PHOTOSHOP SHMOTOSHOP

I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOUUUUU

2010-10-25T11:53:00.001-07:00

I've just been really busy. Thinking about taking a bunch of tutorials again for you soon.
Here's something I whipped up today using a few tutorials during class.

Web Design / Photoshop Resources

2010-07-07T09:54:00.001-07:00

I've been working on re-designing a website for an antiques business that I work for and I've had to teach myself a lot of new things in order to get everything to look and work the way we want it to.

In my travels, I've come across a few design resources, tutorials, and websites that I felt as if I needed to store somewhere. So, why not here? It's been quite a while since I've had the opportunity to do some new tutorials and post anything, anyway.

Without further ado, here's some neat stuff that I've found:

^ 10 Grunge, Rusty, and Dirty Tileable textures

^ 40 Absolutely Free Vector Pack Collections

DesignShard.com

^ Create A Clean & Classy Web Design in Photoshop

^ 36 Must Have Backgrounds and Patterns

WebTreatsEtc

^ 10 Wonderful Letterpress Type Tutorials

Happy Shooping!

The Joy of Photoshop #5: Slender Man

2010-05-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I spent a good part of my morning watching the Marble Hornets project. It's a YouTube series loosely based on one of my favorite things to come out of a Something Awful Photoshop Phriday: Slender Man.

There are some really creative shoops of Slender Man into old photos and distorted film stills. Some great fan art, too.

One last note on Marble Hornets - if you have a couple free hours, I highly suggest watching the series. It's an ARG too, so keeping updated with the Twitter and the alternate "masky" account, really enhances the viewing experience (aka. helps to scare the shit out of you.) Watch it with the lights on, guys.

The Joy of Photoshop #4: What's wrong with this picture?

2010-05-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that I love the blog Photoshop Disasters?
Because I do.

What is wrong with this picture?
1. The father has no legs.
2. The daughter's legs have been switched.
3. The leg with the cast has been enlarged to the point where amputation would be the only solution.

Remember: Always check your work!

EDIT: After more research and thought (aka: after checking Photoshop Disasters' comments) it has been determined that the broken leg actually belongs to the man and that his other leg is hidden by the draped coat. Likewise, the child's left leg is hidden by the coat on the table. This image was completely deliberate and NOT badly Photoshopped. Either way, good design idea, horrible execution. This said, the judgment stays: Always check your work.

The Joy of Photoshop #4 - Photoshop Final

2010-04-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Final for my Photoshop class!

Tutorial #7 - Advanced Glow Effects: With Color Text

2010-04-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

Boy, have I ever been busy these last couple weeks. The semester is almost over and the catchup work has been draggin' me down.

But this week's tutorial was another shot at glow effects. Will Advanced Glow Effects: With Color Text stick out among the many failures of Glow Effect tutorials?!?

Final image:

WOAH.
This actually looks somewhat like the example! Any differences were my own design choices. The instructions were helpful and clear and there were many screenshots... EXCEPT in step 9, instead of giving you the exact specifications of the layer styles, they ask you to DOWNLOAD their original file.
NO NO NO NO NO NO
I worked on this tutorial on a train. When I got to step 9, I couldn't continue until I reached a place with internet. I was not pleased.
My suggestion does not go to you, but to the creator of this tutorial. Next time, supply the .psd file at the beginning of the tutorial and explain that it is needed to finish the tutorial.

That is all!

Length of time: 35 minutes.
Level: Intermediate.
Clarity:
Handiness:
Cool factor:
Source: http://photoshoptunes.blogspot.com/2009/12/advanced-glow-effects-with-color-text.html

Tutorial #6: Na'vi Tutorials.

2010-04-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Everyone and their mother has been doing Na'vi tutorials recently. I've found a lot of good ones, a lot of horrible ones, and many in between. Instead of doing one tutorial, I decided to pick and choose things from several.

The tutorials I used, in order of best to worse, were:
Na'vi Avatar Photomanipulation Tutorial
Create James Cameron's AVATAR Movie Poster in Photoshop
Angelina Jolie as Na'Vi from Avatar Movie

Original image:

Final image:

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Each tutorial had its good and bad sides, but worked fantastically when combined. Really, they each had completely different styles. The success of the tutorial depends on what you'd like to take from each. My only tip is to make a lot of copies of your progress. Save often.

And because I always need to complain about something, this tutorial was undoubtedly the worst thing I have ever seen.

Length of time: 6 hours.
Level: Advanced.
Handiness: (I learned a lot.)
Cool factor:

The Joy of Photoshop #3: Mono Loso

2010-04-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Woll Smoth, but without abusing the liquify tool.

Fine art just got finer.

The Joy of Photoshop #2: Bea Arthur Mountains Pizza

2010-03-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Clearly, this is the way Photoshop was always meant to be used.

And there are MORE.

Tutorial #5: MP3 Player Design

2010-03-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

I've always been interested in product design, but assumed that they usually do these sorts of drawings using a 3D program. When I saw this tutorial, I was extra excited.

The tutorial uses almost nothing but blending options to create the 3D effects. It's probably not the most practical way to create this effect, but it certainly worked.

I'm not sure if this is an actual product, but in the middle of my tutorial I noticed something kinda fishy.

