vertheim.com
  • Modelling
    • Links >
      • Modelling Hair & Fur
      • Paint Deformation
      • Painting with Objects
    • Types of Modelling >
      • Hard Edge Modelling
      • Poly Modelling >
        • VTMs >
          • Basic Geometry >
            • How to stop geometry using kites
            • Example of where to use kites
            • Poles
            • Extruding for Animation
            • Simple Muscle Definition
          • How to Start a Human Torso
          • Hands
          • Blocking Out a Hand
          • Modelling Hellboy's Head .vtm >
            • Simple breakdown in PDF format
          • Facial Geometry
          • Advanced Body Geometry
          • Cloth Modifier >
            • Making a simple tablecloth
            • Making a Cushion
            • Cloth Help files
          • Modelling Wire mesh
        • Images for Modelling Characters
      • Patch Modelling >
        • VTM
      • Spline Modelling >
        • VTMs >
          • Working with Splines
          • How to build a spline car >
            • Part 1
            • Part 2
            • Part 3
            • Part 4
            • Part 5
            • Part 6
        • Spline Car Images for VTM
      • Map Modelling >
        • Using Maps to Model (displace) >
          • VTM
      • NURBS
      • MakeHuman
    • Architectural Stuff >
      • Five AutoCAD Tips That Make a Big Difference
      • AEC Extended
      • Windows
      • Doors
      • Walls
    • Tools >
      • Realigning Pivots
      • Containers, Xrefs & Proxies >
        • Containers
      • The Array Command
      • Graphite Modelling Ribbon >
        • Read Me!
        • VTMs >
          • Painting Objects
          • Freeform Tools
          • Conform Tools
      • Optimising & Analysing
      • Solving Ngons
      • Populate Tool
      • Perspective Match
    • Speeding Up Production with a Custom UI in 3ds Max
    • Speed up your Workflow in 3DS Max!
    • Why are Ngons & Triangles so Bad?
    • Modeling with Quads or Triangles - What Should I Use?
    • Subdivision / Open Subdiv
    • Different File Formats. Which one?
    • Useful Geometry Images - How & Why
    • Retopology
    • Retopology workflow in 3ds Max - the how and why
    • Hard Edge modelling vs Organic Modelling
    • 10 Anatomy Tips for 3D Modelling
  • Photoshop
    • Links
    • Day to Night
    • The RAW Format >
      • RAW Images
      • ACR Camera Raw Filter Photoshop Clarity
      • Editing RAW Images
      • How to Read a Histogram
    • Pixelflakes.com
    • Animating in Photoshop (Video)
    • Animating in Photoshop (Keyframe)
    • Photographic Retouching and Manipulation
    • Young to Old - The Aging Process
    • Turn Anything into Fire
    • From Destructive to Constructive
    • CS4 VTMs >
      • 3D Cross Section
      • 3D Layers 1
      • 3D Layers 2
      • A Better Impression
      • Adding Depth
      • Ageing Process
      • Animation
      • Beards & Stubble
      • Blending Options
      • Boxing Clever
      • Cartoon Distortion
      • Change of Skin
      • Change of Skin 2
      • Clone Tool
      • Combining Body Parts
      • Complex Shadows
      • Content Aware 1
      • Content Aware 2
      • Custom Brush Design
      • Day for Night
      • Digging Graves
      • Drawing Ribbons
      • Easy Multiple Adjustments
      • Explosions
      • Flyaway Hair
      • Folds & Wrinkles
      • Free Transform
      • Hard Light Shading
      • Image Warp
      • Layer Masks
      • Lock & Load
      • Magical realism
      • Making it Rain
      • Metal with Curves
      • Moving Eyes
      • Multiple Shadows
      • Multiple Strokes
      • Opening Doors
      • People & Cars
      • Perspective Crop
      • Perspective Drawing
      • Portrait Restoration
      • Refine Edges
      • Replace Colour
      • Reverse Ageing
      • RGB & CMYK
      • Rust & Grime
      • Selection Basics
      • Selective Hue - Saturation
      • Silver into Gold
      • Turning Heads
      • Vanishing Point
      • Visible Light
      • Watercolour
      • Window Light
    • Basic CC Training by Digital Tutors
    • CS6 Keyboard Shortcuts
    • Upscaling Images in PS CC
    • Ivy Generator
    • Mr Bean
    • Normal Maps >
      • Nvidia Plugins
    • Brushes >
      • How to load Brush files
      • Brush Tool .vtm
      • Custom Brushes (no images)
      • Custom Brushes (with images) >
        • Destroyed Heraldry
        • Abstract Splatter
        • Destroyed Elements
        • Hand drawn Floral
        • Hand drawn Heraldic Designs
    • Colour Correcting & Matching using Curves
    • How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
    • Creat Ice Effect
    • Make a fantasy composite landscape
    • Discover Layer Masks in Photoshop CS6
    • 10 Tips on becoming a Hotshot Character Artist
    • Matte Painting >
      • Direct Links
      • 3 Great Matte Tutorials
      • CGMA Competition
      • Nathalie Mathé
      • 3D Artist - Matte Painting
      • Build a Matte Image using VUE
      • The Matte Paintings of the Star Wars Trilogy
    • Painting Direct on a 3D Model >
      • CS5 & Earlier >
        • Level: Beginner >
          • VTM
        • Level: Advanced >
          • VTMs >
            • Part 1
            • Part 2
            • Part 3
      • CS6 >
        • VTM
      • CC >
        • VTM
    • Creating 3D Objects in CS6
