Tag-Archive for » iDevBlogADay «
The latest entry in my iDevBlogADay Photoshop for Devs series, this one’s a short-but-sweet intro to using layer masks in Photoshop. Layer masks are used to hide areas of a layer without deleting any of the layer’s colour information. I always use layer masks rather than the erase tool. You never know when you’re going to want those pixels back.
Helping iPhone developers hate using Photoshop a little less with simple tricks that make workflows more efficient. View the rest of the screencasts in the “Photoshop for Devs” series.
- Erasing non-destructively with layer masks
- Fine-tuning layer masks with tools like Blur
- Making a selection from your mask
- CAUTION: make sure you’re editing the mask and not the layer
- Moving or copying masks from one layer to another
- Using vector masks and combining them with pixel masks
Coders often find it difficult to relate to designers, much less collaborate and communicate with them in a productive — and enjoyable! — way. If you’re already working with a designer, these tips can help you better understand them; if you’re looking for a designer, this could help you find a competent one.
Great apps are like babies…
very easy to conceive but very hard to deliver!
- Ted Mico, Interscope / Geffen / A&M
Everyone and their dog has an app or game idea. The skill to implement that idea, and implement it well, is much less common. If you are a designer and love games, this post is for you. The past year and a half have taught me a lot about being a graphic designer and game designer — but not a coder — and what that means when it comes down to actually making and publishing a game on the App Store.
Do you save out multiple variations of a graphic by setting layer visibility? Ever wish there was a faster way to do that whenever that graphic needed to be updated?
The latest entry in my iDevBlogADay “Photoshop for Devs” series, I show you how to use Layer Comps to save layer visibility settings so can easily switch between visibility “states” for multiple layers (and even layer styles) at once. This saves you from having a separate document or layer group for each instance of your graphic, and makes your source PSD’s easier to update.
Helping iPhone developers hate using Photoshop a little less with simple tricks that make workflows more efficient. View the rest of the screencasts in the “Photoshop for Devs” series.
- Create broad layer comps to set overall visibility settings for multiple layers at once.
- Fine-tune your layer comps so that you have a comp for every instance of the graphic you are editing.
- Learn how adding and deleting layers affects layer comps.
Do you have skins or themes in your game? Do you arduously make changes to multiple Photoshop documents and save out new PNGs every time you make a change to a theme?
The latest entry in my iDevBlogADay “Photoshop for Devs” series, I show you how to make a master theme template for your games using a single Photoshop file, and export all the required images in a single step. This process can save you hours of annoying, repetitive work.
Helping iPhone developers hate using Photoshop a little less with simple tricks that make workflows more efficient. View the rest of the screencasts in the “Photoshop for Devs” series.
- Lay out your template file using shape layers and “placed” textures for resolution independence.
- Use Photoshop Slices to cut up the document and save out multiple PNG files.
- Create a new theme and save out a whole new batch of images in a few seconds.
- Use Adjustment Layers to quickly create colour variant themes.
The latest entry in my iDevBlogADay “Photoshop for Devs” series, we’re going to go into vector shapes in more detail. Vector shapes allow you to create graphics that can be scaled without losing detail.
Helping iPhone developers hate using Photoshop a little less with simple tricks that make workflows more efficient. View the rest of the screencasts in the “Photoshop for Devs” series.
- The basics: creating shapes.
- Selecting and moving points using the Path Selection Tool.
- Editing points (adding and removing points, converting points from corners to curves)
- Booleans (subtracting a shape from another, changing boolean settings after)
- Copy and paste shapes within a layer and from one layer to another
The latest entry in my iDevBlogADay “Photoshop for Devs” series, we’re going to talk about clipping masks in Photoshop and when to use them to make things easier.
Helping iPhone developers hate using Photoshop a little less with simple tricks that make workflows more efficient. View the rest of the screencasts in the “Photoshop for Devs” series.
Part 1:
- Place a photo in a Polaroid border, without having to crop it. Keep its full resolution so you can scale and rotate it as much as you want.
- Texture a chess board. Combine the texture layer with layer effects applied to the base layer.
Part 2:
- Add a reflection to windows in a building and change the colours with a clipped adjustment layer. Add art to a billboard shape with rounded corners and perspective.
- Create perfect silhouettes for your vector art. Mask multiple layers with a single base shape and apply layer effects to the entire group.
I recently heard on the radio that 95% of Canadians don’t love their job.* While sad, that information made me feel pretty good about being in that top 5%. Do you love your job?
It’s tough to quit a full-time job, even a lousy one; I think the above stat alone is proof of that. But how can you get out of that rut and into a job you’re truly passionate about?
