One thing I have always enjoyed was seeing what people do with the resources that I put out there for them to use.  Be it textures, actions, frames, brushes, etc., it is inspiring to see how they get used.  To give everyone a more central place to share their creations, I created a group on Flickr: Dubtastic’s Textures & Frames. If have used any of my resources, and have not already done so, go drop them into the group pool.  I would love to see what you have come up with.  Also, to celebrate the group, I am releasing 5 new hi-res grunge textures for free. Download them after the jump.

Enjoy!

As you can see, I have been slowly releasing some of the grunge and texture packs that I have been working on.  This pack contains 10 hi-res grunge wallpaper patterned texture files. Each image is 4256px wide x 2832px high and 300DPI.

Here is a preview of the files, available in a nice variety of colors, and work great in photomanipulation, album layout backgrounds, and other design projects. Best of all, the cost is low. Only $4!

Check out more of my resources available for download.

This is a set of h-res grunge/textured border files for you to use. Each image is 4256px wide x 2832px high and 300DPI. They were created using a variety of tools and items, such as photos of concrete and rust, scans of tape and scribbles, grunge brushes, and script fonts. These are great for your graphic design projects, photography work, photomanipulation, presentations, and album layouts.

Here is a preview:

So you have seen me release free resources as well as talk about a coming Photoshop resource DVD. There are a few reasons why I am opting to go this route for now.

1. I would love to see how some of my resources would sell prior to placing a ton of work into a DVD that might not sell at all.  Granted, I stand behind the quality of these resources, but would really like a test run.  And what better place than Graphic River?  The Envato marketplace is a great and vast system of creative resources as proof by the fact that before I could even write up something about these resources being online, I already had a couple of sales.
2. The structure is great for me, as I do not have any printed materials to produce or mail out.  All of the billing and file delivery is handled by Envato, which saves me a great deal of time and trouble.  The last thing I want to do is delay getting a disc to someone who has paid just because I am swamped with work.
3. The price is reasonable.  $6 is not a lot of money.  You spend more than that eating out for lunch.  And you can buy this set as low as $4 if you are a prepaid customer.
4. In looking at a survey I sent out, the interest in the various resources was spread out considerably.  What this option lets me do is break out the different components, so you can quickly purchase exactly what you need and not get a lot of stuff you do not want.

Thank you for reading and for your support.

I have mentioned a few times that I am working on a Photoshop resource DVD which will include actions, textures, etc.  To prove I have been working on something (ha!) I am releasing a sample pack containing 10 of the 100 new hi-res grunge textures that I plan to include on the disc.  All textures are 4256 x 2832 in size at 300DPI.  So they should be suitable for your photos, designs, etc.

To download the hi-res image, click on an image below:

Rules

• You may use these textures in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
• You are not required to link back to me, give me credit, shake my hand, walk my dog, bake me a cake, or do anything else aside from use the stock photographs.  However, a link back and credit is appreciated.
• You may NOT modify these and redistribute, even if not for profit.
• You are required to eat chips & salsa at a Mexican joint at least once in my honor.
• You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.

I found myself in need of a hi-res camera shutter vector graphic.  With a tight deadline, I search my typical haunts on the web and could not find a free vector file for this.  With an even tighter budget, I was not in the position to go purchase one.  So I created it and figured why not share?

Here is a quick preview of the file.  It is setup as plain black so you can do whatever you would like with it.  For no particular reason at all, I threw in a grunge camera shutter vector as well.  I have no clue what that could be used for at all, but hey, it’s free!

I have these broken out into two downloads.  The first contains the EPS files for those that want the vector files.  The second contains the Photoshop PSD files for those that prefer that file type.  The PSD files are about 10” x 10” setup at 300DPI so they should be large enough to work with for print.

• Download the EPS files
• Download the PSD files

For those who ask about permissions and how these files can be used, they are free to be used in your personal and commercial work without any credit due back.  You are not allowed, however, to redistribute these. If you end up using them, please drop a link here on the blog.

Enjoy!

