CreativePro.Com How-Tos

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 2

Editor in Chief — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:19:56 -0700

In Part 1 of this tutorial, I showed you how to turn a plain gray box into a realistic-looking photo frame in silver, gold, or wood. You also learned how to place a photo into the frame and play with perspective so that the framed image looks like it's skewed to the right or the left.

Create a Table of Contents in InDesign

Editor in Chief — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:03 -0700

For many years, I made the tables of contents for my books manually. I would finish the book and then, one by one, I would open the file for each chapter and write down the name of the chapter, the name of the A Heads, and the page numbers for each. It averaged 200 entries for each book's table of contents (TOC). It was a tedious process, but manageable.

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 1

Editor in Chief — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:01:09 -0700

Recently, Reader's Digest magazine asked me to design a photorealistic picture frame into which they could drop a different photograph every month. It occurred to me that, using Photoshop's Smart Objects and an Action to drive the process, it would be possible to create a variety of frames from two different angles, and have them all generated automatically simply by dragging the image onto a Droplet.

Make Text Look Like Chrome

Editor in Chief — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:15:50 -0700

Excerpted from InDesign FX on lynda.com.

A highly reflective chrome effect may look like it was tricky to create, but in reality, all you need is a simple gradient fill, using as few as three color stops to create a convincing chrome effect in InDesign.

Get Rid of Red Eye

Editor in Chief — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:29:36 -0700

Over the years, many people have written tutorials on fixing red eye in photos; in fact, CreativePro.com has published several! The various techniques have involved channels, brushes, sponges, selective color, and more. But did you know that since Photoshop CS2, there's been a dedicated Red Eye tool? It's hiding under the Spot Healing Brush on your toolbar.

In the very short video below, I'll show you how easy it is to select the tool, then click and drag around an eye to remove any red.

Lights, Camera, Action, and InDesign!

Editor in Chief — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:28:29 -0700

Excerpted from InDesign Magazine, October/November 2011 (issue 44). Subscribe now!

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Photoshop How-To: Five Ways to Reduce Red-Eye

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 02:35:32 -0700

There are almost as many ways to minimize red eye using Photoshop as there are people using Photoshop. Ask a group of photographers which is the best way to minimize red eye and sparks are sure to fly!

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Photoshop How-to: Oo la la! Retouch Photos Like the French

admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 02:42:21 -0700

This story is taken from "Photo Retouching with Photoshop : A Designer's Notebook (Designer's Notebook)" translated by
Marie Laure Clec'h

To buy this book click here.

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Photography How-to: Learning to See in Black and White

Editor in Chief — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:14:31 -0700

Excerpted from Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots by Laurie Excell with John Batdorff, David Brommer, Rick Rickman, and Steve Simon. Copyright © 2011. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Peachpit Press.

In addition to the HTML version of the excerpt below, you can also download the excerpt as a PDF that retains the full design of the printed book.

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Align and Space Objects with InDesign's Smart Guides

Editor in Chief — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:16:21 -0700

As you drag to create or move objects on an InDesign page, you may have noticed lines, arrows, and other indicators appearing and disappearing. These are Smart Guides and other elements that can help you work more precisely. If you haven’t yet used Smart Guides, the following tips will introduce you to easy alignment and spacing that will result in better-looking pages.

Smart Guides for the Page and Column Centers

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Plumb the Depths of Your InDesign Layout

Editor in Chief — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:26:53 -0700

Excerpted from the InDesign Secrets video training course on lynda.com.

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Kerning: A Master Class

Editor in Chief — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:15:38 -0600

I've just finished reviewing two rounds of printed page proofs from the second edition of my book The Complete Manual of Typography (Adobe Press/Peachpit Press), in the course of which I hand-kerned some 150 passages of display type as well as scores of instances in text and captions. I am in the perfect frame of mind to expound on kerning, going well beyond the "Kerning 101" basics I outlined 18 months ago in the article One Good Kern Deserves Another."

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Introduction to Illustrator: Part 2

Editor in Chief — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:45:18 -0700

Excerpted from Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork by Von Glitschka. Copyright © 2011. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders.

In addition to the HTML version of the excerpt below, you can also download the excerpt as a PDF that retains the full design of the printed book.

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Make Holly and Berries that Shine in Photoshop

Editor in Chief — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:33:05 -0700

Whether you're scrambling to put together a last-minute Christmas card or are a planner who's already thinking about 2012 projects, this Photoshop how-to is just what you need. In it, you'll learn how to create a Yuletide composition of berries and a holly leaf. And to add a bit of sophistication, you'll give the elements a glassy sheen.

Step 1: The basic leaf

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Introduction to Illustrator: Part 1

Editor in Chief — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:53:55 -0700

Excerpted from Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork by Von Glitschka. Copyright © 2011. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders.

In addition to the HTML version of the excerpt below, you can also download the excerpt as a PDF that retains the full design of the printed book.

read more