Download - Crispy Gallery
Having problems trying to find a light-weight gallery thats fully customizable? Look no further, the Crispy Gallery by Shotgun Mag has loads of mouth watering low-cal features & a sweet tasting built in pre-loader.
What are the benefits of the gallery??- Lightweight javascript file
- Dynamically add as many images as needed by simply adding additional HTML code
- Image Pre-Loader which pre-loads images as the web page loads
- Custom HTML tags allows you to switch between mouse over, or mouse click event to update main images
- Built in comment field to accompany the image within the gallery, again loaded through simple HTML
- No file size or image gallery size restrictions
- Content can be delivered anywhere within your webpage with the inclusion of a simple HTML tag
- Comment field can be CSS styled as if its was text within your page
- Quick navigation allows flowing viewing of all gallery images, with no loading times
- Randomizer for true dynamic content delivery
How can I integrate in my site ?
In four easy steps you can have a dynamic image gallery on your own site:
1. Please download the Crispy Gallery source files for this tutorial, then upload them to your site
2. Edit your HTML page to include the gallery output HTML
<div id="imageHolder">
<img id="startimage" src="YOUR_START_IMAGE_URL"
width="388" height="255" />
</div>Inserting this HTML causes a <DIV> element is created which has one item within it, a single image which we will dynamically change. The id of the div, <div id="imageHolder"> must have the name imageHolder so that our code can find this element and update it. You can edit the width and height to fit your image size.
3. Edit your HTML page to include the thumbnails panel
<a href="content/project_images/image1.gif"
rel="crispyimage/mouseover" rev="imageHolder" title="image1" >
<img src="content/project_thumbs/1.gif" width="19" height="19" />
</a>To add an image to the gallery you simply need to include a thumbnail with a special <a> tag. You can add as many as you like as long as they are coded one after each other. Several elements of the <a> are special and used by the gallery code , firstly the rel attribute is used to store the event type you would like to use , you can use two values:
crispyimage/mouseover - this will change the image when the user moves the mouse over the thumb
crispyimage/click - this will change the image when the user click the mouse on the thumb
All gallery items must be the same type of event. Secondly we use the rev attribute to tell our dynamic gallery the name of the object we will be updating , remember we set that in step 2? And finally the title attribute is used to send the comment you would like to see accompany the image, in our example the name of the image
4. Add code for additional feature you need
<a href="javascript:crispygallery.fetchimage_previous();"></a>
Add this anchor to an image or text will create a link which loads the previous image in the series to the gallery.
<a href="javascript:crispygallery.fetchimage_next();"></a>
Add this anchor to an image or text will create a link which loads the next image in the series to the gallery.
<a href="javascript:crispygallery.fetchimage_previous();"></a>
Add this anchor to an image or text will create a link which loads the previous image in the series to the gallery.
<a href="javascript:crispygallery.fetchimage_rnd();"></a>
Add this anchor to an image or text will create a link which loads a random image in the series to the gallery.
Download, add the gallery, add your thumbnails, add your extras and you are good to go!
PS Tutorial : Replacing the sky
Why put up with a poor sky in your otherwise perfect shot, when you can put a better one¨ This quick tutorial will guide you through the steps to replace the sky with a new one of your choice.
Some factors in photography you can never rely on, one of which is the weather. An all too familiar situation in photography is looking at what could be a strong image, but is lacking an interesting sky!? This tutorial will show you how to replace your original sky, with a new one which you have pinched from another image. (a good place to look maybe a free stock image library)
This is commonly used in digital photography and many photographers take advantage of software to aid their creative work in this way.
Prepare your images:
1) Open up your images you wish to work with, (preferably an image at 300 dpi, and choose another image for your sky, ideally a larger image with the same resolution - to allow more freedom when resizing/ positioning the sky later on..) Now begin with your photo/picture youd like to add the sky to:
A good idea here is to create a duplicate layer of your original photo before you make any adjustments to it, just so that you can go back for reference or to try again etc.
