The Photoshop CS6 Book - 2013 PDF
The Photoshop CS6 Book - 2013 PDF
The Photoshop CS6 Book - 2013 PDF
The
CS6
TM
EVERY
NEW E
FEATUORL
& TO
Creative selections
Erodible brushes
Work in 3D
Master effects
Welcome to
The Photoshop CS6 Book is your ultimate guide to creating and perfecting
stunning images and effects. Photoshop CS6 features revolutionary new features like
3D manipulation, motion graphics editing and erodible brushes, making this the most
sophisticated version of Photoshop in a very long time. At the heart of it all is a faster
Photoshop engine which ensures smoother workflow. This book helps you decode all
of the outstanding features of CS6 with the help of step-by-step tutorials. We start off
with whats new in the latest version, before showing you how to manipulate images for
photo editing, digital art and how best to work with images and effects for your creative
projects. Theres also a free disc with over 50 minutes of video tuition, 152 brush packs
and all the resources you need to better perform the tutorials in the book.
Head of Publishing
Aaron Asadi
Head of Design
Ross Andrews
Production Editor
Sherwin Coelho
Senior Art Editor
Danielle Dixon
Printed by
William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Distributed in the UK & Eire by
Imagine Publishing Ltd, www.imagineshop.co.uk. Tel 01202 586200
Distributed in Australia by
Gordon & Gotch, Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest,
NSW 2086. Tel + 61 2 9972 8800
Distributed in the Rest of the World by
Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU
Disclaimer
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the
post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this bookazine may
be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are
recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the bookazine has
endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change.
This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
in the United States and/or other countries and is used with express permission.
The Photoshop CS6 Book 2012 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978 1908955715
Part of the
bookazine series
IMAGINEER
OF THE YEAR
DANIELLE DIXON
TEAM
OF THE YEAR
BOOKAZINES
Contents
Whats new in CS6
42 Work faster in CS6
48 The New Crop Tool
52 Perspective Crop Tool
53 The Iris Blur Filter
54 Camera Raw 7
56 Lighting Effects Filter
44
64
66
67
68
70
71
Contents
Photo editing
84 Professional Retouching
98 Understand Channels
164
Digital art
Dithered Gradients in
CS6 kills the strips of
colour produced
by similar
luminance levels
Creative projects
154
80
96
158
CS6
The interface
Your ThoughTS
standard (though its easy to revert back). This offers more aesthetic
choice, but its practical too certain artworks lend themselves better
to being worked on in black. If you have previously used Lightroom,
then this redesigned user interface will feel more familiar than it will
to those coming straight from Photoshop CS5 or earlier.
Some of the palettes have been streamlined as well. The Mini
Bridge palette is no longer in the main dock, but is a strip across the
bottom of the page. The Layers palette has a new Filter option, so
you can search for layers in large documents easily. The new
Properties palette stores all your masks and adjustment layers in an
image so that you can easily alter them all from one place.
The best way to find out how the new interface works is simply to
try if for yourself, and as you read through this feature you will
discover lots of hidden secrets that definitely make Photoshop CS6
worth the upgrade.
PriCing, availaBiliTY
and CreaTive SuiTeS
Dire Goodwin (Facebook): I dont like the new dark grey interface but
it can be reversed!
Photoshop CS6
Extended
Master Collection
Joakim Unge (Facebook): Will be getting it for the dark interface alone,
hah! Oh, and the new 3D and Tilt-Shift feature is nice.
Design Standard
Daniel Damocles Wall (Facebook): I ended up using the Oil Paint filter for
some parts of a illustration gig, which I normally would never do, but it
worked really well. However, I really like the new 3D interface. Its a nice,
fairly intuitive way to incorporate some simple 3D stuff into my workflow.
I cant wait to dig in deeper!
Production
Premium
Creative Cloud
Photoshop CS6
subscription
Content-AwAre PAtCh
Make specific selections and heal images using this automated clone tool
Content-aware technology was one of the major updates
that put Photoshop CS5 on many professional
photographers radars. This modern imaging technology
heralded a new era for enhanced automated image
editing, presenting highly intuitive functionality for
Photoshop users.
Photoshop CS6 has seen further radical
enhancements with the new Content-Aware Patch tool.
Not a strict replacement for the Content-Aware Fill
option, which still exists, this tool looks to provide users
with a hands-on way to achieve precise results.
The Content-Aware Fill option was notorious for
grabbing bits and pieces from the surrounding objects.
01
02
03
Content-AwAre Move
Apply even more control over focal points and depth of field in your images
Photoshop CS6 sees several cool updates to its Filter
options. The most apparent are the new types of
automated blur effects you can apply. Field Blur is
great for simulating degrees of depth of field (DOF).
Iris Blur puts a central area in focus, with surrounding
soft edges that are great for directing photo focal
points. Tilt-Shift simulates lens effects that can create
a miniaturised look. This is currently a very popular
feature in the photographic community.
The operation of these new filters has been
radicalised. Effects are now applied through control
points, known as Pins. Blur amounts can be
controlled with a settings wheel by simply dragging
and clicking clockwise or anti-clockwise. Pins can
TOP TIP
SHORTCUT PREVIEWS
FIELD BLUR
The best way to achieve a strong
DOF effect is to place multiple Pins
adjacent to one another, creating
direction according to the existing
depth of field in your photo. Set
your Pin closest to the foot of your
image at a higher blur amount,
gradually decreasing in
subsequent pins. Move any
additional Pins to update your
effect live on the screen.
IRIS BLUR
Iris Blur is the most rudimentary
of the new filters, but holds the
most itemisation of settings.
Users can expand and reduce
control points to establish the
proximity of your blur, even
feather or sharpen your gradient
mask edges. Holding Opt/Alt will
let you alter control points
individually instead of all together,
as with the default operation.
TILT-SHIFT
Tilt-Shift makes the very most of
the Blur Effects settings. A band of
focus can be set with simple
movable guides, with a linear
gradient mask designating this
filters transitional blur. By
increasing Blur Effects>Light
Bokeh and Bokeh Color, you can
saturate tonality to complement
synthetic looks and cool
miniaturised effects.
Photoshop CS6 has galvanised its working relationship with retouch artists and photo editors, with
multiple improvements and new additions to photo fixing and selection options. The latest Skin Tones
option is a shining example.
Its true that many retouchers will already have routine techniques for picking up skin regions. But for
amateurs, enthusiasts, or those photographers who simply want to work quickly without the necessity
of layer mask editing, this is a highly productive alternative to have.
Users can activate this option from the Color Range dialog box, under the Select menu. Skin Tones
sits at the foot of the Select drop options. Photoshop will intuitively select skin tones, with selected areas
easily specified with the Fuzziness slider. Activate Detect Faces for a more comprehensive selection,
including hair detail, which is great for selecting the entire model profile.
The Selection Preview makes affected areas far more apparent, mapping them through Grayscale
(view results similar to the Threshold option), White Matte, Black Matte and Quick Mask settings. All
settings result in a layer selection, which you can use to edit skin tones and exposure when coupled with
adjustment layers or an applied layer mask. However, you should know that the Skin Tones option only
operates in RGB Color Mode.
TOP TIP
Expert quote
Kirk Nelson
Photoshop Trainer
CAMERA RAW 7
Camera Raw now offers new sliders and a manual application tool
001
002
004
003
005
006
001 |
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
006 |
TOP TIP
Master multiple lighting effects with this features new interface and options
A common complaint among Photoshop users is that some of the Filter option
dialog boxes dont display applied effects at a perceivable scale. Many are
especially tricky when regarding the Render options. This has been remedied with
the Render>Lighting Effects option, now presenting an improved interface, which
is far larger after a serious reshuffling of option sets.
Spot Light is the most manual of these three, controlling both strength and
direction. Point Light is much like a light bulb, with applicable strength but not
direction. Infinite Light is more global, so users can control the direction of the light
from a fixed position.
Affected areas are edited with the use of the Properties menu and a new and
intuitive control point system, much like but not wholly identical to the Blur Gallery
option. Effect amounts are again controlled with a settings wheel, simply dragging
and clicking clockwise or anti-clockwise.
An inner ellipse defines the diffuse of your light, controlled with the Hotspot
slider from the Properties. At the top of this menu is a drop option that lets you
cycle through the previous three options. The Properties menu has a host of other
slider options to discover.
The Colorize and Ambience tools have become synonymous. The first option
functions as youd expect, a filter to apply a colour wash to your image exposure.
When reacting with Ambience settings, both act together to increase or decrease
luminosity and temperature. Gloss and Metallic options are unchanged. The new
Lighting Effects option enables the layering of multiple lighting styles and settings,
with fixed layers in the Lights palette. What even more impressive, is that its also
compatible with Smart Objects.
Now more easy and intuitive. Apply all effects live through simple sliders and presets
Photoshop has accommodated cross-platform production for a long
time, becoming integral to CG production. Most of the time this is
used as a postproduction asset, but with the new CS6 software more
inclusive 3D production is now natively available.
Related tools and functions are far more intuitive, with users now
able to create and manipulate 3D objects directly on their screens in
real-time. This again underlines how Photoshop CS6 is more
content-sensitive than previous versions.
This improved degree of manipulation is down to CS6s easy-tonavigate option sets. Viewing effects is so simple, with manoeuvre
handles letting you zoom, rotate and position your 3D objects any
way you like.
Scrutinising your effects from every angle is also instant with the
new View Finder. This lets you set camera angles from top to bottom,
left to right or back to front. Click the Swap Main and Secondary View
button to alternate view instantly.
If youre working with 3D type, then font styles can be quickly
updated in the Character Panel, again live, through the familiar
Characters palette. Theres no need to leave your 3D workspace. The
same can be said for bevel effects (Cap options), as well as tapering,
twisting and extruding (Deform options).
Applying textures
is as simple as
selecting from a
bunch of fun presets,
reapplying your
Diffuse, Specular
and other colour
light through the
Color Picker.
All separate
options have a
variation of a control wheel. This again operates like previous
examples, offering you a more intuitive alternative to the available
option slider, affecting your images looks. Rendering your effects
(3D>Render) becomes far less time-intensive thanks to the new
improved GPU acceleration, with ray tracing resulting in incredibly
authentic effects.
The Photoshop CS6 3D engine also enables the end user to import
3D objects in a wide range of formats. These include up-to-date
versions of OBJ, Collada DAE, Flash 3D and Google Earth 4 KMZ.
Theres also the ability for one-click Stereo Scopic effects.
Now available in Standard versions of Photoshop, video editing has made a leap
forward, offering an accessible and simple solution for basic edits
Video editing was available in Photoshop CS5
Extended, but it has got a lot more intuitive and
easier to use in this latest incarnation, not to
mention the fact that its now in the Standard edition,
making it accessible for all.
Its not a dedicated video editor, so its controls are
pretty basic, however if you shoot the odd video on
your DSLR and want to trim it, for instance, then this
is perfect. It is also great for creating slideshow
products, mixing stills and videos, adding transitions
and effects, bringing in music files and outputting
them as a video file.
There are some great little features in the toolbar.
For example, if you cut a clip and delete a section of
it, the gap between clips is automatically closed up.
01
02
04
ADD TRANSITIONS
05
COLOUR CORRECT
TOP TIP
03
TRIM CLIPS
06
Its not just Photoshop that has had a major overhaul with CS6
Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator is one of the programs in CS6 that has been
completely overhauled in fact, it has been called a
historic release to the point where it feels like a whole
new program, and its a refreshing change. There are
over 40 User Interface enhancements in total. The
interface adopts the same black-window look as
Photoshop and feels more familiar to users of
Photoshop than previous incarnations. This will certainly
lead to better integration between the two applications
in the future.
