Photoshop Guru

Free PSD Kit For Easier Website Wireframing

2010-03-10T22:17:00.000+05:30

Fuel Your Interface, a blog focused on UI design, is presenting a free web-design UI wireframe kit.
The kit comes as a .PSD file which is completely built with shape objects (in some cases converted into SmartObjects).
It includes the most frequently web design objects like buttons, forms, pagination, tabs, breadcrumbs & much more.

Website: http://www.fuelyourinterface.com/free-web-ui-wirefra...

Topaz ReMask 1.0.2 Photoshop Plug-in

2009-10-21T20:01:00.000+05:30

Topaz ReMask 1.0.2 Photoshop Plug-in (32-bit)

Photoshop AddOn for cutting background from photos

Lightning-Fast Masking and Extraction
Topaz ReMask is simply the fastest way to create detailed masks from images.
Topaz ReMask is specifically engineered to supercharge the masking and extraction workflow for photographers and designers within Photoshop. Other masking tools - both within Photoshop and other third party filters - require intricate brushing, sampling, and refining for a detailed mask. Topaz ReMask, on the other hand, does all the heavy lifting while requiring a minimum of user input.

81 Social Bookmarking Icons In Various Sizes

2009-09-17T09:12:00.000+05:30

Benjamin Reid is sharing a set of 81 social bookmarking icons named Social Media Bookmark Icon + where it is possible to find almost every social network.
The "+" in the name refers to the continuous additions being made to the set upon user requests.

They come in 3 different sizes:

16*16px
32*32px
122*42px (large buttons)

And, all icons are in PNG format.

Website: http://www.nouveller.com/general/free-social-media-b...

Web 2.0 Gradients For Photoshop

2009-08-15T22:09:00.000+05:30

Web 2.0 Gradients For Photoshop
8 GRD Files | Preview | 7 Mb | RS & DF

Download:
Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/264770792/GradientWeb20.rar
Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/bkgtsemt9

Electric Rain Swift 3D PS v1.0.134

2009-07-19T11:29:00.000+05:30

Electric Rain Swift 3D PS v1.0.134
Photoshop Plugin | 47 Mb | RS & DF

Plug Into Your Creative Layer With Swift 3D PS
Swift 3D PS is a fun and easy-to-use Photoshop plug-in that will have you exploring entirely new hemispheres of Photoshop CS4 Extended. It accomplishes simple 3D tasks in seconds with remarkable results and places your 3D text, extrusions or models back into Photoshop as 3D layers. These layers remain fully editable by Swift 3D PS, even after Photoshop's array of layer styles and filters are applied. Swift 3D PS offers the same powerful capabilities of our standalone product, but works within the confines of the Photoshop environment.
More info:
http://www.erain.com/products/PS/

Download:

Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/257375473/Electric_Rain_Swift_3D_PS.rar

Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/nb606qulb

Dusk Photoshop Brushes ABR

2009-07-16T09:46:00.000+05:30

Dusk Photoshop Brushes ABR
1 ABR | 15 Brushes | Jpeg | 5 Mb RAR | RS & DF

Download:

Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/256087915/Dusk_Photoshop_Brushes.rar

Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/1yyebazzv

Digital Tools 55mm v7.5.5 for Photoshop CS

2009-07-15T23:51:00.000+05:30

55mm is the definitive set of digital optical filters meant to simulate popular glass camera filters, specialized lenses, optical lab processes, film grain, exacting color correction as well as natural light and photographic effects–all in a controlled digital environment with either 8 or 16 bits per channel processing.

