How to Make a Textured 3D Spray Can

Final Product What You'll Be Creating













In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to combine Illustrator
and Photoshop to create a 3D, textured spray can. This tutorial requires
some basic understanding of Illustrator and Photoshop as well as the
pen tool. Let’s get started!

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Step 1


Open Adobe Illustrator. Create a new document. The first step is to
create all the materials and elements that will appear on the can. Most
of them are basic shapes and text. I created the spatter and the shield
for this tutorial. You can use them or you can find free similar vector
elements over the Internet.
Note that I included measurements for you to have an idea of the size
and proportion, but you don’t have to be exact. You can always resize
things later if you need to.

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Step 2


In the menu, go to Windows / Symbols to open the Symbols Window. Drag
each of the elements you just created to the Symbols Window to convert
them to symbols.
In the Symbols Window open the menu from the top right corner and select "Large List View.
Select the Symbol Options button at the bottom of the window and
rename each of the Symbols as seen in the following image. Finally you
can delete them from the stage.

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Step 3


With the Pen Tool (P) create a shape like in the image below. Try to respect the amount of anchor points.

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Step 4


Go to the menu and click Effect > 3d > Revolve. Enter the values of the following image.

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Step 5


On the 3D Revolve Options Window click the Map Art button. Check
Shade Artwork and check Invisible Geometry. For now we will only use the
Red and Grey boxes that we converted to symbols. Use the arrow buttons
to navigate through each surface. Following the Image in Step 6, apply
the corresponding material, selecting it from the Symbol list menu.
Note that the wireframe turns red on the surface that is selected. If
the material/symbol is too small for the surface, click the Scale to
Fit button. Finally click OK on the Map Art Window and on the 3D Revolve
Options Window.

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Step 6


You should have something like this.

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Step 7


Now open the Layers Window if it is not already open. Rename the to MAIN.

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Step 8


Select your main shape; duplicate it by dragging it to the Create New
Layer button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new MAIN
path to WHITE BIG.

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Step 9


Hide the MAIN path. Select the WHITE BIG path. Open the Appearance
Window and select the 3D Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art
button.

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Step 10


First remove all the Symbols from all the surfaces. If you created
exactly the same amount of anchor points you have to select Surface 5.
If not, don’t worry, just find the surface that matches the one in the
following image and position the White Big symbol as seen in the
following image.

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Step 11


Now we will repeat steps from 7 to 10 several times to position all
the different elements. You may be asking: What is the advantage of
placing the elements in several overlapping paths over making only one
symbol with everything inside?

1. You can copy each individual element to Photoshop as individual layers.
   
2. This allows for a more efficient use of computer resources because you can hide all unused elements if you need to.
   

Duplicate the WHITE BIG path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new WHITE BIG path
to WHITE SMALL.
Select the WHITE SMALL path. Open the Appearance Window and select
the 3D Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all
the symbols from all the surfaces. Find the surface that matches the one
of the following image and position the White Small symbol as seen in
the following image. Finally click OK on the Map Art Window and on the
3D Revolve Options Window.

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Step 12


Duplicate the WHITE SMALL path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new WHITE SMALL
path to SHIELD.
Select the SHIELD path. Open the Appearance Window and select the 3D
Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all the
symbols from all the surfaces.
Find the surface that matches the one of the following image and
position the Shield symbol as seen in the following image. Finally click
OK on the Map Art Window and on the 3D Revolve Options Window.

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Step 13


Duplicate the SHIELD path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new SHIELD path to
PRESSURIZED.
Select the PRESSURIZED path. Open the Appearance Window and select
the 3D Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all
the symbols from all the surfaces.
Find the surface that matches the one in the following image and
position the Pressurized Smoke symbol as seen in the following image.
Finally click OK on the Map Art window and on the 3D Revolve Options
Window.

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Step 14


Duplicate the PRESSURIZED path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new PRESSURIZED
path to BRAND.
Select the BRAND path. Open the Appearance Window and select the 3D
Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all the
symbols from all the surfaces.
Find the surface that matches the one of the following image and
position the Brand symbol as seen in the following image. Finally click
OK on the Map Art Window and on the 3D Revolve Options Window.

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Step 15


Duplicate the BRAND path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new BRAND path to
NOZZLE1.
Select the NOZZLE1 path. Open the Appearance Window and select the 3D
Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all the
symbols from all the surfaces.
Find the surface that matches the one of the following image and
position the Nozzle1 symbol as seen in the following image. Finally
click OK on the Map Art window and on the 3D Revolve Options Window.