    • 3D - What's new in CS6 .pdf
    • Day to Night >
      • for Animation / Film using After Effects
      • for Stills using Photoshop
    • Using Perspective and Vanishing Point to make realistic composites
    • Using Perspective or Vanishing Point Filter >
      • VTM
      • Image used
    • Creating a 360 degree Photo
    • Techniques for Creating Realistic Eyes for Another Level of Believability
    • Blending Modes Explained
    • Tools >
      • Actions
      • Blur Tools in CS6
      • Edit / Transforms
      • 2D Displacement Maps >
        • VTM
        • Images for VTM
      • Liquify
      • Pen Tool Basics
  • Lighting
    • Links
    • An In-Depth look at Lighting
    • Volumetrics >
      • Direct Link
      • VTM
    • Ambient Occlusion >
      • VTM
      • Tutorial on Simple Nspace & AO
    • Shadows >
      • Types of Shadow - Help files & Other .vtms
      • Direct Links to books & sites
      • VTM
    • Caustics >
      • A Brief look at Caustics.pdf
      • VTM
      • Caustics Generator
    • Glow & Glare >
      • VTM
    • I.E.S. Lighting Files >
      • VTM >
        • What to do with an IES file
      • IES Viewer
      • IES Generator
      • IES Files >
        • Read Me First
        • Downlighting
        • Emergency
        • Fluorescent
        • Industrial HID
        • Rough Service
        • Track Lighting
    • MR Exposure Controls >
      • VTM
    • Stage Lighting
    • 24 things you should know about lighting
    • How to get better at Lighting
  • Substances
    • Substance Materials >
      • VTM's
    • Substance Designer >
      • Designer VTM's by Allegorithmic
      • Substance Designer Insanity Awards 2018
    • Substance Source >
      • Source Link Page
      • Mark Foreman's Medieval World
    • Substance Painter 2018 >
      • VTM's >
        • Introduction
        • 01 - Creating and setting up a project
        • 02 - Baking maps used in the texturing process
        • 03 - Creating the base paint material
        • 04 - Finishing the painted material and creating rust
        • 05 - Finishing the rust material
        • 06 - Applying Smart Materials and Layer Instancing
        • 07 - Using the brush system
        • 08 - Using Paint Effects, Projection and Cloning tools
        • 09 - Using Anchors
        • 10 - Masking materials with ID maps and Polygon Fill Tool
        • 11 - Creating the dirt and glass materials
        • 12 - Rendering a portfolio image and exporting maps
        • Project files
  • Textures
    • Links
    • How to Create a Material Library in Max 2015
    • Library >
      • Textures >
        • Computer Generated
        • Seamless / Tileable >
          • Bark
          • Brick
          • Fabric
          • Grass
          • Metal
          • Road
          • Rust
          • Stone
          • Wall
          • Wood
        • Sticky Tape
        • Foliage
        • Circuit Board
        • Paper >
          • Paper
          • Old Books
        • Grunge
        • Metal >
          • Assorted
          • Rust
        • Vectors
        • Wood
        • Water
        • Cement >
          • Cement
          • Stained Concrete
        • Fabrics
        • Peeling Paint
        • Odds & Ends
        • Trees & Foliage >
          • Maps
          • Bump
      • Images >
        • Free Images
        • Skulls
        • Assorted Photo Scenes
        • Lightning
        • Wraparound & Widescreen Images
        • Assorted Matte Paintings
        • Pirate's Galleon
        • Rocks & Stone
        • 140 Trees & Bushes
      • Blueprints >
        • Links
        • Vehicles
        • Aircraft
        • Buildings
        • Marvel Characters >
          • Male
          • Female
          • Other...
      • Map Sets >
        • Alien Wall
        • Stone Carved Wall
        • Lumpy Sharp-edged Wall
        • Mossy Castle Wall
        • Carved Rosewood Panelling
        • Distressed Concrete Blocks
        • Muddy Wagon Tracks
        • Art Deco Doors
        • Lava Cracks
      • Assorted .psd Texture Files
    • Render to Texture (Baking) >
      • Direct Link
      • VTM
    • Viewport Canvas >
      • Links
      • Paint Models directly in 3ds Max
      • Read Me >
        • Introduction and Custom Brushes
        • PSD Workflow and Using Render to Texture
        • Viewport Canvas and Render Surface Map
        • Matte Painting and Viewport Canvas
    • Road Texture Generator
    • Applying Textures >
      • UVW Unwrap >
        • VTMs >
          • Unwrapping in Max 2017
          • Great Link
          • Drinks Carton
          • Hand
          • Pelt & Peel
          • External VTM,s Parts 1 - 10
          • Peel
        • VTM Images >
          • Carton
          • Hand
        • VTM .psd Files >
          • Carton
          • Hand
        • Max file for the Hand
      • Camera Mapping >
        • VTMs >
          • Part 1
          • Part 2
          • Part 3
        • Images For Camera Mapping Exercise
        • Images for you to practice with
    • Shaders >
      • Autodesk help on Shaders
      • Submerge
    • Creating Textures >
      • Composite Materials (NOT multi-sub)
      • Ivy Generator
      • Tips for Creating Perfect Normal Maps Every Time
      • Normal Maps >
        • Tutorials
        • Projection Mapping
        • The Atomic Thrust Bucket >
          • VTM
