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Total
Training For Adobe Photoshop 6
"A
Valuable Addition to Your Reference Library"
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Total
Training for Adobe Photoshop 6
is comprised of 12 videos split between three series. Appropriate for
users of all levels, this 20 hour compilation is a thorough and in-depth
Photoshop training package that has tips for beginners trying to move
from creating simple one-step manipulations to generating exciting effects
using Photoshop's powerful tools; and veteran Photoshop users who need
to learn about new and revised tools. It covers all the new features and
options, tells you what has been dropped or changed, describes time-saving
shortcuts and configuration settings, and discusses changes in the interface.
With each new version of an application, adjusting to the new material
can be time-consuming for veterans and even confusing for beginners. Manuals
do help, but many can be tedious for individuals who are visually oriented.
The Total Training videos make learning fun and definitely reduce the
learning curve. With these videos, you'll get clear demonstrations of
key concepts and techniques while working with the same graphic elements
on your computer that Photoshop expert Deke McClelland works with onscreen.
These files are included on a CD-ROM. Each series also includes a Quick
Reference Card with the tape number, title, section titles, location (in
minutes) on the tape, and duration of the section.This is great for going
back to watch a lesson again. Deke is an excellent teacher who blends
artistic skill, technical expertise, and a humorous presentation style
to create an enjoyable learning experience. Not only does he walk you
through the the tutorials step-by-step, but he explains why you are doing
things that way and provides you with keystroke shortcuts. Deke McClelland
is quite qualified to teach Photoshop as he is a well known author of
books about computer graphics, digital imaging, and electronic design.
He has written more than 50 titles in the past decade, and his work has
been translated into 24 languages. His books on Adobe Photoshop include
Photoshop 6 Bible, Photoshop for Dummies, and Photoshop Studio Secrets.
The tapes are appropriate for both Windows and Macintosh users. The instructor
uses a Macintosh computer for his demonstrations, but he gives keystrokes
and techniques for both Windows and Mac users.
This
20-hour collection is broken into three different series, and each series
can be purchased separately or as an entire collection. And you have your
choice of purchasing this collection on VHS or DVD. Price for total package:
$249.00. See the Total Training Web site for more information: http:/www.totaltraining.com |
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Rubber Stamp Tool
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Advanced Beginners, intermediate, and advanced
computer users. This is a great tool for anyone using Photoshop.
It starts at a basic level which any novice could follow, but there are
enough tips and techniques given throughout the tapes that would make it
appealing to intermediate and advanced computer users. I would recommend
users to have a basic grasp of how computers work. See
the image to the left for an example of a graphic created using the techniques
in Program 3: Using the Rubber Stamp. It has a sophisticated look, but the
technique is easy enough even for novices. |
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- Provides
a thorough guided tour of Photoshop 6;
- Teaches
valuable time-saving workflow techniques;
- Taught
by a top expert in Photoshop 6;
- Designed
to build skills and stimulate new ideas;
- Uses
applied learning to reinforce new skills; and
- Makes
learning fun.
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Series
One: Photoshop Fundamentals |
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Photoshop
Fundamentals deals with just that: fundamentals and is written for those
people who have not used Photoshop much or who are new to the application.
The first series (Programs 1-4) covers: Basics; Selections; Paint, Color,
& Retouch; and Working with Layers. Even though the topics in this first
series are basic, intermediate users might want to peruse the programs to
pick up some tips and tricks. |
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Series
One
Annotating &
Saving
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Program
1 -- The Basics:
- Getting
Around Photoshop: 33 min. -- Setting up Photoshop: settings,
preferences, memory allocation; launching the program; color settings;
introduction to layers; screen modes & image viewing options; displaying
& hiding palettes; changing intermediate background colors; the
Gradient tool; the Magnifying & Hand tools. Good
discussion of how to use F key to cycle between the 3 screen modes,
and also use shift-click in Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar to change
background color of screen.
- Resolution,
Rotate, & Crop: 38 min.
-- Arranging your palettes; Rulers & Units; what is resolution;
Image Size & Canvas Size; the Navigator palette; saving your image;
rotate & straighten; two ways crop: the Rectangular Marquee tool
or the Crop tool. Nice tips, and something I always
forget is to use the Alt key when you are resizing with the Crop tool
if you want to crop equal distances from the center.
