New Browser Based Image Editor
By | April 30, 2009
I was looking for an online image editor for a client and came across a program called Aviary.
Edit images, create mind-blowing effects, design logos, find colors, collaborate, and more. All you need is a web browser. Try it now for free!
Very good http://aviary.com
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Special effects using Photoshop warp.
By | April 16, 2009
Photoshop CS2 adds a new transformation type to the Edit > Transform menu called Warp.
With the new Warp command you can transform layers into a variety of predefined shapes, or use the custom option to push and pull your image around according to an invisible grid.
All this works right in the document window, so you don’t need to learn a new dialog box like you do for the Liquefy command. The Warp options are similar to those found in the type tool — arc, arch, bulge, shell, flag, fish, wave, rise, fisheye, inflate, squeeze, and twist.
In Adobe’s example, you can see how a layer was warped to fit a can. Layer masks and the multiply blend mode make the transformation appear even more seamless.Here is one I did using warp.
Have a play and have fun. A great tutorial can be found here.
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Free T Shirt PSD Photoshop file
By | March 21, 2009
Lots of times we need something like this shirt file to show a customer etc. Here is a free copy of this T Shirt in psd format so you can make your own.
Download the free Psd File Here.
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Using Artisteer 2 to Create great Wordpress Themes
By | March 19, 2009
Artisteer 2 Allows you full control over your wordpress themes. Watch the video then head over to their site for more info.
Click here to view the embedded video.
If you want more great training come visit me at The Internet Marketers Club
enjoy
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Using Wordpress in Camtasia for online videos.
By | March 13, 2009
With the proliferation of web videos, it would appear that many have no shame producing and distributing crappy videos. While if this is a video of your dog Charlie catching a frisbee while jumping off the dock at the lake, that is one thing.
But if this video is a business video that is promoting, demonstrating, or giving a tutorial on how to use your product, that is entirely a different matter. From the viewers prospective if you don’t care about using a crappy demonstration video why would your attitude when you created your product or service be any different. If you as a business are providing a quality product or service then tell the world about it in with videos…but do it right! By just implementing a few production details, you too can create high quality web videos.
If you would like an ebook over view of the system Click Here.
There is a man from Wisconsin, a former Microsoft Techie, who has begun a crusade to rid the web of crappy videos. Lon Naylor shows you (with videos of course) exactly what you need to do in order to create Camtasia videos that will make your business product or service shine. In a step by step system he calls “Ace the Audio”, he shows you the techniques that can turn a bumbling and stumbling video narration into something that sounds like it was recorded at a production studio. In this twelve part module, Lon breaks it down into simple lessons, skillfully demonstrated in video form, exactly how to produce a studio quality narration for your videos. Did I mention for a limited time, Lon is giving you access to this video completely free! - Click Here for Details
In the members area of his site, Lon takes you through a total of nine different modules each done in the same format as “Ace the Audio”. Starting with a fantastic video overview tutorial, Lon takes you step by step with modules like Video Strategies, Creating Killer Screencast Videos, Planning and Preparing Your Video, Recording Your Videos, Editing Your Videos, as well as a Module on Video Production.
Before you put another crappy video up you owe it to your business to discover how with a few simple techniques you can make your videos look like high quality video productions. Your business’s image is at stake. Learn how simple it is to project a video image that matches the high quality of your business’s products and services.
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20 free business images!
By | March 12, 2009
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Free Clipart and images
By | March 12, 2009
OK, Here’s a list of sites with beau coup copyright free images, clipart and more. 100,000’s available for nada, nothing, zilch.
Archival Art presents classic victorian artwork
TP: Images of American Political History
Liam’s Pictures from Old Books
The Newgate Calendar - List of Illustrations
PicFindr: Free stock photo and image search
http://www.pdphoto.org/PictureHome.p…at=pdef&md=cid
Antique Clipart - Free Public Domain Clipart
and don’t forget the free images and clipart available from Microsoft office here.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
150,000 total free for use.
There’s many more sites but these should keep you busy for awhile.
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Fix Underexposed Photos
By | March 12, 2009
Here’s a great video video tutorial, which shows you how to fix underexposed photos - incredibly useful to know.
Just click the play button to watch…
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Create your own Photoshop Actions
By | March 12, 2009
Looking at how powerful Photoshop can be in terms of photo editing, it’s probably not important if you suck at taking photographs or being labeled an amateur photographer. As long as you pick up a couple of Photoshop photo editing skills, it will still impress those who see it.
Once you have mastered some techniques then you can make an action to replicate it at any time.
Photoshop actions are the best — they save time and make you more productive during post-processing. They can be used to speed up repetitive tasks, make quick work of time consuming edits, and give you a little creative inspiration.
So let’s get to it — open up Photoshop and follow along!
1. FIND YOUR ACTIONS PALETTE
Before you can do anything, you need to have the right tools in front of you. Make sure that your actions palette is activated and visible. It typically shows up as a tab on the history palette, but this may vary depending on your workspace.
