Photoshop Tips and Tricks for Designers

Web designing is a creative and interesting job. A web designer called expert or efficient when he/she completes a particular job on time. To complete the task or job on time the designer needs to have great knowledge on the tools which he/she uses. Learning the keyboard shortcuts will amp the productivity of the designer. This is the only shortcut for becoming an expert in designing. Even you can learn by watching tutorial videos and etc to become an expert but you have to be patient and need to watch the videos completely.

Let’s have a look at keyboard shortcuts.

 

1. History states

You can change the history states up to 1000. To make this change you need to Go to Edit>Preferences>Performance to change the number of History states.

 

2. Combine images with text

Overlaying of an image on top of the text is a very easy job. All you need to do is, Drop an image layer over a type layer then hold down Alt and click the line between the two layers in the Layers Panel to clip the image to the text.

 

3. Diffuse effects

The Diffuse Glow filter can give highlights a soft ethereal feel, especially when you combine the effect with desaturation. Hit D to reset colors then go to Filter>Distort> Diffuse Glow. Keep the effect fairly subtle, then go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/ Saturation and drop the saturation down to complete the dreamlike effect.

 

4. Converting layer styles

Converting a Layer Style to a normal pixel-based layer gives you greater control to edit the contents. To do so, add a style then right-click Effects and choose to Create Layer.

 

5. Multiple type layers

To apply a change of font or size to multiple type layers at once, hold down Cmd/ Ctrl and click the layers in the Layers Panel to highlight them, then simply select the Type tool and change the settings in the Options Bar.

 

6. Non-destructive crops

A little-known feature of the Crop tool allows you to hide, rather than delete cropped areas. To do this, you’ll need to make the Background Layer editable first, so double-click it then hit OK. Next, grab the Crop tool and drag a crop window, then instead of applying the crop, check to Hide in the Options. You can re-crop at any time by dragging outside the window to reveal the previously cropped areas.

 

7. Change the brush angle

When using a non-circular brush, you may find the need to change the angle of the brush tip. To do this, click the Brush Panel in the Options Bar then highlight Brush Tip shape and drag the circle to change the angle of the brush. You can also flip it horizontally or vertically with the checkboxes.

 

8. Tilt canvas

Photoshop tips don’t just come in the form of shortcuts. When painting, it’s often easier to rotate the canvas rather than try to bend your wrist into an uncomfortable position. Just as a sketcher would angle a piece of paper, you can angle your canvas by holding down R then dragging it around. Release R and you’ll flip back to your original tool. To revert back to normal, hold down R and click Reset View in the options.

 

9. Make sketch lines

If you want to turn a photo into a painting, adding sketch lines can make the effect look more realistic. To do so, duplicate your layer then go to Filter>Stylise>Glowing Edges, then invert the colors, desaturate and use the Darken or Multiply Blend Mode.

 

10. Sharpen photos using high pass

Ready for some Photoshop Magic? So, you’ve received a low-res photo from your client, and it’s just too blurry to use. Duplicate the layer, then go to Filter>Other>High Pass. Choose something low (around 2.0) and then set that layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay. If it’s too crisp, decrease the opacity. Results may vary.

 

11. Other Essential Photoshop shortcuts

 

Mastering these shortcuts will help you work smarter, save time, and graduate to true Photoshop guru level!

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E will merge a copy of all Layers
  • F Cycle through workspace backgrounds
  • X Change your foreground and background colors
  • D Reset foreground and background colors to black and white
  • ] and [ Change your brush tip size
  • Cmd/Ctrl+J Duplicate a layer or selection
  • Space Bar Hold Space and drag to navigate around the image
  • TAB Hides or shows all panels and tools
  • Cmd/Ctrl+T Transform a layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+E Merge selected layer down or merges several highlighted layers
  • Cmd/Ctrl/Ctrl+Shift+Opt+S Save for web & devices
  • Cmd/Ctrl+L Bring up levels box
  • Cmd/Ctrl+T Open Free Transform tool
  • Cmd/Ctrl+M Open Curves
  • Cmd/Ctrl+B Edit Colour Balance
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt+C Scale your image to your preferred state
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Opt+G – Create clipping mask
  • Cmd/Ctrl+0 – Fit on screen
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+>/< – Increase/decrease size of selected text by 2pts
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Option+Shift->/< – Increase/decrease size of selected text by 10pts
  • ]/[ – Increase/decrease brush size
  • Shift+F5 – Fill the selection
  • }/{ – Increase/decrease brush hardness
  • ,/. previous/next brush
  • ‘</>‘ First/last brush
  • Cmd/Ctrl+] Bring layers forward
  • Cmd/Ctrl+[ Send layer back
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+[ Send layer to bottom of stack
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+] Bring layer to the bottom of the stack

 

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