Download :

Download From Rapidshare

OR
Download From Easy-Share

Brush Set for Photoshop

2009-07-13T23:17:00.000+05:30

Brush Set for Photoshop
36 ABR Files | 72 Mb| RS & DF

Download:

Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/253071077/Monster_Brush_Set.rar

Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/l2q9evubz

200 Selected Designer Fonts

2009-07-13T22:48:00.000+05:30

200 Selected Designer Fonts
200 Fonts | TTF | 18 Mb | RS & DF

Download:

Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/255000661/200_Selected_Designer_Fonts.rar

Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/lqbkhopl5

Creative Photoshop CS4 Art Techniques and Digital Illustration

2009-07-07T20:16:00.000+05:30

Creative Photoshop CS4
Digital Illustration & Art Techniques
PDF | English | 424 Pag | 55 Mb | RS & DF
Focal Press (April 10, 2009)

Download:
Rapidshare | Depositfiles

Plugin Suite 4 OnOne

2009-07-07T20:12:00.000+05:30

Plugin Suite 4 OnOne [All 2008]
(separate downloads from Rapidshare)

Download from Rapidshare:

Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro
PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition
Mask Pro 4.1
PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition
PhotoTune 2.2
FocalPoint 1.0
Intellihance Pro 4.2.1

CoverAction Pro for Adobe Photoshop Full - WIN/MAC

2009-07-07T20:06:00.000+05:30

CoverAction Pro for Adobe Photoshop Full - WIN/MAC
File Compressed 02 x 97.6MB + 41.48MB

CoverAction Pro™ lets you create high-definition eBook covers in just minutes, when used with Adobe Photoshop®. With its unsurpassed eBook cover quality at 300 dpi, CoverAction Pro™the newest software from master designer Mark Monciardini—far exceeds the competition (if you can call it that!). Developed by graphic designers with over two decades of experience, this brand new software program makes it possible for publishers and graphic artists to show their eBook covers with confidence, whether online or as actual printouts.

Download:

Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/252967216/CAProPSWinMac.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/252959449/CAProPSWinMac.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/252952026/CAProPSWinMac.part3.rar

Depositfiles:
http://depositfiles.com/files/q2fwgcfka
http://depositfiles.com/files/mnlfz06ry
http://depositfiles.com/files/au52wu29q

American PHOTO May June 2009

2009-06-23T22:12:00.000+05:30

Free Buttons In PSD: Button-Download.com

2009-05-06T22:02:00.000+05:30

Button-Download.com is presenting free buttons with different designs in PSD format (PNG file exists too).
Currently there are 20 of them & they are great for inspiration or being used directly. Besides downloading the buttons one-by-one, a full-download link is also offered.

Website: http://button-download.com/

20+ Cheat Sheets Handy For Designers

2009-05-06T21:58:00.000+05:30

Mastering frequently used applications increases the productivity significantly.
Controlling these applications via keyboard is a part of this "mastering process" which helps you use an application with 2 hands = much faster.
Also, knowing the tricks of tools inside these products definitely opens new doors for creating.
Specifically for designers, here is a list of cheat sheets for the most popular applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, Gimp, Fireworks & more..

Photoshop CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are very well organized, both by menu & alphabetically.
Also, shortcut presets that add lots of extra shortcuts are provided too.
Keyboard shortcuts for previous Photoshop versions:

Photoshop Black And White Cheat Sheet

There are many different way & settings for converting images to black and white with Photoshop.
This is a Photoshop file presenting different filters/presets. Just update 1 file & see the various outputs.

Photoshop Brush Tool Cheat Sheet

A compact & helpful guide on Photoshop’s brush tool.

Photoshop Lasso Tool Cheat Sheet

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

For the previous versions of Illustrator:

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)
Adobe Illustrator CS2 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

Adobe InDesign CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

For the previous versions of InDesign:

Adobe InDesign CS3 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)
Adobe InDesign CS2 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

QuarkXPress 8 Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

For the previous versions of QuarkXpress:

Adobe QuarkXPress 7 Shortcuts (Mac - PC)

Adobe Pen Tool Cheat Sheet

The Adobe pen tool works similar in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Tips & tricks on using this powerful tool.

Gimp Keyboard Shortcuts (direct link to PDF file)

And more on Gimp:

Gimp Quick Reference Card (direct link to PDF file)
Gimp hotkeys on Linux
Photoshop-ish Keyboard Shortcuts for The Gimp 2.2

Fireworks CS3 Quick Reference (Mac - PC / direct link to PDF file )

Quick references for previous Fireworks versions:

Fireworks MX quick reference (Mac - PC)
Fireworks 4 quick reference (Mac - PC)

Freehand MX, 3D Studio Max, Illustrator & More Shortcuts

Computer Arts presents keyboard shortcuts for Freehand MX, 3D Studio Max, Illustrator, InDesign & Photoshop.

