pen

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #32: The Pen Tool

Submitted by deke on 8 September 2009 - 12:13am.
Feature #32: The Pen Tool

If you're anything like me, you just finished celebrating Labor Day by not laboring in the least. Happily, the same cannot be said of Photoshop Top 40. Tuesday after Tuesday, this proud and relentless podcast marches on.

Fittingly, today marks Feature #32, The Pen Tool, one of the most powerful but labor-intensive tools in all of Photoshop. Newbies select images with the likes of the quick select and magic wand tools. Both are highly automated, but they rarely work. Experts use the pen tool. It takes some work to master, but it always works in return. In other words, learn to use the pen tool and you'll be prepared for any masking job. Read more » 

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Photoshop CS3 Mask box art
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Photoshop CS3 Channels & Masks

Essentially a collection of luminance data that controls the transparency of an image, the modest alpha channel informs just about everything you do in Photoshop. and coming to terms with alpha channels (a.k.a. masks) is the most sure-fire way to boost the quality of your work in Photoshop. But masking isn’t easy. In fact, the elusive alpha channel has been described as the least understood feature in Photoshop’s enormous arsenal. Until now, that is. In Photoshop CS3 Channels and Masks, expert Deke McClelland blows the lid off the topic. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD
Illustrator CS3 1on1 box art
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Illustrator CS3 One-on-One

Entering its third decade, Adobe Illustrator CS3 remains the most popular and viable vector-drawing program for a simple reason: It’s the best. It offers powerful transformation and reshaping functions, excellent control over text and gradients, and the best color management and print controls in the business. But the learning curve is steep. From the moment you draw your first square, Illustrator demands your full and absolute attention. Enter Illustrator CS3 One-on-One, your crash course on everything there is to know about the program. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD