Photoshop Splash Screens

I created the beta splash screens for Photoshop and ImageReady CS.

Every release, the Photoshop team has a contest to see who can come up with the best splash screens using the code-name for the beta versions of Photoshop and ImageReady.

For DarkMatter, I basically started with an image of clouds for the background. I then used a series of shapes to create the black hole and concentric circles. I used a bunch of blurring and advanced blending techniques to create the wispy, weathered look and feel of the image and the edges.

There's a warped "8" for the version number on the right hand side, and an upside down "dm" on the left hand side. You'll also notice the Big Electric Cat, or Becky, peeking out from the dark clouds on left. Becky is the Photoshop team's version of "Where's Waldo." See if you can find Becky in previous and future versions of Photoshop.

For Taconite, I chose an image of an ore ship leaving Duluth Harbor. I converted it to black & white and did some vignetting to make the image look older. I added the code name "Taconite" and the version number to back of the boat. Then, I painted over it to make it to look hand colored.

Taconite is an ore used to make iron. There are a lot of taconite mines in Minnesota, where ImageReady and Save For Web are developed. I wanted to put in a special hidden screen that was for Taco-Nite, which would have been a picture of the ImageReady development team feasting on Tacos.

I didn't enter the splash screen contest for CS2. For more info on Photoshop splash screens visit here.