I'm a fan of creating web page mockups in Photoshop before creating the actual pages in a site-building program. Photoshop Lab offers some useful tips for mocking up a web page in Photoshop. The post includes instructions for creating design elements in Photoshop like dotted and dashed underlines. It shows how to clip Color Fill layers to content layers to color individual elements on a page mockup. And it offers a technique for creating an image placeholder using clipping groups.Tips for mocking up a web page in Photoshop
I'm a fan of creating web page mockups in Photoshop before creating the actual pages in a site-building program. Photoshop Lab offers some useful tips for mocking up a web page in Photoshop. The post includes instructions for creating design elements in Photoshop like dotted and dashed underlines. It shows how to clip Color Fill layers to content layers to color individual elements on a page mockup. And it offers a technique for creating an image placeholder using clipping groups.iStockphoto Screen Saver 1.5 beta
I know we're a little behind on this one, but I thought I'd give it a shot in the hopes that I'm not the only one: iStockphoto has re-released their screen saver for both Mac OS X and Windows in a 1.5 beta version. The screen saver displays previous Free Images of the Week, as well as the latest front page blog post.The screen saver can be had from iStockphoto's downloads page, though on my Intel-based MacBook Pro I received an error from the Screen Saver Preference Pane stating that this screen saver couldn't be run - which leads me to wonder if it isn't Intel-ready yet.
Either way, it at least sounds like a handy screen saver to help quench your iStockphoto obsession; anyone have any thoughts on this new version?
Pixel Groovy - digg.com for design tutorials
Sites like digg.com and the new Netscape beta (from some of our own here at Weblogs Inc.) are doing great things for the world of social news and bookmarking, but if you're looking for something a little more in tune with the designer in you, point your clicks towards Pixel Groovy. This site brings the social bookmarking and voting (or: 'grooving') paradigm to the world of design, with categories for everything ranging from web developing languages, design applications like Photoshop and GIMP, and even 3D and video editing apps like Final Cut and 3D Studio Max. It looks like a fun addition to the design community that's just getting its foot in the door, so give it a look and start grooving for design sites and tutorials.O'Reilly Network debutes 'Inside Adobe Lightroom' site
The O'Reilly Network has taken the wraps off of Inside Adobe Lightroom, a new site featuring articles, a blog and a podcast covering Adobe's professional photo management app. Tips on color correction, adding music to slideshows, how to migrate images from iPhoto and more are all on the menu, so swing by and find out how much you really didn't know about Lightroom.[via Daring Fireball]
John Nack posts concise analysis of software features vs. leanness
John Nack has written a very interesting analysis of what could be summarized as 'the state of large software suites'. In it, John presents some of the issues and arguments against large software suites that are designed for a wide variety of audiences (what some people now refer to as 'bloatware'), but also succinctly explains why this situation exists and describes what he calls a "Contract with the Customer"; a sort of public statement that they're making sure their software remains usable and understandable while at the same time adding layers of functionality that some users are demanding.
John brings up a lot of the issues that I've wanted to for some time now, especially in regards to this movement of minimalist software. It seems like these über-stripped down software and services, such as the popular Backpack (of which I am a user myself), are in direct response to consumer confusion and backlash of this aforementioned bloatware. What is interesting about these anorexic services is that, once you peruse their forums, you find that a significant body of users have their two cents on the one or two 'necessary' features that are missing. If a good number of these avenues are explored, software ends up right back where it started: as a larger suite, offering something for everyone. John's statement is that this isn't necessarily a bad thing; that as long as software and service providers simply think critically about how their software is structured and designed, everyone can enjoy their products without feeling put off, overloaded or knocked back down the learning curve ladder.
Kudos John, you hit it right on the head.
More before/after pics of Photoshop's power
I came across another portfolio site that offers some before and after images exhibiting the power of Photoshop (mouse over the images to see the magic). What I like about this page is its author, Greg Apodaca, has presented a nice range of imagery, from model photography to product re-touching and image compositing. A few of his images include a clever re-creation of Photoshop's layers palette, and mousing over each layer will deconstruct the image to that particular element. Nice.Photoshop CS2 update (9.0.1) available
Adobe has released an update for Photoshop CS2 that John Nack humorously equates to "detention in high school"; or rather, "a kind of penalty box that keeps you away from what you really want to be doing".Specifically, this update fixes a wide array of odd bugs and quirks, so here's the rundown from Mr. Nack's post:
- After editing an image in Photoshop CS2 via Acrobat Touchup, the image no longer gets re-positioned.
- Photoshop no longer hangs for several seconds when using painting tools with quick strokes.
- A program error that could appear when mousing over high res doc with Brush Tool has been fixed.
- Documents containing a large number of text layers now open more quickly.
- An error that could cause a crash on Mac when launching, or when opening or saving a file, has been addressed.
