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Adobe Announces Even More New Features for Photoshop at Event in NYC

Grant Friedman — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:56:14 PST

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?

The Remarkable Photo Manipulations of Jan Oliehoek

Grant Friedman — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:00:01 PST

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.

Integrate a 3D Render Into a Macro Photograph Using Photoshop

Nacho Riesco — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:00:02 PST

In this tutorial we will explain how to integrate a rendered 3D model into a photograph to create a macro photography effect.

Tutorial Assets

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

Brush File (On Page 2)

Step 1

We are going to start by creating the robot final texture. Create a New Document with same dimensions of the assets provided (600px by 704px). Open Textured, Chrome and Mask images and organize them as shown, add the Mask image to the Channels Palette, select it doing Command/Ctrl-click on its thumbnail and create Masks Layers for the two robot layers.

Step 2

Now we are going to create the scratched paint effect on the Robot, using the Brush Tool and Brushes number 200, 300, or 400 from the brush pack provided. Paint with 100% black some strokes on the Layer Mask to let see the chrome trough the textured surface.

Step 3

Add the background image on a new layer below Robot Group, and create a Levels Adjustments Layer, set as shown.

Step 4

Next phase will be about adjust and create the robot shadows for incorporate it into photography. Select the two Robot Layers and merge them, now we have only one, name it “Robot”. Next create an Adjustments Levels Layer and mask it with the Mask Channel, name it “Light Shadows”. Then adjust Levels as shown.

Step 5

For balance shadows we need the left-lower body a bit darker, to do that Duplicate “Robot” Layer and add a Mask Layer, name it “Shadows Mask”. Then select the Gradient Tool and apply a gradient Black to Transparent as shown.

Step 6

Now, to finish this phase, we are going to balance a little bit more shadows. Merge previous Layers, name it “Final Robot”, and add the final Adjustments Levels Layer to match better shadows of the environment.

Step 7

On this step we are going to add the ground shadows caused by the robot. Create a new layer, name it “Ground Shadows”, place it below “Final Robot” Layer. Now using the Elliptical Marquee Tool make an elliptical selection, more or less of same size of the leg, create a new layer and fill selection with black color, then go to Edit > Transform > Rotate to transform the layer as shown. Duplicate this layer and repeat same steps, placing a black ellipse under each leg, for body make it a little bit bigger. When all be in place, merge all layers and rename it “Ground Shadows”.

Step 8

For adapt shadows to the ground we are going to add a Displace Filter, so is necessary to create first the displace image of the ground. Go to “Background” layer and duplicate it on a new document, next go to Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer select Monochrome and adjust levels as shown. Now convert image to Grayscale, Image > Mode > Grayscale, and save it as PSD file.

Step 9

Come back to the original file and place on “Ground Shadows” layer, then go to Filter > Distort > Displace and apply settings as shown, press OK and select the PSD file we created before, the result is a new shadow that is best suited to the soil.

Step 10

It is necessary to repositioning it a bit, use the Move Tool to do it. Then set the Blending Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to 80%.

Step 11

Shadows still needs more corrections, go to Edit > Distort > Warp and tweak it for simulate the leaf curvature.

Step 12

In some areas will be necessary to remove some shadow parts, do it with the Erase Tool and a Soft Round Brush with a low Opacity value.

Step 13

To finish the ground shadow apply a blur to it, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and give it a radius of 0,5px.

Step 14

We have the robot finished with its shadow projected on the soil, now is time to manipulate the whole scene, to do that will be necessary to Merge all visible layers, (Shift + Command/Ctrl + E). We are going to start blur it and create the "macro effect", so I decided to divide the view in three planes.

Step 15

We are going to work on the Channels Panel creating alpha channels for being used with the Lens Blur Filter, then let’s make first plane alpha channel, go to Channels > New Channel, name it “1st plane”, and make a gradient from top to down with white to transparent, you will get this.

Step 16

Create a new alpha, go to Channels > New Channel, name it “2nd plane”, pick the Elliptical Marquee Tool and drag an ellipse over the robot head, inverse it (Shift + Command/Ctrl + I), then go to Select > Refine Edge > Feather and write 30px, finally go to Edit > Fill and fill selection with white color, you should have this.

Step 17

Finally the last alpha, here we will need to draw a bit more, create a new alpha, go to Channels > New Channel, name it “3rd plane”. Select the robot shape doing Command/Ctrl-Click on “Robot’s channel” to select its contents, and got to Edit > Fill to fill selection with white. Next make a gradient from bottom to the middle with white to transparent. Now using the Brush Tool and a Soft Round Brush, draw the branch shape.

Step 18

Now we are going to use the created alphas to blur the image, go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur, repeat it three times with following settings for each alpha channel.

