1. Using the Pen Tool
there are many ways in which we can
create generative, s-curves in adobe
photoshop. the easiest and most
controllable is the PEN TOOL. the PEN
TOOL in PHOTOSHOP creates what we
call PATHS by way of ANCHOR POINTS.
view the “cheat-sheet” below to see
the parts of a PATH and how it is
manipulated.
The Pen Tool

2. “Generative Art 1”
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NEW  10” x 10” 200 RES  BLACK BACKGROUND
COLOR
NEW BLANK LAYER
Select a SOFT BRUSH about 20 or so and select WET
EDGES from the BRUSH PROPERTIES, then change
foreground color to WHITE
Use the PEN TOOL to draw two ANCHOR POINTS (click
once and then click somewhere else on the screen so
that a line appears) – this is a PEN PATH
Towards the bottom left corner, click and instead of
clicking twice this time drag upwards – a PEN PATH will
form with a central anchor point instead of a line
segment
Click on one end and BEND the PEN PATH to create a
curve, then do the same thing with the other end  you
will end up with a distorted spiral of sorts or some form
of s-curve
STROKE the path twice, then DELETE the PATH
I needed to nudge my “swoosh” up from the corner a
bit, if you need to  use the MOVE ARROW to do so
FILTER  DISTORT  POLAR COORDINATES (Rect. to
Polar)
FILTER  REPEAT POLAR CORD.
EDIT  TRANSFORM  FREE ROTATE, rotate the image
so that the “tail” sticks up towards the right top corner
and the “blob” stays grounded in the left bottom corner
DUPLICATE LAYER then REPEAT STEP 9
REPEAT this over and over: DUPLICATE and STEP 9
After 6 or 7 times, MERGE (do not MERGE the
BACKGROUND LAYER)
EDIT  TRANSFORM  SCALE and DISTORT, shrink and
bend this “tangle” of lines so that it sits in the bottom
corner
DUPLICATE LAYER and REPEAT STEP 9
This time use the DROP SHADOW BRUSH ERASER to
remove some of the lines (by now your image should be
getting too “busy” with all the waves)
MERGE all LAYERS (except BACKGROUND)
DUPLICATE LAYER  FILTER  BLUR  GAUSSIAN BLUR
(to taste, I used 5)
Use LAYER STYLE  OUTER GLOW to taste on either
layer
Background is WHITE to show the
PEN PATH, keep yours BLACK
Photoshop Tutorials

3. “Generative Art 2”
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Follow STEPS 1 - 4 from GENERATIVE-ART TUTORIAL 1
Click in the middle of the screen and the drag and click at
the same time to create a perfect curve
STROKE the PATH twice
Then use a DROPSHADOW BRUSH ERASER to taper off
the ends of the line (in later versions of Photoshop this
can be done by selecting different brush settings)
NEW BLANK LAYER
REPEAT STEPS 2 – 4
REPEAT STEPS 5 & 6, then MERGE these 3 LAYERS (not
the BACKGROUND LAYER!)
FILTER  POLAR COORDINATES (Rect. To Polar)
REPEAT STEPS 6-8 (DO NOT JUST DUPLICATE THE LAYER,
but go through the whole process once more!)
DUPLICATE this new 3-line-swirl and EDIT 
TRANSFORM  SCALE 80% then REPEAT this so that you
have a nine-line-swirl, MERGE these nine together (leave
your original swirl alone at the bottom of the page!)
Continue to create sets of swirls using the steps above
and change their size and distortion so that you can
make an interesting design (don’t get to carried away!)
Then try this trick: using a MERGED 9-line-swirl FILTER 
DISTORT  SPHERIZE then EDIT  FADE SPHERIZE 50%
MERGE all LAYERS except the BACKGROUND
DUPLICATE LAYER
Then try FILTER  DISTORT  SHEAR
Fade this by using a DROPSHADOW BRUSH ERASER
Then try any of other effect like LAYER STYLE or
DUPLICATING the LAYER and using GAUSSIAN BLUR
Background is WHITE to show the
PEN PATH, keep yours BLACK
Photoshop Tutorials

