Wow, that is nice! Here is what mine looks like.
This is a cool technique I picked up on the internet; I do not take credit, as it wasn't me who devised it. I did it in CS4, but I am pretty sure it could be done in older versions as well.
Start a new document - surprise, surprise. Size doesn't really matter. Open up a new layer, and fill it with brown, a nice dirt-brown.
Open up a new layer, and fill it with white this time. Now noise this up. Full effect (400%), uniform, and monochromatic. Now blur it a little bit. Slightly less than 1 pixel, 0.7 did it for me. Change the blend mode to multiply.
Now, a new layer, filled with white, same noise settings as the last one, and same blur. On second thought, you could probably just duplicate the first white layer. Blend mode normal.
New layer, filled with grass-green. Multiply. Merge it down with the second white, noisy one.
Filter-Stylize-Wind. Stagger from the left. Now rotate the image, 90 CW. Use the wind filter again. Same settings. Then rotate it back, 90 CCW. There you have a cool-looking grass. It could be used as a pattern for other purposes, using the Offset filter and the Clone Stamp tool quite easily.
Hope you like it, and as I said, it's not my technique to begin with. I just found it.
Wow, that is nice! Here is what mine looks like.
Yeah, I find it really cool. You can use it as a patter as well, and then it would look something like this. (20% scale, embossed and just some simple water to create some contrast)
@Asharad - That's pretty good, I'll have to give it a try sometime...Did you put a bevel on it? If you wanted to use it as a pattern you'd be better off without the bevel.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
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I created a pattern of something like what Asharads result looked like, by offsetting by half the image size, then used the clone stamp tool to fill out the blanks. Then, Define Pattern. On the picture I've just painted in some green, used Pattern Overlay (multiply, 60% opacity), and then used a Bevel and emboss on it, to give it some distinction from the water. But the Bevel and Emboss has nothing to do with the pattern itself.
That's pretty cool. I'm immediately wondering if I could use this to create a tree pattern for regional-style maps.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
There is a superb technique for trees that someone discovered on Cartotalk that involves a monochromatic noise filter and a bevel. It wouldn't match the scale of this grass, but it would be good for regional to wide local maps. I used the technique on the Mennin's Hallow map to good effect.
Here's the thread I found it in: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=1139
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
I was looking at the exact same tut over at photoshoplady the other day. I haven't tried it yet, but I will get on it.
I haven't be able to produce trees that look as good as the tutorial. I'm not sure I'm following the directions correctly, as they get a bit confusing. It sounds like you need a pre-existing photo of a forest to get good results.
I really like this grass tutorial though. Very, very simple.
The tut is a bit difficult to follow, but it does work, and you don't need a photo for it. If I remember when I get back home in a week or so, I'll try to elucidate it.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name