Free Advices On Adobe Ps, Pr, I, Au, Ae

I am sure that among you there are some that want to ask something about Photoshop or other software. Don t be shy ASK!

To be honest, your logo is off putting and I've been using Photoshop the last 25 years, so NO you're OK thanks!

i didn't want to be rude and ask - what exactly are your qualifications? because i don't see anything in your folder that indicates you use photoshop or any of them at all. and i agree on the avatar. many on here already know how to use the program, and the ones that don't, don't have it.


---Mike Savad

Don t worry about the logo. And many people does not use Photoshop for 25 years like you and me, so thank you!

I think you will find Mihailo that people can get free advice on a number of experienced digital art forums for free, download tutorials for free.

If you are offering a service, then may I suggest you look up those kind of sites and write a blog on it or go to Tumblr or Deviant Art - I'm sure a number of artists on this site already have a great deal of experience. And I don't want to be rude, but at present your gallery doesn't display an artist who has a great deal of Photoshop experience. But, that is purely opinion.

Well Mike this is just an offer for those who have some issues not for those who work for a long time. I do have some modest experience with those programs working for many years on TV, productions and press so those are qualifications if anyone needs them. This is just something that could help someone or everyone knows everything these days?

or if someone already has a question you can jump in. but still, if the advice is amateurish, it won't help them at all. people will want to know your experience level. like mine is very very high. and if your logo is the indicator of your skill level... well..


---Mike Savad

Thanks fourdezign I have seen your work too and it is OK, as far as advices I am not trying to make money, and as far as experience it can be hardly seen through digital paintings. But I do like your opinion.

I'm not on here to get opinion on what you think of my work - it sells. The point is you are offering a service. I'm not.

Logo is just humor nothing else but thanks Mike. It is great that your level is very high best wishes!

It is great that you sell my friend, again I am not offering any services.

Well..I wish you luck, but quite frankly your logo is coming to mind. Unless you see that as an innuendo. Take care

i think it would be better to go to the critique forum and critique people's work there and offer advice then - however not everyone uses photoshop. still some kind of work you have showing us you know how to use these programs would be a good way to get people to ask how you did them and so forth.

---Mike Savad

Thank you don t worry about the logo I wish you very best in 3d and photo manipulation keep on the good work.

That is good Mike thank you.

also keep in mind that without knowing what you specialize in, it would be impossible to ask a question. like what do you know about cutting things out? making a clean edge? shading methods? taking full advantage of styles. techniques in curving text and so on. because all i see are general line like drawings.. the avatar is better by the way, you want it clean looking for the buyers.

like i specialize in still life and composite assemblies, and without posting too many images because i don't know if it breaks a rule or not



these two are a few of my latest.


---Mike Savad

Thanks Mike. I do like your work, but you have seen that I suppose!

To be honest, your logo is off putting and I've been using Photoshop the last 25 years, so NO you're OK thanks!

i didn't want to be rude and ask - what exactly are your qualifications? because i don't see anything in your folder that indicates you use photoshop or any of them at all. and i agree on the avatar. many on here already know how to use the program, and the ones that don't, don't have it.

LOL

Someone offers free service in the forum and this is the response. The logo (avatar) is "off-putting"?? Yes, so much more so than a multi-coloured ball and a furry bunny with a mustache. I see your point! :)

If you do not want to take advantage of the "service" being offered, then don't ask for it. In fact, no need to comment in the thread at all, if this is the case.

Mike, plenty of people have offered similar services in the forum, including yourself.

WOW!

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EDIT- The OP's "expertise" would become apparent enough on its own, once questions start being asked.

tiny - you didn't see his first avatar, he changed it after it was mentioned.

anyway tiny, besides commenting on our comments - do you have a question for him? he seems eager to help you.


---Mike Savad

and don't see it as an attack so much as a general question. if someone offers free driving advice, i'd like to know about their background, same with taxes. you kind of need to know their background a bit before accepting advice. to a person who doesn't know how to use photoshop, the advice will sound fine, but still might be wrong, or it may not fit the version. it might be better off to have a tips thread, rather than a questions and answers thing and spread out like that.

---Mike Savad

It doesn't matter what his first avatar was or is, my comment would still apply.

I may actually...... but more with regards to PS Elements, as I do not use CS

ok so here's a question - what methods would you use to separate a green bush or tree - like an evergreen with those little branches, and remove it from a background, of say blue background (which should be easy enough to do, but it's also mixed in with landscape or other objects? i need fast and easy ways to do this without special cutting programs, i know of a few methods, i'm always looking for more.


---Mike Savad

Sorry I have been away from yesterday.

One of the methods is Edge highlighter tool, Magic selection tool or magic wand tool, or you can create new alpha channel with Select - Color Range and mask it out even fine tune it with brushes,but those are just four and there are many more, sorry if my qualification does not compel. Look there are many more interesting discussion then this. So who does not like it it is OK, I like different opinions they are good.

It has been my experience that free advice is worth what one pays for it.