4. Photoshop Tutorials
“Generative Art 3”
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NEW  10” x 10” 200 DPI  BLACK BACKGROUND
COLOR
NEW BLANK LAYER  Gray to Black GRADIENT
NEW LAYER  PEN TOOL  Click in the top right corner
and then click-and-drag somewhere on the left side of
the screen to create a large arc (see inset example)
Then connect the corners outside the canvas (on the gray
portion of the Photoshop backdrop)
SHOW PATHS (a new window) then click on the “dottedcircle” (looks kind of like a elliptical marquee selection)
and it will convert your PATH into a SELECTION
Then grab a DROP SHADOW BRUSH with the BRUSH
TOOL and increase its size to an ENORMOUS brush
size, change your FOREGROUND COLOR to WHITE
Click just underneath the ARC SELECTION so that a faded
white splashes across the top of the arc
DESELECT
REPEAT STEPS 3 – 8 but somewhere else so that this new
arc is a different direction
REPEAT STEP 9 several more times over the page then try
to one or two selection: FILTER  BLUR  MOTION
BLUR -90° 100 or some variation of this
Instead of WHITE use BLACK and GRAY to create
shadows
Also try different LAYER MODES
For a CARDEN effect: MERGE all LAYERS, then ADJUST 
INVERT, FILTER  FIND EDGES, FILTER  GAUSSIAN
BLUR 3
If you create hundreds of small lines and do this multiple
times, then you can “fake” CARDEN’s algorithm artwork
DUPLICATE LAYERS and SCALE them, repeating them over
and over as well as changing LAYER MODES can also help

5. Photoshop Tutorials
“Faking Smoke in Photoshop 1”
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NEW: 7” x 10” 200 DPI, BLACK BACKGROUND
NEW LAYER
FOREGROUND COLOR: 679CAC
Using the POLYGONAL LASSO TOOL draw an
abstract, geometric shape like the one shone:
Then FILL BUCKET color
SELECT a DROP SHADOW BRUSH around 100
Using the DODGE TOOL create highlights along the edges
of your abstract shape. Make sure your DODGE TOOL is
set to HIGHLIGHTS and around 85% - 100%
SELECT the BURN TOOL and create shadows inside the
center of your shape. Make sure the BURN TOOL is set to
SHADOWS and around 50%.
FILTER DISTORT  WAVE  Generators: 95 |
Wavelength: 350/650 | Amplitude: 5/50 | Scale 100/100
(you may repeat this, if you think it didn’t “warp”
enough)
FILTER  LIQUIFY to smooth out the angles
DUPLICATE LAYER, then TURN OFF this DUPLICATED
LAYER so that only your BACKGROUND and ORIGINAL
LAYER are visible
FILTER  BLUR  GAUSSIAN BLUR 10
Turn your DUPLICATE LAYER back ON
FILTER  DISTORT  WAVE (use the same settings)
EDIT  FADE WAVE 50%
FILTER  BLUR  GAUSSIAN BLUR 20
ADVANCED: Create a NEW LAYER and drag to the
BOTTOM. Use the PEN TOOL to draw an organic shape at
the bottom of the page. Then turn this into a selection
with a FEATHER of 50. FILL BUCKET and use GAUSSIAN
BLUR to create a cloud.

6. Photoshop Tutorials
“Faking Smoke in Photoshop 2”
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NEW: 7” x 10” 200 DPI, BLACK BACKGROUND
NEW LAYER
FOREGROUND COLOR: 679CAC
Use a DROP SHADOW BRUSH with these settings: SIZE 80
| OPACITY 50% | FLOW 50% and then paint a “clump of
color,” making sure to go back and color over areas again
to create different levels of opacity – don’t get to carried
away, a few passes should suffice
FILTER DISTORT  WAVE  Generators: 15 |
Wavelength: 100/300 | Amplitude: 5/50 | Scale 100/100
FILTER  DISTORT  WAVE  everything the same as
above, except this time click RANDOMIZE (CAUTION: DO
NOT JUST REPEAT THE FILTER, you have to go back in and
select RANDOMIZE)
EDIT  FADE WAVE 50%
REPEAT STEPS 5 & 6, always going back and clicking
RANDOMIZE for each time you use the WAVE FILTER
Using a DROP SHADOW BRUSH ERASER go in and “clean
up” some of the smoke (getting rid of any areas that are
distracting or need to be faded because they generated
off the page)
DUPLICATE LAYER
FILTER  LIQUIFY to bend the smoke into different
directions
Then using the same DROP SHADOW ERASER clean up
your smoke so that it continues to follow a uniform
trail/path
BURN & DODGE to create shadows and highlights
“Colorizing Smoke in Photoshop”
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Open a FAKED SMOKE image or a SMOKE PHOTOGRAPH
ADJUSTMETNTS LAYER  GRADIENT
APPLY a GRADIENT to taste
Change LAYER MODE to OVERLAY or COLOR

