A few months ago I did an Adobe Connect presentation for the Photoshop and Lightroom Group on Facebook.

It was a 50 minute presentation where I shared some of my favorite tips and tricks with Layer Masks. I actually took over another presenter who had to cancel last minute, so my presentation was not as polished as I would of liked it to be, but I think that you can still learn a lot from it.

The presentation was hosted by Andrew Kavanagh, who is also the founder of the Photoshop and Lightroom group. Andrew has one Adobe Connect session every month with a Photoshop or Lightroom expert. If you want to watch previous guests you can visit the archive of past guest here.

If you want to follow along, you can download the images I use in the presentation in the section below.

The post Layer Masks Tips & Tricks – Live Presentation appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

I recently did my second Adobe Connect presentation for the Photoshop and Lightroom Group on Facebook.

It was a one hour live presentation where I talked about the secrets of compositing in Photoshop.

Some of the specific topics I covered were:

• Making shadows
• Perspective
• Atmospheric perspective
• Reflections
• Color casts
• And More!

The presentation was hosted by Andrew Kavanagh, who is also the founder of the Photoshop and Lightroom group. Andrew has one Adobe Connect session every month with a Photoshop or Lightroom expert. If you want to watch previous guests you can visit the archive of past guest here.

If you’re interested, you can download the shadow graphics I used in the presentation in the section below.

The post Secrets To Compositing In Photoshop – Live Presentation appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial we’re going to recreate the Mockingjay movie poster. We’ll use 3D in Photoshop to create the wings and the ring, and to create the fire we’ll use the Flame generator.

As you will see in the in the video, this is sort of an improved remake of my Catching Fire movie poster tutorial, which I created for my friend Ildefonso Segura, who runs one of the biggest Photoshop YouTube channels in Spanish. You can check out that video here (in Spanish): http://youtu.be/jRVnE2ZzXEU

Although some of the techniques used in this tutorial are similar to the Catching Fire tutorial, there are many more new techniques that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, then please share it with a friend!

The post The Mockingjay Movie Poster Photoshop Tutorial appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

I recently had the pleasure of presenting for the Creative Cloud User Group of San Jose, at Adobe HQ. This is a user group managed by my friend, Sally Cox, who was the person that invited me to speak.

I had an amazing time and I was really happy to see all the support I had from people who attended in person, and from people watching online.

We were also really fortunate to have Ed Dempsey, from Wacom, who brought in all the new Wacom hardware for the attendees to play with.

None of this would of been possible without Sally, so please help me say “thank you” by liking her user group’s Facebook page, and by following her on Twitter. Sally has a new guest speakers every month, and all her events are streamed online. If you want to stay up to date on all the new presentations, you can also join her MeetUp page!

Download Presentation Files

You may download the files I used for the presentation, but they are not necessary to follow along. (Large file – 150 MB)

Photo Gallery

The post Presentation at The Adobe Headquarters for The Creative Cloud User Group of San Jose appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how you can recreate the Jurassic World teaser movie poster using only Photoshop. I will not use images to create textures for this project. The entire poster will be created using nothing more than vector shapes, pattern fills, filters, layer styles, and adjustment layers.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them below.

Also, I would like to thank ALL of you for the amazing support I’ve received during this last year, I really do appreciate it! Thank you so much!

Final Image

The post Jurassic World Movie Poster In Photoshop appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I will show you how to apply the cinematic effect to your photographs. The cinematic effect that we’re going for is the teal-orange look, which is a typical movie effect in action movies.

This effect gives the dark shades of your image a cool teal tone, while the light shades take a warm orange look. This makes the actor stand out since the colors are complementary and creates a “pop”when put side by side.

It is a good idea to do a color correction on your image, so you that it has neutral grays and no color cast. Here’s my tutorial on color correction in case you need some help with that.

If you have any questions, leave a message below!

The post Cinematic Color Grading (Movie Look Effect) in Photoshop appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I will take you through the process of creating the long shadow effect. This could be done on a logo or text.

