Since its emergence, the digital photography market has gradually supplanted the traditional one. APN and digital SLR cameras entered our lives, and some people announced the death of silver-based images. This is not all lie, and yet old-fashioned images have been particularly popular in the past few years. All we do seem to do now is try to recreate the atmosphere of those bygone times anyway. Blurry, distorted and over-saturated images are not just a fad anymore. People have became familiar with the style and even consider it a full-fledged photographic genre.And this is where toy cameras play a role. These devices, made entirely of plastic, including often the lens itself, are not only toys. Sure, they cost next to nothing and have no controls to speak of, but this is what people like about them: they create unpredictable pictures, with equally unpredictable vintage effects. Once you understand this, the rest is a beautiful game. Take them anywhere, anytime, and photograph whatever you like. Photo credit: Pirouetting, by helenannsiaHow does this apply to modern design? Now that vintage websites are so trendy, why not look to this type of image for inspiration? You probably don’t want to go through the trouble of taking up silver-based photography because that would mean buying, developing and scanning film, maybe even making prints. That takes time and is expensive.What you can do, though, is use the magic of Photoshop to make your ultra-sharp, high-definition images look like they were taken with one of these cameras. Below are a list of the most famous toy cameras and some tutorials that can be used to recreate their famous effects. Most of them are part of the Lomography movement, but you might also want to consider some other options in trying to recreate that authentic look. You also may be interested in our previous article “The Disturbing Beauty of Oversaturated Pictures and Lomography.”By the way, what was the last time you visited our sister site Noupe? Subscribe to Noupe's feed for more inspirational and design-related articles.Famous Toy CamerasToy cameras are cheap, low quality and yet functional. As such, the deformations in the photos they produce are pronounced, and not all images are guaranteed to be perfectly exposed. Still, there are just so many of them these days that picking a few is hard. The ones presented here have paved the way for the success of the others. You may know them but not the stories behind them?DianaLet’s start where it all began. Picture yourself in Hong Kong in the early ’60s, when a factory starts producing the Diana. This inexpensive plastic-body camera was at the time usually given away as a novelty gift. Occasionally, it would be used by actual photographers who took advantage of the various effects it produced. And many effects there were. Because of the poor quality of materials used, the Diana camera was disposed to light leaks, leading to film damage, an effect typically fixed by sealing the seams with light-proof tape. Handy, huh?But the plastic body wasn’t the most interesting part: it was the lens, also made out of plastic. Not only did it enhance the already low contrast created by the light infiltration, but it also made for odd color rendering, chromatic aberration and blurry images. As if this weren’t enough, the image circle only marginally covered the diagonal of the film frame, which is why Diana images have heaving vignetting. Photo credit: elZekahAs photographers started to deliberately exploit these characteristics, production grew through the ’70s and opened the way for other toy camera manufacturers. Photo credit: chomdeeLomo LC-AThis is where things get a bit tricky, so pay attention. It’s now the beginning of the ’90s, and for a few years the Russian factory Lomo PLC has been producing the Lomo LC-A camera, which basically has all of the characteristics of a toy camera (vignetting in particular). But production was stopped, and the camera was all but forgotten until two Austrian students found one at a flea market in 1991 and decided to exploit its marketing potential. They convinced the director of the Lomo PLC factory to relaunch production and negotiated an exclusive contract for distribution with their brand-new company: Lomography AG. Photo credit: maakuAnd here begins the Lomography movement. If the term is familiar to you, you probably know at least two things about it. First, it promotes casual snapshot photography. Second, it is associated with over-saturated and high-contrast images. To confuse things, this second characteristic has nothing to do with the LC-A camera itself or with any other cameras for that matter. It is actually the result of the way the film is processed, which would usually be cross-processing. But Lomography is a movement, not a technique, and it was certainly the first to promote camera imperfections as an aesthetic. The success of the LC-A camera helped spread this aesthetic. Photo credit: citronnadeHolgaWith the success of this movement, Lomography AG became interested in other low-cost cameras, such as the Holga, which had been produced in China for a decade. Even though it was made by a different manufacturer, the Holga was considered the successor of the Diana. Inspired by its predecessor, the Holga was designed as an inexpensive mass-market camera. And like the Diana, it is not of the best quality and has the same flaws. Photo credit: babyabby10But the Holga became popular and was even exported to the West over time, mostly for photo-reporting, for which its low profile was appreciated. Its problems were no longer problems, and now it is not surprising to hear of Holga photos winning awards. Because it is entirely manual, one can create effects, such as double exposure and panoramas, by not winding the film. Photo credit: Bill Hansen (website)ActionSampler, SuperSampler, OktomatThese three cameras don’t have many differences. They all take multiple shots in a set period of time, thus creating micro-images that look like short animated movies. The Actionsampler and Supersampler have four lenses each, while the Oktomat has eight, fitting eight frames into the standard 35mm. Photo credit: amylynnthompsonTo make them a bit more fun, what you see through the viewfinder is not exactly what you get. Photo credit: golfpunkgirlLomo Fisheye 2As the name suggests, the Lomo Fisheye camera has a fish-eye lens. It was the first 35mm compact camera to offer such a wide angle (170°), and unlike the other toy cameras covered here, it gave surprisingly good results for the price. The second edition came with several enhancements, such a viewfinder that covered the same angle as the lens (it was blocked off before). Photo credit: aapnootmiesThe effect created, often seen in sport images, can serve many other purposes. But the user should be aware of two major characteristics: strong deformation and light leaks. Photo credit: fahaPhotoshop Tutorials And ResourcesNow, let’s put all this into practice. Even if you are familiar with these effects, have ever actually tried to replicate them? There are a lot of different effects, and you can combine them to create unique images.Faking the Holga Camera and Fisheye LensHow to Fake a Holga Photograph This tutorial shows you how to fake Holga photographs in a few simple steps.Another Way to Fake a Holga Photograph Another tutorial on faking Holga photographs.Fish-eye effect This shows you how to create a fish-eye effect for a picture taken with a regular lens. This one is a video and it addresses two important points: the lens circle border is not supposed to be so sharp when taking a fish-eye photograph, and one often deals with light infiltration.Fish-eye effect Another fish-eye tutorial. It doesn’t show how to distort the image, so you will have to add this step yourself, but it adds a nice final touch to the image by using a picture of the inside of a fish-eye lens.Recreating Low-Quality Camera FlawsVignetting A very simple tutorial on recreating the vignetting effect.Soft-Focus Lens Effect What if you’re already happy with the contrast and color saturation of your image and just want to recreate the effect of a soft-focus camera lens or diffusion filter? In this tutorial, you’ll learn a fast and easy way to add a more traditional soft-focus lens effect to images.Faking Barrel Distortion and Chromatic Aberrations Here is a nice Photoshop plug-in to fake barrel distortion and chromatic aberrations. Adding these effects to your pictures will make them look even more authentic.Light Leaks Effect, Part 1 and Part 2 Of course, this article wouldn’t be complete without a great tutorial on light leak effects. Here is an awesome one, divided into two parts, each covering a different effect: a white-blur light and a colored bar leak.Working on Colors and