Check out this fantastic new training DVD from Imagine Publishing Ltd. It features over 90 minutes of easy-to-follow video tutorials divided into nine inspiring lessons. This is perfect for those new to Photoshop who want to get to grips with the interface and the tools fast. At just £19.99 it’s the ideal Christmas gift and can be ordered online today. For more info head to http://www.imagineshop.co.uk/item_show.php?itemID=1043&action=emags  

Wondering how you can afford Photoshop CS4 while juggling with heavy student loans? CS4 is now available at discount prices for students. You can save many pennies and increase your chances of achieving a better degree. Check out the student requirements below.

Click for cheap Photoshop CS4

press release

Adobe CS4 Student Discount Prices

• Photoshop CS4 Student Edition ($199)
• Web Premium CS4 Student Edition ($349)
• Design Standard CS4 Student Edition ($299)
• Design Premium CS4 Student Edition ($399)

Eligibility For Student Editions
Student Edition products are for purchase by higher education students only. A higher education student is defined as a full- or part-time student enrolled at a higher education institution defined as an accredited public or private university or college (including community, junior, or vocational college) that grants degrees requiring not less than the equivalent of two years of full-time

Brand Nu, aka Radim Malinic, has unveiled My New Book Of Colours, a 68-page book showcasing Brand Nu’s inspirational artwork. This book is a follow up to last year’s Splatters, Shapes & Colours. It is designed to be “An ideal coffee table inspiration book will give you an insight into the magnificent world of Brand Nu illustration for music, editorial, fashion, advertising and all other industries in between.”

Three times Advanced Photoshop cover artist, Brand Nu’s work is colourful, vibrant and inspiring. Find out more about the book and how to order at www.brandnu.co.uk.

Fascinating results from a survey carried out by tickbox.net have shown how different men and women are when sourcing photographs… though, the question is still out there - who is the better gender?!

Press release

Independent research announced today by iStockphoto® has revealed significant variations in the way men and women source imagery for business use.  Nearly 70% of men take their own images compared to 55% of women and while almost half of men commission photography only a quarter of women choose to do so.  Women are more likely to source their imagery from stock photography websites, demonstrating their willingness to shop around when sourcing high quality imagery.

The research, conducted on behalf of iStockphoto by tickbox.net, focused on how SMBs across Britain source imagery (imagery defined as - photography, video, and computer generated imagery or vector graphics) for their business. The findings from the research showed that, despite being more likely to use made-to-measure imagery, one in five male respondents felt their use of imagery was either a ‘distraction’ or a ‘waste of resource’ while women were more likely to feel that their use of imagery reflected their company’s culture and that imagery is a ‘powerful reinforcement of messaging’.

The fact that men don’t feel they are getting value for money is perhaps linked to the fact that women are more likely to spend less than £100 a year on imagery. On the other hand, men outspend women in the £101-£1000 bracket with almost 70% of men falling in this group compared to 50% of women.

Kelly Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at iStockphoto comments, “The right imagery, not overused, or overdone, perfectly illustrates a feeling, a brand or an idea with little explanation needed, and should reduce the need for too many words on a page. Female SMB leaders are demonstrating how smaller companies can use online stock photography as a great way to get professional standard imagery on a budget and tell their stories visually. Perhaps the reason why male respondents are less satisfied with their imagery is that they are more likely to have either done it themselves or overspent.”

