From Illustrator to Photoshop and Back Again!

Illustrator and Photoshop are remarkable programs individually, but when they are both used together toward a common goal the results are nothing less than amazing.

There are three basic methods for moving a document between Photoshop and Illustrator.

Both programs respond to a File > Place command to either “place” Illustrator artwork into a Photoshop file or a Photoshop image into an Illustrator document. This is the most traditionally used method among users for moving a file from one program to the other.

The caution in this method is that the artwork or image must be in a file format readable by the other program.

Photoshop is very adaptable at reading various file formats. Illustrator has a few more restrictions in the formats it recognizes, but once a Photoshop file is in an understandable format (i.e. TIFF, GIF, JPEG, etc.) using the File > Place command with the desired image is simple. Illustrator will “place” this image inside the Illustrator file and allow you some manipulation of the file in Illustrator.

Another way of moving a Photoshop file into Illustrator (or vice versa) is with the Clipboard. Just copy the file essentials you want from one program with the Copy command and paste it into the other program with the Paste command.

There are limits to the Copy-Paste method however. This method does not work well for large files and you can easily overload the receiving program by pasting a large file into it.

The last method to consider in moving a file between these two programs is the Drag and Drop method. In order to do this, both programs must be open at the same time. Choose the artwork you want to transfer from Photoshop for example and simple drag it out of the Photoshop window onto the Illustrator window. To move artwork the other direction, simple choose the artwork form an open Illustrator window and drag and drop it into an open Photoshop window.

Photoshop and Illustrator 2

Drawing and vector art tools can be found on Photoshop, but these tools and their capabilities are nothing in comparison to those on Adobe Illustrator.

A wide variety of templates are offered to help you get a project started and a number of different drawing tools are at hand to help you create your own personal artworks and graphics with Illustrator.

While you can create unique graphics with Photoshop, you must start with a base image and your tools to work with are limited in comparison to Adobe Illustrator. For those in the professional field such as graphic design, the best choice would be Adobe Illustrator. However, for those with smaller drawing needs, Photoshop will work just as well.

By combining a working knowledge of both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, you can manage the creation of brand new images or the enhancing of existing ones.

Photoshop and Illustrator 1

When looking at editing software, you might ask yourself what is the difference between Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator? Both programs are made by the same company and many say that the differences are small.

The difference lies in the building blocks, Adobe Illustrator actually takes key elements of Adobe Photoshop and builds upon them taking them to the next level.

Adobe’s Photoshop is perhaps one of the most widely recognized and used programs by digital photographers today.Photoshop can transform any image into a polished and professional looking photograph.

You can add borders and enhance pictures to a level that no digital camera could capture. With Photoshop you can make almost anything possible to do with a photograph, reality.

Adobe Illustrator is an entirely different program. Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program that enables you to create your own unique graphics from scratch. Adobe Illustrator graphics can be used in print, online, in video, and even on your cell phone.

Adobe Illustrator makes possible what can’t be done with Photoshop alone.

Photoshop CS Tutorials Options

Once you know the significance of taking lessons on your Photoshop program, then you can begin exploring the many options for you to discover. Here are some of them:

1. Web Page Tutorials

You can utilize web sites that will teach you how to manage Photoshop. With only a small fee you can explore the site and get everything you need to learn.

2. Demo Version

There are also demo editions for Photoshop tutorials that you can download for free. This will consist of very few chapters only. You can use this to appraise the offers of a certain site before paying for the whole package.

3. CD Version

You can also buy the CD to do your Photoshop tutorial even if you are not online.

4. PDF Files

Some web tutorials offer tutorials in the PDF format making them a good choice for people who want a printout for their lessons.

5. Video Tutorials

Photoshop CS video tutorials are a great option for those needing visualization. These tutorials will show you exactly what you need to do and walk you through it.


Photoshop CS tutorials available online offer the best opportunities for people to make the most of their Photoshop program and their Photoshop skills. With these tools, you can become more efficient and creative in your endeavors with this program. Check out what is offered and you will be on your way to mastering Photoshop.

Learning Photoshop

How many times have you purchased something to only have it sit because you don’t quite know how to use it? Many times this is the case with the software Photoshop.

Photoshop is a vast program, but with the assistance of a good tutorial and taking lessons you can master all of its potential in no time.

• Learn the Basics

The basics of Photoshop CS tutorials will focus on familiarizing you with the different features to manage Photoshop. This should include screen areas, layers and styles, droplets, actions and even the creation of new images.

This will also give you an introduction in understanding images. This should show you how to experiment with the blend modes and determine the vector from the bitmap graphics.