Light ExposureGetting That X-Pro Lomo Look This tutorial is fairly quick and easy. It shows you how to get that great x-pro Lomo look by tweaking color. You’ll be exploring a new method of vignetting, and you’ll be widening and blurring the image a little.Cross-Processing Tutorial With so many possible permutations of film stock and processing techniques, there is no single, identifiable look to cross-processed images. The most common combination is C-41 as E-6, in which slide chemistry is used to process color negative film; and mimicking it in Photoshop is a quick job. Image contrast is usually high, with blown-out highlights, while shadows tend towards dense shades of blue. Reds tend to be magenta, lips almost purple and highlights normally have a yellow-green tinge.Cross-Processing Another cros-processing tutorial.Vintage Effect Age your images a give them a vintage effect.Using Textures and Double ExposureThrough the Viewfinder Did you know that Flickr has a Through the Viewfinder group? The idea is that you shoot through the viewfinder of an old camera using your modern digital or film camera and create an interesting framing effect. Here is a tutorial on how to create this effect.Resources of Speckle Pattern Yes, there is also a Flickr group called “Noise and Dust Through the Viewfinder.”Paper Texture Effect Here is a quick and easy tutorial for those who want to learn the art of taking a photo and turning it into an old-fashioned vintage picture.Some More Paper Texture Effect Another tutorial (this one a video).Filmstrip Effect Download a filmstrip template and use it to create negatives of your pictures.Double Exposure When you take a double-exposed photograph, the results are usually a bit unpredictable. With Photoshop you have much more control over the result.Another Way to Create Double Exposure While the most common way to create a double exposure is by using a different blending mode on the top layer and adjusting its opacity, this method accurately simulates how a camera takes a double exposure.Other IdeasNo tutorials are needed to create these effects. They are included here merely to give you more ideas. You’ll still need to work on your pictures to get that vintage look. Then, just put them together and enjoy.Shoot Series Like the Oktomat and the Actionsampler Draw inspiration from the Oktomat and Actionsampler cameras. You’ll get either four or eight images in the same frame, each of them having been shot after an interval of only a few seconds. Photo credit: Look!, by MoyöShoot Series like the Supersampler The Supersampler effect is quite similar to the Actionsampler: four images in the same frame, but spaced differently. And remember that you can arrange layers both horizontally and vertically. Photo credit: moving clocks run slow, by aleinsomniacPanorama 1 Panorama images don’t necessarily have to be perfectly arranged. Here is an example of what else can be done. Photo credit: Christophe Dillinger (website)Panorama 2 Another inspiring panorama. Photo credit: bruceberrienPanorama 3 The panorama view can be combined with a filmstrip effect. It simulates a double-exposure panorama taken on a manual camera. Photo credit: mikrofoniuszWant More?PolaroidIf cheapness is a defining characteristic of toy cameras, it surely isn’t for Polaroids. The Polaroid camera itself is not expensive, but because Fuji is now the only company that produces the film for it, getting affordable ones has become difficult. But this may change in the next few months thanks to the Impossible Project.Going back a bit, the world’s first commercial instant camera was the “Land” camera, unveiled in 1947. Since then, Polaroid has become synonymous with instant photography, because most of the cameras have been created by the Polaroid Corporation. Nowadays, the cameras are used by photographers mainly to preview their work before actually shooting. But as toy cameras, they are fun to play with and can make for nice effects. Photo credit: paine666Polaroid and Transfer EffectRetro Polaroid Coloring on Your Photos This is a simple tutorial on how to get that retro Polaroid coloring in your photos.Polaroid Transfer Effect This Photoshop tutorial shows you how to create a cool old photo transfer edge effect using a piece of stock photography, an alpha channel and the burn and dodge tools.Showcase of Beautiful PicturesConsidering that Flickr has a group for almost every subject, it is no surprise that there is one for toy cameras. Here is a showcase of the most beautiful images from it. Photo credit: have I told you lately, by cHr1st1an S Photo credit: ubu84 Photo credit: 000038, by qwj Photo credit: 54330027, by etara Photo credit: Ipanema Beach – Brazil, by marcelo_maia Photo credit: Hélicoïdal, by Cathy Lehnebach Photo credit: Purgatoire, by stiveune Photo credit: untitled, by Greg Zauswoz Photo credit: untitled, by bradbrochill Photo credit: .., by cjlomo Photo credit: spree1, by hellomelly Photo credit: Love me two times, by laszlo_ototh Photo credit: exit, by renaishashin Photo credit: untitled, by Sergio Conde Sánchez Photo credit: Akhirnya buat lomba juga -__-, by febryanyovi Photo credit: Cosy Clausterphobia, by miss_michelle Photo credit: svema_test1, by ashtonleee Photo credit: untitled, by poppart Photo credit: lomographicsocietyinternational Photo credit: La Bòfia – Redscale, by fgali1964 Photo credit: chomdee Photo credit: offcenter Photo credit: Holga Tennis, by Nick Whitmoyer Photo credit: golfpunkgirl Photo credit: eyetwistFurther ResourcesOld Toy Camera – Photoshop action This Photoshop action makes images look as though they are aged prints, shot on a toy or antique camera. Also included are two actions that create borders similar to those seen on photos from many antique and toy cameras.Toy Camera Contest FILE presents here a selection of images submitted for its Toy Camera Contest. This collection gives an idea of the challenge facing the judges to find three winners. The range and quality of the submitted images are impressive.Gallery This project is home to photos taken with toy cameras. Most are plastic: Holga, Diana, Dorie, Debonair, Lubitel, Banner, Snappy and Yunon. Distortion, blur and imperfection are some of the characteristics that endear these cameras to enthusiasts.Abduzeedo: 60 Interesting Lomo Fisheye Shots Gathered here are a few Lomography fish-eye shots. Some were taken with Lomography cameras such as the Diana and the LC-A+ with a fish-eye lens adapter attached.Lomography.com Lomographic Society International Website.(al)© Jessica Bordeau for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: photography, photoshop, toy camera, tutorial, Tutorials, vintage
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Uncovering Toy Cameras and Polaroid Vintage Effects (With Photoshop Tutorials)
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March 10 2010, 6:23am | Comments »
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Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF)
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Over the last months we released a variety of icon sets, tools and templates, but now we would like to release something a bit different for a change. In this post we are glad to release Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts, a PDF-file with a handy overview of most useful keyboard shortcuts available in Adobe Photoshop. The cheat sheet was created by Kenneth Setzer and released especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers.The cheat sheet is a mousepad-sized image featuring a typical PC keyboard. Photoshop’s keyboard shortcuts are listed for each key, with the shortcut and its icon printed on the individual key. In red is the shortcut you will get by hitting the key in combination with the Ctrl key. For example, typing "t" in Photoshop will activate the Type tool, while typing Ctrl+t will allow you to use the Transformation tool. Additional shortcuts requiring more than two keys are listed as well.Download the cheat shee for free!Of course, you can use the PDF for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. The PDF may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this article if you want to spread the word.large preview (.jpg)download the set (.pdf, 2.5 Mb)Behind the designAs always, here are some insights from the designer herself:Originally, I intended to buy a keyboard overlay with Photoshop shortcuts, but couldn’t find any for a PC, just for Macs. So I compiled a list of keyboard shortcuts, and thought they would fit nicely on a mousepad. I think printing it out and hanging it by the monitor works just as well. I hope those learning Photoshop will find it useful, as well as the more advanced users who may have forgotten some of the less-often-used shortcuts. They save a lot of time, and can impress your boss!Thank you very much, Kenneth! We appreciate your efforts.© Smashing Editorial for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: cheat sheet, PDF, photoshop