The long shadow effect is usually seen in “Flat Design” which is a style that removes any effect that gives three-dimensions to an illustration, such as gradients, textures and bevels. Flat design focuses on a minimalist use of flat colors, and it is really popular in websites and mobile apps.

I will also show you how Smart Objects can help you in the creation of assets for mobile applications. The template that I used in the video can be downloaded below.

If you have any questions or comments, leave in the comment section below.

The post Long Shadow Icon Design appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In today’s tutorial I’m going to show you how you can use Photoshop CC’s 3D features to create a realistic composite between a 3D model and a Photograph.

You’ll learn how to place the 3D model in the right perspective and how to apply materials to the various pieces of geometry. Then you’ll learn to use IBLs (Image Based Lights) to help illuminate the scene and create reflections.

We’ll finish off the tutorial by using adjustment layers to adjust the brightness and color of the 3D model, and to create lights to further enhance this image.

After watching this tutorial, you will be well equipped with the knowledge to import 3D models into Photoshop and composite them in into your own Photographs.

If you have any comments or question, please leave them below.

NOTE: You will need at least Photoshop CS6 to follow along.

The post Compositing 3D Models Into Photographs Using Photoshop appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this video I’ll be sharing with you the recording to the Wacom Presentation that I did at Adobe Headquarters for the Creative Cloud User Group of San Jose.

I was joined remotely by Carlos Garro who was in Costa Rica, and Sebastian Bleak who was in Los Angeles California.

Carlos and Sebastian demonstrated how Wacom tablets work with both Illustrator and the Astute Graphics plugins.

Ed Dempsey from Wacom was also there, and he had a display with all the latest tablets. Ed was kind enough to give away one tablet at the end of the presentation to one lucky winner.

I spoke last, and I focused on Photoshop, but I also talked a bit about how Wacom tablets could be used in Lightroom.

None of this would of been possible without Sally, so please help me say “thank you” by liking her user group’s Facebook page, and by following her on Twitter. Sally has a new guest speakers every month, and all her events are streamed online. If you want to stay up to date on all the new presentations, you can also join her MeetUp page!

Leave your comments or questions below, and don’t forget to click that like button or subscribe if you haven’t already.

Carlos Garro
Website: cgarro.prosite.com
Twitter: @cgarro

Sebastian Bleak
Website: sebastianbleak.wordpress.com
YouTube: youtube.com/sebastianbleak
Twitter: @SebastianBleak

The Illustrator plug-ins used in this presentation were: DynamicSketch, MirrorMe,VectorScribe, Phantasm and WidthScribe!

Astute Graphics
astutegraphics.com

Event Photos

The post Wacom Tablets: An Introduction – With Carlos Garro, Sebastian Bleak, and Jesús Ramirez appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a pencil drawing from a photo in Photoshop.

We’ll start out with the same stock photo that I used for the Mockingjay movie poster tutorial, and we’ll apply a few effects to give it the pencil drawing look.

This effect is very straight forward; you can apply it to almost any image, but keep in mind that it will look better when you have a subject with a white background.

You can follow along with me if you like, but if you’re using your own image, you may have to enter different values on the filters that we’ll apply so that they work on your image.

Leave any comments of questions below, and don’t forget to subscribe!

The post Create a Pencil Drawing From a Photo In Photoshop appeared first on The Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial were going to talk about matching specific colors in Photoshop using the LAB color mode.

For example you may have a client who wants to match the pantone color of an object to the color that represents their company branding.

To do the color match we’ll convert the image into the Lab color mode, and make the color match with the Curves Adjustment layer.

If you’re not comfortable with curves then don’t worry! I will also show you a method using the Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer

The post Matching Specific Colors Using The LAB Color Mode appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this subscriber only tutorial I will show you how to design a nightclub flyer in Photoshop.

If you have any questions, leave them below, or send me an email.

Thank you for subscribing to the Photoshop Training Channel!

Final Image

Download Tutorial Files

Download “010 - Subscriber - Nightclub Flyer Starter File” starter.psd – Downloaded 105 times – 532 kB

The post How To Design a Nightclub Flyer in Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

The 2015 release of Photoshop CC rolls out exciting new features for designers and digital photographers.