2) To do this, right click on your picture in the layers window, or ctrl + click (mac) and select Duplicate Layers.. Turn the layer visibility off on the original layer by clicking on the small eye symbol to the left of the layer. This will help to not confuse you as you are staring at two identical images on top of one another.
Removing your original sky from your image.
There are many ways in which you can go about doing this, but today we will focus on using the Pen tool, using paths to select an area of the image. If you are unfamiliar with using the Pen tool to create paths, feel free to see our introduction tutorial on the
(3) Select the Pen tool from the tools panel on the left of the screen, make sure paths is selected at the top¨ and begin tracing a path closely around the edge of your horizon/building/object where it meets the sky.¨ However precise you choose to do this is up to you, obviously the more meticulous you are with the pen tool, the more accurate your selection will be, which will make for more of a clean cut. This will also help when adjusting the image further.¨ By zooming in on the document, which you can either do by using the navigator window, or by using the shortcut cmd + or - for zooming in/out, you can be far more accurate.
(4) When your path selection is complete, click on the Path tab which is found on the same panel as layers channels.¨ Go to the bottom of the window, roll over the path options and select the load path as selectionoption.¨ Click back into the layer and if you are happy with the selection, hit backspace or up to the top menu>Edit>Clear and delete that worthless old sky from the layer.
(5)Adding the wide blue yonder:
You now have your picture ready for adding a new sky.
As you are going to place the sky image beneath your layer in the layers window, you dont necessarily need to repeat the process of cutting out the image as precisely as you did with your main photo, so I wouldnt bother.
6) Look at the bottom of the layers window and click the icon to create a new layer.¨Now click on the this new layer and drag it beneath the picture you have removed the sky from.
(7) Open up an amazing new sky of your choice and by using the Move Tool found at the top of the tools, (its the daddy) Drag your new sky into the layer you just created. You could also copy from another document and paste into this layer. Position the new sky as you see fit, using the Move Tool, further messing around with distorting and rotating can be done by going up to the top menu, and Edit>transform. Remember to hold shift down to scale accurately if you dont want any distortion.¨(If you are editing with a high res. image you will have more freedom to re-size it).
(8) When happy with it, select the Rectangular Marquee tool from the tools panel, then click and drag a selection around the sky and the original picture.¨When selected, inverse the selection, by either shift+cmd+I or by selecting inverse from the Select drop down on the top menu bar.¨Now delete this selection on the new sky layer, and you will have a border around your image, (you can also cut out unwanted excess of the sky by cropping the whole image using the Crop Tool, if you dont want a border).
You now have the enjoyable process of making it look like it was there in the first place, (unless you dont want to, of course).
Cleaning Up the main image:
Start by making any changes to the original picture. As you can see I have some white areas still left from the original sky, which is looking poor with the new sky in place. A quick way of removing this is by going back into the paths panel, and selecting the original path you created earlier, and by selecting the load path as a selection again.¨(9) Click back on the original layer again. Now go up to the top menu and click on Select>Expand and enter the amount of pixels you wish (start with just 1 and see what works) you can then trim down the selection further by deleting it after selection.
As with everything in Photoshop there are many ways to achieve something.
Another way of cleaning this up a little, is to use the Blur tool after adjusting the strength at the top and selecting a brush size. Then run the blur tool along your cut-out edge.
Or - (10) by selecting the Burn Tool from the panel, and selecting highlights at the top, and running along the edge. By selecting highlights, the burn tool will focus on darkening the white areas that are there.
(11) Go up to the top and click on Image Adjustments. Use the Brightness and Contrast and Hue and saturation tools to level up the sky with the existing picture.¨ As my main image is a little darker, damper and moodier than this bright sky, I chose to dull down my sky by first de-saturating it a bit, then by knocking down the brightness using the Hue and Saturation adjustments.¨ I then put the contrast up, and the brightness down a little.¨notes:¨When Editing images, subtly making changes gradually works better, rather than just cranking the contrast right up for instance.¨ You may wish to spend more time adjusting the original picture to suit the sky, or by using these adjustments on both to merge them more seamlessly together.
