Photoshop Tutorial: How to Enhance Eyes with Textures
In Photoshop, you are able to change eye color. But did you know you can apply a texture to it to make it stand out even more? Apply a texture to the eye can make it more appealing than just changing the eye color. In this Tutorial I will be using Photoshop CS3. Once you learn how to do this, you will be able to use any texture you want to. This is a little more advanced for beginners, but I think it's something easier to learn.
Picking or Taking an Image of an eye.
If you're planning to take your own picture, make sure you use the Macro setting on your camera. This will allow you to take a clean, close up, good quality picture that you will be able to work with. If you using someone else's picture, the same rules still apply. Good quality, close up, and clean.
Picking Out A Texture.
When picking out a texture for your eye, there are a few things you should consider. The first thing you want to think about is "What would work well with my image?". If you're image is intense and powerful, you probably want to use fire or something along those lines. You also want to make sure it's a good quality texture. If it's not, it won't look very good with your eye. The last thing to think of is picking out a certain part of a texture you want to use. If a part of a texture is dull or doesn't have good detail, you probably shouldn't use it.
Applying The Texture.
Step One: Open the eye image you want to use (File - Open).
Step Two: Copy and paste the image you want to use to your image (Edit - Paste). The texture should appear on a new layer and ready to work with.
Step Three: Transform the size of the texture to the size of the eye (Edit - Transform - Scale). If you know the hot keys: Ctrl + T. Once you press that, move around the texture to the size of the eye.
Step Four: Once you have the texture is the eye size; bring down the opacity of the layer to around 30% or so. This will allow you to see the eye. Erase around the eye. Make sure you use a soft edged brush to erase. Make sure you erase the texture on the pupil.
Step Five: Bring the Opacity back up to 100. This will now allow you to have the full effect of the texture on the eye while we change the Blending Options.
Step Six: This step is entirely up to you. Change the Blending Options to what you find looks the best. I used hard light but that's just what worked well with my image.
Step Seven: If you don't think the texture works well with the image after you have tried it, use a different one. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get what you want.
And that's all there is to it! It's easy, simple, and fun. You're never limited to what textures you can use or which Blending Options you can try. Just as a tip, if you have a blue eye, try a water texture. If you eye is green, try a leaf texture and so on. Just remember: Experiment!
Photoshop Tutorial: How to Digitally Enhance Breasts
Photoshop is an extremely different and fun program that virtually anyone can use. There are so many different ways to do the same thing in Photoshop too. There are dozens of different tools you can use and master. Once you master one tool, it opens up a door of possibilities on what you can do to a photo. The best way to learn Photoshop is to experiment and try things on your own. Another great way to learn is from example and follow Photoshop tutorials, in which there are tons on Associated Content alone.
One thing both amateur and professional photographers alike use Photoshop for is it edit pictures of people. You can basically edit pictures of people in a variety of different ways. You can change hair color, change eye color, make someone skinnier, swap heads and facial features, and much more. One thing many glamour magazines and photo editors will also do is increase the breast size of women. It's a relatively easy thing to do and it only takes a few steps, but it definitely makes a world of difference and you'll see how.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to increase the breast size of a woman through a few simply steps. To start with, you'll need a face-on picture of a woman. Side pictures do work, but for the sake of this tutorial we'll make it easy and just use a face-on picture. (I found my picture of sxc.hu by searching the word "bikini.")
So let's begin!
Step 1) Open up your picture in Photoshop by going to File > Open and searching for the picture like you would any old document. If you're copying and pasting off the web, go to File > New and the size of the canvas will automatically adjust to the size of your photo on the clipboard. After File > New, click Edit > Paste.
Step 2) Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool (on the vertical menu bar), make a circle around one of the breasts, including the whole breast.
Step 3) Go to Edit > Free Transform and make the circle 5 percent bigger.
Step 4) Now go to Filter > Distort > Spherize.
Step 5) Make sure the Mode is Normal and the amount is set to your choosing. The larger the amount, the larger the breasts will be. For my picture, I chose to do 100 percent, and as you can see they came out rather large and plastic-y looking. If you want to go for a more natural look, keep the number low. Use the preview tool to see what size works for your photo.
Step 6) Repeat steps 2-5 on the other breast.
Step 7) Now that the breasts are enlarged, it's time to do some blending. As you can see, using the Spherize Filter, the edges of the breasts became sharpened. Using the blur tool at around 10 pixels and strength of 22, go along the edges of the sharpened breasts to blend them in.
Then you're done! And you've increased the breast size in 7 easy steps!
I love Photoshop for a variety of reasons. The main thing is that you can basically do anything to a photo. You can edit anything you want out of a photo and add anything you want in. Photoshop is just a hugely versatile program. You can edit basically any picture too. You can edit pictures of people, landscapes, objects, just about anything. One other great thing is that there are many ways to do one thing. So if you feel more comfortable working with one tool than another, just use that tool.
When you're working with pictures of people, there are a lot of different things you can change on the photo. You can change hair color, eye color, remove blemishes and wrinkles, and much, much more. In this Photoshop tutorial, I will show you how to remove wrinkles on a picture of a person. This is what many glamour magazines do when they retouch photos of models and celebrities. So why shouldn't anyone be able to do it?
