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Tip of the Day | Page 28
Create a new layer without a dialog
Pressing Command-Shift-N (PC: Ctrl-Shift-N) creates a new layer but it brings up the New Layer dialog so you can name it. Personally, I find it kind of annoying and it’s not a lot faster for me than just clicking the new layer icon. However, if you throw the Option (PC: Alt) key into the mix, Command-ShiftOption-N (PC: Ctrl-Shift-Option-N), then it’ll bypass the new layer dialog and just create a new blank layer in the Layers panel.
Rotate View tool
A long-desired feature from other leading digital painting tools is the Rotate View tool, which allows you to rotate the document canvas to make otherwise uncomfortable strokes with a digitized art tablet perfectly natural. Press the R key or click-and-hold the Hand tool at the bottom of the Toolbox and select the Rotate View tool. Click-and-drag on the document until you reach your desired placement. For precision and consistency, you can also enter rotation numerically in the Rotation Angle field in the Options Bar. Click Reset View in the Options Bar, or double- click the Rotate View tool in the Toolbox, to return to normal orientation.
Transform selection
That selection not exactly how you want it? Don’t want to go all the way back into the path and modify it? No problem. Just go to the Select menu and choose Transform Selection and you can manipulate the selection just as you would with the Free Transform tool.
Speedy clipping mask
Sometimes a masked layer is just an Option-click (PC: Alt-click) away. Simply click-and-drag the layer to be used as a mask directly above the layer to be masked. Press-and-hold Option (PC: Alt) and hover your cursor over the horizontal line separating the layers. The cursor (hand) becomes a Clipping Mask icon; just click on it to convert the layer above into a mask.
Glow/Bloom effect
In the same composition, use Select>Color Range>to select the high-lights of the base image. Be generous with the Fuzziness, as detail won’t be an issue. Copy the selection to a new layer (Command-J [PC: Ctrl-J]) and set its blend mode to Screen, which works kind of inversely from Multiply blacks become invisible and whites are added. The result is a simple bloom or glow effect.
Get into Dodge
Anyone who’s used Photoshop CS3 (or prior) versions and tried to com-posite a human subject into an existing light setup knows that they eventually hit a wall with Levels, Curves, Color Balance andóeven in desperate situations – Brightness/Contrast adjustments to match the environment. Careful use of the Dodge tool (O) in the right tone range can allow you to simulate key- and fill-light spill on your superimposed objects. [The Dodge and Burn tools are more darkroom-like in Photoshop CS4-Ed.]
Only shades of gray
A simple tip to creating believable retro imagery is never to use 100% black or white tones in the artwork. The retro look often relies on distressed or faded artifacts, and a foundation of grays in a subtle tonal spectrum can enhance the vintage believability. Unlike using Desaturate (Image>Adjustments>Desaturate), Image>Adjustments>Black & White gives you control over speci?c color values, tinting, hue and saturation as well as some presets with which to experiment.
Light depth with layer blending
Studio lighting can be quickly and easily dramatized by blending multiple layers. Duplicate a layer with a subject by press- ing Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J). Desaturate the new layer, then adjust the Levels dialog (Command-L [PC: Ctrl-L]) to create a strong contrast. Now, apply a Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) to the new layer and set its blend mode to Overlay, which ampli?es the saturation of the base colors, while retaining the tonal contrast of the new layer. This effect can provide a strikingly more provocative sense of depth with very little effort.
Quick shapes
Use the Lasso tool (L) or Polygo-nal Lasso tool to rough-in a shape. After making your selection, open the Paths panel (Window>Paths), press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key, and click the Make Work Path From Selection icon at the bottom of the panel. Choose a suitable Toler-ance from the ensuing dialog and click OK to create the path. Grab the Direct Selection tool (nested under the Path Selection [A] tool in the Toolbox) and edit the path as necessary to achieve the proper geometry and smoothness. Control-click (PC: Right-click) the path and select De?ne Custom Shape, name it, and click OK.
Stamp Visible
This is one of those tips that you’ll either use all the time or never. Press Command-Option-Shift-E (PC: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E) to Stamp Visible layers, which creates a new layer on top of all the visible layers below. This is really useful when you want to apply a filter to the compiled image but want to keep all of your existing layers intact. The only downside is that it can increase the file size dramatically.
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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
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Smart Object Masking Trick
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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
