Where can I recycle stuff?

I have some old electronics, a half gallon of old paint and some batteries to things I no longer own. I don't want to just throw them in the trash but don't know where I can take things locally.
Here is a site to help!

Try http://earth911.com
Just type in what you want to recycle and your location. You'll get a list of sites locally that can recycle your item. Now you can get rid of the things you don't need and, feel good about it.

Now for my video of the month. It's been around a while but if you haven't seen it, you'll enjoy a good laugh. If you have seen it, it's always worth watching again.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I love surprises, especially surprises that can make others smile.
Let's make it a better world by sharing a little love and remember, you're never too old to have fun.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
to all my Photoshop friends!

Create watercolor text in Photoshop

Need some unique looking text? I'll take you throw the steps on how I created the following example:(This tutorial may be difficult for a "beginner". You'll need to know how to work with layers and change blending modes)
First you'll need some artistic looking paper. You can find paper like this online at sites like Bing by just typing in "paper backgrounds" when searching for images.

• In my example above I started with File>New>500x300 pixels with a white background.
• Create a new layer and fill it with white and name it "Text" (the next 7 steps are done on the Text layer)
  
• Select the Horizontal Type Mask Tool and select a script font (I used Brush Script-see example)
• The size of your font will depend on how much text you plan on adding. I used 250 pt.
• Type what you want as long as it fits on your canvas
• Select>Modify>Feather (4-6 pixels in this example)
• Select your paint colors for the foreground and background (I used blue foreground and burgundy background)
• Filter>Render>Clouds
• Deselect then Filter>Artistic>Watercolor (adjust settings as desired)
• Copy and paste your paper picture onto a new layer
• Move the "paper" layer below the text layer
• Select the text layer and change the blending mode to "Multiply"
• For the final touch, change the opacity of the text layer down to around 80%
  

Now your watercolor painted text is just slightly transparent and looks wonderful on your paper background!
BONUS!

Out of gift tags?
With all chaos during this holiday season, did you forget the gift tags? Not a problem.
Just go to the following site to create custom gift tags! You’ll find themes for any occasion and be able to print them right on your printer and from the comfort of your home.
Merry Christmas!
http://www.dltk-cards.com/tags/tag2.asp

FREE calendar creation

Sometimes you just would like a calendar to hang on the refrigerator on laying by your phone. Here is a site that lets you create and print a calendar for free.
CalendarLabs lets you can print yearly or monthly calendars.

These calendars can be customized. For example, you can add holidays to your yearly calendar.
It's simple, customizable and the best part, it's free.

http://www.calendarlabs.com/

And now, for my movie of the month.
There is beauty all around us. Take the time to enjoy our beautiful world my Photoshop friends.

Photoshop - Layer Styles Tips

Sometimes getting a perfect effect in your layer styles takes some work and patience. If you get that layer style exactly the way you want it, how do you duplicate that perfection onto another layer?
Well, you don't have to write down all the settings in your Layers Styles Panel then add these effects to your new layer. Here is a quick trick.
Hold down your alt/opt key and drag that layer style icon (fx) to the layer you want to apply that perfect layer style on.
Want to see how it's done? Watch my short video below. :-)
layer_style_tips2

More Free Photoshop Actions!

An Action is a series of Photoshop commands used to automate a task thus saving you time.
To see the Actions Photoshop has to offer, go to Window – Actions to open the Actions palette.
If you want to try one open a photograph, open the Actions Window then click on "Wood Frame". Photoshop goes through numerous steps to create a neat looking frame around your photo.
These are nice but did you know that there are great Photoshop actions available for Free?
It's a simple procedure to download and load them into Photoshop. To load an Action just go to the fly-out menu and select "Load Action".
You can do some amazing things with Actions.
Here are a couple of trusted sites with Free Photoshop actions.

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/photoshop-tools.htm

http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2009/12/200-very-useful-free-photoshop-actions-enhancement-colouring-effects-filters-etc.html

Photoshop - Amazing Sparkle Effects

It's that time of year when we can start expecting snow. Snow is beautiful by itself, but today I'm going to show you how to make some amazing winter photos sparkle!
Note: This tutorial is best for those familiar with layers and masks.

