Online Magazine of Inspirations, Information, & Distractions for Digital Artists
This section deals with Photoshop's selections tools. Doesn't sound like much but if you follow along, the lesson is really about manipulating backgrounds to enhance your image. Adobe Photoshop CS4: An Introduction by Dr. Michael N. Roach is now for sale as a PDF Price: $4.99 Sample Pages: There are still a lot of people using Photoshop CS4 even though Photoshop CS5, and now Photoshop CS5.5, has been out for some time. We were contacted by a few students who are still … [Read more...]
My telephone needs are covered -- I have Skype and I have my cellphone. I used to have a never-never-land-line: the phone I never answered because it was undoubtedly some telemarketer or robocalling machine. When I figured out that I could ignore those calls for about $60 a year, I switched from land-line to voip. (I actually tried Vonage first but a phone I never answer $25/month seemed too expensive still.) My skype phone number is now the official phone number for business and home - the … [Read more...]
On March 11, the first day iPad 2's were available for order, at 5 A.M. I got up to go to the bathroom (something common when you are 73 years old), and on a whim sat down at the computer and ordered an iPad. White, 64GB wifi only, with a spare power supply, a Camera Connection package, VGA and Digital AV Adapters, and a red leather cover. I had intended to make this order eventually, and the computer seemed to call to me as I returned from the bathroom. It was a good thing too, as within 24 … [Read more...]
We were discussing Dr. Roach's ebook yesterday. By "we", I mean a motley group of photoshop users of varying degrees of experience , expertise and interest. It became very clear early on that the name of the book is deceiving. Yes, it is an introduction to Photoshop and all its possibilities. (And I do mean all) Yet, we think it would be better described as the most complete introduction to advanced techniques for beginners. Some of you may roll your eyes at this section, the squaring of images … [Read more...]
UPDATE Monday 7:12 AM CDT- Moosoftware.com is back. I was working with TabletDraw by Moosoftware last night, and turned it off around 11:30pm. The next morning it kept crashing upon startup. It would open, hang, and then crash. It took me a while to figure it out, but Tabletdraw is set to automatically update by default and would go belly up as soon as it tried to reach the Moosoftware website. Evidently, sometime right around midnight the domain name expired. The solution? 1. … [Read more...]
For the last couple of days, I have been trying to update a client's wordpress website and I am encountering yet again the mother of all problems, the root of every headache when it comes to web design. I run across the issue every single time - whether I am moving a domain and corresponding website to a new server or trying to upgrade a premium wordpress plugin. At the bottom of every complications, I find that 90% of the time, there is a set of username/email address and password … [Read more...]
This section deals with the use of rulers, layers and type. The most interesting part of this section is the introduction to the use of type as a design element. Why rasterize type or choose to use type as a shape? Text styled in a particular font will lose its shape if the photoshop file is adited, possibly on another machine, without the specified font. Photoshop will attempt to use a substitute font and the look of the original text will be lost. Converting the type to a shape or raterizing … [Read more...]
In reality, most images can be fixed with curves, levels, and exposure, and perhaps sharpening. 90% of post-production image editing will use these tools. This section is devoted to revisiting the most fundamental of photoshop tools in depth. Virtually every image benefits by some adjustment. Whether you decide to begin each adjustment with curves because i said it's most often used for beginnings, or whether you decide to go with levels first will be something that will develop as a matter of … [Read more...]
Adjusting the tonal range of an image can be accomplished one of two ways: Levels (which provides only three anchor points for control: black, white, and midpoint) Curves (which allows for the use of up to 16 anchor points within the tonal range curve allowing for an increased control over the resulting tonal range) Adobe Photoshop CS4: An Introduction by Dr. Michael N. Roach is now for sale as a PDF Price: $4.99 Sample Pages: There are still a lot of people … [Read more...]
This section of Dr. Roach's Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Beginners focuses on best practices when starting a project plus a guided tour through the menus and tools. You might think that this information is not useful to you but I have to admit that, even after 10 years of using Photoshop, I am learning something every time I prepared these sections for upload. Up until I read this section, I've never take the time to adjust my color settings until the end of the project when I am ready to output to … [Read more...]
DigitalAppleJuice.com is a great place to talk about all things Apple. And, digital imaging. And how you create artwork in the digital age. And... well, you get the point. So I decided to devote a few paragraphs to a new product I found for the iPhone. I recently ordered some items from a retailer in California. While on their website, a new item caught my eye - a Magpul brand case for my iPhone 3G (they also make a case for the iPhone 4). I was intrigued... Magpul is famous in the … [Read more...]
I was about to write about zapping unwanted apps or publish another section of Roach's Intro to Photoshop, but Matt Braga's review of the upcoming Lion made my tail wag. Considering I drag my feet when it comes to upgrading, it must be special, yes? Just the visual presentation of information on the About This Mac page is enough to make any graphic designer happy, but don't miss out on the new crash handling . Wow! It lets you keep working! Read it all : The 10 Best Things About … [Read more...]
