Melting the Plastic

The creation of our plastic effect is almost complete. A few details need adjusting to obtain a denser texture:

1. Select Layer > Duplicate Layer, then set the mode for this new layer to Difference.
   
   
The displayed image has turned completely black. Don't worry, what happens next is rather interesting ...


2. Select Edit > Transform > Rotate 180°.
   
   
3. Select Layer > Merge Down.
   
   
Don't you find that your texture has a slightly psychedelic look to it?



Figure 5: After duplication of the layer.


4. Select Filter > Other > Custom, then create your own filter with the values shown in the figure below.
   
   
The Custom filter "convolutes" the image's brightness values. This expression is somewhat technical, but it basically boils down to adding depth to the texture, while making the image lighter as a whole.



Figure 6: The Custom filter.


5. Select Image > Adjust > Auto Levels.
   
   
6. Select Filter > Fade Auto Levels, with Opacity set to 25% and Mode set to Normal.
   
   
Don't hesitate trying out your own settings to obtain some interesting variants.



Figure 7: A monochrome plastic effect.

Now all you have to do is colour this plastic effect with the colour of your choice. To do this, use the Image > Adjust > Hue/Saturation command set to Colorize mode, using the values of your choice. That just does the trick!



Figure 8: The finished plastic effect.