Easter Poster

Victoria Pavlov

15 Apr, 2022

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.

3D Art for Easter in Adobe Substance 3D Stager

3D Art for Easter

Victoria Pavlov

14 Apr, 2022

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!

My new online store

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Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator Seminar

Victoria Pavlov

18 Jan, 2022

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.

The full-day conference pass price is $79.99

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.

Advanced selection and masking in Adobe Photoshop
In this class, I will share with you how to get the best selections and masking in Adobe Photoshop.

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.

How to get started with digital painting in Adobe Photoshop
In this class, you will learn how to get started painting in Adobe Photoshop. Learn how to get started from a blank canvas and paint unique art using a reference photo.

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Make any background more interesting

Victoria Pavlov

10 Jan, 2022

The background of an image is just as important as the main subject. If you have a simple, one-color background or you have a complicated background, you can make it more interesting using a ready-to-go texture from the Flypaper texture library. I love working with these textures because of the unlimited variations and the simplicity of using them.
In this post, I will show you how you can improve the background of a portrait image.
Today, I will be using an image I downloaded for free from Adobe Stock. Here is the link to the Flypaper texture website.

Open the image you want to work with. I will be using an image I downloaded for free from Adobe Stock. File number 400733036

Open any texture you downloaded from Flypaper texture. I recommend paying attention to the image’s colors when you choose the texture. In Photoshop, you can change anything, and you can bring all colors in harmony. But my rule is: if I can do something faster, I will usually do it. The background in my image is purple, so I’ll use a texture with a color close to it.
I used the “Chainmail” texture.

Now go back to the portrait file and duplicate the Background. Highlight the background layer (original layer)

Select the texture layer > go back to the texture file > Select > All > Edit > Copy
Go back to a portrait File > Edit < Paste. Resize the texture layer to fit (if needed).
Now your later panel should look like in the image below

Select the “Background copy” layer and choose Subject from the Select Menu.

After the main subject is selected, click on “Select and Mask”

In the Select and Mask workspace, apply any modification to the selection (if needed). Once you’re happy with the result, specify the Output setting to output with a New Layer with Layer Mask and click Done. Below you can see my output setting.

Delete the “Background copy” layer (we don’t need this layer anymore).

Select texture layer

Set the Blend mode for this layer to “Multiply”. Bring layer’s opacity down to 45%.

Now your background has a more interesting texture.

Click here to visit Flypaper Textures.

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Get the Right Color with a Datacolor SpyderX Elite

Victoria Pavlov

3 Jan, 2022

Many of you asked me if I calibrate my monitors. The answer is, yes I do. I calibrate my Wacom displays.

Why? I work with digital imagery every day for up to 15 hours a day. For me, as a professional, it’s very important to be able to see the “true” colors across all my devices and monitors. If you are using only one device/monitor, it is as important to see the “true” colors as if you are using more than one device/monitor. I can’t stress enough the importance of seeing colors the right way, and I’m not trying to sound overdramatic saying that this is one of the key points in digital imagery, but it is.

Today I’ll talk about Datacolor SpyderX Elite. I have been using Datacolor PyderX Pro for many years. Today, I upgraded to a Datacolor SpyderX Elite. Both are great, but DatacolorX Elite has all SpyderX Pro capabilities plus expert setting such as matching multiple displays, collaboration for projectors, soft-proofing for printers, video, and camera calibration.
Using a SpyderX, you can accurately calibrate your display color faster and easier. The Datacolor Spyder Elite provides a more accurate reading of the room’s ambient lighting as well.

So let’s start.

As a designer and artist, I prefer the minimalistic packaging style along with all the necessary information about the product. Datacolor SpyderX packaging meets all my expectations (as a designer and a customer).

Specifications:

System Requirements

Windows 7 32/64 and above
Mac OS X 10.10 and above
Monitor Resolution 1280×768 or greater
16-bit video card (24-bit recommended)
1GB of available RAM
500MB of available hard disk
Internet connection for software download

Supported Display Technologies & Usb Protocols

All recent computer display types
USB 1.1, USB 2.X and USB 3.X
USB A plug, also compatible with USB A>C adaptors for use in USB C ports

Supported Languages

English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean

How to install:
First, your monitor should be turned on for at least 30 minutes. No direct light should be on your monitor. Deactivate the Auto-Brightness feature on your monitor.

Next download, install, and activate the software. You can do it from here:
https://goto.datacolor.com/getspyderx

Plug in the SpyderX into a USB port on your computer (don’t forget to remove the lens cap), and AFTER that, launch the application.
Follow the step-by-step instructions displayed on your screen. To be honest the whole installation process is so easy and fast. You don’t have to do anything extra! Just follow step-by-step instructions!

Note: your serial number is located inside the box.

I calibrated my Wacom Cintiq, so I selected “General” for Backlight.

I chose the Step-by-step Assistant.

Note: SpyderX has an ambient light sensor to measure the room light. This is super helpful to adjust display brightness and contrast to ideal levels based on your room.

If you will need to adjust anything, SpyderX will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to do it.

Now you can save the profile. I set up a calibration reminder for 1 month so I don’t need to remember it. SpyderX will tell me when is the time to calibrate my device(s)again.

After you finish calibrating, it’s very helpful to do Spyderproof before/after. You can do it by clicking on the “Switch ” button. I always preview before/after just to be sure that I am satisfied with the monitor’s calibration.

Note: with SpyderX Elite you have a Softproof feature too. Images on-screen may look different from the printed version or the same images on other devices such as a tablet. The Sofproof feature on SpyderX Elite lets you simulate/view these changes on your calibrated monitor. You also can specify a specific printer model, ink, paper, or upload ICC printer profiles.
We are done! Yes, it’s super easy to calibrate your monitor using Datacolor SpyderX Elite (Pro as well).

The bottom line:
I am extremely happy with the final result. For me, it’s a huge “must-have” in my professional setup. I can’t imagine any professional workflow without it. The simplicity of the installation process, easy to find the answers to all my questions is also a huge plus. The beauty of the packaging and the device’s design (yes, I mentioned it twice in this article) is a cherry on top. Do I recommend it? Absolutely yes.

Click here to visit Flypaper Textures.

My Winter/Holiday Gift to You

Victoria Pavlov

13 Dec, 2021

Hello everyone,
Today, I would like to share my custom set for the 2021 Holiday Season with you.

This simple set includes:

Winter backgrounds: you can use these backgrounds in just about any workflow.

My new set of shapes.
You can use my new Holiday Shapes in Adobe Photoshop.

A new set of brushes for Adobe Illustrator: you can use these brushes to create something very awesome in Adobe Illustrator.

Download Holiday Set

Download it all right now and create your art. If you like them, please share the art you made using my backgrounds, shapes, and brushes on Social Media (please, don’t forget to tag me, because I really would love to see what you create).

I am on Social Media here:

Twitter: @Victoria_Pavlov
Instagram: victoriapavlovart
Facebook/Meta: Victoria Pavlov

Adobe 3D Stager and Adobe Photoshop

Victoria Pavlov

6 Dec, 2021

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Yes, today, let’s talk about how to create beautiful winter scenery in Adobe Substance 3D Stager and animate it in Adobe Photoshop. This tutorial is for beginners. Even if you never used Stager before, following this step-by-step tutorial you can create your first project.
P.S. In this tutorial, I will be using all assets I downloaded for free from Adobe Stock.

Because I will be using 2D and movie files in this tutorial, first, I recommend to choose those files paying close attention to colors between them. Both files should have the same color gamma. Below, you can see two files I have chosen.

Video File

Time to open Adobe Substance 3D Stager > Create new

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