Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST Keep up-to-date with all of the latest free Adobe Photoshop training tutorials at Photoshop Essentials.com. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/ en-us Copyright 2010 Photoshop Essentials.com Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/layer-groups/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/layer-groups/ As you add more and more layers to a document in Photoshop, your Layers panel can quickly become a cluttered mess of confusion. In this tutorial, learn how layer groups make it easy to keep things neat, tidy and organized! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/images-as-layers/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/images-as-layers/ Tired of dragging images from one Photoshop document to another? Learn how the Load Files into Photoshop Layers command, first introduced in Adobe Bridge CS4, can open multiple images at once as layers inside the same document! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/color-dots/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/color-dots/ In this Photo Effects tutorial, learn how to easily turn a photo into a pattern of colored dots, using one of Photoshop's filters, a layer mask and a simple repeating pattern we'll create from scratch! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/vertical-panels/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/vertical-panels/ In this Photo Effects tutorial, learn how layer groups and clipping masks make it easy to create the illusion that a photo is being displayed as a series of vertical panels! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-grain/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-grain/ In this Photo Effects tutorial, learn a quick and easy way to simulate film grain in an image with Photoshop, including how to keep the effect fully editable using Smart Filters! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/flip-rotate-scale-letters/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/flip-rotate-scale-letters/ Photoshop makes it easy to rotate, flip or scale entire words or lines of text in a document, but in this tutorial, we take things further and learn how to select and transform individual letters in a word! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/screen-exposure/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/screen-exposure/ In this Photo Editing tutorial, learn a quick and easy way to brighten underexposed photos using nothing more than simple adjustment layers and a layer blend mode! Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/multiply-exposure/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/multiply-exposure/ In the previous tutorial, we learned how to quickly brighten an underexposed photo using the Screen blend mode. In this tutorial, learn how to darken and tone down an overexposed image just as easily using the exact opposite blend mode! Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/shape-cluster/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/shape-cluster/ Learn how to display a single photo as a cluster of shapes, similar to larger wall cluster displays where several photos, usually in different frame shapes and sizes, are arranged together on a wall to form a larger design. In this tutorial, we'll create something similar but on a smaller scale using just a single image! Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/vignette/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/vignette/ In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to quickly add a timeless, classic vignette border to a photo! Perfect for wedding and engagement photos, anniversaries and other family portraits! Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/ If there's one thing every Photoshop user needs to know, it's how to work with layers, Photoshop's most powerful and important feature. In this intro to layers, we look at the difference between working with them and working without them! Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/layers-panel/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/layers-panel/ From adding, copying and deleting layers to working with layer masks, adjustment layers, layer styles and more, if it has something to do with layers in Photoshop, the Layers panel is where it happens! Take a whirlwind tour around the Layers panel and learn the essential skills needed for taking advantage of all that Photoshop layers have to offer! Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/background-layer/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/background-layer/ Layers are easily Photoshop's most important feature, but one special type of layer - the Background layer - comes with a few rules and limitations we need to be aware of to avoid confusion and frustration. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/file-formats/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/file-formats/ Feeling overwhelmed by the number of file formats to choose from when trying to save your images in Photoshop? This quick guide looks at the essential formats we need to know, including the pros and cons of each one and the situations where it makes the most sense to use it! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/opacity-vs-fill/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/opacity-vs-fill/ Photoshop's Opacity and Fill options in the Layers panel both control the transparency of a layer, but in this tutorial, we learn the important difference between them when working with layer styles! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/type-on-a-path/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/type-on-a-path/ In this Photoshop Basics tutorial, learn how to easily make your text flow along the shape and direction of a path! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/fill-shapes-with-text/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/fill-shapes-with-text/ In this Photoshop Basics tutorial, learn how to create more interesting text layouts in your designs using custom shapes as text frames, and watch as your text fills the area inside the shape! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/motion-trail/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/motion-trail/ In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to add a sense of action and movement to an image by giving your main subject an easy to create motion trail! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/blend-modes/keyboard-shortcuts/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/blend-modes/keyboard-shortcuts/ Trying out different layer blend modes with our images in Photoshop can be lots of fun, especially when you know how to quickly scroll through and select them directly from your keyboard with these essential time saving shortcuts! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/ghostly-blur/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/ghostly-blur/ Learn how to give text a ghostly, supernatural look to it in Photoshop using a couple of simple blur filters! Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/text-shapes/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/text-shapes/ In this Photoshop Basics tutorial, learn how to create fun designs and interesting logos by combining text with custom shapes! You'll learn how to convert text to a shape, how to add other shapes to text and how to use shapes to cut holes out of letters! Wed, 27 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/light-rays/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/light-rays/ In this photo effects tutorial, learn a fast and easy way to add rays of sunlight to an image with Photoshop! Mon, 18 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/lightning/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/lightning/ In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to easily create and add lightning to an image with Photoshop! Fri, 08 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-to-sketch/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-to-sketch/ In a previous tutorial, we learned a way to convert a photo to a sketch in Photoshop that works great for portraits. In this tutorial, we learn a slightly different way that's better at bringing out fine details when converting other types of images to a sketch! Plus, learn how to create the entire effect in 60 seconds or less! Thu, 31 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/portrait-to-sketch/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/portrait-to-sketch/ In this Photoshop tutorial, learn how to easily convert a portrait photo into a pencil sketch, including how to colorize the effect with the photo's original colors! Mon, 28 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/ Learn the basics of creating and using simple repeating patterns in Photoshop! Mon, 28 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/colors-and-gradients/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/colors-and-gradients/ In a previous tutorial, we covered the basics of creating and using simple repeating patterns in Photoshop. In this tutorial, learn how to add colors and gradients with Solid Color and Gradient fill layers! Mon, 28 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/custom-shapes/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/repeating-patterns/custom-shapes/ In this third tutorial in our series on repeating patterns, learn how to create fun and interesting patterns from Photoshop's custom shapes! Mon, 28 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/punch-through/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/punch-through/ In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to create a popular "punch through image" effect, often seen in sports and movie ads, as if a person or object has punched a hole right through the page or image! Fri, 18 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/old-paper/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/old-paper/ In this Photoshop tutorial, learn how to create an old looking paper texture, perfect for use as a background for a scrapbook-style photo layout! Mon, 07 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/move-photos-tabbed-documents/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/move-photos-tabbed-documents/ Dragging and dropping photos between documents has always been an essential skill in Photoshop, but is it still possible with the new tabbed document windows in Photoshop CS4 and CS5? Of course it is! This tutorial shows you how! Tue, 01 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/moving-photos-between-documents/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/moving-photos-between-documents/ Before we can use Photoshop to blend photos together in creative and interesting ways, we first need to know how to move photos from one document to another. In this tutorial, we look at three easy ways that work with any version of Photoshop! Mon, 24 Jan 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/colorized-grid-effect/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/colorized-grid-effect/ In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to turn a photo in a grid of randomly colorized squares! We'll use Photoshop's guides and rulers, a couple of rarely used selection tools, the Magic Wand, adjustment layers, blend modes, and more! Any recent version of Photoshop will work! Tue, 11 Jan 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/bridge-cs5/download-photos/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/bridge-cs5/download-photos/ Learn how to select and download photos from your digital camera or memory card to your computer using Adobe Bridge CS5 and the Photo Downloader! Wed, 05 Jan 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/starry-sky/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/starry-sky/ If the ability to capture a beautiful starry night with your camera seems as out of reach as the stars themselves, no need to worry! Photoshop makes it easy to fill our night skies with as many stars as we like! Now updated for Photoshop CS4 and CS5! Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/cast-shadow/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/cast-shadow/ Photoshop's Drop Shadow layer style may be great for adding simple shadows to images or text, but for creating realistic looking shadows of people or objects, it just doesn't cut it. In this tutorial, learn an easy way to create a realistic cast shadow effect! Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/snowflakes-photo-border/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/snowflakes-photo-border/ Learn how to create a simple snowflakes photo border, a fun finishing touch for photos of family and friends during the holidays or of any snowy winter scene! Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/free-transform/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/free-transform/ Photoshop's Free Transform command is one of its most useful features, a one-stop shop for resizing, reshaping, rotating and moving things within a document. Learn the essential skills and shortcuts for getting the most out of this powerful feature, including how to switch to other helpful transform modes without leaving Free Transform! Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/holiday-photo-border/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/holiday-photo-border/ Just in time for the holidays! Learn how to create a simple and fun 'Happy Holidays' greeting card-style photo border in Photoshop! Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/blur-streaks/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/blur-streaks/ In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to colorize a photo using a Color Balance adjustment, then how to select and stretch a single column of pixels across the image to create a cool motion blur effect! Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/transform-selection/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/transform-selection/ Tired of drawing selections in the wrong size, shape or location you needed and trying again and again until you get it right? Learn how to fix the selection you've already made with Photoshop's Transform Selection command, and create a fun picture-in-picture effect while you're at it! Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/crop-straighten/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/crop-straighten/ Whether you're restoring old photos or adding them to your digital scrapbooking designs, let Photoshop's Crop and Straighten Photos command speed up your scanning workflow! Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/quick-selection-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/quick-selection-tool/ If you're using Photoshop CS3 or higher, you'll definitely want to learn all about the Quick Selection Tool and how it lets us select objects in an image simply by painting over them! Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/water-ripples/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/water-ripples/ Learn how to easily add realistic looking water ripples to an image with Photoshop! Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/magic-wand-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/magic-wand-tool/ The Magic Wand, one of the oldest and most basic selection tools in Photoshop, selects pixels in an image based on tone and color. Learn how it works and how a tool so simple can make replacing the sky in a photo quick and easy! Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/color-settings/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/color-settings/ Open your images to a greatly expanded world of color possibilities with a few simple but essential changes to the Color Settings in Photoshop! Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/cs5/preferences/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/cs5/preferences/ Make sure you're getting the most out of Adobe's most powerful version of Photoshop to date with a quick look through Photoshop CS5's essential Preferences settings! Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/neutral-gray/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/neutral-gray/ When color correcting photos in Photoshop, it's pretty easy to find the brightest and darkest areas in the image. But what about those midtones? Is there an easy way to find neutral gray without simply guessing? There sure is, and it's one of Photoshop's often overlooked blend modes that makes all the 'difference'! Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/rainbow/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/rainbow/ Learn how to brighten your stormy skies by adding a rainbow, or even a double rainbow, to a photo using one of Photoshop's ready-made gradients. We'll also learn how to flip the order of the colors in a gradient to create a more realistic double rainbow effect! Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/dancing-stars/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/dancing-stars/ Let Photoshop make their special night even more magical and send the wedding couple dancing in the stars with this step by step photo effects tutorial. Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/metal-text/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/metal-text/ Learn how to easily create metal text, a popular effect widely used in video games and movie posters! Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/perspective-shadow/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/perspective-shadow/ Is your Photoshop text lacking perspective? Try adding an easy to create, classic 3D-style perspective shadow! Mon, 26 July 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/bubble-brush/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/bubble-brush/ In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to add realistic bubbles to a photo using an easy-to-create, custom Photoshop bubble brush! Mon, 26 July 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-mounts/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-mounts/ In this two-part Photoshop tutorial, learn how to create and add photo mount corners to an image, a nice finishing touch for wedding or engagement photos, family portraits, travel photos, and more! Mon, 26 July 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gallery-print/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gallery-print/ In this Photoshop tutorial, learn how to display your photos as if they were hanging in an art gallery with this easy to create gallery-style photo frame layout! Mon, 26 July 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/screen-jump/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/screen-jump/ Sometimes, the action in a movie, sports event or video game can be so intense, it seems to jump right off the screen, especially if you're using Photoshop! In this tutorial, learn how to create this popular and classic photo effect. Mon, 07 June 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/3d/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/3d/ Long before Avatar, monsters and aliens were leaping out of screens at moviegoers wearing cardboard 3D glasses with red and blue lenses. In this tutorial, learn how to recreate that same 50's retro 3D movie look with Photoshop! Mon, 07 June 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/overlap-text/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/overlap-text/ Every month, magazine covers show people or objects overlapping text (usually the name of the magazine along the top). In this tutorial, learn how layers in Photoshop make it easy to recreate the same effect with your own images and text! Mon, 07 June 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/straighten-images/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/straighten-images/ It took a long time, but with Photoshop CS5, Adobe has finally made straightening crooked images simple, fast and intuitive! In fact, as we learn in this tutorial, Photoshop CS5's new Straighten feature now lets us straighten and crop images with a single click! Mon, 07 June 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/healing-brush/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/healing-brush/ Photoshop's Healing Brush is by far the best of its photo retouching tools, and in this tutorial, we learn how it works and how it can be used to easily reduce the appearance of distracting wrinkles on someone's face! Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/cs5/mini-bridge/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/cs5/mini-bridge/ Tired of switching between Photoshop and Bridge every time you need to open a new image? Now you don't have to! Learn how the new Mini Bridge in Photoshop CS5 lets us easily locate, preview and open photos from Bridge without ever leaving Photoshop! Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/new-features/fill-content-aware/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/new-features/fill-content-aware/ Want to remove an object in a photo with little effort? Check out the amazing new Content-Aware Fill feature in Photoshop CS5 and watch the object magically disappear as if it never existed! Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/new-features/content-aware-healing/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/cs5/new-features/content-aware-healing/ In this first look at one of the brand new features in Photoshop CS5, we check out the upgraded Spot Healing Brush with its new Content Aware Healing option and how an already great photo retouching tool just got a whole lot better! Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gradient-map/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/gradient-map/ Learn how to add complex colorizing effects to images in Photoshop using a Gradient Map, including a look at how to create your own custom gradients! Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/lens-flare/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/lens-flare/ Learn how to add a popular lens flare effect to an image in Photoshop without harming the original photo using layer blend modes! Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/reduce-noise/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/reduce-noise/ Whenever we shoot in low light, use high ISO settings or leave the dSLR at home because the compact camera is easier to carry, we often end up with noise in our images. Fortunately, Photoshop's Reduce Noise filter can reduce its appearance without sacrificing image detail! Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/eye-color/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/eye-color/ In this photo retouching tutorial, learn how Photoshop makes changing eye color in an image quick and easy without harming the original photo using nothing more than a simple adjustment layer! Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/color-replacement-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/color-replacement-tool/ Photoshop's Color Replacement Tool makes it easy to change the color of an object in an image without a lot of fuss or hassle. In this tutorial, we look at how it works (and why it sometimes doesn't), the options that control how it works, and why learning about the Color Replacement Tool may seem like déjà vu! Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/background-eraser/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/background-eraser/ In this tutorial, we look at Photoshop's Background Eraser and how this powerful and popular image editing tool uses differences in color to easily erase unwanted background areas of a photo! Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/photoshop-brushes/brush-dynamics/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/photoshop-brushes/brush-dynamics/ In this series of tutorials, learn how to dynamically control various aspects of your brushes as you paint in Photoshop, including brush size, shape, color, and more, using the Brush Dynamics options in the Brushes panel! Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/flip-mirror/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/flip-mirror/ In this Photoshop photo effects tutorial, learn how to create fun and interesting designs and patterns from a single image by repeatedly flipping, rotating and mirroring it, and experimenting with different layer blend modes! Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/photoshop-brushes/make-brushes/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/photoshop-brushes/make-brushes/ Photoshop ships with lots of great brushes for us to use, but it's way more fun and interesting to create our own! In this tutorial, learn how to create a new brush from scratch, and how to control the behavior of the brush with dynamic brush options! Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/black-and-white/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/black-and-white/ In this series of tutorials, we'll learn the many ways of converting color photos to black and white in Photoshop, including a look at color modes, image adjustments, adjustment layers, gradients, layer blend modes, color channels, and more! With few exceptions, the tools and techniques we'll be covering here have been around in Photoshop for years and are available to anyone using any recent (and even not-so-recent) version of Photoshop! Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/three-photo-template/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/three-photo-template/ Learn how to create a simple three-image photo frame in Photoshop, then how to easily convert the final result into a reusable template with Smart Objects! Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/torn-edges/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/torn-edges/ Learn how to easily combine the Eraser Tool with one of Photoshop's built-in brushes, along with a few layers and some layer styles, to give a photo a worn, torn edges effect! Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/action-zoom/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/action-zoom/ Learn how to create a zoom blurring effect in Photoshop, a popular and easy way to give a photo a sense of action and motion! Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-strip-photo-collage/part-two/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-strip-photo-collage/part-two/ In the first of this two-part Photoshop tutorial, we created a film strip shape to use as a photo frame. In this second part of the tutorial, we'll use multiple copies of that film strip to create our photo collage! Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-strip-photo-collage/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/film-strip-photo-collage/ In this two-part Photoshop tutorial, learn how to create a fun photo collage using a film strip as a photo frame for multiple images. In this first part of the tutorial, we'll see how Photoshop's various shape tools make it easy to draw the actual film strip itself, which we'll then use in Part Two to create the photo collage! Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-borders-photoshop-brushes/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-borders-photoshop-brushes/ Learn how easy it is to create interesting photo border effects using Photoshop's brushes, including how to load additional brush sets and combine multiple brush strokes with different tools, like the Eraser Tool, for virtually endless creative possibilities! Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/magnetic-lasso-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/magnetic-lasso-tool/ The Magnetic Lasso Tool is one of the best selection tools in Photoshop, giving us much better results than what the standard Lasso Tool offers in less time and with less effort and frustration. In fact, with a little practice, you may find yourself hopelessly attracted to it! Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/polygonal-lasso-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/polygonal-lasso-tool/ The Polygonal Lasso Tool, another of Photoshop's basic selection tools, is perfect for selecting objects in a photo with many straight, flat surfaces or sides, allowing us to draw as many sides as we need in any direction with just the click of a mouse! Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/lasso-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/lasso-tool/ Photoshop's Lasso Tool is probably the easiest of the selection tools to use, allowing us to draw freehand selections around objects in a photo as if we were outlining them on paper with a pen or pencil. While it may not be considered a professional level selection tool, we'll learn how to combine it with Photoshop's ability to add and remove areas of a selection to fix up problem areas and dramatically improve your results! Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/elliptical-marquee-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/elliptical-marquee-tool/ The Rectangular Marquee Tool may be one of the easiest Photoshop selection tools to use, but it isn't much help to us when we need to draw oval or circular selections. That's where the Elliptical Marquee Tool comes in, and it's every bit as simple. In fact, the Elliptical Marquee Tool is really just the Rectangular Marquee Tool with extremely rounded corners! Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/rectangular-marquee-tool/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/rectangular-marquee-tool/ Being able to select objects or areas in a photo is one of the most important Photoshop skills you need, but not all selections need to be complex or time consuming. In this tutorial, we look at one of Photoshop's most basic and easy to use selection tools, the Rectangular Marquee Tool, perfect for making selections based on simple geometric shapes. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/why-make-selections/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/selections/why-make-selections/ There's lots of ways to make selections in Photoshop, some simple, some advanced, but having lots of ways to do something doesn't explain why we need to do it in the first place, so in this tutorial, we'll look at why we need to make selections in Photoshop at all and why Photoshop doesn't see things like we do. Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/high-key-glow/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/high-key-glow/ In this Photoshop photo effects tutorial, learn how to give your images a romantic, magical look by adding a glow effect to just the highlights in the photo, an easy effect to create thanks to Photoshop's Color Range command. Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/text-portrait/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/text-portrait/ In this Photoshop photo effects tutorial, learn how to create the illusion that a portrait photo is actually being created by multiple lines of text. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/halftone-pattern-photo-border/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/halftone-pattern-photo-border/ Learn how to create a fun and simple halftone pattern photo border in Photoshop! We'll use Smart Filters in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 to keep the effect fully editable even after it's completed, but this photo border can be easily created with any version of Photoshop, including Photoshop Elements! Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/dual-view/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/dual-view/ If it's true that two heads are better than one, it's also true that two views of the same image are better than one, especially when it comes to photo editing. Learn how to keep a constant eye on your overall image in Photoshop no matter how far you've zoomed in with this dual view editing technique! Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/motion-blur/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/motion-blur/ In this Photoshop tutorial, we'll learn how to add a sense of speed to an object using an easy to create motion blur effect! This "speed trail" effect is very popular in sports photography since it's a great way to add motion, direction and excitement to an image, creating the illusion that an athlete, for example, is blazing past the competition at super human speed. Of course, this effect works just as well with a photo of your kids running in the backyard, or people dancing at a party, or any image where the subject should appear to be moving. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EST http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/dissolve/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/dissolve/ Learn how the Dissolve layer blend mode in Photoshop can be used to add more interest to your photo effects, as well as how to easily create a speckled photo border!