Working with CS4 color palette

[Eireann]

I'm learning some new techniques with CS4, and I'm trying to figure out something.

I know how to ADD a swatch to the palette.

How do I USE said swatch when I want to? I can't find a way to do it.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

What program, exactly?

[Rapscallion]

Photoshop CS4 I believe.

Rapscallion

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Let me know if this works:

double click on your top color in your tool bar.
You should get a pop up window titled "color picker (foreground color)". It should have a button for "add to swatches".
Click that button. You'll get another pop up asking for "color swatch name". Name it and hit "okay."

Now, to use it:

Go over to your tool bar and choose the eyedropper. Pick your swatch with the eyedropper. It will appear as the foreground color in your toolbar.

Now you should be able to use it.

Alternate: if the color is in your foreground color in the toolbar, simply hit the little icon over in the swatch palette that looks like a dog eared piece of paper. It should pop the color right into a new swatch for you.

NOTE: you use a different process to color an unrasterized shape. But for most uses, this should work.

Let me know if you need me to send you a screen shot.

[Eireann]

Okay - I got a swatch from the image itself, using the eyedropper. But what about taking a swatch from the palette? Using "load" doesn't work.

[Eireann]

Success!

I figured it out. Finally.

Now, there's a little problem with the brushes. The book helpfully includes screen shots of what I need to do, but I can't find this stuff in the Brushes palette. I'm supposed to click on Random Brush Flip in the palette and set the mode to multiply, but I'll be damned if I can find anything like that in the palette. There's no drop-down menu as there is in the screen shot in the book.

Now what?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to do at this point, but I've sent what I hope might be helpful. Is this what you mean?

I'm out of town right now, but if you want to call me on the phone when I get back and have me talk you through some stuff, I can.

[Eireann]

Yes, that's what it was. I finally found it (just after I posted here, of course), and had to do some heavy-duty clicking to get the right result.

This is an exercise from the book in which you do some coloring. Somehow, I managed to make a brush out of ...

... wait for it ...

The entire sketch!

Don't ask me how I did it. I have no idea.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Let me guess...the clone tool, right? That can be handy if you're doing a pattern.

I made a background watermark pattern of my company's logo back when I had a job. Slick.

[Eireann]

No, it wasn't the clone tool. I still don't know how I managed. I have a real knack for doing weird things.

Okay, now - here's one. I opened an image, saved a copy of it in another folder, added a layer, added text to the layer, saved it - and now I see that the original image, the one I didn't want to touch, has the text on it, too! Is there any way to get rid of it?

[EricKei]

and now I see that the original image, the one I didn't want to touch, has the text on it, too! Is there any way to get rid of it?

Maybe you Merged the layers without realizing it?

[Eireann]

Oh, I merged the layers, all right. I just didn't mean to.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Okay, the one you didn't mean to edit should not have text on it.

It's possible you saved an extra copy of what you are editing and are now confused about what file is what, and where it's actually saved. That has happened to both me and my old boss before.

It's also possible that when you did a "save as", you either accident just did a simple "save" or you accidently clicked on the original file name and saved OVER your original. That's easy to do.

Do a search for all the files with the original keyword and see if there is a lost copy floating around.

Is the unwanted text over a blank background?

Got to be careful when you merge layers.

[Eireann]

Not a copy. Unfortunately. I now open the file, save it elsewhere, close it, open it from the new location, save a copy, close it, open the copy, and THEN work on it.