Photoshop Magic

Digital artist Bert Monroy uses Adobe Illustrator as his pencil and Photoshop as his paint to create digital works of art. After 30 years as a commercial illustrator, he has mastered the technique of hyperrealism in his digital illustrations by perfecting reflections and shadows down to the very last pixel. Times Square, Monroy’s largest and most ambitious painting to date, contains more than 700,000 Photoshop layers and took four years to create.The masterpiece also contains hidden “Easter eggs” featuring famous faces and Monroy’s friends and family.

Monroy’s interest in computing was sparked by the Macintosh 128 in 1984. From early drawing programs such as MacPaint, Display (the first version of Photoshop), and Illustrator 1.1 to the current versions of Photoshop and Illustrator, he has utilized photo-imaging software throughout his career to transform his works into digital masterpieces, earning him a spot in the Photoshop Hall of Fame. Monroy has written and co-authored several books, including the first-ever book on Photoshop titled The Official Adobe Photoshop Handbook. Today, Monroy’s clients include Apple, Adobe, Pixar, and Disney Animation. He also teaches popular Photoshop courses Pixel Playground and Dreamscapes on Lynda.com and has a vast library of digital-painting tutorials.

Join us as Bert Monroy shares his story and perspective on the evolution of Photoshop as well as the digital techniques and tricks he uses to create art.