3D Studio Max 9 Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts for previous versions of 3D Studio Max:

3D Studio Max 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

Adobe Bridge And Camera Raw 3 Shortcuts

Final Cut Pro 5 For Mac Shortcuts

Preview Photoshop Brushes Easily: ABRView

2009-04-26T01:18:00.000+05:30

For any designer with significant amount of Photoshop brushes installed, it is always a pain to navigate through the brushes & find the one you need.
ABRView is a free software that makes this process much easier. It allows you to define the folder(s) where brushes are installed & preview them.

Also, once you download a brush, although you have an opinion on how it looks, you can not be sure until installing it, running Photoshop & checking the look from the brush palette. As ABRView can display brushes from any folder, you simply save time on seeing how they look.
It has an .exe version for Windows & .jar version for Mac & Linux.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac & Linux

Website: http://www.easyelements.com/abrview.html

Vista Style Nav Bar

2009-03-18T00:06:00.001+05:30

Create a navigation bar with a unique Vista Style

1. Start by opening a new file: 500px * 50px
2. Make a 480px * 30px selection

3. Go to Select -> Modify -> Smooth and apply a 2px radio

4. Create a new layer(Shift+Ctrl+N or Layer -> New -> Layer) and fill the selection with any color
5.Now apply this layer styles: - Gradient: #313332 to #46474a

- Stroke: #676767

6. Select the top middle part of your nav bar

7. Create a new layer and make a White to Transparent gradient from top to bottom

8. Set layer’s blend mode to Linear Dodge and opacity to 35%

9. Your nav bar should look like this

10. Create a new layer and create a selection one px under the top border of the nav bar using the Single Row Marquee Tool

11. Fill the selection with White

12. Now, Ctrl+Click over the first layer thumb to select it

13. Go to Select -> Inverse and press Del while having the 1px white line layer selected

14. Change this layer’s blend mode to Soft Light and opacity to 60%

15. Now lets make the rollover effect, create a new 130px * 24px selection, go to Select -> Modify ->Smooth and apply a 2px radio

16. Create a new layer and fill your selection with any color
17. Now apply this layer styles:
- Gradient: #000000 to #2f3233

- Stroke: #0f1011 to #575858

18. Create a new layer and Ctrl+click over the layer thumb to select it. Go to Edit -> Stroke and add a 1px White border

19. Change the layer’s opacity to 15%

20. Select the top middle part of the rollover and, in a new layer, apply a White to Transparent gradient from top to bottom

21. Change layer’s opacity to 80%

22. Now let’s add some text. Using Verdana 11pt and White color

23. We need to add some separators between links. Create a new layer, make a selection with the Single Column Marquee Tool and fill it with #1a1b1c
24. Move the selection 1px to the right and fill it again with #5d5f60
25. Move the selection by 1px to the right again, and fill it with #232526

26. Erease the top and bottom parts using a 20px Soft Brush and change this layer’s opacity to 50%

27. Duplicate this layer and move it between the other 2 links

28. Your Vista Style Nav Bar is now finished!

16 tips to improve as a graphic designer

2009-02-25T14:17:00.000+05:30

1- Become a collector

Each time you see a design that inspires you, collect it, bring it home and file it away. I have hundreds of brochures, posters and other collateral that I have collected over the years that is stacked away in folders and boxes that I can quickly access - great source of inspiration when needed. Even Starbucks gives out creative weekly mini-newspapers.
2- Buy books

Having an extensive book collection is always essential to learning. I try buying a new book at least every 2 weeks that range from inspirational, educational and technical topics.
3- Read design-related blogs

I can’t stress enough how much information I have learned by reading other great designer’s blogs. The web in an invaluable resource of information - take advantage of it and actually use it!
4- Start a design blog

Having started this blog only a couple months ago, I have found it to be extremely useful and educational for myself. It has made me more aware of the design community and more analytical of my own work.
5 - Join and be active in the design community

