Freebie Friday 10/19 Brushes!

Hey everyone!

Today's tutorial is going to be teaching you how to make your own brushes. I covered it a bit in the grunge brush tutorial, but this is quicker and more specific for if you're trying to isolate specific things for a brush. Lilly even jumps in and helps me in the end!

Go HERE to view the tutorial.

And today's Freebie is, of course, a set of brushes. I have a ton of things from my grandma's house that I have collected and wanted to use to create brushes, and finally started scanning them in in the last week. I'm putting them up for you to grab this week. I only ask that you use them on your personal work, not for resale on anything. Isn't the photographer lady awesome?!

Go to THE STORE and to the Freebies section to grab the brushes. Remember they're only up for this week, so get them now!

And I have ANOTHER freebie that will only be up TODAY.. I'm testing out some old photo borders that I created from scanning and manipulating old photos. I've tested and retested myself, but want to see how they work for other people. SO today only you can grab the old Photo border #1 in the store. It looks like this (minus the people):

The folder comes with a PNG file that has the border, as well as an action that will help you add it and tone your photo and give it an antique look. You do not have to use the action, you can just have the border if you want, but I personally like the action.

I'd really appreciate any feedback on this one that you have. I've never created anything like this so am a bit out of my element.

The photo border is in the store under freebies as well. Remember it's only up TODAY.

And don't forget to leave me a comment... this week I'll pick a person from THIS POST to win the SIYH Pak. But you really just want to leave me a comment because you love me.. Right?

Have a great weekend everyone!

I should be Working.....

Instead I'm uploading new things into the store...

A few requests for this freebie to be available again:

Artist Fave Brush Freebie

Need a jumpstart on grunge brushes, or don't want to spend the time to make your own?? Grab the ones that I PERSONALLY use on my own photos to create that Grunged up look:

phaunt Grunge Brushes

*shhhhhhh* If anyone asks, I've been working, not messing around on the store!

Freebie Friday 10/12 ------ IT's HERE!!!

Today I'm a bit slow on the freebie.. I've been trying to finish getting the new store up and ready. First off I have to say THANK YOU to Natasha Whiteley for helping me get the store going. You rock Tash! :)

But today is the GRAND OPENING of the new phaunt actions Store!! Click on the link to the left to go browse the store and see the new setup. The cool new things about the store:

• INSTANTLY download your actions as soon as you buy them.. No more waiting for me to email them to you!!
• Create an account so you can easily buy things again (and you know you want to!)
• By signing up you get access to the newsletter that will have freebies and goodies
• It's way easier for me to add new products/goodies, so I'll be adding indivdual actions for fun, the freebies will be even easier to snag!

So, to kick off the new store, I'm releasing the new Sunshine in your Hand Pak early. I am still working on all the instructions/videos for the new Extras set, so it's not available yet, but the new Sunshine actions are READY TO GO!! And these are ROCKING!

If you have the Original Sunshine action and love it.. you'll love this set even more. It has all the power of the Original, but even MORE flexibility and no color shifts. PLUS this set has 2 NEW actions that will give warmth or cool down an image. So you have all your exposure tweak AND your color temp tweak in one. Included in this set are:

• Original Sunshine in your Hand
• Revisited Sunshine in your Hand
• Golden Sunshine in your Hand (same as revisited, but with a warm color tweak)
• Chilly Sunshine in your Hand (same as revisited, but with a cool color tweak)
• Soft Twilight
• Blow Me Down

Here's just a few examples of what this action can do.. and keep in mind, this was done in a matter of seconds, by pressing play on the action and tweaking the opacity of a few layers... It doesn't get much easier than that!

 

I honestly can say I am so stinking proud of this action.. It took me tons of tweaking and revising, but I've finally got what I had envisioned in the beginning.

To kick off this action set I am going to be giving $5 off the regular price of $35.. The intro price will only be good for a limited time, so you better snag them now! To get your set Click on the store (on the left).. You'll be able to buy and download right away! Be sure to select which version of PS you need (either CS2/CS3 or Ps7/CS)... Can't wait to see some examples of what people can do with the action!!

