add some spice to a black-and-white image (because smoke looks so cool in black-and-white), learning this skill will further acquaint you with the basics of bitmap editing.

Things You'll Need

• Bitmap editor (Photoshop or Gimp recommended)

Instructions

1. Double-click the desktop icon of the bitmap editor to launch it. Alternatively, click "Start," then "All Programs," and select your bitmap editor from the programs list.

2. Click "File," then "New" to create a new image. Click "Background Color" and set the background color to black.

3. Click "Foreground Color" and set the foreground color to something that will show up well against a black background. Light blue works fine.

4. Click the "Polygonal Lasso" tool from the "Tools" menu. Think about what the finished swirl effect should look like and mentally reduce that shape down to a simple polygon.

5. Click where the points of the imaginary polygon should be, making your way around the perimeter of the shape in one direction. The points will be created as you click and automatically connected with lines. Don't stress over accuracy; it only has to be approximate.

6. Click the "Fill" tool, then click inside the polygon shape to fill it with the foreground color.

7. Click the "Dodge" tool, then click "Brush Size" and set the value to "50," then click "Range" and set the value to "Highlights." Click and drag the tool around the corners and outside edges of the shape you have created, mimicking the effect of light reflecting off the corners and outside edges.

8. Click the "Burn" tool, then click and drag the tool around to middle areas of the shape. Try to create the illusion of depth by contrasting reflected light along the outside edges of the shape with more shadowy parts toward the middle of the shape.

9. Click "Filter," then "Distort," then "Wave." In the following dialog box, click "Generators" and set the value to "5,"then click "Wavelength" and set the value to "10/120," then click "Amplitude" and set the value to "5/35," then click "Scale" and set the value to "100%."

10. Click "Edit," then "Fade-Wave." Click "Opacity" and set the value to "50%."

11. Repeat the previous two steps until you get the smoke swirl effect you're going for. Experiment with different settings and see what happens.

References

• TutorialGuide: Smoke Effect