In this tutorial, we're going to use the Healing Brush Tool. This technique is relatively simply and can work on either small, almost unnoticeable wrinkles, or on large, deep wrinkles. In order for this tutorial to work properly, make sure you have a photo of yourself or someone else with noticeable wrinkles. The wrinkles can be around the eyes, the mouth, or on the cheeks. Just about anywhere will work for the sake of this tutorial. I found my photo of morguefile.com. Both sxc.hu and morguefile.com are great places to find free photos of just about anything.
So let's begin!
Step 1) Select your image by going to File > Open and searching for your picture the way you would search for a document.
Step 2) Make sure your image is flattened completely before you start, otherwise you'll have too many layers. This is usually only a concern when you copy and paste a picture off the internet though. Simply press CTRL + E on your keyboard to merge the layers.
Step 3) Since you never want to work on the original photo, make a copy or a duplicate layer by going to Layer > Duplicate Layer. You will now have two identical layers of your photo on the Layers drop down menu box on the right hand side of your screen.
Step 4) Zoom into the area you want to work on first using the magnifying tool on the vertical menu bar.
Step 5) Open the Healing Brush Tool by clicking the hotkey "J" on your keyboard. In order for the Healing Brush Tool to work, you will need to find a nearby area next to the wrinkle you want to get rid of. This area you choose should not have a wrinkle on it and should just be flat skin.
Step 6) Click the ALT key on your keyboard and go over this chosen area (the one that doesn't have any wrinkles.)
Step 7) Now paint over the wrinkle. This will cover up the area with a flesh tone color and once you lift your key up, the wrinkle will be gone.
Step 8) Repeat steps 6-7 on every wrinkle you want to get rid of.
Then you're done. And you have a wrinkle-free face! Talk about quick and easy too!
When using Adobe Photoshop, there are a ton of different things to do. Even if you are just a beginner to the program, Photoshop already has pre-programmed tricks and features for you to try out to make your learning experience easier. In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to use one of my favorite pre-programmed features: Auto Shapes. The reason why I love Auto Shapes is because I don't have the steadiest hand to create my own shape in Photoshop. Plus, with Auto Shapes, Photoshop will give you flawless outlines or filled in shapes that you can use for virtually everything. Even if you use one of the shapes already in this digital editing program, you can always add your own flare to it, so do not feel like it's limiting you to anything. And again, of course, you can create your own shapes, but it's difficult and not entirely necessary, especially for beginners.
To start with, what can you use Auto Shapes for? I said basically anything, but here are some specific examples: -Logos -Brushes -Stickers -Borders -Craft projects -and more...
So let's begin to learn how to use these amazing Auto Shapes!
1) As always, you'll need to open up a new document in Adobe Photoshop and make it a good size. We'll start off small, so choose 500x500. Once you feel comfortable, you can always choose a bigger size and more shapes to work with, but start out with 500x500 now.
Photoshop Tutorial: How to Make Yourself Look Thinner Using the Liquify Tool
Liquifying images In Photoshop can be very simple. Liquifying is a filter that isn't talked about a lot but it's simple to apply to images. The liquify tool can be very effective what editing your images. There are a few tools inside the liquify but I will be using the most basic way. Using this filter allows you to adjust facial areas such as the nose, eyes and around the face. It can also be used to make a person look a little smaller than they appear to be. However, there is a limit to how much you can stretch a photo using liquefy. You cannot take a huge green ball and warp it into a tiny marble. I will be using Photoshop Cs3 to demonstrate.
This technique is often used in glamour magazines, believe it or not. Liquifying is for touching up photos only. So here in this tutorial, I will be liquifying a person's figure. I personally don't think anything is wrong with the person I am using, I'm just simply showing how to use the liquefy tool to touch up a person's figure.
How to Choose the Right Photo.
Choosing the right photo to liquify is important, if the angles are off it will be difficult to do and look uneven. You will want to choose an image that's head on. That way you can get to all the body parts and adjust them. If you want to use a face, angles don't matter as much except the way the eyes are shaped.
How to Liquify.
Step One: Open the image you want to liquify (File - Open).
Step Two: Create a duplicate layer of your image. This will allow you to see a difference in your picture once you're done. (Layer -Duplicate Layer).
Step Three: On the new Duplicated Layer, go to: Filter -Liquify. A new window will open and you will see your image displayed.
Step Four: On the top left on your new window, you should see a finger that looks like it is poking something. That's known as the forward warp tool. Select it. Now, you want to choose a brush size that's relative to the area you want to liquify. If you want to make the brush smaller without changing its numbers use "]" if you want your brush bigger. Press "[" if you want it smaller. These are hot key tools you can use. Make sure if your use them, hold them down until it's the size you want.
Step Five: Warp what you want to fix. To do so : Click, hold and drag IN. Dragging it in makes your image appear smaller. Keep doing this until satisfied with the outcome.
Note: If you make a mistake, on the right side click "Restore All". This will restore your image to its original photo so you can restart. Also, If you choose to small of a size, your area will come out lumpy and uneven. If you liquify a nose, you a smaller brush, if it's a stomach or a leg, use a bigger one. There are a few more tools in liquify that you can uses, but again this is the most basic. It's fast, simple and easy.
