Superimposing layers

This tip comes to us from ?. Check out this tip on using layers to create the "e;reminiscing" effect. Open up any image to be used as a background Open up another image which you want to superimpose (My dream women) Select the paths pallete. Select the pen tool from the tools pallete. Click on the image so you get something like this. Take your time as this may take some practice to get it right. From the paths pallete, LOAD PATH AS A SELLECTION. Click SELECT>>FEATHER, and choose a # (for this example I used 20). From the paths pallete, select TURN OFF PATH. Copy the selected image by pressing CTRL+C. Now paste the image into the background image pressing CTRL+V. Under the layers pallete, Drag the opacity bar to make the image blend into the background.

Read full post

Place a picture into text

Place a picture into text

Daryl asked:
      > please help how can i turn a picture into text
      > i.e if i got a picture of a dog how can i
      > spell the word dog using the picture as
      > letters if that makes sense thanks

Daryle did not specify which version of Photoshop or the computer system, (which should always be done) so here, we demonstrate putting an image into type -- for all versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

FIRST: select the image you plan to use. Here, we've moved it to a new layer with white as our background in order to demonstrate the effect later. You do not necessarily need to do this.

Set the Type: Now, set the word using the type input method of your current version of Photoshop or Elements. Here we used a heavy, condensed type style to provide as much area for the image as possible. In earlier versions, this type will be rastarized as a picture object. In later versions it will be live type, and you can leave it like that if you wish.

Select the type to make a "cookie cutter": In later versions, you can Command / Click (Ctrl/Click) the layer to SELECT the type. This displays the "racing ants" around each letter indicating that it is selected.

Float the Image into the Selection:
a. Click the Photo layer to select it - while the selection is active
b. Float or "pick up" the image by using the Float command/J (Ctrl/J)
c. The selection will fill with a COPY of the art within the selection and generate a new layer (below)
(Note: older versions will need to use Edit > Copy, then create a new layer, and Edit > Paste)

Done: Turn OFF the original photo layer, and you'll see your type is filled with the image.

In this example below, I've also generated a layer with the type set to a Gaussian Blur so the edges of the letters which would be white will show. This is not an essential step, but placed here merely to show off the type. Note, this could have been done with the original type layer, Rastarized, but we left it in place for this demonstration.

There are lots of other ways to do this technique. In Photoshop CS, CS2 and CS3, using the Type Mask tool would do the same in a single step. There are also other ways to generate layer masks which accomplish the same effect, but this method works in virtually ALL image editing programs on ALL platforms which support layered art.

Read full post

1 - Photoshop Mirror Reflections

Photoshop Mirror Reflections...

Many people these days are enamoured with the latest craze of photographing products on a glass surface with the product reflecting a very smooth, liquid reflection. Apple made it popular with their iPhone imagery.

In the old days, we had to go to some fairly lengthy set building in order to accomplish the look, but today you can do it in mere moments.

The object itself has a lot to do with the relative success of this technique. Best case scenario is a good, straight-on product shot. This eliminates the need for oblique reversals which take a lot of time, and need to have a perspective slant in order to look convincing. (See

Creating the reflections

Let's use this shot of a Pentax camera.
Note I've carefully cut it out of the background so no slivers of white are showing. Mistakes in removing the background will be glaring once we build the illusion.

To make the illusion, we need a much larger expanse of background.
Here, using the Crop tool, we can drag the handles beyond the image area and visually estimate the size we'll be needing. Once you commit the crop, the canvas will be expanded to fit the size indicated.

Since any reflection into glass or a liquid is a 'mirror' image of the original, we have to create that copy.
The easiest way is to merely float a copy (Cntrl/J or Cmd/J) and with the Move Tool (Tap V) drag the top, center handle down below the bottom. I'm going to leave the dragged image just a bit compressed. This lends a bit more realism to the scene.

Read full post

2 - Photoshop Mirror Reflections

Photoshop Mirror Reflections...

