Help
1. Open up a new file: any size, white bg. I recommend making the dimensions the same as whatever you want to use it for b/c stretching it doesn't look very good.
2. Using the gradient tool with black and white colors, change the gradient mode to 'difference' and the type to one of the spirals (cw or ccw, it doesn't matter.) Click around your Background a lot with varying lengths of the spiral, ending with one larger spiral. (I prefer to have this large spiral near the middle of the screen, but it's personal preference.) You should have something like this:
3. *Optional* For the rest of the process, it's useful to have a layer dock open. So go to Dialogues | Create New Dock --> Layers, Channels, and Paths.
4. Select each of your layers in turn and go to Layer | Colors --> Colorize and then Layer | Colors --> Color Balance and play with your settings until you like the colors of each layer and think they'll blend well together. *Note: It's easier to see whether you like the colors if you click the eye icon on your dock for the layer you're not using at the moment. Also, to select the other layer to do colors, just click on the mini-picture of the layer in the dock.* You should now have something like this:
5. *Optional* Choose one of your layers and go to Layer | Transform and take your pick of how to transform your layer. I like to do a 180 degree arbitrary rotation.
6. Now choose the top layer and go to Layer | Mask --> Add Layer Mask. Choose the brush tool and choose a brush (I prefer sparks.) Brush over the mask so it partially fades through to show the layer you're working on, keeping in mind that the parts that remain checkered will show your bottom layer, and therefore your other color.
Your end result should look something like this:
Or this:
Keep in mind that you can do as many duplicate layers as you want, or you can do a completely new pattern for each layer or color. See what kind of stuff you can make!
