Creating Special Effects with Photoshop Addons

The month of May is perfect for celebrating all things geek, after all this is the month we celebrate May the 4th and Revenge of the 5th. Science fiction is a huge part of pop culture, so we thought we would share some fun Photoshop add-ons that will not only make it easier to create some new sci-fi designs, but are also super fun to use.

ParticleShop

This plugin by Corel makes it easier than ever to paint particle type effects into your work. Fire, smoke, hair, energy effects, they’re all here and you can even update the plugin with new packs.

SpaceRanger

These brushes by Retro Supply Co are perfect for creating retro science fiction illustrations. Not only do you get the brush set, but a video tutorial and even a pdf filled with Mid-Century color palettes to help with your next retro sci-fi design.

Concept Brushes

Maciej Kuciara is a concept artist and illustrator that has worked on such projects as X-Men:Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jupiter Ascending, and the video game The Last of Us. Along with releasing some outstanding tutorials in the area of concept art, he also has this free photoshop brush set that will help with your concept art designs.

Cinema Styles

When creating your new sci-fi masterpiece the look and feel of the work is just as important, especially if you want it to have a cinematic feel. These free actions by Chris Spooner will give a quick cinematic look to your works. It’s also a great chance to learn more by dissecting what the actions do to your works. Chris also has an excellent blog filled with freebies and tutorials, so make sure to browse around.

Seventyles Actions

Along with brushes and plugins, actions are an excellent and quick way to create some science fiction effects. Sevenstyles has some outstanding actions to add a little something extra to your designs, or even to kickstart your new design.

Know of any science fiction Photoshop add-ons, share them in the comment below.