The Mercury Performance System, which lies under
the hood, enables large, complex files to be worked on
with ease, especially those with hundreds upon
hundreds of intricate layers. This offers native 64-bit
support and full use of the entire RAM on your system,
so production times are significantly decreased. All of
the built-in effects, such as Gaussian Blur, are faster and
more intuitive to use.
We were particularly impressed by the Image Trace
function, which is a completely new tracing engine that
helps to get high-resolution vectors quicker than ever
before. There is a dedicated Tracing workspace and the
Image Trace panel bundles together all of the controls
you need.
Adobe Flash
Flash Professional addresses one of the biggest
problems previously associated with Flash. It offers
wide platform and device support, meaning that content
can be created and delivered to Android and iOS devices
using the Adobe AIR 3.2 runtime.
The latest version has also targeted the gaming
market, with many features being added to help online
game developers and app creators. Bitmap-based sprite
sheets make the most of the GPU to help with
smoother playback and performance. This creates a
single reference sheet of all animations and symbols
Adobe Dreamweaver
This is Adobes premium web creation application that
enables you to build websites and pages in HTML5 and
CSS3. In this version you can create a website for use on
desktop browsers and preview the same design for
smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices so that
they can be made to work smoothly across devices.
Fluid grid layouts are an easy way to get started
with designs, with three different adaptive layouts
available for the most common mobile, tablet and
desktop resolutions. You can then create layouts and
rules to suit each of the intended devices, ensuring
Adobe InDesign
InDesign CS6 builds on some of the innovations that we first saw in the CS5.5
release last year, with plenty of focus on reusing content in various layouts and
for different platforms. It is aimed at those working in print, as always, but it has
plenty of features for use in tablet app development and interactive PDF files.
Liquid Layout is a brilliant feature that enables simple repurposing of
content. Create a page in one layout and then you can apply rules for where
content needs to be placed in relation to guidelines or other elements. Resize
the page and InDesign will alter the layout using your set rules, saving you
loads of time and effort. Content can also be linked across multiple layouts,
meaning that if it is adapted on one, then all of them can be instantly updated.
The Content Collector is a handy new panel where items such as text,
images and logos can be dragged into and held in the panel to be reused on
further documents. This saves a lot of copy and paste action, and will be perfect
for those re-creating content for multiple uses.
Adobe
Audition
This is Adobes
sound-editing
program for
videogames, radio,
broadcasts and much
more. The CS6 upgrade offers wider support of audio
and video formats, faster operation and more precise
audio editing, improved sound analysis and noise
reduction functions and better integration with
Premiere Pro using roundtrip editing.
Adobe
Edge
While this wont be
part of the CS6 suites,
it is being released
alongside it as part of
the Creative Cloud. It
has been in beta stage for a while and its designed to
help add animated content to the web using HTML5,
CSS3 and JavaScript. It runs perfectly on mobile
devices and modern browsers.
Adobe
Prelude
Aimed at video
editors, this program
is designed to help
unify workflows,
creating rough cuts
with postproduction notes that can be integrated with
Premiere Pro in a similar interface. It has
incorporated a keyboard-driven logging system to
speed up the process of inputting information. You
can also add searchable markers and metadata.
Adobe
SpeedGrade
AVAILABLE SUITES
Design
Standard
Master
Collection
Production
Premium
This is a recent
acquisition for Adobe
from IRADIS and is a
professional film
finishing and colour
grading application. It is designed to work seamlessly
with Adobes other production tools, such as Premiere
Pro and After Effects. As such it forms part of the
Production Premium suite.
Use the Creative Cloud service for all the Creative Suite programs at a reduced cost
Alongside Creative Suite 6, Adobe has also launched its Creative Cloud service,
which has been in the works for a while now. This is a new way of accessing the
programs in Creative Suite, offering the entire product line for one monthly fee.
But there is more than just applications on offer. The Creative Cloud also provides
a generous storage space for you to share documents created in CS6 and share
them with others, including advanced online previews and the ability to download
the files or make notes on them for feedback and collaboration. Finally, Creative
Cloud gives access to programs not available with CS6; it provides a simple way
to interact with the mobile apps available and there are a number of Business
Catalyst websites provided for testing e-commerce projects.
The biggest advantage of the Creative Cloud is that it creates a more affordable
way to get the entire Master Collection of CS6 products thats 14 programs in
total. The monthly fee (see the boxout for pricing) covers use of the programs on
up to two systems and all future updates to the programs, meaning that it is a
great way to future-proof your setup. The suite is enhanced with two HTML5
products that are only available through the Creative Cloud: These are Adobe
Edge and Adobe Muse. Edge is designed to simply animate content for web and
Muse lets you create simple websites without any coding knowledge.
Syncing and sharing is also a huge bonus. Any files created using a Creative Suite
program can be shared via the Creative Cloud and others can access it. They can
then view the document online, using preview tools that enable them to turn
pages into an InDesign document, view links, and even turn layers on and off.
PrIcIng structure
US pricing
WHATS INCLUDED
So what do you actually get in the Creative Cloud for your monthly fee?
PRODUCTS
Adobe
Adobe
Photoshop CS6 Illustrator CS6
Extended
Adobe
Photoshop
Lightroom 4
Adobe Edge
preview
Adobe
Fireworks CS6
Adobe
InDesign CS6
Adobe Muse
Adobe Acrobat
X Pro
Adobe Flash
Professional
CS6
Adobe Bridge
CS6
Adobe
Dreamweaver
CS6
Adobe Prelude
CS6
Adobe Encore
CS6
Adobe Edge
Animate 1.0
Typekit
Story Plus
APPS
Adobe
Photoshop
Touch (purchased
SERVICES
Adobe Proto
(purchased separately
from mobile device)
Adobe Ideas
(purchased separately
from mobile device)
Adobe Debut
(purchased separately
from mobile device)
Adobe Collage
(purchased separately
from mobile device)
Adobe Kuler
(purchased separately
from mobile device)
Business
Catalyst
separately from
mobile device)
The Creative Cloud offers a great way to access all the Creative
Suite programs that you will ever need. You can be safe in the
knowledge that you have access to all future versions,
keeping you one step ahead of the game
Documents can be
downloaded to be worked on
further and updated, so collaborative work is simple.
The Creative Cloud works with the Adobe Touch apps
too. While these apps must be bought separately for
the devices that they work on (they are all on Android
and selected apps are on iOS, with the full range soon
being added to the iPad as well), they can connect to
the Creative Cloud to share and access images. At the
moment you get 20GB of Creative Cloud storage,
though there will be options to purchase more
storage for those with greater requirements.
Additional benefits
TOP TIP
TECHNIQUES
All
about CS6
TUTORIAL TAG HERE
INSIDE PHOTOSHOP
CS6
Unwrap Photoshop CS6
and youll find some real
game-changers in terms
of new tools, filters, and
palettes. We map out the
locations of these top
features in the latest
version of the program,
and divulge on what each
can offer photographers
and artists alike
001 | Content-Aware Move tool
The Content-Aware Move tool in Photoshop CS6
does all the hard work for you when it comes to
moving an object. Just mark a neat selection
around an object and then drag and drop it over
another part of the image to sample that area.
Photoshop uses those new pixels to make
subjects vanish.
001
002
003
004
005
I MADE
All aboutHOWCS6
IMAGE NAME HERE
006
007
008
009
010
011
012
Master 3D in Photoshop
CS6 with our guide to the
new tools and features
22 The Photoshop CS6 Book
THE 3D WORKSPACE
001
004
005
002
006
003
001 |
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
006 |
jarGon buster
Rendering
Texture map
each surface in a 3d environment is defined with a material; this controls
the properties of the surface such as colour, reflectivity, opacity and so
on. these individual properties can be defined with a texture map that
acts much like a real-world sticker that wraps around the surface.
Image-based lighting
similar in concept to texture mapping, but applied to lighting instead of
surfaces. image-based lighting takes an image and maps it to the
environment surrounding the scene, then each pixel generates light
according to the luminous value of the image. high dynamic range images
can be used as image-based lights to simulate highly realistic and
effective lighting.
Raytracing
raytracing is a rendering technique that traces a ray of light as it passes
through a digital scene and evaluates the effects of virtual objects on the
ray. raytracing is an excellent method of simulating reflections and
bounced light, which can generate images with a high-degree of realism.
01
Model resources
02
03
Make adjustMents
01
GATHER RESOURCES
04
IMAGE-BASED LIGHTING
02
MATERIAL WORK
05
03
LIGHT THINGS UP
06
COMPOSITING MAGIC
RENDER
WRANGLING
Theres no need to
wait for the renderer
to update a portion
of the scene that
doesnt change.
Just make a simple
selection around a
portion of the scene
and Photoshop will
only render that area,
saving you valuable
time. This enables
a far more flexible
workflow and the
quicker application
of any changes.
See juSt how eaSy it iS to create eye-catching, StyliSed text effectS with 3d in cS6
Typography is an art form and even more so when the type forms become the
art itself. The design world is always brimming with new typography effects and
inspiring artists. A major staple of creative, typography-based artwork is the
inclusion of text as 3D objects. Well-known artists such as Nik Ainley of www.
shinybinary.com have been creating outstanding pieces of art involving 3D
typography for years, and its a trend that shows no sign of slowing down.
3D text has always been the most popular implementation of the 3D tools in
Photoshop, and some would argue that the style goes even further back than
them. The age-old Bevel and Emboss layer styles were the first hints of creating a
3D appearance with text. From there things progressed to techniques that
simulate the appearance of depth, to the 3D Respouss tool that first extruded
text into a genuine 3D element. Now in the latest iteration, creating 3D text is
about as easy as running a filter.
With the Text tool active, check the Options bar and you will find a new 3D icon,
which turns the live text into 3D elements. The most amazing aspect of this
process is that the text is still live, which means you can still edit the text, change
the font, select a different colour and so on. After the text is set how you like it, the
next step is to adjust the 3D properties like the bevel and extrusion type. There
are a great number of options in this area and unlimited combinations to work
with. The new Mercury Graphics Engine in CS6 makes working with these 3D
Creating 3D type effects has always been a popular approach, and with
CS6 its now easier than ever. This tutorial serves as a great
introduction to using the new 3D features in Photoshop
Use the new 3D interface in PhotoshoP cs6 to make 3D text easier than ever
01
04
letter plAcement
07
02
05
03
06
Apply lighting
BAckground effects
Image-baseD
lIghtIng
ESSENTIAL
3D EDITING
CREATE A 3D POSTCARD
COMBINE 3D EFFECTS USING FILES FROM THE DISC TO CREATE A CAPTIVATING ILLUSTRATION
01
04
MOVE THE
BOARD
05
02
03
CREATE A 3D POSTCARD
QUICK TIP
3D MODE TOOLS
06
ADD lighting
07
3D cube
Photoshop
CS6 Extended can
work with common 3D
formats such as 3ds
Max (file extension
3DS), COLLADA (DAE)
and Wavefront (OBJ).
Well load the supplied
DAE file to serve as the
basis for our dice. Go
to 3D>New 3D Layer
from File, then locate
Cube.dae. Name the
layer Dice.
ExtEndEdS 3d toolS
08 CS6
Understand the key fUnctions and options for easy 3d effects
001 |
001
002
003
004 005
002 |
Lighting is much
easier to work with
than in previous
versions. the
intuitive on-canvas
widgets enable you
to adjust light
sources.