• Open your photograph and duplicate the layer. I called the layer sparkle
  
• Add a layer mask to this new layer.
• Select the layer masker then Image>Apply Image - leave the defaults and click OK. The layer mask will have a copy of the image inside it.
• Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Screen (top of the layer menu)
  
• Duplicate this new layer
  
• Click the folder icon in the bottom of the Layers palette to create a new group and call it sparkle group
• Drop these 2 layers in your group folder
• Select either one of the sparkle layers
• Filter > Blur > Motion Blur - Angle 45 degrees.
• Depending on the resolution of your image adjust the streaks until you get nice long thin lines
• Select the other sparkle layer
• Filter > Blur > Motion Blur but now select the opposite direction for streaks - Angle -45 degrees
• Again, adjust the streaks until you get long thin streaks like you did in the other layer
• Now to make the streaks more prominent go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask
• Adjust these settings to make the streaks more visible
• Select the other sparkle layer and repeat Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask

One of the last steps we need to do now is to remove the streaks from the subject. To do this, we'll add a layer mask to the Sparkle Group folder layer. Do the following:

• Select the Group Layer and add a Layer Mask by clicking on the mask icon in the bottom of the layer palette
• Select a soft edged brush, set the opacity to 50% and start painting with black on the layer mask to take the streaks off the main subject

This last step is optional. I wanted to add a little more of a dramatic effect to the sparkles we've created so here is what I did.

• I selected one of my sparkle layers then Image > Adjustments > Vibrance (versions before CS5 use Hue/Saturation)
• I moved the Vibrance of the image way up to make the colors pop
• I repeated this step on the other sparkle layer
  

Keep in mind that this effect also looks great on a romantic beach, wedding photos, etc. to give your photograph a wonderful "dreamy" effect.
Enjoy!

Photoshop - Create ice effects with text

CREATING

With Photoshop

Want to create some amazing custom text that looks frozen? This is the perfect time of year to start thinking about holiday cards, newsletters and colder weather so here are the steps to create your own amazing frozen text.

Below are the steps for my intermediate users who are comfortable with selecting backgrounds and the using basic Photoshop tools.

I've also included a movie tutorial for those more comfortable watching the entire process at the bottom of this blog.

• Start with a new blank canvas and add some large text with a nice bold font that fills about half your canvas area.
• Layer > Flatten Image
  
• Filter > Pixelate > Crystallize (try settings between 5-10)
• Select the background then Select > Similar (to get all of the background between letters)
• Select > Inverse to select just the text
• Filter > Noise > Add Noise (I use between 50-70)
• Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur (2-4)
• Select > All
• Image > Adjust > Invert
• Image > Rotate > 90 degrees CW
• Filter > Stylize > Wind (Blast-direction-Right)
• Image > Rotate > 90 degrees CCW
• Select background
• Select > Similar > delete (background should be deleted to your background color white)
• Select > Inverse (selects just the text now)
• Image > Adjustment > Color Balance (add blue and cyan as desired)

SHOW ME HOW

Movie tutorial

Photoshop - Amazing effects using Textures on Photographs

Here is a simple trick to create AMAZING effects on a photo without a lot of steps.
Find or better yet, take a photograph of an interesting texture. It could be gravel, tree bark, wood grain, or anything your imagination comes up with.
Or, here is a free site that contains hundreds of free high resolution textures. http://amazingtextures.com/textures/
This is the texture I decided to use. It has a lot of character!
Open any photograph you want to add a special effect to. I decided this texture might look good on a barn.
When you have your texture and photograph here are the steps you need to follow:
Open your texture, Select > All, Edit > Copy.
Open your photograph.
Edit > Paste
This will paste your texture in a layer above your photograph.
Now we're going to play with something called "Blending Modes". Don't worry if you've never used a Blending mode before. I'll walk you through it.
Make sure your Layers palette is open. If not Window > Layers
Select the top layer (layer with the texture)
Change the blending mode to Overlay.
Instantly you'll see the amazing effects of your texture applied to your photo.
You can even adjust these effects. To get less of a texture change the opacity of the texture layer down below 100%.
What a great way to create "faux" paintings for yourself or friends.
Enjoy!

