Photoshop Tips & Tricks Thread

I have been trying this using the instrutions and Photoshop Elements 2. However, when i save it it shows the blue/black background. when it uploads it has that background and when i apply the texture to a cube it has the background.

I wanted tranparent background so just some letters were my texture. Any idea what i am doing wrong? I tried naming the background alpha1, i also tried naming the letter selection as alpha 1.

any help would be appreciated.

Hi Paul!

Channels are completely different from Layers.

Elements doesn't let you directly manipulate (or even see) the Channels.

But it does have them; they're just hidden.

So do this.

1. Hold down the Command/ctrl key and click on the thumbnail for your Text Layer. That will select your text.

2. Go to Save Selection. (Probably in the Select menu, if you have one. You might need to look in the Help file to see where it is, but it's there somewhere. I don't have a copy of PSE 2, so I'm afraid that I can't find it for you.)

3. Save your file as a 32 bit Targa (.tga) (That's 8 bits for the Red, Green, and Blue channels, and another 8 bits for the Alpha channel.)

4. Upload, and look at the Preview window before you pay your L$. If you see your text against a checkerboard background, then you've got it. If it's against black, cancel the upload.

Targa files can only have one Alpha channel. If your PSE file has more than one, your .tga file will wind up with none. So, since you can't check your Channels, the easiest thing to do is make a new file the same dimensions as the old one, drag both the layers from the old onto the new, holding down the Shift key so they align perfectly, and go through steps 1-4 again.

This time, it should work.

Hope this helps!

Hi Robin,

Thank you for your help, your instrutions seem very complete. I have tried eliminating all layers except the text layer. I select the layer using ctr-click and get the ants on the text. The background is checker board.

I then Select save as and give it a random name. I then save the file and upload it, and it has a white background.

So it still seems like i am missing something.

In that case, as I mentioned, you might have more than one Alpha. With PSE, you can't tell.

But the program can, and if there's more than one, it doesn't know which is supposed to be the alpha.

So it doesn't save any at all.

Remember; There can be only One.

I'm afraid that I don't know how to get rid of extra Alphas in PSE, or even if there is a way, and I don't have the program so I can't test it.

All I can suggest is that you essentially start over, by using the Layers in a New document.

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you.

I downloaded Phtoshop CS2's free trial download and looked up the price on how much it is. Finding out it is $649, I looked up just REGULAR Photoshop. Will Photoshop Elements 5.0 work like the Photoshop CS2 does bc it is only $99 and is more in my price range?

I actually have both, but i prefer CS 2 instead of elements

Okay, I'm not an expert like Robin (I'm completely self taught and still learning) but I've found a very usefull tool that allows me to create a clothing template in minutes and line up the seams perfectly on the first try.

That secret? The Pen Tool! Okay, simple to use yet powerful, but some people seem to hate it and say, "It just goes wacky and all over every where." So I admit it takes some work to get used to it but I've found it invaluable.

I use it for setting up my template (alpha) so that I know every point lines up perfectly and it gives me smooth symetrical curves for my panties and bra templates. It will take a few tries to get used to it but I believe if you get used to it you'll find it just as invaluable as I do. With it and Robin's templates I've been able to make all sorts of basic clothes templates in minutes instead of the hours it used to take me to get every thing lined up and symetrical.

If any one wants an indepth explenation I may be convinced to do so, but my time is limited.

You can use the burn and dogde, as mentioned before in this thread. Smudging is also a common tool for the fabric effect of folds. The smudge tool has an option, as Luminosity which when applyed to burn areas shadows a very cool efffect of depth. Just a tip.

Bye!

Can someone explain to me what exactly the difference is between burn and dodge? For both tools, I get 'highlights', 'midtones' and 'shadows' options in Gimp, and I've played around with the different combinations, but I can't figure out what the technical difference is between the two...

Thanks!

Oryx

Basicallly, Burn and Dodge are tools used to lighten or darken an area of an image. The terms "burn" and "dodge" (and "sponge" are derrived from techniques used in photography development. When you "burn" in an image, you essentially make it darker, and when you "dodge" you make it lighter.

