100% Fresh Blog » Photoshop

Screen Modes in the Creative Suite

James Fritz — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:39:22 +0000

The Adobe Creative Suite has a variety of options for switching between screen modes. If you are going to be showing a client a design on your screen, it can be distracting for them to see all of your panels and menus. To hide your panels, press the tab key and they will disappear until you press the tab key again. The following showcases the features of each program’s view settings.

InDesign

You can change the visibility of the document window using the Mode buttons at the bottom of the toolbox or by choosing commands from the View > Screen Mode menu. When the toolbox is displayed in a single column, you can select view modes by clicking the current mode button and selecting a different mode from the menu that appears.

Normal Mode – Displays artwork in a standard window with all visible grids and guides showing, non-printing objects showing, and a white pasteboard.
Preview Mode - Displays artwork as if it were output, with all non-printing elements suppressed (grids, guides, non-printing objects), and the pasteboard set to the preview background color defined in Preferences.
Bleed Mode – Displays artwork as if it were output, with all non-printing elements suppressed (grids, guides, non-printing objects), the pasteboard set to the preview background color defined in Preferences, and any printing elements within the document’s bleed area (defined in Document Setup) showing.
Slug Mode – Displays artwork as if it were output, with all non-printing elements suppressed (grids, guides, non-printing objects), the pasteboard set to the preview background color defined in Preferences, and any printing elements within the document’s slug area (defined in Document Setup) showing.
You can also tap the letter “w” on your keyboard to switch between Normal and Preview, Bleed or Slug (depending on what was chosen last.

Acrobat

Enter Full Screen – Cmd (ctrl) + L
View menu > Enter Full Screen

Photoshop

You can use the screen mode options to view images on your entire screen. You can show or hide the menu bar, title bar, and scroll bars.

To display the default mode (menu bar at the top and scroll bars on the side), choose View > Screen Mode > Standard Screen Mode. Or, click the Screen Mode button in the Application bar, and select Standard Screen Mode from the pop-up menu.
To display a full-screen window with a menu bar and a 50% gray background, but no title bar or scroll bars, choose View > Screen Mode > Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar. Or, click the Screen Mode button in the Application bar, and select Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar from the pop-up menu.
To display a full-screen window with only a black background (no title bar, menu bar, or scroll bars), choose View > Screen Mode > Full Screen Mode. Or, click the Screen Mode button in the Application bar, and select Full Screen Mode from the pop-up menu.
You can also tap the letter “f” on your keyboard to switch between these various modes.

Illustrator

You can change the visibility of the illustration window and menu bar using the mode options at the bottom of the Tools panel. To access panels when in Full Screen Mode, position the cursor at the left or right edge of the screen and the panels will pop up. If you’ve moved them from their default locations, you can access them from the Window menu.

Normal Screen Mode displays artwork in a standard window, with a menu bar at the top and scroll bars on the sides.
Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar displays artwork in a full-screen window, with a menu bar at the top and scroll bars.
Full Screen Mode displays artwork in a full-screen window, with no title bar or menu bar.
You can also tap the letter “f” on your keyboard to switch between these various modes.

Photoshop Turns 20!

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:00:15 +0000

This month, Adobe Photoshop will be turning 20 years old. For the first time in 18 years founders Thomas and John Knoll, along with Steve Guttman and Russell Brown, gather at NBC Bay Area studios for an impromptu interview during a photo shoot.

Check out the video here:

Photoshop Founders

Be sure to check out the Milwaukee Adobe Users Group meeting on Feb. 24 for the full celebration including a look back, a look ahead and of course birthday cake. Join the group or find out more here.

Saving your images inside InDesign for the web

James Fritz — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:35:03 +0000

When placing images inside InDesign they usually begin their life at 100%. Unfortunately they rarely stay at 100% because of the constant scaling that is involved in the design process. Normally this is not a problem for print as long as your don’t try to increase the size of your images too much. However, if you need to use that particular image for the web you will need to do go through some extra steps.

Exporting out of InDesign

InDesign can export to jpg (file > export), but it does not save jpgs as well as Photoshop due to its lack of resampling controls. Unfortunately, you can’t export as a gif or png, therefore it is ultimately the best option to have Photoshop do the conversion for you.

