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• The Easy Guide to Creating the Orton Effect using Photoshop - UPDATED
  by Peter Hill

  The aim of this Guide is to provide easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to achieving the Orton Effect without the necessity of bei…

  The aim of this Guide is to provide easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to achieving the Orton Effect without the necessity of being a Photoshop guru. I still call myself “new to Photoshop” and I have found a lot of tutorials on this topic assume a much higher level of knowledge than I have and are not very intuitive. I have revised the Tutorial to show a shortcut to the 2 Blending Option steps, which I only found myself after posting the original tutorial (doh), but I have left the long way as well, as you may wish to play around with the default settings applied by the short way. To achieve the Orton Effect you will be creating Layers, but don’t worry if you haven’t done this before. I hadn’t. The method I am about to describe is the simplest I have found. It’s not my method, but the description is all mine. When I have more time (yeh, right) I will revise this tutorial to include screenshots of the various steps. But for now, you might like to print this Guide and have it next to you while you create your first Orton Effect. I use Photoshop CS2 v9. The method described below originally came from someone using Photoshop Elements, so you can see this is not advanced stuff. The steps described below assume almost zero knowledge of Layering, and ignore other adjustments you might be making to the image, for example Sharpening the image before you start work on it (recommended). Step 1 Choose your image. Any image will do, you are just learning at this stage, but if you have that favourite flower shot or portrait – cool. Step 2 Open Photoshop. Open the image you have selected to be your first amazing Orton Effect image. Feel the excitement. This is your Background Layer. Step 3 Look for the Layer toolbox on the right hand side of the Photoshop work area. There should be a rectangular box with a small eye icon, a tiny thumbnail version of your image, and the word Background in italics. Right-click the word Background and select Duplicate Layer. A small box should immediately appear in the middle of your screen. It is asking you to Name the Duplicate Layer. Name this Layer Focus and click Enter. (Note: It doesn’t really matter what you name it, but Focus will do for our current purpose.) Step 4 There should now be a new rectangular box immediately above the original, and called Focus. (If there isn’t, stop, curse quietly, then try Step 3 again.) Pause now and look at the tiny eye icon. You will see that it is now the Focus layer on your screen, so this is the “copy” you are working on. OK, moving on ….. Right-click the Focus rectangular box and select Duplicate Layer again. This time when the naming box appears just click Enter because we will use the default name for this Layer, being Focus copy. Step 5 OK, now we are going to blend the Focus copy. There are 2 ways to do this – the long way and the short way. I will show you the long way first, just in case you want to go back and play with it after you get familiar with the process. Long way – Right-click the Focus copy rectangular box and select Blending Options. This will open a new box with lots of options. Ignore them for now. In the top part of this box you will find a window showing the Blending Mode and the default setting of Normal with a pull-down menu (A downwards arrow). Open the menu (left-click) and select Screen. Click Enter to close the box. OR Short way – look at the window which shows your layers. See the drop down menu at the top left, showing Normal as the default? Scroll down the menu and select Screen. The Focus copy layer should now have a bit of a washed-out look to it as a result of selecting Screen as the Blending Mode. (I have found that if the Screen effect still leaves a fairly good image, the Orton Effect will be enhanced. Too washed out and the Effect is diminished.) Step 6 Right-click the Focus copy rectangular box again, only this time select Merge Down (it’s near the bottom of the menu). This will collapse the Focus copy layer onto the Focus layer. Step 7 Right-click the Focus rectangular box again and select Duplicate Layer again. Name this copy Blur. Click Enter to close the box. Step 8 Now, find and open the Filter menu on the Tool bar running across the top of your screen. Select Blur. Another menu should open. Select Gaussian Blur (don’t ask). A new window should open. You will see a Preview of the image with a default blur Radius setting of 15.9. You can play around with the radius later. For now, just click OK to close the window as we will accept the 15.9 (I have found 15.9 to be right for most images anyway). The blur you are to achieve with this step should be enough to discern the shapes without the detail. Step 9 – The Magic Happens! This is the fun part. We now make one more blending option. Again, here’s the long way and the short way. Long way – Right-click the Blur rectangular box and select Blending Options. As described in Step 5, this will open a new box with lots of options. Again, ignore them for now. In the top part of this box you will find a window showing the Blending Mode and the default setting of Normal with a pull-down menu (A downwards arrow). Open the menu (left-click) again and this time select Multiply. Click Enter to close the box. OR Short way – Click on the same drop down menu you used to create the Screen effect, only this time select Multiply. You should now be able to see the Orton Effect! Step 10 If you want to accept the result, right-click the Blur rectangular box one more time and this time select Flatten Image (it’s the last option on the menu). This basically collapses all the layers into one final image and is the last thing you do in Layering. You can now save the image as normal. Does it look something like this? If it looks too dark though, you can adjust the Opacity level with the sliding bar before flattening the image. Look for the tiny Opacity tool in the top right of the Layering toolbox. But if you find you need to go below 90% the Effect is significantly lost and maybe it wasn’t the right image. Another option is to adjust the Fill and leave the Opacity at 100%. Have fun! I am. Peter

• My top 5 for your top 5
  by Cathleen Tarawhiti

  Easy / You look through my work and pick your favourite top 5 and I will / look through your portfolio and tell you my favourite 5. / I’ll …

  Easy / You look through my work and pick your favourite top 5 and I will / look through your portfolio and tell you my favourite 5. / I’ll show you mine if you show me yours – without the nakedness. Unless you feel the need to show me in which I’ll post you here in all your glory for the viewers pleasure.

