Get all your Photoshop upgrade options and the best prices at the Adobe Store.
At the end of this walk-through you'll find links to the free trial downloads.
Exclusive 15% Discount On All Topaz Plugins - Use Coupon Code PHOTOSHOPSUPPORT - Includes Bundles And Upgrades
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code PHOTOSHOPSUPPORT during the checkout process at Topaz Labs for an instant 15% discount on any Topaz product, including bundles and upgrades.
Topaz Labs Photoshop plug-ins are specifically designed to expand a photographer's creative toolbox by harnessing powerful image technology developments. Photographers are taking advantage of the creative exposure effects, artistic simplification, unique edge manipulation, and top-of-the-line noise reduction offered in Topaz products.
Fantasic Photoshop Plugins At Amazing Prices
The Topaz Photoshop Plugins Bundle is a super powerful Photoshop plugins package that includes the following Topaz products:
Topaz Adjust (new version Adjust 4 just released — read full news on Adjust 4)
Deliver stunning and dynamic images with this uniquely powerful plug-in that features HDR-like abilities and enhances exposure, color and detail.
Topaz Detail
A three-level detail adjustment plug-in that specializes in micro-contrast enhancements and sharpening with no artifacts.
Topaz ReMask
The fastest and most effective masking and extraction program with one-click mask refining.
Topaz DeNoise
Highest-quality noise reduction plug-in that removes the most noise and color noise while preserving the most image detail.
Topaz Simplify
Provides creative simplification, art effects, and line accentuation for easy one-of-a-kind art.
Topaz Clean
Take control of the detail depth of your images with extensive smoothing, texture control and edge enhancement tools.
Topaz DeJPEG
Drastically improves the quality of web images and other compressed photos.
Learn more about the Topaz Photoshop Plugins Bundle. Download a free trial version.
(Primatte Chromakey and Backdrop Designer have been updated)
Backdrop Designer is a new Photoshop plugin that allows you to create resolution independent backgrounds, similar to what you find in expensive muslin canvases used in photography studios.
Use Backdrop Designer to insert 100's of different pre-made backdrops with one click. Modify them with lighting effects, 3D distortions, shadows, and color choices. Or, combine the presets to create your own unique backdrop.
Digital backgrounds can make commercial photography more flexible, because your clients are not limited to an image decided upon before their photoshoot.
The Backdrop Interface
When you apply Backdrop Designer to a layer in Photoshop, a custom interface opens. Backdrop has four main areas:
1: Texture/Color window (left) for creating and loading texture presets.
2: The Shadow Map window (right) for working with shadow presets.
3: The Combined window (center) for working with the backdrop created.
4: The Menu Bar (top) for accessing presets.
Expanded UI Options
Each area of Backdrop Designer contains palettes that open to modify your backdrop texture.
1: The Lighting Editor (left) to change color and ambience.
2: Texture Bend (right) to displace with a grayscale map. 3: Dropdown menu for Texture presets (bottom left)
4: Dropdown menu for Shadow presets (bottom right)
Over 600 Presets
There are three kinds of presets in Backdrop Designer: the Texture presets, the Shadow presets, and Combination presets. Combination presets are a pairing of a Texture and a Shadow, and are accessed from the main preset Manager.
The Texture Presets
We had a lot of fun creating these presets! Pictured are textures from the 'Old Masters' categories. They have all been created with an eye towards the physical drapery that you may be using currently in your photography studio.
The Shadow Presets
Shadow presets are very important for giving depth and realism to your digital backdrop. Presets that you can load (and manipulate) include simulations of drapery and material folds; shadows cast from windows and fences; and hot spots from bright lights.
Accessing The Presets
To work with the Combination presets, you will click along the top right of the Backdrop Designer interface. The button with a square is the LOAD button. The button with a plus sign is the SAVE button.
The LOAD and SAVE buttons give you access to the main Preset Manager. Combination presets live in here, separated by category.
The Texture and Shadow presets are accessed via the LOAD buttons next to their respective windows.
The LOAD buttons for the Texture window (left) and the Shadow window (right) give you access to their presets.
The Interface Palettes
If you've looked at the screenshots of the Backdrop Designer UI, you have noticed lots of palettes that you can open. There include the Texture Window, the Shadow Map Window, and Transform tools for both.
You can Mutate the texture or shadow, and choose the properties that mutate. Shift the color values of a texture, and adjust the opacity and contrast of its shadows.
Texture/Color Window
The Texture Window allows you to select a texture preset, and make tons of modifications. Once you have selected a texture, you can make changes to the color using the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders that are in the Edit drop-down.
You can also change the look by moving, rotating, or scaling the texture. The Blur slider allows you to soften the texture, making it appear out of focus in the background.
The amount of information stored in the texture will vary. It may be a flat color; or color with a flat texture; or color with a bump mapped texture.
Free Tutorials & Free Trial Download
There are 2 free video tutorials on the Digital Anarchy site.
The Basics — guides you through the basics of using Backdrop Designer.
Bend Editor — explains more about the Bend Editor, which controls material distortions.
You can find free trial versions for both Mac and Windows. The only difference between the purchased product of Backdrop Designer and the demo version is a watermark on your photo. Otherwise, the trial version is exactly the same as what you'll purchase.
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.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium ($1,799/$440), which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.
Exclusive Special Offer - Fluid Mask 2.0 - $189
Fluid Mask 2.0 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 of just $189 - PLUS free upgrades for the next 6 months.
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.
Alien Skin Software - Photoshop Plugins - Special 10% & 20% Discounts On All Alien Skin Photoshop Plugins
Our friends at Alien Skin Software have set us up with an exclusive special offer discount link that will give you some sweet savings at their online store.
Just follow this link and you'll see 10% and 20% price drops on their products when you get to the Alien Skin Online Store area (excludes the Eye Candy Bundle, which is already discounted at $199). This special offer includes a discount on Eye Candy: Textures, Eye Candy: Nature, Eye Candy: Impact, Exposure, Blow Up, and their latest release Snap Art.
Snap Art – $149 – our price $129
Blow Up – $199 – our price $179
Exposure – $199 – our price $179
Eye Candy 5: Impact – $99 – our price $79
Eye Candy 5: Nature – $99 – our price $79
Eye Candy 5: Textures – $99 – our price $79
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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.
SiteGrinder 2 - Photoshop Plugin
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 2 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 2, 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 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
The accompanying CD-ROM and website, www.photoshopessentialskills.com, offer additional teaching and learning materials which form a library of indispensable supporting resources including:
• All of the images used in the text
• Over four hours of QuickTime movie tutorials to support the practical projects
• A range of presets (including layer styles, curves, shapes and gradients)
• Camera RAW files
• Free extra chapters in e-book form.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop — Advanced Sharpening Techniques
Working With Shadows In Photoshop - Advanced Shadow Techniques
Special book offer - save 34%
Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $22.74 - save 34%)