From InDesign to Photoshop

1. Select the image with the direct selection tool and find out its scale percentage.

2. Opt (ALT on PC) double-click to edit the original image in Photoshop.

3. In Photoshop go to the image menu > image size. Change the top drop down menu from pixels to percent. Type in the percentage and shrink the image.

4. Save the file in Photoshop using “save for web and devices”

5. Rejoice in your newly saved correctly web-optimized image!

New classes! Coming this fall…

Kate Barrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:50:20 +0000

Is everyone ready for some new classes from C2? Here is a sneak preview of some of the new classes we will be introducing this fall.

The JavaScript family:

Interactivity for Designers 1 – No programming knowledge required. This class introduces designers with a knowledge of both CSS and HTML to several pre-build JavaScript projects that can be implemented with virtually no programming. Lightboxes, slideshows, tooltips, simple form validation are all covered in this 4-hour class. This class is an excellent introduction to interactive concepts for designers wary of programming.

Interactivity for Designers 2 – No programming knowledge required but Interactivity for Designers 1 is recommended. This 4-hour class shows designers with HTML & CSS knowledge how to configure and modify pre-built JavaScript projects without having to dive deep into JavaScript programming. This class is an excellent introduction to interactive concepts for designers wary of programming.

Introduction to jQuery – Most professional web developers don’t feel like re-inventing the wheel, so over the last 5 years the use of JavaScript libraries for web page interactivity has skyrocketed and jQuery is one of the most popular libraries available. This 6-hour class introduces the web developer with a solid understanding of HTML & CSS to the programming concept necessary to start building highly interactive web pages using jQuery.

The Flex/ActionScript family:

Introduction to Adobe Flex – This 6-hour class is an introduction to Adobe’s Flex framework for anyone interested in creating and deploying highly interactive web applications.

Creating Adobe AIR projects – Adobe’s AIR technology allows designers & developers to create multi-platform standalone applications using a variety of technologies underneath the skin.

Introduction to Adobe Catalyst – Adobe’s new development environment aimed at designers – use the tools you already know and love (Photoshop & Illustrator) to create functional, dynamic user interfaces that can stand alone or can be handed-off to a developer for advanced functionality.

Just a sampling of some of the things we’ll be unveiling soon. Let us know what you think!

C2 Hot Talent – August 2009

Luci Klebar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:28:22 +0000

Did you know August is National Foot Care Month? What better way take care of your feet than to walk barefoot in the grass and enjoy the last vestiges of summer by getting out the office earlier! C2 can help..see our HOT TALENT in Milwaukee and Madison to let you catch a break! Four hours, four days or forever! C2 is here when you need us. And remember, it’s always free to see talent!

Milwaukee Talent

Web Designer and developer all in one package

Adria is an experienced graphic and web designer with a diverse portfolio. She designed multiple sites including small business, not-for-profit and exclusive corporate clients. Adria tested solid in Flash and very good in Web Development. She has Master of Arts with an emphasis in Visual Studies. She understands and applies solid hand coding. Adria is available part-time or full-time on a project basis only.

Outstanding Creative Director with exceptional ideation skills

Brad is an accomplished, award-winning creative director with 25 years’ expertise developing and executing all aspects of integrated marketing communications campaigns designed to meet and exceed strategic marketing objectives. Very strong in concept development and art/photo direction. Experience in a broad range of B2B and B2C categories. Proven creative leadership talent with demonstrated strength in developing high performance and dedicated teams. Deep understanding of online, print, broadcast, experiential/event marketing. A persuasive presenter and a passionate listener who leverages relationship management talents to achieve consensus across all levels and organizational boundaries.

Quarkalicious Art Director with quintessential production skills

Dave C. tested at exceptional level in Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign/Quark, close to expert levels. His portfolio reflected good art direction/design skills, and he clearly can take any project from concept to completion. Dave is just completing a long term assignment at Reader’s Digest. He is available full or part-time, on temporary, temp to hire, or direct hire basis.