      • 3D Displacement Maps >
        • VTM
      • Tileable Textures >
        • VTMs >
          • Part 1
          • Part 2
        • Mix Maps
      • Mix Maps & Vertex Painting
      • Hair & Fur >
        • Direct Link
        • VTM
      • Sub Surface Scattering >
        • What is it?
        • Epic Tutorial
        • VTM
      • Procedural Maps >
        • VTM
    • Plug-ins >
      • Advanced Procedural maps
    • The Problem with Hair... >
      • Modelling Hair
      • Making Hair with Planes
      • Using Hair & Fur
    • PTEX
  • Animation
    • Alan Becker - Stick man Master
    • Adobe Character Animator
    • Links
    • Animation Terminology
    • Animating Cameras for Architectural Visualisation
    • Emphasizing Animation Timing to Convey Weight and Force
    • Animation Body Mechanics - Understanding Exaggeration
    • Fire Effects using Particles
    • Animation for Games
    • Character Studies? Yes, Please!
    • Particles >
      • Sparks
      • Pouring Beer
    • Rigging >
      • Cat Rig Setup
      • Skinning
      • Skin Morph
      • Skin Wrap
      • Facial Rig
    • Roboball - Read Me >
      • Part 1 - Animation
      • Part 2 - Shading
      • Part 3 - Shading
      • Part 4 - Compositing
    • How to make objects disappear using procedural maps
    • Artist Guide to Motion Graphics >
      • Read Me First >
        • Part 1 >
          • Introduction and project overview
          • Initial project concept and storyboards
          • Adding lights to the scene in 3ds Max
        • Part 2 >
          • Using mental ray materials
          • Using 3ds Max particles to create sparks
          • Getting acquainted with State Sets in 3ds Max
        • Part 3 >
          • Using State Sets to create custom render passes
          • Separating scene elements using State Sets
          • Using Render Elements in 3ds Max
        • Part 4 >
          • Creating 3D elements that can be transferred to After Effects
          • Using the 3ds Max Compositor View
          • Installing the Autodesk Compositor Link plugin for After Effects
          • Overview of Media Sync workflow between 3ds Max and After Effects
          • Using Helper Objects to quickly place 3D layers
          • Using 3D Nulls to drive 2D effects like lens flares
        • Part 5 >
          • Baking an expression to fix motion blurred camera animation
          • Creating glows and changes with the Object ID pass
          • Overview of the compositing techniques use in the final render
          • How to install MAXScripts and add them to the interface
          • Creating custom attributes and transforming selected objects
          • Controlling many objects simply with MAXScript and expressions
    • Principles of Animation >
      • Digital Tutors' 12 Principles
      • 12 principles
      • Staging
      • Exaggeration
      • The 12 Principles Simplified
    • How to Link Sub-Objects to helpers
    • Rigging (3D Artist)
    • Pushing Your Rigs to the Limit - Using Exaggeration for More Appealing Animation
  • Rendering
    • Links
    • 5 Rendering Tips for Animators When Adding the Final Touches to Your Demo Reel
    • Basic Render Elements
    • Produce Expert Renders
    • Quicksilver >
      • Direct Link
    • Mental Ray >
      • Final Gather vs. Global Illumination
      • Global Illumination & Final Gather >
        • For Still Images >
          • VTM
        • For Animation >
          • VTM
      • Proxy Objects >
        • Xrefs
        • Containers >
          • VTMs
        • XRef vs Containers
        • MR Proxies >
          • VTM
    • V-Ray >
      • The BIG V-Ray Book
    • Corona >
      • Sub Surface Scattering with Corona MTL
    • Tools >
      • Level of Detail Utility
    • Simple Render Passes
  • 3ds Max for Beginners
  • Maya
    • Introduction to MAYA 2019
    • Basic
  • Mudbox
    • Tips for Beginners
    • Sculpting VTMs
    • Sculpting Films
    • Materials & Textures
    • Mudbox & Photoshop
    • Map Extraction
    • Retopology
    • Modelling using Displacement Maps
    • Creating hard surface stamps for Mudbox
    • Creating Vector Displacement Stamps
    • Using Vector Maps
    • Lighting
    • Using the Pose Tools
    • Ptex VTM
    • PTex - Mudbox to Max
    • Rendering Ptex with Mudbox, Maya & MR
    • The Jason Welsh Boxset >
      • Retopology Phase
      • Hard Surface Brushes
      • Creating Stamp from an Alpha
      • Image to Stamp without height information)
      • Texture to stencil
      • Sculpting with Stencils
      • Uniform Subdivision
      • UV Phase
      • Mapping Phase
      • Combining Normal Maps
      • Specular Map Option
      • Painting Option
      • Post Processing Texture Phase)
      • Post Processing Preview Cleanup and Repair Phase)
  • PBR Materials
  • Epic Games
    • Creating Materials in UE4
    • Hotkeys, Naming conventions etc.
    • Unreal Studio >
      • Preparing Models and Datasmith
      • Lightmass and Beyond
      • Steamroller
      • Unwrapping for Arch Vis
    • Unreal Engine >
      • Doors
      • Changing cameras
      • Complete Lighting Workflow
      • Beginners Guide
      • Big VTM for beginners
      • Must see! Speed Level Design
  • Post Production
    • After Effects Tutorials by Surfaced Studio >
      • Beginner >
        • How to Create Cool VFX