Creating the mirror background

At this point we'll need a background to reflect the image off of. Some people like smooth, level graduated backgrounds, and others like spotlighted. Apple uses sort of a spotlighted background, note where the 'hot spot' is in their images. (Note, if you're using a white-out background, then no graduations are necessary.)

We'll use a Black to White graduation first, just for the sake of this demonstration.

I'm holding the crossover point of the gradation to just below the horizontal center of the scene, and the lighter part never achieves white. I accomplish this by starting the gradient about 20% down the scene, and dragging about 20% beyond the bottom edge of the window. This brings a 20 to 30% gray to the edge.

Now we can begin working with the reflected image.

First set the transparency. I used about 40%, but that will change as we move along.

To make the reflection realistic, as it moves away from the object across the glass surface, it gets more faint. So we'll need to simulate that "fall-off" by using a layer mask.

Select the reflection layer, and then click on the Layer Mask button. You'll see the white mask appear next to the layer thumbnail. Click in the Layer Mask thumbnail, and its borders will become doubled to indicate it's selected.

Now, using the gradient tool drag a tight, quick gradient from black to white. You'll notice how the black masks image and the white allows it to show. The reason I'll use a mask here is to adjust the amount of transparance by moving the actual mask up and down.

Turn off the lock links between the thumbnails, make sure the mask is selected, and with the move tool, you can drag in your image window to adjust where the gradient falls on the image. Very handy.

At this point we're done.

Read full post

4 - Fine-tuning Mirror Reflections

Fine-tuning Mirror Reflections

... some options and alternate scenarios

I think the black and white is very elegant, but a little too stuffy and formal. Let's add a bit of color to offset the steely grays of the camera. Create a new layer and simply fill it with the color you like.

The last (and optional) step is to add a Gaussian Blur to the reflected image. In realism, the reflection will never be perfectly clear. While you may like it, and keep it, I like to throw it off just a bit -- so I'll ad the most slight blur.

The amount of Blurring depends on resolution. More blur for higher resolution. But for the sake of loading times for my captures, I've kept this a low resolution image, so .5 or so blure does the trick.

You're done. Here's the finished blue version, the finished black version, and I even eliminated the background all together in this finished solid white version!

Take a different approach

Now, lets try an alternative, borrowing from Apple. Notice how their gradation is actually radial, and is offset to the lower left corner. Well simulate that by switching our gradient to radial.

Notice in the diagram above, I've placed a solid black layer behind that gradient. You can lighten or darken your gradient by simply changing the transparency of the gradient layer with a solid black layer behind it. Make the highlight hot spot as intense or subtle as you wish.

Read full post

4 - Fine-tuning Mirror Reflections

Fine-tuning Mirror Reflections

... working with oblique reflections

Okay, one last scenario. What if the image you wish to show is not perfectly parallel to the camera, and presents a perspective view? All the other steps are exactly the same, except when you mirror your floated copy, you'll need to use the Shear Transform tool to pull it into a true mirror.

I followed the same steps as before:
* Duplicate the cut-out object using the float command (Ctrl/J or Cmd/J)
* Move Tool, drag the top, center handle down below to reflect the object

However, that leaves me with opposing angles.

So, with the reflected object active, use the Move tool (Tap V) and then
Choose Edit > Transform > Skew

Hover the tool to the side of the object to be moved, and the double arrows tell you it's ready to move. Grab the edge, Click and drag (usually using the shift key to constrain the movement) until it comforms to it's real edge.

These are the steps the reader in the Photoshop 911 Forums will have to use in order to make his photo look realistic. Each of the two sides will have to be skewed independently to comply with the bottom edges of the object. They'll each need to be skewed slightly more on their back edges to simulate perspective, and they'll each need their own gradient mask to provide the fall-off.

Now the image is a true reflection and you can finish everything as before
You're done.

There are lots of other variations, and some shortcuts we didn't mention, but this is the non-complicated series of steps that will work in all versions of Photoshop since version 5.5, and in all versions of Photoshop Elements. We like to keep it simple for'ya!