Key findings from the research indicate:
Gender divide -
·         40% of women see imagery as a ‘powerful reinforcement of messaging’ while 20% of men view imagery either as a distraction or as a waste of resource.
·         Men are more likely to spend more money on imagery than women. 69% of men surveyed spent £101-1000 on imagery, compared to 50% of women.
·         21% of women spend less than £100 on imagery compared to just 5% of men.
·         Men are also more likely to source their own imagery in-house or commission it specially. 67% of men take their own images compared to 55% of women and 45% commission photography compared to 24% of women.
·        Women are more likely to use online stock photography (41% compared to 36.5%)
Other findings -
·         The baby boomer generation (categorised as those aged 55 or over) were found to be most likely not to use any imagery at all. Nearly 50% of those questioned used no imagery in their business, while Generation Y (categorised as those aged 16-24 years old) are far more likely to use imagery with 94% of those surveyed doing so.
·         90% of baby boomers source their own images - more than double the percentage of Generation Y who do so (40%).  Generation Y are more likely to obtain their imagery from stock photography websites (46% do so compared to 30% of baby boomers).
·         Nearly 75% of baby boomers spend £101-1000 a year on imagery - the most common bracket for all SMBs. Nearly half (46%) of Generation Y SMBs spend this amount with 35% spending less than £100. Of the baby boomers that do use imagery, over a quarter require images once every 6 months. Most Generation Y SMBs use imagery every day/2-3 times a week.
·         90% of SMBs in Wales get imagery from stock photography libraries. This far exceeds the overall percentage of companies doing so (just 39%). In Scotland, 100% of businesses source their own imagery.

• Similarly, the east of Britain is far more willing to use video in business materials. 25% of SMBs in the east said they used video compared to just 5% overall. Independent research announced today by iStockphoto® has revealed significant variations in the way men and women source imagery for business use. Nearly 70% of men take their own images compared to 55% of women and while almost half of men commission photography only a quarter of women choose to do so. Women are more likely to source their imagery from stock photography websites, demonstrating their willingness to shop around when sourcing high quality imagery.

The research, conducted on behalf of iStockphoto by tickbox.net, focused on how SMBs across Britain source imagery (imagery defined as - photography, video, and computer generated imagery or vector graphics) for their business. The findings from the research showed that, despite being more likely to use made-to-measure imagery, one in five male respondents felt their use of imagery was either a ‘distraction’ or a ‘waste of resource’ while women were more likely to feel that their use of imagery reflected their company’s culture and that imagery is a ‘powerful reinforcement of messaging’.

The fact that men don’t feel they are getting value for money is perhaps linked to the fact that women are more likely to spend less than £100 a year on imagery. On the other hand, men outspend women in the £101-£1000 bracket with almost 70% of men falling in this group compared to 50% of women.

Kelly Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at iStockphoto comments, “The right imagery, not overused, or overdone, perfectly illustrates a feeling, a brand or an idea with little explanation needed, and should reduce the need for too many words on a page. Female SMB leaders are demonstrating how smaller companies can use online stock photography as a great way to get professional standard imagery on a budget and tell their stories visually. Perhaps the reason why male respondents are less satisfied with their imagery is that they are more likely to have either done it themselves or overspent.”
Key findings from the research indicate:
Gender divide -
·         40% of women see imagery as a ‘powerful reinforcement of messaging’ while 20% of men view imagery either as a distraction or as a waste of resource.
·         Men are more likely to spend more money on imagery than women. 69% of men surveyed spent £101-1000 on imagery, compared to 50% of women.
·         21% of women spend less than £100 on imagery compared to just 5% of men.
·         Men are also more likely to source their own imagery in-house or commission it specially. 67% of men take their own images compared to 55% of women and 45% commission photography compared to 24% of women.
·        Women are more likely to use online stock photography (41% compared to 36.5%)
Other findings -
·         The baby boomer generation (categorised as those aged 55 or over) were found to be most likely not to use any imagery at all. Nearly 50% of those questioned used no imagery in their business, while Generation Y (categorised as those aged 16-24 years old) are far more likely to use imagery with 94% of those surveyed doing so.
·         90% of baby boomers source their own images - more than double the percentage of Generation Y who do so (40%).  Generation Y are more likely to obtain their imagery from stock photography websites (46% do so compared to 30% of baby boomers).
·         Nearly 75% of baby boomers spend £101-1000 a year on imagery - the most common bracket for all SMBs. Nearly half (46%) of Generation Y SMBs spend this amount with 35% spending less than £100. Of the baby boomers that do use imagery, over a quarter require images once every 6 months. Most Generation Y SMBs use imagery every day/2-3 times a week.
·         90% of SMBs in Wales get imagery from stock photography libraries. This far exceeds the overall percentage of companies doing so (just 39%). In Scotland, 100% of businesses source their own imagery.

