Create Your Own Asphalt

As a comfortable user of Photoshop, you know about the advantage of having your own set of backgrounds, patterns, brushes or you name it. Here is a little guide that shows you how to create your own "asphalt" ready for you to be used as background or pattern in your next illustration.

Step 1 - Create a new document
Create a new Photoshop document (1200 x 700, 72dpi). CTRL-J to duplicate the background layer.

Step 2 - Create clouds
Make sure your foreground and background colors are black and white (hit D to switch the current colors to black and white). Choose FILTER > Render > Clouds. Name the layer Clouds.



Then choose SELECT > Color Range with the FUZZINESS on 23 and click on a lighter area of the Clouds layer to create a selection (click OK). Then hit CTRL-J to move the selection on a new layer. You can name the new layer "White spots".




Step 3 - Create some texture
Still on the White spots layer, choose FILTER >Texture > Craquelure (Spacing: 15, Depth: 4, Brightness: 1).



Step 4 - Create some more texture
Go to the Clouds layer to make it active. Choose on FILTER > Artistic > Rough Pastels (Stroke length: 1, Stroke Detail: 16, Texture Type: Canvas, Scaling: 75, Relief: 30, Light Direction: Bottom, leave Invert unchecked).



Step 5 - Duplicate the Clouds Layer
Press CTRL-J to double the Clouds layer and go to the filter menu again. FILTER > Texture> Craquelure (Spacing: 10, Depth: 5, Brightness: 2).



Change the Blending Mode of the "Clouds copy" layer to "Darker Color".




Step 6 - Finalize
Go to the White spots layer and change its Blending Mode to Hard Light. Then create an adjustment layer SOLID COLOR (set it on black). Change the Blending Mode of the adjustment layer to Overlay.



This is it.
You can play around with the Blending Mode of the White spots layer and with its Opacity to change your effect.
The asphalt will appear very realistic when you "lay it on the ground" by placing it in perspective.

Have fun.