With so many ways to build and edit a mask it's almost impossible to know where to start, so while the techniques are endless, the tools for crafting masks will remain the same, especially when focusing on the basics. In part 3 of Basic Masks I'll show you how to add a layer mask and make it function in ways that fit the need of the job.
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Masks are a massive part of Photoshop and many other image editing packages but I often get asked 'why do we need them?'. With other tools available that get the job done easier and just as fast it's easy to understand the logic behind that question. In part 2 of Basic Masks I'll demonstrate the other, easier, methods and explain why they don't compare to the powers of masking.
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First off, when you read you’re going to be learning how to prepare an exactly sized web graphic you should know that I’m referring to size as in size of the file, not size as in dimensions. There are many instances where this may be necessary - ranging from uploading photographs to a social networking site to uploading an avatar or signature for an online forum that stipulates a maximum file size.
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Masks can be used to temporarily hide a region of a layer without the need for deleting it. They're yet another flexible way of removing an element from an image without permenantly changing or losing information leaving us able to bring it back anytime we want. In part 1, I'll answer the question 'what are masks?' by showing you them in action and giving a few varied examples.
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There’s plenty of ways to turn a full colour photograph into a crisp line drawing, to prove my point, I already have a video tutorial entitled ‘Photo Sketch’ available on the site which shows you one way to accomplish the task. In this tutorial, I’ll show you a quicker and easier way to produce a similar effect, here goes-
Here’s an image of a New York Taxi-
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Understanding layers is a must for any Photoshop user regardless of experience or requirements. They remain the jewel in Photoshop's non-destructive arsenal and are at the heart of a fast and efficient workflow. In part 2 I'll show you how to build your own layered compositions by creating, naming, moving and deleting layers, as well as a few other tricks along the way.
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The GIF format was introduced in 1987 and contains one eight-bit channel of data giving it the ability to reproduce up to 256 colours at any one time from a palette of 16.8 million. This means that although a GIF is no good for saving continuous tone imagery such as photographs, it is extremely well suited to images that contain large blocks of colour such as logos and line art. The advantage of saving so few colours is found in the sharpness of detail and the ability to keep file sizes low.
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Layers are the backbone of Photoshop's non-destructive editing capabilities. They allow each part of the image to be saved indepenently of the others, making it possible to perform fast and easy edits whenever you need to. In part 1 we'll answer the question 'what are layers and why do we need them?'.
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Spell checking is more commonly associated with word processing and desk top publishing programmes such as Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, but did you know it's possible inside Photoshop as well. Here's how it's done-
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The History Brush introduces the ability to paint back details that existed in an image when or after it was first opened. It gives the user the amazing ability to 'go back in time' and correct mistakes without reverting the entire image back to a former state. It's kinda like the history panel but in the form of a brush: maybe itself a reason why they call it the History Brush! In this example we'll paint back the sky around a billboard while leaving the changes we made inside the billboard untouched. It's a great feature of Photoshop that deserves to have it's 15 minutes of fame!
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