Additionally, you can set your burn and dodge tools to only focus on Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. This means that Photoshop (or Gimp) will only apply the effect to a specific tonal range (think of it as if your image was grayscale...there are 255 shades of gray in an image, ranging from 0 {BLACK} to 255 {WHITE}). So if you chose your burn tool, and selected "Shadows", your burn tool would only darken the pixels that had a tonal value of 0 - 85 (the darker end of things).

Hope that helps.

- Pyx

Cool, thanks.. that's exactly what I wanted to know.. the info about the gray scale relating to shadows/midtone/highlight is explained perfectly!

Thanks!

I know Photoshop in and out. A friend is trying to design SL clothes and does not know how to use Photoshop thoroughly ye -- like falttening layes concept, etc. She sent me a texture (image of a skirt) and the body templates or patterns she is working with.

First Question - how do i bring texture images into Photoshop? I do not know how to get the clothing/body template and the texture image out of world so i can work in RL Photoshop. Tried saving, copy/pasting, etc.

Second question - does my friend need to flatten layers before returning work to SL?

Thanks!

scott

Hi jasmine, I just saw this, and I really never used the pen tool, would love to see what it's capable of

Hi Jasmine I would also like to know what the pen can do too... Please

I would love to hear about using the pen tool. I have just started to learn how to use it and have been playing with it some on clothing but need alot more practice. I have to admit from what I have seen so far, the edges are alot smoother than drawing freehand.

Ah so you want to start working with paths in Photoshop, eh? That is definately a handy way to work, because not only will your edges be smoother like Chocolata says, but you'll be able to change your paths (and thus change the shape) much easier than using the brush tool to paint pixels onto the page. Using the pen tool is a fundamental neccessity for learning Photoshop, so I recommend that you devote time enough to understand it. Play with it! Reading the manual about the Pen Tool can be very helpful. Photoshop's user manual is actually a much better read than most software user manuals so don't be afraid.

If that doesn't help you much, there are a buhjillion tutorials out on the web about the pen tool in Photoshop. Just Google "Photoshop pen tool", and there ya go. To get you started, here are links to the first two I found with Google:

http://www.arraich.com/ps6_tips_ppen1.htm

http://simplephotoshop.com/photoshop_tools/pen_toolf.htm

Hope that helps!

- Pyx

Im trying to make fabric that doesnt look flat..something in the way of silk, and shadows and highlights arent completely doing it for me (Lol..not that I dont have a tough enough time reproducing natural ones). So..how do I upload/use a texture to a layer?

Good tips. Thanks!

I've only just begun designing clothes using CMFF's templates and the Previewer (Thanks guys)... I have some experience in Photoshop, but am nowhere near an expert...

but why do you guys keep going on about flattening the image?? There is no need to flatten it.. not even merge visible layers. When you save the image as a TGA.. or whatever non-layer format... photoshop automatically flattens the image... Just remember that ALL visible layers will be in the saved file.. so hide the ones you don't want... as simple as that..

that way, you still have your layers that you can modify to make alterations or different versions of the same top...

Hi!

If you are working on an image that's 1024x1024 or more, which is recommended, and you are going to shrink it to 512x512 before uploading, also recommended (because otherwise SL will shrink it, and PS does a better job,) and you are using any kind of pattern layers or layer styles, then the simplest way to make sure that everything stays the same relative size is to flatten it before you shrink it.

Yes, it is possible to set up the preferences so that the patterns and styles will stay proportionate; but that's not always what you want. And when a simple "Flatten Image" takes care of all of it, with no chance of error, it's just easier and more fool proof to do it that way.

By all means, though, flatten a copy, not the actual PS file you are working with. That way, you still have the 1024x1024 layered Photoshop file, completely intact.

If you use the button on the History Palette to make your copy, then your flat, 512x512 copy will close after you Save As targa, and you won't have anything extra to clean up, either.

Very slick, very simple, and very easy.

Personally, I put all that into an Action, so when I'm ready to save the Targa, I click one button, and it's all done. All I have to do is name the file.

Hope this helps!

I have no idea how to make actions...

As for the resizing... I uploaded at 1024 (forgot to resize).. and haven't had a problem.

/me shuts her mouth

Oh... so THAT'S why you have to resize..

How can I apply a fluted effect to a marble or wood texture? I want the flutings to have rounded tops and bottoms and be shaded and be separated by fillets of untouched surface.
Thanks for any help with this.
Bryce

Hi Katryna!

