Light Rays Using Polar Coordinates

[jesus_h_biscuit]

This tutorial requested by oncedelight


This one starts out straightforward enough, but then it starts to look all crappy by step 4. Sometimes, in order to get where you want, you have to take some seemingly out-of-the-way turns. Stay with me on this one, and you'll get where you're going soon enough.

1. Open a new RGB document. Set your foreground color to black by pressing the "D" key. Using the Type tool, create some very large type (72 points or higher). Rasterize your type layer by going into the Layer menu, under Rasterize, and choosing Type. Hold the Ctrl key and in the layers palette click on the text layer to put a selection around it. Go under the Select menu and choose Save Selection. Click OK in the dialog box.
   
   
2. Deselect your type by pressing Ctrl + D. Switch your foreground color to white by pressing the "X" key. Go under the Edit menu and choose Fill. In the Fill dialog box, change the mode to Multiply and click OK. Go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. Enter 2.5 pixels, and click OK.
   
   
3. Go under the Filter menu, under Stylize, and choose Solarize. Press Shift + Ctrl + L to run Auto Levels, brightening the image. Make a copy of the current layer by dragging it to the New Layer icon in the bottom of the layers palette.
   
   
4. Next, go under the Filter Menu, under Distort, and choose Polar Coordinates. In the Polar Coordinates dialog box, choose Polar to Rectangular and click OK. This makes the type look really, really bad, but don't be dismayed. Press on...
   
   
5. Go under the Image menu, under Rotate, and choose 90° CW. Invert your image by Ctrl + I. Go under the Filter menu, under Stylize, and choose Wind.
   
   
6. When the Wind dialog box appears, choose Wind for Method and From the Right for Direction and click OK. Run this filter two more times by pressing Ctrl + F twice for a total of three times.
   
   
7. Invert your image by Ctrl + I again. Press Shift + Ctrl + L again to run Auto Levels, brightening the image. Press Ctrl + F three times to run the Wind filter three more times. Go under the Image menu, under Rotate Canvas, and choose 90° CCW. Go under teh Filter menu, under Distort, and choose Polar Coordinates.
   
   
8. In the Polar Coordinates dialog box, choose Rectangular to Polar and click OK to create your light rays.Change the Layer Blend Mode from Normal to Screen to bring in your original type, which will still look blurry at this stage.
   
   
9. To add color, create a new blank layer. Click on the Gradient tool, expand the Gradient Picker by clicking on the downfacing triangle next to the Gradient thumbnail in the Options bar, choose Violet to Orange, and drag the Gradient tool through this level. Change the Blend Mode to Color and and press Ctrl + I to invert the colors to red and orange.
   
   
10. In the layers palette, click on the text layer copy (should be the layer below the one you're currently on). Go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Radial Blur. In the dialog box, choose Zoom for Blur Method. Increase the Amount to 66 and click OK. Now click on your original text layer, go under the Select menu, and choose Load Selection. In the Load dialog box, choose Alpha 1, and click OK. Press the letter "D" to change your foreground color to black, then press Alt + Backspace. Deselect by pressing Ctrl + D to complete the effect.