This is the season to be jolly! As we approach the end of the year, it’s a time to reflect on the past year and celebrate the holidays with loved ones. Whether you’re spending time with family, friends, or just taking some time to relax and recharge, the holiday season is a time to be thankful and enjoy the little things in life.
As we gather around the dinner table or exchange gifts with loved ones, let’s remember to be grateful for the things we have and the people in our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, but taking a moment to appreciate the good things can go a long way in bringing joy and happiness.
For those who may be feeling lonely or stressed during the holidays, it’s important to reach out to loved ones or even seek support from organizations that can provide help. No one should have to go through the holiday season alone, and there are always people willing to lend a helping hand.
So let’s make the most of this holiday season! Enjoy time with loved ones, eat delicious food, and cherish the moments that make this time of year special. Here’s to a happy and healthy holiday season!
Neural Filters in Photoshop
Victoria Pavlov
12 Dec, 2022
Many of you asked me about Neural Filters in Photoshop and why I enjoy working with them. This is my answer:
Adobe Photoshop is a powerful image editing software that is constantly evolving to offer new and improved features. One recent development that has many photographers and designers excited is Neural filters, a new type of filter that uses machine learning algorithms to make highly realistic edits to images.
One of the most impressive aspects of Neural filters is their ability to generate highly realistic images that can be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional editing tools. For example, the Landscape Mixer filter can change the season in your photo or alter the lighting or color. These edits can be made quickly and easily without the need for extensive knowledge of Photoshop or other image editing software. Another benefit of Neural filters is their ability to make subtle and natural-looking changes to an image. This means that you can use it to make subtle improvements to your photos, without making them look overly edited or fake. This can be especially useful for photographers who want to create images that look as natural and lifelike as possible.
Overall, the introduction of Neural filters in Adobe Photoshop is a positive development that offers many benefits for photographers and designers. With its ability to make highly realistic edits to images, it is sure to become a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve their image editing skills and create professional-quality visuals.
My favorite new painting features released by Adobe in October 2022
Victoria Pavlov
27 Oct, 2022
Adobe Illustrator: Intertwine
I know how excited you are about reading this, and I am, also! The new Interwine feature is a huge time saver, making this work more enjoyable and easier. Now we can intertwine objects just with one simple selection. Select the objects you want to intertwine, Object > Intertwine and make it!
Adobe Illustrator on iPad Save and rename your document.
With October 2022 update, we can quickly save and rename your document. To save artwork manually, use the Save Now option (from the title bar) or use Cmd + S keyboard shortcut. To rename the document, use the title bar (also using the same option, we can modify the document).
Increase precision with snap-in gradients Now when we apply radial or liner gradients, the gradient will snap at a 45-degree angle for colors and shades precision.
Adobe Fresco
Move, copy or delete multiple documents and folders. We all try to be as organized as possible. The Adobe Fresco team released a new feature that will help us to be organized and stay organized with our artwork, documents, and folders. Tap the Select button in Your Files workspace and make the magic happen.
If you LOVE sketching in Adobe Fresco as much as I do, now is the time for a happy dance! Adobe Fresco team expanded the Sketching brushes library with nine new pencils! These nine pencils will make a massive difference when sketching artwork.
My Favorite New Features - Adobe Updates October 2022
Victoria Pavlov
18 Oct, 2022
Photoshop on Desktop:
Improved Selection
It’s no surprise that I would start with the improved Selections. Like many of you, I was thrilled last year with the improvements to the Object Selection Tool. Since then, selecting any object in Photoshop has become extremely easier and more enjoyable (yes, I said “enjoyable”).
With the October 2022 update, the Object Selection tool can now see and select more complex objects and regions (water, buildings, ground, the sky, and more). Now we can make complex selections faster and without stress.
One-Click Delete and Fill
Yes that’s right, we can remove an object from the image with the new one-click Delete and Fill feature. How? Select the subject with the improved Object Selection Tool, and now press Shift+Delete. The area from a removed object will be automatically filled using content-aware fill. Simple and fast, just like that!
Copy/Paste Live Text from Illustrator
If you are working with Photoshop and Illustrator, as I do, you are probably using two apps working on the same document. With the October update last year, we were able to paste in Photoshop as layers Illustrator layers preserving the positions of objects along with the layer structure. Now, with the October 2022 update, we can copy/paste live and editable text from Illustrator(the type attributes will be preserved).
Photo Restoration Filter – A New Neural Filter I love Neural Filters. Powered by AI, Neural Filters make edits in seconds. Now the Photoshop team has introduced a new Neural Filter – Photo Restoration Filter. The filter will detect and remove scratches or other minor imperfections in your old photos. As always, with Neural Filters, you have control to adjust the filter’s parameters. I am extremely happy about the new Photo Restoration filter. Recently, I discovered a lot of old photos of my family I never saw before. Every single photograph needs some restoration (from minor to very complex). As you can guess, I will be using a Photo Restoration filter very often.
