04-12-2004, 08:08 PM
1. Layer merging tactics
Have you ever tried to merge a layer with the layer below it and lost all of the effects applied to that upper layer? This is because when you choose Merge Down from the Layers palette’s pop-up menu, Photoshop only applies the blending mode of the bottom to layer to the merged version. However, if you select Merge Visible, and hide any layers that you don’t want combined, all of your blending modes will be preserved and your merged layer will look exactly as is does onscreen.
2. Make your metallic images stand out in Photoshop
When creating a metallic faux finish you can enhance the effect by sharpening it. Just choose Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Then, in the resulting dialog box, crank up the Amount to a minimum of 300, a Radius of 1 and a Threshold of 5. This will really bring out the shine.
3. Fixing cut off letters in Photoshop
It’s not just a page-layout application issue - Photoshop cuts off the top and/or bottom of text as well. To fix this you actually have to change a setting in Adobe Type Manager (ATM). To do so, launch ATM, then under the Preserve section select the Character Shapes option button rather than Line Spacing.
4. Center your image when dragging from document to document in Photoshop
When creating multi-image documents, you’re usually dragging a series of images onto one document. Generally, this is a quick and easy way to get your images where you want them. However, that’s not necessarily the case seeing that the image is placed wherever your cursor was when you happened to release the mouse. This haphazardness can be avoided by holding the Shift key while you dragging your image. By doing so each image will automatically be centered on the page.
5. Have you lost your background layer? Replace it quickly in Photoshop
Occasionally, you may find that your document just doesn’t have a background layer or maybe you turned it into a regular layer. (Just a side note, if you don’t have a background layer to begin with, it’s because you set the document Contents option to Transparent.) To make a new background layer, create a new layer in the Layers palette. Then choose Layer > New > Background From Layer. Photoshop will automatically fill the layer with white and place it at the base of your palette.
6. Adjust your tracking with key commands
Save time adjusting your text by using key commands. When adjusting the tracking or the spacing between letters, avoid the Character palette all together. Instead, highlight your text that needs adjusting and press [option][left arrow] ([Alt][Left Arrow] in Windows) to tighten the spacing and [option][right arrow] ([Alt][Right Arrow] in Windows) to add space between your letters.
7. Adjusting your corrections in Photoshop
If you spend much of your time correcting images in Photoshop, you’ve undoubtedly learned to love the History palette. With it, you can fearlessly alter an image in any way you can think of, all without being too far from the original. Problem is, once you save and close the file, the steps that you’ve taken are gone. Should you later decide you want to go back to the original, you’re pretty much out of luck unless you had the foresight to use the Save As command to preserve the original. To get the best of both wacky worlds, you should get used to creating Adjustment layers for all your modifications. While they don’t provide you the luxury of step-by-step undos that the History palette does, they surpass the History feature in one major area-all changes you make are saved with the file. When you reopen a file with which you’ve used Adjustment layers, the changes you made are on the Adjustment layers, while the original image is intact on its own layer. In addition, you can always toggle the Adjustment layers on and off so you can quickly compare your changes to the original. To add an Adjustment layer to an image, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer. You’ll then have to select the type of adjustment layer you want. Your choice depends on what type of adjustment you’ll be making to the image. When you do, a dialog box similar to the regular New Layer dialog box appears. The difference is that in addition to the Name, Opacity and Mode settings, you’re asked to select the type of layer. Once you select the type, the corresponding adjustment dialog box appears. For instance, if you choose Levels from the New Adjustment Layer menu and click the OK button to close the New Layer dialog box, Photoshop displays the Levels dialog box. From there you make your changes and proceed with your other work. Each Adjustment layer conveniently appears in the Layers palette, where you can double-click on it to redisplay the appropriate dialog box or toggle the layer from view.
8. Saving your workspace arrangement in Photoshop 7.x
Do you like the way your workspace is set up and want to quickly retrieve the arrangement every time you open a file? In Photoshop 7.x, you can save your workspace arrangement. Choose Window > Workspace > Save Workspace. In the resulting Save Workspace dialog box, enter a workspace name in the Name text box. To retrieve your workspace arrangement after you’ve opened a file, go to Window > Workspace and select your workspace setup from the menu.
9. Viewing your image files while in Photoshop 7.x
To look at a thumbnail “slide show” of image files while still in Photoshop 7.x, don’t forget about Photoshop’s File Browser. It’s a quick and easy way to find and select the image file you want. To open the File Browser, choose Window > File Browser, or select the File Browser tab on the tool options bar. To open the tool options bar, choose Window > Options.
10. The quickest way to get to Adobe ImageReady 7.0 in Photoshop 7.x
The easiest way to get to ImageReady 7.0 while in Photoshop 7.x is to press[command][shift]M ([Ctrl][Shift]M in Windows
11. Changing the number of files available in the Open Recent submenu in Photoshop 7.x
To change the number of files that are available in the Open Recent submenu, choose Edit > Preferences > File Handling in Mac OS 9.x or Windows; or choose Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling in Mac OS X. Then, change the value in the Recent File List Contains x Files text box.
