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Welcome Hostway Newsletter readers! As a proud partner of Hostway we are pleased to offer a collection of some very special offers for Photoshop lovers, digital photographers and graphic designers! These are our very own exclusive discounts — collected just for you. Enjoy!

Photoshop Actions & Brushes To Produce Painter Effects

Gavin Philips has released a new set of creative Photoshop actions and art history brushes that create painterly effects. Here's an interview with Gavin that explains his new ‘Paint like Monet’ program. (There is a free action available at Gavin's site. Try the free 'Pastel' creative Photoshop 'action' for PC or the free 'Pastel' creative Photoshop 'action' for MAC.)

What does your 'Paint like Monet' program do for photographers and graphic artists?
It shows them how to quickly create authentic painted portraits using only Photoshop and our custom art history brushes. Also included are several creative Photoshop 'actions'.

How do the creative 'actions' work?
Many photographers and graphic artists use Photoshop ‘actions’ for doing repetitive tasks, such as converting to black & white, or converting from RAW to JPG.

Our creative ‘actions’ combine many complex steps and produce stylish imagery at the click of a button. We also include text messages to give the artist suggestions about how to customize their photo during the ‘action’, or after it has finished playing.

Don't you need a program like 'Painter' to paint digitally?
Our painted examples prove that you do not. Photographers and graphic artists want a streamlined workflow where they do not have to keep switching programs.

There is also the issue of the large amount of time needed to learn ‘Painter’ in order to produce high-quality paintings with it.

I tried using Photoshop's art history brush and all I created was a mess. How are you using it to create these painted photos?
The way to make Photoshop’s art history brush a great tool is the design of our custom art history brushes. We invested considerable time creating the custom brushes in Photoshop that are all included in the set.

The settings of the brush, and when to change the settings is also crucial. Through hundreds of hours of testing, we came up with the best techniques. This is what we teach in our movies.

Are you creating Watercolor type paintings, or other styles as well?
There are many different painting types to experiment with. Some of these styles are dictated by the brush design, such as watercolor, Picasso, modern art, acrylic, spatter etc.

Other styles like our Ink and Charcoal paintings are different techniques that are fully explained in the movies.

Can you paint any type of photograph?
Absolutely. Our tutorial movies show you how to paint people. It is much easier to paint landscapes, animals or buildings. You use exactly the same techniques that we show you how to paint portraits.

Is this program for Photoshop novices, or only advanced users?
Novices can use our program because our movies show them exactly what to do. If they have any questions, we answer e-mails within 2-18 hours.

How long are the tutorial movies? How easy are they to follow?
Our movies average 3-5 minutes long. They are extremely easy to follow and are broken down into an easily digestible length. You see exactly what I’m doing in Photoshop as I do it. They are fully narrated as well.

I’ve been making these movies for over 5 years and take care in creating concise, professionally edited movies that move at a comfortable pace. Our clients have repeatedly told us that the movies are a far better way to learn than books or manuals which often-times miss important steps.

Do I need any other software besides Photoshop? Do I need a tablet?
You only need Photoshop and a mouse. All the examples on our website were made with a regular mouse.

Can I use these art history brushes & creative ‘actions’ in Photoshop Elements or other software?
Photoshop Elements does not have the art history brush, and it does not natively run ‘actions’. So it is not compatible with Elements. Our program only works with the full version of Photoshop. The art history brush goes back to at least Photoshop 7, maybe earlier. So you can use and learn our hand-painting techniques in Photoshop 7 through CS3. However, our ‘actions’ are only guaranteed to work in Photoshop CS2 and CS3.

How do you print the painted photographs?
You have several printing options. I’ve printed on photo paper from a good inkjet and they look great. We include a custom texture that you can apply to your finished painting in Photoshop for recreating a canvas ‘look’ for printing on photo paper.

I’ve also printed Giclee on art paper and canvas. They look even better, and people are convinced they are traditional paintings.

What's a good way to market this to clients?
A good way is to create a ‘Digital Innovations’ photo book showing your before and after photographs. This makes a big impression on clients and is a great way to distinguish yourself from the competition. People are always looking for something different.

How does your price compare to Photoshop plugins like ‘Snap Art’ or other programs like Corel’s ‘Painter’?
Our price of only $84.95 (download version) is less than ‘Snap Art’, and I think our results are better as well.

Corel’s ‘Painter’ costs over $350 dollars and a graphic tablet is considered essential to getting the most out of it. This is another cost factor.

Where can people obtain more information about your ‘Paint like Monet’ program?
You can go to my website and get the free sample actions and find all the ordering instructions as well.

Thanks you for your time Gavin.
Thank you.

3 Free Photoshop Actions - Plus Photo FX Actions Discount



Our specialized program has been published by the 'Professional Photographers of America' (PPA) twice as well as in other publications. Try my 3 Photoshop Actions for free. They produce the effects above (from left to right — Infrared, Toned and Softly). We offer 4 sets of Photoshop Actions and Flash movies and we are offering a special discount for a limited time. Purchase one set of Photoshop Actions and get a second set for free. Visit the special Actions discount page for details."

iStockphoto Free Photo Credits - 20 Free Photos Plus 20% Discount

I've been working on a special holiday gift for you and now it's ready, with a bow on top. So here it is... We've recently partnered with iStockphoto.com, the world's most popular resource for stock images and video, to give all our readers 20 free images — plus a 20% discount on any credit purchase over $60.

