File Under... Musics

The Mansion by The Microphones from The Glow, Pt. 2.

The Mansion

File Under... Photoshop Geek-out

Legacy Hue/Sat and Curves Palettes

A lot of retouchers, and Photoshop pros I know have a hard time switching from CS3 to CS4 because they feel limited by the new palettes. Initially, my biggest sticking points were the curves palette and the hue / saturation palette. Like everyone, I use curve and hue / sat adjustment layers more than anything else, and the new palettes really interrupted the flow of my work. I didn't like the fact that they're open all the time and I really don't like the little hand / slider thing. The good news is there's a way to use the CS3 legacy palettes for curves and hue / saturation in CS4. Right now, its kind-of an oblique work-around, and hopefully this is something that the good people at Adobe will add to the next update of CS4, but for now it can be done using specialized actions.

**If you want to skip the "how-to make the actions" part, I'm adding a link to download the actions themselves. Be sure though tho read the "how-to use the actions" section.

How-to make the actions. Here's the funny thing. The actions have to be made in CS3. It works because the action step that does the trick isn't available in CS4 but will magically work there if it's part of an action. So, in CS3, make a new action group. Call it "Legacy Palettes". Now, make a new action. Call it "Curves Pallete". From the action palette pull-down menu, choose "insert menu item". Now, under the main navigation pull-down choose, Layer > Change Layer Content > Curves. That does it for curves. Now do the same thing for hue / sat. Make a new action. Call it "Hue Sat Pallete". From the action palette pull-down menu, choose "insert menu item". Now, under the main navigation pull-down choose, Layer > Change Layer Content > Hue/Saturation. Save the action group.

Now switch to CS4.

How-to use the actions. Load the actions into the actions palette. Set one of your unused function keys to each action. Let's say shift F12 for curves and shift F11 for HueSat. [See my earlier post about Speed Keys for more information on this part. Note: be sure none of your OS function keys are over-riding the F-keys in Photoshop.] Make a new curves adjustment layer. Press shift F12. You should be seeing magic - or at least the legacy curves palette. Press shift F12 again. Magic again - it disappears. Make a new hue sat adjustment layer. Press shift F11. Legacy hue sat palette. Shift F11 makes it disappear.

The reason why I recommend using shift F12 and shift F11 is because I use F12 to make a new curves adjustment layer and F11 to make a new hue sat adjustment layer. So pressing F11 then shift F11, makes a new hue sat adjustment layer and then opens the legacy palette.

Now, this method has one big problem. Because these actions use the Change Layer Content step, you have to be careful about what layer you are on when you use them. If you are on a curves adjustment layer (or any other adjustment layer) and use use the shift F11 hue sat palette action, it will turn that layer into a hue sat layer. So, until this is something that the Adobe people add into Photoshop, just be careful.

Here's the link to download the actions pre-made. Enjoy.

File Under... Vacuous Conversation

Overheard on NJ transit yesterday.

I like don't know anyone's number but I know my old best friend's number but I like don't know anyone's number.

File Under... Photoshop Geek-out

Speed Keys

Depending on how you use Photoshop, this idea may not be all that important, but for anyone who uses PS professionally or regularly, using "speed keys" will make your work-flow twice as fast. You'll be surprised. And beyond that it will give you the opportunity to stop focusing on all the little drop-down menus and focus more on the tool itself and the image at hand. It's an easy thing to do, and it helps you customize Photoshop to better suit the way you work.

The idea is simple. Assign F-keys to perform tasks that you do often. That's it. When I say tasks, I don't necessarily mean a long series of filters or anything like that, but more simple tasks like making a new adjustment layer, or making a 50% gray layer. All you have to do is make a new action and assign an F-key to it.

It's possible to customize the keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop as well, but the keyboard shortcuts are a little harder to organize and not quite as customizable as actions. I also find it easier to have a set of actions that I can change as my work-flow changes or carry around with me if I'm working on another computer. If you'd like to borrow the set I use, here's a link - help yourself. I recommend though that you make a set for yourself based on things you do on a regular basis, so that your speed keys build off of your own work-flow.

The one thing you will have to be sure to do though is turn off any keyboard shortcuts in your system preferences that might over-ride the F-keys assigned to your actions.

File Under... Video Art (that I'd like to see)

The setting: an American suburban lawn, mid-day, summer time. A woman on her knees is crying, miserably. Really crying - deep sorrow and anguish, while spraying water from a garden hose directly in her own face. Rainbows spring from the mist above her head.

File Under... Photoshop Geek-out

Warp Transform (again)

This is something that's been driving me crazy ever since the Warp Transform function was added to Photoshop.

When using the standard transform tool, you can immediately transform something else in exactly the same way with "Transform> Again". It's very helpful especially if the piece you need to transform is spread out over several layers or if there are masks in other places related to the transformed piece that need to match.

I love the Warp Transform function. I use it all the time. But I find it so frustrating that there's no "Warp Transform> Again" function. I learned today that it can be done. Here's how you do it:

Just before you preform the Warp, record a new action. When you're finished warping stop recording the action. Now, to "Warp Transform> Again" all you have to do is play the action on whatever you want to match. It's elegant in it's simplicity. The nice bonus is that you don't have to perform the Again part of it immediately after, like you do with the standard Transform function. Since it's an action, you can play it whenever you want.

Thanks to Tom for this one. (Thanks Tom!)

File Under... Musics

Maybe it's because it feels like spring today but I just can't stop listening to this album.

Superdrag : Rock Soldier EP