Step 19

Then, now manually, with the Blur Tool we will add more blur touches, on the top and bottom. Image already had depth of field, but with the Lens Blur Filters we applied, the robot looks more integrated and small.

Step 20

Some areas of the robot needs color correction, to do it, go to Image > Adjustments > Selective Color and adjust following colors as shown.

Step 21

Light needs some balance too, to match robot and environment, to get it we will use the Dodge Tool with a Soft Round Brush with a Range of Highlights and very low exposure (3% is OK), we will clarify the areas closest to the robot.

Step 22

Now we are going to add the eye reflections, open the jpg "reflections" archive provided on the assets, import it on a new layer, then make Command/Ctrl-click on the layer to scale and rotate its content, and place it on the eye. Next use the Elliptical Selection Tool to make a circle selection of the eye, then use the area selected for apply a Layer Mask. Finally set the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 75%. Repeat this for each eye.

Step 23

On the two following steps we are going to add some atmosphere adjustments. Robot is too bluish and needs to capture the greenish tones of the ambient, to get it, add a new layer, name it “Green Atmosphere” and set his Blending Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to 60%, apply on it a gradient from green to transparent, and from left bottom corner to top.

Step 24

Finally we will add a blue touch to the robot to capture the sky tone, add a new layer, name it “Blue Atmosphere” and set its style to Color and 25% of opacity, apply on it a gradient, from blue to transparent and from top right corner to down.

Step 25

At this point I noticed that the left edge of the robot was too dark and created an unwanted “cut effect”, it needs to be lighten. Create a new layer set the Blending Mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to 100%, name it “Rim Light” then isolate the robot shape doing Command/Ctrl-Click on any of the previous Mask Layers, and create a new Mask layer, now pick the Brush Tool with a Soft round Brush set its Opacity to 30% and with white color paint on those edges.

Step 26

Now we are going to re-illuminate the image to continue integrating the robot on the scene. Create a new layer, name it “Global Light” set its Blending Mode to Soft light and the Opacity to 90%, then make a gradient with white color to transparent from top right corner to down. Next create a new layer, name it “Sun Bright” set its Blending Mode to Normal and let the Opacity to 100%, and repeat same gradient but now with half of distance.

Step 27

Let’s cool down a bit the image for a better color balance. Create a new layer, name it “Blue Tint” set its Blending Mode to Color and the Opacity to 25%, and once again make same gradient as before but this time with cyan (50%) color. Next add another layer, name it “Shadows Tint”, set its Blending Mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 50%, pick the Brush Tool with a Soft Round Brush, set its Opacity to 25%, choose a greenish blue and tint the shadows of the lower part.

Step 28

Following with the robot’s edges, now we will smooth them. Pick the Smudge Tool, set the Strength to 3% and use a Soft Round Brush with a 5px size, then smudge carefully all the robot’s edges.

Step 29

It is time to add some dirt to the robot, create a new layer, name it “Dirt”, set its Blending Mode to Soft light and the Opacity to 50%, pick Brush number 250, and with black color add some dirt touches on robot’s surface.

Step 30

To continue adding details to the robot, now we will add some extra highlights and flares. Create a new layer, name it "Brights & Flares", set its Blending Mode to Normal and let the Opacity to 100%, we will use two different brushes, for the highlights use a Hard Round Brush for paint little dots, for example in the brightness of the eyes. For flares, use Brush number 500, and paint only on the major brightness.

Step 31

Now we come back to the atmosphere adding effects. Some air impurities will work well, create a new layer, name it "Impurities", set its Blending Mode to Lighten and the Opacity to 100%, use Brush number 200 and with white color, making size variations, paint some random strokes.

Step 32

Some "bokeh" highlights will add a nice touch, for it we will customize a brush, select a Hard Round Brush from the Brush Palette, then press F5 and adjust settings as shown. Create a new layer, name it "White Bokeh", and paint random circles with white color, adjust them with Transform Tool if necessary. Next add a Gaussian Blur, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with a Radius of 3,5px, finally set layer’s Blending Mode to Soft light and the Opacity to 100%. Repeat same steps as before but this time with light blue color.

Step 33

Last touch to the image will be the spider thread. Create a new Layer, name it "Spider Thread", use the Pen Tool and the Convert Point Tool to create the Path, then go to Path Palette > Stroke Path, first check your brush size and type, for first stroke we will use a Round Hard Brush with 2px size. To give it a transparent look use Eraser Tool with a 50% of Opacity for remove some parts. Select again the Path and stroke it again, now with the custom brush we created before, the result will be some tiny dots which will give a nice effect. Finally with Brush number 500 add a small flare to the thread.

Conclusion

Lastly, we will add a custom black vignette, and a noise layer to finish the scene.

