Top 3 Features from Adobe Photoshop CC 2019
Learn how to use the most interesting features from the latest release of Photoshop CC v20.0
Adobe Photoshop CC v20.0 was recently released in October 2018, and it is already published as “CC 2019”. This release includes many UI and usability improvements, some of them based on customer requests.
After trying it, I would definitely say that Photoshop is positively getting to be a more intuitive and efficient design tool. Nevertheless, the wide variety of options make it really complex to master this tool.
We will now learn about our selection of the three best features included in Photoshop CC v20.0. For more detailed information about all the other features, I strongly recommend checking the official release notes from Adobe and this video of Daniel Scott.
1. CONTENT-AWARE FILL (REIMAGINED)
If you have been using Photoshop for the last years, you will probably know the content-aware fill tool already. However, there are significant differences between the old tool and the new one. Adobe Sensei is the AI technology behind this feature.
Even when the process is not as fast as it was in the previous versions, the results of using the new tool are completely awesome. You can choose different options to optimize the filling, removing images from your photos or filling the space with new contents. It is not only mean to remove things on simple scenarios but to be a powerful time-saver when starting with complex modifications.
When you select a part of the image, you can launch the filling window by clicking on Edit > Content-Aware Fill. The different options of the tool are the following:
- Live preview. As you make changes, they will be displayed at full resolution in the preview screen, at the right side of your image.
- Lasso and Polygonal Lasso tools, to modify your selection.
- Sampling zone and sampling brush. You can select the parts of your image to be excluded from the IA sampling. This way, you will avoid any wrong element to be considered for filling the selection.
- Four adaptation settings: color adaptation, rotation adaptation, scale, and mirror. They help the IA adapting to color or texture gradients, perspectives, and curved patterns. The mirror setting creates a flipped image.
This process is not perfect, as you can see in the following examples. However, making some removals is just as fast as playing a bit with your sampling zone and the adaptation settings.
2. SYMMETRIES — RADIAL AND MANDALA
The Symmetry mode for painting was already introduced in the previous CC version. However, CC v20.0 includes the radial and mandala symmetries.
This tool is really simple, and it is great for creating patterns and decoration. You can choose between 2 and 12 segments for radial symmetry, and between 3 and 10 for the mandala.
3. FRAME TOOL — MASKS MADE EASY!
This is again a time-saver feature. Now you can create rectangular or elliptical frames (shortcut “K”) to mask images directly.
You can also create your own frames from any shape of text. Just right-click (Ctrl+click) the layer and select Convert to Frame.
CONCLUSIONS
Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 adds more usability and interface improvements than new work tools. Compared to previous versions, this year we have not seen so many disruptive features.
However, the new release feels as good as always, and even more intuitive and fast to use than the previous 2018 version. The frame tool was already used in Adobe XD and other products from the CC, so that CC users were actually waiting for something like this.
For your interest, you can try the full free version of Adobe Photoshop for 7 days.
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