RSS FeedTip of the Day | Page 2
Fonts, Fonts, And More Fonts
Here’s a tip to quickly change typefaces and see the change while you make it. First, highlight the type you want to change, and then press Command-H (PC: Control-H) to hide the highlighting (the type is still highlighted; the highlight is just hidden from view). Then, up in the Options Bar, click once in the Font field, then use the Up/Down Arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through your installed typefaces. Man, do I love this one.
Picture This: Putting A Photo Inside Type
First, set your Foreground color to black by pressing D. Press T to choose the Type tool and create your text (you don’t have to rasterize the type). Then, open the image you want to appear inside your type and use the Move tool (V) to drag-and-drop it into your type document (it should appear on the layer above your Type layer. If it doesn’t, just go to the Layers palette and move it on top of your Type layer). To put your image inside the type, press Command-Option-G (PC: Control-Alt-G) to create a clipping mask and whammo—your image is masked into your type. You can reposition the image by using the Move tool. And since you didn’t rasterize your Type layer, your text remains totally editable—just click on the Type layer and start editing. You can add layer styles to your Type layer to further enhance the effect. If you’re not crazy about the image you picked, click on the image layer and press the keyboard shortcut again to release the mask. Now remove the image.
Text-Path-Making Maniac
If you want to convert your Type layer into paths (as if you meticulously drew the type with the Pen tool—your clients won’t have to know), simply go under the Layer menu, under Type, and choose Create Work Path.
Made To Fit
To create a text box for your type to fit within, press T to select the Type tool, then click-and-drag out the area you want for your text box. Your type will now fit within that box. When you’re finished entering your text, just press Enter to get out of the text bounding box.
Rendering Text In Just One Click
If you need to convert your Type layer into an image layer, you can save some time by simply Control-clicking (PC: Right-clicking) directly on the Type layer name that appears in the Layers palette. A contextual menu will appear where you can choose Rasterize Type to instantly render your type.
Highlighting Your Text Super Fast!
When you want to automatically highlight the type in a Type layer and switch to the Type tool at the same time to make some copy changes, just double-click directly on the “T” thumbnail on the Type layer you want to edit in the Layers palette, and blam! You’re ready to go.
One-Click Access To The Copyright Symbol, And More
Looking for some special type characters, like ©, ™, or ®? If you’re not fussy about these characters actually being a font, you can find them in the default set of Custom Shapes. Just get the Custom Shape tool (press Shift-U until you have it), click on the Shape thumbnail in the Options Bar, which opens the Custom Shape Picker, and you’ll find all three special characters there, in the default set of shapes.
Secret Opacity See-Through-Part-Of-A-Layer Tip
This is a pretty wild tip—how to make just one part of a layer have a lower opacity. We know it sounds impossible, but this is totally cool. Start by making a selection on any area of the layer that you want to become transparent, while the rest of the layer remains at 100%. Then go under the Edit menu and choose Fill. Continue Reading »
Un-Filling For Fun And Profit
Back in Photoshop 7.0, Adobe brought a once-buried command front and center when they added the Fill option to the Layers palette. This isn’t your average everyday fill. No sir, this is a special freaky fill that only works when you’ve applied a layer style to a layer. To see it in action (and immediately understand its power), create some text, and then apply a drop shadow. Lower the regular Opacity of this layer, and you’ll notice that both your type and the shadow fade at the same time. Now raise it back up to 100%. Then lower the Fill amount (in the Layers palette) and you’ll notice that the type fades away, but the drop shadow stays at 100%. Ahhhhhh. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it?
Selecting Just One Object On A Layer
If you have multiple objects on the same layer (like a few words of type that have already been rasterized) and you want to select just one item on that layer (for example, you want to put a selection around one letter so you can move it independently of the rest of the letters), here’s how: Use any selection tool to create a loose selection around the object. Hold the Command key (PC: Control key), and then press the Up Arrow key once and the Down Arrow key once. The entire object will become perfectly selected without disturbing anything else on the layer. Now you can move it, edit it, or tweak it separately because it is a “floating selection.”
View Your Layer Mask As A Rubylith
If you want to view your layer mask by itself (rather than how the layer mask affects your overall image), hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) and click directly on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. This will display just the mask itself. You can also view the layer mask like a Rubylith (a red overlay used in traditional masking) that appears over your image by pressing the Backslash key (\) on your keyboard.