If you are like me, you love finding resources online for your work.  When they are hi-res that is great.  When they are hi-res AND free that is even better.  Here are 8 new hi-res grunge textures for you to use in your work.  All of the images are 4256px x 2832px and 300DPI.

To download the hi-res version, click on the image below.  Terms of use are available at the hi-res page.

TXTR26:

TXTR27:

TXTR28:

TXTR29:

TXTR30:

TXTR31:

TXTR32 (Not sure what happened here, but this one is a bit smaller than the others):

TXTR33:

If you use these, I would love to see your creations.  Credit/links back are not required but encouraged and appreciated.

I was out playing with the camera today, trying to snag some shots of the leaves.  Not that it would be difficult, considering my yard is being overtaken by them.  After taking a few quick shots, I brought them into Photoshop.  I wanted to enhance the image just a notch with additional sharpness, and since it was something that I could use again elsewhere, I thought others might as well.

Here is the shot out of the camera (D700, 50mm, f/1.4, ISO 200, 1/2000 shutter):

Not too shabby, but it could benefit from a little punch.  First, I started with the sharpening and then threw a solid color adjustment layer on top (I used #ac49da as the color).  I masked out the middle portion of the adjustment layer to let the green come through a notch.  Here is the final image:

If you are interested in the sharpening action, you may download it here. Prints can be purchased here.

There are many ways to soften skin in Adobe Photoshop. Recently I found a process that I have enjoyed, and one that is quite simple as it only involves a few steps.  Given that those steps are typically the same each time, I packaged the steps up into a quick Photoshop Action and am offering here for free download.

Download Photoshop Action here.

Installation
In Adobe Photoshop CS4, open your Actions palette (ALT + F9) and then click on the drop down to the top right of the menu.  Select “Load Actions” from the menu.  Browse to where you saved the Skin Softener action and load the action.

It will then appear in your Action Palette.

Given what the action does, it is recommended that you begin with a flattened image.  Select the “Dub’s Skin Softener” action and click the “Play” icon to fire off the process.

Follow the dialog boxes and you are done!

I have been scanning in old slides taken by my great-grandfather.  Some of these slides are really interesting to look at.  While scanning them, I came across an empty frame.  Thinking it would make for a decent TtV, I scanned it in.  Bringing it into Photoshop for a few minor adjustments and texture additions seemed to just polish off the process.

View the entire set or download each image individually:

Dubtastic TtV 001
Dubtastic TtV 002
Dubtastic TtV 003
Dubtastic TtV 004
Dubtastic TtV 005

Usage Guidelines:

1. You may use these stock photos (those only marked as such) in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
2. A link back and credit is appreciated.
3. You may NOT modify these and redistribute, even if not for profit.
4. You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.
5. By using this TtV image, you agree to smack your significant other on the right butt cheek while screaming my name.  If you are currently single, any random person will suffice.
6. If you are with a magazine publisher and wish to cover mount these on a CD for inclusion in a specific issue, please let me know and I would be glad to provide you a single zip file.

Tinkering around a bit this afternoon with some camera raw settings and thought I would share: Afternoon Warmth.

Here is the original image, straight out of the camera  (70mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 200):

As you can see, I have been enjoying the new lens (Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8). The above image is nothing to get excited about.  It is just a few leaves with some bokeh background.  Shooting in raw really gives you so much more control over your photos and allows you to make some quick adjustments.  One aspect about camera raw that I love is the ability to save your settings and reapply them to other photos. For example, check this image out below:

Obviously some post processing in Photoshop, yet the foundation was set within the raw settings.  I also ran a few actions courtesy of littlemisspatricia to bring in the colors that I wanted. Once I had the file where I wanted it prior to running the actions, I saved the camera raw preset.  The presets are easy to use.  Simply save the file to a specific directory (I keep all of my presets under the Program Files > Adobe Photoshop CS3 > Presets directory).  When you open camera raw, right click in the menu area (see below) and select “Load Settings”.  Browse to where you saved your files and you are good to go.

Below is the original image with the “Afternoon Warmth” preset applied to it (as well as increased vignetting):

DOWNLOAD: Afternoon Warmth Camera Raw Preset