Freaky and Bizarre Animal Mashups by Human Descent

Grant Friedman — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:30:04 PST

One of the best things about Photoshop is that it allows us to combine more than one photo to create an entirely new image. This can be done with landscapes, people, and even animals. In this article, we will showcase the work of Human Descent, a photo manipulator who has managed to create hundreds of new species using the power of Photoshop. Let’s take a look!

Frederick the Fruck

This image combines a duck and a frog.

Roaring Liog

This frog was combined with a lion.

Nosferafrog

This breed of frog has huge teeth.

Rabbick

A rabbit combined with a baby chicken.

Hummingwolf Bird

This is what a humming bird and a wolf would look like.

Pengog

This is what a dog and a penquin would look like.

Geckat

This cat has been combined with a gecko.

Friendly but Smelly

In this composite, a dog and a llama have been combined.

Leogator

This marriage of a leopard and alligator looks terrifying.

Pengchick

If penguins and roosters could be combined, this is what it would look like.

Pog

This dog must have an incredible sense of hearing.

Doguin

This is what a penguin would look like if combined with another breed of dog.

Prairie Chick

If you combined a prarie dog and a chicken, this is what it might look like.

Squirrion

If squirrels had teeth like this, we might take them a bit more seriously.

Snappy

It is unclear if this breed of monkey and rat would throw feces at you.

Hatched Chog

What came first? The chickendog or the egg?

Squirrat

Not to be confused with a squirrel-rat, this squirrel was combined with a cat.

Test Your Photoshop Knowledge #6

Martin Perhiniak — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:15 PST

We know how much you guys like to test your knowledge of Photoshop so today we are giving you an opportunity to do so with another quiz from Martin Perhiniak. Please take a moment to complete this 10-question quiz and see if you’re prepared to pass our test! Good luck!

Editor’s note: this quiz is for Photoshop CS5.

Easy Dashed and Dotted Lines in Photoshop

Grant Friedman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:57:00 PST

For the last few weeks, the Photoshop team has been giving us some sneak peeks of the latest version of Photoshop. The latest version of Photoshop is due to be released in the first half of 2012. We have already seen videos showing off Photoshop’s new look, and some performance enhancements but this video shows us something new, something that we have been asking them to include for a long, long time – dotted and dashed lines.

In this video, Photoshop Product Manager, Zorana Gee shows how you can click on a stroke and quickly convert it to a dotted line. Then, she shows how to quickly add a gradient effect. What do you think of this new feature? Is there anything else you would want included in the next version of Photoshop?

Create a Caricature Painting in Photoshop

Martin Perhiniak — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:44 PST

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 22: Create a Caricature Painting in Photoshop will demonstrate how to create a caricature based on the game Assassin’s Creed for a holiday greeting card. Let’s get started!

Retouch a Bland Model Portrait in Photoshop

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:00:14 PST

Sometimes retouching a portrait can be really tricky, specifically when dealing with model portraits. In this tutorial, we will be retouching a particularly difficult shot in which the subject has no makeup or dramatic lighting to emphasize the shot. Using Photoshop, you will be able to add makeup, repair flaws, and add some drama to this shot. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

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

Model (iStockPhoto)
Background (iStockPhoto)

Step 1 – Selections

The first thing I want to do is remove the model from her background. Using Photoshop CS5 newly enhanced Refine Edge controls, this should be a snap. First make a selection using the Quick Select Tool. Be sure to have the "Auto-Enhance" feature checked in the Options Bar before you begin. This tool is brush based, so you can adjust the size as needed, but be sure to stay INSIDE your subject. Do not overlap the brush into the background or the next step will not be as effective.

Step 2 – Refine Edge

After you have completed the initial selection, click the Refine Edge button in your Options Bar (or right-click on your selection to pull up the menu). First, scroll through the View pull down menu at the top and choose a view that works for your shot (I chose the Black background). Then go to the Edge Detection portion of the dialog box and check "Smart Radius". Slide the Radius control about 1/2 way up the slide value and review your image (below is a before/after shot).

If necessary, you can also use the Refine Radius brush tool to overlay the edges of the hair to bring out even more detail. If you notice that the Refine Edge commands are eating away at parts of the model (shoulders, clothes, etc) click and hold down on the Refine Radius Brush to reveal an eraser tool (Erase Refinements Tool) that can erase the results. You can also lower the Radius slider value to pull back the details if needed.

After you have an adequate selection, go to the Output module and choose to have your image output to a New Layer with Layer Mask. This will preserve the original image and give you a new, masked layer to work with.

Step 3 – Retouching Skin Flaws

Now with the image on it’s own masked layer we can begin to retouch the skin and flaws in our model.