• Similarly, the east of Britain is far more willing to use video in business materials. 25% of SMBs in the east said they used video compared to just 5% overall.

The Ballistic series of books serves as inspiration for thousands of artists and the latest addition to the collection has been unveiled. For more information, visit the website or see the press release below.

Press release:

BALLISTIC PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES —EXOTIQUE 4: —The World’s Most Beautiful CG Characters
Adelaide, South Australia - 24th November 2008

In its fourth edition, EXOTIQUE 4 firmly establishes itself as the benchmark for CG character art featuring the work of artists from 45 countries (a record for the EXOTIQUE series). EXOTIQUE 4 includes more art from China, Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore showcasing a broader range of styles and cultures. It also packs an additional 30 pieces of artwork into 16 more pages than the previous edition.

“In our sixth year of collecting and publishing the best digital art in the world, it’s exciting to see the number of countries from which artists submit their work continuing to grow”, explains Daniel Wade, Co-Publisher at Ballistic Publishing. “While still receiving a healthy number of North American and European entries, we are now seeing substantial entries from countries like China, Korea, Indonesia and Singapore which expands the breadth of styles we can present. From traditional styles to the new, there are many more opportunities to gain inspiration from the remarkable work submitted by artists from diverse cultures. We believe this diversity makes this book the best EXOTIQUE so far.”

The EXOTIQUE series is the world’s best showcase of character artwork. The latest edition in the series packs more wonderful artwork into more pages than any previous edition making it the biggest and most beautiful EXOTIQUE collection to date. The work of 215 highly-talented artists fill EXOTIQUE 4 with 322 pieces of inspiring character art in genres from science fiction, fantasy, and anime, to photorealism and stylized realism. The new edition also presents the work of 117 artists (over half the artists featured) who are published for the first time in a Ballistic Publishing book. With just over 2,500 entries in total, roughly one in eight images entered for EXOTIQUE 4 were successful.

Established Taiwanese artist Jen Der is featured in a Ballistic book for the first time with EXOTIQUE 4, and great new artwork is on show from high-profile artists such as Kekai Kotaki, Michael Kutsche, Wei-Che Juan, Bobby Chiu, Jonas Thornqvist, Hong Kuang, Henning Ludvigsen, and Marta Dahlig. Indonesian artist Mario Wibisono is featured on the cover of EXOTIQUE 4 with ‘Pepper Project’ (character concept by Stanley Lau) in addition to a number of pieces in the book.

From the traditional to the new, there are more opportunities to gain inspiration from the amazing art submitted by artists from many cultures. This diversity makes EXOTIQUE 4 the best book in the series so far, and with the enormous talent in our online communities the EXOTIQUE series will continue to document the development of character art and the world’s best examples of digital character art.

Pricing and Availability
EXOTIQUE 4 is available in two editions: Softcover (USD$52); & Special Edition (USD$115).
More details about the books and availability can be found on the Ballistic Publishing website at: http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/exotique_4/

Publication Details:
* ISBN: 978-1-921002-54-0 (Softcover), 978-1-921002-55-7 (Special Edition)
* Pages: 208 pages (Softcover & Special Edition)
* Dimensions: 220 x 297mm
* Editors: Daniel Wade, Paul Hellard
* Co-Publishers: Mark Snoswell, Daniel Wade

The Special Edition release includes four Special Edition prints.
A set of four bonus prints from:
* Mario Wibisono, INDONESIA “Pepper Superstar” Pepper character © Stanley Lau
* Tang Yuehui, CHINA “Butterfly”,
* Yang Qi, CHINA, “Red Angel of revenge”
* Benita Winckler, GERMANY “The beckoning”

 Adobe proudly present another FREE software upgrade, this time for Camera Raw plug-in.
Press release below:
Adobe has released an update to its Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, available immediately as a free download on Adobe.com. Adobe Camera Raw 5.2 extends raw file support to an additional seven camera models, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Panasonic DMC LX3. This update provides several new enhancements including the Targeted Adjustment Tool for on-image refinements and output sharpening for print or screen output. Also, users now have the ability to create a snapshot of all adjustments made to an image as a bookmark for future reference.

