In this Three Minutes Max video, Colin Smith gives us a quick tip to create a time-lapse video from several photos in Photoshop. He demonstrates checking the images in Bridge, then simply creating an image sequence from the images. Colin goes on to demo adding an effect over the entire sequence at once. Three Minutes […]

Step 1 Create a new document. The dimensions don’t really matter, but I started with a new document that’s 470 pixels by 350 pixels, RGB, and 72 dpi. Fill it with White. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Enter the settings below, then press OK. Step 2 To begin to form the base […]

One of the most misunderstood Photoshop tools is the pen tool, which creates vector curves and paths. The pen tool is very powerful and accurate. With a little know-how and practice, it will be your ally for the rest of your career. Vectors Explained Vectors are lines, with curvature, thickness, and length all determined by […]

When you’re augmenting an existing photo or creating new art from scratch, an effect that looks like the sun glinting off a metallic or shiny surface can add some depth and interest to your art. The starburst effect in this tutorial even includes a little lens flare, so it’s a tasteful replacement for the sometimes-overused […]

This zoom effect how-to works in most versions of Photoshop. Step 1 Open a photo in Photoshop and choose the elliptical marquee tool from the toolbox. Make a selection on the photo, as shown in Figure 1. Tip: Hold the space bar to reposition the selection as you are drawing it. Step 2 Now feather […]

Step 1 Begin with a new document. You can either use an existing photo, or create a background yourself, as I did with this gradient. Step 2 Choose the polygon lasso tool. Hold down your mouse on the lasso tool to reveal the polygon option. Step 3 The Polygon Lasso doesn’t work with dragging. Instead, […]

This technique is a contrast/tone and color correction technique all in one. Once you run through it, you will see how just about any image can be improved, and you will use this technique many times over. For a number of years, this was just about the only correction technique that I used. Step 1: […]

When you have a series of images you want to stitch together in a panorama or grid, the auto-align and auto-blend tools in Photoshop CS3 are your best solution. They’re two incredibly powerful tools that are best used in tandem. In a way, they’re like the Photomerge of old, but CS3 does it a lot […]

Quick Color Change To change the color of an image, press Cmd/Ctrl+U to open the Hue/Saturation dialog box (Figure 1). Then move the Hue slider to change the color. Use the Saturation control to adjust color intensity, and Lightness to adjust… well, the lightness. Click on Colorize to add color to a grayscale image or […]

In part 1 of this tutorial, you learned how to create the basic interface shape and add depth to the shape for greater realism. (If you missed out on part 1 and want to drive right into part 2, you can download the interim file here.) In this installment, you’ll layer a convincingly realistic LCD […]