Adobe Photoshop Tutorials | Photoshop Brushes, Filters, Actions and Plugins

8 Feb

Since its controversial release, the iPad has been both criticized and admired by the design community.

In this post we have compiled a list of great resources, that teach you how to create your own iPad icons, as well as a collection of ready made icons and PSDs.

To download the files, please click on the preview image to go to the source site and remember to check the terms of use before using them in your projects.

If you know of any other great iPad freebies, please add them in the comments section below and we’ll include them in this post when appropriate.

Enjoy…

1 Feb

20 Years of Adobe Photoshop

Adobe, History, Photoshop

96

Photoshop has been a part of every web designer’s life since they picked up their first mouse.

On February 10th, 2010, Photoshop turns twenty. To mark this anniversary, we’ve come up with an article that takes you through the evolution of Photoshop from its modest beginnings as a bundled program sold with scanners to its current version.

For each version and major feature listed, we couldn’t help but think “did Photoshop ever exist without that feature?”.

Some of the minor details are fun too, such as the one-liner Easter Eggs that Photoshop developers hid in some versions and the fact that the most current versions of Adobe Photoshop CS are equipped with anti-counterfeiting measures for multiple world currencies.

Please join us in thanking the Knolls and Adobe for making all of our lives more awesome, every day. Read more

5 Jan

Drop-Shadows and Gradients: Be Consistent in Your Visual Metaphors

Design, Photoshop, Web Design

64

Drop-shadows and gradients are two of the most common design elements on the web.

You’ll find them accompanying many different styles. They’re handy effects for web designers because they’re attractive, useful and easy to create with any graphics program. But they have a dark side: they’re frequently abused.

Using amateurish drop-shadows or gradients is almost as bad as affixing a scarlet letter to your shirt to let the world know you’re a beginner or a hack. Even subtle, barely noticeable mistakes can create tensions that undermine otherwise beautiful and effective designs.

In this article, we’ll look at what drop-shadows and gradients do, we’ll talk about how to use them effectively and we’ll look at some examples of mistakes and how to fix them. Read more

19 Oct

Do’s and Don’ts of Photoshop Retouching

Photography, Photoshop, Web Design

44

A photograph of a stunning model is sitting before you that has serious potential but several flaws.

The shade of the female model’s hair is dull, her eye color just isn’t doing it for you, and she has several pimples across her otherwise flawless face.

What do you do? Touch up the photo using Photoshop, of course!

The number of options available for enhancement are now sky high, but what’s the best way to clean the photo up?

To simplify the retouching process, we have highlighted the best and worst ways to create a clean, professional-looking photo in Photoshop. Read more

31 Aug

300+ Resources to Help You Become a Photoshop Expert

Compilation, Photoshop, Web Design

62

Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most powerful graphics and photo manipulation software on the market.

You can do virtually anything with Photoshop, from fantasy image collages to complete website designs, and everything in between.

Although while Photoshop is incredibly powerful, it can also be incredibly complicated, especially when trying to perform advanced functions.

Below are over 300 resources to get you on your way to Photoshop mastery.

There’s everything from cheat sheets to brushes to tutorials to action scripts, as well as collections of even more resources and tools. With the resources below, you should be able to do just about anything possible with Photoshop. Read more

25 Aug

Free Photoshop Brushes: “Sparkling Light Effects”

Brushes, Freebies, Photoshop

29

Today we bring you another awesome set of exclusive Photoshop brushes which include 24 high resolution “Sparkling Light Effects”.

The set was created by Grant Friedman from Colorburned exclusively for WDD readers.

These brushes are completely free for both personal and commercial use so you can create any type of project with them with no restrictions, with the exception that we do not allow the redistribution of the brushes in any shape or form.

If you’d like to share these brushes with your friends and colleagues, simply refer them to this page so that they can download their copy.

Below is a full preview of all 24 brushes for quick reference. The download link is at the bottom. Enjoy! Read more

17 Aug

How to Effectively Organize your Photoshop Layers

How to, Photoshop, Productivity

78

We designers tend to get frustrated with developers when they take liberties with our work.

But we have to understand they’re not entirely at fault.

Put yourself in their shoes: imagine what it’s like opening a Photoshop file (PSD), only to find a jumble of poorly labeled layers and folders, plus a heap of unchecked hidden layers and other half-baked ideas that didn’t make it to fruition.

The following tutorial outlines how to create organized, designer and developer friendly PSD files.

This is in no way the only solution, but hopefully it will encourage better practice in the web design world. Read more

30 Jun

50 Dazzling Examples of Polar Panorama Photography

Inspiration, Photography, Photoshop

74

Polar panoramas, also known as stereographic projections or ‘little planets’, are spectacular images that are created out of panoramic photos.

