Creating the Illusion of

Depth and Dimension

Creating depth and dimension is easy if
you follow a few simple guidelines and
try a few a tricks of the trade
In this exercise, you will create a simple design that utilizes a number of techniques to create the
illusion of depth. Follow the instructions exactly, and then apply what you have learned to creating your
own design.

Creating a Gradient
One way to create the illusion of depth is to use Photoshop’s Gradient tool to make a smooth transition
from dark to light. Follow the steps below:

1. Choose the “Gradient” tool from Photoshop’s tool box. If you see a bucket, you are looking at the
“Fill” tool. Click and hold down the mouse key to expand the tool to see the Gradient tool.

2. Make sure the color picker is set to a black foreground and a white background as shown here. To
do this quickly, just press the “d” key on your keyboard. This sets the color to the default.
Linear Gradient

3. In the Option Bar, just below the Menu, select the

Foreground to Background
“Foreground to Background” gradient, and make sure
to select the “Linear Gradient” option. Mode should be
“Normal” and the Opacity should be set to 100%.
Creating a Gradient
4. Create a new document 800x600
pixels. Go to Menu>File>New. Select
the 800x600 option from the pull
down menu. Color should be RGB
and the background should be white.

5. With the Gradient Tool active, click

and hold down the mouse key near
the top of the canvas and drag down
to the bottom as indicated by the
arrow. Release the mouse key. You
should see a gradient that looks like
the one indicated on the left.
Creating a Sphere
6. To create a sphere, begin by choosing the
“Elliptical” Marquee tool from the tool box. Once
again, if you see a different marquee tool, click
and hold down the mouse to see the other tools
available.

New selection

7. In the Option Bar, make sure to choose the “New Selection” Option; set
the Feather to “0”; click “Anti-Alias; Change the Style to “Fixed Size”; and
set the Width and Height of the new selection to “300x300 pixels” as shown
above.

8. The sphere will be in a new layer of its own

so you can move it around or modify it. To
create a new layer, click the New Layer button
at the bottom of the Layer Palette.

New Layer
Creating a Sphere
9. Click the mouse on the canvas
to create a new selection 300x300
pixels. You can move the selection
by using the up and down arrow keys
or moving the mouse inside of the
selection and dragging.

You are now ready to paint the

selection with a gradient.
Creating a Sphere
10. You will use the same Gradient tool that use to create the background, except this time the gradient
colors will be reversed and you will use a “Radial Gradient” instead of a Linear Gradient. To reverse
the colors, change swap the foreground/background colors from Black/White to White/Black. You may
do this by pressing the “Switch” button next to the color picker or by just pressing the “x” key on the
keyboard.

Foreground/Background switched from Black/White to White/Black

Radial Gradient

11. Leave the Gradient as a “Foreground to Background” and change the type of gradient to “Radial.”

12. With the

Gradient Tool
active, click inside
the new, elliptical
selection and drag
The sphere
from near the top will appear
on the new
right to the bottom layer as
left as indicated by shown here.

the red arrow on

the left.
Adding a Drop Shadow
13. Adding a drop shadow will provide a greater illusion of depth. To add a
drop shadow behind the sphere, click the “Add Layer Style” button at the
bottom of the layer palette and choose “Drop Shadow...” Make adjustments
to the Layer Style as shown below.

Adjust the
distance and
size of the drop
shadows to
create a soft
shadow.
Duplicate and Resize the Spheres

Using Free
Transform from
the Edit Menu,
Click inside and
anchor point and
drag. Hold down
the shift key to
constrain the
proportions.

14. To make more spheres, duplicate the layer that includes the sphere
you just painted. You can do this easily by pressing Command “J” (Control
“J” on a PC). Or you can go to the Menu>Layer>Duplicate Layer. Resize
the spheres by selecting the layer and going to the Menu>Edit>Free
Transform. Hold down the shift key while you drag the anchor points to
resize the image and constrain it to a perfect sphere.
 Change the
Darkening and Blurring Images Brightness by
dragging the
15. As images recede, they may be more blurred and fade slider. Left is
darker, right is
into the background (get darker or lighter, depending on the lighter.
color of the background). To make an image darker or lighter
go to the Menu>Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast.
To blur an image go to the Menu>Filters>Blur>Gaussian Blur

The second image

is a little darker
and slightly
blurred compared
to the image in
the foreground.

Use the “Radius”

slider to blur
an image. Don’t
overdo it! About
a .5 or 1 pixel blur
will do the trick.
Darkening and Blurring Images
When you are finished, the images
should get progressively darker and
more blurred as they recede from
view. Remember, if your background
is light...the images should get lighter
as they recede from view. Less
contrast creates the illusion of depth.

Only one more step!

Adjusting Drop Shadows
16. You may also want to adjust the
drop shadows to change on each
image. The closer an image is to a
surface, the sharper and less spread
out the shadow will be. To adjust the
drop shadows, open the effects by
clicking on the Layer Styles symbol
in the layer and double clicking the
“Drop Shadow” style.