NEW Adjustment Brush in Photoshop. the advanced tutorial

Summary

In this in-depth tutorial, viewers are shown how to master the art of dodging and burning in Photoshop using the new adjustment brush tool, currently available in the beta version. The tutorial covers selecting the adjustment brush under brushes, setting up for brightness and contrast adjustments, and utilizing brush settings for precise control with pressure-sensitive devices. It also explains how to achieve realistic effects by adjusting flow and opacity, and demonstrates strategies for applying light and shadow to enhance depth in images. The tutorial provides practical tips for both tablet and mouse users, highlighting keyboard shortcuts for efficiency and demonstrating how to fine-tune adjustments for professional results.

Takeaways

• 📝 The tutorial covers dodging and burning using Photoshop's new adjustment tool, available only in the beta version.
• 📈 The adjustment brush is nested under the brushes menu, starting with brightness and contrast settings.
• 📱 For users with pressure-sensitive tablets, the tutorial explains how to adjust brush settings for varied effects based on pressure.
• 🖌 Brush settings include options for size and opacity adjustments, with the ability to lock these settings for consistency across different brushes.
• 📚 The tutorial emphasizes the importance of flow over opacity for more subtle painting, recommending a flow setting of around 7 to 10% for realism.
• 💡 Strategy for dodging and burning involves creating two adjustments for lightening and darkening, focusing on areas based on the light source direction.
• 📉 Brightness and contrast adjustments allow for fine-tuning of highlights and shadows, offering control over the intensity and contrast of effects.
• 📝 Use of exposure adjustments for specific areas, with tips on masking adjustments to exclude effects from certain parts of the image.
• 📸 A quick tip for painting straight lines involves starting the stroke and then holding the shift key to constrain the line for precision.
• 💬 The tutorial concludes with encouragement to explore more dodging and burning techniques and invites viewers to subscribe for more tutorials.

Q & A

What is the tutorial about?

The tutorial is about how to use the new adjustment brush tool in Photoshop for dodging and burning.

Is this feature available in the regular version of Photoshop?

No, this feature is currently only available in the beta version of Photoshop.

What adjustment settings are covered in the tutorial?

The tutorial covers using the adjustment brush for brightness and contrast adjustments.

What are the benefits of using a pressure-sensitive tablet for dodging and burning?

A pressure-sensitive tablet allows you to control the size and opacity of the brush based on how hard you press, enabling more precise blending and control.

How can you adjust the size and opacity of the brush if you don't have a pressure-sensitive tablet?

You can use keyboard shortcuts to adjust the size (left bracket to make smaller, right bracket to make bigger) and flow (hold shift and press digits to adjust the percentage).

What is the recommended flow setting for dodging and burning?

The recommended flow setting is around 7-10% for subtle and realistic painting.

What is the strategy for determining where to apply light and shadow?

The strategy is to determine the direction of light and brighten areas facing the light source while darkening areas in shadow or facing away from the light.

How can you keep your brush strokes in a straight line when painting along edges?

You can hold down the shift key while painting to constrain the brush strokes to a straight line.

Can adjustment layers and masks be used in combination with the adjustment brush?

Yes, the adjustment brush creates an adjustment layer with a layer mask, allowing you to further refine the adjustments by painting on the mask.

What other tips are mentioned for improving the dodging and burning process?

Additional tips include using a larger brush for a more painted effect and a smaller brush for a more chiseled look, and adjusting the opacity and contrast of the adjustment layers to fine-tune the results.

Outlines

00:00

🖌️ Introduction to Dodging and Burning in Photoshop Beta

This section introduces the concept of dodging and burning using the new adjustment tool available in the beta version of Photoshop. The instructor provides a comprehensive guide on how to install the beta version and demonstrates the use of the adjustment brush for applying brightness and contrast adjustments directly onto the image. The tutorial covers how to select and use different brush settings, including the soft round brush, and introduces the concept of pressure sensitivity with tablets for more nuanced control over brush size and opacity. The instructor emphasizes the efficiency and simplicity of using adjustment layers with layer masks for dodging and burning, offering tips on adjusting brush settings for different effects and ensuring users understand the versatility of the tool, regardless of whether they use a mouse or a pressure-sensitive tablet.

