Friday, August 20, 2010

What’s New in Photoshop CS5

Adobe has added several great new features to Photoshop CS5 that make tools easier to use, extend capabilities, and add lots of justification for upgrading. These new changes are discussed throughout the book. The purpose of this section is to describe the biggest changes and let you know where in the book you can find more information about them:
  • Sticky Workspaces: The workspaces in Photoshop now save themselves when you switch between them. That way, your panels and other settings stay the same way you left them when you come back.
  • Workspace Switcher: Adobe has modified the method to switch between workspaces with a new option in the application bar that allows you to access workspaces more easily.
  • Mixer Brush: One of the coolest features in Photoshop CS5 is the addition of the Mixer Brush to the painting tools. The Mixer Brush mixes colors in the brush and on the canvas as you apply strokes to the document, allowing you to create realistic painting effects. This one new feature makes Photoshop CS5 worth the upgrade. Brush in detail. Figure 1.1 shows an example of using the Mixer Brush to add brush strokes to a photograph to create a paint effect. Notice that by using the Mixer Brush, the colors in the image have been spread like brush strokes. 
  • Bristle Brushes: Another feature that adds to the painting functionality in Photoshop is the addition of realistic paint brushes. The new Bristle Brush tips allow you to define paint stroke behavior that mimics real paint brushes by allowing you to define the number of bristles, stiffness, shape, and other behaviors that simulate real-life brushes. Combined with the Mixer Brush tool, the Bristle Brushes elevate Photoshop CS5 to one of the premier digital art applications. Figure 1.2 shows the various new Bristle Brushes.

FIGURE 1.1
The new Mixer Brush allows you to treat the pixels in an image like wet paint as you apply brush strokes, significantly increasing Photoshop’s ability as a painting application.


FIGURE 1.2
The new Bristle Brushes allow you to define bristle length, shape, stiffness, and behavior, providing realistic brush effects.

  • Bristle Brush Preview: The new Bristle Brushes also come with a preview window that simulates the movement and pressure of the brush as you apply brush strokes. As you put more pressure on the brush, the preview shows the bristles as they fan out. The preview is especially useful if you are using a stylus that supports tilt and pressure, because the preview shows you the behavior of the brush when it is tilted and as you apply more pressure. Figure 1.3 shows some examples of the Bristle Brush preview window.
FIGURE 1.3
The Bristle Brush preview window displays the behavior of the brush in real time as you make brush strokes, including the tilt of the brush and how the bristles fan out with more pressure.

  • Mini Bridge: A new Mini Bridge panel has been added to Photoshop. The Mini Bridge panel allows you to quickly find and open files in Photoshop using Navigation and Content panes similar to those in Bridge. You no longer need to switch between Photoshop and Bridge to find files. Figure 1.4 shows the look of the Content and Navigation panes in the Mini Bridge panel.

FIGURE 1.4
The Mini Bridge panel provides a simple interface you can use to more easily find and open files in Photoshop.

  • Puppet Warp tool: The Puppet Warp tool is another fun feature in Photoshop CS5. Using the Puppet Warp tool, you can lock pieces of the image to remain static and then adjust points in the no static sections. As you adjust the points, the image is warped as if you were pulling on a piece of cloth. The result is that you can take an object such as a person and warp only the arms or legs as you would a puppet. Figure 1.5 shows an example of using the Puppet Warp tool to change the position of a spider’s legs. Notice how the locking pins hold the rest of the image in place while the spider’s legs are warped.

FIGURE 1.5
The Puppet Warp tool allows you to warp and change the position of specific areas of the image without affecting the rest of the pixels.

  • Content-Aware Fill and Spot Healing: Adobe has enhanced the Spot Healing Brush tool so you can enable the Content-Aware feature. This feature takes into account the pixels in the area being healed and tries to match other similar patterns in the image. You also can create a Content Aware Fill that replaces a selection with a content aware patch. The result is that you can quickly remove content from an image without the anomalies that you used to get. It’s a situation of “now you see it, now you don’t.” Figure 1.6 shows an example of removing an elk from an image using the Content-Aware Spot Healing. Using the Content-Aware Spot Healing feature, you can simply paint loosely over an object and Photoshop does the rest. Notice how cleanly the animal is removed and replaced with grass similar to the content around it.

FIGURE 1.6
The Content-Aware Spot Healing feature allows you to easily use painting strokes to remove elements from an image and replace them with content similar to the content around where the object was located.
  • Repoussé: Another major advancement in Photoshop CS5 is the addition of the Repoussé tool. Repoussé allows you to take a 2D vector path and turn it into a 3D vector object. This is a huge bonus to the extended edition, because you can now create a variety of 3D shapes by utilizing vector paths. A great use of the Repoussé tool is to create 3D text art from vector text layers. Figure 1.7 shows the Repoussé tool along with an example of turning 2D text into a 3D object.
FIGURE 1.7
Using the Repoussé tool, you can turn a 2D shape into a 3D object. The Repoussé tool allows you to define several parameters such as depth, bevels, and textures.
  • 3D tools: The 3D tools and 3D panel have been reworked in Photoshop CS5. They are now easier to use and have more robust features. For example, the Scene Panel tools can now be accessed at all times.
  • 3D axis widget: The coolest advancement in the 3D toolset is the new 3D axis widget. This new widget allows you to move, scale, and rotate 3D objects, lights, cameras, and meshes. Figure 1.8 shows the new 3D axis widget.
FIGURE 1.8
The 3D axis widget provides a simple tool where you can easily grab an axis of a 3D object with the mouse and drag to scale, rotate, and move the object along that axis.


