How to Create a Displacement Effect using Photoshop

Hello!! Thanks for join with us again, today we will show you how to create a displacement effect in Photoshop. The displacement effect in Photoshop is simple but yet tricky, you can use this effect in to any of the artworks that you do using PS , this helps to improve the look and feel of the artworks , mainly this can be used to typography objects, vector objects and raster images (specially human figures).

The main task is to find the correct displacement map for the correct artwork. In here we have used a free displacement resources kit from the site called mediamilitia.com and from the deviantart.com as mentioned on the resources section below… so here we start!

Resources

Images used :
- Particles packs from mediamilitia
- displacement map psd file by Lwsypher

Step 01

Open Adobe Photoshop create a new document. The document size will be 1600×1200 px for the size. Save it as Displacement Effect’s.psd.

1.1 Crating the new document

Step 02

Now for the logo we will use the Design Optimal icon, the same vector icon that we created in the previous tutorial named How to Design a Chrome Effect in Photoshop (follow the steps from that tutorial up to this level).

2.1 The DO logo

Step 03

Now we will place the logo in Ps and give a background color. We will make a color pallet in order to use in the next steps in the tutorial.

3.1 The color pallet

Step 04

Now we will add a color to the Do logo that we placed in the PS document. We will select some colors from the color palette we created. This will be a gradient using some color shades that we created.

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4 Adding the gradient to the DO logo

Step 05

Now we will add some displacement effects to this logo, we will be using some of the image set mediamilitia (Check the resources section at the beginning of the tutorial).
We have chosen some of those images, they are
- Media_Militia_Particles001
- Media_Militia_Particles003
- Media_Militia_Particles004
- Media_Militia_Particles005
- Media_Militia_Particles023

5.1 displacement effect images

Step 06

Now we will convert them all into psd files and save them in the same names, in order to use them as the displacing maps.

Step 07

As for the next step we will start using the newly created displacement maps to add the effect to the DO logo.
Now duplicate the do logo layer and go to filter >Distort >Displace and select the dialogue box and give the below amount as the parameters.

7.1

7.2

7.3 Adding the displacing effect

In order to see the effect clearly we will add a dark background color

Step 08

Now as for the next steps we will repeat the same effect again and again but each time with a new displacing map we created.

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4 Adding the next displaced effect

Step 09

Now we will add the next displacement psds it will be Media_Militia_Particles005.

9.1

9.2 Adding the next displaced effect

9.3 Final result so far with the displacement psd’s

Step 10

Now after adding all these displacement effects to make the displaced effect more emphasize, we will add another displacement psd. Its bit complicated than the others we used ealier.
We will be using the displacement map psd file by Lwsypher at deviantart.

10.1

10.2 Adding the next complicated displacement map

10.3 Final result so far

Step 11

As for the next step, we will add some more particles but this time not as the displacement maps. We will place some of the particles png’s on the artwork to emphasize more of the displacement effect.
We will take the png image called Media_Militia_Particles023 and we will place it as shown in the next couple of images.
In order to see this effect clearly we will change the background color of the psd to

11.1

11.2

Step 12

As for the next step, we will add a Brightness contract layer and a layer adjustment curves layer.

12.1 Layer adjustment curves

12.2 Brightness contrast layer

Step 13

13.1

After playing with more dust particles and position the final outcome looks like this.

13.2 The final out put