05:06

🎨 Advanced Techniques for Light and Shadow Adjustments

In this part, the focus shifts to applying light and dark adjustments to enhance the depth and realism of images. The instructor explains how to identify areas in an image that should be lightened or darkened based on the light source direction, using brightness and contrast adjustments for a natural effect. Key techniques include using keyboard shortcuts for brush size and hardness adjustments, strategic painting to highlight and shadow specific areas, and adjusting opacity to fine-tune the effects. This section also delves into using larger or smaller brushes for different visual effects, highlighting the importance of strategy in dodging and burning to achieve a more dimensional and realistic image.

10:13

🔧 Refining Adjustments and Utilizing Masks for Precision

The final section provides advanced tips for refining adjustments and using masks to control the application of adjustments precisely. The instructor demonstrates how to use exposure adjustments for highlights and shadows, including a trick for duplicating masks between adjustment layers for consistency. Tips for painting straight lines, building up shadows softly, and adjusting flow for subtlety with both pen and mouse are shared. The tutorial concludes with before-and-after comparisons to showcase the impact of the demonstrated techniques on enhancing depth and realism through dodging and burning. The instructor encourages feedback and promotes other tutorials, emphasizing continuous learning and exploration of Photoshop's capabilities.

Keywords

💡Dodging and Burning

Dodging and burning are techniques used in photo editing to lighten (dodge) or darken (burn) specific areas of an image, enhancing detail or focus. In the context of the video, these techniques are applied using Photoshop's new adjustment tool, aimed at adding depth and dimension to photographs by manipulating light and shadow. Examples include adjusting brightness and contrast to simulate light falling on certain parts of an image while shading others.

💡Adjustment Brush

The Adjustment Brush is a tool in Photoshop that allows users to make selective adjustments to their images. It is mentioned as part of a new feature in the beta version of Photoshop for performing dodging and burning. The tool works by creating an adjustment layer with a mask, enabling precise control over brightness, contrast, and other image properties in specific areas without affecting the whole image.

💡Pressure Sensitive Pen

A pressure sensitive pen, often used with tablets like Wacom, Sense Labs, or Microsoft Surface, detects the pressure applied by the user and adjusts the brush stroke thickness or opacity accordingly. This feature is highlighted as beneficial for dodging and burning, providing nuanced control over the editing process by changing the effect intensity based on how hard the user presses the pen against the tablet.

💡Transfer and Shape Dynamics

Transfer and Shape Dynamics are brush settings in Photoshop that affect how the brush interacts with the canvas. Transfer controls opacity based on pen pressure, allowing for softer or more pronounced effects, while Shape Dynamics adjusts the size of the brush stroke. These settings are crucial for achieving the desired effects in dodging and burning, offering users the ability to fine-tune their adjustments for more realistic results.

💡Flow vs. Opacity

Flow and Opacity are two different brush settings in Photoshop that control the amount of paint applied to an image. Flow determines how quickly the brush applies paint, allowing for gradual buildup of effect, whereas Opacity sets the transparency of the brush stroke. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of adjusting Flow for subtle, realistic dodging and burning, suggesting a low Flow setting to gently build up effects.

💡Brightness and Contrast Adjustment

Brightness and Contrast adjustments are basic yet powerful image editing options that alter the lightness and difference between light and dark areas of an image. The video describes using these adjustments with the new Photoshop tool to enhance the dodging and burning process. By adjusting brightness and contrast, users can simulate realistic lighting effects, enhancing the dimensional quality of their images.

💡Layer Mask

A Layer Mask in Photoshop is a feature that allows users to hide or reveal portions of a layer. In the context of the video, layer masks are used with adjustment layers to selectively apply dodging and burning effects. This technique enables the artist to non-destructively edit their image, offering the flexibility to adjust the intensity or area of the effect.

💡Brush Settings

Brush Settings in Photoshop provide users with the ability to customize their brush's behavior, including its size, shape, hardness, opacity, and flow. The video explains how accessing and adjusting these settings, particularly for dodging and burning, allows for more precise control over the editing effects, enabling users to achieve more detailed and nuanced enhancements.

