Cool Ways You Can Use Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a great software program that allows people to manipulate images in virtually any sort of way they desire. It is a favorite program of students working on their MFA degree in photography. Below are some good pointers for image manipulation that can make one’s graphics top-notch.

Proportion Manipulation of Images

By utilizing Photoshop’s Content Aware Scale, which is found in the toolbar under Edit, users are able to get the perfect orientation for a particular image to go in virtually any sort of space. In order to properly manipulate the proportion of an image, users will first need to use white paint to make an alpha channel so that the original image is protected, and then utilize Content Aware Scale in order to adjust the size of the image one axis at a time. It is recommended that users attempt smaller applications several times to adjust the proportions for large scale projects.

Vibrance Adjustment

Vibrance adjustment is a great feature that comes with up to date versions of Photoshop. Essentially, this tool allows people to adjust the intensity of their colors in such a way that is more subtle than other tools. All one  needs do is to select the this option from the adjustments panel, and maneuver the slider in much the same way that other tools for adjusting color, such as Saturation or Hue, in order to subtly alter the vibrancy of color within an image.

3D Model Painting

Recent developments in Photoshop enable users to look at their images in situ and paint on three dimensional textures of these images directly. Doing so requires people to first choose material that they want to paint from the 3D panel, and then to preview and actually paint these images by utilizing the same Photoshop brushes that are regularly used for non-3D painting. It is best if users depict these images in relatively low quality until it is time for output, which helps to keep the software fully responsive. It is also possible to edit 3D images by using the Lighting tool as well.

Corrections

After one has spent a lot of time working on color and painting images a certain way, it is possible to make minor corrections to these graphics by utilizing Camera Raw, which enables users to make application of mask-style, gradient adjustments, while also utilizing the healing tool to clone pixels. Other options for Camera Raw include making several localized adjustments to images as well.

Sources

Computer Arts (2009)
All Graphic Design (2012)

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The Ultimate Guitar Song Collection

Let me tell you a story.

Shortly after junior school, I was just getting started in my guitar career. I was pretty much obsessed with Steve Vai and my dream was to play amazing leads and solos. Then one day, my roomate came in with a couple of his buddies and they saw me with the guitar. They said "Hey G, play us a song.

"What?? A song?? Man, I felt like a deer looking into headlights. I had gotten so used to playing leads and scales that I almost forgot what a song was.

I WAS IN A STATE OF INTENSE FEAR!




After bumbling around for a minute, I'm pretty sure I was able to remember at least one song, but man... I never wanted to be in that position again! I suddenly realized the power of having a solid repertoire that you can tap into at anytime... and how cool it is to be able to play something that your friends and family can enjoy.

So a word to the wise:

Don't get caught with your pants down, unable able to play tons of killer songs :) Follow this advice and you'll thank me later! And I've got just the ticket for you. Whenever I get a guest (especially a woman) to come over to my house and they see the guitars, The first thing they ask is "Can you play (insert popular song)?)




I've never had a girl ask me "Can you play an epic lead please?" If you want to win the girl -- learn popular songs.

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Spark Your Creativity

7 Ways to Spark Your Creativity

1. Read Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis

A rabbit sits in a cardboard box and uses his imagination to transform it into a race car, a mountain, a robot. The lesson? "Anything can be anything," Anna says.

2. Go outside

Nature informs most of Anna's designs: "A pinecone, a caterpillar, some gnarled gourds from a pumpkin patch—the natural world is full of bizarre, beautiful stuff."





3. Start a collection

Curating your own little exhibit of similar objects makes you more attuned to what's special about each one. "Try to figure out why the designers made the choices they did, and you'll get a peek into their creative process," Anna says. "I collect toothbrushes. They have to do something very specific—and it's not a very exciting something—but their simplicity is an opportunity for imaginative design."

4. Touch stuff

Everywhere Anna goes, she picks up objects she sees. "I get acquainted with a thing's thing-ness. I experience it with my hands, not just my eyes."

5. Travel solo

"Once in a while, go somewhere alone," says Anna. "It's much easier to experience everything around you and to cover lots of ground. I decided to be a designer at the top of the Antoni Gaudí cathedral in Barcelona, because I was so moved by the architecture." But you don't necessarily have to cross an ocean. "You can get inspired by traveling practically anywhere, as long as you're open to what you see."

6. Go analog

"Don't check your e-mail when you're creating," Anna says. "Nothing earth-shattering is going to happen in an hour or two."

7. Grab every opportunity

Hosting a group of friends? Make party favors. Received a gift? Write a handwritten note. "If you're having dinner at home tonight," Anna says, "why not make something you never made before?"





Show Us Your Creativity! Get out your camera and sketch pad and share your imaginative output.

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