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The 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.



MONDAY - JANUARY 30 2006

Wacom Widescreen Pen Tablet Review

Cian Walsh has written a review of the Intuos3 widescreen. From the intro: "Having recently upgraded (or sidegraded maybe) from a laptop to a desktop based system, I was looking for something other than a mouse/trackpad for ergonomic reasons.

"My Powerbook had been a trusty companion on the road for 18 months clocking up 63,000km of use in hostels, river valleys and airport terminals. One thing that you do arguably sacrifice with a laptop is good posture. Laptops are balanced on knees, bent over in connecting lounges and typed on at awkward angles.

"A mouse was only occasionally used in these scenarios as large flat surfaces were in short supply. However after a period of use, necks will start to ache and prolonged trackpad usage will be detrimental to your wrist. So to avoid this discomfort with a desktop, I decided to start using a tablet, more specifically the Wacom Intuos A5 Widescreen Tablet. How does it stack up against a trackpad or mouse?"

Read the rest of the Wacom Widescreen Pen Tablet Review.

For more info on Wacom pen tablets visit our Wacom Pen Tablets Center.
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Win From Over $2,200 Of Free Prizes

We've added 2 more great prizes to our Photoshop Newsletter contest, courtesy of Total Training. Here they are:

1 Free Copy Of Total Training For Flash Pro 8 (3 DVDs)
This training series produced in HD includes over 24 hours of indexed tutorials on the industry's most advanced authoring environment for creating interactive websites. You will dramatically expand your knowledge of Flash and its extensive capabilities and gain a comprehensive look at the most useful tools and features of Flash Professional 8.

Learn inside tips for how to create better designs and author interactive content rich with video, graphics, and animation. For more details about this training package visit the Total Training website, or view some free sample Flash Pro 8 clips.

1 Free Copy Of Total Training For Dreamweaver 8 (2 DVDs)
This series is hosted by Janine Warner, best-selling author of Dreamweaver For Dummies, which has sold more than 200,000 copies. During the over 10-hour video series produced in HD, Janine shares her extensive knowledge of the industry-leading web design tool. The series helps you learn how to efficiently layout, develop, and maintain standards-based websites.

Tutorials are also peppered with tips and tricks that can only be learned from an avid user of the software. Get up to speed quickly with an in-depth overview of this award-winning web development tool. For more details about this training package visit the Total Training website, or view some free sample Dreamweaver 8 clips.

All you have to do is join for a chance to win. Winners are picked at the top of the month, and when you signup you can indicate which prize you'd most like to win. Good luck!

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

New Book Design Plugins For Apple Aperture

Silvery Stars Productions and mac:method have released the first in a series of professionally designed book layout plug-ins that work with Apple's Aperture. The first two themes, called "Fade To Black" and "Snowblind," feature 20 page layouts and over 50 additional filters that can be applied to photographs used in the layout. Once your design is complete, the book can be ordered and printed just like the built-in book designs that come pre-installed with Aperture. Both plug-ins are available for $20 each or in a Combo-Pack for $35

For more Apple Aperture news and info visit our Apple Aperture Resource Center.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Photoshop Tip: Troubleshooting Actions? Slow Down!

If you're an advanced user, chances are you're no stranger to using actions, and in fact, you probably create your own (rather than using the default actions that ship with Photoshop, many of which redefine the term "useless"). If you do create your own actions, you've already found that you spend more time troubleshooting your actions than you do creating them in the first place. Well, this little tip makes the troubleshooting process a lot easier, and saves you both time and frustration. The problem is (and this won't sound like a problem) Photoshop runs actions so quickly that you don't see each step, or each dialog, so tracking down a missing or wrong step is just about impossible.

Luckily, you can actually slow down your action, or even put a pause between each step, by using Photoshop's Playback Options dialog found in the Actions palette's flyout menu. When it appears, you can choose to play your action Step by Step, seeing everything as it happens, or you can choose to enter the number of seconds you'd like it to pause. Then, when you replay the action, you can see everything step by step and track down the culprit.

reprinted by permission and sponsored by the NAPP
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store

Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.

Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store

There are tons of new features in Adobe Lightroom 1.0 that you won't find in the beta version. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. Customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can find special pricing and offers at the Adobe International Store. For free Lightroom tutorials see our Lightroom tutorials page.

Special Offer - Fluid Mask - Photoshop Masking Plugin

Fluid Mask is based on breakthrough segmentation technology inspired by the way the eye, optic nerve and brain perform visual processing. When an image is loaded, Fluid Mask's segmentation engine analyses the distribution of colors, finding the natural groups within the image. Together with information calculated about edges, gradients and textures, a model is constructed which divides the images into objects.

Vertus Software is offering Fluid Mask at the special 'friends and partner' discounted rate. This is an exclusive offer to visitors of PhotoshopSupport.com. To qualify, visit the Fluid Mask Discount Price page. Find out more about Fluid Mask on our special Fluid Mask Page.

SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

There 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.

Generate 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 CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews

Brimming 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.