Intro: Liquifying images In Photoshop can be very simple. Liquifying is a filter that isn't talked about a lot but it's simple to apply to images. The liquify tool can be very effective what editing your images. There are a few tools inside the liquify but I will be using the most basic way. Using this filter allows you to adjust facial areas such as the nose, eyes and around the face. It can also be used to make a person look a little smaller than they appear to be. However, there is a limit to how much you can stretch a photo using liquefy. You cannot take a huge green ball and warp it into a tiny marble. I will be using Photoshop Cs3 to demonstrate.
This technique is often used in glamour magazines, believe it or not. Liquifying is for touching up photos only. So here in this tutorial, I will be liquifying a person's figure. I personally don't think anything is wrong with the person I am using, I'm just simply showing how to use the liquefy tool to touch up a person's figure.
How to Choose the Right Photo.
Choosing the right photo to liquify is important, if the angles are off it will be difficult to do and look uneven. You will want to choose an image that's head on. That way you can get to all the body parts and adjust them. If you want to use a face, angles don't matter as much except the way the eyes are shaped.
How to Liquify.
Step One: Open the image you want to liquify (File - Open).
Step Two: Create a duplicate layer of your image. This will allow you to see a difference in your picture once you're done. (Layer -Duplicate Layer).
Step Three: On the new Duplicated Layer, go to: Filter -Liquify. A new window will open and you will see your image displayed.
Step Four: On the top left on your new window, you should see a finger that looks like it is poking something. That's known as the forward warp tool. Select it. Now, you want to choose a brush size that's relative to the area you want to liquify. If you want to make the brush smaller without changing its numbers use "]" if you want your brush bigger. Press "[" if you want it smaller. These are hot key tools you can use. Make sure if your use them, hold them down until it's the size you want.
Step Five: Warp what you want to fix. To do so : Click, hold and drag IN. Dragging it in makes your image appear smaller. Keep doing this until satisfied with the outcome.
Note: If you make a mistake, on the right side click "Restore All". This will restore your image to its original photo so you can restart. Also, If you choose to small of a size, your area will come out lumpy and uneven. If you liquify a nose, you a smaller brush, if it's a stomach or a leg, use a bigger one. There are a few more tools in liquify that you can uses, but again this is the most basic. It's fast, simple and easy.
Photoshop Tutorial: How to Use Layers to Edit Your Photos?
Intro: When using Photoshop, I have to say using Layers in one of the most important things to know how to use. Layers are simply one image stacked on top on another. Let's say I have two colors, one red, and one blue. If blue is on one layer, and red is on another, stacked together you get purple. It's the same way in Photoshop. Layers where introduced in Photoshop 3.0, so if you have that and newer versions, you will be ready to go! Now, layers can be used in many ways. Let's say you want to change your eye color. To do this, you would need to create a new layer. This new layer will allow you to work over image while still being able to adjust what you need. If you wanted to enhance your eye color, it's quite simple using Layers.
How to Use Blending Options.
There are 25 options when dealing with Blending Options. Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Darker Color, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge, Lighter Color, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Hue, Saturation, Color, and Luminosity. Now, I know there may be a lot but each on is different and unique that will give different effects to your image. Each blending option shows different effects with different results for each layer. So if you are going to set a layer to Color Burn with a bright image, it will most likely look different with a darker image.
How to Use Opacity.
Opacity: Opacity plays a major role when using Layers. This allows you change how heavy or how light you want your layer to be. If you're adding a texture to your image, you will want to use low opacity so set it somewhere around 10-40%. If you're adding color to your image you will want to set the opacity to around 40-70%. Really experiment with the opacity on the layers. Opacity is really important and can make a huge difference to your image.
How to Make a New Layer.
There are two main ways to make a new layer. On top of your screen, click: Layer - New - Layer. Another way to create a new layer is by clicking the icon on your layer control panel (on the right side of Photoshop) and click the icon that looks like a sticky note.
How to Merge Layers.
After creating many Layers, they can be hard to keep track of. Most of the time, it's easier to work on an image that has less layers. This is where Merging Layers is important. Merging Layers basically means smushing to layers together. This makes keeping track of Layers more manageable. There is a few ways to do this. Hot Key: CTRL + E. You can also go to (Layer - Layer Down). And finally, when you are satisfied with your image, you can go to (Layer - Flatten Image). This will combine all of your layers together so you have one full image.
Although layers may sound difficult at first, with all the things you should do with them, it's one of the easiest things to learn in Photoshop. You use Layers so much that it becomes natural and easy to do. Layers are very important to use and require a lot of experimenting but it will help you create a stunning picture. Just remember, whenever you want to add something to an image, no matter how small it is, use Layers!
Introduction: Photoshop is an amazing program brought to the world by Adobe Inc. Whether you're an advanced user or just a beginner, there are millions of different techniques and uses to learn and have fun with. In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily rotate your pictures. This technique is extremely simple and will help you when you take vertical pictures by holding your camera longways. Once you have rotated your pictures, they will be just one step closer to printing or emailing to friends or family. So put your imagination to work and have fun with this easy, quick, and fun tutorial.
1) To begin with, you'll need to open up Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop, you will need to go to Adobe.com and download the free 30-day trial of the program. In 30 days you will need to buy the program if you want to keep it.
