We had our first snow this week!  I love snow, and ugly Christmas sweaters, hot chocolate, skiing, white trees, white skies, white flakes falling down. I love snow.  I love snowflakes!

Just like there infinite variations of Mother Nature’s snowflake, so there are infinite variations of a Photoshop snowflake.  This is only one way, one snowflake.  Let your imagination take you away.

My only tools today are my trusty Photoshop (CS5), the line tool & the custom shape tool.

Start by drawing a straight line using the Line Tool.  I choose to start with a vertical line, but a horizontal line works too.

snowflake_tut01

I added two diagonal lines at the top, you can also use text & a wide “V” to make it easy on yourself.  I then used the Custom Shape Tool, the basic diamond shape, to draw some Diamonds centered over my line.  This is it.  That’s all my snowflake is:

snowflake_tut02a

I duplicated my Snowflake Layer (Ctrl+J), and flipped it vertical (Edit->Transform->Flip Vertical), then scooted the new layer down & merged both layers (Ctrl+E):

snowflake_tut03

I again duplicated my Snowflake Layer (Ctrl+J), and rotated the copy 90° W (Edit->Transform->Rotate 90° W), then merged both layers (Ctrl+E):

snowflake_tut04

I again duplicated my Snowflake Layer (Ctrl+J), and rotated the copy 22.5°; Free Transform (Ctrl+T) and manually change the angle to 22.5°.  Do not merge.

snowflake_tut05

Duplicate and repeated angle rotation two more times: Duplicate (Ctrl+J) and select Free Transform (Ctrl+T) and manually change the angle to 22.5°.   You will have a perfect snowflake!

snowflake_tut06

You can keep it as is, or change it up a little.  Two quick & easy changes are sizing & fill.

In the Layer Panel select alternating Snowflake Layers.  The first thing I did was transform (Ctrl+T) the size to 90%.  Then I changed fill for a quick shade variation.

snowflake_tut07

Obviously there are a million more options to make your snowflake uniquely yours.  And once you have your perfect snowflake, there are a million things you can create with it: papers, overlays, stickers, tags, flowers, etc.!

Feel free to download my snowflake today & play away.  CU friendly, of course.  Samples included.  Or pick up my PS Snowflake Brush Set plus BONUS Style at 45% Off!

***Download No Longer Available***snowflake_freebie_preview