Adjusting the whole image / Finishing touches
When you are quite happy with the way the separate elements are looking together, adjusting both at the same time will join both the new sky and the picture together better. ¨You could do this by just selecting two layers together by clicking on the top layer, then, whilst holding cmd, and clicking on the new sky layer. Then go to the bottom left of the panel, and click on the small link icon, this links the 2 layers.¨ You can further combine them by using the drop down menu from the layers panel and selecting merge layers. (cmd+E) so you can fuse the new sky layer, and the picture together as one layer to edit, if you wish to apply filters to the image as a whole, or to use adjustments from the image menu at the top of the screen.
Adjustment Layers:
If you wish to still keep these elements separate to allow for further editing, you can also make adjustments to both by using an Adjustment Layer which, if placed on the top of the layer order, will affect those beneath it.
12) This is also found at the bottom of the window, click on the Icon and select what type of adjustment layer youd like to use.¨ I first used levels, then applied a photo filter using a brown filter to give it more of a rustic look.¨ Adjustment layers are a great way of applying an adjustment, without affecting the original layers. You can go back and tweak each layer as much as you like. To adjust each adjustment layer, just double click on the icon on the layer itself in the layers window.
Have a good play around with these to see what will benefit your image. Here are a few examples of what different adjustment layers have produced with this image. ¨Dont forget all the filters Photoshop has to offer, and finishing touches such as the Sharpen tools, and the Dodge and Burn tools too.
Thanks for reading, hope this tutorial was helpful.
PS Tutorial : Slow Shutter Effect
Shotgun Mag teaches you how to create this beautiful slow shutter text effect. Back due to its popularity on SGM2, this new tutorial offers an enhanced method of creating this great lighting effect. By listening to your comments from SGM2 we have ensured that the new version is loads easier to follow! Get stuck in!
Ok, firstly you need to create a new document at whatever size you wish to work at. I have used 1920 x 1200 because thats the size of my screen. You do this by pressing Cmd + N, unless your going to print the final piece then use RGB as it gives you a broader range of colours to work with. If your printing, then use CMYK. I also like to work using 16bit colour or above, it makes your gradients look much smoother.
Once your workspace is setup you will need to apply a base gradient (1. + 2.) Select the gradient tool by holding the mouse button down on the fill tool, then double click the gradient just below the menu bar. You now have the opportunity to create a custom gradient. Experiment by adding in different colours (click just below gradient bar & click color to change it) and moving them around (drag colour pointer left and right)
Once your happy click OK. Drag your gradient line whilst holding Shift to make sure you get an even gradient. If your not happy then try again, just hit Cmd + Shift + Z.
Now you have a good base it’s time to create the path. This will eventually be the text itself so you need to try and be as artistic as possible. Having some knowledge of paths will help quite a lot so to complement this tutorial nicely we have created a really easy to follow Paths tutorial, to read it now.
Create your new layer and select the Pen Tool (1.) and select the options below the menu bar as shown in the diagram. Now all you have to do is draw and drag (2.) your points until you have a flowing piece of text or some other dynamic shape, a smooth curvy line works best.
Now you need to stroke your line with a fine white brush. Select the brush tool and set the size to 2px (1.) Now click the paths tab in the layers menu and then click the Brush button (2.) This will stroke your line with white which represents the lights source and it’s brightest part.
To create a realistic outer glow don’t use the default settings! Right click on your new layer and select blending options, then select the outer glow option which will give you the menu shown in the diagram (1.) Now adjust the settings so they match the ones in the diagram. If your using a different overall colour then select once close to it, I have used a slightly lighter green than the background.
