Graphic Help & Resources

icklemiss21

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So as not to tie up the siggy shower with questions on how do I do that, where did you get that etc, I thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread with resources and questions.

I use photoshop so am not much help with other programmes, but for people learning photoshop, I recommend www.good-tutorials.com and for fonts www.dafont.com.

The fonts on dafont can be loaded to work with all software by installing to C:\\Windows\\Fonts

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/ is a great resource for most applications, for Photoshop, you can d/l ready made PSD backgrounds, as well as brushes, fonts and filters. I would assume the same for the other software but haven't really checked.
 

AbbysMom

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Originally Posted by iclemiss21

Karen, if you load your fonts to the windows central font folder they will load on all programmes, thats what I do when I want to use one of my photoshop ones for something else.
and it worked
I am very excited!!! Thank you SO much!
 

clixpix

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Grr...I'm not figuring it out for some reason, and now I have to go to work...very frustrating!
 

hopehacker

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Originally Posted by clixpix

Grr...I'm not figuring it out for some reason, and now I have to go to work...very frustrating!
If you're talking about Fonts. Chances are, when you download a font, it will be in a zip file. If you don't have winzip, you need to download it, because that's the way to install your new fonts that you download. What I do, is create a folder on my D drive called "Fonts Downloaded", that way you will be able to find the fonts you download. Then I click on the fonts zip file, and Winzip will open up, and ask you what you want to do. Well what you want to do, is unzip the file, and then you want to install it in the C drive: Windows-Fonts. That's all there is to it. It's so simple, it could be hard, because it's so simple. Once you've installed your new fonts, you can use them in any program you have. I'm a font-aholic. The cool thing about fonts, is that not only do they have text fonts, but they have Dingbat fonts, and Dingbats, are graphic fonts. You can use those to create a lot of cool backgrounds and effects. In Photoshop, you can colourize the and/or paint the Dingbats, and make them into lovely pictures, and add ons to your backgrounds you create.
 

jcat

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Thank you for the explanations. Now I'm going to have to try it!
Yeah! It worked! I used WinZip and saved to Fonts - they show up in PSP X! Now I'll probably spend a bit of this week saving new fonts.
 

clixpix

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Originally Posted by HopeHacker

If you're talking about Fonts. Chances are, when you download a font, it will be in a zip file. If you don't have winzip, you need to download it, because that's the way to install your new fonts that you download. What I do, is create a folder on my D drive called "Fonts Downloaded", that way you will be able to find the fonts you download. Then I click on the fonts zip file, and Winzip will open up, and ask you what you want to do. Well what you want to do, is unzip the file, and then you want to install it in the C drive: Windows-Fonts. That's all there is to it. It's so simple, it could be hard, because it's so simple. Once you've installed your new fonts, you can use them in any program you have. I'm a font-aholic. The cool thing about fonts, is that not only do they have text fonts, but they have Dingbat fonts, and Dingbats, are graphic fonts. You can use those to create a lot of cool backgrounds and effects. In Photoshop, you can colourize the and/or paint the Dingbats, and make them into lovely pictures, and add ons to your backgrounds you create.
Well, that did the trick...thanks Hope!
 

huggles

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how do you cut around the image? I know how to do it in theory but I can never do it as good as the ones I am seeing in many of these signatures so maybe I am actually doing it the wrong way
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by huggles

how do you cut around the image? I know how to do it in theory but I can never do it as good as the ones I am seeing in many of these signatures so maybe I am actually doing it the wrong way
Which software are you using?
 

kluchetta

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OK, use the Lasso took (It looks like a, well, a lasso!) But press down on the corner of the tool and get the flyout menu and use the magnetic lasso tool. From your upper menu pick a feather value of about 3 px, and then start dragging your cursor around the object. It just sort of finds the edges on its own. Now I don't use PS, so there may be something I'm missing, but it selected a really good selection for me. I think FEATHER is the key...
 

huggles

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ahhhh the magnetic lasso tool... I have just been using the standard lasso tool. Let me go have a try now
Thankyou!!

edit - just tried it and thats perfect!! thankyou so much... that normal lasso tool was driving me batty
 

anakat

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Thank you all so much for the links and hints. I have just managed to do this!
 

hopehacker

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I don't use the Magnetic Lasso tool, when I cut them out, I use the regular lasso, however, I always feather around the edges as I cut out. With the regular lasso, I think 1 pixel is enough. Then I sometimes feather again, another 1 pixel, when I move the picture to the background. I think you get a more precise cut out when using the regular lasso tool.
 
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icklemiss21

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I use the magnetic lasso with a decent size feather and then go around it with a feathered eraser after to get rid of some of the 'shadow' look and then depending on the type of fur (ie long hairs) I use the smudge tool to recreate the fur that should 'stick up'
 

hopehacker

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I have another Photoshop tip, I just taught myself a couple of days ago.

You know how sometimes it's really difficult to work with small pictures? Well, I've learned a way to make them larger without losing quality. What you do, is open up the small picture, and then "Select All" then Edit Copy. Then Create a new file, which will be the same size as the picture you copied. Then Edit and paste. Now to Enlarge it, go to Layer, and add "Vector" mask. That way, you can enlarge it without losing quality, because it will be a Vector File. Of course if the small pix is poor quality to begin with, it will still be poor quality, but if it's a nice clear picture, it will enlarge very well and look perfect. The cool thing about it, is that it won't lose quality, because Vector is for creating LARGE or small graphics without losing quality. After you've enlarged it, you can flatten it. It will no longer be a vector graphic, but it will be enlarged, and will look as if it had always been a large photo.
 
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icklemiss21

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the best way I know to do it is to make a new layer with just the girl, use guassian blur on the back layer and then retouch/use more layers until there are no hard edges and the skin colour looks correct
 
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