While the effects are quite stunning, these images are actually very easy for anyone to produce.

The basic principle is to take a panoramic photo, make some easy changes to it, and finally apply a Photoshop filter (Distort > Polar Coordinates) to complete the effect.

For detailed instructions, please follow this easy tutorial.

Here are 50 dazzling examples of polar panorama photography. Read more

16 Jun

30 Photoshop Brushes: ‘Drippy Sprays’

Brushes, Freebies, Photoshop

42

Today we bring you a great set of exclusive Photoshop brushes which include 30 high resolution drippy sprays.

The set was created by Grant Friedman from Colorburned exclusively for WDD readers.

These brushes are completely free for both personal and commercial use so you can create any type of project with them with no restrictions, with the exception that we do not allow the redistribution of the brushes in any shape or form.

If you’d like to share these brushes with your friends and colleagues, simply refer them to this page so that they can download their copy.

Below is a full preview of all 30 brushes for quick reference. The download link is at the bottom. Enjoy! Read more

10 Jun

40 Examples of Incredible Photo Manipulation

Inspiration, Photography, Photoshop

122

Photo manipulation is an ever evolving collaboration between photography and graphic design.

Combining certain elements to create a unique image, that can convince even the most experienced set of eyes, requires a very creative set of skills.

Because the manipulation of a photo gives a realistic view of an unreal picture, you should have an open mind when gathering ideas on how to get creative with your images.

Photo manipulations are a great source for inspiration, generally because designers are able to express their creativity through various aspects of design.

Several of the following images contain illustrative elements, while others display a more realistic approach.

So here are 40 of the most incredible examples of photo manipulation. Read more

14 May

Create a 3D Text Scene Using Photoshop

3D, Photoshop, Tutorials

73

In this tutorial we’ll create a realistic 3D text scene using Photoshop with a little help from Illustrator for the 3D text.

You need to have medium to advanced knowledge of Photoshop in order to complete this tutorial.

To get started, go ahead and download all the images used from the Sxh.hu website. All images are free to download and here are the links: 1, 2, 3, 4

Let’s get started and create a truly awesome 3D effect in just a few short steps. Try it out and feel free to post links to your own variations, we’d love to see what you come up with.

29 Apr

100 Amazing Futuristic Design Concepts We Wish Were Real

Design, Inspiration, Photoshop

145

Concept designers are also referred to as “visual futurists”.

These concept designs may not be on the market yet, but they can still inspire you to create something just as futuristic and exciting online.

The designs may be impractical in some cases, but the idea is to put the concept out to the world to see how it evolves and grows.

Remember that these are all just conceptual, you can’t buy them yet! Some may be closer to being produced than others, particularly when they come from a large company like Braun or Samsung. Otherwise, who knows if or when they will be available.

With that said, here you have 100 amazing futuristic design concepts that will make you crave more.

17 Apr

Weekend Design Challenge: Photomontage [UPDATED]

Challenge, Design, Photoshop

45

Ready for an exciting challenge? As you know, we always like to bring you great resources for inspiration, as well as tutorials and tools to empower you to become a great designer.

Today, we’re trying something new… This should be a fun weekend project, where you can let your imagination run wild and put to practice some of what you have learned from reading WDD.

The challenge is to create a unique photomontage using at least three specific images from Sxc.hu. The theme and feeling of the image that you create is entirely up to you, so use your creativity in any way you want.

To enter, simply email your creations as a JPEG file. On Monday, I’ll be posting the best images received and featuring the designers. [THIS CHALLENGE HAS NOW ENDED, SEE THE RESULTS BELOW] Read more

2 Apr

How to Make a Photoshop Montage

Design, Photoshop, Tutorials

32

Anyone can cobble together a few photos and textures and create a humdrum montage.

To elevate yours beyond this it takes a few simple tricks using Photoshop’s awesome array of tools.

Do it right and the style has got dozens of applications from static navigation or graphics, through to animated banners and interactive collages.

I’ve picked a musical theme, as the style works really well for band graphics or music based sites.

This tutorial explains how to create a great Photoshop montage in 19 steps, so let’s get started and have fun with it. Read more

6 Mar

20 Beautiful Photoshop Montage Tutorials

Photoshop, Tutorials

45

Photomontage is a technique widely used by graphic designers and consists of cutting and joining multiple photographs in order to create a unique image, using graphic applications such as Photoshop.

The idea here is to create the illusion that all of the photo elements are parts of the same photo.

In this article, we’ll look at 20 beautiful Photoshop montage tutorials that teach you step by step how to create these amazing photo composites.