003 |
004 |
as youre working
with the new 3d
interface, keep an
eye on the properties
palette. itll show
options and
information relevant
to what youre
currently editing.
005 |
the improved 3d
palette is your hub
for managing 3d
content. it enables
one-click 3d object
creation when you
have an image
or vector layer
selected. sweet!
09
PSD temPlate
11
10
two to Six
For the second face, turn off the visibility of the middle dot, and then turn on the top-left and
bottom-right dots. Go to File>Save As and name it 2.psd. Continue creating and saving the different
faces in this way until you get to 6.psd.
Quick tip
12
aDD materialS
13
3D move toolS
Quick tip
14
Adjust lighting
16
15
soften shAdows
duplicAte dice
With the Dice layer still active, press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Name this layer Dice 2. With the
Move tool active and the meshes selected in the 3D palette, use the 3D Mode tools again to alter the
position, scale and rotation of this dice.
17
Adjust lighting
18
Action cArd
Open the
supplied file Card.psd.
This is a sample action
card for the game. Use
the swatch we loaded
previously to colour the
card elements. Follow the
same process we did with
the game board.
19
Another postcArd
Now that weve finalised the card design, lets convert it into a 3D object. Create a new layer at
the top and press Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E. Name it Card in the Layers palette. In the 3D palette, tick 3D
Postcard and then click Create.
21
Add lighting
22
20
Move cArd
Finish the
Models
23
render 3d
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001
Adobe Creative Suite CS6 flagship software has now been carefully fine-tuned
to accommodate cross-platform sharing, not only with files but also in key
areas of functionality. What this means for Photoshop CS6 is that Adobe has
finally adhered to the demands of market-driven users. Photoshop now
includes options from or similar to other software, augmenting a host of
varying capabilities including video, 3D and importantly web-based software,
making it even more multi-functional.
Photoshop CS6 shows a strong alliance with users of Adobe Illustrator
specifically for those who utilise this vector software to create logo and layout
elements for web copy by pasting these into Photoshop for further editing. No
longer will users need to force dimensions to consequent selection sizes to fix
correct resolutions. CS6 now pastes vector shapes from Illustrator that always
align to the pixel boundary in the very first go.
002
003
001 |
www.kitchenato.
rs: This website to
promote a kitchen
calculator iPhone
app is a great
example of the
typographic cut-in
style used well
002 |
www.marcushofer.
com: Simple shapes
and rich gradients
contrast with a
subtle black and
white theme, at
Marcus Hofers
digital portfolio. This
can be easily
achieved using
Photoshop CS6s
highly useful Shape
tool options
003 |
www.deth-design.
com: Deth Designs
digital portfolio
shows a
rudimentary logo
and straightforward
layout. Accents of
colour offset
elaborate type to
create visual appeal
004 |
Daelim Museum Brand app: Use
this app to get information about
the museum and exhibitions,
learn about artists and works by
listening to audio guides
Daelim Museum
005 |
004
005
www.humaan.com.au:
The Humaan website shows a
symmetrical layout that would be
easily mastered using Photoshop
smart guides. The texture effects
here are also easy to achieve in
our favourite app
HAN LEE
www.hanlee.com
MUSICAL APPLICATION
01
04
BUTTONS AND
MENU
02
ADD TEXTURES
05
03
long time these effects were defined up front before the main
shape of the design was even added. This rule still applies,
but users can now quickly add a replacement shape if the
original isnt acceptable. Users can improve edges, at similar
or new dimensions, by simply double-clicking the image.
This additional ability to create shapes through dialog
boxes makes exact asset production for templates instantly
accessible. If you know the exact size youd like your shape to
be, just select the corresponding shape tool and click
anywhere on the canvas, entering the exact dimensions
youre after. This, coupled with new improved guides
technology and Mobile & Devices presets, results in
Photoshop CS6 becoming a real contender for designing
web layouts.
RYAN FORD
006
006 |
KIT digital: iPad app Interface design. The app will
be used on trade shows and events to explain the
companys methods oberhaeuser.info, Marcus
Wermuth, KIT digital
001 |
Starting with a
masked Rounded
Rectangle shape, I
filled in the base of
the pizza box with a
clipped cardboard
texture. I use the
rounded rectangle
as a motif to create
other shapes, and
applied slight noise
to all of these for
additional texture.
002 |
www.theryanford.com
003 |
004 |
001
002
003
004
Finally, I added in
some personal
touches by
introducing mock
branding, using my
own logo, and a bit
more text to wrap
the whole project up.
This can then be
rescaled to a 144 x
144px, 72dpi
screen resolution.
007 |
tickr: A user interface
for the business
software tickr, a
cloud-based platform
that enables users to
gather and display
custom business
information easily
oberhaeuser.info,
tickr.com
008 |
Event&music: User
interface design for an
events listing page, for
an undisclosed client.
It was developed on a
fluid grid
oberhaeuser.info
007
Using fixed guides can help to avoid anti-aliased edges, as can the equally
impressive, if not always perceptible, Align Edges feature. Applied on a
per-layer basis, Align Edges stops the rounding of shape edges by jumping
these to the nearest pixel grid. In many cases, this option tightens the
shabby edges in drawn vectors, for example this would be highly useful
when dealing with hand-drawn type.
But how are these options an advantage when producing web design
for mobile devices? Well, when working to smaller document sizes such
as 720 x 1280, 320 x 480 and 640 x 960, all available from CS6s Mobile &
Devices presets, shape edges in logos, app icons, template shapes and
type retain delineation. You can create assets of a 1:1 ratio, without any
quality loss, displayed with pin-sharp detail on any Retina and HD displays.
The detail of your web assets for mobile devices becomes all the more
important when considering the amount of white space they have to
compete with. You dont want to clutter the small screen area, again
underlining the application of clean elements through manageable
008
Photoshop options. This gives buttons and other UI elements more
room to breath and I truly appreciate that trend and love the use of
negative space, as you can see in my Kit Digital iPad app design,
adds Oberhuser.
This trend isnt one likely to lose enthusiasm, as its born as much
out of necessity as novelty, now transferring styles back across to
regular websites. So in some ways the constraints of mobile design
have blessed the evolution of screen design in general. With this in
mind we anticipate much more Photoshop application throughout
the web. With such a rapidly developing sector were excited about
the new possibilities further software updates will have to offer.
See how using apps can regenerate your creativity for mobile devices
Adobe has brought content creation for web full circle with new tablet-based application
Adobe Proto. Designers now have the ability to generate ideas for mobile machines, on
mobile machines. Even better, the process is so simple that even the most amateur web
enthusiast can pick it up.
Emerging technologies such as smartphones, HTML5 and CSS3 platforms pose
serious issues, mainly making the static wireframe layout impractical. In affect, Adobe
Proto offers designers the ability to make these far more interactive, through the
convenience of your touch screen tablet.
With touch gesture options, designers can literally express layout, content priority
and other important factors across multiple pages. Following the Touch Gesture guide, a
designer can apply a simply drawn box and Proto will place in a header. Draw three
dashed lines and you have yourself a menu bar. Its this automation that makes it so
accessible and quick to use.
Theres also a host of preset widget options, which enable you to drag and drop
menus and other components, easily rescaling and positioning with sizeable corners
and smart guides. Creating new pages and linking menu cells to these is a mere click
away. Adobe Proto hosts video, images and Lorem Ipsum.
Designers can review progress and functionality through live previews, which are
hosted through your web browser. All this means designers can communicate ideas for
web more effectively, manually manipulating every fine detail. Project sharing between
colleagues and clients using Proto is also a breeze, simply sync to the Creative Cloud to
let others add their own influences or provide feedback.
One-click navigatiOn
57
Whats new
in CS6
58 Erodible Brushes
60 Adobe Bridge
54 Camera Raw 7
62 Contact Sheets
71 Toning Gradients
44
68
58
42
54
WORK FASTER IN
PHOTOSHOP CS6
We explore some of the smaller yet immensely significant Photoshop
CS6 user upgrades, explaining how these will speed up your workflow
EXPERT ADVICE
www.thepixelpro.com
Adobe has spent quite a bit of time and effort revamping the
Photoshop user interface. Most obvious is the colour change. The
darker interface matches other Adobe products like Lightroom and
does a good job of focusing attention on the canvas.
Peeking under the hood reveals these UI changes run a lot
deeper than mere cosmetic swaps. Theres an assortment of
refinements that show the planning put into the UI changes.
One example is the consistent grammatical style now found
throughout the app. The Choose A Color command is no longer
available. Instead we get the same verb and noun agreement
throughout the commands and dialogs.
New warning message management has also been implemented
by means of a helpful checkbox at the bottom of the warning dialog,
Dont Show Again, removing hiccups in Actions.
The new colour is the most noticeable change for the user interface
001
002
005
003
004
001 |
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
easily Migrate
your presets
QuiCk tip
expert advice
www.timshelbourne.net
www.theartistsquarter.com
Quick tip
[Above] The Eyedropper tools in Levels and Curves are now subject
to Sample Size options. This means a greater aptitude for selecting
light colour values in images
rEsizE intuitivEly
ExpErt advicE
www.photoshopcafe.com
One of the wonderful things about CS6 is the ability to see what a brush tip will look like before
applying it, with on-screen previews. While the preview itself isnt new, some other things are. For
a start, you can see the angle of rotation.
When opening the Shape Dynamics tab in the Brushes panel, you will see a new option at the
bottom: a Brush Projection checkbox. This powerful little button enables you to actually warp the
shape of a static or round
brush tip by tilting the pen on
your tablet. When you tilt the
pen, the preview will
elongate at the angle youre
tilting the pen. If you were to
look at a uniform shape, you
would see that its actually
tilting in perspective, to the
degree that youre tilting the
pen. This enables you to
create the appearance of
different angles in a kind of
2.5 D space.
Ever been working on a massive project, with lots of layers and have Photoshop unexpectedly quit? Its
happened to the best of us sadly, and that moment when you realise youve been so absorbed in creating
that you last saved hours ago leaves you utterly deflated. Well, this scenario is no more, as Photoshop
CS6 has automated back-up features built in.
You can activate these from the Photoshop>Preference>File Handling option. Here you can set
Photoshop to automatically save your designs, choosing from 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minute intervals. You
can also set Photoshop CS6 to Save in Background. This makes a world of difference in terms of
productivity no longer will you have to wait for the progress bar to finish uploading, while you twiddle
your creative thumbs. Now Photoshop does this discreetly, noticeable only by the load bar at the foot of
the interface, as you carry on working.
ExpErt advicE
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
quick tip
Photoshop CS6 is considered the most accessible creative software for all professional designers
in the creative industry. Vector capabilities for illustrators, GPU-improved toolsets for image
editors but what of new and improved options for web designers? Photoshop CS6 now enables
web designers who use hash-tag Hex colours to enter the value with the hash-tag included and also
use three-digit value tones in the Color Values field, improving comparisons between Photoshop
and your code editor. On a
smaller scale, yet still making
huge improvements, is the Align
Edges option. This is
automatically activated in the
Shape options bar and snaps the
edge of entire objects to the pixel
boundary. This means no more
rounding of inner points and
crisper on-screen edges.
Select Preferences>General
and youll see the Snap Vector
tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid option activated. This
tells Photoshop CS6 to snap shapes to the pixel
boundaries, now including the Pen and Ellipse tools. Again
this stops bleeding edges.
[Above] The Snap Vector tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid
option is one thats actionable, so by setting a Shortcut key you
can quickly activate and deactivate this option
[Left] Enter colour values with hash-tag included
Pattern options have often been overlooked in previous editions of Photoshop. Preset styles were fun, some
far more advantageous than others and best applied as textures rather than decoration or artwork. Creating
your own styles for the latter purpose became a time-consuming, manual process using brushes.
