Larissa Meek

It’s almost Valentine’s day and that means cute cards taped with lollipops… Or MAYBE you’ll send a sweet note to that secret crush.

Inspired by Valentine’s Day, I created a wallpaper using a mix of 3D modeling and PhotoShop love.

Instructions:
Wondering what size to pick? Well, just check your display settings. On a PC right click your desktop to find out what your resolution is.

Next, click the correct size below to open in a new window and right click the image to “Set as Desktop Background”. Thats it!

Love Wallpaper Sizes:

• 1024×768
• 1280×800
• 1280×1024
  
• 1440×990
• 1600×1024

Entry Filed under: Artworks

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I miss drawing. Sometimes I feel a bit rusty from working on a computer all day long. Tonight, I curled up with my favorite sketchbook and just let my imagination guide me.

Below is the result brought into PhotoShop where I added a punch of sloppy color - purposely defying the natural perfection a computer tends to exude.

And - here is another bit a found in my sketchbook from a while ago.

Entry Filed under: Artworks

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Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

A little PhotoShop play time. I was inspired by Florida Flowers and Fauna. Which of the three is your favorite?
I think I prefer number two.

Entry Filed under: Artworks

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We had a little brain-share session with the talented Josh Corliss after work today and he was kind enough to share some of his endless Photoshop knowledge. During this discussion he asked the question; “How often do you use the plastic wrap filter?”

Um, like NEVER!

I went home totally inspired because it dawned on me that the plastic wrap filter was perfect for creating some candy wrapped in plastic and it would be a nice addition to my lollipop header. After some trial and error I think I have a pretty solid example.

Here’s how I did it.

STEP 1. Add a dark background layer - this can be anything. Next create your candy. I used some layer effects to give it a bit of texture and shine.

STEP 2. Because I want this candy to be hand-made I used the warp tool to make it less “perfect”.

STEP 3. Be sure to give your candy a nice shadow - not too harsh and not too soft. This is easy to overlook but it provides the candy with dimension. I did this with a dark circle and a blur filter.

STEP 4. It’s time to create the wrapper. Start with a grey rectangle shape. The grey is important because you will need to add highlights and shadows later.Use your pen tool to create points on the top and bottom of the wrapper.

STEP 5. Rasterize your layer. Create the wrapper seals using the dodge and burn tool. This is simply drawing out the lights and darks. I also added some highlights on the “points”.

STEP 6. Use the doge and burn tools again to create the highlights and shadows on the wrapper. Don’t go overboard on this otherwise your wrapper will look unnatural.

STEP 7. Use the warp tool to tweak the shape by pushing the sides in. You can finally add the plastic wrap filter. Play with the sliders to get the effect just right. Cover your candy with the wrapper.

STEP 8. To give the wrapper some transparency set the layer’s blend mode to Linear Light. Then copy this layer and move it beneath the red candy and set that layer to screen with 50% opacity or so. I then experimented with some layer effects to give the wrapper more dimension. This is the result.

Entry Filed under: Artworks | Web Design

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I want to give back to my loyal readers this holiday season with a free desktop wallpaper with colorful lollipops that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. I prefer a lot of whitespace on my desktop so I kept this one simple and clean. This wallpaper is free but not to be used commercially or for profit. Feel free link here to share with your friends.

Thank you for the continued support and keep those comments coming! Happy Holidays.

Instructions:
Wondering what size to pick? Well, just check your display settings. On a PC right click your desktop to find out what your resolution is.

Next, click the correct size below to open in a new window and right click the image to “Set as Desktop Background”. Thats it!

Lollipop Wallpaper Sizes:

• 1024×768
• 1280×800
• 1280×1024
• 1440×990
• 1600×1024
• 1900×1200

Entry Filed under: Artworks | Personal

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