Create a decorative frame border

Greetings Fellow Fun Seekers!
Want to add a decorative frame border around your photograph?
Let's see how you can go from thisTo this with just a couple clicks of the mouse.
There is a "Wooden Frame" Action built right into Photoshop. An Action is basically a bunch of recorded steps in Photoshop ready to play in sequence for you. Here is all you need to do.

1. From the Photoshop Window menu select "Actions"
2. Click on the Wood Frame Action
3. Select the Play button at the bottom of the panel
4. A message will come up telling you that your image needs to be at least 100 pixels wide. Click Continue.

That's it. You have a wonderful frame around your photo like shown above.

Take it to the next level
Want to customize the color of your frame? It involves editing the Action but I know you can do this.
In the Wood Frame Action, click the box next to "Fill". This will STOP the Action at this point so that YOU can choose a color for your frame.

Open an image and select the Wooden Frame Action. Click the Play button again. This time the action will stop allowing you to pick any color you want. Open the "Foreground Color" dialog to select a color. I chose a red hue. Then click "OK".
The action will finish playing with your customized color!How kewl is that?

Take it yet to the next level
You can pick a color that resides inside your photograph for frame. When the stopped action comes up asking for a color selection, move your mouse over your photo. An eyedropper appears and you can click on any color in your photograph to be your frame color. Then click OK.
Talk about a perfect matching frame!
Enjoy!

Great FREE Fonts!

Using the right font makes all the difference in a document or webpage. Your computer comes with a nice selection but sometimes you want something more exciting or personalized.
Here is a website made just for you. FontSquirrel has over 600 free quality fonts sorted into categories. With the holidays coming, how FUN is that?! Here is one I downloaded below.
http://fontsquirrel.com


ENJOY!

Free Special Effects for your photographs!

Photoshop can create some amazing special effects on your photographs. However there are some really funky sites that will do the same thing. Today's Cool Site, BeFunky has some basic editing tools, but there are also plenty of funky photo effects that rival the filters in Photoshop.

Just upload an image and click an effect to apply it. If you don't like it, you can undo it and add another effect. Here is a photo that I uploaded and created a cartoon effect on.

The Goodies section also lets you add objects, hats, speech bubbles or other shapes. Photos can be saved or shared online.
I upload a photo of my kitty "Echo".

Here are a few of the free effects that I did with the above photo.

No registration is required and the site is free. They do offer a paid version that removes their logo and provides additional tools but I found that the free version had enough goodies for an afternoon of entertainment.
Enjoy!

www.befunky.com

Managing Facebook posts

Facebook is the most popular social networking website and has been around since September 2006. Anyone over the age of 13 with a valid e-mail address can become a Facebook user by setting up an account. If you have an account you quickly accumulate friends either by searching for friends or getting friend requests. After some time, all these postings from people you sort of know, or those posting notices that they need a brick for their barn, can become overwhelming and perhaps not what you really want to see.
Here is how to control what you see in Facebook.

1. Hover over with the mouse of a person or of an Facebook's applications post about Mafia Wars, Farmville, etc.
2. You'll see a Hide button appear in the upper right corner.
3. Select either to Hide this persons postings or Hide the Facebook application announcements.

You can always edit your personal Options later to bring either back.

Now when you visit Facebook you're seeing only the posts you want to see from the people you want to keep track of.

Enjoy your new control of your Facebook account!

Want to learn more about Facebook?
Check the video below.

Photoshop - painting a selection

Sometimes making a selection doesn't get everything you want. Your selection is rarely perfect. Today I'll share a neat trick to make your selections even better.
Select as much of the area in the photo you can with your favorite selection tool. Next, click on the Quick Mask mode button at the bottom of the Tools panel. Instantly your selection is in a normal color and everything else shows in a shade of red.
Now, using white paint you can add to your selection with any sized brush you need. Click on the Quick Mask mode button again to see your new selection.
If you get too much selected go back to the Quick Mask mode and paint away with black paint.
Making a selection just got a lot easier!
Watch my movie of how I selected a straw hat using the Quick Mask mode.
Making a selection with Quick Mask

Find FREE stuff!

