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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 - APRIL 10 2006

Auto FX DreamSuite Series One & Two - Review

Auto FX DreamSuite Series One offers a variety of powerful visual effects that allow you to create stunning images and artwork. DreamSuite lets you achieve a range of realistic results that are difficult or impossible to obtain using any other software – it allows you to digitally replicate many special effects that print designers often have to produce by hand.

You can crease, crumple and crackle digital images in a manner so realistic that it is almost as though you've been able to reach into your computer screen and manipulate your images with your own hands. The other visual effects that DreamSuite One offers are really quite unique – for instance, Chisel allows you make text appear as if it was carved or hammered from stone, while Dimension X lets you create 3-D metallic bevels.

Read the full DreamSuite Series One & Two review (includes link to free demo).
Get special pricing on bundles at the AutoFX site.

For more plugins, see our Photoshop Plugins Page.
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Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic By Matt Kloskowski

Matt Kloskowski sends this in: "My Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic book is officially released and sold out within the first 3 hours of Photoshop World in Miami last week. It's not all about scripting or actions but there's 2 chapters on Actions, 1 on Batch Processing, 1 on Scripting, a big chapter all on automations, and 1 on Smart Objects, etc.

"Second, I did a Photoshop for Geeks class at PS World (basically an introduction to scripting) and we pretty much filled the room (at 8:30 at night nonetheless). Attached is a resource sheet with more scripting to-do's on it as well as an article from Photoshop User magazine on the Script Events manager. Feel free to put both up for download."

Well download away, as both are great documents to have. Here's the Scripting Resource Sheet (PDF - 330 KB) and here's the Photoshop User Magazine Article (PDF - 1.5 MB) on the Script Events manager.

As far as the Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic book goes, I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but here's some press I found, (and it is getting very good word of mouth, including a bunch of 5-star reviews at Amazon.com):

The Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic : Automating Photoshop to Get Twice the Work Done in Half the Time
If you're looking for an easy way to work fast in Photoshop CS2, congratulations, you've found it. Matt Kloskowski, Education and Curriculum Developer for the NAPP, shows you how to use the power of automation to instantly save time, money, and frustration. Once you master these powerful tools, you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. You'll learn how to:
•   Effectively use Adobe Bridge to manage your images
•   Add automation using actions
•   Create smarter actions
•   Use batch processing
•   Speed up the Camera Raw workflow
•   Customize scripts
•   Fine tune filters and preferences

About the Author
Matt Kloskowski is the Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He has authored or co-authored 4 books on Photoshop and Illustrator, is featured in training DVDs, and writes for Photoshop User and Layers magazines, and the Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter. He is an instructor at Photoshop World, teaches Photoshop classes for sessions.edu, is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop, and a Macromedia Flash Certified Developer.

Buy the Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic book at Amazon.com (37% off).

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Photoshop Tip: Tough Selection Tip

If you're struggling to make a selection of an image that's against either a background of a similar color or a very busy background, here's a masking tip to make the process easier: Add a Levels or Curves adjustment layer above your image layer using the Create New Adjustment Layer pop-up menu, and use it to dramatically increase the contrast in the image to help make the edges stand out.

This will often help make the difference between the object's edge and the background more obvious. The great part is, you can totally damage the look of the image because you're using an adjustment layer. When your selection is in place, just drag the adjustment layer onto the Trash to delete it, and your image is back to normal, but you've got that "impossible" selection still in place.

reprinted by permission and sponsored by the NAPP
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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.