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February 10 2010, 1:40am | Comments »
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Mastering Photoshop: Unknown Tricks and Time-Savers
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We all have shortcuts that are essential to our daily workflow. A majority of them are staples such as Copy (Command + C) and Paste (Command + V), but occasionally we stumble upon a shortcut we wish we’d learned years ago. Suddenly, this simple shortcut has streamlined our process and shaved quite a bit of time off our day. Collected here are some lesser known but extremely useful shortcuts. Many of these are not documented in the “Keyboard Shortcuts” menu, and some of them don’t even have equivalent menu options.Please note that all of the shortcuts listed below assume that you are using Photoshop CS4 on OS X. They will work on the Windows platform by converting as follows: Command → Control and Option → Alt.[Offtopic: by the way, did you already get your copy of the brand new Smashing Book?]LayersSelectionSifting through nests of layer sets to find the layer you need quickly becomes tiresome. Luckily, there are a number of ways to select layers more intuitively. Using the Move tool (V), you can Command + click on the canvas to select the uppermost layer with pixel data located directly below the mouse. If your layers are grouped within layer sets, this action may have selected the entire folder. You can change this behavior to select the actual layer by using the Auto-select drop-down in the Move tool’s property bar.Changing auto-select behavior.There will be times when you want to select a layer that is located below a number of other layers. By right-clicking with the Move tool, you’ll bring up a contextual menu containing a list of all layers located below the cursor. If your layers are properly named, you should be able to quickly select the layer you need. By holding Shift while using either of the selection methods above, you can select multiple layers. After selecting multiple layers, you can link the layers together by right-clicking and selecting Link Layers.Right-clicking to display all layers beneath the cursor.The keyboard can also be used to select layers. Pressing Option + [ or Option + ] selects the layer below or above the current layer, respectively. Pressing Option + < selects the bottommost layer, and Option + > selects the uppermost. Option + Shift + < selects all layers between the current layer and the bottommost layer, and Option + Shift + > selects all layers between the current and uppermost.SortingSorting layers with the mouse can be clumsy and slow. A few shortcuts speeds up the organizing. Command + [ and Command + ] moves the selected layer up or down one position in the stack. If multiple layers are selected, they’ll move relative to the uppermost or bottommost layer. Pressing Command + Shift + [ or Command + Shift + ] brings the selected layer to the top or bottom of its current layer group. If the layer is already at the top or bottom of the layer group, it jumps to the top or bottom of the parent layer group.ViewingOption + clicking the eye icon of a layer is a commonly known way to hide or show all other layers. There is also a way to expand and collapse layer groups: by Command + clicking the arrow next to the layer group, you can close or expand all other layer groups; this does not work on nested layer groups. Alternatively, right-clicking the arrow gives you a menu to perform the same actions; but this will work on nested layer groups.DuplicatingThere are a number of ways to duplicate data from one layer to another. Duplicating an entire layer is as simple as pressing Command + J. If a selection is active, you can use the same shortcut (Command + J) to create a new layer based on the selected area of the original layer. Pressing Command + Shift + J with a selection creates a new layer while cutting the data from the original layer. Holding Option while pressing one of the arrow keys allows you to duplicate the current layer and nudge it by 1 pixel. Holding Shift and Option nudges the new layer by 10 pixels.Duplicating data from multiple layers can also be done more quickly using some keyboard commands. Using Command + Shift + C with an active selection copies the data contained within it to the clipboard. You can then paste it to a new layer (Command + Option + Shift + N, Command + V). If you’d like to create a flattened copy of the entire document, use the shortcut Command + Option + Shift + E: a composite of all visible layers will be added as a new layer to the top of your layer stack. BrushesShape and SizeBeing able to quickly adjust the brush tool is crucial to getting a swift workflow. Many know about using [ and ] to decrease and increase the brush’s diameter, as well as Shift + [ and Shift + ] to decrease and increase the brush’s hardness. However, CS4 introduced an even more intuitive way to do this. By holding Control + Option and dragging on the canvas, you can change the brush’s diameter with a visual aid. Control + Command + Option and dragging gives you control of the brush’s hardness.The on-canvas drag makes brush adjustments more intuitive.If you would like to completely change the brush shape to a different preset, press < or > to cycle through them and Shift + < or Shift + > to select the first or last brush. Right-clicking inside the canvas also displays a condensed menu of brushes.Opacity, Flow and ModeThe opacity of the brush tool can be quickly tweaked using the number keys: 3 = 30%; 3 + 5 = 35%; 0 + 3 = 3%; 0 = 100%. Holding Shift when inputting the numbers sets the flow of the tool. Note that if Airbrush mode is on, these two shortcuts swap (i.e. holding Shift controls opacity instead of flow). You can toggle Airbrush mode on and off using Option + Shift + P. The same numeric input method can be used to determine the opacity of a layer when the Move tool (V) is active; pressing Shift allows you to alter the Fill of the layer.Quick FillInstead of selecting the Fill tool (G), you can quickly bring up the Fill menu using Shift + F5. Even better, bypass the menu entirely using Option + Backspace to fill with the foreground color or Command + Backspace to fill with the background color. These keyboard commands can also be used to quickly set the color of a type or shape layer. To preserve transparency when filling, you could first lock the transparency of the layer by pressing / and then fill, but there’s an easier way. Pressing Option + Shift + Backspace or Command + Shift + Backspace fills with the foreground or background color while preserving transparency.Pressing Command + Shift + Backspace to preserve transparency while filling.Blending ModesYou can cycle through blending modes or jump to a specific one by using just the keyboard. By pressing Option + Shift + (+) or Option + Shift + (-), you can cycle forward or backward through available modes. Alternatively, you can set a specific mode using the shortcuts below.TypesettingSetting type is a delicate and time-consuming process, but shortcuts speed it up. First off, hiding the inversed block that is created by selecting text is extremely beneficial. Command + H allows you to toggle the visibility of both the highlight and baseline stroke, making it easier to see the final result. When finished editing your text, you can commit changes by pressing Enter on the numeric keypad or Command + Return. Pressing Esc discards changes.VariantsThere are six shortcuts for changing the font variant, but they should be used with caution. If the appropriate variant or character does not exist within the currently selected font family, Photoshop creates a faux variant. These fake variants are frowned upon within the typosphere and are extremely easy to spot. So, if you use these shortcuts, make sure that Photoshop has selected an actual variant and not faked it. Now, onto the shortcuts:JustificationTo set the justification, use one of the commands below. Note that a selection must be made within the target paragraph for these to work.Spacing and SizingProperly sizing and spacing type is a tedious task, but Photoshop does provide some handy—albeit broad—shortcuts. Unfortunately, there is no way to fine-tune the increments by which they adjust. Note that these shortcuts will work only if a text selection is made; selecting a type layer is not enough. To change the type size by increments of 2, press either Command + Shift + < or >. To bump the increment up to 10 points, use Command + Option + Shift + < or >. Leading can also be modified by 2 or 