Entries Tagged 'Graphics Software' ↓

Author: Lala C. Ballatan

Want your images to have effects that’ll make it stand out more and show up well on every background tones? With Photoshop, you could achieve these effects for your images by its features that work on light and dark edges. These allow you to work on bringing out the best edges of your image – lighten or darken it, anyway you please to match on background tones and make it stand out more.

Through highlighting edges of your photo, you also highlight its details. The method of unsharp mask and others like the difference of Gaussians increase the change in brightness close to each step. This technique’s standard version adds a bright halo along the bright edge of the step and a dark halo along the dark edge. Depending on what effect you’d like for your image, there are advantages in just using one or the other. Using both may not do very much to improve your image, though.

There are several advantages of using any of the effects for the edges on real images. One is that it reduces interference between steps or detail and the haloes from other, nearby steps. Another thing, the light or dark haloes make other features of the image stand out better from the background.

Start doing this effect on your images using Photoshop by following several procedures: 1st step is duplicate the layer holding the image 2nd step – apply the conventional unsharp mask 3rd step – set the layer blending mode to “Darken” or “Lighten”.

However, you must understand that this only works for 8 bit per channel images – those that can be put into layers but it could function also on 16 bit per channel pictures with Optipix plug-in that allows direct selection of dark or light edges.

If you are not sure about which edge halo to use, there are general rules regarding such: 1. On light background tones, light edges don’t show up well and vice versa on dark ones. 2. The halo should lie on the background, not on the foreground. This technique helps the feature stand out without having to change its brightness values. Sometimes the following rules are in conflict. It is necessary, then, to try several combinations to decide which is best. You can try both edges, light edges only, dark edges only. You can experiment since different regions of your image may call for different answers.

As you experiment for the best results, you’ll come to know that using unsharp mask filter may drive you to add too much additional local contrast. Understand that though adding some local contrast can make a bland image turn into a good one, adding too much creates a disaster. Take care not to add too much and make the image appear more like caricatures than photos. Remember that what looks best on the computer screen may not be the same in print since the process somewhat compresses contrast and blurs detail.

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About the author: Lala C. Ballatan is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate. Book reading has always been her greatest passion — mysteries, horrors, psycho-thrillers, historical documentaries and classics. Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom – to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns — imagined and observed, to bear witness.

Author: Maricon Williams

You can use your Adobe Photoshop in creating 3D images. Since 2Ds are obsolete and 3Ds are in, you might want to start enhancing your skill in computer graphics.

You can start making a cube. Your aim is to create an image of cube that is viewed in such a way that the three sides, left, right and top, are shown. Then, learn how to put different effects on it, like shadow, to make it more realistic.

Adobe Photoshop is an ideal program for making two dimensional (2D) images. But it does not limit you to this type of image. You can also create your three dimensional image, or the so-called 3D image, by using the 3D Transform. This will allow you to create simple 3 dimensional shapes or wrap an image in a 3D shape.

To access 3D transform, go to Filter, select Render and choose 3-D Transform. The editing box will appear. This is where you can find the primitive tools. These tools are used to edit the three kinds of primitives, which includes sphere, cube and cylinder. Also, these tools will allow you to create basic images and editing tools, such as Select and Direct Select. The Select tool enables you to move objects, while the Direct Select tool lets you to make adjustments by dragging the anchor points.

If you want to preview your work, use viewing options like pan camera. There is also the trackball that is used to move the 3D render around from different angles.

For the 3D shapes, create first the new layer. Fill it with color. On the 3D shapes layer, create some drop shadows or darker shades of color fills. And because 3D transform only distorts the pixels, you might need these fills to see the effect.

If you want to create 3D effects on your text, use the different transform functions. You can use the shortcut key Alt + E/F and then hold down Ctrl as you drag any of the handles to any desired direction.

Before you add filters or layers effect, you might want to rasterize your text layer. To do this, right click on the layer in the layers palette. Then, choose Rasterize Layer. You will notice that your text will be converted into a normal layer so that you can freely edit it. Create a backup copy because you cannot edit the text after rasterization.

Experiment on images. There are a lot of ways in which you can create 3D shapes, objects and text.

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Author: Maricon Williams

Blending images is a process of putting two or more diverse imageries or photographs to form an exuberant frame. One of the ways to create a universally used effect in blending images is to try the layer mask.

To do an example of layer mask, follow the following steps: First, find a photograph of a picture that is compatible with your other chosen photographs. When you blend you must pre-visualize and feel the design.

Second, select a background then right click and select inverse to close on the subject. Background is preferably white.

Third, select the Move tool and click inside of the selection and drag it over to your desired image. Dragging will create a new layer on the new document which is a replica of the original selection.