Oh yeah.. the freebie for this week?? How could I forget? Well, Since I have been working like a mad woman to get this stuff done I haven't had time to do a new tutorial. BUT I did get some a few freebies up and available in the shop. All you have to do is go to the store (on the left... duh.....) and go to the Photoshop Freebies section. There is a NEW freebie there that will only be available for this week, and I also have put another Freebie up again that I've had a few requests for.. the Beginner B/W. Both will be gone after next week, so don't miss them!

Also.. because I Love my PA readers.. For this weekend ONLY, if you use the discount cod: SIYHINTRO when you are buying the new SIYH Pak, you get ANOTHER $5 off.... So you get the whole stinkin thing for just $25.. Can't beat that!

 

Okay.. I think I'm done now.. that was a really long post. Oh.. and don't forget to leave me a comment on the blog.. I will still be drawing a winner on Monday.. they will win their choice of either the color, B/w, or the soon to be released extras set.

*phew* someone stop me before I blather on more........

Have a great weekend everyone... remember if you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at info@phauntactions.com!

Freebie Friday 10/5

Today's tutorial/freebie is one that comes with a disclaimer/warning. I'm going to be showing you how to Selectively color a photograph (leave some things in color). While this is a cool method, and very good at focusing attention, please please PLEASE don't over use it. There's nothing worse than a B/W photo with a random object in color that has nothing to do with the photo. This is a technique that should NOT be used just because you know how to do it. I take no responsiblity for badly selectively colored photos that may result from watching this tutorial. Use at your own risk!

With that out of the way.. On to the tutorial:

Go HERE to watch

After watching the tutorial you can snag an action that does the steps

HERE

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

And THIS week's winner will win a set of the brand spankin'  new phaunt EXTRAS set.. still yet to be released. I'm still finishing up the set, but this weeks winner will not only get their choice of color or b/w , but they'll get to have the new extras set before it's available for purchase.. how cool is that?

Remember, I LOVE to see examples of what you're doing with the tutorials, so if you leave me one that just might help your chances of winning..... also.. Remember that I LOVE elephants, the color purple, and Dr. Pepper.. any one of those things (or a combination of them) may also help your chances.. Just giving some ideas ;)

I am Sooooooooooo close to releasing the new extras sets.. just have to finish up stuff.. Keep your eyes on the blog, I'll be giving away stuff to kick off the new sets, you don't want to miss them!

Have a great Weekend everyone!!

Freebie Friday 9/28

Heya PA readers!

Ready for another Freebie Friday?

I've got TWO.. yes TWO tutorials for you today. I really didn't plan it that way, but I ended up with a really long one, and wanted to split it in two in case some of you didn't want to listen to me for 20 minutes (though I can't imagine why ;) )

So.. today we're finishing up our "series" on texturing/grunging.  I'm going to show you a neat method to make easy grunge borders like this one:

So.. to start off.. this tutorial will show you how to make basic grunge borders:

GO HERE

After that Tutorial you'll go on to this one to learn how to personalize the borders and add your own special touches: (It may not be available yet, it's still uploading, so be patient)

HERE FOR PART 2

And as always, there's a freebie. This weeks freebie is going to make the displacement maps (watch the tutorial to see what I'm talking about) and then after you save those you can use the action to make your own borders easily and on any size photo.

SNAG THIS WEEKS FREEBIE

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

And THIS week's winner will win a set of the brand spankin'  new phaunt EXTRAS set.. still yet to be released. I'm still finishing up the set, but this weeks winner will not only get their choice of color or b/w , but they'll get to have the new extras set before it's available for purchase.. how cool is that?

Remember, I LOVE to see examples of what you're doing with the tutorials, so if you leave me one that just might help your chances of winning. And who knows, I may give away more than one set this week.. You never know ;)

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Freebie Friday 9/21

Later in the day, I know, but it's all good :)

Today we're going to jump in to B/W conversions. A beginners quick tutorial on using the channel mixer to do B/W conversions. If you've ever seen the vast array of methods people use to make B/W and wondered where the heck to start, hopefully this will give you a good base of how to use one adjustment layer to achieve a bunch of different looks.

I am having way too much fun with the new tutorial video recording software, I know I'm a total dork, but don't hold it against me okay?

I'm hosting the video on my own webserver for now, hopefully it can handle it.. keep your fingers crossed! PLEASE let me know asap if you have any problems viewing the video.  It should be full screen, all sorts of goodness.

GO HERE TO VIEW THE TUTORIAL

After you view the Tutorial you can grab the Week's freebie.. A quick set of B/W conversions using the channel mixer and an S curve boost. Again, I'm demonstrating what I'm doing in the tutorial, so watch it before you snag the actions.. I'll know, I've got special action tracers that will track you if you don't view it......... For real, I do :)

Grab the freebies HERE

Now keep in mind.. these are just a starting off point for your conversions.. Feel free to add/subtract/butcher/etc the actions.. Make them your own. Let me know if you have any problems or questions

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Freebie Friday 9/14

It's Freebie Time again! Don't you just love Friday?

As promised, I'm starting the first in a series of tutorials about the blending modes. I really think this is an essential tool to master, as it has so many different applications. Today I'm going to focus on getting a basic overview of what blending modes are, and then how the dissolve blending mode works.

FINALLY! We have a video! I had to re-record it with entirely different software (which works much better anyway)but I think I may have it figured out (for now LoL) PLEASE let me know if you have any problems or suggestions

Click To Play

Then after you watch the tutorial, you can download the actions I demonstrate here. Remember, they're only available for this week, so grab them now!

Also, I've got ANOTHER freebie for you this week!!

My friend and fellow photographer Bonnie has been hard at work making some awesome storyboard/collage/mat templates that run as actions in Photoshop. If you're lazy like me and hate opening templates and all that, these are PERFECT.

I love that you can really get a million different looks from each template, and the file sizes aren't HUGE!

Here's her blog, where she's got some awesome Freebies you can download and try yourself!

Once Remembered Action Templates

Here's a storyboard I made really quick using one of the templates, just so you can see an example:

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

Elements Actions

Okay.. so I know a few of you have been faithfully waiting for Elements versions of the actions. After much thinking and testing, I've decided that I really can't, in good conscience, do elements actions. The actions I have made use a lot of the more advanced features of PS, and I really can't duplicate them in Elements without degrading the quality of the actions. I don't want to sell a watered down version of the actions just to make a quick buck, when I'm not really happy with the results that I was able to get with them.

The other issue is that my whole philosophy behind doing these actions was/is to help people LEARN photoshop and speed up their own workflow. The way that elements actions work, you are not able to really deconstruct the action and see what is happening, so it's really more of a click and go thing. Since most people using Elements are very beginners in Photoshop, I'd rather not put out actions that are going to hinder them from learning how to work it.

That said, I feel bad not giving SOMETHING to those of you that have been asking or watching for elements actions. I have recorded a version of the "Sunshine in your Hand" action that is so popular, and am going to make that available for those of you using elements. There is also a copy of the flashlight action that I shared from last week freebie.

Here's a tutorial on how to load the actions into your elements, but there is also a copy of the video included in the download file.

Click To Play



To download the actions for elements GO HERE


Sorry, didn't make it clear.. If you're downloading the Elements version you'll have to also have Winrar (free program) to unzip the file. I keep forgetting to zip it as a normal zip!


I'm sorry to disappoint anyone, but I would rather put out actions that I'm proud of than just throw something together to make a some $$. In the future I may make some more actions available to elements users, but I will also be showing you HOW to achieve the same thing without the action. Remember, the only way you can really learn photoshop is by doing it, not by letting an action do it for you!

Oh.. for those PS7 and up Users, so you don't feel left out.. Here's the Sunshine (and a few more) actions for you, just in case you don't have a copy.

HERE

So.. That said.. Be sure to check back tomorrow for Freebie Friday.. I"m going to be starting my tutorials on Blend Modes and the effects you can achieve with them.

Freebie Friday 9/7

Hello everyone! It's Freebie Friday.. and I've got our Freebie up before 12! Go me!

Today's Tutorial is a QUICK one.. I had to reign myself in and not ramble.. I tend to do that..I'm going to show you a quick way to mimic fill flash in Photoshop. We're going to start using blend modes, which are REALLY important, so hopefully you'll get a taste of what they can do, and I hope to do more on them later. So.. here's your tutorial



Go Here to view in Full Screen

After viewing the tutorial, you can download an action (doing the same thing I just showed in the tutorial) Here:

Snag it before it's Gone!

