PSHERO | About Me

Hi. I’m Hero, and this is my website.

I’m a surfer, photographer and graphic designer currently splitting my time between the waves in Southern California and the deep powder snow in Park City, Utah. When I’m not surfing, snowboarding or behind the lens of my camera I write Photoshop tutorials for you to enjoy.

In a former life I was a young and ambitious designer, climbing the corporate ladder two rungs at a time while simultaneously selling my creative soul for pennies on the dollar. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute of those 80 hour work weeks. But after years of pandering to pot smoking executives and grabbing my ankles for a long and distinguished list of demanding clients I woke up to discover that it wasn’t making me happy anymore. So I got out, moved on. Took some time to travel, surf, and re-discover.

These days I design when a project inspires me, I write tutorials when I feel creative, and I do other things when I don’t. So if a week goes by without a new tutorial, just know that I’m not trying to neglect you or deny your insatiable thirst for all things Photoshop… I just wasn’t feelin’ it. But one day soon I’m sure I’ll be feelin’ it again and on that day I’ll shower you with Photoshop lovin’ all day long.

99 Responses to About Me

Colette

October 3rd, 2008 at 7:14 am

Wow love the new design!

I just wanted to thank you for all the great tutorials. Your my hero!

Colette
Tom Kercher

October 4th, 2008 at 9:52 am

Hey Hero, I’m kinda new to web design and Photoshop and am always looking for good tutorials. I’m a member of Lynda.com, which is great for learning the various tools of the trade, but your site is the best bar none for using those tools to achieve real world, professional effects. I love your stuff. Keep up the great work!

Tom in Virginia
Dave Brookes

October 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Excellent, keep up the good work!

Dave
vampyvan

October 6th, 2008 at 1:12 am

i love your tutorials! thank you hero
^_~
Lintcollector

October 6th, 2008 at 11:47 am

You are my Hero, Hero. Is that really you, or did you just enhance an image from a GQ magazine?
Jared

October 6th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

Love the new site and the continual inspiration! Every time I drop in I learn how to do something different, but also find inspiration to see how things work in different combos. Thanks, Hero!
Jazz
HERO

October 7th, 2008 at 9:06 am

LINTCOLLECTOR, Yes that’s actually me.
mr. diggles

November 12th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

love the new design. hope things are well dude. keep it up!
HERO

November 12th, 2008 at 8:02 pm

DIGGLES! Dude, thanks for stopping by!
Curt

November 12th, 2008 at 9:05 pm

Stumbled upon your site, but your tutorials inspired me to get into PS a lot more. Great work – very well written and easy to understand.
bodhi

November 13th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Hero.. we want more tutorials from pshero :D
Paulo Sales

November 13th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Sharing knowledge with a free open mind, its always the path to some mind evolution (at least in my opinion).
Wish to thank you, all the great stuff you?Ç¬¥ve made here, and above all, keep on riding the photoshop wave. What makes this a great space, is the clear method of teaching, for all kinds of photoshop users, and with great final results.
Best photoshop spot in the web !
HERO

November 13th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

PAULO! Thank a lot man. It’s readers like you that keep me writing. Thanks for the kind words and your regular comments!
Andy

November 16th, 2008 at 5:09 am

Keepin’ in real Hero.

Great work on the tutorials here man, and please don’t worry about updates, the outstanding quality is well worth the wait.
yvonne tran

November 18th, 2008 at 10:02 am

I definitely enjoy your tutorials!
Casey L. Jones

November 19th, 2008 at 8:23 am

Definitely one of the best PS tutorial sites around. You give awesome step by step instructions without belittling your visitors.

Shalom and L’Chaim!
FIDIAS

November 22nd, 2008 at 4:22 am

I hit your tutorials by chance, but I am glad I did. Clean and to the point instructions make life that much easier. I wish I could give up the 80-hour weeks like you did.
Enjoy life and carry on with educating – the most noble of arts.
Fidias
bhargav

November 30th, 2008 at 10:16 am

This has really helped me in photoshop man! Thanks!
Miles

December 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

I figure it’s time for me to offer my thanks, after all I have read pretty much every one of your tutorials. The great thing about your tutorials is the detail and precision; I learn much more than simply the object of each tutorial. For example, I now use a variety of keyboard shortcuts, and it is all thanks to you.