12. Viewing your image at full size in Photoshop 6.x/7.x
What’s the quickest way to see an image in full size? There are actually two ways. You can either double-click on the Hand tool in the Toolbox or press [command]0 ([Ctrl]0 in Windows).
13. Save time with the Reset button in Photoshop (6.x/7.x)
Have you ever made adjustments to an image in a dialog box and decided in mid-process that you weren’t happy with the changes taking place? Adobe has built in a nifty little option to reset your changes. To see how this works, open an image in Photoshop. Then, choose Image > Adjust > Hue/Saturation. In the resulting dialog box, drag the Hue slider from 0 to 180. The image looks awful, doesn’t it? Now, rather than dragging the slider back to its original position or canceling out of the dialog box, hold down the [option] key ([Alt] key in Windows). This changes the Cancel button to a Reset button. Just click Reset and watch your image go back to the way it was.
14. Let the Dock keep you informed
When rendering files in applications like Photoshop, you might get a little bored watching the progress bar. Fortunately, you can switch to another application and let the program do its work while you do something else. The cool thing is that the Dock will keep you informed of the progress. Most Cocoa applications, including iChat, will display program status in the Dock.
15. Create natural-looking brush strokes in Photoshop (6.x/7.x)
Typically, when painting, brush strokes start out dark and fade as you stroke the brush. To mimic this effect in version 7.x, select the Brush tool in the Toolbox. Then, go to the Brushes palette and highlight Other Dynamics in the Brush Presets section. Next, select Fade from the Control pop-up menu listed under Opacity Jitter, and enter 20 in the text box next to it. Once you’ve done that, select Fade from the Control pop-up menu listed under Flow Jitter. In version 6.x, select the Paintbrush in the Toolbox, and click the Brush Dynamics button on the tool options bar (it’s a Paintbrush icon with an arrow next to it). In the resulting pop-up window, select Fade from the Opacity pop-up menu. Then, set the number of Steps for your fade to 20. If you want a longer fade, increase the number of steps and if you want a shorter fade decease the number. Then, paint away!
http://www.cbcamerica.com/images/webshots/banner-design.jpg
'Adventure, Excitement, A Jedi craves not these things.'
'Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they.'
Have you ever tried to merge a layer with the layer below it and lost all of the effects applied to that upper layer? This is because when you choose Merge Down from the Layers palette’s pop-up menu, Photoshop only applies the blending mode of the bottom to layer to the merged version. However, if you select Merge Visible, and hide any layers that you don’t want combined, all of your blending modes will be preserved and your merged layer will look exactly as is does onscreen.
2. Make your metallic images stand out in Photoshop
When creating a metallic faux finish you can enhance the effect by sharpening it. Just choose Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Then, in the resulting dialog box, crank up the Amount to a minimum of 300, a Radius of 1 and a Threshold of 5. This will really bring out the shine.
3. Fixing cut off letters in Photoshop
It’s not just a page-layout application issue - Photoshop cuts off the top and/or bottom of text as well. To fix this you actually have to change a setting in Adobe Type Manager (ATM). To do so, launch ATM, then under the Preserve section select the Character Shapes option button rather than Line Spacing.
4. Center your image when dragging from document to document in Photoshop
When creating multi-image documents, you’re usually dragging a series of images onto one document. Generally, this is a quick and easy way to get your images where you want them. However, that’s not necessarily the case seeing that the image is placed wherever your cursor was when you happened to release the mouse. This haphazardness can be avoided by holding the Shift key while you dragging your image. By doing so each image will automatically be centered on the page.
5. Have you lost your background layer? Replace it quickly in Photoshop
Occasionally, you may find that your document just doesn’t have a background layer or maybe you turned it into a regular layer. (Just a side note, if you don’t have a background layer to begin with, it’s because you set the document Contents option to Transparent.) To make a new background layer, create a new layer in the Layers palette. Then choose Layer > New > Background From Layer. Photoshop will automatically fill the layer with white and place it at the base of your palette.
6. Adjust your tracking with key commands
Save time adjusting your text by using key commands. When adjusting the tracking or the spacing between letters, avoid the Character palette all together. Instead, highlight your text that needs adjusting and press [option][left arrow] ([Alt][Left Arrow] in Windows) to tighten the spacing and [option][right arrow] ([Alt][Right Arrow] in Windows) to add space between your letters.
7. Adjusting your corrections in Photoshop
If you spend much of your time correcting images in Photoshop, you’ve undoubtedly learned to love the History palette. With it, you can fearlessly alter an image in any way you can think of, all without being too far from the original. Problem is, once you save and close the file, the steps that you’ve taken are gone. Should you later decide you want to go back to the original, you’re pretty much out of luck unless you had the foresight to use the Save As command to preserve the original. To get the best of both wacky worlds, you should get used to creating Adjustment layers for all your modifications. While they don’t provide you the luxury of step-by-step undos that the History palette does, they surpass the History feature in one major area-all changes you make are saved with the file. When you reopen a file with which you’ve used Adjustment layers, the changes you made are on the Adjustment layers, while the original image is intact on its own layer. In addition, you can always toggle the Adjustment layers on and off so you can quickly compare your changes to the original. To add an Adjustment layer to an image, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer. You’ll then have to select the type of adjustment layer you want. Your choice depends on what type of adjustment you’ll be making to the image. When you do, a dialog box similar to the regular New Layer dialog box appears. The difference is that in addition to the Name, Opacity and Mode settings, you’re asked to select the type of layer. Once you select the type, the corresponding adjustment dialog box appears. For instance, if you choose Levels from the New Adjustment Layer menu and click the OK button to close the New Layer dialog box, Photoshop displays the Levels dialog box. From there you make your changes and proceed with your other work. Each Adjustment layer conveniently appears in the Layers palette, where you can double-click on it to redisplay the appropriate dialog box or toggle the layer from view.
8. Saving your workspace arrangement in Photoshop 7.x
Do you like the way your workspace is set up and want to quickly retrieve the arrangement every time you open a file? In Photoshop 7.x, you can save your workspace arrangement. Choose Window > Workspace > Save Workspace. In the resulting Save Workspace dialog box, enter a workspace name in the Name text box. To retrieve your workspace arrangement after you’ve opened a file, go to Window > Workspace and select your workspace setup from the menu.
9. Viewing your image files while in Photoshop 7.x
To look at a thumbnail “slide show” of image files while still in Photoshop 7.x, don’t forget about Photoshop’s File Browser. It’s a quick and easy way to find and select the image file you want. To open the File Browser, choose Window > File Browser, or select the File Browser tab on the tool options bar. To open the tool options bar, choose Window > Options.
10. The quickest way to get to Adobe ImageReady 7.0 in Photoshop 7.x
The easiest way to get to ImageReady 7.0 while in Photoshop 7.x is to press[command][shift]M ([Ctrl][Shift]M in Windows
11. Changing the number of files available in the Open Recent submenu in Photoshop 7.x
To change the number of files that are available in the Open Recent submenu, choose Edit > Preferences > File Handling in Mac OS 9.x or Windows; or choose Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling in Mac OS X. Then, change the value in the Recent File List Contains x Files text box.
12. Viewing your image at full size in Photoshop 6.x/7.x
What’s the quickest way to see an image in full size? There are actually two ways. You can either double-click on the Hand tool in the Toolbox or press [command]0 ([Ctrl]0 in Windows).
13. Save time with the Reset button in Photoshop (6.x/7.x)
Have you ever made adjustments to an image in a dialog box and decided in mid-process that you weren’t happy with the changes taking place? Adobe has built in a nifty little option to reset your changes. To see how this works, open an image in Photoshop. Then, choose Image > Adjust > Hue/Saturation. In the resulting dialog box, drag the Hue slider from 0 to 180. The image looks awful, doesn’t it? Now, rather than dragging the slider back to its original position or canceling out of the dialog box, hold down the [option] key ([Alt] key in Windows). This changes the Cancel button to a Reset button. Just click Reset and watch your image go back to the way it was.
14. Let the Dock keep you informed
When rendering files in applications like Photoshop, you might get a little bored watching the progress bar. Fortunately, you can switch to another application and let the program do its work while you do something else. The cool thing is that the Dock will keep you informed of the progress. Most Cocoa applications, including iChat, will display program status in the Dock.
15. Create natural-looking brush strokes in Photoshop (6.x/7.x)
Typically, when painting, brush strokes start out dark and fade as you stroke the brush. To mimic this effect in version 7.x, select the Brush tool in the Toolbox. Then, go to the Brushes palette and highlight Other Dynamics in the Brush Presets section. Next, select Fade from the Control pop-up menu listed under Opacity Jitter, and enter 20 in the text box next to it. Once you’ve done that, select Fade from the Control pop-up menu listed under Flow Jitter. In version 6.x, select the Paintbrush in the Toolbox, and click the Brush Dynamics button on the tool options bar (it’s a Paintbrush icon with an arrow next to it). In the resulting pop-up window, select Fade from the Opacity pop-up menu. Then, set the number of Steps for your fade to 20. If you want a longer fade, increase the number of steps and if you want a shorter fade decease the number. Then, paint away!
http://www.cbcamerica.com/images/webshots/banner-design.jpg
'Adventure, Excitement, A Jedi craves not these things.'
'Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they.'