Adobe Photoshop CS6 to adopt Aperture-like theme, new 3D functionality

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Early betas of Photoshop CS6, an update to Adobe's flagship digital imaging software due next year as part of Creative Suite 6.0 (CS6), show off a darker interface theme, new 3D capabilities, autosave, and a handful of other tool additions, AppleInsider has learned.



A new look



According to people familiar with builds of the software compiled earlier this month, the most immediately-recognizable change to Photoshop in CS6 (version 13.0) is its darker, Aperture-like user interface (below) that replaces the mostly platinum theme found in existing versions of the software. For some, this may be an unwelcome change; that's why Adobe has reportedly -- at least in the current beta build -- provided testers with the option to revert to the old look.



In addition to the color change, the new theme also sports an assortment of spruced-up pallet icons that offer new and slightly different takes on classic designs. The changes aren't so drastic that users won't be able to find their way around, say those who've spent time with the software, but instead aim to 'freshen up' the software's legacy feel.







3D enhancements



But the real meat of Photoshop CS6, which goes by the code-name "Superstition," appears to be an assortment of new features that Adobe has proposed as enhancements to the software's 3D capabilities that emerged in earnest back with the 2008 release of Photoshop CS4.



For example, a new "3D Material Drop" tool has been added to the Paint Bucket, according to people familiar with the software. Similarly, Adobe has also added a "3D Material Eyedropper Tool" to Photoshop's Eyedropper. There's also a new "3D Text" option for text input, rounding out a trio of 3D-centric additions to the Tools palette.







Additional 3D options are reportedly evident in the Preferences pane, where testers can presently enable or disable "Allow Direct to Screen" and "Auto-Hide Layers" options for "Interactive Rendering." There are also new "Rich Cursor" options: "Show on Hover" and "Show on Interaction."



Within the 3D preferences, testers can also modify "Axis Control," where options allow for "Invert Camera Axis" and "Separate Axis controls." Finally, a new "interactive Shadows Quality" section allows testers to choose from a range of quality options when generating shadows.







3D tools aside, early betas of Photoshop CS6 also introduced a "Remix Tool" to the healing brushes palette, joining tools such as "Spot Healing Brush," "Healing Brush," "Patch" and "Red Eye" tools. For cropping, Adobe has also added a new "Perspective Crop Tool."







Added Options



There are also a handful of other changes to the Preferences pane in the new Photoshop. In "General," users can select or deselect "HUD Vertical Movement varies Round Brush Hardness" and "Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid."







Also, under the "Interface" section, new options include "Show Transformation Values" and "Enable Text Drop Shadows."







Users can also access new preferences in the "File Handling" section, where "Save in Background" has been added, along with "Automatically save Recovery Information Every:" with a choice of time intervals. New "File Compatibility" preferences include "Ignore Rotation Metadata" and "Disable Compressions of PSD and PSB Files."







Under the "Type" section of Preferences, a pair of options have been removed in the Photoshop CS6 beta: "Show Asian Text Options" and "Font Preview Size."







Given that the information on Photoshop CS6 comes from pre-release test builds of the software, it's probable that some features could be changed, removed, or added by the time the software hits the market. People familiar with the matter say Adobe is shooting for a release of Creative Suite 6.0 sometime around May of 2012.



Deblurring



Separately, Adobe has been working on a handful of prototype features that may or may not make it into future versions of Photoshop. One of these features, for correcting blurry photographs, uses a sophisticated algorithm that analyzes a photograph and then generates a "blur kernel." The kernel contains information on the motion trajectory of the camera during the shot that created the blur. With a selection of the "Restore Sharp Image" tool, Photoshop uses the blur kernel data to restore the image with more clarity:







Availability







CS6 will mark the first significant update to Photoshop since CS5 back in April of 2010. Although Adobe released Creative Suite 5.5 this past May, it bundled the same version of Photoshop that was included with CS5.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Adobe have been quite prolific lately, embracing iOS and OS X. It's good to see. The fact that both platforms are little-endian and C-based bodes well for cross-platform development.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    Can we have some features to make web design easier, adding character and paragraph stiles would be a start.
  • Reply 3 of 54
    3D tools? Seriously? Yeah, great..now Photoshop makes even more amazing 3D hats.



    I just hope that with the new UI they've fixed all the sloppy, poorly placed crap and actually streamlined it a bit.
  • Reply 4 of 54
    Where's Seetharaman Narayanan?? His name wasn't in the credits!
  • Reply 5 of 54
    eaieai Posts: 417member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kasakka View Post


    3D tools? Seriously? Yeah, great..now Photoshop makes even more amazing 3D hats.



    I just hope that with the new UI they've fixed all the sloppy, poorly placed crap and actually streamlined it a bit.