You now have a decent glowing path. The next part of the tutorial explains how to customize the whole image and make it unique so don’t feel limited by what you do next, it’s all about experimenting! There are lots of uses for this effect such as simulating moving lights in photo’s, creating cool masked animated light in flash, or just creating illustrations. We are creating a static wallpaper so if your ready, lets continue…
Firstly, we are going to enhance the background layer with some more simulated light. Do this by selecting a nice complementary colour in it’s brightest shade (1.) and a big 300px brush. The rest is up to you, but I recommend working on a fresh layer as this gives you the flexibility to build up a few colours. It also helps if you don’t like how its going, a bigger brush sometimes helps.
Once your happy with the background you will probably want to add some depth by copying your original linework. Do this by dragging the glowing line layer onto the new layer button in the layers menu twice (1.) This will look like to much at first but the next stage will really improve the image.
Go to the menu and click Filter Blur Guassian Blur and apply about a strength 5 blur. With this layer selected slightly rotate it using Cmd + T and you may want to distort it by holding Cmd and dragging a corner when the transform handles appear.
To add a really dynamic moving effect get your second duplicated layer and apply a radial blur to it. Do this by going to the menu and clicking Filter Blur Radial blur. Playing with different strengths will help you get the look thats right for your image. Its fairly strong on my piece hence the very opaque look. Less strength will create a more ‘ vibrational ‘ effect.
Finally I have added a few ways of making your artwork even more distinctive. The possibilities are endless but here’s what I’ve done.
Another new glowing text layer with a red glow has been added to bring in some contrast. In order to stop it overriding the main text I have used the eraser on the line crossovers.
To bring out the line connections I have used the dodge tool on a 50% strength. This can be found by holding down the mouse button on the 14th tool on the toolbar. Set it up like you would a brush and get creative. It sometimes works best if you flatten the entire image before you get started.
Finally, to add some adjustable contrast to the image I flattened the whole thing and copied it to another layer (like I did earlier with the path itself). Selecting the Overlay blending mode and adjusting it’s opacity will give you a ‘ deeper ‘ image.
A nice variation of the Slow Shutter 2 tutorial finished as a wallpaper for you to download and use for free on your computer. click the image above for download.
PS Tutorial : The Pen Tool
From our experience at Shotgun Front we have found that one of the most basic tools in Photoshop is still not being used correctly. We thought it was about time that a decent, fully comprehensive tutorial on the pen tool and its uses with your own artwork was available online, so here it is.
Ok, for those of you who don’t know, the Pen Tool is used to create line shapes called paths. Paths are used as a route for a brush to follow, an outline to cut out an image, an easily variable shape to animate with and also a good way to translate compressed imagery to print equipment. The great thing about paths is that they are adjustable, create a very clean line and enable really smooth curves & shapes.
(1.) When you hold down the mouse on the pen tool you get five options, however, I use shortcuts which i’ll explain later as they save a serious amount of time. The option you want to select is the standard pen tool.
(2.) Up on the menu bar there is the option to save a preset version of the tool so once you have setup to use it the quick way (our way) then you can save the settings here if you like.
(3.) We are specifically talking about paths rather than shape layers (which I never use by the way) so select the second button on the first row of three options. The buttons to the right of this allow you to use the freeform version of the pen tool and preset shapes which are not being discussed here as they are fairly basic to get to grips with once this tutorial is done. If its not selected already then chose the first button.
(4.) I have Auto Add/Delete turned on as it saves time. The next row of buttons allows you to connect, intersect blah blah blah. I us the last option (Exclude) but it wont really effect your work here.
The first most important thing you should learn is how to quickly position your points and pull out a curve. Because you have Auto Add/Delete selected you all you have to do is click once for your first point (1.) and click again for your second point (2.) You will notice that the pen tool automatically creates a line between the points - this is your path.
In order to curve your line around objects or shape the line to your requirements you now have to add points in between your corners/ends (1.+2.) By clicking about half way down your line you will notice a new point (adjustment handle) To pull this out into a curve hold Cmd and drag away from the straight line (3.)
