Movie Font Madness | Free Logos

Ok, so I have thank my friend Christy for finding this one for me. It’s a site that has free fonts based on actual movies. The cool part is that the names of the fonts are the names of the movies they represent. For instance, the Blade Runner font is called Blade Runner Font. That makes it easy. They have a got a huge collection of popular movie fonts and also video game and music fonts as well. Go check it out yourself and have fun. Just remember to be aware of any copyright issues when using these fonts. They are meant to be for fun! Here’s the link. (I am little embarassed that I didn’t already know about this site but oh well.)

Also, here is another cool site I have used or years. It’s called Brand of the World and it provides a huge database of free vector logos of most popular brand names. Anything from fast food to commercial logos. It’s here and free!! So before you invest a lot of time in recreating a logo, give this site a try first. Remember, of course, copyright issues still apply here so be careful with what you are using these for. Here’s the link.

May 4th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

Where’s My PatternMaker?

It is always inevitable. Every time there is a new upgrade to Photoshop, there may be a few features that people might actually use. Then there are those added features that have some element of coolness, but no real applications at all. Take the PatternMaker. It was a seemingly good idea when it first came out but never got any real praise at all. If anything, it was made fun of by most in the industry.

Not me. I try and look at these things very differently and see what use it might have. For instance, here is one way I used the Pattern Maker for an interesting background effect. However, like the Extract filter, this was removed from Photoshop CS4. Well…Ok? True they weren’t popular filters but I don’t think they were completely useless. Do you? Well if you’re using CS4 and really miss those features, worry not! Adobe has gone ahead and provided these filters, among others, as an optional download from their website to add to your plug-ins folder. (Mac|Win) And always remember, just because a tool is designed for one thing doesn’t mean it can’t be used for something else. It’s all about knowing what it can do! Have fun and discover something new today!!

April 29th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (4)

Down & Dirty Tour Is Selling Fast!!

One of the most popular Photoshop seminar tours in history is returning this year by popular demand. The Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks Seminar Tour is kicking off in Washington DC on May 8 and it is selling fast. If you find yourself in the DC area, you don’t want to miss this whole day of Photoshop awesomeness!!! Scott Kelby and I have worked tirelessly to update the tour with some of the coolest and most popular Photoshop effects around. No boring mumbo-jumbo! This is the good stuff and a lot of it! I can remember attending this same tour years ago and it just lit up my creativity every time. Don’t miss out! I will also be in Richmond, VA on May 27. Other dates are pending so keep checking the Kelby Training Live site for tour info.

Also the Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks book will be available in the next couple weeks so be on the lookout. This newest edition is the one every one has been waiting for. This the book that just shows you how to do cool effects. Sometimes that is all you want. There are so many Photoshop books that cover how or why something works the way it does, but very few that tell you straight how to do something really cool. This is that book. Be sure to check it out and I hope you enjoy!!

April 24th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (3)

Newest NAPP Member Perk | Spot The Fake!!

As if there weren’t good enough reasons to join the NAPP, here’s is something else. Each month, over at the NAPP member site, members will be able to access a select course from Kelby Training totally free. One whole course that you can access at any time, at your own pace during the allotted time. This month members can view a new course from Vincent Versace: Lighting On A Laptop. Again this perk is only available to NAPP members. So if you are not a NAPP member yet, go here.

Scott Kelby had this really interesting link on his blog today. It is a site put up by Autodesk, who produce 3D software like Mudbox and AutoCAD, and it presents you a number of images and challenges you to distinguish what is real or what is fake or rather what is computer generated. I took the challenge myself and got 8 out of 10. Not too bad, but I am little disappointed in myself. Give it a try yourself and see how well trained your eyes are. Just don’t let your boss catch you wasting time!! Here’s the link.

April 23rd, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (5)

New Video Tutorial | Flash vs Strobes @ PS Insider

Hope everyone is having a great Monday out there. Just a couple quick things today. First, I have posted a brand new video tutorial here on Planet just this past weekend. In it we explore more cool ways of getting creative with the 3D features built into Photoshop CS4 Extended. I have discovered that people are very curious about these features and aren’t always sure where to start. My hope is that these tips will engage your curiosity in playing with these features a bit more because they are so much more powerful than they first appear.

Also for you photographers. Scott Kelby has a rather interesting post today on what the difference is between studio strobes and off-camera flashes. It’s an interesting post in which he lists the advantages and disadvantages of each. Even providing gear suggestions and price comparisons for both Canon and Nikon shooters. Check it out here.

April 20th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

Book of the Week

It’s Friday, Hooray!!! Today is going to be a short post because I am up to my ears in whole of super cool stuff. More on that later, though! Today I wanted to highlight my book pick of the week. It is The Hot Shoe Diaries by famed Photographer Joe McNally. This is the second book from Joe. His first being The Moment It Clicks. Which was a huge hit. However this newest one is already destined to to be even a bigger seller. It covers using small small flashes in various scenarios and is delivered is Joe’s usual entertaining style. If you have ever seen him teach live you know what I mean. Which makes this book not just informative, but entertaining as well. No serious photographer should without this book. Check it out here. That’s it for today.

