Creative Cloud is Adobe’s online service which will bring together many of the leading design and production applications together with a collaborative workspace and online storage facility.

Creative Cloud is a subscription service, membership of which allows access to all of the forthcoming Creative Suite 6 applications plus Adobe Muse (for building web sites without coding), Adobe’s Touch apps (such as Photoshop, Adobe Ideas etc for mobile devices) and 20gb of free storage.

Members will be able to manage and download their software applications from Creative Cloud. Note that this does not mean the apps are streamed over the cloud, InDesign, Photoshop etc are still downloaded and installed on your desktop.

The objective of Creative Cloud is to provide a seamless sharing environment where work can be accessed at any time from any device, desktop, laptop or mobile. Creative Cloud integrates with all Adobe applications allowing immediate uploading of files for previewing, comment or editing.

Though Creative Cloud is web based, a web connection is not required to use desktop applications. A license check will be performed every 30 days for which a web connection is required. Creative Cloud itself is the optional web sharing and online management system.

Additional benefits include:

Access to Windows and Mac versions of the apps, which can be installed on up to two devices.

Public and private sharing of files

Full integration with TypeKit, allowing web designers to work with more specialised fonts.

Use of Adobe’s Business Catalyst service for hosting Web sites

Adobe sees Creative Cloud as roadmap leading to many future developments including, addition of more applications including Lightroom, (image management and editing) DPS single edition (tablet publishing plug-in for InDesign) and Adobe Edge (animation application which outputs HTML 5).

Existing Creative Suite (CS3 and upwards) owners can upgrade to Creative Cloud for around £22 (ex VAT) per month and new subscriptions will be around £33 (ex VAT) . Monthly and annual, subscriptions will be available. A free option is also available with 30 day trials and 2gb storage.

John Hawkinson has posted an extensive list here, but notable fixes include:

Stability enhancements due to fixes to apparently random crashes when copying & pasting, exporting to PDF with text variables, file recovery, packaging & preflighting and with certain fonts in balanced text frames.

Performance improvements when moving objects when display is set to High Quality and general redraw performance improvements.

Improved graphics handling including white stitching line in JPEG export with certain placed images scaling percentage and JPEG export resolution and reduced transparency support for TIFF files from Photoshop CS6.

To install the update, go the Help menu in any Adobe application and select Updates.

Mixing your subject with objects in the scene will help sell the illusion better, so I have placed the subject over the barrel and will now make it look like she is standing next to it. The shadow is causing a problem, but nothing a mask cannot fix.

I added a mask to the folder containing my shadows and then created a path with the pen tool around the offending shadow. This was turned into a selection by Cmd/Ctrl clicking on the path and now I will fill the mask with black from the selection (by ensuring the mask is the active layer before going to Edit -> Fill or Shift + F5)

But… as it turns out, now the shadows look slightly off after that re-adjustment. Well because my shadow layers are in a folder which is masked, I can still select them, shift the shadow around with the distort transform (used earlier) and the mask will not be effected!

Now for final enhancements. Tailor these to your image and fine tune as you need. In my image the subject is way too sharp and detailed to fit in. A higher quality background would help this, but when not available there are things that can be done. Also this is meant to look quite old and wild west in style so it will only aid the photo. I merged the group containing my subject and then added a Dust and Scratches filter to subtly remove some of the detail.

Next I add a little noise by going to Filter -> Add Noise.

And finally I bring this all together with a extremely soft gaussian blur. The blur is not strong enough to make the subject out of focus, it is just enough to blend the effects we just added.

Lastly some more colour balancing with Hue & Saturation to finalise the subject.

That’s it! Finished! Here is the final image – looks like she really is meant to be there!

Oh and I did another using the same subject and a different background so you can see what kind of effects you can get! This image was created by layering filters to create an effect that matched the background.

Enjoy! Now go forth and Photoshop!

The new features in the CS6 version of DreamWeaver include:

Fluid grid layout
Create cross-platform and cross-browser-compatible web designs using the CSS3-based fluid grid layout system. Work faster and more efficiently as you develop projects using clean, industry-standard code for a wide range of devices and computers. Visually construct complex web designs and page layouts without getting buried in code.


Enhanced jQuery Mobile support
JQuery mobile is one of the most popular frameworks for developing mobile web applications and in DreamWeaver CS6 the support for JQuery mobile has been upgraded making theming much easier. DreamWeaver CS6 introduces the JQuery mobile swatches panel, which gives easy access to the default themes of JQuery mobile as well as the ability to add your own custom themes, all of which can be applied with the simple click of a button.


