This tutorial will show you how to make an Ying-Yang Sign. Not only we will create it, but also save it as a Shape, and get an ability to draw it in a couple of clicks.

We will make this drawing in curves. You may ask why such a drawing is done in Photoshop, but not, for example, in Corel. I will answer: What’s the difference?

1. Draw a 3D cube.

2. Select Pen Tool (P) . Make sure that you have chosen the Shape layers option . Make the foreground color #FFBB04 and the background color #FFFFFF. Draw a shape which will represent the ear of the bow (I recommend getting acquainted with the basics of drawing shapes beforehand)

I got something like this:

3. Apply a gradient and the Stroke effect. I used the following settings:

(gradient – Foreground to Background)

4. Repeat steps 1-2 for the remaining bows and side stripes. The Stroke effect will be the same everywhere. The gradient, however, will change. Try to tweak it out so as to achieve the same color effect. Don’t forget to change the order of the layers to hide invisible details. If it doesn’t work – you can look at the attached .psd file.

As a result you should get something like this picture.

Still, the object looks a bit anemic. In order to decorate the box it’s possible to add a bit of shadow and sparkle. They can be drawn with the help of shapes, such as in this case with the ribbons, though without gradients and the stroke effect. While doing this, try to achieve the most realistic effects by playing with color and shadows.

With a little bit of effort we get such picture.