• The Easy Guide to Creating Samples Of Artwork on Redbubble - UPDATED
  by Peter Hill

  Have you ever wondered how people add samples of stuff like this? !http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/border:blackwithdetail/produc…

  Have you ever wondered how people add samples of stuff like this? Want to do the same? Good! How well you present your work is a measure of the pride it holds for you and is a key driver of sales and the appreciation and interest of others. Due to popular demand, the aim of this Guide is to show how easy it is to insert artwork into a Comment, a Description, and even a Journal. Anywhere on RB you can write stuff, basically, you can include a pretty pitcha. I have written this guide in plain language, not IT guru nerds language. If you already know how to do this, please leave now. First, some key points: You can only show samples of artwork which have been already uploaded onto RB. You do not have to publicly show any artwork just to get a sample of it. You can remove an artwork from RB and this will not affect any sample of it you have already posted on RB elsewhere. When I say below do not leave a space between typed characters I really do mean do not leave a space. This is because you will be typing an instruction to the computer to go and grab the image and insert it in a specific spot and the computer can’t read spaces like we can. Ever noticed those Group Bubblemails with all that funny writing, like http: and .jpg! ? Those are examples of attempts to show samples done wrong. Usually it’s because they left a space! The point is: always check before you click Save or Reply and especially afterwards! (Memo to self: remember to check this posting!) Finally, this guide may seem long, but as Morgan Freeman said in Deep Impact, “It only seems that way.” Once you get the hang of it, creating samples will take mere seconds. Righto, here we go … mouses at the ready? Step One Upload the image you want to show a sample of, if you have not already done so. If the image you want to make a sample of is already on RB, go to Step Two but make sure the image is available for sale. If it isn’t, go into Edit and follow this step. When you upload the image (or Edit the upload), make sure you select Make this work available for purchase as a … and tick all the boxes. It doesn’t really matter if the image is too small for a poster. Just tick ‘em all and find out. As long as the image is at least big enough for a card, you can create a sample of the artwork in a card form. If the image is too small even for a card you cannot create a sample and you will have to go back and increase the size of the image and try again (hmmm, could be another tutorial there). Note: If you are uploading an image for the sole purpose of showing a sample of it, do not bother writing a Description or ticking any of the Group boxes, and make sure you tick Hide this work from others. Step Two Go to the Public view page for the artwork you wish to create a sample of. Pretend you are buying the artwork. Click the buy/preview icon to the right of the image because you will be creating your sample from one of the displayed examples of each purchase option. Step Three Decide which of the product options you want to use as a sample. Try a few different ones to see which is the one which really shows off the work. If the image size only allows for Small of anything, your best option usually is to choose a laminated print over a framed print because the actual visual size of the artwork in the framed print is generally too small. Step Four Once you’ve decided upon the type and specifications for the sample, Right Click once while holding the mouse over the image. A list of options should have appeared. At the very bottom of this list is the word Properties. Move the mouse over Properties and Left Click once. A new window should have opened. Halfway down the list of properties you will see Address: with the acronym URL immediately under it. This is the place on the RB big computer (server) where the pitcha of your sample product is stored – it’s address. (OK, all you tech heads are now cringing at my howler, but it’s ok, okaay :)) You need to copy the address and paste it (Step Five) in the exact place you want it to be shown. To copy the URL, hold the mouse over the start of the address, just to the left of the term http. When I say “just to the left” I mean right up against the “h” of http. The mouse needs to change from an arrow to a symbol which looks like a capital i in traditional font (Times New Roman). When that happens and with the mouse still right on that “h”, press and hold the Left mouse button and then, while still holding down the left mouse button, move the mouse straight down vertically. The address should now be highlighted. Keep moving down until the end of the address is within the highlighted area. The end of the address is always .jpg and you will always need to scroll down one line before you reach it. Now let go of the left mouse button, leaving the address highlighted. Keeping the mouse over the highlighted area, Right click once. Two options will appear. Select Copy (left mouse button). Now click on the Cancel icon at the bottom of the Properties window. This is just to close it. Step Five – Wallah! Now go back to where you want to show the sample. Let’s assume you are making a comment on a brilliant piece of artwork and you wanted to show a sample of it framed or laminated as part of your comment (the artist will love you for it!) All you need to do is Paste the address of the sample where in your comment you want the sample to appear, eg at the end. To do this, firstly Left click on that space so that the cursor is blinking. Now Right click once and select Paste. The address you copied in Step Four should now appear as part of your comment. (But it isn’t really). It must start with http and it must end with .jpg. If it doesn’t you need to delete what you just pasted and go back and re-copy the address and re-paste it. You are allowed to swear while doing so. Step Six – Really Important Before you hit the Reply button, you need to add the symbol that tells the computer to go get the pitcha. You must type this symbol once at the start of the address and once at the end of the address without leaving a space between the typed characters. The symbol is the exclamation mark. So, make sure the start of the address looks like this – !http – and the end of the address looks like this – .jpg! Now you can hit the Reply button. Step Seven – Really Really Important Check to make sure the linking worked. The address should have been replaced by the pitcha. But wait…there’s more You can create a sample of an image in its own Description in exactly the same way as I have described above. I normally do this by uploading the artwork, making it available to purchase as … whatever, but hiding it from public view. Then I simply go into the buy/preview page, grab the address of the sample, then paste it into the Description while still in Edit mode, then click on *Allow anyone to view this work before saving. Hope this guide answers a few questions for you! If so, you might like to also check out my guides to creating clickable images and creating links Any problems feel free to either bmail me or email me at peter_h111@msn.com. If you already know how to do all the above, please don’t feel the need to leave a comment, thanks. :)

