How to create and paint with Pixel art in Photoshop CC and Under.

Some call it pixel art, a chosen few may call it index painting.  Ether way there are some cool tricks to painting with pixels.

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This tutorial was originally made by the video game artist Dan Fessler.  You can read the original tutorial here.

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First of all you need to have Photoshop installed, I think this technique works with all versions of the program.

Download this Dither Pattern made by Dan Fessler

If you want to make a Game Boy Classic type of pixel art, download this gradient.

When you download either files, just double click the pattern/gradient to install it to photoshop.  Even if it does not look like anything happened, it should be installed.

If you want to see how it works; you can start off with a small rectangular selection then add a gradient adjustment layer.

Instead if your painting skills are not up to par and you just want to make something pixelated, you can use this cute cat picture I found.   If you have a picture already, shrink it down to under 500 pixels (if it is not already).  It is best if it is small because hi res TVs did not exist in the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Classic age.  If it is small, you can see the pixelation more clearly.

Assuming you do not have a picture already, copy, create a new document then paste the kitty picture to Photoshop.

Now add these adjustment layers in order: a gradient map, posterize, black and white and lastly the pattern with the Dither Name "Dither_25/50/75_Less".  I think this one works best.  It looks like the pattern fill icon in the picture below.

Optionally you can add a levels and curves adjustment layer then click on the auto button.  It made the kitty's eyes stand out.

When you are done, it should look like this. ↓

If you want to paint with indexed colors, select the eyedropper tool and change the sample pull down menu then change it to "Current and Below".  This way you will not select the colors of the final output but the hues that make the colors.

Also if you think about it, is pixel art the new age pointillism?

Audio Ducking/Sidechaining in Adobe Audition

Have you ever seen a movie where the music overpowers the dialog and you do not know what the actors are saying?  I am sure that has happened from time to time.

I am going to show you how they should have done it with Adobe Audition.

Some say it is audio ducking or or side-chaining.  Toe - may - toe, toe - mah - toe right?

Free Stock Music
Voice Clips from Movies

I provided a couple of links if you do not have any equipment. If you were to use the links, for voice clips, try downloading something with no background music already in it.

Launch Adobe Audition (I am using the CC version, I believe this works for CS6 as well).

Create a New Multi-track Session

Then add two mono audio track sessions (preferably. If you are doing stereo; let me know if the tutorial does not work.  I will change it.)

Import the two audio files.  Assuming one is a music track and the other is a voice track.  Name the tracks "music" and "voice".

Now the fun part.

Go to the "Mixer" tab in the main window.

Then click on the triangle in the FX panel in the music, select amplitude and compression, then click on dynamics processing.

A window will pop up with a straight blue line, there is a white dot in the middle of the line.  Try to line the middle dot to -40db on input and output. (horizontal is input levels, vertical is output).  The last dot that is in the upper right hand corner, drag it down to make it parallel with the middle dot. 

Now lastly, go to the voice track and highlight over the send menu (by default the tooltip will way "Send: None"). Select Side Chain, Create then Dynamics Processing.

At this point, you are done.  If it works, the music will quiet down when the voice comes in.

How to have Different/Extended Desktop Wallpapers on Multiple Monitors

The concept is very simple, let us say you wanted to have two different pictures on both monitors. The way to go about it is this:

For example, the monitors we will use is 1920px by 1080 px.  The two monitors are right next to each other.  Any fancy monitors that are stacked on top of each other have the same idea as this tutorial.

Let us use these two pictures, both are 1920X1080.

Save these pictures and open them in your favorite picture editor.  Let us do Microsoft Paint (or the mac equivalent).  Then close them out.

As soon as Paint loads, click on the re-size button.

Click on the 'pixels' radio button.

Un-check maintain aspect ratio.

Now I will do the math for you, 1920 times two is 3840.  Enter in 3840 into horizontal.  Now save the blank picture where you want to keep the final product in a folder you created for the picture.

Since you opened up the two pictures you want to make into a wallpaper in Paint, open up the first one then do CTRL+A to select everything.  Then CTRL+C to copy it.

Open up your wallpaper canvas that we created then do CTRL+V to paste it.  Use your mouse and the arrow keys to fine tune its position.  Clicking outside the pasted picture will commit its position.  If it is wrong, CTRL+Z then CTRL+V to try again.

Do the same thing with the other picture but this time before you paste it, zoom into the upper right corner of the first picture; then do CTRL+V.  Use your mouse to move the selection around then use the arrow keys to perfect it.  Make sure there is no white space between the pictures.

Save your new wallpaper.

Right click on the desktop then click on personalize.

Click on desktop background.

Now click on Picture Position and select Tile.

Now this operates by folder location and not file location so you can rotate pictures around.  Find the folder you created for the picture and select it.  When you open it up, it should fade the old background into the new one.  Click on save changes and now your monitors should look like this when you are done.