- Annotating
& Saving: 26 min.
-- Annotation tools: the Note & Audio tools; hiding & saving
annotations; image formats & saving options; saving layers. Great
information on saving, especially that if you turn on the Enable Advanced
TIFF Save Options under Preferences > Saving Files, then you can
save a TIFF file with layers. See image to the left for a view of the
Preferences dialog box.
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Move
& Transform
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Program
2 -- Selections:
- Define
Selections: 43 min.
-- Introduction to selections; the Marquee tool: Rectangular & Elliptical;
the Selection tools: Lasso, Polygon, Magnetic Lasso; Using selections
to effect different layers; the Magic Wand tool; Contiguous & Discontiguous;
inversing your selection; utilizing the Eye Dropper tool to expand &
contract selection; the Fade command. Excellent
discussion of options for the Eyedropper tool that influence how the
Magic Wand works.
- Modify
Selections: 35 min.
-- Fine tuning your selections using options bar and menu bar commands;
using the Grow & Similar commands; expanding & contracting selections;
smoothing Magic Wand selections; Hue & saturation; the Add &
Subtract from Selection commands; the Defringe command; the Feather
command; the Trim command. Very succinct but thorough
discussion of how to modify selections.
- Move
& Transform: 24 min.
-- The Transform command for scaling & distorting; transforming
options; nudging from the keyboard; compositing images: Moving &
Cloning; introduction to layer masks; creating a basic layer mask. This
section walks you step by step through the process of creating a composite
image using the Transform Command and other techniques. See to the left
for a view of the starting images and the final composite.
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Fill, Stroke, & Color
Painting & Brushes
Using the Rubber Stamp
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Program
3 -- Paint, Color, & Retouch:
- Fill,
Stroke, & Color: 28 min. -- Color theory in Photoshop:
RGB & CMYK; defining foreground & background colors; using the
Color palette; applying fills, blend modes & gradients; using the
stroke option. Lots of tips on filling selections
with patterns and color, plus how to use the Fade command to edit fills.
I found this section really helpful. Using the Fade command to edit
fill is great because it has a preview window which the Fill command
doesn't have. You learn to fill with a pattern or with a color. See
image to the left for a view of the starting image, ending image, and
Fade dialog box. Babe is filled with a pattern, and Bunyan's shirt and
hat have been filled with a color.
- Painting
& Brushes: 37 min.
-- The Airbrush tool; brush pressures and modes; brush options &
custom palettes; working with the standard brush palettes; the Paintbrush
tool; the Pencil tool; painting with a pressure sensitive tablet; the
Paint Bucket tool; colorizing & shading. Important
demonstration on using layers for your painting so that you can then
apply blend modes, paint behind image, and use layer effects. See from
image to the left for a view of starting image and ending image after
it was painted.
- The
Edit Tools: 26 min.
-- Using the Edit tools: Blur, Sharpen, Smudge; working with the Dodge,
Burn & Sponge tools; the Use All Layers option. Important
discussion of how to sample and edit using pixel values from all visible
layers by using the the Use All Layers option that is available for
the Edit tools, Magic Wand, Paint Bucket, and other tools.
- Using
the Rubber Stamp: 15 min.
-- Using the Pattern & Clone Stamp tools; cloning across images;
working with cloning options: the Aligned check box; the Dust &
Scratches filter; retouching with the Clone Stamp tool.
I especially liked this tutorial on the Rubber Stamp tool and the tip
on the difference between having the Aligned option on or off. Also,
it has a great tutorial on touching up old images. See hockey image
to left for a view of how you can use the Rubber Stamp tool to retouch
an old photo. Scratches in the background were removed, along with some
other items, and the end of the hockey stick was reconstructed.
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Working
with
Transparency
The
Big Layer
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Program
4 -- Working with Layers:
- Introducing
Layers: 29 min.
