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This lesson demonstrates how to create animated cigar smoke. To work along, you can download the start image Here. Unzip the file and open the image onto Photoshop’s workspace, ready to transform.
My tutorial here demonstrates how to create wispy smoke, from scratch.
Note
There are different ways of creating animations; my tutorial Here explains how to create animation (image-frames) created from layers - thereby leaving the workspace relatively free of clutter. This (animated smoke) lesson, utilises individual (duplicated) images, and does require a little organisation to keep the workspace neat and tidy.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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Open your start image onto Photoshop’s workspace.
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To add atmosphere to the photograph, from the top menu, choose Image then choose Adjustments then choose Desaturate. Remove Colour Tutorial.
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Then from the toolbar, activate the Vertical Type Tool. Lesson.
And apply the type of your choice.
Tip
To change the look of your type, (once it has been applied), play with Layer Blend Modes.
When you have applied, and repositioned your type, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image - these are my (Women) type settings.
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From the top menu, choose View then choose Zoom In.
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Now, from the left-side toolbar, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool.
Detailed Polygonal Lasso Lesson!
And set the following attributes.
Carefully, click and stretch a lasso line around the grey ash of the cigar. When you pass your cursor over the exact area where you began the lasso, left-click. The lasso line will immediately change to a selection marquee .
  
Tip - retracing your steps
Whilst you are stretching the line (above first and second left) and before the marquee is applied, to go back one step, press (either) the Delete or the Backspace key of your keyboard - press your chosen key for however many steps you want to go back - this is for Window PC users, I am presently unfamiliar with Mac’s.
Tip
Activate any tool from the left-side toolbar (perhaps the Move Tool), this closes the Lasso Tool.
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You need to save this selection to an Alpha Channel, as explained in Chapter 15 of my tutorial Here. You will find a little information regarding Alpha Channels at the start of that tutorial. Therefore, from the top menu, choose Select then choose Save Selection and in the subsequent Save Selection dialogue box, enter a name in the Name tab, then click OK.
Your selection has been saved to an alpha channel ready to use later. Remember! Do not close down Photoshop until you have retrieved and applied your saved selection (s).
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We need five cigar-lady images, therefore, right-click the top menu of the image, and from the drop-down menu choose Duplicate. There is no need to name this
(duplicated) layer, click OK. Repeat this (thrice) and you will have five identical
cigar-lady images, with just the first retaining the selection marquee (around the cigar tip) - when active.
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It is time to retrieve the selection from its alpha channel. Therefore, activate the second image, then from the top menu, choose Select then choose Load Selection. In the subsequent Load Selection dialogue box, click the Channel tab, and locate your (cigar tip) selection.
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Then click OK. A selection marquee will be placed around the cigar’s tip.
Now, activate the third (then fourth and fifth images - consecutively), and retrieve the selection from its alpha channel, as explained above. When you have completed this, you will have five identical images, each with identical selection marquees around their cigar tips.
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It is time to apply the smoke, therefore, activate the first image, then from the top menu, choose Filter then choose Eyecandy 5 Nature then choose Smoke.
Important! For the images to animate, you need to apply slightly different smoke effects to each image - moving the smokes position, very slightly.
For the first image, I chose the following (default) settings - however, there are many different smoke effects to choose from, therefore, when you gain more experience, play and see what you can create.
Important
Do not click OK until you have changed all three attribute tabs - the attribute tabs are Settings, Basic, Colour & Lighting.
 
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When you have altered all settings, click OK. Your first cigar smoke is complete. Important! remove the marquee that surrounds the cigar tip - to do this, from the top menu, choose Select then choose Deselect. Ctrl then D.
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Now, activate the second image - It should have a selection marquee around the cigar
tip.
And apply the same Medium Cigarette Smoke setting, however, this time change just the Expansion to Minus 6 - the Expansion slider is found under the Basic tab.
Click OK and your second image will resemble the following - remember to remove the marquee.
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Now, activate the third image.
And apply the same Medium Cigarette Smoke settings, however, (again) change just the Expansion slider - this time to Minus 10 - then remove the marquee. (Ctrl & D).
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Activate the fourth image.
And apply the same Medium Cigarette Smoke settings, however, this time, change just the Expansion setting to 4 - then remove the marquee.
Click OK to apply this to your fourth image.
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Activate the fifth image.
And apply the same Medium Cigarette Smoke settings, however, this time, change just the Expansion setting to Minus 5. Then remove the marquee.
If you have applied my exact settings, your five images will resemble the following.
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Now, position each image as shown below - this makes it clearer, when dragging images 2, 3, 4 and 5 - onto image 1.
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Activate the Move Tool. 
Then activate the second image, (below right). Now press (and hold down) the Shift arrow key of your keyboard - and left-click and grab the second image, and drag it onto the first.
Because the Shift arrow key is pressed, the second image is placed exactly over the first. Repeat the same instructions and (Shift) drag the third, fourth and fifth images onto the first. Your Layers palette will have five layers.
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It is time to open your image (with five layers) into ImageReady, therefore, click the Edit In ImageReady icon, found at the foot of the toolbar.
Your image will open in ImageReady. Now follow the link below - for final animation and saving instructions.
Note: ImageReady is not included with Photoshop CS3, follow the link below to complete your animation.
General optimising/saving animations lesson - CS, CS2, CS3 & Extended - here
Final Notes
There are many settings in Eyecandy 5’s Smoke filter to choose from, experiment with them to see what you can create. Additionally, in ImageReady, there are various settings you can tweak that change the look of your animation. For example, to add more frames, click the Tween highlighted below right. Also, play with the delay timing (below left) this can slow, or quicken - your animation; it is set to 0.2 for my animated cigar smoke - however, play, and find a setting you prefer. As always, the more you practise, the better you become!
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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