Project files, desktop

designs, stock art…

ISSUE 23

The magazine for Adobe Photoshop pros

6-PAGE WORKSHOP
Lighting workshop | Interview with Toby Gard | Image watermarking | Create art from toy models

PERFECT
LIGHTING
Master the art of light and shadow

PROTECT 150
IMAGES
Keep the thieves at bay with
B
ON RUS
THI
S IS HE
’S C S
SUE
our guide to watermarking D

HOW TO… INTERVIEW

Get great source imagery
Choose graphics cards
TOBY
GARD
Create art from toys
Script in Photoshop

Meet the man

behind action
girl, Lara Croft
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

ISSUE 23
ISSN 1748-7277
£5.99
23

9 771748 727009
© Tom Kelley Studios

CREATE GAME ART pages of professional

Luke Ahearn takes you through the tips & essential step-
23
UE

intricate process of game design by-step tutorials

ISS

001_APM23.indd 1 19/9/06 14:25:04

 Cover

Cover image Imageer:

The original image used this month is one of the most RADIM MALINIC | BRAND:NU
famous photographs ever taken of iconic figure and Source image:
sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. Shot in a cramped Los © TOM KELLEY STUDIOS
Angeles studio on the 27th May, 1949 by professional
photographer Tom Kelley before Marilyn hit stardom,
the image is one of a collection of ten poses known as
the Red Velvet Collection. The original photograph
has been sensitively reworked by Radim Malinic.
Elements have been added carefully giving it an
THE IMAGE IS ONE OF
unique and personal touch but allowing the beauty
of the original photograph to shine through.
A COLLECTION OF TEN
/
/
marilynfineart.com POSES KNOWN AS THE RED
VELVET COLLECTION
www.brandnu.co.uk

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 nds
mme
Reco

GIVE IT A GO 7 30
Jerry Lofaro takes you through the processes of
using toy models in your artwork in this first
installment of two parts

ISSUE #23

inside... LETTERS
Our readers’ comments and feedback
7 10
INSIGHT 7 12
News and showcases from around the globe
All the latest events, exhibitions and awards 12
Jerry Dillingham showcases his work 18
Find out how Brand:Nu reworked Marilyn 20

HELPDESK 7 78
Your technical traumas shared with fellow readers
and answered by our expert

THE COVER RESOURCES 7 85

Is there a better cover model than
the iconic Marilyn Monroe? We don’t
24 Vital assets to improve your Photoshop work
think so. Find out more about how We chat with the creator of
Lara Croft, Toby Gard
Mac OS X Leopard preview 86
the cover was created by turning to
page 22
Websites 90
Books 92
Typography 94

THIS MONTH’S CD 7 96
. Superb stock art, project files to go with this

B E..6 month’s issue and more!

I 7
S CR age off
B p s
SU rn toave £price
Tu d s ver 42 56
an e co The ins and outs of
character design
Perfect complex light and
shadow techniques
th

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 36
Find out how Photoshop plays
a part in creating game skins

TECHNIQUES
Faster, better, more… How can you work smarter?
MODEL WORKSHOP
The first part of Jerry Lofaro’s stunning tutorial
7 30
FEATURES
INTERVIEW: TOBY GARD 7 24 CHARACTER DESIGN
Kyle Gentry takes you through the process
7 42
We talk to the creator of action girl, Lara Croft

GAMES SKINS 7 36 LIGHT AND SHADOW

Create atmospheric landscapes with light perfection
7 56
Find out how Photoshop is used in the games design process

SOURCE IMAGERY 7 48 INSIDER INFO

PRINT PREVIEW 7 62
Start off on the right foot with our guide to starting images Check how your images will look in print

PEER PRESSURE 7 72 WATERMARKING 7 64

Inspiring and challenging images from your fellow readers Protect your copyright the easy way

GRAPHICS CARDS 7 80 INSIDER INFO

Give your computer graphics power with these models SCRIPTING
Get clued up on this advanced technique
7 70
MAC OS X LEOPARD 7 86
A sneak preview at the new operating system from Apple

7
Advanced Photoshop

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 Letters

Mailbox
We love hearing your views and opinions –
whether good or bad. So drop us a line or post
a thought about your Photoshop dilemmas or
general digital wonderings. Email us at
[email protected]
or visit www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk

SUBJECT: Why I love AP! SUBJECT: Question

FROM: Via forum FROM: Bjorn Henriksen
I really do have to say this because I’m so glad you I have a question regarding subscribing. Is it possible
people have released such a magazine. Let me just to subscribe when I live in Finland? What is the cost
say a huge number of Photoshop magazines focus for subscribing one year and how many issues does from a scanned image. I‘m no good at drawing by
on the stuff most of us are not interested in; I mean that include? Thank you in advance! hand, so this didn’t appeal to me, although it may
who wants to learn how to make a tiger look bolder have to some.
in colour? How many of us actually photograph Editor replies: Another thing was, you didn’t mention any sizes to
tigers and elephants? The cost of subscription is £55 from anywhere in the start the document or any recommended sizes for the
AP is just on another scale. A lot of work is mind UK, £70 from within Europe and £80 for the rest of the grass/road. I created my pixel city only to realise it was
blowing and every page is an inspiration – so glossy, world. This price is based on a year’s subscription, way to small. It took me 24 hours to create the basics,
so colourful and the artwork is boasting life. I have which includes 13 issues. All subscription details can and when it came to creating people they were just
not got a single bad word to say over this magazine. be seen on our subs page (pages 16 or 76) or via our way to small to be seen clearly.
All I can say is if you ever get the urge to add boring website at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk. It’s a good tutorial, but you could have included
tutorials that waste six pages on how to remove a more to it, or maybe a part 2 on how to create people,
ram’s horn from a photo… don’t! SUBJECT: Disappointed and go a bit more in depth.
I think the people that buy AP are people like FROM: Via forum
myself who love Hed Kandi-style artwork and love to The first issue I bought was issue 20. I got home and Editor replies:
be amazed and learn more. Advanced Photoshop is was itching to learn the pixel art tutorial – the front I’m sorry you were so disappointed in the pixel art
neither a magazine for pros or beginners: it’s for cover made me choose this magazine over my recent tutorial. Especially as it was your first issue of AP.
everyone. I feel that it’s on a level that both pros and Photoshop Creative purchase. The aim of our magazine is not to talk down to our
newbies can relate to learn from. I’m amazed at the I was shocked to find that the tutorial didn’t go into readers. We assume a certain level of knowledge
ink effects tutorial in issue 21. Brilliant! Keep up the that much detail. It taught you how to create the and don’t like to patronise you; we do always
good work lads and ladies. grass and road, and a basic building and a character recommend you make your images big – A3 in our
opinion – as images can be shrunk down, but sizing
up is never as successful.
The idea of the tutorial was to show you the basics
to creating everything in pixel art and then you can

ARTISTIC FLAIR:
If you find our
tutorials
inspirational why not TRYING TIMES: Let us know what you think
give them a go and about our tutorials and features by emailing us or
send in your efforts? visiting the forum

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 “IT’S MORE
ABOUT
FINDING THE
IDEAS
RATHER THEN Straight to
LEARNING the point
TECHNIQUES” Camera vs creative
Subject: Good balance
techniques along the way. I think in general when you From: Ann Humpreys
get to the ‘advanced’ stage in Photoshop, it’s more Although I welcome your art-focused tutorials,
MANGA MAGNIFICENT: Head to about finding the ideas rather then learning the photo-editing ones are a necessary skill
www.shutterstock.com to see more amazing techniques. So, I vote for more competitiveness with much overlooked. Like your masterclass on
images like last month’s cover the magazine creators and (even) more interviews! faking fashion shots, I think you should include
more tutorials on skin retouching, cleaning up
save all your elements separately, build up a pixel SUBJECT: Career query photos and the like.
world library and create art to your heart’s content. FROM: Via forum
The joy of this is that even if you created quite a small I bet you are probably flooded with emails, but I Subject: Camera Order
patch of grass you can then duplicate it to create would be really grateful if you could give me some From: Simon Turner
larger areas (step 12). I do hope you keep trying pixel words of advice. I was just wondering how to get into I am a serious photographer and stumbled
art as it really is worth the time and effort. Please keep graphics design as a job? I have only being doing it for across your magazine from this avenue. Your
your comments coming. a year and never did it in school. I’m 19 and started by tutorials are great for teaching techniques that I
making little signatures on game websites, now I’m in then apply to my own work, but I was
SUBJECT: Suggestion love with Photoshop. I can’t go to college because I wondering if you ever did hardware roundups
FROM: Via forum work so how would I go about designing CD covers? I on anything camera related?
You’re always asking for suggestions, so here’s one. am lost how to get into it.
How about a tutorial on scripting? Subject: Your advice
Editor replies: From: Thomas Bateman
Editor replies: As we say time and time again, practise makes On your advice I’ve been trying to snap my own
Your wish is our command. Just turn to page 68 and perfect. Get designing for friends and family, then source images for use in my artwork. However,
Trevor Morris will talk you through everything you once you’ve built up a decent portfolio get promoting. I’m not a natural born photographer and a
need to know about Photoshop scripting. Email a newsletter to magazines, record companies tutorial on setting up shots, lighting and
and set up an online portfolio. Get your name out everything camera would go down a treat.
SUBJECT: Manga mad! there and if you have the talent the work will come.
FROM: Kris Lema Editor replies:
Your covers just go from strength to strength. The We try and maintain a good balance of creative
Manga artwork on the cover of issue 22 was definitely and photo-editing tutorials to make sure your
your best yet – keep up the good work! Photoshop knowledge is as rounded as it can be.
However, at this advanced stage in your career,
SUBJECT: My views some of the photo-manipulation work can be
FROM: via forum seen as a little basic for us to keep going over. As
Ok, here is my opinion of everything AP. for camera and related hardware reviews, this is
Love all interviews with artists – very interesting and something we’ll cover in the future, so keep
very inspirational to see their work. I wouldn’t mind if reading! If you have anymore comments that
the entire magazine was just full of interviews in fact you would like to add to this interesting debate
– put that up as an idea! then leave them on the forum, along with
The tutorials are generally good and I can usually anything else that you would like to see covered
pull a few helpful things here and there from them. in the magazine.
However, what I find a better system is your
‘head2head’ and more recent ‘relay’ features. This is
because the authors are not restricted to
demonstrating a technique in a sometimes BANGING HEADS: You can look forward
uninspiring way. Instead the artist is allowed free to plenty more challenge-style features in the
future for further inspiration
reign to let creativity take priority and yet still explain

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 Keeping an eye on the latest trends in contemporary photography, art
and design, Insight sets outs to snapshot innovation in the making

Cut [X] and Paste [V]

In November 2005 a live digital design battle took place in the form of the
Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament. Initiated to provide a forum of free,
competitive expression in a relaxed audience-friendly atmosphere the
event packed a large open bar with an audience of 850, all staring intently
as the white projector screens displayed each brush stroke and mouse click.
This year Cut&Paste has come back for more with events in New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco each placing eight competitors
against each other. The mission for the event is not only to raise individual
artist’s profiles and help them to develop their audience following, but to
also increase professional opportunities for visual artists and grow the
creative community. ‘Through curated artistic events and community
development, Cut&Paste is working with artists, design firms, and the
media to provide new avenues for artists to share their work and their
process.’ So if you’re based stateside why not toddle on down to the events
CUT AND PASTE: This years’ Cut&Paste to be part of the audience? Separate event details have been posted on the
events will take place in New York, Chicago, Cut&Paste website at www.cutandpaste.cc.
Los Angeles and San Francisco.

www.cutandpaste.cc
2005: Last year’s
tournament packed in
over 850 people

AN AUDIENCE: To hold a chance of winning

the Cut&Paste tournament designers have to be
confident to work with their screens on display

JOHN SIERS: A
Crumpler bag design
from last year’s event

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 Robin Preston on Nik Sharpener
11.06
Pro 2.0 and Efex ProTM 2.0
DIARY
Last year I made the mistake of telling my wife and controls menu and the Selective tool. The Advanced
daughter that I was doing a job in New York a few weeks controls menu in Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 provides five
before Christmas. You’ve guessed it, ‘why don’t we join slider controls that can be associated with different
you?’ they said, ‘we should do more things together.’ colours in a digital image. Users can pick the colour for a

DATES
What they really meant was ‘Christmas = shopping’. slider with an eyedropper tool or a traditional colour-
Between the job I was doing I’d decided to shoot some picker menu. Once the colours are selected, each slider
images for an idea I had in mind, but with both the girls allows users to increase or decrease the sharpening
in tow off I went. Every time I stopped to shoot applied to areas of the image that have that colour. For
something I was told to stop wasting time as they were in maximum control, each of the five sliders can be
a rush. I still managed to shoot what I thought would be adjusted independently. Another powerful new feature
some great images, until we got back to the hotel and I of Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is the Selective tool. This new SCOPE LONDON
realised that every shot was unsharp and I had no time to tool allows users to apply sharpening to any part of an
12-15 October
go back. So, the images were laid to rest on one of my image with selective brush strokes. The sharpening can
Brick Lane, London
servers until through my contact with Wacom as their be selectively brushed into the image, or it can be
Evangelist a couple of plugins were sent to me to test. I applied to the whole image and selectively brushed out.
tried them out on my New York images and was able to This tool takes advantage of the layer technology in ACROBAT 8
save them. I was so impressed with the results that I
thought you guys should know about it.
Adobe Photoshop and automatically creates the
adjustment layer with a single mouse click. There is also a
PRO TRAINING
RAW Presharpening filter, which is designed to enhance 17 October-1st December
Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 the detail in digital images that are converted from a London, Birmingham, Leeds,
For photographers and digital artists who want to apply RAW file format. Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester
different amounts of sharpening to selected areas of the The RAW Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is an Adobe Photoshop
image, there are two sets of tools that allow users to compatible plug-in and is available for Windows and PHOTOSHOP CS2
apply selective sharpening: the sliders in the Advanced Macintosh OS 9 and OS X systems.
CREATIVITY TOUR
WITH BERT MONROY
27 October
Islington, London

MAC EXPO
26-28 October
Olympia, London

PORTFOLIO CLINIC
7 November
Fabrica, Brighton

SATOSHI
EBOY: To see more of the work of contributor
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Robin managed to salvage his
street scene and created an ultra sharp piece of Photoshop art
MATSUYUMA
eBoy check out its pixel-art based website
hello.eboy.com/eboy
thanks to Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 software 2nd-23 December
Brick Lane Gallery, London

Efex ProTM 2.0 The new Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Selective module included with

Win!
Efex ProTM 2.0 Complete Edition is a collection of 75 digital Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 enables you to apply any filter from Nik
photographic filters that includes new and enhanced filters Color Efex Pro 2.0 to any part of an image while taking
ranging from Infrared: Black and White and Cross Processing to advantage of the pressure sensitivity capabilities of the Wacom
Graduated Neutral Density and Polarization. tablet for even greater control. They include enhanced 16-bit
All 30 new filters have been updated with new features and this functionality enabling you to work with the expanded range of
For your ch
new release of Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 offers a number of 16 bit images for better quality images. When working with ance to win
the softwar
mentione e
invaluable digital photographic tools for Adobe Photoshop. Nik images in 8-bit mode, Pro 2.0 filters provide an enhanced d in Robin’
your Photos s column se
hop creatio nd us
Color Efex Pro 2.0 filters impressively offers users true process to emulate 16 bit processing for even better results. word ‘sharp ns based on
’. Entries sh the
photographic filter enhancements.. As in the first set of filters plug-in and is available for Windows advancedps ould be e-
mailed to
hop@imag
The range of filters in Color Efex Pro 2.0 are designed to offer and Macintosh OS 9 and OS X systems. marked clea ine-publishing
rly with th .co.uk
users the ability to perform image enhancements that add Next month I’ll be writing about 7 days of Photokina the largest ‘Robin’s co e subject he
lumn com ader
winner will petition 23
color, style, and life. The new TrueLightTM technology provides photographic trade in the world. be notified ’. The
on the 8th
better photographic enhancements by preserving the If anyone is interested I shall also be holding creative workshops Nov ‘06.
relationships between color, contrast, and details in the image. at the Apple store in Regent street London in November details
Users achieve better quality images and more natural results. will be under news on my website nw-5.com.

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 insight TOMMA ABTS
PAINTINGS 20
05

Turner shortlist
Tate has announced the four artists who have been shortlisted for the Turner
Prize 2006. The finalists are Tomma Abts, Phil Collins (no, not of ‘Groove Kind Of
Love’ fame), Mark Titchner and Rebecca Warren. Sponsored by Gordon’s gin,
this year’s prize fund is £40,000 with £25,000 going to the winner and £5,000
each for the other shortlisted artists. Established in 1984 the Turner Prize is
awarded to British artists under 50-years-old who present an outstanding
exhibition or other presentation of their work in the 12 months preceding 9
May 2006. Tomma Abts was shortlisted for her solo exhibitions of paintings
shown at Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland and greengrassi London and Phil Collins
for his engaging photographic and video installations involving diverse social
groups. Mark Titchner’s work – originally exhibited at Arnolfini, Bristol – shows
workings across a wide range of media, including light boxes and hand-carved
contraptions. Finally, Rebecca Warren’s sculptures were nominated from her
solo exhibitions at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York and Galerie Daniel
Buchholz, Cologne. Work by the shortlisted artists will be shown in an
exhibition at Tate Britain from 3 October and the winner will be announced on
4 December during a live broadcast by Channel 4.

REBECCA WARREN SCULPTURE 2003

MARK TITCHNER: ‘If you can dream it, you must do it’ 2003

14
Advanced Photoshop
shoot horses’
PHIL COLLINS: ‘They

012-015_APM23.indd 14 21/9/06 15:22:46

 Elemental, my dear
11.06
Adobe has released Photoshop Elements 5.0 and
Premiere Elements 3.0 as major upgrades to the

DIARY
number one selling photo editing and video
editing software. Only available for Windows,
Photoshop Elements now includes new and more
flexible ways for consumers to organize files, edit

DATES
images and share photos. New features include
themed and customisable layouts, multi-page
document options for albums and scrapbooks
and over 100 framing choices. Making the most of
the Macromedia acquisition an Adobe Flash
based photo gallery service called ‘Adobe
Photoshop Showcase’ allows photos to be shared TROPICÁLIA: A
for free or upgraded to an extended sharing REVOLUTION IN
service via a website with an interactive interface. BRAZILIAN CULTURE
Other editing additions include a new black-and-
7 October – 28 January 2007
white conversion tool to aid conversion of colour Bronx Museum, New York
originals to a variety of black-and-white photo
styles. Although previously being stated as too
complex for Photoshop Elements users Curves EPSON PRINT
have finally made an appearance with the new ACADEMY
Adjust Color Curves controls, tamed down 28 October – January 2007
slightly from it’s bigger brother’s version. Touring
Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Windows is available
for an estimated street price of £69.99+VAT PHOTOSHOP CS
whilst Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 is also
available for the same price. Adobe Photoshop
CREATIVITY TOUR
Elements 5.0 plus Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 WITH BERT MONROY
for Windows is available as a bundle in the UK at 29 November
CURVE IT: Finally, Curves have made to Elements, although expect
to see it tamed down slightly compared to the feature in CS2 an estimated street price of £99.99. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

SECRETS OF
EDITING ADDITIONS INCLUDE A NEW THE MASK
BLACK-AND-WHITE CONVERSION TOOL 2-3 December
Mill Valley, California

Just the Jobs d the new iPod music

player and portable
video player.
Ap ple ha s introd uce t 2.5 -in ch colour
d more vibran
es a 60% brighter an
The new model featur ws and mo vie s. ‘Th e world’s
ct for watching TV sho
display which is perfe the wo rld ’s mo st po pu lar
yer has evolved into
best digital music pla s, Ap ple ’s CE O.
too,’ said Steve Job
portable video player eel for navigation an
d is
tur es the standard Click Wh
The new iPod fea hnology me an s it wil l
s 7. New Auto-Sync tec
integrated with iTune ph oto s, au diobooks, movies, mu
sic,
ital mu sic , po dc ast s,
downloa d dig c or
plugged into a Ma
whenever the iPod is
videos and TV shows ion col our display iPod allo
ws users
. The high-resolut
Windows computer while playin g mu sic , or wa tch
d photo slideshows
to view album art an Gb pri ced at $24 9 ( £13 2)
s in full colour. The 30
video and play game life for music playback and
up to three
ho urs of ba tte ry
fea tures up to 14-
80Gb mode l cos ting $349
eo playback whilst the
and a half hours of vid e an d a ha lf hours of
es up to 20 -ho urs of battery life and fiv
(£186) featur Apple store website.
pla yb ack . Th e iPo ds are available on the
video

www.apple.com

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 insight
DR WELL PROMISE: “This illustration was
pretty straightforward, filling selections and
painting with the Paint tool as an airbrush. I scanned
a rough pencil sketch and placed it into a layered
document with the layer set to Multiply. A Pattern
Maker filter was used for the wallpaper on the
doctors’ office wall.”