Substance 3D Materials Now we can use Substance 3D Materials in Photoshop. The best part is that it’s easy to use. Substance materials work as patterns in Photoshop but with many options for non-destructive customization.
Photoshop on iPad:
One-tap Remove background Are you excited as I am? One-tap Remove background feature will save tons of time. Select Subject will quickly remove the background from the main subject and automatically create a layer mask. All this just with one tap. The remove background quick action button is in the Selection tools panel. The Remove background quick action button is accessible from the Layer properties panel as well.
One-Tap Content-Aware Fill. Now we can remove the background using the One-Tap Content Aware Fill feature. A faster selection was made, AI powered by Adobe will fill the selection with pixels based on its surroundings.
Adobe Lightroom and Lightroom Classic:
Advanced Ai-Powered Masking
Since the Lightroom team introduced the new Masking 2.0 last year, I have used it daily, and it’s a game-changer for me. Editing my portrait and product photography in Lightroom is easier and faster. The Lightroom team introduced more advanced masking in this year’s Max release. Now we can use Select people masking powered by Adobe Sensei. Adobe Sensei will detect people and generate a high-quality mask for a group of people or any individual in the image. We can specify specific body parts, body skin, face skin, lips, teeth, eyes, hair, and more.
One-Click Select Background Now we can select the background with one click! With a single click, Lr/LrC will generate a mask for the background.
Healing with Content-Aware Remove Removing or healing imperfections or distractions in Lightroom has never been easier. AI-powered Content-Aware Remove will fill the distraction based on surrounding content.
Many of you asked me to show you the easiest way to create an Instagram post for Easter. Today, I will share with you the easiest way of creating a poster using “ready to go” assets.
Using Adobe Creative Cloud Express, you can create an eye-catching post in a few minutes even if you are not a designer, even if the post will be your first post on Instagram.
Today I will be using CC Express on the web, but you can do exact same using your mobile device. You can start working on your post using any ready-to-go template available for you.
Note: if you like to learn how you can use these templates to create your unique design, please let me know.
Click on “+” icon to start > from the pop up menu click on > “Instagram Post”
I know it was easy, exactly as I promised.
From the left sidebar of the screen, click on “Background” > Enter “Spring” in the search box > choose any background you like. I picked the background which is not too busy because I will add more access to it later.
From the pop-up menu choose the” Pin to Background” option
Now is the time to add Easter assets”. To do so Choose “Shapes” from the left bar > Type “Egg” in a search > Pick any egg you like > Click on it > CC Express will add it to your document
If you want to change the color of the shape > click on a shape to select it > From the “Edit Shape” workspace > click on the color icon and change the color to any you like.
Add the second egg to the document and modify the shape color.
Type “Grass” in the search” box and choose any grass you like > Change the color to the green
To duplicate the grass shape > with the selected grass shape > click on “+” icon. In the image below you can see I duplicated the grass shape twice and repositioned all shapes in a way I think is the best for my composition
To add “Happy Easter” click on the “Text” icon. You have an option to use “ready-to-go” text and customize it or to “Add Your Text”. Today we will add our text.
Click on “+ Add your text”
Change the text to “Happy Easter”
Change the color of the text
Let’s talk about how we can customize the text. We can do it manually, but If you are not the person who likes doing it > use the amazing “Find a new style” feature (at the right bottom side of the screen).
With each click on the icon, CC Express will change to another “ready-to-go style”. Click it until you find the style you like.
We can apply our personal touch to any design in CC Express, even if we used templates or a ready-to-go style.
I want to change the font style.
So I did!
Note: you can also change the color, and size of the text. If you want to go further, don’t forget to customize “Effects”. I am happy with my Instagram post, so I will stop customizing it now.
Click on “Download” to download a new post to your local drive. I chose the “JPG” format.
Congratulation! You have created your first post in CC Express for your first Instagram post.
Note: we can change any single design aspect in CC Express. When we are using templates, the style wheel, shapes, and so on. Keep in mind that sometimes, less is better, especially when we have only 5 minutes before “sharing on social media” time.
Easter is coming. So for Easter 2022, I decided to share with you how to make something unique in Adobe Substance 3D Stager using the app’s default assets. This post is for beginners. So if you never worked with Adobe Substance 3D Stager, you will feel comfortable creating your first 3D art with me.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s start!
Open Substance 3D Stager > Click on “Create New”.