• The Patch Tool, a major time saver.
  by Deri Dority

  The patch tool is often a very underutilized tool in Photoshop. Hidden under the Spot healing brush and 2 other tools, the Patch tool i…

  The patch tool is often a very underutilized tool in Photoshop. Hidden under the Spot healing brush and 2 other tools, the Patch tool is similar to a combination of the lasso tool and the healing tool. You select an area, click the appropriate button (source or destination- mine is usually on source) and then drag the selection to another area that has characteristics that fit your needs. For example, in one of my photos, “Fall in the Hills”, the photo was dotted with houses and roads that didn’t add to the composition. I simply drew around the houses and roads with the patch tool and drug them into an area with trees. The result is no more houses/roads, that simple. The patch tool is often superior and easier to use than the clone tool, especially for large areas, achieving better results. Another example, if someone has black rings under the eyes, you trace around the area that needs work on, select “source” in the Tools Option Bar right above the Tools Palette), and drag it to an another area of skin that has a more likely color. Make sure that the area you are dragging to is blemish free, as you will pick up any blemishes that are in the destination area. The best way to see how this tool works is to practice with it. Easy to use, you can cut your work time way down by using this over the clone tool. I rarely use the spot healing tools any more as well, finding this faster and easier. For most general use, it is easy to use. It takes a little more practice to use when there are lines in the area that needs to be fixed. You must drag it to a destination that has the lines at the exact same angle. / The patch tool goes all the way back to Photoshop 7, and has been improved on in the newer versions of Photoshop.

• How To Photoshop: Navigating the Program
  by Brittany Kinney

  Hey all, / Below are a list of easy keyboard commands for Photoshop. I’m using a regular PC (Windows) but if you use a mac, all of the con…

  Hey all, / Below are a list of easy keyboard commands for Photoshop. I’m using a regular PC (Windows) but if you use a mac, all of the controls will be different…and because I don’t have a Mac within reach, I can’t get the commands for that. Sorry Mac users! Control + N = Opening a New Canvas / Control + O = Opening a new project from a different file (such as a photo) / Control + Z = Undo very last action; nothing past that. / Control + Alt + Z = Undo past actions; infinite. / Control + Shift + Z = Redo an action (that is, if you have already undone an action.) / Control + Shift + F = Fade… (This is a VERY useful tool that I just discovered about 2 minutes ago…For example, you draw something a little too light…do this command then you can make the brush stroke’s opacity darker! Again, VERY useful!) / Control + X = Cut / Control + C = Copy / Control + V = Paste / Control + Shift + V = Paste Into (Don’t know exactly what this does for sure yet but, apparently it’s useful?) / Control + I = Invert (makes a negative [or positive] of the image selected) / Control + A = Selects the whole canvas / Control + Shift + D = Reselects the part that was once selected, then deselected. / Control + D = Deselects the canvas / Control + – = Zoom Out / Control + + = Zoom In And there’s plenty more but these are the basic necessary keyboard commands for Photoshop. -Brittany

• Wanna be a wedding photographer? Easy! Read on...
  by Mark German

  Warning / This link will potentially make you cry. / / / Link...