💡Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts are combinations of keys that perform a specific function quickly in software applications. The video highlights several shortcuts for adjusting brush size, flow, and opacity, making the editing process more efficient. These shortcuts allow for rapid changes to brush settings, facilitating smoother workflow during dodging and burning.

💡Exposure Adjustment

Exposure Adjustment is a tool for modifying the overall brightness of an image. In the tutorial, exposure adjustments are compared with brightness and contrast for dodging and burning, offering an alternative method for adjusting light and shadow. This demonstrates the versatility in Photoshop for achieving desired visual effects, allowing users to experiment with different tools to find what works best for their project.

Highlights

Introduction to dodging and burning with Photoshop's new adjustment tool.

Explanation on accessing and utilizing the adjustment brush.

Detailed steps for adjusting brightness and contrast for dodging and burning.

Guidance on brush settings and their impact on editing outcomes.

Techniques for using pressure sensitivity with tablets for nuanced adjustments.

How to set up size and opacity controls based on pen pressure.

Differentiating effects of size and opacity adjustments while painting.

Strategies for using the brush settings window for advanced control.

Importance of flow setting in dodging and burning for subtle effects.

Method to use keyboard shortcuts for efficient workflow in Photoshop.

Creating and modifying adjustment layers for targeted edits.

Tips for blending light and shadow to enhance depth in images.

Demonstrating the use of exposure adjustments alongside brightness and contrast.

Applying targeted adjustments with precision using pen and brush controls.

Utilizing shortcuts and techniques for straight-line painting on architectural elements.

Final summary and encouragement for viewer engagement and further learning.

Transcripts

Right now, I'm going to show you how to do  dodging and burning using the new adjustment  

tool in Photoshop. I asked you guys if  you wanted a more in-depth tutorial. A  

lot of you said yes. So here we go. Currently,  this is only available in the beta version of  

Photoshop. So I'll give you a link if you don't  know how to install the beta. So let's grab the  

adjustment brush. So if we go down under  the brushes, you'll see that it's nested  

there. And we're going to grab the adjustment  brush and we're going to start with brightness  

and contrast. Now, I'm just going to tap  to activate it. Now, when I activate it,  

what you'll see is an adjustment layer with a  layer mask. And yes, this does work the same  

as brushes and adjustment layers with masks, but  it's just quicker and simpler to use. So just to  

show you how some of the settings work, we're  going to take the brightness and we're going  

to turn it all the way up. You'll see that in  the properties panel, and that it corresponds  

with the adjustments here in the layers panel.  Okay, so what we need is some brush settings.

So we're going to select the brushes, and I'm  going to be using the soft round brush. Now,  

if you're using something like a Wacom tablet,  Sense Labs, Microsoft surface, something that  

has a pressure sensitive pen, you have the ability  to change some things based on how hard you press.  

Let me show you how to set that up as well. Now,  you'll see two settings here. If I click, this  

will change it for size. So if I'm pressing hard,  I'll get a thicker stroke. If I press a lighter,  

I'll get a thinner stroke. And this enables  me to create different types of effects. Now,  

if the other one is turned on, this is capacity.  So that means if I'm pressing hard, we're going  

to get a lot of adjustment. If I press it lighter,  we get less. And this enables us to do things like  

blend things in. And this is very nice for dodging  and burning. In fact, if you get a pressure  

sensitive tablet, I would get it just for this  purpose to be able to blend when you're doing your  

dodging and burning. Don't worry if you're using  a mouse, this tutorial will still apply to you.