As a freelance designer, joining the online design community is a must. Not only does it keep you up-to-date in the design world, but is also great for feedback and critique. Being your own boss is great, but not having anyone to answer to as a freelancer also has it’s down sides. No one to criticize your work and help you improve.
6- Take lots of photos

Solves the problem of not being able to take home designs you like - Camera phones are great for this kind of thing. Just snap a photo and file it away for later. I use Evernote for this type of thing; pictures of building designs, textures, shapes of shadows on walls. Basically anything that interests me from a design stand point.
7- Create fake projects

Whenever I find myself with free time (which is getting less and less lately) I create fake projects. Create a fake brand for a company. Design a logo, stationary, brochure, website - the whole nine yards. It’s good to do this once in awhile because it keeps design fun and let’s your creativity run wild without limitations. It’s often easy to get caught in a rut when clients start dictating and your work no longer becomes “yours”.
8- Redo other people’s design

Don’t want to create a fake brand to design? Try redesigning other people’s projects. This help’s you evaluate what “they” did wrong and what you could do better.
9- Redo your old designs

I know what it feels like to look at your early days of design and think “Oh my! What was I thinking?! I need to get rid of that immediately”, but is important to keep that work. It will help you see if you’re moving forward and improving your skills. Instead of throwing away or deleting old projects, try reworking them.
10- Attend lectures

Every few months I make it a point to attend lectures of other designers speaking at local schools and universities. Always learn a new thing or two.
11- Network with other designers

Attending lectures is a great way to meet other designers. I always try to search out the designers that have more experience and talent than I do. I know - it’s hard to admit someone else is better than you, but networking with people of higher skill levels will push you to work harder and learn more.
12- Take classes

Many local college allow you to register for classes without enrolling full-time. It will not only teach you some new things technically, but also put you back in a classroom of your peers.
13- Interview other designers and studios

A year ago, a friend of mine, started a ‘national studio tour‘ where he toured and interviewed with over 100 different design studios. He said the experience was amazing and learned so much by asking questions that design school could have never answered. He also met a valuable useful contacts ;)
14- Travel

Every time I travel to another country, I come back feeling extremely inspired. I usually find myself designing all day for a few weeks straight. Experiencing new cultures and seeing their artwork, opens your mind to a whole new world. Just wish I could travel more!
15- Learn something new

Whenever I am in a creative slump I try something new or do something completely unrelated to design. Getting your mind off things and into something new, usually has a funny way of working itself back around.
16- Sketch, sketch and did I mention trying sketching?

Helps you work through ideas quickly and without limitations of design software. Has made a HUGE difference in my designs. See what other designer’s say about the importance of sketching

Pixel Maps

2009-02-20T10:09:00.000+05:30

Step 1:
First off, let me explain how this is going to work. I am downloading a font called Dingmaps. Click the link to download the font. Then after that I will place the font at a large size and fill it with a pattern. Above is a sample of a finished product.

Step 2:
Start off by selecting the text tool and typing 1 on your keyboard using the font “Dingmaps” which you downloaded in step one hopefully. Make sure it is set to a large size like 300+ so it will have a better result.

Step 3:
Next, find your Magic Wand Tool and click on the big black state. Now create a new layer. To create a new layer look on the bottom of your layers window and hit the icon that looks like a paper (6th icon from left to right).

Step 4:
Now it’s time to make a pattern. To do this simply create a new document (File>New). Make the document size set to 2×2 pixels. Select your pencil tool with a #000000 (black) color and fill in the top left corner with a 1 pixel block.Then after you created the pattern, go to Edit>Define as Pattern. Now go back to the original document with the map on it. Click in the selction (with the magic wand tool) and use the pant bucket to put the pattern in there.

Step 5:
Go back to the original text (the map actually) and change the color of it to WHITE or whatever the background color is on your document (mines white). Now add a drop shadow, use the following settings below. Everything else as default.Opacity: 19
Distance: 1
Spread: 0
Size: 0

Now you should be completely finish and have something like you see above Step 4. If you don’t, you might have messed up when creating the pattern. Look back at the step and read it more carefully. If you have anymore problems

Download the PSD file here.

