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Photoshop tips and Photoshop tutorials by Jennifer AppleThe Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.



Free Photoshop Book - The Photoshop Anthology
May 14, 2008

Photoshop CS3 Essential SkillsOur friends at SitePoint have just told us they are giving away an entire 278 page Photoshop book for free. It's in PDF and is ready for immediate download. But it will only be up for grabs for 30 days. Here's the scoop from SitePoint:

The entire 278 page book, yours to keep, forever! The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques is the ultimate Photoshop compendium for web designers.

It’s brimming with tried and tested real-world Photoshop solutions that will add impact to your next web design project. If you’ve ever been stuck for inspiration, have puzzled over just how to create a shiny aqua-style button, or wanted to create that seamlessly tiling background image you saw on a site recently, you need download this book.

From the Preface:

Who Should Read this Book?
This book is ideal for all web designers working with Photoshop: if you’re new to the application, there’s enough beginner material here to give you a great grounding in the basics, but if you’ve got a bit more experience up your sleeve, there’s coverage of a multitude of advanced tutorials for you to get your designs looking beautiful.

What Version of Photoshop do I Need?
Most of the techniques in the book will work regardless of the version of Adobe Photoshop that you’re using. However, the book is intended for web designers using Photoshop CS2, and there are some solutions that make use of the newer features in this version. Some of the shortcuts differ between versions of Photoshop, so keep this in mind if you’re working with an older version.

What’s in this Book?
Chapter 1: Getting Started with Photoshop
If you’re brand new to Photoshop, come here to learn about how to get around. If you’re not brand new, you may still enjoy the time-saving tips included in these pages.

Photoshop CS3 Essential SkillsChapter 2: Basic Skills
Build a good foundation for your use of Photoshop with these basic skills, including resizing, rotating, and hiding parts of your picture.

Chapter 3: Creating Buttons

Make buttons of every shape and style by following the solutions in this chapter.

Chapter 4: Creating Backgrounds
Create tiling backgrounds that you can use in design elements such as headings and menu bars, or even the page background itself!

Chapter 5: Working with Text

Learn to adjust type settings and make cool text effects for your next logo or web graphic.

Chapter 6: Adjusting Images
Fix, salvage, and adjust photographs that are over-exposed, under-exposed, or just dull-looking. Or, take a good photograph and make it look even better!

Chapter 7: Manipulating Images
Start with a photograph or image and add your own effects such as scanlines, reflections, and more!

Chapter 8: Designing a Web Site
Bringing all the skills from previous chapters together, this chapter shows you how to create web design mockups in Photoshop, then generate web-optimized images.

Chapter 9: Advanced Photoshop Techniques

Automate and animate! This chapter shows you how to save time when performing similar tasks on many different files, then shows you how to use Photoshop and ImageReady to create animations.

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Photoshop Blog
101 Color Resources for Web Designers
May 12, 2008

101 Color Resources for Web DesignersThere's nothing better than a comprehensive list when you're looking for a specific resource, like color resources. So here's a great offering from Jimmy Atkinson, the editor of WHDb.

"Just thought you and your readers at PhotoshopSupport.com might find our most recent feature post useful. It's titled "Follow the Rainbow: 101 Color Resources for Web Designers."

From the article intro: "Do you freak out if someone asks you to match print colors to Web colors? Or, maybe you just can’t decide whether the orange would work better with the blue or the green. Either way, many designers may not realize how easy it is to choose a palette for that new Web design. Additionally, many designers might be surprised to learn that they can stay on top of color trends with a few visits to fashion design Web sites.

"All those tips and more are listed below in this list of 101 color resources for Web designers. The categories are listed alphabetically as are all the links contained within each category. Although the sites are numbered, this does not mean that one site is better than others. Visit them all and bookmark the ones that will help you become the most color-savvy Web designer around."

Thanks Jimmy!

