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Tip of the Day | Page 21
GROUPING AND STACKING IN BRIDGE
If you have multiple shots of the same subject and would like to be able to group them, image stacks are a good idea. Either Shift-click or Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the images that you would like to group and press Command-G (PC: Ctrl-G). This will create a stack of the images. You can expand the stack by pressing Command-Right Arrow (PC: Ctrl-Right Arrow) or collapse the stack back into itself by pressing on Command-Left Arrow (PC: Ctrl-Left Arrow).
BETTER DODGE AND BURN
The Dodge and Burn tools got a big enhancement in Photoshop CS5. They actually work like we think they should now and you’ll get very good results with them. There is one trick though. When you select the Dodge or Burn tools, take a look in the top Options Bar and make sure you have Protect Tones turned on. This protects some of the key tones in your photos while dodging and burning (mainly the skin) and makes the tools work a lot better. If it’s turned off you’ll end up getting the not so great results those tools used to yield in previous versions of Photoshop.
EXPORTING 3D TO AFTER EFFECTS
When you create a grid box inside Vanishing Point, in addition to having the option of returning that grid back to Photoshop as a 3D object, you also have the option of exporting it as a 3D object that you can import into After Effects CS5 and manipulate in a 3D layer. Just click on the small right-facing triangle in the top of the dialog, and in the flyout menu choose Export for After Effects (.vpe).
VANISHING POINT AND 3D
While working in the Vanishing Point filter, you can create a multi-plane grid and return the part of the image contained in the grid back to Photoshop as a 3D layer (choose Return 3D Layer to Photoshop from the flyout menu). Once it is a 3D layer, you can move the object around in three dimensions using Photoshop’s 3D tools.
MODIFY TEXTURES ON 3D OBJECTS
If you have imported a 3D object that has a texture applied to it, that texture will show up as a sub-layer with your 3D layer. To modify or replace the existing texture, simply double-click directly on the texture name in the Layers panel. A dialog will open with the 2D texture. Make whatever changes you need, then close and save the document. Just like a Smart Object, it will update automatically in the main document.
SETTING MEASUREMENT PARAMETERS
When using the Analysis tools in Photoshop, you will need to establish the scale of measure. Go under the Analysis menu, choose Set Measurement Scale, and select Custom. You have three settings to modify: Pixel Length, Logical Length, and Logical Units. An example would be if you know your document is 100 pixels wide, you would enter 100 in the Pixel Length field. Then, if you know that 100 pixels equal an inch, you would enter 1 for Logical Length. Then type inches for Logical Units. Now you have set the Measurement Scale to measure every 100 pixels as one inch.
MEASURING IN VANISHING POINT
In Vanishing Point, you can take advantage of the new measurement tools by measuring something in three dimensions. You simply grab the Measure tool (R) and click between two points. Then in the top of the dialog, enter an establishing value in the Length field. This value will be what all other measurements will be based on. You can then render these measurements to Photoshop from Vanishing Point’s flyout menu. TIP: You may want to use a blank layer before going into Vanishing Point because when measurements are rendered, they appear on the currently active layer.
ACCESSING TOOLS IN A TOOL GROUP
Let’s say that you are using the Magic Wand tool, but would rather be using Photoshop’s Quick Selection tool. No problem! Just press-and-hold the Shift key while pressing the group’s keyboard shortcut (W, in this case) and you can access all the tools within that tool group.
DELETE YOUR LAYERS
In earlier versions of Photoshop you could press the Delete key to delete a layer but you had to have the Move tool selected first (weird, I know). Now they’ve changed it so you can press the Delete key with any tool selected (well, nearly any tool) and it’ll delete the currently selected layer for you. The only catch is it doesn’t work with tools that the Delete key actually does something with (ie. the Pen tool or the Magnetic Lasso tool).
CHANGING THE COLOR OF YOUR IMAGE WINDOW (AKA: PASTEBOARD) IN PHOTSOHOP, Part II
Another way is to select the Paint Bucket tool in the toolbar. Set the desired color in the Foreground color swatch and Shift-Click in the background area to assign that color.
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Photoshop Tutorials
Hollywood Touch-Ups
See how you can add some subtle touches to give that green screen studio shot the Hollywood treatment.
3D Christmas Ornaments
Corey shows how to create reflective holiday ornaments using 3D in Photoshop.
Styles & Text
This week Corey has a tutorial using layer styles and text shapes to create energetic effects.
3D Light Beams
This effect was discovered by a 'happy accident' and uses the 3D features inside of Photoshop CS4 Extended.
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Flare Effects
Corey has a cool trick for creating a flare brush and see how one effect can lead to another.
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Hollywood Touch-Ups
See how you can add some subtle touches to give that green screen studio shot the Hollywood treatment.
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3D Christmas Ornaments
Corey shows how to create reflective holiday ornaments using 3D in Photoshop.
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3D Distortions
This week Corey has a cool new trick for using 3D reflections in a rather creative way!
Premium Video Tutorials From NAPP
Photo Retouch
Scott Kelby shows you how to take an overexposed photo into a great photo using Photoshop. Want Great Photoshop & Photography Skills?
Extended Definition Processing
Scott Kelby shares a technique he's been working on, which gives your final image an HDR look using just one photo.
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Smart Object Masking Trick
Dave Cross shares a trick he discovered that will help you remove white from around your subject when using smart objects.
Want More?
Light Painting
Dave Cross takes a popular trend - light painting - and shows you how you can paint text recreating this cool trend.
You Don't Need to be a Pro to Join NAPP.
Create A Composite Layer
If you have a multilayer composition and you
want to apply an effect to all the layers at once, don’t flatten the layers–use a composite layer instead. Hide the layers you want excluded, and press Shift-Command-Option-E (PC: Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E). A new layer will be created at the top containing a merged copy of all the visible layers.
Another option is to create a new layer at the top of the stack and make it active. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) each layer you want to include to make those layers active, as well. Press Option-Command-E (PC: Alt-Ctrl-E).
by Colin Smith