Thank you much!

p.s. I just saw that amazon link, I will use that every time I shop there for sure.
Jason

December 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

DUDE YOU’RE THE BEST
Lucky8

December 28th, 2008 at 5:51 am

Lucky that I found your site. its really really great tutorial. All I had just basic retouch my photos, now I’ve got great tutorial by Hero.
Please carry on.
Love you, Hero.
HERO

December 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Thanks LUCKY8, I love you too.
Nikki

January 4th, 2009 at 7:37 am

Just found your site. Thank you for such great tutorials. I look forward to trying them out. Btw, yeah..enjoy ur life offline as much as you can…be happy =)
Roni

January 5th, 2009 at 10:09 am

Wow! Love your site and tutorials; beautiful stuff. I can’t tell you what reading about “selling my creative soul for pennies on the dollar” has done – I thought it was just me and I was being an ungrateful brat. You have inspired me to explore other areas of creativity, and do what I want, rather than “pandering to pot smoking executives and grabbing my ankles for a long and distinguished list of demanding clients”. You ARE my hero!
HERO

January 5th, 2009 at 1:39 pm

RONI. Always glad to help. Do yourself a favor though and don’t burn any bridges on your way out.
Matt

January 6th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

It’s been a while since I’ve checked out your site. Great stuff man, you are a Photoshop Pimp.
Jenn

January 6th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Marry me.
HERO

January 6th, 2009 at 5:50 pm

JENN… can’t we just move in together and see how it goes?
Jenn

January 8th, 2009 at 11:40 pm

I had a suggestion.

I noticed in a lot of your tutorials you use shortcuts. Could you make a page listing all the Photoshop ’short cuts’?

=) Thank you.

P.s. no.. we can’t ‘just move in together and see how it goes’. Marriage. Now.
Roni

January 15th, 2009 at 8:40 am

Learned the “never burn your bridges” lesson long ago…….you never know who you will end up working with next year ;-)
HERO

January 15th, 2009 at 8:52 am

JENN, Great shortcut page suggestion, I’ll get to work on that!
Jack Ferguson

January 16th, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Former Gannett & AP photographer. Former artist. 40 years in corporate hell. Now headed into illustrative photography & design… YOU are my guide!

THANKS!
HERO

January 17th, 2009 at 11:44 pm

JACK, Welcome to my world, I’m glad you’re along for the ride!
umanga

January 25th, 2009 at 7:22 am

Woow you are a true hero and i salute with all my respect
many many thanks to your precious time spending on us and i wish you a happy life full of joy
thanks again
Gregg

January 27th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

A friend turned me on to your site. Thank you for all the amazing tutorials.

I encourage anyone who feels the same way TIP THE HERO.

I’m sure most of us know artists are often undervalued on the financial front. We are all in this together!
Perry

February 8th, 2009 at 12:24 am

Thank you for inspiring me and sharing your tips and knowledge!
jamie

February 12th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

CHECK YOUR SITE DAILY, BUT NEVER SAID THANX….SO THANX. AS SAID BEFORE, THE BEST ON THE WEB….AND GLAD YOU ARE ENJOYING LIFE, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BALANCE.
JAMIE FROM LONDON : )
JAJohnson

February 13th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

your sharing is so very much appreciated… your tutorials are excellent & your work is wonderful! thankful for you & for your inspiring way & just for being such a awesome Hero…
I will for sure be back to tip the Hero & am sure more then once at that… again thank you!!! :)
sphynxylynxy

February 24th, 2009 at 2:33 pm

Hmm.. It’s just as well that you don’t give PS Courses in the flesh, you’re far too distracting.
heeheehee…

There is a superior quality to your tutorials and very professional.
HERO

February 24th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

SPHYNXYLYNXY, In my best Austin Powers voice, let me just say… Oh Behave!
Nathan

February 25th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Not only have you helped me fly through my graphic design courses with flying colors, but your tutorials have vastly improved my knowledge of PS. You really ARE my hero!
sphynxylynxy

March 6th, 2009 at 7:02 am

Hello again!

