Anna Aden Writes

Happy New Year. Last year, Affinity Photo became free to use and because I no longer had access to PS I decided to go for it. To be fair, it has been on my list of software to use if I lost access to PS. However I know from being on their mailing lists they had two main sales where prices where slashed to 50-70%. The summer and black Friday sales. When that didn't happen this summer, I held on tight because it a fair bit of cash. Then before black Friday there was this announcement. In the interim I was using Photopea which is pretty good. The caveat was I using it on my current Mac which has about 4GB. It works so why change it. Actually, I got a new one before I left my organisation because they gave 10% discounts.  Note I say free to use because you still need a license to access this and I'm not really sure what Canva is doing when it checks.  Affinity vs Photoshop vs Photopea the main difference to me. For now the main difference is Photoshop (PS) is super efficient and r...

I found chapter 2 which was playing around with masks a bit tedious. As I said the instructions aren't very clear however a good tip with I think is worth remembering is the blending option. It's described below.  These are a screenshot of the 'before' images  Layer Masks Theses were just playing around with masks, nothing serious or interesting. Blending Options According to Caplin 'this is one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop that allow users to hid or show picture elements automatically without TOUCHING A BRUSH OR LAYER MASK'. A good tip was using the underlying layer in blending mode  I think this is best tip so far, and worth playing about with. This is show the firearm in the library and the airplane. 

This book was published 22 years ago! So I am bearing that in mind as I got through it. However I've found it is  not very intuitive and that has nothing to do with age. It's just difficult to understand. It took me a while to find the CD ROM - yes, it's that old - however I'm sure I probably got it about 15 years ago, but it doesn't matter.  Though the files are still the same psd formats, the quickmovie instructional videos did not work because of the age. This was irritating because a lot of the exercises seemed to rely on users following the video rather than the instructions.  It starts off chapter 1 which is Natural Selection and roughly has eight lessons. Regarding copyright I used the images supplied on the CD with the book or from https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/colors-tell-the-story/ where you can get free stuff. The fundamentals The first project was using the quick mask tool but the instructions weren't very clear, and it took a while to understand. ...

Adobe Photoshop 2024 release - Classroom in a Book by Conrad Charvez I did most lessons except the web ones, preparing for print, editing video and working with camera raw which I didn't think was worth it. I did not learn as much as I think I would have, but I borrowed it from a library so there was no cost to me. I think it's probably overpriced at $64.99 or £51.99.  However the caveat, and there is a caveat, if it was part of a work project, I probably would buy it. After all I did get the 2023 Illustrator Classroom in a Book which cost me £48.99 - I didn't finish it however I got enough skills and confidence to do my book cover featured blow.  Cover from learning the illustrator in a Classroom book I guess depends on how much value a person gets from it, and how desperate you are. I was desperate when I paid £48.99 even though I had access to LinkedIn learning webinars.  Good Selling Points It a good showcase of what Photoshop 2024 can offer but rarely goes in de...

I've been a long-time on-and-off hobbyist user Photoshop, dabbling now and again, mostly because I got a copy at work years ago, and sometimes my workplace gives me access to the tool since they have an company-wide license.  In the early days as a hobbyist I bought a few instructional books which now obsolete or superseded by Youtube instructions, new versions of Photoshop and AI image generation however I would still like to work through.  I have five books instructional books and a couple of old magazines, so that would keep occupied with projects, I can't find one book so I'll call that book five. I also have one from the library which I'll use.  The reason for this? I've dabbled on and off in this programme.  Adobe Photoshop 2024 release - Classroom in a Book by Conrad Charvez This has 15 lessons so I'm looking at roughly a lesson a week at most, therefore 15 weeks which is roughly three and a half weeks. Looking at an April finish if not sooner.  How to Ch...