Adding a dashed or dotted stroke to a vector path in Photoshop

Posted by e&p on September 5, 2012 in Design Smarts, Photoshop CS6, vector shapes

In Photoshop CS6, you can use the shape tools to create vector shapes, which appear automatically on shape layers (also called vector layers). Like the vector objects in Adobe Illustrator, the underlying structure of a vector shape in Photoshop is an editable path, complete with anchor points and direction lines. Via Options bar controls, you can apply or edit the fill and stroke settings for a selected vector shape at any time. Here we will show you how to make the stroke of a vector shape dashed or dotted.

 

Creating a vector shape

On the Tools panel, we chose the Custom Shape tool (U or Shift-U); you could also choose any other shape tool on the same fly-out menu. Via the menu in the Custom Shape picker, we loaded the Objects library, then clicked the Umbrella preset. From the Tool Mode menu on the Options bar, we chose Shape (to cause the object to appear on a shape layer).

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To create a clipping mask group

Posted by e&p on August 8, 2012 in Design Smarts, Layers, Masks, Photoshop CS6, Type

In Photoshop, you can use a shape on one layer to clip (hide) nonoverlapping pixels on one or more other layers — and the Create Clipping Mask command makes this easy to do. The base, or bottommost layer (the one that does the clipping) can be a type, image, or shape layer, or a Smart Object. Together, the base layer and the clipped layers are called a clipping group.

In the example shown here, we’ll fill type with imagery — transforming it from a simple word into a more graphic element. We’ll also use the Warp command to change the shape of the type and some layer effects to add depth.

Create a background texture

We created a new, blank document. On the Layers panel, we clicked the Background, then chose Pattern from the Create Fill/Adjustment menu at the bottom of the panel to create a Pattern Fill layer. In the Pattern Fill dialog, we chose a pattern (the Carpet pattern in the Patterns 2 library), adjusted the Scale value, then clicked OK.

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Download a printer profile for an Epson inkjet printer

Posted by e&p on August 4, 2012 in Calibration, Color Correction, Photoshop CS6, printer profiles, Printing

To maximize color management in your workflow, you must calibrate your display (covered in a previous post), and for print output, choose a printer profile that conforms to the inkjet printer and paper combination you will be using. Here we’ll show you how to locate specific profiles on the website for Epson.com, the manufacturer of many popular inkjet printers. The process is relatively simple: Choose the support category, choose the product category and printer model, then choose a specific paper profile.

Note: Profiles are available only for select Epson printers. We’ll summarize the steps to download the profiles for the Stylus Photo R and Style Pro series. The steps in the first section below apply to the Stylus Photo R1800, R1900, R2400, R2800, R3000, and R800 models; the steps in the second section below apply to some Stylus Pro printers.

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Download a printer profile for a Canon inkjet printer

Posted by e&p on July 30, 2012 in Calibration, Color Correction, Photoshop CS6, printer profiles, Printing

To maximize color management in your workflow, you must calibrate your display (covered in a previous post), and for print output, choose a printer profile that conforms to the inkjet printer and paper combination you will be using. Here we’ll show you how to locate specific profiles on the Canon.com website, the manufacturer of many popular inkjet printers. The process for finding a profile is relatively simple: Choose the support category; choose the printer type, series, and model; then choose a specific driver or paper profile.

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To calibrate an LCD display using an external device

Posted by e&p on July 30, 2012 in Calibration, Color Correction, photography

To achieve color consistency between what you see onscreen and what you see in a printout, the first step is to calibrate your display. To do this, we recommend that you purchase and use an external display calibrator. After draping the colorimeter over your monitor, you’ll follow the simple step-by-step instructions onscreen; the device will evaluate and adjust the characteristics of your display.

 

Although the steps below have been written for our device, the Spyder3Elite from Datacolor, they also apply loosely to other popular, moderately-priced hardware display calibrators that are currently available on the market.

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Stylizing a portrait in just a few easy steps

Posted by e&p on March 5, 2012 in adjustment layers, Creative Image Edits, photography, Stylize Photos, Textures

Sometimes we’ll gaze at a portrait and wonder how we can make it more unique or eye-catching without changing or losing the facial expression. One easy approach that often does the trick is to apply the Black & White adjustment to reduce the color saturation, then apply the Add Noise filter to add a grain texture. We’ll show you an example. The original photo is shown below.

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