-- What is a layer; viewing layers; linking layers; the Background layer;
fading a layer; creating floating layers & new layers from a selection;
naming a layer; moving & arranging layers; activating a layer. Great
information on using keyboard shortcuts, such as Shift [] to move layers
up and down in Layers Palette or use Ctrl. Shift [] to move layers to
top or bottom of Layers Palette.
- Working
with Transparency: 35 min.
-- What is a transparency; customizing your transparency background;
modifying transparency opacity; duplicating layers; transparency masks;
the Move & Scissors tools; coloring within a transparency mask;
creating new background layers. This is a meaty
section that you will need to take notes on and review a few times to
take it all in.
See Gorilla image to the left for an example of what you can accomplish
working with transparency.
- Layer
Hodgepodge for $500, Alex: 29 min.
-- Transforming layers; linking layers for transforming multiple layers;
perspective distortion on multiple layers; creating layer sets; merging
layers; deleting multiple layers; transplanting linked layers into separate
images. Includes numerous techniques on how to
transform and apply blend or layer modes to multiple layers.
- The
Big Layer: 12 min. --
Rasterizing type; the Reveal All command; the Image Crop command; the
Delete & Hide buttons; cropping the Canvas Size. I
had forgotten about the Hide option on the Crop command, and this section
included an excellent tutorial on how to use it. See image to right
for a view of a graphic where I used the Hide option to save a portion
of the fish but not show it. If you use Image > Reveal All, you see
the hidden part. This is an excellent option for projects when you need
to have an image to show a client, but still have a graphic that you
can edit easily.
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Series
Two: Essential Photoshop |
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Essential
Photoshop delves deeper into Photoshop and is targeted toward the intermediate
user. The second series (Programs 5-8) covers: Extract & Mask; Blend
& Stylize; Shapes & Paths; and Create & Edit Type. |
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Series
Two
Automatic
Masking
Automatic
Masking
Basic
Masking
Real
World Masking
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Program
5 -- Extract & Mask:
- Automatic
Masking: 41 min. -- Introduction to the Color Range
command; the Magic Wand tool vs. the Color Range command; the Color
Range dialog box; inverting a color range mask; using Color Range for
automatic masking; the Eraser Tools: Eraser, Magic Eraser, Background
Eraser; the Background Eraser options; using the Extract command dialog
box: tools & options. This section is very
well done. Deke starts out with the basics and not only shows you how
to use each of the tools, but when to use each tool for different types
of images. See two images to the left for a view of starting and ending
graphics; and the Color Range dialog box.
- Basic
Masking: 35 min.
-- Using the Quick Mask mode; saving a quick mask as a selection outline;
saving selection outlines as masks; Alpha Channels; using multiple masks;
saving images with masks; combining multiple masks to a single selection;
editing masks; viewing images with a mask; loading a mask as a selection.
In this section, Deke does a great job of simplifying
masking and shows you how to use the Quick Mask mode along with other
selection tools to create a mask. I especially liked the tutorial on
combining multiple masks to a single selection. See image to the left
for a view of the Channels palette showing the individual masks and
then the combined mask. The green part was selected first and created
into a mask; then the white under belly was made into a mask; finally
the sky was selected to create a mask that could be deleted. The Altogether
Now is the combined mask.
- Real
World Masking: 31 min.
-- Creating a mask from scratch; using RGB channels to create a mask;
using the Dodge & Burn tools to edit your RGB channel mask; touching
up a halo effect using blend modes & layers; layer masking; grouping
& ungrouping layers; masking using clipping groups. Anyone
interested in great techniques for creating a mask from scratch will
appreciate this section with its step-by-step tutorial and will
want to take notes as it is packed
with information. The image to the left shows the starting graphics
of the girl and sky and then the composite that was created using channels
to create the masks. Deke also used the Dodge and Burn tools and a layer
blend mode to finish the image.
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Screen,
Multiply &
Blending Options
Screen,
Multiply &
Blending Options
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Program
6 -- Blend & Stylize
- Blend
Mode Overview: 21 min.