First off is any skin blemishes. Using the Spot Healing tool, we can quickly repair any acne, scars, dark spots, etc. from the skin. Use this tool ONLY for the blemishes as we will use other tools later on for other areas. This is an important first step as it will give us clean resources to utilize later on with the eyes, hot spots, etc.

Step 4 – Removing bags under eyes

Next, we will tackle the eyes. The eyes are one of the more difficult parts of the image, because the flaws are normally in very tight proximity to the lashes and other features that can affect our healing tools.

To get into these tight spaces, we will be using the Patch Tool (found under the Spot Tool button). Make a selection around the bottom of the eye and then drag the center of the completed selection into the cheek below the eye. Clean up any stray eyelashes using the Clone Stamp tool. We do want to remove the lashes on this model because they are so thin. If you feel your particular model has good eyelashes, feel free to leave them in. Above you can see the results on the right side.

Add a layer mask to the retouched layer. Erase under the eyes with a 30% opacity eraser to bring some contours back to the eyes. Be careful, erasing too much will remove all the retouching results.

Step 5

Now we need to tackle the eyebrows. The eyebrows on this model are thicker than we want, so I am going to reduce the thickness using a very simple (cheat) technique.

First, start by making a selection of the upper half of the eyebrow. Be sure to grab as much of the forehead as possible. This image is difficult with her bangs moving into our field of play.

Then copy the selection using New Layer Via Copy (Cmd + J Mac/Ctrl + J Win).

Next, move the eyebrow layer down covering up her original eyebrow until you get a rough thickness that works.

Clean up using the Eraser and Clone Stamp Tools, blending in the original eyebrow with the new overlap. Repeat these steps for the other eyebrow.

Step 6

If there are any hot spots on your model, use the Patch tool to surround these areas and drag into a clean area of similar skin texture. The result will not completely remove the highlight, but it will blend the area gradually into the rest of the skin.

Step 7

(If you did not have to remove eyelashes in your image, you can skip this step.) Adding eyelashes can be difficult unless you have an Ace in the hole. Mine is to utilize a set of Eyelash Brushes. These can easily be found by searching "Photoshop Eyelash Brushes" on the Internet. There are several to choose from (many free, some pay). Load your brushes using your Brush Preset Panel and going to the pull down to "Load Brushes".

Use the Brush Panel to control the angle and size of your brush. Be sure to paint on a NEW LAYER so you can control the opacity and color independently.

Step 8

Finally we are going to add some digital makeup. This is as simple as it can get. Create different layers for each area of makeup you apply (cheeks, eyes, lips, etc.) and add in color by painting at 100% opacity with a soft brush. This is going to look silly, but it will help us map out where the makeup is going. Be patient and don’t panic.

Now after a slight freak out, select each layer and change it’s blending mode from Normal to Multiply and reduce the opacity as needed. As you can see, the results are much improved from before:

Step 9

Finally we are going to adjust the hair and add some pop. Start by making a selection of the existing hair. Create a new blank layer and fill with a brown color. Again this is going to look odd before it gets better, but trust me it does get better.

Next change your layer blending mode from Normal to Overlay.

This is a little too intense, but we can drop it down if needed using opacity.

Step 10

Finally, Adjust the eyes using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. First, make a selection of one eye using the elliptical marquee tool. Then add the Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Adjust the one eye to your liking. Then using your paintbrush tool (set to Black 100% opacity) paint in the other eye on the Adjustment Layer’s mask.

To finish the image, drop a backdrop behind your model and viola! A retouched model.

Final Image

Here is the final image. With just a few enhancements, you can take an ordinary shot to something that pops using these simple techniques. Enjoy!

See the Next Version of Photoshop Live

Grant Friedman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:03:32 PST

Recently, the Photoshop team has been publishing some sneak peeks of what they have been working on for the next version of Photoshop. Later this week, Photoshop Senior Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes will be in New York City for a series of live sneak peek events. This will be a great opportunity to see for yourself what the Photoshop team is working on. I’ll be attending and would love to see you there if you’re in the area. The details for the event are below.

Thursday, February 9 Event Meetup

Hosted at the School of Visual Arts with special guest SVA alum and pro photographer – Sarah Silver. Bryan O’Neil Hughes, Ps Sr. Product Manager, will demo.

Saturday, February 11 Event Meetup

Hosted at pro photographer Sarah Silver’s NYC studio. Bryan O’Neil Hughes, Ps Sr. Product Manager, will demo.

Create a Chewing Gum Packaging Design in Photoshop – Tuts+ Premium Tutorial

Tim Kyde — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:31 PST

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, author Tim Kyde will explain how to create chewing gum packaging in Photoshop and Illustrator. We will begin by showing you how to create print-ready artwork and then how to render that artwork as a mockup that can be presented to clients. If you are looking to take your packaging and print design 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.