        • Compositions & Pre-Composing
        • Introduction to Masking
        • Adjustment Layers
        • Track Mattes
        • Parenting
        • Null Objects
        • 3D
      • Intermediate >
        • Muzzle Flash
        • How to Morph / Warp an Object
        • Advanced Morphing
        • Realistic Bullet Effects
        • How to get Hit by a Car
        • Motion Tracking
        • Explosions
        • How to Curve a Bullet
        • Bullet Hit Destruction
        • Make a Shooting Look Real
        • Common Green Screen Mistakes
        • How to Clone Yourself
      • Advanced >
        • How to Move a Camera Through a Wall or Floor
        • VFX - Dissolve into Crows (Short & Breakdown)
        • VFX - Dissolve into Crows Tutorial
        • How to Blow Up a Motorbike
        • Compositing Fireworks
        • Breaking Through a Roof
    • Dramatic Lighting in After Effects
    • Post Production in After Effects
    • After Effects, 3ds Max - Motion tracking, match moving & camera tracking
    • Mass FX, 3ds Max - Ball and Chain Complex Rigid Body Constraint
    • Links
  • Photography
    • Concepts & Terminology
    • Camera Equipment & Accessories
    • Editing & Post Processing
    • Colour Management & Printing
    • Understanding the F Stop
  • Photogrammetry
    • Photogrammetry
    • Create 3D Models & Textures From Photos
  • Photorealism Explained
  • 3D Scanning
    • Fuel 3D / Scanify
    • 3rd party stitching >
      • Autodesk Meshmixer
      • Meshlab
  • Games
    • Character, Controls, Camera: The 3Cs of Game Development
    • 10 Things Professional Game Artists Wish They Knew When They First Started
    • Animation for Games
    • Vehicle Game Asset
  • Film
    • Hollywood VFX
    • Practical Effects and Digital Effects
    • Reel FX Helps Write The Book of Life
    • Behind the Scenes of X-Men: Days of Future Past
    • Gravity
    • 'Atlantis' Rope Bridge scene by Vine Studios
    • The Evolution of VFX in Movies: The 60s Till Now
  • Work
    • How to become a Successful Freelance Artist
    • If Every 3D Job Requires "Job Experience" How Will I Ever Break into the Industry?
    • Build a Professional Showreel
    • Create Your Best Showreel
    • Five Tips for Critiquing Your Own Work
    • Demo Reel and Portfolio Tips from Game Industry Professionals
    • Escape Studios Careers Guide 2016
  • Drawing, Sketching etc
    • 10 Tips on becoming a Hotshot Character Artist
    • Planning your Drawing
    • How to Draw a Human Head
    • Drawing a Human Head at Different angles
    • Drawing Mouths and Lips
    • Mouth Expressions
    • Gesture Drawing
    • Dramatic Facial Expressions
    • Drawing Eyes
    • Drawing Hands
    • Drawing Emotion
    • Female Body Construction
    • Foreshortening
    • Drawing Anatomy >
      • Drawing Anatomy Pt 1
      • Drawing Anatomy Pt 2
    • How to Find Natural Rhythm Lines
    • Perspective
    • The Character design Process
    • Poses
    • Western vs Anime
    • How to Create Realistic Textures >
      • How to Create Realistic Textures Pt 1
      • How to Create Realistic Textures Pt 2
    • How to Create Realistic Textures Pt 3
  • What's new in Max 2019
  • Odds & Ends
    • Cinemagraphs
    • Trees
    • RSS Feeds >
      • Technology Magazines
      • 3D Artists
      • 3D Printing
      • Science Fiction
      • Tech Radar
      • ScriptSpot.com
    • Graphic Design >
      • Understanding Design Jargon: Design Principles
    • External Links >
      • Luciano Sgarbi
    • How to set up a Project Folder
    • Sound >
      • Intro to Prosound
      • Free WMA-MP3 Converter
      • Royalty Free Music
      • Sounds >
        • Links
        • Alarms
        • Animals
        • Computers
        • Email
        • Sound Effects
        • Voices
        • Gunfire
        • Short Tunes
    • Scripts >
      • 3D Stereoscopy
      • Brickerizer
      • Camera Switcher
      • Clay Render
      • Resource Collector
      • Deformed Edges
      • Rockmaker
      • BookScatter
      • Material Creator / Randomisor
      • Quick Ambient Occlusion
      • Fracture
      • Links
    • Scanned Stuff >
      • Produce Expert Renders
      • The Future of VFX
      • Rigging (3D Artist)
      • Build a Matte Image
      • 3D Artist - Matte Painting
      • Atmospheric Arch-Viz Renders
      • 50 ZBrush Secrets
      • Animation for Games
      • Wooden Arch Viz Interiors
      • Dramatic Lighting in After Effects
      • 50 Tips for better characters
      • The Art of Arch Vis
      • 50 Hot Topology Tips
      • Post Production in After Effects
      • Create Your Best Showreel
      • Get a Job in the Games Industry
      • Create 3D Games Assets
      • Digital Doubles
      • 3D Printing
      • Essential CG Projects
      • Vehicle Game Asset
      • Turbo - The Art of Dreamworks
      • Facial Animation
      • CG Worlds
      • 3ds Max 2014
      • Gravity
      • Art of Sci-Fi
      • Rigging in Max
    • 3DS Models >
      • Previews
  • Video Encoding
  • Glossary
    • Modelling
    • Materials
    • Maps
    • Lighting
    • Animation
    • Modifiers
    • Rendering
    • Scripts
    • Shadows
  • VR & AR
  • Modelling
    • Links >
      • Modelling Hair & Fur
      • Paint Deformation
      • Painting with Objects
    • Types of Modelling >
      • Hard Edge Modelling
      • Poly Modelling >
        • VTMs >
