How to Make an Artistic Nature Logo in Photoshop

I was asked recently where I get my ideas for the things I create. The question surprised me, and I had to answer quite honestly, "I don't know". After having thought on it for a couple of weeks, though, I realized that I actually do have an answer: ideas come from life. Everything that I see gets stored into some part of my mind, where some thread of separate thought processes it and mulls it over and when I need a new idea, it's right there ready and waiting.

This logo idea was, to the best I can tell, inspired by a kung-fu movie that I watched. At the end of the movie, the swordsmen are facing off and the scenery goes in an instant from autumn leaves to snow falling fast and hard. It was the emotion that it evoked which inspired this idea.

In this guide, I'll help you create an artistic nature logo. It is three-color, and can be applied to a variety of uses. You will only need a copy of Photoshop - 7 or above - and a few minutes of time to create it.

Artistic Nature Logo in Photoshop - The Steps

1. New Canvas

Create a new canvas (File, New) that is in RGB mode with a white background and is sized at least 500 x 500 pixels. If you'll be displaying the logo only on the Internet, you might think this is too large - it isn't, trust me. The larger the file you start with, the more uses your logo can be put to without affecting the quality of your graphics.

2. Set Colors

Set your foreground color to hex #e9badf and your background color to hex #666666. You can change the colors later on by using layer styles if you really want to. For now, stick with me.

3. Break it Up

Now we want to break up our canvas into 5 pieces. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by using our background color to make two rectangles on the canvas. The first rectangle should be wide and near the top of the canvas, the second should be thin and closer to the bottom. Use your shape tool - not your marquee tool - and rasterize the layers when you've got them drawn. (Reference Illustration 01).

4. Plant a Tree