AYM 4 Training – Online and Onsite Computer Training – Cool Stuff

Last year, I made a tutorial on how to use Adjustment layers and masks to Create Green Beer for St. Patrick’s Day.

I thought this would be a good time to pull that one out again! Check it out at:

http://aym4training.com/coolstuff/2011/make-green-beer-for-st-patricks-day-using-photoshop/

Jeff Witchel, an Adobe Certified Instructor for Adobe Illustrator and a frequent contributor to Layers Magazine (which many of you know is one of my favorite resources), has created a video tutorial for the addition of Gradients to type, WHILE keeping the type editable. This is one of those un-obvious Illustrator controls (uses one of my favorite tools – the Appearance Panel) that will help a bunch of you!

http://www.jeffwitchel.net/2012/03/apply-an-impossible-gradient-to-editable-type/

When I don’t get a chance to make my own tutorials, I still appreciate the work of others. Graphics.com has posted a nice tutorial on using the History Brush to control where Filter Effects…um… affect your image. Check it out!

http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=1007

My students all know I’m a fan of Layers Magazine. In my general perusing today, I’ve found a nice tutorial on Fitting Images to Frames in InDesign. Last week, my InDesign students were asking for some tips. This may be useful to you. Enjoy!

http://layersmagazine.com/autofit-images-in-indesign-cs5.html

My clients and students all know I love them – but also know that sometimes what we hear as technicians and teachers make us giggle a bit.

This clip, from a Norwegian show (with subtitles) depicts what those same people would experience in the Middle Ages. Funny!

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.

A link to a site with some useful shortcuts you may not always remember:

http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/tools/awesome-keyboard-shortcuts-photoshop/

Excellent tip for Dreamweaver users working with CSS3. Well written and easy to follow. Check it out…

http://blog.assortedgarbage.com/2011/05/using-online-css3-tools-in-dw/

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, while so many of you are out drinking some green beer, here’s a tutorial for how you can make this stuff at home using Photoshop (and the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer).

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig

I’m often asked how to turn a color photograph into a Black & White image. Some people use the Black & White setting on their digital camera (and some use Tri-X film – often using manual filters!). The problem with traditional Black and White settings is that the resulting images lack dynamics, but with Photoshop, we can control the dynamics and contrast in an image, with a lot of power and ease.

In this Tutorial, you’ll learn about the power of the Black and White Adjustment Layer, and how do perform some cool special effects using this very simple and powerful tool.