bokeh

Hexagons Bokeh Effect in Pixelmator

abduzeedo — Sun, 30 May 2010 04:33:03 +0000

More than two years ago, I created an image of a digital bokeh using Pixelmator that became incredibly popular on the Internet. I easily created the image using Pixelmator’s filter, which was new at the time, called Defocus. I simply applied the filter and added a gradient overlay layer to create the effect. Therefore, in this tutorial, I will show you how to create a bokeh effect in a slightly different, but simple manner to achieve a beautiful outcome.

Step 1

Open Pixelmator and fill the background layer with a very dark grey color (#0a0a0a).

Step 2

Add a new layer and change the Blending to Color Dodge. Go to Filter > Quartz Composer > Generator > Floor. Use the default values.

Step 3

Add another layer and fill it with black. Next, change the Blending to Color Dodge. With this new layer selected, go to Filter > Quartz Composer > Generator > Defocus. This filter is random, so you will not be able to replicate the same effect I created.

Step 4

Duplicate the layer with the hexagons layer. If there are some areas that are too bright, use the Eraser Tool (E) to erase them.

Step 5

Duplicate the layer once again.

Step 6

Duplicate the layer again and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Use 60 for the amount. Once again, change the Blending to Color Dodge.

Step 7

Add another layer and go to Filter > Generator > Stripes. Use 2 for the width and 0 for the sharpness.

Step 8

Go to Edit > Free Transform. Rotate the stripes 30º to match the hexagons. Then, change the Blending to Color Dodge.

Step 9

With the stripes layer selected, go to Layer > Add Layer Mask. Select the layer mask thumb over the layer palette and then go to Filter > Generator > Clouds. Use the clouds filter to mask the stripes.

Step 10

Add a new layer on top of the others, but beneath the stripe layers. Fill this new layer with black. Then, change the Blending to Color Dodge. Next, select the Brush Tool (B). Using a basic, but very soft brush, start painting to add some white some flares to your design.

Step 11

Add another layer, fill it with black, and change the Blending to Color Dodge. With the Brush Tool (B), select the clouds default brush. Then, with white paint, add some clouds over one area.

Step 12

Go to Filter > Blur > Zoom Blur. Place the controller at the center of the area where you want to create the light burst. Then, change the amount to 60.

Step 13

Add a new layer on top of the floor layer and beneath the other layers. Change the blending to overlay. With the Gradient Tool (G), fill the layer with a gradient. I am using a gradient with yellow, red, and blue.

Step 14

Here you can see the order of the layers.

Conclusion

Here is the final result of this tutorial. As you can see, we only used basic filters and blended modes to create this effect. We did not utilize any stock photo to achieve these effects. One of the best features of Pixelmator is its speed. You complete this tutorial relatively quickly because the filters are fast. Now, it is up to you.

Dowload the Pixelmator File

Download the Pixelmator file used for this tutorial.

About the author

Abduzeedo is a blog about design. There are all sorts of articles for those who want to look for inspiration. Also you will find very useful tutorials for the most used applications out there, with a special selection of Photoshop Tutorials and Illustrator Tutorials. You can get in follow us via Twitter at @abduzeedo

Colorful Lights in Bokeh Pictures

PauloGabriel — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:01:32 +0000

It's been a long time since we had our last post on bokeh. There are some pretty good pictures out there of this effect, and some feature blurred, colorful lights, which are just beautiful.

If you don't know what bokeh is, it is the effect that you see in pictures when there's something on focus and another out of focus, blurred. When you get light out of focus, it produces this blurry effect which is amazing. Here's my selection of some pretty cool pictures. I recommend you to visit each photographer's page, because they got tons of great stuff for you to see... so just click each picture to go there! I hope you all enjoy these! Cheers. ;)

About the author

Hello, everyone! I'm Paulo Gabriel, designer from Porto Alegre, Brazil, born in 1984. I have worked as a webdesigner since 2006, but websites and blogs have been a hobby for me since 1999. Here in Abduzeedo, I try to bring only the hot stuff for you... and hope that all of you enjoy my posts! For more cool stuff, you may also follow me on Twitter.

30 Beautiful Bokeh Photos

amanda — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:45:01 +0000

Following my series of posts about photography, this time I have listed some really nice bokeh photos. I really love the bokeh effect that is nothing more than light out-of-focus. Of course the technique might be simple but to take a beautiful photo you need to know much more than just the technique.

Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke ??, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.[1] Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Amanda Macedo

Jarrod C

thedigitalfly ( un guignol à Paris )

Hannah Hylen

.emilykim.

robot rock

charlie chocolate

mouseteeff

Bridge ?

Marc??

Honeycorn

Marc??

Calliope Rose

Zoe ??(??????•? ??)?? Cusker

Daniel Beaman Photo

Lindylu

kvdl

alejandrohdezruiz

wick.tyler

Jonathan Caliso Photography

neatmummy

> sëbastián <

Ncmedia1

ting hay

About the author

Amanda Macedo is a designer and blogger by passion and profession. Living and working out of her backpack, she can now be found in San Francisco, CA, biking, writing, dancing, and tweeting .

bokeh

Hexagons Bokeh Effect in Pixelmator

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Conclusion

Dowload the Pixelmator File

About the author

Sponsored Links:

Colorful Lights in Bokeh Pictures

It's been a long time since we had our last post on bokeh. There are some pretty good pictures out there of this effect, and some feature blurred, colorful lights, which are just beautiful.

About the author

Sponsored Links:

30 Beautiful Bokeh Photos

Amanda Macedo

Jarrod C

thedigitalfly ( un guignol à Paris )

Hannah Hylen

.emilykim.

robot rock

charlie chocolate

mouseteeff

Bridge ?

Marc??

Honeycorn

Marc??

Calliope Rose

Zoe ??(??????•? ??)?? Cusker

Daniel Beaman Photo

Lindylu

kvdl

alejandrohdezruiz

wick.tyler

Jonathan Caliso Photography

neatmummy

> sëbastián <

Ncmedia1

ting hay

About the author

Sponsored Links: