Visit the Photoshop Support Knowledgebase for more information.

Adobe has also released two support documents to assist users of Photoshop CS2 in optimizing performance:
Optimize performance of Photoshop (CS2 on Windows)
Optimize performance in Photoshop (CS2 on Mac OS)

Photoshop Tutorials By Cian Walsh
Cian Walsh is an Icon and Interface Designer based in Ireland who specializes in producing graphic elements for software and website usage. In his spare time he also creates freeware Icon Sets on any subject that pops into his head. You can see his fantastic icon work at his website, AfterGlow Design.

Cian will be contributing some Photoshop tutorials to our site, and he begins with Custom Shapes And Layer Styles. If you are a regular user of custom shapes in Photoshop, you'll find a few tips here on using them when combined with layer styles. The benefits of using custom shapes for smaller work are the ability to scale losslessly and to experiment with color and effects by way of saved layer styles.



Read the Custom Shapes And Layer Styles tutorial.

Product Review: AutoFX PhotoGraphic Edges
(Jennifer Apple) A few years ago I was in charge of putting together a monthly film magazine and I was constantly looking for ways to make the pages look more visually appealing. Photo/Graphic Edges came to the rescue! I could select a frame or edge, make a couple of quick tweaks, and suddenly I had a highly stylized photo to drop into the layout.



To show the various effects of Photo/Graphic Edges I've used just one single image in my review. This will make it easier to see just how much the mood and feeling of a photo can be changed by incorporating different edges and frames.

Read the full review (includes link to free demo).





New Photoshop Brushes From Kirsty
Kirsty sends this in: "First of all, I'm really sorry about the long wait, but I'm afraid life got in the way a bit :) I tried to make a new brush set as soon as I possibly could and here you have it then: the Fossils brush set.

"This one was planned ever since the start of 500ml Brushes so it's nice to finally see it up :) As usual, I hope you enjoy using it in your work!"

For an extensive listing of free brushes, visit our Photoshop Brushes Page.

Depth Of Field Generator PRO v2.0 Released
Richard Rosenman has released Depth of Field Generator PRO v1.5 and v2.0, which now features completely new and improved highlight preservation algorithms as well as new and improved Bokeh visibility algorithms.

I did a quick mini-interview with Martin who works with Richard. Here it is:

What are the differences between the two versions?
"V1.5 is for single frames and addresses photographers, hobbyists as well as professionals. V2.0 has batch capability and is hence more suited for CG artists with a focus on animations. We will maintain both versions V1.x and V2.x as two distinct product branches."

What improvements have been made?
"Batch capability. Facilitates processing of a sequence of images, the main application being post-processing of CG animations. This has been a constant requirement by our users ever since we released the first version.

"Significantly improved highlights enhancement and bokeh visibility. Using the plugin in our own projects we found that we could still improve the way highlights are treated. So we went back to the physical origin of the phenomenon, set up a realistic model and revised our internal algorithms accordingly. The result can be seen in the galleries on the product web pages. Plus more flexible preview zoom options. This was a user suggestion which we found worth implementing."

What has the reaction been to your product?
Many people have pointed out the high quality of DOF PRO. Especially in CG production our customers have repeatedly acknowledged the time savings of postprocessing with DOF PRO as opposed to producing depth of field straight within the rendering process, the latter being very time consuming."

What else you have in store for the future?
"The next items on our Roadmap are full controller animation, keyframing capability, and later motion blur. Apart from that, we are very open to our user's suggestions for improvement."

Read the full press release.

Liquid Sculpture - A World Of Frozen Moments
Since the dawn of forever water has captivated the human imagination, inspiring rituals, stories and arts throughout the world. With his new site Liquid Sculpture, photographer Martin Waugh has joined this history of water worshipers. The site features delightfully beautiful images of drops, splashes, ripples and the like. Striking a balance between contrived and natural outcomes, Waugh rarely retouches his photos, preferring instead to just set the stage for the water to do its thing by adding color and other materials. Intrigued, we contacted Martin and asked him a few questions.

What was the process that led you to take these photos?
The whole process was evolutionary. I started out to mimic some of the classic high-speed photographs: Breaking light bulbs, popping balloons, and splashing drops. Fun stuff for someone trained in physics. Beyond requiring photographic technique, the project catered to my tinkerer side, incorporating the design of custom electronics and mechanical systems. It took me several iterations to get a good photographic set up, and then came the fun of figuring out which tricks I could do with the drops and splashes.

The resulting shapes that I discovered were captivating. I see the curves as smooth and effortless, the forms reflecting a perfect balance of dynamic forces. They tickle some faint physical memory in my body, as a scent can evoke some forgotten mix of feelings.

Read the full interview. To see large versions of some of Martin's images, visit our Liquid Sculpture Inspiration Page.

Photoshop Tutorial Site GFX^TM From Trevor Morris
(Jennifer Apple) On Photoshop fiend Trevor Morris' site you'll open a mixed bag of tutorials, from introductory lessons on often overlooked but extremely useful Photoshop tools to more specific projects.

What I like about Morris' tutorials is that he teaches not only how to produce particular results, but how to apply them throughout digital artwork. It is this ability to extrapolate that so frequently lacks in online tutorials. Subjects covered include layers and masks, actions, selections, animations, and some design tricks. All of them are worthwhile reads. Also look for his excellent "Photoshop Tip Of The Day" on the top of the front page.

Visit Trevor Morris' GFX^TM - Photoshop & ImageReady Tutorials Site.

Apple Aperture - Pro Photo App
Apple has announced Aperture, an all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. Aperture offers an advanced RAW workflow, powerful compare and select tools, nondestructive image processing and versatile printing and publishing. Priced at $499, and not shipping for at least 6 weeks, Aperture is designed expressly for professional photographers and offers everything you need to work with images after a shoot — from organizing to publishing — in a single integrated workflow. Features of Aperture include:



So is this a direct attack on Photoshop? And will Adobe decide to stop producing Photoshop for Macintosh? I'm already nervous about the possibility of GoLive being dropped because of the Macromedia merge, so I'm really crossing my fingers that Adobe doesn't kill the MAC version of Photoshop down the line because of Aperture. This is going to start a big storm of speculation, that's for sure.

See our Aperture Resource Center for Aperture tutorials and the latest Aperture news.

Photoshop CS2 RAW By Mikkel Aaland
The RAW file format is the uncompressed data file captured by a digital camera's electronic sensor. When your camera saves an image in RAW format, settings like white balance, sharpening, contrast and saturation are not applied to the image but are saved instead in a separate header. Because RAW files remain virtually untouched by in-camera processing, they are essentially the digital equivalent to exposed but undeveloped film.

Most digital camera manufacturers supply their own software for converting RAW data, as do some third party vendors. Increasingly, however, the RAW converter of choice is a plug-in included in the latest version of Adobe Photoshop.

An important book dedicated to working with RAW in Photoshop, Photoshop CS2 RAW features a unique design that helps readers grasp the subject through visual instruction and prompts. The entire RAW process is explored, from shooting to using the Adobe plug-in converter and new Bridge navigation software. The primary focus of Photoshop RAW is, as the title suggests, Photoshop editing technique: automating RAW workflow, correcting exposures, extending exposure range, manipulating grayscale and working with the new DNG (Digital Negative) open standard that Adobe supports.

Presented by photographer Mikkel Aaland, a pioneer of digital photography and author of eight books, including O'Reilly's Photoshop for the Web and the award-winning Shooting Digital, Photoshop CS2 RAW investigates and instructs in an accessible visual style. Required reading for professionals and dedicated photo hobbyists alike!

Photoshop CS2 RAW at amazon.com (34% discount).

Photoshop Users Get Recipes for Success
Photoshop is the digital artist and photographer's premier choice for editing and manipulating digital photos. And with the mounting interest in digital photography, the demand for practical guidance, expert techniques, tips and solutions — recipes for success if you will — continues to grow. It's exactly all of this and more that O'Reilly delivers in its beautifully designed and visually stunning new series, the "Photoshop Digital Studio Cookbooks."