Updated PhoneGap support
Updated support for Adobe PhoneGap™ makes it easier to build and package native apps for Android and iOS. Create mobile apps by repurposing existing HTML code. Use PhoneGap emulators to check your designs.


CSS3 transitions
Animate changes to CSS properties as transitions to bring web designs to life. Maintain greater control of web design as you finesse page elements and create captivating effects.


Updated Live View
Test pages before publishing using updated Live View functionality. Live View now uses the latest version of the WebKit rendering engine to provide the ultimate in HTML5 support.


Updated Multiscreen Preview panel
Check the display of projects built for smartphones, tablets, and desktops with the updated Multiscreen Preview panel. This enhanced panel now enables you to check rendering of HTML5 content

Dreamweaver CS6 incorporates a number of new features which together with the ongoing improvements in support for HTML5 and CSS3 make it a nice user friendly environment for developing web content. If you have a current subscription you will be able to jump in and start using it as soon as it’s shipping at no extra charge, if not it’s worth paying the upgrade price just for the improved standards support, let alone the new features.

New features in Illustrator CS6 include the following:

New efficient, flexible interface
The CS6 UI has been rebuilt from the ground up and as a result there are a lot of user interface enhancements. For starters you can now set the UI brightness settings making Illustrator easier on the eye. Additionally you now have the ability to edit layer names in the layers panel and this can be done for all content bearing panels such as brushes, swatches, and symbols. On the type side of things you can now scroll through and apply fonts using arrow keys, and the color panel has a new adjustable color ramp.


Pattern creation
Easily create seamlessly tiled vector patterns. Experiment freely with different types of repeating patterns that can be edited at any time for maximum design flexibility.


New Image Trace
Image trace is a completely new image tracer that makes the conversion of raster images into editable vector artwork quick and easy. Get clean lines, accurate fitting, and reliable results without using complex controls.


Gradients on strokes
The new gradient on strokes features allows you to easily apply gradients to strokes. What’s very neat is this can be done — along the length, across the width, or within the stroke itself — all with complete control over gradient placement and opacity.


Inline editing in panels
Efficiently edit names in layers, swatches, brushes, artboards, and other panels directly in the panels themselves without using intermediate dialog boxes. This saves time and helps prevent confusion when working with a large number of items.


Gaussian Blur enhancement
See that Gaussian Blur and effects such as Drop Shadows and Glows are applied significantly faster than before. To improve accuracy, preview directly on the artboard rather than in a dialog box.


Color panel enhancements
Sample colors faster and more precisely using an expandable color spectrum in the Color panel. And now, copy and paste hex values into other applications more quickly.


Type panel improvements
Use arrow keys to change fonts in context for selected text. Glyphs for caps, superscripts, and more can now be accessed in one place — from the Character panel.


Workspaces with rooms
Move fluidly from workspace to workspace with support for rooms. Achieve consistency across your work areas and maintain layout changes until you actively reset them.


Control panel enhancements
Quickly find what you need in a more efficient Control panel, now with consistency across options, anchor point controls, clipping masks, envelope distortions, and more.


Transparency panel improvements
Create and work with opacity masks more easily, thanks to the new Make Mask/Release button that now displays the masking functionality in the Transparency panel.

True white canvas color
Set your Illustrator CS6 workspace canvas to white for fast color sampling when you need to quickly grab a pure white.

In addition to the many new features and enhancements you can work with precision, speed, and rock-solid stability on large, complex files thanks to a new performance system that powers Illustrator CS6. With native 64-bit support on Mac OS and Windows® you can access all the RAM on your computer to easily open, save, and export large files and preview demanding designs. Just about everything feels faster and more responsive.

If you have a current subscription you will receive Illustrator CS6 at no charge, alternatively though you can either upgrade from a recent version or purchase the CS6 version of Illustrator.

Some of the new features introduced include:

Liquid Layout
Now you can apply liquid page rules to automatically adapt content when you create an alternate layout with a different size or orientation in InDesign. This makes it both quick and easy to design for multiple screen sizes and devices, something which is essential in today’s environment.


Alternate Layout
Now you can efficiently create and design multiple versions of a layout for different devices all within a single InDesign file. This helps you avoid the clutter of maintaining multiple documents just for a single piece of creative work.


Linked content
Link content within or across InDesign documents so that changes (including interactivity) made to the parent text or object are applied to all linked children objects. This is a great time saver helping you avoid hunting down all those instances of a particular item, when applying changes or updates to a document.