          • Basic Geometry >
            • How to stop geometry using kites
            • Example of where to use kites
            • Poles
            • Extruding for Animation
            • Simple Muscle Definition
          • How to Start a Human Torso
          • Hands
          • Blocking Out a Hand
          • Modelling Hellboy's Head .vtm >
            • Simple breakdown in PDF format
          • Facial Geometry
          • Advanced Body Geometry
          • Cloth Modifier >
            • Making a simple tablecloth
            • Making a Cushion
            • Cloth Help files
          • Modelling Wire mesh
        • Images for Modelling Characters
      • Patch Modelling >
        • VTM
      • Spline Modelling >
        • VTMs >
          • Working with Splines
          • How to build a spline car >
            • Part 1
            • Part 2
            • Part 3
            • Part 4
            • Part 5
            • Part 6
        • Spline Car Images for VTM
      • Map Modelling >
        • Using Maps to Model (displace) >
          • VTM
      • NURBS
      • MakeHuman
    • Architectural Stuff >
      • Five AutoCAD Tips That Make a Big Difference
      • AEC Extended
      • Windows
      • Doors
      • Walls
    • Tools >
      • Realigning Pivots
      • Containers, Xrefs & Proxies >
        • Containers
      • The Array Command
      • Graphite Modelling Ribbon >
        • Read Me!
        • VTMs >
          • Painting Objects
          • Freeform Tools
          • Conform Tools
      • Optimising & Analysing
      • Solving Ngons
      • Populate Tool
      • Perspective Match
    • Speeding Up Production with a Custom UI in 3ds Max
    • Speed up your Workflow in 3DS Max!
    • Why are Ngons & Triangles so Bad?
    • Modeling with Quads or Triangles - What Should I Use?
    • Subdivision / Open Subdiv
    • Different File Formats. Which one?
    • Useful Geometry Images - How & Why
    • Retopology
    • Retopology workflow in 3ds Max - the how and why
    • Hard Edge modelling vs Organic Modelling
    • 10 Anatomy Tips for 3D Modelling
  • Photoshop
    • Links
    • Day to Night
    • The RAW Format >
      • RAW Images
      • ACR Camera Raw Filter Photoshop Clarity
      • Editing RAW Images
      • How to Read a Histogram
    • Pixelflakes.com
    • Animating in Photoshop (Video)
    • Animating in Photoshop (Keyframe)
    • Photographic Retouching and Manipulation
    • Young to Old - The Aging Process
    • Turn Anything into Fire
    • From Destructive to Constructive
    • CS4 VTMs >
      • 3D Cross Section
      • 3D Layers 1
      • 3D Layers 2
      • A Better Impression
      • Adding Depth
      • Ageing Process
      • Animation
      • Beards & Stubble
      • Blending Options
      • Boxing Clever
      • Cartoon Distortion
      • Change of Skin
      • Change of Skin 2
      • Clone Tool
      • Combining Body Parts
      • Complex Shadows
      • Content Aware 1
      • Content Aware 2
      • Custom Brush Design
      • Day for Night
      • Digging Graves
      • Drawing Ribbons
      • Easy Multiple Adjustments
      • Explosions
      • Flyaway Hair
      • Folds & Wrinkles
      • Free Transform
      • Hard Light Shading
      • Image Warp
      • Layer Masks
      • Lock & Load
      • Magical realism
      • Making it Rain
      • Metal with Curves
      • Moving Eyes
      • Multiple Shadows
      • Multiple Strokes
      • Opening Doors
      • People & Cars
      • Perspective Crop
      • Perspective Drawing
      • Portrait Restoration
      • Refine Edges
      • Replace Colour
      • Reverse Ageing
      • RGB & CMYK
      • Rust & Grime
      • Selection Basics
      • Selective Hue - Saturation
      • Silver into Gold
      • Turning Heads
      • Vanishing Point
      • Visible Light
      • Watercolour
      • Window Light
    • Basic CC Training by Digital Tutors
    • CS6 Keyboard Shortcuts
    • Upscaling Images in PS CC
    • Ivy Generator
    • Mr Bean
    • Normal Maps >
      • Nvidia Plugins
    • Brushes >
      • How to load Brush files
      • Brush Tool .vtm
      • Custom Brushes (no images)
      • Custom Brushes (with images) >
        • Destroyed Heraldry
        • Abstract Splatter
        • Destroyed Elements
        • Hand drawn Floral
        • Hand drawn Heraldic Designs
    • Colour Correcting & Matching using Curves
    • How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
    • Creat Ice Effect
    • Make a fantasy composite landscape
    • Discover Layer Masks in Photoshop CS6
    • 10 Tips on becoming a Hotshot Character Artist
    • Matte Painting >
      • Direct Links
      • 3 Great Matte Tutorials
      • CGMA Competition
      • Nathalie Mathé
      • 3D Artist - Matte Painting
      • Build a Matte Image using VUE
      • The Matte Paintings of the Star Wars Trilogy
    • Painting Direct on a 3D Model >
      • CS5 & Earlier >
        • Level: Beginner >
          • VTM
        • Level: Advanced >
          • VTMs >
            • Part 1
            • Part 2
            • Part 3
      • CS6 >
        • VTM
      • CC >
        • VTM
    • Creating 3D Objects in CS6
    • 3D - What's new in CS6 .pdf
    • Day to Night >
      • for Animation / Film using After Effects
      • for Stills using Photoshop
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vertheim.com

