In this tutorial, we will create a grayscale Bokeh graphic, which can then be used, along with the layer blend mode in Photoshop, to create a Bokeh to work with any color scheme.

Our first step in creating the grayscale Bokeh is to render some clouds.

1. Start a new project in Photoshop with the dimensions of your finished project. In the example, I am creating a Bokeh background for an Instagram post. So, my project will be 1080 x 1080 pixels at 72 dpi.
   
   
2. Change the name of the bottom layer to "Bokeh".
   
   
3. Set the Foreground color to white and the Background color to a mid-gray (#9c9c9c). Fill the background layer with white.
   
   
4. To create the clouds, click Filter - Render - Clouds.
   
   Now that we have our clouds, we can begin to create the Bokeh effect.
   
   
5. Click Filter - Filter Gallery - Sketch - Photocopy. Set the Detail to 20 and the Darkness to 40. This will give us several small light areas on a gray background (see screenshot).
   
   Yes, you guessed it. The small light areas will become our Bokeh texture. We will use the Field Blur filter to do this.
   
   
6. Click Filter - Blur Gallery - Field Blur. Set the Blur slider to 45, the Light Bokeh slider to 40% and the Light Range slider to 215 to 255 (see screenshot).
   
   Now we will create the gradient that will give our Bokeh some color.
   
   
7. Add a new layer below the Bokeh layer and name it "color". Fill the layer with white.
   
   
8. Double-click on the layer and check the Gradient Overlay option. Set at least three colors for the gradient (see screenshot).
   
   
9. Set the Blend Mode for the Bokeh layer to Overlay or Soft Light (see screenshot).
   
   

Alternative Gradient: Add a Gradient Fill layer above the Bokeh layer and set the Blending mode to Hard Light. (see screenshot)

That makes a nice background but we can add a little more in the next tutorial.

Continue

Finished Project

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