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Photoshop Blog
New "Digital Arts" Festival Fuses Art & Technology
May 12, 2008

A Florida beach resort town will host a unique festival on Labor Day weekend. "Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach" was created to celebrate and promote the world's most talented and innovative digital artists. But the event has a very unusual twist.

"We're inviting digital artists from around the world to project their original artwork onto our town's famous white walls," said Kelli Arnold, Alys Beach's Events Coordinator. "Our entire town will literally become their blank canvas."

New "Digital Arts" Festival Fuses Art & Technology

Sometimes referred to as "Photon Bombing," "Guerilla Projection," "Projection Bombing" or "Urban Projection," underground artists around the globe have already been using the latest design, animation and projection technologies to cast their images onto skyscrapers and other urban structures, as a means of artistic expression.

"Some of the talent that we're finding is truly stunning," said Arnold.

New "Digital Arts" Festival Fuses Art & Technology

To help lure that talent, Alys Beach has announced numerous award categories and over $5,000 in cash prizes, including a $2,500 "Best of Show" award. A certain number of qualified artists may also be eligible for cash stipends to help them attend the event.

The festival will be hosted by several celebrity and industry expert judges, including Alan Hunter-MTV's very first "VeeJay," co-host of the "Big 80's" channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, and co-founder of the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, and Warren Heaton, an award-winning digital media artist and UCLA professor, whose film, video and interactive media projects include such clients as Adobe, Aquantive Microsoft, Concorde-New Horizons, DirecTV, Motor Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Artists are encouraged to submit their original works of digital art for consideration as soon as possible. Entries may include new or existing abstract digital imagery, short films, photography, VJ sets, animations, YouTube videos, Adobe PhotoShop creations or entirely new interactive concepts. All subject matter is eligible for the festival, although a special $1,000 prize will be awarded to the best entry with a "green" or environmental theme. The deadline for all submissions is Friday, July 11, 2008. The festival will be held on the evening of Saturday, August 30, 2008.

Alys Beach is located in Florida's panhandle on Scenic Highway 30A, between Destin and Panama City Beach, along what The New York Times said "may be the best beach in the continental U.S." In April, Forbes.com named Alys Beach America's "Best Spot for the Design-Savvy."

For more information about Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach, visit www.alysbeach.com/DG, call toll-free 1-866-481-8387, or emai events@alysbeach.com.

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Photoshop Blog
X-Rite and Pantone Launch ColorMunki Family of Breakthrough Color Products for Photo and Design Markets
May 12, 2008

X-Rite, the world leader in color management and measurement technologies, along with recently acquired Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, have introduced ColorMunki, a breakthrough in both price and performance.

X-Rite and Pantone Launch ColorMunki Family of Breakthrough Color Products for Photo and Design MarketsBased on X-Rite and Pantone's deep understanding of the photo and design communities, ColorMunki solutions are the industry's first easy-to-use, convergent technologies developed specifically to feed the artistic imagination of creative professionals at an affordable price. Designed to meet the requirements of creatives working in a digital environment across industries, the revolutionary ColorMunki family ensures accurate color from inspiration to final output in ways never before possible.

Meet ColorMunki
ColorMunki solutions provide photographers and designers new technological advances that for the first time address core issues of color creation, control and communication in easy-to-use, integrated solutions. The ColorMunki portfolio includes ColorMunki Photo, ColorMunki Design and ColorMunki Create, all supported by www.colormunki.com. The products are a combination of software and hardware that give creatives freedom and flexibility to create and produce with color confidence.

The ColorMunki Portfolio Includes:
ColorMunki Photo
Designed for the digital workflow of social, wedding and portrait photographers -- or anyone passionate about photography -- ColorMunki Photo delivers an easy, quick and affordable solution for matching colors from display to print.

