Filed under: art120
modern art photoshop tutorial: http://www.freeonlineclasses.net/photoshop-tutorials/photo-effects/modern-art.html
i picked this cause it looks pretty darn nifty. it’s also a treatment that i feel like you have to have JUST the right photo to work with to get it to come out looking good. i played around with several photos, and even played around with the settings in different steps throughout the tutorial, but none of mine came out quite as pretty as the sample image they gave me. i think the trick is finding a rather simple image with bold colors and delineated shapes…and maybe one with little minute detail to get muddled up when applying the filters. this tutorial relies very heavily on filters, with little room to wiggle the settings around to get the desired effects. here’s the before and after images that i was happiest with in the end:
plastic jelly styles text: http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/plastic-jelly-styles/
i read through this one as a comparison to another jelly-type tutorial i’ve read/done in the past. i have to say this one definitely left me wanting more help! i think the author of this tut assumes the reader knows their way around photoshop already. several of the steps in this were left very vague and unclear – and one offered the download as a tool for getting additional steps, but when i downloaded the psd file, it was just another picture of the finished image. i think this tutorial would have been better if it clearly outlined the steps needed, rather than the fuzzy directions provided. he tells us the pre-determined settings for bevel and emboss ‘suck’, but doesn’t describe how to fix it (again, maybe i’m having technical difficulties and can’t get to the download file he mentions). give me clear steps that i can follow along with and i’m happy – this tut made me sad!
removing glasses with photoshop: http://tutvid.com/tutorials/photoshop/tutorials/removeGlasses.php
i thought this tutorial sounded interesting – i often end up with photos of friends that would be more awesome if their glasses hadn’t picked up some random reflection or something. he uses the clone stamp tool, the healing brush, new layers, and history states/snapshots to remove the glasses from the sample photo. he gets the easy stuff out of the way first by using the clone stamp tool to remove the parts of the eyeglasses that are on the background or larger patches of skin on her face, leaving the eyes and nose for last. i don’t think i’ve ever seen the spot healing brush used in a tutorial yet – and i know i’ve never really used it all that effectively myself – but watching it used in this video just clicked. when he first removed the glasses on the edge of her face, the skin colors were all mismatched and terrible looking, but then he dragged the healing brush around and it melded them all together very well and made it look ‘right’ again. i really like how the narrator in this tutorial makes sure to tell you exactly what he’s doing and, more importantly, HOW he’s doing it. he tells us which settings to use with tools and such to get the desired results. all in all this seems like it just takes a LOT of patience and detail-oriented work…but i think this tutorial is do-able, even for someone who isn’t advanced in their photoshop skills. one thing that really stands out for me in this tutorial – you see him screw up and then work through the corrections. makes it much easier to understand how to fix my own mistakes; this tutorial is very successful, in my opinion!
5 ways to customize adobe illustrator: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/5-ways-to-customize-adobe-illustrator/
i’m finding myself drawn back to illustrator tutorials since i’m less familiar with this program than photoshop! this tutorial is great for giving you ideas on bits of illustrator you can set up customizations for to make it more workflow-friendly and personal. the key here is that you have to know what you want! the first item mentioned here is keyboard shortcuts that you can implement into illustrator. as someone who has yet to memorize the shortcuts, just knowing how to get to this list is helpful for me! most things already have assigned shortcuts, but this allows you to make new ones for those that don’t. coolness.
next we have a bit on custom workspaces. this is great if you tend to like your screen set up a certain way. this is one i plan to do once i figure out how to KEEP my screen set up in a way i find the most comfie. LOL the author also gives us the pointer to save all these settings to an ipod or thumb drive for those instances we may find ourselves working on someone else’s computer – that way it’s our way no matter what!
the third customization given in this tut is for a new document profile. this is really cool, actually, as it makes it so that whenever you open a new document, the screen is set up how you like it, instead of the default illustrator way. this trick is built in to illustrator, though, and he links us up to the tutorial provided by adobe for this.
next up: scripts! this step was sort of unclear to me. i THINK scripts are sets of instructions that tell illustrator (in this case) what to do in a specific document to create a specific effect. for example, round any corner. the script runs illustrator through the steps, prompting the user to decide what radius you want, but then it does the actual rounding (versus the user having to do it?). this tutorial just tells us to load some scripts up. *shrugs* not too sure about this one, personally, but i wouldn’t be surprised to find it useful down the line!
lastly we have kuler. again, this doesn’t seem like a personal customization so much as just a tool to visit, so i don’t know why it was in this tutorial. it IS cool, though! kuler is an online collection of custom color palettes that illustrator users have created. it’s a great resource for inspiration and new color ideas. as a color junkie, i LOVE this!
illustrator’s paint brush tool and brush panel: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/a-comprehensive-guide-illustrators-paintbrush-tool-and-brush-panel/
this tutorial touches on the different paint brush-type tools and what they do. the paint brush works like the pencil, letting you ‘draw’ lines, but instead of just being a line, you can set predefined vector art to the paths you create. the calligraphic brush looks like an ink pen or paintbrush. the scatter brush (is fun!) does just what it sounds like: scatters predefined vector art/shapes on the path you create: think scattered stars, for instance. the art brush will define vector art as a brush. the pattern brush allows you to specify patterns and then apply them to a path.
you can either draw with the paintbrush or apply the brushes to a path. to draw, you would select the paintbrush tool, choose a brush from the brushes panel, and then draw. to apply, select an existing path and then select the brush from the panel.
i was stoked to see that this tutorial totally walks you through the preferences and explains what each one will do. i always feel like i need an encyclopedia to figure out what is what, so i found this incredibly helpful. the brush panel is also broken down for us here, and each option is described.
this tut explains how to create(define) a new calligraphic, scatter, art, and pattern brush – and how to edit them and save them! nifty! we are also given places to check out brushes others created and encouraged to download them to try and figure out how to recreate them ourselves.
i give this tutorial two thumbs up. *grins*
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