10 Icon Design tutorials

2009-02-15T23:15:00.000+05:30

As you already know we all love icons around here. That’s why here at IconsPedia.com we strive to offer you the best free icons around. Ever wanted to know how this icons are designed? We have picked 10 icon design tutorials that will guide you trough icon designing. Maybe next time you need an icon and you don’t find exactly what you are looking for you”ll go and create it yourself.

	Glossy Arrow Icon Tutorial Learn how to design a glossy arrow in Photoshop with this great tutorial.

	World Icon Photoshop Tutorial Create a great looking world icon in Adobe Photoshop.

	Traffic Cone Icon Tutorial Illustrate a Traffic Cone Icon in Photoshop, cool icon for "under construction".

	StumbleUpon 3D Icon Tutorial Learn about designing a 3D social bookmarking icon in Adobe Illustrator.

	iTunes Icon Illustrator Tutorial Great tutorial that will help you master your Blend techniques in Adobe Illustrator while replicating the iTunes icon.

	Glossy Graduation Hat Icon Tutorial Step by step turorial that will show you how to design a glossy, clean graduation cap icon.

	Vista Error Icon Photoshop Tutorial Learn how to create a Windows Vista erroe icon using basic Photoshop techniques.

	Under Construction Helmet Icon Tutorial Creat a great looking yewllow helmet icon starting from a photo.

	Clock Icon Photoshop Tutorial Design a simple alarm clock icon.

	Glossy Round RSS Icon Tutorial This tutorial will teach you how to create a round RSS icon for our website or blog..

Adobe photoshop CS4 EXtended Full Version

2009-02-08T21:00:00.000+05:30

Adobe photoshop CS4 EXtended Full Version

Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 Extended software delivers all the features in Photoshop CS4, plus new features for working with 3D imagery, motion-based content, and advanced image analysis.
Did you know…
3D painting and compositing gives you full, high-quality 3D power

Nonmodal input and output of 3D, with the ability to apply cloning, healing, painting, selecting, and volume edits to 3D content as easily as to 2D, saves valuable time. You can now export to popular 3D formats, and the new ray-tracing rendering engine enables print-quality output.

Easily work with multiple open files by using tabbed document display or n-up views.
Extensibility

Get and share Adobe Flash® technology-based panels that developers create to accomplish customized tasks. Plus, get tips and tricks from the thriving worldwide community of Photoshop users through the new Adobe Community Help online service.

Download Links

http://rapidshare.com/files/193163992/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193179538/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193195426/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193208549/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193221716/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193235363/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193250950/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193268972/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193287938/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part09.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193309075/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part10.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193395512/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part11.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193491550/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part12.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193522094/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part13.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193551194/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part14.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/193581238/Adobe_Photoshop_CS4_Extended_-_Full.part15.rar

Design a Professional Laptop Advert

2009-02-08T16:29:00.086+05:30

Final Image:

Here is the final image that we will be creating:

Step 1:

Open up a new document 1000px wide and 600px high. Then paste an image of a laptop into your document. Create a new layer set called ‘laptop’ and put the layer containing your laptop image into this layer set.

Step 2:

Now I want to create a vanishing point for the screen of the laptop. Many Photoshop users, including myself, don’t yet have Photoshop CS2 or CS3, so this tutorial won’t utilize the useful vanishing point filter available in these versions. Instead, we’re going to manually create a fake vanishing point.

Select the screen part of your laptop using the lasso tool. Then copy your selection, create a new photoshop document, and paste in the selection. Go to image>image size and double whatever your image size is. In this case the original screen was 204px wide, so I simply doubled this to 408px.

Then paste this new larger screen back into your original document. Positioning it roughly where you think it looks good in terms of perspective.

Step 3:

Now select your line tool and a nice bright color for it and draw lines each corner of your large screen through to the matching corner of the original screen and past to a vanishing point. Do this with each corner of the laptop screen, until you have something like the image below:

Step 4:

Now duplicate your larger laptop screen and select edit>free transform. Then in the menu near the top of your screen (see diagram below) change the W (width) and H (height) percentages from 100% to 90%.