You may already know about Craigslist. You can find free items here by clicking on the free link under the "For Sale" heading.

But, you may not have heard about Freenapkin.

The quickest way to get rid of something may be to give things away. Someone will be happy to take it off your hands.

You’d be surprised what you can get for free. People can find a reason to give away almost anything and all the listings are free.
I would stick to local listings so you can pick up your stuff right away and not have to worry about shipping or driving out of your way.

Who said nothing is free?

Now for my video of the month....FINALLY! (It's been more than a month)
A father and son using just a video camera, iphone for GPS signal and small weather balloon capture amazing video from space!

Print out your Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts

There's nothing better in Photoshop than to save time using the shortcut keys. You can even create your own shortcut keys if you don't find the default ones handy. (See previous blog)
Learning where the shortcuts for your most commonly used functions can take some time to learn. That's when printing out the shortcuts can come in handy. Here's how to do that.

1. Select Edit > Keyboard Short-cuts
   
2. Select which set of short-cuts you want listed. In the example below I had created my own custom shortcuts by selecting the little "New Set" icon and following the instructions on the bottom of the screen.
3. Click the Summarize button
4. Save the .htm file
5. Open the file in any browser and print your list of shortcuts

Now you'll have a list of shortcuts handy to help you memorize your favorites. This will be a long list but you can highlight the ones that you want to memorize.
Being able to customize and use shortcuts in Photoshop will save you a lot of time. You'll wonder how you ever got along without them!

Free Art creation software - Livebrush

I have a lot of respect for artists. Art is hard. Really hard. To most people, a blank canvas is pure intimidation. But what if you could create art with a simple gesture?
That’s exactly what this program does. It takes your natural gestures and converts it into graphic art. It’s like having a talented artist living in your mouse. Sure, it might feel like cheating. But it’s fun.
I also don't want to have to take a lot of time to learn a new program. Here is an example of what I was able to do in a matter of a few minutes after downloading the FREE version of Livebrush.
I used 3 different brush styles to create the "art" above. I'm no Picasso, but I see the potential already!
Want to give it a try? Make sure you select the free version at livebrush.com
Want to see it in action first? Check the demo below.

Photoshop - Amazing Effects with Duotone

This week we're going to take a simple photograph and turn it into a KEWL work of art using duotone.The above photo looks nice. But lets turn it into something special like this!

In my example I threw out almost all of the color information, added a filter and got this amazing photo in just a few clicks of the mouse. Let's see how easy this is.
Open any image and go to Image - Mode - Grayscale. Next go to Image - Mode - Duotone. You'll see a screen like the following.Select Duotone then select two colors to represent your image. You can get amazing results depending on your color choices. Click the colored boxes to change colors and select the curve to change the intensity of your colors. I choice black and cyan in my example.
Don't know which colors to pick? Try the Custom Preset drop-down menu for a huge selection of preset duotones.
After you've gotten the color you want try one of Photoshop's artistic filters. In my example I used Filter - Artistic - Dry brush to get the results shown above.
The next time you want to create a special effect on an otherwise average photograph try duotone. Sometimes less really is MORE!

Create your own nature sound files!

Sounds from nature are so relaxing. Perhaps it's ocean waves, birds singing or whatever.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could create and customize your own?
Well now you can. Use this free online tool to customize your own relaxing nature sounds.
Nature sounds will let you do this. You can find this at http://naturesoundsfor.me.

There are several nature sounds to pick from. You can combine up to 4 different sounds and adjust the volume for each nature sound as you desire.
Here is an unusual yet relaxing combination that I came up with.
I have "Cat Purr" volume way up with some background water and birds singing.
I adjusted the bird singing to come and go so it wouldn't be constant at the bottom of the "Forest Birds" (shown with segmented green line)
You can then save your file to your computer to take where ever you go to help relax you. You can also choose to save it as a link.
Here is my relaxing version of nature sounds.
http://naturesoundsfor.me/leonasbliss
Enjoy (and relax)

FREE Photoshop for your Smart Phone!