However, thanks to new automated options in Photoshop CS6, pattern generation has become a whole lot
faster. Many users will apply patterns from the Layer Style options, but you can also apply Patterns from
your Fill dialog box (Shift+F5), now with a new Scripted Patterns option set.
All you have to do now is create a single visual element or shape, activate this new option and choose
from the related drop options including Brick Fill, Cross Weave, Random Fill, Spiral and Symmetry Fill.
These will then duplicate and order your single element into a visual pattern, which you are then able to
save as a preset.
THE NEW
CROP TOOL
UNCROPPED
GET TO KNOW THE VIEW OPTIONS OF THE NEW CROP TOOL IN CS6 AND
ALL THE OTHER HELPFUL ADDITIONS TO THIS ESSENTIAL FEATURE
he Crop tool has been one of Photoshops most important tools from
the beginning. It gives us the chance to increase the strength of an
image by simply cutting out parts that distract the eye from the scene.
The tool has been given some exciting new options in CS6 that make
using it easier than ever. The new features take some getting used to, as the tool
is quite different from earlier versions.
Rather than focusing on just cropping out unwanted pixels, the Crop tool now
makes it easier to create a pleasing overall composition. Take, for example, the
six new View options. There are a number of different ones (demonstrated on
the page across) that will let you position subjects along pre-defined lines of
composition. They have been based around traditional photographic practices,
and will help you form a more visually balanced and aesthically beautiful piece
from your original image.
As well as the View options, the Crop tool can be set up to keep cropped parts
of an image, and Photoshop CS6 includes the Classic mode to revert back to the
more familiar version of the tool, so you can still use it to simply crop images.
01
AUTO CENTER
The Crop tool can be set so that it always stays central as you move its
boundary. This option, called Auto Center Preview, is available by clicking on the cog
symbol in the top Options bar, with Show Cropped Area underneath it in the list.
03
CLASSIC MODE
04
02
With Auto Center Preview on, youre actually rotating and resizing
the image and not the cropping boundary. This allows for a better preview of
the final positioning of the image before its cropped, so you can see whats
level and whats not.
DELETE PIXELS
05
CROP RATIOS
CYCLE THE
VIEW MODES
06
07
STRAIGHTEN TOOL
CHANGING MODES
RULE OF THIRDS
USE THIS TRADITIONAL
COMPOSITION TRICK
Uncropped
Cropped
GRID
Uncropped
Cropped
DIAGONAL
Uncropped
Cropped
TRIANGLE
Uncropped
Cropped
GOLDEN RATIO
AN ARTISTS TECHNIQUE
FOR BALANCED IMAGES
Uncropped
Cropped
GOLDEN SPIRAL
TRY THIS OPTION FOR
DETAILED CLOSE-UPS
Uncropped
Cropped
PersPective
croP tool
T
Learn to use this PhotoshoP Cs6-sPeCifiC
tooL to CroP and reaLign your images
he Perspective Crop tool is new to Photoshop CS6 and lets you crop
subjects according to the angle theyve been photographed. This type of
tool is ideal if you have taken a picture of an object that should be square,
but for some reason has come out at an angle in the final photograph.
Take, for instance, this sign thats been shot so its not quite square to the
camera. The Perspective Crop tool makes it very simple to lay the subject flat just
by dragging across a cropping boundary. It comes with a grid too, so making sure
a subject is square to the lens has never been easier.
BEfORE
Straighten objeCtS
AfTER
01
SET OPTIONS
02
PLACE MARKERS
03
LINE IT uP
The IrIs
Blur fIlTer
Learn how to use the new IrIs BLur fILter
to create stunnIng portraIt effects
beFore
01
AFter
02
03
CAMERA RAW 7
W
WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW FEATURES AND TOOL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LATEST
VERSION OF THIS ESSENTIAL PLUGIN, UNVEILED ALONGSIDE PHOTOSHOP CS6
Interface changes
There are a few differences that are noticeable as
soon as you open the interface. The tool set down
the right-hand side of the screen has replaced a
couple of sliders with new options. Exposure and
Contrast are still present and correct, but Fill Light,
Recovery and Brightness from Camera Raw 6 (we
have been comparing directly to 6.4.1) have been
removed. Instead, you can now alter the Highlights,
Shadows, Blacks and Whites, which give you more
control over the amount of detail that you can
recover from shots. This means that even images
taken on a mobile phone, for example, can have
detail rescued that you didnt even realise was
available in the original image. Another change that
we really like is that all the sliders are set to 0 by
default and the slider starts in the middle position,
as opposed to Camera Raw 6, where some of the
controls had 0 at the far left so that the results could
only be increased from a starting point. Also, in
Camera Raw 6 default values were applied for you,
which werent suitable for every image. Other than
these points, there are no cosmetic differences.
Improved processing
BEFORE
AFTER
This heavily shadowed RAW image has been given the new Highlights and Shadows treatment, bringing back detail throughout the
scene without introducing artefacts in the process
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
001 002
003
004 005
SELECTIVELY ALTER THE HIGHLIGHTS, SHADOWS OR CLARITY VALUES WITH THIS POWERFUL TOOL
01
02
MULTIPLE ADJUSTMENTS
03
CS6 Lighting
EffECtS fiLtEr
T
Find out how this PhotoshoP Filter has been
comPletely redesigned For the latest version
he Lighting Effects filter is hardly a
new addition to Photoshop, but it
has been completely redesigned
and rebuilt for CS6.
You access the filter from Filter>
Render>Lighting Effects, which takes you to
the new dialog. In the new interface, there is
an Options bar along the top, from which
you can access the Preset options for
lighting, as well as the different types of light
on offer: Spot, Point and Infinite.
Spot lights give a small amount of light,
which you can customise to alter the
intensity, location and direction, as well as
the Hotspot location - which is where the
light hits your subject. Point lights are like
light bulbs and you can alter their location
and intensity but not their direction. Finally,
Infinite lights are more distant light sources,
and you only have the option to change their
intensity or colour.
The Properties panel down the right-hand
side of the screen has lots of different
sliders that you can adjust to tweak and
customise your lighting. You can also add
multiple lights to any scene as needed.
01
aftEr
BEforE
02
03
01
BeFore
AFter
02
Brush controls
03
lighting options
SKETCH WITH
ERODIBLE
BRUSHES
T
DIGITAL ARTIST SALLY JANE THOMPSON TESTS OUT CS6S NEW ERODIBLE BRUSHES
Resample with
photoshop
inteRpolation
P
We run through the Ways to master your image
pixels With photoshop resizing technology
01
Bilinear
02
03
reSample Size
ADOBE BRIDGE
B
WE LOOK AT THE CAPABILITIES OF THIS ASSET MANAGER
THAT COMES AS STANDARD WITH PHOTOSHOP
ridge is shipped with every version of
Photoshop, but it has always been easy to
forget about it, hidden away on your hard
drive. However, since CS5 introduced Mini
Bridge, a palette integrated directly into the
Photoshop interface (it was also in InDesign), it has
come more to the forefront.
In Photoshop CS6, Mini Bridge has taken another
leap forward and now sits in a more prominent
position at the bottom of your main editing window,
making it easy to find and open assets as you need
them. You also get to access some of the Adobe
Bridge features, such as opening files quickly in
Camera Raw. Bridge CS6 also benefits from 64-bit
support, which helps you to work faster when
searching and organising large volumes of files.
Workspaces in Bridge
When you open up Bridge for the first time, there
are a lot of windows and palettes. There are also
different preset workspaces, just as in Photoshop,
which you can switch between using the tabs in the
top-right of the interface: Essentials, Filmstrip,
Metadata, Output, Keywords and Preview. Each of
these can be selected with a shortcut, which is
Cmd/Ctrl+F1-F6 (in the order listed here).
Essentials is the default and will be best for when
youre first starting to use Bridge. It gives you
access to all of the key features youll need for
organising your photos.
Filmstrip gives you a bigger preview of your
images as you select them and Metadata gives a
long list of all the keywords and file information
associated with each image. If you select the
Keywords section in the Filter tab on the left of the
screen, then you can filter the images by keywords
View your images, add keywords and give them a star rating to keep all your assets organised in Adobe Bridge
004
005
001 |
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
YOU DONT HAVE TO BE IN THE FULL BRIDGE PROGRAM TO ACCESS SOME OF ITS KEY TOOLS
01
02
03
The reTurn of
conTacT sheeTs
A
This popular opTion makes iTs way back inTo The auTomaTe menu
01
AutomAted option
02
03
Let it run
Skin ToneS
SelecTionS
A
We explore the potential of this Cs6 option for the Color range Command
01
Before
02
After
Work With lAyers
03
USING THE
ADAPTIVE WIDE
ANGLE FILTER
W
LEARN THESE TRICKS AND YOULL WONDER HOW YOU
COPED BEFORE USING THE ADAPTIVE WIDE ANGLE FILTER
Converge verticals
First we need to correct the phenomenon of
converging verticals, where the parallel lines of a
building appear to move in towards each other
towards its top. This is a natural perspective issue
caused by the act of tilting the camera upwards and
is actually present in lenses of all focal lengths, but
more so in wide-angle lenses.
Photoshops standard Lens Correction filter
offers a chance at correction via the Vertical
Distortion slider but in truth it never does a good
job. Get one line straight and theres another further
across thats still very wonky and theres nothing
more you can do. Step in the Adaptive Wide Angle
Panoramas
In action
There are drop options once you load the filter for
your image and various sliders for each, but for
everything we loaded, Photoshop accessed the
correct setting automatically and all that was
needed was to trace one or more outlines across
straight lines.
For a fisheye landscape or panorama, simply
drag across the horizon from the very left to the
very right and release. A second bowed-angle line
springs from the original and you can drag this line
to match up with the horizon and the picture is
corrected. If the entire horizon isnt visible, drag
across the visible area, do your straightening and
then extend the straight line to the edge of the
image either side by hitting Shift and dragging. Even
end-to-end horizons will usually need line
extension once the first correction takes place. Once
the filter has been applied, you can crop out any
blank canvas or, better still, load the blank areas as
a selection and use Edit>Fill>Content-Aware and
see if Photoshop is successful at filling in most of
the blanks.
AFTER
002 |
003 |
004 |
005 |
001
002
003
004
005
REMOVE CONVERGING VERTICALS FROM ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT THE NEED FOR TILT/SHIFT LENSES
01
02
03
Format text
and styles
P
We explore the latest paragraph and
CharaCter style options in photoshop Cs6
01
02
paragraph styles
03
CharaCter styles
Master scripted
patterns
A
We explore the creative potential of this neW photoshop cs6 option
01
Before
02
after
Chequered styles
03
Color lookup
adjustments
T
We take a look at this neW adjustment
layer, introduced in PhotoshoP cs6
01
InItIal adjustment
Before
02
PIck an effect
after
03
stack them uP
Here are just a selection of effects you can acHieve on tHe same pHoto
BlueTone
DropBlues
Moonlight
Candlelight
EdgyAmber
Sepia
Youll find the images you need to help you with this
tutorial in the disc provided along with this bookazine.