    If they've just put a new skin on the random mess of sliders, scrollbars and other random widgets they've invented, then I'll be disappointed.
  • Reply 6 of 54
    freediverxfreediverx Posts: 1,423member
    Adobe lost my business a long time ago and a light UI re-skin isn't going to tempt me back. If they want to appeal to anyone outside of their remaining customer base they might want to consider not being lazy for a change and stripping out all the confusing and redundant processes and functions that have accumulated since 1.0. Instead, try creating an INTUITIVE, EFFICIENT and CONSISTENT methodology for getting things done with their apps.
  • Reply 7 of 54
    How is this a new User Interface? They've been using the dark theme in Photoshop Elements since version 6. Finally putting the option for a dark theme in the full CS isn't exactly news worthy.



    The 3D will also just be another nail in photoshop's performance coffin. I have a core i7 iMac with 10GB of RAM - Photoshop CS5.1 should NOT run that computer into the ground in such a big way that it swaps nearly 4GB to the disk.
  • Reply 8 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macadam212 View Post


    Can we have some features to make web design easier, adding character and paragraph stiles would be a start.



    May I ask why in the hell are you doing the text portions of a website in Photoshop of all places? Heard of Dreamweaver, or InDesign, or even Illustrator? What part of PHOTO - SHOP do you not understand?



    I thoroughly despise people handing of designs that use a program far beyond it's intentions.... just because you can!



    As for the myriad of other possible improvements to the disjointed mess that Photoshop and the entire suite has become... well, the BETA preview doesn't shed any light or make me want to upgrade yet. Of course I will because I have to.... but the keyword was "want" to.



    Let's start of with the sorry-ass Preset Manager and managing brushes, patterns, styles. No tagging, nor folder structure... just a pre-millenium list? Come on!



    Or how about a check box to remember changes to a brush or tool preset, rather than having to create a new one for fast switching.



    And let's not get started on the entire Suite not following the same conventions or even similar dialog boxes for something so simple as Scaling.



    Adobe has A LOT to do! Skinning the damn mess is least of them. Lipstick meet pig... Round 3 (or is it 6?)
  • Reply 9 of 54
    Some more improvements:



    1) if we're talking 3D, how about adding a Mesh Tool, or being able to save a Liquify Mesh easier and manipulate it in 3D for fabrik warps, like adding patterns to clothes... something I do every day, but is painfully advanced to difficult.



    2) or a simple thing, like adding user-choosable grid to the Warp Transform, instead of just 3x3... Illustrator has it, as well as a Mesh Tool that "could be" very nice when combined with say, Puppet Warp.



    3) How about the option to make the GUI bigger? On a 27" iMac, some of the panel buttons (on the bottom), are like 5x5 pixels!!! Info-text is the equivalent of 3-point!!!



    ... and that's just a short list....
  • Reply 10 of 54
    Look at Premiere Pro or After Effects - the skin of these applications is where PS CS6 gets its look, not Aperture.



    Tom
  • Reply 11 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    Some more improvements:



    1) if we're talking 3D, how about adding a Mesh Tool, or being able to save a Liquify Mesh easier and manipulate it in 3D for fabrik warps, like adding patterns to clothes... something I do every day, but is painfully advanced to difficult.



    That would help with my illustration work as well. There is only so much I can half arse with the current tool set.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    2) or a simple thing, like adding user-choosable grid to the Warp Transform, instead of just 3x3... Illustrator has it, as well as a Mesh Tool that "could be" very nice when combined with say, Puppet Warp.



    Nice idea.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    3) How about the option to make the GUI bigger? On a 27" iMac, some of the panel buttons (on the bottom), are like 5x5 pixels!!! Info-text is the equivalent of 3-point!!!



    ... and that's just a short list....



    Dreamweaver is the absolute worst for that.

    27" iMac

    Open dreamweaver

    Code view

    font is literally 7pt by default on a bright white background

    eyes explode.
  • Reply 12 of 54
    morkymorky Posts: 200member
    This will be the first release since CS3 where Adobe is not dealing with a major Apple transition (CS4 - PPC to x86, CS5 - cancellation of 64-bit Carbon and rewrite of suite in Cocoa).



    With the rise of iOS, I bet Adobe is thankful now for that forced move to Cocoa.
  • Reply 13 of 54
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    As someone who uses Photoshop every working day, and has done since Photoshop 2.5, it's good to see Adobe actually innovating after years of stagnation. That said, the performance of recent versions has been so poor I'm still using CS3.



    As for the dark theme, I expect it's been done to match the new dark UI look that Autodesk's products have been using for the past few years.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    Some more improvements:



    1) if we're talking 3D, how about adding a Mesh Tool, or being able to save a Liquify Mesh easier and manipulate it in 3D for fabrik warps, like adding patterns to clothes... something I do every day, but is painfully advanced to difficult.



