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Using Smart Objects and Live Color

Mordy Golding

This video demonstrates the how the integration of Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign lets you maintain the editability of an image opened and edited successively as a Smart Object in each of the applications.

Requirements

To follow along with this article, you will need the following software and files:

• Illustrator CS3
• Photoshop CS3
• InDesign CS3
• Sample file (ZIP, 0.3 MB)

Watch this tutorial in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Video Workshop.

Using Smart Objects and Live Color

1. Start Illustrator CS3. Choose File > Open and open snowboard_guy.ai. This is sample artwork that's been created in Illustrator, which you'll take into Photoshop and apply some filters. Finally, you'll place the image into a layout in InDesign.
2. Start Photoshop CS3. Choose File > New.
3. This opens the New Document dialog box. Change the Width to 8 inches and the Height to 10 inches and click OK .
4. Choose File > Place. Select snowboard_guy.ai and click Place.
5. Click OK in the Place PDF dialog box.
6. Move the image so that it fits on the screen and double-click to place it.

7. The Illustrator image automatically becomes a Smart Object in Photoshop. This is indicated by the Smart Object icon next to the image in the Layers palette (see Figure 1). (If the Layers palette is not open, choose Window > Layers to open it.) A Smart Object is like a symbol in Flash - a copy of the original object you can change without affecting the original - but it's also similar to a linked or embedded graphic, in that you can click the Smart Object icon in the Layers palette to modify the original file in the native application.

   

   Figure 1: Smart Objects are indicated by the Smart Object icon in the Layers palette.

8. Press Cmd/Ctrl and T to reveal the scaling handles. Drag the top right-hand corner of the image out to enlarge the image and click in drag the image itself to center it back in the document window. Press Enter/Return to commit to the changes.

9. Though it's already been rasterized, because this image is a Smart Object, it's re-rendered at the new size - none of the detail from the original image is lost (see Figure 2).

   

   Figure 2: Smart Objects can be scaled to any size without any loss of detail.

10. Normally when you apply an effect in Photoshop, you don't have the opportunity to edit the effect after it's been committed to. With Smart Objects, you can use the new Smart Filters feature available in Photoshop CS3. Choose Filter > Render > Lens Flare. This opens the Lens Flare dialog box.

11. Click and drag the flare in the preview window over the mountain peak (see Figure 3). Click OK.

    

    Figure 3: The Lens Flare dialog box.

12. Notice the filter appears in the Layers palette as a Smart Filter. The great thing about Smart Filters is you can continue to make changes to the filter for the life of the document.
13. Double-click the Lens Flare layer to re-open the Lens Flare dialog box.
14. Move the flare right above the snowboarder's head and click OK.
15. Press Cmd/Ctrl and S to save the document. Name the file snowboarder and choose Photoshop form the Format dropdown. Click Save to save the file as a native Photoshop document (or PSD).
16. Click OK to Maximize Compatibility in the Photoshop Format Options dialog box.
17. Now start InDesign CS3.
18. Choose File > New and click OK to accept the new document default settings.
19. Choose File > Place. Select snowboarder.psd and click Open.
20. InDesign loads a thumbnail of the Photoshop file into your cursor. Click once in the top left-hand corner of the document to place the image.
21. Right-click or Ctrl+click and choose Display Performance > High Quality Display to make sure you're viewing the high resolution version of the file. Now you can start making more adjustments using the InDesign tool set.
22. With the new integration between the CS3 applications, you can actually adjust and undo changes or effects you've made in other programs. For example, you can adjust the Smart Filter you applied in Photoshop without closing InDesign.
23. First, choose the Selection tool and select the image. Press the Alt/Option key and double-click on the image. This invokes the Edit Original command and opens the original file, snowboarder.psd, in Photoshop.
24. Double-click the Lens Flare layer to re-open the Lens Flare dialog box. Move the Brightness to the left to change the setting to 70%. Click OK.

25. This is a more subtle effect (see Figure 4).

    

    Figure 4: Double-click the Lens Flare Smart Filter to re-change the brightness of the filter.

26. Now, let's say you'd like to change some of the colors in your image. Since the image came from Illustrator, you need to edit the original. Again, since Illustrator and Photoshop are now so closely integrated, it's easier than ever to open and edit that original.
27. Double-click the Smart Object icon next to the snowboard_guy layer to open the original image in Illustrator.

28. Press Cmd/Ctrl and A to select all the layers in the Illustrator file. These layers have been set up with color groups, which should appear in the Swatches panel (see Figure 5). You'll use the Live Color feature in Illustrator to make adjustments to these groups.

    

    Figure 5: The color group are indicated by the folders in the Swatches panel.

29. Choose the Color Guide panel and click the color wheel icon. This opens the Live Color dialog box (see Figure 6).

    

    Figure 6: The Live Color dialog box.

30. From here, you can choose between the color groups and re-color the entire image. For example, you can click on any of the color sample radiuses, rotate it, or move it in and out on the wheel, to replace the color of a particular swatch. Or you can choose from one of the predefined color groups on the right-hand side of the dialog box. Choose the Aquo Color color group and click OK.

31. This changes the color scheme of the entire image (see Figure 7).

    

    Figure 7: Selecting a Color Group changed the color scheme of the selected layers.

32. To push these changes to the Photoshop (and the InDesign) documents, simply save the file. Choose File > Save.
33. Return to Photoshop. The Smart Object automatically updates with the new color scheme.
34. Now save the Photoshop file.
35. Return to InDesign. The color scheme and the Lens Flare are both updated (see Figure 7). From here you could make additional changes, or go back down the ladder and adjust the Photoshop filters or original graphics in Illustrator. With the new integration between Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, the editability is preserved every step of the way.

Where to go from here

For more information and additional tutorials, visit the Adobe Design Center.