Welcome Everybody

Hello ,
  How are you all?
I had changed the look of the blog little bit and I had added new photo .
I had used the most favorite persons I liked in the history of my country ,Akhenaten, and his wife Nefertiti.
I added also the most favorite place to visit for me which is the pyramids and sphinx.


I hope you will like my choice, and design. 


You can read more about them here. 
Akhenaten The King The Consolidated

Queen Nefertiti And How To Adjust Here Photo With Photoshop

Pharaohs Haspands and wifes

Queen TiyeThe Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III

I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING WITH US.

THANKS

MR 

What Do You Know About Ramadan?

Now all Muslims are celebrating Ramadan, the holy month.

   

Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting, in which Muslims refrain from dawn until sunset from eating, drinking, and sexual relations.    

It  is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days according to the visual sightings of the crescent moon according to numerous biographical accounts compiled in hadiths.

The word Ramadan comes from the Arabic root “ramida” or “ar-ramad,” which means scorching heat or dryness.

According to Islam, the sawab (rewards) of fasting are many, but in this month, they are believed to be multiplied.Muslims fast in this month to offer more prayers and Quran recitations.

Egyptian lanten

In the Quran

Give Your Photo a Pencil Sketch Effect Now, with video

A new Photoshop simple lesson ,very fast to do, with video. 
If you like to give different look to your photos. If you like your photo to look like a Pencil Sketch .   
Please continue reading ,and watch the video.

How To Make Your Photo Looks Like Cartoon ? with video

Some times we are tired of the look of our photos ,so we want new look for it .
That is the way to give your pictures the look of cartoon.

Convert Your Photos From 2D to 3D By Photoshop With Video .

If you want to add depth to your photos and make it 3D,it's easy .

 2D photo

That is the 2D photo 

 3D photo

That is the 3D photo 













HOW TO CONVERT THE 2D TO 3D PHOTO WITH STEP BY STEP VIDEO.

Adjusting The Dull Photos With Photoshop.

I don't like the dull photos so I had decided to change the black dull background of the photo of the coloured egg .
I designed many backgrounds ,then I chose two for posting.
I hope you will like them.
   

THE MANIPULATED PHOTO

THE ORIGINAL PHOTO

THE SECOND DESIGN  

How to manipulate ?

Haemolacria - Crying Blood

Crying Blood is a description of too much crying in our normal speech,but physically ,

Haemolacria is a physical condition that causes a person to produce tears that are partially composed of blood.

It can manifest as tears that are anything from merely red-tinged to appearing to be entirely made of blood.    

Haemolacria, or crying blood with Photoshop 

How to add realistic shadow to your pictures with Photoshop ?

It is so easy to add realistic shadow to your pictures with Photoshop . I had used a picture designed by Illustrator to be clear and easy .

How to do it .

1. Select the shape with the Quick Selection Tool ,or with the color range .
2. Cut the shape and paste it to new layer,and name it picture . 
3. With the Paint Bucket Tool, fill the space of cut picture with black . Select the black shape and cut it also.
4. Add new layer above the background layer and paste the black shape to it.Name the layer with shadow.  
5. Select the  background layer in the layer panel, then clean the picture and fill the space of cut with the same color .[ in the background layer]
6. Select the  shadow layer and apply Transform - Distort .[ Edit - Transform - Distort ].
7. From the layer panel, add layer mask to the shadow layer .Then add gradient overlay.
8. Blur the shadow [Filter -Blur -Gaussian Bur].
9. Reduce the layer opacity and fill  in the layer panel 
10. Save your work.

Khufu And Adding Photoshop Frame to his picture

 Khufu was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom,from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty after his father Sneferu . He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World .
Khufu's full name was "Khnum-Khufu" which means "the god Khnum protects me.
was the son of King Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres . 

Khufu had nine sons, one of whom, Djedefra, was his immediate successor. He also had fifteen daughters, one of whom would later become Queen Hetepheres II. 


His Life 
Khufu came to the Egyptian throne in his twenties, and reigned for about 23 years,some other sources reported 63 years and some others mentions 50 years .


Funerary monuments. 
Most likenesses of Khufu are lost to history. Only one miniature statuette has been fully attributed to this pharaoh.He is credited with building the single largest building of ancient times The Great Pyramid.
There are some other pieces discovered is now on display in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
An empty sarcophagus is located in the King's Chamber inside the pyramid though it is unclear if it had ever been used for such a purpose as burial.
Three small pyramids to the east of Khufu's pyramid are tentatively thought to belong to two of his wives, and the third has been ascribed to Khufu's mother Hetepheres I.
 A series of mastabas [ A mastaba is a type of Ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period. Mastabas were constructed out of mud-bricks or stone. ] were created adjacent to the small pyramids, and tombs have been found in this "cemetery". The closest tombs to Khufu's were those belonging to Prince Kawab and Khufukhaf I and their respective wives .


