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Last updated 3/07/2006

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 One-Click WOW!

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 One-Click WOW!
Author: Jack Davis
Publisher: Peachpit Press/Adobe Press
90 pages & CD $29.99

If you are looking for ways to enhance your Photoshop Elements 2 images to get a WOW! reaction, you should consider Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 One-Click WOW!

One-Click WOW! consists of a CD ROM which contains libraries with hundreds of very high quality Layer Styles, Brushes, Gradients, and Patterns you can use "with one click " to improve your Elements 2 images, and a 90 page book which is a guide showing you what they look like and instructions for using them.

A Layer Style is a way to improve photos, type, or graphics - instantly! - by "overlaying" color, texture, dimension, framing and a dozen other effects. A Layer Style is a "look" that you can add to photos, type, or graphics: apply a tint to a photo, or improve color and contrast, add edge effects to photos, or add a frame, turn type or graphics into material objects such as metal or glass. The ingredients used to create a style include: drop shadow, inner shadow, light or dark glows, beveled edge, overlay, opacity, texture, stroke (even a multiocolor stroke that outlines the edges of the art), and a satin treatment (to add reflection and refraction effects). Fortunately, One-Click WOW! contains illustrations which show you what the different Layer Styes are rather than these inadequate words.

Part 1. Using One-Click WOW! Styles contains instructions which demonstrate how flexible and easy to use Layer Styles are and tips for:

  • "Scaling a Style" once you've applied it;
  • "Customizing Style Settings" for modifying a Style;
  • "Combining Styles" to remove, replace, or add effects by applying another Style;
  • "Copying a Layer Style" to apply customized or combined Styles to other photos, type, or graphics
  • "Using Styles with Clipping Groups" for "styling" images "framed" within a shape or type

Then a Layer Style Tutorial walks you through applying, customizing, and copying and pasting Styles, as well as making changes to layer content after a Style is applied, using the Tutorial files provided on the CD-ROM.

A samples gallery illustrates the use of Layer Styles with examples.

Part 2. Styles for Photos provides tips for use of One-Click WOW Styles designed especially to enhance photos, including pages of Photo Effects including: Edges, Frames and Mats, Tints & Antique Effects, Color Overlay Effects, Darkroom & Image-Enhancing Effects, Film Grain, Noise & Mezzotints, and Paper, Canvas & Other Texture Overlays.

Part 3, Styles for Type and Graphics includes beveling and surface effects metal, glass, plastics, gems, woods, rock, organic materials, patterns and fabrics, strokes and fills, shadows, halos, embossing, and glows and neons. It also contains pictures of the CD's 50 button styles with three buttons to each style representing their Normal, Over, and Down states.

Part 4 contains instructions for painting with the different media brushes such as watercolors or oils using the WOW! paint brushes and either starting with a photograph, or starting from scratch. It also contains guidance for using the gradients and patterns provided on the CD.

It is very easy to apply these styles actually with one-click. Properly used there is no doubt but what they can add the claimed WOW! to your images. However, it probably will take considerable playing and experimenting with these styles to become familiar with them, and some talent to select which best suit particular applications.

If you would enjoy playing (experimenting) with these effects on your images, you will probably find Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 One-Click WOW!

For more information, or to order Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 One-Click WOW! goto
http://www.peachpit.com