10 point increments using Option + Up or Down arrow or by Command + Option + Up or Down arrow.The arrow keys can also be used to adjust kerning and tracking. Pressing Option + Left or Right either kerns or tracks 20 units depending on whether or not a type selection is active (i.e. if the cursor is between two characters, kerning is applied; if multiple characters are selected, then tracking is adjusted). The increment can also be changed to 100 units using Command + Option + Left or Right arrow. Finally, the baseline can be shifted by 2 or 10 points using Option + Shift + Up or Down arrow or Command + Option + Shift + Up or Down arrow, respectively.ResetsSometimes, we have to return to the defaults. Below are some shortcuts to get you back on track.MenusHidden within many of Photoshop’s menus are a number of shortcuts that make adjustments faster and easier. Just about every menu—whether for Adjustment, Filter or anything else—allows you to revert to the original settings; by simply holding Option, the Cancel button will turn into a Reset button. Depending on the menu, holding Option might even change some of the other buttons (e.g. the Done button in the “Save for Web and Devices” menu will change to Remember). Certain menus, such as the Filter Gallery, also allow you to hold Command to turn the Cancel button into a Default button.Using modifier keys to uncover in-menu options.Spring-loaded CommandsBy default, most menus transform the cursor into the Hand tool or Move tool. These tools can be used on the canvas while the menu is open to pan the document or to adjust settings, such as the Angle and Distance settings for a Drop Shadow. More tools, however, are available via spring-loaded shortcuts. The zoom tools can be accessed using either Command (to zoom in) and Option (to zoom out) or Command + Space (to zoom in) and Command + Option + Space (to zoom out). The hand tool can also be accessed by holding the space bar.Holding Command + Spacebar to access the zoom tool within the Blending options.Adjustment Menus and LayersThe Curves adjustment, like most other adjustments, contains some handy shortcuts. Similar to how you can cycle through the Channels in a document, you can cycle through the adjustment’s channels using Option + 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. You can also cycle through the points on the actual curves using - and =. With a point selected, you can nudge the points in increments of 2 in any direction using the arrow keys. Holding Shift in conjunction with the arrow keys moves the point by 16 units. When working with an adjustment menu, you can toggle the Preview option on and off by pressing P. Adjustment layers don’t have a Preview option, but you can temporarily disable it by pressing and holding .SummaryHopefully, reading this has taught you a few new tricks and uncovered for you some of the more obscure options within Photoshop. While memorizing shortcuts can be a chore, integrating them into your daily workflow saves you an incredible amount of time. Do you have other obscure time-savers? Share your favorites in the comments!Related ArticlesPhotoshop Secret ShortcutsJohn Nack on Adobe: Shortcut Changes in PS CS4Adobe Photoshop Keyboard ShortcutsPhotoshop Keyboard ShortcutsAdobe Photoshop CS3 Keyboard Shortcuts(al)© Thomas Giannattasio for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 147 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: photoshop
January 20 2010, 7:09am | Comments »
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Space Explosion Photoshop Tutorial
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/22/space-explosion-photoshop-tutorial/
by Tyler Bramer Digital space art is one of the most inventive and beautiful art genres of this era. This tutorial shows you how to create your own space scene using three stock photos and Adobe Photoshop. The majority of the effects use the brush tool, layer effects and the filter gallery. You may want to set aside an hour or two before starting this tutorial because it requires quite a bit of work to accomplish. So get those creative juices flowing and let’s get started! Download the files Before we begin, we need some resources to use for this tutorial. Let’s also preview the image that we will have created by the end of this tutorial. You can also download the full source files.
Download images Download full Photoshop source files (.zip, PSD)
- Note: Planet and moon were found on Google Images. The rock was taken from stock.exchng. Step 1: Placement of Planets Create a new document that is 1200 x 1600px with a black background. Then, place the image of the planet in your document and move it to where you want it located. Because the colors of the planet are a little dull, let’s modify a little. Duplicate your planet layer by right clicking it and selecting Duplicate Layer. Set the new layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay. Go back to your original planet layer and grab your Burn Tool. Set the brush size to 300 px and make sure the Range is Midtones and the Exposure is 50%. Burn the lower left half of the planet, making sure you follow the curve of the planet as you do so.
Place the image of the moon in the upper-right area of the planet. Like we did with the planet, duplicate the moon and set the layer to Overlay.
Step 2: Creating the Environment Before creating an environment for our space scene, you may want to look at some resources and art work done by others to get some inspiration and knowledge. PSDTUTS has a great post with some amazing artwork done by talented artists. Make sure all of these layers are located beneath the planet layer. You may also want to put them in a group. Creating the Coloration Create a new layer and fill it with White. Grab a 300 px soft brush with 75% opacity and turn Scattering on.
Erase across your layer so that there are random areas of white and gray. Then set the layer opacity to 25%.
Create a new layer. Make sure your foreground and background colors are black and white, and go to Filter > Render > Clouds to fill your document with some black and white “clouds.” Then apply Filter > Render > Difference Clouds about three or four times.
Set the blending mode to Overlay, the Fill to 75% and apply the following Gradient Overlay.
Create two new layers. On each of them, render some clouds and apply difference clouds on only one of them. Set both of them to Overlay.
Creating the Stars Make a new layer and fill it with black. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Set the Amount to 10%, Distribution to Gaussian, and make sure Monochromatic is checked.
However, this adds way too many stars to our document. To fix this, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Set the left slider to 50 and the right slider to 100. This will keep only the larger stars and a few medium ones in the image. Then, set the blending mode to Screen so that only the stars show up and that the black areas of the layer are hidden. You may want to create multiple layers with this technique and lower the Opacity to create more depth.
Create a new layer and grab a white 5 px soft brush. Then change the brush settings to the following:
Brush areas of the new layer to add some larger stars. Don’t add too many, and try to put them in places that make them pleasing to the eye. Then add a white Outer Glow, with the blending mode set to normal.
More Coloration Create a new layer and fill it with a dark blue color, such as #1b1464. Grab a large 300 px soft eraser brush with 75% opacity. Turn the Scattering on and erase areas of the layer so that only certain parts are colorized. Try to leave more in the upper-right area of the layer, because this is the focal point of the graphic. Set the layer to Screen, and lower the opacity to 40%.
Repeat this process again with a different color, such as with a green, #20410a. Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Create a new layer and grab a large soft black brush, between 300 px and 800 px. Brush once or twice behind the upper-right corner of the planet. Lower the opacity to 40%, and then apply Outer Glow of the white, set to Overlay.
Color Balance Now for the fun part. This next step brings the background environment together! Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance. Shadows:
Cyan/Red: +20 Magenta/Green: -3 Yellow/Blue: +20
Midtones:
Cyan/Red: -1 Magenta/Green: +23 Yellow/Blue: +31
Highlights:
Cyan/Red: +52 Magenta/Green: -17 Yellow/Blue: -76
Light Bursts Create a new layer. Grab a 300 px soft white brush, set to Dissolve, and brush once on the layer in the upper right. Then go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Set the amount to 75, Zoom, and Best. Set the layer to Overlay. Repeat the process using a larger brush and apply it further down.