- Problems related to palettes on Windows (slow redraw, palettes go white, possible crash) have been addressed.
- TIFF files from certain scanners can now be opened correctly.
- XMP metadata from AI & PDF files is now retained in Photoshop.
- Slow performance when toggling layer visibility has been fixed.
- Info palette numbers now display and update when moving a curve point in Curves via the cursor keys.
- Problems opening certain TIFF and PSB files greater than 2GB in size have been resolved.
- The Merge to HDR command now functions properly when using high-ASCII characters in user login.
Catching up with Ben
Adobe's Jeff Tranberry caught up with
Photoshop guru Ben Willmore on the big bus that's now Ben's home. In this
short interview with Jeff, Ben reveals:- his favorite Photoshop feature -- Smart Objects, which are new to Photoshop CS2;
- his vote for the least understood Photoshop feature -- what else but color management; and
- a list of the most
under-utilized Photoshop features -- hiding menu commands to simplify the interface, variables, the Color Replacement
tool, and the Background Eraser (one of my own favorites for selecting and deleting in one step).
Photoshop Illustrator = Photostrator?
Mordy Golding, at Real World Illustrator, has
posted an interesting response to a question from a reader about whether Adobe will ever combine Illustrator and
Photoshop into one vector raster application. Mordy, who used to be an Illustrator bigwig at Adobe (sorry Mordy--I
don't remember your title) says the answer is no. If you're interested in why "Photostrator" doesn't make
sense from a business, technical, or user perspective, check out Mordy's thoughtful
reasoning.Photoshopped composite of Brangelina family could be worth big bucks
You may be surprised at the
lengths paparazzi will go to get one of the first "photos" of Brad and Angela's expected baby. According to
New York Magazine, an early photo of the
Brangelina baby could fetch as much as $50,000, so there's lots of incentive for paparazzi to be first on the scene.
But things may not be as they appear. This image, published in the New York Magazine article, isn't the real thing. "Angelina" is a computer composite, and her hubby is an actor playing the real Brad. Hmm, don't you wonder how much a Photoshopped image like this one might go for?
[via Blogging Baby]
Adobe creates a Nonprofit team and blog, hints at new pricing program
Boy, these Adobe guys sure know how to bait: check out the inaugural post at Nonprofit @ Adobe. It sounds like the company has put together a Nonprofit Team that will be offering eSeminars, a nonprofit pricing program and the obligatory software tips and tricks.
That one post is all we get for now though. If you have anything to do with the worlds of nonprofit and design, I think Adobe just gave you something else to bookmark.
Reminder: Photoshop SDK is free
A
year ago or so, Adobe removed the charge for the Photoshop SDK (Software Development Kit), offering it for free per
request at a web form. John Nack
blogged this the other day, also mentioning that they haven't gotten the word out very well so I thought I'd lend a
hand.In addition to offering Photoshop's SDK for free, they also offer Basic and
So now you've just lost a very large excuse for procrastinating on that killer plugin you've been scribbling notes about on bar napkins. In addition to the web form you can fill out, you can also obtain some user-to-user help in a forum covering all things Photoshop SDK.
The Be Aware series
For a while now, the Be a Design
Group Blog has been producing fantastic posts under a series called Be Aware. While not Photoshop-centric by any means,
the series collects bits and pieces of knowledge from various designers that cover a wide gamut of general design
topics touching on everything from software and business tips, discussions on ideals, typography and a whole lot more.
The series is up to its 17th post, so you'd better get crackin' if you plan on traveling down the path of the accomplished design ninja.
Thomas and Ruth Knoll on Photoshop Soup2Nuts conference
Photoshopsupport.com features an
interview with
Thomas Knoll, co-creator of Photoshop, and Ruth Knoll. Much of the interview concerns the third annual Photoshop Soup2Nuts conference, scheduled for June 23-24, 2006 in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. The mission of the Soup2Nuts conference is to raise funds for digital imaging education and technical training for those who are economically limited. It features workshops and presentations by Photoshop and digital photography experts, including Ben Willmore, Bruce Fraser, Doug Elbinger, James Partridge, Jeff Schewe, Katrin Eismann, Scott Kelby and Seth Resnick. Attendees will also have the rare opportunity to talk with Adobe's Thomas Knoll, Marc Pawlinger, and David Story.
Ben Willmore gets ready to hit the road
Photoshop guru Ben Willmore has sold his house in
Colorado, bought a motorcoach, and is about to begin his nomadic lifestyle. He'll be traveling from gig to gig shooting
photographs, and living on his bus. Ben's first trip is to Photoshop World in Miami this month. Ben spells out the
reasons he's trading a relatively conventional lifestyle for the open road on his blog. It sure does sound tempting. Safe
and happy travels Ben.