Try dragging the point around and see how it effects the overall shape of the curve. You will now learn how to manipulate the path to even out your curve, form corners and create other shapes.
Knowing how to manipulate the path correctly is very important. We are using the same path from the first section of this tutorial for examples sake.
(1.) Switching back to a sharp angle is very easy and often required when tracing around the edge of an awkward shape. All you have to do with your central point is simply hold Alt and Click on it. You will notice the path snap back to a sharp angle. A good way to make a perfect right angle & straight line is to frag your corner point whilst holding Shift.
(2.) To switch back to a curve again click on your corner point, hold Alt and drag the mouse upward to the right. Its a good idea to experiment here so have a play with the new adjustment handles and see what different types of curve you can create. Once again, if you hold Cmd + and drag your curve point around you will see how it can be maneuvered about. This combined with the adjustment gives you lots of flexibilty for shape creation.
(3.) To create a multi directional curve all you have to do is click the centre point, hold Alt and drag to the opposite corners. Particularly useful when you want to create a smooth curve around an object but want to keep the points to a minimum. Generally, the less points you use, the better/smoother your shape will be.
(4.) If you create a shape like this then chances are you have crossed over the path by dragging your center point the wrong way. If your going to use the path to cut out a shape then you don’t want this to happen. If your creating a path for a line to follow this is fine and works really well with our Slow Shutter tutorial.
As I mentioned before, creating your desired shape with the smallest number of points possible will result in smoother curves. Its actually possible to create a smooth ellipse or circle with just two points when the adjustment handles are used as you position the points rather than editing them after they have been placed. This will help you speed up your creation of shapes and create better shapes all together…
(1.) Click and hold the mouse button down to create your first point but rather than letting go drag the mouse up until you see a long vertical adjustment line. This now means you have created a point that will cause a curve straight away when you click your next point.
(2.) Click your second point to the right but again, don’t let go. Drag downwards and you will notice the top line is curved without a central point. All you have to do when you wish to connect a paths ends together is click on the open point you wish to connect to. You can now adjust your ellipse as normal by holding Alt and dragging your adjustment handles.
By now you probably have the main jist of how to position and adjust points. But what are the uses of creating good paths? and how do you apply these to your artwork? - Find out now…
(1.) A standard path can be deselected by holding Cmd and clicking anywhere on the screen. To re-select it hold Cmd and click on it again. This will be useful if you are creating multiple unconnected shapes but want to apply the same effect to all of them.
(2.) Although I rarely use the fill tool directly on a path it’s usually quicker than creating a selection first although I don’t think it’s as flexible. To use this just select a foreground colour and click the button shown in the diagram above (2.) This can be found in the Paths toolbox (see the tab on the layers toolbox…)
(3.) Tracing a line shape with a brush is a great for smooth artwork, illustrations and changing animations. All you have to do is select a suitable brush, it works with any size, shape or colour. Then click the button as shown in the diagram (3.) also located in the Paths toolbox. This will create the line on the layer your working on (see the layers toolbox) but you can save the path for use/adjustment later.
(4.) Now, I use the Convert to Selection button all the time. It gives you great flexibility when you want to simulate lighting on an object because you can just use a brush within it or gradient fill it etc etc. The obvious purpose however is for cutting out an object. Because paths are adjustable you can work your way around an image and just click convert (4.) which is also found in the Paths toolbox. Your then free to copy and paste, delete, stroke or overlay your object perfectly!
flash pack
To save you time we have put together our last 3 vector packs into one post, download them all here free and use them in your artwork how you wish. There’s no limitation on that by the way, commercial use is allowed!
Our vector packs come in .eps format meaning you can enlarge the artwork to any scale without loosing any quality. As we know some photoshop users have a few problems when using vectors we have put together a short tutorial on importing various file types into Photoshop. Click here to view it…
Please give credit when sharing online, thanks.