In this tutorial I will show you how to create realistic shadows in photoshop using one technique (as always in Photoshop, there is more than one way to skin a photo)
I will be using the same shape I was using in the Illustrator tutorial to demonstrate the techniques in this one. To get it into Photoshop I just copied and pasted it in as a Smart Object. (For more on Smart Objects, check out this previous tutorial)
Another often overlooked aspect of most Creative Suite apps is their ability to store preset panel combinations. Adobe call these workspaces and they can be extremely useful for rapidly loading specific panel sets or just carrying out general tidying up.
Workspaces can be found in two locations: under the View>Workspaces drop down menu or, in the Application bar on the right hand side.
InDesign workspace switcher
I this example I’m using InDesign. The current workspace (Essentials) is displayed in the application bar next to the search field. Click on the downward triangle to see a list of preset workspaces (this is known as the workspace switcher).
In the previous masking tutorial (found here) we looked at how to use some of Photoshops masking tools. But now we will look at a new kind of mask, the Clipping Mask.
So let’s start playing with this tool. Here I have a background and a line of text. What I would love is for the background texture to fill only the text area. This can be done with standard masks in just a few clicks, but with two clicks it can be one with clipping masks.
(1st click) Move text under the texture.
Using the masking tools in Photoshop is more about showing things off than hiding them. They can be a tricky thing to master, but I will use this tutorial to show you how to use effective masking techniques in your work.
To demonstrate the tools, let’s create a space themed application icon. These complex pieces of artwork often incorporate many existing images or textures to represent the software in one single and complete icon.
As more and more apps become available in the iTunes App Store, ensuring your graphics stand out is becoming increasingly important. I will take you through the process of creating a character for an iPhone app and saving it in the correct sizes for use on the many iOS devices with Smart Objects in Photoshop. I will also show you how to use the new Stroke Width and Shape Builder tools in CS5 Illustrator over the course of this three part tutorial blog.
Not got CS5? No need to fret, I’ll also take you through the alternatives for users on older versions of the Creative Suite.
Camera Raw is an incredibly useful tool that many professional photographers use to make adjustments to photos. The great thing is with these changes, they are non-destructive – meaning, everything is always undoable! For example, if you make a crop that you then later decide is too tight, you can open the image and change the crop or remove it completely.
Camera Raw is not just for photographers, anyone who needs to make adjustments to their images, small or large, should take advantage of the powerful tools.
Adobe has just released the Creative Suite 5.5 version of its ongoing Printing Guide. If you haven’t seen it before, this is an extensive document updated for each version of Creative Suite. It explains in detail a myriad of technicalities related to getting your documents to print correctly in a commercial environment. Even if you have read it before it’s always worth reading up on new features and how they affect existing print workflows and for known problems. You may not be aware, for example, that InDesign cannot honour all Photoshop blend modes, which can cause unpredictable problems on output. The printing guide also acts as a great overview to the new features of the various CS apps and as introduction to some of the more difficult workflow concepts such as colour management and transparency flattening. Best of all, it’s free.
With so much of the world looking for subtlety in effects for logos and icons, it can sometimes be hard to know what is the right way to use the many exciting Photoshop filters and effects in the right way from a design perspective. The ‘Gloss’ effect is becoming an important finishing touch to many designs, especially now smart phones are driven by app icons that need to look perfect in order for it to get noticed. Developers are starting to notice why a good, finished design is essential.
Here are some of the must know tips for any Photoshop Guru. Once you have a few of these under your belt, your colleagues will be referring to you as Obi Wan.
These Tips and Tricks work similarly in previous versions of Adobe Creative Suite.
10 Shortcuts to make your life easier
1. Shift + Tab
Most people known that Tab will hide the palettes and toolbar (If you didn’t there’s one bonus tip) but Shift + Tab will only hide the palettes. This will help those on smaller screens.
2. Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z
