here is an example of the kind of domain layout image were going to be making.
before you begin:
choose rares
add the colors youre going to use into your swatches (click here if you dont know how). this will make sure that you get the exact color every time.
these are the brushes youre going to need: (click to make them bigger)
step 1:
open a blank canvas. mine is 900x700, but you can make yours smaller if youd like. if you want the background to be a different color, just use the paint bucket tool. im making mine an off white.
step 2:
now were going to add the tables. make a new layer & select the rectangle tool. match your settings to mine here. were going to make the smaller left hand table first. starting at the very top, drag your mouse till the rectangle is the size you like & let go. click to see mine. now to make sure both smaller tables are identicle, duplicate the layer & drag it to the right hand side. then add a larger table in the middle. click to see mine. when they look how you want, merge the layers & add a dropshadow w/ these settings. this gives them depth.
step 2, part 2: (optional)
i like to have a neat little border around my tables, so im going to use the rectangle tool to make more tables behind the ones i just made. open a new layer behind the layers with the tables, select your color & make your tables. click to see mine. you can add patterns and dropshadows to spice them up.
step 3:
now were going to start building up the splatters and stuff. im going to start w/ these brushes. add a new layer & put the brushes randomly all over the top half of the image in kind of a half oval shape. i alternate colors to make it look more patchy. click here to see what i mean.
step 4:
make a new layer. place this splatter brush in a few places, making sure none of the brushes go off the page. click for example. now add a white outer glow @ 100% opacity, w/e pattern youd like & bevel & emboss w/ these settings. click ok. it should now look similar to this.
step 5:
create a new layer & repeat step 4 with a different color. when youre finished, go to edit, transform, then flip horizontal. reposition the layer. this is what it should look like now.
step 6:
now were going to add the rare. im going to resize my rare & add it, then duplicate the layer, & flip it horizontally. you should have 2 layers w/ the rare. click to see.
step 7:
now were going to cut drips out of the rare. other sites might do this differently, but i never could find a tutorial for it, so i made my own way. first use the eraser tool w/ this brush selected. hide the 2nd rare layer so itll be easier to work with the other. drag the unhidden rare to the middle of your page. remember! when you use the eraser, everything thats is black in that brush & would usually show up w/e color you have selected is going to be erased! now erase w/e part of the rare you dont want in there. it might take a few tries. if you mess up, just hold down ctrl, alt & z. thatll undo w/e you messed up. this is what mine looks like. now, duplicate the layer & merge them. the layer should look less transparent.
step 8:
unhide the other layer w/ the rare & repeat step 7 on it. unhide both layers & arrange them however youd like. look at mine.
this part is optional, but i think it makes them look neater.
i like to add more layers of the rare in different sizes. you pretty much just going to repeat step 6 & 7, but when youre done, go to edit, transform & over to scale. then follow these instructions. mine now looks like this
step 9:
were now goign to add some settings to those layers. right click on the 1st one & go to blending options. outter glow>white>100% opacity. bevel & emboss>depth=52, size=15, soften=15. you might want to adjust the soften depending on how light or dark the rare youre using is. click ok. now im going to teach you how to apply those setting to all your other rare layers. right click on the layer & go down to "copy layer style". select it. now highlight the next layer w/ the rare that you havnt added any setting to. right click on it & select "paste layer style". tada! you can do that to all your layers w/ the rares.
step 10:
now merge all of your layers w/ the rares on them. go up to image, adjustments, then black & white. a window will pop up. click ok. use the retangular marquee tool & highlight the whole section theyre on. using the move tool, drag it over a tiny bit. the highlight should jump so that only the dripping part of the rare layer is selected. see what i mean here. were doing this so that when we add the brush, it will only appear on the rare drip layers instead of thw whole thing.
step 11:
now, leaving the drips highlighted, create a new layer. make sure the new layer is selected. over on the layer options, click where it says "normal" & change it to "screen". use the regular orb brush at 300px to make the colored orbs. now create another new layer, where it says normal, change it to overlay. have white or black selected as your color & use either the wave or the swirls on this brush on that layer. if you use the waves, match them up so that they dont overlap to much. mine now looks like this.
step 11, part 2: (optional)
create a new layer & drag it under the rare layer. add some more drips to fill out the layout. add the same settings to it as the 1st 2 drip layers.
step 12:
create a new layer at the very top. use the rectangle tool you used for the tables & create a long box across the top 3rd of the layout. click to see example. rotate the rectangle (click here if you dont know how to). add a dropshadow w/ 100% opacity, 0 distance, 0 spread, & 3 size. you can add a pattern too if you want. now create a new layer under that one. get a darker color than the one you used for the rectangle & make little squares. were going to use them to connect the rectangle to the tables. use the polygon lasso tool & make a diagnal over the square (see here) & remove the excess square. then get the rectangular marquee tool & cut off the extra parts on the inside, so that it looks like its coming out of the tables. if you have drops from other layers, you can use the polygon lasso tool to cut carefully around them. repeat this on the other side.
step 13:
add some navigation text to the bar, maybe a few sparkles, & youre done! if this helped, or you cant figure out a step, please comment me in the little box on the left hand side!