  Warning / This link will potentially make you cry. / / / Link The item has ended, so i’ll post it here so the reference makes sense… WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY KIT FOR BEGINNERS – / INCLUDES CAMERA, FILM AND BOOK / How to Make a lot of Money with this Camera and this book / By David Booth / Ever wanted to change your lifestyle – do something else, earn more money? Well now you can, take a gamble and but this kit. Just follow my instructions and you could be the best wedding photographer in your town and make a fortune. / Just take the plunge and buy this kit. / This is not a crash course in wedding photography! This is a crash course on making money from wedding photography. / One of the things I love about photography is that you can make a lot of money from your skills, which can be applied very quickly. / The camera in this kit is a used point and shoot Praktica 950 AF Zoom, which has been fully tested by me and is all you will need for your new career. Before you start to mess around with the camera, read the book first. It’s only 27 pages, but you will never master the business of wedding photography and consequently will never make any money, unless you do. / There are no photographs in this book, since I do not want you to be influenced by anyone. Just read the book, follow my instructions and begin to create a little wedding photography business – part time or full time. In a recession, people still get married and they always need a photographer. / I have been a photographer all my life and have taken wedding photographs all over the world but there is nothing harder than trying to break into an established group of wedding photographers in any small town in England. You have to fight to get a footing. / I hope that this Kit will help you gain your position, find your client market and help you make a lot of money. Just remember, it’s not rocket science, just point the camera and shoot! Have a little fun at the same time. / About the technical side of working with this camera – there aren’t any. As long as you are able to pick up the camera that came in this kit, put in the film provided, point it at a subject and press the shoot button! That’s all there is to taking a photograph. There is no need to worry about the light or the shutter or the focus? Just point and shoot and run all the way to the bank. / Of course, there are a few tips and hints I will give you to make it easy but by and large that is all it takes to take a wedding photograph – make sure they are all looking at the camera, say cheese and then just point and shoot! / I am going to teach you how to take photographs at a wedding from start to finish. I will, of course, be teaching you some of the basics of professional wedding photography and all the little tricks of our trade. We will look at how to find customers and make money out of them. We will teach you the part of looking like a professional wedding photographer. If you look like one, then people might believe you are a professional wedding photographer. / I am sure that many professionals will recognise this scenario. You are out on location and some bright spark comes up to you and asks, “Do you think the Nikon is better than a Minolta? I have a Minolta but if I use a Nikon like you, would I be able to take better, more professional pictures?” / If I really have to answer them, then what I usually say is, if a Minolta or Nikon were types of paint brushes used by the great masters, would using one of them make you as good as Picasso or Van Gogh? / We will discuss the following topics: / Your Business Plan / Create your Business Name / Checkout the Competition / Plan some Promotion / Create some letterheads / Print some Business Cards / Design some leaflets / Get your Portfolio Photographs Ready / Prepare your Package Costings / The Wedding Order / The Photograph Checklist / The Wedding Agreement / Taking the Pictures / Why Photographic Film and Not Digital / One of the best money making ideas for a wedding photographer is to try to get the proofs printed and back to the reception before it ends. Don’t worry if the bride and groom have left for their honeymoon, you will always see them later. But the reception continues! / Now, just a few instructions on this camera. It’s called a point and shoot because that is all you need to do. Once you have loaded the film into the camera, the settings are very simple. The lens is auto-focus and has a 35 – 95mm zoom. It also has auto exposure. The flash is automatic or manual, you decide, Every thing else is automatic. The camera comes with a manual. Please read it and get to know all the various things it can do. / Finally, take it easy, never rush a wedding, take your time to organise the shots, the bride and groom will understand, even if no one else does, particularly if it’s a cold day. Don’t forget, you are in charge, don’t listen to anyone else after you have made up your mind. Speak with authority and don’t be bullied. Pretend you are a “Professional Wedding Photographer” and they just might believe you! / So good luck! / Oh, by the way, I will be available to the purchaser for advice, once he gets up and ready to start. / David Booth

• THE AVATAR CHALLENGE!!!
  by Chookas

  [I have to admit I see where so many hosts get the screaming urge to delete members if they don’t join in on stuff like this lol ☺] Ok…

  [I have to admit I see where so many hosts get the screaming urge to delete members if they don’t join in on stuff like this lol ☺] Ok it has come to my attention that the gmail was confusing / so here I shall clarify Dec 08 Avatar Challenge Entries / These are the ENTRIES that you have to CHOSE from / ☼ 1 / Mardra Treatise story the Wave Goodbye / To Anne Staub art Childhood ☼ 2 / Jan Stead macro photographic art & inspired poetry Symbol ☼ 3 / Tracy Bagnall created digital art & inspired poetry / For the EEG avatar Challenge ☼ 4 / Tracy Bagnall Treatise poetry This one came home / To Carlos Solorza photographic art This one came home NOW look at these and in the comment below tell me / which ONE you like BEST / then which one you like SECOND / then which one you like Third Or if you don’t want people to know who you vote for tell me here that you will Bubble mail me – THEN actually bubble mail me your vote! In light of this confusion I will hold voting open for the next 24 hours but midday tomorrow [Melbourne time] I will close the whole shebang and tell you who won the privilege of combining their work and having it pasted as the group avatar for the next 3 months! Ok clearer now? Good – now look & comment [you gave this open anyway!] / Chookas! X♣X ☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺♣☼♣☺

• TUTORIAL: Resizing Images for Print in Photoshop - The Simpler Way
  by Gracey

  For those of you with Photoshop, here’s a simple tutorial for resizing images for print in Photoshop. Much to my surprise, I discovere…

