With Photoshop CS6 quickly approaching its first birthday, Adobe decided to ramp up efforts to release the next generation of its Creative Suite software.
CS6 brought a wealth of new features to the table that, more often than not, took the editing out of editing. Among them was the Content Aware Patch that could fill in a portion of the photo that wasn’t there originally. Say your landscape is marred by an unsavory boulder, you can send it back to the depths from whence it came with the Content Aware Patch which could replace it with the rest of the grassy knoll, if you like.
Rumors have abounded about what Adobe would work into CS7. There have been wish lists and hit lists for features that many wanted added and killed in the next iteration. Internal memos leaked to us have shed an interesting light on what Adobe’s engineers have been creating.
According to one document, CEO Nila Kanjalali was referring to “self-proclaimed iPhone self-portraitists” when she said “Don’t even try.” That is to say that CS7 will do all the work they wouldn’t know how to do in the first place. According to another document, CS7 will feature the word “EDIT” in large, friendly letters next to the photo imported to the library. Ms. Kanjalali said that what happens next would be considered “magic by their standards”.
Users have the option to disable this simplified feature, but will then be faced by something akin to the cockpit on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Ms. Kanjalali could not be reached for comment, but a senior executive did disclose that Adobe is seeking to “maximize the editing experience by providing users with every editing option possible”.
The EDIT button, it seems, is a ruse to keep would-be Instagram photogs at bay. Actual photographers will rejoice in what is known as the “flight deck”, the full set of editing options. Rife with sliders, buttons, brushes, and filters, the “flight deck” is an editor’s paradise.
I was granted early access to a beta version of CS7, and I speak for some when I say, “I have no idea what’s going on.” I have been a photographer for roughly five years now, and I haven’t seen something this complicated since AP Calculus in high school. After several failed attempts at navigating the flight deck, I found myself backtracking to the nifty EDIT button that made otherwise garbage photos rather pretty to behold.
The unfortunate result of using the nifty “EDIT” button is that each image is watermarked with a small, yet clear “edited” at the bottom right of the image. It’s unclear exactly which audience CS7 is geared for as it seems only Adobe engineers can navigate the program.
Although, according to one document, the lead engineer said, “We’ve made a huge mistake.”
Please Support The Phoblographer
We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.
250 free resources for designers ! Happy birthday Photoshop Adobe has declared today Photoshop Day as it celebrates Photoshop's 23nd birthday. Since we launched Creative Bloq, we've published a huge variety of articles, tutorials and reviews around Photoshop and it may be that you missed a few of them. So we've decided to salute 23 years of the image editing tool by gathering all these great resources together in one handy place. Bookmark this page now! As Adobe celebrates Photoshop's 23rd anniversary, we bring together the best Photoshop freebies
Photoshop freebies
The Fractal Brushes set is just one of 30 free brushes to download today!
The complete guide to fixing exposure in Photoshop
Photoshop tutorials: effects
Turn a photo into a sketch using Photoshop
Add a bokeh effect to your images
Turn photos into simple caricatures
Get the toy camera look with Photoshop
Recreate a fish-eye effect with Photoshop
Apply a quick vintage look in Photoshop
Create a realistic sketch effect with Photoshop
Recreate infrared photography in Photoshop
Create a Polaroid pinboard effect
Create a fashionable cross-processing effect
Add the hipster vintage look to photos with Photoshop CS6
Photoshop tutorials: projects
Learn how to create your own brushes in Photoshop
Create a fantasy scene with Photoshop
Create a sinister fantasy backdrop in Photoshop
Make your own pop art image
Get creative with a montage
Create your own brushes in Photoshop
Create a contemporary cutout in Photoshop
Photoshop tutorials: portraits
Apply digital eye make-up in Photoshop
Give a portrait a soft-focus background
Simple skin smoothing in Photoshop
How to cut out hair in Photoshop
Create a stylised HDR portrait with Photoshop
Apply digital eye make-up in Photoshop
Remove hotspots from portraits with Photoshop
Give yourself the Picasso look with Photoshop!