In this video I’ll cover 9 of the major upgrades. You can also read below to get a bird’s-eye-view of all the changes and for links to resources offering more information.

Adobe Camera Raw 9.1

Dehaze

With Adobe Camera Raw 9.1, you can now easily decrease or increase the amount of haze or fog in a photograph.

Watch the video

White and Black Sliders in Local Adjustments

Local adjustment controls in Adobe Camera Raw 9.1 now include White and Black sliders. These new sliders are available when you use the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter, or Radial Filter.

Content Aware In Photomerge

The Photomerge dialog now allows you to fill transparent areas of your merged panorama with Content Aware.

Watch the video

Scale With The Content-Aware Move Tool

The Content-Aware Move tool now has Transform handles which allow you to scale the object you moved.

Watch the video

Blur Gallery

The Blur Gallery now contains a tab that allows you to Restore grain/noise to make blurred areas look more realistic.

Watch the video

Glyphs Panel

The new Glyphs panel makes it easier for you  to insert specialized characters, as well as glyphs from other languages into text in Photoshop.

Watch the video

Layer Styles

You can now apply multiple effects (strokes, inner shadows, color overlays, gradient overlays, and drop shadows) to a single layer style.

Watch the video

Artboards

If you are a web or UX designer, you’re going to love Artboards.

Artboards allow you to designing websites or apps for multiple devices in the same canvas. You can think of artboards as individual canvases within one document.

This will allow you streamline your design process by giving you multiple canvases to work on.

Watch the video

Export

The new Export dialog box allows you to fine-tune settings every time you export layers, layer groups, artboards, or Photoshop documents as images.

Watch the video

Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is a new service that provides high-quality, royalty-free images, illustrations, and vector graphics.

You can search for Adobe Stock content directly from within Photoshop. Select File > Search Adobe Stock.

Adobe Stock is also deeply integrated with Photoshop. You can use watermarked images in your Photoshop documents as a library-linked asset. If you like the image, you can then purchase a license and the linked asset will automatically update and remove the watermark.

Watch the video

Design Space (Preview)

NOTE: Design Space is a “Technology Preview”, a beta release, which requires Mac OS X 10.10 or Windows 8.1 64-bit OS or higher and is currently displayed only in English.

Design Space is a modern design experience inside Photoshop streamlined for the requirements of web, UX and mobile app designers.

To enable Design Space (Preview), select Preferences > Technology Previews and then choose Enable Design Space (Preview).

For more information on Design Space Click Here.

Device Preview and the Preview CC companion app

Photoshop now allows you to get design previews on multiple iOS devices with the new Device Preview feature in Photoshop and the Adobe Preview CC mobile app.

Changes you make in Photoshop are then displayed in Preview CC in real time.

Get more information Here:

• Device Preview
• Adobe Preview CC FAQ

3D Printing & Imaging Upgrades

• Simplify 3D meshes command
• Improved UI for exporting 3D layers
• Export a single meshes individually
• Tweak bump or normal maps using Blur, Detail Scale, and High/Medium/Low Frequency.
• Create bump maps or normal maps from diffuse textures
• Convert a vertex color to a texture color
• 3D Printing upgrades can be seen here.

Other Changes In Photoshop CC 2015

• Adjustments (Image > Adjustments) can now be applied as Smart Filters.
• Moving a layer to a group now moves it to the top of the order instead of the bottom.
• Step backward/forward operations no longer change the layer you have selected.
• The Save For Web option has been moved to File > Export > Save For Web (Legacy).
• The Digimarc plug-in is no longer installed by default. However you can get it here.
• Scale the UI 200 percent for high-density displays is no longer a Technology Preview feature. It is now part of standard Photoshop functionality. To enable this feature in Photoshop CC 2015 release, select Preferences > Interface > UI Scaling: 200.
• UI toolkit for plug-ins and scripts had several enhancements. For more information, see Photoshop UI toolkit for plug-ins and scripts.

