Photoshop
Tutorials
These Photoshop
Tutorials (at least
most of them) concentrate on using a Wacom tablet as the
input device.
 In case you missed it - a
Wacom Graphics Tablet is the
indispensible tool for serious Photoshop users.
The
pressure sensitivity and the precise resolution means you have more
control over the finished project and they are a lot of fun to use as
well.
If
you are using a Wacom Tablet (and you really should, you know) then I
suggest your make sure you understand how to set up your Graphire or
Bamboo or Intuos 3
to take advantage of the Pressure Sensitivity that is built into the
tablet/Photoshop combination.
It it also a good idea to set up
your tablet to work the way you do (in the Windows Control Panel or the
Mac System Preferences).
Most of the tutorials include both a video and a text description.
Set
Up
Customize your tablet for the way you work in either the Control Panel
(Windows) or the System Preferences (Mac).
Here is where you set the tip feel (hard or light), the programmable
buttons, switches, tilt (Intuos 3) and pop up menus.
| Bamboo |
Intuos
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Brush Settings
must
read and must see
With
a Wacom tablet connected to your computer the brushes in
Photoshop
become much more powerful and useful because of the Pressure
Sensitivity
between the Tablet and Pen.
I
have spoken to a lot of tablet users over the years and have been
amazed that so few had any inkling they could change the way
their
brushes act with a Wacom tablet installed.
This
is how to adjust the Photoshop Brushes to change the way they work when
you apply pressure on the pen.
Click on the little squiggle to lean how to set the brushes to react to
pressure.
These setting work for all of the Wacom tablets (the old Graphires, the
Bamboo, the Intuos and the Cintiq).
Selections
Your skill
at making effective, neat selections will determine the quality of your
Photoshop work.
There
are many different selection methods from the most basic (Magic Wand)
to the more sophisticated (The Pen Tool and Channels).
Lasso and
Marquee Tools
These
are the seven most basic selection tools. The Marquee Tools
select square or rectangular, round or elliptical and single row
or columns.
The
Lasso Tool s include three different types
- the Lasso Tool, the
Magnetic Lasso and the Polygonal Lasso Tool and they excel at making
odd shape selections. These are probably the most used
selection
tools.
Click on the Lasso Tools to learn more about making selections with
them (and one of them is pressure
sensitive with a tablet installed).
Quick Mask
With
the Quick Mask you actually paint a mask over the item you are not
including in a
selection.
This is an excellent selection tool and it is
really fun
to use if you have a Wacom tablet on your computer.
Once you know how to use the
Quick Mask then you will use it over and over.
Channels
This is
a more advanced method of selecting which will select more fine detail.
Selecting with channels lets you make detailed selections of
very complex objects - like tress on the horizon.
The Pen Tool
The Pen Tool is the selection
methods of the pros.
Using the
Pen Tool takes some practice but once you get the hang of it you will
start turning out great selections!
You can, of course, use the pen tool with a mouse but it is so much
easier with a Wacom tablet.
Image Manipulation
These
are a variety of techniques for modifying your digital photos in unique
and interesting ways. New techniques are added regularly.
Cloning
The
Clone Brush is one of those tools everyone loves to work with
especially when one is new to Photoshop. It
can produce
fabulous results or really amateur results.
Using a Wacom Tablet set to pressure
sensitivity makes all the difference in your cloning
projects.
Replacing A
Background
Using any
technique but selecting with channels can be a nightmare if you have an intricate foreground (like trees
agains a sky).
This tutorial will take you through the steps to replace the sky in an
image.
Changing Color
There
are a number of different techniques in Photoshop to change the color
of - well - anything. This technique works really well with a
pressure sensitive tablet.
Click on the thumbnail to learn some of the more popular techniques.
Local Control

This
is a really neat technique to selectively lighten or darken one area of
a photograph without affecting the rest and without using selections.
It works best with a pressure sensitive Wacom tablet set to change
Opacity with pressure.
Removing Shine

Removing the shine from a forehead or nose or chin seems to be a real
challenge for a lot of digital photographers (it is my most visited
page).
Removing the shine is relatively easy if you know how to do it
properly. Click the thumbnail to learn how to remove shine
from anything.
Creating a
Reflection

This is a great technique for creating a nice reflection under a static
object - like the banana thumbnail.
Click the banana to find out how to create a reflection under anything
you wish.
High Key
Conversions
High Key Images -
you've probably seen them and maybe even wondered "how the
heck do they do that"?
Follow this
tutorial by clicking on the thumbnail to find out how to make your own,
awesome high key images - plus it is a fun
technique!
Photo
Restoration
Restoring
old, damaged photographs is one of the most challenging Photoshop
projects you
will ever tackle and it will be one of the most rewarding as well.
Those
priceless old family photos
may have lots of different problems that will tax your
Photoshop
skills and it may take days to complete - but - dang - it's a lot of
fun.
Click on the thumbnail to start learning how to get started with your
restoration project.
Photo Restoration II

This technique is actually two adjustment layers (Channel Mixer and Curves)
combined to improve this image.
The Channel Mixer technique, in particular, is really useful in any situation
where you want to turn a color image to black and white.
Click on the thumbnail to learn how to use these two powerful adjustment layers.
Color Cast
Try as we might,
sometimes we get a fabulous picture with a real nasty color cast.
It may be a white balance problem in the digital camera;
perhaps it is an old print that was not printed correctly.
The reason doesn't matter because there are many different ways to fix
the offending color cast with Photoshop.
Click on the thumbnail to discover more about eliminating color casts.
Perspective
Crop
Did you have any
idea that you can change your perspective on a picture using the Drop
Tool? You can and it is relatively easy to do!
A Perspective Crop seems to change the position you were in
when you took the picture - flippin' amazing ... like a photography
time machine ...
Click the thumbnail to learn how to do a Perspective Crop.
Photoshop
Actions
Photoshop Actions
are a series of Photoshop techniques that run automatically when you
start them. Photoshop comes with a bunch of generic Actions
or you can write you own Actions.
Click the thumbnail to learn how to write you own Actions.
Using Curves
The
Curves dialogue in Photoshop is a very useful and very powerful way to
manipulate your images. It may be confusing at first but if you
approach it in easy steps you will soon understand why Photoshop
professionals rave about Curves.
You can easily adjust the brightness, the contrast and the color with curves.
Click the thumbnail to learn how to use this powerful feature.
Glamorizing
It seems everyone wants to glamorize their pictures. Here are
some procedures to do just that.
They range from really easy basic techniques to more advanced
techniques.
Basic
Modifications
This
is a nice and easy technique for doing some basic work on blemishes and
the skin. In a lot of cases this quick fix will be all you
need.
The tools used in this tutorial are the Clone Tool, Gaussian Blur and
the History Brush.
This technique roughly follows the workflow of a photographer named
Dave Birdsong.
Tooth
Whitening
This technique can
also be called Digital
Dental Hygiene (I coined it and I couldn't be more proud)!
You
will learn how to eliminate and unsightly tooth stains and then whiten
up the subjects teeth. With this procedure (as with most
procedures) less is more!
Digital
Makeover

This
is more advanced technique and uses Photoshop features that the casual
user may never have used before - but it is well explained so fear not.
I learned this technique from a gentleman named Ashley Riddel.
The video included with this technique will further help to
successfully follow through to the end.
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