Make the Reds Pop in Photoshop

Because ordinary picture is not an option..I'm gonna teach you how to achieve the extra-ordinary color in your digital photograph. We're gonna figure out how to make the reds pop and the yellows mellow..if you have blues, then, we'll just make them sparkle. How about all that for a very cool postcard..or a little bit of awesomeness to add to your digital art. And PSD file is included at the

Photoshop keyboard shortcuts archive

Keyboard shortcuts have major benefits in improving speed and efficiency when working with Photoshop. Shortcuts allow use to quickly switch to a different tool without going to the tools panels. This can save a considerable amount of time when working with PS.

I previously wrote a post on the keyboard shortcuts for Photoshop which can be found here. The shortcuts from this post were from the default Adobe website. However, I found an excellent resource for shortcuts over at: morris-photographs. The photographer Trevor Morris has a great series of Photoshop keyboard shortcuts for most versions of Photoshop. I believe the version range from PS5 to PS CS4 which is seven series. These shortcuts are available to download in PDF format for free. To download these files, simply right click and select save as.

If you want to find out about quick tip for Photoshop then checkout this series.

Using the extract filter in Photoshop

In this tutorial you will learn how to extract the background from an image using the extract filter in Photoshop. Extracting removes the background and leaves the object in place. You can also use the pen tool or the quick mask tool to remove the background, but I find using the extract filter easier.

Using the extract filter in Photoshop

Step 1

Open an image in Photoshop. I have used a free stock image, but you can use whatever image you wish.

Step 2

Select the Extract filter by going to Filter > Extract. On the Tool options to the right, adjust the brush size to your liking. Then paint over the areas of the image to create an edge of where you want to retain like below. Notice that you don�t have to be too accurate with the paint brush as any mistakes can be later corrected.

Step 3

Select the Fill tool (G) on the tools panel on the left and fill in the selection. The selection will appear in a blue colour. If you wish to see what your image will look like you can click the preview button, otherwise click ok.

Step 4

My extracted image has not come out perfectly, but this can easily be fixed. Select the History Brush tool and recover any missing areas. Then select the eraser tool to remove any extra areas.

Once you have corrected the damaged area you will be left with the following image.

Now you can add any background of your choice to the image.

Quick tip 23 � Clear purge cache

This is part 23 of the Photoshop quick tip series where you will learn how to clear the purge cache. The purge cache is basically the temporary files such as the undo states that Photoshop stores so that data can be easily retrieved at any point.

The process of storing all these files will cause Photoshop to slow down considerably especially if you have an older machine. This will also depend on the length of time you used Photoshop, so if you use PS for a short period of time then everything should be fine. However, if you use PS for longer periods of time, you may start to notice a slow down in the performance as PS is consuming lots of RAM memory. If you have an update to date machine with plenty of free RAM then clearing the purge should not be a problem.

To clear the purge in Photoshop, go to the menu bar then select Image > Purge this will remove all the temporary files, and your computer should run faster.

Remember to subscribe to keep up to date with all the Photoshop quick tips.

Metallic Toning Effect on your Portrait

Not sure what to call this effect. It makes the color of the portrait quite metallic, like your skin was made of silver, bronze or maybe copper. I've seen it a couple of times in magazines when they have a big portrait of a stranger spread on a full page. So maybe it's about time I write something about this effect. Who would be more perfect for this metallic effect other than the Iron Man actor,

Quick tip 22 � Open two windows in Photoshop

In this quick tip you will learn how to open two windows in Photoshop. For more quick tips, checkout the article on the Photoshop quick tip series.

When you are zoomed into an image in Photoshop making modifications, you sometimes need to see the overall result of your work. This involves zooming in and out of an image to see the results which can be rather time consuming. There is an easy solution to this problem. Simply go to menu bar and select Window > Arrange > New Window.




This will basically open up a new window of your current PS document. So if you make changes to the zoomed image, the results will be updated immediately in the new window. This allows you to see the overall PS document when you making modifications.

Quick tip 21 � Revert original features

In this Photoshop quick tip series you will learn how to revert back to the original features of your image/file.

When you make lot of modifications to your image, you will sometimes need to revert back to the original features. Of course you can use undo, but this only has a certain number of undo slots. So if need to undo a lot of changes then this is not possible. You can the history panel as well, but this also has the same problem. Although you can increase the number of history slots from the Photoshop preferences.

To revert back to the original settings you select File > Revert or F12 on the keyboard. When you select this option, all the changes you had made to this file will get removed and will return to its original settings.

