Topics: Using custom hair brushes to create a selection/mask, Refining the hair mask, Removing a color cast

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Photo courtesy of istockphoto, ProjectB, Image #5164255

Excel spreadsheets have been the standard in the business world, allowing people to leverage spreadsheets for everything from accounting to managing schedules. As one of the world’s most popular software programs, Excel is used in all facets of a company, from human resources to Finance. However, there comes a time when one may look to grow beyond Excel and foray into the world of databases and coding-based solutions.

Topics: Making a selection using Channels & Curves, Refining the selection with the History Brush, Refining the hair mask

Photo courtesy of istockphoto, ianmcdonnell, Image #8884668

Hair Selections & the Search for the Holy Grail

Hair Selections & the Search for the Holy Grail Everyone’s looking for the easy path. The internet is filled with so-called experts doling out “tips, tricks, and techniques,” and they may sound like they are the answer, but when you try them on your photos, you just get frustrated because they don’t work. You think there’s something wrong with you or your retouching skills, but maybe that technique only worked on that one photo and background combination! It’s not as easy as learning one tip or technique. Hair is more complex than that. A blonde on a dark background must be treated differently than a blonde on a light background.

The internet is full of noise about what counts as “real” data science. This genre is generally a waste of time, but for beginners it can be particularly pernicious. If you’re already feeling like a fish out of water, the last thing you need to hear is that you’re a “fake” data scientist. Nothing more demoralizing!

The thought of programming an app might sound intimidating to anyone who hasn’t tried it before. Never fear! Your brain is up for the challenge.

One of the first things you’ll do as a new programmer is choose a text editor to work with on a regular basis. Two of the most popular text editors, Atom and Sublime, offer features that can make your work a lot easier. But which one is better?

Each year Adobe comes out with new features, so what changed in Photoshop CC 2019? We’ll cover the most important changes we think you should know about.

Changes to Multiple Undo

Prior to Photoshop CC 2019, Cmd–Z (Mac) or Ctrl–Z (Windows) acted as a toggle. It would undo, and then redo the very last thing you did. I always thought this was because of Photoshop’s roots in photography. It was useful to compare the before and after states to see if the retouching/color correction you just applied looks good. Regardless of the reason, it did make Photoshop different than other Creative Cloud apps. CC 2019 changes the keystroke to work like InDesign, Illustrator, etc.

• In CC 2019 each time you hit Cmd–Z (Mac) or Ctrl–Z (Windows), you will go farther back in your file’s history.
• To redo, you now hit Cmd–Shift–Z (Mac) or Ctrl–Shift–Z (Windows).
• Miss the old toggle-style undo? Use Cmd–Opt–Z (Mac) or Ctrl–Alt–Z (Windows).

If you don’t like the new keystrokes, you can revert back to the prior behavior as follows:

1. Go into Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
2. Check on Use Legacy Undo Shortcuts and click OK.
3. Restart Photoshop.

Each year Adobe comes out with new features, so what changed in InDesign CC 2019? We’ll cover the most important changes we think you should know about.

New Properties Panel

Properties panels have been added to Photoshop and Illustrator, and now InDesign has one. The Properties panel is meant to put many useful features into a single panel.

By default, the Control panel (at the top of the screen) has been hidden, in favor of the new Properties panel. While I like the idea of the Properties panel, I find that the Control panel does a better job of showing you more options in a smaller space. You can show the Control panel again by choosing Window > Control.

Each year Adobe comes out with new features, so what changed in Illustrator CC 2019? We’ll cover the most important changes we think you should know about.

Freeform Gradients

In addition to Linear and Radial gradients, Adobe added a new kind of gradient called Freeform gradients. Freeform gradients are similar to a gradient mesh, but are easier to work with and the color blending acts differently.

You can add color stops (places where you choose a color) anywhere in an object and move them around. These color stops can be points or lines. You can switch between the two modes in the Gradient panel, Properties panel, or Control panel.