30 Days to Learn Photoshop

Posted by on Feb 21, 2012 in Blog | 10 comments

Do the tutorials on Psdtuts+ go a little bit over your head sometimes? Not to worry. We’ve released a 30 day course that will help you feel comfortable and confident using all of Photoshop’s most important functions, like layers, the brush tool, blend modes, smart objects, and lots more! In one month, you’ll have well and truly learned how to use Photoshop. The course includes over 5 hours of video lessons instructed by Ben Gribbin.

Course Overview

Introduction (33m 26s)

  • Introduction (6m) – Free Preview
  • Interface Walkthrough (9m 39s)
  • Creating New Documents (10m 2s)
  • Sidebars (7m 45s)

Layers and Navigation (1h 19m 51s)

  • Navigation: Pan & Zoom (7m 44s)
  • Toolbar Walkthrough (14m 44s)
  • Introduction to Layers, Part One (7m 54s) – Free Preview
  • Layers, Part Two (13m 10s)
  • The Move Tool (8m 37s)
  • The Brush Tool (17m 44s)
  • History and the History Tool (9m 58s)
  • The Eyedropper Tool and Color Sampler (13m 22s)

Meet the Tools (1h 28m 53s)

  • Bucket & Gradient Tools (12m 4s)
  • Selecting with the Lasso & Marquee Tool (12m 6s)
  • Clone Stamp & Pattern Stamp Tool (11m 44s)
  • Selecting with the Magic Wand Tool (4m 52s)
  • Using Custom Shapes (11m 58s)
  • Text with the Type Tool (15m 46s) – Free Preview
  • Vectors with the Pen Tool (11m 38s)
  • Opening & Importing Files (8m 45s)

Manipulating Effects (1h 49m 15s)

  • Save and Export Images (9m 30s)
  • Using Blend Modes & Blending Options (18m 43s)
  • Using Smart Objects (7m 52s)
  • Using Transform Tools (12m 38s)
  • Customizing Photoshop’s Appearance (9m 50s)
  • Repairing with the Eraser and Spot Healing Tool (7m 44s) – Free Preview
  • Course Project: Photo Manipulation (22m 39s)
  • Using Filters (9m 20s)
  • Dodge and Burn (10m 59s)

Conclusion (17m 35s)

  • Solving Problems in Photoshop (6m 1s)
  • Shortcuts and Performance (5m 28s)
  • Conclusion (6m 6s)

Part of Tuts+ Premium

Become a Tuts+ Premium member to get access to 30 Days to Learn Photoshop, as well as 11 other full-length video courses, over $480 worth of eBooks, and 796 (and counting) Premium tutorials.

If you’d like to find out more about what Tuts+ Premium is, you can Take the Tour or watch the demo video.



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10 Comments

  1. Skellie | February 21, 2012

    Do the tutorials on Psdtuts+ go a little bit over your head sometimes? Not to worry. We’ve released a 30 day course that will help you feel comfortable and confident using all of Photoshop’s most important functions, like layers, the brush tool, blend modes, smart objects, and lots more! In one month, you’ll have well and truly learned how to use Photoshop. The course includes over 5 hours of video lessons instructed by Ben Gribbin.

    Course Overview

    Introduction (33m 26s)

    • Introduction (6m) – Free Preview
    • Interface Walkthrough (9m 39s)
    • Creating New Documents (10m 2s)
    • Sidebars (7m 45s)

    Layers and Navigation (1h 19m 51s)

    • Navigation: Pan & Zoom (7m 44s)
    • Toolbar Walkthrough (14m 44s)
    • Introduction to Layers, Part One (7m 54s) – Free Preview
    • Layers, Part Two (13m 10s)
    • The Move Tool (8m 37s)
    • The Brush Tool (17m 44s)
    • History and the History Tool (9m 58s)
    • The Eyedropper Tool and Color Sampler (13m 22s)

    Meet the Tools (1h 28m 53s)

    • Bucket & Gradient Tools (12m 4s)
    • Selecting with the Lasso & Marquee Tool (12m 6s)
    • Clone Stamp & Pattern Stamp Tool (11m 44s)
    • Selecting with the Magic Wand Tool (4m 52s)
    • Using Custom Shapes (11m 58s)
    • Text with the Type Tool (15m 46s) – Free Preview
    • Vectors with the Pen Tool (11m 38s)
    • Opening & Importing Files (8m 45s)

    Manipulating Effects (1h 49m 15s)

    • Save and Export Images (9m 30s)
    • Using Blend Modes & Blending Options (18m 43s)
    • Using Smart Objects (7m 52s)
    • Using Transform Tools (12m 38s)
    • Customizing Photoshop’s Appearance (9m 50s)
    • Repairing with the Eraser and Spot Healing Tool (7m 44s) – Free Preview
    • Course Project: Photo Manipulation (22m 39s)
    • Using Filters (9m 20s)
    • Dodge and Burn (10m 59s)

    Conclusion (17m 35s)

    • Solving Problems in Photoshop (6m 1s)
    • Shortcuts and Performance (5m 28s)
    • Conclusion (6m 6s)

    Part of Tuts+ Premium

    Become a Tuts+ Premium member to get access to 30 Days to Learn Photoshop, as well as 11 other full-length video courses, over $480 worth of eBooks, and 796 (and counting) Premium tutorials.

    If you’d like to find out more about what Tuts+ Premium is, you can Take the Tour or watch the demo video.


  2. Diego Sanchez | February 21, 2012

    Photoshop actions are excellent tools for speeding up your workflow. In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Diego Sanchez will use Photoshop actions to create a cocktail blueprint from scratch. This tutorial is available exclusively to Tuts+ Premium Members. If you are looking to take your digital illustration skills to the next level then Log in or Join Now to get started!

    View the Tutorial

    Tuts+ Premium Members can login now for instant access to this tutorial. Membership to Tuts+ Premium gets you access to hundreds of exclusive premium tutorials, top selling ebooks, in-depth courses, member forums, and much more. To learn more about Tuts+ Premium, Take the Tour or Join Today.


  3. Grant Friedman | February 21, 2012

    Imaginism Studios is a group of independent and well-known artists that produce some of the most fun and upbeat designs, concepts, and illustrations that you will see from a studio or agency. In this article we will showcase some of our favorite pieces from their portfolio. Let’s take a look!

