How to Make a Blood Effect in Adobe Photoshop

Creating blood in Adobe Photoshop is a good introduction to this program's layer styles. Layer styles are effects you can apply to every image on a layer at once. These effects include drop shadows, embossing, beveling, and other effects. Many effects lend the illusion of three-dimensional depth to your two-dimensional shapes. One way they do this is by simulating a light source. Several effects have a circular control enabling you to orient this light source in relation to your two-dimensional shape.

Instructions

1. On the "File" menu, click "New" and then click the "U.S. Paper" item from the drop-down labeled "Presets." Click the "RGB" item in the "Color" drop-down to indicate the canvas will hold color, and then click "OK" to create the canvas.

2. Click the paintbrush icon on the tool palette to enter painting mode, and then click the upper color swatch at the bottom of the tool palette. Photoshop displays a color palette from which you can choose the blood's color.

3. Click a blood-red color from the palette, or type the values 230, 11 and 11 in the "R," "G" and "B" text boxes of the palette. Click "OK" to close the palette.

4. Drag in a zigzag fashion on the canvas to form the basic shape of the blood puddle. Keep the corners of the zigzag as round as possible to emphasize the fluid nature of the blood.

5. On the "Layer" menu, click "Layer style," and then click the "Bevel and emboss" item. This command changes the color values at certain locations on your blood shape. The result of these changes is the appearance of a three-dimensional surface.

6. Drag the "Depth" slider to the right until it's about 250 percent. Drag the "Size" slider to the right until it displays about 140 pixels. These actions adjust the strength of the shading and the size of the bevel.

7. Select the "Drop shadow" check box in the dialog box's left pane, and then click the label next to the check box. This tells Photoshop to display controls for adjusting the drop shadow.

8. Drag the "Distance" slider to the right just slightly to create a slim shadow for the blood. Drag the "Size" slider to the right to give a slightly feathered appearance to the shadow's edge.

9. Click "OK" to close the dialog box and view your finished blood.

References

• "Photoshop CS5 All-in-One For Dummies"; Barbara Obermeier; 2010