Candy Hearts

Valentine’s Day is coming and nothing says “I love you” quite like those awful tasting candy hearts in powdery, pastel colors. So let’s make some!

Start with a new document. I’m making mine 430×200px because I wann to make a variety of hearts.

Create a new layer and grab your pen tool. Turn on the grid (Ctrl+’ so that you have a guide to draw by. Using your pen tool, carefully draw out your heart shape. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it’s better if it’s not perfect. That’s why we’re not using the “heart” shape that comes with Photoshop. These things are made out of sugar, afterall.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 1

Once your heart is outlined, you can hide the grid.

Now Ctrl+Click on the heart path in the paths palette to load its selection and fill it with your choice of sickening pastel colors. I’m using #fff799).

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 2

Now apply the following Layer Styles to y our heart. Note that depending on the size of your heart, you may need to adjust the bevel width.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 3 Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 4 Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 5

Great. Your heart should nwo be starting to have a little depth and texture, like so.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 6

We’re not done yet, though. Now Ctrl+Click on the heart layer’s icon in the Layers palette to load its selection and create a new layer under it, between it and the background. Using your eyedropper tool, sample the color from the very top left of the yeart, then hit X to reverse the foreground and background colors and sample the very bottom right of the heart. You should then have a dark color as your foreground and the lighter one as your background. Hit X again.

In my case, the colors are #fffab5 and #c9b71c.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 7

Now click the eye beside the heart layer in the Layers palette to hide it and fill the selection with a light to dark gradient at an angle matching the hidden heart’s.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 8

Keeping the selection active, hit Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow Key followed by Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow Key. Repeat both combinations a few times, until you’ve successfully distended the heart down and to the right a few pixels.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 9

Now, un-hide the heart layer. Make the heart layer active and then hit Ctrl+E to merge it with the layer below.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Candy Hearts - Fig. 10

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Added Saturday, January 20th, 2007 at 7:04 am under Drawing & Painting.