Posts Tagged ‘Photoshop’

How to create a pattern background for your website using PhotoShop

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

I create all of my mock ups for websites in Photoshop. Basically I lay everything out the way I want, work with my clients to get everything approved and then move on to development. One of the things that I have thought has been very helpful in this process is the ability to create cool backgrounds. I will show you how I created the background for this website and how I applied it.

1. Create a New file in Photoshop that is 20 x 20 pixels wide, RGB.

20x20

2. Next, I used the fill tool and fill it with a dark background color.

FILL

3.Use the line tool and make a few lines and such. patterns can be tricky, when they repeat you might not get what you expect. You can also create a grid. Make sure the lines are not too contrasting, otherwise the background may look a little busy. This is an easy way to learn how it works with random lines.

lines

4. Once you have finished your pattern, select Edit > Define Pattern

define_pattern

You will be asked to name your pattern.

5. Once you have defined your pattern, all you have to do is apply it to any background. I usually create a back ground for my webpage, however try it with a new file. Create a new file that is 200 x 200 px. For the background layer, make sure to define it as a layer. You can do this by double clicking on it and renaming it. After it is renamed, you need create a layer affect. Do this by selecting Layer > Layer Style > Pattern Overlay.

layer_style

After selecting Pattern Overlay, you will be prompted to a layer dialog box. Choose the arrow by the pattern and then you will see your pattern in the selectable squares. Select it.

select_pattern

After doing this, your page will have a tile of the pattern you created. This works on any size layer or shape, like a rectangle. Experimenting with patterns is a lot of fun!

pattern_bg

As you can see the tiles just repeats itself over an over. There is definitely a science.

Below are 2 few example of cool pattern from Kaliber10000

Kaliber10000 Pixel Pattern

Kaliber10000 Pixel Pattern

PhotoShop CS4 benefits and review

Monday, September 21st, 2009

So far I have been working with Photohop CS4 for over 6 months. For the most part, I like it a lot. I have worked PhotoShop since version 4 and I will say that this is definitely the cream of the crop and the best version that I have worked with so far. My favorite feature is the ability for the application to have tabbed files. At any given time a user can open up a new file and that file will reside as a tab on the top of the working area. It is then easy to drag and drop the tab to become a separate file that floats on your work area. The great thing about these tabs is that when you move them, they will not minimize until you command them to. So basically you can have a small square of the file you are working with floating over another file for dragging layers, objects, and text. This is great for when you want to copy one layer to another file and such. This makes working with multiple files that much easier.

Another thing I like about the new version of PhotoShop is that it seems to run a bit faster than previous editions, specifically CS2. I believe that Adobe has worked on their core PhotoShop “engine” to run faster and operate better with multiple files open. This new achievement has given me the ability to create more projects faster without hosing my system. There does not seem to be a lot of “lag” time for opening and saving files as with previous editions.

Another benefit of CS4 is the new menu system. You can view all of your menus as icons on one small menu bar. Every time that you want to work with a different menu, you just click the icon to open it. This is more of a convenience rather than a huge breakthrough, however it keeps your work area clean and speeds up production.

There are several other small areas of PhotoShop that I like a good bit, however please leave a comment with your favorite PhotoShop addition to CS4. I am constantly learning new things with this application and I am always looking for a new tip or trick!

PhotoShop CS4 Updates

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I have been working with computer design applications since around 1987. The first program that I used was Deluxe Paint II. This was an awesome application if anyone remembers.  You could do almost anything, vector, animation, rendering, and many other tricks. The resolution was not that great however the applications seemed to combine several different things. Now, it seems that Photoshop has become the all use application as well. Don’t get me wrong, PhotoShop cannot do all of the things that the other applications such as Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver can do, however PhotoShop CS4 is indeed very versatile. One new thing ability that was added to PhotoShop CS4 was the ability to move your files around the clipboard area as well as have them tabbed across the top. This was such a huge improvement, especially for the designer that needs to move layer groups from one file to another with ease. The tabbed file browsing is much similar looking to what a browser such as Firefox or Chrome does. When you open a new file it is just added to the top as a tab. When you minimize the tab it will float on top of your other tabbed files. The benefit of this is that you can have a file open and compare is with your file behind. The file behind will not move forward when you have a floating file in front of it. In previous versions of PhotoShop, this was the case, since every file was based on being stacked. Previously, you would have to open up the two different files and re-size them to compare and drag and drop layers. This new file browsing has really helped my work flow, especially when moving very large layer groups from one file to the other. It also helps if you have a widescreen monitor or dual screens.

How has PhotoShop CS4 helped you? I would love to hear!

How to mask images in PhotoShop

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Masking 101

Ever wanted to have an image within an image? Lets say you have a background image of something, yet you want a certain part of another picture to peek through it. You could easily cut part of the picture and paste, however masking gives you the benefit of moving around the image underneath, and re-aligning the “portal” that you are looking into.

First Step: Define the background image

Open an image that you want to use:

Second Step: Draw a portal. You can use just about any shape tool to do this and use a color that is easy to see against the background image. I will use the circle and select yellow as the color.

Photoshop mask step 2

Third Step: Add another picture to the file. Choose another picture that you want to use. make sure it is larger than the portal, however smaller than the background. I recommend opening the image, resizing it to something smaller than the original background, then either copying the whole image onto the background or dragging it to the background image. You can easily re-size the image by pressing CTRL T and then while holding SHIFT, dragging the image. I would only recommend reducing. If you need enlarge it there may be pixelation.

Masking Step 3

Step 4: Applying the Clipping Mask. Open your Layers pallet. You should have 3 layers, one for the background image, 2 for the circle, and 3 for the overlaying image. Make sure that the top image is a layer above the shape, in our case the yellow circle. Right click on the top layer (the image) in the layers palette and select Create Clipping Mask.

Masking step 4

Step 4: Save your file to whatever format you want, however make sure to keep a PhotoShop source file saved! If your image is not in the correct position, now worries, you can easily move either the masked image or the circle to your specifics. This is a lot easier than cutting and pasting. You can also adjust the size of your shape as well if it is too large or small.

Masking Final Step

Good luck masking!