layer

I realize I owe you lovers of the graphic arts a Part 2 to my Illustrator Transparency, Photoshop Resolve article. (If that sounds familiar, it's because I copied and pasted that sentence from last week.) But given that not a single person has expressed a problem with my delaying Part 2 -- which makes me cry real, actual, enormous crocodile tears (below) -- I'm guessing you're okay waiting.

In the meantime, I discovered something quite by chance today that made me geek out and do the d'oh, slap-my-head, I-can't-believe-I-never-figured-that-out-before thing.

Here's the idea: Photoshop does not let you blur live text. Well, all right, that's a lie. Photoshop does let you blur live text if you first convert the text to a smart object. But that's a Big Italicized If. Converting text to a smart object restricts your access to it and requires you to edit the text in a separate window, which is an increduloppus painoloopamus in the hippopotamus. Read more » 

In my last article, I explained how to create a tessellating tile pattern--that is to say, a pattern that repeats seamlessly, with no flaws and with guaranteed results. Here's the spoiler: It all hinges on the Offset filter. Really, that's all there is to it. Choose Filter > Other > Offset, and everything falls into place. For more information, check out the previous article.

At the end of that article (honestly, how many links do you need to it?), I promised to share with you some interesting ways to employ your seamlessly repeating pattern. And true to my word, that's precisely what I'm going to do now. Two ways to use a repeating tile pattern. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing more to say. Read more »