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November 13, 2009

Heal and Clone Stamp to Multiple Layers

For added flexibility, use the Healing Brush and Clone Stamp tools to clone to blank layers by checking Sample "All Layers" in the Options bar. In addition, you can choose to Sample the "Current & Below" layers. This can be extremely helpful when cloning image layers and adjustment layer information simultaneously.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:41 AM |

November 12, 2009

Heal and Clone Between Documents

You can use the Healing brush and Clone Stamp tools between two open documents: Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -click in the source document and then clone in the destination document.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 5:38 AM |

November 11, 2009

Healing Brush and Replace Mode

Using the Healing brush with the blending mode set to Replace makes it behave like the Clone Stamp tool (in that it doesn't automatically try to blend color or tonality of the source and destination), with one advantage: if you're trying to clone high frequency image information, the edges of the cloned area will not appear soft as they do with the Clone Stamp tool.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:35 AM |

November 10, 2009

Sampling Color While Painting

Holding the Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) samples a color with the Eyedropper while using the painting tools.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:34 AM |

November 9, 2009

The Fade Command

You can fade the opacity and change the blend mode of the painting tools by immediately selecting Edit > Fade Brush after painting with them. This shortcut also works for a variety of additional commands including image adjustments, strokes, fills and filters.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:33 AM |

May 8, 2009

Painting Cursors

Select Preferences > Cursors to control the look of your painting tool icons. Choose between Standard, Precise, Normal Brush Tip (which displays the brush size based on those pixels in the brush that are painting with 50% or greater opacity), and Full Size Brush Tip (which displays the cursor size around any pixel that is painted regardless of opacity). With any of the above options, you can also chose to Show Crosshair in Brush Tip to display a center point in a brush. Personally, I use set the painting Cursors to Normal Brush Tip and then use the “caps lock” key to display precise cross hairs for brushes as needed.

For Other Cursors, choose to see the Standard Photoshop icon, or choose Precise to display the cursor as a target with crosshairs. Note: clicking on any of the radial buttons will show a preview in the preferences.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:48 AM |

May 7, 2009

Moving from Brush to Brush

‘<’ or ‘>’ moves to the “previous” or “next” brush in the list on the Brushes Panel. ‘<’ or ‘>’ + Shift goes to the first or last brush in list. (At first glance these shortcuts may appear to be making the brush larger and smaller, but that would be because you’re moving from a smaller to larger brush (or vice-versa) in the Brushes panel).

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 4:30 AM |

May 6, 2009

Straight Lines

Holding the Shift key will constrain the painting tools to a straight line. In addition, To have a painting tool connect (draw a line) between two points, click once to start a line, hold down the Shift key and click again to set the end point.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 4:16 AM |

May 5, 2009

Brushes - Anytime, Anywhere!

To access the Brushes preset picker while anywhere in the image area, control (Mac)/ right mouse (Win) -click with a painting tool selected.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 4:49 AM |

February 6, 2009

Customizing Cursors

To customize the display of the Brush, select Preferences/Cursors. Select one of the following: Standard (the small iconic cursors), Precise (cross hairs), normal Brush Tip (size represents pixels to be painted with greater than 50% effect), Full Size Brush Tip (size represents all pixels to be painted). Choose to “Show Cross hairs in Brush Tip” if desired. To display precise cross hairs for brushes, use the “caps lock” key.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 7:09 AM |

February 5, 2009

The Airbrush Attribute

When the airbrush attribute is in use, tapping a numeric key will set the Flow amount. (If the airbrush attribute is not applied, then the Opacity is effected.) Use the Shift + numeric key to target the other field. Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) + Shift + P toggles the airbrush attribute on and off.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 7:41 AM |

February 4, 2009

Changing Brush Opacity

To change the opacity of a painting tool, use the number keys on the keyboard. Tapping one number assigns the percentage of the hit number (1 = 10%, 2= 20% etc. and 0 = 100%). Hitting two numbers quickly will give you that exact amount (5 + 4 = 54%). Note: If you have a tool selected that is not a painting tool, these shortcuts will affect the Opacity on the Layers panel.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 7:25 AM |

February 3, 2009

Opacity and Flow

I have been asked so many times “What is the difference between the Opacity and Flow?” that although it’s not technically a shortcut, I would like to clarify - the Opacity controls the opacity of the paint (is it an opaque metallic or a transparent varnish?). The Flow option controls the speed at which paint is laid down (are you pressing the nozzle of the can of spray paint just a little, or all the way down?).

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 7:14 AM |

February 2, 2009

Resizing Brushes

If you’re tired of tapping the left and right brackets to increase / decrease your brush size, try using the new Drag-resize brush cursor keyboard shortcut in Photoshop CS4 to make rapid changes to the brush size. Ctrl + Option (Mac) / alt + right click (win) -drag will increase/decrease brush size while displaying a red overlay of the density and feather of the brush for visual reference. Add the Cmd (Mac) /shift (Win) to change hardness. Note: the preview color can be controlled in Preferences / Cursors / Brush Preview).

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 8:48 AM |