In the past, I wouldn’t have worried too much
about naming a new brush or pattern or shape,
but now that you can search these presets by
name, it’s more important than ever to name
these presets.USE PRESETS
The simple advice here is if there’s an opportunity to
save a preset, use it! Presets are wonderful timesavers
and can also help with consistency (creating the same
look, color scheme, etc.). There are many types of
presets in Photoshop, including layer styles, patterns,
swatches, shapes, brushes, tools, new documents,
adjustment layers, and even some filters. And for
the most part, presets can be thought of as both a
starting point or a final step; for example, apply a layer
style preset from the Styles panel (Window>Styles)
and you can either leave it as is, or tweak the results
to make a new look based on the preset. Even if you
tweak the result of the preset, it’s still faster than
starting from scratch. (Remember “compared to the
alternative” earlier?)
In most cases saving a preset is simply a matter of
clicking a button (e.g., Add to Swatches in the Color
Picker), using a panel’s flyout menu (e.g., Save [name
of adjustment layer] Preset in the Properties panel), or
using a command under the Edit menu (e.g., Define
Brush Preset, Define Pattern, and Define Custom
Shape). Those saved presets can then be applied by
clicking on a preset in a panel (Brushes, Patterns,
Swatches, Shapes, Styles, and Gradients), choosing
from a menu (Adjustment Layers, some filters), or
going to a section of a dialog (e.g., the Saved tab in
the New Document dialog).
WORK NONDESTRUCTIVELY
It’s very likely that you’ve heard this before: Working
nondestructively allows you to make changes to an
image without overwriting the original file. Over time,
Adobe has made it easier to work nondestructively by
adding adjustment layers, smart objects, smart filters,
Lightroom and Camera Raw smart objects, and the option
to apply most retouching tools to a separate layer. These
nondestructive methods of editing have other advantages
in addition to the ability to change your mind, namely
accuracy, efficiency, and creativity. PHOTOSHOP BEST PRACTICESKELBYONE.COM