Thanks for reading

Editor / Publisher: Photoshop Tips & Tricks, DTG Magazine.

Read full post

Creating a Woodcut from a Photo

Creating a Woodcut from a Photo

... Cher Threinen-Pendarvis

Open a photo and clean up the background; copy the Canvas to make a new layer; create a color woodcut plate on the Canvas; create a black woodcut plate on the new layer; retouch the black plate; add clouds and texture.

At right you see John Derry's original digital photo of the pagoda, contrasted with the woodcut we'll be creating in this tutorial. (expand)

With Painter's Woodcut filter you can start with a photo and achieve a look similar to a conventional wood block print. You can simply use the color arrived at by the Woodcut filter defaults, or you can enjoy complete control over choosing the colors.

The traditional wood block printing process involves simplification of detail in the lines and color areas. Inspired by Japanese wood block prints from the 1800s, John Derry created Pagoda, which is based on one of his own digital photos. Painter's Woodcut filter helped him to reduce the number of colors in the image and to fine-tune the colors for the final artwork.

1 Choosing a photo.
Open a photo with good contrast and color. A bold image with a strong focal point will work best for this effect.

2 Cleaning up the sky.
To focus more attention on the pagoda, Derry simplified the sky by selecting it and applying a blue fill. Choose the Magic Wand in the Toolbox and click in the sky. Adjust the Tolerance in the Property Bar until most of the sky is selected; at this point, edges are most important, since you can clean up any small internal "debris" by painting on the mask later.

Save the selection as a mask in the Channels palette by choosing Select, Save Selection.
In the Channels palette, open the eye icon to the left of the mask's name.
Choose black in the Colors palette and paint on the mask where you need to add more mask; use white to remove areas of the mask (for instance, to remove debris). To use the mask to isolate the sky, choose Select, Load Selection. (See Chapter 5 to read more about working with masks and selections.) Next, fill the selection with blue by choosing Select, Fill with Current Color.

Above, left: The Image viewed with the mask eye icon open, and (center) the active selection with the blue fill applied

3 Setting up layers.

The Woodcut process is easier to control when the color elements are on a separate layer from the black elements. Derry started his layering by making a duplicate of the original image. To put a duplicate of the image canvas onto a layer, choose Select, All (Ctrl/1-A), press the Alt/Option key and choose Select, Float. In the Layers palette, turn the new layer's visibility off by toggling shut the eye icon to the left of its name.
(Above right: The visibility of Layer 1 is turned off and the Canvas is selected.)

4 Cutting the color "wood block."

In the Layers palette, click the canvas name to activate it for the colors. To access the Woodcut dialog box, choose Effects, Surface Control, Woodcut. When the dialog box appears, disable the Output Black check box. The options for Black Output will now be grayed out. In the lower portion of the window, accept the default number of colors (16), and smooth out the edges of the color blocks by adjusting the Color Edge slider to the right. (Derry set it at approximately 11.46.)

Increasing the Color Edge to make simpler, smoother shapes (left) and brightening the gold color (right)

When the edges were as he liked them, Derry fine-tuned a few of the colors. For instance, he chose a tan color swatch (at the bottom of the dialog box) and made the color brighter. Click on a color square to select it; a red outline will appear around it. Now that it's selected, you can choose a new color in the Colors palette and the swatch will change to the new color. To sample a color directly from the image Preview window, press the Ctrl/1 key and click on the Preview. To change the color, choose a new color in the Colors palette.

To see other areas of your image in the Preview window, drag with the grabber hand cursor to move around the image preview. When you're satisfied with the colors, click OK to accept.

Read full post

Using Photoshop or Illustrator to make Separations

Using Photoshop or Illustrator to make Separations

You now know how screen printing works, and you've learned that it takes a film positive to expose the photo-stencil for the screen.

At right you see the film scenario -- in order to produce two screens, one for each color.