Hero I would like to know from you if you have a preference in resolutions. Why? I noticed a while ago and only pieced the puzzle recently, that anything higher than 8 bit res seems to grey out most of
the filters.

Anyway thank you for such awesome tutorials and I hope you never tire of teaching us.

Our HERO!!
Marc Hennesen

March 8th, 2009 at 9:19 am

Great site, really. Keep on that way.
HERO

March 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am

SPHYNXYLYNXY, First off let me say that bit depth and resolution aren’t the same thing. My resolution preferences are the usual 300ppi for print, 72ppi for web. The bit depth of a file has to do with the amount of color information that is present. High bit depth is useful in programs like Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom for making the most of an image, but once you’re in Photoshop (with a few exceptions) you should be converting the file to 8 bit color.
Ken R

March 9th, 2009 at 1:29 am

From one SoCal to another .. Thx. Tutorials are well written and on practical subjects.
Jules Holland

March 17th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Really inspiring and practical all wrapped together. Just spent an hour feeling creative again…thank you,
J
marcelo araujo

March 17th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

hi Hero. congratulations! pshero.com is always inspiring me. i have a suggest for new tutorial: how to make a box, like software pack, with shadow and reflex, like as the photoshop ad.
thanks!!
d

March 19th, 2009 at 12:39 am

great site hero, thanks for all the hot tips. i’ve been mulling over the wallpaper tutorial forever now, haha..i love those damask patterns too. tracing those complicated shapes is great practice with the pen tool, i’ll master that damn thing some day.

Looking forward to learning how to make those starburst effects that seem so popular these days. hint hint ;-)

much thanks,

d.
Nokuthula

March 26th, 2009 at 3:34 am

I love your tutorials as they are easy to follow. Thank you so much ….
ai hong

April 4th, 2009 at 8:35 pm

i see your website by accident ,i am chinese,i love your life style.so free,healthy,and inspired.to be your friend,maybe a very very happy thing,i guess
Li-Jay

April 17th, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Dear Hero,

Have you ever thought of writing a book?

Love Li-Jay :-)
Kevin

April 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am

You are hot looking. Have you ever done any modeling? Love the site, too.
Ada Elena

April 27th, 2009 at 12:33 am

Hello, im Ada, From M?©xico. thanks for your wonderful work, i¬¥ve learn so much of you!!!! Congratulations for your courage for live your live for make you happy.

PS: You are so Cute :P
wallid34

April 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am

merci
Aki

May 15th, 2009 at 1:05 am

Aloha from Hawaii.
Thank you for sharing your creativity with us!
Teri

May 25th, 2009 at 9:26 pm

I have been working my way through several of your tutorials and I am in love!!! I just opened up the full version of photoshop 3 days ago (I have been working in PSE for a year of so) and was intimidated until I stumbled on your tuts. I am loving everything I am able to do thanks to your tutorials.
Jessica

May 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am

Thanks for these great and inspiring tutorials. I have learned a lot from this site. More than I have learned from my own instructor. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
bulesakit

June 8th, 2009 at 9:56 pm

There are tutorials and there are TUTORIALS.The internet here is bad (Indonesia)we pay for every page we open and it is slowwww.You are inspirational with your tuts and worth every penny we pay to access your pages. Simple, clear and concise with your instructions.Some other websites could learn from your approach.Thank you seems inadequate but what else can be said.
Paige

June 9th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Just ran across your site and am in love!! Not only are you adorable but extremely smart in Photoshop. Thank you for creating the tutorials and sharing your knowledge with us. I’m having a blast going through them.