  For those of you with Photoshop, here’s a simple tutorial for resizing images for print in Photoshop. Much to my surprise, I discovered that Photoshop (CS2 is what I use) has a wizard for resizing images to print – something I had not seen before since I never ventured into the “Help” menu, which is where you’ll find it. This option is not available in CS3. I am currently printing my own images (up to 13” wide X 44” long) on an Epson R1900 and the prints I have resized using this wizard come out beautifully on that printer. I have not yet sent these off to a print-house to test them, so before you decide to sell anything sized this way, you’ll need to obtain a test-print from the printer of your choice. Download the tutorial in PDF format from here / The pdf contains screen prints of the steps, so it should be simple for anyone to follow. Since I use Photoshop CS2, I have no idea if this option is available in prior versions, or if it is available in Photoshop Elements. You’ll need to look in your programs to see. Please Note* Starting with the highest quality of image you’ve got will help result in the best quality of print.

• How easy it is to be backward
  by Ena Lü

  NOW THIS IS HOW LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED!!!! / Next Life’ by Woody Allen In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out …

  NOW THIS IS HOW LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED!!!! / Next Life’ by Woody Allen In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people’s home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm! I rest my case.

• Flat to Fab in 4 easy steps with Photoshop
  by Alison Johnston

  It’s really 5 easy steps because you will have to select something at the beginning, but doesn’t it always work that way :-) The imag…

  It’s really 5 easy steps because you will have to select something at the beginning, but doesn’t it always work that way :-) The image below is brought to us courtesy of bjearwicke over at Stock Exchange. Overall it’s a nice image, it has some distracting bits and pieces in the background and the couple seem to be blending in with the surrounds a little bit. Take a look at the image below – on the left is the start image above, and on the right is the image with the effect you are going to learn here. Both images started life at 800×533 @72 dpi. I took them into a new file 1600×533 and then resized the image to 1024×292. The right hand image looks as though the photographer took a step forward to take it ….. nope, just ye olde optical illusion, but it does make the couple the central focal point and the distractions of the b/ground have magically faded away :-) Sure, we could just go in and blur the bejesus out of the offending pieces, but it is nice to have other alternatives available and perhaps we need to preserve something in the background as a reference point to where and when the image was taken. You can use this technique on animals, objects, scenery etc., it is not just limited to people. So lets get on with it. Open the image and duplicate the b/ground layer. You are going to have to select the couple. You can do this in a variety of ways, I used the green channel, dragged it to the create new channel at the bottom of the channel palette, inverted it and then selected the couple by painting them with white. Normally you would take a fair bit of care to get the selection pretty right in the first. I was a bit sloppy with mine because I know that I can fix it inside the layers later on :-) If you’ve gone the channel route to select the couple, hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and click on the Cahnnel – this will load it. Click on RGB in the channels, then go back to the layers palette, add a mask to the background copy layer, and your selection will automatically become masked. Duplicate the masked layer twice and then hide the top 2 layers. You can rename the background copy layer Hue/Sat if you like. The next layer up the stack ‘unsharp’ and the top layer ‘high pass’ Click on the Hue/Sat layer to make it active and click on the ying yang layer at the bottom of the layers palette to create a new adjustment layer and choose Hue/Sat from the menu. You can punch in the numbers I have below or if you are working on a different image you’ll have to choose your own. The first thing you are going to notice once you click OK to accept the changes is that the whole layer has been desaturated and that isn’t what we want to happen. Hold down the Alt key and drag the layer mask from the layer below (hue/sat), and place it over the layer mask of the hue/sat adjustment layer then release the mouse. A small dialogue box will come up that asks if you would like to replace the layer mask, click OK to do that. You should find that the couple have been desaturated, click on the layer mask and press Ctrl + i on your keyboard to invert the mask. the background should now be desaturated a little bit. If you need to do any repairs to your selection, this would be a good time. Once you have it as you like drag the hue/sat adjustment layer to the top of the layer stack. Click on the layer – not the mask – called unsharp to make it active and go to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask and you can punch in the same numbers I have below it you are working on this image and then change the blend mode of the layer to luminosity. Don’t worry at the moment if it looks a little too sharp, you can always take down the opacity of the layer later on. Click on the layer you named High Pass – not the layer mask – and go to the top options bar and choose Image>Adjustments>Hue/Sat and take the saturation all the way down to -100. Before you move on to the next step, if you see anything weird and wonderful going on with the masking you can take the time to fix it. Still working on the layer – not the mask – go to Filter>Other>High Pass and you can use the same number I have and then change the blend mode of the layer to Overlay. You can lower the opacity of the high pass layer if you want, I’ve left it at 100% for the moment to see what it looks like with a curves adjustment layer. I can go back and take the opacity down later. Click on the Hue/Sat adjustment layer at the top of the layers stack, then click on the ying yang icon at the bottom of the layers palette and choose Curves. I’ve used a preset curves adjustment – Medium Contrast – you can fiddle around till you get something you like. I’m going to take the opacity of the curves adjustment down to 50%. And there you have it. Adjust the opacity of any of the layers to suit your choices and when you are happy, flatten the image. Here is my final image, I ended up taking the opacity of the High Pass layer down to 75% Have fun :-)

• New Bubblesite!!!
  by Carrie Glenn

  Check out my new *BubbleSite...