    The Jellies

    Red Queen

    Crabby Chat

    Ant Parade

    Fairy and Owl

    Bath Time

    Marshmallow

    Early Bloom

    Red Sea Dragon

    Mushroom Hunter

    Guiding Light

    Tigger

    Ugly Duckling

    Red Riding Hood

    My Red Bike

    Newborn


  4. Alvaro Guzman | February 21, 2012

    Hi everyone! This time I’ve got for you a fun tutorial, we’ll create a cereal box design from scratch, using only Photoshop. We will render several fruit flavored cereal loops using the Photoshop’s CS4 Extended 3D tools, apply textures to the loops, bump the surfaces and mock-up them into a real 2D image. Are you ready?


    September of 2009

    Before Getting Started

    A couple of things before getting started. For this tutorial you must have the last version of Photoshop, CS4 Extended. Besides you need to have a good Graphic Card since we’re going to work with several 3D layers at the same time, if you don’t have one you may experience some kind of lag on your computer. This isn’t a basic tutorial, so I’ll skip some basic explanations like how to create a Layer Mask, or how to create a Gradient Fill Layer.

    You’ll need to download this picture of a splashing milk bowl. And this awesome twitter icon set from my friend Gopal Raju.

    Step 1 – Setting up the Document

    First of all create a new Photoshop Document 800 pixels by 1120 pixels, 72dpi, and set to RGB. Then create a new Gradient Fill Layer named "Gradient." I’m using these colors: #F20000 – #8E0000 anyway feel free to change them.

    Step 2 – Extract the Image from its Background

    Paste the splashing milk bowl into a new layer named "Splash." Next we need to get rid of the black background, for this go to Select > Color Range, sample the black background and set the Fuzziness value to around 85, then click OK to commit the selection. Now Expand the resultant selection 1px and create a Quick Mask or a Layer Mask hiding the Black background. Finally flip the image horizontally and place it at the bottom right of the document.

    Step 3 – Whitening the Milk

    In the picture the milk looks a little bit pink, to make it white just add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, select Reds on the colors selector and set the Lightness value to +100, ensure the clipping mask option is enabled on the Adjustments Panel in order to apply the adjustment only to one layer. In this case the "Splash" layer. We will leave the bowl as is for awhile, it’s time to create the cereal loops. Finally add both layers, "Splash" and the Adjustment into a folder named "Bowl."

    Render the Cereal Loops

    Step 4 – Create a 3D Shape from a Layer

    Here comes the fun, we’ll start creating the cereal loops using some 3D layers. First, create a new layer named "Loop" and fill it with some color. I’m using the Rectangular Marquee tool and the Paint Bucket to fill it with this color: #FF363E.

    Go to Window > 3D to show the 3D Panel. Now go to 3D > New Shape From Layer > Donut to automatically create a 3D Layer named "Loop." Leave it as is and go to the next step.

    Step 5 – 3D Panel Overview

    Before we move forward you’ll need to feel comfortable with the 3D panel. All the 3D objects are inside a container named Scene, each Scene may have several 3D objects that can be Meshes with its respective Textures or Lights. You can put as many objects as you want into a Scene.

    You can Filter the objects by clicking on any of the four buttons on top of the panel. Below there are the Scene options, there you will be able to change the Render Preset, Anti-Aliasing, Global Ambient Color (this one is very important in this tutorial) and select the texture where you will be painting on (we will see that shortly). Finally at the bottom of the panel you can toggle the Plane and Lights view on/off or add a new light, and of course the Delete button. Feel free to play with this panel before going to the next step.

    Step 6 – Change Ambient Color and Show the Ground Plane

    Our loop looks a little bit dark even though we create it from a pink layer, that’s because the Global Ambient Color is Black by default; click on the color box to change it into a dark red color (#7E0001). Now the loop looks pretty good, but there is so much left to do.

    Click on the Toggle Plane button to show the plane as a reference, you’ll notice the plane perspective is almost the same as the bowl perspective, which is very convenient for the composition and lighting so we will leave everything as is.

    Step 7 – Transform the Mesh View

    Following, click on the Mesh button to work only with the "Donut" object (See image 1 below). In the options panel there are several transform options related to this mesh. First we’ll need to rotate the loop by selecting the Rotate button on the Mesh Tools Panel; just drag the cursor over the 3D object to rotate it, as shown in image 2 below.

    Following, Roll the mesh a little bit if you need to. Then drag the mesh a little bit up, using the Drag button in the Mesh Panel (image 4), and finally slide the mesh a little bit inside the space by dragging the Slide cursor as shown in image 5 below, and then hide the Plane View.

    At this point you should have something like the last image below. This step is important because we’ll repeat the 3D transform several times shortly. Feel free to practice with the Mesh options before moving forward. Remember, Photoshop isn’t 3D modeling software, so if you want to edit the mesh itself you will need other software.

    Step 8 – Paint Over the Texture Layers

    Now it is time to edit the textures a little bit. Select Paint On: Diffuse in the 3D options, then Select the Brush Tool and using this color #FFC6CA or something similar, chose a 100px soft brush (Opacity and Flow 50%) and paint directly over the 3D mesh. Rotate the mesh as much as you need in order to cover the entire surface of the object.

    Notice that there’s a Layer named "Loop" under Textures – Diffuse in the Layers Panel, Double-Click on it to open a .psb file containing a plain view of the texture. We’ll work on that layer in the next step.

    Step 9 – Working on the Diffuse Texture

    On the .psb file, select the "Loop" Layer (this layer name may vary depending on your previous editing), and apply a Patter Overlay Effect to it, I chose a Rock Pattern named "Granite" built in Photoshop, but feel free to try with different textures. To keep the layer color, set the Effect’s Blending Mode to Soft Light. Finally save the .psb file, close it, go back to the main document and see how the texture looks now.

    Step 10 – Bumping

    Now we’ll make the surface a little bit irregular. In the 3D options panel set Paint On: Bump, select an irregular black Brush, and start paining.

    Since the Bump texture is not created yet, you will see an alert about it, just hit OK on it. Then just start painting over the 3D object, using black as foreground will emboss the object, otherwise using white as the foreground will bevel the object, play with both colors until you feel happy with the texture. It’s very important to have the entire surface texturized and not only the front view (we will see why shortly).

    If is easier for you, Double-click on the "Bump" texture layer in the Layer Panel and paint the bump texture over the .psb file as shows the bottom of the image below, you can use the Clone Tool for that purpose. Once you feel happy with the result, close the .psb file and go back to the main document.

    Step 11 – Glossiness

    To finish the texturing process we’ll add a Glossiness texture layer. Select Paint On: Glossiness in the 3D panel and using any Brush paint a little invisible white spot somewhere over the 3D layer. The important thing in this step is to switch to the Materials View, and change the Shininess Value from 40% to 80% in order to make the gloss less intense.

    You can paint over the texture layer as well just like in the previous steps, but this time use a light color, white will be OK.

    The loop is not finished yet, we’ll need further edits on it to make it look more real.

    Step 12 – Duplicate the Loop

    Now we’ll duplicate the loop in order to create several flavors. Select the Move Tool (V), then while holding the Alt Key select the 3D layer and drag it to duplicate it. Hide the original "Loop" 3D layer and select the copy, by the way I name it "Loop 2." Show the 3D panel, switch to Mesh view and use the Rotate Tool to rotate the new mesh in order to make it look different.

    Step 13 – Change the Loop’s Colors

    Double-click over the Diffuse Texture of the "Loop 2" layer in the Layers Panel, you will see the texture that we’ve created in Step 9. In order to easily change the color we will use a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer as shown below. Save the changes, close the .psb file and see how it looks.

    Step 14 – Change the Glossiness Color

    Following, double-click over the "Loop 2" layer’s Glossiness texture. You’ll see the color of the texture just as we left it in Step 11. We’ll change its color by adding a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. The final color is up to you, but try to obtain almost the same color tone as the previous step. Save the texture file and see how it looks in the main document.

    Step 15 – Change Ambient Light

    Finally, to complete the new flavor, change the Global Ambient light of the new 3D Scene to a more appropriate tone, in this case the following color: #01261E.

    Step 16 – Do it All Again

    Repeat the Steps from 12 to 15 to create different flavors of cereal loops, the colors are entirely up to you. Remember keep your layers organized, I created a Folder named "3D Loops" and four sub folders each one containing its respective loop.

    Step 17 – More and More Loops

    Since each loop is inside a folder named with its respective color, we will duplicate and rotate each loop several times in order to create many of them. This time I’m creating four copies for each color.

    Step 18 – Rasterize the Loops

    Create a copy of the entire "3D Loops" folder and hide the original, just in case you need to use any 3D layers later in the process. Now rasterize every single 3D layer in the "3D Loops" copy folder. Do this by Right-clicking a 3D Layer and selecting the Rasterize 3D option.

    Step 19 – Liquify

    Since we’ve got all our 3D layers rasterized, we will distort them a little bit to make the loop’s borders irregular. Select any of the "Loop" layers and go to Filter > Liquify. In the Liquify window, select the Forward Warp Tool, set 100 as the Brush Size and 25 as the Brush Density and push the loop’s edges inside and outside, as shown below. Repeat this step with every single rasterized loop in your document.

    Step 20 – Resize and Distribute the Loops

    Now that we have a handful of nice cereal loops we’re going to put them into the milk bowl. First of all, duplicate the folder containing the rasterized loops, hide the original (by the way I named it "3D loops raster big") and name the copy something like "3D loops raster small." Next resize the entire folder in order to make the loops really small. Now use the Move Tool to distribute the loops randomly.

    Step 21 – Placing the Loops

    Grab any loop and place it somewhere over the bowl, try to cover a milk splash with it. Then select the mentioned loop and add a Layer Mask > Reveal All. Select the mask and using a small black brush, hide some of the loop’s areas with the milk splash. Repeat this step with all the "Loop" layers. This is maybe the most difficult part of the process, since you’ll need to re-order the Loops distribution several times.

    Step 22 – Some Shadows

    Create a new Layer named "Shadows" above "3d Loops raster small" folder. There paint some shadows using a small black brush (use the brush settings shown below). Besides you can use an irregular brush (like a chalk brush) and add some irregular shadows over the loops.

    Step 23 – More Splashes!

    As a final touch, merge the "Bowl" folder (look at Step 3) and use the Clone Tool to duplicate some areas of the splashing milk into a new Layer above all the others named "More Milk." This is easy, grab the Clone Tool, select the rasterized "Bowl" layer and hold down the Alt key, then click somewhere over the milk splashes as the clone source. Ensure the Sample value in the Options Panel is Current Layer, then select the "More milk" layer and start painting anywhere. Finally use a small Eraser to delete the extra milk. This is only one way to create more milk splashes.

    Another way to do it (my personal favorite) is to grab the Selection Tool, select a portion of the milk splashes, copy, paste and delete the undesired areas. Finally, put the "3D loops raster small" folder, and the “Bowl” folder into a new Folder and name it "Bowl Final."

    Step 24 – Add it into the Scene

    Merge the "Bowl Final" folder (I always duplicate the folder, hide the original and merge the copy in case I need to roll back). Then look over the web for a nice mascot for our brand new cereal box, or draw one yourself. I’m using one of these nice birds of the twitter icon set, since the author has released the .PNG source file (you can open it with Fireworks) I increased its size a lot. Paste it just behind the milk bowl.

    Step 25 – Add Some Background Details

    Following we will add some background details, in this step I’m adding a White oval above the mascot. Select and copy a part of the bird’s wing and paste it above the oval, then duplicate the wing, turn down its Lightness and Opacity, then place it behind the original in order to create a subtle shadow.

    Step 26 – Some Layer Styles

    Continue with the background details, select the White Oval and add to it a Gradient Overlay (yellow tones), and a Stroke effect. Repeat this with a smaller oval but this time with red tones. Remember: keep your layers organized.

    Step 27 – Brighten the Background

    Create a white circle above the red gradient from Step One. Apply a Gaussian Blur to it and change its Blending Mode to Overlay, and its Opacity to 75% or so. Now you have a brighter background.

    Step 28 – Add a Shadow to the Milk Bowl

    Duplicate the “bowl” layer, name it "Bowl shadow" and turn down its Lighting value to -100 using Hue/Saturation Adjustments. Delete the shadow outside of the background ovals and turn down its Opacity to 40%.

    Step 29 – Type the Name

    Type a sticky cereal name, use a bold and narrow font with all caps. Using the Text Warp options distort it a little bit.

    Step 30 – Convert the Type into a Shape and Distort it

    Select the “Type” layer and go to Layer > Type > Convert to Shape in order to convert the text into a vector mask. Then use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to distort the paths a little bit, this way you can add a comic style to any kind of typography.

    Step 31 – Delete the O’s

    Using the Path Selection Tool (A) delete the “O” letters.

    Step 33 – Add New O’s

    Remember the "3D loops raster big" folder of the Step 20? It’s time to use it again, make that folder visible, duplicate it and put it above everything else. Then select four loops, delete the rest, and place each one of the four loops as an “O” in the word.

    Step 34 – Style the O’s

    We’ll add a simple Drop Shadow style to each loop in the title.

    Step 35 – Style the Text

    A simple Drop Shadow and soft Bevel effects will be enough to increase the visual impact of the name. As always, it’s up to you to create more advanced effects or work with more detailed and complex layer styles. Finally put all the logo related layers into a folder named "Logo."

    Step 36 – More Effects on the Logo

    Duplicate the "Logo" folder, rasterize it and apply a Gaussian Blur over the Copy, then Command-click over the blurred layer in the Layers Panel to create a selection around the text. Expand the Selection by 25 pixels. Then grab the Marquee Tool, Option-click over the selection and choose Make Work Path…, set the Tolerance value to 5 pixels and hit OK. Finally, go to Layer > Vector Mask > Current Path and fill the masked layer with a reference color like red. Name this layer "LogoBG."

    Step 37 – More Layer Styles

    I’m using a red Gradient Overlay, a yellow Stroke and a black Drop Shadow for the "LogoBG" layer. Feel free to try something different if you want to. Place the "Logo" folder behind the "Mascot" layer, I added a Drop Shadow to the bird as well.

    Final Click

    Conclusion

    And we’re finished! I hope you liked this tutorial and found it useful. Feel free to try it with different colors, styles and create your own cereal box!


  5. Grant Friedman | February 21, 2012

    Knobs, sliders, and LCD style displays are common elements in real-world interfaces. While we have seen these types of interface elements in the real world for decades, they have also transitioned into the modern world of touch screen tablets and mobile devices. In this article, we have featured some stunning knobs, sliders and LCD style displays for your inspiration. Let’s take a look!

    76 Synthesizer

    This incredibly polished interface design by Jonas Eriksson was inspired by synthesizers from the 1970′s. It includes some beautifully well-done knobs, jacks, monitors and vacuum tubes.

    Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set V. 5

    This interface by Graphic River author Diego Monzon features a large central knob and a slick LCD style interface.

    Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set

    This set of interface elements by Psdtuts author Diego Monzon is part of a set available for download on our Graphic River site. This interface features some beautiful buttons, knobs, and a flip clock display.

    SK Analog

    This interface by DeviantArt author S0nkite features an incredible amount of knobs and sliders.

    Tablet/Phone UI Pro 2 v.10 / Mobile DJ

    This set of stunning interface elements from Graphic River includes a large central knob and slider that can be used to create a mobile DJ app.

    DM1 The Drum Machine

    The Drum Machine App by Jonas Eriksson features some retro style knobs over a nice textured leather material.

    Tablet/Phone User Interface Professional Set v.3

    This set of interface elements includes some beautifully designed switches, knobs and doodads that can be used to produce mobile interfaces.

    Free Retro UI Elements Collection

    This interface design by Psdtuts author Diego Monzon includes some excellently designed monitors, sliders, and knobs.

    Stealth Flash Skin Theme

    In this interface design, Diego Monzon includes some beautifully designed icons, sliders, flip clock, and LCD style displays.

    Lennard Digitals Sylenth1 Skin

    This interface design includes just about every type of element imaginable; piano keys, knobs, sliders, LEDs, and a large LCD style display in the center.

    AITB Doc Fearn

    This interface includes some beautifully designed knobs and some nice monitors on the right side.

    Denon AVR – 1612

    This design was actually created in Adobe Fireworks and includes a large central knob with some very well done audio/video jacks.

    Pioneer DJM-5000 Mixer Rack

    This piece, created in Adobe Fireworks was based on Pioneer’s DJM-5000 Rack Mount 4-Channel Professional DJ Mixer.

    GUI – Pioneer CDJ – 1000 MK3

    This interface was based on the Pioneer CDJ – 1000 MK3 and was done entirely using Adobe Fireworks. It features a large central knob and a beautiful LCD style display.


  6. Martin Perhiniak | February 21, 2012

    Photoshop is an excellent tool for manipulating photographs but it can also be used as a means to create stunning digital art. This tutorial is part of a 25-part video tutorial series demonstrating everything you will need to know to start producing digital art in Photoshop. Digital Art for Beginners, by Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor, Martin Perhiniak will begin by teaching you how to draw in Photoshop. At the conclusion of this series you will know all you need to produce your own concept art and matte paintings in Photoshop.

    Today’s tutorial Part 23: Photoshop’s 10 Most Useful Features for Digital Artists will quickly explain some useful features that Photoshop users can use to produce digital art. Let’s get started!


  7. Mario Sanchez Nevado | February 21, 2012

    In this tutorial we will explain how to create a character-centered movie poster using photo manipulation techniques. We will also explain how add text to give our poster a cinematic feel. Let’s get started!

    Tutorial Assets

    The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

    Step 1

    First we will create the document. It’s important for it to have a decent size for printing, so we will be using an International Paper custom A3 size and then we will switch the Color Mode to CMYK (so we are sure that the printing will be ok, although nowadays most printers can emulate the color range of RGB files). Select a Resolution of 300 pixels per inch. These setting assure us to have a file ready for printing in any printer and almost any size until 100 x 70 cm.

    Step 2

    Now, take the model stock pic and drag it to the canvas. Hold the Shift key (this will maintain the aspect ratio while resizing) and leave the image size just as follows. Name this layer "model".

    Use the Quick Selection Tool (W) to mask the model. Click, hold and move the cursor over the model parts and release from time to time to avoid selecting background areas. I recommend a brush size no bigger than 20 pixels and the Auto-Enhance box activated.

    Your model should have a selection like the following shown in the screenshot below once you are done. Obviously there are certain areas that cannot be selected using this method but we are going to fix that right away. If your selection goes further than the model and selects the background, switch the brush to Subtract from selection from the top menu area and deselect the not desired parts.

    Now click the Add New Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette. Now Invert the Mask to make the woman appear by pressing Command/Ctrl + I or going to Image > Adjustments > Invert.

    Step 3

    We are going to refine certain parts of the mask to have a perfect cutout pic. If you have done the selection in the right way, the only parts you are going to need to refine are the left hand, the space inside the holders of the submachine gun and the shoelaces. We are leaving the hair refinement for later.

    Use the Magic Wand Tool (W), with a Tolerance amount of about 50 pixels (Antialias and Contiguous boxes checked as well) and click in the grey background areas between the fingers of the left hand. Hold Shift to select more than one area. When you are done, use the Brush Tool (B), 100% Opacity, Flow and Hardness, pick the black color and paint it in the Mask to make it disappear.

    Do the same in the space of the submachine gun holders.

    Repeat the process in between the shoelaces. Remember to hold Shift to select more than one area.

    Step 4

    Drag the Street stock image to our file, and resize it leaving the streetlights in the upper corners of the canvas. Then, put this layer under the "model" one and name it "street".

    Select "model" layer, and press Command/Ctrl + T (or go to Edit > Free Transform) to resize it. Hold Shift key to keep the aspect ratio and make it a bit smaller, like in the screenshot below:

    Go to Edit > Transform > Perspective and drag from any of the bottom corners to expand the "street" layer:

    Right – click and select Free Transform. Rotate a bit the layer to the left to give a more dynamic look to our composition:

    In this kind of composition it would be useful to follow some tips by the rule of thirds. If you are using rulers (View > Rulers or Command/Ctrl + R) drag using the Move Tool (V) from them and divide the image both vertically and horizontally in three areas of the same size. Rotate the "model" layer (Edit > Free Transform or Command/Ctrl + T) to make the boot fit in the bottom – right third point.

    Step 5

    Let’s blend a bit the "street" layer. Add a New Layer Mask by clicking on the respective icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette, pick the Brush Tool (B), 0% Hardness, 100% Opacity and Flow, black color, and paint in the mask over the top image borders. When you are done, expand the brush size and decrease both Opacity and Flow to 50% and paint over again to make the transition look smoother.

    Now click on the layer icon to go out of the mask, and select the Clone Stamp Tool (S), 170 pixels Size, 0% Hardness, 100% Opacity / Flow. Press and hold the Alt key to select the reference point you want to clone from by clicking on it, release, and paint carefully over the blank areas to the right. To avoid making it look like a pattern, decrease brush size and select other further areas to clone over the repeated parts:

    Step 6

    Now that we have the base of our image, let’s mask the hair at last. Go to the mask in "model", and use a white brush ro reveal the background area surrounding the hair:

    Use the Magic Wand Tool (W), 20 pixels Tolerance, and click over the grey background to make a rough selection. Then invert it (Command/Ctrl + Shift + I or Select > Inverse).

    Go to Select > Refine Edge. In View select On Layer. Activate the Smart Radius checkbox, increase a bit the Contrast and decrease the Shift Edge so the new selection we are creating gets more into the hair than out. Check the brush icon. With this tool, we are going to paint over the hair. Do some strokes and see how the selection gets refined. When you are done, press Enter.

    The new selection should look like this. Invert the selection again (Command/Ctrl + Shift + I) and go to the layer mask and erase it with a black brush.

    Invert the "Background" layer (Command/Ctrl + I or Image > Adjustments > Invert).

    Use the Smudge Tool (R), 50% Strength, very small Size, to paint a bit over these areas of the hair:

    And use the Brush Tool (B), low Opacity/Flow, small size, to erase a bit in the mask certain areas not masked at all:

    And you are done with the hair:

    Step 7

    Let’s add more elements to our scene. Grab to the canvas the Streetlights stock image and place/resize it as follows, name it "streetlights", then switch the Blending Mode to Screen:

    Go to Edit > Transform > Distort and grab the upper right corner even more to the top, so this layer ends up having the same perspective as the street.

    Use the Dodge Tool (O) in Midtones Range mode, 25% Strength, to lighten up a bit the background of this layer and make the buildings and trees appear… but just a little.

    Add a New Layer Mask, pick a black brush and delete left and bottom areas of the layer to blend it with the street and get rid of the rigid borders:

    Step 8

    Add the City stock image and name it "city".

    Set the Blending Mode to Screen, go to Edit > Transform > Distort and as we did with the streetlights image, grab from the upper right corner to adjust this layer to the image’s perspective.

    Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command/Ctrl + L) and raise the shadows of the layer.

    Add a New Layer Mask and delete with a black brush the left area to blend the layer with everything else:

    Go to the layer itself and direct yourself to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use an amount of 1,4 pixels to adjust this layer’s sharpness:

    Return to the Layer Mask of "street" layer and delete the upper red stream to make everything look homogeneous:

    Step 9

    Add the Lights stock image, name it just "lights", set the Blending Mode to Screen and go to Edit > Free Transform (Command/Ctrl + T) and rotate the image to the right, so the white lights follow the street lines:

    Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command/Ctrl + L) and raise the darkest areas of the layer so it gets blended:

    Add a New Layer Mask and delete the top and left areas with the Brush Tool (B) and the black color picked: we are not interested in those lights anymore:

    Decrease brush Opacity to 50% or so and decrease the opacity of the area shown below in the Layer Mask by over painting it, making these lines to be less annoying:

    Step 10

    Add the City 2 stock image and as usual, set it to Screen Blending Mode, resize it with Free Transform (Command/Ctrl + T) and place it above the road at the left. Go to Transform > Distort and adjust the layer to the image perspective by dragging the top right corner of the transform box a bit to the bottom. When you are done name this layer "city2".

    Add a New Layer Mask and paint black the top area with a big, 0% Hardness brush, around 50% Opacity clicking multiple times until both images are blended:

    Step 11

    Add the Bolt stock image, resize it to fit the canvas and name the layer "thunder". Set the Blending Mode to Screen.

    Add a New Layer Mask, pick a big black brush and delete the area of the layer that is over the street, leaving only the part that is over the sky area:

    Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command/Ctrl + L) and raise the deep blacks to blend this layer with our image:

    Step 12

    Drag to the canvas the Sky stock image, and name this layer "sky". Place this layer under "lights" one.

    Add a New Layer Mask and erase the cloud areas that are on the street using the Brush Tool (B):

    Set the Blending Mode to Overlay:

    Now, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/saturation (Command/Ctrl + U) and change the color of this layer by dragging to the right the Hue bar or using a value of +114:

    Step 13

    Now we will create the model’s shadow. Duplicate "model" layer (Command/Ctrl + J or Layer > Duplicate Layer), rename it as "model shadow", drag its mask and send it to the garbage can icon (and when asked, select Apply). Command/Ctrl – click on the layer icon to select it, and use the Paint Bucket Tool (G), with black color selected, to fill it:

    Go to Edit > Free Transform (Command/Ctrl + T) and dragging from the top center point, go downwards to turn the layer upside down:

    Right – click and select Perspective. Drag by the center bottom point of the transform box and displace it to the left, knowing that the source of light is coming from the right area of the image:

    Right – click again and pick Distort. To make the shadow look like the one below, drag upwards the top left corner and send to the left the bottom left one.

    Add a New Layer Mask, and use the Gradient Tool (G), with black color picked, to create a radial gradient from the bottom left corner to the center of the image and fade out the shadow as it gets further from our character and the light focus:

    Now use the Brush Tool (B), with white color selected, to restore and darken the shadow coming straight from the left boot:

    Go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur and use the following settings to distort a bit the shadow:

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N, Layer > New > Layer or by clicking on the Add New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette) and name it "model shadow 2". Use the Pen Tool (P) to create a path from the right area of the boot until it meets the shadow to keep it real. To do this, if you are unfamiliar with the Pen Tool, click and hold and move your mouse to give the path the desired shape, and keep on doing that until you reach the first pointer you did. Click on it again to close it, Right – click, select Make Selection. If you are using a tablet you might be more interested in just using the Lasso Tool (L) to create a freehand selection:

    With the Paint Bucket Tool (G) fill it with black color.

    Use the Eraser Tool (E), 0% Hardness, to subtly erase the left area of the new shadow:

    Press Command/Ctrl + F to apply the last filter we used, Lens Blur, or just go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur and use the same setting as in the prior step:

    Now, use the Smudge Tool (R), 50% Strength, over this layer, to blend it with the other shadow. At the end it should look like this:

    Step 14

    Drag the kid image to the canvas, right – click and select Flip Horizontal to adequate the lighting of the child to the one in our photo manipulation. Place the layer above "model" one and name it "child":

    Now we are going to use the Pen Tool to cut out the child from the image. Create a path by clicking and holding and moving the anchor point to get adapted to the shape of the body. When you reach the hair, do not even try to select it, just make the shape because we will me masking it better with the Refine Edge tool as we did with the model’s hair. When you are done with the path, right-click and select Make Selection. Invert by pressing Command/Ctrl + Shift + I and click on the Add New Layer Mask icon on the Layers Palette.

    Use the Magic Wand Tool (W) with a Tolerance of 35 pixels, to click and make a selection of the now masked green areas on the original layer:

    Go to Select > Refine Edge and use the standard setting, but mark the Smart Radius checkbok. Mark the brush icon as well and paint over the edges of the hair in the selection.

    Click Ok, and use a black brush in the mask to extract the hair and finish the cutting out work of this layer:

    Step 15

    Place the child just as follows:

    Command/Ctrl – click on "model" layer mask to make a selection of its content. Use the Brush Tool (B), black color selected, 100% Opacity and Flow, to delete in the mask of the "kid" layer the hand of the model over it.

    Step 16

    Create a new layer (Command/Ctrl +Shift + N) under "child" and name it "child shadow". Use the Pen Tool (P) to create the shape of a casted shadow to the left, according to our lighting. As you close the path, right-click and select Make Selection.

    Use werther the Gradient Tool (G) in Foreground to Transparent mode, or the Brush Tool (B), with a big size (0% Hardness) to paint the shadow, with the black color selected in any of the cases. It should get more transparent as it gets further from the child.

    Use the Blur Tool (R) over the layer (you might need to brush over many times) or apply a Lens Blur Filter as we did in Step 13 with the same settings.

    Step 17

    Adjust the overall lighting of this layer by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels (Command/Ctrl + L) and muting a bit the highlights:

    Refine the colors by going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance (Command/Ctrl + B) and use these settings:

    Step 18

    Before painting the lights and shadows in our characters, we are going to work in the overall color of this image. First of all, return to the "street" layer and use Color Balance (Command/Ctrl + B) with these settings:

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N) above the "sky" one and name it "blue gradient". Select the color #3d65a9 in the Color Picker. Use the Gradient Tool (G), with a Foreground to Transparent mode selected and create a gradient from the top right corner to the bottom left one:

    Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light:

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N) above the rest, name it "green" and fill it with the color #009d7d using the Paint Bucket Tool (G). Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

    Click on the Create a new fill or adjustments layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette and select Color Balance to create an adjustments layer that will apply on all layers and that we will be able to modify later if needed. Don’t forget to place it above all layers. Use these settings:

    We are going to add overall lighting to our piece. Create a New Layer under "green" (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N), name it "lighting". Since we cannot use the filter Lighting Effects in CMYK color mode, we will do it manually. Fill the layer with black color using the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and then switch to the Gradient Tool, pick the white color and create a Radial Gradient (Foreground to Transparent) over the lighting area we have in the image. Then change the Blending Mode to Vivid Light, 35% Opacity.

    Pick again the color #3d65a9 and create a Radial, Foreground to Transparent gradient using the Gradient Tool (G) from bottom left corner until more or less the center of the image. Put it in Color Burn, 50% Opacity. Name this layer "dark gradient".

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shit + N) above them all and name it "gradient". We are going to create a multi colored gradient to give some atmosphere to our piece. First, fill the layer with the color #985b19 using the Paint Bucket Tool (G). Change to Gradient Tool and to color #f5b50a. Create a Radial Gradient, Foreground to Transparent, over the area shown below in the second screenshot. Change the color to #f0d125 and create the same gradient in the same area, but a bit smaller. Do a bigger gradient with the color #6a3603 from the bottom left corner to the center, and to finish, select the color #cea73d and create a gradient from top right corner to the center.

    Put the Blending Mode of this Layer to Vivid Light, add a new layer mask and use the Radial Gradient, with black color selected, to avoid burning certain colors of the image, over the area depicted in the screenshot below:

    Duplicate this layer (Command/Ctrl + J or Layer > Duplicate Layer), delete de Layer Mask and add a new one. Switch Blending Mode to Divide, 35% Opacity. Fill the mask with black color and start painting with a big white brush over the area where the lighting is coming from until the layer shows at full opacity over that part:

    Step 19

    Time to paint lights and shadows. It is recommended for you to have a pen tablet for this, although you can do it with a mouse without any big problems. First of all, adjust the saturation of "child" layer by going to Hue/Saturation panel (Command/Ctrl + U) and lowering the Saturation a bit.

    Use the Burn Tool, first in Midtones Range mode, with 8% – 10% Exposure, to paint over the natural shadows the layer has on the left of every element, then switch to Shadows Range.

    Press Command/Ctrl + L to go to Levels. Raise a bit the deep shadows and decrease the highlights.

    Use the Clone Stamp Tool (S) with the settings shown below. You have to be very careful with this step, because you might end up messing this layer. You have to use a small brush to clone darker areas of the layer to the brighter ones, because trying to darkening them using the Burn Tool or with Levels all the time may end up creating strange colors due to the color mode we are using, so we he have to use the ones that we already have. Clone the left part of the hoodie in to the right one, making sure that in the end they do not look the same (that’s why we are using low Opacity and Flow). Do the same with the stripes at the end of the jacket and with the ones in the hoodie.

    Raise the Exposure of the Burning Tool (O), in Shadows Range, and darken the left part of the child.

    Take the Dodge Tool (O), Shadows Range, 15% Exposure, with a tiny soft brush, and paint over the contour of the face of the kid, so it doesn’t get like blended with the hand.

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N) and name it "child shadows", placing it just above "child" layer. Command/Ctrl – click "child" layer mask to select its content, and pick the Brush Tool (B), 0% Hardness, and paint the shadows using these settings. You should paint just above where you already did with the Burn Tool, in the same areas. When you are done lower the layer Opacity to 68%.

    Step 20

    Now, we are going to do more or less the same with the "model" layer. First, let’s adjust color using Color Balance (Command/Ctrl + B):

    Use the Dodge Tool (O) in Midtones Range, 10% Strength, and paint the borders of the arms and the back to create some contrast:

    Do the same over the bright areas of the bottom part of the hair to make them pop out:

    Switch the Range to Highlights. Now paint over the bright areas of the model’s outfit that are facing to the light source. Don’t just brush over the edges of the layer, go a bit further.

    Now use the Burn Tool to raise the shadows. Use it first in Midtones Range, with an Exposure of 10%. Paint over the dark areas of the model’s face, like the shadows of the left area, the eyes and lips. Change the Range to Highlights and paint the septum and at last, paint over the hair to give more volumen to the flat bright top areas.

    At the end your model should look like this:

    Step 21

    Last characters’ refinements! Let’s finish the child before we leave our characters alone. Use the Dodge Tool (O), Shadows Range, with very little Exposure, over the area on the right of the child. Then change to Midtones Range and increase the Exposure to 10%. Paint over as well the edges of the left arm at the left to create contrast. You can clearly notice the difference between the first and second screenshot. Then use the Burn Tool in Shadows Range, about 30% Exposure, and with a tiny brush paint over the darkest areas of the layer, but be careful to do not end up burning the colors. Paint over her head, and a bit on left arms and leg.

    Now we are going to improve model’s shadow, because with the new lighting it stands out so much. Go to the layer mask of "model shadow", select a 0% Hardness, 50% Opacity, 10% Flow brush, black color picked, and paint over the right foot shadow to make it more subtle, like in the image below:

    Step 22

    Add the Crack texture to the canvas, name it "cracks" and place it above the "street" layer. Set the Blending Mode to Overlay and go to Edit > Transform > Distort. What we have to do now is to transform this layer so it gets the same perspective as the ground. Get the top corners as close as they get so they are placed right behind the model, and drag the bottom left corner more to the left, and the bottom right one, more to the right.

    Change the Blending Mode to Hard Light and press Command/Ctrl + Shift + U to Desaturate the layer.

    Add a New Layer Mask and use a soft brush to delete the texture between the cracks. Also, lower the opacity by brushing the top area of the layer, so it loses some contrast.

    Press Command/Ctrl + L to go to Levels and raise the deep shadows of the layer:

    Use the Blur Tool (R) with 80% Strength and a big brush Size, to blur this layer as it goes upwards, to make it look more accurate:

    Step 23

    Put in the canvas the Texture 1 stock photo, set the Blending Mode to Hard Light and the Opacity to 45%. Name it "road texture" and place it above the "cracks" layer.

    Go to Edit > Transform > Distort and do the same as we did with the "crack" layer in the previous step to adapt this layer to the perspective. Just expand the bottom corners and contract the top ones to be behind the model.

    Use the Eraser Tool (E), 0% Hardness, to delete de top area of this layer.

    Step 24

    Grab the second Texture stock image and put it on the canvas. It should automatically get a name as "colourfulgrunge3", so leave it as it is. Place it above all layers.

    Switch the Blending Mode to Pin Light, 20% Opacity.

    Step 25

    Add the Scratch texture and leave its original layer name "11". Press Command/Ctrl + I to invert its colors.

    Set the Blending Mode to Overlay, 40% Opacity.

    Add a New Layer Mask and then Command/Ctrl – click the mask in "model" layer to select its content, and use a black brush in the mask of "11" to delete the texture over the right area of the model, so the texture doesn’t get disturbing.

    Step 26

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N) above "colourfulgrunge3", fill it with the color #538d8e using the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and name it "saturation".

    And, obviously, set the Blending Mode of this layer to Saturation. This layer will make the colors in the background to stand out a bit more.

    Step 27

    Stamp Visible Layers by pressing Command/Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E. This way you will create a separate layer containing all the work we have been doing. Call this layer "BW" and press Command/Ctrl + Shift + U to Desaturate the image.

    What we want to do with this layer is to homgenize the lighting of the image and avoid wrong exposures or bad light compensation. Go to Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights. Check the "Show More Options" checkbox and use the following settings:

    When you are done set the Blending Mode to Soft Light. See the result by yourself:

    Duplicate the layer (Command/Ctrl + J), name it "BW blur" and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and use an amount of 69 pixels or so.

    Go to Hue/Saturation (Command/Ctrl + U), activate the Colorize checkbox and change the Hue to 245. See how suddenly, the lighting in the image comes to life.

    Step 28

    Our image is almost done, but before start playing with typography, let’s enhance the colors using a Selective Color Adjustment Layer. Click on the black and white icon in the bottom of the Layers Palette and choose Selective Color. Use the following values:

    And here you can see the before/after change:

    Step 29

    With our image done, what is left is to include the typography. What we are going to include is, at the top, the name of our fictitious actors and actresses, a tagline, the film’s logline in the middle, and at the bottom, scored magazine reviews, the title and the credits. These are the most commonly uses with text in film posters, but feel free to do your research: you will find lots of different ideas to include.

    First, be sure you have installed the fonts that are noted in this tutorial’s assets. When you are done, let’s start with the title (Note that all text will be just invented and the rest will be done using dummy text):

    I am going to call this “Last Witness”, as if our model were protecting the child from something, but use any title you want. Select the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and open the Character Window (Window > Character). Once you are on it, select the font Ethon (here it will be named just ETH) and write your title.

    Double-click on the layer’s icon to display the Layer Style window. We are going to apply certain effects to our title. Select Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss, and Contour, and use the following settings:

    Create a New Layer (Command/Ctrl + Shift + N) under our title, and pick the color #c1101e. Use the Brush Tool (0% Hardness) to paint a big line under the typography, and set its Blending Mode to Soft Light. This way the title stands out a bit more.

    Step 30

    Now we will write the credits. Change your font to SteelTongs. This font is very special, because it was designed specially for writing film credits. It writes fontbats such as "Directed By" or "Sound Designer" in normal mode and by pressing Alt and a numerical code (such as Alt + 0198). You will find the list of available codes in the readme text file of the font. On the other hand, in caps lock the font writes normal letters. So, basically, what you have to do is to write a fontbat and then enter your text (you can find some dummy text if you need it, here).

    This time, click and hold your pointer to create a box where the text will be created, with a width similar to the title’s one, and with a height that shouldn’t reach the bottom of the poster, because we will include more things under this text block, so leave some room for them.

    When you are done, create a new text block under the credits one that should be a bit smaller than the third of the credits width. Use some of the fontbats that portray certain logos, to give a more "real" look and feel to the poster. On my example, I am using the codes 0149, 0151, 0192 and 0195 (remember, with the Alt key pressed).

    Step 31

    Select a red color (I’m using #d6081d) and write "In Theaters May 15" or something of the like denoting the release of the film with the font Alégre Sans.

    Double-click this layer to display the Layer Styles and select Drop Shadow using these settings:

    Now write what the site url of our movie will be, again with Alégre Sans, and when you are done, set the layer Opacity to 65%.

    Step 32

    Go upwards and select SteelTongs font again, and write the name of your actors, leaving the appropriate spaces between names.

    Go to Layer Styles by double-clicking the layer, and use Drop Shadow to make the text stand out a bit more:

    Above our actors, we are going to write a tagline to let our audience know that they should go to watch this film because the director did this and that, so with the same font settings as before, write something of the like of "From the director of This Film and This other film." Use a light yellow tone, like #efe8b3.

    Add a Drop Shadow going to the Layer Styles window:

    Our logline will go somewhere on the central/right area of the image, where the light is coming from. Here we will write the sentence that will give a sense to our title and that will attract our audience to watch the film. Use Steeltongs font with the color #716e56. Emphasize some words of the tagline by putting them in bold or italics.

    Step 33

    Select the Custom Shape Tool (U). Under the menu options, you will find specific options for this tool. Find the Shape one, click on the arrow, in the emerging panel, click again on the right arrow, and select in the menu All to load all the custom shapes of the software. Select the star.

    Holding the Shift key, to keep the aspect ratio, create a small star, press P key, right-click and select Fill Path (make sure that your Foregorund color is white). When you are done, select the Move Tool (V), press Alt + Shift to create a new star, while you move it horizontally to the left. Do this with as many stars as you would like your film to have. I’ll be using five. Merge all the star layers (Command/Ctrl – click them all, right-click and select Merge Layers, or just select the top one and press Command/Ctrl + E until they are all merged). Name this layer "stars".

    Double-click to Display Layer Styles, select Drop Shadow.

    Press and hold Alt + Shift to duplicate this layer twice and to keep all of them at the same horizontal position.

    Write between quotes some sort of critic, and under that write the source in italics. And as you have guessed, use Steeltongs font with the exact same settings as the last time, and add a Drop Shadow (default values).

    Step 34

    Stamp All Visible Layers (Command/Ctrl + Shit + Alt + E) and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use an amount of 70 pixels or so.

    Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light, 50% Opacity. We do this to homogenize all elements in our composition, both image and text, in the same atmosphere.

    Step 35

    And well, this is the last step. Stamp All Visible Layers again (Command/Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E), put it in Overlay Blending Mode, and go to Filter > Other > High Pass. Use an amount of no more than 5 pixels and see how the contrast and sharpness of our poster raises gracefully. We are done with this. Congratulations!

    Final Image


  8. Stephen Petrany | February 21, 2012

    In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Stephen Petrany will demonstrate how to take pieces from multiple photos and seamlessly blend them into a "coffee cake" photo manipulation. This tutorial will also explore unique ways to work with paths and smart objects. If you are looking to take your photo manipulation skills to the next level then Log in or Join Now to get started!

    View the Tutorial

    Tuts+ Premium Members can login now for instant access to this tutorial. Membership to Tuts+ Premium gets you access to hundreds of exclusive premium tutorials, top selling ebooks, in-depth courses, member forums, and much more. To learn more about Tuts+ Premium, Take the Tour or Join Today.


  9. Grant Friedman | February 21, 2012

    Last weekend, I attended a couple of Photoshop Sneak Peek events that were sponsored by Adobe in New York City. At the event, Photoshop Sr. Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes gave live presentations of some of the features they are working on for the next version of Photoshop. Some of what Hughes showed has already been announced in previous sneak peeks but he also demonstrated some never before seen features, as well. In this article, I will give you a quick recap of some of what I learned about the next version of Photoshop while I was there.

    We already know that the next version of Photoshop will include a darker interface. They gave Photoshop a darker interface for a couple of reasons; to help showcase the artwork that you are working on, and to make it more consistent with other Adobe apps like Lightroom. What you may not know about the new interface is that in order to make this happen, Adobe had to create 1800 new icons and 250 new cursors. So clearly, Adobe has put a lot of work into the design of the new interface.

    In addition to the new interface, we also know that the new version of Photoshop will include several performance enhancements that will reduce tiling and lag while working with large images. At the event, Hughes showed how the new version of Photoshop will not lag or tile while using liquify. He also explained how the liquify brush now expands to 15,000 pixels, which is a huge improvement from CS5. This is fantastic news for retouchers who frequently use the liquify feature.

    In addition to liquify, Hughes also explained background save, a feature that was previously mentioned in a sneak peek video. What you may not know however is that in addition to background save, the new version of Photoshop will also include crash recovery. So if Photoshop crashes on you while you are working on a project, you should be able to recover your document. Note: crash recovery was only mentioned at the event. It was not demonstrated. So I don’t know exactly how it will work.

    Dashed and dotted lines is also a feature that was discussed at the event. If you’ve ever needed to use dashed or dotted lines in Photoshop, you know what an awesome new feature this is. In previous versions it could take you 20 minutes to produce this effect. It can now be done in seconds.

    Previously Un-Announced Features

    In addition, to the features that we already know about, Hughes also explained some previously unannounced features that had never been seen in public. These features were Content Aware Move and Adaptive Wide Angle.

    Let’s start with Content Aware Move. This new feature will allow you to make a selection and then move those pixels to another part of your image without having to use multiple layers. Take a look at the video below to see it in action.

    In addition to Content Aware Move, we also saw Adaptive Wide Angle, a feature that will allow you to quickly correct for lens distortion. Take a look at the video below.

    What Do You Think?

    What do you think about these new features? Are you excited to see them? What other new features would you like to see?


  10. Grant Friedman | February 21, 2012

    Jan Oliehoek is a photo manipulator based in The Netherlands who has a talent for combining and manipulating photos in a fun and creative way. Let’s take a look!

    Handgun

    Zebra Frog

    In this image, Oliehoek combined a zebra with a frog.

    Baby Dragon

    In this image, a baby dragon rests on someone’s finger tips.

    Drat

    In this image Oliehoek combines a duck with a rat.

    Hippo Frog

    This macro photo of a frog was combined with a hippo.

    Croggy

    In this image, a frog was crossed with a cat.

    Frog Hippo

    In this image, another frog was crossed with a hippo.

    Cyborg Skull

    Searaffe

    Chestnut Eye

    This image combines a chestnut with an eyeball.