Advanced Photoshop, in association with iStockphoto.com, is offering four digital artists the chance to see their work on the cover of the magazine, as well as win some great prizes.

iStockphoto.com has supplied ten fantastic images, which can be downloaded from www.istockphoto.com/createacover. You’ll need to log in to an iStockphoto.com account to get the images, but don’t worry if you don’t have one as registration is free and easy.

Artists must use at least one of these images and Photoshop to design a piece of artwork worthy of being on the cover of issue 65 of Advanced Photoshop (December/January).

There will be four winners, with four collectable covers available, who will each receive £500 cash and £500 of iStockphoto.com credits.

Full details can be found at www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions_istockphoto.php and the closing date for entries is 23 November 2009.

Imagine Publishing’s camera comparison website receives improved functionality and a whole new look

Digicambuyer.co.uk, the website of Digital Camera Essentials magazine,has received a dramatic redesign to allow for quicker and easier access as well as a powerful, simple-to-use search and comparison engine.

With hundreds of reviews to call on from the pages of Digital Camera Essentials, which is approaching its 90th issue, Digicambuyer.co.uk aims to present the consumer with the best possible advice on their next digital camera purchase, as well as giving direct links to trusted retail websites via Pricegrabber. Up to four cameras can be compared on specifications, intended usage and review ratings, giving the user an immediate, on-screen method of weighing up the best model.

Digicambuyer.co.uk also offers a plethora of features, tutorials and accessories reviews as well as the latest photography news. The redesign of the website has been a collaborative process between both the editorial team and interactive department within Imagine Publishing, completely rebuilding the previous site to better cater to
the increasing needs of the prosumer looking for impartial buying advice.

“Dedicated to helping our readers find the right kit, the Digicambuyer team have been hard at work making sure all the latest camera, lens and peripheral reviews are available free online,” said Editor in Chief, Debbi Allen. “Digicambuyer.co.uk is designed to be intuitive to use and allow visitors to compare up to four expert reviews, side by side. Coupled with new technology like the Apple iPhone, this means users can check camera reviews and be sure of expert, up-to-the-minute advice on the go.”

Head of Digital Projects (Online), Ben Spencer, added: “We are extremely happy with the decision to relaunch and have completely redeveloped the site in-house. The Interactive team has produced an extremely user-friendly and feature-packed site, making it one of the top camera review websites on the web.”

“The relaunched Digicambuyer.co.uk site reflects the brand values of our print offering, Digital Camera Essentials, and is a fantastic digital platform for our advertisers to engage with their target audience,” commented James Hanslip, Head of Sales.

Imagine Publishing
01202 586200
www.digicambuyer.co.uk

Check out this amazing offer for all Photoshop Creative readers and website users.

Anthropics Technology is offering a special 10% discount on Portrait Professional v9, especially for Photoshop Creative readers and gallery users. Head online to www.portraitprofessional.com, where you can make a purchase and use the following code to receive the discount: PK785 for the UK version, PSU89 for the US version. Offer is open until 30 January 2010.

Portrait Professional Studio v9 is an incredible program which enables you to retouch your portraits quickly and easily and produce stunning results. We’ve given it a hands on try and absolutely loved it! This fantastic plug-in also received our prestigious ‘Best Value’ award in issue 51.

…then check out our latest podcast with Russel Williams. He’s the Co-Photoshop Architect, which means he makes important decisions about the features and functions that go into our beloved software.

Staff writer, Simon Skellon, interviews this Photoshop insider about his role at Adobe, CS5 and the milestones in his career. Simply click here to listen: http://www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/podcasts.php

We’ve had the pleasure of chatting to one of Photoshop’s most crucial boffins this month, in the form of Co-Photoshop Architect, Russell Williams. This rather impressive title means that Russell plays a pivotal role in what features and functions appear in each new version of Photoshop.
Be sure to check out the free podcast that goes live on this site next week to find out all about his job and whether he’ll spill the beans on what will be in Photoshop CS5… Our staff writer, Simon Skellon does his very best to get all the gossip!

If you guys haven’t got your hands on our special glittery Issue 50 yet, get down to your local store right away. Inside you will find the most amazing competition ever! We’ve compiled a ‘Where’s Wally / Waldo’-style competition, where you have to spot a hidden character. All you need to do is give use the correct grid reference for your chance to win.

The prize includes a Wacom Intuos4 tablet, an A3+ Epson printer, a Canon Powershot camera, a copy of Photoshop CS4, a 1TB LaCie hard drive and a Blurb photobook - phew! That’s a whole lot of goodness in one prize!!! So grab your 50th issue today : )

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday Photoshop Creative, happy birthday to us!

Is that a big big-headed to sing happy birthday to yourself? Probably. But we don’t care because we’ve reached our 50th issue and feel very proud and honoured indeed. Thank you all so much for your support of the magazine. We believe we have some of the most loyal, lovely readers in the world and it’s been fabulous working for you all to bring you lots of Photoshop goodness.

For those who haven’t popped to the shops yet, we have a fantastic celebratory issue. You’ll love our specially designed glittery cover, not to mention an awesome competition where you can win the ultimate design kit worth over £2185! Wowser - I wish I could enter, I’m very jealous!  : (

We also have a fantastic interview with Photoshop fanatic and pro, Scott Kelby, plus some amazing tutorials to improve your skills. There’s also a whopping £160 worth of free Photoshop resources on the CD alongside 55 minutes of video tutorials too. So head down to WH Smith, Borders or your local supermarket and grab your copy today. Alternatively, head online to www.imagineshop.co.uk to purchase the spangliest issue yet!

Now, I’m off to eat some cake : )

Don’t forget to listen to the latest podcast interview available now! We caught up with the lovely Scott Kelby to find out more about his hectic Photoshop lifestyle and reveal more about the man behind the biggest Photoshop organisation in the world.
Check it out for free here: http://www.photoshopdaily.co.uk/news/podcast-interview-with-scott-kelby/

If any of you are missing issues of Photoshop Creative magazine, don’t forget to check out volume 3 of the eMag. This interactive DVD contains issues 25-36 in their entirety, and you also get any tutorial source files to boot.

This eMag is perfect for anyone who missed out on a copy of the magazine. The disc contains PDFs of all the magazine articles, including search features to make finding what you want really simple. You can read through the content by issue, browse according to type of article (feature, tutorial, news etc), or use the advanced search function to search for a specific keyword. You can access the content through the disc interface, or print out high-quality PDFs for later reference.

This eMag has over 900 pages of content and costs just £19.99. If you’d like to order a copy, head over to www.imagineshop.co.uk

There is heaps of Photoshop talent on the gallerys here and Photoshop Creative readers are often asking us how to recreate many of the pieces of artwork featured online. So, with this in mind, we are opening the doors of Photoshop Creative to any aspiring tutorial writers out there.
Get in touch if you want your tutorial idea to be considered for the magazine. You will need to be able to clearly, and most importantly, concisely explain how to create one of your images and provide a screen grab for each step. If this sounds appealing, then drop us an email at PCR@imagine-publishing.co.uk, giving us your tutorial idea and artwork example. You could soon be getting your work and name in print!