  Check out my new BubbleSite thanks to the amazingly progressive staff and support here at RedBubble, their new Bubblesite was not only easy to create but looks fresh, clean and professional. It’s definitely an excellent tool for all of us and I will be directing my customers to this new gallery. I recommend everyone check it out and build their own!!! ;D Thanks RedBubble!!!!!! / / xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

• COMMENTS
  by hugo

  I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WORK I AM COMMENTING ON AS I AM MAKING THE COMMENTS! I FIND MYSELF SCROLLING BACK AND FORTH, FROM THE WORK TO TH…

  I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WORK I AM COMMENTING ON AS I AM MAKING THE COMMENTS! I FIND MYSELF SCROLLING BACK AND FORTH, FROM THE WORK TO THE COMMENTS BOX AND BACK AGAIN, ETC. I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF ANY COMMENTS ON WORK WERE SORTED IN ASCENDING ORDER RATHER THAN DESCENDING ORDER AS THEY ARE NOW, AND WITH THE CURRENT COMMENTS BOX JUST BELOW THE WORK SO I CAN VIEW IT! I HOPE THIS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED EASILY AS IT WOULD MAKE MY LIFE MUCH EASIER, AND I’M SURE OTHER REDBUBBLERS AS WELL! THANK YOU.

• New bubblesite
  by Chris Willis

  Well…I never thought that setting up a web site could be so easy. I had put off the ‘ordeal’ for such a long time….but bit the bullet…

  Well…I never thought that setting up a web site could be so easy. I had put off the ‘ordeal’ for such a long time….but bit the bullet a couple of evenings ago. Took a deep breath, and plunged headlong into the Frey….came up for air a short time later feeling as though I was on top of the world since everything was so much easier than I had ‘imagined’ it was going to be. Don’t we let our imaginations rule us sometimes…course…I am only speaking to myself, LOL. I know that down through the years I have allowed myself to be stopped from doing things, just because I don’t ‘think’ I can ‘do it’....whatever it is!! I’m pretty much fed up with that way of thinking. Putting up mental road blocks has become quite a stronghold….a stronghold that I am determined to demolish :-) Life is way too short to be held back from achieving our dreams. Yes…there are some things I don’t know how to do…I’m not as technically savy as some of you out there….but I can sure try to learn. What I can say to those who may be feeling intimidated by the though of trying to set up a bubblesite of their own…don’t put it off like I did…it’s easy peasy!! / If you’re interested in taking a look, my new bubblesite is to be found here. link I hope that you all have a wonderfully creative time over the weekend :-)

• It's As Easy as A, B, C....
  by Promotion Of Other RB Members

  As a continuation of highlighting other great works by fellow RB members I thought it would be fun to learn the alphabet along the way to…

  As a continuation of highlighting other great works by fellow RB members I thought it would be fun to learn the alphabet along the way too. A is for Augural Autumn Aura by Christopher Berry / B is for The Beautiful Bow by Echo North / C is for The Cliffs by Steven Guy / D is for Dam Reflections by Naomi Frost / E is for Early Summer Morning by Larry Llewellyn / F is for Faded Rose by Rosalie Dale / G is for Golden Gate Bridge by O A Studios / H is for Help Me by Gary L Suddath / I is for I Got Me a Massive Cliff by I Got me a Canon / J is for Joybringer by Simon Gladwin / K is for Kissing The Morning Wood by J Chanders / L is for Left Of The Light by Jane Keats / M is for Morning snow, Gargellen, Austria by Lenka / N is for Number 66 by Paul Tupman / O is for Omeo by Darren Stones / P is for Pink by Ally L / Q is for The Quay by Andrew Bosman / R is for Reflection by Crystal Zacharias / S is for Sedona Sunset by Globalphotos / T is for Tree Lines by TnTPhotoart / U is for Untouched by Angel Perry / V is for Vertical Limit by Trudi / W is for Where Dreams Like Rivers Flow by Rhana Griffin / X is for X marks the spot by Wickerman / Y is for Yosemite Valley Cloudscape by Benjamin Padgett / Z is for Zebra Stripes by Clare Scott /

• From Good to Great (hopefully) using Photoshop CS2 Basics
  by Nikki Trexel

  By Nikki Trexel I was in North Carolina’s Outer Banks for ten days, a summer paradise …