• Techniques and Tools

Once you have tackled the basics, the tutorials can take you through the process of painting, creating shapes, and drawing. It can also address filling, cropping, cloning, sampling, annotation and retouching.

In knowing all of this, the Photoshop CS tutorial will help you appreciate how the Internet web sites and web in general are structured. You will also see how graphics and animation basically operates.

• Optimization and Download

You can learn about browsers, JavasScript, platforms, backgrounds, positioning, monitor resolution and interpolation next which will be especially helpful for you if you plan to expand on your own web page.

Helpful Photoshop Tips Part II

Following on from Mondays Post

9) If you have a particular layer style that you use often you can have that style saved to be displayed in your layers palette. In the Blending Options, find “Save Style” located just under OK and Cancel. Name your style, save it and now notice how it will be found in the Styles palette. One note however, the style must be in its own layer.

10) Sometimes when you combine multiple images, there will be a bit of fringe around the edges of the composite images. To hide this, follow steps Layers > Matting > Defringe. From the dialogue box, choose the default setting; it that doesn't work, undo it, and try Defringe again at a setting of 2.

11) If you have too many layers, simply select the right layer by using the move tool (V). Right click the mouse over the layer and a drop down list will appear.

On the other hand, you can allocate your layers into layer sets. On the bottom of your layers palette, click the ‘create new layers set’ (looks like a folder), name the new layer set, and just drag the layers you like in that set. Highlight the set right click and choose copy to copy your sets with ease.

12) Press Shift-Command-M (Mac)/ Shift-Control-M (PC) to toggle between Photoshop and ImageReady.

13) To reach the Save for Web dialogue swiftly, press Shift-Command-Option-S (Mac)/ Shift-Control-Alt-S (PC).

14) To duplicate your current layer, press Cmd/Ctrl J.

15) To bring up the Extract dialogue box, press Command-Option-X (Mac)/ Control-Alt-X (PC). Within the Extract dialogue box, switch to the Extract Edge Highlighter tool by pressing the letter "b.", the Fill tool by pressing the letter "k.", and change the Edge Highlighter's brush size by holding the ] key to make it larger and the [ to make it smaller.

Helpful Photoshop Tips

1) Use the Paint Brush tool to “paint away” color to black and white while working on a color image to make a section of your image stand out dramatically. From the Paint Brush Options palette, change the blend mode to Color and then paint to remove the color from the image.

2) Press Shift to add more to the selection or Alt to take away from the selection when using your magic wand tool.

3) Photoshop’s image gallery will build a webpage of thumbnailed images for you should you have a large number of images to display. To do this follow steps: FILE > Automate > Web Images Gallery

4) To automatically select the entire text layer, double click on the 'T' on a Type layer in the Layers Palette.

There are at least two ways to switch between the different measurement units that Photoshop displays.

5) The first is to change them in your Preferences by going to the Photoshop menu under Preferences and selecting Units & Rulers (in Photoshop 7 under Mac OS 9, Preferences is found under the Edit menu). From here you can change the ruler units and click OK.

6) The second way is to open the Info Palette (go to the Window menu and choose Info) and click on the small triangle next to the cross in the lower left quadrant to pull up a menu that will allow you to change units.

7) To cycle through different screen modes, simply press the F key

8) You can select just the pixels without the transparency area of the layer by holding the Cmd/Ctrl key and clicking the mouse on that layer in the Layers palette.

Take a look at this video from You Tube on how to change a color photo to Black and White

Embossing An Image

If you create graphics for the Web or print and would like to use an embossed image on a background, Photoshop enables you to do just that. Photoshop provides more than one method for embossing.

Embossing an image is not difficult, but its success relies on careful image selection. A good candidate image will have some texture, but not too much. Images with a large amount of detail may require too much "clean up" to be useful.

If you're trying to emboss the subject of your image, you'll want to remove or at least minimise the background before you do anything else. You can use the Magic Wand tool to select the elements of the photograph you want to remove. Once you've identified all of the areas to be removed, press the delete key.

Everything that was selected with the Magic Wand tool will be replaced with your default background colour. You may have to repeat this step several times to remove all of the unneeded material from your image.

Once your image is clean, save it as a GIF file and place it on a transparent background. Open your image in RGB mode and choose Stylise/Emboss from the Filter menu.

This will transform your image from its colored state to a grayish image. Using the sliders, adjust the depth of the embossing and the angle. You can preserve detail by increasing the opacity of the image.

Save your image. Gray is not always the nicest color in the world, so once your embossed image is saved, you can adjust the color to one that complements your design. To do this, you'll want to select the Enhance/Adjust Color option. Select Colorise and adjust the Hue, Saturation and Lightness sliders to narrow in on the color you want. A background image shouldn't stand out too much, so aim for light colors.