Content Collector tools
Grab text and objects from an existing layout using the Content Collector. In a new layout, use the Content Placer to add items in the order you want them to appear. This is a faster way to replicate pieces of copy and graphics across multiple layouts and documents, and a big improvement on the old copy and paste technique.


PDF forms within InDesign
If you have used InDesign to layout pdf forms, you’ll know how you then need to use Acrobat to insert the form fields. Well CS6 makes the job easier and you can now create form fields directly within InDesign before you export to PDF. You can also assign the tab order in InDesign using the Articles panel. Much simpler.


Split window & Pages panel enhancements
With InDesign CS6 you can now view two side-by-side layouts within the same document, to compare the look and feel of the layouts and help ensure consistency throughout. Additionally pages panel enhancements allow you to display alternate layouts in the Pages panel to organize content more efficiently.


Persistent text frame fitting options
Set frames to grow with additional text, based on simple parameters. Expand and shrink frames automatically for headlines, callouts, or other variable content. This is a nice timesaver, and saves having to constantly change the frame size for documents you have to regularly update.


Grayscale preview
Preview your layouts in grayscale to see how they will look on a black-and-white device or when printed in black and white.


Export to PNG
Export your InDesign document to PNG, a lossless format, for use on the web. You can export the entire document, part of the document, or individual items.

Enhanced zoom for linked objects
Zoom in to a linked object from the Links panel to evaluate it more clearly.

Interactive HTML
Include interactive HTML — such as Google Maps and animation developed with Adobe Edge software — in InDesign layouts. Interactivity is retained when exporting to HTML, EPUB3, or .folio for Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.

Live Preflight for digital publications
Preflight digital publications using EPUB and Adobe Digital Publishing Suite preflight profiles. Use Live Preflight to detect and fix any problems before exporting.

There are a number of other new features in InDesign CS6 all of which make it easier to design documents for multiple devices, saving you time and effort.
Those on a current subscription will get InDesign CS6 at no charge once it is released. If you don’t have a valid subscription you will need to upgrade to InDesign CS6 if your able or buy a new version if not.

If you are using InDesign to produce content for a variety of different platforms and screen sizes, then the CS6 upgrade is a must have. If not however it’s still a worthy upgrade with numerous enhancements and time saving options that have been introduced.

We have listed some of the newer features below:

Content Aware Patch
If you are looking to remove unwanted content from a photo and then replace it with a precise and seamless patch, then Content Aware patch is the tool for the job. It automatically creates the patch for you, but only after you’ve shown it exactly which area of your image you’d like it to sample from, and it then uses the Content-Aware technology which we have seen in recent versions of Photoshop to blend the patch into the surrounding area.


3D Controls at your finger tips
CS6 allows you to use a vastly simplified user interface to intuitively create and animate 3D artwork. You can use in-context and on-canvas controls to manipulate cages for 3D extrusions, change the orientation of scenes and objects, edit lights, and more.


Performance boosts
The Mercury Graphics engine means you see a significant performance boost which editing imagines with key tools such as liquify or puppet warp. You will also notice performance improvements when using 3D workflows, editing 3D content and rendering final work.


New and reengineered design tools
There are a number of new and reengineered design tools which let you create complex designs faster. Get consistent formatting with type styles, use vector layers to apply strokes and add gradients to vector objects, easily create custom strokes and dashed lines, quickly search layers, and more.


New Blur Gallery
The New Blur Gallery in Photoshop CS6 allows you to quickly create photographic blur effects using a simple new interface with on-image controls. You can create tilt-shift effects, blur everything and then sharpen one focal point, or vary the blurriness between multiple focal points.


All-new Crop tool
Now you can crop images faster and with greater precision using the all-new, nondestructive Crop tool. You can manipulate your images on canvas, and see your adjustments happen live.


New reflections and draggable shadows
Quickly achieve 3D realism by adding and enhancing shadows and reflections on your ground plane. Drag a shadow to reposition the light source, and easily edit ground reflections, shadows, and other effects.


Content-Aware Move
Move or extend a selected object to another area of your image, and then watch as Content-Aware Move magically recomposes and blends the object for a stunning visual result.


Preset migration and sharing
Easily migrate your presets, workspaces, preferences, and settings so you can experience Photoshop in the same way on all your computers, share your setup, and bring your customizations from past versions into Photoshop CS6.


