Digital BW, The Print

On Mon, Sep 09, 2002 at 05:09:40PM -0700, Martin Wesley wrote:
> Carolyn,
> 
> Thanks for the neat techniques! This does bring up the subject of using
> tablets with PS for photo editing. Like most I use a mouse which is often a
> real pain when trying to refine masks. I gather that Wacom is still "the
> brand" in this technology. What do you recommend in terms of minimum useful
> size and any particular model?
> 

Martin,

You MUST get a tablet. Life changed so much in Photoshop after I get mine.
The pressure sensitivity that can be applied to brushes, etc. for size and
opacity are brilliant when fine tuning masks in quickmask mode. There are
tons of other benefits - the example given is justification alone for a
purchase IMO.

The one I use is the Wacom Intuos 2. I have the A5 size (I'm sure there is an
approximate US equivalent size) which is a nice compromise. Much bigger and
it wouldn't fit on my desk and would require larger movements than I really
need for photographic work. I believe my model has better pressure
sensitivity than the cheaper models. The programmable buttons at the top I
find useful for associating with some common actions that I use. I actually
find that the mouse is rarely used now in any applications - I just prefer
the tablet and stylus for navigating about.

Just take the plunge - you won't regret it.

Tony.

> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carolyn Frayn" <carolynfrayn@...>
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 4:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Burning Skies (feathering)
> 
> 
> > Rick wrote:
> > >> This works fine most of the time but whenever I have open,
> > >> evenly illuminated areas, i.e. blank sky, calm water, I get a slight
> > >> to horrendous posterization. It's very subtle on the monitor but
> >
> > Martin wrote:
> > > This will give you a gradient spread over a much larger area of the
> image.
> > > How smooth for your purposes I am not sure but worth a try. (Did I get
> that
> > > right Carolyn?)
> >
> > I don't remember.. <gg>. To make smooth transitions now, I do what you're
> > suggesting, large - large brushes, they don't give that banding that
> > feathering/blurring marque selections are known for.  I would have moved
> to
> > PS7 for the brush sizes alone.
> >
> > I usually create a curve adjustment layer, don't do any curve moves (it is
> > simply acting as a dup image layer), attach a layer mask,  choose multiply
> > blend mode and then with one large or various sized brushes (or wacomb pen
> > with variable pressures) paint the the mask to effect the areas of the
> image
> > you'd like. This gives me the smoothest transition to date. Then adjust
> your
> > opacity to suit your tastes.
> >
> > Try two ways, keeping the large brush mostly off canvas, using only the
> edge
> > for the feather. Switch back to black, and paint inner areas where you
> want
> > to erase the effect.. you can achieve a very good smooth mask.
> >
> > Or, with the layer mask filled with white, select black, and paint with
> the
> > largest brush you can inside the image, with a steady hand follow your
> edges
> > (or go off the canvas altogether if you're just after the corners), the
> edge
> > of the brush creates a good rounded smooth transition at the corners
> either
> > way, no banding.
> >
> > You can also give the curves a tweak in multiply mode for different
> > strengths and effects.
> >
> > sorry Rick, not much help here for earlier PS's.
> > Carolyn
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Tony Terlecki
ajt@...
Running Debian/GNU 3.0 Linux