  By Nikki Trexel I was in North Carolina’s Outer Banks for ten days, a summer paradise for one Midwestern girl who’s never been to the ocean. Many photos were captured, such as A Sandy Stairway to Heaven, and the ocean was lapping at our ankles and The Shadows Ascend. But this, one of the first taken at the beach, immediately stuck out to me as having potential: And so you can compare them side by side, here’s the final product. / / The first thing I did when I opened the photo was crop a little extra space off the bottom and left-hand side. This gives the photo a more balanced composition. The sand shouldn’t be the first thing the eye lands on. I also rotated it one or two degrees counter-clockwise to even out the horizon line (Image>Rotate Canvas>Arbitrary). These are very important steps and I recommend doing them first. (And if I hadn’t been trying to keep up polite conversation with the person showing me around, I might have even gotten it right when I took the photo.) Then I had a play in Curves (Ctrl+M or Image>Adjustments>Curves). This is a very powerful tool which, used appropriately and subtly, can create more “pop” and intensity in a bland photo. It can take a while to get the hang of, but for me, the best results are often obtained by creating two or three “pins” and dragging the line so it creates a kind of subtle S-curve like this: / / Here’s roughly how Curves works: the line represents darker tones towards the bottom and left, and lighter ones towards the top and right. So, for example, if you drag the top part of the line down, it’ll make the highlights darker; and if you drag it upwards, your bright spots will be ever brighter. Be very careful, though, not to blow out any highlights or over-darken the dark spaces. It’s easy to get carried away with the Curves tool and make your photo look pretty ridiculous. Next, I used the Replace Color tool (Image>Adjustments>Replace Color) to make my chairs a little brighter without oversaturating the blue sky. Here, you just use the dropper to select which color you’d like to alter, and make sure the “Fuzziness” slider on the Replace Color window is increased as much as possible without starting to apply to stuff you don’t want it to. Here it’s simple because there is only one pink and one green area in my photo. All I did was “grab” each color with the dropper, and slightly increase the saturation. (It might be a bug in my version of Photoshop, but you might have to close out the window, then open it again to start working on a new color.) Again, this is something you have to get the hang of, but after a while it becomes second nature. I also cloned out one or two swimmers in the distant water. Not much more than a dot or two of cloning was necessary – they were only large enough to be spots in my lovely blue water. The last, and most important thing, I did with this image was – I guess it’s pretty obvious – give it a nice sky. I kind of liked the simplicity of the plain blue sky in the original, but I wanted the image to be special. I was lucky enough to have a similar photo of the clouds, taken on the same beach but on another day. I chose it because the size, depth and lighting were mostly correct already. I had to slightly alter the color to make it match the “feel” of the original photo. Here is my new sky in its primitive form. My original sky is also a very simple one to replace. The only thing sticking into the sky area is my duo of beach chairs. (If it had been a more complicated horizon, I would have probably opted for a smooth blue sky.) My chosen method for this simple replacement was simply to Clone the new sky overtop of the other old one. (There are more complex and useful ways utilizing Layers but there is really no need for that now. Plus, I don’t know how to use those ways.) This method won’t work every time, so you’ll need to size up your options to see how you’re going to create your masterpiece. If the sky to be replaced is very simple, with not a lot of complications like trees or people or other things in front of it, then you are golden. Lastly, I did a little bit of final tweaking to the entire image to make everything feel right. That included a bit of dodging and burning in my clouds, a slight saturation increase overall, and a couple of tiny clone jobs to get rid of a few blades of grass apparently growing out of the ocean (courtesy of the foreground of my new sky). You’ll have to work with this on your own photo and see what looks best. Every photo is different, and every path from good to great is totally unique. Here is my final product again, which took me a little less than a half-hour from start to finish. / Rhapsody in Blue Thanks so much for reading!

• Feed the Hungry for FREE!
  by Andrew Hildebrand

  Ok every one…listen up… i have found this new website called www.freerice.com. This is an absalutly incredible site. It basically set…

  Ok every one…listen up… i have found this new website called www.freerice.com. This is an absalutly incredible site. It basically sets up a simple vocabulary game with a word and four multiple choice words and all you need to do is click the word that works best, simple enough, right. The greatest part is that with every answer you get right 20 grains of rice are given to the United Nations to help stop world hunger. Together we can do somthing about this, its fun, free, and very easy. If your one of those people who want to do somthing but dont know what to do, this is YOUR chance. So check it out and lets do our small part to help those in need. I have a button on my Overview that you too can add to your overview, just copy and paste http://www.freerice.com/banners/392_72_FullBanner.jpg!:http://www.freerice.com/ with an ! at the very beginning into your ‘about me’ in your ‘edit profile’ section. / Thank you for reading this and helping feed those in desperate desparte need. Andrew

• The super easy way to do links TO and WITH Images
  by lightsmith

  I’ve updated my Doing Links and Stuff – especially with images – without needing to be a genius...

  I’ve updated my Doing Links and Stuff – especially with images – without needing to be a genius So check it out anyone who hasn’t. There’s no benefit for me … only for you

• Looking for EASY and free programme to download for text
  by Kathie Nichols

  Anyone know of such a programme? It has to be simple as I really don’t know a lot about computers and would like to put text on my greet…

  Anyone know of such a programme? It has to be simple as I really don’t know a lot about computers and would like to put text on my greeting cards!