Be sure to check back here next week. We will have the results of the latest tutorial contest and a brand new contest will be under way as well. Have a great weekend!!

April 17th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (2)

New Online Course | Cool Motion Graphics Site

RC Concepcion, my friend and fellow co-host of Layers TV has just released a new online course over at the Kelby Training site. It is called Online Photo Portfolios with Lightroom 2 and Dreamweaver CS4 and it covers creating custom photo galleries in Lightroom 2 and then adding them your website using Dreamweaver CS4. Being a photographer today means being out there and being visible. The best way to so that of course is to have a web page, but just putting up a simple page isn’t enough anymore. The site has to be just as appealing as the images themselves and most of all user friendly. This course will take you there so check it out here.

Also if you are in to motion graphics then you want to check out VideoCopilot.net. This is a free tutorial site hosted by motion graphics genius Andrew Kramer. Andrew has a number of remarkable tutorials all for free and also has a number of products for motion artists and video pros. Things like sound effects, motion effects, music scores, and so much more. I like this site mainly because of the tutorials they are always something really cool to learn. You may have even seen Andrew’s work on television as he did the title effects for the Fox show Fringe. Check out his site here and enjoy!

April 14th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (5)

Wacom Tip of the Week

Last week I did quick tip with the new Intuos 4 from Wacom
and it seemed to be well appreciated by everyone so I thought I would perhaps try to get a Wacom related tip in every week. So this week I am talking to all of you who use a tablet with a dual monitor display. When you have a tablet set up on a dual display, by default it maps the area of both screens to the tablet. Meaning one half of the tablet controls one monitor and the other half controls the other. That’s fine if you like to work that way, but what if you want the entire tablet to be mapped to entirely one monitor. Simply go into the Wacom driver into the Functions section choose an Express key to modify. Click on the menu and choose Display Toggle. (You will only see this if you have two monitors connected.) That’s it! Now you simply press the express key to jump back and forth between the monitors while using the full area of the screen to the full area of the tablet. You can also set this up on one of the buttons on the pen itself. I personally use it this way because it puts the display toggle right at my fingertip.

Also if you are wanting to get more in depth with setting up your Intuos 4 you can check out my online course at KelbyTraining.com. It is called Getting Up To Speed with Intuos 4.

April 8th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (4)

Guru Winners | Planet Contest Deadline Today!

One of the coolest parts of the Photoshop World keynote is the Guru awards. For those of you who don’t know, the Guru awards is a special design contest only for Photoshop World attendees and is a great platform for someone’s work to be shown to thousands of people. Not to mention some really cool prizes to the winners in each category. There are seven categories on everything from photography to illustration to commercial. There were some really remarkable pieces submitted this year and you can see these winners here. It might motivate yourself to jump in and submit something for next time. You never know what could happen. Even I managed to won a couple several years ago.

Speaking of design contests, the latest Planet tutorial contest submission deadline is today. You have until tonight at midnight to get your entries in for this newest challenge. Click here for more info and to submit your entries. A new contest will be starting up soon, but you still have a little time to make it for this one. Good luck!!

April 6th, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (0)

Friday In 3D!!

Well I thought I would share some new things I learned in the world of 3D in the past couple weeks. First my friend Bert Monroy turned me on to a very cool site that provides 3D models. Like the one pictured here. Not only that, they are actually really good 3D models and even better than that, they’re free! The site is called Archive3D.net and it has an enormous collection of free 3D models in a number of different categories. As I mentioned, it’s totally free. Just choose the model you want, download it, and open it up right in Photoshop. You do need Photoshop CS3 or CS4 Extended of course for the 3D support, but what a great resource. It’s great if you are needing that one little element to add to your work. Take a look around yourself and see what I mean.

Also, last week at Photoshop World I was able to catch up with the folks from Digital Anarchy. They just released a plug-in for Photoshop called 3D Invigorator. Not necessarily a new product. I remember Invigorator being available for After Effects for quite some time but now that they have finally released a version for Photoshop, I think people might take notice. It’s a plug in that allows you to create various 3D objects, text, or effects of all kinds. The familiar 3D interface is very intuitive if you used 3D apps before. The bad part is that it does not return the object back to Photoshop as a 3D layer. However, if you return it as a Smart Object, then you can go back into the Invigorator interface and make changes. This means that this plug in will work in both Standard and Extended versions of Photoshop. Another great way to creep into 3D without breaking the bank. Check it out!

Also one final thing with regard to 3D. If you haven’t gone to see the newest Dreamworks animated movie Monsters Vs. Aliens in 3D you are completely missing out. It was my first time seeing a feature film in this new 3D technology and I was completely blown away. It really immerses you in the experience with the help of the new 3D glasses. Which, by the way, make you look like you are witnessing a nuclear detonation. Definitely worth checking out!!

April 3rd, 2009 | Corey Barker | Blog | Comments (0)