Lunacore Photoshop Blog

The free Fourier Transform plug-in (only for Windows) has been designed to make filtering in the frequency domain available for free.

It uses one of the fastest implementations of the Discrete Fourier Transform and has many applications, such as:

- Separating or removing periodical patterns.
- Analyzing and enhancing certain periodical patterns.

The plug-in is developed mainly for B&W images but also works well with some color images after using this little Lunacore trick:

- open image that needs to be fixed
- duplicate image (image/duplicate)
- apply FT filter to the original image
- drag/drop the duplicate with the mouse (while holding down the shift key) to the current document
- use filter/noise/median to blur this color image until pattern disappears
- set blending mode of this layer to color

In this episode of Photoshop TV:

- how to make a realistic depth-of-field effect
- how to create a stunning chrome effect
- how to correct a series faded photographs with adjustment layers
- tip on video actions for creating DVD slide shows from your images
- tip for using Bridge and Photoshop Services to create an awesome picture book
- how to use the DLO HomeDock to watch Photoshop TV on your television
- an interview with some of Adobe’s top creative people
- Photoshop Soup 2 Nuts Digital Imaging Conference mentioned
- New contest and prize winner of previous contest.

To do list:

- Check out the digital workflow seminars now scheduled at D-65.com
- Scott Kelby’s new Photoshop for Digital Photographers online course at Photoshop Training
- Get the new class schedule for Photoshop World Las Vegas

The Pass Through blending mode is only used for Layer Groups (Layer Groups were called Layer Sets in earlier versions of Photoshop CS2).
A layer group has its own blending mode. By default the blending mode is Pass Through (A). This means that all the adjustment layers or layer blending modes inside the layer group will affect all layers in and outside the group.
In our example the green circular shape turned into olive. Once we change the blending mode to anything different than Pass Through, in our example Normal, then we see how the Hue & Saturation adjustment only effects the layers inside the layer group; the yellow square turned into olive, but the square kept its green color.

Vist our forum for more unanswered questions or check out the rest of the Lunacore site.

In Photoshop CS and earlier versions we were able to duplicate a mask by using the following steps:

- make the layer that needs a duplicate of a mask the active layer (it will now have a double border).

- drag/drop the mask (A) that you want to duplicate to the New Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Things have changed in Photoshop CS2 and we’re now unable to use this method, because Photoshop CS2 doesn’t allow us to drop a mask on the New Layer Mask icon. The new method to duplicate a mask in Photoshop Cs2:

- Hold down the Alt key (Option key on the Mac) and drag/drop the mask (B) you want to duplicate to the proper layer (it doesn’t matter which layer is the active layer).

A friendly member of Lunacore’s forums has written two detailed tutorials that teach you how to make animations with Photoshop/Imageready. In one tutorial you will be taught how to animate a spaceship and the other tutorial explains how to animate the opening of a car door.

The Filter Forge plugin-in can produce textures and effects like organic metallic and rocky surfaces, structures, abstract textures, repeating patterns, distortions, color corrections and more.

All filters are adjustable and editable, resolution-independent, seamlessly tiled and support real-world HDRI lighting. Also, filters can automatically generate diffuse, bump, specular and normal maps, which makes Filter Forge an essential tool for artists creating 3D models and environments, architectural visualization and high-end game content.

The main feature in Filter Forge is the Filter Editor, a visual node-based environment allowing users to build custom filters without writing a single line of code.

Another major feature is the Filter Library, a free online repository of user-created filters to which anyone can contribute. It makes Filter Forge immediately useful for anyone who has no time to learn the Filter Editor.

There is support for multi-core processors, 32-bit and large images, up to 32,000-32,000 pixels.

The beta (Windows) version of Filter Forge is available at http://www.filterforge.com upon registration and approval.
The OS X version for both Intel and PowerPC processors is in development. The final commercial version will be priced between $200 and $300 and is planned for release this fall.

Join Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski and guest Felix Nelson in the 32nd episode of Photoshop TV in which they talk about the following subjects:

- how to make a realistic looking 45rpm record
- getting rid of your digital photograph’s metadata
- a tour of Adobe’s Headquarters in San Jose, California
- use Adobe Bridge and Photoshop Services to make US Postage stamps out of your digital images
- a tutorial on hotkeys and shortcuts

In this tutorial the talented artist Linda Bergkvist is showing us how to paint hair.

According to PhotoshopNews there is an issue with the Windows update for Photoshop CS2; in some cases you will need two clicks to regain focus on your menu (an issue that we can confirm after some testing).
Check the article for a workaround.

The issue does not effect the Mac version of 9.0.1.

In this episode of Photoshop TV;

- how to create a multistroke using gradient stops.
- restore a faded photograph using multiply layers
- how to automate adding watermarks to an entire folder of images
- a trick on Camera RAW