Using curves

Curves and Levels commands are widely used to edit the tonal density of an image. However, in contrast to the Levels command, it's limited to the adjustments only to the shadow, highlight, and gamma,but Curves command is more efficient that lets you to adjust any value along the tonal curve, while keeping 15 values constant.

When you open the curves dialog box, you will see a straight diagonal line representing the current distribution of tonal values. You can add any anchor points to this tonal Curves, then to alter the tonal values by dragging the anchor point that you have selected. The curve can be moved up and down to increase or decrease the tonal values. Similarly, the points can be dragged horizontally to increase and decrease the contrast.

Customizing the Dialog Box
You may like to take advantage of three different views that the dialog box created for you.

1) You can view the grid behind the curve in 10% or 25% views. To toggle between the two views, press Alt (Windows), Opt (Mac OS) as you click in the grid.

2) Enlarge the whole window by clicking the two-view icon at the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The button acts as a toggle between regular and large size.

3) If you have a prepress background and you are used to working in percentages instead of levels, you can click anywhere on the horizontal gradient bar and read the Input/Output values in percentages.

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Combining Selections

The Channels palette is also the place to combine selections manually. You can combine any active selection with one saved as an alpha channel.

To do so,take the following steps:
1.Save your selections in alpha channels by clicking the “Save selection as channel” button in the Channels palette.
2.Ctrl-click (Windows),Ô-click (Mac OS) on one of the alpha channels to load selection.
3.Use the following modifier keys while you click the second alpha channel:
--To add,press the Shift key.
--To subtract,press Alt (Windows),Opt (Mac OS).
--To intersect,press both of the modifier keys.

At Step 2, you can also use the Select-->Load Selection command and then make your choices in the Load Selection dialog box. The dialog box also gives you the choice of loading a second selection from another open document. Saving selections as alpha channels gives you more flexibility than having to make decisions as you create the selections. Furthermore,you can tweak and twine them all you want.

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http://www.kreativsolutions-indesign.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-illustrator.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-photoshop.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-acrobat.blogspot.com

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Selecting and working with the Color Picker

The Color Picker is commonly used to define any foreground, background or text color. In Photoshop,
the Color Picker is also used to define the color for a fill layer, a shape layer and some layer styles. Furthermore, it’s used to define the target colors for some of the color and tonal adjustments, such as the black, gray and white points in the Curves and Levels dialog boxes. The targets in the Auto Color Correction Options dialog box. Its usage doesn’t just stop there! It’s also used to define the stop points that make up a gradient and to specify a color in the Fill, Stroke and Canvas Size dialog boxes and the color in the Photo Filter dialog box.Overall,this little feature can cover an awful lot of miles over just a short period.

Because the Color Picker is used so extensively throughout Photoshop, you may want to select another type rather than the default Adobe Color Picker.As usual,Adobe gives you a number of choices.You can choose from the Adobe Color Picker, the version employed by the operating system, or even a third-party plug-in. To define the default color picker, open the Preferences dialog box to the General screen and then make your choice in the Color Picker pop-up menu. However, the Adobe Color Picker is highly recommended

Fashion Design Skills 101 - Skills That Fashion Schools Don't Cover Nearly Enough

n fashion school, most of your time was spent learning to create fashion illustrations, draping, sewing, and flat patternmaking. While these are good skills to have, they aren't very practical when you're trying to land your first job in the fashion industry. In the real world you'll be expected to know how to create computerized flat sketches, develop garment specs, CADs, and presentation boards. And I know some of you are thinking "But I learned those things in school too!" To which I reply: You think you know, but you have no idea! Take it from experience: fashion schools don't focus on those skills nearly enough to fully prepare you for your first design position. In this article I will discuss each skill and its importance in the fashion industry.

Draping and Patternmaking - Low Importance
While patternmaking and draping are valuable skills, they usually only come in handy when you deal with a lot of fits. However, fittings are usually conducted by technical design teams so if you got into fashion for creative reasons, you'll most likely be miserable in this type of position. On the creative side of design, all you need is a basic understanding of what creates a good fit, and how to fix a bad one. In the majority of design positions, hands-on patternmaking skills are not necessary, unless you plan to enter Project Runway!

Sewing - Low Importance
On the creative side of design, sewing isn't that relevant. Yes, it's good to understand the general concepts of garment construction, but you don't need to be a great seamstress. On the job, if you need to know how a certain garment is constructed, there are tons of references available: from clothes at the stores, to "how to" books and online articles. The point I'm trying to make is: if you're sewing skills leave something to be desired, don't stress over it.

Illustration - Almost Unnecessary
Sadly, fashion illustrations are a dying art in the industry - they are scarcely used by designers in the real world. The fashion illustration has been replaced with computer drawn stylized technical sketches (floats) or more accurate technical flats, which are faster to sketch and much more practical. Not only do they present a clear representation of design concept, but they are a must have for production. Flats can be turned into CADs and can be used in mood/presentation boards. Fashion schools have not followed this shift and still focus more heavily on illustrations, and not enough on flat sketching.