Move this resized image so that it matches up with the perspective lines that you created earlier. Be sure to place this resized screen layer behind the largest screen layer but above your original laptop photo layer.

Repeat this process of duplicating/resizing/aligning using the resizing percentages of 80%, 70%, and 60% from your large screen layer. Remember that your original laptop photo is 50% of this large screen layer.

This is how your image should look after you have created this new screens and lined them up correctly:

Step 5:

Now create a new layer set called ‘photo 1′. Paste in the image that you want to manipulate. View a grid over your image and then use the free transform tool to resize your photo to fit nicely into the grid squares. Make sure that the photo fits into an even number of grid squares for it’s height and width. In this example the photo is resized to be 8 grid squares wide and 6 high.

Step 6:

Now duplicate your photo layer, as you want to retain a copy. Be sure to hide the duplicate layer and go back to your original. Select your single column marquee tool from your selection palette (it’s under the Rectangle and Elliptical marquee tools). Using your grid click the grid line that marks the center point of your image and delete a central 1px column. Then switch to the single row marquee tool and do the same to delete a 1px line across the center of your image. You want these lines to be a little larger than 1px though, so grab your magic wand tool and click somewhere outside of your photo image. This will select all of the area surrounding the photo, but also the 1px lines cutting through it. Then go to select>modify>expand and expand the selection by 3px. Then hit delete to achieve an effect like the image below:

Step 7:

Now hide all of your duplicate laptop screens except the smallest one (the one that is 60% of the size of your largest). With your photo layer selected (the one you’ve just cut up using the grid) go to edit>transform>distort and distort the photo so that it fits exactly over this smallest laptop screen image. To fit it well you make need to reduce the layer’s opacity to allow the screen underneath to show though. The image below shows the transformed photo layer at 57% opacity, allowing some of the screen underneath to show through. Be sure to move this photo layer below the next largest laptop screen layer, so that it is mostly covered by it.

Step 8:

Now go back to your original photo layer. Duplicate it again, and using the same technique as before with the single row/column marquee tools cut it into 2X2 squares using the grid. As the image is 8 squares wide and 6 high, this will result in 12 squares each 4 grid squares in size. Again, use your magic wand tool to select the area around the photo and the lines cutting through it, then expand your selection by 3px and hit delete. Then use the distort transform tool to fit your new image to the 2nd smallest laptop screen. Remember again to move this photo layer behind the next largest laptop screen layer. The image below shows the result of this, with the photo layer again at 57% to allow me to nicely fit it to the screen image beneath.

Step 9:

Now repeat these steps, but make your squares half the size each time. So using the grid that will then be 1X1, 1/2X1/2, 1/4X1/4. To cut the photo into 1/2 and 1/4 grid square pieces I would recommend just using your judgement, but if you want to be really picky you can use rulers. Another tip is to duplicate the photo after cutting it into the squares, as this will save you having to repeat the slicing process right from the start each time.

Step 10:

Here is the same image but with all duplicate laptop screen image layers hidden and all photo layer’s with 100% opacity.

Step 11:

Now is the time-consuming part. Hide all of your photo layers except for your smallest photo layer. Use your magic wand tool set at 255 tolerance to select entire squares and delete them to leave a checkerboard effect. To do this simply go down each column deleting squares, being sure to leave a square remaining between each two that you delete. Then move onto the next column and repeat, but make sure that no squares you delete are next to an already deleted square, deleted squares should be diagonal to each other. The image below shows the various stages of doing this with each photo layer:

Step 12:

You should still have your original photo layer, as it was duplicated for safe keeping near the start of the tutorial. Duplicate the layer again, and move it so that it is the first layer above your laptop image layer. Then go to edit>transform>distort and fit the photo nicely over the laptop screen. Then hide all of your vanishing point guidelines and make sure that all of your checkerboard photo layers are visible. Seeing as all these layers are within the same layer set select the layer set and drag it to make the graphic more central in your document.

