Creative software company Adobe has announced key upgrades and innovative improvements across its suite of multimedia tools including Photoshop, Illustrator and Lightroom, and in its continued push towards adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to aid in the creation of content, will introduce text to video for its generative Adobe Firefly software, which can now also fill in any gaps in video footage.
Announced this week at the opening keynote of the world’s largest creativity conference, Adobe MAX 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida, from 14 to 16 October, over 10,000 creative professionals watched as Adobe introduced over one hundred new Creative Cloud features, including major updates across Adobe Premiere Pro, Firefly, Express, Frame.io and more, that are immediately available for users to try out.
“We’re giving the creative community a powerful new brush to paint the world by putting unprecedented power, precision and creative control in their hands. With the demand for content projected to grow exponentially, we’re empowering creators to scale the use of their content across marketing, HR and sales teams,” said David Wadhwani, president, digital media at Adobe.
Aside from supporting individuals, the company also rolled out enterprise capabilities for Adobe Express, its cloud-based design platform that provides access to those within the organisation to use the tools. Here are some of the standout updates that got us most excited about, and we can’t wait to try them out over the next few months:
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe is rolling out a major update to the Distraction Removal in the Remove Tool. Distraction Removal now automatically detects and removes unwanted elements such as wires and people and replaces the background with AI-generated content.
Photoshop’s Generative Fill and Generative Expand are now powered by the latest Adobe Firefly Image Model 3, so users can count on getting realistic, lifelike results, with more levels of detail across lighting, composition and colour. Additionally, the new Generate Similar feature enables users to create more variations of generated images for that perfect fit. These features are available now on both the deskop app and Photoshop on the web.
Two new features have also been introduced to Adobe Photoshop (Beta). First, Generative Workspace lets you explore more ideas in less time with generative AI. Most AI image generators limit and slow your process as they only produce a few results and only allow you to submit one prompt at a time, requiring you to wait before you can further refine your prompt or try a different one. With Generative Workspace, you can brainstorm multiple concepts concurrently, using text prompts to quickly generate sets of images. You can search and reuse text prompts and images and generate new sets of images while previous sets are still generating. Once you get the resuts you like, you can easily import and refine your generated images in Photoshop. Second, the Adobe Substance 3D Viewer (Beta) is a new way to view and edit 3D files within Photoshop by simply adding them as Smart Objects.
Both features are now available in the Photoshop (Beta) app. Learn more about all the updates in Adobe Photoshop via Adobe’s blog post.
Adobe Firefly
Users can soon generate videos with the Firefly Video Model (beta), which enables creators to generate video from text and image prompts, extend video clips as well as deeper integration with Premiere Pro. Transforming ideas into video clips, pitching ideas, b-roll and visual effects is easier than ever before. On top of that, the latest evolution of Firefly Image 3 Model generates images four times faster.
Just check out this AI-generated video from the following prompt: Macro shot of a tiny baby dragon made out of lava scuttling around inside a volcano.
Firefly is also designed to be safe for commercial use, and is only trained on content where Adobe has permission, such as Adobe Stock and public domain content where copyright has expired, and never on Adobe users’ content. It has already been used to generate more than 13 billion images and counting. During the beta stage, only a limited number of users will be granted access, so be sure to sign up for the waitlist here.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator’s new Objects on Path enables users to quickly attach, arrange and move objects along any type of path. Enhanced Image Trace lets users convert hand-drawn images and raster graphics into editable vectors with more accurate image tracing and greater editability. The Mockup feature is now available too, so designers can create mockups for brand and apparel designs by placing your artwork on images of real-life objects. Illustrator will automatically adjust your artwork to fit the curves and edges of the object.
Adobe Project Neo (Beta)
Project Neo, a completely new approach to creating 3D content via a web-based app is available now and in beta. It is an app built for designers who typically work in 2D design apps like Photoshop and Illustrator. With Project Neo, you can create and edit 3D shapes and artwork in your web browser. Neo lets you quickly edit and refine endless variations of a design, non-destructively. Your Project Neo creations can then be opened in Adobe Illustrator as vectors, so you can continue to edit your artwork and add them to your design compositions. You can even share your designs via a link to your artwork to invite team members to collaborate within the browser.
You can read more about Project Neo via Adobe’s blog post, or try it out for yourself if you have an active Creative Cloud subscription.
Adobe Express
Adobe Express is a quick and easy create-anything app that’s available on web and mobile, that allows users to create social media posts, videos, flyers and more, at no additional cost, since it’s included in most Creative Cloud membership plans. And now, it is armed with several new capabilities to make it even easier to use than ever.
AI-powered Resize and with Expand resizes designs for multiple social media channels and enlarges images to fit new sizes, while Bulk Create generates variations of images, videos and copy, enabling users to easily adapt content for different seasons or products, in just a few clicks. Animate All allows users to add motion to an entire design and AI emphasizes the most important parts, like headlines and buttons.
One-click Apply Brand and On-brand Recolor allows users to apply all brand elements, including designs, images illustrations or brand colors across multiple pages for one-click brand and visual consistency. When working with text, users can now use Rewrite to shorten or change the tone of copy instantly and Translate text into 46 languages, choosing between formal and informal tones. Contextually aware translation capabilities keeps messaging intent intact.
There’s plenty more features added to Adobe Express, check out the comprehensive full list via Adobe’s blog post.
Frame.io
Having acquired Frame.io almost three years ago, Adobe has since then been working hard to evolve and integrate the industry-leading creative collaboration platform with its Creative Cloud apps. And today, Frame.io Version 4 is out of beta, completely redesigned to be faster and more intuitive, with new features made for asset and workflow management, along with enhancements for reviewing and approving design work. Frame.io now has a direct connection to Adobe Lightroom, enabled through Frame.io’s Camera to Cloud (C2C) integrations that allows photographers to automatically transfer all images uploaded via Frame.io’s C2C into their Lightroom account.
And finally, Frame.io has further expanded its C2C camera ecosystem by partnering with Canon, Nikon and Leica, to be expected in forthcoming integrations.
Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.
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