X-Rite and Pantone Launch ColorMunki Family of Breakthrough Color Products for Photo and Design MarketsDeveloped with professional photographer input, ColorMunki Photo is a completely integrated, versatile solution that calibrates displays, projectors and printers, measures ambient light and captures spot colors. The new AppSet(TM) automatically sets the printer profile for the user. ColorMunki Photo also includes new, exciting color creation and communication tools, such as automatically extracting colors from images and transporting images with DigitalPouch(TM) to ensure ViewSafe(TM) environments. ColorMunki Photo gives photographers ultimate color control for their images.

ColorMunki Design
Developed for graphics professionals from freelancers to corporate in-house designers, ColorMunki Design provides the freedom and simplicity to select, specify and store color palettes in a calibrated environment, assuring precise color viewing and reproduction. Palettes can then be seamlessly imported into popular design applications including Adobe® Photoshop® and InDesign® and QuarkXPress®, as well as other industry-standard applications. Colors can be selected from multiple sources including PANTONE® Color Libraries, system-level color pickers, inspirational images, color harmonies and key word searches. ColorMunki Design allows users to quickly and accurately capture colors from any surface, easily calibrate monitors, projectors and printers for accurate display-to-print matching, and verify spot colors for process-safe reproduction in any medium.

ColorMunki Create
ColorMunki Create is an affordable, simple starting point for designers whose primary requirement is color palette creation. ColorMunki Create offers spectral color selection from system-level color pickers, inspirational images, color harmonies and key word searches, with the ability to snap-to PANTONE Goe(TM) Colors for repurposing into usable palettes. In addition to software, ColorMunki Create offers a simplified approach to on-screen color control to let designers realize their creative vision. ColorMunki Create is easily upgraded to ColorMunki Design using the discount voucher included in the box.

All three solutions are supported by www.colormunki.com, an online portal where designers and photographers can experience key ColorMunki software capabilities such as create, share and view color palettes with peers, search and select colors from images provided by the www.photoshelter.com community, and test their color-viewing ability with an online test. Creatives will also be able to purchase any of the ColorMunki solutions directly through the Web site.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements
ColorMunki Photo and ColorMunki Design will be available in late March 2008 at www.colormunki.com. ColorMunki Create will be available in June 2008 at www.colormunki.com and other design and online retailers. Additional PANTONE Color Libraries can be purchased for use with ColorMunki Design and ColorMunki Create from www.colormunki.com. The ColorMunki family of products is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 or higher and Windows XP and higher.

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Photoshop Blog
Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Merge Visible Layers
May 12, 2008

Jim Hoerricks is the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division. His site, Forensic Photoshop, contains lots of interesting posts and tutorials that deal with using Photoshop for forensic work. Jim has also written a book, Forensic Photoshop. Here is a new forensic Photoshop CS3 tutorial from him.


Another Way to Merge Visible
Question: is there a way to merge the visible layers, saving the result as a new layer and preserving the source layers?

Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Merge Visible Layers

Answer: yes. It's called Stamping.

Stamping layers makes it possible to merge the content of several visible layers into one new target layer.

Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Merge Visible Layers
You can either press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E (easy for those without arthritis) or hold the Alt key down whilst choosing Merge Visible. Just remember that in doing this, you are adding file size.

(reprinted with permission from Forensic Photoshop Blog - see more forensic tutorials)

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Photoshop Blog
Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes - Flower Vectors Brushes
May 12, 2008

Here's Stephanie with her latest Photoshop brushes, Flower Vectors Brushes.

Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Compilation CDThis is a pretty simple set, but one that I think will be fairly popular. It is a bunch of flowery vector designs, all of which are high resolution - about 1500 pixels. Just sat down today and played around with various flower designs, and this is what came out!

Download the Flower Vectors Brushes.

Want More Free Photoshop Brushes?
We've collected the most recent of Stephanie's original brushes on a special Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Page, with big preview images to give you an idea of each set.

For her high resolution brushes, you can find a special collection on our high res brush page. Also see our Free Photoshop brushes Page for other places to find brushes.
Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Compilation CD
Photoshop Brushes CD
The Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Compilation CD features one of every single Obsidian Dawn brush set. That means that it contains 100+ brush sets and thousands of brushes. It is constantly updated with the latest releases, so that the CD includes all of the most recently released brush sets.

The Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Compilation CD is only $10, with free shipping to those in the US! To purchase the CD, visit Obsidian Dawn Brushes and click on the "Buy Now" button. International shipping is also available for $5 extra.

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Photoshop Blog
Digital Cameras, Camera Lenses And Digital Memory Cards - Best Deals - May 12 2008
May 12, 2008

As promised when we get an alert on a super deal for top digital cameras and digital camera equipment we'll let you know, so here are the latest best deals from B&H Photo:

Canon EOS Rebel XSi SLR Digital Camera Kit (Black) with 18-55mm IS Lens
B&H Photo - Online Digital Photography StoreThe Canon EOS Rebel XSi Digital Camera incorporates a number of high-end functions and technology found in Canon's professional SLR models. These include an improved autofocus sensor, enhanced 14-bit A/D conversion, an advanced Live View function and the proprietary DIGIC III image processor (which ensures that the fine details and natural colors of the images are optimally recorded and manages the camera's efficient energy consumption and high-speed signal processing performance).

Its newly designed 12.2 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor employs large microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and enhance sensitivity up to ISO 1600, while the 14-bit Analog-to-Digital (A/D) conversion process means that the Rebel XSi records up to 16,384 colors per channel and allows the camera to produce images with finer and more accurate gradations of tones and colors.

The camera also incorporates the Highlight Tone Priority and High-ISO Noise Reduction functions (previously found only on Canon's Professional Digital SLRs) and the camera is equipped with Canon's Auto Lighting Optimizer technology, which corrects image brightness and contrast automatically to prevent underexposure with backlit scenes.

The camera utilizes a precise nine-point Autofocus (AF) system featuring a newly developed AF sensor that improves the camera's subject detection capabilities compared to earlier models. The cross-type AF measurement is effective with all EF and EF-S lenses, while providing enhanced precision with lenses having maximum apertures of f/2.8 or faster and increases the camera's ability to autofocus quickly and accurately.

B&H Photo - Online Digital Photography StoreSandisk 4GB Ultra II Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Card with Card Reader
This SanDisk 4GB Ultra II Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Card has a minimum sustained write speed of 9 megabytes (MB) per second and a read speed of 10MB per second. The SanDisk Ultra II SD card is ideal for the most demanding photo shoots, including photojournalism and event, sports, nature and fashion photography. It has low battery consumption, and is backed by a manufacturer's Lifetime Warranty.

Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM Autofocus Lens
The lightest 4x telephoto zoom lens in its class. Ideal for sports, portraiture, animals, etc. The telephoto effect can make the picture look compressed or have excellent background blur. At the 300mm focal length, you can fill the frame with a postcard from 4.9' away. The Micro-USM autofocus motor is quick, compact and quiet

Get The Gear You Deserve - Visit B&H Photo For The Best Deals

B&H Photo - Online Digital Photography StoreB&H Photo have been in the photography business for over 30 years and as a major dealer are able to get the latest products faster and at much better prices than other retailers. B&H Photo ship all over the world and have earned Five Star ratings on all the major shopping engines, including Pricegrabber, Nextag, Shopping, and Shopzilla.

Visit the B&H Photo website for more info — or go directly to their Canon Pro Store or Nikon Pro Store for the latest digital cameras, lenses and digital photo gear.

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Photoshop Blog
onOne Announces FocalPoint 1.0 Photoshop Plugins
May 8, 2008

onOne Software, Inc., announces today that its new software plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements - FocalPoint 1.0 - is now available for immediate download. onOne Software's FocalPoint ($159.95 from onOne) is a selective focus and vignetting plug-in designed to help photographers easily blur and/or vignette areas of an image. (Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process for an instant 10% discount exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors.)

onOne Announces FocalPoint 1.0 Photoshop PluginsPopular among professional wedding, portrait and commercial photographers, the soft defocused look typically produced in camera by using special selective focus or tilt-shift lenses, filters or vignetting hoods can now be created quickly within Photoshop using onOne Software's new FocalPoint. This new plug-in provides both professional and advanced amateur photographers with additional creative options when editing their images in Photoshop.