Basic Photoshop CC training by Digital Tutors


Feeling like you need some direction in your Photoshop CC skills? Well, Digital-Tutors wants you! We’re going to turn you into a lean, mean, rasterizing machine with our Photoshop Basic Training Boot Camp. To get you manipulating pixels as quickly as possible, we’ll start with identifying the program’s user interface, manipulating layers, mastering the Move Tool, and finally learning how to crop an image. These are the basics that every Photoshop user must master at some point. So, ten hut! Fall in!! And grab your gear because DT’s Basic Training Boot Camp starts now….

“About, Interface!!”

One term you should be familiar with when working with Photoshop’s user interface (UI) is the word “panel.” The term usually refers to a group of controls that do similar things. Below are the names of some basic Photoshop UI bars and panels, their location, and general function.

  • Tool Panel: Choose your weapon, Soldier! The Tool Panel is located on the left side of the UI and contains a large variety of controls you can use to manipulate your image. Manipulation can range from simply moving the image with the Move Tool to something more complex like selecting very specific parts of the image with the Magic Wand Tool. You can think of your Tool Panel as your weapons cache, the place where you store and select your WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Design).

tool panel

  • Options Bar: Know your weapon! It’s one thing to pick up a rocket launcher, and quite another to know how to use it. After you’ve selected the appropriate tool from the Tool Panel, you now will need to know what options you have and how to use it. Information about your tools’ controls is accessible in the Options bar, located below the menu bar, at the top of your work space. The Options bar provides controls for each tool and changes to fit which tool you currently have selected. For example, if you choose the Brush Tool, your options panel will display choices for controlling the brush’s size, shape, opacity, and flow.

options bar

  • Layers Panel: What has layers? Onions, Orgres and Photoshop. Your Layers Panel, located in the bottom right corner of your screen, is one of the most often accessed panels in Photoshop. Like an onion, a Photoshop project can be made up of many different layers. And also like an onion, the top layer is the only one you will usually see. This onion layer analogy will help you prepare for those future moments when you suddenly can’t see an element on the canvas when you can clearly see the layer in the Layers Panel. The reason you can’t see it is most likely because you’ve placed its layer below another layer that is covering it up. Being unaware of this potential complication can, like onions, bring tears to your eyes. But there’s no crying in Photoshop! Move out!!

layer

  • History Panel: Remember where you came from!! It’s important to know how to move forward with your project by using tools, controls, and layers. But just as important is to know where you’ve been. Inevitably, you’ll need to undo something you’ve done either in the disastrous category or a simple mistake. Sure you can Command+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z (Win) to go back one step, but these shortcuts will only get you so far. What if your problem is 5, 10 or even 15 steps backward? This is where the History Panel can be a time saver. Located on the upper right-hand side of your work space, your recent history of moves, additions, selections, etc. are all recorded and laid out for you. Selecting on any one spot in your history will revert you there immediately. Sure you can use the short cut Ctrl+Alt+Z to go back one step at a time, but the History Panel can get you there in a snap.

history panel

The Tool, History, Layers panels along with the Options bar are just a few of the basic interface features of Photoshop CC. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and getting to know these panels, their locations, and functions will ensure your basic training success. Knowing the lay of the land, so to speak, is the first step in your march toward Photoshop domination.

