Category Archives: Adobe

Adobe, Adobe Firefly, AI, Generative, Generative AI, Uncategorized

Adobe FIrefly Book

I am thrilled to announce my new book: “100+ Prompts to Ignite Your Everyday Creativity!” Delve into handpicked prompts crafted to spark your daily creativity with Adobe Firefly. Let your imagination soar like never before! 

In a digital age marked by unprecedented technological advancements, Generative AI stands as a paragon of innovation. At the heart of this phenomenon is the art and science of prompting — the process of feeding specific cues to a model to elicit desired responses. Whether you’re an AI enthusiast seeking a deeper understanding, a developer aiming to harness its capabilities, or a creative writer desiring to collaborate with the machine, this book is your compass.

“100+ Prompts to Ignite Your Everyday Creativity” is more than just a compilation of cues. It’s a journey through the multifaceted dimensions of human intellect, emotion, and creativity, made possible through the lens of advanced artificial intelligence. These prompts have been curated not just for their utility, but for their ability to push the boundaries of what we believe machines can achieve.

Beyond the simple utility of each prompt, you will find insights into the philosophy of AI interactions, the nuances that make a difference, and the art of asking the right questions. Think of this book as a toolkit, a treasure trove of sparks designed to ignite inspiration and pave new avenues of exploration in the vast world of Generative AI.

As you delve into these pages, remember: The future of AI is not just about the answers machines can provide, but the questions we dare to ask. Here’s to your journey of discovery, innovation, and boundless creativity.

By the end of this book, my hope is that you not only gain a deeper appreciation for the marvels of Generative AI but also feel empowered to craft your own prompts, fostering a symbiotic collaboration between human intuition and machine intelligence. Dive in, and let your journey with Generative AI truly begin!

100+ Prompts to Ignite Your Everyday Creativity
Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Creative Cloud, design

Convert to Smart Filter in Photoshop

It’s always a big plus (at least for me) if we can work non-destructively in Photoshop. What is it non-destructive editing? Non-destructive editing means that we can apply edits to our image and without permanently changing the pixels. You can always come back and make changes or remove the edits.

One of my favorite non-destructive features is the Smart Filter Layer. Converting a layer to a Smart Filter layer I can apply filters, non-destructively to my image. If I want to adjust my filter, delete or hide it, I can do it at any time (as long as all layers are not merged or flattened, and the document saved as a PSD file).

Note: Lens Blur, Flame Picture Frame, Trees, and Vanishing Point— don’t work with layers converted to Smart Filter layers.

To convert a layer to Smart Filter > Click on a layer you want to convert to a Smart Filter layer chose the menu Filter > Convert to Smart Filters (image 1)
or > Right-click on a layer > Convert to Smart Object 9 Image2)

Image 1
image 2

The layer you applied the Smart Filter or converted to a smart object looks like any other layer, but at the right lower corner of the thumbnail you can see a smart filter/smart object icon.

Now it’s time to apply a filter. I will apply the Camera Raw Filter. You can see in the image below that a Camera Raw icon was added to my layer under Smart Filters.

If you want to adjust a filter > double click on the filter’s name and you will be redirected back to the filter.

To edit a filter blending mode > double- click on Edit filter blending option

Now I can change the filter’s blending mode


Also, I can change a filter’s opacity value.

Note: you can apply multiple smart filters to the same layer. You can reorder, and duplicate smart filters.

To hide a single Smart Filter, click the eye icon next to the Smart Filter. To show the Smart Filter, click in the column again.

To hide all Smart Filters applied to a Smart Object layer, click the eye icon next to the Smart Filters line.

To show the Smart Filters, click in the column again.

Right-click on a smart filter and choose any option from the drop down menu (if needed)

P.S. Photoshop creates a Smart Filter with a filter mask already applied > White box in a smart filters raw

It’s very helpful if you wants to hide parts of the applied filter.
Double-click on a Smart Filter mask to display the Properties Panel.

