TLR Tone Mask Toolkit Panel
Submitted by mitch on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 10:53.
Ready for another Photoshop CS4 .SWF panel? Here's the second panel to make actions from The Light's Right even more useful and user-friendly! This one provides a Photoshop CS4 panel for the TLR Tone Mask Toolkit.
The TLR Tone Mask Toolkit is a Photoshop action set for generating tone-based masks. You can use the actions to isolate specific areas of an image, such as middle tones, 1/4 tones, etc.
Below is an example where the three-quarter tones are selected:
Below is a screenshot of the panel docked in Photoshop CS4 alongside the first TLR panel for CS4, the TLR Professional Sharpening Actions Panels. Instead of twenty-eight separate actions, what you see is a tidy user interface for making tone-based selections.
You simply select the tone range you want, decide whether you want a very narrow, narrow, or wide set of tones selected, and then decide how you want the result. The panel can leave you with an active selection, create a new layer with a layer mask, or simply leave a mask channel for your use. In addition, you can choose an inverted mask. Instead of selecting the highlights, for example, you could select everything except the highlights.
There are a few special tone ranges, too. High Contrast selects the highlights and shadows, ignoring the middle tones. High Key selects the highlights and one-quarter tones. Low Key selects the shadows and three-quarter tones.
The settings are sticky. Set them and they'll remain your default until you change them to something else.
I recommend that you dock the panel in Photoshop CS4. That way, it will load automatically when Photoshop starts ands you'll have tone-based selections at the ready!
Installing the panels is easy. Here are the steps:
- Download the .ZIP file. It contains the panels and, as a convenience, a copy of the TLRToneMaskToolkit action set.
- If the TLRToneMaskToolkit action set is not yet loaded into Photoshop, then load it.
- Unzip the panel and its associated Javascript file. You'll need both files. The .SWF panel uses the Javascript file to call the appropriate Photoshop actions.
- The .SWF panel and associated Javascript file go in the Panels subfolder under your Photoshop installation.
If you followed the Photoshop CS4 defaults during installation, you'll find the Panels subfolder in either of these locations:
- PC: Program Files\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Plug-Ins\
- Mac: Applications\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Plug-Ins\
Once you've copied the files, restart Photoshop CS4. Then go to Window | Extensions and click on the Tone Mask submenu item.
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Precious
Beautiful, your panels and actions rocks. Thank you for sharing !!
Update to TLR Tone Mask Toolkit Panel
I posted an update today. In the original version, the calls to the Photoshop actions cause the actions to open. This left the Actions palette rather untidy.
I rewrote all of the action calls. They will expand the action set(s). But the actions will run without expanding. This is much tidier.
Resized TLR Tone Mask Toolkit Panel
During the recent brown bag session, I was asked if I could make the tone mask penl the same size as the sharpening panels.
Well, of course. It was something I meant to do after I changed how the sharpening panels sized themselves. I forgot. So the mask panel was a slightly different size.
I posted an update today to the TLR Tone Mask Toolkit Sharpener that creates a pael that is consistent in size with the sharpening panels.
Thanks Glen, your hard work is much appreciated
It has been a while since i was last here and i can see you have been working hard updating your actions ...all of which are gold BTW
Glad to Have You Back
You've been missed.
I really can't save it !!!
I really can't save it !!! It's like a freaking dead research work cover photo on a broken flash drive when you have only 5 minutes to extract and print it or else you will be suspended from a university.
Re. I really can't save it !!!
What OS are you using?