Here’s one of the first major upgrades of the year that is bound to make artists happy. Yes, I’m ecstatic about Photoshop CS’ new version, and here are a few reasons why: I needed to work with a 24’x10′ sketch of a showroom. Without Photoshop CS I had to scan it in three different segments and then spend hours stitching the segments together and matching the colors and contrasts. Fast forward to life after Adobe Photoshop CS: I only had to use the new Photomerge tool to automatically stitch and color match all three segments.
The package comes with the new ‘Crop and Straighten’ photo option which allows you to scan multiple images at once and automatically straighten and save each as individual files. I also like the time-saving photo filters for quick color correction and the handy shadow/highlight option under image adjustments. The ‘Match Color’ function instantly matches the color of an image to a selected source. Graphic designers will appreciate ‘Text on a Path’ or the ‘Inside a Shape’ features. Another useful addition is the Photo Filter Gallery, which lets you mimic the effects of traditional camera filters.
The Good News: Among Photoshop CS’s valuable features are the RAW support (for most cameras), better organization, PDF export and the web photo gallery.
The Wish List: Some of the added elements affect the original layer instead of creating a masked/adjustment layer. But I guess, by now, artists should know better than working without backing up their original files and layers!
The Bottom Line: It’s simple! If you are a professional artist using Photoshop, you’ll be a fool not to upgrade to this version. It’s only $169 for an upgrade ($649 for the full version).
Web Address: www.adobe.com
Animation Magazine’s Seal of Excellence
The Final Score: *****
Ease of Use: ****
Interface: *****
Tool Power: *****
Quality and Depth: *****
