Halftone Smudge Brush

Here is an unusual way of using the Smudge tool to generate interesting halftone streaks. Continue Reading »

October 12th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tutorials | Comments (20)

Scale Effects

Now this is something that still seems to stump people in Photoshop when it come to Layer Styles. Continue Reading »

October 10th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tools, Tutorials | Comments (13)

New CS4 Courses at Kelby Training

Ever since the announcement of Photoshop CS4, we here at the NAPP have working diligently to put together some the best courses for this new version and some of them are available now. The Photoshop CS4 Power Session by Matt Kloskowski was made available just recently and it covers all the new features in CS4. Everything you need to get up-to-speed quickly. Next we have Creative Suite 4 Integration by Dave Cross. This course not only covers Photoshop, but also how it integrates smoothly with Illustrator and InDesign CS4. Get a peek into these new apps right here in this course. Other courses that are on the way include Design Effects with Photoshop by Corey Barker (me) and Photoshop & Dreamweaver CS4 Integration by RC. True, these apps are not out yet, but here’s your chance to get to know the software before any of your friends. If you are not subscribed to Kelby Online Training, click here. NAPP members also get a discount. Check it out!

October 9th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (1)

Upgrading from Photoshop 7

If you are using Photoshop 7 and you want to upgrade to the newest version of Photoshop. You need to hurry and upgrade by October 15. According to John Nack’s blog, Adobe will only allow upgrading up to three versions back. So to upgrade to Photoshop CS3 you would need CS2, CS, or Photoshop 7. When CS4 is released Photoshop 7 will no longer qualify. So check on that and make sure your version qualifies. Don’t wait, October 15 is closing in.

Also for you Illustrator users out there, I have a new tutorial on applying photos to 3D shapes over at the Layers Magazine website. Click here to watch and enjoy!

October 7th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (4)

New Tutorial: Energize That Photo

This week’s tutorial is really cool and really quick. The effect can be achieved in no time at all. In just a few steps we can turn a normal photo into an exciting design. Here we will utilize layers and filters to jazz things up a little. We will also make use of Photoshop’s powerful brush engine. Just by changing a few settings you can have a custom brush capable of creating a variety of different effects. Combine that with layers styles and you end up with some really cool results. Check it out.

October 6th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

Energize That Photo

Learn how to add excitement and energy to your photo in just a few simple steps. Continue Reading »

October 5th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Effects, Tutorials | Comments (32)

Calling All iPhone Owners

Do you have an iPhone? If you do then you have a chance to make a name for yourself. Kelby Training is hosting a new photo contest for iPhone owners. That’s right, a photo contest with your iPhone. Go out there and shoot stuff with your built in camera and submit them to win a copy of the new iPhone book by Scott Kelby and a grand prize of a $500 Apple store card. The contest begins on October 1 and closes on October 24. Then there will be a public voting from October 28-30. Winners will be announced on November 3rd. So if you never actually used the camera on your iPhone, now is the time. You can enter up to three images. So don’t wait. Go out there and have fun! Click here for more info.

October 2nd, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (1)

NAPP on YouTube

Did you know that the NAPP has a page on YouTube? I didn’t even know that. No, I’m kidding. Yes, the video guys over at Scrivtown have put together a collection of tutorials, interviews, and a few surprises and posted them for all to enjoy. You can even watch the keynote movies from past Photoshop Worlds. Also included is the wildly popular iPod Flea commercial among many other frivolous spots. So if you are in the mood for a laugh or maybe want learn a little something go check it out.

One more quick thing. I was checking out John Nack’s blog and there is a really interesting 30 minute video by Adobe Evangelist Julianne Kost on the new Bridge. Really interesting stuff. Check it out here.

September 30th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (1)

New Design Elements Video

In this week’s video tutorial I demonstrate how you can take a really basic photo and extract elements to create an interesting design element in Photoshop. The cool thing is that this could work on almost any photo. All you need to do is look at the various part of a photo and pick an element that has an interesting shape to it. Then by applying this technique you can turn a noticeable object into a really interesting abstract shape. You could even take it further by turning the shape into a custom brush.

September 28th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (3)

What’s In A Name

So a lot of people see me doing crazy stuff with filters in Photoshop and I often ask people if they ever use filters. I was surprised to find out that very few actually do. The ones they do use are common ones like Blur or Sharpen, but there are dozens of other filters in Photoshop that no one ever really bothers with because they either didn’t know they were there or were put off by the name. Don’t let that throw you off. Just because a filters bears a certain name that doesn’t mean it cannot contribute to a really cool effect. A while back I did a tutorial on creating water droplets on a bottle. The effect was achieved by using the Stained Glass and the Plaster filters. Going strictly by the names I would never have considered they would create such an effect but they did. So my point here is to experiment. Don’t pay attention to what a filter is called. Try it out.! Play with the settings on different images. Try a filter you have never used before. You just might find that one effect you’ve been looking for. The gems are already there in Photoshop, you just have to dig them up. Enjoy!!!

September 26th, 2008 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (3)