:: graffi’s rants & raves ::

Finally, a new action from the workshop!

This is a simple effect, inspired by some groovy old movie posters I’ve been browsing while looking for media room decorating ideas.  Basically, you enter your text when prompted, make any adjustments to size, font & position, and press [Enter] on your keyboard.  The effect creates old 3D-looking text, reminding me of those old cheesy comics that came with the special glasses.

Have fun, and post some of your images here & in the Photoshop Elements Techniques pool on Flickr!

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A nice set of snowflake brushes for download here.  Perfect for finishing those holiday greetings!

Snowflake Brush Set | Best Photoshop Tutorials

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Iposted these layer styles about two years ago, and thought I’d repost them again today for those who came late to the Add-O-Matic 8 party.  Run them through Add-O-Matic, and they’ll show up in the Effects palette, in the Layer Styles section.

There are 10 new layer styles in here (plus a “reset” style that removes them from your layer), perfect for creating a snowy, wintry scene. Just draw out a few snowdrifts with the marquee tool (or use a pre-loaded custom shape), and apply one or more of the styles to it.

Enjoy!

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Today’s freebie from GiveawayoftheDay is another digital photo collage maker.  There are probably a billion of this type of application out there (including the ones included with Photoshop Elements), and I must admit that I haven’t tried this particular one before.  According to the Giveaway site, “Picture Collage Maker Pro is a powerful, versatile way to build any photo collage and scrapbook project” .

Remember that you need to download and install this software today (December, 2009).  After then, the registration information will turn into a pumpkin and get baked up in Grandma’s pie, so be hasty!

For free, it might be worth a try. If you have it, or if you get it, how’s about giving a little review here?  Thanks!

Giveaway of the Day -  Picture Collage Maker Pro

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Today’s Christmas freebie (the Waitresses great Christmas tune “Christmas Rapping”) comes from Popdose, a cool blog that touches all aspects of pop culture, from music to politics to movies and everything in between.

Today’s article offers a free .mp3 and a really touching article about keeping it all in perspective. Check it out below:

Basement Songs: The Waitresses, "Christmas Wrapping" | Popdose

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PSHEROhas posted a nice template (for free download!) that you can use to create some custom holiday cards.

It’s pretty easy to use – check the graphic below, and go make some cards to send this season!

PSHERO | Photoshop Tutorials | Hero’s Free Photoshop Holiday Cards

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The newest editions of the Graffi Action Effects Installers are nearly ready for release. 

The new installer package has been completely reprogrammed from the ground up, and offers support for Windows XP, Windows Vista & Windows 7. It also features functionality to add the effects to all of your versions of Elements with a single click instead of running an installer multiple times.

The latest releases will also eliminate false-positive virus reports, which has become more and more common as the previous authoring software gets older and older. The installers are now wrapped in a much more familiar-looking package, but still feature the ever-vigilant Graffidude watching over things to make sure they work for you!

The Add-O-Matic in its current state works well in a Windows7 environment, but I still want to reprogram it using a different compression method to get away from – you guessed it – false-positives and compatibility issues with other drivers.

A final decision to be made is whether to include the Bundle as separate installers (as it is now) or as a single installer that adds all of the effects (240+) in a single installer.  There are pros & cons to both methods: 

• Separate installers allow the user to install packages as they need them, and it results in a speedier database update when Elements is next launched.
• Adding all of the effects at once is very efficient, but the database rebuild time is quite lengthy, and many users will think that nothing has been installed.

I’m open to suggestions and opinions on this – if you’d like to give the bundle pack a try, let me know & I’ll get a Beta to you…

Below is the newest edition of the Sampler pack – no new effects, so if you already have it installed on your computer, you won’t see anything different inside Elements if you download and install it.  If you don’t have the sampler yet and want to try it out, it works in all versions of Windows since XP, and versions 6, 7 & 8 of Photoshop Elements.

See what ‘cha think, and thanks for all feedback!

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