Remember, the freebie will only be up this week, so snag it while you can.

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!)

Also, Some time next week I'll be announcing a couple things regarding PS Elements actions, so if you're an elements user be sure to check back then to see what's up! But remember, even if you're not using CS2 you can still use most of the tips/steps in the tutorials.

Have a great weekend everyone!

8/31 Freebie Friday!

I know it's a bit late in the day, but here is Freebie Friday #2!!

Today is a double good Friday, you get a tutorial AND a super Freebie download!

First up, the tutorial! Last time I showed you how to texture a photo. Now I'm taking that a step further and will be showing you how to make your own grunge brushes and use them on your photos! It's a bit longer of a tutorial (I guess I tend to ramble, huh), but there's a bunch of good info in there!

Click here to go to Full Screen.

After watching the tutorial, you can go HERE to download an action that speeds up the grunging process (using the same steps I show in the tutorial), as well as a set of grunge brushes I use all the time on my own photos. It's a zipped file (includes the action and the brush set), so you'll have to unzip it to install.

Remember, the freebie will only be up this week, so snag it while you can.

Also, remember to leave me a comment, hello, suggestion, whatever in the comments and you may win your choice of action sets (Winner will be posted on Monday, so check back then!).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Freebie Friday Begins!

Thank you everyone for the kind words on Lilly's tutorial. I told her she can only do one a week, but she already has tons of ideas for the next one. We may have to make it a regular thing, she's sure cute huh?

(Here she is eating lunch yesterday at our favorite local burger joint, Burger West)

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I love giving things away. In the spirit of that, I decided to start a Freebie Friday. I'm going to be giving away something right here on the blog every Friday. It may be an action, a texture, or maybe even a gift card. But every Friday you'll be finding something here just for phaunt action blog visitors.

The freebie will ONLY be available for a week, so once the next week's freebie is put up it will be gone. You're going to have to check back every week to make sure you snag that week's freebie.

ALSO, if you snag the freebie and leave me a comment letting me know how cool I am, how much you like the blog, a suggestion, or just to say Hi, you're in the a drawing to win a free action set. So Snag the freebie, leave a comment, and you may win! Just be sure to check back to see if you won, I'll be announcing it on the blog and you'll have to email me to claim your prize.

So.. Lets get going!! Today's freebie is a new action I've been messing around with. I got the initial idea from this month's RangeFinder Magazine. This action gives an edgy high contrast look to your photos. Here's a few examples

Thank you to Bonnie for the great example images BTW.. I get to meet up with her on Sunday for dinner (along with Tiffany Hix and Kam Taylor), how cool is that? I love hanging out with other photographers :)

Download the Action HERE!

So Snag the action and leave me a comment! Or better yet, send me an email/link to some pics using the action, I'd love to see examples!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Sharpening Freebie

I've had a few people say they were bummed about the Sharpening Tutorial because they don't have CS2, so can't use Smart Sharpen.

Never fear! I love all you Elements and PS7 users too! Until I upgraded to CS2, I used this USM/High Pass Combo sharpening (which I did NOT invent, I got the process from searching various books/forums) that I had tweaked to my liking. I had forgotten all about the action, but found it in my PS folder (my huge monster folder of forgotten downloads). I thought I'd post it for everyone who doesn't have Smart Sharpen.

Have fun, Let me know how it works!


Grab it HERE

What a fun Day!

If you didn't catch it, I was interviewed by Mai from the Pay it Forward Blog today. Although I 'd hardly put myself "on par" with the other people that have been interviewed, it was fun to pretend to be famous for a day. I'm hoping everyone enjoys the actions and remembers to Pay it Forward in your own way! If you missed the download, they're still there.. Have fun!

I'm still recovering from the camping trip, trying to get life in line again.. But I thought I'd share the link to this program:


Hello

Jeremi introduced me to the program a few months ago, and I'm hooked. It's seriously the best IM program if you're a photographer or just like to share photos. Now I just have to get all my MSN and Yahoo chat buddies to switch over!

Hey, if you download it and need a friend to add, add me! My username is (duh) phaunt.