Layers Slayer!!

The image below of a packaged monster is made up of multiple layers. (Click here to follow along). To manipulate the parts of this image, you must know how to work within the Layers Panel. Remember that layers are organized from bottom to top (or, if you prefer, top to bottom) with the top layer being the top-most element you see on the canvas. In this example, the “tentacles” layer sits on top of the “package” layer that sits on top of the “Background” layer. Re-arranging these layers will have different effects. For example, if you click and drag the “tentacles” layer below the “package” layer, the image would now look like this:

tentacle move2

What has happened is that the green tentacles have moved backward behind the package. They’re now partially hidden, sandwiched between the package layer and the white background. The result is sub par so we’ll move the “tentacles” layer back to the top making it the top onion layer once again. However, this is the basics of moving layers within a Photoshop project. You can also move multiple layers simultaneously by selecting and highlighting more than one at a time.

Take a look once again at the Layers Panel. You’ll notice that the “package” layer is a little different from the other two. It’s smaller and has a folder icon on it. That’s because it’s technically a group, which is exactly what it sounds like–a group of layers inside of a folder. You might think of a group as an onion within an onion. To open any group to view its sub-layers, you simply click the drop down arrow on the left hand side of the panel. As you can see in the image below, doing this reveals the “package” group’s contents:

  • FRAGILE
  • UP text
  • Box

group layer 4

These individual layers inside of the “package” group can be easily manipulated to fit your needs. Their order can be rearranged, which would also affect the look of our mail monster image. For example, can you guess what would happen to the image if you moved the “FRAGILE” layer below the “Box” layer?

“Move it!! Move it!!… Move Tool!!”

Any Photoshop soldier worth his or her salt knows how to correctly select and move elements in a multi-layered document. Of course, it’s easy to move things in Photoshop, but without the right training, you’ll have many undesired adjustments to your composition. This will result in the overuse and abuse of your undo shortcut keys or in constantly going to your History Panel. This takes up precious time you probably don’t have. So stomach in…chest out..mouse button at the ready, let’s get familiar with the Move Tool.

The first thing you want to do is locate and select the Move Tool in the Tool Panel. After selecting it, you can see that the Options bar changes, indicating all of the options that apply to it. The two Options bar adjustments you’ll probably deal with first are the “Auto-Select” check box and “Layer/Group button”. For the moment, check the box for Auto-Select and set the option for the other button to “Layer”. We’ll discuss more about what these mean a little later on.

autoselect and layer2

We’ve seen how to move layers and the effects of doing this. Now we can look at how to use the Move Tool to move elements within the image. Before you move elements, however, you need to select the layer itself. This can be done several ways, but let’s look at two of the common ones: from the Layers Panel or on the canvas itself.

Moving with the Layers Panel

Selecting and highlighting a specific layer within the Layers Panel will activate that layer for movement by the Move Tool. For example, if you select the FRAGILE layer, which corresponds to the word “FRAGILE” on the side of the package, you’d be able to move the font around the canvas by clicking on, holding and dragging it.

Let’s say you wanted to offset the word “FRAGILE” on our package to the right a bit. You can move that individual element by first selecting its layer in the Layers Panel. Then clicking and dragging it slightly to the right. Before moving it, however, you need to make sure that only the “FRAGILE” layer is highlighted in the Layers Panel. If there are more layers selected, you’d be inadvertently moving those as well.

Note: If you’ve got snapping enabled, you can fine-tune your movement and override the snapping feature by holding down Ctrl while clicking and dragging with the Move Tool. This makes it easier to put your element exactly where you want it. You can see the result of selecting and moving the word “FRAGILE” slightly to the right in the image below.

FRAGILE

You can use this layer selection strategy to move any of the elements within the image. So far we’ve only moved one element within the image: the word “FRAGILE”. What if you wanted to move two or more elements at the same time? Well, that’s just as easy. You just need to select more than one layer at a time. This is accomplished by holding down Ctrl and clicking on the layers you want to move. For example, you could select to move both the tentacles and the box by selecting their layers simultaneously.

final one

As you’ve probably guessed, you can move an entire group by highlighting its group, which in this case would be the “package” group. So selecting just the “package” group would automatically select all three layers that make it up. This would allow you to move the word “FRAGILE,” the “UP text,” and the “Box” elements at the same time.