CrispWarm
FoggyNight
TealMagentaGold
Share image StageS and updateS much quicker with new automated optionS
01
02
mAke notes
03
PhotograPhic
toning gradients
P
Apply this new hidden feAture in photoshop Cs6 to repliCAte print styles
01
beFore
aFter
02
03
going Further
80
84 Professional Retouching
From photoshoot to high-quality image
98 Understand Channels
Photo editing
Photo editing
84
92
106
74
98
96
Photo editing
Reshape facial
featuRes
W
We shoW you hoW to use Masks, transforM
and Clone tools to retouCh profile shots
01
PrePare in raW
03
02
You will find the starter RAW file on the disc. Weve also
included a pack of 20 profile shots for you to work with
in your own non-commercial projects in the Resource
Pack. After all, practice makes perfect!
before
Photo editing
Gra hair
to thicken
fringe
Reshape
eyebrows
Open
eyes
Remove
blemishes and
eye bags
Smooth
skin
Improve
smile
Smooth
jawline
Adjust image
tones
photo editing
04
Iron out
the contours
05
Quick tip
06
photo editing
07
08
buiLd up
eyeLashes
09
Take a breaTher
At this point weve perfected all the focal elements of the subject. This in itself has transformed
the facial features by enlarging the eyes, smoothing out contours and so on. Our next procedure is to make
more apparent changes, which means reshaping the jaw and brow.
001
002
003 004
001 |
Weve resized the
eyes, opening them
using free transform.
h and W values are
applied so we dont
go overboard and
keep a natural look
002 |
you dont always have
to make your subject
look plastic when
retouching. remove
pesky creases and
marks to remedy
problem areas with a
dust & scratches
history brush
003 |
this is an intricate
technique that
requires attention.
Blending modes and
layer masks will
achieve the right
result, which will
again give the face an
improved look
10
004 |
Photo editing
11
13
12
Weve used the handles to pull our jawline up and back, then applied a layer mask to work out the
hard edges. This seems a minor tweak when isolated, but when you look at the face as a whole it takes on
a much firmer look. Its time to make another selection, but this time well use the Pen Path tool for a
smoother selection edge. Trace this to the edge, to your new jaw shape and what you see as the ideal line.
aPPly curvEs
Cmd/Ctrl-click your Work Path thumbnail in the Paths palette, make a selection, then jump
straight back to your Layers palette and activate the Refine Edge option. Set Smooth to 25, Feather at 3px
and click OK. Now apply a Curves adjustment layer. Apply a downward curve, creating stronger shadows
and darker midtones. Integrate this new lighting with a soft-edged black brush at 50% Opacity and Flow.
14
15
photo editing
16
17
Boost tones
Quick tip
18
FinaL
touches
To finish, navigate to
Layer>Layer Style>
Blending Options and, while
holding Opt/Alt, split the
white and black slider in the
underlying Layer option to
two-thirds along the scale.
Apply a layer mask to this
and invert it to black.
Choose Select>Load
Selection>Skin and hit
Shift+F5, filling with a
white. This brings back in
your blur effect, targeted to
your skin, which you can
tweak with the mask and
opacity levels. Be sure to
work away the effect from
the eyes, hair and jawline
for the best results.
Photo editing
Edit lighting
with curvEs
P
produce creative retouch images using
photoshop curve adjustments and more
01
First make your image horizontally symmetrical. Drag and set a single
Guideline from your Rulers, matching up your image using Transform>Rotate and
Skew options. Tweaks should be minimal, but if you find gaps in your image edges,
create a selection with the Marquee tool and make amendments with
Edit>Content-Aware Scale.
03
02
Before
Photo editing
photo editing
04
In the same Hue/Saturation options, change Colors to Blues, setting Saturation at -30. Now
change Colors to Magenta, setting Saturation at -10. Apply a Fill Color adjustment layer with a colour value
of #031655. Apply a layer mask and use a soft black brush to work out colour changes in the skin areas.
With this layer active, go to Layer Styles>Blending Options. Opt/Alt-click and drag the Blend If Underlying
Layer black slider to a value of 0/150. This will slightly soften the shadow and colour saturation.
Quick tip
An alternative or even
additional way to enhance
existing image shadows is to
apply adjustment Curves set
to Darker from the Preset drop
options. With your mask active
and Marquee tool set, Cmd/
Ctrl-click your image, selecting
Color Range>Shadows. This
will map shadows and instantly
mask out highlights.
05
06
Visual details
07
08
Curves work great here, as they enhance existing light values. You can bolster effects by
duplicating both Curves layers and tweaking masks and layer opacities. Weve duplicated our Shadow Curve
layer, setting Opacity at 40% and a Multiply blending mode. Weve duplicated our Highlight Curves layer,
setting Opacity at 20% and a Screen blending mode. Weve also decreased the Opacity of our original
Highlight Curves layer to 40%. Of course this can be a matter of trial and error, so use what works best.
Photo editing
09
Saturate the
ShadowS more
11
10
CurveS vignette
12
13
TECHNIQUES editing
Photo
INDUSTRYSTANDARD RETOUCHING
TECHNIQUES
Photo editing
INDUSTRYSTANDARD RETOUCHING
INDUSTRYSTANDARD
RETOUCHING
SOURCE FILES
AVAILABLE
photo editing
01
02
lighting is key
The vital element of this dramatic style is the lighting and the easiest way to light a subject on
location is by using flashguns. They are portable, powerful and the light can be modified in a number of
ways to quite easily do what we want. For this shot we used a total of four flashguns, adjusted their
positions and used some trial and error. We were able to ensure they lit the subject evenly and effectively.
04
We simply placed
homemade snoots on the
end of each flash,
which enables you
to choose exactly
where the light hits
the model
PiCk your
own subjeCt
03
remote flashes
Control the
light
Quick tip
Most cameras will have a
maximum flash sync speed at
which they can shoot with
flashguns. Although this is
typically 1/250 sec, most DSLRs
have a high-speed sync mode
that enables you to shoot at
faster speeds to help you capture
moving subjects more easily.
Photo editing
05
shutter speed
07
Composition
06
use aperture
Your aperture setting will dictate how much of the scene is in focus. However, when using lighting
equipment, it will also control the brightness of the lights within your shot. It is therefore easy to simply
leave your shutter speed on its fastest sync speed, and use your aperture to control the outcome. Use a
wider aperture to brighten up your shot, or close down your aperture it its a little overexposed.
08
Whether your subject is static or moving, it will likely take a number of shots before you nail it,
especially when using such small and concentrated light sources. Taking some test shots and honing the
settings will help when it comes to shooting the model in position. However, encouraging your model to
keep adjusting their positioning and showing them the on-camera results can help them to develop the
pose. They can make changes to their position to help with how the lights are affecting the overall shot.
photo editing
09
10
11
post production
Quick tip
12
Photographers may have done several shoots over several hours, and weather will affect lighting and exposure at
times. Its here that a retoucher has to bridge the gap and rescue these values. RAW is perfect at this. Having established our mix
of terrain and model photography, simply open both in RAW at the same time and begin to tweak and match the values. Again,
you may not get precise effects but as long as they are as authentic as possible, comp production becomes a whole lot easier.
001
002
003
004
001 |
002 |
Colours may seem duller or
too vivid in alternate shots.
The Vibrancy slider remedies
this, but small measures
make big differences.
003 |
Sunlight and other weather
can change the temperature
between shots. Use this
slider to cool or warm and
match selected images.
004 |
Photo editing
13
Model treatMent
15
14
We want to give our model the perfect lean figure to fit with an aspirational looks associated with
sports and action. This is done by making a selection of the figure area (outline) in question with the Lasso
tool and then selecting the Liquify or Warp tool depending on the severity of the effect. You can also cut into
the form and reshape with Pen Path selections, but thats harder with a closed-off pose. Weve eyed in effects,
making edits with the Liquify>Forward Warp tool.
16
Weve noticed that the legs of our model fall into shadow, which conflicts with the lighting in our
terrain image. We cant go back into RAW but Photoshop provides a solution the Shadows/Highlights
adjustment option. Simply duplicate the model layer and select this option. Set Shadows>Amount at 15%,
Tonal Width at 30%, Radius at 50px. Apply a Screen blending mode to your model copy layer, set Opacity at
30% and add a layer mask. Work out effects over the face, arms and shoulders, leaving only the legs visible.
Your model light is now more even.
Photo editing
18
17
19
Add a layer mask to this layer and paint to it using the same brush settings as in Step 18,
remembering to Cmd/Ctrl-click your original model layer thumbnail, so as to not go outside the edges. With
this selection still active create a new layer, zoom in at 200% and apply your white brush at 100% Opacity to
model edges where light from the left would fall. Set this layers Opacity at 70%. Also carefully add to the
shape (bridge and point) of the nose and outline the lip edges.
20
Authentic perspirAtion
photo editing
21
quick tip
Copy and paste the cloud line from the RS11872_PC65 page 68 used.psd image, placing this on top
of the RS18868_D4 test shot 003.jpg layer. Set this latest cloud layers blending mode to Hard Light and
integrate edges using a layer mask as before. Weve established that the light is falling from the left, so we
apply a drop shadow falling to the right. Weve created this by adding a new layer and painted in our shadow
with a 50% soft black brush. Apply a low value Filter>Blur>Motion Blur at a 0-degree Angle.
23
use a spotlight
Create a new layer placed behind your model, above your clouds. Choose a pale light-yellow and
a large, soft-edged, 50% Opacity brush. Apply this to the top-left corner of your image, down to the models
right arm. Apply a Screen blending mode to this layer. Cmd/Ctrl-click your original model layer thumbnail,
create a new layer and place at the top of the stack. Apply the same brush to apply highlights to the models
head and left side of the face, working out excessive effects with a layer mask.
22
Photo editing
Photo editing
01
The Filter menu in Photoshop CS6 has been given a facelift. Some
of the larger filters, such as the Lens Correction and Oil Paint, have been
brought to the top. The three new blur filters Field Blur, Iris Blur and
Tilt-Shift are with the Blur options.
02
Youll fine all the images you need to help you with
this step-by-step tutorial in the disc provided with
this bookazine.
FIELD BLUR
Open the image of the racer from your cover disc. Find the new Blur filters
at the top of the other Blur options. Were going to start by applying the Field Blur
filter, as this lets us increase the amount of blurring in the background. This is
similar to depth of field.
Photo editing
AFTeR
BeFoRe
03
FIRST PIN
06
ShARPeN FoReGRoUND
04
ADDITIoNAl PoINTS
07
05
DePTh oF FIelD
eDIT SUBJeCT
08
TWeAK PINS
Photo editing
pinning
Like all the new Blur filters,
theres no limit to the
number of pins that can be
added. For this image, only
one was needed to keep the
building in focus.
Composition
This filter draws attention
to the main subject,
removing the surroundings
with blurring. Adjust the
Blur slider on the right to
intensify the effect.
Blur trAnsition
The softness of the blurred area is
controlled by the inner dots around the
centre. Each one slides in and out to adjust
the transition of blurring.
tilt-shift effect
This creates a tilt-shift miniature effect, which
blurs the image on both sides of the main line
of focus. This works especially well on
cityscapes, making it look like a toy model.
A new position
Spin the tilt-shift effect around
by rolling over the white dots
on the innermost lines. This
will reposition the line of focus
to better suit where your
subject is positioned.
distortion
This filter has an additional slider to
control the Distortion in the blurred
parts of the image. Move this into the
minus numbers and it will look as
though the blurred areas are moving.
Photo editing
AFTER
RESET EFFECT
If you need to reset the changes
at any point, Opt/Alt-click over
the Cancel button.
INKS
PRESETS
The Presets
drop-down list
contains a variety of
mixes that are
worth trying out.
PREVIEW
Tick the Preview box on and off to see
how much the image has changed in
the conversion process.
COLOURS
Customise the two inks,
keeping the top one
darker than the bottom
to change shadows and
highlights.
