Another way to create a smart object from Adobe
Illustrator is to use the clipboard. Select the paths
you want to bring over, and press Ctrl+C (�-C
on the Mac) to copy the artwork. Then switch
to Photoshop and, with a document open, press
Ctrl+V (�-V) to paste the artwork. In the ensuing
dialog box, select Smart Object from the Paste As
options and click OK.- Scale and position the logo art. Photoshop
automatically generates a smart object and
centers it in your composition, as shown in
Figure 7-11. Surrounding the illustration,
you’ll see a bounding box with a giant ╳
over it, which permits you to position and
transform the illustration. Figure 7-11.
Figure 7-12.Just so we’re in sync, I’d like you to manually enter the fol-
lowing values in the options bar, as I have in Figure 7-12.
I found that I had the best luck when I entered the values slowly,
waiting a beat after every digit for Photoshop to catch up. (It’s
irritating, but what is one to do?)- Click the icon to constrain the proportions of the logo,
and then enter 50 percent for either the W or H scale value. - Change the X value to 1250 pixels.
- Change the Y value to 970 pixels.
Press the Enter or Return key twice to accept your changes
and apply the transformation. Photoshop creates a new layer,
names it automatically, and assigns its thumbnail a icon to
distinguish it from other, less smart layers.- Add a drop shadow. Smart objects support the parametric ame-
nities available to other layers, including transparency, blend
modes, and layer styles. This is fairly amazing, given that our
Illustrator logo amounts to a foreign object, the appearance of
which Photoshop has to calculate on-the-fly. To see for yourself,
click the icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose
Drop Shadow.
Working with Smart Objects 229