• These images are too easy to print!
  by MiMiDesigns

  Other than watermarking, how do we stop anyone printing any of these images? The larger format is easy to print on my little bubblejet.

  Other than watermarking, how do we stop anyone printing any of these images? The larger format is easy to print on my little bubblejet.

• Photography style.....
  by Classicperfection

  I mention in my profile that I’m still trying to find ‘my true style’, but after much thought I’ve decided maybe I’m looking for somethin…

  I mention in my profile that I’m still trying to find ‘my true style’, but after much thought I’ve decided maybe I’m looking for something that won’t ever be found…. Maybe… just maybe it’s not about style at all….. Happen it’s more capturing what you get pleasure in or simply just having the guts to step out of your comfort zone to try something different. It’s all to easy to do landscapes, flowers or portraits because ‘thats what we do’, beacuse thats ‘our style’ but maybe it isn’t. Maybe style is just another word for ‘that’s what’s safest’.... Or maybe I’m just talking absolute crap and saying ‘maybe’ way too many times…

• Alright! All Done
  by Vestque

  For now… My Profile has been remodeled. Now I have categorized the majority of my work to allow easy access. What do you guys think?...

  For now… My Profile has been remodeled. Now I have categorized the majority of my work to allow easy access. What do you guys think? I know all of the direct profile links work, but I still have yet to check every individual artwork link from the journal entries to the artwork themselves. I’m pretty sure it’s all go now, though, but if you do run into trouble please be sure to let me know! Thanks for your patience guys! Enjoy the New Navigation! Vestque

• How To Photoshop: Blending Images
  by Brittany Kinney

  Below are the steps on how to blend images: 1. Open one image. (Control + O) / 2. To the right of the screen, there should be a “Layers…

  Below are the steps on how to blend images: 1. Open one image. (Control + O) / 2. To the right of the screen, there should be a “Layers” box. In it, there should be a thumbnail of the image you have open and it should say, “Background”. You’ll want to make this a regular layer so, on your keyboard, hold the “Alt” key and double click on the layer name. It should now say “Layer 0”. / 3. Now, open a second image in a DIFFERENT canvas than the first image. (Control +O) / 4. With the “Move Tool”, move the second image onto the first image. Place it where ever you’d like the images to meet. / 5. Add a Layer Mask to the layer now titled, “Layer 1”. (Layer>Add Layer Mask>Reveal All) / 6. Select the Gradient Tool (on the toolbar on left. If you still don’t know what this is, then just hit “G” on your keyboard and it will select it.) / 7. Make sure you have the black to white gradient selected. Then hold the “Shift” and drag the mouse over the image; over the part that you want people to see still. And that’s it! You can tweak it a little using the Eraser (E) tool if you’d like. Hope this helped! / -Brittany

• Portfolio
  by Kathleen Struckle

  What is the easies way to arrange your portfolio? Thank you.

  What is the easies way to arrange your portfolio? Thank you.

• Oxfam TRAILWALKER EASY!
  by Sarina Tomchin

  well, we did it easily and comfortably. 100kms in 18:35hrs. 12th complete team to finish and 2nd mixed team. Had a beautiful day and we r…

  well, we did it easily and comfortably. 100kms in 18:35hrs. 12th complete team to finish and 2nd mixed team. Had a beautiful day and we raised the amount of money we aimed to raise. Best of all, we’re all still friends! / It was very surreal and i really loved all of it, beautiful trails, stunning waterways and at night a perfectly clear, star laden sky, owls hooting and the sound of voices and laughter as teams ran/walked thru the night. Dreamy. / I’ve been painting a BIG canvas 2m x 2m of Morning Bay Wharf and really loving this painting. Today i’m working on the water. There’s maybe 2-3 days left on it.There’s lots of gorgeous graffitti all over it which i’ve yet to do. / I did my summer 09 sleepwear range a few weeks ago and then went skiing for a week at Persiher with some friends and had the most wonderful time. My aim was to ski from the moment the lifts opened til when they closed @ 5pm and then on the Tuesday night i also did night skiing for a couple of hours. This was without the kids so it was great to have no-one i had to look after ‘cept myself! / Over the next few weeks i’ll do a window display for a bike shop, Bar Bici and maybe paint up some new bicycle graphics. there are 2 I’ve been wanting to do for ages but haven’t had time. / My goal for the next few months is to have a painting ready for each of the Archibald, Winn & Sulman prizes and of course enter them. Hoping to concentrate more on the painting for the next few years and get back on track with it as I neglected it for a long time, painting only when needed for product. / My new calendar is due in soon and will be on sale at all the normal outlets this summer. Last year we produced it ourselves and didn’t have any distribution – so a lot of my usual customers didn’t get it, sorry. We’re back with my old calendar company Bartel who sells it thru newsagents and post offices, etc. / Better get back to work, Ciao. /