The Suite Spot

The name 4T was always only a temporary thing, and as there has been a bit of a gap and there are going to be a new load of podcasts coming out shortly, now would be a good time to get the new name out there: The Suite Spot. You’ll notice several things changing over the next couple of months or so, including a new theme for these pages, and of course new fortnightly podcast episodes under the new name – all in time for the CS5 release which of course is starting to loom on the horizon (as you’ve probably guessed from the buzz on many other sites). I think the new name is more descriptive and jovial, and will have a new format to the old 4T casts – I hope you’ll like the new name and the new episodes, too – keep an eye on the blog for more details in the very near future.

This week a really basic random tip is how to make quick duplicates in your Adobe Design Premium apps. I am often surprised to find so many people are completely unaware of this basic skill so here it is presented in video, and in five apps!

 

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My new Photoshop for Web course is now running exclusively via Certitec at the centres in Bristol, Cardiff and London. It’s a one-day course for existing Photoshop users who are already familiar with the program but need to build their knowledge and skills for screen output – graphic designers from a print background and photographers are perhaps good examples (although it is of course open to all).

If you’re one of my small-but-steadily-growing Facebook fans then you’ll also get 20% off the cost of the course – that’ll save you about seventy quid by my reckoning!! I must point out that the offer can’t be used in conjunction with any other run by Certitec, is only available by booking directly with them and is also subject to verification (they’ll email me to make sure that you are ‘on the list’).

My nickname for the PS ACE Prep course that I deliver at Certitec in Cardiff is “Photoshop Top Gun” and now – just for fun – every delegate that completes the course is given their own ‘handle’, just like the aviators. Out of the four taking the course at the beginning of this week only two made it to the end – one delegate baled at the last minute and another had to eject halfway through. It is a gruelling two days designed to really shake you down and identify the areas where your knowledge is weak so that you might work on them and become hopefully exam-ready at a future point in time. You also pick up some excellent tips and tricks, and see areas of Photoshop that you probably didn’t even know existed – so it is worthwhile if you want to see how good you really are and see where you can develop your skills.

My congratulations then to Sharon Cohen who will be known from now as “Smoky” and Grace Elliott who has become “Kestrel”. They at least now know where to direct their efforts before attempting to take the exam if they choose to do so and even if they don’t they now have an idea of just how big a beastie Photoshop is…