 Adobe Creative Suite 5 'First Look'
As we enter the second decade of the new millennium, Adobe rises
like a phoenix from the ashes of old technology. On April 12th,
Adobe unveils its newest creation, their Creative Suite 5:
reconfiguring, rethinking, and reinventing fifteen of Adobe’s
most popular software programs. Adobe’s newest Creative Suite 5,
is not a mere upgrade; but a labor of love, giving birth to a new
era of digital thinking.
Adobe, as always, is in the forefront of innovation. Recognizing
that we live in a fast moving, global society of rapidly changing
technology, with CS5, Adobe brings its loyal users the tools to
keep up, and surpass, the constant changes in computers and mobile
devices that bombard us on a daily basis.
Without question, we have become a technology driven society.
While our televisions are now HD super-sized, our mobile
communications have become multifunctional mini-devices. The once
nerdy computer geeks have morphed into the everyday populous;
everyone, from toddlers to their grandparents, are now computer
literate and technology curious. With CS5 it is apparently clear
that Adobe has done its homework.
The new Creative Suite provides a nearly flat-line learning
curve for its new users, while still allowing access for those who
prefer to go “old school†and utilize coding. Adobe understands
its customers’ needs and has created a “new world order†of
software tools that are both user-friendly and cutting-edge.
With well over 250 new features in Adobe’s Creative Suite 5,
this preview focuses on giving you a sneak peek at some of the more
innovative features within Adobe’s newest creative software
advancement.
Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator CS5
Recently celebrating its 20th anniversary, Photoshop has become
the flagship of Adobe’s software arsenal. More than a mere
essential photographer’s tool, Photoshop has become a verb in our
modern vocabulary. Although it was originally designed to function
as a “dry-darkroom†for photographers of all levels of
expertise, artists have long embraced Photoshop as their prime
source for digital painting.
New ~ Bristle Brush
With the advent of CS5, painting with Photoshop and Illustrator
is about to morph into an indispensible part of a digital
artist’s artistic experience. The precision of the new Bristle
brush qualities, along with the new Mixer Brush, allows digital
artists the creative freedom to paint in a traditional artistic
environment. The Mixer Brush provides the ability to simulate the
mixing of paints, not just the illusion of layering one color on
top of another, while the new Bristle Brush features allow for
precise control of the size, shape and type of a specific
paintbrush’s bristles.
New ~ Bristle Brush
Photoshop CS5 Extended sports new creative 3D artistic
capabilities, including Adobe Repousse (the ancient technique of
embossing artwork on the surface of metals). There is also the
“how did I live without it†Content-Aware Fill, which magically
fills in the background behind a removed object, and the invaluable
Truer Edge selection technology, which precisely defines edges down
to the last stray hair.
New ~ True Edge
Illustrator CS5 has new “perspective†and “stroke†tools
that pave the way to innovative vector drawings and paintings. Also
new to Illustrator CS5 is the Shape Builder tool, which intuitively
joins, redefines and fills in shapes with a mere drag and click of
the cursor. The Shape Builder tool also comes with an interactive
color selection for coloring in specified areas.
New to Adobe Illustrator CS5 ~ Perspective Tool
Flash Catalyst CS5 and Flash CS5
Flash Catalyst CS5, is one of the most ground-breaking, and
anticipated features in Adobe’s Creative Suite 5. Flash Catalyst
CS5 allows designers to publish SWF files or Adobe AIR applications
with ease, without the need to write code.
New ~ Flash Catalyst CS5
With Flash Catalyst CS5, designers are now free to create
sophisticated, dynamic, and interactive content using their static
Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks designs. They can then share
their project files confidently with developers using Adobe Flash
Builder, assured that their files will be compliant and have
professional functionality.
Designers will especially appreciate the new Text Layout
Framework built into Flash Player 10 and supported by Flash
Professional CS5. This new feature allows for professional print
quality typography functions within a Flash format.
New Adobe Flash CS5 ~ Text Engine
InDesign CS5 and Dreamweaver CS5
Adobe InDesign has a double celebration, not only is it the
publishing industry’s leading software’s 10th anniversary, it
is also getting a much deserved virtual facelift. The stately
beautiful, yet static content of InDesign CS5 comes alive with
interactivity resources, as well as video and audio capabilities.
InDesign CS5 files can now be exported and integrated into other
Adobe applications for dynamic viewing.
New to Adobe InDesign CS5 ~ variable size page layouts
With the surge of online reading devices, authors of eBooks can
augment their projects using InDesign CS5 and the enhanced support
of EPUB file formats. Print layout is now easier to format with the
ability to create variable sizes of page layouts within a single
document. This is a vital feature for publications with foldout
spreads.
The most profound new feature in DreamWeaver CS5 is the ability
to develop websites with little or no web-coding knowledge.
Although known for its user-friendly interface, DreamWeaver CS5
removes even more of the frustration out of web designing. The new
Dynamically Related Files feature provides a straightforward
approach to web designing, by allowing even the novice designer to
effortlessly create, update, and maintain website content.
After Effects CS5 and Premiere Pro CS5
Streamlining is a major theme within CS5, and Adobe has revamped
and redesigned After Effects CS5 with streamlined efficiency.
Although many of the program’s multitude of new features are
inconspicuous, they are all vital changes; by removing (or
improving upon) many mundane tasks, After Effects CS5 provides an
abundance of room for creativity.
The perfect example of ease of function in After Effects CS5 is
in the new Roto Brush (which functions like the Quick Select tool
in Photoshop). The art of rotoscoping is a tedious process in the
film industry, demanding hours of frame-by-frame precision. After
Effects CS5 could possibly revolutionize the film industry with its
new Roto Brush, which “like magic†removes a foreground subject
from film footage, even with complex background, simply by painting
strokes inside the foreground subject.
New to Adobe After Effect CS5 ~ Roto Brush
Premiere Pro CS5 is fueled by the new and powerful Mercury
Playback Engine. According to Adobe press release, the Mercury
Playback Engine, “sets a new standard in high-performance editing
with or without CPU acceleration in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.â€
New ~ Mercury Playback Engine
CS Live Online Services
New features and functions are also available within Adobe’s
Creative Suite Live Online Services. Including CS Reviews and
Acrobat.com, where colleagues and clients can view, review, and
interact as they share a variety of Adobe related projects online
in real time.
An invaluable tool for web designers is the Adobe BrowserLab, which tests and provides
feedback on the compatibility and functionality of web pages, as
they relate to a variety of web browsers. Designers can pin point
problem code and then effortlessly correct any errors in
DreamWeaver.
New to CS Live this year, is Adobe Story. This new function
allows screenwriters to not only write and format screenplays, but
it also automatically converts script elements into metadata. Once
more, Adobe’s innovative creative team has developed
ground-breaking ideas to streamline time and promote imaginative
thinking.
New ~ Adobe Story
System Requirements
In this new decade of ever changing technology and power-driven
multimedia devices, Adobe has been consistent in providing its
users with software solutions to match the growing “need for
speed.†With that in mind, a processor with 64 bit support is
required to run Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Although 2GB
of RAM is Adobe’s minimum requirement to run CS5 programs
effectively, 4GB or higher is recommended. Be sure to visit the
Adobe site for a complete listing of system requirements for
individual programs and/or suite bundles.
Adobe CS5 Pre-Order Information
Adobe anticipates shipping their Creative Suite 5 software
within 30 days. As spring turns to summer, the staff of
Renderosity’s Front Page News will be providing in-depth
reviews of the new and innovative features of Adobe’s Creative
Suite 5 programs. Until then, we invite you to visit the Adobe site
and join them in their celebration of a new year of creativity.
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