CREATE A DUOTONE
EFFECT
T
LEARN HOW PHOTOSHOPS MODES CAN ADD
COLOUR TO MONOCHROME IMAGES
can control the balance throughout the tonal range of your image.
The advantage of using the Duotone mode to convert your image is that
you have a huge array of colour palettes to use, and both colours come with a
Curve adjustment. This means you can alter the brightness and balance of
both colours across your image for the perfect result. Play around with this
effect to find the best duotone that suits your image.
Photo editing
01
New copy
02
ReMoVe coLoUR
03
SeT To DUoToNe
BefoRe
04
INK 1
06
ADJUST cURVeS
05
INK 2
07
BAcK To RGB
Photo editing
UNDERSTAND
CHANNELS
C
Photo editing
01
03
HIGHEST CONTRAST
Find the channel that gives the highest contrast for the subject you
want to keep after your selection. The subjects in this case are the trees in the
background. The Red channel makes the trees an opaque black, so is the clear
option for this image.
05
LEVELS ADJUSTMENT
06
02
INSIDE CHANNELS
The Channels palette will pop open and shows four channels. The
top channel, RGB, is a combination of the others. The other three are the
primary colours split into separate channels. Click on them to view the
image in greyscale variations.
04
DUPLICATE CHANNEL
INCREASE CONTRAST
07
RECTANGULAR SELECTION
Photo editing
Distort
colours
Image effects can be created
by simply editing the channel
using the Levels adjustment,
without the need to duplicate
it. For example, select the Red
channel in this tutorials image
to view it in a greyscale state,
and press Cmd/Ctrl+L to open
the Levels adjustment. By
dragging the middle pointer in
the adjustment to the left, the
red areas in the image can be
boosted. Click OK, then back
on the RGB channel to see the
image in colour. Be careful,
though, as using channels is a
destructive form of editing.
10
08
ErasE EdgEs
13
11
INvErt ChaNNEL
BaCK to CoLour
Click on the RGB channel in the palette to go back to the full colour version
of your image. The selection should remain active on the image. Go to your Layers
palette and Opt/Alt-double-click on the Background layer. This now makes this an
editable layer.
14
09
add IN BLaCK
12
gaussIaN BLur
Click on the Add Layer Mask button at the base of the Layers
palette to apply a mask using the selection just made. The sky will be
hidden and Photoshops blank canvas will be showing, ready for a new sky
to be dropped in.
Photo editing
01
aLPHa CHaNNELS
03
04
02
TooL SETTiNgS
In the Options bar set the Magic Wand tools Tolerance to 40 and untick
Contiguous. Click once on the middle of the tree to make an instant selection. Because
Contiguous is off, other parts of the image have been selected, but the smaller leaves
have been picked up.
BruSH TooL
05
LaYEr MaSKiNg
Multi-coloured iMage
showing the right chAnnel
colour
PrevieWs
To see each channel as a
colour as opposed to a
greyscale version of your
image, go to Photoshops
Preferences menu (under
the Edit menu for
Windows users and the
Photoshop menu for Mac
users). Look under the
Interface section and find
the Show Channels in
Color box. Photoshops
default is to show them in
greyscale, but this offers
a handy alternative.
Photo editing
Photo editing
GET A SOFT
FOCUS EFFECT
T
BEFORE
01
DUPLICATE LAYER
02
Photo editing
03
05
04
SOFT FOCUS
Gradually increase the Radius slider to see how the Blur filter affects the image. Avoid going too
high, as this will make the image appear foggy. You want it to be just enough so that the skin looks soft. For
this image a setting of 12px works well.
Photo editing
06
07
Because the layer is a Smart Object, the filter comes with a mask. Click on this mask and then
pick the Brush tool (B). Set the Foreground swatch to black, the Opacity to 50% and then paint over the eyes
to remove a thin layer of blurring.
08
BOOST COLOURS
BRIgHTnESS/COnTRAST
09
LUmInOSITY BLEnDIng
Photo editing
01
02
before
There is so much
information which can
been accessed in
Camera RAW which
isnt available once
the file has been
processed out
106 The Photoshop CS6 Book
Photo editing
photo editing
03
As with White Balance, its a good idea to get exposure in the right places before we make any creative
decision about deliberately over/underexposing, or altering contrast. Again not much is needed here, but a quick
glance at the Histogram shows the highlight information clipping at the end. We can attempt to rescue this
clipping with the Highlights slider. Activate the Highlight Clipping Warning settings (O) and keep moving the
Highlights slider left, setting a value of -57 and watching the red information disappear.
Quick tip
04
05
06
07
inseRt a blUe
foR shadows
Photo editing
08
Blues are now dominating the shadows a bit too much. Rather than knock these back and return
to our neutral colour stance, were going to warm things up globally by increasing the Temperature slider
value to 5,400. The colour difference between shadows and highlights will still be preserved. Its always
worth experimenting with Tint to see how that effect pans out. Usually a move towards magenta rather than
green is best and in this case the image benefits from a shift, setting the sliders value to +20.
09
10
11
12
Photo editing
13
With the Adjustment Brush active, set Exposure to +0.85, Contrast to -100, Highlights to -100 and
Shadows to +100. This recipe enables us to lighten the shadows and minimise clipping to highlights to
produce an accurate flare effect. Set Size to 60, Feather to 100, Flow to 50 and Density to 100. Now brush
the adjustment in from the left, just touching the guitar and face with the brush edge. The +0.85 Exposure
setting isnt strong enough, so we can increase this to +1.30 to finish.
14
16
15
photo editing
Quick tip
17
Finally, to draw a bit more attention to the face, add another Adjustment Brush marker, activating
the New options and setting Contrast to +40. Return everything else to 0 and, with the Brush Size still set to
10 and Feather to 50, apply this to the face to increase the contrast. Add a bit to the subjects left arm and
top-rear of the guitar to draw the eye away from the right edge and better balance the frame.
18
19
20
sharpen to finish
Finish by adding some sharpening. Activate the Detail tab (third tab).
Still zoomed in at 100%, experiment with Amount, Radius and Detail. Masking is
best left alone as it can leave patchy sharpening results. Values of 75 for
Amount, 1.5 for Radius and 40 for Detail work well. Finally were going to crop
out a little bit of image to the left, to better balance the composition. Press the C
key to activate the Crop tool and crop the image.
128
Digital art
114 Create Infographics
Digital art
Practice each brush
straight on, then at a
steep angle for
shading. Make a
cheat sheet
154
132
114
118
122
144
digital art
create dynamic
infographics
Create exCiting styles using new tools in
the latest version of PhotoshoP
nformation graphics, or infographics, are visual representations of information, data or expert knowledge.
Styles for these pieces vary, but are usually inspired by the topics presented, which is the case with the
example we will be using here.
In this tutorial we show you how to create your very own infographic, using an example displaying
how some Facebook communities use Photoshop. Were giving our graphic design a digital style, inspired
by futuristic looks seen in web design, cinema and the design industry.
In keeping with the futuristic theme, we also explore how new Photoshop CS6 tools can be used to
augment this digital style. We show you how to apply and edit the new Shape tool options, used to create
and improve your infographic bar and dial charts. We also take a look at basic, yet effective ways to add 3D
looks to your designs, by applying the new 3D Extrusion functionality.
Old favourite Photoshop tools also make an appearance, helping you express the impact of your special
effects. By the end of this tutorial youll have learnt a few more awesome Photoshop style techniques.
Build elements
Use blending modes, layer masks and new Cs6 shape options
01
Creating multiple layout sketches of your infographic is a great starting point. Here you
can revise the sequence of applied graphics, fine-tune the styles of your graphs and charts and
even contemplate image colours all before youve even begun. Once youve decided on your layout
you can scan, copy and paste it into Photoshop.
02
the grid
03
Begin a graph
As our infographic is fuelled by Photoshoprelated data we want our style to have a futuristic digital
look, so the form follows the function. We start by
building our first graph. As were working with
percentages out of 100, create a new document 100mm
high by 10mm wide at 300dpi. Apply horizontal guides to
increments of 10mm, top to bottom.
Digital art
Digital art
04
build a graph
Here were building a graph with six categories so we need to use six bars. Use your guides to
create individual bars each ones height corresponding with a percentage. For instance, 57 per cent would
be 57mm. Create these bars using the Rectangle Shape tool in a new document. Copy and paste each one
into your infographic, aligning equally using guides, or if you have CS6, the automated Smart Guides.
Activate your Swatches panel and load the Infographic Swatch.aco file supplied.
Quick tip
05
add gradients
06
07
08
create a dial
chart base
digital art
Bring in 3d content
09
10
11
12
new 3d options
13
Digital art
digital art
01
02
extrude the
type
03
Digital art
04
We can explore all the faces and texture them if we like. We chose to texture the front face and sides with the hero
colour being Magenta and Cyan, and the edges with the same Metal Silver (Brushed) material. Decide on a colour palette that
works and play around with the textures. You can also load textures in the Diffuse option. For example if its a wooden look
you want, load in a wood texture. We chose the Metal Silver material as it complements the overall look we want.
Quick tip
To manipulate Reflections and
Shadows, click the ground plane to
reveal the Properties palette. Play with
Shadow Color and Reflections, add
some Roughness to the reflection and
see what happens. When you are just
experimenting, its best to work on
low-res scenes for quicker renderings.
To render, go to the Render menu
option or click the Cube icon at the
bottom of the Properties panel.
05
Create the
glyphs
06
Digital art
07
With the camera selected, change the settings in the Properties palette to FOV 32mm. This
creates a wide-angle look with lens distortion. Select the new merged layer in the Layers palette and select
the Scene layer in the 3D palette. Use the Move tool and hover over the edge of the box to give you options to
rotate the objects. Hover over the centre to reveal the heads-up display.
08
The default light is set to Infinite Light, but there are Spot and Point options too. To
change the parameters, select the Infinite light in the 3D palette. In the Properties palette set
the Intensity to 90% and the Shadow Softness to about 22%. Point the light by moving the
Ball device in the heads up display. You can also move the light by clicking the shadow and
dragging in the canvas. Getting the light correct is essential, so take your time.
09
Digital art
Digital art
01
03
02
Digital art
04
Pen tool
Quick tip
06
05
07
start blending
08
add a
baCkground
Digital art
09
10
Select the Ellipse tool (U). Draw a circle and you will notice in the top header there are some
new options. Selecting a Fill, you can now choose from a number of options including Gradient and
Pattern straight away. Choose a bright gradient and then add a stroke.
001 002
003
001 |
choose a gradient
from the new top
header, then make it
linear with an angle
of around 166
002 |
try different options
like a radial gradient
or Diamond gradient.
You will find there is a
lot of potential with
this tool
003 |
11
Use a stroke
12
dashed line
13
Digital art
VeCtor shapes
QuiCk tip
14
16
18
seleCtiVe Colour
15
17
VeCtor shapes
As you
progress in
your work,
remember your
colour palette
is one of the
most important
tools you have
when creating
an illustration like this. With a free brief and a big
illustration, its always tempting to fly off and create a
piece with hundreds of colours. But really, an even
more exciting challenge is limiting yourself and being
more creative with a certain amount of colour. For this
piece, we have only used the core colours that you can
see in the triangle.
Digital art
19
Duplicate layers
20
Quick tip
21
create a texture
22
23
further curves
24
finish
Select the
layer on top of your
image and set it to
Overlay. You dont want
it to impede too much
on your illustration, so
take the Opacity right
down to around 34%.
