Welcome to the January 2006 Newsletter. At the end of this newsletter you'll find some software specials for you from AV Bros. Plugins (discounted plugin bundles), a Special Discount for Fluid Mask, which is now available for Windows, and a special Free Gift CD Offer from Total Training.
Photoshop Blog - Featuring Free Tips
Our Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop and Digital Photography news and software updates, tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist, digital photographer and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple. The Blog also features an RSS feed.
Visit the Photoshop Blog
Photoshop - Recent Support Documents
SUPPORT: Photoshop, Networks, And Removable Media (CS2)
(From Adobe Support Knowledgebase) What's covered — Issues when working from networks or removable media, recommended workflow, suggestions for troubleshooting.
SUPPORT: File System, I/O, Illegal Name Errors, Or System Crash After You Install (Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, Adobe Creative Suite 2)
(From Adobe Support Knowledgebase) Issue — You experience one or more of the following problems after you install Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, or Adobe Creative Suite 2.0 in Mac OS X v10.3 or v10.4: File system error, I/O error, Boot error, System crash or slowdown, Illegal Name error when you run Disk Utility.
Adobe has also updated Help Center to version 2.1 For MAC & WIN.
New Tutorial - How To Make Icons In Photoshop
We've got a new tutorial from Cian Walsh — Keyfob: Anatomy Of An Icon. This tutorial follows the construction of an Icon for an imaginary application called "Keyfob." The tutorial ends with a short movie of the process - so you can see the general buildup of the various effects.
Read Keyfob: Anatomy Of An Icon by Cian Walsh.
Interview With Katrin Eismann - On The Release Of "Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, 3rd Edition"
Katrin Eismann is a lecturer and teacher on the subject of imaging, restoration, and retouching, and was inducted this year into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. She was also on the Photoshop CS alpha and beta team, and is one of a very few non-Adobe employees thanked on the official splash screen. Her books include Photoshop Masking & Compositing and Real World Digital Photography, as well as the recently released third update of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching.
A long time favorite of the photo restoration crowd, Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, 3rd edition, is filled with even more valuable retouching information and incorporates some of the new features found in CS2. This is a beautifully designed book that is a pleasure to browse through and easy to work with. The lessons are very straightforward and the tips and techniques that are shared can bring you some truly extraordinary results.
Instead of a CD there's a companion website that offers images from the book's lessons that you can download, plus some links to additional retouching resources.
Read our interview with Katrin Eismann.
New Tutorial - Diamond Plated Brushed Metal
We've got a new tutorial from Ivan Raszl of CreativeBits. In this one he shows how to add diamond plates to a brushed metal base, which is an enhancement on the brushed aluminium technique he featured in an earlier tutorial.
Read Diamond Plated Brushed Metal Effect by Ivan Raszl.
See other tutorials by Ivan Raszl.
Apple Aperture Support Center Opens
Apple has posted some support documents and manuals for Apple Aperture. There are also some PDFs available for download, including Aperture Getting Started, Late-Breaking News, Frequently Asked Questions, Installing Your Software, Aperture Quick Reference, Ordering Books and Prints, and Photography Fundamentals. On the right side of the page is an Apple Community Discussions area with a link to an Aperture Discussion board.
For more info on Aperture, see our Apple Aperture Resource Center.
3 Photoshop Tutorials From Colin Smith
We are very proud to be hosting 3 great Photoshop tutorials from best-selling author, trainer, and award-winning new-media designer Colin Smith. Colin is a regular columnist for Photoshop User magazine and PlanetPhotoshop.com, and has just released a new book titled Complete Photoshop CS2 for Digital Photographers. Colin is also the owner of the very popular PhotoshopCAFE, where tutorials are offered in 5 categories, including a new Photography section.
The following will take you to the individual tutorials, and we've included Colin's opening remarks for each one.
Using Channels To Mask Out Difficult Images In Photoshop
"It would be very difficult and time consuming to separate this image from the background because of the complexity and fine detail involved with the feathers on the woman's headdress. This tutorial will focus on using Channels to help mask out complex objects with clean edges. This technique will also save you a lot of time. The initial goal is to separate the feathers from the pink background on the left side of the face, and there are lots of places where tiny bits of pink are showing through the feathers. We will use Alpha Channels, Quick Masks, Levels, Brushes and Color Range."
