That Wicked Worn Look ~ The Series

~ 24 May 2004 ~

Please keep your hands and feet inside the car, ’cause we’re about to kick off one killer ride.

Introducing “That Wicked Worn Look,” a four-part series of how-to’s and savvy conversation, arriving at your very own browser starting this Wednesday morning.

Over the next four weeks, you’ll have the choice opportunity of mastering a few techniques for producing realistic aging and weathering, all with the intent of creating that wicked, sick, insane, whatever-you-wanna-call-it worn look.

Here’s the schedule, subject to change at my discretion and possibly at the whim of irresistible bribery:

Part One: The Indispensable Tool Trio
May 26 – Three tools are really all you need to do “foundation wear.” I’ll be using Photoshop, but you’ll likely have access to these same three basic tools in nearly any raster program.
Part Two: Using Photoshop’s Native Filters
June 2 – A pair of Photoshop’s built-in filters makes weathering a breeze. We’ll waft in the breeze long enough to enjoy a few worn vibes.
Part Three: Wicked Third-party Software
June 9 – Can’t figure out this whole worn thing? No problem. We’ll take a look at software that makes aging so easy to do you’ll feel guilty.
Part Four: Expert Guest Gala
June 16 – By the time we’re finished with parts one through three, you’ll be worn out. Literally. So I’ll invite a few others to share their weathering and aging tales to breathe new life into the series, at the same time wrapping it all up.

Each tutorial will include 1) step-by-step instructions, 2) illustrations, and 3) an open source PSD file.

With fear of disappointing those of you who think there’s an inordinate amount of work involved in creating a worn look, allow me to preface the series with this warning: It’s easier than you think.

Yup. It’s not rocket science.

That said, I think you’ll learn a few tricks you wish you would have known before.

Safety restraints… check. Boarding area clear… check.

Enjoy the ride.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Mister Retro Machine Wash Filters - Create worn in seconds.
Keith Bowman’s Worn Brushes - Create worn in milliseconds.
That Wicked Worn List - A brief list of sites that have gone the way of the worn.

27 Comments

Veer: Visual Elements for Creatives.
Stock photography, type, and killer tees. Genuinely recommended by Authentic Boredom.

1 k ~ 24 May 2004 at 05:42 AM

Thank you! You just saved my summer.

2 Andrew ~ 24 May 2004 at 05:52 AM

I think a simple “woo yay” will suffice.

3 Ryan Brill ~ 24 May 2004 at 06:26 AM

I’m definitly looking forward to reading this series. It’s going to be great, I can just tell.

4 robert renling ~ 24 May 2004 at 07:22 AM

We’re not worthy *bows* ;-)

5 Todd ~ 24 May 2004 at 07:28 AM

Thank you, thank you! I’m really looking forward to this. You are a good man Cameron.

6 Sumaira ~ 24 May 2004 at 09:36 AM

New to your (wonderful) site, but already looking forward to this article!

7 Sean ~ 24 May 2004 at 10:44 AM

I’m glad I decided *not* to go to school for this stuff. Perhaps I should feel guilty for not paying you … no. I don’t.

8 Jeff Croft ~ 24 May 2004 at 01:40 PM

I can’t wait! :)

9 Stuart ~ 25 May 2004 at 01:10 PM

Very nice! I’m looking forward to seeing these tutorials.

10 Reverend Dan ~ 26 May 2004 at 03:09 PM

“woo yay”?

another b3ta.com regular eh?

11 swimp ~ 27 May 2004 at 01:09 PM

totally sweet.

12 Jesse Thomas ~ 01 June 2004 at 04:09 PM

bling !

13 DH ~ 03 June 2004 at 05:39 AM

nothing boring here … just authentic skill. Awesome. Thank you.

14 lace ~ 08 June 2004 at 04:52 PM

I just spent an entire rainy afternoon shunning my *real* work in favor of aging all my alphas.
Cameron for King. Long live the King.

15 Paul Velleux ~ 09 June 2004 at 11:17 AM

Another way to speed up the first step is, instead of erasing and the like, flatten the image (save elsewhere first) and apply some brush strokes from the filter menu - i usually use two (angled strokes and spatter) - this will junk up your edges quite quickly, so all you have to do at this point is some random dodging and burning.

16 mas ~ 09 June 2004 at 02:44 PM

respect, this is a very nice tutorial you got here. keep goin’! *thumbs up*

17 Michaelism ~ 13 June 2004 at 05:42 PM

You are amazing. For you to bother to share your knowledge this way is so great. I truly appreciate your efforts and hope that you will continue to genuinely enjoy doing so. It really helps!

18 Andrew ~ 15 June 2004 at 02:53 AM

‘Impart Of Your Wisdom’ should be changed to ‘Impart Your Wisdom” - gramatically correct.

19 Cameron Moll ~ 15 June 2004 at 06:51 AM

Thanks for the tip, Andrew. Added to my list of upgrades/fixes.

20 Rob ~ 15 June 2004 at 07:41 AM

Finally… a well written, useful, and never boring site of information. I’ll be coming back often!

21 CM Harrington ~ 16 June 2004 at 09:25 AM

I’ve been waiting for something like this for so long!

thank you thank you thank you thank you.

22 Ayman ~ 18 June 2004 at 11:36 PM

Thanks Cameron

23 painting ~ 18 July 2004 at 09:20 AM

Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and declaimed, “The moon is more useful
than the sun.”
“Why?”, he was asked.
“Because at night we need the light more.”
painting

24 Blake ~ 22 July 2004 at 08:34 PM

Bank this one under “Stuff every designer needs to know”. Thanks a bundle!!!

25 John ~ 08 September 2004 at 02:37 PM

Wow, the wicked worn effect is “the new black,” I guess. I’ll have to wait until it is out of fashion before I use it. :)

26 Stefan ~ 23 September 2004 at 03:52 AM

Hey, really nice site!

Greetz from germany, Stefan

27 Look ~ 15 December 2004 at 07:30 AM

Very nice articles!
I recently did a “worn-out” look and I didn’t have a clue where to start! So I’ve scanned in a torn paper and used colors and ideas from an old magazine. This is how it looks. It’s in dutch BTW :-)