SALLY JO LATHEN: “To create Sally Jo I

outlined her with the Pen tool. I used the
saved selection as a shadow and used the
Skew command. This was applied to half of
the shadow that lay across the sidewalk.”

GERM: “This nasty germ was fun creating but a

nightmare to render multiple times. After placing the
pencil sketch in the document I rendered the germ by
tracing around the pencil line. This also helped me to
create a selection to apply a shadow later on.”

MAYOR: “I used the same

germ after making a few
adjustments to his fingers
and facial expressions.
The Pattern Maker filter
was used to create the
image on the wall.”

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 Jerry Dillingham
11.06
Jerry Dillingham never studied design or illustration under the
auspices of an institution. “I’m as self-taught as anyone can truly claim
to be,” he says. “I think we all learn from working, or being part of the
environment around us.” Coming from a traditional illustration
background and describing his style as ‘whimsical’ and ‘cartoon-like’
Jerry is well aware of the benefits of working digitally. Creations start
off with a pencil drawing that is scanned and imported into
Photoshop: “I then work on a layer, with the Layer Mode set to Normal
and include another layer beneath the pencil drawing set to Multiply.
From that point on I’m basically working on a traditional airbrush
illustration using selections as friskets and the Brush tool as an
airbrush.” Jerry is thankful for the benefits that Photoshop brings:
“There are no paint spills and no clogged airbrush nozzles. You also
have the capability to work on different layers within the illustration
and effortlessly make change after change.”
Jerry’s first commission came as a result of meeting author
Debbie Guthery-Owen at a book signing: “She gave me the freedom
to do whatever I deemed necessary to convey the characters in
her story. I had created digital illustrations before but they had no
continuity.” All of the illustrations shown in this portfolio are published
in Ahh-Choo, a book for kids of all ages, which is available on
www.ahh-choo.com.
LAST SNEEZE: “I applied a Motion Blur to the
character’s face to simulate the recoil from a sneeze.”
/ www.jdillustration.com

MARY SUE GRACEN: “I was able to

drag the germ into this image from a
previous creation and change the
direction of his eyes. The spewing
bacteria was given a Motion Blur to
suggest movement.”

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 insight
DANGER IN THE
CITY: This was
originally a 12-inch
centre label design
and needed strong
logo type. Leafy
layers were applied
in Photoshop to
achieve the
growing effect”

n for
al illustratio
: “This w as an origin fluen ced
EMOTIVE eir music is
strongly in
from
ive. Th ents
a DJ collect house, hence the elem
N Y so ul fu l
by rk ”
Yo
around New

Radim Malinic | Brand:Nu

Radim Malinic is a freelance illustrator who isn’t ashamed to
wax lyrical about Photoshop, but then we’re not either.
Playing an essential part in his designs it helps him to
produce a whole portfolio of stunning imagery. ‘I was
struggling to find the images I needed so I decided to create
them’, Radim tells us. ‘If there wasn’t Photoshop I wouldn’t
be doing things in the way I do. I know it sounds a bit corny
but it’s true! It’s just the way my style has evolved.’
Unlike most, Radim has no professional training and has
taught himself all the tricks he uses today. ‘I bought a book
on Illustrator 8 about five years ago and things went from
there. I was always fascinated by graphic design and wanted
to know how things were done.’
Four years ago things really kicked off for Radim and since
then he has wrapped up an illustration project for the BBC, a
design that was applied online, on air and in print. Stateside
he has completed a 60-foot billboard project for Devry
University in Houston, recognition from the GDUSA awards.
His designs have also been seen on various music releases
and club flyers all over the UK. A number of techniques are
used to create Radim’s art. ‘I shoot a lot of pictures although I
mainly use stock image websites to get my elements. I draw
shapes in Adobe Illustrator and just write a list of elements I
want to use, implement them and take it from there’.
Photoshop is the place where it all comes together. ‘I love the
PSD brushes and glows are everything! I’m not a heavy user of
filters though.’
New projects in the pipeline include more work for the
SMILE SMILE: “The band wanted to create a sepia image without it looking too dark. I included
my scans of my paint splatters and used a random picture of linen as part of the background”
BBC and album artwork for Def Jam Recordings.
/ www.brandnu.co.uk

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 11.06

SEPTEMBER: “Most of the image was BIRTHDAY: “This was a piece for a
created by simply brushing away quick joint birthday of two adjacent venues. I
masked layers. Only four different elements drew flowers and shapes in Illlustrator
were used. Less is more” and adjusted the thresholded ink stains”

NOCTURNAL: I stumbled across

this image and instantly knew I
wanted to use it for something. I
turned down the saturation, added
colours and vector elements all in
one take”

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 insight

022-023_AP23_fullpage.indd 22
Radim Malinic | Brand:Nu
11.06
To achieve this stunning design Radim cut out the original image and applied a 5px
feather to smooth out the edges. “I had to adjust Levels and Brightness & Contrast
and then create a new layer for the Drop Shadow effect. The glowing effect was
achieved by selecting the layer with a 15px feather and filling in the selection several
times with a foreground white colour. Sparkles were created with standard PSD
brushes. Finally, the glow was set to Colour Dodge to work against the skin.”
/ www.brandnu.co.uk

20/9/06 15:16:25
 © Tom Kelley Studios

022-023_AP23_fullpage.indd 23 20/9/06 15:16:28

 Inter
view
ON GARD!
With pistols at the ready, we took a leap into the dark
and mysterious chasm of game design to catch up
with the man behind all-action hero, Lara Croft

A
young lad sits in front of his trusty
old Amiga creating images and
animations in Deluxe Paint for six
solid months. With games design aspirations
in mind he sends them out to Core Design
and gets hired. It sounds like the stuff of
every boy’s dream, but this is the true story of
one of the most well-regarded names in the
gaming industry, Toby Gard.
Most famous for being the brains behind the
ledge-leaping, pistol-shooting Lara Croft, Toby’s
creation is one of the most iconic figures in the
entertainment industry. Her perfect 34D-24”-35”
figure is adorned on boy’s walls and computer
desktops worldwide. So well known and so
carefully crafted is she, that even those with no
interest in gaming can name her without
hesitation and hey, she’s so damned hot that
even the most heterosexual of females catch
themselves taking a second glance. Lara was the
first gaming icon to appear on the front cover of
magazine The Face and a Guinness World Record
holder for being the most successful video game
heroine of all time. Here’s how the story began…
Originally brought in as an artist to work on
whatever game cropped up, Toby began creating
the graphics for DC Races, but his heart

TOBY’S CREATION
IS ONE OF THE MOST
ICONIC FIGURES IN
ENTERTAINMENT
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 Toby Gard

UP TO SPEED:
Designers on Tomb
Raider: Legend
were given swatches
to work with by the
art director

PREVISUALIATION: Our
favourite app was invaluable in
previsualising how Lara would
look within the games and to ON LOCATION: Tomb Raider: Legend
make sure that the character features a number of exotic locations.
looked aesthetic throughout Plenty of research took place visiting
locations and snapping up images

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 Inter
view
wasn’t really in it, as it was a style that wasn’t very
natural to him at all: “Tomb Raider was the game
design idea that I was really excited by, so I
pitched it to the company and, after a lot of
battling to get it made, it finally went into
production six months after I first pitched it.”
Since the creation of Tomb Raider in 1994 the
game series has developed into being one of the
most successful of all time, with the franchise
selling over 28 million games and a licensing
industry valued at over $1 billion. As well as just
the games, the Tomb Raider franchise also spun
off onto the big screen with Angelina Jolie
playing the part of our favourite action lady.
But the game didn’t hit off for any old fickle
reason. Rather than having simple point-and-
shoot logistics, the Tomb Raider adventure has an
elaborate plot that forms the basis for each saga.
Characters and storylines make up the structure
for great gameplay and gave way to some hefty
artistic concepts. In short, it was such a well-
thought-out and carefully constructed game that
it literally flew off the shelves, capturing the
imagination of many a gamer keen to control the
female equivalent of Indiana Jones. “I designed
Tomb Raider with a basic initial concept of
wanting to see something like an interactive
movie, but with 3D characters that hadn’t really
been done before,” says Toby. “Everyone was
trying to do interactive movies with film sections,
things like Dragon Slayer. There had been 3D
running around, first-person point-of-view games
and I thought if you could put those two things
together you could make this action/adventure
style scenario where it would be directed in [ABOVE] Photoshop became an essential part of the game Adobe app for the same reasons, but for Tomb
real time.” CONCEPT ART: design. It was used for generating pictures from Raider: Legend the sheer amount of detail makes it
During the planning
stage, Photoshop is
photos for the game of the detailed skyscapes of an essential commodity.
Core design invaluable in drafting Tokyo, snowy mountains and ancient tombs. Toby’s role in Legend as ‘Games Advisor’ meant
As well as its groundbreaking approach to up some coloured Detailed research was carried out to ensure that he took a step back in terms of directing the
sketches to pitch to
interactivity, one of the most impressive aspects the designers design features were accurate and that the artists artistic creation of the game: “The art director set
of the game is its attention to design detail. From had a valuable library of elements to work with. the colour palettes and created little thumbnails
the delicate shadows on backgrounds, to earthy [BOTTOM “All of the artists are constantly researching their to depict the different moods for various levels. I
RIGHT] THE
realistic textures, every component is LEAP FORWARD: areas, so there’s a massive amount of that going was more responsible for character design. I
painstakingly thought through. “Different people Future Tomb Raider on,” says Toby. No expense is spared when it wanted to keep Lara’s colour palette fairly
design in different ways, but the design process games will see much comes to researching for the game. “Crews are consistent throughout and then build up a range
more design emphasis
for me is sitting there quietly in a dark room and placed on location and sent out to photograph areas so there are proper of characters that weren’t so far out so they
imagining out what I would like to play. That’s source photography high-res textures to work from and generate in looked like they belonged in the same world.”
how I work out what needs to be done,” Toby tells the game. I think that’s the direction they’re
us. After everything has been planned, concept moving in with the new Tomb Raider games,” A fresh, new look
drawings are drafted out and everyone gets on Toby tells us. Of course, with the aid of Photoshop Although Toby Gard is the name behind Lara
board to start animating in 3D Studio. these elements can have their colour and lighting Croft, he took a break from Core Design and
Photoshop hasn’t always played a part in Tomb attributes tweaked in keeping with the admits it was hard to sit back and witness the
Raider and was distinctly missing from the atmosphere of a particular location. Photoshop’s development of his precious creation. “You have
equation in the first game in the series. However, primary role in videogame design is for this to always move on. I think I would have got
since then, it’s the only 2D tool that Toby Gard reason: to create and edit textures and to trapped into making Tomb Raider games and not
ever uses. “I use it primarily for colouring in my skin objects. Almost every game utilises the really have understood or cared as much. I
concept drawings. For character design it’s useful
to create very simple colour composites of the
drawing you’ve done of the character so you can PHOTOSHOP IS USEFUL
perfect multiple colour schemes,” he tells us. “It’s
a useful way to get the colour schemes right.” TO CREATE SIMPLE COLOUR
For the latest game, Tomb Raider: Legend, the
luscious surroundings and locations meant that COMPOSITES OF A DRAWING
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 Toby Gard

LUSCIOUS ARTWORK: Although

Photoshop is used sparingly on Lara in the
game, it plays an important part in putting final
touches to renders and building together
intricate background scenes

r:
SIGN: Tomb Raide
CHARACTER DEer of carefully
mb
Legend sees a nu ing this
cters pop up includ
constructed chara
king Bo ss
mean loo

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 Inter
view

think stepping away from it and perceiving it

from a distance and then realising that I did
actually care was a much better situation for me.
It was difficult to sit back and witness
developments that I wasn’t part of. But that’s
part of going off and doing your own thing,”
Toby explains.
The return of Gard saw a completely
refreshed look to the game. The controls were
altered as a response to complaints from people
that the old control system was very sluggish
and old school. More importantly, the character
of Lara developed drastically: “I was brought in
TOBY’S LARA : “Stepping to create the new look for Lara. After that, my
away and perceiving it from a
role expanded to overseeing the other
distance made me realise that I
did actually care” characters that were being designed and

Tomb Raider timeline

Tomb Raider I Tomb Raider III
The journey began back in 1996 with a design Tomb Raider III saw Lara jet off to all sorts of far-flung locations, from
team fronted by Toby Gard. The game London to the South Pacific and Area 51. The character’s features
included 15 levels. Photoshop was missing were smoother and began to show more rendered detail.
from the equation back in the day, with
simple block graphics being used within the
games engine.

Tomb Raider II
The gameplay still consisted of a mixture
of action adventure, but the sequel
contained a lot more bloodshed and
combat than the original. More details,
especially on locations, began to appear,
as seen in this Venetian screenshot.

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 Toby Gard

OUT OF THIS WORLD: “Lara’s

simplicity was beginning to make her
look like a cartoon character”

working with the artists to make the story make doing in Angel of Darkness. I thought I’d keep the
more sense. I thought Lara was looking a bit character’s proportions and add more realism FRESH-FA CED LARA: “I thought
tired. The backgrounds and the ability to render into the mix and see what it would look like. the character’s propor I’d keep
tions and add more rea
into the detail and see lism
the world had become much more detailed and I thought it looked really interesting.” what it would look like
”
Lara’s simplicity was beginning to make her look So can we expect to see more of Toby’s
like she was out of place – like a cartoon influence on Tomb Raider in the future? “I’m
character in a real-world scenario, it looked a bit working on future Lara things and we’re thinking more about personal designs and projects
jarring.” And so Toby set out to make her next of various possibilities,” confirms Gard carefully, and taking more time over them so that I’m
generation: “The previous game had promised a without giving too much away. “I don’t know really confident of what they are before I decide
‘next-gen Lara’, but it hadn’t been.” Many users the timescale, at the moment we’re just thinking to go for it.” And will Photoshop always play a
had complained that the game didn’t deliver the about what will be next. It’s still very much part? The answer is most definitely: “I prefer it to
goods and so, for Toby, it was important to make nebulus. When you have your own studio you Painter – that’s for sure!”
sure the new game packed a punch in both have to come up with an idea and pitch it quickly, We’re sure that this is not the last Advanced
gameplay and design: “The obvious route would as you’re paying them money and waiting for Photoshop has heard of Toby Gard or indeed his
be to make her look more real but keep the projects. You’re pushed creatively into making female heroine, so watch out for more of his
shaded look, which is kind of what they’d been not necessarily the best decisions. I’m thinking work in the future.

Tomb Raider Chronicles Tomb Raider:

Numerous flashback scenes give way Legend
to plenty of opportunities for various Toby Gard was back on board
character designs. to restyle and rework the ‘tired-
looking’ Lara, much to the joy
of game fans.

Tomb Raider:
The Last Revolution
Fans of the original game were pleased to see
a return of the puzzle-based gameplay that
got them hooked in the first place. Scenery Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
became a much more important aspect in Angel of Darkness was announced as a complete, refreshed Tomb
this game and it was less combat-orientated. Raider, but many were unimpressed by the ‘next-gen’ Lara.

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 MASTERCLASS
in s ...
orkgres
Wpro
x t m owntJehrry
Ne ut ho al
o in
Finddds the f this
a ish to
pol mage!
i

Creating art
from toys Discover how you can
create gorgeous artwork
using models BY JERRY LOFARO

B
ack in issue 19 we featured a portfolio of one association. In the case of the image I’m using for my
ON THE DISC
of the most original Photoshop artists demonstration, the operative word or title was
Open up this month’s CD on the inside back
cover and you will find the file ‘Lofaro stateside. He impressed us so much that his ‘Carnivores’. The primary goal of this tutorial is to show
tutorial - starting out.jpg’. You can use this jaw-gnashing creations donned our front cover. We how I use toys and models to bring a concept to life.
to understand the beginning processes of
promised we’d catch up with Jerry again to find out Advanced Photoshop has graciously allowed me to
Jerry’s art. However, we recommend you
get snapping your own toys. exactly how his images were created. Well, now stretch this demonstration into two parts so I can fully
OUR EXPERT Jerry Lofaro you’re in for a treat as he takes you on a two-part develop and show how I take the art to a finish. This
Jerry has been a doodler ever since he could hold a pencil. A journey through his artistic techniques. Here’s a month’s article will focus on how I build my scene out of
complete lover of Photoshop he wouldn’t use anything else. word from Jerry… multiple photos and reference material to the point
He has plenty of diverse projects under his belt including illustrations
“One of my favourite conceptual approaches when where I will have created an elaborate colour comp.
for Celestial Seasonings’ products and Trojan condoms.
creating an illustration is playing a game of word Stick around for the next issue – I’ve still a way to go!”

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 1 Starting out
Here are the main toys that I’m using for 2 Creating a new file
When expedient, I will ‘borrow’ elements from “WHEN
inspiration – in this case Velociraptors. I shot these
images on a Nikon Coolpix 5000, so it just goes to show
previously completed artworks. In fact, I regard my 20-
year collection of hand-painted illustrations as a EXPEDIENT, I’LL
you don’t need a really fancy camera. reference library, and will occasionally scan bits and
pieces and blend them into photos and digital BORROW FROM
paintings. The new canvas size measures 10 x 12 inches
PREVIOUSLY
COMPLETED
at 350 dpi.

ARTWORKS”

4 Transforming
Once I’ve chosen the car, selected it and dropped
it into the main file, I start adjusting the perspective of

3
the road through various transform modes. I use the
Eyeballing the car Cmd/Apple+T keyboard shortcut, then hit the Ctrl key
Having photographed before clicking anywhere on the canvas to bring up the
various angles of the car, I will Transform options box. This is a huge time-saver! The
quickly place the photo files pavement and yellow lines are on separate, linked layers.
over the main art and
‘eyeball’ the general
perspective. This makes
certain that I don’t waste time
making complicated
selections of various cars in
order to ascertain which is
the best choice.

5 The dinos
I next play around with some of my dinosaur
photos, much the same way as with the car. I’m trying to
get a feel for what positions will work best.

Jerry’s studio

6 Selecting a new car

I realised that my initial car photos were too blurry,
so I did another shoot and selected a new car. My
Jerry uses a dual monitor for all of his
Photoshop work. One screen is used for
camera skills are really pretty basic at best, so I generally navigating around the image and seeing the
work with a lot of trial and error. Also, when shooting image at full scale whilst the other is used for
something as small as this car I’m working within the close-up, detailed editing.
limitations of this particular camera.

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 MASTERCLASS
7 Car variations
My next step is to begin to experiment by
combining different car parts together as I decide
8 Spherizing
Being partial to one front end, I select it, bring it
into yet another new file and spherize it. I find that by
9 Reworking the car
It’s now time to take the spherized front end and
drop it in over the car layer, making sure I insert a new
which ones I like best. It helps me to create a new file doing this in a new, cropped-in file I am able to maintain layer over the original ‘car’ layer. I can then have a bit of
so I can better compare the subtle variations with better control of the distortion using the Spherize filter fun experimenting by transforming it, blending it and
one another. found under Filter>Distort>Spherize. merging it with the car layer until I’m finally satisfied
with the look.

10 Cleaning up
After using the
Pen Tool to create a nice,
smooth selection, I then
use the Smudge Tool
which is found in the
Tools palette in order
to clean the edges by
‘pushing’ the image to
the edge within the
selection, with the tool
set to 50%.

Jerry’s
transformations
It can be difficult to visualise how Jerry’s final

11 12
piece will look when it’s complete. Take a look
Transform again New tyre
at this previous work. At the moment he has
pieced together a careful composition using I continue to enhance the shape and look of The original tyres were too small and
different model elements. The final design the car by transforming the perspective. I also paint in distorted (bashed up by my son!) to begin with, so I
shows off some of the finer details Jerry will some violet reflecting light on the hood of the car, with photographed a tyre from a larger car model to use
be applying in the second part of the tutorial the Airbrush tool set to 20%. which had better detail.
next month.

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 13 Changing the tyre
I selected and deleted the original tyre, again 14 Dino creation
After grabbing some dino pieces, I then “SOMETHING I
using the Pen Tool for accuracy, and resized the new
one for placement.
used the Magic Wand to quickly select and delete
the extraneous background. FIND HELPFUL
WHEN I’VE
BLOWN UP A
DETAIL ON MY
RIGHT MONITOR
IS TO ENLARGE
NAVIGATOR ON
THE LEFT”
15 Dino in the car
I start to piece together and transform dino
parts in order to have the driver fit into the car. The car is
17 Using the navigator
I’m now transforming the new windshield to
match the shape of the original. Something I find
now separated by layers so that the raptor just slots helpful to do when I’ve blown up a detail on my right
nicely in between. monitor is to enlarge Navigator on my left screen. This
allows me to glance over to my left at the normal sized
image and better gauge the accuracy of a
transformation or rendering as I’m doing it.

16 New windshield
I decided to use an existing reference of an
antique car with similar angles and lighting, so that I
could create a more effective windshield. Although my
original car is a 1959 Chrysler 300E, it’s not important to
the concept that it be accurate because I plan to
continue modifying it.

18 Further transformation
I’ve linked all my dino and car layers together
and continue to move, distort and resize them in my
19 Shearing the tail
I grabbed a tail from
my photo shoot folder and then
scene. I also reviewed my reference files and placed in an ‘sheared’ it to enhance the
environment that’s more reflective of what I had in mind. shape. Shear takes a little bit of
practice and understanding,
but can produce very exciting
aspects to an image. Although I
didn’t need to do it here, I will
usually bring the item to be
sheared into a new, cropped-in
file for maximum control in the
same manner that I used
Spherize in step 8.

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 MASTERCLASS
“I PREFER 20 Playing
around

CREATING At this point I thought I’d

play around a bit with the

A NEW car to further enhance the

concept – just throw some

FILE THAT stuff at the wall to see what

might stick. In addition to

FOCUSES ON the photo reference of a

crocodile’s eye, I’ve also

ONE ASPECT raided my archives for a

OF THE PIECE”
piece of a creature’s mouth.
I’m starting to develop the
other raptor in the
passenger seat as well.

21 Raptor progress
Often my original files will get pretty big and
slow down. I prefer creating a new file that concentrates
22 More work on the raptor
I carried out yet another photo shoot where
I repositioned the second raptor. Because this was an
23 Integration
After further development of both sets of
arms and claws, I start to integrate the driver’s head with
on one aspect of the piece, like my desire to develop the articulated model, I was able to forcefully cross its legs the body. One of my favourite and most used techniques
raptors. This speeds things up and increases my focus. in my quest to add more character and humour to is to gently erase out of the top layer, exposing the
the piece. details in the layer below. I generally do this with the
flow and opacity of the Erase tool set at 20 or 30%.

Jerry’s
studio 24 Selecting
the body
My next step was to select
the body of the raptor
Jerry has a designated studio in which he within the Layers palette, and
carries out all of his Photoshop work. He then I added a little
surrounds himself with a variety of models of more interest by painting
dinosaurs and animals as well as gadgets that
in some cooler tones
he might find useful for his art.
using the Airbrush tool
set at 30%.

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 25 Rub out the head
Next, I gently erase out of the head layer,
exposing some cooler violet tones beneath while
retaining some of the original’s detail.

26 Liquify
After working
on the eye, I begin to alter
the raptor’s features a bit
with the Liquify filter. I find
that I use the Smudge tool
within this filter the most
because it feels the most
organic and is the easiest
to control.

27 The raptors
so far
Here’s a clearer look at the
28 The other raptor
I did another photo shoot of different dino
head angles to incorporate a new head on the left
raptors’ development. It’s a raptor, and painted in a new eye.
bit different to the original
isnt it? I have re-done the
claws and started gently
painting over the
photographs in order
to play down some of
the more ‘plastic’

“I FIND THAT I
USE THE
SMUDGE TOOL
WITHIN THE
LIQUIFY FILTER
THE MOST
29 Placing details BECAUSE IT
I’ve also started to further alter the right raptor’s features. I do this by
fitting a photo of a different dino over the original head and then gently erasing it FEELS THE
to allow some details to show through. The eye is on a different layer so I can resize
it and move it around. Though partially visible, I’ve also added a new tail. 5 MOST ORGANIC”
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 Feature

Creating
Game Art

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 CREATING GAME ART

A long time ago, shortly after the first computer game shipped, there was talk of
procedural textures and advanced technologies replacing the artist. Photoshop
CS2 has thankfully stopped this from happening. Luke Ahearn shows you how
BY LUKE AHEARN

P
hotoshop has always played a huge part in the colour map and were static. This image was
the creation of game art. We use it in the typically of low resolution and colour depth and was
creation of virtually every asset in a game wrapped around a low polygon model – presto you
from simple UI and menu elements to complex had a game character. This process has changed quite
character skins. This has not changed, in fact with a bit in the last few years. With the advent of new
the introduction of more advanced technologies technologies that require a complex interplay of assets,
into the game artist’s toolbox, Photoshop has and the ability to have larger and more detailed assets,
become more important than ever. Increasingly the game artist’s dependence on Photoshop has only
complex technology requires many more assets grown. Now we must create many maps in Photoshop
and more asset management as the artist must that interact with each other in real time for a game
iterate through versions of those assets and character and wrap that art around a much more
introduce those assets into the game. Photoshop complex 3D model. In some ways this method of
has come a long way in terms of asset character skin creation is harder to grasp and execute,
management and workflow efficiency. but in other ways it is actually easier, especially for a
But primarily we still look at Photoshop as a tool to trained artist that already understands how the visual
create game art. Originally game artists had only the world works. In many cases the maps are generated
diffuse channel to work with and essentially what you from the 3D application, but Photoshop is always a
created in Photoshop was what you saw in the game – part of the process whether you are tweaking a pre-
all shadows, highlights and details were contained on generated map or hand painting one.

JUST C AUSE
: The
Eidos showca new game from
artwork. Th ses plenty of lush
colours and e heavily saturated
precise deta
the game in ils
stantly reco makes
gnisable

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 Feature
SARGE: Luke drafted up the
mean Sergeant Bad Ass for
Advanced Photoshop

WALL OF FLESH: It looks kind of scary but this is

how 3D skins start out. A flattened 3D model
forms the template for the design

or a reflection on a surface. The beauty is that as these

technologies mature, tools that are artist-friendly are
produced allowing us to be mostly concerned with the
visual input and the output of the shader and not the
code itself.
In general, a game artist starts the creation of a
character skin with a template to paint on. This
template is simply a graphic image created from the
Arguably the most challenging asset to create 3D model the art is to be placed on. The image
for a game is the character skin, in particular the face represents the exact way in which the 2D art will be
and head. Sergeant Bad Ass is an example of a face I mapped, or wrapped around, the 3D model. You can
painted fairly quickly in Photoshop for this article. I see how the template was created from the actual face
used a mouse and standard PS brushes to create every model and then used as a guide to paint the face skin.
asset. What helped make this look pretty good was the Some of the most common shaders today require
fact that the shaders all working together add a level of images easily created and manipulated in
realism that that goes beyond static, non-moving, Photoshop. The most common of these are the
visual details. I started with a base flesh tone and built colour map (or diffuse channel), the bump and
up the face details using the dodge and burn tools. normal maps, specularity maps, illumination maps,
and opacity maps.
Tool up
Real time Shaders are some of the most powerful of Colour Map
these new tools and in general the workflow allows This map contains the colour of the character, skin
the artist to spend less time painting in highlights, tone, hair colour, and skin quality. Human skin is not
shadows and fine detail and instead create maps that
tell the shader code where you want those details to
appear, to what intensity, and other parameters. For
example, the sheen on metal, the highlight in an eye,

YOU CAN SEE

IMPERFECTIONS
IN SARGE: PORES,
WRINKLES, SCARS,
STUBBLE
2D WRAPPED AROUND 3D: The 2D design must be
accurate so it can be wrapped around the 3D model
with precision

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 CREATING GAME ART

BUMP MAPS: Bump maps allow you to add detail

to your creations. You can define the geometry of
your design so it interacts in real time with the
game world lighting

one smooth colour, it is composed of many colours

and interacts with light in a unique way.
This map can take a long time to produce as it
requires a balance between subtle but clear detail.
Too much contrast, saturation or other quality and
the character starts to look diseased, not enough and
they look like a mannequin.

Bump and Normal Maps

Bump and Normal maps are very different animals
to work with but their functions are similar. A bump
map is a grayscale image. White on the bump map
represents the highest parts of the surface and
black the lowest. You can use bump maps to
simulate etched letters with solid black and hard
edges, or dents with lighter gray and soft edges. The
bump map adds detail that makes the geometry
look far more detailed than it really is. Bump maps
allow for the minute detail in a surface that adds a
ton of depth to your model. Instead of using more generated from very high detailed 3D models, you
geometry, or details that are painted on the colour can get a free Photoshop plugin from NVIDIA (www.
map, a bump map interacts in real time with the nvidia.com) that will generate a Normal Map for you.
game world lighting. You can see many Sarge’s face and armour contain Normal Maps based
imperfections in Sarge: pores, wrinkles, scars, beard on black and white images created in Photoshop in
stubble, even a vein popping out of his forehead. minutes. These images were exported as normal
The easiest way to understand a bump map (or most maps using the Nvidia filter. You can see the effect
of these effects) is to see it in action. of a Normal Map in the Sarge progression and the
Normal maps are the next step in bump mapping. armour example to the right.
This is not a simple grayscale image, rather a special
colour coded image that allows for the creation of Specular Map
impressive depth where absolutely none exists. Specularity defines how shiny a surface is. A
Although the best normal maps are typically specularity map controls what parts of the

SPECULAR MAPS: The highlights on the armour are

set using specularity map controls

COLOUR MAP: Just as

human skin isn’t made up of
just one tone the 2D colour
map is full of intricate detail NORMAL MAPS: Here normal maps are used to add
detail to Sarge’s armour.

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 Feature

surface are shiny or dull based on the grayscale value also used a great deal in game effects. Explosions,
of the specularity map. You can see that the armor fire, bullet holes, smoke, particles like rain and magic
has no specular control on the left and the middle sparks… you name it. You can see that Sarge has
and right has two different specular maps. some smoke coming from his cigar. I started by
Specularity maps are generally created from the rendering clouds in a selection with a large feather
colour map. In Photoshop you simple Desaturate a on it and then played with the Liquify Tool until I got
copy of the colour map and adjust from there. You the result I wanted.
can see the exact spot where the grayscale image is
effecting the specularity on the model. Reflection or Environment
Map (cube mapping)
Illumination There are many ways to generate reflections in a
When a texture needs to be fully bright at all times, game, but the most common and easiest to
or parts of the texture, an illumination map is used. implement is the cube map. The environment map
The cigar has an illumination map on the end to uses a series of images called a cube map to fake the
make it look lit. Illumination can be used for signs, reflection on the surface of an object. Cube maps are
lights, windows, and other effects. so named due to the fact that the reflections you see
are actually six images arranged in a cube and
Opacity projected back onto the reflective object. These
Opacity maps determine if an image is solid or images are rendered from the location of the
transparent, or somewhere in between. Opacity is reflective object so the cube map reflects the
generally used for tree leaves, fences, and grates. It is object’s surroundings accurately. These six images
cover all directions: up, down, front, back, left and
right. Ideally they all line up, meaning the images

OTHER THAN
A REFERENCE
FOR THE
PROPORTIONS OF
THE HUMAN HEAD
THIS WAS DONE
ENTIRELY IN
PHOTOSHOP IN AN
OPACITY: Sarge’s cigar smoke is given more realism
with a subtle opacity effect AFTERNOON

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 CREATING GAME ART

LEFT SARGE PROGRESSION: This is the

progression of Sarge’s head from mesh to
multiple complete with several shaders.

CUBE MAP MADE EASY: Dynamic Cube

Mapping forces cube maps to be updated and
rendered as the environment map moves

meet at the edges, so the refection is seamless. The

images of the cube map are most commonly static,
meaning they are always the same. If you are looking
into a reflection created by a static cube map you
won’t see yourself (or in-game character). This is the
most efficient way to handle cube mapping, but
there are also other techniques for generating real
time reflections. One of those techniques is called
Dynamic Cube Mapping. This methods redraws the
six images in the cube map every frame. If the object
mapped with the environment map moves, or
something in the environment around it moves, the
cube maps are updated to render an accurate
reflection in real time. PITCHER PROGRESSI
ON: This pitcher was cre
colour map, bump map, ated using a
In the illustration of the (static) cube map as it was cube map, and a specul
arity mask.
created for this pitcher, notice the maps arranged as
if the cube were folded open like a box. The six
images that form the cube map were rendered from
the location of the pitcher so the metal looks as if it is
reflecting its surroundings. You can even use a simple
cloud image as a cube map and get some great
results. Here I did nothing more than add the cube
map to the armour and it looks like it is made of silver.
The neat thing is that in game those reflections would
move with the character and look so much more
convincing than a static image of a reflection.
All of these images were made using standard
Photoshop tools and techniques. I used a 3D program
to create the head model and the UV map template
and other than a reference for the correct proportions
of the human head this was done entirely in
Photoshop in an afternoon.

CUBE MAPPING: The reflections in this

pitcher are displayed with absolute realism
thanks to a detailed cube map, shaped like a
paper cube net

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 MASTERCLASS

Mastering
character
design

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 T Kyle Gentry demonstrates what can happen when traditional character drawing
skills collide with Photoshop’s dynamic tools

Y
ou have been given an assignment to design directly enhance those skills with unmatched powerful
a villainous character for a Halloween-styled layering capabilities and brush variation tools that can
adventure videogame. Where do you start? give your designs the high quality you strive for. One
How do you combine the elements of anatomy, other thing to learn as you go is to have fun with the
character type, costume, weapons, demeanour, etc, design. Don’t be afraid of the unexpected places the art
to complement each other? How do you create might take you along the way.
depth, colour and layout digitally?
ON THE DISC
In this tutorial you will utilise traditional drawing
If you want to follow this tutorial but don’t feel confident sketching
media such as paper, pencil, technical pens and you will find Kyle’s character sketches by loading up this month’s
greyscale markers, as well as digital tools such as a good CD and opening the file ‘Character sketches.tif’.
scanner, stylus, graphics tablet, and of course,
OUR EXPERT TT. Kyle Gentry
Photoshop. With these you can create and develop With a love for illustration and a passion for drawing
amazing characters that any client would love. all types of characters, Kyle has worked for 12 years
For work such as this, artistic training to hone your designing for the children’s book, toy and gaming
industries. See his work at www.tkylegentry.com.
skills is highly recommended. Photoshop will then

1 Research
Begin by reading the written description and
characteristics of both the desired character design and
2 Rough sketches
Start by sketching five to eight simple designs.
Focus on building them from very basic shapes. Don’t
the videogame storyline. Make a written list of words worry too much about detail at this point, that will come
that describe the character well. Brainstorm what the later. Think back to the word list while you draw and let it
character might look like based upon your written influence your designs as you go. This step is for your
words. How does the character stand, hold a weapon, purposes only, so don’t worry about being neat.
etc? Enjoy yourself!

3 Refinement drawings
Pick two designs from your roughs. Create two
drawings based on your selections focusing more on
4 First marker and pen sketch
Take both refined drawings and, with a lightbox,
transfer them to another piece of paper using a
correct anatomy, costume detail, facial expression, etc. technical pen. Use a good waterproof pen – it is less
You can either use exactly what you drew or pick pieces likely to bleed or smear when marker is applied. Using
of some and make something new. Don’t be afraid of 10%, 30%, and 50% value grey markers, give a light-
this – your character is evolving. stroked render to the image. While applying the marker
think about where the light comes from to determine
your shadows.

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 MASTERCLASS
5 Make a big decision
Select the character that you
believe best represents the initial
written description. This is your
design, so represent yourself with
Play your finest artwork. This decision

videogames
determines the direction of all the
following steps so choose wisely.
This drawing will be your main
reference if there are any drawing
“In character design you need to know the
related problems down the line.
material. Feel free to see how different game
companies handle design. Look at Concept Art
books for both games and films of all kinds. My
favourite games to play are Insomniac Games’
Ratchet and Clank series for the Sony
PlayStation 2. I spend a lot of time playing and
recognising design elements in many games. I
also have a vast collection of movies, mostly
animation. Study how other artists do it.”

7 Weapon refinement sketch

Draw the more refined sketch of the weapon and
transfer to another sheet. Try to be as precise as possible.
8 Combine the designs
Based upon your character and weapon pen and
marker sketches, combine them into one new unified
This will be reference later on just like the pen and drawing. Make adjustments to the art where necessary
marker character drawing. Remember your light source. to make it one smooth design.

6 Weapon rough sketches

Since this is an adventure game, a weapon design
is required. Start the same way as you did for the
character roughs. The weapon is just as important in
describing the character as his body design. Be as
creative as you can. It will benefit your final digital art.

11 Scanning
Scan your cleaned up sketches. Pay particular
attention to your resolution, contrast and colour levels.
Make the art as black and white as possible. Scanning
software differs between brands and models. Research
yours and learn how to use it correctly. Save the items to
your desktop as 300dpi TIFF images.

9 Facial expression sketches

10
One element needed to define a character is a
variety of facial expression drawings. They train your hand Prep for scanning
to draw this character in different ways. Pick three Take the facial expression drawings and the
emotions (your choice) and draw the character’s head character/weapon drawing and clean them up. Make sure
and face with these characteristics. Pretend he’s an actor your lines are precise and fluid. Also make sure the page is
and you’re giving him his voice. Look into a mirror and use clear of any stray smudges and specks as these will show
your own face as a model if you need good reference. up on your scans.

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 12 Create your background
Open Photoshop and create a new 13 Create your main workspace
Save and close your background document. “THIS IS
document. Set the colour mode to CMYK and the size at
10in for the height and 8in for the width. Give yourself a
Create another new document and set it at the same size
as Step 12. It is important to have all your colour settings YOUR DESIGN,
nice warm neutral colour background and, using the
shapes tool from the toolbar, create two rectangles with a
and size settings correct up front. It keeps you from
having to resize your design later on. Press ‘F’ to make the SO REPRESENT
darker neutral colour. workspace fill the screen.
YOURSELF WITH
YOUR FINEST
ARTWORK”

14 Combine
your drawings
Open all your scanned drawings.
In each document window select
the entire drawing and copy and
paste it onto the 10 x 8 workspace.
To make them all fit, you may
need to scale them using the
Transform>Scale tool from the
Edit drop-down menu at the top

15
of the screen. When you have
them all on the page and visible, Thoughtful placement
flatten your image using the Using the Lasso Selection tool from the toolbar,
Layers window’s fly-out menu. draw an outline selection around the main character/
weapon sketch. Use the Move Selection tool to move the
sketch to the left side of the document. Repeat the
selection process around the facial expression drawings.

16 Scaling
to match
Select each head with the
Lasso tool and using the
Scaling tool from Step 14,
scale each head down a bit,
keeping their size roughly
equal to one another. This
creates a nice design flow to
the page. Clarity in the layout
is as important to presenting
your character as the
character itself.

17 Copy and paste again

With the square selection tool (or Cmd+A)
select the entire document. From the Edit menu at the
top of the screen, select copy (Cmd+C) and then paste
(Cmd+V). This creates a new second layer containing a
copy of the first.

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 MASTERCLASS
19 Create your painting layer
In the Layers window’s fly-out menu, select
New Layer. Double-click on the layer and rename it
‘colour’. Go to the Layers window drop-down menu
again and select Multiply. When you paint on this layer
Reference you will have bright, full colour but will still be able to

material
see the drawing underneath.

18
“You can’t create everything from your head. Get
Layer multiplying
used to looking at the world around you, as well as
good photographs. You never know where or Select ‘layer 2’. Now in the Layers window’s
when inspiration will pop up. I spend a lot of time drop-down menu select Multiply. It makes the layer
on Google’s Images website – you can find transparent but still workable. You will see both the
anything there. When sketching, learn to draw original art below and the copy above. Make sure they
from many different references. Your drawing will are aligned. Change the Opacity in ‘layer 2’ to 50%. In
have what is called synergy. It is combining two or the Layers window, click the fly-out menu arrow and
more elements to create something new. this is an select Merge Down (or Cmd+E).
essential skill to learn.”

21 Clean up the edges

Select the basic Eraser from the toolbox.
Zoom in close on the edges of the art and start clearing
22 Change brush presets
In your Brushes menu, click the fly-out menu
and select Natural Brushes. Creatively, using different
the colour that is over the edge of your lines. Just worry brush styles can really enhance your design and give it
about the outer edge of the art right now. The interior the polish it deserves. The Natural Brushes selection has
overlap will be taken care of as you render. a more hand-drawn effect, which is preferred over the
Default Brushes selection.

20 Lay in your basic colours

From your Default Brushes menu at the top
of the page, select a soft round brush sized between 20
and 30. On the ‘colour’ layer start painting in the basic
colours on your character. Don’t worry about neatness
right now; just get the colour down. Experiment with
colour to see what colour schemes work together well
and also suit the character best.

24 Lay in the highlights

Using the same basic method as Step 23,
select and lighten each base colour and feather in the
highlights. The blending should be more dramatic in

23
this step to strongly indicate the light source. Therefore
Lay in there won’t be quite as much smoothing between the
the shadows colours. Change the size of the brush if needed.
Select the colour in a section of
the art. Double-click on the
foreground colour selection in
the toolbox and darken the
colour. Using a size 14 Charcoal
Brush, start feathering the
shadow in lightly. Use the
Step 5 pen and marker drawing
as a shading reference. Work
back and forth between the
base colour and the darker
colour until it has the desired
blended quality. Finish each
colour area accordingly.

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 25 Light and dark colour inspection
Now is the time to clean up, correct and make 26 Create the drop shadow
Select a colour that will complement the basic “ONE OTHER
any other changes needed. Look at the blending. Is it
clean? Do colours from one section stray into another?
colours of the image. Fill in a grounding drop shadow
underneath the main pose sketch. Again, keep in mind the THING TO LEARN
Check your highlights and shadows. Are they consistent
with the light source? Is there a nice transition on the form
light source to determine the direction of the shadow. Now
flatten the layers. AS YOU GO IS TO
from light to shadow? This is where good art skills come
HAVE FUN WITH
THE DESIGN.
into play.

DON’T BE AFRAID
OF THE PLACES
THE ART MIGHT
TAKE YOU”

27 Erase the background

Hold down the Ctrl key and click the thumbnail for this layer to generate a selection. Choose a deep blue/
black for the foreground swatch and go to Edit>Fill choosing Foreground Colour for Contents. Set the blending mode
28 Combine art and background
Select all and copy. Open the background
you created in Step 12. Paste (Cmd+V) the layer you
for this layer to Hard Light. Now choose the Blur tool and blur the shadow a little as it trails away from the figures. copied. You should see the art and the background
behind it. Make sure the art is nicely lined up with the
graphic shapes behind. Zoom in and make sure all the
white is erased from the edges of the images.

29 Create your effects layer

Create a new layer. This is the layer you will
use for all your final touch ups. Remember to look back
30 Final effects and finish
Go back to your Default Brushes selection
and pick a small soft round brush. Go around all the art
at your Step 5 pen and marker drawing for reference. adding soft glows, shines and other effects where
Also look at your Step 7 weapon pen and marker necessary. For example, if something appears to be Good
tools
drawing as well. made of metal then it will have a harsh shine. The eyes
will be slightly luminous. Look for things like that. Flatten
the layers and you’re done!. 5
“To create good digital art you need good
graphics tools. I use an Epson Perfection 4870
Photo Scanner. It has incredibly superior
scanning software and helps tremendously. I
also use a Wacom Intuos3 pressure-sensitive
tablet and stylus. In my opinion, Wacom
produces by far the best tablets on the market. I
produce all my art on a Mac G5 workstation
with a large high-res LCD monitor. My printer is
an Epson Stylus Photo R2400. It has special inks
and can produce Giclee prints on watercolour
paper. Good tools are a worthy investment.”

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 Feature

At the source
Great starting images are the key to any superb design. We show
you how to start off on the right foot

A
design is only as good as the original part of the deal. A photoshoot probably means big layer effects, and these precious skills mean you
source imagery you use in the first place. bucks and time will be of the essence, so you’ll need should be able to salvage any troublesome shot or
You could be such a skilled Photoshop to carefully plan out your composition and plot where just pick the best bits and use them in your creations.
aficionado that you’re able to Layer Mask standing your models or objects should be. If the thought of getting behind a lens still turns
on your head with your eyes closed, but start off One of the best things about using your own you into a nervous wreck, there are other options.
with a mediocre image and you’ll find it an uphill imagery is that you have complete control over the Finding your own source photography in a
struggle to create anything you can really be composition of your image. This means you can leave respectable photographic library could mean you
proud of. enough space for possible editorial content, or give have the perfect starting image ready to use at your
As a digital artist you have several options for yourself enough room to let loose on elements on an fingertips. It sounds easy, like letting someone else do
obtaining your starting elements – take your own or additional layer in Photoshop. the dirty work, but the reality is it can be a long and
buy the rights to an existing image. Very few people “Okay,” we hear you say, “but just because I’m great laborious task for which there’s fine skill. Knowing
can afford the luxury of hiring a photographer to at Photoshop doesn’t mean I’m the next Lord where to look and visualising how your image will
capture original shots, although if you’ve been Litchfield.” Fret not ye lovely Photoshoppers, we have appear in the final design takes time and experience.
commissioned for a professional brief this could be faith in your abilities with the Pen tool and your fancy Let’s take a good look at your options…

START WITH A MEDIOCRE IMAGE AND YOU’LL FIND IT A

STRUGGLE TO CREATE ANYTHING YOU CAN BE PROUD OF
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 At the source

ISTOCK: All of
the images that
you see on thes
e two pages
were purchase
d fro
www.istockpho m
to.com

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 Feature

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 At the source
Taking your own images
If you’re snap happy and have a passion for taking
photographs, it’s worth getting into the habit of
taking your camera with you wherever you go.
Don’t ever underestimate how valuable even the
most obscure and mundane of images can be. You
might feel a little foolish getting down and taking
snaps of a pavement or a broken wall and receive
some strange looks, but when you need to give a
gritty edge to your creation that odd-looking
photograph could be the perfect addition to an
Overlay layer.
How your source photography will be
incorporated into your Photoshop artwork will play
a big part in deciding the type of camera you need
to use. If you need to make a high-res piece with a
portrait or still life, quality is of the utmost
importance. There are plenty of cameras you can
splash the cash on, but think carefully about the size
you need to work to and if you need to make use of ONLINE BUYING: A spanking brand new camera is always a lovely addition to your possessions,
any accessories or additional lighting. A shiny new but don’t forget you can pick up some perfectly good deals on sites such as www.ebay.co.uk
camera may do wonders for your newly acquired
photographic ego, but don’t forget to check out There are plenty of models out there that, despite perfect considerations because you will be able
older trusted models which you may be able to being a bit long in the tooth are still fantastic to get support if anything goes wrong and also
acquire for a fraction of the price on websites such cameras and will give you wonderful results and jazz up models with new accessories direct from
as www.ebay.com or second-hand in photo stores. superb image quality. Nikon and Canon SLRs are the manufacturers.

CAMERA BUYER: Your

choice of model will not
only depend on how
healthy your budget is, but
also how large you will
need your images and how
confident you are behind
the lens

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 Feature

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to camera model can offer great quality and plenty of features
models, but it can be quite daunting – especially if without being too daunting to use.
you’re on a tight budget. Buying on impulse could Compact cameras are perfect to carry around. They
mean you end up with a model you don’t like. This pop easily into your pocket, and with increasingly
won’t help build up your photographic library, so if large SD memory cards (which most compact cameras
you can, get hold of the model and take it for a test take), you should never be caught short on a shot. The Stock libraries
run to see what it’s capable of. Ask around for a megapixel war on compacts also means that even the If you want images at your fingertips without having
second opinion or log onto forums such as www. most slimline of new models is capable of packing a to learn photographic techniques, let someone else
dphotographer.co.uk/forum to chat and find out punch when it comes to image size. do the hard work by using a stock library. There are a
others’ opinions. You wouldn’t buy a car without We could go on and on about the techniques you huge number of online libraries where you can find
taking it for a spin, so why spend hundreds if not need to know to take superb photos, but that would images – some well established and others recently
thousands of pounds on a camera you’ve only take up far too much room! With practice, you’ll find set up. The company you choose will depend on
glanced at in a shop window or on the Internet? the best settings for various set-ups and subjects. factors such as whether it has the sort of image you’re
There are three distinct types of camera you may There are, however, a few rules that will help you looking for and the amount it charges. Most stock
be interested in, and your choice depends on the produce the best imagery to keep for your creations. library sites work on the basis of you entering keyword
quality of shots you want. The most high-end of SLR There’s nothing worse than a blurred image, and no searches, but one-to-one service is available if you
cameras could set you back thousands of pounds and amount of Unsharp Masking will fix an out-of-focus contact the library directly and give them an accurate
require you to have extensive knowledge of how to shot, so think carefully about your focusing before description of the type of image you’re after. If you’re
use complex manual settings, but you can get a good you press the shutter button. Setting your camera to still stuck for that ideal image, some stock libraries will
quality SLR for around £500 – a bargain considering Auto Focus should give you a better chance of help you find a specific photographer with the skills to
you’ll be able to use interchangeable lenses to make capturing a sharp photo, but don’t forget to think provide you with what you want.
sure you get the best from your subjects. about the distance of your subject. A macro subject If you’re going to use an image from a stock library,
If you’re not au fait with the manual workings of a such as a flower or still life object will mean you need you really need to be clued up on copyright issues. It’s
camera but need an image large enough for big print to adjust your settings to Macro mode if using a fine thinking you’ve discovered a wonderful starting
work or a double-page editorial, a Prosumer model compact camera, or you may have to consider buying image for your design that’s free to download, but if
could be for you. A new model such as the Fujifilm a designated macro lens if you’re serious about your you later find out the file was only for non-commercial
FinePix S6500fd is a prime example of how a Prosumer photography and are using an SLR. use and you’ve sold your illustration, you could have a
Lighting is a vital consideration when taking nasty surprise and an angry letter from a solicitor. So
photos. You don’t need to lug around a hefty lighting before you track down an image, it’s worth gaining a
kit to make sure you take the best images, but a few working knowledge of some copyright terms.
common sense procedures will stand you in good The most common one you’ll hear bandied about is
stead. If you’re shooting outdoors make sure you ‘rights managed’. This describes an image for which
don’t photograph in bright sunlight, as this will cause the release is controlled by a stock library or agency. If
your camera to overcompensate if you’re using you contact an agency or library to use a rights-
automatic metering. Most people think a bright, managed image, you’ll normally be asked about the
sunny, cloudless day is the perfect condition for taking intended use and also for the dimensions the image
photos but it’s quite the opposite. A slightly grey, will be used at, in order to decide the asking price.
overcast but dry day will give far better results. ‘Rights ready’ is a fairly new concept, adopted by
One big mistake most people make is to use the stock libraries such as Getty Images, www.creative.
wrong flash settings. Setting a camera to Automatic gettyimages.com, which allows you to buy the rights
Flash will show if the shooting conditions are a bit too to use an image in your projects wherever and
dark, but an inbuilt flash may mean your image looks whenever you want. Using this service, you don’t need
washed out from the harsh light. To solve this, you can to spend time re-negotiating the rights.
use a reflector to give you a bit more ambient light, ‘Royalty free’ is a Photoshopper’s dream. It
alter your flash settings to a much softer fill-in flash or, describes an image that can be used for profit without
if you’re using a separate flash head, use a model with paying royalties. It’s normally acquired for ‘one-time
a swivel so you can bounce the flash off a surface and usage’ although there are plenty of free stock sites
onto your subject, illuminating it indirectly. that will let you use an image without paying any fee
at all. Your decision entirely depends on the quality
and size of the image you want to work with.
BE PREPARED: Keep your camera with you at all
times. You never know when colourful patterns On the right you can see our pick of the best stock
and objects are going to spring up agencies and photographic libraries, both public and
privately managed…

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 At the source

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everyday, ordinary objects. managed im ted royalty-free and ri lty-free image CDs.
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 Step-by-step Workshops

LIGHT AND SHADOW 7 56

Complex, accurate lighting is one of the trickiest techniques to master in
Photoshop. Luckily, artist and author, Barry Huggins is on hand to show
you some special effects to apply to your own photographs

PEER PRESSURE 7 72
There’s a stunning array of styles and techniques in this month’s readers’
gallery. Here’s your chance to browse through our pick of the best. Seek
inspiration for new design concepts, swot up on new techniques and
check out the competition. If you think you’re up to the challenge then get
your designs to us by e-mailing [email protected].
You never know who’ll be flicking through next issue and some fantastic
prizes could be up for grabs

Insider
es
iqu

Info
n
ch
Te

WATERMARKING 7 64
File sharing and the Internet unfortunately means that it’s all too easy to
have your creations half-inched by some plucky swine. You can’t
completely avoid your precious artwork from being used without your
knowing but watermarking your images will certainly help to protect
them. We show you how you can protect your designs.

INSIDER INFO 1
SHADOW/HIGHLIGHT 62 SCRIPTING
INSIDER INFO 2
68 HELPDESK 7 78
Improve the contrast of your We tackle the mind-bogling Sometimes even the pros need some
CMYK images with CS2’s useful concept of scripting and prove it’s sound advice. We have the answers
new feature better than Actions to all your technical angst in this
month’s helpdesk

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 Step-by-step
Workshop

MASTER COMPLEX
LIGHTING AND SHADOWS
Wrestling with the complexities of camera time exposures on cold dark nights is
one way of photographing moonlight and mixed artificial lighting, but Photoshop
offers a far more user-friendly way BY BARRY HUGGINS

C
apturing the alluring quality of Lighting Effects filter is the ultimate software
ON THE DISC
moonlight on camera can be, at best, a lighting studio and with the manipulation
On this month’s CD you’ll find the
starting image you need to follow frustrating task. The cool, milky techniques you will learn in this tutorial you will
Barry’s step by step. Once you’ve serenity of romantic moonlit scenes depicted have the power to tailor the filter to your precise
mastered the techniques shown
here, why not apply them to your
on our movie screens can all too often be needs for almost any given lighting situation.
own images and send your work to rendered as a dark, muddy featureless version But the Lighting Effects filter is just one
Advanced Photoshop to be of the scene envisioned in your mind’s eye. method for generating realistic lighting
showcased in Peer Pressure?
Add to this the complication of additional conditions in Photoshop. To expand your
OUR EXPERT Barry Huggins
artificial lights from varying sources and the task repertoire further still, we’ll also look at other
Barry Huggins is a multimedia trainer and consultant. He
becomes more daunting by the minute. deceptively simple techniques guaranteed to
also runs Matrix Training, a London based digital training
company. He is the author of seven books covering However, this whole scenario can be created create the ‘wow’ factor that leaves the viewer
Photoshop special effects and photography, most of which with photo-realism using Photoshop’s eminent wondering how you did it without turning on
can be found on www.amazon.co.uk.
and unparalleled tools for depicting light. The a real light.

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1 Set up the basics
Copy the file named ‘Low tide.psd’ from
the cover CD onto your computer. Duplicate the
2 Into the blue
Hide the visibility of the ‘Moonlight’ layer
(by clicking on the eye icon next to it in the Layers
3 Just add moonlight
Click on the ‘Moonlight’ layer, then go to Filter>Render>Lighting
Effects. Choose Omni as the Light type with an Intensity of 25 and a
background layer twice, naming them ‘Blue palette) and activate the ‘Blue cast’ layer. Go to blue/purple colour. To change the light colour, click the white square
cast’ and ‘Moonlight’ respectively. The Image>Adjustments>Levels. Select the blue next to the Intensity slider. Set the Ambience slider to 17. This ensures the
‘Moonlight’ layer should be at the top of the channel from the Channel drop-down box and full scene is not underexposed. Click OK to confirm.
layer stack. A quick way to duplicate layers is to adjust the white slider to an input value of 205.
click on the layer you want to duplicate then This generates a blue cast over the layer that will
press Ctrl+J on a PC or Cmd+J on a Mac. be brought into use later. Finally, reveal the
‘Moonlight’ layer again.

4 Reflect the
moonlight
Again go to
5 Bring on a layer mask
We need to cast some more moonlight
onto the river and sandbank to the left of the
Filter>Render>Lighting cobblestone path. This will help with the illusion
Effects. Change the Light of our fake moon being the main source of light.
type to Spotlight. Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Alternatively
Working in the preview click the Add Vector Mask icon at the bottom of
window on the left of the the Layers palette.
dialog box, drag the
handles that define the
oval spotlight to replicate
the example shown. Set
Intensity to 50, Focus to
45, Exposure to 21 and
Ambience to 43. Choose
white as the light colour.

6 Paint with moonlight

Click the layer mask thumbnail in the
Layers palette to make sure that it is active.
7 More light
To add some variety, we are going to
bring in an alternative light source from
Choose a 150 pixel round paintbrush with 20% somewhere outside the frame, revealing only its
Hardness and Opacity set to 60%. Using black cast light reflecting at varying intensities off the
paint, run the brush over the sand bank area damp cobblestones. Using the Lasso tool draw a
and the water in the distance. This reveals the
blue cast from the layer below, which gives a
selection with a feather of 30 pixels in the
bottom left corner of the image. Curves to enhance colour
realistic lighting effect as if the moonlight were
really shining on these areas. In this tutorial we used a Curves channel adjustment to tint a
neutrally coloured scene. Human perception regards colours
that are warm as red/orange/yellow; cold colours are seen as
blue/violet/purple. This principle is reflected when we carry
out individual channel adjustments in the Curves dialog box.
Red, green and blue channels are complemented by the
secondary colours cyan, magenta and yellow. First the curve is
dragged upwards which intensifies the red of the lorry while
decreasing the cyan component of the sea and sky. Dragging
the curve down has the reverse effect of diminishing the red of
the lorry and enhancing cyan.

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 Step-by-step
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Which shadow? 8 Bring out
the background
Click the original background layer
Drop Shadows to activate it. This layer contains the
Although drop shadows are generally original light information, which
associated with computers and the means we have less editing to do,
digital age, their roots go back a long thereby requiring less destructive
way to the early days of the motion techniques. Go to Layer>New>
picture industry. Some of the first Layer via Copy to copy and paste
drop shadow effects created for a the selection to a new layer (Ctrl+J
mass audience can be seen in the rolling credits of Hollywood for PC, Cmd+J for Mac). Name the
movies as far back as the Twenties when a small drop shadow layer and drag it to the top of the
was used on white text to delineate it from it’s background. layer stack.
The same technique is used today in film but its use has

9 10
proliferated to all forms of media and advertising, from
business cards and letterheads to ten-metre high advertising Change the light quality The power of layer
billboards. Although the effect today is the victim of overkill, Deselect the selection. The result doesn’t blending modes
its raison d’etre is compelling and used with moderation look too inspiring at present and we want to The result is still a little flat, but this is where layer
should be a standard tool of the designers toolkit. simulate the light cast from an incandescent blending modes can add that magical touch,
light, not natural daylight. Go to Image> breathing life and dynamism into your image.
Cast Shadows Adjustments>Curves. Replicate the curves From the layer blending mode drop-down box
Cast shadows are typically associated shown, one for the RGB channel and one for the choose Colour Dodge. This has a lightening
with the kind of shadow we see in Blue channel. These curves lighten the layer and effect on the layer when blended with the layer
everyday life. Understanding how add a warm yellow tone. below. Perfect for realistic light.
these types of shadow are displayed
will help you to create convincing
shadows. If we look at the sun as the
source of light and a figure casting their shadow, the higher
and more directly above the figure the sun is, the less of a
shadow will be cast. As the sun sinks towards the end of the
day and becomes lower in the sky, the persons shadow will
grow, stretching further away from the person. The further
away from the person the shadow is, the fainter it becomes.

11 Dynamic water reflection

We can use the same technique to create a realistic water
surface reflection. Using the Lasso tool with a feather of 25px, create a

12 13
selection outlining an area of water in the foreground that would be
reflecting the moonlight. Repeat steps 8 and 9 to create a reflection. Light up time Customise the flare
To light up the streetlights we are Go to Filter>Render>Lens Flare. The
going to use a modified Lens Flare filter. Create a filter is designed to depict the effect seen when
new layer at the top of the Layers palette and fill a camera lens is pointed at a strong light source,
it with black. Adding the lens flare to the image but it is good at simulating many kinds of light
would mean we couldn’t edit it independently source. Choose the 105mm lens at 80%. Click
and it’s not possible to add the filter to a roughly where a streetlight was positioned.
transparent layer, hence the black-filled layer.

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14 But it’s all black!
This is where the layer blending mode 15 Reduce radiance
The light source is too large and “SHADOWS
comes to the rescue. Choose Screen mode from
the drop-down box. Applying Screen mode on a
bright. This type of streetlight would be a small
glow. Reduce the layer opacity to 80%, then go BECOME
black layer allows the pixels on the underlying
layer to show through unchanged, but the white
to Edit>Free Transform (Ctrl+T for PC, Cmd+T for
Mac) and drag the bounding box handles to WEAKER THE
pixels of the flare obscure the underlying layer’s reduce the size of the light.
FURTHER
AWAY THEY
pixels.

ARE FROM
THE OBJECT
THAT
CASTS THEM”
16 Secrets of layer
blending options
To further reduce the glow from the lamp,
17 More light, less work
Now that we’ve perfectly customised
the light to suit the environment we don’t need
18 Light up the bridge
Two spotlights are positioned on the
bridge that cast their light onto the wall. The
double-click the ‘streetlight’ layer to access the to waste time creating new ones. We can simply process here is almost the same as for the light
Layer Styles dialog box. Two greyscale bars duplicate the light as required. Using the Move cast in the bottom left corner of the image.
appear with black and white sliders at either tool, click and drag the light and a duplicate Make a feathered selection outlining the area of
end. Using the black slider on the left of the top layer will be created. Do this twice, once for the spotlight, repeating steps 8, 9 and 10.
greyscale bar, keep the Alt key pressed and drag each light and position them in place.
the right half of the slider towards the right to a
value of 215.

19 Add realism to
the spotlight
Light cast from this spotlight
Using adjustment layers
onto the wall would appear
Adjustment layers are Photoshop’s ultra
highly intensified at the centre.
flexible tool allowing you to experiment
To simulate this, duplicate the
infinitely without ever being committed.
layer (Ctrl+D on a PC/ Cmd+D Click the icon at the bottom of the Layers
on a Mac). Press Ctrl+T (PC) or palette to access all of Photoshop’s
Cmd +T (Mac) to bring up the adjustment layers. Applying an
Free Transform bounding box adjustment layer applies the effect to
and reduce the size so it every layer that lies below it. This may
results in a small light source not always be desired, so the simple
near the tip of the spotlight. solution is to create a clipping mask
Change the layer blending between the adjustment layer and as
many underlying layers as required. With
mode to Colour Dodge.
the adjustment layer active you can press
Ctrl+Alt+G (PC) Cmd+Opt+G (Mac) to make a clipping mask.
You can use multiple layers in a clipping mask, but they must
be successive layers. You can always find the base layer in a
stack as the name is underlined. The overlying layers are
indented so they’re easy to spot.

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“LAYER BLENDING 20 Coloured lights
Let’s create a green

MODES CAN ADD navigation light under the bridge

arch. Repeat steps 12 to 16 to

THAT MAGICAL create another light or duplicate

one of the streetlights as in step

TOUCH THAT 17. To apply the green colour go

BREATHES LIFE
to Image>Adjustments>Hue/
Saturation. Drag the Hue slider

INTO YOUR IMAGE”

until you arrive at green. If
necessary use the Saturation
slider to strengthen the colour.

21 Time exposures
The camera exposure required to capture this scene would

22 23
have blurred the lights in the moving bus leaving a light trail recording
the path of their movement. To simulate this effect duplicate one of the Trails of light Cast shadows
streetlights and position it over the windows of the bus. Go to Edit>Free Transform. Drag the Because of the position of the moon
bounding box handles to stretch the light into a and its angle in relation to the wooden posts,
long thin horizontal shape. Duplicate the result we would expect to see the light generating
three times and position the stretched lights long cast shadows from the posts onto the
over the two decks of the bus so that the trail cobblestone ground. Start by making selections
appears to extend beyond the rear the bus, as a of each of the posts with a feather of 10 px.
real light trail would.

24 Define the shadow colour

Create a new layer at the top of the Layers palette called
‘shadow’. Using the eyedropper, sample a colour from a dark- to mid-
25 Get the
right angles
The drop shadow we see
toned area of the cobblestones. Fill the selection in with the sampled on text is very easy to
colour you just chose. create but casting a
shadow takes a little more
thought. The light source is
positioned behind the
objects, so we would
expect to see the shadow
stretching out in the
foreground. Go to
Edit>Transform>Distort.
Drag the corner handles to
replicate the shape in the
example. Press the Enter
key to confirm.

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26 Add depth to the shadow
The shadow looks flat and
disconnected from the scene in its present
27 Finishing touches
In order for you to finish off the
image, you need to have some understanding
Lighting Effects presets
form. Using the layer blending modes again we of light and its effects. By applying this
In this tutorial you have learned how to use the Lighting
can create the impression that the shadow is a knowledge you can create a photo-realistic Effects filter by customising the lights to generate a specific
natural part of the scene and is unified into its image. Shadows become weaker the further kind of light quality. Perfecting the lights can take a bit of
surroundings. Change the ‘shadow’ layer away they are from the object that casts them. trial and error to achieve a photo-realistic look and this can
blending mode to Multiply to darken the To create this phenomena we are gong to use a be time consuming. However, don’t let this put you off when
shadow. Also reduce the layer Opacity to 67%. layer mask to give us unlimited control with the time is short and you need a quick and dirty lighting effect.
least amount of work. With the ‘shadow’ layer The filter comes loaded with a selection of preset lighting
active go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. scenarios that can add a touch of pizzazz to the most
mundane of photographs.
The presets are accessed in the Lighting Effects dialog box
by clicking the Style drop-down box. The preset names are
not always self-explanatory, but clicking each description
renders the result in the preview pane on the left. Once a
preset has been applied, the effect can be further
customised by using the sliders to control the light.

29 Drag the grad

Make sure the layer mask thumbnail
is selected. Click it if you are not sure. With the

28
gradient tool active click and drag on the image
Perfect transitions from one red circle to the other following the
There is no more subtle way to create direction of the arrow. The arrow is just a guide.
the gradual diminishing of a cast shadow than to If you want to phase out more shadow just drag
use a gradient. Using a greyscale gradient gives a longer distance.
us a step-less transition from visible to invisible
with perfect accuracy. Click the Gradient tool (on
the same tab as the Paint Bucket tool) and choose
a black to white linear gradient from the tool
options bar at the top of the screen.

30 And finally
Even at this stage you may feel your
moonlight is too bright or too dark. This final
31 Control the curve
Drag the curve down from the centre
to darken the image or drag up to lighten. Every “THE LENS
step lets you control how much overall light you layer below the adjustment layer is affected. The
FLARE FILTER
IS DESIGNED
have and changes shadow and bus lights should stay as they are, so
the relationship of all their layers are placed above the adjustment layer.

TO DEPICT
the other elements.
Add a Curves

THE EFFECT
adjustment layer
above the green
light layer by going
to Layer>New
SEEN WHEN A
Adjustment
Layer>Curves. The CAMERA IS
picture shows the
positioning of the POINTED AT A
adjustment layer in
the Layers palette. STRONG LIGHT
SOURCE”
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 Insider INSIDER
Info INFO
CMYK Shadow/Highlight
Quickly and easily improve the overall contrast of your CMYK
images with CS2’s new feature

W
e digital artists may have top-notch skills when it comes to
Photoshop, but taking source imagery is often another
story. Whether we blame our equipment, lighting conditions
or our subject, most home snaps are soon replaced by image library
photos for final projects.
However, if your problem is under or over exposed images then delay that
visit to iStockPhoto, as we might be able to rescue some of your shots thanks to
a new and improved CS2 feature.
Shadow/Highlight, now available for CMYK images (perfect if you’re thinking
about getting your work printed at any stage), allows you to make simple,
discreet adjustments to the shadows and highlights. A popular and easy-to-use
feature available in previous versions for RGB content only, the function adjusts
the shadows, highlights and midtones whilst preserving the overall balance of
the photo. AFTER ADJUSTMENTS: Make sure both the Preview and the More Options boxes
Originally introduced in Photoshop CS for RGB images, this command can are checked so that your image can benefit from the full features of this command
lead to posterisation or banding as well as halos around edges due to the lack of
tonal variants, so should be used sparingly and with care. they were too close to the camera flash, ● Radius: Controls the size of the local
this command can be a lifesaver for neighbourhood around each pixel.
In practice summer snaps. Neighbouring pixels are used to
Photoshop contains a wealth of highly The Shadow/Highlight command does determine whether a pixel is in the
effective and automatic features that will not simply lighten or darken an image; it shadows or highlights.
fix many picture problems with very little lightens or darkens based on the ● Color Correction: Allows fine-tuning
effort on your part. However, for some surrounding pixels in the shadows or of the colours in regions of the image that
images, minor tweaks will do and, when highlights. The Shadow/Highlight have changed.
you need more control, a more manual command also has a Midtone Contrast ● Brightness: Adjusts the brightness in
approach is needed. To prove this point slider, Black Clip option and White Clip a grayscale image.
we’re going to run the same image option for adjusting the overall contrast. ● Midtone Contrast: Adjusts the
IDEAL CANDIDATE: The Highlight through automatic adjustments, then contrast in the midtones. Move the slider
command is ideally suited to images we’ll use the Shadow/Highlight feature Options explained to the left to reduce the contrast and to
with strong backlighting. This image and you can see the results for yourself. With so many options available to you it the right to increase the contrast.
will instantly benefit from both the
To follow our experiment grab one of can be difficult to know which ones to ● Black Clip And White Clip:
automatic and manual adjustments
your over- or underexposed images, tweak to perfect your image so we’ve Specifies how greatly the shadows and
duplicate it and using one copy go to given you a brief guide: highlights are clipped to the new
Image>Adjustments>Shadow /Highlight ● Tonal Width: Controls the range of extreme shadow (level 0) and highlight
Colour modes and save the results. Taking the second
original image go to Image>Adjustments
tones in the shadows or highlights that
are modified. Smaller values restrict the
(level 255) colours. Larger values produce
an image with greater contrast. Be careful
Although the Shadow/Highlight >Shadow/Highlight. In the Shadow/ adjustments to the darker regions for not to make the clipping values too large,
command was introduced in CS, Highlight dialog box check the More shadow correction and the lighter because doing so reduces detail in the
it has only now been updated to Options box, then drag the sliders until regions for highlight correction. shadows or highlights.
cater for CMYK and Lab Color. So the balance of the image looks right. Make
which mode should you work in?
The Auto Contrast command
sure that Preview is checked so that you
Photoshop bases its colour can see the changes applied to the image
modes on the colour models that window as you work. Save the results.
are useful for images used in The Shadow/Highlight feature is just one of many Photoshop commands to
publishing. You can choose from
RGB, CMYK, Lab Color and
Behind the image adjust the contrast (highlights and shadows) and the overall mix of colours in
So, when should you be using the an image.
Grayscale. Colour modes determine To utilise the Auto Contrast control simply go to Image>Adjustments>Auto
the number of colours, the number Shadow/Highlight command? Ideally
Contrast. Adjusting the contrast maps the darkest and lightest pixels in the
of channels and the file size of an suited to correcting photos with
image to black and white. This remapping causes the highlights to appear
image. Choosing a colour mode silhouetted images due to strong lighter and the shadows to appear darker and can improve the appearance of
also determines which tools and file backlighting or correcting subjects that many photographic or continuous-tone images. The Auto Contrast command
formats are available to you. have been slightly washed out because does not improve flat colour images.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop

WATERMARK YOUR
DIGITAL IMAGES
Lee Groombridge shows you how to protect all of your precious online imagery or
photography with the addition of visible and invisible watermarking BY LEE GROOMBRIDGE

Y
ou have created a whole portfolio of There are a few technical solutions within
ON THE DISC
digital imagery in Photoshop or Photoshop to actually copyright an image via its
No files are supplied on the cover
you’ve taken an excellent collection of properties, but this doesn’t help when people
disc. You can follow this tutorial
creative photographs, but what next? Of can just screengrab your art. Up until now the with any image you like.
course, now you want to advertise yourself tried and tested, and probably most effective,
OUR EXPERT Lee Groombridge
and your work online. way of protecting your art from this kind of
Lee is Imagine Publishing’s interactive media manager. He
This is all well and good, but how do you stop thievery is to add a watermark.
has more than ten years experience in the digital arts
people from committing copyright fraud and Follow the steps over the next few pages and industry. Starting his career as an interactive designer all
simply downloading your images and passing see how you can create a visible watermark over those years ago, it is safe to say he knows his stuff when it
comes to Photoshop and he is aware of the implications of
them off as their own – possibly making money your image, or how you can embed an invisible putting your work online with no protection.
from your hard work? digital watermark within a picture.

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The visible watermark
1 Open image
Open a digital image you wish to watermark. This can be a
one-off image or part of a collection with the same dimensions. Go to
2 Create the watermark file
With the original image open, Select All
(Ctrl/Cmd+A) and Copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) it. Now
3 Create new action
From the bottom of the Actions palette
select the folder icon, which will create a new
Image>Image Size and from this pop-up dialog box note down the create a new image with the setting set to Action Set. Call this ‘Watermarks’. Next click the
actual dimensions of the image. Clipboard in the dialog box. Make sure the page icon at the bottom of the Actions palette.
background is black and you place your logo This will create your new action’s template. Call
and copyright message in the middle. Flatten this ‘Watermark_white_ 1280x956_72dpi’ or
the image and save the file naming it with whatever you image size and colour is.
reference to the dimensions (ie ‘Watermark_
White_ 1280x956_72dpi.jpg’).

4 Start recording
Now to start “THE BEST
recording your custom
Watermark action by WAY OF
clicking the Record icon
at the bottom of the PROTECTING
Actions palette.
Everything you do from YOUR ART
now on will be stored.
FROM
THIEVERY IS
With your original image
open, go to File>Place and

TO ADD A
select your watermark
image. This will cover the

WATERMARK”
image completely so
change the blending
mode to Lighten.

5 Finish the action

You can see that the watermark is still a
little strong so you need to lower the opacity.
6 Create more
Before you save the image it is important
to double check you have backed up your
Batch processing
You have created an action, but you have 100 images to
Reduce it to around 30%. You now need to original images. To duplicate your action for watermark. What you don’t want to do is open 100 images
select Image>Flatten Image. Before you forget different-sized images select the Watermark and press play on the action for each one. This is where
and start to do another task you must stop the action in the Actions palette and click the batch processing comes in. Once you have created your
Action recording. Do this by clicking the Stop extended menu by clicking the little arrow in action, put all of your images into one folder. Go to
icon at the bottom of the Actions palette. The the top right. Select Duplicate. Double-click on File>Automate>Batch and a pop-up will appear. In the Play
red record light will now switch off. the name of the action to rename it and section select your action from the drop-down menu. In the
double-click any of the steps to customise them. Source section click Choose and select the folder with your
images in. In the
Destination section
select a different folder
to save your images
into and also you can
edit the format and
name of the files. Now
click OK and watch
Photoshop do all the
work for you.

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 Step-by-step
Workshop
“CS2 COMES Create invisible watermarks
WITH AN An invisible watermark is otherwise known as a
‘digital watermark’. Photoshop CS2 now comes

OPTION FOR with an option for you to be able to copyright-

YOU TO BE
protect your images via a digital watermark.
This technology, called Digimarc ImageBridge,

ABLE TO
adds a digital code to an image in the form of
noise, which is virtually impossible to see with

PROTECT
the naked eye. The technology has come such
a long way and enables the watermark to be

YOUR IMAGES” detected on both a digital and printed version

of your image once applied. Over the next two
pages we will show you how to make the most
of this revolutionary technology and embed
digital watermarks to your precious images.

Who are Digimarc? 1 Finding

Digimarc
The option you are looking
Digimarc Corporation is based in the for is called Digimarc. To
USA and is one of the leading suppliers find this open up your
of secure identity and media image and then go to
management solutions. Filters>Digimarc>Embed
Digimarc provides products and Watermark. This will take
services that enable the production of
you to a pop-up dialog
more than 60 million personal
box. It is worth pointing
identification documents, including
two-thirds of US driver licenses and IDs out at this stage, before
for more than 20 countries. you continue, that you
Digimarc, available with Photoshop, can only embed one
provides digital watermarking digital watermark to any
technology that embeds a permanent one image.
digital identity for images and can be
used with confidence to enhance the
security of financial documents,
identity documents and digital images.
Visit www.digimarc.com to find out
much more about the company and the
technology behind their digital security
products and services.

2 Digimarc PIN and ID

From the dialog box click Personalize. This is so that you can enter
the details of an existing account or register your details with Digimarc to
3 Register
with Digimarc
Now you are at www.
obtain a PIN and ID. From the pop-up that appears click the Get Info digimarc.com/register;
button and it will take you to the Digimarc Website to register. there should be an
option for you to check
out the pricing options.
There are three different
options for you to
decide from, all ranging
in price. At one end you
have Professional, which
allows you the most
protection, enabling
you to watermark and
track up to 5000 images;
at the other end is
Portfolio, which enables
you to mark 1000 images.

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4 Start the process
Once you have purchased “TECHNOLOGY
your Digimarc ID and PIN you
are set to go. Follow the CALLED
previous steps up to the point
DIGIMARC
IMAGEBRIDGE
where you click Personalize.
Now, instead of clicking Get Info,

ADDS A
fill in your ID and PIN details into
the pop-up and click OK. You

DIGITAL CODE
will now find that the
Personalize button becomes a
Change button, ready for you to
enter your new Digimarc ID. TO AN IMAGE”
5 The watermark options.
Now choose between filling in a
Copyright Year, Transaction ID or Image ID for
your image. Next you need to set your image
attributes. Selecting Restricted Use allows the

6
image to have limited use; selecting Do Not
Copy ensures that the image should not be Target and Durability

7
allowed to be copied in any way; and by The next option is Target Output. This
selecting Adult Content it declares the image allows you to determine whether the image will Signal strength meter
only suitable for adults and will restrict the be used for personal use (monitor), for the Web Now all that is left to do is select Verify
viewing of the file. or for Print. Most times you wish to copyright a and Digimarc will asses the durability once it is
image, it will be for online use so select Web. The embedded. Now that it’s all set up, click on OK
next option is Durability, which is controlled by a and you are done. Once the watermark has been
slider. The default setting is designed to applied, go to Filters>Digimarc>Read Watermark
generically find the happy medium of visibility of to use the Signal Strength meter to check the
the watermark and durability. To adjust this effectiveness of the watermark. Digimarc always
either way grab the slider. High durability will recommends that you check the strength of
display some degree of noise, whereas low your watermark before publishing images. If it is
durability can easily be damaged by print or not high enough, you will need to edit some of
amendments to the image. the information from the previous steps.

When can you add a digital watermark? There are a few things you must check on your image before attempting to
embed a digital watermark. Here are three of the main points

1 Colour variation
Flat colours will not work with this process, so
you must ensure that the image you are trying to
2 Pixel dimension
There are no upper limits to pixel dimensions if
you wish to embed a digital watermark, but there are
3 Compression
Digimarc watermarks will survive ‘lossy
compression’, however it is advised that you always set
digitally watermark has some degree of randomness some minimum sizes. Your image should be no the compression on a JPEG to a minimum of 4. A
to its colour. This is because a digital watermark is smaller than 100 x 100 if you don’t think your image digital watermark works better with higher quality, so
added using noise and noise is noticeable if you try will be compressed and 256 x 256 if you expect some file size should be sacrificed for image quality.
and use it on a flat colour. element of change, such as crop, rotate or
compression. Finally 750 x 750 (300dpi) is the
minimum if your image is to be printed.

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 Insider
Info
INSIDER
INFO
Scripting Photoshop, Part 1 – An Introduction
Whether it’s automating tedious tasks, customizing commands, or adding new
features, scripting makes almost anything possible in Photoshop

T
Trevor Morris he ability to script
OUR EXPERT
Trevor Morris is an official Photoshop beta tester
Photoshop debuted back
and amateur digital photographer with more than a in version 7.0 as an
dozen years’ design experience. He works as a senior optional plugin that could be
graphic designer for a Canadian web design
company and also maintains the Photoshop-centric downloaded from Adobe’s Web
website GFX™ (http://user.fundy.net/morris). site. As of version 8.0 (CS), the
scripting plugin is installed by
default. Now, in version 9.0
(CS2), scripting the back-end of
Photoshop is more accessible
and powerful than it’s ever
been. Yet despite how long
scripting has been part of
Photoshop, it’s surprising how
few people take advantage of it
– and even more surprising, is
the number of people who aren’t
even aware that Photoshop can
be scripted.