In the “Scene” panel > Click on “Environment
Properties Panel > Click on the “Background” color icon > Pick any color you like
From the Starter Assets” panel > Click on the “Models” tab to open Models Library
Click on “Sphere” model > Stager will add it to the 3D canvas
In the “Properties Panel” make the “Transform” workspace enabled by clicking on the “Transform” tab. Click on the chain icon (next to “Size”) to disable proportional scaling > Set Y value to 27.94 CM or to any other value you like to bake the sphere looks like an egg.
Click on the “Chain” icon next to the “Scale” to enable it > In the “Scale” workspace change the “X” value to 0.3
In the Starter Assets, click on “Materials” to be redirected to the Materials library > Click on “Gloss Paint” to add this material to the egg.
In the “Material” workspace change all values as you see in the image below
Press “W” on the keyboard to activate the move tool > Edit > Copy > Edit > Paste > Click on Blue triangle (“Z”) > move the second egg to the left
In the “Material” Workspace > change the color to any color you like
Switch to the “Rotate” tool by clicking on “E” (keyboard shortcut) > Move the red circle to the right
In the “Action” panel > click on the “Move to Ground” icon to move the egg to the ground
Click on the “Vase” model to add it to the 3D canvas > Scale the Vase size down > Apply any material you like to the Vase (I used Sand Stone Strata 2)
In the Properties Panel switch to “Object” workspace > enable “Collision”
Switch to the “Move” tool and move the vase behind the eggs.
In the scene panel > double click on Sphere > rename it to the “Egg” > Click on Sphere 2 > rename it to the “Egg2”. When you will rename the second egg, this object will be selected. While the subject is selected > click and hold “Command” > while holding it click on Egg layer. Now you have selected both eggs
In the Properties panel > enable “Scale Proportionally” > bring eggs size down > Reposition eggs in the way you like (I positioned them close to the Vase)
After that, I created a copy of the blue egg > Enabled the “Collision” option for this egg > moved the egg behind the vase > Changed the color of the egg
You can repeat the last steps as many times as you like. Below is my example. Don’t forget that you can change the material for the individual egg as well.
The next step is optional. Below is an example of how I did it.
I did add the “Folage_A” object to my scene > Scaled the size down > Enabled the “Collision” option > Moved a new object behind the Vase > Applied “Simple Rib Stich material > Changed the color to the green.
The last step in the composition is to add light to it. You can use any light you like. I used the “Small apartment” light from the “Lights” library (default asset library) > Increased the light “Intensity” to 184%
P.S. I changed the background’s color. I think this color works better for this composition.
In the options bar, click on “Ray tracing” to preview the scene in “Quick Render” mode
If you are happy with what you see > click on Render. In the “Render” workspace > specify render options in a way you like/need > Click Render.
Your custom and unique Easter artwork are ready
Retouching on Steroids (a.k.a. Neural Filters in Photoshop)
Victoria Pavlov
9 Mar, 2022
A big part of my business is photo retouching. To be honest, I love it very much. It’s always something special about restoring old photos, bringing memories back. You can imagine how happy I was with the “Colorize” Neural Filter in Photoshop. With the Colorize filter I can colorize old photos almost with one click (I said “almost” because sometimes you need to move the sliders assigned to this filter). Let me show you what I am talking about:
This image I downloaded for free from Adobe Stock (thanks Adobe)
I have only one layer and it is locked. It’s absolutely not necessary to unlock or duplicate this layer.
Filter > Neural Filters
From here enable “Colorize” (if you opened Neural FIlters or you’re trying to use “Colorize” the first time, you will need to download it first. Simply click on the download icon next to the filter’s name)
And just like that Photoshop will colorize your image.
If you are happy with how Photoshop, auto-colored the image, you are all set. If you want to add more personal touches, collapse the “Adjustments” menu. Now you are ready to rock in roll.
From the “Profile” drop-down menu, pick any profile you are happiest with.
Today I will go with “Retro High Contrast”. I believe this profile brings more details to the photo.
I adjusted “Color artifact reduction” and Nose reduction” sliders because this photo is old has some noise in it.
You have the ability to preview before/ after
If you have multiple layers you also can preview them.
Now let’s talk about “Output Setting”. This setting completely depends on your preferences and workflow. Below image is the setting I applied to this image.
Just like that, my photo was colorized.
Note: 1:Pay attention to all sliders in the “Adjustments” workspace. They are very helpful (including the “Profile Strength” slider. Using this slider you can specify the amount of selected profile applied to the image)
2: Not all images could be colorized in one click like we did today. Sometimes you will need to apply feature steps in Photoshop, BUT the “Colorize” filter is ALWAYS a good first step which makes colorizing images in Photoshop much easier.
Victoria Pavlov
6 Mar, 2022
My Tech Blog
This year on March 8, I created this art supporting the brave, strong Ukrainian Women.