Create dreamy portraits with Photoshop CS6
Colour a mono portrait by hand
Photoshop tutorials: graphic design
Make interesting vector shapes in Photoshop CS6
Design a chrome and plastic button in Photoshop
Make interesting vector shapes in Photoshop CS6
Create amazing polygon illustrations in Photoshop CS6
Photoshop tutorials: special projects
Create an Instagram-style collage
Paint realistic rain using Photoshop Layer Styles
Create an Instagram-style collage
Prepare a photo for printing
Highlight sections of an image with this great Photoshop Action
Get a cool oil painting effect in Photoshop CS6
Boost eyes in Photoshop with these 3 simple steps
Create Photoshop textures from multiple images
Create a cinemagraph and be an animated GIF artist!
Photoshop workflow
Photoshop CS6 reviewThe best Photoshop pluginsThe 10 most useful Photoshop blending modesPhotoshop's 'Copy CSS' feature explainedPhotoshop app comes to iPhone and AndroidPhotoshop gets a major updatePhotoshop CS7: the features we want to seeCreate website mockups in Photoshop with WebZap
Photoshop tools and features
We review the latest version of Photoshop in full
Photoshop CS6 review
The best Photoshop plugins
The 10 most useful Photoshop blending modes
Photoshop's 'Copy CSS' feature explained
Photoshop app comes to iPhone and Android
Photoshop gets a major update
Photoshop CS7: the features we want to see
Create website mockups in Photoshop with WebZap
More tips and tutorials
It's true - you really can learn Photoshop from puppets!
Photoshop secrets to improve your skills
Photoshop web design: Tips to make you more efficient
Learn Photoshop from puppets!
And that's it! If there's something else Photoshop-related you'd like to see on our site, let us know in the comments!
HaAdobe has declared today Photoshop Day as it celebrates Photoshop's 23nd birthday. Since we launched Creative Bloq, we've published a huge variety of articles, tutorials and reviews around Photoshop and it may be that you missed a few of them. So we've decided to salute 23 years of the image editing tool by gathering all these great resources together in one handy place. Bookmark this page now!ppy birthday Photoshop! 250 free resources for designers
As Adobe celebrates Photoshop's 23rd anniversary, we bring together the best Photoshop freebies, tutorials and articles from Creative Bloq into one post!
Happy birthday Photoshop! 250 free resources for designers
As Adobe celebrates Photoshop's 23rd anniversary, we bring together the best Photoshop freebies, tutorials and articles from Creative Bloq into one post!
Adobe has declared today Photoshop Day as it celebrates Photoshop's 23nd birthday. Since we launched Creative Bloq, we've published a huge variety of articles, tutorials and reviews around Photoshop and it may be that you missed a few of them. So we've decided to salute 23 years of the image editing tool by gathering all these great resources together in one handy place. Bookmark this page now!
With Photoshop CS6 quickly approaching its first birthday, Adobe decided to ramp up efforts to release the next generation of its Creative Suite software.
CS6 brought a wealth of new features to the table that, more often than not, took the editing out of editing. Among them was the Content Aware Patch that could fill in a portion of the photo that wasn’t there originally. Say your landscape is marred by an unsavory boulder, you can send it back to the depths from whence it came with the Content Aware Patch which could replace it with the rest of the grassy knoll, if you like.
Rumors have abounded about what Adobe would work into CS7. There have been wish lists and hit lists for features that many wanted added and killed in the next iteration. Internal memos leaked to us have shed an interesting light on what Adobe’s engineers have been creating.
According to one document, CEO Nila Kanjalali was referring to “self-proclaimed iPhone self-portraitists” when she said “Don’t even try.” That is to say that CS7 will do all the work they wouldn’t know how to do in the first place. According to another document, CS7 will feature the word “EDIT” in large, friendly letters next to the photo imported to the library. Ms. Kanjalali said that what happens next would be considered “magic by their standards”.
Users have the option to disable this simplified feature, but will then be faced by something akin to the cockpit on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Ms. Kanjalali could not be reached for comment, but a senior executive did disclose that Adobe is seeking to “maximize the editing experience by providing users with every editing option possible”.