Khufu ship 
The Khufu ship is an intact full-size vessel from Ancient Egypt that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC. The ship was almost certainly built for Khufu (King Cheops), the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.




  I searched some resources to get that informations 


You can notice now the original picture of king Khufu , how it is very simple .I wanted to add to it different look so I make it a stamp .


HOW TO MAKE ? Please read more .

Ancient Egyptian symbols and Definitions, with Photoshop lesson

My design Cartouche : with my name inside on a Papyrus

  Manal 

Sign for Life :
   Ankh ,'The Key of Life' : 

   Ankh ,'The Key of Life' 

 Symbol of eternal life. The gods are often seen holding an ankh to someone's lips this is considered to be an offering of "The Breath of Life". The breath you will need in the afterlife.It is believed to unlock the mysteries of heaven and earth. Its design appears to combine the symbolic cross of Osiris and the oval of Isis. It is often shown being carried by the gods and pharaoh.

Symbol of the west bank of the Nile

Amenta 

Amenta 

This symbol represents the Underworld or Land of the Dead. Originally it meant the horizon of the sun set. Later, it became the symbol of the west bank of the Nile, where the sun set and also where the Egyptians traditionally buried their dead.




Sign for Encircling Protection :
   Cartouche :

Cartouche 

In the form of a knotted rope it was used to enclose the royal name of the pharaoh. The cartouche is the elongated form of the shen symbol. 

Symbol of Protection :

   Shen :

Shen 

A loop of rope that has no beginning and no end, it symbolized eternity. The sun disk is often depicted in the center of it.The word shen comes from the word "shenu" which means "encircle," and in its elongated form became the cartouche which surrounded the king's name.




symbol of spontaneous creation :

   Scarab :

Scarab 

Called the dung beetle because of its practice of rolling a ball of dung across the ground. The Egyptians observed this behavior and equated it with the ball of the sun being rolled across the sky. They confused this balled food source with the egg sack that the female dung beetle laid and buried in the sand. When the eggs hatched the dung beetles would seem to appear from nowhere, making it a symbol of spontaneous creation. In this role it was associated with the sunrise.




Symbol of Union upper and lower Egypt :
   Pshent :

Pshent 

The Double Crown, the red crown and the white crown put together to represent a unified Egypt. Although Egypt was not always a unified nation it was stronger that way.Therefore unification was desirable. Narmer (Menes), the founder of the First Dynasty around 3100 B.C., was the first man recorded wearing this crown.

Deshret  

      -Deshret  The Red Crown. This was the crown that represented Lower Egypt (northern).
   

Hedjet

       -Hedjet    The White Crown. This was the crown of Upper Egypt (southern).

Sema 

Symbol represents the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
   Sema : 
the lungs attached to the windpipe. 

Sema bound with two plants

In these renderings we see the Sema bound with two plants, the papyrus and the lotus. The papyrus represents Lower Egypt and the lotus represents Upper Egypt. 








Symbol of  Healing :

  Eye of Horus (Wedjat, Udjat) :

 Eye of Horus (Wedjat, Udjat)

During his confrontations with the god Seth, Horus is said to have lost his left eye, which represented the moon. However his wife, the goddess Hathor, restored it. That is why the wedjat symbolises healing.

Sign for Rebirth 
   Lotus : You can read more about lotus flowers here




Symbol of Ascension :

   Pyramid : 

Pyramid

It is believed the pyramid was a representation of the world's axis, with the body of the structure symbolising man's ascent to the heavenly skies - in particular, Pharaoh's ascension to Heaven and the Afterlife. It has also been proposed that the pyramid may have symoblised the sloping rays of the sun as a source of eternal strength and energy.  

Symbol of stability and strength :
   Djed  : 

 Djed

It is believed that the Djed is a rendering of a human backbone. 




Symbol of truth, justice, morality and balance :

   Feather of Maat :

 Feather of Maat 

 It was pharaoh's job to uphold Maat. When a pharaoh died, Maat was lost and the world was flung into chaos, only the coronation of a new pharaoh could restore Maat. 

Fetish of Osiris

Symbol of Osiris and Anubis :
   Fetish of Osiris :
An animal skin hanging from a stick .