APPLE LAWSUIT

My end result was pretty sweet looking though:

Woah! It actually LOOKS LIKE THE EXAMPLE.
I'm rather surprised and pleased with this tutorial. It was easy, clear, and ended up looking fantastic. I wish there was more room to play around, but I don't really have any other complaints.

Just kidding.

One complaint that I did have, was that they were giving you specific dimensions for every step, but never explained how to CREATE those dimensions. I spent a good bit of the tutorial, just trying to figure out how to specify the dimensions of an object. Eventually, I gave up and guessed. It made the tutorial a bit harder to follow, but it still worked. SO WHATEVER.

Length of time: Entire project: 2 hours.
Level: Intermediate.
Clarity:
Handiness:
Cool factor:
Source: http://www.zymic.com/tutorials/photoshop/mp3-player-design/

The Joy of Photoshop #1: Today in class I shooped...

2010-03-25T13:58:00.001-07:00

Am I the only person who thinks this image is 5 times funnier because the istockphoto watermark is still on the stool?

These last couple days have been rather distracting (but productive, I swear).

My latest idea has been to Photoshop all original 150 Pokemon characters from bits and pieces of animals and such - IN ORDER. (And hopefully without referencing a certain Photoshop Phriday at SomethingAwful.)
I'll post them 10 at a time, or something.

As for the tutorials, I've gone from working one a night, to working on a couple at a time. I'll just throw them on here as I finish them.

That is all.

Tutorial #4 - Creating Energy Spheres

2010-03-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today's tutorial is Creating Energy Spheres in Photoshop.

I've been trying to get the hang of this whole glowing energy effect, but no tutorial has been able to explain it quite right. Will this one prove different?

Before:

After:

Nope.

But, as always, I made the best of it.

I've tried several glow tutorials, but something always gets lost in the process. This one was no better, however, they did lead me to some really nice energy ball brushes.
Lets just say that copying and overlaying the layers for the energy balls helped IMMENSELY.

Length of time: Entire project: 1 hour. Energy balls: 20 minutes.
Level: Intermediate.
Clarity:
Handiness:
Cool factor:
Source: http://www.developertutorials.com/blog/design/photoshop-design/creating-energy-spheres-in-photoshop-119/

Tutorial #3 - Pop Art Inspired by Lichtenstein

2010-03-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

There are so many sweet looking pop-art/comic style tutorials out there, I decided to try another.

Today's tutorial is Pop Art Inspired by Lichtenstein by Melissa Clifton. I've actually used some of her line art tutorials in the past. They're always super helpful.

Before:

Here's my finished product:

I've been meaning to learn how to create the halftone dot pattern for quite a while now. I feel like there's a better way to do it, but her tutorial was still super clear and got the job done. She's not only indepth with her instructions, but also provides a lot of screenshots.

Length of time: 50 minutes.
Level: Beginner.
Clarity:
Handiness: (Really handy if you're into comics.)
Cool factor:
Source: http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-popart.html

Tutorial #2 - Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect

2010-03-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

I know I said that I was going to post once a day, but that might have been a lie. Lets just say that "A Photoshop A Day" sounds a whole lot better than "A Photoshop Every Once In A While."
I also just realized that "A Photoshop A Day" can be abbreviated as "A PAD."
Now, that's just awesome.

Today's tutorial is Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect.

I used a Photo that a livejournal friend of mine took a few weeks ago.

I chose not to add the comic style boxes and border, only because I liked the pop-art feel of the photo itself.

The tutorial was extremely easy and informative. Not only would this be a great beginner project, but it also looks super cool.
My only suggestion would be to offset the halftone layer a few nudges. It makes it feel more realistic. Halftones are rarely ever layered perfectly.

Length of time: 5 minutes without the text boxes.
Level: Beginner.
Clarity:
Handiness:
Cool factor:
Source: http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-blog/2007/09/13/give-your-photos-a-retro-comic-book-effect/

Tutorial #1 - Magic Lighting Effect in Photoshop

2010-03-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to A Photoshop A Day!

My name is Stephanie and I hope to teach you a thing or two about the wonderful world of Photoshop by stealing other people's ideas.
I'm going to attempt to take one Photoshop tutorial a day, write about my process and problems, and then rate it on its clarity, ease of use, handiness, and overall coolness.

But enough about me. Let's get down to business!

Today's tutorial is entitled, "Magic Lighting Effect in Photoshop" created by Fabio Sasso.

And for all you shooping noobs, his .psd is available for download at the very end of the tutorial.

His end result is a bit of html, magically streaming out of a magician's top hat, complete with SPARKLES.

My end result is Edward Hill dying of electrified DNA or somethin'.

Before:

After:

At least it's still sparkly.

This tutorial took much longer than I thought it would and didn't turn out nearly as well as I had hoped.
The screen shots of the settings were very small and hard to read, while his written instructions were usually only one sentence (and not much help to many who commented.) He pretty much leaves it up to the reader to figure the details out on their own.
After an hour of trial and error, my result was no where near as eye catching as his example image was.
The best advice I can give? Layering is your friend and when in doubt, use color dodge.

I'm sorry, Mr. Hill.

Length of time: Longer than 35 minutes.
Level: Intermediate.
Clarity:
Handiness:
Cool factor: (If it would have worked.)
Source: http://abduzeedo.com/magic-lighting-effect-photoshop