2) Once you have Photoshop downloaded, you'll need to open up your image on its own canvas by going to File>Open and then searching for your uploaded image.
3) To completely flip it, you will need to Image>Rotate Canvas and then select which preference you need. If you need to flip it 180 (meaning your picture is currently upside down), do so.
4) The most popular rotation is 90 degrees clockwise or counter clockwise. This means that you held your camera vertically when you took the initial picture.
5) One other option is Arbitrary, meaning that you will need to select the degrees in which to flip the picture and which direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, to flip the image. This is extremely helpful when you took the image when the camera was accidentally tilted. You may need to try a few times to get the degrees right to make the picture exactly straight.
If you mess up, over-rotate or under-rotate it, or change your mind, you will need to click CRTL+ALT+Z, which will take you back one step and allow you to try again. Not only can you use this "hot key" for going back while rotating, you can use it whenever. Keep in mind that you can click it more than once to go back numerous steps.
Additionally, make sure that you always save the original when working in Photoshop. The CRTL+ALT+Z button will only take you back a certain amount of steps.
6) So once you have the image rotated, save it as a new image by going to File>Save. The best name to save it as is usually the name of your image + rotated. This way you'll know while browsing through your images or in your computer files.
Keep in mind your image is perfect for printing, as most digital cameras take photos in high DPIs and high resolutions!
One of the most common uses of Photoshop is to erase a background. There can truly be many reasons on why you would want to erase or remove a background on an image. You may dislike what's in the background, maybe it's a busy scene and you just want to isolate the subject. Maybe you want to put in your own background. Say you're making Christmas cards and you want to be behind a fireplace instead of the white background the photo studio put you in front of. Because of the need to remove backgrounds, there are a few ways to do so in Photoshop.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to remove a background when the color of the background in the same throughout the picture. Because of this, we'll be using a tool called the background eraser tool. It's nifty little tool to have it really does the trick when you need to remove a background easily and quickly.
The way the background eraser tool works is that it samples color. When it does this, it removes color throughout the picture that's within the same color range. This makes removing backgrounds that are a solid color fairly easy.
Step 1) Open your image up on a new canvas. In order for this tutorial to work, select an image with a subject that is in front of a solid color background.
Step 2) Find the background eraser tool on the vertical menu bar that is free floating on the screen. You will have to find the eraser tool first and hold down your mouse until the icon with the scissors above the eraser is visible and then select that tool.
Step 3) Now we'll choose the specific settings on the background eraser tool options box. Choose "Discontinuous", with a "Tolerance" of 20 or so and a sampling of "Continuous." Make sure the "Tolerance" box is selected too.
Step 4) It's easiest to work with your background when it's a highly contrasted color when put against your subject. Because of this I like to create a new layer by double clicking on the background and naming it whatever you prefer.
Step 5) Next, we're going to create a new layer and drag it below the original named layer and filling it in with either white or black. Whatever you choose, make sure it's a solid color (I usually prefer black).
Step 6) Now select your brush while still on the background eraser tool. Use a large brush that doesn't have soft edges. Find a solid brush with a hardness of about 70-80.
Step 7) Go over the image with the brush, clicking down so that the background gets erased. Do this in one easy motion. Remember if you see something you don't like, click CTRL + ALT + Z to go back a step. Continuing erasing until the background is completely removed.
Step 8) Select the subject by clicking your mouse by holding down the CTRL button on the keyboard. Then invert the selected subject by going to Selection > Invert and then pressing delete on your keyboard.
Then you're finished! You can now add in your own background or keep it like it is.
Photoshop Tutorial: Mastering the Lasso Tool and Selection Function
Photoshop is a really unique program because it gives you the opportunity to do a million different things to one photo. In Photoshop, there are numerous tools you can use, each with an individual function. The key to mastering Photoshop is to master the individual tools. The tools range from the crop tool, the healing brush tool, the paint brush, and many more. Each tool has an individual task and can do different things to a photo, leaving you with many different outcomes. When mastering a tool, it's good to take it one step at a time.
One important tool and function is the Lasso Tool and the selection function. By knowing how to use the Lasso Tool and the selection function in Photoshop, you can have the ability to do numerous different things, including changing backgrounds, adding objects to photos, and much more.
In this tutorial, I will guide you through the steps to use the lasso tool and ultimately select elements in your photos. It's a good thing to know because it can lead to learning other tools and other functions within Photoshop, no matter what version you have.
Before we begin, make sure you have a photo that you want to work with. This can be a picture of an object or a person. Try to skip landscapes and other scene pictures for the sake of this tutorial. If you don't have your own picture, just visit morguefile.com or sxc.hu and choose one from there. They're free and you can find a picture of virtually anything. I'll be using a picture of a pink, rubber ball I found on sxc.hu.
So let's begin!
Step 1) Open your picture in Photoshop by going to File > Open and searching for the photo like you would any old document. If you copied and pasted off the web, go to File > New and then click OK. The size of the new canvas will be adjusted to the size of your photo.
Step 2) In order to make a selection around your photo you need to select the Lasso Tool on the vertical menu bar on the left hand side of the screen. Just hover above the icons and Photoshop will tell you the name. Click on the Lasso Tool when you find it.