Computer Programs - Must Know
I can't stress enough the importance of knowing popular computer applications for creating floats, flats and CADs. Most companies expect proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Microsoft Excel since they are relatively affordable in comparison to more industry specific software. Unfortunately, the coverage of Illustrator and Photoshop provided by fashion schools does not meet the actual demands of the fashion industry. Many companies are also requesting knowledge of WebPDM, so if your college offers a course in this program, it would be to your benefit to take it. If your school does not teach this program, find a school or venue that does offer this program and take it!

Flat Sketching - Must Know
While interviewing candidates for design positions, we've seen applicants' portfolios filled with beautiful illustrations and then say "That's nice, but can you flat sketch?" If flats are included in their portfolios, they are usually basic, lack important details, and are not visually appealing. If the candidates sketches are halfway decent; my next question is "do you know Illustrator and Photoshop? " Almost everyone says yes, but it's usually far from the truth.

A lot of fashion school grads seriously believe that they know these programs well, but what you learned in school isn't enough - fashion schools don't teach these skills well enough for entry level designers to be competent within the fashion industry. Schools just cover basics, which are usually forgotten without practice. Take the extra effort to practice and become comfortable with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and other programs beyond what schools teach: read books and take additional courses (offered in either classroom or online settings).

Creating Specs in a Copycat Industry - Must Know
Knowing how to spec (measure and detail) a garment to create garment specifications, or "specs" is a fundamental skill. Many companies create their spec sheets using Excel. Although garment sizes and measurements vary from company to company, depending on different market segments and categories, if you know the principles, you'll be able to quickly adapt to the standards of any company. You don't even need to know how to develop specs from scratch!

As a head designer, to set spec standards for a company, I usually went to different stores, found garments with a good fit and copied the basic measurements. This is quite common - the fashion industry is a copycat industry- most fashions hanging in the stores are knock-offs of another company. Once, during a shopping trip in London, a store salesperson noticed I was a fashion designer collecting style ideas. He mentioned that his store received a constant flow of American design companies such as Calvin Klein, whose designers come to knockoff their merchandise. That's right - even top designer brands use knockoffs for their ready-to-wear collections. There are even official terms: a "knockoff" is when a style is copied and a "rub-off" is when patterns are copied.

Educate Yourself!
Many fashion schools such as FIT in New York (Fashion Institute of Technology) offer important classes like "flats and specs for the fashion industry", but believe it or not, these courses are not required by the curriculum! Another handy course that should be taken is "creative fashion presentation." Salespeople use presentations a lot as visual aids. In addition they create a good impression and convey creativity level. If you can make outstanding presentations you'll be assigned to do them often, and believe me it's more fun to make boards than do fits or send faxes and organize showrooms.

To sum up: in order to get a job before the rest of the entry level fashion design candidates, you need to focus on refining skills that are highly demanded in the industry. Become proficient with flat sketching, include flats in your portfolio, and be extremely comfortable and knowledgeable in Illustrator and Photoshop. Not only will you be ready with the skills you need to succeed in fashion, but discussing how you went the extra mile to keep up with industry standards will definitely impress any prospective employer!

For your reference we've posted quite a few industry standard examples of flat sketches and CADs in JPEG and vector (Illustrator) formats on www.fashionfrog.com. If you can improve your skills to reach the quality of those shown, you'll be in a very good shape!

© 2008 Designers Nexus Inc. All rights reserved. First published at FashionFrog.com. This article may be reproduced unedited, unaltered and in its entirety. This copyright, author bio(s) and all active links must be preserved and included when reproducing this article. Contact us for approval if you wish to publish it contrary to these guidelines.

As a NYC fashion designer, Natalie has traveled to Europe and Asia for shopping, researching trends and production. In 14 year career, she has gained a lot of insights in the industry, and has trained designers with her knowledge of global trend market. Due to popular demand in response to her advice and training, she created a free fashion resource center at FashionFrog.com to share her experiences with a larger audience, helping aspiring designers learn from her mistakes and successes creating their own successful careers.

Kristin is an experienced fashion designer in NYC. Since graduating with honors from Drexel University with a Fashion Design degree, she has gained valuable experience designing for the fast paced, fashion forward juniors market. Wanting to share her knowledge with other fashionistas, she teamed up with designers Lourdes and Natalie to create a website for fashion trends, styling and beauty tips at FashionFrog.com. Read more fashion career articles.

By Natalie Nizhny

Customizing your guides appearance

Sometimes the default color of the guides and grids may clash with image content, you always has a choice to select a preferred color in order not to distracting your image view. Just go to Guides,Grid & Slices screen of the Preferences dialog box, from there you are allowed to modify the default setting; but I show you another quicker solution, if you have guides showing, just simply double-click one and will move you directly to the Guides, Grid & Slices screen dialog. When in the screen appears, you can change the color and the style for both your guides and grid. For your grid preview, you can also customize the space between each gridline and the number of subdivisions for easier work execution.