The scripting advantage SCRIPT EVENTS MANAGER: The Script Events Manager (File > Scripts > Script
So, what’s so great about scripting, and Events Manager) allows you to configure scripts (or actions) to run automatically
what can scripts do that can’t be based on certain events, such as on startup, opening a document, creating a new
document, and so on
accomplished by traditional actions?
Well, while actions (including batches
and droplets) are tremendously Installing scripts the File > Scripts submenu, or choose
powerful and flexible, they have many Installing scripts is much the same as File > Scripts > Browse to locate and
limitations that scripts do not. Consider, installing any other preset. First, you run scripts that don’t appear in the
for example, something as simple as need to copy the script into the Scripts menu.
toggling the visibility of the current Presets/Scripts subfolder:
layer (i.e., turning a layer off if it’s on, Mac: Event-based scripts
and vice versa). You could record an <hard drive>Applications>Adobe Scripts (and Actions) may also be
action to turn the layer on, or off, but Photoshop CS2>Presets>Scripts executed automatically, based on an
not both. The problem is that actions PC: C:\Program Files>Adobe>Adobe event, such as on startup, opening a
aren’t capable of decision-making, or Photoshop CS2>Presets>Scripts document, or creating a new document.
“conditional logic”. Then, after you quit and restart To define an event-based script,
Actions are also limited to executing Photoshop, the newly installed scripts choose File > Scripts > Script Events
commands within the hosted will appear in the File > Scripts Manager. Turn on the “Enable Events To
application, whereas scripts can submenu (in alphabetical order). Run Scripts>Actions” checkbox, and
Keeping current communicate and exchange
information with any (or all) of the
Note that you can also create
subfolders inside of the Presets>Scripts
then pick an event from the Photoshop
Event drop-down. Select Script, and pick
The latest version of ExtendScript applications in the Creative Suite. For folder. This can be helpful if you have a the desired script from the drop-down
Toolkit (currently 1.0.3) is available example, you could write a script that lot of scripts, or if you want to keep (or choose Browse from the bottom of
for free from Adobe’s Website: initiates a procedure in Illustrator CS2 your own scripts separate from those the drop-down). Press the Add button to
Mac: http://www.adobe.com/ and then forwards the results to you acquire from a third party. Scripts add the event to the Event List. Finally,
support/downloads/detail. Photoshop CS2 for completion. and/or folders of scrips may also be press the Done button to apply all
jsp?ftpID=3206
Some Creative Suite applications disabled (i.e. hidden from Photoshop) changes and enable the event.
Windows: http://www.adobe.com/
even allow you to customize the user by prefixing their names with a tilde To remove an event, select it by name
support/downloads/detail.
jsp?ftpID=3205 interface, and create custom commands (e.g. “~Disabled-Script.jsx”). To run a in the Event List and press the Remove
and panels via scripts. script, simply select it, by name, from button – or you can use the Remove All

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“IT’S SURPRISING HOW
FEW PEOPLE TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF
SCRIPTING FACILITIES”
If you’re looking for a complete
overview of ExtendScript and the
ExtendScript Toolkit, see Chapter 9 of
Resources
the JavaScript Reference Guide. Below are several online resources
dedicated to sharing scripts and
Reference documents information about scripting:
For a more comprehensive Adobe Photoshop
understanding of scripting, or to learn Scripting Forum
how to create your own scripts, you’re http://tinyurl.com/afncy
strongly encouraged to check out the
Adobe Studio Exchange –
EXTENDSCRIPT TOOLKIT: Whether you install a single CS2 application or the many invaluable resources installed, by
Photoshop Scripts
entire Creative Suite ExtendScript Toolkit will automatically install on your hard- default, in the following location: http://share.studio.adobe.com/
drive. The Toolkir includes features such as syntax-highlighting, multiple undo/ Mac: <hard drive>/ axBrowseSubmit.asp?t=74
redo, Unicode support and plenty more Applications>Adobe Photoshop
CS2>Scripting Guide Working With Photoshop Scripts
button to remove all events from the installed (e.g., Tools > Photoshop > PC: C:\Program Files>Adobe>Adobe (PhotoshopSupport.com)
Event List. To disable all events without Image Processor). Photoshop CS2>Scripting Guide. http://www.photoshopsupport.
removing them, simply turn off “Enable The ExtendScript Toolkit serves as a Photoshop Scripting Guide – an com/tutorials/jennifer/photoshop-
Events To Run Scripts>Actions”. Again, full-featured development and testing introduction to scripting Photoshop CS2 scripts.html
you need to press the Done button to environment for ExtendScript in all CS2 (includes several example scripts)
Photoshop Scripting using
apply all changes. applications. The Toolkit includes such ● AppleScript Reference Guide –
JavaScript (Tranberry.com)
features as syntax-highlighting, multiple describes the Photoshop CS2 http://www.tranberry.com/
The ExtendScript Toolkit undo/redo, Unicode support, and much AppleScript objects and commands photoshop/photoshop_scripting/
Regardless of whether you install a single more besides. ● JavaScript Reference Guide –
CS2 application or the entire Creative ExtendScript is Adobe’s extended describes the Photoshop CS2 JavaScript Scripts for Photoshop CS and
Suite, two other applications are installed implementation of JavaScript, which objects and commands Photoshop CS2 (Trevor Morris)
by default: Adobe Bridge and the offers all of the standard JavaScript ● VisualBasic Reference Guide – http://user.fundy.net/morris/
ExtendScript Toolkit. features, in additional to: describes the Photoshop CS2 VBScript ?photoshop28.shtml
Adobe Bridge is a flexible and ● platform-independent file and objects and commands
Photoshop Scripting Community
powerful viewer/organizer and serves as folder representation (meaning that ● Samples Scripts folder – contains
Forum (PS-Scripts)
a hub for all CS2 applications. Note that scripts written on a Mac will work on a dozens of sample scripts written in
http://www.ps-scripts.com/bb/
Bridge can also be used to select files and Windows-based machine without AppleScript, JavaScript, and VBScript
initiate suite-wide script-based events. modification); (see “Sample Scripts Description.pdf” for
Several scripts are available by default in ● tools for creating extensible, a description of each script)
the Tools menu, depending on which of localized script-based user interfaces; ● Utilities folder – contains the
the Creative Suite applications you have ● interapplication communication. ScriptListener plugin. (If you are after
more information about the

Available in two flavours ScriptListener plugin, see Chapter 3 of

the JavaScript Reference Guide or
VBScript Reference Guide.)
The Scripting and Reference Guides are
available in electronic format (PDF) from
Adobe’s Web site:
Adobe Photoshop Scripting
Script-managing script
Documentation
http://partners.adobe.com/public/ Did you know that the Script Events Manager (File > Scripts > Script Events
developer/photoshop/sdk/index_ Manager) itself is a script? That’s right, the dialog you use to manage event-
scripting.html based scripts (and actions) is in fact written in JavaScript. Image Processor
You can also purchase a printed book (File > Scripts > Image Processor) is another example of a command in
of the Photoshop Scripting Guide from Photoshop that’s entirely written in JavaScript.
amazon.com: Both of these scripts are located in the root of the Presets/Scripts folder,
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Official JavaScript and serve as great examples of what can be accomplished with scripting.
Reference Just be careful not to modify the original scripts (at least not without first
http://tinyurl.com/dqj6t making a back-up).

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 Insider
Info
INSIDER
INFO
Scripting Photoshop, Part
2 – A Practical Example
In Part 1 of our two-part coverage of scripting Photoshop, we introduced the concept
of scripting as well as the many resources available. In this second part, we’ll create
a practical, real-world script from scratch

A
s mentioned in the introduction to Scripting Photoshop, Windows NotePad – but I recommend activeLayer property of the document
toggling the visibility of a layer (on and off) is an example of Adobe’s ExtendScript Toolkit (ESTK). object (JavaScript Object Reference,
conditional logic, something for which scripting is ideally While ESTK may not be as sophisticated page 87):
suited. So, let’s see how you would write such a script from scratch. or feature-rich as some other editors, its
For this project we’ll use JavaScript because it’s the only cross- ability to target specific Creative Suite var layerRef = docRef.activeLayer;
platform scripting language supported by the Creative Suite; applications for playback and From now on, we are able to reference
however, you could just as easily write a similar script using debugging makes it very convenient. the active document and active layer as
AppleScript for Mac, or VBScript for PC. We’ll begin by creating a variable to simply docRef and layerRef,
store our reference document. The respectively, which makes life easier.
JavaScript Jargon simplest way to target the active
Before we begin, an overview of some document is to use the activeDocument To toggle the visibility of the active
common terminology is required. property of the application object layer, we’ll need to look up the
Everything in Photoshop is represented (JavaScript Object Reference, page 51), corresponding layer property for the
as an “object” (e.g., ArtLayer, Channel), so we’ll assign it to a variable as follows: artLayer object. In this case it’s the
and each object is part of an array visible property (JavaScript Object
called a “collection” (e.g., ArtLayers, var docRef = activeDocument; Reference, page 58). Therefore, the next
Channels). The hierarchy of these line would look like this:
objects and collections comprises the Similarly, we’ll create a reference
Document Object Model (DOM). variable for the active layer by using the layerRef.visible = !layerRef.visible;
HELPFUL RESOURCES: Does all this
Objects have associated “properties”,
Photoshop scripting make your brain
ache? There are plenty of extra online
guides to help you along. One of our
which describe their characteristics
(e.g., name, opacity); “methods”, which The Definitive Guide to JavaScript
favourites is www.kirupa.com define the actions you can take against
There are a lot of great JavaScript
them (e.g., copy(), resize()); and “events”,
resources and books out there, but
which describe the actions that happen
“JavaScript: The Definitive Guide”,
in response to other actions (e.g., written by David Flanagan, and
onClick(), onChange()). published by O’Reilly, is the must-have
Other terms worth defining include reference for anyone who’s serious
variables and arrays. Variables are used above JavaScript. (Even a Google
for temporary storage, and can search for “best book JavaScript” put
represent objects or data, such as this title at the top of the list.)
strings (text), numbers, Booleans (true/ Now in its fifth edition, “JavaScript:
false), and arrays. Arrays are variables The Definitive Guide” has been revised
and expanded to cover JavaScript as
that contain multiple values of the
it’s used for today’s “Web 2.0”
same type. For example, an array of
applications. This book also documents
integers could contain the values 1, 3, 7, every class, object, constructor,
15, and 23 (all within the same variable). method, function, property, and
Also note that JavaScript is case- constant defined by JavaScript 1.5 and
sensitive, meaning that words with
Why JavaScript?
ECMAScript version 3.
different case are considered different,
even if the they’re spelled the same “A must-have reference for expert JavaScript programmers... well-
Although you can write (e.g., “JavaScript” vs “Javascript”). organized and detailed.”
Photoshop scripts using To learn more about scripting basics, — Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript
JavaScript, AppleScript, or refer to Chapter 2 of the Photoshop
VisualBasic Script, JavaScript has For more information about “JavaScript: The Definitive Guide”, visit O’Reilly’s
Scripting Guide.
two distinct advantages: it’s website: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/jscript5/
platform independent (i.e., it
works on both Mac and PC), and
Scripting from scratch You can also download a sample Chapter in PDF format from the following
many Web designers are already In order to write scripts, you’ll need an location: Chapter 21: JavaScript and XML
familiar with it. editing environment. Any script/text http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/jscript5/chapter/
editor will work – even Mac TextEdit or

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– nested inside the existing else
JS vs JSX statement – that tests for documents
containing only a single Background
Script shortcuts
So what’s the difference between a “.js” and a “.jsx” file? layer. We’ll do this by using the For greater convenience, use Edit >
Fundamentally, nothing: they’re both JavaScript files/scripts. However, if isBackground property of the artLayer Keyboard Shortcuts (Cmd/
you double-click on a “.js” file in Apple’s Finder or Windows Explorer, it’ll object (JavaScript Object Reference, Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+K) to assign
likely open in your browser (and display an error dialog). But if you have any page 57): shortcuts to your scripts. Also note
of the CS2 applications installed, “.jsx” files will be associated with that scripts may be recorded as
ExtendScript Toolkit, a new scripting/debugging environment. (For more if (docRef.layers.length == 1 && part of an action, or even called
information about ExtendScript Toolkit, see Chapter 9 of the JavaScript layerRef.isBackgroundLayer == true) from another script.
Reference Guide.)
So this time we’re testing the layers
The exclamation mark above is Reference, page 99). So, to test for an collection for a single layer and checking
JavaScript notation for “not”. So, open document, the if statement would to see if it’s a Background layer. The
roughly translated, the above line look like this: double-ampersand is an AND operator,
actually means: make the visibility of which means that both conditions have
the active layer equal to whatever if (documents.length == 0) {action1} to be met; otherwise, the script
visibility state it currently is not – or else {action2}; proceeds to the else statement.
more simply, make the visibility the
opposite of its current state. Note the double equal sign, which is an The final results
At this point you should be able to equality operator (versus a single equal That’s it, you’re done! Save your script
run the script. First choose “Adobe sign, which is used to assign values). into the Presets/Scripts folder. Here’s
Photoshop CS2 (9.0)” from the Target Give yourself bonus points if you what the final script should look like:
Application drop-down in the top left, recognized that the above statement
and then press the Play button on the could also have been written as if (documents.length == 0) {
ESTK toolbar. if (!documents.length). alert(“There are no
Alternatively, you can run the script documents open.”);
via the File > Scripts menu in Photoshop
(although you may need to restart
For action1, we’ll notify the user that
there are no documents open by using
}
else {
Resources
Photoshop for the script to appear). an alert (JavaScript Object Reference, var docRef = Below are several online resources
Note that you’ll need at least one page 195), which is just a simple activeDocument; where you can learn more about
document open – one with at least one message dialog with an OK button on var layerRef = docRef. scripting for Photoshop:
non-Background layer – otherwise it. In addition, we’ll put the rest of our activeLayer; PhotoShop Scripting
you’ll get a script error (which we’ll fix script into action2: if (docRef.layers.length == 1 http://www.kirupa.com/
shortly). Run the script a few times, and && layerRef.isBackgroundLayer == motiongraphics/ps_scripting.htm
on different layers, to ensure that it’s if (documents.length == 0) { true) {
working correctly. alert(“There are no alert(“The An Introduction to Photoshop
Scripting (Digital Outback Photo)
documents open.”); Background layer cannot be hidden
http://www.outbackphoto.com/
Error Handling } when it’s the only layer in a
workflow/wf_a102/essay.html
Alright, now it’s time to add in some else { document.”);
error-handling – script that will handle var docRef = } Photoshop Scripts – An
improper uses of the script. First we’ll activeDocument; else { Introduction (pstut.com)
address the situation where no var layerRef = docRef. layerRef.visible = http://www.pstut.com/tutorial-
document is present using a simple if activeLayer; !layerRef.visible; photoshop-scripts-an-
conditional statement (Photoshop layerRef.visible = !layerRef. } introduction.html
Scripting Guide, page 26). The general visible; }
syntax for an if statement is: } Photoshop Scripts – The
Environment (pstut.com
While scripting can take a long time to
http://www.pstut.com/tutorial-
if (condition) {action1} else {action2}; Run the script with and without a master and is a daunting skill to
photoshop-scripts-the-
(multilayer) document open in approach, the flexibility it affords you environment.html
Photoshop documents are stored in the Photoshop to test the results. makes it well worth the time invested –
documents collection as an array; and especially if your workflow involves a lot What’s New In Photoshop Cs2
in JavaScript, the number of elements Finally, since the Background layer of a of repetitive tasks that can’t be Scripting (PhotoshopNews.com)
within the array is determined by its flattened document cannot be hidden, automated using traditional actions and http://tinyurl.com/z9rqa
length property (JavaScript Object we need to write one more if statement batch processing.
CS User Interface Builder 1.0
(WYSIWYG GUI builder for

“EVERYTHING IN PHOTOSHOP IS
Photoshop/Bridge)
http://www.jkozniewski.com/tools/

REPRESENTED AS AN “OBJECT”
csib_loader.swf
(CSUIB 2.0 alpha: http://www.
jkozniewski.com/tools/CSUIB_

(E.G., ARTLAYER, CHANNEL)” 2.0a.zip)

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 Eye-catching imagery that
inspires and challenges

W
e’ve been bombarded with your Peer Pressure creations this
month at Advanced Photoshop. Not only is it a joy to see so
many of you busy creating with our favourite app, but it’s a
very healthy sign that there are plenty of talented readers out there with
their own unique style. The next few pages give you a chance to see the
pick of our favourites.
Do you have a creation that you are particularly proud of? Sending your
images in to us for inclusion in Peer Pressure is an ideal way to get your name out
there. You never know who will be scouting through the magazine looking for
new, hot talent.
If you’d like to see your own work on these pages, please send us low-
resolution versions to [email protected] – we’ll get
back to you for more information and higher resolution copies if we want to
print them. Alternatively, please log on to our forum website at
www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum and scroll down to Peer Pressure in
the Creative Projects section to post a link to your image samples.

Subconscious
NAME: Aimee Stewart
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.foxfires.com

Aimee’s approach to her digital art is very organic. “That’s the wonderful thing about
Photoshop; there are so many different ways to get to a similar result. It lets people explore
and find their own style,” she says. Aimee enjoys brings a textured, painted look to her digital
art. In order to do this, every piece goes through a similar process: “Every element that I’ve
extracted and made into a layer is taken through a series of steps, which include diffusing,
blurring, sharpening and diffusing again. This way, each layer takes on the same quality as
the next and it makes for a smooth blending.”
A trusty Wacom tablet comes into play to paint the details, adding eye elements, light and
reflection and then the trailing end of streamers, scarves and other flowing objects are
painted on. “Sometimes I wedge textures between layers rather than on top, just to see what
the outcome is. At times it can be a pleasant surprise! If the texture overpowers something on
the canvas then I will use the Eraser tool at a low opacity until I have reached the desired
effect. It’s more of a gut instinct than anything that tells me I have it right.”
For Aimee, going with the flow is an important part of the Photoshop process: “Patience and
a willingness to experiment is the key to my style. Ultimately, the most important thing to me is
that the image tells a story that is unique to each individual who looks at it. I don’t want to tell
anyone what my art means.”

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Hello Collage
NAME: Peter O’Toole
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.peterotoole.eu

Peter finished his course in Graphic Design in Letterkenny, Ireland over a

year ago and is currently trying to get all the important experience required
to secure a job in design. “I have been using Photoshop since version 5.0 and
it’s become a part of me. I really can’t imagine producing my work in any
other program,” he says.
The approach to Peter’s first piece, Leap, was somewhat of an experiment
to his normal style: “It was created simply by scanning in a grungy, stained
white cardboard to use as a background with the levels tweaked to bring out
the raw paper texture. Other material such as sticky tape and blown-up fax
printouts were used as textures on the page.” Peter used a photograph of a
water splash taken on his Fuji FinePix camera and extracted this using the
Extract filter, whilst the fish was roughly drawn in Photoshop to keep with the
style of the piece.
The second design, Hello, was composed of some scanned wallpaper and
a photograph of telephone wires. “The wallpaper was placed on top of a solid
blue layer with its blending mode on soft light,” explains Peter. “A layer mask
was then applied to expose the upper left side. These layers were placed on
top of the greyscale telephone wires.”

By submitting images to Advanced Photoshop’s Peer Pressure, you hereby grant Imagine Publishing and, if
relevant, clients to whom the relevant work has been provided, an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free licence to
use intellectual property in relation to work similar or equivalent to the work. This includes the right to
showcase work on multimedia formats. By submitting work you also confirm that your images do not infringe
any copyright regulations should they be published.

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 Discover the thinking behind the art

“I LIKE WORKING In Reign

IN BLACK AND
NAME: Ken Coleman
EMAIL: [email protected]

WHITE AND Ken is a full-time studio photographer and freelance graphic designer. The inspiration for

INTRODUCING A
this piece came from the ideas of a local heavy metal band looking for artwork. “I like
working in black and white and introducing a hint of colour,” says Ken. “For this image I took
all the source photography myself. The sky is a blend of a cloud photo with an overlay of a

HINT OF COLOUR” close-up of concrete. The city is airbrushed on a separate layer using the Rectangular
Marquee and Paint Bucket tools. The Eraser tool was used with assorted rough-edged
brushes and opacities to make the building look destroyed.”

Up West
NAME: Daniel Poynton
EMAIL: [email protected]

Daniel was introduced to Photoshop on

a gaming website after he started
making signatures for an online gaming
forum. “People would request what they
wanted and I would make it for them,”
he says. “I became addicted to
Photoshop. I have always loved art and
Photoshop just helped me to create
images that were impossible on paper.”
Daniel was inspired to create this
image after moving from London to
Birmingham. “It was kind of a tribute. I
left a lot of friends and missed Friday
nights ‘up West’. I wanted the image to
have a busy feel. There are images in
there that remind me of London –
pigeons playing a big factor! I had to
mess around with the telephone box – it
was my Dr Seuss side coming out.”

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 es
n iqu
ch
Te
RENTALS: “The Rentals cover
was an open brief. The band
were already familiar with my
artwork so they just told me
they wanted themselves
drawn in my style. I took some
photos of some alleyways and
then got them to pose in their
studio. The Spot Healing brush
came in useful to get rid of
some unwanted detail in the
photo layer.”

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: ‘‘The Skull-Kidd here is my most popular character.

Here I again used my normal method of drawing, inking on paper then
scanning and colouring in Photoshop. The texture I’ve used here is actually a
scanned in raffle ticket that was de-saturated using Hue/Adjustments whilst
the layer properties were set to overlay.“

BE
IN SST
HO
Pa now the pr W
David
is
n
monittoone Hueyowner of a
oud

co u rte r calib
For mo of Colour rator
sy
C
www.cre information onfidence
Find ou olourco on this pro
n
Cool Surface shadin t how David fidence.co uct visit
d
n
g in a t
r
perfec
t m
ext mo uly stu s
NAME: David Cousens
nth! nning M colour and
asterc
lass
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.coolsurface.com

David Cousens is the founder of CoolSurface.com, freelance illustrator and “shameless self-
promoter”. David says: “I have always been skilled in pencilling, but discovering Photoshop
made a big difference. Before this I never really used colour in my work. I was always too
afraid of my lines disappearing under the paint. Now, I can alter my work to my heart’s
content without losing what made the image special in the first place!” David tends to use
the same working process for each of his images: “I always start working with a pencil
sketch. You can’t beat the feeling of pencil on paper. When I’m happy, I normally ink it and
then scan it into Photoshop. I’m a big fan of custom brushes and textures – just because
something was done on a computer doesn’t mean that it has to look all shiny and rendered.
The texture on the Skull-Kidd pieces came from a scanned raffle ticket.”
SKULL-KIDD: “This was my first ever drawing of Skull-Kidd, which was
done just because I was bored. It was only when everybody started to You’ll stand a better chance of seeing your work in print if you adhere to the following criteria: make sure that your
react to him that I realised I may be onto something. He felt like he images are high-quality TIFFs or JPEGs (RGB or CMYK), 300dpi minimum, and can be printed at 15 x 15cm minimum.
would be a collectable character, so I put him on a trading card style Don’t forget to include a short text file detailing how you created your work, too.
background. Eventually, this also became my business card.”

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 Helpdesk
Our Photoshop pro tackles your editing woes and sets
you on the path to image enlightenment BY JULIE EASTON

PERFECT KEYLINES
I am relatively new to Photoshop CS and I “THERE ARE A NUMBER OF TYPES
want to know how I can add a keyline around
OF DISTORTION .PRESENT IN
ARCHITECTURAL IMAGES”
the outside of my finished artwork. This
seems to be such a simple thing to do, but I
can’t work out a way of doing it.
Simon Holmes
STRAIGHTEN IT OUT
The simplest way to add a keyline to an image is to go to I’m not really a photographer, but I really
Edit>Stroke. You can pick the size, colour and position of need some photographs of old buildings to
the stroke from the dialog box that comes up. If you want to incorporate into my design work. All my
enter a value in centimetres rather than pixels, type the value attempts thus far have resulted in noticeable
followed by ‘cm’ and Photoshop will convert that value into distortion. Rather than having to go back out
pixels. The only problem with this method is that you have and shoot all my source images again, will
to sacrifice the edges of your image. You can get around this the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop help
by using a different method. Open your image and then go straighten things out?
to Image>Canvas Size. Enter a value that is double the width Carrie Turner
of the keyline you require (this is because it will add half the ARCHITECTURAL WOES: The Lens Correction options
can look overwhelming, but they can really help sort out
value to the top and half to the bottom), and make sure that There are a number of different types of distortion that are problems common with architectural images
the background colour is set to whatever colour you wish likely to be present in architectural images and often these
your keyline to be. This will give the appearance of a keyline, will only show up once you start using the Lens Correction photograph is keystoning, where you get converging verticals
without any loss of picture. filter. The most obvious form of distortion in this type of and the top of the image appears wider than the bottom. This
happens because you are often pointing the camera upwards
in order to capture the top of the building. To correct this, use
the Vertical Perspective slider. Once you have done this you
may find that your image suffers from bad composition, with
the building itself not quite vertical. The Straighten tool will
help you to sort this out (it’s the second button down on the
left-hand side of the Lens Correction dialog). Finally, you can
sort out any barrel distortion that has become apparent. This
is done using the Remove Distortion slider. You will have to
make all these adjustments a little at a time, so that you can
see the effect. Going over the top will only make things worse.

SHAKE IT
I’m looking at buying a new camera and as I
do a lot of action photography I want a good
image-stabilisation system. However, I don’t
know whether I am better going for a lens-
based system, or a sensor-shift system. Which
gives better results?
Thelma Harris

It is hard to say whether one system gives better results than

others. Sensor-shift technologies are relatively new and it is
ADDING A KEYLINE: Use the Edit>Stroke command to add a keyline to your image, or extend the canvas size to preserve the unlikely that many professional photographers have tried
whole of an image both in order to give an accurate comparison. Also sensor

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 es
n iqu
ch
Te
CUT IT OUT
I’m very frustrated. I just sat there cutting out
an image. It took me about an hour, only to
notice that I have a very fine line around it,
which is still showing the previous
background. I want to know how far to take
it? I work to a very fine zoom, where I can
see every pixel. How do I know if the pixel
belongs to: a) the image I’m cutting out, or
b) the background? I want to cut out a man standing at a
bus stop and I want a very precise cut. It’s really awkward sometimes, especially when an
hour of your life goes down the tin.
StudioWorks, on the forum
SHAKE IT: The new Sony Alpha
DSLR uses sensor shifting to This question was posted on the Advanced Photoshop forum. Plenty of you jumped at the chance to help out, with some
stabilise images great tips that other readers could benefit from. Trinity-of-one suggests that you Ctrl-click (or Cmd-click on a Mac) to load
its selection. Then go to Select>Modify>Contract, entering a value of 1px. Feather the selection with a 1px radius and click
shifting is less common on high-end cameras, though this is
on the Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette. This should give a smoother blend and the mask can be
beginning to change. There are advantages to both methods,
undone if it goes wrong. Garry79 adds that you could introduce a brightly coloured layer between the cut-out and the
but one thing to consider is whether you will be purchasing
background to see the outline more clearly. We think that these are top tips and show exactly why the forum is so useful.
a number of different lenses and whether you are likely to
upgrade often in the future. Lens-based systems mean that
they will work with any compatible body, whereas sensor-
order to be able to view the whole of your image accurately.
shift solutions should give the same level of stabilisation
Make sure that you invest in a good screen calibration kit to
whatever lens you use with one body. It is better to take into
ensure perfect colours. There’s a lot of talk about dual-core
consideration other factors of a new camera, such as high
processors at the moment and you’ve probably seen this in
ISO settings, wide shutter speed range, continuous shooting
your hunt for a PC. However, we feel that for your needs this
capabilities and sturdy build, all of which are important in
is less important, as it is there to allow you to do two things
action photography.
at once, whereas single processors backed up by enough
NEW COMPUTER memory will cope just as well. Look instead for the most RAM
and Hard Drive memory that you can afford. Images and
I really need to upgrade my four-year old
Photoshop files take up gigabytes of space, and will slow
computer to meet the demands of my
your computer down if there’s not enough room for them all.
image-editing work, but working for myself I
Finally don’t worry too much about getting a high-power
am trying to stick to a tight budget. Which
graphics card; unless you’re a hardcore gamer, you probably
features are the most important for image-
won’t see the benefit. Once you’ve got your base computer
editing tasks?
sorted, use any left over cash to invest in essential peripherals,
John Barrow
like a good printer, graphics tablet and spare Hard Drive, all of
which will make your new PC more efficient.
One thing that you don’t want to scrimp on and yet is often
overlooked is the screen. CRTs are becoming a thing of the SUPERSIZE GRAPHICS
past and you are likely to get an LCD with your new computer
I love working with a graphics tablet, as it
purchase. Most budget PCs come with a 15-inch screen, and
allows me to be more creative with my work. I
this really isn’t going to cut the mustard for heavy-duty image
want to invest in a new tablet, as my A4 one
editing. We recommend investing in a 17-inch or 19-inch HERE’S A TIP:The new Cintiq 21UX gives a new
is just not big enough anymore. I get carried
model for a better working area. Another important factor way of working for tablet lovers
away and end up running my pen off the
is the viewing angle, which you want as wide as possible in
edge of the screen. What options do I have
for upgrading?
Dominique Turner

Wacom really are your best option for graphics tablets. The HELPDESK
Intuos range goes up to A3, which may be enough for your CALL FOR QUESTIONS
needs. However, we think that a great option is the new Cintiq
Want help with your Photoshop problems?
21UX, which offers a different way of working for graphic
Then let our team of experts sort you out.
designers and image editors. The tablet is a whopping 21
inches, and acts as both a screen and a tablet. What this
Send your emails to us at:
means is that you draw directly on your display, rather
[email protected]
than on a separate tablet. You won’t find a bigger
working area in the world of tablets yet, but we can see
Remember to specify whether you are
this being a popular solution. It is more expensive than
using a PC or Mac and the version number
standard tablets, though, and if price is an issue you
ON A BUDGET:Check out PC World for great value PCs, of your edition of Photoshop.
where you can refine your search to suit your needs should take a look at the large-scale A3 tablet instead.

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 graphics
cards

GRAPHICS CARDS
Need a new one? You might be surprised at how much money you can save…

U
pgrading your PC is a minefield of when Nvidia had more stable drivers and generally Embellishments and extras aside though, pay
technical terms and incompatible faster hardware, but ATi’s software and hardware particular attention to the clock speed of the GPU,
standards, and this is particularly caught up a while ago and now they’re an equal memory and memory speed and also the number
true when it comes to graphics match. Both are embroiled in a constant battle to of pipelines, as this defines how powerful the
cards. Years ago it was all fairly simple – PCs get one-up on the other to the point where every hardware will be. The general rule is usually the
came with chipsets that allowed them to month or two a new ‘world’s fastest’ graphics card higher the number the faster the card, but as with
display basic 2D graphics and little else. But will be announced, only to be bested a short time many things relating to PC hardware this doesn’t
with the release of 3D-capable games later by the other company. always prove to be true, so it’s worth doing some
consoles, new companies appeared offering When it comes down to it though, you can’t tell investigating to compare benchmarking results.
advanced 3D add-on cards, and eventually the difference between two cards of a similar You’ll often find sub-£100 cards with engine
these also replaced the 2D chipsets. specification in most situations once they’re clock speeds that compare to pricier models, but
Today’s graphics cards are powerful processing plugged in without running benchmarking the difference will be the number of pipelines and
units with as much on-board RAM as the average software, so your choice is going to be decided by the amount and speed of memory. And although
home PC, but the trouble is there’s such a huge whichever happens to offer the best features or there are cards with 1GB RAM, you don’t need to
amount of choice that it can be difficult to know value to suit your needs at the time. worry about buying something with that amount
what to look for, and the situation isn’t helped by a Manufacturers license the designs from the two unless you’re planning on doing some serious
plethora of confusing jargon and obscure, companies and produce their own products based gaming and want a card that’s future proof. Right
meaningless model numbers. around the chipsets, which can result in two cards now 256 or 512MB is quite sufficient for most users.
Although there’s a great variety of models, there with the same base design that differ wildly in Before rushing out to buy anything, though, you
are only two brand names really worth considering price, performance and features. Some will be need to decide what you want to do with your new
– Nvidia and ATi. Other makes such as Matrox and optimised for performance with large high-speed card and how much you’re willing to spend.
3D Labs were once major contenders but now fans, more memory, faster clock speeds and a If you’re into gaming at all, you’ll want to be
produce specialist hardware that isn’t intended for higher price tag to match, while others could be looking at mid-to-high-end cards with plenty of
general home use. fitted with silent heatsinks to reduce the noise of memory and fast clock speeds, and it goes without
The differences between Nvidia and ATi are your internal components or might have less RAM saying that aside from specific requirements like
largely irrelevant for most of us. There was a time to bring down the price. particular types of inputs or outputs, these will also
You’ll also find that the same model from be more than sufficient for handling other tasks like
different manufacturers can have different outputs graphics and video work – there are some geared

FIRST DECIDE and inputs, but unless you’re planning on editing toward video editing which include accessories

WHAT YOU WANT

video it isn’t likely to be of much concern – though such as breakout boxes with extra connections.
there are now graphics cards out there that support But if you’re not concerned about game

TO DO WITH YOUR HDCP, meaning they’ll let you output protected

high definition content once it becomes available
performance or don’t have specialist requirements,
you can save a great deal of money by looking at

NEW CARD (and assuming the rest of your system also

supports HDCP).
the lower end of the market. If you use Photoshop,
browse the web and do some word processing,

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 Graphics cards
ROUND UP
Gigabyte Nvidia
7950 GX2
Web: www.gigabyte.com.tw
Best Froogle price: £368.94 / $545.99

Specifications
Core clock: 500MHz
Memory: 1GB GDDR3
Memory speed: 1200MHz
Connections: 2x DVI, TV-out,
HDTV support

EVEN THE CHEAPEST

STANDALONE CARD IS MORE THAN
CAPABLE OF DRIVING WINDOWS MSI Nvidia NX7900GTX
Web: www.msi.com.tw
there’s absolutely no need to buy high-spec One final point to remember is to take the rest of Best Froogle price: £248.16
graphics hardware because even the cheapest your system into consideration. A shiny new card is Specifications
standalone card is more than capable of driving wasted if your processor is old or you don’t have Core clock: 450MHz
Windows. If you don’t use any apps that need the enough hard disk space or RAM – the slower Memory: 256MB
rapid processing of 3D visuals, the more expensive components will simply cause a bottleneck. Make Memory speed: 1320MHz
products are a waste of money. sure the rest of your system is also up to the job of Connections: 2x 2x DVI, TV-in/out, HDTV support

If you’re on a really tight budget you might handling whatever tasks you have in mind, and
consider using the built-in graphics chipsets that make components like the processor and memory
are included on many systems (usually found in a priority before considering the display.
SLI and
cheap mass-produced units), but the reality is that
while it may sound tempting you’re better off
Also remember that there are currently two
types of interfaces for graphics cards found on Crossfire
spending a little on a cheap dedicated card. For motherboards, so you’ll need to make sure you buy You will very likely notice the terms
one thing, these on-board graphics processors the correct type. AGP – Accelerated Graphics Port – ‘SLI’ and ‘Crossfire’ being thrown about
utilise the system memory, which can take quite a is the older type and still very common. If your in reference to graphics cards. This is
chunk off the available RAM and have an impact on system is a few years old, chances are you’ve got another thing that non-gamers can
the performance of memory-hungry applications. one of these. PCI-Express is the newest interface safely ignore. Both are technologies
Another concern is that they’re not capable of and is now standard; any system bought in the last (SLI is Nvidia, Crossfire is from ATi)
reaching high resolutions and so are unable to year or so is very likely to support PCI-E. AGP is not for running two or more cards in
drive larger monitors – something which could be compatible with PCI-E and vice versa, so make sure parallel, so that the processing is
a real hindrance for designers using the latest you buy the correct type or you’ll have to waste shared across all of them in order to
generation of widescreen displays. time returning and exchanging the part. give much greater performance.
We can’t stress enough, though, how important If you don’t have either of these connections on Obviously though, this doubles the
it is not to spend money on hardware you don’t your motherboard, you will have the older PCI cost because you have to purchase two
need. Don’t be fooled by the marketing and flashy connection which is also used for many other cards – not to mention the fact that
packages on high-end graphics cards. Unless you’re expansion cards – but if this is the case we’d you must also have an SLI or Crossfire-
a gamer or have some other specific need for a recommend buying a new computer. PCI cards are capable motherboard which has two
computer that can crunch complex 3D imagery, a still readily available on eBay and other sources, but PCI-Express slots.
powerful graphics card is a waste of money. you’re far better off upgrading the entire system.

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 graphics
cards

Gigabyte ATi
X1900XTX
Web: www.gigabyte.com.tw
Best Froogle price: £331.81 / $513

Specifications MSI ATi X1600XT

Core clock: 650MHz
Web: www.msicomputer.com
Memory: 512MB GDDR3
Best Froogle price: £83.70 / $155.08
Memory speed: 1600MHz
Connections: 2x DVI, TV-out, Specifications
HDTV support Core clock: 587MHz
Memory: 256MB GDDR3
Memory speed: 1386MHz
Connections: 2x DVI, TV-in/out,
HDTV support

MSI ATi
RX1800GT
Web: www.msicomputer.com
Best Froogle price: $164.03

Specifications
Core clock: 625MHz
Memory: 512MB GDDR3
Memory speed: 1500MHz
Connections: 2x DVI, TV-in/out

Benchmarking arguably useful, results we use real-world

tests, which are done by recording the
PNY Nvidia 7300GS
If you take two graphics cards with roughly frames per second (FPS) of a recent game Web: www.pny.com
Best Froogle price: £51.65 / $72.99
similar specifications and run them side by to demonstrate the actual performance of
side, you’d be hard pressed to notice any a graphics card. It’s usually only hardware Specifications
Core clock: 550MHz
kind of difference. Assuming they support and gaming fanatics or reviewers who use
Memory: 256MB DDR2
the same technology, the image is going benchmarks, but if you want to bench test
Memory speed: 533MHz
to look much the same. So to properly your own hardware you can do so easily Connections: DVI, TV-out, HDTV support
test graphics cards, benchmarking tools and for free. The basic 3DMark application
are used which push the hardware to its can be downloaded for nothing from www.
limits, recording the results and allowing futuremark.com, and you can use an
you to compare it to other cards. Some application such as FRAPS, found at www.
benchmarks are comparative, like the fraps.com, to display and record the FPS
well-known 3DMark, producing scores of any game. However, you will find that
which are meaningless unless sat next many titles include that capability already,
to results from other hardware using the usually activated by a command-line switch
same application. For more realistic, and or in-game command.

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 Graphics cards
ROUND UP
Gigabyte Jargon
ATi X550
Web: www.gigabyte.com.tw AA
Best Froogle price: £43.99 / Anti-aliasing is a way of reducing ‘jaggies’
$73.09 in computer-generated images. While it
Specifications can smooth out jagged edges to give a
Core clock: 400MHz smoother, more natural image, this does
Memory: 256MB
result in some blurring and increases the
Memory speed: 500MHz
Connections: DVI, VGA, TV-out
MSI ATi X1300 Pro strain on the graphics card.
Web: www.msicomputer.com
Best Froogle price: £51.27 / $77.17 AGP
Specifications Accelerated Graphics Port. Interface
Core clock: 600MHz designed specifically for graphics
Memory: 256MB cards to replace the general-use PCI
Memory speed: 800MHz connection. AGP offers much higher
Connections: DVI, VGA, TV-out
speeds than PCI and these cards are still
very common. You can easily pick up a
powerful AGP card for less than £100.

Dual-link
Some newer widescreen monitors have
very high resolutions, but you need a
graphics card that supports dual-link
connection. If you plan on driving a 30”
display, make sure your graphics card
and monitor cable are both dual-link.

GPU
Graphics Processing Unit. This is the
processor at the heart of every graphics
card, and it’s designed to handle complex
graphics processing tasks. The core clock
or core frequency tells you the speed of
the GPU on a particular card.

MSI Nvidia NX7600GT RAM

Random Access Memory. Just like the
Web: www.msicomputer.com RAM in your PC, graphics cards use RAM
Best Froogle price: £121.48 / $174.90

Specifications
Gigabyte Nvidia to temporarily store data. The more you

Core clock: 500MHz 6600GT have the more info can be shunted there,
speeding up load times and performance.
Memory: 256MB GDDR3 Web: www.gigabyte.com.tw
Memory speed: 1530MHz
Connections: 2x DVI, TV-in/out, HDTV support
Best Froogle price: £119.99 / $99
PCI
Specifications Peripheral Component Interconnect. An
Core clock: 500MHz
interface designed by Intel, this has been
Memory: 256MB DDR2
in use for many years now and is still the
Memory speed: 800MHz
Connections: DVI, VGA, TV-out standard connection for sound boards,
video adaptors and other expansion
cards. PCI graphics cards are still
available but not as common as AGP.

PCI-Express
Intended as a replacement for PCI and
AGP, it’s currently only used for graphics
cards. It has a far higher bandwidth than
other interfaces, so all the new high-
performance graphics cards support it.
Any new system should have at least one.

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 Further Photoshop research
Swot up on all your Photoshop possibilities
with these essential resources

software 86
A look at the features of the much
anticipated Mac OS X Leopard

websites 90
The World Wide Web serving the
digitally obsessed

books 92
From basic illustration to image
manipulation, there’s a book for all

mends
Recom
typography 94
Expand Photoshop’s potential with
these top additions

W e’ve explored all manner of Photoshop extras in this month’s resources section. Whether you
want to delve deeper into your app’s extras from the comfort of your computer or purchase
some manuals for your bookshelf there should be something for you.
Last month we took a look at the new offering from Microsoft so this month it made sense to take a
sneak peek at the features on offer in the latest Mac OS X operating system ‘Leopard’. Previewed at this
year’s World Wide Developers Conference Apple’s rival is set to take over as the definitive OS leader.
As always we take a look at what’s available to the dedicated Photoshop user on the Web. Turn to page
90 and you will find a whole host of useful URLs that will help you to get the best from your creations.
Everyone loves curling up with a good book but we suggest you ditch your Danielle Steels. Romantic
novels won’t give you the answers to troublesome image-editing queries. However, these little beauties
will on page 92. Finally, we tackle the often glossed over topic of typography on page 94. If your app is
thirsty for fonts then check out these invaluable resources. They could be just the ticket.