While there are many, many various opinions on how to produce color separations for "flat-color" printing, this is the most basic and foolproof. It works in any software program that will produce a good black print -- and has layers for creating the art. Many authors and authorities will lead you through some highly complicated processes -- those work too -- but this method is most like the original method and really is the easiest.

What is the best film to use? Let me say first that your very best and most detailed reproduction will be Orthographic film processed by a printing firm or service bureau. This will give you superb results from even the most detailed images, including photographs, art, halftones and screen tints. The next best material is laser compatible film such as that used for making overhead projection cells. The LEAST desirable material is "vellum" which is translucent printing paper similar to tracing paper. This is used by amateurs, schools and some hobbyists who aren't too concerned about the fidelity or accuracy of their prints.

Art must be 100% opaque on the film! If you laser print has spots or translucent areas, these will allow light to leak through and spoil the print. Holes or "thin" areas in the laser toner should be touched up with an Opaque touch-up. (You can purchase "opaquing pens" at various art supply stores.)
Ink Jet printers are NOT recommended due to the translucency of the inks. You must have 100% blockage of the exposure light for the duration of the exposure.

Create the art -- each color on a layer

Set up Illustrator or Photoshop to the size of the final print. This print fits nicely on an 8.5 x 11 sheet, at 300 ppi.

Produce the art as you normally would. Use as many layers as you wish. Colorize the art as you wish. Make sure everything fits, and where colors meet (butt) allow the darkest colors to overlap the lighter colors a pixel or two. (This is called "trapping")

Registration: In this example, you see I've even included my own "registration" marks. These will actually be "burned" to the stencil, to align the art properly so the colors "register" or match perfectly. I cover them with some tape just before putting ink on the screen. NONE of the software produces an acceptable registration mark for screen printing.

This is a simple grid. The grid is on the black printer, and the blocks that fill the holes in the grid are on the red printer. I've pulled thousands of prints with these and they've never let me down -- even printing up to seven colors!

Finish your art, print and proof as you wish and get everything perfect. Now you're ready to create separations.

This is so obvious and simple, I'm a bit embarrassed to even be writing a tutorial about it.
Ready to Print: Before printing, you should change the color of each "color" layer to black. Many black-only laser printers will screen colors when printed. You don't want that. The image to print from each film must be 100% BLACK and OPAQUE.

Now, simply turn OFF all layers except the one you wish to print. Issue the PRINT command and print. Photoshop or Illustrator will print the film of that layer only.

Now, turn that layer off and turn on the next layer for printing. In this fashion, you're producing your own separations -- and you KNOW they'll work, beautifully. Once they're all printed, tape them to a window (or your light table) one by one, in registration, to proof the film. Now, you're ready to make screens.

Use Print with "Preview": The Print with Preview function in Photoshop is well worth the trouble. Illustrator's print command defaults to a Print with Preview mode anyway. Using these, you will see a thumbnail of how the actual print will look. You can check and make sure everything is okay before you initiate printing.

Ready to Burn some Screens: With all the films in hand, fully proofed on the light table, you're ready to burn your screens and get some printing done. I recommend you burn ALL screens for a job at the same session. If you wait until later to burn and develop the next color screen, atmospheric conditions such as humidity may cause the finished screen to go "out of registration" -- if you do them all at the same time, they'll all be uniform.

I could have led you down the path to automated separations, spot colors, channels, duotones -- all of which work -- but why go the extra work and agrivation when you don't have to? Here's one I just finished. Notice it's on a black shirt, so WHITE was my second color instead of black.

These steps work for ANY project where you are separating FLAT colors, not process colors. You can also produce separations for decals, signs, and even litho printing projects like newspaper ads, business cards, etc. It's simple, direct, and takes the LEAST amount of time.

I guarantee it!

Editor / Publisher: Photoshop Tips & Tricks, DTG Magazine.

P.S. : If you've got great designs and you want to get articles printed -- but don't want the mess and fuss of screen printing, get yourself a CafePress account and let THEM do the work!

Read full post