Word Up! on this Awesome Designer

Paul R tested solid+ in Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash and solid in InDesign. He is a talented designer with strong production skills, and a great portfolio including packaging, logos and branding, ad campaigns and several web site designs. Paul performs with speed, accuracy and a delightful attitude. He is available full or part time, for projects, temp to hire or on a direct hire basis. His portfolio may be viewed at http://prauwerda.com

Multi-faceted Multi-talented Art Director

Vanessa is a multi-talented art director/graphic designer who can lead a project from concept to completion. She tested very good in Illustrator, Photoshop and solid+ in InDesign. Her portfolio displayed samples of photo editing, branding and identity packages, electronic newsletters, as well as copy writing, PR, brochures, catalogs, books and PowerPoint presentations for mid-size and small businesses. She can also update and edit web pages and banner ads.

Madison Talent

Web savvy, smart and all that!

Andrew G is a talented problem solver with a passion for aesthetics, web standards and usability. In his previous role he was at the forefront of user interaction for a Midwest technology company. He has examples of strategy documents and usability reviews on his website. Originally a design practitioner for print, he successfully evolved into the interactive space serving as both a web development manager and as a creative director in an interactive agency. He tested at exceptional level in Illustrator and Photoshop and more than professional in Flash and InDesign. He tested at EXPERT levels in web development. He is available full or part-time on a project or interim basis, temp to hire, or direct hire.

Graphic Designer Ingenue

Ashley is an adept disciplined graphic designer with a clear, fresh eye and nicely executed portfolio. She tested solidly in InDesign and solid+ in both Photoshop and Illustrator. She presented samples of posters, illustrations, inventive packaging, campaigns, identity and exceptional attention to detail. She likes clean, simple designs and works to not over design pieces. Ashley is currently completing a digital editing project in After Effects but was not tested on it. She works well with others, and is available full or part-time, for projects, temp to hire, or direct hire basis.

Creative, Versatile, Fun and Easy to Work With

Brian is a talented graphic designer/creative director for print, video, animation and multimedia. He is an Expert at Illustrator, exceptional at Photoshop and professional+ with InDesign. He’s spent the majority of his career working on creative teams in agency settings. His portfolio reflected his strong creative/design and solid production capabilities. He is available full or part-time, for projects, temp to hire, or direct hire.

Mega-star Designer/Art Director

Meghan is a gem! A multi-talented art director/designer who also has extensive B2B experience in multimedia and web design. She tested at professional level in Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, exceptional in Dreamweaver and exceptional+ in Flash. She can art direct a project from concept through creation-in Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, Golive and more. Exceptional interpersonal communication skills, and still works well well with others. She is available full or part-time, on project, temp to hire or direct hire

$5 Fridays Return!

Erica Conway — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:55:59 +0000

After a brief hiatus, $5.00 Fridays return in August. Currently they’re only scheduled in Milwaukee. Madisonians, we need a larger capacity venue than our Madison office before we can start scheduling…please send suggestions for location hosts/partners or low-cost venues!

Only 30 seats available for any of these events, register quickly if you’re interested. Beverages and snacks provided.

August 21, 9 am – 12 pm: The Art and Business of Professional Illustration + Advanced Digital Illustration Techniques

Join two prolific professional illustrators, Mike Kasun & Matt Zumbo and an accomplished illustrator rep, Tom Stocki to discuss the value of original commissioned illustration versus use of stock illustration or other media. Our panelists will share case studies that clearly “illustrate” the value of custom illustration for use in advertising, marketing or design as well as providing resources for finding the right talent for your job. They’ll also share some industry best practices for working with illustrators and illustrator reps. The second half of the presentation will cover some advanced, sexy, yet pragmatic, illustration techniques, tools and shortcuts using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS4, facilitated by Kevin Stohlmeyer, C2 instructor. Register HERE

September 4, 3 – 5 pm: Best practices for integrating 3d with Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop & Dreamweaver

Technical illustration, logo animation, POP or packaging design and architectural rendering all benefit from the addition of a third dimension. Now, more than ever, 3d software is accessible and plays nicely with many of the Adobe products for print and web. If you want to see and learn how easy it is to incorporate 3d into your design skill set, join Brad Krause, Radiance Media, and the C2 instructors for this enlightening session. Brad, a 3d professional, primarily uses Lightwave and Maya to develop static and animated 3d art for clients. Old Style Light will be served! Register HERE

September 18, 2 – 5 pm: SEM, SEO, PPC, HTML, CSS and other important web acronyms demystified!

We work in a quickly evolving industry. New versions of software, browsers and social media launch so often, keeping up can be challenging. Today clients expect that creative professionals, regardless of title, know it ALL! C2 understands your pain. We found a smart partner, Andrew Wintheiser and the team from Lightburn Designs, to clarify and simplify some of the more complex elements of search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) and search engine marketing (SEM). Andrew and Jim Conway, C2 instructor, will fill the afternoon, and your brain with industry best practices, resources and case studies to help demystify these crucial web acronyms. Register HERE

Helpful Reminders about Adobe Photoshop CS4

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:39:22 +0000

As people are (finally) upgrading to Creative Suite 4, I thought it prudent to recap some of the more important tips.

1. DO NOT do an upgrade install. This will cause you a lot of headaches (been there). Use the Uninstall/Reinstall option – it will give you a complete cleanout and fresh install, thereby removing old elements that the upgrade can leave behind.

2. Seems obvious, but run ALL updates after you install. CS4 has been out for 10 months, and during this time Adobe has sent out a lot of updates and bug fixes. Be sure to run your Windows/Apple updaters as well.

3. In PS CS4, you may notice that the Extract and Interactive Layout Photomerge are missing. This was a conscious effort to move people to other options in the program. If you want to bring these back use these links:

Extract: Mac Windows

Photomerge Interactive Layout: Mac Windows

4. Use Bridge to create your Web Photo Gallery, not the “lovely” Web Gallery in Photoshop. This new version, found under the “output” view in Bridge is much more savvy and is Flash Enabled. Very cool and professional, plus you preview in a browser from Bridge and can output it directly to ftp.

5. Contact us with your questions. We get them all the time and have probably heard it all. You’d be surprised at the number of people who panic and restart, reinstall, erase, wipe hard drives, etc. before they ask someone for help. Many times, not all, problems are an easy fix.

You can always start with resetting preferences (hold opt/alt+ctrl+shift during app startup).

C2 Gallery Night Returns – with Community High School!

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0000

The “Layers – Distilling Excellence” program is a collaborative effort with C2 Graphics and Community High School showcasing students work using Adobe Photoshop. The images explore both the internal and external forces that shape the “essence” of our self and represent how these influences have contributed to each student’s layers of memories, thoughts, dreams and opinions.

The exhibit is the result of a digital media/graphic design course provided by C2 Instructors James Fritz, Kevin Stohlmeyer, and Angelo Vasta with C2 talent Brad Krause and CHS Staff members Jason O’Brien and Roxanne Mayeur.

Each students art is unique both in their artistic expression, but also with the story that accompanies each piece. Students that would normally not have an opportunity to express themselves creatively in digital media really took to using Adobe Photoshop® and create spectacular works.

The exhibit is from 5-9 pm tonight (April 17) in the lobby of our offices at 222 E. Erie Street. All 21 Students are scheduled to be on hand to showcase their work, so please stop by and show your support to these young artists.

Shown below are some of the works from the show.

Photoshop 3D fix

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Ok, I know a lot of you have not used the 3D feature in Photoshop, or have had issues with bringing in the really cool Collada files from Google 3D warehouse. If you are not aware, when you currently import a Collada file into a 3D layer, the surface opacities come in at 0%. This means it is invisible and you cannot see anything until you go through the significant struggle of changing all surfaces to 100% opacity (and guessing which ones should be less than 100% ie. glass, etc.)

Well a new script has surfaced thanks to John Nack at Adobe via his blog post today. Download this script file and load it into Photoshop. Run the script on your Collada file and BOOM! Corrected opacities! Righteous!

Here is the tech doc.

Photoshop Goodies and Fun

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Goodies

Check out this great article by Derrick Story from Macworld.com. Some of the features are just mind blowing (bird’s eye view) and others will really help push your workflow in a faster direction.

Whats in Photoshop CS4?

Scott Kelby and the gang at Photoshop User TV have come out with a series (this is part 1 of 4) on what is so great about Photoshop CS4. A lot of good inside tips and tricks are revealed and some bad jokes as well.

New Years Resolutions for Photoshoppers

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:32:00 +0000

After reading all the posts on the net about the “Year in Review”, I thought it would be good to have a “Year in Preview” for Photoshop Users. This is my list of things to look forward to in 2009 and have the potential to make you geek out in a good way.

First is the advances in Photoshop CS4. We’ve all talked about it, posted about it, and shown you a lot of cool things, but I know people are slow to adopt. But when you do, watch out and be ready for a great time. CS4 makes Photoshop fun again (not that it really wasn’t before…).

Second is Photoshop World Conferences. With Apple pulling out of MacWorld after this year, and Adobe following suit, this poises PSWorld to be the biggest Adobe related conference outside of the über expensive MAX.

Be sure to check out Photoshop User Magazine and subscribe here. PS User Magazine and its counterpart, Layers are the two best resources for Adobe Creative Suite applications that I have found. Plus, as they are the main sponsors of PS World and The Photoshop Tours, you get insider information and discounts to events hosted by them. The website alone is worth the subscription cost. Be sure to click the link posted here for a bonus DVD with your order.

Next, I am really looking forward to the new Intel chips (dual-core nano processors, etc.) and what they can mean to both Mac and PC users. Im expecting a big ramp up on speed and in turn more Photoshop wow from Adobe.

And lastly is something that I talk about from time to time – Adobe Labs. This is Adobe’s cutting edge tech available for you to preview and read about before it is released to the masses.

Adobe has released two really awesome applications/plug-ins for Photoshop in the past two months and they are really going to push the app into the new year.

First is Pixel Bender. If you haven’t hear the gossip about this, Pixel Bender allows everyday users an interface to create their own complex filters using simple coding interfaces and a small number of tools that are sufficient to write complex image-processing algorithms (ie. Filters or Effects.

Next is Configurator. This Flex App allows you to create your own custom Photoshop panel with tools, menu options and information specific to your needs. Think of it as a way to simplify all the panels in Photoshop to fit your workflow.

So that is my short list of what I think will be the big news for 09 with Adobe Photoshop. Id love to hear what geeks you out with your favorite app.

Creative Suite 4 Highlights – Photoshop & Illustrator

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:46:00 +0000

Over the past two weeks, C2 has been hosting a number of Creative Suite 4 Launch Events. I thought I’d highlight some of the new features in Photoshop and Illustrator (be ready to Ooo and Ahhh). Over the next week, C2 instructors will bring you some of the new features for the other Creative Suite 4 applications.

First, let me tell you about the Creative Suite in general terms. According to Adobe, this is the biggest software launch they have ever done and I tend to agree. When CS3 was released it was only halfway through the Adobe product development cycle (which is 18-24 months normally), due to Adobe’s acquisition of Macromedia. This endeavor put everything on hold – the sexy new features and updates to help accommodate the inclusion this new software. Creative Suite 4 brings you a full set of updates for all the applications including new interfaces and better compatibility between software.

So, here are some of the new features for Photoshop and Illustrator.

Photoshop

• Live, nondestructive corrections with the Adjustments Panel. This allows you to create nondestructive adjustments, similar to the Adjustment Layers available in CS2/3. With CS4 you have much more control and its all live on your document, no dialogue box or menu to go to.

• Re-editable, feathered, density controlled masks. This is the companion panel to the Adjustments Panel, allowing you to edit your masks live on your document using the same controls as the Refine Edge command.

• Enhanced Auto-Align, Auto-Blend, and new 360° panoramas. Photomerge now allows you to create 360° panoramas and in conjunction with the updated Auto-Align and Auto-Blend, is even more seamless than ever. Auto-Blend can now create an omni-focus photo from a number of Macro lens shots. Very cool.

• Fluid canvas rotation. I love this feature, as it allows you to temporarily rotate your entire image on screen to get a better angle for painting, retouching, etc. similar rotating your sketchbook on your desk. See below for more info on this…

• Ultra-smooth pan, zoom, preview and painting tools. Photoshop CS4 now takes advantage of your computer’s Graphics Processor (GPU). This allows you to have fluid transitions including zoom, canvas rotation (see above) and allows you to throw your document around the screen. This new GPU utilization really speeds up the redraws in PS.

• Breakthrough 3D editing and compositing. This is one of the biggies. You can now not only edit 3D directly in Photoshop CS4, but you can also CREATE 3D. Now instead of taking 4 steps to edit a 3D shape, you can paint, merge objects, and transform live in your document. Using the new 3D menu, you can take a panoramic shot and create a Spherical Panorama (3D bubble view), or a number of preset objects. Try the hat shape, its pretty funny.

Illustrator

• Multiple Artboards. Nuff said. This has been the number 1 request of Illustrator and former Freehand users for years, and Adobe has come through and exceeded all expectations. Now you can have multiple artboards (not pages) and different sizes, orientations, crops, etc. You can export directly to a multipage PDF or to the Web as a gallery. Nice!

• Gradients. What can you possibly do to improve gradients you ask? How about the ability to create gradients with transparency! Or, how about an on-screen gradient interface. No longer will you need to use the gradient palette (except to change the format from linear to radial). The new interface is slick and a huge time saver. Love it!

• Blob Brush. Ok I admit, I love the name of this tool. But beyond that. The Blob Brush is the natural progression from the Eraser. You can now add to a shape by just painting – imagine that, illustrating in Illustrator. Using the Eraser, you can remove from a shape.

• In-Panel Appearance Editing. This is a great feature and a HUGE time saver. With the new appearance panel, you can access your effects directly in this as well as stroke, swatches, and more!

• Separations Preview Panel. Now you can preview your color separations a lá InDesign in Illustrator. Huge plus for artists to double check their work before sending it down the food chain or placing it in another application. Now to just make sure that they use this!

So those are just some of the new features in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator Creative Suite 4. Keep watching our 100% Fresh Blog for new posts and features on CS4 from C2 instructors and creatives.

Photoshop World Day 1

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:17:00 +0000

Greetings from Las Vegas! Today was the first open schedule day including three session slots and the ever-popular keynote address by Scott Kelby, NAPP President and Johnny L., Adobe Systems VP.

While this is Scott’s convention, the keynote is really Johnny’s show. Starting by showcasing the new Photoshop Elements 7 (coming soon) and Adobe Lightroom 2 (along with John Knack, product manager), he also brought the crowd to their feet by showing off the newest version of Adobe Photoshop.

Some of the features have already been leaked, but another feature that really oo-ed and ahh-ed the crowd was channel splitting, which allows you to create lenticular prints (the print moves when you look side to side) or a 3-D image. Now how much does this shot remind you of Jaws 3-D?

Finally we ended with the NAPP Guru Awards (darn it – I didn’t win) and the Photoshop Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A big personal congrats to John Knack on his induction.

Today’s sessions included a packed room for Burt Monroy speaking about painting in Photoshop and Ben Whitmore’s standing room only presentation on “Jaw Dropping Photoshop Techniques” and let me tell you – they were.

The tech expo hall featured presentations from Cannon, Adobe, and more. Be sure to check out this week’s “Deke Pod” starring Deke McClelland. Watch behind him as someone familiar walks past…

Well thats it for day one, but judging from everything going on here – we will have to have an event soon to bring you up to speed on all the latest info.

Blog you tomorrow! – Kevin

LIVE! From Photoshop World 2008

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:11:00 +0000

This week I am attending Photoshop World in Las Vegas. Stay tuned to 100% Fresh for updates, information, and photos on the latest developments from the conference as I plan to blog daily from the Strip. Wish me luck and please be sure to comment on the posts with any questions or requests!

Come learn direct from Adobe and nationally recognized experts!

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:34:00 +0000

This year C2 is hosting the new 2008 Creative Transitions Conference here in Milwaukee. This is a unique opportunity for all creatives, whether you are in print, web, video, animation, or multimedia. The three day conference runs August 13-15, 2008 at the Milwaukee Hilton City Center.

We are bringing the talent to you – no need to fly to the east coast or down to Chicago to learn from the best. Speakers for the 2008 conference include: Anne-Marie “Her Geekness” Concepción, co-host of the popular InDesignsecrets.com podcast and InDesign guru; Lesa Snider-King, author, istockphoto guru, and a nationally recognized Photoshop Expert; Adam Pratt, Adobe Senior Solutions Engineer and co-host of Adobe TV’s “The Lazy Designer”; Michael Kanfer, Adobe Business Development Manager and Academy Award Winner for Visual Effects (Titanic, 1998); Tom Petrillo, Adobe Senior Solutions Engineer; and many more!

Sessions can be attended at will – no confusing schedules or limiting track-only presentations. You choose who you want to see!

Day three will feature hands-on workshops hosted by many of our speakers and C2 certified instructors. Three hours of training direct from the experts!

Exhibitors from Adobe, C2, istockphoto, Shutterstock, Widen Enterprises, O’Reilly Media, Proven Direct, and more will be presenting their products and services throughout both days in our Exhibit Hall.

Another great incentive for our conference, being a veteran of the conference circuit, is food is provided (which also lends to the creative credo – if you feed them, they will come). Breakfast, lunch, cocktail/snack hour, and a great keynote address banquet is all included in the conference packages.

Your registration also includes a free Thursday night pass to Milwaukee Irish Fest, the largest Celtic celebration in the United States.

Click here to view the conference website, or contact us for special discount codes and rates!

Hope to see you all at the conference. Together we can make this a rousing success!

Kevin

Apple/Photoshop Saving Error

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:08:00 +0000

From John Knack at Adobe:

I’ve been getting quite a few inquiries about problems saving files from Photoshop directly to network drives when using the recently released Mac OS 10.5.3. (I’m told the issue can affect InDesign and maybe other apps as well.)

The short story is that we’ve been working closely with Apple to troubleshoot the issue and have identified the cause. Apple is working on a fix, and we expect they’ll release it in the next System Update.

The slightly longer story is that saving directly to a network is a generally bad idea. Here’s what I’ve heard from a contact in engineering:

Directly writing to a network filing system adds a level of complexity, which includes timing issues, network noise, performance, and other potential issues. We’ve occasionally run into bugs with different configurations/combinations, but as there are too many variants for us to reliably test and certify all the clients, servers, hardware and software, we recommend the safer course of working with files locally and then copying them up to a file server when you’re done. While directly reading/writing to network file systems should work in theory, and while we do some limited testing in the most popular configurations to verify that it does, we can not certify that it will work reliably in your configuration.

I know that’s not what you may want to hear, but it’s a long-standing advisory. Saving files locally, then transferring them, offers better performance as well as greater reliability.

Been away with good reason…

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Hi all,

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much as of late, but I have a good excuse.

I recently returned from Adobe’s headquarters in San Jose, CA and have been busy compiling all the information I received on the latest version of the Adobe Creative Suite and other Adobe applications.

Lucky for you, I will be presenting this information (at least what I can say publicly without prosecution) on June 12 for our latest 100% Fresh presentation. More information to follow with the News You Can Use. The next few months will really be informative so be sure to follow along with C2 for the latest in Adobe news!

Cool way to learn keyboard shortcuts

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Another reason for me to geek out. Now everyone can learn the Apple keyboard shortcuts for Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Pro, After Effects and more! Photojojo has release a new series of keyboard skins for your mac with pre-printed shortcuts for many popular applications! Check out the product and order here!

Link a vector mask to a smart object in Photoshop

James Fritz — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:44:00 +0000

I love using smart objects inside Photoshop, but they have always bothered me because I could not link a vector mask with a smart object. I have found a way around this limitation. Put your smart object into a folder and then create a vector mask on the folder, which in turn is a mask on your smart object.

Panorama Fun in Photoshop

Alex Lucas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:22:00 +0000

I just flew in from Prague and boy are my arms tired.

But seriously…one of my favorite things to do when shooting pics in a beautiful area is to make panorama shots. But the truth is that since I don’t own a tripod, nor do I usually take the time to stay on a manual setting on my camera, my pics look a little uneven to say the least.