You can choose from a database of nearly 2.5 million photographs, vector illustrations, and motion video clips at prices that are totally reasonable.

Photos are priced according to pixel dimensions ($1-$15), vectors — illustrations and Flash content — are priced according to file complexity ($1-$25), and video is priced according to format ($10-$50).

With contributors that are from all over the planet, the diversity of art is unsurpassed. Plus, when you download a vector file (an illustration or Flash file) you get the native file, meaning you can change any element contained therein. You'll find maps, icon sets, decorative grunge, and some of the most amazing illustrations you've ever seen.

There are no hidden costs or fees, and you buy only what you need. Purchase credits in packs of 10 to 600, and download images against the credit balance.

This is a fabulous resource to have in your bag of tricks and quite honestly, a great community to be involved in. The forums are frighteningly active, there's a Photoshop Steel Cage Battle raging all the time, and many educational articles and tutorials to boot. We hope you enjoy!

Go to our Special Landing Page at iStockphoto.com to signup and get your 20 free photo credits.

Mister Retro Machine Wash Photoshop Plugins 4-CD Bundle

Mister Retro has combined all four Machine Wash Image Filter Volumes I-IV into a single bundle for one low price. Each volume contains 60 Image Filters to texturize, age, and weather layered artwork in Photoshop.

The bundle collection includes all 240 weathering, distress, and tactile effects on four CDs. Here's a link to the Machine Wash 4-CD Bundle, and below you'll find a link to a live online testdrive where you can use a pulldown menu to see how the actual Photoshop plugin filter effects look.

Machine Wash Vol I, II, III, IV Filters - $49.95 each
View the Machine Wash Vol I Filters.
View the Machine Wash Vol II Filters.
View the Machine Wash Vol III Filters.
View the Machine Wash Vol IV Filters.

Machine Wash Filters FAQ
What applications can I use these filters in?
These filters have been developed and tested for use with Adobe Photoshop 6.0 to the current CS3 version as well as now supporting Photoshop Elements 1.0 and higher.

Do they work in Photoshop CS3?
Yes they do! For Intel based Macintosh users, please download the Universal Binary update here.

How do the filters work?
By using our newly created easy to use GUI plug-in interface, you can select and apply any of the 60 wash effects to your image with a host of powerful fine tuning controls.

When I apply the filter, is it undoable?
Yes it is! While the wash effect will be applied to your original image, by using the Undo command or the Photoshop History palette, you can undo the wash effect.

Do the filters work in other any applications?
We do not recommend or guarantee they will work in any applications other than Adobe Photoshop 6.0 through CS2 and Photoshop Elements 1.0 and higher.

How do I get the cool rusted background effect?
Within the plug-in interface, there is a Heavy Cycle option which will create a rust coloration effect underneath the distressed design. You can easily customize the coloration of the rust to your choosing by way of clicking the foreground and background rust colors to pull up a color picker.
Are the filters customizable?
You can use any number of additional built-in Photoshop effects to modify the filters once they're applied, We've created a bonus online forum with sections that teach you how to extend the range of effects these filters can create and modify the look of the wash effects.

What can I use these filters for?
What CAN'T you use these filters for?!? We knew you'd want the flexibility to use them for high resolution print projects as well as screen resolution web projects! Use the Machine Wash Image filters whenever you're working with a design that could use a tactile textured look. Logos, apparel, advertisements, brochures, websites, plus so much more - You're only limited by your imagination, now that you have the tools.

What is the maximum size I can use these filters at?
They are designed to be used at a maximum live area of 18" x 18" at 300 dpi. While they can be used for larger sizes, you may notice some reduction in the quality of the filter. For most projects, we find these sizes are more than adequate for your needs.

Visit the Mister Retro site for more info.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom In A Book - Free Sample Chapter
November 06, 2007

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book is available from Amazon.com ($34.64 - 34% off). This thorough, self-paced guide to Adobe Photoshop CS3 — written by the experts at Adobe Systems — is ideal for beginning users who want to learn key Photoshop concepts and techniques, while readers who already have some experience with Photoshop can use this book to learn Photoshop CS3's more advanced features and newest tools.

Using clear, step-by-step, project-based lessons, each chapter walks readers through the creation of a specific project, with each chapter building on the reader's growing knowledge of the program, while review questions at the end of each chapter reinforce the skills learned in each lesson.

Free Sample Chapter
Adobe has posted a free sample chapter — "Lesson 8 - Typographic Design With Photoshop" (PDF - 65 MB). From the Adobe site: "Pictures may speak a thousand words, but sometimes your image compositions need at least a few words. Luckily, Adobe Photoshop CS3 has powerful text tools that let you add type to your images with great flexibility and control. In this excerpt from Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book, learn how to use the great text tools in Photoshop CS3. You’ll learn how to make a clipping mask from type, work with type layers and styles, and even wrap text around a 3D object."

From the PDF intro:

"In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following: