Hidden Features Revealed in Adobe’s Latest Sneak Peek Video

Posted by admin on Mar 2, 2012 in Blog | 10 comments

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In yesterday’s sneak peek video explaining Photoshop’s new Blur Gallery, Photoshop Product Manager, Stephen Nielsen demonstrated the new Iris Blur effect, a feature that will help you to simulate depth of field in a photo. While I thought that the new feature was really exciting, I was a bit confused about the wording he used. Blur Gallery implies several types of blurs, but in the video, Nielsen only shows the Iris Blur feature. If this is a gallery, then where are the other types of blurs? Is Iris Blur the only new blur, or have they just rolled all the other blur effects into a gallery, similar to the Filter Gallery? I decided to investigate.

I watched the video a couple more times to see if there were any hints hidden in the video. What I found was a few new items that Nielsen didn’t mention but were clearly visible if you slow the video down. Take a look at the screenshot below. It clearly shows 2 new types of blur; Field Blur and Tilt-Shift. In addition, there is also a Blur Effects panel that includes a Bokeh option.

What does this mean? It means that the Blur Gallery does actually include more than one new type of blur. The Blur Gallery seems to offer several types of blur, as well as some options to help you further customize your effects.

What do you think? Are you excited about Photoshop’s new Blur Gallery? Is this feature enough to convince you to make the upgrade?

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Grant Friedman | March 2, 2012

In yesterday’s sneak peek video explaining Photoshop’s new Blur Gallery, Photoshop Product Manager, Stephen Nielsen demonstrated the new Iris Blur effect, a feature that will help you to simulate depth of field in a photo. While I thought that the new feature was really exciting, I was a bit confused about the wording he used. Blur Gallery implies several types of blurs, but in the video, Nielsen only shows the Iris Blur feature. If this is a gallery, then where are the other types of blurs? Is Iris Blur the only new blur, or have they just rolled all the other blur effects into a gallery, similar to the Filter Gallery? I decided to investigate.

I watched the video a couple more times to see if there were any hints hidden in the video. What I found was a few new items that Nielsen didn’t mention but were clearly visible if you slow the video down. Take a look at the screenshot below. It clearly shows 2 new types of blur; Field Blur and Tilt-Shift. In addition, there is also a Blur Effects panel that includes a Bokeh option.

What does this mean? It means that the Blur Gallery does actually include more than one new type of blur. The Blur Gallery seems to offer several types of blur, as well as some options to help you further customize your effects.

What do you think? Are you excited about Photoshop’s new Blur Gallery? Is this feature enough to convince you to make the upgrade?
Grant Friedman | March 2, 2012

There are a lot of print advertisements out there, but only a few stand out from the rest. In this article, we will present you with a selection of cleverly Photoshopped print ads that we really enjoyed. Let’s take a look!

Batelco Directory: Hotel

This piece puts a whole new spin on the idea of a page curl. It does a fantastic job of pealing away the city in a realistic way.

Carrying Too Much Weight?

The advertisement does an excellent job of converting a man’s belly fat into a handbag. The texture of the bag is really well done and the hair is a nice touch. The only note that we might make is that men don’t really use handbags. So who is the target audience here?

Big Fat Sound

We really like how well the wax harp turned out in this piece. The melting wax looks very realistic. The artist really paid attention to detail. Notice the reflection in the mirror, a detail that many designers might have missed.

Desertification Destroys 6,000 Species Every Year

We’ve seen quite a few disintegration effects in the past. This piece does a particularly good job turning the elephant into sand; as it is harder to make really fine particles look realistic.

The True Brew of Halloween

In this piece, we really enjoyed how the pumpkin vines grow on to the glass.

Listerine: Burger

Burgers always catch our eye but this one doesn’t look very appetizing. This piece does a great job showing all the things we put into our mouth during the day. Notice how most of the objects aren’t even food. Yuk.

Old Spice: Matterhorn

Everyone loves the Old Spice guy. This piece does a really good job mixing photos and digital illustration/painting.

Take a Five Minute Holiday

This fun and simple photo manipulation does a great job of blending all these photos into one composition. It almost looks real.

There’s Always a Stain Waiting to Happen

While this coffee cup might not be that easy to drink out of, the shape of it really helps to portray how that coffee might end up looking once you’ve spilled it on the table.

BCAA Travel Insurance: Snowglobe

This Illustration does a great job producing this snow globe.

Hungry for Fresh Ideas

In this piece it’s hard to say how much of this is a photo and how much is digital painting.

LG Mobile: Circus

This piece does a really nice job of combining all the photos into one seamless composition.

Manpower Experis: Hammer

The designer who put this artwork together did a really good job of attaching that hammer head onto that man’s body.
David Appleyard | March 2, 2012
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Grant Friedman | March 2, 2012

A lot of people really like the look of a photo with a shallow depth of field in their photos. In the past, reproducing this effect in Photoshop took a bit a time and required you to add a few layers, masks, and depth channels. In this sneak peek video, Adobe Photoshop Product Manager, Stephen Nielsen explains how you can now quickly reproduce this effect using the new Iris Blur feature. This new features highlights some new controls to allow you to make your changes directly on the screen.
Grant Friedman | March 2, 2012

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Photoshop’s default filters and effects don’t always give you the look and flexibility that you are looking for. Over the last several months, we have been introducing you to Filter Forge, a powerful third-party plugin that allows you to apply 4,000 amazing effects to your images, and even create your own. In this tutorial, we will explain how Filter Forge works and how you can get started with this fantastic plugin. Let’s get started!

To learn more about Filter Forge, you can visit their website, download the trial version of the software, or check out their filter gallery.

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Editor’s note: This post was sponsored by Filter Forge.
Rose | March 2, 2012
Applying texture to a text effect can be a lot of fun. In this tutorial we will explain how to create a baseball-inspired text effect using layer styles, patterns, and brushes. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.
- Grass Texture 1 by shhhhh-art-Stock.
- Merkin font.
- Seamless leather texture.
- Undercover Grunge Brush Set by gone4ever95.
Step 1

Create a new document that is 1024 x 645 px.

You can use any other values for the Height and Width depending on the text you are going to create.

Download the Grass Texture 1, and place it on top of your “Background” layer, then resize it as needed.

Rename the layer to “Grass Texture”.

Step 2

The grass colors are a bit dark and desaturated. To fix that, go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance, make sure that Midtones is the active option under Tone Balance, then modify the values as shown below.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and change the Highlights value to 226. This will brighten up the texture a little bit. We will be using Adjustment Layers later, so that would be it for the grass texture for now.

Step 3

Create the text using the font Merkin. The color is #e6e6e6 and the Size is 250pt. Set the Tracking value to 100 to avoid overlapping, and click the All Caps icon.

Press the Ctrl/Cmd key and click the text layer’s icon to create a selection.

Step 4

Go to Select > Modify > Expand, and type in 15. This will expand the selection 15 px outwards.

Create a new layer below the text layer and call it “Stroke”.

Set the Foreground color to #e7e7e7, and fill the selection with that color. You can go to Select > Deselect, or press Ctrl/Cmd + D to get rid of the selection.

Step 5

We are going to separate the stroke from the text. So Ctrl/Cmd + Click the text layer’s icon once again, then go to Select > Modify > Expand, and type in 1.

Make sure that the “Stroke” layer is active (selected), and hit Delete to get rid of the inner parts of the stroke.

Step 6

This is optional, but if you want to delete parts of the stroke that connect some edges of the letter to enhance the stroke, then you can use the Eraser Tool. OR, you can simply Ctrl/Cmd + Click the text layer’s icon to create a selection, then expand it (Select > Modify > Expand) in values that are less than 15. For example, the value 10 will be used here to enhance the stroke at the top of the letter S.

Go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection.

Use the Eraser Tool to remove the unwanted parts. This method gives the exact shape of the unwanted areas, instead of erasing it randomly. Of course, smaller “Expand” values enable you to erase larger areas, and vice versa.

Step 7

Now, it’s time to create the Stitches Brush. So go ahead and create a new 23 x 82 px.

Pick the Ellipse Tool and set the Foreground color to Black.

Click on the top left corner of the document and drag to the lower right corner to create an ellipse.

Don’t worry if some edges of the ellipse do not appear, they will in the next step.

To show all the edges and continue creating the brush, go to Image > Canvas Size, and set the Width to 100 px.

Step 8

Press Ctrl/Cmd + T to enter the Free Transform Mode. Rotate the ellipse 45° clockwise. (You can type the value in the Rotate field in the Options bar at the top). Hit Enter/Return to accept and get out of the Free Transform Mode

Duplicate the ellipse shape layer, and press Ctrl/Cmd + T to free transform the copy.

Type -100% in the Width field (in the Options bar at the top) to flip the ellipse horizontally. Hit Enter/Return to accept.

Next we are going to rasterize the two shape layers, but first, group them so that you’ll have the original layers available in case anything goes wrong after rasterizing.

Step 9

Duplicate the group, go to Layer > Merge Group, or press Ctrl/Cmd + E to merge the group layers and make the original group invisible by clicking the eye icon next to it. Now, both shape layers are rasterized and merged in one layer.

Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create a selection around the lower part of the stitch. The selection’s Height should be around 13 px, you can check that in the info panel (Window > Info).

Hit Delete to get rid of the selected part, and press Ctrl/Cmd + D to get rid of the selection.

Once again, use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create a selection in the middle part of the stitch. The selection’s Width should be around 2 px.

Hit Delete and press Ctrl/Cmd + D.

Go to Image > Trim and apply the values below. Once you click OK, the extra white space around the stitch will be removed. This helps define the brush’s size more precisely.

Finally, go to Edit > Define Brush Preset and type in a name for the brush. You can save the PSD file if you want as well.

Step 10

Back to the Original document, open the Brush panel (Window > Brush), and choose the “Stitches Brush” (it’ll probably have a size of something around 90 or 100 px). Change the settings under Brush Tip Shape as shown below, and make sure to change the Angle to 90°.

Change the settings under Shape Dynamics as shown below too, and make sure to choose Direction from the Control drop down menu under the Angle Jitter tab. This is important as it will make the stitches follow the direction of the text path instead of having the same angle everywhere.

Step 11

Right click the text layer and choose Create Work Path.

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “Stitches”.

Set the Foreground color to #d5002c, pick the Direct Selection Tool, right click the path, and choose Stroke Path.

Choose Brush from the Tool drop down menu, and make sure that the Simulate Pressure Box is un-checked.

This will stroke the path with the stitches. Hit Enter/Return to get rid of the path.

Next, we are going to apply some Layer Styles.

Step 12

Before applying the Layer Styles, you might need to Load the Contours used. To do so, go to Edit > Preset Manager, and choose Contours from the Preset Type drop down menu.

Click the small arrow in the top right corner, and choose Contours

Click Append to add the new contours to the existing ones.

Double click the text layer to apply the following Layer Styles:

Inner Shadow: Change the Distance to 0 and the Size to 16.

Inner Glow: Change the Blend Mode to Multiply, the Opacity to 30, the color to #c9ac86, the Source to Center, the Size to 59, and the Gloss Contour to Gaussian – Inverse.

Bevel and Emboss: Change the Size to 24 and the Shadow Mode color to #a6a6a6.

Texture: Load the .pat (pattern) file in the Seamless leather texture folder to use it.

Then change the Scale to 50 and the Depth to 15.

Satin: Just change the color to #e4e4e4.

This will create a nice leather-rubber effect.

Step 13

Double click the Stroke layer to apply the following Layer Styles:

Drop Shadow: Change the color to #5a543d, the Distance to 0 and the Size to 10.

Inner Shadow: Change the Distance to 0 and the Size to 3.

Inner Glow: Change the Blend Mode to Multiply, the color to #a67c5a, the Source to Center, and the Size to 16.

Bevel and Emboss: Change the Size to 16 and the Shadow Mode color to #a6a6a6.

Texture: Use the same Leather texture, and change the Scale to 50 and the Depth to 20.

This will apply the effect to the stroke.

Step 14

Double click the Stitches layer to apply the following Layer Styles:

Drop Shadow: Change the color to #686868, the Distance to 0 and the Size to 2.

Bevel and Emboss: Change the Depth to 521, the Size to 1, the Highlight Mode to Soft Light, and the Shadow Mode color to #939393.

Contour: Choose the Ring contour and check the Anti-aliased box.

Texture: Use the Metal Landscape pattern, and change the Scale to 31 and the Depth to 100.

This will add some depth and dimension to the stitches.

That’s it for the Layer Styles.

Step 15

Ctrl/Cmd + Click the text layer’s icon to create a selection, then Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Click the “Stroke” layer’s icon to add the stroke to the text selection.

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “Grunge”, then change its Blend Mode to Multiply.

Set the Foreground color to #9a8b74, and choose one of the Undercover Grunge Brush Set brushes to add some dirt to the text.

You can adjust the Opacity value if you like. Here it is set to 70%.

Step 16

Duplicate the “Grass Texture” layer, then drag and drop the copy on top of all layers.

Ctrl/Cmd + Click the text layer’s icon to create a selection.

Go to Select > Modify > Expand, and type in 15 to select both the text and the stroke. Then, go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection.

Click the Add layer mask icon down the Layers panel (Window > Layers). This will make the text appear again. We will use the mask to add some grass over the text later on.

Step 17

We’ve modified the grass colors a little bit at the beginning of the tutorial. And now, we will add some Adjustment Layers to enhance the colors of the whole image, which will add a nice vintage feel and help blend all the elements nicely.

So click the Add new adjustment layer icon down the Layers panel, and choose Color Balance.

Make sure that the Midtones option under Tone is active, and change the values as shown below.

Now select the Shadows, and type in the values below.

Add another Color Balance Adjustment Layer, and change the values of the Midtones as shown below.

And change the Shadows values as shown below as well. Those values will bring out the many beautiful colors in the grass that weren’t as vivid before.

Step 18

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it “Gradient”. Change its Blend Mode to Soft Light, and its Opacity value to 70%.

Set the Foreground color to #724c21, pick the Gradient Tool, choose the Foreground to Transparent fill type, click the Radial Gradient icon in the Options bar, and check the Reverse box. Click in the middle of the document and drag to one of the corners to create the Gradient.

This will add a simple depth to the image so that it doesn’t look so flat.

Click the Add new adjustment layer icon and choose Levels this time.

Change the Shadows value to 20. This will darken up the image a little bit. You can play around with the values if you like.

Step 19

Time to add some grass over the text. So open the Brush panel (Window > Brush) and choose the Dune Grass brush. Modify the Brush Tip Shape as shown below.

Change the Shape Dynamics values as shown below as well.

Keep in mind that you can always rotate the brush’s tip under the Brush Tip Shape tab, by moving the Angle arrow around, or typing different values. This will make adding the grass easier in different angles and areas.

Step 20

Set the Foreground color to #000000 and the Background color to #ffffff, pick the Eraser Tool, click the “Grass Texture copy” Layer Mask.

Paint some short strokes near the edges of the text randomly. You can always press Ctrl/Cmd + Z to undo if you don’t like the result then paint again. You can also change the brush’s Size and Angle whenever you need to. Just try not to drown the text in the grass, keep it simple.

If you set the switch the Foreground and Background colors, you can use the Eraser Tool to erase any unwanted parts with a hard round brush.

Final Image
Erasmo D'Onorio De Meo | March 2, 2012
In this quick tip tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a cinematic “Action” Text Effect in Photoshop using layer styles. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.
- SF Fedora font
- Leather Pattern
Step 1

Make a new .PSD document; size 1000 x 500 pixels, RGB color, 100 dpi and White background. Create a new layer and fill it with a Leather Texture/Pattern and go in the menu Layer > Layer Styles > Blending Options and use these settings:

Step 2

Now create the text using this font: SF Fedora. Use these settings: 170 pt – Anti-Alias: Sharp. Now rename this text: “3D”. Then we have to distort the text, so click on tool “Create Warped Text” as shown in the screen below:

Step 3

Then go in the menu Layer > Layer Styles > Blending Options and use these settings:

Step 4

Duplicate the text and rename it “Base”. Right click on his layer and click to “Clear Layer Style” or in the Styles Palette click on the first style “Default style (None)” (It’s the same thing). Now move this text slightly to the right in order to create a “pseudo 3D effect” with the text below (Look picture below). Then go in the menu Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and use these settings:

Conclusion

Lastly to make the text effect nicer I added some light around the text with simple brushes and color lights with soft brushes. Now your text effect is completed!
Mark Bowley | March 2, 2012
As a graphic designer a portfolio is essential. While it’s great to have an online one, it’s also a good idea to have a physical one too to take along to meetings and interviews.

Putting together and showing this kind of portfolio of your graphic design work is quite a skill, and the best way to do it gets debated constantly by designers around the world. There is no right way of doing it – there will always be differences in what employers or clients expect, or would like to see. Some simple logic and advice will help you though, and I’m going to share what I have learned both from experience and from reading other articles.

May of 2009

This Post is Day 10 of our Graphic Design Session. Creative Sessions
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So, to get started it’s worth mentioning that your portfolio, and the way you talk about it, is an opportunity for you to shine and to demonstrate that:
- you are creative
- you can apply good thought processes
- you have a range of skills
- you are ambitious and enthusiastic
Your Audience

As designers, when we start a design project one of the first questions we always ask is who the audience will be. You should be applying the same thinking when putting together your portfolio – who will be looking at it? What are their needs and expectations?

Depending on your situation, your target audience is likely to be one of the following:
- A potential employer
- A potential client
If you are looking for a job in the design industry remember potential employers will most likely be designers themselves. This means they will have a keen eye for the look of your work and will want to understand your contribution to each project.

If you are looking for work from potential clients they, on the other hand, will be more focussed on whether you have experience in the type of work they need to produce, and whether your design style is to their taste.

Adapt where you can

Try to adapt your portfolio and presentation style to fit each audience. This means a bit more work each time but will make it more engaging for them. It will also lead to more success for you by demonstrating you understand their business.

Do some research

When you have a meeting set up to show your work, do some research. What sort of company are they? If they are a potential employer what kind of work do they produce? Are they really creative or more corporate? If they are a potential client what sort of design work have they had produced before? What kind of industry are they in and who are their customers? Luckily today most businesses have websites, so all this should be relatively easy.

Choosing projects

Limit the number

If you can, try and keep it to about 6-10 good size projects. People don’t want to go through everything you have done and will probably make up their minds about you during the first 3 you show. Obviously if you don’t have much to show for any of them (e.g an individual logo) you could consider showing more projects.

Select your best

I can’t stress this one enough and you will hear the same thing from other people in the industry: Only select your best work and work you want to talk about. If you don’t love it or can’t talk about it endlessly, over and over, it will show and they won’t be interested. I know myself it’s tempting to fill out your portfolio with work that isn’t your best but shows other skills or types of client. But it won’t be long before you struggle to talk about them engagingly, and you will come across as not enjoying your work.

What order to show them in?

The first and last projects in your portfolio will stick in people’s minds the most. So, you should select carefully which projects to put in these positions. In addition, the last project can be the best place for a project you really like talking about or has samples that people can look at. This is because it can often end up staying open on the desk while you continue the meeting.

The projects you show in the middle of your portfolio should then be ordered in a way that demonstrates variety in skills and style. Keep them interested by mixing things up and being dramatic. If there are samples to pass around for one project, consider following it with a project that doesn’t. Don’t, for example, put all your logo or brochure projects back to back if you can help it.

Show creativity

One of the things potential employers will often look for is how you got to the finished design. They may be interested in sketch books, loosely bound sheets of ideas, mood boards or unused concepts. Put a few of them in your portfolio but not for every project. They are there to demonstrate your ability to think and and sketch before you jumped on a Mac to create the work.

You should also aim to include at least one or two mockups or printed samples. This will stop your portfolio from looking like just a collection of flat printouts of your work, and therefore a more memorable experience.

Put in what you want to get out

What does this mean? Well one important thing to remember is that you should only put types of work in your portfolio that you want to get more of. If you’ve done a lot of one type of work but you’re now really tired of it, don’t put it in your portfolio even if you think it’s good work. Chances are, you will only get more of it.

Presentation is key

The standard of presentation in your portfolio must be the highest you can achieve. Employers and clients alike will be judging how much attention you pay to these details as well as the actual work. But don’t dress it up – the quality of your work and your presentation is much more important than a fancy or tricksy portfolio.

Explaining the Work

OK, so we have covered putting your portfolio together, but you also need to learn how to talk about it.

It’s not easy

The art of talking about your work is not something that comes naturally to designers – I know I didn’t find it easy in the beginning. But it’s a good skill to learn, and learn as early as you can. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes and look upon each meeting as an opportunity to develop this skill. Not only will this make it easier to talk about your portfolio, it will also make you better at presenting concepts and design work, both to your colleagues and to clients.

The simple rule here is engagement. Your aim should be to arouse interest in your work, not give a speech or lecture. Remember, showing your portfolio to people is also about them, not just you.

When you come to each project, talk about it briefly to introduce it but don’t talk at length. See how they react, let them ask questions or let them simply look. If they are looking at you rather than the work, talk some more about the project – tell them what interested you about it. Look for signs that it’s time to move on to the next project.

To help you get used to talking about your work, try it on other people whenever you get a chance. If they are non-designers it will help even more, as you will practice not using designer lingo to describe each project.

Show your value

Employers want to see how you could be useful in their organisation, and when showing your portfolio they will often ask what your involvement was on a project. Whatever you are tempted to say, I advise this: Be honest, give yourself credit, but be clear about your skills.

A potential client will be wanting to find out if you have the skills they currently need. Focus less on talking up the design aesthetics of your work, and more on explaining the value of your services to the client of each project. Were they pleased with the work? Did they achieve their business goals?

Know yourself

You should take some time to understand your strengths and weaknesses (and yes, we all have weaknesses) before showing your work. If you can’t see them yourself ask another designer for an honest opinion (and be prepared for the answers!). You may not get asked about these specifically in a meeting, but you should be prepared to discuss them anyway.

The reason I mention this is that showing you understand your limits and where you are most effective is far better than trying to prove you are simply amazing. Employers and clients are interested in how they can use you best – they know no-one is good at everything and are not looking for that.

If you are particularly strong in one area though, make sure every piece of work in your portfolio shows that without you even having to say it. They will remember you better that way.

Summary

Hopefully this article will give you a good starting guide to your portfolio. Remember, it is a skill to be learned during your career rather than mastered beforehand – every time you show your work it will give you extra experience and feedback that helps you improve.

If you are interested in reading further, here is a collection of a few articles which you may also find useful:
This Post is Day 10 of our Graphic Design Session. Creative Sessions
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