When working in Photoshop, you can easily spend hours experimenting with the numerous filters listed under the Filter menu. However, at times these filters can prove to be a bit frustrating, especially when you want to apply more than one filter to an image or when you want to preview the results. That's where the Filter Gallery comes in handy. Using this feature, you can preview all of your filtering work and apply more than one filter to an image at a time. It doesn't get any better than this! Exposing the Filter GalleryYou can access the Filter Gallery, shown in Figure A, in one of two ways. Either choose Filter Filter Gallery, or choose Filter and select any of the 47 gallery effects listed in the menu. Once the Filter Gallery displays, youre presented with a large preview area, a list of the filters to choose from, and the respective filters' options. The Filter Gallery always shows the filter selected at the top of the dialog box. Even so, you're working within the gallery. Figure A.Previewing with styleOn the left side of the dialog box, you'll see an oversized preview window. You can adjust the size of the preview image by clicking the + and buttons located in the bottom-left corner of the dialog box. You can also click on the numeric percentage of the preview and choose from any of the sizes listed in the resulting pop-up menu, shown in Figure B. Figure B.Filter surfingThe center panel in the dialog box allows you to select any of the 47 gallery effects Photoshop has to offer. The filters are broken down into six different groups within six folders. They are as follows: Artistic, Brush Strokes, Distort, Sketch, Stylize, and Texture. Upon opening a folder, you'll see that each effect has an accompanying thumbnail image next to the name, as shown in Figure C. This is so you can see what the effect is before you apply it. Figure C.If you want to hide the list of filters, you can do so by clicking the upward pointing arrow icon located to the left of the OK button. This makes your preview area twice its current size. Then, to display the filters again, click on the downward pointing arrow. Option settingThe right side of the dialog box should look pretty similar to what you're used to when opening a filter dialog box in previous versions. Here, you can adjust the settings of the selected filter. It's the section below the filter options that makes this new feature truly noteworthy. Let's take a closer look. Stacking filtersWithin the Filter Gallery dialog box, you now have the option of applying multiple filters to your image. To see how it works:
In addition to applying the same filter to an image numerous times, you can also apply different filters to an image. To do so:
If you want to edit any of the applied filters later:
A filtering frenzyPhotoshop's Filter Gallery is really a lot of fun to use. Take some time and experiment with all of the different filters and their combinations. Also, take advantage of that amazingly large preview window to experiment with different filters and filter combinations. |