"The new onOne Software FocalPoint plug-in, which is now available for download, gives photographers total control over how they apply creative focusing effects to their image after the image has been shot," said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. "It's just like having a lens inside of Photoshop. Users set the location of their 'sweet spot' of focus directly on their image and then control the amount, kind of blur used and even lighten or darken the edges quickly and easily."

FocalPoint is designed for use with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and supports Adobe Photoshop CS2 and CS3 and Elements versions 4.0.1, 5, 6 and higher. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS X 10.4.10 and 10.5 and higher. onOne Software's FocalPoint plug-in is available now for $159.95 from onOne.

Exclusive 10% Discount On All onOne Software
Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process for an instant 10% discount exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors.

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Photoshop Blog
Adobe Photoshop Express Public Beta Adds Flickr Support
May 8, 2008

Photoshop ExpressHours after sending out the press release below, Adobe released the following statement:
"As you know, we were preparing updates to the Photoshop Express beta on May 7th that added significant new functionality to the product. However, prior to going live, we discovered a bug that requires a fix. We're committed to delivering a quality experience with Photoshop Express and don't want to send out an update that isn't ready for prime time. We're working on a quick resolution. Stay tuned - we'll have an exact time frame on when you can expect these new Photoshop Express features soon." - Adobe Photoshop Express Team

Original Press Release
Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced a major update to Adobe Photoshop Express beta, including integration with Flickr and a "Save As" functionality, two of the most requested features by early adopters. Additionally, a new embeddable player will allow users to post their Photoshop Express slideshows to sites such as Facebook, Myspace, blogs and more. Released as a public beta in March 2008, Photoshop Express is a free rich Internet application (RIA) available to anyone who wants to store, sort and show off digital photos with eye-catching effects.

As the newest addition to the Photoshop family line, Photoshop Express has taken much of Adobe's best image-editing technology and made it simple and accessible to a new online audience. Within the first week of launch, hundreds of thousands of people registered for an account and within the first month, over 60,000 public Web albums were created.

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Photoshop Blog
Photoshop Favicon Tutorial Updated
May 7, 2008

Some readers have sent in some great tips for working with favicons, so I've done a major update to my favicon tutorial. Here's the start of the piece, and a link to the whole thing.

Mysteries Of The Favicon.ico — How To Create A Favicon In Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop tutorial - Favicon.ico — How To Create A Favicon In PhotoshopA Favicon is a little custom icon that appears next to a website's URL in the address bar of a web browser. They also show up in your bookmarked sites, on the tabs in tabbed browsers, and as the icon for Internet shortcuts on your desktop or other folders in Windows. And when I say little, I mean 16 pixels by 16 pixels. So if you like a good design challenge try your hand at this one.

All you need to add a Favicon to your site is a Windows Icon (.ico) file usually called favicon.ico that you upload to the main directory of your website. Nowadays, most browsers besides Internet Explorer can use a GIF (including animated ones) or PNG (including full transparency) instead. But since all browsers including IE understand the .ico format, and because it's got a lot of intriguing features that GIFs and PNGs don't, read on to find out how to make one.

Read the complete Photoshop tutorial.

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Photoshop Blog
Live Photoshop Webinars With Gavin Phillips
May 6, 2008

I’m talking with Gavin Phillips about his latest Photoshop ‘live’ Webinars.

What exactly is a ‘live’ Webinar?
‘Live’ online training is a way for me to share my computer screen with participants on the Internet. They see exactly what I'm doing in Photoshop as I do it. They follow along with the tutorials just as you would in a traditional class. We are also phone-conferenced in as well, so clients may ask questions at any time. It’s extremely convenient; you can take a class in you pajamas!