Revolutionary erodible brushes
Draw more naturally and realistically using drawing tips that erode as you work. Endlessly wear down and sharpen a charcoal pencil or pastel to create different effects, and save favorite blunted tips as presets.

Brush enhancements
Paint more naturally by manually changing the rotation of your paint brush with your mouse. Dynamically resize your brushes with shortcuts, and take advantage of the Mercury Graphics Engine to fluidly adjust opacity or hardness.

Sharper vector rendering
Get sharper rendering by clicking once to snap the edges of vector objects to pixels.

Accurate 3D object merge
Accurately merge multiple 3D objects in a single scene so they can interact with the same lighting and cameras.

There are a number of other new features in the CS6 version of Photoshop, making it an interesting new release and the performance improvements introduced thanks to the Mercury Graphics Engine will certainly be appreciated by regular users. If you have a current subscription you will be able to upgrade to Photoshop CS6 at no charge once it starts shipping. For those who have a recent previous version of Photoshop with no current subscription there will be upgrade options available.

Apple’s ‘New ipad’ comes with a spectacular, high res retina display. If you want your DPS publications to look good on it, you’ll want to take account of it’s new resolution. Bob Bringhurst has summarised some useful points to consider.

Adobe has launched a new developer centre for all things DPS.

For those still deciding on whether or not to publish on tablets, Craig Morrow and Will Steuber offer some interesting analytics to help you think about it.

And finally Zeke Koch, Adobe’s Director of Product Management, discusses the business implications of tablet pubishing using Adobe DPS.

To start I dropped the cutout onto the background and manipulated it into place using Edit -> Free Transform (Or Cmd/Ctrl + T) It is best at this stage to get the proportions right and positions correct as best as possible as this could affect where you place shadows and what other effects you apply later.

The most important thing when dropping things into backgrounds and blending the two images into one is lighting and shadows. There are other things which come into play, and those I will cover soon, but first shadows! To create a shadow, duplicate the subject layer, lock the transparency and fill it with black. Then place it behind the main layer and use Edit -> Transform -> Distort to manipulate it into place. Remember, do not move the two base points as they are where the shadow is anchored to the feet. For more tips on shadows, see this tutorial.

To then refine the shadow I created a second layer, applied a soft gaussian blur and reduced the fill to 0% before applying a gradient overlay to give the faded effect. In this image the other shadows are quite harsh so I did not blue the layers too much. Try to best match the shadows to your image as they really help in selling the image as ‘real’. Alway keep light direction in mind.

Something really useful to think about is relations. In my image the subject is closer to the camera than the barrel, but also almost twice as tall, so this helps me to think where the top of the shadow will fall.

Next is colours. To adjust adjust the colours I put the main subject layer into a folder and changed its blending mode to normal (to prevent adjustment layers within that folder effecting anything outside of the folder.) Use saturation and vibrance along with levels to adjust the subject subtly. I took the saturation down a touch while bringing the vibrance up a little.

Join me for part 2 to finalise the image and mix the subject with the background to really sell the illusion.

To start I added a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Then using the colour selector hand in the palette I clicked on the green screen. This automatically selects the greens for me in the palette and will mean only those are changed.

Next I refined the selection by dragging the slider to cover all the greens.

For this background I want a dark, dusty brown to fit in with the theme, so I change the hue to get the brown I want and then bring the lightness and saturation down too.

As you can see though, there are some greens hues left on the subject of the image. These annoying sections can still be removed though. To do that I take the hand selection tool in the palette and click and drag left on effected areas to decrease the saturation.

Better, but not yet perfect. To refine the image further I add a levels adjustment layer and pull the end points in a little to increase the contrast; as well as adding a colour balance to suppress the greens further. Lastly I added another Hue/Saturation layer, filled it with black and carefully painted over the most effected areas with white in the layer mask before pushing the saturation down.

It is now looking much better. Now to clean up the edges with an incredibly handy tool – content aware fill. Simply select offending areas with the lasso, press Shift + F5 and choose Content Aware in the fill type. (Or Edit -> Fill)

After pressing Cmd/Ctrl + D to deselect you can look at your image with pride. A very nice plain canvas for you to work on and texture further if required!

I further touched up the image below with additional texture layers masked out over the subject and set to Soft Light in the blending mode. The opacity of this texture layer was reduced by 50%. Lastly, gradients which go from black to 100% transparent were added to darken the legs and outside to focus the viewer on the subjects face.

This effect is great for Black & White images or portraits where the shots were taken against a coloured background which you want to change but do not want to go through the effort of a full blown cut out.