I like to take photos with my phone. However, these photos usually need a lot of help. My Droid was never meant to be a camera but I don't always have my camera on me.
I was thrilled when I found the Free Photoshop application for my Droid!
The thrill didn't last too long when I found out that I could only do the VERY BASICS of editing.
The Photoshop.com Mobile App (free) is available for both the iPhone and Android phones. It provides basic editing tools for your photos. The app lets you crop, rotate, edit color and and few other basic editing tools are available. Do a search for Photoshop on your phone applications menu and download it.
Being so limited I shouldn't complain. Hey it's free, and of course it has to make me smile because it's Photoshop!
http://mobile.photoshop.com/
Enjoy!

FREE Cleaning Tool for your new computer

One of my favorite things to do is to unbox a new computer. How nice to have a fresh Windows installation and a fast roomy hard drive!

However, now there are more than a dozen shortcuts on the desktop for trial programs and services that you may not have any interest in. These "extras" are sometimes called bloatware or craplets.

PC Decrapifier is a free program removes many of these common trial programs and offers and lets you decide what additional software should be on your computer.

Here's one way to get rid of the commercials on my computer that I didn't ask for. Oh, and of course the best part again is that it's FREE.

Want to read more about it? Here is what PCWorld says about it.

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/download

Now Just For Fun!

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana.
6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.
9. Sing Along At The Opera.
10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.
11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'
12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

Make it a GREAT week! :-)

Creating awesome Black and White photographs

Black and white photographs can be stunning and are more popular now than ever.
Photoshop has a couple ways to doing this and I'll show you the right and wrong ways.

The wrong way to make black and white photographs
The first option has been around for years in Photoshop.
To remove color you can go to Image - Adjustment - Desaturate
What you get is a black and white photograph that may or may not look the way you want it to (photo 1).
You have no control of the gray tones in the photo.
Notice how dark the barn is and the sky doesn't stand out like I want it to.








The right way to make black and white photographs
The next time you want to work with black and white do it this way.
Go to Image - Adjustments - Black and White
I was able to fiddle with the intensity of what was previously red and blue in the photo by making the red areas lighter and the blue areas darker! (photo 2)


When you select Black and White you'll get a color slider palette. Here you can adjust the intensity of various parts of the photograph.
Notice how the details of the reds in the barn can now be seen and how increasing the intensity of the blues made the sky stand out. How awesome is that?!

The next time you want to experiment with black and white conversion make sure you select the right tool in Photoshop.

Image - Adjustments - Black and White

Like the old fashioned effect of sepia tone?
Try checking the Tint button in the lower left corner of the Black and White adjustment palette. Here you can even change the color and saturation of your sepia tone effect.

You'll be amazing your friends with your black and white photograph using the right tool in Photoshop.
Enjoy!


OK, now for my video of the month. Enjoy!

Fixing lens distortion in Photoshop

Images taken with wide-angle cameras tend to have severe distortions which pull points towards the optical center. This causes the visual appearance of an object to vary drastically with its location in the field of view.
Photoshop's lens correction tool can remove this distortion for you. Depending on the camera you used Photoshop can read the exif data (EXIF (Exchange image file format). This is a standard that allows information stored with the digital photograph) and automatically make the corrections for you.
If not, you can select your camera make and lens to remove this distortion.
To find this filter in CS5 go to Filter - Lens Correction. (In previous versions of Photoshop it was hidden under Filter - Distort - Lens Correction) Never have issues with "bent walls" again.
Here is a video of Lens Correction in action!

Using Adjustment Layers in Photoshop

I like to adjust most of my photographs a little using some of Photoshop's tools. In particular I like to check Levels and often use Contrast.
However, what happens if I've added too much contrast and have saved my file? There's no going back unless I have the original image somewhere to undo what I've done. And, by then I've usually deleted the original file off my camera. DOH!

This is why you want to always use Adjustment Layers to do your editing. Adjustment Layers allow you to go back to your change and tweak your settings or, remove it completely.

Here is one way to start.
Open your Layers palette and click on the black and white Adjustment layer icon. All of the awesome editing tools display in a list. Select the tool you want to use and a new Adjustment layer appears in your layer palette. Make the changes you want and even add another Adjustment layer if desired.
Each new adjustment now displays as a seperate layer in your layer palette.