To have Photoshop automatically create the panorama, go to File –> Automate. Select the Photomerge… setting. Inside the dialog box, select all of your pics (either if they are already open or just sitting in a folder) and make sure that the box that says “Attempt to Automatically Arrange Source Images” is checked. You can do this manually, but why bother if Photoshop can do it more effectively and efficiently.

I have read that in earlier versions (I am looking at you CS2), this feature was either non-existent or at least not as well refined and gave you less than perfect images. So if you are going to do this, keep in mind that CS3 would probably be your best bet, although it is available in CS2.

Click ok and voila, hopefully your panorama is finished.

click pic to view larger image

And yes…this was just an excuse to post a picture from my vacation.

The final picture I show is about 180º of my vantage point.

Mac OS 10.5.2 fixes Photoshop transform-crop problems

James Conway — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) users who use Photoshop have been patiently waiting for some annoying little bugs to be squashed. The wait is over, the recently released Mac OS 10.5.2 update fixes the transform-crop-numeric settings bug where any numeric transformation or setting in the options bar would only work properly the first time. I’ve only had a short time to test it but it seems to work perfectly. I always recommend waiting a week or more before performing any major update to a working production machine – let everyone else do the bug testing while you get your work out on time.

Are you an Adobe Bridge user? Has the “Place” command slipped by you?

James Conway — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:56:00 +0000

You probably already know that when you find the file you are interested in, in Adobe Bridge, you can double click on that file and it opens in the program that made it. And that’s great. But what if you want to place a PSD file into InDesign or Flash (or After Effects or Illustrator)? The fast, convenient way is to do the following: select the item or items you want to place into another Adobe program, go to the File menu, go Down to “Place” and choose the program you want the files to goto. Voila!

Photoshop’s Copy Merged

James Conway — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:06:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted to copy across multiple layers in photoshop without flattening your image? Try the “Copy Merged” from Photoshop’s Edit menu. It acts as if the document is flattened and grabs everything under your selection no matter what layer it’s on – if it’s visible in your selection, Copy Merged will grab it. Once you have it on the clipboard, paste the composited copy anywhere you like.

Photoshop Express

Kevin Stohlmeyer — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:05:00 +0000

The wait is almost over. Ever since Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen’s announcement last September of an online version of Photoshop, the web has been a buzz about what this will look like, what will it feature, etc. Adobe since this announcement has already launched an online version of Adobe Premiere, called Premiere Express. (You can try it out here on YouTube’s Mashup. ) I look at this as the trial run for Photoshop Express. Both are built using the Adobe Flex application which means these apps are completely run via your web browser and computer, not a remote server.

Here is what we know so far. Adobe plans to launch Photoshop Express in the first quarter of 2008. It is not meant to replace any existing software (you Elements users can exhale now), instead it will bring “Photoshop to the masses”.

You will be able to use familiar items, such as the healing tools, crop, and liquify commands. This also has a limited history so there are undos! The one downside is that it has a lot of “auto” corrections instead of the familiar menu options. The way this will work is you choose what you want to change in your photo, such as saturation, then the application gives you a drop down with several options of varying degrees to click on. Convenient but limiting.

No matter what the final version of this Rich Internet Application (RIA) holds, it is bound to place Adobe as the leader for online content and innovations.

If you want to learn more about Flex, RIA, or the future of web applications, be sure to check out the upcoming Flex presentation on Feb. 7 at WCTC. Check the pipeline for more info!

Stock VS Original Photography

Kate Barrie — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:33:00 +0000

You’ve seen this fight a million times. You want to use original photography for your client, but they have a teeny tiny budget so you’re stuck with stock … right?

Maybe not … depending on what your client’s budget is and what the image they’re going for may be it may be 100% feasible for original photography. Join us on January 18 in conjunction with Studio Two for this intimate discussion on the art of Photography & editing.

For only $5.00 you’ll get lunch, Photoshop Tips & Tricks and advice on how to invest appropriately in both stock and original photography.

Our Tips & Tricks for Photoshop will include the “Two Pass” Color Correction Method, Photoshop Botox, Electronic Liposuction, Tricks of the Trade and Cheats & Shortcuts.

Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up today!

http://5friday-makeoriginal.eventbrite.com/