First, take your image and duplicate the background layer, so you can go back to your original if you need to. Hide the background layer and work from your copy. Go into the channels panel and hold down the command key (CTRL on the PC) and click on the RGB channel to...
Red Giant Software has announced the newest version of Knoll Light factory, Version 3.2. This is great because the new version supports Photoshop CS5. It also supports 64-bit systems and it even includes a few new custom lens presets. They have included Blue Halo,...
I got this question yesterday, and thought that it would be a good topic for the day. If you want to fit text to a certain shape, you have a couple of options. The first option is to do what is called an envelope distort. First, you make your shape, and then take the...
I really like to create my own image galleries, but let's face it, in the real world, we can't always have things how we want them. Sometimes we need to get the job done in the best possible manner, as quickly and effectively as possible. When I need a quick image...
Opacity has a lot of uses for different types of effects. We like to see certain things bleed through in some areas, while in others we want a shape or text to be a certain color. Recently, I was playing around with opacity in the appearance panel in Illustrator, and...
This is a neat trick that is easy and creates a subtle painterly effect with just two filters. First, find an image and open it inside of Photoshop. Then, hit Command +J (Ctrl + J on the PC) to duplicate your background layer. Do this twice, because we are going to...
I was playing around with Adobe Illustrator yesterday, and I had to use a clipping path on a photo. I need to be able to get it just right and show what is needed and hide what isn't needed, but sometimes you miss your mark. Here, I wanted the brand logo to show, and...
This tutorial is great for adding quick and simple contrast to a photo. When using this in your design, it is a good idea to choose a subject that has to do with target market. To start, find a photograph with a main figure of subject in the middle, with a lot going...
Different Blend modes can help you to blend different objects together for compositing images. Recently, I was playing around with a few space images and came across a comet that I wanted to blend into a space background. This was quick and easy: Since the background...
This is a great way to take a still photo and create motion around your subject, to give it some extra depth and narrower focus on the subject. First, select a good action shot, such as a sports shot, or a car shot. First, duplicate the background layer, so that we...
Creating a dotted line stroke in Illustrator First, create a new document in Illustrator. I created one 1024 x 768. Then, select a typeface that you want to use and create a nice large word or couple of words. For our purposes, I am taking away the fill to see the...
Create a new layer and fill it with a color. I chose a rich orange. Then, find a nice textured photo, and size it to fit your document. Desaturate that layer and set the blend mode to overlay. Then, grab your text too and choose a nice bold typeface. I chose Helvetica...
Make Hi-res Custom Brushes in Photoshop We are going to use a shape to create a custom brush. You can take a shape you have made in Illustrator, or you can use a custom shape in Photoshop, or you can paint your own with other brushes in Photoshop. First, create a new...
First we are going to open a texture image, such as a rocky background, but you could use anything- a brick wall, a rough surface anything that you'd like. Then, go to Image>Adjustments> Desaturate. Then, do a save as to save the file as a new document and make...
In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to transform an object in perspective in Illustrator. This is extremely handy when trying to make a pattern fit a certain perspective. First, we are going to create a simple circle pattern. Select your ellipse tool, holding...
3D Electric Type This tutorial uses Illustrator and Photoshop to create 3D electric type, quickly and fairly easily. First open a new Illustrator document and pick a nice bold typeface. I chose Helvetica Black and the text is set to 225pt and the color is set to a...
Today we are going to use the extrude and bevel options under the 3D menu in effects. You can use a simple default setting, or we will show you how to play with the settings to get a unique and more dimensional look that might fit your application better. Start by...
The 3D option in Illustrator is a great tool for rendering quick 3-Dimensional shapes for your design work. First we are going to make a solid vase shape. Then, we are going to edit it to make it a hollow 3D vase, so you can see how to do a live edit on a vector 3D...
This is a really easy trick to give you a gradual fade on any object in Illustrator. This works well for reflections. First, make your object and make a copy, and go to object>Reflect>horizontal. This will flip the copy, to where it is upside down. Position your...