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The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.
FRIDAY - DECEMBER 16 2005
The Exquisite Art Of James Jean - Illustrator & Painter
James Jean is a tremendously talented illustrator who uses Photoshop for much of his work. On his site JamesJean.com you can browse through his galleries and see some truly inspiring work, including his art for DC Comics Batgirl (one of my favorites!). Other clients he's worked for include the New York Times, the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Simon & Schuster, Mother Jones, NYLON, Playboy, Popular Science, SPIN, Men's Health, ESPN the Magazine, Target, Marvel, and the New York Academy of Sciences. His awards include the Gold Medal Society of Illustrators LA, Eisner Award Best Cover Artist 2004 & 2005, and the Harvey Award Best Cover Artist 2005.
Being a huge fan of his work, especially because of the wide variety of style and vibe that his portfolio covers, I've been bugging James Jean to submit one of his pieces along with an interview so we could add him to our Inspiration Section — and a few days ago he sent us this magnificent illustration he created for Entertainment Weekly Magazine.
You can see a larger version of this piece on our James Jean Inspiration Page, and here are the answers to the questions I sent him:
How long did it take to create and how was Photoshop involved?
This piece was a double page spread done for the Entertainment Weekly's 2006 Holiday Movie Preview. Actual execution of the illustration was around 4 days, from drawing to digital color to final approval. Photoshop was used for color, compositing of the background, and glow effects.
How much work like this do you produce in a typical month?
I do about 8 - 12 illustrations a month -- some are more ambitious than others.
How long have you been doing this work?
I've been working as an illustrator for about 5 years.
Do you have an all-time favorite piece of work that you created?
I don't, but my sketchbooks contain some of my favorite moments.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the business?
Learn Photoshop, if only for the ability to create a website, color correct your own work, and deliver it digitally.
Have you ever thought of writing a book of tips and tutorials?
I have, though I'm not sure if I'm ready yet to reveal my secrets...
Can you give us a quick rundown of your workspace (your equipment, especially monitors), and how you deal with color management issues?
I'm using a Sony 19" LCD with XBrite @ 6500K, and for print files, I usually work in Adobe 1998 and convert to CMYK. For printing with my Epson, I convert to files to sRGB, which preserves the bright ends of the spectrum.
What are your favorite tools in Photoshop?
Lately, I've been finding color dodge a useful tool, but I mostly rely on a mixture of layer effects and layer properties to achieve some interesting and weird combinations of color and texture.
What is your all-time favorite Photoshop tip or trick?
Filter> Pixelate> Color Halftone!
Thanks for the interview James, and for all your inspiring work!
For more info and galleries, visit JamesJean.com.
Visit PROCESS/RECESS to view some of his original art and prints.
See our James Jean Inspiration Page.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments
Here's my latest collection of Photoshop links pointing to tutorials, tips and tricks, and special offers.
Download Free Colorizing Software
[From Scott Kelby] There's a new software program out there that will automatically colorize black and white photos for you, with just a little input from you.
TIP: Reset your Preferences
[From Dave Cross] A great tip on how to quickly reset your prefs if Photoshop starts acting "weird."
Adding Texture With The Clone Stamp Tool In Photoshop
[From Graphics.com] Clone photo textures repeatedly onto any part of an illustration to add realism in Photoshop.
Get America 24/7 free with PSCS2
[From John Nack] "I just got a heads up on a little promotion from the Adobe Store: if you buy or upgrade Photoshop CS2 and enter coupon number 8m11ja05 just prior to checking out, you'll get a copy of the beautiful America 24/7 coffee table book for free."
Give An Image A Weathered Look in Photoshop
[From Graphics.com] A few simple steps can transform a too-pristine image into one with a distressed treatment.
Adding Vector Graphics To A Photoshop Illustration
[From Graphics.com] Illustrator Derek Lea combines imagery created in Poser, Bryce and Illustrator within Photoshop.
TIP: Speeding Photoshop's Launch Time
[From Scott Kelby] This tip isn't for everybody — it's for people who either (a) create custom patterns for use with the Pattern Stamp Tool, or (b) load custom (or extra built-in sets) of patterns to use with the Pattern Fill Layer Style (if either of those made you go "huh?", it's probably not you).
Using Step-and-Repeat Creatively In Photoshop
[From Graphics.com] Follow along in this tutorial to put the overlooked step-and-repeat keyboard shortcut to use.
Mister Retro Updates Machine Wash Photoshop Actions
[From Graphics.com] The third volume in the series provides 60 new effects to age, weather, texturize and distress images.
As always, a big Batgirl thank you to James Jean
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments
onOne Offers Savings On Photoshop Plug-In Suite
onOne Software have announced the upcoming availability of their Photoshop Plug-in Suite, priced at $399.95. The Photoshop Plug-In Suite is a collection of professional tools and consists of Genuine Fractals 4.1, Mask Pro 3, PhotoFrame 2.5 and Intellihance Pro 4. The Suite offers a savings of more than $350 from the recommended retail price of buying the products separately.
