In the realm of graphic design, it is imperative to gather visual references to conceptualize a design effectively. For our project, we have chosen to design an electric guitar, drawing inspiration from the iconic Gibson Les Paul model, which can be easily sourced through a simple Google Image search.
Understanding the components of the guitar is essential. We recommend examining various reference images to achieve a comprehensive grasp of the instrument’s anatomy.Create a new Photoshop document with dimensions of 1000×1500 pixels to accommodate the intricate details of the electric guitar design.A spacious canvas simplifies the process of rendering the guitar’s intricate details.Commence by sketching the fundamental form of the guitar using the Pen Tool (P) and a brownish-salmon fill color (#cd7b53).
Replicate the path and shift it 15 pixels to the left to represent the guitar’s left side.
Apply a darker brown color (#3d1e0a) to the duplicated path, positioning it behind the original to enhance the guitar’s three-dimensional appearance.
Construct a rectangle shape for the guitar neck, adjusting its perspective to align with the body using Edit > Transform > Skew or individual anchor point modification.
Utilize the Pen Tool (P) to delineate the guitar’s headstock above the neck.
The fundamental shapes of the guitar are now visible.
Proceed to refine the guitar components and incorporate additional details.Temporarily conceal all shapes except the guitar body to focus solely on its modification.
Apply an Inner Glow layer effect and a Gradient Overlay layer effect to the body to add depth and interest to the otherwise monochromatic surface.
The application of these layer styles yields the following result:
Utilize the Pen Tool to create a path that bisects the top half of the guitar body, then convert the path to a selection with Ctrl/Cmd + Enter.
Utilize Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option while clicking on the body’s thumbnail in the Layers Panel to intersect the selection with the body shape.
Set the foreground color to white (#ffffff) and employ the Brush Tool (B) to paint within the selection.
Adjust the layer’s opacity to 10% to achieve a subtle effect.
Create a new layer atop the guitar and set the foreground color to a rosewood red (#863c31). Utilize the Brush Tool to paint along the edge with a large, soft brush tip.
Apply Layer > Create Clipping Mask (Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + G) to ensure that the painted elements are confined within the guitar body.
Create a new layer atop the body and fill it with white using Edit > Fill (Shift + F5). Reset the foreground and background colors to black and white by pressing D.Access Filter > Render > Fibers to introduce a wood grain texture to the layer.
Convert the wood grain layer to a clipping mask (Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + G) and reduce its opacity to 10%.
Reveal the visibility of the layer containing the guitar body’s left side.
Create a new layer above it and convert this new layer into a clipping mask (Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + G). Set the foreground color to white (#ffffff) and utilize the Brush Tool (B) to paint highlights on the side of the body, reinforcing the guitar’s three-dimensional effect.
By temporarily hiding the guitar body layer, you can observe the underlying brush strokes.
Apply additional highlights to other areas of the guitar body.
Utilize another highlighting technique to create a sharper highlight. Ctrl-click/Cmd-click on the side body layer’s thumbnail in the Layers Panel to load a selection around the shape.
Switch to the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), right-click/Command-click within the selection, and choose Stroke from the menu that appears.In the Stroke dialog window, select white (#ffffff) for Color and set Location to Inside.
It is difficult to discern the white highlight against a white background, so temporarily change the background color to black.Next, press the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel, and on the layer mask that is created, paint away parts of the white highlight line with black.
After layer masking, you may notice an excessive amount of light on the lower portion of the body.
Rectify this by adding a Gradient Overlay layer effect with a Blend Mode of Multiply to darken the area.
At this stage, we have achieved the following:
Let us create an even sharper highlight on the body face. Load a selection around the guitar’s body face.
Choose Edit > Stroke, set Width to 2px, Color to white, and Location to Inside.
As before, add a layer mask and, on the new layer mask, paint away some of the white highlighting stroke with black to enhance visibility.Fill the background temporarily with black to see the highlight clearly.
Zoom in closely to the highlight and create a new layer. Utilize a large, soft brush to paint white, adding a nice glow to the highlight.
Electric guitars typically feature screws, or strap holder posts, for attaching guitar straps.
