Just for ****s and giggles, could someone try and photoshop what a Pat would look like painted US Forest Service green?

For reference, if you're not familiar with the rather unique color: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&um=1&q=us+forest+service+truck&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20

It was actually a standard color on cherokees at some point, my summer camp owns one, and I've seen dozens over the year.

I don't think I'd ever do this to my Pat, but I think would be to get a feel for what it might look like.

Here ya go :smiley_thumbs_up:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j209/youlikadasauce/Jeep_Pat_ForestServiceGreen.jpg

That's a badass lookin Pat right there!

thought i'd make it look a little more official

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j209/youlikadasauce/Jeep_Pat_US_ServiceGreen.jpg

Now that really does look the part--Great!!

now, thats a nice jeep. love the color.

Limitlessborders:

Your abilities in Photoshop are amazing. I am in awe. Do you have any book or website suggestion on how a person can get better at and do more of these amazing things in Photoshop? I am such a neophyte at the damn program, and I've used it for at least 5 years. All I can do is some very basic photo touch-ups with saturation and curves, etc.

Any advice or recommendations would be gratefully appreciated.

PipeTobacco

There are so many resources, one great one is lynda.com, but it is a monthly pay site to watch tutorial videos. But what is an excellent source is youtube. I'm always going there for information. Or simply google your problem or issue and most likely someone will have a tutorial on it. There are also many reference books at borders as well. But honestly the web is full of almost all of the information to teach yourself. I mostly use youtube and books.

The easiest way to choose a book is to go to the store (like borders) and do a quick review of them based on the program. Does it read well? Do they illustrate how to do it? Does it come with a video tutorial dvd? It's all based on your learning style. Or amazon.com has a great selection with reviews on most of them.

Honestly the programs capabilities are becoming endless. I struggle to keep up haha, and I do it as a profession.

But, just a quick fyi.

The first step with any program is to understand the program, the tool bars, capabilities, addons and so on.

Then start small like you said. Taking photos and playing with levels and curves. Excellent for photo manipulation.

Moving onto selecting objects in photos to extract or manipulate is one of the other key things to learn.
- Using the magic wand, quick selection tool, filter>extract tool, or for more detail use the paths menu to use the pen tool to create your own detailed selection.

Masking is another great and useful thing to know.

Using effects and layer styles.

Then moving to lighting. Shadows and highlight.

Just key things to know :)

I can create a quick HOW TO with the patriot above. It is actually quite a simple project once you get the basic understanding of how to do it, you may think I'm less amazing after doing so haha.

Limitless, I wonder what you do, Photographer, Designer? I'm a printer and used to be freelance photographer myself.

I'm not wild about the color, but I love the look of that Pat, I sure wish I had a roof system like that.

I'm trying to get some help cleaning up an old map for my dad. He's 89, and gave me a map someone made after WW2 of where his unit went through Europe, etc. It was pretty beat up when he gave it to me, taped, browning, torn, etc. So I went to a place and had them scan it in as it was too big for any of my scanners. Now I want to clean it up a bit, but not too much to take away from it's age, if you understand that.

There are some freebie video's out there. I always liked this one http://www.mydamnchannel.com/You_Suck_at_Photoshop/Season_1/YouSuckAtPhotoshop1DistortWarpandLayerEffects_1373 .aspx

The "You Suck At Photoshop" series is a hilarious way of learning photoshop. It lacks a little bit on the how-to portion but if you watch closely you get the idea.
One of the best set of free tutorials I have found on youtube is by a guy that goes by "IceFlowStudios'. (His real name is Howard)
His instruction is SUPER for the brand-new photoshopper. He does not make any assumptions about how much you know and really takes his time on exactly how he does each step. Give his stuff a look if you are interested in Photoshop. I don't think you'll regret it at all.

p.s. He has a new set out showing the highlights of CS5 too. Good info.

Limitless, I wonder what you do, Photographer, Designer? I'm a printer and used to be freelance photographer myself.

I'm not wild about the color, but I love the look of that Pat, I sure wish I had a roof system like that.

I'm trying to get some help cleaning up an old map for my dad. He's 89, and gave me a map someone made after WW2 of where his unit went through Europe, etc. It was pretty beat up when he gave it to me, taped, browning, torn, etc. So I went to a place and had them scan it in as it was too big for any of my scanners. Now I want to clean it up a bit, but not too much to take away from it's age, if you understand that.

Hey Dixie! Sorry I haven't been in the forum in a LONG time. I am a professional web/graphic designer. If you still need it cleaned up, I will see what I can do for ya. Sounds like a great piece for your dad. Email it to me at limitlessborders@hotmail.com and I will make a go at it.