You an easy solution that would look better would to be just to retake the photo with the PANARAMA MODE selected on a person's cell phone. Then the images are also stitched together a little better.  Plus you will have an image that you do not have to play with to align.  Getting rid of all those seams would make a better image. Some cameras also have PANARAMA MODE as well. Just another option. ... View more

You will not be able to get a flat tone or the same tone across each of their faces.  Because you took the picture with a hard light hitting the one side of their face, it can not really be changed too much. You can play with it in the Camera Raw filter, but you will not get a cohesive tone across the faces. Usually before I do a shoot somewhere I go with an assistant to the location to do a sunlight test.  See where the sun falls on a person the day before I want to do a shoot (at the same time of day that I have planned to do the shoot).  If the sun is too bright then I will try to do it at a different time.  Granted there are variable like cloud cover that can change the lighting. If I am not shooting up into the sky then a a day with a few clouds is perfect as it will filter the light better.  If not then I bring a reflector to bounce light on my subject's face.  Granted with a group... bouncing light is probably not that easy. I am guessing this photo was spur of the moment.  Which is ok.  You created a natural group picture that looks good.  The overall tone of the image just needs tweaked.  The hard light is ok for this shot, unless you are planning on using it for a team shot for a company website.... then I would reconsider redoing it. But alas, you can not remove the hard light perfectly from the side of their faces. ... View more

So to create the white underbase. Duplicate all your other layers into a group then merge them.  Use the Magic Wand tool to select the empty area.  Then click Select>Similiar.  Then choose Select>Inverse.  Then Edit>Fill and choose white.... click ok. Move this layer to the bottom of your layers. And there you have your white base layer that matches the exact shape of your other layers. ... View more

In the text on the second image it should say: Here I scaled the picture so that it fits the width of the frame. But then there was blank space so I filled it black. The first 'black' was went to be 'blank'. Sorry about that. ... View more

Ok.... keep the Polaroid style frame as the top layer. Then Resize the image the best you can.  You will have to crop the image probably to fit.  So pick out the best area of the photo that you want to feature. There is no way to resize a photo to fit a certain shape without cropping it.  If you scale the entire photo down to fit the Polaroid style frame you will have space around the photo on top/bottom or on the sides (depending if it is a landscape or portrait photo).  Which will look strange probably in that style of frame.  So I say scale it to where the part of the photo that you want to feature fits without the space around it. ... View more

Share the image and we can give you ideas on how to improve the picture. ... View more

Are the frames digital or real? If they are digital then you just have to scale the images best as possible.  Realize that it might be hard to fit them exactly, parts might need to be cropped. Even with real frames, that happens.  Also you will notice some people use the mat boards with the center cut out to so that the image does not have to be cut.  This leads to the photo not filling the frame but then the whole image is shown. If it is a digital frame... better to resize the frame to the size of the image.  Scale and stretch it to the desired size. ... View more

Say good morning to wife and then to Roo! Then get my creative juices flowing with a nice breakfast! Watch a little BBC and away I go! ... View more

To be honest it depends on your computer.  But the newest version of Photoshop is probably the best route to go. Lightroom is ok if it comes with the plan you choose.  But it sounds like having Photoshop and Illustrator might be more suitable for what you are doing.  As eventually you might want to create scalable graphics for your blog at some point. So to me there is no reason to get Lightroom.  Unless you are working more in photography.  ... View more

It seems to have worked. ... View more

Have you tried opening up the file on another computer with Illustrator? If not then it might be gone.  I have had this happen different times when I was working from a Western Digital external hard drive.  Needless to say I never use WD anymore... Seagate all the way! But that is off topic.  It can be annoying.  But even in Microsoft Word... if you are working on an important project it is good to save a backup or rename it to a different file after so much work.  Example.... Birdv1.ai..... then after working a few hours Birdv2.ai. I know that is a silly way to do it.  But sometimes I do that... just so I have a point that I can always go back to.  Kind of like gaming... you want to keep one point of the game saved.  Just save the next part of the game under a new name. Bad thing is this can happen in any software at any moment.  That is the pain of creating things digitally.  You have to save or back things up under a new name.  Happens to even the pros... they forget and then they have that "Oh NOOOOO" moment. So if it does not open up on another computer... you may very well have to recreate it all. ... View more

In Photoshop.... select the house and delete the rest. Take the new image into Adobe Illustrator.  Then select it and open up the Image Trace window under 'windows'.  This was formerly known as Live Trace. Then you can create a vector of the house recreate a similar look. Another option is to stay in Photoshop.  Keep the house layer as your main layer.  Add a new layer and with the pen tool start drawing out the house by placing points.  You can start with the redish burgandy color. Then do the white as highlights. The thing in Illustrator will give you more detail, but may or may not give you the look you want.  But worth seeing how it works. There are a lot of videos on this... Image Trace in Adobe Illustrator CC - YouTube ... View more