Do you need special equipment to take part? Is it interactive?
You only need a high-speed Internet connection. I supply you with a free small software download. No other equipment is required. And yes, it’s completely interactive.

What classes are you offering?
A 2-hour class that covers many areas. Subject headings are below; there are several topics for each heading. such as Workflow, Image enhancements, Masking, Curves, Advanced tones, and Creative, Sales & marketing ideas. An example of one of our creative techniques is below. See our website for more information.

We are also combining a 1-hour webinar with our ‘Paint like Monet’ set of custom brushes, movie tutorials & ‘actions’.

Don’t the tutorial movies included in the set show you how to paint?
Yes they do. However, clients have told us the ‘live’ Webinar get’s them up and running fast with the different hand-painting techniques I teach. They like the interactivity with the the person who developed the program.

What times & dates are the webinars offered?
We offer morning & evening sessions. Please see our website.

How many students in a Webinar?
A maximum of 10; many times only 5-7.

Are there any special offers?
Yes, we are offering the 'Automatic Album/Collage Creator' if you purchase either webinar. This is an introductory offer. We are working with ‘Pixel Creator Pro’ whose software completely automates photo album/collage page design. You simply click on the custom JavaScript for a particular collage template; it then creates that template and prompts you for each image.

But what about positioning and resizing the images?
The software automatically allows you to resize each image after placement in the album page design. You can move any image around.

Will you be offering other Webinar subjects in the future?
Yes, we ask photographers & graphic designers what is on their ‘wish-list of things they want to learn in Photoshop. A webinar dedicated to RAW workflow has been requested by many.

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Photoshop Blog
Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Tool Presets
May 6, 2008

Jim Hoerricks is the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division. His site, Forensic Photoshop, contains lots of interesting posts and tutorials that deal with using Photoshop for forensic work. Jim has also written a book, Forensic Photoshop. Here is a new forensic Photoshop CS3 tutorial from him.

Tool Presets
A question came in about tool presets, mainly what are they and what are they used for.

Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Tool Presets


A Tool Preset can speed up your workflow because it can contain all of a tool's options. As an example, you can create a brush tool for working on your adjustment layer masks that includes brush size, blend mode, opacity, and flow. The next time you need this brush, simply select it from the Tool Presets palette. No need to input all the settings again.

To create a Tool Preset, configure the tool to suite your needs. Then, click on the downward facing arrow next to the tool icon on the Options bar, then click on the pop-up palette menu and select New Tool Preset. Give your new preset a descriptive name and click OK.

Once you get used to using them, you'll wonder how you managed without them.

(reprinted with permission from Forensic Photoshop Blog - see more forensic tutorials)

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Photoshop Blog
Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Disabled Layer Masks
May 6, 2008

Jim Hoerricks is the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division. His site, Forensic Photoshop, contains lots of interesting posts and tutorials that deal with using Photoshop for forensic work. Jim has also written a book, Forensic Photoshop. Here is a new forensic Photoshop CS3 tutorial from him.

Disabled Layer Masks

 Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Disabled Layer Masks

A reader writes, "Help. I've got red X marks on my layer masks. What did I do and how can I get rid of them. My masks aren't working."

Those red X marks, recreated for you in the above image, are a visual reminder that your masks are disabled. Here's how it works.

  1. Click on Layer>Layer Mask>Disable ... or
  2. Shift+Click the layer mask thumbnail (disable and enable) ... or
  3. Ctrl+Right Click on the mask and select disable/enable layer mask from the context menu.

As with many things in Photoshop, there is more than one way to do the same thing.

I know that the red X marks can be a bit shocking. Hopefully, this will help if you've accidentally disabled your masks.

(reprinted with permission from Forensic Photoshop Blog - see more forensic tutorials)

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Photoshop Blog
New Poser Pro For 3D Artists
May 01, 2008

New Poser Pro For 3D ArtistsSmith Micro Software today announced the immediate availability of Poser Pro. Building on the global success of Poser 7, long used by digital artists and hobbyists to create 3D images and animations, Smith Micro developed Poser Pro with a feature set and functionality geared for professional content creators within studio and production environments.