Quick tip 20 � Full screen mode

In this Photoshop quick tip you will learn how to quickly switch to full screen mode. This is part 20 of the PQTS.

There are three screen modes in Photoshop with the default view being the most common. The default is when the screen shows all the palettes, menu bars and other screen elements.

To change to the full screen mode, you press the �F� key on the keyboard. When you press this key you will notice the size of your current document expand while the menu bar still remains. If you press the �F� key again, you will see the menu bar disappear while the background of Photoshop turns to a black colour.

You can also change to a different screen mode from the menu bar by selecting View > Screen mode.

Quick tip 19 � Hide the workspace

This is part 19 of the Photoshop quick tip series where you will learn how to hide the workspace in Photoshop.

Hiding the workspace removes the toolbar and the palettes from view in Photoshop. This can be useful if you have an extremely large image and wish to see the whole image without zooming out.

To hide workspace including all the panels and palettes you select the Tab key on the keyboard, and you will be left with the following image in Photoshop. As you can see, only the menu bar still remains.

You can also only hide the palettes by selecting Shift + Tab which will leave the tool bar in place.

Please remember to subscribe to keep up to date with the latest tips.

Quick tip 18 � Font update

This is part 18 of the Photoshop quick tip series where you will learn about the updating of fonts in Photoshop.



Did you know you can update fonts without needing to restart Photoshop, or have PS initially closed down? You can simply place the font file inside the system font folder and PS will update the changes instantly. So, for example if you have downloaded a new font from the internet, you can place the font inside the system font folder and use the new font straight away. The default location for font�s folder in windows is Start > Control Panel > Fonts.

If you want some free fonts, checkout my post on 8 free manga fonts and 8 free graffiti fonts.

Quick tip 17 � Redo Filter

This is part 17 of the Photoshop quick tip series where you will learn how to repeat he last filter you applied to your image. Remember to subscribe to keep up to date with all the Photoshop quick tips.

Assuming you have already open up Photoshop and applied a filter to your image. To repeat the same filter, you simply select Ctrl + F on the keyboard, and you should notice the filter being applied again. The alternative method is to go through the menu bar by selecting Filter then choosing the first menu item. I applied a noise filter to my image, so will see the �Add Noise� item. If you look very carefully you will see the shortcut keys beside the menu item which is Ctrl + F.

Did you know you can also open up the last filter dialog box by selecting Ctrl + Alt +F on the keyboard? This is useful if you wish to make adjustments before applying the filter again.

If you know anymore shortcut regarding the filters, feel free to lave any comments below and remember to subscribe.

Black and white sketch effect

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a black and white sketch effect using the threshold adjustment and various filters. The black and white sketch gives the effect of a hand drawn picture using black and white paint. I have used a free stock image of a woman, a full list of free stock images can be found here. This effect works best if you use a self portrait image.


Black and white sketch effect

Step 1

Open an image in Photoshop.




Step 2

Select Image > Adjustments > Threshold and adjust the threshold levels to your liking and click ok. I have set my level to 109.




Step 3

Add a diffuse filter by selecting Filter > Stylize > Diffuse and select the option Anisotropic and click ok.




Step 3

Now add a sharpening filter by selecting Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen edges.



You should now have a black and white sketch effect.

6 Free New Year wallpapers

The New Years celebrations have just finished, and what better way to honour the New Year by offering six free wallpapers. To download the wallpapers, simply right click and select �Save As�. All the wallpapers below are free to download.

Quick tip 17 � Resize an image

This is part 17 of the Photoshop quick tip series where you will learn how to resize an image. Resizing an image is useful for reducing the size of an image file. Note that increasing or decreasing the size of an image too much can cause the image to become distorted and blurry.

Firstly, open an image in Photoshop. Then in the menu bar choose Image > Image Size and the following window dialog will appear.

Now, changing the image size is as simple as adjusting the width and height of the pixel dimensions. By default the �Constrain Proportions� option is checked which means that if either one the width or height settings are changed. The other option will be changed to match the aspect ratio of the overall image file. However, if you want custom dimensions you can uncheck this option.

20 Sets Doodle Brushes for Photoshop

So, you tried to doodle or scribble on a peice of paper but nothing fun and cool came out. It's not the end of the world yet, coz our talented doodle artists are kind enough to share their sketchy scribble brushes with you. Enjoy 20+ sets of doodle Photoshop brushes for free, the cutest and coolest brushes you'll ever find on the web, well at least for now coz talented people just keep coming. 1.