As a matter of fact, while making the title for this post,  it crossed my mind (as a joke of course) that I should maybe say “2013 Edition”. Why? Well, isn’t it obvious? We can buy February or March edition magazines in January, on new versions of software which is out in 2010, they are including 2011 or 2012 already in the name.

Where is this going to? This year we might be watching the movies that are out in 2015? I mean I know it was always important, whatever product it is, that it’s fresh and new and just out. But, the marketing machinery started to sell us products from the future! For instance, February edition of  Digital SLR Photography was out on 10th of January?!?

Am I the only one who thinks that’s weird?

Well, anyways, back to my Photoshop brushes.

First, these ones are not for sale. They are free.

Second, they don’t come from the future, they are just plainly fresh and new but they were not done in March 3013. I did them last week as a matter of fact.

Here is the part two of Retro Floral Drawings Photoshop brushes which came out in the January edition of our legendary GBG eZine!

Why am I calling GBG eZine – legendary?

1. First, because we are continually issuing it, every month, since 2008, and in Internet age this is a long time.
2. Because the stuff (free downloads) we offer there are available only to GBG Members (free membership, of course)
3. Because the stuff we offer there are free. So, they are free, they are exclusive, high quality and, I thing I can say so after so many years – we have tradition.

| Preview Free Photoshop Brushes: Retro Floral Drawings 2 |

| Download Free Photoshop Brushes: Retro Floral Drawings 2 |

How to use Free Photoshop Brushes: Retro Floral Drawings – video tutorial

And, that’s it for today!

I hope you will love it, enjoy it and … well here follow us on

Google+!

xoxoxo

Silvia

Gang, creating photo manipulation of wedding images is getting more and more popular. And for a good reason too. Wedding photos make great polygon for Photoshop exhibitions and I made one too :)

So, if you are interested to learn about wedding photo manipulation, here is a little tutorial!

Ingredients:

1. Here’s my choice for today’s Wedding Photo Manipulation.

• For this tutorial you will have to use your own image of the bride, but, just for learning purposes you could use any image
• Trees (download here)
• Sky with clouds (download here)
• Moon (wikipedia download from Luc Viatour)
• Mr. Alphons I, Mr. Alphons II
• Photoshop brushes Hearts

Once got our ingredients ready, together with a cup coffee, let’s dive into it.

1. Since I had the image in RAW format, I tweaked it during the import

- in Lightroom I used Color Creative CP2 preset.

If you don’t use Lightroom, here are the color preferences for RAW in Photoshop:

2. Now apply same color preferences for the two background images

3. Open the image with the trees. This will be the main background.

4. Place an image with the clouds above the background image and use the “Hard Light” layer option, with 57% Opacity.

5. And now, let’s clean it up a bit.

1. Add layer mask on the image with the clouds.
2. Draw a rectangle in the “mask area”.
3. Fill the rectangle with a gradient: from black to none (empty). The grass is hidden and the clouds will fit well in the scene.

6. Let’s copy the main background image (with the trees) using “Multiply” layer option, Opacity is at 68%

7. Lighten the grass in the front of the scene, because we want to emphasize the front. Add a layer mask, and again: draw a rectangle and fill it with a gradient: from black to none (empty)

8. Open the image with the bride and using the Quick Mask option “color” erase the background. Simply turn off Quick Mask when you are done and invert the selection area then erase it.

9. Now add a bride in the scene, just drag and drop. Place it under the tree and using Burn Tool darken the areas that will be in the shadow.

10. Using the Burn Tool darken the grass – create the shadow behind the bride, drawing shadow on the main background image.

11. Now, let’s add the moon. Open the moon file and using Elliptical Marquee Tool and “Shift” key draw a circled selection. Invert the selection and cut out the moon.

12. Color the moon with blue using Hue/Saturation.
First, set the foreground color.
Open Image – Adjustment – Hue/Saturation and check the Colorize option. Click OK, it’s done. The moon is blue.

13. Now create a layer set and change the set option into “Color Dodge”. Drag and drop the moon image into that layer set.

14. Now, copy the background with the trees as many times as you want to achieve the night feeling in the scene. I copied it four times. Merge all 5 layers (background images with the trees).

15. Now use the Dodge Tool, and lighten the image below the moon creating the moonlight effect.

Set up the Dodge Tool as shown.

16. Create a new layer in the layer set with “Color Dodge” style. Add some Hearts brushes (various sizes) and apply Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur. Create another layer and repeat the same, but use less Gaussian Blur in order to create 3D effect. (How to instal and use Hearts Photoshop brushes – design an unique wedding invitation – video tutorial MP4)

17. Also use simple brush, with 0% Hardness and approx 30 px size.

18. I added a sleeping cat too. The process is the same as for the bride.

19. Another cat (same my Mr. Alphons) is added behind the tree trunk. Of, course, he is not behind the tree but dark bark was good to hide his body…

And here is out final result! Voila!

My cousin loved it, I hope you like it too!

In case you liked the Hearts Photoshop brushes touch, these are available in my Photoshop brushes store with commercial license so you can create commercial projects with them.

That’s all folks! Talk soon!
Silvia

P.S.

Our 250 color postcards give-away contest is still on [ends on 26 January 2012]! So, hurry up and enroll, nothing to do really just leave a comment… read more –>

Gang,

According to the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, the definition of giveaway is:

“Something given to someone without expectation of a return.“

And this is exactly what are doing right now. Well, OK. it’s not really us, we are partnering with Next Day Flyers, on-line printing company which are:

• in business for 13 years
• using recycled materials
• offering next day printing service
• specialized in, well, printing of various marketing materials such as:
•  brochures,
• custom business cards,
• greeting cards,
• postcard printing
• specialty die cuts
• and more … [find out more about Next Day Flyers]

“So, what’s on the table?”

• One lucky winner will get 250 4×6 color standard postcards printed on 14PT card stock and shipped right to her/his doorstep (as long as that doorstep is in US. If not, winner will be paying just for shipping)

“What do I need to do?”

• Not much really.
1. Click “Like” button on Next Day Flyers Facebook page [click here]
2. Leave a comment telling how would you use this giveaway (250 4X6 COLOR STANDARD POSTCARDS PRINTED ON 14PT). You can leave a comment on Next Day Flyers Facebook page OR here as a comment on this blog OR on Graphics-Illustrations.Com Facebook page. Either way – you are in.

“Who wins?”

• He who dares – wins! :) Well, there can be only one winner. Winner will be picked at random by Leslie who represents Next Day Flyers in this competition.
• Winner will be publicly announced

“When does the competition end?”

• Competition ended on 26th of January 2012. Leslie from Next Day Flyers picked up a winner and his name is: Jonathan Romero.
  Congratulations Jonathan and thank you to all of you who participated! 

OK. Gang. That’s, more or less – it!

I hope you liked this post, the prize and we are awaiting for your comments, as we said, either right here, or on Next Day Flyers Facebook page OR on Graphics-Illustrations.Com Facebook page. Whatever you choose, don’t forget to click the “Like” button on Next Day Flyers Facebook page.

Love you all! Wish you best of luck! And, well, speak soon!

xoxo

Silvia

I noticed, ever since I started my Photoshop brushes business that many of my buyers are using Photoshop brushes to create their own custom stamps. And this is, mainly, for two different purposes (which sometimes overlap).

1. They use these stamps in their own DIY projects like scrapbooking or similar
2. And more often then not, they use Photoshop brushes to create designs for stamps which are then being sold to stamp buyers.

And this is all well. The whole idea behind my Photoshop brushes is to help you guys, not just create stuff for your own needs, but also to help you create new stuff out of it (like rubber stamps) and make some money along the way.

There are quite a few services out there offering custom stamps. Most of them offer quick and easy on-line stamp creation. Of course, although most of you will be interested in creation of custom stamps for your scrapbooking and DiY craft needs, still, you might want to have your own signature stamps as well. Or you might want to have  a stamp with your logo on it.

