Library: Inside Photoshop

by Michelle Dick

Say goodbye to the boring tiled pattern look—Photoshop CS6 has something new! Scripted Patterns allow you to choose from a variety of Java Script pattern generators, so you can create a patterned look that’s all your own!

To use Photoshop CS6’s new Scripted Pattern feature, we’ll:

1. Introduce you to Scripted Patterns and show you the various results you can achieve.
2. Isolate an image from its background and then create a new pattern from the image.
3. Apply the Scripted Pattern fill to an image and customize the results.

Sometimes new features are tucked away inside of old favorites. Take for instance the Scripted Pattern feature in Photoshop CS6. Nestled inside the Fill dialog box, it’s loaded with potential. It’s now so easy to create fun patterns like the ones shown in Figure A, in no time at all!

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A2

A3

A4

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Scripted pattern options
New to Photoshop CS6, Scripted Patterns give you more flexibility in generating pattern fills. This is what you can expect from the five available options:

Brick Wall. The Brick Wall option will produce a pattern with a ho

by Michelle Dick
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Catching a lightning bolt with a digital camera can be difficult and not to mention dangerous. You would either have to spend lots of time outdoors waiting for the perfect storm moment, or spend money on expensive photography equipment to take the shot for you. Fortunately, we have an easy solution to add extra impact to your ominous images with a photo-realistic lightning strike.

To show you how to create a lightning effect using Photoshop, we’ll:

1. Make a small diagonal gradient that we’ll use as the basis of our lightning bolt.
2. Use the Difference Clouds filter to transform the diagonal gradient into a jagged line.
3. Cut the lightning to make branches for a realistic and random looking strike.
4. Soften any hard edges for a natural representation of the sky.

Lightning is a powerful way to set your images apart from others and demand a viewer’s attention. You can punch up the drama in any foreboding sky with our electrifying lightning creation. Here’s how to do it.

Storm on the horizon
Let’s begin by selecting a stormy photo that lends itself to our electrifying effect, as shown in Figure A. To follow along with us, download the file lightning.zip from the URL at the beginning of this article and open the file storm.jpg in Photoshop. (Images provided by PhotoSpin. Some images

by Jim Whitcomb
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Corporate identities change through the years, but that doesn’t mean you have to re-shoot all of your supporting artwork. By using Photoshop’s Free Transform command, Distort command, and Shear filter, you can easily switch out logos and save some time and hassle.

To use distort sheering to add an image to a curved surface, we’ll:
Remove the old logo from the photo by using the Healing Brush tool.
Import the new logo and alter its shape with both the Distort command and the Shear filter so it can be visually wrapped around the curved surface area of the image.
Do a little retouching using the Burn tool to give the new logo a more realistic look.

The organization you work for has recently changed its identity. This means that hundreds of things such as signs, posters, brochures, forms, and stationery have to be changed and reprinted. Eventually everything will receive a makeover, but for right now a few things need your attention PDQ. A job fair is being held next week, and you need a quick, easy, and low-cost way to update a photo in the information handout used for the event. For our example, the old logo on the lab coat in the cover photo has to be switched to the new one, as shown in Figure A.

A

Removing the old logo
Let’s first begin by launching Photoshop and then opening a photo to work with. Choose File > Open, select the file from the Open dialog box, and click Open. Because we don’t want to work on our original image, and because we want to be able to toggle back and forth between it and our progress, let’s create a duplicate layer of our original. Click on the Layers panel’s pop-up menu, select Duplicate Layer, and the Duplicate Layer dialog box opens. In the As text box, enter Old Logo and click OK.

Using the Healing Brush tool to remove the old logo
The old logo is rectangular in shape, and if we were to simply use the Eraser tool, we would end up with a white rectangle were the logo was erased. Since the area around the logo is a mixture of subtle shades of white, the erasure would be very obvious. The Brush tool and Pencil tool are also not good choices in this instance because they paint only one color value at a time, and to blend in all the shades of white would take a long time. The best and easiest way to remove the logo is to use the Healing Brush tool.

Selecting the Healing Brush tool options
To begin, select the Healing Brush tool from the Tools panel. The area on the coat under the logo is a good source of pixels to stroke with. So, let’s go to the tool options bar, as shown in Figure B, and select our options. A brush size of 20 will work well in the source areas. Since we want to replace the lab coat pixels for the logo pixels, select Replace from the Mode pop-up menu. We aren’t going to use a pattern for our pixel source, so select the Sampled option button. Lea

by Amy Palermo and Renée Dustman

Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

You want to please your clients but sometimes they want more from you than you have time for—such as twenty revisions on a project. We’ll show you how to present top-quality layouts that are sure to please even the most finicky client by utilizing all the advantages of Layer Comps.

To help you create successful layouts for your finicky clients, we’ll:
•     Show you how to create Layer Comps so you can present your client with multiple designs.
•     Explain how to edit Layer Comps so you can make final revisions before you send them to your client.
•     Detail how to export your document to a PDF slideshow for your client’s viewing pleasure.

You just got off the phone with a client who’s eager for you to get to work on his new ad. But you’re less than thrilled because you know that there will be three—or more—rounds of revisions before he finally settles on a design. Don’t get discouraged—be proactive! Give your client what he wants on the first round of comps. When you create a stunning presentation with a good variety of revisions, he’ll be less likely to send you back to the drawing board. We’ll show you how to maximize your design potential and keep your clients happy.

Better mockups with Layer Comps
The Layer Comps feature enables you to record the state of your Layers panel at any time. It’s essentially a snapshot of the Layers panel, but unlike a snapshot, a Layer Comp saves with your file. This allows you to save your work at various stages and, as shown in Figure A, makes it easier to create multiple versions of a composition in a single document.

A

by Amy Palermo and Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

In the article “Presentation is Key! Give your clients what they want with Layer Comps” in this issue of Inside Photoshop, we outlined how to present multiple professional designs to you finicky client by using Layer Comps. But not only are there some things that you can’t record in a Layer Comp, there are some things you can do that will destroy the Layer Comps you’ve already made.

Layer Comp limitations
As we noted in the aforementioned article, the Layer Comps palette can save layer visibility, position, and the appearance effects applied in the Layer Style dialog box. S

by Amy Palermo
Applications:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

I’d like to add a copyright symbol to my images’ title bars but I’m unsure how. Can you explain?

Sure! While adding a copyright symbol to the title bar of

by Amy Palermo
Applications:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

I thought Photoshop had an option to provide multiple undos but I can’t seem to figure out how to set the application to do this task. What am I missing?

Actually, Photoshop only allows one undo. You can, however, cycle through multiple steps by using the History panel or the Step Backward command.

To step back with the History panel:

1. Make a few edits to an image.
2. Choose Window > History to display the History panel.
3. Click on the History state prior to your current one to which you wish to step back, as shown in Figure A.

by Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

I don’t think I’ve ever used the Navigator panel. Can you explain why I would want to?

There’s a good chance you’ve never used a lot of tools in Photoshop, as most people settle into a workflow using tools and commands that suit their n

by Renee Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Windows

There may come a time when you need to center an object on your canvas. You could eyeball it, but that isn’t very precise. You could use a mathematical equation to figure out the center, but that’s too much thi

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