Photoshop > Drawing and Basics

One thing I have found quite useful and a real timesaver is to keep a library of shadows. I keep a few basic shadows on file and repurpose them instead of having to recreate them from scratch each time a new image comes in. This is particularly useful for car images, but you may find other uses for them. I usually keep them as a fairly large file, but the nice thing about a shadow is that it can be resized quite considerably, 200% or more, and the image doesn't really degrade all that much. Ad...

With every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. This applies to shadows as well. If you place a shadow underneath an object, some of this shadow should be reflected back onto the object, thus anchoring the object to Shadows the shadow and the surface on which it sits. Without this anchoring effect, objects will appear as if they are hovering (an effect you wouldn't want unless you were trying to make an object appear as though it were floating.

Sometimes your client has an image in which he would like to have the object cropped out of the background but retain the shadow. If the object is on a light background, this is generally a simple matter of dropping out the background.

Let's start our shadow work by creating a basic shadow for some strawberries. Our unretouched image, is a good example; most shadows I am asked to create are this type of simple basic shadow. Having said that though, one must pay special attention to the shape, size, and density of the shadow, as such a simple shadow on a stark background will look really out of place if it isn't correct.

Torn paper is one of the key elements to achieving the distressed / collage look. This tutorial covers a few simple steps in Adobe Photoshop to create a realistic looking torn paper effect taking you on your way to Destroying the Web 2.0 Look!

For those who already know about Automate Batch, this article may not be of much interest, but to those who don’t, reading on could possibly be the best moment of your life (or at least this week!).

I was never a fan of Photoshop brushes until I discovered a simple feature in the brushes palette which allows the rotation of a Photoshop brush before use. This is another post that will be old news for those who already know about the feature, but it could make your day if you don’t!

I decided to write this little tip after analysing an album cover I recently bought and noticed the use of brushes and decorative fonts within the artwork. Photoshop brushes and decorative fonts are great for creating a quick and easy effect or particular style, however the following alternative should be considered to address to the finer details…

This tutorial teaches you how to create a stylized Christmas tree design with stars

Draw a Color Pallete for graphics designers website templates layout.

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial I will show you how to make a shiny glowing and reflectiv christmas ball in just a few easy steps.

Draw a Pendant design using many tiny hearts - This will be a great unique idea for a jewelry website template design or banner/logo.

Learn to draw a Rubber Game Ball using Photoshop beginners Trick

This tutorial will show you how to create a very realistic glass of beer. Not for beginners.

The Free Transform command Reference point locator lets you apply transformations (move, rotate, scale, skew, distort, perspective and wrap) in one continuous operation. Instead of choosing different commands, you simply hold down a key on your keyboard to switch between transformation types.