PHOTOSHOP® CS DOWN & Dirty TRICKS

Real Ripped Edges

For years now we've all been doing the “cheesy Quick Mask with Diffuse filter version” to create edge effects, but generally the pros don't use it—instead they use third-party frame plug-ins, and other stock photo sources for a more realistic edge effect. Well, I came up with a way to get edges that look like the ones the pros use, and although it takes a little more effort than the “Quick Mask w/Diffuse cheesy version,” it looks vastly better.

Quick Tip: Cool trick for eliminating backgrounds You can stroke a path with the Brush tool by going to the Paths palette and choosing Stroke Path from the pop-down menu. When the Stroke Path dialog appears, just choose Brush from the Tool pop-up menu. You can use that same technique ...