In addition, Adobe has updated Camera Profiles, which are now available natively within Camera Raw 5.2 and DNG Converter 5.2. Camera profiles provide the visual starting-point for photographers using a raw processing workflow. Adobe supplies different styles of profiles while also providing the ability for customization.

The new Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in supports the following additional seven camera models: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon PowerShot G10, Panasonic DMC-G1, Panasonic DMC-FX150, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Panasonic DMC LX3 and Leica D-LUX 4. Photoshop Lightroom, leveraging Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw technology, will add support for the cameras listed above in a future update.
Pricing and Availability

The Photoshop Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in is available as a free download for existing customers of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 7, and Premiere Elements 7. Follow this link to download the update:  http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/. The Adobe DNG Converter 5.2 is also available today as a free download at www.adobe.com/dng.

Travel far and wide with a voucher from Linx. www.linx-av.com

press release

Dodge the cold, rain and credit crunch this winter with Linx! Buy any stylish and sleek Linx Memoire frame starting at only £49.99 including VAT and get a £150 travel voucher towards your next holiday!* Imagine packing your bags and jetting off to some exotic far flung location to lap up the sunshine, saving money for the more important parts of the holiday such as relaxing drinks by pool or a local tourist attraction. For those who love the cold then it’s perfect for skiing or snowboarding holidays! But the digital dazzle doesn’t stop there; Linx is also including a FREE family portrait voucher in each box, redeemable at hundreds of photographic outlets nationwide. Snap your suntan before it becomes a hazy memory!
Hurry to www.linx-av.com

Beat the credit crunch, buy any Linx Memoire frame and be part of two amazing promotions with a combined gift value in excess of £250!

The range comprises of three stylish cutting edge, high definition models (7″, 8″ and 10.2″). The Memoire range of photo frames are packed with the latest technology delivering a range of slideshow modes including the new Life transition mode. This function allows you to literally ‘bring your old photo’s and memories back to Life’ by using a variety of pan and zoom transitions between images.
Relive your old memories with Linx!

The Linx Memoire series ups the ante in the style stakes and offers dramatic image and movie playback in any stylish home or office location. You can even customise your frame courtesy of Linx Skins - a simple press on - peel off frame surround in wide a variety of colours and designs. www.linxskins.com

The frames display pictures, videos and broadcast audio and come complete with a remote control handset to enable ease of use and up to the minute image management, at the touch of a button**.

The remote control receiver is located in the front panel of the screen. An in-built rechargeable battery enables the frames to be placed anywhere in the home or office without the need for power sockets.

All frames include a 4 in 1 card reader to enable the data to be viewed quickly and without hassle. Users can choose to only feature one image at a time or they have the facility to run the frame in a looped sequence, offering hours and hours of fun and enjoyment, time and time again. An integrated calendar and clock further add to the functionality of each frame*.

Users can enjoy superior stereo sound on the 8″ and 10.2″ models thanks to two built in speakers encased within the frames and witness crisp movie playback courtesy of MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4 and MP3 file support.

For ultimate convenience, the 8″ and 10.2″ frames can be powered by the built in battery or powered through an AC cable, included as standard. The sleek, streamlined design along with the amazing quality, technology and excellent price make it a must have for any stylish home or office location.

Love digital painting, game art and Prince of Persia?

Want a chance to win an the latest Prince of Persia console game? An XBOX? An XBOX and a Wacom Tablet?

If so then this is the competition for you. Visit http://news.deviantart.com/article/62882/

To celebrate the release of the exciting new Prince of Persia game, Ubisoft has teamed with the creative brilliance of deviantART’s Community to blow the walls off this amazing contest. Your challenge is to create stunning, innovative, and original art as inspired by the fantastic new game!

