Photoshop’s Lighting Effects filter is incredibly powerful, but the sheer number of options it offers can be daunting. Sometimes you just need something simple, like adding a bit of depth to a texture, and using Lighting Effects to do it can seem like overkill. Here’s a way to fake it!
The first installment of my podcast series Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop is now available on YouTube. FCAP will be a weekly podcast in several 6-8 episode “seasons”. (Expect me to take a couple of weeks off between seasons!)
If you’d like the check out the map I’ll be discussing during the first season, you can check it out here at my gallery.
Although I’m recording my podcast in Photoshop CS2, all the techniques I’m using were developed in Photoshop 7. Even if you’re not using the latest and greatest version of PS, you can still benefit from these podcasts!
If you have a request for a future podcast, contact me and let me know what you’re interested in seeing.
I’ll be looking into adding the podcast to the iTunes directory in the coming weeks (provided I can find a good source of bandwidth!).
Keep checking back for more information on the Fantasy Cartography book, including sneak previews, release dates, and where you can buy it!
Special thanks to all the folks who checked out the beta version I put up over the weekend; I got a lot of great feedback, which encouraged me to get off my duff and commit the real thing to video. (And for those who already watched the beta version, this full version is about twice as long, so check it out!)
I’m quite frankly embarassed that it’s been a month since I added anything new here. I’ve been busy (damn busy, and not just with my own projects) but that’s no excuse. From here on out I resolve to update at least once a week with something useful, come hell or high water.
After struggling with a PHPWebGallery/WordPress integration system (which turned out to be, quite frankly, crap), I’ve given up on combining the two for now. The Gallery link above will take you directly to my webgallery now, though, so there’s no annoying click-through required. If you head over there and see something you like, rate it and let me know what you think.
I’m going to record a test podcast today in preparation for the upcoming release of Fantasy Cartography. I’ll post it on Monday; it probably won’t be as polished as the final podcasts I end up doing, but it’ll give you an idea of what they’ll be like.