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Step 16


Duplicate the NOZZLE1 path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new NOZZLE1 path
to NOZZLE2.
Select the NOZZLE2 path. Open the Appearance Window and select the 3D
Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all the
symbols from all the surfaces.
Find the surface that matches the one in the following image and
position the Nozzle2 symbol as seen there. Finally click OK on the Map
Art Window and on the 3D Revolve Options Window.

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Step 17


Duplicate the NOZZLE2 path by dragging it to the Create New Layer
button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Rename the new NOZZLE2 path
to SPATTER.
Select the SPATTER path. Open the Appearance Window and select the 3D
Revolve (Mapped) Link. Click on the Map Art button. Remove all the
symbols from all the surfaces.
This time I am going to apply the Spatter symbol to 3 of the
surfaces; in this example, it will be surfaces 10, 11 and 12. Take the
following image as a guide to identify the surfaces in your case.
Finally click OK on the Map Art window and on the 3D Revolve Options
Window.

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Step 18


Reveal all paths, and by now you should have something similar to what is seen in the image bellow.

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Step 19


Now open Adobe photoshop and let’s make a new 600 px x 1000 px file.
If your "background" layer is white press Command/Ctrl + I to invert
it. The background must be black. Duplicate the background layer by
dragging it to the Create a New Layer button. Rename your new layer to
"MyBg". Double click your "MyBg" layer and apply the Inner Glow and
Gradient Overlay Styles with the settings of the following image. Press
OK

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Step 20


Go to your Illustrator file and copy (Command/Ctrl + C) your MAIN
shape and paste it (Command/Ctrl + V) on your Photoshop file as a Smart
Object.

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Step 21


Go to your Illustrator select WHITE BIG and WHITE SMALL shapes and
copy them (Command/Ctrl + C). Paste them (Command/Ctrl + V) on your
Photoshop file as a Smart Object. And rename the layer to WHITE.
Do the same for the rest of the shapes one by one. Rename all the layers as seen in the following image.

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Step 22


Hide all layers but MAIN. Go to the PATHS window (Window /Paths) and
press the Create New Path button at the bottom of the window. Select the
Pen Tool (P) and make a path surrounding the red part on the body of
the spray. Press Command/Ctrl and click over the thumbnail of the path
to make a selection out of the path.

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Step 23


Go to the Layers Window and press the Create New Fill or Adjustment
Layer button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Select Gradient Map.
Double click on the icon of the gradient map to bring out the
Adjustments Window. Click over the Gradient Map of the Adjustments
Window and edit the gradient as seen in the following image. Press OK

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Step 24


Now you need a grunge texture, you can use the one I provided with
this tutorial. Open it and paste it on your file, over the WHITE layer.
Rename the layer of the texture to TEXTURE. In the menu, go to Image
> Adjustments > Black and White. Press the Auto button and press
OK. In the menu, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Press the
Auto button and press OK.

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Step 25


With the WHITE layer selected, click the Add Layer Mask button at the
bottom of the Layers Window. Go to the Channels window and press
Command/Ctrl + Click over the thumbnail of any of the channels Red,
Green or Blue to make a selection out of it. Go back to the Layers
Window and hide the TEXTURE layer. Select the Layer Mask thumbnail of
the WHITE layer. Press Command/Ctrl + H to hide the selection. Paint the
parts of the WHITE layer where you want the scratches to appear color
black. You can paint with color white to hide the scratches.

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Step 26


Press Command/Ctrl + H again to reveal the selection. Now let’s save
the selection because we will use it later. In the menu go to Select /
Save Selection and enter "SELECTION" on the Name field. That will create
a new channel named SELECTION. Press Command/Ctrl + D to remove the
selection.
Now that we have saved our selection we can go and delete the TEXTURE
layer selecting it and pressing the Delete key or dragging it to the
little trash can at the bottom of the Layers Window.
By now you should have something like this on your Layers and Channels window.