If your actions palette is nowhere to be found, you can activate it under the “Window” menu. Once you do this, you should see a palette similar to the one in this photo. If you don’t have any actions defined yet, you’ll probably just see the “Default Actions” set.
Sets are a way to group actions as you see fit. To create a new set, pull down the palette menu and click “New Set…”. Give your new set a descriptive name. Also note that when you import and export actions, it’s the whole set rather than a single action.
2. CREATE A NEW ACTION
OK, you’ve got some sequence of events you want to record and you’re ready to start the action. As an example, I’ll walk through my “Flickr Horizontal” action that I mentioned in the teaser post.
Before we can begin recording the action, we’ll need to create the action. Pull down the action menu and click on “New Action…”. Give it a name and a keyboard shortcut if you want. Now we have a new empty action that we can record to.
3. BEGIN RECORDING THE ACTION
To begin recording the action, simply select your action in the palette and click on the “Record” icon in the lower action menu or select “Start Recording” from the pull-down menu. Once you click this button, every event you perform will be recorded. This includes menu items, adjustments, layer selections, and any of the Photoshop tools.
There’s no need to hurry through your sequence of events, because the action is not time based. If you’re not doing something to the image, it won’t be recorded. So take your time and get it right.
4. DO YOUR STUFF
Now do whatever it is that you wanted to do. Perform all the tasks, clicks, option settings, and image adjustments that you want included in your action.
If you mess something up or if you accidentally skip a step — don’t worry. After recording the action you can go back and edit the steps, add steps, and re-record steps.
5. COMPLETE THE ACTION
So once you’re done with the sequence, its time to stop the action. Just press the “Stop” button at the bottom of the action palette and Photoshop will stop recording.
For some actions, this is the end of the road. But many of my actions are set to require input from the user at specific points along the way.
6. TEST AND REFINE
I usually don’t get my actions right the first time around unless they’re extremely simple. I find that if I run a few different Photoshop files through the action, I usually uncover some mistakes or find the need to insert additional steps to ensure the action runs smoothly. If you find a mistake with one of your steps, just select that step and “Record Again” (via the pull-down menu). Or if you want to re-order some steps, just drag them up or down the list until they land where you want them.
I’ve also noted a few quirks about running actions, such as error messages that can occur if something is not possible to complete. Or the fact that working with multiple files, renaming layers, and selecting layers are cumbersome tasks with actions because Photoshop is looking for specific file names or layer names each time the action is run.
For complex actions, what you’ll end up with are a few extra steps that ensure a robust action that can handle many different files. But hey, it’s an action — who cares?
IDEAS FOR ACTIONS
So… I think that covers the basics of how to create an action in Photoshop. If I missed something or if I didn’t explain something well enough, let me know and we can follow-up in the comments.
These action things are great, but what can you do with them? It can be hard to think of those repetitive tasks when you’re not performing them, so I’ll share a few of my action needs. I would say that my actions are grouped into three main categories: administrative tasks, specific tasks, and creative boosts. Here are a few of the actions in my arsenal.
ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS
These are things that will drive you nuts because they’re no fun at all. Like every time you want to save a JPEG or TIFF file. Or every time you want to downsize for Flickr or email. I use actions to speed up the process and prevent me from making mistakes.
* Resizing and saving for specific destinations
* Basic adjustment layer setups
* Converting color space and bit depth
SPECIFIC TASKS
Actions are good for little items that consist of a few steps. By using an action, it not only bypasses the need to click on menus or type keyboard shortcuts, but it also allows you to set default values that you commonly use.
So all you Photoshop gurus out there, pipe up and give us more examples of what can be done with these things. What are some of your most useful actions that you couldn’t live without?
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A photoshop banana studio shot!
By | March 12, 2009
This tutorial shows a quick way to take your normal, boring product shot and make it look more professional and elegant. This isn’t a new trick, but it’s a really quick process with Photoshop.
Open your image. I started with this photo of a banana. I masked out the banana and slightly rotated it.
Behind my banana layer, I added a Gradient Adjustment Layer. Adjust the colors to something yellowish, or whatever color you want, and fading to black.
Set the Gradient Adjustment Layer to Style: Radial. I increased the scale to fit my banana better.
Make a rectangular selection on the lower 1/3 of your image. Add a new Solid Color Adjustment Layer under the banana layer and above the Gradient layer. Fill it with black.
Select your banana layer and press [Ctrl + J] to duplicate it. Select your lower, original banana layer and press [Ctrl + T] to bring up the free-transform. Right-click on your bounding box, and choose “Flip Vertical”.
Drag your new, flipped layer down, so that the bottom of the top layer, matches the top of the bottom layer. Confused? Picture:
Click on the Add Layer Mask button on your Layers Palette or go [Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All]. Select the Gradient Fill Tool [G] and select your default colors [D]. With your Layer Mask selected, drag your Gradient from top to bottom until you get a nice reflective effect.
And that’s pretty much it. I explained it out in this tutorial, but it’s a few quick steps for a nice effect.
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