Photoshop Fabulous 3D Effects

Thanks to the Vandelay Design blog, I found a really neat 3D Action that beats what I can do in a few steps manually in Photoshop.  Let's take a look at how I got from the above image to the image below.
There are 2 files to download, a starburst image file and the Action itself.
Go to this blog to download the files.
Next you just need to load and run the Action. (How to load and work with Actions)
Just running the Action I downloaded and hitting the Enter key a couple of times turned the above graphic from what you see above, to the cool graphic you see below.
There are several options/windows that open allowing you to edit the size of the shadow etc. but for the first time I ran through it I found it easiest to just click OK or hit the Return key until all the processes finish,
When the Action is done, you'll need to select the layers that the starbursts are on and move them to the spots of your choice.

What I love about this Action is that it not only works with text, but there is an option to run this Action on shapes and layers too.
How easy is that?
Enjoy!

Photoshop - Sneak Preview of frantastic new sharpen feature

Photoshop does it again. A new tool that actually sharpens an image!
Of course we have all the sharpen tools but all they really do is to find edges and add more contrast, thus giving the illusion of sharpness.

Photoshop will be coming out (no date planned as of yet) with a tool to truly remove movement/blur. This new tool analyzes the trajectory of motion while the lens was open and runs  a complicated algorithm to correct the blur.

I don't know about you but I have a couple of photos in mind that I can't wait to try this out on.

Check out this video at 1:18 for the magic!
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/10/11/adobe-demos-incredible-unblur-feature-for-photoshop/

Photoshop - Custom Halloween Shapes

Just in time for Halloween! Here are some custom shapes to use in Photoshop.


http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshopdownloads/ss/halloween.htm

To add these shapes:
Place the *.csh files into:
Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop X\Presets\Custom Shapes where X is the version number for your version of Photoshop.
To load a file, go to the Styles palette, then click the small arrow in the top right corner and choose one of the layer style collections from the menu.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Even more Free Photoshop Brushes

As the page mentions: "Take all these fabulous Photoshop brushes for the low, low price of $0 down and $0 per month!

If your last name begins with a letter between A and Z, you may download these amazing free Photoshop CS5, CS4, and CS3 brushes today. All others may download tomorrow."
 http://www.creativepro.com/article/free-all-photoshop-brushes-blowout

Want to get even more FREE brushes and see how to load them into Photoshop?
Check out my previous blog.

I just love the word FREE! Enjoy!