speckles and difference gradients:

[Erik]

Inspired by Moth's Creepy thread on the showboard, I remembered that long ago we were delving into difference gradients, and that I had done some more work on that which wasn't posted.
Here it is:

METHOD:

1/ open a document, make it black. I chose 500x500 pixels
2/ set colours to black and white, take the gradient tool, set it to sphereical (or another mode, or combinations...as you please) and set its mode in the toolbar to difference
3/ draw a few large circles. example:

 

[Erik]

4/ Now apply the filter Sketch>Reticulation. I set it as follows, but please experiment:

density 40
Foreground 20
Background 3

5/ SelectAll, Copy to clipboard.
6/ Undo the filter (go back to initial state)
7/ Copy the background layer. Name it Reticulation or so (name those layers!!)
8/ add a layer mask to the ret. layer, Alt-copy the mask icon so that you see your white mask and paste your reticulated image from the clipboard unto the mask.
9/ Click on the icon of the image in the ret. layer to activate the image and go to Image>Adjustments>Hue Saturation. Change the hue (I chose some dirty yellow) and play a bit with saturation.

10/ Add two more laters, and uncheck the eye-icon of the others.
11/ Fill the bottom one of the two new layers with a solid colour. I chose a bright red
12/ Fill the top one with white, and apply monochromatic Gaussian noise to it. Quite a lot of it.
13/ Set the top layer to difference mode, and merge visible
14/ Drag this noise layer between the background and the ret. layer, and set its mode to SoftLight or so.
15/ Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Placed at the top, this will influence all layers below it. Decrease Saturation.

That's it.

Here is the result. Have fun, and play with it!

 

[theKeeper]

Good info Erik.

This reminds me of the old days when we'd combine various types of gradients in a channel, to create more complex 3D looking objects, then use that channel in the Lighting Effects filter, and apply it to a solid coloured layer.

 

[Erik]

Yeah...way back in time,...in Granite Valley, when Bill Gatesrock and Steve Jobstone were playing with little digital dinosaurs...


WIIILLLMMMAAA...I AMME HOOOME...

Dino...no...DINO...NOOOOO!!!!!

 

[wbiss]

Erik!

Seriously, this is a really cool effect and one that I will get around to playing with. It's right up there (but just under) Moth's gradient/lighting technique!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[AppleCider]

Very nice, Erik, thanks! I'll definitely be playing with this one. :}