Moving with the Canvas

You can also select elements (and their layers) directly on the canvas by simply clicking on an element or a part of an element. This selection feature is known as Auto-Select. This is why we checked the “Auto-Select” box along with the “Layer” setting before we began. If Auto-Select is not enable, Photoshop requires you to select elements in the Layers Panel first before manipulating them. When enabled, Auto-Select will automatically select the top layer that you select on the canvas. You can set this feature to auto-select by layer or by group depending on your needs. If you change the setting to “Group,” then when you selected any part of the “package” group (i.e. “FRAGILE,” “UP text,” or “Box”), Photoshop would select the entire group rather than the individual layers. This feature gives you more freedom in how to choose what to move on the canvas.

“Crop and Give Me 20!!”

At Photoshop Boot Camp there’s one skill that is a must for all new recruits. And that skill is cropping. Many times you may have taken a photograph that was too far away from your subject, contains unwanted elements like your finger, or maybe it’s just off balance and uneven. It happens to the best of us, but cropping can be a simple answer to all of these unwanted issues.

Let’s take the image below as an example of a picture that needs some cropping (click here to download if you want to follow along). Not only is the picture a little angled, but there is a large finger shadow in the upper left hand corner that we don’t want. Despite these imperfections, the image is one we want to keep. We can use the Crop Tool to fix both of these issues in a matter of minutes and rescue the lighthouse photo in 7 easy steps.

original light house

  • Step 1. Select the Crop Tool in the Tool Panel. After selecting you should notice that the Options bar changes accordingly to reveal all of the Crop Tool’s control settings. You should also see a dotted line surrounding the picture’s perimeter and form a highlighted crop box. This highlighted area designates the new cropped picture. There should be four adjustment handles on each of the four corners of your crop box as in the image below. There are also four handles for each side of the crop box. You can use any of these handles to change the shape and size of your crop box by clicking, holding and dragging them.

light house crop tool2

  • Step 2. Grab one of the four corner handles and begin dragging it towards the center of the picture. Since we want to remove the finger shadow in the upper left hand corner, you might want to grab that handle first. Immediately, you should see that your dotted line forms a smaller box that changes shape as you drag around your handle. Again, this box represents the shape and size of your cropped picture. It should be highlighted while the areas outside its perimeter should now be darkened. These darkened areas will be cropped off. You can adjust the box so that the dark finger shadow is in the darkened, cropped off area. You may want to shorten the height of the box as well to keep the picture in roughly the same height-to-width proportions as the original.

crop box

  • Step 3: At this point, you might want to check the box in your Options bar that says “Delete Cropped Pixels,” which will eliminate those shaded areas after you’ve cropped the image. Don’t worry, you can always undo the deletion by going into your History Panel. You’ll probably also notice that our box now contains a grid of vertical and horizontal lines. This is called your overlay and is used to help you compose and position elements within your image. Photoshop’s default overlay setting, (also located in the Options bar), is the “Rule of Thirds,” which is a very standard way of composing subjects.

rule of thirds

  • Step 4: The overlay setting can be changed by selecting and accessing the drop down menu. Since you’re also going to straighten your picture just a bit, let’s choose a more appropriate overlay that will help with this. You can access the overlap drop down menu and choose “Grid” instead. This should change the overlay into something that looks similar to the image below. You’ll now have many more lines to work with, and you can use these lines to help straighten the picture.

overlay drop down

  • Step 5: If you move your cursor outside the area of the picture (onto the gray backdrop of your workspace), it should change to a curved, two-pointed arrow. This is the cursor setting that will allow you to rotate the picture. You can click and slowly start to move your cursor up or down, which should begin to slightly rotate the picture. Your crop box area will remain stationary. The picture can now be adjusted until the harbor’s land line is parallel with one of your closest overlay lines. You’ve just used the grid overlay as a guide to help balance the picture.

rotated

  • Step 6: After you’ve gotten your picture aligned, you need to accept your changes. To do this, with the Crop Tool still selected you should notice on the Options bar in the upper right hand corner a set of three buttons. Reading from left to right, the buttons correspond to:
    • Resetting the Crop Box
    • Canceling the Current Crop Operation
    • Committing to Current Crop Operation

    To apply your adjustments, select the “Committing to Current Crop Operation” button.

three buttons2

Step 7: At this point your new picture should be reformatted with the finger shadow removed and a much more balanced composition. Below you can see the difference between the original picture and your newly cropped image. If not satisfied with your crop, you can simply hit the “Reset the Crop Box” button and try again.

comparison

Congratulations! You’ve just made it through Digital-Tutors’ Photoshop CC Basic Training Boot Camp. You’ve learned how to locate a variety of basic panels and bars within the user interface, looked at how layers function, mastered the Move Tool for both layers and canvas work, and achieved the ability to crop photos. If you would like to reach the next level of skill with, check out our tutorials on Photoshop basics for beginners and expand your newly gained powers. Go forth young Padawan and be at one with the Photoshop!

 

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