Tutorial - Perfect Supercross Berm in ps

[ddmx]

This tutorial will guide you through the steps to making the perfect supercross berm in photoshop.

Step 1:
Make a new layer. Make a giant circular marquee. Gradient fill the marquee from black inner to white outer with the circular gradient too.



Step 2:
Hit ctrl+M to go into curves editor. Select the desired shape of your berm. I recommend not using the entire left to right area, but only using 3/4 of the curves window.



Step 3:
Delete the lower half of the layer.



Step 4:
Select only the very bottom line of pixels in the layer, then hit "v", and drag that out a little to the bottom.



Step 5/6:
Create a layer mask on the layer. Marquee Select the region that I have, and then gradient fill from bottom to top, black to white, then use curves to adjust it.





Mental Notes:
Different gradients at different stages produce drastically different results. Set the layer type to screen when finished. 90 degree berms use the same style to produce, just slightly different steps. It never hurt to use your brain, and a little trial and error process. That's how I discovered this extremely easy way of making berms, trial and error.

Finished product, done with two different gradient techniques.

[Sweendoggy]

You are the man! When I try quick 180 sx berms like this (pen tool) they are garbage usually until I play with them for a long time!

Can't wait to try this out, I already am guessing I will be replacing many of the berms in my AX tracks

[Duckstream]

I got one done and it was good!
I will try more things on it, mayby try to get them to the new track

[wheels1758]

*Kinda off-topic.....kinda*

So when you make a track in photoshop, and you draw a gradient, when you enter the curves panel does the current gradient basically go out the window and you can draw whatever jump shape you like? Does that question make any sense?

So like, as long as you draw a radial gradient, your curves panel will dictate how the gradient actually turns out....rather than the original gradient?

[ddmx]

Curves affect the color in the selection, or layer if you have nothing selected. Hence the color gradient from black to white in the curves editor. You always want to gradient from black to white, white to black, and the curves editor always edits black to white. So if you gradient white to black, then edit the curves, the jump will be going left to right. I have never ever had the need to gradient 50% to 100%, then edit curves, it's too damn confusing. Always edit black to white. All types of track making require critical thinking skills. If you analyze the situation, then find a solution, you'll become a great track maker with innovative techniques. I have so many little shortcuts I could write a book, yet there are so many other ways to do things it's crazy.

[Duckstream]

All types of track making require critical thinking skills. If you analyze the situation, then find a solution, you'll become a great track maker with innovative techniques. I have so many little shortcuts I could write a book, yet there are so many other ways to do things it's crazy.

So far that's the wises thing i have read on this forum.
I figured that i change the colors by some sort of ways and also use your technique to get the berms more soft. i now struggle only how could i make good "environment" over the track, like dumps and small rock pile lookalike things..
Trying to make a track is really a slow process at the point when your doing your first COMPLETE track with working things and stuff.
Hope you make some more tutorials for us, if you could write a book, you could write few words for this community...again...someday

[dizzle188]

when i make berms i had always just used the pen tool and drew it out like a cresent or 1/8 of the moon, i hope you know what i mean lol, then just filled it and applied a gusian blur effect to it and played with the strength until i got what i liked. hope this helped anyone confused by this indepth tutorial. both ways will work mine being "easier" but i do like the other guys design and i will probably start doing that, then just saving the berms as a brush. which brings up another tip. everytime you make something you like. SAVE IT! either in a blank document or as a brush, before my harddrive corrupt i had many blank files filled with gradients that i liked.

[checkerz]

That's how I discovered this extremely easy way of making berms, trial and error.

damn, you're talented

[ddmx]

wow, so long ago, but forgot to credit the man who taught me this in the first place, and served as a great mentor in teaching me a lot about track making in general, checkerz. would def not be where i am knowledge wise today, without him.

[ddmx]

the marquee -> gradient blending and shaping after the initial circular berm shape however, was thought of as an easier way to do things from the original way checkerz taught me, by myself. couldn't have lit the flame without his initial spark though.

[hondaracer756]

damn, you're talented[/quote]