Extension Manager for Adobe software is out of beta and is free!

Install, Remove, Update, Manage any extensions on Adobe Creative Cloud & Creative Suite easily! Anastasiy’s Extension Manager is finally out of beta and is free!

Extension Manager for Adobe Creative Suite/Cloud
Extension Manager for Adobe Creative Suite/Cloud

WHAT’S NEW IN V1.24:
– Supports all .zxp and .mxp extensions, including 3rd party plugins
– Windows & Mac OS X compatible – native app for both platforms!
– Full Adobe CS5, CS6, CC, CC2014, CC2015 and CC2016 support (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Premiere Pro, Flash Pro, Fireworks)
– Bugs fixed and UI is improved by users’ feedback

Download Anastasiy’s .zxp/.mxp extension manager for Adobe Creative Suite/Cloud

Tip#52: Background/foreground and fill/stroke color picking in MagicPicker

Picking foreground/background colors in Photoshop and Fill/Stroke in Illustrator
Picking foreground/background colors in Photoshop and Fill/Stroke in Illustrator

Pick foreground or background colors separately with MagicPicker! Click the appropriate color swatch on the panel to make it active in Adobe Photoshop. In Adobe Illustrator switch between Stroke and Fill colors

MagicPicker, the advanced color picking and color wheel panel for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Tip#51: K-Lock in MagicPicker 4

K-Lock lets you keep your colors bright in CMYK and decrease K level to 10% or zero in any given color! You can make colors darker or brighter while keeping value of K the same so they all come out vivid when printing. Just set the value and then click the button to lock it down. You can adjust K on the fly in that mode making colors even darker!

MagicPicker, the advanced color wheel and color picker for Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator

Image © Marcelo Maiolo, colorist on Batman Beyond, Pacific Rim

Tip#50: MixColors 2 and new swatch groups

New MixColors 2.0 is the fastest way to organize swatches in groups in Photoshop.

  • Click on the folder icon to create new group
  • Click on the group name to activate it
  • Click on arrow next to group name to hide/show colors in the group.
MixColors panel with swatch color groups in Photoshop
MixColors panel with swatch color groups in Photoshop

You can move colors between groups and inside one group using drag’n’drop! The feature works across all modern versions of Photoshop from CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS6 up to CC 2015.

MixColors, the color mixer and swatch group manager for Adobe Photoshop

MixColors 2.0 brings Color Swatch Groups, Cloud Sync, more!

MixColors 2.0 finally delivers intuitive Swatch Groups, adds Cloud Sync, gets next-gen color mixing formula, brings full Adobe Photoshop CC2015 support and more!

MixColors 2.0 for Photoshop with Swatch Colors Groups, Cloud Sync
MixColors 2.0 for Photoshop with Swatch Colors Groups, Cloud Sync

WHAT’S NEW:
– Color groups. Reimagined! New simple and intuitive color group management with drag’n’drop support.
– Sync colors and color groups with the Cloud – safe 256-bit encryption on the server side! Easy cloud handling.
– Color mixing improved – next-gen color mixing formula for faster and more accurate results.
– Adobe Photoshop CC 2015+ and CC 2014 support – MixColors has been rewritten from scratch to support new Adobe Creatve Cloud platform.
– Color history is improved.
– Small/large color swatches handling improved.
– Tons of performance improvements on CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6 and CC platforms.
– A lot of bug fixes and improvements by your feedback.

MixColors, the one and only physically accurate color mixer for Adobe Photoshop

Tip#49: Traditional color wheel

With MagicPicker you can pick colors on the Traditional Color Wheel – a color wheel based on 12 basic colors used in traditional painting. That allows you to pick colors having relationship based on physical pigments of the paints. For example in this color scheme complement colors red is the opposite to green and yellow is opposite to purple. This color wheel is often referred to as Itten’s Color Wheel.

MagicPicker - switch to traditional color wheel
MagicPicker - switch to traditional color wheel

Switch to this mode by clicking on the button to the right-bottom of the color wheel.

MagicPicker, the advanced color wheel and color picker for Photoshop and Illustrator

Tip#47: MagicPicker keyboard shortcuts/modifiers cheat sheet

One of the biggest support cases is the knowledge of keyboard modifiers in MagicPicker. Basically it’s three of them: ALT, SHIFT and CTRL/CMD. And here they go in one place altogether!

MagicPicker keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet
MagicPicker keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Don’t forget that you can use a combination of them as well! Like Pressing ALT+SHIFT on the color wheel will change background color while keeping the color’s tone with temporary Tone Lock last the same time!

MagicPicker, the advanced color wheel for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

MagicPicker 4.4 is here!

MagicPicker just updated! New K-Lock lets you lock level of the black in CMYK, Hue/Color Temperature shift for groups in Illustrator. Bug fixes, speed improvements, activation and installation improvements! All new features will be covered in the upcoming tutorials! Please stay tuned to the blog! MagicPicker v4.4 provides the same features across CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6, CC, CC2014, CC2015!

MagicPicker 4.4: K-Lock, Hue and Color Temperature Shift, new features!
MagicPicker 4.4: K-Lock, Hue and Color Temperature Shift, new features!

MagicPicker, the advanced color wheel and color picker for Photoshop and Illustrator

*If you’re having problems with installation please try our new Adobe Extensions Installer and Remover for ZXP panels.

Tip#46: All in one place!

Hide Photoshop or Illustrator toolbar and let MagicPicker unclutter your workspace. All active shortcuts from the original toolbar for quick color management are in one place available on the panel: foreground and background swatches (can be bigger than originals, stroke/background colors in Illustrator), default colors, color exchange and foreground/background link (specific to MagicPicker, covered in previous tutorials).

Essential buttons
Essential buttons

MagicPicker, the color wheel/advanced color picker and other panels for Photoshop & Illustrator

Tip#44: Tone Lock of the background color in MagicPicker

Did you know you can quickly change hue of the background color in MagicPicker while keeping its perceived brightness (tone)? Just press ALT + SHIFT while clicking and moving the cursor on the color wheel (or just ALT or your pen’s button with Tone Lock On). That lets you keep background color within the same gamut very easily and achieve constant organic coloration across your painting/design/photography/artwork.

Quickly adjust background's hue while keeping its perceived brightness
Quickly adjust background's hue while keeping its perceived brightness

Works with Color Temperature Wheel and on the color pane in H(SB) mode. In Color Temperature Wheel mode it will let you keep background color’s perceived brightness while changing its temperature.

MagicPicker, the advanced color wheel and color picker for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator