New Jersey - Central InDesign User Group

Meeting Summary: CS5 Coolness... continued

Tue, Aug 3rd, 2010 at 6:30 PM

Anthem Institute

So we are well into the summer and IDUG of Central NJ is thriving. We were welcomed with a wonderful turnout. There were many new pilgrims and quite a few of our current settlers. We opened with our regular Q&A. It’s a great opportunity to table questions and get different insights.

After that, we moved right into the topic of CS5. Alison and I decided to share some of the new enhancements made to Illustrator and Photoshop. I started with a demonstration of one of the new WOW tools Illustrator added to their list, namely the Perspective Grid Tool. This tool enables the “designer” to draw shapes and map symbols in perspective without use of filters or effects. It is pretty easy to do and very effective. We looked at some of the enhancements of the Brushes (Bristle Brush). This new brush gives the user a better, more realistic texture to the applied colors. We also used the Width Tool (new) to vary the width of a stroke without expanding it first. The new Artboard Panel gives the user similar control over the artboards as the user has in the Pages panel of InDesign (Pages panel still kicks butt, though). One of the added features to the Strokes panel was the fact we now have the ability to space out dashes consistently around an object. No more haphazard corners. Ooh…ahhh! Alison then jumped into showing everyone the new feature of Snapping to Pixels. This process really helps to make those shapes crisper and cleaner. We had such interaction with the participants, we ran out of time.

Well, after a little break and raffle, we jumped right back in with Photoshop CS5. Alison was a little peeved over the fact I ran over my time, but she got over it quickly after diving into the Puppet Warp function, now available in PS. All I can say is…the coolest thing since water (ice water that is). She manipulated the trunk of an elephant by throwing in these pivot points. I felt like we were watching David Copperfield. She then jumped into the newly refined Refine Edge panel. Who needs the extract filter of yesteryear? She showed how with a few tweaks you can select an edge that some of the best silo plug-ins can’t touch. Alison talked about HDR imaging and how you can use it to sample the best out of several photos and meld them into one!!! She then, finally, segued into the newly enhanced Content-Aware Scale feature. First there was a guy standing in front of a rock wall. Alison took the Lasso tool, roughly selected the area around the guy and then applied Content-Aware Scale…and poof…he was gone. The wall was filled in to the point where you had no idea where the old and new areas were. It was brilliant. This is when Alison had to wrap up, much to the chagrin of the audience.

Thank you

Thanks again, you guys ROCK.

Comments from attendees

Very awesome things learned. Love Photoshop tips/tricks. --Ann

Really Exciting stuff. Alot was showcased in an efficient manner! --Steve

I was inspired again! You both were wonderful...want more time! --Tracy

Great! Stimulating! Informative! --Harvey

Never a dull moment. You guys are the best! --Luigi

Nice intro to AI CS5 -- love the perspective. Thanks for the info on isolating hair. Then i got blown away by the rock wall!(content-aware scale) --Roberta

Next Meeting

October 5th, 2010 Anthem Institute: Same bat time, same bat channel!