Cómo tomar una muestra de color en cualquier cosa mostrada en tu pantalla, con Photoshop

Esta es una funcionalidad de Photoshop que no conocía. Si alguna vez te has preguntado qué color exactamente utiliza un icono, un botón de una aplicación, o cualquier otra cosa que se muestre en tu PC, puedes averiguarlo con Photoshop siguiendo estos sencillos pasos:

1.- Abre una imagen cualquiera, en Photoshop

2.- Selecciona el “EyeDropper” tool, para tomar muestras de color (normalmente dentro de la imagen en la que estás trabajando).

3.- Haz click en cualquier punto de tu imagen y, SIN SOLTAR EL BOTÓN, arrastra el puntero del mouse a cualquier otro punto de tu escritorio, a cualquier otra aplicación, icono o ventana.

Photoshop irá mostrando constantemente el color debajo del cursor del ratón, sin importar si todavía estás en tu imagen o siquiera dentro de Photoshop. Cuando sueltes el botón, ese color es seleccionado como color de trabajo en Photoshop, por lo que ya puedes utilizarlo en tus imágenes o acceder a sus componentes RGB.

Muy útil!!!

J

Photoshop LensFlare filter and it´s small window with no zoom

In Photoshop, it seems there´s no way to zoom your picture in the too-small window of the LensFlare Filter. This is something annoying if you are trying to place a LensFlare in a specific point of a big picture, as you have absolutely no accuray in the placing point. Just an example:

Imaging you want to process the image on your left, a picture of the most spectacular beauty in the motor vehicle industry ;). The objective is to add the Audi LED Lights effect, using the LensFlare filter. You open the LensFlare window up, and you find something like this:

There´s no single way to add the lens flare, one by one, with enough precission, as you cannot zoom in that window. So here is a simple way of fixing this:

1.- Activate the “Info” window, set your rulers to use “Pixels” as units, and keep the coordinates of the specific point where you want to add the LensEffect

2.- Go back to the LensFlare filter window, and use “Alt + click” instead of a simple click. A new window will appear where you can specify the lens flare coords. Et voilá, flare placed.

 

Maybe this second approach is even more useful:

1.- Create a new layer and paint it all black. Add the new lens flare in that layer, wherever you want.

2.- Change the kind of layer from “Normal” to “Screen”, so our lensflare is correctly blended with your background

3.- Now you can move and scale your lensflare as desired. You can even adjust it´s colors, exposure, brightness and contrast, everything.

 

This is the result of working this way:

 

Photoshop CS3 Layers. Select all pixels & rasterize effects

I´ve been messing around with Photoshop CS3 and I´ve found a couple of things I´d like to share with you.

In versions of PS prior to the CS2, only one layer in the layer palette could be selected at a time. Now, there´s the possibility to select more than one layer and work with them alltogether, in the typical ctrl+click way to select and de-select layers.

This is great, but that combination (ctrl+click) was previously used to select all layer´s visible pixels. So now, how is this thing done? Well, after 15 minutes trying, searching, and desperating, I´ve realized it´s the very same thing, but clicking in the layer´s thumbnail instead of any part of layers entrance.

Second trick I´ve found here:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photoshop/qt/flatlayereffect.htm

HOWTO flatten, or rasterize all layer´s effects:

If you have applied some effects to a layer, all of them keep editable at all the time. This is also great but if you need at some time to "apply" all that effects, rasterize them in the layer and reset all the effects properties, so you can work again with the modified layer "from scratch", there is no obvious option to do so.

A very easy way to do this, is to create an empty layer and place it just below the layer you want to flatten. Then merge that layer down (ctrl+E) to the empty layer you just created and voilá! all the effects get applied and disappeared.

Cheers!