Packed with hundreds of full color images, inspiring digital imagery, and authoritative information and advice, the books provide everything the reader needs to retouch, create effects, use blending modes, and filter effects, with professional results. With the books in this collection, the digital artist or photographer doesn't need to be a Photoshop expert to succeed. The "Photoshop Digital Studio Cookbook Series" includes the following:

Photoshop Retouching Cookbook for Digital Photographers
Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook
Photoshop Filter Effects Encyclopedia Cookbook
Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook

Read the full press release.

Gertrudis Pro - Artistic Painting App
Enrique has published the October issue of his Photoshop Roadmap newsletter. One thing that's really interesting in this issue is the mention of a new standalone application, Gertrudis Pro, which can transform a photo into a sketch or artistic painting with variations, such as oil, aquarelle, crayon, and other styles. And the resulting files are resolution independent, which is a huge bonus for sure.

According to their promo: "You work with just two images: Simply load a low resolution image and it will show on the left side window, then you work on the right site window using the extremely simple to use, yet powerful painting tools provided by Gertrudis Pro.

"You don't have to worry about the final size of your image because Gertrudis Pro is resolution independent. You will be able to set your image resolution when you export it to your favorite file format. And the image will still look stunningly good."

You can find out more about this magical little app on the Gertrudis Pro promo page, which offers a demo.

Exclusive Discount Price For Fluid Mask - $239
Vertus Software is offering Fluid Mask at a special discounted rate of just $239. This is an exclusive offer to visitors of PhotoshopSupport.com and also includes 12 months of free upgrades. Sweet. To qualify all you have to do is visit the Fluid Mask Discount Price page.

For those who don't know, Vertus' Fluid Mask is a tool that allows a user to accurately cut out objects from images in a matter of seconds. It's based on breakthrough technology which is similar to the way the eye, optic nerve and brain perform visual processing.

When an image is loaded, Fluid Mask's engine analyses the distribution of colors, finding the natural groups according to the content of the image. Together with information calculated about edges, gradients and texture a model is constructed which divides the images into regions.

The software has been getting a lot of good buzz, and you can read more about it in this Software Overview, the Official Press Release (featuring jumbo versions of the frogs), or this Interview with co-creator James Carr-Jones. Also note that by joining our newsletter you become eligible to win one of two free copies of Fluid Mask.

Tip Of The Month: Peak At Your Photo's Data
You don't have to go digging through your photo's EXIF data to learn more about the image. Just hover your cursor over a photo's thumbnail for a moment, and a little yellow window will pop up with some brief background info, like the file's format, size, pixel dimensions, date created, date modified, resolution, etc. However, this only works if you have Tooltips turned on, so if you don't, press Command-K (PC: Control-K) to open the Bridge Preferences, choose General (from the left side of the dialog), and turn on the checkbox for Show Tooltips; now try the hovering trick again.
 This tip is reprinted by permission and sponsored by the NAPP.

A Thank You To Our Friends, Partners & Sponsors
We'd like to thank our friends, partners and sponsors: Google, Hostway, Apple, Total Training, Peachpit Press, O'Reilly Media, Creativepro.com, The PhotoshopHelp Blog, CreativeBits, Heathrowe, CreativeGuy, The Photoshop Roadmap, Power Retouche Plugins, Vertus Fluid Mask, AbsolutVision Stock Photos, Template Monster, AV Bros. Plugins, AutoFX, and The National Association of Photoshop Professionals.

December 2005 Newsletter Preview
That's all for this month's newsletter. Next month we'll cover all the latest updates with links to each entry in the December newsletter. Also in December we'll have some exclusive discounts and specials for Newsletter members.

Until then, Happy Photoshopping and may all your digital wishes come true!






PHOTO CREDIT: Two views of Saturn - © NASA. Layout by Jennifer Apple