Leslie D. Martin - Project 7

Leslie D. Martin / Beautiful Car
click on the photo to view my gallery

1) Please describe you preferred method of creating text and the layer effects to make it stand out.

I type. Seriously. There is only one way to create text, though there are multiple ways to use text.

As far as making it stand out, I guess it really depends on where it is and what the piece is about. I find I have been using the outside glow with very low settings. The result is that the glow is more subtle than other methods and seems more suitable for a wide variety of styles.

2) In which way did you like the results from using clipping masks for text and shapes? Do you think you will use them in future projects?

I think clipping masks for objects will be of limited use for me since it seems to only be usable with vector objects; Since I am not a "graphics" person I doubt I will get into vector illustration much. On the other hand, the clipping for text will be handy.

3) What was your experience using the pen tool to create selections? Were you able to modify your selection with the path adjustment tools?

It works for objects without much edge detail but I don't see it being very useful for the type of thing one normally encounter in images. I did some modifications and found them somewhat unpredictable and difficult to control. Paths tended to go in unexpected directions, especially when adding points around curves.

4) What challenges did you experience using the shape tools? Did you create a custom shape? What was it?

Rather straight forward. I didn't try any custom shapes.

5) How will you use Smart Objects in future projects?

I'm not sure. The single biggest "advantage" of promoting a layer object to a "smart object" seems to be that they are non destructible objects and that anything you do can be undone, but if you keep an unaltered copy of a layer you can accomplish the same thing. It does seem that smart objects may improve the file size but since more images end up being exported to a non-PS format, I'm not sure that is a huge advantage (unless you are working with huge files within PS on a memory constrained computer).

I do see where they can be useful if they are linked to external file such as the Illustrator file used in the Retro Toyz image for keeping objects current.

6) What keyboard shortcuts are you using regularly now?

I am adding D and X for color selections, though I do not use them "regularly".

The link to my Project 7 page is here and the above photo. I also have begun keeping a general index page up dated and that can be found here.