Tutorial on the Painting with the History Paintbrush – Photoshop

Russell Brown (www.russellbrown.com) has created a really good tutorial on how to use the History Paintbrush in Photoshop.

Those of you who’ve taken my Photoshop classes know that I don’t often teach this tool. I actually think it’s an awesome tool – but of course I’m ALL about non-destructive techniques, and this isn’t one of them. This technique changes original pixels permanently (there are work-arounds, but they’re rather indirect). So, I recommend knowing how this tool works, what you can do with it, and then knowing you can use it for more of your “quick and dirty” retouching and repair needs.

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Photoshop Actions to Emulate Instagram Effects

I’m not always a fan of heavily processed images, but as a matter of artistic expression, I often like to “play” around with images for some cool effects. Since I got the iPhone, I’ve really liked a lot of the image looks that can be accomplished using Instagram. But, since most of my images are shot using my Nikon, and not my iPhone, I wanted to create a set of actions that would emulate Instagram while within Photoshop.

Turns out, I don’t have to! Daniel Box has already done a bunch of these, and he’s made the actions available for FREE (Thank you, Mr. Box!) He says they’re not “100% exact match, but they’re pretty darn great – and remember, you can still tweak your images in Photoshop to improve at will.

Check out the FREE action download at: http://dbox.tumblr.com/post/5426249009/instagram-filters-as-photoshop-actions

A Really Good Explanation of Color for Print Purposes

CreativePro.com has come up with yet another really good article – this time, about a topic that can be really confusing – how color works for print documents, and how to use InDesign’s color management to get accurate color print jobs done (Note: this is for 4-color, process printing – not meant for your inkjet). Check it out at:

http://www.creativepro.com/article/indesign-how-print-colors-correctly

Online Set of Webinars – 24hourphotoshop.com

24HourPhotoshop.com is the first ever live, global, interactive event for the Photoshop community — 24 Hours of non-stop Photoshop!

On February 10th/11th, 2012, 24hourphotoshop.com (http://bit.ly/ooeAoc) will be offering over 100 sessions, with 50 instructors via online webinars. Some of the best instructors will be featured (with the exclusion of me, that is), and there are 3 pricing tiers: a limited Free track (requires pre-registration), an all-access $99 track, and an extended track (to see the webinars after the day is over) for $599. These are introductory rates.

I’ve never seen these before, so I can’t vouch for them specifically, but with the list of webinar leaders they have, this is bound to be a powerful day! There is a benefit to accessing as much as possible, live – you can ask questions of the instructors.

Quotes on Design on a Website!

“Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” — PAUL RAND

I love Quotes, and Quotes on Design are SO great! Visit: http://quotesondesign.com/ for some excellent, inspiring and funny quotes!

Awesome Article on the 5 Main Groups of Typefaces

SmashingMagazine.com has an excellent article about the 5 main typeface styles.

So often, my students ask how to select an appropriate typeface for their projects. This article clearly explains the main groups from which you can choose, and helps you choose which are best to combine for your specific needs.

Visit http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/14/what-font-should-i-use-five-principles-for-choosing-and-using-typefaces/

Adobe Carousel – Photo Syncing Among All Your Devices

Sadly, I’m once again missing Photoshop World in Las Vegas, but that doesn’t stop me from checking announcements!

Adobe has is introducing a new service, named Adobe Carousel (http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotcom/2011/09/introducing-adobe-carousel-your-photos-everywhere-you-are.html)

I’m excited about the idea that I can have all my images accessible to my desktop, laptop and iPhone (and iPad, maybe, someday), so I believe this is something to watch. Question is: will this be a handy, useful tool, or yet another Adobe or Cloud money-suck? Only time will tell…