As designers have found to their cost the Web was not originally intended to be a design-rich environment. Instead HTML (hypertext markup language) was devised as means of disseminating information in the form of simple, reflowable text. With the arrival of Mosaic and support for the <IMG> image tag things began to change. Now that GIF and JPEG bitmaps could be embedded in Web pages the browsing experience became much more visual. The use of flat-colour GIFs for buttons, logos and headings took Web design onto a new level fueled by the development of dedicated Web graphic programs such as Macromedia Fireworks and Adobe ImageStyler.

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Many people are not familiar with the power of Photoshop Scripts and aren't aware that there are many excellent sample scripts and learning guides included with Photoshop. This tutorial will show you where to find the Photoshop Scripting Guides, show you how to install Photoshop Scripts, and explain how to work with Photoshop Scripts.

So Why Use Scripts Instead Of Actions?
Photoshop Scripts are Actions on steroids, and Scripts can be super smart. From the official Adobe Scripting Guide come these examples of scripting power:

John Rauch has posted a fantastic tutorial about digital comic coloring. All the files are included so you can follow along, and the tutorial works in Photoshop 7. Because this tutorial only represents one possible way to approach coloring, you'll find a different one listed below.

The tutorial takes advantage of some changes to the brush engine that were implemented in Photoshop 7. If you are using a prior version, be aware that some things will not work.

To complete the tutorial you'll need the EraserX brush set (available as a free download online), as several of the brushes in the set are used. To take advantage of the brushes you'll need a pressure sensitive graphics tablet. For those of you who don't have a tablet and who plan on creating art digitally, it is highly recommend that you purchase one. Also note that without a tablet, parts of the tutorial will not be possible.

The Ink Outlines filter offers an interesting "drawn" line effect in combination with a background mottling that recalls the Sponge filter (see page 15).

How It Works
STEP 1
Set to Stroke Length 7, Dark Intensity 5, Light Intensity 5, a fine line (always black, irrespective of palette settings) traces color and tone edges. Mottled patterns can be seen in the balance of the image and, in close-up, some vestigial cross-hatching can be seen in the highlight areas.

Description: Micro buttons are quite popular on the internet, this tutorial will show you how to create a micro button that is crisp and clean to use for your website navigation.