Step 3) Using the Lasso Tool, draw around your subject carefully. If you've chosen to use the Lasso Tool around a person, make sure you get all of them so that the dotted line is completely around them. Same goes for using an object. When you've completed the selection, it should look similar to the example photo attached to this article. The trick to selecting with the Lasso Tool is to zoom in and work carefully, making sure you get all the edges. If you have to lift your mouse, make sure you resume with the Plus Lasso Tool. To get this tool, select the original Lasso Tool and find the Plus Lasso Tool at the options on the top of the page on the horizontal menu bar.
Step 4) Now you've selected the object or person. You now have the capability to copy and paste the selection wherever you want. You could put your person in front of a beach scene or wherever you like.
Step 5) You'll also notice that you can move the image around on the same canvas. If you use the Move Tool, you'll notice there will be a blank space where the object or person originally was.
And there you have it! You've mastered the lasso tool!
Want to learn Photoshop? Or hone your skills in the photo editing software? Then check out these top online resources.
The web is a wonderful thing, brimming with resources and tutorials for people wanting to learn the art of Photoshop CS6 (and previous versions). But, sometimes, too much choice can be confusing, so we've picked 10 top sites that will really help you get to grips with the photo editing software.
01. Lynda
Get access to professional Photoshop tutorials on training site Lynda
If you haven't got to know Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin's extensive tutorial video library then you should. Lynda doesn't deal exclusively with Photoshop but the site offers a wealth of training in the software for the beginner to intermediate user. Some of the training is free but to access the majority of it you will need to subscribe to the site, which starts at $25 per month.
02. PSD Learning
Access brilliant Photoshop training at PSD Learning
PSD Learning started back in 2008. It is owned and edited by designer Ross Aitken, who has an avid interest in computer graphics and shares his knowledge through easy to follow tutorials. It has a clean layout and is organised into different categories for easy navigation. Learn everything from Photoshop scripting to creating a dramatic movie poster here.
03. Pixel2life
Take advantage of the thousands of Photoshop tutorials on Pixel2life
Pixel2life is a huge tutorial search engine on the internet, which caters for graphic designers and programmers. It has an extensive section on Photoshop training with literally thousands of tutorials to choose from. The site also features a really useful sidebar of sub categories in order for you to find lessons in the effects you want to achieve.
04. Photoshop Essentials
If you're a beginner to Photoshop, then Photoshop Essentials is a great place to start learning
If you're a newbie to Photoshop, then head over to Photoshop Essentials, which has easy to follow, step-by-step style training. They have lessons on everything from Photoshop basics to photo editing and retouching, text effects and more. And it's all written with beginners in mind. The site is clean, tidy and easy to navigate. It also has helpful side bars featuring the latest and most popular tutorials.
05. Photoshop tutorials on Deviant Art
Find a wealth of helpful Photoshop tutorial on online art community Deviant Art
Photoshop tutorials has a brilliant range of learning material on online community for artist and art enthusiasts Deviant Art. Divided into seven different categories, including a beginner and web design section, it is easy to find the specific tutorials you're after. This site isn't just for people wanting to learn though, you can submit tutorials too. See the site for terms and conditions.
06. Phlearn
Phlearn is owned by Aaron Nace, who has a unique and entertaining style of teaching
Phlearn is a fantastic, free online resource offering lots of high quality photography and Photoshop instructions. Owner and creative director Aaron Nace also aims to make the training interesting and dynamic, keeping the viewers attention by throwing in the occasional joke or singing and dancing on screen. Informative and entertaining: what more could you want?
07. Psd tuts +
Psd tuts+ offers an extensive library of tutorials for users of all skill levels
Psdtuts+ is a blog that offers some of the best Photoshop tutorials around. The site has an extensive library of tutorials covering many different areas, including 3D, illustration and text effects to name but a few. It also has a Basix section for beginners so users of all skill levels can learn the art of photo manipulation, retouching, icon design, text effects, and much more.
08. Practical Photoshop
Help yourself to a wealth of awesome tutorials on the Practical Photoshop website
Monthly magazine Practical Photoshop features a wealth of brilliant tutorials amongst its pages, many of which make it on to its equally good website. There's pages of training to work through and something for users of all levels and, best of all, it's free!
09. Tutorial9
Tutorial9 is a fantastic online resource for free Photoshop training
Tutorial9 is a fantastic resource for Photoshop tutorials, all of which are entirely free. There are currently 30 pages of training available so you are sure to find something of interest here. There is also a search option so you can filter your options to find the newest tutorials submitted by either Tutorial9 themselves or submitted by other users.
10. PS Hero
PS Hero not only offers Photoshop tutorials but an inspiration gallery and free goodies too!
PS Hero is a brilliant Photoshop resource run by Hero - a surfer, photographer and graphic designer based in Southern California. With a large selection of free tutorials, this site offers training in the areas of graphic design, photo and text effects. It also features an inspiration gallery and goodies section where you can take advantage of free PSD files, custom shapes and more.