PS- I’m with you on Park City…one of my favorite places!
Arnold

June 13th, 2009 at 2:45 am

Just to let you know that you are my new Hero, Your Tuts are easy to follow and funny most of the time. i love them. i get neat results everytime.
Grayc

June 17th, 2009 at 7:18 am

I stumbled on this website….& I thought”where have I been all this time?”. The tutorials are very easy to follow and your sense of humor makes me enjoy reading. Thank u very much…U are now in my SUPER Hero collection..and you rock! Thank you
Molly

June 18th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Hi,
I love the glassy reflection Apple uses with their product displays. Do you know how to produce that affect in Photoshop? (www.apple.com)

I LOVE your tutorials. Thank you!
mike

June 18th, 2009 at 11:01 pm

Your tutorials are great man! Thanks!!!
DavidB

June 24th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

The tutorials are fantastic! Practical, well-written, easy to follow, useful… Thank you so much for sharing all of this.
RyanG

June 29th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

Hey there! I just wanted to add to the cacophony and say that you have the best PS tutorial site on the web. Your tutorials are very easy to follow and the results are exceptional! The images on here are far better looking than other places.
Britt

July 3rd, 2009 at 8:49 pm

Whats is the best photoshop to buy? Which do you prefer?
Em-em

July 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm

Thank you for the all-inspiring tutorials you have given the world. You really know how to share your talent. I hope God will bless you more!
HERO

July 5th, 2009 at 6:47 pm

BRITT, I recommend the most recent version of PS, which at this writing is CS4.
manumax

July 6th, 2009 at 12:06 am

This has really helped me in photoshop man! Thanks! and ILove you………
Vila-Sheree

July 7th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Hey,

You are my HERO! I love your site. I’ve made use of quite a few items. I’m designing a print piece that has a “scrapbooking” concept, and I’ve used quite a few of your tricks. Do you have any tips for making ric-rac?
Kelley Burrus

July 12th, 2009 at 10:53 am

Okay, you’re quite cute but it’s your site which makes me really slobber. Thanks so much for spending the time to empower all who’s pulse increases just a bit when they hit the beautiful blue PS button!
keyzz3222

July 13th, 2009 at 7:23 am

hey hero..
i found a treasure last week..
that’s PShero.

really wonderful work.
thanks a ton for sharing ur talent.
HERO

July 13th, 2009 at 11:33 am

Well thank you Kelly (and you’re welcome)… try to keep the slobber away from the keyboard.
Jen_D

July 21st, 2009 at 3:52 pm

I’m the luckiest gal in the world to have stumbled on your web site: you’re so talented – it’s inspiring, and I love the “I’m a real person” feel of your site; you’re really genuine :)

*What WAS I looking for on the web, dare you ask?! Well, I’m currently at boring work – I was researching and Googled “photo corners,” to order in for a customer …all I could find were discontinued, and I stumbled across something much cooler..

:) Hi

I’ll be sure to frequent back with coffee and cats in tow! Take care, and keep being awesome-possum-you!
Gary

August 4th, 2009 at 11:23 pm

Just came across your site about a week ago. And Ive been back every day since. The tut’s are easy to understand and very helpful. Keep up the great work and thanks so much for sharing your talent.
sergi

August 6th, 2009 at 3:13 am

you are an Artist.
Matt

August 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am

Totally get it, Still holding my heals trying to convert passion for dollars…Montana Native with 10 years sliding on the hills of Utah. Missing several cold ones at the No Name. BTW: Hanging in Peru con mi Novia. We have a extra bedroom if you get inspired to check it a Latin fun…

Gracias para tu pagina web…

Nos Vemos

Matt
Guest

August 12th, 2009 at 1:38 pm

Man you realy ROCK !!! Thanks for all the high quality tutorials you’re posting. This site is at the top of my “Favorites” list !!! Keep up the awesome work ;)
Nabil Khatri

August 16th, 2009 at 9:56 am

Wow you look cool!
Marco Rocha

August 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm

It’s just to say, you’re really a HERO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Please always keep it up!
Kind regards from Brazil.
lei

September 10th, 2009 at 8:17 am

Your photoshop tutorials to help beginners a better understanding of
Nicole Sterling

