Create a background
01
Create a black 240x190mm document, then
grab the Ellipse Shape Tool and draw a large
circle in the centre of the canvas. Hold Shift for a
symmetrical circle. Now Ctrl/right-click the circle layer
and click Convert to Smart Object. Then go
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and amend the Radius to
250px and set the layer blend mode to Soft Light.Background vignette
02
Draw the same sized circle as Step 1,
but this time change the shape
options to Subtract From Shape. This will
give you a vignette shape. To soften it, convert
the shape to a Smart Object and add a 250px
Gaussian Blur. Now set the blend mode to
Vivid Light and Opacity to 50%.Align gradients together
05
When creating an illustration with a large number of gradient
styles, you want to ensure the Align with Layer box is always
ticked. Ensuring the box is ticked means all your gradients will
simultaneously align together, so if you move the angle on one gradient
layer style, all your gradients will move with it.Draw the logo
03
Open ‘fo_start_
image.jpg’ from
the FileSilo and use the
Pen Tool, set to Shapes,
to trace around the
sketch. It is very
important to this tutorial
that each section of the
logo is on its own shape
layer; for instance, the
front part of the rocket
will be on a separate layer
to the inner 3D section.Add a gradient overlay
04
Once you have drawn the whole logo, it is time to add
some colour to it. Start by adding a gradient to the front
of the rocket. To do this, bring up the layer styles and select
Gradient Overlay. Make the first colour stop a dark orange and
the second a light orange.Keep your shape layers organised Group them (Cmd/Ctrl+G)
Expert tip
For most of this tutorial, you
will mostly be using layer
styles, the Ellipse Tool and
Blur filters, which Elements
users can do. Unfortunately,
Elements users don’t have
access to the Pen Tool, and
this tutorial uses the Pen Tool
to trace around the sketch
from step 3. Instead of using
the Pen Tool, use the Brush
Tool very carefully to trace
around the sketch, but still
make sure you trace each
section of the sketch into
separate layers.No Pen
Tool?