To hide part of an applied Smart Filter > click on a Smart Filter’s mask icon > choose any brush and black color > paint over the area you want to hide. If you painted more than you wanted > change color of your brush to white and paint areas back.

Pocket Tripod PRO

JPEG to RAW AI

Topaz Labs

Adobe, Adobe Lightroom CC, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Stock, Creative Cloud, Photography

Removing An unwanted reflection

Hello and welcome to my new Monday blog post.

In this blog post, I will show you how to combine multiple images together to create your final image.
Last week I was shooting in my studio for Adobe Stock submission. I had my simple setup for a high key session. In this blog post, I will not go deep into my setup, but if you want to learn more about my settings, please let me know using the contact form below.

When you are working with product photography, and especially with a glass or reflective object, it is important to make reflections more smooth or don’t have any reflection at all (unless it is intentional).
We have many different ways of shooting products, and every photographer has his/her own way. What I will show you today is the quickest and easiest way on a small budget.
I had two lights. One light is behind my product, and the other light right in front of it.

Main Light

Using this setting I got this result

My next step was to bring my main light (which is in front of my subject) up

This is the image I got. This image doesn’t have any reflection (including Softbox reflection).

I always shoot tethered to Adobe Lightroom Classic so now we jump from the studio to Lightroom Classic.
In Lightroom Classic, I will select the first image > right-click > Edit in > Edit in Adobe Photoshop 2021

I will do the same with the second image.

Now in Adobe Photoshop, I will place the first image on top of the second one. The image with reflection is positioned on top of the image without a reflection.

Next step: apply a layer mask to the top layer > using a soft brush with black color, paint off the reflection.

Just like this, I removed all unwanted reflections/highlights from the subject. The next step will be merging all layers and simple adjustments in a Camera Raw with a little cropping.

Finally, we are ready to submit the image to Adobe Stock (as an Editorial image since this is an obvious brand). I did it and my file was accepted!

Everyone, I hope now you will start shooting for Adobe Stock and shoot from anywhere, even from the smallest studio, kitchen, or from anywhere else.

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases listed below

Adobe, Adobe Photoshop

Tips for Working with Photoshop

In today’s blog, I will share with you a few tips for working with Photoshop

Tip 1:
When working on my compositing or design projects having the ability to arrange my layers is very important. I would say that the ability to arrange my layers is the key to the right composition. 

To move Layers Up or Down: 
Select Layer(s) > hold Command(Mac) / Ctrl(Win) and use right and left bracket keys “ [ or ] “.  You cant move up or down the background layer before you will unlock it) 

Move up


Move down

Tip2:
The ability to select any layer without a single mouse click is one of the best Adobe Photoshop features.  

To select any Layer:
Press > Option + ] or [ (Mac) or Alt + ] or [ (Win)

Tip3:
To switch to default Foreground/Background (Black and White) colors in Photoshop simply press “D” on your keyboard (as long as you’re not in the Type Tool). Tip: Pressing “x” on the keyboard will toggle them back and forth.

If you like these tips and want to find more, you can find them in my “101 Photoshop Hidden Gems and Tips & Tricks: A collection of 101 hidden features and short tips that will help make you a Photoshop ninja ” book on Amazon

Upcoming Events
How to Get Started with Digital Painting in Adobe Photoshop

Adeob Mobile, Adobe, Adobe Mobile, Adobe Photoshop, For you

My New Coloring Pages

Because of COVID-19 many of us are staying at homes for a period of time.  I have created some coloring pages for children ages two and up. Feel free to download them for free. You can print out any of the pages and color them with your children using traditional pencils, or you can download them and use them in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe Fresco on mobile. 

I also created some elegant backgrounds you can use in your digital workflow (digital painting, photo compositing, or graphic design). All backgrounds are free of charge, so download them and create something beautiful, and positive. 

My Patreon

Promotions:

Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Uncategorized

One image and One Tool

Some of you asked me if it’s possible to create a successful image/project using limited assets and tools. My answer was “Of course, it’s possible!” Creating an entire project using only one image and one tool/workspace could be as challenging and exciting as working on the project using multiple images/assets with multiple tools/ workspaces.
And today we will create the project from scratch in Adobe Photoshop using only one image and one workspace.
I have opened the image I will be using today (I downloaded and License the image from Adobe Stock. You can use any image you like).

Open any Creative Cloud library, that you would like to work with and save your assets to.
At the bottom of the Library panel, click on “+” sign and then, choose “Create From Image”

Now we will build our image going through all the tabs in this workspace. I will start with the “Patterns” tab. Using this tab, I will create a pattern for my project. You can use any pattern type and setting to create a pattern. After you’re happy with your pattern click on “Save to CC Library” and your pattern will be saved to the active CC library.

Time to start working on our shape and to do so click on the “Shapes” tab. Now you can create a shape from your image. Click on “Save to CC Library” to save the shape to an active CC library.

The next stop is “Color Themes”. Using this tab you can create colors based on your image. Feel free to move color pickers to specify exact colors in the image you want to create your new theme from.

The last tab is “Gradients”. The Gradients tab is a very powerful tab. I create custom gradients all the time for my workflow.

After all the assets are created and added to CC library it’s time to start putting everything together.

Create a document any size you like. Click on the gradient in your CC library to apply it to an active layer.

Double click on Pattern in your CC library and specify scale value

Click OK and bring the layer’s opacity down.

Now click on the shape in CC library and drag it into your document.

Window > Shapes> Click on the “Palm” icon and drag it into your document. Use any Color Scheme in your CC library to add color to the shape.

Your image is ready. As you can see, you can use one image and one workspace to create all the necessary assets for your new project.

In the tutorial below I added just a few extra steps.

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Adobe, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Adobe Mobile

Tutorial of the week

Tutorial of the week

 

How to create an image inspired by the Winter Olympics in Adobe Illustrator Draw with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

101 Photoshop Hidden Gems and Tips & Tricks: A collection of 101 hidden features and short tips that will help make you a Photoshop ninja 
Digital Painting for Photographers
The Adobe Mobile Apps Book: Your Complete Guide to Adobe’s Creative Mobile Apps
My Teaching Website
My Website

 

Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Creative Cloud, Digital Art, Photoshop Painting

My tribute to Star Wars

My Tribute to Star Wars

Just like many of you,  I LOVE and I’m a big fan of Star Wars. Because  I am also The Photoshop Artist I decided to combine two passions into one to create fan art using the biggest passion in my life, Adobe Photoshop.

Princes Leia
Painted in Adobe Photoshop CC using Microsoft Surfacebook

 

Rey
Painted in Adobe Photoshop CC using Wacom Cintiq

 

Kylo Ren
Painted in Adobe Photoshop Sketch using iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 

 

 

My Teaching Website

My Books on Amazon:
Digital Painting for Photographers
101 Photoshop Hidden Gems and Tips & Tricks: A collection of 101 hidden features and short tips that will help make you a Photoshop ninja
The Adobe Mobile Apps Book: Your Complete Guide to Adobe’s Creative Mobile Apps

Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Creative Cloud, Photography

3 ways to convert your image into Black and White in Adobe Photoshop CC and number 3 will surprise you

3 ways to convert your image into Black and White in Adobe Photoshop CC and number 3 will surprise you.

Many of my followers  asked me to share my method for converting my images into Black and White and in this blog post I will share with my 3 favorite ways.

 

1: Use the Camera Raw Filter

Filter > Camera Raw Filter

Check “Convert to Grayscale” box and Photoshop will convert your image to B&W.

As usual the result is a pretty good, but if you like to have control over your image (and to be honest, I am a control freak so I am always applying a few extra steps). So if you are willing to take control over your image the next few steps are for you.

