News & Hotpicks
News & Hotpicks
If I like it and use it or made it up myself, it'll end up here. This space includes, though is not limited to, product and software reviews for both GraphicReporter.com and magazines like Macworld and Layers, along with interviews, special features, and basically stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. Click the story links below, or on the left-hand sidebar, to read the full story.
Hope you enjoy!
Spotlight on Marketing
Dec. 2, 2009
 Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to the folks who started the Duct Tape Marketing movement at their annual coaches gathering in Boulder, CO— is an incredibly smart and motivated group of people from all over the country. During the workshop, I had the pleasure of meeting and being interviewed by a wonderful marketing guru from Vancouver, WA (you can watch the video by clicking... more
Spotlight: Photoshop CS4 Missing Manual
Jan. 28, 2009
This past Saturday night I treated myself to a trip to my favorite book store: Barnes & Noble. I went to stock up on some great sci-fi books (a list follows) but as I trotted across the parking lot, I wondered, "Oh holy Thor! Will*my* book be here?!" And sure enough it was. I can't tell you how surreal it felt to see it on the shelf. The manager even came over and got me to sign them so they could slap the "autographed copy" sticker on the cover. Wow! I was so proud. For those of you who haven't yet picked up a copy, O'Reilly's wonderful 40% off sale lasts thru Feb. 14. You can find more details here.
After much goofy grinning and staring, I finally made my way over to the glorious sci-fi section... more
The Making of a Missing Manual
Dec. 11, 2009
 It's official, Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual is fresh off the presses!
Admittedly, you could use the darn book as a doorstop--it's comprehensive and weighs in at 800+ pages, plus there are a few bonus appendices available at the book's Missing Manual web site. As I was going through the printed manuscript and filling in page references, I just couldn't believe all those words came out of, well, my fingers! (I definitely feel that I'm over my word quota for the year.) I'm happy to report that the book is brimming with... more
Spotlight: Macworld Magazine
Oct. 22, 2008
Adobe made some pretty serious changes in Photoshop CS4, especially in the workspace. And while some of them, like the new Application Frame, will take some getting used to (and are optional), they’re changes that are long overdue. Each new version has piled new tools on top of old, and important bits and pieces were getting lost in the shuffle. In fact, you’re liable to see several “new” tools in Photoshop CS4 that aren’t really new at all (like the Hand and Zoom tools); they’ve merely clawed their way back to the surface after being buried. As a result, a few tools have been cut (stay tuned to find out which ones).... more on Macworld.com
Lesa joins Kelby Training
May 15, 2008
Woo hoo! Today my first title for Kelby Training went live. It's a 2-hour little ditty called From Photo to Graphic Art and covers how to take normal photos and turn them into beautiful pieces of art, using Photoshop CS3. Here's a quick run-down of the content:
Partial color effect, faded color effect, colorizing a black & white photo, sepia-tone with burned edges, blurring the background, from photo to pencil sketch, realistic reflections, ornamental vector photo frame, filtered and painted edges, real world picture frame, combining images (4 parts), turning a photo into stone, high contrast effects (2 parts), breaking a photo into pieces, aging a photo, and eyes of the Otherworld.
Each QuickTime movie is approximately 3-6 minutes long and shows each step of the tutorial while I talk you through it.
Pricing for KelbyTraining is $19.99 per month or $199 per year and that gives you access to every class (more are being added every day). Scott Kelby has literally gathered up the best instructors in put them all in one place and I'm very honored to be one of three female instructors in the whole program. I do hope you'll take this new service (and my title) for a spin.
Coming soon is Practical Photoshop Elements, and whatever else I can dream up. Enjoy!
Full Review: Photoshop Elements 6
March 27, 2008
Perhaps the hardest part of early 2008 wasn’t waiting for the cold, icy fingers of winter to release their grip here on the East Coast where I live—it was waiting for Adobe to release Photoshop Elements 6. A worthy winner of Best of Show honors at this January’s Macworld Conference & Expo, the Elements update was among the most anticipated product releases showcased at the annual Mac trade show.
Adobe promised to make photo editing easier than ever, and, boy, it delivered. Brimming with new features like... read the full story on Macworld.com
First Look: Photoshop Elements 6.0 (a Macworld article)
Jan. 11, 2008
Patience can indeed have its rewards, and when it comes to the newly unveiled Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 the payoff promises to be big.
Adobe announced the latest version of its consumer-level image editor, the first update to the Mac edition of Elements in two years. (In fact, it’s been so long since Adobe has come out with a Mac release that Elements skips version 5 entirely on this platform, going from 4.0 directly to 6.0.)
