Objects Of The Smart Kind
A lot of you may be aware of Photoshop Smart Objects already. Whether you use them when importing artwork from Illustrator or you’re converting Photoshop art to save the original size, there is a lot more you can do with Smart Objects.
I started using them more a while ago, after reading an article on Veerle’s Blog. The main tip I took away from the tutorial was the ability to alter one smart object and have all other instances of the same object automatically update. This comes in extremely handy when designing comps to show a client.
Imagine you have created an icon which you could be using as a list image for a sidebar or something. You show the client and they don’t like color of the image or the effect you have applied. Normally, you would have to either alter the multiple instances or alter one and duplicate it all over again. If your multiple instances are duplicates of a Smart Object, you only need to edit one - saving you loads of time in the long run. That’s just one of the time saving techniques on offer, there are loads more you can benefit from.
Another recently written article from Veerle, covers using Smart Filters to apply effects non-destructively to your artwork.
Best of all, if you find it difficult to pick up on written tips or find it hard to concentrate when reading tutorials such as this, Anton Peck has released an Artcast covering these techniques so all you have to do is sat back, relax and watch Anton doing his thing whilst you benefit! Note - at the time of writing, the page is currently undergoing some construction but you still have access to download the video rather than watching online. It’s better to download it anyway as you have a greater quality and a constantly available reference video!
Now, armed with a few new tricks up your sleeves, I hope you can cut down some of that time in Photoshop and get those projects live in less time.