To make changes to your adjustments just click on the Adjustment layer icon to view your previous change and modify your settings (photo 2).

The best part about using Adjustment layers is that no damage is done to your photo. If you save this file in a native .psd format you can always go back to remove, tweak or add new Adjustment layers without permanent alternations to the original photo.

If you've never used them, Adjustment layers will be your new best friend in Photoshop.
Never damage a pixel again!

Hidden features in Photoshop

When working with an image in Photoshop, sometimes what is surrounding your photograph can affect what you are seeing. First an foremost, just the clutter alone can be distracting.
Also, what the human eye and brain “perceives” can be effected by the color surrounding your image. If you have a darker color around your main image, your main image will lighten up, and if you have a lighter color around your main image, your image will appear darker.
This is the reason we have the “F” key function. Hitting the "F" key will not only remove all the color but allow you to see your photograph "in a new light" as they say with a light gray or black background. Hit the "F" key again to get all of your toolbars (and clutter) back.
Below is an example starring my kitty Echo.
The next time you're in Photoshop, give it a try!

Black and white vs desaturate

Black and white photographs can be stunning. There are a couple of ways to work with the Black and White settings in Photoshop.
The first way used to be the only option available when changing a photograph from color to black and white. You can do this by going to Image - Adjustments - Desaturate and the color information is removed like in the second photo displayed here.
This is fast but you have absolutely no control on the overall tones of the now black and white photo.

Here is the best way to make a black and white photo in Photoshop.
Go to Image - Adjustments - Black and White. Here you get slider bars to influence the effect of certain colors in the image. For example, notice how dark the barn is when I let Photoshop change the photo to black and white by using desaturate in the 2nd photo. The barn is too dark and the sky doesn't pop like it does in the color photograph.
In the third photo you can see how I adjusted the reds and blues so that the barn is much lighter and the previous blue areas of the sky become more prominent. With these slides I can bring focus to areas of the photograph that I want the focus to be on! This is great for flowers, sky, and in this case the barn.

There are also tools here if I want to create a neat sepia tone effect by selecting the Tint button and adjusting the hue and saturation of the tint. This can be really nice for the old time photo effects.
Now you can make stunning black and white photography using the KEWL Black and White tool in Photoshop too!

Photoshop - Dry Brush Filter

I wouldn't be able to draw even a stick figure if I had to. However, Photoshop has some filters that can create AMAZING faux painting effects.
Today we'll take a look at my favorite filter to create amazing "paintings" from photographs!
Enjoy!

Formatting Text in Photoshop

You might need to add an entire paragraph of text in your Photoshop document. However, what about editing the line and word spacing of the paragraph like you can in a text editor?
Here is all you need to do.
Select your text then open the character palette (File menu - Window - Character). You'll see numerous text formatting tools available including leading and tracking. You can either type in a number into these fields or, use the little slider arrows to watch your spacing change as you move the arrows.
Other features on the bottom of the palette include faux Bold (very helpful when Bold is not an option for your font) subscripts, underline and superscripts.

Photoshop will never be an efficient text editor but when you need to make adjustments it can be done with the Character palette.

Enjoy hiking? Perhaps not like this video of the month.

Great digital cameras for under $200

I have some great professional cameras that I use for business. However, there are a lot of times that I don't want to take any of those cameras with me.
For one thing, they are large, expensive and can be overkill for doing just simple everyday shots. When I'm traveling, I like a camera that will slip into a pocket but still do a decent job of taking pictures. The problem is, what camera should I get for every day use like this?
PC Magazine has done the work for me. Take a look at 8 nice digital cameras that they have reviewed that fits this need.
PCMag.com - 8 great Digital Cameras under $200

FREE Photoshop Fire brushes

What's more fun that new Photoshop brushes?
You'll be able to create amazing special effects with these FREE fire brushes.
There are several sets to select from.
http://www.designzzz.com/amazing-photoshop-fire-brush-packs/
Want even more FREE Photoshop brushes?
Check out my previous blogs for these goodies along with instructions on how to load these brushes into Photoshop.

http://leonaruth.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-photoshop-brushes.html
and
http://leonaruth.blogspot.com/2008/02/photoshop-brushes-every-artist-needs.html

Enjoy!