For the past week I’ve had the pleasure of playing with a beta of this long-awaited update and the enhancements to Photoshop Elements are nothing short of amazing. Adobe incorporated more functionality from big brother Photoshop CS3, plus added some features Photoshop wishes it had.
The $90 Photoshop Elements 6.0 ($70, if you’re upgrading) won’t ship until March. But here’s what to expect when the final version of the software appears... more
TGR Hot Picks: Lynda.com
Dec. 13, 2007
 Give the gift that keeps on giving!
In light of my video training title release, Graphic Secrets for Business Professionals, the good folks over at Lynda.com have granted readers of The Graphic Report a free 24-hour pass to their entire training library.
There are 100s of titles, all divied up into 5-6 minute QuickTime movies on everything from coding to typography to specific pieces of software. This means you don't have to listen to a 4 hour training video to find the one technique you need. Instead, peruse the table of contents of any title and find jump right to the movie you need quickly and efficiently. If you like what you see, monthly subscriptions can be had for around $25... more
Spotlight: Painter Essentials
Hot on the heels of the new Painter X release comes a completely redesigned package for painting hobbyists: Painter Essentials 4.
Sure, the folks at Corel could have stripped out some features from Painter X, slapped on an “Essentials” label, and called it a day (and to be honest, in previous versions that’s just what happened). However, with Painter Essentials 4, the company went back to the drawing board and designed a completely new interface—it looks nothing like Painter X, though it packs much of its power.
Geared toward arts and craft enthusiasts, scrapbookers, and digital photography hobbyists, Painter Essentials 4 is a shockingly friendly and affordable home art studio that makes discovering the world of paint and brushes enjoyable... more (click transport to Macworld.com for full story)
Spotlight: Painter X
 I’ve honestly never thought of software as organic; however, if I had but one word to describe Painter X, that’d be the one. Though it no longer comes in a paint-can package (save for an exclusive limited edition), the new features in Corel’s Painter X (version 10.1) are sure to curl the toes of artists everywhere.
For years, Painter has been revered by fine artists, commercial designers for concept art, and entertainment artists for everything from special effects to character and set design. But is it only for artists? With this major release, the first in over two years, Corel has answered with a resounding no... more
Spotlight: LightZone 3.0
August 9, 2007
 It’s a great time to be a digital photographer. The price of digital SLR cameras are falling, and in the last year or so some amazing new software packages have debuted that make advanced photo editing easier and more affordable than ever before. Among the most intuitive is a relatively new kid on the block called LightZone, and it’s gaining popularity with each new version (the most current as of this writing being 3.0.6). The fully featured edition, with its digital asset management and batch processing abilities, is built for pros doing high-volume shoots. The basic edition is quite suitable... more
Spotlight: FotoMagico Pro 2.0
June 25, 2007
 So many pictures, so few people willing to sit through your slideshows. That might change if you start using FotoMagico 2.0.1 Pro, a powerful yet easy-to-use slideshow authoring tool. Its intuitive interface and high level of motion, text, and audio control let you quickly create a viewing experience brimming with ambience and anticipation.
FotoMagico comes in two versions, Pro and Express. The Pro version (reviewed here) has all the features of the Express version and more, such as Aperture integration, the ability to export to HD movie format, and customizable export options... more
Spotlight: Macworld Magazine
Logitech NuLooq navigator & tooldial
It is a rare day when a truly inventive input device hits the creative pro market. Mice and trackballs come and go like a parade, but not since the graphics tablet have we seen anything really unique. That is, not until Logitech released the NuLooq Professional Series: a hardware-software design controller combo that’s so different it... more
Spotlight: Macworld Magazine
With Adobe Photoshop’s proven ability to perform feats of color magic, you might think a color-correction plug-in would be overkill. Not so. Even for color experts, the process of correcting color can be time-consuming and frustrating because of the many problems and methods of correction, and because fixing one detail can throw off another... more
Spotlight: Photoshop Elements 4.0
With an eye toward its core audience of non-professional photo enthusiasts, Adobe has made improvements to its 4th version of Photoshop Elements that make it easier than ever to edit, organize, and share digital photos. Despite its consumer-level price tag, Photoshop Elements 4.0 sports some new tools that gurus wish the full-blown Photoshop had.... more
How a Bluetooth Mouse Saved My Life... Er, Wrist
 I've been in the market for a good mouse for awhile. I had been using Apple's regular mouse for years, then switched to the Bluetooth version. The wireless aspect was certainly cool, though it felt really heavy for my hand. It also didn't seem to track very smoothly and every time I picked it up the batteries were dead (see? I'm not a MacMac after all). I'd been skulking around different web sites looking for a good mouse to test out when I came across Radtech's BT500... more
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