“The logo (avatar) is "off-putting"?? Yes, so much more so than a multi-coloured ball and a furry bunny with a mustache. I see your point! :)”

LOL, Tiny. I could not have stated it better!

But Mike has asked a question, and Mihailo seems to have answered it.

Then again, it is probably due to my “purists photography mindset” that makes me shy away from digitally altered images.

I remember decades ago when I superimposed images in the film darkroom. It was fun, but only a novelty, and was not taken seriously when it came to serious photography.

Well, except for the tabloid newspapers that sold so many images to the sensationalistic minded persons standing in line at the grocery store!

Why is it that when some one starts a sincere frank discussion a lot of regulars come in to bash the person, or make dumb wisecracks. Instead of just ignoring the discussion, you would rather come in and give a philosophy about art, brag about yourself, or just plain ruin and make fun of the discussion. Then its gang up time with the same bashers.

Mihailo, thanks for asking because not everyone on FAA is a professional, and I'm sure some people might have questions that would appreciate the help.

OK.
Anyone ever shoot any Ektachrome Professional 100 , 4x5, 8x 10.?
I saw Kodachrome Pro 11x14 film size that were amazing.
So, does anyone know a good vector conversion plug in. I have adobe and corel looking for a more customization even independent program.
I build masks sometimes in Illustrator exported out of photoshop and then imported back to photoshop channels.

No not yet Ektachrome shoot. As far as actions and action coding in my opinion they are possible in decompiled psd as long as it is not with an error which can happen after decompiling.


Live trace, Vector scribe and mesh tormentor are plugs for Illustrator, Silhouette is independent software, also potrace and vector magic, Hope you can use something from list.

I have a question that perhaps somebody can help me with.

How do I get rid of heat haze/light mist from a photo? It's not always possible to wait for the right conditions before taking a photo (on vacation for example), so I need something that will remove the haze afterwards. I've tried a duplicate layer set to soft light, but the result was too harsh. Any suggestions?

Oops - sorry, double post...

a polarizer should cut through some of it. otherwise if you shoot in raw, you can push the black up. i've used that on light reflections. but it will push the contrast out of whack. it's something you have to play with. i would need to see an example... but haze does show a time of year. however if it's glare on the glass, that can be avoided, it also may be that the lens is dirty.


---Mike Savad

Mike s advice is good, I personaly use levels on adjustment layer and play with RGB settings depending on the color of haze. You could also try unsharp mask from filters but be gentle with settings they can destroy elements of the image if you push them beyond normal look and if you want something else I heard about independent software The NeutralHazer but I think it is not free.

actually another way is to use luminance masking. you can often find them for free, look for the one that has midtone adjustments. then you can adjust the bright and dark of that leaving the shadow and highlights alone it takes a bit of getting used to, but you can adjust contrast in no other way. it's the final step now of how make things.


---Mike Savad

Thanks, Mihailo and Mike, you've given me some things to think about.

Levels helps a bit, as does Curves, but neither of them cuts through the haze completely (I don't want to make anything darker, just clearer). I find that pushing the black up is a bit risky, because it can block out the shadows, but I'll experiment with that too. I never use Unsharp Mask in RGB, because it does tend to make a mess of things.

I didn't think of luminance masking, but I might be able to do something with that. I can make a luminance mask in Photoshop - it's knowing how to use it that's the problem!

I probably should have tried using my polarizer, but it's too late now that I'm back home with the image on my computer screen. The other things Mike mentioned (glare on glass, dirty lens etc) don't apply - I'm talking about natural haze from our Irish weather!

Update - I've just tried a combination of the methods people suggested. I made a luminance selection, inverted it and added it as a mask to a Levels adjustment layer. Then I did a bit of fiddling with the levels layer and set it to soft light. Then to tweak it a bit more, I did the same with a curves layer, apart from the soft light part (that was a step too far). Now I just have to check that I haven't introduced any noise, but I think it's ok. It's definitely made a difference to the clarity of the image - thanks again, guys! :-)

that's when you make it into a fake hdr. one layer has the haze cut, one has the rest and you combine the two with a mask. you won't get clarity, because the haze had to be cut at the source when you took it. its like removing reflections, you can't. haze is made up of particles that actually do block the light.


---Mike Savad

Mihailo,
Thanks, that mesh tormentor is lots of fun. I ended up using Csoft wiseImage,pricy and 2d for cad but my friend let me use it- excellent results. Thanks. Hey now this thread is rolling.

@Mike - I suppose what I was doing with the mask was similar to hdr (or 'manual hdr' if there is such a thing). You're right, it would have been better not to take the photo on a hazy day, or at least use a polarizer to cut through the haze at the time, but since I didn't, it's now a case of damage limitation!

The image still need a little more work. I'm not ready to post it just yet, but when I do, I'll post a link here so you can see what I'm talking about.

Question regarding Corel Draw 3x,4x,5x ,6x and 7x or adobe Illustrator cs 2-6
Is there any way of confining the grid option in these softwares to only the art board?
Corel says no in that the software is programmed to show the grid full screen.
Adobe says the same thing
I was wondering if anyone had any reprogramming suggestions.