Deadline: December 12th

Press release:

BALLISTIC PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES — d’artiste: MATTE PAINTING 2 - Learn From The Masters

Adelaide, South Australia - 21st November 2008

The seventh book in the d’artiste series—Matte Painting 2—features Master Artists, Yusei Uesugi (the first digital movie matte painter), Max Dennison and Chris Thunig. With more than 30 Hollywood blockbuster movies to their credit, they show you the approaches and techniques used to create unforgettable movie environments.

Each of the artists presents their matte painting techniques through a series of in-depth tutorials covering 2D and 3D environments. The 192-paged book also contains the Artists’ personal gallery, the artists’ work and thoughts, and an invited artist gallery, featuring work from some of the most talented matte artists in the world. The combination of artist interviews, their own artwork and art that inspires them, gives the reader a comprehensive and personal insight into the mind of the Master Artist—their approaches, their techniques and what influences them in their own work.

Yusei Uesugi, Max Dennison, and Chris Thunig have worked on an epic number of high-profile movie projects including: ‘Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III’, ‘The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: The Return of the King ’, The Two Towers ’, & The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘Eragon’, ‘AVP: Alien vs. Predator’, ‘Troy’, ‘Wanted’, ‘The Golden Compass’, ‘Superman Returns’, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ’, ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, ‘Artificial Intelligence: AI’, ‘Star Trek: Generations’, ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’, ‘Sunshine’, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, ‘Pitch Black’, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, and many more.

Each artist provides wonderful insights into their approaches and thoughts on the direction and challenges of their careers. They also cover in detail, their process from concept, right through painting and 3D techniques and tricks to the completion of 1-3 major environments—including the famous Coruscant sequence from ‘Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith’.

d’artiste Matte Painting 2 celebrates the creative talents of digital artists worldwide. It is the digital art industry’s premier how-to series, featuring the world’s best artists’ own art and techniques and gives all aspiring artist’s the chance to ‘Learn from the Masters’.

Pricing and Availability
d’artiste Matte Painting 2 is available in two editions: Paperback with slipcase (USD$69); and Limited Edition (USD$170).

Publication Details:
* ISBN: 978-1-921002-41-0 (Slipcased), 978-1-921002-42-7 (Limited Edition)
* Pages: 192 pages (Slipcased)/192 pages (Limited Edition)
* Dimensions: 220 x 297mm
* Editors: Daniel Wade, Paul Hellard
* Co-Publishers: Mark Snoswell, Daniel Wade
* More details about the books and availability can be found on the Ballistic Publishing website at: http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/dartiste/matte_painting_2/

Exclusive Offer to Ballistic Customers who order Matte Painting 2 Limited Edition!

* A specially created Camtasia walkthrough by Frederick St. Arnaud, the artist who created the front and back cover of Matte Painting 2 (The Decline of Babel Myth). Frederick describes each layer he uses to highlight and design the action scene, showing how he created a futuristic image inspired by ‘Blade Runner’.

* Also a set of four bonus prints From Yusei Uesugi, Max Dennison, and Chris Thunig as well as the cover artist Frederic St. Arnaud, are yours free.

Praise for the Matte Painting & the d’artiste series:
“Ballistic Publishing has quickly worked its way to the top of the list of instructive books about digital art with the d’artiste series and Matte Painting does not disappoint the readers either.”
Art Scene International

“These “Invited Artist Gallery” sections are another example of the smart thinking that goes on at Ballistic. Not only do readers get the opportunity to see what is inspirational and exciting for the featured artists, but we also get commentary on many of these pieces. There is nothing quite like reading an accomplished creator examining the work of others”.
VFX World

About The CGSociety and Ballistic Media Ballistic media operates two major divisions—The CGSociety and Ballistic Publishing. The CGSociety is the world’s largest society of professional digital artists and provider of forums, portfolios, training, job and event services for the digital arts industry. Ballistic Publishing is the leading, independent publisher of books for the digital arts industry. Dedicated to publications of the highest quality celebrating the talents of digital artists worldwide, Ballistic has set the benchmark as a quality boutique publisher. Ballistic Media is based in Adelaide, South Australia, with offices in Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) and Tampa (Florida, USA).

