When it comes to very basic color correction in Photoshop, the simplest is setting the dark point and light point using the levels command. Photoshop has a helpful feature that gives you more visual feedback when running the adjustment. While clicking on the dark or light point sliders, hold down the Alt key. The image will turn solid white or black and the nearest tonal values will appear as dots on the screen. As a rule of thumb, the proper adjustment is when the first pixels begin to appear.

This method will also work when adjusting color values. Select each color channel individually when running the adjustment. This will adjust not only the contrast, but correct colors as well. The Alt key shortcut will work in each color channel just like it does on the combined channels.

I would like to preface this by saying each artist should do what works for them, and believe me, I have certain patterns I stick to when working on a new piece. I have lately realized, however, that some of my patterns have changed over the years. Years ago, I would sketch out my concept and then, basically, illustrate the sketch. After working digitally for quite a while now, I have to admit, I have not sketched an idea in a very long time.

Between the power of layers, and the ability to manipulate shapes by scaling, rotating, warping, and other fun techniques, I have developed a whole new approach. Starting with basic constructs, I will mass out shapes, twisting and pulling the masses until I am happy with the composition. I will then start to work in details, using lots of layers, to complete the piece. As new details, colors, and thoughts are introduced, I will refine the relationships to maintain the original tension and balance of the composition.

By taking this approach, the artwork will grow and change as the process takes place, allowing for one, fast paced, creative flow from beginning to end. The final work may look just like the initial concept, or it may be something completely different.

The most difficult part of this method is knowing when to stop. By saving progress steps along the way, if you find you have engaged the piece a little too much, you can revert back to a simpler version of the work. I know, for some of you, abandoning that initial sketch is a very difficult thing to ask. Give this method a try. You may take yourself on a wild creative ride, and find a side to your creativity you never knew existed.

Realistic shading in Photoshop does not have to take a lot of time. To illustrate, we are going to shade a simple sphere in thirty seconds or less.

Create a circular selection and a layer to begin the process. Choose a base color for your sphere, then fill the selection. In the layers palette, duplicate the layer by dragging the layer name onto the “Create New Layer” icon. Click on you foreground color to call up the Color Picker, select the “Brightness” button and drag the slider downward to get a darker version of the same color.

Fill the duplicated layer with the darker color, then with a soft edged brush, erase part of this layer. This will reveal the lighter color underneath, and voila, you have created your shadow. Calling up the color picker again, drag the slider upwards to create a lighter version of the original color. On a new layer, tap the sphere with a soft edged paintbrush to create the area where the light is striking the sphere. Calling up the color picker again, drag the slider upwards to create a very light, almost white, version of the original color. On a new layer, tap the sphere with a small paintbrush to create the specular highlight. You now have a three dimensional looking sphere.

This is a very simple example of the technique, but the same process can be applied to even a very complex shape.

One of the most fantastic aspects of painting digitally is the seemingly unlimited variations of paint colors. This can also be a curse when trying to find just the right color. As a result, I continually build libraries of colors by sampling from various available sources. Online color selectors, pantone charts, and photos can all be great places to find colors. You can save the sources in a folder to sample from when the need arises, or you can sample the colors and save them in the Photoshop swatch library. Here are some sample colors from my library that will all work very well when painting plants or landscapes.

Just slide the image off into Photoshop and sample away. Give the colors a try on your next tree or flowering bush.

I have recently joined the Behance Network which is a web community dedicated to creatives doing exciting work spanning all disciplines of art and design. I am thrilled to be part of it. It does create more exposure for my work, but, more importantly, I am finding the networking and resources with other artists to be both fun and informative.

The above link will take you directly to my profile, but while you are there, spend some time looking at other artist’s work as well. You will find some mind blowing artwork, brilliant photography, and incredible graphic design from all over the world.

One of the challenges I have run across when posting tutorials, is making the article valuable to all different skill levels. Posting a beginner topic is great for newbies, but may hold little interest for those more advanced. On the other hand, making the topic more advanced may baffle the beginners.

The other day, however, I gained a new perspective. Even though I consider myself an advanced user on certain things (Photoshop is my weapon of choice), I found myself a newbie in search of an answer to a basic question on something outside my realm of expertise. I took to the web, and found another newbie with my same question, asking for assistance on a blog forum. His question was met with, shall we say, less than a courteous response. That is when it dawned on me, there are at least two newbie axioms:

1. Every advanced user was once a newbie on the subject.
2 An advanced user in one area of expertise, can be a newbie in another.

So to you advanced users being asked for assistance from beginners, remember, you were a newbie once. Also, the newbie you address on your forum could be the expert on another. So be kind and patient when someone asks for your help. I guarantee it will be a rewarding experience for both of you.

Being an avid reader, I guess it was only a matter of time until I jumped into Kindle. I did not actually get a Kindle though, I have been using the Kindle for iPhone App. My first thought was that the iPhone screen was too small, but it really has been just fine. The text is easy to read, there is just not a lot of text on each page.

You can browse for books online at your computer and sync the books to the iPhone, or just download books right to the iPhone. I have ordered most of my book selections so far with iPhone, it is quick and painless. Now for the best part – there is a nice selection of free books. The free selections are mostly classics, but they are still very fun to read!

Well, you will have to excuse me, I am halfway through a Sherlock Holmes adventure…

I use textures very frequently in my work, and a very simple trick can make them a lot more useful. It is often advantageous to have the texture tile seamlessly. To put it simply, have the pattern repeat, but in a way that is not apparent to the viewer. Usually signs of a repetition appear at the pattern edges. By using the “Offset” filter, which is found in Photoshop under Filter | Other | Offset, you can shift the pattern so the edges are visible. Set the horizontal and vertical distances as appropriate for your image, and check the Wrap Around radio button. The pattern will shift revealing the edges.

Once the edges are visible, rub them out with a sampling of the pattern. Run the Offset filter again, and look for any edges you might have missed. Repeat this exercise until edge lines are no longer visible. While rubbing out the edges, pay close attention to any distinguishing features in the pattern that might jump out as the pattern repeats. These should be rubbed out as well.

The final step is to fill a large area in a test file with your new pattern. If you cannot see any obvious repetition, your new pattern is a success!

With snap activated in Photoshop, guides and objects will automatically align with each other. This can be an extremely useful tool. To have guides align with a layer, set that layer to be the active one. Drag the guide in from the ruler bar and it will attach to the outer edges and center points of that layer. To snap a guide to a location that is not the edge of a layer, create a selection with the selection tool. The guide will snap to the outer edges of the selection, which is indicated by the “marching ants”. When dragging a layer near another one, if you are moving slowly, they will snap to each other.

The same snaps will also work with text. Text will align with the edges and centers of objects or guides. Conversely these same objects will snap to the edges and centers of text.

One of the features in Photoshop in which I really take advantage, is the use of layers, lots of layers. Anything that might need to be edited is placed on it’s own layer. Thus the file size can get to be quite large, my files can range from 600mb to over 1gb. These large files can take quite a while to open, and if the only reason for opening the file is something simple like running a print, opening the layered file is not necessary.

Here is a short but very handy tip. Click FILE then click OPEN as usual. Find the file in the dialog box and highlight it with the cursor. Then holding down the Alt and Shift keys simultaneously, click on the OPEN button. A dialog box will pop up asking “Read the composite data instead?” Click YES and the file will open with all layers flattened. The time required to open the file is shortened dramatically. The layering is still intact on the original file, you are not altering it in any way. But a word of caution, do not save this version over the original or you will lose all your layering.

I use this option quite often and it saves a tremendous amount of time. Think of it next time you need to quickly send a small proof to your client!