All right, but let's have a look at how we can  have more settings than just using these two  

buttons up here, although this will get you most  of the way there. If we go under window and then  

we turn brush settings on, this will bring up the  adjustments here. And under the brush settings,  

we have the ability to set opacity based  on pin pressure. Notice that transfer shows  

pin pressure set to capacity. Notice what  happens if I turn it off. See how it turns  

it off in the panel? And if I turn on size,  it will appear under shape dynamics. So this  

is just a shortcut to access these settings,  but when you go into the settings themselves,  

you've got more control. So we can choose shape  dynamics and we can choose pin pressure. But now  

when we're in here, we have the ability  to say, hey, we want a minimum diameter,  

meaning don't go any thinner than this.  Same thing when we go under the transfer,  

we have the ability to set a minimum amount  of opacity as well as lots of other settings  

in here. Now, a couple of key things. You  can use size and opacity at the same time.

So if I do, that means if I press light, I get a  thin stroke in its light. And as I press harder,  

it gets thicker and more solid. This might have  its purposes, I find it very difficult to work  

with both of those turned on at the same  time. So most of the time I'm going to be  

using transfer. Now, if you change brushes, these  settings can change. If you hit that little lock,  

that will lock them in so it doesn't matter  what brush you use, transfer will be locked on  

all the time. And if you're getting any value  out of this video, hit that subscribe button,  

turn on notifications, you won't miss any of  my videos. But for the sake of this tutorial,  

let's use the setting up here. Now, there's  another setting that's really important,  

and that's the flow. Now, I've done  another video on flow versus opacity,  

and I've determined that for dodging and burning,  flow works the best. So what we're going to do  

is we're going to drop this down to about  10%. I can drag or I can do it faster using  

the keyboard shortcuts. If you hold down the  shift key and tap one, that'll give you 10%.

You can do an increments of 10 by tapping six for  60%, 0 will give you 100%, or if you want to do a  

smaller amount, just quickly tap 08, and that'll  give you 8 %. Remember, hold down the shift key.  

We'll adjust the flow. Otherwise, we're adjusting  the opacity. And usually for flow, I find if you  

really want to be able to paint subtly, you want  something around about an eight or even a seven to  

10 %. And notice what happens as I'm brightening  this area. Now I can just slowly build this up.  

And in a much more realistic fashion. Let's look  at the strategy for dodging and burning now,  

and then I'll show you some great tips at the end  of that. So what we're going to do is we're just  

going to start again, and we're going to do two  adjustments. We're going to do lighten and darken.  

Now, under the adjustments, we have the ability to  use exposure or brightness contrast. I feel like  

brightness contrast works the best, but I'll also  show you a way to test it on the exposure. Okay,  

so what we want to do is look at this image  and think about where is the light coming?

The light's coming from over here on the left,  which is where the sun is. So all the areas that  

are facing that light should receive light and get  brightened. The areas such as here that are shaded  

from that light or facing the opposite direction  should get shadow. And by blending in that light  

and shadow, we can add a lot of depth to this  image. Okay, so with the brightness and contrast,  

we're going to start with the light first.  So I'm just going to tap on an area I know  

is going to be brightened. And once again, this  is just going to open up our adjustment layer.  

I'm going to turn the brightness all the way  up so we can easily see what's happening. Now,  

don't worry if you overdo it because we can  adjust the pass it later. All right, so now  

I'm going to go with the brush. Now, there's  another keyboard shortcut is if I hold down  

the Control option key on Mac and I drag side to  side, I can change the size of the brush or I can  

go up and down to change the hardness. If you're  working on Windows, that's the Alt, right drag.

So that's a useful thing to know. The other  way you can do it is with the bracket key. Left  

bracket key makes it smaller, right bracket  key makes it bigger. All right, so let's go  

ahead and start to paint some lighter areas in  here. Now, I'm starting at that low opacity,  

but see how when we go into that grass, see how  now it just starts to come alive. And these are  

the areas that are going to be receiving the light  because they're facing towards the sun. And here  

I'm going to use a bigger brush just to get some  of the areas like the water. I'm not going to do  

all the water. I'm going to be pretty strategic  with that. I definitely want to get that brighter  

part here to lighten that up in a little bit  in the sky. Now, I'm using a big brush. Now,  

here's the thing. If you use a larger brush,  you'll start to get more of a painter effect.  

If you use a smaller brush, you can get a  more chiseled look. Okay, so that's the big  

areas I'm just hitting here. Now I'm going to  go really small and start to do some details.