Now well bring out the
background layer just a
little bit more. Use a
large soft-edged brush
on a new layer behind
the illustration, set it to
f2ead3, then go around
the laptop and make
the triangles a bit more
pink to add to the
original gradient.
digital art
Master
brushes in
PhotoshoP
01
Get started
02
03
add Base
colours
Digital art
Digital art
04
Paint in detail
05
Quick tip
06
07
08
edit the
backgroUnd
Digital art
Use the new PhotoshoP Cs6 BlUr gallery to enhanCe foCal Points
09
Download this vintage wallpaper image from http://lostandtaken.com/gallery. Copy and paste
the image into your artwork below the Painting layer. Use Free Transform to fit the document and angle it
slightly to make it more interesting. Lower the layers Opacity to 20%. Apply a Gaussian Blur of 5.5 pixels to
make it recede into the background.
001
002
003
10
Select luminoSity
001 |
002 |
11
003 |
12
13
Final toucheS
Digital art
Digital art
create
explosive
imagery
Achieve fAntAstic shAttering effects
using texture And filters
01
Tool selecTion
02
new paTh
Digital art
Quick tip
05
Magic selections
08
03
06
Break away
Both sides
Use this process of selecting and cutting out to crack the entire right
and left sides of the cherry. Leave the top and bottom parts of the cherry intact,
and be sure to cut out the tiny bits of the texture as well as the bigger areas.
09
04
load texture
07
cracking uP!
grouP layers
Now there should be lots of layers all stacked up in the Layers palette.
Select all of the layers containing the cracks by Shift-clicking on the first and last
ones, and then press Cmd/Ctrl+G to Group them together into a folder (not
applicable for Photoshop Elements). This will keep the palette nice and tidy.
Digital art
10
Shattering effect
13
11
eraSer tool
More ShardS
To increase the number of shards tearing away from the cherry, click
on the Group created earlier and press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it (in Elements,
Shift-click on all layers and go to Layer>Duplicate Layers). Select the Move tool,
untick Auto-Select. Move the Group above the cherry to see them all clearly.
14
12
adjuSt levelS
Turn on the Auto-Select again for the Move tool and click on one of the
shards; Photoshop will select its layer for you. Then choose the Eraser tool and
remove parts of each shard to make them look different from the first set.
15
With the second lot of shards edited, click on their Group in the Layers
palette and then press Cmd/Ctrl+T. Rotate slightly, shrink a little, and finally
move the entire Group back into position over the other shards of cherry.
Digital art
16
avoiding repetition
19
17
Smaller ShardS
duplicate Style
Ctrl/right-click over the layer and select Copy Layer Style. This layer
style can be applied to all layers by Shift-clicking on the first and last layer, and
then Ctrl/right-clicking and selecting Paste Layer Style. Repeat for all Groups.
20
18
drop ShadowS
clip adjuStment
To add more depth to the effect, apply a Levels Adjustment layer from
the option at the base of the Layers palette. Position this Adjustment just above
the third Group layer and then go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. This will link it
with the Group (in Elements, Merge layers first by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+E).
Digital art
Quick tip
21
Adjust LeveLs
23
Add movement
26
22
smArt FiLters
24
edit mAsk
outer gLow
Apply an Outer Glow layer style to this layer, setting its colour to black
and Blend Mode to Normal. Increase the Size to 70px and hit OK, and then set
Opacity to 100%. Use the Eraser tool to reshape the projectile if needed.
27
25
design projectiLe
Select the Smudge tool and set it to 60% Strength and turn on Sample
All Layers in the Options bar. Click on the layer containing the intact cherry and
then push the edges inwards where the projectile has entered and left.
Digital art
BEFORE
Digital art
COLLAGE
WITH CUSTOM
BRUSHES
BLEND PICTURES WITH CUSTOM BRUSHES FOR A FUN PHOTO COLLAGE
SOURCE FILES
AVAILABLE
Youll fine all the images you need to help
you with this step-by-step tutorial in the
disc provided with this bookazine.
01
02
Place Children with kitten.jpg on a new layer and name it Kids. Apply a mask and choose a
soft brush (B) at 80% Opacity. Set the Foreground hue in the Toolbar to black and paint away the parts
of the image you dont want to show.
Digital art
Quick tip
03
Our Kids layer is a little too dark, so lets lighten up the mood. Go to Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Levels and click OK. Adjustment layers affect everything below them, but we only want this to affect
the kids photograph. Opt/Alt-click between the two layers to clip the adjustment so it only affects them.
04
05
now add
The mapLe
Leaves To iT
Open the maple image
(stock.XCHNG). Use the
Quick Selection tool (W) to
click and drag on the
background to select it. If
you accidentally add part
of the leaves, Opt/Alt-click
to remove it. When
finished press Cmd/
Ctrl+Shift+I to invert.
06
exTracT The
LoTus
07
Digital art
08
Extract and add the second lotus in the same way, scaling it so it covers almost the whole
canvas. Name the layer Lotus 2 and set the blend mode to Overlay. Use a layer mask and paint on
the parts that cover the faces so that they show through.
09
INK SPLAT
BRUSH
10
HIDE AREAS
11
RESTORE AREAS
Digital art
Quick tip
13
12
Create a new layer and name it Cat Paws. Select the Cat Paws brush from the palette, set
your Foreground colour to purple and your Background colour to white, and then paint some paw
prints above the boys heads in your image.
wisPy edges
14
15
smart ObjeCt
stamP
Visible
16
gaussian
blur
Digital art
17
CUSTOM BRUSHES
Now to brighten the composition. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels and click OK.
Drag the white slider inwards to lighten the image. Use the layer mask to paint out some of the effect
if the change is too strong.
INK SPLAT
18
VIBRANCE
ADJUSTMENT
19
Go to Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Hue/Saturation and click OK. Tick Colorize,
set Hue to 225 and Saturation to 50. Mask out the
kids, kitten and flowers so that they retain their
natural colours.
SANDY GRIT
20
FRAME TO FINISH
CAT PAWS
WISPY MORNING
Digital art
BEFORE
Digital art
Create
photo art
Use the new erodible tips in Cs6 for an aUthentiC penCil drawing
01
Start photo
02
pencil preSetS
Select the Brush tool (B) and open up the preset menu found in the
top-left of the Options bar. Click the gear icon and select Pencil Brushes from the
list. Choose to append the presets to your current list and you will see several
new pencil-tip options.
Digital art
Quick tip
03
Workspace setup
04
pencil practice
002
003
004
005
001 |
the older pencil tips
are not as convincing
as the new ones in
cs6, but still
generate good
quality hand
drawing results.
002 |
create cheat sheets.
it is always a good
idea to experiment
with the different
brushes before
attempting to
illustrate anything
with them. Be sure to
label the presets for
your own reference.
003 |
004 |
005 |
Previous versions of
Photoshop dont have
the erodible tips, but
they do have dry
media Brushes as a
preset. these include
some charcoal and
graphite brushes.
Digital art
06
Background preparation
Quick tip
Fill the background layer with a parchment hue (like #c8c8c3) using the Paint Bucket tool (G).
Create a copy of the reference layer and move it to one side. Reduce the Opacity of the original layer to
about 15%. This will help align proportions.
07
Sketch work
08
09
BruSh preview
tighten FormS
Digital art
Quick tip
12
Midtone Madness
15
10
Moveable reference
13
PaPer rotation
little details
Add another layer for the other details. Use assorted tips to create the finer details of the image.
This should include things like the writing on the dog tag, the tips of the claws and the smaller eye details.
11
start dark
14
HigHligHts
16
toucH of colour
Digital art
17
Background texture
19
18
Background mask
Group all of the textured background layers together. Create a selection around the dog and invert
this. Now add a mask to the background texture group. This keeps the background texture from showing
through the dogs drawing layers. Clean up the mask with a simple brush.
colour enhancement
20
Final touch
Tweak the
contrast by adding a Levels
adjustment layer and
pulling the outside handle
inwards to meet the
histogram. Use the central
slider to darken or lighten
the drawing as needed.
Digital art
Digital art
DESIGN A
NEWSPAPER
DESIGNING A FAMILY NEWSPAPER IN PHOTOSHOP IS THE
PERFECT WAY TO TELL PEOPLE WHATS BEEN HAPPENING
01
BLANK DOCUMENT
02
CUSTOM RULERS
Digital art
Quick tip
05
08
page Furniture
03
06
Centred text
09
First story
04
set guides
07
image edges
10
First artiCle
Digital art
11
ANOTHER COLUMN
14
FAMILY PORTRAIT
12
PLACE IMAGE
15
PICTURE LOGO
13
MORE STORIES
16
AUTHENTIC TEXTURE
QUICK TIP
Digital art
use gradients to
enhance images
Say goodbye to ugly colour banding with cS6S new gradientS
digital art
01
Starting out
CS6S gradientS
001 |
002 |
02
003 |
CuStom Colour
002
003
03
gradient fill
04
my blue lady
05
Digital art
WarpeD
graDients
08
inside curve
11
FAciAl reconstruction
06
Adding style
09
shApe detAil
12
07
10
stAtuesque hAirstyle
The hair shape uses a similar Bevel and Emboss layer style as the headgear to create a curved
appearance. The crevices are created with simple brushstrokes on a single layer that is set to Multiply. That
layer is then duplicated, set to Screen and moved slightly left to create the effect as seen here.
Digital art
13
15
Folded cloth
18
starburst
14
Quick tip
16
Finished robe
19
background shading
17
20
Final touch
Digital art
Digital art
Before
Source fileS available
Youll find all the images you need to help you with this
step-by-step tutorial in the disc provided with this bookazine.
01
02
We want a happy image, so lets cheer up our model. Go to Filter>Liquify and use the Forward
Warp tool to carefully upturn her lips (if you mess up, hold Opt/Alt and the Cancel button will turn into
Reset). When youre happy with this adjustment, click OK.
Digital art
QUICK TIP
03
LAYER MASK
05
BRING IN THE DJ
07
HUE/SATURATION
Go to Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Hue/Saturation. Tick Colorize, then set Hue
to 42 and Saturation to 75. Since we dont want the
whole image colourised, paint out most of the top
and left-hand areas using the layer mask.
08
ENVELOPE TEXTURE
04
LIQUID PHOTO
06
LEVELS ADJUSTMENT
09
BUILD IT UP
Digital art
10
GLOWING EDGES
13
16
MULTIPLY TEXTURE
11
PAINT SPLATTER
14
COLOUR ADJUSTMENTS
17
12
PAPER SHARDS
15
BOOST CONTRAST
SCRIBBLES
QUICK TIP
186
Creative
projects
164 Get creative with Shapes
Creative projects
190
190
182
174
164
178
creative projects
get creative
with shapes
Use PhotoshoP to generate and integrate
shaPes to create dynamic illUstrations
01
03
02
add brightness
Creative projects
creative projects
04
Quick tip
Now that we have designed all of the forms that will be placed on our subject, group all the layers
of the drawing and apply a layer mask to reveal only the shapes you want. Give a slight relief to the whole
image by applying a drop shadow to each shape layer. The goal is to make the shapes look slightly raised to
give the effect of peeling skin. You can see in this screenshot that it has given our model a completely
new-looking skin. You can apply this technique to any photo.
05
06
07
displacement effects
08
adjust the
skins texture
Creative projects
09
Its time to create the background. On a new layer, take the Gradient tool, pick a grey colour and
then adjust the preset to obtain a gradient that matches the tones of the existing image. Change the layer
mode to Overlay and paste in a desaturated crumpled paper texture, dragging this over the gradient layer in
the palette stack. Duplicate your gradient, paste on a new layer above the texture, adjust the levels to lighten
and set the blend mode to Normal at 60% Opacity. Mask out where you dont want the effect.