7. Taking Pictures of Smoke
Setup a black backdrop – you can
use cloth or posterboard but
surround the area in black
2. Place the incense stick a foot away
from the back drop or burn some
paper (DO THIS IN A VENTILATED
ENVIRONMENT)
3. Place a table lamp on the right to
help with focusing
4. Place the spotlight on the left side of
the incense stick, half a foot away
from smoke
5. Now light the incense stick, switch
on the table lamp
6. Focus on the edge of the incense
stick where the smoke arises. Don’t
open your aperture wider than f8.0
7. Keep the shutter speed below your
sync speed. 1/200 is preferable.
8. Or try ACTION on POS Cameras
9. Click away and get some great
smoke pictures
10. Slightly blow the smoke to get some
dramatic shapes of smoke
11. Try placing 2 or 3 incense sticks to
form a pattern
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Photoshop Edits
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Open the picture in Photoshop
Select the entire image by clicking
Ctrl A (SELECT ALL)
Go to Image>Adjustments>Inverse.
This will make the background white
Use Hue and Saturation to adjust
the color of the smoke
Also try the colorize option under
Hue & Saturation adjustment to get
some dramatic colors of the smoke
on a white background

8. Soap & Milk
“soap & milk random pattern generator”
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Things Needed:
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Milk (whole or 2%) & Water
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Dinner plate, Plastic Tubs and Glasses of Water
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Food coloring (red, yellow, green, blue)
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Dish-washing soap (Dawn brand works well)
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Cotton swabs
B.
Process:
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Pour enough milk in the dinner plate to completely cover the bottom and allow it to settle.
2.
Add one drop of each of the four colors of food coloring - red, yellow, blue, and green - to the
milk. Keep the drops close together in the center of the plate of milk.
3.
Find a clean cotton swab for the next part of the experiment. Predict what will happen when
you touch the tip of the cotton swab to the center of the milk. It's important not to stir the
mix just touch it with the tip of the cotton swab.
4.
Place a drop of liquid dish soap (the Dawn brand works well) on the tip of the cotton swab.
Place the soapy end of the cotton swab back in the middle of the milk and hold it there for 10
to 15 seconds. You should see mini-explosions of color – random, generative art.
5.
Add another drop of soap to the tip to the cotton swab and try it again. Experiment with
placing the cotton swab at different places in the milk. Notice that the colors in the milk
continue to move even when the cotton swab is removed.
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Secondary Process: Use food coloring in glasses of water to create new random patterns. Add
soap to create bubbles and different effects. Experiment with different liquids and colors to
create unique, abstract photo opportunities.

9. Case Study
Unlike a tutorial or step-by-step walk through, a
Case Study presents a different sort of challenge to
the student-artist. You are given the final outcome
and asked to develop steps in order to recreate that
outcome. For instance, you are given an image and
you will have to try and figure out how you can make
a copy or mimic this image. This is a great way to
challenge your skills and force you to think about
steps and procedures (instead of just winging it!).
Good luck!
Complete 10 Studio Portraits Emphasizing S-Curves, each
one must:
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use studio lighting with a two-light or three-light system
minimum
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use Photoshop to create generative art
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edited in Photoshop for levels, color, contrast, and
blemish removal
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edited in Photoshop for magazine quality images and
cropped accordingly
Create these images:
1.
5 Smoke Images
2.
5 Food-Coloring, Soap and Milk Images
3.
5 Generative Art Images
4.
10 Posed S-Curve Model Images which follow the
curves and paths of your abstractions created above
5.
Integrate S-Curves with Generative Art/Smoke
6.
Edit all images using a COLOR SCHEME or COLOR
MOOD