Empty Space On a new layer, grab a 500 px black brush and brush around the outer edges to create some nice black space. Make sure the bottom-left corner has more because we want that area to be dark.
Step 3: Planet Effects Make sure the following layers are all placed beneath the moon layer, so that they only apply to the planet. You may also want to put them in a group. Darkening Areas Duplicate your planet layer. On the bottom planet layer, apply a Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur of 3 px. Then apply an Outer Glow of white, set to Overlay.
Create a new layer above your planet. Then, select your planet by Ctrl + clicking on the layer thumbnail of the planet. Fill the selection with black, and set the layer to Overlay. Then lower the opacity of the layer to 40%.
Create another new layer, and once again select your planet. Grab a 500 px soft black brush and brush around the outer edge of the planet, but leave the upper right untouched, because we want this to be the bright side of our planet.
Creating an Inner Glow Create a new layer, and select your planet. Grab a 300 px soft blue (#00aeef) brush, and brush around the outer edge of the selection, making sure you get more blue on the upper right of the planet because this is where our bright side is.
Create a new layer and select your planet. Fill the selection with white. Drag the selection diagonally down and to the left, and delete most of the white. Then apply a Gaussian Blur of 5 px.
Then give the layer an Outer Glow of white, set to Overlay.
Color Balance Once again, select your planet. Then go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance. You’ll notice that the color balance layer now has a mask applied to it of the selection we made. Shadows:
Cyan/Red: +6 Magenta/Green: -1 Yellow/Blue: -3
Midtones:
Cyan/Red: -78 Magenta/Green: 0 Yellow/Blue: +29
Highlights:
Cyan/Red: +47 Magenta/Green: -8 Yellow/Blue: -33
Glow Effects Once again, create a new layer and select your planet. Grab a 300 px white soft brush and brush around the bottom ¾ of the planet. Try to make the brushes fit the curvature of the planet. Then set the layer to Overlay, and lower the opacity to 50%.
Create another new layer and select your planet. Using a 300 px white soft brush, brush inside the upper-right side of the planet. Then set the layer opacity to 20%.
Create another layer, similar to the last one, except create more white space on this layer. Also, change the layer to Overlay and the opacity to 50%.
Create another new layer. This time, grab a 300 px brush and a nice red-orange color (#e6602b). Select your planet and then brush an orange area underneath the moon. Change the brush color to a yellow (#fdfc92) and brush a smaller area underneath the moon. Lower the layer opacity to 50%.
On a new layer, select a 200 px black brush and then brush around the bottom ¾ of the planet. Don’t restrict the selection to the planet this time. Let some of the brush overlap the background.
Intermission! I would like to take this moment to congratulate you if you’ve made it this far. This is quite a long tutorial and requires a lot of dedication from you to follow. Don’t be frustrated, either, if your example doesn’t look like mine. It takes years to develop your skills in Photoshop. Keep experimenting, and find some great inspiration and resources to keep you moving along. When working on a document of this complexity, make sure you keep all of your layers organized and labeled. Below you can see how I currently have my groups and layers organized and labeled, so that I can easily recognize them when I look back at them later. Ignore the hidden layers, those will come later.
Large view
Step 4: Moon Effects and Explosion Make sure all of the following are located above the moon layer. You may also want to put them in a group. Glow Effects Remember when we used a red brush and a yellow brush to create a glow in the upper right of the planet? We are going to do the same thing to the lower edge of the moon. Grab a 200 px red-orange (#e6602b) brush, and brush around the outer edge, ¾ of the way around the moon. Repeat the same process with a 100 px yellow (#fdfc92) brush. Then lower the opacity of the layer to 20%.
Remember how we created the white glow in the upper-right area of the earth? Repeat the same process for the moon. Select the moon on a new layer, fill it with white, move the selection down some and then delete most of the white. Apply a Gaussian Blur of 1 to 2 px. Then give it an Outer Glow of white set to normal.
Explosion Create a new layer and grab a 65 px white soft brush. Then brush a small area where the moon meets the planet. This layer will add to the effect that the next two layers create.
Create another new layer and keep your 65 px white brush. Brush a larger area underneath the moon. Make sure you follow the curvature of the moon as it meets the planet. Then, grab a small 3 px brush and turn Scattering to 1000% and Size Jitter to 75%. Brush some white particles around the area that you just brushed white.
While still on this layer, apply an Outer Glow with the color #ffa800, set to Overlay.
Create a new layer and fill it with black. Then go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Set the Brightness to 100% and the Type to 50 to 300 mm Zoom. Move the flare so that it is positioned towards the bottom left, and then press “Okay.”
Erase most of the layer, only leaving a small area around the main part of the flare. Then position the center of the flare over the moon. Then set the layer to Linear Dodge.
Create a new layer. Use a number of soft brushes with a nice red color (#ed1e26) to create a red hotness above the moon. Then lower the opacity of the layer to around 10 to 15%.
Step 5: Creating the Asteroids To create our asteroids, we are going to add another stock image to our document. There’s a great picture of a huge rock over at stock.xchng, so we’ll use that! Normally, you would use the pen tool to cut the rock out yourself, but I’ve done it for you to speed up the process.
Large view Open the image, and select the white background using the Magic Wand Tool. Then go to Select > Inverse to invert your selection, so that the rock is selected. Copy and paste it into your document. Then position it over the planet, rotate it so that the light part is facing the explosion, and finally resize it to a nicer size. Then duplicate it, and set the new one to Overlay. Press Ctrl + E to merge the two layers together so your asteroid is one layer again.
Duplicate your asteroid multiple times, resize it and rotate it. Do this until you have a nice little cluster of asteroids. If any of the asteroids gets blurry, go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen to sharpen it up a bit.
If you have any asteroids above other asteroids, they need to cast a shadow. Select the asteroid that has a shadow cast on it. Then, on a new layer above that asteroid, use a small soft black brush to brush a shadow in.
As before, use a nice orange (#e6602b) and yellow (#fdfc92) color to color the edges of the asteroids. Do this by Ctrl + clicking on the layer thumbnails and then using a large soft brush to brush the edges on a new layer. Set the layer mode to Multiply and the opacity to 50%.
Repeat the process multiple times for the other asteroids. Try to find other pictures of rocks to get some different sizes and shapes.
Step 6: Final Touches These next steps are for really going in and chiseling out the look we want. This stage usually involves a lot of experimentation and patience to get the look you want. Create a new layer on the top level of your document. Go to Image > Apply Image and press “Okay” to paste a merged copy of your document onto the layer. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate to make the image grayscale.
Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a blur of 2 px. Set the layer to Overlay and lower the opacity to 50%. What we just did was make our dark colors darker and our light colors lighter, and also add a small blur between them to give it a glow.