-- Introduction to the blend modes: Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay,
Hard Light, Soft Light, Color Dodge, Color Burn, Darken, Lighten, Difference,
Exclusion, Luminosity, Color, Hue & Saturation. This
section is an excellent demonstration of why these videos can be a better
choice than a book on the subject. I have read the list of blends modes
that you find in the Photoshop books, but I either get bored in the
middle of the long list, get confused by too much information, or can't
remember a thing I read an hour later. Well the video was perfect for
learning the blend modes. Deke applies each of the modes to the same
image and succinctly explains what each does and when to use each one.
There was just enough information to get the point over and not confuse
the viewer.
- Screen,
Multiply & Blending Options: 41 min.
-- Working with the Screen & Multiply blend modes; introduction
to the Blending Options dialog box; using the Knockout & Fill Opacity
options; applying blending options. This section
was one of my favorites. It is full of ideas and walks you step-by-step
through a tutorial where you produce the eye image to the left using
blending modes, knockout, and fill opacity options. Deke gives you a
tip on how to get rid of a background on a logo selection without masking.
You just use the Levels option and the blend mode of multiple. The image
to the left shows the logo graphic with the rough selection. The rough
selection was copied and placed within the eye image; the multiple blend
mode was applied, and the background is gone.
- Layer
Effects: 53 min.
-- History of the drop shadow; making drop shadows in Photoshop 6 using
Layer Styles dialog box; using Layer Effects: Drop Shadows, Inner Shadows,
Glows, Bevel & Emboss, Satin, Overlay; creating a layer style. Deke
covers the Layers Styles dialog box and has tips on how you can apply
multiple styles to get interesting effects.
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Vector
Masks
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Program
7 -- Shapes & Paths:
- Vector-Based
Shapes: 35 min.
-- Overview of the Shape tools; what is a vector-based shape; the Change
Layer Content command: Dynamic Fills option; shape layers; clipping
paths; deleting shapes; the Shape options bar: layers style; loading
a style library from disk; Shape tool options: Rectangular, Elliptical,
Rounded Rectangle, Circle, Polygon, Line, & Custom. This
is a nice overview of vector tools and their options.
- Create
& Edit Custom Shapes: 36 min.
-- Using the Custom Shape tool; applying blend modes & layer styles
to your custom shape; the Shapes option bar: creating more than one
shape, adding to the existing shape layer, shape intersection options;
transforming a custom shape; the Show Bounding Box option; the Define
Custom Shape command; how layer styles update; saving vector shapes;
rasterizing & flattening vector shapes; scaling layer effects. It
can get tricky working with vector shapes because your options change
depending on whether the clipping path is active or not. Deke
clearly explains the different options.
- Vector
Masks: 34 min.
-- Creating vector masks; the Selection tools: White Arrow & Black
Arrow; the Rasterize Fill Content command; masking an image with a shape;
creating a new work path; clipping image to a work path; the Pen tool;
transferring a clipping path to other applications; naming a work path;
Clipping Path dialog box; saving a clipping path. This
was another fun section filled with information. See cat image to the
left for a sample of using vector masks.
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Excellent
Type Effects
Excellent
Type Effects
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Program
8 -- Create & Edit Type:
- Fun
with Vector Type: 44 min.
-- What is vector type; the Text tool; transforming type; masking type;
the Add a Mask button; editing type; adding a new text layer; formatting
type; Point text; Paragraph text; navigating the text bounding box;
the Text options bar: text layer, create a mask, horizontal, vertical;
rotating type. Deke explains the basics about
working with vector type and gives you an excellent tip on using a layer
mask so you can paint inside the type without rasterizing it.
- Formatting
Attributes: 27 min.
-- The Text tool options bar: font options; True Type vs. Postscript
Type; ATM; the Text tool options bar: font style, font size, anti-aliasing;
docking palettes in the options bar; the Character palette: fractional
widths, type size, leading, kerning, tracking, vertical scale, baseline
shift, color, faux bold, faux italic; the Paragraph palette; alignment&
justification. This section is loaded with information.
Good tip on how to make your small web text look better by changing
the spacing. You just turn off the Fractional width option in the Character
palette and turn off anti-aliasing.
- Excellent
Type Effects: 36 min.
