Simple Glass Ball with Photoshop
In this tutorial we will draw a simple glass ball in the grass! This is a very basic tutorial… Many more effects can be added…
Here we go:
1. Create an image using File > New.
2. Change the colors to: #008aff (Foreground) and #0055e3 (Background).
3. Filters > Render > Clouds
4. You’ll have the following:
5. CTRL+Shift+N to create a new Layer!
6. Change the colors to: #116301 (Background) and #1ba600 (Foreground).
7. Select the Brush Tool 
.
8. Select the Grass brush like the following:
9. Start brushing on the new layer to have a result simillar to the following:
10. Now choose the Elliptical Marquee Tool 
.
11. Then Edit the following options:
12. Press on the middle of the image in a way to have the Circle in the Middle!
13. Select this foreground color: #ddf0f5.
14. Select the Paint Bucket Tool 
.
15. CTRL+SHIFT+N to create a new Layer!
16. Fill the circle to have something simillar to this:
17. In the menu: Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options.
18. Add the 2 following Options:
19. Then set the Fill of the current layer to 0:
20. You will have something simillar to this:
21. Now create a new Layer (CTRL+Shift+N).
22. Change the colors to: #116301 (Background) and #1ba600 (Foreground).
23. Select the Brush Tool .
24. Select the Grass brush like the following:
25. Brush in the front/bottom of the ball to make the bottom part hidden behind the grass.
26. Now let’s clean up what’s behind the ball! Hold CTRL and Press the Ball Layer’s Logo to have the layer selected! Press on the Layer 2 ( The 1st Grass Brushes… ).
27. Filter > Distort > Sphrize…
28. Select the Eraser Tool 
.
29. Change the Eraser’s Opacity to 45% and clean up within the selection to have this final image:
This is the end of this tutorial… Let me mention again that this tutorial is for beginners! once you get used to the tools you can make much more professional effects!
Keep in touch 
Result Submitted by Stella (Click on the pic to enlarge):
Thank you Stella
on 2006-09-28 13:26:36
WOW!!! CooL work,
thank you ekhoury for this great tutorial
Keep up the good work
on 2007-02-08 10:44:56
Yes you are right
on 2006-10-11 03:55:38
Great and really suberb
on 2006-10-11 06:05:40
how cool, it looks real! i love it
on 2006-10-11 12:16:22
thanks for your tutorial at ..
http://www.ekhoury.com/2006/09/28/simple-glass-ball-with-photoshop/
Just some feedback from a real beginner
That is to say that I have only been learning PS for a month although I have been trying to do a tutorial a day.
It might be interesting to see how difficult it is to make a really ‘foolproof’ tutorial for a beginner and perhaps for all other levels too.
Below is a list of where I ran into troubles.
1. Create an image using File > New. - what size? Later when one has to create the elliptic shape this becomes important.
2. & 6. - the order of the bg and fg colors is reversed - I spotted this but it would be nice if they were consistent throughout the tutorial.
8. It took me 15 minutes to find the grass brush. How does a beginner find it ?
10. My PS was set to inches and not pixels and I couldn’t understand why it took so long to create the sphere and then why I couldn’t see it
18. This is very unclear for a beginner and I didn’t understand that one has to highlight ‘inner shadow’ box (for example) in order to be offered the angles etc.
19. What should the fills and opacities be set to on the previous layers ?
I had an image that is very close to the #21 picture but the tutorial didn’t work as stated from #25 onwards .. and I will go back and check where I went wrong.
regards and thanks again,
Michael
P.S. I’m using CS2 v9
on 2006-10-11 12:22:04
Thank you micheal, I’ll consider that in my next tutorials!
on 2006-10-17 01:44:46
I got lost on 29. I did CTRL click the logo (Layer 2, the one with the sphere in it) and you said “click the Layer 2″ but I’m already on layer 2? I don’t get it, please explain that better.
Micheal, the size can be anything, if you want it 2000×2000 and have a big projector screen or something then just be sure to make sphere bigger than 140 px
on 2006-10-24 17:58:53
very good! mine is awesome! the only thing is that 4 the inner shadow it should be bigger than 16px. it should be like 24.
on 2006-11-05 00:40:24
Hi and thanks!
This tutorial meant a lot to me because it’s the first time I’m beginning to actually LIKE Photoshop. I’ve had an aversion towards it. Guess it depends a lot on what kind of tutorials you start out with (I’m a total beginner and a PaintShopPro user).
I had some trouble for a while at step 18 (Inner shadow) just because I didn’t notice my color was set to black.
Otherwise it was GREAT!
on 2006-11-14 16:53:52
Hey that’s an awesome tutorial!! ^^ I’ve gotta show you the result when I use it.
I only read through it right now and it seems pretty basic. :3
on 2007-01-09 16:13:07
this should look pretty cool if you replaces the circle with a word;)
on 2007-01-09 17:06:45
Cannot find a Totorial that is easy,they don’t show all the steps and some steps are wrong.i’m trying to find one for a glass clear glass ball and their all for advanced users. They don’t show every step.
on 2007-09-16 13:12:47
amazing, i really liked it
on 2007-12-12 17:12:21
Great job,but what about the glass reflection to make it perfect?…..
on 2007-12-22 01:26:51
This is my first Photoshop thing I’ve ever done in my life. It is pretty cool. Thank you Elie.