Architecture & Web Art

Archive for the ‘Web Design’ Category

Hi, and thanks for dropping by to check out this short tutorial on Photoshop Action Scripts. I’ve been using this for a while, and I thought there might be some of you interested in this sort of things.

If you don’t know what Action Scripts are, then let me tell you: they are a series of actions that you would normally do manually, but they’ve been recorded by someone else, in order to ease your work. So for example if you want to change the brightness, the levels, and the contrast of an image, you’ll have to click your mouse a couple of times, whereas with action scripts you will have to push your mouse button once, and you would have the result you’ve wanted.

It might sound unreal, but believe me, this is one feature of Photoshop you don’t want to ignore.

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a reflection in Photoshop CS5 with simple tools.

1) First, you need a simple image, obviously. You can create a reflection for any layers you might have, even if you’re working with smart objects. The steps are the same.

2) You need to create a copy of the layer that you want to reflect. To do that, hold Alt (Option key on MAC) on the keyboard and click and drag the original layer.

3) Now for the reflection, we need to flip the copy of the layer vertically to achieve the desired effect. You fill find the Flip Vertical option in the upper menu in the Edit section, then in the Transform menu it will appear like this:

4) With this new layer selected, you need to create a Layer Mask. Press the small icon under the layer list on the right hand side menu.

Want better looking presentation images and a step-by-step guide on how to start with Photoshop? Well, now we got one. And we’re giving it away for free because you’re one of our readers, or just because we think you are cool.

What This Training is About

If you’re a fan on our Facebook Page, you probably know that we just launched a new training for architects and designers on Photoshop Basics. We’re covering the most usual tools you will use in Photoshop, and we even have a case study where I’m showing you how to change the color of a house and how to add a different texture to a driveway. There is a ebook that you can download. It contains  the most usual commands, description of tools and the case study. We have video tutorials to guide you visually, and a lot of free resources for your personal libraries.

Many graphic designers swear by Photoshop and consider it to be the pinnacle of perfection in image manipulation programs. The CS5 edition only enhances this reputation with a host of new features that are remarkably useful. Since the standard and extended editions have many features in common and the extended edition can cost a couple of hundred dollars more, many people may assume the standard edition is perfect for them. Is the extended edition worth the extra cost? That depends solely on what you want to accomplish with your designs.

Since we are heavy users of Photoshop, we thought this brief collection of shortcuts will actually serve you well. No matter what your main area of interest is: architecture, interior or web design, you will find the following keyboard shortcuts pretty useful.

Chances are you know some of them, but I bet you don’t know them all.

This article is written in PC Photoshop format. If you are using a MAC, the following apply Ctrl = Cmd and Alt =  Opt

So without further ado, here we go:

1. Screen mode

Pressing F on the keyboard will toggle between Standard Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar, and Full Screen Mode. This is useful especially when working with larger files, and you need to have a ensemble view of the image.

2. Pan or Hand Tool