-- The Text options bar: Create Warp Text button; the Warp Text palette;
applying a gradient map to text; tips on removing anti-aliasing artifacts
from text; adding a drop shadow to text; example of using layer effects
to create a 3D look. Includes helpful tips on
how to remove anti-alias or jagged edges from effects by using the Create
Layers option to put effects on separate layers. See chrome image to
the left for a view of type effects. And see Jurassic Park image to
see how you can create mock 3D effects with using vector type, layer
masks, layer effects, and clipping groups.
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Series
3: Photoshop at it's Best |
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Photoshop
at it's Best, the third and advanced series (Programs 9-12), covers: Correcting
Colors; Adjustment Layers & Corrective Filters; Distortions &
Custom Effects; and History, Actions, & Color Management. |
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Series
Three
Color
Manipulations
Red-eye
& Levels
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Program
9-- Correcting Colors:
- Color
Manipulations: 56 min. -- Introduction & critique
of the Adjust commands: Equalize, Posterize, Brightness & Contrast,
Levels; the Variations command dialog box; removing color cast &
improving brightness & saturation using Variations; the Hue &
Saturation command dialog box; adjusting selected portions of an image
using Hue & Saturation; solving compression artifacts; colorizing
a grayscale image using Hue & Saturation. Deke
tells you what are the best manipulation tools to use and goes into
depth on the two that he thinks are good: Variations and Hue & Saturation.
He gives you a great tip for just using the Hue & Saturation dialog
box to change a color. See image to the left for view of the Hue &
Saturation dialog box.
- Red-eye
& Levels: 59 min. -- Eliminating red-eye using the
Channel Mixer command; Auto Levels, & Auto Contrast; the Levels
command dialog box. Photoshop doesn't have an
automatic red-eye adjust, but Deke shows you how easy it is to use the
Channel Mixer command to get rid of red-eye. See image to the left for
an example of how you can reduce red eye using the Channel Mixer command
with some manual touchup with the Paint Brush tool.
- Curves:
23 min.
-- When to use Curves instead of Levels; the Curves command dialog box;
setting preference for automatically adding an extension to file name
when saving (Mac only); color correction using layers & the Color
blend mode. I especially liked the color correction
technique that he shows you in this section. You combine two images
and then use the Color blend mode.
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Adjustment
Layers
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Program
10 -- Adjustment Layers & Corrective Filters:
- Adjustment
Layers: 21 min.
-- What are adjustment layers; setting preferences for saving adjustment
layers; the Change Layer Content command; constraining adjustment layers
to sets & individual layers; Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer
button; converting text to shapes. You can get
very interesting results using adjustment layers that you couldn't get
just using color correction methods. See image to left for an example
using adjustment layers.
- Introducing
Filters: 23 min.
-- What is a filter; filter plug-ins; pluses & minuses of dialog
boxes: Gaussian Blur filter dialog box, Pinch filter dialog box, Extrude
filter dialog box; modifying filters with blend modes & commands;
the float & filter technique; reapplying filters. Deke
shows you which filter dialog boxes give you great control and which
don't. The float and filter technique is a useful tip.
- The
Sharper Image: 22 min.
-- The Sharpen filters: Sharpen, Sharpen Edges, Sharpen More, &
Unsharp Mask; the Unsharp Mask dialog box: amount, radius, threshold;
practical application of Unsharp Mask. This section
is very useful. Deke shows you what each Sharpen filter does and then
goes into depth on the one he prefers: the Unsharp Mask and explains
each option in the dialog box.
- Blurring
& Averaging: 44 min.
-- The Blur filters: Blur, Blur More, Gaussian, Motion, Radial, Smart;
the Gaussian Blur dialog box; the Motion Blur dialog box; the Radial
Blur dialog box; practical applications of Gaussian Blur; the Dust &
Scratches filter; the Median filter; combining filters to sharpen a
JPEG artifacted image; the Minimum filter dialog box; the Maximum filter
dialog box; edge masking: creating a better threshold through masking;
Find Edges filter. Great detail on applying the
Gaussian Blur filter to channels to get rid of JPEG artifacts.
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Fun
with Distortions
Synthetic
Effects
Displacement
Map
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Program
11 -- Distortions & Custom Effects:
- Fun
with distortions: 28 min.