    2) or a simple thing, like adding user-choosable grid to the Warp Transform, instead of just 3x3... Illustrator has it, as well as a Mesh Tool that "could be" very nice when combined with say, Puppet Warp.



    3) How about the option to make the GUI bigger? On a 27" iMac, some of the panel buttons (on the bottom), are like 5x5 pixels!!! Info-text is the equivalent of 3-point!!!



    ... and that's just a short list....



    Fabrics would surely be easier to do in Maya or Max?
  • Reply 15 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    May I ask why in the hell are you doing the text portions of a website in Photoshop of all places? Heard of Dreamweaver, or InDesign, or even Illustrator? What part of PHOTO - SHOP do you not understand?



    I thoroughly despise people handing of designs that use a program far beyond it's intentions.... just because you can!



    As for the myriad of other possible improvements to the disjointed mess that Photoshop and the entire suite has become... well, the BETA preview doesn't shed any light or make me want to upgrade yet. Of course I will because I have to.... but the keyword was "want" to.



    Let's start of with the sorry-ass Preset Manager and managing brushes, patterns, styles. No tagging, nor folder structure... just a pre-millenium list? Come on!



    Or how about a check box to remember changes to a brush or tool preset, rather than having to create a new one for fast switching.



    And let's not get started on the entire Suite not following the same conventions or even similar dialog boxes for something so simple as Scaling.



    Adobe has A LOT to do! Skinning the damn mess is least of them. Lipstick meet pig... Round 3 (or is it 6?)



    I agree the concept of using advanced typography work in Photoshop for the web design seems odd at this point.



    However, why the hell do you need Dreamweaver, InDesign or Illustrator for Web Typography? Your present otf, ttf, wof typography is all done through CSS 2.1/3.



    Assume you're working with SVG and Canvas Illustrator, and Photoshop don't properly respect the SVG 1.1 let alone SVG 1.2 Tiny specification to use SVG Fonts in advanced web development. So if you want Technical Documents to co-mingle with your publications in HTML 5 like one would expect in InDesign for DTP it just isn't there yet.



    There is still a ton of work to be done:



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...ector_Graphics)
  • Reply 16 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Early betas of Photoshop CS6, an update to Adobe's flagship digital imaging software due next year as part of Creative Suite 6.0 (CS6), show off a darker interface theme, new 3D capabilities, autosave, and a handful of other tool additions, AppleInsider has learned. ...



    This is just the same old shite they do with every release IMO. Kind of sad really.



    Step 1) - "spruce it up!"



    Don't actually fix anything but move a lot of shit around. Maybe copy the look of whatever product was cool and new about five years ago.



    Step 2) - random movement



    Make sure that some things that were on menu a move to menu b and vice versa. Change a few icons (but only slightly). Maybe rename some shit. Make sure at least a couple of things disappear, but without any rhyme or reason.



    Step 3) - "new feature!" (note the singular)



    Always add one feature that you can't get anywhere else even if it's lame. If you have two new features, save one for next year.



    Step 4) - Take old price, add a bit, take some away, spilt up the suite and then recombine it in five other ways. Make sure the price eventually works out to basically the same price it's always been (immensely expensive). Call it done.
  • Reply 17 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is just the same old shite they do with every release IMO. Kind of sad really.



    Step 1) - "spruce it up!"



    Don't actually fix anything but move a lot of shit around. Maybe copy the look of whatever product was cool and new about five years ago.



    Step 2) - random movement



    Make sure that some things that were on menu a move to menu b and vice versa. Change a few icons (but only slightly). Maybe rename some shit. Make sure at least a couple of things disappear, but without any rhyme or reason.



    Step 3) - "new feature!" (note the singular)



    Always add one feature that you can't get anywhere else even if it's lame. If you have two new features, save one for next year.



    Step 4) - Take old price, add a bit, take some away, spilt up the suite and then recombine it in five other ways. Make sure the price eventually works out to basically the same price it's always been (immensely expensive). Call it done.



    Now that I think about it... Wow, makes me wish Photoshop 7 still worked on Intel Macs Could've saved a bundle on the Web Design suite CS5.5
  • Reply 18 of 54
    gwlaw99gwlaw99 Posts: 134member
    Its getting to the point of absurdity on this site that everything is stolen from apple. This looks more like elements than aperture.
  • Reply 19 of 54
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member
    And all of this can be yours for the low price of $999.99! But wait, there's more...
  • Reply 20 of 54
    Goddamn that blur correction looks amazing.



    Agree with all comments re: Photoshop interface. Used to be my favorite program, now I rank it just above "Excel" in terms of user-friendliness.
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