Fourth, create a layer mask on the layer of the object you drag over. Click on Layer > add Layer Mask or click on the Add a Mask icon in the layers palette. Choose the linear gradient tool with foreground to transparent and black as the foreground color and swipe. The longer the swipes you create the smoother the blend will be. Gradient layer masking allows you to create professional blends.

To add more character to the final image, you can create a gradient fill layer on the adjustment/fill layer icon on the bottom of the layers palette. Choose the settings in the dialog box. To see scale the possible output, change the blending modes and opacity. After those easy steps you can now have a glimpse of your blended masterpiece!

To be properly guided you can view rubylith by toggling the “|” key or going on the channels palette onto the layer mask channel. Click the eye on and off. For the beginners, the rubylith will teach you the right thing to do. To bring back your original pixels on the layer mask, select white but you can use any level of grey in between.

To practice with blending images, what you are advised to do is take a picture of a subject and drag it over to different backgrounds like sunset, beach or other significant backgrounds. Make a good layer mask to cover the rough edges and put the blending mode on screen, lighten or overlay. You can use layer masking if you did not make selections beforehand. You can also use the star gradient tool to create starburst effect.

Open your mind to other possibilities and enjoy the blending power of Photoshop!

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The GIMP is the most popular free alternative to Photoshop – available for alot of platforms. Photoshop users have big problems switching because they have a hard time locating Photoshop’s features in The GIMP.

… Basically it is just a hack of the current GIMP-sourcecode changing the menustructure, naming and key-bindings to be more like Photoshop.

GIMPshop for Windows

Several years ago Microsoft called me on the telephone. Somehow they’d gotten the weird impression that I was an important decision maker or something else equally unlikely. If I’d answer a few questions I’d get my choice of two Microsoft software packages. After two minutes of questions I was asked what software I wanted.

I asked for a copy of Access. It still sits somewhere, never opened. And Microsoft PhotoDraw.

You’ve never heard of PhotoDraw? I don’t think many people did. PhotoDraw 2.0 was the last release. While I didn’t have great need for an image editing program I didn’t have one.

Unlike Access, PhotoDraw did get installed though it long languished unused. On taking a real interest in my main personal website I finally had a reason to use PhotoDraw. Yes, I could create logos and make theme go through ugly transmogrifications on mouse over. It never took me more than a week to realize that the effect may have looked OK on my PC but nobody would want to see it happen when their mouse accidentally ran over the top of one of my web pages.

I was using Microsoft Front Page back then. Having wisely and cleanly started out with text navigation I went off into a wild tangent of button building. You know, it takes real talent to design attractive buttons (Front Page includes nothing I’d use). I made and remade those buttons. Once a set I thought was tolerable looking was up on the page I realize they were damn ugly. Eventually I’d learn to use the program with the restraint proper to someone with no graphics talent. I still miss the little pink triangles that popped up over my hyperlinks.

Being Microsoft software I’m sure PhotoDraw was damnable &etc. PhotoDraw worked well enough for me. I got lots of bad impulses out of my system.

Before having PhotoDraw I’d been using Irfanview. IrvanView is a slick, free image viewer, image manipulation tool. I found it easier to optimize images in IrfanView than PhotoDraw. IrfanView lets me crop, sharpen and plenty of other things to pictures.

Recently the combined Adobe and Amazon rebates let me buy Adobe Elements 2.0 for $29.95. I don’t know that I really need it. A few times I’ve wanted to be able to open PSD files. People have offered attractive website enhancements. But I’d need to adjust them to my site and you quickly learn there are things you can’ t change in GIFs and JPGs. You need the source files.

Also I’m one of the few people who needs to enlarge image files, often taken from eBay scans. IrfanView will let me do that but loses lots of detail. I’m curious to see if Adobe has developed better algorithms for enlarging images or at least for cleaning them up.

I’d thought about buying PaintShopPro a couple of times when it was on sale. But it sounds like more of a power user’s tool than I’d want.

And Microsoft has PictureIt! out now. I was intrigued to read about the ability to paint out an object and have the background filled in. But given how quickly MS gave up on PhotoDraw I don’t feel like trusting them. And wondered how much their software depended on oddball proprietary formats.

For the few days I’ve had it I’ve only used Elements to crop and resize images. On one of my sites I need to enlarge images found on the web. In my few efforts I haven’t seen any sign that Adobe Elements does a better job of this than IrfanView. No particular reason to expect that it would but there was the hope that Adobe’s programmers had developed a more sophisticated algorithm.

The images have been scans of old paperback covers all of which are paintings. I’ve yet to try a photo cover. Perhaps I’ll discern a difference with those.

Not that I’m unhappy with having bought Elements. At $30.00 it be hard to. Now that my bandwidth is under control I can think about adding graphical elements to my pages and being able to open and edit the kindly offered PSD files will give me a wealth of material.

And I need to spend a couple of days on Elements tutorial sites to learn if there are subtleties of image manipulation I’m missing. Very likely.