The dodge tool is used to lighten areas of a photo or element by clicking and dragging across the areas you want to lighten. Conversely, the burn tool is used to darken areas. (You can think of the dodge and burn tools as a sort of paintbrush that you use to paint highlights or shadows.) While using either of the tools, you can also right-click and it will execute the opposite tool. For instance, if you have the burn tool activated, you can right-click and drag and it temporarily becomes the dodge tool and vice versa. The dodge tool keyboard shortcut is “J” but the burn tool does not have a keyboard shortcut. Endless dodge and burn effects can be produced by varying the brush style as well as the opacity.
In this tutorial, let’s apply some dodge and burn effects on a simple tag shape that will result in a grungy or distressed look.
1. Begin by creating a new image (keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+N) in the width and height of your choice, resolution of 300, with a transparent background.
2. Select the Rectangle Tool (keyboard shortcut: G). Select the color of your tag as your background color. Leave the foreground color transparent
3. Click and drag a rectangle shape onto your canvas
4. Select the dodge tool (keyboard shortcut: J) and choose a brush style from the drop-down menu on the toolbar
5. Adjust the brush size and opacity. Try starting out with a low opacity; if you need a more distressed look, you can increase the opacity. If you don’t like a particular effect, you can click on the Undo button. Be sure to experiment for different looks.
6. Begin brushing some highlights on the tag with the dodge tool and continue until you have the desired effect.
7. Switch to the burn tool (you can also keep the dodge tool activated and just right-click and drag.)
8. Again, experiment with the different brushes, sizes and opacities. In the following example, I used a custom brush that I made that looks like vertical streaks.
9. Try adding alternating burn and dodge effects on the edges of the tag
10. Basically, the key is to experiment with the brush tips you have on hand and adjusting the sizes and opacities. (To finish your tag, simply add some texture and an inner bevel; you can then save it as a .PNG file for use in your layouts.)
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