Step 13:

Right click on one of your photo squares layers and click blending options. Apply the drop shadow settings shown below. Then once this has been applied right click on the drop shadow shown in your layers palette, select ‘copy layer style’ and paste the layer style to all of your other photo squares layers. The outcome is shown below:

Step 14:

Now create a new layer set below your laptop/photos layer set called ‘background’. Hide your laptop/photos layer set. Create a new layer and fill it with a white to light gray radial blur.

Step 15:

Paste a metal texture onto a new layer above your radial gradient layer and reduce it’s opacity to 20% for a subtle textured effect.

Step 16:

Now create some bendy lines across your background using the pen tool. Be sure to have a white 1px brush selected and then once you have created your bendy pen line right click on it and select ’stroke path’. Then simply duplicate your line layer until you have multiple white lines across your background. I merged all of my line layers together and reduced the merged layer opacity to 30% for a more subtle effect.

And we’re done!

To finish things off I added some cool text. Click the image below if you want the full sized version.

Website:http://psdfan.com/designing/design-a-professional-laptop-advert/

101 Photoshop Tips Transcribed

2009-01-26T13:49:00.000+05:30

We've transcribed all 101 tips here. To fit our Mac-centric audience a little better, we've switched everything around to the default Mac keyboard commands.

1. Want to copy a Layer? Jump it: Command-J
2. You a Windows user? Press Control instead of Command.
3. For a new Layer: Command-Shift- N
4. To Delete a Layer, hit the Move Tool (v) and Command-Delete.
5. Every letter selects a tool. Except for:
6. F for Fullscreen.
7. Q for QuickMask.
8. D for Default colors.
9. X for Switch colors.
10. Press a Number to change Opacity.
11. ...or Two Numbers for better Control.
12. Shift-Plus (+) to Advance a Blend Mode.
13. Shift-Minus (-) to Go Back one Blend Mode.
14. Shift-Option+ [a letter] for a specific Blend Mode
(Dissolve=I, Multiple=M, Screen=S, Overlay=O, Soft Light=F, Hard Light=H, Linear Light=J, Vivid Light=J, Pin Light=Z, Color Dodge=D, Color Burn=B, Darken=K, Lighten=G, Difference=E, Exclusion=X, Hue=U, Saturation=T, Color=C, Luminosity=Y, Behind=Q)
15. Windows Folks, Option means Alt for shortcuts.
16. Command-Plus (+) Zooms In.
17. Command-Minus (-) Zooms Out.
18. Spacebar gets the Hand so you can drag the image around.
19. Command-Spacebar = Zoom Tool In.
20. Option-Spcebar = Zoom Tool Out.
21. Command-Spacebar- Drag to zoom in on a specific area.
22. Command-Z for Undo.
23. Command-Option- Z Steps Back one action.
24. Command-Shift- Z Steps Forward one action.
25. Command-Shift- F Fades the last edit.
26. F12 = Revert Document.
27. Hey! You can even Undo a Revert!
28. Command-X = Cut.
29. Command-C = Copy.
30. Command-V = Paste.

Deke sings about how wonderful he is...

31. Image Size = Command-Option- I.
32. It's partner, Canvas Size = Command-Option- C.
33. Command-F repeats the last Filter.
34. Command-Option- F repeats last Filter with Different Settings.
35. Using Selection Tools: Drag to start a new selection.
36. ...or drag to move a selection outline.
37. ...add to a section using Shift.
38. ...delete from a selection using Option.
39. ...find the intersection holding down Shift-Option.
40. ...Press Spacebar to move the selection on the fly.
41. Command-A = Select All.
42. Command-D = Deselects Everything.
43. Command-Shift- I Inverts the existing Selection.
44. Command-Option- R brings up Refine Edge.
45. Option-Click with Lasso tool to select a straight-sided selection.
46. Shift-Click with Brush to draw straight lines.
47. Press Option with Brush to get the Color-Lifting Eyedropper.
48. Press Command to get the Move tool.
49. Command-H = Hide Selection.
50. Command-1 shows 1st channel (Red or Cyan)
51. Command-2 shows 2nd channel (Green or Magenta)
52. Command-3 shows 3rd channel (Blue or Yellow)
53. Command-Tilde (~) shows a Full-Color Composite. (Read about the tilde if you like.)
54. Command-L for Levels.
55. Command-M for Curves.
56. Command-B for Color Balance.
57. Command-U for Hue/Saturation.
58. Add the Option-key to bring up last settings for those last four.
59. Command-Shift- Option for Black and White.
60. In Levels & Curves, Option-drag that White Slider to preview your clip highlights...
61. ...Option-drag the Black Slider to preview clip shadows.
62. DekePod-DuplicatefromHistory.pngWant to duplicate an image? Cool tip! Click this Icon at the bottom of history palette.
63. Command-W to Close an image. Then...
64. ...Y to save changes. (Windows Only)
65. ...N to abandon changes. (Windows Only)
66. ...On a Mac: S=Save and D=Don't Save.
67. ...ESC to Cancel on both Mac and Windows.

