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The creative tutorial home of image wrangler, Lesa Snider.

Photoshop

How to use Photoshop to turn a photo into a realistic painting

One of the most frequently asked Photoshop questions is how to turn a photo into a painting. Unless you’re a fine artist who’s skilled at digital painting, it can be a daunting task. Fortunately, the mortals among us can use a combination of Photoshop filters to get it done. This technique works especially well on landscape shots, where you don’t have to worry about distorting facial features. This column teaches you how to use Photoshop CS6 or CC 2015, specifically, to create a fairly realistic painting complete with canvas texture...

How to stitch photos into a panorama using Adobe Camera Raw

panorama by Jack Davis, wowcreativearts.com

One of the caveats of being a photographer is that you may not be equipped with a lens that’s wide enough to capture the scene you want. When such misfortune strikes, all is not lost; you can take several overlapping shots and then merge them into a panorama using Adobe Photoshop’s Camera Raw plug-in, which comes with Photoshop. (The steps are nearly identical for creating a pano in Lightroom.) Click here to read the full tutorial on Macworld.com.

How to edit video in Photoshop CC

Photoshop CC is ideal for creating promotional video pieces, portfolio-based slideshows, and sellable videos for your photography business. Best of all, you don’t have to learn another program—you’ll use tools you’re familiar with. In this column, you’ll learn how to create a wedding video by mixing stills, video, and text...click here to read the full tutorial on Macworld.com

How to access advanced OpenType features in a variety of apps

Fancy typography doesn’t require expensive software. Thanks to the OpenType font format, the newest versions of everyday software (and the pro stuff) can tap into a multitude of alternate character designs if you know where to look. In this column, you’ll learn to use a variety of applications to add a special flourish to an important letter in a word—say, the first or last letter of a name—or to change the appearance of any amount of text. It’s a wonderful way to enliven an invitation, greeting card, inspirational graphic, logo, headlines, stationery, resume, and so on...

64 Free Paper Textures

64 Free Paper Textures

Here’s a useful addition to your design arsenal: 64 textured papers, each one a 2100 x 1500 pixel image suitable for printing. Company Folders provides these images so you can see what your designs might look like on their folder stock — but you can use them as backgrounds or texture maps for any project!

Some of my favorites are Eco Kraft, Jute Vellum, 10 colors of Linen, and 8 colors of Felt. Their website shows previews of each paper, so you can decide whether you think they’re worth downloading. Get them here while they’re still available.

New book project is Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CC for Photographers: Classroom in a Book!

I'm absolutely over the MOON to announce my new book project, "Adobe Lightroom CC & Photoshop CC for Photographers: Classroom in a Book." Of all the tech books in the whole wide world, this is the one I wanted to write the most. I can't wait to help people learn to use these two amazing applications together.

Google Nik Collection now free!

Google Nik Plugin Collection

Hey everyone! In case you haven't heard, as of yesterday (March 24) the Google Nik Collection of SEVEN desktop plug-ins are now free. The company is also offering a refund for anyone who purchased the collection in 2016. You can learn more at this link: https://www.google.com/nikcollection/

Understanding basic image file formats

Chances are good that you’ve witnessed a wide variety of file formats flit across your screen, but do you really understand what they mean? For example, you may understand that a JPEG is for pictures but what’s a PNG and a TIFF? And which format supports an image with a see-through background? In this column, you’ll get answers to those questions and more... click here to read the full story on Macworld.com

The secret to producing subtle photographic color effects in Photoshop

Color trends come and go, though when it comes to photographic treatments, some color effects are here to stay. For example, adding a brown tint to a black and white image produces a sepia tone that evokes a vintage or romantic feel. Likewise, adding pastel pink or blue—Pantone’s colors of the year are rose quartz (13-1520) and serenity (15-3919)—to a black and white image evokes a soft, dreamy feel. These ageless and classy techniques limit the photo’s color palette, which puts focus on the image content.

creativeLIVE rebroadcasts my “Photoshop For Beginners” class this weekend

Photoshop for Beginners

creativeLIVE is broadcasting my “Photoshop For Beginners” class this Saturday and Sunday at 10am each day (Feb 20 & 21). It’s free to watch while live, and it’s on sale at a discount if you want to watch it anytime, here. Tell your Photoshop-aspiring friends!

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