Layers Palette Navigation Speed Tips
The less you need to be in the Layers palette, the better (at least when it comes to speed), so here are some shortcuts you’ll want to know: When you want to select multiple layers, press Option-Shift-Left Bracket ([) (PC: Alt-Shift-Left Bracket) to select layers beneath your current layer. To select layers above your current layer, press Option-Shift-Right Bracket (]) (PC: Alt-Shift-Right Bracket). Continue Reading »
Easier Drop Shadow Angle Adjustments
If you’re creating a drop shadow using Photoshop’s built-in layer styles (from the Add a Layer Style pop-up menu in the Layers palette), rather than setting the Distance and Angle numerically, you can adjust it visually. Just move your cursor outside the dialog right into your image, click on the shadow itself, and drag it where you’d like it.
Color-Coding Made Easy
In Photoshop you can color-code layers and layer sets for quick visual identification. One way to do this is to bring up the Layer Properties dialog (from the Layers palette’s flyout menu) and choose your colors from a pop-up menu. But there’s a much faster way-at least if you know this shortcut: Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the Eye icon next to the layer you want to color-code and a contextual menu of colors will appear where you can choose the shade you’d like.
Shapes Without The Shape Layer
If you use Photoshop’s Shape tools, by default they create a Shape layer (which is basically a layer filled with your Foreground color with a clipping path in the shape of your shape, if that makes any sense). We’ve had loads of email from users asking us, “Do I have to have that funky Shape layer? Can’t I just have the shape without the layer and clipping path?” Absolutely! When you choose one of the Shape tools, look in the Options Bar and on the far left you’ll see three icons. Click on the third icon from the left and you’ll get just the shape-no Shape layer, no paths, no kidding.
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Photoshop Tutorials
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Wild West Grunge
Corey shows you how to recreate this rugged, weathered look using a couple of filters, blending modes, and layer masks.
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Wall of Text
Use a clipping group to place an image inside of a background of text, with another layer of text placed in front to create depth.
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Natural Brushes
In this tutorial Corey shows you how to take an existing image and turn it into it’s own custom brush.
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Custom Coins
In this tutorial Corey creates a realistic-looking coin effect using the channels palette and the lighting effects filter.
Text Shape Layers
Converting text into shapes allows you to distort the text as you like while retaining straight, clean edges.
Borders Under a Minute
Create really cool borders in under a minute to use on virtually any one of your photos or even video for that matter.- Custom Coins
In this tutorial Corey creates a realistic-looking coin effect using the channels palette and the lighting effects filter. - Natural Brushes
In this tutorial Corey shows you how to take an existing image and turn it into it's own custom brush.
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Creative Contrast in Photoshop CS3
In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at some interesting techniques for improving contrast using the Shadow/Highlight command, empty adjustment layers, blend modes, and the Blend If sliders in the Layer Style dialog. -
Enhanced Workflow in Lightroom 1.1
In this article, we'll focus on techniques that will strengthen your workflow skills and simultaneously reveal some of the new features in Lightroom 1.1. -
Handlin’ Photoshop and Illustrator Content in Flash
we’ll take a look at how things work across Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash-specifically, some features and techniques for getting rasterized Photoshop content and vector Illustrator content into your Flash movies. -
Understanding Channels in Photoshop CS3
Photographer Chris Alvanas wants to go over Channels, because understanding what they are and what they do is key to understanding what their potential is.
Removing Those Typographically Incorrect Spaces
If you’re trying to set type that looks typographically correct in Photoshop, there’s an old habit you’ll have to break, and that’s the curse of putting two spaces at the end of every sentence. This is a holdover from people who at one time used traditional typewriters, where adding two spaces was necessary, but in typesetting that’s a huge no-no. About 70% of the text I copy-and-paste from text files that people give me has two spaces, but I use this Photoshop tip to fix the problem in just seconds. First, go under the Edit menu and choose Find and Replace Text. In the Find field, press the Spacebar twice (entering two spaces), then in Change To, press the Spacebar just once. Click Change All, and every time Photoshop finds two spaces at the end of a sentence, it will replace it with just one, making you typographically correct.
- Chicago, IL
Photoshop CS3 for Photographers Tour May. 19 - Nashville, TN
Photoshop CS3 for Photographers Tour May. 22 - San Francisco, CA
Photoshop CS3 for Photographers Tour May. 28 - New York, NY
Maximum Photoshop Tour May. 30
