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Adobe Mobile Apps Photoshop

Photoshop on Mobile…Again.

Exciting news in the Photoshop world. A few years ago, well maybe more than a few, Adobe released Photoshop Touch. This was an app for Android and iOS, the brought Photoshop to your mobile device. It was in many ways ground breaking, as (at the time), no other app could do the things this could do. However, if you were a seasoned Photoshop user, Photoshop Touch could be frustrating as alot was missing, it was layer tied and in many ways you doing destructive editing (as apose to non destructive editing). 

There were updates which did add some more features, but over time other apps came out that were much better at doing things than Photoshop Touch (Sketchbook Pro, Clip Studio and Painter, to name but a few). Adobe made the decision to end Photoshop Touch, and instead released internet/Adobe cloud based apps. 

This is still the case, however, in recent years. Photoshop has been brought out on the iPad. Now, in February 2025, Photoshop is back on mobile, and it’s back to breaking ground. 

 

An iOS version of Photoshop is now available for free from the app store. This version is very much like the iPad version with layers, selections, masks, adjustments, text engine, links to cloud so everything is synced, and even generative ai features. It really is Photoshop in your pocket.

 

As stated, it’s free however, Adobe has also released a new creative cloud subscription package called Web and mobile, which allows you to get additional features for both the mobile and Web versions of Photoshop. 

 

But what about Android I hear you shout. Adobe has stated that Photoshop will be coming to Android too, but as of writing, just a …’in 2025′ is the time scale given. There are also some websites stating that, ‘While the full Photoshop experience is available on the web and iPhone, the Android version will offer a more simplified, mobile-focused experience.’ I do hope this is not the case, and finally, Android users are not pushed aside and forgotten.

For the time being, its iOS version only, and very nice indeed.

Categories
News Sketchbook Pro

Finally a new Sketchbook

So, after nearly a year of waiting, Sketchbook 6 has finally been released for Android. Was it worth the wait?

The short answer to this is yes, as it has brought so many new features,making the workflow even better.

On updating to version 6. You will now get

Updated Brush Panel‍ with brush history
Brush Panel‍ is now available on mobile screen sizes
Option to enable/disable Brush Panel in Preferences
Ability to name layers‍ Auto-hide the UI‍ while you draw
Ability to reset perspective guides‍ 
Customize new canvas size presets‍
More options for tap and swipe gestures‍
More options to customize how the UI appears‍
The ability to back up and restore your preferences

There is also the option to purchase the Premium bundle. This is just a one-time purchase rather than subscription based, which is nice and makes sense.
On upgrading, this will unlock advanced features for layers, brushes, and colour management.

Import‍ and export‍ brushes
Create brushes‍ with your own custom shapes and textures
Duplicate brushes
Organize brushes and brush sets
Randomize brushes‍ in a set between strokes
Additional colour harmonies
Additional custom gradients
Select colour from reference images
Extract colour palettes from images Import and export colour palettes
Layer grouping‍ 
Layer masking blend modes‍ 
Export sketches or entire albums to PDF

One added feature in the iOS version was the ability to add fonts on the text tool. This is missing in the Android version. Due to the way Android stores fonts, this feature should be added at a later date. It’s not impossible to do, as I know other apps allow Importing of fonts.

I must say that I really like the way you can now name layers and group them (can also name groups as well).

The new layer masks are a welcome addition. However, these are, in fact, two new blend modes, so a little tricky to first understand how they work. But, once you understand them, they are great.
One thing to remember is that if you have used a layer mask blend mode or any other blend mode on a layer, and then group the layers. You need to set the Group Layer blend mode to Pass Through to be able to see them.

The addition of being able to import and export brushes, manage brush sets, and even create your own brushes makes the already powerful brush engine even better.

For first impressions, the new version is worth it.

Categories
News Photoshop

Photoshop August update

The August update to Photoshop has now been released. Version 23.5

Not a huge update, but interesting that it’s seems to be integrating cloud services more.

The new Subject Cloud service, is a way to make better selections

Other changes are color mode for the UI, search within the Preferences dialog box.

The usual bug fixes, and update to Camera models/lenses is also present.

For more details follow the link: https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/using/whats-new/2022-4.html

Categories
News Photoshop

New Photoshop update

It’s been some time since the last post, due to personal issue. Back now, and hopefully able to update on a more regular basis now.

Adobe have announced an update to Photoshop, the April update, version 23.3

In this update, there are the usual bug fixes. Main features are

Copy-paste Live Text from Ai

The wait is over! Easily copy and paste Type layers from Illustrator into Photoshop as editable Type layers to maintain both functional and visual fidelity

Edge enhancement in your skies

Enjoy better foreground and background blending and improved masking for thin-line objects in your sky composites. Also, control lighting around object edges.

Also improvements to Cloud documents, saving files and performance enhancements

One sad thing about this update is that the Camera Shake Reduction (Filter > Sharpen > Shake Reduction) will be removed. The technology is not compatible with newer development platforms.

For more details head to: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/whats-new/2022-2.html

Categories
News Photoshop

Photoshop 3D or not 3D

Adobe have released there latest version of Photoshop, version 22.5.1. This new release comes with some interesting updates, plus some sad news (for some).

The main updates to this version are, an enhanced sky replacement. You now have more detailed and complex skies to use with this filter.

The warp tool now has a handy transform feature, that makes it even easier to use.

Sadly this version also comes with some discontinued features. From this version you can no longer export to SVG.

The main discontinue feature however is 3D. From version 22.5, you can no long use any 3D features in photoshop. The reason why and alternatives can be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/3d-faq.html

Categories
News Sketchbook Pro

All new (sort of) Sketchbook

At the end of June a new update for Sketchbook was released. This was the first from Sketchbook.com who have acquired the program (app) from Autodesk.

One of the main parts of this new release is that the Copic color library has now been removed. This may (probably will) disappoint some users. Sketchbook have stated that new color options are being developed for future releases along with other exciting additions.

The transfer however, didn’t go as smoothly as planned and its being reported that a number of bugs have appeared in this new release (5.2.4).

Sketchbook.com are aware of the problems and have said that it is a systems permission issue, mostly effecting Android 11 user. An update has been sent to Google which will fix the issues and also reconnect users Gallery (as this disappeared).

***Update***

Sketchbook has now released version 5.2.5, which fixes the above issues, including pen hover and the Gallery files disappearing.