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This lesson demonstrates how to create water/liquid drops - or splashes, from scratch.
Liquid Splash Notes
Liquid splashes are created in exactly the same way as creating water splashes; colour will be added at the end of this tutorial.
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. 
1/ Preparing a gradient background - If you are utilising a start image, proceed Here.
Open a New document and set the following attributes - then extend the surrounding grey area by left-clicking and dragging out a corner of the document. Alternatively, open a start image of your choice onto Photoshop’s workspace.
2/
From the toolbar, activate the Gradient Tool.
Then activate your choice of gradient and apply it to your New document. I applied my gradient line starting from the bottom left - diagonally, towards the top right of my document.
Gradient Tool Tutorial - Chapter 6.
3/
Now, press your keyboard’s D key to set the default Black and White colour swatches.
4/
Then click the following Create a new layer icon, found at the foot of the Layers Palette, and rename the layer Water Drops - or Liquid Drops.
5/
Working on the Water/Liquid Drops layer, from the toolbar, activate the Brush Tool - and set the following attributes into its Option bar. Apply Brushes Tutorial.
Tip
Quickly resize the brush by tapping your keyboard’s arrow keys - ensuring Capitals are OFF.
Now, paint random sized circular shapes around your gradient - or background image; placing some close together - so they appear to be merged.
 
6/
From the top menu, choose Filter then choose Liquify. In the subsequent Liquify dialogue box, set the attributes displayed in my screen capture below; then gently push the black spots into water drop shapes, then click OK.
Note: Again, you can quickly change the Liquify’s brush size by tapping your keyboard’s arrow keys.
Liquify Settings and Dialogue Box Screen Capture Here.
Chapter 9 of my tutorial Here demonstrates how to apply the Liquify filter.
After you have distorted the black spots, you are ready for the next step.
7/
From the Layers palette, reduce the Water/Liquid Drop layer’s Fill from 100% to 0% - by grabbing its slider, and dragging it all the way to the left.
 
8/
Then double-left-click the Water/Liquid Drops layer (not over the name), to display the Layer Style dialogue box. You will be applying three different styles to the Water/Liquid Drop’s layer, (Inner Shadow, Inner Glow and Bevel and Emboss), and it is important that you do not click OK, until all three styles have been applied.
From the left-side of the Layer Styles dialogue box, click the Inner Shadow tab, and change its Structure to the following. Note: Set the Angle to the direction from where your light source is shining.
9/
From the left-side menu, click Inner Glow, then (from within the Structure dialogue), change the glow’s colour by left-clicking the following Set colour of glow swatch.
This displays the Colour Picker dialogue box, and changes your cursor to an Eyedropper Tool. Now, hover your cursor over your gradient - or start image, then left-click. You have just sampled your background colour - subsequently changing the Set colour of glow swatch to correspond. From the Colour Picker dialogue box, click OK.
Now, change the remaining Inner Glow settings to the following - remembering Not to click OK.
10/
To apply the highlights, click the Bevel and Emboss tab - and change the Structure to the following. Note: Play with different settings (and highlight colours) to create highlights that suit your requirements. For example, changing the Shadow Mode’s swatch from grey to Black, produces darker water drop edges.
When you are satisfied with your water drop highlights; click OK. All three Layer Styles will now be permanent, and your water drops (and Layers palette), will resemble the following.
 
Tip
Prior to flattening the layers, you can edit a Layer Style - at any time. To do so,
double-left-click a Layer Style, (as illustrated below) and the Layer Style dialogue will display; allowing for further editing.
Additionally, saving your image as a .psd file preserves the Layer Styles, making them editable after your file has been closed, and reopened in Photoshop.
Optional
Activate the Liquify filter, and further distort your water drops - exactly as you did back in Chapter 6.
Optional
To enhance the clarity of the water drops; apply a Sharpen filter to the Water/Liquid Drops layer; my Sharpening Images lesson can be viewed Here. If you find the Sharpen filter has over sharpened the white highlights, activate the Blur Tool, and with a very low Strength, gently soften the highlights.
11/ Adding Colour
To add colour to your water/liquid drops, add a fourth Layer Style, this time, choosing Colour Overlay. Change the Set colour overlay swatch to a colour of your choice - for example, Black for Oil Drops, or Red for Blood Drops - and alter the Opacity to create a depth of colour you like.
12/
Congratulations, you have created your water/liquid drops, to finish, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image, then save your work.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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