Tinsel in Photoshop

 

This tutorial will show you how to make tinsel in Photoshop.

Supplies:

Christmas Glitter Tiles
Rectangle Brushes

Glitter Pattern
There are many glitter styles available from various blogs.  You can use one of them or perform the following steps to make your own.

1.  Open up the HGG_glitter-silver.png or follow my metallic glitter tutorial to make your own glitter tile.

2.  Go to the Edit menu and select Define Pattern.

3.  Give your pattern a name.

Tinsel
1.  Install the HGG_rectangle.abr brush set by going to the Brush Palette and selecting the three lines in the upper right-hand corner.

2.  Choose Load Brushes from the menu.

3.  Find the HGG_rectangle.abr file and load it.

4.  The brush is designed for a 300 high by 3600 wide canvas, so open up a canvas of this size, then select the brush tool.  If you choose a smaller height, you may need to reduce the size of the brush.

5.  Select the Tinsel Brush Preset.

6.  Click once on the left side of the canvas.

7.  Press the shift key and click once on the right side of the canvas.

8.  Add a pattern overlay by going to Layer > Layer Styles > Pattern Overlay.

9.  Select the glitter pattern from the pattern menu.

Or if you have a glitter style, then go to the Styles Palette and apply the style.

10.  Add a color overlay to the glitter if you want tinsel in a color other than silver.  Set the blend mode to Color Burn.

Now you have tinsel.  If you want a curve, draw across the canvas with the brush instead of holding the shift key and clicking.  For multiple colors, try a gradient overlay with the blend mode set to Color Burn.

I also applied a drop shadow to make the tinsel stand out and appear more three-dimensional.

Available in PDF.