Follow these tutorials and mix them up. The possibilities are endless and the results can really stretch anyone’s imagination. Read more

20 Feb

Breaking Apart – Photoshop Tutorial

Design, Photoshop, Tutorials

30

In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create a breaking apart effect using some simple, but effective, techniques in Photoshop.

One of the greatest tools in Photoshop which is often overlooked is layer masks and when used correctly, they can blend images together seamlessly, giving that professional touch.

We are going to combine the masks with brushes to compliment the original source image with subtle elements.

Once you have completed this tutorial you can experiment with your own findings and combine the techniques used to create a unique and inspiring work. Read more

12 Feb

Photoshop Tutorial Inspired By Quantum Of Solace

Photoshop, Tutorials

10

A few weeks ago I went to the movies to see the new James Bond movie: Quantum of Solace. The movie was nice, even though I’m not a really big fan of the series, however one thing that really caught my eye was the opening credits. I really liked the effects and the style.

The studio that did that animation was MK12 and I love the way they mixed sand and some sort of vector elements, it reminded me a bit of Apple’s Viva la Vida ad.

In this tutorial, I will show you how I created the image inspired by the James Bond movie, in Photoshop.

Here’s a preview of the final image: Read more

28 Jan

Create A Glowing Extreme Wallpaper in Photoshop

Effects, Photoshop, Tutorials, Wallpapers

37

In this tutorial, we’ll create a complex glowing wallpaper using Photoshop.

We’ll be using custom brushes, several blending modes, lightning techniques, and blurs.

The tutorial was created using free resources, so you can easily recreate it by following step-by-step. To make it easy for everyone, we have included the PSD source file at the very end of the tutorial which should be great to use for quick reference.

Go ahead and try it out and post your examples in the comments area.

Here’s a preview of the final image…. Read more

12 Jan

30 Popular Photoshop Tutorials of 2008

Photoshop, Tutorials

32

It seems that just over the last year the quality of Photoshop tutorials have really improved. There have always been a plethora of Photoshop tutorial sites out there, but much of their content was sub par and not very educating.

Today, however, there are plenty of high quality Photoshop tutorials floating around the web. Below you will find a list of some of my favorite picks for 2008.

Many of these are some of the more popular Photoshop tutorials for the past year, but I tried to include some goodies that were a little lesser known as well. Read more

2 Jan

How To Create A Vibrant Image Using Photoshop

Design, Photoshop, Tutorials

46

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to add more energy and dynamism to a photo. The effects can be extended and used on a multitude of photos to create a feeling of motion and vibrancy to a static image.

The tutorial was created and written by renowned artist Mike Harrison (a.k.a. destill) and this is his first tutorial for a blog. His work has been featured in Computer Arts and Advanced Photoshop magazines.

OK, enough of an introduction, and on with the tutorial… Read more

24 Dec

Create An Amazing Illustration Using Scraps

Photoshop, Tutorials, Webdesign

21

In this tutorial I will walk you through a few steps that will show you how I managed to create this illustration. I would like to give all the credit for this to Chris Haines. He is a very talented designer from Australia and one of the depthCore artists.

When I saw his illustration named Skin I was really curious to imagine how he achieved the result so I took my own style, used some free stock and the result is actually really interesting. Now that I managed to finish the work I thought I will share this with you. Read more

25 Nov

Photoshop Droplets and ImageMagick: Tools for batch image processing

Photoshop, Tutorials

8

You have a picture of a stuffed penguin. It’s not just any stuffed penguin, though. It’s the latest and greatest in stuffed penguin technology, the hot item that everyone will want under their Christmas trees this year. You’ll make a fortune with this penguin, if only you can start selling it online in time for the holidays. “But wait!”, you say. “I can’t just put this picture on the Internet looking like that! It’s too big! It needs a border! It needs a drop shadow! What shall I ever do?”

OK, maybe not. Your penguin won’t lead to fame and fortune, and you can easily edit your image with Photoshop. So let’s change the scenario a bit: your client has a picture of a stuffed penguin, and a picture of a stuffed owl, and a stuffed gopher, and a stuffed wallaby, and a stuffed flamingo… You get the idea; hundreds of pictures from their Stuffed Animals from Around the World catalog.

Before you can load all of the pictures into your client’s fancy new e-commerce site, you need thumbnails with simple borders and drop shadows for each and every image. Simple, yes, but tedious. And you’ll get to do it all over again when they release next year’s line of stuffed animals. Read more

21 Nov

Peeling a Hand in Photoshop

Photoshop, Tutorials

45

Today we’re going to demonstrate how to peel a hand in Photoshop. You can use this technique to peel other objects of course. This is the final image preview..