This vector art is especially close to my heart. I know the horror of trying to escape being killed. I know that protecting your child during war takes all the power God gave you. I know what it means to not be sure that your child will have any food today or tomorrow. I still remember (every day) the feeling of hunger and cold.
This year I am sharing my March 8th art earlier because I am hoping you could share it. I am asking you not because of my art. I am asking you because I believe that the power of art affects everyone in a positive way. I hope that the brave, strong Ukrainian women will see it and see that they are not alone. I hope that the entire world sees how brave and strong they are. I hope when they look at this art, they will feel that they are not alone.
Art by Victoria. Created in Adobe Illustrator on iPad.
How to Create Unique Art Even If You're Not a Painter (Part1)
Victoria Pavlov
2 Feb, 2022
Let’s talk about creating unique art even if you’re not a painter. You asked me, and I heard you. So let’s get started.
I have opened an image in Photoshop that I want to convert into art
Filter > Camera Raw Filter
The first thing in Camera Raw I moved was the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders to a negative value each. Below you can see how I did it based on my image. The purpose of moving those sliders to a negative value is to apply a little painterly effect to the portrait. We still can see all details in the portrait. Don’t move all 3 sliders all the way to the left (negative value). Move the sliders based on your image.
When you’re happy with the result, click OK.
Image > Adjustments > HDR Toning.
Note: HDR toning requires flattened layers. If you have more than one layer, please, merge or flatten them. Your image doesn’t have to be shot in HDR mode. So don’t worry about it.
In the HDR Toning workspace, I applied a few adjustments (see image below)
Note: I would recommend checking the Smooth Edges and Preview boxes.
Now the image has more contrast and this will make the final result look more artistic. Each image is different. Try to apply adjustments in the HDR Toning workspace based on your image and taste. Using HDR Toning workspace I applied the painterly effect to the image.
Time to jump back to the Camera Raw Filter. Here I added a positive value to Dehaze and Clarity. I moved the Texture slider to the left (to add negative value to it). I decreased the value of Vibrance and added +1 to Saturation.
Now click on Browse Profiles.
In the Profiles workspace, I expanded the Vintage library and applied the Vintage 08 profile. After I clicked on the Vintage 08 profile, Camera Raw displayed an Amount slider for me. I moved the slider all the way to the right. Now Camera Raw applied 200% profile to amount to my image.
After I was happy with the result, I clicked OK.
The next step was jumping back to the HDR Toning workspace where I increased the Details value using the Detail slider.
The last step in the HDR Toning workspace is to move the Vibrance and Saturation sliders to -100 value each, the Radius slider to 5–px, Strength slider to 4.00
The last step today is > Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Hihlights
Below is the setting I applied to my image. Feel free to adjust your image in a way you like (it’s your image, it’s your art).
After you’re happy with the result, click OK.
Tip: This is optional. if you want to add more contrast to your art > open the image in Camera Raw. Here to add more contrast, exposure, texture, clarity, and dehaze. Below, you can see the setting I applied to my image.
I’m very excited to announce my NEW online art store. As an artist, I create original art both digitally and traditionally every day. Many of you have asked how you can buy my original art or if I sold my art on clothing and other products? Now I do and I need your support. Please consider placing an order today for yourself or for a loved one. Thank you!
I am excited to announce the Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator Seminar. On March 2nd, 2022. During this full-day conference, you will learn about getting started and easily navigating in the digital imaging world.
All classes will be accessible for up to one year to all attendees.
All classes are available as stand-alone classes for $29.99 each.
Seminar Classes:
How to get started with Adobe Illustrator In this class, you will learn how to start your first project in Adobe Illustrator. After this class, you will be more confident in creating vector art using Adobe Illustrator on Desktop and iPad even if you’ve never used Illustrator before.
How to get started with Adobe Photoshop In this class, you will learn how to start your first project in Adobe Photoshop. After this class, you will be more confident in editing photos and creating art using Adobe Photoshop on Desktop and iPad.
How to create a vector portrait using a reference photo In this class, we will create a vector portrait using a reference photo. You will have the freedom to create vector art using a reference photograph making your creativity shine.
The secret of photo compositing in Adobe Photoshop In this class, you will learn how to combine multiple images to create a realistic-looking composition. We will talk about compositing principles, lighting, shadow, and colors. In this class, you will learn how to combine multiple images to create a realistic-looking composition. We will talk about compositing principles, lighting, shadow, and colors.
Tips and Tricks in Adobe Illustrator In this class, you will learn tips and tricks for getting more out of Adobe Illustrator and to speed up your workflow. You will learn how to create custom, unique brushes, shapes, and more.In this class, you will learn tips and tricks for getting more out of Adobe Illustrator and to speed up your workflow. You will learn how to create custom, unique brushes, shapes, and more.