Deke sings some more... (whew! Lots of typing!)

68. Press Command-T to invoke Free Transform...
69. ...Enter to Apply, or ESC to Cancel.
70. Command-Option- T will Transform a Copy!
71. Command-Shift- T repeats the last Transformation.
72. Command-Shift- Option-T plays a Transformation sequence.
73. Press the Bracket keys [ or ] to change the size of a Brush.
74. ..add the Shift key to change the brush hardness.
75. Caps Lock for Precise cursors.
76. Option key switches from Dodge to Burn or Burn to Dodge.
77. Hitting the Period in Gradient tool switches between gradients.
78. Here's a tip: The Sharpen Tool Sucks! Don't use it!
79. Command-Click the Thumbnail in Layers or Paths palette to Load a Selection.
80. Type Slash (/) to lock/unlock a Layer's Transparency.
81. Press Tilde (~) to hide an image while Viewing a Mask.
82. Press Backslash (\) to view a Layer's Mask.
83. Command-Delete fills selection with the Background Color.
84. Option-Delete fills selection with the Foreground Color.
85. ...add the Shift key to fill just the Opaque pixels. (cool!)
86. Shift-Delete to bring up the Fill dialog box.
87. Filling using the Behind mode locks out "preserve transparency".
88. Command-Brackets ([ or ]) moves Layers up or down.
89. ...add Shift to move Layers all the way to top or bottom.
90. Option-Brackets ([ or ]) Selects Layers.
91. ...add Shift to select multiple layers.
92. Command-Option- A to select All Layers.
93. Command-G groups Layers into a group.
94. Command-E will Merge Selected Layers.
95. Command-Shift- E will Merge Visible Layers.
96. Command-Option- E will Merge selected Layer onto the Layer below.
97. Command-Shift- Option-E will Merge Everything onto a New Layer.
98. Command-Shift- C Copies a Merged version of Layers.
99. Command-Shift- V will paste an image into a Selection.
100. Hit Tab to Hide all Palettes.
101. Hit Shift-Tab to Hide just the Right-side Palettes..

Free Photoshop Plug-ins Collection

2009-01-26T13:19:00.001+05:30

Photoshop plug-ins are the add-ons that power a Photoshop user.

They make a complicated task much easier & help creating amazing effects, designing faster & better.
There are lots of free Photoshop plug-ins which can fire your skills. This post aims to present most of them (150+) in a comprehensive way.

How to install Photoshop plug-ins?

Photoshop plug-ins are .8bf files. After downloading a plug-in, simply place it in the presets>plug-ins folder of the Photoshop’s installation folder (creating a folder with a name defining the plug-in & placing the plug-in files inside the folder will make it more organized).

Here they are:

AlphaWorks - Transparency Effects

A free Photoshop plugin for easily removing black or white values and making the region transparent.
It provides 6 different filters to match any photo type.

ColourWorks - Colour Modification

It has 20 effects to modify image colour values in several ways.
The plug-in can be used for digital-photo color correction or any other transformations.

EdgeWorks - Cool Artistic Styles

It has 20 effects to create dramatic edge and colour modifications.
This Photoshop plugin is handy for photo transformations for a highly stylized look & creating interesting texture effects

ScreenWorks

Easily create screen/mesh patterns with 30 options.
In one step, you can add small detailed and repetitive texture overlay effects to areas of your image.