Fun local events

Looking for something new to do? Sometimes the same old stuff gets boring.
Here is a great local event directory that will show you what's happening in your area.
www.when.com

Photoshop - Great picture in picture effect

How can you make a simple photograph one to remember?

Let's take a look at how with Photoshop, you can create a really wonderful yet easy special effect like the example shown here.



Find a nice photograph that uses the rule of thirds. You'll want extra room on the edge of the photograph to place your main subject. In this example we have extra room on the right side of the photo.



Duplicate your layer. On this new layer you'll want to desaturate the color. The old way of doing this in Photoshop was Image - Adjustments - Desaturate. I never use this anymore now that Photoshop has the adjustable Black & White feature. It's found in the same area: Image - Adjustments - Black & White.

This is SO much better than just letting Photoshop remove color and leaving you with a Black and White photo. With the Black and White tool you can adjust how much contrast you want in say, the blue areas. In using Image - Adjustments - Black & White, I was able to make the ocean stand out in the Black and White layer by adjusting the previous blue areas and have complete control on how the Black and White layer looked.



Next, go back to the color layer and make a selection around the subject, copy it and paste it into a new layer.

With the subject on the new top layer go to Layer - Layer Style - Stroke. In this example I changed the stroke color to white and added some width to the border around the photograph. While I had the Layer Style window open, I also added a drop shadow for a more dramatic effect. To give the photo more interest I then flipped the subject horizontally. To do this go to Edit - Transform - Flip Horizontally.



The last touch to my photograph was to rotate the subject layer just a little. To do this I made sure I had the subject layer selected and went to Edit - Transform - Rotate.



Here is what my finished Photoshop file looks like. I have my original layer, the copied layer that I removed color from, and my subject layer that I added a Layer Style of Stroke and Drop Shadow too.



What a great gift for special photographs of family and friends. They'll all be amazed at the professional and stunning results that you've created.

Enjoy!















And now for my video of the month.

Have you ever built anything with Legos? Check out this Lego creation.



And I thought my Lego house was neat.

Blast from the Past

Remember Polaroids? I sure do. There was nothing more exciting than waving a wet photograph in the air waiting for a picture to magically appear.
Unfortunately Polaroid doesn't make this film any more. However, you can still get the same look of these retro photographs. Rollip is a free online tool that will give you this nostalgic effect.
There's are several styles to pick from too! I was able to create a kewl effect and suddenly it was 1968 again! The best part (besides being FREE) I didn't have to worry about that sticky messy photo gluey stuff.


http://www.rollip.com/
Enjoy!

Amazing Jigsaw Puzzle Affect

Want to impress your friends with an amazing jigsaw puzzle affect on a favorite photo? Here is how you can do it.

Go to Adobe’s site to download their jigsaw action.
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&extid=1044043
This is an awesome Action, but it doesn’t pull out the pieces as shown in our example.

Running the Action

• Download the puzzle Action.
• Load the Action via the Action palette – click the little triangle on the upper right corner of the Action palette and select "Load Action".
• You'll see your new puzzle Actions available
• Select the option of 6 or 20 piece puzzle
• The Action will stop to allow you to adjust the bevel of the pieces and shadow. Make these adjustments and click continue to resume the Action.

The puzzle will be complete but the pieces will all be in place. If you like this look you can stop here.
If you’d like to pull individual pieces out like in our example follow these steps:

Moving the Pieces

• Change your background color to white
• Increase the size of your canvas (better to increase too much than not enough. You can crop later)
• Open your layers palette
• All the puzzle pieces will be in a folder called "Puzzle Set"
• Each puzzle piece will be on its own separate layer
• Select the puzzle piece you want to move and drag it outside the Puzzle Set folder (see below with puzzle piece A2)
• Unlock this layer by selecting your puzzle layer and clicking the lock in the bottom of the layers palette (see below)
• You can now move your puzzle piece to anywhere you wish
• I used the move then Rotate Tool (Edit - Transform - Rotate)
• Do this for each puzzle piece you want to move

Enjoy!