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 Feature

Unveiling Leopard
We take a walk on the wild side with a sneak peek at the best features of the
forthcoming Mac OS X operating system
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 APPLE LOOKS SET TO TAKE OVER AS DEFINITIVE OS
LEADER WITH ITS FORTHCOMING RELEASE, LEOPARD

I
t used to be as simple as cats or dogs. You were Previewed at this year’s World Wide Developers announced, Leopard certainly looks set to be the
either a Mac lover or a PC lover, and that was Conference, Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of most innovative OS X yet – and may be just the thing
that. However, with advances in both Software Engineering at Apple, compared their key to convince digital creatives to ditch their PCs once
technologies, the lines have become somewhat OS X features with those recently announced in and for all.
blurred and creatives now swap between systems Windows Vista, and ended his presentation with a
depending on their current needs. picture of an overweight Elvis impersonator. “If you A first look
2007 looks set to swing the balance in favour of can’t innovate, I guess you must imitate. It’s never With the promise of more secret and show-stopping
Steve Jobs’ Apple systems, though. Although quite as good as the original,” he remarked. features yet to be unveiled, you’d be forgiven for
Microsoft has announced its first upgrade to the Jobs himself was also present at the unveiling of thinking the so-far disclosed could be just filler.
Windows operating system in five years (Vista, due the newest addition to the Apple family. Keen to However, even on the little we know, there’s a lot to
out next year after the completion of beta testing – prove to the gathered crowd of developers what a be excited about.
see www.microsoft.com/windowsvista for more great leap forward for the Mac platform Leopard While we’re sure there will be some drastic changes
information on this) Apple looks set to take over as would provide, the Apple CEO made it clear that what to look and feel of OS X Leopard, this is what we have
definitive OS leader with its forthcoming release, OS X we were being shown was just the tip of the iceberg. to go on at the moment. There’s definitely a brushed
Leopard. And with a wealth of new features yet to be metal theme developing, but whether this will be

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 Feature
across the entire operating system or only on certain to-date news can be sent straight to your Inbox on If your main concern is security, Leopard has you
applications remains to be seen. The screenshot demand in the same way Safari reads RSS feeds and covered too. New parental controls will allow you to
shown here also shows off some of the more colourful displays them. set time limits and curfews to prevent your little one’s
and extremely exciting elements of the OS, including Elsewhere in Leopard, there will be changes, eyes going square, as well as remote administration.
Mail and the new HTML messages, and iChat with its tweaks and updates to a number of applications. Boot Overall security will also be stepped up with Mail and
awesome motion backgrounds. Camp, which allows users to install Windows on their Safari providing anti-phishing protection, as well as
That’s not where the changes end in Mail however. Mac, has received some nips and tucks to make it an automatic firewall.
In addition to the fabulous HTML email templates more user friendly, whilst Front Row, the media But Macs have never been all work and no play.
that can be customised with your own pictures and interface, will also be updated. Not content with all Half the fun is in the added extras and quirky apps.
greetings, there’s also some innovative integration that, other features getting a facelift will include iCal Widgets played a major part when OS X Tiger was
with iCal to make keeping your diary updated even and Photo Booth. iCal will see group calendars, event released and the same will be true of Leopard, only
easier. RS feeds will also be accessed from Mail, so up- drop boxes and standard based CalDAV support. this time end users can make them as well as use

BUDDY LIST: If you want to lend a helping

hand to a friend’s latest iLife project,
collaborating has never been easier. The new
screen-sharing feature means that, as long as
you have access to the Internet, you can work
with a buddy sharing their screen and making
changes right in front of them. You’ll also be
able to share movies and videos with the iChat
Theatre with you as host in a small window.

NEW MAIL: With a new Mail stationary feature

you can wave goodbye to boring emails. The
new feature allows you to drop images into mail
templates and they’re easily changeable for you
fickle types.

TO DO: Mail’s new To Do feature allows you to

turn parts of any email in to an instant iCal To
Do list, saving you from copying over later on.

ICHAT VIDEO: If you like Apple’s iChat feature

then you’ll love the improvements. Place
yourself in any location with the new video
backgrounds or use any of the effects from
Photo Booth ‘live’.

MACS HAVE
NEVER BEEN ALL
WORK. HALF THE
FUN IS IN THE
ADDED EXTRAS
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 them. Web Clip is a new feature that allows for a their plans to use Intel chips it all its Macs Adobe
segment of a web page to be transformed into a live execs were pleased. “We think this is a really smart
updating Widget, while DashCode (another newbie) move on Apple’s part and plan to create future
offers a suite of Widget creation tools with a variety of version of our Creative Suite for Macintosh that
Dashboard elements, including Photocast Widgets. support both PowerPC and Intel processors,” urged
Another new feature is Time Machine, a revolutionary Bruce Chizen, CEO of Adobe.
new way to automatically back up and restore With Adobe yet to catch up with Apple in terms of
everything on your Mac. Intel, CS3 will be a turning point for their relationship.
Whether they work in harmony or take opposite
What it means for ‘Shop roads, one thing is for sure: these two companies look
In the past Adobe and Apple have worked set to stay giants in their own arenas for many years
harmoniously side by side. When Apple announced to come.

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resources
websites In the world of the digitally obsessed, there’s a
wealth of websites available for your every need

YouSendIt What’s on the web

Web: www.yousendit.com
Portfolios.com
“W e’re a bunch of fun folks trying to solve a vexing
problem in the digital world – how to ‘get it there’
every time, in the easiest, simplest, most reliable way. We
Web: www.portfolios.com
Every artist in the digital age needs an
online portfolio.
drive and thrive on challenges – like delivering large files to Whatever medium of design you’re into, a
the people you need to get them to.” strong online presence will help you gain
So says the website. And, in practice, the site does exactly commissions and get your name known to the
people that matter.
that. Allowing you to send large files via the Internet, YouSendIt
Portfolios.com is a great site as it allows you
is a quick, efficient solution to emailing mega files. the option of a free portfolio – so you can test
Started in 2003, YouSendIt allows you to get big files to the water – or a paid-for one, allowing you to
other people without the limits of email, firewall show off more images, more details and come
up earlier in searches.
constraints, esoteric FTP or other problems. Don’t worry
Whatever site or package you go for, a
about security either as the site’s all password portfolio site is a must-have. 5
protected. A first rate solution to full up inboxes. 5 mends
Recom Rating: 4/5
Rating: 5/5
Stock Xchng
Web: www.sxc.hu

Mister Clipping
Want instant access to over Recom
mends
200,000 stock images? Then
log on too Stock Xchng and
view the wealth of images
Web: www.misterclipping.com donated by budding photographers for

F or those of you still mastering the basics, or if you’re your use.

Whether you want a desktop design, a
simply not getting to grips with the Pen Tool, there’s photo to base some new artwork on or simply
Mister Clipping. looking for inspiration, this site is for you.
Enabling you to upload an image and then to download it A clear and easy to navigate site the images
within 48 hours complete with a clipping path, Mister Clipping here are free for non-commercial use and it’s
always worth checking their terms and
is ideal for the imageer with no time. Prices start from around
conditions just to be on the safe side. As well as
£2.66 per image depending on the complexity of the task. the abundance of top quality images, you’ll
This is a service that any Advanced Photoshop user should not also find a strong online community via their
need, although if you are working on a large commission or are forum. Great stuff. 5
branching out into magazine production, a helping hand with a Rating: 5/5
large volume of images can only be a good thing.
If there truly is a need for this service, maybe AP has just Price Runner Comparison
discovered the newest digital business – cutting paths. 5 Web: www.pricerunner.co.uk
Digital imaging can start off fairly
Rating: 3/5 inexpensive – working on the uni computer,
using work’s paper and ink, and benefiting
from the cheaper educational versions of
Adobe Photoshop.

Dafont However, once you’ve decided to take your

imaging career seriously, you’ll find it can be a
very expensive one.
Web: www.dafont.com Price Runner, and other sites like it, take

I
some of the hassle out of finding the best
f you’re looking for a new font, first stop should be
online deals for you. Whether you want a new
Dafont.com. A veritable one-stop online shop for all Mac, an A3 printer or some printer cartridges,
things typographic the site is easy to navigate, clear to view just type it in and watch the options come up.
and, most importantly, free. Be warned however, read the small print as
cheapest doesn’t always mean best! 5
Whatever you’re looking for it’s here. Sci-fi stylings, oriental
scripts, basic typefaces, or the weird and wonderful world of Rating: 3/5
dingbat, are all included on the site. If you’re not sure what you’re
after then check out their Top 100 fonts. Then, once you’re
inspired, the typographer in you might just want to donate a font
or two as well. Not sure how? The site can help you there too.
All the content on Dafont is freeware, shareware or demos so
always check the author’s notes to ensure you’re not violating
their copyright. 5

Rating: 5/5

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 resources
What’s on the web Courier Vault
Web: www.couriervault.com
The Plugin Site
Web: www.thepluginsite.com
There are a vast amount of websites out
‘Y our online Post Office’. Courier Vault’s moto could
make you feel warm, fuzzy and secure or it could
leave you in a cold sweat that your digital post could go
there offering plug-ins. Whether they’re
freeware, shareware or paid-for, these plug- the same way as your regular.
ins amount to thousands and it can be hit Allowing you to send large files without the restrictions of
or miss whether the one you’re email sizes, firewalls or making users subscribe to the service,
downloading is worth the time or money.
Courier Vault offers a practical solution to a oft-occurring
The Plugin Site not only provides you a
place to download but also allows you to look problem. However, unlike some of their competitors, Courier
up reviews of products so you can have a Vault do charge per transaction, so this could cost you a lot.
better idea what you’re getting. There’s also a Prices start at £2.20 for a 20MB file, up to £4.60 for 700MB.
directory of Photoshop plug-ins and a
Aimed at both the business and the personal user, Courier
discussion board – so you can get the real dirt
on a product.5 Vault allows you to send images that will be received the same
day – a feat never achieved by Royal Mail! 5
Rating: 4/5
Rating: 3/5
Photoshop help
Web: www.photoshop-help.com/
For help with basic Photoshop
troubleshooting or simply to get the free
monthly Photoshop crosswords, this site is
a great visit.
PhotoBox
Giving you tips and trick on making Web: www.photobox.co.uk

I
montages in the Adobe app or running f you’ve done a piece of artwork to be proud of and
through the basics of layer adjustments, the
Clone Stamp Tool or the Selection Tool, there’s
want it displayed, or are simply looking for a place to
a wealth of information at your fingertips. print your photos, PhotoBox should be your first stop.
Although most of the tips on here are Britain’s first online photo service, PhotoBox, delivers photo
aimed at newbies to the app, there’s still a lot of printing from 5p per print, or more bespoke items like canvas
great extras – like the personal help section
art, cushions, etched glass and mouse-mats.
and the Photoshop slang explanations. 5
Using PhotoBox, you’re able to place all your photos online
Rating: 3/5
for your friends and family to view or place them all on to CDs –
an end to the vast mountain of photos stored under your bed
Advanced Photoshop and never looked at.
Web: www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk
There are a wealth of sites, based all over the world that offer
No listing of essential Photoshop sites similar services, so it is worth shopping round to find the best
would be complete without a nod to our
one for your needs. 5
own budding page.
Although still in its fledging stage, our
forum has a bustling community where Rating: 3/5
you’ll find a warm welcome and lots of people
willing to critique your work or answer your
queries. On the main site page you’ll find all
the info on the latest and upcoming mags,
as well as finding all the info
on ordering back issues, subscriptions and
Trevor Morris
contacts for help. Web: http://user.fundy.net/morris/

R
So whatever your
mends
egular readers of the magazine will know
Recom
question or query when it
comes to Photoshop and Trevor Morris – our Insider Info writer –
Recom
related topics the Advanced mends and have probably already taken a tour of his
Photoshop forum should be website. For those of you that haven’t yet, drop
the first place that you visit.
what you’re doing and do it now!
Without a doubt, the finest Photoshop
website about! 5 Packed full of everything the Photoshop user could need to
Rating: 5/5 know, there are tutorials, tricks and tips. Complement last
month’s Photoshop shortcut feature with Trevor’s full list of
keyboard commands, as well as his extended hotkeys – helping
you work smarter in Photoshop. And it’s not just for CS2 users, all
variants of the Adobe app are catered for here.
For those of you after a more light-hearted browse, check out
the Easter Eggs and see what’s hidden inside Photoshop. 5

Rating: 5/5

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 books
resources
If your passionate about pixels, let it show and stack your
bookshelves with Photoshop volumes

Photoshop CS2 Gone Wild Further reading

mends
Author: Sherry London Recom Hacking Photoshop CS2
Publisher: Wiley
Author: Shangara Singh
Price: £22.99 / $34.99 Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0764598139 Price: £19.99 / $29.99
ISBN: 0764597884
Web: www.wiley.com Web: www.wiley.com
If you thought you knew how to get the

F or those who want to go a little further than just

removing red eye or a spot, there’s Gone Wild. A book
packed full of 50 Photoshop tutorials – each step by step
most out of Photoshop, then think again!
Claiming to be able to help you bring out
the hidden power of the app, this book is an
aid to optimising performance.
accompanied by an image and detailed rubric. It is written by Singh, a Photoshop ACE
Although some of the workshops are a little childlike – (Adobe Certified Expert) who has written and
painting zebra stripes on faces and the like – the techniques co-written study aids for Photoshop before.
Within the book you’ll find tips to customise
you’ll learn within the steps will transfer to other tasks and will
your workspace, enhance the use of palettes,
ultimately make you a better imageer. Other tutorials contained pick your preferences and automating tasks.
within the volume, including Warhol-esque images, Although it’s all basic stuff for old hands at the
letterformed portraits, photo montage and more. app, newcomers could benefit from some of
If you do invest in this book try to think of it more in terms of the tips. 5
techniques than the tutorial as a whole, though. By doing this Rating: 3/5
you’ll quickly realise this book can teach you to master knockout
and clipping masks and not just teach you how to paint a The Art of Game Worlds
portrait to look like a clown! Author: Dave Morris and Leo Hartas
Publisher: Ilex
Instead of trying to teach you Photoshop, this read shows Price: £17.95 / $25.99
ISBN: 1904705340
you how to use your knowledge to complete projects and apply Web: www.ilex-press.com
techniques in new ways. Use the CD-ROM that accompanies
If you’ve read the
the book to copy the step by steps directly, or use your own interview, feature or Recom
images for an individual twist. 5 Rating: 5/5 masterclass on game art
mends
this month and decided
you’d like to know a little more
about the skill, then there’s a wealth of

Photoshop CS2 Savvy books to aid your quest.

This one – The Art of Game Worlds – is a little
older but an informative and interesting read. It
contains not only an illustrated guide to modern
Author: Stephen Romaniello and Matt Kloskowski
computer games but interviews with the artists
Publisher: Sybex and game creators behind top products.
Price: £24.99 / $44.99 There’s also a comprehensive historic and
ISBN: 9780872144260 thematic coverage that reveals the references
Web: www.sybex.com behind the art. Great looking and a good read –
highly recommended. 5

T his book’s one big drawback is quite simply its lack of Rating: 5/5
colour photos. Although the read is packed full of
useful tutorials, hints and tricks to perfect your Photoshop Communicating with
images, the majority of pictures are black and white and Pattern: Stripes
thin on the ground. Author: Keith Stephenson and
Mark Hampshire
There are some colour images that are put to good effect – Publisher: Rotovision
showing the start image and the end result should you follow the Price: £15 / $25
ISBN: 2940361150
tutorial. However these would be better placed by the actual Web: www.rotovision.com
tutorial instead of clumped together in the middle of the book. This is a book aimed at anyone interested in
That said, this book isn’t all bad. The premise is great. A the thinking behind the art. Looking at the
volume aimed at revealing the complexity of Photoshop’s use of stripes in modern and traditional
power to prove that knowledge of the theory behind the app design, this book takes in everything from
the advent of the Adidas trainer to the
will help you create better images.
design of the familiar American flag.
It’s not just Photoshop contained within the pages either. Looking beneath the aesthetic, this read
Giving you the gen on Illustrator and ImageReady means you’ll tries to unearth the meanings communicated
benefit from a rounder knowledge of Adobe apps. through patterns used in textiles, architecture,
graphics and product design.
Written by Romaniello – a writer, artist ad educator - and
Also available in the same series is
Kloskowski (the Educational and Curriculum Developer at the Communicating with Pattern: Circles and Dots.
National Association of Photoshop Professionals), the book Written by the same authors this series looks to
comes complete with a CD with all the files you need to uncover the complete vocabulary behind
complete the hands-on tutorials, along with Maya PLE 3D pattern used as visual communication. 5
software and links to additional resources. 5 Rating: 4/5 Rating: 4/5

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 typography
resources
Add a textual element to your
Photoshop work with these sites

The Font Site Fonts on the web

Web: www.fontsite.com
Font Garden
I f you’re interested in typography as a subject and not
just looking for a free font, then you should stop by The
Font Site. As well as featuring fonts for sale and fonts for
Web: www.fontgarden.com
You’ll probably recognise
this site, as they kindly
free, this site also offers a little more. donate to your free CD
Recom
There’s a style guide, a production artist survival guide and a every month and make mends
helpful feature on the rules of typography. This feature offers sure you’re well stocked
with free fonts.
guidelines for things to avoid, or include, when
If you haven’t stopped by the site to see
designing fonts. There’s also a great bookstore with a what else is on offer, now’s the time. Having
huge selection of reads on typography and design. recently had a bit of a facelift, the site is
Although free fonts here are a minimum, the looking brighter, bolder and more bubbly
ends than ever before.
wealth of extras means it’s the perfect hang out for
Recomm Scoot over to the site and you’re sure to fall
anyone who wants to know a little more about type in love with the handwritten fonts – perfect
than just its name. 5 for adding that handmade feel to digital work.
The ‘Today’s font’ is also worth a look to keep
Rating: 5/5 your finger on the pulse.. 5
Rating: 5/5

Fonts Font Freak

Web: www.fontfreak.com
Claiming to be ‘one of the largest and most
Web: www.fonts.com visited freeware font archives on the net’

O
Font Freak is worth a visit for it’s bold
ffering a wide variety of typefaces, easily searchable
colours and great logo typeface alone.
either by name or via the classification, designer or With thousands of fonts available for both
new release. There’s also a top ten section that could come Mac and PC users you’re sure to be able to
in useful if you have no firm idea what font you’re after. while away a few hours here. However the
Similar to The Font Site, Fonts.com has an interesting ‘About pop-up screen linked to sections like ‘Top 20
fonts’ can get tiresome. The fonts are also
fonts’ section where you’ll find news, articles, help and FAQs simply categorised by alphabet so if you don’t
alongside some designer profiles to inspire budding know the name of your desired font, you
typographers out there. could be there a long time.
With a range of packages available, there’s sure to be When you first navigate to the site you are
asked whether you want to download the
something to suit most pockets and there’s even a monthly
entire collection in one go, or whether you
contest where you can win a new font. For discounts simply want to go through them individually – which
sign up for the e-newsletter and you’ll get special offers as well at least gives you a good option if you need a
as news and info on all the latest fonts. 5 lot of fonts fast. 5
Rating: 2/5
Rating: 4/5
The Free Site
Web: www.thefreesite.com/Free_Fonts/

Larabie Fonts If you’ve been to every other site and still

not found what you’re looking for then
check out The Free Site.
Web: www.larabiefonts.com With hundreds of links to other sites –

R
including a hyperlink and small rubric on what
ay Larabie launched Larabie Fonts in 1996 and it has you can expect to find at each site – for fonts,
remained a top-ranked freeware font site since. In graphics and a wealth of other resources, this
2001, Ray began creating fonts for a living and launched is one page you should definitely bookmark.
Among the sites mentioned here are 1001
Typodermic, his commercial font site.
Free Fonts, Font Face, Urban Fonts and Acid
But his initiation into the world of fonts came much earlier. In Fonts. A bland site to look at but you can’t
the early Seventies his grandmother gave him sheets of Letraset knock its functionality. 5
transfer lettering. Ray became so familiar with typefaces that by Rating: 3/5
the time he was 17 he could identify hundreds of fonts. He
began creating typefaces with pen and paper and later on his
first computer, a TRS-80. The Larabie Fonts Font Collection is
now available on CD or as a download. With 384 to choose
from, there are typefaces to suit every purpose. The collection is
a great resource anyone who enjoys fonts. 5

Rating: 4/5

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