-- The Distort filters: Pinch, Spherize, Twirl, Zigzag, Ripple, Glass,
Ocean Ripple, Wave; combining filters; the Shear filter; the Polar Coordinates
filter. Deke demonstrates how you can use the
Distort filters to turn natural images into unique effects that can
be perfect for backgrounds. See image to the left for a view of textures
created with the Distort filters.
- Synthetic
Effects: 21 min.
-- Creating textures & backgrounds with filters; the Add Noise filter;
the Emboss filter; using Hue & Saturation to colorize filter effects;
the Clouds filter; effects of Foreground & Background colors on
the Clouds filter; the Difference Clouds filter; applying combinations
of filters. This is a fun section where you learn
to create functional paper textures to outrageous backgrounds. See image
to the left for a view of four textures you create following the tutorials.
- Liquify
& Displace: 29 min.
-- Liquefy dialog box tools: Warp, Twirl Clockwise, Pucker, Sherize,
Bloat, Shift Pixels, Reflection, Reconstruction, Freeze, Thaw; the float
& filter technique; the Displace filter; what is a displacement
map; the Displace filter dialog box; creating a displacement map; the
Gradient tool; the Gradient Editor dialog box; the Gradient tool option
bar; Dither; saving a displacement map; applying a displacement map.
This is a fun section where you use the Liquefy
tools to create outrageous effects. The tutorial on displacements maps
is excellent. See the woman image to the left for an example of using
a displacement map.
- Lighting
FX & More: 35 min.
-- Combining displacement maps with the Lighting Effects filter; the
Bump map; Raise & light letters: Displace filter, Lighting filter;
the Lighting filter dialog box: Soft Spotlight mode, texture channel;
the Crystallize filter; the Stained Glass filter; the Custom filter;
effects of custom filters; creating your own custom filter. Deke
gives you an in-depth look at the Displace filter and the Custom filter.
Excellent tutorial on using the Custom filter.
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A
Lesson in History
The
History Brush
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Program
12 -- History, Actions, & Color Management:
- A
Lesson in History: 35 min.
-- What is the History palette; changing preferences for the Redo key;
changing the number of history states tracked; History palette snapshots;
History palette options; Non-Linear history; RAM & the History palette;
saving a state. Deke explains the relevant options
in the History palette and goes into detail on two useful options, Allow
Non-linear History, and Automatically Create New Snapshot When Saving.
See image to the left for a view of the History options.
- The
History Brush: 36 min.
-- The History Brush options; using the History brush; the Art History
brush; the Fill From History command. This is
another fun section where you learn to use the History brush and the
Art History brush. The image on the left was created using the History
Brush.
- Actions:
20 min.
-- What is the Actions palette; default actions; assigning keys to actions;
creating new actions; recording action sets; Button mode; the Chrome
action. Deke shows you how to create new actions.
There are also actions on the CD that you can load and use.
- Color
Management: 20 min.
-- Color theory overview: RGB vs. CMYK; characterizing your monitor;
setting the gamma; the Color Setting command. Important
information on how to set your Color settings.
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Total
Training for Adobe Photoshop 6 is a great learning tool. The videos are
informative, fun, and once you've tried the series, you will wonder how
you ever went without them. |
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Requirements for Adobe Photoshop 6:
Windows
- Pentium
or faster Intel processor;
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Windows 98, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.01;
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64 MB of RAM (128 MB required to run Photoshop and ImageReady concurrently);
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125 MB of available hard-disk space;
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Color monitor with 256 color (8-bit) or greater video card;
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800x600 or greater monitor resolution;
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CD-ROM drive.
Macintosh
- PowerPC
processor;
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Mac OS software version 8.5, 8.6, or 9.0;
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64 MB of RAM w/Virtual Memory on (128 MB required to run Photoshop and
ImageReady);
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125 MB of available hard-disk space;
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Color monitor with 256 color (8-bit) or greater video card;
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800x600 or greater monitor resolution;
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CD-ROM drive.
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Graphics:
Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Web Page Design: Macromedia Dreamweaver
4.0 |
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This
site is (c) Copyright 2001, by PC Cafe Online. All World Wide Rights Reserved |
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