Making Actions is the easiest thing in the world.

You just go to the Actions palette, click the Make New icon (the one that looks like a sheet of paper with the corner folded down,) and name your new Action.

Look along the bottom of the Actions Palette, and you'll see a row of icons that look like the controls of a tape player. The round one will be active, and red, if you have just created a New Action.

Do whatever it is you do in PS, that you want to record and keep as an Action.

If you need to stop at some point, for instance, if part of your action is adding text, but you will want different text every time, choose Insert Stop from the menu on the side. That will bring up a dialog that will allow you to add a message, so you can remind yourself why you stopped, and also allow you to "continue" (click through) if you don't want to change the text.

When you are finished, click the square Stop Recording button. It will stop recording.

To Play your action, click to select it from the list, and click the Play button (the one that looks like an arrow.) Your steps will play out, exactly as you recorded them.

If you have inserted a Stop, then the Action will stop, and show you the message you typed. If you didn't allow Continue, you will have to hit the Stop button in the dialog, do your thing, then click the Play button in the Actions Palette again to continue. If you did, and you don't need to do anything this time, just click the Continue button on the dialog.

You can also Edit actions. If you want me to explain that, please let me know. (Without the ability to use bold, colors, and indents, I'm afraid that this explanation will grow too confusing.)

Actions are extremely powerful; they allow you to automate virtually any task, so that you can just click the Play button, sit back, and let PS do your work for you. (You can even use them on documents that you don't even have open, by using the File > Automate > Batch command.)

Generally speaking, if you do the same thing, the same way, more than two or three times in PS, ever, then making a Action will speed your workflow.

And yes, if you don't resize, Second Life will do it for you; and Photoshop simply does a better job.

Bryce, I'm going to answer your question in a second post, for clarity.

Bryce, you'll be happy to know this is really easy to do.

1. First, make a layer with your base texture. Fill the whole layer, just as if you didn't want to have any flutes at all.

2. Make a new layer, above the base texture layer.

3. Go to the Shapes tool, and choose Rounded Rectangle. Set the Radius to whatever you want. If you know the size of the flute you want, then set the kind of shape to Fill Pixels (In the Tool Options.) It's just easier. Otherwise, use one of the other methods, and rasterize it later.

4. Draw your flute, filling it with any color at all. Choose one that's easy to see, since we won't be using the color.

5. Select your flute, hold down the Option/alt key, and tap Command/ctrl T. This will open Free Transform, but will apply the transformations to a Copy of the selection.

6. Hold down the Shift key, and drag the second flute as far as you want from the first, to leave your untouched fillet area between them. When you have it where you want it, double click on it, to accept the Transformation. (Or hit the Enter key twice.)

7. With the second flute still selected, hold down both Shift and Option/Alt, and tap Command/ctrl T. This repeats the transformation on a copy, which is the PS method of "step and repeat." Continue until you have all the flutes you want.

8. When you have all you want, drop the selection.

9. In the Layers palette, change the Fill (not the Opacity) to zero. That will make the flutes appear to disappear, but they are still there. (The Opacity affects both the Fill and Layer Style Opacity. Changing the Fill leaves the Layer Style untouched.)

10. From the Layer Style menu, choose Bevel and Emboss. The dialog will open, and you'll see your flutes again. Choose Inner Bevel, Emboss Down, and set the rest of the options to taste. If you have the Preview button checked, you'll be able to see your flutes change in real time, as you change the various options.

And that's it! Flutes, rounded top and bottom, made to order.

There are a few other ways to distribute the flutes, if you have CS2 or CS3, but this will work with any version of PS that has shapes (I think.) If yours is earlier, you'll have to make the rounded rectangles with circles and squares, so it's slightly more tedious, but it's still basically the same steps.

Hope this helps!

Robin

Thanks for your speedy help. BTW I have PhotoShopCS3. I was able to get my colums just like I wanted. But I don't think I did it just as you showed. Can you tell me what you ment in step 5 and 8: "Select your flute" and "drop the selection"? Each flute that I copied created a new layer, each with one flute in it. Then I merged all the flute layers and continued with step 9. No big deal, but since I am new to PS, I don't want to start forming poor habits.
Thanks again for your generosity with your time and talent.
Bryce