  • Adobe Camera Raw 6.0: Photoshop CS5 comes with a new version of Adobe Camera Raw that has lots of behind the scenes enhancements to improve the adjustments that are made. 
  • Protect detail in the Sharpen tool: A new option has been added to the Sharpen tool that allows you to sharpen images with high-frequency details, such as stripped ties, without introducing unwanted artifacts.
  • Character Styles: A new Character Styles panel has been added to Photoshop CS5 that allows you to define type styles as presets that can be saved and reused later. You can save details such as the font, size, tracking, color, and kerning.
  • Paragraph Styles: A new Paragraph Styles panel has been added to Photoshop CS5 that allows you to define paragraph styles as presets that can be saved and reused later. You can save most of the settings available in the Paragraph Styles panel such as the indent, spacing, justification, and much more.
  • Grid Options in the Crop tool: The Crop tool now displays new Crop Guide Overlay settings that allow you to display a grid in the cropped area so you can more easily see the spatial composition of the area that will make up the new image. You can select None, Rule of Thirds, or Grid, where Grid specifies the spacing between grid lines.
  • Drag-and-Drop document to create a layer: In Photoshop CS5, you can now drag an open document window onto a PSD document window and the file is added as a new layer.
  • Straighten image in the Ruler tool: A Straighten button has been added to the options bar for the Ruler tool. When you draw a line with the Ruler tool and then click the Straighten tool, the canvas is rotated to match the angle of the ruler measurement and the excess corners are clipped.
  • Sampling ring in the Eyedropper tool: The Eyedropper tool now has an additional option in the options bar that enables a sampling ring when you drag the Eyedropper onto the document. The bottom of the ring shows the original foreground color, and the top of the ring shows the color of the pixel directly below the Eyedropper.
  • Scrubby Zoom option in Zoom tool: The Zoom tool now has a Scrubby Zoom option that, when enabled, allows you to zoom in and out by clicking the image, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the mouse to the left or right.
  • HDR Toning: A new option, Image ➪ Adjustments ➪ HDR Toning Option, has been added that provides single-image access to HDR Toning for 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit images.
  • Nest layer groups: Photoshop CS5 now supports nested layer groups ten levels deep instead of just five.
  • Delete All Empty Layers command: You can now delete all empty layers by selecting File ➪ Scripts ➪ Delete All Empty Layers from the main menu. This allows you to quickly clean up after editing in several layers.
  • Modify opacity and fill of multiple layers: Photoshop CS5 allows you to change the opacity and fill values for multiple selected layers. This has been a needed feature for a long time. 
  • Layer Mask from Transparency: Photoshop CS5 includes a new menu command, Layer ➪ Layer Mask ➪ From Transparency, that allows you to directly edit the layer transparency data. This command moves the transparency data to a user mask, while setting the existing transparency to opaque. This makes the data editable while preserving the document appearance. 
  • Sticky Layer Style settings: The settings that you configure in the Layer Styles dialog box are now sticky, which means that they are automatically saved when you leave the dialog box. That way, the modified settings are preserved the next time you open the Layer Style. Photoshop provides Make Default and Reset to Default buttons to handle returning the settings to the original values.
  • Refine Edge algorithm: A new algorithm is used in edge refinement that is controlled by a Thickness slider. This new algorithm captures more detail on the edges of a selection or mask allowing for improved mask shaping around finely detailed image subjects like hair, grass, treetops, and so on.
  • Refine Mask views: Two new view modes have been added to aid in the visual representation of the mask as the user refines it:
    • On Layers: The On Layers view shows the unmasked image data with the data of the revealed composite layers that appear below it.
    • Reveal Layer: The Reveal Layer view disables your layer mask so you can see the entire active layer, providing a quick way to see all the masked image data in your selected layer.
  • Refine Edge-Edge Detection: The Refine Edge feature also includes another new feature, Find Hard Edges, that automatically adjusts the level of refinement that occurs around localized areas of the mask edge, helping to remove background noise that can get picked up by the refined mask.
  • Refine Edges-Color Decontamination: The Refine Edge feature also includes another new feature, Color Decontamination, that allows you to remove color fringing around the edges of your masked image by replacing the original color with that of the subject. Using the Color Decontamination, you can more easily extract an item or person in an image from its background.
  • Refine Edges-Add and Subtract Brushes: The Refine Edge tool also provides two new brushes, Refine Radius and Erase Refinements, that add to and subtract refinement of the edges of selections. These brushes allow you to make localized refinements to the edges of your mask.
  • Paste in Place: In Photoshop CS5, the Edit ➪ Paste Inside command has been replaced by an Edit ➪ Paste Special submenu containing the following options: Paste In Place, Paste Into, and Paste Outside. The Paste Into and Paste Outside options work the same way they did in CS4. The Paste In Place option works just like Edit ➪ Paste unless the clipboard contains pixels that are copied from another Photoshop document. If the clipboard contains Photoshop data, Photoshop tries to paste the selection into the same relative location in the target document as it occupied in the source document.
In this tutorial:
  1. Photoshop CS5
  2. The Versalite World of Photoshop 
  3. When Not to Use Photoshop
  4. What's New in Photoshop CS5

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