Today, I am going to show you how to create a beautiful and simple background design in Photoshop. This is a beginners Photoshop tutorial that will teach you all about the wonderful potential of the Distort Filter. You can use this type of background design on your website as well as on your business cards and even your poster art. Have fun!
Here is the abstract background design that we are going to create:
Step 1: Setting our stage
Open a new Photoshop document that is 1000px by 1000px. Select the Gradient Tool and draw out a white to black gradient on the stage. It should look like this:
Step 2: The Distort Filter
Go to Filter ->Distort -> Wave. Use the default values except change the Type to Square.
Go to Filter -> Distort -> Polar Coordinates. Use the default values and press OK.
This is what you should have now:
Step 3: A New Twisted Layer
Duplicate the layer that you have created in Step 2. Change this layers Blending Mode to Overlay. Go to Edit -> Transform -> Rotate 90 CW. Next, go to Filter -> Distort -> Twirl and set the angle to 138.
Next, go to Layer -> Merge Visible. You will now only have one layer in your layers palette.
Step 4: Let's add some colour
Create a new blank layer. Change this layers Blending Mode to Overlay. Select the Gradient Tool and draw out any coloured gradient on the stage that you like. I used one of the default rainbow gradients that comes with Photoshop. Adjust this layers Opacity as needed et voila.