10
additional shapes
11
12
general tonality
13
Creative projects
CREATE YOUR
OWN STOCK
Youll find all the images you need to help you with
this step-by-step tutorial in the disc provided with
this bookazine.
STEP AWAY FROM BASIC PHOTO EDITING AND CREATE YOUR OWN RESOURCES
Creative projects
CUSTOM BRUSHES
01
02
SELECTION TOOL
BEFORE
03
REMOVE OVERFLOW
04
REMOVE OVERFLOW
05
SAVE BRUSH
06
BRUSH PALETTE
Creative projects
QuiCk tip
09
Set colourS
Stamp bruSheS
07
Scatter SettingS
10
color DynamicS
08
Shape DynamicS
11
Creative projects
Make a pattern
01
photograph texture
03
Warp texture
06
adjust levels
04
07
define pattern
02
use guides
05
BalanCe lighting
08
pattern fill
Creative projects
CUSTOM SHAPES
01
OPEN IMAGE
03
QUICK TIP
QUICK OUTLINE
02
NEW PATH
04
EDIT SHAPE
05
Creative projects
Adobes bonus softwAre cAn help you find your stored imAges with eAse
Adobes Bridge software is supplied with Photoshop
and offers a very useful feature for finding images
on your computers hard drive. Open Bridge
whenever you decide to upload images from a
Preset Manager
001
003
002 |
003 |
004
004 |
002
Creative projects
Play with
dimensions
Before
Before
SourCe fileS available
Youll find all the images you need to help you with
this step-by-step tutorial in the disc provided with
this bookazine.
01
Zoom tool
02
Draw a path around the edges of the woman, dragging out curved lines to fit around any corners.
Press Opt/Alt over each point as you go and press Spacebar for the Hand tool so you can pan across your
image. Pressing Cmd/Ctrl activates the Direct Selection tool for tweaking each point as well.
Creative projects
Creative projects
Painting shadows
03
Modify selection
05
07
04
06
sMart objects
08
reMove PeoPle
09
hide foot
Creative projects
10
Magic selection
13
Warp shadoW
11
14
Boost contrast
12
drop shadoW
15
add Blur
A different sCene
QuiCk tip
Creative projects
BEFORE
creative projects
perfect selection
Quick tip
01
03
Refine Selection
06
02
04
07
05
Now we can save our selection. Navigate to the Channels palette (or go to Windows>
Channels if its not visible) and, with the selection still active, click the Save Selection as a Channel
button at the bottom of the palette. The selection is now saved.
creative projects
Quick tip
10
13
move armS up
08
11
14
09
Start warping
12
15
creative projects
16
RendeR out
18
17
Quick tip
Content-AwAre Fill
19
Clean up
20
puppet movements
use more points to make more tweaks and give the image a realistic feel
Right
Wrong
Creative projects
Creative projects
CREATE PLAYFUL
COMPOSITES
USE THE ADJUSTMENT LAYERS IN PHOTOSHOP CS6
TO MAKE CREATIVE EDITS TO YOUR IMAGES
BEFORE
BEFORE
01
CAMERA SETUP
03
02
THREE IN ONE
You will need three basic shots to start with. A shot of the cheeky reflection pose, a front shot
reaction pose and a blank shot to use of the mirror for merging the two together. Use a tripod if you have
one so the three shots align as closely as possible.
FRAME OUT
04
COOL THE
BACKGROUND
Add a Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer (Layer>New
Adjustment Layer>Hue/
Saturation). The selection turns
into a layer mask to restrict the
effect. Check the Colorize box
and use a blue tint to cool down
the background area.
Creative projects
05
FUN REFLECTION
06
SIDE BY SIDE
07
REFLECTION RETOUCHING
AUTO ALIGN
SIMPLE SELECTIONS
09
08
WHITER TEETH
MAKE A MASK
BRIGHT EYES
10
A WARMER TONE
Creative projects
11
BACK TO REALITY
14
MORE VIBRANT
17
12
15
COLOUR CO-ORDINATION
18
SHARPER REFLECTIONS
13
LIGHTEN UP
16
RESTRICTED HUES
19
FINAL EFFECT
Creative projects
Creative projects
EnhancE
with light
Youll find all the images you need to help you with
this step-by-step utorial in the disc provided along
with this bookazine.
the job. The beams are already laid out for us, so all
thats left to do is to add perspective and place them
to fit into the image. Its important to consider the
perspective and angle of the light rays, as they
should be slightly thicker closer to the ground to
show the effect of the light dispersing.
This photo of a woodland area available with
your supplied images was captured by Andreas
Krappweis www.sxc.hu/profile/Krappweis. Try
applying this effect on your own landscape images
to see what kind of atmosphere you can create.
Load your first gradient preset and begin to buiLd the sunbeams
01
02
BefOre
LOad presets
Select the Gradient tool (G) and click on the Gradient Editor in the top Options bar. The tools
presets are shown at the top of the menu. Open the Color Harmonies 2 preset from the drop-down list by
pressing the cog icon just above the thumbnails.
creative projects
Quick tip
03
Place a gradient
05
Hazy effects
07
04
aPPly PersPective
06
08
09
Creative projects
10
13
11
MORE RAYS
14
PAINT ON LIGHT
12
15
INNER SHADOW
MATCHING RAYS
Wrong
QUICK TIP
Right
The Photoshop CS6 Book 189
Creative projects
MAKE CLEVER
COMPOSITIONS
LEARN HOW TO CREATE PERSONALISED POSTAGE STAMPS WITH PHOTOS
SOURCE FILES AVAILABLE
Youll find all the images you need to perform
this step-by-step tutorial in the disc attached
with this bookazine.
Creative projects
QuiCk tip
01
03
02
a thick bordEr
04
staMping cutouts
06
05
MorE canvas
and bordEr
Creative projects
QuiCk tip
07
Align to guides
09
08
10
creAte A PostMArk
11
destinAtion info
12
PostMArk detAils
13
Creative projects
14
CONVINCING TEXTURE
15
FINISHING TOUCHES
Add some adjustment layers such as Photo Filter, Channel Mixer and
Curves to fine-tune the colour and tones. Add a Drop Shadow layer style to the
stamp border layer for a nice 3D effect and consider removing the Stroke styles
on the layers for more integration.
CHANGE THE LOOK OF THE STAMP AND USE YOUR FAVOURITE SNAPSHOT
This straightforward design is not the only kind of stamp you can make using these
techniques. Experiment with fonts, positioning, composition and details for a great look.
Add some imperfections to make it even more convincing using Gaussian blur and erasers.
VINTAGE LOOK
Creating a classic look for a stamp is simple with a combination of filters, pattern fill and
colour fill layers. A rough brush on a mask can give a look similar to sketched images and the
Add Noise filter at 20% will give an old-fashioned feel. Borders can add a great touch too.
Sometimes a bit of minimalism is nice, especially on practical designs. Give the stamp a
painterly look by merging the photo and text layers, and using Filter>Oil Paint with a boost of
Edit>Fade to bring back detail. Simple effects can often give an image just the right touch.
SKETCH IT OUT
Creating line art out of photos is a useful technique for many graphic designers and can be
done using the Smart Blur filter set to Edge Only mode, Quality to High and then inverting the
image. The Filter Gallery has the Artistic filters Poster Edges and Cutout also add to the look.
Creative projects
SOURCE FILES
AVAILABLE
Youll find all the images
you need to perform this
step-by-step tutorial in
the disc attached to
this bookazine.
BEFORE
RECREATE THE
PINHOLE EFFECT
RECREATE A TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE WITH LAYERS AND FILTERS
Creative projects
Combine effeCts
01
04
make it monochrome
07
reveal subject
02
Fill black
05
aPPly distortion
08
03
blur vignette
06
Zoom blurring
add noise
Create a new
blank layer above the
Background Copy. Press
Opt/Alt+Backspace to fill
with black and then set its
blend mode to Screen. Go
to Filter>Noise>
Add Noise and set
Amount to 35%, tick
Monochromatic and set
Distribution to Uniform.
Hit OK and youre finished.
Creative projects
Learn how to use the outstanding new videoediting features found in PhotoshoP Cs6
creative projects
01
02
03
creative projects
04
Quick tip
Clip2 is darker than Clip1, so to correct this use a Levels adjustment only on Clip2. Click on Clip2 in
the Layers panel and then on the Levels icon in the Adjustment panel. The adjustment layer will be clipped to
the video layer. After adjusting the levels, import the texture file from sxc.hu (image number 1372199) to
use as a background. Scale this to cover the entire canvas, and make sure the layer is below the Video Group.
05
06
splatter away
07
08
09
Freeze a Frame
Creative projects
10
11
video Groups
12
video filter
13
14
backgroUnd mUsic
15
Creative projects
build motion
graphics
T
Discover how to use new viDeo features in
PhotoshoP cs6 to create a futuristic animateD Gif
01
First step
03
02
Your video has 24 frames, which means its one second long. Reduce the length of all layers to
one sec. Find MOHAWK in the Timeline, unhide the content and select the layer called Mohawk Glow.
Activate the timer icon next to Opacity to enable keyframe animation. Move Playhead to 12f, change the
layer Opacity to 100%, move Playhead to Frame 23 and reduce the Opacity back to 50%.
Creative projects
creative projects
04
Quick tip
Select the right_eye layer. Move Playhead to 12f, enable Keyframe for Position and move
Playhead to 23f. Make sure this layer is still active in the Layers Window, then move it in your work area to
the left, from side to side of an eye. Go back to 12f, activate Opacity and reduce this to 30%. Move Playhead
to 18f and change the Opacity back to 100%. Go to 23f and reduce it back to 30%. Repeat for the other eye.
05
06
07
08
09
creative projects
Flashing lights
Precise animations
10
Scanline
Create a rectangle shape on top of all layers in the ANIMATION group and title it Scan1. Make it
solid white with 10% Opacity then Cmd/Ctrl-click>Layer>Rasterize Layer. Next, move it to the top, outside of
your work area. Enable Keyframe for Position, move Playhead to 23f and move your rectangle to the
bottom, also outside of the work area of illustration. It will guarantee you smooth movement for this
element and nothing will appear randomly on the screen.
Not everything
can be animated
in the new video
timeline with
CS6 features.
If you want to
mix stop motion
elements in your
footage you have
to create certain
elements manually, step by step. Use different opacities
to compare your progress and adjust positions of your
frames. The human eye can see smooth images when
they are not slower than 24 frames per second, you
have to remember this rule. If you leave gaps between
animated elements you may lose a consistent flow in
your animation.
11
FlaShing lightS
12
add in blinking
13
14
Creative projects
BEFORE
MASTER
INVISIBLE
SELECTIONS
GET TO GRIPS WITH PHOTOSHOPS CONTENT
AWARE FEATURE TO MAKE A PERSON VANISH!
creative projects
master content-aware
01
04
02
clone to Fix
Quick tip
05
03
06
clean up operation
On the sleeves layer add a new Layer Mask via the tab at the bottom of the Layers palette.
Decrease the layers opacity temporarily and use a black Brush (B) to clean up the edges of the sleeve.
Reposition and duplicate the layer, if needed, to create a realistic edge.
Creative projects
QuiCk tip
09
Filling in
08
12
07
10
Bring in a COllar
11
layer masking
COnstruCt shirt
13
Build COllar
14
Creative projects
15
18
16
19
PatienCe is PReCision!
crop away
Wrong
17
a broader view
20
a final flourish
Right
tri Spe
al ci
of al
fe
r
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Advanced Photoshop
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Professional techniques
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