So All right, if we look at what we've done,  here we are before and after we've added some  

light. Now, if it's too much, we can adjust  the opacity. All right, what we want to do  

now is we want to create a shadow layer. So let  me just select the background. And the reason  

I'm doing that is because I'm going to use the  same adjustment. And all I need to do is just  

tap now and that will create a second instance  of this. Now, we're going to take the brightest,  

we're going to turn it all the way down.  Because we want to darken. Now, remember,  

we make some adjustments at the end where we'll  do some fine-tuning. All right, so first thing  

I want to do is a larger shadow area. So I'm  going to use a larger brush, and I'm just going  

to gently paint in some of these areas, I want to  add a little shadow. And now I'm going to use a  

smaller brush and go in and do the fine details.  Okay, let's have a look and see what we've done.  

Here's the highlight areas, and here's the shadow  areas. If I turn them on, you can see them.

If I turn them off, you can see. And notice in  these areas around here. I'm going to take the  

opacity all the way up on both of these, and  now I can adjust them using the brightness and  

contrast. So for the shadows, we can adjust how  much shadow we want, and we can also adjust the  

amount of contrast. I'm going to have a pretty  high contrast for the shadow. Let's grab the  

highlights. Let's bring the contrast down a  little bit on the highlights. And then adjust  

the brightness for where we want. The reason I'm  doing it is just to make it so we're not losing  

the color here in the water. And if we look at  this, here we are before and after. So here's  

the I don't have to paint everything again. Let  me show you. So say I wanted to do an exposure  

for the highlights. I'm going to hit an exposure.  Just tap. That'll create an exposure layer. So  

here's a highlight area. I'm just going to turn it  off. And if I grab the mask from the highlight and  

I hold down the Alt or the Option key and I drag  that, I can replace the mask inside the exposure.

And if we And if we like the adjustment maybe on  the land, but we don't like it over the water,  

we can simply choose to paint black inside  the mask over the water. And we can change  

the foreground to the background, or we can just  hit the minus key up there, and that will select  

black. Let's grab a large brush here, and now  we can just start to paint away that adjustment,  

still using that pen pressure on the flow until  we get to the amount that we like. So we're just  

reducing it but not completely eliminating  it. And that gives us a different an effect.  

So let's look at another quick tip I want to show  you guys here, and that's when we're dealing with  

straight lines. So say we're going to paint for  an exposure setting. Let me hit the left bracket  

key to make this brush smaller. And we're going  to apply some highlights to the left side of  

these columns. So I could try to paint on here,  and not too bad. But here's an easier way to do  

it. Once I start to paint, hold down the shift  key, and that will constrain it into that line.

And therefore, I don't have to worry about trying  to have a steady hand. I just follow that edge  

there, and it will keep a straight line there.  Very, very easy to do. Let's just do these top  

ones quickly. And then the same thing when I want  to do the shadows. Select here Here, grab another  

exposure adjustment by simply tapping. This time  we're going to take it down. We're going to take  

the exposure down low. And let's start on the  shadow side. Hold the shift key, constrain us,  

and I can just paint that shadow and look at that.  Start to paint it, hold down that shift key, we  

get that constraint. I'm using that pin pressure  and just using a small amount of pressure. I'm  

going to show you one more tip once I've done  this area here. So I'm just trying to paint that  

in a little bit. Okay, so sometimes to add some  shadow, now I can go for a larger brush and paint  

even softer or even turn that flow down lower. And  if you're using a mouse, keep that flow down quite  

low. And you can just start to build up some of  these shadows in these areas of that bigger brush.

And it just blends things together, adds  a little bit of a shadow effect in there.  

And we can just build that up over time.  All right, so if we look at these pillars,  

what we've done before and after, there we  are before, and there we are after. I hope  

you found this tutorial useful. Drop a comment  underneath and let me know if you did. By the way,  

I have other tutorials on dodging and burning  using the standard way with brushes. Check out  

that tutorial right there. If you're new to the  cafe, welcome. Hit the subscribe button, turn on  

notifications. You won't miss any of my tutorials.  Until next time, I'll see you at the cafe.