Large view Final Step: Pat Yourself on the Back There we have it: our Space Explosion is complete! I don’t know about you, readers, but I’m exhausted. Normally, pieces like this take days or weeks to put together, and now that you know how to do it you can create some original pieces of your own. Below, you will find some links to works that inspired this tutorial and others that are for inspiration. Resources
PSDTUTS: 40 Mind-Blowing Digital Space Paintings deviantART: Art deviantART: Brushes
About the author Tyler Bramer loves graphic design and game development. He constantly seeks to improve himself and find as much inspiration as he can. He passes any knowledge he has on to others as best as he can. You can follow Tyler on Twitter. (al)
© Tyler Bramer for Smashing Magazine, 2009. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Submit to Reddit | Submit to Facebook | Who is linking? | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: explosion, photoshop, tutorial
February 22 2009, 6:14am | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
The Ultimate Collection Of Free Photoshop Patterns
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/12/the-ultimate-collection-of-free-photoshop-patterns/
by Steven Snell Photoshop users can save themselves a great deal of time and end up with better results by taking advantage of readily available freebies, such as brushes, patterns and shapes. With the wide variety and (often) high quality of resources available, whatever you need or are looking for is in most cases already available somewhere. The only problem is that the vast quantity of freebies can make it difficult to track down what you need. Hopefully this collection of excellent Photoshop patterns will help. The resources featured here are all available as downloads in PAT format, which can be placed in Photoshop. In addition to this format, there is also a number of quality resources online for creating or using patterns in other formats that can be used by any program, not just Photoshop. As with any type of freebie, always be sure to check the license or requirements set by the creator. Skull Patterns Two skull patterns from Go Media using an image from one of its vector packs.
Carbon Fiber A carbon fiber pattern.
Patterns from PunkSafetyPin This set of 15 patterns from a deviantART user offers more than 30 other packs of patterns.
Grunge Pattern Set Nine large and high-quality grunge patterns.
Dots Pattern Set Eight dot patterns of various colors and styles.
Hexagonal Patterns Seventy-two black-and-white horizontal and vertical patterns.
Skulls and Hearts Three different gray, white and pink patterns.
Charcoal Demask One seamless pattern.
Victiorian Dreams Textures Ten textured patterns of different variations.
Paisley A set of eight stylish paisley patterns.
Checkered Patterns Three different patterns featuring a checkered design.
Different Texture A swirling flourish pattern.
Scanline and Screentone Patterns A big collection of 27 different patterns.
Spiderman Pattern One tileable metal pattern.
Patterns from DesignSpice A set of 10 repeating blue patterns.
Zig-Zag Pattern Set Eight colorful zig-zag patterns.
Scanlines1000 A set of 21 transparent patterns of scan lines.
Patterns by Raimyu A set of 20 patterns of different kinds.
Squidfingers Pack A huge set of 108 different patterns of all kinds.
Textured Stripes Six patterns of textured diagonal stripes of various colors.
Floral Patterns A set of 17 patterns with different floral styles.
Tile Patterns A large set of 36 patterns of tiles. Brick and wood patterns are also included.
Animal Print Patterns This set includes 18 different animal-fur print and skin patterns.
Grungy and Dirty Patterns Seamless, big texture patterns. There are 27 in the set.
Micro Patterns A big collection of 54 patterns.
Vector Patterns Twelve attractive patterns in this set.
Wallpaper Patterns A total of six patterns (two different sizes of three patterns).
Dots and Stripes Patterns Ten patterns, four of stripes and six of dots.
Floral Patterns Includes 28 patterns, plus PNG files for each.
Cards Pattern Eight different variations of the pattern are included.
Handmade Paper Patterns A set of seven patterns (the same pattern in seven colors).
Patterns by Camilak3 A set of 17 patterns that include stars, butterflies, hearts and paw prints.
Web 2.0 Pattern Collection A huge set of 133 patterns in various Web 2.0 styles.
Seamless Patterns Six different patterns to choose from.
Stripes Patterns This set includes four patterns in various colors.
Wood Pattern Textures Set This set includes 19 wood patterns with different shades and styles.
Plaid and Checkered Patterns A total of 25 patterns are included in this set.
Lace Patterns This set contains 19 seamless lace patterns.
Noise Patterns Ten seamless noise patterns for adding texture.
Brick Texture Patterns This set includes eight brick patterns.
Composition Patterns Five patterns of notebook paper and a composition book.
PS Patterns Pack A set of three different patterns, including squares, dots and hearts.
Fire Patterns A set of 20 high-resolution fire patterns.
Chevrons Pattern Set A set of eight patterns of different shapes and colors.
Fiber Paper Pattern Set A set of 10 patterns of different colors with a textured look.
Patterns #22 A set of 30 colorful patterns.
Spring Fling This set includes 36 pink and green patterns.
Stripes Patterns A set of 30 disturbed stripe patterns.
Line Patterns This set contains 25 colorful patterns of lines.
Bourbon Stripes A set of 12 stripe patterns, both vertical and horizontal, with different color combinations.
Hearts and Boxes Three patterns in a hand-drawn style.
Related Resources, Tutorials and Articles: How to Install Photoshop Patterns If you’re unsure how to install and use the patterns featured here, this article explains the simple process. Photoshop Tutorial: Creating Custom Patterns Hongkiat has a tutorial that demonstrates the steps in creating a simple repeating pattern.
Creating Patterns in Photoshop CS2 Veerle demonstrates how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to create a seamless pattern.
BgPatterns A fun and useful tool for creating your own JPG file to use as a repeating pattern.
Stripe Generator If a striped pattern is what you’re after, this tool will let you create your own any way you like it.
COLOURlovers COLOURlovers has a great collection of user-submitted patterns for downloading in PNG format.
About the Author Steven Snell is a Web designer and freelance blogger who can be found on his own blogs: Vandelay Website Design and DesignM.ag. (al)
February 12 2009, 7:00pm | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
Light Blurs Brushes and Decoration Pack For Photoshop
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/15/light-blurs-brushes-and-decoration-pack-for-photoshop/
Over the last few weeks, our readers have complained that we have been releasing “way too many freebies“. Apparently, we have been posting “too many filler articles” containing freebies that can be found elsewhere on the Web. We would like to make it clear that we do try to release useful things, and we do try to keep the high quality of these freebies and it has never been our intention to fill our publishing schedule with freebie posts. We are going to continue to release freebies from time to time (though not as often as we have over the last months), and we’ll make sure they meet our (and your) standards of high quality. Please let us know your opinion in the comments section below and in the poll below. Thank you. In this post we release two sets, a Light Blurs Photoshop Brushes, a set of 23 high-quality “light” brushes and Vector Photoshop Brushes Decoration Pack, a set of decoration brushes for Photoshop. Light Blurs Photoshop Brushes Light Blurs Photoshop Brushes is a set of 23 high-quality brushes, created for Adobe Photoshop and available for free usage without any restrictions whatsoever. The set is created by Ben Collier especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers.