Photoshop CS7: the features we want to see With Photoshop CS6 now well and truly in the hands of designers, what's in store for Photoshop CS7? Rob Carney canvasses some expert opinions... Photoshop CS6 has some amazing features, but what could be next? With CS5.5, Adobe announced that it would be releasing new .5 versions of Creative Suite every year. That means one thing - the next version of Photoshop, CS6.5 (but possibly Photoshop CS7, given the new Creative Cloud offering) is well underway. With Adobe CS6 the company added some great new features, including a redesigned UI; the ability to search layers by effect, name and more; a Blur gallery enabling you to edit blurs directly on screen; video editing, 3D and much more. But what features will be added in Photoshop CS7? We've taken a look at the current feature set and how this could be expanded upon, as well as got the views of designers to find out what users of the software would like in the next release.
Content-Aware Move tool
We'd like to see the Content-Aware Move tool ported across to lighting in shadows
In Photoshop CS6, Adobe introduced a new Content-Aware Move tool - enabling you to easily shift the position of objects in an image, with the software filling in the background intelligently.
Asphensia, an Oxford-based illustrator, wanted to see this ported across to lighting and shadows - so essentially you could move an object and replace/fill the area it leaves with exactly the same lighting and shadows. It's almost there in Photoshop CS6, but could be a really neat added tweak to the feature-set in Photoshop CS7 (adding more options to control the Content-Aware Move tool would be great).
CSS support a la Fireworks
Mike Lane is a senior UX designer, with 15 years of experience in web and graphic design, and he's keen to see the next version of Photoshop CS7 get more CSS support.
"There are some great third-party tools out there that do some of these things, but I'd personally like to see more integrated tools for generating CSS from your designs and effects right within Photoshop CS7," Lane tells us. "Somewhat along the lines of the CSS panel in Fireworks CS6. Fireworks is a fine product, but I spend the majority of my time in PS and would very much like to have it right there."
Better Brush Editor in Photoshop CS7
Whilst Photoshop CS6 introduced some excellent new brushes - most notably the erodible brushes that simulate lead in a pencil or pastels on the page - in Photoshop CS7 this could be taken further. One suggestion by artist Ciaran Lucas is a more scalable Brush Editor.
The Brushes panel has remained much the same for a few releases now and it would be interesting to see a more developed panel, with perhaps a new way of creating and editing brushes. Something as extensive as Corel Painter's Brush Creator would be excellent - and something digital artists would love.
We'd like to see some updates to the Brushes panel
In fact, why not bring a complete natural media brush set (okay, there is some functionality at the moment - we know that) to Photoshop CS7? Dutch illustrator and animator Sylvia van Schie also picked up on this - wanting a brush set that emulates ink on a watered sheet.
You can do this in Painter, so we don't see any reason why Adobe couldn't include it in the next release of Photoshop.
Vector paint bucket
Another suggestion from Ciaran Lucas was a vector paint bucket - rather like Illustrator CS6's Live Paint tool.
This would be brilliant for quickly creating complex vector shapes in Photoshop, as you could make selections from your images and quickly fill them with vectors rather than relying on turning selections to paths or using the Pen/Custom Shape tool.
We can imagine vector and pixels working even more smoothly together with the addition of a tool such as this.
Font identifier for Photoshop CS7
Jon Burgerman, renowned illustrator and artist, wanted to see a font identifier built in to Photoshop CS7. We presume this would be something like What The Font's web and iPhone app.
A font identifier could be built into Photoshop CS7, along the lines of the What the Font app
That would be pretty cool - being able to open any image and determine the fonts used. Fantastic for finding out what others have used in their designs. Burgerman also suggests a 'button for when you've run out of ideas' but we doubt even Adobe can manage that one.
Since Adobe bought Typekit, designers have been waiting to see where the company takes this hugely popular web font service. Graphic designer and art Director Tom Muller is one such designer.
"I'd love to see a proper integration of web type rendering in Photoshop CS7," Muller explains. "Since Typekit is now part of Adobe I'm sure (I hope!) they're working on ways to integrate web fonts into their app suite so designers can work in an environment that truly matches the end product."
Instagram-style filters
Computer Arts cover artist Neil Stevens, aka Crayonfire, suggested a whole set of Instagram-style filters for quickly adding a vintage look to your photos.
We'd love to see this - whereas you can replicate the effects used in Instagram, there's no real quick way of doing it without using a third-party plug-in. It would be a very popular addition to the tool.
Further improvements
Other tweaks we'd like to see in Photoshop CS7 are:
Better tools for making selections - rather like Vertus' Fluid Mask (wouldn't it be great if Adobe acquired Vertus and integrated this as standard?)
Better quick image-enhancement tools; and being able to edit layer effects in a more intuitive and quicker way.
Selection tools similar to those seen in Vertus' Fluid Mask wouldn't go amiss
And what about more document presets for different digital devices (a given, really) and being able to adjust all filters on-screen like in the new Blur gallery? The latter would be a complete re-write of the Filter Gallery, but could be revolutionary in how designers and artists use Photoshop filters.
You could also selectively paint on levels adjustments, H&S and any other colour or image tweak you like - without having to worry about quick masks/layer masks.
Oh, and one other thing - what about a sculpting brush tool like those found in brush. Wouldn't that round off Photoshop's new 3D functionality rather nicely?
What would you like to see in Photoshop CS7? Let us know in the comments below.
amazing examples of experimental design These examples of experimental design are all pushing the boundaries of technology, from the Kinect to 3D printing. Take a glimpse into the future of design with us...
It's fair to say that designers are fascinated by technology. But it isn't the tech itself that's of interest - it's what can be achieved via experimental design.
