With the release of Adobe’s Creative Suite 5.5, there was some confusion over the state of Photoshop. By now, you’ve probably assimilated the fact that there is no such thing as Photoshop CS5.5. The free update to Photoshop CS5 (a.k.a. Photoshop 12.0.4) is the same thing as the version that ships with CS5.5 (a.k.a. Photoshop 12.1), with the exception of the latter’s support for Adobe’s new subscription model. Nonetheless, what both versions of the program possess is the Photoshop SDK that provides the internal plumbing needed to create iOS, Android, or Air apps that talk to, play with, and— in some cases— might even help you work in Photoshop.
In fact, this week Adobe released three such creations for the iPad into the App Store, and we’ve got a free mini-course from Deke McClelland to show them to you. Each app ‘speaks’ to Photoshop from the iPad over a wireless network, no cables necessary. Color Lava ($2.99) allows you to mix custom colors (with your fingertips of course) and set them as the foreground color in Photoshop. Eazel ($4.99) lets you make watercolor-esque paintings, controlling all aspects with a ‘hands-up’ display that you can’t see until you ask for it. And finally, Adobe Nav ($1.99) allows you to offload and customize the toolbox in Photoshop, as well as turn your iPad into an open (untethered) document viewer. Yes, these Adobe apps cost extra, but Deke’s overview, Photoshop Touch First Look, is completely free on lynda.com. Here’s an excerpt in which Deke shows how you connect the apps to Photoshop:
View this entire course and more in the lynda.com Online Training Library®.
Have you downloaded any of these apps yet? What do you think so far? My opinion is that one is silly, one is fun but of questionable value, and one might actually help you walk down the hall (say, at a certain headquarters in San Jose) and show someone what you’re working on without having to unplug or upload. I’m curious to see what apps you might envision expanding your Photoshop universe.
Related links:
courses on Photoshop in the Online Training Library®
courses by Deke McClelland in the Online Training Library®