Customers who own any one of the individual plug-ins can upgrade to the Photoshop Plug-In Suite for $299.95. The Suite consists of the following plug-ins and are all compatible with Photoshop CS2 on both Mac OS X and Windows XP:
Genuine Fractals 4.1 uses a patented, fractal-based scaling technique that provides better scaling results than any of the Bicubic interpolation methods offered in Photoshop.
PhotoFrame 2.5 allows users to create unique and stunning border and edge effects, and includes thousands of high-quality frames and textures allowing users to create an infinite combination of frames. Users can preview adjustments and blend modes in real-time.
Mask Pro 3 for creating high-quality image masks. Mask Pro 3 includes a wide variety of selection tools and real-time previews of the masking results to provide users with the widest range of options when making detailed selections in a variety of images.
Intellihance Pro 4 for intelligent image and color correction of digital images. Intellihance Pro offers users a fine degree of control over the process of color correcting and enhancing images including the ability to create custom correction presets.
Visit onOne Software fro more details.
Read our review of Genuine Fractals 4.1
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments
Photoshop CS4 & Photoshop CS4 Extended - Best Deals From Adobe
Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended feature a newly refined, tab-based interface in a single, integrated window, with self-adjusting panels arranged in docked groups. Automatically keeping tools well organized and away from your work area means you get greater efficiency, less clutter, and better results, faster than before.
Delivering all the features of Adobe Photoshop CS4 software, including the new Adjustments and Masks panels, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended also provides breakthrough 3D editing and compositing power to paint directly on 3D models, create 3D animations, convert 2D images to 3D objects, and more; richer motion graphics editing; and more powerful and flexible image analysis and tracking. Learn more on our Photoshop CS4 Tutorials Page. To download the free trial, see details on our Photoshop CS4 Free Trial Download Page.
Find upgrade options and package deals at the Adobe USA Store. Teachers and students get special pricing at the Adobe Education Store. You can also buy in your country currency and language at the following Adobe International Stores:
Adobe United Kingdom | Adobe Germany | Adobe France | Adobe Eastern Europe
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium - Complete CS4 Bundle
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium software is the designer's dream toolkit for print, web, and mobile publishing. Creativity is rarely confined to one medium, so put your vector illustrations in motion, moving fluidly between Adobe Illustrator CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. And use Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended to design and slice a web page for publishing with Adobe Dreamweaver CS4.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium combines essential tools for producing everything from professional page layouts to rich interactive experiences in a unified, intuitive environment. Also includes Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, Adobe InDesign CS4, plus Adobe Fireworks CS4.
Buy now or download the free trial at the Adobe USA Store, or buy in your country currency and language at the following Adobe International Stores:
Adobe United Kingdom | Adobe Germany | Adobe France | Adobe Eastern Europe
Exclusive onOne Software 10% Instant Discount Coupon
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - PSSPPT06 - during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 10% discount on any onOne product. This includes Genuine Fractals and their amazing Photoshop Plug-In Suite.
onOne Software's Plug-In Suite combines full versions of six essential software tools — Genuine Fractals Print Pro, PhotoTools Pro, PhotoFrame Pro, Mask Pro, PhotoTune and FocalPoint — an affordable combination that includes everything a photographer needs to make their images look their best.
Why do you need plugins? Photoshop is an amazing image editing application that has forever changed graphic design and digital photographic editing, but like any tool, if you don't have time to fully learn it, you can't get the most out of it.
Plugins for Photoshop allow you to either do something that you cannot do with the features included in Photoshop or they allow you to do something easier, faster or better than you could do in Photoshop without the plug-in. Whether it is color correction, resizing, masking or creating an effect, you can find a Photoshop plug-in that can help you be more efficient with your time.
Did You Know You Could Create An Entire Website In Photoshop?
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store
Adobe has announced the immediate availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 software, the photographer's essential toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. With new enhancements such as dual-monitor support, radical advances in non-destructive localized image correction, and streamlined search capabilities, Photoshop Lightroom 2 is a compelling upgrade that simplifies photography from shoot to finish. Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Lightroom trial free download.
As Adobe’s first application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers with Intel processors and Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems, Lightroom 2 also provides improved memory performance for dealing with large scale images. Find the latest Lightroom 2 tutorials on our Photoshop Lightroom 2 Tutorials page.
Photoshop CS4 Book - Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS4. If you are an aspiring professional or a student learning photography, digital imaging, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Skin Retouching Tips In Photoshop CS4
Transforming Smart Objects In Photoshop CS4
Find more Photoshop CS4 tutorials on our Photoshop CS4 Tutorials Page.
Find More Adobe Photoshop Books at Amazon.com
Find all the latest bestselling Photoshop books at discount prices at Amazon.com.
Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
Special book offer - save 24%
Photoshop CS3: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $28.08 - save 24%)
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Total Training for Adobe Photoshop
Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.
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