So, in this little exercise, I wanted to see for myself how fast and how easy it is to create your own logo stamp with a little help from Photoshop brushes.

And, believe me, it was faster then I though. Before starting the process there are few rules to know.

1. First, the image you’d like to have on your stamp must be in full black color. Your stamp can, later on, be in red or other color, but the image you are uploading must be black.
2. Resolution of the image must be 300dpi. My brushes are in high resolution so this is not a problem.
3. File formats: cdr, ai, eps, tif, psd, jpg, gif and pdf. Of course, in this case .jpg is probably our choice

So, the procedure is quite simple, create a new file in Photoshop, make it a desired size, but the resolution must be 300dpi, add a Photoshop brush which you’d like to turn into stamp and save the file in .jpg format. (Notice: You might want to crop image so that the blank space between the brush and the edge of the image is maximally reduced.)

Now, step two, on the stampxpress.com, you will go to “Design Your Own Stamp” option and upload the file. You may choose to have up to 20 lines in your stamp but in most of the cases, 3 should be enough. You also get to choose the font type, size, attribute (bold, italic, underline) and the alignment.

And this is how I created a stamp for Graphics-Illustrations.Com.

Finally, many of you will go and look for discount stamps. For these, as well stampxpress.com is probably the right address.

Gang, the year has just begun and I just know that some of you still didn’t manage to find the right 2012. calendar to fit your wall. So, here is one more option, I call it MeToo 2012. calender. For whatever reason.

So, all the months are here, days too, weeks … nothing is missing, I think, there is this space above the dates where you can fit your own image, photography, illustration …. so today, I proudly present you

2012 Printable Photo Calendar Templates – A3 and Legal size, JPG and transparent PNG

Each file is a zip archive and inside the archive there are two files:

1. PNG version of the calendar where the image area is blank, so you can put anything you want there
2. JPG version of the calendar, with hearts, just like the ones above this article

This image below is what I did for myself. It is the latest cat that adopted us and we named her “Seven of Nine” :)

| Download printable photo calendar template A3 size here (JPG and transparent PNG) – zipped |

| Download printable photo calendar template Legal size here (JPG and transparent PNG) – zipped |

And, if you like this blog, go ahead and click on G+ icon, follow us on Google plus!

To follow us on Google Plus click here:

Btw. in this calendar, again, I used 2012 Calendar Photoshop brushes.

2012 Calendar Photoshop brushes set

12 brushes in three designs and three sizes:
* up to 636 pixels @300dpi
* up to 1342 pixels @300dpi
* up to 2470 pixels @300dpi

- 36 transparent PNG files (approx. size 10 inches @300 dpi)
- Compatible with Photoshop 7.0 up to CS5- Compatible with Photoshop Elements 3.0 and newer versions
- Also compatible with PC/Mac
- COMMERCIAL LICENSE

But, you might also like these:

Swirled Trees Photoshop brushes set

- 20+20 Photoshop brushes
- Bonus trees brushes set (46+46) – trunk is separated from tree top for easier coloring
- Compatible with Photoshop 7.0 up to CS5- Compatible with Photoshop Elements 3.0 and newer versions
- Also compatible with PC/Mac
- COMMERCIAL LICENSE

Video Tutorial on how to use Swirled Trees Brushes Set: How to Use Swirled Trees Brushes Set

Birds Photoshop brushes set

- This set consists of 45 brushes up to 2498px AND 45 brushes up to 600px
- Compatible with Photoshop 7.0 up to CS5- Compatible with Photoshop Elements 3.0 and newer versions
- Also compatible with PC/Mac
- COMMERCIAL LICENSE

Birds brushes [These were also used in logo: Chris Turnbull Photography
Thanks Chris! :)]

All three sets are a part of the 800+ Photoshop brushes MEGA SET - click here to get the whole pack –>>

Other than that, I don’t have much to say. These days, I think, it is, important to keep yourself  busy creating stuff, graphics, images, designs, photography …

Do something creative, enjoy making things up, bring joy and happiness to those who surround you.

Love, peace, happiness!

Silvia

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