You can use the set for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this article if you would like to spread the word.
large preview download the set (.zip, 18 Mb)
Motivation behind the design Here are some insights from the designer himself: “I recently discovered the fireworks mode on my Sony Cybershot and have since been experimenting with a bunch of different light sources. The results have been pretty interesting, so I thought I would make some of them into a brush set. For this set I used candles, a desk lamp, my iPhone, my car radio, my car cigarette lighter, a clock radio, street lights and some sparklers (the most fun!). I then took the image, changed it to a grayscale document, inverted the colours, then adjusted the levels until I was happy with the contrast. They’re all quite large brushes and could be useful for a lot of different effects so I hope you enjoy! Feel free to use them for anything you like - both commercial and personal. Some of them are released for free on my weblog. Please send me a link if you end up using any of my brushes in your designs – I would love to see them!” Thank you, Ben. We appreciate your efforts and your intentions. By the way, together with a couple of professional Photoshop tutorials for glows and light effects you can certainly use this set to add some beautiful lightning effects in your designs. Vector Photoshop Brushes Decoration Pack A set of decoration vector brushes compatible with Photoshop version 7 and higher as well as a vector .eps-file compatible with Adobe Illustrator 8. Designed by 123freevectors.com exclusively for Smashing Magazine and released as a gift to its readers.
You can use the set for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this article if you would like to spread the word.
large preview download the set (.zip, 1.7 Mb)
We would like to express a sincere gratitude to designers helping us to release professional high-quality freebies. We appreciate your support and your good intentions. Would you like to have freebies on SM? We would like to know your opinion. Would you like to have more or less freebies released on Smashing Magazine? Or you think that SM’s freebies are unnecessary and do not fit to our magazine? Let us know in the poll and in the comments! And please also suggest some freebies you would like to have released via SM! Please notice: multiple choice is possible in the poll and you can also add your own suggestion to the polls. Do you want SM to release freebies in 2009? ( surveys) What freebies should SM release (if any)? ( surveys)
December 15 2008, 10:19am | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
The Ultimate Collection Of Photoshop Custom Shapes
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/11/the-ultimate-collection-of-photoshop-custom-shapes/
By Steven Snell Photoshop users are able to benefit from the vast amount of high-quality resources that are freely available to the community. Brushes get a lot of attention, but custom shapes are also extremely useful in the right situations. Finding a custom shape that has already been created can save you some time and headaches in your design, and fortunately there is a very wide variety of custom shapes available. This post highlights 80 different sets of custom shapes (over 2,500 individual shapes) in several different categories. If you plan to download and use any of these shapes be sure to check to terms and conditions set by the creator of the shapes. 1. People People Silhouettes (306 shapes)
Costumes and Characters Shapes (56 shapes)
Skateboarding (9 shapes)
Skater Collection (3 shapes)
Skateboarders (8 shapes)
Stock Girls (8 shapes)
Businessman Silhouettes (12 shapes)
Business Girls (12 silhouettes)
Jumping People Silhouettes (104 shapes)
Break Dancing (8 shapes)
Hoops (57 shapes)
Presentational Shapes (10 shapes)
Random People Shapes (11 shapes)
People Shape Set (25 shapes)
Hot Babes (7 shapes)
Go-Go Girls (18 shapes)
Sexy Stances (13 shapes)
Ladies (7 shapes)
Sexy Girls (47 shapes)
- Animals Birds (12 shapes)
Butterflies (38 shapes)
Horses (9 shapes)
Horses (15 shapes)
Zebras (6 shapes)
Sea Creatures (27 shapes)
Animals (10 shapes)
Animal Patterns (13 shapes)
Bugs (20 shapes)
Weathered Flying Bugs (21 shapes)
- Planes and Boats Aircraft (21 shapes)
Maritime (27 shapes)
WW2 Planes (13 shapes)
- Guns and Weapons Guns (30 shapes)
Guns (26 shapes)
Ray Guns and Laser Blasters (15 shapes)
I Love Weapons (12 shapes)
- Halloween Shapes Halloween Shapes (23 shapes)
Halloween Shapes (10 shapes)
- Trees Trees (17 shapes)
Dead Trees (24 shapes)
Live Trees (21 shapes)
Plan Trees (20 shapes)
- Circles Retro Circles (10 shapes)
Circles (10 shapes)
Circles, Lines and Sunlights (108 shapes)
- Random Shapes Stars (200 shapes)
Sunbursts (30 shapes)
Splats and Drips (15 shapes)
Splat Shapes (8 shapes)
Stains & Blots (34 shapes)
Drips (25 shapes)
Paisley (24 shapes)
Kiddy Stuffs (72 shapes)
Ribbon Collection (3 shapes)
Voters Collection (2 shapes)
Surfing Themed Shapes (6 shapes)
Hero Shapes (13 shapes)
Flames (5 shapes)
Markers (23 shapes)
Vector Shapes (13 shapes)
Arrows (10 shapes)
Speech Bubble Shapes (42 shapes)
Cartoon Shapes (25 shapes)
Assorted Logos (38 shapes)
CD & DVD Logos (7 shapes)
Foliage Shapes (371 shapes)
Tools (9 shapes)
I Love Skulls (12 shapes)
Urban Shapes (31 shapes)
World Map (3 shapes)
Banner and Scrolls (28 shapes)
Art Supplies (16 shapes)
Skyline Collection (6 shapes)
Arabeski (23 shapes)
- Combination Packs Custom Shapes Pack v. 1.1 (100 shapes)
Custom Shape Pack (45 shapes)
50s Custom Shapes (14 shapes)
Revolution Collection (6 shapes)
Custom Shape Mix (24 shapes)
Vector Shape Mix (50 shapes)
If you’re interested in learning more about the basics of custom shapes, how to load them, and how to create your own, try the following resources.
What are Photoshop Custom Shapes? Loading Custom Shapes Creating Custom Shapes Create Your Own Photoshop Custom Shapes Creating Photoshop Custom Shape Sets
About the Author: Steven Snell is a Web designer and freelance blogger who can be found on his own blogs: Vandelay Website Design and DesignM.ag. (al)
December 11 2008, 8:20pm | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
50 Excellent Digital Photography Photoshop Tutorials
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/07/50-excellent-digital-photography-photoshop-tutorials/
Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for digital-image editing and graphics creation. Photoshop’s versatility makes it a popular choice among Web designers, graphic designers, digital media artists, print designers, photographers and other professionals in design and image-editing. Whether you’re designing a business card or website or digitally enhancing an image, you can rest assured that Photoshop will give you the necessary tools to get the job done. In this article, we focus on tutorials on digital photography. You’ll find an assortment of top-notch tutorials that deal with applying post-production techniques and effects, color correction, enhancement and photo retouching. So fire up Photoshop and try out some of these wonderful tutorials on your own photos! Without further ado, we present you with 50 Excellent Photoshop Tutorials for Digital Photography. Photo Effects HDR-Style Results Using Layers in Photoshop Learn how to achieve HDR results in Photoshop using bracketed exposures during the production process and then Photoshop layers afterwards.
How to Create Professional HDR Images Here’s an excellent (and very popular) tutorial on creating high dynamic range (HDR) images; the author focuses on realism instead of going overboard with the application of HDR.
Photoshop HDR tutorial This tutorial shows you how to create true HDR using bracketed exposure and Photoshop for post-production.
Using the HDR Feature in Photoshop CS2/CS3 This thorough tutorial walks you through the basic concept of HDR photography and how to use Photoshop to make your photographs pop.
How to Make Digital Photos Look like Lomo Photography In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to apply the “lomography” effect to your digital photos.
Infrared Photo Effect in Photoshop This tutorial shows you a way to simulate the infrared effect with photos taken using point-and-shoot cameras.
