Many of us must be amazed by the effects we see in sci-fi movies or in some movie posters. Doesn’t it make us wonder that wish we could do the same thing with some images. However, there are many tricks that are applied everywhere; you can start with some basic unknown Photoshop tricks. Here are a few unique Photoshop tricks that you can try out with ease.
All the following images are edited using Photoshop CS2 (You can also use other versions of Photoshop for the following effects).
- Removing Color Cast
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Open an image in Photoshop CS2.
Select the image layer from the layers palette, if it is not there press F7 key to open it.
After selecting the layer, go to Image (Alt + I).
Select Adjustments from there, and then select Photo Filter option from the submenu.
Then a Photo Filter Dialog Box will open.
In that dialog box there are four options –Filter – In this option, you can select the preset filter options like Deep Yellow, Underwater, Deep Emerald, Warning Filter, Cooling Filter, etc. If you want, you can choose one of these colors to give the effect.
Color – In this option, you can select custom color.
Density – It is used to specify how much color we actually want to use.
Luminosity – It is used to see what version of photo luminescence we want to use.
Now, select the color effect from the preset Filter option or custom Color option, which you want to use in the image.
You can also adjust density to give the desired effect.
You can see the difference between the original image (left) and the corrected image (right).
- Giving Smoke Effect
Open the image in Photoshop CS2.
Select line tool from the left side of the window. You can also press ‘U’ to select the line tool. On the top of the window (below the Menu bar), there is one text box named ‘Weight’, in that box give the value (in pixels) for the width of the line.
Draw a line, where you want to give a smoke effect.
Choose a proper color for the line.
Then right click on that line, and select Rasterize Color.
After that, select the Direct Selection Tool, which is located just above the line tool. You can also press ‘A’ to select the tool.
After selecting, again right click on the line and select Add Anchor Point.
You will see some points on the line; adjust the line using those points to give the shape of the smoke.
After giving the shape, go to the Filter menu (Alt + T).
Select Blur option from there, and then the Box Blur option from the submenu.
A Box Blur dialog box will get open, then adjust the radius part using the slider given below the radius textbox, or you can directly enter the radius in pixels in that box.
Adjust the slider in such a way that it should give a proper illusion of smoke.
You can see the effect in the above image.
- Sun Effect
Open the picture in CS2, and then select the layer.
After selecting the layer, go to the Filter menu.
In Filter menu, select Render and then Lens Flare from the submenu.
Then a Lens Flare dialog box will open.
In that box, you will see the preview of an image with a ‘Precision Select’ pointer on it.
Adjust the ‘Precision Select’ pointer to give the sun effect. You can also adjust the brightness of the sunlight using the slider given below the image.
- Color Variation
Open the image, and then click on the Polygon Lasso Tool (or press L).
Select the area using the Polygon Lasso Tool, where you want to change the color. In this example, I have selected the T-shirt area.
After selection, select the image layer.
Then go to Image menu (Alt + I) -> Adjustments.
In Adjustments, select the Variations from the submenu to open the Variations dialog box.
Variations dialog box will open, in that you will see different color options.
Select the color that you want to apply in the image. Then click OK.
You will notice the color change in the selected area.
- Text Effect
Open the image in CS2, and then click on the Horizontal Type Tool (or Press T).
Draw the tool on the image and then type the character in that box.
Now go to Windows menu (or press Alt + W) and then click on the Character option.
In the Character and Paragraph Palettes, select the font type, size, and color that you want to use.
Then select the character using the Polygon Lasso Tool (or press L).
After selection, create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N), and give an appropriate name for e.g. Fill the Layer by pressing Alt + Del.
Now deselect the selection by pressing Ctrl + D or go to Select -> Deselect.
Open a new image by pressing Ctrl + O or go to File -> Open.
Move that image on the top of the original layer using Move Tool (press V).
Now place your ‘P’ layer (which we have created early) by pressing and holding Ctrl + Left Click.
Select the Layer of new open image.
Now go to Select menu and select Inverse option from it or press Ctrl+ Shift + I. After that press Del. Key.
Now, deselect the selection by pressing Ctrl + D.
Repeat these steps for other characters.
Thus, these were a few basic but unknown Photoshop tricks. You can try these tricks and can boast yourself amongst your friends as a “Photoshop Magician”.