Billy.. not sure "exactly" what you mean, or why you would want to do it... but I think I do.
The answer is no, but... if you just "have to" have it you can set up a new blank transparent layer on top of the stack [I am talking PS.. I don't know about Corel] and using the grid draw lines snapped to the grid. You can then turn it off and on as needed,

bob

Kevin - download a copy of Apophysis [free] and post process in photoshop. Photoshop isn't for creating fractals.

Thanks Zeana

I find Youtube tutorials to be the best way to learn digital techniques. Kind of hard to follow a text description of advanced Photoshop techniques. Anyone wishing to demonstrate tips or techniques would do better with a YouTube channel.

Edward Fielding. Youtube has some great tutorials and demonstrations calling themselves tutorials.Thing is its hard to ask a youtube tut a question. I took classes and have reference material actual books-learn from all sources. The best results a graphic artist can achieve is when they can think within the parameters of the programs tools and functions.

Right now I'm working on a vector illustration in both Adobe and Corel Illustrator and Draw 6x, I'm having to use a transparency / scale ratio on vector objects drawn out side the bounding/ art box , snapped to the perspective grid of the drawing . These vectors are shaded with different objects at different levels of transparency. This drawing is a collaboration there are four graphic illustrators contributing. Drawing outside the bounding/artbox is easier and of course larger than what the perspective of the drawing requires. Moving the object back into the artbox requires scaling which compresses the object and the objects values become darker. to adjust the opacity of the moved object requires ungrouping and individual adjustments of the objects highlight and shadow areas- its a lot of adjusting. I was just wondering if I could isolate the perspective grid to only the artbox by reprogramming the grids parameter to match only the artbox. so that objects would not be drawn out of bounds.

Well, this might be a great place to have a question posed, and then answered via a YouTube video and post here.

Hey Billy...

Not a big time illustrator user, but I googled and found this..... Number 4 mentions restricting guides to artboard. Not sure if it will help you or not.

Found it here...

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/illustrator/cs/using/WS714a382cdf7d304e7e07d0100196cbc5f-631da.html#WS714a382cdf7d304e7e07d0100196cbc5f-6312a

Create guides

1.If the rulers aren’t showing, choose View > Show Rulers.
2.Position the pointer on the left ruler for a vertical guide or on the top ruler for a horizontal guide.
3.Drag the guide into position.
You can also convert vector objects to guides by selecting them and choosing View > Guides > Make Guides.


To make working with multiple guides easier, move them into a separate layer.

4.If you want to restrict the guides to an artboard and not to the entire canvas, then select the Artboard tool and then drag the guides on to the artboard.

Edward Fielding, Yes and the solution to the previously mentioned issue is the purpose of the drawing.
On another note. Have you ever seen a tut , especially on masking, and the guy gets the mask just right in single alpha layer.Mind you his example is always an HD photo of a woman with dark hair with very simplistic background. Ahh if life were only that simple...

Billy...

Here is a good tutorial on just what you mentioned... hair against a complex background.



bob

Bob Galka. Yes Great ! In Illustrator there is a perspective grid option. I snap to guides yes , but in illustrator the grid is already made and uniform for all users.. We are just trying to resolve the issue. The scaling ratio also applies to ras drawings in Photoshop , however the vector shading in illustrator is a bit different. The drawing I'm working on is for HD tv video display
and the differences in shading sticks out .

Bob, All nice general masking, yes. In the first tut the one with the fuzzy white hair, that's not a good mask. Notice he chose the sky as a background-no color contaminated pixels there.
I use cs 5 ,6 and five independent masking programs, one was written by a friend and allows for color contamination selection . Every mask is different,.I often spend hours, days on masking picking out pixels. I adjust a copy of the image before masking it, which is a time saver. One adjustment that always needs to be done is adjusting the masked objects to the perspective of the drawing which is true especially for textures. Adding a flat texture to a 2 or three point perspective drawing gives you a collage effect, no matter how good the masking is. I see this a lot in graphics. It's not good masking.

Billy.. No the thumbnail of the youtube video is not a good representation... You have to watch it. The hair starts out against a leafy green tree and the selection is placed on the blue sky circus image and the final composite is quite good.

And yes... every mask is different, I totally agree.

Bob, Check out the hair no way is that a good mask, what is that white spot:? He mentioned burn and dodge , yeah he should have toasted it. You enlarge that mask and dollars to donuts the mask haiir edge is fragmented. It's general technique tut the blue sky hides the defects. Put that mask against a black background and you'll see there's a lot more that needs to be done.

There is a person in another thread that has Photoshop CS2 and is thinking of upgrading.
1. Yes I know Adobe does not allow comparison tutorials .
That being said , a friend of mine gave me a copy of paintshop pro ultimate 6. I have never used this program before today and it seems to be more photo than paint orientated..
I was wondering how users felt about this program which will run on 8,7,xp and costs $79.00 USD compared to Adobe elements which I have never used.
Feed back might help the person out- might not.