Exposure blending tutorial Create an HDR photo by blending exposures with this Photoshop tutorial.
Your photos, 300-style! Give photographs the sepia-toned 300 movie effect.
How to Use Photoshop’s Lens Blur Tool for Tilt-Shift Fakery Tilt-shift lenses are expensive and not very versatile. Save some money by checking out this Photoshop tutorial on how to fake tilt-shift photography.
Tilt Shift Photoshop Tutorial: How to Make Fake Miniature Scenes Here’s another method for faking tilt-shift photography.
The Tilt-Shift Miniature Fake Technique This tutorial walks you through the basics of picking a subject for the tilt-shift effect and using Photoshop’s blur and gradient tools to fake it.
Vignette 2.0 Give your photos a natural-looking vignette effect by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.
Adding a Diffuse Glow to Your Images Apply diffuse glow to your photographs to create a dreamy effect with this Photoshop tutorial.
Image Enhancement and Correction Improving Landscape Photographs Enhance your landscape images by reading through this Photoshop tutorial.
Using Masks to Improve Landscape Images Use the masking feature in Photoshop to improve your landscape images.
Color Correction, by the Numbers Use CMYK values (obtained with the eyedropper tool in Photoshop) to correct colors in a photograph.
Color Correction Using Levels and Eyedroppers In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll see another method of correcting colors by using the levels-adjustment feature and by sampling colors with the eyedropper tool.
Enhance Your Image with Selective Color Adjustments This tutorial uses a “non-destructive” and selective method for enhancing colors in a photograph.
Black and White Is the Key to Better Color Temporarily convert your image to black and white to improve color enhancement methods in Photoshop.
Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement This excellent Photoshop tutorial explains local contrast enhancement and a method for using the unsharp mask feature.
Local Contrast Enhancement Learn the theory behind local contrast enhancement and learn a practical way of applying the method to enhance images.
Sharpening Using an Unsharp Mask Learn the concept behind the unsharp mask feature in Photoshop to sharpen photographs.
Sharpen Those Photos: Unsharp Mask This tutorial shares a brief history of traditional photo sharpening techniques and how to sharpen images digitally in Photoshop.
Noise Reduction by Image Averaging Reduce image noise in Photoshop by following this in-depth tutorial.
Using the Photoshop Levels Tool This tutorial discusses the concept behind Photoshop’s levels tool, as well as how to use it effectively to enhance photographs.
Using the Photoshop Curves Tool In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn about the curves tool in Photoshop and how to use it to improve photographs.
Advanced Photo Sharpening This Photoshop tutorial shares a more complex method for sharpening photos using a variety of techniques such as using filters and setting threshold adjustments.
Controlled Image Sharpening Learn another method of controlled image sharpening via this Photoshop tutorial.
Digital Blending Learn how to enhance dynamic range by reading through this excellent Photoshop tutorial.
Gaussian Blur Learn how to use Gaussian blur to enhance and soften photographs in Photoshop.
Lens Correction Filter in Photoshop CS2 Learn about the lens correction filter in Photoshop to fix image distortions.
Photo Manipulation and Retouching Add Dynamic Lighting to a Flat Photograph Add dynamic lighting to a photograph to make it pop in this Photoshop tutorial.
Getting a Grip on the Vanishing Point Filter Learn how to use Photoshop’s vanishing point filter to extend certain areas in the photograph.
How to Stitch Photos in Photoshop Learn a method of stitching together two photographs using Photoshop.
Super-Fast and Easy Facial Retouching In this tutorial, you’ll learn a method for hassle-free and speedy facial retouching.
Quick and Effective Facial Photo Retouching Here’s another method for quick and easy facial retouching.
Four Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop! This tutorial shares four simple but effective Photoshop techniques for isolating a subject.
Awesome Photo-Realistic Coloring Techniques Learn the basics of coloring techniques via a practical example (coloring the hair of a black-and-white photograph) in this wonderful Photoshop tutorial.
Removing Objects From Photos Learn the basics of removing objects you don’t want to be seen in your photographs by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.
Black and White with a Splash of Color In this tutorial, you’ll see a method for the selective coloring of a black-and-white photo.
Hand-Colouring a Black-and-White Photo in Photoshop Learn a method of manually coloring a black-and-white photo in Photoshop.
Converting a Digital Color Photo to Black and White Here is another effective method of converting colored photographs to black and white.
Colour to Black and White Using Channel Mixer Convert photos from color to black and white using Photoshop’s channel mixer.
Quick Fix for Cluttered Backgrounds Cluttered backgrounds can be a distraction from the photo’s subject. Here’s an introductory-level tutorial on reducing visual clutter in the background of a photograph.
Antiquing Digital Images in Photoshop You don’t have to wait decades for your photographs to fade in color; simulate the effect using Photoshop.
Change Hair Color Photoshop Tutorial Learn a method of retouching a subject’s hair color via this excellent Photoshop tutorial.
Creating a Sunset Effect in Photoshop Tutorial Give photographs taken in the middle of the day a sunset effect by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.
Photo Retouching: Spotlight Effect In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn how to highlight parts of a subject by giving the area a digitally placed, but natural-looking, spotlight.
Image Retouching: Advanced Skin Softening Learn a method of removing skin blemishes by softening the skin using the surface blur filter in Photoshop.
Nesting Smart Objects for Multi-Mask Effects in Photoshop Learn all about nesting smart objects in Photoshop to smoothen and sharpen details in a photo.
Related posts If you enjoyed this article, you may also want to check out the following Smashing Magazine articles:
35 Beautiful Vintage and Retro Photoshop Tutorials 70 Beauty Retouching Photoshop Tutorials 50 Photoshop Tutorials For Sky and Space Effects 40 Beautiful Grunge Photoshop Tutorials The Ultimate Collection Of Useful Photoshop Actions Photoshop Tutorials To Improve Your Modeling and Design
About the Author Jacob Gube is a Web developer/designer and author of Six Revisions, a blog on Web development and design. If you want to connect with the author, you can follow him on Twitter. (al)
- Tags:
- Tutorials
- photography
- photoshop
- digital
December 7 2008, 1:53pm | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
Innocent Invaders Photoshop Brushes Set
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/03/innocent-invaders-photoshop-brushes-set/
Today we are glad to release Innocent Invaders Photoshop Brushes Set, a set that features a curious cast of characters who are ready to infiltrate your creative projects. Inspired by designer vinyl toys, this high resolution set includes a collection of 15 different creatures accompanied by 10 background illustrations.
These brushes are designed by Katie Canada and Jason Gaylor of Mediaslap. This set was designed exclusively for Smashing Magazine and its readers. Download the sets for free! You can use the set for all of your projects for free. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. You may not use these brushes on designs for sale on stock photography sites. You’ll find installation instructions in the package. Please link to this article if you would like to spread the word.
large preview download (.zip, 2.8 Mb)
Last But Not Least We are constantly looking for creative designers and artists. You may not know it yet, but we may feature you in one of our upcoming posts. If you would like to release a free high-quality font, a Wordpress theme, Photoshop brushes, a Drupal theme, some wallpapers, an icon set or something else, please contact us. We would like to support you (both financially and with the broad readership of Smashing Magazine).
December 3 2008, 3:41am | Comments »
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