September 12th, 2009 at 1:13 am

OMG!!! I stumbled upon your site, and I am in heaven! Busy mom of 2, and running 3 businesses, don’t have time to read a lot of how to books. So THANK YOU for these awesome tutorials! Glad to see you are following your dream…..I always say JOB stands for Just Over Broke! :0)
Francesca

September 15th, 2009 at 4:26 am

Hi! I’m an italian graphic designer and a snowboard addict!
Thank you for yours tutorial. I love your website
ph0neman

September 21st, 2009 at 9:56 am

You are really an inspiration. Your tutorials are fantastic. You are great at explaining your methods. Working through your exercises only makes me want to progress farther and farther into Photoshop.

Thanks for doing what you are doing and we hope you keep inspired. Thanks bro.
Carlos Cota

September 22nd, 2009 at 12:41 am

Great work dude!!!!
Falk

October 1st, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Hi Hero,

This is fantastic work and I am absolutely amazed by the talent and creativity I can see in the ‘projects’ you make into tutorials. Its brilliant. Additionally I have to say that you look like the love child of Richard Dean Anderson (aka Macgyver) and Jamie Lee Curtis.

You seem full of surprises! ;)

Keep up the good work! I would be glad if I could make the same decision to stop working in the industry and tell the clients where to go. Maybe in a year or two…
shadowrat

October 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Can you post a tutorial on how to live in SoCal and Park City Utah? This is the life i want!
manda

November 13th, 2009 at 1:36 pm

Thanks so much! I love learning new things, and you give so many tips, tricks & shortcuts, even more than I learned in school. . . you. . . are. . . awesome. . .
Marcos Souza

November 14th, 2009 at 6:34 am

Hey Hero, I really enjoy your tutorials! Very nice work, man!

Marcos Souza, from Brazil
sham

November 18th, 2009 at 3:37 am

Your tutorial is easy to follow. Simple, straight forward, and cool!..
Just keep on coming with new tutorials and tips bro!
Rich

November 29th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

Hero, you are the man! Keep on saving the world one photo shop tutorial at a time!
Peter

December 11th, 2009 at 10:47 am

Thanks for all the great site. Your bio is inspiring . I think we all need to find out what is right for us and follow our hearts. Moneys not everything. thanks again
Phillip

January 3rd, 2010 at 5:07 am

A Hero indeed you are… your step by step tutorials makes it so easy to follow even from a non-experienced photoshop user… im in graphic design even thou i did not study it?! i have a passion for creating…Im trying to teach my self Web Design as i would like to get out there and start my own web-design company as i am tired of working for the a boss and demanding customers… its still a long journey for me, but with your tutorials I’ll soon be well on my way … once again thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom… enjoy the waves peace out …phillip
Tuna

January 4th, 2010 at 6:11 am

Hello. I felt I ought to thank you for your tutorials – I’ve been teaching myself to use Photoshop using whatever tips and guides I stumble across, and I find that yours are consistently the easiest to follow and among the few that teach the why as well as the how, which makes them far more valuable as learning tools. So thank you!
Nicole

January 13th, 2010 at 6:13 am

I like your website! Nice tutorials. Greetz from Germany!

HARAKIRI DESIGN
Tanja

January 13th, 2010 at 3:41 pm

Hi,
i just surfed around and stuck on this site. And now, hours later, I really HAVE to go to bed but can’t stop reading “just ONE more tut”… So I have to come back the next days (or weeks???) to learn more, and even if my english is not the best, it’s so easy to understand. Thanks for making this really great job!
Nick

January 24th, 2010 at 2:30 am

THANKS for your tutorial help.. With your tutorials I can hopefully make my ideas come to life
Lance C. Armstrong

February 3rd, 2010 at 7:54 am

Hello PSHero,

The tutorials are printing quite nicely now. Am I imagining things, or did you revise style sheets?

Thanks,
Lance (the other Lance)
HERO

February 3rd, 2010 at 10:26 am

LANCE, the site has just gone through a major overhaul, every tutorial has been reworked and the code has been rebuilt from the ground up to make both reading and printing easier.