How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 8: Discover the magic of Adobe's best kept secret

321 Pages·2009·0.88 MB·English

by  David Asch

How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 8
chHOeW TaO t
PHOTOSHOP
IN
Elements 8
Discover the magic
of Adobe’s
best kept secret
David Asch and Steve Caplin
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD
PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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First edition 2010
Copyright © 2010 David Asch & Steve Caplin. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
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Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and
using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information
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To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009940044
ISBN: 978-0-240-52187-9
For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.focalpress.com
Book design and cover by Steve Caplin
Printed and bound in Canada
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Contents
How to cheat, and why . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Cut-up collage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Interlude: Keep up, no slacking . . . . . . 46
How to use this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Getting up to speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Hiding and showing . . . . . . . . . 48
1 Selection techniques . . . . . . . . 4 Cheating with layer masks 1. . . . . . . . 50
Cheating with layer masks 2. . . . . . . . 52
Marquee selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Smudge masking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
More selection tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
On golden pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
The Magnetic Lasso tool . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part of the scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Quick selection + refine edge . . . . . . . 12
Polaroid-style photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Magic selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Spectacular fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Magic extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fairy gets her wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Working with selections . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Extending the scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Interlude: Setting up Elements . . . . . . . 20 Reusable images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Panorama power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
2 Montage essentials:
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Interlude: Digital cameras . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Three card tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4 Image adjustments . . . . . . . . . . 74
Divide and multiply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Adjusting images with Levels . . . . . . . 76
Importing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Shadows and highlights . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Think smart! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Bee flat to bee sharp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Staying in shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
RAW adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Adding a little style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Photomerge: exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Protect your work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
All that glitters… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The power of adjustment . . . . . . . . . . 38
The perfect respray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Exploring blend modes . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Shifting seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Banqueting arrangements . . . . . . . . . . 42
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A splash of color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Tricky selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Smart bling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Locket and load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Changing skies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Wrapping around surfaces . . . . . . . . .150
Making rainbows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Making curls and folds . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Catching the drops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 The ripple effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
0-60 in ten minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 A flag for all nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Real world modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Not-so-extreme close-up . . . . . . . . . .158
Sunset silhouette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Smoke without fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
That’s snow business . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 Troublesome perspective . . . . . . . . . . .162
It’s a kind of magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Interlude: But is it art? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Keep your composure . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
5 Light and shade . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Interlude: Drawing comparisons . . . . . 168
Shadows on ground and wall . . . . . . .114
7 Materials and textures . . . . .170
Painting soft shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Turning day into night . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 Curtains with a difference . . . . . . . . .172
Making fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 Quick and easy wood grain . . . . . . . . .174
Instant candlelight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Pattern forming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Stage lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 Lying on a bed of satin . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Divine light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Making notepaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Shading using Hard Light . . . . . . . . . .128 The art of paper tearing . . . . . . . . . . .182
Deceiving the eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Creating old paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Flashlight illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 Ageing a photo in minutes . . . . . . . . .186
Cooking up a storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134 A quick repair job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Letting the dust settle . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Interlude: Can I get a job doing this? . 136
You spin me round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
6 Transformation
A little light relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
and distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Stamp duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
The science of transformation . . . . . .140 Finger-friendly stained glass . . . . . . . .198
Distorted field of vision . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Blueprint for design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Simple perspective distortion . . . . . . .144 Unfinished illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
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How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 8
Interlude: Finding images for free . . . . 204 10 Shiny surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
8 Working with text . . . . . . . . . . 206 Upon reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Complex reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Carving in stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Window reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Neon signs with layer styles . . . . . . . . 210
From railway to waterway . . . . . . . . . 266
Instant chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Goo, slime… and molasses . . . . . . . . . 268
No mess pumpkin carving . . . . . . . . . . 214
Preserving the occasion . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Write on the button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Three-dimensional text . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Interlude: Keeping it real . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Writing in the sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
11 The third dimension . . . . . . . . 274
Chop and change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Elements of design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Lifting the lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Lifting the lid 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Interlude: Image size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Tiling the floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
9 People and animals . . . . . . . . . 228 Opening doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Using perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Heads on bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Make your own jigsaws . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Photomerge: faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Out of bounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Cosmetic surgery: healing . . . . . . . . . . 234
Cosmetic surgery: weight loss . . . . . . 236 Interlude: RGB or CMYK? . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Age and youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
12 Print and the internet . . . . . . 292
Adding people to the scene . . . . . . . . 240
Cleaning up the scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Saving files for the internet . . . . . . . . 294
Eyes wide shut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Presenting your work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Warhol-style pop-art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Animated GIFs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Hollywood glamor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Easy print matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Bobblehead caricature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
All in the mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Dog in a basket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
What’s on the CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Interlude: Tiffs, JPEGs and the rest . . . 256 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
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How to cheat, and why
The truth about cheating
We’ve used the word ‘cheating’ in the title of this book in two ways. the most
obvious is that we’re describing how to make images look like photographs,
when they’re not. in this sense, it simply means creating photographic work
without the need for a studio.
the other sense of ‘cheating’ is finding shortcuts to help you work more
quickly and more economically. Wherever possible, we’ve used the quickest
solutions we can find to achieve the results.
each workthrough in this book is designed as a double page spread. that
way, you can prop the book up behind your keyboard while going through the
associated file on the CD.
at the end of each chapter you’ll find an interlude, in which we discuss
an issue of relevance to the elements artist. some cover essential information
about file sizes and types, color mode, and so on; others take a broader view.
think of them as light relief, and read them to save eye strain from staring at
the screen for too long.
Who is the book for?
as the ‘baby brother’ to the full Photoshop cs5, Photoshop elements has long
suffered the stigma of being a cheap, unprofessional product. cheap it may be,
but it contains 90% of the features found in the full Photoshop and, as we’ve
seen from user-created artwork, it’s anything but unprofessional.
it’s true that elements is rarely used in a graphics studio or publishing
company. but this is mainly because it doesn’t include the high-end prepress
features found in Photoshop; using elements doesn’t mean that you’re working
with a substandard application.
some elements users simply want to enhance their digital captures,
perhaps adding a caption or two. but there are also those who want to take
their work further: to explore the field of photomontage, and to make reality
from the dreams locked in their heads. it’s for these users that How to Cheat
in Photoshop Elements 8 will be of most benefit, helping them to release that
potential and get their ideas out of their heads and onto the screen.
as a montage application, elements is only as limited as your
imagination. it can realize any montage you can conceive, as long as you have
vi
How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 8
the technical skill required. We aim to provide you with that skill set, enabling
you to unleash your creativity. Whether you’re montaging missing family
members into a group portrait, or creating a complex work of art, elements
can help you achieve your goal.
What’s on the CD?
We’ve included all the photographic images from the workthroughs in this
book on the cD, so that after reading about them you can open up the original
files and experiment with them for yourself. there are also a number of
Quicktime movies showing specific techniques in action: sometimes it’s better
to see how to achieve an effect than merely to be told about it.
the cD also includes a set of layer styles and custom shapes that we’ve
created in Photoshop. although you can’t create these effects in elements, you
can import them and apply them to your own artwork – and modify them to
quite a large degree.
Going further
Visit the book’s website at www.howtocheatinphotoshopelements.com and
you’ll find the user forum. this is where you can post questions or problems,
and exchange ideas with other readers; we’ll also do our best to solve any
elements-related issues that may be troubling you. if you get stuck, either on
a tutorial in the book or elsewhere in elements, this is your first place to look
for a solution.
steve caplin and David asch
london and brighton, 2009
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Acknowledgments
this book is dedicated to Jules and carol, for putting up with us while we wrote it.
We’re grateful to the following:
David Albon of Focal Press
Keith Martin, for helping to create the keyboard shortcuts font
Adobe Systems Inc., for making Photoshop Elements
many of the images in this book are from royalty-free photo libraries. most of them are
from the best subscription sites we know of: photos.com and absolutvision.com. With a huge
range of royalty-free photographs available for download, they’re always our first stops
when we’re looking for the perfect image. many thanks to them for allowing us to include
low resolution versions of many of their excellent pictures in the tutorials in this book.
viii
How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 8
How to use this book
We doubt that any readers of this book are going to start at the beginning and
work their way diligently through to the end. in fact, you’re probably only
reading this section because your computer’s just crashed and you can’t follow
any more of the workthroughs until it’s booted up again. this is the kind of
book you should be able to just dip into and extract the information you need.
but we’d like to make a couple of recommendations. the first four
chapters deal with the basics of photomontage: making selections, working
with layers, and adjusting your images. there are many elements users
who have never learnt how to make layer masks, or picked up the essential
keyboard shortcuts. because we talk about these techniques throughout the
book, we need to bring everyone up to speed before we get to the harder stuff.
although the book is designed for users of elements 8, most of the
tutorials will apply to those who have earlier versions of the program as well.
We’ve indicated on each page where elements 8 is specifically required to
perform the task in hand.
the techniques in each chapter build up as you progress through the
workthroughs. frequently, we’ll use a technique that’s been discussed in more
detail earlier in the same chapter, so it may be worth going through the pages
in each chapter in order, even if you don’t read every chapter in the book.
the cD icon on each tutorial page indicates that the source file for that
tutorial is on the cD, so you can open it up and try it out for yourself. the
movie icon indicates that there’s an associated Quicktime movie on the cD.
if you get stuck anywhere in the book, or in elements generally, visit the
reader forum, accessed through the main website or directly via this address:
www.howtocheatinphotoshopelements.com/htcbb
this is where you can post queries and suggestions. We visit the forum every
day, and will always respond directly to questions from readers. but expect
other forum members to weigh in with their opinions as well!
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