Download free example projects and puppets: https://forums.adobe.com/docs/DOC-6029 (official adobe pack) and http://okaysamurai.com/puppets/ (okay samurai puppet pack) ... View more

Brad... Okay Samurai is part of the Character Animator Team... and he has several videos on YouTube.  With those videos is a download link where you can get 10 or so of the puppets he created.  You are able to download those and utilize the mouths that he created on his puppets.  This will give you a start to creating the mouths. You can also use his eyes too. I looked up the mouths on Google and I kind of guessed while creating them.  The three main mouths to focus on is the L, F and O.  These seem to be the most different out of any mouth series.  The rest are easy to make as they are very similar to each other. The thing is to play with it... have fun with it... and as you do you will learn how to do it on your own. https://kennshinabery.myportfolio.com/adobe-tech-wednesday-lecture-adobe-character-animator https://www.youtube.com/user/okaysamurai ... View more

Agree with Chuck... you can not record what you are doing. However... let me give you another cool option.  Adobe Video Presenter Express. The way Adobe Video Presenter Express works is it records not only what you are doing in an application but also you via webcam all at the same time. So I can record myself working on a project and talking about what I am creating.  When I play the record video I have three options to choose from... one button to show a full screen of me.... a second button to show my screen and myself.... a third button to show just my screen. As the video plays I hit which ever button I want and it records it.  This is super cool when creating tutorials for YouTube or whatever.  I have recorded up to two hours.... so you can record a lot.  Then once you played and selected the views you want.... then it renders everything. Just another option or way to create cool content! ... View more

I do not think that is possible in any application.  You can share files via your libraries. But working on something together at the same time makes no sense.  I picture a tug of war with the cursor instead of a rope.  The idea seems interesting.  But let's say your coworker or team member is making different changes to something and you are changing other things but trying to leave parts the same.  Ideally that does not seem very good. Now if a person is in different city or country... one could use Adobe Connect or Skype and do a screen share.  This way you can talk to each other while one person is making the changes.  If you are in the same office... the scoot your chairs next to each other for an hour or so. ... View more

I do not see where people are running into lag with Adobe Illustrator 2017. I am running a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2...... I am also running Illustrator at the same time as OBS Studio, ScorpBot... a Logitech c922 Web Cam and Blue Snowball Mic.... as I am now streaming on Beam and Twitch. And I am running Windows 10. So if I am running all that and have no problems... then it must be your computers.  My Cintiq Companion is running a major load with no lag on Illustrator or Photoshop. Or maybe I am just lucky..... ... View more

That is strange.  Maybe the external hard drive is going bad.  What kind is it??? Please do not say Western Digital !!!  Please do not say Western Digital !!! I use a Seagate... actually have three of them!  I got so pissed at my old Western Digital that I said no more buying things that become corrupted.  So friendly tip.... try a Seagate! But strange that this is happening.  Have you right clicked to try to delete or dragged it directly to your trash can (then hit empty)? ... View more

For those who did not view the Tech Wednesday lecture...... here is a link to see the project that I was working! https://kennshinabery.myportfolio.com/adobe-tech-wednesday-lecture-adobe-character-animator Thank you all so much for the useful info!  And of course to Dave.... his tutorials are the best!  Easy to follow and really make it simple to create using Character Animator. I am currently working on a new character (of me actually).  Building an animated CV/Resume as I think in today's world that will be very interesting as compared to the typical CV. ... View more

First download the image from Dropbox and save it to your desktop. Then go to File Open on Photoshop.  Look for the file on your desktop. You can also right click on the image after you save it your desktop.  This will bring up a menu and you can choose OPEN WITH then select Photoshop. ... View more

Calvin, Dave is correct.  If you want the grid to remain you simply need to draw it out with the line tool.  That should be fairly easy. Then you have more freedom of choosing the color and thickness of the lines for the grid. ... View more

Brad... you do not have to draw the best characters.  In fact, characters can be simple shapes. Example People cartoon characters Vector | Free Download So if you can place circles or squares into Photoshop or Illustrator then you can create some characters.  Try it and let show me! ... View more

Accidentally logged in under my old Adobe ID.....  that is why it looks different in the comment above. ... View more

KJerryK.... that is good to know.  Something I would have to see done.... but once I see it I can do it usually.  I learn quickly and pick things up after the first time viewing something. Was the audio able to move over as well? ... View more