Whether for commercial purposes or personal projects, here we look at 10 fantastic examples of how designers have pushed technologies and platforms into new, and often unexpected directions - all creating amazing work in the process.
01. Transformative Kinect art
Chris Milk's installation transforms viewers into elegant birds using the power of the Kinect
Microsoft Kinect is best known as a revolutionary game controller. But it's also a platform that interactive designers have embraced - writing software and hacking the platform to create new experiences beyond the Xbox and the living room.
One such pioneer of experimental design and interactive experiences, Chris Milk, whose incredible 'The Treachery of Sanctuary' installation uses Kinect controllers and infared sensors to turn viewers into birds (you may recognise Milk's name from Arcade Fire's HTML5 masterpiece The Wilderness Downtown).
The giant triptych, which takes viewers through three stages of flight, first debuted at 'The Creators Project: San Francisco 2012' (Intel and Vice magazine's joint venture). See how it was made in this video:
You can learn more about designer's Kinect-hacking projects in this article from our sister magazine Computer Arts.
02. JPEG scrambling
Stephen Hislop created a method for breaking the code of a jpeg for his art experiments
As desigers, we use jpegs every day. But not in the way that British graphic designer Stephen Hislop does. His experimental design with JPEGs, and in particular the data that makes them up, began with a brief for Bloomberg based on creating images on the theme of communication. Hislop created a method for breaking the code of a JPEG, distorting the image via editing in a text editor and Photoshop. See his experiments then follow this tutorial on how to do it yourself.
03. Pulse-timed video
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform pitched at designers and creatives who want to build physical interactive projects. And one of the most incredible Arduino projects to date has to be Jason Mingay's 'A Beat of Your Heart'. The project highlights the physical bond between a viewer and a video attaching you to a pulse sensor via your earlobe. The video being watched is timed to their pulse, giving them a unique view according to their personal reaction. Incredible experimental design.
04. Abstract polygon art
Ben Brown has taken polygon art to a new level using code-generation
Drawing in polygons is nothing new, but Ben Brown, a Texas-based creative who runs XOXCO, takes experimental design to the next level. His code-generated polygon abstracts are a sight to behold, demonstrating code can indeed be incredibly beautiful. If you fancy a go without any of the maths, check out this experiment, where you can use multi-touch gestures to create your own abstracts using polygons.
05. Random thought printing
Brendan Dawes' Happiness Machine prints random thoughts by happy people
Former magnetic North creative director and Beep Industries founder Brendan Dawes could be classed as one of the masters of experimental interactive design. His most recent project, The Happiness Machine is an internet connected printer that prints random happy thoughts by random people from across the web. You press the big black button and it prints out a positive message from Wefeelfine.org. "The logic is all done on the server," explains Dawes, "so I can easily change what type of data comes back. It could easily be train times, news headlines or your day's appointments - the printer doesn't care, it's dumb. It just prints what comes back." Dawes is a leader in this field, and this video of his talk at TED on why "data needs poetry" is well worth a watch:
06. Photographic scrolling wonder
Is this Bat for Lashes interview the future of online article presentation?
We reported on this experimental design back when it was first launched but it remains as impressive as ever – bringing the beautiful photography of Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan to life in a wonderful HTML5 scrolling masterpiece. It's a fantastic example of how technology can interweave with editorial and photography, bringing an interactive, slick and completely unique approach to what could have been a bog-standard album-promoting interview.
07. Pixelated prints
Matt Booth's project strips down images to their constituent parts using ActionScript
Matt Booth has long been one of the UK's pioneers in experimental design with ActionScript, creating all manner of experimental works from kaleidoscopes to real-time mosaics based on the image on a webcam. His latest experimental project is a series of prints, stripping down images to their bare bones using ActionScript.
08. 3D printing craziness
Matthew Plummer-Fernandez based his Digital Natives project on scans of everyday objects
Processing is an open source programming language specifically built for creatives in order to get non-programmers started with code. Since its inception in 2001, the language has attracted many visual designers who have used it to create hugely impressive generative art.
One such visual artist who has used it to the max, and combined it with 3D printing, is Matthew Plummer-Fernandez. For his Digital Natives project, Plummer-Fernandez 3D-scanned everyday items such as watering cans and used Processing algorithms to affect them before outputting again using a z-corp 3D printer.
09. Interactive web storytelling
'Insanely Driven' engages users by letting them control the progress of events
'Insanely Driven' is described as 'an interactive experience that uses dramatisation to engage users and reveal their true character though their choices'. Less Rain's interactive film for a character profiling project at household cleaning product giant Reckitt Benckiser is a great example of using full-screen interactive video. Another great example of this kind of project is Being Henry - again by Less Rain, this time for Land Rover Evoque.
10. 3D neural projects
'Rocking Dentries' is a slick demonstration of what WebGL can do
WebGL is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 3D (and 2D) graphics in a supported browser without plugins. To see just what it can do, check out the experiments of Barcelona-based creative Jaume Sánchez Elias.
There's some stunning work - but a particular favourite is Rocking Dendrites where you control neural projections using custom music and sliders. There's a wonderful DOF effect going on - slick and smart as a piece of experimental design and example of what WebGL can do. It's only supported in a number of browsers though: try Chrome.