Adjust each Grayscale slider. Each slider will affect each individual color in your image. Moving sliders directly affects the mood of your image

Example:

This mix created high key image with a very romantic mood

But if I will move the Reds, Blues, Purples, and  Magentas sliders to the left I have created a very moody image.  

 

Tip: After you are fully satisfied with a Grayscale Mix ratio click on the Basic Tab and adjust Exposure, Contrast, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks sliders. Each slider will help you apply the last polishing step to your image.

 

 

2: Auto Black & White

 

Image > Adjustments > Black & White

 

In Adobe Photoshop CC we have many different Black and White Presets we can work with. I can’t say that you should use a particular one over others. Everything depends on your image., image light, details, subjects, and ect. I will recommend to try the different presets and after a few times you will have your favorite.  

With my current image I  I like the “Darker” Preset the most.

As I said above, I am a control freak, so I will adjust a few sliders as well.

Tip: Absolutely NOT NECESSARY to move  sliders like from 50% to 100% or to -100%. Very often less is better and even moving slider to 1%  makes a big and a very tasteful difference.

 

3: Adjustments

Window > Adjustments > Vibrance

In the Properties panel move “Vibrance” and “Saturation” sliders all the way to the left to -100%

Photoshop converted your image into B&W and created a new “Vibrance1” layer (this layer is a fully independent layer and you can modify and even delete it later on at any time).

Highlight your image layer (Layer1)

And click on “Selective Colors” in Adjustment panel. Photoshop created a new Selective Color1 layer.

In the Properties panel adjust the Black slider for each color

Tip: pay very close attention to the Neutrals and Blacks sliders.

 

My Teaching Website

My Books on Amazon:
Digital Painting for Photographers
101 Photoshop Hidden Gems and Tips & Tricks: A collection of 101 hidden features and short tips that will help make you a Photoshop ninja
The Adobe Mobile Apps Book: Your Complete Guide to Adobe’s Creative Mobile Apps

Adobe, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Adobe Mobile, Adobe Stock, Digital Art, Mobile

To bring inspiration to life shouldn’t be difficult

To bring inspiration to life shouldn’t be difficult

 

As an artist I find inspiration everywhere. Because we’re in the 21st century I don’t need to put my inspiration on hold because I’m away from my easel or computer. Now I can create from ANYWHERE at ANY TIME.
I love everything about Autumn. Inspiration is everywhere, in colors, in fresh air, in pumpkin flavor. So I feel that I need to create more and thanks to Adobe mobile apps I can create my art using my mobile devices.
Today I will share with you my Autumn collection I created using Adobe Illustrator Draw, iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. Where did the inspiration come from? From my yard where I am playing with my puppy, from the trees around the fence, from the fresh and beautiful colors of the sky.

Using Adobe Illustrator Draw I created a pumpkin. I spent probably about 20 minutes and my pumpkin was ready. Because I liked that pumpkin so much I decided  to create another one.

Later on  I was sitting outside with my puppy  and our trees are already ready for the fall season so I decided to create another Halloween Art using Adobe Illustrator Draw, iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.  I used the trees as an inspiration and created Halloween Village Art.

Using the same trees as inspiration I created a few leaves in Adobe Illustrator Draw, imported those files to Adobe Illustrator CC and created my new brushes out of those leaves. And now I can create any Fall art using my custom brushes.

The purpose of this post is to bring your inspiration to life. Don’t wait for the “perfect” time to create art. Whatever the inspiration is you will find it. You are able to bring it to life using your mobile devices and Adobe mobile apps. Don’t procrastinate…just do it…just create art anywhere at any time!

 

P.S. I uploaded all of my mobile Autumn Art to  Adobe Stock and all files were approved for sale.  Literally in 7 minutes after my files were approved, I received an email that I made a sale!!! Guess which file was sold??? My pumpkin!

 

See the Story Here

 

To bring inspiration to life shouldn't be difficult