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Step 27


Let’s make some scratches to the shield. Reveal the SHIELD layer. Add
a layer mask to it by clicking the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom
of the Layers Window. Go to the Channels window and Command/Ctrl + Click
over the thumbnail of the SELECTION channel. Press Command/Ctrl + H to
hide the selection. Go to your Layers Window again and select the Layer
mask of the SHIELD layer. Paint with color black over the shield to make
some scratches appear. Remember, to erase scratches, just paint with
white.
With a layer mask selected you can toggle from black to white and vice versa by pressing the X key.
If you finished with the scratches, remember to remove the selection.
You cannot see it because we hid it, but it is there; so press
Command/Ctrl + H to reveal the selection and Command/Ctrl + D to remove
it.

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Step 28


Repeat Step 27 for the PRESSURIZED and the BRAND layers.

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Step 29


Reveal the NOZZLE 1 Layer; turn its blending mode to Color Burn and
its fill to 40%. Reveal the NOZZLE 2 Layer; turn its blending mode to
Linear Burn. Reveal the SPATTER Layer; turn its blending mode to Color
Burn and its fill to 90%.

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Step 30


Now let’s add some more shadows to the entire spray can. In the
Layers Window, select the SPATTER layer. Press the Create New Fill of
Adjustments Layer button at the bottom of the Layers Window. Select
"Hue/Saturation…" Select the Layer mask of the Hue/Saturation 1 layer
and press Command/Ctrl + I to invert it. Change the blending mode of the
Hue/Saturation 1 layer to Color Burn. Go to the Adjustments Window and
turn the Lightness to -50.
Now with the layer mask of the Hue/Saturation 1 layer selected, start
painting with white on the sides of the spray can to add more shadows.
Remember, you can always remove what you painted, by painting with black
over the layer mask.
If you finished adding shadows to the spray can, you will notice that the background also darkened. We will remove that now.
Go to your MAIN layer and Command/Ctrl + Click on its thumbnail. This
will make a selection of the spray can. Press Command/Ctrl + shift + I
to invert the selection, because we want a selection of the background,
not the spray can. Select the layer mask of the Hue/Saturation 1 layer,
make sure that in your Tools window the background color is black, and
press the Delete key.

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Step 31


Now let’s add some more Texture to the entire spray can to make it
look dirtier. Go to the Channels window and select your SELECTION
channel. Press Command/Ctrl + A to select all. Press Command/Ctrl + C to
Copy.
Go to the Layers Window and with the Hue/Saturation 1 layer selected
press Command/Ctrl + V to paste your selection channel as a layer.
Rename the layer to TEXTURE. Press Command/Ctrl + Click on the layer
mask of the Hue/Saturation 1 layer to make a selection out of it.
Select the TEXTURE Layer and press the Add Layer Mask button at the
bottom of the Layers Window. Change the layers blend mode to Multiply
and the fill to 50%.

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Step 32


Now we have finished with the spray can, so we can make a group with
all its elements. Select TEXTURE layer, and with the Shift key pressed,
select the MAIN layer. Press Command/Ctrl + G to group all of the spray
can layers and rename the group to SPRAY. Your Layers Window should look
like the following image.

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Step 33


Let’s create the Smoke. Create a new layer over the SPRAY group and
name it SMOKE. In the menu, go to Filter > Render > Clouds.
Press the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers Window.
Press Command/Ctrl + I to invert it. With the Layer mask of the SMOKE
Layer selected, paint with white to reveal the smoke.
We will turn the smoke a little green. Press the Create New Layer or
Adjustment layer button. That creates a new layer named Hue / Saturation
2. Select the Hue / Saturation 2 Layer and in the Adjustments Window
enter the values of the image bellow. Note that the Colorize option is
checked. With the Layer mask of the Hue / Saturation 2 layer selected,
press Command/Ctrl + I to invert the mask. Paint with white to reveal
the green color.

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Step 34


Go to Illustrator and create a spiral with the settings of the
following image. To pop up the spiral window click on your document with
the Spiral tool selected. Go to the menu, press Object > Expand
Appearance. Press Command/Ctrl + C to copy the spiral.

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Step 35


Go to back to Photoshop and press Command/Ctrl + V to paste the
spiral over the MyBg layer. Rename the layer to SPIRAL. Press
Command/Ctrl + T and the Transform Handles will appear; then press
Command/Ctrl and drag the handles to distort the spiral as seen in the
following image. Press Enter/Return when done.

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Step 36


Press the Create Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers
Window. Press the G key to select the Gradient tool and make sure you
have a black and white gradient. With the layer mask of the spiral layer
selected, drag diagonally to hide the backside of the spiral in the
distance.

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Final Image