Bacardi

I do not claim originality for any of these tricks (nothing you can do that can't be done):

1/ This is asaic *the* way for me to remember my stuff in PS. Indeed: we have a texttool...

2/ It is also a great way of sharing info and much smaller as PSD files.

3/ Eventually, specific settings can be added like I did in the "new trick" thread. (In fact the new trick was this, and not the image manipulation...)

o, by the way: making diff clouds in black and white and then luminosity blending with a coloured layer below it avoids those unwanted colour stains that appear when you don't need them. (see other tricks to get the point)

Kalrog

that looks awesome.. hats off...

I applied your steps... and this is what i get.. close enough..[bustagut]

Well it's a great idea to explain small steps in Photoshop, but it takes a lot of writing to explain all the steps for an effect like this, where you left out some important information that is needed to duplicate the effect, like for example the belending mode for layer 2 or how you create the effect in the first layer. I figured out how to do it, but I think a lot of Photoshop users with not the same experience would have a hard time.
Like I said, a good idea but only suited for small simple projects IMHO

Bacardi

Oz, you diddit on purpose!
The most important layer is the one i mentionned first, the one you didn't make.[bustagut] (I'm not making fun of you!)

This layer is made by applying several linear gradients to it with the mode set to difference. This gives shapes in the style of some Russian plugin I have. Try drawing short lines in radom directions and see what happens...
Then you need a texturing layer, and that's the one you made: clouds, and afterwards several times diff clouds. Or whatever you fancy as a BG.
I'm shure that displace will work perfectly with this one too...

This is an example of difference applied to gradients: I started with linear and added some diamondgrads afterwards:

Bacardi

Or with radial and angle gradients set at difference, and white and some very darkish green:

Gaussian: sorry, I must have overlooked your post. It is indeed very shorthand, that's true. Partly because it was meant in the first place for myself as I tend to forget how I achieved something, and partly also because it is an attempt (like most of my postings) to create a fire of experiments in scattered directions. It was not intended as a tutorial: I still leave that to the "real" guys. What I do is try to keep things going. Still, if anyone wants a more detailed explanation, I'm always willing to give it. But I spend so much time typing...[sleepy]

Oh, correction Erik, like I mentioned in my earlier post I did manage to create the first layer. One can create some really cool effects working with gradients in difference mode and maybe I didn't duplicate the whole trick, I sure learned some great new stuff and isn't that what's all about my friend [righton]

Kalrog

yep my thing was the same... didn't do multiple gradients in difference mode.

very COOL Erik! ...

out of this coolness (is it a word?) here is something meaningless

Great one {OZ} [righton]
I'm going to experiment a bit more with these gradients, because you can create some amazing effects. What a program! [bustagut]

Bacardi

Ok, we're back on the road...[righton]

I created a layer with some gradients/difference, copied the layer and flipped it. I was able to create some really cool effects using the different blend modes and opacity (this one was done with "lighten").
Wooow, need to experiment more, more, moreeeeeeeee