Have you seen an eye-popping design experiment? Let us know about it in the comments!
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a photography software program developed by Adobe Systems for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, designed to assist users in managing large quantities of digital images and doing post production work. Lightroom combines photo management and editing in one interface. It is not a file browser like Adobe Bridge, but rather an image management application database which helps in viewing, editing, and managing digital photos. Lightroom's closest competitor is Apple's Aperture program which similarly provides photo management and non-destructive editing capabilities.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Developer(s)
Adobe Systems
Stable release
4.3 / December 12, 2012; 2 months ago
Operating system
Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Type
Photo post-production
License
Proprietary
Website
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Homepage
In 2002, veteran Photoshop developer Mark Hamburg began a new project, code-named "Shadowland". Hamburg reached out to Andrei Herasimchuk, former interface designer for the Adobe Creative Suite, to get the project off the ground.[2] The new project was a deliberate departure from many of Adobe's established conventions. 40% of Photoshop Lightroom is written using the Lua scripting language. After a few years of research by Hamburg, Herasimchuk, Sandy Alves, the former interface designer on the Photoshop team, and Grace Kim, a product researcher at Adobe, the Shadowland project got momentum around 2004. However, Herasimchuk chose to leave Adobe Systems at that time to start a Silicon Valley design company. Hamburg then chose Phil Clevenger, a former associate of Kai Krause's, to create a new look for the application.[2] Photoshop Lightroom's (LR) engineering talent is based largely in Minnesota, comprising the team that had already created Adobe's ImageReady application. Troy Gaul, Melissa Gaul, and the rest of their crew (reportedly known as the "Minnesota Phats"[3]), along with Hamburg, developed the architecture behind the application. George Jardine, a skilled photographer and previous Adobe evangelist, rounded out the early team, filling the Product Manager role.[2] [edit]Beta development On January 9, 2006, an early version of Photoshop Lightroom, previously just called Lightroom, was released to the public as a Macintosh-only public beta, on the Adobe Labs website. This was the first Adobe product released to the general public for feedback during its development. This method was then later used in the development of Adobe Photoshop CS3. On June 26, 2006, Adobe announced that it had acquired the technology assets of Pixmantec, developers of the Rawshooter image processing software.[4] Further beta releases followed. Notable releases included Beta 3 on July 18, 2006, which added support for Microsoft Windows systems. On September 25, 2006, Beta 4 was released, which saw the program merged into the Photoshop product range, followed by a minor update on October 19, which was released as Beta 4.1. [edit]Version 1.0 On January 29, 2007, Adobe announced that Lightroom would be shipping on February 19, 2007. The US list price was $299 and the UK retail price was £199. Lightroom v1.x is not updated when an upgrade to v2 is installed; a new serial number is required. [edit]Version 2.0
Lightroom release timeline. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Beta was advertised in official emails from Adobe in April 2008. New features included: Localized corrections (edit specific parts of an image) Improved organization tools Multiple monitor support Flexible printing options 64-bit support The official release of Lightroom v2 was on July 29, 2008, along with the release of Adobe Camera Raw v4.5 and DNG Converter 4.5. Adobe added DNG Camera Profiling to both releases. This technology allows custom camera colour profiles, or looks, to be created and saved by the user. It also allows profiles matching the creative styles built in to cameras to be replicated. Adobe released a complete set of such Camera Profiles for Nikon and Canon models, in addition to basic Standard Profiles for all supported makes and models, through Adobe Labs, at the same time as the Lightroom v2 release. This technology is open to all programs compliant with the DNG file format standard.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Version 3.0 Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.0 beta was released on October 22, 2009. New features included: New chroma noise reduction Improved sharpening tool New import pseudo module Watermarking Grain Publish services Custom package for print On March 23, 2010, Adobe released a second beta, which added the following features: New luminance noise reduction Tethered shooting for selected Nikon and Canon cameras Basic video file support Point curve Although not included in any beta release, version 3 also contains built-in lens correction and perspective control. The final version was released on June 8, 2010 with no major new functionality added. It had all the features included in the betas, added the lens corrections and perspective transformations and a few more improvements and performance optimizations.
Features Unlike traditional image editing software, Photoshop Lightroom is focused on the following workflow steps: Library – image collection review and organization - similar in concept to the 'Organizer' in Adobe Photoshop Elements Develop – non-destructive RAW and JPEG file editing Slideshow – tools and export features Print – layout options and preferences Web – automatic gallery creation and upload Tethered Capture Support for many popular Nikon and Canon DSLRs The Develop module has a number of standard presets for colour correction or effects and supports the sharing of custom presets online. Another often used feature in the Develop module is the ability to synchronize the edits from one particular photo to the whole selection.
Market share According to 2009 statistics from research company InfoTrends, released by Adobe Systems product manager John Nack, of the 1,045 North American professional photographers who were interviewed, 37.0% used Lightroom and 6.3% used Aperture while 57.9% used the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in. Of the Mac users, 44.4% used Lightroom and 12.5% used Aperture. Six other alternatives to Lightroom are DigiKam, Hasselblad Phocus, Capture One, Corel AfterShot Pro, Darktable and Raw Therapee. Of these, Digikam, Darktable and Raw Therapee are free and open source.
