Adobe Creative Cloud 2014 Changes / Coles Notes from the Keynote Address

Everything New is New Again

So if you’re a digital creative you’ve surely known by now that Adobe’s CS (Creative Suite) has gone the way of the dinosaur.  Adobe has focused its efforts to CC (Creative Cloud) type apps that are tied in through the cloud.  On June 18th Adobe held a live webcast to talk about the changes.

Watch the full keynote on Adobe

Click on image to watch the full keynote on Adobe

 

Main Updates from the Keynote

If you don’t feel like watching the full 1 hour and 52 minutes of the entire keynote address then read on.  I took notes while watching it myself.

Video

Adobe stated they are now the leader in video editing software, surpassing the other guys (ahem, Apple).

  • Speedgrade and Premier work better together.
  • Rendering time is much faster because Speedgrade and Premier work better together.
  • Added better masking capabilities.  You can now mask over objects that move, keyframe to keyframe.  Masking moving objects was a pain to do in the past.
  • Multiple masking layers in After Effects.  It now allows you to alter layer masks on certain objects, even if they move.
Design
Designers can now work effortlessly across multiple devices, working on more and more mediums.  3D is also something to consider now.
  • Made 3D easier to work with.  It’s just as easy as working with 2D objects.
  • Enhanced web experiences for designers with Adobe Muse.  No coding required for designers.
  • Missing fonts dialog box, is now powered by creative cloud so you can download and install missing fonts with the click of a button (through Typekit)
  • Typekit library is constantly growing.  There are over $40K in fonts that come with your CC subscription.
  • There is now live previews of fonts.  When you drop down text in your document you can cycle through the fonts list and it will show you in real time what it will look like in your document!!
  • Photoshop has changed smart guides.  You get real time measurements in smart guides when copying objects.
  • You get a smoother pencil tool in Illustrator.  The dynamics of how the pencil tool works is much better for natural flowing lines.
  • Creative cloud assets have increased.  You get over $20K in free assets such as vector images, clip-art, etc.
  • Photoshop links to creative cloud objects.  For example, your objects in your document update live if the designer updates the object file in Illustrator.
  • You are now able to mask things easier to put objects like fonts behind parts of the photo.
  • 3D workflows, 2D & 3D compositing is improved.  Take a 3D model and impose it into a photo (2D).
  • New path blurs and bending blurs.
  • Photoshop can extrude 2D images to make it into 3D (good for 3D printing).
  • You can edit 3D objects using a 2D plane (makes it much easier to see and edit)
  • 3D printing from Photoshop.  You can send your 3D print straight to an Adobe printing partner and have it shipped to you through the mail!! (Shapeways)
  • Muse allows designers to reach the web (no coding required).  Design websites easier and faster.
  • Muse can be edited online through a Muse portal, anywhere you have internet access (sort of like a content management system)
Photography
Lots of improvement in the mobile application space.  New hardware!  Ink and Slide tools for drawing.
  • Photoshop has perspective warp for architecture.  In the past it was more manual.  It’s now as easy as the bubble leveler in Lightroom (to fix horizon lines).
  • Lightroom Mobile can now sync smart previews.
  • You can easily cull images with your mobile device using Lightroom Mobile.  Lightroom Mobile lets you do star ratings and do pick/reject flags.  The ratings will be synced to the cloud and your PC.
  • Lightroom for iPhone is being released.
  • Adobe sketch mobile app. has some really nice pens.  The new pens have really excellent texture mapping to mimic different papers and pens.
  • Behance, the creative social network, will be integrated into mobile apps.
  • Adobe sketch sends workflow directly to Photoshop and Lightroom.
  • Project Mighty and Napoleon was released.  It’s called Adobe Ink & Pen.  Ink is a touch screen pen while slide is a touch screen ruler.
  • Adobe Line allows you to draw lines with precision using Adobe Ink and Slide.
  • Photoshop Mix is a tool to give you access to all your assets from different sites (i.e. Instagram, Facebook).
  • Selectively edit or mask with greater ease.  It can even automatically isolate tiny hairs.
  • Free mobile apps: Lightroom Mobile, Adobe Sketch, Adobe Line, Photoshop Mix.
Miscellaneous Notes
  • Creative SDK.  Adobe is allowing more third party development with their developer’s kit.
  • Adobe.com asset management has improved and a better website for all the apps.  On Adobe.com you have a single place to learn about what’s new on your desktop apps.
  • 2.3 million users already using CC
  • All these new mobile apps for iPhone.  But what about Android?  It makes me wonder, what kind of backroom deals does Adobe now have with Apple?
Conclusion
I was hesitant in the past and I was a firm believer that after switching to the Creative Cloud model, Adobe would stop innovating.  I even wrote a blog post about it.  Well, I can easily say, I was wrong.  I take it all back.  I am confident that creativity and innovation are at the core values of Adobe.  I’m signing up ASAP!  Now, just to decide what subscription to choose?

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2014 at 6:19 pm. It is filed under Round Pixel News and tagged with , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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