Symbol of gold :
   Nebu : 
 gold was considered a divine metal, it was thought to be the flesh of the gods. Its polished surface was related to the brilliance of the sun. Gold was important to the afterlife as it represents aspects of immortality. By the New Kingdom, the royal burial chamber was called the "House of Gold."




symbol of authority :

 Sekhem

   Sekhem :






 There are many other symbols ,but it will be so long post.


HOW TO DESIGN THE ART WORK ?

Sinai Peninsula...How To Group Many Photos Together with Photoshop?

Sinai is the land of discovery.It is the route to the Promised Land, where Isis sought Osiris and the Pharaohs found gold.After 8,000 years at the heart of history, experience the continuing contrasts. Sinai is where rock meets coral reef and the desert stops at the sea.It is the grandeur of granite meeting golden beaches. Here, you will find tropical fish and rare birds, spectacular sunsets and clear starry nights.

Some places in Sinai 

The name Sinai is derived from the Mount Sinai . 
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt which is about 60,000 km square  It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south.It is the only part of Egypt located in Asia. Egyptians also refer to it as the "Land of Fayrouz" The peninsula is divided into two Egyptian governorates[North ,and South], and has a population of approximately 1.3 million people.
 
North Sinai[ Shamal Sina] 
El-Arish: has shady palm beaches , Mediterranean waves and the glowing colors of Bedouin crafts.

South Sinai[  Ganub Sina] 
Sharm el-Sheikh: is the simplicity of sun, sea and sand. The luxury of five-star hotels, water sports, shopping and entertainment.

• Ras Mohamed: is a world famous paradise of coral gardens and tropical fish. 
• Mount Moses: sometimes referred to as the Holy Mountains (El-Tur) .The 7,497 foot mountain has 3,750 steps hewn out of stone by monks of St. Catherine's Monastery, which is located just to the North.
• Dahab: Dahab means "gold" in Arabic. In Sinai it means golden sands,and turquoise sea. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Sinai that presents divers and snorkelers a wide variety of tropical fish in every color of the rainbow. 
• Taba: It lies at the northernmost edge of the Gulf of Aqaba. In modern times, it is best known as the last piece of land that was returned to Egypt following Israel's occupation of Sinai. 

 Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinai's cities and towns reach −16 °C (3.2 °F).

Interesting Sites of Sinai 
-Blue Desert The Blue Desert: lies western and very close to the monastery of St. Catherine's. The Belgian artist Jean Verame has painted many boulders with a blue color  It was - with the permission of the late president Anwar El Sadat - meant to symbol the end of the war between Israel and Egypt.
-Blue Hole: This most famous and probably most beautiful diving spot in all Sinai, also known as "The Canyon", lies approx. 10 km north of Dahab.
-Coloured Canyon: The Colored Canyon has become a very popular safari destination. It lies close to the town of Nuweiba and can be combined with a trip to the St. Catherine's Monastery. 
-Ayun Musa  Ayun Musa (Moses springs) is a small oasis, situated south of Suez.
-Hammam Pharaon: Approx. 45 km south of Ras Sidr, there is the Pharaoh’s Bath called Hammam Pharaon. There are hot water springs as well as a cave that leads inside the bath. It is very hot here and it smells of Hydrogen Sulfate.
-Ras Mohamed: The Ras Mohamed National Park is a nature protected area approx. 30 km south of Sharm El Sheikh.
-Tiran Island: Tiran lies in the Gulf of Aqaba, right between Ras Mohamed and Saudi Arabia, divers are attracted to this place, that offers plenty of opportunities for brilliant views and underwater safaris. 
- There are more places to visit in Sinai .

I had collected some pictures from Sinai to show you its beauty that comes from its nature .I designed photo shop picture to collect some picture on a blue background to resemble the pure blue color of its sea ,and white dots to resemble the falling snow in winter.I had been there long time ago and I could not forget it ,and its nice palm beach in El-Arish with the golden sand and blue water and clear sky .

HOW TO COLLECT THAT PICTURES TOGETHER ?

Pharaoh { The Ancient Egyptian King } ... How To Add Brick's Background ? Photoshop Lesson

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods.The title means ‘’great house’’ and describes the royal palace.The title of Pharaoh started being used for the king during the New Kingdom, specifically during the middle of the eighteenth dynasty. For simplification, there is a general acceptance amongst modern writers to use the term to relate to all periods.