The post New Features In Photoshop CC 2015 appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this Photoshop tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a vibrant flaming text effect.

This effect will be created from scratch, without using any photographs.

The flames will be created with The Flame Generator filter, a feature found in Photoshop CC. This filter is designed to render realistic flames on user-defined paths.

The chrome text will be created by using nothing more than a few Layer Styles.

Check out our Text Effects or Photo Effects sections for more great Photoshop effects tutorials

Final Fire Text Effect

The post Create a Fire Text Effect in Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this video I will go through 5 Photoshop tricks that you probably did not know.

Leave a comment letting me know how many of these tricks you already knew, and which were new to you!

Here’s a quick overview of the tricks and techniques shown in the video

#1: Advanced Blending Options

Uncheck “Transparency Shapes Layer” in the Layer Styles panel to make pixels blend differently when using blend modes.

#2: Precise Flare Window

You can bring up a special “Precise Flare Center” window to add a lens flare to exact locations in your photo.

#3: High Contrast Clouds

Instead of the usual clouds layer you get when you render clouds, you can render high contrast clouds.

#4: Black and White Adjustment Layer For Color Control

You can use a Black and White Adjustment Layer to control the luminance values of specific colors in your photo.

#5: Open One Image In Two Windows

You can have the same photo open in two windows that are side-by-side, with one view zoomed in and one view zoomed out.

The post 5 Photoshop Tricks You Don’t Know (Probably) appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a space scene from scratch in Photoshop!

I will not use any photos. Everything will be created by using only Filters, Layer Styles, and Adjustment Layers.

Even if you think you’ll never want to create a space scene, I would still recommend watching this video. The techniques I shown will help you in many other areas, and will help you think about how you can use everyday tools in a different way.

This video is about using filters, layer styles, and adjustment layers creatively.

If you have any comments or questions, leave them below!

The post Create a Planet From Scratch In Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a realistic-looking metal coin in Photoshop.

This is going to be an in-depth tutorial where I’ll you how to add dimension and depth by using layer styles.

I’ll also show you how to place text within a perfect circle.

If you have any comments or questions, leave them below!

The post How To Create a Realistic Coin In Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

Photoshop tutorial that teaches you how to create Color Lookup Tables from scratch using Adjustment Layers and how to apply it to an image.

The post Create and Apply Color Effects Using Lookup Tables in Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to change hair color in Photoshop.

We’ll start out by turning brunette hair to black, red, blonde, and green.

Keep in mind that when doing hair color changes in Photoshop it is a lot easier to go from light hair colors to dark. One of the reasons is that lighter hair tends to have more detail and therefore you can make better adjustments.

Going from dark hair to light hair is much more difficult. For example turning black hair into blonde hair is extremely difficult or impossible in a lot of cases because the details in the hair are lost in the shadows and darkness, and the color changes often look unrealistic.

In this tutorial I will show you what I would do in a black hair to blonde color change. It won’t be a 100% realistic hair color conversion, but depending on your photo and your goals this might be good enough.

Keep in mind is that everyone’s hair is different. The numeraical values for opacity or any other adjustments that I use on this photo may not work for your photo. You will have to experiment, and see what works for your images.

For some hair color changes there might be more than one way to get to the same result; which is why in this tutorial I’ll cover 3 ways of changing hair color.

1. Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer.
2. Selective Color Adjustment Layer.
3. Gradient Map Adjustment Layer.

All non-destructively of course.

The post How To Change Hair Color In Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to use Atmospheric Perspective to create more believable composites in Photoshop.

When combining different images together, sometimes you have to fake the depth of an object within a scene. If you don’t do this right, you’re likely to get that flat “cut and paste look” that most beginner Photoshop users have in their work.

By implementing these simple Atmospheric Perspective concepts that we’ll cover in this video, you’ll be able to avoid that flat look, and add a new level of realism to your composites.

If you have any comments or questions leave them below.

The post Creating Atmospheric Perspective For Better Composites In Photoshop appeared first on Photoshop Training Channel.