A messy tips thread for some Photoshop things

Lighting Effects
If your piece is missing some lighting, go ahead and go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects.
Using the directional lighting is my favorite, however the others work too depending on what your work looks like.

I also made a thread on how to make slight lighting changes:
http://sythe.org/showthread.php?t=747856

Filter Tips
There are a lot of cool features in the Filter drop down. A lot of beginners are wanting to use these, however, they don't necessarily work well. The best ones to use are blurs and distorts. You most likely do NOT want these to show up on your final product unless you have an idea of making it look good. (Shown here)

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Smudge Tool
Get good smudge settings, good sticky here:
http://sythe.org/showthread.php?t=647677

When smudging, try smudging all in one direction. (Diagonal, right-left, up-down). This makes your flow better. Smudge the sides of your render to blend it with your background and create depth.

Apply Image
It took me awhile to find this add-on, but once I did it helped me out a bunch.
Apply Image helps you establish a color scheme and flow everything together. It is also good when it comes to lighting (therefore everything is together)
Layer > New > Layer
Go to Image > Apply Image > Ok
Now, instead of having to merge all of your layers, this basically merges all of your layers into a separate layer. (You'll see)

Gradient Maps
Try not to use the stock gradient maps; they are overrated. Make your own gradient maps... Most likely, your white will go on the far right or far left of the meter and your dark or colorful colors will go on the other side.


Those are just a few things I remember when making graphics.

 

Pretty nice guide. Explained alot of this to know with photoshop, well done 8/10 (could of used some pictures, but still good).

 

Meh,
I figured if you have Photoshop and you are committed to wanting better graphics, you will follow along. It isn't too hard

 

That's what i have been looking for, really that's a great help thanks for sharing....

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Amtico

 

Nice thanks m8, helped me alot