                                                                                          

The original picture

   The picture after fixing 

Here I had a picture of a Pharaoh  wearing the Nemes [ The nemes was the striped head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt. It covered the whole crown and back of the head and nape of the neck (sometimes also extending a little way down the back) and had two large flaps which hung down behind the ears and in front of both shoulders] headdress, a false beard, and an ornate kilt holding the ANKH [ key of life, the key of the Nile]


I wanted to add a background to the picture to change its look.


How to add the background ? 

Firist of all, open the document with transparent background.

• Fill the layer with the color you like .[ Edit menu -Fill]  
• Go to Window menu and select Style to open the Style panel .Select the style orange gradient with shadow .
• Go to Filter menu and select Texture - Mosaic tiles .  
• Add new layer ,then place the picture [ File menu -Place] .
• Save your picture. 

Thanks a lot

MR

Manal Raafat

Fire, and How To Design Fire Animation with Photoshop?

Have you ever seen fire, I hope no. That is a very bad view, it will result in a very bad feeling for you.

Here I wanted to explain the animation of photoshop on a clear photo .

What is fire ?
  Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide [which is toxic]gases.

The flame is the visible portion of the fire and consists of glowing hot gases.Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity might vary.

Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning.

Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems across the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. 

Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, signaling, and propulsion purposes. 

The negative effects of fire include decreased water purity, increased soil erosion, an increase in atmospheric pollutants and an increased hazard to human life.


Fire Triangle
 A fire requires three elements: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). 

The fire is prevented or extinguished by removing any one of them. A fire naturally occurs when the elements are combined in the right mixture. 


 Fire Extinguishing
 Fire can be extinguished by removing any one of the elements of the fire Triangle.

• Turning off the gas supply.
• covering the flame completely.
• Application of water, which removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it .
•  Application of a retardant chemical such as Halon to the flame, which retards the chemical reaction itself until the rate of combustion is too slow to maintain the chain reaction.

 HOW TO MAKE THE FIRE ANIMATION IN PHOTOSHOP ?

Queen Meritites The First, and her pyramid, with Photoshop lesson.

  Meritites I, or Meryetyotes was an ancient Egyptian Queen of the 4th dynasty.

She was a daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of King Khufu [her half brother].
Her name means "Beloved of her Father". Mariette recorded a stela at Giza in which Meritites is said to be a favorite of both Sneferu and Khufu.
Meritites was buried in the middle Queen's Pyramid in Giza.

The original picture of the pyramid of the queen.

I found it pale, dull, and not clear and very simple. The sky and sand was very pale, the stones is not clear. All the picture was small.
         

That is the new look of the picture

I do not like the look of the picture so I added some adjustments to it explained below.

*I had increased its size.

*I added some adjustments to the sky and sand to make it more bright and to the stones of the pyramid to make more it clear.

*I added also suitable frame and canvas to give more depth and write notes on the picture .    

You can read more below 
                       
Her Pyramid 

Her pyramid is thought to be her tomb.The queen's pyramids were often constructed to the south of the king's pyramid . The scientists thought that construction of her pyramid was in year 15 of the reign of Khufu, It had a small mortuary temple and a boat pit associated with it,but no boat was found in the rock cut boat pit .The mortuary temple was decorated with scenes.
The title of Queen was preserved in a fragment now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. 

I COLLECTED THE STORY FROM MANY RESOURCES.

HOW TO DESIGN ?

Tarut Island and Tarut Castle in Saudi Arabia, and how to color the black and white photos with Photoshop.

Location

It is the second longest island in the Arabian Gulf after Qeshm Island, which is the biggest island in the Gulf, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

It extends from Ras Tanura in the north to Qatif in the west.The island includes many smaller towns and villages such as Tarut town.

Tarut Castle in Saudi Arabia before Photoshop manipulation

Climate
The Island's climate is unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Tarut retains its warm temperature throughout winter, during which it gets around 0c (32F) at midnight to +25c (77F) in the afternoon.Since the island is near the Arabian coast, the humidity is very high; sometimes reaching 96% humidity. Rainfall on the island is rare, but when it does rain, it is usually in December and January.

History  

Tarut Castle in Saudi Arabia after Photoshop manipulation

If you would like to look at the deep past of Eastern Saudi Arabia, your mind will go to a small island in the Persian Gulf. 

Present time has forgotten it and its treasures and it needs to be dusted off. When you are walking in its old villages, you will see adjoining houses that are built from mud and stone with narrow alleyways, too. 
Their presence is in the distant past. When looking at the houses, you draw memories from generation after generation that have long passed. This island is Tarut. Tarut or Tarout means goodness and beauty in the Semitic languages. Additionally, the town’s name is recorded as "TARU" in historical Chinese texts and "Ashtarut" in Arabic history. Today, however, most of the new researchers argue that the correct name is "Ashtarut" because the Canaanites and Phoenicians, who originally lived there, idolized the beauty of the town and called it Ashtarut. The term Ashtarut is also very similar to the new name Tarut , if we delete the first syllable.

Tarut Castle 
It is the most famous castle in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and the oldest castle in the Persian Gulf. It was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, It is located in the center of Tarut Island .On the towers of the castle, the viewer can see most of the island.

Donkeys Bath
Donkeys Bath was located in Aldeerah Town at the end of the Ein Al-aoudeh channel. Tourists would wash their donkeys since donkeys were the main transportation on Tarut Island before cars. It was destroyed in 1996 and there are no remains.
 
Mohammed Abdelwahab Castle in Dareen 
Sheikh Mohammed Abdelwahab, who is one of the famous pearl traders in the Persian Gulf built a castle in 1885. The castle was a place for meeting, hospitality, and trading. Today, ruins are the only evidence of the castle’s former existence.

I hoped the story liked you I tried to collect it from many resources.
I found the original picture was black and white ,so I added some colors to it ,and that is how to add the colors to the photo  .

HOW TO ADD THE COLOR TO THE PHOTO ?

The Swans ( Changing the Photo with Photoshop Filters)

In the last post I mentioned that we can give our pictures different looks with the use of filters.
Here are some different looks for the same picture of the swans .

 The original picture of swans.   

You can see the different looks with the different filters in Photo-shop .

Simple way to apply filters ?

1. Open the picture in photoshop.
2. Go to Filter menu and choose convert to smart filter so all the adjustments you will apply will not be destructive to the image.[Smart Filters, applied to Smart Objects, let you use filters non-destructively. Smart Filters are stored as layer effects in the Layers panel and can be readjusted at any time]
3. After that try the filters you like and apply to your image.
4. Save your work. 

Here are the different looks for the same photo . 
      

In the third raw I used the Render Filter then Lens Flair and I just change the site of the lens on the dialog box .

Guidelines for Using filters

• Choose the sub-menu from the Filter menu. 
• Filters are applied to the active, visible layer or a selection .
• If no dialog box appears, the filter effect is applied.
• If a dialog box or the Filter Gallery appears, enter values or select options, and then click OK.
• Not all filters can be applied to all images .[It depends upon how many bit]. 

You can find some more in Art Work 

Thanks
Manal Raafat

Adjusting Photo With Photoshop Filters

You can use filters to clean up or retouch your photos, apply special art effects that give your image the appearance you like.

You can give your photos also different look like sketch or distortions and lighting effects.

Using a smart Filters let you use filters non-destructively the same as smart objects.

Smart Filters are stored as layer effects in the Layers panel and can be readjusted at any time.

The original photo of my grandson 

In the original picture you can see how the hair of the boy was standing, it appears that someone took the picture while he was playing to have fun, so I liked to adjust it to show you some effects of the filters.

after the filter application 

I used here two types of filters here to fix the hair and to make the boy little bit prominent ,against faded background.

Let's go and see how to fix it .

HOW TO FIX THE PICTURE ?

Fixing Photos with Retouching Tools by Photoshop

The retouch let you change your images to accomplish a variety of tasks.

• To improve a composition.
• To correct distortions or flaws.
• To manipulate picture elements .
• To add or remove items, sharpen or blur, or merge multiple images into a panorama.

The original photo

How nice.

after photoshop manipulation

 Please visit the Photoshop Learning tab to read more about it.

To fix a photo like that one up you need many tools called the retouching tools, to remove the scars and dark dots to make it clear like the picture on the right.
I used the Spot Healing Brush Tool, and The Healing Brush Tool.

• The Spot Healing Brush Tool  

 Its use is very easy. In the options panel, choose Proximity Match, and check Sample All layers,and adjust the brush size.
You will not do anything more. Just click on the area you want to treat.

• The Healing Brush Tool. 

It is more complicated you need to sample the area you like then add it to the defected area.

1. In the Option bar, adjust Source to sampled and choose from Sample what layers you like.
2. Adjust the Brush size to the size of the good area you want to sample, or little smaller. 
3. To sample the area you like just click the area you like while pressing the tab key. 
4. Go to the defected area and click it.

They are easy to manipulate and use, try it now. 

Thanks 
MR
Manal Raafat