> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ OCTOBER 2019[ 50 ]
- RANDOM DEPTH MAP ART
Here’s a fun experiment: Open any photo, then go under the 3D menu,
to New Mesh from Layer, to Depth Map To, and you’ll see several
options. Here’s where you can play. Try each of these to create some
really interesting abstract 3D art. It creates extrusions based on the light
and dark areas of the photo. It’s fun to try with different types of photos
and even simple gradients to create custom backgrounds or whatever.
At minimum, it’s a fun way to kill time in Photoshop! LOL! - SYMMETRY PAINTING
Speaking of killing time, here’s another fun feature that was recently
added to Photoshop. It actually has lots of real-world potential, but
the cool thing is you have to goof around with it to really discover
what it can do. When you have the Brush tool (B) selected, you’ll see a
butterfly-shaped icon at the far right of the settings in the Options Bar.
Click it and you’ll see a variety of geometric shapes from which you
can choose. Once you select one of those options, a path will appear
in the document with Free Transform handles. Resize and position the
path as desired, and press Enter. Now choose a brush tip and a color,
and have at it. Your brushstrokes will be repeated on the other side of
the path. There’s a lot of potential here, so keep playing with it to see
what you can create. - EXTRUSION PRESET
If you use 3D in Photoshop a lot and you find that you often use the
same kind of extrusion settings on 3D elements, you can create a pre-
set to avoid going through the process of tweaking the settings every
time. Once you’ve created a 3D extrusion and have it customized the
way you want, make sure the object layer is active in the 3D panel
(Window>3D), and you’ll see the Shape Preset option in the Properties
panel (Window>Properties). Click on the thumbnail preview to open
the Extrusion Picker, click the settings icon (gear) at the top right of the
Picker, and choose New Extrusion Preset. Give it a name and click OK.
The next time you need to use those extrusion settings on a 3D object,
just select it in the Extrusion Picker. - REMEMBER FADE
I’ve written about this feature in previous issues but most people either
forget it’s there or forget where to find it. The Fade feature allows you
to fade the last filter you applied, and it’s only available immediately
after you’ve applied a filter. It allows you to lower the Opacity of the
filter and even apply a blend Mode. Right after you apply the filter, it’s
located under the Edit menu, and the menu item will include the name
of the filter that you just applied (e.g., Fade Difference Clouds). - QUICK VECTOR MASK
To quickly apply a shape as a vector mask, just import or draw a vec-
tor shape using paths right on the selected layer (don’t create a shape
layer). For example, if you’re using one of the Shape tools, make
sure its Tool Mode in the Options Bar is set to Path and not Shape.
Once the shape is drawn, go to the Layer menu, to Vector Mask, and
choose Current Path. Now you can modify the shape using the Pen
tools (P) or the Direct Selection tool (nested with the Path Selection
tool [A] in the Toolbar). - TOGGLE TOOLS
Sometimes when you learn new tricks in Photoshop, you still end up
falling back into old habits and forgetting about those tricks. This is
one of those tricks I learned quite some time ago. To select specific
tools nested below other tools in the Toolbar, I find myself clicking-and-
holding on the tool to reveal the flyout menu and then choosing the tool
I need; but if you hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, each time you click
a tool icon it will toggle to the next tool in that set. - THE POWER OF ARTBOARDS
Here’s another fairly recent addition to Photoshop that’s often over-
looked by many users. Imagine having all your working files open in the
same document with the ability to freely transfer elements between each