Photoshop : Quick Tip - Sample colour from anywhere
Posted by Jennifer Farley | July 27, 2007 | 2 Comments
Up until Photoshop 7, you could use the Eyedropper to sample colour ONLY from within an open image. This colour would then become the Foreground colour.Since then the Eyedropper tool has grown up and left the nest and will now let you sample colours from anywhere - the open image, the palettes, the toolbar. You can even sample colours from outside Photoshop.
So if you wanted to pick a colour up from a website (very useful) or from your desktop, there is a little trick to it.
1. Make sure that you have one open document inside Photoshop.
2. Make sure that Photoshop is not fully maximised so that you can see other applications open behind it.
3. (Here’s the trick). Select the Eyedropper tool, then click once in the open document and drag the eyedropper tool outside of Photoshop. Let go of the mouse key over the colour you want to sample and voila!
Photoshop Quick Tip : Changing Ruler Units Fast
Posted by Jennifer | July 16, 2007 | Leave A Comment
Sometimes when you’re working on a project in Photoshop, you realise, after you’ve opened a new document, that your rulers are set to pixels rather than centimeters (or vice versa or one of the other units). Here’s a mega-quick way to change ruler measurement units:
Right-click (windows) or Control-click (Mac) directly on the ruler. A pop-up menu will appear and you can select your preference from here.
Ten Commandments for Photoshop Users
Posted by Jennifer | June 20, 2007 | 7 Comments
I heard this morning that the Vatican has just issued ten commandments for drivers. I could probably learn a thing or two from them. Anyway, I decided to write a ten commandments for Photoshop Users.
1. Thou shalt worship Photoshop and shall have no other image editors before it.
(Well maybe Illustrator. Ok, maybe GIMP too because it’s Open Source. But that’s it!)
2. Thou shalt remember Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z) because thou will need to undo.
3. Thou shalt not drop shadow or reflect everything.
4. Thou shalt remember that the Lens Flare filter should be used only once - when thou first gets Photoshop and think it’s cool. After that, thou should pretend it does not exist.
5. Honour thy father and mother, husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend and do not forget they exist when thou just want to try out “one more thing”.
6. Thou shalt not murder a good photograph by over-using filters.
7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain when Photoshop crashes and thou hast not saved.
8. Thou shalt not copy other Photoshop designs, thou shalt steal them.
9. Thou shalt not covet your neighbour’s wacom tablet. Get thine own.
10. Thou shalt occasionally turn off Photoshop, go outdoors, get fresh air and inspiration.
I’d be delighted to hear your commandments
Photoshop Tip : Keyboard Shortcuts For Scaling
Posted by Jennifer | June 13, 2007 | 4 Comments
When you are resizing an object in Photoshop with the Free Transform tool (Ctrl + T or Cmd + T), you probably already know that holding down the Shift key when dragging a handle will let you resize proportionately and avoid distortion. Read more
Photoshop Quick Tip : Shutting Down Open Photoshop Documents Fast
Posted by Jennifer | June 1, 2007 | Leave A Comment
This quick tip came to mind earlier today. I had Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and the web (naturally!) open on my pc and a colleague came into the classroom to install some new software on the pc. Not only did I have all of those programs open, but I also had several images open inside Photoshop. Needless to say, it can take a long time to do it manually, so the tip I have for you today is how to quickly close all of your open images in Photoshop… Read more
Photoshop Quick Tip : Sortin’ Your Document Windows
Posted by Jennifer | May 21, 2007 | Leave A Comment
You’ve probably found yourself working with lots and lots of images in separate document windows. And I’m sure, just like me you found it a bit of a pain in the bum sorting through them. Well one quick way of whizzing through each of those windows is to use the following shortcut:
Ctrl + Tab (windows) or Cmd + Tab (mac).
These shortcuts allow you to switch documents quickly.
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About
Hi, my name is Jennifer Farley and I am a designer and design instructor based in Ireland. Read more about Laughing Lion Design .
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