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I See iPod People — The Photoshop Silhouette
If you're crazy about those iPod ads and want to make one yourself, it's actually pretty easy. The first thing you'll need is an image of someone that you can extract from the background without too much work.
Let's Start
To begin settle on the dimensions of your canvas and resize your original photo. Go Image> Image Size menu. Click on Resample Image and choose Bicubic Sharper from the drop-down menu. This is the best setting for making sure that an image doesn't blur. For the Dancing Basketball Player I resized so it would fit into a target canvas of 158 x 292.
Make Your Selection
Make sure to do some quick tests before starting the more precise and time-consuming selection work, because some images just don't look all that great when you convert them to a silhouette.
Use the Magic Wand to select your background, and Inverse it (Select> Inverse), then copy and paste this into a new canvas with your target background color to see how it looks. If it's promising, then go back and make the detailed selections that are necessary for this to look professional.
Improve Your Selection
If you have a good solid background to work with in your source photo you can select most of it easily by using the Magic Wand Tool. The next step is to blow up the canvas to 300% and start doing touch-ups with some Lasso Tool selections. Once you've got the background of the image selected just right, Inverse (Select> Inverse) so that you have the subject selected, and then Copy (Edit> Copy).
New Canvas With 3 Layers
Create a new canvas with 3 layers (Layer> New Layer x 3):
LAYER 3 - will be the silhouette cutout.
LAYER 2 - will be the color cutout.
LAYER 1 - will be the background color [#9369BF]
First fill your background layer with a solid color. Next paste your cutout selection into both Layer 2 and Layer 3. Now make sure Layer 3 (the top most layer) is active, and Command-click (PC: Control-click) to select your cutout. Set your foreground color to black, and use Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the selected cutout with the black. That's it. Save as a GIF. Now I'll explain why we have Layer 2.
A Perfectionist's Work Is Never Done
Your file should be fine just as it is, but the following adds a nice touch. Use the Eraser set to 15% opacity and try and reveal some of the underlying color image on Layer 2 by making a couple of passes on Layer 3. I did this to the arm and hand holding the basketball. Also add a very soft shadow near the feet. Almost all the iPod ads I've seen include this.
If you're Bono you'll also want some of your face to show through as well, which is what Apple did for the U2 TV spot.
Troubleshooting
Jagged Edges — If you find your selection and cutout has left you with some jagged edges, try deselecting the cutout and applying a Gaussian Blur (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur) set at a very low Radius of 0.2 pixels. This can help soften the edges.
Sore Eyes — Don't go crazy with electric day-glo colors in your background. Here are some actual iPod ad colors:
Blue #1379F9, Purple #9369BF, Orange #F59110, Green #9FCC39, Pink #EB5297.
Good luck with your iPod silhouette creations!
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.
Turn A Photo Into A Sketch
Want to make some nice coloring books? The first step is to turn a photo into a sketch. This tutorial is fairly easy and consists of just 6 steps.
Create A Sepia Tone Effect In Photoshop
Creating the Sepia Tone effect is pretty simple because Photoshop CS has a Sepia Tone setting in its collection of photo filters. Don't have CS yet? This tutorial includes an alternative pre-CS method as well.
The Night Vision Thing — A Photoshop Recipe
Night Vision Devices (NVD) work by using either image enhancement or thermal imaging techniques. Whichever method is used, photos from night vision devices are instantly recognizable by their greenish glow. I've found that NVD images also tend to include some noise, a certain amount of blur, and darker areas around the border. So I'll incorporate these visual elements into our project to add realism.
The 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.
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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.
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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.
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Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
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How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop — Advanced Sharpening Techniques
Working With Shadows In Photoshop - Advanced Shadow Techniques
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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.
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