Alien Skin has announced its latest plug-in for Photoshop that enables photographers to simulate depth-of-field and focus effects in post-production. Find out more in the press release below, or at www.alienskin.com.

Press release

Alien Skin Software Announces Bokeh Lens Simulation Plug-in for Photoshop
Accurate lens simulation lets photographers manipulate focus and depth of field after the shot has been taken.  Realistic highlights give more beautiful results than any other software.  Creative controls help photographers focus attention on the subject or add atmosphere to the scene.

Raleigh, North Carolina – December 1, 2008 – Alien Skin Software today announces the immediate availability of Bokeh™, its new lens simulation plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® and Photoshop Elements.  Photographers use Bokeh to draw attention to their subject by manipulating focus and depth of field after the shot has been taken.  From changing the depth of field to placing a radial sweet spot and adding a vignette, Bokeh has many tools for realistic blurring and altering the mood of a scene.  Bokeh is the first software based on mathematics sophisticated enough to produce a natural blur and creamy highlights.

“Bokeh is the Japanese word for ‘blur’ and is a photographic term that refers to the visually-distinctive appearance of the out-of-focus areas in a photograph,” said Terence Tay, the lead developer of Bokeh. “Alien Skin’s Bokeh plug-in provides photographers with the creative freedom to manipulate the aesthetic quality of bokeh, including the ability to create heart and star-shaped bokeh highlights.”

Making the Subject Pop
A busy background or shooting with a narrow aperture can distract the viewer from the photographer’s subject.  Bokeh can draw attention back to the subject in multiple ways.  If the photographer selects the subject in Photoshop, Bokeh can blur the background to give the realistic impression that the shot was taken with a lower f-stop.  This decrease in depth of field gets rid of visual clutter.  This capability is useful for any photographer, but particularly for the many cameras without full-frame sensors.

Limitless Creative Freedom
Bokeh provides a flexible radial sweet spot for gradually softening a scene everywhere except on the subject.  This effect could be achieved with expensive tilt-shift lenses, but is more easily done after the shot using  Bokeh.

Vignette darkening can be used to draw the eye to the subject, change the mood of a scene, or simulate a low-end Lomo camera.  Bokeh provides full control over the vignette, including feathering and shape tools such as the radial sweet spot.

The photographer has a wide range of control over the shape of the simulated aperture in Bokeh.  This shape has the most noticeable effect on highlights.  Everything from the number of blades to blade curvature to the creaminess (photographic term for softness) of highlights can be manipulated.  Bokeh is so flexible that it can even render heart-shaped highlights.

Accurate Lens Simulation
Bokeh is the only software that accurately simulates the distinctive blurring and creamy highlights of real lenses.  The engineers at Alien Skin Software performed careful experiments with lenses famous for their bokeh highlights, such as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 II and the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Macro.  The result is a photo-realistic look, in contrast to the unnatural blur from other software.

Pricing and Availability
Bokeh sells for $199 USD. Online or physical delivery is available through the Alien Skin website at www.alienskin.com.  A real live human (imagine that!) can take orders or answer questions at 888-921-SKIN (7546).  Bokeh is also available worldwide through stores, catalogs, and resellers.

Host Requirements
Bokeh is a plug-in and requires one of the following host applications:
Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later
Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 or later (Macintosh)
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 or later (Windows)
Adobe Fireworks CS4
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2

System Requirements
Microsoft Windows users must have at least a Pentium 4 processor or compatible and Windows XP or later. Apple Macintosh users must have a PowerPC G5 or Intel processor and Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later. For best performance on either platform, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of RAM is recommended.  A monitor with 1024×768 resolution or greater is required.

About Alien Skin Software
Alien Skin Software makes Photoshop plug-ins for photographers and graphic designers. We distill advanced math and cutting edge research into simple tools that render beautiful pictures.  Our reputation for bug-free software and fast, friendly tech support has grown worldwide since 1993. For more information, visit our website at www.alienskin.com.