The Hidden Power of Adjustment Layers in Adobe Photoshop - Softcover

Valentine, Scott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0321957717 ISBN 13: 9780321957719

Publisher: Adobe Pr, 2013

Synopsis

Photoshop’s adjustment and fill layers give you an amazing level of control and are the building blocks of innumerable techniques. In this definitive resource, Scott Valentine demonstrates how to use these simple but powerful tools through approachable hands-on examples, and he calls on other Photoshop experts to share their techniques.

Whether you’re a professional or hobbyist, you’ll learn techniques that give you an edge in technical, personal, and commercial projects. Beginning and intermediate users of Photoshop will learn how adjustment and fill layers work and get up to speed on the most common techniques. Advanced users will find indispensable reference material in addition to speedy solutions to vexing problems. More than just a collection of effects and recipes, The Hidden Power of Adjustment Layers in Adobe Photoshop explains why the techniques work and how to tune them for your specific needs.

• Powerful tips and techniques from industry experts, including Katrin Eismann, Pete Collins, and Corey Barker
• Straightforward teaching style from a veteran Photoshop user
• Richly illustrated with examples of over two-dozen techniques covering photography, compositing, and illustration
• Quick-reference guide to every fill and adjustment layer with before-and-after images for easy comparison
• Downloadable reference files and actions to explore and enhance your creativity (on the companion website)

About this title

From the Author

Wondering whether this is the book for you? It's not an easy question, to be sure. Let me start off by saying I wrote with the intent of doing something new, not just in the material presented, but how that material is structured. This book takes work, and that's not something everyone wants to do. You'll have to put aside what you're used to in a Photoshop book and roll up your sleeves.

Think about it this way - if you drive a car, you're probably reasonably good at everyday traffic, right? Let's say you're the average driver and you understand the dashboard lights, can change the oil, and navigate freeways as well as anybody.

Now let's put you on a racetrack, or maybe crawling over rocks in the desert. You need a whole new set of skills just to keep it together - and not just behind the wheel. All of a sudden, knowledge of internal combustion engines, brakes, and electrical systems becomes vital. Understanding the vehicle from top to bottom is no longer an option, but a requirement. You aren't just looking at the fuel gauge, but knowing the fuel-air mix, spray droplet size, and compression ratio. And you're using that to push yourself to perform.

What I present in this book takes you from driving to performing. And you'll have to put in the effort for that to happen. I'm not talking about competing with others, but winning by having mastery over your tools.

So, it's not really about what you know coming in, it's about how you approach Photoshop and how hard you want to work for excellence. Cookbooks and ready-made solutions are great when you have the luxury of always looking things up. But my goal is to get you away from the manuals, to embed the fundamentals inside you so you are never held back by manuals and road signs.

This book is not for you if you're content making a run to the corner store for milk. But it is for you if you want to sip champagne in the winner's circle.

Which will it be, then? Milk or Champagne?

About the Author

Scott Valentine is an experimentalist by nature, using his background in physics, music, and theater to bring a unique perspective to sharing knowledge with other Photoshop users and photographers. He is also an Adobe Community Professional and has been a featured presenter for RetouchPRO and Wacom, written for Photoshop User Magazine, and actively supports Adobe user groups. His 2012 title, The Hidden Power of Blend Modes in Adobe Photoshop, was well received for combining creative and technical elements into an approachable work. When not at a keyboard...who are we kidding? Scott is nearly constantly at a keyboard. But sometimes he enjoys playing guitar, ice hockey, and spending time with his family.

 

Edition details

• Publisher: Adobe Pr
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0321957717
• ISBN 13: 9780321957719
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 261