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http://www.kreativsolutions-acrobat.blogspot.com
http://www.tinyurl.com/elsontan

Quicker way to switch ruler units in the document window

When working on an image, sometimes you need to change the ruler units from their current setting to something more appropriate to help you create or line up an element. Fortunately,you don’t need to make a trip to the Preferences dialog box each time you want to make a change. You can do it from much closer:right inside the document window, in fact. Just right-click(Windows), Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the rulers and, from the contextual menu,choose an item(Figure 2-5). Save your energy for something more strenuous—such as making that third cup ofcoffee of the morning!

Just for the sake of completeness, you can also change the ruler units by double-clicking the rulers to call up the Preferences dialog box; or,in the Info palette,you can click the cross icon in the mouse coordinates section and select an item from the pop-up menu (Figure 2-6).

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Resetting the zero origin

By default,the ruler’s zero origin is set to 0x,0y coordinates (top-left corner of the visible image for us simple folks).However,when you absolutely must set it elsewhere in the document,it’s a quick and painless operation.Just click in the box where the two rulers intersect and drag diagonally into the image (Figure 2-4).As you drag,you will see a cross hair temporarily superimposed over the image to help you set the new ruler zero origin. Position the pointer where you would like to set the new ruler zero origin;then let go.That’s all there is to it! You can,if you wish,set the new zero origin anywhere in the canvas area and not just the visible image area.

The rulers do not move from their locked position when you drag from the ruler intersection box,but if you look at the zero markers on the rulers,you will see that they have been set to the new position.In the example shown in Figure 2-4,the new ruler zero origin is being set to 100 px horizontal (x) and 100 px vertical (y) from the top-left corner of the image.To reset the zero origin to the default top left-hand corner,double-click the box intersection.

Filling color to canvas background

The workspace surrounding the visible image area is commonly referred to as the canvas. This canvas area is filled with a gray color by default (equal amounts of RGB 192), which is a good, neutral choice suitable for optimizing images. However, you are not restricted to this color. You can change it to a custom color if you wish. Changing the color could help contrasting to the image to simulate the environment in which the image may be eventually presented.

To change the canvas area color, just choose the right color you wish to fill to the background canvas, then by selecting the paint bucket, hold down the Shift key and click in the canvas area.

Close all open documents window

If you have many documents open and wish to close them in one go,
just press Ctrl+Alt+W (Windows), Cmd+Opt+W (Mac OS). If any of
the documents need saving, Photoshop will prompt you.

Faster access while crossing to other applications

Switching from Photoshop to another application which designers always experience, but if there is data on the clipboard (copied and stored in computer memory), Photoshop can “export” it to the system clipboard for pasting purposes into the other application. However, since Photoshop files may be extremely large, then it possibility may cause a delay or crashed the system while it “exporting" the data.

If you find yourself waiting more often than you actually use the data on the clipboard, you can inform or telling Photoshop not to export the data on the clipboard, thus ensuring speedier crossovers. To turn off this particular option for exporting clipboard data (which has been set as default in Photoshop Preferences), just go to Preferences >> General and deselect the checkbox for “Export Clipboard.” Be remember, regardless of whether this option is selected, it has no effect on Photoshop’s performance while you are working inside Photoshop; only when you have a large amount of data on the clipboard, have forgotten to purge it (Edit>Purge>Clipboard), and then try to exit Photoshop will you notice the difference. To purge data on the clipboard, go to Edit>Purge and select Clipboard from the submenu.

Reducing layers and channels

Another way to reduce the file size and speed up the performance and efficiency is by checking the number of layers and alpha channels being used. The more layers and alpha channels are being used, consequently the longer time it takes to save it. To minimize the file size and the time it takes to save the file, you can delete any unused or unnecessary layers, merging others layers and alpha channels that do not really benefiting from being standalone.

Optimizing performance

To reduce start-up time -There are several ways help to launch Photoshop more quickly.
1) Disabling unnecessary plug-in folder by adding tilde(~) in front of plug-in folder.
2) Relocated plug-ins to secondary folder (easier to be done in Mac OS platform). Then, to load back plug-ins, just hold down Ctrl+Shift (Windows), Cmd+Shift (Mac OS) immediately after you launch Photoshop and then specify the additional plug-ins folder when asked.
3) Preferences dialog are saved each time you exit and launch Photoshop. The file sometimes are saved may become corrupted. If that happens, just hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows), Cmd+Opt+Shift (Mac OS), a split second after you launch Photoshop and choose to delete the Preferences when prompted.
4) Layers,Channels and Paths palettes all store thumbnails by default, these thumbnails are continually updated as you work on the image. A way improve the redraw time, you can customize the palette previews size to smaller one by clicking at Palette Options from the palette’s menu choose the smallest on none in size.
5) As we know, in the computer processor basically work as brain, and RAM more likely as heart. All the software in our computer, from the operating system to applications are relied heavily on how much RAM in order to improve the efficiency and speed. To allocate higher RAM in Photoshop, go to Preferences/Memory & Image Cache and specify a percentage (%) in the Memory Usage section of the dialog box.

Other links

Other links:
http://www.kreativsolutions.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-indesign.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-illustrator.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-photoshop.blogspot.com
http://www.kreativsolutions-acrobat.blogspot.com
http://www.geocities.com/kreativbuilder