The EDIT button, it seems, is a ruse to keep would-be Instagram photogs at bay. Actual photographers will rejoice in what is known as the “flight deck”, the full set of editing options. Rife with sliders, buttons, brushes, and filters, the “flight deck” is an editor’s paradise.
I was granted early access to a beta version of CS7, and I speak for some when I say, “I have no idea what’s going on.” I have been a photographer for roughly five years now, and I haven’t seen something this complicated since AP Calculus in high school. After several failed attempts at navigating the flight deck, I found myself backtracking to the nifty EDIT button that made otherwise garbage photos rather pretty to behold.
The unfortunate result of using the nifty “EDIT” button is that each image is watermarked with a small, yet clear “edited” at the bottom right of the image. It’s unclear exactly which audience CS7 is geared for as it seems only Adobe engineers can navigate the program.
Although, according to one document, the lead engineer said, “We’ve made a huge mistake.”
Please Support The Phoblographer
We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.
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.
Typekit integration
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 thecomments below.
I'm wondering if Apple has given up on their photo editing software. Lightroom 4 is clearly ahead of Aperture 3 in speed, usability and feature set. Google just purchased Nik Software. Apple has been silent on on a possible Aperture 4. Has anyone heard any different? Tell me I'm wrong.
I do believe that their entire Pro Apps team works on it a lot. Aperture 3 isn't that old from my understanding.
Lightroom is probably ahead of it sometimes, but Aperture with the right machine, does wonders. There's no other app I'd like to use. It has a ton of functionality that you don't always see at a glance.
Nik software on the other hand, is at the top of it all. Using Nik plugins in Aperture or Lightroom is a dream, and tops off their functionality, makes me wonder if there really is anything else Aperture actually needs.
Is there functionality in Aperture you need that it doesn't have?A3 is almost three years old since it's initial release. A4 may be just around the corner but Apple has made no mention of it anywhere.
While LR3 was comparable, LR4 has certainly taken the lead. I have used A3 for a couple years and recently started using LR. It is much faster and smoother. I have a top end iMac in all specs that is less than a year old and A3 is not that smooth on it.
I agree that Nik is amazing. I was kind of hoping Apple would snap them up and integrate their tech into Aperture.
I was thinking of an update now that I think of it. They usually carry out updates for a long time before releasing a full, new version. Aperture version 4 would be a landmark, they don't go willy nilly releasing new FULL releases like Microsoft with Windows, or Samsung with phones, lol.
Yeah, I'm glad that Aperture is at least INCLUDED in the plugin roster for Nik. Used to be scarce until they gained mass popularity.
Check out some rumor sites, they're correct 9 times out of 10
(AppleInsider.com) always throws out news about pro apps. I feel like I've heard SOMETHING recently about Aperture, probably an update like I said, but check it out and stay posted.
Time for a new great flyer template collection. Last weeks I saw so many new st. patrick's day flyer templates,
Here we are with another great showcase of easter flyer templates. It’s a collection of the top 10 best easter flyer templates. Many people in the world celebrates easter on 31st march. Just check out the 10 best easter psd flyer templates. So be ready with some fresh easter 2013 psd flyer templates
Adobe Ships Acrobat XI Pro & Standard – What’s New and Better?October 15th, 2012
What’s New?
Acrobat XI let you make quick updates directly to PDF files. Edit text and automatically reflow paragraph text. Crop, resize, or swap out images. Editing a PDF is intuitive and natural with the new, unified editing tool.
If you want to repurpose existing PDF content and you don’t have the original file or the tools, you cansimply export to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel without losing content, formatting, or layout – and even when OCR is needed. Saving PDF to PowerPoint is new in Acrobat XI.
Actions can save users a lot of time by automating a set of document preparation tasks.Actions has been significantly improved to increase ease-of-use and flexibility. Also, it is easier for IT to be able to create and deploy these to their organization and centrally manage them.
In addition to the rich capability of Shared Reviews in Acrobat that speed document review cycles, Acrobat XI includes improved integration with SharePoint and new support for Mac and SharePoint makes it easier to work with files in a SharePoint environment.