To save users time, resources and development costs, Poser Pro offers advanced features that include scene-hosting plug-ins for popular 3D environments, as well as a 64-bit render engine, COLLADA support and advanced network rendering.

Poser Pro delivers a powerful, yet easy-to-use 3D character design and animation tools that help artists integrate custom and pre-built characters into professional projects and production pipelines.

Pricing and Availability
The MSRP for Poser Pro is $499.99. Poser Pro is available at the Smith Micro web store. Registered users of Poser 6 and Poser 7 can side-grade to Poser Pro for $199.99 until July 31, 2008. To learn more about Poser Pro visit www.smithmicro.com.

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Photoshop Blog
Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes - Spring Themed Brushes
April 30, 2008

Here's Stephanie with her latest Photoshop brushes, Spring Brushes.

More sketches brushes! It's Springtime, and here's a set of brushes to use in your Spring designs! Included are things like: a butterfly, cherry tree branches, clouds, a cloud blowing the wind, lots of flowers, some kites, mushrooms, lots of rain, a rainbow, robin, several trees, an umbrella, windy swirls, blowing leaves, etc.

Photoshop Brush Tip
Ever have trouble remembering some of Photoshop's keyboard shortcuts for doing certain things' They can save you a TON of time, if you get good at them! Here's a link to some great PDFs of keyboard shortcuts that you can download and/or print out for reference. They are separated by your particular version of Photoshop, and are available for either a PC or a Mac! Download the Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts.

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Photoshop Blog
Adobe TV Offers Free Photoshop Training Videos
April 29, 2008

Adobe has announced Adobe TV, a free online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products, including the company's Creative Suite 3 family of world-class creative tools.

Adobe TV Offers Free Photoshop Training VideosWith multiple channels, original series programming, and content from Adobe, leading training organizations and the world's leading subject matter experts, Adobe TV delivers a virtual library of entertaining and instructional videos. Designers, photographers, video professionals, and developers will find product deep-dives, innovative tips, techniques from luminaries, and behind-the-scenes tours of the hottest creative shops and Adobe product teams.

Designed to educate, inspire, and entertain the creative community, Adobe TV is immediately available online from the Adobe Web site, or as a network with multiple shows in the new Adobe® Media Player 1.0 software, also announced today (see separate press release). Adobe Media Player offers a broad range of television programming and entertaining video content from major television broadcasters and leading content publishers, including CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondeNet, and Scripps Networks.epends on every day."

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Photoshop Blog
The Photoshop Blog - Earlier Posts

Photoshop tips and Photoshop tutorials by Jennifer AppleThe Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.

See Earlier Posts From The Photoshop Blog - April 2008.
Photoshop Blog
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

Media Lab Release SiteGrinder Basic and SiteGrinder ProThere often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

SiteGrinder Basic and SiteGrinder ProGenerate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop Blog
Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews

Photoshop CS3 Essential SkillsBrimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.

The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.

Read 2 free sample chapters:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range

Special book offer - save 24%
Photoshop CS3: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $28.08 - save 24%)
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Exclusive 20% Discount On Select Total Training Products & Bundles

Exclusive 20% Discount On Select Total Training Products & BundlesTo redeem our exclusive discount coupon, use promotion code save20pss in your shopping cart. You could save hundreds of dollars. Use this special link to see the full offer.

Total Training for Adobe Photoshop
Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.

View Sample Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash Pro Video Tutorials
Free Adobe Photoshop CS3 video tutorials
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Free Adobe Dreamweaver video tutorials
Free Adobe Flash Pro video tutorials


PHOTO CREDIT: Apollo 11 Images — Earthrise sequence - Earth emerges over lunar horizon.
© NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Scanning credit to Kipp Teague.


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