Create An Online Portfolio Gallery With Photoshop
"I have a hunch that the printed portfolio will be with us well into the future. However there is a growing trend to put a portfolio on the web. This has obvious advantages; Your site is up 24/7, it's cheap, can be viewed by anyone around the world and the potential audience is huge. Photoshop makes it very easy to build an online portfolio. I will show you how in just a few steps and we can do it all from the File Browser in Photoshop CS or Bridge in CS2."
Lens Correction Filter In Photoshop CS2
"The Lens correction filter is truly amazing, being able to repair all kinds of distortions. Not only can it remedy the bulging created by a wide-angle lens, and the weird distortion created by taking a photo too close to subject – such as the bulging nose of a friend – but it can also straighten images taken at angles and make them appear as if they were shot straight on. To demonstrate, let's take an image that suffers from many problems, and correct it."
For more free Photoshop tutorials, see our Photoshop Tutorials Page.
Free Dreamweaver 8 Tutorials
Our Dreamweaver Tutorials page has a selection of free video clips courtesy of Total Training. You'll also find links to some great free Dreamweaver tutorials from Pixel2Life, Layers Magazine, and the Macromedia Dreamweaver Developer Center.
New Photoshop Brush Sets From Kirsty
Our favorite brush diva, Kirsty, sends this in: "To celebrate the New Year I decided to add a new brush set, Insects, to 500ml Brushes. And it was also high time that I updated anyway :) Hope you enjoy it! I also made a set with a Tarot theme. If this isn't up your street, why don't you check out the exclusive Snow and Flakes brush set I made."
For a complete list of free Photoshop brushes, see our Photoshop Brushes Page.
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.
Total Training Free Special Gift Offer
Total Training offers many excellent training packages that cover Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Dreamweaver as well. You can see free clips of the Photoshop packages on our Total Training Page, or web design clips on our Dreamweaver Video Clips Page. Prices range from $49 to $299. And right now Total Training is offering a Special Free Gift promotion that is quite wonderful. Here are the happy details:
The Special Gift DVD-ROM provides you with over $1000 worth of digital video footage, still photography images, music tracks, plug-ins, easy to use templates, software, promotions, and more to complement your Total Training experience and take your print creative, digital video, and office projects to the next level. Receive the FREE Gift with every paid purchase now through the holiday season. Hurry, this is a limited time promotion.
Order today and the FREE DVD-ROM will be included in your package.
Discount Codes (10% Off) From AV Bros. Plugin Store
The AV Bros. have given us special links where you can get a 10% discount on the purchase of their plugins. Just use the following links to purchase the individual products or packages at a discount.
AV Bros. Page Curl 2.0 for Mac OS X
AV Bros. Page Curl Pro 2.0 for Mac OS X
AV Bros. Page Curl Pro 2.0 for Windows
AV Bros. Puzzle Pro 2.0 for Mac OS X
AV Bros. Puzzle Pro 2.0 for Windows
Bundle A (Page Curl Pro 2.0 & Puzzle Pro 2.0) - cross-platform
Bundle A (Page Curl Pro 2.0 & Puzzle Pro 2.0) - for Mac OS X
Bundle A (Page Curl Pro 2.0 & Puzzle Pro 2.0) - for Windows
To learn more about the products, visit the AV Bros. site.
Tip Of The Month: Talkin' 'Bout My Resolution
Here's a lingo tip about resolution. Although images can have a resolution from 1 to more than 2,000 ppi, when it comes to talking resolution, there are three basic resolutions that are pretty common. Low-res (short for resolution) is normally 72 ppi, and low-res images are primarily used for onscreen viewing (such as the Web, slide presentations, digital video, etc.). Medium-res is generally 150 ppi and is commonly used for printing to inkjet and laser printers. When people use the term high-res, it's almost always referring to 300 ppi, which is more than sufficient resolution for printing to a printing press. Anything above 300 ppi is still considered high-res, but you'd say it like this: "I made a 600-ppi high-res scan." Which resolution is right for you? Nice try. That's a whole book unto itself.
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, Macromedia, Creativepro.com, The PhotoshopHelp Blog, CreativeBits, Heathrowe, CreativeGuy, The Photoshop Roadmap, Power Retouche Plugins, Vertus Fluid Mask, Template Monster, onOne Software, AV Bros. Plugins, AutoFX, and The National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