Also new in Acrobat XI is the ability to accelerate approval processes and obtain instant e-signatures in place of hassling with fax machines and paper. This can save a lot of money.
For building forms, Acrobat XI Pro will include the all-new FormsCentral desktop app which makes it easy to create brand new, professional-looking forms. It is integrated with the FormsCentral online service to further provide capabilities for form distribution, data collection, and analysis.
Improved application security in Acrobat XI, protects your organization’s networks and data and reduces out-of-cycle patches that has been shown to lower IT costs.
With Acrobat XI, it is easier for users to protect PDF in one simple step to prevent copying and editing within Acrobat and also in Microsoft Office through the Acrobat ribbon.
Acrobat XI is touch-friendly and can be deployed on a tablet running Windows 8 or via virtualization through Citrix XenApp
Adobe Reader XI provides a reliable platform for viewing and interacting with PDF. For example, sign a document electronically, fill and save forms and add comments to PDF files through Adobe Reader for mobile.
What’s Available?
Acrobat XI Pro contains the most robust feature set within the Acrobat family. It’s truly the complete solution for working with PDF documents and forms.
Acrobat XI Standard is primarily focused on helping customers reliably create, edit and sign PDF documents.
Adobe Reader XI is free and is the most reliable way to view and interact with all types of PDF files.
FormsCentral helps customers create, distribute, and analyze forms or web surveys without writing a single line of HTML code. It allows them to share links via email, or post forms to their website. Users can submit responses online, and customers can collect and analyze them in real time.
EchoSign helps customers sign, send, track, and file contracts electronically to close deals faster.
Also see our:
Creative Suite 6 Launch Guide
Download free CS6 e-books (over 1,000 pages)
What are the differences between CS6 vs. CS5, 4, 3?
Free Adobe CS6 Tutorials – 30 hours of video training
How to save 75% with the CS6 education editions
What’s new features for each product in the suites
Do you have any questions about Acrobat XI? Just ask them below and we’ll get you answers fast!
Two weeks after its official introduction, this morning Adobe released the Acrobat XI family– the 11th generation of the world’s most popular PDF creation and reading software.
The Adobe Reader XI is out as a free download in 27 different languages, while Acrobat XI Pro and Standard are now available for purchase or (if you’d like to try the product out first on your own system) free trial download.
Celebrating its 20th birthday next year, you may wonder what new could Adobe add to this industry-standard product line to make it work better and more effectively, and enable you get your work done faster, saving time and money? The answer is, surprisingly, a lot…
Workers, whether in education, government, or commercial organizations, spend the majority of their time working with documents. As a result, enabling better efficiency with documents can have a significant impact. Even today with all our electronic communications, over 25% of the average workweek is wasted on documents-based challenges, according to IDC.
Some of the top frustrations from end-users in this area include time spent on searching through email attachments of various kinds, pulling together information that exists in different files together in one document, gathering and deciphering feedback, consolidating data from forms, getting important documents signed or protected, and other manual work associated with paper. If organizations were to address these areas and close the gap, it would be like hiring 21% more workers.
Let’s summarize how the new and improved Acrobat XI features align within the context of the four key challenges identified by IDC:
User Productivity
Collaboration
Information Security
Working Across Devices
For a more detailed feature-by-feature listing and comparison, see: What’s the Difference Between Adobe Acrobat XI vs. X vs. 9?
The line-up for Acrobat XI includes two new releases – Acrobat XI Pro and Standard. Pricing for full and upgrade licenses is unchanged from Acrobat X. The family also includes two integrated services, FormsCentral and Echosign.
What’s the difference between the editions? See Acrobat XI Pro vs. Standard vs. Reader.
Note the Acrobat Suite is no longer featured within the family line – this product is not being offered for Acrobat XI.
Further, LiveCycle Designer will not be shipping with Acrobat XI – but don’t worry, because Adobe is offering LiveCycle Designer ES3 free for the asking once you upgrade to Acrobat XI, just so you can keep on using the programs you’re used to.
Acrobat XI Pro has also been added and included in the Creative Cloud for all paid members.
To learn more see the excellent Acrobat XI FAQ or check out the free Acrobat XI tutorials.
