PhotoShop 5 Filters F/X and Design with Cdrom
Authors: T. Michael Clark
Venue:  (1998)

From the Book: Chapter 1 Chapter 1 A Filter Overview Which Filters Do What Many of the effects that you can create with Photoshop are, in fact, possible using only the built-in filters (and a little ingenuity). Along with the usual complement of photo correction and manipulation filters, such as blurring and sharpening, a number of other filters are available. Included with Photoshop are filters such as Render Clouds and Render Lighting. Starting with version 4, Adobe also includes a previously separate package. This package contains a gallery of effects that you can use to quickly add painterly and artistic effects to your images. Some of these effects, which are demonstrated throughout this book, are as follows:  Graphic Pen  Cutout  Chrome  Displace  Spherize  Render Lighting  Chalk and Charcoal  Texture, Craquelure, and many more Along with the built-in filters, I demonstrate some of my favorite plug-ins. An entire industry is being built around third-party plug-in filters for Photoshop and Photoshop-compatible programs. You can get plug-ins to help you create selections, create cool textures, add frames to your images, give your text a lift, and more. Some of these plug-ins are so elaborate that they have their own books. However, I dont discuss these programs as separate entities. Rather, I show you the best tool, or set of tools, to use to accomplish any given technique. In some cases, this "tool" may be the application of one, two, or more built-in filters. In others, the technique may be a repetition of just one filter. In other cases, you may need to use both the built-in and the third-party filters to get a certain effect just right. Some of the filters and plug-ins that I describe throughout this book are as follows: From Alien Skin  Eye Candy 3, (which contains, among others, Drop Shadow, Perspective Shadow, Fire, Smoke, and Inner Bevel) From Auto F/X  Page/Edges  The Ultimate Texture Collection  Photo/Graphic Edges  Typo/Graphic Edges From MetaCreations  Kais Power Tools (KPT) (which includes, among others, Gradient Designer, Texture Explorer, Interform, and Spheroid Designer) From Extensis  Mask Pro From RAYflect  Four Seasons From Wacom  PenTools From Ulead  SmartSaver You dont need to own allor even anyof these filters, however, to learn a great deal from this book. In most of the examples, I provide alternatives to the techniques that I describe, and these alternative techniques will use only the built-in filters that ship with Photoshop 5. In fact, you can accomplish most of the techniques throughout this book by using only Photoshop 5. Cool Techniques For Applying Filters It is possible to achieve many really cool effects in Photoshop by simply clicking your mouse, pulling down a menu, making a selection, and choosing the default setting for any given filter. In fact, many people with little or no previous artistic experience create quite stunning Web page logos and navigational elements in this manner. So, what can you do to make your artwork stand out from the crowd? There are a few ways that this is possible:  Reapply filters to the same image.  Use filters in combination with others.  Use masks and selections.  Use layers and blending modes. Doing so achieves effects that will leave even the most die-hard Photoshop user wondering exactly how you achieved that certain look. With Photoshop 5, it is even possible, using the History Brush, to partially erase the effect of any given filter. Using this technique can produce wild results that were difficult, if not impossible, to create in previous versions of Photoshop. You can see a very simple example of using the His-tory Brush to partially erase an effect in Figure 1.1. To achieve the effect that I created in the example shown in Figure 1.1, take these steps: 1. Apply the Alien Skin Inner Bevel filter. 2. Mark the position of the image prior to the filter being applied in the History palette. 3. Use the new History Brush tool to selectively remove the effect. All I needed to do here was to choose a brush and drag it over the portions I wanted to change. "Well," you might say, "this could probably be accomplished using a couple of layers and a layer mask." Of course, you are right. Using the History Brush, however, is much easier and quicker. As an added bonus, this technique also gives you far greater control over the process. Given these pluses, you should be able to see how powerful this new feature can be. I give in-depth demonstrations of how this tool works, later in this book. Combining Filters I mentioned previously that one way to separate your work from the competition is to apply a filter repeatedly or to use filters in combination with others. This is certainly true and quite easy to do, as well. Figure 1.2, for example, was designed using a number of built-in and add-on filters. The image in Figure 1.2 was developed by using a simple technique for creating a polished metallic look (see Chapter 2 for more information on how this is done). I added to that technique by applying the Inner Bevel filter from Alien Skin (twice, actually, because the first application didnt give the desired result). I also varied the text layers opacity and added a drop shadow to have the text appear to be stamped into the metal (see Chapter 10 for more on this effect). The center of the image, which appears to be a spherical metal piece covering the microphone assembly below it, was created with a simple radial gradient. I took this whole process a little further for the main navigational element and logo of the GrafX Design Web site (see Figure 1.3). Along with the techniques used for the "microphone" image, I added a simple chrome effect from Alien Skins Eye Candy. I blended the layer with this effect into the lower layers in such a way as to allow the two distinct metallic looks to be visible. This technique really adds to the final image, giving it a shinier, more realistic appearance. On the surface, applying a filter repeatedly or applying multiple filters to an image may seem quite obvious. However, it is nearly impossible to look at a final image and try to puzzle out how the effect was accomplished. To achieve these unique effects, you will sometimes start with an idea and, while you are working towards it, get the idea that if you applied the effect just once more, the final piece will be just right. At other times, you may just find yourself playing around with the various filters and their options and quite accidentally hit upon some really cool effects. In fact, I heartily endorse the idea of spending as much time as possible just playing around with Photoshop and its filters. Doing so will pay you back tenfold in the number of new ideas youll get. You will also be rewarded with an even better understanding of the program. During the time you spend investigating the different filters and some of the infinite combinations, youre bound to come across many amazing effects. You may want to document your results so that you can work with these combinations at a later date.